TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021 www.thepeninsula.qa6 JUMADA II - 1442 VOLUME 25 NUMBER 8507

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QA first airline to achieve 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety RatingTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Airways has become the first global airline in the world to achieve the prestigious 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating by international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax.

The announcement follows a detailed audit, carried out by the Skytrax team in December 2020, which assessed how effectively and consistently the airline’s stringent COVID-19 hygiene and safety standards and procedures are adhered to, from flight check-in to on-board aircraft. This included a full review of procedural effi-ciency checks, visual obser-vation of hygiene and safety levels at all stages of the pas-senger journey, and on-board Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) sampling tests to measure the potential level of contamination of contact surfaces.

The achievement of the Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating is in addition to Qatar Airways’ home and hub,

Hamad International Airport (HIA), recently being named as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating in December 2020.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker, said: “As an industry leader and the ‘World’s Best Airline’, as named by Skytrax, we are

well-used to setting the standard for others to follow. We are delighted that our com-mitment to providing the most rigorous and comprehensive COVID-19 safety programme in existence within the global aviation community has been recognised with the Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating.

“ T h i s a c h i e v e m e n t

highlights the fastidious measures and procedures Qatar Airways have employed to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our passengers throughout the global pan-demic to date, and follows HIA’s recent success as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating.

“It also provides assurance to passengers across the world that airline health and safety standards are subject to the highest possible standards of professional, independent scrutiny and assessment. As Qatar Airways continues to deal with the ongoing impact and challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, we would like to rein-force the message that air travel does not need to be a source of concern to passengers.

“In the meantime, we look forward to continuing to provide the safest possible experience for travellers across the world, and expanding upon our role in assisting the recovery of the commercial avi-ation industry over the coming months.”

Skytrax Chief Executive Officer, Edward Plaisted, said: “We congratulate Qatar Airways on being awarded with the highest 5-Star COVID-19 Safety Rating and being the world’s first major airline to be certified at this level. �P2

Qatar to issue COVID-19 vaccination certificatesIRFAN BUKHARI THE PENINSULA

The Ministry of Public Health announced yesterday that all individuals who have received 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will get the vaccination certif-icate 7 days after the second dose.

“COVID-19 vaccination cer-tificate now available on MyHealth Patient Portal. All individuals who have received 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will automatically have a vac-cination certificate available for them in the ‘MyHealth Patient Portal’ 7 days after their second dose,” the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said on its social media accounts yesterday.

The Ministry further said: “Individuals who have not yet registered for the patient portal are advised to do so in order to access their certificate.”

Head of Vaccination at MoPH, Dr. Soha Al Bayat has

said that whoever has taken the two doses of the COVID 19 vaccine will be given an offi-cially stamped “COVID-19 Vaccine Card”, that will be in Arabic and English.

The card will include the date of taking the first and second doses. Speaking to Qatar TV yesterday, she said that in order to reach herd immunity from COVID-19 about 75 percent of the target groups must be vaccinated. Al Bayat also said that there is a high response from the community on taking the vaccination and no one has delayed receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the BBC News, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive H E Akbar Al Baker has said that vaccination certificates could be the new norm that a lot of countries would require that you be vaccinated before you enter their countries.

“I think this will be the new norm that everybody will have to produce a vaccination certif-icate to board an aeroplane - and not only to board an aero-plane, but a lot of countries also would require that you be vac-cinated before you come to their countries. I think it will be a joint ICAO, IATA and WHO project, to introduce a safe pass for people whose vaccination certificates will be recognised internationally,” Al Baker said in a video shared by Qatar Airways on its Twitter account yesterday.

Speaking about the possible speedy recovery of the aviation sector, Al Baker said: “Until and unless science proves all these questions that people have about the disease or the effect of the vaccination, I don’t think that travel will come back to 2019 levels for the foreseeable future.”

In another video, he said: “Nothing is more costly than to look at the interest of our

passengers and our crew, to protect them from this pan-demic. We invest to look after them and at the same time to give them the confidence that they can travel on Qatar Airways.”

Qatar began on January 13 administering the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all those

who were vaccinated with the first dose when the campaign began on December 23. The issuance of COVID-19 vacci-nation certificate by the Min-istry of Public Health may help travellers from Qatar to enjoy smooth travelling in future.

It is to be noted that the International Air Transport

Association (IATA) is also working on ‘Travel Pass Initi-ative’ to help people travel safely again.

“To re-open borders without quarantine and restart aviation governments need to be confident that they are effec-tively mitigating the risk of importing COVID-19." �P4

Ashghal finishes South Al Wakra Health Center main works

The South Al Wakra Health Center is spread over an area of about 3000 sq m, to provide nine clinics, along with annex buildings such as a mosque, support services building, electrical and mechanical maintenance annex, a garage for ambulances & parking slots for 125 cars

400 3,000 682,000 Sustainability 3 stars

Designs as per special

need people

Designs as per Qatari and

traditional heritage

Patientsper day

Sq m area working man hours LTI

I think this will be the new norm that everybody will have to produce a vaccination certificate to board an aeroplane - and not only to board an aeroplane, but a lot of countries also would require that you be vaccinated before you come to their countries.

H E Akbar Al Baker Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive

Qatar Airways resumes daily Cairo flightsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Airways yesterday resumed flights to Cairo in the Arab Republic of Egypt with a daily service. QR1301 departed Hamad International Airport to Cairo International Airport and landed at its destination. The flight was operated by Qatar Airways’ state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Qatar Airways will resume flights to Alexandria on Monday, January 25. Qatar Airways passengers travelling from Egypt can now enjoy seamless connectivity to over 110 global destinations via its state-of-the-art hub, Hamad International Airport.

The national carrier of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 110 destina-tions with plans to increase to over 130 by the end of March 2021.

Education City,

Ahmad bin Ali

Stadiums to host

FIFA Club World Cup

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Matches of the FIFA Club World Cup 2020 will be played at two venues, this was confirmed by FIFA yesterday.

The matches of the six-team tournament will be played at Education City and Ahmad Bin Ali Stadiums, both the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 venues that were inau-gurated last year.

Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium will stage the first match on February 4 at 5pm and the FIFA Club World Cup final will be played at the Education City Stadium on February 11, with kick off set for 9pm.

Initially the iconic Khalifa International Stadium was also slated to host the matches but once New Zealand club Auckland City FC pulled out of the event, FIFA made amend-ments to the playing schedule.

The Khalifa International Stadium, which was originally due to host two matches of the event, will not be used. �P4

MME weighs plant factories to ensure year-round produce of leafy vegetablesSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) has planned to establish plant factories soon to ensure production of leafy vegetables round the year.

The plan is under MME’s food security strategy to increase self-sufficiency in fresh food production.

“The agricultural season in the country is limited to some months so the idea behind the plan is to provide leafy vege-tables year-round with the help of proposed plant factories,” said Director of Agricultural Research Department at MME Hamad Saket Al Shammari during a Qatar TV programme.

He said the move of the MME is to involve private sector to make investment in agricul-tural sector to ensure food security.

A plant factory is a closed

growing system which enables farmers to achieve constant production of vegetables all year around. The facility uti-lises artificial control of light, temperature, moisture, and c a r b o n d i o x i d e concentrations.

Speaking about the devel-opment of agriculture sector in the country, Al Shammari said: “The number of agricultural farms reached to 953 at present from 832 farms in 2017 which produce vegetables in large quantity and supply them to local market.”

To a question about adopting latest technologies to increase agricultural produce, Al Shammari said: “The Agri-cultural Research Department is conducting a research work with Qatar University that will help equipping greenhouses with modern technologies. We reached in the advance stage in the research work and the result will be announced later.”�P4

The achievement of the Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating is in addition to Qatar Airways’ home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), recently being named as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating in December 2020.

OFFICIAL NEWS

Doha: Minister of State for For-

eign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al

Muraikhi held yesterday a phone

call with UK Minister of State for

Middle East and North Africa H E

James Cleverly. During the call,

they reviewed bilateral coopera-

tion relations as well as issues of

joint interest. -QNA

Doha: The Shura Council partici-

pated yesterday in a parliamentary

meeting on supporting the rights of

the Palestinian people. The meet-

ing was held by the national security

and foreign policy committee of the

Islamic Consultative Assembly of

the Islamic Republic of Iran and the

Secretariat on Supporting the Pales-

tinian Intifada via video conference

technology. Held under the slogan

“Jerusalem Brings Us Together,” the

meeting aimed to continue support-

ing the realization of the legitimate

rights of the Palestinian people and

the establishment of a Palestinian state

with Jerusalem as its capital.

The meeting was attended by HE

Abdullah bin Fahd bin Ghorab Al Marri,

member of the Shura Council. -QNA

Doha: The designated authorities

yesterday referred 138 people to

the Public Prosecution for not wear-

ing masks in places where they are

mandatory. The measure is in line

with the Cabinet decision, Decree

Law No. 17 of 1990 on infectious

diseases, and the precautionary

measures in force in the country

to contain the spread of coronavirus

(COVID-19).The designated author-

ities called on the public to adhere

to the precautionary measures in

place to ensure their safety and the

safety of others. -QNA

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs holds phone call with UK minister

Shura Council attends meeting on supporting Palestinian people

138 people referred to Public Prosecution for not wearing masks

02 TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021HOME

Geriatric-Dermatology Clinic at Rumailah Hospital expands patient care servicesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Geriatric-Dermatology (GeriDerm) clinic has expanded its patient care services by adding face-to-face consulta-tions to virtual sessions for older patients with skin diseases in Qatar.

From January 2021, all new referrals to the clinic will be seen by an interdisciplinary team of dermatologists and ger-iatricians in a specialized Hamad Medical Corporation facility for the patient’s first appointment.

The ‘GeriDerm’ clinic was first launched in June 2020 as a virtual clinic providing spe-cialized telemedicine-based care to cover the medical needs of older patients with derma-tological problems. The pro-vision of virtual and telephone consultations was initiated when the challenges of access to care due to the COVID-19

pandemic became more apparent.

The GeriDerm clinic had 329 virtual encounters with older patients from June-December 2020; with approx-imately 40 patients being seen in the clinic where face-to-face consultation was deemed essential.

Resuming face to face is in accordance with clinical guide-lines and new patients are now receiving appointments to be seen by clinical experts in the Dermatology and Venereology Department or the Elderly Day Care Unit in Rumailah Hospital. as well as continue their ongoing care online. Follow up appointments will be arranged as either in-person or virtual consultation, depending on clinical need and patient preference.

The development of the ‘GeriDerm’ clinic was led by Dr. Sarah Al Khawaga from HMC’s

Dermatology and Venereology Department, in close collabo-ration with Dr. Wasim Akram, Geriatric Consultant at Rumailah Hospital, with the support and guidance of Prof. Steinhoff, Chairman, of the Der-matology Department and Director of the Dermatology Institute at HMC, and Dr. Hanadi Al Hamad, National Lead for Healthy Ageing in Qatar and Medical Director of Rumailah Hospital (RH) and Qatar Rehabilitation Institute (QRI).

Dr. Al Khawaga explained the growing need for providing specialized dermatological care for older adults: “Skin disorders are more common in older adults, because the skin becomes is dryer (less oily), less elastic and thinner with advancing age, which can make it more susceptible to disease. The most common skin diseases among older people

include eczema, skin infections, and pruritus (severely dry and itchy skin). People with under-lying health conditions, such as diabetes, or those who take multiple medications, can also experience increased skin problems.”

Patients aged 65 and older can be referred through their primary health center, or if they are seeing another HMC doctor who recom-mends an expert consultation they can also arrange a referral.

To help triage patients for urgent and non-urgent appointment bookings, the

assigned dermatologist per-forms a GeriDerm risk assessment using an interna-tional best practice tool and triaging process. Urgent referrals, especially for sus-pected skin melanomas, aim to refer patient within 24 to 48 hours.

The GeriDerm clinic is held currently held from 7am to 3pm, every Tuesday. The virtual and direct clinics are managed by multidisciplinary dermatol-ogists and geriatricians, along with experienced nurses and allied health professionals, to provide the best possible service.

Dr. Hanadi Al Hamad Prof Martin Steinhoff

Online Ooredoo

Portal security

enhanced for

business customers

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Ooredoo Qatar has announced a security enhancement of its online Ooredoo Portal for business customers, including launching a One-time Passcode (OTP) system. To further ensure security when accessing the Ooredoo Portal, business customers will soon be asked to enter an OTP, which will be sent to their registered mobile number or email address upon each attempt to access the Portal.

To use the OTP system to log in, business customers will need to ensure their contact details – mobile number and email – are up to date. Regis-tered contact details can be found in the My Profile section of the Ooredoo Portal.

Business customers whose contact information is not current should send an official request to update details on company letterhead via email to busorders@ooredoo.qa. Account Managers will also be available to answer any ques-tions on the new security enhancement.

Chief Business Officer at Ooredoo Sheikh Nasser Al Thani said: “We’re committed to ensuring the highest standards of security for our customers, and we pride ourselves on offering the latest technologies and innovations to offer com-plete peace of mind. We’re delighted to be further enhancing the already stringent online Ooredoo Portal access protocols with the OTP system, in line with this commitment to security.”

Business customers can leverage the Ooredoo Advantage, making Ooredoo “Best for Business,” thanks to its breadth and depth of talent, best fixed and mobile networks, broadest portfolio of ICT services and solutions, and trusted partner for 60 years.

Shura Council approves draft law on commercial companiesQNA — DOHA

The Shura Council yesterday approved a draft law amending some provisions of the Commercial Companies Law issued under Law No. 11 of 2015.

The Shura Council held its regular weekly meeting under the chairmanship of the Speaker H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud. At the beginning of the meeting, the Council discussed a draft law on mortgaging movable funds.

The draft law includes 9 chapters and 49 articles, which aims to give companies and individuals the opportunity to acquire bank loans guaranteed by mort-gaged movables and contribute to low-ering the cost of loans by finding guar-antees for banks that reduce the risk of default. The move will benefit small and medium-sized enterprises in playing a major role in enhancing the local economy.

The draft law also includes provi-sions related to the scope of application, establishing an electronic record at the Qatar Central Securities Depository (QCSD) and data needed to be recorded, estab-lishing the right to mortgage and its entry into force, and establishing the rights of mortgagee. After discussion, the Council decided to refer the aforementioned Draft Law to the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee to study it and submit a report thereon to the Council.

The Shura Council reviewed the report of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee regarding a draft law amending some provisions of the Com-mercial Companies Law issued under Law No. 11 of 2015. The amendment of some provisions of the aforementioned law aimed at enhancing the ease of capital flow, removing obstacles, reducing time and cost, diversifying non-oil income, developing market movement, and enhancing international competitiveness in the field of establishing and operating companies. The draft law also added new provisions for the purposes of achieving the requirements of anti-money laun-dering and combating the financing of ter-rorism stipulated in the Law No. 20 of 2019 on combating money laundering and ter-rorism financing.

The amendments stipulated that the

Minister of Commerce and Industry shall issue decisions regulating governance for private joint-stock companies. As for com-panies listed in the financial market, the authority shall issue decisions regulating their own governance, provided that the Board of Directors of the company is com-mitted to implementing the aforemen-tioned governance decisions, taking into account that the companies’ incorporation documents do not contain anything that contradicts with those decisions.

The amendments in the draft law spec-ified how the members of the companys board of directors should be elected and the requirements that must be met by a member of the board of directors. The amendments included replacing some phrases and introducing definitions, in addition to the procedures for the meetings

of the boards of directors of companies and their general assemblies. They also stipulated the possibility of holding the general assembly of the company through modern technology means in accordance with the rules determined by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The report of the Financial and Eco-nomic Affairs Committee included a detailed presentation of the draft law, amendments and additional articles to the Commercial Companies Law, justi-fications for amendment and addition, and the committee inquiries to officials at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the answers it received.

After discussion, the Council decided to approve the aforementioned Draft Law and referring its recommendations to the government.

Ashghal finishes South Al Wakra Health Center main worksTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Within the government plan for developing and implementing better health services in Qatar, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has completed major works of South Al Wakra Health Center, implemented by the Building Projects Department to serve about 360 visitors per day.

Eng. Hind Al Mahmied, Head of Health Projects Section at Building Projects Department, confirmed that major works in the South Al Wakra Health Center project are over and the project is being prepared for handover to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).

Eng Al Mahmied also noted that three more health centers in the pipeline will be delivered in 2021 including Al Khor Health Center, Ain Khalid Health Center, Al Sadd Health Centre and the National Health Laboratory. The head of Health Projects Section stated that the pace of construction works at South Al Wakra Health Centre did go on in accordance with the set plan of the project despite the Corona Pandemic, Pointing to the fact that the

project took about 682,000 man-hours without lost-time injury; since Ashghal provides all safety precautionary measures for the workers deployed to the project.

She added that the South Al Wakra Health Center has been implemented in accordance with the local construction specifications and international standards, to achieve the required 3-star sustainability standards (GSAS).

The South Al Wakra Health Center is spread over an area of about 3,000 square meters and includes a single-story

main building housing main clinical building (health center) covering nine clinics, annex buildings such as a mosque, support services building, guards building, monitoring chamber, electrical and mechanical maintenance annex, a garage for ambulances and parking slots for 125 cars.

The project design has con-sidered requirements of people with special needs including signage messaging, illustrations and Braille script, comfortable toilets, wide walkways for easy movement, auto-sensor doors, and reception desks with

convenient height besides car parking spaces close to the main entrances and ramps in place of steps.

The buildings design also reflects the heritage and culture of Qatar without compromising international standards of safety for fire protection, besides 3-star rated GSAS envi-ronment standard. Another important design feature of the architectural design of the health center is inclusion of next generation technologies in the field of medical equipment.

It is worth mentioning that all criteria were also set by Global

Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) since operational and architectural considerations were taken to accomplish a 3-star environmental level in terms of energy saving and environment preservation.

Ashghal has been granted two Sustainability Awards (2016) in health and education facilities by the Gulf Organi-zation for Research and Devel-opment “GORD”, the leading organisation related to the per-formance-based system of GSAS implementation and development in the MENA region. Over the past years, GORD examined the designs of building projects –educational and health buildings - and con-ducted site visits to Ashghal’s projects to verify that the projects match GSAS standards.

As per Ashghal’s vision to support growth of Qatar’s GDP, a huge proportion of materials used in Ashghal projects are of local made; and the share of the percentage of local materials used in South Al Wakra Health Center project reached 45% of the total materials including iron, steel, MEP items, glass and other materials.

→ South Al Wakra Health Center serves 360 visitors daily

→ Three more health centers to be completed in 2021 besides the National Health Laboratory.

→ The Project, completed within a duration of 682,000 man-hours without lost-time injury, covers an area of 3,000 square meters

Speaker of the Shura Council, H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, chairing the weekly meeting.

The draft law includes 9 chapters and 49 articles, which aims to give companies and individuals the opportunity to acquire bank loans guaranteed by mortgaged movables and contribute to lowering the cost of loans by finding guarantees for banks that reduce the risk of default.

QA first airline to achieve 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety RatingFROM PAGE 1

Qatar Airways kept flying throughout COVID-19, taking over 3.1 million people home since the start of the pandemic, and it is this experience that enables them to deliver an excellent standard of health and hygiene safety measures

to keep customers and staff safe.”

Qatar Airways’ on-board safety measures include the provision of Personal Pro-tective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew and a compli-mentary protective kit for pas-sengers. Business Class

passengers on aircraft equipped with Qsuite can enjoy the enhanced privacy this award-winning business seat provides, including sliding privacy partitions and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator. Qsuite is available on flights to more

than 45 destinations including Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, London and New York.

In addition, the airline also uses the most advanced HEPA air filtration systems on board all aircraft, and recently became the first global carrier to introduce Honeywell ’s

state-of-the-art Ultraviolet Cabin System, operated by Qatar Aviation Services, as a further step in the cleaning of its aircraft. For full details of all the measures that have been implemented onboard and in HIA, please visit qatarairways.com/safety.

03TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021 HOME

Chief of Staff reviews military relations with Chief of Staff of Pakistan Air Force

Chief of Staff of Qatari Armed Forces, H E Lieutenant General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen Al Ghanim met yesterday with Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan, H E Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan. They reviewed military cooperation relations between the two sides, and means of strengthening and developing them. The meeting was attended by a number of senior officers from both sides.

Sidra Medicine establishes Movement Disorders ClinicTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Sidra Medicine has established Qatar’s first pediatric focused Movement Disorders Clinic which will address problems such as spasticity (uncontrol-lable muscle stiffness) and dystonia (involuntary, abnormal jerking or twisting movements) in children and young people who have not responded to medications and therapy and who may benefit from state-of-the-art surgical interventions available at Sidra Medicine.

The Movement Disorders Clinic is staffed by a team of specialists from rehabilitation medicine, physical and occupa-tional therapy, neurology, and neurosurgery. The most common diagnosis seen at the clinic are children with Cerebral Palsy, a brain disorder that inter-feres with the way that the brain communicates with the body and causes difficulty with movement.

Commenting on the care provided by the Movement Dis-orders Clinic, Dr. Lisa Thornton, Division Chief of Rehabilitation Medicine at Sidra Medicine said: “Sidra Medicine is one of the very few hospitals in the world with the specialist expertise to offer comprehensive care for children with Cerebral Palsy or Dystonia,

including neurosurgery, neu-rology, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation and orthopedic surgery. While these brain con-ditions are incurable, our com-bined effort is to ensure that we are improving the quality of life for the patients and their families.”

Dr. Ian Pople, Division Chief of Neurosurgery at Sidra Med-icine said: “Our first case at the Movement Disorders Clinic was

eight-year-old Aiden, who underwent a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) procedure to help address his spasticity. The nerves causing the most stiffness were cut during this unique surgery. SDR has been shown to reduce the number of additional orthopedic surgeries needed over the course of a child’s life. In most cases, spasticity doesn’t return,” continued Dr. Pople. The SDR

performed on Aiden at Sidra Medicine, was highly specialized and is considered possibly the first of its type in the region for the improvement of mobility in a pediatric patient with Cerebral Palsy.

Eight-year-old Aiden has cerebral palsy (CP) and visual impairments. His CP causes spasticity that leads to leg stiffness and interferes with his ability to walk, causing him to use a wheelchair for mobility.

Aiden’s parents sought to find the best care possible for their son, and tried a number of different therapies including stem cell therapy in the USA, before seeking a treatment program at Sidra Medicine in 2017. Aiden was referred to Sidra Medicine’s Rehabilitation Medicine department to help with his spasticity issues. After consultation with experts at the Movement Disorders Clinic, it was decided that he would benefit from a surgery called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR). The goals of the surgery were to make it easier for him to move, so that he could walk in his home with a walker.

Dr. Ian Pople added: “Timing was critical regarding the selective dorsal rhizotomy procedure on Aiden. It was

important that Aiden would be able to withstand undergoing such a complex surgery and it took three years before we felt confident that he was ready. The clinical team felt that Aiden was a prime candidate for the procedure where certain nerves would be cut to permanently reduce the spasticity in his legs.”

Aiden’s surgery was per-formed in Sidra Medicine’s state-of-the-art neurosurgery operating room. The surgery took six hours and involved a team of two surgeons, a neu-rologist and two neurophysiol-ogists who monitored Aiden’s spinal cord function during the surgery. Together they deter-mined which nerves were causing the most spasticity and carefully sectioned those sensory nerves to reduce the spasticity in his legs. After the surgery, Aiden stayed at Sidra Medicine for nearly three weeks to begin rigorous rehabilitation that he will continue as an out-patient for up to one year. His parents are also committed to helping him perform a home-based, daily therapy program. Following his intensive post-operative care, Aiden’s parents have seen easier movements in his legs, with his strength improving by the day.

Dr. Ian Pople (above), Chief of Neurosurgery, and Dr. Lisa Thornton, Chief of Rehabilitation Medicine

Eight-year-old Aiden undergoing physical therapy

QF launches fourth cycle of Akhlaquna AwardTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Projects embodying the moral values that are the bedrock of a strong and sustainable society are being sought as Qatar Foundation launches the fourth cycle of its Akhlaquna Award to broaden its reach and impact, benefiting even more lives.

First announced by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, in 2017, the Akhlaquna Award highlights the timeless and universal values exhibited by Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) that remain relevant and vital to people of all ages and cultures — and celebrates those whose actions and behaviours epit-omise what the initiative represents.

Each year, young people who have developed projects rooted in exemplary moral character and who inspire others through the example they set are rec-ognised through the award. It nurtures the behaviours essential to being a leader and a change-maker. And through its ethos and message, Akhlaquna also facilitates behavioural change within the broader society, heightening awareness of the intercon-nectivity between knowledge and morality.

“Through Akhlaquna, we have already influenced the lives of thou-sands of people, empowering them to recognize how the values and behaviors they exhibit and live by benefit them-selves and those around them,” said Machaille Hassan Al Naimi, President of Community Development, Qatar Foundation.

“They have become ambassadors for the morals and values that stand at the core of Akhlaquna, inspiring others to adopt, embrace, and exemplify them in their own daily lives. This is how Akhlaquna is serving as a vehicle for positive change within our society. It promotes, instills, and catalyzes behaviors that make communities stronger, more unified, more tolerant, and more aware.

“The three cycles of Akhlaquna to date have illustrated how our inno-vative, creative, and socially-engaged youth are committed to leading this

change and making a difference to their community and the world. As we enter the fourth cycle of this empowering ini-tiative, we look forward to seeing the young people of Qatar come forward with their ideas for placing robust human values at the heart of society and to the impact and benefit of Akhlaquna extending even further into people’s lives.”

Reflecting Qatar Foundation’s (QF) commitment to inspiring young people and all members of society to be active, aware, compassionate, and thoughtful cit-izens who improve people through their actions and mindsets, Akhlaquna high-lights the enduring importance of values such as mercy, tolerance, honesty, and generosity. It aims to create a ripple effect that benefits Qatar’s community and the global community by heightening recog-nition of what good moral character and behaviors make possible.

Since its launch, young people have submitted over 250 projects to Akhlaquna, with 70 of these coming in its third cycle. The initiative has also provided tailored workshops to hun-dreds of youth, guiding and empowering them to establish their humanitarian ini-tiatives. Its fourth cycle will unfold in a form that reflects the pandemic-affected times the world is living through, with at least the first half of its program taking place via virtual platforms.

Qatari citizens and residents aged 15-24 can submit projects, either as indi-viduals or teams. The three shortlisted projects will be voted on by the public and assessed by a panel of jurors to determine the winner, which will be announced at a dedicated Akhlaquna Day ceremony later this year and sup-ported by QF to amplify the positive impact it can bring to society.

Music Affairs Centre invites talented singers in Qatar to join Nagham contestRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

The Music Affairs Centre under the Ministry of Culture and Sports is inviting talented singers in Qatar to join the second edition of Nagham Competition, registration of which starts tomorrow.

The Music Affairs Centre recently made the announcement on its official social media accounts and website.

The contest follows the huge success the inaugural edition enjoyed last year which saw the wealth of talent Qatar possesses in the field of music when a large number of aspiring musicians from various nationalities took part in the compe-tition despite limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducted in several phases, the exciting com-petition took place virtually between June and September.

Unlike its first edition which was divided into two categories namely singers and instrumentalists, this upcoming contest focuses only on singers in two categories namely

Arabic singers and singers in other languages.

The contest, aimed at enhancing cross-cultural convergence through music and encouraging the best musi-cians in the country, is open to tal-ented citizens and residents in Qatar of any age, and competitors can sing in any language.

To enter the competition, partici-pants must record a video of them per-forming a song of their choice, whether cover or original, not exceeding two minutes and upload it along with their full name, phone number, and email address at the Centre’s website: www.qmusic.qa starting tomorrow until January 31 at 6pm.

From among the entries sub-mitted, a total of 16 finalists - eight for each of the two categories - will be chosen by the jury on February 10 to advance for the final phase of the contest. The 16 finalists will then record a music video of their per-formance not exceeding four minutes in the Music Affairs Center production studio which will be uploaded on the Centre’s YouTube channel for online

voting which will start on March 1. Two winners from each category

will take the first place that will be decided by jury and voting (number of likes that each competitor’s video will get at the Centre’s YouTube channel during the voting phase). The second place winner will be decided by the jury for each category.

The winners will be invited to the final event on April 5 where each will perform their own complete song live onstage.

Under the Department of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Music Affairs Centre con-tinues to play an active role in sup-porting music activities in Qatar, developing talents and spreading the culture of music to citizens and residents.

The Centre has been organising events for the community such as music festivals which focus on reflecting the importance of cultural diversity of the communities residing in Qatar and reflect the ministry’s vision of stressing the importance of opening up to other cultures.

Aspetar, Aspire Zone & QAF sign medical cooperation agreementTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Aspetar and the Qatar Athletics Federation have signed a coop-eration agreement. Qatari athletes will benefit from Aspe-tar’s outstanding medical services, the latest scientific research, and sports science using Aspire Zone facilities.

The agreement was signed at Aspetar by the Director-General of Aspetar, and CEO of Aspire Zone Foundation Mohammed Khalifa Al Suwaidi, and President of Qatar Athletics Federation Dr. Thani Abdulrahman Al Kuwari. The signing ceremony was attended by senior officials of the Qatar Athletics Federation, Aspetar officials, and several Qatari athletics stars led by

Samba, Abubakar Haidar, and Ashraf Al Saifi.

Under the agreement, Qatari athletics stars will benefit from comprehensive medical support leading up to the Tokyo

Olympics, where the Qatari elite aspires to confirm their progress, especially after the successful organisation of the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships and the positive

results achieved during this tournament.

Commenting on the agreement, Al Suwaidi said: “We are proud of the successes achieved by Qatar Athletics in

international competition. This agreement will serve Qatar’s sport by conducting a fully comprehensive medical test for athletes pre, during and post competitions, providing them with comprehensive medical support and using Aspire Zone facilities to serve Qatar’s sport and athletics.”

“We are always pleased to collaborate with Qatar Ath-letics Federation for the service of sport and per-formance. We are very pleased to cooperate with such distin-guished associations such as the Qatar Athletics Federation, and our wish is for Qatar ath-letics stars to reach the podiums at the Tokyo Olympics,” added Al Suwaidi.

Dr. Al Kuwari said the

agreement would be useful for Qatari sport, pointing out that cooperation with Aspetar has been going on for years. He noted that Qatar would partic-ipate in many competitions, including the Diamond League - Doha round at the end of May this year and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to be held next summer.

Aspetar was the official medical provider of the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Champi-onships, where it was highly praised by many sports officials locally and internationally. Aspetar attracts many of the world’s athletics stars both for treatment and medical advice, thanks to the world hospital’s distinctive approach to athletes’ treatment.

Qatari citizens and residents aged 15-24 can submit projects, either as individuals or teams. The three shortlisted projects will be voted on by the public and assessed by a panel of jurors to determine the winner.

MoPH reports157 morerecoveries, 227new casesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health yesterday announced the registration of 227 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. Among them 36 from trav-ellers returning from abroad.

Also 157 people have recovered from the virus bringing the total number of cases recovered in Qatar to 144,015. In addition, the Ministry announced 2 new deaths, aged 85 and 64 - all were receiving the necessary medical care. All new cases have been introduced to isolation and are receiving necessary healthcare according to their health status.

The Ministry further said that measures to tackle COVID-19 in Qatar have suc-ceeded in flattening the curve and limiting the spread of the virus and the number of new daily cases and hospital admissions is continuing to decline each week. Qatar’s proactive and extensive testing of suspected cases has enabled us to identify a high number of positive cases in the community.

Officials after signing the agreement.

04 TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021HOME

Doha Festival City launchesInternational FestivalTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Doha Festival City, Qatar’s one and only choice for shopping, dining and entertainment, has announced hosting an Interna-tional Festival, offering memo-rable moments and unique experiences to shoppers.

Set to run between January 15 and February 28, the Inter-national Festival will give a taste of the multicultural diversity of Doha, through a range of exciting events and activities including art and tech exhibi-tions, a food festival as well as a number of competitions with major prizes available for shoppers and visitors to enjoy across all age groups.

Kicking off the festival with the International Art Exhibition, and in-line with the Mall’s CSR initiatives, the exclusive exhi-bition will give the local com-munity and international artists the opportunity to get together under one umbrella, and display their arts collections.

The International Art Exhi-bition will be located at Centre court on the ground floor of the Mall. Guests can explore the exhibition’s artists and their collections daily starting from 2pm until 10pm throughout the duration of the Festival.

Running on the sidelines of the Festival will also be the International Tech Festival, dedicated to shedding light on new technology, brands, and PC assembly competition, in addition to a series of panel dis-cussions that will be held in partnership with major tech

companies in Qatar. The International Tech Fes-

tival will showcase the myriad of high tech products available at Doha Festival City, as well as new tech releases and product arrivals at the Mall for shoppers to enjoy.Shoppers can watch all of the tech programmes and panel discussions live streamed on the Mall’s YouTube channel as well as on the screens in Virtuocity.

As part of the International Tech Festival, Doha Festival City will also host a dedicated ‘PC Assembly Competition’ on February 13 and 20 at Vir-tuocity, where 4 contestants who will have to assemble a computer from PC parts pro-vided by Geek Nation from the Mall. The fastest contestant to assemble the computer will win a brand new PC from Geek Nation. Winners will be selected based on their skills in cable management, assembly speed in addition to a performance test. Furthermore, Doha Fes-tival City will host the much-anticipated International Food Festival, showcasing the variety of international cuisines

available at the Mall. Customers will also have the opportunity to receive a special ‘foodies passport’ after collecting 6 stamps from any restaurant in the mall, for a chance to win QR2,000 DHFC Gift Card. Winners of the online contest will be announced on the first week of March 2021.

Customers who wish to par-ticipate in the food passport contest can collect their passport starting from the 1st until the 28th of February 2021 and they can ask all the ques-tions regarding the competition at the dedicated International Festival booth located at Market Node in front of Monoprix, every day from 2pm to 10pm during the activation.

Commenting on the Inter-national Festival, Doha Festival City’s General Manager, Robert Hall, said: “Doha Festival City is delighted to celebrate the rich culture and diversity of Qatar’s community by providing vis-itors with unique activities and experiences and giving them a taste of the different cultures and traditions that are available at the Mall.”

Art Exhibition at Doha Festival City

QU academic appointed as president of European Society of Clinical PharmacyTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Dr. Derek Stewart, Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Practice at the QU College of Pharmacy and Manager of Academic Quality Assurance at Vice Pres-ident for Medical and Health Sciences Office QU has been appointed as the President of the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP).

The European Society of Clinical Pharmacy is an inter-national leader in advancing quality and innovation in clinical pharmacy education, practice, and research. The society’s mission is to promote, support, implement and advance education, practice, and clinical pharmacy research to optimize outcomes for patients.

Specifically, the association promotes the value and impact of clinical pharmacy services among health care professionals, scientific societies, health authorities, and the public. It raises awareness of clinical pharmacy practice and its activ-ities. While the membership is

largely from Europe, the inter-national profile is growing within the Middle East.

Before being appointed as President, Dr. Derek served as a member of the General Com-mittee, the strategic planning and decision-making com-mittee of the society. He also served as Chair of the Research Committee for three years. As President, Dr. Derek will lead the society for two years, during which time he hopes to revise the vision and mission and

expand the scope and membership.

Commenting on his achievement, Dr. Derek said: “It is an honour and highlight of my career to take on the role of the President of the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy. I do so with a little trepidation and a great deal of excitement and hope to bring commitment, energy, drive, and a little fun to the role. I am indebted to the immediate past President, Pro-fessor Bart van den Bemt of the Netherlands, for his leadership.

“The coronavirus pandemic has provided further evidence of the pharmacist and pharmacy team’s significance to ensuring the appropriate use of medicines and delivering on the wider healthcare agenda. As a society, we will build on this positive foundation to meet the aspirations and needs of our members to deliver the very best care.”

He also noted that “The role of President will also provide opportunities to showcase Qatar University’s contribution

at the international level to influence clinical pharmacy practice, education, and research.”

Dr. Mohammad Diab, Dean of the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University, added, “Dr. Derek’s appointment as Pres-ident of this organisation is an outstanding achievement which reflects very well on the college and university. This provides an excellent opportunity to enhance our international rep-utation within pharmacy and healthcare.”

Dr. Derek joined Qatar Uni-versity in April 2019 from Scotland, where he was Pro-fessor of Pharmacy Practice at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. He is a highly acclaimed international researcher and academic, having published over 200 research and education papers, attracted more than £3 million in research funding, and super-vised 25 doctoral students to completion. He has collabo-rated with individuals at Qatar University and Hamad Medical Corporation for over ten years.

Dr. Derek Stewart

ExxonMobil Qatar platinum sponsor of Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture

Ahmad Musa Al Amla, CEO of Qatar Museums, and Dominic Genetti, President and General Manager of ExxonMobil Qatar, at the official launch of the Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture. ExxonMobil Qatar is the platinum sponsor of the Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture, an annual initiative that builds bridges with nations and promotes Qatar’s rich heritage and culture beyond its borders.

CNA-Q students participate in clean-up drive at Al ZubaraTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

As part of their environmental awareness activities, the Students Affairs Department at College of the North Atlantic-Qatar participated in a coastal clean-up at Al Zubara beach. This initiative took place in collaboration with Seashore Recycling and Sustainability Center and Qatar Museums.

The initiative took place in the presence of CEO of Seashore Group Salem Saeed Al-Mohannadi, Director of the Department of Archaeology - Qatar Museums Faisal Al Naimi, and Acting President of CNA-Q Dr. Salem Al-Naemi.

Al Zubara Fort is a historic Qatari military fortress built under Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani’s oversight in 1938. The dignitaries toured a temporary exhibition titled “Daily Life” and then headed towards Al Zubara archaeo-logical site, a place inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Before starting, students

were briefed about beach clean-up best practices and COVID-19 precautionary measures. Group leaders made sure that students wore their masks, gloves and adhered to physical distance. Participants were specifically requested to look for small plastic debris that has a significant impact on marine life.

Promoting environmental awareness is key at CNA-Q. The College offers a diploma in “Environmental Health,” a pro-gramme that prepares grad-uates to become environmental health officers and public health inspectors required to monitor, control, manage, promote, and manipulate environmental factors that impact human health. Within this framework, CNA-Q organizes many events that reflect the value of com-munity participation in pre-venting and resolving environ-mental problems.

Acting President of CNA-Q, Dr. Salem Al-Naemi, said: “It is a pleasure for College of the North Atlantic-Qatar to partner

with Qatar Museums and Sea-shore on this interesting initi-ative. This is an opportunity for our students to learn and become more active in their community. Sustainability is the key to a better tomorrow and the driver for innovation, and that is the message we want to convey to all participants. We hope that this activity will also give them the chance to connect with their heritage and value the past to build a prosperous future.”

Director of the Department of Archaeology - Qatar Museums, Faisal Al Naimi, added: “This initiative aims to join efforts across Qatar, to build a common sustainability platform. An action that will involve different community target groups to raise awareness about the environment and the importance of keeping archae-ological sites and beaches clean”. Commenting on the event, CEO of Seashore Group, Mr. Salem Saeed Al-Mohannadi, said: “The group is working relentlessly to promote

sustainability across Qatar, in line with the policies and pro-cedures set by the country. We work on fostering bigger com-munity involvement in events and programmes to increase awareness and create a public sustainabi l i ty culture .

