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Volume 23 | Number 7565 | 2 RiyalsFriday 22 June 2018 | 8 Shawwal I 1439 www.thepeninsula.qa

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QP: Regulatory compliance top priorityTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Petroleum (QP) has stressed that it always give the highest importance to the regulatory compliance in all geographic areas in which it operates. The QP was responding to the European Commission’s yester-day’s announcement that it has opened an investigation into certain terms and conditions of long-term LNG supply agree-ments into Europe by QP and five of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) subsidiaries that are operated by Qatargas. The investigation will look into the potential anti-competitive implications that such terms and conditions may have on trade within the European Economic Area.

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, met in Brussels yesterday with Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of European Commission. Discussions dealt with the regional and international developments, as well as a number of issues of common interest.

Renovated beaches draw huge crowds during EidSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The newly renovated beaches by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment have received huge crowds of visitors- families and individuals during Eid Al Fitr holidays and weekends.

The visitors enjoyed the per-fectly calm sea in the morning hours and during nights. The vis-itors lauded the Ministry of

Municipality and Environment for providing all necessary facil-ities at beaches.

“I took my family to Sealine Beach at Umm Saead on Wednesday in early morning,” Abdullah Abu Reem, a Moroccan expatriate told The Peninsula. He said that the sea was calm and water was suitable for taking bath and swimming. “My children enjoyed the trip too much. They swam for hours long enjoying favorable weather and

sea water,” said Abu Reem.He said that children also

played in sands at Sealine Beach which is cleaned of stones. Abur-raham Orakzai, a Pakistani national praised the efforts of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment for providing nec-essary facilities at Sealine Beach like separate toilets and main-taining hygiene.

“Cleaning workers equipped with necessary gears are deployed at the beach to keep

the surrounding clean,” said Orakzai adding that garbage bins in enough quantity were placed along the beach to stop littering around.

Ministry of Municipality and Environment, represented by the Public Parks Department has planted various palm trees and made shades along the beaches to provide shade and greenery to the visitors. “I took breakfast with my family at a shade at Al Wakra beach,” said Ahmad.

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment has opened five major beaches and Corniche after renovation which are now equipped with new facilities including pergolas (shades), caf-eterias, toilets and green areas among many others to serve the visitors.

The renovated picnic places are Corniche of Al Wakra City, Al Shamal Corniche, Corniche of Al Khor City, Semaisima Beach and Doha Corniche.

QNA

Doha: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to the Pres-ident of the United States, and US Assistant President and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, at Al Bahr Palace, yesterday. They reviewed the close friendship and cooperation between the State of Qatar and the United States in various fields. A number of issues of common interest were also discussed, including the Middle East peace process and the humanitarian and living condi-tions in Gaza Strip.

Recent initiatives consolidated Qatar’s partnership with USTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani discussed a series of meetings with US offi-cials, on the sidelines of the “Select USA” investment summit in Washington, of enhancing bilateral relations between Qatar and the United States in the field of economic, trade and investment.

The Minister, during his meeting with US Treasury Sec-retary Steven Mnuchin, stressed on the close historical ties between the two countries, noting that the signing of the Framework Agreement for Trade and Investment in 2004 had contributed to strength-ening the cooperation between the two countries.

The Minister said that the recently organised initiatives of the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, the US Economic Roundtable, and Qatar’s participation in the Select USA Investment Summit were important steps towards consol-idating the partnership between Qatar and the United States.

The Minister met with Gov-ernor of Nebraska Pete Ricketts, Governor of Utah Gary Herbert, Senator of Idaho Kelly Anthony and Director of Commerce of Idaho Bobbi-Jo Meuleman. He also met with Louisiana Eco-nomic Development Secretary Don Pierson.

Discussions dealt with means of boosting bilateral rela-tions in the economic and trade fields, as well as highlighting the opportunities for increasing trade exchange in light of the potential and capabilities of the two countries’ economies.

They also discussed mech-anisms to support joint invest-ments and stimulate the private sector to establish innovative investment projects in key sectors that would serve the economic orientations of Qatar and the United States.

The Minister reviewed the developments of the Qatari economy, the investment opportunities offered by the State in all fields, the initiatives launched to support the private sector, and its role in enhancing its contribution to the overall economic development and

attracting foreign direct investment.

The Minister also high-lighted the latest measures taken by Qatar to encourage and attract investments, including the draft law of the non-Qatari capital regulation in economic activity, which opens the way for foreign investors to own 100 per cent ownership in all sectors, as well as support for investors’ entry into the Qatari market.

Qatar and the United States have close economic and trade relations which reflected posi-tively on the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, which in 2017 amounted to approximately QR21bn. The United States is the first trading partner in terms of imports to Qatar by 16.3 percent of Qatar’s total imports.

The number of US com-panies operating in Qatar is more than 650, of which 117 are wholly owned by US citizens, 20 are oil and gas companies and more than 30 are licensed under the Qatar Financial Center.

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Al Sada warns of slow return of investments to oil sectorTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammad bin Saleh Al Sada, warned of the impact of the slow return of investments to the oil sector on the market supply.

In his speech at the 7th OPEC International Seminar, held under the theme “World Economy and the Future of Oil” Dr. Al Sada, said that without further investment, liquids supply would decline steeply leading to major price fluctuations down the line.

Dr Al Sada said that the State

of Qatar believes in the viability and future of oil and gas projects and has therefore expanded its investments in the sector.

He noted that oil would con-tinue to be the driving force behind the worlds economic prosperity and that world demand on oil will continue to grow, with an average rate of about 0.8 percent per year over the next two decades, driven mainly by trans-portation needs and the petro-chemical industry, especially in Asia.

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Croatian team members celebrate after winning the FIFA World Cup Group D match against Argentina 3-0 at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, yesterday.

Call to resolve differences through dialogueQNA

BRUSSELS: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said that differences must be resolved through dialogue, not the blockade, calling for a regional security part-nership between all countries in the Middle East.

In a speech before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, H E Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed that Qatar adopts a method of change and con-structive criticism for development, noting that for the past year it had been calling for dialogue, adding that Qatar have repeatedly invited its neighbors to the table and asked them to clarify their position and the reasons for the blockade and have not received a response.

The Minister expressed his regret because there is more escalation on their part, where they still ignore calls from the international community to engage in dialogue and continue to pursue their unconstructive actions not only against Qatar but also against other countries in

the region. He added that our region can not bear more crises, and we have enough problems on the table and that there are many negative effects on stability in this region.

He stressed the need to establish a regional security partnership between all countries of the Middle East, adding that if you look carefully at the crises in the Middle East, you will find that the same countries are involved in these crises, and we want them to come to the dialogue table to adopt the principle of collective security and contribute to pushing it forward.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Min-ister of Foreign Affairs considered that there is an important role for the European Union in this context, pointing out that everything that happens in this region affects it, whether in the form of refugee flows or the spread of transna-tional terrorism, welcoming in this regard the efforts of European countries to support the establishment of a dialogue on regional security, which Qatar believes in and tries to strength it.

The Deputy Prime Minister also noted the escalation in the Middle East since last year,

especially in Yemen and Syria, the spread of cross-border terrorism and, finally, the Gulf crisis.

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Croatia crush Argentina

02 FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018HOME

Bradma Qatar Foods launches new identityAMNA PERVAIZ RAO THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Bradma Qatar Foods, the leading name in food wholesale and retail, recently revealed the organisation’s new visual identity at an event here.

Bradma Chairman Hashim Mohamed released the logo at a ceremony chaired by CEO Mohamed Hafiz. Senior officials of various procurement, supply chain and logistics establish-ments and all major hyper-markets and supermarkets attended the programme.

The CEO reiterated that the new logo will take the brand to new markets and continents. Bradma is planning to foray into markets in Europe, the Americas, China, India and other GCC countries within a very short span of time.

During the event

Mohammed Hafiz, told The Peninsula:”Bradma Qatar Foods, a leading name in food wholesale and retail for more than three decades. We have grown into 400 men group, this company was not possible without hard work of our staff.

we are proud to launch our new identity which will be our new logo in the market.We are making our new step in inter-national arena.”

Bradma Qatar Food imports rice, pulses, spices, edible oils and various other food products.

Hashim Mohamed (left), Chairman Bradma Group, with Mohammed Hafiz, (centre) Executive Director at the launch of new logo.PIC: ABDUL BASIT / THE PENINSULA

Growing construction activities to drive catering sectorTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar catering services market is expected to grow at a positive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during 2018-2022, said a report on Qatar Catering Services. The growth will be driven mainly by the rise in construction activities as major infrastructure projects get implemented under the Qatar Vision 2030, according to Qatar Catering Services Market Outlook report by Ken Research.

“The tourism sector is expected to reach $7.2bn by 2025 with a target to receiving 4 million visitors by 2020. This will be supported by investment under National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030. This will further create opportunities for catering services in hotels and hos-pitality sector,” noted the report.

The Qatar catering services has

grown during 2011-2017 at a single digit CAGR. This growth was driven by the industrial and event catering sector which are the largest end users of catering services contributing almost one-fourth of the overall revenue share in 2017. The government of Qatar has initiated major infrastructure reforms under Qatar National Vision 2030 in various sectors of the economy such as transport network, education, healthcare, hotels and others which further created opportunities for catering services market as the number of labour camps increased. The edu-cation and healthcare sector together contributed remaining share in the revenue share of catering services market in 2017.

The industrial sector has accounted for the major revenue share in Qatar Catering services market 2017.

Construction activities have majorly been driven with the implementation of government programs such as National Vision (QNV) 2030 and Qatar Rail Development Program (QRDP). The event sector has accounted for the second largest share in Qatar Catering Services in 2017. The hospitality sector has seen infrastructure development as Qatar prepares to host World Cup 2022 which has augmented the market for catering services.

The catering services market in Qatar has been driven by infrastructure development which has led to increase in construction activities which in turn require catering services for labour camps. The government has allotted massive investment for infrastructure, transport, hotels and stadia as it pre-pares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Qatar saw more than 12 million visitors

in 2016 during Eid celebration events and the Qatar Summer Festival. QTA’s collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and Qatar Airways has further facilitated visitors’ entry to Qatar. With development of the Qatar hospitality sector, catering services requirement increased in hotels. Qatar has seen rising number of health conscious people looking for light and nutritious food. Due to the changing preferences, many catering services have restructured their production process. The catering services sector has seen growing demand from high income consumers who prefer more expensive premium products. This has made the catering companies to revise their menus to include more variety food items from different cuisines.

Qatar has over 100 catering service providers. The major players in the

industry are Shaqab, Newrest Gulf Catering, Qatar Aircraft Catering Company and IFS Qatar. This market has seen a rise in competition which is being driven by growing demand and increasing use of technology and inno-vation. Since major clients hire on con-tractual basis, these players compete to achieve contracts for longer duration to ensure regular orders and increase profits.

They offer different menus and cus-tomisation services tailored for different end users. Furthermore, they indulge in various marketing activities to build their brand equity and reliability. Some of the activities include email marketing personalized for specific customers, bro-chures, pamphlets and fliers distributed at corporate offices, schools and hos-pitals and organising tastings and open houses.

DWF Global launches ‘Don’t Waste Dress’ initiative

Founder and Chairman of DWF Global, Nizar Moideen (second right), with other officials at the launch of Don’t Waste Dress initiative.

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Don’t Waste Food (DWF) Global, an NGO working for Asia, Middle East and Africa to prevent food waste, has launched a new initiative, Don’t Waste Dress (DWD).

The formal inauguration of the project was held recently in Doha by handing over around

300kg of locally received dress items to the Child Aid Foun-dation for Africa. Founder and Chairman of DWF Global, Nizar Moideen, Vice-Chairman Muneer Ibrahim, representative Moidu and on behalf of Child Aid Foundation for Africa, Cheikh Melainine from Mauri-tania, have attended the function.

Minister of Economy and Commerce, H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, during a series of meetings with US officials, on the sidelines of the SelectUSA investment summit in Washington, DC.

Al Sada warns of slow return of investmentsCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

He added that the great challenge facing the world today is to ensure the availability of reliable sources of energy, stressing that it is necessary to strengthen efforts to achieve oil security to secure future investments.

In conclusion, Dr Al Sada praised the commitment by Opec members and other non-Opec producers/signatories to the Vienna Agreements, adding that it was “hard work and dedication of Opec and allied

non-Opec producers to find a common ground between the political and economic agendas of 24 countries that have resulted in bringing down the oil hangover to zero and in more than doubling oil prices in two and a half years”.

The State of Qatar will also take part in the 174th meeting of Opec , and the 4th Min-isterial meeting of the Opec and non-Opec meeting, due to be held in Vienna over the next two days.

Recent initiatives consolidated Qatar’s partnership with US

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The SelectUSA Investment Summit is the highest-profile event dedicated to pro-moting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States. This signature event pro-vides an unparalleled opportunity to bring together companies from all over the world, economic development organiza-tions from every corner of the nation, and other parties working to facilitate business investment in the United States. Featuring senior government officials, C-Suite business executives, and other thought

leaders, each summit focuses on a timely theme related to the US investment envi-ronment, industry trends, and new opportunities.

More than 3,200 people are expected to participate in the SelectUSA investment summit, representing 64 international markets and 51 US states and territories, this year, with the participation of the US Secretaries of Commerce, Treasury and Labor as well as a number of US state governors and the US Chamber of Commerce.

Strong wind expected todayDOHA: The Qatar Meteor-ology Department (QMD) has warned that strong wind is expected over most areas and poor horizontal visi-bility inshore and strong wind and high sea offshore for today.

