Volume 24 | Number 7919 | 2 RiyalsTuesday 11 June 2019 | 8 Shawwal 1440 www.thepeninsula.qa

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BUSINESS | 13 SPORT | 20

Qatar gear up for Copa Americawith win over Brazilian club

The Asian Banker

recognises QIB’s achievements

FIFA World Cup 2022 helps transform region: Al ThawadiTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The FIFA World Cup 2022 is helping to transform the region and accelerate Qatar National Vision 2030, said Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Eco-nomic Forum, he emphasised the need for innovative legacy

planning to ensure tournaments leave an impact on a country long after they have finished.

Al Thawadi participated in two panel sessions during the three-day event, speaking alongside political, business and sporting leaders from across the world. During the first panel, titled ‘Big Football in the City-scapes’, Al Thawadi and his fellow panellists discussed how

cities and countries can benefit from hosting mega-events.

“Qatar has always under-stood the potential impact of the World Cup and how it can accel-erate our national vision and transform our country for future generations,” said Al Thawadi.

“From day one, we set about ensuring the tournament leaves behind not just world-class sporting infrastructure, but that it has a positive social and human impact on those in Qatar

and across the region in the build-up to, during, and long after the tournament has fin-ished,” he said.

“The World Cup is already helping Qatar develop new industries, attract new talents and investment into the country, and accelerate legislative change in critical areas, such as labour reform. It’s also helping promote football and a healthier lifestyle

in Qatar. We’re still three years away from kick-off but we are already seeing the positive impact the tournament is having on the country’s development,” he added.

Al Thawadi also praised Rus-sia’s hosting of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and noted how much Qatar had learned from their operations.

Al Thawadi was joined on the panel by Pavel Kolobkov, Rus-sia’s Minister of Sport, Igor Levitin, Aide to the President of Russia, Alexander Dyukov, Pres-ident of the Russian Football Union, Alexander Beglov, Acting Governor of St. Petersburg, Anton Alikhanov, Governor of Kalin-ingrad, Martin Kallen, UEFA Events CEO, and international footballing legends Christian Kar-ambeu and Sol Campbell. The panel was moderated by FIFA Council member Alexey Sorokin.

Talking to Russian news agency Sputnik, Thawadi said that the budget for 2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums and its facilities was estimated to be around $6bn.

“The budget for stadiums and associated facilities for hosting of the 2022 World Cup is about $6bn,” Thawadi said. “The con-struction work for the World Cup has triggered a positive economic movement in the state,” he added.

The second panel Al Thawadi participated in was titled ‘Business in National Development Projects: Ways to Succeed’ and transmitted live on the Russia 24 news channel. �P2

Children enjoying a stage show at a mall which was organised as a part of Summer in Qatar programme launched by Qatar National Tourism Council. To make summer a memorable experience, QNTC has lined up several events and activities throughout the summer season for residents and visitors.

Health centers receive almost 24,000 patients during EidQNA DOHA

The Primary Health Care Corpo-ration’s (PHCC) centers received 23,900 patients through 17 health centers on Eid Al Fitr holidays.

During the period from June 2 to yesterday, the PHCC pro-vided general medicine services, dental clinics, as well as emer-gency services, and other spe-cialised clinics and prenatal examination.

The PHCC affirmed that meeting the needs of the patients is one of the main priorities that the corporation is keen to achieve as it is one of the most

important pillars of the National Health Strategy in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.

The PHCC also stressed its keenness to exert utmost efforts to provide the best medical services and health care to cit-izens and residents alike reflecting the efforts of the primary health care institution in this field.

HMC’s main Emergency Department at Hamad General Hospital (HGH) had treated at least 1,524 cases during the first three days of Eid Al Fitr due to several reasons including stomach ailments, respiratory problems and trauma.

The Emergency Department

at Al Wakra Hospital treated around 656 cases in the first three days of Eid. The Ambulance Service at HMC the Pediatric Emergency Centres (PEC) received hundreds of patients but all were simple routine ones with no critical cases reported from any of the departments. Many of cases were minor and moderate cases and were sent home after treatment on the same day.

When Eid Al Fitr festivities were approaching, HMC had cautioned people against road accidents. HMC’s Hamad Trauma Center has urged motorists to practice safe driving on roads, especially during the Eid holidays.

Qatar’s livestock sector sees huge growth since 2017SANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

The number of animals has reached over 1.75 million heads in Qatar, witnessing remarkable growth during past two year, thanks to the initiatives of the Ministry of Municipality and

Environment, said a senior official.

The initiatives which were launched under Qatar’s Strategic Food Security Projects 2019-2023 aim at increasing local meat production from existing 18 percent of total demand of the country to 30 percent by 2023.

“The livestock sector of Qatar witnessed substantial growth at all levels from 2017 to 2019,” said Saleh Jarullah Al Marri, Head of the Animal Health Section at the Livestock Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.

Speaking at a recent program

of Al Rayan TV, Al Marri said that the number of animals in Qatar reached over 1.75 million repre-senting 64 percent sheep, 25 percent goats, nine percent camels and two percent cows.

“There are two types of animal farms in the country — traditional and fully commercial.

Traditional farms which produce 98 percent of total animal pro-duction. They are run by Qatari citizens individually,” said Al Marri.

He said that the second type of farms are those licensed for commercial activities and they are being run by the companies which

have joined the market recently.“Such farms are contributing

only about two percent of total local animal production but they create investment opportunities in animal farming business to increase self-sufficiency of the country in meat production,” said Al Marri. �P3

Visitor arrivals in Qatar during January-March

37% 35% 11%

Share of visitors in Qatar from Europe

Share of visitors in Qatar from Asia region

Share of visitors in Qatar from GCC countries

Number of visitors from European countries

Number of visitors from Asia region

Number of visitors from GCC countries

216,818 206,203 62,909

588,072Total number

of visitors came to Qatar

Europeans top visitor arrivals in Q1SACHIN KUMAR THE PENINSULA

Visitors from European countries have emerged as the largest group of people coming to Qatar in the first quarter of this year. The visitors from Europe occupied 37 percent share in total tourist arrivals, making them the biggest group of tourists coming to Qatar during the quarter.

According to the Planning and Statistics Authority data, 588,072 visitors came to Qatar during the first quarter of 2019, out of which 216,818 visitors came from Europe. Out of the total visitors, around 495,000 visitors came via air while around 93,000 came via sea.

Visitors from Asian countries as they had a share of 35 percent in the total number of visitor arrivals. During the first quarter,

206,203 visitors came to Qatar from Asian countries.

Visitor arrivals measure non-residents travelling to Qatar on a short-term basis for all pur-poses. It includes arrivals at borders under 15 different visit visa classes, including all business and leisure visa types while excluding work visas.

As per the Planning and Sta-tistics Authority, a visitor is a traveller taking a trip to a main destination outside his usual environment, for less than a year, for any main purpose (business, leisure or other personal purpose) other than to be employed by a resident entity in the country or place visited. A visitor is classified as a tourist, if his trip includes an overnight stay.

“Qatar Airways have increased its connectivity to several European cities in the past two years. Also, number of

cruise tourists coming to Qatar has increased substantially in the past few years,” a senior official of a tour and travel agency told The Peninsula.

The country witnessed a very successful cruise season the number of cruise tourists as Qatar welcomed a record number of cruise tourists in the 2018-19 season. Doha Port received 144,707 passengers and crew on 44 ships during the season according to Mwani Qatar.

Proactive steps by concerned authorities have also played crucial role in increasing the number of tourists. In 2017, Qatar eased its visa policies and allowed citizens of 80 countries visa-free entry into the country.

Visitors from other regions also grew during the quarter. Share of visitors from GCC coun-tries was 11 percent as 62,909 vis-itors came from these countries.

Summer in Qatar proves cool for children

The World Cup is already helping

Qatar develop new industries, attract new talents and investment

into the country, and accelerate legislative

change in critical areas, such as labour

reform."

02 TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019HOME

FAJRSHOROOK

03. 14 AM

04. 43 AM

11. 33 AM

02. 56 PM

06. 26 PM

07. 56 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum33oC 46oC

HIGH TIDE 13:39–23:22 LOW TIDE 6:30 – 17:26

Very hot daytime with slight dust at some

places.

Surfing on a summer dayPeople enjoying the summer time with boat surfing at the West Bay Lagoon yesterday.PIC: BAHER AMIN / THE PENINSULA

Tokayev victory proves veracity of exit pollTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The results, released immediately after midnight of June 10, suggest that Tokayev won a clear victory over six other contenders, said Serik Myrzakhmetov, Counselor, at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Qatar commenting on the June 9 presidential election.

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won the election, receiving the support of 70.13 percent of the votes as the results of a nation-wide exit poll, Myr-zakhmetov added.

A total of 1,013 international observers, including 866 observers from 9 international organisations and 147 observers from 41 foreign countries, have been accredited by the CEC to observe the election, the Coun-selor highlighted.

Furthermore, Myrzakhmetov

pointed out that the exit poll, con-ducted by the Qogamdyk Pikiri (Public Opinion) Institute, Amirzhan Kossanov of the Ult Tagdyry United National Patriotic Movement who campaigned as the opposition candidate, came in second with 15.39 percent.

The exit poll showed that Daniya Yespayeva of the Ak Zhol Democratic Party won 5.32 percent, Zhambyl Akhmetbekov of the Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan – 3.86 percent, Toleutai Rakhimbekov of the Auyl (Village). Kazakhstan’s social democratic party – 3.03 percent, Amangeldy Taspikhov of the Kazakh Trade Unions Federation – 1.41 percent, while Sadibek Tugel of the “Uly Dala Kyrandary” National Public Association gathered only 0.86 percent.

He added Ainur Mazhitova, chairwoman of the board of “Qogamdyk Pikiri Institute”, announced the results at a

briefing in the capital. She said 350 interviewers questioned a total of 13,200 voters at 325 polling stations, including 97 in regional centers as well as in cities of Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Shymkent and 94 in small towns, and 143 in rural districts. The margin of error was said to be three percent.

“This day will go into our history… This was about the com-petition of election platforms,” Tokayev told his supporters immediately upon hearing the results of the exit poll. Overall, there were 9,968 polling stations across Kazakhstan and at the country’s foreign missions abroad, where 11,947,995 voters were registered to vote. The voter turnout, according to the official data of the Central Election Com-mission (CEC), was 77 percent.

According to the law, the final results are to be released within 10 days of Election Day.

QSC’s summer activities to begin from June 29QNA DOHA

The 2019 summer activities at Qatar Scientific Club (QSC) will begin from June 29 and it will continue until August 7. Many activities and events will be held to foster creative thinking among participants.

The summer activities of 2019 have been completed in line with the instructions of the Department of Youth Affairs in the Ministry of Culture and Sports, QSC said in a statement

yesterday. Managing Director of QSC and member of the

committee for the summer activity Fatima Al Mohannadi said that the activities are organised over six weeks, divided into three groups, each group is two weeks.

The activities are being held on morning and evening sessions so that the participant can choose between them, she added. Al Mohannadi pointed out that the age groups were divided into four categories, with each category has its own appropriate programs and activities.

QSC Managing Director added that registration is available through QSC’s website, adding that QSC will provide a scientific bag for each participant as a symbolic price with a special discount for the family, which regis-tered three children and above.

Sheikh Ali bin Salman Al Thani, the Chairman of the activities and events team at the QSC, confirmed the team’s readiness for the summer activity, stressing that the

reception and registration will be through a group of young volunteers who have expe-rience with QSC.

The Chairman of the activ-ities and events team said the process of registration and dis-tribution will be smooth to ensure the comfort of the par-ticipants. He called on those wishing to participate to reg-ister through QSC’s website and complete registration pro-cedures at the Club in order to ensure that there are vacancies.

The 2019 summer activities at Qatar Scientific Club will begin from June 29 and it will continue until August 7. Many activities and events will be held to foster creative thinking among participants.

FIFA World Cup 2022 helps transform region: Al ThawadiFROM PAGE 1

Panelists discussed the importance of public-private partnerships for large-scale infrastructure projects and examined the model of national vision strategies.

Here, Al Thawadi explained Qatar National Vision 2030, saying it had succeeded in driving and diversifying the country’s economy, and was using the FIFA World Cup to further accelerate its mission.

“Qatar’s astute financial planning and diversification away from a wholly hydro-carbon-based economy into new industries, such as Islamic finance, medicine, education and sport, has helped the coun-try’s economy thrive over the last two decades to become one of the region’s strongest,” said Al Thawadi.

“The hosting of the World Cup is just one vehicle we are using to drive public-private partnerships, diversify the economy and encourage inter-national investors and com-panies into the country.”

Al Thawadi said Qatar and Russia share similar national visions and went on to discuss how both countries face similar challenges and opportunities in

a rapidly changing global environment.

Al Thawadi was joined on the panel by Andrey Kostin, President and Chairman of VTB Bank, Maxim Akimov, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Maxim Oreshkin, Russia’s Minister of

Economic Development, Chen Fenjian, Chairman of China Railway Construction Corpo-ration Limited, Li Yong, Director General, United Nations Indus-trial Development Organisation, Sergey Sobyanin, Mayor of Moscow, and Rustam

Minnikhanov, President of Tatarstan.

