Volume 24 | Number 8069 | 2 RiyalsFriday 8 November 2019 | 11 Rabia I 1441 www.thepeninsula.qa

BUSINESS | 15 SPORT | 19

PSA World Championships: Battle for supremacy begins in Doha

Jordan moves to push IMF-led

economic reforms

Deputy PM meets US Defence Secretary

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs, H E Dr. Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah, met yesterday with US Secretary of Defence, Mark Asper, at the headquarters of the United States Department of Defence (Pentagon). They discussed issues of common interest, particularly military and strategic relations and ways of enhancing them between the State of Qatar and the United States. Discussions also dealt with the latest developments in the region. Qatari Military Attache in Washington, Brigadier General Nawaf bin Mubarak Al Thani, attended the meeting.

Qatar Airways, IndiGo sign codeshare pactTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Airways has signed a codeshare agreement with IndiGo, India’s largest passenger airline. Sales started from yesterday with the first code-share flights to operate on December 18, 2019.

This agreement will enable the airline to place its code on IndiGo flights between Doha and Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad and is the first step in strengthening cooperation between the ‘World’s Best Airline’ and the ‘Best Low-Cost Airline in India’.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are extremely proud to secure this strategic partnership with IndiGo, the largest airline in one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets. We believe this agreement will be just the first step in strengthening our relationship and we very much look forward

to working together to harness our complementary strengths and resources to enhance the travel experience for our passengers around the world.”

IndiGo Chief Executive Officer, Ronojoy Dutta, said: “This is a momentous occasion for us, as we sign this codeshare agreement with one of the finest airlines in the world. This strategic alliance will not only strengthen our international operations, but also boost economic growth in India, by bringing in more traffic and heralding opportunities for trade and tourism through seamless mobility. We are con-fident of a successful partnership

as we extend our signature on-time, courteous and hassle-free service experience to the pas-sengers of Qatar Airways. These are exciting times for the aviation industry and it is our commitment to remain focused in building one of the best air transportation systems in the world.”

Qatar Airways currently operates 102 weekly flights between Doha and 13 destina-tions in India, including Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Ben-galuru, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai, Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram.

The airline’s cargo division, Qatar Airways Cargo, currently operates a total of 28 weekly freighters to seven destinations in India. The top three cargo des-tinations in India are Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed

by the international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’, and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in recog-nition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite . Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad Interna-tional Airport (HIA),

to more than 160 des-tinations worldwide.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, with IndiGo Chief Executive Officer, Ronojoy Dutta, during the signing ceremony.

New HMC treatment brings hope for people with alopecia areataFAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

A new treatment method intro-duced at the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has made a significant impact on individuals with alopecia areata, a common autoimmune disorder that often results in unpredictable hair loss.

Some 30 individuals have been treated for alopecia areata at HMC’s Department of Dermatology and Venereology with the new medication ‘Tofacitinib’ and 90 percent of them have significantly improved, said Professor Dr Martin Steinhoff, Chairman at the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at HMC.

“In the majority cases of alo-pecia areata, hair falls out in small patches around the size of a quarter. The immune system play a significant role in this condition. In 2015, Tofacitinib, a rheumatoid arthritis medicine, have been proven safe and with limited side effects. We intro-duced the medicine at HMC in 2017 and within two years around 30 patients have been

treated,” he said speaking to media.

Tofacitinib is a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and that has recently been shown to be effective in treating alopecia areata.

“Tofacitinib is an early treatment which has been recog-nised few years ago and intro-duced at HMC ahead of some countries. This medication is available only at HMC’s Department of Dermatology and Venereology situated in Rumailah Hospital and it should be only pre-scribed by experienced derma-tologists,” said Professor Steinhoff.

Professor Steinhoff was joined by Dr Amina Obaidali, Consultant, speaking to media at the Hamad bin Khalifa Medical City.

“Many patients who come to us have been bullied and suf-fered due to alopecia areata. Within two years we have treated 30 patients with Tofac-itinib and 90 percent of them have significantly improved and have a normal life,” said Dr Obaidali. �P3

This agreement will enable the airline to place its code on IndiGo flights between Doha and Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Doha Declaration on Modernisation of Official Statistics adoptedTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Doha Declaration on Moderni-sation of Official Statistics in support of the Sustainable Devel-opment Goals (SDGs) 2030 was adopted by the participants of the Regional Workshop on Modern-isation of Official Statistics in Support of the SDGs, which was held from November 4 to 5.

"We, the heads of national sta-tistical councils, the chief statisti-cians, deputy chief statisticians, representatives of UN and regional organizations, universities, research centers, private sector, and NGOs, We declare that the national statistical systems are committed to contributing their expertise to measure SDGs in a professional, independent and impartial way,” said the declaration.

“We are committed to con-tributing actively to the imple-mentation of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 through the measurement of a focused set of SDGs indicators that are limited in number, based on a systematic framework and relying

on high quality statistics,” added the declaration.

Participants said that they are committed to increasing availa-bility of statistics on SDGs indi-cators disaggregated by vul-nerable groups, committing to the principle of leaving no one behind, while focusing on people to achieve the Principle of People-Centered SDGs; and facilitating greater sharing of data among government departments and other partners.

Participants are also committed to using the best methods for pro-ducing these statistics in the most efficient and timely way, while ensuring data quality and protecting privacy of respondents, including the use of administrative sources, geospatial information, alternate data sources, remote sensing, social media and “big data”.

As per the declaration, they are committed to utilizing new and open access methodologies and techniques to accelerate learning, transparency, and repro-ducibility to better respond to the rapidly changing data ecosystem, and to implement the Data4Now initiative to close the gap on data

for development; and increasing the use of GIS techniques to enhance the accessibility of small area disaggregation according to SDG indicators;

“We are committed to engaging effectively with data producers within the official sta-tistical system, in partnership with civil society, academia and the private sector, and providing advice on methods to ensure high quality of data that are produced,” said the declaration.

“Implementing innovative financing strategies and coordi-nated country-led actions for data and statistics to bridge the current funding gap and deliver on national priorities,” it added.

The participants said they are committed to provide leadership in the dissemination and commu-nication of data on SDGs, and advising in the interpretation of data and to develop statistical capacity in countries to ensure good quality reporting on SDGs.

They are committed to scale up new and innovative forms of capacity development to achieve the modernisation and strength-ening of national statistical systems,

toward implementing the CTGAP.“To live up to these commit-

ments, we acknowledge the importance of sharing experience and learning from each other through the established mecha-nisms in the Arab region provided by UN ESCWA, GCC-STAT, SESRIC, Arab Planning Institute, and AITRS,” it added.

"We recognise the importance of good cooperation in monitoring SDGs at local, national, sub-regional, regional and global levels. We recognise the impor-tance of work of the international and regional organizations with their technical expertise in meas-uring sustainable development and developing broader measures of progress,” it said.

They emphasize the impor-tance of efficient coordination of SDGs monitoring and reporting at the regional level between inter-national organizations and national statistical systems.

“We emphasize the importance of efficient coordination of sharing information and good practices on the implementation of 2020 pop-ulation and housing census round,” said the declaration.

QU launches specialised training for industrial applications using dronesQNA DOHA

Qatar University (QU), repre-sented by the College of Engi-neering, has launched a specialised training program for industrial applications using drones, as part of its initiative (Digital Qatar), which is part of the efforts towards digital trans-formation at the university, and to keep up with the state’s trends towards smart cities.

The program, which is the

first of its kind at the university, is attended by local and interna-tional specialists and experts in the field of two dimensional survey using aerial photography via drones.

This training program aims to enable the trainees to obtain real dimensions of the infrastructure with high accuracy, and to introduce the mechanisms of aerial surveying and the most important modern techniques used to take high-quality aerial photographs for facilities, buildings, bridges, lighting

poles and any above-ground installations, petrochemical fac-tories, oil and gas platforms and agricultural sites.

The training program reviewed the most important applications of drones in the industry, such as aerial lifting using thermal cameras to identify the defects of concrete structures or leaks in oil and gas lines, and the detection of defects in power plants, generators, and other useful applications in various industries. �P2

02 FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019HOME

Qatar condemns attack on Canadian convoy in Burkina FasoDOHA: The State of Qatar

has strongly condemned the

attack on a convoy transport-

ing workers of a Canadian

mining company in Burkina

Faso, causing dozens of

deaths and injuries.

In a statement today, the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

reiterated Qatar’s firm stance

rejecting violence and ter-

rorism, whatever the motives

and causes. The statement

expressed condolences to the

victims’ families, wishing the

injured a speedy recovery. QNA

OFFICIAL NEWS

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum32oC 24oC

HIGH TIDE 03:57 – 13:37 LOW TIDE 07:21 – 21:43

Relatively hot daytime with scattered

clouds and chance of rain at places.

FAJRSHOROOK

04. 27 AM05. 46 AM

11. 18 AM02.26 PM

04. 51 PM06. 21 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

Cookies Festival begins at LuLu outletsCookies Festival 2019’ organised by Lulu Hypermarket Qatar was officially inaugurated by Regional Manager, Shanavas P M, at Lulu Hypermarket, Al Gharafa yesterday in the presence of other Lulu officials and customers. The festival will run until November 16, at all Lulu outlets. Over 30 varieties of cookies in three broad categories namely Diet, Healthy and Regular are made available on display for shoppers at highly discounted prices.

Jordan FM meets Qatar envoy

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Affairs in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Dr. Ayman Al Safadi, has met the Ambassador of Qatar to Jordan, Sheikh Saud bin Nasser bin Jassim Al Thani. They reviewed bilateral cooperation relations, as well as issues of common interest.

Qatar’s tourism industry poised for long-term growth

SACHIN KUMAR THE PENINSULA

Travel industry officials are opti-mistic about long-term growth of Qatar’s tourism sector. The efforts taken by government will play crucial role in boosting tourism sector.

“The tourism sector of Qatar is poised for growth, helped by steps taken the government and concerned authorities. The country has already seen increased in tourist arrivals,” Zaheer Yousuf, Manager, Retail Sales and Industry Affairs,

Darwish Travel, told The Peninsula, speaking on sidelines of an industry event organised by Darwish Travel, held recently at Holiday Villa Hotel & Resi-dence Doha.

“This year has been good in

terms of visitor arrivals and we have seen significant increase queries from tourists who want to visit Qatar,” he said.

He praised the role of Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) in boosting tourism. Now

many events are being organised in the country to attract tourists. These events not only attract foreign tourists but they also engage locals which is good for tourism industry. The offers and discounts given by hotels, malls and other stakeholders have played a pivotal role in signifi-cantly increasing the overall occupancy rate of all hotels.

Yousuf said that due to the wise policy of concerned author-ities, the tourism sector in the country has overcome the impact of blockade. Despite the blockade, tourism industry has grown consistently.

“This event is very special for me because it was the first time that all the stakeholders of travel and tourism industry came together at one platform,” he added. Latest statistics have showed that Qatar welcomed 1.19 million visitors during the first seven months of 2019, showing a 10.7 percent increase, compared to the same period in 2018.

Zaheer Yousuf, Manager, Retail Sales and Industry Affairs, Darwish Travel, giving a presentation about latest trends and developments in the tourism sector, during an event held at Holiday Villa Hotel & Residence Doha. PIC: ABDUL BASIT/THE PENINSULA

Qatar, Lithuania sign MoU on holding political consultationsQNA DOHA

The first round of political consultations between the foreign ministries of the State of Qatar and the Republic of Lithuania was held yesterday in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H E Dr. Ahmad bin Hassan Al Hammadi headed

the Qatari side, while the Lithuanian side was headed by Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Neris Germanas.

During the round of the political con-sultations, the two sides discussed bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and means of sup-porting and developing them, in addition to a host of issues of common concern.

The State of Qatar and the Republic

of Lithuania signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for holding political consultations on issues of common concern between the foreign ministries in the two countries.

The MoU was signed for the gov-ernment of the State of Qatar by Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi and for the Republic of Lithuania by Neris Germanas.

Latest statistics have showed that Qatar welcomed 1.19 million visitors during the first seven months of 2019, showing a 10.7 percent increase, compared to the same period in 2018.

Ashghal announces changes at Al Mirqab Al Jadeed Street intersection

THE PENINSULA/DOHA

The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ announced yesterday the conversion of the inter-section of Al Mirqab Al Jadeed Street with Mohammed bin Qasim Street into a temporary two-lane-roundabout, while keeping the same number of

lanes available on Al Mirqab Al Jadeed Street, starting from November 11, for a period of two months, in coordination with the General Directorate of Traffic.

This change will be imple-mented on to enable upgrading works on the intersection and installation of new traffic lights,

as part of Improvement of Main Roads in Al Nasr Area Project.

T h e P u b l i c W o r k s Authority will install road signs advising motorists of the temporary closure. Ashghal requests all road users to abide by the speed limit, and follow the road signs to ensure their safety.

QU launches specialised training using dronesFROM PAGE 1The Dean of the College of Engi-neering Dr Khalid Kamal Naji, said that this training comes within the framework of the initiative of the College of Engineering (Digital Qatar), which is an important project for digital transformation at Qatar University, adding that this project will be adopted by the College of Engineering in cooper-ation between its various depart-ments such as the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning, Civil Engineering, Mechanical, Indus-trial and Electrical.

The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H E Dr. Ahmad bin Hassan Al Hammadi, leading the Qatari delegation at the first round of political consultations with the Republic of Lithuania, in Vilnius, Lithuania, yesterday.

03FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019 HOME

QFFD signs cooperation deal with Doha Institute for Graduate StudiesQNA/DOHA

Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD) and Doha Institute for Graduate Studies signed yesterday a cooperation agreement to implement a professional devel-opment program.

The agreement was signed by the Deputy Director General of the Department of Shared Services in QFFD Mansour Abdullah Al Dhaimi, and Vice President of Adminis-tration and Finance at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Dr. Hend Al Muftah.

Under the agreement, the

Doha Institute will set and implement a professional devel-opment program entitled for the

period from November 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020.

The Deputy Director General of the Department of Shared Services in QFFD Mansour Abdullah Al Dhaimi said that this agreement aims at enhancing knowledge and capacity building in the field of international development and QFFD looks forward to seeing its results, which will undoubtedly con-tribute to raising local capacities in the Fund.

The seven-month program will end with an assessment of participants and an exchange of

Officials after the agreement signing ceremony.

Musical tour de force concert tonight at QNCCRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Classical music enthusiasts can look forward to a musical tour de force in Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert tonight at Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) with a performance of Johannes Brahms’s First and Third Symphonies under the baton of Gianluigi Gelmetti, one of today’s most prestigious conductors.

Often referred to as one of the “Three Bs” of music alongside Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, Brahms was a German composer and vir-tuoso pianist who wrote wide ranging compositions and

worked with some of the leading performers of his time.

Both a traditionalist impreg-nated of the past and an inno-vator oriented towards the future, Brahms was a frank advocate of pure music. Known for being a perfectionist, he took his time spending 14 years writing his First Symphony. His works are considered very aca-demic, diligent and highly con-structed in which created great impact on the next generation of composers.

“Brahms is, in my opinion, the apotheosis of science and inven-tiveness. No one like him possesses such an absolute ability to build perfect cathedrals of sounds (perhaps only Bach does) combined

with prodigious inventiveness. Not a note is random, everything is part of a grand plan,” commented Gelmetti.

Tonight’s show opens with Brahm’s Third Symphony, the shortest of his four symphonies. This piece he composed when he was 50 years old depicts deep maturity and, as a whole, is char-acterized by an introspective and idyllic nature. The concert con-cludes with the First Symphony known for its overwhelming musical power and remembered for the extraordinary length of time it took Brahms to finish.

For tonight’s show, the Qatar Philharmonic will be led by Maestro Gelmetti considered one of the most prominent conductors

of today. This seasoned Italian conductor and composer has led some of the most prestigious orchestras in the world in past decades and has received numerous accolades including being named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France and Cavaliere di Gran Croce by Italy’s then President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, among others.

The next concert will be “Chopin First Piano Concerto” on November 15 at QNCC. With Wojciech Waleczek on piano, Qatar Philharmonic will be con-ducted by Andreas Weiser in their performance of pieces written by a pair of extraordinary composers of the Romantic Era, Frédéric Chopin and Antonín Dvořák.

Prominent Italian conductor Gianluigi Gelmetti will be leading the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert tonight at Qatar National Convention Center.

QA is Official Airline Partner of PSA World Squash ChampionshipTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

Qatar Airways is the Official Airline Partner of the PSA World Squash Championship Qatar 2019, taking place from November 8 to 15, at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar.

The tournament will see top players from around the world gather in Doha to compete for a championship prize amounting to $335,000. Qatar Airways cabin crew will present the win-ner’s trophy at the Award Cer-emony on November 15 and a ticketing booth will also be available throughout the tour-nament to assist spectators with any flight ticket queries.

Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Marketing and Cor-porate Communications, Salam

Al Shawa, said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to again be the Official Airline Partner of the PSA World Squash Champi-onship. As an airline, we are dedicated to connecting people through a shared love of sport, and this belief is reflected in the many world-class sporting events we sponsor globally. We are honoured to welcome back to Doha the world’s best squash players as we head into an exciting winter of sport in Qatar.”

Qatar PSA World Squash Championship Tournament Director Tareq Zainal said: “We are very proud to host the world once again in Doha at the PSA World Championship. Hosting the event for the fifth time is a remarkable achievement and it is a testimonial to the level of

confidence the PSA has in us as host of this very important event. This Championship promises to be the best so far and promises to leave a lasting impression on every participant.”

Qatar Airways holds an extensive global sports portfolio, sponsoring top-level sporting events and some of the biggest football clubs around the world including AS Roma, Boca Juniors and Bayern Munich.

As official FIFA partner, Qatar Airways sponsors the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 which is taking place in Doha from December 11 to 21, and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, reflecting the values of sport as a means of bringing people together, something at the core of the airline’s brand message - Going Places Together.

PSA trains researchers involved in Qatar Census 2020QNA/DOHA

The Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) has launched the main training program for field researchers as part of prepara-tions for the first phase of the Qatar Population, Housing and Establishments Census 2020 (Data Completion Phase), which begins on November 10 and will continue for one month.

The five-day training program aims to train researchers on the field work of the census in its first phase, under the supervision of a number of specialists and experts in the field of statistics and field research at the Planning and Statistics Authority, which ensures the effectiveness and accuracy of the census process in all its research and technological aspects.

The course includes theo-retical lectures and practical lessons in the basics of field work, as well as the technology used in the census process, in addition to the definition of the duties of field researchers by job, and the field of interview art, with the statement of administrative division and the use of maps and mechanisms of work and data collection, and controls the use of adequate electronic device.

New HMC treatment brings hope for people with alopecia areataFROM PAGE 1

The Department of Derma-tology and Venereology at the HMC as a centre-of-excellence for skin care, will provide new services and wide range of out-patient clinics for all important subspecialties.

“The Department of Derma-tology and Venereology has been awarded as a centre of excellence in 2018, for skin diseases. Because we have introduced several new diagnostics and treatments for varies skin diseases,” said Dr Pro-fessor Steinhoff. “We are highly to dedicated to improve diagnosis, treatment and prevention of skin diseases among the people in Qatar.

Professor Dr Martin Steinhoff, Chairman at the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at HMC. PIC: ABDUL BASIT/THE PENINSULA

QU law students shine in ‘Qatar International Cybersecurity Contest’THE PENINSULA/DOHA

Students from Qatar University (QU) College of Law’s (LAWC) Legal Skills Department competed in Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) ‘Qatar International Cybersecurity Contest,’ recently. During the three-day event, 16 QU law students competed in activ-ities hosted by separate colleges within HBKU; eight law students participated in HBKU College of Islamic Studies’ ‘Empower Cyber-Akhlaq Competition’ and eight law students participated in HBKU College of Law’s ‘Cyberse-curity Moot Competition.’

