SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020 www.thepeninsula.qa16 SAFAR - 1442 VOLUME 25 NUMBER 8399

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2 RIYALS

Cargo handling at Hamad Port

My sincere wishes to my friend President @realDonaldTrump & the First Lady @FLOTUS for a speedy and full recovery.

Bubble-to-bubble: Qatar’s safety ‘package’ impresses Asian football bodyRIZWAN REHMAT THE PENINSULA

Qatar’s meticulously planned ‘safety package’ to host the AFC Champions League matches in testing times yesterday won major approval from the game’s ruling body in the continent.

Iran’s Persepolis and Saudi side Al Nassr will be seen in action today for the last match of the three-week tournament staged at two World Cup venues - the Education City Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.

A total of 15 teams from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Iraq came together for 31 matches after landing straight into a bubble-to-bubble environment that none could predict how it would mitigate the threat of COVID-19 pandemic currently raging around the globe.

However, with just two years to go before the 2022 FIFA

World Cup in Qatar, the stake-holders hosting the AFC Cham-pions League matches — the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), the Qatar Football Association (QFA), the Local Organising Committee and the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) — suc-cessfully answered a number of lingering questions over the course of three weeks.

Avazbek Berdikulov, Deputy Director of the Competitions and Football Events Division at the AFC, yesterday lauded Qatar for the manner in which it con-ducted the tournament.

“I would like to thank QFA for coming forward and sup-porting us to host this tour-nament. It is a gesture that is well appreciated by AFC. The infrastructure in Qatar to host

sporting events is really unmatched. I have no doubt that the competition was delivered smoothly,” Berdikulov said yes-terday. Berdikulov was addressing media questions during a live webinar titled ‘Hosting Mega Sporting Events in a COVID-19 World’ .

“There is one match left but I don’t think there would be any issue in terms of infrastructure involved in hosting this tour-nament. We all know that the Qatar is preparing to be the capital of football by hosting the World Cup in 2022 and all prep-arations are going smoothly,” Berdikulov added.

“When we planned to resume AFC action — after it was stopped in March — we had a set of discussions with AFC members. We started to work with FIFA and other bodies. We came up with our own set of guidelines on how to resume the action. We discussed all

scenarios before resuming. I can proudly say that AFC in coop-eration with QFA and LOC, did a tremendous job of putting 16 clubs in one country.

“The football players need three things — the main thing is the training facility and it should be good. Also, the players need good stadium and a good hotel. In Qatar we got amazing conditions to play football. The training facilities were great. The hotels were safe to stay and the training venues were superb,” Berdikulov said.

“Let’s be honest — the sta-diums were just superb. We played at World Cup venues and you can’t ask for more in this chal-lenging situation. We are really happy at the package we got in Qatar. We also feel that Qatar have got the experience and exposure from this tournament moving forward and leading to the World Cup,” he added.

Dr Abdulwahab Almusleh,

Senior Consultant to the Min-ister of Public Health (MoPH), yesterday said Qatar has emerged stronger and more confident about hosting top sports events in the future.

“The hosting of the matches successfully gives us assurance that the country is ready for hosting international sports events in the future,” Dr Abdulwahab told the webinar. “This experience gives us a boost on our understanding and experience. If for any reason, a sports event happens in similar situations of a pandemic, the country is surely capable of man-aging it successfully. Now we are living in a new world. Since the appearance of the pandemic, people have embraced the new normal to cope with the disease. Unfortunately, the disease is here to stay for a while. Things differ from one country to another. Many factors play in the overall ability of a country to manage the pandemic,” he said. �P3

Amir wishes President Trump,First Lady a speedy recoveryTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has wished US Pres-ident Donlad Trump and his wife Melania Trump a speedy recovery from COVID-19.

The Amir said in tweet yesterday: “My sincere wishes to my friend President @realDonaldTrump & the First Lady @FLOTUS for a speedy and full recovery.”

Earlier President Donald Trump has announced that he and his wife Melania have tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19). “Tonight, the First Lady and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this together,” Trump tweeted.

On Thursday night, the US President announced that his assistant, Hope Hicks, had been infected with COVID-19.

Hicks was on the plane that took President Trump on Tuesday to attend the debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden, in preparation for the presidential elections on November 3.

Sheikha Moza offers condolences on death of Sheikh Sabah Al AhmadQNA — KUWAIT

H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser offered her condolences yesterday in Kuwait to Sheikha Sharifa Sulaiman Al Jasem, wife of H H Amir of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, on the death of H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

Her Highness also offered her condolences to the sisters of H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Sheikha Al Anoud Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah and Sheikha Amthal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, and the ruling family, praying to Allah the Almighty to have mercy on his soul and to rest it in peace in par-adise, and to inspire his family with patience and solace.

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Airways has announced its winter schedule in line with passenger and cargo demand and the continued relaxation of entry restrictions around the world.

Having become the largest international carrier during this crisis, the airline has applied its unrivalled knowledge of global passenger flows and booking trends to load a reliable winter schedule passengers can trust.

By the end of 2020, Qatar Airways plans to rebuild its network to 124 destinations including 21 in Africa, 10 in the Americas, 42 in Asia-Pacific, 38 in Europe and 13 in Middle East. Many cities will be served with a strong schedule with daily or more frequencies.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are proud to be the global airline passengers trust to take them where they want to go safely and reliably. This trust begins by offering an honest schedule of flights that is realistic of the current market conditions and entry restric-tions around the world. Also we ensure when entry restrictions change forcing us to postpone or cancel flights, we support our passengers with the most flexible and generous options to reschedule their plans.”

“While no airline can

predict with 100% certainty how the market will recover or future entry restrictions, our unrivalled experience accumu-lated by becoming the largest international carrier during this crisis uniquely positions us to build a realistic schedule of flights with confidence. Since the onset of the pandemic, we have flown over 175 million kil-ometres taking home over 2.3 million passengers on over 35,000 flights. We have also operated more than 400 charter flights across the world

allowing us to stay up to date with the latest airport and national health procedures and maintain a finger on the pulse of global passenger flows, in particular in markets where we do not operate regular flights,” he said.

“Our strategic investment in a variety of fuel efficient twin-engine aircraft, including the largest fleet of Airbus A350 air-craft, has enabled us to continue flying throughout this crisis and perfectly positions us to lead the s u s t a i n a b l e r e c o v e r y

of international travel. As we continue to rebuild our global network, we remain focused on providing seamless, safe and reliable connectivity to our mil-lions of passengers and ensuring we continue to earn their trust every time they choose to fly with Qatar Airways.”

Meanwhile Qatar Airways has also announced extending its commitment to offering pas-sengers flexible booking options, now available for all tickets issued before December 31.

SEE ALSO PAGE 2

Summary of containers, breakbulk, RORO and livestock handled by QTerminals in September 2020 at Hamad Port. QTerminals posted the figures on its Twitter handle.

Qatar reiterates support for Palestinian causeQNA — GENEVA

The State of Qatar renewed yesterday its position of supporting the Palestinian cause by providing political and developmental support to the Palestinian people until they regain all their rights.

The State of Qatar stressed that comprehensive and fair peace in the Middle-East is the strategic option, and can only be accomplished by ending the Israeli occupation to Palestinian and Arab land in a set time-frame, and by empowering the Palestinian people by estab-lishing the State of Palestine with East Al Quds as its capital on the borders of 1967, in

accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and international resolutions.

This came in the State of Qatar’s statement read by Per-manent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in Geneva H E Ambas-sador Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri at the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) during its meeting on article 10 on its assistance to the Palestinian people.

He stressed Qatar’s com-mitment to providing develop-mental and humanitarian assistance to improve the Pal-estinians’ living conditions in the West Bank and Gaza. The State of Qatar provided $1.2bn

worth of support of the last 8 years in vital fields such as edu-cation, electricity, infra-structure, housing, and job cre-ation. He also noted that the State of Qatar pledged to grant $150m over six months in support of efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Per-manent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva expressed the State of Qatar’s appreciation to UNCTAD for its effort in preparing a report on its support to the Palestinian people.

He condemned Israel’s (as the occupying entity) under-mining of UNCTAD’s efforts by making the movement of UNCTAD employees into and outside of Palestine difficult. He

expressed the State of Qatar’s concern regarding the report’s assessment of the economic and social conditions in Palestine, which the report said was dete-riorating. He noted that this dete-rioration was a result of the Israeli occupation’s policies and restrictions it places on trade, in addition to the dangerous reper-cussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Al Mansouri stressed that the Israeli occupation’s control of two-thirds of Palestinian tax revenues and the entry of Pal-estinian financial resources into the Israeli treasury undermines financial stability in Palestine and adversely affects its economy. �P3

Qatar Airways to expand network to 124 destinations by year-end

Since the onset of the pandemic, Qatar Airways have flown over 175 million kilometres taking home over 2.3 million passengers on over 35,000 flights. Operated more than 400 charter flights across the world. By the end of 2020, plans to rebuild its network to 124 destinations including 21 in Africa, 10 in the Americas, 42 in Asia-Pacific, 38 in Europe and 13 in Middle East. Qatar Airways offers passengers flexible booking options, now available for all tickets issued before December 31.

The infrastructure in Qatar to host sporting events is really unmatched. I have no doubt that the competition was delivered smoothly,”

Avazbek Berdikulov, Deputy Director of the Competitions and Football Events Division at the AFC

OFFICIAL NEWS

Doha: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim

bin Hamad Al Thani and Deputy

Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin

Hamad Al Thani sent yesterday

cables of congratulations to Pres-

ident of the Republic of Guinea H

E Professor Alpha Conde on the

occasion of his country’s Inde-

pendence Day.

Prime Minister and Minister of

Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin

Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani

also sent a cable of congratu-

lations to Prime Minister of the

Republic of Guinea H E Ibrahima

Kassory Fofana on the occasion

of his country’s Independence

Day. -QNA

Amir Sends congratulations to President of Guinea

02 SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020HOME

W ALRUWAIS : 28o → 34o W ALKHOR : 29o → 38o W DUKHAN : 27o → 36o W WAKRAH : 29o → 39o W MESAIEED : 29o → 39o W ABUSAMRA : 24o → 36o

Hazy at some places at first

becomes hot daytime with local

clouds, relatively humid by night.

Minimum Maximum31oC 39oC

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Qatar stresses global cooperation in facing environmental challengesQNA — DOHA

The State of Qatar stressed the importance of responding to environmental challenges collectively to find the appropriate solutions.

This came during the statement by Min-ister of Municipality and Environment H E Eng. Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie during the UN Summit on Biodi-versity. His Excellency highlighted Qatar’s commitment to environmental devel-opment in its 2030 vision, naming it one of its four pillars. Preserving biodiversity is one of national developmental strategies.

The Minister stressed the State of Qatar’s commitment to legislation and environmental initiatives to raise awareness on biodiversity, particularly in Qatar. He added that the event reflects the commitment to protecting biodi-versity and the efforts made to achieve sus-tainable development on a global level.

The Minister said that the 2030 Agenda

for Sustainable Development showed the close connection between its goals and pro-tecting biodiversity. He noted that the mul-tilateral UN agreements would help enhance comprehensive cooperation between countries and build capabilities

in the field of protecting biodiversity. The Minister stressed the importance

of global cooperation to prepare ambitious plans and initiatives to protect biodiversity. He thanked the organisers and expressed hope that it could yield fruitful outcomes.

Qatar Airways extends flexible booking optionsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Airways is extending its commitment to offering passengers flexible booking options, now available for all tickets issued before December 31.

For passengers who would like to change their travel plans, they can hold their ticket value for two years; benefit from unlimited date changes; or exchange their ticket for a future travel voucher with 10% extra value. If pas-sengers have had their travel plans impacted by factors outside their control, they can change their destination

– within the same continental region for Qatar Airways Privilege Club members or within the same country or a 500 mile radius for non-members; swap their ticket for Qmiles; or refund their ticket with no fees applied.

Qatar Airways’ latest re-booking options will provide passengers an unri-valled peace of mind. The national carrier of the State of Qatar now operates over 650 weekly flights to more than 90 des-tinations, providing more flexible travel options to more global destinations than any other airline. For full terms and con-ditions, visit qatarairways.com/RelyOnUs.

Throughout their journey, Qatar Airways passengers can expect the highest standards of hygiene and the latest security measures, whether on board or at our state-of-the-art Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Doha. Qatar Airways’ onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew include the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew and a complimentary protective kit and dis-posable face shields for passengers. Business Class passengers on aircraft equipped with Qsuite can enjoy the enhanced privacy this award-winning

business seat provides, including sliding privacy partitions and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator. Qsuite is available on flights to more than 30 destinations.

In addition, HIA has implemented stringent cleaning procedures and applied social distancing measures throughout its terminals. All passenger touchpoints are sanitised every 10-15 minutes and every boarding gate and bus gate counter is cleaned after each flight. Hand sanitisers are provided at immigration and security screening points.

The Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Eng. Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie highlighted Qatar’s commitment to environmental development in its 2030 vision, naming it one of its four pillars. Preserving biodiversity is one of national developmental strategies.

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) yesterday announced 205 new confirmed cases of COVID-19; 195 of these are of community cases and 10 from travellers returning from abroad.The Ministry also announced the recovery 197 people bringing the total number of cases recovered in Qatar to 123,108.The Ministry also announced one new death, aged 63 - who was receiving the necessary medical care.

Four arrested for violating home quarantine rulesQNA — DOHA

The competent authorities arrested yesterday four people who violated the requirements of the home quarantine, they committed to following, which they are legally accountable for, in accordance with the proce-dures of the health author-

ities in the country. It is in implementation

of the precautionary measures in force in the country, approved by health authorities represented in the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to ensure the achievement of public safety and to curb the spread of the coronavirus.The four

people being referred to the competent prosecution are Bandar Badr Awad Al Bandar, Sameh Najeh Mahmoud El Sherbiny Azzam, Al Murtada Ali Razzouk and Abdulaziz Yahya Zain Al Omal.

