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QP & Total to invest $3.5bn on Al

Shaheen oil field

BUSINESS | 17 SPORT | 24

Volume 22 | Number 7220 | 2 RiyalsWednesday 12 July 2017 | 18 Shawwal 1438 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

3rd Best News Website in the Middle East

Hamad International Airport (HIA) served 580,000 passengers and handled 3,300 aircraft movements from June 19 to 25, 2017. The airport served 19 million passengers from January to June 2017, eight percent more than those served in the same period in the previous year. HIA handled 980,000 tonnes of cargo from January to June 2017, 19 percent more than the same period in the previous year.

European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, has reiterated the EU's support for Kuwait's mediation efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis. However, the four Arab states leading the siege on Qatar said their sanctions would remain in place until Doha meets their demands.

Qatar and US sign deal to combat terrorism financingQNA

The State of Qatar and the United States announced the signing of a memo-randum of understanding (MoU) on combating terrorism financing.At a joint press conference with US Secre-

tary of State, Rex Tillerson, the Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that the State of Qatar, which was accused of financing terrorism, has become the first country to sign with the US a similar agree-ment aiming to combat terrorism financing.

The MoU comes within the framework of the continuous bilateral cooperation between the State of Qatar and the US, and as a result of the joint work between the two sides, the exchange of experience and information and the development of this mechanism as well as the development of institutions between coun-tries, the minister added. The foreign minister called on the countries, which imposed the siege on Qatar to "join the future" and sign the agree-ment to combat terrorism financing. The MoU is a separate bilateral agreement between Qatar and the US, he said, adding that it has been discussed by the two sides for four weeks

and has no direct or indirect connection to the Gulf crisis or the siege imposed on Qatar.

He described the meetings he held with his US counterpart as "constructive" on the level of bilateral relations between the two friendly coun-tries. He pointed out that a tripartite meeting was also held with the brothers in Kuwait, where they discussed the gulf crisis' develop-ments and the valued efforts of the brothers in the Kuwait with the help of the friends in the US. The foreign minister said that his meet-ing with his US counterpart also discussed, within the bilateral framework, the importance of continuing cooperation and consultation between the two countries in all regional and polit-ical issues, underlining that the most significant outcome of these meetings was the signing of the MoU on combating terrorism financing.

→ Continued on page 3Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at Al Bahr Palace yesterday. They discussed the latest developments in the Gulf crisis, its regional and international implications. They also reviewed US efforts in support of the Kuwait's mediation to resolve it through dialogue and diplomatic means. Emir and the top US official reviewed joint efforts in the fight against terrorism. The meeting also discussed the strategic relations between the two friendly countries and means of enhancing them in various fields. → See also page 2

Emir discusses Gulf crisis with US Secretary of State

Qatar is the first country to sign an agreement with the US aiming to combat terrorism financing: Foreign Minister.

Qatar pledges support to Gaza

Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signing the MoU in Doha, yesterday.

QNA

QATAR has denounced the leaking by some GCC states of the Riyadh agreement in 2013 and its supple-mental agreement in 2014 to media in violation of the GCC statute and other agreements and internal reg-ulations of GCC, while also their ongoing illegal siege violates the UN

Charter and international law.Government Communications

Office Director H E Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani said the steps cur-rently being taken by these countries, especially the leaking of the Riyadh agreement and its supplemental agree-ment before the visit of the US secretary of state, aim to thwart the mediation efforts of the Emir of Kuwait H H Sheikh

Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to resolve the current crisis. He said Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain realise that the Riyadh agreement is a clear agree-ment through which any GCC member state can make a point or submit a complaint against another member state.

→ Continued on page 3

Qatar denounces leaking of Riyadh documents by some GCC states

Kuwait

QNA

EMIR of Kuwait H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah yesterday expressed "bitterness" and "extreme con-cern" over "unprecedented developments" of the Gulf crisis. The Emir said in a state-ment carried by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) that he appreciates the positive reactions and messages of support of Kuwait's mediation efforts, displayed by nationals, Gulf states and the international community. These expressions of support have "relieved us" from the resulting pain and "increased our determination" to resolve the matter, added the Emir.

Sheikh Sabah underlined that the Gulf Cooperation Council accomplishments, based on the aspirations of its people, "can-not be compromised, and should be maintained and adhered to. He also affirmed that he would will not give up on his historic responsibilities towards the bloc and that he would be loyal to it until these develop-ments are overcome, stressing that only the related parties can resolve this crisis.

Kuwait Emir 'extremely concerned' about crisis CHAIRMAN of the Qatari Committee for the

Reconstruction of Gaza Ambassador H E Moham-med Al Emadi affirmed that Qatar will not abandon its established principles, including the support of the Palestinian people, particularly the population of the Gaza, in light of the siege imposed on the Strip. At a press conference with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mlade-nov, Al Emadi said that his visit to Gaza in this time aims to affirm to Palestinian people that " We are staying here to finish projects and implement new ones and to fulfill the commitments made by the State of Qatar in previous conferences." Doha supports Hamas because it is a component of the Palestinian people, just like Fatah," he added.

i

st

Fifth batch of Turkish troops arrivesTHE DIRECTORATE of Moral Guidance at the Min-istry of Defence announced the arrival of the fifth batch of the Turkish troops to the State of Qatar. According to the Directorate, this batch is joining the Turkish forces currently in Doha (Tariq Bin Ziyad battalion camp). The batch is to boost the training tasks within the framework of joint mil-itary cooperation between Qatar and Turkey and to activate the terms of the defence agreements between the two countries.

QICDRC hearing cases via video conferencingTHE QATAR International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC) heard several cases of the citizens of siege countries through video confer-encing as they were unable to present before the court in per-son due to the ongoing blockade, reported QNA.

Despite blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain QIDRC is hearing the cases of the citizens of seize countries normally, said Faisal Rashid Al-Sahouti is the CEO of QID-CRC. In several cases, this month, the Court allowed defendants and witnesses to present before the court through video conferencing, he added.

02 WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017HOME

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, at his office at Al Bahr Palace. A number of regional and international issues were discussed, especially the Gulf crisis, in addition to the bilateral relations and means of enhancing them.

Emir meets South African Minister

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with HE US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his accompanying delegation at Al Bahr Palace, yesterday. They discussed the Gulf crisis and its regional and international implications, and reviewed US efforts in support of the State of Kuwait's mediation to resolve it through dialogue and diplomatic means. The meeting also discussed the strategic relations between the two friendly countries and means of enhancing them in various fields.

Emir meets US Secretary of State

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met Chairman and CEO of French Total Company Patrick Pouyanne, and his accompanying delegation at his office in Al Bahr Palace, yesterday.

Qatar, US to strengthen anti-terrorism driveQNA

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed yesterday by the State of Qatar and the United States

strengthens the existing strate-gic framework for combating terrorism, said H E Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, Director of the Government Communica-tion Office.

He added that this memo-randum is based on the long history, close cooperation and partnership between the United States and the State of Qatar, noting that it is the first of its kind between the GCC countries and the United States.

Sheikh Saif said that the memorandum of understand-ing includes the participation of all concerned parties between the two governments to ensure cooperation in the basic fields of combating terrorism such as security, intelligence and finance.

"The State of Qatar consid-ers that the memorandum of understanding should be a model for the GCC countries to develop such a framework with the United States to unite efforts to combat terrorism," he said.

Sheikh Saif expressed his hope to continue cooperation with our allies in the United States in the international efforts to defeat the IS.

Emir issues two decreesQNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued yesterday Decree

No 45 of 2017, authorising Economic Zones Company (MANATEQ) to utilize the remaining plots of lands in Birkat Al Awamir.

The Emir also issued Decree No 46 of 2017, author-ising Economic Zones Company (MANATEQ) to uti-lise the plots of lands of logistic industrial area in Al Rekayya Al Karaana.

The two Decrees are effective starting from their date of issue and are to be published in the official gazette.

Emir meets Chairman and CEO of Total

03WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017 HOME

Dr Al Kawari presents Unesco vision in SloveniaLjubljana

QNA

Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Miro Cerar, has met with Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and

the State of Qatar's candidate for the Director-General post at the United Nations Educational, Sci-entific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari who pre-sented his vision and electoral programme for the Unesco leadership.

The Prime Minister of Slov-enia praised the relations between his country and the State of Qatar and expressed his aspiration to develop these rela-tions in various fields.

He also expressed his inter-est in Unesco and his awareness of the challenges faced by the UN organisation which is con-cerned with noble issues which are key factors in human rela-tions and constitute a basis for stability and peace and for the

fight against extremism, igno-rance and terrorism.

The Slovenian Prime Minis-ter also appreciated the discussions during his meeting with the Qatari candidate on Unesco's issues.

For his part, Dr Al Kawari expressed hope for the devel-opment of relations between the two countries, extending thanks to the Prime Minister of Slove-nia for providing him an opportunity to present his vision of the main issues and chal-lenges facing the Unesco.

The discussion during the meeting focused on the finan-cial crisis facing the Organisation and its technical and political aspects as well as the role of culture in combating extremism and terrorism.

The two sides agreed on the importance of strengthening the status and principles of the Unesco in education, culture, science, youth, women, commu-nications and the environment to be the best way to confront terrorism and build peace in the human mind and this will not be achieved without a strong management capable of coping with difficulties and developing constructive solutions.

On the other hand, Qatar's candidate for Unesco met with members of a technical team from several Slovenian minis-tries headed by Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport Tomaz Boh. During the meeting, the team asked the Qatari candidate for further clarification and to shed light on his vision in various aspects.

At the end of the meeting, the team expressed pleasure at the candidate's vision, wishing him suc-cess in his mission.

In a related context, Dr Al Kuwari met with Director-General for International Relations and Cooperation at the Foreign Ministry Sabina Stadler and a number of the ministry's officials, during which the talks dealt with the political aspects of the candidate's vision.

The Slovenian foreign ministry's officials wished success for the Qatari candidate. The meetings were attended by n o n - r e s i d e n t Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Slovenia, Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani.

Open to constructive dialogue: FM → Continued from page 1In a related context, the For-

eign Minister reiterated that the State of Qatar's support for the role of the Kuwaiti mediator with the help of the US "from the beginning, We were positive and open to a constructive dialogue that leads to settlement and res-olution, which is the usual behaviour of the State of Qatar," he said, calling the siege countries to take the same behaviour.

On the leaking of the Riyadh Agreement document yesterday, Sheikh Mohammed said that the leaking and its timing indicate clear efforts to undermine the Kuwaiti mediation and to influ-ence the visit of the US Secretary of State to the region as well as the efforts of the United States.

"If this leak reflects some-thing, then it reflects the approach of the siege countries, the same countries which leaked the list of demands, sadly, to undermine this mediation," the Minister said, asking about the level of trust in these countries and their inter-national relations by leaking such secret documents, "which are usually respected even by com-panies, let alone countries."

The Minister noted that the media campaign, about Qatar's lack of commitment to the Riy-adh Agreement is full of fallacies.

He said that Qatar has complied with all the terms of the agree-ment and that there were records attesting to its commitment to this, pointing out that the Riyadh Agreement is a collective agree-ment and not an obligation on Qatar only. Qatar was not men-tioned as a single country required to comply with the agreement, he explained.

The Minister stressed that the action taken by the siege coun-tries against Qatar is a clear violation of this agreement because they did not use any of the dispute resolution mecha-nisms mentioned in this agreement. "Any complaints or objections should be tackled according to mechanisms listed either in the Riyadh Agreement or the Charter of the Gulf Coop-eration Council," he said.

From his side, the US Secre-tary of State Tillerson praised the wise leadership of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for being the first to respond to the Riyadh summit on combating terrorism financing. He stressed on all the region's states to combat extremism and violence and to not have a safe haven for terrorism and terrorists.

Tillerson said the US and the State of Qatar will work further

to stop terrorism financing and maintain the region's safety, add-ing that the signing of the MoU reflects the hard work and exten-sive talks held between both sides to reinforce the results of the Riy-adh summit.

Tillerson added the MoU specifies the steps each country will take to stop terrorism financ-ing globally, and sets a timeline for its implementation. He said the MoU has been in operation for almost a year and is considered a renewal of the talks of Riyadh's summit and US President Don-ald Trump's call for combatting terrorism financing.

Tillerson highly praised the talks he held with Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, which touched on various topics, confirming that his visit to Doha holds the same spirit Pres-ident Trump had on his visit to Riyadh, where the US has one goal to eradicate terrorism around the world and maintain its safety. Tillerson described his discussions with the Qatari lead-ership as deep and constructive, noting that he will head to Saudi Arabia to discuss their concerns and the options for settling the crisis. He didn't predict a time-frame for these solutions due to what he called ongoing attempts and current mediation.

The Prime Minister of Slovenia praised the relations between his country and the State of Qatar and expressed his aspiration to develop these relations in various fields.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Miro Cerar, with Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and the State of Qatar's candidate for the Director-General post at the Unesco, H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari who presented his vision and electoral programme for the Unesco leadership.

The Peninsula

In a bid to boost Qatar’s tour-ism relations with Oman, a delegation of senior repre-

sentatives from Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) headed to the Sultanate earlier this week to meet with their counterparts there.

The visit brought into action a memorandum of understand-ing (MoU) between the two countries and comes as part of Qatar’s efforts to diversify its vis-itor source markets in the region.

The delegation was led by Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tour-ism Development Officer and included Nasser Al Maslamani, Director of Planning Quality, Omar Al Jaber, Director of Shared Services and Ahmed Al Obaidly, Director of Exhibitions among others.

During their stay, the dele-gates met with the Maitha bint Saif Al Mahrouqi, Undersecre-tary at the Ministry of Tourism of Oman, and visited Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran), the Oman Convention Bureau as well as the Oman Exhibition and Convention Center. The three-day visit wrapped up with a roadshow

during which QTA’s private sec-tor partners showcased the country’s latest offerings to Omani tour operators.

The Omani delegation shed light on the Omani Tourism Strategy 2040 and its compo-nents that promote the Sultanate’s authentic Omani identity and cultural aspects. Similarly, the visit allowed the QTA delegation to share insights regarding its work towards launching the Next Chapter of the Qatar National Tourism Sec-tor Strategy (QNTSS) 2030 which charts a pathway for develop-ing a thriving hospitality and tourism sector in Qatar.

According to Al Ibrahim, the strategy’s main pillar is diversi-fication of products, of services and of source markets to guar-antee the tourism sector’s sustainability and its continued growth in spite of any changes in the world around us.

He added, “Qatar and Oman enjoy a long history of collabo-ration, and the activation of the MoU is testament to our ongo-ing commitment to energising tourism in both our countries as we each embark on our journeys to 2030 and 2040 respectively.”

In 2015, QTA signed a mem-orandum of understanding with the Omani Ministry of Tourism enabling the two countries to establish a framework for more joint projects that have the potential to create a tangible impact on tourism in

both countries. Through the agreement, Oman and Qatar have been able to build on exist-ing successful collaborations such as the joint Oman-Qatar tourist visa and their participa-tion in the Cruise Arabia Alliance.

QTA team in Oman to boost tourism ties

Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development Officer of QTA, with Maitha bint Saif Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Tourism of Oman.

'Siege countries launched malicious campaigns'

→ Continued from page 1The Government Commu-

nications Office director added that the GCC internal regulations stipulate that any member state has the right to request an urgent meeting with another GCC mem-ber state whether bilaterally or with all member states.

Sheikh Saif said the three countries neither submitted any complaint or requested any meeting before the start of the unfair and unjustified siege against Qatar on June 5. Instead, he added, they carried out a malicious campaign in interna-tional media to defame Qatar and then published fabricated extracts attributed to the Emir and the Foreign Minister in order to provoke the international pub-lic opinion against Qatar, and instead of submitting their com-plaint through GCC mechanisms, he added, the besieging countries launched malicious campaigns against Qatar, which is a clear evidence that their intention was not related to their claims on compliance to the implementa-tion of the Riyadh agreement, but rather to destabilise Qatar's secu-rity and stability, interfere in its

internal affairs and undermine its sovereignty.