Protecting our environment is a pressing issue, and we want everyone to be part of the solution.”

Participation in this activity came from thorough research done by students about the envi-ronment in Qatar. According to

EcoMena, Qatar produces more than 2.5 million tons of municipal solid waste each year. It has one of the highest per capita waste generation rates worldwide of up to 1.8 kg per day, where only 8 percent of that waste is recycled.

Students of CNA-Q with officials during a clean-up drive at Al Zubara Beach.

MME records 4 violations atfood outlets in Al SheehaniyaTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Al Sheehaniya Municipality represented by the Health Monitoring Section of Municipal Monitor ing Department recorded four violations at food outlets during inspection campaigns which were conducted recently.

The violations were booked

following the provisions of the Law No. 8 of 1990 for regu-lating foods, said the Ministry of Municipality and Envi-ronment (MME) in a statement.

The municipal inspectors conducted a number of inspection campaigns on food outlets operation across the Municipality by the beginning of this year.

Education City, Ahmad

Bin Ali Stadiums to host

FIFA Club World Cup

FROM PAGE 1

In a statement released yesterday, FIFA confirmed that the current format of the competition will remain unchanged, with the opening match forfeited, which was scheduled for February 1 between Auckland City and Qatari football powerhouse Al Duhail.

The tournament will be contested by Al Duhail, Al Ahly, Bayern Munich, Ulsan Hyundai FC, Tigres UANL and the winners of the CONMEBOL Libertadores final scheduled for January 30.

Following the withdrawal of Auckland City, Al Duhail will move directly to the second round.

The draw to finalise the pairings will take place in Zurich tomorrow, FIFA said.

MME weighs plant factories to ensure year-round produce of leafy vegetables

FROM PAGE 1Al Shammari said that second national stra-tegic plan of food security focused on increasing favorite vegetables for citizens and expatriates like zucchini, tomato, eggplant and cucumber.

“The food security strategy is based on four pillars – raising quantity of local fresh food products, enhancing supply chain inside the country, improving strategic reserves and international trade,” said Al Shammari.

Speaking about the Ministry’s support to encouraging farmers to increase the produce, Al Shammari said that the farmers were pro-vided with platforms to market their produce directly to customers without middlemen.

He said that the Ministry also provided greenhouses, tools, equipment and fertilizers among many more to farmers.

Vaccination certificateavailable for those whoreceived two doses

FROM PAGE 1“This means having accurate information on passengers’ COVID-19 health status. Informing passengers on what tests, vaccines and other measures they require prior to travel, details on where they can get tested and giving them the ability to share their tests and vaccination results in a verifiable, safe and privacy-protecting manner is the key to giving govern-ments the confidence to open borders. To address

this challenge IATA is working on launching the IATA Travel Pass, a digital platform for passengers,” IATA said on its website.

It added: “The main priority is to get people traveling again safely. In the immediate term that means establishing confi-dence in governments that systematic pre-departure COVID-19 testing can work as a replacement for quar-antine requirements. And that will eventually develop into a vaccine program.”

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar University’s Young Scientist Center (QU-YSC) launched “Scout Scientific Camp” in cooperation with the Qatar Scout Association recently. The Camp provided an innovative environment for young participants. It was based on merging between the scien-tific and research aspects through the center’s activities and the educational scout aspects presented by the Qatar Scout.

The idea of the Camp was implemented because of the collaboration between the two parties to prepare a complete scientific scout programme that can improve the participants’ leadership skills and innovative capabilities. Besides, the Camp was set to build their personal-ities, develop their scientific skills, and support their back-ground of scout principles and ethics.

The activities continued for three consecutive days by fol-lowing all precautionary measures and social distancing among students, with 24 stu-dents from 8 different prepar-atory schools for boys in attendance. The activities varied between scientific, cul-tural, and scout activities, including camping challenges and interactive scientific ways to solve these challenges depending on the use of problem-solving skills and engineering design process steps, including identifying problems, planning, con-struction, and testing and evaluation.

Creating an environment of positive competition also helps to enhance the spirit of teamwork and critical thinking skills and supports the Scout’s goals. The modern educational methods used in the center con-tributed to the release of

creative ideas to be applied and tested outside the laboratories in which the participants adapt to overcome the challenges successfully.

The Camp developed many important scout skills to

guarantee students’ success and prepare them to become future leaders, such as self-reliance, cooperation, disci-pline, leadership, and other skills.

Commissioner-General of the Qatar Scout Association Jassim Al Hardan, said, “The Scout has an important and positive role in preparing the youth’s personality and pre-paring them for life experi-ences. We believe that influ-ential figures should have lead-ership skills and scientific skills, which was the reason for our cooperation with YSC. We are proud of the unique experience our students gained and the ideas that had emerged in the Camp, as it is the outcome of our distinguished cooperation and is the start for more inno-vations.” Subject evaluation consultant at the Scout Associ-ation and the supervisor of the Camp Aisha Al Kuwari, commented,

“The scientific scout camp

was considered a platform for the students to present their creativity and fully develop their scientific potentials and intellectual abilities. This Camp is just a beginning for several partnerships in the future with YSC to obtain the best outcome for Qatar’s youth.” Meanwhile, the Director of YSC, Dr. Noora Al Thani, noted that the initi-ative would combine education and entertainment.

“We always strive to encourage students to love science by creating an inter-active educational envi-ronment that combines learning with entertainment. Our goal is to build a new gen-eration capable of decision-making and capable of making developments in Qatar. We are pleased to cooperate with the Scout Association to prepare the young students to be role models and leaders for the future, pioneers in all scientific, cultural, and political fields,” Dr. Noora said.

05TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021 HOME

‘A Dialogue With An

Author’ is a cultural and

dialogue platform that

celebrates authors and

the production of Qatari

publishing houses and

builds bridges of

communication with

their audience.

Ibrahim Al Bu Hashem Al

Sayed

Director of Qatari Forum for Authors and Publishers

The idea of the Camp was

implemented because of

the collaboration between

the two parties to prepare

a complete scientific scout

programme that can

improve the participants’

leadership skills and

innovative capabilities.

Besides, the Camp was set

to build their

personalities, develop

their scientific skills, and

support their background

of scout principles and

ethics.

QU-YSC, Qatar Scout Association launch ‘Scout Scientific Camp’

Students participating in the Scout Scientific Camp.

QNL highlights cultural heritage restitution

Writers from Qatari publishing houses provide testimonials about their newly released books, and talking with the public about their experience.

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar National Library recently held an online training course on combating art trafficking that explored the restitution of cultural heritage, with a special focus on manuscripts and ancient books. This training, which is within the framework of the Library’s Himaya project, supports efforts to counter the trafficking and illegal circu-lation of documentary heritage.

Delivered by Paris-based intellectual property and art lawyer Sydney Chiche-Attali, the training course brought together experts and specialists in protecting documentary her-itage from many Arab countries and outlined the international and regional legal frameworks of the restitution of art and cul-tural goods.

Commenting on the occasion, Director of Distin-vtive Collections at the Library, Stephane Ipert said: “Cultural property is an indispensable part of a nation’s identity, and considering the number of countries in conflict or turmoil in the Middle East, the impor-tance of combating art traf-ficking cannot be overstated. The Library’s recent training course on the subject matter is not only timely and relevant, but it also supports the col-lective effort to promote the restitution of cultural heritage in the region and around the world.”During the session, Chiche-Attali provided an overview of the historical and

contextual backgrounds of art restitution cases. He also pre-sented the regional and inter-national legal framework regarding the restitution of works of art and illustrated its application with case studies, with particular attention paid to manuscripts and ancient books.

Chiche-Attali commented: “While legal frameworks are set in motion to regulate the restitution of art and cultural goods, it is equally important to raise awareness about art trafficking and to promote the various means to combat this growing phenomenon. Qatar National Library’s initiative is essential to build and expand the networks of exchange to pursue these objectives and preserve cultural heritage and forgotten treasures. I sincerely appreciate the part that the Library is playing to spread awareness on this crucial issue.”

The session is the second of the Library’s efforts to highlight the importance of combating art trafficking; the first, in November 2020, focused on the laws surrounding the looting and trafficking of important artifacts in the Middle East and around the world. The Library aims to create a professional network of collaborative assistance to exchange knowledge and share successful experiences toward the preservation of docu-mentary heritage throughout the region.

Ibn Al Rayb Cultural Street hosts dialogue with writersTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

An event ‘A Dialogue With An Author’ was launched on Saturday in Katara within the programme of Ibn Al Rayb Cultural Street.

The Cultural Street is being organised by the Cultural Village Katara in cooperation with Qatari Forum for Pub-lishers and Distributors at the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

The event aims at cele-brating the authors and pub-lishing houses participating in the events and the establishment of an intellectual and cultural dialogue with the audiences of Ibn Al Rayb Cultural Street.

The programme which will be held every Saturday afternoon, hosted four writers from four Qatari publishing houses to provide testimonials about their newly released books, a dialogue with the public about the experience, and signing their books in the pavilions of publishing houses.

The writers whose books were discussed in the pro-gramme include Dr. Ali Afifi, Abdullah Afas Al Marri, Dr. Muhammad Farzat and Dr. Hassan Rashid.

Director of Qatari Forum for

Authors and Publishers, Ibrahim Al Bu Hashem Al Sayed said at the beginning of the pro-gramme: “A Dialogue With A Author’ is a cultural and dia-logue platform that celebrates authors and the production of Qatari publishing houses and builds bridges of communi-cation with their audience.

He said the event celebrates the fruits of the Qatari pub-lishing revolution that was launched to strengthen the knowledge lauding the roles of writer, author, publishing houses and Qatari cultural pro-duction by interacting with audience and writers.

Director of the Forum said that Ibn Al Rayb Cultural Street represents a model for cooper-ation and interaction between state institutions to achieve its strategy in the field of cultural development and building a knowledge economy.

“We, at the Forum, are proud of our close cooperation with the Cultural Village Foun-dation Katara and the Katara Publishing House to accomplish this ambitious project, which filled a gap due to the post-ponement of Doha Interna-tional Book Fair due to COVID-19 pandemic,” said Al Sayed.

In his speech, Dr. Ali Afifi reviewed the journey of Arabic calligraphy from its inception to the stage of modernity, its

transitions between the Arab regions, its temporal and spatial dimensions, cultural and civi-lizational impact, aesthetics and arts.

Abdullah Affas Al Marri, a researcher at the Police College, reviewed the contents of his book in his speech which explains the articles of Law No. 7 of 2002 regarding the pro-tection of copyright and related rights.

Dr. Muhammad Farzat pre-sented a summary of his and confirmed that Qatar was present in Claudius Ptolemy’s maps, and in the Syriac lan-guage, the Akkadian dictionary and cuneiform writing.

The fourth and final lecture hosted by Dr. Hassan Rashid, who holds a PhD in Philosophy of Arts from the Academy of Arts at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Cairo.

This book is considered as a memory for Qatari theater, from an artist who has devoted nearly half a century of his life to the advancement of theater art.D. Rasheed, at the beginning of his lecture, expressed his thanks and appreciation to Cul-tural Village, Katara, for its efforts in strengthening Arab culture not only in Qatar but in all Arab countries. Dr. Rasheed explained that his book, Studies in Theater and Drama, is a col-lection of articles written in newspapers at different times.

06 TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021HOME

07TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021 GULF/MIDDLE EAST

Ankara, Berlin seek better EU-Turkish ties

AP — ISTANBUL

The German and Turkish foreign ministers sought to boost prospects of better rela-tions between Ankara and the European Union yesterday as Turkey and EU-member Greece embark on much-awaited steps to solve a long-running dispute.

Germany has been trying to help ease tensions between fellow Nato allies Turkey and Greece. Turkish Foreign Min-ister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after meeting his German coun-terpart Heiko Maas in Ankara that there has been a “positive atmosphere” for EU-Turkish relations in recent days, fol-lowing a tumultuous 2020.

Turkey and Greece last summer came to the brink of war due to a dispute on mar-itime boundaries and energy rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Last week, both countries announced the resumption of exploratory talks and said meetings could take place between top officials, including the Turkish president and the Greek prime minister.

The Turkish Defence Min-istry said a technical meeting

with Greek counterparts was taking place yesterday at Nato headquarters.

“With the announcement of direct talks, the window for a diplomatic solution that had been closed since 2016 is slightly open again,” Maas said.

“I think all participants are aware that this process will not be easy, but I am convinced that if both sides approach these talks with sustainable intentions and the necessary pragmatism, political solutions can ulti-mately be found.”

The disputes “are very com-plicated but they are not insoluble,” Maas added.

Cavusoglu insisted that Turkey has always been ready to talk with Greece without any preconditions. But he asserted that Athens may be trying to provoke Ankara in a bid to force its hand to respond and then ask for the EU to impose sanctions.

“We want to continue this positive atmosphere but unfor-tunately Greece is continuing its provocations in this period as well,” Cavusoglu said, citing armament attempts on demil-itarised islands, military exer-cises, maritime announcements and a recent statement by the

Archbishop of Athens con-sidered by Turkey to be anti-Muslim.

“We are not a country that fears sanctions but we don’t want to continue with this neg-ative agenda and sanctions,” Cavusoglu said.

Across the Aegean, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mit-sotakis said he welcomed the resumption of contacts, saying he was counting on international law and Greek

defence capabilities.In December, the European

Union gave the green light for sanctions against individuals over Turkey’s exploration of gas reserves in waters claimed by EU members Greece and Cyprus.

Though Ankara has repeatedly said sanctions would not deter Turkey from defending its energy rights, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed a

readiness to put frayed relations with the EU “back on track.”

If the efforts at detente succeed, Maas said at Monday’s news conference with Cavusoglu that he expects “a significantly more constructive relationship, for the good of both sides.”

But he also delivered a pointed message to Ankara ahead of his arrival, noting the difficulties of 2020 and warned that “this playing with fire must not be repeated.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu meets with his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Ankara, Turkey, yesterday.

Kuwait Amir accepts Cabinet resignation

REUTERS — KUWAIT

Kuwait’s Amir has accepted the resignation of the Cabinet, state news agency KUNA said yesterday, after a standoff between the government and parliament over questioning the Prime Minister.

The political confrontation, which erupted less than a month after the cabinet was appointed, has posed the first big challenge to Amir H H Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, who assumed power in September.

Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah and his cabinet will continue in a caretaker capacity until the formation of a new gov-ernment, KUNA said.

It was unclear when the new cabinet will be appointed.

The motion to question Sheikh Sabah, Prime Minister since late 2019, was submitted by three lawmakers on January 5, and was supported by more than 30 other MPs in the 50-seat assembly.

The referred to a cabinet that did not reflect the poll result and to government “interference” in electing the speaker and members of par-liamentary committees.

Kuwait has the most vibrant political system among Gulf Arab states, where the parliament has some power to pass, and block, legislation and question ministers.

Israel moves to rein in rights group over ‘apartheid’ useAP — TEL AVIV

Israel’s education minister says he is banning groups that call Israel an “apartheid state” from lecturing at schools — a move that targets one of the country’s leading human rights groups after it began describing both Israel and its control of the Palestinian territories as a single apartheid system.

The explosive term, long seen as taboo and mostly used by the country’s harshest critics, is vehemently rejected by Israel’s leaders and many ordinary Israelis.

Education Minister Yoav Galant tweeted late on Sunday that he had instructed the min-istry’s director general to “prevent the entry of organisa-tions calling Israel ‘an apartheid state’ or demeaning Israeli sol-diers from lecturing at schools.”

“The Education Ministry under my leadership raised the

banner of advancing Jewish, democratic and Zionist values and it is acting accordingly,” he said. It was not immediately clear whether he had the authority to ban speakers from schools.

In a report released last week, the rights group B’Tselem said that while Palestinians live under different forms of Israeli control in the occupied West Bank, blockaded Gaza, annexed east Jerusalem and within Israel itself, they have fewer rights than Jews in the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

B’Tselem said it would not be deterred by the minister’s announcement and that despite it, the group gave a lecture on the subject via videocall to a school in the northern city of Haifa yesterday.

“B’Tselem is determined to keep with its mission of docu-menting reality, analysing it,

and making our findings pub-licly known to the Israeli public, and worldwide,” it said in a statement.

Adalah, an Arab legal rights group, said it had appealed to the country’s attorney general to cancel Galant’s directive, saying it was made without the proper authority and that it was intended to “silence legitimate voices.”

Israel passed a law in 2018 preventing lectures or activities in schools by groups that support legal action being taken against Israeli soldiers abroad. The law was apparently drafted in response to the work of Breaking the Silence, a whistle-blower group for former Israeli soldiers who oppose policies in the occupied West Bank. It was not clear if Galant’s decree was rooted in the 2018 law.

Israel has long presented itself as a thriving democracy. Its own Arab citizens, who make up about 20 percent of its

population of 9.3 million, have citizenship rights, but they often suffer from discrimination in housing and other spheres. Arab citizens of Israel have repre-sentatives in parliament, serve in government bureaucracy and work in various fields alongside Jewish Israelis.

Israel seized east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 war — lands that are home to nearly 5 million Palestinians and which the Pal-estinians want for a future state.

B’Tselem and other rights groups argue that the bound-aries separating Israel and the West Bank vanished long ago — at least for Israeli settlers, who can freely travel back and forth, while their Palestinian neighbors require permits to enter Israel.

Israel withdrew troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but imposed a blockade after the Pal-estinian militant Hamas group

seized power there two years later. It considers the West Bank “disputed” territory whose fate should be determined in peace talks with the internationally rec-ognized Palestinian Authority, the autonomy government for its Palestinian residents.

Israel annexed east Jeru-salem in 1967 in a move not rec-ognized internationally and considers the entire city its unified capital. Most Pales-tinians in east Jerusalem are Israeli “residents,” but not cit-izens with voting rights.

Israel adamantly rejects the term apartheid, saying the restrictions it imposes in Gaza and the West Bank are tem-porary measures needed for security. Most Palestinians in the West Bank live in areas gov-erned by the Palestinian Authority, but those areas are surrounded by Israeli check-points and Israeli soldiers can enter at any time.

Kuwait reports

467 new virus

cases, one death

QNA — KUWAIT

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health reported yesterday 467 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours, bringing the total of confirmed cases in the country to 158,244.

The Ministry’s spokesman Dr. Abdullah Al Sanad said that one death has been recorded in the past twenty-four hours, bringing the number of deaths in Kuwait to 948, adding that the patients in intensive care units have reached 56.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health announced earlier today the recovery of 354 people over the past 24 hours.

Facebook to appoint Turkey representative

REUTERS — ISTANBUL

Facebook Inc said yesterday it had started the process of appointing a legal entity as a local representative in Turkey in compliance with a new social media law which critics have said will muzzle dissent.

The law allows authorities to remove content from plat-forms, rather than blocking access as they did in the past. The move has caused concern as people turn more to online platforms after Ankara tightened its grip on main-stream media.

The company said its decision did not change its community standards, which outline what is and what is not allowed on Facebook, nor its process for reviewing gov-ernment requests.

“We will withdraw the rep-resentative if we face pressure on either,” the company said in a statement, adding that it remains committed to main-taining free expression and other human rights in Turkey.

Other companies have also appointed representatives in line with the recently amended Internet law. YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc’s Google, said a month ago it had taken such a decision..

In previous months Facebook, YouTube and Twitter had faced fines in Turkey for not complying with the law.

Online school lesson in GazaPalestinian student Waed Bisharat, 13, attends an online school lesson using a mobile phone as sheep graze, amid the coronavirus disease, in a Bedouin encampment in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israeli jets hit Hamas targets in GazaAP — JERUSALEM

Israeli military aircraft struck targets in the Gaza Strip early yesterday in response to two rockets fired allegedly from the Palestinian territory, the military said.

In a statement, the military said fighter jets hit Hamas mil-itary targets, including sites for digging underground tunnels, some of which stretch into Israel. There were no imme-diate reports of injuries from

the airstrikes. There were also no reports of damage or injury from the rockets launched.