The concerned author-ities in the State warned that anyone who violates these

conditions will be subject to the penalties stipulated in accordance with the provi-sions of Article 253 of the Penal Code No. 11 of 2004, and the provisions of Law No. 17 of 1990 regarding the prevention of infectious dis-eases, and Law No. 17 of 2002 on the protection of society.

MoPH: 205 new COVID-19

cases and 197 recoveries

03SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020 HOME

Experimental film spotlightsQatar’s burgeoning urbanscapeRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Qatar’s burgeoning urbanscape and the people who help in shaping it form the subject of this week’s featured short film presented by the Doha Film Institute (DFI).

Written and directed by Shaima Al Tamimi and Mariam Salim, the film ‘Voices from the Urbanscape’ depicts Doha as a rapidly growing 21st-century cosmopolitan city with a mission and pays tribute to the diverse communities who help build Qatar.

“Voices from the Urban-scape is a short experimental film in which you hear a melody that is made of sounds of con-struction and voices of people. While you’re riding with us in the car you’ll get to find yourself within those voices,” said Salim.

The story is uniquely shaped by voices of people from different nationalities and backgrounds who express their thoughts on Qatar’s fast-paced progress as seen in the rise of skyscrapers and massive infra-structure projects being carried out around the country in recent years.

The multicultural voices discuss diverse views from com-menting on Doha’s meteoric growth to lamenting the loss of nature that goes with urbani-sation to praising the beauty of the new buildings that give the city its distinct character. The film takes the audience in a journey around the country’s capital with the images and sounds of con-struction of various structures.

“The film speaks to us a lot with regard to people in Doha and how they feel growing up

here and the city growing with them,” said Al Tamimi. She is a photographer and cultural explorer who captures stories ignited by culture, travel and human behaviour.

“I started my journey with photography. Whenever I go on street photography walks or travels, what I seem to enjoy the most is that photography always allows me to approach people. With street photography when you’re outdoors, things can happen spontaneously and you can’t necessarily control the sit-uation almost similar to docu-mentary filmmaking,” she said. “ I didn’t necessarily make the film with ‘I want to be a film-maker’ in mind. It was just I have a story I want to tell and let me see what will come out of that,” she added.

The film has been screened in various film festivals such as at the 2017 Ajyal Film Festival and at the Cannes Film Festival and Sarajevo Film Festival in 2018, among others.

“Three years ago, it was screened in one of the open spaces in Ajyal. Towards the end some family was clapping, and that changed my whole perspective of filmmaking and gave me another reason to just keep going — exploring and telling stories in different ways,” said Salim whose passion for film started at a young age and who recently participated in the production of a few short films.

Voices from the Urbanscape was uploaded on Thursday on DFI’s YouTube channel as part of the second season of the Institute’s Short Film of the Week initiative. Launched in April, the initiative brings the very best of DFI-supported films for film enthusiasts to enjoy in the comfort of their own homes. The initiative aims at encouraging people to stay home amid COVID-19 pan-demic, while lending support to Qatari films and Arab cinema.

QA partners with QCS for breast cancer awarenessTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Airways, in partnership with Qatar Cancer Society (QCS), will mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a 30-day long series of ‘Think Pink’ awareness-building activities.

The efforts of Qatar Airways and its partner will focus on raising awareness of breast cancer prevention and control to its tens of thousands of employees around the world through webinars, free mammogram screenings at qualified medical clinics, and fundraising events. ‘Think Pink’ activ-ities include Qatar Airways’ annual charity bazaar – which will take place digitally – the proceeds of which will be donated to QCS, a humanitarian organisation dedicated to the prevention and treatment of cancer, as well as the implemen-tation of awareness and prevention programs.

Qatar Airways will also engage its passengers as well as the wider public in ‘Think Pink’ activ-ities to spread awareness of the prevention and control of breast cancer and emphasize the importance of regular breast screening.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways is devoted to raising awareness of breast cancer. We firmly believe that prevention and early detection can save many lives and contribute to the continuous global efforts made to eradicate this disease. That is why this year, as in previous years, we have planned a range of awareness-raising initiatives for our employees as well as our passengers.”

QCS Chairman, Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Jabr Al Thani, said: “We are extremely grateful to Qatar Airways for its support in spreading awareness of breast cancer prevention to their employees, pas-sengers as well to the wider community. We are delighted to support these praise-worthy efforts and pleased to partner in delivering

awareness-building activities to highlight the importance of cancer prevention, early detection and patients’ psychological and financial support. Qatar Airways’ dedication in raising awareness of breast cancer reflects the airline’s commitment in fighting breast cancer, which also aligns with QCS’s objectives to reduce the burden of cancer and ensure that cancer control remains the priority within our communities.”

In February 2020, Qatar Airways also became patron partner of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), a non-governmental organisation focused on leading initiatives that unite and support the cancer community to ensure cancer control continues to be a priority in world health.

UICC President, HRH Princess Dina Mired, said: “We are extremely thankful that Qatar Airways is sup-porting UICC’s global efforts in cancer control and specifically taking on Breast Cancer this October. Qa-tar Airways’ dedication to disseminate awareness of Breast Cancer to their millions of passengers will go a long way in not only saving lives but also fighting stigma. Their commitment goes even further, as they are offering free mammograms to tens of thousands of their employees. This is highly commendable, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, show-casing that cancer patients’ early detection and screening services should not be forgotten.”

QRCS delivers first batch of medical equipment to Jerusalem’s Al Makassed Hospital

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

In cooperation with Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), the representation mission of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has implemented a project to purchase and upgrade medical equipment of the Al Makassed Islamic Char-itable Hospital in Jerusalem.

The hospital has received the first batch of medical equipment, which consisted of 20 syringe pumps.

In their comment, Dr. Sohail Miaadi, project officer, and Eng. Jihad Al Mousa, Head of Bio-m e d i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g Department, emphasised the

importance of the new long-awaited deliveries for the hos-pital, especially the adult and pediatric intensive care depart-ments, whose combined capacity is 88 beds.

Dr. Miaadi said this batch of equipment would be an addition to the other equipment already in use for years. This, he stressed, would ensure high-quality health services at the hospital’s various departments, including pediatric surgery, intensive care, and central lab, in light of the shortage in urgently needed equipment.

Apart from the delivered equipment, the following equipment would be procured

under the $250,000 project: 5 artificial ventilators (pediatric surgery and intensive care), 2 microscopes (central lab and anatomy department), and 2 ultrasound machines.

By virtue of this support, the hospital will be able to enhance its services and accelerate diagnosis and treatment. The direct benefi-ciaries are around 8,500 per year, including 160 in pedi-atric surgery, 160 in intensive care, 3,600 in central lab, and 4 , 5 0 0 i n s e v e r a l departments.

As the backbone of Pales-tinian health sector in Jerusalem, the Al-Makassed Hospital is in

dire need of support to continue to serve the patients and critical

cases, as well as to improve per-formance and proficiency.

DI webinar on role of libraries in distance learningTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI) organised a webinar on ‘The role of libraries in distance learning’, in which Library Director of DI, Dr. Nouf Al Khashman discussed the role of academic libraires in remote learning, the support they provide, the challenges faced as well as visualising the future libraries.

Dr. Nouf explained that it is not possible to look at academic libraries in isolation from research institutions to which they belong, as the factors of shifting higher education to remote learning are the same.

Dr. Nouf spoke about the increase use of e-resources within virtual classrooms, the connection of faculty members and students with library information specialists, the increase of student

engagement, and the reduce risk of copyright infringement. She pointed out the services provided by DI library, including advanced ref-erence services, training workshops, e-resources, and other services.

In terms of challenges, Dr. Nouf addressed the high cost of magazines, licensed data, and subscriptions, in addition to losing the value of printed resources these days. Referring in this context to the process of transition from ownership to accessibility, and the provision of service to users through digital resources, e-books, and database services.

Dr. Nouf Al Khashman

Customs declaration must for cash, items worth QR50,000 or aboveSIDI MOHAMED THE PENINSULA

The General Authority of Customs (GAC) has reminded travellers that any person upon entering or leaving the state and in possession of any currency, financial bearer negotiable instruments or precious metals or stones equivalent to or exceeding QR50,000 or its equivalent in foreign currencies, must fill the decla-ration form.

It also said: “False decla-ration, or refusal to provide additional information to the customs authorities may expose you to penalties that may amount to imprisonment or fines, as well as the seizure of such funds.”

The GAC said on its website: “Any person upon entering or leaving the state and in pos-session of any currency, financial bearer negotiable instruments or precious metals or stones equivalent to or

exceeding QR50,000 or its equivalent in foreign cur-rencies, must fill the declaration form, and any additional infor-mation requested by the customs officer must also be provided.”

It also added that exporters and importers must abide by the following: Obtain prior approval from Qatar Central Bank when exporting or importing currencies.

For non-profit organization, the GAC said they also have to obtain prior approval from the regulatory authority for chari-table activities when shipping all materials used for charitable work.

The General Authority of Customs has urged people to provide all the information requested by the customs officer, and also to fill out the customs declaration form and attach to it documents related to the shipment, invoices, cer-tificates of origin and any other documents.

The implementation of this system is in accordance with the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Ter-rorism Financing Law No. 20 of 2019 and the decision of the council of ministers to issue the Executive Regulations No. 41 of 2019.

Nawaf Majed Al Kuwari, Head of the Control and External Audit Department, has said the GAC provides many workshops to employees, some of them are technical work-shops, dealing with devices and identifying counterfeit goods.

“We also provide other aca-demic training workshops in theoretical aspects,” he said.

Qatar has achieved recently first place in the world in the number of customs seizures related to combating the smug-gling of preventive and treatment products for the coronavirus (COVID-19), such as disinfection materials, ster-ilizers, medical masks and others.

Qatar calls for removing Sudan from list of states sponsoring terrorismQNA — GENEVA

The State of Qatar affirmed its firm position towards supporting the unity, stability, sovereignty of Sudan and the right of the Sudanese people to fulfill their aspirations for freedom, peace and justice, in order to achieve development in all fields.

This came in the speech of Qatar delivered by the State of Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva H E Ambas-sador Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri, during the enhanced interactive dia-logue on the report of the independent expert on Sudan.

He said that Qatar welcomes the holding of this enhanced interactive dialogue and hopes that it will contribute to further pro-motion and protection of human rights in Sudan. Al Mansouri added that Qatar values the positive developments that occurred in Sudan with the transitional government and a number of armed movements ini-tialing the peace agreement in Juba, and Qatar looks forward to the joining of the rest of the factions to the peace process, which would lead to the achievement of a lasting and just peace in all parts of the country.

He stressed that Qatar noted the challenges that the inde-pendent expert mentioned in his report, especially those related to the negative impact of the continued classification of Sudan on the list of states sponsoring terrorism, and calls to remove the name of Sudan from this list, in order to facilitate its efforts to overcome the obstacles faced at this critical stage in its history.

The State of Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva Ambassador Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri said that Qatar renews its call and urges the Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the nec-essary technical support to build and strengthen human rights capacities in Sudan, with the importance of taking into account the main priorities of the government of Sudan, its needs, and its commitments.

FROM PAGE 1

“Until the world reaches the herd immunity, and the avail-ability of a vaccine, there are several measures will have to be put in place to control the pandemic. This may run into most part of 2021.

“Under such circum-stances, sports family will have to have a meticulous planning in place instituted in all such events to effectively mitigate the disease, to prevent mor-tality from the disease. Here we saw most of the cases were asymptomatic, very mild symptoms that appeared and disappeared in a few days and only a few required critical care in hospitals.

“With this huge expe-rience, hosting AFC tour-nament successfully, I have to say, with a big number of clubs - 16 teams - this is like 50 percent of a World Cup. World Cup starts with 32 teams and we had 16 teams here. Hopefully when things are better, the thing will remain is the fans (attending in the future).

“The arrangements were, however, huge regardless of no fans. The added layers of security and safety protocols was huge. The hosting here successfully gives us assurance that the country is ready for the international sporting events in the future. This experience gives us a boost on our understanding and experience. If for any reason, any sports event happens in the future happens in the context of similar situations of a pan-demic, the country is surely capable of managing it suc-cessfully,” he added.

Bubble-to-bubble:Qatar’s safety‘package’ impressesAsian football body

FROM PAGE 1

Ambassador Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri added that Palestinian development cannot be achieved as long as Israeli occupation and illegal settlement activ-ities continue. He highlighted the lack of freedom of movement of people and goods in the besieged Gaza strip. He praised the important work carried out by the UNCTAD to support Palestinian development, calling on the international community to allocate

more resources to help the Palestinian people and to help build Palestinian institutions, in order to build an independent and stable economy.

Al Mansouri expressed his condolences to the leadership and people of the State of Kuwait on the death of H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, an Arab icon renowned for his human-itarian and diplomatic efforts in the world and particularly in the region.

Qatar reiterates support for Palestinian cause

Written and directed by Shaima Al Tamimi and Mariam Salim, the film ‘Voices from the Urbanscape’ depicts Doha as a rapidly growing 21st-century cosmopolitan city with a mission and pays tribute to the diverse communities who help build Qatar.

04 SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Makkah toreopen forUmrah fromtomorrow

AFP — RIYADH

Saudi Arabia will reopen the Muslim holy places for the year-round umrah pilgrimage tomorrow, scaled back and with extensive health precau-tions, seven months after coro-navirus prompted its suspension.

The Umrah, the pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time, usually attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe each year.

It will be revived in three stages, with the initial phase seeing just 6,000 citizens and residents already within the kingdom allowed to take part each day.

“In the first stage, the Umrah will be performed meticulously and within a specified period of time,” Haj Minister Mohammad Benten told state television last week.

He said pilgrims will be divided into groups to ensure social distancing within the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Worshippers will tomorrow be able to perform the ritual of circling the sacred Kaaba — a cubic structure inside the Grand Mosque towards which Muslims around the world pray — along socially distanced paths.