He said the hostilities of the siege countries contravene inter-national law and the UN Charter, which stipulates that the deci-sion to besiege any state must be issued through the Security Council, noting that the siege countries violate international conventions and the provisions and principles of international law, particularly the principles of equality, respect for states' sovereignty, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, human rights, and the freedom of trade and international navi-gation. Despite the hostile and illegal actions of the siege coun-tries, Sheikh Saif said, Qatar remains ready to negotiate to resolve the crisis, expressing Qatar's appreciation for the mediation efforts of H H Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah and Secretary Tillerson. He added that Qatar will continue with them and with all the parties working to settle the crisis so as to reach a settle-ment for the crisis within a frame of mutual respect and not under-mining the sovereignty of states.

Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani inaugurating the North Oil Company as the new operator and developer of Al Shaheen oil field, yesterday. Also seen are Qatar Petroleum President and Chief Executive, Saad Sherida Al Kaabi (third left), French Ambassador Eric Chevallier (left) and Chairman and CEO of Total, Patrick Pouyann. Pic: Kammutty V P / The Peninsula → See also page 17

PM inaugurates North Oil Company

04 WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017HOME

Special care for palm treesThe Peninsula

As Qatar provides special care to palm trees and the

number of trees has increased from 334,481 in 1991 to more than 1 million in 2016. Some 673,948 of palm trees are planted inside farms.

Due to its importance as one of the national resources, the Agricultural Affairs Department gives priority by providing pre-ventive control and treatment for all pests.

Through the Agricul-ture Quarantine Office at the Ministry of Munici-pality and Environment, the agricultural products are inspected and pro-tected from in order to prevent any enter of pests.

Plant Protection section and agricultural quarantine has record of details about all palm tree farms, including the numbers, prevention methods and pest control.

Abidjan

QNA

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi said that the State of

Qatar has rejected to be placed in disputes and fabricated issues with some OIC member coun-tries that would further divide the peoples of the Islamic nation, dispersing their efforts and weakening their capabilities, which must be directed towards further development, and pros-perity for their peoples.

Addressing, the 44th Session of the OIC Foreign Ministers in the Ivory Coast capital of Abid-jan, the Minister stressed the support of the State of Qatar for the sincere efforts of H H the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah to mediate and find a solution to the crisis in the Gulf region.

The Minister called on the meeting to support Kuwaiti mediation, as did the summit of the African Union and many countries of the world.

The Minister reiterated Qatar's adherence to interna-tional law and legitimacy and its rejection of illegal punitive measures against it. He also stressed Qatar's adherence to all the principles that are interna-tionally agreed upon in dealing with states, foremost among which is the respect for the sov-ereign right of the state, non-interference in the internal affairs of any State and rejection of guardianship.

The Minister also affirmed that Qatar is ready to dialogue, negotiate and find solutions to existing problems within the framework of respect for the rights of every State without dic-tating or threatening.

The Minister said that Qatar, as an active member of the inter-national community, is in line with the vision of the Organiza-tion of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the international community on the need to combat terrorism and affirms its solidarity with the Islamic nation and other peoples

who are exposed to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

The Minister said that Qatar renews its firm position that condemns terrorism in all its forms, and stresses on the importance of avoiding any linking of violence to religion. Qatar's position also calls for plucking terrorism from the roots by ending its causes rep-resented in marginalisation, poverty, and youth unemploy-ment. He added that Qatar will continue its efforts in support-ing international and regional

counter-terrorism efforts. The Minister said that the

OIC was the entity that gathers all Muslims, states and peoples, and so it must work on uniting rather than dividing them. He added that the State of Qatar stresses the importance of hav-ing all OIC entities remaining on equal distance from all its mem-bers, in order to maintain its credibility as an executive body that unites all their majesties, excellencies, and highnesses leaders of Islamic countries.

He added that it was regret-table that the general-secretariat of the OIC chose to release a statement on June 5 this year siding with one party, in contrast to the OIC charter and proce-dures in regional and international organisations around the world.

Al Muraikhi said that the current meeting is taking place at a time when the Islamic world is faced with critical and com-plicated challenges, starting with the Palestinian cause which is yet to find a just resolution. Another challenge was the dif-ficult conditions in Syria, Yemen, and Libya in the aftermath of killing and destruction. There are also the tragic conditions facing a number of Muslim minorities. All these challenges, he added, require stronger cooperation to overcome them. He stressed that defending those causes and achieving the aspirations of peo-ple of the Muslim world for stability, progress, and develop-ment will only succeed through enhancing Islamic solidarity and joint work.

'OIC must work on uniting Muslims'

Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met here South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, yesterday. The two sides discussed bilateral relations and means to promote and develop them, in addition to issues of mutual interest. The Foreign Minister briefed Nkoana-Mashabane on the developments of the Gulf crisis and the illegal measures taken against Qatar.

FM meets South African Minister

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi met Pakistani Prime Minister's Adviser for Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, on the sidelines of the 44th Session of the OIC Foreign Ministers' meeting in Abidjan. Al Muraikhi also met Vice-President of the Republic of Ivory Coast, Daniel Kablan Duncan; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Indonesia Retno L. P. Marsudi; Uganda's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Philimon Mateke; Deputy Foreign Minister of Kingdom of Malaysia, Reezal Naina.

MOTC, GAC sign MoU for customs clearance services

Emiri Guard Commander Major General Hazza bin Khalil Al Shahwani met Ambassador of the Republic of France to Qatar Eric Chevallier. They reviewed bilateral relations and means of developing them, in addition to enhancing prospects for cooperation and matters of common concern.

Emiri Guard Commander meets French envoy

The Peninsula

The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) in its capacity as

head of the e-Government Steering Committee and the General Authority of Customs (GAC) inked a memorandum of understating (MoU) with a view of further developing customs clearance services in Qatar.

The MoUwas signed by Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Jamal, Chairman of GAC, and Hassan Jassim Al Sayed, the Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary of Government Information Tech-nology Sector.

As per the MoU, the two parties will be collaborating in executing the second phase of the Customs Clearance Single Window “Al-Nadeeb” and sup-porting the deployment and implementation of its first phase. The agreement reflects the two parties’ continuing cooperation in developing cus-toms services in accordance with the directives of the coun-try’s leadership, toward modern electronic services as outlined in the strategic goals of the

Qatar Digital Government 2020 Strategy.

“Developing and upgrading the customs services in Qatar are a supportive tool to achieve the goals of the Qatar Digital Government 2020 Strategy and contribute to boosting national and global economy, facilitat-ing world trade, and encouraging investment through streamlined and smoother customs procedures,” Al Jamal said on the occasion.

“The Ministry is delighted to cooperate with GAC on developing the services relat-ing to customs clearance and supporting GAC’s digital trans-formation plans,” said Al Sayed.

“Phase Two improvements will be focused on streamlining the procedures and enriching the customer experience, aim-ing to meet the growing needs and keep abreast of best inter-national practices in that field,” he said, emphasizing the Minis-try’s keenness to continue coordination with all ministries and government entities across the country to achieve the goals of Qatar Digital Government 2020 Strategy.

Advisory Council delegation to take part in Brussels meetingA DELEGATION: From the Advisory Council will participate in the parliamentary meet-ing between the Qatari Advisory Council and the European Parliamentary Union (EPU), scheduled to be held at the EPU headquar-ters in Brussels tomorrow. The meeting will discuss the strengthening of parliamentary relations between the Advisory Council and the European Parliament on one hand and the Advisory Council and parliaments of the EU member states on the hand.

Aster offers free cholesterol checkupsThe Peninsula

Aster Medical Centre, a division of Aster DM Healthcare the largest private healthcare provider in Qatar will offer

free cholesterol checkup at their medical centres situating in Old Al Ghanim (Behind Al Watan centre, Bank Street), Industrial Area (Near Foot over bridge and BMW Serv-ice station) and Al Khor (Near Al Khor Lulu mall) on July 14.

The check-up will be available for eve-ryone between 8 am and 11 am. Dr Sameer Moopan, Chief Executive Officer, Aster DM Healthcare, Qatar said, “The main aim behind this activity is to generate an interest in pre-ventive healthcare; there by creating a healthy human being. Early diagnosis is very critical in the treatment of any disease. By offering such free services, we hope to make quality healthcare accessible to all.” Aster conducting this event as a part of their 30th anniversary activities titled, Aster@30.

Cardiology camp at Naseem Al RabeehThe Peninsula

Naseem Al Rabeeh Medical Centre is organising a cardiology campaign on July 15 between 8 am and 3pm at the

C ring road branch. The campaign will pro-vide cardiology consultation and complimentary medicine for the public. Pri-ority will be given to those who book in advance. For more information and Regis-tration please contact 31582424 ,66224081.

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05WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017 HOME

Sidi Mohamed The Peninsula

The Compensation Claims Committee has received over 130 cases of requests and complaints filed by

the people affected by the siege imposed by some neighbouring countries in the last two days, a source at the committee told The Peninsula.

“In the last two days, we have received more than 130 complaints and over 40 calls asking about documents required, and we expect to receive more because we have not officially announced the official opening, but we have registered all cases which came to us,”, said the source.

“In the first day opening, on Monday, we received 24 cases and most of them were from companies and individuals,” he added. The source also expects more branches to be open soon

to serve all areas, instead of one place which is at the Doha Exhi-bition and Convention Center (DECC).

People told The Peninsula that they want authorities to open more branches instead of one. They said people were coming from different places, so it’s better if there were more than one place to serve all areas.

In its official headquarter, the committee has 10 counters to receive complaints from cit-izens and expatriates and it is working to make procedures easier for people.

Replying question about the work of the committee, he said that the committee’s employees have to register all complaints and the complainant has to offer the required documents like property papers and invoices, and then legal committee will see all files to evaluate the damage.

Also there will be a weekly meeting for the committee to see the cases and to facilitate the work. The employees of the committee who receive the cases are legal experts.

The aim of establishing the committee, he said, is to save people's rights, to ask affected

people to come to register their complaints, satisfy their queries, advising them to not listen to any rumours saying people who raise complaints would face

punishments from siege coun-tries. It is right of the affected people to ask for compensation which is guaranteed by the law.

The committee was set up to receive all cases of requests and complaints filed by those affected by the siege in the pub-lic and private sectors as well as individuals.

The Committee is chaired by the Attorney General and includes representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice as members.

It receives all claims, sort them and take decision on them and then refer them to the rel-evant jurisdictions, whether at the local level (the Qatari courts) or at the level of the interna-tional courts in cases requiring international arbitration through overseas law firms commissioned by the Commit-tee to handle the claims.

Businessman lost two shipments worth QR1m

Another resident Mohamed, representative of a com-pany which is affected by

the blockade, said that the UAE seized two shipments consisting of agricultural equipment com-ing from Europe

"Concerned authorities in the UAE refused to release it and said the only solution is to send back the shipment to the source country. Sending shipment back will be an additional burden as the cost will be doubled," he said. He added that, he has all the necessary documents about this, and the loss is estimated at QR1m. "Returning the shipment will cost us more, in addition to the delay in my project due to this,” he added.

Compensation Committee receives 130 complaints The aim of establishing the committee, he said, is to protect people's rights and ask affected people to come to register their complaints, enquire their queries and advise them not to listen to any rumours. It is the right of the affected people to ask for compensation which is guaranteed by law.

Officials receiving complaints from people at the Compensation Claims Committee headquarters at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, yesterday.

Fazeena Saleem The Peninsula

Construction companies in the country have suffi-cient stock of building

materials for the coming months and arrangements are under-way to find new import destinations and alternative routes to bring shipments, say industry sources.

Also arrangements are underway to find suitable local suppliers of building materials. “We usually bring building materials in large stock. There are stocks at least for another few months. By then we will find suitable countries and compa-nies to import building materials,” said a civil engineer at a company which handles some major construction projects.

“Only some building mate-rials were imported from the

blockade countries. Other mate-rials like used to create a hidden void for the passage of mechan-ical and electrical services are brought in from other countries. Some materials are imported from Europe destinations, but those were coming via the blockade countries. In such cases we need only to find alter-native routes,” he added. According to industry experts, steel and cement are the major building materials required for construction. And the demand for concrete is fulfilled by the Qatar National Cement Company.

“We get cement from the Qatar National Cement Com-pany, for steel and some other materials we are looking for alternative countries. A quality evaluation and approval is needed to be obtained for every materiel we use for building construction. For time being we

have sufficient materials. Before the stocks end will find new importers and get the approv-als. Therefore there won’t be any delay in completing projects,” said a Quantity Surveyor.

Earlier, Qatar Primary Mate-rials Company (QPMC) had confirmed that it has sufficient stock of gabbro, fine sand and limestone material for one year. Also last month a meeting was held with representatives of many companies importing pri-mary materials in Qatar to find new countries to import mate-rials. According to Essa Al Hammadi CEO of QPMC, QPMC is working on a strategy is to increase the strategic stock of gabbro and limestone and the company has succeeded to have a stock, which currently stands at about 14 million tonnes, of which 11 million tonnes of gab-bro and 3 million tonnes of limestone.

Sanaullah Ataullah The Peninsula

Unfazed by the blockade on Qatar, the local real estate market is giving

good performance, said real estate experts.

Real estate transactions reached over QR530m during July 4 to July 6, according to a report issued by the real estate registration department at the Ministry of Justice yesterday.

A total of 48 plots of land, commercial buildings, houses, and villas were sold last week.

“The blockade does not have any impact on local real estate market,” Khalifa Al Musalmani, a Qatari real estate and expert told The Peninsula.

“About 97 percent investors of real estate are citizens and they have zero fear on the future of real estate market due to blockade.”

“So I assure the investors that there is no need to worry because of blockade. The mar-ket is strong, it is performing

well and it is expected to be con-tinued, said Al Musalmani.

Speaking on volume and number of real estate transac-tions made last week, the real estate evaluator and expert said “an average real estate trading ranges between QR400m and QR500m in the local market”.

“Last week transaction reached QR530m it means that market is performing very well,” said Al Musalmani. Most big deals were struck in Al Wukair that falls under Al Wakrah municipality.

The highest transaction worth QR195m was a plot of land measuring 126,989 squm in Al Wukair followed by another plot of land measuring 43,934 sqm that was sold at QR60m at same area.

Another plot of land meas-uring 32,486 sqm gave its owner QR55m in Al Wukair. A plot of land measuring 42,030 sqm was sold at QR35m in Al Wukair.

A multi-used building meas-uring 20,622 sqm located in Al Mashaf area of Al Wakra

municipality provided QR30m to its owner. Another multi-used building measuring 828 sqm at Rawdat Al Khail, Doha munici-pality was sold at QR35m.

A residential complex meas-uring 2,450 sqm at Al Wab, Al Rayyan Municipality traded at QR20m.Another deal struck last week was a plot of land meas-uring 2,368 sqm at QR10m in M u i t h e r , A l R a y y a n municipality.

The remaining deals ranges between QR1m to QR5m and some of them costs below half million Qatari riyals.The small deals includes a plot of land measuring 104 sqm at a total of QR392,308 in Al Wakra and a house measuring 210 sqm worth QR943,125 in Umm Salal Ali.

Doha and Al Wakra munic-ipalities took the highest numbers of deals as 12 deals each followed by Umm Salal Municipality with 10 deals. Al Rayyan Municipality ranked third with seven deals. Al Khor and Al Zakhira Municipality shared five deals.

No impact on real estate Construction firms have enough stocks for months

A citizen lost 90 camels and four vehicles

A c i t i z e n , S a l e m Mohamed Al Dajran (pictured), said that he

lost 90 camels having a cost of around QR5m and also lost four vehicles (two four-wheels and two small ) in Saudi Ara-bia. He was banned to go back to take or even to deal or manage the case. He has lost all his property there without any reason.

He hoped that the com-mittee will raise his claim to get his compensation. He could not even send them money to workers, taking care of camels in Saudi Arabia, to feed animals which were left in the desert.