“Our college emphasizes the importance of law student engagement, volunteerism and participation in the community,” said LAWC Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies, Dr Muna Mustafa Al-Marzouqi. “We are happy for this collaboration with HBKU and we are proud of our law students for their con-tinued interest in preparing for and participating in international academic competitions. These contests require significant work and dedication from the students. We are pleased that our students and faculty continue to push

themselves to go the extra mile.”During the Empower Cyber-

Akhlaq Competition, QU Law students from Dr Melissa Dee-hring’s ‘Special Topics: Justice, Equality and Leadership in Law’ course collaborated with HBKU College of Islamic Studies’ graduate students to create video MOOC (massive open online course) proposals that raise awareness of the ethical issues in cyberspace and cybersecurity. Law students Aisha J. Al Muhannadi and Fatima M. Al-Kuwari helped create a video proposing an online course for children and adolescents to make them aware of the dangers posed by social media and reduce risk stemming from online behavior. Their video won second place in the competition.

Law students Noura S. Al-Kubaisi, Fatima M. Al-kuwari, Maytha F. Al-Muraikhi, Enjoud A. Al-Mutawwah, Latifa M. AL-Suwaidi, Maryam Y. Maskin, and English literature student Amal Y. Elamin Ibrahim created a video MOOC proposal to raise awareness about cyber-crimes against women and discussed the issues from ethical, Islamic and legal perspec-tives. Their video won third place in the competition.

Under the agreement, the Doha Institute will set and implement a professional development program entitled for the period from November 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020.

advice on issues of concern to QFFD and its staff.

A memorandum of

understanding (MoU) was signed between the institute and the QFFD in January 2018 to enhance

academic cooperation and to take advantage of common possibilities to support scientific research.

QU hosts Graduate Studies Open DayTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

The Office of Graduate Studies at Qatar University (QU) organised a Graduate Studies Open Day, which aimed to provide potential postgraduate students with essential infor-mation for their studies. The event attracted over 150 prospective students from Qatar University and other institutes.

The event was held in par-ticipation with the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Engi-neering, the College of Law, the College of Sharia & Islamic Studies, the College of Business & Economics, the College of Edu-cation, the colleges of QU Health (College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, College of Health Sci-ences), QU Library and the Admissions Department. Moreover, for the first time, the event involves the participation of the Ministry of Education & Higher Education, the Qatar Uni-versity Testing Center, the QU Scholarships Office and the Office of Research Support

The event gathered a

significant number of entities that contribute to the knowledge enrichment of the prospective graduate student. The goal of the event was to provide prospective students with all the required information to facilitate their graduate studies application and process. Each entity had their own booth to allow the audience to visit them and discuss all of their inquiries regarding graduate studies in various pro-grams. In addition, the Office of Research Support participated

for the first time in this event to facilitate the development of research work at the university through providing student research funds, publishing awards, and participating in research projects inside and outside QU.

The event included several lectures and workshops including a government spon-sorship lecture, which was pre-sented by Mr. Ahmed Albalam, the Head of Academic Coun-seling Section, who discussed the

process of government spon-sorship policies and processes, in addition to presenting the dif-ferent educational institutes that are accredited in the country.

Dr. Fatima Al Mohannadi, Acting Director of Scholarship and Capacity Building, presented a lecture on the process of spon-sorship abroad through QU, its policies and processes, the available options for taking an academic career path, and the correct method for applying to either a master or doctorate degree. Maged Fathallah Abdel-zaher, a Senior Career Counselor at the Career Development Center, discussed effective tech-niques for the students on how to prepare for admission interviews.

The admission for graduate studies at QU for Fall 2020 opened on 3 November 2019 and will close on 30 January 2020. Afterwards, the admitting col-leges will contact the students to settle the dates of the personal interviews or the required exam-inations in order to announce the admission results in April 2020.

Participants during the Graduate Studies Open Day.

04 FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

UN inspector tested positive for explosives: Iran

AP/VIENNA

Iran alleged yesterday that the UN inspector it blocked from a nuclear site last week tested positive for suspected traces of explosive nitrates. The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the Interna-tional Atomic Energy Agency, did not immediately comment.

The allegation made by Iranian representative Kazem Gharib Abadi came as Iran injected uranium gas into cen-trifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear complex early yesterday, taking its most-significant step away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

These latest steps by Iran put additional pressure on Europe to offer Tehran a way to sell its crude oil abroad despite the US sanctions imposed on the country since President Donald

Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear deal over a year ago.

The incident happened at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, which includes the majority of the centrifuges now enriching uranium in the country. The entrance of Natanz includes equipment to check for traces of nitrates, Abadi said.

“The detector’s alarm went off and it was signaling to a spe-cific person,” he said. “They have repeated this procedure again and again, and unfortunately, the results were the same all the way for only that specific inspector.”

As they waited for a female employee to search the inspector, the woman went off to the bathroom. Abadi alleged when she came back, she no longer tested positive. He said the team took samples from the

bathroom, as well as seized her handbag.

Abadi said he hoped further tests by Iran and the IAEA would explain what happened. Iran’s nuclear industry has been tar-geted by sabotage and its scien-tists assassinated in the past.

“Needless to say that Iran, like all other members of the agency, cannot condone any behaviour or action which may be against the safety and security of its nuclear installations, espe-cially... considering the past sab-otage attempts in its nuclear facilities,” Abadi said.

This marks the first known time of Iran blocking an inspector amid the tensions.

Nitrates are a common fer-tilizer. However, when mixed with proper amounts of fuel, the material can become an explosive as powerful as TNT. Swab tests, common at airports and other secure facilities, can detect its presence on the skin or objects.

Jackie Wolcott, the US rep-resentative to the IAEA, earlier called the inspector’s rejection an “outrageous provocation.”

“All board members need to

make clear now and going forward that such actions are completely unacceptable, will not be tolerated, and must have consequences,” Wolcott said in remarks released to journalists. “If the Iranian regime thinks it can test the international com-munity’s resolve on this issue, then we assure you the United States will not waver.”

Wolcott’s comments also suggested the IAEA would discuss a warehouse near Tehran where Israel alleges it stole a secret “atomic archive” last year. She suggested that inspectors recovered possible nuclear material there.

“Iran has refused to provide — and apparently cannot provide - a credible, verifiable answer to the fundamental question of where the particles detected by the IAEA came from, and where the material and equipment they came from is today,” she said.

Iran has denied the claims by Israel, which is widely believed to have its own undeclared nuclear weapons program.

Meanwhile, Iran began to inject gas into centrifuges after midnight at Fordo, a facility built

under a mountain north of the Shiite holy city of Qom, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said. Fordo’s 1,044 centri-fuges previously spun without uranium gas for enrichment under the deal, which saw Iran limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of eco-nomic sanctions.

The deal had called for Fordo to become “a nuclear, physics and technology center.” Now, it’s become an active nuclear site again and represents the most-serious step away from the deal it has taken amid the tensions.

A UN official from the IAEA witnessed the injection, Iran said. The centrifuges ultimately will begin enriching uranium up to 4.5%, which is just beyond the limits of the nuclear deal, but nowhere near weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Iran acknowledged Fordo’s existence in 2009 amid a major pressure campaign by Western powers over Tehran’s nuclear program. The West feared Iran could use its program to build a nuclear weapon. Iran insists the program is for peaceful purposes.

Four protesters shot dead in Baghdad, port blockedREUTERS/ BAGHDAD

Iraqi security forces shot dead at least four anti-government protesters in central Baghdad yesterday, police and medical sources said, as weeks of deadly unrest showed no signs of abating.

Another 35 people were wounded in the clashes near Shuhada Bridge, they said, as mass demonstrations continued for a 13th straight day with thousands thronging central areas of the capital.

In southern Iraq, dozens of protesters burned tyres and blocked the entrance to the port of Umm Qasr, preventing lorries from transporting vital food imports, just hours after operations had resumed, port officials said.

The Iraqi government has failed to find a way out of the biggest and most complicated challenge to its rule in years. The unrest has shattered the relative calm that followed the defeat of the Sunni Muslim extremist Islamic State in 2017.

A crackdown by authorities against mostly unarmed protesters has killed more than 250 people since unrest broke out on Oct. 1 over lack of jobs and an infra-structure wrecked by decades of conflict, sanctions and corruption.

Protesters, mostly unemployed youth,

blame a political elite that has ruled Iraq since the toppling of dictator Saddam Hussein in a 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and demand a complete overhaul of the political system.

The country is beginning to feel the fiscal pinch of weeks of the unrest, which started in Baghdad and quickly spread to southern cities.

The new stoppage of operations at Umm Qasr port in the south is likely to compound financial losses a day after the government said that a week-long halt of operations there had cost more than $6 billion. Meanwhile, ongoing internet outages imposed by the government to try to stem unrest have hit the private sector, a central bank source said.

The source said private banks in Iraq had recorded losses of some $16 million per day since the internet was first shut down at the beginning of October.

Combined losses by the private banks and mobile phone companies, money transfer services, tourism and airline booking offices had averaged more than $40m per day, the source said - almost $1.5bn for Iraq in just over a month.

Umm Qasr briefly resumed opera-tions early on Thursday after most pro-testers cleared the area. But several dozen

activists, relatives of a demonstrator killed during weeks of violence, then returned to block the main gate, port officials said.

Umm Qasr receives most of the grain, vegetable oils and sugar that Iraq depends upon. Oil and security officials said oper-ations resumed on Thursday at the nearby Nassiriya oil refinery, where protesters had stopped fuel tankers entering or leaving the day before.

Oil production and exports have not been significantly affected by the unrest, oil ministry officials say.

But the halting of fuel tankers that

transport fuel from the Nassiriya refinery to regional gas stations caused fuel shortages across the southern Iraqi province of Dhi Qar. The refinery had recently been producing around half its capacity, oil officials said.

Internet returned briefly in most parts of Iraq on Thursday but went out again after 1:00 p.m. local time (1000 GMT). Authorities have heavily restricted internet access during the protests.

The government says it is enacting reforms but has offered nothing that is likely to satisfy most protesters.

Members of riot police are seen during the ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad, Iraq, yesterday.

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun (left) meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri at Baabda presidential palace, east of the capital Beirut, yesterday.

President Aoun, Hariri meet to discuss way out of crisisAGENCIES/BEIRUT

Lebanese President Michel Aoun and caretaker Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri held talks yeserday on responding to three weeks of nationwide anti-government protests that have thrown the country into its worst crisis in decades.

In a statement, the president’s office said the two dis-cussed the “general situation” and efforts towards “finding a solution to the current government situation”. Hariri, who stepped down a week ago but remains in a caretaker role, has been exploring the possibility of forming a techno-cratic government, with fewer cabinet posts allotted to the country’s large number of sectarian groups.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s financial prosecutor ordered sweeping investigations into suspected corruption and waste of public funds by senior officials, the state National News Agency reported. The move comes as a nationwide protest movement over poor services, economic woes and official corruption enters its fourth week with demonstrators hoping to expel an elite they say has ruled the country like a cartel for decades.

Erdogan threatens to open gates to Europe for migrantsAFP/BUDAPEST

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday repeated his threat to “open the gates” for migrants to enter Europe unless more international support was provided, during a visit to Hungary yesterday.

“Whether or not support comes, we will continue to host our guests, but only up to a point,” Erdogan said at a news conference alongside Hun-garian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

“If we see that this does not work, just like I said before, we will have no option left but to open the gates. If we open the gates, it is obvious where they will go,” Erdogan added.

Erdogan has called on EU countries to provide more financial support for his plan to create a “safe zone” in Syria where refugees can be repatriated.

Orban has been one of Europe’s most outspoken oppo-nents of accepting refugees and migrants, particularly from Muslim countries, and has backed Erdogan’s efforts to repatriate them.

“There are four million migrants in our country,” Erdogan said. “It is possible that a serious number of those migrants will migrate to Europe.

“The safe zone we want to create aims to ensure the migrants that are in our country go back to their homes, their lands.”

Kuwait accepts finance minister’s resignation REUTERS/DUBAI

The Kuwaiti authorities approved yesterday the resig-nation of Finance Minister Nayef Al Hajraf, the official Kuwait News Agency reported.

Minister of State for Eco-nomic affairs, Mariam Al Aqeel will serve as interim finance minister, it added. The resig-nation of Hajraf is a prelude to his nomination by Kuwait as secretary-general of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council.

S Sudan leaders agree to delay formation of unity govt

REUTERS/KAMPALA

South Sudan’s president and a former rebel leader agreed yesterday to delay forming a unity government for 100 days beyond the November 12 deadline, Uganda’s presidency said, buying time after concerns that war could resume if the two sides were pushed.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar met in Uganda in a last-ditch effort to resolve outstanding disputes pre-venting the formation of a coa-lition government by the deadline.

Kiir and Machar signed a peace deal in September 2018 under pressure from the United Nations, United States and regional governments.

South Sudan, which is rich in oil resources, plunged into civil war in 2013 after Kiir sacked Machar as vice-pres-ident. The conflict killed an esti-mated 400,000 people, trig-gered a famine and created Africa’s biggest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

Court sentences Congo warlord to 30 years for atrocitiesAP/THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS

The International Criminal Court passed its highest ever sentence yesterday, sending a Congolese warlord known as “The Termi-nator” to prison for 30 years for crimes including murder, rape and sexual slavery.

Bosco Ntaganda was found guilty in July of 18 counts of war

crimes and crimes against humanity for his role as a mil-itary commander in atrocities during a bloody ethnic conflict in a mineral-rich region of Congo in 2002-2003.

Ntaganda showed no emotion as Presiding Judge Robert Fremr passed sentences ranging from eight years to 30 years for individual crimes and

an overarching sentence of 30 years.The court’s maximum sen-tence is 30 years, although judges also have the discretion to impose a life sentence. Lawyers representing victims in the case had called for a life term. Fremr said despite the gravity of the crimes and Ntaganda’s cul-pability, his convictions “do not warrant a sentence of life

imprisonment.” Ida Sawyer, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa division, wel-comed the ruling.

“Bosco Ntaganda’s 30-year sentence sends a strong message that even people considered untouchable may one day be held to account,” Sawyer said. Jolino Makelele, a spokesman for the government in Democratic

Republic of Congo, or DRC, said: “We think that justice was done for the victims.”

Ntaganda, who has insisted he is innocent, became a symbol of widespread impunity in Africa in the seven-odd years between first being indicted by the global court and finally turning himself in in 2013 as his powerbase fell apart.

10 Nigerian troops killed in militant ambushAFP/KANO

At least 10 Nigerian soldiers have been killed and nine severely injured in an ambush by militants in restive northeast Nigeria, military sources said.

Another 12 soldiers were missing after a column of troops on patrol was ambushed by the fighters on Wednesday in Damboa district of Borno state, a military officer said on con-dition of anonymity.

Fighters loyal to the Islamic State group claimed responsi-bility for the killings, but said they had slain 22 soldiers after an assault by the army.

A decade-long jihadist insurgency in northeast Nigeria has killed 35,000 people, dis-placed two million others and spilt into neighbouring countries.

The allegation made by Iranian representative Kazem Gharib Abadi came as Iran injected uranium gas into centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear complex early yesterday, taking its most-significant step away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

05FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019 ISLAM

This sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of

Dhul Hijjah 10 A.H. in the ‘Uranah valley of Mount

Arafat in Makkah.

After praising, and thanking Allah the Almighty,

the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know

not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst

you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying

to you very carefully and TAKE THESE WORDS TO

THOSE WHO COULD NOT BE PRESENT HERE TODAY.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day,

this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property

of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods

entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no

one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that

you will indeed meet your LORD, and that HE will

indeed reckon your deeds. ALLAH has forbidden

you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest

obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital,

however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor

suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall

be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas

ibn ‘Abd’al Muttalib (Prophet’s uncle) shall henceforth

be waived...

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion.

He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to

lead you astray in big things, so beware of follow-

ing him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights

with regard to your women, but they also have rights

over you. Remember that you have taken them

as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with

His permission. If they abide by your right then to

them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in

kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind

to them for they are your partners and committed

helpers. And it is your right that they do not make

friends with any one of whom you do not approve,

as well as never to be unchaste.

O People, listen to me in earnest, worship AL-

LAH, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during

the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in

Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has

no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab

has any superiority over an Arab; also a white

has no superiority over black nor a black has any

superiority over white except by piety and good

action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to

every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one

brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a

Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it

was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore,

do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear

before ALLAH and answer your deeds.

So beware, do not stray from the path of

righteousness after I am gone.

O People, NO PROPHET OR APOSTLE WILL COME

AFTER ME AND NO NEW FAITH WILL BE BORN. Reason

well, therefore, O People, and understand words

which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things,

the QURAN and my example, the SUNNAH and if you

follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words

to others and those to others again; and may the last

ones understand my words better than those who

listen to me directly. Be my witness, O ALLAH, that I

have conveyed your message to your people”.

Prophet’s Last Sermon

This is why the Prophet is so greatEL SAYED M AMIN

Apart from seeing Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the Messenger of God gifted with divine rev-elation, one can remarkably

see him as an ideal example of a perfect human character.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is a person who strove hard for the well-being of his community and of humanity at large. His far sightedness and ability to correctly read events of his time and to anticipate results helped him, along with divine wisdom from God, to address people’s emotions and to win their hearts before their minds.

His human touch was inescapable, and his personal appeal and gentle approach won the hearts of enemies before those of friends.

In short, he always found his way to his target audience. His cousin and com-panion Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is reported to have asserted this distinctive aspect of the Prophet’s (PBUH) character:

“The Prophet (PBUH) used to win the hearts of his companions with his kind approach. He was never harsh or hardhearted. “In his meetings, he used to treat all equally; listening to them all and giving all equal chance to partic-ipate in the ongoing discussions.

“He was a very patient negotiator, and he never withdrew himself from the discussion unless the negotiators themselves leave first.

“Whenever someone asked him for something, he was keen to fulfill his wish. If not, then he will please his heart with kind words. Among people, he was known by good manners and to them all he was like an affectionate father.”

Missed by Friends When AbsentA man like Muhammad was the

solace to his friends’ souls. They would miss him very much if he went to mind personal matters, even if for a short while. This is the feeling you might have when your soul mate is absent; you always wait in anticipation for him or her to come back. That was the case with the Companions and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Abu Muhammad Al Hussein Al Baghawi in his Ma’alim Al Tanzeel (Land-marks of Revelation) mentions that Thawban, one of the companions who showed this real love, once came to the Prophet (PBUH) with sadness portrayed on his face.

Upon seeing him, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) inquired about this noticeable sadness and very pale face. This reflects how close the Prophet (PBUH) was to his friends and com-panions. He would even ask about these things that we may consider trivial or unnecessary. Thawban replied:

“O Messenger of God, I do not suffer from any disease. When our daily meetings come to an end, I miss you a lot until we meet the next day.

Now, I remember the Last Day where you will be granted a very special status along with the other prophets and

messengers. If God destined me to enter Paradise, then we will not meet due to different degrees, as surely my degree in Paradise will be lower than yours. If God destined me to enter the Hellfire, then we will not meet.”

Hearing this, the Prophet (PBUH) remained silent for a while to receive the following revelation shortly afterwards:

And whoever obeys God and the Messenger, these are with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favours from among the Prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the good, and a goodly company they are. (4:69)

Situations like the above should not pass unnoticed. The human touch of the Prophet (PBUH) and the way he approached his companions and people in general did wonders. It ended up with people declaring that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is dearer to them than their wives, sons, daughters, parents, and selves.

Once the Prophet (PBUH) was with his companions. He then stretched his hand to Umar ibn Al Khattab. To that kind act, Umar responded saying:

“O Messenger of God, you are the most beloved to me after myself.”

The Prophet (PBUH) replied:

“No, by Him in Whose Hand is my soul, you can’t be a real believer until you love me more than yourself.”

To this, Umar replied: “Now you are more beloved to me than myself.” Then, the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Now, Umar, your faith is complete” (Al Bukhari)

These and many other countless events from the Prophet’s (PBUH) biog-raphy demonstrate that he was a highly respectable, reputable, beloved, and kind character.

Even before being divinely ordered by God to carry the divine message, he was called by his own tribesmen “As-Sadiq Al Amin” (Arabic for “the truthful and the trustworthy”).

People of Other FaithsProphet Muhammad’s (PBUH) good

manners were not confined to his close friends and Companions. His manners exceeded them to encompass different nationalities and creeds. He taught his Companions how to respect others regardless of their faith, race, colour, or creed.

One day, he was sitting among his Companions. A funeral of a Jew from the people of Madinah was passing by, and upon seeing it, the Prophet (PBUH) stood up. His astonished Companions

said:“O Prophet of God! He is a Jew.”The Prophet (PBUH) taught them

how to be respectful Muslims consid-erate to others’ feelings by saying:

“Isn’t he the dead Jew a soul created by God?” (Muslim)

How far do we go in our hasty judg-ments on others?