Al Thawadi and Fahad bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, the Qatari Ambassador to Russia, went on to hold a number of bilateral meetings on the side-lines of the forum with leading

political and business leaders, as well as experts in the fields of tourism, sport and technology.

Al Thawadi and the SC del-egation also attended the Qatar-Russia gala dinner hosted by the Qatari Embassy.

The Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), Hassan Al Thawadi, participated in two panel sessions during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

03TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019 HOME

OFFICIAL NEWS

Indonesian Lawn Tennis Association organises tennis tournamentTHE PENINSULA DOHA

During the celebration of Eid Al Fitr 1440 H, Indonesian have a unique tradition known as ‘Halal Bi Halal’. This tradition drives people to meet and forgive each other.

Indonesian tennis players in Qatar would also like to preserve this noble heritage.

On June 6, 2019, Indonesian Lawn Tennis Association in Qatar (ILTA Qatar), supported by

the Labor Attaché of the Indo-nesian Embassy in Qatar, held the tennis tournament with theme event: “Halal Bi Halal Indonesian Migrant Workers Tennis Tournament”.

A total of 28 players came from different regions such as Al Khor, Mesaieed, Wakra and Doha gather round in Ritz Carl-ton’s Indoor tennis court to play tennis as well as do the Halal Bi Halal.

Resonating the theme, the main purpose of this tournament

was to strengthen the bond within Indonesian tennis players in Qatar, whereas winning the trophies was just a bonus to keep everyone motivated.

This tournament was also attended by Chairman of the Indonesian Community Associ-ation in Qatar (PERMIQA), Pri-handoko and the Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar, Muhammad Basri Sidehabi, who delivered a speech as well as presenting trophies to the winners. The participants at the tennis tournament organised by ILTA Qatar to celebrate Eid Al Fitr.

Last concert of season on June 13 at the Swiss International School QatarResidents can transport themselves to a musical wonderland with the Qatar Youth Choir and Qatar Junior Choir at their last concert of the season, on Thursday, June 13 at the Swiss International School Qatar. The Qatar Youth Choir is freshly returned from their successful workshops and concerts with the prestigious Vienna Boys Choir in Austria, while Qatar Junior Choir will showcase their concert program that they will perform during their tour to Germany in September. Tickets are priced at QR60, and are available from choir members or at the door. The concert will start at 7pm.

Women’s key mental health issues discussed at WCM-Q Grand RoundsTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Key issues in women’s mental health were explored at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar’s (WCM-Q) Grand Rounds lecture series.

Dr Felice Watt, Division Chief of Adult Psychiatry for Women’s Health at Sidra Med-icine, described the prevalence and effects of women’s mental health issues globally and sum-marized the psychosocial, cul-tural and biological determinants of women’s mental health.

Dr Watt said that while the total prevalence of mental health disorders in women and men is equal, each group is affected in different ways. “Women have twice the prevalence of depression than men, twice the amount of anxiety disorders and are two times more likely to attempt suicide, although we know that men are more likely to successfully commit suicide,” she said. “Women have four times the risk of anorexia, bulimia and other eating dis-orders, and 2.5 times the risk of

PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).”

Close consideration of the key determinants of mental health can shed light on the reasons why men and women experience mental health issues in different ways. These deter-minants consist of genetic dif-ferences, bio-neurological factors, psychological factors, socio-cultural issues and

economic, legal and environ-mental factors.

Gender issues often deepen disparities associated with soci-oeconomic determinants like income, employment and social status, said Dr Watt. Women are more likely to experience poverty, discrimination and social disadvantage and to have low-status jobs and decreased decision-making powers. They

are more likely to provide care to others, to provide unpaid labor and to work in poorly paid agricultural jobs. Additionally, women’s mental health is impacted by hormonal factors and conditions such as premen-strual dysphoric disorder, post-partum depression and menopause.

All of these factors contribute to the types of mental health dif-ficulties experienced by women, said Dr Watt. Violence against women is also an important determinant of women’s mental health. As such, gender-informed approaches are important in the effective prevention, diagnosis and management of women’s health disorders, and reforming social and cultural structures that discriminate against women is also key, she explained.

The lecture, titled ‘Key Issues in Women’s Mental Health’, was accredited locally by the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practi-t i o n e r s - A c c r e d i t a t i o n Department (QCHP-AD) and internationally by the Accredi-tation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

Dr Felice Watt, Division Chief of Adult Psychiatry for Women’s Health at Sidra Medicine, described the prevalence and effects of women’s mental health issues globally.

Amir greets President

of Portugal

DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

and Deputy Amir H H Sheikh

Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani

sent cables of congratu-

lations to the President of

the Portuguese Republic,

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on

the occasion of his country’s

National Day. Prime Minis-

ter and Interior Minister H E

Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser

bin Khalifa Al Thani also sent

a cable of congratulations to

the Prime Minister of the Por-

tuguese Republic, Antonio

Costa, on the occasion of his

country’s National Day. QNA

HMC offers advanced treatment for vitiligoFAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

With about 500 patients with vitiligo seen per year, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) provides several new treatment methods and services to control the condition.

It includes phototherapy, new oral medications, advanced research and partnerships with international institutions, according to Professor Martin Steinhoff, Chair at the Department of Dermatology and Venerology at HMC.

“Vitiligo is one of the more complicated diseases for the der-matology, because of the outer immune mechanism. At the moment we offer new therapies, oral medications and other services like phototherapy to block the process of vitiligo and have less side effects,” said Pro-fessor Steinhoff speaking to media recently.

Vitiligo is caused by the lack

of a pigment called melanin in the skin. Melanin is produced by skin cells called melanocytes, and it gives skin its colour. In vitiligo, there aren’t enough working melanocytes to produce enough melanin in skin. This causes white patches to develop on skin or hair. It’s not clear exactly why the melanocytes dis-appear from the affected areas of skin.

“A research is underway at the HMC to find how to bring back the cells that produce pigment. As a result if the

research we hope we can do that in the future,” said Professor Steinhoff.

At present, he Department of Dermatology and Venerology at HMC have both phototherapy and excimer laser for vitiligo treatment.

“We use excimer when there is less than 10 percent involvement. These services are

available, including excimer where only the spot involved is treated and phototherapy machine where the patient enters the machine and get exposed entirely,” said Professor Steinhoff.

HMC is also working with University of Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana regarding skin transplantations for patients with vitiligo. Vitiligo can be treated with surgical approaches, like skin or cellular grafts. The idea is that the top skin layer of the white spots is removed, and healthy pigment cells (melano-cytes) from another part of the body are transplanted there. After a few months, the trans-planted melanocytes start working to make pigment, which deposits in the surrounding skin and the white spots disappear, explained Professor Steinhoff.

“This is one of the most suc-cessful methods and the success is about 60 to 80 % successful. We work together with a centre

in University of Purdue and when the usual treatment is not successful then the patients can get a skin transplantation,” he said.

However, Professor Steinhoff insisted that it is essential for patients with vitiligo to get early diagnosis and treatment for better results.

“Most times it becomes dif-ficult to intervene, because often patients come to the clinic at the late stage of the disease. They come when the skin is already white and the immune system has killed the pigment cells and it makes the treatment difficult,” he added.

Dermatology and Venere-ology Department at HMC cur-rently runs 22 clinics including for many of skin conditions such as vitiligo, posraisis, eczema among others. These clinics sit-uated at the Rumailah Hospital receive about 400 patients per day at and has one of the shortest waiting time at HMC.

Prof Martin SteinhoffPIC: BAHER AMIN / THE PENINSULA

At present, the Department of Dermatology and Venerology at HMC have both phototherapy and excimer laser for vitiligo treatment.

Amir congratulates

Kazakhstan President

DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

sent a cable of congratulations

to President Kassym-Jomart

Tokayev on the occasion of

his victory in the presiden-

tial elections in the Republic

of Kazakhstan, wishing him

success and the Kazakh peo-

ple continued progress and

prosperity. Deputy Amir H H

Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad

Al Thani also sent yesterday

a cable of congratulations

to President Kassym-Jomart

Tokayev on the occasion of

his victory in the presiden-

tial elections in the Republic of

Kazakhstan. QNA

Discussion on human memory during technological developmentQNA DOHA

Doha Magazine, issued by the Ministry of Culture and Sports in its No.140 issue of June 2019, discusses the subject of human memory in the light of techno-logical development in a special file.

The file proposed the dis-cussion of the person’s value during an era of the Internet and quick delivery of information. In the article ‘I cannot remember tomorrow’, the writer Mohammed Al Idrisi stated that the loss of memory is costing people their future.

Furthermore, the magazine translated a dialogue with Dr. Francis Ostash, a neuroscientist on the impact of technology in the future in the form of memory, which stressed the need to protect human memory, in addition to the subject of the fragility of memory in time of speed and image, while addressing the writer Mohammed Marwan interest of most cultures over the ages to glorify memory not as evidence of for genius and intelligence but only as a moral duty.

The editorial of June, Editor-in-Chief, Faleh Hussain Al Hajri wrote the ‘Arab Youth and Development’, where he emphasised that youth are the main driver of the future of development and its pillars, noting Qatar’s efforts in sup-porting youth to be effective in local development, therefore he suggests the need to involve youth in all sectors with their determination to achieve success and development vision.

The magazine also raised many cultural topics in its new issue and gave its readers the MirrorMaker poem, which is a poetic anthology of Colombian poet Juan Manuel Rocca and translated by Khalid Al Risouni.

Qatar’s livestock sector sees huge growth since 2017

FROM PAGE 1Strategic Food Security

Projects 2019-2023 eyes to increase local production of meat to 21 percent in 2020, 24 percent in 2021 and 28 percent in 2022, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Munic-ipality and Environment recently.

The Ministry launched a number of projects and initia-tives in collaboration with authorities concerned and private sector to rise local meat production.

Under an ongoing initiative, local animal farms provided over 4,000 sheep to Widam Food Company.

The initiative was launched by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment in collabo-ration with Ministry of Com-merce and Industry and Widam to encourage the local production by providing subsidy.

The move also aims at increasing strategic reserve of animals at local farms to ensure the food security of the country. The project helps provide good return to the farms for their investments and hardworking encouraging them to increase the productions.

Under the initiative, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment provides enough fodders and veterinary services free of cost to the farms.

04 TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019HOME

QAS participates in IATA Ground Handling Conference in MadridTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Aviation Services (QAS) participated in the 32nd IATA Ground Handling Conference , which took place in Madrid from May 26 to 29, as a silver sponsor.

For the second consecutive year, QAS participated in what is widely recognised as the most prestigious event on the ground handling industry calendar, the IATA Ground Handling Con-ference (IGHC).

QAS welcomed hundreds of delegates to its exhibition stand where the company showcased its premium ground handling services, in particular the Cen-

tralised Load Control (CLC).QAS recently announced the

opening of their first interna-tional CLC office in New Delhi, India. This is the first step towards QAS’s international

expansion plans, which were announced at the same con-ference last year.

QAS Senior Vice President, Mehmet Murat Nursel, said, “We are very proud of this year’s par-ticipation at the conference. The IGHC plays an important role as a platform for all industry leaders to come together and discuss issues related to ground handling and aviation.”

In addition to participating in the conference, Qatar Airways and QAS were proud to be the main sponsors of the evening gala dinner, enabling delegates to network and enjoy the entertainment.

In 2018, the conference was

hosted by Qatar Airways and Qatar Aviation Services and took place at Doha, Qatar, making it

the first conference of its kind to be hosted in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. The event

drew more than 700 international delegates and guests from more than a dozen nations globally.

QAS officials pose for a group photo at the IATA Ground Handling Conference in Madrid, Spain.

Kidzmondo & partners launch initiatives for people with special needsTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Kidzmondo Doha recently launched its charitable activ-ities in connection with the holy month of Ramadan,

‘The good brings us together’ initiative by Kidz-mondo Doha aimed to draw a smile on the faces of people with special needs. Kidzmondo Doha collaborated with sponsors and partners who did not hesitate to extend their hand to charity.

“Al Khair brings us together” is part of a series of activities undertaken by

Kidzmondo Doha and Aura Leisure Services under their joint community responsibility programme.

Qatar Airways, the Islamic World Bank, Baladna Food Industries and Gulf Computer Company (GBM) have funded orphans and children with special needs with their fam-ilies, in cooperation with Qatar Red Crescent and Qatar Charity. The city of Kidzmondo Doha received more than 400 children at breakfast tables, followed by a special pro-gramme for Ramadan, where storytellers, puppets and mascots entertained them. The

children spent their time playing various interactive roles in the city in a wonderful Ramadan atmosphere. Zaher Shahib, sales manager of Aura Leisure Services Group, said: “The holy month of Ramadan is not only a charitable act, but if we do not feel the pain and suffering of others, we do not enjoy the meaning and value of giving , and that’s what we believe.”

Lama Zaroo Yousif , Director of Partnerships at Aura Entertainment Services, thanked the partners and sponsors for their participation and support for the Kidzmondo

Doha initiative, “Goodness brings us together”. He wel-comed the efforts to care for those with special needs and to allocate material and moral support. For her part, Huda Hamdan, Project Specialist at the Qatar Red Crescent Society’s Volunteer and Local Devel-opment Sector, praised this generous approach by Kidz-mondo and its partners, for pro-viding psychosocial support to children with special needs.

