THE PENINSULA — DOHA

For the first time in the Middle East and North Africa, the 2022 Congress of World Association of Sport Management (WASM) will be held in Qatar.

The successful bidding file to host the 2022 WASM Con-gress in Qatar is a joint effort between Qatar University and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), member of Qatar Foundation.

This successful joint effort was supported by the mem-orandum of understanding between Qatar University and Qatar Foundation which focuses on strengthening cross institutional collabora-tions in student learning activities, teaching, and in the field of research.

Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC), Supreme Com-mittee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) represented by Josoor Institute, and Qatar Olympic Committee represented by Qatar Olympic Academy, sup-ported Qatar's hosting bid.

Dr. Karen Danylchuk,

President, World Association for Sport Management, com-mented: “The World Associ-ation for Sport Management is delighted that Qatar Uni-versity and Hamad Bin Khalifa University have accepted our offer to serve as co-hosts of the Fourth WASM conference in March 2022 in Doha, Qatar.

"Our previous three confer-ences in Madrid, Spain (2014), Kaunas, Lithuania (2017), and Santiago, Chile (2019) attracted leading sport management acad-emicians, students, and industry leaders from over 40 countries and we are confident that the con-ference in Doha will prove to be another outstanding success.”

The President of Qatar Uni-versity, Dr Hassan Rashid Al

Derham stated: “WASM Con-gress represents an important opportunity to bring together scholars and specialists of sport management and business of sport in Doha the capital of Qatar, the capital of sport, a few months before the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"For Qatar University, it is an occasion to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge with the participation of local and international experts and to showcase Qatar university’s contribution in research and

development around the planning and management of mega sport event.”

Dr. Ahmad M Hasnah, Pres-ident of HBKU, emphasized the importance of the WASM 2022 Congress in Qatar saying: “It is a great honour for HBKU to win the bid to co-host the 2022 World Association of Sport Management Conference. As a member of Qatar Foundation, HBKU is steadfastly committed to supporting Qatar as the country makes its mark in the global sporting arena.”

The joint bidding team members are Dr. Kamilla Swart-Arries, Associate Pro-fessor in Sport Management in College of 0Science and Engi-neering (CSE) at HBKU, and Dr. Ahmed Al Emadi, Professor in Sport Management and the Dean of College of Education, Dr. Othman Mohammed Al

Thawadi, Assistant Professor in Marketing in College of Business and Economics, and Dr. Mahfoud Amara, Associate Pro-fessor in Sport Policy and Man-agement and Director of Sport Science Program in College of Arts and Science at Qatar University.

The mission of WASM is to facilitate sport management research, teaching and learning excellence and professional practice. Furthermore, to provide a forum for the inter-national perspective on sport management for the continental associations, international sport federations, non-government organisations, institutions of higher education, academics, students, the sport management industry and professionals, national associations and other affiliated organisations for sport management. �P4

Sunday 26 July 2020

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www.thepeninsula.qa

Volume 25 | Number 8330

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BUSINESS | 13 PENMAG | 15 SPORT | 20

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powers

Al Sadd

to win

Classifieds

and Services

section

included

Sustainable

investment key to

Qatar’s capital

market

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Hamad International Airport (HIA) has installed the latest security screening technology which is an advanced algorithm that enables security personnel to easily detect explosive mate-rials held in complex items and structures.

The technology also allows transfer passengers the freedom to keep electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, digital cameras, etc in their hand luggage while going through security check-points. It will improve the level of customer service and the need for further divestment that has also a hygiene benefit.

The new C2 technology will be initially implemented across all transfer screening checkpoints, upon the gradual reopening of transfer gates. It will significantly enhance airport security while speeding up the inspection process and boosting throughput.

The application of this system will allow HIA to reach a higher and internationally recognized explosives detection

system standard. The ECAC C2 Detection

standard can identify threat mate-rials in congested bags, including electronic devices that had to be segregated from bags earlier.

Once the bag is placed on the X-ray for screening, it can be collected without any further stops for re-screening or physical inspections. The system is also a significant counter COVID-19 measure, that reduces possible cross-contamination among pas-senger carry-on bags.

The implementation of the technology will elevate the air-port’s hygiene standards, by limiting human contact at the security checkpoints, making the process safer and faster for both staff and passengers.

Saeed Yousef Al Sulaiti, Vice-President - Security at Hamad International Airport said: “The security process at HIA is continuously improving through the introduction of cutting-edge technologies. Our goal is to make the journey safer, given the current

COVID-19 pandemic. During these challenging times, our pri-ority remains to protect pas-sengers while preserving security. Through the imple-mentation of C2 technology, we can accomplish a more efficient protocol that addresses all pas-senger concerns. Our pas-senger-centric strategy helps us continue our investments towards that front while devel-oping solutions that are in the best interest of our people.”

Applying this latest tech-nology will boost HIA’s pas-senger processing capacity while reducing queuing times at security points. This allows HIA to provide a smooth and hassle-free journey to all pas-sengers and maintain its recog-nition as an airport that consist-ently meets the highest standards of safety and world-class security.

HIA is looking into the prospect of implementing body scanners, to provide better security outcomes while slowly easing all body search proce-dures. This potential technology will prove to be helpful in the COVID-19 climate as it helps reduce contact during body searches. Qatar’s international airport is also exploring the introduction of a combination of anti-bacterial trays at check-points and automated UV

emitting modules that will auto-matically disinfect the trays passengers touch to further safeguard the health and safety of all HIA passengers.

HIA has recorded previous

milestones in its industry-leading transfer security screening in 2019, witnessing shorter queuing times at security points which can accommodate up to 6,000

passengers during peak hours. The airport also introduced additional transfer halls that allow 95 percent of transfer passengers to queue for under five minutes. �P2

Passengers can now keep electronic devices in hand luggage while going through security checkpoints.

New screening technology can detect explosive materials in complex items

Queuing times for passengers will reduce at security points

New system will elevate airport’s hygiene standards

HIA’s passenger processing capacity will get a big boost

The airport is looking into prospect of implementing body scanners

HIA has also introduced additional transfer halls that allow 95% of transfer passengers to queue for under 5 minutes

First time in MENA: Qatar to host WASM Congress in 2022

MoPH issues guidelines for slaughterhouse visit during Eid

FAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has issued guidelines to follow during upcoming Eid Al Adha celebrations amid COVID-19.

“For visiting a slaughter-house to choose your sacrifice or pick up the sacrifice meat, ensure adhering to the health guidelines,” the MoPH said in a social media campaign.

The Ministry has said that people with chronic diseases and over the age of 60 years should avoid going to slaugh-terhouses. It has further empha-sized to avoid hiring non-licensed butchers and prefer using home delivery services.

The MoPH has also advised people to avoid going to slaughter houses during rush hours, stick to the appointment time given by the slaughterhouse and follow their guidelines. It has further advised people to not get out of a car unless it is necessary and pay by card instead of cash. Also, people have been asked to avoid taking children below the age of 12 years to slaughterhouse.

It is essential to ensure that Ehteraz App is activated and the green code is shown, maintain social distancing, avoid hand shaking, touching surface and equipment, wear a mask and discard masks appropriately.

To recall, Widam Food Company has also announced that it is well prepared for the special occasion of Eid Al Adha. The abattoirs will be working throughout the week under the supervision of spe-cialised veterinarians to ensure the safety of the slaughtered animals. �P2

Deadline for registering National Address ends todaySIDI MOHAMED THE PENINSULA

Today is the last chance to register the National Address, giving the last chance to avoid hefty fines to those who have not registered their address through the Metrash2 appli-cation, Ministry of Interior’s website and its service centres.

The fine for not registering the address is QR10,000 which can be reconciled to QR5,000 by reaching the court.

Children who reach the legal

age of 18 years must register their national address within two months of reaching the age.

The National Address is the address chosen by a person to correspond with the State or other bodies. It will serve many government entities such as the Ministry of Municipality and Environment; the Ministry of Justice; the Supreme Judiciary Council and Planning and Sta-tistics Authority.

It came within the framework of the strategic development of e-governance

and the completion of the leg-islative structure necessary for e-government transactions and transition to the digital address.

The registration for the National Address started on January 27, this year through Metrash 2, the Ministry of Interior website, and the Min-istry of Interior (MoI) service centres. Every applicant is responsible for giving the correct information and there is a fine for giving false information.

The registration of the National Address is compulsory

and required for people to access several other government services.

The National Address data include one’s residence address in Qatar, landline and mobile phone numbers, e-mail address, and work address for those who work in government or private sector.

To simplify the National Address registration process, the Ministry of Interior has allowed domestic workers to register their National Address using the form for registering

domestic workers and author-ising their employer to submit the application to the author-ities after it has been filled and signed by the worker.

Many MoI services centres worked in the last two days during the weekend, to make it easy for individuals and com-panies to complete their National Address registration.

Residents who are staying abroad for a long time and are coming back after the grace period will have to register as soon as they enter Qatar.

WASM Congress represents an important opportunity to bring together scholars and specialists of sport management and business of sport in Doha, a few months before the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Dr. Hassan Rashid Al Derham,President of Qatar University

It is a joint effort between Qatar University and Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

QNTC, SC, and Qatar Olympic Committee supported Qatar's hosting bid.

HIA installs new screening technology

02 SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020HOME

FAJR SUNRISE 03.32 am 04.58 am

W A L R U WA I S : 31o↗ 38o W A L K H O R : 31o↗ 40o W D U K H A N : 30o↗ 40o W WA K R A H : 34o↗ 40o W M E S A I E E D 34o↗ 40o W A B U S A M R A 31o↗ 45o

PRAYER TIMINGS WEATHER TODAY

HIGH TIDE 08:02 – 20:27 LOW TIDE 03:50– 15:11

Thundery rain expected at west areas associated with

sudden strong wind by afternoon.

Minimum Maximum33oC 41oC

ZUHRMAGHRIB

11.40 am06.25 pm

ASR ISHA

03.07 pm07.55 pm

QRCS opens virus isolation facility at Bangladesh refugee campsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has completed the construction and furnishing of an isolation facility inside the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) largest field hospital, operated by QRCS and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) at Refugee Camp 7 in Cox’s Bazar, southern Bangladesh.

The purpose of the new facility is to isolate suspected cases and treat the coronavirus patients in the district that hosts Myanmar refugee camps. Co-operated by IFRC and BDRCS, it has a capacity of 54 beds, as well as all the isolation, health care, and services rooms.

Construction works of the facility were completed in a short period of time, in order to support the national corona-virus control efforts and protect

the local community and ref-ugees against its impact in such a most vulnerable area.

Cox’s Bazar is the world’s largest settlement of refugee camps, facing protracted health and living difficulties, with the coronavirus outbreak aggra-vating their suffering.

Through its representation mission in Bangladesh, QRCS is working on other activities to reduce the spread of the virus in refugee camps. Until the end of June, these operations ben-efited 53,511 persons, with a total budget of $157,000.

Refugee families received health education about pre-ventive and healthy practices. In collaboration with BDRCS, 5,000 food baskets were dis-tributed to the families affected by the lockdown in many Upazila.

All the resources and capa-bilities of QRCS’s health care centres at refugee camps (health

centre at Camp #19, health center at Camp E8, and field hospital at Camp 7) were sum-moned, ready for action in case of any emergency. The medical and other personnel at health

centres were trained in how to deal with the patients and protect against infection.

QRCS works closely with BDRCS to secure the medical and protective supplies for the

staff of camp-bound health centers, such as masks, gloves, ventilators, sanitizers, oxygen tanks, etc.

A series of precautions were taken to protect the staff,

volunteers, and beneficiaries. Clinic attendance was mini-mized to avoid crowds. Staff of the health centers at Camps #19 and E8 was divided into two groups, to cut staff attendance by half as per the government orders.

Strict instructions were given to all the personnel under QRCS’s interventions to follow the guidelines issued by the competent authorities to deal with the virus. The medical workers and volunteers were given masks, sanitizers, gloves, and other protective supplies.

Representatives of QRCS mission take part in all the coor-dination and emergency meetings convened by the Movement, both at the national and Myanmar refugee levels, to ensure an effective COVID-19 response in line with the gov-ernment’s preparedness and response plans and develop-ments of the situation.

A view of the isolation facility built by Qatar Red Crescent Society.

Qatar assists

Ecuador in

battling COVID-19

QNA — DOHA

The State of Qatar has provided financial support to the Republic of Ecuador to help tackle the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ecuador H E Cristian Espinosa received a cheque of $150,000 during his meeting with Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Ecuador Mohamed H E Ali Al Maliki. The Acting Foreign Minister of the Republic of Ecuador confirmed the depth of friendship ties between Qatar and Ecuador. He said that the Qatari financial contribution will con-stitute an aid to purchase medical supplies needed to face COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister discusses

health cooperation

with Iraqi

counterpart

QNA — DOHA

Minister of Public Health H E Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari has met with Iraqi Health Minister H E Hassan Mohammed Al Tamimi through a video conference, yesterday.

The meeting dealt with ways and mechanisms for enhancing cooperation between the two countries in the health fields, within the framework of implementing the directives of the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of sending field hospitals with various medical equipment to the Republic of Iraq in support of the efforts to confront Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Iraqi Minister expressed his thanks and appreciation to the H H Amir for his support to the Iraqi efforts in facing the pandemic, praising the distinguished rela-tions between the two coun-tries in various fields.

Ashghal announces start of upgrading works on Muaither SC and Plastic RoundaboutsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced the commencement of upgrading works on the roundabout known as Muaither Sports Club Round-about and the roundabout known as Plastic Roundabout on Al Sailiya Road, which will eventually convert both roundabouts into signalised intersections.

