Duhail aim to bounce back after surrendering QSL title. Amir meets Speaker of Kuwait Assembly

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1 BUSINESS Page 1 SPORT Page 1 Commercial Bank scores double win at sian Banker s awards Duhail aim to bounce back after surrendering QSL title GULF TIMES MONDY Vol. XXXX No pril 8, 2019 Sha baan 3, 1440 H www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals published in QTR since 1978 l-mahmoud is elected president of 140th IPU ssembly mir meets Speaker of Kuwait ssembly mir meets Iranian Speaker QN Doha HE the dvisory Council Speaker hmed bin bdullah bin Zaid al-mahmoud was unanimously elected as president of the 140th ssembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and its accompanying meetings by the union s governing council. The council s meeting, which was held yesterday, saw the attendance of IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron, IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong, and parliament speakers. The participants approved adding the parliament of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the membership of the IPU for the first time. The meeting began with a minute s silence for the Tutsi victims of violence in Rwanda, especially as yesterday marked the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in the frican country. They also adopted the agenda and the briefing minutes for the Geneva session that took place last October. fterwards, the dvisory Council Speaker was elected to preside over the current assembly. The Speaker of the House of ssembly of St Vincent and the Grenadines Jomo Sanga Thomas noted that IPU represents an important platform for the world s parliaments, where they can discuss enhancing co-operation with each other. Page 5 HE hmed bin bdullah bin Zaid al-mahmoud His Highness the mir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-thani met the Speaker of the Kuwaiti National ssembly Marzouq li al-ghanim and accompanying delegation, yesterday at his office at the miri Diwan, on the sidelines of the 140th General ssembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Doha. During the meeting, the Speaker of the Kuwaiti National ssembly conveyed the greetings of the mir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-hmad al-jaber al-sabah to the mir and his wishes for health and happiness and progress and prosperity for the Qatari people. The mir conveyed his greetings to the mir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-hmad al-jaber al-sabah, wishing him health and wellness and the Kuwaiti people further progress and prosperity. During the meeting, they reviewed the relations between Qatar and Kuwait, especially in the legislative and parliamentary fields. Page 5 Education alone can lead to just societies Parliamentarians urged to raise their voice against violators of international law and human rights Doha IPU meet represents an important step to enhance co-operation among states and establish international law QN Doha number of leading parliamentarians participating in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General ssembly and its associated sessions have underlined the importance of education, which they said will eventually lead to more just and equitable societies by eradicating ignorance. In their speeches at the session, Parliaments as platforms to enhance education for peace, security and the rule of law, they criticised the policies of some countries in terms of violating international law, creating chaos and not respecting human rights and the rule of law, stressing that parliamentarians should not be silent about such violations. They said parliaments should promote the cause of education which is the best tool to create just and equitable societies where the rule of law is respected, paving the way for international peace and development. Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, said many countries in today s world are being ignored, violated and besieged, which requires parliamentarians to discuss these issues and not to remain silent. Referring to such violations, he mentioned the US President recognising Israel s sovereignty over the Golan, which he said requires the censure of the international community. He pointed to a number of violations that affect some countries and attempts to impoverish their people and push them to take to the streets, as in the Middle East, and Venezuela in Latin merica. The waves of refugees witnessed by some regions and countries have a direct link to such interventions, he said. We know who was behind the creation of the so-called terrorist state ISIS in Syria, which sought to overthrow the regime, he said adding that the policy of non-intervention must be the norm in international relations. To Page 7 His Highness the mir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-thani yesterday met the Speaker of the Consultative ssembly of Iran li Larijani and his accompanying delegation, at his miri Diwan office, on the sidelines of the 140th ssembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). t the outset of the meeting, the Iranian Speaker conveyed the greetings of the Supreme Leader Sayyid li Khamenei and Iranian President Dr Hassan Rouhani, wishing the mir health and happiness and to the Qatari people further progress and prosperity. The mir reciprocated his greetings to the Supreme Leader and the Iranian president, wishing them health and to the Iranian people further progress and prosperity. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations between Qatar and Iran, especially in the legislative and parliamentary fields. Blockading states deny themselves chance to talk to rest of the world By Joey guilar Staff Reporter The countries blockading Qatar Saudi rabia, the UE, Bahrain, and Egypt have denied themselves the chance not only to talk to their Qatari cousins but also to the rest of the world by failing to participate in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ssembly in Doha, an MP in the UK, has said. It is far better to have a dialogue amongst countries, it (blockade) should be the very last resort, Nigel Evans, who has been an MP for 27 years, said on the sidelines of the 140th IPU ssembly yesterday. The event, taking place at the Sheraton Doha until pril 10, brings together parliamentarians from various parts of the world under one roof to discuss an array of issues and find ways to resolve them. Evans stressed that the blockade is a Nigel Evans at the 140th IPU ssembly in Doha. PICTURE: Joey guilar shame since it denied the four blockading countries to have a dialogue and the chance to participate in what he described as a brilliant conference. Isolationism is not a clever policy and I do think that they ought to be looking at ways of bringing themselves together in order to sort out the problems of the differences and that is where you make progress, he said.to Page 6 Fighting rages near Tripoli as UN fails to reach truce Tripoli/Benghazi Eastern Libyan forces carried out air strikes on the southern part of Tripoli yesterday and made progress towards the city centre, residents said, escalating an operation to take the capital as the United Nations failed to achieve a truce. The Libyan National rmy (LN) force of Khalifa Haftar, which backs a parallel administration in the east, last week launched an advance on Tripoli in the west, home to the internationally recognised government. The offensive intensifies a power struggle that has fractured the oil and gas producer since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. The LN reached the southern Spokesman for the Libyan forces of the Government of National ccord (GN) Mohamed Gnounou holds a press conference in the capital Tripoli, yesterday. outskirts of the capital on Friday and says it took the former international airport, though the Tripoli military officials deny this. t least one warplane carried out an air strike in the area, a resident said. The air force took part for the first time in the military operations, said LN spokesman hmed Mismari. It conducted a very successful operation to secure the airport road (to city centre), he added. The LN moved up north from on the road from former airport in the district of Khalat Furgan, coming some 11km from the city centre, a resident said, adding he could see the troops as forces loyal to the Tripoli government withdrew. The UN mission to Libya (UNSMIL) called yesterday for a truce for two hours in southern Tripoli to evacuate civilians and wounded, it said in a statement without giving details. But the truce was not observed by Libyan National rmy (LN) members, commanded by Khalifa Haftar, head out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya, yesterday. evening, one UN official said. In another sign of the situation worsening on the ground, a contingent of US forces supporting the US frica Command evacuated Libya for security reasons, a US statement said. It gave no details. Forces allied to the Tripoli government meanwhile announced their own operation called Volcano of nger to defend the capital, a spokesman said, without giving details. The offensive has taken the United Nations by surprise, undermining plans to find agreement on a road map for elections to resolve the protracted instability in Libya. Lawless since Gaddafi was toppled by rebels backed by Nato air strikes, Libya has become the transit point hundreds of thousands of migrants trekking across the Sahara with the objective of reaching Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. Haftar, 75, casts himself as a foe of extremism but is viewed by opponents as a new dictator in the mould of Gaddafi.

2 2 Monday, pril 8, 2019 QTR Qatar-Vietnam ties reviewed ttorney-general meets Gambian speaker Kahramaa checks cooling plant at Mall of Qatar HE the Minister of State for Foreign ffairs Sultan bin Saad al-muraikhi yesterday met the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign ffairs of Vietnam Pham Binh Minh, during his visit as part of the delegation participating in the meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union hosted by Doha. During the meeting they discussed bilateral relations between Qatar and Vietnam and ways to develop them. In addition, they discussed topics of common interest. The meeting was attended by the ambassador of Vietnam to Qatar Nguyen Dinh and officials from the Ministry of Foreign ffairs. HE the ttorney-general, Dr li bin Fetais al-marri, yesterday met the Speaker of the Parliament of the Gambia Mariam Jack-Denton. During the meeting, which was attended by the Gambian Minister of Foreign ffairs Mamadou Tangara, the two sides exchanged views on a number of issues of common concern and ways to strengthen co-operation between the two countries. Crucial role of women in nation building underlined By Joey guilar Staff Reporter The growing number of Qatari women who take leadership positions in public and private sectors in the country underlines the crucial role of women in nation building, a graduate of Qatar Leadership Centre (QLC) has said. It is very rewarding to see Qatari female leaders in different sectors and we have a great example of female leadership that empower not only Qatari females and those in the region but internationally as well, Josoor Institute executive director fraa al-noami told Gulf Times. She was speaking on the sidelines of QLC s recently-held annual graduation ceremony, which honoured 118 Qataris who completed one of three (either the Executive, Government, or Rising leaders) programmes. l-noami said she finds it inspiring to see herself and co-graduates walk on the footprints of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), and two other strong female leaders - HE Sheikha l Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums; and HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al- Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of QF who are leading prestigious organisations in the country. It s an honour to have such Maha al-rumaihi great leaders empowering us, al-noami stressed, citing the numerous opportunities the Qatar government provides for its citizens to further enhance their career for free. fraa al-noami Coming from a sports industry myself, there are equal opportunities out there for male and female, in the end, I think the senior managements will be looking at competencies rather than gender on what we can bring to the organisations, she added. QF deputy director Maha al- Rumaihi, who graduated from QLC s 12-month executive leaders programme, shares the same view saying that the country and its leadership recognise the importance of women in the workforce. In taking these courses, she said many Qatari women acquire new skills that reinforce existing ones, ensuring all work to implement strategic plans aimed at achieving Qatar s National Vision l-rumaihi said Qatar is elite in the region in empowering women as it provides free education for both gender and opportunities to study either abroad or inside the country. Qatar, she noted, has become a hub for education and research in the region with QF hosting many prestigious international universities, which offer different courses and such opportunities are open to men and women. Many Qatari women now are either masters or doctorate degree holders, so that is why we see them occupy not just any position but leadership roles. I work in QF and many of our leaders are women, the QF deputy director said. They want to contribute in nation building and they know that Qatar needs them more than before. This emphasises the country s vision for women and protecting women s rights, al-rumaihi added. QN Doha delegation of the District Cooling Services Department of Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) recently checked the district cooling plant located at the Mall of Qatar. The purpose of the visit was to see the functionality of the plant and adopted regulations in line with the prevailing guidelines. The delegation followed up the functioning of the plant that provides the mall with central cooling services embedded with the cooling capacity of 17,500 tonnes. By organising and monitoring district cooling services, the Corporation aims at saving electricity and potable water, sustaining water resources, preserving environment and using all new technologies of district cooling services to be in line with the objectives of Qatar National Vision Kahramaa emphasises the importance of ensuring water security in the state, using Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE) and finding other alternatives of potable water replacing it with TSE and making mandatory the use of it at all operational District Cooling Plants/ Stations and supporting underconstruction plants to ensure timely implementation of the regulation. Implementing district cooling system in residential and commercial projects contributes in saving electricity consumption by 30-40% and desalinated water by 98% through using TSE. It also cuts carbon emissions by reducing consumption of the natural gas that is needed in electricity production.

3 QTR Monday, pril 8, Qatar takes part in Rwanda genocide commemoration QN Kigali Qatar participated yesterday in commemorating the 25th anniversary of the genocide of the Tutsi tribes in Rwanda, in which about 1mn people were shot to death. Qatar was represented by HE the Minister of State Dr Hamad bin bdulaziz al-kuwari. The Minister of State met the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame and conveyed to him the greetings of His Highness the mir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-thani and his wishes for the development of relations between Qatar and Rwanda. For his part, President Kagame conveyed to Dr al-kuwari his greetings to the mir and wished the relations between the two countries further progress. Page 9 HE the Minister of State Dr Hamad bin bdulaziz al-kuwari attending the ceremony to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. HE the Minister of State Dr Hamad bin bdulaziz al-kuwari with President Paul Kagame. Qatar Visa Centres open in seven Indian cities The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has opened all seven Qatar Visa Centres (QVC) in Indian cities, as had been previously announced. The recent opening of QVCs in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi will facilitate and simplify the recruitment and work visa procedures for Indian expatriates travelling to Qatar for work before their arrival in Qatar, the MoI has said in a press statement. The total number of QVCs opened has now reached 12 across four countries. Previously, QVCs had been opened in Sri Lanka (1), Pakistan (2) and Bangladesh (2). Eight more centres will be opened in Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines and Tunisia, taking the total to 20 across eight countries. Major General bdullah Salim al-li, adviser at the office of HE the Minister of Interior; Major bdullah Khalifa al-mohannadi, director of the Visa Support Services (VSS) Department at the General Directorate of Passports, MoI; Captain Nasser al- Khalaf, head of the Visa Section; and Captain Khalid al-nomani, head of the Technical Studies Section at VSS, and government officials from India attended the opening ceremonies held in the different cities. Officials at the opening of one of the QVCs in India. Major al-mohannadi said these centres would help speed up the provision of various services by the authorities concerned in Qatar for expatriates, noting that India is the fourth country to have QVCs. QVCs provide expatriates with a wide range of services, including fingerprinting, biometric data recording, medical examinations and employment contract signing before their departure to Qatar. Besides, they ensure the protection of both expatriates and employers rights. The QVCs will help avoid cases of an employee returning in case of ineligibility and will also enable employees to start working at the earliest once they arrive Qatar, he explained, adding the new step has been initiated by the Qatar government in a bid to ensure the protection and safety of expatriates coming to Qatar for work. The employer has to start the initial registration through the MoI website ( Locations of QVCs in India New Delhi: Unit No 2, lower ground floor, Parsvnath Mall, kshardham Metro Station, kshardham, New Delhi Mumbai: Hallmark Business Plaza, Sant Dyaneshwar Marg, Near Gurunanak Hospital, Bandra East, Mumbai , Maharashtra Chennai: Shyamala Towers, first floor, East Wing, 136 rcot Road, Saligramam, Chennai Hyderabad: ground floor, South Wing (Krishe Block), Krishe Sapphire Building, Hitech City Road, Madhapur, Hyderabad , or app, Metrash2. The recruitment procedures are the same as before, but have been transferred from Qatar to the expatriates own countries. The employer has to pay all recruitment fees in Qatar to let the worker follow up on further procedures through QVCs. pplicants need to get a visa reference number from the MoI and can then book an appointment by visiting They have to visit the QVC on the appointment date no earlier than 15 minutes before the scheduled time. t the reception, the identity of applicant is verified, required documents are checked and a token is issued. Once the token number is called, applicants are required to digitally sign their work contract, enrol biometric data and undergo the required medical checkup, including blood tests, X-ray and visual assessments along with physical examinations. pplicants will be able to track the status online or through their employer in Qatar. Multilingual information services are available at QVCs. Telangana Kolkata: Bengal Intelligent Park, Gamma Building, first floor, Block EP and GP, Sector V, Salt Lake Electronics Complex, Kolkata , West Bengal Lucknow: BBD Viraj Towers, second floor, TC G/1 - V/3, Vibhuti Khand, Shaheed Path, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh Kochi: Door No 38/4111/D, ground floor, National Pearl Star Building, near Changampuzha Park Metro Station, Edappally, Kochi , Kerala. Information on appointment scheduling, requirements and steps is available in English, Urdu, rabic, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam at com The QVCs have been set up and operated in co-operation with the Ministry of dministrative Development, Labour and Social ffairs, Ministry of Foreign ffairs and Ministry of Public Health. The services will be available from Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm, and customers can contact QVCs by telephone at or at info. ind@qatarvisacenter.com OFFICIL mir issues instruments of ratification His Highness the mir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-thani yesterday issued the following instruments of ratification: 1. n instrument of ratification approving the ratification of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to co-operate in the sports field between the governments of Qatar and Cote d Ivoire signed in bidjan on December 23, n instrument of ratification approving the ratification of an MoU to co-operate in the culture field between the governments of Qatar and Cote d Ivoire signed in bidjan on December 23, n instrument of ratification approving the ratification of an MoU to co-operate in the youth sector between the governments of Qatar and Cote d Ivoire signed in bidjan on December 23, n instrument of ratification approving a draft agreement on encouraging and protecting mutual investments between the governments of Qatar and Somalia signed in Doha on December 13, n instrument of ratification approving a draft agreement on economic, trade and technical co-operation between the governments of Qatar and Somalia signed in Doha on December 13, mir issues two laws on land transport His Highness the mir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-thani issued yesterday Law No (8) of 2019 on the regulation of road transport and Law No (9) for the year 2019 on road transport of hazardous substances. The two laws will be implemented from the date of issue and published in the Official Gazette. Decrees issued His Highness the mir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-thani issued the following decrees yesterday: 1. Decree No 17 of 2019 ratifying a memorandum of understanding to co-operate in the health field between the governments of Qatar and Somalia signed in Doha on May 14, Decree No 18 of 2019 ratifying an air services agreement between the governments of Qatar and Somalia signed in Doha on March 18, Decree No 19 of 2019 ratifying the accession of Qatar to the 1988 Protocol to the International Convention on Load Lines, The decrees are effective starting from their date of issue and are to be published in the official gazette. President of National Service cademy meets Nato official l Wakra Hospital is HMC s second-busiest facility HE the president of National Service cademy Staff Major General Saeed Hamad al-nuaimi met the commander of the Military Partnerships Directorate (MPD) of Nato, Major General Odd Egil Pedersen, during a visit of the latter to the academy. Following the meeting, HE Major General Saeed Hamad al-nuaimi briefed the guest on the activities of the academy during a tour of its facilities. Qatari, French air force commanders meet Commander of the miri ir Defence Forces, Major General (Pilot) Hamad Mubarak al-dawai al-nabit, yesterday met the French Commander of Defence and ir Operations, Lieutenant General Jean- Christophe, and his accompanying delegation during their official visit to Qatar. During the meeting, issues of common concern were discussed. Nepal prime minister meets Qatar s envoy Prime Minister of Nepal K P Sharma Oli met the ambassador of Qatar Yousuf Mohamed al-hail in Kathmandu yesterday. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations, means of boosting them, and issues of common concern. Dr Sabah dnan lkadhi Mohamed al-jaber Fatima al-mohannadi With more than 30,000 patients treated at l Wakra Hospital s emergency department each month, and upwards of 20,000 patients cared for by the hospital s various outpatient departments, l Wakra Hospital is Hamad Medical Corporation s (HMC) second busiest hospital. Dr Sabah lkadhi, medical director of l Wakra Hospital, said the general hospital was designed, built, and staffed with the changing needs and expectations of the growing community in the country s southern region in mind. He noted the importance of community-based hospitals in helping to improve access to specialised care and in turn the health of the population. l Wakra Hospital is now HMC s second-busiest hospital. We provide a full range of diagnostic and treatment services for outpatients and inpatients in the growing communities of l Wakrah, Mesaieed, and the South Doha irport area, preventing these patients from having to travel to Doha for much of their hospital care, explained Dr lkadhi. l Wakra Hospital is home to Qatar s only dedicated Burns Unit, the region s first specialised Urinary Stone Centre, and the country s first dental clinic for patients with special needs. Our Hernia Surgery Centre has been accredited by the Surgery Review Corporation as a Hernia Centre of Excellence, becoming the first hospital in the Middle East to receive this award. In the last year, we have introduced a number of new services and clinics, including a robotic surgery service for general surgery and urology. These services are helping to reduce waiting times and improve access to important care services. nd we are continuing to focus on the future needs of our patients and are currently hosting our first group of residents from Qatar University s College of Medicine, added Dr lkadhi. Earlier this year 46 fourthyear medical students from Qatar University s College of Medicine (CMED), including 19 Qatari nationals, began a clinical rotation at HMC s l Wakrah and l Khor Hospitals. The rotation is part of a partnership between HMC and Qatar University designed to help meet the future healthcare needs of the country s population. Mohamed al-jaber, a fourth-year medical student at CMED, is currently completing the final month of his fourteen-week rotation at l Wakra Hospital. This rotation has allowed me to bring what I learned in the classroom to real-life medical situations. I feel confident in my ability to communicate with and examine patients. Every day I am interpreting the information I acquired during my classroom studies and using this as a roadmap to reach an accurate diagnosis for the health concerns of real patients, all under the supervision and guidance of experienced doctors. I am grateful for this experience and the opportunity to use what I learned during my pre-clinical years to help enrich the lives of real people, said al-jaber. Fatima al-mohannadi, also a fourth-year medical student at CMED, is currently completing her clinical rotation at l Wakra Hospital. She said the rotation has allowed her to gain important hands-on experience interacting with patients. HMC s l Wakra Hospital The rotation at l Wakra Hospital has provided me with the opportunity to implement what I learned during my academic years in a clinical setting. HMC has given me the perfect atmosphere to ease myself into the clinical environment and to improve my skills under the guidance of competent physicians, said al-mohannadi. Both al-jaber and al-mohannadi are part of the inaugural general medicine class from Qatar University s medical college, graduating in Opened in 2012, l Wakra Hospital is one of HMC s largest facilities and is spread across more than 300,000sqm. With over 325 beds, including 234 general and acute patient beds and more than 90 critical care beds for high-dependency and burns patients, the hospital also has 77 observation and daycare beds.

4 4 Monday, pril 8, 2019 QTR Doha Bank names winners of Gold Rush Cards Campaign Doha Bank hosted a mega raffle draw in February and announced 104 lucky winners of its Gold Rush Cards Campaign. Held for its debit and credit cardholders with a total prize of 7kg of gold, the threemonth campaign came to a close on January 31. The campaign enabled Doha Bank s customers to enter the raffle draw by using their credit or debit cards for purchases during the campaign period, which began on November 1, The first winner of the lucky draw, which took place on February 27, walked away with 1kg of gold, while the next five winners received 250 grams of gold and 98 winners took home 50 grams of gold. Customers increased their odds of winning the gold prizes Rolls Cullinan model recalled for software error The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with lfardan utomobiles, has announced the recall of Rolls- Royce Cullinan model of 2018 over sunroof software malfunction. The recall campaign comes within the framework of the ministry s continuous efforts to protect consumers and ensure that car dealers follow up on vehicle defects and repairs. The ministry said that it will coordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and will communicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs are carried out. The ministry urges all customers to report any violations to its Consumer Protection and nti- Commercial Fraud Department. Porsche 911 Carrera models recalled The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with Porsche Centre Doha l Boraq utomobiles, has announced the recall of three Porsche 911 Carrera models of , over a potential defect that may require the re-installation of screws on side airbag sensors. The recall campaign comes within the framework of the ministry s continuous efforts to protect consumers and ensure that car dealers follow up on vehicle defects and repairs. The ministry said that it will coordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and will communicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs are carried out. after they had increased their purchases using Doha Bank s payment cards. Credit and debit card received an entry against each spend of QR500, while the same amount spent at travel or hotel merchants or internationally offered them three chances. Meanwhile, card transactions at jewellery merchants fetched the highest number of chances where customers received five chances to the draw against their QR500 spend. Furthermore, customers who applied for a new Doha Bank credit card automatically earned two chances to enter the draw. Dr R Seetharaman, chief executive officer, Doha Bank Group, said, t Doha Bank, we are thrilled that our Gold Rush Cards Campaign has concluded with tremendous success as reflected in the significant rise in card transactions during the promotion period. This dynamic outcome demonstrates that our exciting campaign has resonated with our customers and the raffle draw will further reinforce our commitment to offering them rewarding experiences. We will continue to explore new ways to provide our cardholders with products and solutions that exceed their expectations, thereby promoting cashless and digital transactions that will contribute to Qatar s transition into a burgeoning digital economy. In addition to lucky draw entries, the Gold Rush Cards Campaign enabled Doha Bank s cardholders to take advantage of six-month instalment plans at no fee for travel, hotel, international and jewellery spends. Sidra Medicine to host epilepsy workshop for school nurses Sidra Medicine s Neurology and EEG team Sidra Medicine will host free workshops on pril 10 as part of Epilepsy wareness Day for school nurses and caregivers. The rabic session will be held from 8am to 11am while the English session will be from 12 noon to 3pm at the Sidra uditorium in the main hospital. Organised by the paediatric neurology division at Sidra Medicine, the workshops are aimed at educating school nurses and caregivers about caring for students with epilepsy. The workshops are also open to healthcare providers interested in epilepsy among school age children as well as primary care nurses. Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and causes repeated seizures. s a result, cells in the brain get disrupted during a seizure causing the body to behave in an unusual way. Workshop organiser and attending physician in neurology, Dr Rana al-shami, said, Children with epilepsy should be able to enjoy the Gold bar from Doha Bank s Gold Rush Cards Campaign. same opportunities at school as any other student. We encourage schools in Qatar to send their nurses and caregivers to the three hour workshops. They have been designed to ensure that school nurses are given the right information about students with epilepsy who are under their care and supervision. Each child will have different needs and we have a segment related to instructions on giving appropriate first aid or emergency medicine if they have a seizure at school. QD launches fifth diabetes course for educators Qatar Diabetes ssociation (QD), a member of Qatar Foundation, has launched its fifth diabetes education course for healthcare providers. The course which runs until ugust 2019 is delivered by the Canadian Michener Institute for Education at the University Health Network. This year, 28 healthcare professionals from the public and private sectors in Qatar have enrolled in the course, which includes workshops and lectures at QD, as well as online teaching sessions and discussions with experts in Canada. t the end of the six-month course, participants will sit a final exam and receive a certificate. Dr bdulla al-hamaq, executive director, QD, said, The goal of the programme is to improve the skills of the participants who are currently offering education services to people living with diabetes in Qatar. QD strives to enhance the quality of care delivered to people with diabetes through building the capacity of the medical education team. We are very pleased to collaborate with the experts in the field of diabetes education at the Michener Institute of Education to provide an International Diabetes Federation-accredited course. This course will offer a world-class certification program to diabetes educators in Qatar To date, over 190 healthcare professionals have benefited from courses offered by QD. Ooredoo accepting debit card for online service payment Ooredoo announced yesterday that customers can now pay for Ooredoo bills or subscriptions, recharge their Hala lines, and purchase devices via the eshop online with a debit card. Previously, only customers with a Qatar issued credit card could make payments online via the website or Ooredoo pp but thanks to this new update, anyone in Qatar with a Qatar issued debit card can make easy payments 24/7 online. Ooredoo said it has invested heavily in its self-service features over the past few years as part of the company s digital vision and with the new update customers can top up via the app or website, pay bills via the app or website and purchase devices or accessories via the eshop and pay with a debit card. Customers can use the card to top up their services like Hala and Dawli, as well as data recharge. Beauty entrepreneur visits Galeries Lafayette Beauty entrepreneur nastasia Soare visited the new Galeries Lafayette Doha store in 21 High St, Katara - the Cultural Village, recently, much to the delight of makeup lovers in Qatar. The chief executive officer and founder of nastasia Beverly Hills, which is renowned for its beauty products, visited the brand s counter in Galeries Lafayette Doha and conducted a special makeup training class for her staff members. beauty pioneer, creative visionary and powerhouse entrepreneur, nastasia also delivered an inspirational speech and said: Makeup has this incredible, transformative power to boost confidence, inspire creativity and be personal to each and every user. Creating products that resonate with you, become integrated into your routines and into your lives has always been the reason I do this. natasia s fans were thrilled at the opportunity to meet her personally and the brand s latest Riviera Palette was exclusively signed by nastasia and made available for the general public, li Bin li Holding said in a statement. Speaking about the visit, Galeries Lafayette Doha general manager David Miller said, t Galeries Lafayette, we try to make the retail experience come alive. Interaction with the brands and their creators is part of our retailtainment philosophy and we are delighted to bring that spirit to Qatar. nastasia launched her namesake brand with a Beverly Hills flagship salon in 1997 and the company s first product line in Ever since, it has become one of the fastest-growing brands in the global beauty industry. Her audience spans the globe and comprises many of its most famous faces, who rely on her unique vision of individual beauty to amplify their own, the statement adds. nastasia Soare during her visit to Galeries Lafayette Doha. CR attends summit on Information Society Forum high-level Qatari delegation headed by Communications Regulatory uthority (CR) president li al-mannai is attending the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2019, which will run until pril 12 in Geneva, Switzerland. The forum is being held under the theme Information and Communication Technologies for achieving the sustainable development goals. The core aim of the forum is to align the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that cover a wide range of social and economic development issues worldwide with WSIS ction Lines to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs. The forum will include high-level policy sessions, ministerial roundtables, and more than 100 workshops on various topics, including artificial intelligence and data privacy, blockchain and data protection, the role of information and communications technology (ICT) in academia, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, smart cities, and fifth generation (5G) technologies. n exhibition will also be held on the sidelines of the forum alongside a WSIS Prizes ceremony, which aims to provide recognition to the projects that succeeded in implementing development-oriented strategies that leverage the power of ICTs as an enabler of the development. The CR ensures to attend and IP honours four staff members participate in international seminars, conferences, and forums with the aim of enhancing partnerships and staying up-to-date with the latest developments and international best practices in the field of ICTs. This would provide additional valuable inputs during CR s development of innovative regulatory frameworks, which ensures ICT sector progress for the benefit of consumers and stakeholders in the state of Qatar, and ensure contributing to the achievement of sustainable development goals 2030 on both local and global levels. This year WSIS Forum is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its establishment, an event that represents the world s largest annual gathering of the ICT for development community. More than 30 international organisations and unions are co-organising WSIS 2019, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), and the United Nations International Children s Emergency Fund (Unicef), among others. More than 3,000 participants will attend the forum from over 150 countries around the world, representing multi-stakeholders including government, civil society, private sector, academia, and international organisations. Ibn jayan Project (IP) has awarded the Employee of the Month honour for March to four staff members, it was announced yesterday. They are Nabile Lachhab (plumber at sian City), Sambarani Satish (electrician at Plaza Mall), Sheik Jakaul (cleaner helper at Salwa Project), and Jotham Denis Mwakudua (security officer at Plaza). Each winner was presented with a certificate of achievement and a special gift. The Employee of the Month programme recognises staff members who demonstrate outstanding contributions to our customers through their work and exhibit a positive and supportive attitude, according to a statement. Four staff members each month receives the award The Employee of the Month winners with IP officials. and all recipients of the monthly award in the year, become eligible for the Employee of the Year award. Mohamed bin Mahdi bin jayan al-hbabi, IP chairman and CEO, said: They work hard, and as a facility team their job can stressful sometimes. We are happy to recognise exceptional behaviour and performance,and it is really valuable to us to make them feel appreciated.