How many quick decisions do we make unknowingly and unwisely about our fellow humans?

Don’t we learn from the above example the respect Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) extended to a dead soul?

He never derided or cursed a human being or even an animal. He was a caring and lovable character. Violence and harshness are never found in his dictionary.

Dealing with His EnemiesMany are the false, horrible stories

one can hear and read about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) being bloodthirsty and war-loving. Had those who study his character attempted to be objective in their studies, they would have realised that he was really a war-hating and merciful commander.

He was never offensive in his wars and military campaigns. His enemies ask for confrontation, and he enters

wars for solely defending his beliefs and his community. He won the hearts of his enemies on the day he victoriously entered Makkah, without wasting a single soul.

One of the companions, Sa’d ibn Ubadah, once felt conceited on that day and raised his voice saying:

“Today is the day of fierce war, a day in which inviolable rules will become violable, and a day to let Quraish taste humiliation.”

Upon hearing him, the victorious leader (Prophet) declared:

“No, Sa’d! This day is the day of mercy. This is a day when honour cannot be transgressed. This is an honourable day for Quraish.”

He never denied his enemies their dignity or honour. He never stripped them of their human characteristics. He was someone who declared general amnesty before Amnesty International came to existence in today’s world. He declared it before all and in broad day-light saying: “Go, you are free.”(Authenticated by Al Albani)

These very people are those who drove the Prophet (PBUH) and all fol-lowers of Islam in Makkah out of their homeland (Makkah). They are the ones who relentlessly and fiercely oppressed him and his followers for more than 21 years.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has always been a human being from whom Muslims learn how to love and deal with one another, and form healthy relation-ships in today’s global village.

He left his personal impact on people as a human being before God entrusted him with His message.

www.aboutislam.net

“Be kind, for whenever kindness becomes part of something, it beautifies it. Whenever it is taken from something, it leaves it tarnished.”

“The best among you is the one who doesn’t harm others with his tongue and hands.”

“A good man treats women with honour.”

“The greatest of richness is the richness of the soul.”

“There is reward for kindness to every living thing.”

“Strive always to excel in virtue and truth.”

What The Prophet Said

These very people are those who drove the Prophet (PBUH) and all followers of Islam in Makkah out of their homeland (Makkah). They are the ones who relentlessly and fiercely oppressed him and his followers for more than 21 years. But he won the hearts of his enemies on the day he victoriously entered Makkah, without wasting a single soul. He never denied his enemies their dignity or honour. He never stripped them of their human characteristics. He declared general amnesty to his enemies and said: “Go, you are free.”

06 FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019ASIA

Over 80 farmers arrested for starting polluting farm firesAFP/IANS NEW DELHI

More than 80 farmers have been arrested in northern India for starting fires that contributed to the recent pollution crisis in New Delhi and other cities, officials said yesterday.

Each winter the post-harvest burning of crop stubble covers swaths of the region in toxic smog, which combines with car and factory emissions to turn Delhi into the world’s most pol-luted capital.

India’s top court this week ordered a crackdown on illegal stubble-burning, but the fires continued across Punjab and Haryana states — with many started at night to try and avoid detection.

A senior Punjab police officer said more than 17,000 farm fires had been reported in the state in the past three days, with 4,741 on Wednesday alone.

“More than 84 people have been arrested for violating the law. Cases have been filed against 174 farmers,” the officer said.

Punjab and Haryana make up a key agricultural region that produces nearly 18 million tonnes of rice each year. This, in turn, creates nearly 20 million tonnes of crop stubble — most of which is burnt.

Authorities said more than

48,000 farm fires had been reported in the two states since late September — a dramatic increase from 30,000 cases in 2018.

The Supreme Court ordered a complete stop to the fires on Monday and on Wednesday slammed local governments for not taking action, instructing them to pay hard-up farmers to stop burning the stubble.

“You just want to sit in your ivory towers and rule. You are not bothered and are letting the people die,” said Justice Arun Mishra.

Pollution levels in the Indian capital remained bad yesterday, four days after one of its worst pollution attacks in several years during which schools were closed and a public health emer-gency declared.

Dirty air causes hundreds of

thousands of premature deaths in Indian cities each year, according to medical studies.

Tiny particles from the fires, which can enter the bloodstream and penetrate the lungs and heart, get blown over New Delhi.

In the winter, cooler temper-atures prevent pollutants from dispersing, while smoke from millions of Diwali firecrackers also help turn the capital’s skies a putrid yellow.

Rain predicted for yesterday was expected to further better the condition in the national capital.

For Thursday, the PM10 count is comfortable and in the moderate category at 194, while the PM2.5 is in the poor category as well at 117. The AQI though has deteriorated from Wednes-day’s when it was at 249 count.

According to a forecast by Safar India, Delhi AQI is in the poor category, and is likely to further improve, in case of rainfall which will wash out the pollutants.

The surface and boundary layer winds are from the south, its interaction with upper air westerly trough is likely to produce fairly widespread rainfall throughout northwest India.

The effective biomass fire counts observed on Wednesday were 3,534, the wind direction is not favourable for any stubble fire plume intrusion.

Cars covered in snow drive along a road during a first snowfall in Srinagar, yesterday.

Heavy snowfall leaves three people dead in KashmirAP RINAGAR

Heavy snowfall killed at least three people in Himalayan Kashmir yesterday, leaving the region paralysed, officials said.

Deep snow blocked some roads and damaged power lines, disrupting life in the disputed region.

Civil administrator Baser Khan said two porters working with the Indian army slipped into a deep gorge in frontier Kupwara

bordering Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

He said efforts were underway to retrieve their bodies.

Another man working with the electricity department died in Srinagar, the region’s main city while trying to restore power supplies, which have been dis-rupted. He fell off a pole, dying on the spot, officials said.

The snow caused large scale damage to apple trees, the mainstay of the region’s economy.

Roads were treacherous and

mostly empty.While the snowfall was mod-

erate in the plains of Kashmir, heavy snowfall at higher eleva-tions disrupted flights.

An official of the airport authority of India said all incoming and outgoing flights at Srinagar airport were cancelled Thursday.

Weather forecasts called for moderate to heavy snowfall and rains in the region. “The snowfall will continue till Friday morning,” said weatherman Sonam Lotus.

Opposition slams Delhi govt for onion price hikeIANS NEW DELHI

With the price of onion hitting Rs100 per kg in the national capital, the opposition BJP and the Congress yesterday slammed the ruling Aam Aadmi Party for the increase in price.

While the Delhi Congress held a protest march against the Delhi government’s failure to control the soaring prices of onion, BJP MLA met Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal over the issue.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Com-mittee (DPCC) president Subhash Chopra led a demonstration outside the Delhi Secretariat, along with several party leaders.

BJP MLA Vijender Gupta led a delegation of common men to the LG demanding high level inquiry into “onion scam”.

Gupta, also the leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, submitted a memorandum to the LG protesting against the “anti-people attitude” of the Kejriwal Government.

“The Delhi government has failed to tackle the problem of shortage of onion forcing public to buy it at the rate of Rs100 per kg. It turned deaf ears when the Central Government repeatedly requested it to buy onion at the rate of Rs15.90 per kg out of its buffer stock of 57,000 Metric Tonne for making onion available in Delhi during lean period,” Gupta told media.

States told to remain alert ahead of Ayodhya verdictIANS NEW DELHI

In view of the Ayodhya verdict expected this month before the retirement of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on November 17, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has sent an advisory to all states to remain alert.

A senior MHA official requesting anonymity said that a general advisory has been sent to all states and Union Territories asking them to remain alert and deploy adequate security

personnel in all sensitive places and ensure that no untoward incident takes place anywhere in the country. The official said that the ministry has also has rushed 40 companies of para-military forces to Uttar Pradesh to assist the state government in maintaining law and order.

On Wednesday, Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi also asked his council of ministers to refrain from making unnecessary state-ments in connection with the Ayodhya verdict.

The MHA has also on

Wednesday cautioned the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government to ensure all security preparedness in the temple town, which would be turned into virtual fortress to thwart any untoward incident.

Citing intelligence inputs on terror threat, the Ministry has alerted the Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment through a circular issued last week on the orders of Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, directing maximum deployment of police force on the ground there and

keeping tabs on rumours on social networking sites and through SMS when the apex court would announce its verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute.

A “public address system” should also be put up there, the circular mentions, according to a highly-placed source requesting anonymity.

Apart from Ayodhya, the cir-cular cautioned the Uttar Pradesh government to keep watch on highly sensitive areas in the state and deploy police force at

specific locations, following apprehensions that “anti-social elements” may provoke religious sentiments of the people.

The circular was delivered to Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Sec-retary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, Director General of Police O.P. Singh and other departments concerned to avoid last-minute glitches, the source said.

A five-judge Supreme Court bench had heard the Ayodhya case on a day-to-day basis for 40 days and reserved its verdict on October 16.

Display of Sikh martial art skillsSikhs demonstrate their martial arts skills during a ‘nagar kirtan’ (procession) in Secunderabad, yesterday, as part of celebrations marking the 549th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev.

In setback to BJP, Sena MLAs back Uddhav on power-sharingIANS MUMBAI

In yet another dampener for the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena legislators unanimously endorsed party President Uddhav Thackeray’s stand on government formation on the basis of 50:50 power-sharing formula, here yesterday.

The party’s legislators, who were summoned for an urgent meeting by Thackeray at his residence this afternoon, have also given full authority to their chief “to take any decision as he deems fit”, party sources said.

Accordingly, the Sena will not compromise on sharing the post of Chief Minister for 30 months each and also 50:50 power-sharing formula that was arrived at before the last Lok Sabha elections.

The MLAs also unanimously declared that only after the BJP agrees to adhere to its promises whould the Sena extend support to it (BJP) for government formation.

“We have given full authority to the Sena chief and his decision will be the final word for us. The CM will be only from Shiv Sena with equal power-sharing as decided

earlier,” Sena MLA from Sillod Abdul Sattar Nabi told media-persons after emerging from the crucial meeting.

The party legislators’ decision came before a dele-gation of BJP leaders led by state party chief Chandrakant Patil, ministers Sudhir Mungantiwar and Ashish Shelar was scheduled to call on Governor B.S. Koshyari at Raj Bhavan.

The Sena legislators’ meeting followed shortly after Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari categorically ruled out any possibility of his returning to state politics, but simultane-ously expressing optimism that the political crisis here would be resolved soon.

“I am in Delhi. There is no question of my return to state politics. The political crisis in the state will be resolved soon,” Gadkari said, scotching all spec-ulation of his being a contender for the post of a consensus CM to defuse the state political deadlock over government formation.

Significantly, both Gadkari and Mungantiwar separately endorsed the name of Devendra Fadnavis as the next CM in a ‘Maha-Yuti’ government com-prising all alliance partners, including the Sena.

Soldier arrested for leaking border details to PakistanIANS JAIPUR

One of the two Indian soldiers who was taken into custody from the Jodhpur railway station on charges of sharing crucial infor-mation with a Pakistan-based woman ISI agent, has been arrested while the other was freed but would be used as a

witness, police sources said.The arrested soldier has been

identified as Vichitra Behra, who hails from Odisha. He was arrested under Section 3 (spying) of the Official Secrets Act on Wednesday.

According to the sources, the second soldier was freed as con-crete evidence could not be col-lected against him.

Additional Director General of Police, Intelligence, Umesh Mishra said: “The soldier gave confidential information to the Pakistan woman agent via social media. He also accepted money from the other side after giving out the information.

“In fact, he came in touch of the woman through social media and analysing the questions she

sent, it is evident that she was a member of the Pakistani intelli-gence.” Behra sent the details as video clips via WhatsApp, according to the police sources.

The sources added that Behra was in touch with the woman for the last two years and shared crucial information on the Exercise Sindhu Sudarshan Project.

A senior Punjab police officer said more than 17,000 farm fires had been reported in the state in the past three days, with 4,741 on Wednesday alone. “More than 84 people have been arrested for violating the law,” he said.

07FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019 ASIA

Imran to clip NAB powers to save bureaucracyINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided to clip the country’s anti-graft body, the National Accountability Bureau’s power to arrest any civil servant, serving or retired, in the garb of “misuse of authority” or for any “procedural lapse”.

Informed sources said that the prime minister has directed the law ministry to prepare draft ordinance to amend the NAB law so that the bureaucracy could be saved from NAB’s harassment. The prime minister asked the law minister to do the job at the earliest.

The prime minister gave this direction to the law ministry after he met the chief secretaries

and federal secretaries who met the premier Tuesday to share their concerns vis-a-vis NAB.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Establishment Muhammad Shehzad Arbab, when contacted, said that he does not know whether the premier has directed the law ministry for the issuance of an ordinance to amend the NAB law but he confirmed that the prime minister did assure the secretaries that their concerns would be addressed shortly.

Arbab disclosed that a draft amendment to this respect is already ready and could be put before the cabinet meeting for the possible issuance of ordi-nance. Sources said that the prime minister assured the bureaucracy that the bureaucrats would be saved from NAB action for any of their decision taken in good faith.

The NAB could arrest the bureaucrats, serving or retired, only on the basis of incriminating

evidence of corruption.The NAB law, it is said, will be

amended to bar the Bureau from proceeding against civil servants because of their decisions or owing to procedural lapses.

In view of the unending excesses of NAB against bureaucracy and because of the continuing arrest of serving and retired officers in the absence of any incriminating evidence of corruption, the entire civil bureaucracy is very upset.

Reflecting the sentiments of the badly hounded civil service, the federal secretaries recently joined hands against NAB and decided to effectively plead their case before the government for an early resolution of the problem before the Bureau demolishes the administration

completely. Prior to their meeting with the prime minister on Tuesday, a group of federal secretaries had recently met the Army Chief and shared their con-cerns about NAB and its working.

Last month, in the Secretaries Committee meeting, the federal secretaries formally dubbed the NAB operation against bureau-crats “intolerable” and “not acceptable”, issued a serious warning for immediate amend-ments to NAB law before the Bureau permanently impairs the work ethics of the civil service.

They noted that Bureau instead of checking corruption to improve governance, has become a hin-drance to better service delivery and good governance. Minutes of the Secretaries Committee meeting showed bureaucracy’s complete

no confidence against NAB and its working.

The secretaries said: “The practice of arrest and summons on trivial grounds, aimed at humiliating well respected civil servants is against the principles of good governance, hence not acceptable.”

The Secretaries Committee with a unanimous voice said, “Indiscriminate use of authority by NAB officers by issuing summons and warrants for senior functionaries on issues related to policy formulation is completely intolerable.” They lamented, “Despite verbal assurances in the past, there seems to be no let-up towards civil service as, even today, the officers are summoned and intimidated without sub-stantive evidence against them.”

Sikhs await opening of corridor to sacred shrine in PakistanAFP KARTARPUR

A corridor that will allow Sikhs to cross from India into Pakistan to visit one of the religion’s holiest sites is set to open tomorrow, with thousands expected to make a pilgrimage interrupted by decades of conflict.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will see off the first group of pilgrims, and they will be welcomed by his Paki-stani counterpart Imran Khan at the shrine marking the grave of Sikhism’s founder Guru Nanak at Kartarpur, just four kilometres inside Pakistan.

The Kartarpur Corridor marks a rare example of cooperation between the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 and in February conducted tit-for-tat air strikes after a suicide bombing killed 40 Indian troops.

The deal allows for up to 5,000 pilgrims a day to cross a secure corridor and bridge between the two countries, leading directly to the grave Guru Nanak.

“They are very excited,” cus-todian of the Kartarpur shrine Ramash Singh Arora said yes-terday, saying he hoped the ini-tiative would pave the way for similar access to other Sikh sites in Pakistan in the future. “If you look at the history, the foundation of Sikhism is from Pakistan.”

In the months leading up to the opening, Pakistan employed hundreds of labourers to spruce up the shrine, including building a border immigration checkpoint and a bridge, as well as expanding the site’s grounds.

India had long been asking Pakistan for such a corridor, but years of diplomatic tensions The opening comes just days ahead of the Guru Nanak’s 550th birthday

on November 12, which is marked with celebrations by millions of Sikhs around the world.

“For over 70 years, pilgrims haven’t had the chance to cross over, to come over, and that is

just... it’s just... it’s going to be a really emotional moment,” said Karan Deep Singh, a pilgrim from Malaysia.

Others hoped the corridor would help mend ties between

the rivals after years of hostility. “It should improve and I’m hoping that it will improve. Def-initely. Because the goodwill is oozing,” said Bhajan Singh Grewal from Australia.

Policemen stand guard as Sikh pilgrims arrive at a shrine in Nankana Sahib, some 75km west of Lahore, yesterday, on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

Three judges die in Taliban attack in AfghanistanREUTERS LOGAR

Three judges and a court staffer were killed in Afghanistan yesterday after Taliban mili-tants stopped their car in the latest attack on the judiciary, officials said.

Abdullah Hasrat, a spokesman for the governor in eastern Paktia province where the judges worked, said the incident took place in Mohammad Agha district of neighbouring Logar province.

“They were travelling in a car but were stopped by the Taliban checkpoint on the road,” Hasrat said. No group has claimed responsibility for attack, which came as the victims were driving to the capital, Kabul.

Taliban insurgents fighting to overthrow the foreign-backed Afghan government have long targeted the judiciary in retaliation for harsh sen-tences given to their fighters.

Taliban spokesman Zabi-hullah Mujahid said he was not aware of the attack but would check with local commanders.

The Taliban now controls more territory than at any point since the United States’ invasion of the country in 2001.

As Afghan police casualties mounted, the Afghan gov-ernment this year pulled back from hundreds of checkpoints in isolated areas that acted as a magnet for Taliban attacks.

However, many Afghans complain that the Taliban and other militant groups have now set up checkpoints along the main highways, searching cars and looking for government employees.

Pakistan army rules out role in defusing political crisisINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

Pakistan army has indicated that it had no issues with not getting a role in holding of elections in the country in the future.

Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor, while taking part in a talk show on a private channel, said that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had already proposed to political leaders to devise a system and create an envi-ronment that could end the mil-itary’s role in elections.

In response to another question, the spokesman said

that his comments always reflected the army’s institutional position on issues and were never his own views.

The army has provided security in most of the elections held in the country by guarding polling stations and providing security cover to the election staff and material during their movement.

Elections held last year saw the largest deployment in the country’s electoral history as 371,388 troops were involved.

The army’s growing role has drawn criticism from political parties, some of whom alleged that the army and intelligence

agencies influenced the electoral process last year.

In view of these concerns, the opposition parties have included the demand for ending army’s role in elections in the four-point charter of demands for ending the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s Islamabad sit-in.

Major General Ghafoor said that the army gets involved in elections only when requisi-tioned by the government for assistance under the Consti-tution. “It is not that the Consti-tution gives us a role or we desire to have one.

It is always the decision of the government of the day. There

is also input of other parties. Army has no role in the matter,” he said.

He further said that discus-sions on how many troops to deploy and where to deploy them take place after the army has been requisitioned under the Constitution.

The armed forces are requi-sitioned under Articles 220 and 245 of the Constitution. Article 220 obligates all executive authorities in the federation and in the provinces to assist the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commission of Pakistan in the discharge of their functions, whereas Article 245 pertains to

requisitioning of armed forces in aid of civil power.

“When the troops are not required, they will not come. It is up to the government and other political parties to decide on it,” he maintained.

The military spokesman, in response to a question, ruled out any role for the army in defusing the political situation created by the JUI-F sit-in. “A sit-in is a political activity.

The army as an institution neither has a role nor had it in the past [ ] It is for the gov-ernment and the opposition to deal with the matter. It is their domain and their job.”

Algae fertilizer for floating farmsPeople collect algae in Inle lake to use as fertilizer for the floating farm in Nyaung Shwe, Shan state, Myanmar, yesterday.

Bangladesh bans fringe Islamist groupAFP DHAKA

Bangladesh has banned a radical Islamist group over a threat to the Muslim-majority country’s “security and safety”, officials said, as the government steps up a crackdown against extremists.

The group to be banned is Allahr Dal, or the Party of Allah, with police alleging it was planning attacks. “Their activities are a threat to public security and safety,” a senior home ministry official said.

