Gulf Times

Transcription

Gulf Times

BUSINESS | Page 1
INDEX
QATAR
2 – 14, 34 – 36
COMMENT
REGION
14
BUSINESS
ARAB WORLD
15
CLASSIFIED
INTERNATIONAL
16 – 31
SPORTS
32, 33
Commercial
Bank posts
QR1.46bn net
profit in 2015
1 – 9, 13 – 20
10 – 13
1 – 12
SPORT | Page 12
Lawrie
stays in
hunt for
Qatar
treble
QE
NYMEX
16,173.64
8,979.50
32.34
+6.41
+0.04%
+230.88
+2.64%
+0.89
+2.83%
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Latest Figures
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GULF TIMES
In brief
DOW JONES
THURSDAY
Vol. XXXVI No. 9981
January 28, 2016
Rabia II 18, 1437 AH
www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals
Emir reshuffles Cabinet
The Emiri Order No 1 of 2016
amends the formation of the
Council of Ministers
QATAR | Weather
Strong wind and poor
visibility likely today
Strong wind and poor visibility
due to dust have been forecast all
over Qatar today. The maximum
temperature of 21C is expected at
Mesaieed, Wakrah and in Doha,
followed by 20C at Al Khor, 18C
at Dukhan and Abu Samra, and
17C at Ruwais. The minimum
temperature of 13C is forecast at
Mesaieed and Wakrah, followed
by 14C at Al Khor, Dukhan and
Abu Samra, and 15C in Doha and
at Ruwais.
REGION | Survey
Top ranking for Qatar
in Transparency Index
Qatar has been ranked first
among Gulf and Arab countries
on Transparency International’s
(TI), Corruption Perception
Index (CPI) 2015. Qatar has
made significant progress and
has been ranked 22 among the
168 countries on the 2015 index,
rising 4 places in the CPI ranking
compared to the previous year.
Page 12
H
H the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad al-Thani
yesterday
ordered a Cabinet reshuffle in
which he named a new foreign minister.
The new foreign minister was named
as HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, the outgoing foreign minister, will
become minister of state for defence
affairs. The Emir holds the post of defence minister.
Al-Attiyah had been Qatar’s foreign
minister since 2013 and was recently
heavily involved in international negotiations on the Syrian war. He had
worked within that department since
2011.
Sheikh Mohamed is a senior official
who was previously in charge of international co-operation in the Foreign
Ministry.
In total, seven changes to the Cabinet
were announced as several ministries,
including the labour, were merged.
HE Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi was
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa
al-Thani with the newly-appointed ministers after the oath-taking ceremony yesterday.
awarded the new position of minister
for administrative development and labour and social affairs.
He replaces Labour Minister HE Abdullah Saleh Mubarak al-Khulaifi at
one of the country’s most high-profile
Cabinet posts.
HH the Emir issued the Emiri Order
No 1 of 2016, amending the formation
of the Council of Ministers.
The Emiri Order appointed:
Steps planned to reduce queues
at HIA emigration counters
T
he entities concerned are
“trying to resolve the issue”
of long queues of passengers
at Hamad International Airport’s
emigration counters, said Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar alBaker.
“Staff shortage is the reason for
this,” al-Baker said yesterday.
“As a team, among the airport,
Ministry of Interior and other entities, we are trying to resolve this issue,” al-Baker said.
Mostly
inbound
passengers,
currently face significant delays in emigration clearance at
the Hamad International Airport.
Page 12
zHE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah as Minister of State for Defence
Affairs and member of the Council of
Ministers,
zHE Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani as Foreign Minister,
zHE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser alAli as Minister of Culture and Sports,
zHE Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi
as Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs,
Concerns allayed
about falling oil prices
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad al-Thani has reaffirmed the
significance of diversifying the
sources of income in light of the fall in
oil prices, noting that price volatility is
normal and that there is no room for
fear or panic.
Chairing the Cabinet meeting at
the Emiri Diwan yesterday, the Emir
stressed the need to redouble efforts
so as to achieve the future goals and
plans that he mentioned in his address
before the Advisory Council. Page 10
zHE Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti as
Minister of Transport and Communications,
zHE Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi as Minister of Municipality and
Environment,
zHE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari as
Minister of Public Health.
The new ministers took the oath
before the Emir at the Emiri Diwan.
The oath-taking ceremony was at-
tended by HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh
Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE
the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin
Khalifa al-Thani.
Also yesterday, HH the Emir issued
the Emiri Order No 2 of 2016, appointing HE Major General Hamad bin Ali
al-Attiyah as adviser to HH the Emir for
Defence Affairs, with the rank of prime
minister. Page 11
Emir begins official visit to Italy
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim
bin Hamad al-Thani arrived
in Rome yesterday on an
official visit to Italy. The Emir
was received at Ciampino
Military Airport by a group
of senior Italian officials;
Qatar’s ambassador to
Italy, Abdulaziz bin Ahmad
al-Malki; Italian ambassador
to Qatar, Guido De Sanctis;
and a number of heads
of diplomatic missions
accredited to Italy. Page 6
2
Gulf Times
Thursday, January 28, 2016
QATAR
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, accompanied by other dignitaries, inspects a parade presented by the cadets of the Ahmed bin Mohamed Military College yesterday.
Emir attends Ahmed bin Mohamed
Military College graduation event
QNA
Doha
H
H the Emir Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad alThani presided over the
graduation ceremony of the 11th
batch of officer candidates at
Ahmed bin Mohamed Military
College yesterday.
The ceremony was attended
by HE the Prime Minister and
Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa alThani, ministers, ranking army
officers and commanders of the
military colleges of other countries.
Upon Emir’s arrival on the
podium the band played the national anthem. Then the Emir
reviewed the parade presented
by the graduates.
The ceremony began with
recitation of the Holy Qur’an
before the graduates performed
the military parade.
HH the Emir honoured the
outstanding batch of graduates.
The 11th batch then handed
over the flag to the 12th batch.
An order for promotions was
read out and the graduates took
the oath.
The Ahmed bin Mohamed
Military College received
for the first time students
from Jordan and Tunisia to
join the 15th batch
The Commander of the
Ahmed Bin Mohamed Military
College, Major General Hamad
Ahmed al-Nuaimi, delivered an
address in which he expressed
gratitude to the Emir for presiding over the graduation ceremony of the 11th batch of the
collage.
Major General al-Nuaimi
congratulated the Emir on the
occasion of the graduation of
this batch of Qatari cadets.
The batch, including 89 cadets, will be distributed among
the Armed Forces, the Police,
the Internal Security Forces
(Lekhwiya), The Emiri Guard
and the State Security, in addition to other nationals from the
United Arab Emirates, Kuwait
and Libya, al-Nuaimi said.
Al-Nuaimi added that under the vision of HH the Emir
for this college to be a meeting
place and a source of establishing friendly relations with
others states, it received for the
first time students from Jordan and Tunisia to join the 15th
batch.
After the graduation ceremony, the Emir opened the Watersports Complex of the College.
The complex includes the
latest equipment according to
international standards for various water sports, treatment and
rehabilitation therapy.
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani visiting the Watersports Complex at the Ahmed bin Mohamed Military College yesterday.
6
Gulf Times
QATAR
Qatar calls for end to Israel’s illegal practices
Q
atar has urged the
UN Security Council to compel Israel
to respect provisions of the
international law and the
international humanitar-
ian law, and to reject all
practices and illegal actions
carried out by the Israeli
occupation authorities.
The call was made by
Qatar’s Permanent Repre-
sentative to the UN Sheikha
Alia Ahmed bin Saif alThani, who emphasised the
country has spared no effort in achieving peace and
stability in the region.
Sheikha Alia was speaking at a meeting of the UN
Security Council on the
“Situation in the Middle
East, including the Palestine Question”.
In the fulfilment of its
humanitarian
commitments, Qatar has so far carried out $230mn projects
for Gaza’s reconstruction,
the envoy said.
Sheikha Alia said the Israeli violations in the Palestinian territories were
continuing, including unilateral measures, settlements, the siege imposed
on the Gaza Strip, access
restrictions to the holy
places in Jerusalem and
other violations that are
contrary to the UN resolutions and the provisions of
the international law.
She added that Israel’s
continued violations without taking into account the
consequences of the escalation of tension and the
undermining of a peaceful
solution to the Arab-Israeli
conflict is a worrying issue.
The Security Council will
be able to fulfil its responsibility for peace in the Middle
East if Israel end its occupation of all Arab territories,
Qatar’s representative said.
She also called on the
Security Council to work
effectively to achieve tangible progress in the peace
process.
Sheikha Alia also warned
of the continued suffering
of Syrian civilians as the
international community is
unable to alleviate this suffering and stop war crimes
against humanity committed by the Syrian regime
and its militias.
She pointed to the Security Council’s Decision No
2254 which calls for taking all appropriate steps to
protect civilians and allow
safe arrival of humanitarian agencies and relief aid to
all people in need in Syria.
The Qatari representative also called for releasing
detainees, the immediate
cessation of attacks against
civilians, and the full implementation of the Council’s decisions concerning
humanitarian situation in
Syria. None of those demands have been implemented, which calls for the
consideration of additional
measures in accordance
with paragraph 6 of resolution 2258, she added.
Qatar confirmed its participation with a high-level
delegation in the “Supporting Syria and the Region Conference”, which
will take place in London in
February.
She highlighted Qatar’s
support to international
efforts to establish peace
and stability in the Middle
East based on legal and international terms of reference.
Woqod service centre in Simaisma
Qatar Fuel (Woqod) has
opened its 33rd service
station in Simaisma
under the patronage
of chairman Sheikh
Saoud bin Abdulrahman
al-Thani. Woqod CEO
Ibrahim Jaham al-Kuwari
inaugurated the new
outlet. The petrol station
is spread over an area of
about 13,200m, and has
three lanes. The station
will offer round-the-clock
services including a Sidra
convenience store, Kenar
shops, auto wash and
repair, and sale of LPG
cylinders. “The service
station at Simaisma is the
second to be opened in
2016,” stated al-Kuwari.
Emir arrives in Rome
HH the Emir
Sheikh Tamim
bin Hamad
al-Thani being
received at
Ciampino
Military Airport
in Rome
yesterday. The
Emir is on an
official visit
to the Italian
Republic.
8
Gulf Times
QATAR
Jeep Cherokee
models recalled
for faulty AC pipes
The Ministry of Economy and
Commerce, in collaboration
with United Cars Almana, dealer
of Jeep vehicles in Qatar, has
announced the recall of Jeep
Cherokee 2015 models over a
defect in the air condition pipes.
The Ministry said the recall
campaign comes within the
framework of its ongoing efforts
to protect consumers and ensure
that car dealers follow up on
vehicles’ defects and repair them.
The Ministry will co-ordinate with
the dealer to follow up on the
maintenance and repair works
and communicate with customers
to ensure that the necessary
repairs are carried out.
The Ministry has urged all
customers to report any
violations to its Consumer
Protection and AntiCommercial Fraud Department
through the following channels:
Hotline: 16001, em-ail: info@
mec.gov.qa, Twitter: @MEC_
Qatar, Instagram: MEC_Qatar,
MEC mobile app for Android
and IOS: MEC_Qatar
HBKU hosts leading expert
in Qatari constitutional law
H
Dr Hassan Abdulrahim al-Buhashim al-Sayed
amad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation,
welcomed Dr Hassan Abdulrahim al-Buhashim al-Sayed,
as part of an HBKU Law School
initiative that gives its students
the opportunity to hear from
leading scholars and practitioners in the legal system of Qatar
and the region.
A highly respected judge who
sits on the Qatar International
Court and an associate professor in Constitutional Law at
Qatar University, Dr al-Sayed
shared his first-hand experience of practising law in Qatar
at the event and gave valuable
insights into various aspects of
Qatar’s legal landscape held at
the HBKU Law School facilities.
The event is likely to become a
regular series.
Dr al-Sayed discussed the
history and establishment of the
Permanent Constitution of the
State of Qatar during the event.
As an expert on constitutional
law and a legal practitioner, Dr
al-Sayed not only presented
the students with his in-depth
knowledge of the constitution
itself, but also provided the
students with a unique understanding of how legal professionals in Qatar currently work
with the constitution in their
daily practice. Dr al-Sayed
also fielded questions from the
students.
An expert on constitutional
law, Dr al-Sayed studied at Kuwait University and the University of Jordan before completing
his PhD at the University of East
Anglia in the UK.
Dr al-Sayed returned to Qatar
to practise law and provide legal
education. He served as dean of
the university’s College of Law
from 2007 to 2010. He has also
served as vice president of the
Qatari Bar Association.
Dr al-Sayed said, “I believe
that it is important that students sometimes take their
learning out of the classroom
and have the opportunity to
hear from people with a range
of experience and viewpoints
that may differ from their
professors.”
Prof Clinton W Francis,
founding dean of the HBKU Law
School, commented: “We are
extremely fortunate that Dr alSayed took time out of his busy
schedule to join us at HBKU.
He is a highly experienced and
well-regarded legal expert here
in Qatar, and I am sure our
students greatly appreciated
his willingness to share his indepth knowledge of Qatari law
with them.”
Increase in cases of
injuries sustained
from heating systems
W
ith a rise in patients
seeking
treatment for injuries sustained from heating systems, the Hamad Injury Prevention Programme
(HIPP) has shared tips that
can help residents to stay
safe while keeping warm
during the winter season.
“With the persistent cold
weather, some residents of
Qatar have used additional
means to stay warmer at
home and at bath time. Unfortunately, we have been
seeing a rise in the number
of patients with injuries
due to accidents with their
heating system. These include scald injuries, electrical or contact burns, and
even serious flame burns
from house fires,” said Dr
Rafael Consunji, director,
HIPP, the community outreach arm of the Hamad
Trauma Centre.
Dr Consunji said that
electrical burns and fires are
more likely to happen with
the incorrect use of electrical appliances for heating,
while scald burns most often happen when bathing
or cooking with hot liquids. “Most victims of scald
burns are very young or elderly, because they are unable
to physically remove themselves from the scalding
liquid’s path, and because
their skin is much thinner
and more sensitive to high
temperatures,” he said.
The HIPP has asked people to purchase an electrical
or space heater that is ‘UL’
certified, or its equivalent.
It is also recommended
that electrical heaters must
be plugged directly into
a wall outlet as they are
high-power devices. Plugging them into an extension
cord, especially those with
multiple outlets, can lead to
an overload of the electrical
system. This can cause the
fuse to blow, or overheating and melting of devices
or wiring, which can in turn
lead to a house fire.
According to HIPP, heaters must be positioned far
away from combustible
materials such as curtains,
tablecloths, blankets and
beddings. At least a 3ft or
1m distance is recommended. Moreover, children
should be taught to avoid
space heaters as they can be
a significant source of heat
to cause contact burns.
Users must ensure that
automatic timers on the
heaters are working.
Officials of Video Home & Electronic Centre, Bosch, Actron,
and LG at the event.
Video Home holds
meeting with
system integrators
V
ideo Home & Electronic Centre, one of
the leading players
in retailing and distribution of consumer electronics and home appliances,
held a meeting with leading
system integrators in Qatar.
Jumbo Electromech Engineering, which caters to the
growing mechanical, electrical
and plumbing (MEP) needs in
the country, is Video Home’s
total MEP solutions provider.
Video Home showcased
products and services from
brands including Bosch,
Actron, and LG. With the
latter two it has exclusive
distributorship while for
Bosch it is the platinum
partner with service backup in Qatar.
Executives from the two
companies made presentations about their latest
product offerings and the
benefits their products offered over conventional
and existing systems.
Actron, based in Slovenia, is well-known for
parking management and
people counting systems
worldwide. The latest offerings from the company
were showcased.
Bosch’s range of CCTV
cameras was on show. Intelligent dynamic noise reduction,
tracking of moving objects and
video analysis were among the
technical specialties.
LG showcased its Super IPS panels for signage
solutions that provides a
wide viewing angle, minimises image distortion on
pressure, and no blackening effect in direct sunlight.
LG also showcased some
industry leading screens.
Also showcased was a
market first 98” screen with
an aspect ratio of 58:9 capable of playing four different
pictures side by side on the
same screen, a video wall
with a bezel of less than 2mm
and transparent screens.
Jumbo Security Equipment and Service, is a Ministry of Interior (MoI) - Security Systems Department
approved company for CCTV
trading and installation.
Gulf Times
9
QATAR
Community College of Qatar launches new courses in Information Technology
The Community College of
Qatar (CCQ) has announced the
launch of its new associate and
bachelor degree programmes in
Information Technology.
The courses are specifically
tailored to the industry in Qatar
and aligned with international
standards and requirements.
The 2 + 2 degree programme,
which consists of two
concentrations in Cyber and
Network Security and Network
and Systems Administration,
were developed by the CCQ in
collaboration with the Supreme
Education Council, Qatar
University, the College of the
North Atlantic-Qatar and many
local stakeholders.
Market research and extensive
interaction with the external
business community have
emphasised the need for
IT graduates in Qatar and
specifically expertise in
cyber security and network
administration.
The new degrees are designed
in accordance with international
accreditation standards such
as ABET and went through an
extensive review by a team of
international experts.
The first two years of the
programme is designed to
provide the student with broad
academic knowledge through the
core educational requirements.
In addition, students will take
additional elective and major
courses in IT.
The final two years build upon the
knowledge acquired in the first
two years while focusing more
on applied technical knowledge
and skills specifically in Cyber and
Network Security, and Network
and Systems Administration.
The Associate of Science
QU programme
focuses on
safe work place
environments
A QRC booth at the training session.
Q
atar
University
(QU) Health Clinic
organised and hosted a training course recently to promote health and
safety awareness of risk
materials and waste.
Themed
“Prevention
is better than cure”, the
course was organised in
conjunction with the Occupational Health and
Safety Department (OHSD)
at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), and aimed
to raise community awareness on health and safety
processes, and facilitate the
creation of safe workplace
environments.
Course participants included over 180 students,
Health Clinic doctors and
QU faculty and staff. The
programme agenda included
presentations delivered by
QU environmental health
officer Laura Vallenius and
HMC safety instructor Leo
Dote. They addressed topics
on “Qatar University’s Environment, Health and Safety
Guidelines” and “Health and
Safety Management of Hazardous Materials and Waste”.
An exhibition on the
sidelines featured information booths by QU Environment, Health and
Safety Office and Qatar Red
Crescent (QRC). Attendees
were provided with information on QU’s hazardous
waste disposal procedures,
and QRC’s health and safety services, as well as a brief
session on first aid.
Health Clinic head Dr
Hafsa Hashad noted that
it highlighted QU’s core
role in raising awareness
on various issues related
to health and well-being in
Qatar.
“Our aim is to ensure the
best standards of health and
safety systems in the workplace that can have a significant and positive impact on
overall health, welfare and
productivity, and therefore
on an organisation’s success,” Hashad said.
Vallenius said QU has
been consistent in upholding international best
practices and standards of
workplace health and safety and that the course is an
example to its commitment
in this regard.
“It is an opportunity to
collaborate in knowledgesharing with its partners in
engaging the community
on important issues such as
this,” she added.
Dote said: “Hazardous
materials and waste in the
workplace require sound
management to ensure
smooth organisational operations. Workers who are
in the frontline of activities involving such types of
waste are to be made aware
of chemical hazards and associated risks that jeopardise
their health, and adversely
impact productivity.”
(AS) degree in Information
Technology will prepare students
for entry level employment in
the IT field. After completing year
two of the programme, students
will be required to do a summer
internship/practical training
course. The Cyber and Network
Security concentration will
prepare students for entry level
positions as Information Security
Analyst, Network Security
Support Specialist, Security
Auditor, Ethical Hacker and other
related careers in Cyber and
Network Security.
More information could be
had from Dana Abualsaud at
5054-8132 or e-mail at dana.
[email protected]
10
Gulf Times
QATAR
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani presiding over the Cabinet meeting yesterday. Right: HH the Emir addressing the Cabinet ministers.
Emir allays concerns
over falling oil prices
H
H the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has reaffirmed the significance of diversifying the sources of income in light of the fall in oil prices, noting that price volatility is normal and that there is no room for fear or panic, but what is needed is to take advantage of past lessons and deal with the
current situation.
Chairing the Cabinet meeting at the Emiri Diwan yesterday, the Emir stressed the need to redouble efforts so as to achieve the future goals and plans that
he mentioned in his address before the Advisory Council, highlighting the mutual trust between citizens and officials and the importance of enhancing it.
leap in the country has led to
“Citizens’ trust is the most
some slack in some sectors,
important gain,” he said.
which, he said, is no longer
At the outset, the Emir
acceptable. “Mistakes are
welcomed the ministers,
natural and our officials are
particularly the new ones,
known for their integrity and
saying the meeting provides
transparency, but I stress
an opportunity to discuss
that financial and adminisconditions in general as well
trative corruption, which is
as the plans that were previmore dangerous as it causes
ously agreed upon with the
sagging in institutions, canCabinet and in line with Qanot be tolerated.”
tar National Vision 2030.
The Emir said he had earlier spoken of the impor“Your responsibility
tance of diversifying income
in light of the falling
sources and that there is an
oil prices is bigger, but
improvement in some secserving the citizens and
tors but the State aspires for
their lifestyle should
more.
not be affected by this
He added that the State
situation”
is moving ahead with the
The Emir added that there
execution of its ambitious
are challenges in some inprojects and plans.
frastructure, education and
“Your responsibility in
health projects as well as
light of the falling oil prices
some other areas. Expressis bigger, but serving the
ing confidence that those in
citizens and their lifestyle
charge of these sectors will
should not be affected by this
work to overcome them, he
situation,” the Emir said adcalled on everyone to co-opdressing the ministers.
erate with them.
The Emir said that obstaAdditionally, the Emir said
cles hindering investment
focus in the coming years
must be removed. Highlightwill be on strengthening the
ing the importance of the
domestic sector, not only
single window system and
in the economy and secuthe need to eradicate hurdles
rity spheres but also in other
faced by domestic and forfields such as education and
eign investors, the Emir said
health as well as promoting
complaints in this regard
military capacity and demust be addressed in a timeveloping the Qatari Armed
bound manner.
Forces.
The Emir stressed the
need to focus on projects
HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh
that the State is committed
Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani
to, noting that the economic
attended the meeting.
Emiri Decisions issued
on organisational
structure of ministries
QNA
Doha
H
H the Emir Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad
al-Thani yesterday
issued the following Emiri
Decisions:
1. Emiri Decision No 4 of
2016 amending some provisions of the Emiri Decision
No 16 of 2014 setting the
competencies of the ministries.
2016 on the organisational
structure of the Ministry of
Municipality and Environment.
Administrative
Development, Labour and Social Affairs.
Culture and Sports.
Transport and Communications.
Education and Higher Education.
Health.
2016 organising the Hamad
Medical Corporation and defining its terms of reference.
2016 organising the Primary
Health Care Corporation
(PHCC).
The Decisions shall be effective starting from their date
of issuance and shall be published in the Official Gazette.
Gulf Times
11
QATAR
New ministers take oath before Emir
QNA
Doha
T
he new ministers appointed by the Emiri Order No
1 of 2016 issued yesterday
to amend the formation of the
Cabinet, took the oath before
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad al-Thani at the Emiri Diwan.
The oath-taking ceremony
was attended by HH the Deputy
Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Ha-
mad al-Thani and HE the Prime
Minister and Interior Minister
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin
Khalifa al-Thani.
The Emiri Order No 1 of 2016,
amending the formation of the
Council of Ministers appointed:
O HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed
al-Attiyah as Minister of State
for Defence Affairs and member
of the Council of Ministers.
O HE Sheikh Mohamed bin
Abdulrahman al-Thani as Foreign Minister.
O HE Salah bin Ghanem bin
Nasser al-Ali as Minister of Culture and Sports.
O HE Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali alNuaimi as Minister of Administrative Development, Labour
and Social Affairs.
O HE Jassim Seif Ahmed alSulaiti as Minister of Transport
and Communications.
O HE Mohamed bin Abdullah
al-Rumaihi as Minister of Municipality and Environment.
O HE Dr Hanan Mohamed
al-Kuwari as Minister of Public
Health.
Emir appoints Adviser
for Defence Affairs
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim
bin Hamad al-Thani issued
yesterday the Emiri Order No
2 of 2016, appointing HE Major
General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah
as adviser to HH the Emir for
Defence Affairs, with the rank of
Prime Minister.
The Emiri Order is effective
from the date of its issue.
HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, the new Minister of Public Health, takes oath before HH the Emir Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at the Emiri Diwan yesterday.
NEW CABINET AND APPOINTMENTS
HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser
bin Khalifa al-ThanI
Prime Minister and Interior Minister
HE Major General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah
Adviser to HH the Emir for Defence Affairs, with the rank of
Prime Minister
HE Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
of State for Cabinet Affairs
HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani
Foreign Minister
HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah
Minister of State for Defence Affairs and member of the
Council of Ministers
HE Dr Mohamed bin
Saleh al-Sada
Minister of Energy and Industry
HE Ali Sherif al-Emadi
Minister of Finance
HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali
Minister of Culture and Sports
HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari
Minister of Public Health
HE Dr Ghaith bin Mubarak al-Kuwari
Minister of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs
HE Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti
Minister of Transport and Communications
HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani
Minister of Economy and Commerce
HE Dr Hassan Lahdan Saqr al-Mohannadi
Minister of Justice
HE Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi
Minister of Administrative Development, Labour
and Social Affairs
HE Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi
Minister of Municipality and Environment
HE Dr Saleh Mohamed Salem al-Nabit
Minister of Development Planning and Statistics
HE Mohamed Abdul Wahed
Ali al-Hammadi
Minister of Education and Higher Education
12
Gulf Times
QATAR
Qatar keeps
high GTCI
ranking
Q
HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, the president of Qatar Olympic Committee receiving the expedition team at the entrance of the Rayyan Castle.
Group that trekked
through the Empty
Quarter arrives
By Joseph Varghese
Staff Reporter
A
three member expedition team
from Oman completed an epic
journey, ‘Tahaddi Arabia’, by crossing the world’s largest sand desert, Empty
Quarter, on foot and reached the Rayyan
Castle yesterday.
They were received by HE Sheikh Joaan
bin Hamad al-Thani, the president of Qatar Olympic Committee as well as one of
the patrons of the expedition. The ministry of youth and sports with Nomas Centre had organised a welcoming ceremony
for the team to celebrate their historic
achievement.
Saudi Arabian ambassador, Abdullah
bin Abdulaziz al-Aifan, Omani ambassador Mohamed bin Nasser al-Wahaibi,
British ambassador Ajay Sharma as well
as a number of senior Qatari officials were
present on the occasion.
The team members- Omani citizens
Mohammed al-Zadjali and Amour al-Wahaibi and British expatriate in Oman Mark
Evans- walked from Salalah through Saudi
Arabia, to Doha, retracing the historic
1,300km route taken in 1930 by a group
of Omani and British explorers that had
reached at the same Rayyan Castle.
Speaking to the media, Evans said: “We
were faced by two main challenges: physical and mental. Physically it was exhausting as we have not even had a single day
off. But the mental challenge was more
tough to handle. We were relieved to reach
the Qatar border.”
Faisal al-Mansouri, director of public
relations and marketing at the ministry
of youth and sports, said: “85 years ago,
two pioneer travellers reached Qatar after
crossing the depths of the Empty Quarter
and bringing with them the tales of the
vast desert. Today, we celebrate the same
feat by brave travellers of our era. Their
challenge is aimed to emphasise the importance of preserving the historical and
cultural heritage of the region, and encourage and inspire a new wave of young
travellers to instil self-reliance and resilience in them to overcome all odds in life.”
The team, had reached the Qatari border
on the morning of January 24. They were
greeted by the children from the Nomas
Centre and spent the night out in the open
desert in what was a reflection of the travellers’ experience. The journeymen were
then taken to a desert area popular with
Qataris, where tents were setup to spend
the night out in the open.
The caravan reached its final destination of Rayyan Castle yesterday morning. The journey started in Salalah,
Oman, on December 10, 2015, and continued across Saudi Arabia through to
the Empty Quarter, culminating in Qatar.
The mental challenge was the most
difficult to overcome in the whole
expedition, said Evans after crossing the
world’s largest sand desert on foot.
“Every day, we wondered when we
would arrive at our destination. How many
more kilometres do we have to cover? How
far is it to Doha? These questions kept
ringing in our minds,” said Mark Evans,
one of the members of the group.
Mohamed al-Zadjali, another member
of the expedition group observed: “Everyday during the journey, I had a dream that
tomorrow would be better than today. I
thought the next day would be easier than
the previous one. How long will it take to
reach Doha.These are questions that we
had every single day.”
“This is my first time in Qatar. I am
happy that I walk so that I could
observe the countryside closely. The
Rayyan Castle was the end of the first
journey and we wanted our journey
to end here too. We also wanted to
stick to the same route taken by the
previous team as much as possible,”
said Amour al-Wahaibi, the third
member of the team.
“We came across both physical
and mental challenges. After two
weeks, we were almost fit to face the
hardships and overcame the physical
challenges. But mental challenges
persisted and were hard to control.
It was the most difficult one. We
compared our journey to a marathon
like situation and kept confronting it
each day,” said Evans.
“However the biggest difficulty that
we had faced was going through the
dunes in Saudi Arabia. It was the most
difficult part of the journey. The dunes
in Saudi Arabia were very difficult.
The sand was so soft and at times the
temperature was in mid 30s. The wind
was strong. The camels were refusing
to go and did not move,” he added.
Evans pointed out that they walked
about 35-40km every day. “We kept
going everyday with out any rest
day. I lost seven kilos and one of
my teammates lost seven kilos and
the other one 10 kilos. But when we
reached the border of Qatar, we were
relieved that we were almost done.
It was still another 90km to Doha.”
MoI, other entities ‘trying to
cut emigration queues at HIA’
By Pratap John
Chief Business Reporter
T
he entities concerned are “trying to
resolve the issue” of long queues of
passengers at Hamad International
Airport’s emigration counters, said Qatar
Airways group chief executive Akbar alBaker.
“Staff shortage is the reason for this,”
al-Baker said yesterday.
“As a team, among the airport, Ministry
of Interior and other entities, we are trying
to resolve this issue,” al-Baker said.
Mostly inbound passengers, currently
face significant delays in emigration clearance at the Hamad International Airport.
Besides Qatar’s rising population, which
now stands close to 2.4mn, the country
has seen a steady increase in the number of
visitors to the country.
According to Qatar Tourism Authority
(QTA), Qatar hosted nearly 2.93mn visitors
in 2015. This shows a 3.7% increase over
2014 and an 11.5% annual average growth
between 2010 and 2015.
The highest number of visitors was from
Saudi Arabia (855,555) followed by India
(375,910) and the UK (135,645).
Earlier, addressing an event at the Hamad International Airport, al-Baker said:
“We designed HIA-Qatar to be the most
advanced, most efficient and most comfortable global aviation gateway, and a
facility able to handle up to 50mn of our
own passengers every year, as well as the
millions of fans that will visit Doha for the
2022 FIFA World Cup.”
He said the decision to make HIA the
official platinum sponsor of the legendary
German football club, FC Bayern Munich
atar has maintained
its high ranking in the
Middle East and North
Africa (Mena) region in the
Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2015-16 released by the INSEAD business
school.
Qatar ranked number 24 out
of 109 countries, gaining one
spot over its position on the
index last year, GTCI said.
In comparison, the UAE was
ranked 23 (against 22 in 2014),
Saudi Arabia 42 (32) and Kuwait 51.
Qatar also has of one of the
best standards of living as the
quality of lifestyle ranking rose
from 26 in 2014 to number two
in 2015.
The sustainability ranking for retaining talent gained
on the index, rising from 41 in
2014 to 26 in 2015. The regulatory, market and business
landscape was also conducive
to attracting talent, rising from
a ranking of 12 in 2014 to five in
2015.
Qatar ranked number one
in the world in labour market
flexibility and in attracting
international students. Its tax
free business environment also
contributed to its number one
ranking in the taxation variable
on the index.
“Qatar has shown tremendous leadership in growing
its non-hydrocarbon wealth.
A strong banking sector, high
quality in ICT and telecom
services, multiple infrastructure projects and the 2022 FIFA
World Cup Qatar continue to
attract talent to the nation,”
according to Bruno Lanvin, executive director of global indices at INSEAD, and co-editor
of the report.
World-class
universities
have set up base in Qatar, attracting students from the
world over, many who choose
to stay and continue to add to
the wealth of human capital,
he said.
“Temporary economic mobility of highly skilled people
may initially be seen as a loss
for their country of origin,
countries have to understand
that this translates into a net
gain when they return home,
he added.
Lanvin also said the GCC
(Gulf Co-operation Council)
countries have benefited from
talent arriving from across the
world and by building worldclass universities to develop
local human capital.
The skills that an expat gains
working in these dynamic
markets, mixing with different
cultures, are invaluable assets
when he moves onwards, he
said, adding such an international experience is what top
organisations are looking for
today.
Qatar tops region in
Transparency Index
QNA
Doha
T
he State of Qatar has
been ranked first among
Gulf and Arab countries
on Transparency International’s (TI), Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2015.
Qatar has made significant
progress and has been ranked
22 among the 168 countries on
the 2015 index, rising 4 places
in the CPI ranking compared to
the previous year.
CPI is generated on the basis
of data collected from 10 Global Institutions including the
World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund, the Asian
Bank, the African Bank, and
the Bertelsmann Foundation.
The State of Qatar is working to promote national
transparency and integrity
indicators, improving its indexes and rank among the
most developed countries in
terms of transparency and
integrity.
To achieve this target, the
State of Qatar has added a
number of legislations in line
with international agreements, particularly the United
Nations Convention Against
Corruption in order to enhance transparency, integrity,
promote full control over state
funds, protect public money
from waste and promote international co-operation as a
top priority by profiting from
international expertise and experience.
Koreans on trial for money laundering
was to promote Qatar and its institutions.
“Our airport and Qatar Airways are very
important institutions of my country.”
On issues facing Al Maha Airways, a
subsidiary of Qatar Airways, which was
launched for low-cost operations in Saudi
Arabia, al-Baker said: “It could not take off
because we had some regulatory hurdles…
and we are trying to resolve these.”
Al Maha, which means “oryx” in Arabic will sport the Qatar Airways Oryx
logo, but it will be in green instead of maroon, to match Saudi Arabia’s national
colours.
Three Korean expatriate men are under trial at the court of appeal
on money laundering charges, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported
yesterday.
Investigations about the case revealed that the defendants were
charged with illicit brewing of wine and alcohol. They also used to
deposit the revenues from the illegal trade in a local bank account
opened by one of them to transfer the money to their home
country. The accomplice who owned the bank account was paid an
extra amount.
The issue came to light when the security department concerned
received information that the defendants were brewing and selling
wine illegally to Asian workers and other labourers. Accordingly,
they were arrested and the equipment used in the criminal activity
seized. Eventually, investigations pointed to the bank account
they used to transfer the money from the illicit trade to their home
country. The case is still being heard by the court.
Varsity institute starts project on
guest workers welfare index
T
he Social and Economic Survey Research Institute at Qatar University
(Sesri-QU) has embarked on the firstever effort to measure and track over time
the welfare of blue-collar guest workers in
Qatar.
The ‘Guest Worker Welfare Index’ is the
product of a closed expert workshop convened
last week at Sesri that brought together local
and international scholars, stakeholders, and
policymakers..
The welfare index will be based on the results of a semi-annual or annual survey conducted with more than 1,000 blue-collar
guest workers in Qatar. “Although official statistics may also be used to supplement these
survey findings, the advantage of survey data
is that it reflects the actual experiences and
viewpoints of individuals,” a statement issued
by QU said. The key topics to be included in
the survey and eventual index were identified by workshop participants. These include
among others: health and safety, working
conditions, living conditions and housing,
social life, and overall worker satisfaction. By
combining the responses to survey questions
on these topics, Sesri will create an objective
and reliable welfare index that will reflect the
actual conditions and experiences of labourers
in Qatar and can also track changes in welfare
over time.
According to Sesri, Qatar needs a Guest
Worker Welfare Index for the following reasons: First, since the moment Qatar was
chosen to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the
country has faced fierce international scrutiny over the welfare of the guest workers responsible for creating and maintaining the
country’s infrastructure. Qatar has received
criticism over the kafala system of foreign labour sponsorship, the occupational health and
safety of guest workers building World Cup
stadiums, the conditions of labour camps, and
other issues.
However, too often such critiques have been
based on anecdotal interviews with a small
sample of individual workers. Indeed, such accusations can flourish when accurate and reliable measures of worker welfare are lacking.
In providing a source of unbiased data, Sesri
aims to help avoid the generation and spread
of erroneous information based on personal
impressions and unrepresentative cases.
In addition, the State of Qatar continues
to develop and implement policies designed
to improve the conditions of low-wage
guest workers. Most recently, for instance,
the state has amended the sponsorship system by issuing Law No. 21 of 2015 regulating guest workers’ entry, exit and residency,
which is expected to make workers less dependent on their sponsor. Yet, it is difficult
to gauge the effect of this and other changes
on the actual lives of workers.
The state may make great strides in improving the working and living conditions of
guest workers, but without consistent and
scientific measurement of worker welfare,
Qatar would be unable to demonstrate this
success to itself and the world. A comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the lives
of workers will give decision-makers the
information needed to understand the impacts of their policies, and to identify areas
of progress as well as those in need of further improvement.
Gulf Times
13
QATAR
Rolls-Royce
unveils the
new Dawn
R
The Audi S8 plus being presented at the Qatar Motor Show 2016 yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil
Three regional premieres
for Audi at motorshow
A
udi Middle East continues to expand its product portfolio in the region with a ‘dynamic range’ of new
models and latest innovations at the Qatar
Motor Show 2016.
Audi is displaying three regional premieres at this year’s show, including the
first RS model in the Q series - the Audi
RS Q3. The Audi SQ5 is also being shown
for the first time together with the new S8
plus.
Also new for Qatar are the all-new Audi
R8 and the all–new Audi A4, which feature
the brands latest technology innovations.
The Audi A8 Security Car boasts an array
of outstanding protection features.
Benoit Tiers, managing director of Audi
Volkswagen Middle East said: “Qatar is an
important market for Audi that has shown
consistent growth, and the recent opening
of the new workshop for Q-Auto has ensured our customers here are given an even
better customer experience.”
With a power output of 605hp and a
top speed of up to 305kph, the new Audi
S8 plus has a body made almost entirely
of aluminium. The design is based on the
Audi Space Frame (ASF) and weighs just
231 kg – the lightest among the competition.
The new S8 plus reveals its position as
the sportiest top model of the model series in its design detailing. The standard
spoiler lip on the rear lid is painted in the
exterior body colour, and it is also available in carbon fibre as an option. The
flaps in the side air inlets and the blade
on the front apron are made of carbon
fibre too.
The mirror housings in body colour are
optionally available in gloss black or carbon. The single-frame grille and double
bars are in gloss black, while the honeycomb structure of the side air inlets and
radiator screen are in matt black.
The trim strips on the side windows and
at the rear are gleam in black. Distinctive
design characteristics of the S8 plus also
include darkened tail lights and a gloss
black diffuser insert, which has an additional carbon surround. The dual-branch
sport exhaust system branches into two
oval gloss black tailpipes on the left and
right. The S8 styling package is also available.