Huda Hamdan hoped QRCS, Kindzmondo and others would continue collaboration on char-itable and social welfare initi-atives in the future. Children take part in activities at Kidzmondo Doha.

Birla Public School student ranks 6th in All India and Foreign level

THE PENINSULA DOHA

Pragati Biswal of Grade X has brought laurels to Birla Public School and Qatar by achieving 6th rank in CBSE Board Exam in India & Foreign level. She scored 494 marks out of 500. She topped all

the Indian Schools in Qatar. Her parents gave credit to the hard work of teachers and environment of studies in the school in addition to her own sincere work.

Similarly, Sarthak Behal of Class XII topped in Commerce stream with 96.8 percent among all Indian Schools in Qatar and the

Science Stream topper of the school is Erin Susan Thomas with 96.2 percent. The Management of the school and parents applauded the achievement of Birlites at National & International level and they also appreciated the sincere contributions of school leadership and teachers.

Pragati Biswal, 6th Rank (India & Foreign) & 1st Rank in QatarCBSE Grade X Board Exam 2019

Sarthak Behal, Commerce Stream Topper in Qatar CBSE Grade XII Board Exam 2019

Erin Susan Thomas, Science Stream Topper CBSE Grade XII Board Exam 2019

A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light way for othersTHE PENINSULA DOHA

A teacher is the one who stands before the students and handles them with different personalities, attitudes and nationalities, keeping them united amidst their differ-ences. It’s a big challenge for her/him by making them learn the scholastic and pre scholastic skills and be a part of their life to mould them as a good and responsible citizen of this society by incul-cating moral values in them, wrote Soujanya Bollineni, who is a teacher in Doha.

It is be said that teachers are the architects of this society. They are the creators of this world by

creating different professionals who evoke their due respect in this society. But are they given their

deserved respect? Are they being esteemed for their work? At all times teachers have been made

scapegoats, blamed for the pupils’ lack of progress or failure to achieve better grades.

Is it only the school’s and the teachers’ responsibility to mould the child? No! The parents are also equally responsible for the values to be inculcated in the child. Parents, being the first teacher to the child shouldn’t overshadow the child’s mind towards the teacher. They should furnish the child with a scaffold by creating a positive attitude and respect towards the teacher by saying that the school is the further platform for you to mould yourself as a respectable human being in the society.

In today’s world the employed

parents with their limited hours at home are unable to spend much time with their kids. The use of social media by the student must be limited.

There should be regular mon-itoring of the child as what’s hap-pening at school, taught in the school and what is to be taken to school the next day. When the parents keep themselves informed about such details on a regular basis, they would consequently be well prepared in planning out their child’s study schedule at home.

Then comes the role of teacher as an emotional analyst who pro-motes students to have self-awareness, self-regulation, moti-vation and encourages social skills

by empathising with others which are the five key elements of emo-tional intelligence.

Thus, teachers and parents are the two major contributors to the positive growth and development of the student where the unques-tionable key factor is reciprocal communication. Trust and mutual understanding between parents and the teacher are the real secret of the child’s happy learning. As the child grows and hones dif-ferent skills, the teacher becomes a real guide in nurturing his interest and learning to make him more successful and independent. It is said “A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others”

Soujanya Bollineni

Is it only the school’s and the teachers’ responsibility to mould the child? No! The parents are also equally responsible for the values to be inculcated in the child. Parents, being the first teacher to the child, shouldn’t overshadow the child’s mind towards the teacher.

QC builds education centre for orphans in NairobiTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

Qatar Charity (QC), with the support of the people in Qatar, is implementing the Mahanju Multi-Service Education Centre project in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, which is one of the significant projects QC is about to complete.

The centre has many service facilities that aim to rehabilitate orphans and their families by

teaching them basic crafts, raise the percentage of school attendance by orphans and reduce the rate of school dropout resulting from poverty.

The 1,200 square meter centre comprises eight classrooms, four halls as student dormitories, two training and rehabilitation halls, a restaurant, a mosque, and an artesian well, along with other essential facilities. The project also

includes a model boarding primary school and a kinder-garten. Some 1,000 students are expected to benefit from this project.

The project is under imple-mentation in a populated area, where more than 45 percent of the people are middle-class, and 55 percent of the population is low-income, while the unem-ployment rate is 46 percent.

PISQ organises spelling bee competitionTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Pakistan International School-Qatar (PISQ) organised Spelling Bee Competition 2019 for senior boys and girls wings on May 29, 2019. Students from grade 5 to 8 from both the wings participated in the contest, displaying marvellous performance.

The competition was organised under the guidance of Principal of PISQ, Nargis Raza Otho, to sharpen the mental fac-ulties of students, enabling them to keep pace with the ever-changing contemporary systems of education. After the formal commencement of programme with the recitation of the Holy Quran, the participants from Grade 5 and 6 occupied the stage in the first segment. Demon-strating remarkable performance,

the contestants from each team competed against each other.

First segment comprised three rounds, giving each student four words to spell by the end of which ‘Win the Bee Round’ was played to break the tie among students who had successfully spelled all the words.

From grade 5, two students, Eman Ejaz and Khalilullah, bagged first position; second position was also shared by two students, Aruba Asif and Nawal Muhammad, and Abubaker Qureshi secured third position whereas from Grade 6, Mansoor Farhan and Eshal Ali clinched first position; Laiba Hina and Husna Khan shared second position and Anas Faisal stood third.

In the second and last segment, the participants from grade 7 and 8 were called on stage

to showcase their abilities. Doing their best, all the contestants tried to win the contest and bag any of the 1st three positions.

At the conclusion of the segment, after a neck-to-neck competition, from grade 7, two students, Mehmooda Shah and Saif Raza, shared first position; Maheen Saghir got second and Shaan Ahmad obtained 3rd position. Areeba Khalid, Haleema Azhar and Hannan Tahir from grade 8 bagged first, second and third positions respectively.

At the end of the event, certif-icates were awarded to the winners to encourage them for their future endeavours.

The excellent manifestation of students’ preparation high-lighted the hard work and efforts of the teachers who had groomed and polished them for the contest.

PISQ principal, teachers and winning students after the Spelling Bee Competition 2019.

In 2018, Qatar Airways and Qatar Aviation Services hosted the IATA Ground Handling Conference, which is recognised as the most prestigious event on the ground handling industry calendar.

05TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Iran warns against ‘economic war’ through sanctionsAFP TEHRAN

Iran’s foreign minister warned yesterday of the consequences of waging “economic war” against his country through US sanctions, saying those conducting and supporting it could not expect to “remain safe”.

“One cannot expect an eco-nomic war to continue against the Iranian people and that those waging this war and those sup-porting it remain safe,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said at a joint news conference in Tehran with his German coun-terpart Heiko Maas.

“The only way to decrease tensions in the region is to stop the economic war,” he added, noting Germany and the European Union could have an “important role” to play in defusing the situation.

Iran signed a landmark nuclear accord with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia

and the United States in 2015, leading to sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

But the US administration of President Donald Trump has imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran and, according to Tehran, waged an “economic war” against it after walking away from the deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The visiting German foreign minister said his country would do its utmost to ensure tensions do not escalate. “There is war in Syria and in Yemen, fortu-nately not here,” Maas said in Tehran. “We want to do

everything we can to keep it that way” for Iran.

“Nevertheless, the tensions here in the region are worrying, and we fear that single events can trigger developments that end in violence, and we want to prevent this under all cir-cumstances,” he added.

Maas met Zarif in Tehran, and both said they had dis-cussed the future of the nuclear

deal and regional issues. “We had a serious, frank and rather long discussion,” Zarif told reporters at the news con-ference. Ahead of his meeting with Zarif, the German minister acknowledged the economic benefits Tehran hoped for from the deal were now “more dif-ficult to obtain” but urged Iran to fully respect the agreement.

It was in Iran’s “political

and strategic interest to maintain this agreement and the dialogue with Europe”, he said. The nuclear deal, Maas said, is “extraordinarily important” for Europe’s security and they “have made the greatest effort to meet (their) commitments.” “We will not work miracles. But we are doing all we can to prevent a failure.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (right) shakes hands with his German counterpart Heiko Maas after their joint news conference in Teheran, Iran, yesterday.

Palestine hits back at Israeli annexation talkAFP WARSAW

The Palestinian foreign minister yesterday called for sanctions on Israel if it starts to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

But Riyad Al Maliki also questioned whether Israel was a “holy cow” no one dare touch.

He was talking to reporters in Poland after a US envoy’s comments that Israel had the right to annex at least some of the territory captured in 1967.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman made the claim in a New York Times interview

published Saturday. “Under certain circumstances, I think Israel has the right to retain some, but unlikely all, of the West Bank,” Friedman said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ben-jamin Netanyahu pledged ahead of April elections to begin annexing West Bank settlements. After failing to build a governing coalition, he now faces new elec-tions in September.

Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War and the continued construction of settlements there has been a major stumbling block to progress in the peace process

with the Palestinians. The inter-national community regards the settlements as illegal.

“Friedman with his statement is trying to help Netanyahu to have the courage to take such a decision” to annex, said Maliki.

“This is really something that the international community has to stand up to,” he said.

“We cannot accept the annexation of territories by any country because this is (a) vio-lation of international law.”

The minister said sanctions should be imposed if Israel resorts to annexation.

“It should be expected that (the) international community will take up sanctions against Israel if Israel really ventures into such (an)approach.

“Or when it comes to Israel, is it really the holy cow that no one could really touch?”

In Jerusalem, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it was looking at filing a complaint with the International Criminal Court.

The Palestinian leadership has already rejected the long-delayed US peace plan, saying President Donald Trump’s moves so far show him to be blatantly biased in favour of Israel.

14 French, Dutch orphans repatriated from SyriaAFP PARIS

Twelve orphaned children of French militants were flown home yesterday from Syria, along with two Dutch orphans who will be handed over to the Netherlands, the French Foreign Ministry said.

The latest wave of repatria-tions of foreigners from crowded camps in northeast Syria tar-geted a group of children that were “isolated and particularly vulnerable”, the French Ministry said, adding some were sick and/or malnourished.

They were handed over to French and Dutch officials by Syrian Kurdish authorities,

according to Abdelkarim Omar, a senior Kurdish official.

The transfer marks the latest small step in efforts to resolve the problem posed by the huge numbers of stranded foreign militants and their families in Syrian camps.

The children, the oldest of whom is aged 10 according to Omar, had been held together with tens of thousands of people who fled recent fighting against the Islamic State group.

Omar said the transfer took place in the town of Ain Issa on Sunday, near Syria’s border with Turkey.

France has one of the largest contingents of militants who were captured or turned

themselves in, together with their families, in the final stages of the US-backed Kurdish assault on the last fragment of the IS “caliphate”.

Like many Western coun-tries however it has been torn over what to do with the mili-tatns, insisting that they must face local justice.

France had already repat-riated five orphans from Syria in mid-March, as well as a three-year-old girl whose mother was sentenced to life imprisonment in Iraq.

But so far it has refused to let mothers, some of whom were accused of acting as IS propa-gandists, return with their children.

A plane allegedly transporting orphaned children of French militants, is parked at the Velizy-Villacoublay airport, France, yesterday.

Nechirvan sworn in as President of Iraqi KurdistanAFP ARBIL, IRAQ

Nechirvan Barzani was sworn in yesterday as Iraqi Kurdistan’s second President, succeeding his uncle and veteran leader Massud Barzani whose son Masrour will likely be nomi-nated premier today.

Nechirvan, the 52-year-old deputy leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, was elected as President on May 28 after seven years as the region’s prime minister.

He is the Kurdish region’s second President after his uncle Massud, who served in the role from 2005 until he quit in 2017 following a controversial inde-pendence referendum. The younger Barzani took his oath of office during a sleek cer-emony at Arbil’s Congressional Palace yesterday. In his address, he appealed for better ties with federal authorities in Baghdad, and said his government would also prioritise the well-being of constituents in the region.

A set of speeches followed his swearing-in, with the first slots going to Massud and then Iraqi President Barham Saleh, who hails from the opposing Patriotic Union of Kurdistan which boycotted Barzani’s election. Among those in the audience were Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and several foreign consuls, but not Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi. Born in northern Iraq in 1966, Barzani spent part of his life in Iran and speaks fluent Kurdish, Farsi and English. He has had a long political career in the Kurdish region, serving as its vice prime minister, head of government and prime minister since it won autonomy from federal author-ities in 1991.

Istanbul mayoral candidates face off in TV debateANATOLIA ISTANBUL

Turkey’s ruling and opposition party candidates for the coveted Istanbul mayor’s seat are set to meet this weekend in a live televised debate, party officials announced yesterday.

Binali Yildirim, candidate of the ruling Justice and Devel-opment (AK) Party, and Ekrem Imamoglu, for the Republican People’s Party (CHP), will face off on Sunday, at 9pm (1800GMT), in a debate set to be aired live across multiple Turkish channels.