The scope of works involves the development of local roads (6km), and the construction of service roads. As part of the Road Improvement Works for Junctions and Roundabouts in Various Areas of Greater Doha (Phase 9), the main purpose of these upgrades is to enhance road capacity in the area and ease traffic congestion.

Eng Mooza Al Sowaidi, Head of Doha City Section in the Roads Projects Department in Ashghal, said: “The devel-opment of the roundabouts known as Muaither Sports Club Roundabout and Plastic Roundabout on Al Sailiya Road, and converting them into signal-con-trolled intersections will regulate local traffic and improve traffic flow in the area. These works are part of Ashghal’s efforts to improve the existing service utilities and upgrade the road network in Doha City in order to respond to the national economic development and social growth requirements in Qatar.”

Eng Al Sowaidi emphasised the

importance of the project, as both round-abouts are located on Al Sailiya road, which is directly connected to Al Waab Street and West Industrial Street. These two roundabouts also serve many sports facilities and health institutions such as Muaither Sports Club and Muaither

Health Centre. Besides, they facilitate access to many commercial centres and educational institutions.

Besides upgrading the two rounda-bouts and converting them into sig-nalised intersections, the project will include other road developments at both

new intersections at a total length of 6km, and the construction of new service roads.

The scope of works will also include providing pedestrian foot-paths of around 12km in length, cycle paths at approximately the same length (12km), landscaping works, and upgrading of street lighting systems. The project will also improve infrastructure utilities, such as the TSE network and surface water drainage network, and will provide protection for the existing electricity and telecommunications cables.

The project will be implemented by JH Construction Company under the supervision of Gulf Engineering and Industrial Consultancy, and is scheduled to be completed in the 1st quarter of 2022.

It is worth noting that in order to facilitate the implementation of these roadworks, the number of lanes available on Al Sailiya Road will be reduced to two lanes in each direction instead of three, from 50

metres before the roundabout known as Muaither Sports Club Roundabout to 50 metres after the roundabout known as Plastic Roundabout. In coordination with the General Directorate of Traffic, this diversion will be implemented until February 2022.

Katara to celebrate Eid Al Adha with exceptional eventsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Cultural Village Foundation Katara is setting-up to celebrate Eid Al Adha with special and new activities.

The Katara festivities pro-gramme, which will continue throughout the four days of Eid, will include a variety of activities, counting the drive-thru distri-bution of gifts in few points at Katara from 5pm until 9pm during Eid days, this is in line

with the precautionary measures taken by the state of Qatar to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Katara will also launch a mural as a gratitude to the medical staff who worked in the front rows during the corona-virus pandemic. The mural is an artwork designed by 12 artists and located in the main entrance of Katara from the south side, the size is 30m x 5m.

The fireworks are the most popular event during Eid. Katara

will display the virtual fireworks on its website. Katara created innovative competitions which consist of choosing the most beautiful children clothing during Eid by sending a picture or video of the participating child.

Katara also allocated prizes for the five winners of each competition, whether for the photo or video, and the photo or video must in high quality res-olution. The copyright of the winning photos or videos will be

the property of the Cultural Village Foundation Katara and has the right to use it for any purpose.

Katara is assiduous to con-tinue its cultural role since the beginning of the COVID-19 pan-demic, by presenting all activ-ities and events remotely, taking into account the social dis-tancing and applying all the pre-cautionary measures taken by the state of Qatar to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

MoPH: 398 new

COVID-19 cases,

330 recoveriesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) yesterday announced the registration of 398 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country. Another 330 people have recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recovered cases in Qatar to 105,750.

All new cases have been introduced to isolation and are receiving necessary health care according to their health status.

The Ministry further said that measures to tackle COVID-19 in Qatar have suc-ceeded in flattening the curve and limiting the spread of the virus. The number of daily new cases and hospital admissions has gradually declined over the past few weeks.

The Ministry has also said that Qatar has one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the world, as a result of, Qatar’s young population, proactive testing to identify cases early, expanding hospital capacity, especially intensive care, to ensure all patients receive the medical care they need, protecting the elderly and those with chronic diseases.

However, the Ministry has emphasized on the importance of taking precautions against COVID-19.

FROM PAGE 1

Widam Food Company also announced that people can contact the company through Widam app and use e-payment mode to get their slaughtered animals' delivery. This service came as precautionary measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. The company has also equipped eight abattoirs for slaughtered animals in various areas of the country in cooper-ation with authorities to meet all needs while adhering to health procedures.

MoPH guidelines

for slaughterhouse

FROM PAGE 1

Qatar’s airport recently announced the successful completion of the second phase of its Smart Airport Program, offering a fast, secure and contactless airport expe-rience by implementing bio-m e t r i c i d e n t i f i c a t i o n technology.

The technology allows pas-sengers to combine their flight, passport, and facial biometric information in a ‘single travel token’ at the self-check-in kiosk.

This digital identity record ultimately makes the passen-ger’s face their pass at key airport touchpoints, such as

self-service bag-drop, pre-immigration, e-Gate and the self-boarding gate.

HIA’s visionary approach and early investment in the biometric identification tech-nology proved to be an extremely efficient tool in HIA’s battle against COVID-19, allowing passengers to move through key touchpoints with minimal physical contact.

In its effort to safeguard its staff and passengers against COVID-19, the world’s third-best airport has introduced a series of unprecedented measures including its investment in robotics and advanced thermal screening helmets.

HIA installs new screening technology

Qatar Committee begins

disbursing cash assistance

to 100,000 families in GazaQNA — GAZA

Chairman of the Qatar Committee for the Recon-struction of Gaza H E Ambas-sador Mohammed Al Emadi said that the Committee in cooperation and coordination with Qatar Fund for Devel-opment (QFFD) began yesterday the process of disbursing cash assistance to 100,000 families in need in the Gaza Strip.

Ambassador H E Al Emadi said that the disbursement process is implemented through the post offices in the governorates of the Gaza Strip at $100 for each family, in

cooperation with competent government bodies putting in consideration all the precau-tionary measures followed to address the spread of COVID-19. H E Al Emadi said that the distribution process will continue through Wednesday and is under full supervision of the Qatari com-mittee and its teams deployed in the distribution centres.

The disbursement is implemented through the post offices in the governorates of the Gaza Strip.

03SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020 HOME

04 SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020HOME

HMC workshop focuses on role of diabetes educators in delivering safe careQNA — DOHA

Diabetes care professionals from across Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) organised a workshop highlighting the important role played by diabetes educators in supporting the delivery of safe care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The workshop emphasised the role of diabetes self-management education as a key component of patients' diabetes care.

Director of Diabetes Education Dr. Manal Othman said that In response to the coronavirus pandemic, routine care of diabetes has been complemented by a national outreach programme — ‘COVID-19 and Diabetes’.

The programme, launched in April 2020 by the National Diabetes Strategy team, in collaboration with QMI, HMC, and the Primary Health Corporation (PHCC), aims to ensure those living with diabetes are receiving optimal care during this period. The programme aims to help diabetic patients reach and maintain their diabetic therapeutic targets, which also includes control of blood pressure and cholesterol.”

The programme delivers essential diabetes care to high-risk patients and proactively prioritises the care of those with poorly controlled diabetes and dia-betic patients over the age of 50 years.

The programme includes virtual consultations with physicians with follow-up care from diabetes educators to ensure the therapeutic targets are obtained. During the follow-up calls, diabetes educators highlight the impor-tance of self-monitoring and guide patients on how to perform belter

self-care. Specific guidance related to living with diabetes during the pandemic is provided as well as general diabetes self-care, which includes topics such as the importance of daily foot examina-tions, maintaining a healthy diet, and physical fitness.

As part of ensuring patients have access to treatment, the diabetes edu-cation team also proves phone-based emergency care through the diabetes hotline. The hotline, which has received over 5,500 calls since being launched in mid-March, can be accessed by calling 16099 (select option 4), seven days a week between 7am and 10pm.

As part of this service, medical advice related to diabetes and COVID-19 is provided to patients and their rela-tives or caregivers. The diabetes care team is also supporting diabetic patients in the country through visits to quar-antine facilities, by sending educational videos in six languages through smart-phones, and by circulating SMS educa-tional text messages.

QatarDebate Center concludes summer debating camp activitiesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The QatarDebate Center, a member of the Qatar Foundation, recently concluded its remote summer camp, which saw participants from neigh-bouring countries as well.

The camp is unique in its excel-lence and fun through interactive programmes, which increase the depth of knowledge of the partici-pants, and adapt to the international developments during the spread of COVID-19, by using remote com-munication techniques between students and organisers.

They are Abdulrahman Al Kubaisi and Mohamed Khader from Qatar, Fahd Al Subaie, Bader Al Shatti from Kuwait, and Salem Al Shammakhy, and Hawa Al Jaradi from the Sultanate of Oman, and Hamza Al Sioufi from Georgetown University in Qatar. This reflected positively upon them by building their abilities, despite differing atti-tudes and ideas.

The summer camp provided a favourable climate for young people to adapt and rely on self-confidence in their ability to analyse and refute the open debate on social, regional and international issues.

Abdulrahman Al Subaie, Head of Outreach Programmes, at the QatarDebate Center said that the situation of COVID-19, which sweeps the region and the world, did not hinder the center and par-ticipants to focus efforts in deliv-ering the message to keep up with the goals of the center.

The professionalism of the center’s staff appeared in the camp by involving the minds of students in analysing issues in all possible ways that were characterised by modernity.

The camp included a discussion session with Dr. Ali Al Sanad from Kuwait, during which he discussed topics affecting the debaters and the challenges they face. These chal-lenges are related to their dealing with others and the extent of their interaction with the community after they were able to master debating and consider in depth the pros and cons that the debate brings. The students showed a dis-tinct interaction during this discussion.

The camp had a great impact on the importance of training, presen-tation and discussion.

The participants expressed hap-piness to participate in the activ-ities of the camp due to the impor-tance of the activities which are

conducted with a new theme that supports students’ cognitive skills in debating and discussing topics that touch their interests in the field of ethics and science.

Qatari debater Abdullah Al Kubaisi said, “The special thing about the camp is the meeting brothers and sisters from the Gulf under one developmental educa-tional ceiling and promoting teamwork between them. The benefit of the camp is the honing of debating skills, and I gained a set of knowledge in the ethical and eco-nomic framework, besides being able to use what I learned in the debate.”

Kuwaiti analyst Fatima Al Qarashi referred to the most important features of the camp, and said: “The camp’s atmosphere was competitive among the trainees, by providing educational content in an interactive way, and setting chal-lenges and competitions that grad-ually increased in difficulty over the days of the camp.

“This made our enthusiasm increase day after day, in addition to choosing the best guests to present the discussion panels. Although the camp was run remotely, it was not a camp to teach skills and ideas, but rather there was interaction with the trainers who

were keen to provide us with all the development skills. Making friends with the trainees is the biggest proof of the success of this camp and its uniqueness from others.”

She described her experience as unique. Despite her love for debates, she was more attached to this field and loved it.

She feels proud of her partici-pation in this camp, which included a group of distinguished students and coaches, which made the expe-rience unforgettable.

Omani analyst, Amna Al Ajamieh, said: “As for me, I have got new skills through the various workshops held in this camp. The most important of these skills is the management of dialogue and dis-cussion sessions and the expression of opinion in different ways. This made me a good debater who can go into diverse fields with high levels, in addition to developing the skills that I need as a debater such as refutation, argumentation and arbitration.”

The contestants praised the camp programme and the feedback and demanded that the workshops be applied as the discussion workshop presented by Saad Al Assad and the refutation workshop presented by Abdulrahman Al Kubaisi.

Participants of a virtual summer camp by QatarDebate Center.

Al Meera gets ISO certification for its robust information security management systemsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Al Meera Consumer Goods Company (Q.P.S.C.) announced that it achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification for its robust Information Security Management System (ISMS), enhancing customer trust with its rigorous new personal and commercial data safety initiatives.

The ISMS introduced new set of policies and procedures for system-atically managing organisation’s sensitive data securely under the IT department at Al Meera, which has been accredited by International

Accreditation Service (IAS) Inc., USA.

T h e I S O / I E C 27001:2013 is a glo-bally known standard

that makes companies become more secure and sensitive from risks of information security.

It is issued against satisfactory completion of a range of specifica-tions for security management systems in organisations that dem-onstrate high standards for pro-tecting consumer privacy and data security.

The ISO recognition is celebrated by AI Meera as evidence that the organisation follows international requirements to enhance the con-sistency of its processes and cus-tomer support.

Eng. Mohammad Abdulla AI Bader, IT Director at AI Meera, said: “This certificate validates that AI Meera meets strict international requirements to ensure the security,

fairness, and quality of the data shared with us. Our customers can enjoy Al Meera’s expansive digital services with confidence that their data is protected to the highest standard.”

ISO 27001:2013 standard sets out requirements for the establishment, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the information security management system.

An ISMS is a comprehensive approach to the handling of confi-dential business information to keep it secure.

Adopting an ISMS is a strategic decision for businesses, involving people, processes, and IT systems, to keep their assets secure in any sector.

As part of ensuring patients have access to treatment, the diabetes education team also proves phone-based emergency care through the diabetes hotline. The hotline, which has received over 5,500 calls since being launched in mid-March, can be accessed by calling 16099.

FROM PAGE 1

The last World Asso-ciation for Sport Man-agement Conference was held at the Univer-sidad Santo Tomas in Santiago de Chile in 2019 and attracted 150 dele-gates from over 40 countries.

The strategic partners of the 2022 WASM Congress in Qatar event are: Qatar Olympic Academy/ Qatar Olympic Committee, Josoor Institute/ Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and Qatar National Tourism Council. Qatar’s visitor-friendly policies have made it an attractive location for largescale

events. It has become the most open country in the Middle East and the 8th most open in the world in terms of visa facili-tation, according to The World Tourism Organi-zation’s (UNWTO) 2018 visa openness rankings, offering visa free entry over 80 nationalities.

