www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Rea on cusp of second WSBK title

BUSINESS | 17 SPORT | 24

UDC third quarter revenues

rise to QR1.3bn

WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016 • 25 MOHARRAM 1438 • Volume 21 • Number 6961 thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar 2 Riyals

The Peninsula

DOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Kha-lifa Al Thani yesterday received at Al Wajba Palace more heads of states and foreign dignitaries who arrived here to pay tributes to the departed H H Grandfather Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani.

Emir and Father Emir received condolences from Emir of Kuwait H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Minister of Inte-rior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, UAE Vice-President, Prime Minis-ter and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Mak-toum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme

Condolences pour in as nation mourns

Included with today’s edition is a 8-page

supplement

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTWEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

CHAIRMANSheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDr. Khalid Mubarak Al-Shafi

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMohammed Salim Mohamed

ADVERTISING MANAGERALI WAHBA

SUPPLEMENT EDITORPramod Prabhakaran

Advertising Coordinator Muhammad Shammas

DESIGNAbraham Augusthy

PRODUCTIONViswanath Sarma

IMAGE PROCESSINGMohd Sajad Sahir

The all-new 2017 Acadia – a reimag-ined crossover aimed at the heart of the midsize segment pioneers a much needed safety feature in the Middle East. The Rear Seat

Reminder is an innovation that aims to reduce incidents of forgotten items left in the rear seat, and is standard on every MY17 Acadia

The technology acts as a reminder to look in the rear seat once the Acadia is switched off.

“Rear Seat Reminder speaks volumes of the intention of GMC to provide innovations that are useful to our core customers. The

2017 Acadia is an all-new design that mainly caters to families and active individuals. This unique feature helps protect any precious cargo the driver might have left in the back seat. And in our region, , it could prove crit-ical if anything is forgotten in the back seat, especially in the summer heat, where cabin temperatures can quickly rise to over 70 degrees centigrade in a matter of minutes.” Said Mohsen Kassem, Regional Marketing and Sales Manager, GMC Middle East.

He added: “Over the past few years, we have witnessed local authorities in the region, as well as child protection groups, with the support of the media, take this issue to heart and raise awareness. Therefore, we sincerely hope that this feature could help minimize the occurrence and avoid unnecessary trage-dies in the new Acadia, and all our cars once this technology proliferates.”

The Rear Seat Reminder works by moni-toring the Acadia’s rear doors. The feature is intended to activate when either rear door is opened and closed within 10 minutes before the vehicle is started, or if they are opened and closed while the vehicle is running. Under these circumstances, the next time the vehicle is turned off after a door acti-vation, the Acadia is designed to sound five audible chimes and display a message in the driver information center that reads, “Rear Seat Reminder / Look in Rear Seat.”

The feature cannot detect items in the

backseat, so it is always important to check the rear seat prior to exiting the vehicle.

The 2017 GMC Acadia also includes a number of active safety features designed to help make drivers more aware of their sur-roundings avoid potential crash situations even in base trim. They are available depend-ing on the model and include:

• New Front Pedestrian Braking• New Low Speed Forward Automatic

Braking (standard on SLT-2 and Denali)• New Forward Automatic Braking (avail-

able on Denali)• New Following Distance Indicator • New IntelliBeam automatic headlamp

high-beam control• New Surround Vision camera system • New Safety Alert Seat• Forward Collision Alert• Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure

Warning• Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone

Alert• Front and Rear Parking Assist.The new Acadia offers a more-efficient

powertrain, while continuing to offer three rows of seating on most models. The pre-mium Acadia Denali returns, along with a new All Terrain model offering enhanced off-road capability.

The new 2017 Acadia goes on sale in the Middle East in the fall, almost a decade after its original introduction.

GMC leads industry with new rear seat reminder ways important toooo cccheeeeeeh cckkkkkko exiting the vehhiccccleeeeeee.. Acadia also inclluulll ddddeeedeedes s aaaaaaaa afety features ddeessee iiigigiigiigggnnneenneeeneeddddddddddd d

s more aware of tthhhehehh iiriii sssssuuuurruu ---otential crash siituuuuaaaata iiioooiionnnnsnsssssn hey are available ddddeppppeeeep nnddd-----nd include:destrian Brakinggeed Forward Auuttommmmmmaaatttiiticcccc ccc c ccon SLT-2 and Deennnnalllii))Automatic Brakinnggg g g g g gg ((a(aa((((((( vvvavaaaaaaaaiiliiilliilllillllil------

g Distance Indiccaaattooorrrrrrrrrrorrrrorrrrrrrr am automatic heeaadddaaadadddddllalaaaaaaalaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmpmmpmpmpmppmppppmmmmmmmmmmmpmmpmpmppppmmmmmmmmmmmpmpmmmmmpmmmmmmmmmmmmpmmmppmmmmmmmppmppmmmmpppmpmppmpppmmpmmpppppppppp

d Vision camera syyyysssssssssssstteeeteeeteeetteteeeetteteteeeeeeett mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ert Seatsion Alertsist with Lane Deeppppaaararrrarrartututuuuuutttuuuttuuututurrrrrrerrereeeeeeeeeeererrrereereeeeeeerrereereeeereeeeeereerereereerereeeeeeeeeeeeeerreeeeereee

Alert with Side Blinnnnnddd d dd ddd d ZZZZoZoZooooZooooZooZZoZoZoooZooooooZoooZooooooooZoooonnnnnnnnneneeneeeneeeeennnnnneneeeeeennnnnnnnnnenenennnnnnnnnnnnnennneennnneneeennnnnnnnn

r Parking Assist.t.a offers a more--eeeeffffffffffffffffffiiicicicicccciiiiiiiciii ieeeeiennntntnntntnttt continuing to offffeeeeeeerr tthhhhhrreerrr eeee e

most models. TThhhheee pppprrrrrrreee--eeali returns, alonng g g g wwwwiwiwiwiwwiiiiwwiiwwwwiwwiiwww ttthththhtthhhhhhththhhhhhtttthhtttttthh aaaaa aaaa aaa del offering enhananncceceecccecceceeec ddddddddd ddd ddddd oofoffffofooo ff-f----fff

cadia goes on saaleeeeeeee iiiiiiiii iinnn nn n ththhhhhhthhhththhhthhttheeeeeeeee ee eall, almost a decadddedddde afffftftfteeerrrrr ction.

All-new 2017 GMC Acadia introduces industry-first feature to help busy drivers. Contains an expanded range of available active safety features, including Front Pedestrian Braking and Surround Vision Camera.

DOHA: Qatar has been ranked top in the Arab world for mak-ing progress to remove gender gap at work in the World Economic Forum’s “Global Gender Gap Report 2016”.

In the report, Qatar stands first in the Arab world and placed in the 119 position globally for measures being taken for closing the gender gap at work.

The report is an annual bench marking exercise that measures

progress towards equality between men and women in four areas: Edu-cational attainment, health and survival, economic opportunity and political empowerment.

Other Arab countries which stand near but below Qatar are Algeria at number 120, U.A.E 124, Tunisia 126, Kuwait 128, Mauritania 129, Bahrain 131, Egypt 132, Oman 133 and Jordan 134.

→ Full report on page 5

The Peninsula

DOHA: The Hamad Medical Cor-poration (HMC) has launched the biggest recruitment drive in its his-tory to fill as many as 2,690 existing vacancies by the end of this year.

The drive aims to meet the need

for specialised clinical and non-clin-ical staff to work in the new hospitals and healthcare facilities, which are due to open this year and next year at Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City, HMC said yesterday.

“HMC currently has a total of 2,690 vacancies, and the drive is expected to fill all these vacancies by end of this year,” said a statement.

HMC said it is collaborating with the Ministry of Administrative Devel-opment, Labour and Social Affairs in this unprecedented recruitment drive and it will support HMC in meeting its workforce needs by recruiting a large number of staff into medical, nursing and allied healthcare roles.

→ Continued on page 6

Qatar tops region in gender equality

HMC in biggest recruitment drive

LEFT: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with Emir of Kuwait H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah. CENTRE: The Emir with Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. RIGHT: Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani receives UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, BELOW: Father Emir with Yemen President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.

Emir and Father Emir receive heads of states and foreign dignitaries

Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of of Yemen Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, Ruler of Ajman Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Ruler of Fujairah Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Ruler of Umm Al Qaiwain Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mu’alla, Ruler of Ras Al

Khaimah Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance Sheikh Ham-dan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Inte-rior Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser Sheikh

Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who offered their condolences on the death of the Grand-father Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani.

→ Continued on page 4→ See also page 16

HOME 03 WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

Qatari flag flying at half-staff on the Ministry of Interior headquarters on the second day of national mourning for H H Grandfather Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani who passed away on Sunday. Pic: Baher Amin / The Peninsula

Flag lowered during mourning

Ministry of Municipality to construct 2,000 houses

The Peninsula

DOHA: The Ministry of Municipal-ity and Environment is working on implementation of the Emiri initia-tive to build 2,000 residential units out of which some buildings will be allowed to go up to three floors, said senior officials.

The Central Municipal Council

(CMC) recommended to the Minis-try of Municipality and Environment that it study the possibility of increasing residential building height to three floors beside the penthouse.

The Council has also asked the same Ministry to restore the former system of building houses for wid-ows and divorcees in collaboration with Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs. CMC yesterday discussed a report prepared by its legal commit-tee on increasing building height in some areas.

The recommendation passed by the Council upon the report of the committee included recommenda-tion to the Ministry of Municipality

and Environment to study the pos-sibility of increasing residential building to three floors beside the penthouse.

The Council urged the minis-try to consider exceptional cases of some families who need to increase the height of their homes up to three floors and penthouse.

The recommendation also urged the Ministry to revive previous rec-ommendation passed by the council to provide government accommo-dations for Qataris employees who are holders of secondary school certificates.

The recommendation is based on suggestion made by Mohammed bin Saleh Al Khayareen, representative of constituency 16.

CMC urges Ministry to allow three-storey buildings.

HOME04 WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

Continued from page 1

UAE Vice-President conveyed the condolences of President H H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the Emir, the Father Emir, the house of Al Thani and the Qatari people on the death of the Grandfather Emir.

Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud offered condolences on the death of the Grandfather Emir. The Saudi crown prince was accompanied by Prince Salman bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Prince Nawaf bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Prince Al Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, also offered condolences on the death of the Grandfather Emir.

Emir and Father Emir also received Adviser to H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said of the Sultanate of Oman, Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said, Representative of H M King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco Prince Moulay Rachid, and former president of the Republic of Sudan Field Marshal Abdel Rahman Swar Al Dahab, Eng. Ibrahim Mohamed Hamid, assistant of President of Sudan Field Marshal Omer Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir and President of Afghanistan Dr Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and GCC Secretary-General Dr Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani who expressed their condolences.

Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, son of Venezuelan President Nicolas Ernesto Maduro, Head of Tunisia’s Ennahda Movement Rashid Ghannouchi and Prince Sultan Bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, President and Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, also offered condolences.

The Emir of Kuwait was accompanied by Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah, Sheikh Faisal Al Saud Al Mohammad Al Sabah, Kuwait National Guard’s (KNG) Deputy Chief Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Minister of Emiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah and First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah.

Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani was also present along with H E Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani, Personal Representative of the Emir H H Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani, H H Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa Al Thani, H E Sheikh Jassim bin Khalifa Al Thani, and a number of Their Excellencies sons of the Father Emir.

More condolences pour in

HOME 05WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

A Burgeri food truck parked near the Qatar Stock Exchange building in West Bay yesterday. The first food truck in Doha, Burgeri is a Qatari brand inspired by the vintage American diner offering burgers, hotdogs and fries among others. Pic: Kammutty VP / The Peninsula

Food on wheelsQatar tops the Arab region in gender equality

By Amna Pervaiz Rao The Peninsula

DOHA: Qatar has been ranked top in the Arab world for making progress to remove gender gap at work in the World Economic Forum’s “Global Gender Gap Report 2016”.

In the report, Qatar stands first in the Arab world and is placed in the 119th position globally for meas-ures being taken for closing the gender gap at work.

The report is an annual bench-marking exercise that measures progress towards equality between men and women in four areas: edu-cational attainment, health and survival, economic opportunity and political empowerment.

Other Arab countries which stand near but below Qatar are Algeria at number 120, UAE 124, Tunisia 126, Kuwait 128, Mauritania 129, Bahrain 131, Egypt 132, Oman 133 and Jordan 134.

WEF has noted that ‘world sees dramatic slowdown in closing the gender gap at work.” The report finds only 60 per cent of the gen-der gap closed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The gender gap in MENA is wider compared to Europe, where

the gap is 75 per cent closed, and East Asia and the Pacific, which has closed 68 per cent of its gender gap.

The report says that the Arab world is facing an “acute misuse of talent” by not acting faster to tackle gender inequality, which could put economic growth at risk and deprive economies of the oppor-tunity to develop.

In this latest edition, the report finds that progress towards equal-ity in the Middle East and North Africa is now at 60 per cent, com-pared to a global average of 68 per cent. Progress in the key economic pillar has also slowed dramatically with the global gap, which stands at 59 per cent and is now larger than at any point since 2008.

The number of factors behind this decline is salary, with women around the world on average earn-ing just over half of what men earn despite, on average, working longer hours taking paid and unpaid work into account. Another persistent challenge is stagnant labour force participation, with the global aver-age for women standing at 54per cent, compared to 81 per cent for men.

The number of women in senior positions also remains stubbornly low, with only four countries in the world having equal numbers of male and female legislators, senior officials and managers, despite the fact that 95 countries now have as many women educated at univer-sity level.

The leading four nations in the report are Iceland at first position followed by Finland, Norway and Sweden, in the second, third and fourth positions, respectively.

Study shows salivary protein may

be key to metabolic disordersThe Peninsula

DOHA: A group of scientists from the Diabetes Research Center at the Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), a research institute of Hamad bin Khalifa Uni-versity (HBKU), has conducted a study that could aid in the early prevention of the development of metabolic disorders.

Metabolism is the process body uses to get or make energy from the food a person eats. A metabolic disor-der occurs when abnormal chemical reactions in the body disrupt this process.