Veteran journalist Ismail Kucukkaya will serve as mod-erator, Mahir Unal, the AK Party’s deputy chair, told reporters.

The debate’s format will give each candidate equal time to answer the same questions, said Engin Altay, the CHP’s deputy group chair.

Technical services for the live broadcast will be done by a joint technical team assigned by both parties “that does not belong to any TV channel,” he added. After local elections held throughout Turkey on March 31, Turkish poll officials ruled that the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayor’s race had to be held again, due to irregu-larities and violations of election law.

German Foreign Minister said tensions in the region were worrying, adding Germany will do its utmost to ensure they did not escalate.

06 TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Nearly 100 killed in central Mali village massacreAFP BAMAKO

Nearly 100 people were killed in a gruesome overnight attack on a village in central Mali, in the latest violence to strike the fragile region, officials said yesterday.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the massacre, targeting a village inhabited by the Dogon com-munity, bore the hallmarks of tit-for-tat ethnic attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives.

It came less than three weeks after nearly 160 members of the Fulani ethnic group were slaugh-tered by a group identified as Dogon.

“Right now we have 95 dead civilians. The bodies are burned, we are continuing to look for

others,” an official in Koundou district, where the village of Sobane-Kou is located, said.

The government, giving a provisional toll, said 95 people had been killed, 19 were missing, numerous farm animals had been slaughtered and homes had been torched.

“Armed men, suspected to be terrorists, launched a murderous attack on this peaceful village,” it said in a statement.

A Malian security source at the site of the massacre said “a Dogon village has been virtually wiped out.” The local official said the attackers came and “started shooting, pillaging and burning.” The village had about 300 inhab-itants, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

An association of Dogon tra-ditional hunters, called Dan Nan

Ambassagou, deplored the “bar-baric and vile” attack which it described as tantamount to genocide.

A brutal cycle of violence in central Mali, an ethnic mosaic, began after a predominantly Fulani jihadist group led by preacher Amadou Koufa emerged in 2015.

It started targeting the Bambara and Dogon ethnic groups, which in turn started to form “self-defence groups” of their own. The Fulani are pri-marily cattle breeders and traders, while the Bambara and

Dogon are traditionally sed-entary farmers.

On May 16, the UN peace-keeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) announced it had recorded “at least 488 deaths” in attacks on Fulanis in the central regions of Mopti and Segou since January 2018.

In the bloodiest raid, about 160 Fulani villagers were slaugh-tered on March 23 at Ogossagou, near the border with Burkina Faso, by suspected Dogon hunters. According to MINUSMA, armed Fulanis had “caused 63 deaths” among civilians in the

Mopti region, also since January 2018. “It’s a shock, a tragedy,” MINUSMA chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif said of the latest blood-letting, noting that it came at a time “when we are discussing the renewal of the (MINUSMA) mandate.” There are currently about 14,700 troops and police deployed in Mali, which ranks as the most dangerous UN mission, with 125 peacekeepers killed in attacks since deployment in 2013. Donor countries to MINUSMA are to meet at the UN on Wednesday. A decision on renewing the force’s mandate is expected by June 27.

Speaking at the UN head-quarters in New York, Annadif voiced regret that the Malian authorities had not been present enough in the area to prevent such violence.

Sudan deports three freed rebel leaders after talks failREUTERS KHARTOUM

Sudan has deported to South Sudan three members of a rebel movement detained last week in the wake of a deadly raid on a protest sit-in, an official in the movement said yesterday.

The three are members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), one of the country’s main rebel groups and part of an alliance pushing for a handover to civilian rule after the military deposed President Omar Al Bashir in April.

The deportations came with many shops and businesses in the capital Khartoum still shut on the second day of a campaign of strikes and civil disobedience

aimed at putting pressure on the Transitional Military Council to relinquish power.

The council toppled and arrested Bashir after three decades in power on April 11, before entering negotiations on a transition towards elections with the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) alliance, which includes the SPLM-N. But the talks collapsed last week when security forces stormed a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry that had been the focal point of Sudan’s protest movement for nearly two months. Yasir Arman, the most prominent of the three men released and the deputy head of the SPLM-N, was detained last Wednesday after returning from exile following Bashir’s ouster.

The two others, SPLM-N sec-retary-general Ismail Jallab and spokesman Mubarak Ardol, were arrested after meeting visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as he tried to mediate

between the military council and civilian opposition. An SPLM-N official said the three had been put on a flight to Juba, South Sudan’s capital, following their release in Khartoum.

Opposition doctors say at least 118 people have been killed since the raid on the sit-in a week ago. The military council has con-firmed 61 deaths, including three members of the security services.

Gang violence in Nigeria leaves 43 deadAFP KANO, NIGERIA

Gunmen on motorbikes have killed 43 people in waves of attacks in northern Nigeria, police said yesterday, the latest violence by criminal gangs raiding villages and stealing livestock.

The string of attacks, carried out overnight Saturday to Sunday in Nigeria’s far north-western Sokoto state, saw the gangs ride out from forest hideouts, speeding into villages and unleashing their weapons.

“They opened fire on the village indiscriminately,” said Abdullahi Dantani, from the village of Satiru, where 18 people were murdered.

In Sokoto state’s Rabah dis-trict, gunmen rode into four vil-lages — Rukunni, Tsage, Giire and Kalfu — massacring 25 people. “Twenty-five people were killed,” said Ibrahim Kaoje, Sokoto state’s top police officer. “Several domestic animals were rustled by the attackers.” Four people were arrested in connection to those attacks, Kaoje said, “including a female informant of the gangs, who was disguised as a mad woman.” In a separate wave of attacks in Satiru village, in Sokoto’s Isa district, the raiders shot 18 people, and then stole animals. “We lost 18 people in the raid by the gunmen, who came into the village on motorcycles,” said Satiru village resident Umeh Na-Ta’ala. The gangs have long been a scourge of rural com-munities in northern Nigeria, raiding villages, stealing cattle, burning homes, looting food, and kidnapping for ransom. President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the killings, expressing “deep shock and sadness” in a statement.

There are currently about 14,700 troops and police deployed in Mali, which ranks as the most dangerous UN peacekeeping mission, with 125 peacekeepers killed in attacks since deployment in 2013.

Relatives of victims of violence in the crackdown on Sudanese protesters listen to a doctor inside a ward in a hospital in Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan, yesterday.

07TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019 ASIA

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3 accused get life terms for minor girl’s murderAFP PATHANKOT, INDIA

Six men were convicted yesterday over the notorious 2018 gang abuse and murder in India of an eight-year-old girl from a Muslim nomadic tribe that provoked horror and stoked inter-religious tensions.

The six men from the Jammu region of northern India escaped the death sentence, however, with three defendants given life imprisonment and the others five years in jail.

Sexual violence, including against children, is rife in India and outrage over the Kathua case, named after the district where the atrocity happened, contributed to the government introducing the death penalty for child rapists.

According to the charge sheet, the girl was abducted while she was out grazing horses and taken to a village in Jammu, the Hindu-dominated part of the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir, on January 10 last year.

In an ordeal lasting five days, she was sedated and held in a Hindu temple, repeatedly raped and then strangled and bludgeoned to death.

Investigations suggested that the girl was targeted in order to strike fear in her nomad com-munity and drive them out of the area.

A seventh man was acquitted yesterday while an eighth person, who claims to be underage, faces a separate trial.

Among the three convicted for rape and murder and sen-tenced to life were village head Sanjhi Ram and special police

officer Deepak Khajuria. The others were found guilty of taking bribes and destroying evidence.

Prosecutors said that they would study the verdict before deciding whether to appeal. The family, who were not present at the trial, had hoped that all six would be given the death sen-tences, prosecutors said.

India has the death penalty for the most brutal murders and terror attacks. The last execution happened in 2015 over bombings in Mumbai in 1993.

The Kathua case sparked two days of violent protests in Jammu and demonstrations in several other places across India, including in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

The ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party also drew flak after two of its members par-ticipated in rallies in support of the accused.

The protests were remi-niscent of those that followed the fatal gang rape of a Delhi student

on a bus in 2012 that made head-lines around the world.

The Supreme Court had shifted the Kathua trial to Punjab after the girl’s family and their lawyer complained of death threats.

Sexual violence, including against children, remains una-bated in India. Nearly 20,000 child rape cases were reported in 2016, according to official data, while a 2014 UN report said one in three rape victims was a minor.

Hundreds of police were on duty yesterday in Pathankot for the trial. Wary of new protests, security was also heavy in Kathua town and surrounding Muslim areas, although no incidents were reported.

Policemen stand guard outside a court before the verdict on the case of abuse and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir was announced, in Pathankot, India, yesterday.

The Supreme Court had shifted the Kathua trial from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab after the girl’s family and their lawyer complained of death threats.

Make India $5 trillion economy, Modi tells bureaucratsIANS NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday asked the top bureau-crats of each government department to plan, create roadmap and take decisions to make India a $5 trillion economy while making “ease of living” their top priority.

“Every department of the Union government and every district of each state has a role

to play in making India a $5 trillion economy,” the Prime Minister said while addressing the secretaries of all the gov-ernment departments.

Modi also touched upon the importance of the “Make in India” initiative and the need to make tangible progress towards this end. He asked the top bureaucrats to focus on taking steps to improve “ease of living” for the people. In the presence of Union Ministers Rajnath Singh,

Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and Jitendra Singh, the Prime Minister said the mandate in the Lok Sabha polls reflected the will and aspirations of the people to change the “status quo” and seek a better life for themselves.

“The recent general election was marked by pro-incumbency for which credit must go to the entire team of officials. They worked hard, conceived schemes and delivered excellent results on the ground over the last five

years,” Modi said, according to an official statement.

He said the election this time has been marked by a positive vote, which emerges from trust that the common man feels based on his day-to-day experiences. “The Indian voter has outlined a vision for the next five years and this is now an opportunity before us. The huge expectations of the people should not be viewed as a challenge but as an oppor-tunity,” Modi said.

Modi also said that India’s progress in “ease of doing business” should reflect in greater facilitation for small businesses and entrepreneurs. “Each Min-istry of the government should focus on ‘ease of living’,” he said, adding that water, fisheries and animal husbandry will also be important areas for the gov-ernment. PM urged the secre-taries to use technology to improve outcomes and efficiency in each department.

Bangladesh PM slams Myanmar over Rohingya deadlockAFP DHAKA

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has slammed Myanmar for delays in the repatriation of Rohingya refugees who fled violence in the neighbouring country.

Some 740,000 Rohingya took shelter in fetid, over-crowded camps in Bangladesh after Myanmar’s military drove them over the border in a 2017 crackdown.

Many still fear for their safety if they return to Myanmar, where the Muslim minority has faced decades of repression and erosion of rights.

The two governments

signed a repatriation deal in November 2017, yet so far vir-tually no Rohingya have vol-unteered to return.

“The problem lies with Myanmar as they don’t want to take back the Rohingyas by any means,” Hasina told a press conference. She also criticised international aid agencies working in the refugee camps in the border district of Cox’s Bazar — who object to any forced relocations — saying they are not interested in ending the crisis.

“The problem that I now see is that different interna-tional agencies that are pro-viding voluntary services or working at Rohingya camps in

Cox’s Bazar never want any refugee to go back,” she said.

“The principal problem lies here.” Bangladesh has said it will not force Rohingya to return to Myanmar, where the Muslim minority faced several waves of persecution before the 2017 crackdown which saw widespread murder, rape and arson. But Hasina called for an investigation into the organ-isers of protests against repa-triation that have been held within the squalid camps.

“Who instigated the movement?” she asked. “Those who provide assistance to Rohingyas have a serious objection, though the gov-ernment has constructed very

beautiful houses and structures at Bhashan Char,” Hasina said of the shelters Bangladesh has built on a barren, flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal.

Hasina’s comments follow the leak of a report by the Asso-ciation of Southeast Asian Nations emergency response team, which gave a glowing assessment of Myanmar’s efforts to entice Rohingya ref-ugees back.

The report left observers incredulous for glossing over army atrocities, ignoring the ongoing civil war in Rakhine state and blaming the delays in repatriation on bungled paperwork by Bangladeshi officials.

Governor meets PM, Shah amid Bengal violenceIANS NEW DELHI

Amid continuing violence in West Bengal following the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi yesterday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and apprised them of the situation in the state.

“I have met the Prime Min-ister and the Home Minister. It was a courtesy call. I informed them about the general situ-ation in the state,” Tripathi told the reporters after the meetings.

The Governor first called on the Prime Minister at his resi-dence, and then met Shah for some 20 minutes at the North Block.

Talking to the reporters earlier yesterday, Tripathi said his visits to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister were pre-scheduled.

“I couldn’t wish him per-sonally on the swearing-in day, hence this is a courtesy visit,” said the Governor whose tenure ends on July 23.

The Governor’s meetings with Modi and Shah came a day after the Ministry of Home Affairs sent a strongly-worded advisory to the West Bengal government for its “complete failure” to control the unabated post-poll violence in the state. The MHA had expressed strong concerns over the tense situ-ation in the state.

Meanwhile, West Bengal’s government has told the centre that “firm and appropriate actions” were initiated in case of a few “stray post-poll clashes” in the state.

