THE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Airways has been named ‘World’s Top 10 Airline’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘Middle East Best Airline’, ‘Middle East Best Major’, ‘Middle East Best Business Class’, and ‘Middle East Best Economy Class’ by TripAd-visor Travellers’ Choice Airline Awards 2019.

The TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Airline Awards are based on millions of honest reviews from travellers around the world, and reflect best service, quality and customer satisfaction.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “Thank you to all our passengers who awarded us with these six Travellers’ Choice Awards. We are delighted that our continued pursuit of excellence is recog-nised by TripAdvisor travellers around the world. This is a ringing endorsement for all the hard work that our team has put in to serve our customers.

“This year’s achievements by Qatar Airways in the Travellers’ Choice Airline Awards demon-strates our promise to set the highest standards and deliver the absolute best quality of service to our passengers. These awards are some of the most respected acco-lades in travel and to be awarded ‘World’s Best Business Class’, in addition to the Middle East awards for ‘Best Airline’, ‘Best Major’, ‘Best

Business Class’ and ‘Best Economy Class’ as well as being named as one of the ‘World’s Top 10 Airlines’ is an incredible and proud achievement for Qatar Airways.”

TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site with more than 730 million traveller reviews of hotels, airlines, restaurants and attractions, making TripAdvisor one the most recognised names in the travel industry. �P4

Volume 24 | Number 7851 | 2 RiyalsThursday 4 April 2019 | 28 Rajab 1440 www.thepeninsula.qa

BUSINESS | 01 SPORT | 12

Barshim to spearhead Team Qatar at Asian Athletics Championships

Regency Group and Dell

Technologies sign MoU

Qatar, Italy vow to strengthen relations

QNA DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Conte, held yesterday a session of official talks pertaining to bilateral relations and means to enhance them in all fields, particularly in the fields of economy, investment, and defence.

The session, which was held at the Amiri Diwan, also discussed a number of regional and international issues of joint interest, particularly developments in Libya.

The talks session was attended by Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, and a number of Their Excellencies the Ministers. On the Italian side, it was attended by members of the official delegation accompanying the Prime Minister.

The Italian Prime Minister was also accorded an official reception at the Amiri Diwan. H H the Amir hosted a luncheon banquet in honour of the Italian Prime Minister and the delegation accompanying him, at the Amiri Diwan.

The banquet was attended by H E the Prime Minister and Interior Min-ister and a number of Their Excellencies the Ministers.

The Italian Prime Minister spent a busy day in Doha and visited National Museum of Qatar; inaugurated new Italian embassy premises at Alfardan Office Tower in West Bay; paid a visit to

Al Bayt Stadium; inaugurated authentic Italian products corner at Lulu Hyper-market, Al Messaila.

During the visit to the National Museum of Qatar the Prime Minister was accompanied by Chairperson of Qatar Museums H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani. H E Sheikha Mayassa provided a detailed presen-tation of the museum’s pieces and collections.

The Prime Minister viewed the geo-logical development of Qatar, pearl col-lections, as well as an exhibition on the history of Qatar before discovering oil and gas.

Conte said at the conclusion of his tour that he would like to "congratulate the State of Qatar and its people for the inspiring and the iconic museum that gives shape to the vision of the country."

He added that his visit to the museum showed that it embodies a vision of "a community whose strength comes from culture and knowledge where people with different traditions and values contribute to the social development of each and every one."

He stressed that protecting national heritage is a goal both countries are committed to, as it helps ensure the future generations can know their roots and identity as they embark on building a better future.

The tour was attended by Ambas-sador of the State of Qatar to the Italian Republic, Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al Malki Al Jahni; Ambassador of the Italian Republic to the State of Qatar, Pasquale

Salzano, and Acting Executive Director of the museum Ahmed Namla.

Prime Minister of the Italian Republic and his accompanying dele-gation also visited Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

He was welcomed upon arrival by Secretary-General of Supreme

Committee for Delivery and Legacy Hassan Al Thawadi and a number of those in charge of the stadium’s construction.

The Prime Minister listened to a detailed presentation on the progress of the construction process, in addition to viewing what has been

accomplished so far. The Prime Minister left Doha yes-

terday evening. The Italian Prime Min-ister and his accompanying delegation were seen off on departure at Hamad international airport by Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari. �P2, 3

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Conte, at the Amiri Diwan, yesterday.

Qatar Airways wins six TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Airline Awards

Amir and Italian Prime Minister discuss ways to boost cooperation in economy, investment and defence fields.

Developments in Libya figure in talks.

Giuseppe Conte hails National Museum of Qatar as inspiring and iconic.

New premises of Italian Embassy opens.

Italian Prime Minister tours Al Bayt Stadium.

Cabinet approves draft law onpublic-private sector partnershipQNA DOHA

The Cabinet has approved a draft law regulating the partnership between the public and the private sector. Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani chaired the Cabinet regular meeting held yesterday at the Amiri Diwan. Following the meeting, Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi stated that Cabinet considered topics on the agenda. The Cabinet approved a draft law regulating the partnership between the public and the private sector.

The partnership between the government and the private sector shall be made under the partnership contract in accordance with the provisions of this law. The partnership shall be in accordance with one of the following regulations: Allocation of land through rent or use

license, for development by the private sector, build operate transfer (BOT), build-transfer-operate (BTO), build own operate transfer (BOOT), operations and maintenance (OM) or any other form adopted by H E the Prime Minister, upon the proposal of the competent minister.

The Government or the com-petent administration may, on its own initiative or at the suggestion of the private sector, identify a project for its implementation through partnership.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. (32) of 1995 on the prevention of damage to the plant envi-ronment and its components. The amendments come within the framework of modernising legislation, to address the problems created by the prac-tical reality in this area, and to tighten the penalties for violating the provisions of the law.

The Cabinet also approved a draft air service agreement

between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Gov-ernment of the Republic of Peru.

The Cabinet also took the necessary measures to ratify, cooperation agreement between the Government of the State of Qatar and the International Organisation for Migration, basic agreement between the Gov-ernment of the State of Qatar and the United Nations Chil-dren’s Fund and agreement between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Government of the State of Qatar.

It also took measures to ratify terms of reference between the United Nations rep-resented by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the State of Qatar and rep-resented by the Government of the State of Qatar on the estab-lishment of an Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Doha, the State of Qatar. �P3

Qatar Airways

wins

World’s Top 10 AirlineWorld’s Best Business ClassMiddle East Best AirlineMiddle East Best MajorMiddle East Best Business ClassMiddle East Best Economy Class

02 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019HOME

Qatar, Italy vow to strengthen relations

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani hosted yesterday a luncheon banquet in honour of the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Conte, and the delegation accompanying him, at the Amiri Diwan. The banquet was attended by Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and a number of Their Excellencies the Ministers. H H the Amir and the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic held a session of official talks pertaining to bilateral relations and the means to enhance them in all fields, particularly in the fields of economy, investment, and defence.

Visit laid foundation for future accords: Italian PMRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has stressed his meeting with Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday had been very fruitful in strength-ening cooperation and friendship between Italy and Qatar as well as in laying foundation for future agreements.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference after he inau-gurated the Italian Embassy at Alfardan Office Tower in West Bay, Conte said it was the second time for him to meet with H H the Amir; the first time was in Rome a few months ago and both meetings had been very productive.

“This has been my second meeting with H H the Amir and it has been very fruitful in strengthening cooperation and friendship between our two

countries. We talked about political issues because we would like to see stability and peace in the Middle East and North Africa. At the same time we talked about the presence of the Italian companies here in Qatar and the contribution they give to the infrastructure of this country,” he said.

The Prime Minister also talked about his visit to the Red Line North of the new metro and to the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor which will host FIFA World Cup 2022 — two projects in which Italian companies are actively involved.

“Today, I had the opportunity to visit one of the underground stations of the Red Line and also one of the stadiums that is almost entirely built by an Italian company which are an example of the important contributions of Italian companies in the infra-structure of this country. They

provide know-how and expertise and I believe these companies can do much more for this country, that’s why today’s visit has been an opportunity to strengthen cooperation and to strengthen economic and trade exchange,” he said.

The Premier also said he was pleased to learn of H H the Amir’s interest to invest in material and immaterial infrastructure in Italy.

He said the meeting also touched on energy and on world-leading Italian companies such as Eni, Snam, Leonardo and Fin-cantieri, which already operate in Qatar, and that he believed the visit would contribute not only on strengthening cooperation but also the presence of Italian companies.

He said no agreements were signed during the meeting yes-terday, but expressed optimism the meeting had “laid foundation for future agreements to come.”

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (left) and Pasquale Salzano, Ambassador of Italy to the State of Qatar, during the inauguration of new premises of the Embassy, yesterday. PIC: BAHER AMIN / THE PENINSULA

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte visited National Museum of Qatar. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Chairperson of Qatar Museums, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa A Thani, who provided a detailed presentation of the museum’s pieces and collections. He viewed the geological development of Qatar, pearl collections, and an exhibition on the history of Qatar before discovering oil and gas.

03THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 HOME

Deputy PM sends

message to Kazakh FM

NURSULTAN: The Min-

ister of Foreign Affairs of

the Republic of Kazakhstan,

Beibut Atamkulov received

a message from Deputy

Prime Minister and Minister

of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh

Mohamed bin Abdulrahman

Al Thani pertaining to the

bilateral relations and ways to

boost and develop them. The

message was handed over

by the Ambassador of the

State of Qatar to Kazakhstan,

Ahmed bin Ali Al Tamimi,

during his meeting with the

Minister of Foreign Affairs of

Kazakhstan. QNA

OFFICIAL NEWS

Cabinet approves draft law on public-private sector partnershipFROM PAGE 1

Cabinet took measures to ratify maritime transport agreement between the Gov-ernment of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia and agreement between the

Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of financial evasion with regard to income taxes.

The Cabinet took appropriate decision regarding a memo by the

Minister of Finance on the pro-posal to add representative members of General Tax Authority in a number of joint and spe-cialized committees in the State and a memo by the Minister of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs on the

results of the First Council on Aging, organized by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services in the Republic of Turkey (Ankara, February 2019).

The Cabinet listened to a pres-entation by the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs on the Waqf,

which included the statement of Waqf banks and their achieve-ments, and the challenges facing the Waqf. The Cabinet stressed the importance of the Waqf to achieve the principle of social solidarity and investing it for the devel-opment of society.

Plan for registration

in schools announced

DOHA: The Ministry of

Education and Higher Edu-

cation yesterday announced

its plan to register new stu-

dents in public schools for

the academic year 2019-20,

in cooperation with the des-

ignated authorities such as

the Ministry of Interior and

Kahramaa. Head of the reg-

istration department at the

Ministry, Warda Oqail, called

on parents to ensure that

the registration of their chil-

dren into the system is done

on schedule, to ensure the

smoothness and ease of

the process as it will save

time and effort. She pointed

out that five new schools

for boys and girls will be

opened in the coming aca-

demic year, including two

secondary schools for girls in

Al Wakra and Al Kheesa and

a primary for girls in Mana-

sir, in addition to two schools

for the fifth and sixth grades

in Muaither and the old air-

port area, all providing 3,102

classrooms. New annexes will

be opened for 27 schools in

the coming years. QNA

Conte opens permanent Italian corner at LuluSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy, Giuseppe Conte, during his visit to Lulu Hypermarket at Al Messila yesterday, inaugurated the first permanent corner of 100 percent Italian products supplied by Coldiretti Italy. Mohamed Althaf, Director of Lulu Hypermarket Qatar, and the senior management officials extended a warm welcome to him.

Coldiretti Italy is a corpo-ration entity of farmers in Italy and Europe engaged in research and development of new markets for agricultural products identified as 100 percent made in Italy. Coldiretti’s overseas export activities are executed by its parent company Filiera Agricola Italiana S.P.A. and Lulu Hypermarket signed a Memo-randum of Understanding with them during last year.

“Over 200 certified authentic Italian food products including olive, pasta, fruits and vegetables are being showcased at the ded-icated corner,” Althaf told The Peninsula. He said that Lulu Hypermarket is working to open a trade hub in Milan (Milano) city of Italy which will help import large quantity of food products to Qatar.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Pasquale Salzano, the Ambassador of Italy; Giosafat Rigano, Italian Trade Commis-sioner to the State of Qatar, and officials from Coldiretti namely

David Granieri, President; Gianluca Lelli; Stefano Albertazzi from Filiera Agricola Italiana S.P.A. and Prof. Gian Pietro Callari attended the ceremony.

The PM’s visit has further strengthened the trade relations between Lulu Hypermarkets worldwide and Italy.

Speaking about the agreement, Conte said: “I believe the agreement will help meet the demand of fast growing Italian quality food products in Qatar”. He said that the agro-food export

from Italy to Qatar has increased by 4.2 percent compared to pre-vious year.

Althaf, during his welcome speech, said: “Today is a historic day for the Qatar-Italy diplo-matic relationship, congratula-tions for opening a beautiful new embassy in Qatar; it is also a his-toric day for Lulu and Coldiretti, in starting our partnership for bringing in the most authentic, 100 percent Italian food products to the consumers in Qatar”.

He said that Italian food

products are known here for their fantastic quality, highest safety standards, and their wide varieties. “There is an increasing demand for good quality Italian food products in our region, but we were struggling to meet the demand because of the supply chain constraints. Italy has a diverse geography and every region has their own interesting products, however, we were finding it hard to get the right sources; that is when Italian Trade Agency Section from the

Embassy here in Qatar, approached us with a proposal to partner with Coldiretti,” said Althaf. “We have managed to successfully conclude our agreement with Coldiretti, we will have dedicated Italian corner with products sourced through Coldiretti in all our hypermarkets in the world, starting from Qatar. We hope to achieve 100 percent growth in the business from this year”.

Lulu Hypermarkets have been treasuring long-standing trade relations with Italy and importing a wide range of food and non-food products including olives, organic products and spe-cialty ranges, bakery ranges, Italian specialty cheese varieties, pasta, pasta sauces etc. and related Grocery foods for more than a decade.

Since year 2004, Lulu Hyper-markets have been organising ‘Italian Food Festival’ regularly in cooperation with the Italian Embassy and Italian Trade Agency in Qatar, across all Lulu Hyper-markets to promote Italian food and non-food products, and to increase the volume of imports. The festival largely showcases Italy’s food brands a wide range of products directly sourced from various companies in Italy.

Lulu Hypermarkets have Export Distribution Centers worldwide including the major state of the art facilities recently opened in UK, USA and Spain, to cater to the regular requirements of European, British and US brands of products.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy, Giuseppe Conte; Mohamed Althaf, Director of Lulu Hypermarket Qatar, with other officials during the inauguration of the first permanent corner of 100 percent Italian products at the Lulu Hypermarket at Al Messila yesterday. PIC: BAHER AMIN / THE PENINSULA

04 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019HOME

Qatar and Austria review ties in culture and sports

Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali met here yesterday with the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the State of Qatar, Dr Willy Kempel. The meeting focused of bilateral cooperation in culture and sports fields and how to develop them further.

Qatar’s first Monoprix with SMART Retail Solution to open in MsheirebSACHIN KUMAR THE PENINSULA

Msheireb Downtown Doha, the smartest and most sustainable fully-built city district in the world and Qatar’s desti-nation for leisure, living and business, will be home to the first Monoprix in Qatar with the SMART Retail Solution.

Msheireb Properties, the developer of Msheireb Downtown Doha (MDD), and Ali Bin Ali Holding, one of the largest con-glomerates in Qatar and the owner of the Monoprix franchise in the country, signed an agreement on Monday to open Monoprix in Msheireb Downtown Doha.

The signing was also attended by Sébastien Farhat, the Regional General Manager of Monoprix.

To be situated at the soon-to-open Galleria mall, Monoprix will launch for the first time in the region one of the most advanced retail software solutions for an enhanced customer service. In addition to this, the store will provide its famous Concierge and the Shop & Go concepts, making the shopping experience for res-idents and visitors of MDD more con-venient and comfortable.

“Monoprix store is expected to open in Msheireb Downtown Doha in December. The store will promote Qatari products,” Farhat told The Peninsula on the sidelines of a press conference held after agreement signing ceremony held at Msheireb Downtown Doha. However, he did not reveal much about the smart features of the store.

Monoprix Msheireb will offer an extensive organic range of 12,000 items sourced internationally, as well as a new dine-in Qatari-food concept, sushi bar and pasta & pizza corner. The hypermarket will continue to support local initiatives and stock all local Qatari made products.

Commenting on this strategic agreement, Ali Al Kuwari, Acting CEO of Msheireb Properties, said, “Since its inception, Msheireb Downtown Doha is set to revive the city centre of Doha in the smartest and most sustainable way. We are proud that we have succeeded to work with local and international partners to ensure that all the services provided across the city centre development are in alignment with our promise to our resi-dents and visitors. Today’s agreement guarantees an exclusive smart and

convenient experience offered by one the best retail brand in the industry,” he added.

“We are very happy with this part-nership, and I would like to thank the Ali Bin Ali Group for their support and their keenness on offering top-of-the-line services to Msheireb Downtown Doha,” he added.

Nabeel Ali bin Ali, Vice-Chairman and EVP of Ali Bin Ali Holding, commented: “As a Group, we seek out partnerships that complement our long-standing reputation and help us enrich the local market. Msheireb Downtown Doha’s infra-structure, its vision and the services, make it the most suitable platform for us to introduce our retail software solution exclusively at Monoprix Msheireb, our new store that will be servicing the new heart of Doha. We are very excited, and we look forward to the launch.”

Founded in 1932, Monoprix is a renowned French brand offering the best of food retailing along with clothing, household items, perfumes, gift items and more. The French retail chain currently has two other stores in Qatar – West Bay and Doha Festival City.

Eng. Ali Mohammed Al Kuwari, Acting CEO, Msheireb Properties (second left) and Nabeel Ali bin Ali, Vice-Chairman & EVP, Ali Bin Ali Holding (second right) at the event yesterday. Also present were, Mubarak Al Boainin (left), Senior Director of Contracts & Procurement, Msheireb Properties and Sebastian Farhat, Regional General Manager, Monoprix. PIC: QASSIM RAHMATULLAH / THE PENINSULA

QLC celebrates graduation of 118 Qataris at NMoQSIDI MOHAMED THE PENINSULA

Qatar Leadership Centre (QLC) celebrated yesterday its annual graduation ceremony at the National Museum of Qatar, honouring 118 Qataris who have completed one of three courses of study — the Executive, Government, or Rising Leaders programs.

“The Centre supports the development of leadership skills that are essential for Qatar, abil-ities which are especially critical now given the rapid rate of eco-nomic diversification and trans-formation currently underway,” said H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson, QLC Board of

Directors. The graduates con-stitute the sixth class of QLC since its establishment by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as a national platform for leadership development.

In remarks at the ceremony, Sheikha Al Mayassa said: “We gather tonight at the new National Museum of Qatar, a masterpiece of art in the service of education. It connects Qatar’s past with its future, its rich her-itage and traditions are the foun-dation of its informed vision of development. In a similar way, the QLC graduates are guided by the strength of our national her-itage and the benefits of edu-cation for a promising future.”

Other QLC Board members attending the ceremony were:

Sheikh Dr Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani, Managing Director and Member; H E Yousuf Mohamed Al Othman Fakhroo, Minister of Administrative Development, Labour, and Social Affairs, Member; H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, Minister of Culture and Sports, Member; and H E Sultan bin Rashid Al Khater, the Under-secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Member. A number of Qatar’s most senior officials attended the event, including ministers, gov-ernment officials, ambassadors, educators, as well as guests from QLC’s partner universities, the business community, along with family members and friends of the graduates.

Sheikh Dr Abdulla bin Ali Al

Thani remarked, “As we celebrate our graduates’ success, we are reminded of the responsibilities they now shoulder, to contribute to our shared societal objectives, to further strengthen our progress toward national development.”

“Qatar Leadership Centre has provided the graduates with a rig-orous academic foundation that encourages critical thinking,” he stressed.

This year QLC marked the addition of an Executive Master’s degree program in leadership offered by Georgetown Uni-versity, which is built on the foundational courses of the QLC program. There are 28 Qataris currently enrolled in the inau-gural program.

Institutional programs are a

third feature of QLC, with pro-grams offered this year to Qatari government institutions, including the Qatar Armed Forces’ Medical Services Department and Qatar Social Work. Past programs have included partnerships with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and Qatar Petroleum.

QLC’s key partnerships include leading institutions: the University of Cambridge, Uni-versity of Chicago Booth School of Business, Duke University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, HEC Paris, Rice Uni-versity, University of Oxford, and Al Jazeera Media Institute.

Fahad Thani Saad Al Mesaifri Al Hajri, graduate of first class of EML-Q program, said: “We are

very proud to be graduates from this institution because it is a major platform that offers learning the latest management methods and latest methods of leadership.”

“We got a training curriculum combines theoretical and practical sciences provided by qualified staff. In master program, we have learned Crisis Management, Financial Management, Interna-tional Business Management, and Policy Development,” he added.

Regarding question about women empowering in all spe-cialization, another graduate Maha Al Rumaihi told The Peninsula that all opportunities are open to all men and women whether jobs or specialisations. “Today the number of graduates of women are much more than men.”

Qatar Airways wins six TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Airline awardsFROM PAGE 1

Airline reviews are based on customer ratings of seat comfort, leg room, in-flight entertainment, customer service, value for money, check-in and boarding, and cleanliness, in addition to an overall rating of the airline.

In 2018, Qatar Airways was named

‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘Best Business Class: Middle East’, ‘World’s Top 10 Airline’, ‘Best Airline: Middle East’ and ‘Best Economy Class: Middle East’ by the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards.

The airline was named ‘World’s Best Business Class’ by the 2018 World Airline Awards, managed by international air

transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Business Class Seat’, ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge’.

Qatar Airways operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA) to more than 160 destinations worldwide.

H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson, QLC Board of Directors, with other dignitaries and graduates at the ceremony.

05THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 HOME

Al Muraikhi receives copies of credentials of envoys

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi received yesterday a copy of the credentials of the Ambassador of the Republic of Peru to the State of Qatar, Jose Arsenio Benzaquen Perea. The Minister also received a copy of the credentials of the Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland (non-resident), Aidan Cronin. The Minister wished both the Ambassadors success in their mission.

Qatari artist displays his works at Escapism exhibition at KataraTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatari artist Abdelaziz Yousef displays 21 of his works at Escapism exhibition which opened on Tuesday at Katara Building 22.

The exhibition which focuses on the artist’s nostalgic mem-ories of the past was inaugurated by Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of the Cultural Village Foundation – Katara.

Speaking during the opening ceremony, Dr Al Sulaiti said that this exhibition features some fine paintings in which the artist por-trayed some of his relatives. “I

see that Abdulaziz that is a promising talented artist through his beautiful art which con-tributes to the local artistic scene in Qatar,” he said.

On his side, artist Abdelaziz said “These artworks have form a pattern allowing for a vibrant aesthetic experience that is both attractive yet vague in stimulus way.”

Abdelaziz, who is a car-toonist for a daily newspaper under the pen name “crockodile” covering various social and political topics describes his exhibition as an escape from worries and concerns of eve-ryday life encouraging smiles and happiness.

The artist has participated and organised multiple local and international galleries besides curating the “Blockade” and “[Re]action” art galleries which reflected the impact of the unjust blockade on Qatar as depicted by local artists.

The exhibition will run until April 14 at building 22 from 10am till 10pm.

NHRC organises seminar on municipal council electionsQNA DOHA

The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) organised a seminar for the candidates of the Central Municipal Council elections on the rights and duties before and after the electoral process, attended by the candidates from 29 constit-uencies of the council in its sixth session.

NHRC Member Mohammed Saif Al Kuwari said the elec-tions culture complies only with civilised societies. He added that running for elec-tions is a positive sign to measure the extent to which the individual is present in their society and openness to the other.

The NHRC Member added that for an individual to run for elections is proof of their abstraction to serve regardless of victory or not.

The NHRC Member pre-sented facts in figures about previous sessions of the Municipal Council since its first session in 1999.

Al Kuwari addressed the negative aspects of some types of election propaganda, stressing the importance for the candidate to be realistic and credible and that the promises they make during the electoral programme are applicable.

The NHRC Member added that the Qatari voter has reached a stage of awareness that enables them to sense the credibility of the candidate through the electoral program, adding promises in an electoral programme are exaggerated it may cause the candidate to fail amid the conscious public mind that are aware of their require-ments and the possibility of applying these promises.

He also highlighted the

need for women to interact in any electoral process more especially in light of the State’s tendency to open wider

horizons for women’s partici-pation in the services and political scenes.

Al Kuwari added that par-ticipating in the electoral process is a national duty in terms of running and voting.

The NHRC Member called on all Qatari people to partic-ipate and cast their votes to deepen democratic behaviour among all members of society and lead Qatar to further dem-ocratic progress and political prosperity.

The participants attending the workshop organised by NHRC for the candidates of the Central Municipal Council, yesterday.

The exhibition focuses on artist’s nostalgic memories of the past and will run until April 14 at building 22 from 10am till 10pm.

Qatar-Switzerland relations strong and growingFAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

The growing bilateral relations between Qatar and Switzerland were highlighted during the Swiss National Day celebration held in Doha, yesterday.

Diplomatic, cultural, trade and social ties between two countries were made evident during the event.

Minister of Commerce and Industry H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari; Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie; the Director of Protocol of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Fakhroo; the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Ambassador of Eritrea to Qatar, Ali Ibrahim Ahmed; members of the Swiss par-liament, diplomats and several other guests were present during the celebration held at Grand Hyatt Hotel, yesterday.

“The relat ions between Switzerland and Qatar are unique and special, as they go back to 1973, only two years after Qatar’s inde-pendence. This bond has led to an ever closer rela-tionship over the last decades,” said Swiss Ambassador Edgar Dörig.

“ T h e r e i s a respectable number of Swiss companies active in different sectors of the Qatari economy. Growing Swiss exports to Qatar amounted to a total of $760m last year, amongst them many of the premium watches and jewellery…. Qatari busi-nesses have invested substantially in the Swiss economy over the years,” he added.

He also said that Switzerland is a prime

tourist destination for Qataris and expatriates.

The cooperation between Qatar and Swiss in the area of human rights, specifically on migrant workers was also highlighted.

“The opening of the ILO-office in May last year as well as the Geneva-based organisation’s recent report show that Qatar is working on its commitments to improve their livelihoods through fair job opportunities, without the threat of exploi-tation,” said Dörig.

A ceremonial cake was cut, premium Swiss watches and jewellery were on showcase and native cheese was made as part of the celebration. Traditional Swiss songs were also played by musicians who had travelled from central Switzerland.

Swiss National Day cele-bration, marks 728th birthday of the country, which is originally marked on August 1.

FROM LEFT: Minister of Commerce and Industry H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Swiss Ambassador Edgar Doerig, Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, the Director of Protocol of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Fakhroo, and the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and the Ambassador of Eritrea to Qatar, Ali Ibrahim Ahmed; during the 728th Anniversary of the Swiss Confederation, yesterday. PIC: BAHER AMIN / THE PENINSULA

The Qatari voter has reached a stage of awareness that enables them to sense the credibility of the candidate through the electoral program.

06 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019HOME

QF marks World Autism Awareness DayTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Foundation (QF) has commemorated World Autism Awareness Day, an initiative proposed by H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, to the United Nations in 2007 and first marked in 2008.

QF Headquarters was lit in blue, through an initiative spon-sored by Renad Academy, a spe-cialized school under the umbrella of QF’s Pre-University Education (PUE). As part of an

awareness campaign by Renad Academy and PUE, the building at Education City was illumi-nated in the colour that

represents World Autism Awareness Day which fell on April 2. It will continue to be lit in blue till today.

A view of the Qatar Foundation headquarters lighted up in blue to mark the World Autism Awareness Day.

MoPH develops better health plans for women and childrenTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and its partners work on achieving the national targets outlined in Qatar’s National Health Strategy 2018-2022.

Two of the key areas the strategy focuses on are the health of women, and the health of children and adolescents.

According to a recent STEPS survey, approximately 68 percent of Qatari women are overweight, 90 percent eat less than five servings of fruits or vegetables a day, and over 80 percent do not engage in physical activity.

A detailed plan was developed to ensure women are supported and empowered early in life to take care of themselves and their children through improved health lit-eracy, in addition to offering them high-quality, coordinated care that guides them during pregnancy and beyond. The plan for this population group also aims to improve the mon-itoring of the causes of maternal complications, as well as national protocols and guidelines for maternity care in Qatar.