It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets. Hamas maintains an unofficial cease-fire with Israel, but Israel holds the group responsible for any fire emanating from Gaza.

Hamas, meanwhile, accuses Israel of failing to honour its truce obligations, which include easing a crippling blockade on the Pal-estinian enclave, and allowing for large-scale infrastructure and

job-creation projects.Israel and Hamas have fought

three wars since the Islamic mil-itant group seized power of the coastal enclave in 2007. While no major confrontation has occurred since 2014, there are often cross-border skirmishes and flare-ups between the sides.

While Israeli retaliatory artillery and aerial strikes are frequent, they have largely been subdued in recent months due to the coronavirus out-breaks in both territories

New infections overwhelmhospitals in LebanonREUTERS — BEIRUT

COVID-19 patients wait on pavements outside hospitals in Beirut, where emergency rooms are packed and intensive care beds full.

I n s i d e , e x h a u s t e d healthcare workers are suc-cumbing themselves - doctors at one hospital, asking not to be named, said around 40 percent of staff were sick or in isolation.

Countries worldwide are feeling the strain, but few have had to deal with anything like Lebanon’s crisis, where the pandemic piled in on top of a financial collapse and a huge port blast in August that had already brought the health system to its knees.

“It is basically from one catastrophe to another,” said Charaf Abou Charaf, the head of Lebanon’s doctors syndicate.

The country has seen daily infection rates soar in the last week to the highest levels in the region — past the 6,000 mark for the first time on Friday.

The caretaker government has said it is doing all it can. It has ordered the strictest lockdown yet — a 24-hour curfew until Jan. 25, a move which came too late according to medics who have criticised the response.

Beirut resident Jenny Chami said she spent hours calling up every hospital in the country last week searching for

a bed when her 86-year-old grandfather’s oxygen levels plummeted dangerously low.

“We called all the civic groups, politicians, even the health minister, no one could help,” she said.

In the end, she took matters into her own hands, got her own oxygen tank and hooked it up to her grandfather lying on a stretcher outside the hos-pital. One doctor helped out by snaking an extension power cable out into the street.

A few days later, Lebanon’s caretaker health minister, Hamad Hassan, tested positive and was rushed straight into a bed at another different medical centre.

His admission, as dozens of Lebanese struggled to find room in hospitals, fuelled wide-spread criticism.

In response to a question about why he did not isolate at home, a ministry advisor only shared a picture of Hassan signing papers in hospital with a thin tube hooked to his nose, without elaboration.

Much of the frustration has focused on the lag in Lebanon’s vaccination drive, on top of the lack of restrictions over the recent holiday season, when nightclubs, Christmas markets and businesses were all allowed to open.

As countries in the region roll out shots, Lebanon only signed its final deal for 2.1 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine on Sunday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after meeting his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Ankara that there has been a “positive atmosphere” for EU-Turkish relations in recent days, following a tumultuous 2020.

08 TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021VIEWS

CHAIRMANDR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

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

EDITORIAL

DOHA is primed for another sports blockbuster in February. Just last week the Qatar capital concluded the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games qualifying event in Judo - the Doha Masters - and the 2021 Australian Open tennis qualifiers at the Khalifa Tennis Complex. And exactly 47 days after hosting the first match on its freshly laid pitch, the state-of-the art Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium will host the opening clash of the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup on February 4, 2021. On Qatar’s National Day, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium became the fourth FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 venue to be declared open following the inauguration of the iconic Khalifa International Stadium (2017), A Janoub Stadium (2019) and Education City Stadium (2020). The 2020 Amir Cup final between Al Sadd and Al Arabi was staged in front of 12,000 fans at the brand new stadium where H H the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and FIFA President Gianni Infantino were also in attendance to witness the historic title clash.

Next month’s premier continental event will see matches among AFC giants from Korea Ulsan Hyundai FC, CAF side Al Ahly SC from Egypt, Con-cacaf Tigres UANL from Mexico, European cham-pions Bayern Munich of Germany and Qatar pow-erhouse Al Duhail in the six-team tournament set to be held from February 4 to 11. The Supreme Com-mittee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) on Monday con-firmed two venues for the hugely popular FIFA tour-nament - Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium and the Education City Stadium. Both the Qatar 2022 venues were inaugurated six months apart last year, one in June and the other in December.

The FIFA Club World Cup comes around at a time when the world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Local Organising Committee - with expert help from the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and other state authorities - hosted and successfully delivered two month-long championships in Sept-Oct and Nov-Dec when the West and East Zone matches were held to complete last year’s AFC Cham-pions League. Dozens of matches were played in the two events and hundreds of players and officials were carefully housed in a bubble-to-bubble environment as AFC completed its stalled championship for clubs with a final on Dec 19, 2020 in Doha. AFC later thanked Qatar for putting together ‘excellent events’ in trying circumstances.

Fans who will be visiting Qatar for the eight-day FIFA Club World Cup next month will get a sneak preview of Qatar’s World Cup plans at two of its venues that are nothing short of engineering marvels.

Another sports blockbuster

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Quote of the day

Vaccines are the shot in the arm we all need, literally

and figuratively. But we now face the real danger that

even as vaccines bring hope to some, they become

another brick in the wall of inequality between the

worlds of the world’s haves and have-nots.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General

A file picture of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas holding a document while speaking during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York.

For decades, Palestinians have suffered under Israeli colonial occupation backed and empowered by US political, financial, and military support. This has allowed Israel to gradually expand its settlement and colonisation of Palestine, to the point that now only about 5 percent of historical Pales-tine’s land is actually controlled by Palestinians.

This process continued almost undisturbed by inter-national scrutiny for years, under the cover of Washing-ton’s “peace process” and its self-declared position as mediator between the Pales-tinian and Israeli sides.

When Donald Trump became US president in 2017, however, he disrupted this carefully crafted process of gradual colonialisation. He embraced the most extremist Israeli agenda and eliminated the established practice of paying lip service to Pales-tinian rights.

Israel’s right-wing gov-ernment was given the green light to do as it pleased, while the American president kept validating its illegal, criminal acts. This effectively accelerated the process of establishing “facts on the ground” – i.e. the usur-pation of Palestinian land and subversion of any Palestinian political leverage to the point that Palestinian demands become impossible to fulfill their rights irrelevant.

So what does Trump’s legacy mean for the Palestinians?

Although the US Congress passed a bill recognising Jeru-salem as the capital of Israel in 1995, successive US admin-istrations postponed acting on it due to the absence of an agreement between the Pal-estinian Authority and Israel on the status of the holy city.

On December 6, 2017, Trump turned what was already on paper into reality by issuing an executive order to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jeru-salem. The move happened on May 14 the following year, which coincided with the 70th anniversary of the Nakba and which the Israelis marked by massacring dozens of Pales-tinians in Gaza.

A few months later, Trump announced that he was defunding the United Nations

Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). This was not only a catas-trophe for millions of Pales-tinians who depend on the UN agency for food, education and health care, but it was an attempt to erase the status of the Palestinians as refugees and, by doing so, their right to return. By trying to destroy UNRWA, Trump was doing the bidding of the Israeli gov-ernment which has done eve-rything it can for decades to prevent ethnically cleansed Palestinians from returning and reclaiming their land.

The right of return was also further undermined by the “deal of the century” Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner put forward. Copying the language of pre-vious US “peace initiatives”, the proposal promised “peace” and “prosperity” for the Pales-tinians but denied most of their demands, including self-determination in the form of a sovereign Palestinian state. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on November 18, 2019, that the US government considers the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank not to be a violation of international law.

In his final months as president, Trump did not fail to give yet another gift to Israel: normalisation with Arab states. This was yet another major blow for the Palestinian cause and a clear break with the Arab con-sensus of “land for peace”.

Thus, by the end of the Trump’s presidency, Pales-tinians seem stripped of whatever they could be stripped of.

In the aftermath of the second Intifada, the Arab

League – upon the initiative of the late Saudi King Abdullah – committed to nor-malise relations with Israel only in exchange for the establishment of a Palestinian state on 1967 borders, the return of refugees, and the withdrawal of Israel from the Golan Heights.

A post-Trump PalestineJoe Biden’s victory in the

US presidential elections in November seems to have brought some optimism in certain Palestinian quarters that the US will change its policy towards the Pales-tinians. Let us not forget that Trump’s policies were never really in contradiction to Washington’s traditional stance on Palestine, showing full and unconditional support for the Israeli state.

Biden's team have made it abundantly clearly that they will not reverse Trump’s deci-sions, including the moving of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. His adminis-tration will not support the Palestinians’ struggle for justice; it will not seek their liberation, the end of the Israeli occupation, the dis-mantling of the Israeli apartheid regime, or the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland.

The lesson the Pales-tinians should learn from the four long years of Trump’s presidency is not to bet on any US administration ever embracing their interests and rights or becoming an objective arbiter. The US political elite is an enabler of Israeli occupation and coloni-sation of Palestine, it has always been and will remain such in the future. And, just like Trump, it will continue to give Israel everything it

wants, whether it is legit-imacy for its illegal theft of land or an unlimited supply of advanced weapons to use against the Palestinians.

Fully supported by the US, Israel continues its pursuit to establish “facts on the ground” – to establish absolute domination over all of historical Palestine and to make Palestinian statehood impossible. But there is one fact that Israel is completely failing to establish, despite all its military might, financial resources and limitless backing by a superpower: It cannot erase the Palestinians.

Six million Palestinians – deprived of their liberty and homeland – continue to live in historical Palestine. Mil-lions of other Palestinians live in neighbouring Arab coun-tries and the diaspora. Their identity, their very existence, erodes day by day the deception Israel has used to whitewash its apartheid and present itself to the world as a “model democracy”. More importantly, the Palestinian lives and spirit actively undermine the Israeli occu-pation and apartheid.

Palestinians are suffering shocking deprivation and torment by the Israelis, but they are steadfast. Their very existence has become resistance. And time is not on their tormentor’s side. At this moment in time, Israel may appear as a victorious colo-niser, having lifted almost all barriers to annexing the West Bank. But the Palestinian struggle is making headway. In the not-so-distant future, justice will prevail and Pales-tinians will have their freedom.

Ahmed Abu Artema is a Palestinian journalist and peace activist.

JAPAN NEWS-YOMIURI

To promote the “free and open Indo-Pacific” vision Japan is backing, it is essential to cooperate with countries that share with Japan such values as freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

Japan should utilize the growing involvement of major European countries in the security of the Indo-Pacific region to help stabilize the area.

The German defense min-ister has expressed to Japan its plan for Germany to dis-patch naval ships to the Indo-Pacific region this year. In a written interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, the min-ister also revealed that Germany is considering par-ticipating in military exercises in the region.

Last year, the German government worked out new policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific region, establishing a plan for active involvement in the region and closer ties with democratic countries, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and India.

France was among the first countries, in 2018, to put forward the concept of the Indo-Pacific in its national security policy. The country has increased its presence by actively participating in a crackdown on North Korea’s maritime smuggling in vio-lation of U.N. sanctions.

Britain plans to invite the leaders of South Korea, Aus-tralia and India to summit talks of the Group of Seven countries, as the host of this year’s summit. It also has been reported that Britain is

considering dispatching an aircraft carrier to waters near Japan for a long-term stay.

What these countries have in common are the principles of freedom of navigation, rule-based order and multi-lateralism. It is obvious that they are trying to restrain China’s attempts to change the status quo by force.

There is no change in Europe’s emphasis on eco-nomic relations with China. This is indicated by the fact that the European Union reached a broad investment agreement with China last December. The perception of China’s military threat also tends to be small because of the long distance.

However, if China’s aggressive maritime expansion in the South China Sea and other areas is left

unchecked, the stability of the sea-lanes that support the distribution system between Asia and Europe will be undermined, and Europe’s economic interests will be harmed.

This sense of crisis may be behind the aligning of European countries to prior-itize the Indo-Pacific region.

A decisive factor in the strengthening of cooperation between European countries and countries in the Indo-Pacific region is the United States, which is continuing the forward deployment of its military in the region.

In telephone talks with the leaders of Japan and other countries concerned, US Pres-ident-elect Joe Biden has expressed his intention to cooperate for peace and sta-bility in the region.

A post-Trump Palestine

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Utilise European nations’ involvement to help stabilise Indo-Pacific region

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09TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Uganda cops surround offices of opposition partyAP — KAMPALA

The opposition party of Ugandan presidential chal-lenger Bobi Wine said yesterday that police have prevented top officials from going to their headquarters in the capital, Kampala, as they prepare to launch a legal challenge to Wine’s house arrest.

Police swooped in at dawn at the offices of Wine’s National Unity Platform, diverted traffic, and stopped people from entering, party spokesman Joel Ssenyonyi, said.

Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, was the main opposition challenger in presidential elections last week that electoral authorities say long-time leader Yoweri Museveni won with 58 percent of the vote.

Wine, who took 34 percent of the vote, has rejected the official outcome as fraudulent and insists he will use all legal means to protest the “cooked-up” results.

Wine’s party has said it has video evidence of the military stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Opposition lawmaker Medard Sseggona, an attorney for Wine, said he feared police would seize any vital infor-mation related to the elections that was kept at the party’s headquarters.

Museveni has dismissed the claims of vote-rigging.

“I think this may turn out to be the most cheating-free election since 1962,” when Uganda won independence from Britain, said Museveni in a national address on Saturday.

But the election was marred

by violence ahead of polling day as well as an Internet shutdown that remained in force until Monday morning, when access was restored for most Ugandans, although social media sites remained restricted.

Wine has been effectively under house arrest since he cast his vote and now is allegedly unable even to receive visitors. Police prevented party officials who were trying to meet with Wine at his home outside Kampala in order to discuss the way forward, Ssenyonyi said.

The party will seek a court order to end Wine’s apparent house arrest, he said. “His home is not a detention facility,” he said.

Police spokesman Fred Enanga said security forces are “maintaining a security presence” around Wine’s home as a pre-emptive measure against possible rioting in the aftermath of the disputed polls. Wine is allowed to leave is leave his home under “escort” in order to prevent his followers from “instigating riots and violent demonstrations,” he said.

Wine has said his campaign against Museveni is nonviolent.

Police similarly surrounded the home of opposition

candidate Kizza Besigye after presidential elections in 2016, preventing him from going out after the official results of his loss to Museveni had been declared.

In a generational clash

watched across the African con-tinent with a booming young population and a host of aging leaders, the 38-year-old singer-turned-lawmaker posed arguably the greatest challenge to Museveni, 76, since he came

to power in 1986.Calling himself the “ghetto

president,” Wine had strong support in Uganda’s cities, where frustration with unem-ployment and corruption is high.

Ugandan soldiers patrol near the house of Ugandan opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine in Kampala, Uganda, yesterday.

Court in Central

African Republic

upholds

election results

AP — BANGUI

Central African Republic’s constitutional court yesterday upheld President Faustin Archange Touadera’s re-election, raising the spectre of more violence days after rebels attempted to overtake the capital.

The opposition had urged the court to order a re-run of the December 27 voting, saying insecurity and alleged irregularities had marred the election. However, the court announced yesterday that Touadera had won with 53 percent of ballots cast by 35 percent of registered voters.

Anicet Georges Dologuele had 22 percent of the vote, repeating his second place finish in the 2016 election.

Tensions have escalated dramatically since the presi-dential polls, with rebels opposed to Touadera’s re-election trying to invade the capital last week. Security forces backed by UN peacekeepers ultimately repelled the attack.

Former president Francois Bozize and his allies have been blamed for inciting the vio-lence, which erupted after the constitutional court rejected his candidacy in December.

A judicial investigation has been opened into the role of Bozize, who was in exile until December 2019, according to the Attorney General at the Bangui Court of Appeal.

Bozize faces an interna-tional arrest warrant for “crimes against humanity and incitement of genocide.”

Schools reopen in NigeriaA student wearing a protective face mask washes her hands, as schools reopen in Nigeria amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Abuja, yesterday.

Tunisian army and police quell unrest in many areas

AP — TUNIS

Tunisia’s Defence Ministry said yesterday that army units deployed overnight and police have quelled days-long social unrest that saw violent protests by young people in various cities across the North African country.

The ministry said military units were called in on Sunday night to protect public buildings and “seats of sovereignty,” and the situation was “calm” yesterday.

Tunisians are angry at the state of the economy and of public services. Many feel dis-appointed that on the 10th anniversary of the uprising that ousted the autocratic former president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, little seems to have

improved. There is also added frustration over coronavirus restrictions.

The Defence Ministry said the army will conduct joint patrols with security forces in the regions of Siliana, Kas-serine, Sousse and Bizerte, where clashes with police broke out Sunday evening for the second consecutive night.

The Interior Ministry said authorities had made 630 arrests linked to the violence on Sunday alone.

According to local media the outbreak of violence spread to other parts of the northeast, in particular Nabeul and the south, including the region of Kebili where demonstrators looted shops and threw stones and Molotov cocktails at official buildings in some places.

Mozambique President handscontrol to army in IS battleBLOOMBERG — MAPUTO

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has put the military in charge of combating a growing Islamic State-linked insur-gency in the natural gas-rich Cabo Delgado province after limited success by the police force.

Nyusi on January 14 pro-moted army general Eugenio Mussa to chief of staff of the military, according to a statement from the Presidency, and was earlier named as the new commander of the nation’s northern operational command post in Mueda.

Mussa, a confidant of Nyusi since 2012 when he was defense minister, replaces Lázaro Menete chief of staff.

He had been in charge since October 2017, the month of the first attack.

Mozambique has struggled

to contain the insurgency that has left more than 2,500 people dead and caused 570,000 to flee. The violence this year prompted Total SE to evacuate workers from its $20bn liq-uefied natural gas project as attacks encroached on what is Africa’s biggest private investment.

“A move to turn opera-tional control of the conflict over to a trusted lieutenant suggests that Nyusi will play a more active role going forward in developing counter-insurgency strategy,” ACLED said.

“The military will have a credible command voice,” Adriano Nuvunga, a political science professor at Maputo-based Eduardo Mondlane Uni-versity, said of Mussa’s appointment.

“This is the start of the correct management of the war in Cabo Delgado.”

Taxis for ladies: Putting brakes on crime in South AfricaTHOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION — JOHANNESBURG

From a women-only driving school to an all-female taxi service — a South African activist-turned-entrepreneur is tackling high rates of sexual assault by providing safe transport in one of the coun-try’s most crime-ridden areas.

The Cape Flats, which lies on the outskirts of the popular tourist city of Cape Town, is notorious for gang warfare, and sexual violence is an everyday fear for women taking taxis or using public transport in the area, said Joanie Fredericks.

Launched last week, Fred-ericks said her taxi service, Ladies Own Transport, had already received calls from women requesting a ride to work that will keep them safe, with some saying they were “smitten” with the idea.

“I’ve heard too many stories of women being raped in taxis,” Fredericks, 51, who has been a

community activist in the Cape Flats for two decades, said.

“I always knew I wanted to do something about it, but a few weeks ago I heard someone I know personally has been raped and I thought I can’t wait a minute longer,” she said by phone.

In the year ending March 2020, more than 53,000 sexual assaults were reported in South Africa, according to police figures, though women’s rights groups say the true number is likely far higher.

Research shows that in Sub-Saharan Africa “transport poverty” — inaccessible or unsuitable transport that neg-atively impacts a person’s quality of life — disproportion-ately affects women and girls due to sexual harassment and abuse.

And according to a 2019 index by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security that measured safety in 167 countries, only about 25

percent of South African women feel safe walking at night.

Fredericks said the fear of crime was ever-present for women in the Cape Flats, where South Africa’s apartheid-era government dumped Black and mixed race people forced out of white-only areas.

Cape Town authorities could not immediately be reached to comment.