The state government’s statement claimed that the clashes were perpetrated by “some anti-social elements”.

Rescuers work to save child trapped in wellAFP NEW DELHI

Indian emergency workers were scrambling yesterday to rescue a two-year-old boy trapped down a narrow disused well for almost four days in the western state of

Punjab. Fatehvir Singh fell into the 110-feet well on Thursday while playing in fields near his house, local lawmaker Vijay Inder Singla said. The rescue has been beset by multiple challenges, with the diameter of the well in Sangrur district just nine inches (23 cm) and it

being unused since 1991.Rescuers were trying to

reach the boy by digging and inserting a 36-inch wide pipe parallel to the well. They have also managed to insert an oxygen pipe into the well where the boy is trapped, as well as a camera.

48 degrees in Delhi A mirage shimmers over Rajpath leading to India Gate, in New Delhi. Heatwave peaked in the Indian capital, with the mercury touching record 48 degrees Celsius yesterday.

Sudan’s military rulers are drawing “lessons from the impunity for murdering opponents enjoyed by [Saudi crown prince] Mohammed bin Salman and Sissi who are now backing them,”

AFP

08 TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019VIEWS

Will Sudan’s military crush hope for democracy?

The long-simmering standoff between Sudan’s military regime and civilian protesters encamped in the capital of

Khartoum exploded this week. On Monday, troops from the Rapid Support Forces, an infamous paramil-itary unit, attacked the sit-in protest site that activists had occupied for the past two months. At least 35 people were killed and hundreds more wounded. By the following day, the site had been dismantled and cleared by the paramilitary forces, which also set up checkpoints and locked down parts of Khartoum.

“Pockets of defiant protesters gathered at mosques on Tuesday, turning their prayers for the Eid Al Fitr holiday into calls for sustained civil disobedience,” my Washington Post colleagues reported. “Sporadic gunfire could still be heard throughout Khartoum and its suburbs.”

The violence marked a grim turn for what had been a hopeful moment in Sudan. In scenes redolent of the Arab world’s 2011 pro-democracy uprisings, an emboldened grass-roots protest movement had taken root in the heart of the Sudanese capital, clamoring for democratic reform and political change. Their stamina and

courage led to the April ouster of long-ruling President Omar al-Bashir by top military offi-cials within his regime.

But the protesters never trusted the Transi-tional Mil-itary Council that came into place after Bashir’s removal and insisted that the generals transfer

authority to civilians. They had good reason to distrust the top brass - the senior officials of the TMC all have deep ties to Bashir and the complex security apparatus he built. The mil-itary and protest leaders met for rounds of failed negotiations con-cerning the way forward, while a gen-eration of Sudanese activists gathered in hopeful vigil and protest in the heart of Khartoum. On May 28, they called for a two-day general strike.

The military’s response was to crack down. After the Rapid Support Forces moved in, TMC head Lt. Gen.

Abdel Fattah Al Burhan announced the end of dialogue with the protest movement, deemed the protest site as a potential “threat to national security,” and said the military council would fast-track the transitional period and stage presidential elections within nine months. That’s bad news for pro-democracy activists and oppo-sition parties, which need more time to muster the resources to contest an election against entrenched regime forces.

“The concern is the TMC . . . will now link up with old regime elements and so the elections will open the way for the old regime to come back into power. It is very worrying,” Rosalind Marsden, a Sudan expert at Chatham House, told the Guardian.

It’s also a blueprint seen elsewhere in the Arab world. In Algeria, a com-mitted protest movement that forced the departure of the country’s aging, enfeebled president is still locked in a tense standoff with a military elite that is bent on preserving their control over large sections of the state. In Egypt, Sudanese protesters have a clear example of what happens when a pro-democratic revolution eventually gets swept away by a vicious counterrevo-lution led by the military establishment.

A coup against the country’s unpopular but democratically elected government in 2013 was followed by a massacre of Islamist protesters that drew parallels to the killings at Tiananmen Square in 1989. That coup leader, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, is now the country’s strongman and potential president for life.

Not surprisingly, Burhan and his allies recently called on Al Sissi and also paid visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The two gulf monarchies are especially hostile to the prospect of democratic upheaval in their wider neighbourhood and promised $3 billion in aid to Sudan to provide for the country’s “stability.” But experts see a disturbing trend in play, where Arab authoritarians guar-antee their preferred political order, preside over shocking repression and human rights abuses and pay little price for it.

Sudan’s military rulers are drawing “lessons from the impunity for mur-dering opponents enjoyed by [Saudi crown prince] Mohammed bin Salman and Sissi who are now backing them,” Timothy Kaldas, a Cairo-based analyst for the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, told Today’s WorldView. “Their backing by regional authoritarians who themselves have escaped any consequences for violently repressing opponents may have emboldened them to follow their example and use deadly force against protesters in Sudan.”

“If the military prevails in Sudan, it will mark a victory as well for these ruthless despots and their road-to-nowhere style of governance,” noted an editorial in The Washington Post that called out the negative role played by the Saudis and Emiratis.

Kaldas cautioned, though, that Sudan “lacks the comparable strategic value” that a country like Egypt or Saudi Arabia has for many Western governments. For more than a decade, Bashir, who is wanted on genocide and crimes against humanity charges by the International Criminal Court, was a global villain in the eyes of the West and his regime the subject of various international sanctions. The RSF has its antecedents in the notorious Jan-jaweed militia that carried out mass atrocities in Sudan’s restive Darfur region.

US officials slammed the crackdown this week, with White House national security adviser John Bolton describing the move to attack the protesters as “abhorrent.” Tibor Nagy, US assistant secretary of state for Africa, decried “a brutal and coor-dinated attack, led by the Rapid Support Forces militia, that mirrors some of the worst offenses of the Bashir regime.”

But analysts aren’t convinced that the United States will do much more than scold. “The international com-munity - so interested and morally exercised by Bashir’s human rights abuses in the past that it has left Sudan hobbled by years of economic sanc-tions and international isolation - has now moved on,” wrote British-Sudanese columnist Nesrine Mali k.

ISHAAN THAROOR THE WASHINGTON POST

QUOTE OF THE DAYWe have said it many

times, that all the money in the world, if it is being put to us in exchange for giving up on our right to

Jerusalem as our capital or the right to establish our independent Palestinian state, we will choose the second and not the first.

Riyad Al Maliki Palestinian Foreign Minister

Drugs and Brexit: Race to replace UK’s May under way

The contest to replace Theresa May as Britain’s next leader formally got under way on Monday, with frontrunner

Boris Johnson facing criticism from Paris over his Brexit plan and a key rival struggling to throw off a drugs scandal.

Eleven candidates have declared their interest in succeeding May, who quit as her Conservative party’s leader on Friday over her failure to take Britain out of the EU on time. She remains prime minister until a new leader is chosen, likely in late July, and they will automatically enter Downing Street.

The race has been dominated by Britain’s looming EU exit on October 31, with Johnson among those talking tough on the need to renegotiate the terms May struck or leave with no deal. But his vow to refuse to pay the multi-billion-euro financial settlement she has agreed, covering Britain’s liabilities from four decades of EU membership, drew a sharp rebuke from Paris.

“Not honouring payment obliga-tions is a breach of international com-mitment equivalent to a default on its sovereign debt, with the consequences that we know,” a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said. Johnson is the bookmakers’ favourite but has not appeared in public for weeks, a tactic that has helped the poli-tician best known for his gaffes, jokes and anecdotes to stay on message.

While his rivals have been touring the broadcast studios, he announced his latest campaign promise -- to slash income tax -- in his regular newspaper column. By contrast, another leading candidate, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, spent the weekend apol-ogising after revealing he had taken cocaine on several occasions two decades ago.

May took over after the 2016 EU referendum but was forced to quit after failing three times to get her divorce deal through parliament, and twice delaying Brexit.

Johnson and Gove were both leading campaigners for Brexit in the referendum, but while the former quit

the government over May’s approach, Gove stayed on. The pair have history — Gove dramatically withdrew his backing for Johnson during the 2016 leadership campaign, only to falter himself, clearing the way for May.

The 51-year-old’s campaign this time has been hit by the revelation in a forthcoming biography of his illegal use of cocaine, which he admitted but said was a mistake.

He suffered another blow on Monday when his cabinet colleague Amber Rudd, a moderate on Brexit, endorsed Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt for the leadership. Gove has taken a softer line on Britain’s EU departure than Johnson, suggesting he might delay Brexit once again to try to avoid a damaging “no deal” exit.

Meanwhile Hunt claimed at that weekend that he had received encour-aging signals for renegotiating the Brexit deal from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In response, a German government spokeswoman referenced a previous remark by Merkel that the deal cannot be reopened, although a declaration on future ties could be.

Qatar’s National Vision 2030 also encompasses cultural diversity and expression as part of the roadmap for sustainable development.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

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ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

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ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIALQatar – home to cultural diversity

The State of Qatar was elected a member of the Inter-Governmental Committee of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural

Expressions during the seventh session of the Conference of Parties to the 2005 Convention held in Paris last week.

In 2009, Qatar joined the Unesco-led instrument, which aims to strengthen the creation, production, dissemination, access and enjoyment of cultural expressions transmitted by cultural activities, with a strong focus on developing coun-tries. The Convention has 146 parties, 145 countries and the European Union. During the 7th session of the Conference of the Parties in Paris, some 98 countries voted to elect 12 new members of the Inter-Governmental Committee. 59 countries voted for the State of Qatar in Group 5b of the Arab Group.

Qatar’s election to the Committee reaffirmed the confi-dence of the international community in the State of Qatar to protect and strengthen cultural diversity and expression, both at home and abroad.

The Ministry of Culture and Sports, which represented the State of Qatar at the summit, presented a detailed paper highlighting the cultural diversity in Qatar and the initiatives

the country has taken to promote cultural expression, as well as its support for regional and inter-national cooperation and communication.

Qatar is a truly multi-cultural society with people, languages, and cuisines from all over the world coming together under the overarching Arab-Muslim identity of Qatar. Doha has a rich cultural calendar with dozens of cultural troupes coming to the city from across the globe every year.

The Qatari delegation at the Unesco event rightly highlighted the importance of cultural diversity and its support as an

essential dimension of intercultural dialogue and an important factor for sustainable development. The cele-bration of cultural diversity also promotes human rights and the sense of belonging and identity with full respect for other cultural identities coexisting in a single society.

The State of Qatar has taken a number of steps to strengthen cultural expression and celebration in recent years, including the Cultural Years Project; the Qatar Phil-harmonic Orchestra, which is composed of 101 musicians from the region; the World Cultural House Project; the Fran-cophone Cultural Days in the State; the establishment of community radio stations in Qatar and the Cultural Village Festival at Qatar University.

Qatar’s National Vision 2030 also encompasses cultural diversity and expression as part of the roadmap for sus-tainable development. Some trailblazing initiatives the State of Qatar has taken to advance the dialogue of civilisations and to promote peaceful coexistence between different reli-gions and cultures include Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue, the Qatar Committee for the Alliance of Civilizations, the Qatar Global Award for Dialogue among Civilizations, Wijdan (Conscience) Cultural Centre, Doha Award for Drama Writing, the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding, and the Cul-tural Diversity Festival in Katara.

A Sudanese protester holds a national flag as he stands on a barricade along a street, demanding that the country’s Transitional Military Council hand over power to civilians, in Khartoum.

Naspers will also bring with it a dual shareholding structure to match or even exceed the worst practices of tech behemoths such as Facebook Inc. or Google parent Alphabet Inc.

09TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019 OPINION

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A new look Modi cabinet

Europe’s new tech giant is 100 times more outrageous than Facebook repeats to re-flug

JAYANTA GHOSAL IANS

ALEX WEBB BLOOMBERG

The evening crept up slowly. Different colours of light over the presidential palace. After sitting in front of a historical

architecture, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Damodardas Modi, started his second innings. After he took oath, other ministers took oath one by one.

Whatever constitutes the cabinet, one thing is very clear: that it is Narendra Modi’s cabinet. Narendra Modi is the supreme leader who decides the politics and adminis-trative direction of the country. He is hundred per cent competent.

He has been inventing various kinds of observers and analysts in different ways. Some think that he is the rightist leader of the leader. Some people also believe that he is a very liberal leader, he has taken socialist programmes in many ways, keeping an eye on poor people. Those social projects are the characteristics of a well-intentioned state. So Narendra Modi is a state hero, who has many types of shades, a variety of layers.

So what are the issues or the pre-condition that Modi is to choose from his ministers? Firstly, he wanted a working minister who can work at the same rhythm as him, who will be honest and whose image in public would be good. Sushma Swaraj did not contest this election for health reasons, so, Modi made Rajnath Singh

his Defence Minister. Amit Shah is Home Minister and S. Jayashankar his Minister for External Affairs.

The importance of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Foreign Min-istry is clear from the choice of person appointed as minister. Firstly, after the attack of Pulwama and Balakot, India’s foreign policy will move fast. Trade issues with the US will be settled through negotiations. Russia and France and other European countries also have to balance the relationship. There should be some pressure to stop Pakistan’s terrorist activities so that Imran Khan is forced to sit in talks. For such complex diplomacy, there was special need for a person like Jaishankar as Minister for External Affairs, there is no doubt about this.

