FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2020 www.thepeninsula.qa26 RABIA II - 1442 VOLUME 25 NUMBER 8468

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2 RIYALS

Sport | 16

Minister Al Kuwari discusses

relations with Lord Mayor of the

City of London

Ulsan to take on Vissel Kobe for place in Asian Champions League final

Business | 13

Amir meets French Foreign Minister

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met yesterday at his office at the Amiri Diwan with Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic H E Jean-Yves Le Drian and his accompanying delegation. The meeting dealt with reviewing bilateral cooperation and the means to enhance them, in addition to reviewing the most prominent regional and international issues.

Amir approves 2021 budget with QR194.7bn outlay QNA — DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued yesterday law no. 22 of 2020 approving the state’s general budget for the fiscal year 2021. The law is effective as of January 1, 2021 and shall be published in the official gazette.

Minister of Finance, H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi announced yesterday that total revenue estimates for the 2021 state budget were QR160.1bn.

The Minister of Finance said in a statement to the press that the budget estimated average oil prices of $40 a barrel, reflecting the state’s policy of conservatism in estimating

revenues and avoiding the impact of oil price volatility on the budget.

The Minister added that total expenditures in the budget were QR194.7bn, leading to a projected deficit of QR34.6bn.

The Ministry of Finance will look to cover the deficit using the available cash reserves, or by relying on local and foreign debt instruments if needed.

The Minister of Finance said that QR72.1bn were allocated to spending on major projects.

These included new projects, as well as continuing work on developmental projects in different sectors and those related to hosting the

World Cup 2022. That is in addition to what

is allocated to develop citizens’ land and the expenditures related to implementing the infrastructure projects.

He added that the state con-tinues to focus on education and health, with spending on education projected to be QR17.4bn that will be used partly to expand and develop schools and other educational institutions.

There were also QR16.5bn allocated to the health sector, which will guarantee the com-pletion of important projects in the field of developing healthcare and expanding medical facilities.

Qatar Airways scoops 2021 APEX Five Star Global Official Airline RatingTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Airways announced yesterday that it has received the 2021 Airline Passenger Experience Association’s (APEX) Five Star Global Official Airline Rating. The APEX Award Ceremony was held during the FTE APEX Virtual Expo on December 9.

Over the past year, APEX certified nearly one million flights rated by passengers across more than 600 airlines from around the world.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded the 2021 Five Star Global Official Airline Rating, and we extend our sincere thanks to our many loyal passengers who have voted for us. To have been rec-ognised as a five star global airline yet again is a tre-mendous achievement for Qatar Airways, and is proof of the great heights to which we have soared during the past year. Such accomplishments push us to continue innovating and redefining the passenger experience.”

The APEX Official Airline Rating were created based on neutral, third-party passenger feedback and insights gathered through APEX’s partnership with TripIt from Concur, the

world’s highest-rated travel-organising app. Using a five-star scale, nearly one million flights were rated by pas-sengers across more than 600 airlines from around the world. The APEX Official Airline Ratings were independently certified by a professional external auditing company.

Qatar Airways’ onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew include the provision of Personal Pro-tective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew and a compli-mentary protective kit and dis-posable face shields for passengers.

Business Class passengers on aircraft equipped with Qsuite can enjoy the enhanced privacy this award-winning business seat provides, including sliding privacy par-titions and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indi-cator. �P2

Washington talk highlights investment opportunities in Qatar's tech industryQNA — WASHINGTON

Qatar’s embassy in the US hosted a panel discussion entitled 'Smarter Cities & Thriving Communities in the Digital Age'. The event was held in cooper-ation with the Silicon Valley Forum and the US-Qatar

Business Council. Representa-tives from the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC), Qatar Financial Center, Qatar Development Bank, Msheireb Properties, in addition to other companies from different industries participated in the event. Assistant Undersecretary

of Digital Society Development at MoTC, H E Reem Al Mansoori, said Qatar Smart Program worked on transforming Qatar into one of the smartest states technologically, as part of the efforts to realise Qatar National Vision 2030 of building a knowledge-based economy. �P2

2021 BUDGET

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued yesterday Law No. 22 of 2020 approving the state’s general budget for the fiscal year 2021.

‘Qatar a historic partner France wants close dialogue with’QNA — DOHA

The State of Qatar and the French Republic have affirmed the strength and durability of bilateral relations and the historic partnership between the two countries, and expressed their aspiration for their development to broader horizons.

During a press conference held yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, H E Jean-Yves Le Drian, Qatar and France stressed the need to resolve disputes through diplomacy and combat every-thing that threatens peace and stability in the region and the world, rejecting extremism, combating terrorism, and standing up to all forms of racist and exclusionary discourse in the world.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the Qatari and French sides exchanged views during their meeting yesterday on common issues in the region, especially developments in resolving the Gulf crisis, developments in Lebanon, Libya and several other coun-tries in the region, as well as the importance of strength-ening bilateral relations between the two countries, issues of violent extremism and terrorism, and ways to combat this phenomenon that threatens Humanity. He

appreciated Le Drian’s current visit to Qatar, stressing its importance in developing relations between the two countries, and expressed his aspiration to develop them to broader horizons. He affirmed in the press conference the State of Qatar’s belief in the need to address the root

causes of terrorism and extremism, which he attributed to social and eco-nomic causes, fuelled by other extremist ideologies.

He stressed the need to sys-tematically look at this phe-nomenon and statistics, away from stereotypical and super-ficial impressions and polarised

media, and what it tries to portray in this regard.

He pointed out that an objective view of violent extremism issues shows that this phenomenon is not related to any religion or race, stressing that Islamic religion and the Prophet of Islam are not symbols of extremism. �P2

Qatar is a historic partner of France. It is a

partner that France is keen to maintain a close

dialogue with, and to strengthen its relations in

all issues of common interest ... France really

wishes to reach an agreement for a

permanent reconciliation (in the Gulf).

H E Jean-Yves Le Drian

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs H E Jean-Yves Le Drian speak during a joint press conference in Doha, yesterday.

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

SECTOR WISE ALLOCATION

We affirm that the tolerant Islamic religion and the Prophet of Islam, are not symbols of extremism, but rather they have established an important human civilization that has made many contributions to humanity, and therefore, the discourse that nurtures Islamophobia, we must stand before it firmly as the world stands before all forms of racist and exclusionary discourse.

H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani

PM meets Lord Mayor of the City of London

02 FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2020HOME

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The dialogue reviewed the progress made in counter-terrorism cooperation between the UNOCT and the State of Qatar since the last Strategic Dialogue held on December 15, 2019. It also assessed the status of ongoing programs, projects, and activities funded by Qatar, the second leading donor to the United Nations Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism.

Qatar, UNOCT hold third strategic dialogueQNA — NEW YORK

The State of Qatar and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) held the third strategic dialogue via a video conference.

Undersecretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov chaired the UNOCT side, while Director of the Inter-n a t i o n a l C o o p e r a t i o n Department and Chairman of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee at the Ministry of Interior H E Major General Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al Ansari chaired the Qatari side.

Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, H E Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, Director of Department of Inter-national Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H E Yousef bin Sultan Laram and President of Qatar International Academy for Security Studies Dr. Majed Al Ansari, also participated. The dialogue reviewed the progress made in counter-ter-rorism cooperation between the UNOCT and the State of Qatar

since the last Strategic Dialogue held on December 15, 2019.

They also assessed the status of ongoing programs, projects, and activities funded by the State of Qatar, the second leading donor to the United Nations Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism.

The two sides reaffirmed their strong partnership on counter-terrorism, exchanged views on strategic priorities for the coming year, and discussed

opportunities to further deepen and expand cooperation going forward.

Maj. Gen. Al Ansari thanked the UNOCT for its continued efforts in providing leadership on the counter-terrorism man-dates entrusted by the General Assembly, facilitating coordi-nation and coherence of the UN’s counter-terrorism efforts through the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, and delivering capacity-building assistance to the member states across the four pillars of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

For his part, Voronkov thanked Qatar for its strong political and financial support, which has contributed exten-sively to the Office’s ability to execute its core functions effec-tively and sustainably.