On October 18, the number of pilgrims will be increased to 15,000 per day, with a maximum of 40,000 people allowed to perform prayers at the mosque. Visitors from abroad will be permitted from November 1, when capacity will be raised to 20,000 pilgrims, with 60,000 people allowed into the mosque.

The decision to resume the pilgrimage was in response to the “aspirations of Muslims home and abroad” to perform the ritual and visit the holy sites, the interior ministry said last month.

It added that the Umrah would be allowed to return to full capacity once the threat of the pandemic has abated.

Until then, the health min-istry will vet countries from which pilgrims are allowed to enter based on the health risks.

Lebanon orders lockdown of 111towns, villages to curb virusAP — BEIRUT

Authorities yesterday ordered the lockdown of more than 100 towns and villages across Lebanon after hundreds of people tested positive for the coronavirus in recent days and amid a shortage of hospital beds.

Outgoing Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi said in a statement the complete lockdown of 111 towns and vil-lages will go into effect tomorrow morning and last until October 12.

Lebanon has witnessed a sharp increase of cases in recent weeks with more than 40,000 cases registered since February

in the small country of 5 million. The country has registered 374 deaths so far.

On Thursday alone, new 1,248 cases were reported over 24 hours as well as seven deaths, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The World Health Organi-zation reported this week that the occupancy rate of beds in intensive care units dedicated to coronavirus cases has reached 84 percent, while occu-pancy rate for regular beds reached 63 percent.

Fahmi’s order listed the names of towns in villages in northern, southern, central and eastern Lebanon as well as some suburbs of Beirut, saying

all state and private institutions will be closed during the period.

It added that all social events and gatherings will be cancelled and the ministry will coordinate with local religious officials over the closure of places of worship and religious events.

The minister said a nationwide curfew that starts an hour after midnight until sunrise remains in force.

Earlier this week, a minis-terial committee adopted a system to determine the daily cases rate in different areas of Lebanon. The measure, known as the “traffic light system,” aims to determine the degree of con-tainment in different regions.

United Nations peacekeeping force vehicles patrol the area of Naqura, south of the Lebanese city of Tyre, on the border with Israel, yesterday. Lebanon and Israel said they will hold US-brokered negotiations on their disputed maritime border.

UN vehicles patrol Lebanese area

Israeli minister quits govt over COVID-19 curbs on protestsAP — JERUSALEM

Israel’s tourism minister resigned from the fractious government yesterday, saying he doesn’t have an “ounce of trust” in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and accusing him of putting his personal and legal issues ahead of the response to the corona-virus crisis.

Asaf Zamir is a member of the centrist Blue and White Party, which battled Netan-yahu’s right-wing Likud in three successive elections in under a year before forming an emer-gency government with it in May to combat the pandemic.

Israel went into a second nationwide lockdown last month and is now grappling with one of the worst outbreaks

in the world on a per capita basis. The emergency gov-ernment has been roiled by infighting and has faced wide-spread criticism over its con-fusing and often contradictory response to the pandemic.

“I can no longer sit in a gov-ernment in which I don’t have an ounce of trust in the person at its head,” Zamir tweeted.

“I have unfortunately deter-mined that the coronavirus crisis and its terrible impact is at best in second place in the list of priorities of the prime minister. Personal and legal considerations are at the top of Netanyahu’s priorities.”

Netanyahu has been the target of weekly demonstra-tions outside his official resi-dence for months, with pro-testers calling on him to resign

over his trial on multiple cor-ruption allegations and his response to the pandemic.

Earlier this week, Israel’s

parliament passed a law that would allow the government to curtail public protests during the lockdown, as Netanyahu’s critics accused him of trying to muzzle dissent. Netanyahu says the restrictions are needed to prevent transmission of the virus.

The Likud slammed Zamir’s decision to step down, accusing him of playing politics at a time when Netanyahu is “fighting around the clock in order to save the lives and the liveli-hoods of Israeli citizens.”

“Blue and White needs to decide if they are working in unison within the government in fighting the coronavirus or if they are continuing to create chaos within the government and therefore harm the nec-essary actions for the sake of

Israeli citizens.” Israel garnered praise last spring when it moved quickly to seal its borders, close most businesses and impose strict stay-at-home orders. By May the rate of new daily cases had dropped to around a dozen.

But that month authorities abruptly reopened the economy, lifting nearly all restrictions. Case numbers have soared since then, with the country now reporting more than 7,000 new infections a day and authorities warning that hospitals could soon be overwhelmed. The economy has meanwhile been slow to recover.

Israel, with a population of just 9 million, has reported a total of more than 250,000 cases and more than 1,600 deaths.

Libyan medical workers arrive to start an awareness campaign on COVID-19 at Friday market shops in the capital Tripoli. It is impossible to gauge the full extent of the epidemic in Libya, a country mired in chaos since 2011. But it is clear that there has been a surge in cases in recent weeks, heaping further pressure on overburdened services.

Raising awareness

UN registers maritime deal between Libya’s UN-backed govt, TurkeyAP — ANKARA

The United Nations has regis-tered a maritime delineation deal reached between Turkey and Libya’s UN-backed government, the Turkish Defence Ministry announced yesterday.

Last year, Turkey and the

Government of National Accord, or GNA, which is based in Tripoli, reached a memorandum of understanding demarcating their maritime boundaries.

The agreement, which would allow them to lay claim to large areas of the Mediter-ranean Sea and potential energy deposits, was denounced by

Greece, Cyprus and other nations.

“The UN has registered the maritime jurisdiction deal as agreed between Turkey and Libya,” the ministry announced on its Twitter account.” Our deep ties with Libya based on over 500 years of history will con-tinue to strengthen.” Greece and

Cyprus have protested the deal, which added tension to an ongoing dispute over oil-and-gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey and the GNA also signed a security and military cooperation agreement last year. Turkey earlier this year sent troops, Syrian mercenaries and

other military support that helped the GNA repel an assault by the rival, eastern-based Libyan National Army and shifted the tide of the conflict.

“We will continue to provide training and advisory services to the UN-recognised, legitimate government of Libya,” the min-istry said.

Turkey orders detention of 17 over role in violent protestsREUTERS — ISTANBUL

A Turkish court ordered the pre-trial detention yesterday of 17 people, including senior pro-Kurdish opposition members, for their role in violent protests against the army’s inaction during a militant attack on the Syrian Kurdish town Kobani.

As well as ordering the formal arrest of 17 people, the Ankara court released three other detainees subject to judicial supervision, the state news agency Anadolu reported. A party source said the same. They were among 82 people ordered detained a week ago.

Turkish authorities said the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a ter-rorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union, incited the protests and

that the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) sup-ported them. The HDP, the third largest party, denies links to ter-rorism. Also yesterday, the Interior Ministry said the mayor of northeastern province Kars, Ayhan Bilgen, who was among those remanded in custody, was removed from his position and replaced by the provincial governor.

This means the authorities have now removed all of HDP’s provincial mayors who were elected in March last year.

The party now holds six town and district municipalities, compared to the 65 it won in total last year. Bilgen had said two days ago that he would resign from his position, in an apparent effort to prevent Ankara from appointing an official in his place.

OPCW probe inconclusive onchemical use in 2 Syria attacksAP — THE HAGUE

The global chemical weapons watchdog said yesterday that two investigations into alleged attacks in Syria in 2016 and 2018 couldn’t establish that chemicals were used as weapons in either case.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons issued two reports by its Fact-Finding Mission into attacks in Saraqib in the Idlib region on August 1, 2016, and in Aleppo on November 24, 2018.

The report on the Saraqib attack said that open source reports suggested around 30 people, mainly women and

children experienced breathing difficulties. The reports also “indicated the presence of a substance with an odor similar to that of chlorine,” the OPCW report said.

Opposition groups blamed the attack on Syrian gov-ernment forces, an allegation Syria rejected, the OPCW report said.

The Fact-Finding Mission wasn’t able to visit the site of the alleged incident or the hos-pital where injured victims were treated. It had to rely on data including interviews, hos-pital records and videos and photographs.

Its investigations and analysis “did not allow the FFM

to establish whether or not chemicals were used as a weapon,” according to the report issued yesterday.

The alleged chlorine attack in Aleppo was blamed on rebel forces.

“Social media reported that armed opposition groups dis-missed accusations that they had used poisonous gases to attack areas controlled by the government in the city of Aleppo,” the OPCW report said.

Despite visiting hospitals to collect medical records and analyzing samples, the Aleppo investigation also didn’t establish whether chemicals were used as a weapon, the report said.

A passenger wearing a protective face mask is disinfected at the Damascus International airport in the Syrian capital on Thursday.

Taking precautions

Tourism Minister Asaf Zamir is a member of the centrist Blue and White Party, which battled Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud in three successive elections in under a year before forming an emergency government with it in May to combat the pandemic.

05SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020 AFRICA

US, Morocco sign 10-yearmilitary cooperation dealAFP — RABAT

US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper signed a military cooper-ation deal yesterday with Morocco, his final stop on a North Africa tour aimed at beefing up the fight against militants in war-torn Libya and the Sahel.

His visit came as talks between Libyan rivals were set to restart yesterday evening in Bouznika, near Rabat, according to a Moroccan official.

Washington sees the kingdom as a key ally in a region destabilised by years of conflict in Libya and turmoil in the Sahel region.

Esper yesterday signed a 10-year military cooperation deal with Rabat, two days after signing a similar deal in Tunisia.

“Now more than ever, our two nations are working closely together to tackle the challenges of the increasingly complex security environment, ranging from counterterrorism and other transnational threats to regional instability and broader

strategic challenges,” he said before the signing.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita hailed the deal as “reaffirm(ing) clearly that our alliance is strong and here to stay”, citing major challenges including “terrorism, violent extremism and all kinds of separatism”.

During his visit, Esper also met army chief Abdelfattah Louarak and the minister in charge of defence adminis-tration, Abdellatif Loudiyi.

The goal of his visit was to reinforce cooperation between the United States and Morocco, which already hosts the largest annual US joint military exercise in Africa, “African Lion” -- although this was cancelled this year due to the novel corona-virus pandemic.

The US is Morocco’s top arms supplier, selling it combat aircraft, ships, tanks and armoured vehicles.

Esper also signed a 10-year military cooperation deal with Tunis on Wednesday, hailing their collaboration over the conflict in Libya.

In a speech at an American war cemetary in Carthage, he accused US rivals China and Russia of using “malign, coercive, and predatory behaviour” to undermine African institutions and expand their “authoritarian influence”.

But on Thursday, he visited Russian and Chinese ally Algeria, becoming the first US defence chief to do so since Donald Rumsfeld almost 15 years ago.

Algeria is trying to

reactivate its role on the regional diplomatic scene, including as a mediator in the conflicts in Mali and Libya.

Its arch-rival Morocco hosted talks last month between parliamentary representatives of the major adversaries in Libya’s complex conflict, the Tripoli-based Government of

National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj, and the eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar

The meetings came five years after Morocco hosted peace talks that led to the cre-ation of the UN-recognised GNA in a bid to end what has now been almost a decade of

violence since the 2011 toppling of dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Morocco’s foreign minister also visited Mali last month, meeting transitional president Bah Ndaw and his deputy, Colonel Assimi Goita, leader of a military coup that overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August.

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper (left) sings a military cooperation deal with Morocco’s Minister Delegate of National Defense Abdellatif Loudiyi yesterday, in the capital Rabat.

Nigerian schools to reopen on October 12 as virus cases fallAFP — ABUJA

Nigerian schools are to reopen fully on October 12 following a decline in new coronavirus cases in the country, the education minister announced yesterday.

Africa’s most populous nation shut down schools in March, in a bid to curb the

spread of the virus.Last month, authorities

allowed a partial reopening of schools for graduating students as they moved to ease measures imposed in the wake of the pandemic.

The number of new daily infections, which peaked at an average of 700 in July and

August, have come down to 200, Education minister Adamu Adamu said.

In light of this decline, Adamu told reporters in the capital Abuja that “all 104 Unity Colleges” could reopen.

The government has also directed states and private schools to work out the

modalities for reopening, but advised them to comply with COVID-19 safety and health guidelines.

“Let me warn that any school owner that does not comply with these guidelines and an outbreak occurs in the school due to negligence, risks closure,” Adamu said.

Nigeria has made wearing face masks compulsory, and advised citizens to maintain social distancing and continue washing hands with soap or san-itisers. The virus has so far infected 59,001 and claimed 1,112 lives out of a population of 200 million, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Tunisia reports

daily virus record

of 1,308 cases

REUTERS — TUNIS

Tunisia recorded 1,308 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the health ministry said yesterday, a record since the start of the pandemic, prompting the government to impose a night curfew in two governorates.

The total number of cases has jumped to around 20,000 compared with roughly 1,000 cases before the country’s borders were opened on June 27. The total number of deaths has reached 271, the Health Ministry said.

The authorities on Thursday imposed a night curfew in Sousse and Monastir, two coastal governorates, to curb the increase in infections, amid fears that hospitals will be unable to cope with a high number of patients because of the shortage of intensive care beds.

Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said this week that it was unthinkable to re-impose a general lockdown because of the unprecedented eco-nomic collapse caused by the first lockdown begun in March.

Tunis ia ’s tourism-dependent economy shrank 21.6 pct in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year as a result of the pandemic and measures to curb it.

Zimbabwean shoppers rush into South Africa as borders openAFP — MUSINA, SOUTH AFRICA

Zimbabwean street vendor Memory Chauke did not get very far when she hopped over a fence into neighbouring South Africa on the first day its borders reopened after a six-month closure due to the coro-navirus pandemic.

South African patrol guards had anticipated that Zimba-bweans would resume illegal crossings into the country to buy goods as soon as travel restrictions were lifted.

Hundreds were arrested as they tried to smuggle groceries back to impoverished Zim-babwe, where an economic downturn and rampant hyper-inflation have destroyed livelihoods.

Chauke was caught on the way back to her village, on a gravel road around 500 metres away from the official Beit-bridge border post.

She looked sombre and exhausted as she sat under a large thorn tree, surrounded by grocery bags.