Allahr Dal’s leader Matin Mehedi was arrested in 2006 after he helped Jamayetul Muja-hideen Bangladesh (JMB), the nation’s biggest militant group, carry out more than 400 small blasts across the nation in 2005.

Authorities believe the group, established in 1995, is an offshoot of JMB, which was banned after the blasts.

Sri Lankan PM set to lose job after electionAFP COLOMBO

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe looks set to lose his job after next week’s presidential election, with the two leading candidates declaring yesterday they will dump him.

Main opposition candidate Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa from Wickremesin-ghe’s ruling United National Party (UNP) are in a close race ahead of the November 16 polls and both said they would appoint their own PMs if they win. “I will appoint a new prime minister who can command the majority of par-liament,” Premadasa, 52, said in a televised address yesterday.

His remarks appeared to seal the fate of Wickremesinghe, 70, who is nominally the leader of the UNP but faces a revolt within the ranks of the party

hierarchy.Rajapaksa earlier also vowed

to replace Wickremesinghe — who has been plagued by accusations of cronyism and incompetence amid his failure to prosecute pol-iticians accused of corruption — with his brother Mahinda.

Under a recent constitutional amendment, the office of prime minister was given extensive powers to decide on cabinet appointments and to run the day-to-day affairs of the government.

Mahinda Rajapaksa failed to win office for the third term in 2015 and a new constitutional provision on term limits bars him from running for the pres-idency again.

Premadasa, the son of pres-ident Ranasinghe Premadasa, has called for a clean up of his own party and vowed to purge key ministers of Wickremesin-ghe’s government.

The prime minister has directed the law ministry to prepare draft ordinance to amend the NAB law so that the bureaucracy could be saved from NAB’s harassment. The prime minister asked the law minister to do the job at the earliest.

Individuals may be assigned to residence, subject to restrictions on their freedom of movement, subject to house searches or dismissed from employment, based largely on secret intelligence information without due process. Speech that is judged to be an “apology for terrorism” can also result in prosecution.

JAPAN NEWS-YOMIURI

08 FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019VIEWS

Islamophobia is on the rise in France

Last week, in the French town of Bayonne, an 84-year-old man attempted to set fire to a mosque. When two passersby

tried to stop him, he shot and wounded them both, before he was eventually arrested. That same day in Paris, President Emmanuel Macron was meeting Muslim leaders at the Elysee Palace — not to discuss threats against their community, but to urge them to step up efforts to combat reli-gious extremism.

The day’s events were just part of a vicious cycle of recrimination and demon-isation that has erupted in France since the stabbing in Paris on October 3 of four policemen by a colleague who had con-verted to Islam.

Internationally, the incident attracted little attention, especially when com-pared with the mass killings in Paris in November 2015 and Nice in July 2016.

But in France, it has sparked a deeply concerning escalation of Islamophobia — one that is being fuelled at least in part

by the words and actions of Macron and other political leaders.

I n h i s speech at a ceremony hon-ouring the four slain police-men, Macron called for “a societ y of vigilance” to act as a bar-rier against the “Islamist Hydra”. He also called on the nation to rise up against “this underground I s l a m i s m that corrupts the children of France”, by identify-ing “the little nothings that become terri-ble tragedies.”

These are the fight of the nation “at school, at work, in the areas of daily life”.

Three days later, a local right-wing politician in the city of Dijon turned on a Muslim mother who was wearing a headscarf during an elementary school visit to her local regional council.

He asked the council’s president to order the mother to remove the scarf or leave the assembly, saying her pres-ence was unacceptable given the police killings.

That, in turn, thrust the fraught ques-tion of what Muslim women wear back into the public spotlight, all against the emotionally-charged background of the stabbings. A slew of television and radio debates followed - none of which included any headscarf-wearing women.

On the same day as the attack on the mosque in Bayonne, the French Sen-ate began considering a bill that would ban women from wearing headscarves while accompanying school trips. In 2011, France banned the wearing of full-face veils in public, while public officials including teachers are not allowed to wear headscarves

Macron has said that no one should be stigmatised for wearing the headscarf or veil. Yet his government’s efforts to combat extremist violence increasingly look like a cultural assault on Islamic religious practices. France’s interior minister, in a speech to the National Assembly, recently listed conservative religious behaviour, including “regu-lar and ostentatious” praying, growing a beard and declining to exchange kisses with a woman on greeting, as potential signs of radicalisation.

A public university outside Paris, Cergy Pontoise, subsequently asked its staff to report students who might be displaying a similar list of indicators of orthodox practice — later apologising following an outcry.

France already has an aggressive regime of measures that overwhelm-ingly target Muslims, first introduced under the state of emergency that followed the November 2015 Paris attacks, and then passed into law two years ago.

Individuals may be assigned to residence, subject to restrictions on their freedom of movement, subject to house searches or dismissed from employment, based largely on secret intelligence information without due process. Speech that is judged to be an “apology for terrorism” can also result in prosecution.

Against this background, individ-uals are reporting being called into police stations after anonymous tip-offs expressing concern about their behav-iour. One woman who converted to Islam published an account of such an inter-view session on her Facebook account on October 17, which included questions about her mosque, her husband, her fam-ily and the way she dressed.

“It is truly humiliating to find oneself alone interrogated by two men, obliged to justify oneself and one’s choices,” she wrote.

Where does this end? Discrimina-tion against minority communities is not only unlawful, but it is also coun-terproductive for two reasons.

First, repression and discriminatory treatment invariably breed resentment and reaction. And second, relations with affected communities, who are the best allies of the police in the effort to main-tain public safety, are damaged.

A recent article in Le Monde, for example, noted that of the 59 “ter-rorist” attacks that the Ministry of Interior claims have been “prevented” on French territory in the last six years, 58 have relied on human intelligence sources.

France needs to regain the battered confidence of its Muslim citizens. And it needs to start by ending this witch-hunt.

The author is a senior legal officer with the Open Society Justice Initiative in Paris.

LANNA HOLLO AL JAZEERA

QUOTE OF THE DAY

From Norway in the north, to Turkey in the south, and the

US, Canada, and the UK in the west. All are key to keeping

Europe safe.

Jens Stoltenberg Nato’s Secretary-General

Even as US ditches Paris Agreement, galvanise fight against global warming

It is vital to maintain the momentum generated by advanced nations supporting developing economies as both sides work together to

combat global warming.The United States has notified the

United Nations that it will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, an interna-tional framework for measures against global warming.

US President Donald Trump announced two years ago his plan to pull the United States from the pact. Trump insisted the agreement was unfair and would hurt the US economy.

This indicated Trump’s dissatis-faction that advanced nations would shoulder a larger burden than devel-oping countries would.

With reelection in next year’s presi-dential race already on his mind, Trump also is aiming to woo voters in regions where the coal and other industries are strong.

The decision by the world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases to withdraw from the agreement can only be described as irresponsible. Care must be taken to ensure other nations do not follow the US lead in ditching the pact, which could cause the entire framework to collapse.

The Paris Agreement aims to keep the increase in the global average tem-perature to less than 2 C above the temperature before the Industrial Rev-olution in the 18th century.

Each participating nation deter-mines its own emission reduction target for greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. The pact came into force in 2016, and about 190 nations have ratified it.

Next year, work to confirm the results of each nation’s efforts under the agreement will start. This process should move steadily forward, irre-spective of the US withdrawal.

Extreme weather events that appear to be the effects of global warming are already occurring frequently.

In September, the massive Hur-ricane Dorian slammed directly into the Bahamas in Central America, and powerful winds exceeding 290 kph destroyed many homes.

In October, Typhoon No. 19 battered Japan and caused extensive damage in the Koshinetsu, Kanto and Tohoku regions.

A special report by the Intergovern-mental Panel on Climate Change pointed out that an increase in Earth’s average temperature would lead to more pow-erful typhoons and increased rainfall.

Each nation must face this serious

reality and step up countermeasures.China, which is the world’s largest

emitter, set a goal of having its emissions peak by around 2030, before starting to decrease. It remains unclear precisely how much China will cut its emissions.

India and other developing nations also have not specified their emis-sion reduction targets. This is because they do not want to inhibit economic growth.

The Paris Agreement stipulates that developing countries vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change should be given support in areas such as agriculture and improving urban infrastructure.

Advanced nations must work together and set an example of how reducing carbon dioxide emissions can go hand-in-hand with economic development.

Japan is conducting projects that help cut carbon dioxide emissions, for example by establishing power generation systems that use solar power and heat from waste incin-eration in countries including Palau and Vietnam.

It is crucial for Japan to contribute to reducing the world’s overall emis-sions through the use of its existing technology and the development of technological innovations.

Qatar’s critics very often turned a blind to the way the country was taking care of its workforce by ensuring better health, living conditions and security.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFIeditorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMEDm.salim@pen.com.qa

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

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIALApplause for labour reforms

The labour law reforms in Qatar yet again have drawn praise from countries across the world. Representa-tives from several countries participating in the 337th

session of the Governing body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva recently, applauded Qatar for making great strides in ensuring the welfare of the thou-sands of expatriate workers in the country, which include making them aware of their rights and even giving them training in information technology-related fields and digital communication.

Qatar’s delegation to the session was led by Minister of Administrative Development Labour and Social Affairs H E Yousuf Mohamed Al Othman Fakhroo. Representatives of the governments of the participating countries, including from the European Union, the USA, Switzerland, Canada and representatives of the trade unions praised the achieve-ments made by Qatar, stressing that Qatar is a model for the region in light of the significant development in labour laws.

This is not the first time that Qatar is being hailed for its labour market reforms. In October, the ILO said in a statement that the organisation welcomed the latest and groundbreaking

reforms, which it said recognise the commitment of the State of Qatar to transform its labour market. The decision to abolish the Kafala system and the move to fix minimum wage for workers will greatly support the rights of migrant workers, while contrib-uting to a more efficient and pro-ductive economy, it said. ILO Director General Guy Ryder said: “I am pleased that the ongoing ILO technical cooperation pro-gramme in Qatar is tangibly con-tributing to the government’s effort to advance social justice and promote decent work in the country.”He was speaking about the

unanimous decision that the State Cabinet of Qatar took on October 16, 2019, to endorse new legislation allowing workers to change employers freely. This legislation abolished the need for workers to get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from their employer in order to change sponsorship. A Ministerial Decree by the Minister of Interior was also signed, removing the exit permit requirements for all workers, except military personnel.

This decision was the last nail on the coffin of Qatar’s critics who never lost an opportunity to paint a distorted picture of Qatar criticising its treatment of expatriate workers. They very often turned a blind to the way the country was taking care of its workforce by ensuring better health, living conditions and security. Qatar treats its expatriates as the country’s guests and leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the well-being of them. A single visit to any labour camp in Qatar will be a real eye-opener for anyone, where one can get familiar with facilities provided for the workers, such as accommodation with all modern amenities, access to medical facilities, ample entertainment opportunities and even computers. Qatar is already a model for others when it comes to the welfare of its workforce.

Protesters rally against islamophobia in Paris.

The Speaker, who is meant to remain impartial, not only controls debate and decides who can speak; he will play the crucial role of deciding which amendments to bills or motions can be debated and voted on.

09FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019 OPINION

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Tips for managing aninternational team

John Bercow is gone, but his noise will echo for years

ALINA GOMOTIRCEANU

THERESE RAPHAEL BLOOMBERG

Having employees from dif-ferent cultures is a fantastic way to bring different strengths to your team.

Here’s how to maximise their potential

The demand for flexible work-space in Qatar continues to increase; thanks to new policies and legalisa-tions issued by the Qatari gov-

ernment; which open the door for multi-diversified investments. The co-working spaces sector has been attracting many people from dif-ferent nationalities working in the country.

If you manage a team made of up people from many cultures, you’ll know the competitive advantage that comes from having an array of lan-guages, characteristics, knowledge, ideas and working styles in your arsenal.

And, thanks to flexible working becoming the new normal, it’s becoming possible for employers to hire talent from different corners of the world.

At the same time, to really get the most out of this special dynamic, a cross-cultural man-agement style is needed – particu-larly if members of your team are based in different time zones. Here are some tips for formidable inter-national teamwork.

Champion multiculturalismEmphasising that multiculturalism

is a key part of your team’s identity when interviewing candidates, and including it in your mission statement or branding, sets the tone for tol-erance and attracts those who are willing to embrace the many benefits of a working with a diverse team of people.

Understand team members’ dif-ferent cultural norms

While it’s important to judge employees as individuals rather than products of their culture, it’s still worth considering the various approaches to business etiquette and social interactions may differ. How these will play out in the overall group dynamic? Where is there a potential for misinterpretation? Where are the chances to play to different strengths? Differences in humour, digital eti-quette (such as the tone used in emails), the amount of small talk, or different levels of openness, all play into the way team members interpret the behaviour of others and what they bring to the group.

Where possible, it’s worth holding a team-building session where employees can each describe their preferred working style, referring to their cultural traits when they feel it’s relevant.

Managing the distanceIf team members are based across

various countries, continents and time zones, it can be challenging, as there’s often not as much room for manoeuvre when it comes to sched-uling group calls.

The plus side of this is that it encourages you to create more structure and have a clear agenda for each meeting – which can sometimes get lost when you have the option to spontaneously huddle in the same physical space.

It’s important to identify regular windows of time that are convenient for all parties to hold virtual meetings in – and sticking to these is essential. And keep things fair – if a team member in Australia keeps having to jump on a late-night call, make sure the European team returns the favour, and takes its turn to speak at a con-venient time for the Australia-based employee, too.

Tackle tech frustrationsThe sophistication of video con-

ferencing software makes it easier than ever to run a business with staff in different locations – and the con-sistent rise of global flexible working culture will only continue to create

demand for it to keep improving. At the same time, in the same way you would set up a physical meeting room, time is needed to avoid the frustrations of chaotic virtual meetings (dodgy Wi-Fi, people not knowing the conference code, people turning up late while everyone else waits).

Hold meetings with a single common language

During a meeting, if two or more people start speaking to each other in a language another team member doesn’t understand, it’s extremely frustrating, and can lead to feelings of exclusion. Even if what was said is translated afterwards, there’s a sense of being the last to know information or missing a chance to bond over a joke.

Make it a rule that employees are free to use whichever language they choose during personal time and lunch breaks, for example, but during meetings, everyone must stick to an agreed common language. At the same time, if your team’s common language is English, but most staff speak Arabic as their first language, arranging for the other team members to have access to Arabic language lessons is a fantastic idea for boosting your team’s connection.

Regus has been present in the Qatari market for more than 12 years years, providing Qatari companies, entrepreneurs and SMEs with unique co-working flexible workspaces that enable them to set up, expand and develop their business.

Regus has 9 centers and offices in key locations in Doha such as West Bay, Bank Street, Pearl, Shoumoukh Towers and others.

Business centres concept is the most cost effective option to start up a business. With reduced cost & flexi-bility, excellent IT infrastructure, fully licensed offices and 9 different loca-tions to choose from, Regus Qatar is the most suitable option for com-panies to start up with an interna-tional trusted provider.

The author is County Manager for Regus in Qatar.

Britain’s House of Commons elected a new Speaker on Monday. The fact that this is even news outside a small

Westminster bubble reflects the enormous attention courted by the previous holder of the post, John Bercow. He was undoubtedly a his-toric figure, and a controversial one.

The attention on Speaker-elect Lindsay Hoyle, however, also reflects the importance of the position as the Brexit drama continues to unfold. Two of the last three United Kingdom par-liaments have not had a single party in control. There will be more decisive Brexit votes after December’s general election.

The Speaker, who is meant to remain impartial, not only controls debate and decides who can speak; he will play the crucial role of deciding which amendments to bills or motions can be debated and voted on.

Bercow was no typical Speaker. There were verbal flourishes, put-downs of disorderly lawmakers and,

of course, the way he barked “Or-derr!” at members of Parliament. Such is his international celebrity that his speaking diary will probably fill up years in advance.

He was entertaining and certainly maintained that precious order. But almost all of the seven MPs who ran to replace him offered thinly veiled attacks on his methods and manner. One candidate, Conservative law-maker Edward Leigh, said the Speaker should be “a quiet voice” and “submerge their character in the job.” Eleanor Laing, another Tory, spoke about combating bullying (a reference to allegations of mis-treatment in the Commons, including against Bercow). The Labour MP Chris Bryant, a finalist, said he would be a “Speaker who stands by the rules, who is completely impartial and who knows Erskine May [the parliamentary rulebook] back to front.”

Hoyle, a Labour MP from Lanca-shire, was a well-regarded Deputy

Speaker and was in the Speaker’s chair during the 2017 terrorist attack in Westminster.

Unlike the remainer Bercow he has not said how he voted in the 2016 Brexit referendum, which is probably a good thing. His job will be to unpick his predecessor’s legacy, continuing his positive innovations while doing a fair amount of damage limitation.

The charges levied against Bercow were far more serious than simply liking the sound of his own voice too much. There were those persistent allegations of bullying, which Bercow denied. They might have cost him his job but the Brexit debate was para-mount, and most MPs were unwilling to take their chances on a new Speaker.

The biggest criticism of Bercow was that he wasn’t impartial, as the rules require; that he was a Remain voter who tilted the field for his pre-ferred side. Bercow always rejected that charge and defended his deci-sions as being pro-Parliament, not anti-Brexit.

When a Conservative MP noted that Bercow’s car displayed an anti-Brexit sticker on it, he shot back in typically robust fashion that the sticker and car belonged to his wife. “I’m sure the honorable gentleman wouldn’t suggest for one moment that a wife be somehow the property or chattel of her husband. She is entitled to her views. That sticker is not mine and that’s the end of it.”

Bercow unabashedly owned up to allowing “procedural creativity” in his Brexit decisions, but insisted this was to prevent a runaway executive without a majority from undermining Parliament.

It was the Conservative Party’s lack of a majority after the 2017 general election that elevated the Speaker’s role to a far more conse-quential one and Bercow wasn’t one to shrink from that.

He broke with Commons con-vention several times in a way that frustrated the government and changed the course of Brexit. Most recently, he allowed lawmakers to seize control of the parliamentary agenda, which led to the Benn Act

The demand for flexible workspace in Qatar continues to increase; thanks to new policies and legalisations issued by the Qatari government; which open the door for multi-diversified investments. The co-working spaces sector has been attracting many people from different nationalities working in the country.

forcing the prime minister Boris Johnson to ask the European Union for the three month extension to the October 31 Brexit deadline.

There are aspects of Bercow’s legacy that Hoyle will want to build on. He was a strong ambassador for the Commons, explaining the rules, and making its arcane proceedings more accessible. He also made the place more efficient and introduced some modernizations such as replacing a shooting gallery with a crèche.

He ensured that far more policy matters were debated on the floor, that ministers answered more questions and that backbench MPs - those not in government or shadow government - got their say. Michael Martin, Bercow’s prede-cessor, allowed only two “urgent questions” in his last parliamentary term; Bercow granted 177 in his first five years in the role, according to the Institute for Government.

Hoyle cuts a very different figure to Bercow, certainly a humbler one. He will probably hew closer to pre-Bercow convention in his interpretation of the rules.

But given the important votes on Brexit to come, whether over Johnson’s deal or future trade talks, his role will be no less important.

Still, the Bercow era is over. The Speaker isn’t meant to grab your attention, let alone monopolise it. If you don’t hear much about Lindsay Hoyle, he’s probably doing his job well.

The author writes editorials on European politics and economics for Bloomberg opinion.

John Bercow speaking at the House of Commons in London.

10 FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019ASIA

In joint case with US, China jails 9 fentanyl smugglersAFP XINGTAI, CHINA

China yesterday jailed nine people for selling fentanyl to Americans, the result of a landmark joint probe, and pledged further co-operation following President Donald Trump’s fury at Beijing’s perceived inaction against Chinese suppliers fuelling the deadly US opioid crisis.

Despite Trump’s criticism earlier this year that Beijing had reneged on its promise to crack down on the production of the drug, China said it was “willing to conduct sincere and concrete anti-drug cooperation” with the US to tackle fentanyl trafficking.

The sentencing also came as the global powers are seeking to finalise a trade deal following more than a year of bruising negotiations, with the flood of Chinese fentanyl one of the sticking points.

US authorities say the syn-thetic opioid — which can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin — causes more than 100 deaths a day in the United States.