Through the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordi-nation Compact’s partners’ par-ticipation, the dialogue pro-vided an opportunity to discuss broader cooperation between the State of Qatar and the

United Nations in providing technical services and capacity building at the entire United Nations level. Among them is assistance to the Member States and other beneficiaries to prevent and combat terrorism within the Anti-Terrorism Charter framework and the working groups of the interna-tional organization.

The two parties expressed their commitment to continue cooperation in implementing major programs, including com-bating terrorist travel, supporting terrorism victims, sports security, and promoting its values as a tool to prevent extremism.

The strategic dialogue was attended by Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Ghada Wali, Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Com-mittee Executive Directorate (CTED) Michele Coninsx and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Crisis Response Unit, United Nations Devel-opment Programme (UNDP) Asako Okai.

Milipol Qatar Exhibition set for March next yearTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Milipol Qatar Committee will organize the 13th edition of the Milipol Qatar Exhibition, the leading international exhibition in internal security and civil defense, from March 15 to 17, 2021, at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. The exhibition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The exhibition organising committee held continuous discussions with its partners and sectors to face the challenges arising from the repercussions of the pandemic. Chairman of the Organizing Committee of Milipol Qatar Major General Nasser bin Fahd Al Thani, said: “In view of the current circumstances and the efforts exerted globally to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, we postponed the exhibition due to the international restrictions imposed on travel worldwide. I hope that the decision to postpone the exhibition will ensure an increase in attendance when the exhibition begins in the coming March.”

The committee points out the possibility of electronic registration to attend the exhibition for visitors and exhibitors. The exhibition team will make the best preparation for the launch of more inspiring and valuable additions to the Milipol Qatar 2021 edition.

Milipol Qatar 2021 exhibition is an important platform to access everything related to internal security and civil defense in the Middle East, which is witnessing rapid growth driven by technical develop-ments and the growth of internal health and safety requirements in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The event attracts prominent bodies in the public and industrial security sector around the world, being an opportunity to participate in the exhibition to showcase the innovative products and services in security and safety, protection and prevention devices, and other innovative systems and services.

Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani met yesterday with Lord Mayor of the City of London H E William Russell and his accompanying delegation, on the occasion of their visit to the country. The meeting dealt with bilateral cooperation in the economic and finance fields and the scope for enhancing investment opportunities, in addition to reviewing issues of joint interest.

Qatar condemns assassination of Afghan journalistQNA — DOHA

The State of Qatar expressed yesterday its strong condem-nation of the assassination of Afghan journalist Malala Maiwand in an armed attack in the city of Jalalabad in Afghanistan, describing it as a heinous crime against humanity and the freedom of expression.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed, in a statement released yesterday, that it was important that world countries cooperate to protect journalist and ensure the perpetrators of the crime are held accountable and presented to justice.

The statement stressed that the State of Qatar will continue its efforts along with the inter-national community and its strategic allies to support the Afghan negotiations currently taking place in Doha to achieve permanent and compre-h e n s i v e p e a c e i n Afghanistan.

Fourteen Qatari experts swear legal oath as accredited expertsQNA — DOHA

Fourteen Qatari experts took the legal oath at the Ministry of Justice as accredited experts before the judicial authorities in the country in accordance with the controls outlined in Law No. (16) of 2017 regulating the work of expertise.

The experts received regis-tration certificates to carry out their duties after registering

them in the roster experts at the Experts Department of the Min-istry of Justice. This batch includes many cadres with expertise in different disciplines, including subtle and rare spe-cialties, such as quantity calcu-lation engineering, marine envi-ronmental impact assessment, civil engineering,and specialized expertise in accounting and real estate valuation.

Minister of Justice and

Minister of State for the Council of Ministers Affairs, H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi con-gratulated the new experts on the occasion of their taking the legal oath, and expressed hap-piness at the presence of Qatari competencies with precise and rare specializations that will constitute a qualitative addition to their colleagues of judicial aides, stressing the Ministry of Justice’s keenness to encourage

Qatari experts and qualify them in various fields.

The Ministry of Justice is working to prepare and qualify the national cadres and experts, and it works to attract those with rare and distinguished expertise to enhance the efficiency of expertise work of the judicial authorities and provide the nec-essary technical expertise in various fields and disciplines to achieve its goals to provide

distinguished expertise that accompanies the comprehensive renaissance that the state wit-nesses in all fields and contribute to the consolidation of justice.

The Ministry of Justice is working to increase the number of experts and diversify their fields of expertise, especially accurate and rare technical expertise, as the advanced system for the roster of experts has been developed to document and

register various experiences in all disciplines, with the estab-lishment of rules governing how experts are registered in the rosters and permission for experts to practice expertise jobs. Experts are being prepared and qualified to practice the pro-fession efficiently and impartially, through integrated training pro-grams that applicants receive before taking the legal oath to practice the profession.

Washington talk highlights investment opportunities in Qatar’s tech industry

FROM PAGE 1Al Mansoori highlighted the Msheireb Downtown Doha and the city of Lusail as two projects where digital transformation played a key role in matters like transport, healthcare, logistical services, the environment, and sports. She also highlighted Qatar’s quick adoption of 5G technology.

She added that TASMU provides 60 investment oppor-tunities in the technology industry, noting that the State of Qatar expects to spend more than $9bn on these projects. Returns are expected to be more than $1.4bn by 2024, she said.

For her part, the ministry’s Maha Karim shed light on TASMU’s programmes in dif-ferent fields. She provided a general overview of the projects that are currently underway and the ones that are in the pipeline.

QA scoops 2021 APEX Five Star Global Official Airline Rating

FROM PAGE 1

Qsuite is available on flights to more than 30 destinations including Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, London and New York.

Qatar Airways currently operates more than 700 weekly flights to over 100 des-tinations across the globe. By the end of the IATA Winter Season, Qatar Airways plans to rebuild its network to 126 destinations including 20 in Africa, 11 in the Americas, 42 in Asia-Pacific, 38 in Europe and 15 in the Middle East. Many cities will be served with a strong schedule with daily or more frequencies.

‘Qatar a historic partner France wants close dialogue with’FROM PAGE 1

In this context, the Deputy Prime Minister said, we affirm that the tolerant Islamic religion and the Prophet of Islam, are not symbols of extremism, but rather they have established an important human civilization that has made many contribu-tions to humanity, and therefore, the discourse that nurtures Islamophobia, we must stand before it firmly as the world stands before all forms of racist and exclusionary discourse of the other.

He expressed concern about the state of polarisation around the world and said that one of the troubling issues is the general polarization that exists around the world, the last of which is about the boundaries between freedom of expression and hate speech and incitement.

He added, in this regard, in Qatar, we will continue to search for common spaces to build upon, and for peaceful means to resolve conflicts through diplomacy, building bridges of dialogue and spreading the values of peace and mutual respect among countries, peoples and all civilizations.

The French foreign minister described his discussions yes-terday in Doha as frank, friendly

and close, and said that the Qatari and French sides dis-cussed a number of regional issues, stressing that these meetings would allow the two friendly countries to coordinate in various fields.

He pointed out that this is his 20th visit to Qatar, where talks will be held about bilateral relations and ways to develop them between Doha and Paris.

He said that at the regional level, the Qatari and French sides dealt with the main crises of mutual interest and the Libyan crisis, and affirmed their commitment to strengthening their cooperation and coordi-nation and concerted efforts to support the political transition process there, led by the United Nations, leading to elections next year.

He added that the regional situation in general, and the efforts exerted to reach a per-manent and final solution to the existing crisis between some countries of the GCC, were touched upon, and stressed that France really wishes to reach an agreement for a permanent reconciliation.

Jean-Yves Le Drian said that, during his current visit to Doha, he will meet with the Minister of Transport and Com-m u n i c a t i o n s , t h e

Secretary-General of the Qatar Tourism Council and the CEO of Qatar Airways Group to thank them for their support during the coronavirus pan-demic, which allowed the repa-triation of French citizens to their homeland and the transfer of medical equipment.

He noted that his visit to Qatar a week before celebrating its National Day demonstrates and confirms the strength of the relations between the two countries.