WASM 2022 Con-gress in Qatar will be an opportunity to promote education, research and publications in the multi-disciplinary area of sport management in Qatar and in the region, including sport gov-ernance, sport policy and strategy, sport mar-keting, sport and event management.

Qatar to host WASM in 2022

05SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020 HOME

VCUarts Qatar and British Council offer creative industries online workshopsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Art and design practitioners and specialists seeking to advance their careers can now do so through the Creative Industries online workshops, a collabo-ration between Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar’s (VCUarts Qatar’s) Community & Continuing Education Program and its Alumni Rela-tions Office, and the British Council in Qatar.

The workshops will offer practitioners expert insight into current global trends and industry diversification, while providing tips to sharpen indi-vidual personal statements and applications.

The program consists of two courses that are spread over three days each, with a two-hour masterclass scheduled for each day.

The first course, titled ‘Cultural Career Paths’, will take place on August 9, 11 and 12. It will offer participants guidance on how to write their personal statements to apply for grants (during normal times and during crises), and help them develop an understanding of the dynamics in the global art market.

The second course, ‘Turning your Design Practice into a Career’, will be held on August 16, 18 and 19, and will provide expert insight into the ways that

artists can define who they are, and learn how to address their art across various platforms and formats.

Fifteen of the 20 seats in the workshops are reserved for VCUarts Qatar alumni, while the remaining five seats are open to other creatives such as regional artists, creative prac-titioners, curators, and art man-agers who are keen to enhance their art and design skills.

The program will be led by Rose Lejeune, a London-based curator and researcher, in col-laboration with VCUarts Qatar and the British Council. Lejeune, who has worked as a Curator at Art on the Underground, a public art platform on London’s underground public transport system, and at the Serpentine Gallery in London, holds a BA in Philosophy and Art History, and an MA in Curating

Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art.

In addition to Lejeune, each two-hour masterclass (on both the courses) will be led by renowned experts from the global art, design and culture scene. The line-up of instructors for the first course will include Oliver Basciano, a London-based journalist who will help participants hone their personal statements in light of their indi-vidual specializations.

Dani Burrows, a freelance arts manager in Madrid who has worked with various organiza-tions such as the Delfina Foun-dation, Active Cultures and May Calil Consultancy, will offer tips on applying for international residencies in art and design; while Mary Cork, an art market

specialist in London, will explain the nuances of the global art market, and how awareness of such trends are key to networking and estab-lishing one’s own art business.

The master-classes in the second course will be offered by more specialists: Anoushka Khandwala, a London-based freelance graphic designer, and faculty at Central St. Martins and Camberwell College of Arts, will discuss the need to diversify the design industry; Manar Moursi, an architect, designer, and founder of the Cairo-based inter-disciplinary studio Studio Meem, will highlight the use of design in developing story-telling narra-tives, especially in museum set-tings; and Annette Welkamp, the founding director of Culture

Counsel, an organization that provides services, and support and advice for museums, busi-nesses, governments, art gal-leries, private clients, artists and academia internationally, including in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Europe, will teach the third module.

Aisha AlKooheji, Program Manager for Community & Con-tinuing Education at VCUarts Qatar, noted how such collab-orations further VCUarts Qatar’s efforts to promote artists in the region through programs that offer relevant, up to date infor-mation, and mentoring by experts, in art and design. The program is free of charge for VCUarts Qatar alumni, while other applicants can apply for a fee of QR1,500 each.

Rose Lejeune, lead instructor, Creative Industries online workshop; RIGHT: A fiile photo of a VCUarts Qatar Community & Outreach class.

PISQ students set

a new record of

highest marks in

SSC-II exam

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The students of Pakistan Inter-national School, Qatar (PISQ) have made their mark with record breaking performance in the Secondary School Certif-icate (SSC) Annual Exami-nation 2020 of Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE), Islamabad.

The result was announced by FBISE on July 20, 2020. Muhammad Shaheer of PISQ stood first with record highest score of 1077 marks out of 1100 marks in all Doha-based Pakistani schools in the science group. Abdullah Abid and Hasan Shahid shared second position in the school and overall third position in all Doha-based Pakistani schools by securing 1065/1100 marks each whereas Jawairia Shakeel Ahmed secured third position in the school with 1049/1100 marks in the science group.

In the Humanities group of Secondary School Certificate Examination, Asra Sher Khan stood first in the school with 1028 marks, Faiza Mohammed secured second position with 917 marks and Musfira Ubaid Ullah Ghazi grabbed third position with 863 marks.

This year, a total of 171 stu-dents of PISQ sat for the SSC-II Examination and all of them stood victorious producing 100% results. The school made an impressive show of aca-demic excellence by scoring 51 ‘A1’, 43 ‘A’ and 49 ‘B’ grades. 14 students crossed the threshold of 1000 marks out of 1100 marks.

Nargis Raza Otho, Prin-cipal, congratulated all the stu-dents, their parents, and teachers on this historic achievement. She said: “This result has once again proved the fact that we have a team of dedicated and experienced faculty who work hard to prepare and guide the students to meet the real life challenges skilfully and intelligently. I am really proud of my students who always bring laurels for the school in the curricular as well as extra-curricular activities.”

Ambassador of Pakistan to Qatar, Syed Ahsan Raza Shah, also extended his warm wishes to the students, teachers, and parents on this momentous occasion. He emphasised on the overall grooming of the students that will help them think and act smartly in their future academic pursuits.

Sweeten your days with GodivaTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Godiva offers ‘the most deli-cious and innovative chocolate, in various yummy designs, precision and sophistication’, Blue Salon announced yesterday. Each of these pieces tells a special story, such as: ‘the Lady Noir’ which embodies the first industry of Pierre Draps, the original chocolate maker, and the ‘Signature Lait’ choc-olate is a piece made of soft coffee and decorated with a small feather.

The milk chocolate with liquid caramel ‘Ecusson’, engraved with a drawing of a lion on the occasion of the admission of Godiva at the Royal Court in Belgium in 1968 and many other sweet treats are available. Godiva also pro-duces seasonal chocolate with special packaging that goes along with various festivities

and major events. It has licensed agreements

for the production of ice cream, raw coffee, and chocolate-related nuts. Godiva introduces innovative ways and methods for wrapping, preparing and decorating chocolate gifts, adding aesthetic touches that carry with it the art of sophisti-cation, elegance depicting the

classical style of Godiva. With a legacy dating back to 1926, Godiva has gained a global rep-utation of excellence with its presence in more than 80 coun-tries, offering a wide range of chocolate creations. Godiva Chocolates can be found at the Blue Salon, Godiva stores in Mall of Qatar, Doha Festival City, The Pearl- Qatar and Landmark.

Ashghal announces partial closure in one direction of Al Asmakh StreetTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ has announced a partial closure on Al Asmakh Street in one direction From Al Koot Fort Intersection to Al Asmakh Intersection, on Tuesday (July 28) for a duration of five months, in coordination with the General Directorate of Traffic, to enable expansion

and upgrading works at Al-Asmakh Street, within Doha Central Development and Beautification Project – Package Three.

During this period, road users wishing to use this direction on Al Asmakh Street, can continue straight and use the alternative routes as shown on the map to reach their destinations.

The workshops will offer practitioners expert insight into current global trends and industry diversification, while providing tips to sharpen individual personal statements and applications.

COVID-19 has shown how science must become a way of lifeTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Every day, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been witnessing people oppose the idea of social distancing, protest to wearing masks and gloves, and even call the pandemic a hoax or conspiracy theory. World leaders, with no scientific training or under-standing, have spent significant amounts of time down playing the virus and associated risks.

The science is simple – COVID-19 is an infectious disease and it depends on human hosts to spread it. But it seems that some people find it hard to be rational about COIVD-19. Why? A part of the answer lies in encouraging a critical thinking and problem-solving mindset, which comes with studying science.

“In encouraging others to study science, I think it’s not necessarily science specific but as an educator, and as research shows, we need stu-dents to become critical thinkers and problem solvers,” said Sam Abrams, Principal of Qatar Foundation’s Qatar Academy of Science and Tech-nology, also known as QAST.

And while the pandemic has intensified the focus on science – with medical and scientific commu-nities all over the world working round-the-clock, making critical contributions to the COVID-19 response – we need to ask whether our future rests only in the hands of scientists and specialized profes-sionals, or can the wider public make informed choices based on scientific understanding.

A study put together by leading educators says that “science is

designed only to educate a minority of future scientists, rather than equipping the majority with the sci-entific understanding.” This means science needs to be taught in a way that is more holistic, because when science is linked to people’s real lives, it becomes relatable and consumable.

“In the future, companies or col-leges will not seek people who only have a certificate in engineering or biology, but instead people who can work in a team or those who can use math skills in problem solving,” Abrams says.

Abrams explains that employers will want to hire people who are equipped with the skills of the 21st century – those with a holistic purview. “A student might want to be an interior designer, but this student might also want to study science to get a better understanding of interior designing,” Abrams says.

The pandemic has meant that schools have had to quickly adjust to virtual learning, and experiential learning typically done in classroom

laboratories, especially in STEM sub-jects, are now being delivered online.

At QAST, these day-to-day studies were not necessarily repli-cated but they were adjusted and adapted, according to Abrams. He says: “We’re still in the early stages but we’ve been pretty creative in engaging students to get the best we can to replicate a lab or hands-on learning at home.”

Applying this hands-on learning approach, QAST students engaged in a project to cater to the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). Dr. Gregory J. Moncada, Director, QAST, says that students were asked to look for solutions in this area, and that they were given a few links to individuals who were working on creating PPE with various elements in their labs.

“We took a few online files on 3D printing components of PPE, such as face shields and face masks, and indeed our students could 3D render these parts. They rendered and modified their own parts. We’ve got a bank of 12 3D printers in our school, and so we were able to produce these components, and the students were able to run through a quick series of iterations on improving their particular com-ponent,” Dr. Moncada says.

“Some of our students had just done some bacteriology in biology so they understood vectors and viruses and bacteria, and how they move through society. So, it was straightforward for the biology teacher to apply some of these prac-tices as it relates to the spread and mitigation of COVID-19,” Dr. Moncada said.

Sam Abrams, Principal of Qatar Foundation’s Qatar Academy of Science and Technology (QAST); RIGHT: Dr. Greg Moncada, Director, QAST

CBSE Gulf Sahodaya organises discussion on remote learningDOHA: Shantiniketan Indian School – Qatar, hosted a webinar on “Remote Learning Chal-lenges and Opportunities” organized by CBSE Gulf Sahodaya.

Teachers from six Gulf countries participated in the educational event that was conducted on the ZOOM platform and streamed live on YouTube. The webinar, moderated by Nazia Tehseen of Shantiniketan Indian School, was highly informative that enlightened the viewers with the academic world going through a trans-formational change on how teachers are coping to provide the best opportunities to learners on skill development.

“In encouraging others to study science, I think it’s not necessarily science specific but as an educator, and as research shows, we need students to become critical thinkers and problem solvers,” said Sam Abrams, Principal of QAST.

06 SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Turkey decries burning of its flag in GreeceANATOLIA — ANKARA

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned yesterday that Greek authorities “provoked public and allowed burning of Turkish flag in Thessaloniki” over reopening of Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque for worship in Istanbul.

“We strongly condemn hostile statements made by members of the Greek Gov-ernment and Parliament pro-voking the public opinion and allowing the burning of our glo-rious flag in Thessaloniki,” Hami Aksoy, the Foreign Min-istry spokesman, said in a written statement.

Aksoy said Greece show-cased its hostility against Islam and Turkey once again under the pretext of showing reaction against the reopening of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque for worship.

He said “the spoiled children of Europe”, who cannot accept the reopening of the iconic architecture as a mosque, were “delirious” again.

“These racist mindsets, who have not drawn the required lessons from history, those who disrespect our glo-rious flag should remember their fate in the Aegean,” Aksoy stressed.

“Greece should, from now on, wake up from the Byzantine dream that she has been unable to wake up for 567 years and get rid of her frustration ema-

nating from it,” he said.The Greek oppression

against the Muslim Turkish minority in the country are reg-istered by the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, he noted, adding that Greece is the only European country which has no mosque in its capital and that it has con-doned the destruction of his-torical mosques on its territory.

Aksoy highlighted that the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque has opened for worship in line with the will of the Turkish nation.

He added that the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, like other cultural assets on the Turkish lands, belongs to Turkey, and said: “... it will be in our possession and

protection forever.” He also stressed that opening the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque for worship complies with the “requirements and spirit” of 1972 Unesco Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

“No country can teach Turkey about exercising her national sovereignty,” he warned.

“In line with Turkey’s com-mitment and tradition of tol-erance to all religious rights and freedoms, Great Hagia Sophia Mosque, the sanctuary of Islam, the religion of peace which embraces all religions, will con-tinue to be open to all,” Aksoy said.

Hagia Sophia served as a church for 916 years until the conquest of Istanbul, and a mosque from 1453 to 1934 —nearly 500 years — and most recently as a museum for 86 years.

One of the most visited his-toric buildings in Turkey by domestic and international tourists, Hagia Sophia was added to the Unesco World Heritage List in 1985, during its time as a museum.

On July 10, a Turkish court annulled a 1934 Cabinet decree that had turned Hagia Sophia into a museum, paving the way for its use again as a mosque after an 86-year hiatus.

The first prayer since its official reconversion to a mosque was held on Friday.

Turkish President receives Libyan Prime MinisterTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) meets Prime Minister of Libya Fayez Al Sarraj in Istanbul, Turkey, yesterday.

Libyans to sue supporters of Egypt military interventionANATOLIA — TRIPOLI

Libyan tribal chieftains said Saturday they will file a lawsuit against tribesmen who called for an Egyptian military inter-vention in Libya.