“I came to register my claim and I brought the doc-uments with me to committee and hope that this committee will do its best for us to get our rights,” he said.

Al Dajran lost 40 camels

Mabkhoot Ahmed Al Dajran (pictured), a citizen, was another

victim of the siege who lost 40 camels. “I lost about 40 cam-els estimated to be at QR1m and also lost a vehicle which carry the full mobile bed room, and I don’t know anything about it now,” he said.

The committee received more than 130 complaints and over 40 calls

More branches to be opened soon to serve all areas

The committee has 10 counters to receive complaints

A weekly meeting for the committee to see the cases and to facilitate the work

The aim of establishing the committee is to save peo-ple's rights

06 WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017HOME

The Peninsula

For 16-year-old Seb Carr (pictured), the Supreme Committee for Deliv-ery and Legacy’s (SC’s) youngest

Generation Amazing volunteer, the groundbreaking initiative has altered his outlook on life, and he says he has now witnessed first-hand how football can change the societies that we live in.

“If someone woke me in the middle of the night and asked me to tell them about Qatar, it is my experience with Genera-tion Amazing which would first come to mind,” he said. “It’s been a fascinating journey for me, a great learning experi-ence and it gives me great satisfaction to see the results of our work.”

For Seb, working with the Inclusive Generation initiative – a strand of the pro-gramme which helps develop life, leadership and communications skills among Qatar’s construction workers – was a natural step, having moved around the world for most of his life.

Growing up he spent time in Sri Lanka, India, Syria and Qatar with his English Language teacher parents. The interac-tion with different cultures led to him taking an active interest in how different communities integrate into society.

“As a Generation Amazing community coach, my role is to improve the commu-nication skills of workers who might not

share a common language but are in love with football,” he continued.

“I work with them to convey thoughts through body language and the language of football and also work with them on their confidence levels, skills which are transferrable to their work place.” It was his love of football that led to him reach-ing out to the programme to find out if they would accept him as a volunteer.

His father’s passion for the game, and his undying loyalty to Liverpool Football Club, was contagious and it was inevita-ble that he would eventually join a football team and dedicate his spare time to train-ing. “I have been training at Evolution Sports for the last five years from the time I moved to Qatar, and when my uncle heard about Generation Amazing, he told me that I should consider joining the pro-gramme, and that I would love it. “I took his advice and joined last May at the incep-tion of the Inclusive Generation programme for workers in Qatar, and I haven’t looked back. I am a member of a band, but if I had to choose between the two, I would choose Generation Amazing every time!”

“Playing football brings a smile to the faces of people who take part in Genera-tion Amazing after a long day of work."

When asked about his favourite Gen-eration Amazing memory, Seb was quick to answer. “The memory I will take away

with me is watching the transformation that is apparent in each of the workers in the programme from when they step into the GA coaching venue to when they com-plete the course. I recall that a couple of workers were introverts and joined as players when we started the programme last May. “But Generation Amazing’s foot-ball for development curriculum helped to develop aspects of their personalities and they worked meticulously to gradu-ate from player to community coach within a few months.”

Seb now firmly believes in the power of football to bring about positive change in communities, as he has witnessed these developments first-hand in Qatar. If you are interested in volunteering for Gener-ation Amazing, please contact Mead Al Emadi, at: generationamazing@sc.qa.

'Generation Amazing' is amazing: Seb Carr

The Peninsula

Qatari nationals and expats alike have joined together to sign in the huge poster of

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (Tamim Al Majd) in front of Almuftah Group head office in Al Sadd.

The poster of the Emir was filled with the signatures of Almuf-tah Group employees and executives, as well as passersby who were welcomed to join in the activity. The signing activity is part of showing support for the achievements and appreciation to Qatar’s leadership, especially for the Emir.

Participants to the event where given free T-shirts and stickers of different sizes. Abdulrehman Muf-tah Almuftah, Chairman of Almuftah Group; Ibrahim Almuf-tah, Managing Director; Rami Yarvas, Manager of Human Resources; Basel Srour, Senior Division Manager of Almuftah Trading and other executives were present. Ibrahim said, “As we

witness many changes in this country, the people of Almuftah Group, locals and expats alike, have been so keen in expressing

their gratitude towards the remarkable leadership of Qatar. This is a truly memorable day for us here at the company.”

QNA

As part of Qatar Media Cooperation scope of keenness on innova-

t ion, d ivers i ty and innovation, Qatar TV is launching a new package of programmes starting today.

This package will launch another phase of the TV journey and will bring view-ers with a new visual identity.

With this new vision, Qatar TV affirms its efforts to satisfy viewers wherever they are and its care to change the content of TV and enhance its proximity to the viewer and to listen to its aspirations.

The TV image reflects the national identity that is based on the experience of humanity and the richness of cultural diversity.

Qatar TV is committed to this new experience and is determined to be at the dis-cretion of the public and to satisfy his ambition and wel-comes the interaction of the public and suggestions across the various platforms of social networking for tel-evision to support the experience and contribute to the development.

Qatar TV launches new programmes package today

The Peninsula

Iglesia Ni Cristo Qatar (INCQ) launched its’ second year of humanitarian activities in Doha through a blood donation campaign

at Hamad Hospital on July 07. It started at

1:00pm and finished at 9:00pm. Nearly 800 people participated in the event. "Participants registered themselves as blood donors three months before the campaign. This activity will help Hamad Hospital Blood Bank to ensure availability of blood in case of emergency."

INCQ holds blood donation campaign

The Peninsula

Following an extensive res-toration, Aleph Rome Hotel, an elegant property

at the heart of Rome, has reo-pened as part of the exclusive Curio Collection by Hilton, a glo-bal portfolio of upper upscale, independent hotels and resorts.

Acquired by Al Rayyan Tour-ism Investment Company “ARTIC” in 2015, Aleph Rome Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, is now an 88-room hotel based just a short stroll from the leg-endary Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Villa Borghese and many other key attractions. The 1930s-built property is the first in Rome and the second in Italy forthe rapidly growing Curio Collection by Hiltonof locally authentic hotels.

Sheikh Mohammad bin Faisal Al Thani, Vice-Chairman of ARTIC and owner of Aleph Rome Hotel, commented: “We are excited to announce that Aleph Rome Hotel,Curio Collec-tion by Hilton,is now open. We are very proud of this property which has undergone substan-tial renovation and restoration work to transform it into one of Rome’s most distinctive and iconic hotels. This project reflects ARTIC’s strategy to add value to its portfolio properties, enhanc-ing their growth and

development and increasing the returns on our investments. We are confident that Aleph Rome Hotel will be another long term successful investment and another step in strengthening our position as a growing inter-national hotel investment group.”

“We’re proud to bring Curio Collection to Rome, a city full of classic treasures,”said Mr. Mark Nogal, global head, Curio Col-lection by Hilton. “Aleph Rome Hotel – with its historic

yet modern charm and prime location – epitomizes our com-mitment to allowing guests to discover and experience distinc-tive hand-picked properties, each with its own character and story to explore.”

Tarek M El Sayed, Managing Director and CEO of Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company “ARTIC” also commented: “This project reflects ARTIC’s commit-ment to maintaining a strong investment presence in the world’s leading hospitality

markets. The renovation of the Hotel adds significant value to its existing attributes, its central location and beautiful architec-ture. As part of the Curio Collection, our partnership with Hilton will now ensure it oper-ates to the highest standards, further enhancing its value and demonstrating the continuing momentum of ARTIC’s growth as a global hotel investment company.”

The property-wide renova-tion of Aleph Rome Hotel focused on blending its Roman charm with contemporary fea-tures, while preserving its spirit, grandeur and historical treas-ures, including authentic

Cipollino marble.Guests will enjoy a distinctly remarkable experience, taking advantage of a wide range of uniquely re-designed guest rooms and suites, restaurants and bars, along with a rooftop pool overlooking the city of Rome. The hotel is con-veniently located near the Barberini metro station, between Via Veneto and Piazza Barberini.

To receive instant access to the benefits they care about most – including exclusive discounts, free Wi-Fi and Honors Points towards free nights – guests are encouraged to joinHilton Hon-ors and book directly through preferred Hilton channels.

Renovated Aleph Rome Hotel reopens

Almuftah Group shows support to Qatar

Sheikh Mohammad bin Faisal Al Thani, Vice-Chairman of ARTIC and the owner of Aleph Rome Hotel.

Tarek M El Sayed, Managing Director and CEO of Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company ARTIC.

A view of Aleph Rome Hotel.

Ibrahim A Al Muftah, Managing Director of Al Muftah Group of Companies, and other officials in front of the image of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Al Sadd yesterday. Pic: Kammutty VP / The Peninsula

Participants and organisers during the blood donation campaign organised by INCQ at Hamad Hospital yesterday.

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07WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Beirut

AFP

Islamic State group chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was reported dead yesterday, a

day after Iraq declared it had driven the jihadists from their one-time biggest stronghold of Mosul. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a longtime monitor of the country's conflict, said it had information from top IS leaders confirming Baghda-di's death.

The report could not be inde-pendently verified and Baghdadi has been reported dead several times.

But if confirmed, his death would mark another devastat-ing blow to the jihadist group after its loss of Mosul, which Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi said on Monday had been retaken from IS after a gruelling months-long campaign.

"Top tier commanders from

IS who are present in Deir Ezzor province have confirmed the death of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, emir of the Islamic State group, to the Observatory," the Britain-based monitoring group's director Rami Abdel Rahman said. "We learned of it today but

we do not know when he died or how." Deir Ezzor, in eastern Syria, remains largely under IS control even as the group is los-ing territory elsewhere in the country and in neighbouring I raq . Abdel Rahman

said Baghdadi "was present in eastern parts of Deir Ezzor prov-ince" in recent months, but it was unclear if he died in the area or elsewhere.

There was no official confir-mation or denial of the news on

social media platforms used by IS. The US-led coalition fighting the jihadist group in Syria and Iraq said it could not verify the Observatory's information.

"We cannot confirm this report, but hope it is true," said coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon. "We strongly advise ISIS to implement a strong line of succession, it will be needed," he added, using a different acro-nym for IS.

Asked if the coalition had a process underway to examine such claims, Dillon said: "We have professionals who use all information at their disposal to verify reports before we would confirm any allegations."

US President Donald Trump yesterday tweeted "Big wins against ISIS!"

It was not immediately clear if that was a reference to the Mosul recapture, Baghdadi's reported death, or both.

There have been persistent

rumours of Baghdadi's death in recent months, and Russia's army said in mid-June that it was seeking to verify whether it had killed the IS chief in a May air strike in Syria.

The US-led coalition said at the time it could not confirm whether the Russian strike had killed Baghdadi.

With a $25m US bounty on his head, Baghdadi has kept a low profile and was rumoured to move regularly throughout IS-held territory in the area straddling Iraq and Syria.

The 46-year-old Iraqi-born leader of IS has not been seen since making his only known public appearance as "caliph" in 2014 at the Grand Mosque of Al Nuri in Mosul.

IS destroyed the highly sym-bolic site before Iraqi forces could reach it as they pushed the jihadist group from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched their campaign in October to retake Mosul.

IS chief reported dead after Mosul defeat A huge blow

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a longtime monitor of the country's conflict, said it had information from top IS leaders confirming Baghdadi's death.

His death, if confirmed, would mark another blow to the jihadist group after its loss of Mosul.

Beirut

AP

A US-backed, Kurdish-led militia yesterday drove Islamic State militants

from a northern Syrian town where the extremists had once run a training camp named for Osama Bin Laden.

The Syrian Democratic Forces have been advancing against IS on both sides of the Euphrates River Valley in Syria while battling the group for con-trol of its de facto capital, Raqqa, with US air and ground support. The SDF captured Al Ukayrshi, 14km southeast of Raqqa and once home to a sprawling jihadi military installation, said spokesman Mustafa Bali.

The IS-run Aamaq news agency reported only that the militants had blown up a car

bomb in the town Monday, kill-ing 11 Kurdish fighters. The IS group is reported to have killed more than 200 of its own mem-bers in al-Ukayrshi in 2015,

suspecting that they had defected to a rival faction, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Ankara

Anatolia

Turkey has started yester-day to mark the first anniversary of last July's

coup attempt through various events across the country.

On July 15, Democracy and National Unity Day events are to be held under the auspices of the Presidency and will take place until Sunday evening.

Across the country, the tombs of the martyrs were also visited in the scope of July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim visited the mar-tyrs cemetery in Istanbul’s Edirnekapi district.

Yildirim, who arrived before Erdogan, greeted visitors and distributed toys to the children at the entrance of the cemetery.

Family and Social Affairs Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, the Justice and Develop-ment (AK) Party’s deputy chairman and spokesman, Mahir Unal, AK Party Deputy Chairman Hayati Yazici, Istan-bul Governor Vasip Sahin, 1st Army Commander Gen. Musa Avsever and Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas were also present.

In Ankara, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu inaugurated a photo exhibition entitled "July 15 Treacherous coup attempt with Photos" organized by the Directorate General of Press and

Information. Soylu also visited the tombs of the martyrs in Ankara’s Golbasi district.

In southern province of Adana, Turkish EU Minister Omer Celik visited the graves of the twin police officers Ahmet and Mehmet Oruc, who were

martyred in Golbasi district dur-ing an air attack on July 15. Environment and Urbanisation Minister Mehmet Ozhaseki vis-ited the central Kayseri province's garrison and the Air Command Cemetery within the scope of the July 15 events.

Jerusalem

AFP

The Gaza Strip may already be "unlivable", a United Nations official

warned yesterday, after a decade of Hamas rule and a crippling Israeli blockade.

Robert Piper, the UN's top humanitarian official in the Palestinian territories, said, in an interview, "all the "indi-cators are going in the wrong direction". "We predicted some years ago that Gaza would fast become unlivable on a host of indicators and that deadline is actually approaching even faster than we predicted -- from health access, to energy to water," he said.

A 2012 UN report pre-dicted the Palestinian enclave would be "unlivable" by 2020 if nothing was done to ease the blockade.

Tunis

AFP

A trial opened in Tunisia yesterday over the 2015 attack on the

Bardo museum that killed 21 foreign tourists and a police officer, court officials said.

Two gunmen opened fire at the National Bardo Museum in an operation claimed by the Islamic State group. Some 21 detained sus-pects, including two women, attended Tuesday morning's unannounced hearing, defence lawyer Samir Ben Amor said.

Three others, who were not under arrest, were not present, he said. About 30 people are also on trial in absentia, defence lawyer Rafik Ghak said. The suspects were not named.

Since its revolution in 2011, Tunisia has faced a series of jihadist attacks that have claimed the lives of more than 100 soldiers and police along with 20 civilians and 59 foreign tourists, according to an official tally.

A month after the Bardo attack, 38 foreign holiday-makers including 30 Britons were killed in a gun and gre-nade attack on a beach resort near the city of Sousse.

Syrian forces capture IS-held town

This file image shows the leader of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, aka Caliph Ibrahim, at a mosque in the militant-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

An elderly man sits in front of a vegetable shop near damaged buildings in the province of Daraa, Syria, yesterday.

Khartoum

Reuters

Sudan has complied with all US demands for lifting sanctions, it said yester-

day, a day before the United States is expected to decide whether to permanently lift 20-year restrictions that have hobbled the country’s economy.

Former US President Barack Obama temporarily lifted the longstanding eco-nomic sanctions for six months in January, suspending a trade embargo, unfreezing assets and removing financial sanctions.

The relief could become permanent today if Washing-ton decides Sudan has complied with a list of demands that include resolving internal mil-itary conflicts in areas such as war-torn Darfur, cooperating on counter-terrorism and improving access to humani-tarian aid.

“The natural and logical step is that America’s economic sanctions are lifted from Sudan because Sudan has imple-mented what was asked of it entirely,” Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Abdul Ghani al-Naim said.

“The two sides have had monthly joint meetings to fol-low up on implementation and

there doesn’t remain anything left to be done. Positive progress was achieved,” Naim said. Sudan this month extended a unilateral ceasefire until the end of October with rebels it has been at war with in the southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Darfur regions.