He stressed that Qatar is a historic partner of France, that it is a partner that France is keen to maintain a close dia-logue with, and to strengthen its relations in all issues of common interest.

He stressed that the two countries, Qatar and France, are keen to combat everything that threatens peace and stability in the region and the world, pointing to the heinous terrorist operations that his country has been exposed to recently, and said that Qatar has expressed its solidarity with the French people, and we thank Qatar for that.

He pointed out that the French statements and posi-tions in this regard had been distorted and exploited within the framework of a campaign targeting France, explaining in

this regard also that these state-ments may have been misun-derstood, and France has a very deep respect for Islam and Muslims are an integral part of the country’s history and society and they live under the pro-tection of the law.

He went on to say that France is only fighting against extremism and radicalism, and against ter-rorism that strikes everywhere, France and Europe, including the countries of this region, and this is a battle France is fighting with a number of countries, and this is its only battle.

He thanked Qatar for the warm reception, explaining that his visit also aims to reaffirm the will of the two countries to deepen their bilateral relations in various fields, especially since they have a long and fruitful history of cooperation in the security, economic and cultural fields, in addition to the strategic dialogue they hold annually, considering that it is a completely appropriate framework that the two sides are keen to enrich and enhance in order to deepen their exchanges, including the most sensitive issues within the framework of frankness and the very great trust between them.

In a related context, he expressed his happiness at the

Qatar-France Year of Culture, which allowed the French to get acquainted with the Qatari culture, and the Qataris to get acquainted with the French culture on their part.

We will win the battle against extremism in terms of ideas, and face it with openness and tolerance, and this is what Qatar and France will continue to do together as they aspire to develop ideal cooperation in the field of sports as well, he said.

He pointed out that the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the first to be held in the Arab world, will be an opportunity for Qatar to demonstrate its capabilities in receiving and organising such a global sporting event, adding that since France will host the Olympic Games in 2024, this will naturally lead us to strengthen our cooperation, and we are happy to share with Qatar our experience in organ-ising major sporting events and work together to make these two events successful.

He stressed again that France and Qatar have a very strong relationship, a great rela-tionship of trust, and said that his meetings in Doha allow strengthening this relationship for the sake of work and friendship that will not stop.

Attorney-General meets Tunisian Speaker

03FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2020 HOME

Doha Debates marks international day of persons with disabilitiesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

On the eve of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, disability rights advocates shared with viewers of Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates #DearWorldLive programme recommendations for how disa-bility justice can be achieved for the one in seven people living with a disability — the world’s largest minority.

The programme, watched live by nearly half a million people globally, included some of the world’s most renowned disability rights activists.

Advocate Judith Heumann, who contracted polio as a child and went on to serve in the administrations of US Presi-dents Clinton and Obama and, provided practical tips for how to ensure people with disabil-ities receive the respect and opportunities they deserve.

Speaking with #Dear-WorldLive host Nelufar Hedayat, Heumann said, “It’s being willing on your part and others to listen, and to learn and to take our guidance and to work together.” Saying that “disability needs to be nor-malized”, she addressed the issue of inspiration. “What we’re saying is that people should not be inspired by dis-abled people doing things that are typical for other people. Inspiration is something we should gather from things people are doing that are above and beyond what people typi-cally do.”

A human rights attorney and the first deaf-blind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, Haben Girma, said, “All my success is an example of what can be possible when society does the work of removing barriers.” Girma said

that much work remains to be done to achieve disability justice. “One thing to keep in mind is that it is going to be an ongoing, never-ending process. The work will never be over. We’re all continually growing. Accept that you will always work on removing barriers.” She urged people and media outlets to change their views of people with disabilities.

An autistic student and instructor at the University of California, Berkeley, Hari Srin-ivasan encouraged those with disabilities to do their part to achieve disability justice. “We have to get out there, show that we exist, show our humanness to the community,” adding, “the more contact and exposure non-disabled people have with us and our talent the more they get to see our ability and the less the stigma. This repeated exposure is a path toward

acceptance and inclusion, and then towards belonging.”

A disability rights advocate, actor, and comedian, Maysoon Zayid, set the stage for the dis-cussion by describing what dis-ability justice means to her. “There are no groups that are free of disability. There’s not an age that does not have disabled people, or a race or a gender or an orientation that doesn’t include disabled people. Therefore, disability rights are

human rights.” Viewers around the world

joined the program, with ques-tions and comments coming from Palestine, Rwanda, India and beyond.

The show included a preview of one of three short films produced in collaboration with World Enabled, an edu-cation nonprofit organization led by a social development scholar and disability rights advocate, Dr. Victor Pineda.

Participants at the webinar.

Minister of Culture and Sports to speak at QF’s Education City speaker seriesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Foundation’s Education Speaker Series will host Minister of Culture and Sports, H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali as the guest at the inaugural ‘Bel Arabi’ next week.

The Minister’s talk, titled Youth and Identity: Responding to Challenges, will mark the launch of the Education City Speaker Series Bel Arabi — a discussion held entirely in Arabic, reflecting Qatar Foun-dation’s (QF) role as a custodian of the Arabic language, culture, heritage, and knowledge.

Held in the build-up to Qatar National Day, the online event, which takes place from 4-5pm on Wednesday, December 16, will see H E Ghanem Al Ali discuss how youth can intertwine their identity and their aspirations, and the opportunities that are

at their disposal to make an impact on the world. He will also explore some of the most pressing challenges that young people face today.

The launch of the Education City Speaker Series Bel Arabi — which will be moderated by education and youth devel-opment advocate Habes Howail — brings a new dimension to the dialogue platform that aligns with QF’s commitment to preserving and nurturing the cultural heritage of Qatar and the Arab world, and the Arabic language.

Next week’s Arabic-only event will be the seventh Edu-cation City Speaker Series event to be held online, with its tran-sition to a virtual platform fol-lowing the onset of COVID-19 – demonstrating how QF con-tinues to provide opportunities for dialogue and learning amid the pandemic – bringing it to

the attention of new local, regional, and international audiences.

Launched in 2018, the Edu-cation City Speaker Series enables people from Qatar and beyond to listen to, learn from, and interact with experts and thought-leaders from a variety of fields and backgrounds, as they address some of the key issues shaping and influencing our world. The Education City Speaker Series Bel Arabi event with H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali will feature a 30-minute moderated discussion, followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session, with those tuning in having the opportunity to put questions on the topic to him. It will be available to view on Microsoft Teams, as well as on QF’s Facebook and YouTube channels. For more information and to register, visit www.qf.org.qa/ecss

QFFD partners with GGGI to support small island developing statesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD) has signed a collabo-ration agreement with Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), to support Small Island Devel-oping States (SIDS) and the least developed countries in the creation of green jobs and devel-opment of green industries.

The agreement focuses on four important projects across the globe, the Eastern Car-ibbean Green Entrepreneurship Initiative, the Pacific Green Entrepreneur Network, Climate Smart Agriculture for Kiribati and Solar-Powered Irrigation for Climate-Smart Agriculture in the Senegal River Valley.

The Impact of these projects will be supporting green entre-preneurship, innovation, and employment in 12 Caribbean and Pacific countries with a focus on developing viable Small and Medium-Scale Enter-prises’s (SMSE), in locally rel-evant green industry.

Business incubation, devel-opment support, grant and

non-interest loan financing through a revolving Green Investment Fund. In addition to enhancing local production, con-sumption, and awareness of nutritious locally grown vege-tables in Kiribati through a climate smart agriculture training and micro agri-business support program aimed at schools and school gardens.

Also providing income support and improve crop yields and incomes for farmers through deployment of Climate Smart Agriculture and solar irri-gation programs in Senegal, a LDC bordering Sahel region of Africa. The 3-year agreement will play a role in supporting eco-nomic resilience and sustainable development whilst also helping tackle climate change.

During the ceremony that was held virtually Director-General of QFFD, Khalifa bin Jassim Al Kuwari said: “QFFD remains committed to work closely with its strategic partners like GGGI. This Cooperation with GGGI will emphasise the state of Qatar’s role in mitigating climate

change side by side with the global community in addition to supporting the least develop countries, through achieving SDGs ”.