“A woman’s health choices

have a significant influence on her own health, as well as that of her children. Investing in women’s health by providing the quality of the care and services provided, in addition to promoting healthy lifestyles, will result in significant health improvements for Qatar’s future generation,” said Dr Najat Khenyab, National Health Strategy Lead for the “Healthy Women Leading to Healthy Pregnancies” priority within the NHs 2018-2022.

Additionally, Qatar suffers from low rates of exclusive breastfeeding for children up to 6 months old, as well as high obesity rates in children, approximately 18% for boys and 15% for girls under 20 years old.

A health sector plan was developed to improve the health of children and

adolescents in Qatar. The plan focuses on improving nutrition and promoting healthy life-styles, by targeting both children as well as care givers, including parents, teachers and care givers. It also focuses on improving pediatric services, through offering high quality integrated healthcare for children. Efforts will be specif-ically directed towards reducing obesity and dental caries in children, and main-taining a high rate of vacci-nation coverage.

The National Health Strategy Lead for “Healthy Children and Adolescents,” Dr. Sadriya Al Kohji said “In order to give our children, the best opportunity to lead a healthy and full life, it is important that the foundations of good health are part of their lifestyles from an early age. It is essential to involve families and to make sure they are equipped with the knowledge to make healthy changes.”

A dedicated taskforce, including key stakeholders from different organization from within and outside of the health sector, has been developed for both priority populations to oversee the implementation of the plans with the aim of achieving their targets by 2022.

According to a recent STEPS survey, approximately 68% of Qatari women are overweight, 90% eat less than five servings of fruits or vegetables a day, and over 80% do not engage in physical activity.

Ooredoo Platinum Sponsor of Dell Technologies Forum 2019THE PENINSULA DOHA

Ooredoo announced yesterday that it was the Platinum Sponsor of the recent Dell Technologies Forum held at St. Regis Hotel.

The Dell Technologies Forum provided a valuable opportunity for Dell and Ooredoo to showcase their products, solutions and strat-egies that can enable the digital transformation of Qatar’s businesses.

The event attracted hun-dreds of attendees including m a n a g e m e n t - l e v e l

IT representatives – analysts, operations managers, network security engineers and technical architects - from a number of different industries.

As well as acting as Platinum Sponsor for the Forum, Ooredoo also hosted a booth at the event demonstrating its Data Centre services such as Remote Backup service, whereby business cus-tomers are able to back up all their files, applications, data-bases and virtual machines in Ooredoo’s Cloud and recover them when needed with just a click, and Disaster Recovery, which includes both in-country

and out-of-country solutions that safeguard mission-critical a p p l i c a t i o n s a n d / o r infrastructure.

Yousuf Abdulla Al Kubaisi, Chief Operating Officer, Ooredoo Qatar, said: “Business transfor-mation is in the spotlight cur-rently, with corporate entities looking at their data security and management. We were delighted to support this event, which was an excellent opportunity for us to showcase our Data Centre services that enhance business operations, as well as connect with hundreds of industry professionals.”

Officials at the booth hosted by Ooredoo during the recent Dell Technologies Forum at St. Regis Hotel.

QA hosts several events in support of autism awareness monthTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Airways hosts a series of special events throughout the month of April designed to raise awareness of the autism spectrum disorder.

The airline will continue its successful collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) for the third consecutive year by hosting a series of work-shops and training programmes conducted by HMC’s doctors, specialists and therapists, with the aim to ensure that Qatar Airways cabin crew and ground staff are prepared to support autistic passengers with a better understanding of the disorder.

HMC doctors and therapists

will also guide and advise cabin crew members on how to effec-tively support and assist autistic passengers while travelling on Qatar Airways flights. An infor-mation kiosk will be set up at the airline’s operations centre where medical representatives from HMC will distribute informa-tional brochures about the disorder.

Nabeela Fakhri, Senior Vice-President Human Resources, Qatar Airways, said: “As an airline, we are proud to support both global and local campaigns in raising awareness of this dis-order. Equipping our staff with the information they need enables us to support all of our customers as best we can. We are delighted to participate in

this global initiative for the third consecutive year by partnering with Hamad Medical Corpo-ration, in order to ensure our autistic passengers have a smooth and enjoyable journey.”

World Autism Awareness Day is held every year on April two worldwide, with the goal of bringing attention to autism. To mark the day, Qatar Airways hosted an exciting and lively Kids Fun Day at Kidzmondo Doha, providing Qatar Airways cabin crew and employees the opportunity to interact with children with autism and their teachers, therapists and car-egivers. Qatar Airways’ Oryx Kids Club mascots, Orry and Orah, made a special appearance at the event.

The staff of Qatar Airways with children as part of an event to raise awareness on autism disorder.

HIA hosts guests from Ehsan CentreTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Hamad International Airport (HIA), in collaboration with Qatar Aviation Services and Qatar Duty Free, conducted a special tour for the Centre for Empowerment and Care of the Elderly (Ehsan Centre).

The tour aimed to showcase the airport’s state of the art facil-ities for passengers with reduced mobility (PRM).

Twenty-three guests from Ehsan Centre took part in the tour which included the elderly and staff members. The guests visited various locations across the terminal with Qatar Aviation Services highlighting the services provided for PRM, including the departure area, boarding gate, arrival hall, and Oryx Airport Hotel. The successful tour ended with a lunch for the guests at Le Marche restaurant.

Abdulaziz Al Mass, Vice-President of Marketing and Cor-porate Communications at HIA, said, “We are delighted to welcome and host Ehsan Cen-tre’s elderly members at the airport to showcase the facilities provided for PRM. We are com-mitted to empowering all our

passengers as well as making our 5-star services and facilities accessible to everyone.”

Buthaina Al Marzouqi, Director of the Internal Care Department at Ehsan Centre, commented: “Our visit to HIA has been a tremendous success with the elderly and staff at Ehsan. Initiatives like these help the centre achieve its strategic objectives of providing programs and trips that empower the elderly and provide them with social activities. We thank HIA for hosting us and their efforts in providing an engaging tour for

our members.” HIA offers bar-rier-free access and dedicated facilities to make travelling more comfortable for passengers requiring additional assistance. HIA’s network of elevators, esca-lators, ramps, walkways, check-in’s and passenger train offer simple access to PRM.

In addition, the airport is dedicated to ensuring the safest environment for all its pas-sengers with the terminal building equipped with over 180 evacuation chairs to assist PRM out of the building in an emergency.

A member of the Ehsan Centre is guided during a tour at the Hamad International Airport.

QNA THE HAGUE

Political consultations between the foreign ministers of the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of the Netherlands were held yesterday in the Hague.

Qatar’s side was chaired by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H E Dr Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, and the Netherlands’ side was chaired by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joke Brandt.

During the consulta-tions they discussed bilateral relations between both sides and ways to boost and develop them as well as the latest develop-ments regionally and glo-bally. They also discussed a number of topics of common interest.

Qatar, Netherlands hold political consultations

The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H E Dr Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, and the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Joke Brandt.

07THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 HOME

QA, McGill University to build future of aviation THE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Airways has announced its strategic collaboration with McGill University’s Institute of Air and Space Law, the world’s premier institution for inno-vative research and education in the field of air and space law.

The inaugural Qatar Airways/McGill Air Law Moot Court Competition and the Qatar Airways/McGill Rising Scholars in Air and Space Law Con-ference were held in Montreal, Canada, on March 22 and 23, 2019.

The event was attended by a wide range of government officials and aviation and space industry professionals, as well as scholars and graduate stu-dents from more than 20 countries.

The 2019 Qatar Airways/McGill Air Law Moot Court Com-petition was based on a case before the International Court of Justice concerning drone interference with operations at an international airport. Parties had to make submissions and present arguments on whether a revocation of traffic rights is

a justified measure in interna-tional aviation.

Participants presented their research on various leading-edge topics, including the legal and regulatory regime for autonomous flying taxis in urban centres. Prizes were awarded for the best overall presentation, the best air law presentation, the best space law presentation, and the most inno-vative research, as well as a special ‘spirit of the conference’ award.

The conference also high-lighted the importance of the 2019 Doha Declaration — a manifesto that calls for a serious review of the existing aviation regulatory framework. The

declaration, which was announced at the conclusion of the CAPA Qatar Aviation, Aero-political and Regulatory Summit held in February in Doha, comes 75 years after the historic Chicago Convention, which

established the International Civil Aviation Organisation as well as a set of global rules for airspace, air safety and air travel.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said:

“Qatar Airways is extremely proud of our new strategic col-laboration with the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University, which is renowned for developing aviation profes-sionals that hold some of the

highest positions in interna-tional organisations, govern-ments, airlines, and law firms around the world.”

“Participants in the Qatar Airways/McGill Air Law Moot Court Competition and the Qatar Airways/McGill Rising Scholars in Air and Space Law Con-ference demonstrated academic excellence, as well as a will-ingness to challenge the status quo and to rethink the law and existing aeropolitical and regu-latory frameworks. I am con-fident that the future of our industry is in good hands.”

The Director of McGill Uni-versity’s Institute of Air and Space Law, Dr. Brian F. Havel, said: “The McGill Institute of Air and Space Law is proud to enter this ground-breaking educa-tional collaboration with Qatar Airways, one of the world’s leading air carriers. Our first pri-ority as an Institute is the pro-fessional development of our highly accomplished students, and Qatar Airways’ support enables us to offer exciting new programmes that nurture and showcase our students as future leaders of the global civil avi-ation community.”

Participants pose during the inaugural Qatar Airways/McGill conference in Montreal, Canada on March 22.

The 2019 Qatar Airways/McGill Air Law Moot Court Competition was based on a case before the International Court of Justice concerning drone interference with operations at an international airport.

QampTech engages students in stem activitiesTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), part of Qatar Foun-dation Research, Development, and Innovation (QF RDI), recently organised ‘QampTech’, an event aimed at igniting the imagination of young students and taking them on a discovery of science and technology.

During ‘QampTech’, students took on the role of creators, innovators, and builders, coming together to understand real-life technological and industrial problems, and ways of solving them through applied sciences for a sustainable future.

The event introduced 40 primary school students from Qatar Academy Sidra — part of Qatar Foundation’s Pre-Uni-versity Education — and Doha British School to the elements of architectural design, sustaina-bility, renewable energy, and agriculture through a variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities.

Yosouf Abdulrahman Saleh, Executive Director of QSTP, said, “Through QampTech, we have created a space for students where they can experiment with, and explore, science through application.

“In doing so, QSTP reiterates

its dedication to nurturing inno-vative mindsets from a young age. The unique and interesting themes of this year’s activities highlight our emphasis on STEM while having fun with these subjects.”

QampTech was organised around two main themes — ‘Mission to Mars’ and ‘Future City’ — and across four zones: ‘Make It and Take it’, ‘Tinker with Science’, ‘Fablab’, and ‘Masters of Making’. Students were divided into teams and underwent a gamified treasure hunt experience that took them across all the zones while engaging in hands-on activities.

Officials and other guests examine the works by school students at the event organised by Qatar Science & Technology Park.

QNTA, Wisa pact to provide training for nannies THE PENINSULA DOHA

The Qatar Nanny Training Academy (QNTA), a member of Qatar Foundation, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qatar manpower solutions company, Wisa.

As part of the agreement, QNTA will provide intensive and varied workshops for female trainees nominated by Wisa, run in conjunction with QNTA’s core programme in English and in Arabic. The training will take place over the course of three years.

The MoU was signed by Hessa Al Mansouri, General Director of QNTA, and Hussain Ali Al Hababi, CEO of Wisa, in the presence of a number of offi-cials and directors from both institutions. Al Mansouri said that this joint cooperation is a step towards providing more services to the community by training

more nannies. “In recent years, the academy has attracted Muslim students from several countries who speak Arabic, and trained them over an academic year, through a comprehensive

and balanced education pro-gramme,” she said.

“The focus of the programme is on the development of the physical, social, and linguistic skills, as well as on inculcating

Islamic values in the life of the Qatari child.”

Al Hababi, said, “This agreement comes within the framework of the company’s commitment to providing qual-ified labour, and one of its main objectives towards the training of nannies.

“In addition, this agreement marks the beginning of the desired cooperation between the two entities. We are keen to train and qualify individuals in basic skills according to the selected specialisation, as well as guide and enhance skills in occupa-tional health and safety, edu-cation, and awareness of the values and teachings of society.”

The MoU will achieve a series of strategic objectives focusing on providing a safe environment for children in their early stages, especially for children of working mothers who leave their children at home.

Hessa Al Mansouri, General Director of QNTA, and Hussain Ali Al Hababi, CEO of Wisa, exchange documents during the MoU signing .

Ooredoo confirms sponsorship of Palestinian Heritage FestivalTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Ooredoo has announced that it is to be the official sponsor of the Palestinian Heritage Festival.

The festival — being organised in conjunction with the Palest inian Qatari Friendship Association and the Palestine Embassy in Qatar — is to be held from April four to 13 at Cultural Village Katara, and aims to shine a spotlight on Pales-tinian culture and explore its history and roots, as well as celebrate the longstanding relationship between Pal-estine and Qatar.

The event will feature popular Palestinian folk shows including songs and debkah dances traditionally performed at weddings. There will also be displays of

popular Palestinian fashion, traditional cuisine and her-itage and fine art photog-raphy, as well as cultural lec-tures related to the history and heritage of the country and the sacred holy history of Al Qods.

Speaking of the event, Manar Khalifa Al Muraikhi – Director PR and Corporate Communications at Ooredoo – said: “We’re delighted to be sponsoring this important event highlighting Palestinian history and culture and cele-brat ing the fr iendship between our two countries. Supporting events that promote the preservation of regional culture is of para-mount importance to us, and we’re proud to be working with Katara and the Pales-tinian Qatari Friendship Asso-ciation to bring this event to life.”

QLM Life & Medical Insurance Company offers free medical check-up tomorrow

THE PENINSULA DOHA

QIC Group entity QLM Life & Medical Insurance Company — Qatar’s leading Health & Life Insurer, is celebrating World Health Day by offering free medical check-up tomorrow for all residents of Qatar.

The campaign timings are from 8am to 11am at Abeer Medical Centres (Abu Hamour & Indus-trial Area) & At Aster Medical Center in C-Ring Road, Hilal, Al Rayyan, Al Ghanim, Industrial Area and Al Khor.

For the remaining healthcare centres, namely, Asian Medical Center, Al Rabeeh Dental Center, Naseem Al Rabeeh, SAC Mall of Qatar, Elaj Medical Centre, Apollo, Atlas, Future Medical Centre, Planet Medical Centre, Al Safa Medical Medical Polyclinic and Badr Al Samaa, the campaign timings are from 3pm to 8pm.

Salem Khalaf Al Mannai (pictured), Deputy Group President & CEO, said: “QLM Life Insurance & Medical Insurance is committed to spreading the culture that human health starts from pre-vention. We have provided free health check-up in cooperation with some of our health provider network. We are taking this initiative as the cor-nerstone of the annual celebration of World Health Day and the activation of the slogan we are here for all.”

He further added: “Qatar Insurance Group plays a key role in social responsibility at all levels — health, environment, sports and education — and the initiative adopted by QLM, one of the Group’s subsidiaries, is not new to Qatar Insurance Group, which affirms its commitment to its social responsibility towards society in all its sectors in the State of Qatar.”

All Qatari nationals and expatriates (whether insured with QLM or not) can visit the nearest QLM Life & Medical counters located at the health providers to avail free medical check-up. Partic-ipants would only need to present their Qatar ID to avail the listed free services.

The campaign timings are from 8am to 11am at Abeer Medical Centres (Abu Hamour & Industrial Area) & at Aster Medical Center in C-Ring Road, Hilal, Al Rayyan, Al Ghanim, Industrial Area and Al Khor.

In its resolution, the General Assembly urged all States to work together to protect individuals from acts of violence, discrimination, and hatred based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance.

FRED RYAN THE WASHINGTON POST

08 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019VIEWS

Qatar presides over UN session to condemn attack on NZ mosques

The Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations H E Sheikha Alya bint Ahmed Al Thani, as Vice-Chair-

person of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, chaired on Tuesday a session to condemn the terrorist attack on the mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and other acts of violence based on religion or belief. The General Assembly unanimously adopted a reso-lution condemning terrorism and other acts of violence based on religion or belief.

The State of Qatar was at the fore-front of countries that called for a General Assembly meeting following the terrorist attack on mosques in Christchurch. The meeting stressed the sanctity of places of worship and the need to reject Islamophobia and other forms of hatred and intolerance.

The meeting also condemned the attempts to insult Islam and Muslims, stressing the need to combat inflam-matory rhetoric whatever its source, especially from governmental and official bodies for political purposes, because of their threats to international peace and security.

The meeting, chaired by H E Sheikha Alya bint Ahmed Al Thani, witnessed the adoption of a resolution that the State of Qatar contributed to drafting and pre-senting in partnership with the Republic of Turkey, the State of Kuwait and other countries. Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu introduced the draft resolution before the vote.

The General Assembly strongly con-demned the terrorist attack, which it described as “ugly and despicable,” which targeted Muslim worshipers in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15. Also, it strongly condemned the ongoing violence and acts of terrorism targeting persons, including members of

religious minorities, on the basis of religion or belief or on its behalf.

In its reso-lution, the General Assembly urged all States to work together to protect indi-viduals from acts of vio-lence, discrim-ination, and hatred based on racism,

racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. In addition, it urged States to protect and promote freedom of religion and belief and to promote a domestic environment of religious tol-erance, peace, and respect by combating incitement to religious hatred and vio-lence as well as planning and coordi-nating actions at the local, national and regional levels through education and awareness-raising.

Finally, in its resolution, the General Assembly called for intensified interna-tional efforts to promote a global dia-logue on the promotion of a culture of tolerance and peace at all levels, based on respect for human rights and the diversity of religions and beliefs.

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu, Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah, and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indo-nesia Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi participated in the session.

Jassim Sayyar Al Maawda, Deputy Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, stated that the resolution submitted to the General Assembly condemns in the strongest terms the attacks against wor-shipers in the two mosques in Christchurch and urges the adoption of practical measures to protect innocent people from such acts of terrorism.

In his statement to the General Assembly, the Deputy Permanent Rep-resentative said that the State of Qatar reiterated its condemnation of all acts of terrorism, including those motivated by religious hatred.

“We have learned from the terrorist attack in Christchurch and other ter-rorist attacks the gravity of inflam-matory discourse and attempts to demonize those affiliated with religion, race, nationality or minority, including attempts to abuse Islam and Muslims’.

He stressed the need to stand firm against inflammatory rhetoric whatever the source, especially the addresses issued by government agencies and official for political purposes, as they threat peace and security in our region and the world at large.

The statement reiterated the State of Qatar’s assertion that terrorism has no religion, no ethnic or national identity, and that the State of Qatar recognises the seriousness of stereotyping with regard to terrorism and violent extremism. The danger lay in the stig-matization of people or followers of a particular religion simply because a member had committed a brutal crime against humanity.

“This is an unfair violation of the rights of millions of people, where reli-gious and ethnic discrimination is prac-ticed, leading to a climate of intolerance and hatred of the other, which in turn leads to catastrophic consequences and additional crimes and the sustainability and expansion of the cycle of violence,” he said.

The statement also warned against the accusation of an entire religion or an entire nation of terrorism, which would distort the real efforts to study this phe-nomenon and find out the real reasons of it.

The Deputy Permanent Represent-ative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations said that “the important decision that has been adopted must be the basis for continuous efforts that can be built on to prevent acts of terrorism motivated by religious hatred in places of worship.”

The statement welcomed of the Sec-retary-General of the United Nations’ call for the Alliance of Civilizations, to communicate with governments, reli-gious organizations, religious leaders and others to discuss measures to prevent attacks against religious sites and to ensure their sanctity.

QNA

QUOTE OF THE DAY

It will be good for all if the Rohingya can be repatriated

to their own country as soon as possible,

ensuring (their) safety and security

Sheikh Hasina Bangladesh Prime

Minister

It’s been six months since Khashoggi’s murder, & Trump has done nothing

Six months ago, a man on the brink of his greatest happiness walked into Saudi

Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul while his wife-to-be watched from the gate. He went there at the direction of Saudi offi-cials to retrieve documents needed for his upcoming marriage. But it was a care-fully set trap. Lying in wait were more than a dozen trained Saudi agents, who murdered him and then bru-tally dismembered his body.

Post contributing col-umnist Jamal Khashoggi did nothing to deserve this gruesome fate. He was attacked on orders of Saudi Arabia’s top official, simply for doing a journalist’s job: telling the truth. Now, half a year after this heinous act shocked the world, it is worth taking stock of what has been done in response - and what has not.

The Saudis have adopted a strategy of evasion. They still have not produced Khashoggi’s body, preventing his family from holding a proper Islamic funeral. The regime has scapegoated expendable officials, seeking to quell international furor by staging a sham trial. The coordinator of the operation that killed Khashoggi, Saud Al Qahtani, remains free - and is actively advising the crown prince. Meanwhile, Mohammed bin Salman has jetted around the world, high-fiving Russian President Vladimir Putin, getting chummy with China, and rubbing elbows with other world leaders as part of a global tour to rehabilitate his reputation.

The international com-munity, to its credit, has taken a principled stand for press freedom and human rights. Last month, 36 coun-tries, including all 28 European Union members, banded together at the UN Human Rights Council to “condemn in the strongest possible terms” Khashoggi’s murder and to call on the Saudis to cooperate with an ongoing UN inquiry. A number of Western

democracies have suspended political visits to Saudi Arabia, curtailed arms sales and withheld other gestures of support for the regime.

And what about the United States, long the standard-bearer for liberty around the world?

The dedicated profes-sionals in our intelligence services have done their jobs. They investigated swiftly and thoroughly, concluding - with high confidence - that the crown prince was indeed behind Khashoggi’s killing.

Congress is doing its job, too. On a bipartisan basis, it voted to withhold support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, investigated the US response to the murder, and moved to restrict the transfer of nuclear technology to the Saudi government.

In October, senators invoked the Magnitsky Act, allowing the United States to impose penalties on Saudis who violated human rights through their involvement in Khashoggi’s killing.

But the Trump adminis-tration is a far different story. White House officials have issued critical words and slaps on the wrist, but they’ve stopped short of imposing

meaningful penalties. They have stonewalled and obfus-cated, brushing aside the CIA’s findings to continue business as usual with the crown prince. This “I see nothing!” approach has meant looking away not only as the Saudis killed a prominent journalist, but also as the regime jails women for demanding basic liberties, tortures business leaders and terrorises citizens into submission.

Sadly, the most sub-missive figure in this story is President Donald Trump. Even after irrefutable evi-dence came to light showing the Saudis had lied about Khashoggi’s death, Trump proclaimed Mohammed bin Salman a “great ally” and protested that the crown prince might well be innocent. Perhaps most egre-giously, Trump has abdicated the responsibilities of his office, refusing to comply with the Magnitsky Act’s requirements that the admin-istration present its findings on the Khashoggi case to Congress.

In this impotent response, Trump isn’t just violating the law. He is also undermining the credibility and moral authority of the United States.

Qatar unceasingly work on improving the lives of people and communities around the world through investing heavily in efforts that contribute to bringing stability, such as education and youth employment.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI

osman@pen.com.qa

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

Victory of diplomacy

The foreign policy and the shrewd diplomacy that the State of Qatar pursues have been drawing wide-spread appreciation and praise from across the

world. Qatar has emerged successful and with unprece-dented vigour from the unjust blockade imposed on the country by its neighbouring quartet. The quartet coun-tries have been watching with surprise the progress of Qatari diplomacy in laying bare the inimical intentions of the blockading countries and proving the innocence and sincerity of Qatar before the global communities.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani recently shed light on Qatar’s vision on the priorities of foreign and economic policies and the future of Qatar’s relations with the world countries, during an open conversation hosted by the Georgetown University. H E the Deputy Prime Min-ister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the blockade brought in a turning point for the geopolitical situation in the entire region, stressing that the only way forward is sitting around the negotiation table.

H E the Foreign Minister addressed the successful strat-egies adopted by Qatar to ensure national security and alleviate the human sufferings of the blockade. He said Qatar would not have been able to face and overcome the chal-lenges without the internal support from citizens and res-idents adding that the state appreciates the valuable con-tributions by its diverse society and the role it continues to play in the future development of the country.

H E the Foreign Minister asserted Qatar’s firm support to Gulf Cooperation Council, which is a framework for regional cooperation and co-existence.

The State of Qatar plays a prominent role in contributing to the resolution of conflicts in

the region and the world and enhancing security and sta-bility in several regions. Qatar unceasingly work on improving the lives of people and communities around the world through investing heavily in efforts that con-tribute to bringing stability, such as education and youth employment.

The blockading countries should bear direct respon-sibility for all negative consequences and impacts that were caused by the blockade. Qatar, despite being the victim of the blockade, always called for an objective, serious and unconditional dialogue to resolve the crisis.

The successful strategies adopted by Qatar to ensure national security and its constant contribution to strength-ening security and stability in international level confirm that the State is pursuing policies capable of making the world a better place by establishing peace, understanding the importance of co-existence, non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states and respecting the rights of others, while carrying on with the State’s own affairs with a focus on the betterment of life of its citizens and residents.

H E Sheikha Alya bint Ahmed Al Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, addressing the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly.

In ongoing trade talks between the US and China — preliminary understanding goes from China buying large chunk of the US goods to balance trade deficit of the US and in return China wanting this deal is only applicable for the company operated in China by the US and Chinese business personnel.

09THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 OPINION

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Brexit’s last chance beforethe voters take control

Trump’s foreign policy ‘test’ & ‘attempt’

THERESE RAPHAEL BLOOMBERG

SAURAV RAJ PANT

If the gridlocked British par-liament had suddenly come to a united Brexit stance on Monday, it would probably have been dis-

missed as an April Fool’s gag anyway. Of course, no such thing happened.

Monday night’s parliamentary vote saw lawmakers choosing between four Brexit options instead of eight the pre-

vious week. Progress of a sort. But once again, they said no to everything. Partly, that’s down to the process: MPs weren’t told they had to choose just one option, or rank them by order of preference, which would have been revealing. None of the votes are binding on Theresa May’s gov-ernment. That meant voting could be used tactically.

If there was a common thread to the results, though, it was that, even with cabinet ministers abstaining, the three main alternatives to May’s deal - a cus-toms union, a referendum on a deal, and remaining in the single market - lost by narrower margins than her deal itself when it was last rejected on Friday. This suggests that if there is a consensus somewhere, it’s toward a Brexit that leaves the U.K. tied more closely to the EU. That isn’t a mes-sage to which Brexiters in May’s ruling Conservative Party are listening.

The option with most support was a “confirmatory” referendum, a public vote to confirm whatever deal Parliament decides on. But even that wouldn’t have moved the ball much. It would require, firstly, that lawmakers settle on a Brexit path. Then it would need the European Union to grant a long extension to allow for a referendum and the UK to be willing

to take part in European Parliament elec-tions in May.

The option closest to a majority - with 276 to 273 votes in favor - was for a permanent customs union with the EU, something already in place as part of Britain’s EU membership. This would avoid tariffs between the UK and the bloc and would be a relief for British industry, which relies heavily on imported inputs into products that are then exported. It would avoid costly and burdensome rules of origin checks. A customs union would also go a long way (though not entirely) toward keeping the border open between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ire-land, a problem that has been the chief block on May’s own Brexit deal.

Still, a customs union is far from a “soft” Brexit. It would entail extra costs and trade frictions, from import/export documentation to regulatory checks for plant and animal products. Nor does it help much with Britain’s all-important services sector, where tariffs don’t apply.

The deal-breaker for Brexit hardlin-ers, however, is that Britain wouldn’t be able to conduct its own trade deals. This freedom has become totemic for Brexit-ers, even if there’s nothing to suggest that the UK would be able to replicate, let alone improve on, the trade terms it already gets around the world as an EU member.

Meanwhile, the clock ticks down to April 12, when Britain will crash out of the EU without a negotiated exit deal unless one of three things happens: Parliament approves a deal; decides to abandon Brexit altogether; or manages to get the EU member states to give it more time. So far, lawmakers can’t agree on a deal and are unwilling to abandon Brexit. An extension is up to the EU, but the UK would first have to decide what it plans to use it for. Brussels would prefer to avoid a no-deal exit, but patience is wearing thin.