The US State Department did not respond to a request for comment on whether it planned to lift the sanctions.

Sudan is looking to win back access to the global bank-ing system, potentially unlocking badly needed trade and foreign investment that could help it manage soaring inflation of about 35 percent and a shortage of foreign cur-rency that has hampered its ability to purchase from abroad.

The economy has been reeling ever since South Sudan, which contains three-quarters of former Sudan’s oil wells, seceded in 2011. With revenue drying up, the government last year was forced to usher in aus-terity measures, announcing cuts to fuel and electricity sub-sidies. The sanction relief would not change Sudan’s designation as a state-sponsor of terrorism, and President Omar Hassan al-Bashir remains wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.

Sudan fulfils US conditions for sanctions relief

Turkey begins July 15 coup attempt commemorations

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (centre) with July 15 coup attempt's martyrs' relatives and veterans in Istanbul, Turkey, yesterday.

Johannesburg

AFP

South Africa's Communist Party, a key ally of the rul-ing ANC, has banned

President Jacob Zuma from addressing its congress this week, an official said yesterday, highlighting his political troubles.

The South African Commu-nist Party (SACP) has been increasingly critical of Zuma's corruption-tainted leadership, which has seen the ANC suffer a sharp drop in public support. It will be the first time that Zuma, who came to power in 2009, has not addressed the congress, held every four years. "We advised the ANC that due

to the tensions we are having... it would be best for the presi-dent not to address the national congress," the party said.

Zuma was forced to aban-don a rally in May after he was jeered by the crowd, and the SACP said it did not want the same to happen at its event.

The party has called on Zuma to step down following mounting allegations against him, including over the wealthy Gupta business family, which is said to have undue influence over his government. The SACP, along with the ANC and the trade union federation COSATU, was at the forefront of the struggle to end white-minority rule that led to the first non-racial elections in 1994.

ANC ally bars President Zuma from its congress

Gaza may already be 'unlivable': UN

Tunisia tries 21 over deadly Bardo attack

The agreement between Qatar and the United States on combating the financing of terrorism, signed in Doha yesterday, is a reaffirmation of Qatar’s commitment to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

The timing of the signing of this agreement is significant, as also the fact that Doha has chosen to ink this deal with Washington.

Qatar has been accused of supporting terrorism by some Arab countries which imposed an unfair blockade last month. Among the 13 demands which Doha was asked to fulfill as a precondition for restoring relations is what they call an end to support for terrorism. And it was one of the most baffling demands which attracted ridicule because it exposed the double standards and lack of clarity of the countries which imposed the siege. The agreement signed yesterday further strengthens Qatar’s position and weakens the position of siege countries which have failed to support their claims with evidence instead of resorting to rhetoric.

The agreement was signed during the visit of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Doha to try to find a solution to the Gulf crisis. Tillerson said the agreement had been under discussion for months. “The agreement which we both have signed on behalf of our

governments represents weeks of intensive discussions between experts and reinvigorates the spirit of the Riyadh summit,” Tillerson he said. Qatar’s Foreign

Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani echoed similar views when he said that the agreement was not linked to the crisis with the four Arab countries. “Today, the state of Qatar was the first to sign the executive programme with the United States to fight terrorism

financing,” the Foreign Minister said.

The agreement can help create a framework for

finding a solution to the current crisis. Qatar has always maintained that its foreign policy interventions are carried out with transparency and in broad daylight. In the current complex web of conflicts in the Middle East, where multitudes of groups and interests clash, many countries are favouring groups which help their interests. Qatar too has its preferences and interests, but those preferences have never worked against the interests of other Gulf countries. If there are divergences and differences, it’s a result of the complexity of the conflicts rather than a deliberate attempt to encroach into others’ terrain.

The accusation against Qatar of supporting terrorism will collapse after the agreement with the US. First of all, it’s an accusation which nobody believed, especially western countries which are in the forefront of fight against terrorism. Countries which imposed the siege should stop hiding behind the smokescreen they have created and must look at relations through the lens of the changing geopolitical realities in the region and the world. Getting stuck in the past is the biggest impediment to moving forward.

08 WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017VIEWS

E S T A B L I S H E D I N 1 9 9 6

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

msalim@pen.com.qa

Qatar-US deal

QUOTE OF THE DAY

We predicted some years ago that Gaza would fast become unlivable on a host of indicators and that deadline is actually approaching even faster than we predicted — from health access, to energy to water.

Robert PiperUN’s Humanitarian Official

The agreement signed with US on combating the financing of terrorism strengthens Qatar’s position in the current crisis.

Abed Abu Eisha was watching the news on Friday evening when he learned that the United Nations’ cultural arm had recognised his home city, the Old City of Hebron,

as a Palestinian World Heritage Site.The next afternoon, perched on a chair

outside a clothing store on the edge of the Old City, the 22-year-old broke into a broad grin as he discussed the historic decision.

“Of course, I’m happy,” Abu Eisha said. “When you see your culture being recognised by the whole world, it means a lot.

“We are so small, a small people,” he added. “Nobody sees our lives or culture; nobody sees how we live here, so to have this global recognition is special.”

Hebron’s Old City includes an ancient holy site that Muslims refer to as the Ibrahimi Mosque and Jews call the Tomb of the Patri-archs. Believed to be the burial place of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), the site has a special significance both for Jews and for Muslims, who constructed the mosque in the 14th century.

The Unesco ruling also placed Hebron’s Old City on the list of World Heritage Sites in danger, meaning that it will be eligible for extra funding and a UN team will be sent to evaluate it annually.

The largest city in the occupied West Bank, Hebron is home to more than 200,000 Palestinians. Its Old City is home to a few thousand Palestinians and also a few hun-dred religiously motivated Jewish settlers living under the protection of the Israeli military.

Palestinians who live, work or worship in the Old City face harsh conditions as a result of the Israeli military presence, including restrictions on freedom of movement and harassment by settlers.

The Ibrahimi Mosque is one of the most tightly controlled locations in the Old City, with Israeli military checkpoints installed throughout the area.

\ The building itself was partitioned by Israel into a mosque and synagogue in the mid-1990s after the Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein shot dead 29 Palestinians during prayers at the mosque.

Today, there are separate entrances for Jews and Muslims, each guarded by a cluster of Israeli soldiers, who inquire about visi-tors’ religions and prevent Muslims or Jews from visiting each other’s half of the building.

On a street adjacent to the holy site, Kha-led Mohammed’s ceramics business is located between two Israeli military check-points. He told Al Jazeera that his father had moved to the building in 1964, three years before the Israeli military occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

“Business is bad in Hebron,” he said, pointing to a row of long-shuttered shops on the street. “I’m happy with the Unesco herit-age decision. Will it change anything? I’m not so sure. Since when did Israel listen to the UN? They don’t care.

Palestinians hope UN ruling will improve life in HebronNigel WilsonAl Jazeera

“But it’s good - I feel like it is recog-nition for us,” he added hopefully. “Maybe with the Unesco decision - just maybe - more tourists will come to visit the city.”

Twelve states on Unesco’s World Heritage committee voted in favour of the Palestinian proposal to name the city a heritage site, while three countries voted against the move and six abstained. The proposal was accepted despite intense lobbying from Israel and the United States to prevent the resolu-tion from passing.

Israel reacted furiously to the deci-sion and announced it would cut $1m in funding to the UN that would be

diverted to Israeli cul-tural projects in

Hebron. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “another delusional decision by UNESCO” and charged that by naming it a Palestinian heritage site, Unesco had denied Jewish ties to the site.

In a statement accompanying the decision, Unesco noted that the Ibrahimi Mosque compound was “built in the first century CE to protect the tombs of the patriarch Abraham/Ibrahim and his family. This place has become a site of pilgrimage for the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”

Alaa Shahin, who led the team behind the Palestinian submission, told Al Jazeera that “the Ibrahimi Mosque is universally important, not just for Palestinians”.

“Palestinians believe that our mis-sion is to preserve it,” he said. “We are happy to have this responsibility to pre-serve human culture on our land.”

Shahin said the resolution was necessary to preserve Hebron’s Old City, where Israeli military control has led to the closure of more than 500 shops and the installation of dozens of blockades that restrict freedom of movement.

“It is affecting the quality of life, eco-nomic life, the ability to provide public services and it is affecting our ability to preserve heritage,” he added. “Now, UNESCO is our partner in having responsibility to preserve the Old City. We hope they will be active on the ground to remove the checkpoints, to open the closed shops and the closed roads.”

The largest city in the occupied West Bank, Hebron is home to more than 200,000 Palestinians.The Unesco ruling placed Hebron’s Old City on the list of World Heritage Sites in danger, meaning that it will be eligible for extra funding and a UN team will be sent to evaluate it annually.

ED ITOR IAL

Palestinians sitting outside their houses in Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, yesterday.

09WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017 OPINION

Qatar-Kazakhstan relations at new heights

This year the Republic of Kazakhstan marks the 25th Anniversary of the estab-lishment of the diplomatic service since the country gained its Independence in December 1991. The Head of State, Presi-

dent Nursultan Nazarbayev laid the very important milestone in the modern history of the Kazakh Statehood as he signed on July 2nd 1992 the Law about “the Establishing of the Diplomatic service and the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs”.

Since this day began the history of the success-ful diplomacy of Kazakhstan and today country’s people can be very much proud of the achieve-ments of his foreign office. According to the general lines of the state development the diplo-macy has accomplished significant stages, best shown by the role played and still doing with many initiatives in the framework of reveral regional and international organizations. As first big step at that time Kazakhstan abandoned the 4th largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Moreover, Kazakh Leader signed in August 1991 the historical order to shut down the biggest nuclear test side in the world – the Semipalatinsk polygon. Immedi-ately after this very peaceful and brave act the state became member of the UN in 1992.

The first main successful steps in the interna-tional arena were made with the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) as an initiative of the President Nazarbayev from the year 1994. Later in 2002 Kazakhstan was first chairman and Almaty hosted first ever summit of this very powerful organiza-

tion. In 2001 Astana has cofounded together with Russia, China and other countries the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and also chaired this very important organization. The SCO was recently joined by India and Pakistan.

During the soviet period and since the begin-ning of the independency Kazakhstan was a multiethnic country with more than 120 nationali-ties and several religions. The country had an essential interest to keep the interethnic and inter-religious harmony. In 2003 the Congress of the Leaders of world and traditional religions as a wise vision of the President Nazarbayev was founded. An big exam for the diplomacy was the chairmanship in the one of the biggest and influ-ential international organizations in the Eurasian continent – the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), during which Kazakhstan in 2010 managed and settled out a n umber of critical issues and crises in the area of responsibility of the OSCE.

Much famous in the geopolitically region of the country is the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which Kazakhstan has also chaired. During the 38th Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC in Astana on the initiative of President Nazarbayev the name of the OIC was changed from the Organ-ization of the Islamic Conference in to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

As a non-permanent member of the UN Secu-rity Council for 2017-2018, one of the main priorities of these years’ work of Kazakhstan is the peace and prosperity in the Middle East. However, the world faces many crises, including some con-flicts, Kazakhstan is very thankful to its diplomacy and its international partner to host the successful talks in Astana on Syrian settlement. The so called Astana process is today a very important interna-tional platform for Syrian crises. We should also not forget the initiative of Astana in 2014-2015 with successfully serving as negotiation table on the nuclear programme of Iran.

One other success of the diplomacy was cam-paign the wining the right to host the world EXPO in Astana. From 10th June until 10th September this year the new and beautiful capital the city of Astana will deliver this contribution to global development – the EXPO 2017 on Future Energy with the delegates from more than 100 nations and 17 international organizations.

While Kazakhstan is proud of what it has achieved in the short history, has strategic cooper-ation of Kazakhstan with neighboring countries. The relations with the brotherly countries of Cen-tral Asia and countries of the CIS are developing

on top level. USA and European states support almost all of Kazakhstan’s international initiatives from the first days of the independence. Likewise, countries of South and South-East Asia, with which Astana have built a constructive political dialogue and dynamically developing areas of cooperation, occupy priority place in external pol-itics of the country. Recently Kazakhstan has started to stenting the cooperation with the coun-tries of the African continent.

Today Kazakhstan is member of the UN, OSCE, CIS, SCO, OIC, WTO and other important regional and international organizations and has diplo-matic relations with more than 180 countries of the world with more than 60 embassies, 6 perma-nent missions to the international organizations, 28 consulates general and consulates in several cities of the world. The diplomatic corps in Astana is also well growing and today we have the honor to host around 70 diplomatic missions in whole country.

It should be emphasized that Kazakhstan has very well developed cooperation with all Arab countries. Astana and Doha have also very flour-ishing ties with each other. In 1993 both countries signed the Joint Communiqué on Establishing Dip-lomatic Relations. Embassy of Kazakhstan in Doha established in 2007. Embassy of Qatar in Astana started duties in 2008.

Recently both countries have realized a number of main bilateral events in politic, trade-economic and investment cooperation, which are the pillars of the diplomatically relations. Short speaking about the history, 1993, Joint Communi-qué on Establishing Diplomatic Relations between Kazakhstan and Qatar was signed.

The platform for successful bilateral coopera-tion was grounded by with the first official visit of the President H.E. Nursultan Nazarbayev to Qatar in 1998 and the visit of the then Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to Kazakhstan in 1999. In 2007 Kazakh President second visited Doha and 2008 he received the Emir of Qatar in Astana. As first Ambassador in Doha in 2007 was appointed Azamat Berdybay, who before being Head of Mis-sion in Qatar, served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan as well as in KSA and UAE. He is now country’s Envoy to Jordan. The Ambas-sador Askar Shokybayev is successfully serving here in Doha since 2014. In the past he had posi-tions in Kazakh Embassies and Consulates General in Cairo, Istanbul and Dubai, as well as Office of the President of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 2008 Qatar nominated first Ambassador to Kazakhstan Naser ben Rashid Al Nuaimiy, who was the pioneer of the formation of the Embassy of Qatar in Astana and establishment of bilateral relations between two countries. Before this time he has been on diplomatically duties in Paris, Caracas and Geneva, as well as in Doha for Minis-try of Information and other bodies of the Government, nowadays he is Qatari Envoy to Panama.

At a later stage Ambassador Abdullah Ahmed Al Mutawaa followed as new Chief of Qatari Mis-sion in Astana. Al Mutawaa has organized the first official visit of the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin

Hamad Al Thani to Kazakhstan in

January 2014. He has done many efforts for the bilateral relations between Astana and Doha as able diplomat of Qatar with previous experience on several positions in Tokyo, Dhaka, Damascus, Havana and Manila.

Moreover during his activity in Astana Qatar became a full member of CICA at the Summit of this very important organization, which was held in May 2014 in Shanghai. The Ambassador was fully involved in the process of Qatar’s participa-tion at the constituent session of the General Assembly of the Islamic Organization for Food Security and the VII Conference of Agriculture Ministers of the OIC countries, which took place in April 2016 in Astana. In the conclusion of this event Qatar signed an agreement and joined the Islamic Organization for Food Security.

Since October 2016 Ambassador Ahmed Ali A J Al Tamimi has assumed his mission in Astana. The new Envoy of Qatar has already delivered a lot of successes. Al Tamimi has arranged in October 2016 an Agreement between Kazakhstan and Qatar on the allocation of a grant of $13m for the construction of a school named after Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Astana. He was very active in the framework of Qatar’s confirmation for the participation at EXPO-2017 specialised exhibition in Astana.

The pavilion of Qatar is one of the best and attractive solutions among the others on this very important highlight of Kazakhstan’s capital. The Kazakh side highly appreciates such a representa-tive of Qatar, who before his appointment to Astana successfully managed duties at the posts in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education in Doha, as well as in diplomatic positions in Riyadh and Dubai.

The cooperation on the level of the ministries and agencies is also well prospering, among them one of the priorities is the investment. Qatar has already done investment projects in Kazakhstan.