Ladies Own Transport is an add-on company to the women’s driving school that Fredericks launched in 2018, which has taught hundreds of women to drive.

When Fredericks launched the driving school, more than 500 women signed up on the first day.

It became a kind of coun-selling service too, she said.

“Do you know how many times we had to switch off the car, and just sit and talk. This is often the only space women have to get away from abusive relationships,” she said.

Customers told her male driving instructors often tried to “chat them up”.

“A car is an intimate space, all she wants is to be taught how to drive and here she has to fend off hands and advances from men once more,” she said.

Tamara Goliath, 29, got her driving licence through Ladies Own Transport just before lockdown in March last year and just before giving birth.

“I felt safe and comfortable with my female instructor,” said Goliath, a former teacher.

“There wasn’t that... har-assment that sometimes comes with male instructors,” said Goliath, adding that women always have to consider their safety when using public transport too. “It is quite pro-found, the way Joanie has gone out of her way to empower women around her,” she said.

Fredericks hopes to expand her taxi service from her neigh-bourhood of Tafelsig across the Cape Flats.

The opposition leader has been effectively under house arrest since he cast his vote and now is allegedly unable even to receive visitors. Police prevented party officials who were trying to meet with him at his home in order to discuss the way forward.

Sudanese bury victims of Darfur violence, toll at 129AP — CAIRO

The death toll from tribal clashes between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudan’s western Darfur region reached around 130 people, including children and women, doctors and an aid worker said Monday, as families began burying their dead.

The latest bout of violence in West Darfur province grew out of a fist fight on Friday in a camp for displaced people in Genena, the provincial capital, and then escalated, lasting until Sunday.

The clashes, between members of the Arab Rizeigat tribe and the non-Arab Massalit tribe, displaced at least 50,000

people, according to the United Nations.

The doctors’ committee in the province said the clashes killed at least 129 people and wounded 189 others, including newborn babies. Among the dead was a US citizen, Saeed Baraka, from Atlanta, who was visiting family in Darfur.

The committee, which called the violence “unprece-dented,” said the casualty toll was likely to increase.

“The scale of the crisis in West Darfur is unimaginable. The transitional government should bear its responsibilities and declare the province a dis-aster area,” it said.

The committee is part of the

Sudanese Professionals Asso-ciation, which spearheaded a popular uprising that eventually led to the military’s ouster of longtime autocratic president Omar Al Bashir in April 2019.

Adam Regal, a spokesman for a local organisation that helps run refugee camps in Darfur, said families started to bury their dead after the clashes subsided. However, he warned of the potential for renewed fighting.

The UN Office for the Coor-dination of Humanitarian Affairs, said initial estimates show that at least 50,000 people were displaced because of the violence. It said the dis-placed families have taken

shelter in schools and gov-ernment buildings. OCHA said there was an “urgent need” for protection, shelter and food.

The clashes threaten to derail Sudan’s fragile transition to democracy. A military-civilian government has been in power since April 2019, and has struggled to end the coun-try’s decades-long civil wars and overcome crippling eco-nomic conditions.

Authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew in all of West Darfur province and authorized military and police to use “all necessary force” to regain order. The central government in Khartoum also deployed security reinforcements.

The violence came two weeks after the UN Security Council ended the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force’s mandate in the region. The UNAMID force, established in 2007, was the first joint UN-AU peacekeeping oper-ation. It was replaced with a much smaller, political mission known as the United Nations I n t e g r a t e d T r a n s i t i o n Assistance Mission in Sudan, or UNITAMS.

Mohammed Osman, a Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the tribal violence in Darfur is an example of why many dis-placed people protested the end of UNAMID.

10 TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021ASIA

Aid effort intensifies after Indonesia earthquakeAP — MAMUJU

Aid was reaching the thousands of people left homeless and struggling after an earthquake that killed at least 84 people on an Indonesian island where rescuers intensified their work yesterday to find those buried in the rubble.

More rescuers and volun-teers were deployed in the hardest-hit city of Mamuju and the neighbouring district of Majene on Sulawesi island, where the magnitude 6.2 quake struck early on Friday, said Raditya Jati, the National Dis-aster Mitigation Agency’s spokesperson.

He said nearly 20,000 sur-vivors were moved to shelters and more than 900 people were injured, with nearly 300 of them still receiving treatment for serious injuries.

A total of 73 people died in Mamuju and 11 in Majene, said Didi Hamzar, the disaster agency’s director of prepar-edness. He said rescuers also managed to pull 18 people alive from the rubble of a collapsed houses and buildings.

Mahatir, a relief coordinator for volunteer rescuers, said his team was trying to reach many

people in six isolated villages in Majene district after the quake damaged roads and bridges. Aid and other logistic supplies can be distributed only by foot over the severe terrain, said Mahatir who goes by one name.

In a virtual news con-ference, Hamzar said that three helicopters were taking aid sup-plies yesterday to four cut-off villages in Majene.

In other hard hit areas. water, which has been in short supply, as well as food and medical supplies were being

distributed from trucks. The military said it sent five planes carrying rescue personnel, food, medicine, blankets, field tents and water tankers.

Volunteers and rescue per-sonnel erected more temporary shelters for those left homeless in Mamuju and Majene.

Most were barely protected by makeshift shelters that were lashed by heavy monsoon downpours. Only a few were lucky to be protected by tar-paulin-covered tents. They said they were running low on food, blankets and other aid, as emer-gency supplies were rushed to the hard-hit region.

Police and soldiers were deployed to guard vehicles car-rying relief goods and grocery stores from looting that occurred in some areas, said Muhammad Helmi, who heads the West Sulawesi police’s oper-ation unit.

Jati said at least 1,150 houses in Majene were damaged and the agency was still collecting data on damaged houses and buildings in Mamuju.

Mamuju, the provincial capital of nearly 300,000 people, was strewn with debris from collapsed buildings. The governor’s office building was

almost flattened and a shopping mall was reduced to a crumpled hulk.

The disaster agency said the evacuees are in dire need of basic necessities — blankets, mats, tents, baby food and medical services.

The disaster agency’s chief, Doni Monardo, said authorities were trying to separate high- and lower-risk groups and pro-vided tens of thousands of anti-coronavirus masks for those needing shelters. He said authorities would also set up health posts at the camps to test

people for the virus.People being housed in

temporary shelters were seen standing close together, many of them without masks, saying that they difficult to observe health protocols in this emer-gency situation.

West Sulawesi province has recorded more than 2,500 cases of the coronavirus, including 58 deaths. Indonesia has con-firmed nearly 908,000 cases and almost 26,000 fatalities.

Many on Sulawesi island are still haunted by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that devastated Palu

city in 2018, setting of a tsunami and a phenomenon called liq-uefaction in which soil collapses into itself. More than 4,000 people were killed, including many who were buried when whole neighborhoods were swallowed in the falling ground.

Indonesia, home to more than 260 million people, is lined with seismic faults and is fre-quently hit by earthquakes, vol-canic eruptions and tsunamis. A magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra in 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

A local affected by floods carries a bag containing aid assistance from Indonesian President Joko Widodo at Pekauman Ulu village in Banjar regency, South Kalimantan province, Indonesia, yesterday.

Baby-trafficking ring busted in MumbaiREUTERS — MUMBAI

Police in Mumbai have charged nine alleged members of a baby-trafficking ring — among them a nurse at a maternity hospital and agents who operated in the impoverished slums of India’s financial capital, officials said yesterday.

In the second such case in the city in five years, the nine are accused of having bought and sold at least seven babies over a six-year period.

The mothers of three infants and a man who had bought a baby were also arrested in a four-day police operation.

“We’re now investigating how many more children have they sold and if there are more agents operating in the area,” said police inspector Yogesh Chavan, who received a tip-off about the baby-trafficking racket last week.

“The mothers of the babies were poor and the buyers were couples desperate for a child,” he said.

The nine suspects have been charged under India’s anti-trafficking laws and juvenile justice laws against the buying and selling of children. Police said they have not yet taken the babies involved away from the

couples who bought them and were awaiting a consultation from child welfare officials.

Preliminary investigations suggest gang members tar-geted poor pregnant women in a slum area close to the city’s affluent Bandra Kurla Complex business district, officials said.

The maternity hospital nurse would then put childless couples she met through work in touch with the pregnant women, charging couples up to 100,000 rupees ($1,365) for making the connection.

Baby girls were sold for 70,000 rupees and baby boys for 150,000 rupees, on top of

the connection fee, police said.In 2016, Mumbai police

arrested five women accused of selling babies to childless couples in various states across the country.

India recorded more than 1,100 cases of child trafficking in 2019, according to gov-ernment data, up from 1,000 cases recorded a year earlier, but anti-trafficking cam-paigners say the real number is likely much higher.

Government officials have said an increase in baby traf-ficking is reducing the number of children available for adoption as more couples wait to adopt.

Japan finds COVID-19 variant in 3 people with no record of travel

REUTERS — TOKYO

Japanese doctors have detected a fast-spreading variant of the new coronavirus first discovered in Britain in three people who had not travelled there, the Health Ministry said yesterday.

The three, aged from their 20s to their 60s and living in Shizuoka prefecture, about 200km west of Tokyo, first had symptoms in early January, the ministry said. A health ministry official said that the authorities are looking into how the three became infected but that there

was no proof yet that the variant first detected in Britain was spreading in Shizuoka now. Japan has so far detected 45 cases of new variants of the virus that were first spotted in Britain, South Africa and Brazil, he said.

Japan earlier this month expanded a state of emergency declared in the Tokyo area to seven more prefectures to curb COVID-19 cases.

The country has recorded about 335,000 cases of infection so far, including 4,500 deaths, public broadcaster NHK said.

Thailand protesters accuse authorities of abductionREUTERS — BANGKOK

Thai police said yesterday they were investigating a complaint by a political activist who said he had been abducted by a group of unknown men and then ques-tioned inside a van for 12 hours before being dumped on the street.

Mongkol Santimetakul, 25, a volunteer guard for the protest movement, said at around 11pm on Saturday on a street near his home in a province south of Bangkok he was bundled into a van by the men who placed a hood over his head and confis-cated his phone.

He said he was asked about an anti-monarchy sign that was erected by protesters in a nearby area.

“I was told to sign some doc-ument, which I refused and also told to cease all activism,” Mongkol said.

Youth-led protests since last year have been demanding the resignation of the military-backed prime minister, who first came to power in a coup, and also reforms to Thailand’s pow-erful monarchy.

Mongkol, who filed a police complaint after he said he was dumped on the street around noon the next day, pledged to continue his activism.

Deputy Police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen said the alleged abduction was not conducted by police and an investigation was ongoing.

The Internal Security Oper-ations Command, a military-linked security agency, also released a statement denying involvement after accusations against the agency appeared on social media.

Protesters also accused authorities of intimidation tactics after alleging police detained at least two other volunteer guards at the weekend, initially denying them access to a lawyer, before both were freed.

“These tactics by the author-ities will only generate more anger among the protesters,” Piyarat Chongthep, a protest leader, said. Yingcheep Atch-anont of the legal monitoring group iLaw said anyone who was arrested should have the right to see their lawyer or a rel-ative before being charged.

Volunteer guards of the anti-government protest movement scuffle with police officers at Khlong Luang police station in Pathum Thani province, Thailand.

Australia unlikely

to fully reopen

borders in 2021;

virus cases slide

REUTERS — SYDNEY

Australia may not fully reopen its international borders this year even if most of the popu-lation is vaccinated against coronavirus, the head of its health department said yesterday as the country recorded zero local COVID-19 cases.

Australian authorities are also looking at potential adverse effects of the Pfizer vaccine after Norway reported a small number of deaths in old people who received the shot.

“Even if we have a lot of the population vaccinated, we don’t know whether that will prevent transmission of the virus,” Brendan Murphy told the Aus-tralian Broadcasting Corp.

Australia, which has managed the coronavirus better than many other nations through targeted lockdowns and high rates of testing and contact tracing, reported zero local COVID-19 cases yesterday.

Victoria, which is hosting the Australian Open, reported four positive cases in overseas trav-ellers, all associated with the tennis, taking the total to nine.

The cases have prompted authorities to send three Aus-tralian Open charter flights into hard quarantine, forcing more than 70 players into a 14-day hotel room isolation.

Australia has reported more than 22,000 local COVID-19 cases and 909 deaths since the pandemic began. The main COVID focus in Australia is cur-rently in Sydney in the state of New South Wales (NSW), where an outbreak in Sydney’s west has prompted other states to impose travel restrictions on either all of NSW or people in outbreak suburbs.

Firefighters wearing protective masks gather before a disinfection operation during a lockdown due to coronavirus disease outbreak, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Disinfection operation

Hong Kong experts back Pfizer shotsBLOOMBERG — HONG KONG

A panel of experts said they have recommended that Hong Kong approve the Pfizer Inc-BioNTech SE coronavirus vaccine for use, clearing the way for a regulatory greenlight as the city tries to stamp out a winter outbreak that appears to be worsening.

It’s the first vaccine on track for approval in the Asian financial city, which likely means that the vulnerable groups which the government has prioritised like health-care workers and the elderly will receive this shot. The vaccine is being marketed by Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.

In a sign of growing global concern over reports of vaccine-related deaths in Norway, the panel is seeking

more information from Nor-wegian authorities and Fosun, and will ask the government to stop administering the shot “as soon as we receive information that tips the balance ratio of risks and benefits,” said Wallace Lau, the panel’s convenor, at a press briefing yesterday.

The panel also wants more information on which groups to prioritized in administering the vaccine, said Lau. Although most countries are planning to vaccinate their elderly first, the Norway deaths indicate that the side effects or allergies from the shot may be potentially deadly in the old and frail.

After the endorsement by the 12-person vaccine advisory panel, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan will make a final decision on approving the vaccine for use. Officials said that the city’s vaccine rollout will start around the Chinese New

Year holiday, which this year begins on February 12.

The progress on vaccines is likely to soothe Hong Kong res-idents who have seen places like mainland China and Sin-gapore kick off vaccination drives earlier. While the city’s coronavirus cases haven’t risen as dramatically as in western countries, strict social dis-tancing rules like the closure of schools and some businesses have been in place for nearly two months.

Hong Kong’s government said it has purchased enough doses — including from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and AstraZeneca Plc — to cover its 7.5 million residents, and plans to offer people a choice of which vaccine to take, though that also depends on availability.

Government advisers have defended their relatively slower rollout as due to caution.

The disaster agency’s

chief, Doni Monardo,

said authorities were

trying to separate high-

and lower-risk groups

and provided tens of

thousands of anti-

coronavirus masks for

those needing shelters.

He said authorities

would also set up health

posts at the camps to

test people for the virus.

11TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021 ASIA

Moon to Biden: Learn from Trump’s North Korea diplomacy AP — SEOUL

South Korea’s president yesterday urged the incoming Biden administration to build upon the achievements and learn from the failures of Pres-ident Donald Trump’s diplo-matic engagement with North Korea.

A dovish liberal and the son of northern war refugees, Moon Jae-in had lobbied hard to help set up Trump’s three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, but their diplomacy stalemated over disagreements over easing crippling US-led sanctions for the North’s disarmament.

Biden has accused Trump of chasing the spectacle of summits rather than meaningful curbs on the North’s nuclear capabilities. North Korea has a history of staging weapons tests and other provocations to test new US pres-idents, and Kim vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent political speeches that were seen as aimed at pressuring the incoming Biden administration.

The South Korean leader has been desperate to keep alive a positive atmosphere for dia-logue in the face of Kim’s vows to further expand a nuclear and missile programme that threatens Asian US allies and the American homeland. And while Moon acknowledged that Biden is likely to try a different approach than Trump, he stressed that Biden could still learn from Trump’s successes and failures in dealing with

North Korea.During a mostly virtual news

conference in Seoul, Moon claimed that Kim still had a “clear willingness” to denu-clearise if Washington and Pyongyang could find mutually agreeable steps to decrease the nuclear threat and ensure the North’s security. Most experts see Kim’s recent comments as further evidence he will maintain his weapons program to ensure his regime’s survival.

When asked about the North’s efforts to increase its ballistic capacity to strike targets throughout South Korea, including US bases there, Moon said the South could sufficiently cope with such threats with its missile defence systems and other military assets.

“The start of the Biden administration provides a new opportunity to start over talks between North Korea and the United States and also between South and North Korea,” which have stalled amid the stalemate in nuclear negotiations, Moon said.

“The North Korean efforts to expand its nuclear program and acquire more weapons systems are all because we have not succeeded yet in reaching

an agreement over denuclear-isation and establishing peace. These are problems that could all be solved by success in dia-logue,” he said.

During an eight-day con-gress of North Korea’s Workers’ Party that ended last week, Kim described the United States as his country’s “foremost prin-cipal enemy.” He didn’t entirely rule out talks, but he said the fate of bilateral relations would depend on whether Washington abandons its hostile policy toward Pyongyang.

The erosion in inter-Korean relations have been a major setback to Moon, who met Kim three times in 2018 while expressing ambitions to reboot inter-Korean economic engagement when possible, voicing optimism that interna-tional sanctions could end and allow such projects.

Moon said the South would continue to seek ways to improve relations with the North within the boundary of sanctions, such as pursuing humanitarian assistance and joint anti-virus efforts against COVID-19.

But Kim during the ruling party congress already described such offers as “ines-sential” while slamming South Korea for its own efforts to strengthen defense capabilities and continuing annual military exercises with the United States, which were downsized under Trump to create space for diplomacy.

Experts say Pyongyang is pressuring Seoul to break away

from Washington by halting their joint drills and to defy sanctions and restart inter-Korean eco-nomic cooperation.

During Trump’s first summit with Kim in June 2018, they pledged to improve bilateral rela-tions and issued vague aspira-tional vows for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when and how it would occur.

But the negotiations faltered after their second meeting in February 2019 when the Amer-icans rejected the North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for the disman-tling of an aging nuclear reactor,

which would have amounted to a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

Moon said that Trump and Kim’s agreement in their first meeting was still relevant and the Biden administration should take lessons from the failures of their second meeting, “The declaration in Singapore under the Trump administration was a very important declaration for denu-clearization and building peace in the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said.

“Of course, it’s very lamen-table that the (content of the) dec-laration remains theoretical because of the failures to back it

up with concrete agreements,” he said. “But if we start over from the Singapore declaration and revive talks over concrete steps, it’s possible that diplomacy between North Korea and the United States and between South and North Korea would gain pace again.” Moon said he hopes to meet Biden as soon as possible and that South Korean officials were actively communicating with their American counterparts to ensure that the North Korea issue remains a priority for the new US government, which inherits a horrendous corona-virus outbreak and domestic political turmoil.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during an online news conference with local and foreign journalists in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday.

Japan urges South Korea to drop wartime compensation demandsAP — TOKYO

Japan’s foreign minister accused South Korea yesterday of wors-ening already strained ties by making “illegal” demands for compensation for the abuse of Korean women and use of forced labourers during World War II.

Toshimitsu Motegi, in a dip-lomatic policy speech in par-liament, said a recent South Korean court ruling ordering Japan to compensate 12 South Korean women who were abused by Japanese military

during the war was “an abnormal development abso-lutely unthinkable under inter-national law and bilateral relations.”

“We strongly urge South Korea to correct the violation of international law as soon as pos-sible” and restore healthy rela-tions, Motegi said.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled on January 8 that the Japanese government must give 100 million won ($91,360) to each of 12 elderly women who filed lawsuits in 2013 over their

wartime suffering. They were among tens of thousands of women across Japanese-occupied Asia and the Pacific who were sent to front-line.

The ruling worsened ten-sions between the two countries, whose relations had already plunged to the lowest level in decades over earlier South Korean rulings on Japan’s actions during its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea’s Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese

companies to provide repara-tions to some South Koreans who were forced to work in their factories during the war.