May’s divided cabinet will spend much of Tuesday arguing over what to do. Con-servatives are deadlocked between several incompatible options: Leaving without a deal; leaving with May’s deal; and pursu-ing closer ties with the EU through one of

the options suggested on Monday. This is tearing the party apart.

Dominic Grieve, the thoughtful former attorney general and Conservative moderate who has supported a second referendum, faces deselection as an MP by angry local party members. Nick Boles, the Tory lawmaker whose attempt to build consensus for a Norway-style agreement that would keep Britain in the single mar-ket failed on Monday, proclaimed his party incapable of compromise and went to sit as an independent.

Meanwhile, arch-Brexiters are dig-ging in. One is said to have collected 200 signatures from MPs calling for a “man-aged” no deal (something the EU says isn’t possible). Steve Baker, a leading Conserv-ative euroskeptic, threatened on Monday night to support the opposition in a vote of no-confidence in the government if May accepted any “softer” option.

It’s getting to the point where it would be braver to just say: Bring it on. Hardlin-ers like Baker have consistently blocked May’s deal and it is probably time for her to stop pandering and ask a different ques-tion, something that should be easier now she’s offered to step down.

But that would require her to seek compromise where she can find it, out-side of her party. She hasn’t done much of that so far.

There is talk she will offer the opposi-tion Labour Party some kind of assurance that it will play a role in future trade talks with the EU and seek support for her deal on that basis. But the constitutional prin-ciple of parliamentary sovereignty, which says that one parliament cannot bind the hands of its successors, makes that tricky.

A different kind of parliamentary vot-ing process - say, using preferential voting - might turn up a more decisive result in future indicative rounds. Monday’s vot-ing suggests this would probably be a customs union or single market option, both agreeable to Labour, possibly with a confirmatory referendum. But then it would be up to May to act on it, risking the civil war in her party that she’s been trying to avoid.

Trump’s foreign policy test is failing and new ‘attempt’ on Nepal policy is boiling curi-osity among all geopolitical

pundits. It is failing in four arenas. These are Iran, China-Russia frontiers, Venezuela and India & Indo-Pacific strategy. His policy in Middle East is fabri-cated by detaining Iran’s growing ambitions for nuclear stock piles; despite rejection by the US intelligence report that, Iran posses ‘no harm’ for the US at current time, Egypt’s Pres-ident Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ambitions to remain in power and to enhance mil-itary control over country till 2034 by making constitutional changes seems OK for him as this country is one of the closest ally of the US. After Post-Soviet era, ‘Containment’ became the US’s key strategy in the world followed by the construction of the global institu-tions like UN, Breton Woods but after Trump’s endorsement of Golan Height occupancy by the Israel; its key allies in Europe are frustrated and such action of the US had put Israel-Palestine peace talks in turmoil, which the US had sponsored from beginning. This is making new ‘hotspot’ of conflicts in Middle East.

China-Russia frontiers is proving Trump a ‘jaw breaking job’ with no consensus and continuously damaging the US hegemony. In ongoing trade talks between the US and

China—preliminary understanding goes from China buying large chunk of the US goods to balance trade deficit of the US and in return China wanting this deal is only applicable for the company operated in China by the US and Chinese business personnel. ‘Russia’ and especially Putin is proving ‘double edged’ sword for the US. Putin is engaging in the key geo-strategic frontiers, where the US is involving (Syria, Iran, and Venezuela). Putin’s blended strategies by supporting Assad regime in Syria and meddling in the overall Syrian war had proved ‘counter-productive’ for the US — has made the US to withdraw its troops from Syria.

In recent days, Chinese premier Xi tour to Italy and France — where Italy agreed to participate in BRI initiatives of China despite rejection from the US. China is not advancing in Europe for 5G joint project and BRI rather it is buying everywhere. China is ‘buying’ and Russia is playing ‘Zero-sum’ game against the US. Bitterly, Trump’s role has been limited in defending the European interest from China.

Maduro government in Venezuela isn’t dying up easily despite White House official recognition for the opposition leaders, Mr. Guaido as the interim president. Rather, it is with-standing strongly against the US from the support of Russia and China. Russia-China nexus is building

‘environment’ despite US rejection against Maduro government to sustain it. Likewise Russia did for Assad regime. This time, China is also on play which remained absent in the case of Syria.

India’s current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is facing general election this month isn’t an ordinary South Asian ‘impoverished’ leader neither a ‘Western copycat’. Rather, he is a strong ‘zeal’ man expanding his country’s status on paramount way when he came to power in 2014 by using ‘Carrot & Stick’ policy. He is ‘Hindu nationalist’ and believes India’s own traditional ‘values’ but he had extremely ‘impressed’ west to bring FDI in the country in the form of ‘Make in India’ campaign with increment of 32 %( which is $64.8 billion) FDI inflows to India comparing to 16% increase of previous 15 months before the campaign as reported by Nexia. Well, polls suggest that, he will again be coming into power but with lesser majority. Even India, under his tenure-ship is ditching the US.

He had rejected ‘US threats’ after buying oil from Iran and weapons from Russia. Since, current time is ‘sensitive’ period for BJP led gov-ernment in India. This party seems ‘not active’ in countering the US assert-iveness. Therefore, Xi in China and Modi in India — is becoming very tough combination of leaders for the West to achieve their geo-strategic objectives. So, underlining this ‘diffi-culties’ in achieving ‘vested’ interest of the US, it had invited Nepal for bilateral talks on December 2018 in the Washington which was held after 17 years.

Meeting in Washington between Nepali and American foreign ministers ended up with very unique under-standing because it reported differ-ently in both Nepali and the US foreign Ministries — US Embassy in Kath-mandu noted that, “Nepal’s central role in a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific; and global issues, including North Korea”, whereas Nepali side firmly opposed the idea that Nepal never agreed upon the strategic Indo-pacific agreement but Nepali side urged the importance of the ‘Indo-Pacific region’ rather than ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy’.

Who is making Nepali public fool? The US which had 800 military bases around the world and is the key global political player, definitely has a under-standing to differentiate between

The option closest to a majority — with 276 to 273 votes in favor — was for a permanent customs union with the EU, something already in place as part of Britain’s EU membership.

‘region’ and ‘strategy’ whereas Nepali officials who are heading the foreign ministry based on fulfilling certain criteria; if not knowing about the difference is a shame.

Well, Trump’s new test of foreign policy in Nepal — the cockpit of Asia will be interestingly observed in days to come. Recently, Trump’s administration is successful in building Visa reciprocity agreement of 5 years multiple entry tourist visa for the US citizens visiting Nepal (as Nepali citizen is already enjoying 5 years multiple entry visa plan entering the US), shows the Trump’s new ‘grand strategy’ in countering & balancing 21ST century Asian giants( i.e India & China) from cockpit. Well, flight from Nepal isn’t seems that much easy for him as this ‘impoverished’ world buffered between India and China; setup by the corrupt leaders including India & China’s potential intervention in their own ‘backyard(Nepal)’ may ‘halt’ his ambitions.

All of the above frontiers, Trump’s task is not ‘satisfactory’ and he is still under ‘test’. But, his new attempt of ‘Nepal’ chapter in his foreign policy gambit might be game changer in countering and balancing the China & India. ‘Nepal’ is only the best ‘route’ for the US state machinery to enter, intercept, covert and interrupt actions because Nepal share open border with India and Himalayan border with China followed by Nepal’s ‘low performing economy’ which makes Nepali offi-cials easily lured with the economic benefit made by the US. In all these ‘geo-strategic’ happenings, Nepali leadership is sleeping like a ‘baby’.

The writer is Research Associate of Nepal Matters for America; Wash-ington D C based Think Tank.

US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

10 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

An Algerian woman carries a portrait of a missing man as she demonstrates to demand sweeping change to the country’s whole political system, in Algiers, yesterday.

Algerians demand sweeping change as Bouteflika era endsAFP ALGIERS

Flag-waving Algerians have cele-brated the resignation of veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, but vowed yesterday to keep protesting to demand sweeping change to the country’s political system.

The 82-year-old’s departure, announced on state media late Tuesday, followed weeks of massive demonstrations that have shaken the North African nation. Car horns sounded on the streets before jubilant crowds converged in the centre of the capital Algiers to cheer his departure.

Many Algerians have never known any president other than Bouteflika, who held power for two decades but was rarely seen in public since suf-fering a stroke in 2013. Pro-testers in Algiers welcomed his departure but said they were determined to continue dem-onstrating, rejecting any tran-sition that leaves power in the hands of the “system”.

“I want my daughter to remember this historic day. Bouteflika’s gone, but it’s far from over,” said 35-year-old Amal, who wore a T-shirt with the slogan “I am against the system” and vowed to march again tomorrow. For 44-year-old engineer Hamid Boumaza, Bouteflika’s resignation was “too little, too late”.

“Bouteflika’s departure is no longer enough. We want them all to go. We want full freedom and we will march for as long as necessary.”

Others paid tribute to the longtime leader, but regretted that he had clung to power for so long.

“Bouteflika worked. I voted for him at first, but he didn’t know how to leave with his head held high,” said Bilan Brahim, 40.

Algeria’s Constitutional Council said Wednesday it had accepted Bouteflika’s resignation and informed parliament that his post was officially vacant.

Algeria’s constitution says that once the president officially

resigns, the speaker of the upper house of parliament, currently 77-year-old Abdelkader Ben-salah, acts as interim leader for up to 90 days during which a presidential election must be organised.

Algeria has largely avoided the turmoil unleashed by the Arab Spring uprisings that brought down rulers in neighbouring Tunisia and Libya.

But discontent, particularly among the young, turned to anger after Bouteflika announced in February that he would seek a fifth term in office in an election that had been scheduled for this month. He dropped his bid in the

face of the mass protests but also postponed the vote, angering Algerians who saw the move as a ploy to stay in power.

As pressure mounted, state television announced late Tuesday that Bouteflika had sub-mitted his resignation to the Constitutional Council.

The decision aimed “to con-tribute to the appeasement of the hearts and minds of my compa-triots, to allow them to take Algeria towards a better future to which they legitimately aspire,” his resignation letter read.

Footage showed Bouteflika,

dressed in a beige North African tunic and sitting in his wheel-chair, handing the letter to the council’s head, Tayeb Belaiz.

Although credited with helping foster peace after Alge-ria’s decade-long civil war, Bouteflika has faced criticism for alleged authoritarianism.

Turkey: No turning back from Russia arms dealAFP WASHINGTON

Turkey will not turn back from a major arms deal with Russia despite the US suspension of Ankara from the F-35 fighter-jet program, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

“The S-400 deal is a done deal and we will not step back from this,” he told a think-tank forum in Washington, where he is taking part in 70th anni-versary celebrations of Nato.

The United States said on Monday that it was halting shipment of F-35 parts of Turkey as well as joint manufacturing work due to Ankara’s purchase of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia.

Cavusoglu said Turkey turned to Russia as it could not

buy US Patriot missiles and quoted President Donald Trump as saying in an unspecified phone call that his predecessor Barack Obama had made a “mistake” not to sell the system to Ankara.

However, the Trump admin-istration has since made clear that it is ready to sell Patriot mis-siles to Turkey — if it drops the S-400 system.

The Turkish foreign minister said the S-400 deal did not signal a warming towards Russia. “We disagree with Russia on many issues,” Cavu-soglu said, pointing to Moscow’s “aggression” in the Black Sea and pledging never to recognise Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. “We have been working with Russia,” he said.

Palestinians are nowhere in Israel’s pollAP JERUSALEM

In a charged election campaign that has been heavy on insults and short on substance, Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians has been notably absent from the discourse.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party has offered no plan for what many believe is the country’s most existential problem. His main challenger in the April 9 vote speaks vaguely of “sepa-ration,” while Netanyahu’s hard-line partners speak openly of the once unthinkable idea of annexing all or parts of the West Bank. Talk of a Palestinian state, the international community’s preferred solution for the past two decades, is non-existent.

It is a far cry from past elec-tions, when peace with the

Palestinians was the central issue for voters. This apparent lack of interest reflects wide-spread disillusionment in Israel over years of failed peace efforts.

But it also is a testament to Netanyahu’s success in sidelining the issue. Capitalising on internal Palestinian divisions and pro-moting sometimes contradictory policies, Netanyahu has suc-ceeded in managing the conflict without addressing the bigger issue of how two intertwined peoples will live together in the future. Strong backing from the Trump administration has given him an extra boost.

“The peace track is currently in a coma,” said Shmuel Rosner, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. “There’s not much hope for a viable solution to be revived in the near future, so people can just keep pushing it aside until someday it

comes back to haunt them.” Throughout his tenure, Netanyahu has repeatedly cast blame on the Palestinians, accusing President Mahmoud Abbas, who seeks a negotiated settlement with Israel, of incitement and promoting “terror.” At the same time, he has maintained behind-the-scenes security cooperation with Abbas’ forces in the West Bank.

With the peace process in a deep freeze, it is perhaps no sur-prise that none of the major Israeli parties are talking about the Palestinians. “The Palestinian cause is totally absent in the Israeli elections, and when it comes, it comes only in a neg-ative context,” said Ahmed Majdalani, a senior Palestinian official. “This is worrisome, because it tells us that we are going from bad to worse.”

Ahead of the election, several religious and nationalist parties,

along with individual members of Netanyahu’s Likud party, have openly called for annexing parts or all of the West Bank. These plans include a range of pro-posals for the Palestinians, including nonvoting residency rights, possible citizenship or financial incentives to emigrate. Netanyahu’s main challenger, former military chief Benny Gantz, has given Israel’s “peace camp” some dim hope.

His Blue and White party’s platform devotes just a few sen-tences to the Palestinians, prom-ising “an open horizon for political settlement” and pledging to work with Arab neighbours to find a way to “deepen the separation.” It makes no mention of Palestinian statehood, and says Israel will continue to maintain control of parts of the West Bank and never divide Jerusalem.

Settler shoots Palestinian to deathREUTERS NABLUS

A Palestinian was shot dead by an Israeli settler in the West Bank yesterday. A Palestinian official, however, questioned the Israeli account of the incident at Hawara junction, near Nablus.

The West Bank, among ter-ritories where Palestinians seek statehood, has seen surges of street attacks on Israeli settlers and soldiers since US-backed peace talks stalled in 2014. Pal-estinians say Israel’s armed response has been excessive.

Yehoshua Sherman, a West Bank settler, told Israel Radio that he was driving slowly through the intersection with his

daughter when a Palestinian charged at their car.

“He jumped at me with a knife, trying to open the doors,” Sherman said. “I drew my handgun...wound down the window and shot at him from inside the car.”

A second motorist also fired at the Palestinian, hitting him, Sherman added. Israel’s Bei-linson Hospital said a man admitted with gunshot injuries from the incident died.

A Palestinian security source said initial information that he had indicated the dead man had been trying to cross the road.

The Palestinian health min-istry said a second Palestinian was wounded in the incident, but

did not immediately elaborate. Asked if it knew of another

casualty in the incident, the Israeli military said it had nothing to add to its statement.

Ghassan Daghlas, a Pales-tinian official in the Nablus gov-ernorate, demanded an investi-gation of the shooting.

“The whole place and street are full of security cameras. The cameras must have filmed eve-rything,” he said.

Palestinians hope to form an independent state including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza but an internationally mediated peace process has all but collapsed and Israel has expanded its settlement building.

Tunisia approves law to raise civil servant retirement age by two yearsREUTERS/TUNIS

Tunisia’s parliament approved yesterday a law to raise the retirement age for civil servants by two years and impose social security tax on employees and employers, a key reform demanded by the coun-try’s international lenders to stabilize its finances. The North African country is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to speed up reforms and help its economy recover from militant attacks in 2015 that hurt its vital tourism industry. The new law raises the retirement age for civil servants from 60 to 62 as of 2020. It also imposes a 1 percent social security tax on employees and a 2 percent tax on employers. Tunisia’s state social security funds suffer from a deficit of about $1bn, as the economy has been in turmoil since the 2011 uprising against autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, according to officials.

Kenyan families of Ethiopian crash victims to sue BoeingAP/NAIROBI

A US-based attorney says eight Kenyan families of people who died in an Ethiopian Airlines crash last month will sue Boeing, the manu-facturer of the plane, and the airline for compensation. Carlos A. Velasquez said yesterday in a press conference in Nairobi that it’s early to tell “who did what and when” but said from the reports in his possession “clearly there were some issues with the aircraft itself, the systems of the aircraft, the operation of the aircraft.” Velasquez, of VDA trial lawyers in Florida, said the suits will be filed in a U.S. federal court and will seek compensation for economic loss and loss of a loved one. The crash on March 10 of a Boeing 737 Max 8 jet killed 157 people, 32 of whom were Kenyans.

Relatives mourn for Fares Yousef Abu Hajras, who succumbed to injuries sustained last Saturday while taking part in “Great March of Return” demonstrations near Gaza-Israel border, during a funeral ceremony in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, yesterday.

Iraq PM to make first Iran visit on Saturday

AFP/BAGHDAD

Iraqi Premier Adel Abdel Mahdi will travel to Iran on Saturday, a member of his office said, in his first official visit to the country rivalling Washington for influence over Baghdad.

The US reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran’s energy and finance sectors last year but has granted Baghdad several exemptions to keep temporarily importing Iranian gas and elec-tricity, crucial to Iraq’s faltering power sector.

Abdel Mahdi, 77, has repeatedly said Iraq wants good ties with both the US and Iran.

The prime minister would spend two days in the Islamic republic, a member of his office said. He was expected to discuss “the issue of trade outside the framework of sanc-tions” in addition to “the rap-prochement and the conver-gence of views between Iran and Arab countries”, the official said.

Iran is the second-largest supplier of imported goods to Iraq and also enjoys vast political influence in the country, particularly among Iraq’s Shiite parties.

Those factions credit Iran for helping Iraqi armed forces defeat the Islamic State group in a fierce three-year battle that ravaged much of the country.

Since declaring victory over IS in 2017, Iraq has strived to make a diplomatic comeback as a mediator among regional rivals.

Iran flood death toll rises to 62AFP/TEHRAN

The death toll from major floods swamping much of Iran over the past 15 days has risen to 62, the head of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organisation told local media yesterday. Ahmad Shojaee told the semi-official Fars news agency the southern province of Fars has been hit the hardest with 21 dead. The western province of Lorestan and the northern province of Golestan followed with 14 and 8 dead respectively, he said. Flood-related deaths have been reported in 11 out of Iran’s 31 provinces, Shojaee added. The semi-official Isna news agency said the current toll was a tally of the victims whose bodies have been transferred to coroner offices across the country — indicating the count could still rise.

Many Algerians have never known any president other than Bouteflika, who held power for two decades but was rarely seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.

11THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 ASIA

Modi takes election fight to battleground stateAFP KOLKATA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi staged a massive rally in India’s east yesterday, stepping up the battle with a local rival who could frustrate his party’s return to power.

Modi addressed tens of thou-sands of supporters in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, as its leader Mamata Banerjee, a pow-erful Modi enemy, campaigned against the Prime Minister else-where in the state.

Voting in India’s general election begins in a week and West Bengal is a key battle-ground for Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The ruling party has cam-paigned hard against Banerjee, fearing she could lead a possible alliance of India’s disparate regional parties against the BJP

and dent its re-election prospects.

“I haven’t seen a massive turnout like this before in West Bengal. I bow to your love and affection,” Modi told a sea of sup-porters in Kolkata.

“Your vote will help us reach new heights of development in 2019. The BJP will overthrow (Banerjee’s) misrule in the state.”

The fiery West Bengal leader took on the Prime Minister at a counter-rally, declaring: “I am not Modi. I don’t tell lies.” Her

profile has grown considerably since her party took most of the state’s 42 parliamentary seats in 2014, and she remains hugely popular especially among poorer voters.

West Bengal sends the third-highest number of lawmakers to the Lok Sabha, the country’s lower house of parliament, and the BJP is desperate to make inroads in the key state of 90 million.

Analysts say the BJP could be targeting West Bengal for seats to offset potential losses in other important states.

The BJP fears Banerjee could cobble together an alliance against them, as smaller parties did in Uttar Pradesh, a bell-wether state often considered India’s most important to win.

If the BJP and Congress, the main opposition party

challenging Modi, fail to get a decisive share of the 545 parlia-mentary seats, Banerjee could also become one of the top con-tenders for the Prime Minister’s

job. The BJP has attacked her record on law and order fol-lowing a spate of election-related violence last year, and promised to crack down on Muslim immi-

grants in the state.Migrants have long been

accused of grabbing land in West Bengal and stoking tensions with locals.

Congress to launch programme to fight air pollutionIANS NEW DELHI

Congress President Rahul Gandhi yesterday said the party will launch a national programme to combat air pollution, as increasing air pollution levels have become a major factor contributing to rising cases of public health emergencies.

Rahul in a Facebook post announced that the party will launch “National Clean Air Pro-gramme” to combat the menace of air pollution in the country.

A number of reports have stated that air pollution has been increasing exponentially in many cities in the country, with Delhi being cited as the world’s most polluted capital city.

Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken said: “Congress intro-duced CNG in Delhi, which replaced diesel vehicles in public and private transport, and helped

reduce air pollution to a great extent. The party is determined to combat air pollution.”

Meanwhile, addressing a c a m p a i g n r a l l y i n

Assam yesterday, the Congress President said that while the Modi-led BJP government failed to deposit the promised Rs15 lakh into everyone’s bank account,

the Prime Minister has given Rs30,000 crore to an industri-alist friend.

“Modiji came here in 2014 and announced that everyone will be given Rs15 lakh in their bank accounts. However, not a single penny got deposited in last five years. That was a lie. I am assuring that 20 percent of the country’s extremely poor people will be given Rs72,000 every year. The amount will be deposited in the account of the women of the family. This is truth, we don’t lie,” he said.

Rahul also appealed to the people to ensure victory of the Congress candidate so that the attack of the RSS on the lan-guage, culture and history of Assam could be stopped.

Gandhi was campaigning for Congress’ sitting Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi, who is con-testing from the Kaliabar Lok Sabha seat for a second con-

secutive term.“Narendra Modi has started

asking questions as to from where the money will come. I am going to tell you from where the money will come. Modiji has given Rs30,000cr from the Indian Air Force to Anil Ambani, we are going to get that money and distribute among the 20 percent extremely poor people of the country,” he said.

Terming the BJP govern-ment’s effort to implement the Citizenship Amendment Bill in northeast as an attack, Gandhi said the Congress had kept its promise of opposing the Citi-zenship Bill.

“The CAB is an attack on the culture, thought and Inde-pendence of the people here. We stood by the people of the northeast during the CAB pro-tests and ensured that it is not passed in Rajya Sabha,” said Gandhi.

Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shout slogans surrounding a man wearing a mask of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a campaign rally in Siliguri, yesterday.

A policeman tips marijuana onto a fire as authorties incinerate some 4,572kg of illicit drugs worth about Rs70m in Agartala, yesterday.

AAP urges Congress to back full statehood for DelhiIANS NEW DELHI

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) yesterday wrote to Congress President Rahul Gandhi asking him to support full statehood for Delhi.

AAP Delhi Convenor Gopal Rai said the Congress in its man-ifesto, released on Tuesday, had made a U-turn.

“While you are talking about

NYAY (justice) for the country, I would like to draw your attention towards Delhi, the national capital of India, and the residents of which have been subjected to decades of injustice, which crossed all limits during the last five years,” Rai wrote.

He said the Congress didn’t touch the issue in the manifesto.

“Under the topic titled, Fed-eralism and Centre State

Relations, your party has promised full statehood for Puducherry. For Delhi, however, your manifesto states: The Con-gress promises to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 to make it clear that the Lieutenant Governor shall act on the aid and advice of the Council of Min-isters, except in matters con-cerning the three reserved sub-jects,” he said.

Rai said, “It is extremely dis-appointing that after having promised full statehood for Delhi for decades, the Congress has now gone back on its promise.” Rai requested Gandhi to reconsider the stand taken by the Congress in the manifesto regarding Delhi and support the demand for full statehood, which will allow the people of Delhi to lead their lives with dignity.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi puts on a traditional jacket presented to him by party members during an election campaign rally at Bokakhat, Assam, yesterday.

Amending AFSPA will dilute forces’ immunity, says SitharamanIANS NEW DELHI

Defence Minister Nirmala Sith-araman yesterday slammed the Congress for its election promise to amend the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and accused the opposition party of supporting separatists and anti-national elements.

“Terrorist-friendly people will misuse AFSPA. It is an effort to weaken the armed forces and support the separatists and anti-national elements. They are trying to dilute the immunity of our security forces. Any dilution of AFSPA will remove immunity of forces,” Sitharaman told a press con-ference. She said the Congress’ promise on AFSPA was only to sensationalise and demoralise the armed forces.

“There is a system of removing AFSPA. Both the Centre and state governments work on it together. Congress’ sensationalism will impact the nation’s security. Congress’ promise is insidious,” she said. The BJP leader said the Con-gress’ manifesto proves that the party wants to support traitors and separatists. “Some aspects of the Congress’ manifesto will restrict the armed forces action and stop them from func-tioning,” she added.

Amicus curiae proposes probe into Kerala floodsIANS KOCHI

In a setback to the ruling Pinarayi Vijayan government, a report submitted by an amicus curiae to the Kerala High Court yesterday recommended a judicial probe into the cause of the worst ever floods to hit the state in August last year after it

found that faulty dam management led to the flooding.

After going through 15 dif-ferent petitions seeking a judicial probe into the cause of the floods, the Kerala High Court had in last year appointed an amicus curiae, senior advocate Alex P Thomas, to help the court dispose the bunch of petitions.

The amicus curiae submitted

a 49-page report yesterday, which indicted the ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government for failing to use the dams to control the floods following heavy rains.

Last year’s severe floods, which began with rains in May-end and continued till the middle of August, claimed 483 lives.

West Bengal sends the third-highest number of lawmakers to the Lok Sabha and the BJP is desperate to make inroads in the key state of 90 million.

US approves anti-submarine helicopter sale to IndiaAFP WASHINGTON

The United States said on Tuesday that it had approved the sale of 24 MH-60R heli-copters to India, significantly boosting its emerging ally’s fire-power to target submarines as China expands in the Indian Ocean.

In a quick reply to an Indian request submitted late last year, the State Department said it was informing the US Congress as legally required that it was giving the green light for India to buy the 24 helicopters worth a total of $2.6bn.

Nicknamed the Romeo, the MH-60R helicopters manufac-tured by Lockheed Martin are designed for hunting subma-rines as well as knocking out ships and conducting search-and-rescue operations at sea.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic rela-tionship and to improve the security of a major defensive partner,” the State Department said in a statement.

It called India “a major

defensive partner which con-tinues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region.”

India, which had estranged relations with the United States since the Cold War, has emerged as one of its leading defence partner with the interests of the world’s two largest democracies largely overlapping amid their con-cerns over a rising China and militancy.

India has been alarmed by China’s growing interest in the Indian Ocean as it becomes a global naval power.

In a strategy dubbed by Indian and US observers as the “string of pearls,” China has made use of a growing number of naval bases in the Indian Ocean.

Indian naval planners have responded with a doctrine to ensure freedom of movement throughout the Indian Ocean, stretching from the Strait of Hormuz to the Strait of Malacca.

The MH-60R helicopters would replenish India’s aging fleet of British-made Sea King helicopters.

Over 4,500kg drugs destroyed

PM Hasina calls for repatriation of RohingyaANATOLIA DHAKA

Bangladesh has called for the safe and quick repatriation of Rohingya refugees who have taken shelter in makeshift camps in southern Cox’s Bazar district, local media reported yesterday.

“It will be good for all if the Rohingya can be repatriated to their own country as soon as possible, ensuring [their] safety and security,” Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Tuesday while receiving newly appointed British High Commissioner to Dhaka Robert Chatterton Dickson at her official residence.

Referring to the suffering of locals due to the huge number of Rohingya refugees, she said her government was doing its best to rehabilitate the perse-cuted people, Hasina’s press secretary quoted her as saying in a press briefing following Dickson’s visit.

Dickson supported Bangla-desh’s call for the immediate repatriation of Rohingya in safety and dignity, private news agency United News of Bang-ladesh reported.

Hasina also urged the Myanmar authorities to implement the recommenda-tions put forward by the com-mission headed by the late UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resolve the Rohingya crisis.

Some 40,000 babies have already been born in the squalid refugee camps, she added.