5 QTR Monday, pril 8, dvisory Council Speaker presides over 140th IPU General ssembly mir meets Oman s Consultative Council president QN Doha HE the Speaker of the Shura Council hmed bin bdullah bin Zaid al- Mahmoud yesterday chaired the 140th ssembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Doha. The assembly is discussing parliaments as platforms to enhance education for peace, security and the rule of law. The session was attended IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron, IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong, parliament speakers and heads of participating delegations. l-mahmoud expressed his thanks and appreciation for the high confidence shown by the IPU Governing Council in him after they unanimously elected him as president of the 140th ssembly of the IPU, stressing the importance of cooperation to ensure the success of these important meetings. He pointed out that the choice of this year s subject, parliaments as platforms to enhance education for peace, security and the rule of law, for discussion comes at a time of increasing calls for paying special interest to the quality of education. He stressed the decisive and effective role of the IPU in disseminating science and sound knowledge and correcting corrupt concepts that threaten the principles of peace, security and the rule of law at a time when HE the Speaker of the dvisory Council hmed bin bdullah bin Zaid al-mahmoud addressing the Inter-Parliamentary Union General ssembly in Doha yesterday. wars and extremist ideas prevail, by calling for racial, sectarian supremacy as well as genocide and exclusion of others. He pointed out that addressing this vital issue represents the basis and root of the current challenges facing the world. l-mahmoud stressed that just focusing on expanding the provision of education is no longer sufficient, if it can t be linked to values of love and tolerance. He highlighted that parliamentarians have a role to play in that regard, by promoting education that celebrates diversity, whether cultural, religious, or ideological. He pointed out that the State of Qatar has focused on education, thanks to unlimited support from the country s leadership in terms of curriculum development, the use of new technologies in the development of teachers and students. This is a boost towards achieving the goals of the fourth objective of the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda and Qatar National Vision It also put Qatar in an advanced position in the field of education, quality of mathematics and science, and the use of Internet technology in schools according to the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum (WEC). l-mahmoud discussed the speech given on Saturday by His Highness the mir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-thani, in which he discussed the education initiatives made by the State of Qatar not just on a national and regional level, but around the world in cooperation with the designated United Nations agencies. l-mahmoud expressed the hope that upcoming meetings can help lay out a plan that all member parliaments can then help implement and discuss its progress in upcoming meetings. He also hoped that this year s assembly can succeed in helping people of the world have a more prosperous future and the help the world enjoy peace and security. Ecuador s Minister of Foreign ffairs and President of the 73rd Ordinary Session of the United Nations General ssembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces hailed the work of the IPU General ssembly and the presence of hundreds of parliamentarians from around the world at an international forum that underlines the His Highness the mir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-thani met the President of the Consultative Council of Oman, Sheikh Khalid bin Hilal al-maawali, and his delegation yesterday at his office at the miri Diwan, on the sidelines of the 140th ssembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Doha. t the outset of the meeting, the Omani Consultative Council president conveyed the greetings of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, wishing the mir health and happiness and further progress and prosperity to the Qatari people. For his part, the mir entrusted Omani Consultative Council president to convey his greetings to Sultan Qaboos bin Said, wishing him health and to the Omani people further progress and prosperity. During the meeting, they reviewed the close relations between Qatar and Oman especially in the legislative and parliamentary fields. importance of concerted efforts to achieve peace and security through education. In a televised message to the plenary session, Garces said that the issues dealt with at the current session of the General ssembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union are of great importance and require cooperation at all levels to translate the promises into reality through the work of parliamentarians who have the responsibility to communicate the voice of peoples to governments. In this context, she stressed the importance of working at all levels, whether local, national or regional or international, where these meetings move local and regional efforts to international efforts, bringing together all stakeholders to come up with clear visions about the future, especially on the theme of this session which is promoting education for peace and security and the rule of law. Garces noted the importance of multilateral action and said that, after half a century and several global wars, the founding fathers of the UN and the IPU had understood that multilateralism was the only way to meet the challenges that were becoming more and more certain day by day, as climate change requires multilateral action. She warned that collective action or multilateralism are currently being subjected to fierce attacks, with countries that want to undermine internationallyrecognised borders and some who have lost faith in the ability of such organisations to promote and improve human life. Garces said that in order to face such a threat, the logic of force-based policies must be overcome, parliaments must respond to these challenges and real partnerships should exist to benefit the people. She reaffirmed the role of parliamentarians in promoting multilateralism and opposing the idea that such pluralism threatens national sovereignty while it actually strengthens it. She added that parliaments can co-operate on issues common to their peoples and can strengthen UN s work and other international institutions in order for it to become more transparent. She highlighted the parliamentarians ability to positively influence their governments to ensure that international decisions that contribute to development and others are implemented through legislation adoption or the allocating resources that lead to achieving sustainable development goals. IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron touched on the importance of choosing education as a main topic for the general assembly and the parliamentarians role in promoting it for peace, security and sovereignty. She said that parliament members play a major role in addressing the issue of education in a rapidly changing world with influences around the world that create many challenges, the most important of which is to make education inclusive and opportunity-driven. She reaffirmed parliamentarians role in the interest of peoples access to education regardless of age, gender and race all by making education for all, boys and girls, men and women, the poor and the rich, and for developing and developed countries alike. Barron also highlighted the importance of instilling the culture of gender equality in new generations by teaching these values in schools and through practice because it is difficult to change mindsets when children become adults. She also touched on national values through education which should not lead to nationalistic tendencies which is hostile to the other or to extremism, as everyone in their countries are citizens and all peoples are citizens of this world. She added that anti-semitism must be rejected by teaching equality among human beings. She added that education is an important way to solve the problems and challenges of the world and to promote and achieve sustainability through the use of advanced models of education in several countries.

6 6 Monday, pril 8, 2019 QTR PM meets speakers participating in IPU General ssembly HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh bdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-thani yesterday met at the Sheraton Hotel with several parliament speakers participating in the 140th ssembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union hosted by Doha. The prime minister met the Speaker of the Shura Council of Oman Sheikh Khalid bin Hilal al-maawali, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Jordan tef Youssef Tarawneh, Speaker of the National ssembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, President of the Senate of Nigeria Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the Parliament of Iran li Larijani, Speaker of the Council of Representatives of Iraq Mohamed Rikan Hadeed al-halbousi, and the Chairman of the ssembly of Representatives in the Republic of Tajikistan Shukurjon Zuhurov. The meetings focused on reviewing co-operation between Qatar and the aforementioned countries, and ways to enhance them. Lawmakers seek suitable solutions for all the people QN Doha HE the dvisory Council Speaker hmed bin bdullah bin Zaid al-mahmoud yesterday welcomed his election as president of 140th ssembly of the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU), stressing that the more important concern is how to contribute in solving problems and providing suitable conditions for people who need support. He said that the union represents the will of the people, highlighting that the number of participants reached a record for previous meetings, reflecting the confidence of the international community in Qatar and the leadership of His Highness the mir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-thani. l-mahmoud recalled that the parliamentary experience of Qatar began long ago, highlighting the dvisory Council s major role on national and international issues. The council s efforts have been praised by many parliamentarians, he added. l-mahmoud also referenced the remarks made by the president of the Latin merican and Caribbean Parliament, who said that this year s participation is the highest he has seen since he first participated in the meetings back in He said that such presence reflects Qatar s strong parliamentary presence. l-mahmoud noted that Qatari women have become members of the dvisory Council, highlighting the large number of competent members, including Reem al-mansoori, who was voted president of the 29th session of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians. He pointed out that it is the first time for parliament speakers of major countries to take part, which reflect their keenness to come to Qatar. l-mahmoud expressed his delight about this appreciation and the participation of the representatives of the people of the world, who came to see the major steps taken by Qatar taken on the path to sustainable development and progress. He highlighted Qatar s role in choosing the discussion theme for this year which focuses on enhancing education to establish peace, security, and the rule of law. He highlighted that education was the foundation for development, noting that the State of Qatar s wise policies chose that route with the goal of mobilising the international community to help advance education in order to address many of the great problems facing the world. Blockading states deny themselves chance to talk to rest of the world From Page 1 Shutting yourself off, as if we are not talking, is not great. Citing the case of rgentina and Britain, he noted that the two countries which were at war in the 1980s, are now sitting in the same room at the conference and having healthy conversations. It brings us together. Now we re in a room chatting about every other issue because we have common issue. The IPU, he noted, serves as a platform for parliamentarians to voice out freely their concerns and issues, which are of vital importance throughout the world such as climate change, democracy, and human rights, among others. No organisation in the world (like IPU) brings MPs together from every part of the world, Evans stressed, adding that the US is the only country that refuses to participate in the conference. I think they are the losers, when I meet merican politicians, I tell them that you have created a vacuum in this organisation and it is being filled by some powers, he said. Evans said no other organisation globally that brings many parliamentarians together from such a diverse number of countries with different backgrounds, ideologies, religions, thoughts, customs, and histories that allows them the opportunity to say what they want freely about the most important issues of the day. The second day of the conference saw a panel discussion on Ending poverty through access to renewable energies and inclusive public policies: How can parliaments help? taking place, as well as debates and committee meetings. Some countries get to hear for the first time about what is going on in some part of the world, Evans said, citing the agenda of this year s IPU. Whether it is the way we do democracy, the way they are tackling climate change, the way that we are trying to use the Sustainable Development Goals into eradicating poverty, we all do it in a different ways, he added. Use of mercenaries undermines peace, says draft resolution from IPU panel QN Doha The Inter-Parliamentary Union s (IPU) Committee on Peace and International Security yesterday discussed a draft resolution that would not accept the use of mercenaries as a way to undermine peace and abuse human rights. Rapporteurs of the committee Khalid Bakkar of Jordan and B Tarasyuk of Ukraine stressed that the biggest threats are terrorism and conflicts as they undermine peace, security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. The past 20 years have witnessed an increase in casualties as a result of both armed conflicts and terrorist attacks. From 2011 to 2014, the number of deaths from armed conflict rose by 356%, while the number of deaths from terrorism rose by 353%. They noted that the United Nations and its member states are fighting terrorism and armed conflicts by addressing mercenaries issues, such as private military contractors and foreign terrorist fighters. The UN Charter stresses the importance of commitment to full sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity of states, the right of peoples to self-determination, the non-use of force or threat in international relations, non-interference in the internal affairs of states and the promotion of respect for human rights for human and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion, and that among other things. The panel turned the spotlight on children and young people who have become the main recruiting target for terrorists. With the development of technology, recruiting methods are becoming increasingly complex, and so the fight against recruitment and its methods must be strengthened at the national and international levels. They said that since 2013, some 50 countries around the world have enacted laws and regulations to prevent their citizens from joining extremist armed groups such as ISIS. Most of these measures have been taken in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2178 of The two rapporteurs stressed on the importance of rejecting the use of mercenaries as a way to undermine peace, regional and international security, or violate human rights. The Jordanian rapporteur also highlighted the rise of state terrorism and whether there was a real will to fight off that development. He highlighted that some countries now encroaching international resolutions, such as the Israeli occupation s practices against women and children. He questioned whether the UN has any real intention of providing protection to the Palestinian victims. Young Parliamentarians discuss youth role in formulating policy QN Doha The Forum of Young Parliamentarians, meeting on the sidelines of the 140th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), focused on youth participation in parliaments and the role they can play in policymaking. Forum president Maureen rua discussed the outcomes of a study conducted by the IPU on the progress made by youth in terms of contributing to policy making, and the challenges facing this progress. It included stats on parliament members who are below 45, 40, and 30 years of age around the world. ccording to the study, which covered 202 parliamentarians in 150 countries, Rapporteur asks if the United Nations has any real intention of providing protection to the Palestinian victims young people aged 30 are 2.2% of parliamentarians, up 0.3% from This reflected a slight improvement in the overall share of young people in parliaments around the world. The results also indicate that just over 30% of the world s parliaments (with its two chambers) have no deputies under the age of 30, and about three per cent of those councils have no members under the age of 40. Seventy-six per cent of the upper councils Parliaments do not include members under the age of 30. bout 76% of the upper councils of Parliaments do not include members under the age of 30. Youth parliamentarians in the forum pointed out that the countries of the world have a long way to go to enhance the role of young people in political and parliamentary life. They stressed the importance of formulating strategies and national visions to encourage young people to engage in parliaments and give them greater opportunities in the electoral lists of political parties and entities, while considering the share of women members in these lists as well. The Forum heard national experiences and practices in enhancing youth participation in parliamentary life, while others put forward proposals to raise participation rates by raising awareness and developing political culture among young people, and revising laws that do not allow people under the age of 30 to run for parliament. The Forum of Young Parliamentarians also discussed its work plan and activities for aimed at supporting youth participation in parliamentary life. British MP lauds Qatar for bringing together lawmakers from around the world IPU serves as an important platform for discussions and bilateral exchanges By Joey guilar Staff Reporter British Member of Parliament (MP) has lauded Qatar and its leadership for bringing parliamentarians together in Doha to discuss global issues and hold bilateral talks with other delegates. We are superbly grateful to the Qatari government and His Highness the mir for stepping in to ensure that our conference did take place, Nigel Evans, an MP for 27 years under the Conservative Party, told reporters on the sidelines of the 140th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ssembly at Sheraton Doha yesterday. The conference, which opened on pril 6 and runs until pril 10, have started tackling several issues of vital importance: climate change, democracy, and human rights, among others. Evans thanked Qatar providing one-of-its-kind facilities such as a high-grade hotel like Sheraton Doha for the delegates to meet, hold panel discussions and meetings, and have bilateral talks on the sidelines. Incredibly courteous people and the facilities are superb. Sheraton is actually ideal of what we do, you got a number of what they call presidential rooms, he said. long the way we were able to have bilaterals with different countries such as Ukrain and rmenia. Just rgentina and we ve got lots of bilaterals where we can talk about issues that are of common concerns to us, the British MP added. ccording to Evans, Qatar announced it is ready to host the conference days after it was cancelled in Buenos ires in rgentina. The agenda, he said it was aimed mainly at facilitating dialogue with different countries from various regions. We had a bilateral with the North Koreans, and we were actually quite surprised they were blond talking, they were diplomatic, and we discussed the major issues in a very civilised way, Evans noted. Within the Middle East and within frica they do things differently to us, and even within Europe, and the only major country that is not represented here is the US, he said. In the 1980s they decided to leave because they were fed up being criticised by countries within this orgs. Some of the items yesterday included a forum of Young Parliamentarians of the IPU, a general debate on Parliaments as platforms to enhance education for peace, security and the rule of law, Standing Committee on Peace and International Security, and various presentations, including the start of drafting resolution on The role of fair and free trade and investment in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially regarding economic equality, sustainable infrastructure, industrialisation and innovation.

7 QTR Monday, pril 8, FM meets Iraqi official UN official praises Qatar s counter-terrorism efforts HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign ffairs Sheikh Mohamed bin bdulrahman al-thani met yesterday with the Council of Representatives Speaker of the Republic of Iraq Mohamed al-halbousi, on the sidelines of the ssembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Doha. During the meeting they discussed bilateral relations and means to develop them. Key role of education in promoting peace stressed QN Doha number of parliaments participating in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General ssembly and the related meetings highlighted the importance of education in promoting nations, disseminating knowledge and fighting ignorance as the cornerstone of all aspects of life, development and sustainable growth, which requires the development of the educational system for more just and equitable societies. In their speeches to the session, Parliaments as platforms to enhance education for peace, security and the rule of law, they criticised the policies of some countries in terms of violating international law, creating chaos and not respecting human rights and the rule of law, stressing that parliamentarians should not be silent about such violations. Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin said that many countries today are being ignored, violated and besieged, which requires parliamentarians to discuss these issues and not to stand silent. He reviewed many examples to violate the resolutions of international legitimacy, including the recognition by the US president of Israel s sovereignty over the Golan, which requires the international community to criticise this policy. He pointed to a number of violations that affect some countries and attempts to impoverish their people and push them to take to the streets, as in the Middle East and in Venezuela. He pointed out that the waves of asylum seekers and displacement witnessed by some regions and countries of the world have a direct link to such interventions. Volodin further added that we know who was behind the establishment of the so-called terrorist state in Syria ISIS, which sought to overthrow the regime, so the policy of nonintervention must be the norm in international relations. The chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation stressed the great importance of the 140th IPU General ssembly and the related meetings currently held in Doha, praising in this regard the arrangements and organisation of the meetings and the hospitality and goodwill received by the participating delegations. QN Doha Under-Secretary-General of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office, Vladimir Ivanovich Voronkov, has praised the support provided by Qatar to the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. He made the remarks at a meeting of the Committee on Peace and International Security to discuss a draft resolution on the inadmissibility of the use of mercenaries as means of undermining peace and violation of human rights, which was part of the 140th ssembly of the Inter- Parliamentary Union. The Under-Secretary-General of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office thanked Qatar for providing strong support to the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism saying there is close cooperation between Qatar and the UN Office in this area. He also praised Qatar s active contribution to efforts of preventing violent intolerance, pointing to the role played by sport in this regard. He said that Qatar s hosting of the 2022 FIF World Cup and its efforts in the HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign ffairs Sheikh Mohamed bin bdulrahman al-thani met yesterday with the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov on the sidelines of the 140th General ssembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Doha. sports field will contribute to prevention of violent intolerance. Voronkov reviewed the role played by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism in this area, saying that the office, although just two years old, had achieve considerable progress in its efforts, explaining that there were 38 sections of the United Nations concerned with this area. However, the establishment of the Office has contributed to the consolidation of United Nations efforts in this regard. He also stressed the importance of co-operation with parliamentarians to implement the documents emanating from the United Nations and the Security Council in relation to countering terrorism, stressing the importance of parliaments around the world in promoting these efforts and enacting national legislation to combat terrorism. He reviewed the main tasks of the Counter-Terrorism Office, saying that it was to lead counter-terrorism efforts through the mandate given by the General ssembly of the United Nations system and to enhance co-ordination and coherence among the entities of the Global Counter-Terrorism Co-ordination (Former Counter- Terrorism Implementation Task Force), to ensure the balanced implementation of the four pillars of the United Nations counterterrorism strategy, to strengthen the provision of UN assistance to member states in capacitybuilding in counter-terrorism, to improve visibility, advocacy and resource mobilisation for United Nations counter-terrorism efforts and, ensuring that due priority is given to counter-terrorism across the United Nations system, and that the important work in preventing violent extremism is firmly rooted in the strategy. He pointed out that the UN Office aims to establish close relations with Security Council bodies, member states, and to strengthen existing and developing new partnerships through regular travel and attendance at counter-terrorism meetings. Member of the dvisory Council, Mohamed bin li al- Hanzab, said that Qatar plays an important and pivotal role in combating terrorism and supporting regional and international peace and stability. Education alone can lead to just societies From Page 1 Volodin stressed the importance of the 140th IPU General ssembly and the related meetings being held in Doha, praising the arrangements made for the meetings and the hospitality and goodwill received by the participating delegations. The Duma chairman noted the important role played by parliamentarians in achieving the goals of the international community in security, peace, the rule of law, peaceful coexistence and non-interference in the affairs of others. He pointed out that dialogue, cooperation and lack of feeling of superiority are the qualities that distinguish educated people. The Speaker of Iran s Islamic Consultative ssembly li Larijani said the meetings of the IPU General ssembly being held in Qatar represent an important and effective step to enhance co-operation between states and their parliaments and to establish security and international law. Speaking at the General ssembly s general debate on the theme of Parliaments as platforms to enhance education for peace, security and the rule of law, Larijani pointed out that security and peace could not be established without the rule of law. He reviewed the great challenges in the area of the rule of law, peace and security, violations of human rights and ethnic cleansing, as in l Quds and occupied Palestine, as well as the challenge of terrorism and hate speech, leading to the adoption of aggressive, expansionist and unfair policies and the imposition of double and unilateral standards by many states, which threaten international peace and security. Larijani criticised what he called the economic terrorism practised by the US administration against his country, indicating that this constituted a component of despair and loss of hope and isolation at the same time for this administration. He said the Zionist attacks against l qsa and l Quds l Sharif, ethnic cleansing, inhuman and illegal expansionist measures, double standards, and the malignant approach to combating terrorism reflect a flagrant violation of international law and the extraction of the US-Israeli policy. IPU president highlights evolving scenarios in global education Top researcher shines spotlight on neurotechnology By Joseph Varghese Staff Reporter The education scenario around the globe is changing in many ways and countries are adopting new models, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) president told a session of the 140th IPU assembly yesterday at Sheraton Doha. Starting the general debate on Parliament as platforms to enhance education for peace, security and the rule of law, Gabriela Cuevas Barron said that the world is facing several challenges in providing inclusive education. Speaking on the occasion, HE the Speaker of the dvisory Council and the President of the IPU assembly, hmed bin bdullah bin Zaid al-mahmoud highlighted the growing importance for the need to promote education. Education should promote the ideas of peace, security and the rule of law. It should address HE the Speaker of the dvisory Council and president of IPU ssembly, hmed bin bdullah bin Zaid al- Mahmoud, IPU president Gabriela Cuevas Barron, secretary-general of the IPU, Martin Chungong, and the under-secretary-general for the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office, Vladimir Voronkov along with other officials yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil the major concerns of the world. Education is based on the concept of love, co-existence and tolerance. We have to make education the biggest value of basic human rights, stressed al-mahmoud. l-mahmoud also highlighted the importance Qatar has given to education by providing quality education to its younger generation through great investment, modern curriculum as well as the establishment of world-class institutions. There are several changes going around the world and education is one very important subject in focus. No one should be left behind in education. We should look for education for all: Education for boys and girls, for women and men, for the rich and the poor and the developed and the non-developed countries, exhorted Barron. We should come out of the barriers that prevent the people from having education. The values that we want to see in the world and in the generations to come, should be incorporated in the present education, explained the IPU president. ccording to the official, one important value that education should ensure is gender parity. We are living in a more inclusive world where the gender of a person should not be an obstacle for any opportunities, she highlighted. The official also pointed out that it was the responsibility of each one to take care of the environment. This planet is not just for us alone. We should make sure that the planet should be a sustainable one. It should exist for generations to come. We should uphold natural values with full responsibility and education systems should play a greater role in those responsibilities, added the official. Call for gender parity in education, focus on youth By Joseph Varghese Staff Reporter renowned researcher discussed yesterday at the 140th Inter-Parliamentary Union ssembly the efforts by scientists to read the brain better as well as studies to augment the cognitive capabilities of the human beings. revolution is going on in brain projects in the last three to four years. There are several efforts to read human brain better. nother technological revolution, rtificial Intelligence (I) is happening along with it. The neurotechnology along with I is changing the world, said Dr Rafael Yuste, a researcher, Brain Research through dvancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative, told a session. We scientists do not belong to any particular country alone. We work for the humanity which is our country. Technology and science are giving ground breaking ideas. These are used for the benefit of humanity, noted Dr Yuste. ccording to the researcher, studies are going on in several areas about brain and its cognitive aspects. He highlighted five areas of study that will help understand brain and the humanity in a big way. Brain studies are focusing on personal identity, free will, mental privacy, use of technology for augmenting cognitive process and inclusiveness. These studies will help in finding more about how brain should be protected. The study will also guarantee protection for humanity against several biases, explained the official. Regarding the computer chip that can be implanted in the human brain, Dr Yuste said that a new technology is being developed and will be introduced very soon. Dr Yuste described that the new developments will happen at global level helping the entire humanity. The outcomes will help humanity in a big way and make everyone act for new human rights. Education is entering into the most exciting times in the history. It could lead to new humanism, he said. It could provide better insights to several topics. This will also lead to new perceptions on human rights, he added. By Joseph Varghese Staff Reporter Some parliamentary officials highlighted the need for gender parity in education as well as addressing the needs of the young population with priority, during a general debate at the 140th Inter-Parliamentary Union ( IPU) assembly yesterday. bout half of the population of the world is under 30 years. Despite this proportion, young people s rights are rarely prioritised in several countries in the world. This must change and young people must be given more opportunities, noted, S Kihika, president of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians, IPU. bout a third of the developing countries have not achieved gender parity in education. Enrolment, especially of girl students in primary education in many developing countries is still way behind. We must ensure primary school education for all the boys and girls. We must make sure that education reaches to the least privileged sections of the societies, explained Kihika. ccording to the official, peace, security and rule of law are more than ever important and relevant in the present world and education is the best tool to Dutch proposal approved as agenda topic The IPU 140 General ssembly decided to put the Dutch proposal regarding financial support to the hurricane-hit Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The proposal was approved by 1,011 votes, which are more than two thirds of the IPU members. ccordingly, it was approved as an additional topic on the IPU 140 agenda to be discussed today. However, the proposal regarding the protection of the Palestinian people and rejection of the Israeli sovereignty on Jerusalem and Golan Heights got only 491 votes, which disqualified it from being put on the IPU 140 agenda. The statues and rules of the IPU stipulate that the proposed topic should have two-third majority votes by the member states to be approved as an additional topic on the agenda of the General ssembly. achieve these goals. More opportunities and actions are needed to make sure that everyone gets empowered with the right skills and capabilities. Education is the tool to equip the youth with the right skills and capabilities. There must be enough opportunities for the youth especially for the young women in the labour markets. More policies and practices are necessary to ensure gender parity in all the areas. There could also be incentives for the private sector to invest in education, said Kihika. M Osuru, president of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians of the IPU highlighted that access to education is high on the agenda of the young parliamentarians. Education is the best way to achieve peace. It must update us for the needs of tomorrow and must ensure gender parity, she said. Parliamentarians delegation tours Doha delegation of 200 parliamentarians, in town for the 140th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly, toured yesterday the various educational, tourist and heritage sites of Doha. Their tour covered Qatar National Museum and Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development to get a closer look on the massive development being made in Qatar in all fields. The delegation was accompanied by HE Fahd Mubarak al- Khayareen, Secretary-General of the Shura Council. He stressed that Qatar s original rabic heritage has amazed the delegations taking part at the IPU 140 ssembly in Doha. In the meantime, a number of the visiting parliamentarians stressed that Qatar has become a distinguished and unique beacon of light in the region. They also highly appreciated the wonderful architectural design of Qatar National Museum and sophisticated educational system in the country.