The second regional premiere on the
Audi stand is the Audi RS Q3, the first RS
model from the Q range. It takes just 4.8
seconds to complete the sprint from 0
to 100 km/h. The 2.5-litre five-cylinder
turbo produces 340 hp and has an average
fuel consumption of just 8.4 litres of fuel
per 100 km.
An award-winning high-performance
engine, the 2.5 TFSI, is at work under the
hood of the RS Q3. This five-cylinder engine has been named ‘International Engine of the Year’ in its class for three consecutive years.
The new Audi SQ5, the third regional
premiere on the Audi stand, produces
354hp and 470Nm of torque. It sprints
from zero to 100kph in 5.3 seconds and has
a top speed of 250kph.
The new Audi SQ5 is powered by a freerevving, supercharged, three-litre V6
engine with a displacement of 2,995 cc.
Its compressor sits in the 90-degree V of
the cylinder banks and is belt-driven by
the crankshaft. Two rotors inside the supercharger spin at over 20,000 rpm. The
air gap between them is just a few thousandths of a millimetre. The supercharger
compresses the intake air to as much as
0.8 bar; two intercoolers then cool it for
greater power.
Also on show is ‘the most secure Audi
ever,’ the Audi A8 L Security car, satisfying the criteria of the class VR 9 ballistic
protection standard, currently the most
stringent requirements for civilian highsecurity sedans.
olls-Royce Motor Cars
has organised the first
public unveiling of the
Rolls-Royce Dawn in Doha at
the Qatar Motor Show 2016.
The show opened its doors
at the Doha Exhibition and
Convention Centre yesterday.
The new motor car was very
well received by potential and
existing Rolls-Royce Motor
Cars customers attending the
show.
As well as the Rolls-Royce
Dawn, visitors to the RollsRoyce stand were able to view
a bespoke Rolls-Royce Wraith,
conceptualised by Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars Doha exclusively
for its discerning clientele.
Considered to be the most
powerful and dynamic RollsRoyce in history, the Rolls-
Royce Wraith presents a
unique character.
Ihab Allam, general manager of Rolls-Royce Motor
Cars Doha, said: “As a luxury
marque always striving for
excellence, it is with great
pleasure that we have showcased two truly magnificent
and unique motor cars at this
year’s Qatar Motor Show.
“We are delighted to be
part of this significant event
once again and have already
received a number of enquiries from existing clientele, as well as potential new
customers. We look forward
to continue showcasing the
breadth of the Rolls-Royce
portfolio to our discerning
clientele over the next few
days of the show.”
The unveiling of the Rolls-Royce Dawn at the Qatar Motor Show
2016 yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil
All-new Mini convertible makes
first Middle East appearance
Commercialbank
launches vehicle
loan campaign
T
ommercialbank, Qatar’s first private bank
and
Official
Bank
Sponsor of the Qatar Motor
Show 2016, has launched a
vehicle loan campaign to coincide with the event.
Running for six weeks, the
campaign is available to both
existing
Commercialbank
customers and non-customers during the campaign period.
All can benefit from a special vehicle loan rate of 1.99%
flat (reduced from 3.69%) with
an optional grace period of
up to 3 months, so customers
need not start repaying right
away if they choose not to.
Further special vehicle loan
benefits include a reduction on
vehicle insurance rates down to
2.65%, a chance to get a QR500
free petrol voucher, and the option of paying the associated
costs of owning a car by credit
card at 0% for the first two years
subject to eligibility.
As an added bonus, customers who secure a vehicle
loan during the campaign period are also eligible to enter
a prize draw to win a brandnew, prestigious Mini Cooper.
Terms and conditions apply,
and eligible customers can enter the prize draw if they meet
set criteria, with no penalties,
hidden charges or clauses attached.
he first day of the Qatar Motor Show
2016 saw the Middle East debut of
the all-new Mini Convertible yesterday.
Mini enthusiasts also had the opportunity to see the all-new Mini Clubman for
the first time in Doha.
“We are excited to be bringing another
great model debut to the region, further
highlighting the importance of the Qatar market for the MINI brand,” Alfardan
Automobiles general manager Ihab Allam
said. “We have also introduced the all-new
MINI Clubman, a model that has brought
with it a new DNA for the brand.”
Redefining urban driving fun, the MINI
Convertible is the only premium convertible in the small car segment, carrying forward the trademark of go-kart feeling with
its iconic MINI design.
The all-new MINI Convertible comes
in two engine variants of Mini TwinPower
Turbo Technology where there is a 3-cylinder petrol engine with 100 kW/136 hp
for the Mini Cooper Convertible and a
4-cylinder petrol engine with 141 kW/192
hp for the MINI Cooper S Convertible,
alongside with options of 6-speed Steptronic transmission or 6-speed Steptronic
sports transmission.
The car’s exterior design comprises a
balance between top-class elegance and
sporty flair. Maintaining the classic Mini
design features, this model is further enhanced with circular headlamps and rear
lights with chrome surrounds, hexagonal
radiator grille, black peripheral body surround, side turn indicator elements and a
large selection of body finishes including
the variant of Caribbean Aqua metallic
that is being presented here for the first
time.
The interior is designed with horizontally structured cockpit, circular or elliptical contours for displays, air vents and
door trim elements as well as high-quality
colour and material combinations on the
steering column, central instrument with
new functions, optional LED lighting display and a start/stop button at the toggle
switch bar.
The model has increased by just over
C
The all-new MINI Convertible being unveiled at the Qatar Motor Show 2016 yesterday.
PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil
32cm in length and around 12cm in width.
The defining element of the Mini Clubman interior is its broad instrument panel,
which adopts the generous surface areas of
the exterior and brings them inside the car.
Other models showcased include the
Mini 5 door hatch and the Mini 3 door
hatch.
United Cars Almana puts latest cars on display
U
nited Cars Almana (UCA) is showcasing its latest
cars at the Qatar Motor Show 2016 that opened
yesterday at the Doha Exhibition and Convention
Centre.
UCA general manager – operations Gurdeep Singh
Multani said the company is well positioned to achieve
continued growth in the automotive sector through its innovative and impressive range of cars.
“Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and RAM are some of the most
illustrious American vehicles in the world. Our mission is
to meet customers’ expectations and provide total satisfaction in every way and every time,” he said.
Multani added that UCA has also focused on offering
and building showrooms and a workshop and service centre that are fully-equipped with the most recent technology to meet customers’ needs and requests.
“Our skilled and trained professional teams provide the
service you would expect from a leading company. The
new working hours are from 7am until 7pm for after sales
and showrooms. On Fridays timings are from 4pm until
8.30pm.
Marco Tronchi, CEO and managing director of Fiat
Chrysler Automobiles Middle East Regional Office, said
the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade symbolises the brand’s re-
The Jeep Renegade at Qatar Motor Show 2016.
PICTURES: Shemeer Rasheed
nowned American design, ingenuity and innovation, marking the Jeep brand’s first entry into the small SUV segment.
“Renegade expands the brand’s product portfolio and
targets the rapidly expanding small SUV segment with a
best-in-class combination of fuel efficiency and off-road
capability, while at the same time delivering the outstanding driving dynamics and open-air freedom customers
expect from the Jeep brand,” Tronchi said.
Leveraging 4x4 technology from the Jeep Cherokee,
Tronchi said the Renegade offers two of the most ad-
vanced and intelligent 4x4 systems in its class, all to deliver best-in-class off-road capability. These are the Jeep
active drive and Jeep active drive low.
The 2016 Chrysler 200 sedan provides drivers and passengers a beautifully crafted car with an elegantly simple
style, an exhilarating driving experience, state-of-the-art
and easy-to-use technology, 60 advanced safety and security features and fuel economy ratings of up to 36 miles
per gallon (6.53 L/100km). It is the mid-size sedan for
customers who have earned a little luxury in their life, but
demand value for their money.
The 2016 Chrysler 200 delivers a beautiful exterior design, a thoughtful, exquisitely crafted interior and an exceptional driving experience, thanks to its segment-first
nine-speed automatic transmission and Compact US
Wide (CUS-wide) chassis. With the choice of two worldclass engines, available sport mode and paddle shifters for
an engaged driving experience, and estimated highway
fuel economy of 36 mpg (6.53 L/100km), the 2016 Chrysler 200 makes the daily commute something drivers will
look forward to. The 2016 Chrysler 200 offers 60 available safety features and state-of-the-art, easy-to-use
technology that keeps drivers and passengers connected.
More Motor Show reports — Pages 34, 35, 36
Commercial Bank EGM,
chief consumer & private
banking, Dean Proctor said:
“Commercial Bank leads the
vehicle financing business in
Qatar both in terms of quality of service and very competitive offers throughout the
year. The bank aims to build
on this strong position and increase our vehicle loan market
share through an innovative
six-week campaign in conjunction with our sponsorship of the Qatar Motor Show.
Customers can look forward
to enhanced vehicle loan rates,
free gifts and a prize draw ensuring that Commercialbank
continues to be the best and
go-to bank in Qatar for vehicle financing needs during this
busy time of year.”
“Commercial Bank continues to provide the bestin-market vehicle solutions
through strong alliances
with dealerships for both
new and used cars. Our dedicated Vehicle Finance team
is located in our offices next
to the Nissan showroom in
Salata, on Airport Road and
D Ring Road, and for added
customer convenience, representatives are available at
car showrooms or can visit
you at work or home to provide more information on
Commercial Bank’s attractive vehicle finance offers.”
Commercialbank executive general manager (chief consumer &
private banking) Dean Proctor and teammates announcing their
bank’s vehicle loan campaign at Qatar Motor Show yesterday.
PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil
14
Gulf Times
QATAR/REGION
Al Jazeera files case over Egypt arrests, seizures
AFP
London
A
l Jazeera is suing Egypt,
saying the closure of its
business and harassment
of its journalists there had caused
losses of more than $150mn, its
lawyers said yesterday.
The international arbitration
claim on behalf of the Doha-based
channel is being lodged under the
jurisdiction of the International
Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington.
“Al Jazeera formally initiates arbitration case against the
Arab Republic of Egypt,” read a
statement from the company’s
London-based lawyers, CarterRuck.
Thousands of activists, as well
as several journalists, have been
detained since then army chief
and now President Abdel Fat-
tah al-Sisi overthrew his Islamist
predecessor, Mohamed Mursi, in
2013.
The statement said Egypt was
in breach of international law as
well as a Qatar-Egypt investment
treaty intended to protect business interests.
“A large number of journalists
working for Al Jazeera were subjected to harassment, arrest and
detention, either without charge
or on clearly spurious and po-
litically motivated charges,” the
statement said.
“Al Jazeera’s facilities in Egypt
suffered attacks by the military,
police and gangs supporting the
military government,” it said.
“Al Jazeera’s licence to broadcast in Egypt was also cancelled
and its local branch subjected to
a compulsory liquidation procedure.”
“Al Jazeera’s very significant
investment in Egypt has been
confiscated and, at a conservative
estimate, it has suffered losses of
at least $150mn,” it said.
The ousting of Mursi unleashed
a bloody crackdown on protesters
that killed hundreds of demonstrators, while militants launched
an insurgency that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers.
Three reporters with Al Jazeera
were detained in 2013 and later convicted of fabricating “false” news in
support of the Brotherhood.
Their trial sparked international criticism led by the White
House and the United Nations.
One of the Al Jazeera journalists, Australian Peter Greste,
was deported and the other two,
Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and
Egyptian Baher Mohamed, were
eventually pardoned and released.
“Al Jazeera has now been left
with no option but to formally
commence legal action,” a company spokesman was quoted as
saying in yesterday’s statement.
“Al Jazeera has launched this
claim to protect the rights of
its staff... together with its own
rights under international law,”
the spokesman said.
Al Jazeera served Egypt with a
formal notice under the QatarEgypt investment treaty in April
2014 and Carter-Ruck said that
the Egyptian government did not
“show any interest at all” in legal
discussions.
Hope as well
as frustration
in Iran after
sanctions end
Reuters
Ankara
T
Rouhani attends a meeting with French ministers and representatives of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF) in Paris yesterday.
‘New chapter’ begins in
EU ties, says Rouhani
The Iranian president arrives
in France for an official visit
during which he is expected
to sign a host of commercial
deals
Agencies
Dubai/Paris
I
ran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on his arrival in Paris
yesterday that a new chapter
had begun in Tehran’s relations
with the European Union, after
the lifting of sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
“A new chapter has begun in
Tehran relations with the EU,
including France,” Rouhani was
quoted as saying by Iran’s Isna
news agency.
Rouhani’s visit to Paris is expected to result in the signing of
important business contracts,
after sealing multi-billion dollar
deals in Italy.
A major order for 114 Airbus
planes to modernise Iran Air’s
ageing fleet is expected to be con-
firmed in France, along with tieups with carmakers Peugeot and
Renault.
The president is accompanied
by a delegation of more than 100
ministers, officials and businessmen marking the return of Iran on
the international economic stage
with the lifting of sanctions after
a historic deal over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Rouhani, a 67-year-old former
academic and diplomat who is seen
as a pragmatist, was elected in 2013
on a pledge to end sanctions and
improve relations with the West.
In Rome on Monday, the Iranian
leader met his Italian counterpart
Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, with whom
he attended the signing of several
economic agreements in the prestigious setting of the Capitole.
Italian officials said contracts
signed in Rome would be worth up
to 17bn euros ($18.4bn), underlining the huge economic stakes involved in Iran’s reopening, particularly for Europe’s manufacturing
and engineering sectors.
Saudi soldier killed
in border shelling
AFP
Riyadh
A
Saudi soldier has been
killed in shelling from
across the border in
Yemen, the interior ministry announced yesterday.
He died on Tuesday in a strike
on a border guards’ observation
post in the Harth district of Jazan
in the kingdom’s south, the ministry said.
Around 90 civilians and soldiers have been killed in shelling
and skirmishes in Saudi border
On Monday, Rouhani attended
a business forum at which he portrayed Iran as the ideal base for
companies seeking a foothold in a
region of 300mn people, reassuring would-be investors their contracts would be honoured.
“Iran is the safest, the most
stable country in the entire region,” Rouhani said.
“Everyone understood that the
nuclear negotiations represented a win-win situation for both
sides.
“Now we have created the conditions for investment and for the
transfer of know-how. There has
to be an advantage for both sides:
we invite you to invest and we will
provide stability and ensure that
you can make adequate returns.”
Rouhani then visited the Vatican for the first time and met Pope
Francis, who has urged Iran to
work for peace in the Middle East.
In a statement afterwards, the
Vatican said Francis had urged the
Iranian leader to use Iran’s important role to promote, together
with other countries, “adequate
political solutions” to the problems afflicting the region and to
help combat terrorism and arms
trafficking.
It was the first official visit to
the Vatican by an Iranian president since Mohamed Khatami
was hosted by John Paul II in 1999.
In Paris today, Rouhani will
meet President Francois Hollande
and French business leaders.
Ahead of Rouhani’s European
trip, Iranian Transport Minister
Abbas Akhoundi on Sunday announced a major contract with
Airbus for 114 planes.
Akhoundi, quoted by Iranian
media, said the deal “will be
signed between Iran Air and Airbus” when Rouhani is in Paris.
An Airbus spokesman declined to
comment.
Akhoundi’s deputy, Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, said Iran “essentially wants to buy Airbus A320s,
A321s and A330s”.
“We will take delivery in 2016
and 2017 of Airbus A320s and
A321s, with the A330s coming
later,” he said.
“From 2020, we will take delivery of Airbus A350s and A380s.
We want eight A380s and 16
A350s.”
Before flying to Europe, Rouhani himself mentioned economic
projects between Iran and France.
“We need to modernise our
aviation fleet and buy locomotives,” he said on Monday.
He indicated Iran was also
looking at the automotive sector.
“Important contracts will
probably be signed on this trip
including with Peugeot and Renault,” he said.
A joint press conference is
planned after Rouhani’s meeting
with Hollande today, the French
presidency said.
Iran has been rebuilding its
relations with Italy and France
which were among Tehran’s main
economic partners before the
tightening of international sanctions in January 2012.
Competition to tap the Iranian market has been fierce as it
emerges from international isolation with the lifting of sanctions.
he lifting of sanctions on
Iran has given Mohamed
Sadeghzadeh hope of saving his struggling textile factory—as long as the impact of the
changes is felt quickly.
“The sanctions have ruined
my business. In six months I will
close down if it goes on like this.
We need to see some tangible results,” he said by telephone from
the northern city of Rasht.
Iranians are delighted the
United States, United Nations
and European Union agreed to
lift nuclear-related sanctions
on January 16 in exchange for
Iran curbing its nuclear programme.
But many are frustrated not
to have seen immediate changes
now Iran’s isolation is over and
fear the benefits will not be felt
for a long time as foreign banks,
companies and governments
tread carefully for fear of violating residual US sanctions.
“I hope by lifting the sanctions, I will be able to use banks
like other civilised countries. My
only hope is to be part of the global business community,” said a
businessman in the city of Tabriz
who gave his name only as Heshmat.
“But still we have a long way to
go. I am afraid that if the current
situation continues until March,
I will have to close my business,”
said Heshmat, whose account
in a French bank was blocked in
early 2013.
The Western sanctions cut off
finance from abroad, pushed up
the cost of borrowing in Iran and
hit many businesses by banning
foreign bank transfers. Heshmat
got used to bringing in money in
thick wads of $100 bills on flights
from Turkey and elsewhere.
Western banks quit Iran after
the United States and European
Union imposed sanctions on its
financial and oil sectors in 2012,
making it almost impossible for
many middle-class Iranians to
transfer money to their children
studying abroad.
Many Iranians were unable to
open or hold accounts abroad
and dual-national Iranians outside their homeland faced problems maintaining their accounts
even if they have never transferred money to or from Iran.
Maryam Sadeghian, a middleclass Iranian, said she had felt
she would be “reconnected to the
outside world” when the nuclear-related sanctions were lifted.
“But my happiness did not
last long. I contacted my bank in
Munich, where I used to have an
account for over a decade to open
a new account,” she said. “But
the answer was negative. I was
told that there was no change of
policy.”
For Mohsen Dadpeynia, a
former government employee, there has also been disappointment because he cannot
yet transfer money easily to his
daughter in Italy.
“After my daughter moved to
Italy in 2013, it was a nightmare
to send her money. I had to find
trustworthy black market dealers
to transfer money,” he said.
Taraneh Moghaddam, an architect from the central Iranian
city of Shiraz, also encountered
practices under sanctions that
she hopes will now end. She had
to go to London in a hurry to retrieve $300,000 in cash in 2013
when her bank called to warn
her it would close her account
in a week “because you live in
Iran.”
“I was desperate and had to
carry the cash in my handbag to
Iran,” she said, adding that she
was unable to open an account
in any other Western bank even
though she has joint IranianBritish nationality.
President Hassan Rouhani,
who said during his 2013 election
campaign that he would boost
Iran’s economy, hopes the lifting
of sanctions will facilitate Iran’s
return to the global oil market
and attract much-needed foreign investment.
But expectations of a quick fix
are slim, with even the lure of a
resource-rich and well educated
country of about 80mn people
opening up overshadowed by legal uncertainties for many firms
and banks.
Standing guard
regions since March when a Saudi-led military coalition began
air and ground action in Yemen
against Iran-backed rebels.
The coalition is supporting
local forces against the Houthi
rebels who seized territory, including the capital Sanaa, from
the internationally recognised
government.
More than 5,800 people have
been killed in Yemen since March,
about half of them civilians, according to the United Nations.
More than 21mn people — 82%
of the population — are facing severe food shortages.
Egyptian murder convict executed
Saudi Arabia yesterday executed
an Egyptian convicted of murder,
adding to a surge in death
sentences carried out since late
2014.
Mahmud Jumaa Morsi was found
guilty of fatally strangling and
robbing a Saudi, the interior
ministry said, adding that he was
executed in Riyadh.
Last year the kingdom executed
153 people, mostly for drug
trafficking or murder, according
to an AFP tally.
A Yemeni tribesman from the Popular Resistance Committees, supporting forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, stands on a pick-up truck mounted with a
heavy machinegun as he holds a position on the outskirts of Taez on Tuesday.
Gulf Times
15
ARAB WORLD
Assad foes demand answers before joining talks
Reuters
Beirut/Geneva/Paris
S
yrian peace talks were
clouded by uncertainty yesterday as the Saudi-backed
Syrian opposition insisted on a
response to its demands from the
United Nations and a powerful
Kurdish group said its exclusion
meant the negotiations would fail.
The Syrian government has
already agreed to join the talks
that UN envoy Staffan de Mistura
hopes to convene in an indirect
format in Geneva tomorrow with
the aim of ending the five-yearold war that has killed 250,000
people.
Preparations have been beset
by difficulties, including a dispute over who should be invited to
negotiate with President Bashar
al-Assad’s government as it claws
back territory with help from
Russia and Iran.
A Saudi-backed opposition
council grouping armed and political opponents of Assad convened in Riyadh for a second day
yesterday. But as night fell there
was no sign of a decision about
whether they would attend the
talks.
While it has expressed support
for a political solution and talks,
the opposition High Negotiations
Committee (HNC) reiterated demands including a halt to attacks
on civilian areas before any negotiations.
In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, it also called for
the lifting of sieges on blockaded
areas among other steps outlined
by the UN Security Council in a
resolution passed last month.
The HNC is seeking clarification from de Mistura.
“We sent the questions. We
are awaiting the response,” said
an opposition source, who confirmed the letter’s authenticity.
Opposition officials have long
insisted they cannot go to talks
before the government shows
goodwill through such moves.
Monzer Makhous, an HNC
member, said: “I can’t say if the
discussions will be finished today
or not. I have mixed feelings.”
Another HNC member said de
Mistura must clarify the aim of
the talks. “There is a problem we
would like to clarify with de Mistura. Is the main aim of these negotiations for them to be held or
to succeed?” Riyadh Naasan Agha
asked on Al Jazeera TV.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he had spoken to
HNC co-ordinator Riad Hijab and
understood the group would attend. “If I understand their position, they say yes to negotiations,”
Fabius told France Culture radio,
but they wanted clarification on
key issues first.
Diplomacy has so far failed to
resolve the conflict that has forced
millions from their homes, creating a refugee crisis in neighbouring states and Europe.
The Syrian government, aided
by Russian air strikes and allied
militia including Iranian forces,
is gaining ground against rebels
in western Syria, this week capturing the town of Sheikh Maskin
near the Jordanian border.
Russian air strikes that be-
gan on September 30 have tilted
the war Assad’s way after major
setbacks earlier in 2015 brought
rebels close to coastal areas that
form the heartland of Assad’s
Alawite sect and are of great importance to the state he leads.
While the Saudi-backed HNC
includes powerful rebel factions
fighting Assad in western Syria,
Russia has been demanding wider
participation to include Syrian
Kurds who control wide areas of
northern and northeastern Syria.
The Syrian Kurdish PYD party,
which is affiliated to the Kurdish YPG militia, was however excluded from the invite list in line
with the wishes of Turkey, a major sponsor of the rebellion which
views the PYD as a terrorist group.
Fabius said: “The PYD group
was causing the most problems,
and Mr de Mistura told me he had
not sent them an invitation letter.”
The PYD’s representative in
France, Khaled Eissa, who had
been on a list of possible delegates
proposed by Russia, blamed regional and international powers,
in particular Turkey, for blocking
the Kurds and forecast the talks
would fail.
“You can’t neglect a force that
controls an area three times the
size of Lebanon,” he said. “We will
not respect any decision taken
without our participation.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said the PYD
could join the talks at a later stage.
Haytham Manna, a prominent
opposition figure allied to the PYD
and invited to the talks, said he
would not attend if his allies were
not there.
Manna is co-leader of an opposition group called the Syrian
Democratic Council (SDC), which
includes the PYD and was formed
in December in Kurdish-controlled Hasaka province.
Ilham Ahmed, a Kurdish politician who co-chairs the SDC,
heaped criticism on de Mistura.
“We hold him responsible - not
America or Russia - him and the
United Nations. He was tasked
with forming the delegations in
a balanced way and in a way that
represents all the elements of Syrian society,” she said.
“When the whole of northern Syria is excluded from these
negotiations, it means they are
the ones dividing Syria. They are
always accusing the Kurds of dividing Syria, but they are the ones
dividing Syria.”
Palestinians’
hopes rise as
US, EU, UN
slam Israel
The United Nations as well
as Israel’s closest allies,
the United States and the
European Union, have
publicly expressed their
frustration with the policies of
Netanyahu’s government
Reuters
Jerusalem
T
he United States, European
Union and the United Nations have issued unusually
stern criticism of Israel, provoking a sharp response from Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and raising Palestinians’ hopes of
steps against their neighbour.
UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon on Tuesday described Israel’s settlements as “provocative
acts” that raised questions about
its commitment to a two-state
solution, nearly 50 years after occupying lands the Palestinians
seek for a state.
Ban also laid some of the blame
for four months of stabbings and
car rammings by Palestinians
at Israel’s door, saying “as oppressed peoples have demonstrated throughout the ages, it
is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as
a potent incubator of hate and
extremism”.
Netanyahu’s response was quick
and furious. Ban’s remarks “give a
tailwind to terrorism”, he said, and
ignore the fact “Palestinian murderers do not want to build a state”.
“The UN lost its neutrality and
moral force a long time ago,” he
added, singling Ban out for personal criticism.
While terse words between Israel and the United Nations are
nothing new, Israel’s closest allies, the United States and the
European Union, have publicly
expressed their own frustration
with the policies of Netanyahu’s
right-wing government.
Speaking at a security conference last week, US ambassador
to Israel Dan Shapiro questioned
how equitably justice is applied in
the occupied West Bank, saying:
“At times there seem to be two
standards of adherence to the rule
of law: one for Israelis and another for Palestinians.”
That, too, drew an angry response from Netanyahu. Shapiro
later said he regretted the timing of his remarks, made on the
day an Israeli woman, stabbed to
death by a Palestinian in a West
Bank settlement, was buried.
The European Union’s policy of
labelling products made in Israeli
settlements has provoked similar
anger from officials, while Sweden’s foreign minister was branded an anti-Semite after calling for
an independent investigation into
Israel’s efforts to quell the current
wave of violence.
The criticism, particularly
about the settlements, where
some 550,000 Jews live in around
250 communities scattered across
the West Bank and East Jerusalem, has raised Palestinian hopes
that world powers might finally
be minded to support a UN resolution condemning Israel’s policy
outright.
“We are continuing our contacts with the international community... and will go to the Security Council for a resolution
against the colonial settlement
enterprise,” Saeb Erakat, the Palestinians’ chief negotiator, said
last week.
The last attempt at such a
resolution failed in 2011 after the
United States vetoed it, saying it
harmed the chances for peace.
The feeling among Palestinian
diplomats now is that the United
States may be less inclined to veto
given the absence of peace talks
and the depth of US frustration
with Israel.
Israeli diplomats are also wary
of that possibility.
“It’s always a risk and we are
extremely attentive to it,” said
Emmanuel Nahshon, the foreign
ministry’s spokesman.
“There has indeed been a lot of
criticism of Israel recently, but I
don’t know whether that necessarily translates into a UN resolution.”
He said there had been “antiIsraeli resolutions” at the United
Nations in the past, regardless of
developments on the ground.
The Palestinians hope France,
a permanent member of the UN
Security Council, might sponsor
such a resolution, but it is unclear
whether the French have the appetite for such a course.
People hold placards during a demonstration to demand the release of Palestinian journalist Mohamed al-Qiq (portrait) in Jerusalem yesterday.
Israel’s top court refuses
to release hunger striker
AFP
Jerusalem
A
hunger-striking Palestinian journalist is to remain
in jail in Israel despite
warnings over his deteriorating
health, the country’s top court
ruled yesterday.
The Supreme Court said it
would not release Mohamed alQiq immediately but would follow his health on a daily basis.
Qiq has been on hunger strike
for 63 days over his detention
under Israel’s administrative detention law and his organs are at
risk of failure any day, his legal
team says.
The European Union yesterday said it was “especially concerned” about his deteriorating
health.
After 50 days of a hunger
S
ome 34,000 people in Sudan’s western Darfur region have fled fierce clashes
between government forces and
rebels around the mountainous
Jebel Marra area, the United Nations said yesterday.
After several months of relative
quiet in the restive region following Khartoum’s announcement
of a ceasefire late last year, fresh
fighting erupted around Jebel
Marra around 10 days ago.
Jebel Marra straddles South,
Central and North Darfur states
and is seen as a stronghold of
the rebel Sudan Liberation Army
(SLA-AW), which has been battling the government since
2003.
“Initial reports indicate that
about 19,000 civilians have fled
into North Darfur state, and up to
15,000 into Central Darfur state,
following fighting in the mountainous Jebel Marra region,” said
Marta Ruedas, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Sudan.
The vast majority of those fleeing the fighting were women and
children, she said.
The ceasefire was extended for
a month on New Year’s Eve.
Sudan’s military said it is committed to the ceasefire and has
only responded to rebel attacks,
while the SLA-AW has said government troops and militia have
tried to fight their way into Jebel
Marra, claiming to have beaten
back several attacks.
Ruedas said the United Nations
had provided some humanitarian
assistance but lacked full access
to the region.
“While it is encouraging that
some humanitarian assistance
is being provided, clearly much
more is needed,” she said.
The UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) previously said more than 10,000
people have been displaced in the
fighting, and that artillery and
aerial bombardments had been
used in the clashes.
renewable six-month periods
without trial.
Qiq, a 33-year-old father of
two and a correspondent for
Saudi Arabia’s Almajd television,
was arrested on November 21 at
his home in the West Bank city of
Ramallah.
Shin Bet said he was arrested
for “terror activity” as a member of Hamas, which controls the
Gaza Strip.
He denies the charges and has
been refusing food since November 25 in protest at the “torture
and ill-treatment that he was
subjected to during interrogation”, according to Addameer, a
Palestinian human rights organisation.
During the trial, which was
attended by four Arab members
of the Israeli parliament, judge
Elyakim Rubinstein brought up
the case of Mohamed Allan.
Allan ended a two-month
hunger strike last summer after
Israel suspended his detention
without trial. During his strike
and after his release he became
a symbol of resistance for many
Palestinians.
Rubinstein asked how long
after abandoning his strike Allan was able to return to health,
and he was told about a month by
lawyer Boulus.
Over 680 Palestinians are
currently under administrative
detention, out of 6,800 in jail in
Israel, according to Addameer.
Qiq was jailed for a month in
2003 and then for 13 months in
2004 for Hamas-related activities.
In 2008, he was sentenced to
16 months in prison on charges
linked to his activities on the student council at the West Bank’s
Birzeit University.
Libya peace process
‘slower than IS rise’
Nearly 34,000 flee
Darfur clashes: UN
AFP
Khartoum
strike, the risk of death grows
daily, experts say, with few able
to survive beyond 70 days if only
drinking water.
His lawyer Jawad Boulus
asked the Supreme Court to release him but the three judges
ruled that an earlier decision by
a military court to detain him
was legal.
Boulus said the judges were
“briefed on classified material and are convinced” that Qiq
“constitutes a danger to the security of Israel”, so declined to
overturn the military court’s ruling.
The evidence provided by the
Shin Bet security services was
presented to the judges without
witnesses, who had to leave the
room.
Under Israel’s controversial
administrative detention law,
the state can hold suspects for
AFP
Tunis
U
UN envoy for Libya, Martin Kobler, holds a press conference in
Tunis yesterday.
N envoy Martin Kobler
expressed concerns yesterday that Libya’s political process is slower than the
Islamic State group’s expansion,
after the country’s internationally
recognised authorities rejected a
national unity government.
World powers have urged Libya’s warring factions to endorse
the unity government agreed last
week under a UN-brokered deal
aimed at ending political paralysis
that has fuelled the rise of Islamist militants.
Libya has been in chaos since
the 2011 ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi. It now has
two governments and parliaments,
with the recognised authorities
based in the east and a militiabacked authority in Tripoli.
In mid-December, a minor-
ity of lawmakers from both sides
signed a deal to unify the government.
A national unity government
headed by businessman Fayez
al-Sarraj and comprising 32 ministers was formed last week, but
it was rejected by the recognised
parliament on Monday.
“I am working on the basis that
the glass is now half full,” Kobler
told a news conference in the capital of neighbouring Tunisia.
The German diplomat applauded lawmakers who had been
boycotting the recognised parliament in the eastern city of Tobruk for attending the assembly,
describing this as “a very courageous decision”.
But Kobler said that he was
“impatient” like members of the
international community who
were frustrated at the slow process
caused by “certain personalities”.
“Sometimes I think that the
political process is slower than
the military process, and the political process must be faster than
the military expansion of Daesh,”
he said, using an Arabic acronym
for the Islamic State group.
He warned that while political forces discuss the agreement,
“Daesh and other terrorist organisations... just act and they steal
the territories from the Libyan
people”.
In recent weeks, IS militants
launched attacks from their
stronghold in the city of Sirte
on facilities in the “oil crescent”
along the coast.
Fears they are establishing a
new bastion on Europe’s doorstep
have added urgency to diplomatic
efforts to bring together Libya’s
warring factions.
European Union foreign affairs
chief Federica Mogherini earlier
this month pledged to give Libya
100mn euros ($108mn) to battle
IS as soon as the unity government came to power.
16
Gulf Times
AFRICA
13 killed in triple
Nigeria attacks
AFP
Chibok
A
t least 13 people were killed
yesterday when three suicide bombers blew themselves up in the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok, where Boko
Haram kidnapped more than 200
schoolgirls.
The blasts happened at about
midday (1100 GMT) as the remote town in Borno state was
packed with traders from surrounding villages for the weekly
market, Chibok elder Ayuba Chibok told AFP.
“Ten died on the spot and another one died on the way to hospital,” said health worker Dazzban Buba, who volunteered to
treat the injured at hospital.
“A woman and a child died
as they were being admitted (to
hospital), so now the death toll
stands at 13. Thirty others were
injured, 21 critically.”
The blasts bore the hallmarks
of Boko Haram, which has repeatedly hit “soft” civilian targets such as markets, mosques
and bus stations as well as military and civilian vigilante checkpoints.
5 Kenya cops dead after truck hits IED
Five Kenyan policemen were
killed late on Tuesday in the
coastal county of Lamu after their
truck hit an improvised explosive
device planted on the road by
Islamist militants Shebaab, police
sources and a local governor said.
It was the latest in a series of
attacks near Kenya’s border with
Somalia. Shebaab took credit for
the attack but said it had killed
eight Kenyan soldiers.
“The truck had about 10 administration police officers and the
explosive that blew it up seemed
to have been planted on the
road they were using,” a senior
regional official, who asked not to
be named, told Reuters.
Senior officials and police
declined to give official statement
on the attack, saying it was sensitive, and that they still awaited
detailed report from officers on
the ground.
But Lamu Governor Issa Timamy
told Reuters, “It is unfortunate that
once again the nation is mourning
Chibok came to prominence in
April 2014 when Islamist fighters
stormed a boarding school and
the deaths of our five officers killed
at the hands of the Shebaab.”
Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab,
Shebaab’s military operation
spokesman, told Reuters: “We
killed eight Kenyan soldiers after
we burnt their car with a roadside
bomb near Lamu area.”
The militants and the government often give conflicting death
counts. It was not immediately
clear while Kenya had identified
the dead as police, and Shebaab
called them soldiers.
The attack comes less than two
weeks after Somali Islamist militants Shebaab attacked a military
camp housing Kenyan soldiers
who are part of an African Union
(AU) force in Somalia (AMISOM).
The Al Qaeda-linked group,
which seeks to overthrow Somalia’s Western-backed government
and drive the AU force out of Somalia, said it had killed more than
100 soldiers in the attack. Kenyan
officials have not yet revealed the
death toll.
kidnapped 276 girls, causing global outrage.
Fifty-seven girls managed to
escape in the immediate aftermath but 219 are still being held
and have not been seen since they
appeared in a Boko Haram video
in May that year.
Chibok was briefly overrun by
the Islamic State group-allied
rebels in November 2014 but recaptured by the military after
several days.
Ayuba Chibok and Buba both
said yesterday’s blasts were suicide attacks and had prompted
terrified residents to lock themselves inside their homes or flee
in fear of repeat attacks.
“The first bomber set off his
explosives at the checkpoint
where people coming into the
town were being searched,” said
the town elder.
“A second bomber managed
to get into the market and blew
himself up. A third bomber was
identified and residents pursued
him.
“When he realised he was
about to be apprehended he detonated his explosives in an area
not far from the market.”
Buba said he rushed to help his
brother who was injured in the
first blast in the Bamzir Road area
of the town.
The second blast happened
(From left) Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Nigerian President Muhamadu Buhari and
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta arrive at the Moi Barracks in Eldoret northeast of Nairobi for a
memorial to soldiers killed fighting Islamist militants in Somalia.
shortly afterwards, fitting a pattern of Boko Haram suicide attacks with multiple bombers
setting off their devices almost
simultaneously.
But Buba said it was still unclear whether the third bomber
deliberately detonated his explosives or whether the device was
triggered when troops opened
fire as he fled.
Buba said the 30 injured were
mostly suffering from burns and
fractures, and that nine had been
discharged, he added.
There was no immediate comment from the police, the military or the government’s main
relief agency.
Recent weeks have seen a lull
in Boko Haram attacks, with only
three recorded in Nigeria this
month but those that have occurred underline the difficulty in
protecting hard-to-reach rural
areas.
The insurgents raided a village
in Yobe state on Sunday, killing
one man, while on January 11, another raid in the Adamawa state
town of Madagali left seven dead.
Seven people were killed in a
raid and suicide bomb attack in
Izgeki village on January 5. Gunmen also looted food and burnt a
large part of Nchiha village near
Chibok earlier the same day.
On December 6, there was a
similar attack in Takulashi village, also near Chibok, which
again saw fighters raid food and
steal more than 200 cattle.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on December 24
declared the rebels were “technically” defeated but at least 66
people were then killed in raids
and suicide bombings in the days
following.
According to an AFP tally, more
than 1,650 people have been killed
since Buhari came to power in
May last year, vowing to crush the
insurgency, which has left at least
17,000 dead since 2009.
On Monday, 32 people were
killed when at least three suicide
bombers blew themselves up at a
market in Bodo village in northern Cameroon.
Clashes erupt in S Leone
after Ebola infection scare
AFP
Freetown
T
Supporters of South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance take part in a march in Johannesburg.
SA opposition sets
sight on jobs crisis
AFP
Johannesburg
S
outh Africa’s main opposition party yesterday vowed
to fight key local elections
on the issue of unemployment as
it plots to challenge the African
National Congress (ANC) that
has ruled since apartheid.
The Democratic Alliance (DA)
hopes to make major gains in
municipal elections due between May and August, tapping
into widespread discontent over
South Africa’s dire economy.
Unemployment stands at more
than 25%, with the number rising
to near 40% including those who
have given up looking for work.
“We want to make job creation
a new national cause,” DA leader
Mmusi Maimane told thousands
of party supporters at a rally in
central Johannesburg.
“Unemployed South Africans must know this: President
(Jacob) Zuma and the ANC have
long forgotten you. “It all begins
with voting for a government...
that prioritises changing the future of the unemployed.”
The South African rand has hit
new record lows against the dollar this year, reflecting the country’s growing economic troubles
as commodity prices fall, growth
slows sharply and investors lose
confidence.
The DA’s campaign centres on
its claim that about 770 South Africans become jobless every day.