According to the forecast it will be hot during the day with slight dust to blowing dust at places.

Regulatory compliance top priority: QPCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“Qatar Petroleum wishes to stress that it gives the highest importance to compliance with regulatory authorities in all geographical areas in which it operates. Qatar Petroleum looks forward to working with the European Commission to address any queries or con-cerns they may have in this regard”, QP said in the statement.

Qatar stresses region’s need for new security partnership: FM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, expressed his belief that the Middle East needs to create a culture of collective regional security, but unfortunately instead of union to meet the common challenges to achieve this goal, some regional forces sought to destabilise the region and violate international law.

He added that the political maneuvers that we are seeing in the Middle East and the aggressive and non-constructive actions that harm regional security and create a vacuum represent the ideal envi-ronment developing the growth and spread of extremism and terrorism.

He pointed out that as a result of the same non-constructive behaviour, Qatar has been exposed to some of these problems overnight, including the blockade, and our neighbours see the changes adopted by Qatar as a threat to them, and they are in no way late in stigmatizing anyone as a terrorist if he does not share views and directions.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that social and economic devel-opment is the core of our principles, and have invested heavily in this area to promote those principles and values, not only in our internal policy but also in our foreign policy. HE added that Qatar focused on human development to build and protect human capital and invested heavily in education and Qatar also has various international universities that enjoy freedom of expression and freedom of scientific research.

The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that the State of Qatar has developed its values and laws to

protect human rights and workers’ rights and to address issues of concern to the international com-munity in this regard, pointing out that women’s empowerment has been of paramount importance in Qatar’s internal policies and Qatar have achieved the highest female employment in the GCC, and the number of female students exceeds the number of male students in higher education institutions in Qatar.

HE stressed that the culture of coexistence is part of Qatar’s agenda and “We have worked hard over the last 20 years to make Qatar a platform for interfaith dialogue.”

The Deputy Prime Minister said that the State of Qatar has a great interest in liquefied natural gas because it believes it will achieve more progress and prosperity. He added that the fol-lower of the development of the State of Qatar during the past two decades, would note that Qatar is now the exporter of 30% of the world’s pro-duction of liquefied natural gas and is one of the largest exporters of energy in the world.

He said that Qatar had become an important partner for many countries in the world in the field of energy, noting that Europe is the second largest supplier of our markets after Asia, stressing that Qatar has proven over the years that it is a reliable partner.

He noted that Qatar’s gross domestic product (GDP) was about $10bn in 1998, while now it exceeds $150bn. “This means that the size of the Qatari economy has increased sig-nificantly over the past two decades as a result of the great efforts exerted by the government and the people of Qatar, “pointing out that” the European Union is our second largest market, where 30% of our imports come from its member States.”

“Free access to information, freedom of the press and media is an essential part of the values in which Qatar believes and invest,” he said. “Yes, we are in an area where freedom of information and expression does not reach the point here in the West. However, Qatar is the best in our region in this area, and it was 20 years ago when the foundations of freedom of the press were established at a time when there were no media outlets except official government outlets. We supported the establishment of Al-Jazeera Channel which is now one of the best free media in the region,” he added.

“The State of Qatar believes that constructive dialogue is the way forward, so it has provided a platform for various parties to exchange views and discuss differences to reach com-promises through dialogue,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that “Qatar has invested heavily in establishing good governance, which is an essential element of respect for the rule of law. We believe that trans-parency and the fight against cor-ruption are among the most important requirements for the success of any nation. Qatar has shown its leadership in the region, In this regard, where it ranks first in the world in the index of confidence in political decision-making, and the second in terms of effi-ciency of the legislative system,” the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said, “stressing that” these values and principles represent the essence of what we believe and apply in practice and not only what we call for it , we have done this by helping other countries in the region through our support for many peace agree-ments, such as Sudan and Lebanon as an example.

03FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018 MIDDLE EAST

Top Iraq court orders manual election recountAFP

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s supreme court yesterday ordered a manual recount of May 12 legis-lative elections, a process expected to take weeks — although Parliament’s mandate runs out at the end of this month. The recount due to suspicions of electoral fraud, however, would not significantly affect the overall outcome, according to experts on Iraqi politics.

The court ruled that Parlia-ment’s decision on June 6 to order a manual recount in response to allegations of irreg-ularities did not violate the con-stitution, its chief justice Medhat Al Mahmud told a news con-ference. All of the roughly 11 million ballots, including those of voters living abroad, dis-placed persons and security forces, must be recounted, he said, referring to the three cat-egories whose results MPs had decided to annul because they were allegedly the most suspect.

Last month’s ballot was won by cleric populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr’s electoral alliance with communists, as long-time political figures were

pushed out by voters seeking change in a country mired in conflict and corruption.

The result was contested — mainly by the political old guard — following allegations of fraud in the election, Iraq’s first since the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) group.

According to intelligence services, tests of electronic voting machines — used for the first time in Iraqi elections — produced varied results,

appearing to give credence to the fraud claims.

The vote saw a record number of abstentions as Iraqis snubbed the corruption-tainted elite that has dominated the country since the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein.

Many of Iraq’s longtime political figures — seemingly irremovable since the dictator’s fall — were pushed out of their seats by new faces.

Countdown begins for Turkey’s electionsANATOLIA

ANKARA: Turkish voters will go to polls for parliamentary and pres-idential elections on Sunday, with 56,322,632 registered voters and 180,065 ballot boxes across the country.

Voting is scheduled to start at 9am (0600GMT) and continue through 5pm (1500GMT).

Voters will cast two separate ballot papers in the same envelope — one for the presidential and one for the parliamentary elections. After the voting ends, ballots cast for the presidential candidates will be counted first.

For the first time, bedridden voters — more than 17,000 —will be visited at their homes by election officials who will pick up their ballots.

Some 1.49 million expatriates voted in a 13-day period between June 7 and 19 at 123 Turkish mis-sions abroad. Expat votes have been brought to Turkey by airmail and they will be counted at the same time as the votes cast in Turkey on June 24. Balloting at customs gates also began on June 7 and will continue through the election day.

The Supreme Court of Election (YSK) announced that eight political parties will participate in the early parliamentary elections:

the Justice and Development (AK) Party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Peoples’ Demo-cratic Party (HDP), the Free Cause (Huda-Par) Party, the newly formed Good (IYI) Party, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the Felicity (Saadet) Party and the Patriotic (Vatan) Party.

For the first time in Turkish history, political parties will go to elections by forming alliances.

Turkey’s ruling AK Party and the MHP have formed an alliance (People’s Alliance) while the CHP, the IYI Party, and the Felicity Party have constituted another (Nation Alliance).

A bill, submitted by the ruling AK Party and the MHP in February, stated that a political party could back another during elections.

In general elections, a political party must receive 10 percent of the votes nationwide for any of its candidates to win a seat in par-liament. Now, only the alliance needs to pass the 10-percent

threshold in order for the parties to claim seats in parliament.

Ballots will bear the name of the alliance juxtaposed to that of the candidates whose parties have decided to proceed with forging an alliance.

Six candidates are running for president: Recep Tayyip Erdogan

for the alliance (People’s Alliance) formed by Turkey’s ruling AK Party and the MHP, Muharrem Ince for CHP, Selahattin Demirtas for HDP, Meral Aksener for the Good (IYI) Party, Temel Karamollaoglu for the Felicity (Saadet) Party, and Dogu Perincek for the Patriotic (Vatan) Party.

On the day of the elections, news media organisations will not be allowed to broadcast any political advertising, predictions or comments about the elections until 6pm. Between 6pm and 9pm, media outlets will only be able to publish official announcements about the elections issued by YSK.

Voters will cast two separate ballot papers in the same envelope — one for the presidential and one for the parliamentary elections.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets the crowd during Justice and Development (AK) Party’s rally in Gaziantep, Turkey, yesterday.

Coalition army reinforcements roll into port city of HodeidaAFP

KHOKHA: Reinforcements rolled into Yemen’s Hodeida yesterday as the army and its regional allies set their sights on the city’s port held by rebels who have vowed to fight to the end.

Military sources said the army, backed by troops from the United Arab Emirates, had been sending backup troops to the area ahead of a major offensive to close in on the Red Sea port. “Our prepara-tions are in their final stages for the advance on the port,” a military source said.

Houthi rebels have refused to cede control of Hodeida port, the entry point of three quarters of imports to impoverished Yemen.

The Houthis have con-trolled the port since 2014, when they drove the gov-ernment out of the capital and seized much of northern Yemen and a string of Red Sea ports. Four pro-government fighters and 22 Houthis have been killed in the past 24 hours, medical sources said, bringing the death toll in the battle for Hodeida to 374.

Rebel leader Abdulmalik Al Houthi night called for reinforcements to repel the advance of the government forces. Local residents are now bracing for what they fear will be devastating street fighting, as tanks and buses carrying uniformed troops roll through the empty streets of the once-bustling city.

Iraqi Constitutional Court President Medhat Al Mahmud speaks to media regarding the Iraq’s supreme court’s decision on recounting of votes manually of the country’s parliamentary May 12 election, in Baghdad, yesterday.

Thousands flee as shelling in southern Syria intensifiesAFP

BEIRUT: Thousands of civilians have fled “intensified” regime bombardments of rebel-held areas in southern Syria in the past three days, a monitor said yesterday, as fears mount of a full-blown assault.

President Bashar Al Assad has set his sights on retaking rebel-controlled parts of southern Syria, whether through negotiations or a military oper-ation, and has been amassing troops there in recent weeks.

So far, no deal has been struck to avert fighting over the southern opposition stronghold that borders Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

A Britain-based war monitor said the regime had ramped up its bombardment of Daraa province, leading thousands to flee for their lives. “More than 12,000 civilians have fled their

homes in the last three days after regime forces intensified their shelling and air strikes on eastern” Daraa, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

The civilians fleeing areas including Nahta, Al Herak and Basr Al Harir were “heading to nearby villages under rebel control not affected by the bom-bardment near the Jordanian border” to the south, Observ-atory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Opposition fighters control around two-thirds of Daraa, which borders Jordan, but the regime holds a sliver of territory in the centre of the province.

The Islamic State group also holds a pocket of ground in the province.

The areas in eastern Daraa bombarded in recent days lie on a strip of land flanked by regime-held territory to the east and west.

An internally displaced boy from Deraa province sits on a bicycle near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, in Quneitra, Syria, yesterday.

An F-35 fighter jet is seen as Turkey takes delivery of its first F-35 fighter jet with a ceremony in Forth Worth, Texas, yesterday.

Turkey gets first F-35 delivery from USAFP

WASHINGTON: The United States delivered yesterday its first shipment of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, despite tensions with the country and US lawmakers’ opposition.

American defence giant Lockheed Martin officially transferred possession of the first plane, designed to evade even the most advanced radars, to Turkish officials during a cer-emony in Fort Worth, Texas.

A second plane is due to be delivered in the coming days and the two aircraft will be brought “at a later date” to Luke

Air Force Base in Arizona, where Turkish pilots and main-tenance crews are receiving training, said Lieutenant Colonel Mike Andrews, a Pen-tagon spokesman. In a defence budget bill approved on Tuesday, the Senate demanded that F-35 sales be scrapped if Turkey goes ahead with the Russian purchase. “Any effort by the government of the Republic of Turkey to further enhance their relationship with Russia will degrade the general security of the Nato alliance, and Nato member countries, and degrade interoperability of the alliance,” the text reads.

Palestiniandies of woundsGAZA CITY: A Palestinian shot by Israeli forces last month during protests on the Gaza border has died of his wounds, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory said. “Mohammed Ghassan Abu Daqqa died on Wednesday evening from his wounds, after he was shot by the Israeli occupation east of Khan Yunis on May 14,” the ministry said.

At least 133 Palestinians have been killed in clashes since mass protests broke out along the Gaza border on March 30. No Israelis have been killed. The protests peaked on May 14 when at least 62 Palestinians were killed as thousands approached the heavily guarded border fence on the same day the United States moved its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Turkey world’s most hospitable country: NGOISTANBUL: Turkey continues to be the world’s most hospi-table country by hosting 3.5 million refugees, said a UK-based NGO.

According to a statement on World Refugees Day issued by Doctors Worldwide Turkey, the countries from where the most refugees come are Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan. Minors con-stitute more than half of the refugees. One of the biggest problems for refugees is inad-equate access to health care, it added. Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, Syrian refugees have been offered primary health services, psy-chosocial support; Syrian hospitals have been sup-ported and equipment and medical supplies have been provided, it said.

04 FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (left) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel posing for a picture from a panoramic view overlooking the capital Beirut, Lebanon, yesterday.

Netanyahu’s wife charged with $100,000 food delivery fraudAFP

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara was charged yesterday with fraud and breach of trust after a lengthy probe into allega-tions she misused state funds to claim for delivery meals costing $100,000.

The move represents the latest legal headache for Netanyahu and his family, as the authorities investigate the com-bative leader over allegations of cor-ruption in a string of eye-catching cases.

The justice ministry announced that “the Jerusalem district prosecutor... filed charges against the prime minister’s wife”.

The ministry said Sara Netanyahu, who turns 60 in November, was accused of falsely declaring there were no cooks available at the premier’s official resi-dence and ordering “hundreds of meals from outside caterers at public expense”.

From 2010 to 2013 Netanyahu, her family and guests received “fraudulently from the state hundreds of prepared meals (each including a number of courses) to the value of 359,000 shekels ($99,700)”, the indictment read.

Netanyahu, a high-profile presence at her husband’s side throughout his lengthy time at the helm, has denied any wrongdoing.