The dispute over forced labour escalated into a trade dispute and prompted South Korea to threaten to scrap a 2016 military intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan, a key component of their regional defence cooperation with the United States.

Japan has protested the court rulings, saying all wartime compensation issues were

settled under a 1965 treaty nor-malising relations in which Japan provided $500m in eco-nomic assistance.

In Seoul, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said yes-terday that it “wouldn’t be desirable for bilateral relations” if Seoul and Tokyo fail to find a diplomatic solution before South Korean courts proceed with liquidating the local assets of the Japanese companies that were seized after they refused to compensate the Korean wartime labourers.

12 workers trapped in China mine blast are aliveAP — BEIJING

Chinese state media say 12 out of 22 workers trapped for a week by an explosion in a gold mine are alive, as hundreds of rescuers seek to bring them to safety.

The Xinhua News Agency said yesterday a note passed through a rescue shaft on Sunday night reported the fate of the other 10 remains unknown.

The handwritten note said four of the workers were injured and that the condition of others was deteriorating because of a lack of fresh air and an influx of water.

Managers of the operation were detained after they failed to report the accident for more than a day. The mine in Qixia, a jurisdiction under the city of Yantai in Shandong province, had been under construction at the time of the blast, which occurred January 10.

More than 300 workers are seeking to clear obstructions while drilling a new shaft to reach the chambers where the workers were trapped and expel dangerous fumes.

“Keep on with the rescue efforts. We have hope, thank you,” read the note, written in pencil on notebook paper and posted on Xinhua’s official website.

China’s mining industry has a reputation for skirting safety requirements amid massive demand for coal and precious minerals, although increased supervision has reduced the fre-quency of accidents that used to claim an average of 5,000 miners per year. Two accidents in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing last year killed 39 miners, prompting the central government to order another safety overhaul.

China reports more than 100 new virus casesREUTERS — BEIJING/SHANGHAI

China reported more than 100 new COVID-19 cases for the sixth consecutive day, with rising infections in the northeast fuelling concern of another wave when hundreds of millions of people travel for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Tough new controls in the city of Gongzhuling in Jilin province, which has a population of about 1 million people, brings the total number of people under lockdown to more than 29 million.

According to the Global Times newspaper, at least 11 regions in the provinces of Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin have imposed lockdowns and intro-duced extensive testing programmes.

The National Health Com-mission reported 109 new COVID-19 cases for Sunday, unchanged from the day earlier. Of the 93 local infections, 54

were in Hebei, which surrounds Beijing.

Hebei authorities vowed to punish lockdown violations, including the illegal staging of weddings or funerals, the Xinhua news agency said.

Northeastern Jilin province also reported a record 30 new cases, underscoring the risk of new clusters emerging.

China has two domestically produced COVID-19 vaccines and more in trials. Its vaccination programme started in July for emergency use and more than 10 million doses have been given.

Daily increases in infections remain a fraction of what China saw at the height of the outbreak in early 2020, but officials are concerned infections could spread rapidly during the Lunar New Year holiday in less than a month.

Despite travel restrictions, the China Railway Corporation expects about 296 million pas-senger trips during the Lunar

New Year break, compared with 410 million in 2019.

Beijing, which reported two new local infections, now requires travellers from abroad to undergo health monitoring for seven additional days following 21 days of medical observation.

The city of Gongzhuling said it was “strictly forbidden” for anyone to go out unless they are scheduled for a COVID-19 test at a designated site.

The Jilin outbreak was caused by an infected salesman travelling to and from the neigh-bouring province of Heilongjiang, the site of a previous cluster of infections. Xinhua said the new clusters were caused by social activities in rural areas and a lack of awareness at the grassroots level, creating “hotbeds” for rapid spread.

The total number of con-firmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China is 89,336, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,635.

Medical staff are seen at a nucleic acid testing site following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Beijing, China, yesterday.

Pakistani raid kills militant suspected of slaying troopsAP — PESHAWAR

Pakistani security forces raided a hideout yesterday in a former insurgent stronghold in the country’s northwest and killed two Taliban fighters, including one suspected of involvement in an October attack that killed six soldiers, the military said.

A third suspect was arrested in the raid in the South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The

military said it acted on intelli-gence. The six soldiers were killed in a bomb attack in the region three months ago. The military statement provided no further details.

Pakistani militants have in recent months stepped up attacks on troops in the former tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, citing concerns that insurgents are regrouping there.

The North and South

Waziristan districts served as the main base for local and foreign militants until the mil-itary secured the regions in 2015 with a series of operations.

The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are a separate insurgent group from the Afghan Taliban, although Paki-stan’s militant groups are often interlinked with those across the border.

Taliban call on Biden to honour Trump deal to remove US troopsBLOOMBERG — KABUL

The Taliban has called on Pres-ident-elect Joe Biden to honour a US agreement to withdraw all American forces from Afghan-istan by May in order to secure intra-Afghan peace talks and end the two-decade-long war.

“Steps must now be taken to end the war, not to prolong it, and the agreement was made for the purpose,” Mohammad Naeem, a senior spokesman in the Taliban’s political office, said yesterday, referring to their accord with the US signed last February which paves the way for a complete withdrawal of American troops by May in exchange for Taliban security guarantees. “The lack of com-plete implementation of the agreement can affect the ongoing process of negotia-tions,” he added.

The call from the insurgent group comes just days after the US reduced its troop levels from 4,500 to 2,500 at President Donald Trump’s direction, despite opposition from both Republican and Democrat law-makers who’ve warned of the potential impact on counter-terrorism operations. Naeem cheered the reduction on Twitter, saying the move was a

“good advancement.” While it’s unclear whether

Biden will withdraw all US troops by the May deadline, his nominee for national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN early this month the new administration would support “diplomacy” with the Taliban, urging the insurgent group to cut ties with Al Qaeda and other terrorist organisations, ensure a reduction in violence and par-ticipate in “good-faith negotia-tions” with the Afghan government.

Andrew Watkins, a senior analyst with International Crisis Group, said the May 1 troop with-drawal deadline is the biggest early challenge for the peace process and the most urgent decision for the incoming Biden team.

A reduction in U.S. troops — who provide air support to Afghan forces — won’t affect the ability of Afghan forces to push back against the Taliban, according to a spokesman for the country’s National Security Council, Rahmatullah Andar.

The Afghan government and Taliban resumed negotiations in early January under the shadow of a series of targeted killings of journalists, government employees and independent human rights advocates.

Biden has accused Trump

of chasing the spectacle

of summits rather than

meaningful curbs on the

North’s nuclear

capabilities.

12 TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021EUROPE

Extreme cold hits large parts of EuropeAP — WARSAW

Extreme cold has hit large parts of Europe, with freezing temperatures cracking railroad tracks in Poland, snow blan-keting the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul and smog spiking as more coal was being burned to generate heat.

In Switzerland, a skier who had been buried by an ava-lanche over the weekend died in a hospital of his injuries, authorities said yesterday.

The country had issued ava-lanche warnings several days earlier after heavy snowfall. Officials said the skier and his two companions were buried by an avalanche while skiing off marked trails in the Gstaad area on Sunday. One man freed himself from the snow and then extricated one of the others, but the third man could only be found by rescue crews, who arrived later.

Temperatures dropped to minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 Fahrenheit) in some Polish areas overnight, the coldest night in 11 years. Many trains were delayed yesterday after tracks at two Warsaw railway stations cracked.

Hand-in-hand with the cold came a spike in smog in Warsaw and other parts of Poland, as the cold prompted an increase in burning coal for heat. Air pol-lution levels were so high in Warsaw that city officials urged people to remain indoors.

Just across Poland’s south-western border, the Czech Republic experienced the coldest night this year with tempera-tures dropping below minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 Fahr-enheit) in many places.

The lowest temperature - minus 27 degrees Celsius (minus 16 Fahrenheit) — was recorded yesterday in Orlicke Zahori, a mountainous village 160km east

of Prague near the Polish border, according to the Czech Hydrom-eteorological Institute.

The freezing weather was expected to be replaced by heavy snowfall in the northeastern Czech Republic, the institute said. Wintry weather and freezing temperatures were reported throughout the Balkans, which has created problems with power supplies in Serbia and brought some snow even to Croatia’s Adriatic Sea islands.

In eastern Albania, temper-atures dipped as low as minus 13 degrees Celsius in Peshkopi, 110km east of the capital, Tirana. The deep freeze caused water pipes to freeze and created dangerous driving con-ditions. Icy roads in the city of Pogradec prevented firefighters from arriving in time to a home fire in which a man died early yesterday. In Istanbul, traffic was brought to a halt by the

layer of snow covering the city, with cars stalled or skidding on the roads.

In Germany, fresh snow, slippery roads and fallen trees led to several car accidents on Sunday and overnight, the D P A n e w s agency reported. A driver died in southwestern Germany after his car shot over a mound of snow.

The Nordic region also saw snow and subfreezing temper-atures, with the coldest temper-atures predictably recorded in the Arctic. Norway’s meteoro-logical institute tweeted a tongue-in-cheek message on

yesterday, saying: “we encourage all knitting lovers to send woolen clothes to their friends in the north.” In Denmark, police found 17 people ice bathing naked on Sunday in a lake near Roskilde, 40km west of Copenhagen. Everyone in the

group, aged between 26 and 51, was preliminarily charged with violating pandemic restrictions limiting gatherings to five people. Police said they will all receive a fine, which is 2,500 kroner ($405) for first-time offenders.

People sled down a public sledding trail as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues, on Mount Uetliberg in Zurich, Switzerland, on Sunday.

Conte tells lawmakers to back his plan to governREUTERS — ROME

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte appealed yesterday for parliamentarians from outside his government to rally to coalition ranks, saying he needed broad-based support to forge ahead with a pro-European agenda.

“Help us to heal this wound,” Conte told the lower house of parliament in a debate called after a junior partner quit his coalition, depriving him of an absolute majority and throwing Italy into political turmoil in the midst of the COVID crisis.

Looking to entice centrist and liberal lawmakers, Conte promised to revamp his policy agenda and shake up his cabinet, saying he wanted to modernise Italy and speed up implementation of a recovery plan for the recession-stricken economy.

“I ask for clear, transparent support, based on the strength and clarity of the proposal,” Conte said, condemning the small Italia Viva party, headed by former premier Matteo Renzi, for abandoning the 17-month-old coalition.

“Let’s be frank, we can’t

undo what has happened, we can’t regain the trust and con-fidence that are essential con-ditions for working together. Now we have to turn the page,” he said, apparently closing the door on any reconciliation with Renzi.

Italia Viva said it withdrew from the cabinet because it did not agree with the prime min-ister’s handling of the twin coronavirus and economic crises.

Conte faces two days of parliamentary votes that will decide if his fragile coalition can stay in power or if it has lost its majority, opening the way for what are likely to be

prolonged negotiations on a new government.

Attention is especially focused on the 321-seat Senate, where Conte looks certain to fall short of an absolute majority after his efforts to per-suade centrists in opposition

ranks at the weekend to rally to his side looked to have failed.

At least three of the upper house’s six life senators are expected to back the gov-ernment, but at present the most optimistic tally puts Conte

on 157 votes, four short of an absolute majority.

However, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, a leading light in the largest coalition party, the 5-Star Movement, has said even a relative majority would do.

“It is a majority. The absolute majority is only needed for (votes on) budget changes and very few other acts. And when we need it, we will find it,” he told Corriere della Sera daily.

A minority government will always find itself at the mercy of parliament, but Conte hopes that if he can overcome Tues-day’s threat, centrist parlia-mentarians will drift into his camp over time and bolster his position. The vote in the lower house was scheduled for sometime after 6.30pm (1730 GMT), with Conte expected to cling to an absolute majority there. The crucial Senate vote is set for Tuesday afternoon.

Italia Viva has said it will return to the coalition if its policy demands are met, but both 5-Star and its main coa-lition ally, the centre-left Dem-ocratic Party (PD), have said they want nothing more to do with Renzi, accusing him of betrayal.

Conte said there was “no plausible justification” for the walkout and warned that the political crisis risked damaging Italy at a time when it was president of the G20 group of major global economies.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte speaks at the lower chamber of Parliament, in Rome, yesterday.

WHO expects to have access to Pfizer vaccine ‘very soon’REUTERS — GENEVA

The World Health Organization is in advanced negotiations with Pfizer to include the firm’s COVID-19 shot in the body’s vaccine-sharing scheme, which would speed vaccine deliveries to poorer countries, a senior WHO official said yesterday.

The COVAX scheme — led by the WHO and GAVI vaccine alliance — is due to start rolling out vaccines to poor and middle-income countries in February, with 2 of 3 billion doses expected to be delivered this year.

“We are in... detailed discus-sions with Pfizer. We believe

very soon we will have access to that product,” WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward told the WHO’s executive board meeting, adding that it would then look to add others.

COVAX aims to deliver 135 million doses of all shots it has deals for to 92 lower and middle income countries in the pro-gramme by the end of March, he said.

So far, over half of the 50 million inoculations given glo-bally in 50 countries have been done in the United States and China, according to Aylward. None have yet been given in Africa, he said.

WHO Director-General

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus yesterday blamed vaccine nationalism for the inequity, saying the world was on the brink of “catastrophic moral failure”.

The WHO already has deals with several suppliers, including AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute of India.

Austria’s Clemens Martin Auer, one of the 34 WHO board members, said at yesterday’s meeting COVAX had been slow in securing deals and called its failure to procure mRNA vac-cines, such as that made by Pfizer and BioNTech, “a major mistake”.

Aylward justified the WHO

stance saying they were expensive and that its cold-chain requirements were dif-ficult for many countries to manage.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine must be stored at ultra-low temperatures of about -70 degrees Celsius before being shipped to distribution centres in cool boxes filled with dry ice.

So far, 44 countries out of the 50 that have already begun vaccinations have used the shot, WHO data shows.

The WHO also hopes to procure Pfizer shots via dona-tions, rather than some coun-tries being “double-served”, Aylward said.

UK vaccinating

140 people per

minute on

average: Minister

REUTERS — LONDON

The United Kingdom is vacci-nating 140 people per minute against COVID-19 on average, Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi said yesterday.

The United Kingdom, which has the world’s fifth worst official COVID-19 death toll, is racing to be among the first major countries to vac-cinate its population - seen as the best way to exit the pan-demic and get the economy going again.

Latest figures show the United Kingdom has vacci-nated 3,857,266 people with a first dose and 449,736 with a second dose.

“It is going well, we’re vac-cinating on average 140 people, that’s first jab, literally a minute. That’s the average so some areas are doing better,” Zahawi told Sky.

“You’ll see that improve as we open more of the large vac-cination centres, 17 in total by this week and 50 by the end of the month.”

“Today, in some areas where they’ve done the majority of their over 80s, letters are going out to the over 70s and those who are clini-cally extremely vulnerable,” he said.

He said the 24-hour vaccine offering would begin to be piloted in London by the end of the month.

Key workers such as teachers, the police and shop-workers could move to the top of the list for a vaccine once all those over 50 have been offered a shot, Zahawi said.

Spain’s elderly receive second COVID-19 shotREUTERS —MADRID

Faced with new record infection rates, Spain has begun giving second shots of corona-virus vaccines to elderly nursing home residents, while a court in Seville ruled yesterday that one home could inoculate a resident against her family’s wishes.

Like many other countries, Spain is racing to vaccinate in care homes to prevent a repeat of the epidemic’s first wave, which killed some 20,000 res-idents between March and May, according to preliminary data reported by El Pais newspaper.

In the central city of Guad-alajara, 96-year old Araceli Hidalgo Sanchez, Spain’s ear-liest recipient of a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, said she was delighted to have received the second and encouraged others to do the

same. Smiling from behind her mask as she walked through the grounds of the Los Olmos nursing home using a walking frame, she said that more than anything she wanted to see her family.

“I haven’t done that since the bug got here.” New infec-tions have soared in the wake of the Christmas holidays. Nearly 84,300 new cases were reported yesterday, a record rise over the two days since Friday that brought the coun-try’s cumulative total to 2,336,451, government data showed.

By yesterday morning, eight of Spain’s 17 regions had got underway with the second round of jabs, the health min-istry said.

Although vaccination is vol-untary in Spain, a court in the southern city of Seville authorised a nursing home to vaccinate a severely

incapacitated 86-year-old woman, despite her son’s objec-tions, in the second such ruling in a week.

The judge presiding over the case said protecting public health must take precedence over the family’s concerns.

“It appears to be the only effective option to adequately safeguard her life against the real risk of developing a serious COVID-19 infection,” the ruling

read. Despite rising infections, the Health Ministry has ruled out a return to nationwide con-finement despite calls from regional administrations for tougher measures.

The national government has taken the northern region of Castile and Leon to court over its imposition of an 8pm curfew, which is two hours earlier than permitted under nationwide rules.

Healthcare professionals rest after taking injections of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 at the Refena centre in Pamplona, Spain, on Sunday.

France may

vaccinate 2.4

million people by

end of February

REUTERS — PARIS

France is on track to reach its target of vaccinating 1 million people against COVID-19 by the end of January and has enough doses to increase the total to 2.4 million by the end of February, Health Minister Olivier Veran said yesterday.

During a visit to a vacci-nation centre in the eastern city of Grenoble, Veran told reporters that France had now set up about 800 such centres.

“With the acceleration of the vaccination campaign in retirement homes, we will com-fortably reach our goal of 1 million French people vacci-nated by the end of this month,” he said.

On Sunday, the health min-istry reported that France had vaccinated more than 422,000 people since the start of the vac-cination campaign on Dec. 26.

But France still trails far behind several other European countries such as Britain, where the number of people who have received a first dose of the vac-cination had reached 3.2 million by Friday. In Germany and Italy, more than 1 million people had been vaccinated at the end of last week.

Veran said the main chal-lenge in France - which has reported nearly 3 million con-firmed COVID-19 cases, the highest in the Europe Union - was not the logistics of the vac-cination process but the delivery of doses. A new delivery of the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech would arrive this week and more would be arriving in coming weeks, he said.

Looking to entice centrist

and liberal lawmakers,

Italian PM promised to

revamp his policy agenda

and shake up his cabinet,

saying he wanted to

modernise Italy and

speed up implementation

of a recovery plan for the

recession-stricken

economy.

13TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021 EUROPE

Russia ready for extension of last arms pact with USAP — MOSCOW

Moscow is ready for a quick deal with the incoming admin-istration of US President-elect Joe Biden to extend the last remaining arms control pact, which expires in just over two weeks, Russia’s top diplomat said yesterday.

Months of talks between Russia and President Donald Trump’s administration on the possible extension of the New START treaty have failed to narrow their differences. The pact is set to expire on February 5.

Biden has spoken in favour of the preservation of the New START treaty, which was nego-tiated during his tenure as US vice-president, and Russia has said it’s open for its quick and unconditional extension.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference yesterday that Moscow is ready to move quickly to keep the pact alive.

“The most important pri-ority is the absolutely abnormal situation in the sphere of arms control,” Lavrov said. “We have heard about the Biden admin-istration’s intention to resume

a dialogue on this issue and try to agree on the New START treaty’s extension before it expires on February 5. We are waiting for specific proposals, our stance is well-known.”

New START envisages the possibility of its extension for another five years, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow is ready to do so without any conditions.

The Kremlin also has voiced readiness to prolong the pact for a shorter term, as Trump’s administration had pondered.

The talks on the treaty’s extension have been clouded by

tensions between Russia and the United States, which have been fueled by the Ukrainian crisis, Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and other irritants.

Sunday’s arrest of leading Putin critic Alexei Navalny in Moscow after his return from Germany where he was recov-ering from a nerve agent poi-soning he blamed on the Kremlin will further cloud Russia-US ties.

Biden’s pick for national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, called on Russian authorities to free Navalny.

New START was signed in 2010 by US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

It limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance.

Arms control advocates have strongly called for its pres-ervation, warning that its expi-ration would remove any checks on US and Russian nuclear forces, striking a blow to global stability.