But the statistic has been de-
hree youths were seriously injured in
clashes with police in Sierra Leone
late on Tuesday after authorities ordered village traders to shut up shop while
they hunted for people who may have had
contact with an Ebola victim, witnesses
said.
Angry youths allegedly burnt down a police post in the northern village of Barmoi
Luma, reports said, as police fired tear gas to
disperse angry crowds.
Witnesses told AFP by telephone that
three youths were seriously hurt, with one
shot in the head and another in the leg.
Authorities said the trouble started Saturday when 30 local people were quarantined for having potentially had contact
with Marie Jalloh, a 22-year-old who died of
Ebola on January 12.
Some 50 others who may have come into
contact with Jalloh went into hiding in the
community, which is deeply suspicious of
western treatments for the deadly virus.
A town chief told AFP that police in Barmoi Luma had ordered market traders to
halt business and shops to close from Saturday “to minimise any risk of contact with
the runaway contacts”, and they had remained shuttered.
“This has angered residents who said the
actions of the police were arbitrary since
Marie Jalloh did not die in Barmoi Luma but
in Magburaka,” he said.
Health authorities believe Jalloh fell ill in
Barmoi Luma before travelling to the city of
Magburaka some 100km away.
Witness Fatu Jalloh told AFP: “Temper
flared up this morning when the police tried
to enforce the no-trading order and dozens of youths and women rushed into the
streets, hurling sticks and stones at police
search teams.”
She added: “I saw seven people injured,
three of them seriously... There were lots of
tear gas smoke and people were dashing for
cover.”
Doctors at the Italian-run Emergency
Hospital in the capital Freetown confirmed
that three seriously injured patients had
been brought from the area but declined to
give further details.
Police have denied using live bullets to
quell the disturbance.
Francis Hazeley, a local police commander, told reporters: “We did not use live shots
but used tear gas canisters to disperse the
protesters.”
Reports said the area was now calm, with
police withdrawing to the nearby town of
Kambia on the request of community leaders.
Senior officials including Health Minister Abu Bakarr Fofonah and national police
chief Francis Munu were holding urgent
talks with local authorities in Kambia.
Jalloh’s death came just a day after west
Africa had celebrated the end of the Ebola
epidemic which cost 11,000 lives.
Her aunt has since also been diagnosed
with the virus, with an official saying last
Friday that she was responding well to
treatment.
Fire aftermath
People inspect
the damage
after a fire
broke out at the
Kaduna Railway
Station Market
in Nigeria. More
than 100 shops
were destroyed
in the fire on
Tuesday, local
media reported
yesterday.
scribed as “misleading” by Africa
Check, a fact-checking website
created by, but editorially independent of, the AFP Foundation.
It said the figure did not include newly-created jobs, miscalculated the number of those
who have given up looking for
work, and used two different unemployment surveys.
The DA stuck by its unemployment statistics, which were displayed on a huge billboard where
yesterday’s march was held.
Ahead of the event, the billboard was badly vandalised, with
the DA blaming ANC activists.
The DA took 22% of votes in
the 2014 general election, which
was easily won by the ANC.
South Africa will next hold
general elections in 2019.
Final round of Central Africa election delayed
AFP
Bangui
T
he final round of presidential elections in the Central
African Republic, which
had been scheduled for Sunday,
has been postponed over organisational problems, the electoral
authority said yesterday.
“We can’t hold the election on
Sunday, it’s impossible, we will
soon announce a new date,” said
Julius Ngouade Baba, a senior
official at the electoral authority
(ANE).
Two former premiers, Anicet
Georges Dologuele and Faustin
Archange Touadera, are vying for
the presidency of the strife-torn
nation in the second round runoff vote.
Presidential and legislative
elections had been seen as vital for
restoring stability after the worst
sectarian violence in the chronically volatile and dirt poor nation.
Dologuele won 23.74% of the
vote in the first round on December 30, trailed by Touadera, who
picked up 19.05%.
Dologuele, a 58-year-old
former central banker, came to
be known as “Mr Clean” after his
attempts to bring transparency to
murky public finances during his
time as premier.
Touadera, also 58, is a former
maths professor who served as
prime minister under disgraced
ousted president Francois Bozize.
He was considered an outsider
among the 30 candidates running
for the top job.
At a meeting in the capital
Bangui, the government, ANE
and international community
representatives mulled postponing the second round to February
14, according to a participant in
the meeting.
There has been no official confirmation of the date, however.
“We drafted a technical report,
which was brought before various institutions for consideration. When everyone agrees, we
will quickly announce the new
date,” the ANE’s Ngouade Baba
said.
The announcement comes
after the country’s top court on
Monday annulled last month’s
first-round legislative vote over
“irregularities”, but said the second round of the presidential poll
could go ahead.
There were more than 1,000 candidates in the legislative election.
The new legislative elections
should be held within 60 days of
the last one according to law, but
that is unlikely to happen in this
poor country with abysmal infrastructure.
The latest violence in Central Africa set mainly Muslim
rebels against vigilantes from the
Christian majority, with civilians
the main victims.
Nearly 2mn people were eligible
to vote in the polls, seen as the way
out of more than two years of sectarian bloodshed that has forced
about one in 10 of the nation’s
4.9mn people to flee their homes.
The vote was marred by logistical problems including delays
in voting material reaching polling centres.
Gulf Times
17
AMERICA
Oregon standoff
turns violent as
occupier killed
AFP
Burns, Oregon
A
three-week standoff between police
and anti-government protesters at an
Oregon wildlife refuge exploded into
violence, with the group’s apparent spokesman killed by gunfire and the ringleader
among eight taken into custody.
The status of the occupation by ranchers
and farmers angry over federal land management policies remained unclear yesterday,
with some protesters still reportedly at the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in a rural
part of the state.
Details of the operation that led to Tuesday’s shooting - apparently as police arrested
occupation participants driving on an icy
highway to a meeting with local people - also
were murky.
The bloodshed provided a dramatic twist
to a standoff that has been quietly simmering
for weeks after first grabbing headlines.
Ammon Bundy, the rancher who led the
initial January 2 occupation in the northwestern state, was among five people arrested when federal agents and state troopers
stopped vehicles carrying the activists on a
remote highway, the FBI said.
Bundy, 40, and the others face a federal felony charge “of conspiracy to impede officers
of the US from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or
threats,” the FBI said in a statement.
During the arrest operation, “there were
shots fired,” the statement read.
After the highway incident, the FBI and
Oregon state police arrested two other men in
Burns, the town nearest to the refuge.
An eighth person, 32-year-old Jon Ritzheimer, surrendered to police in the southwestern state of Arizona on the same charge, police said.
Authorities did not immediately identify
the dead person. But The Oregonian newspaper said it was group spokesman Robert “LaVoy” Finicum.
The FBI said another person suffered non-
Robert LaVoy Finicum ... accidental victim
life threatening injuries and was rushed to a
hospital before being arrested.
The group was stopped on the highway
while traveling in two vehicles, CNN reported.
Apparently two men - including Bundy’s
43-year-old brother Ryan - disobeyed orders
when agents stopped the cars and resisted arrest, resulting in shots being fired, The Oregonian said.
The Bundy brothers are the sons of Cliven
Bundy, 69, a vitriolic anti-government activ-
ist who in 2014 engaged in an armed standoff
with federal authorities over unpaid cattle
grazing fees at his Nevada ranch.
Cliven Bundy confirmed Finicum’s death
on his Facebook page, saying that he “was
Shot and murdered in Cold blood today in
Burns Oregon” by the FBI and state police.
The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is
located some 48km from Burns, which has a
population of 3,000.
Malheur Refuge occupier Jason Patrick told
The Oregonian that the site was quiet. But he
added: “We’re all standing here ready to defend our peaceful resolution.”
Local radio reports said that neighbours
were being urged to leave the area around the
refuge.
Last week, some 30 people, including
women and children, were at the site, but
it was unclear how many were present on
Wednesday.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown urged calm.
“The situation in Harney County continues
to be the subject of a federal investigation
that is in progress,” she said in a statement. “I
ask for patience as officials continue pursuit
of a swift and peaceful resolution.”
The gunmen originally took over the Malheur reserve in protest over the jailing of two
local ranchers, Dwight Hammond and his son
Steven, who were convicted of arson.
Their demands soon grew to include calls
for the government to turn over area federal
land to local ranchers. In Oregon, nearly 53%
of the land is federally owned.
The Hammonds distanced themselves
from the movement and voluntarily began
their scheduled prison sentences after the
occupation began.
Several members of the local community,
notably the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association,
had condemned the takeover of the reserve,
while expressing sympathy for the Hammonds.
On January 11, the protesters destroyed
fencing surrounding the reserve.
Ammon Bundy has said they were acting at
the request of a rancher who wanted to graze
his cattle on the property.
Lizard found in student’s
salad is now a class pet
By Barbara Goldberg, Reuters
New York
A
tiny green lizard found by
a New Jersey kindergarten student in a bundle of
chilled salad greens at home has
wriggled its way into the hearts of
an entire elementary school class,
which has adopted it as a mascot.
The 7.5cm critter went unnoticed for a few days in the
refrigerator in Princeton, New
Jersey, before Sally Mabon and
her daughter Faye found its limp
body while unwrapping a bunch
of tatsoi, an Asian leaf, science
teacher Mark Eastburn of Riverside Elementary School in Princeton said on Tuesday.
Warmth restored its energy
and soon the anole lizard was on
its way to Riverside Elementary
School, where it caught “oohs”
and “aahs” like flies, and quickly
became the class pet.
Less Godzilla and more Geico
Gecko, the juvenile lizard has
been named “Green Fruit Loop”
by the children.
“It’s great because the kids are
studying DNA and the anole is the
only reptile to have its entire DNA
code sequenced,” Eastburn said.
Fran McManus, spokeswoman for Whole Earth Center, the
natural foods store where Mabon
bought the tatsoi, told Reuters by
telephone that a Florida grower
believes the lizard snuggled into
the greens as they were being
harvested in chilly temperatures
and then woke up as a stowaway
in New Jersey.
The lizard lurking in the salad
greens has turned out to be a valuable learning experience, Eastburn
said in an email to Whole Earth.
“It underscores that food
doesn’t just come from the supermarket but from actual outdoor farms,” the email said.
Also known as an American
chameleon, the anole changes
colour from green to brown to
blend into its surroundings,
which now include a glass enclosure near the blackboard in Eastburn’s classroom.
So far, the lizard has feasted on
a live cricket and some fruit flies
and has no appetite for tatsoi,
Eastburn said.
Plow plea!
Mike Mazza and son Gabriel stand outside of their subdivision, attempting to get plow service
for snowy streets, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Washington will need several more days to return
to normal after a weekend blizzard dropped more than 60cm of snow along the East Coast,
likely causing billions of dollars in damage and killing more than 30 people.
Obama urges swift
action on Zika virus
Positive test
AFP
Washington
U
S President Barack
Obama has called for
faster research on the
quick-moving
Zika
virus,
which is spread by mosquitoes
and has been linked to a rise in
birth defects in Brazil.
Obama on Tuesday urged
better diagnostic tests and the
development of vaccines and
treatments against the virus,
which the World Health Organization has said is likely to
spread throughout the Americas.
As of now, there is no vaccine
or medicine to treat Zika virus,
and no way to prevent it other
than by trying to avoid mosquito bites.
Obama was briefed on the
situation by top science experts
in the US government, including the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Health
and Human Services, and the
National Institutes of Health,
according to a White House
statement.
On Tuesday, the CDC expanded its travel warning for
pregnant women and those
A Virginia resident who
travelled outside the US
has tested positive for the
mosquito-transmitted Zika
virus, state health officials said
on Tuesday.
The adult resident had
recently travelled to a country
where Zika virus transmission
was ongoing and the infection
was confirmed through testing by US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the
Virginia Department of Health
said in a statement.
“Zika virus is acquired
through the bite of an infected
mosquito. Because it is not
mosquito season in Virginia,
this individual with Zika virus
infection poses no risk to other Virginians,” Virginia Health
Commissioner Dr Marissa
Levine said in a statement.
The Arkansas Department
of Health on Tuesday confirmed that a resident of that
state who had also recently
travelled out of the country
tested positive for Zika.
considering becoming pregnant
to avoid 24 areas in Latin Amer-
ica and the Caribbean that have
seen cases of Zika virus.
Now, travellers are advised
to postpone visits to the US
Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic, along with
Puerto Rico, Barbados, Bolivia,
Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia,
Ecuador, El Salvador, French
Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras,
Martinique, Mexico, Panama,
Paraguay, Saint Martin, Samoa,
Suriname and Venezuela.
There have not yet been any
cases of local transmission of
Zika virus within the US, although infected travellers have
returned to the country after
visiting other areas.
Zika virus is spread to people
primarily through the bite of an
infected Aedes species mosquito, according to the CDC.
Symptoms are usually mild
and may include fever, rash,
joint pain and conjunctivitis.
However, the virus can pass
from a pregnant women to her
foetus, and global health authorities are concerned by an
apparent link between Zika virus
and nearly 4,000 cases of babies
born with unusually small heads
- a condition known as microcephaly - in Brazil.
Chicago architect’s design picked for WWI memorial
By Tom Ramstack, Reuters
Washington
A
An artist’s rendering of Joseph Weishaar and Sabin Howard’s design ‘The Weight of Sacrifice’ released by the World War I Centennial Commission.
park-like design by a Chicago architect was selected for the National
World War I Memorial in Washington on Tuesday, the project’s organisers
said.
Architect Joseph Weishaar’s design,
called ‘The Weight of Sacrifice’, was picked
by the World War I Centennial Commission to be built at Pershing Park in downtown Washington. It will commemorate the
more than 116,000 Americans who died in
the war.
Weishaar, 25, and New York sculptor
Sabin Howard headed a team that finished
ahead of more than 350 other entrants in a
privately funded competition.
The final design faces a number of approvals before it can be built, including that
of the National Park Service.
It is expected to cost about $35mn.
“We’ve got a long way to go in the fundraising,” Edwin Fountain, vice chairman of
the World War I Centennial Commission,
told a news conference.
Each cubic foot of the memorial represents a US service member who died. The
centrepiece is a wall that includes etched
images of World War I soldiers in battle or
rescuing injured comrades.
Weishaar is a project architect with
Brininstool+Lynch in Chicago and a 2013
graduate of the University of Arkansas. The
design jury unanimously recommended his
design and the commission approved it.
The site will complete the national memorials in Washington to the four great US
wars of the 20th century - the two world
wars, Korea and Vietnam.
The new memorial, which will feature
trees and other greenery, will also honour
the 4.7mn Americans in the armed forces
during the war and the millions who served
in a civilian capacity.
The 1.75 acre site about a block east of
the White House already contains a statue
of General John Pershing, the commander
of the American Expeditionary Forces during the war.
World War I began in July 1914 and killed
16mn combatants and civilians. The US entered the war in April 1917 and more Americans died in the conflict than in Korea and
Vietnam combined.
“We lost more men in one month in
World War One than we lost in 14 years in
the war on terror,” Fountain said.
18
Gulf Times
ASEAN
Communist Party
re-elects Trong as
consensus rule
prevails in Vietnam
Top lawyer ‘rejected
advice’ to charge Najib
Reuters
Kuala Lumpur
M
alaysia’s
anti-graft
agency had recommended that Prime
Minister Najib Razak be charged
with criminal misappropriation, a source said yesterday,
amid growing outrage after the
premier was cleared of any offences in a multimillion-dollar
scandal.
The attorney-general on
Tuesday closed all investigations of Najib, after reviewing reports from the Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission
(MACC) on a case that involved
the transfer of $681mn into the
prime minister’s personal bank
account. But a source at the
MACC told Reuters that, when
it handed its findings to the attorney-general last month, the
agency had recommended Najib
to be charged for criminal misappropriation.
“It’s a pretty straightforward
case. We had made recommendations for charges to be filed
that the attorney-general has
instead chosen to reject,” said
the source, who declined to be
identified or to elaborate on
MACC’s findings.
The attorney-general’s office
was not immediately available
for comment.
MACC said in a statement it
would seek a review of the decision and declined to make any
further public comment on the
attorney-general’s findings.
Najib has been buffeted for
months by allegations of graft
at the debt-laden state fund
1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and by revelations
of the mysterious transfer of
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak leaves his office at the Parliament house in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
funds, adding to a sense of crisis in a country under economic
duress from slumping oil prices
and a sliding currency.
Attorney-General Mohamed
Apandi Ali appeared to have
drawn a line under the scandal
on Tuesday, announcing that
the money was a private gift
from Saudi Arabia’s royal family
and that no further action need-
ed to be taken on the matter.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing and said he did not take any
money for personal gain.
However, popular opinion
seems to be against Najib as he
tries to rebuild support ahead
of a 2018 general election, and
yesterday commentators and
critics denounced the attorneygeneral’s ruling as a whitewash.
“The court of public opinion
will continue to try him,” said
veteran journalist and former
editor-in-chief of the statelinked New Strait Times newspaper, A Kadir Jasin.
“As for all of us, we have to do
some serious soul searching if
we care for this country and its
future.”
Influential former Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamed,
Najib’s fiercest critic, said in
a blog that having that much
money in his account was
wrong in itself, and the attorney-general’s role as both judge
and prosecutor amounted to an
injustice.
Najib still enjoys the backing
of most of the powerful division
chiefs in the ruling United Malays
National Organisation party, and
most of his critics concede that
he cannot be unseated.
Moving to stamp out dissent
last year, he sacked his deputy,
replaced the former attorneygeneral and replaced him with
Apandi and cracked down on
opposition leaders and academics. Human Rights Watch said in
its World Report 2016 released
yesterday that Malaysia’s human rights situation had deteriorated sharply during 2015,
as the government stepped up
a campaign of harassment and
repression.
Separately, a report by global
watchdog Transparency International showed Malaysia’s
ranking in corruption perception had tumbled four places
last year to 54th among 168
countries. Its report is based on
perceived level of corruption in
the public sector.
“The government must provide the leadership and strong
political will to drive the message of zero tolerance for graft,”
said Akhbar Satar, president
of Transparency International
Malaysia, who said the 1MDB
scandal was one of the factors
behind the fall in the ranking.
“The general public are expecting high ethical standards
of both conduct and accountability from executive, judiciary
and legislative branches.”
Reuters
Hanoi
V
ietnam’s
Communist
Party re-elected Nguyen
Phu Trong to its top post
yesterday, an expected outcome that bolsters consensus
rule but creates some uncertainty about the momentum of
economic reform.
Trong, 71, is seen by experts
as a conservative apparatchik
and a party loyalist unlikely to
deviate from the party’s economic and foreign policy agenda, at a time when China and
the US are vying aggressively
for influence.
The five-yearly congress,
normally considered a dull affair, had stirred rare public
excitement about politics due
to the prospect of a leadership
challenge from pro-business
premier Nguyen Tan Dung,
whom the politburo overlooked
in its nominations for key
posts. Despite speculation of a
tense showdown, Dung chose
not to contest.
Trong was the politburo’s
sole candidate for party chief,
clipping the wings of Dung,
66, who had garnered broad
party support and cultivated
an image as a progressive with
his decisive running of a fastgrowing economy.
Analysts regard Trong as a
party stalwart keen to uphold a
collective rule that Dung’s ambition and popularity among
businessmen could have tested.
Resentment still festers
among Dung’s party opponents
over crises in the banking and
state sectors under his two-
term premiership, experts say.
Political analyst Nguyen
Quang A said Dung’s politburo exit was due to personality
clashes and the party’s consensus rule may not be an impediment as private business
booms and the country seeks to
integrate globally.
“There are forces outside of
the Communist Party that will
lead the progress of the country,” he said.
“Trong is no strongman, he
won’t overrule the collective
decisions. We can see a lot of
younger,
Western-educated
people now on the party’s central committee.”
A source familiar with internal affairs of the secretive party
confirmed to Reuters Trong’s
re-election.
The congress is due to endorse him today and announce
a new politburo.
The party has not officially
announced him retaining the
post, although the congress
website carried a photograph
of Trong holding flowers and
flanked by smiling officials,
with a caption saying they were
congratulating him on being
re-elected.
Some investors saw that as
a win for the old guard that
brings uncertainty about the
trajectory of an economy that
was spurred last year by a slew
of new liberal regulations and
Vietnam’s accession to multilateral trade pacts.
The re-election to the central committee of some key
policymakers and ministers of
Dung’s government, however,
could signal wholesale changes
may not take place.
UNREST
Forces evacuate
hundreds of members
of sect after clashes
Thailand
is top
Asia-Pacific
tourist stop
Indonesian security forces
yesterday evacuated hundreds of
members of a group authorities
have called a deviant religious
organisation to the capital, Jakarta,
after sectarian violence drove
them from their homes in West
Kalimantan province. Men, women
and children associated with a
group called Gafatar, which the
country’s highest Islamic council
considers a deviant sect, were
attacked last week by other West
Kalimantan residents who oppose
their beliefs. The attackers burned
houses and cars, media reported,
but there were no reports of any
deaths. More than 700 people arrived on a navy vessel at Jakarta’s
main port. They will be housed in
government shelters before being
relocated, officials said.
One of the evacuees, Ateng, 42,
who arrived in the capital with his
wife and six children, denounced
the violence against them.
“This is a violation of democracy,”
he told Reuters. “The law guarantees the right to assemble and
organise.” Authorities consider Gafatar’s teachings “dangerous” and
the group was outlawed last year.
People associated with the group
say it is a social organisation and
not a religious one.
Reuters
Singapore
C
hinese tourists can’t
seem to get enough of
Thailand, with visitor
numbers to the Southeast Asian
kingdom surging over the past
year at one of the fastest clips in
the Asia-Pacific region.
In a year that saw the Thai
military government grapple
with an outbreak of the deadly
flu-like Mers virus as well as the
bombing at a major shrine, Chinese tourists helped turn Bangkok into the region’s most-visited destination in 2015, according
to the first-ever MasterCard
Asia Pacific Destinations Index
published yesterday.
All three Thai destinations in
the 10 most-visited list —Phuket
was ranked fifth, Pattaya eighth
— recorded more than 10% yearon-year growth in international
arrivals, outpacing other locations like Singapore and Kuala
Lumpur, which were at No 2 and
No 4, respectively.
In 2016, the Thai government expects Chinese visitors to
make up a larger proportion of
the record 32mn people forecast
to visit.
TRAGEDY
14 dead in cold wave
At least 12 people died overnight in
Thailand as cold weather gripped
the country, officials said yesterday.
The deaths were caused either by
exposure or respiratory illnesses,
an official from the Department of
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
(DDPM) said. Two other people died
earlier in Chainat Province, also due
to the plunge in temperature.
A cold front has swept through
Thailand, sending temperatures
below five degrees Celsius in some
areas, more than 10 degrees less
than the average low for this time of
year.A high-pressure front has also
caused flooding and high storm
surges in the country’s south, with
more than 3,000 households affected, according to the DDPM.
Newly-elected members of parliament from the National League of Democracy participate in a study-visit to the parliament at Naypyidaw yesterday.
DISTRESS
Suu Kyi’s novice MPs learn ropes
in outgoing Myanmar parliament
AFP
Yangon
H
undreds of newlyelected Myanmar MPs
from Aung San Suu
Kyi’s party took lessons in
lawmaking from the outgoing
army-dominated parliament
yesterday, days before taking
their seats in the most democratic legislature for decades.
A landslide victory for Suu
Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in November
polls will give the politicians
their first taste of power when
the new parliament convenes
on February 1, a historical
turning point for a nation long
stifled by military rule.
The new MPs include democracy activists from all
walks of life and dozens of
former political prisoners, but
few have any background in
lawmaking. The country was
ruled by an oppressive military
junta for nearly 50 years, from
1962-2011. “We are now trying
to learn from the old MPs because we have no experience,”
said Naing Ngan Kyaw, a new
lower house MP from the central mining town of Mogok.
He was one of around 350
new legislators who attended
parliament sessions in the capital Naypyidaw to watch veteran lawmakers in action.
“It is in the interest of our
country,” he said.
Most MPs currently in parliament are from the militaryaffiliated ruling party, part of a
quasi-civilian administration
that replaced outright junta
rule in 2011 and initiated a series of major political and economic reforms.
As a key part of those changes Suu Kyi and some 40 fellow
NLD MPs entered parliament
for the first time in 2012, forming a minority opposition.
But the tables turned dramatically last year, when the
party swept nearly 80% of
elected seats in the parliament.
Many remain gripped by uncertainty over the transfer of
power since Suu Kyi’s choice
for president has yet to be revealed.
She is barred from the role
by the junta-drafted constitution and has pledged to rule
“above” the next leader - a
move she would have to balance against a desire to maintain harmonious relations with
the still-powerful army.
As the outgoing parliament’s
final day on Friday comes closer there has been a final flurry
of negotiations and political
manoeuvres.
Suu Kyi met army chief Min
Aung Hlaing on Monday and
a day later President Thein
Sein made a shock proposal to
extend the powers of the military-controlled home affairs
ministry by giving it control
over immigration.
The move would need parliament’s approval.
Suu Kyi’s administration
will face major challenges
such as high levels of poverty, an economy struggling
to take flight despite droves of
international investors, ongoing civil wars and desperately
overburdened infrastructure
and bureaucracy.
It was not just the new NLD
lawmakers who attended yesterday’s sessions. Some new
unelected military MPs, who
are allocated a quarter of parliament seats under a constitutional provision, were also
present.
Police find more
bodies of migrants
from boat
Malaysian police said yesterday
they had recovered five more
bodies from the waters off the
southern state of Johor, a day after a boat carrying illegal migrants
capsized in big waves.
Authorities launched a search
on Tuesday after 13 bodies were
spotted in the sea near the coastal
town of Bandar Penawar.
District police chief Rahmat
Othman said the boat had been
travelling from Indonesia’s Batam
island and was believed to have
been carrying up to 40 people.
“Some of the passengers managed to swim to safety, though it
is unclear how many survived,” he
said in a text message.
The bodies of nine men and
nine women had been taken to a
hospital for a post-mortem. More
bodies were expected to be found,
Rahmat said.
Indonesians travel to Malaysia to
work in plantations and as domestic helpers.
Gulf Times
19
AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA
US, China agree
on need for new
steps on N Korea
Reuters
Beijing
U
S Secretary of State John Kerry and
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi
agreed yesterday on the need for a
significant new UN Security resolution targeting North Korea after its January 6 nuclear
test, though there were few signs of concrete
progress.
Kerry, on a two-day visit to Beijing, had
been expected to press China, North Korea’s lone major backer, for more curbs on
Pyongyang after it said it had successfully
conducted a test of a miniaturised hydrogen
nuclear device, though the United States has
voiced scepticism as to whether it was that
powerful.
China has insisted it is already making
great efforts to achieve denuclearisation on
the Korean peninsula and Wang rejected any
“groundless speculation” on its North Korea
stance, following remarks from US officials
that China could do more.
“We agreed that the UN Security Council
needs to take further action and pass a new
resolution,” Wang told reporters at a joint
briefing with Kerry.
“In the meantime, we must point out that
the new resolution should not provoke new
tensions.”
Kerry said the two sides had agreed to
an “accelerated effort” at the UN to reach a
“strong resolution that introduces significant
new measures” to curtail North Korea’s ability to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile
programs.
“It’s not enough to agree on the goal. We
believe we need to agree on the meaningful
steps necessary to get the achievement of the
goal,” Kerry said.
The exchange of goods and services be-
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese
president Xi Jinping in Beijing yesterday.
tween China and North Korea was one area
where steps could be taken to pressure
Pyongyang back to talks, he said.
Kerry also said that shipping, aviation,
trade of resources, including coal and fuel,
and security at border customs, were key areas in the sanctions debate. North Korea is
heavily reliant on China for oil, gasoline and
trade.
“All nations, particularly those that seek a
global leadership role, share a fundamental
responsibility to meet this challenge with a
united front,” Kerry said.
He added that the US would take “all necessary steps” to honour security commitments to allies, signalling that the US was
prepared to continue ramping up its military
presence in the region, a move that would
likely unsettle Beijing.
The 15-member UN Security Council said
at the time of North Korea’s test that it would
begin working on significant new measures in
response, a threat diplomats said could mean
an expansion of sanctions.
Since then, diplomats said Washington and
Beijing have been primarily negotiating on a
draft resolution, but when asked on Saturday if
they were nearing agreement, US ambassador
to the United Nations Samantha Power said no.
After talks yesterday, which went hours
past schedule, Kerry said details still had not
been set.
In a sign that Beijing could be reluctant to
take a more hardline stance on North Korea,
state news agency Xinhua said it was “unrealistic to rely merely on China to press the
DPRK to abandon its nuclear programme,
as long as the US continues an antagonistic
approach wrought from a Cold War mentality”.
“Bear in mind that China-DPRK ties should
not be understood as a top-down relationship
where the latter follows every bit of advice offered by the former,” Xinhua said, referring to
North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Xinhua commentaries are not official government pronouncements, but can be read as
a reflection of official thinking. Wang added
that sanctions should be seen as a path to negotiation, and not as a punitive end in themselves.
Kerry said that a need for the United States
and China to find a way forward on easing
tension in the South China Sea weighed heavily in talks.
“I stressed the importance of finding common ground among the claimants and avoiding a destabilising cycle of mistrust or escalation,” Kerry said. “Foreign Minister Wang
Yi accepted the idea that it would be worth
exploring whether or not there was a way to
reduce the tensions and solve some of the
challenges through diplomacy.”
Wang said China’s activities in the region,
which have elicited unease from the US and its
allies, should not be construed as militarisation.
“China has given a commitment of not engaging in so-called militarization, and we will
honour that commitment,” Wang said. “We
cannot accept the allegation that China’s
words are not being matched by action.”
Power
A restored World War II-era Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter taxis on the tarmac at Japan’s Maritime
Defence Force’s Kanoya air base in Kagoshima prefecture on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu.
More than 70 years after striking fear into the hearts of Allied pilots, a restored Zero fighter took to
the skies in southern Japan yesterday. Former US Air Force pilot Skip Holm piloted the legendary
airplane owned by Japanese businessman Masahiro Ishizuka who lives in New Zealand.
Poison drooling Big Boy lends his
fangs to life saving programme
DPA
Sydney
A
ustralian researchers are milking a deadly
funnel-web spider with a leg span of 10cm,
the largest ever used for their anti-venom
programme.
The funnel-web, named Big Boy, is one of the
world’s deadliest species, and was handed over last
week to the Australian Reptile Park for the country’s sole anti-venom scheme.
It will be milked to produce an antidote for humans bitten by funnel-webs. Only males can be
milked, and venom drips constantly from the fangs
of Big Boy, the park said in a statement.
“They are a feisty species of spider and can be
expected to stand their ground and defend themselves,” said Liz Vella, Head Curator at the Australian Reptile Park.
The park regularly issues calls to the public to catch and send in spiders to produce the
anti-venom, which saves hundreds of lives per
year.
Big Boy is one of more than 500 funnel-webs
Big Boy
that
are
milked for
venom
at
the
park
every year.
Their venom is then
injected in
incremental
doses into
rabbits that
g ra d u a l ly
build up antibodies in their blood.
After 10-12 months, the lab extracts a small
amount of the blood, from which the plasma containing the anti-bodies is extracted to make the
anti-venom serum.
The bite from a funnel-web, which can live under water up to 30 hours, can affect the nervous
system and intestines, cause difficulty in breathing, and even heart collapse. According to Australian Museum website there have been 13 recorded
deaths from the Sydney funnel-web spider bites in
Australia, but no one has died since the anti-venom
programme was introduced in 1981.
20
Gulf Times
AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA
HK clears
ex-official
of charges
Reuters
Hong Kong
H
Taiwan navy fast attack boats take part in a military drill outside a naval base in Kaohsiung port.
Taiwan holds drills to
calm tension on China
The prospects of relations going bad
when the new president takes over
are raising tensions
AFP
Taipei
T
aiwan carried out military drills
yesterday with naval chiefs assuring
residents the island is safe, as concerns grow that tensions will escalate with
China after recent presidential elections.
The drills were the first since Tsai Ingwen of the China-sceptic Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) swept to victory
in the elections earlier this month.
She ousted the ruling Beijing-friendly
Kuomintang (KMT), bringing to an end
eight years of unprecedented rapprochement with China.
Yesterday, the Taiwanese navy displayed
eight warships and fired flares from a missile corvette during an exercise in waters
off Tsoying in southern Taiwan, home to
the island’s naval headquarters.
It was the second and final day of the
drills which saw a group of elite frogmen
land on a beach in motorboats Tuesday on
the island of Kinmen — a Taiwan-controlled outpost island near China’s southeastern Xiamen city.
A fleet of F-16 fighter jets were also
scrambled in another exercise Tuesday at
the southern Chiayi airbase.
“With the Lunar New Year approaching,
our citizens can feel at ease we are able to
maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait,” Vice
Admiral Tsai Hung-tu, head of the navy’s
political warfare office, told AFP.
Military exercises are routinely carried
out by Taiwan before the Lunar New Year
holidays which fall in February this year.
Although Tsai has pledged to maintain the status quo with Beijing, relations are widely expected to cool as the
DPP is traditionally a pro-independence party.
It does not recognise that Taiwan is part
of “one China” — a principle insisted upon
by Beijing.
China’s state-controlled CCTV last
week released footage it claimed depicted
a drill recently carried out by Chinese
forces, off the southeast coast of the mainland, near Taiwan.
Taiwan’s defence ministry dismissed
the footage, saying the images were collated from past manoeuvres.
A Taiwanese defence ministry official
who spoke on condition of anonymity told
AFP that the move was part of Beijing’s
“psychological warfare” against Taiwan.
China has 1,500 missiles trained on
Taiwan, according to the island’s defence
ministry.
China fired test missiles into the Taiwan
Strait in a bid to deter voters in the island’s
first democratic elections in 1996.
Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou’s
planned trip to the Taiwanese-held island
of Itu Aba in the disputed South China Sea
is “extremely unhelpful” and won’t do
anything to resolve disputes over the waterway, a US official said yesterday.
Ma’s office earlier announced that the
president, who steps down in May, would
fly to Itu Aba today to offer Chinese New
Year wishes to residents on the island,
mainly Taiwanese coastguard personnel
and environmental scholars.
But Ma’s one-day visit to Itu Aba,
known as Taiping in Taiwan, comes amid
growing international concern over rising
tensions in the waterway and quickly drew
the ire of the American Institute in Taiwan
(AIT), the de facto US embassy in Taipei in
the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
“We are disappointed that president
Ma Ying-jeou plans to travel to Taiping
Island,” AIT spokeswoman Sonia Urbom
said in an email to Reuters.
“Such an action is extremely unhelpful
and does not contribute to the peaceful
resolution of disputes in the South China
Sea.”
The United States wanted Taiwan and
all claimants to lower tensions, rather than
taking actions that could raise them, Urbom added.
On a visit to Beijing yesterday, US secretary of state John Kerry said Washington
and Beijing needed to find a way to ease
tensions in the South China Sea, through
which $5tn in ship-borne trade passes
every year.
“We talked about the possibility of a
diplomatic way forward and foreign minister Wang Yi accepted the idea that it
would be worth exploring whether or not
there was a way to reduce the tensions and
solve some of the challenges through diplomacy,” Kerry said.
Both Taiwan and China claim most of
the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also have
competing claims. Vietnam’s most senior
official in Taiwan said Hanoi “resolutely
opposes” Ma’s planned visit.
Itu Aba lies in the Spratly archipelago,
where China’s rapid construction of seven
man-made islands has drawn alarm across
parts of Asia and been heavily criticised by
Washington.
Taiwan has just finished a $100mn port
upgrade and built a new lighthouse on Itu
Aba, which has its own airstrip, a hospital
and fresh water.
Ma’s visit follows elections won by the
Ousted but not forgotten:
former Aussie PM Abbott
DPA
Sydney
T
ony Abbott, 57, made an
impression as a rigorous
and combative premier
during his time in power from
September 2013 to September
2015.
True to form, after being
ousted by Malcolm Turnbull in
last year’s internal Liberal party
ballot he lashed out at what he
saw as “sour, bitter character
assassination” in the media,
and Australia’s “revolving-door
prime ministership”.
Over a 21-year political career, the Jesuit-educated marathon runner gained a reputation
as a right-wing, pro-business
monarchist.
“I’m not saying that our culture, our traditions are perfect,
but we have to respect them
and my idea is to build on the
strength of our society,” he said
during his successful 2013 election campaign.
After university in Sydney,
Abbott won a Rhodes scholar-
Tony Abbott
ship to study politics and law at
Oxford University in England.
He became a media adviser
with the Liberal party in opposition before winning a seat in a
1994 by-election in Warringah,
north Sydney – the same seat
he is set to contest in the next
elections.
When Labor took over again
in 2007, Abbott held his seat.
He took advantage of divisions
caused by then leader Turnbull’s support for Labor’s climate policy, sparking a lead-
ership contest he won by one
vote.
After winning power in the
2013 general election, he cut
spending and some taxes, and
restarted the practice of giving
knighthoods by awarding one
to Queen Elizabeth’s husband,
Prince Philip. The policy has
since been scrapped.
Taxes on mining and carbon
were duly axed, although Abbott
committed to the previous administration’s target of a 5% reduction
on 2000 emissions by 2020.
His high-profile policy of
stopping migrant boats from
reaching Australia dramatically
slowed arrivals. He announced
that even successful asylum
seekers would not be allowed
into Australia but resettled
elsewhere, a policy continued
under Turnbull.
His ouster in September
came as the Liberals’ popularity slumped, with many
blaming him for Australia’s
suffering during the global
economic slowdown, paving the way for the arrival of
trained lawyer and investment
banker Turnbull.
Abbott has continued to
make headlines in the last four
months however, including for
a speech in London in October
encouraging Europe to adopt
Australia-style
immigration
policies; and for picking up a
fridge bought by his wife on
second-hand goods website
Gumtree in December.
With another election in his
sights, he is not going to disappear from the political scene
anytime soon.
independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Ma’s office said it had
asked DPP leader Tsai Ing-wen to send a
representative, but the party said it had no
plans to do so.
Beijing, recognised by most of the world
as the head of “one China”, deems Taiwan
a wayward province to be retaken by force
if necessary.
Yann-huei Song, a prominent Taiwan
scholar who advises the government on
South China Sea issues, said Ma was making the trip to make sure Taiwan, recognised by only a handful of countries, had
a voice.
“No one is listening to Taiwan,” Song,
who is a research fellow with the prestigious Academia Sinica in Taiwan, told Reuters. “You are not allowed to participate in
the multilateral dispute mechanism. What
would you do?”
Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at
Singapore’s ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute,
said he expected the Philippines and Vietnam to lodge a strong protest.
“But I do think it is unlikely they would
stage a similar visit involving a senior political figure going to one of their own occupied islands ... that would risk inflaming
relations with China and neither want to
go that far,” Storey said.
Asked to comment on Ma’s planned
visit, the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office reiterated that China and Taiwan had
a common duty to protect Chinese sovereignty in the waterway.
“Safeguarding national sovereignty and
territorial integrity as well as safeguarding
the overall interests of the Chinese nation
is the common responsibility and obligation of compatriots across the straits,”
spokesman Ma Xiaoguang told reporters
in Beijing.
Curbs in Auckland
after discovery of fly
Restrictions on moving fresh produce
and frequent inspections were still in
force in parts of Auckland on Tuesday
after a single fruit fly regarded as an
invasive pest was found last week.