The research offers insight into the biological mech-anisms behind metabolic differences and may have an impact in helping identify predictive markers of insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity, making preventative care possible in Qatar and beyond.

The research was recently featured in the prestigious journal ‘Diabetes’ and concluded that individuals with

low levels of a specific salivary protein, alpha-amylase, which is produced by the salivary glands and is released in saliva, may cause the body’s energy production sources to switch from sugars to fatty acids.

The research group at Diabetes Research Center was led by Dr Abdelilah Arredouani together with Dr Mario Falchi from the Department of Twin Research at Kings College in London.

The study was conducted by carefully selecting two groups of healthy women for the research project: one group of women with a low level of the salivary protein and one with a high level.

Dr Arredouani said, “Interestingly, the differ-ence between the two groups studied seems to be due mainly to differences in the use of fatty acids. The results suggest that low levels of salivary alpha-amylase somehow reduces the uptake of glucose, the primary source of energy for the cells, and therefore the body shifts towards fatty acids usage to derive energy.”

Qatar is followed by Algeria, UAE, Tunisia, Kuwait and Bahrain.

RAF lecture to schoolchildrenThe Peninsula

DOHA: The Center for New Life at Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foun-dation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) has organised a programme to educate students on “keep-ing away from misbehaviour” at Al Khor Primary Independent School.

Naser Al Shammari, Head of the Center, delivered a lecture on the topic. He urged students to adopt good-behaviour and be useful to themselves and the community.

Indian shrimp safe to eatThe Peninsula

DOHA: Indian shrimp sold in the local market is safe for human consumption, the Joint Food Con-trol Committee at the Ministry of Public Health said yesterday, fol-lowing reports that a particular type of shrimp imported from some Indian cities was affected with white spot syndrome.

Tests conducted at the Central Food Laboratory have shown that imported Indian shrimp availa-ble in the local market is free from this syndrome or other diseases and is fit for human consumption, the ministry said yesterday.

Eatery shut over poor hygieneThe Peninsula

DOHA: Al Wakra Municipality yesterday shut down a restau-rant for sixty days for preparing and storing food inside a store at a labour accommodation in unhealthy conditions.

HOME06 WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

US and Canadian firms to vie for deals at Milipol

The Peninsula

DOHA: With solutions ranging from large-scale homeland security strat-egies to risk-specific equipment, products and services, leading sup-pliers from the United States and Canada will compete for defence and security business at Milipol Qatar.

The centerpiece of the effort will be the North American Pavilion, organised by Kallman Worldwide, Inc, the show’s official representative to the continent, in coordination with numerous gov-ernment agencies, including the US Departments of Commerce, Defence and State and their Cana-dian counterparts, said a press release yesterday.

The Pavilion will be a primary destination for buyers looking to meet industry leaders, an on-site business hub for North American exhibitors looking to maximise their exposure and impact at the event, and a forum for all to share indus-try information and insights.

Ranging from publicly-traded stalwarts such as General Dynam-ics (NYSE: GD) Land Systems Canada and Raytheon (NYSE:

RTN) to privately held small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 250 employees, Pavilion exhibitors are looking to initiate or strengthen international partnerships that will generate new business and create more jobs back home.

“When North American com-panies commit to exhibit at Milipol Qatar, we’re saying we believe in the power of this event to attract real business prospects and customers,” said Kallman Worldwide President and CEO, Tom Kallman.

“As the dynamics of life in the Middle East inspire new strategies for defence and security, we’re proud to work with the Milipol organisers to help our exhibitors succeed in Qatar, whether as prime contractors or subcontractors in support of regional manufacturers, service partners and their end-user customers.”

Kallman pointed to two com-panies that exemplify the wide range of solutions presented at the Pavilion:

Passport Systems (Booth K-030) develops advanced active and passive solutions to rapidly and automatically detect, localise and identify concealed threats and contraband for a broad range of applications, including pedestrian-, vehicle-, and fixed-facility-based approaches.

The company was recently presented with the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) Security Innovation Award from US Senator Edward Markey.

Exhibitors to display range of security and defence products.

The Peninsula

DOHA: Ooredoo will promote its next generation Security Opera-tions Centre (SOC) services at the upcoming Information Security Conference for the Financial Sec-tor, set to take place in Doha next week.

ICT security has risen on the corporate agenda after a series of high profile attacks in 2016, including a recent distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that slowed or knocked offline some of the world’s most high-profile websites this month.

To help companies keep their services accessible and secure, Ooredoo has invested in the wid-est portfolio of security services available in Qatar. As a sponsor of the Information Security Con-ference for the Financial Sector, the company will strive to raise awareness of the range of cyber security solutions now available for companies.

The conference, which is in its third year, promotes dialogue around information security in Qatar, the ICT challenges fac-ing financial institutions and the solutions available to tackle these challenges. The event is organised by Qatar Central Bank under the patronage of H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor of Qatar Central Bank.

Yousuf Abdulla Al Kubaisi, Chief Operating Officer, Ooredoo Qatar, said: “Ooredoo is investing in a range of solutions designed to provide the highest level of secu-rity and protection against a full range of threats. We look forward to profiling our next generation Security Operations Centre solu-tion at the Information Security Conference and highlighting the range of monitoring and protec-tion services it provides.”

Japanese Ambassador Shingo Tsuda (left) donating a book to Ibrahim Al Sayed, Director of Public Libraries & Heritage Department (centre) and Abdul Rahman Al Hatmi, Director of Supply Department, Qatar Public library.

The Peninsula

DOHA: The Embassy of Japan in Qatar, in cooperation with the Japan Foun-dation, donated a variety of books to Qatar Public Library (Dar Al-Kutub). The donation took place at the Ministry of Culture and Sports on October 23.

The Embassy has a long history of cooperation with the Qatar Pub-lic Library. The first book donation was made in 1987, and over almost 30 years, the total number of books presented to the Public Library reached almost 1,000. Delivering the books to Ibrahim Al-Sayed, Director of Pub-lic Libraries & Heritage Department, Ambassador Shingo Tsuda expressed his hope that the books donated over the years have contributed to enrich knowledge on Japan among Qatari readers, stressing the importance of cultural exchange forging the bridge between the two nations.

50 doctors trained by WHO on occupational healthThe Peninsula

DOHA: Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in collaboration with the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) began a five-day training programme for health practitioners on occupational and environmental health. The work-shops by experts from WHO EMRO office will train the second batch of practitioners consisting of 50 doctors of HMC and primary healthcare cen-tres and Qatari Red Crescent.

Workers in various places have to deal with hazardous materials while at work and hence there is an urgent need to lessen the risks associated. A number of countries are moving to revise health system to be based on primary healthcare to deliver services and achieve maxi-mum benefit at lower cost while ensuring high quality.

Dr Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of Pub-lic Health Department, MoPH, in his speech, delivered on his behalf by Dr Mohammed Ali Mohammed Al Haj-jaj, head of occupational health at MoPH, praised WHO-EMRO which sent five occupational health doc-tors and consultants to implement the training programme. He stressed that health sector in Qatar aspires for an effective and strong partner-ship with WHO.

Meanwhile, Dr Al Hajjaj, said that the programme is being conducted with videos and studies of clinical cases. It will also provide partici-pants a chance to visit worksites to study and identify potential prob-lems and working conditions. They will also look into preventing occu-pational errors, reporting worksite injuries and feeding these data on to MoPH website. These efforts are aimed at supporting MoPH’s efforts to make the workplace free of occu-pational injuries, hazards and death.

MoPH is planning to conduct three other training workshops by 2017.

The workshop aims to increase the number of occupational health specialists, here, by training phy-sicians in primary healthcare, and develop the concept of maintaining the highest quality standards for health and safety in the workplace. It also focuses on stressing the role of the doctor in the results manage-ment and prevention of occupational diseases and worksite accidents.

The growing international inter-est in occupational health comes due to extensive use of manufacturing materials, modern production meth-ods, and the impact these have on human health and the environment.

The workshop is part of the MoPH’s plans to provide better health care for workers in industrial, construction and economic sectors in order to improve the health of workers. The initiative is in tune with the occupational health project of the National Health Strategy.

The Peninsula

DOHA: Al Gannas Society marks the beginning of the hunting season with the third edition of the annual Isfiri Qatar Falconry Champion-ships next week.

For falconers “Isfiri” means the start of the hunting season, during which they hunt small birds which abound through the month of Octo-ber. The hunting season is eagerly anticipated by falconers in Qatar and around the region.

Khalid bin Saeed Al Sulaiti, chairman of the championship, said

registration is open to Qatari fal-coners from October 29 to 31 from 6pm till 9pm at Al Gannas society headquarters located in Katara.

The championships will be held at Sabkhat Al Dakhira from Novem-ber 3 to 5 and will include two categories. A falconer is allowed to take part with several of his falcons.

Cash prizes are at stake for the winners of the annual competition. First place will receive QR35,000; second place will win QR25,000, third QR15,000 and fourth and fifth finishers will be awarded QR5,000 each.

Inscribed on the Unesco List

of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, falconry has been a pas-sion for many Qataris as an art and sport. Al Gannas Society has been at the forefront of preserving vital aspects of Qatari tradition through heritage activities and festivals it organises annually including fal-conry championships at the local and international levels.

Highlighting the Society’s annual calendar is the Qatar Inter-national Falcons and Hunting Festival which witnesses hundreds of falconers from around the region competing for big prizes in various categories.

Falconers gear up as hunting season looms

Doctors who are being trained by WHO EMRO on occupational and environmental health.

Japan Embassy donates books

Ooredoo to

display security

muscle at

conference

Administrative

posts only

for QatarisContinued from page 1

Clinical roles are available to both Qatari and non-Qatari nationals, while administrative posts are open to Qatari nation-als only and will be filled in coordination with the Ministry of Administrative Development and Labour and Social Affairs.

Those interested in a career with HMC can apply directly through its website: https://www.hamad.qa/EN/Join-Us/HR/Apply-Online/Pages/default.aspx

Qatari nationals who are interested in applying for the administrative posts can apply through the Ministry of Admin-istrative Development and Labour and Social Affairs. HMC will be coordinating with the ministry to process these applications.

HMC had earlier announced that seven new public hospitals will be opened in Qatar by the end of next year including three hospi-tals exclusively for expatriate male single workers. The biggest expan-sion plan undertaken by the HMC in more than a decade is expected to create 1,100 new hospital beds.

MIDDLE EAST 07WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

AFP

JERUSALEM: Reviews of shoot-ings in which Israeli security forces killed a knife-wielding Palestinian and another throwing stones found the use of deadly violence could have been avoided, public radio reported yesterday.

An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the cases had been looked into as part of routine procedure, but was unable to comment on the reported findings.

It was unclear if the officers involved would face further action.

Citing an internal army docu-ment, the radio said border police under the command of the military fired a hail of bullets when they killed a knife-wielding Palestinian woman on October 19. They initially followed regulations, firing warning shots into the air followed by a sin-gle round at the 19-year-old’s legs when she failed to stop at the Tapuah

junction in the northern West Bank.Four officers then fired more

than 30 rounds at her, said the report. Video footage that emerged of the shooting appeared to show four officers firing after she was already on the ground.

Another case reviewed was that of the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Palestinian stone thrower Khaled Bahar the following day near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Public radio said the army review reported that the shoot-ing occurred after a patrol pursued young Palestinians who had stoned a passing Israeli bus.

“One of the youths tried to throw a stone at short range at the force commander who shot and killed him,” the report said.

“According to the enquiry there was no danger to life (to the com-mander). He should not have fired at the central body mass in order to kill.” An army spokesman con-firmed that those and other recent cases not resulting in fatalities had

been looked at as part of routine procedure.

“It was an operational review to inspect and improve our perform-ance on the ground,” spokesman Arye Shalicar said. He would not confirm the review›s reported find-ings but said military police automatically investigate fatalities and it was for them to decide if there had been improper behaviour.

Israeli security forces have been accused of using dispropor-tionate force in a number of cases over the past year. An Israeli sol-dier is on trial for manslaughter after video emerged showing him shoot a wounded Palestinian attacker in the head in March as he lay on the ground without seeming to pose any further threat.

Police were also criticised for the shooting of a Palestinian teenage girl involved in a stabbing attack with scissors in November 2015.

Footage appeared to show an officer shoot the girl again as she was already on the ground.

Israeli forces could have avoided killings: Report

Two Saudi cops martyredRIYADH: Unidentified gunmen killed two Saudi policemen in the mainly Shia city of Dammam early yester-day, authorities in the region said. The officers came under “heavy fire from an unknown source” as they parked their vehicle in a commercial area, the official SPA news agency quoted a police spokesman as saying.

The spokesman did not say who police suspected had carried out the shooting, the latest in a series of attacks on officers in Shiite areas of the oil-rich east of the kingdom.

Two policemen were killed in a similar attack in Dammam last month. The Shia minority in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia has long complained of discrimination and there has been sporadic unrest since the suppression of a Shiite-led upris-ing in neighbouring Bahrain sparked a wave of protests in 2011.

AFP

DIYARBAKIR, TURKEY: The two co-mayors of Diyarbakir, a Kurdish-majority city in south-east Turkey, have been arrested as part of a “terrorism” enquiry, security officials said.

There was a heavy police presence around the town hall following the arrests of Gul-tan Kisanak and Firat Anli, who together lead Diyarbakir, the capital of southeastern Turkey which has been rocked by clashes between Turkish security forces and members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Coalition denies

Yemen blockade

DUBAI: The Saudi-led coalition denied yesterday it had imposed a “blockade” on Yemen, saying instead that it was controlling access to the country to prevent pro-Iran rebels from obtaining arms.

“No, there is no blockade,” coalition spokesman Major Gen-eral Ahmed Assiri said. “There is control based on international law... Control is different from blockade, which means that nobody can enter or leave” the country, he said. Assiri also spoke of “restriction” and “controlled freedom of movement”.

“If a boat leaves from Djibouti, before reaching Hodeida (port in western Yemen), our forces board the vessel to ensure the cargo is legal and complies with Resolution 2216,” adopted by the UN Security Council in April 2015 and prohib-iting the delivery of arms to the rebels in Yemen, he said.