Her lawyers, in a statement, dis-missed the charges as “delusional” and pointed out that she herself had not ordered the meals, many of which were for official guests and in some cases for residence staff.

According to the charge sheet, the meals were ordered from a variety of well-known Jerusalem establishments, including an Italian restaurant, a Middle Eastern grill joint and a sushi establishment.

The trial, which could run for months, is to be held in the Jerusalem magistrates court, with the prosecution requesting a panel of three judges due to the “public sensitivity” of the case.

The legal woes come as Netanyahu’s husband himself is under the microscope on suspicion of a series of corruption offences. In one case, the prime minister and his family are suspected of receiving one million shekels worth of luxury cigars, champagne and jewellery from wealthy individuals in exchange for financial or personal favours.

In another case, investigators suspect the premier of trying to reach an agreement with the owner of Yediot Aha-ronot, a top Israeli newspaper, for more favourable coverage. Netanyahu has pro-tested his innocence and vowed to remain in power, saying he is the victim of a “witch-hunt”.

He also faces suspicions of gov-ernment favours that allegedly saw reg-ulatory breaks go to Israel’s largest telecom firm Bezeq, in return for favourable coverage of him and his wife by a news website.

He was questioned last week as a witness in a probe of alleged corruption over the state purchase of three German submarines.

He is not considered a suspect, but some of his close associates have been questioned several times.

The case centres on alleged graft sur-rounding Germany’s sale to Israel of three submarines manufactured by industrial giant ThyssenKrupp.

Despite his troubles, opinion polls suggest Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party would remain the largest in par-liament if elections scheduled for November 2019 were held now.

Merkel pledges $100m loan for troubled JordanAP

AMMAN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday promised a $100m loan to troubled Jordan, where mass protests over austerity measures forced the prime minister to resign earlier this month.

She arrived later in the Leb-anese capital Beirut, another major Middle Eastern refugee host country, where she was expected to meet officials, businessmen and representatives of U.N. organiza-tions during a two-day visit.

Merkel is visiting Jordan and Lebanon, both neighbours of war-torn Syria, amid an escalating domestic row over migration. Standing next to Jordan’s King Abdullah II, she made no ref-erence to the crisis that’s straining her ruling coalition.

The chancellor said Germany will provide the $100m loan in addition to bilateral aid which amounts to about ¤384m ($442m) this year. She said she hopes the additional funds will help Jordan carry out economic reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF is seeking such reforms to lower Jordan’s public debt-to-GDP ratio, which has risen to about 96 percent, in part because of the continued eco-nomic fallout from Syria’s civil war and other regional crises.

“We are aware of the chal-lenges you face, both in the realm of security and in civil society development,” Merkel said, adding that she wished the gov-ernment success in implementing “needed reforms.”

“The IMF, and it’s known for this, often has very ambitious ideas about reforms, and imple-menting them is anything but simple,” she said.

Merkel is meanwhile facing a serious crisis in her coalition.

Bavaria’s Christian Social Union party demands that some migrants should be turned back at Germany’s borders, and has given her two weeks to reach agreement with European partners. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, the CSU’s leader, is threatening to go ahead unilat-erally with his plans if she doesn’t - potentially threatening the gov-erning coalition. Leaders from a group of European Union coun-tries, led by Germany and France, will meet Sunday to thrash out possible solutions.

Earlier yesterday, in a question-and-answer session with students at the German Jor-danian University, Merkel said the refugee influx in recent years, including from Syria, had stirred debate in Germany over funda-mental questions.

“I am on the side of those, and this is fortunately the majority in Germany, who say we need to be an open country,” she said, adding that “of course we need to regulate this.” Separately, she expressed concern about a decree issued by Syrian President Bashar Assad which

would require Syrian residents to register to prove and reclaim prop-erties. The decree initially gave Syrians one month to register, but after an uproar was extended for a year.

“If this decree is imple-mented, it’s very bad news for all those who are currently outside the country,” she said, referring to refugees, among them hundreds of thousands in Germany. “We are doing eve-rything we can so this decree is not implemented,” she said,

adding that it would make it dif-ficult or impossible for dis-placed Syrians to return.

Merkel said she has raised her concerns with Russian Pres-ident Vladimir Putin, a key Assad ally. More than 6 million Syrians have fled their homeland since the civil war erupted in 2011. Most have settled in regional host coun-tries, including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Hundreds of thou-sands migrated onward to Europe, embarking on

dangerous sea routes at the mercy of smugglers.

The regional hosts have said they are not receiving sufficient international support for shoul-dering a disproportionately heavy refugee burden. Jordan is home to some 660,000 reg-istered Syrian refugees, but says the actual number of displaced Syrians in the kingdom is twice as high. In Lebanon, a politically and economically fragile country, an estimated one in four residents is a refugee.

East Libyan forces advance to retake oil portsREUTERS

BENGHAZI: East Libyan forces said yesterday they had retaken the shuttered oil ports of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, hours after clashes resumed south of Ras Lanuf during a counter-attack by rival factions.

Staff were evacuated from terminals in Libya’s eastern oil crescent and exports were sus-pended last Thursday when armed opponents of eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar stormed the ports and occupied them.

The closure has led to pro-duction losses of up to 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) and two oil

storage tanks were destroyed or badly damaged by fires during the fighting.

For the past week, Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) has pounded the area with air strikes as it mobilised to retake the ports, and it continued to target its rivals with air strikes on Thursday as they retreated.

Haftar is one of the figures vying for power in Libya since the country fragmented fol-lowing a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. He has received increased international recog-nition since seizing the oil crescent ports in 2016 and allowing the National Oil Corp (NOC) to reopen them, despite

his rejection of a U.N.-backed government in the capital Tripoli.

Ahmed Al Mismari, a spokesman for the LNA which Haftar built up during his three-year campaign to seize the eastern city of Benghazi, said troops had retaken Es Sider by mid-morning.

He said Ras Lanuf - which includes a residential town, an air strip, storage tanks and a refinery alongside the oil ter-minal - had also been taken by the LNA, as rivals had fled to the west and south into the desert, suffering heavy losses. “The oil crescent is thanks to God under full control,” Mismari said.

Hours earlier military and local sources said clashes had resumed south of Ras Lanuf when the LNA’s opponents counter attacked. Medical and military sources confirmed 10 dead and 13 wounded among LNA forces.

An oil engineer said a third oil storage tank may have been hit after photos published on social media showed thick black smoke rising from the area, though officials were still trying to confirm the source of the fire.

Libya’s national production has been cut to between 600,000 and 700,000 bpd from more than one million bpd during the oil crescent clashes, but NOC Chairman Mustafa

Sanalla said he was expecting a quick restart. Production at AGOCO, an NOC subsidiary based in the east, has fallen from around 250,000 to 180,000 bpd, an oil official said on Thursday, due to power problems and to disruption at Ras Lanuf.

“Libyan production is very low but we are going to resume very soon,” Sanalla told reporters in Vienna. “After a couple of days we will resume, we start our operations hopefully.”

The NOC has blamed the attack on the terminals on militias led by Ibrahim Jathran, who blockaded oil crescent ports for several years before losing control of them in 2016.

Libyan coast guard rescues over 520 Europe-bound migrantsAP

CAIRO: Libya’s coast guard has rescued three groups of more than 520 African migrants, including at least 10 women and 49 children, and recovered four bodies in the Mediterranean Sea east of the capital, Tripoli, over two days, a spokesman said.

One group of some 300 people embarked on the perilous trip for Europe on rubber boats but their engines broke down, coast guard spokesman Ayoub Gassim said in a statement, adding the rescue operation was “very exhausting” for the coast guard due to limited resources and the large number of migrants. Another group of some 140 migrants, whose bought was damaged, were also rescued and three bodies were recovered, the coast guard said in a separate statement.

In a statement late on Wednesday,

the coast guard said it had rescued around 80 other people and recovered one body in a separate incident in which a migrant boat was damaged, forcing people to remain at sea for about four hours before the coast guard arrived.

All migrants were given humani-tarian and medical aid, and were handed over to anti-migration authorities, Gassim said. Libya has emerged as a major transit point to Europe for those fleeing poverty and civil war elsewhere in Africa and the Middle East. Traffickers have exploited Libya’s chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed longtime dic-tator Muammar Gaddafi.

Libyan authorities have stepped up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, with assistance from European countries, who are eager to slow a phenomenon that far-right wing parties have seized upon to gain electoral support.

Migrants wait to be transported to a detention centre, at the coast of Tajoura, east of Tripoli, Libya, yesterday.

Algerian PM calls on ailing president to seek fifth termAP

ALGIERS: Algeria’s prime minister called on the coun-try’s president y to seek a fifth term next year despite his age and partial paralysis.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who uses a wheel-chair, hasn’t yet made known if he’ll run in the North African nation’s April 2019 election, when he will be 82-years-old.

Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said at the opening of his party’s national council that Bouteflika twice saved Algeria, first with his policy of reconciliation that allowed Islamists who nearly brought down the state in the 1990s to rejoin civilian life, and then during the Arab Spring chaos that toppled leaders in Tunisia and Libya.

Bouteflika “is the man of national reconciliation who returned stability to Algeria after the bloody and destructive terrorist decade of the 1990s,” Ouyahia said, noting that an estimated 200,000 people died in the violence which also damaged the nation financially and psychologically. Ouyahia heads the National Demo-cratic Rally, the No. 2 force in Algeria’s governing coalition after the National Liberation Front, FLN, whose chief last October also called for Boute-flika to run for re-election.

Nigeria offers reward for information on bomb-making factoryMAIDUGURI, NIGERIA: Nigeria’s military says it is offering a reward for infor-mation on a suspected bomb-making factory in the northern city that is the birth-place of the Boko Haram extremist group.

Maj Gen. Rogers Nicholas says such a factory “likely” exists in Maiduguri. He says the military will give 5m naira ($13,850) for information that leads to it. The announcement comes a day after authorities said 15 people were injured when two female suicide bombers tried to attack a market in Maiduguri. Borno State police spokesman Edet Okon says soldiers shot one of the attackers.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting Jordan and Lebanon, both neighbours of war-torn Syria, amid an escalating domestic row over migration.

05FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018 ISLAM

The significance of ZakahMUHAMMAD MOJLUM KHAN

Being the most honored in the sight of God, a believer is required to fulfill all his needs, be they material or spiritual, proportionately because such

balance in all spheres of one’s life allows one to serve God Almighty most effec-tively while, at the same time, satisfying one’s worldly needs.

In short, the Islamic way of life is a balanced one which, once actualised, creates a society that is not only strict in its observance of the Divine system (Shariah) but is also dynamic and pros-perous – the ideal Islamic society! In economic terms, however, the Muslim seeks to establish a society where social justice and distributional equity would prevail so that a section of the society does not discriminate and prosper at the expense of the rest of the society. As a matter of fact, an ideal Islamic society strives to abolish all forms of discrimi-nation, prejudice, class differentiation and provide equal opportunity to all members of the society although, according to some Islamic scholars, Islam does not envision absolute equality insofar as distribution of eco-nomic resources among individuals is concerned because, operationally speaking, this simply would not be feasible.

The institution of Zakah is undoubtedly one of the most widely dis-cussed and analysed aspects of the Islamic economy.

This is perhaps because Zakah is one of the five principal pillars of Islam along with Shahadah (declaration of faith), Salat (daily prayers), Sawm (fasting during Ramadan) and Haj (pilgrimage to Makkah).

Not surprisingly, whenever the Quran makes a reference pertaining to prayer, it simultaneously refers to Zakah. Here is an example: Those who behave and do righteousness, establish daily prayers and pay poor will have their reward with their Lord. (Baqarah 2: 277)

The Arabic word ‘Zakah’ is generally translated as ‘poor due’ or ‘religious levy’ but literally it means purification, growth, blessing and appreciation.

Islamically speaking, however, Zakah is the community’s share in the produced wealth. More specifically, according to M Umer Chapra, the renowned Islamic economist, Zakah is the financial duty of a Muslim “to pay out of his net worth or agricultural output, if these are higher than the threshold of Zakah, a specified portion as an indispensable part of his religious duties.” Although some writers mis-takenly refer to Zakah as charity, it is not charity.

Sadaqah is charity as opposed to Zakah which is a compulsory religious duty conferred by God Almighty upon all Muslims whose wealth exceeds the prescribed limit. If a person’s wealth exceeds that limit, he/she is required to pay the rate of 2.5 percent of total income or wealth to the Bait Al Mal (the

public treasury) annually for the upkeep of the poor and the needy. In the words of the Prophet (peace be on him): Riches (i.e. Zakah) should be taken from the rich and returned to the poor.

In short, therefore, in a Muslim State the fortunate Muslims are required to look after their less fortunate brothers and sisters, including the non-Muslim citizens of the State. Having made these preliminary remarks, now we shall con-sider the institution of Zakah in further detail below.

THE PURPOSE OF ZAKAH And they have been commanded no

more than this: to worship God, offering Him sincere devotion, being true in faith; to establish regular prayer; and give poor due. (Bayyinah 98: 5)

Being one of the five basic pillars of Islam, Zakah is primarily an act of worship.

Whereas prayer — also an act of worship — is performed by way of reciting, physically posturing and pros-trating, Zakah requires one to distribute portions of one’s wealth to the poor, des-titute and the needy of the society in obedience to God’s commandment because, according to Islam, all wealth, property and treasures that exist on the earth ultimately belong to God alone.