The ministry of primary industry put
in place a Controlled Area extending
1.5km around the place where the
Tau fly was found on Thursday in the
suburb of Manurewa, 25km from the
city centre. The Tau fly is seen as an
insect pest in South-East Asia, where
its larva feed on host plants and
can damage produce. People in the
controlled zone have been asked not
to move fruit and vegetables on the
restricted list - which includes the fly’s
favourite foods such as pumpkins,
melons, cucumbers and aubergines from their properties other than to put
them in designated disposal bins.
Some 58 field workers are in the area
checking traps and collecting produce
for inspection but no further Tau
flies have been found, the ministry’s
manager for surveillance and
incursion investigation, Brendan Gould
said. “We are focused on finding out if
there is a population of these flies in
the area. If one exists, we want to get
rid of them as they pose a threat to
some horticultural crops,” he said in a
statement.
“We will be working closely with
schools ... to make sure parents have
good information about what can
and can’t go into school lunchboxes,”
Gould said. New Zealand’s climate does
not suit the species however, and the
ministry of primary industry says it is
unlikely the insect will establish itself.
ong Kong has cleared
its
former
anticorruption chief of
criminal wrongdoing, saying
there is not enough evidence
to prosecute him, the department of justice said yesterday.
Timothy Tong, the former
commissioner of the independent commission against
corruption (ICAC), had been
accused of entertaining mainland officials too often and too
lavishly during his five-year
tenure to 2012.
Tong denied any wrongdoing.
“In the present case, the
decision not to prosecute Mr
Tong is solely based upon insufficiency of evidence,” the
department of justice (DOJ)
said in a statement.
“The fact that the DOJ decides not to commence prosecution on the ground of insufficiency of evidence should not
be interpreted as an endorsement of Mr Tong’s conduct or
any part thereof,” it added.
The ICAC, credited with
ending the rampant official
graft that flourished during
Hong Kong’s colonial era, endorsed the DOJ decision and
said in a statement it would
not pursue any independent
investigations.
It also said it had tightened
rules on spending, including
on official entertainment, gifts
and overseas visits.
Inquiries by Hong Kong
lawmakers found that Tong
had lead 22 official ICAC delegations to mainland cities
and Macau while he was commissioner, costing a combined total of almost HK$2mn
($260,000).
The visits included multiple meetings with China’s
top prosecutor and dozens of
senior national and provincial
officials.
After he left the ICAC, Tong
was appointed to the Chinese
People’s Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC), a prestigious advisory body to the
mainland government.
Tong confirmed he had
also hosted meals for mainland officials from the central
government’s liaison office in
Hong Kong and officials from
the Communist Party’s United
Front Work Department.
Hong Kong returned from
British rule to China in 1997
under a “one-country, twosystems” formula intended to
preserve the financial hub’s
autonomy.
z The head of China’s statistics bureau, responsible for
calculating the country’s economic figures, is being probed
for corruption, a watchdog
said Tuesday, the latest target of a high-level anti-graft
drive.
“Wang Baoan is suspected
of severe disciplinary violations, he is currently under
investigation,” the central
commission for discipline
inspection said in a one-line
statement on its website, using a phrase that normally refers to corruption.
The announcement came
just hours after Wang appeared at a press briefing in
Beijing on China’s economy
in 2015.
“The fact that the DOJ
decides not to commence
prosecution on the
ground of insufficiency
of evidence should
not be interpreted as
an endorsement of Mr
Tong’s conduct or any
part thereof”
Last week, the National
Bureau of Statistics released
data that showed China’s
economy grew at the slowest pace in 25 years. Wang
reiterated on Tuesday that
the country’s gross domestic product calculations were
reliable, Chinese media reported, despite widespread
criticism of the data.
Questions have repeatedly
been raised about the accuracy
of official Chinese economic
statistics, which critics say
can be subject to political manipulation.
Wang was appointed head
of the National Bureau of
Statistics in April of last year.
He previously spent about 17
years in various positions in
the finance ministry.
Official allegations of graft
against high-level politicians
are generally followed by an
internal probe by China’s
Communist Party, and sometimes lead to criminal proceedings almost guaranteed to
end in conviction.
Internal investigations into
high-level party officials operate without judicial oversight. Once announced, they
are likely to lead to a sacking
followed by criminal prosecution and jail sentence.
Authorities have been pursuing a hard-hitting campaign
against allegedly crooked officials since president Xi Jinping took office in 2013, a crusade that some experts have
called a political purge.
Taiwan court orders
retrial of general
AFP
Taipei
T
aiwan’s top court yesterday ordered a retrial
of a senior military official acquitted over the death
of a young conscript that
sparked widespread anger and
brought down the then defence minister.
Corporal Hung Chungchiu, 24, died of heatstroke on
July 4, 2013 just three days before the end of his compulsory
year-long military service.
His family said Hung was
forced to do excessive exercise
as punishment for taking a
smartphone onto his base, and
that he had previously filed
complaints about other abuse
meted out by his superiors.
Prosecutors had said that
Hung was subjected to “cruel
and abusive” exercises when
indicting a number of military
officials over his death.
Major general Shen Weichih, the former commander
of Hung’s brigade, was sentenced to six months in prison
by a district court in 2014 on
charges of abusing his authority to confine the young conscript.
Shen was among 13 military officials jailed by the
court which also cleared five
others for their roles in the
case.
The high court cleared Shen
a year later on the ground that
he did not actually inflict harm
on the young man or could
have predicted the tragic outcome — a ruling overturned by
the supreme court yesterday.
“Doubt
remains
over
whether or not he (Shen) fulfilled his obligation to look after (a subordinate) and if this
was a negligence or an indirect
but intentional act ... which
should be thoroughly investigated and reviewed,” the
supreme court said in a statement.
Hung’s case was one of the
worst scandals to have hit the
military and triggered massive
street protests that brought
down then defence minister
Kao Hua-chu. It also dealt a
big blow to the government
of president Ma Ying-jeou,
whose approval ratings were
plummeting at the time.
Ma, of the China-friendly
ruling Kuomintang, has less
than four months left of his
term and will be succeeded by
Tsai Ing-wen of the opposition Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP), who won presidential elections in a landslide
victory earlier this month.
Gulf Times
21
BRITAIN
LEGAL
PEOPLE
DECISION
SURVEY
OFFBEAT
‘Bedroom tax’
discriminates: court
Singer Black dies
following car crash
FT journalists vote to
strike in pensions row
Quarter of Britons
‘have witness racism’
Club launches appeal as
mascot’s head disappears
The “bedroom tax” was declared
discriminatory by the Court of Appeal
yesterday following challenges by a victim of
domestic violence and the grandparents of a
severely disabled teenager. The government
said it would appeal against the ruling by
three judges over its policy of cutting housing
benefit for social housing tenants who have
a “spare” bedroom. It followed a hearing in
November over two cases. In both cases it was
argued that the policy, which came into force
in April 2013, unlawfully discriminates against
women and domestic violence victims and
against children.
British singer Black, known for his wistful 1980s hit
Wonderful Life, has died following a road accident, a
statement on his Facebook page said. The musician,
real name Colin Vearncombe, never regained
consciousness after a car crash 16 days ago and died
in hospital in Cork, southern Ireland, surrounded
by family members who were singing as he passed
away. “No need to laugh or cry/ It’s a wonderful,
wonderful life,” the statement concluded, quoting
Black’s most famous song. The 53-year-old’s funeral
will be private but will be followed by a memorial
service in his home city of Liverpool, northwest
England. News of his death was confirmed by a
second statement on his official website.
Reporters at Britain’s Japanese-owned
Financial Times business newspaper have
voted in favour of their first strike in 30 years
over a pensions dispute, the main journalists’
trade union said. “Financial Times journalists
are poised for a 24-hour strike... as talks broke
down over the management’s refusal to
honour pension commitments following the
newspaper’s sale to Nikkei,” the National Union
of Journalists (NUJ) said in a statement. It said
that the members voted “overwhelmingly” in
favour of the action. An NUJ spokesman said
the strike was scheduled for next week but
would not specify when.
About a quarter of British people have witnessed
racism in the last year and more than two thirds
of them regret not challenging the perpetrators,
a survey found. The Holocaust Memorial Day
Trust interviewed some 2,000 adults, with
25% saying they had witnessed at least one
“hate crime or hate incident based on race or
ethnicity,” it said in a report published to mark
Holocaust Memorial Day yesterday. Sixty-nine
percent of respondents said they regretted
not challenging those who committed “acts of
violence or hostility directed at people because
of who they are or who someone thinks they
are,” the report said.
Queen’s Park have launched an urgent missing
persons appeal after their mascot’s head
disappeared from the club pavilion. The Scottish
club tweeted a picture of Harry the Hoopo
(with his head intact) and the plea: “We beseech
you to leave no stone unturned in the hunt for
Harry’s head. He is a much-loved Queen’s Park
figure and we fear that should his head not
be returned there will be many young spiders
severely disappointed.” The League Two club,
nicknamed the Spiders, are currently awaiting
a ransom note for the missing hippopotamus
cranium but say that any information received
will be treated with strict confidence.
Southern Rail,
Thameslink
voted worst
in country
London Evening Standard
London
T
hree profitable train
firms serving London
faced passenger fury
yesterday after being named as
the worst in Britain.
Thameslink came bottom,
with 73% for passenger satisfaction, followed by Southeastern
on 75% and Southern on 78%,
according to figures from the
National Rail Passenger Survey.
The satisfaction level among
commuters was just 68% for
both the Govia Thameslink franchise and for Southeastern, with
Southern on 70%.
All three firms are part of
parent company Go-Ahead,
which reported profits from
its rail business rising 30.5%
to £25.7mn in the year to June.
Its chief executive David Brown
saw his pay package rise to
£2.1mn last year.
Shadow transport secretary
Lilian Greenwood said: “It’s
outrageous that the train operator is reporting rising profits and
awarding huge bonuses while
services are deteriorating. Commuters are enduring appalling
delays and overcrowding and
serious questions now need to be
asked over the viability of these
franchises.”
All three train operators have
been affected by the rebuilding of
London Bridge station.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Passengers must be
involved much more closely in the
planning of future big investment
programmes, such as at Waterloo
and Euston.
“In addition, these schemes
should have realistic expectations about performance and
price freezes built in from the
start. The deserved credit for the
investment will be much harder
to claim otherwise.”
Rail Minister Claire Perry demanded that commuters in London and the South-East must be
given the “best possible service
every time they travel” and had
not “always received the service
they deserve”.
But she added: “These figures
show that overall satisfaction in
this area is improving and this is
testament to the record investment and the hard work of rail
staff who made it happen.”
A spokesperson for Southern,
Thameslink and Gatwick Express said: “We know punctuality was particularly poor at the
time of this survey, making life
difficult for our passengers.
“Many of those delays were
outside our control, such as lorries hitting one particular low
railway bridge in Tulse Hill no
fewer than seven times, causing
125 cancellations and delaying
trains by more than 3,500 minutes. But we will redouble our
efforts with Network Rail to improve punctuality, with NR making track, signalling and other
systems more dependable and
GTR bringing in new, more reliable trains this spring and still
more drivers.”
The official added that increased passenger demand and
essential improvement work at
London Bridge had made any
problems on the Brighton main
line and Thameslink route “up
to four times more difficult to recover from”.
Southeastern
MD
David
Statham apologised for recent
delays and stressed it was seeking to address causes of disruption for which it was responsible.
NR said: “We are working hard
on the reliability of our equipment and it is improving. However, the very busy nature of the
railway in Kent and south London in particular means that the
impact of any problems is far
greater than in the past and lasts
longer.”
For Britain as a whole, rail passenger satisfaction rose for the
first time since 2012. The survey
of more than 28,000 passengers
found a slight increase in overall
satisfaction for last autumn.
Campaign event
Prime Minister, David Cameron listens to Conservative London mayoral candidate, Zac Goldsmith, at a campaign event in London.
Under-fire Cameron
defends Google tax deal
AFP
London
P
rime Minister David
Cameron yesterday defended the tax deal struck
with US Internet giant Google
as he came under fire in parliament yesterday.
Google is to pay £130mn in
back taxes to Britain following
a government inquiry into its
tax arrangements, a company
spokeswoman said yesterday.
Cameron was grilled on the
deal in the House of Commons by
opposition Labour leader Jeremy
Corbyn.
The left-wing veteran claimed
Scotland calls on PM to
admit refugee children
Guardian News and Media
London
T
he Scottish government
has added to growing
pressure on David Cameron to admit thousands of unaccompanied and at-risk refugee
children to the UK.
Humza Yousaf, the SNP minister who has spearheaded
Scotland’s response to the humanitarian crisis, called on the
UK government to increase the
number of refugees it is prepared
to accept and suggested that his
own government would be willing
to take more than its proportionate
commitment if necessary.
Yousaf has written to International Development Secretary, Justine Greening, asking her
to make available the resources
needed to underpin the calls from
charities, led by Save the Children,
to admit at least 3,000 young people who have already reached Europe without their parents from
countries such as Syria and Afghanistan, and who are judged to
be at serious risk from traffickers.
Yousaf, the Scottish government’s minister for Europe and
international development, held
a meeting with Save the Children
on Tuesday afternoon as pressure
grew on the UK government to
offer a safe haven after Downing
Street indicated at the weekend
that the prime minister was seriously considering the charities’
plans.
Speaking to the Guardian after
the meeting, Yousaf said: “The
public outcry over the refugee
crisis really began with the photograph of Alan Kurdi . That sparked
outrage at the time and now we
have almost cross-party consensus about these unaccompanied
children, with Tim Farron and Jeremy Corbyn also in agreement.”
Scotland welcomed 400 of the
1,000 refugees Cameron agreed
to take before the end of 2015, although the Scottish government’s
proportionate commitment was
to take 10%. But Yousaf insisted it
was “the floor and not the ceiling”
of how many refugees Scotland
was willing to accept.
However, he cautioned that
this willingness would have to
be matched with resources from
the UK government, saying that
“there has to be an extensive package of resources because (taking
unaccompanied children) is much
more complex than taking families”. Yousaf added: “There has
already been an overwhelming
response from local authorities Scotland has taken 40% of all Syrian refugees who arrived in the UK
before Christmas last year. People
across Scotland have been quick
to offer any help they can and the
welcome given to refugees arriving in our communities has been
outstanding. “I again urge the
government to do more and increase the number of refugees they
are prepared to accept. Scotland is
willing to continue to play its part.”
A spokesperson for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) reiterated the need to
have resources secured in advance,
saying: “While we support the desire to offer safe and secure futures
for some of these young people,
in the current financial climate,
we will have to secure assurances
about how this would be fully resourced.”
Google was paying an effective
tax rate of three percent on its
profits made in Britain. The 201516 corporation tax rate is 20%.
“I do dispute the figures that
you give,” Cameron replied.
“But I am absolutely clear that
no (British) government has done
more than this one to crack down
on tax evasion and aggressive tax
avoidance.”
Corbyn said workers filling
in their tax returns “do not get
the option of 25 meetings with
17 ministers to decide what their
rate of tax is. “Why is there one
rule for big multinational companies and another for ordinary,
small businesses and self-employed workers?”
Cameron said he was “genuinely angry about what happened
to Google” under previous Labour governments.
The Conservative leader, who
took office in 2010, said: “Google’s taxes are going up under this
government. We have put in
place the diverted profits tax that
means that this company and
other companies will pay more
tax in future.
“And more tax in future than
they ever paid under Labour,
where the tax rate for Google was
zero percent. “We have changed
the tax laws so many times that
we raised an extra £100bn from
business in the last parliament.”
On its front page yesterday,
Costa Prize
The Times newspaper said Italy
was set to strike a far tougher deal
with Google, equating to 15% of
its profits there.
Britain’s tax deal with Google
follows a six-year probe by Her
Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
in response to controversy over
low taxes paid by multinational
corporations which operate in
Britain but have headquarters
and subsidiaries elsewhere.
The diverted profits tax - nicknamed the “Google tax” - is
intended to stop firms moving
profits abroad.
Google is among several top
technology firms under pressure
over complex tax arrangements.
Eva Joly, vice chairwoman of
‘Bunch of migrants’
remark by PM flayed
AFP
London
P
Author Frances Hardinge smiles after being awarded the
overall winner of the Costa Book Awards 2015 for her
children’s book The Lie Tree in London.
the Special European Parliamentary Committee on Tax Rulings,
said it wanted to question Finance Minister George Osborne
about the “very bad deal”.
“We also want the head of
Google to come and tell us, because this is not fair competition,” she told BBC radio.
“This bad deal is very bad news
for everybody because it shows
that the UK prepares itself to become a kind of a tax haven to attract the multinationals.”
She added: “You have to do a
lot of calculation to know whether the deal that was struck with
Google was a good or a bad deal.
And I can tell you it is a very bad
deal.”
rime Minister David
Cameron came under
fire in parliament yesterday for referring to “a bunch
of migrants” in Calais, with
opposition MPs condemning
his words as “divisive” and
“shocking”.
Cameron was speaking about
a visit last week by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn to
migrant camps in Dunkirk and
Calais in northern France.
“They met with a bunch of
migrants in Calais. They said
they could all come to Britain,”
he said.
Yvette Cooper, who chairs
the Labour Party’s refugee
task force, said that Cameron’s
words, made during parliament’s weekly Prime Minister’s
Questions (PMQs) session, were
inappropriate for a “complex
and sensitive” issue.
“Cameron very wrong to
talk of ‘a bunch of migrants’ in
#PMQs. Divisive, not statesmanlike,” she tweeted.
Labour MP Imran Hussain
said it was “shocking” and a
senior Labour source said it was
“entirely unacceptable to a humanitarian crisis on our doorstep”.
The quote was also quickly
picked up on social media, with
many commenters pointing out
that Cameron used similarly
pejorative language last year
when he referred to migrants in
Calais as a “swarm”.
Many tweets also included
poignant images of Europe’s
migrant crisis alongside Cameron’s words and pointed out
the irony of his earlier tribute
to the victims of Nazi repressions on Holocaust Memorial
Day.
“Today it struck an especially
discordant note,” columnist
Jonathan Freedland wrote in The
Guardian.
“One of the lessons of the
Shoah... is that is all too easy
to dehumanise other people, to
turn them from human beings
with lives and needs and hopes
into a problem to be repelled,”
he said.
“To speak the way he did was
beneath the office he holds - and
beneath him,” he concluded.
22
Gulf Times
BRITAIN
Might back ‘Brexit’ to boost Scottish independence hopes: Wilson
Reuters
Dundee
S
ome Scottish nationalists, who strongly support
staying in the European
Union, might vote for a British
exit from the bloc in the hope of
boosting the chances of gaining
independence for Scotland, a
former Scottish National Party
(SNP) leader said.
Several senior British political
figures including former prime
ministers Tony Blair and John
Major have said that the United
House
price
growth
slows in
January
Kingdom could break up if Britons voted to leave the EU when
a referendum is held before the
end of 2017.
Former SNP leader Gordon
Wilson said that might lead to
some of its supporters supporting a “Brexit” in hope of boosting Scotland’s secessionist aspirations. He said he was still
weighing up how best to vote
himself.
“The SNP has a huge hinterland which may get impatient if
it doesn’t progress the leadership (towards independence),”
Wilson, who led the party in the
1980s, told Reuters in an interview in the eastern city of Dundee.
“I myself haven’t decided
how I’m going to vote (in the EU
referendum). I helped steer the
SNP towards European policy
(in the 1970s) but certain things
have happened and ... I want to
look at it strategically from the
Scottish viewpoint. It depends
on an analysis of how Scotland
can better achieve independence.”
Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of
the SNP and of Scotland’s devolved government, has said she
supports staying in the EU, and
polls show that a majority of the
5mn Scots would also back that
view.
However, the Scottish vote
is dwarfed by that of England
which has 53mn and represents
about 84% of the population of
the United Kingdom.
With opinion polls surveys
suggesting the EU vote will be
very close, Scottish nationalists
backing a Brexit could help tip
the balance, even if a majority in
Scotland still voted to remain in
the bloc.
Sturgeon has said that if Scots
Catherine Zeta-Jones dazzles
Reuters
London
H
ouse prices rose at a
slower pace than expected in January after a fall in mortgage approvals the month before, although
mortgage lender Nationwide
said yesterday that momentum should pick up in 2016 as
a whole.
House price growth cooled
to 0.3% month-on-month
from
December’s
eightmonth high of 0.8%, causing
year-on-year growth to drop
to 4.4%, Nationwide said below average expectations in
a Reuters poll.
The British Bankers’ Association - which represents most
major lenders, though not Nationwide - said mortgage approvals in December for house
purchase dropped to a sevenmonth low of 43,975 on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The housing market played a
big role in past economic booms
although the Bank of England
currently sees little danger to
financial stability apart from
“mild concern” about a surge
in lending to fund investment
properties.
BBA data also showed a drop
in net credit card lending in
December from November, in
line with earlier soft retail sales
figures.
“The housing market has
come modestly off the peak
levels seen around August. It
may also be that a shortage of
properties on the market is limiting housing market activity,”
IHS Global Insight’s chief UK
economist Howard Archer said.
Nationwide said house price
growth looked likely to pick up
modestly in the months ahead,
fuelled by a shortage of new
homes to meet demand and as
the labour market continues to
firm.
B
British actress Catherine Zeta-Jones arrives with Chelsea Pensioners for the world premiere
of the film Dad’s Army in London.
A
motorist has been jailed
for more than two years
after being found guilty of
deliberately driving head-on at
two cyclists to either force them
off the road or “scare the living
daylights” out of them.
Dean Goble, 40, targeted them
in two separate incidents 10 days
apart nearly two years ago in
Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.
The two cyclists, David Jones
and Jeremy Maiden, were each riding alone when suddenly from the
opposite direction Goble swerved
at them head-on in his dark blue
Peugeot 206 hatchback car.
Prosecutor Michael Butt told
Swindon Crown Court: “It will
be plain from the evidence you
will hear from these cyclists that
this was a deliberate act by a
driver who either wished to scare
the living daylights out of the cyclist or perhaps even worse run
them off the road.”
The first incident on April 30,
2014, on Ashton Road in Ashton
Keynes, Wiltshire was captured
on a camera mounted on Jones’s
helmet and shows the driver at
about 50mph hooting his horn
and heading towards the cyclist.
At the last minute the car
swerves out of the way and disappears into the distance. Jones
downloaded the footage and reported the driver to the police.
The registration plate of Goble’s car was identified from the
film and he was later arrested.
Jones told jurors: “The whole
incident was over in less than
two seconds. To tell you the truth
it happened so quickly and it was
all a bit of a shock.
“I think if I had veered to the
right I would have been in collision with the vehicle. The car
came directly towards me.”
Maiden recalled the incident
of May 7 on an unclassified road
between Ewen and Cirencester,
Gloucestershire.
“I found it very traumatic because for a split second you think
the car is going to hit you,” he
said.
Goble, of Parkway, Siddington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
was convicted of two charges of
dangerous driving but acquitted
of a third following nearly five
hours’ deliberations.
Giving evidence, Goble admitted he was driving during the incident with Jones but denied he
drove dangerously - claiming he
was trying to avoid a pothole.
And he insisted his brother
was driving the Peugeot during
the incidents with Maiden and
the third alleged victim Amanda
Adams.
“I just didn’t want to get my
brother into bother. It’s not a lie,”
Goble said.
Goble gave no explanation in
court for acting in the way he did
and insisted he was a “keen cyclist”.
Even his barrister Michael
Pulsford described the offending
as “bizarre” during his closing
speech to the jury.
The court heard that Goble
has 20 previous convictions dating back to his teens for handling
stolen goods, burglary, violent
disorder, criminal damage, affray, dangerous driving and supplying Class A drugs.
ing in (the EU), is that they have
to say ‘stronger in Europe’ and
that’s the mirror image of the
(unionist) ‘stronger in Britain’,”
Wilson said.
Sturgeon has previously said
there could only be another independence vote if a majority
of Scots voted for a party which
proposed one in a Scottish parliamentary election. Such an
election is due in May this year
and polls indicate that the SNP
will be easily returned to power.
But Wilson said another vote
on independence should be
some time off to ensure that the
economic arguments, unconvincing at the last vote, were the
right ones this time, less focused
on North Sea oil and more on developing skills in Scotland.
“Until you ratchet up support
to 60% you shouldn’t have another referendum,” he said.
“What will happen after dareI-say-it the distraction of the
(May) Scottish assembly election is a resumption of campaigning for independence.”
Wilson has no formal role in
the party but runs an independence think tank called Options
for Scotland.
Britain unions
ready to join
fight to stay in
EU: top official
Reuters
London
Motorist jailed for driving
head-on at two cyclists
Agencies
London
voted to stay but the majority of
Britons voted to leave that could
trigger another independence
referendum on Scottish independence.
Scots rejected independence
by 55%-45% in a vote in 2014 but
since then the SNP has gained
further strength, taking 56 of the
59 seats representing Scotland in
the national parliament in London in last May’s election.
However, the SNP’s support
for the EU does leave it with a
paradox, Wilson said.
“One of the problems the SNP
has in supporting Scotland stay-
ritain’s trade unions are
close to joining the push
to keep the country in the
European Union, bringing grassroots muscle to a fight that has so
far been dominated by big business and bankers, the head of the
country’s largest union group
said.
Unions will fight to stay in,
emphasising jobs and workers’
rights, Frances O’Grady, general
secretary of the Trades Union
Congress, told Reuters in an interview.
Voters were not yet listening
to the arguments because the
campaign to date has had little
to do with their everyday lives,
she said.
“There is a real danger that
this campaign is turning into a
debate between elites funded by
the big banks on the one hand
and hedge funds on the other,”
O’Grady said, referring to some
of the main financiers of the rival
camps.
Opinion polls suggest voters are split almost 50-50 on
whether to pull Britain out of the
EU in a vote which Prime Minister David Cameron is likely to
schedule for later this year.
“What we need to do is start
putting rights and jobs centrestage in the campaign debate,”
O’Grady said. “The bulk of the
rights at work that matter to us
originated in Europe.”
Britain has around 6mn union
Emotional moment
members, half the number of the
late 1970s. But the TUC, which
represents most unions, remains
a political force with close ties
to the opposition Labour Party
which is broadly supportive of
EU membership.
In a referendum in 1975, the
TUC campaigned to get Britain
out of what was then European
Economic Community.
But it turned pro-Europe in the
1980s when Brussels promised to
combine the allure for business
of a single European market with
strong protections for workers,
something that contrasted with
the bitter industrial conflict raging at the time between unions
and former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Last year, the TUC held off
from promising to fight to keep
Britain in the EU in protest at
signs that Cameron wanted to
water down the bloc’s so-called
Social Chapter incorporating
workers’ rights before he called
the EU membership referendum.
O’Grady said she was now confident that a weakening of protections such as guaranteed paid
holidays and parental leave and
health and safety rules would not
be among the reforms Cameron is
expected to clinch with other EU
leaders next month.
That means that all but a few of
the 52 unions represented by the
TUC are likely to urge voters to
stay in the EU.
The EU-mandated protections
for workers would be at risk if
Britain votes to leave the EU.
Many lawmakers in Cameron’s
Hit-and-run victim
‘slowly on the mend’
Agencies
London
A
Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, was visibly moved
while listening to Diana Parkes whose daughter
Joanna Brown was killed by her husband Robert
Brown. Camilla was visiting SafeLives, a national
charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse in the UK.
Conservative Party resent them
as an embodiment of EU overreach into the affairs of member
states.
For the TUC, by contrast, they
are sacrosanct. “A Brexit would
have massive implications for
jobs, rights, and the very fabric of
the UK,” O’Grady said, referring
to a possible British exit.
“If you take that floor away,
workers will be worse off. It’s a
hell of a gamble for those, who
want to leave Europe, to depend
on particularly the government
we have now to protect the rights
on which so many people’s working lives depend.”
The relationship between the
EU and Europe’s labour unions
has come under strain in recent
years. Many unions complain the
bloc has taken an increasingly
pro-business stance and were
appalled by the austerity measures that it ordered for countries
such as Greece, Spain and Portugal during the euro zone’s debt
crisis.
O’Grady said Brussels had to
show disillusioned voters that
it could help them by spurring
Europe to create more and better jobs. And, in an increasingly
competitive global economy, Europe represented the best bet for
Britain’s workers, she said.
“If I was asked the question, would workers be better
off under a model of capitalism
dominated by Russia or China
or America, the answer is clear,”
O’Grady said. “However imperfect Europe is, it’s better than the
alternatives.”
father who was left for
dead by a speeding hitand-run driver in a suspected stolen car is slowly on the
mend, his wife said.
Andy Payne, 53, is recovering at home after being flung
into the air by a Fiat 500 which
smashed into him as he crossed
the road.
Shocking footage of the hitand-run in Montague Place in
the Kemptown area of Brighton
has been viewed by almost 3mn
people, Sussex Police said.
At the family home in Hove,
East Sussex, Payne’s wife Lisa
spoke briefly and said: “He’s
getting better slowly. He’s not
too bad.”
She declined to comment
further as police continued
to question a man arrested on
Tuesday night over the crash
which happened at 3.40pm on
January 14.
The 31-year-old suspect from
Brighton was detained after trying to hide on a roof in Donald
Hall Road. He was held on suspi-
cion of dangerous driving causing serious injury, attempting to
pervert the course of justice and
aggravated vehicle taking.
A 56-year-old woman, also
from Brighton, who was arrested on suspicion of attempting to
pervert the course of justice has
been bailed until April 3.
In the footage released by police, a witness can be seen holding their hand to their mouth in
shock at the impact.
Payne is seen sprawled motionless in the middle of the
road as passers-by stand around
in disbelief.
Sergeant Dan Pitcher said:
“We know the CCTV was very
shocking but almost 3mn people watched it, we had 16,000
comments and more than 6,000
liked it on Facebook alone.
“More than 300 people
retweeted our appeal on Twitter. We have passed on all the
well-wishes from people on social media to the victim who is
grateful of the support.
“He is continuing to recover
well at home.” Meanwhile, police have traced the drivers of
four vehicles they were looking
to speak to, he added.
Gulf Times
23
EUROPE
Double
flu blow
forces
Russian
school
closures
AFP
Saint Petersburg
A
n outbreak of swine flu
has claimed some 22 lives
in Russia’s second city
Saint Petersburg and combined
with high rates of seasonal flu to
force authorities to close schools
and send residents flocking to
pharmacies.
Saint Petersburg has recorded
the highest number of swine flu
deaths in an outbreak that has
claimed some 80 victims nationwide since the start of the
winter, according to AFP calculations based on statements by
regional officials.
Authorities say there are
treating some 12,000 people
with flu symptoms every day and
up to 80% of these cases could
be swine flu, also known as the
H1N1 virus.
To stop regular flu and the
H1N1 virus from spreading, the
city’s primary schools will be
closed for two weeks from February 1, and some parents have
already taken action.
“I don’t want to take any
risks,” said Lyubov Anikanova,
who has refused to send her
daughter to school over fears
that she could catch the flu.
“We are hearing that swine flu
is very dangerous this year,” she
added.
Russian officials have tried to
downplay the seriousness of the
outbreak with Health Minister
Veronika Skvortsova saying on
Monday that the swine flu situation in the country was “completely under control”.
The country’s top doctor said
on Tuesday that the recent uptick in flu figures was not out of
the ordinary.
“The incidence of flu is above
average in some regions,” the
country’s top doctor, Anna Popova, told Interfax news agency.
“But overall the number of cases
does not exceed the average over
many years.”
Despite the assurance from
officials the recent flu cases have
seen residents of Saint Petersburg head to drugstores to stock
up on medication and masks,
emptying the shelves of pharmacies across town.
Some chemists have now already run-out of prescription flu
medication and other flu-season
essentials.
“We haven’t had many popular medications for a week now,”
said pharmacist Natalia Selezneva.
Health
authorities
have
pledged to restock pharmacies
with 100,000 masks and flu
medication to face increasing
demand.
“I would like to resist the
panic,” 67-year-old pensioner
Maya Yakovleva told AFP. “But
right now, the flu is everyone’s
favourite topic: where to buy
(medicine), the number of people who have died.
“It seems this is all we talk
about.”
More Zika cases emerge
AFP/Reuters
Copenhagen
D
enmark and Switzerland have joined a growing number of European
countries to report Zika infections among travellers returning from Latin America, where
the mosquito-borne virus has
been blamed for a surge in birth
defects.
“A Danish tourist who travelled to Central and South
America was diagnosed on his
return with the Zika virus,” a
hospital in eastern Denmark said
in a statement late on Tuesday.
The Danish patient was a
young man who was expected
to make a full recovery, the head
of Aarhus hospital, Lars Ostergaard, told broadcaster DR.
Two people returning to Swit-
In Spain, two cases of Zika
were detected in late 2015, authorities in the northwestern
region of Catalonia confirmed
on Friday.
Both were South American
women – aged 30 and 45 – who
had travelled to the continent
over Christmas. Diagnosed on
their return, they have since
fully recovered. Neither was
pregnant.
In Moscow, Health Minister
Veronika Skvortsova said that
the Russian authorities had been
“monitoring (Zika) since it appeared.
“Now we are working on controlling it as soon as any strange
strains appear ... to have domestic medication for prevention
and treatment,” she said.
President Vladimir Putin added: “We need to pay attention to
this ... work with transportation
None of the five people in Portugal who have tested positive
for the mosquito-transmitted
Zika virus required admission
to hospital, the National Health
Institute (NHI) said.
“As of today we have five confirmed cases, all imported from
Brazil. These people have not
been hospitalised and do not require further medical attention
as these are mild cases,” said a
spokesman for the institute.
The NHI is in charge of all epidemiology tests in Portugal.
A woman in the Swedish capital Stockholm was diagnosed
with the virus in July 2015, the
Swedish Public Health Agency
confirmed Wednesday.
“The symptoms were treated
and the woman recovered,” said
Karin Tegmark Wisell, head of
microbiology at the health agency.
zerland from Haiti and Colombia were also diagnosed with the
virus, the Swiss Federal Office of
Public Health said.
Neither was pregnant and
neither required hospital care,
the statement said.
Health watchdogs in a string
of European countries meanwhile said that they had recorded Zika cases dating back to as
early as March 2015.
The Netherlands confirmed
10 cases and Britain five, all
among people returning from
South America.
In Italy, the Spallanzani National Institute of Infectious
Disease said that four cases were
recorded in March 2015, while
in Portugal, the health ministry
said five Portuguese had been
infected.
All nine had been travelling in
Brazil.
I
n the 16th century, Daniele da Volterra was mocked
by contemporary artists for
agreeing to paint loincloths on
Michelangelo’s nudes in the Sistine Chapel.
Italian protocol officials must
now know how da Volterra probably felt.
Italy’s opposition leaders,
commentators and media grew
increasingly vocal in their criticism yesterday of ancient nude
statues being covered by white
boxes in Rome’s city hall and museum complex for a visit by Iran’s
President Hassan Rouhani.
Italian newspapers ran photographs of the boxes on their front
pages and even the minister of
culture called the decision “incomprehensible”.
He suggested a different venue
could have been chosen to host
Rouhani, who signed up to €17bn
crocephaly, or abnormally small
heads, particularly in Brazil.
The tally of cases of microcephaly in Brazil surged from 163
per year on average to 3,893 after the Zika outbreak began last
year.
Forty-nine of the babies have
died.
Some 20 Latin American and
Caribbean countries have been
swept up in the outbreak which
has extended as far north as
Mexico.
Travellers have also brought it
back to the US states of Florida,
Hawaii and New York.
So far there has been no
known cases of local transmission – infections that are generated within a country – in the US
or Europe, although France said
such cases had occurred in its
departments and territories in
the Caribbean basin.
French farmers block roads in
‘distress call’ over low prices
AFP
Rennes
F
People walk near the tram road blocked by tractors during a farmers’ demonstration to protest falling
prices of dairy and meat products, yesterday in Le Mans, northwestern France.
armers in northwestern
France used their tractors
to snarl traffic across the
region yesterday, demanding
urgent government action in the
face of plunging prices.
“Producers keep losing money
while processors and wholesalers
keep making more,” farmers’ unionist Eric Chanu told AFP in the
Normandy town of Le Neubourg.
“It can’t go on any longer.”
To underscore their anger,
farmers in the area dumped manure outside a slaughterhouse in
the town.
By midday, farmers were
blocking roads or impeding traffic with “escargot” (snail) operations in 18 locations in Normandy, Brittany and the Pays
de la Loire, the western region’s
highway centre said.
Farmers dumped hay and tyres
on a highway in Quimperle, in
Brittany, before setting the barricade alight.
Some 360km (220 miles) to the
east, tractors rolled onto a tramline in Le Mans, one of them with
“Le Foll Get Lost” scrawled on
the front, referring to Agriculture
Minister Stephane Le Foll.
Another banner read “Happy
to Have Fed You”.
The farmers said they were
sending up a “distress call” ahead
of a meeting set for today at the
government seat of Rennes, in
Brittany, which their union has
decided to boycott.
Instead, protests that have
proliferated since last week “will
continue”, said Thierry Coue,
head of Brittany’s chapter of the
FRSEA farmers union.
“We need answers, as well as
visibility,” he told a Paris news
conference.
The producers are especially
concerned over the falling prices
of pork, milk and beef, and an
announcement by Le Foll of a
new government support plan
failed to calm their anger.
Also yesterday, a major protest
was staged in Mende, southern
France, where some 130 tractors
from around the region descended on the town’s central square.
“Crises are piling up dramatically in the agriculture sector,”
said Julien Tuffery, head of the
Lozere department’s Young
Farmers group. “It’s all the more
terrible for a rural (area) like Lozere where agriculture accounts
for more than half of the economy.”
Christine Valentin, head of
the local chamber of agriculture,
dismissed Le Foll’s announcement as a “bandage on an infected wound”.
Union officials said Lozere
farmers had just learned that aid
promised in 2015 would not be
disbursed until the end of 2016.
The latest outburst of anger
over plunging prices comes after months of protest action last
year from farmers who brought
more than 1,500 tractors into
Paris in September.
The agriculture ministry estimated at the time that around
10% of farms in France – approximately 22,000 sites – were
on the brink of bankruptcy.
Uber France fined
Further protests against Greek pensions reform
Reuters
Athens
F
erries were docked at Greek
ports yesterday as sailors
kicked off their second 48hour strike this week, adding to a
groundswell of public discontent
over plans to reform the country’s
struggling pension system.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
launched a vocal defence of the
plan on Tuesday, saying that the
country had no choice but to reform a pension system which
had created chronic deficits and
would collapse if left unchanged.
Greeks, many of whom will see
contributions jump to about 20%
of monthly earnings to prop up
the new pension system, have responded angrily to the proposed
changes, staging a series of rallies
and protests across the country in
recent weeks.
Under the plan, which Greece
must adopt for its international
lenders to complete their first
review of its latest bailout, the
country’s pension funds would
be merged into one together with
cutbacks worth 1% of gross domestic product a year.
“We’re striking because our
main pension fund, the oldest in
Greece, will close,” said Lefteris
Saridakis, head of a union representing staff on passenger ships.
He said the workers planned
to step up action when the bill is
tabled in parliament next month.
Farmers who have been blocking motorways across the country on and off for days in protest
at planned to cut tax breaks for
farming as well as pensions remained defiant yesterday.
In a symbolic protest, they
handed out about 50 tonnes
of produce in under an hour in
a poor, working-class Athens
neighbourhood yesterday, where
a few hundred Greeks jostled with
another for free bags of potatoes,
lettuce and fruit.