“We announce the launch of lawsuits against [Libyan] cit-izens who claimed to represent the Libyan tribes and went to Egypt,” reads a document signed by Libyan tribal chieftains.

They condemned “the behavior of the decision-makers in Egypt by receiving a group of Libyans who claimed to represent the tribes, but they

in fact do not represent the will of the Libyan people”.

The chieftains said the behavior of the Egyptian lead-ership “was a blatant violation of international law and the UN principles”, going on to stress that those tribesmen “only rep-resent the desires of the putchist criminal Khalifa Haftar”.

Signatories of the document include the elders of the Libyan cities of Zilten, Surman, Khoms, Al Ajaylat, Janzur, Souq Al Jum’aa along with the Al Sahel and Al Jabal Notables Councils.

In mid-July, the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi

met with a group of Libyan tribesmen, who said they have mandated the Egyptian military to intervene in Libya to “protect the Libyan sovereignty”.

Al Sisi’s call to arm the Libyan tribes in favor of Haftar against the Libyan Interna-tionally-recognized gov-ernment has drawn a wide-spread criticism inside Libya.

Since April 2019, Haftar’s illegitimate forces have launched attacks on the Libyan capital of Tripoli and other parts of northwestern Libya, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths, including civilian women and children.

“We strongly condemn hostile statements made by members of the Greek Government and Parliament provoking the public opinion and allowing the burning of our glorious flag in Thessaloniki,” Hami Aksoy, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said.

Oman reports 1,067 new

virus cases; 684 in Kuwait

QNA — MUSCAT, KUWAIT

The Omani Ministry of Health reported yesterday 1,067 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), in addition to 12 new COVID-19 related death cases.

The new cases included 959 Omanis and 108 foreigners, bringing the total number of positive COVID-19 cases to 74,858 in the Sultanate, in addition to 371 deaths, the Min-istry of Health said.

The Ministry also pointed out that 1,054 new cases have recovered, bringing the total number to 54,061 cases. As many as 3,076 new COVID-19 tests have been carried out, the Ministry said, taking the total to 293,802.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti Min-istry of Health announced yes-terday the registration of 684 new cases of COVID-19, and four

deaths during the last twenty-four hours, brining the total of confirmed cases in the country to 63,309 in addition to 429 deaths.

The Ministry official spokesman, Dr. Abdullah Al Sanad, said that among the newly registered cases, there were infections caused by exposure to infected people, while a number of other cases were under exam-ination to determine the source of the infection, adding that the updated total figure included 422 cases of Kuwaiti citizens and 262 of non-Kuwaitis.

He noted that the number of patients receiving treatment at intensive care units reached 123. Earlier yesterday, the Min-istry announced that some 692 people recovered from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 58,607.

Israel copters strike Syrian army targetsAFP — JERUSALEM

Israeli army helicopters struck military targets in southern Syrian on Friday in retaliation for earlier “munitions” fire towards Israel from inside Syria, escalating tensions between the bitter rivals.

The strikes came hours after America’s top general Mark Milley made an unan-nounced visit to the Jewish state for talks on regional security including Iran, a key ally of the Syrian government.

Israel said early on Friday “munitions” were fired from the Syrian side of the security fence towards Israeli positions in the Golan Heights, which the Jewish state has occupied since the 1967 Six Day war.

A vehicle and a civilian building were damaged, according to an earlier Israeli army statement.

In response, “attack heli-copters struck military targets in southern Syria belonging to the Syrian Armed Forces”.

“A number of targets were struck, including SAF obser-vation posts and intelligence collection systems located in SAF bases,” the statement said.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that Israeli mis-siles hit three targets, leaving two people “lightly wounded” while starting forest fires.

Israel did not directly blame Syrian forces for the munitions fire, but said it held the Damascus government responsible for the incident.

Israel has over the past two days announced a reinforced troop presence on its northern border.

Several Israeli media outlets reported that the moves were made in response

to an increased threat from the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which has a significant presence in Syria.

On Monday, five Iran-backed fighters were killed in an Israeli missile strike south of the Syrian capital Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Hezbollah, an ally of the Syrian regime, said one of its fighters was among the dead.

Israel has launched hun-dreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the coun-try’s civil war in 2011, but rarely comments on such operations.

Israel announced an initial enhanced troop deployment to the north on Thursday and additional measures on Friday, hours before the air strikes.

The army said that in ordering the redeployment it had “elevated its readiness against various potential enemy actions”.

It added that it held the Lebanese government respon-sible for all actions emanating from Lebanon, without referring to Hezbollah.

Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ben-jamin Netanyahu, alternate premier and Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Israel’s army chief Aviv Kohavi, during his visit.

Gantz said the trip under-scored the close security ties between Washington and the Jewish state and warned Israel was “ready for any scenario and any threat”.

“I do not suggest our enemies to test us,” Gantz said in a statement.

Turkey rescues 929 asylum seekers in Aegean in a monthANATOLIA — IZMIR

The Turkish Coast Guard rescued more than 900 asylum seekers in the recent month who were pushed back by the Greek Coast Guard into Turkish territorial waters in the Aegean.

Asylum seekers were seeking to cross to Europe with rubber boats to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

According to data compiled by Anadolu Agency, from June 22 to July 22, a total of 929 asylum seekers pushed back by the Greek forces were rescued.

Nearly 380 of them were rescued in Izmir, 238 in Balikesir, 162 in Canakkale, 108 in Mugla, 24 in Aydin, and 18 in Antalya.

In 2019, a total of 29 asylum seekers lost their lives between Jan. 1 to July 22 due to harsh condi-tions at the sea. This year, the tally reached 35 in the same period.

According to the Coast Guard Command, 12,609 irregular migrants trying to cross to Greece were held between Jan. 1 and July 22. Over 880 migrants were held from July 1 to July 22.

Turkish Coast Guard lent asylum seekers a helping hand by providing them with clothes and food. Health care personnel also treated rescued asylum seekers in bad health conditions.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross to Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

The country earlier this year opened its gates to irregular migrants seeking to cross to Europe, accusing the EU of failing to keep its promises under a 2016 migrant deal.

Turkey hosts nearly four million Syrians, more than any other country in the world.

07SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Iranian President urges coronavirus caution during religious festivitiesREUTERS — TEHRAN

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged people yesterday to observe health protocols and practice social distancing during upcoming Muslim festivities, as a health official said there had been a surge in coronavirus infections in a major holy city.

Muslims around the world mark the Eid Al Adha feast, due to start at the end of the month. This year, Saudi Arabia is to limit the number of domestic pilgrims attending haj to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Most Iranians are Shi’ite Muslims, who also mark their most significant mourning cere-monies of Ashura in September.

“Let glorious festivities be held in mosques and religious centers by observing health protocols and social dis-tancing,” Rouhani said in a tel-evised speech.

“Let masks this year be part of the glorious mourning of Muharram,” Rouhani said, referring to Ashura, the 10th day of the lunar month of Muharram, when according to Islamic tradition Imam Hussein was killed in battle in 680.

One of the Eid Al Adha rituals is the sacrificial slaughter of sheep and giving to the poor. Iranian health officials have urged the faithful to package the meat before distribution.

Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, speaking on state tel-evision, urged people not to visit the northeastern holy city of Mashad, which he said has seen an increase of 300% in coronavirus cases over a one month period.

Millions typically visit Mashad’s Imam Reza shrine, which is Iran’s largest Shia reli-gious complex.

Gunmen kill at least 20 farmers in Sudan's DarfurAFP — KHARTOUM

Gunmen killed at least 20 civilians including children in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur as they returned to their fields for the first time in years, a witness and a tribal chief said yesterday.

Twenty people were also wounded in the attack in Aboudos, some 90km south of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur province, tribal chief Ibrahim Ahmad said by telephone.

Darfur has been devastated since 2003 by a conflict that has killed 300,000 people and dis-placed 2.5 million others, according to the United Nations.

Those killed in Friday’s attack were mostly displaced farmers who had returned to their fields under a gov-ernment-sponsored deal struck two months between “the

original landowners and those who took their fields”, Ahmad said.

“But armed men came on Friday and opened fire, killing 20 people, including two women and children,” he said, adding that the toll could rise because some of the wounded were in serious condition.

A survivor, speaking anon-ymously for fear of reprisals, said the farmers had returned to their fields to take advantage of the rainy season and plant crops.

“Because of the violence we hadn’t been back for 16 years, and we thought it was over,” he said.

“The gunmen arrived on pickup trucks, some of which had machine guns on them. They surrounded us from all four sides and opened fire.” The survivor said 14 lost their lives immediately, while a further six died in hospital.

The conflict in Darfur broke out after ethnic African minority rebels, complaining of margin-alisation took up arms against

the government of now ousted president Omar Al Bashir.

The state hit back with vio-lence led by the Janjaweed, a feared militia that was recruited mainly from Arab pastoralist tribes.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court over charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in the conflict.

The violence has abated in recent years although armed groups have continued to carry out attacks.

“The Bedouins want to throw us off the land our grand-parents farmed,” the survivor said.

Adam Mohammed, an expert on Darfur, said land ownership was a main driver of the conflict between farmers of African tribal origins and Arab Bedouins.

“During the years of fighting, farmers fled their lands and Bedouin herders took their place,” he said.

Bashir was deposed by the army in April 2019 following months of mass protests against his rule, mainly over economic woes, and a transitional gov-ernment was sworn in late last year.

The 76-year-old is currently on trial over the military coup that brought him to power more than three decades ago.

Under his rule, several con-flicts broke out as rebels com-plained of racial discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion.

In Darfur, the Janjaweed was accused of applying a scorched earth policy against ethnic groups suspected of sup-porting the rebels, raping, killing, looting and burning villages.

The ICC said in June that it had taken custody of fugitive militiaman Ali Kushayb, a senior Janjaweed commander wanted on 50 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur between 2003-2004.

That came months after a coalition of nine rebel groups — including factions from Darfur — signed a preliminary agreement in January with the government after weeks of talks.

But violence has persisted in the desperately poor region.

In late June and early July, hundreds of protesters camped for days outside a government building in the Cental Darfur town of Nertiti to demand that the govern beef up security, after multiple killings and looting incidents on farmland and properties.

Somali lawmakers oust prime minister in no-confidence voteAFP — MOGADISHU

S o m a l i a ’ s parliament removed Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire (pictured) from his post in a vote of no confidence on Saturday for failing to pave the way towards fully democratic elec-tions, the speaker said.

A whopping 170 of parlia-ment’s 178 MPs backed the no confidence motion, and Khaire’s ouster was immedi-ately endorsed by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who had appointed him as prime minister in February 2017.

The deputies had arrived at the National Assembly yes-terday to work on the organi-sation of the next national elec-tions in 2021.

“After learning that the gov-ernment had failed in its promise to prepare a clear plan that paves the way for one-person-one-vote elections in 2021... parliament undertook a vote of no confidence against the government and its prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire,” parliamentary speaker Mohamed Mursal told reporters.

“The president of the federal government of Somalia... will appoint a prime minister and a government which will pave the way for

elections,” he added.

The office of the president issued a statement indicating that Farmajo would nominate a new prime minister soon.

“ I h a v e decided to accept the decision of the parliament,” the pres-ident said in the statement.

The fragile central gov-ernment, chaired by Farmajo, controls only a part of Somali territory and is facing an insur-gency from the Al Qaeda-affil-iated Al Shabaab militant group.

Somalia has set itself the goal of holding a one-person, one-vote national election in early 2021 — as opposed to a complex system in which special dele-gates pick lawmakers who then vote for the president — in what would be its first full democratic election since 1969.

Khaire, 52, was a new-comer to the political scene when he became prime min-ister, having previously held the post of Director of the Africa department of the British oil company Soma Oil and Gas.

Khaire is a member of the Hawiye clan while Farmajo is from the Darod clan, in keeping with the traditional balance at the top of the Somali executive.

Kenya tackles virus with field hospitalA nurse works inside a field hospital built on a soccer stadium in Machakos, as the number of confirmed coronavirus disease cases continues to rise in Kenya.

Ennahda slams

calls for exclusion

from Tunisia govt

ANATOLIA — TUNIS

Tunisia’s Ennahda Movement yesterday denounced calls for excluding it from the next government, saying such attempts seek to serve “suspi-cious foreign agendas”.

“Ennahda denounces calls to exclude the movement from the political and governmental scene in service of suspicious foreign agendas,” it said in a statement issued following a meeting of the movement’s executive office.

T h e D e m o c r a t i c Movement, which has 22 seats in parliament, and the People’s Movement, which has 14 seats, have called for forming a gov-ernment without the partici-pation of the Ennahda movement.

Ennahda, which is the largest bloc in parliament with 54 seats, said it is “open to various parties and democratic blocs to accelerate the for-mation of the government given the sensitivity of the current economic, social, and security phase of the country”.

Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi said Tunisia needs a “policy of compromise” to resolve differences as followed by former President Beji Caid Essebsi.

Speaking to reporters during the inauguration of a hall at the parliament head-quarters in Essebsi’s name, Ghannouchi said the late pres-ident was a “symbol of nat ional uni ty and reconciliation”.

“He (Essebsi) has saved Tunisia from conflicts with his forgiveness and broad per-spective,” he said. Essebsi died last year at the age of 93.

Ennahda has nominated Fadhel Abdelkefi and Mohamed Khayyam Al Turki to the country’s president Kais Saied to form a new government.

Al Turki is a businessman and former leader of the Dem-ocratic Forum for Labour and Liberties while Abdelkefi was a former minister of devel-opment, investment and inter-national cooperation in 2016 in the government of Youssef Chahed.