Chauke said it was the first time she had been arrested during crossing.

“I always run,” she said. “Today, I didn’t manage.

The 45-year-old mother of

five had just walked more than 20km to South Africa’s north-ernmost town of Musina and bought goods she planned to resell in Zimbabwe for a profit.

“Where we stay there is no food, there is not enough food so we are hungry,” she said. “We come to nearby shops and buy cheaper food, then go back to Zimbabwe.”

Others sat on the ground alongside her, clutching recently purchased pots, maize meal, fuel and even sofas and a bed as they awaited their fate.

Many Zimbabweans rely on goods bought from richer South Africa for basic supplies, and informal cross-border trade is a lucrative business.

Some traders go as far as risking the treacherous croc-odile-infested Limpopo river which divides the two countries to reach more affordably-priced South African stores.

“It’s so dangerous but there is nothing I can do,” said Chauke, who had not dared to venture across the border since South Africa locked down on March 27.

She hoped to beg for for-giveness and “go back to my kids”.

South Africa, the continent’s hardest-hit country by

COVID-19, reopened some land borders as well as its three main airports on October 1.

Zimbabwean authorities had also planned to resume international travel on the same day. But the Beitbridge border post, one of the Africa’s busiest crossings, has remained shut on the Zimbabwean side.

Private vehicles were stopped at the gate and told to turn back.

Only commercial trucks, which were already exempt from travel restrictions, were allowed through.

“We haven’t opened the

Beitbridge border as yet,” Zim-babwe’s Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe told local media on Thursday, without giving a reason for the delay.

South African border patrols said they still intercepted many Zimbabweans jumping the fence on Thursday.

“There was a slight increase in numbers but for most of them it was with regard to the gro-ceries,” military official David Mathetsha told AFP.

“A hungry stomach is capable of doing anything,” he explained, adding that officers had confiscated a variety of

goods and bulk purchases.Mathetsha said that thou-

sands of Zimbabweans crossed into South Africa each day before the pandemic.

“At some stage you would arrest one person more than 20 times,” he recalled.

The fence separating South Africa and Zimbabwe has been notoriously porous since its de-electrification in 1994.

A multi-million rand renewal project was put on hold earlier this year after South Africa’s parliament deemed a new stretch of fencing inade-quate and overpriced.

Suspected undocumented Zimbabwean nationals wait after being rounded-up by South African National Defence Force after attempting to illegally cross the border fence to smuggle goods and fuel into Zimbabwe from South Africa near the Beitbridge border post, near Musina, yesterday.

DR Congo militia fightingkills 11 despite peace dealAFP — BUNIA

Fighting between DR Congo’s regular army and a militia force has claimed 11 lives and breached a peace deal in the conflict-plagued northeast of the country, according to UN sources.

In the violence overnight Wednesday, three soldiers, six militia fighters and two civilians were killed in Ituri province, the UN Radio Okapi reported.

“Ten people were seriously wounded, among them six militia members and four sol-diers,” the report said late Thursday.

The Front for Patriotic Resistance in Ituri (FRPI), one of many rebel movements

active in eastern DR Congo, signed a peace accord with the government on February 28 this year, in the presence of the United Nations.

The accord provided for a ceasefire and the integration of FRPI fighters into the army, with draft legislation to give an amnesty to the rebels except in cases of war crimes or crimes against humanity.

Under the deal, the militia members — several hundred men — have since been con-fined to their quarters awaiting their transfer to the armed forces (FARDC).

The overnight battle is believed to have broken out when FARDC soldiers opened fire to disperse FRPI fighters

who attempted to attack a mil-itary command post.

The FRPI has remained active since ethnic conflict took tens of thousands of lives in Ituri between 1999 and 2003, until a European military force named Operation Artemis intervened under French leadership.

One of the militia’s leaders, Germain Katanga, was released from prison in March, after the International Criminal Court reduced a 12-year sentence imposed in 2014 for a con-viction on war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Katanga was serving his term in DRC’s capital Kinshasa after being repatriated from the ICC in The Hague in 2015.

Ethiopia region arrests 503 on feared violence at festivalREUTERS — ADDIS ABABA

Police in Ethiopia’s Oromiya region have arrested 503 people on accusations they planned to cause violence during an annual thanksgiving festival this weekend and seized guns and hand grenades, the state-run news agency reported.

State-affiliated Fana Broadcasting also reported yesterday that police and intelligence services had foiled what they said were plans to incite violence in Addis Ababa and other parts of Ethiopia ahead of the Irreecha festival of the Oromo, the coun-try’s largest ethnic group.

The latest arrests happened a week after Ethiopia’s attorney general said about 2,000 people had been charged over deadly violence after the killing of popular Oromo musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa in June.

Ethiopia News Agency, quoting Oromiya region police com-missioner Ararsa Merdasa, said on Thursday officers seized guns and hand grenades during the arrests, ahead of a celebration in the capital Addis Ababa today and in Bishoftu in the Oromiya region of Ethiopia tomorrow.

In the violence following the musician’s killing in June, at least 166 people were killed. More than 9,000 people were arrested, including some politicians from Oromiya, Ethiopia’s most pop-ulous province and the home of the murdered singer.

South African union threatens strike at mines

REUTERS — JOHANNESBURG

South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) threatened yesterday to call a strike at mining companies De Beers, Exxaro and Petra Diamonds after failing to reach wage agreements.

NUM, one of the biggest mining unions in South Africa, said it had secured a certificate to stage a strike after talks on a wage settlement in mediation with the companies at the Com-mission for Conciliation, Medi-ation and Arbitration (CCMA) came to no agreement.

It said it was finalising pick-eting rules with the CCMA but did not say when the strike would go ahead. “It is going to be a big, big fight,” said William Mabapa, NUM Chief Negotiator at the three companies, said in a statement.

“Food prices, fuel prices and general inflation had sky-rocketed. There is just no room for peanuts increases and for that, we are prepared for war.” De Beers, a unit of Anglo American, Petra Diamonds and Exxaro did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita hailed the deal as “reaffirm(ing) clearly that our alliance is strong and here to stay”, citing major challenges including “terrorism, violent extremism and all kinds of separatism”.

06 SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020ASIA

Virus fatalities in Mumbai region surpass 16,000IANS — MUMBAI

COVID-19 deaths and cases continued to cause concern as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region toll crossed the 16,000 mark — higher than all states barring Maharashtra — while Mumbai city fatalities surpassed 9,000-level, health officials said here yesterday.

The state witnessed 424 deaths yesterday, lower than the peak of 515 (September 15), and the death toll zoomed from 37,056 to 37,480 now.

The state recorded 15,591 new patients — though lower than the peak single-day tally of 24,886 (Sepember 11) - pushing up the state total from 14,00,922 to 14,16,513 cases till date. In a relief, the state recovery rate also shot up for the third day — from 78.84 per cent to 78.91 percent — while the current mortality (death) rate stood at 2.65 percent yesterday.

Against this, 13,294 fully recovered patients returned home taking up the total number of discharged patients from 11,04,426 to 11,17,720 till

date — much higher than the 260,876 ‘active cases’ (ill) cur-rently in the state.

As per the figures yesterday, there was one death roughly every 3.39 minutes and 650 new cases added every hour to the state tally.

Of the 424 deaths, Raigad led the state with a staggering 90 fatalities, 46 in Pune, 42 each in Mumbai and Satara, 29 in Nagpur, 24 in Nashik, 20 each in Solapur and Sangli, 19 in Thane and 10 in Palghar - in the higher bracket.

There were 8 fatalities in Osmanabad, 7 each in Kolhapur and Bhandara, 6 in Latur, 5 each in Jalgaon, Aurangabad and Yavatmal, 4 each in Ahmed-nagar, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Beed and Chandrapur, 3 each

in Hingoli, Nanded and Wardha, 2 each in Dhule and Gondia, 1 each in Nandurbar, Parbhani, Akola and Buldhana, besides 2 from other states or foreigners - in the lower bracket.

Remaining in the sub-50 range for the second day this month, Mumbai recorded 42 fatalities, and the city toll crossed the 9,000-mark, shooting up from 8,972 to 9,014 while the number of corona cases shot up by 2,440 and the city total zoomed fromA207,620 to 210,060 now.

Of the total 8 Circles, the sit-uation in Mumbai circle (MMR - comprising Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad) remains on the edge as deaths spiral and cases pile up.

The MMR fatalities sur-passed the 16,000-level, shooting up by 161 — taking up the toll from 15,949 to 16,110 and with another spike of 4,937 new infectees, the total cases shot up from 486,064 the pre-vious day to 491,001 now.

With another 108 fatalities, the Pune circle’s (comprising Pune, Solapur and Satara dis-tricts) death toll increased from

7,980 to 8,088 and the daily case tally zoomed up by 3,649 - from 369,779 a day earlier to 373,428 cases now.

Nashik circle recorded 3,748 fatalities and 188,557 cases, fol-lowed by Kolhapur circle’s 2,957 deaths and 96,007 cases, and

Nagpur circle recorded 2,549 deaths and 111,497 cases.

Latur circle recorded 1,573 deaths and 57,855 cases, Aurangabad circle had 1,353 fatalities and 53,356 cases, fol-lowed by Akola circle with 958 deaths and 3,171 cases.

Meanwhile, the number of people sent to home-quarantine for corona increased — from 21,74,651 to 21,94,347 now — while the number of those in institutional quarantine went up from 28,720 to 29,051 yesterday.

A prisoner (sitting) undergoes a COVID-19 test at a medical clinic in the premises of Sabarmati Central Jail, in Ahmedbad, Gujarat, yesterday.

Sri Lanka asks oil tanker to pay $2m fire-fighting billAFP — COLOMBO

Sri Lanka will not allow a Pana-manian-registered oil tanker stricken off its coast to leave its waters until the vessel’s owners pay a $2m fire-fighting bill, government officials have said.

The New Diamond, carrying 270,000 tonnes of crude, was en-route from Kuwait to India when an engine room explosion on September 3 killed a Filipino crewman and set off a massive fire.

Firefighters from Sri Lanka and India battled and put out the

blaze on the vessel, which is now tied to a tug boat and guarded by a Sri Lankan navy ship some 140km east of the Indian Ocean island.

Official sources said the owners of the tanker had planned to begin towing the stricken vessel to the United Arab Emirates.

But Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Agency (MEPA) said on Thursday the ship can leave only after paying a $2.38m bill for firefighting and compen-

sation for marine pollution.Last week, Sri Lanka had

said the tanker’s owner, Liberian-registered Porto Emporios Shipping Inc, had agreed to pay the firefighting costs, but on Thursday announced that no payment had yet been received.

“MEPA will grant approval to tow the ship away from of Sri Lankan waters... once the nego-tiation process (for payment) is completed,” the agency said in a letter to the navy.

The vessel is managed by

New Shipping Limited of Greece. The remaining 22 crew of the New Diamond were rescued and are in quarantine as a pre-caution against the coronavirus in the southern port city of Galle.

The vessel leaked some of its heavy fuel oil but salvage workers have since fixed the rupture, the navy said adding that there was no risk of its crude oil cargo leaking.

Sri Lanka has said it wants to charge the skipper of the tanker for negligence and causing pollution.

Myanmar election app goes offlineREUTERS — YANGON

A smartphone app produced for Myanmar’s November 8 election with help from inter-national organisations appears to have been removed from circulation and may be amended after criticism over its use of a label for Rohingya Muslims that the Rohingya view as derogatory.

The mVoter2020 app, launched on Tuesday and aimed at improving voter awareness, labels at least two candidates belonging to the Rohingya ethnic group as “Bengali”, a term that implies they are immigrants from Bangladesh and is rejected by many Rohingya.

The app was not available to download for mobile and a web version was inaccessible on Friday, bringing up an error message that read “Server is temporarily closed”.

Marcus Brand, the country director of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (Interna-tional IDEA), which is based in Stockholm and helped develop the app, said he understood it had been removed while dis-cussions were ongoing but did not have further details.

Brand said the group was advising the removal of con-tentious words used to identify c a n d i d a t e s ’ e t h n i c background.

“We are advocating the electoral authorities to remove this information from the app in order to ensure candidate security and… increase the integrity of the process,” he said, adding he hoped the app

would go back online soon.The app was developed by

Myanmar’s Union Election Commission (UEC), with support from STEP Democracy, a European Union-funded project implemented in Myanmar by International IDEA, and the US-based Asia Foundation.

Pierre Michel, public diplomacy adviser to the EU’s Myanmar mission, told Reuters the EU “should have been warned about the inclusion of discriminatory data” in the app and was “considering all options” as to how to respond.

The UEC and Asia Foun-dation did not respond imme-diately to requests for comment.

Brand said International IDEA’s role was to digitize can-didate registration forms for a database and that it did not have “technical nor editorial control” over the app’s content. The UEC requires applicants to submit citizenship documents that classify them by their race and religion.

“We do not generally think that advertising the ethnic and religious identification of can-didates is advisable in the Myanmar context,” Brand said.

Activist group Justice for Myanmar said in a statement on Wednesday that the app risked “inflaming ethnic and religious nationalism during the election”.

Aye Win, one of the Rohingya candidates, told Reuters he was informed by the UEC on Friday that he was being disqualified, although it was not clear if this was related to the app.

Thailand’s ‘Bad Student’

campaigners demand

minister’s resignation

REUTERS — BANGKOK

Thailand’s self-styled “Bad Student” campaigners demanded the resignation of Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan yesterday after touring some of Bangkok’s high schools in a brightly painted truck and calling for reforms.

“Get out, get out, get out!” they chanted from the open-top truck after it parked in front of the steps of the Education Ministry.

The group, part of a broader protest movement that has gained momentum in Thailand since July and is calling for greater democracy, also threw thousands of copies of a mock resignation letter from the min-ister into the air.

“This is a man without any qualifications,” said Laponpat Wangpaisit, an activist from the group.

The minister was not in Bangkok, but senior officials met the students.