Notaries also began a threeday strike yesterday, joining lawyers, engineers, doctors and other
self-employed professionals who
have taken to the streets against
the measures.
Without pension reform, Athens cannot conclude the first review of its compliance to terms
of a bailout worth up to €86bn
agreed last August, and move on
with talks on potential debt relief,
which Tsipras sees as a vital prize.
People reach out to receive free produce handed out by
farmers yesterday, in a protest action against the
government’s proposal to overhaul the country’s ailing
pension system in Athens.
Anger grows in Italy over ‘cultural sacrilege’
Reuters/AFP
Rome
companies, airlines, understand
the signs and react quickly.
“Of course mosquitoes cannot
fly over the ocean, but infected
people can and do.”
There is no vaccine or specific treatment for Zika, a flulike disease with a rash that goes
unnoticed in 70% to 80% of the
cases.
Most patients treat the symptoms simply with painkillers and
other medication.
The virus is transmitted by
the Aedes aegypti mosquito after it takes a blood meal from an
infected person.
The insect can also carry dengue, chikungunya and yellow
fever.
Zika was first reported in Africa, Asia and the Pacific before
leaping to the Americas, where it
has been linked to a jump in the
number of babies born with mi-
of business deals on his two-day
trip.
“Covering those nudes covered Italy in ridicule,” was the
front-page headline in Il Giornale, a leading opposition paper.
Neither Culture Minister Dario
Franceschini nor Prime Minister
Matteo Renzi had been informed
of the decision, Franceschini
said.
The Iranian embassy had asked
for the statues to be covered and
officials in Renzi’s office had
agreed without consulting their
bosses, Italian media reported.
Renzi’s office said it had started an internal investigation into
the matter.
A spokesman said he had no
information about whether Iran
had asked for the statues to be
covered.
Asked about the clash of cultures at a news conference before leaving Italy, Rouhani said
he knew nothing about it and
thanked Italy for being “very
hospitable”.
He said yesterday that he had
not asked his Italian hosts to cover up the classical statues.
A smiling Rouhani told reporters he had “no contact on the
subject” with Italian authorities.
“I know that the Italians are
very hospitable, a people who
seek to make their guests’ visits as pleasant as possible and I
thank them for that,” he added.
Rouhani and Renzi made
speeches in Rome’s Capitoline Museum on Tuesday,
with a huge statue of Roman
emperor Marcus Aurelius on
a horse featuring prominently
in many of the photographs of
the event.
But nude statues, including
a Venus dating from the second
century BC, had all been covered
up in temporary wooden cartons,
removing the risk of them creeping into any of the shots.
The museum cover-up was not
the only step taken in Italy to ensure the Iranian visit passed off
smoothly.
As Rouhani refuses to attend
official meals at which any alcohol is available, wine was strictly
off the menu at both lunch with
President Sergio Mattarella and
dinner with Renzi.
According to media reports,
France has baulked at making a
similar placatory gesture, leaving
diplomats preparing for Rouhani’s visit to Paris from Wednesday with a major protocol headache.
Italy’s
anti-immigration
Northern League denounced
what it called “submission to a
culture which we don’t share”.
Francesco Rutelli, a former
Rome mayor and culture minister, said that covering the statues
was “total idiocy and a cultural
sacrilege”.
“You can’t erase history. It
would have been enough to have
him go in another way,” he said.
Even mainstream newspapers
usually sympathetic to the government weighed in, saying that
the decision was tantamount to
denying the country’s own culture.
“Covering those nudes ...
meant covering ourselves. Was
it worth it, in order not to offend
the Iranian president, to offend
ourselves?” the left-leaning La
Repubblica said.
La Stampa criticised “those
geniuses of protocol” who feared
that Rouhani might have had a
“shock” if he saw the statues and
cancelled contracts with Italian
companies.
More than four centuries ago,
the Vatican commissioned da
Volterra to paint veils and loincloths over some of Michelangelo’s nudes in the Last Judgment,
an 1,800-square-foot panel in
the Sistine Chapel.
One papal master of ceremonies at the time is said to have
told the Pope that the painting
was “more fitting for a bathhouse
or a tavern than a papal chapel”.
Da Volterra went down in
art history with the nickname
“breeches maker”.
French taxi drivers extended
anti-Uber protests into a second
day yesterday as news emerged
that a Paris court had fined the
alternative car ride service for
skirting rules prohibiting its
drivers from touting directly for
business on the streets.
The fine of €1.2mn followed a
complaint from the traditional
taxi industry federation that Uber
and others were flouting rules
that limit alternative cab services
to pre-booked business – rules
that effectively keep hail-down
business for the traditional
licenced taxis.
The matter did not challenge
Uber’s mobile phone application.
The news came amid protests
by traditional taxi drivers who
partially blocked roads on the
edge of Paris and other spots for
a second consecutive day in the
latest outcry against what they
say is unfair competition from the
likes of Uber.
Rapist duo jailed for ‘moralist’ attacks
Two men who gang-raped several women and lectured them about
accepting rides from strangers have been sentenced to up to
seven years in prison, the Saint Petersburg prosecutor’s office said
yesterday.
The duo, nicknamed the “moralists” by the Russian press, would
pick up women trying to catch a ride home late at night in Russia’s
second largest city, Saint Petersburg, and rape them.
In Russia it is common to flag down any car and agree on a fare
with the driver, although the government has cracked down on the
practice.
“After committing the crimes, the criminals would admonish the
victims, saying they should not have caught just any car and should
have used a taxi,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The men raped at least three women, one of whom they brought to
a rented apartment and raped repeatedly over the course of a day,
the statement said.
The driver, Nikolai Burlakov, was sentenced to seven years in prison.
His accomplice, Anatoly Pagela, a citizen of Moldova, got six years.
Both individuals will serve their sentences in a prison colony.
Online platform for neo-Nazis banned
Germany has banned a neo-Nazi internet portal used by Holocaust
deniers to exchange content and post xenophobic slurs, part of a
crackdown yesterday that saw the arrest of two people suspected
of running the site.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere had announced earlier
yesterday that the website, Altermedia, would be taken offline.
Jutta V and Ralph Thomas K – whose full names have been withheld
under German privacy laws – have been arrested on charges of
spreading content tantamount to hate speech, prosecutors said.
They also stand accused of founding a criminal organisation.
24
Gulf Times
EUROPE
Top minister quits over
French anti-terror plan
DPA/AFP/Reuters
Paris
L
eading leftist politician
and French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said
yesterday that she has resigned
from her post after disagreeing
with a government-led reform
plan expanding measures to
fight terrorism following a string
of attacks in Paris.
In a speech shortly after the
announcement, Taubira said she
was leaving the cabinet position
due to a “major political disagreement”, acknowledging the
threat of terrorism but adding
that “we should not concede any
victory, neither military, diplomatic, political or symbolic”.
Earlier, Taubira posted on her
Twitter account that, “sometimes to resist is to remain,
sometimes to resist is to leave”.
The minister had expressed
her opposition to some aspects
of the constitutional reforms
put forward by the government,
which include a proposal to strip
dual nationals of their French
citizenship if they are convicted
of terrorism-related activities.
During an address to parliamentarians yesterday, Prime
Minister Manuel Valls said the
draft proposal would be changed
to remove reference to binationality, ceding to some of the fiercest critics.
He added that France would
The headline of a French newspaper Le Monde, which translates as ‘Taubira slams the door’, is seen next
to a French member of parliament attending a session of questions to the government at the French
National Assembly in Paris yesterday.
respect commitments under
international conventions that
do not allow actions that leave a
person stateless.
“Removing French nationality
from those who blindly kill other
French in the name of an ideology of terror is a strong symbolic
act against those who have side-
lined themselves from the national community,” Valls said after the measure was announced.
Taubira, who was one of the
ministers expected to drum up
support for the plan, had made
her disapproval clear during television interviews last month.
On iTele, she had called the
plan to strip French citizenship
from binationals convicted of
terrorism “ridiculous”.
Just a day before the reforms
were presented, Taubira announced the measure would be
dropped, only to be overruled
at the last minute by President
Francois Hollande.
Taubira has been hailed as a
staunch champion of the left,
particularly among a cabinet full
of right-leaning Socialists.
The French Guiana-born
black minister, who spearheaded
efforts to legalise same-sex marriage in France, had been the target of racist insults by conservative politicians in the past.
She became France’s most
senior black politician when she
was given the justice portfolio in
2012.
She was scheduled to travel to
the US yesterday to meet with
representatives of the Black
Lives Matter movement and Attorney General Loretta Lynch,
and to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of
Wisconsin.
The Elysee said French President Francois Hollande had appointed Jean-Jacques Urvoas as
the country’s new justice minister.
Urvoas is close to Prime Minister Valls, who has championed
the anti-terrorism measures.
A special commission in the
National Assembly will deliberate on the measures, before a
broader parliamentary debate.
They are aimed at extending
some of the extraordinary powers granted to the executive in
the current state of emergency.
Under the current threemonth state of emergency,
which has been in place since
Islamic State (IS)-affiliated ter-
rorists killed 130 people in a
night of co-ordinated terror on
November 13, existing laws have
been used to conduct administrative searches and bolster border controls.
Critics have said the plan
would expand the authority of
police and central government at
the risk of curtailing independent judiciary powers.
One of the main criticisms of
the nationality clause is that it
will drive a wedge between those
who are French only, and those
who hold a second nationality.
Under current French law,
those with dual nationality
who were born abroad may be
stripped of their nationality if
convicted of serious crimes.
But if the latest reform passes,
France would become “the first
democracy in the world” to enshrine the principle of unequal
treatment of dual nationals in its
constitution, political scientist
Patrick Weil told AFP.
While left-wing politicians
paid tribute to Taubira, those on
the right revelled in her resignation.
Far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen said Taubira’s
resignation was “good news for
France”.
Taubira’s resignation comes
as French media speculates
about a possible broader shakeup of Hollande’s team as it heads
into its last full year before presidential and legislative elections.
Death toll mounts in Turkey as HRW warns on civilians
DPA
Istanbul
A
t least 24 people are injured and trapped in a
house, unable to receive
medical care, amid clashes in
Turkey’s southeastern Cizre
district, the country’s main proKurdish party said yesterday.
The people have been trapped
for five days and several have
died, according to sources in the
pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the area.
“They must withdraw and the
ambulances be sent in to collect
the wounded,” Faysal Sariyildaz,
a local HDP deputy told the Firat
news agency.
The example highlights the
plight people are facing in the increasingly battle-scarred region,
the party said.
Kurdish officials said this
week that Cizre’s population was
120,000 prior to the escalation
of violence, but about 100,000
people have since fled.
The military said 465 militants
have been killed in the town since
December.
The government is employing
heavy weapons and armoured
vehicles in the fighting against
the Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) and its offshoots.
Meanwhile, the civilian death
toll in clashes between government forces and Kurdish militants has gone up to 168 since
July in the three most violence-
prone districts, HDP said.
Since December, the districts
have also been facing tough curfews, which have been criticised
by human rights groups as “collective punishment”.
In total, the army says it has
killed 744 militants in Cizre, Silopi and Sur districts in the past
six weeks, though the armed
PKK has said the figure is far
lower, without specifying, the
pro-Kurdish Firat news agency
reported.
The security forces, meanwhile, announced three soldiers
and a police officer also died in
the last day.
The information about the
number of dead cannot be independently verified.
“The situation in the southeast
has a fog over it, in which you literally cannot know the circumstance of fighting going on in city
centres,” said Emma SinclairWebb, the Turkey researcher for
Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“We do not see in the picture
presented by the government
any sign of civilian suffering,”
she said, adding that there was a
“denial of the civilian population
being victims of this terrible, declining situation.”
Ibrahim Kalim, a spokesman
for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that the
“state has to take measures”
against militants digging trenches in the southeast.
A two-year ceasefire between
the PKK and the state collapsed
Residents flee from Sur district, which is partially under curfew, in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir.
in July, after peace talks stagnated.
The government has said it will
not relaunch talks with the PKK.
The war in the southeast has
lasted for more than three decades and has left more than
40,000 people dead.
inces in the southeast, has seen intense violence during the past six months as militants from the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) clash with the state’s security
forces after the collapse of a two-year ceasefire.
The government has pledged to carry on with its military operations until the group is defeated and says it
will never again negotiate with the PKK.
Demirtas decried a “serious silence” from the EU and
urged Germany’s leadership to push for renewed
peace talks, noting Berlin’s close ties to Ankara and
influence within the bloc.
“While the war in Turkey is worsening significantly, it’s
not enough that Germany only makes a half-hearted
ceasefire call,” Demirtas said.
“The German chancellor or German president must
themselves, every day, make a call to return to the
solution process,” he added.
According to Demirtas, pressure to end the violence is
“compatible” with European efforts to reach a sustainable migration policy.
Europe saw more than 1mn migrants land on its shores
last year.
EU officials visited Turkey this week and pledged
the money would soon be released to help Syrians
and also called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the
southeast.
The leader of the HDP was, however, pessimistic about
the peace process being restarted in the next months.
He warned that there could not be progress without
his party and the PKK being part of the talks.
AFP
Vilnius
L
ithuania has launched the
trial of 65 former Soviet
officials over a deadly 1991
crackdown by Moscow during
the Baltic state’s independence
drive.
“All these people are accused
of crimes against humanity and
war crimes,” prosecutor Daiva
Lisauskiene told reporters.
Only two suspects, both Russian citizens, attended the hearing, a quarter century after the
massacre in which 14 civilians
died and 700 were injured.
Former tank officer Yuri Mel
has been held in Lithuanian custody since being detained at a
checkpoint on the border with
Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad
in 2014.
Another suspect is a Vilnius
resident who is reportedly cooperating with justice authorities.
The remaining defendants –
citizens of Belarus, Russia and
Ukraine – were represented by
their lawyers.
Lithuanian prosecutors also
sought to question ex-Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev as a
witness, but Moscow refused to
co-operate with the case.
Soviet troops entered the capital Vilnius to bring Lithuania
to heel after its 1990 secession
from the Soviet Union following five decades under Moscow’s
thumb as a republic of the USSR.
The troops stormed the city’s
television tower as tens of thousands of people formed human
shields to block their progress.
The
breakaway
republic
played a key role in the demise
of the Soviet Union in December
1991.
Russian President Vladimir
Putin once described the collapse of the USSR as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of
the 20th century.
Lithuania has been seeking
justice for the crackdown’s victims ever since the Baltic state
won recognition as an independent nation in September 1991.
Six Soviet-era Lithuanian officials were convicted and jailed
in the 1990s for their role.
The war crimes probe gathered steam in 2010 thanks to a
change in Lithuania’s criminal
code, allowing the trial of individuals in absentia when they are
abroad and cannot be extradited.
President Dalia Grybauskaite
hailed the move yesterday, but
said it was belated.
“It’s a partial step in the direction of achieving justice,” independence icon Vytautas Landsbergis told AFP, explaining that
even if the defendants are found
guilty, Russia will never extradite
them for sentencing.
Prosecutors seek life terms for journalists
AFP/Reuters
Istanbul/Ankara
Kurds accuse Europe of turning a ‘blind eye’ to Turkish rights violations
The European Union’s desire to strike a deal with the
Turkish government on stemming migration flows
has led the bloc to turn a “blind eye” to Turkish human
rights abuses, the leader of the country’s main proKurdish party said in an interview yesterday.
“To us, it seems that they turned a blind eye on the
human rights violations by the Turkish government, in
order to reach an agreement with Turkey on the migration issue,” Selahattin Demirtas, the co-leader of the
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) told DPA.
He was commenting amid a serious uptick in violence
in Turkey’s mostly Kurdish southeast that has drawn
criticism from human rights groups.
The migration deal, reached in November, is meant to
see Europe give some €3bn ($3.2bn) to Turkey to help
the country host Syrian refugees.
The country, a major gateway point for migrants trying
to reach Europe, has registered some 2.5mn Syrians
fleeing the civil war.
Many have, in the last year, traveled onward to Europe.
The HDP is a key opposition group to the governing
Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP)
of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is accused of
becoming increasingly authoritarian after more than
12 years in power.
Demirtas, who was attending a conference on the
Kurdish people in Brussels, warned that democratic
reforms were in the process of being reversed in the
country.
Demirtas’ main constituency, the mostly Kurdish prov-
Lithuania
opens war
crimes
trial over
Soviet
actions
A
Turkish prosecutor is
seeking life sentences without parole for
two prominent journalists on
charges of assisting terrorists,
according to a court document
seen by Reuters, after they published video footage purporting
to show the state intelligence
agency helping to send weapons
to Syria.
Can Dundar, editor-in-chief
of Cumhuriyet (pictured), and
senior editor Erdem Gul were
arrested in November in a case
that has drawn international
condemnation and revived concern about press freedom under
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The two are charged with intentionally aiding an armed terrorist organisation and the publication of material in violation
of state security.
Cumhuriyet published photos, videos and a report in May
which it said showed intelligence officials transporting
arms to Syria in trucks in 2014.
Turkey’s involvement in Syria
is particularly sensitive as the
Nato member is under pressure
to step up the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants.
Erdogan, who has cast the
newspaper’s coverage as part of
an attempt to undermine Turkey’s global standing, has said
he would not forgive such reporting.
He has acknowledged that the
trucks, which were stopped by
gendarmerie and police officers
en route to the Syrian border,
belonged to the MIT intelligence
agency and they were carrying
aid to Turkmens in Syria.
Turkmen fighters are battling both President Bashar alAssad’s forces and Islamic State.
However, Erdogan has said
prosecutors had no authority
to order the trucks be searched,
and that they acted as part of a
plot to discredit the government
– allegations that the prosecutors denied.
A prosecutor is seeking two
life sentences plus 30 years for
each man, according to the 473page document submitted to an
Istanbul court yesterday and
seen by Reuters.
The sentences include one of
“aggravated” life, which means
no chance of parole and solitary
confinement for 23 hours a day.
It also limits family visits.
It is not unusual in Turkey for
prosecutors to seek such combined sentences, but this is done
in cases involving violent crimes
such as murder.
The court has yet to decide
whether to accept the indictment, according to lawyers familiar with the case.
Erdogan and the state security agency are listed as the two
plaintiffs in the indictment. The
court declined to comment.
Government officials have
said the case is matter purely
for the judiciary, not a political
issue.
Dundar and Gul say the case
has no legal basis. They told
Reuters in a faxed message from
prison last week that their arrest
was instead designed to send a
warning to journalists.
The government denies there
is a political agenda behind the
investigation, saying there was
an “open breach of law”.
Emma Sinclair-Webb of Human Rights Watch expressed
dismay, saying: “We are absolutely clear that Can Dundar and
Erdem Gul, in publishing stories
on the subject were doing their
jobs as journalists and no more
than that.”
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Johannes
Hahn said on Twitter that he
was “shocked by life sentences”
demanded for Dundar and Gul
and that Turkey, negotiating for
EU membership, must respect
freedom of expression.
US Vice-President Joe Biden
said on a visit to Istanbul last
week that Turkey was setting a
poor example for the region in
intimidating media.
He met Dundar’s wife and
son during his trip, according to
Turkish media reports.
Following Biden’s comments,
Erdogan said terrorist propaganda was not freedom of expression.
Gulf Times
25
EUROPE
Merkel’s cabinet
agrees to toughen
laws on migrants
DPA
Berlin
G
erman Chancellor Angela
Merkel’s cabinet agreed
yesterday to toughen asylum laws to help deport migrants
found to have been involved in
criminal activities.
The changes come in the wake
of the mass sexual assaults and
robberies on women allegedly
committed by a group of asylumseekers at New Year’s Eve celebrations in Cologne and other
cities.
Under the draft law, which
was drawn up by Justice Minister
Heiko Maas and Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, asylumseekers or other non-Germans
sentenced to more than one year
in jail for crimes such as causing bodily harm, murder or rape
could face deportation.
The new rules form part of a
series of changes that Merkel’s
conservative-led coalition has
launched aimed at tightening up
the nation’s asylum laws ahead
of what is expected to be another
surge in refugee numbers this
year.
Prosecutors filed the first
criminal charges linked to the
Cologne attacks yesterday, following widespread criticism that
the police reaction to the attacks
was inadequate.
Local court spokeswoman
Sonja Heidel said that a Moroccan and a Tunisian, who allegedly stole a man’s bag containing a camera near the city’s main
station, are currently in custody.
They are expected to appear in
court in February.
The station was the epicentre
of the chaos that soured New
Year’s festivities for many women, who claimed they were encircled and attacked by crowds of
drunken men.
More than 1mn refugees arrived in Germany last year, placing enormous strains on the
nation’s resources for asylumseekers and triggering criticism
from within Merkel’s coalition of
her handling of the crisis.
A new opinion poll published
yesterday showed support for
Merkel’s Christian Democratic
Union (CDU) and its Bavarianbased ally, the Christian Social
Union (CSU), slipping over the
last week.
Support for the CDU/CSU
dropped one percentage point
over the last week to 36%, according to pollsters Forsa.
On Tuesday, the CSU further
fuelled tensions in the coalition
by sending the chancellor a letter threatening to take her to the
nation’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, if Berlin failed
to secure the country’s borders
and staunch the flow of asylumseekers.
CSU leader and Bavarian Premier Horst Seehofer has called
on Merkel to impose an annual
limit of 200,000 asylum seekers,
which the chancellor has repeatedly rejected.
The Bavarian government also
said yesterday that it was seeking
an additional €2bn ($2.2bn) from
Berlin to help accommodate the
refugees in the state.
Five months after Merkel
opened German borders to the
refugees in September, public opinion has gradually being
turning against the asylumseekers.
The change in mood in the nation and the growing political
tensions have forced Merkel’s
coalition to take steps to tighten
asylum laws.
In October, the government
introduced a package of measures aimed at boosting integration and streamlining the
processing of asylum seekers,
which was also aimed at helping
to speed up deportations.
But the government is now
battling to hammer out a compromise on a another new set of
legislation, which is due to be
considered next week by cabinet,
in part addressing the thorny
question of family reunions of
asylum seekers already in Germany.
Merkel, Seehofer and Sigmar
Gabriel, who heads up the junior coalition member, the Social Democrats (SPD), are due
to meet today in a bid to agree
on possible new restrictions on
family reunions.
Greece warned over
‘neglected’ borders
AFP
Brussels
G
reece has failed to protect
the EU’s external frontiers
from migrants and faces
border controls with the rest of
the Schengen passport-free zone
in three months if it fails to act,
the European Commission said
yesterday.
The highly critical draft report by Brussels heaps pressure
on Greece, the main gateway for
the one million refugees and migrants who entered Europe last
year in the continent’s biggest
such crisis since World War II.
Based on an inspection at the
Turkish land border and on several islands in the Aegean Sea, the
EU found Greece was failing to
properly register and fingerprint
migrants.
“The draft report concludes
that Greece seriously neglected
its obligations and that there are
serious deficiencies in the carrying out of external border controls that must be overcome and
dealt with by Greek authorities,”
Commission
Vice-President
Valdis Dombrovskis told a press
conference.
The report could pave the way
for Brussels to authorise other
member states to exceptionally
extend border controls within
the EU’s cherished Schengen
area, including with Greece, for
up to two years, instead of the
normal six months.
Dombrovskis said that if a majority of the 28 EU member states
adopt the report, the Commission will then draw up a plan for
shoring up Greece’s borders, especially its sea frontier with Turkey.
“Greece will then have three
months to implement remedial
actions,” Dombrovskis said. “If
necessary remedial actions are
not being taken there is a possibility ... which would allow
member states to temporarily
close their borders.”
The Greek government insisted that the situation had changed
since the inspection was carried
out.
“This report dates from November but important work has
been carried out since then. The
next reports will be very different,” Greek junior migration
minister Yannis Mouzalas told
AFP in Athens.
Mouzalas rounded on his EU
peers earlier this week, accusing
them of “lies” as Greece did its
best in hugely difficult circumstances.
EU Migration Commissioner
Dimitris Avramopoulos acknowledged Greece’s efforts in
dealing with the tide of migrants
and refugees fleeing war in Syria,
Iraq and Afghanistan, but said it
was not enough.
AFP
Athens
R
escuers found the bodies of seven drowned
migrants, including two
children, yesterday after their
boat sank off the Greek island of
Kos, the coastguard said.
The bodies were found during
a rescue operation launched after a survivor reported the sinking. The man had managed to
swim to shore on Kos and raised
the alarm.
The incident took place in
Turkish waters two and a half
kilometres (one and a half miles)
from Kos, the coastguard said.
Turkish and Greek patrol
boats, as well as two vessels from
EU border agency Frontex and an
NGO boat took part in the operation, the coastguard said.
The only other survivor
among the nine people on the
boat was a woman, who has been
hospitalised in Turkey in critical
condition.
The tragedy comes just five
days after 45 people including 20
children drowned off Kalolimnos
near Kos on Friday.
More than a million people
headed to Europe in search of
new lives last year, most of them
refugees fleeing conflict in Syria,
Iraq and Afghanistan in the continent’s worst migration crisis
since World War II.
The onset of winter does not
appear to have deterred the migrants, with boats still arriving
on the Greek islands from Turkey daily.
The UN says more than
46,000 people have arrived in
Greece so far this year, 31 times
more than for all of January 2015.
The EU is mulling allowing states in the passport-free
Schengen zone to reintroduce
border checks for up to two years
to cope with the migration crisis.
T
he United Nations’ refugee
agency UNHCR expressed
concern yesterday over
Norway’s policy on returning
migrants to Russia and plans to
tighten rules for family reunifications.
“We consider that the Norwegian procedure ... is cause for
concern,” the UNHCR’s representative in the Nordic region,
Pia Prytz Phiri, told reporters
at the close of a three-day visit.
“It’s a problem for us that Norway considers Russia a safe asylum country.”
year extension to the controls.
Austrian Interior Minister
Johanna Mikl-Leitner warned
last week that Athens could face
“temporary exclusion” from
Schengen.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert
Fico said yesterday that the EU
was committing “ritual suicide”
with its migration policy.
For Athens it is also an unwelcome return to the eye of
the storm just months after the
EU agreed a huge bailout worth
€86bn ($94bn) to keep debtwracked Greece from crashing
out of the euro currency.
Dombrovskis insisted that
the EU would not make Greece’s
bailout status dependent on how
it deals with the migration crisis.
“We are not linking the Greek
(bailout)
programme
with
Schengen-related issues,” said
Dombrovskis, who took a leading role in the protracted bailout
talks last year.
Confusion over
report of death at
registration centre
DPA
Berlin
A
Candles are lit next to a door at the State Office of Health and Social Affairs (Lageso) registration centre
for refugees in Berlin after news spread over social media on the alleged death of a migrant. Police and
health authorities in Berlin had no record of the alleged incident.
Seven
UNHCR ‘concerned’ by Norway’s policies
drown off
Greece
AFP
Oslo
“We know that in the meantime Greece has started undertaking efforts towards rectifying
and complying with the Schengen rules. Substantial improvements are needed,” he said in a
statement.
The European Commission report comes at the worst time for
Greece, just days after calls from
fellow EU members for the country to be suspended from the
26-country Schengen area.
In the last few months, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France and non-EU member
Norway have all introduced sixmonth temporary controls over
the migrant crisis.
They took the step to deal with
a wave of migrants moving mostly from Greece towards Germany
and Sweden, the main destination for migrants in Europe.
EU interior ministers had
asked the Commission on Monday to draw up a plan for a two-
Norway decided in November
that migrants who arrived in the
Scandinavian country after having stayed legally in Russia had
to be swiftly sent back to Russia
– without having their asylum
applications considered – since
Oslo considered Russia a safe
country.
Some 5,500 migrants arrived
in Norway via the “Arctic route”
through Russia last year.
After sending some 200 people
back, Norway stopped returning
migrants to Russia at Moscow’s
request, as Russian authorities
cited “security reasons”.
But Norway has said it is negotiating a resumption with Moscow.
The Norwegian return policy
risks depriving some legitimate
asylum seekers of their right to
protection, the UNHCR warned.
An independent body within
the Norwegian immigration authority, Landinfo, said that it had
been informed by the UN agency
that Russia had in January 2015
expelled two Syrians back to
their war-torn country.
Norwegian
Immigration
and Integration Minister Sylvi
Listhaug, speaking at the same
press conference as Phiri yesterday, assured that “we are of
course going to listen to what the
UN has to say”.
She added however that “there
are situations where the United
Nations recommendations go
beyond what our commitments
are in respect to international
conventions”.
The UNHCR also said it was
“deeply concerned” by Norway’s
plans to tighten rules for family
reunifications.
The right-wing coalition government, which includes an
anti-immigration party, has proposed that a person must have
studied or worked for at least
four years before being allowed
to bring over their family.
The proposal, which is still in
the early stages, would require
parliament’s green light and the
government does not hold a majority.
uthorities in Berlin were
working yesterday to
confirm a report that a
24-year-old man has died in Berlin after standing outside a facility for registering and accommodating refugees for days.
A member of volunteer group
Moabit Hilft took the man in on
Tuesday evening, a spokeswoman for the local group told DPA.
The volunteer called an ambulance for the man, who was suffering from a severe fever, but he
did not survive the journey to the
hospital, she said.
The death would mark another
damning development at Lageso
– a Berlin registration centre for
asylum-seekers, which has become a symbol for the country’s
lumbering and chaotic response
to the refugee influx.
The German senate’s department for health and welfare has
vowed to investigate the case
closely.
But late yesterday afternoon it
was still not able to confirm the
group’s claims.
“We have checked all hospital admissions,” a department
spokeswoman said, adding that
they had found no trace of the
man, despite volunteers claiming
that he had been confirmed dead
on arrival at a local hospital.
The city fire department has
also been backtracking emergency calls but without results.
“Why, I ask, did he have to
die,” wrote the volunteer who offered the man shelter in his home
on Facebook.
“Maybe because we haven’t
been given an appointment for
days?” he said in his post, which
stressed that the asylum-seeker
had been unable to see a doctor.
The helper, however, has since
deleted his Facebook posts and
has refused to speak to authorities.
A spokeswoman for Moabit
Hilft, a loud critic of the German capital’s handling of the
migration crisis, later said that
there was no reason to doubt his
claims.
Lageso, a German acronym
for the capital’s State Office for
Health and Social Affairs, has
repeatedly made the headlines in
recent months with images of its
long queues and tented accommodation sparking condemnation from across the political
spectrum.
In November last year, a security guard was fired from his
post at the shelter for using Nazi
terminology to verbally abuse
asylum-seekers and volunteers.
One month earlier, a fouryear-old Bosnian boy was kidnapped while waiting with his
family on the grounds of the local
authority building.
His body was found weeks
later in a case that added a tragic
new dimension to the tide of suffering that drove over 1mn people
to seek asylum in Germany last
year.
Russia warned against exploiting ‘rape’ case
AFP
Berlin
G
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei helps an Afghan migrant as he arrives with
other refugees and migrants on a raft on the Greek island of Lesbos,
in this January 25 file picture.
Ai Weiwei pulls art from Danish sites
Chinese activist artist Ai Weiwei is withdrawing works on exhibit
in Denmark, a protest at recent moves that make the country less
welcoming to refugees, Ai said yesterday.
Ai posted his decision on social media, a day after the Danish
parliament approved tighter asylum rules, including a controversial
plan to seize assets from asylum-seekers so they can contribute to their
own upkeep.
His exhibits in Denmark include the installation Yu Yi, 2015, which is
part of the exhibition A New Dynasty – Created in China at the Aros
Aarhus Art Museum in the western city of Aarhus.
Ai’s decision would also affect an exhibition in the capital, Copenhagen,
at the Faurschou Foundation. The exhibition, titled Ruptures, opened in
March 2015 and due to run until April 15.
Faurschou told broadcaster DR that Ai had telephoned him from the
Greek island of Lesbos, where the artist is filming a documentary on the
refugee crisis, and had expressed shock at the Danish decision.
ermany and Russia are
trading barbs over a
murky case involving the
alleged rape of a teenager, with
Berlin warning yesterday against
“exploiting” the allegations after Moscow hinted at an official
cover-up.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier accused Russia of
trying to “inflame” Germany’s
heated national debate on refugees over the claims by a 13-yearold German-Russian girl.
German police last week rejected the teenager’s account
that she was sexually assaulted
by immigrants in Berlin.
But Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday sought
to lend credence to the girl’s allegations and charged that her disappearance had been “hidden”
by German authorities.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert hit back yesterday, saying that “there is no
reason, in fact it is unacceptable,
for this incident to be politically
exploited”.
The teenager, identified by
Russian media as “Liza”, went
missing on January 11, reportedly
on her way to school.
She subsequently returned
and filed a police report, with
her parents telling investigators
she was kidnapped by three apparently foreign men at a railway
station in eastern Berlin and taken to a flat where they raped and
beat her.
The case sparked outrage and
allegations on far-right websites
and Russian media outlets of an
official attempt to bury the accusations.
However, Berlin prosecutors
said there was no evidence that
the girl was forced to have sexual
relations during that period and
opened an investigation against
at least one man on possible statutory rape charges.
Sex with anyone under the
age of 14, even if consensual, is
a crime in Germany and punishable by imprisonment.
Amid ongoing tensions between Russia and the West on a
range of issues, Lavrov used the
occasion of his annual press conference to draw attention to the
case.
“We are now working with her
lawyer. He is working with her
family, with our embassy,” Lavrov said. “It is clear that the girl –
absolutely, for sure not voluntarily – disappeared for 30 hours.”
Lavrov said he regretted that
news of Liza’s disappearance
had “been hidden for a very long
time, for some reason”.
He suggested that Europe’s
refugee crisis was prompting officials to sweep pressing issues
“under the carpet”.
“I truly hope that these migration problems will not lead to attempts to ‘gloss over’ reality for
political motives – that would be
just wrong,” he said.
Steinmeier rejected the insinuation and said the Russian
ambassador would be briefed on
the established facts of the case.
“There is no reason and no justification ... to use this case for
political propaganda to inflame
an already difficult debate on migration,” he told reporters.
Steinmeier pledged a thorough
investigation and said Russian
officials would do better to base
their conclusions on the German probe and not on “media
reports”.
Foreign ministry spokesman
Martin Schaefer earlier expressed
surprise at the sudden high-level
intervention from Moscow.
“We are pleased to see this
strong engagement of the Russian government for clarity, objectivity and transparency in the
criminal justice system,” he said,
with a touch of sarcasm, adding: “We hope that this interest
endures, not only for the case
in question ... but for all other
cases.”
The incident came to light
with Germany in an uproar over
a spate of New Year’s Eve assaults on women in Cologne allegedly carried out, for the most
part, by Arab and North African
men, that was initially met with
silence from the police.
Last year, Germany took in
nearly 1.1mn asylum-seekers,
most of them from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, with Chancellor Angela Merkel under
increasing pressure over her welcoming stance toward refugees
fleeing war.
Tensions between Russia and
the West plunged to a low point
over the Ukraine crisis and Syria’s civil war.
26
Gulf Times
INDIA
WILDLIFE
SETBACK
INQUIRY
DISRUPTION
ADVENTURE
Third rhino killed in
national park this year
Tribunal quashes probe
officer’s appointment
Delhi panel to probe
crimes against women
Manipur govt functioning
remains affected after quake
Woman police officer
conquers Antarctica peak
Poachers killed yet another one-horned rhino
at Assam’s Kaziranga National Park on Tuesday
night, taking to three the total number of rhinos
killed since the dawn of 2016, officials said
yesterday. The poachers also took away the
horn of the rhino, the officials said. The latest
killing came less than 48 hours after the second
rhino was found dead. “Gun shots were heard
from the Burhapahar range around 12.30am
and an operation was launched immediately.
But today morning the forest guards recovered
a carcass of the rhino from near the Deochur
camp in the Burhapahar range of the park.
The horn of the rhino was missing,” said the
officials.
In another embarrassment for the Uttar Pradesh
government, the Central Administrative Tribunal
yesterday quashed the appointment of an officer to
probe the case of suspended police officer Amitabh
Thakur, calling it “against the rules”. Thakur was
suspended and a string of probes ordered against
him after he lodged a first information report
against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh
Yadav for allegedly threatening him on phone.
The CAT said the government must also decide a
request by Thakur seeking an opportunity to be
heard by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, making it
clear in its order that he, as minister in charge of the
home department, is the competent authority to
take decision in cases related with the IPS officers.
The Delhi government has set up a commission
to inquire into complaints of crime against
women since February 2013. The government
issued a notification on January 19 which
became public yesterday. Retired district judge
Dinesh Dayal has been appointed the chairman
of the commission. Richa Pandey Mishra, wife of
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Dinesh Pandey,
and Surbhi Singh will be the other members
of the commission. The commission, having
a two-year tenure, will submit a report of its
findings every three months. The notification
said the commission will look into cases of
sexual violence, harassment of women, stalking,
voyeurism, and such crimes against women.
The Manipur government’s functioning has been
partially affected as the new secretariat building,
where several ministers and senior officials have
their offices, was damaged in the January 4
earthquake. Ever since the earthquake measuring
6.8 on the Richter scale jolted the northeastern
states, the general public has been inconvenienced
as ministers and elected representatives, including
parliamentary secretaries, and other officials
have not been able to function from the new
secretariat. To make matters worse, no senior
official is available to explain the situation. Sources
said the government was mulling alternative
accommodation for these ministers and officials
for the smooth functioning of the government.
A woman police officer
has successfully climbed
the Mount Vinson Massif,
the highest peak in the
Antarctic sub-continent,
an official said yesterday.
Aparna Kumar, an Indian
Police Service officer, climbed the 17,000ft-high
peak of the Mount Vinson Massif on January
17. Kumar hoisted the Indian tricolour and the
Uttar Pradesh police flag on the mountain peak.
She is the first woman officer of any All-India
Services to have done so. Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Akhilesh Yadav has congratulated her
for the feat.
70% of urban
India’s sewage
is untreated,
says survey
The untreated sewage is
dumped directly into water
bodies, polluting three-fourth
of India’s surface water
resources, says report
IANS
New Delhi
T
Students of Jadavpur University stage a demonstration against the suicide of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit research scholar of the University of
Hyderabad, in Kolkata yesterday.
Students protest in Kolkata
over Dalit scholar’s suicide
IANS
Kolkata
A
section of students of Jadavpur University boycotted classes yesterday
in protest against the suicide of
Rohith Vemula, a Dalit research
scholar of Hyderabad University.
The protesting students
said they have also expressed
solidarity
with
Deborshi
Chakraborty, a research scholar
and a former student of Presidency University who began
a hunger strike on Friday, demanding the resignation of central ministers Smriti Irani and
Bandaru Dattatreya in connection with the suicide.
Chakraborty has been sitting
in protest at a makeshift shelter
outside the Jadavpur campus.
“We are supporting his protest,” a student said.
On Tuesday, a rally in Kolkata
by the ultra-left United Students’ Democratic Front (USDF)
protesting over Vemula’s suicide turned violent.
Widespread protests have
rocked India following the death
of Vemula, who committed suicide on January 17 following his
suspension along with four other Dalit students over an alleged
clash with a leader of the Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
(ABVP).
In Durgapur, West Bengal,
Irani accused the ruling Trina-
mool Congress of indulging in
vote bank politics over the suicide of the Dalit scholar.