Reuters

MOSCOW/BEIRUT: Russia said yes-terday it would extend a moratorium on air strikes on Syria’s Aleppo into a ninth day, but a monitor and a civil defence official said that rebel-held parts of the divided city had been struck in recent days.

Defence ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said Russian and Syrian planes had not even approached, let alone bombed, the devastated city since last Tuesday when Russia suspended air strikes ahead of a pause in hos-tilities. That moratorium on air strikes was being extended, Sergei Rudskoi, a defence ministry official, said separately on Tuesday, without specifying for how long.

Rudskoi said that meant Russian and Syrian planes would continue to stay out of a 10km zone around Aleppo. But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes

had resumed since the lull in fight-ing ended on Saturday, focusing on major front lines, including in the city’s southwest. There had been no civilian deaths from air strikes inside eastern Aleppo, however, the moni-tor said. Ibrahim Abu Al Laith, a civil defence official in eastern Aleppo, also said air strikes and shelling had hit the rebel-held half of the city near front lines in the past week.

“There was artillery shelling...and there were planes, the city was hit by several strikes,” he said.

On Tuesday, districts outside the city to the west were hit by air strikes, the Observatory said. Air strikes had continued outside Aleppo during the ceasefire.

Russia has been the Syrian government’s most powerful ally against rebels in a civil war now well into its sixth year.

Aleppo, Syria’s most populous city before the war erupted, is now divided into government- and rebel-held areas. Intense bombardment by Syrian and Russian warplanes has reduced the rebel-controlled east to ruins. Russia has accused rebels of thwarting its efforts to evacuate civilians, saying they open fire on those wanting to leave, but rebel groups say Syrian government forces and allies have been shelling and sniping around the corridors.

Rebels did not accept the cease-fire, which they said did nothing to alleviate the situation of those who chose to remain in eastern Aleppo, and was part of a government policy to purge cities of political opponents.

AFP

QARAQOSH, IRAQ: Iraqi forces were inching to within striking dis-tance of eastern Mosul yesterday as coalition defence chiefs gathered in Paris agreed to also take on the jihadists’ Syrian bastion of Raqa.

With the Mosul battle in its sec-ond week, French President Francois Hollande called for the US-led coali-tion against the Islamic State group to prepare for the aftermath and the next stages of the campaign against the jihadists. The United Nations said it had received reports of a new series of atrocities by the jihadists as troops close in on its last major urban stronghold in Iraq.

Forces from the elite coun-ter-terrorism service (CTS) retook areas close to the eastern outskirts

of Mosul. “On our front, we have advanced to within five or six kil-ometres (three to four miles) of Mosul,” their commander, General Abdelghani al-Assadi, said.

“We must now coordinate with forces on other fronts to launch a coordinated” attack on Mosul, he said, speaking from the Christian town of Bartalla.

Kurdish peshmerga forces are making gains on the northeastern front, but federal forces advancing from the south have some way to go before reaching the outskirts.

“All axes of advance have made the progress we expected at this stage of the operation, some are ahead of schedule,” said Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the coalition.

Meanwhile, thousands of men from the Hashed al-Shaabi paramil-itary umbrella group dominated by Tehran-backed Shiite militias were

preparing for a push to the west of mainly Sunni Mosul.

The Hashed’s mission will be to “cut off and prevent the escape of (IS) towards Syria and fully isolate Mosul from Syria”, said Jawwad al-Tulaibawi, spokesman for the Asaib Ahl Al Haq militia.

“We expect that it will be a diffi-cult and fierce battle,” he said.

Iraqi Kurds and Sunni Arab pol-iticians have opposed the Hashed’s participation in the operation, as has Turkey, which has a military pres-ence east of Mosul despite repeated demands by Baghdad to withdraw its forces.

Tensions have risen between Baghdad and Ankara, whose for-eign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, warned Tuesday that if there is a threat to Turkey, “we are ready to use all our resources including a ground operation”.

Russia extends moratorium on Aleppo air strikes

Iraqi special forces soldiers look at a destroyed Islamic State (IS) vehicle in a village near Mosul, Iraq, yesterday.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes had resumed since the lull in fighting ended on Saturday, focusing on major front lines, including in the city’s southwest.

Iraqi forces inch towards Mosul

Israeli settlers start to build a new illegal outpost north of the West Bank village of Ain Al Baida, yesterday. More than 400,000 Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank, considered by the international community as one of the largest obstacles to peace.

Obstacle to peace

Co-mayors of

Turkish city held

VIEWS08 WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

Spain is at last likely to get a government -- after a ten-month deadlock. The prolonged vacuum in Madrid has caused much interest lately, with the international media writing extensively about how Spaniards were getting used to an absence of government, with some

even praising the deadlock, as the leading political parties failed to garner enough votes in the two past elections to form a government. The country went through two inconclusive elections in ten months in which the caretaker Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party (PP) won both times, but without enough seats to rule alone. By refusing to give any party the majority, the voters expressed their frustration with corruption scandals and austerity.

But things look rosier now as the popular support for Rajoy is rising. The king yesterday tasked Rajoy with forming a new government. “I accepted the task,” Rajoy told reporters. The

parliament is today scheduled to begin a debate on whether to back Rajoy’s bid for a second term. All indications are that the country could have a new government by the weekend that would bring to an end the ten-month uncertainty. The Socialist party has agreed to abstain in the vote, allowing Rajoy to lead a minority government of his conservative People’s Party (PP).

However, several challenges remain for the new minority government. With just 137 of the 350 seats in parliament, he will be faced with a huge opposition and other parties have promised to make things difficult for him. The new government’s biggest challenge will be to get the 2017 budget approved, especially because the budget will have

to accommodate some unpopular and tough measures to reduce deficit. Acting Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said that $5.4bn in budget cuts will be needed, a proposal that is likely to face stiff opposition from opposition parties who are against austerity measures. The Socialists’ interim head, Javier Fernandez, has said his party would not approve any budgets proposed by an incoming centre-right government.

Rajoy must make use of the new opportunities to win the trust of the people, which will translate into more votes when elections are held again. He counts as his achievements the anti-corruption measures and the return to growth and drop in unemployment in the country, which, though at 20 percent, is still the second highest in the eurozone. Spain needs a strong government as the European Union is going through a period of crisis after the Brexit vote. Also, the separatist regional government in Catalonia has pledged to hold an independence referendum in 2017 despite fierce opposition from Madrid.

Filling the vacuum

A ten-month political deadlock in Spain is likely to end as Rajoy will seek parliament’s backing to form a new government.

Quote of the day

After decades of delay we are showing that we will take the big decisions when they’re the right decisions for Britain.

Theresa May British Prime Minister

E S TA B L I S H E D I N 1996

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

msalim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORHUSSAIN AHMAD

hussain@pen.com.qa

EDITOR IAL

EDITORIAL TEL: 44557741 / 44557743 FAX: 44557746 / 44557758 P. O. BOX: 3488, DOHA, QATAR E-MAIL: editor@pen.com.qaADVERTISING TEL: 44557837 / 780 FAX: 44557870 CLASSIFIED: 44557857 E-MAIL: adv@pen.com.qaSUBSCRIPTION / HOME DELIVERY TEL: 44557809 /839 FAX: 44557819 E-MAIL: info@tawseelqatar.com

The strong international statements on the issue of Israel’s settlements, particularly from the US State Department,

are an indication of the lack of international recognition of Israel’s settlement enterprise in occupied Palestine. However, for the Palestinians, who have con-tinuously suffered from Israeli settlements and its associated regime for more than half a cen-tury, those statements are nothing else than a repetition of recycled positions, lacking any genuine action on the ground.

The last statement by the State Department, openly questioning Israel’s willingness to achieve a two-state solution, is not only a reminder of Israel’s active sabo-tage of US policies for peace in the region but also raises questions about whether the United States is willing to take any action after the November election in America.

Next June will mark 50 years since the Israeli military occupa-tion began in 1967. I was 12 years old when the occupation came to Jericho, my hometown. The long-est ongoing military occupation in modern history is one of two experiences that generations of Palestinians share.

The other shared experience of Palestinians is exile, with mil-lions of Palestinians not allowed to return to live in their home-land because they are not Jewish. This is not only the case of Pales-tinians in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria and the Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon, but also of thousands of Palestinian Americans.

Though honouring the inal-ienable rights of the Palestinian people, including self-determina-tion, has been a stated goal of the international community, Israel has been able to continue vio-lating international law and UN resolutions with full impunity. The United States has played a pivotal role in allowing the con-tinuation of Israel’s systematic violations of Palestinian rights.

The point is clear: Almost a century after the Balfour Decla-ration, the symbolic beginning of the denial of our rights, we are not asking for statements or for the usual warnings about the end of the two-state solution. We are reminding the world of its responsibility. The Pal-estinian people were violently dispossessed from their homes and exiled from their homeland in 1948, endured the occupation in 1967, only to be forced into the historic compromise recognising the 1967 border as the borders of the state of Palestine. We rec-ognised Israel over 78 percent of historic Palestine in what has been the most significant con-cession made by any party in the context of Middle East peace. To embrace the two-state solu-tion on the 1967 border was the Palestinian adoption of an inter-national position.

This was part of a discrete US-Palestinian dialogue that began in the 1970s, including renowned Palestinian American intellec-tuals such as Edward Said and Ibrahim Abu Lughod. The two-state solution and a full rejection of Israeli settlements were pre-sented to be the official US policy. It was ratified with American abstention in several UN Security Council resolutions that referred to the illegality of Israeli settle-ments and the “null and void” status of Israel’s illegal annexa-tion of occupied East Jerusalem. However, after the Palestinian endorsement of that internation-ally endorsed vision, successive US administrations, as well as the European Union, viewed the pol-icy of impunity for Israeli crimes as an encouragement for Israel to remain engaged in the “process,” while concurrently rewarding Israel to continue to build set-tlements. Rather than a “peace

process,” we ended up having an eternal process with no major results other than the destruction of hope in the hearts and minds of millions of Palestinians.

A two-state solution is impos-sible with the presence of Israeli settlements. A sovereign state must have control over its ter-ritory and natural resources, something impossible with more than 200 illegal foreign settlements.

Today, there are more than 600,000 illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied state of Palestine. This includes East Jerusalem, our capital and an integral part of the state of Palestine. Our demand for full sovereignty in our territory is not directed against the Jewish people, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has cynically portrayed, but against the illegality of a foreign colonial enterprise. Neyanyahu, the prime minister of a country responsible for the destruction of hundreds of

Palestinian Christian and Muslim villages and the ongoing process of forcible displacement in occu-pied territory, has accused us of “ethnic cleansing” for advocat-ing to respect UN resolutions and international law that call upon Israel to withdraw to the 1967 border.

If Israel is willing to announce a new settlement just a few days after receiving the historic pack-age of $38 billion in military aid from US taxpayers, it is only because Netanyahu knows that there will be no consequences to such actions. A “strong con-demnation” is not something that the right-wing Israeli gov-ernment fears. What is needed are actions, including those con-ducted by civil society, to totally cut ties between Israeli settle-ments in occupied Palestine and the rest of the world, including recognition of the state of Pales-tine on the 1967 border as well as to allow the UN Security Council to fulfill its mandate for Palestine.

The statements delivered by several US officials about Israeli settlements are not something new. However, US President Barack Obama has the oppor-tunity not to be remembered as the US president who allowed the two-state solution to dis-appear. Rather than a new set of parameters, what’s needed is decisive action for the imple-mentation of the internationally endorsed vision: free Palestine from the occupation that began in 1967, hold Israel accountable to its commitments under inter-national law and implement the Arab Peace Initiative as a regional framework for peace. “Strong statements” are not going to move us toward that direction.The writer is Secretary-Gen-eral of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

Two-state solution impossible if Israel continues settlements

By Saeb Erekat

The Washington Post

A sovereign state must have control over its territory and natural resources, something impossible with more than 200 illegal foreign settlements. Today, there are more than 600,000 illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied state of Palestine.

The West Bank Jewish settlement of Ofra, the Palestinian village of Silwad, is seen in the background.

OPINION 09WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

Decline of Centre-Left behind Europe’s mess

By Sheri Berman

The Washington Post

Europe today is a mess. The strongest countries face lackluster economic growth, while the weakest, like Greece, are struggling to recover

from depression-like downturns. Politically, things are even worse, as disillusionment with European and domestic institutions and elites is at record levels, and support for Far-Left and far-right parties is grow-ing, creating political instability.

What’s to blame for this mess? Some blame neoliberalism - the adoption of pro-market policies - saying that it caused the crisis and left democratically elected gov-ernments unable to respond. Others blame the European Union, which they say is undemocratic and undermines national sovereignty. Under this explanation, the EU weakened voters’ faith in their dem-ocratically elected governments and led them to support Far-Left and -right parties.

These explanations aren’t wrong, but they don’t provide the full picture. One key cause for Europe’s current crisis is the decline of the Centre-Left. As I argue in a new article for the Journal of Democracy, even people who aren’t on the Centre-Left themselves should recognize the role that it played in underpinning stability. From World War II onward, the Centre-Left either ran the government or provided the loyal opposition in nearly every European democracy. No longer. Centre-Left par-ties have dwindled into shadows of their former might.

Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), once the most powerful party of the left in Europe, currently gets support in the low 20s in opinion polls. The British Labour Party, the author of the post-World War II British welfare state, is a mess. It reacted to a disappointing 2015 election outcome by making Far-Left backbencher Jeremy

Corbyn its leader, only to be convulsed a year later by efforts to oust him. The French Socialists are in government but in disar-ray, led by the colourless President François Hollande, whose prospects of reelection are dismal. Even the once-dominant Scandi-navian Centre-Left has been reduced to vote shares of 30 percent or less.

The decline of the Centre-Left has con-tributed to Europe’s contemporary economic and political problems and hindered find-ing viable solutions to them. The left is no longer able to play its historic stabilizing role. After World War II, European socie-ties were built on principles that owed a lot to Centre-Left ideas.