8 8 Monday, pril 8, 2019 REGION/RB WORLD Starved infants, wounded women crowd Syrian hospitals after IS defeat Hasaka, Syria Sudanese protesters gather for a second day outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, yesterday. Sudanese protesters hold second day of sit-in Khartoum Thousands of protesters held a sit-in outside Sudanese President Omar al-bashir s residence in central Khartoum yesterday, having camped there overnight after the biggest demonstration in months of protests against his 30-year rule, witnesses said. There have been sustained protests against Bashir and his National Congress Party since Dec 19. Security forces have fired tear gas, stun grenades and live bullets to disperse protesters and dozens have been killed during demonstrations. Bashir has refused to step down, saying that his opponents need to seek power through the ballot box. Sudan suffered a total power blackout yesterday, the ministry of water resources, irrigation and electricity said without giving an explanation for the outage. Electricity was later restored in some areas. Since the sit-in began on Saturday, security forces have fired tear gas several times in an attempt to clear the protesters, but thousands remained. pparently emboldened by the success of similar but much larger protests in lgeria, which forced ailing President bdelaziz Bouteflika to step down last week, Sudanese activists called for Saturday s protests. The demonstrations marked the anniversary of the 1985 military coup that overthrew president Jaafar Nimeiri after mass protests against his rule. The protesters urged the military to side with them once more in their bid to push Bashir out of power. part from Bashir s residence, the compound the most heavily-guarded in Sudan also houses the defence ministry and the headquarters of the powerful National Intelligence and Security Service. Thousands of protesters also gathered in Khartoum s Burri neighbourhood yesterday. where they blocked several main roads, witnesses said. On Saturday at least one person died during protests in Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, state news agency SUN said without providing detail on the cause of death. The person killed was a laboratory doctor who succumbed to his injuries, according to a statement from an opposition doctors committee. Medical staff have played a prominent role in the protests. SUN said other civilians and police officers were wounded on Saturday in Omdurman, the scene of protests late into the evening that subsided by yesterday morning. The sit-in outside the compound appeared to mirror 2011 rab Spring protests, in which demonstrators in Cairo and other rab capitals camped out in public squares for days to demand a change in rule. The paramedics log at al-hol camp in eastern Syria lists the injuries and ailments of infants rushed from the battlefield to its crowded, dirty clinic: malnourishment, stunted growth, broken leg. Those in critical need mostly emaciated babies born in war to the wives of dead Islamic State militants are taken to the nearest hospital, a bumpy two-hour drive away. Other people cram into a waiting room with a tin roof in a growing queue for basic medical treatment. t the hospital, staff have had to build two portacabins on the roof that serve as a makeshift ward for the treatment of malnourished babies, crammed sometimes two or three to a cot. Lower floors are filled with teenagers missing limbs and women with shrapnel and bullet wounds. The exodus during intense fighting of more than 60,000 people from Islamic State s final redoubt of Baghouz is overwhelming medical staff in eastern Syria who struggle to cope at the camp and ill-equipped hospitals. Scores of people, mostly children, have died on the 150-mile (240km) journey to al- Hol or soon after arriving, aid groups say. My son has a dislocated hip. He needs an operation urgently, said Umm Mohamed, a veiled 33-year-old woman holding an expressionless six-month-old boy at the camp. Medics keep saying they have more urgent cases to deal with wounds and shrapnel injuries. In the waiting area, dozens of people who mostly left Baghouz during a brief truce last month, arranged for civilians and surrendering militants to evacuate, sit on wooden benches or the concrete floor. Children in wheelchairs watch while babies scream as they are bandaged or given injections. U.S.-backed forces declared the defeat in March of Islamic State s self-proclaimed caliphate the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria after militants were driven out of the village of Baghouz where they made a months-long last stand. The intense bombardment and fighting to dislodge the Sunni Islamist extremist group cost countless lives and wounded many more people, including the wives of fighters, their child, who suffers from malnourishment, cries at a hospital in Hasaka, northeastern Syria. children, IS supporters and other civilians trapped by the militants in the enclave. Those who evacuated in recent weeks have strained healthcare in Kurdish-run areas of eastern Syria beyond capacity. In the clinic at al-hol, which is hosting more than 70,000 people displaced by violence, many people wore crude casts. One woman said she did not have enough painkillers for a wound to her hand a long metal rod from the explosion that wounded her and killed three relatives was still lodged in her knuckle. I just want an X-ray at the hospital, she said, giving her name as Umm hmed. But local hospitals can take only the most severe cases. In one room at the hospital in the nearby town of Hasaka, 19-year-old Baraa al-kurdi, the wife of a Syrian Islamic State member, lay motionless next to a boy with third-degree burns covering his head. I was hit in the head by shrapnel, Kurdi said quietly. We were next to a car packed with ammunition and explosives, including suicide belts ready for fighters to use. My husband was killed. My daughter is one month old she s upstairs in the babies ward. Kurdi s daughter was one of the few nonforeign infants in the ward. Others, many blond or with sian features, lay quietly in their cots with cheekbones showing and eyes sunken into their sockets from malnutrition. The patients register listed the names their mothers gave the hospital li zerbaijani, li al-uzbeki, Mohamed Skramo, a Norwegian name. Many who remained in Baghouz until the end of the fighting were die-hard supporters of Islamic State. number of European countries have refused to take back citizens who joined IS, putting additional strain on local authorities to deal with prisoners and patients. Children from the camp are arriving night and day. We currently have more than 70 babies being treated for malnutrition, a nurse in the ward said. She and other hospital staff declined to be named or for the hospital to be identified, fearing reprisals for treating the children of IS fighters. Most cases are treated and then returned to the camp. few have died. We re doing out best but had limited resources even before this influx. More than 200 people have died on their way to al-hol or after arriving in the camp in recent months, according to the International Rescue Committee. It said this week that around 30 to 50 cases every day were referred to local hospitals. We get 30 ambulances arriving each day, a local health official said, also declining to be named. There s aid from international organisations for those from Baghouz. They re mostly foreign. We can barely provide healthcare for our own. Turkey slams Netanyahu s remarks on settlements FP Istanbul Turkey yesterday condemned what it called Benjamin Netanyahu s irresponsible remarks after the Israeli leader said he planned to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins upcoming elections. West Bank is Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in violation of int l law, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter. Prime Minister Netanyahu s irresponsible statement to seek votes just before the Israeli general elections cannot and will not change this fact. Netanyahu s comments came just days before the closely fought polls tomorrow and was widely seen as an appeal to rightwing voters, who do not believe in the feasibility of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Yet another example of how Netanyahu uses electoral politics to justify occupation and undermine the two-state solution, said Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. More than 40 zoo animals evacuated from Gaza Strip FP Rafah More than 40 animals, including five lions, were evacuated from squalid conditions in a Gaza Strip zoo yesterday to be taken to Jordan, an animal welfare group said. Thin and weakened, the 43 animals, including a wolf and monkeys, had been living in terrible conditions, said the Four Paws association, which organised the transfer. The Rafah zoo in the southern Gaza Strip is the oldest in the enclave, which has been under an Israeli blockade for more than 10 years. The animals were not in great shape, but were stable enough to be transported to a reserve in Jordan, some 300 kilometres from the Palestinian enclave, said Martin Bauer, spokesman for the Vienna-based welfare group. The animals were sedated to be put in cages for the transfer through Israel. Two of the lions would eventually be sent to South frica. Four Paws was supposed to move ahead with the transfer in late March, but the organisation could not enter the enclave since the crossing was closed that week due to a flare-up of Palestinian worker carries a Heron (Egretta Intermedia) at a zoo in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, during the evacuation by Four Paws from the enclave to relocate to Jordan, yesterday. violence between Gaza fighters and Israel. Bauer said the mission had the support of the authorities in Gaza, run by movement Hamas, and of the zoo s owner, who has said he could no longer afford the upkeep for the animals. Israel s permission was also received for the mission. He said it was the biggest such mission carried out by Four Paws and intensive negotiations were required. The zoo received attention recently when the owner revealed he had declawed one of its lions so customers could pay to play with her. In January, four lion cubs died of cold in the zoo. The Gaza Strip suffers from a lack of infrastructure, including a severe electricity shortage. Israel and Palestinian fighters in the strip have fought three wars since Flood-hit Iran getting no financial aid from overseas due to US sanctions Geneva US sanctions have prevented the Iranian Red Crescent from obtaining any foreign financial aid to assist victims of flooding that has killed at least 70 people and inundated some 1,900 communities, the group said yesterday. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that Washington was ready to help via the Red Cross and Red Crescent, but accused Iran s clerical establishment of mismanagement in urban planning and in emergency preparedness. No foreign cash help has been given to the Iranian Red Crescent society. With attention to the inhuman merican sanctions, there is no way to send this cash assistance, the Red Crescent said in a statement. It said the group had received some non-financial help from abroad which had been distributed to flood victims. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif said last week that US sanctions reimposed after Washington quit a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers were impeding aid efforts to floodstricken towns and villages. Blocked equipment includes relief choppers: This isn t just economic warfare; it s economic terrorism, he said on Twitter. The flood disaster, arising from exceptionally heavy rainfall since March 19, has left aid agencies struggling to cope and seen 86,000 people moved to emergency shelters. The government has told citizens, and especially flood-affected farmers, that all losses will be compensated. Iran s state budget is already stretched under US sanctions on energy and banking sectors that have halved its oil exports and restricted access to some revenues abroad. Iran acted on Saturday to evacuate more towns and villages threatened by floods after continued rain in the southwest. Men clear away mud following floods in the Iranian city of Mamulan in Lorestan province, yesterday. Iraq asked to demand US troop withdrawal FP Tehran Iran s supreme leader yatollah li Khamenei has called on Iraq to demand US troops leave as soon as possible, warning that Washington is plotting to remove the government in Baghdad. The remarks came during a visit to Tehran on Saturday by Iraqi Prime Minister del bdel Mahdi, whose country is under pressure from the United States to distance itself from Iran. You should take actions to make sure the mericans withdraw their troops from Iraq as soon as possible because wherever they have had an enduring presence, forcing them out has become problematic, Khamenei told bdel Mahdi. The current government and parliament in Iraq and the political figures are not what the US desires; they plot to remove them from the political scene of Iraq, he said, according to his official website. bdel Mahdi, on his first official trip to Iran, also met Saturday with President Hassan Rouhani, who visited Iraq last month. Baghdad is under pressure from Washington to limit ties with its neighbour, particularly after the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal last year and hit Tehran with sanctions. Iran has close but complicated ties with Iraq, with significant influence among its political groups. The two countries fought a bloody war from 1980 to 1988 and Tehran s influence in Baghdad grew after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. Iran was the first country to respond to Iraqi calls for help after Islamic State group militants captured Mosul in 2014 and threatened to overrun Baghdad and Kirkuk. Tehran dispatched military advisers and equipment along with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) elite Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani to prevent IS militants from approaching its western borders.

9 Monday, pril 8, 2019 FRIC 9 Farmers and nomads take to violence in drought-hit Chad FP beche, Chad The chief medical officer at dre hospital takes a routine phone call: a patient has been admitted with gunshot wounds and needs emergency surgery. dusty town in eastern Chad, once part of the proud Ouaddai empire, dre is caught up in a mounting conflict between local farmers and nomadic camel herders from the north of the sprawling country. Last year, the hospital treated more than 100 patients with bullet wounds. In a territory where almost everyone seems to have a gun - a legacy of rebellions launched from eastern Chad and of the brutal conflict in Sudan s Darfur - squabbles over grazing land and trampled crops swiftly lead to violence. Such disputes are tragically familiar in many parts of frica. But in arid eastern Chad, near the border with Sudan, the bloodshed is particularly acute, rooted in a bitter drought and population pressure sharpening rivalry over access to land. The vicious circle of attack and retribution is running full tilt. dmissions in dre rise sharply during times of tension, a source at the local hospital said. Those times mirror the seasons. t the end of the rainy season, in December and January, herders drive their beasts northwards into the Sahel. When water sources start running low, they return south, from about the end of June. Local chief bderahim Dahab, who supervises 136 villages in his traditional leadership role, said the modern-day bloodshed contrasted with long-established cohabitation. Movement of livestock has always happened peacefully, for decades, he said. Migratory herders benefit from pasture on which to feed their animals, and farmers benefit from the animals, whose droppings fertilise the soil. nd farmers and herders mutually benefit from trading with each other for food. Historian Mahamat Saleh Yacoub said two factors explained the breakdown between the two communities. The first is a drought that has gripped the Sahel since the 1970s and seems to be worsening. Everyone who spoke to FP agreed that the key issue is a lack of water. The herders are now coming earlier in the year and going back later. The established ways have broken down, said another district chief. Saleh Yacoub, who is head of the ENS college of higher education in beche, near dre, said the second cause was a population increase - as much among people as among livestock. Herds are getting larger, straining the fragile ecological resources of the Ouaddai. The rivalry has become intertwined with ethnic problems, added Yacoub. The herds all belong to the same people: colonels, generals, people in politics, explained a village elder sitting on his mat with a glass of tea. We have had meetings, we write letters to the deputy prefect (district administrator), the prefect himself, but get nothing back, he protested. The population has no power against them. Many cattlemen are members of the Zaghawa ethnic group, who come from the northeast of the giant country. Flood-ravaged Zimbabwe now faces severe water shortage Harare s eastern Zimbabwe struggles with the aftermath of floods that have killed nearly 270 people and destroyed homes and roads, other parts of Zimbabwe are facing a very different crisis: too little water. Lake Chivero, the main source of water for the capital Harare, is at just 60% of its usual capacity at this time of year, following poor rains, said Richard Kunyadini, Harare City Council s water manager. The city s two other dams, Harava and Seke, are just 7% full, he said. For residents such as Letwin Bhamusi, 43, that means water is now arriving through the pipes only once a week, under a new water rationing schedule put in place in early March by Harare s authorities. Water rationing is nothing new in Harare - but it more commonly begins months later, residents say. Shortages, they say, hit the poor - who cannot afford to dig private wells - hardest. The cutbacks mean Bhamusi can t water her garden, a source of vegetables for her family, and must now spend valuable time each day looking for alternative sources of water. We are only in March. t this rate, we might soon never see a drop of water in our homes, the resident of Hatcliffe, a highdensity suburb of Harare, complained bitterly. Climate change is bringing more weather extremes around the world, and Zimbabwe this year is suffering from opposite crises at once: deadly flooding and bitter drought. In far eastern Zimbabwe, Cyclone Idai, which blasted ashore in Mozambique, has pounded Chimanimani and Chipinge districts and parts of Masvingo district, causing flooding and mudslides and forcing people from their homes. But elsewhere in Zimbabwe, weak rains this season have left water reservoirs low in parts of the country, reducing production of hydropower from Lake Kariba - a major energy source for Zimbabwe and neighbouring Zambia - and water available to families and farmers. The capacity of our lakes is very low with two of our dams, Seke and Harava going dry at 7% (capacity). We can no longer extract water from them, said Kunyadini, the Harare city official. Until we get more water or rains, we must rely on Lake Chivero but that is not enough - hence the rationing, he said. Between last October and February, the level of Lake Kariba fell by over 3m, the Zimbabwe River uthority said in a statement, forcing cutbacks in power generation. Meanwhile, officials feared some reservoirs in eastern Zimbabwe could burst after heavy rain and runoff. The cyclone has affected our dams in a negative manner. Most of them cannot withstand the highest water levels beyond their capacity, Mutasa Tatenda, a climate change scientist with the Ministry of Lands, griculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, told the Thomson Foundation. He said the uneven distribution of rainfall in Zimbabwe was affecting everything from farming and households to power production, manufacturing and recreation. Chipinge District dministrator William Mashava said erosion following heavy rains had filled three dams in the district with silt, threatening ongoing problems even after the flooding crisis abates. Mutasa warned that warming temperatures, and changes in precipitation as a result of climate change are affecting the country s water supply and quality. From left: frican Union chief Moussa Faki, Rwanda s President Paul Kagame, his wife Jeannette and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker light a remembrance flame for the 25th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Kigali, yesterday. Rwanda a family again, says President Kagame FP Kigali President Paul Kagame said yesterday that Rwandans had become a family again, 25 years after more than 800,000 people were slaughtered in a genocide that shocked the world. Kagame lit a remembrance flame at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where more than 250,000 victims are believed to be buried, mainly from the minority Tutsi people, as the country began its annual 100 days of mourning that coincide with the length of the slaughter. They are only some of those killed by the genocidal Hutu forces, members of the old army and militia forces called the Interahamwe, that began their bloody campaign of death on pril 7, 1994, the day after the assassination of president Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu. Some were shot; most were beaten or hacked by machetes. In 1994, there was no hope, only darkness. Today, light radiates from this place. How did it happen? Rwanda became a family once again, Kagame said. The arms of our people, intertwined, constitute the pillars of our nation. We hold each other up. Our bodies and minds bear amputations and scars, but none of us is alone. Together, we have woven the tattered threads of our unity into a new tapestry, he said. Kagame was speaking at the Kigali Convention Centre, a dome-shaped auditorium in the centre of the capital, a modern building emblematic of the regeneration of Rwanda. Our people have carried an immense weight with little or no complaint. This has made us better and more united than ever before, Kagame said. The fighting spirit is alive in us. What happened here will never happen again. The killings lasted until Kagame, then 36, led the mainly Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) into Kigali on July 4, ending the slaughter and taking control of the devastated country. Kagame, now 61 and who has been in power ever since, is leading the memorial to the dead. Kagame will later preside over a vigil at the country s main football ground. The mahoro National Stadium - whose name means peace in Rwanda s Kinyarwanda language - was used by the UN during the genocide to protect thousands of Tutsis from being massacred on the streets outside. In past years, ceremonies have triggered painful flashbacks for some in the audience, with crying, shaking, screaming and fainting amid otherwise quiet vigils. For many survivors, forgiveness remains difficult when the bodies of their loved ones have not been found and many killers are still free. quarter of a century on, the east frican nation has recovered economically, but the trauma still casts a dark shadow. Kagame has kept an authoritarian hold as he steers the small, landlocked nation through economic recovery. Growth in 2018 was a heady 7.2%, according to the frican Development Bank (fdb). Some 10 leaders are expected to pay their respects, mostly from nations across the continent. Former colonial ruler Belgium is sending Prime Minister Charles Michel. French President Emmanuel Macron is not attending, but expressed his solidarity with the Rwandan people and his compassion to the victims and their families in a statement yesterday. The statement said Macron would like to make pril 7 a day of commemoration of the genocide in France, without giving further details. t the ceremony, France is represented by Herve Berville, a 29-year old Rwandan-born member of parliament in Paris. Rwanda has accused France of being complicit in the genocide through its support for the Hutu-led government and of helping perpetrators escape. Paris has consistently denied complicity in the bloodshed, though former president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010 acknowledged France had made serious errors of judgement. Ethiopians bid farewell to slain rapper Nipsey Hussle FP ddis baba With poems and speeches, Ethiopians have held an emotional farewell for murdered rapper Nipsey Hussle, whose roots in neighbouring Eritrea won him admirers in both countries. Known for his Grammynominated debut album, Hussle was shot dead last week in front of the clothing store he owned in the US city of Los ngeles, whose violence-plagued neighbourhoods he had tried to revitalise. On Friday, 29-year-old Eric Holder pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder over the shooting that also wounded two other men. t the Saturday evening memorial in the Ethiopian capital ddis baba, Hussle was remembered as a rare entertainer who bridged his merican upbringing with his roots in the Horn of frica. When we heard there s an Eritrean rapper out there, we were fans before we heard his music, said mbaye Michael Tesfay, who eulogised Hussle at the event held in a darkened parking lot. He was an icon for us. Before his 2018 debut album Victory Lap scored a Grammy nomination for Best Rap lbum, Hussle, born Ermias sghedom, had won the attention of rap fans from both Ethiopia and Eritrea for his embrace of his father s Eritrean heritage. Eritrea was a province of Ethiopia until 1993, when it voted for independence after a decadeslong independence struggle, but both countries still have close cultural and family ties. It s just really tragic what happened, said Tezeta Solomon, an Ethiopian living in Los ngeles who attended the memorial in ddis baba. When he first came out, we were all so excited. To know there was a habesha rapper out there definitely sparked some pride, she said, using a common term to describe people from the Horn of frica. Hussle embraced his Eritrean heritage, visiting the country last year and telling state media, More than anything I am proud of being Eritrean. The relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea has often been tortuous, and the countries were not on speaking terms for years following a border war that ground into stalemate. That ended with the signing of a peace agreement last year that restored ties between the neighbours. The frosty relations did little to dampen Ethiopians pride in Hussle s success. Residents are seen walking in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, yesterday, a day after a double suicide attack, that killed at least three people and wounded more than 30. Three killed in Nigeria suicide bomb attacks FP Kano, Nigeria Three people died and more than 30 injured in a twin suicide blast in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, militia sources and residents told FP yesterday. Two female bombers late Saturday detonated their explosives among a crowd in Muna Dalti on the outskirts of the city, the birthplace of the Boko Haram extremist group They came around 8pm (1900 GMT) and detonated their suicide vests, Umar ri, a local militia leader, said. They killed three people and seriously injured 33 others, said ri, who was involved in the evacuation of victims. Residents gathered yesterday morning for the funeral of the three victims. The scene of the bombings, a popular night time venue for residents, has been repeatedly targeted by Boko Haram suicide attacks, said resident Gremah Umar. The area houses a sprawling camp for thousands of people displaced by Boko Haram violence. The attacks there were largely blamed on the Boko Haram faction loyal to longtime leader bubakar Shekau, notorious for suicide attacks on civilian targets including schools, mosques and motor parks. nother faction affiliated to the Islamic State focuses on attacks against military targets. Boko Haram s decade-long violence has killed 27,000 people in the northeast and displaced another 1.8mn from their homes, creating a dire humanitarian crisis. The conflict has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military response to combat the militant group.

10 10 Monday, pril 8, 2019 MERIC NY county measles outbreak spotlights vaccine religious exemptions By Catherine Triomphe, FP Haverstraw, New York Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, the health commissioner of an outlying New York suburban county, is feeling overwhelmed. Since October she has been waging an uphill fight to quell one of the worst US measles outbreaks in 20 years. mong her daily battles: having to constantly repeat that the vaccine does not cause other diseases, that it does not lead to autism, and that the practice of using fetal tissue to produce the vaccine ended decades ago. Pushing back against such junk science absorbs a good deal of her energy as she works to educate and persuade the 300,000 residents of Rockland County to cooperate with health authorities and alert them to any new cases of disease. In 27 years of practising medicine, Ruppert said, this is one of the most challenging health crises I have had to deal with. s of this weekend, measles officially eliminated from the United States in 2000 had struck 167 people in this county along the Hudson River, including nine new cases this week. mong the six regional outbreaks of measles reported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the leading public health institute in the US, Rockland County s is the most concentrated. nd yet the county has not skimped in throwing resources at the problem. Since October, each case has been systematically investigated to determine how many people have been exposed to the ultracontagious virus. Those exposed are then contacted to ensure they have been immunised, and if they haven t been, they are then vaccinated. Dozens of free vaccination clinics have been organised around the county including one Friday in the town of Haverstraw with 17,654 doses of vaccine administered to date. The objective is to raise the vaccination rate from the current 72%, Ruppert said. 95% vaccination rate is considered necessary to prevent epidemics. On Today, county executives will meet with legal and health professionals to identify more possible new strategies to tackle the outbreak. It comes after the county took the unprecedented measure on March 26 of banning unvaccinated minors from schools and public places for 30 days. Several public health specialists saluted the county s decision. But a dozen parents of public-school students sued the county, arguing that the measure was disproportionate to the danger, particularly as there have been no deaths to date. Last week, they obtained a partial victory: a judge issued an injunction requiring county officials to drop the ban against any child with a religious exemption, at least until pril 19. Religious exemption for many county residents, the words have become central to the debate over the resurgence of measles and the rise of the antivaccine movement. Like most merican states all but three, including California New York requires a series of vaccinations for school-age children but grants exemptions on both medical and religious grounds. In Rockland County, the local Jewish community represents about one-third of county inhabitants, including a large number of Orthodox Jews. That fact places this community at the heart of the vaccination debate, raising the risk of fuelling anti-semitism, said Gary Siepser, president of the Jewish Foundation of Rockland County. He emphasizes that there are anti-vaccine proponents both in the Jewish community and elsewhere who invoke religion to justify themselves but are motivated simply by their antivaccine convictions. You will not find rabbis citing Jewish law to say people should not be vaccinated, he said, stressing that his federation, like other Jewish organisations, encourages vaccination. It s shocking that these things that I didn t worry about with my kids because they could be vaccinated all of a sudden parents have to worry about their children getting life-threatening diseases, Siepser said. It s like the clock has been turned back it s crazy! Several Orthodox mothers questioned this week by FP lashed out at the anti-vaccine parents. One of them was Cindy Scher, mother of four children aged seven to 17, all of whom have been vaccinated. It s really scary out there, she said. We all share the same roads, we share the same stores, we all have to interact with each other. We can t just be concerned about my religious beliefs, your religious beliefs, she said, as she walked out of a kosher supermarket in Monsey, the epicentre of the county s Orthodox community. gainst this background, some New York state lawmakers this week proposed a law to end vaccination exemptions. I think it s a great idea, said Ruppert, the health commissioner. But the judge s decision on Friday in favour of the anti-vaccine forces complicates an already difficult debate. This is a country that has an interesting relationship with religion, the country was founded by people seeking some kind of religious liberties, Siepser said. The question becomes at what point one person s freedom ends and another person s rights begin. G under pressure to release evidence clearing Trump Trump WH says never on release of tax returns By Doina Chiacu, Washington By Paul Hanley, FP Washington Two weeks after he cleared President Donald Trump in the Russia meddling investigation, ttorney General Bill Barr faces mounting pressure to show the full evidence behind his decision. llegations last week that the US Justice chief played down serious evidence of illegal obstruction by Trump in Special Counsel Robert Mueller s final report are fuelling demands that he release the entire, unexpurgated document to Congress. He is a biased person, Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said of Barr in an interview yesterday on CBS s Face the Nation. He s a biased defender of the administration, and he s entitled to be a defender of the administration, but he is not entitled to withhold the evidence from Congress, Nadler said. News reports, citing unnamed members of Mueller s staff, said Barr ignored the summaries that Mueller s team prepared for public release, and instead issued his own on March 24, in which he peremptorily cleared the president of any wrongdoing. nd Barr now says he will not release key evidence given to Mueller s grand jury, a special panel used by prosecutors in politically sensitive cases. Democrats suspect the evidence could be damning to the president setting up a legal and political showdown. cting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said yesterday that Barr alone will decide what to release, and he bridled at the Democrats demands. If we give the Democrats all 400 pages unredacted, that s not going to be the end of the inquiry. nd they re going to want another thousand pages that went into making that, he said on Fox News Sunday. This is a show by the Democrats. The Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee this week prepared to subpoena the full report, a move Barr and the White House will almost certainly contest. On Thursday, Nadler demanded that Barr turn over all communications between his office and Mueller s, following the reports that Mueller s staff were unhappy with the way Barr presented their conclusions. t stake is the president s ability to ctivists participate in a Release the Report rally in Times Square in New York City. put the Russia probe behind him and look to 2020 for re-election. Trump, who declared a complete and total exoneration when Barr announced Mueller s conclusions, said this week that Democrats are fighting hard to keep the Witch Hunt alive. This is the highest level of Presidential Harassment in the history of our Country! he tweeted. Tomorrow, members of Congress might get their first chance to press Barr in public about the Mueller report, when he appears before the House ppropriations Committee in a hearing nominally focused on the Justice Department budget. In his four-page summation of the 22-month investigation on March 24, Barr said that Mueller found no evidence of collusion between Trump s campaign and the Russian government in the 2016 election, and that there was insufficient evidence to charge Trump with obstruction. Yet Barr also conceded that Mueller did compile evidence of obstruction, and quoted the special counsel as saying that while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him. Suspicions are deep among Democrats that Barr took advantage of his position to clear Trump and now wants to keep the most damaging parts of the report secret to protect the White House. Trump chose the veteran Republican lawyer to lead the Justice Department after firing his predecessor Jeff Sessions, whom the president resented for recusing himself from oversight of the Russia probe. In June 2018, with Sessions s job already known to be imperilled, Barr sent an unsolicited legal memo to the Justice Department and White House strongly criticising the Mueller investigation and its impingement on the president s prerogatives. Then a Washington corporate attorney, Barr declared without knowledge of the internal work of the Russia probe that Mueller s obstruction theory is fatally misconceived and based on a novel and legally unsupportable reading of the law. The memo came to light in December only after Trump had sacked Sessions and chosen Barr to replace him. So far, Barr has held firm to his stance that he will release this month more of the Mueller report, but a version stripped of evidence and of testimony given to Mueller s grand jury. The grand jury material is essential. s often done in such high-profile cases, Mueller used the panel of citizens to develop and hear the evidence and depose key witnesses behind closed doors. Grand-jury evidence is usually kept secret by law unless a prosecutor ultimately decides to level charges in the case. Democrats argue that Congress, in its constitutional responsibility to enforce the law against the president, has the right to review any evidence against him of wrongdoing, even that of a grand jury. On Friday, the Justice Department, commenting on a fresh ruling in a case on grand-jury secrecy, signalled its stance against that. The Department of Justice will continue to defend the long-established tradition of protecting grand jury information, said spokeswoman Kelly Laco. President Donald Trump s tax returns will never be handed over to Democratic lawmakers, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said yesterday, defying an effort in Congress to learn more about the real estate mogul s personal finances. sked on Fox News Sunday if congressional Democrats will succeed in obtaining the Republican president s tax returns, Mulvaney said: No, never. Nor should they. He dismissed an effort to obtain the returns, launched on Wednesday by US House of Representatives tax committee chairman Richard Neal, as a political ploy from Democrats who will never stop attacking Trump. Democrats are demanding that the IRS turn over the documents. That is not going to happen, and they know it. This is a political stunt, Mulvaney said. Democrats countered that Neal s request to the Treasury Department for Trump s returns is grounded in law and a needed inquiry, given Trump s refusal to disclose his tax records and to divest himself of his business interests. This is a legitimate authority that the Congress has. This president, by the way, is the least transparent president that we ve had in half a century, Democratic Representative Dan Kildee, a tax committee member, told BC s This Week. Democratic Representative Ben Ray Lujan noted that presidents for decades have voluntarily released their income tax returns. This is not political, as our Republican colleagues are making it out to be, he told Fox News Sunday. n attorney for Trump on Friday blasted House Democrats request for six years of Trump s personal and business returns as a misguided attempt to politicize the tax laws, accusing lawmakers of harassment and interference in IRS audits. In a statement that mapped out the legal battlefield ahead, Trump lawyer William Consovoy said the request filed by Neal flouts constitutional constraints. Snake boyfriend leads hunters to largest python in Florida Everglades Guardian News and Media Miami Snake hunters have captured what they say is the largest python ever found in the swamps of the Florida Everglades: a pregnant female 5.2m long and weighing 63.5kg. The team from the Big Cypress National Preserve posted news of their recordsetting catch in a Facebook post that also noted the giant reptile was carrying 73 eggs. Environmentalists have been struggling to find ways to eradicate Burmese pythons, a non-native species, from the 1.5mn acre wilderness since the 1980s, when some were released into the wild as overgrown pets. Others escaped from a breeding facility wrecked by Hurricane ndrew in Populations of raccoons, opossums and bobcats have fallen by between 88% and 99% as the python population has exploded, studies have shown, while several species of rabbits and foxes have all but disappeared. Experts believes tens of thousands of the snakes are currently slithering through Everglades waterways. ll of the python work at Big Cypress is focused on controlling this invasive species, which poses significant threats to native wildlife, the researchers wrote in the post. They also said the record-breaking python was snared after its position was given away by a boyfriend a so-called Judas snake. Using male pythons with radio transmitters allows the team to track the male to locate breeding females, they said. The team not only removes the invasive snakes, but collects data for research, develop new removal tools and learn how the pythons are using the preserve. They said their teams had been able to remove several other breeding females from the same area in recent months in partnership with the US Geological Survey. The record-breaking python outweighs a female captured in Big Cypress in December 2017 by snake hunter Jason Leon, which measured 5.2m and weighed 63.5, according to the Miami Herald. gencies responsible for managing the Everglades stage regular public python hunts and last year recorded their 1,000th kill, by a hunter who bagged more than 100. Other efforts to remove pythons have proved less successful. Everglades National Park scientists trained a beagle puppy named Python Pete to sniff out the snakes, but had to abandon the venture when Pete wilted in the heat of the Florida summer. In 2017, two renowned snake catchers from India s mountain-dwelling Irula tribe bagged only 33 pythons after chanting across the Everglades for two months. Big Cypress National Preserve volunteers pose with the 5.2m long female python. (Photo courtesy: Big Cypress National Preserve/Facebook)