“Trinamool leader Derek
O’Brien had gone to Hyderabad
to demand justice for the Dalit
student. I want to ask him... in
Nadia, a Trinamool leader had
murdered three Dalits inside
their home in May 2015... Why
didn’t O’Brien visit their families?” Irani asked.
“Because for him, vote bank
‘tamasha’ in Hyderabad is more
important than securing justice
in Nadia,” she said at a public
rally in Durgapur, around 165km
from Kolkata.
Last week a two-member
Trinamool MP delegation, led
by O’Brien, its leader in the Ra-
Chandy took Rs19mn bribe,
says solar scam accused
By Ashraf Padanna
Gulf Times Correspondent
Thiruvananthapuram
A
woman standing trial in 33
cheating cases across Kerala yesterday alleged that
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy
took a bribe of Rs19mn from her.
Deposing before the ‘solar commission’ probing the Rs70mn
scam, Saritha S Nair said Chandy’s
Delhi-based ‘friend’ Thomas Kuruvilla demanded Rs70mn from
her and took Rs19mn for clearing
‘solar solutions’ she was offering.
She and her companion Biju
Radhakrishnan were arrested
two years back for cheating unsuspecting customers of nearly
Rs70mn promising solar solutions, mainly rooftop panels. A
court later sent Radhakrishnan to
jail for life for killing his wife.
Nair claimed Power Minister Aryadan Mohamed also took
Rs4mn from her through a middleman and released an audiotape
of a telephone conversation with
Congress leader Thampanoor
Ravi.
He was heard asking her to parrot Chandy’s statement to the
one-man commission during a
14-hour marathon hearing on
Monday in which he said he might
have met the woman thrice.
Chandy said her claims were
baseless, and he never had
done any favour to the couple.
He received a dud cheque for
Rs200,000 from them to the
Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
“They couldn’t even honour
that cheque. Who’s then going to
believe that they paid us millions,”
he told reporters here. Mohamed
said Nair had called him seeking
his help to promote her business,
but he refused.
Mohamed said the liquor lobby
angry at the government’s prohibition policy was behind the al-
legations and those who believed
her would regret. He had a CD
with him showing her relations
with some of the media houses
which promoted her “business”.
Ravi said he talked in length
when she called him as there were
reports that opposition politicians and the liquor lobby were
after her to make such a statement in the run-up to the state
elections later this year.
“Being in public life, I used to
take all calls coming to my cell
phone number which is available
on the party’s website, and had
got her calls many times,” he told
this correspondent.
Nair had earlier told a television channel that she was offered
Rs100mn by the opposition to
make allegations against the chief
minister and other ministers and
that senior Communist Party of
India (Marxist) leader E P Jayarajan approached her through her
lawyer with a similar demand.
jya Sabha, spent a long time at
the Hyderabad University campus and addressed the students
demanding justice for Vemula.
Irani also slammed the
Mamata Banerjee-led government on recent incidents of violence in the state.
“In Malda, a police station
was burnt. Police watched the
tamasha and Mamata did not say
a word. Nobody said anything
when the constitutional laws
were being torn apart,” she said.
Irani also criticised the party
on the sensational hit-andrun case in which an Indian
Air Force corporal was mowed
down in Kolkata. He was killed
while supervising the Republic
Day Parade rehearsals.
here are four years left for
the government target of
ensuring all Indians use
toilets, but in urban India alone,
no more than 30% of sewage
generated by 377mn people flows
through treatment plants.
The rest is randomly dumped in
rivers, seas, lakes and wells, polluting three-fourths of the country’s water bodies, according to
an IndiaSpend analysis of various
data sources.
An estimated 62,000mn litres
per day (mld) of sewage is generated in urban areas, while the
treatment capacity across India is
only 23,277 mld, or 37% of sewage
generated, according to data released by the government in December 2015.
Further parsing of this data reveals that of 816 municipal sewage treatment plants (STPs) listed
across India, 522 work. So, of
62,000 mld, the listed capacity is
23,277 mld but no more than 18,883
mld of sewage is actually treated.
That means 70% of sewage generated in urban India is not treated.
While 79 STPs don’t work, 145
are under construction and 70
are proposed, according to the
Central Pollution Control Board’s
Inventorisation Of Sewage Treatment Plants report.
India’s towns and cities contaminate their own water, with no
improvement over the years.
Sewage generation in India from class-I cities (with a
population more than 100,000)
and class-II towns (population
50,000-100,000) is estimated at
38,255 mld, of which only 11,787
mld (30%) is treated, according
to the Faecal Sludge Management
(FSM) report by Water Aid, a safewater and sanitation advocacy,
quoting a 2009 CPCB report.
The untreated sewage is
dumped directly into water bodies, polluting three-fourth of India’s surface water resources, the
FSM report said. Up to 80% of
water bodies could be polluted,
the report said.
Operation and maintenance of
existing treatment capacity is below par, with 39% plants not conforming to environmental rules
for discharge into streams, the
CPCB report said.
An estimated 75% to 80% of
water pollution is from domestic
sewage, discharged untreated into
local water bodies.
Of the 522 working STPs across
India, the maximum are in the
northern state of Punjab, which
has 86. But no more than 38 work.
Uttar Pradesh has the most
working STPs, 62, followed by
Maharashtra (60) and Karnataka
(44).
About 17mn urban households
lack adequate sanitation facilities
in India, with 14.7mn households
without toilets, the FSM report
said.
If you consider five people per
family, that means about 85mn
people - or more than the population of Germany - are without adequate sanitation in urban India.
In terms of rural households,
only 48.4% (87.9mn) have toilet
facilities as on December 7, 2015,
according to a minister’s statement in the Lok Sabha.
Around 5mn (7.1%) urban
households have pit latrines that
have no slabs or are open pits, and
about 900,000 toilets dispose off
faeces directly into drains.
Only 32.7% of urban households that have sanitation facilities use toilets connected to an
underground sewage network.
As many as 30mn urban
Pawar leaves hospital
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar is seen with family members after he was
discharged from a hospital in Pune yesterday. The former defence minister was admitted to
Ruby Hospital for a routine medical test.
households (38.2%), of the 79mn
households with septic tanks,
have no clear method for sewage
disposal.
About 12.6% of urban households defecate in the open. This
number is higher for slums, with
18.9% of households defecating in
the open.
Around 1.7% of households
across India defecate in the open
despite having toilets, the government informed the Lok Sabha last
month, based on a 2012 National
Sample Survey report.
In Madhya Pradesh, around
22.5% urban households defecate
in the open, followed by Tamil
Nadu (16.2%), Uttar Pradesh
(14.8%), Gujarat (8.7%), Maharashtra (7.7%) and Delhi (3%).
A staggering 55% of rural
households defecate in the open,
according to data tabled in the
Lok Sabha on May 7, 2015. Odisha
tops the list, with 86.6% of rural
households defecating in the open.
In Kerala, no more than 3.9% of
households defecate in the open.
The proportion of people practising open defecation globally
has fallen almost by half, from
24% in 1990 to 13% in 2015.
About 68% of the world’s population had access to improved
sanitation facilities, including
flush toilets and covered latrines,
in 2015, according to the World
Health Organisation (WHO).
However, nearly 2.4bn people
across the world lack basic sanitation facilities, such as toilets or latrines. Of these, 946mn defecate in
the open, according to the WHO.
The Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission, launched by the
government on October 2, 2014,
aims to make India open defecation-free by October 2, 2019.
The government plans to construct 2.5mn individual household
toilets in urban areas by 2016, of
which 882,905 were constructed
up to December, 2015, according to
the latest data available.
Death penalty
commuted
The Delhi High Court
yesterday commuted to life
term the death sentence
handed down to serial killer
Chandrakant Jha. Justices
Sanjiv Khanna and R K
Gauba commuted the death
penalty, saying there was no
eyewitness in the case but
held that the imprisonment
would be for entire life without
remission. “In the present
case, there is no eyewitness
and the prosecution has relied
upon circumstantial evidence
which, we have held, has been
proved beyond reasonable
doubt,” the court said. “We
would convert the death
sentence to life imprisonment
(or) imprisonment for
entire life without remission
without affecting the power
under articles 72 and 161
of the constitution. This
would be appropriate and
proportional sentence. We
order accordingly.” Jha,
from Madhepura in Bihar,
was sentenced to death in
2013 in two cases and to life
imprisonment in one.
Gulf Times
27
INDIA
Rights group seeks probe into police inaction over rape complaints
Reuters
Raipur
P
olice in Chhattisgarh face
mounting criticism for
delays in registering complaints of rape during operations
against Maoist rebels, with Amnesty International India demanding an independent probe
into police inaction.
One of India’s poorest regions,
Chhattisgarh has seen major security operations to flush out
Maoist rebels who say they are
fighting for the rights of poor
farmers and landless labourers to
land and a greater claim on mineral wealth.
According to Amnesty’s India
office, 13 women from the Adivasi group said they were raped
and sexually assaulted by police
and security forces during antiMaoist raids in Nendra village
between January 11 and 14.
“Two men caught hold of me
and dragged me inside my house
and sexually assaulted me,” one
woman told the human rights
group.
“One policeman said, ‘We
will burn down your houses. If it
wasn’t daytime, we would have
killed you.’”
Despite changes to India’s
anti-rape laws, which make it
mandatory for police to file a case
as soon as a sexual violence complaint is brought to them, it took
a week for the first information
report (FIR) or official complaint
to be recorded, a lawyer for the
women said.
“Instead of helping the women, the police have made it difficult for them at every step,” hu-
man rights lawyer Shalini Gera
told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“And we feel even the filing of
the FIR is just a bureaucratic step
and the investigation will not
be started any time soon, since
there is no indication on when
the statements of the complainants will be recorded.”
Rape victims in India have to
contend with an archaic, poorly
funded and insensitive criminal
justice system, campaigners say.
Those brave enough to go to
the police face numerous chal-
lenges such as hostile police officers, unsympathetic forensic
examinations, a lack of counselling, shoddy police investigations and weak prosecutions in
the courts, they say.
The tribal women, who left
their children and homes to camp
at the district headquarters in Bijapur to ensure their complaint
was heard, travelled back to their
forest homes after medical tests
were done last week.
Official statements from the
women are required for the probe
to proceed.
“The team investigating the
case must also be sensitive towards the affected women, and
ensure that their statements are
recorded in a manner that takes
their safety and convenience into
account,” said Gopika Bakshi,
women’s rights campaigner at
Amnesty International India.
In e-mailed comments to
the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Bakshi called for a swift,
thorough investigation into the
rape allegations. Critics say police have dragged their feet over
similar reports of sexual vio-
lence in the region last year.
“Now that the FIR has been
registered in the Nendra case, the
Chhattisgarh police must ensure
an independent and impartial
investigation, since the alleged
perpetrators include police officials,” she said.
Bijapur Police Superintendant
K L Dhruv said the investigation
would begin once the basic paperwork was completed.
“How soon it is wrapped up
depends on the investigating officer,” Dhruv told the Thomson
Reuters Foundation.
India is doing
great, but
nobody talks
about it: Trump
IANS
Washington
I
ndia’s rise has caught the
attention of controversial
Republican
presidential
frontrunner Donald Trump who
thinks the world’s largest democracy is doing great, but nobody is talking about it.
“India is doing great. Nobody
talks about it,” the brash real
estate mogul, who has ruffled
many feathers with his anti-immigration rhetoric, a call to ban
all Muslims and accusing several
countries, particularly China, of
taking advantage of the US, said
in an interview with CNN on
Monday.
Trump’s first comments about
India on the campaign trail came
in response to a question about
the change in his views expressed
in a September 24, 2007 CNN
interview when he had talked
about America’s decline and the
rise of China and India.
He had then said: “Just look at
this country (the US). We have
gone from this tremendous power that was respected all over the
world to somewhat of a laughing
stock.
“All of a sudden, people are
talking about China and India
and other places, even from an
economic standpoint. America
has come down a long way, a long
way. The US has come down a
long way, and it’s very, very sad.
We’re not respected.”
In his response on Monday to
the statement made almost nine
years ago, Trump explained:
“That was the beginning of
China. That was the beginning
of India, when India, by the way,
India is doing great. Nobody
talks about it. And I have big jobs
going up in India. But India is doing great.”
However, in a little noticed
statement as recently as November 2015, Trump had actually
accused India too of “taking advantage of the US”.
“If you look at the way China
and India and almost everybody
takes advantage of the United
States - China in particular, be-
cause they’re so good,” he was
quoted as saying.
Trump’s statement about India came a day before a new poll
found him hitting a new high in
the race for the Republican nomination with 41% Republican
voters nationwide backing him.
Significantly, more than twothirds of Republicans said he
is the candidate most likely to
capture their party’s presidential
nomination, according to a new
CNN/ORC Poll.
Trump was also widely seen
as the candidate best able to win
the November election with 63%
of Republicans saying so.
A Huffington Post article recently argued that Trump’s rise is
actually good for India provided
“there is no practical way Donald
Trump can be elected president.”
Keeping that assumption in
mind, Trump’s rise would then
actually boost Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s chances
of becoming president, the article said. And Clinton as US
president, the article said, would
be better for India because “with
her record of support for India
against Pakistan, her progressive
immigration policy and her general concentration on Asia, Clinton might turn out to be a better friend for India in the White
House than other candidates.”
The 69-year-old billionaire has been trying for years to
capitalise on his brand in India,
which according to the latest
International Monetary Fund
projections has overtaken China
to emerge as the fastest growing economy in the world with a
7.5% growth rate.
In 2014, he announced the
launch of Trump Tower Mumbai,
an 800ft skyscraper with 75 stories to be erected in Mumbai by
Indian developer Lodha Group.
Before that, in August 2012,
developer Panchshil Realty announced another luxury residential property with the Trump
name, in Pune, a city about
145km from Mumbai.
The Trump Towers Pune feature two towers with 23 stories
each. The project is still under
construction.
Police stop women activists on their way to Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar.
Govt calls for talks with
women on temple row
A change in tradition
in accordance with the
times is our culture, says
Maharashtra chief minister
Agencies
Mumbai
G
overnment officials in
Maharashtra state have
called for talks between
protesters who tried to storm a
Hindu temple that bars entry to
women and temple officials, as
a campaign for equal access to
temples gathers momentum.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met women activists yesterday, a day after hundreds of
them tried to force their way into
the Shani Shingnapur temple in
Congress: we have majority in
Arunachal Pradesh assembly
IANS
New Delhi
T
he Congress Party yesterday said it commanded a
majority in the Arunachal
Pradesh assembly and the central
government’s decision to impose
President’s Rule in the northeastern state was a “shameful
example of coercive federalism”.
The decision to dislodge an
elected Congress government on
the Republic Day was “an open
and dastardly murder of democracy”, party spokesman Raj Babbar said in a statement here.
He also accused state Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa of
“premeditated malice”.
“The Congress has full faith
in the judiciary. Constitutional
norms, democracy and federalism will win at the altar of justice.
Conspiracy to debunk democracy
and murder of federalism will be
defeated substantively,” he said.
Babbar said despite an “ugly
game of destabilising, inducement and subversion”, the Congress still had a clear majority
and a strength of 31 legislators in
the house of 60 members in Arunachal Pradesh.
He said the Congress had 47
legislators in the state assembly,
“out of which two resigned and
14 disqualified in accordance
with the provisions of the antidefection law”.
The Supreme Court yesterday issued a notice to the central
government on a plea challenging the imposition of President’s
Rule and gave it time till January
29 to file its response.
The court gave liberty to the
petitioner, Congress chief whip
in Arunachal Pradesh Rajesh
Tacho, to amend the plea to include a challenge to the presidential proclamation.
The court directed that Tacho
be provided the date on which
Rajkhowa sent a report recom-
mending the imposition of President’s Rule.
At the outset of the hearing,
senior counsel Fali S Nariman
told the court that ever since
the last hearing on February 22,
Arunachal Pradesh had been put
under President’s Rule and two
advisers appointed to assist the
governor in running the affairs of
the state.
Seeking the date on which
the governor recommended the
imposition of President’s Rule,
Nariman said senior counsel
Harish Salve, who appeared for
the governor, told the court on
January 14 that nothing untoward would be done to precipitate the situation.
Describing as “crucial” the
date on which President’s Rule
recommendation was sent by
Rajkhowa, senior counsel Kapil
Sibal sought to know the grounds
and material relied upon by the
governor while making the recommendations.
Ahmednagar, clashing with villagers. Police briefly detained
the protesters.
Fadnavis said state officials
would facilitate talks between
the activists and temple authorities, as #RightoPray trended on
Twitter for a second day in India.
“Indian culture and the Hindu religion have always given
women the right to worship,”
Fadnavis said in a tweet late on
Tuesday. “A change in tradition
in accordance with the times
is our culture. Discrimination
in worshipping is not our culture.”
Trupti Desai, president of the
Bhumata Ranragini Brigade, and
other women met Fadnavis in
Pune and submitted a memorandum demanding entry of
women to the temple and ending similar gender bias in other
places of worship in the state.
Desai said Fadnavis responded “favourably” to the demands
and she suggested he should
visit the temple with his wife as
a token of his support.
Meanwhile, the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti urged the state
government to remain alert to
prevent incidents which seek to
create a blot on religious traditions at places like Shani Shingnapur, said its state organiser
Sunil Ghanvat.
The temple, which has barred
women for centuries from the
inner sanctum that is dedicated
to Shani, or Saturn, is one of a
handful in India that bars women.
Rehearsing the ‘retreat’
The
popular
Sabarimala
Ayyappa temple in Kerala, which
denies entry to women of reproductive age, is the subject of a
petition in the Supreme Court,
which has asked temple authorities to explain why they forbid
women entry.
Politicians and spiritual leaders have weighed in on the highly
contentious issue, with the head
of the lawyers’ group that filed
the Sabarimala temple petition
saying they had received hundreds of death threats for their
action.
“There is discrimination
against women across religions,”
said Flavia Agnes, a women’s
rights lawyer and co-founder
of Majlis legal centre in Mumbai. “It’s high time we took this
Jet Airways passengers
evacuated after alert
Reuters
New Delhi
P
Members of the military band rehearse for the “Beating the
Retreat” ceremony in New Delhi yesterday. The ceremony
symbolises retreat after a day on the battlefield, and marks
the official end of the Republic Day celebrations. It is held
every year on January 29.
up as an issue about equality for
women, and not just entry into a
temple.”
z Tension prevailed in Bihar’s
Hajipur town yesterday, a day
after police demolished a temple
as part of an anti-encroachment
drive on the order of the Patna
High Court.
At least ten police officials
were injured and a few vehicles
torched in the protest by people,
police said.
Additional security forces
have been deployed in the town,
about 30km from Patna, in view
of tension following violent protests by the locals.
According to police officials,
the locals attacked a police team
and threw stones at them during
the demolition.
assengers on a Kathmandubound aircraft of Jet Airways
were evacuated minutes before take-off from New Delhi yesterday due to a security alert, the
second such incident this week on
the same flight.
The plane’s doors were closed
and it was ready for take-off
when the alert was raised, according to a Jet Airways spokesman. All 122 passengers and
seven crew members were asked
to leave the plane and security
agencies were investigating.
The incident comes two days
after the same Jet Airways’ Delhi-Kathmandu 9W 260 flight
was delayed due to a security
scare, but investigations later
found nothing unusual.
“It is the same flight. This is
something that doesn’t happen
normally,” a company spokes-
man said. Police at Delhi’s international airport were not immediately available for comment on
what caused the security scare.
Indian media said police received
an anonymous call warning
bombs were on two aircraft.
The other aircraft, operated
by Air India, was also headed to
Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. The
plane was taken to a bay area and
security personnel screened the
baggage, the company said on its
Twitter account.
In a separate incident, AirAsia
India, part-owned by Malaysia’s
AirAsia Bhd, said late yesterday
that it received a specific bomb
threat after one of its aircraft landed in the southern city of Bengaluru from Jaipur in Rajasthan.
“In-flight cabin crew spotted
the bomb threat in the aircraft after landing,” AirAsia India said in a
statement, adding that a search of
the aircraft revealed nothing and
the aircraft was allowed to resume
normal operations.
28
Gulf Times
LATIN AMERICA
SCANDAL
SUMMIT
LAW AND ORDER
RULING
DISASTER
Brazilian police launch new
raids in corruption probe
Latam leaders meet on
Colombia peace process
Dozens of convicts still on
the run after jail breaks
Pinochet regime victims’
families get $1.3mn payout
Colombia landslide
kills six, four missing
Brazil’s Federal Police yesterday launched the
latest stage of a sweeping investigation into
corruption at state-controlled firms, with six
arrest and 15 search warrants issued in the states
of Sao Paulo and Santa Catarina. The warrants in
the so-called “Operation Carwash” probe involve
the suspected use of offshore companies and
real estate transactions to launder money from
bribery, graft and other offences, police said in
a statement. According to TV Globo channel,
raids were being conducted in Sao Bernardo
do Campo, the political stronghold of former
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,
whose Workers’ Party is involved in the probe.
Latin American leaders gathered yesterday for
a summit focused on Colombia’s request for
personnel for a UN mission to oversee what the
region hopes is an imminent peace deal with
the Farc rebels. The request from the Colombian
government and the leftist guerrilla group for
unarmed observers to monitor the eventual end
of their half-century conflict tops the agenda
as leaders from the 33-member Community of
Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)
meet in the Ecuadoran capital Quito. The UN
Security Council agreed on Monday to send a
“political mission” to Colombia once a peace deal
is signed.
Forty-four convicts are still on the run after two
prison breaks in the past week in the north-eastern
Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Last Wednesday
night, 53 prisoners escaped from the Barreto
Campelo penitentiary after explosives were used
to blow a hole in an outer wall. The prison is located
on the island of Itamaraca, around 50km north of
the state capital, Recife. By Saturday afternoon,
the authorities had succeeded in capturing 13 of
the prisoners, when a group of 40 inmates broke
out of the Frei Damiao de Bozzano jail, part of the
Curado prison complex in the western suburbs
of Recife, using a similar method. Thirty-six of the
inmates have now been captured.
Chile’s Supreme Court ordered the state to
pay $1.3mn in damages to the families of four
people who disappeared in the 1970s during
the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The court
awarded payments ranging from $16,000 to
$1mn to the families of the four men, who were all
detained by regime agents and never heard from
again. The largest award, 700mn pesos, was for
the family of Miguel and Gilberto Rojas, a father
and son who were arrested in October 1973, the
month after Pinochet seized power in a coup
and began cracking down on leftist opponents
and their supposed supporters. The Rojases
disappeared after being detained by the army.
A landslide in a remote and violence-torn area of
Colombia killed six people and left four missing,
authorities said. A wall of mud smashed into
a small community in an isolated region of
Narino department in southwestern Colombia,
said governor Camilo Romero. “It covered two
houses and left six people dead,” he said. Rescue
workers have not yet been able to access the
area because of its difficult terrain, which serves
as a hideout for drug traffickers and rebel groups
including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (Farc). Four people are still missing,
according to a source at the national disaster
management agency.
Landmark
debate on
marijuana
laws begins
in Mexico
Students’ relatives protest
Aristide ‘has
crucial role
in Haiti’s
new crisis’
AFP
Mexico City
M
exico opened a national
debate on prohibitionist marijuana laws, as
the government appeared open
to legalising medical cannabis
use.
President Enrique Pena Nieto, who personally opposes legalisation, decided to hold five
public forums after the Supreme
Court opened the door to recreational use of marijuana in a
country beset by drug cartel violence for a decade.
“This is an issue that has directly or indirectly affected the
lives of millions of Mexicans,”
Interior Minister Miguel Angel
Osorio Chong said at the start
of the first debate, which was
broadcast online.
“Such a delicate issue cannot
be left to improvisation,” he said
in the Caribbean resort city of
Cancun, where experts were invited to debate the drug’s effects
on public health and addiction.
Legalisation supporters argue
that decriminalising marijuana
would strip drug cartels of a major source of revenue and reduce
violence that has killed tens of
thousands of people.
Pena Nieto has rejected such
arguments, but he indicated that
his government would be open
to changing the laws, depending
on the outcome of the debate.
Osorio Chong strongly hinted that the administration
was open to the medical use of
marijuana, noting that there is a
“majority (of public) opinion” in
favour of such uses.
The government, he said, “is
completely open to measures
that improve the quality of life”
of its citizens.
Roberto Campa, a deputy interior minister for human rights,
said that international conventions do not prohibit the medical
use of marijuana.
“There is much more space to
find agreements in this sense,”
Campa told reporters.
Reuters
Port-au-Prince
H
Relatives of the 43 students missing from Ayotzinapa College Raul Isidro Burgos take part in a
march to mark the 16-month anniversary of the disappearance of the students, in Mexico City.
Economic woes will sink
Maduro: opposition chief
Reuters
Caracas
P
resident Nicolas Maduro is unlikely to complete his six-year term,
and could even be replaced
this year, as Venezuela’s economic crisis worsens, the
head of the new oppositionled congress said.
Oil-producing Venezuela is
suffering the world’s steepest
inflation, an economic recession, and shortages of basic
goods including flour and
pharmaceutical products.
Voter anger over the crisis
propelled Venezuela’s opposition last month to win a
majority in the legislature,
where it is piling pressure on
Maduro’s near three-year administration.
“In this situation I don’t
think he’ll finish (his term),”
Henry Ramos, president of
the National Assembly, said
in an interview. “The crisis is
swallowing him up.”
Speaking in a side room of
his office, the rambunctious
72-year-old lawyer and career politician said the real
culprit of the crisis is the
state-led system championed
by late leftist leader Hugo
Chavez.
Maduro and his cabinet,
however, laud Chavez and
blame the recession on a socalled “economic war” they
say is being waged against
them by unscrupulous businessmen in league with the
opposition.
“If they insist, as they are,
in holding on to a model that
has failed in all senses, then
the response is obvious: the
ones causing a crisis have to
leave; otherwise we’ll never
overcome it,” said Ramos.
“We’ve insisted that the
solutions to the crisis have
to be democratic, constitutional, pacific and electoral.
Nothing else,” he added.
The MUD opposition coalition has agreed to find the
best way to remove Maduro
from office in the first half of
the year, though Ramos was
coy on details.
The opposition may push
for a recall referendum later
this year to remove Maduro
and force a new election. The
constitution allows for such a
vote halfway through a president’s six-year term.
“We’ve given ourselves
six months to find a constitutional exit,” Ramos said,
stressing that the unravelling
economy makes his removal
all the more urgent.
“The simple political calculation ‘let’s leave him for
three more years so he finishes burning himself in his own
oil’ seems very irresponsible
to me,” said Ramos, whom
Maduro calls a “fascist dinosaur.”
“What would the next
president inherit in three
years? A cemetery,” he added.
Ramos said Congress will
also press forward with an
amnesty law for jailed politicians, including opposition
leader Leopoldo Lopez, despite Maduro’s vow to veto
such legislation.
“The president said ‘no.’
The assembly ... will say
‘yes,’” he said.
is name is not on any
ballot paper and he was
toppled from power
12 years ago but the shadow
of Jean-Bertrand Aristide still
looms over Haiti and his supporters are at the centre of a
new crisis in the impoverished
country.
Despite the divisions in his
party Fanmi Lavalas, or ‘The
Flood’, and his official retirement from politics, Aristide’s
influence has quietly grown
since he returned from exile in
South Africa in 2011.
Three of the four top candidates in the flawed first round
of Haiti’s presidential election
in October fully or partly draw
strength from Aristide’s followers, and his name is uttered
with reverence by poor protesters whose violent demonstrations last week forced the
run-off vote to be called off.
The moves Aristide and
his political heirs make in the
next few weeks could determine Haiti’s immediate future
more than at any time since the
former priest-turned-president was toppled from power
in 2004.
“Aristide is the engine of this
movement. Without him we
cannot live,” said unemployed
protester Fredo Dorival standing near smoldering tires and
rubble at a march from Portau-Prince’s St Jean Bosco parish, where Aristide once presided.
Haiti was supposed to choose
Mujica in Havana
a replacement for outgoing
President Michel Martelly on
Sunday but the two-man runoff was postponed indefinitely
after opposition candidate Jude
Celestin refused to participate
over alleged fraud that sparked
the protests and violence.
Aristide’s supporters want
their candidates put back in
the race - a position that puts
them in direct conflict with
both the government and the
international community, and
potentially with Celestin, who
currently enjoys their backing
as the default opposition candidate.
Aristide himself, who was
twice elected president and
twice ousted in coups, is constitutionally barred from running again.
Since he returned from a
seven-year exile in 2011 to a
country on its knees from a
devastating earthquake, Aristide, 62, has kept a low public
profile, officially dedicating his
time to a university bearing his
name.
His most recent, rare, appearances were to vote in October and to endorse Maryse
Narcisse, a doctor, as Fanmi
Lavalas’ presidential candidate. He did not respond to request for an interview for this
article.
But he remains involved in
his party’s strategy.
“He has played a role as a
captain, now we hope he will
accept a role as coach,” Narcisse said adding that she
consults with Aristide regularly and would want him
as a senior adviser if she
Inmates fire guns
at prison funeral
AFP
Caracas
I
Former Uruguayan president Jose Mujica addresses the
audience during a conference in Havana.
were to become president.
Speaking beneath a campaign poster of Aristide holding
her raised hand, Narcisse said
her political mentor predicted
in October the vote would be
“a selection not an election” a catch phrase that has defined
the opposition’s fraud claims
and galvanised protesters.
“He respects the Haitian
people, and the Haitian people
are mobilising,” Narcisse said.
“The mobilisation will continue.”
Haiti now has to decide
whether the election run-off
between Celestin and ruling party candidate Jovenel
Moise should go ahead, or be
scrapped to again include Narcisse and others.
Martelly is due to leave office on February 7, meaning the
country will need some kind of
interim administration until a
new leader is elected.
Some in Haiti fear that Fanmi Lavalas’ renewed relevance,
with or without electoral support, could mean a return to
a chaotic period of ideological conflict that characterised
Aristide’s time in power.
Even a few days ago, it didn’t
look like Aristide’s enemies had
much to worry about. Narcisse
was a low profile health expert
until she emerged as Aristide’s
favorite in 2014. His support
boosted her popularity, but she
still only mustered 7% of the
vote in October. While she says
that is because of fraud, many
Fanmi Lavalas voters opted for
either Celestin or former Aristide aide Moise Jean Charles,
who came third.
nmates at a Venezuelan
prison have been captured
on video firing a host of
automatic rifles and other
guns into the air at a memorial
service for their late leader.
The incident drew condemnation in the opposition-controlled legislature and from
an activist group that monitors prison violence, which
demanded an explanation of
how jailed criminals could
have gained access to such an
arsenal.
The video, obtained by prison monitoring group Window
on Freedom, shows dozens
of inmates gathered on the
roof of a prison on Margarita
island, which sits in the Caribbean about 40kms off the
Venezuelan mainland.
At least four inmates can be
seen firing large automatic rifles into the air, and four others firing automatic pistols.
Some of them pause to reload
and then continue their spree.
Carlos Nieto, spokesman for
Window on Freedom, said the
incident took place on Monday at a memorial service for a
former prisoner named Teofilo
“Rabbit” Rodriguez, who had
for years been the boss among
the inmate population.
Rodriguez, a convicted drug
trafficker whose decade-long
jail term ended a year ago, was
shot dead at a bar on the island
Sunday, Nieto said.
“Rabbit’s body was taken
to the prison. That’s when the
gunfire occurred,” he said.
The group said Rodriguez’s
family and friends had brought
his body to the jail with the
complicity of prison authorities. It called for Prison Services Minister Iris Varela to resign.
In the video, more than a
dozen National Guard members can be seen reacting with
surprise to the gunfire, then
going about their business.
“It’s incredible that this can
happen with total impunity.
What can ordinary citizens
expect if the people locked
up in jail have these kinds of
guns and run a large part of the
country’s organised crime?”
said legislative majority leader
Julio Borges, an opponent of
President Nicolas Maduro.
Gulf Times
29
PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN
DEFENCE
TRANSPORT
EDUCATION
MEDIA
CUSTOMS DAY
Security on Pak-Afghan
border to be improved
Karachi-Gwadar-Iran
ferry service finalised
Non-Muslim pupils across
Sindh to study ‘ethics’
Pakistan urged to end
curbs on free speech
45 Indian fishermen
arrested in Pakistan
In view of growing concerns over militant
infiltration in border areas, Pakistan has decided
to improve the border monitoring mechanism
to restrict the activities of “undesired persons”
across the Afghan border. There is a strong
perception among the law enforcement agencies
that because of the Afghan government’s weak
writ, infiltration has become a routine matter,
said an official of the interior ministry. Referring
to the attacks on the Army Public School in
Peshawar and the Bacha Khan University in
Charsadda, he said these elements easily enter
Pakistani territory to launch terrorist schemes,
including attacks on educational institutions.
Port and shipping authorities have finalised
arrangements to start ferry services between
Karachi and Gwadar and also to Chabahar, Iran
from both the Pakistani port cities. The service
is set to begin by mid-March, aiming to promote
tourism and safe transportation to pilgrims
heading to holy places in Iran. The decision to
this effect was taken at a high-level meeting
yesterday. Federal Ports and Shipping Minister
Kamran Michael chaired the huddle. For the
Karachi to Gwadar ferry, a deal with Silangan
Express-1 is at the final stage. This carrier has a
capacity of 419 passengers and will take 14 hours
for the journey.
The Sindh Text Book Board (STBB), Jamshoro
has introduced a book on ethics for non-Muslim
students from class seven. The book, which covers
different religions and ethical values, will become
part of coursework at government schools for
minorities’ students from the new academic
year of 2016-2017 starting from April 1 this year.
The book, written in Urdu, covers various topics
including, Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism and Sufi
poetry, and also has information on all religious
festivals practiced in Pakistan. In the first phase of
the book’s implementation, it will be introduced
from class seven onwards while STBB also has
plans to introduce it in primary classes.
Pakistani journalists and activists faced an
increasingly hostile climate in 2015 due to
harassment, threats and violence from both
security forces and militant groups, Human
Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday. In its 659page World Report 2016, it said the government,
under pressure from the military, placed new
restrictions on the funding of civil society groups.
“Pakistan should reverse course and repeal or
amend laws curbing freedom of expression and
association,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at
HRW. “The government should never use the
threat of extremist violence as a pretext to violate
the rights of independent voices.”
The Pakistani maritime security agency has
arrested 45 Indian fishermen for fishing in the
country’s waters, an official said.
The Indian fishermen were arrested while
fishing in Pakistani limits of the Arabian sea
on Tuesday, Dawn online quoted a police
official as saying. A total of five boats were
also seized.
“We were later given their custody and they
would be produced in court” the official
said. Cases have been registered against the
detained Indian fishermen under Sections 3/4
of the Foreigners’ Act and 3/9 of the Fisheries
Act.
Pakistan ratcheting
up campus security
Agencies
Islamabad
L
arge areas of Pakistan are
increasing security at educational institutions after
a deadly assault on a university
campus, officials said yesterday.
At least 21 people died when
four militants stormed Bacha
Khan University a week ago in
Charsadda town in the northwest.
Additional measures were being taken to improve security at
more than 64,000 educational
institutions in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where the
attack occurred, said the province’s public health minister,
Shah Farman.
Private security guards are
manning the schools and police
are being deployed at vulnerable
places, he said.
Newly proposed legislation
would make it easier for staff to
carry weapons, and technology
is also playing a role.
“We had a special mobile
phone app at disposal of the
head of institutions to immediately alert police in case of any
threat by militants,” he said. “We
are now expanding it to link to
the local police stations for quick
response.”
The app provides a map of the
institution under threat, he said.
In the capital Islamabad, security barricades and extra policemen were being deployed at
school entrances, police officials
said.
Security was also reportedly
being enhanced in the largest province of Punjab in the
east, where police were being
enrolled to help train private
A Pakistani policeman checks students outside the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda.
security guards.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province too the security of schools,
colleges and universities has
been enhanced following the
terrorist attack on Bacha Khan
University in Charsadda.
However, threats and security concerns couldn’t deter
even small children from going
to school in the province which
suffered two worst terror attacks
on the educational institutions
in the last 13 months.
“All our class fellows come to
school as per routine,” said Saad,
a grade-2 student. He was on his
way to school on a foggy morning along with his younger sister
and brother.
The same is the case with millions of other kids in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and rest of Pakistan.
Right from playgroup to universities, students are studying
as per routine.
Participatory security mechanism has been adopted by the
police along with the school
management. Cases have been
registered against the owners
and principals of around 468
public and private sector educational institutions all over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for inappropriate security arrangements.
The first information reports
(FIRs) were registered against
management of 156 schools in
Peshawar, 128 in Mardan region,
5 in Kohat, 148 in Bannu and 31 in
Hazara, an official at the Central
Police Office (CPO) said.
An official of the Peshawar
Police, however said, the number
of FIRs in the capital city had
crossed 200 by yesterday.
Independent sources said
that more than 680 FIRs were
registered against the owners
of educational institutions that
included 23 colleges and a few
universities.
In Peshawar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Abbas Majeed Marwat
visited a number of educational
institutions to check the security arrangements. A number of
institutions have been termed
vulnerable due to inadequate
security and FIRs were lodged
against their management.
“We are adopting participatory security measures along
with the school management and the public to ensure
proper security to educational
institutions,” Abbas Majeed
Marwat said.
Another police official added
that in case of repeated violations it had been decided to take
up the matter with the Home
and Education departments for
closure of schools for not adopting sufficient security measures.
“In the wake of militants’ attack on Bacha Khan University,
Inspector General of Police Nasir
Khan Durrani has issued security
guidelines for employing security staff, manning entry and exit
points, establishing observation
posts, raising and fencing walls
and ensuring patrolling and
vigilance inside and outside the
premises,” said Mohamed Afzal,
Superintendent of Police at the
Central Police Office.
He added that the IGP had directed the quarters concerned to
ensure effective communication
within the security staff, install
SOS alert system, manage school
entry system, constitute parents’ vigilance committees and
organise drills and rehearsals.
The district police officers
(DPOs) have been instructed to
convene meeting of all heads
of all private and government
schools and colleges and vulnerable educational institutions
along with the representatives
from the Education Department
and District Administration to
sensitise them about the vulnerability of their institutions and
advise them to take appropriate
security measures.
The police have been directed
to ensure that heads of all the
institutions constitute a committee of sufficient number of
parents, not less than 10, to pay
surprise visits to the institutions
to review the security arrangements.
EU warns Pakistan
govt over migrant
co-operation
AFP
Brussels
T
he European Union has
complained about difficulties in deporting
migrants to Pakistan, warning it could take steps against
Islamabad if it fails to comply
with a deal on repatriations.
Struggling with its biggest
flow of refugees since World
War II, the EU persuaded Pakistan in November to restore
a suspended agreement to facilitate the return of Pakistani
illegal immigrants without
documentation.
Pakistan was one of the top
five countries of origin among
the one million migrants who
arrived in Europe last year,
although most are considered
economic migrants rather
than refugees from conflict.
“While discussions have
been good and positive, we
note that there are still diffi-
culties with this readmission
deal,” European Commission
spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud told a news briefing.
“The Commission is currently examining possible incentives — positive and negative — so that this accord is
applied properly.”
In December Pakistan sent
back at least 30 undocumented migrants that Greece was
trying to repatriate after saying Greece had failed to provide adequate proof that they
were Pakistani, a claim later
disputed by the EU.
Last year Islamabad temporarily suspended the repatriation agreement, citing its
“blatant misuse” and saying
member countries were not
adequately checking the nationality of the deportees.