There was widespread agreement after the war that the political chaos and social upheaval associated with the Great Depression had been the consequence of unregulated markets, so the idea that they should be left unregulated again was an anathema. And so, when European polit-ical economies were rebuilt, they were designed to ensure that capitalism was reined in by governments. This postwar order worked remarkably well: The three decades after 1945 remain Europe’s period of fastest growth ever.

Politically, this order’s effects were equally important. Workers and employ-ers became more willing to cooperate, and in place of the centrifugal dynamics of the interwar years, when tough times drove voters to the extremes, good times dur-ing the postwar years drove voters back to the centre. Thanks to a new relation-ship between democratic governments and capitalism, Europe was able - for the first

time in its history - to combine economic growth, well-functioning democracy and social stability.

By the 1970s, however, this order had begun to fray and, after the 2008 finan-cial crisis, it was in full-fledged meltdown. The Centre-Left was unprepared to offer new ideas for promoting growth while pro-tecting citizens from the harsher aspects of free markets. Instead, it kept on trying to defend outdated policies or proposed watered-down versions of neoliberalism that barely differentiated it from the cen-tre-right. The Centre-Left has also been challenged by increased diversity. The post-war order rested on and helped cement a sense of social solidarity, where strong welfare states gave citizens a sense that their governments were looking after them and the gains from economic growth were distributed reasonably fairly.

By the last decades of the 20th cen-tury, however, diversity had significantly undermined social solidarity. And here the left found itself split between its tra-ditional emphasis on solidarity and the voices of multiculturalism, which often emphasized differences among, rather than commonalities among, different social groups. This fragmented the left, leaving it unable to deal coherently with new issues such as mass immigration, making it harder to build majority coali-tions, win elections or generate the social solidarity necessary to support the rest of the Centre-Left agenda or healthy democ-racy more generally.

This decline has implications that go far beyond the Centre-Left itself. It has

created space for political alternatives. First is the neoliberal right, which sees the solution to Europe’s economic prob-lems as involving more cuts to the welfare state, more leeway for markets and more limits on state regulation of the economy. Whatever the absolute merits or defects of these proposals, they offer little new to those suffering from inequality, stagnat-ing incomes and job loss and ignore the anger and sense of alienation character-izing significant swaths of European and American society.

The second alternative is the popu-list right. Unlike neoliberals, the populist right takes seriously the downsides of glo-balization and forthrightly addresses the economic fears of those who see themselves as losing out to forces beyond their con-trol. In addition, the populist right favours maintaining the social safety net and an activist state. It pairs this, however, with anti-liberal, if not antidemocratic, posi-tions, including a penchant for economic autarky, a scapegoating of immigrants and hostility toward minority groups.

The third choice is the far left, repre-sented by Corbyn’s Labour, Syriza, Podemos and various anti-globalization movements. Like the populist right, these groups take seriously the downsides of globalisationm but see little upside. Indeed, these groups often paint capitalism as the source of all current problems. Like the populist right, these groups have been very good at mobi-lizing discontent with trenchant criticisms but have offered few viable solutions to eco-nomic problems and are not well placed to make appeals to voters worried about

social and cultural change.These approaches offer very differ-

ent understandings of the problems faced by European states today and have led to centrifugal tendencies that make it more difficult to reach political compromise or engage in effective government.

Particularly worrisome is a tendency we also see here in the United States of white, disaffected and poorly educated vot-ers to flee the Centre-Left for the populist right. During the recent Brexit referendum, many traditional Labour supporters voted to leave the EU, but this political shift, in Europe by the working class in particular, has been a prominent feature of European politics for many years.

More broadly, the rivalry between the Centre-Left and centre-right helped to build the foundations of popular democ-racy in Europe. Now that the Centre-Left is in decline, it is difficult to build common ground with other established parties or to organize democratic politics in a rea-sonably stable way. In addition, the decline of the Centre-Left has reflected and fur-thered the decline of the postwar order.

This order generated unprecedented prosperity, diminished class conflict and undercut support for extremism. Europe’s Centre-Left was an architect and mainstay of this order, and it is hard to imagine it being revived or a replacement for it being constructed without a strong Centre-Left. And without broad-based agreements to reform European economies, welfare states, immigration and integration policies, and the European Union, Europe’s current mess is likely to be long-lasting indeed.

The decline of the Centre-Left has contributed to Europe’s contemporary economic and political problems and hindered finding viable solutions to them. The left is no longer able to play its historic stabilising role.

Britain’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn standing with campaigners outside the Houses of Parliament in central London during a protest calling for an inquiry into the ‘Battle of Orgreave’ and the policing of the miners’ strikes.

US weighs options to answer Venezuela crisis

By John Hudson

The Washington Post

The United States is trying to figure out how best to respond to a deepening crisis in Vene-

zuela after President Nicolas Maduro rejected demands for his recall by oppo-sition lawmakers. The constitutional impasse comes as Venezuela suffers an economic meltdown, with food and medicine in short supply and gangs and guns in abundance.

The stakes of a protracted standoff are high as concerns mount that the country of 30 million could further unravel amid the tanking economy and endemic crime, even as American attention is divided by the presiden-tial election and ongoing military

campaigns in the Middle East. But the challenge for Washington, according to a senior State Department official, is how to strike the right balance in a country whose leaders have long viewed the US as a malevolent outside force and who routinely exploit that senti-ment for political gain.

“We have to be very mindful of the tone and tenor we take, lest the point we’re trying to make actually ends up in the opposite result,” the official told Foreign Policy.

But some critics of Washington’s subdued response are urging the US to ignore Maduro’s anti-imperial broad-sides and take more assertive action.

“Given the dire events on the ground, the time is past to worry about that,” said Ted Piccone, a senior fel-low at the Brookings Institution. He said the United States should take a leading role in shaping the interna-tional response to the crisis, including offering humanitarian aid to the Ven-ezuelan people.

The current standoff erupted after Maduro’s electoral council sus-pended a referendum last week aimed at removing him from office. Opposi-tion lawmakers, who control Congress, accuse Maduro of driving the country’s economy into the ground and steam-rolling its democratic institutions. In

response to the nixed referendum, Law-makers passed a resolution Sunday declaring “the breakdown of con-stitutional order” and “ a coup d’etat committed by the Nicolas Maduro regime.”

The International Monetary Fund expects Venezuela’s economic output to shrink by 10 percent in 2016, and inflation to rise above 700 percent. Basic foodstuffs have vanished from store shelves; parents have to ransack the black market in search of life-sav-ing medicines. The Maduro regime, its critics say, has used its control over state industries to rob the country. US prosecutors are preparing charges against officials at the state oil com-pany for allegedly siphoning some $11 billion out of the country, Bloomb-erg reported.

Like many Venezuelans, US dip-lomats say that since congressional elections in December 2015 - in which the opposition won a two-thirds major-ity - Maduro has sought to muzzle lawmakers. “We have witnessed how the executive and judicial branches have stripped away, undermined, and diluted the National Assembly’s con-stitutionally guaranteed functions and responsibilities,” Annie Pforzheimer, the acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere,

told Congress this summer. She said that the recall referendum, since blocked by Maduro, would be the best way for Venezuelans to “express their politi-cal will.”

But Maduro has dismissed his oppo-nents as power-hungry coup plotters and refused to step down.

“The revolution will continue to win despite the constant pretensions of the right which is trying to take over power by unconstitutional means,” Maduro said in a video message. He has repeatedly insinuated that the oppo-sition has links to the United States, which he says wants to pillage Vene-zuela’s “oil riches.”

Maduro met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Monday, and the Catholic leader reportedly urged him to end the people’s suffering by resolving the crisis. Meanwhile, several hundred stu-dents burned trash cans and erected roadblocks in the restive border city of San Cristobal. “We want freedom!” yelled the demonstrators.

The opposition is calling for nation-wide rallies on Wednesday dubbed “The Takeover of Venezuela.”

The best hope for a peaceful res-olution of the standoff is a new round of talks slated for Sunday between the socialist Venezuelan government and the opposition, the Vatican’s envoy

announced on Monday. Past dialogues between the two bitterly-opposed sides have repeatedly ended without progress, and on Tuesday, major fac-tions of Venezuela’s opposition ruled out participation in the government-proposed talks.

“These devils want to use the good faith of Pope Francis to buy more time,” said Henrique Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate. “No dialogue has begun in Venezuela,” he said.

The question for Washington is whether to get out in front of the cri-sis or play a behind-the-scenes role.

Piccone of Brookings said the United States should take its cue from Venezuela’s national assembly lead-ers and “activate mechanisms at the Organization of American States” that are designed for such political crises. The OAS can censure regional govern-ments who are no longer functional democracies, as it has done in the case of Cuba.

Ricardo Hausmann, a Latin Amer-ica expert at the Harvard Kennedy School, noted that the OAS could acti-vate its Democratic Charter in response to Maduro’s actions. That could get the ball rolling on “individualized sanctions on people who violate the constitution, human rights or launder money,” he said. “It could also put on

the table the kind of assistance a new government might get if democracy is reestablished.”

But the risk, especially given Maduro’s repeated claims of US involve-ment in plots to topple him, is that too prominent an American role could boomerang.

“I am convinced that any public statement coming from the US gov-ernment will not help the opposition,” said Miguel Santos, a Latin America scholar at Harvard University. Instead, he encouraged the US to play a more low-profile role that involved coor-dinating closely with other countries in the region.

“The US should use their sphere of influence to try to bring other coun-tries in Latin America along to exert direct pressure on Venezuela,” he said; Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay, in par-ticular, he noted, have been leery of criticizing Maduro.

The State Department hasn’t been completely aloof. Tom Shannon, the State Department’s under secretary for political affairs and a longtime Latin America hand, has made at least two trips to Venezuela this year. A senior State Department official said Mon-day that Shannon is “very engaged” in the current crisis and is taking the lead for the department.

All thoughts and views expressed in these columns are those of the writers, not of the newspaper.All correspondence regarding Views and Opinion pages should be mailed to the Editor-in-Chief.

ASIA / AFRICA10 WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

GOMA: DR Congo’s army announced the arrest of a senior member of the FDLR, the Rwandan Hutu rebel force accused of regular atrocities on Con-golese soil.

Army spokesman Major Guillaume Ndjike said that Habiarimana Mucebo Sofuni had been captured in Rutshuru, in Nord-Kivu province.

Sofuni served as a commander in charge of intelligence for the Dem-ocratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.

DR Congo arrests

top Rwandan

rebel: Army

Congolese oppose Kabila’s mandate extensionReuters

KINSHASA: Congolese over-whelmingly oppose changing the constitution to allow President Joseph Kabila (pictured) to stand for a third term and believe he should step down at the end of his mandate in Decem-ber, according to a opinion poll published yesterday.

DR Congo’s ruling coalition and part of the opposition have agreed to delay the vote from this November to April 2018, citing difficulties enroll-ing millions of voters

But the main opposition bloc rejects the accord, saying it allows Kabila to cling to power and remove constitutional term limits.

The poll, conducted by the Congo

Research Group at New York Univer-sity in collaboration with a Congolese polling institute, sampled 7,545 respondents in Congo’s 26 provinces

in face-to-face interviews between May and September.

Over 81% of the respondents oppose changing the constitution to allow Kabila to stand for a third term.

Seventy-four percent say he should leave office this year.

If the presidential election were held today, 33% said they would vote for former provincial governor Moise Katumbi, 18% for opposi-tion leader Etienne Tshisekedi and 7.8% for Kabila. Kabila registered a 44% approval rating. Katumbi and Tshisekedi received 85.8 and 65.3 percent ratings respectively.

The results, which varied little

based on socio-economic status, gender and religion, show a marked drop in support for Kabila, who offi-cially won 48.9% of the vote in 2011, a consequence of a lack of economic development and poor security.

Exhaustive surveys are almost non-existent in Congo, where poor roads and little electricity make poll-ing difficult or unreliable. The Congo Research Group said its poll had a margin of error of 5%.

Katumbi, the multi-millionaire former governor of Congo’s cop-per-mining region, declared his candidacy for president in May but was then sentenced in absentia to

three years in prison for real estate fraud.

Tshisekedi, the 83-year-old pres-ident of Congo’s largest opposition party, finished runner-up to Kabila in the 2011 election, which observers said was marred by fraud.

Congo is Africa’s largest copper producer but ranks 176 out of 188 countries on the UN Human Devel-opment Index.

Over 48% of respondents said they would participate in protests if elections were rigged or delayed.

Congo has not experienced a peaceful transition of power since independence in 1960.

Reuters

BANGKOK: Thailand’s military government has requested the extradition of several people sus-pected of insulting the monarchy after the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the foreign minister said yesterday.

Sensitivities are running high in the Southeast Asian country follow-ing the death of the revered king on October 13, after seven decades on the throne.

It has also led to the rise of ultra-royalist vigilante groups who say they will punish anyone perceived to have insulted the monarchy during a highly sensitive time for Thailand.

Known by the French term lese majeste, the crime can carry a jail term of up to 15 years for each offence.

The law has curtailed public dis-cussion about the monarchy’s role and its future following the death of King Bhumibol, who was seen as a unifying figure.

Foreig n Mi n ister Don

Pramudwinai said letters had been sent to the countries where the sus-pects live. “There may be a problem because if these crimes aren’t illegal in the other countries, it will make extradition difficult. However, we can still ask for cooperation.”

Thailand’s government has been criticised by the international com-munity over prison sentences for civilians found guilty of violating the lese-majeste law. No country has openly indicated readiness to extradite any suspect to Thailand.

“First, the extradition requests are part of scare tactics to curb the so-called violations, and second, to appease the powerful elite factions whose interests rely on ultra-royal-ism,” Verapat Pariyawong, a visiting scholar at London’s SOAS School of Law said.

The government has urged citizens to report cases of lese majeste to authorities. It has also asked internet service providers to monitor and block inappropri-ate material.

“These laws are not meant to repress citizens but to protect the royal institution,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said.

12 dead in Shabaab bomb attack in KenyaAFP

NAIROBI: A bomb blast at a guest-house in northeast Kenya killed at least 12 people yesterday, in an attack claimed by Shabaab militants who last hit the area earlier this month.

“We have found 12 bodies so far after we managed to access the building,” a senior police officer said.

“We are still combing the area with the help of anti-terrorism police and sniffer dogs in the ongo-ing search and rescue.”