“Qatar and QFFD’s lead-ership are commendable in supporting climate resilience and ambition in SIDS and

LDCs that are hit hardest by both climate change and the COVID19 pandemic. We are excited to work with QFFD in delivering impactful projects that would not only enhance climate resilience, local inno-vation and jobs creation in SIDS and LDCs but will also

support these countries in building back better from the impacts of this pandemic,” said Dr. Frank Rijsberman, Director-General, Global Green Growth Institute.

During the 2019 UN General Assembly, Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pledged $100 to support SIDS and LDCs tackle climate change impacts and pursue sustainable development.

On October 22, QFFD and GGGI signed an MoU to support SIDS and LDCs achieve climate resilience and green growth in line with UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement.

Officials during the agreement signing ceremony.

The Speaker of the Tunisian Parliament, H E Rached Ghannouchi, met with the Attorney-General of the State of Qatar H E Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al Marri, who is currently visiting Tunisia. They exchanged views on many issues of common interest, the most important of which is the Tunisian experience in the Parliamentary field. The meeting was attended by Qatar’s Ambassador to Tunisia, H E Saad bin Nasser Al Humaidi.

The agreement focuses on four important projects across the globe, the Eastern Caribbean Green Entrepreneurship Initiative, the Pacific Green Entrepreneur Network, Climate Smart Agriculture for Kiribati and Solar-Powered Irrigation for Climate-Smart Agriculture in the Senegal River Valley.

COVID-19: 163 new cases, 152 recoveriesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) yesterday announced the registration of 163 new confirmed COVID-19 cases. Among them 66 were trav-ellers returning from abroad.

Another 152 people have recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recovered cases in Qatar to 138,033. All new cases have been introduced to isolation and are receiving necessary healthcare according to their health status.

The Ministry further said that measures to tackle COVID-19 in Qatar have suc-ceeded in flattening the curve and limiting the spread of the virus. Also Qatar’s proactive and extensive testing of sus-pected cases has enabled us to identify a high number of pos-itive cases in the community.

70 people referred to Public Prosecution for not wearing masksQNA — DOHA

The designated authorities yesterday referred 70 people to the Public Prosecution for not wearing masks in places where they are mandatory.

They also referred 35 others to the Public Prose-cution for violating the maximum number of four people in a vehicle including the driver, except for cases when they are members of one family. The measure is in line with the Cabinet decision, decree law No. 17 of 1990 on infectious diseases, and the precautionary measures in force in the country to contain the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The designated authorities called on the public to adhere to the pre-cautionary measures in place to ensure their safety and the safety of others.

Ministry of Culture and Sports signs MoU with QRDICQNA — DOHA

The Ministry of Culture and Sports signed yesterday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qatar Research Development and Innovation Council (QRDIC) to achieve the common goals of the two entities, and utilise their expe-riences in the fields of youth development and empow-erment, and the discovery and nurturing of talents.

The MoU addresses the cooperation of the two parties in supporting the implemen-tation of the Qatar Research

Development and Innovation Strategy 2030 in accordance with the Qatar National Vision 2030, by improving the future supply of competencies and talents in the field of research, development and innovation.

Director of Youth Affairs Department at the Ministry of Culture and Sports ,Maha Issa Al Rumaihi said: “Within the framework of the Ministry of Culture and Sports’ keenness to support institutional partnerships that contribute to achieving its strategic directions of strength-ening the foundations of national identity, the Ministry

took the initiative to sign this memorandum with the aim of implementing the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Strategy 2030, which is considered an ambitious step towards placing Qatar among advanced countries in the fields of science, research and innovation.”

She indicated that the MoU addresses the areas of the Min-istry’s contribution to achieving the goals of the Qatar Strategy for Research, Development and Innovation 2030, through implementing a number of pro-grams and projects aimed at

promoting the culture of science and innovation, and working to create a base of outstanding talents in the fields of science, research and innovation.

For his part, Secretary-General of Qatar Research Development and Innovation Council Omar Ali Al Ansari commented: “This MoU con-tributes to providing a cooper-ative framework between the two sides in order to strengthen the efforts aimed at building capacity and spreading awareness among young people, which qualifies them to play a fundamental role in

leading the efforts of building an economy based on knowledge and technology, which is one of the most important goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.” He added that the Council seeks to coordinate the efforts of local and international stakeholders in the government, academic and business sectors, as part of its aspiration to make a qualitative leap and advance the future growth of the State of Qatar on the social and economic levels, by creating an effective and vital system in the field of research, development and innovation.

Customs foils smuggling attempt of prohibited tobaccoThe customs of air freight and private airports of the General Authority of Customs (GAC) foiled a smuggling attempt of prohibited tobacco found in a clothes shipment, the GAC said on its website. After the inspection, the officials discovered that the shipment included 4,126kg of tobacco hidden inside the clothes. Accordingly, a seizure report was issued.

04 FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2020 NATIONAL DAY

Qatar-Azerbaijan ties continuously developing in all spheres: Ambassador QNA — DOHA

Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the State of Qatar H E Rashad Ismayilov confirmed that Qatar and his country have new mechanism for political dialogue in the form of political consultations held for the first time in 2019, where a wide range of important issues of bilateral agenda were discussed.

H E said, in a statement on the occasion of Qatar National Day, that the 2nd meeting of the Azerbaijan-Qatar Joint Eco-nomic, Trade and Technical Commission took place in Doha on February 2, where officials and business representatives of both sides considered current status of economic cooperation, exchanged their views about the possibilities of fostering economic and trade relations as well as future projects of mutual interest.

Ambassador Ismayilov emphasised the strength of the bilateral relations between the two countries, adding that the two sides are making con-tinuous efforts to strengthen the existing relations in all fields. He noted that the cooperation between the two countries includes areas such as trade,

investment, manufacturing, culture, health, agriculture and tourism.

He stated that to encourage mutual investments, a joint Investment Working Group was established, which held its first meeting in Baku in October 2019.

Furthermore, Azerbaijani officials worked with their Qatari counterparts to expand the existing legal framework between the two countries and, thus, foster cooperation in various areas. In addition to numerous bilateral documents already signed, currently there are several drafts under con-sideration between Azerbaijan and Qatar, he pointed out.

The Ambassador of

Azerbaijan added that there is still untapped potential for effective collaboration in various fields attractive to both sides; for instance, there are promising mutual investment opportunities in areas such as agriculture, tourism, transport, renewable energy sources, information and communi-cation technologies.

The ambassador said that the coronavirus pandemic, along with healthcare and social factors, affected inter-state relations and made coun-tries cancel or postpone previ-ously agreed plans and projects in various fields.

He pointed out that every country, regardless of its devel-opment level, has chosen its

own path in fighting this disease, some of them were efficient while some not so much.

He praised the timely deployment of necessary pre-ventive measures and relevant policy by the Government of Qatar as well as its strict imple-mentation, including the intro-duction of Ehteraz application, which created favourable con-ditions to mitigate conse-quences of COVID-19 and prevent wide sweep of the infection.

The Azerbaijani ambas-sador added that there is gradual decline in the number of positive cases in the country. He expressed hope that the State of Qatar will see further success in this vein.

H E the Ambassador con-gratulated the leadership and the people of the State of Qatar on the occasion of the National Day, wishing all those who live here further development and welfare.

He highlighted the sus-tainable development of Qatar in economic, social and other spheres, which translated into Qatar’s rising political role in many challenging issues of regional and international agenda.

Bangladesh envoy hails Qatar's role in global development agendaQNA — DOHA

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the State of Qatar, H E Mohammad Jashim Uddin, has praised the State of Qatar for its active role both in the regional and inter-national arena on the issues of SDGs, food security, climate change, health, education etc, wishing continued success, peace and prosperity to Qatar and its brotherly people.

In statements to Qatar News Agency on the occasion of the National Day, the envoy described the relations between Bangladesh and Qatar as excellent, adding that they are founded on three strong pillars.

He explained that the first pillar is the presence of a large Bangladeshi diaspora in Qatar who are contributing to the extraordinary development work of this country, the second is the bilateral trade which has witnessed an upward surge in recent years and has crossed the billion dollar mark and the third pillar is more like a basket which includes diverse areas of coop-eration such as investment, cooperation in diverse sectors such as health, sports, edu-cation and culture.