“We received the petition from the stu-dents and will investigate them,” Permanent Secretary of Education, Supatra Champa-thong, said. The resignation letter, with a space left for Nataphol to sign, will be passed onto the minister, he added.

Nataphol did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier, the group visited schools throughout the capital, cheered on by pupils who have also demanded educational reforms including an end to harassment and to school rules they say are outdated.

From behind school gates, pupils cheered the protesters, sang songs mocking school rules and gave the three-finger salute of pro-democracy campaigners. At one school, pupils put a sign on the gate saying: “Teachers at

this school harass students.” Student cam-paigners complain that Thailand’s school system is geared more towards instilling obe-dience than education.

Concerns over the harsh treatment of pupils have risen this week after the emer-gence of closed-circuit camera footage of teachers hitting young children. The clips prompted outrage and calls for measures to be taken against the schools.

Students take part in a rally of the Bad Student movement demanding the education minister’s resignation at a school in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday.

Duterte ally seeks Philippine Senate

probe on Facebook ‘censorship’

REUTERS — MANILA

A Philippine senator yesterday sought an inquiry into what he described as “censorship” by Facebook after the social media giant took down a network of accounts it said were inau-thentic including one the government supports.

Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, who is an ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, filed a reso-lution calling for a probe just days after the presidential office accused Facebook of censoring pro-government content.

“There is an urgent need for the senate to investigate the censorship done by Facebook considering that it affects not only peace and order, and security of our country, but likewise greatly affects every Filipino’s freedom of expression,” Dela Rosa said in a resolution.

Duterte, whose allies dom-inate both the upper and lower

chambers of congress, has created a powerful support base on social media platforms like Facebook, which was instrumental in his election victory in 2016.

Facebook last week dis-mantled a network of accounts that originated from China and the Philippines for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”, including one that Manila says it supports for its anti-communism stance.

Duterte responded by warning Facebook that it should explain what its purpose is in his country if it wants to continue to operate.

Dela Rosa, a former police chief who was the chief enforcer of Duterte’s bloody anti-narcotics crackdown, said Facebook engaged in a “cen-sorship campaign” against an advocacy group fighting the recruitment of communist rebels, hampering efforts to prevent the spread of violent extremism.

Malaysian leaders draw flak after post-election virus jumpREUTERS — KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysians took to social media yesterday to lambast politicians for violating social distancing protocols and refusing to self-isolate, after the country recorded its second-highest spike in daily coronavirus cases following a state election last week.

The Southeast Asian country has reported a steady climb in cases after an increase in travellers to Sabah, on Borneo island, ahead of its state polls last Saturday.

Malaysia recorded 287 new cases yesterday, the highest daily rise since it started tracking the spread of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government has been criticised for failing to impose controls such as mandatory screening for travellers from Sabah prior to the election, and for allowing people to cut short a 14-day home quarantine

order if they tested negative for the virus.

Muhyiddin’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but health officials have defended not announcing control measures sooner, saying authorities did not want to dis-courage Sabah voters from returning home to cast their ballots.

However, health ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said yesterday that the spike in Sabah could have been mitigated by compliance with guidelines set by the min-istry on minimising physical contact.

“The issue now is the non-compliance to SOP at every level,” Noor Hisham said at a news conference, referring to the ministry’s guidelines.

“We are not blaming (anyone), but we are reminding... we hope that all of us learn this lesson so we do not repeat this mistake again.”

From the early stages of the pandemic, Malaysia’s health ministry prescribed guidelines to minimise the spread of the virus, which included wearing face masks, maintaining a dis-tance of at least 1 metre between people and washing hands regularly with soap.

The hashtags #Politician-sCauseVirus and #Minister-Cluster were trending on Twitter in Malaysia yesterday after ministers and political figures were reported attending public events upon their return from campaigning in the state.

At least two politicians tested positive on the cam-paign trail, while cases linked to travel to Sabah have been recorded in all 13 Malaysian states.

“Why didn’t you quar-antine yourself for 14 days?” Twitter user @safiqshahid asked Federal Territories Min-ister Annuar Musa who posted photos of himself at a business

congress after returning from Sabah this week.

In a statement, Annuar’s press secretary denied that the minister had breached quar-antine rules, saying he had already completed self-iso-lation and tested negative days before the election.

Some Twitter users also raised concerns over risks posed by national elections, which could be called as early as this year amid uncertainty over the stability of the ruling alliance, which has only a two-seat majority in parliament.

Muhyiddin is facing a lead-ership challenge from oppo-sition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who said last week he had secured the support from a majority of lawmakers to form a government.

Malaysia has reported 11,771 coronavirus cases so far, including 136 deaths. The economy has contracted for the first time since the 2009 global financial crisis.

The state witnessed 424 deaths yesterday, lower than the peak of 515 (September 15), and the death toll zoomed from 37,056 to 37,480 now.

07SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020 ASIA

Australia, New Zealandto partially open bordersas virus cases declineREUTERS — SYDNEY

Australia will within weeks allow residents of New Zealand to enter the country without having to quarantine, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said yesterday, as Canberra seeks to revive its ailing economy as COVID-19 cases begin to slow.

Australia in March closed its borders to all non-citizens and non-permanent residents to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Opening its borders for the first time to foreigners, McCormack said New Zealand citizens and residents will be allowed to travel to Australia’s most populous state New South Wales and its remote Northern Territory from October 16.

They will not have to undergo a two-week mandatory quar-antine, which is required of all Australians returning from other nations.

“This is the first stage in what we hope to see as a trans- Tasman bubble between the two countries,” McCormack told reporters in Canberra.

New Zealand has effectively eradicated COVID-19, reducing the threat of additional infections in Australia.

While Australia has eased restrictions on its closest ally, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said earlier on Friday those who travel to Aus-tralia would have to quarantine on their return.

She also said New Zealand

would not open its borders to Australians for now.

The travel route is a boost to Australia’s economy, which shrank 7 percent in the three months ended June, the most since records began in 1959, as virus curbs paralysed business activity.

New Zealand is Australia’s largest market for visitor arrivals, surpassing China due to the pan-demic, according to Australian Tourism 2020 data.

Australia has in recent days accelerated plans to stoke eco-nomic growth as COVID-19 cases

slow significantly.New daily coronavirus infec-

tions in Australia’s hotspot state Victoria have fallen to a near four-month low, authorities said yesterday. The second most pop-ulous state Victoria said seven people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from 15 on Thursday and

near the four-month low of five cases reported on September 28.

The decline in COVID-19 cases comes nearly two months after Victoria imposed a stringent lockdown across its state capital, Melbourne.

The bulk of restrictions will only be eased when the average for new daily cases over a two-

week window falls below five.The 14-day rolling case

average for Melbourne is now down to 12.8, after falling from 15.6 on Thursday. Victoria accounts for 90 percent of national COVID-19 deaths. Aus-tralia, with 890 fatalities, has fared far better than many other developed countries.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is handed a bouquet of flowers as she visits a building site in Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday.

China accuses US at UN of trying to take world back to ‘jungle age’REUTERS — NEW YORK

China accused the United States yesterday of “fabricating lies” and trying to take the world back to the “jungle age” after Washington blamed Beijing and UN agencies for “the murder of millions of baby girls.”

The United Nations Popu-lation Fund (UNFPA) yesterday said it regretted the accusations by US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, which were made at a UN General Assembly

meeting on Thursday on the anniversary of a landmark 1995 women’s conference.

UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem told reporters that any coercion of women was “against our practice and policy.”

“We accord the highest pri-ority to voluntary gender and reproductive health, rights, and procedures,” she said.

“We have invited reviews of, in the case of UNFPA, our practice and procedures in the

country of China, and for the past four years, the United States has not visited our programs.”

US President Donald Trump’s administration cut funding in 2017 for UNFPA, saying it “supports... a program of coercive or involuntary ster-ilization.” The United Nations said that was an inaccurate perception.

DeVos and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a statement on Thursday, both

accused China of subjecting Uighurs and other minorities to forced sterilisation, and invol-untary implantation of birth control devices.

A spokesperson for China’s UN mission in New York said in a statement that the remarks were “sheer fabrication.”

“Some US politicians lie and cheat as a habit,” the spokes-person said. “They maliciously create political confrontation and undermine multilateral cooperation. The United States,

going against the trend of the times, is becoming the biggest destroyer of the existing inter-national order and trying all means to take the world back to the ‘jungle age.’”

Long-simmering tensions between the United States and China have hit the boiling point at the United Nations over the coronavirus pandemic, spot-lighting Beijing’s bid for greater multilateral influence in a chal-lenge to Washington’s tradi-tional leadership.

Over 100 restaurants closed in Karachi forviolating virus rulesINTERNEWS — KARACHI

Authorities in Karachi closed six marriage halls and 103 restau-rants in the metropolis for not complying with health guide-lines and COVID-19 prevalence, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) yesterday.

The country’s nerve centre in the fight against coronavirus said that it has also instructed all provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Islamabad to ensure health guidelines and abidance of protocols.

The NCOC also cautioned the authorities that restaurants and marriage halls were “emerging as the epicentre of the disease”.

Federal minister Asad Umar also warned that indoor

restaurants and marriage halls were emerging as “high con-tributors to the COVID-19 spread”.

“NCOC today has directed all provinces and federating units to crack down on SOP vio-lations in these places,” said the minister. He emphasised that the country must not allow “irresponsible behaviour” of some individuals to put every-one’s health at risk.

Authorities impose micro smart lockdown in Karachi’s South district

Due to the rising number of cases in the port city, Deputy Commissioner South Irshad Sodhar directed authorities to impose micro smart lockdown in several areas of Karachi’s South district.

The lockdown was imposed in an apartment located in the

district’s sub-division Civil Lines, according to a notifi-cation issued. It was also imposed in the sub-division Saddar. The DC also said that a restaurant was also sealed for

violating the prescribed coro-navirus standard operating pro-cedures (SOPs).

The development comes a day after a similar lockdown was imposed in two areas of

Manghopir for two weeks. The areas in Mangophir’s Gadap Town included Saima Villas and Samama City, both having a combined population of 4,000 people approximately.

Employees gather outside a closed restaurant for violating COVID-19 prevention guidelines in the Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, yesterday.

Malaysia’s King

discharged

from hospitalREUTERS — KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah was discharged from hospital yesterday after treatment for food poisoning and sports injuries, state news agency Bernama reported.

The king has recovered and will continue resting at the palace, Bernama reported, citing the palace comptroller Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin.

The king’s return to the palace could result in some movement in a power struggle over the country’s premiership, after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim sought a meeting with him to replace Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister.

Anwar said last week that he had secured a “strong, for-midable” majority from law-makers in parliament to oust Muhyiddin. But he has to con-vince the king that he has the numbers to form a government.

The king had agreed to meet Anwar last week but the appointment was cancelled as the king was unwell.

The king plays a largely cer-emonial role in Malaysia but he could appoint a prime minister who in his view is likely to command a majority in par-liament. He could also dissolve parliament and trigger elections on the premier’s advice.

The political turmoil comes just seven months after another power struggle that led to Muhyiddin getting the pre-miership and could delay efforts to stabilise an economy that is reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Two women named as cabinet ministers in a first for BougainvilleREUTERS — BOUGAINVILLE

The new president of Bougain-ville, an autonomous part of Papua New Guinea, appointed two female cabinet ministers yesterday, a rare move in a region where women are often sidelined in politics.

Papua New Guinea is one of only three countries worldwide to have no female lawmakers, though Bougain-ville has made some progress to bolster women’s political representation since the end of its decade-long civil war in 1998.

“I have appointed two female members to the cabinet to ensure there is recognition of the dynamic role that our women have in Bougainville society,” said Ishmael Toroama, a former rebel military com-mander elected president last week.

He appointed Theonila Roka Matbob as minister for education and Yolande

Geraldine Paul as minister for primary industries and marine resources.

Toroama’s government is now set to seek independence for Bougainville’s 250,000 people, who voted overwhelm-ingly for a separation from Papua New Guinea at the end of last year.

Political analysts said the cabinet appointments were a positive development that could pave the way for women to have a bigger future role in government.

“Hopefully it augurs well for a greater role for women in political decision-making and representation,” said Shane McLeod, a research fellow in the Pacific islands program at the Lowy Institute in Sydney.

“That can resonate through the region,” he said.

In contrast to Papua New Guinea, Bougainville has taken steps in the past to increase women’s role in politics and government, said Kerryn

Baker, a research fellow at the A u s t r a l i a n N a t i o n a l University.

Bougainville’s constitution requires at least one woman to be appointed to the 14-member cabinet, according to political analysts, and the island’s 39-seat House of Rep-resentatives includes three “reserved” seats for women.

“This new milestone is a continuation of that,” Baker said, referring to Friday’s appointments.

She noted that both women had relevant professional experience; Matbob ran a com-munity education centre, while Paul has been involved in agri-cultural initiatives in Bougain-ville including efforts to revi-talise the cocoa industry.

“The president is sending a clear signal that he’s placed these women in these positions because of their qualifications and backgrounds, not because they are women, and his com-ments reflect that,” Baker said.

Children wearing face masks cross a bridge on their way back home from school that reopened among some other government schools after six months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic at Nagpujey village, some 90km northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, yesterday.

Schools reopen in Nepal

Opening its borders for the first time to foreigners, Deputy Prime Minister McCormack said New Zealand citizens and residents will be allowed to travel to Australia’s most populous state New South Wales and its remote Northern Territory from October 16.

08 SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020VIEWS

CHAIRMANDR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI osman@pen.com.qa

EDITORIAL

THE State of Qatar after implementing a number of precautionary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic started lifting them once the country passed the peak of the outbreak.

The lifting of COVID-19 related curbs was also exe-cuted in a phased manner to avert the possible second wave of pandemic. Qatar through timely-formulated policies not only controlled the spread of the viral infection in past many months but also witnessed the lowest mortality rate in the world thanks to country’s robust healthcare system.