Eleven men and one woman were killed in the 3:30am blast at the Bisharo lodge, a police source said. The toll was confirmed in a govern-ment statement that said part of the building was collapsed by the blast.

Kenyan media reported that some of the dead were members of a theatre group due to perform for school children in Mandera.

The Al Qaeda-linked Shabaab militant group claimed the attack in a message broadcast by its Radio Andalus media organisation, claim-ing 15 were killed.

“This attack is part of a series of attacks in which the Mujahideen are hunting down infidels” in northeast Kenya, the group said.

It is the second Shabaab strike in Mandera in three weeks. The previous

one on October 6 killed six people at a gated residential building that mainly housed non-Muslims, less than a kil-ometre from the volatile Somalia border town of Beled Hawa.

Also on Tuesday, a Shabaab sui-cide bomber attacked an African Union military base housing Dji-boutian soldiers in the central Somali city of Beledweyne.

It is not known how many were killed in that attack which comes as Somalia is in the process of selecting parliamentarians, and a new presi-dent, due by the end of November.

Junta seeks extradition

of royal insult suspects

Thailand’s Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn takes part in a ceremony honouring late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

Reuters

BANGKOK: The first, voluntary repatriation of 68 Myanmar refugees from camps along the Thai-Myan-mar border began yesterday with the United Nations refugee agency calling the movement a “milestone” while underscoring it would not lead to an exodus.

The return of the refugees is the first to receive endorsement from the Thai and Myanmar governments, the UNHCR said.

For tens of thousands of refugees living in a total of nine camps along Thailand’s border with Myanmar a return home has been a dream made impossible because of political and economic uncertainty in Myanmar.

That has somewhat changed since a civilian government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, took power earlier this year.

The return began yesterday with one family leaving a camp in

the western province of Ratchaburi. Dozens more from Nupo Camp in Thailand’s western Tak province will follow on Wednesday (tomorrow), said Iain Hall, UNHCR’s senior field coordinator.

“This particular movement is a milestone”.

“But it won’t be the start of a large exodus,” he said.

“The Myanmar government came over and issued certificates of identification saying these people are their citizens,” said Hall, add-ing that those who chose to return had based their decision on infor-mation given by their families in Myanmar who said that it was safe to return.

There are around 103,000 refu-gees and internally displaced people living in the nine camps along the border.

Some residents have been living in the camps for 30 years.

Nearly 80 percent are eth-nic Karen from eastern Myanmar who fled armed conflict and often

persecution at the hands of the Myanmar army during decades of military rule.

Ko Ko Naing, a senior official from Myanmar’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlements said Myanmar was ready to receive the returnees.

“These people want to return to Myanmar of their own volition,” he told Reuters.

Successive Thai governments have raised the possibility of shut-ting down the camps permanently. Hall said now was not the time.

“We’re not promoting return and we’ve made that clear with both gov-ernments,” said Hall.

“We don’t yet believe it is the time to return but of course these people have the right to return if they want to.”

Myanmar has seen sporadic violence in recent weeks includ-ing in Muslim-majority Rakhine state between government forces and what officials say are fighters inspired by Islamists.

AFP

YANGON: The United Nations has called for a probe into allegations that Myanmar troops have killed civilians and torched villages in northern Rakhine state, as fresh reports emerged of forced evictions in a security crackdown.

Aid agencies estimate more than 15,000 people have been displaced since the military took control of an area close to the Bangladesh bor-der two weeks ago, a region which is home to the stateless Rohingya minority.

Myanmar’s government says hundreds of Rohingya fighters led by a Taliban-trained jihadist were behind deadly raids on sev-eral police posts on October 9 that sparked a major security response.

Since then the military has stopped aid deliveries to tens of thousands of people in northern Rakhine and blocked access to

rights groups and journalists.Most of the people in the locked-

down area are Rohingya -- a Muslim minority reviled by many in Myan-mar as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

In a statement released late Monday, the UN urged Myanmar’s government “to undertake proper and thorough investigations of alleged violations”.

“Reports of homes and mosques being burnt down and persons of a certain profile being rounded up and shot are alarming and unac-ceptable,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on summary execu-tions Agnes Callamard.

“The authorities cannot justify simply shooting suspects down on the basis of the seriousness of the crime alone,” she said.

While details of military abuses are hard to verify, the UN said it has received “repeated allegations” of arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings “within the context of the security operations”.

UN calls for probe into

attacks on Rohingyas

Four dead after

Australia theme

park disaster

GOLD COAST: Two women and two men were killed at a theme park on Aus-tralia’s popular Gold Coast yesterday, police said, with witnesses describing how “everyone was scream-ing” after a raft apparently flipped on a water ride.

Police said the four victims died on the Thun-der River Rapids ride at the Dreamworld park, as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull offered prayers to their families over what he called a “very, very, sad, tragic event”.

Zuma backs minister over graft chargesAFP

JOHANNESBURG: South African President Jacob Zuma said yester-day he supported Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan who is due in court next week on criminal charges widely seen as politically-moti-vated.

Gordhan, a respected vet-eran of the ruling ANC party, will appear in court on November 2 on charges dating back to 2010 over

a colleague’s retirement package.Many analysts say he has been

targeted by Zuma loyalists in the increasingly fractured ANC.

The charges “against the min-ister of finance are a concern to all of us, including the investor com-munities,” Zuma told lawmakers.

“As cabinet we have expressed our full support of the minister.”

The president said that Gordhan “was innocent until found guilty”.

The finance minister has been a vocal opponent of corruption and

excessive spending by Zuma’s gov-ernment, which has been hit by a series of graft scandals and slow-ing economic growth.

Gordhan’s cause has also attracted backing from Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, some ministers and scores of business leaders.

Zuma said he had not acted to stop the prosecution of Gordhan because interfering would drive the country “closer to a banana republic”.

Kenya Red Cross workers and police officers stand near the scene of the destruction following an attack at the Bisharo lodging by Islamist militants from the Somali group Shabaab in Mandera, Kenya, yesterday.

First repatriation of Myanmar refugees in Thailand begins

Over 81 percent of the respondents oppose changing the constitution to allow Kabila to stand for a third term.

ASIA / PHILIPPINES 11WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

Duterte lashes out at US before Japan visit

Reuters

MANILA: Philippine President Rod-rigo Duterte lashed out anew at the United States yesterday and said it could forget a bilateral defence deal if he stayed in power long enough, in the latest jarring statement from Manila about the future of the alli-ance.

The fresh broadside from Duterte came as he was about to board a plane for an official visit to fellow US ally Japan, a big investor in the Philippines that is becoming nervous

about its apparent pivot towards rival power China.

The volatile, crime-busting Duterte had on the eve of the visit softened his remarks last week about a “separation” from Washing-ton, telling Japanese media he wasn’t planning to change alliances and was only seeking to build trade and com-merce with China.

But he pulled no punches yester-day when he said he hated having foreign troops in the Philippines.

Commenting on a visit to Manila on Monday by Daniel Russel, an Assistant Secretary of State, Duterte said Washington should forget about an Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the Phil-ippines if he were to stay in charge longer.

“You have the EDCA, well for-get it. If I stay here long enough,” he said. “I do not want to see any mili-tary man of any other nation except the Filipino. That’s the only thing I want.”

He did not elaborate on what staying longer meant. In the Philip-pines, a president is allowed only one six-year term in office.

The remarks were another per-plexing swing from Duterte, who last week announced in China his “sepa-ration” from the United States, before assuring that ties were not being sev-ered and he was merely pursuing an independent foreign policy.

His latest swipe at Washington could rattle Japanese Prime Minis-ter Shinzo Abe, who wants to keep ties with the Philippines tight.

In a composed reading of a state-ment prior to departure for Tokyo, Duterte described Japan as a true friend that had played a “preeminent and peerless role” as a big investor and Philippine development partner.

But he quickly became vexed when answering questions and held up the front page of a Philippine newspaper which carried the head-line “Duterte sparking international distress - US”.

Duterte vented at Washington on several fronts, from its bombings of

Manila at the end of World War Two to embassy officials once question-ing his intentions when he applied for a visa to visit a girlfriend.

“You know, I did not start this fight,” he said of the spat with Washington.

His overtures to China and hos-tility towards the United States have raised questions about what Duterte’s overall goal is and the extent to which his actions could shake up the geo-political dynamic of a region wary about Beijing’s growing influence and US staying power.

Abe has sought to strengthen ties with the Philippines and other South-east Asian countries, particularly Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, as a counter-balance to Beijing.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga yesterday said both presidents would have a meeting to “further the strategic partnership with the Philippines”.

It is unclear where Duterte’s lat-est diatribe leaves US-Philippines ties. Russel had left Manila in con-fident mood and US Secretary of State John Kerry had expressed opti-mism the two countries could “work through” a period of confusion caused by Duterte’s remarks last week.

Duterte has railed against US expressions of concerns about the high loss of life in his campaign against drugs and Washington’s calls for due process.

Japanese officials said Abe would not overtly try to mediate between Tokyo and Washington but would probably explain the importance of the US role in the region.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met Duterte yesterday for a low-key dinner, and Abe will hold rare one-on-one talks with Duterte at his residence in Tokyo tonight following a larger, more formal meeting with senior officials.

Park apologises for document leaksAFP

SEOUL: South Korean President Park Geun-Hye was forced into a public apology yesterday for the leak of official documents to a fam-ily associate involved in a growing corruption scandal.

“I deeply apologise to the peo-ple,” Park said in a televised speech, before bowing deeply to the camera.

South Korean prosecutors are currently investigating Park’s longtime friend Choi Soon-Sil over allegations that she used her relationship with the president to strong-arm conglomerates into multi-million dollar donations to two non-profit foundations.

Park had sought to distance her-self from the case, but was brought into focus by a TV report on Monday that Choi had been given advance copies of presidential speeches and may have had a hand in revising some of them.

The report was based on 200

files on Choi’s computer -- retrieved from her office after she left the country as the influence-peddling scandal broke.

Her present whereabouts are unknown.

Describing Choi as someone who helped her during “difficult times”, Park admitted that she had sought Choi’s opinion on her speeches and unspecified “PR mate-rials” for her election campaign and after she took office in Febru-ary 2013.

“I have listened to her opinion on certain materials for some time but stopped after I had appointed my presidential aides,” Park said recently.

Choi is the daughter of the late religious figure Choi Tae-Min, who was known to be a key mentor of the current president up to his death in 1994.

The investigation into Choi and the suspicion that she exerted undue influence over Park have damaged the president, whose popularity rat-ings have sunk to record lows.

Reuters

MANILA: The Philippines signed a $337m contract yesterday with a South Korean shipyard for the sup-ply of two navy frigates, underlining its intent to beef up its sea defences while pursuing closer ties with its biggest maritime rival, China.

The acquisition of the mod-ern frigates was a big step for the Philippine navy towards building a ‘world class and well-equipped’ force that could protect sovereign territory, navy spokesman Captain Lued Lincuna said.

Lincuna said the contract was the most expensive procurement for the military since President Rod-rigo Duterte took office late in June.

Defence Secretary Delfin

Lorenzana signed the agreement with representatives of South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Duterte visited China a week ago, seeking to normalise relations with Beijing that were soured by a dispute over the South China Sea after China seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 and built man-made islands in the Spratlys in 2014.

The Philippines in Septem-ber proposed a 14 percent rise in defence spending next year to fund a five-year $1.7bn military modern-isation programme to catch up with its neighbours in Southeast Asia.

A senior defence official said the Philippines would also buy eight amphibious assault vehicles from the United States, plus three anti-submarine helicopters and two long-range patrol aircraft from a European defence contractor.

Manila buys new frigates from South Korean firm

AFP

HANOI: Three Vietnamese fishermen held hostage for nearly five years by Somali pirates returned home yester-day to weeping relatives, saying they were “overwhelmed” with joy after their harrowing kidnapping.

The men were among 26 hos-tages freed Sunday who belonged to the crew of Naham 3, an Omani-flagged vessel that was seized south of the Seychelles in March 2012.

After a long flight from Kenya, a stunned looking Nguyen Xuan Phuong was greeted by his beaming father, who shouted the 27-year-old’s name as he spotted him at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport.

“I am overwhelmed with happi-ness,” Phuong said, as he embraced his tearful dad.

The hostage takers initially cap-tured 29 crew members from the

Naham 3, but one died during the hijacking and two more died of ill-ness during their captivity.

Phuong’s father said the four and a half years without his son were agonising.

Fellow hostage Nguyen Van Ha,

35, embraced his tearful wife and young children as they were reu-nited at the airport, and said he was stalked by terror during his long stretch in captivity.

“I am very happy to see my fam-ily. Thank you everyone.”

Six dead in hospital fire in MalaysiaAFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Six people died in a fire that swept through the intensive care unit of a major hos-pital in Malaysia, officials said.

Mohamad Rizal Buang, a sen-ior fire officer in the state of Johor, said the blaze at Johor Bahru’s Sul-tanah Aminah Hospital, a public facility, had been contained after more than two hours. “Six people were killed in the fire.”

Photographs posted on Face-book by the Malaysian Health Ministry’s Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah showed black smoke billowing from the hospi-tal’s second floor and fire raging inside the building.

Abducted Vietnam sailors back homeChina ‘has political

promise’ from

West on graft fight

Reuters

BEIJING: China has been given a political promise by West-ern countries that they will not become havens for corrupt fugitives, a senior official said, though he offered no assurances to assuage concerns about mis-treatment of suspects.

China has vowed to pur-sue an overseas search dubbed Operation “Fox Hunt” for corrupt officials and business executives, and their assets, part of President Xi Jinping’s war on deep-seated corruption.

It has been pushing for extradi-tion treaties but Western countries have been reluctant to help, not wanting to send people to a country where rights groups say mistreat-ment of suspects is a concern.

Canada, the United States and Australia are popular destinations where Chinese graft suspects have fled, whose governments have insisted China goes through the proper legal process if it wants them back.

Speaking on the latest episode of state television’s eight-part doc-umentary on China’s graft fight shown late Monday, Liu Jian-chao, in charge of China’s efforts to repatriate graft suspects, said the corruption fight needed glo-bal efforts.