He added that their goal is to transform each item of this third basket into a pillar so that

the relations can rest on more pillars for the benefits of the people. He continued by saying that they are working closely with Qatar to achieve that, adding that he is looking forward to the exchange of high level visits both from Bangladesh and Qatar.

The ambassador hailed the role played by the State of Qatar in the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and the steadfastness of its effective

health policy, as well as the success of the comprehensive government approach against the pandemic.

H E expressed his gratitude to the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for ensuring required health services to the Bangladeshi expatriates during the pan-demic. He also saluted the healthcare workers, including

the Bangladeshi doctors in Qatar who are tirelessly striving to arrest the spread of the pandemic and thereby save human lives. H E Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh extended his warm congratulations to the State of Qatar, under the wise lead-ership of H H the Amir, and it’s government and people on the occasion of its National Day.

Polish envoy: Fight against pandemic has strengthened Qatar as a nationQNA — DOHA

Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the State of Qatar Janusz Janke has highlighted the existing cooperation and partnership between the two countries in various fields and their keenness to consolidate and develop them, pointing out that 2020 was a wonderful year for the bilateral relations between Doha and Warsaw despite the coronavirus pandemic.

H E the Ambassador added, in a statement on the occasion of Qatar National Day, that by 2019, the annual volume of Polish-Qatari trade reached $852.4m. Meanwhile, Qatar’s export to Poland stood at $750.1m, consisting mainly of LNG, he said, stating that Poland’s export to Qatar was very diverse and stood at a record level of $102.3 million.

He revealed that the leading products groups included: mechanical and electrical devices, agricultural products and various types of furniture.

He underlined the official launch of the Qatar-Poland B u s i n e s s C o u n c i l o n November 9, 2020, to facil-itate the growth of trade and investment between both countries, which was pre-ceded by a business forum entitled “Polish-Qatari virtual roundtable” organised by the

Polish Embassy in cooper-ation with the Qatar Financial Center, Qatari Businessmen Association and the Qatar Free Zone Authority.

He pointed out that the event took the form of a vid-eoconference with parallel i n - p e r s o n n e t w o r k i n g meetings, and the sectors were divided into four, which they see as very promising: energy and IT, aviation, finance and banking, and research, development and innovation. He explained that the event provided a platform for more than 60 Polish and Qatari business to network and exchange ideas.

The Polish Ambassador congratulated the leadership, government and people of Qatar on the National Day, wishing them prosperity and wellbeing.

He continued by saying, “I would like to congratulate the State and its citizens for setting an extraordinary example of commitment, pro-fessionalism, and solidarity during these unprecedented times of the pandemic. I am genuinely convinced that the fight against the coronavirus pandemic has strengthened Qatar as a nation and con-firmed its place amongst the world’s most developed and prosperous countries.”

H E Ambassador Janke concluded by saying, “Due to the important learning expe-rience related to the 2017 blockade, the State of Qatar has not only successfully mit-igated the economic impact of the pandemic but also has been lending a helping hand to other nations on all continents.”

There is still untapped potential for effective collaboration in various fields. For instance, there are promising mutual investment opportunities in areas such as agriculture, tourism, transport, renewable energy sources, information and communication technologies.H E Rashad Ismayilov

I would like to congratulate the State and

its citizens for setting an extraordinary example of commitment, professionalism, and solidarity during these unprecedented times of the pandemic. I am genuinely convinced that the fight against the coronavirus pandemic has strengthened Qatar. H E Janusz Janke

Kosovo envoy: Qatar a major contributor to building peace globally

QNA — DOHA

Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to the State of Qatar H E Amir Ahmadi (pictured) has emphasised the depth of the Qatari-Kosovan bilateral relations, seeing these relations as solid and based on mutual respect.

His Excellency praised the role that the State of Qatar plays in the international arena, describing it as important, pivotal and inspiring to small countries.

“The resolve of the Qatari leadership and people has made Qatar a major con-tributor to building peace in the

world,” he said lauding Qatar’s efforts in combating corruption and its support for the activ-ities of the Inter-Parliamentary Union as well as the launch of the Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani International Award for Excellence in Combating Corruption, and the material and moral contribution to pre-serving the environment by supporting the United Nations goals in addition to the numerous contributions, which he described as a model for Kosovo.

In a statement on the occasion of Qatar National Day, the Ambassador offered con-gratulations to the State of Qatar’s leadership and people, noting that the celebration of the National Day of each country becomes more important when it culminates in success at various levels through exerting remarkable efforts to achieve that success.

“Everyone has witnessed the development and economic success of the State of Qatar. Therefore, the celebration of the National Day and the revival of this occasion becomes more important and necessary at this time.”

The CEO of Hassad Food Company Eng. Mohamed Badr Al Sada, confirmed that the National Day celebrated on December 18 of each year is a commemoration of the founding of the State by the founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, who set the rules for the modern State of Qatar, to become under his leadership a cohesive, unified and independent state.

In an interview with QNA on this glorious occasion, Al Sada noted that the celebration of this day represents a valuable opportunity for all members of society to get to know the founders of the State of Qatar and celebrate their memory, as

well as providing an oppor-tunity for people to express feelings of love, pride, gratitude and pride in the Qatari national identity.

On the other hand, he pointed out that Hassad Company and its subsidiary companies, since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, have coordinated continuously with the competent authorities in the country to take all necessary preventive measures and pro-tocols in all facilities, farms and factories affiliated with Hassad Company, in order to ensure the preservation of the health and safety of all employees and the society as a whole, and to ensure the effective flow of the production process, to avoid any shortage of the basic

products that we provide to the local market.

Al Sada pointed out in a related context about the most prominent achievements of the company, that in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 and the strategies set to achieve food security, Hassad has expanded its investment portfolio, which included doubling local pro-duction in its most important food sectors, and financing the development of central markets to form integrated marketing platforms, as well as estab-lishing a number of local com-panies, in addition to acquiring parts in major international food companies, with the aim of supporting the needs of the local market and contributing to achieving food security for

Qatar. In terms of the com-pany’s international invest-ments, he said Hassad Company has developed its investment strategy and acquired shares in major international food

companies such as Sunrise Foods International, the largest company in the world of organic grains and oilseeds, which is owned by the Turkish Tiryaki Agro Foods Industry Company, as well as investing in the fish sector in Sultanate of Oman, in the Global Marine Production Company.

He stressed that this investment is a strong addition to the company’s other invest-ments in the Sultanate of Oman, such as Asaffa Foods Company, which is the largest poultry project in the Sultanate of Oman, as its products include fresh and frozen chicken, while the company is currently under-taking huge expansions to double its production by next year, to become one of the

largest poultry producers in the region.

He said on the first day of the unjust blockade, Hassad Company was assigned a very important role, which is to urgently provide all the basic foodstuffs for the Qatari market, as the work team in this regard immediately coordinated with more than 10 countries whose products are distinguished with high quality, and the first ship-ments of these products reached the shops and the central market on June 6, 2017.

The team subsequently pro-vided commodities on a daily basis through air, sea and land-sea cargo, until the volume of food provided by the company sometimes reached 1,000 tonnes per day.

Hassad CEO: The founder made Qatar a unified, independent countryQNA

Eng. Mohamed Badr Al Sada, CEO of Hassad

Relations between Bangladesh and Qatar are founded on three strong pillars. The first pillar is the presence ofa large Bangladeshi diaspora in Qatar,

who are contributing to the extraordinary development work of this country; the second is the bilateral trade, which has witnessed an upward surge in recent years and has crossed the billion dollar mark; and the third pillar is cooperation in diverse areas of investment, health, sports, education and culture. H E Mohammad Jashim Uddin

05FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2020 ISLAM

Prophet Jesus in the Holy QuranJesus or Isa in Arabic (peace be upon him) is of great significance in both Islam and Christianity. However, there are differences in terms of beliefs about the nature and life occurrences of Jesus. There are about 71 verses in the Quran that refer to Prophet Jesus.