So although God Almighty is the ultimate owner of all things, He has nonetheless permitted man to utilize the provisions of the earth, but in a just and equitable manner. However, man (being insatiable and acquisitive by nature) has not always utilized them fairly and equitably.

Hence, God Almighty ordained Zakah. As such, Zakah – in addition to being an act of worship – is also a unique distributive mechanism which seeks to ensure that wealth and property are not expropriated and controlled only by a few people. And that everyone can equally enjoy the provisions and bounties which the earth produces by the Divine will of God, the Exalted in Might.

What is more, Zakah is also a spir-itual purifying process, which attempts to suppress man’s unwanted desires and whims, thereby seeking to improve and enhance the human personality. To recapitulate, the main purpose of the

institution of Zakah is to ensure that the material resources of the earth are fairly and equitably distributed and shared by everyone while, on the other hand, God Almighty has promised to bless and mul-tiply the wealth of those who pay Zakah in obedience to His command. As the Quran states with reference to Prophet Moses and his companions: I shall ordain mercy for those who do right, and give regular poor due and those who believe in Our signs.} (Al-A’raf 7: 156) The Quran also states: The parable of those who spend their wealth (property) in the way of God is as the parable of a grain growing seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains. And God multiplies further for whom He likes. (Baqarah 2: 261) ince the institution of Zakah is a significant component of the Islamic economy, its role therein is both diverse and far-reaching, not least because Zakah is the pivot of all public finance in Islam. However, for the sake of brevity and simplicity, the role of Zakah within an Islamic economy can be said to cover three spheres, namely the moral sphere, the social sphere and the eco-nomic sphere. Let us briefly explain them below.

THE MORAL SPHERE We have already mentioned the fact

that the one of the main functions of Zakah is that it instills moral qualities and uprightness in man. Here, however, it is necessary to consider the role of the Zakah insofar as the moral development of the Islamic man is concerned in some detail. According to the Islamic econo-mists, one of the most important roles of Zakah in the Islamic economic order is that it “washes away the greed and acquisitiveness of the rich”, thereby seeking to undermine the excessive and over-zealous wealth accumulative attitude of some elements of the society.

However, I should stress here that Islam is not anti-wealth, so to speak, but, on the contrary, Islam encourages the lawful seeking of wealth. Nevertheless, Islam is against the excessive material-istic attitude which some people tend to exemplify.

Nonetheless, man by nature is a selfish and greedy creature, and as such is rarely content with his lot. The more man is given, the more he craves for. In

short, his insatiable self knows no bounds. Referring to such insatiable and acquisitive nature of man, the Quran states: Rivalry in worldly increase dis-tracts you until ye come to the graves. Nay, but ye will come to know! Nay, but ye will come to know! (Takathur 102: 1-4) Similarly the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) remarked: Had there been two mountains of wealth for the son of Adam, he would have sought the third one; nothing but the earth can fill the belly of the son of Adam. (Bukhari) In light of this, the role of Zakah in fos-tering moral qualities and attributes in people in an Islamic society is excep-tional because it encourages and also impresses a sense of moral responsi-bility on the rich to look after the poor and the less fortunate members of the society, thereby seeking to suppress wanton greed, miserliness and self-ishness in order to create a society that is caring, loving, equitable and just. In short, the role played by Zakah in devel-oping and strengthening the moral qual-ities of “sacrifice and goodness and in suppressing evil qualities of selfishness and greed among the people is no small contribution”.

THE SOCIAL SPHERE At the societal level the primary

objective of Zakah is to eradicate poverty.

“Islam has created a society more free from widespread cruelty and social oppression than any other society had ever been in the world before.” (H G Wells, The Outline of History) Although the role of Zakah in the Islamic eco-nomic order is both diverse and far-reaching, however at the societal level the primary objective of Zakah is to eradicate poverty.

And this is a very significant objective which, in my humble opinion, assumes even greater significance con-sidering the fact that some of the wealthier countries in the world happen to be Muslim yet, strangely enough, poverty is rife in the Muslim world. Why? The simple answer is because in those countries wealth is largely con-trolled by a group of elites who care less for the poor and the needy. Worse still, these elites also avoid paying Zakah so that the poor and the needy of the

society are literally forced to steal or beg for charity. Not surprisingly, the situ-ation in Muslim countries today is both desperate and alarming not only because the elites of those societies prefer not to pay Zakah but because they are flagrantly violating Islamic com-mandments with regard to the obligation of Zakah. Perhaps they should ponder over the following words of Caliph Abu Bakr: “By God, I will wage war against those who differentiate between Salat and Zakah.” More importantly, the Prophet (PBUH) said: He is not a true Muslim who eats his full when his next door neighbor is hungry. (Al Albani) Such is the importance of charity and Zakah in Islam. In short, at the societal level, one of the most significant objective of Zakah is that it seeks to eradicate poverty, the mother of all social problems, by ensuring that the rich live up to their social responsibility by dis-tributing a portion of their wealth and fortune to the poor and the needy of the society at large.

THE ECONOMIC SPHERE Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:

Whoever offers prayers but does not pay Zakah, his prayers are in vain. (Al Mun-dhiri) Undoubtedly, one of the most sig-nificant roles of Zakah in an Islamic eco-nomic order is that it “prevents the morbid accumulation of wealth in a few hands and allows it to be diffused before it assumes threatening proportions in the hands of its possessors.” That is to say that Zakah ensures that wealth and property are not expropriated and con-trolled only by a section of a society to the detriment or total exclusion of rest of the society.

As it happens, Zakah is a distributive mechanism par excellence in that it seeks to establish a society in which wealth, goods and services are both equitably distributed and shared and Muslims care for one another, so that inequity and injustice is eliminated on the one hand while poverty and hunger are alleviated on the other.

The Quran constantly reminds the faithful that God commands justice and the doing of good and avoidance of wrong. Muslims need to return to this message of justice, fairness and equality. And the sooner they do the better.

Hadith: The second pillar after the Holy QuranThe Hadith is the record of the

sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The sayings and

conduct of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) constitute the Sunnah.

The Hadith has come to sup-plement the Holy Quran as a source of the Islamic law. The Hadith is the second pillar after the Quran upon which every Muslim rests his faith.

Muslims believe that the Quran is the very word of God Almighty — a complete record of the exact words revealed by God through the Arch-angel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him).

The Quran was memorised by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his followers, dictated to his companions, and written down by scribes, who cross-checked it during the Prophet’s lifetime. Not one word of its 114 surahs (chapters) has been changed over the centuries.

The Quran is in every detail the same unique and miraculous text that was revealed to Muhammad over fourteen centuries ago.

The Quran is the principle source

of every Muslim’s faith and practice.It deals with all subjects that

concern us as human beings, including wisdom, doctrine, worship and law; but its basic theme is the relationship between God and His creatures. At the same time, the Quran provides guidelines for a just society, proper human conduct and equitable economic principles.

“He (God) has sent down to you the Book (the Quran) with truth, con-firming what was revealed before; And He sent down the Torah (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this as a guide in humankind; and He sent down the Criterion (the Quran).” (Quran 3:3-4) Hadith con-sists of Mat’n and Isnad.

Mat’n means the text of the Hadith, while Isnad means the chain of transmitters to that Hadith.

Hadith contains daily practices of the Prophet (PBUH) these have been passed down via chains of nar-rators. Hadith were collected by famous Muhaddiths such as Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim in their collections. They verified narrators via very stringent rules, i.e. if a nar-rator who is known to be unreliable

then it would not be taken from that person. It is recorded that Imam Bukhari travelled miles upon miles to hear hadith which he could collect for his collection, he collected over 100,000 ahadith of which only over 7000 can be found in his Sahih collection.

Hadith are a source of legislation for the muslims along with the Quran, Sunnah (pertained within hadith), Consensus (Ijmaa) of the Sahaba (companions) and Qiyas (analogical reasoning of the latter two).

The scholars of the Hadith liter-ature divided the Traditions into cat-egories according to the degree of authenticity and reliability, each cat-egory had to meet certain criteria.

THE CATEGORIES: 1. Sahih: The genuine Traditions,

the authentic ones.2. Moothaq: Almost like the Sahih

but the narration is not as strong as those of the Sahih.

3. Hasan: The fair Traditions although inferior in matter of authenticity.

4. Dha’eef: The weak Traditions which are not so reliable.

Scholars of Hadith state that the sahih (authentic) hadith which is most likely attributable to the Prophet (PBUH) is the hadith which fulfils all of the following five conditions: 1. Each of its narrators is of good char-acter 2. Each of its narrators has a precise memory 3. The isnad (chain of narrators) is uninterrupted from the beginning to end 4. The hadith is sound and free of any shudhudh (irregularity) in its isnad or matn (text) and 5. The hadith is sound and free of any ‘illah (fault) in its isnad or text.

The fourth and fifth conditions are among the most precise of con-ditions and the most difficult for the scholar, because proving them requires intense research and pre-cision, bringing together all the isnads and narrations of the hadith, as well as extensive experience in the sci-ences of hadith and specialisation in criticism.

SACRED HADITH The Hadith Qudsi, or sacred

hadith, have a particularly important status because their meaning is entirely from Allah the Almighty, while the wording is that of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself.

Zakah is one of the five pillars of Islam along with Shahadah (declaration of faith), Salat (daily prayers), Sawm (fasting during Ramadan) and Haj (pilgrimage to Makkah). Not surprisingly, whenever the Quran makes a reference pertaining to prayer, it simultaneously refers to Zakah. Zakah is also a spiritual purifying process, which attempts to suppress man’s unwanted desires and whims, thereby seeking to improve and enhance the human personality.

06 FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018ASIA

Modi leads fourth Yoga Day celebrations in DehradunIANS

DEHRADUN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said that yoga has the power to unite individuals, society, country and the world at large, and has emerged as a major unifying force globally.

Leading the fourth Interna-tional Yoga Day celebrations here in Uttarakhand, Modi said that the world has embraced yoga and glimpses of this can be seen in the manner in which the International Day of Yoga is marked every year.

“In fact, Yoga Day has become one of the biggest mass movements in the quest for good health and well-being,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that yoga is beautiful because it is “ancient yet modern”.

“It is constant yet evolving. It has the best of our past and present and a ray of hope for our future. In yoga, we have the perfect solution to the problems we face, either as individuals or

in our society,” he said.In today’s fast changing

times, yoga binds together a per-son’s body, brain and soul, hence giving one the feeling of peace.

“The way to lead a calm, cre-ative and content life is yoga. It can show the way to defeat ten-sions and mindless anxiety. Yoga unites, assimilates and heals, instead of furthering animosity and increasing suffering,” he said.

Modi said that yoga is one of the most precious gifts from the ancient Indian sages to mankind.

He noted the International Yoga Day is being celebrated

across the world. “From Dehradun to Dublin, Jakarta to Johannesburg and Shanghai to Chicago people are celebrating yoga day all across the world.”

More than 35 volunteers from different foreign countries participated in the event and performed 21 yoga postures along with nearly 50,000 people who stretched their bodies in the sprawling lawn of Dehradun’s Forest Research Institute lawn surrounded by Shivalik peaks from three sides.

Modi said it is a proud moment for all Indians every-where in the world who were welcoming the rising sun with yoga on the day.

Recalling the moment when he proposed before the UN to mark June 21 as International Day of Yoga, Modi said it was the only proposal that was cospon-sored by by maximum countries. Also it was the first proposal in the history of the world body to accept it in very short period.

“Now, every citizen of every

country relate to yoga as its own,” said Modi, urging people to understand the strength of India’s knowledge and customs.

He said yoga is giving new energy to global friendship.

Thanking Prime Minister Modi for selecting Dehradun to

host the main event, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said the move would also give a boost to tourism in the state. The Prime Minister partic-ipated in the Yoga Day celebra-tions at Rajpath in New Delhi in 2015, the Capitol Complex in

Chandigarh in 2016 and at the Ramabai Ambedkar Sabha Sthal in Lucknow in 2017.

In December 2014, based on a request from Modi, the UN General Assembly declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.

Modi said that the world has embraced yoga and glimpses of this can be seen in the manner in which the International Day of Yoga is marked every year.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi performing yoga on International Yoga Day in Dehradun, yesterday.

China and Nepal sign 14 infrastructure pactsIANS

BEIJING: China and Nepal yesterday signed 14 agreements, including one on railway construction in the Himalayan nation, following a meeting between visiting Nepali Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang.

Both sides struck the deal on conducting feasibility study of a railway line connecting the border town of Kerung to Nepali capital Kathmandu. The MoU was signed by Nepal’s Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Raghubir Mahaseth and his Chinese counterpart Li Xiaopeng.

China will bear the cost of the 121.480 km project.

Kathmandu and Beijing had in principal agreed to expand the Chinese railway beyond Nepal border in 2016 during the visit of Oli but no agreement was reached that time.

The Chinese railway author-ities will conduct the

pre-feasibility of the project within August and will start pre-paring the detailed project report by the next two years.

The construction will be completed within five years. The Chinese side said its rail will

likely reach near Nepal border in 2022. After that, the con-struction of cross border railway will commence.

Mahaseth and Li also signed a protocol on the utilisation of highways in Tibet by Nepal for

cargo transport. With this agreement, Nepal can use the Tibetan highways to ferry goods and logistics to its northern part close to Tibet, but difficult to access from other parts of Nepal.

Other MoU inked was

investment and cooperation on production capacity between the National Development and Reforms Commission of China and National Planning Com-mission of Nepal.

Similarly, an agreement between the two governments was signed on reconstruction of the Friendship Bridge in Tat-opani of Sindhupalchowk and Rasuwagadhi of Rasuwa dis-tricts of Nepal that were damaged due to the 2015 earth-quake. These two bridges link Nepal and China in two busiest trading routes.