The deal was restored in
November following a meeting between Pakistani officials
and EU migration chief Dimitris Avramopoulos.
Afghanistan ‘fails to improve human rights’
Afghanistan has failed to
remedy a series of chronic
human rights abuses ranging
from the torture of prisoners
by security forces to brutal
mistreatment of women,
Human Rights Watch said in a
report yesterday.
The rights watchdog’s
2016 annual report said
reform efforts by President
Ashraf Ghani’s national
unity government had been
undermined by failure to
contain internal differences
and keep local strongmen
and power brokers in check.
“Afghanistan’s national unity
government squandered
important opportunities
to tackle serious human
rights problems,” Patricia
Gossman, senior Afghanistan
researcher at Human Rights
Watch, said in a statement.
“As reforms have slipped, so
have essential human rights
protections for detainees,
women, and the media.”
HRW said international
donors, whose support is
essential to the government
of one of the world’s poorest
economies, had to work
more closely with Afghan
authorities to ensure that
human rights gains made
since 2001 were not lost.
Kabul’s middle class embraces the food truck trend
AFP
Kabul
W
hen the first Lazeez
food truck arrived in
Kabul many mistook it
for a rickshaw and wanted to hail
a ride — the yellow chassis and
three wheels so reminiscent of
taxis popular in South Asia.
But it took little time for
the city’s emerging middle
class to embrace the novelty
of canteens-on-wheels serving Western fast foods around
town.
Parked on one of the capital’s busiest roads, Obaidullah’s
truck — emblazoned with a giant
hot dog, and the Lazeez logo — is
unmissable. He serves a handful of customers, who are seemingly undeterred by the roadside
pollution, and bullish about the
sourcing and sanitation of the
meat.
“Us Afghans are immune to
all sorts of illnesses,” jokes Mohamed — an oral hygiene student
buying a quick burger.
Food hygiene is terrible in Afghanistan, with 60 children out
of 1,000 dying from diarrhoea
before the age of five, according
to the French NGO Acted.
So for Naveed Noori, who
founded Lazeez with his cousin
Abdullah Karim, finding meat
without breaking the cold chain
— the series of transportation
and storage options that maintain a given temperature — is a
challenge.
Naveed buys his hot dogs —
made of chicken, with pork a
hard sell in mostly-Muslim Af-
ghanistan — frozen from Karachi, the Pakistani port megacity located 1,400km from
Kabul.
“We have to pay attention to
the conditions of the journey to
be sure everything is going well,
otherwise our cargo rots,” says
the 26-year old entrepreneur.
For now, Naveed has found
a successful route: Mohamed
says his burger tastes just fine,
as does the hot dog he also purchased, even if the fare is a long
way from the tempting morsels
available from food trucks in
Paris or New York.
It has been a year and a half
since the six food trucks emblazoned with the Lazeez logo —
meaning “delicious” in Dari, one
of Afghanistan’s two national
languages — began crisscrossing
the streets of Kabul.
Today Naveed has 15 employees and business is going well
— for example, Obaidullah says
the truck he manages serves
between 30 and 60 customers a
day.
After expenses and paying his
employees, Naveed pockets $150
a day, a fortune in Afghanistan
where 72% of households earn
less than $150 a month and social
inequalities are enormous.
His success is even more impressive given that spiced dishes
of lamb, mutton and rice still enjoy pride of place in Afghan cuisine, rather than the American
fast food which has become so
entrenched elsewhere.
“Unfortunately no food truck
offers Afghan dishes,” laments
Nassir, a student who is getting
ready to chow down on a chicken
An Afghan customer buys a burger from a Lazeez food truck in Kabul. When the first Lazeez food truck arrived in Kabul many mistook it for a
rickshaw and wanted to hail a ride – the yellow chassis and three wheels so reminiscent of taxis popular in South Asia.
sandwich from Manoto, a food
truck also doing the rounds in
Kabul like Lazeez.
“Sure I’d prefer rice and Afghan dishes but they don’t have
them,” says Saifuddin, a cleaner.
“I work for the council so I
get a special price — I pay 50
afghanis (less than a dollar) for
my hotdog instead of 100,” he
explains.
“Even so, that’s expensive be-
cause I earn 6,000 afghanis ($87)
a month and I’ve got 12 mouths
to feed,” he says wearily.
The popularity of food trucks
in Kabul owes less to their culinary offerings than the slow
lifestyle changes of an emerging
middle class.
The country’s middle classes
speak English and work in foreign NGOs, government ministries or Western companies
based in Afghanistan.
They stand apart from the
vast majority of the population,
in which just 32 percent of adults
can read and write, according to
a 2011 Unesco figure.
Congregating in Kabul, this
worldier group has a need for
speed.
Take Idriss Atef, a telecommunications engineer who is
paying a flying visit to a Lazeez
food truck.
“It’s the first time I’ve eaten
from a food truck,” he admits.
But, echoing workers in London or New York, he adds: “I’m
busy, I don’t have time to go to
a restaurant, sit down and order
something.”
Naveed’s success is all the
rarer in Afghanistan, far from
being a haven for entrepreneurs
despite all the promises from
President Ashraf Ghani, himself a former economist with the
World Bank.
Red tape, renewed violence,
and endemic corruption have
not helped to create a businessfriendly environment in the
country.
In 2014 Transparency International ranked the country 172
out of 175 in its Corruption Perceptions Index.
Naveed knows something
about corruption and can always
count on the police to stop him
from selling his hot dogs.
“They don’t know that it’s
only a food truck, nor do they
know where we’re allowed park,”
he explains.
So, for a quieter life, he resorts
to bakshish — a bribe “in the
form of money or burgers”.
30
Gulf Times
PHILIPPINES
Nation ‘made
no headway in
fight against
corruption’
By Leena C Chua
Manila Times
T
he Philippines made
zero progress in its campaign to reduce corruption in 2015 as the country not
only remained on the list of
countries with serious corruption problems, but its ranking
even went down by 10 notches,
according to Transparency International (TI).
From its 85th ranking in
2014, the Philippines slid to
95th with a score of 35 out of
100 (very clean) in the Corruption Perception Index 2015.
The country’s score in 2014
was 38.
Last year’s score was even
lower than in 2013 when the
Philippines notched a grade of
36. In 2012, the country got an
even lower score — 34.
The least corrupt country
was Denmark, which scored
91. It was followed by Finland,
90; Sweden, 89; New Zealand,
88; The Netherlands, 87; Norway, 87; Switzerland, 86, Singapore, 85; Canada, 83; Germany, Luxembourg and United
Kingdom, which each had a
score of 81.
North Korea and Somalia
shared the bottom with both
countries scoring 8.
The Corruption Perceptions
Index measures the perceived
levels of public sector corruption worldwide.
“Public sector corruption
isn‘t simply about taxpayer
money going missing. Broken
institutions and corrupt officials fuel inequality and exploitation– keeping wealth in
the hands of an elite few and
trapping many more in poverty,” TI noted in its report.
The group said more than
6bn people live in a country with a serious corruption
problem.
It added that the Asia Pacific
region also made zero progress
in the fight against corruption.
“If there was one common
challenge to unite the Asia Pacific region, it would be corruption. From campaign pledges to
media coverage to civil society
forums, corruption dominates
discussion. Yet despite all this
talk, there’s little sign of action.
Between Australia’s slipping
scores and North Korea’s predictably disastrous performance, this year’s index shows no
significant improvement,” the
group said.
It also noted though that
“public desire for change is
huge,” citing that governments
came to power on anti-corruption platforms in India, Sri
Lanka and elsewhere.
The group, however, said
many countries failed to deliver on their promises to curb
corruption, citing the case of
Malaysia whose leader is under investigation for an alleged
$700mn that was deposited in
his bank account.
“In India and Sri Lanka,
leaders are falling short of
their bold promises, while
governments in Bangladesh
and Cambodia are exacerbating corruption by clamping down on civil society. In
Afghanistan and Pakistan,
a failure to tackle corruption is feeding ongoing vicious conflicts, while China’s
prosecutorial approach isn’t
bringing sustainable remedy
to the menace. This inability
to tackle root causes holds
true across the region– witness, for example, Australia’s
dwindling score in recent
years,” IT said.
“This year’s poor results demand that leaders revisit the
genuineness of their efforts
and propel the region beyond
stagnation. They must fulfil
promises, and ensure efforts
aren’t undermined in practice.
Anti-corruption commissions
are a prime example here.
While their creation across
the region is commendable,
ongoing political interference
and inadequate resources has
meant many are unable to fulfil
their mandate. This has to be
addressed,” the group added.
The Transparency International report stresses the need
for government to establish institutional reforms in order to
fight corruption, political analyst Ramon Casiple said.
Casiple added that the report showed that the Philippines’ anti-corruption efforts
is failing. “There was no institutional reform established,”
he told Manila Times.
These institutional reforms,
he said, should include “removal of syndicates in government agencies,” strengthening
of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan,
and “simplified transactions,”
among others.
Freedom of Information
(FOI) should also have been
among these reforms, according to Casiple.
A proposed FOI measure,
which has long been pending
in Congress, aims to enable
citizens access to government
information and mandates
government agencies and officials to disclose all information
on official acts, transactions or
decisions.
The group said even the
world’s “up and coming economies” are struggling to shake
off corruption, citing massive
scandals in Brazil and Malaysia
as cause for concern.
Brazil showed the biggest
decline in its ranking, slumping seven notches to 76th position over a kickback scandal engulfing state oil giant
Petrobras. On the other side
of the globe, graft allegations
surrounding Malaysian Prime
Minister Najib Razak also laid
bare corruption dogging the
Asian state, it noted.
Overall, two-thirds of the
countries measured by TI
scored below the 50-point
mark out of a top score of 100.
Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko walk towards the Tomb-of-the-Unknown-Soldiers as they pay tribute to the graves of fallen Filipino heroes during a wreathlaying ceremony
at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (National Heroes Cemetery) in Taguig, Metro Manila yesterday.
Akihito pays tributes
at WWII cemetery
AFP
Manila
J
apanese Emperor Akihito
bowed his head in sorrow
during a sombre ceremony
at the Philippines’ biggest war
cemetery yesterday as he vowed
never to forget the many Filipinos killed during World War II.
Akihito, 82, and his wife Empress Michiko are in the Philippines to celebrate 60 years of
diplomatic ties, while also honouring those who died during
Japan’s brutal occupation of the
Philippines.
“During this war, fierce battles
between Japan and the US took
place on Philippine soil, resulting in the loss of many Filipino
lives and leaving many Filipinos
injured,” he said.
“This is something we Japanese must never forget and we
intend to keep this engraved in
our hearts throughout our visit,”
he said at a banquet hosted by
President Benigno Aquino.
Aquino in turn, praised Akihito’s role in reconciliation, saying: “I am held in awe, recognising the burdens you have borne,
as you have had to live with the
weight of the decisions made by
others during the dark episodes
in the history of our nations.”
Philippine “comfort women” for the Japanese Imperial army during World
War II, join in a protest near the Malacanang Palace in Manila where visiting
Japanese Emperor Akihito is meeting the president.
Akihito’s visit is the first by a
Japanese emperor to the Philippines and comes as the two
countries strengthen economic
and defence ties, partly to counter China’s increasingly assertive actions in disputed regional
waters.
The official events of his fiveday trip began yesterday morning with a red-carpet welcome
at the presidential palace hosted
by Aquino.
In the afternoon he visited the
Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’
Cemetery) in Manila, which was
built in 1947 to honour Filipino
soldiers who died during World
War II.
During the Japanese WWII
occupation, tens of thousands
of soldiers died marching to
Japanese concentration camps
or during confinement.
An estimated 100,000 Filipinos also died during the
month-long campaign to liberate Manila in 1945, which saw
Miss Universe brings cheer to soldiers, children
By Christina Alpad
Manila Times
M
iss Universe 2015 Pia
Wurtzbach spent yesterday visiting patients
at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Centre also
known as V Luna General Hospital in Quezon City.
Accompanied by Binibining
Pilipinas Charities Inc. chairperson Stella Marquez Araneta,
Wurtzbach comforted injured
soldiers at the hospital’s Heroes
Ward 3A. She shook hands with
the patients, shared jokes and
told little stories about her experiences.
AFP Medical Centre head
Col. Joseph Acosta and AFP vice
chief Lt Gen. Edgar Fallorina led
the officials who welcomed the
beauty queen.
Doctors and hospital staff
presented gifts to Wurtzbach—a
patch, a name plate and a Philippine flag.
The beauty queen then met
with children from Smile Train,
an organisation providing corrective surgery for children with
cleft lips and palates.
Before her hospital visit, Wurtzbach visited ABS-CBN where
she started a career in acting.
Organisers of Wurtzbach’s
homecoming told Manila Times
that she will also be meeting
with people with HIV throughout her brief Philippine visit.
HIV awareness is one of Wurtzbach’s two advocacies. The
other is cyber bullying.
At her grand press conference
on Sunday, she said that she is
planning to get tested as a way to
take out the stigma in HIV.
“To take out the stigma,
somebody has to step forward
and do something so other people can follow suit. What we
are planning to do is to have my
HIV test in New York. It will be a
public testing so I can show everybody how easy it is to do and
how important it is, I hope it can
help, even just a little,” Miss Universe said.
aerial bombings and artillery
flatten the city.
Akihito has made honouring Japanese and non-Japanese
who died in World War II a
touchstone of his near threedecade reign — known as Heisei, or “achieving peace” — and
now in its twilight.
He has previously journeyed
to other Pacific battle sites
where Japanese troops and civilians made desperate last
stands in the name of his father
Hirohito.
The other key symbolic event
on Akihito’s agenda in the Philippines will be a visit tomorrow
to a shrine for Japanese casualties of the war in Caliraya, a
lake resort village about three
hours’ drive south of Manila.
Before leaving Tokyo on
Tuesday, Akihito said a main
focus of his trip was to honour
the war dead.
“In the Philippines, many
lives of Filipinos, Americans
and Japanese were lost during
the war,” Akihito said.
He specifically referred to
the Manila independence battle in his remarks.
His remorse over the war
helps to improve Japan’s international image and counterbalances his government’s more
nationalist bent, according to
Aquino kept dangerous
mission ‘confidential’
By Jefferson Antiporda
Manila Times
P
Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach consoles a child from Smile Train, an organisation which provides corrective
surgery for children with cleft lips and palates.
Manila-based political analyst
Richard Javad Heydarian.
“The emperor will serve as
the apologetic, sincere face of
Japan... it will balance out his
government’s
controversial,
pugnacious and seemingly revisionist statements,” he said.
Conservative Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe angered
China and South Korea when
he marked the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender last year
by saying that future generations should not apologise for
the war.
But the Philippines now
views Japan, its biggest source
of development aid and foreign
investment, as a trusted ally.
Highlighting the warmth of
the relationship, Akihito and
Aquino enjoyed a wide-ranging
20-minute chat after the welcoming ceremony yesterday.
Outside the palace, though,
about 200 people rallied to demand justice for women forced
into sexual slavery by occupying Japanese soldiers in World
War II.
“To the emperor of Japan,
talk to your leader about Filipina grandmothers who are
fighting for their rights,” one of
seven former sex slaves at the
protest, Narcisa Claveria, 85,
said over a megaphone.
resident Benigno Aquino
deliberately kept Oplan
Exodus to himself and
his trusted man, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief
Alan Purisima, even if the mission was too perilous, Sen. Juan
Ponce Enrile said at the reopening of the Senate investigation of
the killing of 44 police commandos in Maguindanao last year.
The president, according to
Enrile, disregarded the command system of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
and the PNP.
“To understand this, when
I say compartmented Oplan
Exodus, I mean that President
Aquino intentionally, deliberately and actually confined
and arrogated unto himself and
Purisima full knowledge, com-
mand and control and strategic
decisions over Oplan Exodus,”
the senator said.
He added that the president
assumed responsibility for the
operation and set aside the
command system of the police
and the military. Former Special Action Force (SAF) chief
Getulio Napenas agreed with
Enrile’s observation.
Enrile said Aquino excluded concerned members of his
Cabinet and officials of the police and the military in the operation and sent the SAF troops
on the dangerous operation to
capture terrorist Zulkifli bin
Hir alias Marwan and two other
targets.
But Purisima, who was
present at the hearing, insisted
that Oplan Exodus was a mission planned and executed by
the SAF and Aquino was exercising his authority as head of
the PNP and as president.
Gulf Times
31
SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL/MALDIVES
Lanka orders arrest of 22
cops over party killing
Graphic footage captured
on closed-circuit television
shows a group of officers
dragging partygoers out
onto the street and then
thrashing them with their
batons in Embilipitiya town
earlier this month
AFP
Colombo
A
Sri Lankan magistrate
ordered the arrest of 22
police officers yesterday
following an outcry over footage showing officers assaulting
revellers at a party where one
man died after allegedly being
thrown through a window.
Magistrate Prasanna Fernando called for the immediate
arrest of two senior officers and
other lower-ranking police personnel as a government minister apologised to parliament
over his initial version of events.
Graphic footage captured
on closed-circuit television,
which has been widely circulated on social media, showed
a group of officers dragging
partygoers out onto the street
and then thrashing them with
their batons in the southern
town of Embilipitiya earlier
this month.
Police had initially claimed
they came under attack from
partygoers. But after a flood of
witnesses came forward and
the CCTV footage emerged,
national police chief N K Illangakoon ordered an investigation
into the incident which found
that officers had fabricated
evidence.
Many witnesses said the police went on the rampage after
party organisers refused to give
them alcohol, describing how
the 29-year-old man who died
had been assaulted and then
pushed through a second-floor
window.
Medical reports showed the
victim had over 180 lacerations after being dragged over
glass shards from a number of
windows which were smashed.
Amid a growing public outcry, Law and Order Minister
Sagala Ratnayake told lawmakers he was retracting an earlier
report which claimed that the
victim had jumped through a
glass door to escape from police.
“It has come to light that the
information I gave the House
earlier about this incident was
wrong,” the minister said, adding that it appeared that police
had lied.
The incident is an embarrassment for the government of President Maithripala
Sirisena, which came to power
on a promise of improving Sri
Lanka’s dismal human rights
record.
Last month the independent Human Rights Commission ruled that police had
violated international humanitarian law by assaulting students
demonstrating in the capital.
Police are also implicated
in extrajudicial killings under
former strongman Mahinda
Rajapakse who was defeated
by Sirisena at elections last
January.
IMPUNITY
PERSISTS
AMID REFORMS IN LANKA:
The Sri Lankan government that
took office a year ago ended the
pervasive culture of surveillance
and censorship and embarked
on reforms aimed at undoing
years of increasingly authoritarian rule, Human Rights
Watch said yesterday, IANS
reports from New York.
While it opened dialogues
both domestically and abroad,
the government still faces key
concerns, including wartime
accountability and prolonged
detention without trial, the
rights group said in its World
Report 2016.
A Human Rights Watch official said: “Sri Lanka’s new government has begun to address
some of the country’s chronic
human rights problems, but
much remains to be done.
“The pervasive culture of
fear is largely gone and positive
measures have been adopted,
but the previous government’s
disastrous restructuring of independent state institutions
needs to be fully dismantled.”
The report said the government of President Maithripala
Sirisena initiated a series of
constitutional reforms, including establishing a constitutional council and restoring the
independence of the judiciary, police, and human rights
commissions.
Civil society groups are once
again able to speak out safely
on issues of concern. In December, the government signed
the UN Convention against
Enforced Disappearance, a
step toward tackling a massive
decades-long problem.
But the government has yet
to fulfill its pledge to abolish
the draconian Prevention of
Terrorism Act (PTA), it said.
Authorities agreed to release
some PTA detainees on bail,
“rehabilitate” others, and prosecute the remainder, but arrests under the PTA continued
throughout the year, it said.
In August, the UN Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a scathing
report on unlawful attacks, killings, torture, sexual violence,
and attacks on relief aid by both
sides during the civil war with
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam that ended in 2009.
At the Human Rights Council
in October 2015, member states
including Sri Lanka endorsed a
consensus resolution calling on
Colombo to implement the report’s many recommendations,
including to establish a special
counsel to investigate and prosecute alleged wartime abuses,
and to include foreign judges
and prosecutors in a Sri Lankan
tribunal.
India to deepen
economic ties
with Lanka
India looks to deepen its
economic and commercial
ties with Sri Lanka and has
maintained that the island nation
continues to be a key part of
India’s “neighbourhood first”
policy, an Indian envoy said in
Colombo yesterday.
India’s High Commissioner to
Sri Lanka Y K Sinha speaking
at an event to mark the Indian
Republic Day in Colombo said
relations between India and Sri
Lanka have been transformative
in the past year and India’s
total development assistance
commitment to Sri Lanka was
now around $2.6bn, covering
all areas of contemporary
relevance.
Sinha also noted the increasing
air connectivity between the
two countries and the growing
tourist arrivals from India in
Sri Lanka. India is currently the
leading market for the highest
number of tourist arrivals to Sri
Lanka followed by China, Xinhua
reported.
Sinha alluded to the strong
bilateral defence ties, the
testimony of which he said
was the visit to Colombo by
India’s largest naval aircraft
carrier “INS Vikramaditya” last
week.
He affirmed that India had an
abiding interest in the security
of Sri Lanka and remained
committed to Sri Lanka’s unity,
sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
Do not spare influential figures,
Hasina tells police officers
By Mizan Rahman
Dhaka
P
Ban Ki-moon: “Positive development would help ease the border
blockade.”
UN chief hails
Nepal charter
amendments
IANS
United Nations
S
ecretary-General Ban
Ki-moon has welcomed
Nepal parliament’s vote
to amend the constitution and
hoped that the positive development would help ease the
border blockade.
Responding to a question, Ban’s spokesperson
Stephane Dujarric said that
Ban “welcomes parliamentary action to amend the
constitution as an important step in resolving differences on constitutional
arrangements.”
“He hopes that current
positive developments could
help normalise passage of
supplies at Nepal’s border
points and refocus attention to address urgent reconstruction and other needs,”
Dujarric added.
Over the weekend Nepal’s
parliament voted to amend
the constitution in order to
create a house of representatives, redelineate electoral
constituencies so they can
potentially meet the demands
of Madhesis and ensure social
justice.
However, the
Madhesis, whose protests have led
to a blockade of the border
with India, have rejected the
amendments saying they did
not go far enough to meet their
demands. Their principal demand is the creation of two
separate Madhesi provinces in
the plains region, which was
not included in amendment
project.
Participating in the walkout
before the vote on the amendment, Laxman Lal Karna of
the United Democratic Madhesi Front said, “It does not
even touch our main demand
for changing the borders of
the provinces.”
Dujarric said Ban “encourages all parties to exercise
maximum flexibility in resolving remaining issues via
dialogue.”
rime Minister Sheikh
Hasina yesterday asked
police officials to take
strong action against those
committing crimes and injustice no matter how influential
the persons are or their political
affiliation is.
“There’re some people who
often tend to take advantage
of their political identity. My
specific order in this regard is
never to allow any kind of injustice to happen no matter how
influential the people are,” she
said.
The prime minister was addressing the high officials of
Bangladesh Police at her office.
Noting that the poor and weak
people are often subjected to
harassment by the so-called influential people, Hasina directed
the police officials to protect and
give shelter to hapless people.
“Even, if anyone of my party
in this connection tries to influence, then communicate
with me as I’ve given [you] such
access and scope,” she said.
Mentioning that there have
been occurrences of smuggling
and human trafficking due to
geographical location, the prime
minister asked the top brass of
the police force to remain alert
so that militancy and terrorism
cannot re-emerge in the country.
Hasina said steps have been
taken to ensure exchange of information and boost coordination among the intelligence
agencies regularly.
The prime minister also directed the ministry of home affairs to take a project addressing
various problems of police in
phases like constructing buildings at the police stations, ensuring separate accommodation
and barracks for the female personnel, installing CCTVs at the
divisional headquarters.
She also welcomed a proposal
for introducing insurance policy
for the police force considering
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaking on the occasion
of Police Week 2016 in Dhaka yesterday.
their nature of work. Regarding
the demand for forming a separate bank for police, Hasina said
she has no objection in this regard if the police force could provide 4bn taka for forming a bank
and put forward the matter to the
finance minister.
She also directed the police of-
PM at reconstruction campaign
Britain
could use
sanctions
to pressure
Maldives
Reuters
London
B
Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, right, talks with villagers as he arrives to participate in the official launch of a national
reconstruction campaign at Bungamati in Lalitpur, near Kathmandu. Nepal has commenced the reconstruction process nearly nine
months after the massive earthquakes in April and May last year.
Nepal’s China imports down 14.1%
Freedom under attack in Bangladesh: HRW
IANS
New York
F
reedom of expression
came under severe attack
in Bangladesh in 2015, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has
said in its World Report 2016.
While extremist groups targeted secular bloggers and foreign aid workers, the government
cracked down on media and civil
society activists, launched contempt of court proceedings or
prosecuted them under vague
and overbroad laws, it said in a
659-page report.
Several commuters were
killed or injured during violence that erupted during some
Bangladeshi opposition blockades of transport routes, the
US-based rights body said.
The government, led by
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,
became increasingly authoritarian, with security forces arresting key opposition leaders,
often on trumped up charges,
and state authorities refusing
to prosecute security forces for
serious violations, including
torture, killings, and enforced
disappearances.
In 2015, five bloggers with
atheist sympathies were hacked
to death by extremist groups.
ficials to ensure security to both
local and international tourists
coming to Cox’s Bazar, tea gardens and in the hilly areas. “The
most important thing is to gain
the trust and confidence of common people and also to discharge
your duties with utmost honesty
and integrity.”
Other bloggers, writers and
publishers, whose names were
published on a hit-list, went
into hiding, concerned that government protection was either
absent or at best inadequate.
A Shia procession and a Hindu temple faced serious attacks,
with many wounded.
Members of the opposition
Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
said they feared arbitrary arrest
or extrajudicial killings, the report said.
Civil society and media faced
harsh conditions. Forty-nine
people were prosecuted for expressing public support for an-
other journalist’s right to publish
fair criticism of war crimes trials.
Media critical of the government continued to face closure,
as editors and journalists faced
charges and arrest. Two men
were prosecuted for social media
posts criticising the government.
In a positive development,
efforts to shore up support for
labour rights in the country’s
garment industry seemed to be
having an impact, with a rise
in the number of labour unions
registered, although concerns
remain about the capacity of
workers to form and participate
freely in labour unions, Human
Rights Watch said.
Nepal’s imports from China, its
second largest trade partner, fell
14.1% in the first five months of
the current fiscal 2015-16, Nepal’s
central bank said yesterdaty.
Imports have been affected by
a blockade on the Indian border
points and a delay in bringing
the closed Khasa-Tatopani
border point into operation,
Xinhua news agency reported.
Imports from China declined to
$342mn in the first five months
of the current fiscal, which begins
in mid-July, from $398mn during
the same period in the previous
fiscal, according to the bank.
Normally, Nepal imports 25%
of goods from China through
the land route and the rest
enter Nepal by sea via Kolkata,
according to the Customs
Department.
Imports of Chinese goods
through sea have been affected
due to the ongoing troubles near
the Indian border, according to
the bank.
“The supply of goods through
the land route has also been
affected due to the delay in
bringing the Khasa-Tatopani
customs point, which had served
as the main trade route till the
deadly earthquake last year,
back to operation,” said Nara
Bahadur Thapa, chief of research
department at the bank.
Currently, the inland trade
between Nepal and China
is taking place through the
Kerung-Rasuwagadhi trade
route, which was also closed for
six months after the earthquake
but was reopened in
October 2015.
ritain could impose sanctions on Maldivian individuals if the Maldives’ government fails to take action to free
political prisoners, Prime Minister
David Cameron said yesterday.
Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldives’ first democratically elected
president, is serving a 13-year
sentence on terrorism charges for
the alleged abduction of a judge
after a rapid trial last March which
drew international criticism.
Nasheed and his lawyer Amal
Clooney met Cameron at Downing Street in London on Saturday
after the former president won
permission to travel to Britain
for surgery. The Maldives gained
independence from the United
Kingdom in 1965.
“We want to see a change in
behaviour from the Maldivian government to make sure that
political prisoners are set free and
yes we are prepared to consider
targeted action against individuals if further progress isn’t made,”
Cameron said in parliament.
He was responding to a question by lawmaker John Glen on
whether Britain would work to
build an international consensus
on targeted sanctions.
On Saturday, Cameron’s office said the prime minister and
Nasheed had agreed that a Commonwealth meeting to be held in
the Maldives next month would
provide an opportunity to press
the Maldivian government to engage in “open political dialogue
and free all remaining political
prisoners swiftly”.
32
Gulf Times
COMMENT
Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah
Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed
Production Editor: C P Ravindran
P.O.Box 2888
Doha, Qatar
[email protected]
Telephone 44350478 (news),
44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery)
Fax 44350474
GULF TIMES
Qatar players
can be proud
of their show
Qatar’s young footballers can hold their
heads high despite crashing out of the AFC U23
Championship at the semi-final stage on Tuesday.
Two late goals by South Korea put paid to Felix
Sanchez’s side’s hopes of earning a crack at the
continental title, the result also prolonging their
wait to find out if they qualify for the Olympics in
Rio de Janeiro later this year.
By virtue of being the hosts of the tournament,
Qatar had the advantage of playing in front of
their home fans, but on the flip side it also added
to the pressure on them. A flop show in home
conditions would have certainly raised eyebrows
especially considering the fact that a few players
from this side were expected to be at the peak
of their careers and tipped to don the country’s
colours when it hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
As it turned out, Qatar’s performance earned
accolades from virtually everybody involved with
the tournament. They played thrilling football
to reach the knockouts with an all-win record in
the group stage with
skipper Abdelkarim
A flop show
Hassan, Ahmed
in home
Alaeddin and Akram
conditions
Afif producing some
brilliant individual
would have
certainly raised performances.
In the quartereyebrows
finals, Qatar came
from behind to edge
a dogged North Korea before they ran into South
Korea, one of the giants of Asian football.
Qatar had their chances in the match, but a
couple of defending errors allowed the South
Koreans to break free in the final moments to seal
victory.
The Al Annabi will now meet Iraq tomorrow
hoping to secure the third spot in the tournament
which will still be good enough to put them in the
Olympics.
Coach Sanchez was philosophical after the
defeat: “I think in all the games the players
showed team spirit,” he said. “It’s very important
to play in these kind of competitions and in the
next game they will try their best to perform well
and have a good result.”
The tournament has so far produced exciting
football and fans can expect much more of it when
Qatar take on Iraq tomorrow, with the winners
going through to the Olympics.
On Saturday, Japan meet South Korea in a battle
for supremacy between the two Asian football
giants. Considering the rivalry that defines
sporting and political ties between the two
neighbours, it will be a match no football fan can
afford to miss.
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The global economy’s
marshmallow test
Societies that defer instant
consumption in order to save
and invest for the future will
enjoy higher future incomes
and greater retirement
security
By Jeffrey D Sachs
New York
T
he world economy is
experiencing a turbulent
start to 2016. Stock markets
are plummeting; emerging
economies are reeling in response
to the sharp decline in commodities
prices; refugee inflows are further
destabilising Europe; China’s growth
has slowed markedly in response
to a capital-flow reversal and an
overvalued currency; and the US is
in political paralysis. A few central
bankers struggle to keep the world
economy upright.
To escape this mess, four principles
should guide the way.
First, global economic progress
depends on high global saving and
investment.
Second, saving and investment
flows should be viewed as global, not
national.
Third, full employment depends on
high investment rates that match high
saving rates.
Fourth, high private investments
by business depend on high public
investments in infrastructure and
human capital. Let’s consider each.
First, our global goal should be
economic progress, meaning better
living conditions worldwide. Indeed,
that goal has been enshrined in the
new Sustainable Development Goals
adopted last September by all 193
members of the UN. Progress depends
on a high rate of global investment:
building the skills, technology and
physical capital stock to propel
standards of living higher.
In economic development, as in life,
there’s no free lunch: Without high
rates of investment in know-how,
skills, machinery and sustainable
infrastructure, productivity tends to
decline (mainly through depreciation),
dragging down living standards.
High investment rates in turn
depend on high saving rates.
A famous psychological experiment
found that young children who could
resist the immediate temptation to
eat a marshmallow, and thereby gain
two marshmallows in the future, were
likelier to thrive as adults than those
who couldn’t.
Likewise, societies that defer
instant consumption in order to save
and invest for the future will enjoy
higher future incomes and greater
retirement security. (When American
economists advise China to boost
consumption and cut saving, they
are merely peddling the bad habits of
American culture, which saves and
invests far too little for America’s
future.)
In economic
development, as in
life, there’s no free
lunch
Second, saving and investment
flows are global. A country such as
China, with a high saving rate that
exceeds local investment needs, can
support investment in other parts
of the world that save less, notably
low-income Africa and Asia. China’s
population is aging rapidly, and
Chinese households are saving for
retirement.
The Chinese know that their
household financial assets, rather than
numerous children or government
social security, will be the main source
of their financial security. Lowincome Africa and Asia, on the other
hand, are both capital-poor and very
young. They can borrow from China’s
high savers to finance a massive and
rapid build-up of education, skills,
and infrastructure to underpin their
own future economic prosperity.
Third, a high global saving rate does
not automatically translate into a
high investment rate; unless properly
directed, it can cause underspending
and unemployment instead. Money
put into banks and other financial
intermediaries (such as pension
and insurance funds) can finance
productive activities or short-term
speculation (for example, consumer
loans and real estate). Great bankers
of the past like J PMorgan built
industries like rail and steel. Today’s
money managers, by contrast, tend to
resemble gamblers or even fraudsters
like Charles Ponzi.
Fourth, today’s investments with
high social returns – such as lowcarbon energy, smart power grids
for cities, and information-based
health systems – depend on publicprivate partnerships, in which public
investment and public policies help
to spur private investment. This
has long been the case: Railroad
networks, aviation, automobiles,
semiconductors, satellites, GPS,
hydraulic fracturing, nuclear power,
genomics and the Internet would
not exist but for such partnerships
(typically, but not only, starting with
the military).
Our global problem today is that
the world’s financial intermediaries
are not properly steering long-term
saving into long-term investments.
The problem is compounded by the
fact that most governments (the
US is a stark case) are chronically
underinvesting in long-term
education, skill training, and
infrastructure. Private investment
is falling short mainly because of
the shortfall of complementary
public investment. Shortsighted
macroeconomists say the world
is under-consuming; in fact, it is
underinvesting.
The result is inadequate global
demand (global investments
falling short of global saving at full
employment) and highly volatile
short-term capital flows to finance
consumption and real estate. Such
short-term flows are subject to abrupt
reversals of size and direction.
The 1997 Asian financial crisis
followed a sudden stop of capital
inflows to Asia, and global shortterm lending suddenly dried up
after Lehman Brothers collapsed in
September 2008, causing the Great
Recession. Now China is facing the
same problem, with inflows having
abruptly given way to outflows.
The mainstream macroeconomic
advice to China – boost domestic
consumption and overvalue the
renminbi to cut exports – fails the
marshmallow test. It encourages
overconsumption, underinvestment,
and rising unemployment in a rapidly
aging society, and in a world that can
make tremendous use of China’s high
saving and industrial capacity.
The right policy is to channel
China’s high saving to increased
investments in infrastructure and
skills in low-income Africa and Asia.
China’s new Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) and its
One Belt, One Road initiative to
establish modern transport and
communications links throughout the
region are steps in the right direction.
These programmes will keep
China’s factories operating at high
capacity to produce the investment
goods needed for rapid growth in
today’s low-income countries.
China’s currency should be allowed
to depreciate so that China’s capitalgoods exports to Africa and Asia are
more affordable.
More generally, governments
should expand the role of national
and multilateral development banks
(including the regional development
banks for Asia, Africa, the Americas
and the Islamic countries) to channel
long-term saving from pension funds,
insurance funds and commercial
banks into long-term public and
private investments in twenty-firstcentury industries and infrastructure.
Central banks and hedge funds
cannot produce long-term economic
growth and financial stability.
Only long-term investments, both
public and private, can lift the world
economy out of its current instability
and slow growth. - Project Syndicate
zJeffrey D Sachs is professor of
sustainable development, professor
of health policy and management,
and director of the Earth Institute at
Columbia University. He is also special
adviser to the UN secretary-general on
the Millennium Development Goals.
Investors looking on beside an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai. Shanghai stocks closed lower yesterday, extending a
6.42% plunge the previous day on worries over the weak economy after data showed industrial profit accelerated declines in December.
Growing militant threat worries West Africa
By Malick Rokhy
AFP/Dakah
F
aced with a growing militant
threat, West African nations
are scrambling to boost
security but are seeing visitor
numbers fall as foreign governments
warn their nationals about the risks.
“The alert is being taken very
seriously,” said a Senegalese security
source after police carried out a
weekend of security operations in a
bid to tackle the “terrorist threat”.
Some 900 people were detained,
mainly for security checks.
The situation is being taken
particularly seriously in Dakar’s
Corniche district, which is home to
many hotels, he said.
Hotel security has been stepped
up after 30 people were killed
earlier this month in a deadly attack
on a top Burkina Faso hotel and a
nearby restaurant in the capital
Ouagadougou.
Senegal is “an island of stability in
an ocean of instability”, said Bakary
Sambe, researcher on religious
radicalism at Gaston Berger University,
referring to the unrest gripping Mali
to the east and Nigeria further south
where the Boko Haram militants are
active.
“It is increasingly a strategic retreat
area for Western organisations” and
occupies a “privileged position” in the
region, he said.
That, however, is now making it
an attractive target for destructive
forces, “a symbolic target, because
in attacking Senegal, you hit many
interests”, he said.
“With the meagre
means available
to us in this region,
you cannot combat
terrorism”
Mohamed Fall Oumere, security
expert and director of the Mauritanian
newspaper La Tribune, said he expects
militant attacks to extend westwards
to countries such as Senegal, Ivory
Coast and Mauritania which have
hitherto been largely spared “because
of the security noose” around the area.
The militants want to send three
messages, Oumere says.
One is to France, telling them
that their 2013 intervention in Mali
“remains unresolved” while another
is to France’s allies to warn them that
“they are still in the firing line”, he
said.
The third is a message to the Islamic
State group, a competing extremist
faction, “which will unfortunately
result in much damage and
bloodshed”, he said.
Northern Mali fell under the control
of militant groups linked to Al Qaeda
in 2012.
They were largely ousted by
a French-led military operation
launched in January 2013, although
large swathes of the area remain
lawless and prone to attacks.
In an interview with Mauritania’s
Al-Akhbar website, a leader of the Al
Qaeda Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group
threatened allies of the West, probably
pointing to Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger,
Senegal and Togo.
Troops from the five countries
make up most of the UN forces in
Mali, and some of these nations host
US and French military bases on
their soil.
Speaking to AFP, French security
expert Yves Trotignon, who knows
the region well, said Niger seems
very vulnerable and that mounting
an attack on the capital Niamey
“wouldn’t be very difficult”.
Last week, Niger’s Interior Minister
Hassoumi Massaoudou spoke for
the first time of arrests over the past
month of people who came to Niamey
intending to carry out the kind of
attacks seen in Ouagadougou.
“We receive information and threats
around every two months,” he told the
French broadcaster RFI.
In Dakar and Abidjan, the US
and French envoys have urged their
nationals to “avoid crowded areas”
as they did after the November 20
attacks on a hotel in the Malian capital
Bamako, which killed 20, 14 of them
foreigners.