The current bilateral ties in all spheres are flourishing too and based on the agreements between the Heads of two States since in January 2014 the first official visit of the Emir of Qatar H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani to Kazakhstan took place and in October 2015 the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Qatar with his third official visit. At the present time both countries are working on some project in the field of the infrastructure and social sphere: as above stated in Astana will be build one school, in the Almaty region two maternities. The Qatar Invest-ment Authority is working with international partners to invest over $100m in the projects of the Infrastructure fund of Kazakhstan. Among the cooperation in trade and economic sphere an important mechanism is the Bilateral Kazakh-Qatari High Level Joint Commission, which 5th meeting will be held in autumn 2017 in Kaza-khstan. Astana is also expecting the Emir H H Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as one of the honoura-ble guests of the Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, planned for 10-11 September 2017.

As last highlights on the bilateral relations can be underlined the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov in Doha in April 2017 and the recent visit of the Min-ister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi in Astana.

In this regard the bilateral relationships between two countries are on high level due to the wise visions and friendship of the Leaders of Kazakhstan and Qatar.

The current achievements of the bilateral and multilateral cooperation were possible only thanks to the contributions to develop the bilateral rela-tionship. 2018 Kazakhstan and Qatar will celebrate the 25 Anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties and the story of fruitful bilateral cooperation will continue.

Qatar’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan Ahmed Ali A J Al Tamimi with the President of Kazakhstan N Nazarbayev in Astana.

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State of Qatar and Kazakhstan have very flourishing ties with each other. In 1993, both countries signed the Joint Communiqué on Establishing Diplomatic Relations. Embassy of Kazakhstan in Doha was established in 2007. Embassy of Qatar in Astana started duties in 2008.

As last highlights on the bilateral relations can be underlined the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov to Doha in April 2017 and the recent visit of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi to Astana. In this regard the bilateral relationships between two countries are on high level due to the wise visions and friendship of the leaders of Kazakhstan and Qatar.

The Qatar Investment Authority is working with international partners to invest over $100m in the projects of the Infrastructure fund of Kazakhstan.

Astana celebrates 25th Anniversary of the Diplomatic Services

The Peninsula

10 WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017ASIA

NEWS BYTES

LUCKNOW: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh presented its maiden Budget of Rs3,84,659 crore in the assembly yesterday, earmarking Rs36,000 crore for a loan waiver for farmers. Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal presented the Budget for 2017-18, which envisages 10.90 per cent more allocations than the previous one. He also reiter-ated the Bharatiya Janata Party government's commitment to the welfare of farmers and marginalised sections of society. Many schemes, including a Rs300-crore Urban Develop-ment Scheme and a Rs380-crore Malin Basti Development Scheme, have been named after Bharatiya Jana Sangh ide-ologue late Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, whose centenary year is being celebrated by the ruling BJP in a big way.

KOHIMA: Four people were killed and five others injured when a bridge collapsed yesterday in Nagaland's Dimapur, police said. The bridge collapsed near the Christian Insti-tute of Health Sciences & Research (Referral) hospital in Dimapur, a police official said. "Four people have died and five were reportedly injured in a bridge collapse," Dimapur's Commissioner of Police Limasunep Jamir told IANS. He said police have rushed to the spot to take stock of the sit-uation. The bridge also connects the designated camp of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Unification in Kheloi village. The NSCN-U is on ceasefire with the cen-tral government.

BHUBANESWAR: A major fire broke out at Nalco's captive power plant in Odisha's Angul yesterday, causing exten-sive damage but no one was injured, the state-run PSU said. The fire broke out in the old generator transformer of the plant's Unit-8 due to internal short circuit. However, there has been no injury to any person and there was no produc-tion loss on account of the fire. The generator transformer which has suffered extensive damage is valued at about Rs 10 crore, said sources. Four fire tenders rushed to the spot and controlled the fire. "There is no cause for panic. As the generator transformer was old, the damage on account of the fire is marginal," said a release from Nalco.

ALUVA: Malayalam superstar Dileep, who was arrested in con-nection with the abduction and molestation of a popular actress in February, was remanded in custody yesterday for 14 days and was removed as member from various film associations. On Monday, he was questioned at an undisclosed location near here, and later the police probe team recorded the arrest of the actor. He was brought to the Aluva Police Club. "I am innocent and I will prove my innocence. I was trapped," the actor said yester-day before being taken to the Aluva sub-jail. The police decided to arrest Dileep based on 19 pieces of evidence that they were able to gather in connection with the abduction.

Yogi govt presents maiden budget

4 dead as bridge collapses in Nagaland

Major fire in Odisha power plant

Actor Dileep sent to 14 days' custody

Arunachal Pradesh landslide

New Delhi IANS

The Supreme Court yes-terday extended across the country the Madras High Court order putting on hold the

Central government's notifica-tion banning the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter from the cattle market.

As a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Jus-tice D Y Chandrachud extended the operation of the Madras High Court order, the government told the court that it would be reno-tifying the Rules after considering o b j e c t i o n s f r o m t h e stakeholders.

"The interim order passed by the Madera bench of Madras High Court would extend to rest

of the country", the bench said in its order.

Even as Additional Solicitor General P SNarasimha told the bench not to pass any order as Central government was ame-nable to the High Court jurisdiction, the bench clarified that High Court order would extend to entire country.

Narasimha informed the bench that the government would not implement for three months the Rules banning the sale of cattle at livestock mar-kets for slaughtering.

Meat sellers have com-plained of the adverse impact on their trade including experts that is to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore.

The Central government had

on May 25 brought a notification by which sale and purchase of cattle in the cattle market for slaughter was banned. Several states refused to implement it.

The court order yesterday came on a plea by All India Jamitul Quresh Action Commit-tee, which has challenged notification banning the sale of cattle for slaughtering and regu-lating the transporting of livestock. After passing the order, the court disposed of the petition by All India Jamitul Quresh Action Committee and others.

All India Jamitul Quresh Action Committee had chal-lenged the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Live-stock Markets) Rules, 2017,

banning sale of cattle for slaugh-tering and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017 which pro-vides for the seizures, recovery of the cost of transportation, maintenance and treatment of seized animals.

It was contended by the organisation that both the rules banning sale of cattle for slaugh-tering and the other regulating the transporting of livestock were arbitrary, illegal, and unconstitutional.

It also argued the rule that the purchaser of cattle "shall not sacrifice the animal for any reli-gious purpose" was contrary to t h e P r e v e n t i o n o f

Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, whose Section 28 says it is not an offence to "kill any animal in a manner required by the reli-gion of any community".

Killing cows, as well as the possession or consumption of beef, is banned in most but not all Indian states. Some impose up to life imprisonment for infringements. The federal ban affected not just the trade in cows but bulls, bullocks, buffa-loes, calves and camels.

Modi's BJP pledged to impose a countrywide ban on the slaugh-ter of cows ahead of the 2014 national elections, but the fed-eral government failed to persuade opposition parties to back such a law.

Surat

IANS

The bodies of all seven Amarnath Yatra pilgrims killed by terrorists in

Jammu and Kashmir arrived here yesterday as the Gujarat government announcement Rs10 lakh compensation to the kin of each of the dead.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who received the bod-ies at the city airport, was full of praise for Salim Shaikh, the driver of the private bus who kept driving for at least two kil-ometres to the nearest Army camp even after coming under attack on Monday.

"We will recommend a brav-ery award for Salim who drove the bus two-to-three kilometres and saved the lives of the other 50 persons," the Chief Minister said. Rupani received the bod-ies along with 19 injured pilgrims and 32 others who were flown from Srinagar.

"The family members of the killed pilgrims will be provided Rs 10 lakh compensation by the Gujarat government while the injured will be given Rs 2 lakh," Rupani said.

Accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and Gujarat BJP president Jitu Vaghani, the Chief Minister met every injured person and expressed his sympathies with them. Rupani also spoke to the Jammu and Kashmir govern-ment to ensure that proper care was provided to the injured hos-pitalized in Kashmir.

On Monday night, six women and a man were killed and 19 others injured when militants attacked an unescorted bus from Gujarat at Khanabal in Anant-nag distr ict on the Srinagar-Jammu highway.

Two of the women were from Maharashtra while the oth-ers belonged to Gujarat. The bodies of the two Maharashtra

women will be later sent to their hometown. Of the 19 injured, eight were from Maharashtra.

The 40-day Amarnath pil-grimage began on June 29 and will end on August 7. So far, nearly 1.40 lakh pilgrims have reached the cave shrine.

Meanwhile, all the scheduled programmes of the ruling BJP in Gujarat were cancelled.

New Delhi

IANS

Former West Bengal Gov-ernor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, a grandson of

Mahatma Gandhi, was yes-terday named the opposition candidate for the post of Vice President by the Congress and 17 other parties, including the JD-U, which is backing the BJP candidate in the Presi-dent's election.

Setting the stage for a con-test with BJP-led NDA, which is expected to announce its nominee soon, Congress Pres-ident Sonia Gandhi announced the name of Gandhi, a former Indian envoy to South Africa and Sri Lanka, at a meeting of the opposition parties here at Parliament Library Building chaired by her.

"Gopalkrishna Gandhi is the opposition candidate for the Vice Presidential election. We have spoken to him and he has agreed to be the oppo-sition candidate," she said with JD-U leader Sharad Yadav seated on her left. The JD-U had broken ranks with the opposition and chosen to back Ram Nath Kovind, the NDA candidate, in the Presi-dential election. Gandhi, who belonged to the IAS, was the Indian High Commissioner to South Africa and Sri Lanka.

New Delhi

AFP

An Indian man tried to open an emergency exit door on a packed AirAsia

flight in midair, injuring fellow passengers and crew members who rushed to restrain him as the plane prepared to land, the airline said. Following the inci-dent Aftab Ahmed, 32, was detained and handed over to airport security in eastern Ranchi city yesterday.

"AirAsia would like to con-firm that the airline encountered an unruly passenger onboard (a) flight... from New Delhi to Ranchi on July 10," an airline spokesperson said in a state-ment. "Upon landing at Ranchi, the unruly passenger was handed over to the CISF (Cen-tral Indian Security Force) for further investigation," it added.

However officials did not comment on the status of the detained passenger, the exact sequence of events or his

possible motives. A Press Trust of India report said that Ahmed is a resident of Ranchi, the cap-ital of India's Jharkhand state.

"A man tried to open the emergency door... minutes before landing," the report said. "He also allegedly injured a few passengers and crew members when they attempted to stop him." Monday's incident came two months after India announced plans to create a national no-fly list of unruly passengers.

Panaji

IANS

In a heart-wrenching incident, a middle-aged woman believed to be in her late-for-

ties, was rescued yesterday after nearly 15 years from a locked room of her maternal house in North Goa's Candolim village. Superintendent of Police (Crime) Karthik Kashyap said that the woman, identified as Sunita Ver-lekar, was rescued with the help of activists from a women's right's NGO Bailancho Saad.

"She was in a closed room was for 15 years. We were informed about it by the NGO, fol-lowing which a Women's Police

Station team rescued her yester-day evening," Kashyap said.

The rescued woman was sent for medical examination to a local government hospital, before being admitted to the Panaji-based Institute of Psy-chiatry and Human Behaviour. Police sources said the victim lived in a locked room of the brother Mohandas' house.

"The brother occupied the rest of the house with his fam-ily and used to provide her with food. We found her without clothes in a room, which had no electricity. There was urine all around the place and she was being given food through a slit in the door," police said.

Top Court suspends ban on sale of cattle for slaughter

Bodies of Amarnath pilgrims brought to Gujarat

School-children holding candles and placards as they pay tribute to pilgrims who were killed in a gunbattle that erupted in Kashmir, inside a school in Ahmedabad, yesterday.

AirAsia passenger attempts to open exit door in mid-air

Gopalkrishna Gandhi is oppn candidate for Vice President

Goa woman rescued from locked room after 15 years

Nation-wide stay

Bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud extended the operation of the Madras High Court order, the government told the court that it would be renotifying the Rules after considering objections from the stakeholders.

Villagers look on during a rescue operation at the site of a landslide in Laptap village in the Papum Pare district of the state of Arunachal Pradesh, yesterday. At least five people were killed and 10 missing after a massive landslide buried homes.

11WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017 ASIA

Pakistan's ruling party rejects graft reportIslamabad

AFP

Pakistan's governing party has rejected as "trash" a corruption report accusing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

of living beyond his means, the latest in long-running allegations which sparked fresh calls yes-terday for him to resign. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) of civil-ian and military investigators issued its report Monday claim-ing there was a "significant disparity" in the Sharif family's income and lifestyle.

But the Sharifs and their allies were defiant, with his rul-ing PML-N party dismissing the report as "trash" in a statement, and his daughter and presump-tive political heir Maryam — also named in the report — vowing on Twitter that the allegations would be "decimated" in court.

It was not immediately clear what action the Supreme Court

would take over the report, whose recommendations are not legally binding. The court is scheduled to take up the case again on Monday.

The controversy erupted last year with the publication of 11.5 million secret documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca documenting the

offshore dealings of many of the world's rich and powerful.

Three of Sharif's four chil-dren — Maryam and his sons Hasan and Hussein — were implicated in the papers.

In April the Supreme Court said there was insufficient evi-dence to oust Sharif from power, but ordered the formation of the JIT to probe the claims.

At the heart of the case is the legitimacy of the funds used by the Sharif family to purchase several high-end London prop-erties via offshore companies.

Sharif's ruling PML-N party insists the wealth was acquired legally, through family busi-nesses in Pakistan and the Gulf.

"Failure on the part of all respondents to produce the req-uisite information confirming 'known sources of income' is prima facie tantamount to not being able to justify assets and the means of income," the JIT report stated.

It also accused family

members of submitting "falsified/tampered" documents, and made a new allegation against the prime minister, claiming he was the chairman of a secret offshore company in the United Arab Emirates. The release of the report spurred fresh calls by oppposition leaders and on social media for Sharif to step down.

The charge was led by crick-eter-turned-politician Imran Khan, whose Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party has spearheaded the push against Sharif.

Khan, who said Sharif has lost "moral authority", has also demanded the Supreme Court put the prime minister on the Exit Control List (ECL), claiming

he is a security risk.The allegations are a blow to

Sharif's credibility ahead of gen-eral elections due to be held by next year, and as the civilian gov-ernment appears to have reached an uneasy detente with the military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its existence.

Bangladesh arrests suspect in murder of RohingyasDhaka

AFP

Bangladesh police have arrested a man sus-pected of murdering

two Rohingya leaders in the country's southeast where tens of thousands from the group are living in camps after fleeing persecution in Myanmar, an official said yesterday.

Dhaka estimates that 400,000 Rohingya refugees are now in Bangladesh, with 70,000 arriving since October when Myanmar security forces launched a brutal crackdown on the minority group in neigh-bouring Rakhine state in response to militant attacks on police posts.

Dost Mohammad, a 32-year-old Rohingya man, was arrested Sunday from one of the many squalid camps in Bangladesh's coastal district of Cox's Bazar, which borders Rakhine and where thousands of the ethnic Mus-lim minority now live in grinding poverty.

Police said Mohammad was caught at Nayapara camp in possession of firearms, ammunition and drugs after a long manhunt.

Duterte says siege may end soon but IS threat will persistManila

AP

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said yesterday that a disastrous siege by

Islamic State group-aligned mil-itants of a southern city may end in 10 to 15 days but warned that the threat posed by the brutal group will continue to plague the country.

Duterte said he would try again this week to travel to Marawi city to be with govern-ment troops but acknowledged that bad weather and the

danger posed by the militants' deadly firepower have frustrated his travel plans.

"I think in 10 to 15 days it'll already be OK," Duterte said of the protracted urban battle with the militants, whose supply of weapons has surprised him.

"But remember the new scourge is ISIS, it will continue to haunt us," he said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group, in a speech before busi-ness executives.

Duterte said last Friday he would likely extend 60 days of martial law he imposed in the

southern Philippines to deal with the Marawi crisis because the sit-uation remains critical.