Following is a translation and explanation of Chapter 3 verses 44 thru 60 of the Holy Quran by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi,

O Muhammad, these are the “unseen” things, We are revealing to you: you were not present there when the priests of the Temple were casting lots by throwing their quills to decide which of them should be the guardian of Mary: 43 nor were you with them when they were arguing about it. Quran 3:44

Note 43: As Mary was a girl who had been dedicated by her mother to the Temple in the way of God, the question of her guardianship had become a problem for the keepers because of her sex. They were therefore casting lots to decide the delicate problem.

And remember when the angels said, “O Mary, God sends you the good news of a Command of His: his name shall be Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. He will be highly honoured in this world and in the Next World and he will be among those favoured by God. He will speak to the people alike when in the cradle and when grown up, and he will be among the righteous.” Hearing this, Mary said, “How, O Lord, shall I have a son, when no man has ever touched me?” “Thus shall it be,”44 was the answer. God creates whatever He wills. When He decrees a thing, He only says, “Be” and it is. (Continuing their message, the angels added,) “And God will teach him the Book and wisdom, and give him the knowledge of the Torah and the Gospel, and appoint him as His Messenger to the children of Israel.” Quran 3:45-49

Note 44: “Although no man has touched you, yet a son shall be born to you.” It should be noted that the same word kazalika, meaning “so shall it be,” had been used in response to Zach-arias’ prayer. It, therefore, carries the same sense here. Moreover, the whole context here corroborates the story that Mary was given the glad tidings of the birth of a son without any sexual inter-course, and the birth of Christ, in actual fact, took place in that unusual way. If a son was to be born to her in the normal known way, and if the event of the birth of Jesus had taken place in a natural way, then the whole discourse starting from verse 33 and ending with verse 63 would become absolutely pointless. Not only that but all other references to the unusual birth of Jesus in the Quran would lose their signifi-cance and meaning. The Christians had made Jesus the Son of God and worthy of worship simply because of his unusual birth without a father and the Jews had accused Mary because they had witnessed that she had given birth to a child, though she was not married. Had it been otherwise, then the two groups could have been told plainly that the girl was married to such and such a man and that Jesus was from his seed. In that case, one fails to see the reason why such a long intro-duction and a series of arguments should have been necessary to remove all doubts about his miraculous birth. Then Jesus could have been called the son of a particular man, instead of being called “the son of Mary”. The position of those people who, on the one hand, profess to believe the Holy Quran to be the Word of God and on the other hand try to prove that Jesus was born after the natural coming together of a husband and wife, really try to show that God is not able to express Himself as clearly as these people. (May God protect us from

blasphemy!)(And when he came as a Messenger

to the children of Israel, he said,) “I have come to you with a clear Sign from your Lord: in your very presence, I make the likeness of a bird out of clay and breathe into it and it becomes, by God’s Command, a bird. I heal those born blind and the lepers and I bring to life the dead by God’s Command: I inform you of what you eat and what you store up in your houses. Surely there is a great Sign for you in all this, if you have a mind to believe. 45 And I have come to confirm those teachings of the Guidance of the Torah which are intact in my time. 46 Lo! I have come with a clear Sign from your Lord; 47 so fear God and obey me. Indeed God is my Lord, and also your Lord; therefore worship Him alone: that is the straight way.”48 Quran 3:49-51

Note 45: “These Signs are clear enough to convince you that I have been sent by that God Who is the Creator and Absolute Ruler of this uni-verse, provided that you are not obdurate but are willing to accept the Truth.”

Note 46: “This is yet another proof of the fact that I have been sent by God. If I had been a false prophet I would have invented my own religion and by virtue of these miracles striven to divert you from your previous Faith to the New creed. But I profess the same original religion to be true and confirm the same teachings which were brought by the Prophets before me.”

The fact that Jesus taught the same religion that had been presented by Moses and the other Prophets (peace be upon them) is supported even by the existing Gospels. For example, according to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus declared in the Sermon on the Mount: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” (5: 17).

One of the Pharisees, who was a lawyer, asked Jesus, “Which is the great commandment in the law?” He replied:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and the great commandment. And the second is like. unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and Prophets.” (Matthew 22: 37-40).On another occasion Jesus said to his disciples:

“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” (Matthew 23: 2-3).

Note 47: “I have come to efface and abolish the superstitions of your ignorant people, the hairsplitting of your jurists, the religious austerities of your ascetics and the restrictive addi-tions made in the Law of God under the non-Muslim domination; I will make lawful or unlawful for you only those things which God has made lawful or unlawful.”

Note 48: This shows that like all other Prophets, Jesus also based his

teachings on the following three fundamentals: The Supreme Authority to which mankind should submit and surrender exclu-sively belongs to God and all the social and moral systems should be built entirely on it.

Being a representative of the same Paramount Power, a prophet must be obeyed unconditionally. God alone is entitled to prescribe laws and regula-tions for making things lawful or unlawful, pure and impure; conse-quently all laws imposed by others must be abolished.

Thus it is clear that Jesus, Moses, Muhammad and all other Prophets (peace be upon them all) had one and the same mission. Those people who say that different Prophets were sent with different missions and to fulfill different aims, are gravely mistaken. Anyone, who is delegated by the Absolute Master of the Universe to His subjects, cannot have any other mission than to prevent the people, from becoming disobedient to and inde-pendent of Him, and to forbid them to set others to rank with God as partners in His Authority in any way. For, they are sent to invite the people to sur-render and submit and be loyal to the Almighty God and worship Him alone.

It is a pity that the existing Gospels do not present the mission of Jesus so precisely and clearly as it has been pre-sented above in the Holy Quran. Never-theless all the three basic things men-tioned above are found scattered over in these Books. For instance, the fact that Jesus believed exclusively in the worship of God is clear from the following:

“Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” (Matthew 4: 10).

Not only did he believe in this, but also made it the ultimate aim of all his activities and strove to make the people of the earth to submit to the revealed Law of God just as the whole universe submits to His physical Law.

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10).

Then the fact that Jesus always pre-sented himself as a prophet and as a representative of the Kingdom of Heaven, and always invited the people to follow him in that capacity alone, is supported by a number of his sayings. When he started his mission in his native place, Nazareth, the people of his own town and his own kinsfolk rose against him and according to an agreed tradition of Matthew, Mark and Luke, he said: “No prophet is accepted in his own country”. And when his enemies were conspiring at Jerusalem to kill him and the people advised him to go to somewhere else, he replied: “It cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.” (Luke 13: 33).

When he was entering Jerusalem for the last time, his disciples began to utter in a loud voice: “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord.” At this the Pharisees felt offended and asked him to silence his disciples. He replied:

“I tell you that, if these should hold

their peace, the stones would imme-diately cry out.” (Luke 19: 38-40).

On another occasion he said: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart..... my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 28-30). Moreover the fact that Jesus wanted the people to obey the Divine Law rather than man-made laws becomes clear from that tradition of Matthew and Mark which says that when the Pharisees asked, why his disciples transgressed the tradition of the elders and took food without washing their hands,. he replied and said, “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written. This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandments of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto the, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.” (Mark 7: 6-13).

When Jesus perceived that the children of Israel were bent upon dis-belief, he said, “Who will be my helper in the cause of God?” The disciples 49 (promptly responded and) said, “We are God’s helpers: 50 we have believed in God; so do bear witness that we are Muslims (who surrender to God). Lord! we have believed in that which Thou hast sent down and followed Thy Mes-senger; so enroll us among those who bear witness. Quran 3:52-53

Note 49: The Arabic word (havari) is almost the equivalent of “helper”. In the Bible, they have been called “dis-ciples” and at some places “apostles” because Jesus used to send them to the people to deliver his message, and not because God had appointed them as His apostles.

Note 50: Those people who help establish Islam have been called God’s helpers. In order to understand its sig-nificance, it should be kept in view that God has taken upon Himself to per-suade human beings to adopt Islam of their free will, for He does not force His will on man in those spheres of his life in which He has granted him freedom of action but likes to convince him by reason and admonition. As it is the work of God to bring the people to the right way by admonition and advice, He calls those people who exert their utmost to establish Islam “His helpers and companions:” This is indeed the highest position that a

servant of God can aspire to achieve. For man’s position is merely that of a servant when he is engaged in praying, fasting and other kinds of worship, but he is elevated to the high and unique position of God’s companion and assistant when he is exerting for the establishment of the way of God. And this is indeed the loftiest position of spiritual attainment, to which a man can aspire in this world.