“Certain Western countries have clearly stressed that they do not want to become a haven for corrupt elements. This is an extremely important accom-plishment, and is an extremely important political promise”.

He made no mention of how China plans to address concerns about its legal system, especially mistreatment of suspects.

The government this month unveiled new plans to once again try and stop confessions through torture.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye bows after releasing a statement of apology to the public during a news conference at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, yesterday.

Supporters shout Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s name as they wait for his arrival at a hotel in Tokyo, yesterday.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is welcomed by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida prior to their dinner meeting at the entrance of a Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, yesterday.

Nguyen Van Ha, one of three Vietnamese sailors freed by Somali pirates, waves as he arrives at Hanoi’s International Airport Noi Bai, yesterday.

I do not want to see any military man of any other nation except the Filipino. That’s the only thing I want: President

US wants to stay in Philippines: Envoy

AFP

MANILA: The United States wants to remain involved in the cam-paign to quell Islamic militancy in the southern Philippines, its ambas-sador to Manila said yesterday.

Ambassador Philip Goldberg said the security threat in the con-flict-plagued region was “very serious”, warning the Islamic State group was among a number

of foreign militant organisations trying to increase its involvement there.

“We’ve helped the Philippines as it has reduced the threat over time,” Goldberg said.

“But we are concerned obvi-ously about any new intrusion of ISIS (Islamic State group) or any other group that wants to take advantage of open space in the south of the Philippines. So we want to continue doing that.”

PAKISTAN12 WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

The four-hour siege also wounded 123 police trainees and some paramilitary troops.

Afghan army tactical air controllers review coordinate points during an air strike training mission on the outskirts of Logar province. Under pressure from the Taliban, Afghanistan’s military is increasingly relying on country’s young air force, and, together with Western allies and is speeding up its training of pilots and ground controllers to strike the enemy.

Coordinating strikes

AP

QUETTA: Militants wearing suicide vests stormed a Pakistani police academy in the southwestern city of Quetta overnight, killing 61 people, mostly police cadets and recruits, and waging a ferocious gunbattle with troops that lasted into early hours yesterday.

The four-hour siege — one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistan’s security forces in recent years — also wounded 123, mainly police trainees but also some paramilitary troops, according to Wasay Khan, a spokes-man for elite Frontier Corps. Some of the wounded were reported to be in critical condition.

The assault caught many of the recruits asleep in their dorms and forced cadets and trainers to jump off rooftops and run for their lives to escape the attackers.

Pakistani troops responding to the assault told reporters it was over after all three suicide bombers involved in the attack were killed — one was gunned down while two

others blew themselves up.Later in the day, conflicting

claims of responsibility emerged. The Islamic State group posted a claim on the group’s media arm, the Arabic-language Aamaq news agency. It said three IS fighters killed 60 police recruits in Quetta but the claim was not confirmed by Paki-stani officials and IS did not offer any previously unknown details about the assault.

Earlier, a little-known breaka-way faction of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Hakimullah group, also issued a statement claiming respon-sibility for the attack. Pakistani officials, doubting the group’s capa-bilities in staging such a coordinated and spectacular assault, also could not confirm that claim.

While most of the casualties were cadets and others from the acad-emy, some of army personnel who responded to the assault were also among those killed, said Shahzada Farhat, police spokesman in Quetta.

The attack began at 11:30 pm on Monday, said Baluchistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti, with three militants shooting and killing a police guard at the watch tower before storming into the academy, located on the city’s outskirts.

Baluchistan officials had earlier received “intelligence reports that some terrorists have entered the province” but had no indications about possible targets.

“We had tightened security, which is why they could not do it in the city and chose a target on the

outskirts,” said Baluchistan’s chief minister, Sanaullah Zehri.

There were initially also conflicting police and military state-ments about the number of attackers involved. About 700 cadets, train-ees, instructors and other staff were inside the academy when it was attacked, Bugti said.

Once inside the academy grounds, Pakistani media said the gunmen headed straight to the dorms housing the cadets and trainees and opened fire, shooting indiscriminately. Some of the cadets jumped off rooftops and through windows to try to escape.

“They were rushing toward our building, firing,” one cadet told Geo TV news channel. “We rushed for safety toward the roof and jumped down in the back of the building.”

Another recruit, his face covered in blood, told the station the gun-men shot at whoever they saw. “I ran away, just praying God might save me,” he said.

After the attack, Pakistani forces tightened security around the acad-emy and Quetta hospitals where the wounded were taken. Footage aired on local television stations showed ambulances rushing out of the main entrance of the academy as fire engines struggled to put out fires set off by the explosions from the attackers’ suicide vests.

Most of those being treated at the city hospitals had gunshot wounds, although were injured jumping off the rooftop of the hostel housing the cadets to escape the gunmen.

“This war isn’t over,” said Paki-stani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. “The enemy is weakened, but not eliminated.”

Maj. Gen. Sher Afgan, head of Pakistani paramilitary force claimed the attackers had received instructions from commanders in neighbouring Afghanistan. He said they were most likely from the banned Lashker-e-Jhangvi Al-Almi militant group affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The Sunni militant group has mainly targeted minority Shiite Muslims whom its members consider to be infidels.

The paramilitary chief spoke before the IS and the Hakimullah group’s claims surfaced.

Afghanistan condemned the attack and dismissed Pakistan’s

allegations that the assault was planned from bases inside Afghan-istan. “Afghanistan is the biggest victim of terrorism and denounces all terrorist attacks,” said Mohammad Haroon Chakhansuri, spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

In a separate statement, Ghani also condemned the attack, saying that “terrorism is a threat through-out the region, which is reflected in the brutal act today in Quetta.”

For over a decade, Baluchistan has been the scene of a low-inten-sity insurgency by nationalist and separatist groups demanding a big-ger share in the regional resources. Islamic militants and Sunni sec-tarian also have a presence in the province.

Pakistan has carried out several

military operations against militants in country’s lawless tribal regions along Afghanistan border, including a major push that started mid 2014 in North Waziristan, a militant base. The Islamic militants have killed tens of thousands of people in their bid to overthrow Pakistan’s government and install their own harsh brand of Islamic law.

Later in the day, a roadside bomb killed a police official escorting a polio team that was travelling in northwestern Pakistan as part of a vaccination campaign, according to Furqan Bilal, a police superintendent in Peshawar. Militant attacks on polio teams are common in Pakistan as Tal-iban and other extremists denounce such vaccination campaigns as a Western conspiracy.

Bilawal moves

High Court for

security in

view of threats

Internews

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zard-ari has moved the Sindh High Court seeking adequate security and permission to travel with per-sonal guards across the country.

He filed a constitutional peti-tion through his counsel, Advocate Akhtar Hussain, seeking court’s directives for federal and pro-vincial governments to ensure provision of a round-the-clock security cover as there were seri-ous threats to his life in view of reports of the security agencies.

Bhutto-Zardari asked the court to direct authorities to allow him to carry his personal security guards with licenced arms while travelling or addressing public meetings throughout the country.

He stated in the petition that being chairman of PPP he had to travel across the country to address public gatherings and dis-charge public duties for welfare of the people. The PPP chairman said security agencies had issued reports regarding serious threats to his life. Therefore, there was a grave con-cern about his security, he added.

He submitted that he had apprehension about his security as he had been receiving death threats from terrorist organ-isations. He also recalled that his mother, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated in a public gather-ing in Rawalpindi, whereas his father being the co-chairman of the party had been receiving threats from extremists.

He said that the law and order situation in the country was pre-carious and several political leaders and important person-alities had been assassinated in the past.

The petitioner submitted that in view of the law and order situ-ation and security threats, his life and property were in serious dan-ger, therefore, he needed adequate security.

He asked the court to direct the federal and provincial gov-ernments to provide him adequate security during his visits across the country.

AFP

KABUL: The Afghan Taliban have released aerial footage of a suicide car bombing in southern Helmand province, marking the first time the media-savvy militant group has used a drone to record an attack.

The 23-minute video shows a suicide bomber ramming a Humvee into a military base in volatile Nawa

district, triggering a mushroom cloud of flames and smoke and razing the entire compound.

With pro-Taliban poems play-ing in the background, the video reported yesterday by the US-based SITE Intelligence group shows a turban-clad bomber in front of a Humvee, hugging fellow fighters before he departs.

The camera mounted on a drone shows a birds-eye view of the tar-get, tracking his Humvee as it strikes

the base without any apparent resist-ance, causing a massive explosion.

The video, which could not be independently verified, is the first drone footage released by the Taliban. The Afghan defence min-istry in a statement rejected it as “propaganda”.

Once seen as uneducated thugs, the Taliban have developed a savvy PR team who use digital technol-ogy to reach out to audiences worldwide.

When the Taliban ruled Afghani-stan between 1996 and 2001, almost all electronic products were outlawed as un-Islamic.

But the Taliban have avidly embraced electronic communica-tion and social media in recent years as a recruitment tool and to promote their propaganda.

The Taliban now have a robust social media presence and a website in five languages including English.

In April, Google removed a

Taliban smartphone app from its online store, countering the insurgent group’s increasing efforts to boost its global visibility.

Afghan authorities in June banned media companies from using drone cameras, citing security con-cerns in a country well known for the rampant use of unmanned military aircraft.

The United States often uses military-grade drones to target the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

Internews

ISLAMABAD: Some 100,000 Afghan refugees are expected to leave Pakistan by the end of November, a senior Pakistani official has said.

Already close to half a million Afghan refugees have been repat-riated to their homeland, Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refu-gees Dr Imran Zaib said.

The figure includes 270,000 registered and 200,000 unregis-tered refugees who have voluntarily returned to Afghanistan. “Another 100,000 refugees are scheduled to leave the country by the end of November,” he added.

Although Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is main province from where Afghan refugees are heading out, their exodus covers almost all parts of the country.

This year the number of return-ees is much higher than last year when only 58,000 refugees were repatriated from Pakistan, the sen-ior official said. He voiced concern about Kabul’s alleged inefficiency and planning glitches in absorbing the returnees and helping them resettle.

In view of the stability threats in Afghanistan, Islamabad has urged Kabul and relevant world bodies to extend the required assistance to the returnees, according to Dr Zaib.

With winter fast approaching, he said, the scale of problems faced by returnees can only increase especially if the Afghan authorities and concerned world organisations failed to devise solutions in time.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees record, Pakistan has hosted 1.6 mil-lion registered Afghan refugees over the past three decades.

Officials of Chief Commissioner Secretariat said over one million unregistered Afghan refugees are also residing in different parts on the country.

Dr Zaib said the total number of registered and unregistered refugees is decreasing with the repartition every day, and it is expected that all refugees will leave by the end of the new deadline.

Last month, the government extended the stay of the Afghan refugees until March 2017. The extension, according to Dr Zaib, has helped Afghan refugees to dispose of their properties on reasonable terms and conditions.

About blocking of fake CNIC’s obtained by a large number of Afghan refugees, he said many of those holders have willingly returned their fake CNICs.

It is unclear how many refu-gees had obtained forged CNICs in the past but the chief commissioner claimed the number was not very high. According to him, the major-ity of such card holders were found in Balochistan.

NADRA, officials however said stated that the Afghan refu-gees had no option but to give back their bogus CNICs as their bank accounts, Pakistani passports and driving licences will automatically become dysfunctional once their forged CNICs are blocked.

Internews

LAHORE: Following fierce sloga-neering demanding accountability of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, oppo-sition benches in Punjab Assembly walked out of the House, allowing an unopposed passage of as many as three government bills, including the Punjab Restriction on Employ-ment of Children Bill, 2016.

With the passage of the child labour law, employing a child below 15 years of age, or an adolescent between

15 and 18 years in hazardous occupa-tions are now crimes punishable by jail time as well as monetary fines.

As many as 38 occupations have been identified as hazardous under the law in connection with the employment of an adolescent.

Primarily these include those exposing an adolescent to toxic or explosive chemicals, bangles man-ufacturing, textile processes, stone crushing, tobacco manufacturing, cinemas and cyber clubs.

The law proposes the constitu-tion of a committee — the Provincial Committee on Child Labour that will

advise on legislative and administra-tive measures for the eradication of child labour and propose a minimum age for purposes of employment.

Other provisions for adolescents include a mandatory day off in a week as well as working hours in a day that should not exceed three hours, and if required to should allow for a man-datory one-hour break.

Penalties under the law include a jail term of a maximum of six months and a fine up to Rs 50,000 for employ-ing or permitting a child to work or for allowing the same for an adolescent in hazardous occupations.

Militants attack Quetta police academy; 61 dead

Soldiers stand at the entrance of Police Training College in Quetta, yesterday, after an overnight militant attack on the establishment.

Afghan Taliban use drone to film suicide attack

Around 100,000 refugees to leave for Afghanistan by November end

Punjab criminalises child labour

INDIA 13WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

Farmers shouting slogans during a protest against government’s plan to allow genetically-modified mustard crop, in New Delhi, yesterday.

Farmers protestYashwant Sinha meets Geelani over unrest

IANS

SRINAGAR: A five-member team led by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha yesterday met separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq here with a view to break a logjam after over three months of deadly unrest in the Kashmir Valley.

The team, which includes former bureaucrat Wajahat Habibullah, who has served in Jammu and Kashmir, ex-Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak, journalist Bharat Bhushan and activist Sushobha Barve, landed in Srinagar and drove to Geelani’s residence in Hyderpora.

The delegation members made it clear that they did not represent the government and were visiting the Kashmir Valley on their own initiative. Geelani, who heads the hardline faction of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, agreed to meet and talk to the delegation.

The octogenarian separatist had on September 4 shut the door on Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury and three other non-BJP MPs who were part of an all-party delegation on a

visit to Kashmir. “Our objective was to meet and interact and that objec-tive has been achieved. The talks were held in cordial atmosphere,” Sinha told reporters outside Geel-ani’s highly fortified house where he has been kept under detention for over three months.

Sinha and his team members later went to meet Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at his Nigeen house, a day after the moderate separatist was freed from a guest-house-turned-jail in Srinagar and has now been detained at his residence.