Qatar’s effective policies against coronavirus disease were also lauded across the globe. On Thursday, in a video conference meeting with Minister of Public Health H E Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, commended the progress of the health system in Qatar as well as the distinguished Qatari experience in combating the COVID-19 pan-demic that achieved such a low mortality rate, consid-ering that the Qatari experience constitutes a distinct model for global emulation.

The WHO Director-General also thanked Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for the State of Qatar’s support to the WHO, other organizations, and countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now for creating a fine balance between a normal life and preserving public health, the Supreme Com-mittee for Crisis Management has announced that man-datory quarantine will remain in place for all travelers returning to the State of Qatar until further notice.

The Ministry of Public Health will also continue updating the list of low-risk countries in light of the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases globally.

The Committee said that the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world and in the State of Qatar has made it essential to enforce a number of measures on various levels to ensure the safety of citizens and residents and limit the spread of the virus.

It added that the State of Qatar was able to move past the peak of the coronavirus and flatten the curve, while maintaining one of the lowest coronavirus death rates in the world thanks to its robust health system and the effectiveness of the precautionary measures. The Committee also affirmed the continuation of Phase Four, including the capacities that were recently announced, with relevant state authorities reviewing the indicators periodically.

Until an impeccable vaccine is developed against the COVID-19, strict adherence to precautionary measures will remain responsibility of each and every individual of the society for the safety of all.

Creating the balance

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Quote of the day

I can't announce a breakthrough. As long

as negotiations on Brexit are ongoing,

I'm optimistic.

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor

A woman wearing protective cover performs tests for the coronavirus disease at a drive-thru testing centre in Warsaw, yesterday.

Governments have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and the social and economic disruption it has wrought with a range of ad-hoc schemes, including paid furloughs, cash transfers and family support. While commendable, these responses share two major limitations.

First, many are temporary, short-term fixes, covering lockdowns or a notional period until economic recovery kicks in. They do nothing to change the under-lying circumstances that left many millions of people vul-nerable, or to put them in better standing to face future crises.

Secondly, the measures simply do not address the existential threats that face many of the world’s worst-hit communities. Although worldwide government spending on the COVID-19 response is more than USD 11 trillion, by far the largest responses have come from rich countries. For example, the European Union recently adopted a Euro 750 billion recovery plan (equivalent to 6 per cent of its GDP) while Japan’s economic recovery plan equates to 22 per cent of its GDP (or USD 1.1 trillion). But among low-income developing countries the fiscal response has averaged 1.2 percent of GDP.

Developing countries, particularly low-income

countries, have limited domestic resources, made worse by falls in some export commodity prices. They are simply unable to put in place the comprehensive crisis response measures their people need, let alone the longer-term social protection systems that would create more fundamental resilience.

Even before COVID-19, 69 per cent of the global popu-lation was either not covered, or only partially covered, by social security. Almost two-thirds of the world’s children had no social protection cov-erage, only 22 per cent of unemployed persons received unemployment cash benefits, and just 28 per cent of persons with severe disabil-ities received disability cash benefits.

Global crises like this pan-demic observe no geo-graphical or political borders. Against them we are only as strong as the weakest among us. If we are to build greater resilience and a more effective ability to recover, we need to support all countries in creating robust social pro-tection floors. The current piecemeal approach is like starting to recruit firefighters after a blaze has broken out, and then directing them to save only a few rooms in the burning building.

Clearly, this doesn’t work. In these circumstances, inter-national solidarity is essential, and in everyone’s interest.

Social protection floors for all are affordable. The

financing gap for all devel-oping countries -- the dif-ference between what these countries already invest in social protection and what a full social protection floor (including health) would cost -- is about USD 1,191 billion in the current year, including the impact of COVID-19. But the gap for the low-income coun-tries is only some USD 78 billion, a negligible amount compared to the GDP of the industrialized countries. Yet the total official development assistance for social pro-tection amounts to only 0.0047 per cent of the gross national income of donor countries.

International human rights law recognizes that wealthy States have a duty to help fulfill social rights in countries with more limited resources, and a number of steps have already been taken to convert this commitment into concrete assistance. In 2011 an expert advisory group recommended donors provide predictable, multi-year financing to strengthen social protection in devel-oping countries. In 2012, two independent UN human rights experts proposed a Global Fund for Social Protection to help low-income countries create social protection floors for their people. The same year the ILO’s membership – governments, workers and employers from 185 countries – backed the idea of compre-hensive social protection with a unanimously-adopted

pledge to “establish and maintain...social protection floors as a fundamental element of their national social security systems”.

We regularly hear pledges that we must, and will, ‘build back better’ from the current crisis. We can only do this if everybody has a minimum level of social protection, including the poorest and most marginalized.

Countries must deploy the maximum resources available to make social protection a reality for all. This may require more effective approaches to taxation and tackling corruption. Longer term, this redistribution of assets will help to curb ine-quality and discrimination and support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Develop-ment’s promise to “leave no one behind”.

This crisis offers us many lessons. One is that building back better requires interna-tional solidarity and better social protection for all, not just those who can already afford it. If we ignore this message, we risk condemning future generations to endure once more the immense suf-fering we see today. That, surely, is an intolerable prospect.

Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rap-porteur on extreme poverty and human rights; Guy Ryder, Director-General, Interna-tional Labour Organisation.

BLOOMBERG

The shift to remote learning during the pandemic has seri-ously harmed America’s schoolchildren. The end of in-person instruction last spring reduced expected learning gains by an esti-mated 50% in math and nearly one-third in reading. With the vast majority of schools in urban districts still closed, low-income students are losing ground they might never make up.

This underscores the need to reopen schools as quickly as possible - which, in turn, will require new funds to pay for safety measures and careful limits on activities that might spread the virus. However, even if reopening moves as quickly as prudence allows, schools will need to rely for a while yet on some degree of remote learning. It’s vital to ensure that this kind

of instruction is as effective as possible.

There’s been some progress. Since the start of the pandemic, school districts have increased the number of hours students working at home spend in live video classes - a marked improvement on the chaos of last spring, when teachers struggled to adapt to online instruction. In cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, which initially didn’t make synchronous learning man-datory, schools are now required to provide several hours of live classes for all students, depending on grade.

For remote classes to work, students need com-puters and access to broadband at home. Wash-ington can help by allowing schools to use funds from the federal E-rate program to subsidize residential internet

connections, as the latest Democratic stimulus bill would do. School officials should work with providers to identify and connect house-holds that lack reliable service. Cities like Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are showing what can be done.

Getting students online is just the start. The most suc-cessful transitions to remote learning have other things in common: a consistent class schedule, tools to track attendance, regular assess-ments, and online assign-ments that are collected and graded. And younger students need new, simpler lessons focused on basic skills.

Parents should get more help. Schools should assign advisers to meet with them virtually, solicit feedback and ask about student needs. During regular school hours, dedicated support lines

should be open so parents can quickly resolve any glitches.

All this will cost money. In addition to buying new tech-nology, school districts need to give teachers digital training. Districts should offer incentives for teachers to develop online courses and mentor fellow teachers. Such investments can continue to pay off even as normality resumes, by allowing teachers to supplement in-person classes with high-quality virtual coursework that students can use to catch up.

Remote learning has been an ordeal for many students - and for many parents as well. It cannot hope to replace in-school instruction, least of all for the youngest children, who need the kind of training in social skills that only a schoolroom setting can provide. Let’s be clear: The sooner children return to the classroom, the better.

Universal social protection floors, our joint responsibility

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Remote learning can be a lot better

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MICHELLE BACHELET, OLIVIER DE SCHUTTER, & GUY RYDER

“Secularism is the cement of a united France,” Macron said in a long-awaited speech yesterday. “0ur challenge is to fight against those who go off the rails in the name of religion, while protecting those who believe in Islam and are full citizens of the Republic.”

09SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020 EUROPE

Macron outlines plan to defend secularismBLOOMBERG / AP — PARIS

President Emmanuel Macron outlined new proposals he said aim to fight organisations and individuals that threaten the unity and secular values of the French Republic.

“Secularism is the cement of a united France,” Macron said in a long-awaited speech yes-terday. “0ur challenge is to fight against those who go off the rails in the name of religion, while protecting those who believe in Islam and are full cit-izens of the Republic.”

A recent survey by the Odoxa pollsters showed the majority of voters support his proposed anti-separatism leg-islation. Macron spoke in Les Mureaux, a working-class town west of Paris, after meeting with the mayor, Francois Garay, who is largely credited with building projects that help bring the Muslim population into the mainstream.

Throughout the speech, Macron sought to assure Muslims that he’s not targeting Islam, saying things like, let us not fall into the trap laid by extremists “who aim to stig-matise all Muslims”. He also referred to the 1905 law on sec-ularism that allows people to belong to any faith they choose, but he said, obvious displays of any religious affiliation won’t

be tolerated in schools or the public service.

France has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe with up to 5 million members, and Islam is the country’s No. 2 religion.

The proposed bill, which would go to parliament early next year, would require all children from the age of 3 to attend French schools, and allow distance learning only for medical reasons. Associations, which receive state funding, would be made accountable for their spending, their sometimes invisible leaders and be forced to reimburse misused funds.

Macron called France’s schools “the heart of secularism (where) children become cit-izens". The bill, which is to be sent to religious leaders for review this month, also includes putting a gradual end to the long-standing practice of importing imams from else-where and instead training imams in France to assure there are enough.

A Muslim organisation that serves as an official conduit to French leaders is to take part in the project.

Macron said the proposed law would also create a certifi-cation for French imams, monitor funding to religious groups from foreign countries, and ban projects “incompatible with the values of the Republic” and set aside €10m to support high-level Islamic studies, and create a sci-entific Islamology institute

Yet the President depicted a grim picture of the state of Islam, saying it was “in crisis, including in countries where it is a majority religion”. “We must help this religion organise itself so that it’s a partner for the Republic,” Macron said.

“We need to build an Islam of enlightenment,” he added. Macron said it was necessary to keep trying to “defend the republic and its values and ensure it respects its promises of equality and emancipation”. “I don’t think we need a form of French-style Islam,” he said. “We

French President Emmanuel Macron and French Junior Minister of Citizenship Marlene Schiappa talk with people sewing face masks during their visit to the Ateliers du Moulin as part of their visit in Les Mureaux, near Paris, France, yesterday.

need to free Islam in France from its foreign influences.”

The comments risk alien-ating France’s large Muslim population, many of whom already feel singled out by measures such as a ban on veils in public schools. A large number of people who responded to the Odoxa poll said they fear the new measures

may deepen fractures in French society.

Key Muslim figures slammed the proposals. Chems-eddine Hafiz, rector of the Paris mosque, described them as “gimmicks” in an editorial in Le Monde newspaper,and called for collective action rather than “a communication coup” before elections.

Amar Lasfar, the rector of the Lille-Sud mosque, said that much of what Macron outlined “doesn’t fall under the remit of the state”.

Macron thanked ministers for their help in putting together the proposals, among them Gerald Darmanin, a conservative close to Sarkozy who was named interior minister in July.

Pandemic creates ‘surge’ of flawed researchAFP — PARIS

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a surge in potentially flawed scientific studies as researchers rush to publish results without adequate over-sight, a leading medical ethicist said yesterday.

Since the novel coronavirus appeared late last year there have been more than 4,000 academic papers relating to the virus, many of which have appeared online without the benefit of a full peer-review process.

Writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Katrina Bram-stedt, a professor at the Bond University Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Queensland, warned that rushed or inaccurate research could put lives at risk.

“Patient harm that is signif-icant, permanent and irre-versible could result from using faulty research results from pre-prints as well as published papers,” she wrote.

As of the end of July, there were 19 published articles and 14 pre-prints — papers that have not yet been peer reviewed — dealing with COVID-19 that were retracted, withdrawn, or tagged with an “expression of concern”.

Most of these occurred in Asia, with China alone respon-sible for 11 retractions or withdrawals.

One of the most high profile retractions was of a paper pub-lished in the prestigious Lancet medical journal on the effec-tiveness of treating COVID-19 patients with the anti-arthritis drug hydroxychloroquine.

The research, released in

May, prompted the World Health Organization to pause its trials of hydroxychloroquine after the results suggested the drug had no positive effects on hospitalised individuals and may in fact increase the likelihood of death.

The study was withdrawn after a group of experts raised “both methodological and data integrity concerns” about it.

In September The Lancet said it had bolstered its peer-review system to ensure at least one reviewer was an expert on the area of research in question.

Another study — also in The Lancet — on a potential Russian vaccine raised concerns among Western scientists over a lack of safety data. An open letter signed by more than 30 Europe-based experts last month cast doubt on the Russian findings, pointing towards potentially

duplicated data. The Lancet has asked the authors in Russia for clarifications.

Bramstedt said that scientists were under increased pressure to get research out in the public sphere as the world races towards effective COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. “Research normally occurs at the speed of a marathon, but during a pandemic, the pace is more like a sprint,” she wrote.

She said the pandemic had created a “surge” of manu-scripts, something which the fleet of journal reviewers were struggling to keep pace with.

“No research team is exempt from the pressures and speed at which COVID-19 research is occurring,” said Bramstedt.

“And this can increase the risk of honest error as well as deliberate misconduct.”

UK Tories convene for annual conferenceAFP — LONDON

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces mounting unease from his Conservative rank and file over the coronavirus pan-demic as the party opens its annual conference today in a quieter virtual format.

Instead of the usual tub-thumping speeches in cav-ernous halls and crowded drinks gatherings, the party faithful will follow proceedings online, depriving Johnson of a chance to deliver one of his barnstorming turns.

But that may be a blessing in disguise, with polls sug-gesting he is increasingly becoming the target of public disquiet over the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as a second wave worsens what is already the highest death toll in Europe.

According to a survey by the ConservativeHome news site, support has slumped among party members for mandatory lockdowns, and more now favour a Sweden-style approach that emphasises voluntary social distancing.

Just under half of respondents now prefer the Swedish policy, up from one-third in May, when Britain was three months into a nationwide lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19.

“So Boris Johnson will enter the Conservative party con-ference with support among party members for his COVID-19 policy having dete-riorated sharply, if our survey is anything to go by,” Conserv-ativeHome editor Paul Goodman wrote in a blog.