Then the children of Israel began to plot (against Jesus) and God also devised His secret plan, and God is the best of devisers. (It was to carry out His secret plan that) He said, “O Jesus, now I will recall 51 you and raise you up to Myself and cleanse you of (the uncon-genial company and the filthy envi-ronment of ) those who have rejected you and will set up those who follow you above those who have rejected you 52 till the Day of Resurrection. And ulti-mately all of you shall return to Me: then I will judge between you in what you differ, and punish with a grievous punishment, both in this world and in the Hereafter, those who have adopted the attitude of disbelief and rejection and they shall have none to help them. And those, who have believed and done good deeds, shall be given their rewards in full. And note it well that God does not like the transgressors.” Quran 3:54-57

Note 51: The word mutawaffi in the Arabic text is from tawaffa which literally means “to take and to receive” and “to seize the soul” is not its lexical but metaphorical meaning. Here it means “to recall from mission.” God recalled Jesus because the Israelites had rejected him in spite of the clear Signs he had brought. They had been diso-beying God for centuries and, in spite of many a warning and admo-nition served to them, their national character was rapidly deteriorating. They had killed several Prophets, one after the other, and had grown so audacious as to demand the blood of any good man who ven-tured to invite them to the Right Way. In order to give them the last chance for turning to the Truth, God appointed among them two great Prophets, Jesus and John (God’s peace be upon them), at one and the same time. These Prophets came with such clear signs of their appointment from God that only such people dared reject them as were utterly perverted and prejudiced against the Truth and were averse to following the Right Way. Nev-ertheless the Israelites lost their last chance also as they not only rejected their invitation but also had the head of a great Prophet like John cut off openly at the request of a dancing girl. ‘And their Pharisees and Jurists con-spired and sought to get Jesus punished with the death sentence by the Roman Government. Thus they had proved themselves to be so obdurate that it was useless to give the Israelites any further chance. So God recalled His Prophet Jesus and inflicted on them a life of disgrace up to the Day of Resur-rection. www.islamicity.org

The Quran confirmed and made it plain that the birth of Jesus without a father was only a man-ifestation of the infinite powers of God. He can create anybody in whatever manner He wills. His miraculous birth, therefore, is no reason why he should be made a god or a partner in Godhead.

The Quran also confirms and even recounts the miracles performed by Jesus, but makes it clear that all those miracles were performed by him, as a servant of God, by His leave and not as an independent authority. It is, therefore, wrong to infer that Jesus was a partner in Godhead.

Now let us consider the third thing. If the Christian belief in “Ascension” had been wholly baseless, it could have been refuted by pointing out that the object of their worship, the so-called “Son of God”, expired long ago and had become one with dust, and that they

could see, for their full satisfaction, his grave at such and such a place. But the Quran does not declare this explicitly. On the other hand, it not only uses such words as give at least a vague sug-gestion of his “Ascension”, but also denies that Jesus was crucified at all. According to it the one who gave a loud cry at his last hour, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” and the one whose picture they carry on the cross, was not Messiah at all, because God had recalled to Himself the real Messiah before the crucifixion took place.

It is thus clear that those people who try to prove the death of Jesus from these verses, really try to show that God is not able to express Himself clearly and unambiguously. (May God protect us from such a blasphemy!)

Quran says: We have believed in God; so do bear witness that we are Muslims (who surrender to God). Lord!

we have believed in that which Thou hast sent down and followed Thy Mes-senger; so enroll us among those who bear witness. Quran 3:52-53

“Those who rejected” him were the Jews who were invited by Jesus to accept the Truth. “Those who follow” him are really the Muslims only but if it may be taken to imply all those who believe in him, then the sincere Chris-tians may also be included.

The stories which We are relating to you are full of signs and wisdom. In the sight of God, the case of the birth of Jesus is like that of Adam, whom He created out of dust and said, “Be”, and he was. This is the fact of the matter your lord is imparting, and you should not be of those who doubt it. (Quran 3:58-60)

“If one’s miraculous birth entitles one to become God or the Son of God, then Adam was better entitled to it because he was created without either

a human father or a mother, while Jesus was born without a father only.

First, Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) was only a man who was born in a miraculous way by the will of God and given the power to perform certain miracles as a clear proof of his Prophet-hood. As regards his “Ascension”, God had arranged to recall him to Himself before the dis-believers could crucify him. In fact, the Master of the Universe has full powers to treat any of His servants in any special way He pleases. It is, therefore, wrong to infer from the exceptional treatment accorded to Jesus that he himself was the Master or the Master’s Son or a partner in the authority of the Master.

Secondly, their attention has been drawn to the fact that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) invites them to the same Truth that had been preached by

Prophet Jesus (PBUH) in his own time and that the teachings of the two Prophets were basically identical.

Thirdly, the disciples of Jesus believed in and followed the same religion of Islam that is being presented in the Quran. However the Christians of the later age discarded the message of Jesus and digressed from the Faith of his disciples. -SA Maududi

The miraculous birth of Prophet Jesus “If one’s miraculous birth entitles one to become God or the Son of God, then Adam was better entitled to it because he was created without either a human father or a mother, while Jesus was born without a father only.

Jesus or Isa in Arabic (peace be upon him) is of great significance in both Islam and Christianity. However, there are differences in terms of beliefs about the nature and life occurrences of Jesus. There are about 71 verses in the Quran that refer to Prophet Jesus. Following is an explanation of Chapter 3 verses 44 thru 60 of the Holy Quran by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi

06 FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2020MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Lebanese PM indicted over port explosionAFP — BEIRUT

Lebanon’s lead investigator into the catastrophic Beirut port explosion charged outgoing premier Hassan Diab (pictured) and three ex-ministers with negligence yesterday, a judicial source said.

They are the first politicians to be indicted over the devas-tating August 4 blast that killed more than 200 people, dis-figured the heart of the capital and stoked a wave of public anger against Lebanon’s ruling elite.

The four were charged with “negligence and causing death to hundreds and injuries to thousands more” in the first such official indictment against a prime minister in office in Lebanese history, the judicial source said.

After the blast, it emerged top security officials and poli-ticians had known for years about hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser stored haphazardly at the Beirut port but had failed to take pre-cautionary measures.

The decision by judge Fadi Sawan came after the investi-gation confirmed the suspects had received “several written notices warning them against postponing the disposal of ammonium nitrate fertiliser,” the source said.

“They also did not take the necessary measures to avoid the devastating explosion and its enormous damage,” added the source, who spoke on

condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak on the issue.

Diab’s office said the out-going premier’s conscience was clear. “He is confident that his hands are clean and that he has handled the Beirut Port blast file in a responsible and transparent manner,” it said in a statement.

“This surprising targeting goes beyond the person to the position per se, and Hassan Diab will not allow the Pre-miership to be targeted by any party.”

The other senior officials charged are former finance minister Ali Hasan Khalil and the ex-ministers of public works Yusef Fenianos and Ghazi Zaiter.

The United States in Sep-tember slapped sanctions on Khalil and Fenianos, for alleged corruption and support of the powerful Shia Hezbollah movement.

In a letter to parliament late last month, judge Sawan asked lawmakers to investigate several outgoing and former ministers over the explosion. These included Khalil, Fenianos

and Zaiter.The letter came after

Sawan’s own investigations raised “certain suspicions about the responsibility of those min-isters and their failure towards addressing the presence of the ammonium nitrate at the port”.

The judicial source yes-terday said parliament had not responded to Sawan’s request, prompting him to press charges unilaterally.

Sawan will begin ques-tioning the suspects from Monday, the source said.

The investigation has so far triggered the arrest of 25

people, including top port and customs officials.

Lebanese officials have rejected an international probe, despite demands both at home and abroad for an impartial investigation.

Experts from France and the US Federal Bureau of Investi-gation took part in the prelim-inary investigation.

Public anger has simmered over the pace of investigation, which had until Thursday spared top political officials widely accused for the coun-try’s worst peace-time disaster.