The court in northern Hebei province described the case as the first successful joint US-Chinese probe related to fentanyl smuggling, and US officials also

hailed the verdict. “As the success of the joint investigation dem-onstrates, Chinese and American investigators have the capacity to collaborate across interna-tional borders,” Austin Moore, an attache for the US Homeland Security Department in China, said at a press conference with Chinese officials following the sentencing.

An official Chinese statement issued after the sentencing hailed the case as an “excellent model for the joint tackling of fentanyl-related crimes by Chinese and US drug enforcement depart-ments.” China’s narcotics bureau discovered in 2017 a criminal ring based in Shanghai and eastern Jiangsu province and seized 11.9 kilogrammes of

fentanyl, acting on a tip-off from US border authorities, according to the court.

Of the nine people jailed in Hebei, one was given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve, which generally means a life term. Two others received life terms for trafficking fentanyl and alprazolam — the hugely popular prescription anxiety

drug branded as Xanax.The nine defendants were

brought in surrounded by guards and stood facing court officials to hear their sentences read.

The three defendants with the toughest sentences were “lured by high profit and huge demand” from US buyers, the Xingtai Intermediate People’s Court said.

In November 2016, two of the defendants began advertising drugs through the internet using companies they had registered for pharmaceutical sales opera-tions, the court said in a statement. In 2017 two other defendants — including Liu Yong, who was given the sus-pended death sentence — set up a processing lab where they ille-gally processed fentanyl and sold it to these companies to smuggle to the US.

People charged with smuggling fentanyl to the US are seen during a court sentencing in Xingtai, Hebei province, China, yesterday.

Cambodian opposition leader stopped from returning homeAP PARIS

Cambodia’s most prominent opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, was stopped from boarding a flight in Paris yesterday in his attempt to return home to chal-lenge his country’s longtime autocratic leader, but he assured his followers he will go ahead with his plan.

He and fellow leaders of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party had vowed to enter Cambodia from Thailand tomorrow (Saturday) to spark a popular movement to oust Prime Minister Hun Sen from power.

Sam Rainsy tried to take a Thai Airways flight from Paris, where he lives in exile, to Bangkok, but said Thailand’s flag carrier told him “they had received from very high up the instruction to not allow me to board.” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Wednesday that Sam Rainsy

would not be allowed to enter Thailand because members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations like Thailand and Cambodia have a policy of not interfering in the affairs of neigh-bouring countries.

Hun Sen had declared that Sam Rainsy and his colleagues would be blocked from entering Cambodia and had informed neighbouring countries that they were unwelcome.

Malaysia also has hindered the free movement of Cam-bodian opposition politicians, stopping two party members from flying to Thailand and tem-porarily detaining Cambodia National Rescue Party Vice Pres-ident Mu Sochua when she arrived late Wednesday night. Thailand had already kicked her out on arrival last month.

Malaysia released Mu Sochua and the two other activists on Thursday in a surprise U-turn. The move was unexpected because Prime Minister Mahathir

Mohamad earlier said Malaysia doesn’t want to be used as a base for political activists or interfere in the affairs of other countries.

Malaysian Human Rights Commission member Jerald Joseph said the three will be allowed to remain in the country but couldn’t provide further details. The commission was involved in appeals for their release.

A member of ASEAN Parlia-mentarians for Human Rights, Teddy Baguilat, welcomed their release and urged Thailand to follow Malaysia’s example by allowing Sam Rainsy to enter.

“Hun Sen should get the message loud and clear that his persecution of the political oppo-sition will not be exported wherever he wishes it to be,” Baguilat said in a statement. He also urged Cambodia to release dozens of activists held on trumped-up political charges and allow legitimate dissent.

An angry Sam Rainsy told

reporters at Charles De Gaulle Airport that he wouldn’t be cowed and said he plans to return via another neighboring country. “Never, never will I abandon. We need to continue, the days of Hun Sen are num-bered. Democracy will be rein-stalled in the near future. It’s our conviction and our determi-nation,” he said.

Earlier before heading to the

airport, Rainsy said Hun Sen is going all out to block their return because he is “very afraid.”

“I think this is the most favo-rable circumstances because the Cambodian people really want a change,” he said. He said his party has to lead “this fight for freedom and I’m sure that there are many friends all over the world who will help us in our rightful battle.”

Cambodia’s self-exiled opposition party founder Sam Rainsy talks to supporters after being prevented from checking-in for a flight from Paris to Bangkok at Roissy Airport in Paris, yesterday.

Philippine coast guard personnel rescuing passengers of a capsized ferry off Sibunga Cebu in the central Philippines, yesterday.

Dozens rescued after Philippine ferry capsizesAFP MANILA

Philippine authorities rescued dozens of people yesterday after a ferry sank in rough seas, but search teams were still working to confirm all aboard were accounted for, the coast guard said.

Rescuers plucked 59 people from waters off the central island of Cebu, while another three swam to shore after the vessel took on water and capsized.

The manifest showed 60 crew and passengers aboard, the coast guard said, however it is not clear if the list was complete.

Manifests in the Philippines are often not a full accounting because passengers may stow away or captains can exceed the official capacity of their vessel.

“Rescue operations are ongoing. We cannot stop until we are satisfied that everyone is safe and has been accounted for,” coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Michael Encina said.

“The boat has sunk. We haven’t been able to find it,” he added. The vessel, Siargao Princess, was plying a route near

Cebu when its crew radioed for help, saying the boat was in trouble.

Millions in the Philippines rely on rickety ferries for cheap transport between islands.

North Korea slams Japan PM over missile criticismAFP SEOUL

North Korea slammed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as an “idiot and villain” yesterday and warned he will never set foot in Pyongyang after he condemned the North’s latest weapons test.

Pyongyang last week tested what it called “super-large mul-tiple rocket launchers” but Japan said they were likely bal-listic missiles that violated UN sanctions, sparking a colourful personal diatribe against Abe.

“Abe, prime minister of Japan, is an idiot and villain,” said Song Il Ho, ambassador of the North’s foreign ministry, in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

The Japanese prime min-ister was “a deformed child” and “an underwit”, Song said, accusing Abe of being unable to tell the difference between multiple rocket launchers and missiles.

Japan, which is one of the most hawkish of the major powers on the nuclear-armed North, has relentlessly pursued a summit with its leader Kim Jong Un over the fate of a handful of Japanese abductees in North Korea.

But the statement said: “Abe would be well-advised not to dream forever of crossing the threshold of Pyongyang.” North Korea, whose state media exco-riates Japan on a near-daily basis for its wartime aggression, has shown little interest in engagement with Tokyo. Kim has met with US President Donald Trump, China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in in recent years.

The North has a long history of colourful personal attacks against foreign leaders.

Two N Koreans deported from S Korea after murder of 16AFP SEOUL

South Korea said yesterday it expelled two North Korean men after learning they murdered 16 crew members on their fishing boat before fleeing to the South.

The pair, both in their 20s, were questioned by South Korean authorities after being found on Saturday near the maritime border in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

But the investigation con-cluded that the men had killed 16 fellow fishermen on their boat and then fled to South Korea, Seoul’s unification min-istry said.

The two men were deported to the North via the truce village of Panmunjom on Thursday after informing Pyongyang of the plan, ministry spokesman Lee Sang-min told reporters.

“If they had been incorpo-rated into our society, it was judged they would pose a threat to the lives and safety of the people,” Lee said.

Details of the killing or the boat’s whereabouts were not provided.

More than 30,000 North Koreans have escaped from the reclusive state to the South since the two were separated by war more than 65 years ago, according to government data — many driven by prolonged economic hardship.

The defectors are interro-gated by South Korean intelli-gence authorities upon arrival and spend about three months in a government-run facility for re-education before they are discharged into society.

HK court convicts teen for carrying laser pointerAP HONG KONG

A Hong Kong court ruling yesterday that a laser pointer carried by a teenager was an offensive weapon marked a tougher stance by the judiciary after months of anti-government protests in the semi-auton-omous Chinese territory, with a lawmaker warning it could lead to more prosecutions of demon-strators.

Local broadcaster RTHK said a court found a 16-year-old male student guilty of possessing the laser pointer and a modified umbrella — deemed to be offensive weapons. The items were found in his bag, along with a helmet and other pro-tective gear used by protesters, when he was detained on Sep-tember 21 near the site of a planned rally for democracy reforms.

It said the court ruled the youth had intended to use the laser pointer to cause harm to police by shining it in their eyes. He is to remain in custody until sentencing on November 25.

While there has been con-troversy in the past over the use of laser pointers, legislator

James To said the court’s ruling was the first to designate the tool as a weapon since protests broke out in June. It reflected a harder position by courts, who have been accused by pro-Beijing supporters of being too lenient with protesters.

To, who is also a lawyer, said evidence was weak as the youth was merely carrying the laser pointer in his bag and didn’t use it. “I do not think this is a fair conviction and it may lead to police abuse in prosecution of possession of laser pointers without good evidence of the intention of hurting people,” he said. “This case can also create a precedent of more people being prosecuted for carrying ordinary objects like laser pointers and umbrellas.”

The offense carries a jail term of up to three years, but To said the court can impose a lighter sentence, such as placing him on probation or community service, since he is a juvenile.

The court ruling came a day after Chinese Vice Premier Han Zhen said restoring order in Hong Kong is the responsibility of all three branches of gov-ernment including the judiciary.

Acting on a tip-off from US border authorities, China’s narcotics bureau had discovered in 2017 a criminal ring based in Shanghai and eastern Jiangsu province and seized 11.9 kg of fentanyl.

11FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019 EUROPE

Macron says NATO experiencing ‘brain death’ AFP PARIS

French President Emmanuel Macron said he believed NATO was undergoing “brain death,” lamenting a lack of coordination between Europe and the United States and unilateral action in Syria by key member Turkey, in an interview published yesterday.

“What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO,” Macron told The Economist magazine.

The president’s explosive comments, appearing to question the very future of NATO, threatened to send shock waves through the alliance ahead of a summit in Britain next month.

“You have no coordination whatsoever of strategic decision-making between the United States and its NATO allies. None,” said Macron.

“You have an uncoordinated aggressive action by another NATO ally, Turkey, in an area where our interests are at stake,” he added, according to an English transcript released by The Economist.

Turkey’s latest military oper-ation against Kurdish forces in northern Syria was staunchly opposed by fellow members like France, but made possible by a withdrawal of US forces ordered by President Donald Trump.

“There has been no NATO planning, nor any coordination,” Macron said.

And while NATO works well in communicating between armies and commanding oper-ations, “strategically and politi-cally, we need to recognise that we have a problem,” he said.

“We should reassess the reality of what NATO is in light of the commitment of the United States,” he warned, adding that “In my opinion, Europe has the capacity to defend itself.” Macron said that while “it’s not in our interest” to expel Turkey from NATO — as has been urged by some politicians — members states should “reconsider what NATO is.”

And he emphasised it was crucial to seek a rapprochement with Moscow, which regards NATO and its expansion into ex-Communist bloc states with huge suspicion since the alliance was set up to counter the USSR.

“We need to reopen a

strategic dialogue, without being naive and which will take time, with Russia,” said Macron, who is seeking to broker an end to the conflict in Ukraine and has courted President Vladimir Putin as a partner.

He said NATO did not reex-amine its future in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and “the unarticu-lated assumption is that the enemy is still Russia.” “So, the question about the present purpose of NATO is a real question that needs to be asked”, especially by the United States where Trump sees the alliance as a “commercial project”, he said.

And Macron said he believed that Putin, for all the anti-Western bombast from the Kremlin, would find his strategic options limited, in the long term, to “a partnership project with Europe.” “If we want to build peace in Europe, to rebuild European strategic autonomy, we need to reconsider our position with Russia,” said Macron.

He praised the stance on the issue of Hungarian Prime Min-ister Viktor Orban — criticised by many in Europe for being authoritarian and close to the Kremlin.

“He’s quite close to our views and has a key intellectual and political role” in central Europe, said Macron.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a joint press conference following their meeting in Berlin, Germany, yesterday.

Merkel rejects Macron’s ‘sweeping’ NATO judgementAFP / BERLIN

German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s view that NATO was experiencing “brain death”, saying there was no need for such “sweeping judgements”.

Macron “used drastic words, that is not my view of cooper-ation in NATO,” said Merkel after

talks with visiting chief of the transatlantic defence alliance Jens Stoltenberg.

“I don’t think that such sweeping judgements are nec-essary, even if we have problems and need to pull together,” she added. Stoltenberg meanwhile stressed that “NATO is strong”, adding that the US and Europe were working “more together than we have done for decades”.

UK’s Labour hit by internal strife at campaign startAFP LONDON

Britain’s main opposition Labour Party is facing internal strife as it tries to unseat UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson: anti-Semitism and Brexit.

Labour is hoping to regain power for the first time in nearly a decade when voters go to the polls on December 12 to help settle the crisis caused by Brit-ain’s delayed divorce from the EU.

It was looking like an uphill slog from the start: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has some of the worst approval ratings of any leader of the opposition on record and his century-old party is badly behind in the polls.

Yet he almost performed a come-from-behind miracle in the last general election in 2017.

The veteran socialist is a renowned campaigner who seems to stir to life during election season. He will now need to recover from another

tough start. His deputy Tom Watson — a champion of party centrists who oppose Brexit — announced he was stepping down on Wednesday. Watson

said in a letter to Corbyn that his decision was “personal, not political”. Things took an uglier turn yesterday when former Labour minister Ian Austin told his local newspaper that Corbyn was “not fit to lead”.

“The Labour Party has been poisoned by racism, extremism and intolerance under Corbyn’s leadership,” Austin told the Express and Star.

Several prominent Labour members have quit in the past year over the party’s seeming refusal to crack down on racism within its ranks.

Yet Labour is not the only major party dealing with internal strife. Johnson took his Conserv-atives further to the right by adopting a tough Brexit stance that could still potentially see Britain leave the EU without a negotiated deal in the coming year.

Britain’s main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (centre) poses for photographs as he unveils the party’s general election campaign ‘Battle Bus’ in Liverpool, England, yesterday.

Russian servicemen dressed in historical uniforms march during a military parade in Moscow, yesterday, as part of the ceremonies marking the 78th anniversary of the 1941 historical parade.

Russia re-enacts legendary World War II parade in MoscowAP MOSCOW

Russian troops clad in World War II-era uniforms marched yesterday across Moscow’s Red Square in a reconstruction of a legendary wartime parade.

The November 7, 1941, parade saw Red Army soldiers move directly to the front line in the Battle of Moscow, becoming a symbol of Soviet valour and tenacity in the face of over-whelming odds.

The Nazi forces approached Moscow in October 1941 as the Red Army suffered a series of devastating defeats after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.

They came as close as 30km (less than 19 miles) to the city in some areas and Nazi officers

were able to see Moscow’s land-marks in binoculars.

As Moscow’s fate was hanging in the balance, Soviet leader Josef Stalin ordered the parade to boost morale of the city’s defenders.

The Soviet command even-tually managed to bring in fresh troops from the country’s east and launch a counteroffensive that drove the Nazis back. It was the Nazis’ first major defeat since the start of World War II.

Thursday’s re-enactment fea-tured about 4,000 troops, vintage T-34 tanks and other vehicles.

During Soviet times, annual military parades were held on Nov. 7 to mark the anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

The holiday was abolished in 2005, but communist party members still celebrate it.

All 39 victims found dead in UK truck confirmed as VietnameseAFP LONDON

All 39 bodies found in a refrig-erated truck outside London last month have now been identified as citizens of Vietnam, officials said yesterday.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security said it was now working to repatriate the 31 men and eight

women discovered dead in the back of the truck on October 23. The tragic case has exposed the deadly risks of migration to Europe, with Vietnamese nationals among the many who try to reach the continent illicitly on dangerous journeys.

In a letter to the victims’ fam-ilies, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the

tragedy had caused them and Vietnamese people around the world “endless pain”.

He vowed his government would work with British officials “to soon bring the victims back to the homeland, their families and their loved ones”.

Essex Police, the local force investigating the gruesome dis-covery, confirmed a coroner had

now formally identified all the victims and their families had been informed.

“This is an important step in the investigation and enables us to work with our Vietnamese police colleagues to support the families of those victims,” Assistant Chief Constable Tim Smith said. The bodies were found in the early hours of October 23

on a truck that had just entered Britain on a ferry from Belgium.

Essex Police had initially said the victims were believed to be Chinese nationals, until several Vietnamese families came forward to say they feared their relatives were on board.

Several families of the sus-pected victims said their relatives were seeking better lives abroad.

Toll from Spain migrant boat sinking climbs to nineAFP MADRID

The bodies of four migrants were found off the coast of Spain’s holiday island of Lanzarote yesterday, bringing to nine the number confirmed dead when their boat capsized, local officials said.

Rescuers managed to save four migrants, while the bodies of five others were recovered, on Wednesday when the boat hit rocks in rough weather and sank as it tried to reach the island.

“According to the survivors, 15 people were on board the boat and emergency services continue to search the area,” a spokesman for the local gov-ernment of Lanzarote said.

Two helicopters and several boats were taking part in the search, which was hampered by stormy seas, with waves of four to five metres (16 feet), said Isidoro Blanco, the spokesman for emergency services on the island, one of Spain’s Canary Islands.

About 100km of Atlantic Ocean separate the Spanish archipelago from the coast of Morocco.

Anti-Brexit alliance targets 10% seats in UKAFP/LONDON

Three small parties opposed to Britain’s looming EU exit revealed plans yesterday to work together to deliver anti-Brexit candidates in next month’s election.

The Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru will stand aside for each other in 60 of the 650 seats contested on December 12.

“This arrangement will help elect more pro-Remain MPs in the next parliament,” said Jo Swinson, leader of the Lib Dems, who have pledged to reverse Brexit.

The Lib Dems will stand in 43 seats, the Greens in 10 and Plaid in seven.

Police clear hundreds of migrants from Paris campsAFP PARIS

French police evacuated over 1,600 migrants from two camps in northern Paris yesterday, one of the biggest such operations in the city in years, a day after the government unveiled tough new measures to a “take back control” of immigration.

Around 600 police officers escorted the migrants from tents where coaches trans-ported them to reception centres, in an operation that began under steady rain at around 6:00 am (0500 GMT).

Police said they evacuated a total of 1,606 migrants from two camps near the Porte de la Chapelle, sheltered under part of the ring road round that sur-rounds the capital.

Many of the occupants, which included families with children, said they were from Afghanistan or sub-Saharan Africa. “I cannot allow a dan-gerous situation like this... all this cannot remain,” Paris police chief Didier Lallement told reporters at the scene.

He said the operation, one of the largest in Paris since camps regularly began springing up in 2015, “was decided in the framework of the implementation of the (gov-ernment) plan, it did not happen by chance.” The government of President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to crack down on immigration, a move widely seen as an attempt to keep rightwing parties from siphoning off voters ahead of municipal elections next year.

“We want to take back control of our migration policy,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told a press conference on Wednesday, unveiling a series of measures which he said aimed to strengthen France’s “sovereignty”.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner had warned on Wednesday that the several camps housing up to 3,000 migrants in northeastern Paris would be evacuated “before the end of the year.” Castaner also said that 16,000 places would be made available in three new migrant centres.

“You have no coordination whatsoever of strategic decision-making between the United States and its NATO allies. None,” said the French President.

12 FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019AMERICAS

Brazil votes against UN call for end to US embargo on CubaREUTERS UNITED NATIONS

Brazil voted for the first time with the United States yesterday against an annual United Nations resolution condemning and calling for an end to Washing-ton’s economic embargo on Communist-ruled Cuba, while Colombia and Ukraine abstained.

The 193-member General Assembly still overwhelmingly adopted the resolution for the 28th year with 187 votes in favor. US ally Israel also voted no and Moldova did not vote. The UN vote can carry political weight, but only the US Congress can lift the more than 50-year-old embargo.

The policy shift by Brazil rep-resents the latest attempt by President Jair Bolsonaro to draw closer to US President Donald Trump since taking office in January but runs against the interest of some major Brazilian firms.

Brazil’s Souza Cruz Ltda, owned by British American Tobacco PLC has a joint venture in Havana that makes most of the cigarettes in Cuba.

Traditionally, Brazil has objected to how the US applied its domestic politics to foreign policy, punishing companies from countries that trade or invest in Cuba.