They are also expected to meet other separatist leaders, including Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yaseen Malik who was moved from jail to a Srinagar hos-pital after his health deteriorated.

Sinha said they were visiting the valley purely on a humanitar-ian basis and their trip should not be seen as a government effort to break ice with the separatist lead-ers, who have been spearheading the agitation since the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

“Our motto is to share the griev-ances and pain (of Kashmiri people). I hope the state of unrest will be resolved soon,” the former BJP min-ister said, adding that they were “not here as a part of any delegation”.

Habibullah said the team didn’t represent any government or politi-cal party. “Ours is a purely personal initiative to identify with the suffer-ings of the people here.”

Bhushan, a veteran journal-ist and editor of multimedia Catch News, refused to divulge details of the meetings. “Sorry, I cannot talk,” Bhushan said.

Mulayam signals truce but Samajwadi tensions simmer IANS

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Samajwadi Party and the Yadav fam-ily are both united, party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav declared yes-terday. But it became clear within minutes that infighting was far from over. Minutes after Mulayam Singh made his claim, hundreds of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s supporters laid a siege to the party office here, demanding that he be given back the reins of the party’s state unit ahead of next year’s assembly election.

This was shortly after the Sama-jwadi Party chief told the media: “Our family is united, the party is united... We stand united with full strength.”

It was Mulayam Singh’s first news conference after Akhilesh Yadav sacked his uncle Shivpal Yadav and three other ministers amid months of bitter power struggle in the party and the Yadav family.

Mulayam Singh was flanked by Shivpal Yadav, the new state unit chief of the party, and three other leaders expelled from the govern-ment. But the Chief Minister gave it a miss.

Mulayam Singh refused to answer many questions over the deep divide but had a stern mes-sage for his son, saying that in 2012 the party won a landslide because of him (Mulayam) but still Akhilesh Yadav was made the Chief Minister.

He, however, denied any possi-bility of replacing the Chief Minister

before the next election and reiter-ated that the party legislators would elect their leader if it retained power.

Asked whether Shivpal Yadav and the other sacked leaders would return to the cabinet, Mulayam Singh said the decision was the Chief Minister’s.

Party sources said that Akhilesh Yadav was reluctant to reverse his Sunday decision.

The sources also said Mulayam Singh had refused to give in to his son’s demands that Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav, expelled from the party, be brought back and long-time Mulayam Man on Friday Amar Singh thrown out.

Mulayam Singh defended Amar Singh, who was accused by Akhilesh Yadav of causing differences in the

family and the party.“Why drag him in all this? My

family and party are united. All workers are united. There are some conspirators who do not have any mass base. There are no differences or ill feeling among our leaders,” he said. As soon as the press conference ended, hundreds of Akhilesh Yadav supporters surrounded the party office, demanding that the Chief Min-ister be made the state party chief — a post he held earlier.

Young men, wearing red caps and some even wearing T-shirts with Akhilesh’s image embossed on them, climbed up on trees and demanded that Shivpal Yadav be removed from the post. They said the future of the party lay in the hands of the 43-year-old son of Mulayam Singh.

Our objective was to meet and interact and that objective has been achieved. The talks were held in cordial atmosphere: Sinha

SC asks Mallya to fully disclose assets abroadNEW DELHI: Expressing its unhappiness, the Supreme Court yesterday directed beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya to dis-close in full and within four weeks all his overseas assets, including details of the $40m he got in Feb-ruary from British liquor major Diageo.

The British company made the payment against acquisition of controlling stakes in Mallya’s United Spirits Ltd.

“We are not happy the way disclosure was made,” Justice Kurian Joseph observed.

The bench of Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Rohinton Nar-iman said Mallya will furnish the particulars of his foreign assets in a way he did regarding his assets in India. “We are prima facie of the view that Vijay Mallya has not made proper disclosure in terms of the order of April 7, 2016.

Graffiti artist James Cochran, aka Jimmy C, poses for a photograph beside his mural of William Shakespeare on Clink Street, near the Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in London, yesterday. Jimmy C is well known for his large street murals and his David Bowie piece in Brixton, London, became a focal point earlier this year for tributes after the singer’s death.

Portraying the legend

EUROPE14 WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

There is strong environmental opposition to the expansion and the approval process could still delay or even block its execution.

AFP

LONDON: The British government approved a new third runway at London’s Heathrow airport yester-day in a long-awaited decision that has stoked divisions and follows dec-ades of debate over the issue.

The move was hailed by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling as a “momen-tous step” but sparked protests and threats of legal action from opponents.

The government said the new runway—the capital’s first new full-length runway since World War II —would “bring economic benefits to passengers and the wider economy worth up to £61bn (€69bn, $75 bn)”.

It said up to 77,000 local jobs are expected to be created over the

next 14 years, while the airport has committed to create 5,000 appren-ticeships over the same period.

But there is strong environmen-tal opposition to expansion and the approval process could still delay or even block its execution. Minis-ters opposed to the plans have been

granted the rare opportunity to voice their dissenting views, including For-eign Secretary Boris Johnson. He said he would continue to fight the plans, warning that London risked becom-ing the “city of planes”.

“Building a third runway slap bang in middle of the western sub-urb to the greatest city on earth is not the right thing to do,” he said.

The government rejected a rival bid for a second runway at Gatwick airport south of the capital, backed by current London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

“This is the wrong decision for London and the whole of Britain,” Khan said, adding he would look into the possibility of legal action.

Business leaders, many of whom have long campaigned for a third

runway, say London’s five existing airports are not keeping up with ris-ing air travel demand.

But environmentalists are fiercely opposed to any airport expansion in the British capital, parts of which already routinely breach EU air pollution limits. Campaign group Greenpeace said it was ready to take the government to court.

Spain’s king

asks Rajoy to

form govt

AFP

MADRID: Spain’s king yesterday tasked Mariano Rajoy with form-ing a government, taking acting conservative prime minister a step closer to power again after a 10-month political deadlock.

“I accepted the task,” Rajoy old reporters, saying he would now submit himself to a parliamen-tary vote of confidence which he is almost certain to win after the Socialists opted to let him govern, meaning Spain should finally get a government next week.

Rajoy’s Popular Party (PP) won elections in June but without enough seats to govern alone, and after a first failed attempt to push a minority government through a parliamentary vote, he will now try again at the weekend.

The 61-year-old will likely succeed this time after the Social-ists voted Sunday to abstain in such a vote—giving him enough traction to get through.

In line with post-election pro-tocol, parliamentary speaker Ana Pastor called two obligatory lower house debates on a Rajoy-led gov-ernment, after which confidence votes will be held.

The Socialists, who do not support the acting prime minis-ter but say they want to see an end to Spain’s political blockage, have decided to vote against him in the first vote, which will take place tomorrow.

They will then abstain in the second and final vote, due on Saturday.

AFP

CALAIS, FRANCE: Workers escorted by scores of French police officers moved into the “Jungle” in Calais yes-terday, demolishing shacks and tents emptied of migrants who were being bussed to shelters around France.

The demolition work began on the second day of a massive operation to clear the squalid settlement, where an estimated 6,000-8,000 migrants.

“The start of the clean-up oper-ations sends a sign that La Lande camp is really over,” said Fabienne Buccio, head of security in the region, using the official name for the camp known as the Jungle.

Finality of the operation was driven home by demolition operation, as mattresses, blankets, clothes, pots and suitcases left behind by migrants were piled on top of the wood and plastic sheeting used in their shacks.

Wearing hard hats and orange overalls workers used electric saws to take down wooden shelters and earth-moving equipment to clear debris from the site. Riot police car-rying shields sealed off the area.

Beforehand, aid workers and officials had gone tent-to-tent to ensure the area had been vacated.

Since Monday, around 2,700

people have been transferred to shel-ters around France while around 600 unaccompanied minors have been moved to a container park in the Jungle where families had been staying, Inte-rior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.

Others, including a number of Afghans, are waiting until today , billed as the last day for bus transfers. Ali Othman, a Sudanese 18-year-old vowed he would not leave voluntarily.

“They can detain me, jail me, throw me out on the street. I still want to go to Britain.” he said. But the sprawling shantytown, one of Europe’s biggest slums, was rapidly becoming a ghost town.

“It makes me sad to see the camp in this state,” said Marie Paule, a charity worker who started volun-teering at the Jungle last year.

“I have a heavy heart... but it’s the best solution for them.”

The migrants face a choice between requesting asylum in France or being possibly deported.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of anxious minors queued to be interviewed by French and British officials who will decide their fate.

The Doctors Without Borders charity accused officials picking those who will be accepted into Britain of excluding a number of children by selecting on the basis of appearance.

Kosovo charges

president’s ally

over land scam

AFP

PRISTINA: Kosovo’s state prose-cutor yesterday charged an ally of powerful President Hashim Thaci with leading a criminal network responsible for a multi-million euro land scam and money laundering.

Azem Syla, a former mem-ber of parliament and prominent politician in Thaci’s ruling Demo-cratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), was charged along with 38 associates in the “organised criminal group,” according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

“They have collaborated with each other, each with a specific role, to deprive Kosovo of pub-lic property through criminal activities, including forged offi-cial documents, fraud and corrupt practices,” the statement said.

It said the group was led by Syla, who surrendered to authori-ties in April two days after a major police probe and was placed under house arrest.

After his arrest, the prosecu-tor said Syla’s crime syndicate was involved in illegally acquiring public property in Kosovo worth €30m ($33m). Syla, who sub-sequently quit his job an as MP, labelled the investigation “unfair”.

AFP

BRUSSELS: Sophisticated Nato sur-veillance planes have flown their first mission in support of the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group, alliance head Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday.

Nato leaders agreed in July to commit the AWACS planes after Washington had pressed hard for the alliance to make a concrete gesture to help the fight against IS.

“Nato itself is now offering direct support with our AWACS surveillance aircraft,” Stoltenberg told a press brief-ing in Brussels, announcing that the first flight took place on October 20.

Nato was “committed to sustain-ing the coalition’s momentum so that IS can be defeated once and for all”.

All 28 Nato members also belong to the anti-IS alliance but some were reluctant to see the coalition directly involved in the Syrian conflict, so

the aircraft were limited to flying in international airspace or over Nato member Turkey, from where they can look deep into Syria and Iraq.

Stoltenberg said that while he could not comment on their exact role, the aircraft “will not be part of combat operations.”

Stoltenberg said Nato’s commit-ment to defend all allies against any threat is “unconditional” and irrespec-tive of whether they pay their dues.

Asked his view of remarks by US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that, should he win, US commitment would depend on members keeping up with their con-tributions, Stoltenberg stressed first he did not want to get drawn into the US election campaign.

But he added, “I have clearly stated that what matters for Nato’s is that we don’t say that if you don’t pay, we don’t protect you”.

Stoltenberg said Nato’s leaders decided in 2014 to increase defence spending to counter a more assertive

Russia and that the 28 alliance mem-bers had reversed years of defence cuts and that their spending had been increasing since 2015.

“This was not something caused by the US election,” he said. As for Nato’s all for one, one for all’ defence commitment enshrined in Article 5 of the alliance’s founding treaty, he said this could not be subject to any conditions if it was to be an effective deterrence to aggression and a reas-surance to allies—including the US.

“I would like to underline that Nato’s security guarantees are not conditioned, they are absolute and unconditional,” he said.

Stoltenberg recalled that the only time Article 5 had been invoked was after the 9/11 terror attacks on the US and that Nato’s’s largest ever military operation in Afghanistan was fought on this basis to protect America.

The US is the largest military power in Nato’s and accounts for some two-thirds of the alliance’s combined defence spending.

UK approves Heathrow airport expansionLawmaker from

May’s party quits

Reuters

LONDON: Conservative law-maker Zac Goldsmith, a vocal opponent of expansion of Heathrow Airport, yesterday notified the government of his decision to resign from parlia-ment, the finance ministry said.

Goldsmith, who represents a constituency near the airport, had pledged to quit if Heathrow was given go ahead to expand—something which happened earlier yesterday. The resigna-tion will prompt an election for his west London seat. Goldsmith, who unsuccessfully ran for Lon-don mayor, is expected to run as an independent candidate.

Protesters against airport expansion take part in a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament in central London, yesterday.

French anti-riot policemen stand next to migrants during the full evacuation of the Calais Jungle” camp, in Calais.

Demolition of ‘Jungle’ camp continues

Hungary summons

Russian envoy over

uprising remarks

AFP

BUDAPEST: Budapest yesterday summoned Moscow’s ambassa-dor after Russian state TV made what Hungary called “degrading” remarks about its 1956 uprising against Soviet communist rule.

“We will make very clear we won’t tolerate anyone making degrading remarks regarding 1956 uprising and its heroes,” the foreign affairs ministry told Hun-garian news agency MTI.

Russian state TV had described the armed rebellion as “riots”, during which “thou-sands of former Nazis were liberated from prison”, as Hun-gary commemorated revolt’s 60th anniversary with a large state cer-emony on Sunday.

While Russian word for riots, “pogrom”, does not carry anti-Semitic overtones, the term is tainted with negative meaning in Hungary.

Nato flies first AWACS surveillance

mission backing anti-IS coalition

AMERICAS 15WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

Trump acknowledged that the White House will likely elude him if he doesn’t win Florida and its 29 electoral votes.

A woman on horseback joins vaqueiros (cowboys) during a protest in front of the National Congress in Brasilia yesterday, against the decision of Supreme Court to ban traditional “vaquejada” (rodeos). Earlier this month, the court ruled that a law in state of Ceara that legalises rodeos is unconstitutional for considering it involves animal cruelty which violates the country’s constitution.

Rodeos protest

AFP

WASHINGTON: White House rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump set their sights on crucial battle-ground Florida yesterday, blitzing the diverse state as the clock ticks down on the tumultuous race for the US presidency.

With two weeks to go before the November 8 election, polls showed Democrat Clinton —who is vying to be America’s first female presi-dent —dominating nationally and looking for a resounding mandate to govern the bitterly divided country.

Trump, his campaign wilting under a barrage of controversies, acknowledged that the White House will likely elude him if he doesn’t win Florida and its 29 electoral votes.

“I think that’s probably true,” the Republican nominee said in a tel-ephone interview with Fox News.