Hundreds of gunmen who attacked mosque-studded Marawi, a center of Islamic faith in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation, on May 23 are believed to belong to at least four local armed groups that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and joined in a loose alliance. Several foreign fighters also joined the insurrection. An unspecified number of gunmen are believed to have slipped out of the lakeside city.

After 50 days of ground assaults and airstrikes, troops have recaptured most areas of the city, with the death toll recently surpassing 500.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen Restituto Padilla said 381 mili-tants, 90 soldiers and policemen and 39 civilians have been killed in the fierce street-to-street fighting. About 300 civilians remain trapped in their homes in areas of fighting or are held by the militants, he said.

Security officials received intelligence about the planned attack days before the

unprecedented Marawi siege unfolded, but they, along with the president, have acknowl-edged they underestimated the militants' firepower.

"We knew that they were ... all of them were there," Duterte said. "But what I really didn't know ... the large number of fire-arms ... the supply doesn't end."

The militants' vast arsenal reflects a failure to address the spread of firearms in the vola-tile region, where insurgents and armed groups controlled by politicians have long had a presence.

Japan floods death toll rises to 25

Bangkok

Reuters

Gunmen shot dead eight people, including at least one child, in a house in

Thailand after holding them hos-tage, police said yesterday, a rare incident in a country where although guns are common, such mass shootings are rare.

The eight were killed in the southern province of Krabi, which is a popular beach desti-nation, after the gunmen stormed the house late on Mon-day and held the inhabitants hostage before shooting them, police said.

Three people were

wounded. Police said they believed the motive was some kind of personal dispute.

“They were found this morn-ing. Eight people died, three were injured. They were all found at the house,” Manat In-prom, an officer at the Ao Luk police sta-tion in the province, said.

“We believe there were five or six criminals.”

Thailand has a high rate of gun ownership and many peo-ple carry guns for their self-protection but such mass shootings are very rare.

According to the Interior Ministry, there are 6.1 million registered firearms in the coun-try of 67 million people. But

there are also many unregistered guns in circulation.

According to 2016 data from the University of Washington, Thailand had the highest reported rate of gun-related deaths out of 10 countries in Asia, about 50 percent higher than the Philippines, which came second on the list.

Krabi province is a popular holiday destination boasting beaches like Ao Nang and Rai Ley, though Monday's killings took place in an area removed from the main tourist drags.

The province boasts a large Muslim community who have lived in the region for centuries.

Afghan-American pilot circling globe arrives in KabulKABUL

AP

An Afghan-American female pilot on a solo flight around the world

seeking to inspire young women across the globe has taken a detour to visit her native Afghan-istan — and meet the country's president and civil society activ-ists struggling to safeguard women's rights. Shaesta Waiz left her single-engine plane in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to take a commercial flight to Kabul where she arrived on Monday night. The 29-year-old said her Beechcraft Bonanza A36 was not suited for flying over the mountainous terrain of her native country.

Waiz, the first female pilot from Afghanistan, began her journey in Florida in May and has since made stops in 11

countries, with eight more to complete her mission.

"The whole purpose of this flight around the world is not to set a world record," Waiz said dur-ing a welcoming ceremony by government officials and activists

in Kabul. "The purpose of this trip is to inspire young girls and boys to believe in themselves, to believe on what they are capable of doing, regardless of where they are from or the challenges you had faced in your life."

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed Waiz at his office later on Monday evening and told her how much he admired her courage. Waiz, in turn, promised Afghan women that once her world trip is done, she would come back and find ways to help them.

Much has changed for Afghan women since the Taliban were ejected from power 16 years ago. During their rule, women were not permitted to attend school or work, were largely confined to their homes, and subjected to public beatings for violations of strict rules on what they could wear in public.

Now millions of Afghan girls go to school, compared to prac-tically none in 2001, and many women work for the govern-ment and security services, run their own business, and are elected to parliament.

Tokyo

AFP

The death toll from torren-tial rains and flooding that swept through Japan's

south has reached 25, the gov-ernment said yesterday, as rescue teams battled through thick mud to rescue more than 100 still stranded.

Further downpours were predicted to pound Kyushu after swathes of the southwest-ern island were devastated last week by overflowing rivers —sweeping away roads, houses and schools and forcing thou-sands of people into makeshift shelters.

But many remain stranded, with emergency services strug-gling to reach them amid treacherous conditions.

Some 150 people were still

cut off as of Monday evening in hardest-hit Fukuoka and Oita prefectures, according to local government officials.

A total of 25 people have died while at least 25 remain unaccounted for, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said yesterday. Some 12,000 rescu-ers were making "utmost" efforts to find survivors and clear washed up driftwood hampering the search, Suga said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cancelled a visit to Estonia that was originally planned as a last leg of his European tour, which included the G20 summit in Germany, to come back to Tokyo yesterday afternoon to deal with the disaster.

Abe will visit Fukuoka and Oita prefectures Wednesday to talk to staff at shelters and local government officials, Suga said.

Eight dead in Thailand mass shooting

Worthless trash

Sharifs and their allies were defiant, with his ruling PML-N party dismissing the report as "trash" in a statement, and his daughter and presumptive political heir Maryam — also named in the report — vowing on Twitter that the allegations would be "decimated" in court.

Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar (centre) and Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique (left) at a press conference in Islamabad, yesterday, following the release of a corruption report by a Joint Investigation Team.

Police personnel conducting a search and recovery operation for missing victims in a flood-affected area in Fukuoka, yesterday.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani shakes hands with Afghan-American female pilot Shaesta Waiz at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, yesterday.

12 WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017EUROPE

A sculpture of the founder of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, next to a state emblem of the USSR at the Muzeon park of Arts in Moscow. This year Russia will mark the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution also known as the October Revolution.

Communist giant

Preparations under way in central London for the state visit of Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia today.

Grand welcome plannedEU and Ukraine sign pact ahead of key summitBrussels

AFP

The EU formally approved yesterday a landmark cooper-ation accord with Ukraine meant to

counter a hostile Russia ahead of a high-profile summit in Kiev.

The decision by the 28 European Union member states came hours before Russian For-eign Minister Sergei Lavrov was due to meet EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels.

The EU states said they had decided to formally conclude ratification of the Association Agreement with Ukraine, effec-tive September 1.

"This is the final step of the ratification process through which the EU and Ukraine com-mit to a close, long-term relationship in all main policy areas," a statement said.

"The Association Agree-ment is the main tool for bringing Ukraine and the EU closer together: it promotes deeper political ties, stronger economic links and the respect for common values," it said.

The European Union and Ukraine agreed the accord in late 2014 when EU-Moscow relations were at their lowest point for decades.

Ukraine's then-president Viktor Yanukovich had tried to back out of the association agreement in late 2013, spark-ing mass pro-EU protests which led to his toppling months later.

Moscow in turn annexed Crimea and backed pro-Rus-sian rebels in eastern Ukraine where more than 10,000 peo-ple have since died in fighting with government forces.

But both sides have made efforts to rebuild ties, with Lav-rov's visit to Brussels yesterday an example of the tentative detente.

Mogherini has said repeat-edly that the EU wants to improve relations but Moscow must first help implement the Minsk ceasefire accords to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The EU has also imposed sanctions against Russia for its intervention in Ukraine, spark-ing a sharp response from President Vladimir Putin who says they are both ineffective and counter-productive.

EU chief Donald Tusk and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker will attend the summit hosted by Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev today and tomorrow.

Poroshenko says Ukraine's future lies with the West, not with its Soviet-era master.

London mayor in affordable housing pushLondon

Reuters

London’s mayor says he has recruited a team of archi-tects and designers to help

build socially inclusive and envi-ronmentally sustainable communities, as the British cap-ital’s population grows towards 10 million people.

Sadiq Khan (pictured) said the city, with a population of 8.7 million, faces a “mammoth task” to rectify a failure to deal with decades of poorly planned growth, and begin building the 50,000 new homes Londoners need each year.

“Today, we face another wave of growth, the likes of which we’ve not seen for a cen-tury,” Khan said in a speech at

the London School of Econom-ics (LSE) on Monday to launch his ‘Good Growth by Design’ programme.

“In recent years, too much focus has been dedicated to developing the high-price, high-rise central London market. These expensive developments... haven’t delivered the genuinely affordable homes ordinary Lon-doners desperately need.”

Tony Travers, director of LSE’s research centre for Lon-don, said the city’s population is predicted to rise by 100,000 a year, exceeding 10 million by 2030.

Across London, average property prices have risen 90 percent in the past decade, and a report by the mayor’s office in February said a lack of afforda-ble housing is depriving Londoners of the security of home ownership.

Khan said the team of 50 design advisers, including Gha-naian-British architect David Adjaye and fashion designer Wayne Hemingway, are the first of a new generation he will bring in to guide the city toward inclu-sive growth.

A new scheme aims to

fast-track talented designers and planners from across the city into year-long placements in local authorities.

Khan said the new pro-gramme would reverse the drain of urban design expertise from local councils, after a massive fall in the proportion of archi-tects employed in the public sector since the 1970s.

Khan said the explosion in the number of skyscrapers and drastic changes to the city sky-line under his predecessor Boris Johnson had failed to provide the homes regular Londoners need.

Such growth has left Lon-doners with a housing crisis where rapid gentrification forces diverse communities from the city and strains local services, according to Khan.

'Sixth extinction' of wildlife faster than feared: ScientistsParis

AFP

The sixth mass extinction of life on Earth is unfolding more quickly than feared,

scientists have warned.More than 30 percent of

animals with a backbone — fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals — are declining in both range and population, according to the first compre-hensive analysis of these trends.

"This is the case of a biolog-ical annihilation occurring globally," said Stanford profes-sor Rodolfo Dirzo, co-author of a study published on Monday in the peer-reviewed US journal,

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Around a decade ago, experts feared that a new plan-etary wipeout of species was looming.

Today, most agree that it is underway — but the new study suggests that the die-out is already ratcheting up a gear.

It provides much-needed data about the threat to wildlife, mapping the dwindling ranges and populations of 27,600 spe-cies. For 177 mammals, researchers combed through data covering the period 1900 to 2015.

The mammal species that were monitored have lost at least a third of their original habitat,

the researchers found.Forty percent of them —

including rhinos, orangutans, gorillas and many big cats — are surviving on 20 percent or less of the land they once roamed.

The loss of biodiversity has recently accelerated.

"Several species of mam-mals that were relatively safe one or two decades ago are now endangered," including chee-tahs, lions and giraffes, the study showed.

Globally, the mass die-off — deemed to be the sixth in the last half-billion years — is the worst since three-quarters of life on Earth, including the non-avian dinosaurs, were wiped out 66 million years ago

by a giant meteor impact.On average, two vertebrate

species disappear every year.Tropical regions have seen

the highest number of declining species. In South and Southeast Asia, large-bodied species of mammals have lost more than four-fifths of their historical ranges.

While fewer species are dis-appearing in temperate zones, the percentage is just as high or higher.

As many as half of the number of animals that once shared our planet are no longer here, a loss the authors described as "a massive erosion of the greatest biological diversity in the history of Earth."

Uber seeks to better conditions for UK driversLondon

Reuters

Taxi app Uber said it will be improving an offer to drivers and would wel-

come greater legal clarity about different types of employment in Britain, in response to a government review into the gig economy published yesterday.

The review calls for a new category of worker called a “dependent contrac-tor” meaning that those Britons working for compa-nies such as Uber and Deliveroo would receive more benefits.

Uber said its drivers already earned on average more than the living wage of £7.50 ($9.68) an hour but it would go further.

London

AFP

British foreign minister Boris Johnson said yester-day that the European

Union could "go whistle" for the money they expect Britain to pay when withdrawing from the bloc.

"I think that the sums that I have seen that they propose to demand from this country seem to me to be extortionate and I think 'to go whistle' is an entirely appropriate expres-s ion," Johnson to ld parliament.

Britain last month began negotiations with the EU to set the terms of its divorce and set a potential timetable for

discussing a future free trade deal.

Among the thorny issues to be thrashed out between the UK and the rest of the EU is Brit-ain's estimated ¤100bn ($112bn) exit bill.

The EU says Britain must honour its contributions to the bloc's budget, which has already been agreed up to 2020, as well as commitments to development programmes for poorer member states.

But the true figure could be far lower, as the 100 billion does not account for tens of bil-lions that Britain is set to get back.

Prime Minister Theresa May had previously insisted that "no deal is better than a bad deal".

Moscow

AFP

Russia is considering retaliatory measures after the United States

expelled 35 of its diplomats in December, Foreign Minis-ter Sergei Lavrov said yesterday, without disclosing details.

"We are thinking about specific steps, and I don't believe that this should be discussed publicly," Lavrov told journalists in a televised briefing.

He blamed the "outra-geous" move on the administration of former president Barack Obama which "wanted to poison Rus-sian-American relations to the maximum and do every-thing to put the Trump administration in a trap."

Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told RIA-Novosti news agency that "there were several variants of a response and a harsh reaction is prepared."

The expelled diplomats were based in Washington and San Francisco.

The Kremlin at the time refrained from tit-for-tat expulsions but Russian news-paper Izvestia said Monday citing sources that Moscow may be expelling 30 US dip-lomats and seize some US property in the country.

Obama announced the expulsions in response to pur-ported hacking attacks dubbed "Grizzly Steppe" by US officials.

The EU states said they had decided to formally conclude ratification of the Association Agreement with Ukraine, effective September 1.

EU can 'go whistle' for Brexit bill: Johnson

The peacock is endangered in many parts of the world.

Russia mulls response to US expulsion of diplomats

13WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017 EUROPE

Berlin

Reuters

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel made an unusually strong attack

on Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday as politicians blamed each other for the violent pro-tests that overshadowed the G20 summit in Hamburg at the weekend.

The comments come as ten-sion mounts in Germany’s ruling coalition between Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and Gabriel’s Social Democrats (SPD) just over two months before a national election on September 24.

Some commentators have criticised Merkel’s choice of her birthplace, Hamburg, a seaport with a strong radical leftist tra-dition, to host the meeting. They say her desire to show her com-mitment to freedom of speech had backfired.

On Monday, members of Merkel’s conservatives sought to turn the blame back onto Ger-many’s left-wing parties. Some suggested that Hamburg’s SPD

mayor, Olaf Scholz, should resign for failing to stem the violence.

“Olaf Scholz is not responsi-ble for the staging of this summit,” Gabriel told the Funke newspaper group in an inter-view for publication today. “Whoever wants his resignation

... must also demand the resig-nation of Angela Merkel.

“She carries the political responsibility for the staging and direction of the G20 summit in Hamburg, which had a secret goal: the self-promotion of the CDU leader shortly before the election,” he added.

Gabriel’s comments drew a sharp rebuke from Andreas Scheuer, general secretary of the Christian Social Union, sister party to the CDU.

“Gabriel has blown a fuse,” he told the newspaper Bild. “It is a loutish blow below the belt from a Gabriel in election cam-paign mode who has lost his wits.”

About 20,000 police strug-gled to contain several hundred demonstrators who torched cars, looted shops and hurled Molo-tov cocktails and stones during the July 7-8 summit. Almost 500 officers were injured.

In a poll published earlier yesterday and conducted before the G20, Merkel’s CDU was lead-ing at 39 percent, with the SPD down a point to 22 percent.

Gabriel said the G20 summit had been a “total failure” with respect to the big topics affect-ing humanity - war, civil war, flight, hunger and poverty.

“But unfortunately today we have to be satisfied if the 20 heads of state of the rich coun-tries can just meet and it doesn’t get even worse."

Srebrenica

AFP

Thousands gathered in Sre-brenica yesterday to mark the 1995 massacre of about

8,000 Bosnian Muslims, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II, with some rela-tives of the victims giving their loved ones a proper burial for the first time.

The remains of 71 victims of the bloodshed, which has been ruled genocide by international courts, were laid to rest in a joint funeral at a memorial cemetery in Potocari, near Srebrenica.

They included a 33-year-old woman and seven people who were under 18 when they were killed.