11 Monday, pril 8, 2019 SI 11 Maldives ex-leader makes comeback with poll win FP Malé The former Maldives president yesterday vowed sweeping reforms and an end to government corruption after leading his party to a record landslide victory just five months since returning from exile. Mohamed Nasheed, 51, made a dramatic return to the top of the national parliament, with his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) securing more than two-thirds in the 87-member assembly. Nasheed promised to use his party s mandate to usher in a new era of stability and democracy in the Indian Ocean archipelago as it emerges from years of strongman rule, political crises and corruption scandals miring the government and judiciary. Our foremost duty is to bring peace to the government, Nasheed told supporters in the capital Male yesterday. Provisional results from the Elections Commission showed Nasheed s party won 68 seats with the Jamhooree Party a distant second, securing just seven. The party of former strongman president budulla Yameen trailed with only four. Nasheed s comprehensive victory was another rebuke for his arch-rival Yameen, who was dumped in a shock election defeat in September under a cloud of corruption and embezzlement allegations. Yameen did not run, but his party the Progressive Party of Maldives finished in third. The remaining seats were collected by minor parties and independents. Nasheed was barred from running in the presidential election but his former deputy, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, emerged triumphant over Yameen. The former leader declared the days of Rolex watches and Kohinoor are over, referring to high-profile scandals in the Maldives where MPs have allegedly been bought with luxury gifts, including gems. The parliament you have elected today possesses integrity, said Nasheed, who won a seat in the People s Majlis, or parliament representing a constituency in the capital Male. You desired to reform the general well-being of the nation... Hopefully we will succeed in fulfilling your wishes. Nasheed also vowed to transform the Maldives, a popular honeymoon destination home to 340,000 Sunni Muslims, into a parliamentary democracy. n executive presidential system was adopted under political reforms in 2008, when dictator Maumoon bdul Gayoom stood down after 30 years in power. Two of Gayoom s children contested this poll, but only one was successful in winning a seat. s the results trickled in Saturday, and Nasheed s victory was clearly within grasp, the dogged political veteran declared the Maldives was heading for a golden yellow dawn. Yellow is the colour of his party. Election officials estimated the final turnout to be 80%, less than the September presidential election but a record for a parliamentary poll. The official final results are expected later. President Solih, who has promised to investigate corruption allegations against Yameen, thanked voters for delivering a huge majority for the MDP. While we celebrate, we must also not forget the immense challenges that lie ahead of us, he said in a statement. Election commissioner hmed Shareef told reporters there had been no complaints of irregularities in the run up to the vote, during balloting or at the count. The thumping MDP victory caps a remarkable comeback for Nasheed, who until November Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed was a fugitive in exile. Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years prison in 2015 but left the Maldives a year later, after being granted prison leave for medical treatment in Britain. The charges were dropped by the Supreme Court after Solih toppled Yameen, with judges saying there was no basis for the charges. International rights groups had decried the terrorism conviction, imposed while Yameen was in power, as politically motivated and unjustified. The Maldives was on the verge of being slapped with Westernled sanctions before Solih won the presidential election on a pledge to end corruption in the country, best known for its luxury tourism. Nasheed has also opposed heavy borrowing from China under Yameen s administration, accusing the former strongman of mortgaging the island paradise to Beijing for infrastructure projects. Manipulation suspicions mount in Thailand s post-coup election King Maha Vajiralongkorn Thailand begins rituals for king s coronation next month Bangkok Thailand has begun rituals for the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn next month, with officials collecting water in ceremonies across the country for use in purification rites. The elaborate coronation for King Vajiralongkorn will take place over three days, from May 4 to 6, in the capital Bangkok with many Buddhist and Brahmin rituals performed in the month leading up to the event. The 66-year-old King Vajiralongkorn became Thailand s constitutional monarch following the death of his father, King Bhumibol dulyadej, in 2016 following a 70-year reign. His coronation was delayed until after the mourning period for Bhumibol, who was cremated in October Reverence for the monarch, who is also the sworn patron of Buddhism in Thailand, is central to traditional Thai culture. For most Thais, the coronation will be the first in their lifetimes. The water gathered on Saturday will be used for ablution of the king in the purification and anointment ceremonies on May 4 before the crowning ritual. The use of water is based on a Brahmin tradition that dates back to the 18th century coronation ceremonies, since the founding of the Chakri dynasty. Saturday was Chakri Day in Thailand, which observes the beginning of the dynasty. King Vajiralongkorn holds the title Rama X, or the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty. The waters were collected simultaneously between 11:52am to 12:38pm on Saturday times deemed especially auspicious in Thai astrology by senior officials from more than a 100 water sources across 76 Thai provinces. The ceremony was broadcast on all Thai television channels. The water, stored in traditional vases, will be blessed in Buddhist ceremonies at major temples around the country on pril 8 to 9, before being combined in another consecration rite at Wat Suthat, one of Bangkok s oldest temples, on pril 18. Vajiralongkorn is the second child of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit s four children and their only son. He was educated at private schools in Britain and ustralia before attending the Royal Military College Duntroon in Canberra. ccording to the official biography, he is a qualified helicopter and fighter pilot, who saw action against communist insurgents in Thailand in the 1970s. He holds the honorary military ranks of general, admiral and air chief marshal. Vajiralongkorn has spent a significant amount of his adult life abroad, mostly in Germany where he has a home. Bangkok Thailand s first general election since a 2014 army coup has been touted by the ruling military junta as a return to democratic rule, but two weeks after the vote, results are still unclear and allegations of manipulation are mounting. Since the March 24 vote, figures linked to a democratic front of opposition parties say they have come under increasing pressure from police and the military. The Election Commission has also indicated it would use a complex allocation formula for 150 party seats in the House of Representatives in a way that would likely dilute the opposition alliance s seats in the 500- seat lower house. The Election Commission has said it won t announce even provisional winners of the 150 party seats until May 9, saying it needs time to order by-elections and vote recounts as well as to disqualify candidates who broke election laws. But critics say the time gap allows the military-royalist establishment to manipulate results and disqualify opponents of the pro-army Palang Pracharat party that seeks to keep junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha in power as an elected prime minister. The leading opposition Pheu Thai party, made up of loyalists to army-ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, sees the delays and legal actions as an attempt to deny the democratic front enough seats in the House needed to block the main junta-linked party from unrestrained lawmaking power. fter the election... the majority of the people feels a sense of hopelessness and distrust for the election process, said Pheu Thai s secretary-general, Phumtham Wechayachai. The Election Commission s secretary-general, Jaroongwit Phumma, said the body is not helping the pro-military party. The election commission is neutral and adheres to the law. We don t take sides or help one particular party, Jaroongwit said. Palang Pracharat said it does not gain any advantages over opposition parties. It s completely false to say that the election commission is helping Palang Pracharat. This is an attempt to discredit us, the party s deputy spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said. However, opposition figures say they are being targeted. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of the youthoriented Future Forward Party which did surprisingly well in the vote, was charged on Saturday with sedition on a junta complaint dating back to 2015 a case that could see his party disbanded. Online campaigns have also cast Thanathorn as anti-monarchy, a serious crime in Thailand, where the monarchy is revered without question. Thanathorn denies being against the monarchy and all charges against him. It s the establishment s desire to stir hatred, fear, and mistrust among the people, creating legitimacy for the military to take over and stay on, Thanathorn said last week. The rules of the election were written in the mong the new provisions is that the Senate, the 250-seat upper house of parliament appointed by the junta, must approve the prime minister in a combined vote with the House, which previously solely voted on the premier. That means the junta-backed party and its allies have to gain only 126 seats in the House to install Prayuth as prime minister, while the opposition would BGB personnel carrying assault rifles disembark for deployment on Saint Martin s island, near the border with Myanmar, yesterday. BGB deployed at island near Myanmar FP Dhaka Bangladesh yesterday deployed heavily-armed border guards to an island near its southern border with Myanmar for the first time in 20 years, officials said. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) distributed images showing dozens of troops carrying assault rifles disembarking at Saint Martin s island, a small island in the Bay of Bengal that has caused diplomatic tensions between the neighbours. The BGB said the troop deployment was part of regular activities to ensure border protection and curb drug trafficking. But the force s lieutenant colonel, Sarker Mohammed Mustafizur Rahman, said it was the first time since 1997 their men had landed there. fter more than 20 years we felt we should deploy, he said. The deployment comes just two months after Bangladesh s foreign ministry summoned Myanmar s ambassador in Dhaka to protest the inclusion of Saint Martin inside their territory in some maps printed inside the Southeast sian country. He was also summoned in October last year, after a Myanmar government website depicted the island as within Myanmar s territory. Ties between the neighbours have soured since the Myanmar military launched a crackdown on the Rohingya minority in Rakhine, a troubled western state bordering Bangladesh. The operation has forced some 740,000 Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh since ugust 2017, transforming parts near the border into the world s largest refugee camp. need 376 votes for their potential candidate. Still, days after the March 24 vote, the democratic front claimed through its own calculations that it would gain at least 255 House seats not be enough to form a government but potentially allowing it to block the military-backed party from having free rein. Last week, however, the election commission indicated the complex formula to calculate allocation of the 150 party list seats will round up decimals to give seats to 11 small parties although their popular votes did not meet a previously described threshold required to earn even one seat. This is an irregularity that reflects an effort to block the democratic front from forming the next government, said Pheu Thai s spokeswoman Ladawan Wongsriwong. Widening the list would cut seats from top popular vote getters and could reduce seats for Future Forward from around 87 to 80, potentially hurting the democratic front s claim of House majority. It s an abnormal election from the outset. It s a game where the junta wrote the rules and appointed the referee, who is also acting abnormally, said Yingcheep tchanont, project manager at legal-monitoring group ilaw. Palang Pracharat has repeatedly said it reaps no benefits from the constitution. Sonthirat Sontijirawong, the Palang Pracharat secretary-general, has said the party would begin talks to form the next government only after the king s official coronation on May 4-6. The election comes after nearly 15 years of turmoil, during which conflicts between supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin and his establishment opponents manifested in street protests, violent clashes, and two military coups. On the eve of the vote, King Maha Vajiralongkorn made an unexpected statement, recalling a comment made by his late father on the need to put good people in power and to prevent bad people from... creating chaos. Six days later, the king revoked royal decorations that had been awarded to Thaksin, citing his 2008 corruption conviction and for fleeing the country to escape prison. The military also stripped Thaksin of a pre-cadet school s achievement award as well as deleting his name from the school s hall of fame. Rohingya rights group says air strike kills 20 INS Dhaka Rohingya rights group in Bangladesh yesterday said at least 20 people were killed and 50 were injured during an air strike on pril 3 by the Myanmar rmy on members of the ethnic group in Rakhine state, contradicting the government version of the incident. The rakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (RSPH) said innocent Rohingya villagers were gathering bamboo in streams near Phon Nyo Leke when Myanmar military helicopters flew low overhead and shot at ordinary Rohingya making rafts in the river, reports Efe news. t least 20 people were killed and over 50 were injured. Many people had arms and legs blown off by the bombs, the RSPH said in a statement. Headed by former school teacher Mohammed Mohibullah, the RSPH was formed by Rohingya following the exodus in 2017 to champion the cause of the persecuted Muslim community. The genocidal military issued a statement on pril 5, saying that only six Rohingyas were killed because they are working with a terrorist group, said RSPH. This is completely false information, it said, adding that it was evidence that the military continues to take every opportunity to clear all Rohingya from their homeland and complete the genocide that they started 40 years ago. The Myanmar rmy confirmed the death of six Rohingya, who according to the military, collaborated with the rebels of the rakan rmy (), during an air strike against a bastion of insurgents in the west of the country. The UN, which accuses the armed forces of intentional genocide for the operation against the Rohingya, indicated this week its deep concern about the recent clashes. Most refugees live under harsh conditions in Bangladesh s Cox s Bazar area, near the Myanmar border, that has become the biggest refugee camp in the world. Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingyas, a mostly Muslim minority, as its citizens and considers them Bangladeshi immigrants, although Dhaka has also treated them as foreigners.

12 12 Monday, pril 8, 2019 SI/USTRLSI Poll mania in Indonesia Taiwan demonstrators protest mayor s China-friendly visit Indonesia s presidential candidate Joko Widodo laughs as his running mate for the upcoming election Ma ruf min gestures at a carnival during his campaign rally in Tangerang, Banten province, Indonesia, yesterday. Some 192mn Indonesians are set to cast a ballot on pril 17 in the world s third-biggest democracy, with a record 245,000 candidates vying for positions from the presidency and parliamentary seats all the way down to local council jobs. DP Taipei Thousands of residents of Taiwan s southern metropolis Kaohsiung took to the streets yesterday to protest their newly elected mayor s seemingly China-friendly visit to a pro-beijing office in the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong. Mayor Han Kuo-yu of the China-friendly opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), inaugurated in December, visited southern China last month to sell agricultural products. On March 22, he secretly visited the People s Republic s liaison office in Hong Kong, sparking criticism. Beijing claims sovereignty over self-governing Taiwan and has threatened to retake the island by force if it makes any clear moves towards independence. The People s Republic has integrated the former European colonies of Hong Kong and Macau under its so-called One Country, Two Systems principle, which allows the cities to have a limited amount of freedom not possible in mainland China; Beijing s plan is to integrate Taiwan in the same way. Lin Fei-fan, a prominent democracy activist leading student protests in March 2014, said that, in Hong Kong, Han intended to confuse the international community. Han wanted to create a false image that Taiwanese people support the One Country, Two Systems principle set by China, Lin told to the crowd. In January, President Tsai Ing-wen said that Taiwan will never accept China s plan to apply the One Country, Two Systems principle to the island. Yesterday s Kaohsiung rally, themed Rejecting One Country, Two Systems and Building a new country, was attended by up to 5,000 demonstrators, including citizens, university students, rights activists, and political figures of different parties, according to the organiser Taiwan Citizen Front. Responding to the demonstration, Mayor Han said yesterday that he respects diverse opinions in society. Last week, Han told Kaohsiung city councillors that he opposed the One Country, Two Systems principle, stressing that his visit to China resulted in orders worth 3.8bn Taiwan dollars (US $123mn). Taiwan has had its own government since 1949, when the Chinese Nationalists fled there after losing a civil war to the Communists. Beijing considers the democracy part of its territory. Singapore s fake news laws upset technology giants FP Singapore Tech giants have reacted with horror after Singapore proposed laws against fake news allowing authorities to order the removal of content and impose hefty fines, in what critics say is an assault on free speech. The government unveiled a bill last week containing tough measures, including powers for ministers to order social media sites like Facebook to put warnings next to posts authorities believe to be false and in extreme cases take them down. If an action is deemed malicious and damaging to Singapore s interests, companies could be hit with fines of up to Sg$1mn ($740,000). Individuals could face jail terms of up to 10 years. uthorities in the tightly-controlled country long criticised for restricting civil liberties insist the measures are necessary to stop the circulation of falsehoods which could sow divisions in the multi-ethnic city-state. But press freedom groups condemned the proposals, saying they could stifle online discussion, as did tech companies which have big investments in the ultra-modern city. s the most far-reaching legislation of its kind to date, this level of overreach poses significant risks to freedom of expression and speech, said the sia Internet Coalition, an industry association whose members include Facebook, Google and Twitter. Simon Milner, Facebook s vice president of public policy in sia-pacific, said the social media giant was concerned about potentially being compelled to remove content. Giving people a place to express themselves freely and safely is important to us and we have a responsibility to handle any government request to remove alleged misinformation carefully and thoughtfully, he said in a statement. The Internet is a relatively free space in Singapore and there are some local alternative news sites, which are typically more critical of the authorities than the traditional, pro-government newspapers and TV. Singapore is among several countries pushing legislation to fight fake news, and the government stressed ordering corrections to be placed alongside falsehoods would be the primary response, rather than jail or fines. government decision can also be appealed to the courts. K Shanmugam, law and home affairs minister, said in a Facebook post that the proposed law targets false statements of fact not opinions, not criticisms. Ultimately, disagreement over truth and falsity will be decided by the courts. Google, Facebook and Twitter have their sia headquarters in Singapore, a city of 5.6mn which is popular with expats as it is developed, safe and efficient. But there were already signs of tensions with tech companies as the government prepared to unveil the laws. During parliamentary hearings last year about tackling online falsehoods, Google and Facebook urged the government not to introduce new laws. In November, Facebook refused a request to remove an article linking Singapore to a financial scandal in Malaysia which the government said was untrue prompting the law ministry to say the firm cannot be relied upon to filter falsehoods. Critics say one of the most worrying aspects of the new legislation is that it is up to authorities to decide what is false and what is not. While authorities insist decisions can be appealed, Kirsten Han, the Singapore-based editor of regional news site New Naratif, said most people do not have the resources or will to fight the government. Even if you are convinced that your Facebook post is in the right, how many average Singaporeans would appeal to the minister, and then spend thousands of dollars to hire a lawyer and file an application in the court? she told FP. Human Rights Watch has described the bill as sweepingly broad while critics note Singapore already has tough laws against sedition, defamation and disturbing racial harmony, that can be used to police the web. But it is not yet clear how the legislation which is likely to pass easily through the ruling party-dominated parliament will be used in practice, and some believe authorities will wield it cautiously. I think that the government will be very careful in their implementation of the law, said Professor ng Peng Hwa, from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information in Singapore. I think, in general, there s a very high level of trust in the government and its institutions by foreign entities, and so I don t see them... being too triggerhappy about the implementation of this bill. Dutch adventurer Wiebe Wakker outside the Petronas Twin Towers, on his electric car journey from the Netherlands to ustralia, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. China s virtual reality arcades aim for real-world success FP Shanghai Chen Jiuxiao puts on virtual-reality goggles and is immediately transported to a snow-covered ski slope, down which she slaloms without ever leaving Shanghai. I felt weightless skiing down the mountain, Chen, 25, gushes after re-emerging in the material world. The scenery around me was so authentic, she adds. Chen, a hospitality worker, said she ventured into one of Shanghai s VR arcades due to word of mouth from her tech-savvy friends. China had an estimated 3,000 VR arcades in 2016, and the market was forecast to grow 13-fold between then and 2021 to amount to 5.25bn yuan ($782mn), according to a joint report by iresearch Consulting Group and Greenlight Insights. dd in the profits to be made from headsets, equipment, games and other products, and it s little wonder that augmentedreality and virtual-reality industries are excited about China. Chinese growth in the next five years could see it dominate R/VR long-term and not by a small margin, Silicon Valley consultancy Digi-Capital said in a report last year. China has the potential to take more than $1 of every $5 spent in the industry globally by 2022, it added. One key factor is China s government. Tens of millions of Chinese have become obsessive players of mobile video games, causing concern that China was raising a generation of myopic youngsters addicted to battle games. uthorities imposed curbs last year on the number of new game releases and playing time for youths, rattling the industry and shaving billions off the market value of big players including gaming giant Tencent. But the government is pushing hard for China to become a world leader in next-generation technologies including artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. VR has been lumped into that favoured class, benefiting from a slew of preferential policies. Chen Wei, manager of Shanghai VR arcade Machouse said VR was likely to avoid the fate of mobile video games in China. He cites the relatively high cost of arcade play up to 70 yuan ($10) or more for a 15-minute game and of setting up home systems. It s hard for minors to get addicted, he said. The nascent VR games industry suffers from a shortage of high-quality games, however. t Shanghai s VR+ musement Park, a new game lands only once every three months, officials there said. Firms such as Tencent remain hesitant to dive in to the arcade scene until the sector reaches critical mass, analysts explained. But the company, along with fellow Chinese giants libaba and Baidu, is investing in virtual online shopping and VR entertainment, all of which could trickle down into gaming. lready a number of towns and cities in China have declared themselves incubator zones that are integrating VR into research, manufacturing, education and other spheres, luring in capital, according to Chinese reports. Seekers VR, which is based in the eastern city of Wenzhou and owns a franchised chain of 200 arcades in more than 70 cities across China, is working with the Wenzhou government to establish a college focused on educating students about VR and using the technology in lessons. There is no dominant competitor in the VR industry since it is so immature, and we will bring more and more opportunity, said Seekers VR s CEO Belle Chen. The expected wide-scale adoption in China of ultra-fast 5G networks is expected to further boost VR development, and foster growth in areas such as education and training, said Chen Wei. He said: There is no better way to learn skills, and at a lower cost, than VR. Even though VR is still educating users about what it is, it could explode someday. Dutchman ends world s longest electric car journey in ustralia FP Sydney Dutchman completed an epic 95,000km journey by electric car in Sydney yesterday in a bid to prove the viability of such vehicles in tackling climate change. Wiebe Wakker drove his retrofitted station wagon nicknamed The Blue Bandit across 33 countries in what he said was the world s longest-ever journey by electric car. The trip from the Netherlands to ustralia took just over three years and was funded by public donations from around the world, including electricity to charge the Bandit, food and a place to sleep. Wakker drove across a variety of countries and environments including Turkey, Iran, India, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia, with the route determined by the offers he received on his website. I wanted to change people s opinions and inspire people to start driving electric by showing the advantages of sustainable mobility, Wakker said. If one man can drive to the other side of the world in an electric car, then EVs (electric vehicles) should definitely be viable for daily use. Wakker said before the car was modified, it would have used 6,785 litres of petrol to complete the journey. The modified vehicle can travel 200km on a single charge, with Wakker saying he spent just US$300 on electricity, much of it in the remote desert Outback of ustralia. Sanctions delay plans for North Korea beach resort North Korea has again pushed back the construction end-date of a massive beach resort a move analysts say shows the regime is struggling from international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons programmes. The eastern seaside strip, known as the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist rea, is intended as a centrepiece of the isolated country s nascent tourism industry as Pyongyang seeks to develop its economy despite the tough economic measures. The site s construction has been closely overseen by leader Kim Jong-un, and was initially scheduled to open this pril, to mark the birthday anniversary of the country s founder Kim Il-sung. But in a recent visit to the site, Kim delayed the finish date for the second time, ordering construction to be completed by the same time next year, the North s official Korean Central News gency (KCN) reported yesterday. The decision, would allow the workers to perfectly finish it so that our people would fully enjoy themselves in the impeccable tourist area from the sea-bathing season next year, KCN quoted Kim as saying. The plan was first pushed back last ugust when Kim extended the project by six months to October The isolated North is under several sets of sanctions for its weapons programmes which analysts say has hampered efforts to secure materials needed to finish the vast beach complex.

13 Monday, pril 8, 2019 BRITIN 13 Mum weeps as medicinal cannabis for epileptic daughter seized Guardian News and Media London The mother of a nineyear-old girl with severe epilepsy wept as she had an illegal supply of medical cannabis confiscated by customs officials after entering the UK with the potentially life-saving medication that her daughter cannot access, despite changes in the law. Campaigner Emma ppleby flew to the UK from Holland on Saturday carrying three months worth of cannabis oil, valued at 4,500, for her daughter Teagan, who has a rare chromosomal disorder as well as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, which causes up to 300 seizures a day. It follows a similar course of action by Charlotte Caldwell last year, whose audacious attempt to challenge what she said were the UK s unjust laws helped pressure the government into legalising medical cannabis. She had the medicine returned within a week after her son Billy s seizures returned and he was admitted to hospital. ppleby, from ylesham near Dover, said she was devastated that she was not allowed to enter the UK with the appropriate medicine for her child, adding she had been passed from pillar to post trying to access it in the UK. This prompted her to secure a prescription in Rotterdam after her request for an import licence on compassionate grounds was refused. I m devastated. I ve always tried to do the right thing. I ve jumped through all the hoops but ended up being passed from pillar to post and being met with a flat no, she said. ll I want is the best thing for my daughter. To have the medicine taken in this way is deeply upsetting. But I will fight to get it back and fight so that other parents in the same situation as me don t have to go through this. On Friday, she said that a succession of pharmaceutical drugs and diets had failed to alleviate her daughter s symptoms, with a number of the medicines causing severe side-effects. Whilst the NHS and the medical professions are having arguments over what constitutes evidence, my child is suffering every day, she said. I am at my wits end. ppleby has met the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, who told her at a meeting in Westminster in March that he understood the frustration and pain among families and recognised something has to change, but he conceded practical changes need to be clinician-led. The law in the UK was changed last November to make access to medical cannabis legal, but parents have been struggling to secure prescriptions, in part due to reluctance within the medical community, with the Royal College of Physicians and the British Paediatric Neurology ssociation largely discouraging use of the medicine. Long delay could deal fatal blow to Tories: minister Guardian News and Media London Theresa May has been warned that a long delay to Brexit could deal a fatal blow to the Conservatives, with one minister claiming that participating in the European elections would be a suicide note for the party. The Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi told BBC Radio 4 s Today programme: I think it s important that parliament acts quickly now to decide what it is in favour of. We need to do that quickly because I think going into the EU elections for the Conservative party, or indeed for the Labour party, and telling our constituents why we haven t been able to deliver Brexit I think would be an existential threat. I would go further and say it would be the suicide note of the Conservative party. Zahawi said that if Labour and the government failed to find a joint approach, then MPs should be forced to find a compromise through a preferential voting system to find a solution before the European elections. Hopes of finding a Brexit deal with cross-party support faded after Labour claimed May had failed to offer real change or compromise during ongoing talks. Labour issued a statement urging May to come forward with genuine changes so her deal could finally win support in parliament. The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has denied the government has any red lines in the talks. t a meeting of EU finance ministers in Bucharest on Saturday morning, Hammond said: We should be open to listen to suggestions that others have made. Some people in the Labour party are making other suggestions to us; of course we have to be prepared to discuss them. Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at church, as Brexit turmoil continues, near High Wycombe, Britain yesterday. No-deal Brexit next week would not be so grim, says Leadsom Guardian News and Media London no-deal Brexit at the end of next week would be not nearly as grim as many believe, one of Theresa May s senior ministers has said, as both the government and Labour indicated that cross-party talks to resolve the situation remained deadlocked. ndrea Leadsom, the Commons leader, said preparations would mitigate many adverse effects of no deal. She also said the idea of a departure extension long enough to require the UK to hold European elections was utterly unacceptable. Her comments came as May used a video statement to talk up the hopes for ongoing crossparty Brexit negotiations with Labour, saying compromise on both sides could still deliver a solution. There is currently very little sign that May will travel to next week s emergency European council summit with the coherent plan the EU says will be necessary to grant the UK a further delay to Brexit, which is currently scheduled to happen on Friday. t the end of last week Labour said the talks called by May with Jeremy Corbyn and his team had achieved very little as the prime minister seemed unwilling to compromise on any of her Brexit red lines, notably on Labour s key demand for a post-brexit customs union with the EU. The shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, who was among the Labour delegation, said yesterday that while the mood of the talks had been quite a positive and hopeful one, little was achieved. The sad thing is at the moment we haven t seen, overall, any real changes to the deal, but we re hopeful that will change in coming days and we are willing to continue the talks as we know the government are, she told BBC One s The ndrew Marr Show. But we are currently waiting for the government to come back to us now to state whether they are prepared to move on any of their red lines. Speaking later on the same show, Leadsom indicated that it was up to Labour to accept the customs arrangement already in May s three-times-rejected deal, and that she and other Brexiter members of May s ministerial team could not accept a full customs union. There are various different types of arrangements, and those discussions are still ongoing, Leadsom said, calling May s existing customs plan an excellent proposal. sked whether May could agree to a full customs union, Leadsom indicated not. My expectation and I m not party to the discussions is that the prime minister will only seek to agree those things that still constitute Brexit. There has been speculation that MPs could force a vote to revoke rticle 50 entirely if the EU refuses another Brexit delay this week and a nodeal departure looms on Friday. Leadsom said she would never agree to this, and that no deal would be manageable. It s not nearly as grim as many would advocate, she said. The civil service have done an amazing job of ensuring that we minimise the problems. I m not an advocate for no deal, but it would not be nearly as bad as many like to think it would be. In her video posted yesterday on social media, filmed at her Chequers country retreat, May conceded her own Brexit deal seemed doomed as it had been rejected by MPs three times. Right now, as things stand, I can t see them accepting it, she said. Given this, May said she was talking to Labour despite disagreements in many other areas. Can we find a way through this that ensures that we can get a good deal and a deal agreed through parliament? she said. It ll mean compromise on both sides but I believe that delivering Brexit is the most important thing for us. Under the plan for the talks, if Labour and the government cannot agree a consensus then MPs could be asked to vote on various options, with the choice seen as binding. But Long-Bailey said Labour had heard nothing about how this could happen. We haven t had any discussions really as to what a next stage would be, and the government hasn t confirmed whether they want to adopt that approach or look at more flexible approaches. mid the impasse, the timetable ahead of Friday s Brexit deadline is tightening greatly, with time seemingly too short to allow a process of governmentsanctioned indicative votes by MPs before May goes to Brussels on Wednesday afternoon. May could instead travel compelled by parliament to seek a longer extension to rticle 50 than the new June 30 date she has sought, and which the EU has previously refused. Nerve agent victim meets Russia s envoy in London FP London British man poisoned along with his partner with a nerve agent, amid an assassination attempt on a Russian ex-spy in England blamed on Moscow, met its top UK envoy, according to reports. Charlie Rowley, 45, whose partner Dawn Sturgess died after exposure to the toxin, held a 90-minute meeting with mbassador lexander Yakovenko at Russia s embassy in London, the Sunday Mirror said. I went along to ask them why did your country kill my girlfriend? he told the tabloid newspaper. But I didn t really get any answers. I just got Russian propaganda, Rowley added, saying Yakovenko s explanations of Russian innocence in the plot were ridiculous. Rowley and Sturgess, a 44-year-old mother-of-three children, who lived near the city of Salisbury, fell ill on June 30 last year. uthorities determined they had been exposed to Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union during the latter days of the Cold War. The poison was contained in a perfume bottle that Rowley had found in Salisbury and given to Sturgess. She died eight days later but after two weeks in an induced coma, he was discharged from hospital. It followed former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia being left in critical condition after they were targeted with Novichok in Salisbury three months earlier. The pair survived and have made full recoveries, according to authorities. Western allies accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being ultimately responsible for the poisoning, which sparked dozens of diplomatic expulsions by both sides. British prosecutors in September issued arrest warrants for two alleged officers of Russia s military intelligence service, known as the GRU. But the Kremlin has repeatedly denounced the accusations as unacceptable. The ambassador kept saying the substance definitely wasn t the novichok they had made because if it was it would have killed everyone, Rowley told the Mirror. He (Yakovenko) kept on saying the British won t talk to him so he can t tell us anything that he hasn t read in the media, so he can only give his view. Russian TV station also reported the meeting, saying Rowley was eager for answers that Britain had failed to provide. Yakovenko gave him a book on the unanswered questions concerning the events in Salisbury and a tour of Russia s grand west London embassy on one of its most exclusive streets, it added. Prince William: goes undercover Prince William spends three weeks with spies FP London The name s Windsor. William Windsor. s one of the most recognisable public figures in the world, Prince William would not make as effective a 007 as legendary fictional spy James Bond. But that did not stop the heir to the British throne spending the last three weeks working with the security services, including in Bond s own foreign intelligence unit MI6. The Duke of Cambridge ended the top-secret attachment which also included a week with domestic intelligence service MI5 and cybersecurity agency GCHQ on Saturday, according to Kensington Palace. Spending time inside our security and intelligence agencies, understanding more about the vital contribution they make to our national security, was a truly humbling experience, William said in a statement. These agencies are full of people from everyday backgrounds doing the most extraordinary work to keep us safe. The prince, who has a military background, began the secondment at the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) better known as MI6 whose spies work around the world gathering information and furthering British interests. William, 36, got to see firsthand how SIS helps the UK identify and exploit opportunities as well as navigate risks to its national security, military effectiveness and economy, Kensington Palace said. The father-of-three then switched over to the Security Service MI5 to observe how counter-terrorism teams conduct investigations, including surveillance. The duke finished his foray into spycraft at the communications monitoring agency GCHQ in Cheltenham. There he spent time with those using cutting-edge technology, technical ingenuity and wideranging partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats, the palace added. GCHQ s head of counter-terrorism operations, whose name was given only as David, said the prince had worked exceptionally hard to embed himself in the team.