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh since August 2017.

12 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019ASIA

Govt working on new master plan for IslamabadINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

Work on a new master plan for Pakistan’s federal capital city Islamabad has gathered speed with the Federal Commission for Review of Master Plan making progress in its efforts for formu-lation of a new master plan.

Official sources here say the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Director General last week presented the environmental atlas for Islamabad which showed surprisingly that as built up areas have increased so has there been some increase in green covers from 1990 to 2016.

The Space and Upper Atmosphere Commission (Suparco), the national space agency of Pakistan, also made a briefing in this meeting.

The commission headed by Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman reviewed progress of three sub-com-mittees formed for various tasks. In this context, the preliminary spade work of the commission is shaping up.

The sub-committee formu-lated around eight major studies with 23 sub studies required from the consultants. These studies also set the parameters for the consultants.

T h e o t h e r m a j o r achievement has been finali-sation of ToRs for engagement

of a consultant who once engaged will present his first preliminary report within two months.

The final report will be based on findings and observa-tions made in the preliminary report and will be submitted subsequently. The ToRs shall be shared with the Ministry of Interior as well as the Planning Commission and adhere to Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules to ensure transparency. It was decided that Suparco will assist CDA in monitoring urban sprawl, encroachment and built-up-property. In this regard, draft MoU is being prepared and Suparco will present it for finalisation.

It was decided that CDA will develop a web portal to inform the public regarding review of master plan and to seek their pro-posals. Moreover, public hearing will be held within two weeks.

Carpenters build fishing boats at a harbour in Karachi, yesterday. Pakistan’s home-grown boat manufacturing produces hundreds of boats every year to meet the demands of the local fishing industry.

Pakistan, US discuss Afghan peace processQNA ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his US counterpart Mike Pompeo held a telephone conversation during which they exchanged views on Afghan peace process and Islamabad’s facilitation in that regard, according to the Foreign Office of Pakistan.

They agreed on continuing cooperation with regard to the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

During the conversation, Qureshi and his US counterpart shared views on Pak-US bilateral relations and security situation in the region.

The two foreign ministers agreed that peace and stability in South Asia was linked to ending tensions.

Qureshi also apprised the US Secretary of State of Paki-stan’s steps taken under the National Action Plan (NAP) to combat terrorism and militancy.

He said Pak-US bilateral relations were of great signifi-cance for peace and stability in the region, adding that Wash-ington’s role in ending tensions in the region was praiseworthy.

The Foreign Minister urged the United States to play its role in resumption of Pakistan-India dialogue to resolve all out-standing issues.

Backup pacemaker forSharif suggested

INTERNEWS LAHORE

Doctors have recommended a backup pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defi-brillator for Pakistan’s former PM Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz said yesterday.

“Doctors have recom-mended backup pacemaker and ICD [implantable cardio-verter-defibrillator], a life-saving device implanted in the body for patients at risk for fatal cardiac arrhythmias,” Maryam said in a tweet.

Sharif was released from jail last month on bail for six months.

Former Malaysian PM goes on trial in graft caseAFP KUALA LUMPUR

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak pleaded not guilty to all charges against him as he went on trial yesterday over a multi-billion-dollar fraud, almost a year after his shock election loss.

The 65-year-old faced the first of several trials over his alleged involvement in the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a state investment vehicle established to develop the economy of the Southeast Asian nation.

The former Premier and his cronies are accused of plun-dering billions of dollars from the fund and spending it on

everything from high-end real estate to artworks and a luxury yacht.

He had been tipped to win another term in office easily last year and extend his coalition’s six-decade stranglehold on power, only to be soundly defeated by his former boss, Mahathir Mohamad, who rode a wave of public anger over 1MDB to the premiership.

In the months that followed, once-dormant investigations into the controversy were relaunched and Najib was hit with dozens of corruption charges linked to the plundering of the fund.

A small crowd of supporters was waiting for Najib as he arrived at the Kuala Lumpur

court ahead of his trial, and he prayed with them for a few minutes before entering the building to shouts of “Long Live Najib”.

Looking relaxed in the dock, he denied seven corruption and money-laundering charges related to the alleged theft of 42m ringgit ($10.3m) from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit. It is just a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars that he allegedly stole.

Opening the prosecution, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas told the High Court it was the “first trial in our courts against a former Prime Minister, who for nearly a decade occupied the most powerful office in the land and wielded

near absolute power.“Such privilege carries with

it enormous responsibility. The accused is not above the law,” he added.

After the first witness, an official from the Companies Commission of Malaysia, gave largely technical evidence related to corporate records, the trial was adjourned.

The judge set the next hearing for April 15, and trial dates until May 10. Najib left without commenting, to cheers from his supporters waiting outside court.

Malaysia has also charged Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs over the scandal, alleging the bank and its former employees stole billions of dollars from

1MDB. Goldman units and two former bankers are accused of misappropriating $2.7bn, bribing officials and giving false state-ments in relation to bond issues they arranged for the fund. The bank has vowed to fight the charges.

While many of Najib’s sus-pected accomplices have been caught and charged in Malaysian courts, the alleged mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal, Jho Low, is still at large.

The Malaysian government yesterday said a luxury yacht allegedly bought by Low with $250m of stolen 1MDB money will be sold for around half that price. The yacht was returned to Malaysia after being seized last year in Indonesia.

Suparco, the national space agency, will assist the Capital Development Authority in monitoring urban sprawl, encroachment and built-up-property in the city.

Karachi’s local boat building industry

New Islamabad police division for foreigners’ securityINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

A new division of more than 3,000 personnel is being set up in the Islamabad Police that will handle public demonstrations and provide security to foreigners - particularly Chinese nationals working on China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects - in the city.

Police officers said that the new division was being estab-lished as part of the reorgani-sation of the capital’s police

force.The Law and Order division

will comprise two units, a Law and Order Unit and a Special Protection Unit (SPU), said an officer.

The former will act against sit-ins, protest and other forms of agitation while the SPU will provide security to foreigners. Around 1,000 personnel will work in the SPU, and the remainder in the Law and Order Unit.

This force will be raised in four phases, with a Deputy

Inspector General of Police (DIG), a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and an SSP (SPU), a Superintendent of Police (SP), two Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP) and one DSP (law and order).

It will have 45 Inspectors, 85 Sub-Inspectors, 170 Assistant Sub-Inspectors, 340 Head Con-stables and 2,620 Constables. In addition, 114 ministerial staff will also be recruited.

A total of 437 officials will be recruited in the 2019-20 fiscal year, officials said.

Soldiers of Chinese People’s Liberation Army carry caskets that arrived from South Korea containing remains of Chinese soldiers who fought in the Korean War, at an airport in Shenyang, yesterday.

Remains of soldiers from Korean war

South Korean ship detainedover sanctions on North AFP SEOUL

A South Korean ship has been detained for more than six months on suspicion of violating UN sanctions against the nuclear-armed North, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

Pyongyang is sanctioned over its weapons programme under multiple UN Security Council resolutions, which include curbs on shipments of oil and fuel to the isolated regime.

But the North has been seeking to get around the measures, with a recent UN report saying that Pyongyang was securing deliveries of fuel through ship-to-ship transfers in international waters.

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said a South Korean ship and three others had been detained in the country, suspected of under-mining the economic measures against the North.

“This is the first time a South Korean vessel has been detained for allegedly violating UN sanc-tions,” a ministry official said.

The Korea Coast Guard identified the vessel as the 5,160-tonne “P Pioneer” and said it had twice transferred diesel “illicitly” in the East China Sea during September 2017.

Both the ship - first detained last September and now held in the southern port of Busan - and its operator have been referred to prosecutors, and Yonhap news agency said 4,320 tonnes of diesel fuel were involved.

The Foreign Ministry official did not explain the delay in the authorities making public the South Korean ship’s detention. The holding of the other three vessels - registered in Hong Kong, Panama and Togo - had previously been announced.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has sought to engage the North to bring it to the negotiating table, dangling economic carrots before it in the form of inter-Korean projects - many of which would violate the current sanctions rules if implemented.

Questions were also raised over whether it had undermined the measures by providing sup-plies to set up an inter-Korean liaison office north of the border.

Last year three South Korean firms were caught importing mil-lions of dollars worth of coal and iron from the North in 2017.

Immediate sanctions relief was a key demand of the cash-strapped North when leader Kim Jong Un met US President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February for a second summit.

Three detained over China chemical blastAFP BEIJING

Police have detained three suspects linked to a chemical plant blast in China, which killed 78 people and left hundreds injured, local officials said yesterday.

The explosion last month in Yancheng city, in eastern Jiangsu

province, was one of the worst industrial accidents in the country in recent years.

Three employees from Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical, whose facility was involved in the blast, had “significant responsibility” for the accident, according to a statement on the Yancheng government’s official Twitter-like Weibo account.

Officials said the suspects have been subjected to “criminal coercive measures” - a vague term which indicates detention, arrest or being put under house arrest temporarily until police complete their investigations, according to an official explanation.

Yancheng police declined to offer details on the case.

Two die in China school knife attackAFP BEIJING

A knife-wielding man killed two people and injured two others at a primary school in central China yesterday, the latest such attack to hit the country in recent years.

Two injured primary school students have been sent to hos-pital with no danger to their lives, the government of Ningyuan county in Hunan province said in a statement.

Authorities did not state the identities or age of those killed.

Police detained a 31-year-old male suspect, surnamed Zheng, from the town of Bai-jiapingzhen, where the primary school is located, the statement added.

China has experienced a spate of knife attacks against schoolchildren in recent years, forcing authorities to increase security.

In October, a woman attacked and injured 14 children with a knife at a kindergarten in China’s southwestern Sichuan province.

In April 2018, a man killed nine middle school students as they were returning home in one of the country’s deadliest knife attacks in recent years.

13THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 EUROPE

May holds ‘constructive’ Brexit talks

AFP LONDON

Prime Minister Theresa May held “constructive” talks yesterday with Britain’s oppo-sition leader in a bid to forge a Brexit compromise that avoids a chaotic “no-deal” departure from the EU in nine days.

May tore up her steadfast strategy and sought Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s support in a surprise last-minute gesture that could determine the fate of the country and her government.

Her divorce deal with the other 27 EU nations has been rejected three times by par-liament and patience is wearing thin in Brussels as an April 12 deadline to end Britain’s 46-year membership nears with no agreement in sight.

The premier said on Tuesday she would seek another “short” Brexit extension at an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on April 10.

She crucially added that she was now willing to bend her previous principles and listen to proposals for much closer post-Brexit trade relations with the bloc than most in her Conserv-ative party were ready to accept.

Both sides described yester-day’s meeting as preliminary but constructive.

“Today’s talks were con-structive, with both sides showing flexibility and a com-mitment to bring the current Brexit uncertainty to a close,” a Downing Street spokesman said.

“We have agreed a pro-gramme of work to ensure we deliver for the British people, protecting jobs and security.” A Labour spokesman said the two held “constructive exploratory discussions about how to break the Brexit deadlock”.

The British premier’s sudden change of tack was received with caution by EU leaders who

wish to see the split resolved by the time European Parliament elections roll around at the end of May.

European Commission pres-ident Jean-Claude Juncker delivered a nuanced address to the European Parliament in which he vowed to “personally do everything I can to prevent a disorderly Brexit”.

“If the United Kingdom is in a position to approve the with-drawal agreement with a sus-tainable majority by 12 April, the European Union should be pre-pared to accept a delay until 22 May,” Juncker said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel likewise vowed to “fight until the last hour” to avoid a no-deal outcome.

But May’s decision to hear out Corbyn’s demand to remain in a customs union with the bloc enraged the staunchly pro-Brexit wing of her Conservative party. Junior minister Nigel Adams resigned in protest at her “grave error” in judgement.

Fellow junior minister Chris Heaton-Harris also said he was

quitting his Brexit department post because he thought Britain should have left on the original deadline date of March 29.

Yet the most prominent Brexit-backing ministers held their fire as all eyes turned on a flurry of meetings between gov-ernment and Labour leaders are expected to hold over the coming days.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicolas Sturgeon — a pro-EU lawmakers who heads the much smaller opposition SNP party — said she hoped “Labour doesn’t sell out here for a bad deal”.

“I would be very wary,” Sturgeon said after her own talks with May. May’s gov-ernment has previously rejected the customs union idea because it would keep Britain from striking its own trade agree-ments with giant nations such as China and the United States.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said failure by May and Corbyn to reach a compromise would prompt the two sides to try to come up with mutually-acceptable options that would be put up for a binding parlia-mentary vote. May hopes to

bring an approved deal with her to Brussels so that Britain can leave the bloc the day before the first nations hold their European Parliament votes on May 23.

The British pound has moved higher on expectations of the sides managing to avoid a messy breakup in the coming days.

But the Bank of England’s governor stressed that these risks remained “alarming high” in view of no-deal being the default option that could “happen by accident” if the latest talks broke down.

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May speaking during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons in London, yesterday.

UK lawmakers okay firststage of Brexit delay lawLONDON: British lawmakers voted yesterday to approve the first stage of legislation which would force Prime Minister Theresa May to seek a delay to Brexit in order to prevent the risk of leaving without a deal on April 12. Lawmakers are seeking to pass the legislation through all of its stages in the House of Commons on Wednesday. They voted by 315 to 310 in favour of the first stage. Further votes on the legislation were expected later.

Junior Minister Nigel Adams resigned in protest at her “grave error” in judgement. Fellow Junior Minister Chris Heaton-Harris also said he was quitting his Brexit department post because he thought Britain should have left on the original deadline date of March 29.

Russia opposes US plan for more Nato ships in Black SeaAFP MOSCOW

A US proposal to send more Nato ships to the Black Sea to ensure safe passage for Ukrainian vessels and deter Russia is viewed “negatively” in Moscow, the Kremlin said yesterday.

Washington has been working on a package to boost surveillance and deploy more Nato vessels to the Black Sea after a naval confrontation between Moscow and Kiev last year, the US ambassador to Nato said. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin viewed such a proposal “negatively”.

“We do not understand what they mean by this. The situation with the Kerch Straight and nav-igation there is well known,” he told reporters.

Russian deputy foreign min-ister Alexander Grushko told Russian news agencies the plan would only lead to “increased military risks” in the region.

“If additional military and technical measures are needed from our side, we will adopt them,” Interfax news agency quoted Grushko as saying.

Most alliance members share concerns about Russia which backs separatists in a smouldering conflict in eastern

Ukraine that has so far claimed some 13,000 lives.

In November, Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian navy vessels, capturing two dozen sailors near the Kerch Strait, as they tried to pass from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea.

It was the first open military clash between Kiev and Moscow since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and a pro-Russian insurgency erupted in eastern Ukraine.

Putin has openly said that Moscow’s decision to take over Crimea was partly motivated by Nato’s expansion into Eastern Europe. Peskov did not say yes-terday whether Russia would in fact allow Nato ships to pass through the Azov Sea.

“A decision will be made when there is such a request,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

The West has accused Moscow of illegally blocking access to the Sea of Azov, used by both Russia and Ukraine.

A Nato spokesman declined to comment on the US ambas-sador’s remarks but pointed to comments by Stoltenberg on Monday when he outlined plans to increase the alliance presence in the Black Sea. Stoltenberg said Nato would step up port visits as well as exercises and training with Ukraine and Georgia.

Harry, Meghan break Instagram followers recordAFP LONDON

Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan broke a record by reaching one million followers on their newly-launched Instagram account in less than six hours, Guinness World Records said yesterday.

The “sussexroyal” account,

which so far has only one post featuring a monogram symbol with their names, was launched on Tuesday and now has 2.7 million followers.

The post alone garnered more than 960,000 likes for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

“We look forward to sharing the work that drives us, the causes we support, important

announcements and the oppor-tunity to shine a light on key issues,” the couple said in their post. The couple are expecting their first baby in the coming weeks.

The royals beat a record pre-viously held by South Korean K-pop singer Kang Daniel, who achieved one million followers in 11 hours, 36 minutes.

The record before him was held by Pope Francis, who reached the million mark in 12 hours after launching his channel “franciscus” in 2016.

Meghan, a former actress who starred in the hit US tele-vision show “Suits”, deleted all her personal social media accounts ahead of her wedding to Harry in May 2018.

EU takes action against Poland over justice lawsAP BRUSSELS

The European Union launched legal action against Poland yesterday that alleges recent justice laws undermine the independence of the country’s judges and comes amid concern the rule of law is being increas-ingly abused around the bloc.

The EU’s executive com-mission sent a letter of formal notice — the first step in legal action — to the nationalist gov-ernment in Warsaw and wants a reply addressing its concerns within two months.

Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans said disci-plinary measures for judges contained in a 2017 law on the Supreme Court of Poland seem designed “to systematically subject judges to the political control of the executive.”

Timmermans said investi-gations that were opened since the rule change have “an obvious, chilling effect on the activities of judges, and this is incompatible with the require-ments of judicial independence.” He said the letter gives Poland a chance to explain or change its mind about the laws.

Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said the Disci-plinary Chamber of the Supreme Court established under the 2017 law is necessary to ensure the justice system applies in “equal measure to all citizens,” including judges accused of wrongdoing.

As evidence of the problem the chamber is meant to address, Ziobro cited a case in which the Supreme Court acquitted a judge who had been seen on CCTV appropriating a 50 zloty ($13) banknote.

Poland’s government argues that the deep changes it has

made to the judiciary were needed to eliminate corruption and inefficiency left over from the country’s communist era. Critics say the government has used it to install ruling party loy-alists in key positions.

The EU’s move was the latest in a series of procedures launched against Poland that the commission insists is meant to safeguard the rule of law there. The commission has also launched similar action against Hungary.

Timmermans said Brussels believes it is time for a broader reflection on what can be done

to protect democracy, personal freedoms and the justice systems of some EU member countries.

“There is a growing con-sensus that further action to protect the rule of law into the whole of the European Union is needed,” he told reporters. Asked whether he is worried about the rule of law in Italy, Timmermans said: “I do not see at this stage a systemic problem.” But he did express concerns about possible back-sliding on reform in Romania, particularly in the fight against corruption.

Slovakia’s departing president plans to form new political partyREUTERS BRATISLAVA

Slovakia’s outgoing president said yesterday he would form a new political party when his term expires in June, aiming to unite the country’s liberal, pro-European Union camps.

Andrej Kiska (pictured) had not run for re-election but endorsed the eventual winner, Zuzana Caputova. A civic cam-paigner and anti-graft lawyer, her landslide victory last weekend encouraged the pro-EU liberals Kiska hopes to lead.“Slovakia wants change. We won this election, now we have to win the general election,” Kiska said in a video posted on his official Facebook page. “I will start a political party, and I want to unite all decent and willing people and change our country for the better.” The Slovakian presidency is largely ceremonial,

but Kiska made it an influential office. He sided with protesters who mounted massive demon-strations after the killing last year of Jan Kuciak, a reporter covering corruption, and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova.

The protests led to the res-ignation of Robert Fico as prime

minister. Fico’s ruling party, Smer, saw its support plunge after Kuciak’s and Kusnirova’s murders.

Political analysts said it was not clear whether Kiska, the country’s most trusted politician, with an approval rating of 57 percent, can unify the disparate opposition or will further fragment the centrist pro-EU, anti-graft camp.

An AKO agency poll of 1,000 people last month showed 9 percent of voters would certainly and 31 percent would probably vote for his party if he set one up.

Its natural allies, Caputova’s Progressive Slovakia, which runs on a joint slate with Spolu (Together) party, saw their joint support double since February to 14.4 percent. Caputova will quit her party in the coming days in a nod to a tradition that the president is non-partisan.

Romania court liftstravel ban on former anti-graft chiefAFP BUCHAREST

Romania’s High Court yesterday revoked special measures introduced against magistrate Laura Codruta Kovesi, a hot favourite to become EU’s first-ever top prosecutor, who last week was indicted on corruption charges.

“My appeal was admitted. I can now leave Romania”, Kovesi told reporters after the court’s decision overturning special judicial measures, including a ban on leaving the country without prosecutors’ consent.

The measures had been imposed for 60 days by a new panel charged with investi-gating magistrates, which last week indicted Kovesi on counts of bribery, abuse of office and false testimony.

As well as the travel ban, during this time she would have been prevented from working in her current post at the General Prosecutor’s office.

The travel restrictions would have prevented her from taking part in further stages of the application process for the EU prosecutor post, if she were required to attend in person.

“There are some other prosecutors attacked on a daily basis. We’re all going through these campaigns because there are some who want to steal undisturbed and we are not letting them”, Kovesi said on Wednesday, before the decision on her appeal was announced.

“We have nothing to be afraid of. It will be proven that all these accusations against us, prosecutors and judges, are groundless”, she added.

14 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019AMERICAS

WASHINGTON/BLOOMBERG

The Trump administration is considering pumping U.S. dollars into Venezuela through banks, smart-phones and apps if the regime of Nicolas Maduro fails, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser said.

The US is already in talks with Juan Guaido — the Venezuelan opposition chief the U.S. has recognized as the nation’s leader — to develop an economic rescue and restructuring plan for the country that could begin immediately, should Maduro step down or be deposed, National

Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said Wednesday at an event in Washington hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

The US is planning to employ “banks, iPhones, apps and many clever ways to get cash in there,” Kudlow said. “And the cash will not be bolivars, it will be dollars. At least in the beginning so there’s no demand for bolivars.”

The US Treasury, the National Security Council, NEC and International Monetary Fund are all orking on the plan, he said, adding that the White House “will move rapidly” with if lead-ership changes.

Trump again threatens Mexico border closure, seeks Congress actionREUTERS WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump again threatened yesterday to close the US border with Mexico, this time calling on Congress to take steps immediately to deal with immi-gration and security loopholes that he says are creating a national emergency.

“Congress must get together and immediately eliminate the loopholes at the Border!” Trump wrote in a Twitter post. “If no action, Border, or large sections of Border, will close. This is a National Emergency!”

Trump has repeatedly threatened to close the border to stem what he calls a tide of illegal immigration. On Friday, he said he would close the border this week unless Mexico

took steps to stop illegal migration.

The threat drew an outcry from business leaders and others, who said the move could disrupt legal crossings and bil-lions of dollars in trade. The US Chamber of Commerce, the largest US business lobbying group, said it contacted the White House to discuss the neg-ative impact of a border closure.

Trump took a step back on Tuesday, saying action by Mexico in recent days had eased pressure on US ports of entry. But he revived the closure warning yesterday in a bid to pressure Congress to act.

White House adviser Mer-cedes Schlapp said yesterday that progress is being made with Mexico on immigration issues but she declined to comment on

whether the border would be closed this week.

“Our resources are being stretched thin. The system is overwhelmed,” she told reporters at the White House. “We are seeing our border patrol commissioner make it very clear that we are at a breaking point.”

Trump has made fighting illegal immigration from Mexico a key part of his agenda but shutting down one of the world’s most used borders might be a step too far even for many of his fellow Republicans.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that closing the border could have devastating eco-nomic consequences, and joined his Democratic colleagues in warning Trump against such a move.

House judiciary panel approves subpoenas for Mueller reportAP WASHINGTON

The House Judiciary Committee approved subpoenas yesterday for special counsel Robert Mueller’s full Russia report as Democrats pressure the Justice Department to release the document without redactions.

The committee voted 24-17 to give Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, permission to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department for the final report, its exhibits and any underlying evidence or materials prepared for Mueller’s investigation. Nadler has not yet said if he’ll send the subpoenas.

House Democrats had given Attorney General William Barr until Tuesday to provide the full report to

Congress. The Justice Department ignored that deadline, with Barr telling committee chairmen in a letter last week that a redacted version of the almost 400-page report would be released by mid-April, “if not sooner.”

The vote further escalates the Dem-ocrats’ battle with the Justice Department over how much of the report they will be able to see, a fight that could eventually end up in court if the two sides can’t settle their differ-ences through negotiation. Democrats have said they will not accept redac-tions and want to see the evidence unfil-tered by Barr.

In the letter last week, Barr said he is scrubbing the report to avoid dis-closing any grand jury information or classified material, in addition to

portions of the report that pertain to ongoing investigations or that “would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties.”

Democrats say they want access to all of that information, even if some of it can’t be disclosed to the public. Nadler said he will give Barr time to change his mind on redactions, but if they cannot reach an agreement they will issue the subpoenas “in very short order.” He also said he is prepared to go to court to get the grand jury information.

“This committee requires the full report and the underlying materials because it is our job, not the attorney general’s, to determine whether or not President Trump has abused his office,” Nadler said.

The Judiciary panel also voted Wednesday to authorize subpoenas related to five of President Donald Trump’s former top advisers, including strategist Steve Bannon, communica-tions director Hope Hicks, chief of staff Reince Priebus, White House counsel Donald McGahn and counsel Ann Don-aldson. Donaldson served as McGahn’s chief of staff before both left the administration.

The five were key witnesses in Muel-ler’s probe of possible obstruction of justice and were sent document requests by the Judiciary panel last month, along with dozens of other people connected to Trump.

Nadler said he is concerned about reports that documents relevant to Mueller’s investigation “were sent

outside the White House,” meaning the committee should have access to them because they may not be covered by executive privilege.

The top Republican on the Judiciary panel, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, said at the vote that the five subpoenas are misguided because two of the indi-viduals have already provided 3,000 documents to the committee and that the other three have indicated a will-ingness to cooperate.

Collins said the authorisation for subpoenas is “reckless” and that Dem-ocrats shouldn’t be asking for docu-ments that the Justice Department can’t legally disclose to the public. The com-mittee rejected a GOP amendment that would have blocked the subpoenas from applying to grand jury information.

Nato chief warns US of Russia threats, urges unityREUTERS WASHINGTON

The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization warned the US Congress yesterday of the threat posed by “a more assertive Russia,” including a massive military buildup, threats to sovereign states, the use of nerve agents and cyberattacks.

“We must overcome our dif-ferences now because we will need our alliance even more in the future. We face unprece-dented challenges - challenges no one nation can face alone,” Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

Saying “time is running out,” Stoltenberg also called on Russia to return to compliance with the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, from which U.S. President Donald Trump plans to withdraw the United States this summer.

“Nato has no intention of deploying land-based nuclear missiles in Europe,” Stoltenberg said. “But Nato will always take

the necessary steps to provide credible and effective deterrence.”

Stoltenberg used his speech to give an impassioned defence of the 70-year-old Western alliance, a partnership he called “the most successful alliance in history,” which has often been derided by Trump since he took office in 2017.

Members of Congress, who greeted Stoltenberg with repeated cheers and standing

ovations, said they viewed his address to the joint meeting of the House of Representatives and Senate as a chance to reaffirm the American com-mitment to the Nato alliance.

Stoltenberg was the first leader of an international organ-ization and the first Norwegian to be accorded the rare honor of such an address.

“Nato has been good for Europe, but Nato has also been good for the United States,” Stoltenberg said. The invitation to Stoltenberg to speak as the alliance celebrates its 70th anni-versary in Washington was widely seen as a way to send a message to Trump about strong bipartisan support for Nato.

“The strength of a nation is not only measured by the size of its economy or the number of its soldiers, but also by the number of its friends,” Stoltenberg added. “And through Nato the United States has more friends and allies than any other power. This has made the United States stronger, safer and more secure.”

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg addressing a joint meeting of the US Congress as US Vice-President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi listen, at the Capitol in Washington, DC, yesterday.

The Senate is due to vote later this year on whether North Macedonia can become Nato’s 30th member. Trump has ruffled feathers among European allies by repeatedly saying Nato nations need to pay more for their militaries and ease the burden on the United States.

Earlier this year, before inviting Stoltenberg to Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a delegation of her fellow

Democrats to Brussels, where they sought to reassure European allies that differences over Trump’s policies were mere “family squabbles” and that transatlantic ties remained strong. Members of Congress have also introduced legislation expressing support for Nato or seeking to keep any president from withdrawing from the alliance without lawmakers’ approval.

Trump signs memorandum to stem counterfeit goods trafficking

AP/WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum yesterday to rein in what the administration calls the “Wild West” of online trafficking in counterfeit goods.

The memorandum is aimed at stopping the sale of coun-terfeit products on sites like Amazon, Ebay and China’s e-commerce leader, Alibaba.

“This president has decided that it’s time to clean up this Wild West of counterfeiting and trafficking,” said Peter Navarro, director of the White House National Trade Council.

“The central core of the problem is that right now, third-party online market-places... have zero liability when it comes to trafficking in these counterfeit goods. That simply has to stop. We are going to attack that on numerous fronts.”