Iran says passengers can sue US for endangering flightAFP — TEHRAN

Iran’s judiciary yesterday told passengers aboard an Iranian commercial airliner that the US said was intercepted by its warplanes that they can sue Washington for endangering their lives.

Two US fighter jets flew dangerously close to the Mahan Air plane over war-torn Syria on Thursday, according to Iranian authorities, forcing the pilot to take emergency action and causing injuries to some passengers.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) insisted in a statement that it was a “profes-sional intercept... conducted in accordance with international standards.” The incident was the latest between arch-foes Tehran and Washington since US President Donald Trump in 2018 walked out of a multi-lateral nuclear accord with Iran and imposed punishing sanctions.

“Air routes are considered corridors for civilian aircraft, therefore the very act of ter-rorist CENTCOM’s fighters

entering this corridor means endangering international air transit,” Iran’s deputy judiciary head Ali Bagheri-Kani was quoted as saying by the body’s Mizan Online website.

“This was a clear violation of international laws and a clear threat to the right of life of cit-izens so it can be followed up on in international bodies,” he added.

Bagheri-Kani said all the passengers who were on board the flight from Tehran to Beirut could file for legal action against “the terrorist US army

command and others involved” in Iranian courts “for moral and physical damage”.

Legal action could also be pursued through the Interna-tional Civil Aviation Organi-zation and the International Court of Justice, he said.

Iran announced on Friday that it had lodged a complaint with the ICAO and plans to submit a protest letter to the UN Security Council and secretary general.

The incident comes nearly a month after Iran called on Interpol to help arrest

President Donald Trump and 35 other US officials for the January killing of its top general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Iraq.

The Islamic republic retal-iated days after the killing by firing a barrage of missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq, but Trump opted against responding militarily to that move.

While the attack on the western Iraqi base of Ain Al-Asad left no US soldiers dead, dozens suffered brain trauma.

South Africa restaurant workers strike against lockdownPolice use a water canon to disperse restaurant workers protesting against coronavirus disease ockdown regulations in Cape Town, South Africa.

Zimbabwe says jailed journalist and politician plotted to topple govtAFP — HARARE

Zimbabwe’s government on Saturday defended the arrests of an investigative journalist and an opposition leader this week, claiming the pair had been plotting to “overthrow the government” with the backing of the United States and other “foreign power” Hopewell Chin’ono and Jacob Ngarivhume were arrested on Monday and charged with inciting public violence for their role in organ-ising anti-government protests slated for July 31.

Ngarivhume — head of a small party named Transform Zimbabwe — had called for

nationwide protests against alleged state corruption and the country’s ailing economy.

Chin’ono, an outspoken government critic, invited the public to join the demonstra-tions via Facebook and Twitter.

The journalist had also helped expose a multimillion-dollar cor-ruption scandal involving the pro-curement of coronavirus supplies known as “Covidgate”.

In a statement yesterday, the government said it wished to “set the record straight” on the arrests. “(Chin’ono) was not arrested for exposing cor-ruption,” said Information Min-ister Monica Mutsvangwa.

“He was arrested for using

his social media accounts to incite Zimbabweans to violently overthrow the government.” Mutsvangwa said the detainees landed behind bars for “their ploy to violently destabilise the country” and “unconstitutionally seize power”.

She accused “foreign powers” of taking part in “this plot”, noting that the US embassy had tweeted in defence of Chin’ono “within minutes” of his arrest.

“Other Western Embassies who usually take the USA’s lead joined in this irregular interference by tweeting and releasing state-ments which were calculated to obstruct the course of justice in a host country,” the statement said.

Those killed in the attack were mostly displaced farmers who had returned to their fields under a government-sponsored deal struck two months between “the original landowners and those who took their fields”, tribal chief Ibrahim Ahmad said.

In response to the threat of desertification, H H the Amir launched the Global Dryland Alliance, as one of the mechanisms aiming to achieve food security for dryland countries.

08 SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020VIEWS

CHAIRMANDR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

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

EDITORIAL

THE commitment of the State of Qatar for partnership and cooperation with the international community in dealing with different issues at the national and inter-national level has distinguished the principles of its foreign policy.

Enhancing international peace and security through encouraging resolution of international conflicts by peaceful means, abstaining from interference in the internal affairs of other countries are the basis of Qatar’s foreign policy. Through implementing these principles and diplomatic efforts to settle regional con-flicts, Qatar has created a high international profile and reputation in the field of mediation and will not hesitate to play its role as an active partner in the inter-national community.

Qatar is a country which has cultivated a reputation as a political mediator and as a key supporter of devel-opment programmes and education in poor countries, in addition to its continuing support to various coun-tries of the world to confront the COVID-19 pandemic by providing medical supplies and mobile hospitals.

Given that the unconditional dialogue to resolve any dispute and establishing the principle of cooperation to achieve peace and stability is at the heart of its pol-icies, its insistence on a peaceful solution to the Gulf crisis and through unconditional dialogue stems from its firm convictions and principles of its foreign policy.

During a virtual meeting held recently by the UN Security Council, to discuss “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue” the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations H E Ambassador Sheikha Alya bint Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani reiterated Qatar’s adherence to resolving the crisis with the blockading countries by peaceful diplomatic means and through mediation and constructive unconditional dialogue.

The blockade that Qarar has faced for more than three years is unfair and represents illegal measures that contradict the United Nations Charter, principles of international law, international agreements and cov-enants and human rights, but Qatar has taken interna-tional law as a path to settle the dispute and protect the rights of its citizens and residents negatively affected by the illegal measures associated with the blockade.

While the blockading countries continued to ignore the principles and the Charter of the United Nations and international law in a blatant manner, these prin-ciples formed the basis of Qatar’s approach to the crisis. Therefore Qatar has resorted to international forums and judicial bodies, especially the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ICAO and World Trade Organ-ization (WTO), as the main organs of the United Nations to settle disputes with blockading countries.

Settling disputes peacefully

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Quote of the day

The reconstruction fund should be there to

modernize the EU. For the first time, the EU can

borrow a large amount of money. This means that

we have considerably more money available for

future investments than before.

Charles Michel, European Council President

H E Ambassador Sheikha Alya bint Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, speaking at a high-level teleconference meeting on climate and security.

QNA — NEW YORK

The State of Qatar renewed yesterday its commitment to partnership and cooperation with the international community in dealing with climate change, stressing that the country’s efforts were both on the national and international fronts.

The State of Qatar will not hesitate to play its role as an active partner in the interna-tional community, in light of the urgent need to address the negative impacts of climate change that the cooperation on an international level that such efforts require said the Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations H E Sheikha Alya bint Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani to the UN Security Council.

Sheikha Alya was speaking at a high-level tel-econference meeting on climate and security where she highlighted the State of Qatar’s leading role in the Climate Change Summit held in September 2019, through the leadership of H H the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani along with Jamaica and France, in an alliance focused on climate finance and carbon pricing.

She noted that the contri-bution of $100m announced by H H the Amir to support small developing island states and the least developed states to deal with the climate change, reflects the State of Qatar’s strong belief in the important role everyone can play in addressing the phenomenon.

Qatar Fund for Devel-opment is currently finalizing the disbursement mechanism, with three levels of deter-mining the mechanism repre-sented in financing, sup-porting policies, and building capabilities. She added that the fund will work on mul-tiple sectors with a focus par-ticularly on education as a main pillar in responding to

climate change, economic development, and health. The Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations added that, in the framework of cooperation, the strategy will help small developing island states and the least developed states achieve the Paris climate agreement goal, and long-term goals related to sustainable development in order to enhance peace and security.

Her Excellency Sheikha Alya highlighted that, in response to the threat of deser-tification, H H the Amir launched the Global Dryland Alliance, as one of the mecha-nisms aiming to achieve food security for dryland countries. She said that the initiative will help enhance international peace and security, noting that the alliance’s agreement was signed in 2017 and is currently being implemented after a number of countries ratified it.

Environmental devel-opment is one of the main pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030 said H E Sheikha Alya, noting that Qatar has many plans and programs aimed at addressing climate change and environmental sustainability, adding that the country is pursuing efforts and projects in the field of clean energy and achieving energy efficiency, through the use of solar energy and will increase use of solar energy to more than 20 percent of its energy mix by 2030.

She noted that Qatar Investment Authority, which invests in climate-related financing projects, is a founding and active member of the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund that emanated from the One Planet Summit held in 2017 in Paris. The fund aims to increase efficiency in allocating global capital in order to contribute to the smooth transition towards a more sustainable economy characterized by low carbon emissions.

The Ambassador stated that the commitment of the State of Qatar and its involvement in the efforts made at the global level to combat climate change is not a novelty, it was several years old, noting in this context to the hosting of the 18 session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change in Doha in 2012.

She stressed that the State of Qatar will spare no effort to continue working to fulfill the obligations that are dictated to ratify the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Sheikha Alya praised the Security Council meeting, saying that its taking place in unprecedented circumstances represented by the excep-tional challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its major implications for livelihoods, the exacerbation of risks associated with climate change, and its effects

on food security and large-scale human displacement, as a result of drought and fre-quent natural disasters and scarce resources.

She stressed that no country was immune to the negative impact of climate change, which has become a common concern of the entire international community, noting that these impacts are more severe for groups living in fragile situations, whether due to geographical factors, poverty, or otherwise, among them small island developing states and least developed countries.

Sheikha Alya also pointed to the significant repercus-sions of climate change on achieving the goals of sus-tainable development and human rights, stressing the growing relationship between climate change and the main-tenance of international peace and security, which is occupying space in the work of the Security Council, as a number of its decisions have reflected the effects of climate change on peace and stability.

In conclusion, Her Excel-lency said that Qatar will con-tinue its commitment to work based on the principle of part-nership, cooperation, and strengthening multilateral action with the international group in the context of addressing the risks posed by climate change, one of the most important challenges facing humanity.

PETER R ORSZAG, DAVID GLUCKMAN & STEPHEN H SANDS BLOOMBERG

Anthony Fauci has recently taken some heat in Wash-ington for supposedly being too pessimistic about how long it will take to bring the covid-19 pandemic under control. In fact, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is probably being too optimistic, a new survey of leading health care company leaders and investors suggests.

In congressional tes-timony and news interviews, Fauci has said an effective and safe vaccine may be available by the end of 2020 or early 2021. Yet almost three in four health care exec-utives and investors believe an effective and safe vaccine will not be widely available

until the second half of 2021 or even later.

The survey, conducted by Lazard during the last week of May and first half of June, included 184 executives and 37 investors across pharma-ceuticals and biotech, medical technology and health care services - representing many of the world’s largest health care entities, as well as smaller public and private companies and prominent investment firms.

The leaders were asked when they think an effective, safe vaccine will not only exist (arguably Fauci’s focus) but also be widely available - which is the most relevant question for the trajectory of the virus. It’s dangerous to expect a vaccine to be available sooner than is realistic.

Despite the intensive focus, investment and collab-oration across the

biopharmaceutical industry, including in new technologies (mRNA, for example) that may speed up development time-lines, there are scientific and technical obstacles to creating covid-19 vaccines, as well as manufacturing and logistical challenges. Such roadblocks explain why biopharma com-panies have developed only seven truly novel vaccines in the past 25 years.

Most health care leaders also believe it may very well be more than a year or two before there is an effective Covid-19 treatment - if one ever materializes. Indeed, only 49% of health care industry leaders put the like-lihood of such a therapeutic at better than even.

Consequently, two-thirds of industry leaders expect the pandemic to continue into the second half of 2021 or beyond - a notably longer time frame

than that envisioned by many people in government. The danger is that federal fiscal support will be withdrawn before the pandemic is actually over, and then the underlying economic damage will become more visible.

After the pandemic, the industry leaders expect to see a significant acceleration of many earlier trends in health care, especially the more effi-cient delivery of care to patients. They expect to see much greater use of virtual medicine, remote patient monitoring, and care in the home and other alternative places. Executives are also concerned about nationalism, protectionism and the need to secure domestic supply chains.

Most important, however, is their expectation that the world will remain in the grip of the pandemic for at least another year.

Qatar reiterates commitment to partnership and cooperation in addressing climate change

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Pandemic may very well last another year or more

Established in 1996

09SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020 ASIA

India adds nearly 100,000 cases within 48 hours; MP CM tests positiveIANS — NEW DELHI

Even as India races to develop a cure for the Covid-19 virus, and despite all safety protocols in place for the last four months to contain the pandemic outbreak, the number of infected are increasing drasti-cally each day. A total of 48,916 fresh cases were reported on Saturday after 49,310 on Friday taking the total to 98,226 —touching almost a lakh in less than two days.

In the last 24 hours, 787 people succumbed to the deadly virus, as there is a huge surge in cases in the hinterlands.

According to the latest data available on the website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, total number of cases in India reached 13,36,861 of which 31,388 people have lost their lives while 8,49,432 have recovered. The total number of active cases are 4,56,071 cases. The ministry stated that the recovery rate is 63.53 per cent.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Min-ister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been admitted to a hospital here after he tested positive for coronavirus.

Chouhan has been taken to Chirayu Hospital, a dedicated facility for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the capital city.

Lokendra Parashar, in-charge of the BJP’s media department, said that Chouhan himself said that he wanted to be treated in Chirayu Hospital.

Parashar said the Chief Minister has chosen this hos-pital as the ordinary citizens are treated there.

“I have been admitted to the Chirayu Hospital on the advice of a doctor after testing COVID-19 positive. All types of tests have been conducted here. I am perfectly healthy,” tweeted Chouhan.

Chouhan shared infor-mation of his testing COVID-19 positive on his Twitter handle. “My dear people, I was having symptoms of #COVID19, after the test my report has come positive. I appeal to all my col-leagues that whoever has come in contact with me, get corona test done. People close to me must move to quarantine,” he tweeted.