Again, Amit Shah, the country’s interior minister, has decided to eliminate Pakistan-backed Kashmiri militants or foreign terrorists. There is a guru-disciple relationship between Modi and Amit Shah. Kashmir will be the highest priority for Amit Shah.

Jawaharlal Nehru’s Home Min-ister was the Vallabhbhai Patel. Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Home Minister was Lal Krishna Advani. North Block has a huge black-and-white picture of the Home Minister. This huge picture is quite significant today. Because Advani won from Gandhinagar, Amit Shah also came from that seat, and broke Advani’s record for votes. Like Amit Shah, Advani was also the party’s president.

I have seen Amit Shah at work even when his sugar level was high. He was running the poll campaign just after taking an insulin injection inside his chopper. He is a man of action. His aim will be to start a dia-logue on Article 370 and Article 35(A). The BJP is still small in the Rajya Sabha. So the Bill with Article 370 cannot be passed even now.

Hence, Amit Shah will wait. The character of terrorism in Kashmir has changed a lot. Hurriyat leaders are no longer relevant, but some of the youngest militant leaders have been formed in the Valley. Rajnath Singh also tried to negotiate with them. Then there was a tie-up with the Mehbooba Mufti. The com-promise no longer exists today. Amit Shah’s initial strategy will be to control militancy.

So the combination of Jaishankar and Amit Shah is very important for Modi. One, a hardliner will go on the path of nationalism and the other will talk about world brotherhood. And the two will actually work for Narendra Modi. In addition to this, Modi has kept his old team for the Railways, Transport, Information and Broadcasting, and Petroleum and Information Technology. As a result, Piyush Goyal, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nitin Gadkari, Prakash Javadekar and Dharmendra Pradhan are all there.

There was no evidence of a rebellion from those who were excluded from the cabinet. Vajpayee had made Sikandar Bakht his foreign minister. But, he did not come to South Block for the first two-or-three days after becoming minister because he had not been made Finance Minister. Such a scenario is unimaginable in the time of Modi. Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, and Shatrughan Sinha have all been side-lined for their rebellion.

Many said that Modi is actually an autocrat. They also said that there is an undeclared emergency in the country and, as a result, there are no dissenting voices. But, millions of people in the country have incredible confidence in Modi. If some people oppose Modi by attacking their own interests, they will be isolated. People will throw them in the dustbin. And so this is a new avatar of Narendra Modi.

Europe wanted a consumer technology giant to rival Silicon Valley. It’s getting one - along with California-style

disregard for public investors.When Naspers Ltd. lists its tech-

nology investing unit in Amsterdam next month, the new company will have a market capitalization that’s likely to top $100 billion, a valuation derived entirely from its 31 percent stake in Tencent Holdings Ltd. The parent trades at a discount to the value of its holding in the Chinese web giant.

But Naspers will also bring with it a dual shareholding structure to match or even exceed the worst prac-tices of tech behemoths such as Facebook Inc. or Google parent Alphabet Inc.

It’s a holdover of Naspers’ current set-up, where the two classes of stock give the chairman and his cohort extra voting rights. Its rationale lies in the Cape Town-based company’s origins as an Afrikaans newspaper owner. Like The New York Times Co., which has a similar structure, the arrangement is supposed to ensure editorial independence by preventing malign influences from building up a stake and trying to dictate editorial policy. But it also makes it more dif-

ficult for shareholders to hold man-agement to account.

However much sense that makes for journalists, it’s hard to see how the safeguards are needed for investors in food delivery and e-commerce startups, which is where the new company is directing its funds. Even the argument that a guarantee of independence is required for its stake in Russian social media and messaging platform Mail.Ru seems thin.

Naspers is adamant that a multi-plicity of shareholders are repre-sented in the two main holding com-panies that control the firm, and that their main objective is to preserve its independence.

Naspers is listing about a quarter of the new firm, known as NewCo for now, and retaining the rest. While an exchange-traded “N Class” share in NewCo will confer one vote on its owner, the holders of the unlisted “A Class” stock will have 1,000 votes, just as they currently do in Johan-nesburg, should Naspers’s voting interest in the NewCo drop below 50 percent.

Dual classes of shares aren’t uncommon, but seldom on this sort of scale. Volkswagen AG, Ericsson AB, Altice Europe NV are among

European firms with dual structures, but the voting ratios are generally much lower. And they are the exception, not the rule. (Holders of VW preferred shares have no voting rights. But the carmaker has also suf-fered its fair share of management missteps partly due to a lack of accountability.)

At Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and his co-founders have “Class B” shares, which enjoy 10 times as many votes as the “Class A” shares that are publicly traded.

That arrangement has provoked dissatisfaction enough as the social network’s shareholders have been helpless in the face of management missteps over data and privacy. But it looks almost progressive com-pared to Naspers, where the voting concentration is 100 times greater. The situation there is exacerbated by the opacity of the ownership structure.

The supervoting shares reside in a series of holding companies. In a legal dispute two years ago, rival media firm Caxton alleged that those holding companies were in turn con-trolled by Naspers Chairman Koos Bekker and other veterans of the firm, including non-executive director Cobus Stofberg. Irrespective of who ultimately calls the shots, the point is that we don’t quite know. It’s thoroughly unsatisfactory.

What’s more, the Silicon Valley firms are controlled by their founders, who are supposed to have a singular corporate vision. While Bekker and his colleagues helped transform Naspers, the firm dates back to 1915. Bekker did not found it. Why he merits more votes is therefore unclear.

Who has the power to affect this? Without outside pressure, the A Class shareholders have little incentive to sacrifice control. Investors can com-plain until they’re blue in the face, but if they want to get a piece of Ten-cent’s growth, they know they have to stomach the huge imbalance.

Two groups have the ability to push back: the stock exchanges and the index creators. In Hong Kong, for instance, the exchange limits super-voting shares to 10 times the votes of normal stock, and makes it harder for holders to wield their additional power after they leave the company.

But Euronext NV, which owns the

Many said that Modi is actually an autocrat. They also said that there is an undeclared emergency in the country and, as a result, there are no dissenting voices. But, millions of people in the country have incredible confidence in Modi. If some people oppose Modi by attacking their own interests, they will be isolated. People will throw them in the dustbin. And so this is a new avatar of Narendra Modi.

Amsterdam stock exchange, would risk losing the lucrative Naspers listing to a rival if it sought to impose similar strictures - stock offerings generated about 8.6% of its 2018 revenue. It would also forego the distinction of having such a prominent firm on its exchange. In the context, you can see why Euronext is being so spineless.

The more achievable approach would be for index operators to exclude firms with dual structures, since no exchange seems likely to push back. S&P Global has taken that route, which is why Snap Inc., which confers no voting rights whatsoever on ordinary share-holders, isn’t a constituent of the S&P 500. But it hasn’t imposed the same rules on those existing listings with dual stocks.

Naspers’ European listing is partly intended to attract index investors - it expects to be newly eligible for nine indices. If the operators of those groupings were to stipulate that the shareholding structure is an obstacle to joining, it would be a positive step.

And it will be difficult to per-suade startups planning to list in Europe to adopt a structure which represents all shareholders equally when what could be the region’s biggest tech firm doesn’t. It would risk making poor shareholder rep-resentation de rigueur in Europe, and it’s harder to put toothpaste back in the tube than to stop it escaping to begin with. Exchanges and indices have an opportunity to lay down a marker, and they should.

10 TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019ASIA

Pakistan ex-president Zardari arrested AP ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s anti-graft body yesterday arrested former Pres-ident Asif Ali Zardari, widower of assassinated ex-Premier Benazir Bhutto, in a multi-million dollar money laundering case that has shaken the country.

The development came hours after a court in Islamabad rejected a request by Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur for an extension of their bail that would have allowed them to remain free pending trial in the case.

The court’s decision paved the way for the National Accountability Bureau to arrest the two. However, the anti-graft body did not arrest Zardari’s sister; no explanation was given.

Zardari, a lawmaker in the lower house of Parliament, and his sister, also a politician, have been accused of having dozens of bogus bank accounts. Earlier yesterday, the two attended the court hearing amid tight security where their bail extensions were denied.

Zardari, who appeared calm when officers came to his home shortly afterward to take him, speeding away in a convoy of vehicles, “did not resist arrest,” said former Prime Minister Yusuf

Raza Gilani, a senior leader of Zardari’s party.

The Pakistan People’s Party urged its members to remain calm. In recent weeks, the party had accused Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government of intentionally targeting political opponents.

“This is political victimi-sation,” said Shazia Marri, a law-maker from Zardari’s party.

The anti-graft body has arrested several politicians and businessmen on corruption charges since Khan took office last year after winning a narrow majority in parliamentary elections.

Khan’s predecessor, Nawaz Sharif who was removed from office by the Supreme Court over

corruption allegations, is cur-rently in prison in the eastern city of Lahore after being sen-tenced to seven years in a cor-ruption case.

Sharif and Zardari’s are longtime political rivals but their parties recently joined together, vowing to launch a protest cam-paign against Khan’s government over increasing inflation and a

spike in prices of essential food items. Zardari became president in 2008 after Pakistan’s former military dictator Pervez Mush-arraf was forced to resign. Zard-ari’s wife Benazir Bhutto served twice as a prime minister before being killed by the Taliban in 2007.

The Bhutto family has been dogged by tragedy. The party’s

founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was ousted in a military coup and hanged by dictator Gen. Ziaul Haq. Both his sons were killed by unknown assailants. Benazir Bhutto’s only surviving sibling, her sister Sanam, lives in Britain and has stayed out of politics.

Zardari served as Pakistan’s president for five years, until 2013.

Former Pakistani President and the co-chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party, Asif Ali Zardari (second left), arrives for his bail appeal at Islamabad High Court yesterday.

The development came hours after a court in Islamabad rejected a request by Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur for an extension of their bail that would have allowed them to remain free pending trial in the case.

Imran threatens action against tax evadersAP/ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s prime minister says tax evaders who fail to declare their wealth and pay taxes will face legal action.

Imran Khan delivered his message in a televised speech yetserday, vowing punitive measures for Pakistanis who won’t disclose the property they own or the amount of money they keep in banks at home and abroad. Khan’s actions are part of a recently announced program to get tax evaders to mend their ways by June 30. The government is allowing them to legalize their wealth by paying 4% taxes on previously undisclosed assets.

Most high-income earners in Pakistan avoid paying taxes altogether. Since coming to power in 2018, Khan’s gov-ernment has faced significant economic challenges. Pakistan recently reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF for a $6bn bailout.

Talks with Taliban in new stage: US envoy ANATOLIA/KABUL

The US envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation yesterday said the peace talks with the Taliban are entering a “new stage”.

Zalmay Khalilzad, Wash-ington’s top envoy for Afghan-istan, met President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani at the presidency in Kabul. In a series of tweets early yesterday, he said an agreement has been reached over the significance of preparation for intra-Afghan negotiations. “Good meeting w/ Pres @AshrafGhani & his team. Discussed building further intl [international] consensus for #peace. Also regional require-ments & implications for peace including recent positive movement in AfPak [Afghan-istan-Pakistan] relations & opportunities peace will provide for regional connec-tivity & development”, Kha-lilzad said in a Twitter post.

Tokayev wins presidential election in Kazakhstan REUTERS NUR-SULTAN/ALMATY

Kazakhstan’s interim president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, chosen successor of veteran ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev who retains sweeping powers, has won a snap presidential election which observers say was tarnished by violations of basic freedoms.

Nazarbayev, who ruled oil producer Kazakhstan for almost three decades, handpicked the 66-year-old career diplomat as his successor when he stepped down in March. In a power-s h a r i n g a r r a n g e m e n t , Nazarbayev, 78, remains chairman of the influential

Securiy Council and leads the ruling Nur Otan party. With Tokayev winning nearly 71% of the vote in a race against six rivals largely unknown to Kazakh voters, opponents denounced the election as unfair, prompting public pro-tests despite Kazakhstan’s restrictive laws on freedom of expression.

Monitors from Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said “a lack of regard for fundamental rights, including detentions of peaceful protestors, and widespread voting irregularities on election day, showed scant respect for democratic standards.”

During Sunday’s vote, police

arrested 500 people at rallies in Almaty and Nur-Sultan, the capital city that was renamed after Nazarbayev at Tokayev’s suggestion.Yesterday the number of protesters was much smaller as hundreds of police gathered at the Almaty park where Sunday’s rally took place. A correspondent saw police detain a few dozen people. The Kazakh state closely controls domestic politics and public dis-course. The vast majority of local media does not criticise Nazarbayev, and social media and online messaging platforms were restricted during Sunday’s election. Tokayev said it was “just one of the international organisations” monitoring the

vote and “we should not focus on the assessment of this par-ticular organisation”.

“I know... how they compile these reports and how politically prejudiced they can be depending on which country they work in,” Tokayev said at his first post-election briefing.

Tokayev promised to work on improving Kazakhstan’s business climate and said he would meet major foreign investors - such as Western oil companies who have pumped billions of dollars into the resource-rich nation’s economy - next month.