But Navarro said discussion of possible actions the admin-istration will take to deter online trafficking in counterfeit merchandise is premature. He says the directive orders the Department of Homeland Security to work with other agencies on a report identifying the scope of the problem. The report also is to identify the origin of the fake goods and recommend administrative, regulatory, legislative or policy changes to stem the problem.

The Organization for Eco-nomic Cooperation and Devel-opment estimates that the value of trade in counterfeit and pirated goods is about a half trillion dollars a year, with roughly 20% infringing on US intellectual property, according to the directive.

The US is engaged in a trade dispute with China after the Trump administration made several complaints, including that China was stealing US trade secrets and was forcing com-panies to give them technology to access its market.

Venezuela’s Guaido stripped of immunityAFP CARACAS

Venezuelan lawmakers loyal to President Nicolas Maduro stripped opposition leader Juan Guaido’s immunity—and authorised the high court to criminally prosecute him for proclaiming himself the crisis-hit country’s ruler.

Guaido — whose claim is recognised by over 50 countries — had earlier expressed fears of being abducted by government agents following a request by the Supreme Court to the Con-stituent Assembly to lift his par-liamentary immunity.

Critics of the controversial two-year-old body say it was created to rubber-stamp Maduro’s decisions and sideline

the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

The Constituent Assembly’s president, Diosdado Cabello,

announced pro-Maduro law-makers had unanimously authorized the Supreme Court to prosecute Guaido, leaving him

also liable to be charged for breaching a January 29 gov-ernment ban on leaving the country.

The court had been investi-gating Guaido for usurping Maduro’s powers by declaring himself interim president on January 23 — a move which rapidly gained international support.

“The people are determined and nothing is going to stop us,” said a defiant Guaido in response. “There is no turning back in this process.”

Guaido recognises neither the court nor the Constituent Assembly and insisted the decision was invalid.

The court ruling, issued on Monday, cited Guaido’s violation of a ban on his travel outside Venezuela when he visited Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay from late February to early March.

US plans to send dollars to Venezuela if Maduro falls

“We must overcome our differences now because we will need our alliance even more in the future. We face unprecedented challenges - challenges no one nation can face alone,” Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

Cars line up to cross to San Diego, US from Tijuana, Mexico at San Ysidro crossing port in Baja California state, Mexico, yesterday.

15THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 HOME

HMC, QU educate public on healthy food, lifestyleTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Department of Dietetics and Nutrit ion recently organised a public awareness event in collaboration with the Human Nutrition Department of Qatar University’s College of Health Sciences to highlight the importance of good nutrition and making healthy lifestyle choices.

The event was held at the Hamad General Hospital under the theme ‘Together for a Healthy Community in Qatar’ ahead of the World Nutrition Day on May 28.

Reem Al Saadi, Director of Dietetics and Nutrition at HMC, said the event aimed to draw public attention to the link between healthy lifestyle choices and good health and disease prevention. “The aim of this event was to highlight the importance of eating healthy foods and maintaining

an active lifestyle. We want to demonstrate what role the foods we eat, and the nutrients they contain, play in influ-encing our health,” she said.

A team of clinical dietitians

from HMC, along with nutrition students and staff from Qatar University’s Department of Human Nutrition, briefed the visitors to the hospital about the role good nutrition plays in people’s overall health.

“Through this event, we aimed to equip members of the public with the nutrition knowledge they need to feel confident in making good dietary decisions. We provided information on various diets, the role and benefit of different food groups, and guidelines around recommended limits for fats, sugars, and salt.

“We also provided advice on safe food handling, storage, and preparation methods, with a focus on preventing food-borne illnesses. Our teams pro-vided free nutrition assess-ments and tips on meal planning, calorie reduction, and eating healthy on a budget,” said Al Saadi.

As part of the one-day event, members of the public had the

opportunity to receive basic health checks and individualised

nutrition counselling from nutri-tionists and dietitians.

Clinical dietitians from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and students from Qatar University’s Department of Human Nutrition, briefed the public about the role good nutrition plays in people’s overall health.

HBKU lecture explores ‘Green Chemistry’THE PENINSULA DOHA

The College of Science and Engi-neering (CSE) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) recently hosted a lecture titled ‘From Waste to Wealth Using Green Chemistry’.

Guest speaker, James Clark, a professor of chemistry and director of the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the Uni-versity of York, delivered the lecture, highlighting the benefits of combining “green chemistry” with a circular economic model to achieve a sustainable society.

“Green chemistry” enables chemical reactions to occur with non-hazardous substances using minimal energy and producing zero waste. It can be used to convert waste streams into val-uable products including min-erals, bio-resources, and pure water. Clark placed emphasis on the need for a departure from a linear economic model to a cir-cular economic model where resources are used in short cycles in an efficient and safe manner.

Through this event, we aimed to equip members of the public with the nutrition knowledge they need to feel confident in making good dietary decisions. We provided information on various diets, the role and benefit of different food groups, and guidelines around recommended limits for fats, sugars, and salt.”

VCUarts Qatar hosts talks by global designersTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Internationally acclaimed designers and academics gave talks on fashion design and art education at Virginia Common-wealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) in Education City, recently.

The talks were held as part of a series of events at Qatar Foun-dation, and ahead of the inaugu-ration of the National Museum of Qatar.

Speakers included legendary fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg; fashion entre-preneur Dame Natalie Massenet; David Linley, Earl of Snowdon; Marta Kuzma, the first female Dean of Yale School of Art; Rosanne Somerson, President of Rhode Island School of Design; and Shawn Brixey, Dean of Vir-ginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond.

World famous fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, who created the iconic wrap dress, gave a talk at VCUarts Qatar’s Atrium as part of the #QatarCreates series of events to celebrate the opening of the National Museum of Qatar.

She also met with faculty and students from VCUarts Qatar’s fashion design program where she answered their questions and gave them advice about the fashion industry. She talked about what inspired her to create and who her influences were when

she was starting out. “The most important rela-

tionship in life is the one you have with yourself” she told the audience at the Atrium, “and as long as you have that, and you own it, you make a mistake, own it, face it, deal with it. Your imper-fections, all your imperfections, they become assets.”

The talk was moderated by VCUarts Qatar’s Interim Chair of Fashion Design, Kimberly Guthrie.

Dame Natalie, the fashion entrepreneur and former jour-nalist who founded the designer

fashion portal Net-a-Porter, met with VCUarts Qatar fashion design students and faculty, and answered their questions about the fashion industry. She was given a tour of the university and met Dr Donald N Baker, the uni-versity’s Executive Dean.

Dame Natalie, who was described by The Observer news-paper as “fashion’s favourite self-made success story”, was visiting Qatar as part of Qatar Founda-tion’s Education City Speaker Series, where she gave a talk at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. The talk was moderated

by Kimberly Guthrie. Dame Natalie is the former

chairman of the British Fashion Council. She is currently a non-executive co-chairman at online luxury fashion retail platform Farfetch and is the co-founder and co-Managing Partner of Venture Capital Fund Imaginary Ventures. Panel discussions were also held as part of the #QatarCreates series of events to celebrate the opening of the National Museum of Qatar, and were moderated by Dr Jelena Trkulja, Director of Education at Qatar Museums.

Former Chairman of the British Fashion Council, Dame Natalie Massenet (third left) during her visit to VCUarts Qatar.

Free driving courses with Alfardan Motorcycles’ latest offer THE PENINSULA DOHA

The latest promotional offer by Alfardan Motorcycles grants adventurous motorcycling enthusiasts the opportunity to explore the world of motorcy-cling and live out a completely unique experience.

The offer, the first of its kind and in collaboration with Al Khebra Driving Academy, grants Alfardan Motorcycles’ customers the chance to enrol at Al Khebra Driving Academy courses, allowing them to learn how to ride motorcycles, free of charge, which in turn enables them to obtain a motorcycle riding license after passing the nec-essary riding tests.

Ayad Al Siaidi, General Manager Alfardan Motorcycles, expressed the importance of coming up with such promo-tional offers which in turn enrich motorcycling enthusiasts’ lives, and help them live out their passions.

“This promotional offer grants motorcycling enthusiasts the opportunity to learn how to

ride a motorcycle properly and safely, and after passing the nec-essary riding tests, acquire a motorcycle riding license.”

“Alfardan Motorcycles is keen on always paving the way for thrill seekers and motorcy-cling enthusiasts to join the ranks of those who practice

motorcycling professionally. Many customers want to explore the unique world of motorcy-cling, however some don’t have the tools to do so, and so, this unique opportunity that we’ve created will allow them to actu-alise their passions,” stated Ayad Al Siaidi.

“Al Khebra Academy will provide our potential customers with premium quality training courses to go with every potential motorcycle purchase from our extensive roaster of grade A motorcycles,” he added.

Ducati has expanded its ‘Scrambler’ line by introducing

‘the Scrambler Sixty2’. The latest model in Ducati’s ‘Scrambler’ line is equipped with a 400-cubic-foot, two-cylinder engine, and 41hp.

It has a maximum torque of 34Nm. All this weighs only about 167kg.

Ducati ‘Scrambler Sixty2’ is

inspired by youth culture, surfing culture, windsurfing and pop music. That’s why the ‘Scrambler Sixty2’ is now con-sidered the most sought after model in the Ducati ‘Scrambler’ line.

The Ducati ‘Monster 821’, a mid-range offering, comes equipped with the latest features that are heavily influenced by the luxurious 1200 model, which was launched at the beginning of 2017, which includes a newly modified rear range, fuel tank and exhaust range, as well as newly designed headlights.

The BMW ‘G310 GS’ is equipped with a 313cc single cylinder engine which can be cooled off by water.

The BMW ‘G310 GS’ offers excellent torque power with maximum torque of 28 Newton per minute and a 34hp engine. The design takes into account the sense of strength for better driving, both for day-to-day driving conditions, as well as off-road conditions.

Al Fardan Motorcycles is the leading motorcycles provider in the state of Qatar.

KTM 390 Duke (left) and ‘DU 2017-09-07 MONSTER 1502’ models are among the latest promotional offers by Alfardan Motorcycles.

Send your kids to the Moon at Mall of Qatar THE PENINSULA DOHA

Mall of Qatar has invited your little ones to discover Kids on the Moon, an out of this world edutainment experience for kids from 5 to 10 years old.

Let your budding astro-nauts travel into the world of space discoveries through an interactive exhibition in which they see, and even experience, some of the sensations of real astronauts.

Space shuttles, games, astronaut suits and more have

landed from NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) transporting your kid’s imag-inations straight to outer space!

For the first time in Qatar, the activity will be held at East Gate 3 rotunda by Debenhams, from 10am to 10pm daily from April 7th to 27th. The activity is free of charge.

“We are excited to provide families and especially young ones with a truly unique and unforgettable experience at Kids on the Moon!” said Stuart Elder, Mall of Qatar’s CEO.

The edutainment activity for children will be held from 10am to 10pm daily from April 7 to 27.

16 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019MORNING BREAK

FAJRSHOROOK

04. 06 AM

05. 23 AM

11. 37 AM

03. 06 PM

05. 53 PM

07. 23 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

HIGH TIDE 04:04 – 16:24 LOW TIDE 11:42 –23:07

Partly cloudy to cloudy at times with

chance of rain at some places maybe

thundery at times.

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum21oC 29oC

Polluted air to shorten lives by 20 months, researchers sayREUTERS LONDON

The life expectancy of a child born today could be reduced by an average of 20 months due to health damage caused by air pollution, researchers said.

In South Asia, where air pol-lution levels are the highest, the life expectancy for children born in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh falls by more than

30 months, according to the annual State of Global Air report, published by the Health Effects Institute, a US-based nonprofit research group. Of all risks to health around the world, air pol-lution is the fifth leading cause of death, killing more people each year than road accidents and malaria, the report said.

“A child’s health is critical to the future of every society, and this newest evidence suggests a

much shorter life for anyone born into highly polluted air,” said Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute.

“In much of the world, just breathing in an average city is the health equivalent to being a heavy smoker,” he added in a statement. Long-term exposure to indoor and outdoor pollution contributed to nearly 5 million deaths globally in 2017, with fatalities resulting from stroke,

heart attack, diabetes, lung cancer and chronic lung disease, the analysis found.

For household air pollution, the research — co-produced by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington —determined the main causes included the burning of smoky fuels such as wood or coal for cooking.

Among the primary sources of outdoor pollution were vehicle

and industrial emissions, as well as coal-burning power plants.

About half of the total deaths in 2017 occurred in China and India together, it said. More than 1.2 million early deaths were caused by air pollution in each country that year.

And while China had made progress in reducing air pol-lution, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India experienced the largest increases in air pollution levels

since 2010, the report found.Its conclusions illuminate

what “we’re seeing more and more of each year” in terms of health impacts stemming from air pollution, said Alastair Harper, head of advocacy at Unicef UK, the British arm of the UN children’s agency.

The effects were particularly severe for the most vulnerable groups including children, he noted.

‘Artist in Residence’ helps emerging and established artistsRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Emerging and established artists taking part in the ongoing ‘Artist in Residence ‘programme’ at the Fire Station believe on the immense contribution of the unique initiative in their artistic growth by providing them space to experiment and giving them exposure.

“It has become a great hub of cre-ativity, engaging with the community. It has been the mission of Qatar Museums to expand culture through contemporary art and certainly the Fire Station is a big proponent of that and the programme is a great way for the public to get involved like tonight,” American painter Michael Perrone, one of the res-ident artists, told media during the Open Studio Night yesterday.

Perrone, who is a teacher at Vir-ginia Commonwealth University School of Arts in Qatar, said the pro-gramme has helped some of his stu-dents to continue their artistic growth as well as more established artists like him gain more exposure and develop creatively through meetings, men-torship and workshops.

For his project, Perrone turns his old lecture notes into works of art con-verting them into shapes and painting on them as well as create sculptures

of the shapes. “I think it is one of the strongest programmes in the world, and I would like to thank Qatar Museums and the Fire Station which have been a family for us for providing us a beautiful space and collaborating with us whenever we need help,” said Qatari artist Faisal Al Hajri.

Al Hajri’s works, which vary from paintings to installations, are philo-sophical, at times political in nature. One of the highlights of his works is an installation called “Blockade related to mental bondage.”

“What helped me in the pro-gramme is the fact that it’s a one-of-a-kind in Qatar which provides us studio spaces that we can use 24/7 and it’s very helpful in terms of also allowing us to talk with other artists so that we get the feedback that we need. We get exposure in Qatar and around the world which is very helpful. The studio gives me time to connect with my work and create different experimentations,” Shaikha Jassim Al-Hardan, a Qatari artist who is a Graphic Design graduate from VCUarts Qatar.

Khalifa Al Obaidly, Director of the Fire Station said, “The Artist in Resi-dence programme is part of Qatar Museums’ commitment to nurturing emerging talent in the country and providing platforms where creativity

can thrive. The Open Studio Night is proving once again to be one of our most popular events as it allows the public to see how far our artists have come ahead of the Artist in Residence

exhibition in July. We are very excited to see what our talents will show us in a few months and I invite all members of the community to visit us then to see the final pieces.”

Qatari visual artist Faisal Al Hajri, one of the participants in the Artist in Residence programme, with some of his works during the Open Studio Night yesterday at the Fire Station. PIC: QASSIM RAHMATULLAH/THE PENINSULA

BUSINESSThursday 4 April 2019

PAGE | 02 PAGE | 04

Technology transformation key

source for sustainable development of Qatar

Amazon stock set up to double by 2021 to $3,000: Jefferies

BRIEFING

Tesla to show self-driving car progress to investorsSAN FRANCISCO: Tesla announced yesterday that it will give investors an up-close look at its self-driving car in a bid to bolster confidence in the progress of the nascent technology.Tesla co-founder and chief executive Elon Musk and other executives will take part in presentations to investors at the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters on April 19.“Tesla is making significant progress in the development of its autonomous driving software and hardware, including our FSD computer, which is currently in production and which will enable full-self driving via future over-the-air software updates,” the electric carmaker said in a release. AFP

WASHINGTON: Black-stone Group LP has raised more than $22bn for its flagship buyout fund -- making it the largest in the firm’s history -- and it’s not finished raking in cash.New York-based Blackstone completed the first close for its eighth private equity fund last month, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Fundraising in the private equity industry has continued to gain momentum this year with Blackstone alone seeking to bring in $100bn.BLOOMBERG

Regency Group & Dell sign MoUSATISH KANADY THE PENINSULA

Regency Group Holding, one of Qatar’s leading business organi-sations, with entities in real estate, travel & tourism, hospi-tality and technology industries, signed a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) with Dell Tech-nologies, yesterday. The MoU was signed by Hassan Ibrahim Al Asmakh, Vice-President and CEO at Regency Group Holding; and Ghassan Kosta, Country Manager, Dell Technologies, Qatar, in the presence of Margret Franco, Senior Vice-President- Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marketing at Dell Technologies. The signing ceremony was held on the side-lines of the Dell Technologies Forum at St. Regis Hotel.

The collaboration aims at empowering the retail and real estate customers of Regency Group Holding with smart tech-nology solutions.

“This is a very pleasant ini-tiative that should really span the entire GCC and the transfor-mation of security and building management in the real estate sector and how we manage the interconnected entities”, Ibrahim Al Asmakh told The Peninsula, after the signing ceremony.

“Our tie-up with Dell is in line with the Regency Group’s vision that how we can increase

our capacity by relying less on human capital. Digitization and automation is usually synon-ymous with less reliance on human capital…. Some of our companies are working on drone analytics. Some companies, in the run up to FIFA 2022, are pre-paring for the reduction on the reliance on manpower by ena-bling technology,” he said.

Earlier, in a statement issued to the media, Ibrahim Al Asmakh said digitization is unlocking new levels of socio-economic property.

However, in order to capitalize on these opportunities, organizations in Qatar, big or small, need to adopt and adapt to advancements in technology. “Therefore, as we progress in our journey to mod-ernize our business, we wanted to empower our real estate and retail customers with the right tech-nology that can help them harness the power of innovation. And, we hope that our collaboration with Dell Technologies reflects this commitment.”

Qatar’s Vision 2030 heavily

emphasizes on sound economic development being an engine that drives progress by providing more opportunities and better way of life to the citizens. Achieving this objective greatly hinges on Qatar’s ability to build a sustainable business envi-ronment-one that can attract more investments, is innovation-backed and showcases a world-class infrastructural backbone.

Keeping this objective in mind, Regency Group Holding wanted to empower their real estate and retail customers with the right technology solutions to help enrich and personalize customer experience. The MoU will help the Group leverage and offer the nec-essary technology expertise, industry knowledge coupled with Internet of Things (IoY) and arti-ficial intelligence (AI), he said.

Ghassan Kosta commented: “We believe that in this era of digitization, IT is no longer just a business function, but business itself, thus digital transformation is a clear imperative to power human progress… We are pleased to collaborate with Regency Group Holding and help their customers elevate the cus-tomer experience, and create competitive differentiation with our industry expertise and leading solutions, which is critical to succeed in this data-driven age”.

Margret Franco (left), Senior Vice President - Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marketing at Dell Technologies; and Hassan Ibrahim Al Asmakh, Vice-President and CEO at Regency Group Holding, exchanging documents after the signing ceremony in Doha, yesterday.

QFC records strongest rise in new businesses since August 2018THE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Financial Centre’s (QFC) latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey of Qatari non-hydrocarbon private sector businesses highlighted a marked increase in the volume of new business. The rate of expansion was the fastest since August 2018, and sharper than the trend pace indicated since the survey began in April 2017. The latest findings also show output expectations were the second-

strongest on record; with the fastest input price inflation in a year.

Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad Al-Thani, Managing Director of Business Devel-opment at QFC Authority, said, “Intakes of new business boosted Qatar’s non-hydro-carbon private sector in March, with this indicator from the PMI survey at a seven-month high. Moreover, the month-on-month rise in the new business index, at 4.5 points, was the second-largest in nearly a year-and-a-half. This improvement

in demand influenced com-panies’ expectations for total workloads, with the Future Activity Index rising to the second-highest level since the survey began in April 2017. Over the first quarter of 2019 Qatar’s PMI has trended higher compared with the final quarter of 2018; a period during which the global economy saw the softest expansion in two years”.

Based on IHS Markit’s Global PMI data, overall confi-dence was the second-highest on record, with concurring reports from survey

respondents of new project launches. Stronger inflows of new work helped to boost expectations regarding the 12-month outlook for growth of total business activity, with 80 percent of surveyed com-panies expecting output at their units to rise by March 2020. As a result, the Output Index reg-istered a three-month high.

The uptick in business activity helped lift the headline PMI figure for Qatar from Feb-ruary’s 48.5 to 50.1 in March. This improvement was reflected in new orders, higher

output, lower stocks of pur-chases and suppliers’ tighter delivery times (the latter index is inverted for the PMI calcu-lation). The overall rise in the headline figure was slightly tempered by a weaker contri-bution from employment, however, which had registered a record high earlier in the quarter. As a whole, non-oil activity has resurged over the first quarter of 2019 with the PMI trending at 49.7, compared to the lower average recorded over the second half of 2018 (49.3). �P2

QP takes part in LNG 2019, Shanghai

H E Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi (fifth left, sitting), the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and other senior officials on the sidelines of 19th International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG 2019) in Shanghai, China. The conference and exhibition is considered as the premier event for the world’s LNG industry, which features the largest number of high-level LNG industry leaders as plenary speakers.

Blackstone raises largest buyout fund at $22bn

Germany eyes closer economic ties with TurkeyANATOLIA BERLIN

Germany and Turkey are seeking closer economic ties and have established five joint working groups to boost coop-eration, a senior government official said.

Oliver Wittke, Parlia-mentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, told reporters Turkey remains an important country for German firms and investors.

“It is in Germany’s interest to see that Turkey’s economy is doing well, because we are the most important trade partner of Turkey,” he said. “We can do more business with Turkey, if there will be good and positive economic devel-opment in the country.”

Wittke said renewable energy, advanced technologies and artificial intelligence are areas which offer mutually ben-eficial cooperation for both countries. He said five joint working groups on industry, trade, infrastructure, tourism and partnership projects in third countries, have intensified their work in recent weeks, ahead of planned joint conferences on economy and trade this year.

02 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019BUSINESS

The Qatari pavilion brought together representatives of the Qatar Chamber, Qatar Financial Centre, Manateq, Qatar Free Zones Authority, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Qatar Railways and many others.

10,161.57 -39.61 PTS0.39%

QSE FTSE100 DOW BRENT

7,418.28 +27.16 PTS0.37%

26,218.13 +39.00 PTS0.15% Dow & Brent before going to press

$62.49 -0.09

MARKETWATCH

Apicorp issues $300m 5-year floating bondTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The Arab Petroleum Invest-ments Corporation (Apicorp), a multilateral development bank, rated Aa3 by Moody’s with a positive outlook, successfully issued its third Formosa bond after accessing this market earlier in 2016 and 2017. The Aa3 rated $300m 5-year note which matures on April 01, 2024, offers investors a floating rate coupon.

The transaction attracted robust investor demand with order book close to three times oversubscribed, enabling Apicorp to price its Formosa well within its secondary curve while also continuing to strengthen its investor access into Asia, innovate its funding profile and access efficient and cost-effective financing solutions.

Hesham Farid, Managing Director of Treasury & Capital Markets, Apicorp, said, “We are delighted with the successful issuance of Apicorp’s third Formosa bond which is a reflection of our impressive 40-year track record, unique

ownership structure and strong fundamentals.”

Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Taipei Branch, HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Limited and Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) Limited acted as lead managers & book runners on the trade, while Taishin Inter-national Bank, President Secu-rities, Bank of Taiwan, KGI Secu-rities, Yuanta Securities and Fubon Securities acted as co-managers for the transaction.

Abrar Hussain, Head of DCM MENA, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, also said, “We are pleased to have

supported Apicorp once again in the Formosa market. The issuance showcases the unique nature of the credit by not only achieving overwhelming demand, but also securing attractive terms.”

Faisal Qadri, Managing Director, Head of Debt Capital Markets and Structured Finance at HSBC Saudi Arabia, added, “The strong investor appetite achieved in this transaction is a reflection of investors’ confi-dence in Apicorp’s unique credit profile and their ability to access diversified funding sources. HSBC is proud to have partnered with Apicorp in this journey.”

Salman Ansari, Managing Director, Head, Capital Markets, West, Standard Chartered Bank, also said, “Standard Chartered is proud to be working with Apicorp yet again on another landmark transaction. The resounding success of the Apicorp’s Formosa bond offering reflects the strong confidence investors have placed in Apicorp’s credit and growth story. The transaction further cements Apicorp’s strategy of becoming a regular issuer in the global markets.”

Hesham Farid, Managing Director of Treasury & Capital Markets, Apicorp

Technology transformation key source for sustainable development of QatarTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The fourth industrial revolution that combines advanced tech-nologies in innovative ways, is dramatically reshaping the way people live, work and relate to one another. In the process, various industries are getting redefined and reimagined, Dr. R Seetharaman (pictured), CEO of Doha Bank, said yesterday.

Delivering the key note address at The Dell Technologies Forum here, Dr Seetharaman noted the work space is under-going changes, robotics and arti-ficial intelligence are going to play important roles and the customer will be more empowered in the digital envi-ronment. Banks need to manage the change by redefining their business models and to manage various stake holders such as customers, regulator and shareholders.

“The question which comes up is how to we regulate tech-nology companies. Customers are information centric and not location centric. To adopt to the digital changes either you need to be quick”, Doha Bank CEO said.

He said realignment of resources will happen in the light of technology develop-ments. On cryptocurrencies, he stated that currencies are a barometer of economy and should not be tool for

speculation. Technology should be an enabler and not a medium for exchange. If Cryptocur-rencies are measured and managed within a framework then it is acceptable.

Technology from AI to 5G has the power to transform public safety, education, trans-portation, manufacturing and energy. Digital solutions with the potential to reduce emissions can be applied in sectors such as agriculture, building, energy, manufacturing, and mobility, in addition to software and apps to capture and quantify effi-ciency gains. Technology trans-formation is the key source for sustainable development.

Referring to the potential of fintech, Dr. R. Seetharaman said financial institutions across the world, are realising that they need to focus on a different sort of innovation, better technology, modern infrastructure and improve customer experience. The banking business models are changing globally from being old traditional branch business to highly advanced automated customer centric experience for performing day to day banking activities.

Fintech, internet of things, block chain and artificial intel-ligence are some of the major technological developments, Robotics, enabled by artificial intelligence and machine learning, are proving to be a game changer, he said.

80% Mideast adults prefer app for airline flight update, says CiriumTHE PENINSULA DOHA

A new online survey for Cirium reveals the impact of flight delays and cancelations and the need for better management of flight disruption, with more communication via proactive flight updates for affected passengers. A staggering 80% of those surveyed online said they would be likely to use an app which alerted their friends, family or company about their delay.

In 2018, approximately 3.9 million flights – or 10,700 a day – were delayed by over 30 minutes or canceled globally, affecting over 470 million pas-senger journeys around the world. Flight delays and cance-lations cost airlines in the Middle East and globally over US$30bn a year in lost revenue, in addition to costs borne by their passengers.

Airline flight delays and cancelations are caused by a wide range of factors, such as technical issues with aircraft, bad weather and medical diver-sions. The YouGov study con-ducted for Cirium showed well over a third of people (40%)

polled online in the Middle East who had experienced a delayed or cancelled flight, did not find it easy to change their travel plans. Airlines also had to bear the massive cost of disruption with flight delays and cancela-tions costing the equivalent of US$7 for every departing pas-senger – slightly less than the net profit per person per departing flight.

Jeremy Bowen, CEO of Cirium, said,

“Flight delays and cancela-tions are an unfortunate aspect of modern air travel and can have a big impact on travellers, whether flying for business or leisure. We recognize that the cost of disruption for airlines is also a significant problem. We all want to travel stress free and get people to where they want to go, which is why at Cirium we work closely with airlines around the world on initiatives which reduce the impact of dis-rupted flights.”

The survey revealed well over a third (41%) of those polled online only found out about their flight delay or cancelation once they had reached the airport. When asked 38% said they would prefer to be

informed about a delay via a phone call.

When asked, 34% of those polled online in the Middle East said they would be most frus-trated if their leisure trip was affected and 30% if their flight was for business reasons.