EU defends Portugal trip as ministers, officials quarantineAP — BRUSSELS

The European Union’s exec-utive arm yesterday defended a decision to send a team of senior officials to Lisbon for a meeting with Portuguese government ministers, after two ministers tested positive for COVID-19 and a number of top officials went into isolation.

Eight members of European Commission paid a one-day visit to Lisbon Friday — as Por-tugal started a month-long lockdown — for meetings early in the country’s six-month term as EU president nation, which began on January 1.

Portugal’s finance and labour ministers later tested positive for the virus, while three other ministers have gone into isolation after coming into contact with people who tested positive. Two EU commission vice-presidents and a commis-sioner are in quarantine.

Asked why it was so important for the visit to go ahead, commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the decision to meet face to face rather than via videoconference — like most EU meetings over the past year — was “not taken lightly.”

“It is the launch of an extremely important presi-dency. There are many, many files which need to be carried forward by the Portuguese presidency, and it was felt important to be able to hold

in-person discussions on these different political files,” Mamer said.

Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa said Wednesday that the pandemic is “at its most dangerous point” in the country and that the new lockdown would last at least a month.

Staying at home is man-datory, including for work, and fines for not complying with rules such as to wear masks oiutdoors have doubled. Schools remain open, along with companies providing essential services.

Mamer said the commission officials in quarantine would respect Belgium’s coronavirus rules and take a test on the seventh day after their return from Lisbon.

In August, the EU’s chief trade negotiator, Commissioner Phil Hogan, had to resign after he admitted flaunting some measures during a summer stay in his native Ireland.

Portugal’s daily death toll from the new coronavirus reached a record high of 167 yesterday, bringing the total to 9,028 deaths since the start of the pandemic, health authority DGS said.

It added 6,702 new cases, bringing the cumulative tally infections to 556,503 and reported a record 664 corona-virus patients in intensive care, according to the health authorities.

Three nations seek EU approval for AstraZeneca vaccine REUTERS — VIENNA

Austria, Greece and Denmark will jointly pressure the European Medicines Agency to approve AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said yesterday, adding: “Every week counts.”

Kurz was speaking before a European leaders’ virtual summit on Thursday, and a day after he said Austria’s lockdown was being extended until at least February 7 as it tries to

contain highly infectious new variants.

EMA, the EU drugs regu-lator, said last week it would review the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Britain’s Oxford University this month under an accelerated timeline.

“Every week counts,” Kurz told a news conference after a video call with various coun-tries on dealing with the virus. “We expect that work be done day and night, that a decision be reached unbureaucratically and that Europe not fall behind.

“What is now needed is —based on all scientific facts, of course — an immediate and quick decision, because Astra-Zeneca can deliver up to two million doses in the first quarter for Austria alone, and that of course makes an enormous dif-ference to our success in vac-cinating the population.”

Kurz also said part of the already-approved vaccine doses being supplied by Pfizer would arrive late, after Pfizer said it was temporarily reducing deliveries to Europe.

Navalny held in pre-trial detention; Moscow tells West not to interfereREUTERS — MOSCOW

A Russian judge remanded Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in pre-trial detention for 30 days yesterday for violating the terms of a suspended jail sentence, ignoring calls from Western countries to free the opposition politician immedi-ately.

The ruling, a day after police detained him at the airport as he returned home for the first time since being poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent, may be the prelude to him being jailed for years.

Moscow’s prison service has applied to convert a suspended 3.5 year embezzlement sen-tence in the same case, which he says was trumped up, into real jail time later this month.

He faces three other sep-arate criminal cases too.

The United Nations and Western countries told Moscow before the ruling to let Navalny go and some countries have called for new sanctions after earlier penalties from the EU in response to his poisoning. Moscow told them to mind their own business.

Navalny, in a video released on Twitter after the ruling, urged Russians to take to the

streets in protest.“Don’t be afraid, take to the

streets. Don’t go out for me, go out for yourself and your future,” Navalny said.

He called his treatment illegal under Russian law and lashed out at President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of throwing the criminal code out of the window in fear.

The Kremlin did not imme-diately respond, but has previ-ously said that the 44-year-old politician must face justice like any other citizen if he has done anything wrong.

Around 200 hundred Navalny supporters had gathered outside the police station in temperatures of minus 18 degrees Celsius and demanded he be set free, a Reuters witness said.

Four masked police officers detained Navalny at passport control on Sunday evening, the

first time he had returned home after being poisoned by what German military tests showed was a Novichok nerve agent, a version of events the Kremlin rejects.

The rouble weakened as investors weighed the risk of new sanctions against Moscow.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia said they wanted the European Union’s foreign min-isters to discuss further sanc-tions against Russia for detaining Navalny, whose foun-dation specialises in investiga-tions into alleged official corruption.

Some of the foundation’s targets have taken legal action and some critics have upbraided

Navalny in the past for espousing overly nationalist views, something he rejects.

A possible target of any new penalties would be Nord Stream 2, a $11.6bn project to build a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. Germany has sup-ported the project so far, arguing it is a commercial venture, and government spokesman Steffen Seibert said yesterday that had not changed.

The foreign ministers of Germany, Britain, France and Italy had earlier called for Nav-alny’s release and Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Pet-ricek had said he wanted the bloc to discuss possible sanctions.

The UN human rights office called for Navalny’s immediate release and demanded due process in line with the rule of law. Both Jake Sullivan, one of US President-elect Joe Biden’s top aides, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have criti-cised the arrest.

The Russian Foreign Min-istry brushed off all criticism.

“Respect international law, do not encroach on national legislation of sovereign states and address problems in your own country,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria

Zakharova wrote on Facebook.Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s

foreign minister, said Western countries’ expressions of outrage over the detention were designed to distract their cit-izens from domestic problems and that Moscow was unfazed by potential damage to its image.

“We should probably think about our image, but we’re not young ladies going to a ball,” Lavrov told reporters.

Moscow residents inter-viewed by Reuters TV were divided on Navalny’s detention, with some showing sympathy but others calling him foolish to come back.

The United Nations and Western countries told Moscow before the ruling to let Navalny go and some countries have called for new sanctions.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria during a news conference, as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues, in Vienna on Sunday.

A supporter of Alexei Navalny holding a banner reading ‘Freedom to Navalny. Those who wanted to kill him — to justice’, during a protest against his detainment, in Izhevsk, Russia, yesterday.

Alexei Navalny

Swiss ski resort St Moritz quarantines hotels, shuts schools to contain COVID-19 variantREUTERS — ZURICH

Officials in the Swiss mountain resort of St Moritz quarantined employees and guests of two luxury hotels, closed ski schools and kept schoolchildren home from class yesterday after a dozen positive tests for a highly infectious coronavirus variant.

About 300 employees and 95 guests at the Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski St Moritz and Badrutt’s Palace Hotel were quarantined. The eastern canton of Grisons ordered eve-ryone to wear masks in the town of 5,200 that prides itself as a birthplace of modern winter sports.

Those under quarantine will be tested and those receiving positive tests isolated. Those who test negative may be able to depart, a spokesman for the region’s coronavirus task force said, but must follow quarantine rules once they arrive home.

The nationalities of those affected were not given, but

Grisons said foreigners were likely among hotel guests.

Authorities had identified mutations common to highly infections coronavirus variants found in South Africa and Britain, though officials could not immediately say whether it matched either variant exactly because samples had yet to be

genetically sequenced.Switzerland has left ski lifts

including in St Moritz open, while closing restaurants, clubsand theatres. Swiss ski areas have been embroiled in coronavirus concerns.

Local St Moritz officials defended the decision to keep t h e s k i i n g o p e n ,

saying mask-wearing and social distancing makes it safe, and letting people disperse may help limit infections.

“If there are 100 people on the ski pistes, then there will be 100 fewer in the villages,” said Christian Gartmann, an official with a COVID-19 task force in the St Moritz area.

Hungary minister mulls sanctions against social media giantsREUTERS — BUDAPEST

Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga yesterday raised the prospect of sanctioning social media firms over what she called “systematic abuses” of free speech.

The minister said she would meet the Hungarian competition watchdog this week to discuss possible pen-alties for what she described as unfair commercial practices as well as convening a meeting of the country’s digital freedom committee.

In a growing wave of crit-icism, some government offi-cials are complaining about what they have described as efforts by social media com-panies, including Facebook, to limit conservative views on their platforms.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has turned Hungary’s public media into an obedient mouthpiece and allies control large parts of the private media, allowing his agenda to be aired prominently.

But the right-wing premier faces the toughest challenge to his decade-long rule at a parliamentary election next year, as he tackles a protracted recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and a united oppo-sition, with polls showing a neck-and-neck race.

“’Shadowban’ means the act of social media providers secretly, for political purposes, restricting the visibility and access of our user profile without our knowledge about it,” Varga said in a Facebook post. “To reduce their reach, Facebook also limits the visi-bility of Christian, conserv-ative, right-wing opinions. I also have personal experience of that,” Varga added.

Facebook did not imme-diately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Varga has nearly 120,000 Facebook followers, while Orban has over 1 million, rep-resenting more than 10 percent of the Hungarian population.

Adding to the urgency for vaccinations, a second wave of the outbreak in Brazil is snowballing as the country confronts a new, potentially more contagious variant of the coronavirus that originated in Amazonas state and prompted Britain and Italy to bar entry to Brazilians.

14 TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021AMERICAS

Brazil clears emergency use of AstraZenecaand Sinovac vaccinesREUTERS — BRASILIA

Brazilian health regulator Anvisa on Sunday approved emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd and Britain’s Astra-Zeneca, clearing the way for immunizations as the pandemic enters a deadly second wave.

Minutes after Anvisa’s board voted unanimously to approve both vaccines, Monica Calazans, a 54-year-old nurse in Sao Paulo, became the first person to be inoculated in the country, receiving the Chinese vaccine known as CoronaVac.

President Jair Bolsonaro, a coronavirus sceptic who has refused to take a vaccine himself, is under growing pressure to start inoculations in Brazil, which has lost more than 200,000 lives to COVID-19 - the worst death toll outside the United States.

Delays with vaccine ship-ments and testing results have held up vaccinations in the

country, once a global leader in mass immunizations and now a regional laggard after coun-tries such as Chile and Mexico started giving shots last month.

Bolsonaro’s government aims to kick off a national immunization program this

week but is waiting on ship-ments of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the center of its plans. That has added to public frus-tration and offered a political rival the chance to upstage the right-wing president.

Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, who oversees the Butantan biomedical center that is partnered with Sinovac in Brazil, said Anvisa’s decision was a triumph for science as he gave the go-ahead for the first vaccination in his state.

“A victory for science. A victory for life. A victory for Brazil,” Doria tweeted.

Bolsonaro, for whom Doria is a potential center-right rival to his 2022 re-election efforts, has taunted the governor over CoronaVac’s disappointing 50 percent efficacy in Brazilian trials. But the federal Health Ministry has agreed to acquire and distribute the shot for the national immunization drive.

Health Minister Eduardo

A healthcare worker receives the Sinovac vaccine at Hospital das Clinicas in Sao Paulo, Brazil, yesterday.

Pazuello told a news conference that the rush to start vaccinating immediately was an illegal “marketing ploy” and the gov-ernment would start distrib-uting the vaccines to states on Monday, with the nationwide immunization plan beginning on Wednesday. Brazil could eventually vaccinate 1 million people a day, he said.

Adding to the urgency for vaccinations, a second wave of the outbreak in Brazil

is snowballing as the country confronts a new, potentially more contagious variant of the coronavirus that originated in Amazonas state and prompted Britain and Italy to bar entry to Brazilians.

Butantan, which is set up to fill and finish CoronaVac doses on its production line, plans to supply 46 million doses of the two-dose shot by April, the institute said in a statement. Some 6 million of those are ready to go.

The federally-funded Fiocruz institute is still waiting for a delayed shipment of the active ingredient in the Astra-Zeneca vaccine for finishing on a Rio de Janeiro assembly line.

The Health Ministry has scrambled to line up 2 million ready doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India, but officials there have suggested it may take weeks to approve exports. Pazuello said he expected the doses from India this week.

Guatemala forces stall caravan with tear gas, batonsAP — VADO HONDO, GUATEMALA

Guatemalan police and soldiers launched tear gas and wielded batons and shields against a group of Honduran migrants that tried to push through their roadblock early on Sunday.

A group of about 2,000 migrants had stopped short of the roadblock the night before. The roadblock was strategically placed at a chokepoint on the two-lane highway to Chiq-uimula in an area known as Vado Hondo. It’s flanked by a tall mountainside and a wall leaving the migrants with few options.

Some 100 migrants tried to make their way through authorities around 7:30am on Sunday. The security forces beat them back and deployed tear gas. None made it through and the larger remaining con-tingent kept its distance during the melee.

Some migrants were visibly injured by baton strikes. One man leaned against a wall near police with a bandage atop his head. “They hit me in the head,” he said. “I didn’t come with the intention of looking for problems with anybody. We’re brothers, Central Americans.

We’re not looking for trouble. We just want to pass.”

Later, hundreds of migrants sat down on the roadway, refusing to leave and insisting they be allowed through, appealing to the soldiers as fellow Central Americans.

Leila Rodriguez, of

Guatemala’s human rights office, spoke to the migrants, acknowledging “this is a dis-tressing moment we’re experiencing”.

“We want to start a dialogue with you, to ask you to accept some of the needs of the Gua-temalan people right now,”

Rodriguez said, in apparent ref-erence to President Alejandro Giammattei’s refusal to allow caravans through out of fear they could spread COVID-19.

As the standoff stretched toward 24 hours, some migrants, like Ismael Eliazar of Choloma, Honduras, lay down

in the grass beside the roadway. “We have only had water, even my stomach is grumbling,” Eliazar said.

Guatemalan soldiers and police had blocked part of a caravan of as many as 9,000 Honduran migrants on Saturday night at a point not far from where they entered the country, seeking to reach the US border.

Guatemala has set up almost a dozen control points on highways, and may start busing more migrants back to Honduras, as it has done before, arguing they pose a risk to themselves and others by traveling during the coronavirus pandemic. Govern-ments throughout the region have made it clear they will not let the caravan through.

Honduras has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic and the hurricanes that hit the country in November leaving its most productive northern regions in tatters. Many of the migrants hope for a warmer reception from the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden who will be inaugurated tomorrow.

So far, Biden’s team has indicated it will not make immediate changes to policies at the US-Mexico border.

Hondurans taking part in a new caravan of migrants, set to head to the United States, gather in front of police officers blocking the road in Vado Hondo, Guatemala.

Man hid 3 months at Chicago airport due to virusAP — CHICAGO

A California man who told police that the coronavirus pan-demic left him afraid to fly has been arrested on charges that he hid in a secured area at Chi-cago’s O’Hare International Airport for three months.

Aditya Singh, 36, is charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanor theft after he was arrested on Saturday.

At a court hearing on Sunday, a judge ruled that the Orange, California, man could be released if he paid $1,000,

but said that Singh was pro-hibited from setting foot in the airport. As of yesterday morning, Singh remained in the Cook County Jail.

Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood said Singh does not have a criminal record. She also said it was unclear why Singh, who is unemployed, came to Chicago or if he has ties to the area.

During the hearing, Assistant States Attorney Kathleen Hagerty said that Singh was spotted by two United Airlines employees, who asked him for identification, the

Chicago Tribune reported. Singh lowered his mask and showed a badge that actually belonged to an operations manager at the airport who had reported it missing in late October, Hagerty said.

The employees called police, who took Singh into custody. Singh was “scared to go home due to COVID-19”, Hagerty said, and told author-ities that he’d found the badge and that other passengers at the airport had given him food.

Before she granted Singh bail, Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz was clearly

troubled that someone could remain in a secured area for so long at the airport without anyone noticing.

“The court finds these facts and circumstances quite shocking for the alleged period of time that this occurred,” the judge said. “Being in a secured part of the airport under a fake ID badge allegedly, based upon the need for airports to be abso-lutely secure so that people feel safe to travel, I do find those alleged actions do make him a danger to the community.” Singh is scheduled to return to court on January 27.

Twitter locks account of Republican who promoted QAnonREUTERS — NEW YORK

Twitter Inc locked the account of Republican US Represent-ative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a political newcomer known for promoting the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory.

The social media platform suspended her account after the newly elected Georgia con-gresswoman sparred with a state election official over baseless voter fraud allega-tions. Greene’s account “has been temporarily locked out for multiple violations” of Twitter’s ‘civic integrity policy’, a company representative said in an emailed statement.

Greene accused Twitter of suppressing conservative political voices. “The bor-derline monopolistic stran-glehold a few Big Tech com-panies have on the American political discourse is out of control,” she said.

Greene promoted online conspiracy theory QAnon in a 2017 video but later back-tracked, saying it was not part of her campaign. She won a House seat in conservative rural northwest Georgia after her Democratic opponent dropped out. QAnon backers have pushed numerous con-spiracies on social media.

Twitter suspended tens of thousands of accounts pri-marily dedicated to sharing QAnon content after the vio-lence in Washington earlier this month when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol.

The attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters delayed cer-tification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory by several hours that day, as law-makers were forced to flee to seek safety from the angry mob who had overwhelmed security forces. Five people died in the violence. After the attack, Twitter removed Trump’s account, which had 88 million followers, due to the risk of further violence.

US Capitol riot: Official from New Mexico heldREUTERS — WASHINGTON

The US Justice Department said on Sunday that it had arrested an elected official from New Mexico who had vowed to travel to Washington with firearms to protest President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Cuoy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner and founder of a group called “Cowboys for Trump”, was arrested in Washington on charges related to the January 6 attack, according to docu-ments posted on the Justice Department’s website.

Griffin was among thou-sands who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to block Congress from certifying Democrat Biden’s victory over Republican Pres-ident Donald Trump, according to charging documents. He stood on the steps of the building but did not enter it.

After the riot, Griffin said he planned to return ahead of Biden’s inauguration this Wednesday. “If we do, then it’s gonna be a sad day, because there’s gonna be blood running out of that building,” he said in a video posted to Facebook, according to an FBI document.

Back in New Mexico, Griffin told a Thursday meeting of the Otero County Council that he planned to drive to Washington with a rifle and a revolver. He faces trespassing charges.

Federal authorities have brought criminal charges against more than 100 people so far in connection with the January 6 riot, in which Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol, ransacked offices and attacked police. Investigators are scouring more than 140,000 videos and photos from the siege in which five people died, including a police officer.

US officials arrested 10 more people on Saturday and Sunday. Among them was Chad Barrett Jones of Kentucky, who author-ities said was captured on video using a wooden flagpole to try to break glass door panels in the House of Representatives. He faces several charges, including assaulting a federal officer.

Two cousins, Daniel Adams of Texas and Cody Connell of Louisiana, likewise face charges of assaulting a federal officer for allegedly pushing their way past Capitol Police into the building.

Connell posted videos of their activity on social media and told others he planned to return to Washington with firearms and body armor, according to FBI documents.

Law enforcement officials have been bracing for further violence. More than a dozen states activated National Guard troops following an FBI warning of armed demonstra-tions by right-wing extremists.

Forest fire in ChileA forest fire burns the hills next to a neighbourhood in Quilpue area, in Valparaiso, Chile, on January 15, 2021.

The swearing-in of Joe Biden at the US Capitol on January 20 will come amid an unprecedented cordon of security, with strict physical distancing measures in place as well.

15TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021 AMERICAS

Biden takes oath ofoffice tomorrowBLOOMBERG — WASHINGTON

Joe Biden will take the oath of office as president in a ceremony dramatically reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic and still-simmering threats of violence in Washington, casting a pall over the quadrennial celebration of American democracy.