Kazakh president-elect Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks to the media at Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Nur-Sultan, yesterday.

Hong Kong to push ahead with bill that sparked huge protestAP HONG KONG

Hong Kong’s leader signalled yesterday that her government will push ahead with contro-versial amendments to extra-dition laws despite a massive protest against them that under-scored fears about mainland China’s broadening footprint in the semi-autonomous territory.

In what was likely Hong Kong’s largest protest in more than a decade, hundreds of thou-sands of people shut down the heart of the skyscraper-studded city on Sunday, three days before the Legislative Council is slated to take up the bill.

The demonstrations refo-cused attention on the former British colony, whose residents have long bristled at what many see as efforts by Beijing to tighten control, and dominated

newspaper front pages in a city that allows far more freedom of expression than other parts of China.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam told reporters the legislation is important and will help Hong Kong uphold justice and fulfill its international obligations. Safe-guards added in May will ensure that the legislation protects human rights, she said.

Hong Kong was guaranteed the right to retain its own social, legal and political systems for 50 years under an agreement reached before its 1997 return to China from British rule. But China’s ruling Communist Party has been seen as increasingly reneging on that agreement by pushing through unpopular legal changes.

The extradition law amend-ments would allow Hong Kong to send people to mainland China

to face charges, spurring crit-icism that defendants in the Chinese judicial system won’t have the same rights as they would in Hong Kong. Opponents contend the proposed legislation could make Hong Kong residents

vulnerable to vague national security charges and unfair trials.

Lam said Sunday’s protest shows Hong Kong’s enduring commitment to its people’s freedoms. She denied that she is taking orders from the central

government in China’s capital. “I have not received any instruction or mandate from Beijing to do this bill,” she said. “We were doing it — and we are still doing it — out of our clear conscience, and our commitment to Hong Kong.”

People of all ages took part in the march. Some pushed strollers while others walked with canes, and chanted slogans in favour of greater transparency in government.

The protest that stretched past midnight into yesterday was largely peaceful, though there were a few scuffles with police as demonstrators broke through barriers at government head-quarters and briefly pushed their way into the lobby. Police in riot gear used batons and tear gas to push the protesters outside.

Three officers and one jour-nalist were injured, according to

Hong Kong media reports. There was a heavy police presence on downtown streets deep into the night. Authorities said 19 people were arrested in connection with the clashes.

Hong Kong currently limits extraditions to jurisdictions with which it has existing agreements or to others on an individual basis under a law passed before 1997. China was excluded because of concerns over its poor record on legal independence and human rights.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China firmly backs the proposed amendments and opposes “the wrong words and deeds of any external forces” that interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs.

“Certain countries have made some irresponsible remarks” about the legislation, Geng said, without elaborating.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a news conference in Hong Kong, China, yesterday.

Populist China-friendly mayor to run for Taiwan presidentAFP TAIPEI

A populist mayor who can command huge crowds and wants closer ties with China has thrown his hat in the ring to stand as a candidate in Taiwan’s upcoming presidential elections.

Han Kuo-yu, who seized the mayoralty of southern Kaoh-siung city from the ruling party in a shock victory last year, was among five candidates announced yesterday by the

opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party for its primary election.

Confirmation of Han’s entry shakes up an opposition list that had until now been dominated by Taiwan’s richest man, Foxconn billionaire Terry Gou.

Taiwan goes to the polls in January and the race will be dominated by its relationship with China.

Gou and Han are seen as the two front-runners in the KMT primary, which will conclude on July 16.

Pilot vertigo likely cause of F-35 crash in JapanREUTERS TOKYO

Japan’s Air Force said yesterday “spatial disorientation” likely caused one of its pilots to fly his F-35 stealth fighters into the Pacific Ocean in April, hitting the water at more than 1,100kph.

The Lockheed Martin Corp jet disappeared from radar screens during an exercise with three other F-35s over the ocean off northwest Japan on April 9. The 41-year-old pilot was killed.

“We believe it highly likely

the pilot was suffering from vertigo or spatial disorientation and wasn’t aware of his con-dition,” Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a briefing.

“It can affect any pilot regardless of their experience.” By dismissing mechanical or software problems as a cause for the advanced fighter’s crash, Japan’s assessment is likely to come as a relief to other coun-tries that operate or plan to introduce the jet, including the United States, Britain and Aus-tralia. Japan, Iwaya said, would

increase vertigo training for its pilots, check its remaining F-35s and meet residents living near the base from which they operate, in Misawa, Aomori pre-fecture, before restarting flights.

The air force has yet to recover any intact data from the $126 million aircraft’s flight data recorder to back its assessment, which is based on data and com-munication received by ground controllers and interviews with other pilots.

The pilot, who had only 60 hours flying time in the F-35,

gave no indication he was in trouble and did not try to avoid a collision despite advanced instrumentation and a ground proximity warning system that should have alerted him to pull up. The air force did not find any indication he had attempted to eject. His plane, which was less than a year old and part of a squadron that had just became operational, crashed 28 minutes after taking off. Debris from the plane is spread across the sea floor about 1,500 metres below where it slammed into the water.

11TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019 EUROPE

Race to replace UK’s premier kicks off

AFP LONDON

The contest to replace Theresa May as Britain’s next leader heated up yesterday, with candi-dates lining up to define them-selves against the “bluff and bluster” of frontrunner Boris Johnson.

Eleven Conservative MPs are vying to succeed May, who quit as the party’s leader on Friday over her failure to take Britain out of the European Union on time. She remains premier until her replacement is chosen, likely in late July, and whoever it is will automatically enter Downing Street.

The race is dominated by Britain’s looming EU exit on October 31, with leading Brex-iteer Johnson, the former foreign

secretary, among those talking tough on the need to renegotiate the divorce terms or leave without a deal.

The bombastic former London mayor has been keeping a low public profile but is cam-paigning hard behind the scenes, and his rivals tacitly acknowl-

edged he is the one to beat.Environment Secretary

Michael Gove, who is battling a scandal over his admission that he took cocaine, jeered at Johnson for shunning the lime-light. “We need someone who has been tested in the heat of battle.. not someone who will

hide in their bunker,” said Gove, who also criticised Johnson directly for his newly-announced proposal of cutting taxes for the rich. Gove, whose decision to run for the premiership three years ago scuppered Johnson’s chances then, attacked his party col-league’s hardline Brexit policy

saying it could lead to the oppo-sition Labour Party winning power.

At his own campaign launch, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt also lambasted the gaffe-prone Johnson, presenting himself as a “serious leader” for “serious times”. Hunt opposed Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum but said that the Conservatives — under pressure from populist euro-sceptic Nigel Farage’s new party — must deliver on the result or face “annihilation” in the next election.

He received a boost with the endorsement of eurosceptic Defence Secretary Penny Mor-daunt, although he is likely to anger some in the ruling party by refusing to rule out another Brexit delay. Former Brexit min-ister Dominic Raab meanwhile warned that Britain’s EU exit would not happen with “bluff and bluster”.

“I’m the conviction Brexiteer with the plan, the discipline and the focus to lead us out by the end of October,” he said, while also attacking Johnson’s plans for a tax cut for the rich.

May, who took office after the referendum, was forced to quit after failing repeatedly to get her EU divorce deal through par-liament and delaying Brexit twice in the process.

Brussels says it will not rene-gotiate the terms, which cover Britain’s financial settlement, the rights of EU citizens and the Northern Irish border.

But many of the leadership candidates insist they will try.

Johnson has won praise from US President Donald Trump for threatening to walk away with no deal at all. But he drew a rebuke from Paris on Sunday for saying Britain may withhold the multi-billion-euro divorce payment which May has agreed, its liabilities from four decades of EU membership.

“Not honouring payment obligations is a breach of inter-national commitment equivalent to a default on its sovereign debt,” a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said. Asked about “no deal”, Hunt said: “I would be prepared to without a deal if there was a straight choice between no deal and no Brexit, but I’d do so with a heavy heart.” He claimed at the weekend that he had received encouraging signals for renego-tiating the Brexit deal from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In response, a German government spokeswoman ref-erenced a previous remark by Merkel that the deal cannot be reopened, although a declaration on future ties could be.

The race is dominated by Britain’s looming EU exit on October 31, with leading Brexiteer Johnson, the former foreign secretary, among those talking tough on the need to renegotiate the divorce terms or leave without a deal.

Britain’s Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd (left) and Conservative MP Patrick McLoughlin attend the launch of Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s Conversative party leadership campaign in London yesterday.

Greek president approves Tsipras call for snap electionREUTERS ATHENS

Greece’s president accepted a request from Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to dissolve parliament yesterday, formally triggering a snap election that Tsipras has called for next month after badly losing a vote for European parliament.

Tsipras called the snap election four months before the end of his term after the main opposition conservative New Democracy beat his leftist Syriza

party by 9.5 points in the election for European parliament last month. Yesterday’s request from Tsipras and approval from Pres-ident Prokopis Pavlopoulos were considered formalities. Pavlo-poulos is then expected to issue a decree ordering the new vote and dissolving parliament.

The government has said it wants to hold the new election on July 7. Tsipras has said this will avoid a protracted pre-election period before the end of his term in October, which might have hurt economic

progress made in recent years.Tsipras, 44, stormed the

Greek political stage six years ago, promising to fight austerity prescribed by Greece’s lenders in return for financial bailouts after years of economic crisis.

His Syriza party was forced to backpedal and accept another bailout soon after its election in 2015 or risk Greece being thrown out of the euro zone.

Greece emerged from eco-nomic adjustment programmes in 2018 after borrowing more than ¤280bn in three bailouts.

Albanian President stops electionsAP TIRANA, ALBANIA

Albania’s governing Socialist Party called a no-confidence vote against President Ilir Meta, saying yesterday it was uncon-stitutional for him to cancel upcoming municipal elections.

The vote will be held at Thursday’s parliamentary session, Socialist spokeswoman Elisa Spiropali said. The Socialists need 94 votes to oust Meta which they don’t have in the 140-seat parliament.

Even if they get the numbers, the Constitutional Court makes the final decision. The court was dysfunctional for a year after most of its judges were fired.

Meta announced on Sat-urday that he planned to cancel the June 30 municipal elections. He explained yesterday that made the decision because he thought they would be “undem-ocratic” and feared tensions would rise if the elections were held. “There is the danger Albania goes toward an unpre-dictable escalation of the social tension that may cause uncon-trollable consequences,” Meta said at a news conference. The centre-right opposition, led by the Democratic Party, had said

it would boycott the municipal elections and threatened to prevent them from taking place. Since mid-February, the oppo-sition has been holding protests accusing the government of links to organised crime and demanding a new general election. Prime Minister Edi Rama denies the allegations, and insists the municipal elections will go ahead as scheduled to prevent political “blackmail” from being used to force the

calling of early parliamentary elections. The Central Election Commission, which is dominated by Socialist-nominated members, refused to recognize the president’s decree and said preparation for local elections continued.

The EU and US have repeatedly urged the Albanian opposition to disavow violence and sit down with the gov-ernment to resolve the political crisis.

Albanian President Ilir Meta signs a decree in Tirana, Albania, yesterday. Poland and US conclude talks on

higher American troop presenceAP / WARSAW

An aide to Polish President Andrzej Duda says that negoti-ations to increase the US military presence in Poland have concluded and were a success.

The comments came days before Duda’s visit in Wash-ington with President Donald Trump this week. Citing

concerns over Russia’s military activity, Poland has been pushing for an increased, per-manent presence of US troops. Duda aide Krzysztof Szczerski said yesterday the negotiations on what Poland has dubbed “Fort Trump” would provide for an increase in the “quality and quantity” of US presence in the country.

Russia releases top Chechen rights activist from jail: NGOAFP MOSCOW

A Russian court granted parole yesterday to Oyub Titiyev, the head of the Chechen branch of rights group Memorial convicted this year on contro-versial drug charges, the NGO said.

The court “agreed to a parole request for Titiyev. Now he must be released within 10 days,” Memorial representative Oleg Orlov said.

The 61-year-old was sen-tenced for drug possession in March to four years in a penal colony in a case condemned by Amnesty International and other global rights groups.

Titiyev’s lawyers said the case was connected to his investigations into the secretive prison system of a republic notorious with rights abuses.

Observers say drug charges have been used repeatedly in the past to silence critical jour-nalists and rights workers in the region. The release came as authorities in Moscow faced public pushback against the arrest of an investigative reporter named Ivan Golunov on separate drugs charges.

But Orlov said this was not connected to the Chechen court’s decision. Titiyev’s pred-ecessor as the regional leader of Memorial, Natalya Estemirova, was kidnapped and killed in 2009. The rights group said the killers were acting on the orders of local authorities.

France commemorates World War II massacreAP ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE, FRANCE

France remembered yesterday the 642 people killed in the small village of Oradour-sur-Glane 75 years ago, in what was the biggest massacre of civilians by Nazi troops during their occupation of the country in World War II.

Genevieve Darrieussecq, a junior armed forces minister, presided over ceremonies at the site near the town of Limoges in central France. A mass, several wreath-laying cere-monies and a march through the village were organised to remember the tragedy on June 10, 1944.