Adela Efendic said she had come to "finally say goodbye" to her father Senaid, who was 35 when he was killed.

"His remains were found nine years ago in a common grave, but only a few bones," the 22-year-old said, her head cov-ered with a violet veil and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"We were waiting, hoping to find more, but nothing turned up... We decided to bury him now so his bones find peace," said Efendic, who was just 20 days old when her father died.

"I have only one photo of him, a small one, like for an ID card. But my mother told me a lot about him... it allows me to imagine him."

Bosnian Serb forces cap-tured the eastern Bosnian town, a UN-protected enclave at the time, on July 11, 1995, five months before the end of Bos-nia's inter-ethnic war.

In the following days they summarily killed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

'Know where their bones are'

Fata Omerovic regularly attends the commemorations at Potocari, where she already bur-

ied her two sons and husband."We know at least where

their bones are," whispered the 65-year-old woman, who has only one daughter left, while caressing the three white gravestones.

"We come here, pray, look at gravestones... It's more diffi-cult for those who didn't find their children and husbands."

So far the remains of 6,429 Srebrenica victims have been buried at the memorial site and 233 in other cemeteries, accord-ing to Bosnia's institute of missing people.

The remains of more than 1,000 other victims have yet to be located.

The victims were found in about 80 mass graves, the last of which was discovered in December 2015.

Among the identified victims were 22 women and about 440 children less than 18 years old when they were killed, accord-ing to the institute.

In 2016, a UN tribunal found Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic guilty of gen-ocide over his role in the atrocity and sentenced him to 40 years in prison.

Ratko Mladic, a Bosnian Serb wartime military chief, is await-ing a verdict by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY) in November.

'Horrible crime' Bosnian Serbs and Belgrade

refuse to acknowledge the Sre-brenica massacre as an act of genocide, despite urgings from a handful of Serbian opposition leaders and prominent human rights organisations.

Yesterday, the Muslim mem-ber of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, urged "Serbian people and its... elites to accept the truth and stop denying the genocide."

It will be a "step towards a genuine reconciliation and

better future for all of us," he said at the commemoration.

But Serbian President Ale-ksandar Vucic, who was a close ally of ultranationalist Serbian leader Vojislav Seselj during the war, has said their words "do not oblige the state".

Vucic, who did not attend the ceremony, told Serbian broad-caster Happy TV on Monday that a "horrible crime was commit-ted" in Srebrenica while also pointing to crimes committed against ethnic Serbs during Croatia's 1990s war, as well as killings committed during World War II.

During a visit by Vucic to the 2015 anniversary of the massa-cre, a mob of people throwing stones chased him away.

In Belgrade, a banner was hoisted in front of the Serbian parliament with photos of some of 3,000 Serbian soldiers and civilians killed in the Srebrenica area by Muslim forces during the war.

Top rights court upholds Belgium full-face veil banStrasbourg

AFP

The European Court of Human Rights yes-terday upheld a Belgian ban on wear-ing the full-face

niqab veil in public, calling the restriction "necessary in a dem-ocratic society".

The veil is a controversial issue across Europe, with some countries banning the garment in public in the name of safety and rights groups arguing that this amounts to a violation of civil liberties.

The court ruled that the ban sought to guarantee social cohesion, the "protection of the rights and freedoms of others" and that it was "necessary in a democratic society", a state-ment said.

The EU's top rights court said a bye-law adopted in June 2008 in three Belgian munici-palities "could be regarded as proportionate to the aim pur-sued, namely the preservation of the conditions of 'living together'."

It said a country should also be given a "wide margin of appreciation in deciding whether and to what extent a limitation of the right to mani-fest one's religion or beliefs was 'necessary'."

Belgium banned the wear-ing of the full-face veil in June 2011. It prohibits appearing in public "with a face masked or hidden, in whole or in part, in such a way as to be unidentifiable".

Violations can result in fines

and up to seven days in jail.In May 2012, pockets of

riots broke out in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek after a woman in a niqab was asked by two police officers to remove the garment.

France was the first Euro-pean country to ban the niqab in April 2011 and there have been around 1,600 arrests since coming in to force.

The ECHR had already ruled on a challenge to the French law in 2014 when it also rejected arguments that the restriction breached religious freedom and individual human rights.

The Belgian case was brought by two Muslim women, Samia Belcacemi, a Belgian national, and Yamina Oussar, a Moroccan.

Both women said they chose of their own free will to wear the niqab and claimed their rights had been infringed and the law was discriminatory.

The court rejected this yes-terday, saying that the law was designed to ensure "public safety.

71 Srebrenica victims buried on anniversary

London

Reuters

Britain’s Prince Harry has criticised the “absurd” lack of education for

young people on HIV, saying youngsters often don’t know about the virus until it is too late.

Harry, 32, who has become a prominent HIV and AIDS campaigner through his charity Sentebale set up in 2006 to help children in Africa, said HIV needed to be treated like any other disease and without stigma.

AIDS is the second most common cause of death among adolescents globally and the leading cause of death among adolescents aged 10 to 19 in Africa, according to the United Nations’ programme UNAIDS.

“To me it is totally absurd that in today’s society that young people, the first time they know or the first time they hear about HIV and AIDS, is probably by the time it is too late,” said Harry dur-ing a visit to the London School of Hygiene and Trop-ical Medicine this week.

Figures show about 36.7 million people worldwide have HIV, which is spread through blood, semen and breast milk. Only around half have access to treatment, and many do not know they have the virus.

Harry’s campaigning to combat AIDS follows the work of his late mother Prin-cess Diana.

Pentagon officials brief Germany on F-35 fightersBerlin

Reuters

Pentagon officials briefed German military on the Lockheed Martin Corp

F-35 fighter jet this week but Berlin said no procurement deci-sions have been taken.

Germany, which is looking to replace its aging Tornado fighter jets, is due to decide in mid-2018 about whether to start

a new fighter development pro-gramme or buy an existing fighter.

A German Defence Ministry spokesman said the decision will hinge largely on assessments of how long the Tornados can stay in use.

“The F-35 is one of many options we are exploring,” the spokesman said.

Any move to buy a US war-plane could run into political

resistance in Germany, which has strong labour unions, and given a big push by Europe to develop its own military equip-ment. The German Air Force asked the US military in May for a classified briefing on the F-35 fighter jet as part of an “in-depth evaluation of market available solutions.”

Germany’s interest in the F-35 took some European defence industry officials by

surprise, given a big push by European aerospace giant Air-bus and other European defence companies to develop a next-generation European fighter.

Lockheed, which is already building the F-35 fighter for sev-eral other Nato allies - the United States, Britain, Italy, Turkey, Nor-way, the Netherlands and Denmark - also plans to provide the German defence ministry w i t h i n f o r m a t i o n

about opportunities for German industry to participate in the F-35 programme, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

This week’s briefings took place in Bonn, Germany, on Monday and yesterday and involved a German one-star gen-eral, as well as working groups looking at specific weapons requirements and capabilities, according to another source briefed on the matter.

Foreign minister rips into Merkel

In May 2012, pockets of riots broke out in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek after a woman in a niqab was asked by two police officers to remove the garment.

People pray ahead of the funeral ceremony of the newly identified 71 Srebrenica genocide victims while marking the 22nd anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, at Potocari Memorial Center in Potocari village of Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, yesterday.

File picture of US President Donald Trump (right), French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel chatting at the start of the G20 meeting in Hamburg.

Prince Harry slams lack of HIV education for youngsters

UK to probe contaminated blood scandalLondon

AFP

Britain will launch a new inquiry into a contam-inated blood scandal

dating back decades which has left 2,400 people dead, officials said yesterday after pressure from MPs to look into possible criminal activity.

Thousands of people with haemophilia contracted hep-atitis C and HIV after receiving transfusions of blood from the United States through the National Health Service (NHS) in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

"It is a tragedy that has caused immeasurable hard-ship and pain for all those affected and a full inquiry to establish the truth of what happened is the right course of action to take," Prime Min-ister Theresa May's spokesman said.

14 WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017AMERICAS

Venezuelan opposition activists remain behind a shield as they clash with riot police during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, yesterday.

Venezuela protests

Trump's son wanted Russia 'dirt' for HillaryWashington

AFP

Donald Trump's eld-est son yesterday released emails s h o w i n g h e embraced Russia's

efforts to support his father's presidential campaign, and admitting he would "love" to get dirt from Moscow on Hil-lary Clinton.

Donald Trump Jr was told by an interlocutor that he could get "very high level and sensi-tive information" that was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump."

The 39-year-old Donald Jr — who now runs the family real estate business in his father's stead — responded "if it's what you say I love it" and set up a meeting with the source, according to the emails.

The email chain, released in its entirety by Donald Jr on his Twitter account, added fuel to the political firestorm swirl-ing over allegations that Trump's campaign team col-luded with Moscow to influence the 2016 election. US intelli-gence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a mass effort to tilt the election in Trump's favour, including hacking and leaking embarrassing emails from Democrats. The email dis-closure now thrusts the

president's son at the center of multiple US investigations by Congress and by the FBI as to whether Trump's team was in the know.

Info to 'incriminate Hillary' Donald Jr had initially dis-

missed the meeting he arranged with the Russian law-yer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, as having to do with adoptions, but then offered shifting expla-nations as more details emerged.

In the emails released yes-terday, Rob Goldstone — a publicist close to the Trumps — tells Donald Jr that he has learned of a Russian offer of compromising material on Clinton from a pop singer he represented, Emin Agalarov.

"The Crown Prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras

this morning and in their meet-ing offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and infor-mation that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very use-ful to your father," Goldstone wrote in a June 3, 2016 email.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump — helped along by Aras and Emin," he added.

Donald Jr responded less than 20 minutes later, accord-ing to the chain of emails entitled "Russia - Clinton - pri-vate and confidential."

"Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."

The email exchange took place as Clinton had all but secured the Democratic nom-ination and Trump was casting one eye toward the general election campaign that would begin that summer.

In an interview with NBC News, Veselnitskaya said: "It's possible that maybe they were looking for such information" about the Clinton campaign.

"They wanted it so badly," she added. The New York

Donald Trump Jr (right) watches his father Donald Trump (left) celebrate after accepting the Republican presidential nomination at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio on July 21 last year.

Times reported that Paul Man-afort and Jared Kushner, two of Trump's most trusted campaign officials, also attended the meet-ing with Veselnitskaya and Donald Jr last year.

The Kremlin has said it "did not know who" Veselnitskaya was. "We can't be aware of all the meetings Russian lawyers have abroad," said spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

A spokesman for Kushner did not respond to request for comment.

Clinton's vice presidential running mate Tim Kaine described the revelations as moving towards more serious

charges of perjury and "poten-tially treason."

"This should have set off alarm bells and red lights and instead, what it seemed to do is it activated their salivary glands," Kaine said in a separate interview with MSNBC.

"They should have turned this over to law enforcement immediately."

A senior White House offi-cial denied that there was anything inappropriate about the meeting with Veselnitskaya — and said Trump was under no obligation to have disclosed it earlier.

"Who did this woman work

for at the time? She did not work for the Russian government. ...There was no connection (to the Kremlin)," Sebastian Gorka told CNN.

"She was a private lawyer who had an interest with regard to the Russian adoption pro-gramme, and used a pretext to get a meeting with the campaign which the campaign represent-atives almost immediately realised was not done in good faith, that she had another agenda.

Gorka said Donald Jr had "no need" to disclose the meeting sooner, adding: "He's not a mem-ber of the administration."

Besides real estate, Don Jr inherits dad's brashnessNew York

AFP

Like father like son: brash, combative and pulling no punches, Donald Trump's

eldest son Don Jr (pictured) has come out fighting after dragging the White House into another Russia-related scandal.

The 39-year-old father of five, who stayed in New York to run the family business with brother Eric when Trump took power, is in the eye of a gathering storm for meeting a Russian lawyer in a bid to get dirt on Hillary Clinton.

His response comes straight out of his father's combative playbook — go on the offensive, flatly deny any wrongdoing and lash out at Democrats, the media and other critics in an attempt to brazen out the

media maelstrom."Media & Dems are

extremely invested in the Rus-sia story. If this nonsense meeting is all they have after a yr, I understand the despera-tion!" he tweeted yesterday to his 1.8 million followers.

On Monday, he called the initial revelations from The New York Times "a big yawn" and said he would be "happy" to "pass on what I know" in response to calls on the Senate Intelligence Committee to inter-view him. But taking another leaf out of his father's playbook, he quickly lawyered up — engag-ing top-flight New York criminal defence attorney Alan Futerfas, whose past clients include alleged mob associates.

Futerfas's first move was to bat aside the backlash by

quoting the title of a much-loved Shakespeare comedy to dismiss it as "much ado about nothing."

The first child of Trump's first marriage to Czech-born model and businesswoman Ivana, Don Jr was sent to board-ing school after his parents mud-flinging divorce then his father's alma mater, the Whar-ton School of Finance.

He earned a reputation for partying hard, once getting arrested during Mardi Gras in New Orleans on charges of pub-lic drunkenness, before joining The Trump Organization in 2001 and rising to the status of exec-utive vice president.

He has been a right-hand man of his father's for years in business. Since his father ran for president, Don Jr has cultivated

a no-nonsense profile to reso-nate with Republican voters and is thought to harbour political ambitions of his own.

A public speaker, who can reportedly command tens of thousands of dollars, he also joined his father and sister Ivanka in gracing television screens on reality series "The Apprentice."

But while Ivanka and brother-in-law Jared Kushner followed Trump to Washington, Don Jr has ostensibly kept his distance to run the real-estate business in a deal that came under fire from ethics experts.

In the rocky first six months of his father's presidency, Don Jr has stuck his head above the parapet on several occasions, coming out swinging in his father's defence.

Washington

AFP

All 16 troops aboard a Marine Corps air refuelling and transport aircraft were

killed when the plane crashed in a field in rural Mississippi, offi-cials confirmed yesterday.

The aircraft was a KC-130T from the Marine Reserves that was heading from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina on a mission to transport personnel and equipment to Naval Air Field El Centro, California, the Marine Reserves said in a statement.

The transport plane disap-peared from radar over Mississippi, crashing late Monday afternoon.

"A Marine Corps KC-130 transport aircraft crashed in LeFlore County, Mississippi, on July 10 at approximately 4:00 pm CDT (2100 GMT), claiming the

lives of 16 service members," the Marines said in a statement.

The crew and passengers con-sisted of 15 Marines and one Navy corpsman.

Equipment on board included various small arms ammunition and personal weapons.

"An Explosive Ordnance Dis-posal team is at the scene as a precaution in the interest of safety," the Marines said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation and the Marines did not immediately have additional information.

US President Donald Trump, in a tweet, said the news was "heartbreaking."

"Melania and I send our deep-est condolences to all!" he added.

Mississippi congressman Ste-ven Palazzo said on Twitter he was "devastated," and offered prayers for the families of the vic-tims. The plane crashed in a soybean field in a rural area.

16 dead in Mississippi military plane crash

US Senate to delay summer breakWashington

AFP

The US Senate will delay its summer break by two weeks to focus on

breaking an impasse over health care reform and other pending work, Republican leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday.

A day after getting a firm nudge from President Don-ald Trump to pass a health care reform bill, McConnell blamed what he called a "lack of cooperation" from Demo-crats as he announced the recess will now start in mid-August, rather than at the end of July.

"Once the Senate com-pletes its work on health care reform, we will turn to other important issues including the National Defense Authoriza-tion Act and the backlog of critical nominations that have been mindlessly stalled by Democrats," McConnell said.

Canada probe hits hurdleOttawa

Reuters

Canada’s national inquiry into missing and mur-dered indigenous

women hit another road block on Tuesday after the resignation of a key official, the second departure from the long-awaited investiga-tion into violence against aboriginals.

The resignation of one of five commissioners in charge of the inquiry comes less than two weeks after the depar-ture of the executive director, and adds pressure to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who came to office promising to repair the relationship with Canada’s 1.4 million aboriginals.