14 14 Monday, pril 8, 2019 BRITIN/IRELND NHS patients cancer scans cancelled after supplier problems Guardian News and Media London Concerns have been raised that problems related to the supply of a substance used to screen for cancerous cells is causing delays for NHS patients in England, with many exposed to repeated cancellation of scans at short notice. Choline is a radiotracer injected into patients an hour before PET- CT scans, predominately when patients are feared to have a recurrence of prostate cancer. Without it the scans cannot go ahead. The worries surrounding its availability come as waiting times for cancer patients in England are at a record high, with almost one in four patients not starting treatment within the two-month target period. Karen Stalbow, the head of policy, knowledge and impact at Prostate Cancer UK, said: Some men are facing lengthy delays in confirming their prognosis, as scans are repeatedly cancelled at short notice due to the shortage. This causes major stress and anxiety for these men, leaving some with little choice but to pay around 1,500 for a scan which uses PSM tracers as an alternative to choline. These scans are currently only available privately, with some men even travelling abroad to get access. NHS providers must take immediate action to ensure that PET- CT scans are available to all men with suspected prostate cancer recurrence, starting first with restoring the supply of choline and then progressing the commissioning of a more effective tracer. NHS England told the Guardian that problems with the supply of choline had been resolved. But Richard Taylor, from west London, who is going through a cancer diagnosis for the third time in two years, initially had a scan at University College London Hospital (UCLH) scheduled for the end of pril, more than three weeks after his appointment with his oncologist which should precede it because of unavailability of choline. Taylor said: Someone in the NHS should be ashamed of the unnecessary stress they re causing patients through a lack of reasonable forward planning to ensure essential tracers are reliable, easily available, and if a batch fails an alternative is quickly available. When you hear there are likely to be lengthy delays in getting a scan, you feel like not coming out from under the duvet in the morning, as your worst fears may be realised in the near future by the cancer spreading in the time it takes the NHS to put measures in place that your treatment may reasonably progress. UCLH had offered him a PMS scan as an alternative, privately for 2,200, but after the Guardian contacted the hospital it offered him the same scan the next day on the NHS. UCLH spokeswoman said: It is well-known that choline is a fragile tracer and its production can be relatively unreliable, leading to unpredictable shortterm cancellations. We have been working constructively with NHS England to address the choline production issues and they recently agreed to fund PSM scans for a limited period. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. bout one in eight men will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their lives, according to Prostate Cancer UK. Dr Wai Lup Wong, the chair of the NHS England cancer diagnostics clinical reference group, said: There is not a shortage of choline however, some patient scans were delayed last year when a supplier experienced difficulties whilst refurbishing one of its production sites. Javid defends removal of words European Union from passports Hat Walk Guardian News and Media London Sajid Javid has defended the issuing of British passports without the words European Union on the front cover despite the Brexit delay. The burgundy passports were introduced from March 30, the day after Britain was expected to leave the EU. The home secretary said the move was sensible and efficient because some passport centres had run out of the previous design. The government started issuing British passports without the words European Union from March 30 even though the UK still remains a full member of the bloc. It removed the two words from passport covers issued this week on the working assumption that Brexit day would have been 29 March. The move angered those applying for new passports who were hoping to hold on to an emblem of EU membership. Susan Hindle Barone, who was one of the first to receive the new-look passports, said: I was shocked because we haven t left the EU yet. I assumed we would get the same old passport. It s not so much about that but it s the first tangible sign of us leaving the EU. In response to a tweet from Barone, Catherine Sutherland said: I don t understand how the Home Office can do this while still in the EU though. On Friday, the Home Office issued a statement saying the removal of the words European Union was part of a two-stage redesign process that would culminate in the old blue British passports being reissued from late Burgundy passports that no longer include the words European Union on the front cover will be introduced from 30 March 2019, it said. Passports that include the words European Union will continue to be issued for a short period after this date. You will not be able to choose whether you get a passport that includes the words European Union, or a passport that does not. You will not be issued with a passport that includes the words European Union after the UK has left the EU. There will be no difference for British citizens whether they are using a passport that includes the words European Union or a passport that does not include the words European Union. Both designs will be equally valid for travel. The spokesman added that in order to use leftover stock and achieve best value for the taxpayer, passports that include the words European Union will continue to be issued for a short period after the March 30 when the new design passports came in. The Home Office said the inclusion of the words European Union was part of the policy of the EU but was not legally binding, and consumers who receive the new-look passports in the coming months have nothing to worry about. They are perfectly legal, it said. The decision to revive the old blue British passport became an emblem of the government s promise to take back control after the 2017 election despite the loss of Theresa May s majority. The then immigration minister, Brandon Lewis, said he was delighted to return to the iconic blue and gold design, which came into use almost 100 years ago. He said he knew many Remain voters who still had an attachment for and spoke fondly of the blue passport. Dark blue passports are scheduled to be issued from the end of this year. Javid said: It s true that some passport centres have run through their stock of UK passports with EU headers, and have started transitioning to those without. It s sensible and efficient management. There shouldn t be any surprises that almost three years after the country voted to leave, ukhomeoffice is getting on with implementing that decision. Participants pose for photographs as they take part in a Hat Walk during the London Hat Week in the capital yesterday. Car Wash app reveals 1,000 potential slavery cases Thomson Foundation London British drivers uncovered almost 1,000 potential cases of modern slavery at car washes in five months using the Safe Car Wash pp yet less than a fifth called the antislavery helpline to report their concerns, the creators of the app said yesterday. The free mobile-phone app was launched by the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Wales last June amid growing concerns that some of the estimated 18,000 hand car washes operating around the country are exploiting workers. The app with at least 8,225 downloads to-date allows drivers to enter their location then flick through a series of slavery indicators such as whether the car wash only accepts cash, workers living on site or if some of them seem fearful. If the answers indicate a high chance of slavery, users are directed to Britain s helpline. But only 18 % of people who were asked to call the service between June and December last year 126 users did so, according to a study of the app. The Clewer Initiative the Church of England s anti-slavery arm described the number of calls as disappointing while activists said the government rather than the public must take responsibility for combating labour exploitation at car washes. This kind of public awareness can be positive, although there can be some downsides in that the public isn t trained in the way that public officials are, said Caroline Robinson, director of Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX), a charity. The anonymity of an app is more appealing to people than a phonecall, she told the Thomson Foundation. If people are uncertain..which is understandable for a member of the public, they might not be certain enough to make a phone call. Britain is home to at least 136,000 modern slaves, according to the Global Slavery Index by rights group Walk Free Foundation a figure 10 times higher than a government estimate from While forced labour is rife among Britain s building sites, nail bars, factories and farms, car wash slavery has grown over the past decade with unregulated businesses sprouting up nationwide, according to charities and anti-slavery officials. parliamentary probe was set up in pril last year to investigate modern slavery in Britain s hand car washes. Thousands of workers in car washes are believed to be slaves mostly men lured from Eastern Europe then trapped in debt bondage, forced to work in unsafe conditions, stripped of documents and subjected to threats, abuse and violence. Car washes are one of the most common cause of concerns for callers to Britain s slavery helpline accounting for more than 550 calls last year compared with about 200 in 2017, according to Justine Currell of the charity Unseen that runs the service. I think what it suggests is that whenever we highlight a particular issue and it s more in the public conscience, there s more chance that people will pick up the phone, Currell said. Eighth TM ripped from wall in N Ireland Guardian News and Media Belfast Police are appealing for information after a cash machine was stolen in Dungiven yesterday, the eighth such robbery in Northern Ireland this year. digger, believed to be stolen from a construction site nearby, was used to rip the TM from the wall of a garage in Co Derry, leaving substantial damage to the building. In other similar robberies, the digger has been set on fire but in this case it was not. CCTV footage shows three men in balaclavas attacking the shop in the early hours of yesterday morning. The men are seen lowering the stolen TM into a van in a theft that takes just four minutes. The Citroen Berlingo is then seen driving off with the cash machine protruding out of the top of the van, which has its roof cut off. Police believe the series of thefts is linked to gang crime. Police Service of Northern Ireland detective inspector Richard Thornton said: Unfortunately, the public and the business community are waking to the news that another TM machine has been stolen; that another business has been targeted by these brazen thieves. The theft from the filling station on Feeny Road was reported to us just before 4.30am. On this occasion, the digger was not set alight and was located at the scene. The digger was found at the scene. Northern Irish police have set up a specialist team of detectives to investigate the thefts, the last of which took place on Wednesday in Castleblayney. Thornton warned that the attacks have stoked fear in the local community and local businesses. s in all of these TM thefts, the actions of these criminals have not only caused immediate financial harm to the business targeted, but they have understandably caused fear in the community and impacted upon a vital service many local people rely on. We are doing all we can to catch the people responsible it is a key priority for us however, I want to reiterate that the key to stopping these crimes and getting ahead of these criminals is information from the public. We need people to report anything suspicious, including seeing any unusual activity or people in areas close to TMs. For example, if you hear machinery late at night or in the early hours please let us know. If you see any cars being driven in a suspicious manner close to where TMs are located, please let us know. No matter how insignificant you think it is, call us and we will investigate. It could be key to catching the criminals responsible. Celebrations Members of the Cambridge men s boat crew throw their cox, Matthew Holland, into the River Thames as they celebrate their win in the 165th annual men s boat race between Oxford University and Cambridge University on the River Thames in London yesterday. Man confesses to killing girlfriend Daily Mail London maths graduate has admitted murdering the beautiful and talented girlfriend he travelled the world with. Joe tkinson, 25, was living with university sweetheart Poppy Devey Waterhouse, 24, in a Leeds flat when she was stabbed to death. Devey Waterhouse had a Master s degree in statistics and was working as an analyst with bookmakers William Hill when she was killed. tkinson, of Leeds, was due to go on trial later this year after initially pleading not guilty to murder, but appeared at Leeds Crown Court to plead guilty. Tearful relatives of tkinson and Devey Waterhouse were in court to hear him change his plea. He will be sentenced on Friday. The motive and circumstances of the murder have not yet been revealed. Photographs on their social media accounts showed the young couple enjoying themselves on trips across the world. Last year alone they visited the Greek island of Santorini, Belgium, Morocco, Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark. In 2017, they went backpacking for six months in South merica and the US and Devey Waterhouse also enjoyed trips to ustralia, Thailand and Indonesia. The couple met while studying mathematics at Nottingham University and both graduated with first-class honours degrees. Devey Waterhouse, who grew up in Frome, Somerset, stayed on to do her Master s degree before moving to Leeds with tkinson in Paramedics responding to a 999 call attended the block of flats where they lived shortly before 9am on December 14 last year. Devey Waterhouse was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering head and neck trauma. n inquest was told she had been stabbed. tkinson was arrested at the flat.

15 EUROPE Monday, pril 8, Seven convicted in French ir Cocaine smuggling trial FP ix-en-provence, France French court has sentenced seven people implicated in a drug smuggling operation to up to 18 years in prison each, with two ex-air force pilots getting six-year terms. Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos had fled the Dominican Republic following a raid on the private jet they were to fly to Saint-Tropez, southern France, but were re-arrested in France in November In what has become known as the ir Cocaine case, Fauret and Odos were accused along with seven other defendants of trying to smuggle 680kg (1,500 pounds) of the drug out of the country. Two were acquitted following a seven-week trial. Ringleader li Bouchareb was sentenced to 18 years in prison, while his right-hand man, Frank Colin, got 12 years. Only Bouchareb was held in detention during the trial while the other eight got bail. Colin was the only defendant who had admitted to taking part in the smuggling operation but claimed he was in fact an infiltrated agent. Dominican police found the drugs packed into 26 suitcases onboard a Falcon 50 jet as it was about to fly from the Dominican beach resort of Punta Cana to Saint-Tropez in March While out on bail, Fauret and Odos managed to flee the Dominican Republic to French territory in the Caribbean in mysterious circumstances, but were re-arrested upon their return to the French mainland in November They, along with two passengers, were found guilty in absentia and sentenced to 20 years in jail for drug-trafficking in the Dominican Republic in On Friday, five French magistrates deliberated for 11 hours before handing down the verdict. It s a scandal! It s political! There is no justice... screamed people close to the defendants as the verdict was announced. Former customs agent Francois-Xavier Manchet was sentenced to five years in jail and barred from working again as a civil servant. 131kg of cocaine found along coast More than 300 police officers backed by two helicopters yesterday mounted a massive search along Romania s Black Sea coast after 131kg (286 pounds) of cocaine washed ashore, police said. Police spokesman Georgian Dragan told FP that 14 boats and several frogmen were also involved in the search operation for more packets of the drug, which began arriving ashore on Friday. Romania s organised crime unit urged local residents not to open packets appearing on the beach whose contents could put their lives in danger. On March 20, more than a tonne of cocaine packed into 36 plastic bags apparently from the same shipment were found in a boat that capsized in the Danube delta. Two Serbians were arrested in connection with that discovery. round 200 more kilos were plucked out of the Black Sea last Tuesday, police said. KP to seek recount of all Istanbul ballots FP/ Istanbul Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan s party said yesterday that it is demanding a recount of all ballots cast in Istanbul, the country s economic capital, during last week s mayoral election after an opposition candidate claimed a slender win. The vice-president of the Justice and Development Party (KP), li Ihsan Yavuz, made the demand for a recount going beyond one already under way. The KP won most votes nationwide in the March 31 election, but results showed the ruling party lost nkara and was also narrowly defeated in Istanbul, in what would be one of their worst setbacks in a decade and a half in power. Today, we are going to take our case to the provincial branch of the YSK (supreme election board) to recount all the votes from all the (Istanbul) districts, said Yavuz. We chose the path to eliminate numerical mistakes. But it s not over, he told reporters in televised comments yesterday. Electoral authorities are already conducting a recount in scores of districts in nkara and in Istanbul, where tallies showed the opposition CHP candidate Ekrem Imamoglu just edged out the KP, represented by political heavyweight and former prime minister Binali Yildirim. On Saturday, party spokesman Omer Celik insisted that the KP would accept recount results in Istanbul as well as nkara, no This file photo taken on March 31 shows an electoral official preparing the ballots during the local elections in Istanbul. The ruling K party has said it will demand a recount of all ballots cast in Istanbul during the mayoral election won by an opposition candidate. recount is already under way in several of Istanbul s 39 districts. matter which party is declared the winner. Losing Istanbul, home to around one in five Turks, would be a blow to Erdogan, who built his political career as mayor of the city before becoming prime minister and later president. Most of the ballots currently being recounted are those which were listed as void in the March 31 poll. KP vice-president Yavuz offered a trenchant criticism of the count, complaining of flagrant irregularities and organised abuse something going beyond simple individual error. Pro-government media had already taken up that theme in recent days, denouncing what they termed a ballot box putsch and a plot. nalysts put the KP s poor showing in Istanbul and nkara primarily down to the poor health of the economy, as Turkey endures its first recession in a decade, 20% inflation, a slump in the value of the lira and joblessness of 13.5%. Ekrem Imamoglu, candidate for the main opposition social democratic CHP, topped the ballot with support of other anti- Erdogan factions. Imamoglu s margin was some 25,000 votes but Yavuz said that following a recount of 78% of void ballots, it had shrunk to less than 16,500. Both candidates received more than 4mnvotes. Imamoglu, now styling himself as mayor, accuses the KP of trying to play for time with its demands to revisit the results as a means of ensuring the spotlight is not turned in its stewardship of the municipal budget amid allegations that KP supporters benefit from cash funnelled via charitable foundations. Yesterday he urged the electoral board to remember that you have a historic responsibility 82mn Turks have their eyes fixed on you. Take the right decision, the one which will reassure voters, he said. KP spokesman Celik rejected what he termed such hollow conjectures and said appealing results was natural. fter Yavuz s revelation that the party was calling for all the Istanbul districts to be recounted, CHP official Mahmut Tanal tweeted that by multiplying their appeals... the KP is wasting time and energy and the time of Istanbul inhabitants. While the provincial election board probes Istanbul and nkara s poll outcome, further appeals could follow across the board. Many opposition groups do not believe in the statutory neutrality of electoral authorities and have pointed, for example, that none of several appeals by the pro-kurdish HDP party following the election was successful. Speaking shortly after Yavuz announced the KP s latest appeal, Imamoglu said it was time for the party to accept defeat. He also promised to reconcile this city and to work closely with the president. I understand the feeling of defeat of the people who demanded a recount, Imamoglu said. You managed this city for 25 years. It is not easy, you lost. But democracy is like that democracy is not a one-way path. Final round of Ukrainian presidential poll set for pril 21 Ukraine s election commission has officially set the second and final round of presidential elections for pril 21 after comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy emerged as the clear winner of the first round of voting. Zelenskiy, a 41-year-old famous for playing a fictional president in a popular television show, will take on 53-year-old incumbent President Petro Poroshenko. Both candidates support a pro- Western position for the Eastern European country. The first round of voting had a 62.8% turnout. Zelenskiy, a dark horse candidate who has never held political office, has distinguished himself from a political establishment that has struggled with corruption. Poroshenko has appeared slow in enacting expected reforms during his five-year term, as his government struggled with a pro- Russian separatist rebellion in Ukraine s easternmost regions. difficult campaign is expected for both candidates as more than 50% of Ukrainians did not vote for either of them in the first round of voting. The 30mn eligible voters had 39 candidates to choose from in the first round the most in the country s history. Serbian court has sentenced four former intelligence officers to decades in prison for the 1999 assassination of journalist Slavko Curuvija, a fierce critic of late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. Reporters Without Borders welcomed the historic decision, calling it the first sentencing by a Serbian court in recent history over the murder of a journalist. The heaviest sentences of 30 years were given to former secret police chief Radomir Markovic, who is already serving time for the killing of an opposition Winter is ending snowboarder takes part yesterday in the comic competition Californication 9.0 as he jumps into the ice water to mark the end of winter, at an entertainment centre near the town of Logoisk, Belarus. Serb spies jailed for journalist s murder FP Belgrade leader the same year, and Milan Radonjic, who was in charge of Belgrade s intelligence branch, Beta news agency reported on Friday. The court also gave terms of 20 years to former intelligence officers Ratko Romic and fugitive Miroslav Kurak, who was sentenced in absentia. The four men were found guilty of having on the orders of an unknown person killed the journalist Slavko Curuvija, Judge Snezana Jovanovic was quoted by Beta as saying. Curuvija was shot dead 14 times in front of his home in central Belgrade in pril 1999, during the North tlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) bombing campaign against Serbia aimed at stopping its crackdown on the ethnic lbanian population in Kosovo. t the time, he was the editor and owner of Dnevni Telegraf and Evropljanin, two of the leading independent publications in the country. His family has accused Milosevic, who was notorious for efforts to cripple critical media, of personally ordering the assassination. The justice system must continue its efforts and condemn all those involved, including the person who ordered Slavko Curujiva s murder, Pauline des-mevel, who leads RSF s EU and Balkan portfolio, said in a statement. Milosevic died in 2006 in a prison cell while awaiting a verdict in a United Nations war crimes trial for his role during the 1990s wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. More than a decade later, independent journalists are again facing threats and pressure in Serbia, whose current president, leksander Vucic, is accused of burgeoning authoritarianism. Last year, seven Serbian journalists were physically attacked and nearly 100 other media staff were threatened or put under pressure, according to the Independent ssociation of Journalists. Reporters Without Borders dropped the Balkan state 10 spots in its 2018 Press Freedom index, citing an alarming number of attacks on journalists as well as collusion between politicians and media. No independence for Catalonia: Sanchez FP Madrid There will be no independence for Catalonia, nor a referendum on the question if the socialists are returned to power, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told supporters yesterday. No is no, Sanchez told a Socialist Party meeting at Zaragoza, in the northeast region of ragon, ahead of the pril 28 legislative elections. If there is a socialist government, there will be no independence in Catalonia, there will be no referendum for independence and the Spanish constitution in Catalonia will not be violated that will not happen, he added. Sanchez s speech came after the socialists leader in Catalonia, Miquel Iceta, said in a newspaper interview that 65% of Catalans wanted independence and that democracy must find a mechanism to enable it. Iceta s remarks, to a Basque newspaper in late March, have been heavily-criticised by the right-wing opposition People s Party and led to allegations that Sanchez is preparing a deal with Catalonia s separatists. Mayor of Latvian capital suspended Riga Latvia s government has suspended Riga mayor Nils Usakovs, who is also the opposition s main candidate in next month s European Parliament elections, on suspicion of misusing more than $20mn of public funds. Usakovs, the leader of the pro- Russian Harmony party, denied any wrongdoing and said he would appeal. This is absolutely a pure, clear political decision, Usakovs told reporters. The environmental protection ministry, which oversees Latvia s local authorities, said that, as mayor, Usakovs had failed in his duty to ensure that public funds were properly spent, including 18.4mn ($20.66mn) related to the municipality s public transport authority. The decision is about good governance in the public sector, the environmental protection minister, Juris Puce, told reporters. In December last year, Latvia s anti-corruption agency, KNB, detained seven people on suspicion of corruption at Riga s traffic authority over the purchase of new trams, trolleybuses and buses. t the end of January, KNB agents also searched Usakovs s office and home in connection with the procurement deal. Usakovs told reporters on Friday that he had not been notified by KNB that he was suspected of any crime. Usakovs is the first mayor of Riga of Russian descent. He has tried to rebrand Harmony as a Western-style Social Democratic Party, toning down the links to Russia and focusing on issues as education and social inequality. The Social Democratic Party severed its official co-operation agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin s United Russia Party in 2017.