In another tweet, Chouhan said, “I am following all the

guidelines of #COVID19. I will quarantine myself according to the doctor’s advice. I appeal to the people of my state to be careful, just a little carelessness invites coronavirus. I made every effort to avoid it, but people used to come and meet me for various reasons.”

Chouhan said in his absence Ministers Narottam Mishra, Bhupendra Singh, Vishwas Sarang will hold meetings adding that, “I myself will con-tinue to make every effort to control #COVID19 during treatment.”

The highest spike in cases was reported from Mahar-ashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh.

Maharashtra has recorded 3,57,117 Covid cases out of which 13,132 people have lost their lives, followed by Tamil Nadu with total 1,99,749 cases, and 3,320 deaths.

Delhi has registered 1,28,389 cases out of which 3,777 people have lost their lives.

After a day of respite, Kerala recorded 1,103 new coronavirus cases, Health Minister K K Shailaja said yesterday.

She said 1,049 more patients were cured of the disease.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sikkim, Manipur and Mizoram administrations have effectively implemented that safety protocol for last four months. These places have reported zero deaths so far and the recovery rate is more than 60 percent.

A man carrying a box of belongings walks inside the baseball stadium where thousands of stranded Filipinos due to the coronavirus disease restrictions are crammed while waiting to be transported back to their provinces through a government transportation program, in Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Manila, Philippines, yesterday.

Thousands of stranded Filipinos crammed into stadium amid coronavirus risksREUTERS — MANILA

Thousands of Filipinos were crammed into a baseball stadium in Manila yesterday, breaking social distancing rules despite coronavirus risks, after people wanting to return to their home provinces flooded a government transportation program.

Officials had reserved the stadium as a place to test people before transporting them back to their home provinces under a programme to help people who had lost their jobs in the capital return to their families elsewhere.

Officials had planned for 7,500 people to arrive at the stadium from Friday, but were caught out when another 2,000 people who were not yet

scheduled to travel headed there anyway.

“Because of the overflowing number of people, we can no longer control (the situation) and the relevance of social dis-tancing had been diminished,” Assistant Secretary Joseph Encabo, who is overseeing the government’s transportation assistance programme, said by phone.

Police were deployed to urge social distancing, but people, including the elderly, children and pregnant women, were seen in close contact with each other. Some were not wearing masks.

Many of those at the stadium had got stuck in the capital when it imposed one of the strictest and longest lock-downs in mid-March in

response to the coronavirus pandemic.

That was eased at the start of June, allowing businesses to reopen in a limited capacity, but schools remain shut and mass gatherings are banned. People must wear masks in public and observe one-metre social dis-tancing, while children and the elderly are urged to stay at home.

Coronavirus cases have more than quadrupled since restrictions were eased to 78,412, with more than half of those in the capital and sur-rounding areas.

Among those at the stadium was Fred Marick Ukol, 40, who became stuck in Manila after his flight to Australia, where he had found work as a welder, was cancelled.

Australia rejects

Beijing’s South

China Sea claims

AFP — SYDNEY

Australia has rejected Beijing’s territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea in a formal declaration to the United Nations, aligning itself more closely with Washington in the escalating row.

In a statement filed on Thursday, Australia said there was “no legal basis” to several disputed Chinese claims in the sea including those related to the construction of artificial islands on small shoals and reefs.

“Australia rejects China’s claim to ‘historic rights’ or ‘maritime rights and interests’ as established in the ‘long course of historical practice’ in the South China Sea,” the declaration read.

“There is no legal basis for China to draw straight base-lines connecting the outermost points of maritime features or ‘island groups’ in the South China Sea, including around the ‘Four Sha’ or ‘continental’ or ‘outlying’ archipelagos.” The declaration comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared Beijing’s pursuit of territory and resources in the South China Sea as illegal, explicitly backing the territorial claims of Southeast Asian countries against China’s.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea based on a so-called nine-dash line, a vague delineation from maps dating back to the 1940s.

The latest escalation comes ahead of annual talks between Australia and the United States, with ministers travelling to Washington for the first time since Australian borders were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The meetings come at a “critical time” and it is essential they are held face-to-face, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said in a statement yesterday.

US relations with China have markedly deteriorated in recent months, especially over trade disputes, the coronavirus pan-demic and Beijing’s crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.

Maldives detains migrant workers seeking unpaid wages: HRWAFP — MALÉ, MALDIVES

Human Rights Watch yesterday urged the Maldives to drop charges against 80 migrant workers arrested for demanding their unpaid wages in a country otherwise known for its upmarket tourism.

The New York-based group said authorities detained the foreign workers during separate demonstrations against inhumane living conditions and work without pay.

“The authorities should drop charges and release all those held for engaging in peaceful protest, and address

allegations of human trafficking and other abuses...,” HRW said in a statement.

Workers in the construction sector had not been paid even before the country went into coronavirus lockdown in March, according to officials. Sporadic clashes erupted since May.

Bangladeshi worker Mohammad Mohsin said by phone that clashes with police broke out two weeks ago as they had not been paid for six months.

“Our families are dying at home starving and being hunted by loan sharks,” Mohsin said,

referring to many borrowing money to travel to the Maldives in search of what they believed would be well-paid jobs.

Police confirmed they arrested 41 migrant workers at Hulhumale, just outside the capital on July 13. There had been several other arrests else-where bringing the total number detained to just over 80.

HRW said Male was invoking national security and banning protests to deflect from its failure to curb abuses against migrant workers.

“Instead of suppressing pro-tests, Maldives authorities should address and remedy the

violations of migrant workers’ rights that are spurring people to the streets,” HRW director Patricia Gossman said.

Police said they advised workers “not to resort to vio-lence in the name of industrial conflicts.” There was no imme-diate government reaction to the latest HRW statement, but responding to concerns earlier this month, the Maldivian foreign ministry said it acknowledged the “unjust treatment” of foreign workers in the nation of 340,000 people.

“The government accepts significant reform is required to redress these grievances... (but

incidences) where individuals have resorted to violence have been deeply alarming, and will not be further tolerated,” it said.

The atoll nation which is better known as a hotspot for well-heeled honeymooners closed its international borders in March to contain the spread of the coronavirus which has infected 3,175 and killed 15.

The majority of infections have been among Bangladeshi workers who often live in squalid conditions on the highly congested capital island. The Maldives reopened its international borders to tourists on July 15 as the country lifted most of its lockdown measures.

Bangladeshis prepare for Eid Al Adha celebrations

Cattle sellers unload an ox from a boat near a market ahead of Eid Al Adha, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, yesterday.

Bangladeshi worker critical

of Malaysia's treatment of

migrants arrestedREUTERS — KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysian authorities said yesterday they had arrested a Bangladeshi man who criticised the government’s treatment of migrant workers in a docu-mentary by a broadcaster.

The July 3 documentary on Malaysia’s treatment of undoc-umented foreign workers during the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a backlash in the Southeast Asia nation, and an arrest warrant was issued for Mohammad Rayhan Kabir, the Bangladeshi worker quoted in the report.

Rights groups have accused the government of suppressing media freedom after the broad-caster's journalists were called in for questioning by the police.

Malaysia’s immigration department said Rayhan had been arrested on Friday and would be expelled from the country.

“This Bangladeshi national will be deported and black-listed from entering Malaysia forever,” Immigration Director General Khairul Dzaimee Daud said yesterday.

He did not say why Rayhan was arrested or whether he was suspected of committing a crime. His department did not respond to further queries.

Malaysia arrested hundreds of undocumented foreigners, including children and Rohingya refugees, when the country was under lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

British royals share anguish over Indian rhino park floodsAP — GAUHATI

More than 100 animals, including 10 one-horn rhinoc-eroses, have died due to massive flooding at the famed Kaziranga game reserve in northeastern India, prompting Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, to express their concern in a letter to park authorities, officials said Saturday.

“Since the first week of

June, we are having no respite with wave after wave of flood that has wreaked havoc inside the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve,” said Kaziranga’s park director, P Sivakumar.

He said an animal that drowned in a swollen river near the park on Saturday brought the rhinoceros death toll up to 10.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wrote to Sivakumar

expressing their distress about the devastation to Kaziranga National Park and its precious wildlife. The couple had visited the park in April 2016 to learn about conservation and anti-poaching efforts.

“The deaths of so many animals, including one-horned rhino, are deeply upsetting,” they wrote.

The ongoing monsoon has dumped rain across parts of India, Bangladesh and Nepal,

displacing 9.6 million people, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, or IFRC.

More than 550 people have been killed in the floods, the IFRC said.

The organisation warned of a humanitarian crisis, saying that close to one third of Bang-ladesh has already been flooded, with more flooding expected in the coming weeks. It said that 2.8 million people

have been affected, and that more than one million are isolated.

In India, over 6.8 million people have been affected by the flooding, mainly in the northern states of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Meghalaya bordering Bangladesh, the IFRC said, citing official figures.

In Bihar, at least 10 people have been killed, the state’s dis-aster management authority said yesterday.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been admitted to a hospital here after he tested positive for coronavirus. In a tweet, Chouhan said, “I am following all the guidelines of #COVID19. I will quarantine myself according to the doctor’s advice.

10 SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020ASIA

Tight security outside US’ Chengdu consulate after China orders closureREUTERS — CHENGDU

Security was tight outside the US consulate in the Chinese city of Chengdu yesterday as staff inside prepared to leave, a day after China ordered it to close in response to a US order for China to shut its consulate in Houston.

The tit-for-tat consulate closures have brought a sharp deterioration in relations between the countries, which have the world’s two largest economies.

Shortly after the Houston closure order took effect on Friday, a group of men who appeared to be US officials were seen forcing open a back door to the facility. China’s ministry of foreign affairs said yesterday that US violated international and bilateral agreements and China would respond, without elaborating how.

In Chengdu, a US consulate emblem inside the compound

was taken down and staff could be seen moving about. Three removal vans later entered the compound.

Police gathered outside and closed off the street to traffic in the southwestern Chinese city.

A steady stream of people walked along the street opposite the entrance throughout the day, many stopping to take photos or videos before police moved them on.

Plain clothes officers detained a man who tried to hold up a sign. It was not clear what the sign said. Neither the

consulate nor the US embassy in Beijing have responded to requests from Reuters for comment on the closure.

The order to close came after the Trump administration had given China until 4pm on Friday to vacate its Houston consulate.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the consulate had been “a hub of spying and intel-lectual property theft”.

The US consulate in Chengdu was also given 72 hours to close, or until 10am on Monday, the editor of China’s Global Times tabloid

said on Twitter.The consulate opened in

1985 and has almost 200 employees, including about 150 locally hired staff, according to its website. It was not immedi-ately clear how many are there now after US diplomats were evacuated from China because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Residents in Chengdu expressed mixed views on the closure of the US consulate there.

“What I fear the most is the US won’t just stop there, it might get uglier,” said 19-year-old university student Zhang Chuhan.

“I approve. The US closed our consulate, I think we should shut theirs too,” said a man who identified himself as Jiang, 29.

Relations between Wash-ington and Beijing have deteri-orated this year to what experts describe as their lowest level in decades over issues ranging

from trade and technology to the coronavirus pandemic, China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and its clampdown on Hong Kong.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has said some personnel at the Chengdu consulate were “con-ducting activities not in line with their identities” and had interfered in China’s affairs and harmed its security interests. He did not say how.

Policemen march past the US consulate in Chengdu, in Sichuan province, China, yesterday.

Virus cases in Hong Kong hit another record highANATOLIA — HONG KONG

Coronavirus cases in Hong Kong hit another record high over the past 24 hours, author-ities said yesterday.

According to China’s National Health Commission, 123 more infections were recorded in Hong Kong, raising the overall count to 2,372.

Two more virus-related fatalities took the COVID-19 death toll up to 16, the com-mission said.

Infections have peaked in Hong Kong over recent days, with the previous highest daily figure of 118 reported on Friday.

In a statement, Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP) urged people to stay indoors and avoid all non-essential travel outside the ter-ritory, warning that the virus outbreak remains “severe” around the world.

“In view of the severe epi-demic situation, the CHP calls on members of the public to avoid going out, having social contact, and dining out. They should put on a surgical mask and maintain stringent hand hygiene when they need to go out,” read the statement.

“As a number of recent cases involve elderly people, the CHP strongly urges the elderly to stay home as far as possible and avoid going out.”

A total of 34 new cases were reported on the Chinese mainland over the past 24 hours, with 20 of them in the Xinjiang autonomous region, home to the majority-Muslim Uighur community.

After around five months of no COVID-19 cases, infections have spiked in Xinjiang over recent days, with 115 now recorded in a span of nine days.

Most cases in the

northwestern Chinese province have been reported in its capital Urumqi, where strict

restrictions have been imposed to curb the virus’ spread.

China’s overall count since

last December now stands at 83,784, including 4,634 fatal-ities and 78,889 recoveries.

Singapore PM flags retirement delay as he unveils CabinetREUTERS — SINGAPORE

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong named a largely unchanged cabinet yesterday following an election win this month, and flagged a possible delay, due to the novel corona-virus pandemic, of his plan to step down.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, Lee’s expected suc-cessor, was kept in post helming the finance ministry, as were senior ministers Tharman

Shanmugaratnam and Teo Chee Hean.

“We are in a crisis of a gen-eration... therefore I have kept on many of my older colleagues who are all participating in this fight against COVID-19,” Lee, whose People’s Action Party (PAP) has ruled Singapore since its inde-pendence in 1965.

Lee, 68, said he may have to delay his plans to handover to a successor by the time he is 70 because of the pandemic.

“A lot will depend on how

events unfold and all I can say is I will see this through,” said the scion of Singapore’s modern day founder, Lee Kuan Yew.

In some minor changes, national development minister Lawrence Wong — the co-head of a COVID-19 taskforce — was moved to education, while edu-cation minister Ong Ye Kung was moved to transport.