Another MoU was signed on the setting up of mechanism for facilitation on the implemen-tation of China-Nepal Cooper-ation Programmes and Projects in Nepal.

Several others pacts were signed on energy cooperation, Nepal’s Nuwakot Palace Resto-ration Project at Durbar Square, public schools recovery project in Rasuwa, Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk.

Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli reviewing a military guard of honour with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, yesterday.

ICC gives Myanmar deadline over Rohingya caseREUTERS

AMSTERDAM: Judges at the International Criminal Court have given Myanmar a deadline to respond to a prosecution request that they consider hearing a case on the alleged deportation of Rohingya minor-ities to Bangladesh.

In a decision published yes-terday, the judges asked Myanmar to reply by July 27 to the request made in April that the ICC should exercise

jurisdiction over the alleged crimes.

About 700,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya have fled largely Buddhist Myanmar to Bangladesh after a military crackdown in August 2017 that the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing.

“Considering that the crime of deportation is alleged to have commenced on the territory of Myanmar, the chamber deems it appropriate to seek observa-tions from the competent

authorities of Myanmar on the prosecutor’s request,” the decision said.

The world’s first permanent war crimes court does not have automatic jurisdiction in Myanmar because it is not a member state. However, the prosecutor asked the court to look into the Rohingya crisis and a possible prosecution through Bangladesh, which is a member.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has argued that, given the

cross-border nature of the crime of deportation, a ruling in favour of ICC jurisdiction would be in line with established legal prin-ciples. However, she acknowl-edged uncertainty around the definition of the crime of depor-tation and limits of the court’s jurisdiction.

The judges asked Myanmar to respond to the matter of juris-diction and circumstances sur-rounding the crossing of the border by members of the Rohingya minority.

Shutdown hits life in Kashmir ValleyIANS

SRINAGAR: Authorities yesterday placed senior sepa-ratist leaders under detention in the summer capital Srinagar to prevent their participation in a protest shutdown that derailed life in the Kashmir Valley. Police took Muhammad Yasin Malik, Chairman of pro-Azadi Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), into preventive custody here to stop him from taking out a protest march in the city.

Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani were placed under house arrest at their res-idences on the outskirts of Srinagar.

The Joint Resistance Lead-ership (JRL), a grouping of sep-aratists headed by Geelani, Mirwaiz Farooq and Malik, called for the shutdown against the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari and continuing killings of civilians in Kashmir. Bukhari, editor of “Rising Kashmir” newspaper, was shot dead along with two security guards in Srinagar on June 14.

Shops, public transport, other businesses and educa-tional institutions remained shut yesterday at most places

in Srinagar while attendance in banks, post offices and gov-ernment offices was thin due to non-availability of public transport.

Private transport and some three-wheelers, however, plied in uptown areas of Srinagar.

Taxis and buses carrying tourists to Sonamarg, Pahalgam and Gulmarg hill stations operated as usual. Train services were suspended in the Kashmir Valley as a precaution.

No incident of stone pelting was reported in the Valley. The shutdown also derailed normal life in all other major cities and towns of the Valley, where a separatist campaign has been raging since 1989.

Despite the shutdown, Gov-ernor N.N. Vohra and all senior bureaucrats of the state gov-ernment attended their offices in the Srinagar Civil Secretariat yesterday.

Vohra had on Wednesday too visited the Civil Secretariat and was presented a guard of honour by police though June 20 was a public holiday in the Valley on account of the annual festival at the Mata Kheer Bhawani shrine, the holiest for Kashmiri Pandits.

Kejriwal takes stock of power, water situationIANS

NEW DELHI: On the first day of work since his sit-in at the Raj Niwas ended, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday met officials from the water and electricity departments to study the problems faced by people in the city.

In a meeting held at the Delhi Secretariat, Kejriwal, who is also the Chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board, took stock of various projects of the Board for water augmen-tation and sought a report on the water situation in the capital.

He also looked at the ongoing projects along with the ways to improve ground-water recharge and treatment of water.

In his meeting with the Power Department and discoms, the Chief Minister directed the implementation of a subsidy policy for tenants as soon as possible.

However, the Chief Min-ister did not hold any meeting with IAS officers regarding their safety and security.

Kejriwal had cancelled all his scheduled meetings on Wednesday, saying he was not feeling well. He will leave for Bengaluru yesterday as he has been suffering from high sugar levels for the past few days.

Kejriwal ended his nine-day sit-in at Lt Governor Anil Baijal’s office on Tuesday after officers started attending meetings called by ministers which earlier they were boycotting in the wake of an assault on the Chief Secretary.

Sushma, Sitharaman to visit Washington IANS

NEW DELHI: India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold the first strategic 2+2 Dialogue with their US counterparts on July 6 in Washington, the State Department announced yesterday.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis will host the Indian ministers at the meeting that “will focus on strengthening strategic, security, and defence cooperation as the United States and India jointly

confront global challenges”, the Department said.

In New Delhi, the External Affairs Ministry said that Sushma Swaraj and Sitharaman will visit the US for the first meeting of the ‘2+2 Dialogue’ on July 6, where “the two sides are expected to shares perspectives on strengthening their strategic and security ties and exchange views on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest”.

Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh and US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan discussed the agenda for the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, which was

announced during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Donald Trump last June, on the sidelines of the G20 Ministerial Meeting in Buenos Aires last month, it said.

The meeting was to have been held in April, but was post-poned because of changes in the leadership of the State Department after Rex Tillerson resigned and Pompeo was in the process of taking over.

The optics of the Dialogue will break some stereotypes: Two powerful women from India will be sitting across from two men representing the US.

07FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018 ASIA

Imran Khan declares assets worth Rs3.8bn

New Zealand welcomes Prime Minister’s baby girl

INTERNEWS

ISLAMABAD: The statement of assets submitted by politicians with their nomination papers showed that the worth of assets owned by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has increased from Rs1.4bn in 2015-16 to Rs3.8bn last year, while Maryam Nawaz owned assets worth Rs845m.

The total value of assets of former president and co-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party Asif Ali Zardari is around

Rs758.66m.Over one dozen properties

owned by Khan include his 300-kanal residence in Islamabad’s Banigala, a family home in Lahore’s Zaman Park and 168-acre agricultural land and an apartment in diplomatic enclave. His sources of income include earnings from agriculture, bank profit and salary.

According to the details of Maryam Nawaz’s assets annexed with her nomination papers, she holds shares in various com-panies. She owns 1,506-kanal

irrigation land, invested Rs3.4m in her family’s flour mills and gave a loan worth Rs7m to Soft Energy Private Limited. She owns jew-ellery worth Rs1.7m.

Besides, her brother Hasan Nawaz, who resides in the United Kingdom, has given her a loan of Rs20m, while she also received Rs40m as gifts.

While the former military ruler, retired Gen Pervez Mush-arraf, does not own any immovable assets in Pakistan, he has an apartment, valued at Rs90m, in the UAE.

AFP

AUCKLAND: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave birth to a baby girl in an Auckland hospital yesterday, becoming only the second world leader to do so while in office.

It was the first child for the 37-year-old and her 40-year-old partner Clarke Gayford, with the new arrival weighing in at 3.3kg. “I’m sure we’re going through all of the emotions new parents go through, but at the same time feeling so grateful for all the kindness and best wishes from so many people. Thank you,” Ardern said.

She added on Instagram that the baby was healthy and doing well. “We’re all doing really well thanks to the wonderful team at Auckland City Hospital.” Ardern and Gayford, who hosts a television fishing show, had known the sex of the baby for several months but decided to keep it secret from the public.

The birth capped an eventful year for Ardern who became prime minister last

October, three months after inheriting the leadership of the Labour Party when it was languishing in the polls. When no party won sufficient support in the election to form a

government, she was anointed Prime Min-ister by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, the kingmaker in a three-party coa-lition also involving the Greens. Peters, who became Ardern’s deputy, is now acting prime minister while she takes six weeks maternity leave, although she will continue to be consulted on significant issues.

“Like the rest of the country we welcome the news of the birth of a healthy baby and are naturally delighted for the new parents,” Peters said in a statement.

Former prime minister Helen Clark tweeted it was “a proud day for Jacinda & Clarke & for us all. New life, new hope” and described the proud parents as “role models” for gender equality.

Ardern’s Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull told ABC Radio he was “really thrilled”, while New Zealand oppo-sition leader Simon Bridges offered congratulations.

Ardern, who refused to discuss plans for motherhood during the election cam-paign, waited until January to reveal on

Facebook she had conceived and was going to be “prime minister and a mum”.

She rejected the line of questioning as “unacceptable”, saying pregnancy and child rearing should not hinder women’s oppor-tunities in the workplace. “It is a woman’s decision about when they choose to have children and it should not predetermine whether or not they are given a job or have job opportunities,” she said then.

The charismatic Ardern follows Paki-stan’s prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 1990 as the only women in modern history to give birth while in power, but she down-played the significance. Pakistan’s Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007, gave birth in January 1990 to her daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, who now describes herself on Twitter as “1st child born to a sitting female Prime Minister”.

Bakhtawar tweeted “congratulations” to Ardern after the announcement, and shared a link to a news story on how Bhutto showed it was possible to be a mother and a prime minister.

Majority of nomination papers for reserved seats rejected

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is seen with her baby daughter and partner Clarke Gayford at Auckland City Hospital, in Auckland, yesterday.

INTERNEWS

PESHAWAR: The returning officer has rejected 291 of the 423 nomination papers filed for the seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and National Assembly from the province due to the absence of the names of those candidates from the priority lists submitted by political parties to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

According to the details

released by the ECP, provincial election commissioner, has accepted nomination papers of 132 candidates from among a total of 423 papers submitted for these seats.

Under the law, no inde-pendent candidate can contest against the seats reserved for women and non-Muslims and it is a pre-condition that the names of those submitting nomination papers must be available in pri-ority lists submitted by the political parties.

Vietnam arrests oil executives amid corruption crackdownREUTERS

HANOI: Police in Vietnam arrested four executives of state oil firm PetroVietnam’s subsidiaries on suspicion of embezzlement as the communist-led government widens a crackdown on corruption.

Dinh Van Ngoc, Deputy CEO of Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC, and three others were accused of “abusing power to appro-priate property”, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement. Ngoc was arrested for alleged wrongdoing com-mitted when he previously served as general director of Binh Son Refining and Petro-chemical, according to the statement.

Police also arrested Tu Thanh Nghia, former chief executive officer of Vietsov-petro, an oil joint venture between PetroVietnam and Russia’s Zarubezhneft.

The others arrested were Vo Quang Huy, former chief accountant of Vietsovpetro, and Nguyen Tuan Hung, head of the finance department of PetroVietnam’s leading pro-duction and exploration arm PVEP, the statement said.

The Ministry of Public Security said it is carrying out further investigation into the case.

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in (left) and his wife Kim Jung-sook reviewing a Russian guard of honour during a welcoming ceremony upon their arrival at the Vnukovo II Government Airport in Moscow, yesterday.

Japan to scrap evacuation drills for N Korean threatAP

TOKYO: Japan plans to suspend the civilian evacuation drills it started last year while North Korea was repeatedly test-firing missiles near and over Japanese islands, officials said yesterday, citing diplomatic overtures from Pyongyang.

Nine drills to prepare resi-dents in Japan for possible missile attacks were to be held later this year.

The Cabinet Secretariat in charge of crisis management said the official announcement of the suspension was expected next week and that recent diplomatic developments meant the prospect of strikes from North Korean missiles has subsided for now. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un promised at his summit with US President Donald Trump to work toward a denuclearised Korean Peninsula. Washington has also announced that it will suspend its joint military exer-cises with South Korea planned for the summer.

The planned suspension sur-faced yesterday after officials in

Tochigi prefecture confirmed a drill there next Tuesday had been called off at the government’s request. Missile drill plans in eight other prefectures, including Kagawa and Tokushima in southwestern Japan, as well as Niigata, Toyama and Ishikawa in the north, were also expected to be put on hold.

The Cabinet Secretariat stressed that the drills are sus-pended only as long as the ten-sions remain reduced. The official announcement was delayed as authorities needed more time to gain understanding from some local governments that remained wary of missile threats, officials said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga last week told reporters that the Trump-Kim summit has significantly relieved Japan’s security environment.

“Unlike last year when mis-siles were repeatedly test-fired, we no longer face a situation in which missiles may come flying any minute,” Suga told reporters. “The (central) government cannot unilaterally decide, as some municipalities still want to hold the drills.”

The government still plans to go ahead with a plan to install land-based Aegis Ashore missile interceptors. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said North Korea still possesses hundreds of ballistic missiles, which have not been dismantled.

Japan’s government started missile-specific evacuation drills last March in addition to usual earthquake and other drills, and has since conducted them in more than 20 towns around the country, including Tokyo.

In a typical drill, about 300 town residents and school-children rush to school buildings to seek shelter after sirens from loudspeakers warn them of a possible missile flight and debris falling on them. They are advised to put their faces down and protect their heads.

This picture taken on Wednesday and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) yesterday shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting the State Agricultural Sci-tech Innovation Institute under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing.

North Korean airline plans new route to ChinaAFP

BEIJING: North Korea’s national airline Air Koryo plans to open a new route linking Pyongyang and Xian in China, a staff member said yesterday, in the latest sign of the nuclear-armed state’s possible emergence from isolation.

An Air Koryo represent-ative said “there is a plan” for flights to the central Chinese city, a major tourist desti-nation famous for its ancient Terracotta Warriors.