More than a third (37%) said they would be most under-standing if a flight was delayed or cancelled because of bad weather while almost a third (27%) said if their aircraft expe-rienced a technical issue. However, only 10% would be most sympathetic with delays or cancelations due to problems caused by air traffic control.

The response from Middle East travellers was similar to those from the overall global opinion of those surveyed for Cirium as part of the poll in the UAE, China, the US and the UK. Slightly more global than just Middle Eastern travellers (31% compared to 27%) said they wanted more information about delayed and cancelled flights. Fewer (35%) of those who had experienced a delayed or can-celled flight globally, did not find it easy to change their travel plans compared to Middle East travellers (40%).

QFC records stronger rise in new businesses since August 2018FROM BUSINESS PAGE 1

When inferring possible changes to economic projec-tions, readers should consider the short duration for which both PMI and GDP data has been collected. However, the trend PMI reading for Q1 2019 is broadly consistent with

non-hydrocarbon GDP rising by 3.9 percent in real terms on an annual basis. As a conse-quence of substantially higher new business orders, there was evidence of rising pressure on business capacity with the indicator for backlogs of work at an eight-month high.

The latest survey indicated an intensification of overall cost pressures faced by non-energy private sector firms. Average input prices increased at the fastest rate since March 2018. This mainly reflected non-staff costs – including shipping and customs charges,

electricity and chemicals – as the indicator for wages and salaries indicated a slower increase in March. Companies continued to cut their own prices charged for goods and services, however. This pointed to further pressure on operating margins.

Qatar’s pavilion at Hannover Fair 2019 attracts large turnoutTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar’s pavilion at the Hannover Fair 2019 in Germany has attracted a large turnout as busi-nessmen, state officials, repre-sentatives of the industrial and trade sectors and media profes-sionals, flocked to the 1000-square meter pavilion that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry hosted for the second consecutive year.

The pavilion brought together representatives of the Qatar Chamber, Qatar Financial Centre, Manateq, Qatar Free Zones Authority, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail), Qatar Development Bank and Qatar Science and Technology Park. Participating private companies also included Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC), Ebn Sina Medical, Qatar Alu-minium (Qatalum), Doha Cables, Bin Aman Plastic Industries and Qatar Steel.

Participating entities show-cased the most prominent initi-atives undertaken by Qatar to attract and stimulate invest-ments in the industrial sector and enhance its strategy of sup-porting the private sector and offering incentives to attract investors and foreign capital.

Participants also introduced Qatari industries in various sectors and the latest techno-logical developments and advanced equipment being used in the industrial sector, in addition to the investment opportunities and incentives granted to investors, busi-nessmen and entrepreneurs seeking to invest in various industries. These incentives promote domestic and foreign investments and contribute to the economic development of Qatar.

Participants at Qatar’s pavilion expressed their delight

to be part of the coveted event. The large number of represented entities reflected Qatar’s advanced position as well as the country’s promising investment opportunities and attractive investment climate for local and foreign companies, participants noted.

The fair provided a platform for Qatari companies to promote their products, access new markets and export their high-quality goods to global markets.

Abdulbasit Talib Al Ajji, Director of the Business Devel-opment and Investment Pro-motion Department at the

Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said: “Through Qatar’s pavilion, the Ministry aims to showcase the key characteristics that position Qatar as an attractive economic envi-ronment for foreign investments as well as the incentives and leg-islations endorsed by the state to support the private sector, which would result in growing foreign direct investment and attract an additional number of German companies to the Qatari market.”

For his part, Ali Sultan Al Kuwari of QDB said the bank’s participation in the fair falls in line with its efforts to promote local industries and provide clients access to international markets, which will bolster Qatari exports and contribute to the accomplishment of the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Manateq’s Director of Business Development Adel Wali said that Manateq, through its participation in the fair, aims to promote investment opportu-nities in industrial, logistics and economic zones. These areas are strategically located across the

country and are home to high-quality infrastructure that enable investors to set up businesses and companies in a growth-ori-ented and prosperous environment.

Abdulla Al Naimi, Director of Corporate Government Relations at the Qatar Science and Tech-nology Park (Qatar Foundation) said QSTP has sought to become a global hub for research, energy, environment, technology and education since its establishment in 2009.

Since then, QSTP has attracted a large number of com-panies thanks to the incentives it offers including tax and customs exemptions as well as its advanced legislative framework, which streamline services provided to govern-mental and non-governmental agencies, Al Naimi said.

Mohammed Al Mohannadi, of Qatar Chamber, which is being represented at Qatar’s pavilion for the second consecutive year, said the Chamber is seeking to secure new partnerships and joint ventures.

The visitors at Qatar Free Zones Authority’s pavilion at the Hannover Fair 2019 in Germany.

03THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 BUSINESS

IMF: Nigeria’s economygrowing too slowlyBLOOMBERG LAGOS/ABUJA

The International Monetary Fund said Nigeria’s economy was growing too slowly to reduce poverty or joblessness and urged the government to boost revenue and scrap its system of multiple exchange rates.

“Growth is not enough,” Amine Mati, the IMF’s mission chief for Nigeria, said in an interview in Lagos yesterday as the Washington-based lender released its latest Article IV report for Africa’s biggest oil producer. “Our number-one rec-ommendation is to get the revenue ratio up.”

The economy is recovering from the 2014 crash in crude prices and the IMF forecasts that growth will accelerate to 2.1 percent this year from 1.9 percent in 2018. That would still leave it as one of Africa’s least buoyant economies and will be below the rate of population growth, which is almost 3 percent. The jobless rate was 23 percent in September.

Part of the problem is the government’s small tax base, which hinders its ability to bolster demand through spending. Its ratio of revenue to gross domestic product is one of lowest in the world and will fall to 7 percent in 2019 from 8 percent last year, the IMF said.

Increasing value-added tax from the current 5 percent could be a first step for the gov-

ernment, according to Mati.Nigeria should “urgently”

implement structural reforms to diversify the economy from oil, the IMF said. As well as boosting revenue, these include easing restrictions on businesses buying foreign exchange, increasing fuel and electricity prices and making state-owned companies more efficient, the IMF said.

“Under current policies, the outlook remains muted,” the lender said in the report. “Over the medium term, absent strong reforms, growth would hover around 2.5 percent, implying no per-capita growth as the economy faces limited increases in oil production and insufficient adjustment four years after the oil-price shock.”

Nigeria caps gasoline at 145 naira per liter ($0.40, or $1.51 a gallon), among the 10 cheapest levels worldwide, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com. Low power tariffs have long hindered distribution companies and cause regular blackouts.

Raising gasoline prices may initially increase poverty levels, but that could be more than offset by using the money saved on social programs, Mati said. Nigeria spent 623 billion naira ($1.7bn) keeping prices down last year, the IMF estimates.

President Muhammadu Buhari opposes higher fuel prices or a devaluing the naira’s official exchange rate of 306 per dollar, which is almost 20 percent stronger than the market-determined price of 360.

While Nigeria has merged most of its various exchange rates in the past two years, the continued existence of at least three rates and curbs on using hard currency to purchase imports are deterring foreign direct investment, Mati said. Most recent capital inflows came from fixed-income traders buying short-term debt and not investors taking a long-term view, he said.

The central bank said last week that there have been about $6bn of inflows since the Feb-ruary election, mostly into money markets. Rates on naira bonds average 14.4 percent, the fourth-highest among large emerging markets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The IMF also said the central bank should stop its devel-opment-finance operations, which include lending to farmers and manufacturers at subsidized interest rates, and focus more on price stability and banking supervision.

5G mobile networks launchAn employee demonstrates 5G services on a smartphone during a press conference of South Korean telecom operator KT in Seoul. South Korea launches the world’s first fully-fledged 5G mobile networks tomorrow, a transformational leap that already has superpowers sparring for control of an innovation expected to dominate the day-to-day lives of billions of people.

The economy is recovering from the 2014 crash in crude prices and the IMF forecasts that growth will accelerate to 2.1 percent this year from 1.9 percent in 2018.

Greece clears hurdle for debt-relief cash with EU Commission nodBLOOMBERG BRUSSELS

Greece cleared a key hurdle toward receiving around €1bn ($1.1bn) in cash for debt relief, as the European Commission said the country has fulfilled all reform conditions required in its latest post-bailout audit.

In a report reviewing Greece’s record in completing the overhauls attached to further aid, the EU’s executive arm paved the way for a final decision to be taken by euro-area finance ministers when they meet in Bucharest, Romania, later this week.

The report comes after a prolonged spat over Greece’s household insolvency framework, which creditors worried could harm the coun-try’s payment culture and weigh on its troubled banks. Greek lenders have the highest ratio of soured loans in Europe.

Greece finally voted for the controversial framework in parliament last week addressing some of the cred-itors’ concerns. While the report said “some risks to financial stability and payment discipline remain,” it suggested the new insol-vency regime was sufficient for the euro area to take a decision to release the tranche.

The report “could be used by the Eurogroup to agree on the release of a first tranche of policy-contingent debt measures,” it said. The reserved wording reflects some concerns in the euro area that the new insolvency framework could still end up being too generous.

“The extension of the perimeter to business loans raises particular concerns which have been communi-cated to the Greek

authorities,” the commission said. “It also warrants par-ticular attention from a financial stability perspective, as the available impact assess-ments indicate that larger debt write-offs will be required compared to residential mortgage loans, and thus the estimated impact on banks’ capital is comparatively high.”

The Greek government has been waiting for the green light from the currency bloc before it can begin a pro-cedure for the early repayment of some of its loans from the International Mon-etary Fund. Greece is also con-sidering another bond sale in the coming weeks or months or a reopening of one of the latest notes it has issued.

Yields on Greek five-year bonds have fallen to a record low showing that currently there is an appetite for Greek risk. The disbursement of the tranche could boost investor sentiment further, as a nascent economic recovery gains hold.

Euro-area finance min-istry officials are expected to hold a call later on Wednesday to discuss the report and pos-sible debt relief tranche ahead of the ministers’ meeting later this week.

Austria proposes taxing Internet giantsAFP VIENNA

Austria yesterday proposed taxing Internet giants such as Google and Facebook five percent of their digital adver-tising revenue, a higher rate than France and other EU coun-tries are seeking.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the tax aimed to stop the “unfairness” of internet giants who have until now routed their sales through subsidiaries in low-tax EU members.

The government hopes that the new tax, which still has to be approved by parliament, will bring in €200m ($225m) per year from 2020.

It targets businesses with an annual worldwide revenue of at least 750m euros, of which at least €25m is made in Austria. In other plans announced on Wednesday, Austria will seek to make reg-istration mandatory for online booking platforms, including home-sharing giant Airbnb.

The current VAT exemption for articles sold online for less than 22 euros will also be abol-ished as part of the changes.

Early last month, France introduced a bill for a three percent “GAFA tax” - using an acronym for US giants Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon - on digital advertising, web-sites and the resale of private data. Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger said Austria wanted a higher tax rate than that in order to make up for all the years that internet giants avoided taxes.

Some of the additional money flowing to government coffers will be used to support the digitalisation of Austrian media, he said. In France, the tax is to be applied retroactively on revenue from January 1, 2019, bringing in €400m to the public purse this year, and 650 million by 2022.

South Africa could give troubled Eskom more financial supportREUTERS SASOLBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

The highest levels of South Africa’s government are considering a variety of additional financial support measures for struggling state power firm Eskom, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said yesterday.

Eskom, which has implemented some of the most severe power cuts in several years this year, is battling for survival after a

decade of steep decline during which its costs soared and electricity sales stagnated.

South Africa’s gov-ernment said in February that it would give Eskom a 69 billion rand ($4.9 billion) bailout over the next three years to help it service its 420 billion rand debt mountain.

But energy experts say the bailout is insufficient to make Eskom financially sustainable in the long term, especially since South

Africa’s energy regulator awarded Eskom smaller tariff hikes than it asked for.

“A variety of options are before us, and serious consideration is being given to all of them at the highest levels of government,” Gordhan told reporters at Eskom’s Lethabo power station.

“Once we have finessed the package, we will let you know either before the election (in May) or soon thereafter,” Gordhan added.

Anton Eberhard,

chairman of an Eskom task team appointed by Pres-ident Cyril Ramaphosa, said his team was looking at some kind of debt relief for the utility, which supplies more than 90 percent of the power in Africa’s most industrialised economy.

Eberhard added: “Some kind of new innovative financing facility is some-thing that the team is looking at, a blended finance facility which could involve a concessionary component.”

FROM LEFT: Eskom’s Group Chief Executive, Phakamani Hadebe, South African Minister of Enterprise Pravin Gordhan, and Eskom Board Chairman Jabu Mabuza give a joint press conference to update on the current status of electricity supply during a visit at the Lethabo Power Station yesterday, in Sasolburg, South Africa.

Mercedes Benz’s factory openingRussian President Vladimir Putin (second right), Mercedes-Benz Cars’ Member of the Divisional Board Marcus Schaefer (right); German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (third right); and Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche (fourth right) watch a video as they visit Mercedes Benz’s new factory on its opening day outside Moscow, yesterday.

Questions over expenses under GhosnAFP / PARIS

French carmaker Renault said yesterday that a joint Renault-Nissan audit of their Dutch subsidiary RNBV had raised “serious questions” over millions of euros in expenses incurred by ousted CEO Carlos Ghosn.

“Certain expenses which have yet to be pre-cisely quantified, but may amount to several million euros since 2010, raise serious questions as to their conformity with RNBV’s corporate interest,” Renault’s board of directors said in a statement.

The statement said that “RNBV’s internal organisation suggests serious deficiencies in terms of financial transparency and expenditure control procedures.”

The board had asked Renault’s management to work with Nissan “to jointly remedy these defi-ciencies as soon as possible,” it added.

The statement came amid reports in Japan that prosecutors there were considering bringing further charges against Ghosn, who spent more than three months in custody on allegations of financial misconduct involving his pay and Nis-san’s accounts.

In a report reviewing Greece’s record in completing the overhauls attached to further aid, the EU’s executive arm paved the way for a final decision to be taken by euro-area finance ministers when they meet in Bucharest, Romania, later this week.

04 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019BUSINESS

Citroen C5 AirCross SUV launch

Angola-Russia business forum

US will not send high-level officials to China’s Silk Road SummitREUTERS WASHINGTON

The United States will not send high-level officials to attend China’s second Belt and Road summit in Beijing this month, a US State Department spokesman said on Tuesday, citing concerns about financing practices for the initiative.

China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, said on Saturday that almost 40 foreign leaders would take part in the summit due to be held in Beijing in late April. He rejected criticisms of the plan as “prejudiced.” The first summit for Belt and Road, which envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with massive infrastructure spending, was held in 2017 and attended by Matt Pottinger, the senior White House official for Asia.

There are no such plans this year.

“We will not send high-level officials from the United States,” US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in answer to a question from Reuters.

“We will continue to raise concerns about opaque financing practices, poor gov-ernance, and disregard for inter-nationally accepted norms and standards, which undermine many of the standards and prin-ciples that we rely upon to promote sustainable, inclusive development, and to maintain stability and a rules-based order.

“We have repeatedly called on China to address these con-cerns,” Palladino added.

A person familiar with the

matter said Washington was considering sending a lower-level staffer from the US embassy to observe and take notes on the conference but not to participate, though a final decision has not yet been made.

President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative has proven controversial in many Western capitals, particularly Wash-ington, which views it as a means to spread Chinese influence abroad and saddle countries with unsustainable debt through non-transparent projects.

On Saturday, Yang called such criticisms “prejudiced,” saying China has never forced debt upon participants and the initiative was to promote joint development.

On Saturday, he did not name the 40 leaders he said would attend, but some of China’s closest allies have con-firmed they will be there, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Philip-pines President Rodrigo Duterte and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Angola’s President Joao Lourenco (centre) walks to attend an Angola-Russia business forum in Moscow, yesterday.

EU would deploy customs controls immediately after no-deal Brexit REUTERS BRUSSELS

The European Union’s main economics and tax official said yesterday that the risk of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit on April 12 was increasing, as he explained the bloc’s contingency plans for customs checks.

“The EU customs code would apply to all goods arriving from the UK,” EU Eco-nomic Affairs and Tax Commis-sioner Pierre Moscovici told a news conference. “We have to ensure full application of the EU customs code as soon as the UK leaves.” “If there is a no-deal scenario, new customs controls would have to be introduced... That does not mean we would systematically check every single... lorry... We would be controlling (checking) goods on the basis of risk analysis.” He said EU companies trading with the UK had to be ready for addi-tional costs and bureaucracy

related to an increase in customs checks, while travellers and their luggage would also be subject to more checks than at present.

Moscovici said some EU members estimated their import/export customs formal-ities could grow by as much as half in the event of an abrupt no-deal Brexit. He said “complex calculations” of VAT reimbursements were also to be expected.

“This will have big impact on cash flow of businesses,” he said. “Without an exit agreement, the activity of thou-sands of European businesses and travellers would be dis-turbed by reintroduction of customs checks.” On the most sensitive issue, that of the Irish border, Moscovici carefully avoided giving any clear answer. Since Britain has told Brussels it wants to leave the EU’s customs union as it leaves the EU, the bloc says controls

on animals and goods will need to take place on the land border between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.

But both London and the EU want to avoid deploying elab-orate border infrastructure on the island, fearing that it could become the target of violence and undermine peace in the province, which saw three decades of sectarian violence at the end of the last century.

“In a no-deal scenario, both the EU and the UK would face a challenge of protecting their single markets... They would need to carry out the necessary checks,” Moscovici said.

“We are working closely and intensively with Ireland to organise these checks in the least disruptive way possible, and as much as possible away from the border.” He added that the EU could give Ireland more money and other assistance to meet the challenge.

Japanese crypto startup says it’s hit a rare $1bn valuationBLOOMBERGTOKYO

Liquid Group Inc, a Tokyo-based crypto-currency trading platform, put out a press release yesterday that it had raised venture funds at a valuation in excess of $1bn, making it one of the rare so-called unicorns in Japan.

The startup has secured funding from investors including venture fund IDG Capital and crypto mining giant Bitmain Technologies Ltd., it said in the statement, but in a somewhat unusual step didn’t disclose how much money it had taken in. Liquid has com-mitments for about $50m, according to a person familiar with the matter, a relatively

small amount for such a lofty valuation. Startup valuations are viewed skeptically if the amount of capital raised is less than 10 percent.

That’s not to take away from Liquid’s progress in building its business, including securing a coveted crypto-exchange license from Japan’s financial watchdog and handling more than $50bn in cumulative trading volume. IDG is also a marquee investor, having funded crypto startups such as Coinbase Inc and Bitmain.

Crypto startups have a history of pushing aggressive valuations. In June, Circle Internet Financial Ltd raised $110m, valuing the mobile pay-ments and crypto trading platform at $3bn.

Linda Jackson (left), Chief Executive Officer, Citroen Brand, Groupe PSA Roland Bouchara (second left), Senior Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Citroen India, Carlos Tavares (second right), Chairman of the Managing Board, Groupe PSA and Emmanuel Delay, Executive Vice- President & Head of India-Pacific, Groupe PSA pose during the launch of PSA Groupe first vehicle Citroen C5 AirCross SUV in Chennai, India, yesterday.

Pound rises versus dollar on May’s Brexit gambleLONDON AFP

The British pound rose against the dollar Wednesday after Prime Minister Theresa May offered cross-party talks with the leader of the opposition Labour Party in a political gamble aimed at resolving the Brexit impasse.

Sterling won a boost after Conserv-ative leader May declared late yes-terday that she would look for another Brexit delay and softened her position to try and avert a messy no-deal divorce from the European Union next week.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has consistently called for Britain to remain in a customs union with the bloc, while the government has so far ruled this

out saying Britain should have an inde-pendent trade policy after Brexit.

“The announcement was win-win for the pound,” Oanda analyst Craig Erlam told AFP.

“Not only did May re-affirm her opposition to no deal, she’s technically opened the door to a softer Brexit. I say technically because a lot now has to happen for that to be delivered, including the Conservatives and Labour working together towards an unchar-acteristic compromise.”

However, he added: “If this fails, I struggle to see how she recovers; it very much feels like a last-ditch, desperate gamble.”

AxiTrader analyst James Hughes meanwhile questioned why May had waited this long to hold discussions with Corbyn.

“This feels very much like the last throw of the dice, with the argument being that cross-party talks should have been the first throw of the dice,” Hughes told AFP.

“The deadlock, political infighting and MPs’ inability to make a decision has led to both the process and the country to a certain degree becoming a laughing stock.

“Continuous votes on outcomes that the majority know will be rejected by the EU anyway are wasting time, and it’s only now that we are taking the prospect of no deal seriously enough.”

However, sterling’s gains were capped Wednesday by a gloomy survey showing that Britain’s vital services sector shrank in March for the first time in almost three years, with activity

slammed by Brexit turmoil and flat eco-nomic growth.

Trading on Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday, despite new data showing that hiring in the US private sector slowed for the second month in a row in March -- hitting its slowest pace in 18 months.

The monthly data from payrolls firm ADP comes two days before a more closely watched government report on employment.

“Businesses are hiring cautiously as the economy is struggling with fading fiscal stimulus, the trade uncer-tainty, and the lagged impact of Fed tightening,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which jointly produces the report.

Meanwhile, European and Asian stock markets advanced Wednesday

as a report said China and the US were closing in on a deal to end their long-running trade row.

Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index in par-ticular charged forward, up more than 1.3 percent on the day in afternoon trading after investor optimism was given an extra boost by a report in the Financial Times saying Beijing and Washington were on course for a his-toric agreement.

Expectations that the world’s top two economies will eventually sign a deal has been a key driver of a global equities rally this year, and the FT article adds to the general sense of hope.

“Clearly, the stock market con-tinues to look at those negotiations with a glass-is-half-full mentality,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative has proven controversial in many Western capitals, particularly Washington, which views it as a means to spread Chinese influence abroad.

Amazon stock set up to double by 2021 to $3,000: Jefferies

BLOOMBERG NEW YORK

Even for a company as large as Amazon.com Inc., a double-digit percentage gain in 2019 is nothing to a bull expecting the stock to almost double over the next two years. According to Jefferies’ Brent Thill (pictured), Amazon remains under-valued and ‘many of its embedded growth opportunities are under-appreciated.’

The firm now models a road map for the stock to trade hands upward of $3,000 a share by 2021. Amazon shares rose as much as 0.8 percent to $1,828 a share yesterday, the highest intraday since Oct. 18.

A sum-of-the-parts breakdown by Jefferies forecasts upside of approximately 65 percent as profitable seg-ments - such as Amazon Web Services, Adver-tising, and 3P Seller Services - are all growing at rates faster than the core retail division. ‘Mul-tiples for these high-recurring revenue, high-margin businesses to expand as investors rec-ognize their embedded value,’ Thill said in a research note to clients.

Thill also mentions the forecast does not include any upside from new businesses like health care, ‘which could prove a break-out hit’ with Amazon expected to play a meaningful hand in medical prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs.

Amazon shares have climbed about 35 percent since a bottom in late December, but Jefferies still believes the stock has held back since last earnings given ‘investor concerns about deceler-ating top line growth and step up in investments.’ The firm reiterated its buy rating and 12-month $2,300 price target.

05THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 BUSINESS

UK headed for downturn as Brexitworries hammer services sector

REUTERS LONDON

Britain’s economy looks likely to shrink over the coming months, after Brexit worries caused the dominant services sector to contract for the first time in nearly three years, a survey showed yesterday.

The IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a survey of services ranging from giant banks to high-street hairdressers, tumbled to 48.9 in March from 51.3 in Feb-ruary, weaker than all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.

The PMI, a closely watched barometer of the economy’s health, is now below 50 and in

contractionary territory for the first time since July 2016, immediately after Britons voted to leave the European Union.

“Amid all the noise in West-minster, the latest Markit/CIPS PMI makes it clear the economy is being hit hard,” ING economist James Smith (pictured) said in a note.

Britain’s economy has been sluggish since the 2016 Brexit ref-erendum and saw its weakest expansion in six years in 2018, even though unemployment fell to its lowest in more than 40 years.

The slowdown in the global economy has also weighed on growth. But until now few surveys have pointed to an outright con-traction in the world’s fifth-largest economy.

Britain had been due to leave the EU on March 29, but parliament repeatedly opposed the Brexit deal Prime Minister Theresa May had negotiated with Brussels.

“There were widespread reports that domestic political uncertainty had constrained demand in March, with clients hoping for clarity about Brexit out-comes before committing to new

projects,” IHS Markit said.Late on Tuesday, May said she

would seek another Brexit delay to try to reach an agreement with Jeremy Corbyn, the opposition Labour Party leader, a last-ditch gambit to break an impasse over Britain’s departure that enraged many in her party.

Sterling dipped after the PMI release, to $1.3156 compared with $1.3175 beforehand, but it quickly recouped losses as traders focused on the outcome of the talks between May and Corbyn.

A broader PMI released this week, including manufacturing and construction data, also fell to its lowest since July 2016. It escaped

outright contraction only because firms bought more raw materials to prepare for a potentially disor-derly Brexit.

“A stalling of the economy in the first quarter will ... likely turn into a downturn in the second quarter unless demand revives suddenly, which given the recent escalation of Brexit uncertainty, seems highly improbable,” IHS Markit said.

But some economists cautioned that past PMIs had tended to be too downbeat when economic uncer-tainty has been high.

“GDP growth probably is holding up a little better than the PMIs imply,” said Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Unlike in 2016, when demand rebounded rapidly after the initial shock of the referendum result, British businesses have now reported falling orders for the past three months, the longest such run since the depths of a recession in 2009. Last week, the head of the British Chambers of Commerce said business was angry with politicians for “chasing rainbows” rather than accepting that some Brexit goals were unrealistic.

Britain’s economy has been sluggish since the 2016 Brexit referendum and saw its weakest expansion in six years in 2018, even though unemployment fell to its lowest in more than 40 years.

US firms post weakest job growth in 18 months: ADPBLOOMBERG WASHINGTON

US companies added the fewest workers in March since late 2017 as construction and manufacturing cut jobs, according to a private report that signals potential weakness in employment ahead of the monthly Labor Department data tomorrow.

Private payrolls increased by 129,000, missing economist estimates, after an upwardly revised 197,000 gain in February, according to data released yesterday by the ADP Research Institute. Goods-producing jobs shrank for the first time since December 2016.

The downshift in hiring signals the labor

market is taking a breather amid headwinds from slowing global growth, an unresolved trade battle, the waning effect of the tax cuts and a shrinking pool of job candidates. The figures may fuel some pessimism for the monthly jobs report, though economists project that the data will show payrolls bounced back from a weak reading to one more in line with recent trends.”The job market is weakening, with employment gains slowing significantly across most industries and company sizes,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc., said in a statement. Moody’s produces the figures with ADP. “Businesses are hiring cau-tiously as the economy is struggling with fading fiscal stimulus, the trade uncertainty, and the

lagged impact of Fed tightening.”Get MoreGoods-producing jobs shrank with a 6,000

drop in construction, the steepest drop since 2012, and a 2,000 decline in manufacturing, the biggest decrease since 2016.Service pro-viders expanded by 135,000 -- the least in four months -- led by education and health services and professional and business services.The report pointed to strains at the smallest busi-nesses. Firms with fewer than 20 workers shed almost 9,000 jobs for the first back-to-back drop in eight years.Economists in Bloomberg’s survey had forecast the main gauge easing to 175,000.ADP’s payroll data represent about 411,000 firms employing nearly 24 million workers in the US.

Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

CROSSWORD

The movie is based on Ravindra Kaushik. He was an Ex RAW agent. His spy mind benefitted India in 1971 war and many more secrets revealed by him. He went to major post in Pak Army and through their he was leaking the details and giving to India.