Newly elected Alvin Tan, head of public policy for social network LinkedIn and a former senior Facebook executive, was

given a post as minister of state in the trade ministry.

In the July 10 general election, the PAP retained a large parlia-mentary majority but its vote share slipped to near a record low as opposition parties made historic inroads. Heng, selected by his peers as a future leader of the party in 2018, scraped through in his constituency in the first real test of his public popu-larity. Asked at a media con-ference whether the ballot had changed the party’s succession

plans, trade minister Chan Chun Sing said there had been no dis-cussion of the matter.

Singapore reported 513 new coronavirus cases yesterday, its highest in nearly two months, almost all from migrant worker dormitories at the centre of the outbreak in the city-state.

The vast majority of Singa-pore’s 49,888 cases have been in those dormitories, which house more than 300,000 mostly South Asian workers, and have been under strict quarantine.

People wearing protective face masks walk at Mid-Levels Central, following the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Hong Kong, yesterday.

Pakistan records

lowest daily

deaths from virus

ANATOLIA — KARACHI

Pakistan recorded 24 deaths from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, the lowest single-day toll from virus in the last three months, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

With new fatalities, the total number of deaths from COVID-19 reached 5,787, according to the data.

Another 1,487 fresh infec-tions were reported across the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 271,886.

Over 70 percent of all patients, or 236,596, have recovered so far. Pakistan’s infection rate has also signifi-cantly dropped over the past few weeks, compared to an average 5,000 cases per day in May and June. The highest number of single-day cases was nearly 7,000 last month.

Health experts, however, cautioned that a sharp fall in the number of COVID-19 cases could be the result of fewer tests. India, the hardest-hit country by the virus in the region, is cur-rently conducting 15 times more tests daily than Pakistan.

The capital Islamabad is currently following a strategy of locality-based lockdown in scores of hotspots across some 20 big cities in an attempt to stem the virus’s spread.

According to official sta-tistics, the country has so far conducted over 1.8 million tests for the disease.

Vietnam goes on virus alert after first local infection in 100 daysREUTERS — HANOI

Vietnam was back on high alert for the coronavirus yesterday after medical officials in the central city of Danang detected the country’s first locally trans-mitted case for three months.

Vietnam has imposed strict quarantine measures and carried out an aggressive and widespread testing programme during the pandemic, keeping its total tally of reported infec-tions to just 417, with no deaths.

It had reported no locally transmitted infections for 100 days until Friday, when the Health Ministry said a 57-year-old man from Danang, a tourist hot spot, had tested positive.

State media reported yes-terday that the man was in critical condition, and spe-cialised doctors had flown from Ho Chi Minh City to Danang to treat him.

Authorities said 50 people

the patient came into contact with have been isolated. The ministry said 103 people con-nected to the patient were tested for the virus but all returned negative results.

It said more than 11,800 people are being quarantined throughout the country, including 147 at hospitals.

The government did not say how the man contracted the virus but said he had not left Danang for nearly a month. He was initially diagnosed with pneumonia.

A fresh test yesterday had confirmed the coronavirus infection, authorities said. The case comes at a time when Vietnam was about to resume international commercial flights and as domestic tourism is surging.

Late on Friday, authorities in the capital, Hanoi, reinstated a recommendation to wear masks in public places.

Malaysia says

APEC leaders

may meet in Nov

REUTERS — KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia said yesterday a November summit of leaders from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) nations might still go ahead in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

New Zealand, which is hosting next year’s APEC summit, has said already that it will use virtual platforms to conduct the meeting due to travel restrictions and uncer-tainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. But Malaysian Trade Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said the government has not cancelled the meeting of the 21 leaders of the APEC countries that it is due to host in November, even though meetings of other officials will be held virtually.

“The cabinet has also agreed not to rule out a format that would involve physical meeting arrangements for the APEC eco-nomic leaders’ meetings,” he told an online news conference following talks with fellow trade ministers from the bloc.

South Korea reports highest single-day rise in coronavirus cases since MarchREUTERS — SEOUL

South Korea reported 113 new coronavirus cases yesterday, the largest single-day increase in almost four months, and officials warned the upward trajectory could continue as people carrying the disease enter the country from abroad.

More than three-quarters of the latest reported infections were imported, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

“Everyday, we feel sense of crisis that COVID-19 pandemic may have not yet peaked yet,” KCDC deputy director Kwon Jun-wook told a briefing.

South Korea has reported a total of 14,092 cases and 298 deaths from the pandemic. Yes-terday’s 113 infections was the highest since March 31.

Around 16 percent of all the country’s infections have been imported, with around 70 percent of those Korean nationals.

Two South Korean military aircraft arrived from Iraq on

Friday, carrying 293 workers who were evacuated as cases swelled in that country.

Kwon said yesterday that 71 of those people were infected with COVID-19 and a further 11 p e o p l e w e r e b e i n g reexamined.

“It’s likely that there will be similar cases like this Iraq case

anywhere in the world, and (South Korea) will repeat the same measure, so we urge people to factor that in when looking at figures of the con-firmed cases,” Kwon said.

A large number of crew members on a Russian ship have also tested positive, Kwon said.

Employees wearing face masks to avoid the spread of the coronavirus at the Sejong Centre for the Performing Arts, in Seoul.

Relations between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated this year to what experts describe as their lowest level in decades over issues ranging from trade and technology to the coronavirus pandemic, China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and its clampdown on Hong Kong.

11SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020 EUROPE

Massive anti-Kremlin rallies grip Russia’s Far EastAFP — KHABAROVSK

Huge anti-government demon-strations erupted in Russia’s Far East yesterday over the arrest of a popular governor who was replaced this week by a Kremlin appointee who never lived in the fraught region.

Residents of Khabarovsk near the border with China took to the streets en masse for the third day in a row after governor Sergei Furgal was arrested by federal law enforcement and flown to Moscow on murder charges this month.

The running demonstra-tions have been some of the largest anti-government pro-tests in Russia in years, which the Kremlin said this week

were being fuelled by oppo-sition activists outside Khabarovsk.

Tens of thousands of resi-dents marched through Khabarovsk waving the region’s flag, carrying banners and chanting slogans against President Vladimir Putin as passing cars honked their horns in support.

“We want our governor to be released because we believe he was very likely detained illegally,” said 24-year-old protester Alina Slepova.

Furgal was removed by federal officials “for their own purposes, not for the good of our region,” she said.

Demonstrators converged in front of the regional

administrative building on Lenin square shouting “Freedom” and “Putin resign”.

Police wearing masks allowed the demonstrations to go ahead despite a ban on public gatherings as part of measures to contain the coro-navirus pandemic.

Yet the protests that ini-tally erupted in response to the shock arrest of Furgal over murders that happened 15 years ago are increasingly becoming an outlet to vent frustration with the Kremlin.

“The centre is sucking resources from the Far East,” said demonstrator Alexander Gogolev, 45, who voiced anger that the region receives “nothing in return”.

Estimates of the turnout

var ied great ly , wi th Khabarovsk officials saying that 6,500 people attended. Local media meanwhile said the number was closer to between 15,000 and 20,000.

Journalists reporting from the town seven time zones east of Moscow said yesterday’s rally was the largest since the demonstrations began this month.

Police in Moscow detained at least 10 people who gathered at Pushkin Square in support of the demonstrators in Khabarovsk, monitors said, and local media reported smaller protests in other eastern Russian cities including Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

On Monday, Putin officially

fired Furgal, 50, and appointed a lawmaker from the same nationalist LDPR party, Mikhail Degtyarev, as his acting replacement.

The move was met with by anger from Khabarovsk resi-dents who said the 39-year-old outsider lacked experience and had no connection to the region.

Ahead of the demonstra-tions on Friday he suggested that foreign citizens had flown from Moscow to Khabarovsk to help organise the protests.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed claims of foreign interference but said the protests were a “nutrient ... for troublemakers” and “pseudo-opposition” activists.

Global virus cases surge as public loses faith in govts

Harry and Meghan book lifts lid on bitter split with familyAFP — LONDON

Prince Harry and wife Meghan blamed “viper” courtiers for widening their rift with the royal family, according to extracts from a new book published in The Times yesterday.

The couple say they did not contribute to the new biog-raphy “Finding Freedom”, written by journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, but friends of the couple provided much of its content.

The book, serialised in The Times, will claim that Harry felt “unprotected” by his family, and lay bare his split from brother William and his wife Kate.

Kate even refused to make eye contact with her sister-in-law at their final engagement in March, according to the new release.

Harry apparently referred to senior courtiers as “vipers” who felt that the global popu-larity of the couple was over-shadowing the family and “needed to be reined in”, according to extracts.

The book, to be released on August 11, also suggested that Harry, 35, was the driving force behind the couple’s move away from the family, with Meghan telling her husband that she “gave up my entire life for this family”.

The couple now live in Los Angeles and were in the head-lines this week for taking legal action against one or more paparazzi whom they accuse of taking pictures of their son Archie without permission.

Pressure from tabloids has dogged Harry throughout his life, and he blames them for the death of his mother Princess Diana.

Meghan, 38, told a friend that tabloid criticism was like “death by a thousand cuts”, according to the new book.

The authors are sympa-thetic to the couple, and say the book will “correct the record” on the acrimonious split.

However, i t does acknowledge that Harry and Meghan’s decision to keep the family in the dark about their plans “created a lot of ill will”.

Poland to quit treaty on violence against womenREUTERS — WARSAW

Poland will take steps next week to withdraw from a European treaty on violence against women, which the right-wing Cabinet says violates parents’ rights by requiring schools to teach children about gender, the justice minister said yesterday.

Zbigniew Ziobro told a

news conference his ministry would submit a request to the labour and families ministry tomorrow to begin the process of withdrawing from the treaty, known as the Istanbul Convention.

“It contains elements of an ideological nature, which we consider harmful,” Ziobro said.

On Friday, thousands of people, mostly women,

protested in Warsaw and other cities against proposals to reject the treaty.

“The aim is to legalise domestic violence,” Magdalena Lempart, one of the protest organisers said on Friday.

The government says the treaty requires teaching liberal social policies in schools, although in the past it has stopped short of a decision to quit.

AFP — PARIS

The world has set a new record for the highest daily increase in coronavirus infections, as a survey released yesterday showed governments are fast losing support for their handling of the pandemic.

There were more than 280,000 new cases recorded globally on both Thursday and Friday, the highest daily rises since the virus emerged in China late last year.

Friday’s tally of 282,042 was marginally down on Thursday’s single-day record 284,661, according to an AFP count based on official sources, but still marks an alarming uptick in the spread of the virus.

Nearly a third of the world’s 15.8 million infections have been registered since July 1, while the total death toll nears 640,000.

The United States remains the hardest-hit nation, on Friday reporting its second straight day of more than 70,000 new cases and over 1,000 deaths as the virus takes hold in the country’s south and west.

A similar resurgence in Europe has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to sound the alarm over the spread, as Britain joined France, Germany and Austria

in tightening rules on mask-wearing as well as rolling out greater testing.

Governments worldwide have struggled to contain the virus despite long and econom-ically-cripping lockdowns imposed on millions of people, and a survey released yesterday showed that faith in authorities is dwindling in six rich nations.

Populations in France, Germany, Britain, Japan, Sweden and the US widely believed death and infection figures to be higher than

recorded, according to the study, which polled 1,000 people in each nation.

“In most countries this month, support for national gov-ernments is falling,” the report by the Kekst CNC communica-tions consulting group said.

New outbreaks continue to wreak havoc elsewhere around the world, with fresh clusters emerging across Asia.

South Korea on Saturday reported its highest infections figure in nearly four months, and in Vietnam the first

locally-transmitted case in nearly 100 days was detected.

Authorities in China said Friday they would introduce a new wave of testing in the port city of Dalian, home to about six million people, after fresh infec-tions were detected there.

The local government’s health commission said the city

must “enter wartime mode” to prevent any spread as it announced on-the-spot nucleic acid tests for people using the subway system and new lock-downs for some communities.

Europe accounts for a fifth of the world’s case count so far.

The WHO’s European chapter has expressed concern

about the rise in cases on the continent in the past two weeks and warned tighter restrictions may be needed.

A three-year-old girl this week died in Belgium, becoming the country’s youngest victim of the virus.

“The recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases in some coun-tries following the easing of physical distancing measures is certainly cause for concern,” a WHO Europe spokeswoman said. “If the situation demands, reintroduction of stricter, tar-geted measures with the full engagement of communities may be needed.”

According to the study, which polled 1,000 people in each nation, populations in France, Germany, Britain, Japan, Sweden and the US widely believed death and infection figures to be higher than recorded.

Greece to ‘prioritise’ virus vaccines for elderly, at-riskAFP — ATHENS

Greece will prioritise giving coronavirus vaccines to the elderly and high-risk groups if and when they become available, the country’s health minister said esterday.

“If and when a vaccine comes, we will prioritise those who must take it above all,” Vassilis Kikilias said. “Who is that? Our very aged fellow cit-izens, the very elderly, high-risk groups...we will protect those in danger.”

He added that vaccines will not be compulsory but

they will be “strongly recommended.”

Greece has so far recorded 201 COVID-19 deaths and more than 4,100 infections.

Last month the country began progressively reopening its land borders to selective countries, before allowing mostly European flights to all its on July 1.

Greece’s civil protection agency yesterday announced that from July 28, all air pas-sengers from Bulgaria and Romania must have proof of having tested negative up to 72 hours before travel.

Members of the city police close off the area in front of the old opera house where parties are restricted due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Frankfurt, Germany, yesterday.