Colombia’s abstention follows a chill in its relations with Cuba. Cuba once hosted peace talks between Colombia and its National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group, but Havana’s refusal to extradite three guerrilla com-manders after negotiations broke down has led to repeated crit-icism from the government of President Ivan Duque.

Colombia abstained from the vote because of Cuba’s “hostile attitude” toward its extradition requests for the “confessed

terrorists” and its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The United States consist-ently voted against the UN res-olutions for 24 years but abstained for the first time in 2016 under former President Barack Obama. “The United States is not responsible for the Cuban regime’s endless abuses of its people,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft told the General Assembly ahead of the vote.

“It is our first responsibility as leaders to defend those without a voice, today most especially the people of Cuba. Shame be upon us if we refuse

to raise our voices in defense of theirs,” Craft said.

Last year the United States proposed eight amendments to the resolution to push Cuba to improve its human rights record, but all of the proposals failed.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez rejected US criticism of Cuba’s human rights record, accusing Washington of manipu-lating “human rights for political purposes and we reject double standards.” “The US government does not have the slightest moral authority to criticize Cuba or any other country when it comes to human rights,” he told the UN General Assembly, citing an opioid crisis, gun violence, poverty and unemployment in the US.

Death toll from Bolivia protests rises to threeAFP LA PAZ

A student was killed in Bolivian protests on Wednesday amid increasing pressure on President Evo Morales to resign over oppo-sition claims that he rigged his recent re-election.

The 20 year-old student died of injuries sustained in clashes between pro- and anti-gov-ernment demonstrators in the central city of Cochabamba, a doctor at the local hospital said. Some 20 other people were wounded in the fighting, some seriously, Ombudsman Nadia Cruz said.

The fatality brings to three the death toll in clashes following the controversial October 20 election that saw Morales, 60, win re-election in a first round of voting — but only after a pause and an abrupt shift in the vote count in his favor, which his opponents have branded as fraudulent.

Morales, first elected pres-ident in 2006, is seeking to remain in power until 2025 after he took legal action to get around constitutional term limits.

He tweeted “deep regret” over the death on Wednesday, and described the student as “an innocent victim of violence pro-moted by political groups that encourage racial hatred among Bolivian brothers.”

Meanwhile Luis Fernando Camacho, an opposition leader based in the Santa Cruz region, flew to La Paz where he was joined by ex-president Jorge Quiroga (2001-2002) and oppo-sition politician Gustavo Pedraza with plans to deliver a letter to the president demanding his resignation.

The powerful Catholic Church cautioned against such an open challenge to Morales’ authority. “Asking for the presi-dent’s resignation is a radical measure,” said Sucre Archbishop Jesus Juarez. The Cochabamba

clashes took place after members of farmers’ unions, mainly women, began an effort early in the day to clear opposition road-blocks that have stopped traffic for several days.

Rival groups fought pitched battles in the city with rocks and sticks. Some protesters launched firecrackers from homemade bazookas. The town hall in neighboring Vinto, a stronghold of Morales’ ruling MAS party, was

burned down. “Evo, friend, the people are with you!” supporters chanted before clashing with opponents, mainly students, in a city square.

Anti-Morales protests were also held on Wednesday in the cities of Santa Cruz, Sucre, Tarija and Potosi, shutting down state offices and companies.

Bolivia’s state oil company warned of likely fuel shortages because of the protests. “It is

impossible to supply service sta-tions,” it said in a statement.

Conservative opposition leader Camacho, 40, has called on military support to oust Morales from office.

Morales, speaking at a naval ceremony on Wednesday, insisted that the military must “serve the people” and support his government. The armed forces have so far stayed neutral in the electoral dispute.

Demonstrators rally against Bolivia’s President Evo Morales in Cochabamba, Bolivia, on Wednesday.

Chile’s Pinera to crack down on looters; 20 dead in protestsREUTERS SANTIAGO

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera announced a battery of measures yesrterday to tighten security and increase penalties for vandals as ongoing riots, looting and violence have left at least 20 dead over two weeks of protests.

Pinera said he would send bills to Chile’s congress to toughen penalties against looting, acts of violence or destruction committed during protests. The penalties would increase if the acts are carried out by hooded vandals trying to hide their identities.

He also unveiled plans to beef up intelligence activities amid the continuing protests, and to more than double police aerial surveillance.

“One of the principal responsibilities of the state is to ensure public order and security,” Pinera said in a tele-vised speech. He added that police and security forces in Chile had “total support” from his administration.

Chile’s worst unrest since the end of Augusto Pinochet’s 1973-1990 dictatorship has led to more than 7,000 arrests, and injuries to 1,659 protesters and 800 police officers.

Prosecutors are also inves-tigating more than 800 allega-tions of abuse by security forces during demonstrations that have often degenerated into riots. The unrest has grown less violent in recent days but has shown little signs of subsiding. On Wednesday evening, hooded vandals attacked several shops, cafes in one of Santiago’s more upscale neighborhoods.

The UN vote can carry political weight, but only the US Congress can lift the more than 50-year-old embargo.

13FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019 AMERICAS / CLASSIFIEDS

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ToThursday

Trump denies he wanted Barr to publicly clear himAP WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump wanted Attorney General William Barr to hold a press conference to declare he broke no laws during his July phone conversation with Ukraine’s president in which Trump pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democrats, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The president is angrily lashing out at the revelation, first reported by The Washington Post. He tweeted early yesterday that the claim “is totally untrue and just another FAKE NEWS story with anonymous sources that don’t exist.”

The president also continued to lash out at the press, declaring “The LameStream Media” to be the “Enemy of the People.”

Barr rebuffed the president’s request, which came in Sep-tember, around the time that the White House released a rough transcript of the July 25 call at the center of the House impeachment probe.

The person familiar with the matter said Trump has con-tinued to express irritation at Barr’s refusal to publicly speak out in his defense, though other officials later explained the department’s reasoning. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal

discussions.House Democrats are inves-

tigating Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to investigate political rivals as aid money was being withheld from the Eastern European country.

Trump insists he did nothing wrong.

“Just read the Transcript,” he wrote yesterday. “The Justice Department already ruled that the call was good.”

That appears to be a ref-erence to a statement from the Justice Department in Sep-tember announcing that the department’s Criminal Division “reviewed the official record of the call and determined, based on the facts and applicable law, that there was no campaign finance violation and that no f u r t h e r a c t i o n w a s warranted.”

Barr famously held a news conference ahead of the release of special counsel Robert Muel-ler’s report into Russian election meddling.

US Vice-President Mike Pence (third right) files candidacy papers for President Donald Trump to appear on the 2020 New Hampshire primary election ballot in New Hampshire, US, yesterday.

Pence files Trump’s paperwork for NH primaryAP CONCORD, US

US Vice-President Mike Pence yesterday added President Donald Trump’s name to Repub-lican primary ballot in New Hampshire, the state where he achieved his first victory of the 2016 campaign.

Accompanied by Republican Governor Chris Sununu, Pence signed the paperwork and paid the $1,000 filing fee at the sec-retary of state’s office while sup-porters chanted “four more years” in the hallway.

“In so many ways, the movement that has transformed our country, rebuilt our military, revived the American economy,

restored and strengthened the Constitutional foundation of our courts, has America standing tall in the world again, began here in the Republican primary in New Hampshire,” Pence said.

“I couldn’t be more honored, on behalf of the president of the United States, to have his name on the ballot.” While Trump won the 2016 New Hampshire GOP primary, he lost the state in the general election to Democrat Hillary Clinton. And Sununu was one of the few successful Repub-licans during the 2018 midterm elections, when Democrats won both of the state’s congressional seats and took control of both chambers of the state Legislature.

The Republican parties in several states have issued official endorsements of the president, and several states are canceling their GOP primaries altogether.

In New Hampshire, Trump is expected to face at least three challengers in New Hampshire: former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh. And state GOP bylaws require the party to remain neutral, though some Trump supporters considered trying to change the rules last year.

Pence declined to comment yesterday on whether primaries should be canceled.

Pence aide testifies in Trump impeachment inquiryREUTERS WASHINGTON

US congressional committees conducting an impeachment probe of President Donald Trump met yesterday for the first time with an adviser to Vice-President Mike Pence, but former national security adviser John Bolton failed to heed a request to appear.

Jennifer Williams, a career foreign service officer and special adviser to Pence for Europe and Russia, was testifying in a closed-door hearing in front of members of the House of

Representatives, Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight com-mittees after receiving a sub-poena to compel her testimony.

Lawmakers are seeking to find out how much Pence knew about efforts by Trump and those around him to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice Pres-ident Joe Biden and his son Hunter, as well as foreign inter-ference in the 2016 US election.

Bolton, who was fired by Trump in September, was also called to appear on Thursday but did not show, and his attorney said he would not

testify voluntarily. A US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee official said that Bolton has threatened to take the committee to court if it sub-poenas him. A congressional source said the inquiry is unlikely to go down that route.

Bolton’s office and his attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

The Washington Post, citing people familiar with Bolton’s views, said although he is willing, he wants to see how a court battle between Congress and the White House over the constitu-tionality of the subpoenas shakes

out first. The battle is likely to go to the Supreme Court and could spill into next year.

Members of the committees conducting the inquiry have said they want to see if Bolton will corroborate previous witnesses’ testimony that he was alarmed at Trump asking a foreign gov-ernment to get involved in domestic politics.

The House’s investigation, which started with a complaint from a whistleblower, is focused on a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian Pres-ident Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Biden, a leading

Democratic rival in the November 2020 presidential election. Williams was one of a handful of US officials who lis-tened in on the call.

They are trying to determine whether Trump froze $391 million in US security assistance for Ukraine to put pressure on Zelenskiy to conduct the inves-tigation, misusing US foreign policy for his personal gain.

Trump’s defenders say there is no evidence of him and the Ukrainian president engaging in a “quid pro quo” because the aid to Ukraine was released and Zelenskiy never explicitly promised anything.

US blacklists 3 Nicaraguan govt officialsREUTERS WASHINGTON

The United States yesterday imposed sanctions on three Nicaraguan government offi-cials as it seeks to add pressure to the leftist government of President Daniel Ortega over what Washington views as its undermining of democratic institutions and the rule of law. The officials were targeted under an executive order that allows the US government to slap sanctions on members of the Nicaraguan government following a crackdown on anti-government protests.

The president lashed out at the revelation, tweeting that the claim “is totally untrue and just another FAKE NEWS story with anonymous sources that don’t exist”.

New York judge orders Trump to pay $2m over charitable foundationREUTERS NEW YORK

A New York state judge yesterday ordered US President Donald Trump to pay $2m for misusing his namesake chari-table foundation, resulting in funds being distributed to his 2016 presidential campaign.

Justice Saliann Scarpulla of the state Supreme Court in Manhattan said the payment should go to a group of non-profit organizations because the foundation, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, has been dissolved.

The White House was not immediately available for comment.

Trump’s foundation had the subject of a June 2018 lawsuit by the New York attorney general at the time, Barbara Underwood, against Trump and his adult children Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka.

Underwood filed suit after a 21-month probe that she said had uncovered “extensive unlawful political coordination” between the foundation and the campaign. The foundation agreed last December to dissolve.

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PAGE | 16 PAGE | 16

Toyota to buy back $1.8bn in

shares as profit tops estimates

Lufthansa to cut more costs as cabin crew strike over pay

15FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019

Razzaz has defended the IMF-backed reforms, saying Jordan can no longer afford a bloated public sector whose salaries eat up the $13bn budget while the economy groans under a record public debt of around $40bn. The reforms covers long-delayed structural reforms and will seek to gradually cut public debt now at 94 percent of GDP.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 76 cents to $62.50 a barrel by 1444 GMT after settling down $1.22 on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 92 cents to $57.27.

Oil rises above $62 on hopes for China and US trade dealREUTERS LONDON

Oil rose above $62 a barrel yes-terday after China hinted at progress towards a trade deal with the United States, raising hopes for an end to a long dispute that has weighed on economic growth and demand for fuel.

China and the United States have agreed in the past two weeks to cancel tariffs in dif-ferent phases, the Chinese com-merce ministry said yesterday without giving a timeline.

The trade dispute has prompted analysts to lower fore-casts for oil demand and raised concerns that a supply glut could develop in 2020. Oil fell on Wednesday, partly because of worries that a US-China trade deal might be delayed.

“Today we start with a dif-ferent set of headlines that they came to some agreement on the framework,” said Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix. “That is definitely what is supporting prices.”

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 76 cents to $62.50 a barrel by 1444 GMT after settling down $1.22 on Wednesday. West Texas Inter-mediate crude climbed 92 cents to $57.27.

Beijing’s comments boosted market sentiment, which had also been ruffled by Wednesday’s US government supply report showing crude inventories rose last week by 7.9 million barrels, much more than expected by analysts. Brent has rallied 15 percent in 2019, supported by a

deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Counties and allies such as Russia to limit supplies until March next year. The producers meet on December 5-6 in Vienna to review the policy.

Opec Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said this week he was more optimistic about the outlook for 2020 because of developments on trade disputes, appearing to downplay any need to cut output more deeply.

Still, doubts about a trade deal could resurface, analysts said. Reuters reported on Wednesday a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to sign the deal could be delayed to December, contributing to oil’s decline.

“Doubts are not yet turning into full-blown concerns,” said Craig Erlam, analyst at brokerage OANDA. “If a date isn’t set in stone soon though, that may come.”

QSE index gained 85.59 points last weekTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Stock Exchange’s (QSE) benchmark index gained 85.59 points, or 0.84 percent, last week when the bourse closed yesterday at 10,274.56 points.

Trading value during last week decreased by 14.94 percent to reach QR878.34m compared to QR1.03bn.

Trading volume increased by 30.55 percent to reach 433.73 million shares, as against 332.24 million shares, while the number of transactions fell by 0.67 percent, to reach 22,521 transac-tions as compared to 22,674 transactions.

Market cap rose by 0.91 percent to reach QR568.53bn as compared to QR563.42bn at the end of previous week, reports QNA.

Banking and Financial Services sector led traded value last week with 47.04 percent of the total traded value. Industries sector accounted for 15.91 percent. Consumer Goods and Services sector accounted for 14.69 percent and Real Estate sector accounted 8.81 percent.

Banking and Financial Services sector led traded volume last week with 38.58 percent of the total traded volume. Real Estate sector accounted for 19.57 percent. Industries sector accounted for 18.86 percent and Consumer Goods and Services sector accounted 12.89 percent.

When compared on daily basis, the QSE index dropped 10.82 points or 0.11 percent, compared to Wednesday’s closing.

FROM LEFT: The CFO of German industrial giant Siemens Ralf Thomas, CEO Joe Kaeser and the CEO of Siemens Energy Michael Sen, pose before the company’s annual results press conference in Munich, southern Germany.

Siemens meets 2019 goals but warns of ‘risks’ in 2020AFP BERLIN

German industrial behemoth Siemens yesterday reported a drop in annual net profits but said it had met its targets, and warned that geopolitical risks and a cooling economy would weigh on its performance in 2020.

The group, which makes products from wind turbines to trains and medical scanners, booked a net profit of €5.6bn ($6.2bn) in its 2018/2019 fiscal year, down nearly eight percent on the previous year.

The group mainly blamed accounting effects, noting that it had benefited last year from

selling its shares in IT services firm Atos and lightbulb maker Osram.

Operating profit climbed slightly to €8.9bn, thanks to a jump in large orders.

Revenues added 5.0 percent to hit €86.8bn.

“The weakening of the global economy accelerated clearly during fiscal 2019,” CEO Joe Kaeser said in a statement.

Nevertheless, “we fully achieved our fiscal-year guidance in all aspects”, he added. The company said it had seen an uptick in orders across most of its divisions, including an order for a large gas power plant in France and strong demand for its medical imagery

machines.Siemens’ factory automation

division, however, suffered a drop in demand in the final months of the year, as it felt the pinch from the global slowdown in the car and machine-building industries.

Looking ahead to its 2019/2020 fiscal year, Siemens said it expected “to again achieve moderate growth” in revenues despite a “subdued” global eco-nomic outlook.

Given the “risks particularly related to geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainties”, Siemens added that it was bracing for “a moderate decline” in market volume in the auto and factory equipment industry.

Global debt surges to record high $188trn: IMFAFP WASHINGTON

The global debt load has surged to a new all-time record equiv-alent to more than double the world’s economic output, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva (pic-tured)warned yesterday.

While private sector bor-rowing accounts for the vast majority of the total, the rise puts governments and individuals at risk if the economy slows, she said.

“Global debt, both public and private, has reached an all-time high of $188 trillion. This amounts to about 230 percent of world output,” Georgieva said in a speech to open a two-day con-ference on debt. That is up from the previous record of $164 trillion in 2016, according to IMF figures. While interest rates remain low, borrowers can use debt to make investments in pro-ductive activities or weather a bout of low commodity prices.

But it can become “a drag on growth,” she said.

“The bottom line is that high debt burdens have left many gov-ernments, companies, and households vulnerable to a sudden tightening of financial

conditions,” she cautioned.Corporate debt accounts for

about two thirds of the total but government borrowing has risen as well in the wake of the global financial crisis.

“Public debt in advanced economies is at levels not seen since the Second World War,” she warned. And “emerging market public debt is at levels last seen during the 1980s debt crisis.” She called for steps to ensure “borrowing is more sus-tainable,” including making lending practices more trans-parent and preparing for debt restructuring with “non-tradi-tional lenders”, an apparent ref-erence to China, which has become a major creditor to developing nations including in Africa.

Jordan moves to push IMF-led economic reformsREUTERS AMMAN

Jordan’s prime minister reshuffled much of his cabinet yesterday, appointing a former palace adviser as finance min-ister as he pursues efforts to slash the country’s debt under a tough economic reform programme.

The reshuffle was Omar al Razzaz’s fourth since taking office almost a year and a half ago. It affected 11 ministries in all but left other incumbents, notably the foreign affairs and interior ministers, unchanged.

As finance minister he brought in Mohammad Al Ississ (pictured), a Harvard-educated economist and former palace adviser, in place of Ezzedin Kanakriyah.

Al Ississ, who had been serving as planning minister, will lead a team overseeing the economic programme that Jordan agreed with the Interna-tional Monetary Fund in 2016 and has since been slow in implementing.

Razzaz has defended the IMF-backed reforms, saying Jordan can no longer afford a bloated public sector whose sal-aries eat up the $13bn budget while the economy groans

under a record public debt of around $40bn.

The reforms covers long-delayed structural reforms and will seek to gradually cut public debt now at 94 percent of GDP.

The IMF said earlier this year delays in implementing the reforms would undermine Jor-dan’s ability to push growth well beyond an average 2 percent - where it has been stuck for years - to reduce poverty and youth unemployment, which has risen to 19 percent.

Economists and analysts say low growth and insufficient job creation are the kingdom’s two main problems.

“There are mounting chal-lenges to boosting growth essential to reducing societal tensions and high unem-ployment. These challenges are

tough with no quick fixes in the short term,” said Ibrahim Saif, a former planning minister who heads Jordan Strategy Forum, a think-tank.

Al Ississ will also oversee completion of the 2020 budget, which officials expect will involve significant spending cuts alongside a stimulus package to

boost business confidence.Jordan’s cash-strapped state

finances have been brought under pressure in recent months by government moves to raise the salaries of teachers and army retirees even as state rev-enues dwindle.

Officials have said Jordan is expected to ask the IMF for more time to implement the reform programme, which last year triggered the biggest dem-onstrations in years when tax hikes pushed by the IMF came into effect.

The protests showed pushing the debt-burdened country to live beyond its means risked major instability, and the same worries are resurfacing if the IMF insists on more austerity measures in coming talks this month, officials privately say.

King Abdullah appointed Razzaz in the summer of 2018 with a brief to defuse the pro-tests, and the premier has sought to revive confidence in a country where many blame successive governments for failing to deliver on pledges to revive economic growth, cut waste and curb corruption.

The economy has also been hit by conflict in the Middle East, which has weighed on investor sentiment.

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Toyota to buy back $1.8bn in shares as profit tops estimatesBLOOMBERG TOKYO

Toyota Motor’s quarterly profit topped analysts’ estimates thanks to healthy sales of RAV4s in the US and Corollas at home, keeping the Japanese automaker’s business on track amid sputtering global demand for cars.