ROMEO AKBAR WALTER

Lucifer (2D/Malayalam) 2:00 & 11:15pm;Dumbo (2D/Family) 2:00pm;Lakshmi’s NTR (2D/Telugu) 2:00pm; Romeo. Akbar. Walter. RAW (2D/Hindi) 5:00 & 9:00pm; Shazam!(Action) 4:00, 6:30, 9:00 & 11:30pm; Argentina Fans Kaattoorkadavu (2D/Malayalam) 4:45; Project Ghazi (2D) 7:30pm;Pet Sematary (2D/Horror) 7:15pm;Uriyadi II (2D/Tamil) 9:15pm;NatpeThunai (2D/Tamil) 11:30pm

Romeo. Akbar. Walter. RAW (2D/Hindi) 2:00 & 6:30pm; Lucifer (2D/Malayalam) 2:15 & 8:00pm; Shazam! (Action) 2:00, 4:30 & 9:00pm; Dumbo (2D/Family) 4:30pm;NatpeThunai (2D/Tamil) 5:15pm;Pet Sematary (2D/Horror) 9:30 & 11:30pm;Lakshmi’s NTR (2D/Telugu) 11:15pm; Uriyadi II (2D/Tamil) 11:30pm

Captain Marvel 11:20am, 1:50, 4:25, 7:00, 9:30, 10:50pm & 00:00midnightDumbo (2D/Fantasy) 10:30am, 11:05, 1:25pm, 3:45, 6:05, 8;45 & 11:10pmLucifer (2D) 12:35, 4:00, 7:30 & 11:00pmPet Sematary (2D/Horror) 1:35 & 6:30pm; Romeo. Akbar. Walter. RAW (2D/Hindi) 3:30, 8:35 & 11:30pmShazam! (Action) 10:20, 11:20am, 12:10, 1:00, 2:00, 2:50, 3:40, 4:20, 5:30, 6:20, 7:20, 8:10, 9:00 10:00, 10:50, 11:40pm & 00:40am

MALL

LANDMARK

FLIK Mirqab Mall

Lucifer (2D/Malayalam) 10:30am, 1:45, 5:00, 8:15 & 11:30pm; Majili (2D/Telugu) 10:30am & 4:00pm;Shazam! (Action) 12:30, 3:15, 6:00, 8:45 & 11:30pm; Lakshmi’s NTR (2D/Telugu) 1:15pm;Uriyadi II (2D/Tamil) 6:45 & 12:00midnight; Argentina’s Fans (2D/Malayalam) 9:15pm

AL KHOR

ROXY

ASIAN TOWN

Dumbo (2D/Family) 1:00, 3:30, 7:50 & 10:30pm; Lakshmi’s NTR (2D/Telugu) 12:30 & 8:45pm; Lucifer (2D/Malayalam) 3:00, 7:00 & 10:30pm; Majili (2D/Telugu) 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 9:30pm & 12:30am; Shazam! (2D/Action) 12:30, 3:15, 6:00, 6:10, 9:00 & 11:40pm; Show Queen 12:30, 2:20, 4:10 & 6:00pm

Lucifer (2D/Malayalam) 11:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 3:00, 5:00, 6:00, 8:15, 9:15, 11:30pm, 12:15, 02:00, 02:30 & 03:15am; Lakshmi’s NTR (2D/Telugu) 12:00noon; NatpeThunai (2D/Tamil) 1:00pm; Majili (2D/Telugu) 3:45pm; Uriyadi II (2D/Tamil) 6:30pm; Argentina’s Fans (2D/Malayalam) 2:00, 3:00, 8:45, 11:15pm; Romeo. Akbar. Walter. RAW (2D/Hindi) 5:45 & 11:30pm;

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (2D/Animation) 2:15pmProject Ghazi (2D) 2:15pm; Lakshmi’s NTR (2D/Telugu) 2:15pm; Romeo. Akbar. Walter. RAW (2D/Hindi) 4:00 & 11:30pm; Lucifer (2D/Malayalam) 6:30pm;Dumbo (2D/Fantasy) 5:00pm; The Smile (2D/Drama) 7:00pm; Shazam! (Action) 4:00, 6:30, 9:00 & 11:30pmUriyadi II (2D/Tamil) 9:00pm; Pet Sematary (2D/Horror) 9:30pm; NatpeThunai (2D/Tamil) 11:15pm

ROYAL PLAZA

06 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019BUSINESS

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TOWERS

COMPOUND APARTMENT

ONE COMPANY DEAL

COMPOUND

OFFICE & SHOWROOM

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SHOPS

SPORT07THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019

When you arrive here there is no point in thinking like a

small club. You must think like a big club, to be close to the

big clubs, the way that the big clubs think.

Pochettino, Tottenham

Manager, says club must

act big in new stadium.

The fun stuff’s going to begin next week. You just want a chance. We’re going to do that now and have a lot of fun with it and try to get this thing going: Benn

Indian Premier LeagueDelhi Capitals vs

Sunrisers Hyderabad

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Westbrook joins Wilt in NBA history as Thunder beat LakersAP OKLAHOMA CITY

Russell Westbrook became just the second player in NBA history to have 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists in a game as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 119-103 on Tuesday night.

Westbrook clinched the mark with a rebound in the final minute, drawing a large ovation from the home crowd. He fin-ished with 20 points, 20 rebound and 21 assists.

Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player to accomplish the feat. He had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists in a game in 1968.

Westbrook had at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists for the eighth time in his career, tying Chamberlain for second-most all-time. Oscar Robertson had 14 such games in his career.

Westbrook finished 8 of 23 from the field as Oklahoma City won for the third time in its last 10 games.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Lakers with 23 points.

WARRIORS 116, NUGGETS 99

Kevin Durant emphatically showed who is still No. 1 in the West, delivering a pair of jarring dunks late in the first half and finishing with 21 points and six assists before being ejected to

lead the Golden State past Denver in a matchup of the top teams in the conference.

DeMarcus Cousins had a season-best 28 points, on 12-for-17 shooting, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks for the Warriors (53-24), who have a two-game lead and the tie-breaker on Denver (51-26) with five games to go in the chase for the Western Conference’s top seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Stephen Curry added 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Jamal Murray scored 17 points, and Paul Millsap had 11 points shooting 4 of 11 for Denver, which lost for the third time in four games and played the first night of a tough back-to-back with San Antonio vis-iting the Mile High City on Wednesday.

SPURS 117, HAWKS 111 DeMar DeRozan scored 29

points and San Antonio beat Atlanta for the 21st straight time at home.

San Antonio point guard Derrick White added 23 points after scoring 12 total points in his previous two games.

The Spurs remain seventh in the Western Conference at 45-33.

Atlanta led by as many as nine points in the second half, before San Antonio rallied in the

fourth to avoid its second straight loss at home.

Kent Bazemore had 26 points to lead the Hawks, and Alex Len added 21.

ROCKETS 130, KINGS 105 James Harden had 36 points

and 10 assists and Houston matched its season high with 26

3-pointers in a win over Sacramento.

Eric Gordon and Danuel House Jr. each scored 19 points, Kenneth Faried added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and P.J. Tucker scored 13. The Rockets have won 17 of 20.

Houston (50-28) moved a

half-game ahead of idle Portland for third place in the Western Conference. It’s the fifth time in the six years that the Rockets have had at least 50 victories.

Buddy Hield had 20 points and seven rebounds for Sacra-mento. The Kings (38-40) have lost four of six.

Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dribbles up court during a 107-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Westbrook became only the second player after Wilt Chamberlain to score a ‘20-20-20’ triple-double on Tuesday.

Stars clinch 1st play-off trip since 2016AP DALLAS

Jamie Benn gave a brief nod to Tyler Seguin after sharing a big smile with goalie Anton Khudobin.

A trying season for the Dallas captain will continue in the playoffs.

The Stars clinched their first trip to the postseason in three years, getting two goals and two assists from Alexander Radulov in a 6-2 victory over the Phila-delphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

“The fun stuff’s going to begin next week,” Benn said.

“You just want a chance. We’re going to do that now and have a lot of fun with it and try

to get this thing going.” The Stars were just a point

shy of the playoffs and could have made it with an Arizona loss in a later game.

Instead, they left little doubt with four goals in the final 24 minutes, including a pair 10 seconds apart, to secure just their third Western Conference playoff berth in 11 seasons.

Jason Dickinson, Esa Lindell, Tyler Pitlick and Blake Comeau also scored for the Stars, who hold the first wild-card spot with 91 points and are unlikely to get into the top three in the Central Division.

Dallas last made the playoffs in 2016, losing a Game 7 to St. Louis in the second round.

The Stars missed the play-offs a year ago because of an eight-game losing streak late in the season, the first six of those on the road.

This time, they moved to the brink of the postseason by earning seven points on a four-game Canadian swing before coming home to face Philadelphia.

It was a satisfying surge for a club that worked through a tumultuous midseason stretch

after team CEO Jim Lites pro-fanely ripped the play of Benn and Seguin, the high-priced star forwards.

The Stars actually held the last playoff spot in the West in late December when Lites used plenty of profanity along with “terrible” and “embarrassing” to

describe the way both were playing while saying the team was underachieving.

First-year coach Jim Mont-gomery, making the rare tran-sition from college, joined the chorus not long after Lites’ strong words, saying he was trying to end the franchise’s

“culture of mediocrity.” Mont-gomery’s tone was decidedly more positive after the All-Star break, when the Stars won their first four as part of a five-game winning streak and had another solid run in March to set up the decisive Canadian trip.

Kucherov in the running for NHL’s MVP awardAP NEW YORK

Connor McDavid knows better than to risk making end-of-season NHL award projections.

Through no fault of his own, the Edmonton Oilers captain was not included among last year’s three MVP candidates, causing a stir back home.

So McDavid understandably deferred when recently asked to l ist his Hart Trophy

front-runners this year. “After last year, I’m not commenting,” McDavid said, chuckling. “I have no idea who will win it at all.”

McDavid, who won the Hart in 2017 after leading the Oilers to their first playoff berth in 11 years, isn’t likely to be included among this year’s finalists even though he entered the final week of the season second in the league with 115 points.

Trouble is, the Oilers have

already been eliminated from playoff contention, and McDavid and everyone else are being overshadowed by the numbers Nikita Kucherov is putting up with the President’s Trophy-clinching Tampa Bay Lightning.

With 125 points through 79 games, Kucherov has already matched Joe Thornton’s league-leading total in 2005-06. T

he highest total after that is Jaromir Jagr’s 127 points in 1998-99, and the last player to

top 130 points was Mario Lemieux, who had 161 in 1995-96.

“It’s not at all surprising. He was unbelievable last year, and seemed to get no recognition for it,” McDavid said, noting how Kucherov finished third in the NHL with 100 points last season.

“They’re a team that scores a lot of goals. And he’s in on most of them. It’s pretty impressive.” Kucherov is tied for the Lightning lead with seven game-winning

goals and part of a team that became only the NHL’s third to win 60 or more games. Kucherov has also led the points race since Dec. 28, and gone no more than two games without registering a point this season.

That’s not to say there aren’t others worthy of mention.

Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau, with a career-best 97 points already, has played a key role in helping the Flames clinch their first division title in 13 years.

Gallo’s hard 2-run grounder pushes Rangers past Astros 6-4AP ARLINGTON,

Slugger Joey Gallo has played a key role late in all three wins by the Texas Rangers this season, and with more than the long ball.

Gallo grounded a hard single through the right side of the infield, a tiebreaking two-run hit in the seventh inning that went between two diving infielders as the Rangers beat the Houston Astros 6-4 on Tuesday night.

“He’s putting himself in very good situations and trusting his swing, controlling the moment,” new manager Chris Woodward said.

“A lot of guys are, pretty much everybody in big spots. I think that’s why we’re getting it done late in games because everybody’s kind of committed to this idea... and having a game plan for those big moments.”

The Rangers (3-2) are already over.500 for the second time this season after not having a winning record at any point last year.

In their first win Saturday night against the Chicago Cubs, Gallo hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning. He finished that opening series with a ninth-inning double, then scored the game-ending run on a wild pitch.

Asdrubal Cabrera, the new Texas third baseman after Adrian Beltre retired, homered for the third time. Cabrera’s two-run shot in the second tied the game at 2 against Justin Verlander, the Astros opening-day starter who didn’t make it out of the fifth inning in his second game.

Duration of tennis matches shortened at OlympicsAP LONDON

The men’s tennis singles final at the Olympics has been shortened to a best-of-three-sets match as part of format changes designed to reduce the workload of players competing in multiple events.

It means all matches across the men’s and women’s singles are now best of three sets with tiebreakers.

In another alteration, the men’s and women’s doubles matches will have a Champions Tiebreak to 10 points when the score is 1-1 in sets, like in mixed doubles.

The International Tennis Federat ion announced the changes yesterday, saying they “reduce concerns of overplay for players who reach the latter stages of all three events - singles, doubles and mixed doubles.”

They will come into effect for the 2020 Games in Tokyo. The multi-sport event is scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August in Tokyo.

08 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019SPORT

US chase maiden HK Sevens victory, Tokyo 2020 berthAFP HONG KONG

A surging United States are “confident” of taking home their maiden cup at this weekend’s Hong Kong Sevens, with the unexpected series leaders eyeing a guaranteed Tokyo 2020 berth for the top finishers at the flagship tournament.

The Eagles have enjoyed a stratospheric rise in this year’s competition with victory in Las Vegas and four other finals appearances in the six rounds played so far.

“We’ve had a good year so far and we’re looking to keep it going,” captain Madison Hughes said.

“We’re confident. There’s a lot of good teams here, especially a lot of the top ones that are coming for us. We’re excited for that and we believe in ourselves and we’re going to give it every-thing we’ve got.”

Coach Mike Friday said his squad were still finding their feet after vaulting ahead of the tra-ditional rugby power houses.

“We’re working hard, keeping our heads down and trying to be the best we can,” he told reporters yesterday.

“We’ll take every oppor-tunity in every game where it comes and see where it takes us. But we’re in a decent place at the moment, we’re confident. We’ve got a few injury issues like

everybody else but the next the next man in is stepping up for us.”

A favourable draw will see the Americans take on fifth-ranked England in the round robin, while reigning Hong Kong champions Fiji first face New

Zealand, Australia and 2018 finalists Kenya in the weekend’s “group of death” pool.

Fiji coach Gareth Baber said he expected an especially fierce tournament with teams chasing a top-four finish and a ticket to Tokyo next year. “Obviously an

Olympic year is huge for eve-rybody. I’ve certainly noticed an increasing intensity,” he said, adding that the boost in funding for national rugby programmes since the debut of Sevens at the Rio Olympics had raised the stakes in the world series.

Fiji have won the Hong Kong tournament a record 18 times and took home the cup for the past four years. Forty teams are competing in this year’s event, with more than 120,000 spec-tators forecast for the three-day spectacle.

Captains of teams competing in the annual Hong Kong Rugby Sevens pose with the winner’s trophy in front of a view of the skyline in Hong Kong yesterday, during a promotional event ahead of the tournament.

Letting Larkham go was tough decision, says CheikaREUTERS SYDNEY

The decision to sack Australia attack coach Stephen Larkham (pictured) in February was a tough one but it was a choice that had to be made if the Wallabies are to have a shot at winning this year’s Rugby World Cup, head coach Michael Cheika has said.

Larkham, who won the 1999 World Cup and played more than 100 times for the national side, had been part

of Cheika’s staff since 2015. He took up a role with Rugby Australia after leaving the team.

The Wallabies endured their worst test campaign in 60 years in 2018, winning just four of 13 tests and slumping to sixth in the world rankings.

“It’s been very difficult, obviously,” Cheika said yes-terday at a Australia-Japan diplomacy event in Tokyo.

“But looking at some of the changes that I think we needed to make, on and off the field, going into this year

to get the best possible outcome come November 2019, sometimes you have got to make those hard decisions.”

With the World Cup only five months away, Cheika said he would finalise his coaching staff after the Super Rugby season has ended.

Cheika also said the Sep-tember 20 to November 2 World Cup would be a unique tournament and teams would have to get used to playing in Japan.

“It is going to be an open

World Cup for sure. I think not just because of the teams and how they have performed up until here but also because it is here,” he said.

“I think it is going to be very different, different atmos-phere at the games and we are so looking forward to it.

“We have got a bit to do before then but the players - the lucky ones - can’t wait to get on the plane.”

Australia reached the final of the 2015 World Cup in England, where they lost to New Zealand 34-17.

Prize money in women’s golf nothing to complain about: DaviesREUTERS LONDON

Prize money in women’s golf pales in comparison to the riches on offer for men, but Laura Davies thinks the $70m up for grabs on the LPGA Tour this year represents success by any reasonable measure.

Never mind that the PGA Tour will distribute about $500 million to its players in 2019. Women’s professional golf is doing just fine, according to Davies.

At 55, the Englishwoman, who has more than 30 years on the tour, remembers the days when only a couple of dozen elite LPGA players made a decent living, while the vast majority scraped by with barely enough to cover their expenses.

It is a different story now.Last year 14 players had

more than $1m in official LPGA earnings, while 101 players cracked six figures. That does not take into account off-course earnings from sponsors and commercial endorsements.

“I think we’re doing great,” Davies told Reuters ahead of next month’s US Senior Open at Pine Needles in North Carolina.

“At the US Women’s Open this year, we play for $900,000 to the winner. Alright, the guys are getting two million, but who cares?

“If you’d told me back in my day when I was a genuine chance that if you win you’re going to get $900,000, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

While Davies has 20 LPGA victories, including four majors, she has not won since 2001, but finished in a tie for second at the Founders Cup lat year and

believes that she could win again, which is why she plans to keep playing for as long as she can.Davies still hits the ball further than many peers half her age, flying it some 260-270 yards with her driver and sometimes not even using a tee when she wants to hit a fade, but acknowl-edges her short game often lets her down.

“If my short game was better I’d be really competitive,” she said. “But my chipping is not as good.

“And I don’t hole as many putts as I used to, and these young girls are phenomenal now so I’ve got my work cut out, but I’m still trying.”

It is what keeps her on the LPGA Tour, when she could be well excused for choosing instead to tend to her vegetable garden at home in Surrey and enjoying her career earnings of more than $9m.

“If I start shooting 77-plus every round then obviously I’ll be gone,” she said. “But while I can still shoot under par and feel like I’ve got a chance, if I wake up on Thursday morning and feel like I can win the event, I’ll keep going.”

It has been tough going so far this year with four missed cuts in four starts, but at the 50-and-over senior level she is in a class of her own.

Last year she won the inau-gural US Senior Women’s Open by 10 shots over Juli Inkster at Chicago Golf Club and will defend her crown at Pine Needles from May 16-19.

And, no matter what, will be back again next year.

“I want to play 20 more (Senior Opens),” she said.

“I have no plans to retire.”

Qatar down Chinese Taipei in ITF World Junior Tennis eventQNA KUALA LUMPUR

The Qatari U14 tennis team defeated Chinese Taipei 2-1 in the Asia-Oceania Final Quali-fying event for ITF World Junior Tennis Competition.

The Qatari team, which arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sunday will finish their engagements on April 7.

Qatar is represented by

Nasser Al Yafei, Rashed Nawaf and Meshari Nawaf.

The event features the par-ticipation of China, Japan, Thailand, Australia, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Qatar, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Syria, New Zealand, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka.

The four top teams will qualify to the ITF World Junior Tennis Competition to be staged in Czech Republic in August 2019.

Rachel Heck tees off on the 15th hole during the first round of the US Women’s Open golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, US in this July 13, 2017 file picture.

A Qatari player in action during the Asia-Oceania Final Qualifying event for ITF World Junior Tennis Competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Dismal Fulham condemned to EPL relegationAFP LONDON

Fulham were relegated from the Premier League as a 4-1 thrashing against Watford on Tuesday brought a fitting end to their turbulent one-season stay in the top flight.

Scott Parker’s side had to avoid defeat at Vicarage Road to stave off their inevitable demise for a few more days.

But second-bottom Fulham, 16 points from safety with five games remaining, slumped to a ninth successive loss that con-firmed their relegation to the Championship.

Abdoulaye Doucoure put Watford ahead in the 23rd minute before Ryan Babel’s equaliser 10 minutes later briefly gave Fulham hope.

Fulham’s fate was sealed in the second half when Will Hughes, Troy Deeney and Kiko Femenia all netted for Javi Gra-cia’s men in the space of 12 minutes.

On Saturday, bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield became only the second team after Derby in 2008 to be relegated from the Premier League in March with six games left.

Three days later, Fulham followed Huddersfield through the trapdoor in what ranks as the third earliest relegation in the Premier League era.

Despite a close-season investment of over £100m on new signings -- the most ever spent by a promoted Premier League club -- the Cottagers went down with a whimper.

Fulham have lost all five matches under caretaker manager Parker, but they were already destined for relegation long before he took over as the club’s third boss this term.

Slavisa Jokanovic was sacked in November as Fulham owner Shahid Khan tried to lift his team out of their wretched run. But his replacement Claudio Ranieri fared even worse and was axed in Feb-ruary after Fulham fans turned on the Italian following seven defeats in eight league games.

It was fitting that Fulham’s futile stay in the Premier League ended on the road as they have been historically bad in away fixtures.

They have lost their last seven consecutive away matches and have not won away in the league for almost a year.

09THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 SPORT

Kohli in IPL crisis as RCB suffer fourth straight lossAFP JAIPUR

India’s superstar captain Virat Kohli admitted that Royal Chal-lengers Bangalore’s IPL fate looks “really bad” after his side crashed to their fourth straight defeat.

England’s Jos Buttler made 59 and Rahul Tripathi hit the winning runs with a six from the penultimate ball as Rajasthan Royals made 164-3 to secure their first win of the season by seven wickets.

While India top the Test rankings and Kohli is the leading batsman, he has become increasingly frustrated at his side’s Indian Premier League performances.

He has never won the IPL title and Bangalore are now rock bottom in the eight-team league -- the only outfit without a win.

Kohli bemoaned Bangalore’s failure to set a more challenging target against Rajasthan as well as dropped catches in the field.

“If we make that many mis-takes then you are going to fall on the losing side,” said Kohli after the game.

“In a tournament like the IPL, when you have no momentum then these things can happen.

“The team hasn’t got off to a good start and these things look really bad but we have to keep believing that we can turn things around.”

Kohli acknowledged that the injury-hit team may need changes as he said: “We will sit down and talk to see how we can balance our team.

“Hopefully we will get fresh guys in and they can give a match-winning performance,” he said.

But Bangalore now need a radical improvement to reach the playoffs, and questions are already being asked about Kohli’s leadership and the failure

to get an IPL title in what is now the tournament’s 12th season.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir said the India batting great was “very lucky” to be retained as captain by his franchise.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan ridiculed Ban-galore’s tactics.

“They look in shambles, the strategy they had pre-tour-nament has all been ripped. They are just picking tactics out of the hat as they go along,” Vaughan told the Cricbuzz website.

Vaughan said IPL front-runners like reigning champions Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders stick to winning strategies.

Supporters have also been disappointed with Kohli, who has scored just 78 runs from four innings. He made 23 against Rajasthan.

“Please ban Virat Kohli from IPL, please. Can’t see him going to the World Cup with such

mental torture,” one Indian fan said on Twitter.

Bangalore have ended the last two editions in sixth and eighth spot despite having top players like Kohli, South African AB de Villiers and the big-hitting Chris Gayle.

The side were undone by an umpiring error last week when Mumbai Indians paceman Lasith Malinga got away with a no-ball on the last delivery of the match with Bangalore needing six to tie.

The giant screen on the ground later showed Malinga overstepping the line and a fuming Kohli lashed out at the “ridiculous call” that cost his team a chance of victory.

But on Sunday they went down by 118 runs to Sunrisers Hyderabad in what Kohli called one of Bangalore’s “worst losses ever”.

“We were outplayed in all departments by a quality side,” the Indian captain said after watching Jonny Bairstow hit 114 off 56 balls to guide Hyderabad

to a stunning win. Despite having Kohli and talismanic South African AB de Villiers in their ranks, Bangalore’s batting has failed twice in four matches.

They were all out for 70 in the IPL opener against Chennai and bundled out for 113 on Sunday against the Sunrisers, losing by a huge margin of 118 runs. They fared better against Rajasthan, scoring 158-4, but it still proved inadequate.

“This tournament is not that long,” Kohli said. “You have to be on the eight ball. You have to think on your feet. You have to think of the best possible com-bination going forward.”

Kohli, who also skippers India in all three formats, has his work cut out for him if he is to lead Bangalore to a first IPL title after losing their first four games.

“We have 10 games to go. If we start turning things around pretty soon, then we can get on a roll as well.

“We have to keep believing as a side,” he said.

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli gestures during

the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match

against Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in this on March 28, 2019, file photo.

RCB have lost four games under captain Kohli in this year’s IPL.

Punter taps Carey as stand-in skipper at World CupREUTERS MELBOURNE

Australia assistant coach Ricky Ponting has backed Alex Carey to be the team’s wicketkeeper at the World Cup and believes the former Australian Rules footballer could also step up to lead the defending champions if required.

Carey was named a co-vice captain of the limited-overs sides captained by Aaron Finch during the home summer, and has impressed with his glovework during recent series against Pakistan and India.

Selector Trevor Hohns has named

Test skipper Tim Paine and the experi-enced Matthew Wade as wicketkeeping options for the 50-over World Cup starting in May but Ponting feels Carey offers the “best package”.

“He’s dangerous at the top of the order or late in the innings because he does score 360 degrees, he’s a decep-tively hard hitter of the ball and for mine, he’s just the right character, he’s the right person that you want to have in your team,” Ponting, an assistant to head coach Justin Langer for the World Cup, told Cricket Australia’s website (cricket.com.au)

“I actually think he’s got really good

strong leadership qualities as well. If anything happened to Finch through the World Cup or leading into the World Cup, then I think he’s really well-equipped to lead the side, even though he’s still relatively inexperienced and never captained Australia before.”

Carey, who captained Australian Football League expansion side Greater Western Sydney before they joined the top flight in 2012, only made his inter-national debut 14 months ago in a one-day match against England.

But the 27-year-old has played another 18 ODIs since and won acclaim for his calm demeanour behind the

stumps and at the crease. Carey has set his sights no higher than ensuring his spot in the 15-man World Cup squad, expected to be announced next week.

“I’d like to be at the World Cup first,” the South Australian said.

“We’ve got lots of leaders around this group.

“Usman Khawaja is playing some really good cricket and he’s taken his game and his leadership to the next level.

“(Fellow vice-captain) Pat Cummins is another one who has lots of respect around the group. We’ve got lots of guys.

“Hopefully Finchy is fine and stays

on the park and we don’t have to worry about that one.

“There might be some big names that might come back to the line-up; the [ones] in the side now are performing really well,” he said.

“So, it’s totally healthy for Australian cricket that the guys that are in the side are playing well. The guys that have done well in the past will definitely put their hands up for selection when they’re available.

“As a player in the Australian cricket side, we’ve been working hard in the past 12-18 months and there are some successes starting to come our away.”

Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey watches from behind the stumps as Pakistani batsman Muhammad Rizwan plays a shot during the fourth one day international (ODI) between Pakistan and Australia at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai in this March 29, 2019, file photo.

New Zealand name untested Blundell in World Cup squadAFP WELLINGTON

New Zealand opted for experience

in a 15-man squad named yesterday

for this year’s cricket World Cup, with

rookie Tom Blundell’s inclusion as

back-up wicketkeeper the only real

surprise.

The Black Caps hope to shed

their tag as valiant losers and claim

the title after exiting in the semi-

finals six times and suffering a heavy

defeat to Australia in their only

appearance in the final four years

ago.

New Zealand are currently third

in the one-day rankings, behind

England and India.

Coach Gary Stead said the Kane

Williamson-led side had repeatedly

excelled at the top level and he was

confident the consistency would

shine through at the tournament in

England and Wales.

“We’ve got a squad here of 15

players that we think can give us a

really, really good chance of going

far into the tournament,” he said.

“If we play close to our potential,

then hopefully we can do New

Zealand proud.”

Wellington keeper Blundell was

selected after Tim Siefert, the regular

back-up to first-choice gloveman

Tom Latham, broke his finger in a

domestic match last month.

While Blundell, who has two

Test caps, will likely make his

one-day international debut at the

tournament, his role will be marginal

if Latham stays fit.

Mitchell Santner will be the New

Zealanders’ primary spinner, with

Ish Sodhi edging Todd Astle to

claim the second slow bowling

position.

The pace attack com-

prises Tim Southee, Trent

Boult, Lockie Ferguson and

Matt Henry, while Jimmy

Neesham and Colin de Grand-

homme add all-round options.

Henry Nicholls is set to

open the batting with

veteran Martin Guptill after

displacing Colin Munro at the top of

the order, although Munro will make

the trip as batting cover. Williamson

and Ross Taylor, in his fourth World

Cup campaign, complete a battle-

hardened batting line up. Wil-

liamson, Taylor and Guptill have col-

lectively amassed 526 ODI appear-

ances between them.

Guptill and Taylor have not con-

firmed their post-tournament plans

but will most likely be looking to exit

cricket’s biggest stage on a high.