Though the massacre occurred four days after the Allied D-Day landings in Nor-mandy, the killings were believed to have been ordered in retaliation for the kidnapping of a German soldier by the French Resistance.

Troops from the fanatical SS “Das Reich” division were

responsible for the killings, herding hundreds of civilians into barns and a church and setting the town on fire.

A new village has been built but the old town’s ruins have been left untouched as a tes-timony to Nazi horrors.

Michael Roth, Germany’s Deputy Foreign Minister for European Affairs, said the mas-sacre represents “unimaginable inhumanity and cruelty.” “We bow our heads to the victims and their descendants in shame and the deepest sadness,” he said in a statement from German Foreign Ministry.

“The crimes that the Germans inflicted upon their neighbours during the Second World War were, and remain an inextricable part of our history.” Roth added that in that context today, “we are all the more grateful for the out-stretched hand and the read-iness for reconciliation extended to us Germans. The German-French friendship is for us a gift and a mission.”

With Moldova in crisis, two rival govts hold meetingsREUTERS CHISINAU

Two rival Moldovan govern-ments held simultaneous cabinet meetings and accused each other of trying to usurp power yesterday, deepening a crisis brought on by an inconclusive parliamentary election in February.

Over the weekend, the leaders of the pro-European Union ACUM bloc and the Russian-backed Socialist Party agreed to form a government aimed at fighting corruption and keeping a party run by tycoon Vladimir Plahotniuc out of power.

But Plahotniuc’s Democratic Party refused to recognise the new government and insisted that Pavel Filip, the prime min-ister who led the government until the election, was still in charge.

The crisis threatens more instability in one of Europe’s

smallest and poorest countries, where the West and Russia vie for influence.

The United States, the EU and Nato urged both sides to show restraint. Russia welcomed the formation of the new gov-ernment and hoped matters would stabilise soon.

ACUM leader Maia Sandu was sworn in as prime minister over the weekend and her gov-ernment convened in par-liament, while Filip’s cabinet met in the government building, which was blocked off by police officers and Democratic Party supporters.

“This situation in the country will continue as long as the Moldovan oligarch Plahotniuc, who has captured all state insti-tutions, is in Moldova,” Sandu said. “We don’t want to aggravate the situation. I hope that those who are trying to usurp power are aware of their position and will leave volun-tarily.” In his rival meeting, Filip

urged state institutions to con-tinue to function normally. “Cit-izens should not suffer because of the political crisis,” he told assembled ministers and gov-ernment agencies.

Sandu’s agreement with the Socialist Party broke months of deadlock after a February election produced a hung parliament.

But a Constitutional Court ruled that Sandu’s side had missed a deadline to form a gov-ernment and that the country should hold a snap election.

Sandu and President Igor Dodon, the former Socialist Party chief, rejected the verdict of the court, which they said was not politically independent.

Moldova has been dogged by political instability and cor-ruption, especially since a scandal known as the “theft of the century” emerged in 2014-2015 in which $1bn, around an eighth of its economic output, was pilfered from three banks.

12 TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019AMERICAS

Justice Dept to release some Mueller proofs REUTERS |WASHINGTON

Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump’s administration struck a rare compromise yesterday in the battle over their investigations of him, with the Justice Department agreeing to provide evidence from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia inquiry to the House Judiciary Committee, a key investigative panel.

As lawmakers continue to discuss possible impeachment proceedings against Trump, the Justice Department relented after nearly two months of stonewalling and said it will provide evidence related to Trump’s possible obstruction of Mueller’s probe, said committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler.

At the same time, Nadler said he will hold off on a threat to bring criminal contempt charges against US Attorney-General William Barr. He had for weeks resisted a subpoena from Nadler’s committee to provide a full, unredacted version of Mueller’s 448-page final report and certain underlying evidence.

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives still will hold a vote today that would increase pressure on Trump by

allowing the committee to sue the administration in federal court if needed over access to the report.

Nadler said a lawsuit may yet be necessary. “If important information is held back, then we will have no choice but to enforce our subpoena in court and consider other remedies,” he said in a statement.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mueller’s investigation is one front in a broad battle between Trump and congressional Dem-ocrats, who are investigating his policies, conduct in office and private businesses. Trump has vowed to fight congressional subpoenas.

Released in mid-April, Muel-ler’s report found Russia meddled in the 2016 US presi-dential election and that Trump’s election campaign had multiple contacts with Russian officials. But the report found insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the cam-

paign and Moscow.The report also outlined 10

instances in which Trump tried to interfere with Mueller’s inves-tigation but declined to make a judgment on whether that amounted to obstruction of justice.

It was not clear from Nadler’s statement whether law-makers on the committee would get to see an unredacted copy of Mueller’s report. Barr has said he is required by law not to release evidence obtained from grand jury proceedings but Democrats have argued that he can ask a judge to make those materials public.

Grand jury materials were redacted from the section of the report dealing with Russian interference in the election. But this was less of a concern for the section of Mueller’s report dealing with obstruction, which was based on testimony from voluntary interviews Trump advisers and other witnesses gave to Mueller, rather than grand jury testimony.

Canada to ban single-use plastics by 2021: TrudeauANATOLIA TRENTON, CANADA

Single-use plastics will be banned in Canada by 2021, the C a n a d i a n g o v e r n m e n t announced yesterday.

The products are expected to include cotton swabs, cutlery, plates, straws, bags and drink stirrers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a new

conference. However, he did not name specific products, but said the most harmful ones would be targeted after scientific study.

The goal is “zero plastic waste (from) coast to coast” that will be in effect “as early as 2021,” he said. The move follows the establishment of a Canada-led Ocean Plastics Charter announced by Trudeau at the G7 conference last year. Canada,

France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the European Union joined the charter in an effort to reduce marine plastic litter.

Trudeau said action has to be taken because plastics is malev-olent in invading all aspects of lives, including in the deepest trenches of oceans. As well, it is difficult to find areas at beaches that are not littered with plastics, he said. Dead whales have been

found with all kinds of plastics in them, too. Trudeau asked Canadians to remember trips to the cottage, camping and canoeing and then he asked them to imagine what it would be like to find dead birds, fish and areas littered with shopping bags. “That’s the fate of our kids if we do not act,” he said. Studies show that less that 10 percent of plastic in Canada is recycled.

Meanwhile it is estimated that without action, Canadians will dispose of about CAN$11bn by 2030. “We have reached a defining moment,” Trudeau said, “and this is a problem we simply can’t afford to ignore.” Large cor-porations will be the immediate targets, “the Coca-Colas and the Unilevers of the world” and they will be responsible for the plastics they generate, he said.

Lawyer Chester Membreno, who according to local media was arrested for participating in a protest against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government, is greeted by neighbours after being released from La Modelo Prison in Masaya, Nicaragua, yesterday.

Nicaragua frees more political prisonersAP MANAGUA, NICARAGUA

Nicaragua has released 50 more people whom the opposition considers political prisoners, jailed for their role in anti-government protests during months of political upheaval last year. The Interior Ministry says

that the prisoners had been arrested for crimes against safety and public order. It adds that authorities “continue preparing for the release” of others. The Civic Alliance opposition group recently said that 186 government opponents remained behind bars. Repre-sentatives of the International

Committee of the Red Cross observed. They come two days after lawmakers passed an amnesty bill for crimes related to the 2018 protests. Opposition leaders say the measure would forgive killings and other abuses by police and pro-government civilian militias during a deadly crackdown on demonstrators.

Trump says Xi meeting at G20 scheduledAFP / WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump yesterday said he still expects to talk with his Chinese coun-terpart Xi Jinping at the upcoming G20 summit, warning he will impose new tariffs if there is no meeting.

“Yes it would,” Trump told CNBC television when asked if a failure by Xi to come to the summit later this month in Japan would lead to the huge new tariffs kicking in.

But Trump said the meeting was “scheduled” and “I think he will go.” “I would be sur-prised if he didn’t go,” Trump added. “I think he’s going, I havent heard that he’s not. We’re expected to meet.” A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, meanwhile, said last month that he had “no information at present” on Trump-Xi talks.

Trump has been trying to strongarm China into a major change on trade policies that the president argues have for decades put the United States at an unfair disadvantage.

Peru declares health emergency over Guillain-Barre outbreakAFP LIMA

Peru has declared a health emergency in five regions, including Lima, after the deaths of at least four people linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that attacks the nervous system.

Health Minister Zulema Tomas said yesterday that in addition to the deaths there were currently 206 cases of the disease.

“We have an outbreak, there has been a brusque increase” since June 5, Tomas said on

state-run TV Peru, adding that health authorities were taking steps to control and contain the disease.

While the syndrome is not contagious, a 90-day health emergency was declared because the current cases “have unusual and atypical character-istics that require rapid or immediate initial treatment,” Peru’s Institute of Neurological Sciences said.

The precise cause of the dis-order is unknown, but most cases develop after a person has been sick with diarrhea or a res-piratory infection.

Brazil leak has limited impact on Car Wash probe: AnalystsAFP RIO DE JANEIRO

Leaked documents showing Brazilian anticorruption investi-gators conspired to keep leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva out of the 2018 presidential race ignited a firestorm on social media yesterday, but analysts down-played the potential fall-out. The

Intercept website co-founded by Glenn Greenwald published a series of explosive articles on Sunday based on material provided by an anonymous source that it said show “serious wrong-doing, unethical behaviour, and systematic deceit” in the sprawling Car Wash investigation that has claimed scores of political and business scalps.

While claims that Justice Min-ister Sergio Moro, the anticor-ruption judge who handed Lula his first conviction in 2017, improperly collaborated with prosecutors were a “setback” for the probe, they were unlikely to result in overturning convictions or Moro’s resignation.

“In the public imagination it is not at all shocking or something

that undermines the legitimacy of the whole effort,” Christopher Garman of Eurasia Group said.

While the revelations would fuel the “free Lula” movement and “give fodder” for legal challenges to ongoing Car Wash investiga-tions, they would at best fast-track the popular ex-politician’s release into home detention, he said. “They do not change, in substance,

the reason for the convictions even though they reveal inappropriate comments (by investigators),” said ex-president Fernando Cardoso in remarks published by the UOL website. There could be “some fallout, probably, but no big deal,” David Fleischer, a political science professor at the University of Bra-silia, said. Debate over the leak erupted on Twitter, with

#EuApoioLavaJato, (#ISupport-CarWash) and #EuApoioTheInter-ceptBR among the top trending topics in Brazil, exposing the coun-try’s deep political divisions.

“We shouldn’t discard the real possibility the conversations were forged, creating #fakenews,” tweeted Marcelo Bretas, a judge in the Car Wash probe in Rio de Janeiro.

Guantanamo detainee’s appeal rejected REUTERS WASHINGTON

The US Supreme Court yesterday declined to wade into the contentious question of to what extent detainees held by the US military at the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba can seek their release, turning away an appeal by a Yemeni-born man held since 2001.

The court turned away an appeal by Yemeni detainee

Moath Hamza Ahmed al Alwi, who was captured in Pakistan in December 2001 and detained without charge ever since. The US government has said al Alwi was involved in fighting against US and allied forces in Afghan-istan and was closely linked with the Islamic militant group Al Qaeda.

After the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States, the United States began a long-running military campaign in

Afghanistan targeting Al Qaeda, which carried out the attacks, and the Taliban-led government that sheltered the group.

Justice Stephen Breyer, one of the court’s four liberals, issued a statement saying that the court should weigh in on the issue at some point to decide “whether, in light of the duration and other aspects of the relevant conflict, Congress has authorized and the Constitution permits continued detention.”

Emergency vehicles fill the street at the scene after a helicopter crashed atop a building in Times Square and caused a fire in the Manhattan borough of New York, yesterday.

Helicopter crashes onto roof of New York City building, kills one: MediaREUTERS NEW YORK

A helicopter made a crash landing onto the roof of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper yesterday, killing at least one person and sending a plume of smoke skyward from the top of the building, which was shrouded in fog.

The crash occurred shortly before 2pm on a rainy day at the AXA Equitable Center at 787 Seventh Avenue. Dozens of emergency vehicles swarmed the busy area, a few blocks north of Times Square. The city fire department said on Twitter around 2:40pm that one

unidentified person was killed. Media reports said the person killed was the helicopter pilot.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was at the scene soon after the crash, told reporters that it appeared a helicopter attempted a forced emergency landing on the roof and that no one inside the building had been injured. It was not clear if the weather was a contributing factor.

Nathan Hutton, who works in information technology for the French bank BNP Paribas on the 29th floor, said the building shook when the helicopter slammed into the roof.

“It felt like you were just standing there, and someone

takes their hand and just shoves you,” he said. “You felt it through the whole building.”

Melvin Douglas, 50, who was selling umbrellas on the street, said he heard a “rumble” when the helicopter crash landed.

“I didn’t see it, but I felt it,” said Douglas. “Smoke was on top of the building.” A fire that broke out on the roof was quickly brought under control, the fire department said. The building, which houses a number of cor-porate offices, was evacuated after the crash. “Phenomenal job by our GREAT First Responders who are currently on the scene,” US President Donald Trump said on Twitter.

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives still will hold a vote today that would increase pressure on Trump by allowing the committee to sue the administration in federal court if needed over access to the report.