Operating income for the fiscal second quarter that ended in September was 662bn yen, helped by cost controls that paved the way for a 200bn yen ($1.8bn) share buyback. Analysts had pre-dicted, on average profit of 604 billion yen. The shares rose 1.1 percent after the results, leaving the stock up 21 percent this year.

The maker of Prius hybrids and Tacoma trucks joins Tesla, Ford Motor, and Volkswagen in reporting better-than-anticipated results, even as vehicle sales weaken across the globe. Toyota’s results contrast with other Jap-anese automakers, which are being hurt by a stronger yen that’s

eroding income brought home. Cost controls have helped Toyota maintain profits ahead of analysts’ projections, even while it invests heavily in an industry undergoing a tectonic shift to electrification and self-driving automobiles.

“Toyota’s results leave a very good impression,” said Koji Endo (pictured), an analyst at SBI Secu-rities. “US sales were intact, they were up in Japan although southeast Asia is a bit worrying. Overall, sales are solid.”

Revenue for the latest quarter rose 4.5 percent to 7.64 trillion yen. The automaker sold 702,000 vehicles in North America in the latest quarter, up 5.6 percent from a year earlier, thanks to new models that helped to boost sales even as incentives were cut back. Japan sales rose as well, to 585,000 units.

Toyota kept its annual outlook for profit and sales intact, at 2.4 trillion yen and 29.5 trillion yen. Even so, the automaker trimmed back its global sales target a tiny

bit, by about 30,000 units to 10.7 million units. Toyota sold 10.6 million vehicles in the prior fiscal year.

The stock repurchase repre-sents as much as 1.2 percent of the company’s outstanding shares, and is in line with Toyota’s past buybacks. In recent years, the automaker has typically announced a repurchase author-isation of 200bn yen to 300bn yen twice a year, in May and November. Toyota’s cash and equivalents remained the same from the prior quarter, at 6.2 trillion yen.

“Overall the results are good,” said Janet Lewis, an analyst at Macquarie Capital, who noted Toyota’s improving margins. “Having an operating margin of 9.2 percent in the car industry is amazing.”

As new drivetrain technology, autonomous capabilities and on-demand business models disrupt the industry, Toyota has been forging alliances, adding Suzuki,

Mazda, and Subaru through part-nerships and equity stakes. Alli-ances are becoming ever more critical in the global auto industry, as manufacturers seek to pool resources and save costs. Ford has teamed up with Volkswagen, while Honda and General Motors are working together.

“The auto industry is facing a once-in-a-hundred changes and it’s difficult to compete on its own,” said Toyota Operating Officer Kenta Kon. “Our stance in making friends hasn’t changed; we will continue to cooperate within our group, with other original equipment manufacturers and cooperate with companies outside our industry, to make better cars and to change to a mobility company.”

Lufthansa to cut more costs as cabin crew strike over payREUTERS BERLIN

German airline Lufthansa announced plans yesterday to cut costs at its Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo businesses to revive profits but faces a fresh challenge to its efforts with a cabin crew strike this week.

Lufthansa has reacted to com-petition from Ryanair and easyJet by cutting costs and announcing a turnaround plan in June for Eurowings, which it said yesterday was paying off as it reported

better-than-expected quarterly figures. Its shares, which have fallen 16 percent in the last year,

were up 8.4 percent at 1144 GMT, making them the biggest gainer on the German blue-chip index as signs emerged of new efforts to resolve the dispute with trade unions.

Cabin crew launched a strike over pay and pensions that will result in the cancellation of 1,300 flights yesterday and on Friday and affect 180,000 passengers. Trade union UFO has called for the walkout on what amounts to one in five of the carrier’s planned 6,000 flights.

One day of strike action would cost the company an estimated

€10m to €20m, finance chief Ulrik Svensson said. Even rumours of a walkout would deter customers, he added.

Chief Executive Carsten Spohr (pictured) said he was prepared to enter into arbitration talks with all three unions that represent cabin staff, including UFO. Lufthansa and UFO have been at odds for months over the union’s legal status.

UFO said it would talk to the airline this weekend and would not prolong the strike beyond Friday or extend it to other air-lines in the group.

REUTERS LONDON

If Novak Djokovic is to claim the year-end number ranking for a record-equalling sixth time he will have to do it the hard way at the ATP Finals next week in London.

The Serb was knocked off top spot by Rafael Nadal on Monday despite winning the Paris Masters last week and will need a strong finish alongside the River Thames to snatch it back.

Only Pete Sampras has finished a year on top six times and Djoko-vic’s hopes of emulating the

American are not in his own hands

with Nadal leading by 640 points heading to the climax.

Nadal, 33, is

bidding to become the ATP’s oldest year-end number but with 200 points awarded for round-robin wins, 400 for a semi-final win and 500 for winning the final the door is still ajar for Djokovic to deny him.

Spaniard Nadal has often struggled physically in London and pulled out of his Paris Masters semi-final against Denis Shapovalov last week citing an abdominal issue when victory would have put him virtually out of reach.

He intends to play in London having been drawn in a round-robin group alongside 2018 ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev and debutants Daniil Medvedev and Ste-fanos Tsitsipas.

If Nadal fails to win a round-robin match, Djokovic would still need to win two group matches and reach the final to dislodge him. Djokovic will also finish the year as number one by winning the title, pro-viding Nadal does not reach the

semis.

Djokovic faces a tough group though, with six-time champion Roger Federer, French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem and Italian Matteo Berrettini, the third newcomer in this year’s event, who he will play in Sunday’s opening singles.

“It’s an extremely difficult task considering who my opponents are going to be,” Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Djokovic said.

“As a consequence, if I manage to get the year-end

number one, that would be fantastic. It is a moti-

vation and a goal every day.”

F e d e r e r ,

ranked third, will be a particularly dangerous obstacle for Djokovic even if he has not added to his ATP Finals title haul since winning in 2011.

The Swiss, who has a record 57 match wins at the event, bowed out to Zverev in the semi-finals last year but continues to defy the passing years at the age of 38.

Last month he claimed the Swiss indoor title without dropping a set. It was his fourth title in 2019, during which he lost an epic Wimbledon final to Djokovic having held match points.

The penultimate ATP Finals in London, before it moves to Turin, has a fresh look this year.

Russian counter-puncher Medvedev has enjoyed an incredible breakthrough year and of the three debutants he looks the most likely to challenge for the title.

He leads the charts in terms of match wins (59) and finals reached (9) and against Nadal in a sensational US Open final proved he has the per-sonality to go toe-to-toe with the giants.

For the fourth successive year there are eight different nations rep-resented in the singles while half of the singles field are aged 23 or under. The new wave is arriving, but Djokovic still has unfinished business.

his own hands with Nadal leading by 640 points heading to the climax.

Nadal, 33, is

pdebutants Daniil Medvedev and Ste-fanos Tsitsipas.

If Nadal fails to win a round-robin match, Djokovic would still need to win two group matches andreach the final to dislodge him. Djokovic will also finish the year as number one by winning the title, pro-viding Nadal does not reach the

semis.

j g g pthough, with six-time champion Roger Federer, French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem andItalian Matteo Berrettini, the thirdnewcomer in this year’s event, who he will play in Sunday’s opening singles.

“It’s an extremely difficult task considering who my opponents aregoing to be,” Australian Open andWimbledon champion Djokovic said.

“As a consequence, if I manage to get the year-end

number one, that would be fantastic. It is a moti-

vation and a goal every day.”

F e d e r e r ,

, ,a fresh look this year.

Russian counter-puncher Medvedev has enjoyed an incredible breakthrough year and of the three debutants he looks the most likely to challenge for the title.

He leads the charts in terms of match wins (59) and finals reached (9) and against Nadal in a sensationalUS Open final proved he has the per-sonality to go toe-to-toe with the giants.

For the fourth successive year there are eight different nations rep-resented in the singles while half of the singles field are aged 23 or under. The new wave is arriving, but Djokovic still has unfinished business.

SPORT 17FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019

I couldn’t have more respect for Pep Guardiola, that’s how it is. I’ve known him

for so long, for me still it’s a big thing to be his contender. For me he’s the best manager in the world and we have the chance to win

against his team which is very difficult but possible. That’s enough for me.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp

It’s an extremely difficult task considering who my opponents are going to be. As a consequence, if I manage to get the year-end number one, that would be fantastic. It is a motivation and a goal every day: Djokovic

Al Wakrah vs Al Ahli: Al Wakrah Stadium - 5:10pm

Al Khor vs Al Duhail: Al Khor Stadium - 7:20pm

TODAY’S ACTION

Djokovic has top ranked Nadal in his sights at London finale

Big-scoring Harden shines as Rockets rout WarriorsAP HOUSTON

James Harden had 36 points and 13 assists and the Houston Rockets routed The Golden State 129-112 on Wednesday night, sending the short-handed Warriors to their sixth loss in eight games this season.

Harden again appeared to be moving past his early shooting woes, going 6 of 16 from 3-point range. Since going 17 of 79 on 3s in his first six games, Harden has made 13 of 32 the last two.

Russell Westbrook had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. P.J. Tucker had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Clint Capela added 19 points and 16 rebounds, and Austin Rivers was 4 for 4 from 3 with 12 points.

Alec Burks led Golden State with 28 points. Eric Paschall had 19 points, and Glenn Robinson III added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Already reeling from injuries to Splash Brothers Stephen Curry (broken hand) and Klay Thompson (knee surgery) and the loss of Kevin Durant, the Warriors were without D’Angelo Russell (sprained ankle) and Draymond Green (index finger) for a third straight game.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points and 16 rebounds, George Hill scored 24 off the bench and Milwaukee repelled every threat in beating Los Angeles for its fourth victory in a row.

The Bucks hit 18 3-pointers, led by six from Hill.Antetokounmpo just missed a triple-double with

nine assists. He’s posted at least 10 rebounds and five assists in each of the first eight games this season, the first player to do that since at least 1972-73.

Donovan Mitchell had 24 points and eight assists and Utah handed Philadelphia its second straight loss after a 5-0 start.

Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points, Rudy Gobert had 14 points, 16 rebounds and three steals, and Joe Ingles scored a season-high 16 points.

Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 13 rebounds, Kyle Lowry scored 24 points and Toronto beat Sacramento.

Luka Doncic scored 27 points and Dallas drew two charges on Aaron Gordon in the final minute, helping the Mavericks beat Orlando.

Tony Snell scored 24 points on 9-of-9 shooting in Detroit’s victory over New York.

Dillon Brooks scored 31 points, rookie Ja Morant added 26 and Memphis Grizzlies held onto a lead to beat Minnesota.

TJ Warren scored 21 points to help Indiana beat Washington.

Tomas Satoransky scored 27 points in Chicago’s victory over Atlanta.

NBA: RESULTS Dallas 107 Orlando 106 Atlanta 93 Chicago 113 Toronto 124 Sacramento 120 LA Clippers 124 Milwaukee 129 Utah 106 Philadelphia 104 Memphis 137 Minnesota 121 Detroit 122 New York 102 Indiana 121 Washington 106 Houston 129 Golden State 112

Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook dunks the ball during the match against The Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center.

Riders are seen with their horses at the vet check ahead of the second round of 2019 Longines Hathab Qatar Equestrian Tour which kicks off today. Action begins today with Small Tour at 3:00pm while the Individual and team competitions of the Medium Tour will start at 5:30pm. The annual series is organized and hosted jointly by Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) and Al Shaqab, member of Qatar Foundation.

Stage set for Round 2 of Longines Hathab Equestrian Tour

Barty eyes Fed Cup win to close out stellar seasonREUTERS MELBOURNE

World number one Ash Barty (pictured) will look to crown her annus mirabilis by helping Australia to their

first Fed Cup title in 45 years when she leads the host nation in the final against

France in Perth this weekend.Barty’s 2018 has been a season of indi-

vidual triumphs, highlighted by her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open and her WTA Finals win in Shenzhen on

Sunday.Yet she has also proved

to be a superb team player throughout the Fed Cup

campaign and enters the decider unbeaten in nine singles rubbers dating back to 2017.

Barty was the difference when Aus-tralia downed Belarus 3-2 in the semi-finals in Brisbane in April, winning all three of her rubbers.

That made her the first woman of any nation to win three rubbers in both the opening round and semi-finals of the tour-nament since the best-of-five format started in 1995.

If carrying the nation has proved a heavy burden, the 23-year-old has hidden it well and enthuses about the thrill of donning the ‘green and gold’.

“When you are playing for your country and you are playing in a Fed Cup final, it is pretty easy to get up and about

and be as ready as you can,” said Barty, who will anchor a team that also features Australia No. 2 Ajla Tomljanovic and veteran Sam Stosur.

“It’s a format that I love, I cherish it. This is going to be a really precious week.”

With seven titles, Australia are the third most-successful nation in the event after the United States (18) and the Czech Republic (11), who won five before the 1993 split with Slovakia and six after.

But the Australians have barely regis-tered in the last three decades, barring a solitary trip to the final in 1993.

They last claimed the title in 1974 during a golden era for Australian tennis when former world number one Evonne Goolagong was in her pomp.

y yREUTERSMELBOURNE

World nu(pictured) mirabilis b

first Fed Culeads the ho

France in PerBarty’s 201

vidual triumph

S

Novak Djokovic

18 FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019SPORT

Icardi strikes again as PSG reachlast 16; Real rout Galatasaray 6-0REUTERS PARIS

Mauro Icardi was again in the right place at the right time to earn Paris St Germain a 1-0 home victory over Club Brugge on Wednesday while Real Madrid’s teenage forward Rodrygo scored a blistering hat-trick as his side pummelled Galatasaray 6-0 at home. The victory sent French champions into the Champions League last 16.

Icardi netted his eighth goal in his last seven games to put PSG on a maximum 12 points in Group A, five ahead of Real Madrid who thrashed Galatasaray 6-0.

Brugge, who missed a second-half penalty, are third on two points with Galatasaray eliminated on one point.

PSG travel to Real Madrid and the Belgian side face Galatasaray away in the penul-timate round of matches on Nov. 26.

Icardi was preferred up front to Edinson Cavani alongside Angel Di Maria and Kylian

Mbappe, and the Argentine forward struck in the 22nd minute, tapping in from Colin Dagba’s cross.

Now unbeaten in their last 23 group home games in the com-petition, PSG showed little in the second half as the visitors pressed hard for an equaliser but Keylor Navas made sure the Ligue 1 side kept their perfect defensive record in the group.

Brugge were awarded a penalty in the 76th minute after Thiago Silva brought down Mbaye Diagne in the area, only for Navas to block the Senegalese’s spot-kick.

While Icardi had another night to remember, Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in the reverse fixture, proved clumsy throughout and was replaced by Julian Draxler seven minutes from time.

In Madrid, Real took a giant step towards qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages.

The 18-year-old Brazilian put the 13-times European cham-pions ahead in the fourth minute by turning two defenders in the

area and firing into the bottom corner to score for the first time in Europe’s elite competition.

Rodrygo struck again in the seventh by nodding home a cross from compatriot Marcelo, com-pleting the fastest double in Champions League history.

Real did not ease off after their rampant start and extended their lead in the 13th minute with a typically cheeky ‘Panenka’ penalty from captain Sergio Ramos.

Karim Benzema netted their fourth on the stroke of halftime, knocking the ball into the net after another thrilling piece of play from Rodrygo.

Benzema struck again from close range in the second half to move on to 50 Champions League goals for his club, moving ahead of Real great Alfredo Di Stefano as the Spanish side’s third top scorer in Europe’s top competition.

But the night belonged to Rodrygo, who rounded off a dream home European debut at the Santiago Bernabeu by com-pleting his treble in added time, racing towards goal and

exchanging passes with Benzema before tapping into the net.

The Brazilian, who became the second-youngest player to score a hat-trick in the Cham-pions League after Real great Raul, was serenaded by the home crowd.

Real, who picked up only one point from their first two games in the competition, are second in Group A with seven points from four matches.

Their next opponents Paris St Germain are top with 12, with Club Bruges third on two and Galatasaray bottom on one.

Victory over PSG, who have reached the last 16, would send Real into the knockout stage with a game to spare.

Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur closed in on a berth in the knockout stages after two goals from Son Heung-min and one each by Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen gave them a resounding 4-0 Group B win at Red Star Belgrade.

In Milan, Manchester City were made to wait to book a place in the knockout stages after Ata-lanta came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at San Siro .

City remain top of Group C with 10 points, five ahead of Sha-khtar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb, while the draw earned Atalanta their first point in the competition.

Bayer Leverkusen sprang to life in their Champions League group as they picked up their first points with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in a bad-tem-pered game.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Argentine forward Mauro Icardi (centre) scoring their winning goal during the UEFA Champions League Group A match against Club Brugge at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris, on Wednesday.

RESULTS

GROUP AParis Saint Germain 1-0 Club Bruges

Real Madrid 6-0 Galatasaray

GROUP BBayern Munich 2-0 Olympiakos

Red Star Belgrade 0-4 Tottenham Hotspur

GROUP CAtalanta 1-1 Manchester City

Dinamo Zagreb 3-3 Shakhtar Donetsk

GROUP DLokomotiv Moscow 1-2 Juventus

Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 Atlético Madrid

Guardiola is best in the world: KloppREUTERS LONDON

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp (pictured) has hailed Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as the best manager in the world as the Premier League rivals gear up for Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash at Anfield.

Leaders Liverpool have a six-point advantage over the defending champions and the match is a crucial one for both sides.

The build-up has been coloured by Guardiola saying Liv-erpool’s Sadio Mane sometimes dived and then backtracking.

Klopp, who has taken a dig at City’s “tactical fouling”, drew a line under the verbal sparring on Thursday in an interview with Sky Sports television.

“We constantly get asked questions and sometimes we say what is in that second in our mind without thinking about any-thing else, that we are in public, that there is a camera,” said the German.

“I couldn’t have more respect for Pep Guardiola, that’s how it is. I’ve known him for so long, for me still it’s a big thing to be his contender. For me he’s the best manager in the world and we have the chance to win against his team which is very dif-ficult but possible. That’s enough for me.”

Klopp dismissed a suggestion that the match was as much one Liverpool could not afford to lose as must win.

“For me, it’s a 100% want-to-win game -- 100% with all I have,” he said. “We want to win and we try everything to make that happen, which is difficult enough. And then after that we will see how the situation is and use that situation.

“But it’s a big one, we know that. The whole world will be watching

that game, I would 100%, eve-rybody I know will, so it’s a massive one.”

Champions League winners Liverpool lost at

Manchester City last season after a goalless draw at Anfield and were beaten to the title by a single point.

“Last year’s performance of City at Liverpool was probably the

biggest show of respect I ever got, that one of my teams ever got, because they

played different to what they usually

do,” said Klopp.

The whole world will be watthat game, I would 100%

rybody I know will, so massive one.”

Champions Lewinners Liverpool lo

Manchester City last seafter a goalless draw at Aand were beaten to the titlsingle point.

“Last year’s performanCity at Liverpool was probab

biggest show of respect got, that one of my tever got, because

played differewhat they u

do,” said Kl

Sharmapowers India to win over BangladeshREUTERS NEW DELHI

India captain Rohit Sharma celebrated his 100th Twenty20 International with a blistering 85 to help secure his team’s series-levelling eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Rajkot yesterday.

Smarting from India’s loss in Sunday’s opening match in Delhi, Rohit put up a scintil-lating batting display as India overwhelmed their 154-run victory target with 26 balls to spare.

Earlier, the home captain elected to field as the game got underway at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium after cyclone Maha had weakened.

Bangladesh’s top order gave them a strong start with Liton Das, who made 29, enjoying a charmed life in the middle.

The opener was stumped off Yuzvendra Chahal but got a reprieve after replays con-firmed wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant did not collect the ball behind the stumps, with part of his gloves jutting ahead of the line.

The wicketkeeper nearly repeated the mistake when effecting a similar dismissal to send back Soumya Sarkar for 30 off Chahal.

Liton enjoyed a second life when Rohit dropped a skier but the batsman could not make the most of it and ran himself out.

Mohammad Naim made 36 and captain Mahmudullah a breezy 30 down the order but Bangladesh could not capitalise on their strong start and posted 153-6.