Secret out

The email chain, released in its entirety by Donald Jr on his Twitter account, added fuel to the political firestorm swirling over allegations that Trump's campaign team colluded with Moscow to influence the 2016 election.

15WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017 BREAK TIME

Yesterday’s answer

SHOWING ATVILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER

BABY

BLU

ES

ALL IN THE MIND

BALLET, BALLROOM, BARN DANCE, BELLY DANCING, BOLERO, BREAK DANCING, CHA CHA CHA, CHARLESTON, CLOG DANCING, CONGA, DISCO, FANDANGO, FLAMENCO, FOXTROT, GAVOTTE, HIGHLAND FLING, IRISH JIG, JIVE, LINE DANCING, MINUET, PAS DE DEUX, PASO DOBLE, POLKA, QUICKSTEP, RAIN DANCE, REEL, RUMBA, SAMBA, SQUARE DANCE, SWORD DANCE, TANGO, TAP DANCING, TARANTELLA, TWIST, TWO STEP, WALTZ.

7:00 News

7:30 The Stream

8:30 Africa on the Move

9:00 The Boy Who Started

The Syrian War

10:00 News

10:30 Inside Story

11:00 News

11:30 The Stream

12:30 Soapbox Mexico

13:00 NEWSHOUR

14:00 News

14:30 Inside Story

15:00 Al Jazeera World

16:00 NEWSHOUR

17:00 News

17:30 The Stream

18:00 newsgrid

19:00 News

19:30 Witness

20:00 News

20:30 Inside Story

21:00 NEWSHOUR

22:00 News

22:30 The Stream

23:00 Witness

09:47 How Do They Do

It?

10:10 The Island With

Bear Grylls

11:40 Running Wild With

Bear Grylls

12:47 Baggage Battles

13:10 Gold Rush

14:40 Gold Divers

15:25 Fast N' Loud

16:10 Wheeler Dealers

17:00 How Do They Do

It?

17:50 Baggage Battles

18:20 Storage Hunters

18:50 Deadliest Job

Interview

19:40 How Do They Do

It?

21:00 Blowing Up History

21:50 Strip The City

22:40 Made By

Destruction

23:05 Made By

Destruction

23:30 Fast N' Loud

08:15 Guardians Of

Rescue

09:10 Wildest Latin

America

10:05 Tanked

11:00 Dr. Dee: Alaska

Vet

12:50 Guardians Of

Rescue

13:45 River Monsters:

Lair Of Giants

16:30 River Monsters:

Lair Of Giants

17:25 Dr. Jeff: Rocky

Mountain Vet

18:20 Insane Pools: Off

The Deep End

20:10 Dr. Dee: Alaska

Vet

21:05 Dr. Jeff: Rocky

Mountain Vet

22:00 Insane Pools: Off

The Deep End

22:55 Wildest Latin

America

23:50 River Monsters

12:20 Jessie

13:35 Austin & Ally

14:00 Austin & Ally

14:25 Lolirock

14:50 The Zhuzhus S1

15:20 Bizaardvark

15:45 Elena Of Avalor

16:10 Liv And Maddie

16:40 Miraculous Tales

Of Ladybug...

17:05 Stuck In The

Middle

17:30 Bunk'd

17:55 Girl Meets World

18:25 Alex & Co.

19:15 Star Darlings

19:20 Liv And Maddie

19:45 Mako Mermaids

20:35 Cracke

20:40 Bizaardvark

21:05 Miraculous Tales

Of Ladybug...

21:55 Tsum Tsum

Shorts

22:00 Bunk'd

22:50 Miraculous Tales

Conceptis Sudoku: Conceptis Sudoku is a number-

placing puzzle based on a 9×9 grid. The object is to

place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so

that each row, each column and each 3×3 box

contains the same number only once.

CROSSWORD

CONCEPTIS SUDOKU

Yesterday's answer

MALL

LANDMARK

ROYAL PLAZA

ASIAN TOWN

NOVO — Pearl

ROXY

Tisbah Ala Khair (2D/Arabic) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 12:20, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:40, 6:00, 8:00, 8:20, 10:00, 11:00pm, 12:00midnight & 01:40am Spider Man: Homecoming (3D/Adventure) 12:00noon, 2:45, 5:30, 7:00, 8:15, 9:40 11:00pm & 12:20am The House (2D/Comedy) 11:30am, 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30pm Despicable Me 3 (2D/Animation) 10:00, 11:00am, 12:00noon, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 & 6:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight (2D/Action) 8:00 & 11:00pm Overdrive (2D/Action) 10:30am, 2:45, 7:00 & 11:15pm Antar Ibn Shaddad (2D/Arabic) 12:30, 4:45 & 9:00pmPirates of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (2D/Action) 10:00am, 12:40, 3:20, 6:00, 8:40 & 11:20pm Inconceivable (2D/Thriller) 10:30am, 3:00, 7:30pm & 12:00midnight How To Be A Latin Lover (2D/Comedy) 12:40, 5:10 & 9:40pmSpider Man: Home Coming (3D IMAX/Action) 10:40am, 1:20, 4:00, 6:40, 9:20pm & 12:00midnight

Despicable Me 3 (2D/Animation) 5:00 & 6:00pmMom (2D/Comedy) 6:30 & 9:00pm Spiderman: Homecoming (2D/Adventure) 2:30, 6:30, 9:00 & 11:15pm Ninnu Kori (2D/Telugu) 2:00pm The House (2D/Comedy) 4:30pm How To Be A Latin Lover (2D/Comedy) 2:00pm Inconceivable (2D/Thriller) 11:30pm Tisbah Ala Khair (2D/Arabic) 7:30 & 9:30pm Guest In London (2D/Comedy) 4:00pm Role Models (2D/Malayalam) 11:30pm

Despicable Me 3 (2D/Animation) 2:00, 4:00, 5:00 & 7:00pmRole Models (2D/Malayalam) 2:00 & 8:30pm How To Be A Latin Lover (2D/Comedy) 3:00pm Spiderman: Homecoming (2D/Adventure) 4:30, 6:45, 9:15 & 11:30pm Tisbah Ala Khair (2D/Arabic) 6:00 & 9:30pm The House (2D/Comedy) 8:00pm Guest In London (2D/Comedy) 11:00pm Inconceivable (2D/Thriller) 11:30pm

Spiderman: Homecoming (2D/Adventure) 2:00, 4:30, 9:00 & 11:30pm Ninnu Kori (2D/Telugu) 2:30pm Mom (2D/Comedy) 2:30 & 11:30pm Despicable Me 3 (2D/Animation) 5:00 & 6:30pmInconceivable (2D/Thriller) 5:00 & 11:30pm Tisbah Ala Khair (2D/Arabic) 7:00 & 9:30pm How To Be A Latin Lover (2D/Comedy) 7:00pm The House (2D/Comedy) 8:00pm Role Models(2D/Malayalam) 9:00pm

Role Models (2D/Malayalam) 4:30, 6:30, 7:30, 9:30 & 10:30pm

Ninnu Kori (Telugu) 6:30 & 9:30pm

Guest In London (Hindi) 5:45 & 10:45pm Mom (Hindi) 8:15pm

Despicable Me (Animation) 12:00noon, 2:30, 4:30 & 6:30pm Tisbah Ala Khair (2D/Arabic) 12:00noon, 2:10 & 4:20pm

Spiderman: Homecoming (2D/Adventure) 12:00noon 2:45, 5:30, 8:15 & 11:00pm Mom (2D/Comedy) 12:00noon & 2:50pm How To Be A Latin Lover (2D/Comedy) 8:30 & 11:00pm Vekham Vedra (Tamil) 6:30, 9:30 & 12:30 Role Models 5:40, 8:30 & 11:20pm

16 WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2017HOME

FAJRSHOROOK

03.23 am

04.51 am

ZUHRASR

11.39 am

03.03 pm

MAGHRIBISHA

06.29 pm

07.59 pm

PRAYER TIMINGS

QSTec initiative among 15 finalistsThe Peninsula

Shams Generation, an initiative of Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec), has been selected by the

World Innovation Summit for Education as one of the 15 finalists for the 2017 WISE Awards.

Each year the WISE Awards recognise and pro-mote projects that are taking innovative approaches to today’s most urgent educa-tion challenges across the world.

Qatar-based Shams Gen-eration is an interactive learning programme that combines art, science, reused material, and solar energy. Named after the Arabic word for sun, the project aims to promote creativity as well as build awareness of solar energy and develop the region’s solar industry. “The education of our youth on sus-tainability, renewable energies like solar, and the protection of the environment is tremendously important for the future of our planet,” said Dr. Khalid Klefeekh Al Hajri, QSTec Chairman and CEO,and Founder of Shams Generation.

“QSTec established Shams Generation in Qatar to address these important challenges head on. We are very proud of what we have achieved so far with this important initiative, and we are honored to have been selected as a WISE Award finalist.”

Ameena Hussain ,

Director of Programs and Community Development, WISE, said,“We congratulate Shams Generation of QSTec for making it to the finalist stage. The WISE Awards cel-ebrate transformative projects that disrupt the sta-tus quo in the form of innovative solutions and creative models to improve

access and quality of educa-tion in different parts of the world. The WISE Award finalists reflect our commit-ment to empowerment, collaboration, and transfor-mation through education.”

A total of 15 projects were named as finalists for the 2017 WISE Awards. They come from nine countries and were selected by a pre-Jury of internationally recognized education experts.

The finalists were evalu-ated according to strict criteria. They must be suc-cessful, innovative education projects that have already demonstrated a transforma-tive impact on individuals, communities, and society. They must be financially sta-ble, have a clear development plan, and be scalable and replicable.

The six WISE Awards winning projects will be announced in September 2017 and celebrated at the eighth World Innovation Summit for Education, November 14-16, 2017, in Doha, Qatar. In addition to publicity and networking opportunities, each will receive $20,000.

Dr Khalid Klefeekh Al Hajri, QSTec CEO and Chairman, at a Shams Generation exhibition.

Qatar Museums to exhibit 'Skate Girls of Kabul'The Peninsula

Award winning photographer Jessica Fulford-Dobson will present her critically-acclaimed series of portraits, Skate Girls of

Kabulin her first show in the Middle East. Presented by Qatar Museums under the leadership of its Chairper-son, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the exhi-bition will be held at the QM Gallery Katara from July 20 – October 21.

The portraits tell the extraordinary story of Afghan girls who took up skate-boarding, thanks to Skateistan, an Afghan charity that provides skate parks as a hook to get children from disadvantaged families back into the educational system. The striking images bring to life the hopeful spirit of these young girls that show a new perspec-tive and dimension to skateboarding culture — one that shows strength in the face of adversity.

Commenting on the exhibition, Khalid Al Ibrahim, Chief Strategic Plan-ning Office at Qatar Museums said:

“We are excited to be the first

Middle Eastern country to welcome this inspirational show and share it with the residents of Qatar. Qatar Museums has a long history of sharing some of the world’s best artists and their works with the people of Qatar and the Skate Girls of Kabulis a perfect example of that. It is also a story that embodies a message of hope and perseverance in reaching your dreams, in this case access to edu-cation, a message that perfectly aligns with Qatar Museums’ passion for sup-porting and enabling local communities with access to creative learning environments.”

The story of Afghanistan’s Skate Girls grabbed Jessica’s attention in late 2012 and she was determined to tell it to the world, sharing its uplifting mes-sage and inspiring others to support the Skateistan charity. The series was first shown in London at the Saatchi Gallery in 2015, where it was positively received and viewed by more than 74,000 vis-itors during its two-week run. The Art Newspaper in 2016, revealed that Skate Girls of Kabul came second in the Top Ten most popular International Photo exhibitions of 2015.

Jessica Fulford-Dobson started

work as a portrait photographer in 2000, after being introduced to pho-tography when working with award-winning filmmaker Nicholas Claxton on the documentary: ‘Linda McCartney: Behind the Lens’.

Since then, Jessica has become an award-winning artist in her own right. Out of over 4,000 submissions, her por-trait of Skate Girl won 2nd Prize at The National Portrait Gallery’s Taylor Wess-ing Photographic Portrait Prize Award.

Jessica had her first solo exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London, which displayed the full Skate Girls of Kabul series. The series went on to win the Imagery of the Year Awardat the Wom-en’s Sport Trust #BeAGameChanger Awards in London.

In New York, one of the Skate Girls portraits was selected by for the ‘Best of Show’ Exhibition 2015 at the Inter-national Photography Awards. The Smithsonian chose the Skate Girls of Kabul book as one of their ‘Top Ten Best Photography’ books of the Year in 2015.

Tim Marlow, the Artistic Director of London’s Royal Academy of Art, has personally selected QM Gallery Katara’s upcoming showing of the Skate Girls of Kabul as one of his ‘Must-See Museum Shows’ from around the world.

Celebrating and embracing the community-based inspiration behind the show, Qatar Museums will set up a skate ramp that will be built on the occasion of the exhibition and open to the public for the duration of the show.

Qatar Airways’ campaign top viral videoThe Peninsula

Qatar Airways has received tremen-dous support globally for its recently-launched television and

social media commercial titled ‘No Bor-ders, Only Horizons’, which has been viewed by more than 54 million view-ers worldwide, making it the top viral video during the last week of June.

The campaign, launched across the airline’s social media channels, was listed as the top viral video after gaining more than 54 million views. The com-mercial was viewed more than 50 million times on the airline’s Facebook page, with nearly 800,000 views on Twitter, more than three million views

on Instagram and more than one mil-lion views on Youtube. The success of comes from its expression of the airline’s firm belief in the idea that travel goes beyond borders and prejudice, and that it is a necessity and right for all to explore this world that we live in.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Execu-tive Akbar Al Baker said: “Despite ongoing prejudice and illegal actions, Qatar Airways continues to soar high in the sky where borders and boundaries do not exist, only horizons. We are over-joyed to see that many of our loyal followers around the world have affirmed our core values, which aim at bringing people together. It is because of our diverse and global network of

supporters that we continue to fly the skies together. We firmly believe travel is a right for all, and this world is all of ours to explore. The blockade on the State of Qatar initiated on June 5 stripped Qatar Airways of the rights granted to it as an international airline. Nonetheless, our focus is on ensuring that we con-tinue to serve our passengers by delivering the award-winning service which we are renowned for.”

Qatar Airways Senior Vice-Presi-dent Marketing and Corporate Communications Salam Al Shawa said: “It is said that a picture is worth a thou-sand words. In this case, that is absolutely true. We wanted to use an emotional visual medium to convey our

message. This commercial eloquently expresses the sadness we feel at being separated from our passengers. Our brand message is ‘Going Places Together.’ We are together with our pas-sengers in everything. To be forcibly separated from them is a violation of our fundamental purpose, which is to bring people together.”

The campaign highlights the com-mon ground Qatar Airways shares with thousands of its supporters from all parts of the world, which affirms the belief that the sky has no limits. The ‘No Bor-ders, Only Horizons’ campaign promotes the airline’s core philosophy: that the world is a better place when we explore it together.

Skate Girls of Kabul exhibition will be held at the QM Gallery Katara from July 20 to October 21 .

QNA

The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) in collaboration

with the International Feder-ation for the Protection of Journalists, will organise an international conference enti-tled "Freedom of Expression: Towards Confronting Risk" on July 24-25.

The holding of this confer-ence comes out of keenness to support and promote the free-dom of opinion and freedom of expression as well as access to and exchange of informa-tion and to confront challenges that face these freedoms and rights including traditional and modern challenges.

The conference aims to examine ways of activating international human rights law, instruments and proce-dures related to freedom of opinion and expression, access to information and addressing the problems and challenges related to international human rights law introduced by mod-ern communications technologies.

NHRC to hold conference on freedom of expression

HIGH TIDE 06:00 – 19:30 LOW TIDE 02:15 – 11:45

Strong wind and expected low hor-

izontal visibility at places by midday.

Hazy at places at first becomes hot

daytime and blowing dust to dusty

at places by midday.

WEATHER TODAY

Minimum Maximum33oC 42oC

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department