16 16 Monday, pril 8, 2019 EUROPE EU on fake news alert ahead of European polls By Cédric Simon, FP Brussels Will Russian trolls, merican social media giants and opportunistic fake news merchants combine to poison Europe s political landscape ahead of May s continent-wide election? Brussels fears that online disinformation will fuel the populist wave officials believe skewed the Brexit referendum and carried Donald Trump all the way to the White House. There are external anti-european forces, which are seeking openly or secretly to influence the democratic choices of Europeans, EU leader Donald Tusk warned recently. This was, he claimed, also the case with Brexit and a number of election campaigns across Europe. Between May 23 and 26, European voters will go to the polls to choose around 700 MEPs to sit in the Strasbourg EU parliament and oversee continent-wide legislation. In the final weeks of the campaign, officials are on alert fearing that opponents including Moscow will attempt to spread fake news, amplified by viral social media. This could in turn boost support for various populist insurgent parties, deepen existing divisions in the electorate and undermine faith in democracy or EU institutions. Some go as far as to call the phenomenon a state-led attack. There is strong evidence pointing to Russia as a primary source of disinformation in Europe, said EU Commission vicepresident and former Estonian premier ndrus nsip. Disinformation is part of Russia s military doctrine and its Tusk: There are external anti-european forces, which are seeking openly or secretly to influence the democratic choices of Europeans. strategy to divide and weaken the West, he warned, in December. Public trust in national and EU institutions and in the so-called mainstream media is already low, and web-users seeking cash from advertising clicks have found a market for fake news. dd to this state-led covert propaganda and the viral effect of US-based media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google s YouTube and you have a recipe for disruption. Mariya Gabriel, EU commissioner for the digital economy, brands this a an invisible scourge that intrudes into the lives of our citizens and influences our opinions and decisionmaking. In response to the perceived threat, the EU Commission has drawn up guidelines for member states, calling on them to support quality journalism or to work with independent fact-checkers. In March, it also set up an early warning system, so capitals can share information on co-ordinated attempts by foreign actors to manipulate the democratic debate in real time. The European External ction Service (EES), the Commission s foreign affairs arm, has a team of around 15, to detect and analyse misinformation campaigns targeting the EU. Their website, EU vs disinformation ( eu/), claims credit for refuting more than 5,000 items of fake news, mainly related to Russia. But the unit s resources remain modest. nd, as Paul Butcher of think tank European Policy Centre observes, involving state intelligence services or ministries like the EES in the campaign can be counterproductive. This fuels suspicions of censorship and plays into narratives of censorship and a culture war between the establishment and the people, he said, in a recent report. Better than state-led counterpropaganda, he said, structural resistance to disinformation can be built up through the efforts of civil society, NGOs and the private sector. European authorities have increased calls for online platforms to be more accountable for the content they push in front of millions of eyeballs. While some member states, such as France, have decided to legislate, the Commission is talking to Internet giants. Late last year Facebook, Google and Twitter signed a code of best practice with the Brussels authorities a world first, according to Gabriel. Under the code, the industry committed to transparency in political advertising, to close false accounts and to demonetise misinformation providers to stop paid adverts on suspect sites. The initiative has produced results, but the firewall of truth is far from impregnable, as the Commission itself admits. Far-right parties kick off election campaigns By Mathieu Foulkes, FP Berlin Right-wing populist parties are gearing up to campaign for European Parliament elections next month, but policy differences and the Brexit drama threaten their dream to unite the right. Many fear the May 26 vote will be a wake-up call for Brussels on the reality that Europe s antiimmigration and blood-and-soil patriotic forces have moved from the fringes to the mainstream. Once considered outsiders, they could now end up with one fifth or more of the seats, allowing them to shift the tone of political discourse and make a claim for legitimacy. Key players are Marine Le Pen s National Rally (NR) in France and the Italian League of Matteo Salvini, who is hosting a meeting of like-minded right-wing groups in Milan today. In the EU s top economy, the lternative for Germany (fd) has become the biggest opposition party by railing against Chancellor ngela Merkel and her 2015 decision to allow a mass influx of asylum seekers. The fd launched its election programme in the southwestern city of Offenburg on Saturday, calling for a Europe of fatherlands and opposing the EU s immigration, financial and climate policies. This European campaign is a campaign about identity, said Party co-leader lexander Gauland. The European Union is not a state, it doesn t need a parliament, he added. Despite financial scandals the fd enjoys the support of 10% of voters, according to opinion polls, with its popularity highest in the former East Germany. Today in Milan, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini will follow up and gather allies from across Europe to try to lay the foundations for a future hard-right grouping in the now 751-member European Parliament. Salvini and Le Pen also agreed to call another meeting in May, after they met in Paris on Friday, a NR source said. The leaders are considering a common manifesto to close the electoral campaign and announce This picture taken on January 28, 2016 shows Salvini (right), Le Pen, and ustrian far-right leader Heinz-Christian Strache giving a thumbs up at the end of the Europe of Nations and Freedom meeting in Milan. the start of a new Europe, said a spokesman for Salvini. So far, Europe s right-wing nationalists have been divided into three blocs and a tangled web of alliances in the legislature that moves between seats in Brussels and the French city of Strasbourg. They are the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group, which includes the RN and League, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), and the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD). The dream of Salvini and of Steve Bannon, the former adviser to US President Donald Trump has been to unite the disparate patriotic forces and form an international of nationalists. However, so far such efforts have met with only limited success, in part because the parties nationalist focus runs counter to a multi-national approach. nother problem for the groups has been that, despite their shared dislike for immigration, multiculturalism, the left and the EU, they remain divided on other key issues. On economic policy, the fd and their Scandinavian allies tend to believe in the market economy, while the French RN favours a more protectionist and statist approach. While Italy s League, Poland s PiS and Hungary s Fidesz highlight Europe s Christian cultural roots, the RN has shied away from taking a similar stance in a country where the majority is in favour of secularism. nd even on immigration, Salvini s League favours an EU-wide redistribution of asylum-seekers while others demand an outright stop to immigration. On relations with Russia, Salvini has praised President Vladimir Putin, a view not shared by Poland s governing party. The fd s top candidate Joerg Meuthen said that he expects big gains for nationalist parties but that they will have trouble forming a patriotic alliance with a common agenda. There are also strategic deliberations. Hungary s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has voiced admiration for Salvini but was considered unlikely to come to the Milan meeting given his Fidesz party still belongs to the centreright European People s party (EPP) group, despite its temporary suspension. Meanwhile, most parties have also toned down their anti-eu rhetoric as the Brexit debacle has made the prospect of leaving the bloc look far less appealing. Le Pen renounced a Frexit after the 2017 presidential election and her disastrous debates against Emmanuel Macron, while Germany s fd has downgraded a Dexit scenario to a last resort. Still, the potential of the farright must not be underestimated, said Sven Hutten, political scientist at Berlin s Free University. He warned that such groups target 15% to 30% of the population and that at the moment the populist right is fighting for unity and to build a single bloc. Uproar over Dutch rail victim fashion warning campaign FP The Hague campaign by the Dutch railway infrastructure operator to shock young people into responsible behaviour near rail tracks using ripped clothes to symbolise the mangled garb of victims hit by trains unleashed uproar over the weekend. Operator ProRail said it used the controversial images to show the potential consequences of straying too close to railway lines. But their Victim Fashion created by accident strapline, accompanying ripped clothing was widely branded as shocking. I have expressed our surprise, displeasure and horror to the management of ProRail, The Hungarian State Opera has come up with a dubious way round a stipulation that George Gershwin s opera Porgy and Bess be performed by an all-black cast: it is allegedly asking its white, Hungarian singers to sign a paper saying that they identify as frican- merican. The company first put on the opera a year ago, leading to a spat with the Gershwin estate, which the head of Dutch rail operator NS Marjan Rintel told NP news agency, while drivers and politicians were also highly critical. ProRail, which manages Dutch track infrastructure, launched the campaign on Thursday, showing replicas of badly ripped garments some missing an entire shirt sleeve or trouser leg. Other photos show shredded shoes and dresses. ProRail says that the shocking images are necessary to wake young people up and give them a shake. The company said: Sadly, bad things still happen too often on and around railtracks because of lack of attention and recklessness. It added it had deliberately set out to shock in a campaign aimed at 12- to 18-year-olds. stipulates the opera should only be performed by a black cast. The show is back for another run of six performances, the first of which was performed on pril 5. Hungarian media have speculated that the opera house may be using illicitly made photocopies of the scores that were rented for the original performances last year, as they do not have permission to play the show with a non-black cast. The Hungarian website Index reported that before the pril 5 performance, singers had been These handout photos released by ProRail show replicas of torn clothing, worn by people killed and injured in railway accidents in the Netherlands, as part of a campaign to encourage young people to be safer around railways. asked to sign a paper with the following text: I, the undersigned, hereby state that frican-merican origin and identity are an inseparable part of my identity. Because of this I am especially glad to be able to perform in George Gershwin s opera, Porgy and Bess. The source told Index that most singers had signed the paper and that while the management saw it as a joke, some people were worried that not signing it could affect their future at the opera house. Deaths on and around Dutch railtracks have steadily increased in recent years, doubling from six in 2016, to 12 in 2017, and 17 last year with minors among the fatalities. ProRail said many accidents are down to people s attention being fixed on their smartphones. While Rintel notably said he felt the nature of the campaign went too far, the minister of infrastructure, Stientje van Veldhoven, was slightly more measured in his criticism. Programmes on sale in the foyer had a red notice emblazoned on them, which stated: The manner in which this production of Porgy and Bess is being produced is unauthorised and is contrary to the requirements for the presentation of the work. The opera house s contention is that in a country such as Hungary, enforcing the all-black cast rule essentially makes the work impossible to perform. That justification has won sympathy among many Hungarians. Everyone favours less dangerous behaviour around railway tracks. nd communication on this subject is important. But the campaign as it has been The debate has also become part of the culture wars over liberalism, a dirty word in Prime Minister Viktor Orban s nationalist Hungary. The general director of the Hungarian State Opera, Szilveszter Okovacs, declined to comment on the alleged request to singers, referring the Guardian to answers he gave to Index, which were in fact a series of his own questions about black identity. They included: What colour is black on the Pantone scale? ; One of Barack Obama s organised is unduly harsh for drivers (notably those who have witnessed accidents) and the relatives of those killed on the tracks, the minister said. Opera cast asked to say they identify as frican-merican By Shaun Walker Guardian News & Media grandparents was white, do you think it would be right if he performed in Porgy and Bess? ; and, Would you remain calm if you paid for a product displayed in the shop window, but the shop assistant informed you that you cannot buy it because you are not black? The opera house was also in the news last year when it cancelled 15 performances of the musical Billy Elliot, after rightwing media launched a campaign against the production, claiming it could turn children gay. Tycoon at heart of spying scandal arrested FP Madrid fugitive Polish multimillionaire at the heart of an eavesdropping scandal that contributed to the ruling Civic Platform liberals losing elections in 2015 has been arrested in Spain, police said. Marek Falenta was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in Poland in December 2016 for setting up an eavesdropping system in swanky restaurants in Warsaw that saw waiters record conversations between businesspeople and politicians. That led to a major scandal that erupted in 2014 with media publishing extracts of incriminating conversations including Poland s then foreign minister who allegedly slammed Warsaw s alliance with the United States as worthless. The scandal contributed to the ruling Civic Platform losing in 2015 to the conservative opposition Law and Justice party now in power. While not identifying him by name, Spanish police said in a statement that they and some of their Polish counterparts had arrested a multi-millionaire wanted by Warsaw in a luxury apartment in the eastern seaside town of Cullera. Poland s Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski confirmed in a tweet that the man arrested was Falenta, a businessman.

17 INDI Monday, pril 8, Facebook under fire for physical verification of user for his post INS New Delhi Facebook, facing the election heat in India and unable to stop misinformation and fake news circulating on its platforms, is busy doing something never heard of: Sending its representatives to users home to verify if the post with political content was actually written by them. INS has contacted one such Facebook user in New Delhi who was recently visited by a Facebook representative for the verification process related to the content the user had posted. It was like the cops coming to your door for passport verification. The Facebook representative asked me to prove my credentials by asking for my adhaar card and other documents to understand if I am the one who had posted the political content, the person who did not wish to be named told INS. The user was left stunned to see a Facebook representative landing at his home for inquiring about a post. It was a shocker for me. How come a social media platform does that to a user? What about a user s privacy? I have never heard of any such incident anywhere. Was this at the behest of the government? asked the user. INS sent a couple of mails to Facebook for their version but to no avail. This kind of behaviour has not been seen or reported earlier even at the global level as several countries have gone through the elections with Facebook trying its best to curb misinformation. ccording to legal experts, physically verifying a user is unprecedented and called for tough action against the social media platform. This action, if true, clearly infringes upon the privacy of a user. Sending a representative to physically verify a user is a blatant invasion of his or her privacy space. Only the state can act like this under proper laws, Pavan Duggal, India s top cyber law expert and a senior Supreme Court lawyer, told INS. Facebook, Duggal said, can at best discontinue a page, group or delete the post, or remove the user from its platform as it has done in the past. When it comes to those who want to run political ads on Facebook, the company checks the residency of advertisers either by physical verification (by sending someone to the address provided) or by sending a code in the post. Facebook has partnered with external agencies for physical verification of the location of the advertisers. To be approved by Facebook, one needs to have a residency in India and the verification process takes around four to five days, says the company which has close to 30 crore users in India. But physical verification of a user is gross violation and unwarranted under the ambit of the Information Technology ct, In such a scenario, the user can sue Facebook and even the government for allowing such activities under its nose that infringes on the privacy of a user, Duggal noted. The world s largest democracy goes to polls from pril 11 and the social media giant is scrambling for solutions which are few. Over 200 fake Facebook groups and pages with more than one lakh followers are currently influencing the group members and followers with biased political content, say social media experts. Facebook-owned Whatspp is another platform where more than 87,000 groups are targeting millions with political messaging. Enforcement actions must be neutral, EC tells govt Jallianwala Bagh massacre anniversary INS New Delhi The Election Commission yesterday told the central government that all enforcement actions to curb electoral malpractices should be neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory and demanded that Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) should be informed about the use of illicit money for electoral purposes. The development comes against the backdrop of Income Tax Department teams yesterday carrying out raids at over 50 places in Indore and Bhopal, including the residence of Chief Minister Kamal Nath s aide Praveen Kakkar, and in New Delhi. In a letter to the Revenue Secretary, the Commission said use of money power with the intention of influencing voter behaviour was the biggest challenge for conducting free, fair, ethical and credible elections, thus undermining the very fabric of the democracy. Saying all enforcement agencies must be working under the administrative control of the Department of Revenue, the Commission said it would strongly advise that all enforcement actions during the election period should be absolutely neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory. Further, in case of suspected use of such illicit money for electoral purposes, the CEOs should be kept suitably informed during the MCC (Model Code of Conduct) period, the letter said. Congress president Rahul Gandhi yesterday announced that his party will waive off interest on education loans issued before March 31, 2019 if it comes to power after the Lok Sabha elections. He also promised to introduce the single-window system for education loans. Till the time the student has not landed a job, the banks will not charge any interest, Gandhi said in a Facebook post. The Congress, in its recentlyreleased manifesto for the 2019 polls, promised autonomy to universities, adequate funds, reservations and student rights to gain popularity among the young voters. But, it did not mention anything regarding student loans. The latest announcement is indicatively targeted at the middle class, which has the highest volume of student loans. It is also in sync with the claims of the manifesto that India needs more universities. Congress promises to establish more public universities in the country, especially in under-served areas. We promise to restore the autonomy of colleges and universities, said the manifesto. The manifesto also promised that it will separate organisations to ensure the regulation, grading and funding of colleges and universities. We will provide the University Grants Commission or its successor with sufficient funds to make liberal grants to colleges and universities, based on need and merit, it said. The Bharatiya Janata Party yesterday drafted a team of 52 magicians to crisscross all the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in Gujarat to campaign for the party, backed up by an equal number of digital LED raths (chariots) which were set rolling with a message to elect Prime Minister Narendra Modi again. Phir ek baar, Modi sarkar is the theme of the campaign which will focus on creating awareness about the works undertaken by Modi s government. ccording to state BJP spokesperson and former legislator Bharat Pandya, two teams of magicians each would travel through rural areas in all the 26 constituencies and highlight, through various ways of entertainment, the people-oriented works and schemes of the BJP government. Visitors gather near the Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in mritsar yesterday. The mritsar massacre, also known as the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, took place on pril 13, 1919, when British Indian rmy soldiers on the direct orders of their British officers opened fire on an unarmed gathering killing at least 379 men, women and children, according to official records. I-T raids on Kamal Nath s aides raise political storm INS Bhopal Pre-dawn raids at the homes and offices of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath s aides and relatives yesterday have raised a political storm in the state. While Kamal Nath maintained a stoic silence on the day s developments, one of his former officers on special duty (OSD), Bhupendra Gupta, said the raids were obviously politically motivated and that their timings could only recoil on the Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP leaders, quite predictably, expressed happiness over the shock value of the action. Former minister and BJP leader Narottam Mishra alleged that one person had earned Rs100 crore through his 100 days in office and the Lok Sabha elections would ensure the people bid goodbye to his party. However, Mishra did not reveal how he arrived at the figures mid-way through the raids. Searches were conducted on at least 50 premises in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh against people linked to Kamal Nath. Raids were also carried out at Kamal Nath s former OSD Praveen Kakkar s residences in Indore and Delhi s Green Park. Premises of another former OSD of Kamal Nath, Rajendra Miglaani, in Madhya Pradesh were also searched. The homes of executives working for Moser Bayer, the maker of computer peripherals, owned by Kamal Nath s brother-in-law, were also targeted. Reports suggested the raids were linked to leaks by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over commissions paid in the gustawestland VVIP chopper case. Kamal Nath s nephew Ratul Puri, questioned by the ED a couple of days ago, accepted the action without any fuss. He said he had no link whatsoever with the gustawestland deal. Even Kamal Nath was unruffled by the questioning. Former police officer Kakkar and Miglani had resigned from their posts after the Lok Sabha polls were announced. Kakkar s residence in Indore s Vijay Nagar was searched by 15 police officers from Delhi who landed there at about 3am. The officers claimed to have recovered some incriminating documents, which were being scrutinised, sources linked to the Indore police said. The state police were reportedly kept in the dark about the raids. Kakkar had earlier served as the OSD to former federal minister Kantilal Bhuria during the Congress regime. His family is associated with several businesses, including hospitality. The police said the searches were conducted in Goa also. Raids were also being carried out against a Kolkata-based businessman, Paras Mal Lodha. Kamal Nath has several businesses in Kolkata. Govind Singh, minister for General dministration in the Madhya Pradesh government, said the actions reflected character of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which can t tolerate those who oppose them. He said one classic example of the Modi government s vindictive nature was when its officials searched the premises of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh during his daughter s wedding. Congress spokesperson K K Tiwari said yesterday s raids showed that government agencies were being misused for political reasons. But the top BJP leadership would not succeed in demoralising the state government, he added. The Congress would take appropriate action at the appropriate time to deal with such misadventure. This bunch of thieves should not try to teach us political conduct, Tiwari said. Meanwhile, Kamal Nath s office said the chief minister would continue to co-operate with the agencies. It was the first time that the tax officers were accompanied by Central Reserve Police Force troopers. Orders for armoured cars rise ahead of mother of all elections FP Jalandhar The mechanics retrofitting cars with blast-resistant doors and bulletproof windshields in a Punjab garage have been flat out of late - elections are looming, and politics can be a dangerous game in India. In the past, prime ministers were assassinated, political motorcades ambushed and party officials attacked, and some candidates aren t taking any chances. Orders for specialised armoured cars have been piling up at Sunchit Sobti s factory in Jalandhar, where his crew have already retrofitted four SUVs for political bigwigs since the upcoming poll - the biggest election in history - was announced a few weeks ago. It s a pattern that repeats itself every election season, said Sobti, whose father started supplying armoured cars for politicians and other VIP clients in the 1980s when an armed insurgency was raging in Punjab. This one is the mother of all elections, he told FP, as sparks flew from welding equipment on the factory floor. Like all big events, there are bigger risks involved and leaders want to ensure they are safe. We have been working on orders for months. It was not just political candidates keen to bullet and blast-proof their cars but party bookkeepers and backroom heavyweights too, he added. t least seven rival companies contacted by FP, in northern Punjab, neighbouring Haryana and also Maharashtra state, have also experienced a spike in election-related orders for armourplated vehicles. The market for such cars in India is worth $150mn a year and growing by double digits, industry representatives said. Companies like Mahindra & Mechanics work to make an SUV bulletproof at the Laggar Industries workshop on the outskirts of Jalandhar. Mahindra, and Tata Motors also offer a small range of pre-made armoured vehicles for civilian use. The outlay is considerable for reinforcing a private vehicle, costing anywhere between $7,000 and $70,000. It can take weeks to bolster a car with imported ballistic glass and steel plates able to withstand grenade fragments and gunfire, and even longer for the permission needed to put the car on the road. But for some, it is a price worth paying. Success and jealousy knock at you together, said one Punjabi state lawmaker who last year had his SUV armour-plated. He declined to be named. You can t even trust your friends, forget about enemies. I can t compromise on my safety. India has a history of political violence, with particular bloodshed around election time as competition intensifies between the country s hundreds of registered parties, who field thousands of candidates at state and national polls. More than 100 politicians or party officials were murdered in 2016 alone, the latest figures from India s National Crime Records Bureau show. rmed insurgencies simmer in at least nine states, from Kashmir to the jungles of the country s interior, creating risky conditions for party officials and their candidates on the hustings. Twenty-five Congress politicians were murdered in an ambush on their convoy in 2013 by Maoist rebels in Chhattisgarh, as the restive central state prepared for regional elections. Even in regions free of rebel uprisings, feuds between political rivals can turn deadly. In February a regional lawmaker in West Bengal was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the country s east. More than two dozen political figures from warring parties have been killed in Kerala in the past three years. Sometimes politicians themselves have violent records, with two dozen winning candidates in the last general election in 2014 possessing murder or attempted murder charges. s campaigning gets under way for the 2019 contest - voting starts on pril 11 and spans nearly six weeks, with 900mn people eligible to cast ballots - security is again a central concern for the monumental poll. In trouble spots, candidates are escorted by police as they drum up support. But former Delhi police chief Maxwell Pereira said the overwhelming majority of politicians never faced any danger, and it was the state s responsibility to ensure protection for at-risk officials. Only police should make a call on whether they require personal protection or armoured cars, after assessing if there is a credible threat, Pereria told FP. That is not stopping candidates from taking matters into their own hands and turning their cars into tanks as polling day draws near. We want our customers and leaders to be safe, said Narinder Singh, a mechanic at Sobti s workshop in Punjab.

18 18 Monday, pril 8, 2019 INDI Nizamabad to create history with 12 EVMs in each booth INS Hyderabad Nizamabad in Telangana is all set to create history in India s parliamentary elections with polling to be conducted with 12 big-sized electronic voting machines in every polling booth as the voters have to choose from a whopping 185 candidates. Nizamabad, going to polls along with 16 other Lok Sabha seats on pril 11, will become the first constituency in the country to see polling with EVMs for such a large number of candidates. mong the candidates are 178 farmers who entered the race to highlight the demand for remunerative prices for their produce. It was thought the Election Commission (EC) would opt for ballot papers as an EVM can accommodate a maximum of only 64 names. The poll panel, however, decided against the use of ballot paper and ordered Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) to supply 26,820 EVMs, 2,240 control units and 2,600 Voter-Verified Paper udit Trails (VVPT). With just three days left, election authorities and engineers are racing against time to make fool-proof arrangements. Each polling station will have 12 EVMs, all connected to a single control unit and a VVPT. These EVMS will be arranged in L shape with each machine carrying a maximum of 16 names. Officials said arrangements would be made for the smooth conduct of polling in all 1,778 polling stations and they have set up a model polling station in the town to create awareness among voters about the polling system. Engineers of ECIL and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) were busy checking the EVMs and conducting mock-polling. However, EVMs alone are not likely to solve the problem in conducting the polls as the farmers, contesting as independents, complained that they were yet to be allotted the symbols. They urged Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rajat Kumar to postpone the polling as it would take a few days for them to popularise these symbols among voters. Some farmers have also approached the High Court seeking postponement of the polls to enable them to campaign and educate people about their respective symbols. Their petition is likely to come up for hearing today. The authorities are allotting a record 186 symbols including a symbol for None Of The bove (NOT) option. The farmers argue that the polling process can t be completed smoothly as it would take four-five minutes for every voter to locate the symbol of the candidate of his choice and press the button. The constituency, with over 15 lakh voters, attracted national attention with over 200 candidates filing nominations. majority of them were turmeric and red sorghum farmers, who wanted to register their protest over the failure of the state and central governments to ensure them higher remunerative prices and address other issues. fter scrutiny and withdrawal of nominations, 185 candidates remained in the race. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao s daughter K Kavitha is seeking re-election from the constituency. The Congress Party s Madhu Yashki Goud and the Bharatiya Janata Party s D rvind are the other major contestants. Modi and Yogi both must go, says Mayawati at alliance rally INS Deoband, Uttar Pradesh Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, Samajwadi Party leader khilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal s chief jit Singh yesterday declared war on both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress saying they were two sides of the same coin. ddressing their first joint rally in Uttar Pradesh, the three leaders particularly warned Muslims against supporting the Congress, alleging that the grand old party would only end up splitting anti-bjp votes in the Lok Sabha elections. Mayawati and Yadav were sharing a common public platform for the first time in years. Speaking first at the Jamiya Tobbiya Medical College ground, former chief minister Mayawati was at her aggressive best as she said that removing Prime Minister Narendra Modi alone was not enough and that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi dityanath must also go. Our gathbandhan (alliance) is winning and the BJP is going, provided they don t tamper with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Mayawati said, adding that the voters would end the drama of chowkidari. Modi had not fulfilled even one-fourth of the promises he made in the 2014 Lok Sabha battle that brought him to power, she said. The prime minister had also failed to protect the borders, she added, citing increasing instances of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Mayawati did not spare the Congress either, calling its election manifesto hawa-hawai (just air). khilesh Yadav said that both the BJP and the Congress pursued the same policies. Not a single vote should be divided. Both these parties are the same. There is not much difference between them. Speaking on the alliance, which has emerged as the most potent challenger to the BJP, he said: This coalition is to provide a new prime minister. Yadav slammed the Congress, saying the party does not want change. The SP chief raised questions about the promises made by the Modi government in the last Lok Sabha battle and accused the prime minister of speaking lies. In the last Lok Sabha elections he (Modi) was a chaiwala (tea boy) and now he is a chowkidar (watchman). RLD s jit Singh called the BJP anti-farmer and alleged that it had come to power by creating communal tensions. The BJP has done nothing in the last five years. Today even the farmers are saying that their crops are being gobbled up by Modi and Yogi. But the situation is changing and the ouster of the BJP is a certainty now. BSP s Fazlur Rahman is contesting the election from the Saharanpur Lok Sabha constituency, which will go to the polls in the first phase on pril 11. The BJP swept the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, winning a staggering 71 of the 80 seats. n ally won another two. The Congress won two seats and the Samajwadi Party five. The BSP drew a blank. In other election-related news, the Election Commission said yesterday that Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi, the BJP candidate in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, violated the model code of conduct by seeking votes in the name of religion. fter Thrissur District Collector T V nupama on Saturday served a notice to the Rajya Sabha member for his Friday speech in an election campaign in which he allegedly sought votes in the name of the Sabarimala temple, Kerala s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Tikka Ram Meena said he approved the collector s move. This irked both Gopi and the BJP. BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan accused the collector of trying to appease Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to supporters during a campaign rally in Cooch Behar in West Bengal yesterday. BJP, Congress sharpen attacks as vote nears gencies New Delhi The Bharatiya Janata Party and the main opposition Congress put the finishing touches to their election campaigns yesterday, sharpening their attacks before voting begins next week in the biggest election in history. There are 900mn people eligible to vote in the poll, which starts on Thursday and lasts nearly six weeks, with results to be announced on May 23. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second term but faces opposition from Congress Party chief Rahul Gandhi, who is urging voters to look at the prime minister s economic record and turf him out. But Congress faces a formidable opponent in Modi, with polling showing support for him is higher now than in 2014 when the BJP won an outright majority. survey by the New Delhibased Centre for the Study of Developing Societies found 43% of respondents wanted Modi back as leader, compared to just 24% for Gandhi. The poll of 10,010 respondents, conducted in the last week of March and published on Friday, found support for Modi was buoyed in part because of India s airstrikes on Pakistan in February. Modi picked up on the theme in West Bengal yesterday, telling supporters that before he took office in 2014 the government ignored advice from the army about striking India s foes. Now the situation has changed entirely. We now enter the homes of our enemies and kill them, he told a huge crowd in the battleground state of 90mn. The BJP also released a campaign song yesterday and television commercials, including some promoting the Pakistan strikes. The party s slogan is Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar (Modi once more). The first theme of our campaign will be Kaam Karne Waali Sarkaar ( government that works). Our second theme will be Imaandar Sarkaar (Honest government). Our third theme will be Bade Faisle Lene Waali Sarkaar ( decisive government that takes big decisions), Finance Minister run Jaitley said adding that these sub-themes would combine the larger theme of Modi once more. Other material also alluded to dynasty politics - a thinly-veiled criticism of the Congress chief. Congress also unveiled its theme song, a Bollywood-inspired number by one of the film industry s superstar composers, Javed khtar. The track released with the slogan b Hoga Nyay (Now, There Will Be Justice) reinforces the party s campaign message that Modi has mismanaged the economy for struggling farmers, unemployed youth and ordinary families. Nyay is the acronym of its minimum income guarantee scheme Nyuntam ay Yojana under which the party has promised to give Rs72,000 a year to the 20% of India s poorest. We are seeking justice or Nyay against injustices committed in the past four years. Those who promised cche Din (good days) only delivered nyay (injustice), said Congress spokesman nand Sharma. We advise Narendra Modi not to doubt the intelligence of the people of this country, Sharma told reporters in New Delhi. They remember what you promised in He should speak about the real issues. Gandhi has also targeted Modi on corruption, suggesting he has misled the public over the Rafale fighter jet deal to benefit a billionaire friend. Your karma is about to catch up with you, Gandhi posted on Twitter yesterday, challenging Modi to a debate on graft. But the same poll by the Delhi-based think tank found Congress had not gained traction over the issue, and voters were not broadly aware of Gandhi s income guarantee scheme, a signature election pledge. PM has done nothing for us, say sanitation workers Mumbai Five sanitation workers, all from the lowest rung of India s caste system, were chosen in late February to meet a very important guest: Prime Minister Narendra Modi. s cameras flashed, Modi proceeded to wash the feet of the workers, one by one, using water and his hands, a gesture intended to honour staff who clean toilets at the Kumbh Mela, a massive religious gathering in north India. But sanitation workers, scores of whom die each year from asphyxiation while removing waste from underground drains, have had enough, said Bezwada Wilson, the head of the Safai Karmachari ndolan (SK), or Sanitation Workers Movement. head of general elections that begin on Thursday, the workers are reminding Modi of his promise to eradicate by this year the practice of manual scavenging. (Modi) has done nothing for us in the past five years, Wilson said. India has laws banning the hiring of manual scavengers, but they have not been properly enforced, mostly due to difficulty collecting evidence and apathy by successive governments. While government estimates peg the number of manual scavengers at anywhere between 14,000 and 31,000, the SK says the figure is closer to 770,000, with nearly 1,800 sewer cleaners asphyxiating to death in the last decade. The community has little political power and Modi remains the front-runner to win the election, but critics point to their condition as another example of lofty promises undone and the empty symbolism of washing their feet. Wilson has launched a hashtag #StopKillingUs on Twitter and demanded government help workers find jobs that give them dignity. Most sanitation workers find it difficult to get other work because of caste-based barriers, while many operate without formal contracts and are unaware of the terms of their employment, a study by US-based advisory firm Dalberg shows. The workers whose feet Modi washed in February are not satisfied with their jobs and want an end to manual scavenging, they told the Indian Express newspaper last month. One said he was grateful for the honour, calling Modi a great man. But, he added: There is no difference in our lives. We were doing this cleaning work before too, we continue to do it. More than 90% of latrine cleaners are women, and all sanitation workers are Dalits, the social group at the bottom of India s caste system. Supporters of Trinamool Congress party drive a vehicle decorated with the portrait of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and her party colours, in Falakata in the eastern state yesterday. No alliance with P in Haryana, Punjab INS New Delhi The Congress yesterday ruled out an alliance with Delhi s ruling am admi Party (P) in Haryana and Punjab and said it was yet to decide on a tie-up with the party in the national capital for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. There is no alliance talk with P or any other party either in Haryana or in Punjab. We will soon announce our candidates for the two states, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters. Surjewala also said the Congress has not yet reached a decision on forging an alliance with the P in Delhi. The P had said that it will enter into an alliance with the Congress in Delhi only if the main opposition party agreed for a similar arrangement in Haryana and backed its demand for full statehood to Delhi. These two conditions were decided on Saturday at a meeting between P chief rvind Kejriwal and senior party leaders Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday discussed the issue with senior party leaders, including Delhi Congress president and former chief minister Sheila Dikshit. In other developments, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference (NC) president Farooq bdullah alleged that the central government knew about the terror attack in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, but allowed it to happen so Prime Minister Narendra Modi could win the elections. It is their (the government s) mistake. They knew that the attack was going to happen. Where did the explosives come from? Modi had to win the elections, so he did this karnama (misadventure), said bdullah.