The Black Caps will open their

campaign against

Sri Lanka in

Cardiff on

June 1.

‘Settled England favourites to win’REUTERS LONDON

Former captain Alastair Cook believes England have an “outstanding chance” to lift the World Cup on home soil, having built a squad full of proven match winners.

Eoin Morgan’s top-ranked side enter the tournament as the one of the most consistent teams in the format and their quest for a first 50-overs title begins against South Africa at The Oval on May 30.

“England have an outstanding chance,” Cook, who retired last year from international cricket, told Sky Sports. “This is first time going into a World Cup England have such a settled squad. Every-thing looks great from the outside, they have every option covered.”

Since the start of last year, England have come out on top in bilateral ODI series against World Cup holders Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and India.

“They had that blip in the (2017) Champions Trophy, where they lost in the semi-final to Pakistan when they were favourites, but you need those lows to be able to grow as a side,” he added.

“They are favourites. This is a great opportunity for Eoin (Morgan) and the guys to play some fantastic cricket. There are match winners throughout the squad, there are batsmen that can win games on their own, and over the last six or eight months the bowling has really come on. I think they are going to win it.”

NEW ZEALAND SQUAD

Kane Williamson (capt), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de

Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom

Latham, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee,

Ross Taylor

t a squad here of 15

e think can give us a

ood chance of going

rnament,” he said.

close to our potential,

y we can do New

”

keeper Blundell was

m Siefert, the regular

st-choice gloveman

broke his finger in a

h last month.

ndell, who has two

ill likely make his

ational debut at the

s role will be marginal

fit.

ntner will be the New

mary spinner, with

ng Todd Astle to

nd slow bowling

attack com-

uthee, Trent

erguson and

while Jimmy

olin de Grand-

round options.

holls is set to

tting with

Guptill after

The Black Caps will open their

campaign against

Sri Lanka in

Cardiff on

June 1.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson

AFP PARIS

Football legend Pele told Kylian Mbappe on Tuesday that he believes the French World Cup winner can emulate his own achievement of scoring 1,000 career goals.

The 78-year-old Brazilian claims to have netted over 1,000 goals in his career, while Mbappe has so far managed 103 in total, with 92 of those coming at the top level.

“It’s possible, I scored exactly 1,025, so 1,000 goals is possible for him,” Pele said.

Mbappe, who last year became only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final after Pele in France’s 4-2 victory over Croatia, played down Pele’s comments.

“I think that even if we count the goals on inter-city pitches and goals on the PlayStation, I won’t be able to

reach the 1,000-goal mark,” said the 20-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward.

“We will try to get as close as we can, but I think I’ll be a long way off it at the end of my career.”

Mbappe has scored 32 goals in all competitions for PSG this season, including 27 from only 24 Ligue 1 appearances.

Pele was only 21 when he won his second World Cup in 1962, adding a third eight years later.

“There’s only one ‘King’ and he’s there,” said Mbappe. “I’m just Kylian, I’m trying to do my best to help my team and my national side.

“The comparisons are flattering but I know very well that I will never do what he did.”

It was not the first time that Mbappe has had to temper compar-isons with Pele, after a rush to crown him a future footballing great during

the World Cup in Russia, where he scored four goals in total.

But the former Monaco striker insists that he is not focused on becoming the best player of modern times.

“When Pele was playing, he didn’t think he wanted to be the best player

in history, he wanted to have fun, help his country and his club, which he did,” he said.

“What I want is to help PSG, the France team and afterwards it will be other people who tell you that you are the best. Everyone says that he is the best, but if you are (the best), there’s no need to say it. It’s not a goal for me.”

Pele spent the majority of his career at Santos in his home country, bar a spell in the United States with the New York Cosmos shortly before his retirement.

He told Mbappe that the key to smashing goalscoring records is playing in the very best teams.

“People tend to say that goals are the most important thing -- I thank God for having scored so many in my career -- but we must know that we need to be well-supported, you can’t score on your own, you need good team-mates, that’s very important.”

‘You can reach 1,000 goals’, Pele tells Mbappe

10 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019SPORT

When Pele was playing, he didn’t think he wanted to be the best player in history, he wanted to have fun, help his country and his club, which he did. What I want is to help PSG, the France team and afterwards it will be other people who tell you that you are the best: Mbappe

Messi, Suarez late show saves BarcaREUTERS VILA-REAL, SPAIN

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi came off the bench in his side’s hour of need to inspire the Liga leaders to battle back from 4-2 down in stoppage time to snatch a remarkable 4-4 draw at struggling Villarreal on Tuesday.

The Catalans avoided a first league loss since November with a thumping left-foot strike from Luis Suarez deep into added time after captain and top scorer Messi gave them hope with a deadly free kick in the 90th minute.

The draw saw Barca’s lead over Atletico Madrid, who earlier won 2-0 at home to Girona, trimmed to eight points ahead of Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash at the Nou Camp. Barcelona have 70 points to Atletico’s 62 with eight games left.

Even without Messi, Gerard Pique and Ivan Rakitic in their starting lineup, the visitors still strolled into the lead through a Philippe Coutinho goal in the 12th minute, which Brazilian forward Malcom soon doubled with a header.

But Villarreal, who began the game one point above the rele-gation zone, hauled themselves into contention with a strike from 19-year-old Samuel Chukwueze midway through the first half.

Cameroon striker Karl Toko Ekambi took advantage of slack positioning from Barca goal-keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to equalise soon after the interval and Vicente Iborra completed the home side’s remarkable revival just after the hour mark.

Barca’s Argentine talisman Messi was called from the bench to rescue the champions but instead Villarreal increased their lead with a strike from their sub-stitute Carlos Bacca.

Villarreal’s Alvaro Gonzalez was then dismissed for a second booking with four minutes remaining, paving the way for South Americans Messi and Suarez to strike for Barcelona and produce a remarkable finish to an enthralling contest.

Barca seized an early advantage when Brazilian Malcom tore down the right wing and rolled the ball across the goal for Coutinho to tap into an empty net.

Malcom then scored his first goal in La Liga by heading home a cross from Arturo Vidal, while Coutinho should have made it 3-0 but his attempted chip bounced off the far post.

Villarreal got back into the game with the help of veteran midfielder Santi Cazorla, who picked out Chukwueze with an incisive pass, and although the Nigerian shot against the post, he calmly tucked the rebound into the net.

The hosts were galvanised and produced a bold and exciting display of counter-attacking football that made it easy to forget they have been struggling at the foot of the table for most of the season.

But, spurred on by Messi, Barca roared back to life, showing why they enjoy such a generous lead at the top of the league.

Villa heaps praise on former Barca team-mate Messi REUTERS KOBE

Lionel Messi is the best player ever and Barcelona

owe their success to their evolution to a more

direct style from a possession-based passing

game, the club’s former player David Villa has

said.

Barcelona currently have an eight-point lead

in La Liga over Atletico Madrid ahead of Satur-

day’s showdown between the sides and also face

Manchester United in the Champions League

quarter-final this month.

Messi has been central to Barcelona’s success,

scoring 42 goals across all competitions and

proving the side’s talisman time and again.

He will turn 32 in June but Villa, who played

alongside the Argentine forward at Barcelona

for three years, does not see him slowing down.

“It is difficult to be surprised with Leo,” Villa,

who now plays for Vissel Kobe in Japan, said in

an interview.

“He is the best. He has always shown eve-

rybody in the world that he is the best... Every

game that you can watch him is a pleasure.”

For those who have seen Messi during his

15-year career at Barcelona, there was no

doubting his place in the pan-

theon of footballing greats,

Villa said.

“Obviously (there were)

Pele, Maradona, players like

(Johan) Cruyff. I didn’t

have the opportunity to

watch them like I watched

Messi every day, every

game... But, for me, Messi is

the best,” said Villa.

“He is good in

e v e r y t h i n g

that he

does,” Villa

said.

Stubborn Wolverhampton halt United’s top-four bidAFP WOLVERHAMPTON, UNITED

KINGDOM

Ashley Young’s needless dismissal and Chris Smalling’s farcical own goal sent Manchester United crashing to a damaging 2-1 defeat against Wolves on Tuesday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side blew a chance to move into third place in the Premier League as they squandered the lead in a disappointing display at Molineux.

It was a frustrating night for Solskjaer, who saw United suffer a third defeat in their last four games -- underlining how much work the Norwegian still has in front of him following his appointment as permanent manager last week.

Scott McTominay’s first goal for United was negated by Diogo Jota before the interval, but the game’s turning point proved to be a second yellow card collected by Young with just 57 minutes gone.

United finally caved to Wolves’ pressure 20 minutes later, when Raul Jimenez rose above Phil Jones and headed a Joao Moutinho cross goalwards.

The awkward attempt saw Smalling and goalkeeper David de Gea become entangled, with the former making the final touch as the ball rolled over the line.

McTominay’s memorable first ever goal in professional football had come after just 13 minutes and a solid, controlled start by Solskjaer’s team.

A patient left-wing build-up ended with Jesse Lingard playing the ball centrally to Fred, with the Brazilian quickly moving it sideways to Scotland interna-tional McTominay.

The 22-year-old unleashed a brilliant, right-foot finish from 25 yards that beat the diving Rui Patricio and nestled in the far left-hand corner.

The goal lead was just reward for a strong start by United, with Lingard surging

forward directly from kick-off and unleashing the game’s first shot with just five seconds gone.

There was also a promising attack which saw Fred spray the ball wide to Diogo Dalot whose hanging cross found Lukaku,

only for the Belgian to guide his header directly at the keeper from six yards.

However, United succumbed to the first period of pressure placed upon them by the home side, who had already beaten

them in the FA Cup just weeks ago.

First, an unfortunate rebound off Dalot allowed Willy Boly to play through Jimenez who hurried a 24th-minute shot.

Just seconds later, United

were not so lucky after a poor clearance from De Gea, and even worse control by Fred, saw him lose the ball to Moutinho with Jimenez pouncing on it and playing in Jota.

The Portuguese forward did not need a second invitation to advance and calmly beat De Gea for the equaliser.

United looked shaken and an error by Luke Shaw, in mis-directing a header, soon played in Matt Doherty, who pulled the ball back for Leo Den-doncker to blaze over from the corner of the six-yard area.

United threatened after the restart, with a Lukaku cross flicked on by Paul Pogba for McTominay, who stooped low and saw his diving header well saved by the outstretched hand of Patricio.

But United’s task was hardly made easier when Young col-lected two yellow cards in the space of five minutes for fouls on Jota, the second after a par-ticularly unpleasant high challenge.

his place in the pan-

footballing greats,

ously (there were)

adona, players like

Cruyff. I didn’t

opportunity to

em like I watched

very day, every

But, for me, Messi is

” said Villa.

is good in

h i n g

he

a

David Villa

Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi shoots to score during the Spanish League football match against Villarreal CF at La Ceramica Stadium in Vila-real, on Tuesday.

Manchester United’s Chris Smalling scores an own goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers during their Premier League match played at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, Britain, on Tuesday.

Pele undergoes treatment in Paris hospitalAFP PARIS

Football legend Pele was taken to a Paris hospital as a precaution yesterday after suffering from an “infection” but is “doing well”, according to members of his entourage.

The 78-year-old Brazilian three-time World Cup winner was being treated for “a light fever” prior to the long flight back to his home country, the sources told AFP, confirming earlier reports by French radio station RMC.

The sources indicated that he was still in hospital last afternoon.

Pele, who won the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970, was in Paris for a promotional appearance for Hublot watches alongside France star Kylian Mbappe.

The declining health of the player known as ‘O Rei’ has been a cause for concern in recent times, and the planned meeting with Mbappe had already been postponed last November.

Previously, Pele had admitted to not being up to the task of lighting the flame at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Before that, Pele spent time in intensive care in Brazil in late 2014 fol-lowing a kidney complaint.

On Tuesday, he spent the entirety of his encounter with Mbappe sitting down, but appeared on good form.

Mbappe last year became only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final, following in Pele’s footsteps, in France’s 4-2 victory over Croatia when he was still just 19.

Pele achieved the feat as a 17-year-old in 1958 and claims to have gone on to score over 1,000 goals in his career, during which he starred at club level for Santos and the New York Cosmos.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and French national team forward Kylian Mbappe (right) and Brazilian football

legend Pele during a meeting in Paris, on Tuesday.

It gives us great pleasure

to announce that some

of the leading names in

the track and field world

will be seen in action on

May 3, 2019. Qatar feels

proud to host the names

that matter in the track

and field world: Qatar

Athletics Federation

President and

Secretary-General

of the Qatar Olympic

Committee,

Dr. Thani Al Kuwari

11THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 SPORT

Diamond League: Global starsget ready for Doha challenge

THE PENINSULA DOHA

Exactly one month remains before Doha once again welcomes the world’s best athletes - including IAAF Female Athlete of the Year Caterine Ibarguen from Colombia - for the first stage of the 2019 IAAF Diamond League which takes place at the state-of-the-art Khalifa International Stadium on May 3.

Ibarguen is one of six reigning world outdoor and Olympic champions to be con-firmed across the first three events - long jump, pole vault and 100m hurdles - with more top names to be unveiled in the weeks leading up to the one-day spec-tacle which will be held under the lights next month.

Doha’s iconic stadium will launch the outdoor season in earnest and will also draw the curtain this year when the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 will be hosted at the same venue from September 28 to October 6, the first time the IAAF World Championships will be staged in the Middle East.

The Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) President and Secretary-General of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Dr. Thani Al Kuwari said: “It gives us great pleasure to announce that some of the leading names in the track and field world will be seen in action on May 3, 2019. Qatar feels proud to host the names that matter in the track and field world.”

The QAF President said: “We welcome all sports fans to come to Doha enjoy the best of athletics in what will be a memo-rable year for us. Qatar is the sports hub of the region and we can’t wait for the action to begin at our special sports venue - the Khalifa International Stadium.”

One of the standout clashes of the meeting will be the long jump which fea-tures two reigning Olympic champions: Caterine Ibarguen and Tianna Bartoletta

from the United States. Ibarguen is the reigning Olympic champion in the triple jump but the Colombian had the beating of the long jump specialists at both the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels last year and the IAAF Continental Cup in Ostrava. Ibarguen will be looking to begin the new season in the form she concluded her 2018 campaign.

“I am thrilled to launch my season in Qatar,” said Ibarguen. “It is a country where athletics is popular and I am con-fident I can perform to the best of my abil-ities at the start of the season.”

Not since May 2012 has Ibarguen faced Bartoletta when the Colombian came out victorious for the third time in their three competitions but since then, the American has won three Olympic titles - two in the 4x100m relay and one in the long jump - as well as the IAAF World Championships in Beijing in 2015.

The line-up also features Great Brit-ain’s Shara Proctor, who won silver behind Bartoletta at the 2015 World Champion-ships, and Australia’s Brooke Stratton who leads the 2019 world list with 6.74m.

The pole vault also features two

reigning global outdoor champions: world champion Sam Kendricks from the United States and Olympic champion Thiago Braz from Brazil who returned to form during the indoor season with a 5.80m clearance.

Kendricks also competed extensively through the indoor season and fin-ished top of the world indoor list with 5.93m alongside Poland’s world silver med-

a l l i s t Piotr Lisek

who will launch his outdoor season in

Doha. In the first track event to be

announced, reigning Olympic 100m hurdles champion and 2018 Diamond League champion Brianna McNeal from the United States will be looking to improve on her runner-up finish from twelve months ago when she finished second to

world record-holder Kendra Harrison - 12.53 to 12.58.

Harrison is absent this year but McNeal, who is the fourth fastest sprint hurdler of all-time with 12.26, will face a typically competitive line-up including Aus-tralia’s reigning world champion Sally Pearson and Jamaica’s Danielle Williams, who preceded Pearson as the world champion in Beijing in 2015.

The field also features European champion Elvira Herman from Belarus,

African champion Tobi Amusan from Nigeria

and Sharika Nelvis who won the US

indoor 60m hurdles title in a world-

leading 7.85.

Olympic Pole Vault champion Thiago Braz

Six reigning world outdoor

and Olympic champions,

including IAAF Female

Athlete of the Year Caterine

Ibarguen from Colombia,

have already confirmed

their participation for the

first stage of the 2019 IAAF

Diamond League which

takes place at the

Khalifa International

Stadium on May 3.

Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Duhail

At Al Ahli Stadium - 6.10pm

Al Khor vs Al Gharafa

At Al Khor Stadium - 6.10pm

Al Sadd vs Al Ahli

At Al Sadd Stadium - 6.10pm

Qatar SC vs Al Arabi

At Qatar SC Stadium - 6.10pm

Al Rayyan vs Al Sailiya

At Al Ahli Stadium - 8.20pm

Umm Salal vs Al Shahania

At Qatar SC Stadium - 8.20pm

QATAR STARS LEAGUE TODAY’S FIXTURES

Qatar Stars League (QSL) CEO, Hani Taleb Ballan (centre) and QSL officials pose for a photograph with Iranian Football Federation General-Secretary Dr. Ebrahim Shakouri and Competition Department Director Mr. Amir Hosein Fattahi during a meeting held at the Al Bidda Tower, yesterday. The meeting was also attended by Ahmed Khellil Abbassi, Executive Director of Competition and Football Development (Acting), at the QSL.

QSL CEO meets Iranian Football Federation delegationAl Ahli determined to spoil Al Sadd’s title celebrationsCHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

Al Ahli coach Ruben de la Barrera considers their QNB Stars League (QSL) Round 21 clash against title-hunters Al Sadd a great new chal-lenge and hopes his team will bring their A-game to the pitch.

Table-toppers Al Sadd are looking forward to seal the falcon shield by winning full points against Al Ahli in today’s fixture.

Al Sadd missed out on their title when they were held to a 2-2 draw by hosts Al Duhail last week.

The Wolves have accumu-lated 51 points with 16 wins this season and a victory today will see coach Jesualdo Ferreira’s men win the title for a record-extending 14th time as Xavi Her-nandez-led team will be crowned champions in front of their home crowd.

“The match against Al Sadd is a great new challenge for me and my team. They are the team closest to the title. It will be a strong game and we will bring out our best,” coach Ruben said during a pre-match press con-ference yesterday.

“We will not focus on Al Sadd. Instead, we will focus on our team and our preparations for a strong match. We will not be easy opponents. We will do our best,” he said.

“Our players’ morale is high following our victory over Al Arabi in the last round. We have to take advantage of it. Even though Al Sadd will be looking only to win, we have our chances and we will try to put up a cred-itable performance.

Al Sadd drew three matches and lost only one. Incidentally, their only defeat was against Al Ahli (1-4) in the first leg. So they will be wary of The Brigadiers.

“I certainly hope to repeat the surprise when we beat Al

Sadd in the first leg,” said Barrera.

Al Ahli have much at stake in the match as they are level on 33 points with fourth-placed Al Rayyan. They have won 10 matches so far, and three draws and seven defeats against their name. Their goal difference is -2 (29 goals for and 31 against).

Al Ahli are tied with fourth-placed Al Rayyan at 33 points, so they will be keen to collect points in their bid to finish in the top-four bracket.

Meanwhile, Al Rayyan Under-23 coach Gilson Souza spoke to the media ahead of their week 21 match against Al Sailiya.

“We want to compensate for our loss to Al Gharafa and our subsequent slip to the third place. We lost to Al Gharafa even though we were not so bad. There are certain things that contribute to winning and losing. If it’s not your day on the pitch…

“Al Sailiya are a good team and Al Rayyan are also improving after every game. We will try to win back the third position.

“Our team focuses on both

defending and attacking. When we go on the offensive to get victory, we expose ourselves in the defence and the rivals score.

“The competition is intense among the top-four teams. We are directly vying with Al Sailiya and the outcome will be important,” said Souza.

Al Ahli coach Ruben de la Barrera during a press conference.

We will not focus on Al

Sadd. Instead, we will

focus on our team and

our preparations for a

strong match. We will

not be easy opponents.

We will do our best.

I certainly hope to

repeat the surprise

when we beat Al Sadd

in the first leg: Barrera

Qatar SC keen to avoid dangerTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar SC coach Sergio Batista yesterday said that his team is aiming for full points against Al Arabi in today’s QNB Stars League clash to get themselves away from the relegation threat.

Qatar SC, positioned 11th with 16 points, are in a must-win situation to ward off danger, so they will throw everything into the game.

“My team will play to collect the three points in order to stay away from the danger zone. We know that we are going through a difficult situation, but we are going to play the game to win and nothing else. I have asked the players to play with great concentration and there will be some caution, so we can achieve the result we are looking for,” coach Batista said during a press conference yesterday.

“The difficulty is that the

opponents will play without any pressure as they are safe from the danger zone. Al Arabi have some very good attackers.

“Our players will do their best to win. We worked partic-ularly during training how not to waste opportunities that we get,” said Batista.

Qatar SC, who lost 0-1 to Umm Salal in Week 20, have four wins, as many draws and 12 defeats against their name. The Kings have a goal difference

of -20 (16 goals for and 36 against).

Al Arabi, who lost 1-2 to Al Ahli in the last round, are placed sixth with 27 points (nine wins and 11 defeats). The Dream Team have a goal difference of -12 (25 goals for and 37 against).

Batista’s counterpart, Heimir Hallgrimsson highlighted that his players did not have enough time to recover after their last match, but will face Qatar SC with great confidence.

“There has not been much time for the players to recover after our last game and we did not do much on the tactical front. But we will play the game against Qatar SC with great con-fidence,” Al Arabi coach said.

“We have given many young players opportunity to play. It is difficult for us to end up the tour-nament with a top-four spot. We are sticking to our project of pre-paring a team for the future.

Qatar SC had beaten Al Arabi 1-0 in the first leg.

Qatar SC coach Sergio Batista

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Australia’s reigning world champion Sally Pearson competes in the women’s 100 metres hurdles final 2017 IAAF World Championships in this file photo.

Jumping at Khalifa

international stadium

is a great honour.

It’s exciting to

compete in the

venue hosting

the World

Championships

this year. I know the world

class field of jumpers will

make it a sight not to miss

for the fans in Doha:

Pole vault world champion

Sam Kendricks

CHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

The World Champion in high jump, Mutaz Essa Barshim will spearhead the home contin-gent’s campaign at the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships which kicks off at Doha’s iconic Khalifa International Stadium on April 21.

Barshim, the IAAF Athlete-of-the-Year in 2017, is one of the most outstanding athletes Qatar has ever produced. He will join a team of 29 in the four-day extravaganza, which will bring together nearly 1,000 athletes and up to 450 officials from 45 Asian countries.

Despite not competing since July due to an injury, the gravity defying star who holds the Asian Record mark of 2.43m, is expected to start with a bang in front of the home crowd.

Before his season was cut short, the Rio Olympics silver medallist, Barshim showed the world that he is the one to beat, clearing a world-leading 2.40-metre mark twice.

Barshim also had four of the five highest jumps recorded in 2018.

Among Barshim’s Qatari team-mates will be Abder-rahman Samba, the most suc-cessful track and field athlete last year, being undefeated in nine races.

Ranked second best behind the 2018 Men’s Athlete-of the-Year Eliud Kipchoge, by Track & Field News magazine, Samba will be looking to continue his dom-inance in his pet event, the men’s 400 metres hurdles.

The 23-year-old became the second man ever to break 47 second barrier last year, and is the clear favourite to win the gold in Doha in another few weeks.

Samba’s 46.98 in Paris last year, leaves him just 0.20 shy of

the all-time best, held by Kevin Young of the USA.

The 400 metre-specialist Abdalelah Haroun is also

expected to impress. The Asian champion and

continental record holder, Haroun

has a personal best of 44.07 s e c o n d s , which makes him a definite

medal prospect for the hosts.

According to the Qatari con-

tingent, revealed by the Qatar Athletics

Federation yesterday, the world 400m bronze medallist will

be joined by Samba, M o h a m m e d

Hamida, Abu Bakr Haider,

Jamal Hairane, and Mohamed Nasir Abbas in the one-lap contest.

Samba, Haroun, Hamida, Haider, Hirane and Abbas will also make the 400m relay team.

Another Qatari star to keep an eye on, is Femi Ogunode, the current co-holder of the Asian 100m record.

At 9.91 seconds, Femi shares the fastest time with China’s Su Bingtian and the duel between the two sprinters will be the one to watch at the Khalifa Interna-tional Stadium track this time.

The four-time Asian Games gold medallist, Femi has won four golds, a silver and a bronze at the Asian Championships, with his last two medals coming from the 2017 edition held in Bhu-baneswar, India, two years ago.

Femi’s brother, Tosin, is also among the top starts who will be in action in Doha.

Tosin clinched the silver medal in the 100m dash behind Bingtian at last year’s Asian Games in Indonesia, clocking a time of 10 secs. He will compete in the 100m, 200m and the 100x 4m with eye on a triple in front of his home fans.

In hammer throw, Qatar will be represented by the Asian Champion Ashraf Elseify and his brother Ahmed Amjad as well as Khalil Adel Badawi.

Moaz Mohammed Ibrahim (Discus throw), Ahmed Saeed Faraj (discus throw), Mohammed Al Amin Hamdi (high jump), Rashed Abdulla Al Suwaidi (High jump), Noah Abdulqader (high jump), Jacob Saeed Al Hassani ( 4 x 1 0 0 m ) , A b d u l a z i z Mohammed Salem (4x100m), Mohamed Zakareya (4x100m), Saeed Osman Absi (4x100m), Mubarak Rabi Mahmoud (800m), Musab Adam Mahmoud (1500m), Hamza Droush (3000m, 5000m), Yasser Salem (3000m, 5000m), Mohiuddin Elmi, Jaber Hilal Al Mammari (100m, 200m, 4x100m) and Obab Barrow (100m, 110m hurdles, 4x100m) are also included in the Qatari con-tingent for the four-day conti-nental showpiece.

SPORTThursday 4 April 2019

PAGE | 07 PAGE | 09

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Before his season was cut short, the Rio Olympics silver medallist, Barshim showed the world that he is the one to beat, clearing a world-leading 2.40-metre mark twice.

be looking to continue hiinance in his pet event, the400 metres hurdles.

The 23-year-old becasecond man ever to brsecond barrier last yearthe clear favourite to win tin Doha in another few w

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Barshim to spearhead Team Qatar at AAC

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Record holders Barshim,

Samba and Haroun set

to dazzle home crowd at

the 23rd Asian Athletics

Championships which

kicks off at Doha’s iconic

Khalifa International

Stadium on April 21.

IANS MUMBAI

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings tasted their first defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 as they lost to Mumbai Indians by 33 runs yesterday.

Chasing a target of 171, none of the Chennai batsmen were able to show resistance except Kedhar Jadhav, who played a fighting 58-run knock.

For Mumbai, Lasith Malinga and Hardik Pandya rattled the Chennai batting line-up, scalping three wickets each.

Chasing the target, Chennai started on a poor note, losing openers Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson cheaply. While Lasith Malinga accounted for Watson (5), Jason Behrendorff sent back Rayudu on a duck.

Chennai's most dependable batsman Suresh Raina also couldn't do much in the middle after managing just 16.

Jadhav (58) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (12) then anchored Chennai's inning with a 54-run partnership. However, the skipper couldn't stay for much time in the middle as he fell to Hardik Pandya while trying to accel-erate the run-rate. Jadhav tried to keep one end in control but Malinga ended his laborious effort before Chennai lost Ravindra Jadeja (1) and Dwayne Bravo (8) in quick suc-cession as the scorecard read 115/7 in the 18th over.

With 56 needed of the last two overs, Chennai's lower middle order couldn't help their side cross the line as Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur could only contribute with 7 and 12 runs respectively.

Earlier, despite a slow start, it was Hardik and Keiron Pollard's quick-fire play, which propelled Mumbai Indians to 170/5.

Brief scoreMumbai Indians: 170/5 (Suryakumar Yadav 59, Krunal

Pandya 42; Ravindra Jadeja 1/10) beat Chennai Super Kings: 133/8 (Kedhar Jadhav 58, Suresh Raina 16; Hardik Pandya 3/20) by 33 runs

Chennai taste first defeat

The IAAF Athlete-of-the-Year in 2017, World Champion in high jump, Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim

Qatar’s 400 metre-specialist Abdalelah Haroun

Nearly 1,000 athletes representing 45

countries will compete for top honours during

the four-day Championships in the Qatari capital.

Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba, the most successful track and field athlete last year, being undefeated in nine races.