Rohit, the second player after Shoaib Malik (111) of Pakistan to play 100 Twenty20 Internationals, returned to toy with the Bangladesh attack, hitting the seamers and spinners around the ground.

The right-hander needed only 23 balls to reach his fifty and added 118 runs with Shikhar Dhawan, whose 31 looked laboured by comparison.

Rohit smashed half a dozen sixes in his 43-ball blitz, including three in a row off Mosaddek Hossain who bled 21 runs in his first over before he was promptly taken out of the attack.

Aminul Islam ended the carnage when Rohit holed out in the deep but India’s victory was a formality by then.

Nagpur hosts the third and final match of the series on Sunday.

BANGLADESHLiton Das run out (Pant) ............................29

Mohammad Naim c Iyer b Sundar ........... 36

Soumya Sarkar st Pant b Chahal ..............30

Mushfiqur Rahim c Pandya b Chahal ........ 4

Mahmudullah Riyad c Dube b Chahar .....30

Afif Hossain c Sharma b Ahmed ................. 6

Mosaddek Hossain not out ..........................7

Aminul Islam not out .....................................5

Extras (b2, nb1, w3) ...................................... 6

Total (6 wickets, 20 overs) ......................... 153Did not bat: Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rah-

man, Al-Amin Hossain

Fall of wickets: 1-60 (Liton), 2-83 (Naim),

3-97 (Mushfiqur), 4-103 (Soumya), 5-128

(Afif), 6-142 (Mahmudullah)

Bowling: Chahar 4-0-25-1, Ahmed 4-0-44-1,

Sundar 4-0-25-1, Chahal 4-0-28-2 (1nb),

Dube 2-0-12-0, Pandya 2-0-17-0 (3w)

INDIAR. Sharma c sub (Mithun) b Aminul ......... 85

S. Dhawan b Aminul ....................................31

KL Rahul not out ........................................... 8

S. Iyer not out .............................................. 24

Extras (lb1, w5) .............................................. 6

Totoal (2 wickets, 15.4 overs) ................... 154Did not bat: R. Pant, K. Pandya, S. Dube, W.

Sundar, D. Chahar, Y. Chahal, K. Ahmed

Fall of wicket: 1-118 (Dhawan), 2-125 (Shar-

ma)

Bowling: Mustafizur 3.4-0-35-0 (w2),

Shafiul 2-0-23-0, Al-Amin 4-0-32-0 (w1),

Aminul 4-0-29-2, Afif 1-0-13-0 (w2),

Mosaddek 1-0-21-0

SCOREBOARD

Bottom-placed Al Shahaniahold Al Rayyan in QSL thrillerTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Bottom-placed Al Shahania held title-contenders Al Rayyan in an entertaining 2-2 draw as the 10th week of the QNB Stars League (QSL) got off to a thrilling start at the Al Duhail Stadium yesterday.

Abdulaziz Hatem (54th minute) and Sebastian Soria (60th) were Al Rayyan’s scorers, while Saoud Farhan (ninth minute) and Ramin Rezaein (68th) scored for Al Shahania.

Al Rayyan thus dropped two crucial points as they were emerging as serious title con-tenders. The Lions moved on to 22 points and Al Shahania four.

Al Shahania’s jinx of being the

only team not to have registered a win in this season’s QNB Stars League continued. They remained at the bottom of the table as the tournament takes a long break after this weekend’s action. Jose Murcia’s men have to lift their game by several notches in the second leg.

It was Al Rayyan’s fourth draw and their six-match winning run came to an end. However, they share the record of being unbeaten along with Al Duhail.

Al Rayyan had more of the ball and opportunities even as Al Sha-hania fought their way in. After Al Shahania went ahead early into the game when Farhan capitalised on confusion among the Al Rayyan defenders, Diego Aguirre’s wards

created many chances, but could not succeed in scoring before the half-time break.

Brisk action followed in the second session and Al Rayyan were soon on level terms, with Hatem becoming the goal taker.

Al Rayyan were soon 2-1 up as Soria gave finishing touch to Mowafaq Awad’s cross from the right. Ali Ferydoon then set the stage for Al Shahania’s equaliser scored by Rezaein.

In the day’s other match, Al Sailiya posted a key 2-1 victory over Al Arabi at the Grand Hamad Stadium. Pierre-Michel Lasogga scored for Al Arabi (45) while Meshaal Al Shammari (57) and Moubarak Boussoufa (81) found the net for Al Sailiya.

Action during the opening match of the 10th round of QNB Stars League between Al Shahania and Al Rayyan at the Al Duhail Stadium, yesterday.

THE PENINSULA DOHA

Indian shooters Vivaan Kapoor and Esha Singh came up with dominant performances in winning the junior men’s trap and junior women’s air pistol gold medals in the Asian Shooting Championship yesterday.

On a day when Chinki Yadav kept herself in the race for the Olympic quota in women’s 25-metre sports pistol event with a half-way score of 292, two points behind the leader, it was the juniors who swelled the col-lection for India with 10 medals, including five gold.

Vivaan was top class as he won the gold by beating compa-triot Bhowneesh Mendiratta 45-42 after having topped

qualification with 120 out of 125. Along with Manavaditya Rathore, the Indian trio won the team gold with a score of 347, eight points

better than China. Esha Singh, a prodigy in air pistol who had swept the women’s, junior and youth gold medals in the last National championship in Kerala as a 13-year-old, beat Jeong Hyo of Korea by 4.9 points for the gold.

Along with Priya Raghav (bronze) and Yuvika Tomar, Esha also clinched the team gold for India.Bhakti Bhaskar Khamkar won the junior women’s rifle 3-position gold, but the team had to be content with the silver.

India has won 23 medals so far, with the juniors accounting for 18, apart from the Olympic quota in men’s air rifle through Deepak Kumar.

19FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019 SPORT

ASIA Congress a resounding successTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The 4th ‘Association of Sports Institutes in Asia’ (ASIA) Congress concluded today with members and participants agreeing to several collabo-rative ventures that will see joint events, training camps and research amongst members.

On the penultimate night the participants enjoyed a Gala Dinner held at Doha’s La Cigale Hotel and saw the acknowl-edgment and honouring of sponsors, partners and speakers at the Congress.

Dr Duncan Simpson, Head of Mental Conditioning at IMG Academy, underscored the importance of high-per-formance sports staff embracing awareness of one’s wellbeing and when to say No and Yes at workplace in order to maximise the best of one’s output.

Dr Simpson summed up his presentation with the ABC of Awareness, Balance and Con-nection, as the key cogs of a health and sound outlook to supporting and maintaining employees’ physical and mental health at work.

“The institutes we work for

are responsible for creating the opportunity to maintain or improve the workers’ health at work and beyond an employee we need to make the most of the choices to be wellbeing,” he said.

Dr Daniel Lee, Associate Director of Elite Training Science and Technology at Hong Kong Sports Institute gave a vote of thanks to wind up the evening, “To Aspire Academy, our hosts who have put together a successful Con-gress and gave all participants a warm hospitality we say thank you. We are also grateful to ASIA Committee members and organisers, sponsors, partners and speakers,” Dr Lee said.

“The 4th ASIA Congress has

exceeded expectations in what we were able to accomplish over the three days. It was a great opportunity for our Aspire Academy high per-formance sports coaches and staff to meet, interact and exchange collaborative ideas with like-minded colleagues from Asia as well as hear from international professional in Sports science Innovation.,” Dr Philip Graham Smith, Head of Biochemistry and Innovation at Aspire Academy said.

“The Congress allowed all participants to network and explore opportunities for working together on among other things, training camps and knowledge and infor-mation sharing. This has been done with an open-minded

attitude to learn with the right spirit to share and led to many fruitful and beneficial contacts and partnerships. All in all, the 4th Association of Sports Insti-tutes in Asia Congress has been a success,” he added.

Markus Egger, Director of Sport and Strategy Aspire Academy, said: “The expecta-tions were high, but we at least met them. Maybe the congress turned out to be even better than we thought. That’s from the perspective of Aspire Academy, of course. Then, based on the conversations I had with our friends from other high-performance insti-tutes, they were really impressed by our people and how they prepared this event. Overall, it was a great event.”

The guest speakers, sponsors and partners at the 4th ASIA Congress posing for a photograph.

Qatari players eye surprises at WorldsTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Two Qatari players Hamad Al Amri and Syed Azlan Amjad - who have been handed wildcards at the PSA World Championship - will aim to spring a surprise or two at the Khalifa Interna-tional Tennis and Squash Complex.

The duo along with world No. 47 Abdulla Al Tamimi are the three home players who will see action in the eight-day champi-onship which is contested by the world top ranked players.

The first round action begins today with Amjad taking on unseeded Iker Pajares Bernabeu of Spain who is ranked of 35, while Hamad Al Amri will square up to World No.4 Paul Coll of New Zealand.

Al Tamimi on the other hand will be looking to improve upon and go a few notches up in the tour-nament having made to the third round of the World Championship in England.

In the 2017 event in Manchester, the Qatari, who had a all-time career high rank of 28 last year, lost to

Nick Matthew. Tamimi had a good run in the 2018 season and the high point was winning the $35,000 Malaysian Open and breaking into the all-time career high rank of 28.

The Aspire Academy product, who has trained under many renowned coaches including former World champion Geoff Hunt of Australia, is eager to prove a point or two after some indifferent performances in the recent months which has seen his ranking slip into the 40’s.

Thus the 24-year-old, will be looking for a more consistent run while playing before the home crowd.

The home hero will begin his campaign against France’s Gregoire Marche, ranked 16 on the world ranking computer.

PSA Worlds: Battle for supremacy begins ARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

Egypt’s World No.2 Mohamed El Shorbagy, along with compatriots Tarek Momen and Karim Abdel Gawad, will headline the PSA Men’s World Championship which begins today at the Khalifa Inter-national Tennis and Squash Complex.

El Shorbagy and Momen are expected to meet in the final.

El Shorbagy, the former World Champion will be aiming to get his hands on the title for the second time and is the favourite at the event following the with-drawal of reigning World Champion Ali Farag.

Gawad makes it a trio of Egyptians expected at the sharp end of the tournament.

The two-time champion is a

wounded tiger, having lost his top rank and is eager to get back with some consistent show having adapted his game to challenge and is keen to push more for the top honours in the sport. He begins his campaign with a first round match against compatriot Karim El Hammamy Besides the Egyptian, the likes of Paul Coll, Simon Rösner, Miguel Rodriguez, Diego Elias, Saurav Ghosal and Joel Makin will all be aiming to end the Egyptian dominance in Qatar this week.

Following Farag withdrawn from the event World No.3 and last season’s runner-up Momen took his place in the draw and plays Germany’s Raphael Kandra in round one. New Zealand’s Paul Coll, meanwhile, replaces Momen and will play wildcard Hama Al Amri.

Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez takes Coll’s place in the draw and faces Egypt’s Youssef Soliman, with England’s Daryl Selby facing Youssef Ibrahim. While, France’s Baptiste Masotti now comes into the tournament and will play Egypt’s former World No.3 Omar Mosaad in round one.

The biggest tournament in men’s squash takes place in Doha from today and ends on November 15, with the winner taking home the trophy that Farag claimed at Union Station back in February.

The world champion will win $45,600 from a pot of $335,000 in Qatar, according to PSA.

The championship is featuring a total of 64 players and is being held for a record fifth time in Doha.

Meanwhile, Momen has

revealed that his epic run to the final of last season’s World Cham-pionships in Chicago has only made him even more determined to go one step further in Qatar.

The World No.3 endured an epic run to February’s final in the Windy City when he blew away defending champion Mohamed El Shorbagy in a death struggle five-game semi-final.

That came on the back of another five-game war with Mohamed Abouelghar in round three and his defeat of 2017 finalist Marwan El Shorbagy in the last eight.

No surprise then that when he lost a taught third set tie-break to Farag in the final itself the sting went out of his game and he suc-cumbed in a final that still pro-duced 79 minutes of world class squash.

QATARI PLAYERS IN ACTION TODAY

Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) vs [15] Gregoire Marche (FRA)

[4] Paul Coll (NZL) vs [WC] Hamad Al Amri (QAT)

Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) vs [WC] Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT)

Egypt’s World No.2 Mohamed El Shorbagy (right) and compatriot Tarek Momen in action at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in this file picture.

The podium winners in the 10m air pistol girls junior team event at the 14th Asian Shooting Championship pose for a picture with Ali Mohamed Al Kuwari, President of Qatar Shooting and Archery Association. India finished first followed by China and Chinese Taipei. Pictures by: Ebrahim Kutty

Indian junior trap shooters Vivaan Kapoor (right) and Bhowneesh Mendiratta celebrate after clinching gold and silver medals.

Asian Championship: Indian junior shooters excel

Jockey Harry Bentley receiving the winners trophy.

Molheb Al Naif wins Losail Cup

Jockey Bentley guiding Molheb Al Naif towards the victory in the Losail Cup. Molheb Al Naif trained by Gassim Mohammad Ghazali, won QR57,000 in prize money. PICTURES: JUHAIM

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

The FINA Swimming World Cup Doha 2019 begun yesterday, witnessing thrilling races from top swimmers in front of almost a packed house at Hamad Aquatic Centre.

The opening day of the seventh and final meet of World Cup series saw Russian star Vladimir Morozov and Aus-tralia’s Cate Campbell (AUS) winning gold medals to consolidate their overall top rankings. Doha’s fan-favourites Katinka Hosszu of Hungary and South African star Chad Le Clos also grabbed the spotlight with victories yesterday.

Danas Rapsys’ gold medal in men’s 400 freestyle was another highlight of the day, as the Lithuanian completed his clean-sweep of seven successive wins in the event.

Meanwhile, Morozov, who came to Doha with a huge 87-point lead, further strengthened his position for over title after winning the men’s 50m freestyle final, clocking 21.83 – just fractions of a second ahead of Kosuke Matsui (JPN) 22.02 and Maxim Lobanovskij (HUN) 22.04.

“It feels very good. This race is getting closer and closer each day. I’ am happy to be a winner in this tight race. I have been racing a lot since last three months and I feel a bit tired,” said Morozov.

Campbell was fastest in the exciting 50m freestyle final with a time of 24.11, edging Michelle Coleman (SWE) 24.50, who won silver.

“Michelle (Coleman) pushed me hard. It’s been an amazing competing with her. We both get the best out of each other,” said Campbell.

The Australian star, who was leading Hosszu by 24 points in overall rankings

after the Kazan meet, is still facing a tough competition from the Hungarian, who won the 200m butterfly title yesterday.

Hosszu clocked 2:08.60 for her 302nd World Cup victory, beating team-mate Zsuzsanna Jakabos (2:08.95).

“We Hungarians are strong and do a lot of hard training. I would like to thanks my supporters and the Hungarian fans especially for their support,” said Hosszu.

Multi-Olympic medalist, Le Clos took win in 100m butterfly with Jakub Majerski (POL) and Michael Andrew (USA) getting the next two positions respectively.

“I haven’t played much in the World Cups this year, but I had to come to Doha. I love Doha and the support of the fans here. Just flew here last night. It’s great to be back in Doha,” said Le Clos.

In the men’s 400 freestyle, Rapsys was clinical as he took victory in 3:47.87, with Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR) 3:48.61 and Jan Micka (CZE) (3:50.20) taking silver and bronze medals.

“My strategy was to be slow in first 200m and the rest of race became easy. The plan was to start slow and get faster. I am happy to win all the seven titles in this race…. thank you fans,” said Rapsys.

Japan’s Yasuhiro Koseki stunned cluster leader Anton Chupkov in 100m breaststroke with a gold medal in 59.11. The Russian fin-ished third with a time of 59.83 behind Dutchman Arno Kamminga 59.25.

Kira Toussaint of the Netherlands was the winner in women’s 50m backstroke with a time of 27.80, finishing ahead of Kaylee Mckeown (AUS) 27.92 and Emily Seebohm (AUS) 28.08.

Australia’s Bradley Woodward clinched his maiden World Cup title with a victory in men’s 200m backstroke. Marlene Kahler (AUT) dominated the women’s 400m freestyle, winning gold in 4:10.51.

Hungary got their second gold medal of the day when Eszter Bekesi won the women’s 200m breaststroke.

SPORTPAGE | 17 PAGE | 18

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Friday 8 November 2019

The President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani presenting a memento to the President of the International Shooting Sport Federation, Vladimir Lisin during a meeting held in Doha, yesterday. LEFT: H E Sheikh Joaan and QOC Secretary-General Jassim Rashid Al Buenain during their meeting with the ISSF President.

Swimmers in action on the opening day of the FINA Swimming World Cup Doha 2019 at the Hamad Aquatic Centre yesterday. PICTURES: TWITTER / @SWCDOHA

Sheikh Joaan meets ISSF PresidentQNA DOHA

The President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani met here today with the President of the International Shooting Sport Feder-ation (ISSF), Vladimir Lisin, who is now in

Doha to attend the 14th Asian Shooting Championships which is a qualifying event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

H E Sheikh Joaan welcomed the Pres-ident of the International Shooting Sport Federation, praising the fruitful cooper-ation between the Qatari and international federations of the game.

Lisin praised the outstanding status of the State of Qatar in terms of sports, and the organisational and technical level of the 14th Asian Championship held at the Lusail Shooting Range. The meeting also reviewed aspects of bilateral coop-eration and ways of boosting and devel-oping them.

Campbell, Morozov stay on top as Hosszu, Le Clos sparkle in Doha

Women’s 400m FreestyleMarlene Kahler (AUT) 4:10.51

Mikkayla Sheridan (AUS) 4:11.63

Katja Fain (SLO) 4:12.38

Men’s 400m FreestyleDanas Rapsys (LTU) 3:47.87

Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR) 3:48.61

Jan Micka (CZE) 3:50.20

Women’s 50m BackstrokeKira Toussaint (NED) 27.80

Kaylee Mckeown (AUS) 27.92

Emily Seebohm (AUS) 28.08

Men’s 200m BackstrokeBradley Woodward (AUS) 1:58.42

Keita Sunama (JPN) 1:58.83

Mikita Tsmyh (BLR) 2:00.92

Women’s 200m ButterflyKatinka Hosszu (HUN) 2:08.60

Zsuzsanna Jakabos (HUN) 2:08.95

Meg Bailey (AUS) 2:09.86

Men’s 100m ButterflyChad Le Clos (RSA) 51.70

Jakub Majerski (POL) 52.11

Michael Andrew (USA) 52.38

Women’s 200m BreaststrokeEszter Bekesi (HUN) 2:28.24

Vitalina Simonova (RUS) 2:29.98

Weronika Hallmann (POL) 2:31.17

Men’s 100m BreaststrokeYasuhiro Koseki (JPN) 59.11

Arno Kamminga (NED) 59.25

Anton Chupkov (RUS) 59.83

Women’s 50m FreestyleCate Campbell (AUS) 24.11

Michelle Coleman (SWE) 24.50

Bronte Campbell (AUS) 24.74

Men’s 50m FreestyleVladimir Morozov (RUS) 21.83

Kosuke Matsui (JPN) 22.02

Maxim Lobanovskij (HUN) 22.04

RESULTS OF YESTERDAY’S FINALS

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

Many young Qatari swimmers took part in yesterday morning’s heats, producing quick times as they swam alongside the elite swimmers.

GCC champion Abdulaziz Al Obaidly was the fastest home swimmer in the men’s 100m breaststroke heats, won by Dutchman Arno Kamminga (59.40).

The 17-year-old clocked 1:06.23 while his team-mates Abdelrahman Mohamed (1:12.65), Omar Ashraf (1:16.37) and Abdulla AlKhaldi (1:17.18), also recorded creditable times but did not advance.

Yacob Al Khulaifi (4:18.59) registered the best time among Qatari athletes at men’s 400m freestyle in which Mohammed Fawad Hasan (4:26.79), Ahmad Samara (4:40.79) and Ali Abdulla Al Nuami (4:51.11) also participated.

In men’s 100m butterfly heats, Qatar’s Mohamed Mahmoud (58.14), Tameea Elhamayda (1:01.42) and M Al Khanji (1:08.78) were impressive alongside the elite swimmers including Le Clos and America’s Andrew.

Qatari swimmers clock impressive times in heats

Russia’s Vladimir Morozov celebrates after winning the men’s 50m freestyle final during the opening day of the FINA Swimming World Cup Doha 2019 at the Hamad Aquatic Centre yesterday.