“I believe Florida is must-win. I think we’re winning it, think we’re winning it big,” he said.

Early voting began in Florida on

Monday, an urgent reminder that candidates have little time left to make their case in the country’s third most populous state, one with a wide mix of constituencies—reti-rees, Latinos and Bible Belt whites.

No one has forgotten that 2000 US presidential election turned on Florida, where a virtual tie was decided in favour of George W Bush by the US Supreme Court.

Poll averages show that Clinton is ahead in the state by 3.8 percent-age points, and nationally by 5.1 points, according to RealClearPol-itics. She was to make a campaign appearance at a college in southern Broward County near Fort Lauder-dale, before going on to a fundraiser in Miami.

But Trump was first out of the blocks yesterday, taking aim at a sharp rise in health insur-ance premiums under President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform.

“It’s just blowing up,” Trump said at an event with employees of a golf course he owns in Doral, Flor-ida, vowing to “repeal and replace” Obamacare if elected.

He repeated that line of attack in tweets, and the phone inter-view with Fox News, brushing off a question about his recent threat to sue women who have accused him of making objectionable behaviour. .

“I would like to get off the sub-ject, everybody brings that up. The fact is, that was a speech talk-ing about Obamacare. We have to repeal it and replace it,” he said.

Obama trolls

Trump over

‘mean tweet’ Reuters

LOS ANGELES: US President Barack Obama yesterday trolled Republi-can presidential candidate Donald Trump — known for his prolific use of Twitter to settle scores — making Trump the punch line for jokes on ABC’s late-night show Jimmy Kim-mel Live.

Obama read aloud a series of “mean tweets” culminating in one from Trump: “President Obama will go down as perhaps the worst pres-ident in the history of the United States!” “At least I will go down as a president,” Obama said.

Kimmel joked that Obama had to “take time away from helping rig the election” to appear on the show, a dig at Trump, who has repeatedly said the vote is rigged against him.

Obama picked up on the joke while describing how comedian Bill Murray beat him in a contest to putt golf balls into a glass in the Oval Office during a recent visit — a stunt the White House designed to promote Obamacare health insurance.

“He won repeatedly,” Obama said. “The glass was rigged!”

Kimmel asked Obama, “Do you ever laugh” when watching Trump on television. “Most of the time,” Obama said. Obama also revealed he has been called on a special phone by his bed “three or four times” in the middle of the night during his time in office to deal with emergencies, including when the 2011 tsunami hit Japan. But he said he does not reach for his smartphone in the wee hours - another dig at the Republican candidate.

“I don’t tweet at 3 am about people who insult me,” Obama said.

“If I were able to run for a third term, Michelle would divorce me,” he said, noting his wife does not like politics.

AP

MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY: Former president Jorge Batlle, an extroverted and irreverent politician who was a force in Uruguayan politics for half a century and led it during one of its worst economic recessions, died. He was 88.

Batlle underwent surgery to stop a cerebral hemorrhage after he fainted and struck his head earlier this month during an event for his Colorado Party. But the former president never fully recovered and the Sanatorio Ameri-cano hospital where he was interned announced his death early yesterday.

Batlle, who was known as out-going, even politically incorrect at times, remained active in politics until the end, needling his succes-sors through newspaper columns and social media after leaving office.

He practiced law, worked as

journalist and was a senator and a member of lower house of Congress before serving as president from 2000-2005. He had promised that his presidency would be “fun,” but it was overshadowed by an economic depression that brought Uruguay, close to bankruptcy.

The slump left one of every three Uruguayans below the poverty line — a blow to a country where gen-erous social benefits had for years assured one of the region’s highest living standards.

As president, Batlle also pursued closer ties with the US at a time when leftists were taking power in Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela and distancing themselves from Washington.

Born on October 25, 1927, Batlle came from a political family. His father, Luis Batlle Berres, was pres-ident of Uruguay between 1947-1951 and 1954-1958. He was related to 19th century Presidents Jose Batlle y Ordonez and Lorenzo Batlle.

But his road to the presidency

was challenging. After an unsuc-cessful first run in 1966, his image was dented by a financial scandal in 1968, when he was accused of using privileged information on an immi-nent devaluation. The claim was never proven.

In 1971, he lost another presidential election. During the 1973-1985 mili-tary dictatorship, he was detained on several occasions, as were dozens of other political leaders. After the return of democracy, he was elected senator for the Colorado Party.

After another unsuccessful run in 1994, Batlle finally won election in 1999 and took office in 2000.

In 2001, Uruguay was hit by an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that forced the country to suspend all exports of meat, a backbone of the economy. Shortly after that, Uruguay was dragged down by an economic crisis in its neighbour and major trading partner, Argentina.

Batlle used his good relation with US President George W. Bush to help

obtain $1.5 billion in credit to stave off default. Battle broke diplomatic

relations with Cuba in 2002 after a war of words with Fidel Castro.

Lawmakers vote

for political

trial of Maduro

AFP

CARACAS: Venezuela’s oppo-sit ion-majority legislature yesterday voted to open a politi-cal trial against President Nicolas Maduro, who is resisting efforts to remove him from power in a vol-atile political crisis.

A majority of lawmakers in the National Assembly voted in favour of a motion to launch a “political and criminal trial” against Maduro after he blocked their drive for a referendum on removing him.

They voted to summon Maduro to appear before the assembly on November 1 to answer charges of “criminal and political responsibility and of abandoning his post.”

It is unclear what impact the vote will have. The Supreme Court — which the opposition claims Maduro controls — has ruled the National Assembly’s decisions invalid. The center right-domi-nated opposition blames Maduro for a dire economic crisis in the oil-rich nation.

The opposition called for the political trial after courts and electoral authorities last week annulled their bid to hold a recall referendum against him.

Maduro met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Monday and said afterward that he had the pope’s blessing to launch a “dialogue” with the opposition.

Leaders of opposition Dem-ocratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) dismissed that as a ploy, insisting they had not agreed on terms for talks with the government.

The MUD has called for nationwide street protests from today to raise pressure on Maduro.

The president landed back in Venezuela yesterday after a tour to the Middle East, the Vatican and Portugal, television pictures showed.

He was expected to join his supporters in a rally in Caracas.

Analysts have warned there is a risk of violent unrest in the South American country of 30 million people.

AP

TORONTO: A nurse has been charged with the murders of eight elderly people at nursing homes in southwestern Ontario over a seven-year period, police said yesterday.

Woodstock Police Chief William Renton said Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer, 49, was charged with first-degree murder in killings that took place between 2007 and 2014.

“The victims were administered a drug. We’re not in a position at this time to comment further on the spe-cifics of the drug as it forms part of the evidence that is now before the courts,” Ontario Provincial Police detective Dave Truax said.

Police said Wettlaufer appeared in court yesterday and remained in custody. The investigation is ongo-ing and officials said more charges could be brought in the future.

Woodstock Police said they did not know whether Wettlaufer was represented yet by a lawyer.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne called the alleged murders by a nurse “extremely distressing and tragic.”

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins called the charges “horrific allegations” and said the safety and security of those in long-term care homes are his top priority.

“No resident of long-term hous-ing needs to be concerned about their safety as a result of this inves-tigation,” Hoskins said.

Wettlaufer, of Woodstock, was employed by Caressant Care Nurs-ing and Retirement Homes, which operates 15 facilities in small Ontario towns.

Police said seven of the victims died at a Caressant nursing home in Woodstock, a community of 37,000 people about halfway between Lon-don and Hamilton, Ontario.

The New York billionaire’s stand-ing in the polls has been hit hard, particularly among female voters, since the release of a 2005 video.

Since then, about a dozen women have come forward with allegations of misconduct.

At a campaign event in New Hampshire with Clinton on Monday, fiery liberal Senator Elizabeth Warren served notice on Trump that Demo-crats are not turning the page on his treatment of women.

“Nasty women have really had it with guys like you,” Warren said, quoting a disparaging remark the Republican made about Clinton at their last debate.

“Nasty women are tough. Nasty women are smart. And nasty women vote,” she said.

At a fundraiser in La Jolla,

California, President Barack Obama said he wants an overwhelm-ing Clinton victory in order to send the message that Americans reject Trump’s divisive rhetoric.

“We want to win big,” Obama said. “We don’t just want to eke it out, par-ticularly when the other guy’s already started to gripe about how the game is rigged.”

With his path to victory narrow-ing, Trump has railed against the “phony” polls and appealed to voters to turn out, calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to reject the political elite.”

“We’re doing great in Ohio. We’re doing great in Iowa. I think we’re doing very well in New Hampshire,” he said in the Fox News interview.

“Honestly I think we’re doing really well all over. People want

change. They are tired of incompe-tence,” he said.

Trump pointed to what he described as long lines of early vot-ers in Florida as a hopeful sign.

“I don’t know what this means but they’re wearing Trump hats and Trump buttons and Trump shirts. That is generally good news but you never know,” he said.

Despite the expressions of confi-dence, a growing recognition that he may be facing defeat has crept into Trump’s speeches.

“Make sure you get out and vote, or this whole thing, you know the movement that they’re all talking about all over the world, it won’t be the same, folks,” Trump told an enthu-siastic crowd in Tampa.

“We’re not going to be able to do what we wanted to do.”

Trump & Hillary blitz Florida with two weeks to go

An employee of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump plays with his tie as he poses for photos after a campaign event with his team at his Trump National Doral golf club in Miami, Florida, yesterday.

Nurse charged in deaths of

8 nursing home residents

Former Uruguayan president Jorge Batlle dies

People stand in a line to pay their tribute to the late President Jorge Batlle at Uruguay’s Congress building in Montevideo, yesterday.

HOME16 WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2016

FAJR

SHOROOK

ZUHR

ASR

MAGHRIB

ISHA

04.21 am05.38 am

11.18 am02.33 pm

05.00 pm06.30 pm

Minimum: 25o C Maximum: 33o C

HIGH TIDE 01:45 - 13:00LOW TIDE 05:30 - 20:30

Hazy to misty/foggy at places at first becomes

mild daytime with some local clouds.

PRAYER TIMINGS WEATHER

QNA

DOHA: For nearly a quarter century, HH Grandfather Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani managed to place Qatar among powerful nations characterised by its autonomous decision-making and aspira-tion for a better future. During his reign from 1972 to 1995, the Grandfather Emir founded the country’s constitutional, administrative and political system based on knowledge and prudent action as well as sovereignty and independent decisions.

The Grandfather Emir, who assumed power on February 22, 1972, began with government reorganisation process and appointed the first foreign minister in the history of Qatar, the post assumed by HE Sheikh Suhaim bin Hamad Al Thani on February 23, 1972.

On April 19, 1972, the Grandfather Emir ordered the amendment of the 1970 Consti-tution. The amended Constitution stipulated: “Qatar is an independent sovereign Arab

State. Its religion is Islam and the Shari’a Law shall be the principal source of its legislation. Its political system is democratic. The Arabic Language shall be its official language. The people of Qatar are a part of the Arab nation.”

In its second article, the amended Consti-tution said that the capital of the State of Qatar is Doha City. The State shall exercise sover-eignty on its own territorial land and waters located within its international boundaries, and may neither relinquish this sovereignty nor cede any part of its land or waters.

In the third article, it said: “The Law shall specify the flag, emblem, decorations and badges of the State, and the National Anthem.” The amendment established a new Shura Council, and empowered the government through adding new portfolios and approved the freedom of press and publication.

The Constitution said that the foreign policy of the State is based on the principles of strengthening international peace and security by means of encouraging peaceful resolution of international disputes, support-ing the right of peoples to self-determination,

not interfering in the domestic affairs of other states, and cooperating with all peace-lov-ing nations.

Working on realising the goals of the con-stitution which stressed the importance of education as a right of all citizens that should be provided free in all its stages, Qatar Uni-versity was established in 1973.

The Grandfather Emir paid special atten-tion to study abroad missions and issued a number of decisions regulating it in 1976. The regulations all aimed to promote study abroad in scientific, artistic or practical stud-ies whether by obtaining a degree or training to deal with any shortage that is required for public interest. These regulations applied to students or employees to help them gain the necessary skills and transfer expertise from abroad to the State of Qatar.

The Grandfather Emir issued a group of decisions in 1972 that helped regulate the state’s administrative structure. His High-ness issued law no. 19 establishing new municipalities. Based on the law, Qatar was administratively divided into five

municipalities. They were Al Rayyan, Al Wak-rah, Al Khor and Al Thukhaira, Umm Salal and Al Shamal. Mesaieed was added in 1990.

In the first year of the rule of the Grand-father Emir, the Ministry of Municipality, Ministry of Information and Qatar General Petroleum Corporation ( now Qatar Petro-leum) were all established. The Qatari citizen also obtained a number of benefits in wages and housing. The following years saw signs of the administrative reform taking shape in the establishment of Qatar Monetary Agency (now Qatar Central Bank), the Audit Bureau and the Civil Aviation Authority.

In 1975, the Grandfather Emir issued Decision No. 94 establishing Qatar News Agency (QNA) charged with the responsibil-ity of broadcasting official news and being a window for modern Qatar into the world.

The Ministry of Defense was also estab-lished during the reign of the Grandfather Emir, who issued Decision No. 2 of 1977. The Father Emir was Qatar’s first ever Minister of Defense.

A reformation of the Advisory Coun-cil took place in 1990; 19 members were

appointed and 11 former members main-tained their positions.

In 1980 there was a qualitative leap in terms of the number of expats and the devel-opment of the state’s administrative system which required providing different kinds of education to citizens and residents. June 6, 1980 saw the first law that regulated the work of private schools to deal with this development.

The Grandfather Emir also issued an Emiri decree establishing Qatar’s first tour-ism committee.

During the following 15 years, the Grand-father Emir issued dozens of legislations that aimed to improve the lives of citizens and residents. Such efforts included establishing health centres and a committee for treatment abroad among other services that aimed to provide social welfare.

The Grandfather Emir also issued a number of decisions that reformed the state’s administrative structure, particularly in services such as electricity, post, health and education.

Emir and Father Emir receive condolences

Grandfather Emir gave shape to the administrative structure