“This decline in confidence echoes that seen in polls of the public as a whole, though support for the government is

obviously higher, and reflects the fall in the prime minister’s own rating that our recent surveys have found.”

It is a far cry from last year, when Johnson became Con-servative leader and won a general election vowing to “get Brexit done”, after years of par-liamentary deadlock on how to implement British voters’ decision in 2016 to quit the European Union.

The EU is now pursuing legal action after Johnson’s government pushed legislation through the House of Commons to bypass the bloc on future trading arrangements within the UK, in breach of the two sides’ divorce treaty.

The controversy has caused alarm among Conservative lawmakers who are worried about the damage to Britain’s reputation as a defender of the rule of law. But bashing Brussels is normally lapped up by the party faithful — and Johnson has traditionally been its main exponent.

For party members and the public at large, the EU spat is completely overshadowed by the pandemic, as a surging caseload compounds fears of a winter crisis for Britain’s over-stretched health service.

But in combatting the renewed outbreak, Johnson has been accused by some of his own lawmakers of governing by diktat, and they have been ral-lying around his popular young finance minister, Rishi Sunak.

Sunak gives a keynote address on Monday, before Johnson closes the conference on Tuesday. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is the headline speaker today, as Britain gears up for a new life free of EU rules from January 1, with or without a trade deal.

Virus curbs evoked East Germany memories: Merkel

AFP — BERLIN

Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that the drastic limits placed on people’s freedoms to curb the coronavirus earlier this year had weighed heavily on her, bringing back memories of life in surveillance-riddled East Germany.

Speaking on the eve of the 30th anniversary of German reunification, Merkel told the RND newspaper group she was acutely aware of the sacrifices she was asking of Germans when the country went into lockdown in March.

“That I had to tell people they could only be out in the street in a single household or just two persons at a time, that no events could take place, that children could not visit their parents in care homes — these were serious restrictions.”

A pastor’s daughter who grew up behind the Iron Curtain in the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR), Merkel, 66, said she reflected a lot on her childhood and youth when making those tough calls in the early days of the pandemic. “My background has shaped me,” she said, recalling “the longing for freedom during life in the GDR”.

But the veteran leader said her experiences in former East Germany also prepared her for difficult times. “We learned to improvise and we always managed well despite many shortages. These are skills that are useful today too.” Three decades on, Germany is planning muted celebrations to remember the historic uni-fication of the communist East with the capitalist West.

People in the Netherlands finally don masks as second wave bitesAFP — THE HAGUE

A rare sight has begun to appear in Dutch cities: People wearing masks. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the famously liberal Netherlands has held out against the strict measures imposed by its European neighbours.

But with the country gripped by a second wave of infections, the Dutch government has made an abrupt U-turn, advising people to wear face coverings in all indoor spaces.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte this week “urgently recom-mended” that masks be worn in supermarkets, museums and railway stations. “I find it

uncomfortable, but I’m wearing one because I don’t want to be quarantined,” teacher Maria Houweling said in one of The Hague’s main shopping streets.

Houweling, 48, said she thought mask-wearing should to be compulsory as it is in many countries including France, Spain and Italy.

That is a step the Dutch gov-ernment has yet to take, except on public transport, fearing the economic consequences as well as a public backlash ahead of elections next March.

The Dutch government has been widely accused of dragging its feet over the measures, long opting instead for what Rutte dubbed an “intelligent lockdown”

and insisting there was no scien-tific basis for ordering people to wear masks.

But as new infections pass 3,000 a day, and with several European countries imposing travel restrictions on people coming from the Netherlands, the government was forced to act.

On Monday, Rutte announced that all clubs and restaurants must close from 10pm for three weeks, and said fans would be banned from sports matches. He also advised people to wear masks in super-markets in the country’s three biggest cities, Amsterdam, Rot-terdam and The Hague.

Then, in a shambolic turna-round under pressure from

parliament just two days later, Rutte called on people to don masks “anywhere you can’t see the sky”. Rutte however stopped short of ordering people to wear masks, leaving it to shops to bar entry to people without them — which most supermarkets promptly said they would not do.

The Liberal Premier himself remained sceptical, saying that it was “not as if that (obliging people to wear masks) worked well in France and Spain.” Experts say, however, that action was needed to curb the trend of rising infections.

“In the last month, we have seen a steep rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in The Neth-erlands,” said Susan van den Hof,

head of the centre for epidemi-ology and surveillance of infec-tious diseases at the RIVM, the Dutch public health authority.

“We’re really at the start of the second wave now, espe-cially since we do see an increase in hospitalisations and number of people admitted to the intensive care,” she said.

The Netherlands has recorded 117,551 cases since the pandemic began, with 6,393 deaths, according to official figures. Van den Hof said the relaxation of rules over the summer across Europe had led to an earlier-than-expected new surge, and that they now expected a “busy period” in hospitals over the winter.

A sunny Autumn dayA woman holding an umbrella poses for a photo on a sunny Autumn day in Tsaritsyno Park in Moscow yesterday.

Minsk swiftly announced tit-for-tat “counter sanctions” against the EU, though it was not clear what form these would take or what they would target.

10 SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020EUROPE / AMERICAS

Anger from Moscow, Minskas EU sanctions BelarusAFP — BRUSSELS

The EU hit Belarus officials with long-awaited sanctions over the country’s political crisis yes-terday, drawing an angry response from Minsk and its ally Moscow.

After more than six weeks of diplomatic efforts, EU leaders finally persuaded Cyprus to drop its block on sanctions at a summit in Brussels, opening the way for some 40 members of President Alexander Lukash-enko’s regime to be listed.

The targets for the travel bans and asset freezes are offi-cials the European Union blames for rigging the August 9 election that returned Lukashenko to power and for orchestrating a brutal crackdown by security forces on anti-regime protests that followed the vote.

Lukashenko himself is not on the list, but it does include his Interior Minister Yury Karayev, who the EU says was responsible for the “repression and intimidation campaign” against protesters, and Central Election Commission chief Lidia Yermoshina. The EU’s official listing blames Yermoshina for the “falsification of election results” in the poll, which Western powers have dismissed as rigged and illegitimate.

Minsk swiftly announced tit-for-tat “counter sanctions” against the EU, though it was not clear what form these would take or what they would target. “In connection with visa sanctions adopted by the EU

against a number of Belarusian officials, the Belarusian side from today is introducing a list of reciprocal sanctions,” Bela-rus’s foreign ministry said.

The ministry said that by imposing sanctions the EU had “alienated” the country, which western commentators have dubbed “Europe’s last dicta-torship” under Lukashenko’s strongman rule.

Minsk said it would not dis-close which European officials were being targeted, but threatened “even more serious consequences” if the EU expands its restrictions.

Protesters have taken to the streets of Belarusian cities since Lukashenko claimed a sixth term with 80 percent of the vote. Riot police have detained thousands of protesters, many of whom alleged torture and abuse in custody, prompting international condemnation.

Russia has backed its long-standing ally Lukashenko in the crisis, offering financial backing and hinting at military support if events turn against him.

The Kremlin slammed the new EU sanctions, which follow

similar measures from other Western governments including Britain and Canada. “In general, we are very, very negative about the sanctions policy... this is more a manifestation of weakness than strength,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The EU had promised sanc-tions on Belarus since August, but approval was held up by Cyprus. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the sanctions were a “strong message of support” to supporters of democracy in Belarus.

“We hope these sanctions will encourage the Belarusian leadership to refrain from further violence, to free all the unlawfully detained people... and engage in a genuine and inclusive dialogue with the opposition,” Borrell said.

Lukashenko is the most glaring omission from the sanc-tions list. Unlike Britain and Canada, which listed the veteran leader in their measures, the EU decided to spare him in the hope of per-suading him to engage in talks with the opposition aimed at ending the crisis.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host the main Belarus opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya for talks on Tuesday. Tikhanovskaya, who claimed victory in the August 9 election, fled Belarus soon after-wards and has sought to keep up international pressure on the Minsk regime while protests con-tinue on the streets.

Partial lockdown takes effect in MadridAFP — MADRID

With coronavirus infections soaring, the city of Madrid braced for a partial lockdown that will cut it off from the rest of the country.

The new restrictions, which will also apply to nine other nearby towns where infection rates are high, came into force with people only allowed to leave the area for work, school or medical and legal reasons.

Although Madrid’s regional leaders have agreed to implement the restrictions, they

strongly oppose the closure, filing an appeal at the National Court to challenge its legality.

The new measures, which will initially be imposed for 14 days, will affect 4.5 million people in the city and the other nine towns, requiring them to avoid all unnec-essary travel, but not confining them to their homes.

The provisions were out-lined in a decree that lays down conditions for restrictions in areas where the virus is spreading rapidly, which were agreed on Wednesday at talks between the health ministry

and most of Spain’s 17 regions, which are responsible for man-aging the pandemic.

In reality, Madrid is the only region where the restrictions will apply given its infection rate of 730 cases per 100,000 people, compared with just 300 per 100,000 in the rest of Spain — which in itself is the highest in the European Union.

But the new rules will be difficult to apply within the capital, which is home to 3.2 million people, with regional officials warning the mobility restrictions will cause mayhem.

Pandemic lays bare inequalities in Brazil’s schoolsAFP — RIO DE JANEIRO

The 13-year-old boy selling mangos at the market in Rio de Janeiro was the same age as Vanessa Cavalieri’s daughter, studying in the same grade at school.

But while her daughter was home taking classes online, the boy’s schooling was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, showing how COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated the deep inequalities in Brazil’s education system.

“He hasn’t had classes since March 16. He’s helping his father sell fruit at three different markets,” Cavalieri, a juvenile court judge, wrote in a Facebook post that went viral.

“Meanwhile, Valentina is studying Portuguese, English, science and math online,” she said. “The abyss of inequality between public and private school students, which is already horrible, is only going to get worse.”

The wreckage COVID-19 has left on its way to killing nearly 150,000 people in Brazil - the second-highest death toll worldwide, after the United States — has not been spread equally. It has hit the poor and people of colour hardest in this sprawling South American country of 212 million people.

Education is one of the areas Brazil’s divisions have been laid most bare. As Bra-zilian parents, teachers and

policy makers wrestle with the questions facing schools every-where — is it safe to go back? is the health risk worse than the academic and social costs of quarantine? — they face an added layer of complexity.

Brazil’s 48 million primary and secondary students are essentially divided into two dif-ferent education systems: elite private schools for the 19 percent whose families can afford them, and public schools for the rest.

With schools slowly starting to reopen, that is forcing some uncomfortable conversations.

“This situation hasn’t been easy for anyone or any country, but Brazil’s circumstances make it all the more difficult,” said

Catarina de Almeida Santos, an education professor at the Uni-versity of Brasilia.

“Online learning for poor students is a fairy tale. They don’t have the equipment, internet connection or family resources,” she said. “But we have schools with no clean water, no toilets, no electricity. More than 40 percent have no basic sanitation infrastructure.... If you reopen them, you’re guaranteed to get a major increase in Covid infections.”

Like many parents, Cinthia Pergola, a social worker and single mom in Sao Paulo, has been scrambling to continue her kids’ education, all while working her day job, cooking meals and cleaning the

apartment they share with another family. But, she says, her eight-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son are not learning much in the online version of public school.

“I’m thinking of it as a sab-batical, a year for us to spend time together,” she said.

“But as for learning, it’s a failure.” Still, she considers her working-class family lucky, she said, as her son studied on their well-loved MacBook.

“We have a computer, a cell phone. Lots of families don’t even have internet,” she said.

Juliana Stefanoni Iwamizu, an elementary teacher at a Sao Paulo public school, says just 10 percent of her students are attending online classes.

COVID-19 test 'caused brain fluid leak in US patient'AFP — WASHINGTON

A COVID-19 nasal swab test punctured a US woman’s brain lining, causing fluid to leak from her nose and putting her at risk of life-threatening infection, doctors reported in a medical journal on Thursday.

The patient, who is in her 40s, had an undiagnosed rare condition and the test she received may have been carried out improperly, a sequence of improbable events that means the risk from nasal tests remains very low.

But her case showed health care professionals should take care to follow testing protocols closely, Jarrett Walsh, senior author of the paper that appeared in JAMA Otolaryn-gology-Head & Neck Surgery, said. People who’ve had extensive sinus or skull base surgery should consider requesting oral testing, he added.

“It underscores the necessity of adequate training of those performing the test and the need for vigilance after the test has been performed,” added ear, nose and throat spe-cialist Dennis Kraus of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, who wasn’t involved in the paper.

Walsh, who practices at the University of Iowa Hospital, said the woman had gone for a nasal test ahead of an elective hernia surgery, and afterward noticed clear fluid coming out of one side of her nose.

She subsequently developed headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, and aversion to light,

and was transferred to Walsh’s care. “She had been swabbed previously for another pro-cedure, same side, no problems at all. She feels like maybe the second swab was not using the best technique, and that the entry was a little bit high,” he said.

In fact, the woman had been treated years earlier for intrac-ranial hypertension — meaning that the pressure from cerebro-spinal fluid that protects and nourishes the brain was too high. Doctors at the time used a shunt to drain some of the fluid and the condition resolved.

But it caused her to develop what’s called an encephalocele, or a defect at the base of the skull which made the brain’s lining protrude into the nose where it was susceptible to rupture. This went unnoticed until old scans were reviewed by her new doctors, who carried out surgery to repair the defect in July. She has since fully recovered.

Walsh said he believes the symptoms she developed were a result of irritation to the lining of the brain. If the problem hadn’t been treated, she could have developed a potentially life-threatening brain infection from bacteria that traveled up the nose. Or, air could have entered the skull and placed excess pressure on the brain. Most testing protocols call for cli-nicians to follow the path of the floor of the nose, which lies above the roof of the mouth, rather than pointing the swab up — or if they point it up, to do so with great care.