But the staffer said he “did not know” whether the route would begin in July, as reported by the Xian Evening News daily, which cited Shaanxi Province’s official tourism board.

With the launch of the new route, Xian is set to become the fifth Chinese city with a direct flight to Pyongyang after Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai and Chengdu, according to the newspaper.

Nine drills to prepare residents in Japan for possible missile attacks were to be held later this year.

US identifies test site Kim committed to destroyREUTERS

WASHINGTON: The missile engine test site that US President Donald Trump said North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had committed to destroy is a major facility in the western part of the country that has been used for testing engines for long-range missiles, according to a US official.

Trump told reporters after their June 12 summit that Kim had pledged to dismantle one of his missile installations, which would be North Korea’s most concrete concession at the landmark meeting in Singapore. But the president at the time did not name the site.

A US official identified it as the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, saying North Korea “has used this site to test liquid-propellant engines for its long-range ballistic missiles.” Pyongyang has said its missiles can reach the United States. “Chairman Kim promised that North Korea would destroy a missile engine test stand soon,” the official said, speaking on con-dition of anonymity. There was

no immediate word on the exact timetable, and North Korea has not publicly confirmed that Kim made such a commitment.

CBS News was the first to identify the site, which is the newest of North Korea’s known major missile testing facilities.

Although Trump has hailed the Singapore summit as a success, sceptics have questioned whether he achieved anything, given that Pyongyang, which has rejected unilateral nuclear disar-mament, appeared to make no new tangible commitments in a joint written declaration.

What little is known about the Sohae site, located in Tongchang-ri, has been pieced together from analysts’ assessments and the North Korean state news agency KCNA.

It was reported to have been established in 2008 and has research facilities nearby for missile development as well as a tower that can support ballistic missiles. The site is mainly used to test large Paektusan engines built for long-range missiles such as the Hwasong-15.

The detention of children and the separation of families has a much longer history than even this relatively recent episode suggests. The Trump administration’s shameful treatment of migrant children today is not, in fact, un-American, but, sadly, part of a long American tradition.

YOMIURI SHIMBUN

08 FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018VIEWS

Mistreating refugee children is, sadly, all too American

The Trump administration’s practice of separating migrant children from their parents in an effort to deter unauthorized

border crossing has stirred an uproar. Aghast and enraged, opponents - ranging from chief executives to members of the clergy to average Americans - have called this practice and the detention of children cruel and illegal. Protests have sprung up, and members of Congress have flocked to the border to decry the “inhumane” detention of children, calling it “un-American.”

But, this practice is actually nothing new. The Trump adminis-tration is not the first to use child detention as a means of excluding and deterring unwanted migrants. The U.S. government’s harsh treatment of migrant children is the product of decades of rising anxiety about unau-thorized migration and uncontrolled numbers of asylum seekers and is part of a well-established pattern of using punitive measures to attempt to drive unwanted migrants from American borders.

In the summer of 1994, an ongoing human rights catastrophe in Haiti, resulting from a nearly three-year-long military coup, drove a wave of

more than 20,000 Haitian ref-ugees to seek safety on American shores. Joining the Caribbean exodus were 30,000 Cubans. Pres-ident Bill Clinton had closed a refugee camp at the U.S. Naval Base of Guantanamo Bay. But the new surge in Haitian and Cuban ref-ugees caused the Clinton adminis-tration to reverse course and reopen Guan-tanamo as a refugee

processing center.American officials never intended

the Guantanamo camp to be the primary solution to the Caribbean refugee crisis, however. To stem the flow of Haitian refugees, to put an end

to the bloodshed in Haiti and to restore the democratically-elected Haitian president, Clinton ordered a U.S. mil-itary invasion of Haiti. Once President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was returned to office, U.S. officials began emptying Guantanamo once again, sending most of the Haitians back to their country while allowing the majority of the Cubans at the camp to enter the United States.

While the Clinton administration admitted Cubans as political refugees from a communist country, they closed their doors to Haitians which they justified by citing the formal res-toration of democracy in Haiti in Sep-tember 1994. The problem: Haitians still faced violence, insecurity and human rights violations, and so ref-ugees had no desire to return home. They wanted safety in the United States.

But Clinton said no. At a moment when a rising tide of nativism was facilitating the passage of harsh anti-immigrant laws like California’s infamous Proposition 187, Clinton administration officials feared paying a political price for admitting large numbers of poor, black refugees to the country.

Clinton and his aides remembered that when large numbers of asylum seekers from Caribbean and Latin American countries had showed up en masse on America’s doorstep the pre-vious decade, a furious backlash ensued, prompting the Reagan admin-istration to reinstitute the long-dormant policy of immigration detention. In fact, Clinton decided to use military force to restore Aristide to office in large part because he wanted to avoid having to deal with the flow of Haitian refugees that represented such a vexing problem for the previous three administrations.

And so, despite the calamity and danger that awaited them in their home country, the Haitian refugees at Guantanamo faced forcible return by the U.S. government. The most vul-nerable among those facing depor-tation were hundreds of unaccom-panied Haitian children, some as young as two months old, living in an area designated Camp Nine.

Theoretically, Camp Nine was not supposed to be a prison or a house of

horrors. American officials provided the detained children food, clothing, recreation and schooling, and they were looked after by Haitian adults designated as “house parents.”

But in reality, Camp Nine was an awful place. Children suffered horrid abuse. A 14-year-old girl was sexually abused by the president of the “house parents.” In another part of the camp a 16-year-old girl was raped. Disobe-dient children were physically abused, forced to kneel for prolonged periods in intense sun, or were simply sent to a children’s jail officials called Little Buckley.

And worst of all, perhaps, was the threat of being sent back to Haiti, where many of the unaccompanied children’s parents had been murdered by the military or paramilitary forces behind the coup. The detained children suffered severe depression, and some even attempted suicide.

In November 1994, the squalid conditions and the threat of depor-tation sparked action by the Haitian children of Camp Nine. Dressed in white, the child detainees held a prayerful demonstration and hunger strike.

The protests and political pressure intensified in March 1995 when the Clinton administration began forcibly sending the children back to Haiti. Two months later, the children of Camp Nine launched a rebellion, burning their tents and clashing with camp guards.

Finally, after months of protest, the campaign to free the Haitian children bore fruit when the administration announced that it would allow most of the remaining 123 child detainees humanitarian parole into the United States. Resistance by the detained children and the solidarity actions by their American allies had freed them and ensured their entrance to the United States. But not before more than half of the unaccompanied children had been sent back to Haiti.

The detention of children and the separation of families has a much longer history than even this relatively recent episode suggests. The Trump administration’s shameful treatment of migrant children today is not, in fact, un-American, but, sadly, part of a long American tradition.

CARL LINDSKOOG THE WASHINGTON POST

QUOTE OF THE DAY

For London, for Great Britain, this is about survival. You

shouldn’t believe that there is always fair

play over there.

Theodor Weimer Deutsche Boerse boss

Steadily strengthen monitoring of cyberspace

Men unknown to the victim suddenly forced their way into her vehicle. How terri-fying that must have been.

This was a harrowing incident.A nurse in Hamamatsu, Japan, was

abducted in her car by two men last month. Her body was later found in the mountains.

The two men arrested on suspicion of illegally confining the woman were not acquainted with her. Both have given statements claiming they “do not know” about how the woman died and the abandonment of her body. Mean-while, the body of another man who allegedly ordered the woman’s abduction has been found. It appears he committed suicide.

The three men met through an online bulletin board. The man who committed suicide allegedly wrote a post offering a chance to make money, and the two other men apparently responded to this offer. Strangers

became connected over the internet and got involved in a brutal crime. This action, which was completely and utterly indiscriminate, is chilling.

The death of the man thought to be the ringleader leaves elements of this case, such as the motive, wrapped in mystery. Although the investigation now faces an uphill battle, the police should do everything possible to unravel the truth behind this incident.

In an earlier incident, in 2007, three men who became acquainted through a mobile phone underground website murdered a woman on her way home in Nagoya. The website was awash with information directly linked to crimes. After this incident, many underground websites that had become hotbeds of crime were shut down.

The alleged perpetrators in the Hamamatsu nurse case used a regular online bulletin board. The bulletin board featured posts, sorted by region, on a wide array of topics ranging from job offers to good eating guides to

sports information.The fact that a bulletin board

anyone could easily use was exploited to solicit various kinds of unlawful behavior cannot be shrugged off. It is striking that there have been cases involving artful solicitation of partici-pation by using phrases such as “earn good money” or “receive payment on the same day,” but which do not touch on specific details of what was involved. It is vital to stem any growth in the number of people involved in crime. Users of such websites must not let themselves get taken in by smooth talk and easily go along with an invi-tation to do something.

Last year, about 600,000 tips were provided to organizations that the National Police Agency has entrusted with monitoring posts and other mes-sages on the internet. Analysis of this information revealed about 27,000 posts featured highly illegal content such as obscene images. Other posts offered to undertake crimes and incited people to commit suicide.

A slice of these celebrations are on display in Qatar at the various fan zones set up around the country. All these venues were packed with people from different countries coming together to either support their team or cheer for their favourite players.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFIeditorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMEDm.salim@pen.com.qa

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

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

A celebration of football

It has been a week since the festival of football kicked off in Russia and what a week it has been with some pulsating moves, close encounters, self-goals, first video

assisted decisions and not to forget the lively and colourful fans rooting for their teams.

The whole world has been taken over by this beau-tiful game of football and it will surely keep everyone on their toes till the winner gets crowned on July 15. Football World Cup, which takes place once in every four years, is the most watched event on television and its popularity is unbeatable.

A slice of these celebrations are on display in Qatar at the various fan zones set up around the country. All these venues were packed with people from different coun-tries coming together to either support their team or cheer for their favourite players. The mix of communities showed the cosmopolitan nature of Qatar and the vibrant mix of cultures, which is truly a strength for the nation, which will be inviting millions of these fans to its soli in another four years’ time.

The two most popular fan zones to watch the game on big screen were at the Khalifa International Stadium Fan Zone and the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena. Both are free to enter and offer a lot of activities for kids and families.

Watching a match with friends and family inside a stadium is an invigorating experience and the same kind of adrenaline rush can be had from these fan zones, where the matches are screened on a huge screen and it gives a feeling of sitting inside a stadium. The presence of thousands of fans cheering their favourite team or players adds to the flavor of the atmosphere.

Organised by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, the Ministry of Culture and Sports and Qatar Tourism Authority, Qatar Fan Zone at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena has seen more than 18,000 fans till Wednesday. This numbers are expected go

up on weekends and the final stages approach. More than 5,000 fans attend the Fan Zone at Khalifa

International Stadium to support Tunisia and another 5,500 plus people were there to watch the Egypt match against Russia.

In addition to screening live matches, the fan zones features entertainment, designated zone for children and families, and many food and beverage options.

These venues are surely the best place to catch some great footballing action while soaking up the real stadium atmosphere and having similar timing as Russia only helps.

Spain’s new Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said he wanted to stave off a “humanitarian catastrophe” and welcome the hundreds of migrants, who will have the right to apply for asylum.

09FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018 OPINION

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How to fix social mediawithout censorship

Spain comes to the defense of Europe

DAVID KAYE REUTERS

ISHAAN THAROOR THE WASHINGTON POST

The Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal may have changed the way millions of people perceive the risks to

privacy when they go online. But it could have obscured an equally pro-found digital age debate: widespread resistance to internet companies’ role as the global speech police of the

digital age. The future of free speech depends on getting this debate right.

Social media, messaging and search platforms offer real value. They provide connections, infor-mation and security for people who might not otherwise have them, such as sexual minorities in traditional societies, reporters in authoritarian environments, or dissenters in repressive regimes. They should be celebrated for this kind of openness.

And yet the most influential cor-porations in this sphere wield extraor-dinary power from a distance. They develop rules, standards, and guide-lines, often in Silicon Valley, to determine for people around the world the appropriate boundaries of expression. In many places, American companies provide the dominant source of news and information, having an enormous impact on public life.

Much as they may try, they are often out of touch with local and

national concerns in the places where they operate. Consider, for example, a dystopia in which no regional or local media outlets exist in the United States - with one exception, let’s say the New York Times. Many Americans read the Times for national and global news, but its coverage of state and municipal issues cannot convey the depth or consistency accomplished by local media. This is how communities around the world often perceive the dominance of American internet companies.

In places like Myanmar, where activists note that “Facebook is the internet,” the companies lack the lin-guistic and cultural expertise to dis-tinguish a racist word from an ordinary one. As a result, they may over-regulate, censoring the good with the bad. Their automated systems, the artificial intelligence (AI) designed to flag inappropriate content and display the “best” results and the information the company thinks you really want to see, are largely invisible to users. Even democratic societies resent this power over their public space. As one liberal European poli-tician put it, “No one wants a Ministry of Truth, but I am also not reassured when Silicon Valley or Mark Zuck-erberg are the de facto designers of our realities or of our truths.”

Regulation is coming, but in the hands of governments, this often means pressure for company cen-sorship. The European Union and some of its member states are moving to constrain the companies’ role as speech regulators, developing new rules on issues ranging from hate speech and extremism to “fake news,” vague concepts subject to abuse in the hands of governments or corporations.

The current situation is untenable

for countless societies and individuals worldwide. As governments propose new laws, companies will over-com-pensate and limit the space for debate, art, politics, and other kinds of expression. The companies will hire more people with language, political and cultural expertise to moderate content globally, but the sites will still be platforms run by well-meaning people who are nonetheless detached from the lived experiences of those whom they are regulating.