His swearing-in at the US Capitol on Wednesday will come amid an unprecedented cordon of security, with strict physical distancing measures in place as well. A sea of 200,000 flags on the National Mall will stand in for the nor-mally vast crowd cheering a new commander-in-chief.

And while Biden is using his inauguration to highlight “America United", he faces a nation where many Republicans still reject his victory, including outgoing President Donald Trump — who Biden’s fellow Democrats and a handful of Republicans impeached for a second time last week despite Biden’s misgivings about the message it would send as he ascended to the presidency.

Trump is refusing to attend

the ceremony, the first living Oval Office occupant to skip the regularly scheduled inaugu-ration of his successor in more than a century.

Biden will become the 46th US president at noon on January 20, a time prescribed by the Constitution. He’ll stand on the western-facing steps of the US Capitol building, a nod to the power of the legislative branch and the nation that stretches out before him. But he’s asked the audience to stay home.

The inauguration displays to the world the country’s tradition of a peaceful transfer of power, which will be represented this year by the inclusion of every

living former president — except 96-year-old Jimmy Carter — and Vice-President Mike Pence.

But Trump won’t be there. Fresh from his historic second impeachment, he’s expected to leave for his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida the morning of the event, and will not have Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, over to the White House beforehand, as is customary.

The twin challenges of the coronavirus and security threats have meant that many tradi-tions have been put on hold. The inaugural parade will be replaced by a short military pro-cession. Balls and parties will give way to a 90-minute prime time TV special featuring musical per-formances and guests located around the country, all hosted by actor Tom Hanks.

Biden supporters were already being discouraged from coming to avoid turning it into a coronavirus super-spreader event. And now with the threat of violence, new security fencing topped with razor wire has been erected around the Capitol and troops stand guard 24 hours a day. Not that anyone

could get around the city anyway. Thirteen Metro subway stations will be closed and many roads are blocked around downtown. As many as 25,000 members of the National Guard are already in place in the city.

Some traditions will remain, however. A briefcase known as the “nuclear football” containing the codes to launch nuclear weapons will be handed from one aide to another, and the White House website and social media handles will switch automatically.

Pop icon Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem, and national Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman will give a reading, a tradition started by President John F Kennedy. A priest will lead the invocation for Biden, the second Catholic president in US history, while the pastor of a Black church in Biden’s home state of Delaware will give the benediction.

A female firefighter from Georgia, where Biden pulled off a surprise win, will lead the

Pledge of Allegiance.After the swearing-in, the

Bidens will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider at Arlington Cemetery. In a nod to continuity, he’ll be joined there by former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama and their wives.

The wreath laying is a new addition to the day’s events and is especially meaningful for Biden, whose late son, Beau, served in the National Guard in Iraq.

US President-elect Joe Biden waves as he volunteers at Philabundance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, yesterday.

The White House reality show for Trump is overREUTERS — WASHINGTON

A red tie, often tied too long. A raised fist, often held high to a supportive crowd. A scowling face. A raised voice.

President Donald Trump never hid how he felt. His words and body language made his thoughts clear.

For more than four years, Trump, a Republican, cultivated a political base by sharing his thoughts and emotions — pride, happiness, indignation, rage — on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis, creating an omnipresence of sorts that completely domi-nated the news cycle.

Like no US President has done before, he made himself the center of attention, the star

of a literal reality show that was his administration, always with an eye for the camera, a flair for the dramatic, an instinct for the outrageous.

His supporters loved it. His opponents hated it. Regardless, nearly everyone tuned in. The country and the world watched, and were consumed.

The show may have had deadly consequences. Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States died of the disease associated with the coronavirus while Trump played down the danger of the pandemic and did not model wearing a mask.

US racial and political divides widened under Trump and migrant children were separated from their parents. The President

used the power of his words and his office to attend to his political base, with which he kept a direct line of communication via his now-suspended Twitter feed.

He remembered what he had promised them as a presi-dential candidate and sought with some success to deliver on those pledges to build a border wall, upend immigration and cut taxes.

He threatened and irritated world leaders during trips abroad, complicating relation-ships with US allies who he felt were not carrying their financial weight in global alliances.

He criticized and vilified the press, while craving journalists’ attention and respect. The base enjoyed his demonization of the

media and rewarded him with applause and cheering for the pejorative monikers he assigned.

Trump gave his all to his supporters. He fired them up at regular rallies and drew energy from their adulation and enthu-siasm for his unconventional - critics said unpresidential - style. “I see Trump as a fighter for the people that actually work and put the backbone into this country,” said Will Williams, who attended Trump’s June campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the coronavirus pandemic raged. “I will remember him as (a) hero.” History may not.

With the riot on January 6 at the US Capitol by Trump sup-porters who believed his false assertions of election fraud, the

legacy of a second impeachment for spurring a deadly uprising will almost certainly over-shadow any accomplishments, real or perceived.

“When a President incites an insurrection that could have killed his vice-president, could have killed the Speaker of the House and other members of Congress, could have destroyed a free presidential election and might have permanently impaired our democracy, there is very little good you can find that’s going to outshine that,” said historian Michael Beschloss.

On Wednesday, Trump will leave the White House for the final time as the 45th president of the United States, taking his final flight on the Marine One

helicopter to Joint Base Andrews, where he will board Air Force One for Florida.

The trappings of the pres-idency will be taken away afterward and he will watch his successor, Democrat Joe Biden, seek to undo much of what Trump did during his term in office. The reality show from the White House will be over. But his base, at least in part, will remain, still hanging on his statements, in whatever medium he finds to get them out. “I think he does understand the power of his words. I think he relishes in it,” said one senior administration official who considered resigning in the aftermath of the riot. “And I think he will continue to do so.”

Military Band members dressed in 18th century costumes rehearse near the US Capitol Hill, ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, in Washington, DC, yesterday.

US Capitol shut down briefly out of caution over fire nearbyREUTERS — WASHINGTON

The US Capitol complex was shut down temporarily yes-terday out of an abundance of caution after a small fire broke out nearby, the US Secret Service said, underscoring jitters days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.

“There is no threat to the public,” the Secret Service said in a tweet. The US Capitol Police said in a statement that, in an abundance of caution following an external security threat near the Capitol, its acting chief ordered a shutdown of the complex.

“There are currently no fires on or within the Capitol campus,” the statement said. “Members and staff were advised to shelter in place while the incident is being investigated.”

The lockdown follows the deadly January 6 attack on the

US Capitol in Washington by Trump supporters, some of whom called for the death of Republican Vice-President Mike Pence as he presided over the certification of Democrat Biden’s November election victory.

All participants in the rehearsal for Biden’s inaugu-ration, were evacuated into the building, and participants were being held in the Capitol rotunda and other indoor areas, according to a Reuters witness.

The city’s fire department posted on Twitter that fire-fighters put out an outside fire near the Capitol complex. “There were no injuries,” the department said. “This accounts for smoke that many have seen.”

Anxious US sees subdued protestsBLOOMBERG — NEW YORK

Smothered in security ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration, the US and state capitals remained mostly peaceful Sunday despite law enforcement’s concerns about widespread protests and violence.

Officers from the federal Bureau of Prisons patrolled the sidewalks along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, which connects the White House and Capitol Hill, the scene of chaos on January 6.

Workers erected extra fencing around FBI head-quarters. The National Mall, typically a flurry of tourist

activity, remained in full lockdown as stunned Washing-tonians said the barriers, check-points and National Guard troops resembled a scene out of wartime Iraq.

Across the country, most protests were subdued, even in places where demonstrators came with weapons — like in Michigan, one of six states where the FBI had warned last week of the potential for large-scale, armed unrest.

“I’m out here essentially to be peaceful and also show people that even armed pro-testers can be peaceful,” said a protester who called himself Preacher outside the state

capitol in Lansing. In recent days, some armed groups called on members to overwhelm law enforcement. With more than 100 of those who attacked the Capitol arrested, purported plans to attack state capitols have been replaced with calls for peaceful protest.

In both publicly accessible social media channels and private platforms, users were expressing a commitment to avoiding physical conflict.

The crowds who turned out in Michigan to oppose Biden’s inauguration were small — fewer than 100 people — com-pared with those that gathered in May to protest quarantine

orders by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who also was the target of a kidnapping plot foiled months later.

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, a Democrat, said he was pleas-antly surprised the protest was tame, but stressed that police and the National Guard will remain on duty.

In Salem, Oregon, a handful of armed demonstrators gathered outside the Capitol. Conditions remained civil.

In Atlanta, an expected armed militia rally never mate-rialized after the building was heavily fortified with National Guard troops and vehicles parked in front of all entrances.

Fauci says Biden’s 100 million vaccine goalis ‘absolutely doable’BLOOMBERG — WASHINGTON

President-elect Joe Biden’s promise of administering 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in 100 days is “abso-lutely a doable thing,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

Dr. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he expects Biden not to hesitate to “use whatever mechanisms we can” to speed the production and distribution of the shots, including invoking the Defence Production Act.

“The feasibility of his goal is absolutely clear, there’s no doubt about it,” Dr. Fauci said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” US authorities gave emergency use authorizations in December for a vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech, and one from Moderna Inc.

Dr. Fauci said that the US may be “weeks away, not months away” from approvals of additional vaccines being developed by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca Plc.

Addressing early slow-downs in giving COVID-19 vac-cines, Dr. Fauci said there didn’t need to be rigid adherence to initial guidelines on who should be eligible and in what order.

“You just want a steady flow. You don’t want to hold back,” he said. “You want to not, essen-tially, overshoot nor undershoot, but just let the flow keep going.”

Vaccinations against the coronavirus in the US began on December 14 with health-care workers, and so far 13.7 million shots have been given, according to a state-by-state tally by Bloomberg News and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An average of almost

850,000 doses per day were administered in the US over the past week. Biden’s timeline for deploying 100 million doses sets the bar low, according to two Trump administration offi-cials familiar with the vaccine delivery drive, known as Oper-ation Warp Speed.

Internal administration projections suggest that enough vaccine will be available by the end of April to provide shots to about 170 million people, the officials said.

Scott Gottlieb, former head of the US Food and Drug Administration, said 45 million doses have been shipped or will be available to states on Tuesday and another 5 million have been ordered by states.

Biden’s plan, “trying to push this through different channels like big-box stores, like phar-macies, trying to set up more federally chartered sites”, makes sense, he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation”.

The President-elect warned on Friday that “we didn’t get into all of this overnight. And we won’t get out of it overnight, either”. He’s expected to launch a “100 Day Masking Challenge” after taking office, imposing new mandates that require masks on federal property and for interstate transportation.

The incoming head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, said there are bottlenecks at dif-ferent points of the vaccine system, but that supplies will be adequate. “We have looked care-fully and we are confident that we have enough vaccines for the 100 million doses over the next 100 days,” she said on CBS. “That’s what the President-elect has promised. It will be a hefty lift, but we have it in us to do that.”

16TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 2021

China’s retrieved lunar samples weigh less than targetedREUTERS — BEIJING

Lunar rocks retrieved by a historic Chinese mission to the moon weighed less than initially targeted, but China is still willing to study the samples with foreign scientists, the mission’s spokesman said yesterday.

China became the third country ever to secure lunar samples when its unmanned Chang’e-5 probe, brought back 1.731 kg (3.8 lb) of samples last month, falling short of the 2kg (4.4 lb) planned.

The probe had estimated the lunar rocks to have a density of 1.6 grams per cubic millimetre, based on data from past missions by other coun-tries, said Pei Zhaoyu, the mission spokesman.

Going by that figure, the probe stopped taking samples after just 12 hours, apparently assessing that the target had

been reached.“However, from tests, the

actual density might not be that high,” Pei told reporters.

“We originally planned to use 22 hours to complete the work of surface sampling, but, in fact, we stopped after 12 hours.”

But China is still open to cooperating with all nations in studying the samples, he said, including the United States.

For years, US laws have limited its space agency NASA from directly cooperating with China. “We didn’t set restric-tions between countries,” Pei said. “Whether or not two countries could carry out related cooperation is a matter for two sides.”

China has not yet received any access request for samples, he said, adding that the rocks were still in a pre-treatment stage.

Indian zoo stops feeding chickens to hawks on bird flu fearsBLOOMBERG — NEW DELHI

A state-run zoo in India has stopped feeding chickens to birds such as hawks, eagles and owls as bird flu outbreaks spread to more than 10 states in the country.

Serological tests of a brown fish owl, which died at the National Zoological Park in New Delhi, confirmed that the bird was infected with the H5N8 virus, according to the

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Birds in captivity at the zoo have been isolated, it said over the weekend.

More deaths of crows, herons, swans, pigeons and poultry from avian influenza have been confirmed in the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttara-khand and Delhi, the animal husbandry ministry said in a separate statement. Culling

operations continue, it added.The outbreaks in the world’s

second-biggest egg producer threaten the poultry industry, which is recovering after prices slumped last year on specu-lation that chickens could spread the coronavirus. The $14 bn industry directly or indirectly employs 5 million people and supports 25 mil l ion producers.

The federal government has urged some affected states to

reconsider their decisions to ban poultry sales and advised them to allow sellers to source chickens from non-infected areas. “Consumption of well-cooked chicken and eggs is safe for humans,” it said, adding that consumers should ignore rumors.

The outbreak has slashed broiler chicken demand by about 30% to 7 million kilo-grams per day in January from a month earlier, according to

Crisil, the Indian unit of S&P Global. The overall revenue of the sector could drop 30%-40% this month on lower volumes and a 20%-30% slump in wholesale prices, it said in a note.

However, the price decline could be temporary, it said. “In recent past, the impact of such outbreaks has been temporary due to swift implementation of testing, culling and containment protocols by the authorities.

Fears against chicken con-sumption do not last for more than a few weeks as the infection rate abates.”

Venky’s India Ltd., which reported about half of its revenue from poultry sales in 2019-20, said yesterday that the organized poultry sector has not reported any positive bird flu case so far.

Shares of Venky’s dropped 1%, while agribusiness company Godrej Agrovet Ltd. fell 1.1%.

Branson’s Virgin Orbit reaches space with key mid-air rocket launchREUTERS — WASHINGTON

Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit reached space for the first time on Sunday with a successful test of its air-launched rocket, achieving a key milestone after aborting the rocket’s first test launch last year.

The Long Beach, California-based company’s LauncherOne rocket was dropped mid-air from the underside of a mod-ified Boeing 747 nicknamed Cosmic Girl some 40,000 feet over the Pacific at 11:39 a.m. PT before lighting its NewtonThree engine to boost itself out of Earth’s atmosphere.

“According to telemetry, LauncherOne has reached orbi t ! ” the company announced on Twitter during the test mission, dubbed Launch Demo 2.

“In both a literal and figu-rative sense, this is miles beyond how far we reached in our first Launch Demo.” The

rocket, a 70-foot launcher tai-lored for carrying small satel-lites to space, aimed to place 10 tiny satellites in orbit for NASA roughly two hours into the mission, though Virgin Orbit had not confirmed whether they were deployed as planned.

The successful test and potentially clean payload deployment would be a needed double-win for Virgin Orbit, which last year failed its attempt to reach space when LauncherOne’s main engine shut down prematurely moments after releasing from its carrier aircraft. The shortened mission generated key test data for the company, it said.

The Cosmic Girl carrier craft had taken off from an airstrip at the Mojave Air and Space Port in southern California under clear skies Sunday morning, bringing Launch-erOne to its target altitude for launch.

The Launch Demo 2 mission

was aimed at “enhancing our knowledge & demonstrating LauncherOne’s full capabil-ities,” the company wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Virgin executives say high-altitude launches allow satel-lites to be placed in their intended orbit more efficiently and also minimize weather-related cancellations compared to more traditional rockets launched vertically from a ground pad.

Competition is fierce between Virgin Orbit, Firefly and US-New Zealand company Rocket Lab, which are designing smaller or non-tra-ditional systems to inject smaller satellites into orbit and meet growing demand.

Virgin Orbit’s government services subsidiary VOX Space LLC is selling launches using the system to the US military, with a first mission slated for October under a $35m US Space Force contract for three missions.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit, with a rocket underneath the wing of a modified Boeing 747 jetliner, prior to its takeoff on a key drop test of its high-altitude launch system for satellites from Mojave, California, US, yesterday.

Michelin France

stars awarded in

virtual ceremony

AP — PARIS

France’s Michelin Guide, which has long served for foodies, is adapting its awards ceremony in Paris for the year that was like no other —2020. It is handing out its stars for the shuttered industry at a virtual ceremony to a virtual public.

From the panoramic splendor of the Jules Verne res-taurant on the the Eiffel Tower’s second floor, judges are giving out this year’s stars for their 2021 France guide — based on reviews of eateries that have for large periods of time been com-pletely closed nationwide.

The country famed for its cuisine saw restaurants shut for large parts of last year during what was one of Europe’s harshest lockdowns, while strict curfews disrupted the dinner service. Michelin France said that it squeezed its anonymous reviews into a reduced six-month period, from May to October, when restric-tions on restaurants were eased.

And it called for help from overseas for its secretive inspections, bringing in twice as many foreign inspectors as usual. France had two lock-downs last year, one in spring and the other starting in the fall. The Michelin guide has 28 issues covering 25 countries, though awards in other coun-tries are handed out at dif-ferent dates.

Fahad Badar climbs Ama Dablam summit despite harsh conditionsTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Fahad Badar, the Qatari high-altitude climber, adventure seeker, and banking executive leader, keeps challenging himself after every mountain-eering expedition. Badar has yet again chosen a challenging summit to climb the Ama Dablam, located in Nepal. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, he took on the journey with all the required precautions and measures.

Winter expeditions are a real challenge for any mountaineer. Ama Dablam is one of the perfect destinations for achieving such a feat, as it requires technical knowledge and endurance through harsh conditions. Badar, the first Arab man to summit Everest and Lhotse in a single trip, reached Ama Dablam’s summit on January 14.

Ama Dablam, which translates to

“mother’s necklace”— is a life-changing ascent. Located in the Nepalese Hima-layas, Ama Dablam is a daunting peak

rising 6,856 meters in elevation. It is a popular mountaineering destination for experienced mountaineers, not only for its incredible natural appeal but also for the exhilarating challenges that accompany the climb.

Due to its immense altitude and geo-graphic location, Ama Dablam can only be climbed at two points from April to May or September to October.

But Fahad started his expedition in December 2020. Besides the thrilling climbing routes made of snow, ice, and rock, the expedition itself has a higher

difficulty level due to the season (winter).

The Ama Dablam is among the most technical and challenging climbs. All these conditions tested Fahad’s abilities and resilience, providing fundamental experiences that will be useful in his upcoming trips.

“I was looking forward to reaching the summit of Ama Dablam. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve been away from the mountains, and I have the need to return to the place where I feel the most alive,” said Fahad.

Fahad Badar at Ama Dablam summit in Nepal, with a Qatari flag.

Pei Zhaoyu, spokesperson for Chang’e-5 Mission and deputy director of Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), introduces the reentry module which has carried moon sample back to earth, at the National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy Sciences (CAS), in Beijing, China, yesterday.

W ALRUWAIS : 18o → 22o

W ALKHOR : 16o → 23o

W DUKHAN : 16o → 22o

W WAKRAH : 12o → 26o

W MESAIEED : 12o → 26o

W ABUSAMRA : 16o → 21o

Hazy at places at first becomes

moderate temperature daytime

with some clouds, relatively cold

by night.

Minimum Maximum17oC 25oC

WEATHER TODAY

LOW TIDE 02:27 – 16:35

HIGH TIDE 08:21 – 22:52

PRAYER TIMINGSPPPPRAYRRRAAAYARA MMMMIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGMMMMMMMMMIIINNNNNNGGGGNNNNGGGIINNNNGNNNNNNNNN

PRAYERTIMINGS

FAJR

SUNRISE

05.00 am 06.21 am

DHUHR 11.45 am

ISHA 06.40 pmMAGHRIB

ASR 02.48 pm05.10 pm