Colombia sees surge in mass killings: UNAFP — BOGOTA

Colombia has recorded at least 42 massacres since the start of 2020, the highest number since the 2016 signing of a peace agreement with the former FARC guerrillas, the United Nations said.

The UN, which is respon-sible for verifying application of the agreement, said Sec-retary-General Antonio Guterres was concerned about the upsurge in mass killings in various regions of the South American country in recent

months. The UN defines a mas-sacre as the killing of three or more people at one time.

It said 13 other incidents were being verified. The UN peace mission in Colombia recorded 36 massacres in 2019, 29 in 2018 and 11 in 2017.

“These crimes take place mainly in areas of poverty where the state has little presence, where the illegal economy reigns and there are disputes between illegal armed groups and criminal organiza-tions,” said the report.

Colombia is experiencing an

upsurge in violence due, according to the Colombian government, to armed groups that finance themselves through drug trafficking. The UN also noted the “relentless violence” against former FARC combatants, with 50 of them killed since the start of the year.

In total since the signing of the agreement, 224 former guer-rillas have been killed and 20 have disappeared. The UN also noted an increase in violence against human rights activists and civil society leaders, with 48 killings this year.

Police arrest16 in Catalanreferendumanniversary protestsAFP — BARCELONA

Police arrested 16 people who took part in overnight protests marking the anniversary of the illegal referendum on Catalan independence that triggered Spain’s worst political crisis in decades, a spokesman said yesterday.

But compared with pre-vious years, the demonstra-tions on the third anniversary of the October 1, 2017 refer-endum were sparse, with all mass gatherings banned under coronavirus restrictions.

Fifteen of the arrests took place in Barcelona while another person was detained in the city of Girona, about 100km further north, police in the wealthy northeastern region said.

The 2017 referendum saw police violently cracking down on would-be voters as regional leaders pushed ahead with a ballot that Madrid had declared illegal. Later that month, Catalan lawmakers narrowly approved a motion to declare an independent republic, sparking an imme-diate backlash from Madrid.

The failed independence bid also stoked political divi-sions within the Catalan sep-aratist movement, which have sharpened in the ensuing three years.

On Thursday night, several hundred demonstrators gathered outside the Catalan regional government’s head-quarters in Barcelona, accusing the authorities of not making good on their promise of independence from Spain.

Around 300 protesters later continued the protest in the city centre, hurling objects at police vans and burning barricades, witnesses said.

Although the regional gov-ernment is dominated by sep-aratist parties, there are deep divisions within their ruling coalition about what strategy to adopt to achieve inde-pendence. Catalonia is now heading towards an early regional election after its pres-ident, Quim Torra, was disqual-ified from office earlier this week when Spain’s Supreme Court upheld a previous con-viction for disobedience.

New virus curbs in LiverpoolPedestrians, some wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walk in Liverpool, north west England, yesterday, following the announcement of new local restrictions for certain areas in the northwest of the country. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said limits on social gatherings would be extended to the Liverpool City region, which has a population of about 1.5 million.

Let's Get Tested campaignA medical worker takes a blood sample from Maria de Fatima de Oliveira, 64, for a COVID-19 test during a ‘Bora Testar’ (Let’s Get Tested) campaign at Heliopolis slum in Sao Paulo, Brazil, yesterday.

First Lady Melania Trump also tested positive, the President said, and several others in the White House have, too, prompting concern that the White House or even Trump himself might have spread the virus further.

11SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER 2020 AMERICAS

Trump tests COVID-19 positive, has ‘mild symptoms’AP — WASHINGTON

The White House said yes-terday that President Donald Trump was suffering “mild symptoms” of COVID-19, as the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans spread to the highest reaches of the US government just a month before the presidential election.

The revelation came in a Trump tweet about 1am after he had returned from an afternoon political fundraiser without telling the crowd he had been exposed to an aide with the disease that has infected millions in America and killed more than a million people worldwide.

First Lady Melania Trump also tested positive, the Pres-ident said, and several others in the White House have, too, prompting concern that the White House or even Trump himself might have spread the virus further. Trumps’ son Barron, who lives at the White House, tested negative.

Trump has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the virus, rarely wearing a protective mask and urging states and cities to “reopen” and reduce or elim-inate shutdown rules. Both Democratic presidential

nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have tested negative.

Vice-President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus yesterday and “remains in good health,” his spokesman said. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was with him and many others yesterday and has been on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, also tested negative, the White House said.

“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immedi-ately,” Trump tweeted just before 1am. “We will get through this TOGETHER!”

While House chief of staff

US President Donald Trump reacts as he stands next to former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks outside of the Oval Office as he departs the White House for a trip to Cleveland, Ohio, in Washington, DC, in this March 29, 2018 file picture.

Revelation sparks torrent of social media reactionAFP — WASHINGTON

Social media erupted with reac-tions to President Donald Trump’s revelation that he and wife Melania tested positive for COVID-19, with an outpouring of sympathy as well as mockery and anger over his efforts to minimize risks of the disease.

The President’s announc-ement on Twitter in the early morning garnered more than 1.2 million likes within eight hours, and was shared or retweeted at similar levels.

According to the news site Axios, the tweet was Trump’s most popular ever, topping his 2019 news that rapper A$AP Rocky was released from prison in Sweden. Axios analyzed data from the Trump Twitter Archive.

On Facebook, where Trump has some 29 million followers, comments were both sup-

portive and mocking.“Praying for our President

and his sweet family that the Lord will place a hedge of pro-tection around them and keep all evil forces away from them,” one Facebook user wrote.

But another countered: “Why are you going to quar-antine? YOU said it was a hoax.... now it’s your time to drink the punch! Or drink some kind of chemical.”

On Twitter, where Trump has some 86 million followers, the hashtag #TrumpHasCovid was a top trend.

One supporter tweeted, “May the prayers and blessings of good health I am sending with these flowers make your strong and healthy soon.”

Others vented anger at the President for playing down the risks of the pandemic. “Are you still going to mock people for

wearing masks?” actress and activist Sophia Bush tweeted.

“Are you sorry for lying to the American people for months? I ask these b/c I assume you’ll get the best taxpayer funded gov’t healthcare avail + genuinely hope you recover. But you owe us answers.” The President’s niece Mary Trump wrote: “I reserve my sympathy, empathy, and despair for those who are sick and for those who have died because they were misled, lied to, or ignored.”

Some expressed fear of increased civil turmoil as a result of the news. “I fear that if Trump dies from COVID-19, his rabid followers will go from calling ovid a hoax to going all out labeling it the ‘China Virus’ and taking their anger out against Asian Americans,” said one twitter user. “As a Chinese American it truly scares me.”

Biden, wife test negativeAFP — WILMINGTON, UNITED STATES

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said yesterday that he has tested negative for COVID-19, three days after his debate with Donald Trump, who has contracted the illness.

The 77-year-old former vice president opted to maintain a scheduled trip to Michigan, a key battleground state in his cam-paign to unseat the Republican incumbent. Biden is currently leading Trump in opinion polls ahead of the November 3 election.

“I’m happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID-19d,” Biden said. “I hope this serves as a reminder: Wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.”

Minutes before, his doctor Kevin O’Connor issued a statement: “Vice President Joe Biden and Dr Jill Biden underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 today and COVID-19 was not detected.”

Earlier, he wished his 74-year-old adversary and his wife Melania a swift recovery. “Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery,” Biden tweeted. “We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.”

Mark Meadows tried to assure the public that Trump was con-ducting business as usual, even as he confirmed that the White House knew Hope Hicks, the aide, had tested positive before Trump attended a Thursday fundraiser in New Jersey.

Many White House and senior administration officials were undergoing tests, but the full scale of the outbreak around the President may not be known for some time as it can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test. Officials with the White House Medical Unit were tracing the President’s contacts.

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and did not appear ill. He is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide. The Presi-dent’s physician said in a memo that Trump and the First Lady, who is 50, “are both well at this time” and “plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence”.

Trump’s handling of the pan-demic has already been a major flashpoint in his race against Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware citing concern about the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday night’s debate.

“I don’t wear masks like him,” Trump said of Biden. “Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”

World leaders offered the President and first family their best wishes after their diagnosis. It is unclear where the Trumps and Hicks may have caught the virus, but in a Fox interview, Trump seemed to suggest it may have been spread by someone in the military or law enforcement in greetings.

Biden hits the campaign trailDemocratic US presidential nominee Joe Biden emerges from a vehicle prior to boarding a plane as he departs on campaign travel to Michigan from New Castle Airport in New Castle, Delaware, US, yesterday.

Wacky indoor Amazon drone takes on privacy scepticsAFP — WASHINGTON

It could be the wackiest product yet from Amazon — a tiny indoor drone which buzzes around people’s homes as a security sentry.

The introduction of the Ring Always Home Cam planned for 2021 has opened up fresh debate on the potential for intrusive surveillance and privacy infringement. Amazon says the tiny drone is “built with privacy in mind” and operates

at the direction of its customers. Nestled in a charging dock, the drone can be deployed remotely and send up to five minutes of video to the user.

But some activists express concerns about the device — part of a family of Ring-branded home security technology which has been scrutinized over its links to law enforcement. John Verdi, vice-president of policy at the Future of Privacy Forum, a Washington think tank, said the deployment may contribute to a

“normalization of surveillance” in everyday life as more con-sumers install devices that listen and see inside the home.

“When cameras and micro-phones and other sensors are deployed in private spaces like living rooms and bedrooms, that leads to an acceptance of eve-ryday surveillance,” Verdi said.

Nonetheless, Verdi noted that “Amazon has put some thought into privacy protections for this product both in the hardware and in the software

policies.” University of Wash-ington law professor and privacy researcher Ryan Calo noted that even the perception of being watched can make people change behaviour.

With any form of electronic monitoring, “you feel like there is a social agent in your midst,” Calo said. “A camera like this can make people feel observed and threatens one of the few remaining opportunities for sol-itude.” Calo said the flying cam “could be incrementally more

harmful than a regular camera” by allowing someone to monitor other people without their consent.

Although it is marketed as a home device, Calo said it could be used in a workplace as well and “allows the person who controls it to check in on anyone — and there isn’t any-where to hide.” British-based privacy group Big Brother Watch was more blunt, calling the cam “arguably Amazon’s most chilling surveillance product yet”.

Texas governor cuts numberof ballot drop-off pointsAFP — HOUSTON

The Republican governor of Texas has announced that voters will only have one place per county to drop off mail-in ballots across the vast US state.

The action by Governor Greg Abbott, a Trump sup-porter, restricts access to the common practice of mail-in voting that is expected to become much more popular due to the pandemic.

“These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting,” Abbott said in on Thursday.

Texas has some of the most populous counties in the country. More than 2.3 million voters live in Harris County, which includes Houston, but 11 of its 12 drop-off points are scheduled to close under the governor’s order. “This isn’t security, it’s suppression,” senior county official Lina Hidalgo, a Democrat, said on Twitter.

“Mail ballot voters shouldn’t have to drive 30 miles to drop off their ballot or rely on a mail system that’s facing cutbacks.” Abbott’s move is in line with views expressed by President Donald Trump, who frequently claims without evidence that postal ballots are a source of massive vote fraud.

Mail-in votes can be dropped off at dedicated ballot boxes as an alternative to using the under-pressure postal service. The practice is seen as safer for the elderly and others at higher risk from COVID-19 if they go to a polling station.

Apart from isolated inci-dents, no serious study has reported major fraud related to postal ballots in a US election. Voting by mail was widespread during the 2016 presidential race, where nearly a quarter of the votes (33 million) were mailed in.

Judge blocks White House ban on skilled worker visasAFP — WASHINGTON

A US federal judge ordered a halt to the enforcement of a White House order that would block visas for skilled workers, such as engineers sought after by technology firms.

Amazon, Apple and Facebook are among tech industry titans and organiza-tions that signed on to a court filing saying US President Donald Trump’s move blocking visas for skilled workers hurts the country.

US District Judge Jeffrey White in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction, ordering an immediate hold on a series of visa restrictions including H-1B visas relied on by tech giants for hard-to-get talent.

“We are grateful the court recognized the real and imme-diate harm these restrictions have meant for manufacturers right now and stopped this mis-guided policy until the court can fully consider the matter,” said National Association of Manufacturers general counsel Linda Kelly.

The association was among groups that filed a lawsuit chal-lenging Trump’s ban.

The judge concluded that Trump exceeded his authority in an executive order halting issuance of non-immigrant

work visas, according to TechNet, another of the groups behind the lawsuit.

“Any policy or order that hinders American companies’ ability to find high-skilled workers only harms our eco-nomic recovery at this critical time,” said TechNet chief exec-utive Linda Moore.

“As we continue working to strengthen our domestic STEM (science and engineering) talent pipeline and empower the workforce of tomorrow, we must ensure that visa programs remain in place to fill critical high-skilled labor shortages.”

Silicon Valley tech giants filed a brief supporting the suit by the US Chamber of Com-merce and trade groups against a proclamation issued by Trump in June halting visas for various categories of guest workers including highly skilled talent sought by tech firms.

“The president’s suspension of nonimmigrant visa programs, supposedly to ‘protect’ American workers, actually harms those workers, their employers, and the economy,” the brief backed by more than 50 tech firms and organizations argued. Others joining the petition included Microsoft, Twitter, Uber and several trade groups for the tech sector including the Information Technology Industry Council.

Arizona voting curbs remainREUTERS — ARIZONA

The US Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear a defense by Arizona Republicans of two voting restrictions in the state that were ruled unlawful by a lower court as disproportionately burdening Black, Hispanic and Native American voters, meaning the measures will remain in place

for the November 3 election.The measures prohibit

absentee ballot collection by third parties and the counting of ballots cast at the wrong polling precinct. The justices will hear appeals of a January ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals invali-dating the provisions as viola-tions of the Voting Rights Act, a

1965 U.S. law that barred racial discrimination in voting.

Both measures will stay in place for the upcoming election because the 9th Circuit put its decision on hold pending Supreme Court action on the appeal filed by the state, Repub-lican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and the state Republican Party.