Chilean suspect in French murder case jailed AP — BESANCON

A Chilean man was order jailed in eastern France on Friday while he is investigated in the disappearance nearly four years ago of his former girl-friend, a Japanese student, in a case of suspected murder spanning continents but in which the body has not been found.

Nicolas Zepeda, 29, extra-dited from Chile earlier in the day, was ordered detained by a judge in Besancon after hours of deliberation.

The prosecutor in Besancon, where the missing Narumi Kurosaki had been studying, said the extradition of the suspect by Chile was a “new start” for the investigation even though Zepeda refused to

answer questions of the inves-tigating judge.

“He simply declared that he is innocent” and expressed hope the real killer would be found, prosecutor Etienne Manteau told reporters.

Being placed under inves-tigation is a step short of for-mally being charged, under French legal procedure. Formal charges would come if the investigating judge concludes there is sufficient evidence to put the suspect on trial.

Manteau predicted a trial could be held next year.

It was a “major advance ... but it’s not over,” he said of the extradition. He himself had traveled to Chile as part of the murder probe.

The regional press, which has followed the investigation,

has described a love affair that allegedly went awry. Zepeda reportedly had met Kurosaki in Japan then traveled to France to see her after she ended the relationship.

With Zepeda in custody, investigators must now plumb the personality of the suspect and “understand who Nicolas Zepeda really is,” the prose-cutor said.

Kurosaki disappeared in the early hours of December 5, 2016, from her residence at the Besancon university campus. Zepeda had already returned to Chile before her disap-pearance was investigated.

Despite long searches in the region’s thick forests and else-where, investigators failed to find her body, but police believe he killed her.

Chilean Nicolas Zepeda (centre), suspect in alleged murder of a Japanese student in 2016 in the French city of Besancon, is led to a car as he leaves the Besancon courthouse.

UK Labour Party faces wave of anti-Semitism lawsuitsANATOLIA — LONDON

Lawsuits against the UK’s main opposition Labour Party over anti-Semitism allegations could leave the party with a bill running into the millions, potentially bankrupting it, local media reported.

On Wednesday, the party settled with seven former members of the party, and paid $468,000.

Labour are now facing another 42 civil claims and a potential bill of up to £8 million, though this figure has been disputed.

Party figures blamed former leader Jeremy Corbyn, who called Labour’s original decision “political not legal.”

The ex-members, who blew the whistle on what was happening inside the party, are thought to be pursuing legal action against Corbyn, whose supporters in turn have raised over £100,000 in 24 hours for his legal defence.

The case against Corbyn rests on a leaked internal doc-ument compiled by Corbyn’s supporters inside the party, which they say show Corbyn’s efforts to tackle anti-Semitism in the party were stymied by his factional opponents.

The internal document has raised allegations of libel and breaches of data privacy, however.

On top of all this, the Labour party is still awaiting the results of an independent inquiry by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into the party’s handling of anti-Semitism complaints.

A senior Labour shadow minister tsaid: “We’re paying the price with money that could be used serving the public. “The question now is how deep is the hole the Labour Party has been dug into by Corbyn and his acolytes.”

12 SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020AMERICAS

Bolsonaro says he tested negative for coronavirusAP — BRASILIA

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said yesterday that he had tested negative for the new coronavirus, based on a fourth test since he said July 7 that he had the virus. He later went for a ride on a motorcycle, mingling with wellwishers as he has often done since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Good morning everyone,” Bolsonaro wrote on Facebook after reporting that the test was “negative.”

The 65-year-old leader didn’t say when he did the new test. On Wednesday, he had tested positive for the third time.

Bolsonaro also posted a photo of himself with a box of the anti-malaria drug hydrox-ychloroquine, although it has not been proven effective against the virus.

Shortly after disclosing the negative result, Bolsonaro left the presidential residence on a motorcycle. Accompanied by security guards, he went to a

motorcycle shop. On the way out, he took pictures with people nearby, removed his mask and put on his helmet.

Upon returning to the Alvorada Palace, his official res-idence, Bolsonaro greeted motorcyclists and gathered with them to take photos.

Bolsonaro had spent many weekends since the beginning of the pandemic in close prox-imity to supporters, sometimes without wearing a mask.

On Thursday, he was pho-tographed without a mask while talking to some sweepers in the garden of the presidential residence.

Brazil, Latin America’s largest nation, is one of the

outbreak’s epicenters . According to the Brazilian gov-ernment, on Friday there were 85,238 confirmed deaths due to the new coronavirus. The country has 2,343,366 con-firmed cases. The real numbers are believed to be higher.

On Monday, two more min-isters in the Cabinet of Brazilian President said they have tested positive for the new corona-virus: the 65-year-old minister of citizenship, Onyx Lorenzoni, and Milton Ribeiro, the 62-year-old minister of education.

Bolsonaro’s administration last week completed two months without a health minister.

The interim minister, Gen. Eduardo Pazuello, who had no experience in the field before April, is facing pressure to leave the job. He took over after his predecessor, a doctor and health care consultant, quit in protest over Bolsonaro’s support for the use of hydrox-ychloroquine and chloroquine, a related drug, as a treatment for COVID-19.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gestures before going out for a ride on his motorcycle after he announced he tested negative for COVID-19 more than two weeks after being diagnosed, in Brasilia, yesterday.

Chinese researcher charged with US visa fraud in custodyAP — SAN FRANCISCO

A Chinese researcher accused of concealing her ties to the Chinese military on a visa appli-cation she submitted so she could work in the US was booked on Friday into a Northern California jail and was expected to appear in federal court tomorrow.

Sacramento County jail records show Juan Tang, 37, was being held on behalf of federal authorities after she was arrested by the US Marshals Service. It was unclear if she had an attorney who could

comment on her behalf.The Justice Department on

Thursday announced charges against Tang and three other scientists living in the US, saying they lied about their status as members of China’s People’s Liberation Army. All were charged with visa fraud.

Tang was the last of the four to be arrested, after the justice department accused the Chinese consulate in San Fran-cisco of harboring a known fugitive. The consulate did not immediately respond to email and Facebook messages seeking comment and it was not

possible to leave a telephone message.

The Justice Department said Tang lied about her military ties in a visa application last October as she made plans to work at the University of Cali-fornia, Davis and again during an FBI interview months later. Agents found photos of Tang dressed in military uniform and reviewed articles in China iden-tifying her military affiliation.

According to UC Davis, Tang left her job as a visiting researcher in the Department of Radiation Oncology in June. Her work was funded by a

study-based exchange program affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education, the university said in a statement.

Agents have said they believe Tang sought refuge at the consulate after they inter-viewed her at her home in Davis on June 20. The FBI has been interviewing visa holders in more than 25 American cities suspected of hiding their ties to the Chinese military.

The allegations came as US-China relations continued to deteriorate, particularly over allegations of Chinese theft of US intellectual property.

China’s consulate in Houston was scheduled to shut down Friday on order of US authorities after Washington accused Chinese agents of trying to steal medical and other research in Texas.

“We can confirm that the PRC Consulate General in Houston is closed,” a State Department spokesperson con-firmed late Friday. The spokes-person spoke on condition of anonymity.

In response, China on Friday ordered the US to close its consulate in the city of Chengdu.

A tribute to John LewisPeople are seen next to an oversize card for the family of the late US Congressman John Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement and long-time member of the US House of Representatives who died on July 17, at Troy University’s Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama, yesterday.

According to the Brazilian government, on Friday there were 85,238 confirmed deaths due to the new coronavirus.

Chileans swamp pension offices as President concedes defeat

BLOOMBERG — SANTIAGO

President Sebastian Pinera signed a bill into law late Friday allowing Chileans to withdraw retirement savings, following scenes of citizens lining up by the thousands outside pension fund offices.

People went to the offices to obtain a code needed to tap their funds, or simply to find out how much money they had in their accounts, according to interviews with local television stations.

A quick search to obtain a code from the website of the largest pension fund, AFP Provida, showed over 100,000 people trying to do the same process. Chile’s pension funds manage assets worth about $200bn, and the bill approved by lawmakers yesterday allows people to take out 10 percent of their savings.

The decision to formally ratify the reform seeks to “make easier and speed up the withdrawal of pension savings given the difficult economic and social situation that many families are going through,” the government said in a statement.

The long lines of people formed while much of Chile is still in a strict lockdown for the coronavirus. People need permits to leave home and police and troops patrol the streets checking on their papers.

“I call on people to act calmly, to respect the sanitary measures and check the instructions in place to avoid the spread of the virus,” Health Minister Enrique Paris said in response to the pension bill. Many didn’t heed his call.

US records 1,000 virus deaths for 4th dayREUTERS — WASHINGTON

The United States recorded more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 for the fourth straight day on Friday but a top White House adviser on the pandemic said she saw signs that the worst could be past in hard-hit southern and western states.

At least 1,019 fatalities due to COVID-19 were confirmed nationwide on Friday, following 1,140 on Thursday, 1,135 on Wednesday and 1,141 on Tuesday. Total cases across the US rose by at least 68,800 on Friday to over 4 million.

The numbers have been driven in large part by a surge in infections in Arizona, Cali-fornia, Florida, Texas and California.

“We’re already starting to see some plateauing in these critically four states that have really suffered under the last four weeks, so Texas, California, Arizona and Florida, those

major metros and throughout their counties,” Dr. Deborah Birx said in an interview.

Birx’s comments came as federal health and education officials stressed the need for children to return to in-class instruction. The American public and its leaders have been sharply divided over whether students should return to school for the fall term during the pandemic.

Birx said children under the age of 18 are typically less sick than older adults from the sometimes deadly illness but called it an “open question” how readily those under 10 can spread the virus.

US President Donald Trump has pushed for schools to reopen, saying that it was critical to the mental and emo-tional well-being of children and the ability of their parents to work.

Business closures and “stay-at-home” orders imposed by

governors and local officials have badly damaged the nation’s economy and thrown millions of Americans out of work.

The CDC issued a call to reopen schools in a statement posted on its website that listed the benefits of being in school and downplayed health risks, although it said exceptions should be made for so-called virus “hot spots.”

The guidance does not carry the force of law, and it is unclear how much weight it will carry with school districts. Most teachers unions, which in some states and cities have an out-sized political influence espe-cially among Democrats, have fought hard against reopenings.

The guidelines were “all put out with the intent to help facil-itate, as was mentioned earlier, the full reopening of schools for face-to-face learning,” said Dr Robert Redfield, CDC’s director.

New foreign students can’t enter US if courses onlineAP — WASHINGTON

A week after revoking sweeping new restrictions on international students, federal immigrat ion of f ic ia ls announced that new foreign students will be barred from entering the United States if they plan to take their classes entirely online this fall.

In a memo to college offi-cials, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said new students who were not already enrolled as of March 9 will “likely not be able to obtain” visas if they intend to take courses entirely online.

The announcement pri-marily affects new students hoping to enroll at universities that will provide classes entirely online as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

International students who are already in the US or are returning from abroad and already have visas will still be allowed to take classes entirely

online, according to the update, even if they begin instruction in-person but their schools move online in the face of a worsening outbreak.

The policy strikes a blow to colleges a week after hundreds united to repel a Trump admin-istration policy that threatened to deport thousands of foreign students.

That rule sought to bar all international students in the US from taking classes entirely online this fall, even if their uni-versities were forced to switch to fully online instruction amid an outbreak.

The new order was released as a clarification to earlier guidance from March 9 that suspended existing limits around online education for international students.

The March guidance was meant to provide flexibility as schools across the nation closed campuses amid the pandemic, but universities said it was unclear whether it extended to new students.

Fresh violence in Portland as police fire tear gas on protestersAFP — PORTLAND

Police and federal agents fired tear gas and forcefully dispersed protesters in the US city of Portland early yesterday, an AFP reporter said, during the latest demon-strations against racism and police brutality.

The city, the biggest in the state of Oregon, has seen nightly protests for nearly two months, initially sparked by the death in Minneapolis of unarmed African American George Floyd.

It is also now the scene of a highly controversial crackdown by federal agents ordered by US President Donald Trump — one that is not supported by local officials, and which many said smacked of authoritarianism.

Friday’s demonstration was mainly peaceful, with crowds playing music and dancing, blowing soap bubbles and setting off fireworks.

But it ended — like many before it — in a showdown between protesters and police, which escalated in a haze of tear gas and flash-bang devices.

One group of protesters formed a line with umbrellas and makeshift shields to try to protect themselves, as at least two fires burned outside the fences around a federal courthouse.

Tear gas was first fired around 11:00pm. By 2:30am police and federal agents were clearing the scene outside the courthouse with tear gas, pushing protesters back.

Earlier, protesters com-plained of the federal agents’ presence in the city and voiced their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Chicago removes two Christopher Columbus statuesREUTERS — ILLINOIS

Chicago temporarily removed two statues of Christopher Columbus and announced it would reassess the appropri-ateness of all its monuments, a week after protesters had tried to topple one of the statues, leading to a violent clash with police.

“This step is about an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a safe space for an inclusive and democratic public dialogue about our city’s symbols,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office said in a statement.

Protesters for racial equality have targeted Columbus monuments across the United States, challenging heroic portrayals of him in American education that downplay or ignore the explorer’s cruelty toward indig-enous people of Americas.

After consulting with “stakeholders,” Lightfoot ordered the removal of statues in Grant Park, Chicago’s large recreation area, and another in the Little Italy district, the statement said.

Crews using cranes removed the statues in the predawn darkness, news video showed.

“It comes in response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police, as well as efforts by individuals to independently pull the Grant Park statue down in an extremely dangerous manner,” the statement said.

The Chicago demonstra-tions, which resulted in several arrests and injuries, were among those that broke out across the United States to protest for racial equality and against police brutality, sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.

Columbus, the 15th century Genovese-born explorer who sailed for the Spanish crown, remains a powerful symbol for some Italian-American groups that oppose the downgrading of his status.