A view shows the site of the August 4 explosion at Beirut port, in Lebanon, yesterday.

US aircraft bombers fly to Middle East in mission to deter IranAP — WASHINGTON

In a new show of military might, two American bomber aircraft took off from United States and flew over a swath of the Middle East yesterday, sending what US officials said was a direct message of deterrence to Iran.

The flight of the two massive B-52H Stratofortress bombers over the region, the second such mission in less than a month, was designed to underscore America’s con-tinuing commitment to the Middle East even as President Donald Trump’s administration withdraws thousands of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The long-range heavy bombers, which are capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons, are a formi-dable sight and are flown less frequently in the Middle East than smaller combat aircraft, such as American fighter jets. Adversaries often complain about bomber flights in their region, deeming them a provoc-ative show of force.

“The ability to fly strategic bombers halfway across the world in a non-stop mission and to rapidly integrate them with multiple regional partners dem-onstrates our close working relationships and our shared commitment to regional

security and stability,” Gen Frank McKenzie, the top US commander for the Middle East, said in a statement.

The troop cuts coupled with the impending departure of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group in the Gulf have fueled allies’ concerns that the US is abandoning the region. Those worries are compounded by fears that Iran may strike out at the US or allies in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Iran has blamed the death on Israel, which has been sus-pected in previous killings of Iranian nuclear scientists.

US officials are also worried about a possible Iranian retal-iatory strike on the first anni-versary of the US airstrike that killed Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, and senior Iraqi militia leaders near Bagh-dad’s airport in early January.

Iranian-backed militias routinely launch rockets near installations in Iraq where US and Iraqi troops are based, and officials worry about a larger, more deadly assault.

“We do not seek conflict,” McKenzie said, “but we must remain postured and com-mitted to respond to any con-tingency or in opposition to any aggression.”

A senior military official, who spoke to a small group of reporters on the condition of anonymity to provide details of the mission, said the adminis-tration believes that the risk of an Iranian attack on US or allied interests in the region is a bit higher than normal now, and the Pentagon wants to ensure that Tehran thinks twice before doing anything. Adding to the concerns is the presidential transition in the US following Joe Biden’s November victory over Trump. The official said Iran or other adversaries often believe the US may be weaker or slower to respond during a political transition.

Yemen govt, separatists to form Cabinet within week: CoalitionAFP — RIYADH

Yemen’s internationally recog-nised government and southern separatists will form a cabinet within a week as part of a Saudi-sponsored power sharing agreement, a Riyadh-led coalition said yesterday, after a series of delays.

The so-called Riyadh Agreement which was struck late last year was designed to mend a rift between the seces-sionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) and the gov-ernment, both technically allies in the war against Houthi rebels

who have seized much of Yemen’s north.

But the deal has repeatedly stalled, further complicating the long and wider conflict between a Saudi-led military coalition backing the government and the Iran-backed Huthis who control the capital Sana'a.

“Consensus has been reached on the formation of the Yemeni government, com-prised of 24 ministers, including ministers from the Southern Transitional Council and political components in Yemen,” said a coalition source, according to a report.

US senators seek sanctions over Ethiopia conflict abusesREUTERS — NAIROBI

Two US senators have called on their government to consider imposing sanctions on any political or military officials found to be responsible for human rights violations during a month of conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.

The proposed resolution was introduced on Wednesday by Senator Ben Cardin, a Dem-ocrat, and Senator Jim Risch, a Republican. It was the first such call by US lawmakers since war between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) broke out on November 4.

The conflict is thought to have killed thousands and dis-placed more than 950,000 people, according to United Nations estimates, about 50,000 of them into Sudan.

Concern has mounted over reports of civilians targeted by

both sides, posing a policy dilemma for the United States, which considers Ethiopia an important ally in a volatile region.

The government has said it will investigate any reports of atrocities or mass killings, but will only allow independent investigations if the gov-ernment was not able to do so.

The Senate resolution introduced by Cardin and Risch also called on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and the TPLF to cease hostilities and pursue a peaceful reso-lution to the war.

“The ongoing fighting in Tigray has already cost thou-sands of lives and created a humanitarian crisis of disas-trous proportions, threatening the long-term stability not only of Ethiopia, but the entire region,” Cardin said in a statement after the resolution was introduced.

Sudan cancels passports issued to foreigners by Bashir regimeAFP — KHARTOUM

Sudan’s interim authorities have cancelled more than 3,500 passports issued to foreign resi-dents by the government of ousted president Omar Al Bashir, the interior ministry announced yesterday.

Sudanese media reported that the great majority of those affected were citizens of Arab countries, particularly Syria, who had paid Bashir aides a going rate of 10,000 dollars a head to obtain citizenship.

“On the interior ministry’s recommendation, the chairman of (Sudan’s top exec-utive body) the Sovereignty Council, General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, has decided to withdraw Sudanese citi-zenship from 3,548 naturalised residents,” the ministry said on Twitter.

“This decision was taken in the light of negative medical or security reports about the individuals concerned or because, in some cases, they obtained citizenship without meeting the necessary conditions.”

In another measure, tar-geting an influx of Syrians since civil war broke out in the country in 2011, the ministry announced that Syrian nationals will now be required to obtain visas in advance rather than on arrival as previously.

Hassan Diab’s office said in a statement that the outgoing premier’s conscience was clear that he has handled the Beirut Port blast file in a responsible and transparent manner”.

Libya frees two Russians held on suspicion of election meddlingBLOOMBERG — TRIPOLI

Libya released two Russians held for the past 18 months on suspicion of election meddling, removing a key source of tension between the interna-tionally recognised government in Tripoli and the Kremlin.

Maxim Shugaley and Samir Seifan were detained in May 2019, accused of working to help engineer the return of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son through presidential elections in the oil-rich North African state. The Moscow-based company for which they worked denied the allegations.

Russia, a supporter of eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar in the country’s ongoing conflict, had set their release as a condition for improving ties with the Tripoli government, which has received military backing from Turkey during the war.

A private plane arrived yes-terday at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport to repatriate the two Russians, said Ahmed bin Salem, a spokesman for the govern-ment’s organized crime and counter-terror apparatus that was holding them. Their release was “long-awaited,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman

Maria Zakharova told reporters, expressing Moscow’s “satis-faction at this decision by the Libyan authorities.”

Their release follows a ceasefire between the Tripoli government and Haftar, whose military campaign to take over the capital failed earlier this year. Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt back Haftar, with the conflict drawing in thousands of Russian and Syrian mercenaries.

The two detained Russians were employed by the Foun-dation for the Defense of National Values. Foundation head Alexander Malkevich used

to work for a media group that the US government linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a tycoon with close ties to the Kremlin. The US imposed sanctions on Prigozhin and has accused him of election meddling, while the European Union placed restric-tions on him for violating the arms embargo on Libya.

Malkevich welcomed the Libyan decision to set free the two men, which he said was the result of intensive efforts by the Russian foreign and defense ministries and other organisa-tions. Shugalei, a political expert, and translator Seifan “are going home from Libya!”

A train moves during the inauguration of a 140-km line running from eastern Iran into western Afghanistan, at a railroad station in Khaf, city of Iran, yesterday. The leaders of Iran and Afghanistan yesterday inaugurated the first railway link between the two countries, expressing hope it would enhance trade links across the region.

Iran, Afghanistan open first rail link

Police foil attack by Kurdish bomber in TurkeyAP — ANKARA

Turkish police yesterday shot and killed a suspected Kurdish militant who was allegedly planning to detonate a bomb that was strapped to his body, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Police, acting on infor-mation that the militant was planning to carry out an attack, stopped a taxi he was riding in at a checkpoint near the town of Viransehir in the south-eastern province of Sanliurfa, the agency reported. A police officer shot and killed the man before he was able to detonate the explosives, it said.

The agency said the mil-itant was a Syrian national and a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, or the Syria-based Kurdish group that is affiliated with it. The militant, who wasn’t identified, had allegedly sneaked into Sanliurfa from Syria with explosives.

The foiled attack came as a car bomb went off at a checkpoint across the border in a Turkish-controlled area of northeastern Syria, killing at least two Turkish soldiers and two