Even in Sierra Leone, where the
Ebola virus has hit the tourist sector
and where authorities lend little
credibility to threats of attacks against
hotels, security is being beefed up
around major buildings, according to
hotel sources.
Last week Idriss Deby Itno,
president of Chad - a key member of
France’s counter-terrorism mission in
the Sahel region - said terrorism had
become a worse threat than Ebola,
which has killed over 11,000 people.
During a recently solidarity visit to
Burkina Faso, he described terror as
“an epidemic, worse than Ebola, worse
than any illness”.
The Chadian leader said it imposed
an additional burden on poorer
countries that already had enough
problems to deal with.
“With the meagre means available
to us in this region, you cannot
combat terrorism while also thinking
about development, about youth
employment, about creating jobs,” he
said. “It’s impossible.”
Gulf Times
33
COMMENT
The marketing of the American president
Cruz is a propagandist,
selling to his constituents an
ostensibly credible story of
actual leadership
By Nina Khrushcheva
New York
W
hen it comes to political
entertainment, it
doesn’t get much
better than presidential
election season in the US. Foreign
observers follow the race to determine
who is best equipped to lead the
US – and, to some extent, the world
– toward a more stable, secure, and
prosperous future.
But in America, entertainment is
king, and Americans tend to focus
on excitement above all – who looks
better, has a catchier sound bite,
seems most “authentic”, and so on,
often to the point of absurdity.
This is not a new approach, of
course. Edward Bernays, the father of
modern public relations, examined
it in 1928, in his book Propaganda.
“Politics was the first big business in
America,” he declared, and political
campaigns are “all side shows, all
honors, all bombast, glitter, and
speeches.”
The key to victory is the
manipulation of public opinion, and
that is achieved most effectively by
appealing to the “mental cliches and
emotional habits of the public”.
A president, in other words, is
nothing more than a product to be
marketed. And, as any marketer
knows, the quality of the product is
not necessarily what drives its success;
if it were, Donald Trump would not be
regarded as a serious candidate for the
Republican Party nomination, much
less a top contender.
Instead, a president must serve as a
kind of imaginary friend: a beer buddy
for men, an earnest empathizer for
women, or a charming Twitter user for
the millennials.
In the current campaign, the
most complex candidate, Hillary
Clinton, is suffering mightily
as a result of – let’s be honest –
personality issues. She has made
important policy contributions as US
secretary of state in the first Obama
administration, and she has offered
what is arguably the most complete
economic vision of any presidential
candidate. Yet she is facing a serious
challenge from Bernie Sanders, a
self-described socialist senator
from Vermont, in the race for the
Democratic nomination.
Sanders’s popularity stems
partly from the image he projects
of a stereotypical “nutty professor”,
adorably of another world. His
energetic and unselfconscious
gesticulations make him seem
passionate and genuine. Yet his actual
policy suggestions – such as free postsecondary education and universal
health care – resemble Trump’s calls
to “make America great again,” in the
sense that they establish simple yet
visionary goals.
According to Bernays, people’s
desire for simplicity extends to
another area of electoral politics:
“party machines should narrow down
the field of choice to two candidates,
or at most three or four.” Here, the
Republicans have gone badly astray.
After beginning the election season
with 17 candidates, they have managed
to narrow it down by only a few, to 12.
Jeb Bush, former Florida governor
and younger brother of George W
Bush, was initially considered a
serious contender. But Trump is right,
for once, in his observation that Bush
is a “low-energy” person. He is the
Charlie Brown of the election, whose
every swipe at the football is thwarted
by his savvier counterparts.
Another Floridian, Senator
Marco Rubio, is a more energetic
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waving to the crowd as he leaves a campaign rally at the University of
Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.
establishment alternative. But his
campaign, like his appearance, lacks
definition and assertiveness – not to
mention a good sound bite.
A lack of sound bites is not a
problem for New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie, whose Tony Soprano
vibe and brash one-liners have plenty
of entertainment value. Indeed, in
a typical US presidential election
campaign, Christie might be a
contender for the most cartoonish
candidate. But this is not a typical
campaign, because there’s nothing
typical about Trump.
With his exaggerated facial
expressions, penchant for trash
talking, and love of superlatives,
Trump – a showman and a
businessman – seems to have the right
background for Bernays-style public
manipulation.
But he has the wrong background
for a president. (It is worth asking
whether he really even wants to be
president. He must know that, like the
Wizard of Oz, he can portray himself
zNina L Khrushcheva, the author of
Imagining Nabokov: Russia Between
Art and Politics and The Lost
Khrushchev: A Journey into the Gulag
of the Russian Mind, is Professor of
International Affairs and Associate
Dean for Academic Affairs at The New
School and a senior fellow at the World
Policy Institute.
Weather report
Letters
Three-day forecast
Needed: More
facilities
No end in sight
to Syrian crisis
Dear Sir,
Dear Sir,
I live in a residential complex behind
the Concorde hotel and the Jarir book
store in Doha.
More than 150 people live in the
compound. The area needs more
facilities and better upkeep.
Authorities concerned may act on
the following points:
zThe street connecting to the main
Mattar Road from our complex needs
better street lighting.
z Side streets in our area are
often blocked by a large number of
taxis waiting to pick up and drop off
people.
zThe rain water drainage system,
in general, is not very effective in
the Umm Ghuwailina area where the
complex is located.
zGarbage collection should be
better organised. There should be
separate disposal of green waste as in
the Al Khor area. These problems have
been there in the area for long. Early
action on them will be appreciated by
all residents of this area.
In reference to the report “UN sees
Syria talks starting on Friday” (Gulf
Times, January 26), I feel that the
United Nations and some Western
countries have not realised the
seriousness of crisis the Syrian people
have been going through due to years
of unrest in the country.
A ceasefire is a must prior to
any discussions as the civil war
has already claimed thousands of
lives and made millions homeless,
starting off mass replacement
of people. Many “refugees” live
outside Syria in camps.
Peace discussions cannot make
any progress unless there is an agreed
agenda in place and all the parties
involved in the dialogues must ensure
that they contribute equally and
responsibly to end the years-long
crisis.
As the suffering of the Syrian
community continues, the discussions
must have some serious objectives
considering the humanitarian aspects
of the issue. At the same time it is
quite embarrassing that despite the
military involvement of the US, Russia
and other world powers, the agony of
ZP
(Full name and address supplied)
as great and powerful only until he
needs to perform actual miracles.)
Among these one-dimensional
figures, one fully formed candidate
stands out: the Texan Ted Cruz. Once
a national debating champion, Cruz
is fully in control of his persona; not
even Trump, with his frantic attacks
on Cruz’s eligibility (because he was
born in Canada), can get under his
skin.
In fact, it is Cruz who has made
Trump squirm. In last week’s
Republican debate, Cruz accused
Trump of having “New York values,
calling the city (explicitly excluding
New York State) “socially liberal” and
focused on “money and media”.
Cruz managed not only to get a rise
out of Trump, but also to enhance his
own appeal to conservative voters in
the Midwest and South.
Appropriately plastic-looking,
Cruz can, when necessary, act as
brainless as Sarah Palin (who has just
endorsed Trump). But Cruz, educated
at Princeton and Harvard, is no fool.
He is, as Bernays taught, treating his
campaign as a “drive for votes, just as
an Ivory Soap advertising campaign is
a drive for sales.”
Trump is a showman who has
captured the public’s attention. But
Cruz is a propagandist, selling to his
constituents an ostensibly credible
story of actual leadership. Though he,
like Clinton, is not the most broadly
likable character, he would be a worthy
contender in a presidential election.
The question is whether Americans
will want to buy what they are selling.
- Project Syndicate
people still continues and there is no
immediate sign of hope before them.
Ramachandran Nair
(e-mail address supplied)
Constant
criticism
Dear Sir,
The report, “Modi govt not openminded, says author Nayantara
Sahgal” (Gulf Times, January 24) was
untimely, as it came just a few days
TODAY
before India marked its Republic Day.
This constant criticism against the
government doesn’t do anyone any
good. Such reports hurt Indians’
sentiments, I feel.
India is a progressive country with
a lot of achievements to speak of in
science, technology, education and
human resource development. And
most importantly, all Indians should
be proud of its democratic values.
So it’s my request to Gulf Times
to give a balanced coverage about
India.
High: 21 C
Low : 15 C
Strong wind over all areas and poor
visibility due to dust
FRIDAY
High: 16 C
Low : 11 C
Cloudy
SATURDAY
High: 17 C
Low : 12 C
Cloudy
Zarna Bhatt
(e-mail address supplied)
Fishermen’s forecast
Please send us your letters
By e-mail
[email protected]
Fax 44350474
Or Post
Letters to the Editor
Gulf Times
P O Box 2888
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All letters, which are subject to editing, should have the name of the
writer, address and phone number. The writer’s name and address
may be withheld by request.
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Live issues
A universal remote control for the smart home
By Jochen Wieloch
DPA/Berlin
T
he typical household today
has a lot of electronic devices
— TVs, DVD and Blu-ray
players and music systems, to
name just a few. And in the networked
house more and more devices are
being added all the time — lamps,
blinds, surveillance cameras.
The dream is to control everything
using a single remote control
while sitting on the couch or even
travelling. Fortunately, this option
does exist today, at least for consumer
electronics.
“The more devices that can be
controlled with a universal remote
control, the better,” says Michael
Pleininger from German technology
blog Neuerdings.com.
“A universal remote control is
worthy of the name only if it really can
replace all existing remote controls.”
Another important consideration
is how easy the remote control
is to install and use. Particularly
convenient are models that can be
connected to a PC via USB and then
set up using an online tool. These are
available from around $55.
Universal remote controls can be
divided into several categories such as
pre-programed models or models that
are capable of learning. There are also
devices that have higher quality signal
transmitters or feature LCD displays
or touch-screens.
Pre-programed models have
stored within them thousands of
infrared commands for the many
different devices sold by the major
manufacturers. Programing is
performed using a numerical code.
Often it’s sufficient to merely align the
universal remote with the device and
the appropriate code will be searched
for.
Smartphone or tablet apps are the
competitors for universal remote
control devices. Almost every
manufacturer now offers free Android
and iOS apps to control their devices.
A prerequisite is that the phone or
tablet is integrated into the same WiFi
network as the device which is to be
controlled.
The more expensive smartphones
and tablets such as the Galaxy S6 from
Samsung, the G4 and G Pad 8.3 from
LG, Sony’s Xperia-Z series and the
One and One Max from HTC can also
work without Wi-Fi, because they
have a built-in infrared module.
If an Android phone doesn’t already
have an app installed, users can try
free apps such as “IR Universal Remote
2.0” or “Twinone TV Remote”. There’s
also the option of retrofit infrared
solutions such as the Smart Zapper
from One for All (around $35) or the
Harmony Ultimate Hub from Logitech
(around $70 ).
Combined with an app, these
transform smartphones and tablets
into infrared remote controls. The
apps communicate with the devices
via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
Whether an actual physical device
or an app, universal remote controls
are generally designed for working
with consumer electronics only. A
jack-of-all-trades which will control
lights, blinds or kitchen appliances
doesn’t exist.
“So far the smart home has been
an isolated application in which
each manufacturer makes their own
app,” says Peter Knaak from German
consumer goods tester Stiftung
Warentest. “The heating has one, the
blinds another.”
So a universal remote control
for the smart home is still a thing
of the future. That said, tablets or
even the TV represent a good basis
for controlling automation in the
home.
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34
Gulf Times
QATAR
Four new Porsche models make
ME debut at Qatar Motor Show
By Joey Aguilar
Staff Reporter
T
he Middle East debut of
four new Porsche models yesterday at the Qatar
Motor Show 2016 highlighted
the brand’s latest advancements
and legacy as one of the world’s
best-selling sports car.
Deesch Papke, chief executive officer, Porsche Middle East
and Africa, led the unveiling of
the all-new Macan GTS, the latest 911 Turbo S, and the new 911
Carrera 4S and 911 Targa 4S.
“Through constant development in the form of technology
transfer and a mindset of evolution
our engineers have been able to advance the 911 range to a new high,”
he said, adding: “With the premiere of the all-new Macan GTS
we are celebrating a landmark moment, as we now have a powerful
and dynamic GTS version in every
Porsche model series.”
As the newest addition to Porsche’s SUV range, the Macan
GTS promises even more driv-
ing fun as the sports car among
compact SUVs.
With an output of 360 hp,
the model features a 3.0 litre V6
bi-turbo engine, Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) and Porsche
Traction Management, with
flexible power distribution between front and rear axles. Completing the zero to 100 km/h
sprint in 5.0 seconds with the
optional Sport Chrono package,
Porsche’s latest GTS model has a
top speed of 256 km/h.
According to Papke, Porche
has been investing heavily in long-term technology and
spends an enormous amount for
research and development.
Papke noted that they were also
the first manufacturer in the segment to have a plug in hybrid in
Cayenne, the first in Panamera,
and the first in a super sports car.
“We are streets ahead and at
the same time, we were the first
one to introduce a completely
electric sports car, which was
announced recently,” the CEO
stressed.
Porche sold more than
200,000 cars for the first time
described as a significant
achievement for the brand,
heading towards its strategic direction set for 2018.
Papke noted they enjoyed unprecedented success with five
years of double digit growth including in the Middle East.
“At the same time we have
developed extremely well in the
Middle East as well and we have
the benefit of a very strong oil
price and we have the benefit of
massive investment of the government, of the ruling family,”
he added.
The new 911 Turbo S is the top
athlete in the 911 range and thanks
to new turbo chargers with larger
compressors, the 3.8 litre twinturbo six-cylinder engine delivers
an output of 580 hp.
This makes the Turbo S the
first production 911 to accelerate to 100 km/h in less than three
seconds, reaching the milestone
speed in 2.9 seconds. The model’s
top speed is 330 km/h, 12 km/h
higher than its predecessor.
The same traits of Porsche’s
sports car evolution displayed in
the Turbo S are extended to the
911 Carrera 4S and 911 Targa 4S.
The completely new engine
generation with bi-turbo charging featured in both models
results in an increase of 20 hp
across all models, amounting to a
total of 420 hp in the 911 Carrera
4S Cabriolet and 911 Targa 4S.
About his forecast for 2016
given the oil price decline, Papke
believes that they will endure
and survive the crisis by doing
the right thing: from investing to
working well, making sure customers get what they deserve.
“We attract customers in the
appropriate way to become part of
the Porche world, success would
be the result of the sales,” he said.
“But we must learn from the
previous crisis in 2008 and 2009,
many companies laid off people
very quickly, and when it came
back, it was expensive to get them
back,” he said, adding: “We got to
be careful to just get rid of people,
it is an easy short-term solution
but it is not a long-term strategy
that one should follow.”
Deesch Papke, Porsche Centre Doha chairman and CEO Salman Jassem al-Darwish and another official
present a new vehicle yesterday.
New Tiguan ‘ultimate
SUV for urban jungle’
V
A range of Ford vehicles displayed at the Qatar Motor Show 2016 yesterday. PICTURE: Shemeer Rasheed
Almana announces line-up
of all-new SUVs from Ford
F
ord and Almana Motors Company, the local
importer-dealer, have announced an impressive new lineup in Doha, including the all-new
2016 Ranger, 2016 Explorer, and
the 2016 Edge SUVs unveiled for
the first time in Qatar.
“The wide range of Ford vehicles we are bringing to Qatar
provides customers with the
capability to chart their own
course,” Ian Ashley Partridge,
general manager, Almana Motors, said, adding that Ford plans
to bring 30 new models to the
Middle East and Africa by 2020.
On the back of having sold
more than 7mn Explorers models worldwide, and building
on 25 years of innovation and
sales leadership, the new 2016
Ford Explorer has arrived with
even more smart technology.
The standard 3.5-litre V6 engine for base, XLT and Limited
models – with 294 PS at 6,500
rpm and 346 Nm of torque at
4,000 rpm – is paired with a
six-speed SelectShift Automatic
transmission.
The Explorer Sport gets a
standard 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6 making
370 PS at 6,500 rpm and 470
Nm of torque at 3,500 rpm –
also mated with the six-speed
SelectShift. Explorer’s intelligent four-wheel drive reassesses conditions about 20 times
faster than the blink of an eye
– providing precise handling
and traction.
The original crossover utility vehicle from Ford is loaded
with more technology, higher
levels of craftsmanship and
greatly improved vehicle dynamics. Based on Ford’s successful, global mid-size vehicle
platform, the Edge has been reimagined with a stronger, more
athletic shape.
The all-new Edge will feature
three engine options, including
a standard twin-scroll 2.0-litre
EcoBoost four-cylinder and a
2.7-litre EcoBoost V6. A normally aspirated 3.5-litre V6
engine will also be offered. All
will be equipped with dual exhaust and a six-speed automatic
transmission.
The 2016 Edge will be available in four trim levels, including SE, SEL, Sport, and, for the
first time, a top-of-the-line
Titanium series to meet market demand for more premium
offerings.
The Ford Ranger is undoubtedly one of the company’s best
performers in the Middle East
and Africa in terms of sales. The
latest generation of Ford’s globally proven 3.2-litre Duratorq
TDCi five-cylinder diesel engine powers the new Wildtrak,
and enables its impressive capabilities. The engine features
upgrades including an updated
exhaust gas recirculation system
to help improve fuel efficiency
by up to 18%. It is paired to a sixspeed automatic transmission,
carefully calibrated to maximise
performance, refinement, and
efficiency.
The Middle East’s best-selling truck in 2014, and America’s
best-selling truck for 38 years
straight, the Ford F-150 continues to redefine standards of excellence. Both the exterior and
interior design of the Ford F-150
reflect decades of customer interaction, through understanding and incorporating their
occupational and recreational
needs.
On display at the Ford stand
in the Doha Exhibition and
Convention Centre will be Middle East Car of the Year 2015
Award winners – Ford Mustang
Convertible and Focus ST – as
well as the new Explorer Sport,
Ranger, and Edge.
olkswagen Middle East
has unveiled the new
generation of the bestselling Tiguan, described as
‘the ultimate SUV for the urban jungle,’ at the Qatar Motor
Show 2016.
“On board the new Tiguan,
safety, convenience and connectivity have been taken to a
new level with driver assistance and infotainment systems,” Thomas Milz, managing
director, Volkswagen Middle
East, said.
The latest model will be available in three new powertrains
ranging from a 1.4L engine with
an output of 150 HP, up to a 2.0L
engine with a 220 HP and a six
and seven-speed dual-clutch
gearbox (DSG) with 4MOTION,
which is now offered for the first
time in the Tiguan.
The new Tiguan is ‘one of
the world’s most advanced
Compact SUVs with impressive innovative features enhancing the vehicle’s safety,
convenience,
infotainment
and dynamism.’
These include the 12.3-inch
Active Info display – an interactive, fully digital main instrumental panel and a Head-Up
Display, offered for the first time
in a Volkswagen SUV. Furthermore, ensuring complete passenger comfort and convenience
are features such as Easy Open/
Easy Close (automatic opening or closing of the tailgate
in response to a specific foot
movement behind the Tiguan)
and power comfort seats with a
memory feature.
The SUV features include
LED projection headlights,
digital Active Info Display
and Head-Up Display - the
new Tiguan has transformed
the Compact SUV segment
with smart, affordable and
innovative features.
The interior is a model example of well thought-out ergonomics and intuitive operating
structures. The interplay of the
dash panel, centre console and
door panels create a remarkably intuitive atmosphere for the
driver.
The weight of the new Tiguan
was also reduced by over 50 kg
compared to the previous model.
Meanwhile, the space offered
in the interior and luggage compartment has taken a gigantic
leap forward. The boot volume
of the new Tiguan can store up
to 615 litres of cargo (loaded to
the back of the rear bench); when
the rear seat backrests are folded,
its capacity increases to 1,655
litres. This represents a gain of
145 litres.
The new Tiguan will be available in showrooms across the
Middle East from August 2016.
Also featured at the event is
the Golf GTI Clubsport concept
car – marking the 40th anniversary of the Golf GTI – alongside
the fun and iconic Beetle Cabriolet and the family–friendly newly
designed 2016 Passat.
The new Tiguan being presented by Thomas Milz (right) and another official
at the Qatar Motor Show yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil
Auto Class introduces light GMC Sierra gets fresh, bold appearance
passenger vehicle Maxus M
A
uto Class, a subsidiary of Nasser Bin Khaled
Automobiles, has introduced the Maxus for
light passenger and cargo transport, in the
Qatar market. The new brand was unveiled at the
Qatar Motor Show 2016 yesterday.
Auto Class pavilion has displayed people movers
Maxus V80 15-seater and G10 7-seater in addition
to commercial panel vans Maxus V80 and G10, offering ‘great value for money and efficient cost of
ownership.’
Maxus V80 Minibus is a light commercial van
with a long-wheelbase chassis and dropside cab.
Maxus will throw in alloy wheels, reverse parking
sensors, dual sliding side doors, rear barn doors on
cargo models and electric entry step for passenger
models, and dual-zone air-conditioning as standard equipment across the range. A reverse-view
camera and tyre pressure monitoring system are
available on the higher-spec models.
Formerly known as LDV (Leyland DAF Vans),
Maxus is one of the products of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), a leading player
in the light passenger and cargo transport industry.
Tarek Habbal, operations manager at Auto Class
Maxus V80 is a 15-seater vehicle.
Cars, said that Maxus vans and buses are a perfect
blend of legacy and technology, integrating Europe’s
century-honoured commercial vehicle culture with
SAIC Motor’s three-decade experience of passenger
vehicle manufacturing and research and development.
“We are confident in providing our market with
reliable vehicles that are really able to meet the demand of customers.”
annai Auto Group and GMC have
unveiled yesterday three enhanced
models – the 2016 Sierra, Terrain,
and Yukon at the Qatar Motor Show 2016.
The vehicles, all available with the range
topping Denali nameplate, reinforce GMC’s
‘legacy of rugged capability, practical refinement, and incredible power.’ The 2016 Acadia
Denali is also on view.
Mohamed Helmy, group general manager, Mannai Auto, said: “GMC’s line-up
is uniquely tailored to the needs of Middle
Eastern consumers; many of whom are looking for strong, dependable vehicles with an
assertive character.”
Marcus Leithe, managing director, GMC
Middle East, said: “Expert craftsmanship and
functionality appeal to everyone. Whether
it’s a reconfigurable instrument cluster and
durable carpet on the interior, or chrome details and bold lines on the exterior, GMC embodies premium design. This attention to detail has been well received across the region.”
The 2016 GMC Sierra gets a fresh and bold
appearance and offers new, advanced engineering features designed to complement its
crafted interior. The model’s bold exterior
design exudes confidence, refinement, and
Mannai Auto Group and GMC officials present a GMC vehicle at Qatar Motor Show 2016
yesterday. PICTURE: Shemeer Rasheed
power, thanks to a number of new enhancements including significant lighting technology upgrades.
Distinguished by a new, more contemporary appearance and additional enhancements, the refreshed 2016 GMC Terrain is a
smart choice for customers seeking versatility, style and technology.
The 2016 GMC Yukon provides the capability, refinement, safety, performance, and
connectivity discerning customers expect.
The bold exterior styling combines with a
precision-crafted interior and more standard features designed to broaden the appeal
of already one of the industry’s most popular
family of full-size SUVs.
Visitors were also able to view examples of
the brand’s latest immersive experience using
Oculus virtual reality. It follows the experience of two individuals as they adventure in a
2015 GMC Sierra 3500HD heavy-duty pickup
truck.
Gulf Times
35
QATAR
Ferrari 488 Spider unveiled
Salem al-Mannai, deputy group
president and CEO, QIC - Mena
region.
QIC offers
cover for
off-road
driving
Q
atar Insurance Company
(QIC), the official insurer
of this year’s Qatar Motor Show, which opens to the
public today at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, will
launch at the event the Off-road
360 Cover that covers driving on
sand dunes and similar terrains.
“Our latest product, Off-road
360, will give complete peace of
mind to customers having cars with
off-road capabilities while enjoying the great outdoors,” said Salem
al-Mannai, deputy group president
and CEO, QIC - Mena region.
“Though the majority of residents in Qatar love driving in
the desert, they worry about the
damage that may be caused to
their vehicles while driving on
sand dunes, which rob them of
the thrill of an outdoor adventure. By introducing the Off-road
360 Cover, we want to change
this negative perception and add
an element of excitement and fun
to their outdoor adventure.”
Customers can now take advantage of an exclusive discount
(valid until the end of 2016) to
purchase the new Off-road 360
Cover by visiting www.qic-online.com or calling 8000742 or
through any QIC branch. The
same offer would also apply for
customers who wish to transfer
their car insurance to QIC.
A
lfardan Sports Motors,
the official Ferrari importer-dealer in Qatar,
unveiled the Ferrari 488 Spider
yesterday at the Qatar Motor
Show 2016, which opens to the
public today at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.
“This model is an innovative and distinguished addition to the Ferrari family and a
true representation of the history and excellence of the brand
combining strength and luxury
at the same time,” said Charly
Dagher, general manager, Alfardan Sports Motors.
The Ferrari 488 Spider’s global debut was held in September
last year at the Frankfurt Motor
Show. It is the latest chapter in
Maranello’s ongoing history of
open-top V8 sports cars.
This model is also Ferrari’s
most powerful ever mid-rearengined V8 car to feature the
patented retractable hard-top,
along with the highest level of
technological innovation and
with innovative design.
Dagher expressed confidence
that people in Qatar will receive the new Ferrari 488 Spider
warmly due to its excellent performance and the driving comfort it provides.
This model is the first RHT
(retractable hard-top) introduced from Maranello on a car
of this particular architecture.
This solution ensures lower
weight (-25kg) and better cockpit comfort compared to the
classic fabric soft-top.
Just like all previous spider
versions of Ferrari’s models,
this is a car that is aimed at clients seeking open-air motoring
pleasure in a high-performance
sports car with an unmistakable
Ferrari engine sound.
Every area of the car has been
designed to set new technological benchmarks for the sector:
from the aluminium spaceframe chassis and bodyshell
to the new turbo-charged V8,
aerodynamics that reconcile the
need for greater downforce with
reduced drag along with the
specific cabin air flow demands
of an open-top car, and vehicle
dynamics that render it fast, agile and instantly responsive.
Beneath the engine cover
throbs the 3902cc turbocharged V8 that debuted just
a few months ago on the 488
GTB. Its performance levels
are nothing short of extraordinary: a maximum power output of 670 CV combined with
maximum torque of 760 Nm at
3000 rpm send the 488 Spider
sprinting from 0 to 100 km/h in
3 seconds flat and from 0 to 200
km/h in 8.7 seconds.
This is also an exceptionally
efficient engine; it is not only
100 CV more powerful than the
previous naturally-aspirated V8
but also has lower CO2 emissions.
The turbo V8 has a unique
character, delivering increasing
levels of power right across the
rev range, and completely eliminating the traditional turbo lag
with a throttle response time of
just 0.8 seconds.
Also the most aerodynamically efficient Ferrari Spider
ever built, this model features a
series of complex aero solutions
designed to guarantee optimal downforce whilst reducing
drag.
Designed around the concept
of the retractable hard-top, the
488 Spider has a spaceframe
chassis made of 11 different aluminium alloys combined with
other noble metals, such as
magnesium, each one used in a
highly specific way.
This yields the same torsional
rigidity and beam stiffness figures as the coupé, improving
Ferrari Middle East and Africa sales director Giorgio Turri and Charly Dagher unveiling the Ferrari 488 Spider
at the Qatar Motor Show, at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil
the chassis’ performance by
23% over that of its predecessor.
The RHT folds backwards
in two overlapping sections to
rest flush on the engine in a very
compact solution. The mecha-
nism is exceptionally smooth
and takes just 14 seconds for the
top to fully retract or deploy.
Sales in Middle East not affected, says director
By Joey Aguilar
Staff Reporter
F
errari continues to perform well in sales in the
Middle East despite the oil
price slump, Ferrari Middle East
and Africa sales director Giorgio
Turri said yesterday.
Speaking to Gulf Times on
the sidelines of the Qatar Motor
Show 2016, he noted that their
2016 waiting list for GTB and
Spider models is almost full.
“We are very positive and
looking forward to a very successful 2016 even if the business
environment is not as brilliant as
the past years,” he said, adding:
“We stay on a niche of the market, which at the moment is not
affected as much as the others.”
Turri and Alfardan Sports
Motors general manager Charly
Dagher led the Qatar debut of
Ferrari’s 488 Spider yesterday at
the annual event.
Last year, Ferrari unveiled
two of its latest models in Geneva and Frankfurt. These models
occupy a core segment of its offerings and have been very wellreceived in the region.
However, he admitted that
the oil price trend affects
the “general economics” as
reflected on other industries.
About the response of the
Qatar market, he described
their customers in Qatar as very
passionate, demanding and
always looking for something
new, amazing and unique.
Turri said Ferrari has the capability to offer people exclusivity of a unique brand and
the chance to customise their
cars according to their own
expectations and taste.
Ferrari
invests
heavily on technology and innova-
tion every year as part of its
commitment to the market.
“Innovation for Ferrari is a
priority, it is a key value and we
have taken the commitment to
deliver to the market at least one
new product per year and we are
over exceeding this commitment,” the sales director said.
According to Turri, Ferrari
has remained appealing to every
market. “We used to say that we
sell dreams rather than cars, we
offer our customers the chance
to realise their dreams.”
Turri said, “It is more than
about entering a family than
buying a car. Ferrari is about
lifestyle, it is about gathering
together with a common passion for brand and product.
“We give our customers the
chance to join a full platform of [driving] activities on the road and on the
race track with their own cars or with
special cars that we can offer them.”
36
Gulf Times
QATAR
Minister inaugurates sixth Qatar Motor Show
M
inister of Transport and
Communications HE
Jassim Seif Ahmed alSulaiti opened the sixth Qatar
Motor Show 2016 at the Doha
Exhibition & Convention Centre.
The minister visited the pavilions and was introduced to
a wide range of exhibitors and
exciting range of new car and
motorcycle models by the organisers.
This year’s event is showcasing more than 20 new automotive models in the country.
Key partners include Commercialbank, the show’s ‘Official
Bank Sponsor’ and the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha,
the show’s official hotel, Qatar
Insurance Company, Qatar Airways and QTickets.
There is no entrance fee for
the visitors. However, the visi-
tors are advised to register in
advance to avoid queues on
www.qatarmotorshow.gov.qa
Among several new models,
Qatar’s first concept car was also
revealed. Texas A&M at Qatar
graduate, Abdulwahab Ziaullah
conceptualised the car during
his undergraduate research and
the model has been brought to
life for the first time in partnership with Ali Bin Ali Group.
Exhibitors at this year’s show
include Audi, BMW, Bosch, Cadillac, Castrol, Chrysler, Continental, Dodge, Ducati, Ferrari,
Ford, GMC, Harley Davidson
(NBK), Infinity, Jaguar, Jeep,
KTM, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Maxus, Mercedes Benz,
Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Piaggio, Porsche, RAM, Renault,
Rolls-Royce, Sand X, Titanium, Toyota, Triumph, VW and
Ziebart.
HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti inaugurating the sixth Qatar Motor Show 2016 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre yesterday.
PICTURE: Shemeer Rasheed
BMW’s Solitaire revealed
as Coupe makes ME debut
A
Alfardan Automobiles has showcased the limited edition flagship BMW 7 Series Solitaire edition, the most expensive
BMW. Below: The all-new BMW M2 Coupe on display at the Qatar Motor Show. PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil
lfardan Automobiles, official BMW Group importer in Qatar, hosted
the Middle East debut of the allnew BMW M2 Coupe yesterday
at the Qatar Motor Show 2016.
Visitors at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre can
also see an exclusive edition of
the 7 Series flagship model, in
the form of the limited edition
BMW 7 Series Solitaire.
“Our support for this year’s
Qatar Motor Show is evident
with the regional debut of the
BMW M2 Coupe,” Alfardan
Automobiles general manager
Ihab Allam said.
“The BMW 7 Series Solitaire
edition is the most expensive
BMW ever built,” he noted
while explaining that only six
units have been produced.
The BMW M2 Coupe, a compact high-performance Coupe,
is easily identified as a member
of the BMW M family, with its
motor racing genes wrapped in
exciting design.
The car’s extraordinary performance potential is further
enhanced by the low front
apron with large air intakes,
muscular flanks with characteristic M gills, 19-inch aluminium wheels in familiar M
double-spoke design and low,
wide rear with M-specific
twin-tailpipe exhaust system
all play impressive roles here.
The interior features Alcantara leather on the door
cards and centre console together with porous carbon fibre underlined by blue contrast
stitching and M embossing on
selected details. Sports seats,
an M sports steering wheel
and an M gearshift lever ensure
BMW M2 drivers are in perfect
command of their car at all
times. The M2 Coupe comes
with three-litre six-cylinder
in-line engine with M Twin
Power Turbo technology to develop 272 kW/370 hp at 6,500
rpm. Peak torque of 465 Nm
can be increased to a maximum
of 500 Nm.
There is also an optional
seven-speed M Double Clutch
Transmission (M DCT) and
Launch Control, allowing it to
go from 0 to 100km in just 4.5
seconds.
Top speed is electronically
limited to 250km/h. The M
DCT with Drive logic, available as an option, allows gear
changes with extraordinary
speed but no interruption in
the flow of power.
The vehicle is also equipped
with a wide selection of driver
assistance systems and mobility services from BMW Connected Drive.
The BMW 7 Series Solitaire
edition’s highlights include a
sparkling exterior colour with
glass flakes that makes an
opulent impression as you approach the vehicle.
The model comes with full
leather interior in BMW Individual Tartufo Brown with
white woven piping and includes floor trim panel and
floor mats made from lamb’s
wool. These softer details perfectly contrast the luxury and
elegance of the dashboard’s
black piano trim and Arabicinspired Pearl inlays. Six carats
of diamonds are present in each
car on the wood trim, dashboard, side panels and key.
Various BMW models are
also on display for the event set
to run until February 1.
G 500 Square at the NBK pavilion: PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil
New Mercedes models
galore at NBK pavilion
M
ercedes-Benz country distributors Nasser Bin Khaled
(NBK) Automobiles has launched four models from the
premium auto maker at Qatar Motor Show 2016.
The A-Class 250 Sport, G 500 Square, C 450 AMG and C 300
Coupe will attract visitors to the sprawling stand spread over
more than 900sqm.
NBK Automobiles is also displaying a range of 14 cars from different categories that will appeal to all styles and choices, including the
recently launched SUVs and sporty cars, to the most luxurious series.
The show, being held for the sixth year will end on February 1. It includes outdoor screenings, also in motocross and test drives.
NBK Automobiles general manager Khalid Shaaban said, “The
company is proud to have the biggest stand at the show that
showcases new models and a wide range of its cars from different
segments. At this event, NBK Automobiles reiterates its leading
position as one of the most selling for Mercedes-Benz cars and its
commitment to its clients”. “NBK has built its success by establishing solid, longstanding relationships with its customers, and
through offering a wide range of products. The brand is deeply
associated with a history of premium quality service and market
leadership.”
Established in 1957, Nasser Bin Khaled Automobiles is Qatar’s
exclusive distributors of May Bach, Mercedes-Benz and AMG.
All Mercedes-Benz G-Class models will in future offer up to
16% more power and lower fuel consumption. The range includes
the G 500 with a new, powerful 4.0-litre V8 biturbo engine.
C 450 being unveiled.
Elibriea: Qatar’s first-ever Nismo’s latest line-up
concept sports car unveiled get an introduction
By Joe Koraith
Staff Reporter
W
hat started with a
‘high-school’ sketch
has now turned into
Qatar’s
first-ever
concept
sports car.
The Elibriea was unveiled
yesterday at the 2016 Qatar Motor Show. The brainchild of Abdul Wahab Ziaullah, the physical development of the concept
car took around 2 ½ years.
There were lots of oohs and
aahs at the Doha Convention
& Exhibition Centre when the
covers were taken off the Elibriea
and Ziaullah is extremely proud
of having achieved his dream.
“When we were taking it out for
testing, there would be many
people desperate to take a closer
look. The Qatari Batmobile is
what they called it. And I liked
that. It’s unique,” said Ziaullah
yesterday.
The process started when
Ziaullah submitted a proposal
to the Qatar National Research
Fund (QNRF) and he received
Abdul Wahab Ziaullah (left) poses beside Elibriea, Qatar’s first-ever
concept car, which was unveiled yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil
funding for developing the design. And then over the past 2
½ years, the car was manufactured with funding from the Ali
Bin Ali Group. The name, Ziaullah explains, came to him when
he started combining words like
elegance, luxury and others. “A
lot of permutations came into
my mind with these words and
I finally came up with Elibriea.
It sounded luxurious. And more
importantly, it’s simple,” he
said. And just like the name,
the car itself is different sets
of parts put together. “It’s just
like making a dish. In Qatar, all
the ingredients are imported.
Then you put them together
and create your own recipe.
That’s what we did too. We took
resources from different industries and then snapped them together into a product.”
The Elibriea has a 525HP engine procured from General
Motors. There was an engine
made but they went with the
GM engine for safety reasons.
The concept car has a midengine architecture which was
chosen by Ziaullah because it
makes the vehicle more stable
and improves the handling.
As for the performance figures, the car hasn’t been pushed
fully yet but Ziaullah says that
the acceleration, during limited
testing at the Al Khor airstrip,
was more than anticipated. And
he reluctantly reveals that the
0-100kmph figure was ‘3 point
something’.
Ziaullah is not satisfied with
the “great tag of Qatar’s firstever concept car’. The next step
for him is the commercialisation of the Elibriea. For that,
he’s already communicating
with experts and looking to get
more hands on deck. He says
it will take 2-3 years for the
first commercial variant of the
Elibriea to be launched.
He wants it to be a unique
product from Qatar.
The 370Z Nismo being unveiled.
S
aleh Al Hamad Al Mana
Company, the exclusive
distributor of Nissan in
Qatar, has revealed at Qatar Motor Show 2016 yesterday the
latest line-up of performance
vehicles under the Nismo brand,
GTR Nismo, 370Z Nismo and
Patrol Nismo, as well the latest tune-up for the Patrol – the
“Desert Edition”.
“This is yet another example of how Nissan is completely
in tune with its customers,”
said Declan McCluskey, general
manager, automotive at Saleh Al
Hamad Al Mana Company.
“The Desert Edition of Nis-
The Patrol Nismo. PICTURES: Shemeer Rasheed.
san’s legendary Patrol has been
specially developed to be the
best vehicle for off-road driving.
With the abilities of this incredible vehicle, the Patrol Desert
Edition will address one of the
most popular customer needs in
Qatar.”
McCluskey said Nismo is the
“ultimate essence” of Nissan’s
promise to deliver “innovation that excites.” With the high
performance brand added to the
Nissan lineup, the Patrol addresses the Qatari market customer demands for performance
sports and 4x4 vehicles.
“The launching of the Patrol
Nismo model is proof of our
commitment to making thrilling
driving experiences accessible to
all our customers,” he added.
Firmly-rooted in the spirit
of pioneering Japanese maverick engineers, where innovative
solutions are applied in bold
and smart ways to challenge the
norm, Nismo cars provide exciting driving experiences with
motorsport-inspired
aerodynamics and styling, enhanced
handling characteristics and unmatched agility.
All three of the showcased
Nismo models are designed with
the Nismo DNA at its core.

Gulf Times

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