What should the companies do? In my role as the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, I recently completed the first report for the UN Human Rights Council on how governments and social media companies can enable free speech in an era of disinformation and online extremism.

Among my main proposals are the following:

First, internet companies need to involve local communities in gov-erning their platforms. The corpora-tions as they are currently configured cannot rule public space everywhere. They must find ways to devolve authority to local actors - not to gov-ernments, but to their users.

Second, the companies must dis-close radically more information about the nature of their rulemaking and enforcement concerning expression on their platforms.

Finally, the companies make claims to global roles, so they should adopt global standards - not the U.S. First Amendment, and not terms of service allowing them complete dis-cretion. They should apply human rights law, which provides global standards protecting everyone’s right to “seek, receive and impart infor-mation and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers.”

In the span of a day this week, President Donald Trump warned of immigrants “infesting” the United States, and Italy’s new far-

right interior minister promised to “purify” his country through mass deportations of asylum seekers. Mean-while, Spain took a different tack.

On Sunday, the Aquarius, a vessel operated by an aid organization and bearing 629 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, docked in the Spanish city of Valencia. It had been turned away from Italy, where the populist government is taking a hard-line stance against migrants, and then Malta. But Spain’s new Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said he wanted to stave off a “humanitarian catastrophe” and welcome the hun-dreds of migrants, who will have the right to apply for asylum.

Sánchez also moved to restore access to basic health care for migrants. Such access had been stripped by right-wing Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose government Sánchez and the Socialists replaced this month after a corruption scandal rocked Rajoy’s party. Sánchez’s cabinet also announced plans to remove the barbed wire fences ringing Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish enclaves in North Africa. Advocacy organizations say the barriers are both cruel and ineffective.

While the thorny debate over migration roils across Europe, Spain stands somewhat apart. Over the past couple of decades, few countries in the West have taken in more

immigrants than Spain. Madrid’s decision to allow the Aquarius to dock also proved popular.

“Everybody in Europe is being affected by this virus, fears of immi-gration,” Josep Borrell, Spain’s new foreign minister, said to us during a visit to Washington accompanying the Spanish king. “This is not the case of Spain.”

At a time when Euroskeptics abound elsewhere, Borrell said, nobody in Spain “contests that our future has to be built inside the European Union.”

Donald Tusk tweeted “Good first meeting in Madrid @desdelamon-cloawith PM @sanchezcastejonto discuss our #eucoagenda next week. We can all learn from Spain how to handle illegal migration effectively.”

That’s a happy message for belea-guered politicians in Brussels and Berlin. Although Rajoy was a somewhat subdued actor on the European stage, Sánchez is set to play a bigger role. That’s perhaps out of necessity: The Socialists now rule as a minority government, getting limited support from regional factions and parties further to the left. That means they may have little room to pass sig-nificant legislation. The executive, though, has freer rein over foreign policy.

Sánchez is set to call on French President Emmanuel Macron this weekend, the first meeting between two similarly youthful and dynamic leaders who champion European integration. “Sánchez will do

something similar to Macron,” said Miguel Otero Iglesias, a senior analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute in Madrid, suggesting that the new prime minister may seek to gain “status and statesmanship in Spain by having a more active role internationally.”

Borrell, 71, is a former president of the European parliament and is seen as an elder statesman in Sánchez’s cabinet. In our conversation, he pointed to the necessity for E.U. coun-tries to hash out a substantive joint plan to reckon with the migration crisis. Countries such as Italy and Greece complain of the inequities of being on the front line, while some governments in Eastern and Central Europe resent directives from Brussels mandating they take in any asylum seekers.

Borrell sympathized with the Italian perspective, but he cham-pioned the efforts taken by some countries, including Spain, to hash out deals with African nations as well as boost development there. “This is not a matter of charity,” he said, but of economic interest and humanitarian duty. That’s an argument voiced by other center-left politicians on the continent. “Europe must invest in Africa, where lately China has done a great deal more than the old continent has,” Matteo Renzi, the former Italian prime minister whose party slumped in recent elections, wrote for The Post. “To handle the migration flows, it is necessary to cut European funding to member states - such as some in Eastern Europe - that do not welcome migrants: solidarity that characterizes European finances must be matched with solidarity in our welcome.”

Borrell said that while anti-immi-grant populists and illiberal govern-ments in countries such as Hungary and Poland reflect public opinion and must be taken seriously, “some of their attitudes are not acceptable from the point of view of European values.”

“We can discuss the number of migrants you have to accept. But we cannot discuss that you only take migrants according to their religion,” he added, referring to Central European leaders who have said they would be willing to welcome only Christian refugees.

Borrell turns to Spain’s turbulent history to justify its special embrace of “European” values and refusal (so far) of far-right populism. “We have been vaccinated by the [Spanish] civil war and by the long years of [Francisco] Franco’s dictatorship,” he said. His gov-ernment is set to follow through on

In places like Myanmar, where activists note that “Facebook is the internet,” the companies lack the linguistic and cultural expertise to distinguish a racist word from an ordinary one.

left-wing demands to exhume the dictator’s remains and remove them from a hallowed national monument to the pre-World War II conflict.

But the ruling Socialists also have to reckon with divisions in Spain. Borrell, a Catalan, was staunchly opposed to Catalonia’s bid for secession, but was also critical of the heavy-handedness employed by Rajoy in the latter stages of the crisis last year. While he scoffs at the “propaganda” the independence camp used to win sympathy abroad, he believes that the only solution is through dialogue - especially since a secessionist government sits in power in Barcelona.

A veteran politician, the Spanish foreign minister also rec-ognizes the broader challenges of the political moment. His own party has lost support to newer movements on the left that emerged in the wake of the financial crisis, which ravaged Spain. “We are living what can be called the counter-shock of globali-zation,” he said. “Social democracy once represented 40 percent of the voters everywhere, from Sweden to Spain, from United Kingdom to Greece. And now it’s the party of 20 percent in the best of the cases eve-rywhere.” Center-right parties, he said, face the same dilemma.

“Social democracy was a force to fight against inequality and created the most balanced societies in the world - the best combination of political freedom, economic prosperity and social cohesion,” he said. “These values are today as rel-evant as ever, because inequality is the big danger for our societies. We have the opportunity of proving again that we can provide solutions in the way we did in the aftermath of the Second World War.”

EU states have been at loggerheads over migration since arrivals spiked in 2015, when more than one million migrants reached its shores across the Mediterranean. There have been 41,000 sea arrivals so far this year, data shows.

10 FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018EUROPE

Italy and Germany clash as migration row splits EUREUTERS

BRUSSELS: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said yesterday that a draft EU accord on migration had been with-drawn after he clashed with Chancellor Angela Merkel over an issue that is splitting Europe.

The leaders of four central European states, meanwhile, confirmed they would boycott an EU mini-summit on migration, taking a veiled swipe at Merkel by accusing countries of pushing the issue for domestic political reasons.

The withdrawn declaration had been drafted ahead of an emergency meeting of 10 EU leaders set for Sunday in Brussels, with Germany and France hoping for a swift deal that could be approved at a full EU summit at the end of next week.

It contained key elements Merkel needs to placate her rebellious coalition partner, the Bavaria-based Christian Social Union (CSU) and its head, Horst Seehofer, who is also Germany’s interior minister.

But Rome objected to provi-sions that said asylum seekers would have to be returned to the EU country they had first logged their claim in, which often means Italy. Rome has taken in some 650,000 boat migrants over the past five years, stoking anti-immigration sentiment in Italy and fueling the rise of the

far-right League, which forged a coalition government this month.

Conte, who had threatened not to go to Brussels on Sunday unless the draft was amended, spoke to Merkel yesterday.

“The chancellor clarified that there had been a ‘misunder-standing’. The draft text released yesterday will be shelved,” Conte wrote on Facebook, adding that he would now go to Brussels at the weekend. Berlin played down the dispute. “We are in constructive talks with Italy. The meeting on Sunday has only pre-paratory character,” a German government source said.

Italian authorities appeared to relent after at first refusing to accept 226 migrants on board a German rescue ship, saying later in the day they would take them in but impound the vessel.

Anti-immigrant interior

minister Matteo Salvini initially said the Dutch-flagged Lifeline should take the people it had plucked from the Mediterranean to the Netherlands, not Italy.

But transport minister Danilo Toninelli, who oversees the coastguard, later said it was unsafe for the 32-metre vessel to travel so far with so many people on board.

EU states have been at log-gerheads over migration since arrivals spiked in 2015, when more than one million migrants reached its shores across the Mediterranean. There have been 41,000 sea arrivals so far this year, data shows.

Most are in coastal states of arrival like Italy and Greece, or rich destination states like Germany and Sweden, where governments have felt heat from voters over the new arrivals.

EU states to the east are refusing to take migrants in. Hungary’s nationalist Prime Min-ister Viktor Orban on Thursday hosted a meeting of the “Visegrad 4” former Communist countries, with the leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The four confirmed they would not attend the Sunday talks.

“We understand there are domestic political difficulties in some countries but that cannot lead to pan-European haste,” Orban said. “We understand that there will... be a mini-summit on Sunday but we would like to

FROM LEFT: Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki shake hands during a press conference at a meeting of the Visegrad Group (V4) in Budapest, Hungary, yesterday. Poland and three of its central European neighbours said they will boycott a meeting on Sunday (June 24, 2018) organised by EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to discuss migration policy.

state clearly that the prime min-isters of V4 agreed that they will not go to that.” Polish Prime Min-ister Mateusz Morawiecki said the four states spoke “with one voice” on the migrant issue. “Let’s just say we don’t belong to this migrant-loving group of friends, and neither do we want to partake,” he said.

Unless all EU states agree at their looming June 28-29 summit to share out asylum seekers more evenly, Seehofer has threatened to introduce an entry ban on the German border for all those who have already registered for asylum elsewhere.

Merkel opposes that idea as it would require rigid checks on the EU’s mostly open internal borders. Many would see such checks as reversing a key success story of European integration.

Hence, she asked other EU states to hold extra talks this Sunday and agree to do more on migration in the hope that would be enough to convince Seehofer not to go it alone. With an eye on further curbing arrivals, the bloc’s top migration official, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said sep-arately EU states should make asylum assistance uniform to discourage refugees from

moving between member states.He said the EU should also

work more with Africa, tighten borders further and explore setting up bases outside its ter-ritory where it would decide on asylum requests before claimants make it to EU soil, and hold them there if they were rejected. Critics have long said such a plan could violate international humanitarian law. But Avramopoulos said such bases would not be “Guantanamo Bay for migrants”, in a reference to the widely-condemned US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, set up to hold ter-rorism suspects.

Candid talksBritain’s Prime Minister Theresa May (left) talks with Duke of Cambridge, Britain’s Prince William, during the official handover of the newly-built Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC), which will provide world-class rehabilitation facilities for members of the Armed Forces, on the Stanford Hall Estate, in Nottinghamshire yesterday.

Democracy in decline around the world: StudyAFP

PARIS: A third of the world’s population resides in countries where democracy is in retreat, including India, Brazil, Poland, Russia and the United States, researchers reported yesterday.

“While most people in the world still live in democracies in 2017, democracy has declined in 24 countries home to 2.6 billion people,” they reported in the journal Democratization.

The drift toward autocratic rule -- under which checks against executive power are weakened -- occurred mainly in democratic regions, notably Western and Eastern Europe and the United States.

“Media autonomy, freedom of expression, and the rule of law have undergone the greatest declines,” said lead author Anna Luhrmann, a political scientist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

“This worrisome trend makes elections less meaningful across the world.” People in countries backsliding on liberal democracy by far outnumber those living in nations making progress, she noted. The only region bucking the global trend is Africa, which has shown incre-mental but significant growth in democracy in recent years.

The study is based on the latest update of the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset, a resource compiled by 3,000 experts worldwide that includes hundreds of variables and millions of data points reaching back half-a-century. The database tracks changes in nearly 180 countries divided into four categories, depending on the robustness of their democratic institutions.

In “liberal democracies”, uncorrupted multiparty elections are bolstered by a robust rule of law, an independent media, as well as strong judicial and

legislative branches. The next step down is “electoral democracies,” in which these checks to strongman rule are less effective, even if elections remain rea-sonably free-and-fair.

Last year, just over half the world’s population lived in one or the other of these systems, though only 14 percent resided in liberal democracies.

In “electoral autocracies,” multiparty elections and limited civil liberties are undermined by repression, censorship and intimidation, while in “closed autocracies” outright dicta-torship is, at best, dressed in a fig leaf of rigged elections.

Over the past decade, 20 countries have slipped a notch in the V-Dem ranking, including four in the European Union: Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and Slovakia were all downgraded from “liberal” to “electoral” democracies. Israel, Mauritius and South Africa also strayed

further from democratic ideals.In 2017, “we are back to the

global level of democracy recorded shortly after the end of the Soviet Union in 1991,” the study found. “The last six years alone have unfortunately brought us back 25 years in time.” Among the 17 countries that transitioned upward since 2008 toward a more political system, Tunisia is the only one to move from autocracy to liberal democracy.

Four nations in sub-Saharan Africa — Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Malawi and Nigeria — shifted from electoral autocracy to electoral democracy.

Globally, the percentage of people living in societies tending toward democracy increased gradually — with the exception of central Europe and central Asia, which saw a sharp jump after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 — from the late 1970s until around 2012.

Escaped lioness shot dead at Belgium zooAFP

BRUSSELS: Belgian police have been criticised for shooting dead a young lioness at a zoo yesterday after it escaped from its enclosure.