19 Monday, pril 8, 2019 LTIN MERIC 19 nti-maduro Venezuelan migrants fear expulsion from Bolivia La Paz Dozens of Venezuelans who fled to Bolivia over recent months to escape economic and political unrest at home say they fear being deported from one of the few countries in the region that still supports the government of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Police last month arrested over a dozen Venezuelans identified as having led anti-maduro protests in front of the Cuban embassy in the Bolivian capital La Paz. Bolivia s leftist President Evo Morales is an ally of both Havana and Maduro. The protesters had demanded the end of what they called interference in Venezuelan affairs by Cuba, the Communist-partyled Caribbean nation that they blame for stoking Venezuela s humanitarian crisis. The protests brought them to the attention of local police, who arrested 14 protest leaders, protesters and human rights groups said. Six of them have been deported and eight were released, according to the Bolivian government. Five fled to Peru for fear of reprisals. I m a little afraid of being expelled, because they already expelled Venezuelans, Nelson, a 43-year-old civil engineer, told. He asked that his last name not be used to avoid what he said were likely reprisals. The Bolivian government issued a statement to explain the detention of Venezuelan migrants. It was determined that these citizens have no legal occupation or economic activity for their stay in the country, the statement said. They confessed to being involved in conspiracy and participating in political activities that affect public order, in exchange for money, it added. Erika Guevara Rosas, the mericas director for mnesty International, last month in a statement called on the Bolivian government to stop prosecuting and arbitrarily expelling Venezuelan refugees who need international protection. Last year, at least 3.4mn Venezuelans left their country as it faced high inflation, recession and acute food and medicine shortages, according to data from the Organisation of merican States. Most of the immigrants have sought refuge in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, rgentina and Brazil. In Venezuela I am a civil engineer. I worked for many years as a bus and food truck driver. But now there is no work, food, security, medicine, Nelson said. The point came for us to either die of hunger, literally, in Venezuela or leave the country with my wife and daughter. Cuba newsprint shortage sparks concern over economy growth nger at corruption FP Havana The newsprint shortages which forced Cuba s Communist daily to run a trimmed-down edition on Friday would pass off as a simple supply glitch in most other countries, but in Havana they carry chilling memories of the not-so-distant past. The last time the government cut back on newspapers because of a lack of newsprint was in the early 1990s, when Fidel Castro ushered in a Special Period of drastic belt-tightening in the wake of the collapse of his main sponsor, the Soviet Union. Today, the Caribbean state is facing difficulties once again, with US President Donald Trump who has lashed out at Cuba for its support of Venezuela s socialist regime determined to tighten Washington s six-decade trade embargo. Meagre growth of 1.2% is not enough to cover the needs of an island nation that imports 80% of what it eats. mid shortages, the government is being forced to ration basics like flour, cooking oil and chicken, leading to long lines outside stores. Tania, a 49-year-old nurse, has come to buy rice at a Havana grocery store but she s going away empty-handed. It s like that with everything. Sometimes you look for a product and you can find it in one place, then you go somewhere else and you can t get it, she said, summing up the average Cuban s daily struggle to fill their shopping basket. What s happening now doesn t look like the Special Period, because at that time it was really a disaster, she said. Suddenly deprived of its big brother in Moscow responsible for 85% of Havana s foreign trade the economy on the Caribbean archipelago ground to a standstill as it struggled to absorb the shock of Soviet collapse in the early 1990s. Cubans suffered shortages of food and fuel and the emergence of diseases linked to malnutrition. Thousands fled, if they could. For long since, the country has relied on medical and teaching services supplied to countries like Brazil and, in particular, Venezuela, in return for cheap oil imports. But trade with Caracas has plummeted as sanctions-struck Venezuela s economic crisis deepens. Tourism has been a bright spot but that has suffered after hurricane damage and a new US sanctions squeeze. For three years, Cuba has been trying to offset the impact of the slump in trade with Venezuela and the rise in tourism, private activity and foreign investment projects have helped cushion the economic shock, said Pavel Vidal, a Cuban economist at the Javeriana University in Colombia. But the measures and threats of the Trump administration are posing obstacles to these three factors that have helped keep the economy afloat. Cuba recently defaulted on a portion of its debt to Brazil, a big supplier of poultry. t the end of 2018, Havana had accumulated short-term debt of $1.5bn, according to former economy minister Jose Luis Rodriguez. There is a level of debt that we will not be able to pay (in 2019) and that s affecting the smooth running of the economy, the current portfolio-holder lejandro Gil said. In Havana, 90-year-old Leandro Lopez has seen it all before and isn t overly concerned, expressing confidence in President Miguel Diaz-Canel elected in 2018, the first of a new breed of leaders born after the revolution. Diaz-Canel is trying to strengthen the economy so where he can reduce costs, we reduce them, so much the better. I do not think it will hurt the news. Demonstrators attend a protest against corruption and in favour of the Car Wash corruption investigation, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, yesterday. Bolsonaro struggles in first 100 days as Brazil leader FP Rio de Janeiro Since taking power on a pledge to trash corrupt old politics, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro s first months have been marred by chaos and blunders that have eroded support for the far-right leader and put the brakes on his reforms. The brash ex-army captain nicknamed the Trump of the tropics for his admiration of the US president is struggling to make good on his key election promises to kick-start Latin merica s biggest economy and stamp out corruption. s Bolsonaro prepares to mark the symbolic milestone of 100 days in office on Wednesday, analysts say the euphoria of his October victory that ended decades of centre-left rule is evaporating. It wouldn t be an understatement to say that the president s performance to date has been disappointing, said Thomaz Favaro of the political risk consultancy Control Risks. There was a misperception that he was coming in with a very strong support base and I think we re now beginning to see that maybe that support wasn t strong. Condemned by opponents as racist, sexist and homophobic before the ballot, Bolsonaro s message of toughness and an end to business-as-usual politics resonated with voters fed up with violence and industrial-scale graft. But Bolsonaro, who was better known for making insults rather than policy during his decades as a congressman, is finding that his uncompromising style and penchant for Twitter are not working in Congress where he lacks a ruling-party majority to push through legislation. His signature policy to overhaul Brazil s unsustainable pension system, which he has warned would bankrupt the country if changes are not adopted, has stalled following a spat with key political allies and raised doubts about his ability to do the job. Over the last few weeks we ve really seen the side people feared about Bolsonaro, said William Jackson, an economist at London-based Capital Economics. His lack of governing experience, showing up in deteriorating relations with Congress, and his struggles to keep his coalition together seem to have led to a paralysis in policymaking. Bolsonaro appears to have adopted a more conciliatory tone in recent days, holding meetings with the leaders of several parties. He may have finally accepted the give and take of Brazilian politics, said David Fleischer, a political science professor at the University of Brasilia. It s a make or break, Fleischer warned. If the pension reform bill fails then Bolsonaro doesn t get any tax reform, which is another important thing on the table, and his government will just drift along until Bolsonaro has scored some wins since his January 1 inauguration, including the relaxation of gun ownership laws and the sale of concessions to 12 airports, which was seen as test of foreign-investor confidence in his ability to privatise stateowned companies. But more contentious policies are going to be tough to push through the lower house of Congress where Bolsonaro s ultraconservative Social Liberal Party only holds around 10% of the 513 seats. That means he is relying on ad-hoc alliances with lawmakers in various parties who are part of his evangelical, proagribusiness, pro-gun base. No plan to expel ssange from embassy: Ecuador Quito Ecuador s government said it rejected reports that it would imminently expel Wikileaks founder Julian ssange from its London embassy, where he has lived in asylum for nearly seven years. ssange was prepared for expulsion from the building, a British friend of his said on Tuesday, after Ecuador s President Lenin Moreno said he had repeatedly violated the terms of his asylum. Moreno accused ssange of harming Ecuador s relations with other countries by intervening in their politics and said he did not have the right to hack private accounts or phones. WikiLeaks said Moreno s remarks were in retribution for WikiLeaks having reported on corruption accusations against Moreno, who denies wrongdoing. In a statement, Ecuador s foreign ministry denied it had reached an agreement with the British government to jail ssange if he left the embassy. Ecuador categorically rejects the fake news that have circulated recently on social networks, many spread by an organisation linked to Julian ssange, about an imminent termination of the diplomatic aslyum granted to him since 2012, it said. By releasing information that distorts the truth, (ssange) and his associates express once again their ingratitude and disrespect to Ecuador The ministry said it reserved the right to terminate asylum when it considered it justified. By releasing information that distorts the truth, (ssange) and his associates express once again their ingratitude and disrespect to Ecuador, it said. ssange took refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where authorities wanted to question him as part of a sexual assault investigation. That probe was later dropped, but ssange fears he could be extradited to face charges in the US, where federal prosecutors are investigating WikiLeaks. Ecuador last year established new rules for ssange s behaviour while in the embassy, which required him to pay his medical bills and clean up after his pet cat. He challenged the rules in local and international tribunals, arguing they violated his human rights. Both courts ruled against him. Last month, the Inter-merican Commission on Human Rights, which is linked to the Organisation of merican States, rejected ssange s request that Ecuador ease the conditions it has imposed on his residence in the London embassy. ssange says Ecuador is seeking to end his asylum and is putting pressure on him by isolating him from visitors and spying on him. Ecuador has said its treatment of ssange was in line with international law, but that his situation cannot be extended indefinitely. boat approaches the damaged bridge over the Moju River in cara, Para state, Brazil. Bridge collapse to hit grain shipments Sao Paulo Part of a bridge over the Moju River in Brazil s Para state collapsed on Saturday, potentially affecting shipment of grains such as soybeans and corn through northern ports, local authorities and an agribusiness consultant said. The bridge fell after it was hit by a boat, Governor Helder Barbalho said on Twitter, where he also posted videos of a large section of the bridge in the water. He said this was not the first time such an accident had occurred. ccording to the official gência Brasil news agency, two vehicles were crossing the bridge at the time of the collision. t the moment, our priority is searching for victims and giving complete support to their families, Barbalho was quoted as saying in a statement from Para s state news agency. ccording to rescue workers, no crew or documents from the boat that collided against the bridge were found on the scene. The number of casualties was unclear. Kory Melby, an agribusiness consultant based in the city of Goiania, said the bridge was on the main route connecting Brazil s farm country to its northern ports. It will probably take years for that bridge to be rebuilt, he said by telephone. The consultant noted the bridge was located some 50km from Belem, capital of Para state, where three major grain loaders operate, including rcher Daniels Midland Co, Bunge and Hidrovias do Brasil S. The companies did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Melby said barge traffic would not be affected on the Tocantins and mazon rivers, which use river ports including Vila do Conde and Barcarena. Some 10% to 20% of the soy grown in Brazil s centre west is delivered by road at those ports, he said. Willians Ribeiro, a supervisor at Vila do Conde, told road traffic to that port would be affected but there were alternative routes.

20 20 Monday, pril 8, 2019 PKISTN Pakistan has intelligence of new attack: Qureshi KP govt seeks $120mn loan for tourism /Internews Karachi/Islamabad Pakistan has reliable intelligence that India will attack again this month, its foreign minister said, drawing condemnation from New Delhi which described the claim as irresponsible. Shah Mahmood Qureshi s comments came after tensions over a February standoff between the two countries had appeared to ease. He said yesterday that an attack could take place between pril 16 and 20, adding that Pakistan had told the five permanent members of the UN Security Council of its concerns. India rejects the irresponsible and preposterous statement by the foreign minister of Pakistan with a clear objective of whipping up war hysteria in the region, a spokesman for India s Foreign Office said in a statement. This public gimmick appears to be a call to Pakistanbased terrorists to undertake a terror attack in India. The Foreign Office said that India reserved the right to respond firmly and decisively to any cross border militant attack, accusing Pakistan of being complicit in such attacks on India. suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants Pulwama, in Indian-administered Kashmir, killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on February 14. The risk of conflict rose dramatically on February 27, when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base inside Pakistan. The following day, Pakistan shot down an Indian fighter jet and captured its pilot, who was later released. Earlier yesterday, Pakistan summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner to protest against any misadventure, Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Mohamrd Faisal said in a tweet. We have reliable intelligence that India is planning a new attack on Pakistan. s per our information this could take place between pril 16 and 20, Minister Qureshi told reporters in his hometown of Multan. He said that in order to justify its military action against Pakistan and to increase diplomatic pressure against it, a new drama can be created in Indian-administered Kashmir on the pattern of Pulwama. Qureshi did not elaborate on uthorities to release 360 Indian prisoners Karachi Pakistan will release 360 Indian prisoners this month, the Foreign Office said on Friday, as the nuclear-armed neighbours scale back from a confrontation that prompted world powers to urge restraint. Pakistan has decided that 360 Indian prisoners 355 fishermen and five civilians who have completed their term of sentence, will be released, Mohamed Faisal, spokesman for Pakistan s Foreign Office, told reporters. what evidence Pakistan had or how he could be so specific with the timing, but he said Prime Minister Imran Khan had agreed to share the information with the country. The minister said that Pakistan acted in a mature and responsible manner after the Indian actions on February 26, and made sincere efforts to deescalate the situation. Qureshi said that Pakistan will act responsibly for peace in the world. Prime Minister Khan has blamed India s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for whipping up war hysteria over claims that India shot down a Pakistani plane during the February standoff. He said that the prisoners would be released in four batches. Due to the rocky relations between the two sides, prisoners who have completed their jail terms often languish in each other s jails for months, if not years, afterwards. ccording to the lists exchanged by both sides in January, there are 347 Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails, 249 of whom are what the spokesman described as civilians, and 98 fishermen. There are 537 Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails, 483 of whom are fishermen. We hope that India will reciprocate this, the spokesman said. Yesterday the first 100 Indian fishermen were released. The Indian air force had displayed pieces of a missile that it said was fired by a Pakistani F-16 before it was downed. Satellite images showing little sign of damage have also cast doubt on the success of Indian air strikes on a camp of the Jaish-e-Mohamed militant group in northwestern Pakistan. The standoff led Pakistan to close its airspace but most commercial air traffic has since resumed and major airports have opened. s strains between the two neighbours apparently eased, Pakistan said on Friday that it would release 360 Indian prisoners this month. The first hundred were released yesterday (see report). These are 100 Indian fishermen released from jail as a goodwill gesture by Pakistan, Saad Edhi, an official with Pakistan s Qureshi: We have reliable intelligence that India is planning a new attack on Pakistan. s per our information this could take place between pril 16 and 20. Indian fishermen show their travelling cards while waiting yesterday at a railway station in Karachi, after they were released from the Malir Jail. Yesterday Pakistan released 100 Indian fishermen, held for trespassing into its territorial waters, officials said. Indian and Pakistani fishermen are frequently detained for illegal fishing since the rabian Sea border is not clearly defined and many boats lack the technology to fix their precise location. largest charity, the Edhi Foundation, told at Karachi s Cantonment Railway Station yesterday. They are going to Lahore from where they will be released into India across the Wagha border crossing, he added. Internews Islamabad s part of Prime Minister Imran Khan s reform agenda, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has sought financing of $120mn from the World Bank to improve tourism-enabling infrastructure, enhance tourism assets, and strengthen destination management for sustainable tourism development in the province. World Bank team is currently evaluating the project, and it is expected that after getting the loan from the World Bank s soft loan window, International Development ssociation (ID), the project will be launched during the next fiscal year. The bank is expected to approve the loan for the project, estimated to cost $127 million, next month. In line with the reform agenda, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has put economic revitalisation, job creation and tourism destination development at the centre of its development roadmap. To achieve these objectives, including through its Integrated Tourism Development Project (KITE), the provincial government had approached WB through the federal government for assistance. The proposed project will support activities to overcome infrastructure bottlenecks at popular sites in Kalam and Galyat, encourage higher tourist spending through the development of quality tourism products in Chitral while lifting visitors pressure off the valleys that host the indigenous people of Kalash, and equip the authorities with the tools for visitors management and environmental preservation, including in Naran. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is endowed with natural resources shaped by Hindukush and Himalayas mountains, with stunning alpine landscapes, wildlife, lush forests and numerous glacial lakes. It boasts historical and religiously significant sites covering over 2,000 years of Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian histories. PTI govt s first tax amnesty scheme ready for launch Internews Islamabad Finance Minister Umar: We have sufficient data now regarding all such people (non-tax filers) from various sources. The Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI) government has almost finalised its first tax amnesty scheme, to provide people with the means to legitimise all kinds of offshore and onshore undeclared assets, at the rates of between 5% and 10%. Prime Minister Imran Khan would approve the new tax amnesty scheme today, a senior finance division official said. fter the prime minister s formal approval, a summary will be sent to the cabinet for approval, he added. The next cabinet meeting scheduled for pril 16 is expected to take up the summary. This move coincides with the implementation of the Benami ct in March, in line with its efforts to document the economy allowing tax officials to confiscate whole properties, expensive vehicles and bank accounts registered with fictitious individuals. The new tax amnesty scheme also coincides with a new global anti-tax evasion scheme that is operational under a multilateral tax convention on the avoidance of double taxation and recommendations of Financial ction Task Force (FTF). Finance Minister sad Umar said that the scheme is being designed in a fashion to document the economy. We have several representations from all quarters, asking for a one-time relaxation for those who have not declared their assets, he said. The minister also said that the government had done its homework to crack down on those who are not filing tax returns and those who did not exist on the tax roll. We have sufficient data now regarding all such people from various sources, Umar said, adding that the crackdown would be launched a day after the tax amnesty scheme ends. I am confident that more people will come under the tax net now, he said, adding his government had received 1.8mn returns this year. In the next two years, the target was to take this number up to 5mn. In the past five years, the previous Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government had offered four tax amnesty schemes to people. The last amnesty scheme of the PML-N government was designed in a fashion to encourage people to declare their assets, but avoided documentation. Official sources privy to the development said that the government had almost finalised the draft law of amnesty to be implemented by pril 16. We are considering whether the scheme will be implemented through a presidential ordinance or laid before the parliament for implementation, the sources said. The most likely decision is to implement the scheme through a presidential ordinance, said one source while explaining that the passage of a money bill from the parliament could take several days. Moreover, people also want the scheme at the earliest as delays may lead to uncertainty. The government wanted to offer the amnesty scheme to people before going into the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. The IMF is not in favour of any amnesty scheme, a senior tax official said. We will share the scheme with the IMF after cabinet approval, to apprise them by giving last chance to those people who have not declared their assets. Pakistan will also get clearance of the tax amnesty scheme from the FTF, which is currently reviewing Pakistan s legislation and administration from the perspective of anti-money laundering and terror financing. Under the proposed scheme, the government will offer three slabs for declaring all kinds of assets, both offshore and onshore. The proposed slabs are 5%, 7.5% and 10%, for whitening of the assets, though they could be changed before cabinet approval, the source said. Moreover, the rates will also vary in cases of repatriation of assets to Pakistan and in cases of non-repatriation of foreign assets. However, it is not yet clear whether the government would link the scheme with the repatriation of wealth. In the last scheme by the PML- N government, the link was not made with repatriation of assets. The scope of the scheme was expanded this time with inclusion of all kinds of movable, immovable assets, tangible and intangible and bank accounts. Official estimates of 20% to 40% of total bank accounts in the country are mandated. We have already made amendments in Section 165 of the income tax ordinance to ask banks about the mandated bank accounts details, an official said. Similarly, the benami properties, bank accounts, undeclared duty paid vehicles, and jewellery will also be covered in the proposed scheme. Under the proposed scheme, the government will bar all those holding any public office since the year 2000 from availing of the tax amnesty scheme, in an attempt to address concern that former heads of government and state can avail the assets whitening package. The scheme is not meant to offer amnesty to public office holders who have piled up money through corruption and other illegal means. In the last scheme, the limit was fixed for the year One deviation from past schemes proposed in the new amnesty package is that those who whiten their money will be required to file a tax return. However, these people will be given one-time complete immunity from tax authorities. It is not clear whether other probing authorities, such as the Federal Investigation gency (FI) and the National ccountability Bureau (NB), will also be barred from investigating cases of such people. In the last scheme, complete exemption was given from all probing agencies, and there was also no provision for people to file their tax returns. The FBR estimates that it will be able to generate between Rs- 300bn and Rs400bn through the amnesty scheme, a claim which is not substantiated because the past scheme shows poor compliance in terms of documentation and raising tax on untaxed money. They further suggest that the tax statutory period of five years for probing past cases should be abolished and the penalty of non-disclosure after the amnesty is announced be raised to 300% along with five years of imprisonment. Gotham actor reveals her love for legendary singer bida Parveen Internews Islamabad Who knew US actor Jada Pinkett Smith would be a fan of legendary Sufi singer bida Parveen and Qawaal maestro Rahat Fateh li Khan? The Gotham actor expressed her fondness in an Instagram post for the two legends. bida Parveen and Rahat Fateh li Khan are two of my favourite vocalist of Sufi music. This song is called Chaap Tilak and you can go on YouTube to check out the lyrics. They are beautiful, Pinkett Smith wrote. The duo had collaborated for the song for Coke Studio s season seven in 2014, with the song becoming one of the biggest hits the programme has produced. The lyrics is from a poem by mir Khusro. Of course, fans were left mesmerised and thanked Pinkett Smith for introducing them to the song. OMG so beautiful, I don t even know what they are saying yet I feel so emotional. Thank you for sharing, one user wrote. nother one wrote: Wow this is amazing. I m so thankful that you posted this. Such an uplifting gift to my soul. Other also expressed similar views and said that despite not understand what the singers are saying, the song sounded romantic. Thank you for this. Major plug. Healing power. nother one thanked the actor and said the song was really amazing. I m glad Sufi and South sian music is reaching so many audiences. Locals also took to the section and recommended that Pinkett Smith listen to Nusrat Fateh li Khan. nother one said: Yay Jada! I speak for most, if not all South sians, we love this song! Pinkett Smith is married to Hollywood superstar Will Smith. PI doubles baggage charges on domestic flights Flagship carrier Pakistan International irlines (PI) has raised its baggage fees, nearly doubling it. Starting from pril 1, the PI has fixed charges of Rs5,000 on extra luggage amounting to more than 20kg on domestic flights. The new increase means the airline is now charging Rs250/kg for baggage in excess of 20kg. The previous charges were less than Rs100/kg. The new charges come as fuel costs surge, a PI spokesperson said.

21 Monday, pril 8, 2019 PHILIPPINES 21 Plan for bigger motorcycle licence plates suspended By Catherine S Valente Manila Times Military dares groups to debate By Glee Jalea Manila Times President Rodrigo Duterte has announced the suspension of a law requiring bigger motorcycle licence plates and imposing stiff fines, following an intervention by Senator Joseph Victor JV Ejercito on behalf of motorists. Ejercito said Duterte s decision, announced before motorcycle enthusiasts at the 25th National Federation of Motorcycle Clubs of the Philippines National Motorcycle Convention in Iloilo City, showed that the chief executive was a listening president. For me, it s more like an imprimatur for the conduct of a thorough study and discussion among stakeholders to fully understand the law, with the end view of coming up with a common formula to assure the safety of riders while the law s anti-criminality objective is being achieved, Ejercito said. Ejercito said prior to the president s announcement, he gave Duterte himself a motorcycle enthusiast an overview of motorists reaction to Republic ct (R) or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention ct, which the senator said had become a source of complaint and confusion among motorcycle groups. With me was motorcycle legend, and the president s very good friend, Butch Chase. We gave the president a situationer and the sentiments of the riders in general towards the recently signed law. The president listened to us attentively, he said. He is a listening president. The motorcycle community, like the rest of the Filipino people, wants the campaign against Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito: key role criminality of the president to succeed, Ejercito said. In his remarks on Saturday, Duterte said he would talk to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Sen.Richard Gordon, author of the ct. I will try to convince the LTO to maybe hang onto it, I will suspend it for the meantime, because it is not good. It is dangerous to place another gadget, because the plate number has sharp corners, Duterte said. Instead, increase the size of the rear plate by one-fourth so that the number will be more visible. The rear is more important, he added. The president explained that he signed the measure into law upon the recommendation of the police and military. He noted, however, that in other countries, There are no plate numbers in front, only at the back. Duterte also said the law s prescribed fine of between P50,000 to P100,000 for those caught without the bigger licence plates was too high. Maybe as compromise, I m willing to lower it to P10,000 to P15,000, the president added. The law, signed by Duterte on March 8, requires motorcycles to have bigger, colour-coded number plates readable from the front, back and side of the motorcycle from a distance of at least 15 metres. person who drives a motorcycle without a number plate or a readable number plate will Motorcycle riders have heaved a sigh of relief after President Rodrigo Duterte, announced he would suspend the law for bigger licence plates and stiffer fines. be punished by a jail term of six months and one day to six years, or a fine of not less than P50,000, but not more than P100,000 or both. Motorcycle drivers groups have raised a howl over the law, saying its requirements were discriminatory and might place riders at risk. They claimed that bigger front plates might be detached at high speeds or if there was a strong wind, and might cause injury. Gordon said he would explain the objective of the law to the president, adding, I m only defending people getting killed by riding-in-tandem assassins. They can no longer seek justice for themselves. How do we do justice to these people? He pointed out that motorcycles had become crime machines used for killing ordinary people, media workers, lawyers, judges, justices, politicians and even military and police personnel. The Philippine National Police has reported that of the total of 28,409 crimes committed by motorcycle-riding individuals from 2010 to 2017, 46% or 13,062 involved firearms. nd out of over 4,000 motorcycle-riding crimes or incidents in 2016, only eight cases (0.18%) were solved, said Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Transportation agencies were looking into alternatives to make plates visible from at least 15 metres away, an official from the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) said yesterday. TRB spokesman Bert Suansing said at the Balitaan sa Maynila forum: We are still studying how to make identification of plates from the front side in such a way that it would not cause obstruction. Suansing, however, backed the president s decision to suspend the requirement for motorcycles to have larger and colour-coded licence plates. s far as the plates are concerned, I agree with him, Suansing said. The rmed Forces of the Philippines yesterday hit back at militant groups under the Makabayan bloc, daring them to a television debate over the latter s supposed links to communist rebels. Maj. Gen. ntonio Parlade Jr, the military s deputy chief of staff for civil-military operations, was responding to pronouncements of Senate candidate Neri Colmenares and of Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate, accusing the military of setting up attacks against their group and the National Union of People s Lawyers (NUPL), think tank IBON Foundation, Gabriela women s group, rights group Karapatan and labour group Kilusang Mayo Uno. Makabayan, take the challenge. See who are propagandising. Let s see who is on the side of truth. On Monday, choose your TV station. That s how simple it is, Parlade said in a text message. We have treated you activists too well for too long. We don t attack and maltreat activists and even capture NP (New People s rmy) members as you claim, he added. Parlade said former Bayan Muna Rep. Saturnino Satur Ocampo was aware about this. Ocampo, he claimed, was surprised after finding out that NP members captured in Batangas were being fed fried chicken and ice cream for dessert. They were brainwashed to believe the [Philippine] rmy will skin them alive when captured and it didn t happen. Since then, these former rebels have been helping the government win over the NP, Parlade said. Duterte slams drug war campaign critics Crackdown against illegal posters By Ralph Villanueva Manila Times Duterte: silencing critics President Rodrigo Duterte slammed anew critics of his rhetoric against drug suspects, saying they had no right to control his speech. The human rights (groups) listening, it is my pleasure to repeat the warning. If you (drug traders) destroy the Republic of the Philippines, I will destroy you and if you make our sons and daughters inutile, I will kill you. Simple as that, he said during the 25th National Federation of the Motorcycle Clubs of the Philippines nnual National Convention in Iloilo City. Human rights groups said, it is not allowed. I am tasked with keeping order here in my country then you will ruin it with in the name of human rights, you will make us inutile? he added. In a text message to Manila Times, Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said that Duterte was delusional for uttering such statements. He deliberately fails to recognise that he is mandated and obliged to respect, promote and protect the human rights of Filipinos under the Philippine Constitution and international human rights agreements, Palabay said. Palabay said Duterte could not dodge accountability for his actions through curses. No amount of cuss words or delusional statements can deny his accountability for extrajudicial killings and numerous other rights violations because he is on record in countless occasions on his orders inciting and justifying these crimes, she added. Last week, Duterte said his drug war was a failure and that the drug situation in the country had worsened. The death toll on suspected drug personalities since President Duterte was elected in 2016 stood at 5,176, according to the February 2019 update of the government s Real Numbers PH information campaign. The number came from the 119,841 operations conducted since July The figure was much lower than the 12,000 to 27,000 fatalities claimed by human rights groups. Personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways dismantle campaign posters on an electric post in Manila. The Commission on Elections had warned politicians to take down illegal posters or face charges. Climate change will end sea row By Bernadette E Tamayo Manila Times Foreign ffairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr yesterday claimed rising sea levels brought about by climate change would eventually wipe out structures and artificial islands built by China in the contested Kalayaan (Spratly) island group. He made the remark on Twitter in response to a news article on the prospects of floating cities amid rising sea levels in ntarctica due to climate change. Rising sea levels will wipe out the issue of disputed reeds in the South China/West Philippine Sea. nd good riddance, Locsin said. t the UN (United Nations) Security Council I said the Philippines would not regret climate change and rising sea level if it covers the disputed reefs in the South China Sea and exposes the foolishness of taking and weaponising them, he said. President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday warned China not to touch Pagasa (Thitu) Island in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), where hundreds of Chinese vessels have massed. The president issued the warning following reports from the rmed Forces of the Philippines that hundreds of Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels had swarmed the Manila-held Pagasa Island. The military s Western Command said the vessels were part of China s maritime militia. Chinese mbassador to the Philippines Zhao Jinhua, however, said the Chinese vessels seen near the island were not armed. The Philippines had filed a diplomatic protest with Beijing over the matter. Foreign ffairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. Mamasapano massacre suspect held in Cotabato Manila Times Manila One of the suspects behind the encounter in Mamasapano in Maguindanao that killed 44 elite policemen in 2015 was arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Cotabato City over the weekend, two years after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in the utonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RMM), led by the Cotabato City police, arrested Tamano Esmail Sabpa or Tamano Sabpa Esmael on Saturday at 2 pm at the parking area of a regional hospital in Cotabato City, a police report said. Police said the apprehension of the suspect was carried out by virtue of an arrest warrant issued on January 25, 2017 by Judge landrex Betoya of Branch 15 of the Cotabato City Regional Trial Court. The order stemmed from the massacre of 44 members of the Special ction Force (SF) in Mamasapano in January 2015 by extremists while serving an arrest warrant against terrorist Zulkifli bdhir in the same town. Police said the case of Esmail was not recommended for bail and the arrest was also under the PNP s nationwide Oplan Pagtugis. uthorities also recovered an identification card.

22 22 Monday, pril 8, 2019 COMMENT CHIRMN bdullah bin Khalifa al-ttiyah EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Faisal bdulhameed al-mudahka Deputy Managing Editor K T Chacko GULF P.O.Box 2888, Doha, Qatar editor@gulf-times.com (News), (Sport), (Home delivery) facebook.com/gulftimes twitter.com/gulftimes_qatar TIMES NMoQ reflects Qatar s origins and modernity The recent opening of the iconic new National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) has marked one of the most significant cultural occasions in the country s history. This is best illustrated through the words of HE Sheikha l Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums Board of Trustees. s she stated, the opening of the NMoQ comes at a historic moment after a decade of hard work that helped to build a lot of relationships and friendships with people in Qatar and in many parts of the world. Visitors to the NMoQ will be making a journey through the history of Qatar from ancient times to the modern era, reflecting its diversity and vitality and openness to the world as the chairperson explained. The pieces and antiques from ancient times come together with modern collections that are becoming more glamorous and sophisticated in the spectacular interactive galleries that we envisioned with HE Sheikha mna bint bdulaziz bin Jassim al-thani, director of the National Museum of Qatar, and her team, as well as Qatar Museums Trustees, members and experts from many universities in Qatar and beyond, HE Sheikha l Mayassa pointed out. True to her words, the NMoQ reflects Qatar s origins and modernity. The stunning building, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, houses the renovated palace of Sheikh bdullah bin Jassim al-thani. The roots of the Qatari The opening of the NMoQ comes at a historic moment people are deep in history. But our country is still a young country, so it is not surprising, when building our national museum, to fly away from the models of old museums, and to build a monument speaking in the language of the present and the future, HE Sheikha l Mayassa noted. In the same context, she pointed out that the international museums of the 19th century used to house strategic collections. We believe that the museums of the 21st century depend on a more creative way, turning from just a place to store holdings and exhibits to a platform to build relations and open the horizons of dialogue, adding that visitors will find this vision applied in the National Museum of Qatar in a number of spaces such as garden and educational halls and museum programmes designed for all categories and cultures. HE Sheikha l Mayassa also pointed out that the emphasis has been placed on the preparation of teachers to use the museum to teach all subjects including mathematics, history and geography. That the visionaries behind the NMoQ have succeeded in their path-breaking efforts was evident on the first day of public entry. Crowds of delighted visitors streamed in to the museum, with many staying for several hours to take in the multitude of experiences, sights and sounds on offer. The reaction from the public clearly indicated that the many months of painstaking work and precise planning had been a huge success as visitors were hugely complimentary about the living experience represented across the museum s 11 galleries full of movement, sound and colour. Right from the opening day, Qatari and expatriate residents have been able to immerse themselves in the museum s unique, encompassing environments, each of which tells its part of the story of Qatar through a special combination of architectural space, music, poetry, oral histories, evocative aromas, archaeological and heritage objects, commissioned artworks, monumentally scaled art films, and more. In short, NMoQ has added yet another feather to Qatar s crown of achievements. China deserves recognition for its achievements By ndrew Sheng and Xiao Geng Hong Kong In Washington, DC, a bipartisan consensus about China has emerged: the United States is facing a trade-manipulating, authoritarian intellectual-property thief that represents a strategic threat to the US and its allies and deserves to be punished. But the consensus is wrong. In fact, China deserves recognition, if not appreciation, for its achievements. In recent decades, China has made unprecedented contributions to global economic growth and green innovation, lifting more than 800mn people out of poverty since it began its reform and opening up in the late 1970s. China and the world owes this success to the authorities experimental approach to policymaking, characterised by trial and error and constant adaptation. Contrary to popular belief in the West, where democratic elections are typically regarded as essential to holding governments responsible for their policies, China s approach supports accountability. Indeed, the evidence shows that policymaking is responsive to feedback from both the Chinese people and the international community, with leaders correcting mistakes and updating outdated measures as they gain new information. Such adaptation is supported by two annual meetings that have been held in Beijing every March since 1998: the National People s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). t these gatherings, top officials from China s State Council, including key ministers and the premier, create detailed reports, identifying the challenges China faces, as well as a blueprint for continued reform and opening up. The results are shared with delegates attending the meetings and broadcast live to thousands of official delegates and Chinese and foreign reporters. These gatherings thus represent an important window into evolving Chinese policymaking and governance. t the most recent NPC and CPPCC, Chinese policymakers weighed the backlash against the standard neoliberal economic model, based on free movement of goods, capital, information, and sometimes labour. The advanced economies and the international institutions they lead have long assumed that expanding these freedoms naturally leads to better outcomes for all. But the neoliberal model has had grave unintended consequences, such as environmental degradation, rising inequality, and the emergence of monopolies (especially in the tech sector). On a more emotional level, globalisation and openness has fuelled cultural insecurity. s frustration with the advanced economies approach has grown, so has mistrust of the experts and elites who championed it. In response to these anxieties, rational homo economicus has morphed into emotional homo politicus an agent susceptible to the sirens of nationalism, tribalism, protectionism, and populism. The result is escalating trade conflicts, rising isolationism, surging anti-immigrant sentiment, and calls for massive increases in social spending, based on concepts like modern monetary theory. For China, these developments imply a more hostile external environment. With the growth already slowing, policymakers at the NPC and CPPCC focused on how to ensure economic, financial, and social stability while reviving dynamism. Despite the challenges China faces including a high debt-to-gdp ratio and volatile stock markets the country s leaders have proved adept at securing progress toward these goals. Consumer price index inflation stands at 2.1%. Last year, 13.6 million urban jobs were added, underpinning an unemployment rate of just 5%, and over 18,000 new businesses were launched every day, on average. China s international trade and payment position is largely balanced. This is the result of a comprehensive and ever-evolving strategy aimed at improving the quality of life and work, reducing poverty, lowering the tax and regulatory burden for small private businesses, and championing green, innovative, open, and sustainable growth. For example, last year, China reduced its average tariff rate from 9.8% in 2017 to 7.5%; opened another 4,100km of high-speed railways; granted permanent urban residency to 14mn workers from rural areas; and implemented tax and fee cuts that reduced business costs by some CN 1.3tn ($193bn). The Chinese authorities have now announced their intention to reduce the tax and social-security burden for business by another CN 2tn, and to increase the fiscal deficit by 0.2 percentage points of GDP, to 2.8%, in order to counter the threat of protectionism-driven global deflation. Moreover, the NPC adopted a new foreign investment law that will reduce barriers to market entry by foreign entities and improve substantially the protection of intellectual property rights. While many in the West sacrifice homo economicus to appease homo politicus, China s leaders are trying to satisfy both. They know that neglecting the needs of homo politicus could lead to social instability and fragmentation. But they also know that they must respond to internal pressures and rapidly evolving external conditions in ways that make good economic sense. Not every decision will turn out to be the right one. But in China, when mistakes are made, adjustments follow. While this form of accountability is not perfect, it has produced a track record that is exceptional by any standard. Project Syndicate ndrew Sheng is Distinguished Fellow of the sia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong and a member of the UNEP dvisory Council on Sustainable Finance. Xiao Geng, President of the Hong Kong Institution for International Finance, is a professor at Peking University HSBC Business School and at the University of Hong Kong s Faculty of Business and Economics. To dvertise advr@gulf-times.com Display Classified Subscription circulation@gulf-times.com ll rights reserved File photo of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang addressing delegates during the opening session of the National People s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

23 COMMENT Monday, pril 8, What if zero interest rates are the new normal? By dair Turner Tokyo Ever since major central banks cut short-term interest rates close to zero in autumn 2008, and subsequently purchased huge volumes of bonds as part of their quantitative easing operations, economists have debated about when and how fast the exit from these unorthodox monetary policies would be. But, a decade later, developedeconomy interest rates are stuck far below pre-crisis levels and likely to remain so. Germany s ten-year bond yield of -0.02% (as of March 23) signals market expectations that the European Central Bank will maintain zero policy rates not just until 2020 (the official ECB forward guidance) but to Japanese bond yields imply zero or negative interest rates for even longer. nd while ten-year yields in the United States and the United Kingdom are just above 1% and 2.4%, respectively, both of these suggest minimal or no increases in policy rates for another decade. The 2008 financial crisis may have inaugurated a full quarter-century of dramatically lower interest rates. In this new normal, still more unorthodox policies including forms of monetary finance may in some countries be needed to maintain reasonable growth. The financial crisis occurred in 2008 because deficient regulation allowed huge risks to develop within the financial system itself. But the depth of the subsequent recession, and the long period of slow growth that followed, was the result not of continued financial system fragility, but of the excessive leverage in the real economy that had developed over the previous half-century. Between 1950 and 2007, advanced economies private-sector debt (households and companies) grew from 50% to 170% of GDP and adequate growth seemed attainable only if debt grew far more rapidly than nominal GDP. fter the crisis, loan growth turned negative and remained depressed for many years, not because an impaired financial system lacked the capital to extend credit, but because overleveraged households and companies were determined to pay down debt even if interest rates were zero. The same pattern was observed in Japan in the 1990s. In this environment, large-scale fiscal stimulus was the only way to achieve even anaemic growth. Britain s public-finance deficit grew to 10.1% of GDP in 2009, the US deficit ballooned to 12.17%, and even the eurozone s increased to 6.3%. But the inevitable rise in public debt led many governments to conclude that these large deficits must soon be curtailed. Fiscal austerity, combined with continued private deleveraging, led to inflation rates stuck below target, disappointing growth in real wages, and a populist political backlash. By 2016, it seemed that governments and central banks were out of ammunition, monetary or fiscal, and economists debated whether any policies could avoid secular stagnation when interest rates were already zero and public debt levels were already high. Some, including me, broke the ultimate policy taboo and suggested that we might need to consider monetary finance of increased fiscal deficits. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke argued that as long as the quantity of such finance was determined by independent central banks, useful stimulus could be achieved without excessive inflation. Just two years after the gloomy 2016 nadir, however, the skies seemed dramatically clearer. By 2018, forecasts US Representative lexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Ed Markey (D-M) hold a news conference for their proposed Green New Deal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in 10 years, at the US Capitol in Washington, in this February 7, 2019 file picture. The Green New Deal presents monetary finance as one option for financing socially and environmentally desirable investment. of global growth and inflation had risen significantly, and central banks and markets were again focused on the long anticipated exit from unorthodox policies. It is vital to understand what drove this sudden improvement. The answer is simple: massive fiscal expansion, which in two major economies was partly or wholly financed by central bank money. The US fiscal deficit rose from 3.9% of GDP in 2015 to 4.7% in 2018 and a projected 5.0% in 2019: China s grew from below 1% in 2014 to over 4%, and Japan s remained around 4%, abandoning previous plans for a reduction to zero by nd while the US fiscal expansion was financed by bond sales to the private sector, in China the central bank indirectly financed large bond purchases by commercial banks, while in Japan, the entire net increase in public debt is financed by central bank purchases of government bonds. The global economy recovered because the world s three largest economies rejected the idea that high public debt burdens made further fiscal expansion impossible. But the impact of that stimulus has faded. US growth is slowing as the one-off impact of President Donald Trump s tax cuts wears off; China is struggling to curb excessive leverage and manage the impact of Trump s tariff increases on exports and confidence; and, in October, Japan will implement a long-planned sales tax increase which threatens to slow consumption growth. Eurozone growth, too, is slowing in the face of declining external demand. So we are back to facing the same question as in 2016: What to do if stagnation threatens when interest rates are already close to zero? mong the proposed answers are variants of monetary finance. Proponents of modern monetary theory argue that money-financed fiscal expenditure should be the normal mechanism for managing nominal demand: and the Green New Deal presents monetary finance as one option for financing socially and environmentally desirable investment. The valid insight behind these propositions that governments and central banks together can always create nominal demand was explained by Milton Friedman in an important 1948 essay. But it is vital also to understand that excessive monetary finance is hugely harmful, and it is dangerous to view it as a costless route to solving long-term challenges, rather than a demandmanagement tool for use in exceptional circumstances. Faced with slow growth, political discontent, and large inherited debt burdens, monetary finance cannot be a taboo option. In Japan, permanent monetary finance is already occurring, even though the central bank denies it. The challenge is to ensure that it is used only within disciplines such as Bernanke proposed, rather than assuming that pre-crisis normality will return any time soon. Project Syndicate dair Turner, Chairman of the Institute for New Economic Thinking and former Chairman of the UK Financial Services uthority, is Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission. Springtime for nationalism? Three-day forecast By Bill Emmott London Is populism still on the rise? That question will be looming over elections in Israel, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Spain, and the European Union over the next two months. Yet it will be misplaced, for the real contest is between nationalism and internationalism. To be sure, the nationalistinternationalist division is being prized open by populists themselves, particularly US President Donald Trump, whose instinctive disdain for international laws and institutions has long been clear. But it is also being exploited by more mainstream politicians, including some in that most multilateral of institutions, the European Union, which is experiencing a profound change in its internal political dynamics. The term populism merely describes a campaigning technique used by insurgent politicians of all stripes. Hence, its power as a political epithet has diminished with use, especially in the years since the Brexit referendum and Trump s election. Once in power, populists still have to govern to voters liking, or else risk defeat at the next election. Consider the Five Star Movement (M5S), which came to power in June 2018 as the senior partner in Italy s governing coalition, but has since lost a string of regional elections, halving its vote from a year earlier. That decline does not reflect voters disillusionment with M5S s populist policy proposals; after all, it has succeeded in implementing its promised basic income for jobseekers. Rather, M5S s participation in the coalition has been overshadowed by the strong nationalist rhetoric of its governing partner, the right-wing League party. Now, consider Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and that consummate survivor, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Unlike M5S, all three campaigned as populists but have governed as tough-guy nationalists. In elections on pril 9 (Israel), pril 11- May 19 (India), and May 13 (Philippines), it is that nationalist approach that will be tested. Modi, Duterte, and Netanyahu have each used fear of terrorist attacks from Pakistan, drug cartels, and Hamas rockets, respectively and appeals to national pride. Their stated goal is to strengthen the nation-state against threats foreign and domestic, through both economic and political means. They have little regard for international institutions or laws, and if they consider the international context at all, it is usually through the scope of bilateral relations with the United States and/or China, rather than multilateralism. Similar issues are in play in the runup to Indonesia s pril 17 presidential election, where the incumbent, President Joko Widodo ( Jokowi ), and his rival, Prabowo Subianto, can both be described as populists. The difference is that while Jokowi is running on his five-year record of leadership in both Indonesia and Southeast sia generally, Prabowo is positioning himself more as a Dutertestyle nationalist, as he did in In Europe, the politics are different, but the key divisions are strikingly similar. The terms populist and euroskeptic do not truly capture the rise of far-right parties such as Vox in Spain, the Freedom Party of ustria, and the lternative für Deutschland (fd) in Germany; nor are they sufficient for understanding the policies of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Poland s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. To be sure, these parties are all nationalist, conservative, and generally opposed to immigration. But with constant reference to law and order, they are exploiting cultural rather than military or geostrategic fears. Hence, should the far-right make significant gains in Spain s general election this pril, and then in the European Parliament elections in May, the right way to think about it will not be as an anti-eu phenomenon. rebalancing of power toward the nationalist right would represent a changing view of the EU, but not an outright Brexit-style rejection of it. It would augur a further shift away from integration, and toward a more ad hoc intergovernmental approach for tackling issues related to immigration and the rule of law. The scope for top-down policies issued from Brussels would be significantly narrowed. nd as individual EU member states began to pursue their own policies toward Russia, Libya, and other third countries, there would be a broad retreat from efforts to negotiate common foreign and security policies. So, forget populism. The real contest in elections this year, as well as in the US presidential election in 2020, will be between nationalism and internationalism. mid rising geopolitical tensions, increased migration flows, and the lingering stresses of past financial crises, the question is whether appeals to a rulesbased international order can still win voters hearts and calm their fears. In the absence of US leadership to lend that idea credibility, the answer is anyone s guess. Project Syndicate Bill Emmott, a former editor in chief of The Economist, is the author of The Fate of the West. round the region Baghdad Kuwait City Manama Muscat Tehran Weather today Max/min 29/15 30/22 28/22 33/28 19/11 TODY Maximum Temperature : 320c Minimum Temperature : 240c TUESDY Maximum Temperature : 310c Minimum Temperature : 240c WEDNESDY Maximum Temperature : 280c Minimum Temperature : 230c Fisherman's forecast WRNING Inshore Offshore WETHER Inshore Offshore WIND Inshore Offshrore Visibility Offshore Weather tomorrow Cloudy : Expected thundery rain at some places at first : Expected thunder rain associated with strong wind and high sea : Cloudy with chance of light rain at first at some places becomes partly cloudy later and slight dust at times : P cloudy to cloudy with chance of scattered rain maybe thundery at times. : Northerly-Northwesterly 08-18/24 KT : Northeasterly-Southeasterly 08-18/28 KT : 4-8 KM : 3-5/9 FT Max/min 30/17 28/21 29/23 32/27 21/11 Live issues Hospital staff errors spread bacteria By Carolyn Crist Health Healthcare workers caring for infectious patients sometimes make mistakes when removing personal protective garments, resulting in contamination of clothes or equipment with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a small study shows. No one is perfect and inadvertent healthcare worker contamination with multi-drug resistant organisms can occur and may be a key step in the spread of potential pathogens in healthcare settings, said lead study author Dr Koh Okamoto of Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago. The more we understand how and why contamination happens, the better prepared we are to help healthcare workers avoid it, he told Health by . Over a six-month period, Okamoto and colleagues observed 125 healthcare workers, including 83 nurses and 24 doctors, in four adult intensive care units at their hospital. Half of the doctors and nurses had received formal training in the use of personal protective equipment for the Ebola virus within the previous year, and 90% had received donning and doffing training within the previous five years. During the study, the workers oversaw 95 patients with contact precautions for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRS, as well as vancomycinresistant Enterococci and multidrugresistant gram-negative bacilli. The research team collected 6,000 samples from 5,000 sites around the ICUs, including items that had touched the patient s body and environmental surfaces such as blood pressure cuffs, call buttons and sinks. They also tested the healthcare workers hands, gloves and gowns before and after patient interactions. In addition, they watched the doffing, or removal process, and recorded errors based on Centre of Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, which recommends removing gowns and gloves together. ccording to a report published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, they found that more than a third of the healthcare workers acquired a multidrug-resistant organism during a patient encounter. Notably, four healthcare workers had it on their hands, four had it on their clothes or jewellery, three had it on their stethoscope, and two had it on their in-hospital mobile phones. bout 70% of environmental sites had organisms, especially items that were close to patients such as blood pressure cuffs, call buttons and bed rails. Overall, 49 workers, or 39%, made multiple doffing errors and were more likely to have contaminated clothes after a patient interaction. For instance, all four healthcare workers with hand contamination made errors while removing their gowns and gloves. In particular, hand contamination was 10 times higher when gloves were removed before gowns. Our study occurred in a real-world busy ICU setting where the rush of crisis care makes simple slip-ups more likely, Okamoto said. This allowed us to better observe donning and doffing methods and potential errors of various healthcare workers. Simple interventions are needed that reinforce the preferred order of doffing, which could reduce contamination, he said. Removing gloves and gowns together as a unit, for instance, seemed most helpful in preventing self-contamination. While we need more research to better understand potential transmission risk, we can also focus on strategies to assist healthcare workers with properly removing gowns and gloves, said Sarah Krein of the University of Michigan in nn rbor. Krein, who wasn t involved with this study, has researched infectious agent transmission precautions in hospitals. For example, signs or cues inside patient rooms could remind healthcare workers of the proper procedures for removing gowns and gloves, she said. Some researchers are also working on a gown redesign that would use colour coding to better identify the outside of the gown, so workers can more carefully remove it, roll it up and dispose it. round the world thens Beirut Bangkok Berlin Cairo Cape Town Colombo Dhaka Hong Kong Istanbul Jakarta Karachi London Manila Moscow New Delhi New York Paris Sao Paulo Seoul Singapore Sydney Tokyo Weather today Rain Sunny S T Storms S T Storms S T Storms S Showers Showers Cloudy Cloudy Showers S T Storms Cloudy Max/min 16/11 22/16 36/29 18/03 31/19 20/17 32/26 31/23 25/22 20/11 32/26 33/24 16/08 36/27 12/07 36/23 24/13 17/07 22/18 16/03 33/26 29/19 16/09 Weather tomorrow S Showers Sunny S T Storms Cloudy S T Storms Showers Showers Cloudy Showers S Showers T Storm S T Storms Clear Max/min 18/12 22/16 36/29 12/01 29/14 23/16 32/26 29/23 24/22 17/11 32/25 33/24 12/07 35/28 14/07 38/24 15/08 17/07 21/17 14/05 32/26 23/14 17/07

24 24 Monday, pril 8, 2019 QTR QU forum to focus on digital innovations in education HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif hmed al-sulaiti inaugurating the exhibition on the sidelines of QU Digital Innovation Forum as other dignitaries look on. In the presence of HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif hmed al-sulaiti, Qatar University (QU) president Dr Hassan al-derham and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education undersecretary Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh al-nuaimi launched the QU Digital Innovation Forum yesterday. The two-day forum aims to bring technology and industry leaders together to share ideas and insights on new technology trends and their impact on education. The forum also provides the university community a platform to explore the latest technological developments related to education. In his speech during the event, Dr al-derham said, The organisation of this forum enhances our capacity to do more and how we can volunteer in the service of education to make the future brighter. Digital innovation is a part of our lives, with its many benefits and also its many challenges. We are in a stage where there are many solutions provided by technology, in various ways such as in education, business, personal lives and even our social relations, he stated. We need to stop for a moment and question where are we headed? What are the implications of using such solutions in our everyday lives? More importantly, we need to ask, how we can use digital innovations to build a knowledge economy to achieve sustainable development in line with the Qatar National Visions Such questions require a concerted effort from all disciplines and extensive research and studies. I believe the QU Digital Innovation Forum is an important first step for this. QU through its strategic plan , provides six key goals, including seven key strategies, that includes a digital transformation strategy, and a leadership and innovation strategy. This is in line with the state s keenness to achieve its national vision to transform Qatar into a knowledge economy, which requires a radical change in strategies, plans and goals. College of the North tlantic Qatar s vice-president (finance and administration) Dr Salem al-naemi observed that QU s organisation of the forum was vital because of the importance of the issues and ideas being discussed. He hoped that the participants through the various sessions can reach concrete results that enhance the positive aspects of this digital innovation. QU, in participation with the computer technology company Dell, is also hosting an exhibition on the sidelines of the event, featuring a number of leading institutions in the field. HE al-sulaiti opened the exhibition. Qatar irways l Darb programme holds recruitment drive at l Hazm rain-soaked road in Doha yesterday. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam More rain expected, says Met Thundershowers are expected in some places in the early hours of today, the Qatar Met department has said. The weather office has also issued a marine warning for thundery rain, strong winds and high seas today. The skies are expected to become cloudy at times, especially in the evening and at night, and there is a chance of scattered rain of variable intensity which may be thundery at times The detailed forecast says northeasterly-southeasterly winds will blow at 8-18 knots offshore and reach a high of 28 knots during thundershowers before becoming northwesterly by the evening. Cloudy conditions are expected in these places and there is a chance of scattered rain, which may become thundery at times. The sea level, meanwhile, may rise to 9ft. Inshore areas will see cloudy conditions today and there is a chance of rain in some places at first. Partly cloudy conditions will prevail later and slight dust is also expected occasionally. Parts of the country received some rain yesterday, too, including Doha. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature is expected to be 21C in Dukhan and bu Samra today, followed by 22C in l Khor and Ruwais, 23C in Wakrah and Mesaieed, and 24C in Doha. The maximum, on the other hand, will range from 26C in Ruwais to 33C in l Khor, with Doha expected to see a high of 32C. Yesterday, the minimum temperature was 21C in bu Samra and Sheehaniya, with Doha recording 25C. The maximum went up to 38C in Shehaimiya, 36C in Dukhan and bu Samra, 35C in Umm Bab, Batna and other places, 34C in Sheehaniya and Turayna, and 31C in Doha and the Qatar University area. The Met department had on Saturday said in a report that unsettled weather conditions were likely to affect the country until the weekend due to the extension of a low-pressure system over the region. The skies are expected to become cloudy at times, especially in the evening and at night, and there is a chance of scattered rain of variable intensity which may be thundery at times. The department urged people to be cautious and avoid going to sea in view of the expected conditions, and also follow the latest updates through its official social media accounts. Qatar irways l Darb programme, the airline s Qatarisation initiative, held its recruitment event for nationals at l Hazm in Doha on pril 3. The one-day event invited young nationals to meet with Qatar irways recruitment staff and learn more about the airline s l Darb programme. Meaning The Pathway in rabic, the l Darb programme invites young nationals to explore the many different employment opportunities available at Qatar irways Group, including the National Scholarships programme, Cadet Pilot programme and ircraft Maintenance Engineering programme, the airline said in a statement. Programmes are tailored so that young nationals can choose their own career paths and identify development opportunities, gaining experience in a culturally diverse organisation Programmes are tailored so that young nationals can choose their own career paths and identify development opportunities, gaining experience in a culturally diverse organisation. The l Darb programme enables students and graduates to work on real projects, preparing them for a successful career at Qatar irways Group. The diversity of the initiative allows nationals to explore different career paths that meet their interests, the statement notes. The l Darb recruitment initiative at l Hazm. Qatar irways senior vicepresident Human Resources Nabeela Fakhri said, t Qatar irways, we believe that you make the most of yourself when you work somewhere that makes the most of you. Our l Darb programme continues to be tremendously successful in providing nationals with the opportunity to work for one of the world s leading airlines, choosing their own career path along the way. s the national carrier of Qatar, we are very pleased to have taken part in the initiative at l Hazm, as we seek to be the employer of choice for nationals. The l Darb Qatarisation programme, a government initiative that aligns with Qatar National Vision 2030, includes a variety of modules from integrating new joiners into the world of aviation to developing high-calibre students into future professional airline pilots. It provides financial and academic support to nationals studying at home and overseas. Students are provided with assistance during their studies and, upon completion, join Qatar irways as Graduate Developees. multiple-award-winning airline, Qatar irways was named World s Best Business Class by the 2018 World irline awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named Best Business Class Seat, Best irline in the Middle East, and World s Best First Class irline Lounge. Qatar irways also won two awards at the Linkedin Talent wards 2018: Best Employer Brand and Best Recruiter. The airline currently operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad International irport, to more than 160 destinations worldwide. Medina Centrale Spring Festival at The Pearl-Qatar concludes United Development Company (UDC), the master developer of The Pearl-Qatar and Gewan Islands, concluded Medina Centrale Spring Festival yesterday. The outdoor event, which ran from pril 4 to 7, featured a variety of entertaining programmes that attracted thousands of children and families to the most lively and dynamic community in the heart of The Pearl-Qatar. Throughout the four-day festival, retail outlets in Medina Centrale welcomed the high influx of residents and visitors who spent quality time between festival activities and the variety of retail and dining offerings that give Medina Centrale its casual feel. Visiting families specifically commended the mesmerising flower tunnel structure, which was erected especially for the event, in addition to the roaming parades, stage performances, graffiti artists, and caricaturists. Meanwhile, children were treated to fun train rides, mascot shows, remote-control car racing, face painting, and drawing activities at a dedicated area that featured a playground and a host of workshops.