The animal was killed at Planckendael Zoo in Mechelen, between Brussels and Antwerp, when it came within 10 metres (33 feet) of the carriage of a tourist train where several vis-itors had taken refuge.

According to media reports, the lion was able to leave its enclosure yesterday morning because of a mistake by staff.

Ben Weyts, the minister for animal welfare in the Flemish region, said the death was “ter-rible and inexplicable,” Belga news agency reported. He said the decision to shoot the lion had been taken “solely” by police, who had intervened to secure the site, and demanded an investigation.

But the zoo’s management told the Gazet van Antwerpen newspaper that it took respon-siblity for the death. “As security was compromised, we decided, in consultation with the police, to kill the animal,” an official was quoted as saying.

During the three-hour hunt, many visitors hid in staff offices and children on a school trip were stopped from getting off their coach.

The lion was shot dead after two unsuccessful attempts at anaesthetising it. The Belgian animal welfare association Gaia criticised the “cowboy men-tality” of the police.

“Since all the safety precau-tions had been taken, was it necessary to resort to such a drastic measure against the animal?” Gaia chief Michel Vandenbosch said.

Planckendael is one of the three largest zoos in the country.

Protests in Spain as Pamplona abuse gang released on bailAFP

PAMPLONA: Protesters took to the streets in Spain yesterday after a court ordered the release on bail of five men sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually abusing a young woman at Pamplona’s bull-running festival.

The men, who called themselves “the pack” in a WhatsApp messaging group, had been accused of abusing a woman, then 18, at the entrance to an apartment building in Pamplona on July 7, 2016, at the start of the week-long San Fermin fes-tival, which draws tens of thousands of visitors.

All five were convicted of abuse in April but were acquitted of the more serious crime of sexual assault, which includes rape, as the court did not consider that the victim had been subjected to intimi-dation or violence, sparking nationwide protests to demand that the law be changed.

They appealed their jail terms and a Pamplona court yesterday ordered that the five men be released on bail of €6,000 ($7,000) pending the outcome of the appeal, according to Spanish media reports. The court will only publish its decision today.

Women’s rights groups took to social media to call for protests in Pamplona and Bar-celona with the slogan: “If the pack hits the streets, we will as well”. Hundreds of people of all ages packed the square in front of Pamplona city hall at the start of their rally.

Another protest is scheduled to take place today evening outside of the justice ministry in Madrid as well as in the southwestern city of Seville, the hometown of the five men, and other cities.

Prosecutors had argued during the closed-door trial last year that the men’s victim was subjected to “serious intimidation and it prevented resistance or flight”.

British trade minister resignsREUTERS

LONDON: A British trade minister resigned from the government yesterday to oppose its plans to build a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Greg Hands, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelsea and Fulham, which is located under the Hea-throw flight path, pledged to his constituents at last year’s general election to vote against any expansion of the airport.

The vote on whether to build a new runway at the airport is due to be held on Monday. “I wrote to the PM earlier this week on how I will honour these 2017 General Election pledges to the people of Chelsea & Fulham and vote against the Heathrow 3rd runway,” Hands said on his Twitter page.

Images and recordings of wailing children detained in cage-like enclosures has ignited global outrage.

11FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018 AMERICAS

Melania Trump visits US-Mexico borderAFP

MCALLEN: US First Lady Melania Trump made a surprise trip to the US-Mexican border yesterday, visiting a migrant children’s shelter as her husband’s administration seeks to quell a firestorm over family separations.

The unannounced visit by the First Lady, who was also to travel to a border patrol processing center, came a day after Pres-ident Donald Trump — in a stunning about-face — moved to end the practice of splitting immigrant families.

The First Lady landed in McAllen, Texas under a heavy downpour, her motorcade driving through deep water to the Upbring New Hope Children’s Shelter, a federally-funded facility that houses around 60 children from Honduras and El Salvador, ages five to 17.

“I’m glad I’m here and I’m looking forward to seeing the children,” Melania Trump said at a roundtable discussion with social workers and government officials. “I would also like to ask you how I can help these children to reunite with their families as quickly as possible.” Images and recordings of wailing children detained in cage-like enclosures has ignited global outrage, and Melania Trump herself had called for a political compromise to end the separations — the result of the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy towards illegal border crossers enforced since early May.

The surprise trip “was 100 percent her idea,” Melania Trump’s spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told reporters travelling with her to Texas. “She wanted to see everything for herself.” Despite Trump’s exec-utive order on ending

family separations, there was no immediate plan in place to reunite the more than 2,300 children already separated from their families.

In addition, Trump’s order would keep families together but in custody indefinitely while parents are prosecuted for entering the country illegally -- a move that could lead to new legal battles for the administration. “The executive order certainly is helping pave the way a little bit, but there’s still a lot to be done,” Grisham acknowledged.

Melania Trump’s visit also came barely an hour before divided US lawmakers were to begin voting on a pair of immi-gration bills in the House of Rep-resentatives, including one that directly addresses the family separation issue. But Republicans were divided over the two measures, and Democrats sig-nalled their opposition, making for a day of legislative drama.

“Congress has the authority and the responsibility to make the law of the land and to fix the immigration system,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told a security forum on Capitol Hill.

“We need Congress to act.” Two measures are before the House of Representatives -- a con-servative bill and a more moderate “compromise,” which the White House and leadership in the Republican-controlled Congress has been urging rank-and-file members to support. Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi said her caucus was opposed to both bills, and it was unclear if there was

US First Lady Melania Trump poses with Border Patrol officers during a visit to the Luthern Social Services of the South’s Upbring New Hope Children Center in McAllen, Texas, yesterday.

Trump about-face no consolation for parents who lost kidsAFP

EL PASO: US President Donald Trump may have halted the widely assailed practice of taking children away from parents who cross the border with Mexico illegally, but that’s of little comfort to those who already lost their kids.

Reunifying those heartbroken families will be a herculean task and likely not happen any time soon, immigration lawyers working with migrants say.

Indeed, the Department of Health and Human Services said after Trump’s rare cave-in amid global outrage over a practice dismissed as abominably cruel that it is “awaiting further guidance” on bringing families back together.

“When I’m talking to the parents, they are staring past me because they just can’t understand, they can’t comprehend, they can’t accept, they can’t believe, that they don’t know where their children are and that the US government took them,” said Jodi Goodwin, a Texas lawyer who represents asylum seekers.

“It is incredibly, incredibly heart-wrenching and horren-dously roughshod on due process,” said Goodwin, who has worked as a volunteer for the Migrant Center for Human Rights since 1995.

More than 2,300 children were stripped from their parents and adult relatives since May 5, and placed in tent camps and other facilities, with no way to contact their relatives. This was

part of what the Trump admin-istration called a “zero tolerance” policy toward people crossing the border illegally, with adults systematically detained for pros-ecution even if they came over seeking asylum.

As photos and audio of wailing children at shelter facil-ities and people held in cages were met with horror around the world, and criticism reached a fever pitch even among his own Republican Party, Trump exe-cuted a rare climb down on Wednesday after days of dog-gedly defending the policy and blaming the Democrats for it. He signed an order halting the family separations.

But the humanitarian crisis is far from over, Goodwin said,

describing the situation along the border as an utter mess, with little fluid communication between the agency which has custody over the children and border control authorities such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“I have my doubts that ICE would be able to track down the kids and reunify them with their mothers and fathers within a day,” said Goodwin, who is handling the cases of six asylum seekers whose children were taken away from them weeks ago and have no idea where they are.

Lawyers say families arriving at the border have been broken up over the past decade but it is only in the past six weeks under the new Trump policy that the practice reached such an exorbitant level.

sufficient Republican support for the compromise measure.

In addition to ending family sep-arations, the compromise addresses Trump’s goals of boosting border security including funding for his wall, limiting so-called “chain migration,” ending the visa lottery program and providing legal pro-tections for so-called Dreamer immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children.

Trump has accused rival Democrats of causing the crisis at the border through inaction on illegal immigration — charging that his opponents put “illegal immigrants before they put American citizens.” From March to May this year, more than 50,000 people a month were apprehended for illegally crossing the border from Mexico. Nearly all of the arriving families, and many others, have officially requested asylum, citing the high levels of violence in their home countries.

Anti-government protesters raise their home-made mortarts, as they stand guard behind a barricade in Managua.

Nicaraguan bishops say going to Masaya ‘to avert massacre’AFP

MANAGUA: Nicaragua’s bishops said they were going to the opposition bastion of Masaya “to avert another massacre” after it came under attack from forces loyal to President Daniel Ortega.

The city — which this week declared itself in rebellion to Ortega’s rule — was under “dis-proportionate” attack from police and paramilitary forces, a human rights group said.

The pro-government forces were using AK47s and Dragunov sniper rifles against civilian res-idents of the town, Nicaraguan Association of Human Rights head Alvaro Leiva said.

“It’s deplorable to see how our brothers are dying,” one local resident said in the neigh-bourhood of Monimbo, an indig-enous neighbourhood believed

to be the target of the operation. “If we had weapons, it would be weapons against weapons, but this is very unequal. Help us against these murderers who are killing our people,” he said.

The bishops — tasked last month with mediating an increasingly bloody confron-tation between the opposition and government — said they had decided to go to Masaya “to avoid another massacre, give comfort and pray with our people.” Witnesses in Monimbo reported that local residents were resisting with homemade mortars and that locals claimed government forces had set fire to some houses.

Some people had come into the streets, crying, kneeling on the ground and waving make-shift white flags. The latest round of talks collapsed on

Monday, with the bishops and opposition accusing the gov-ernment of failing to act on a promise to allow international organizations investigate the violence.

“Nicaragua’s pain is great. An unarmed people is being slaughtered. The cities are in the hands of bandits,” Managua’s Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Baez said during mass yesterday. Funerals were held for three people killed in clashes in the flashpoint city on Tuesday, bringing to 187 the number killed since protests against Ortega’s government began on April 18.

At least 23 people have been killed in Masaya, 30km south of the capital Managua. Riot police and paramilitaries had deployed on Tuesday in the historically combative city after its decla-ration of rebellion.

Top US court gives states broad rights for online sales taxAFP

WASHINGTON: The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that US states have broad rights to tax online sales of goods and services, reversing its own decision 25 years earlier at the start of the Internet era.

The nine justices split 5-4 in overturning a prior decision by the top US court that had held that a state can only tax sales by businesses that have a physical presence in that state.

Yesterday’s ruling could have a major impact on both the online and brick-and-mortar retail sector and give states the ability to shore up public coffers with sales tax revenues from e-commerce.

The decision, in which South Dakota prevailed over the online furniture retailer Wayfair, immediately sent ripples through the internet shopping industry sending shares tumbling in Amazon, eBay, Etsy and others.

South Dakota’s case was supported by 35 states and the federal government and saw the Supreme Court undo a 1992 ruling in which it had held that the mail-order company Quill did not have to collect sales taxes in North Dakota.

The court held that its prior “physical presence rule” was “unsound and incorrect” and so prior decisions from 1967 and 1992 were both overruled.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said the earlier interpretation of the “commerce clause,” a consti-tutional guarantee against interference with interstate commerce, was not applicable in this case. “The (Supreme)

Court has consistently explained that the Commerce Clause was designed to prevent states from engaging in economic discrimination so they would not divide into isolated, separable units,” Kennedy wrote.

“And it is certainly not the purpose of the Commerce Clause to permit the judiciary to create market distortions.” States and traditional retailers had argued that the previous ruling gave an unfair advantage to online sellers who could ship across state lines without collecting taxes in various jurisdictions.

One estimate suggests states are losing some $13bn annual as a result of the ina-bility to tax certain online sales. Shopping centers, department stores and major retail outlets have laid off thousands of workers and are struggling to remain open as consumers turn to internet home delivery for an ever-increasing array of goods and services.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas said that after ruling on the opposite side in 1992, he had changed his mind. A “quarter century of experience has convinced me” the Supreme Court’s earlier decision was no longer justified, he wrote, adding that it was “never too late” to arrive at a better position.

Chief Justice John Roberts said in a dissenting opinion that the court should steer clear of efforts to manage the economy. Roberts, joined by three other justices, wrote that electronic commerce “has grown into a significant and vibrant part of our national economy against the backdrop of established rules,” and that Congress should address this question.

US leaks 60% more methane than official govt estimatesAFP

TAMPA: The US oil and gas industry leaks 60 percent more methane than official government estimates, a report said yesterday, warning of this potent greenhouse gas’s effect on the environment.

US industry emits some 13 million metric tonnes each year, far more than the amount estimated by the US Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA), said the findings pub-lished in the journal Science.

Researchers said the actual leak rate of 2.3 percent — compared to EPA inventory estimates of 1.4 percent — represents enough natural gas to fuel 10 million homes. The dollar value of the lost gas amounts to $2bn, said the report compiled by more than 140 researchers, in cooperation with 50 oil and gas companies.

“Scientists have uncovered a huge problem, but also an enormous opportunity,” said co-author Steven Hamburg, chief scientist at the Environ-mental Defence Fund.

“Reducing methane emis-sions from the oil and gas sector is the fastest, most cost effective way we have to slow the rate of warming today, even as the larger transition to lower-carbon energy con-tinues.” Methane is the main ingredient in natural gas, and packs more than 80 times the climate warming impact of carbon dioxide over a 20-year timespan, experts say. Natural gas is a fossil fuel that emits less carbon dioxide than oil or coal, but its efficiency depends a lot on keeping methane leaks to a minimum.

Among the specific proposals outlined is a plan to merge the departments of education and labour into a single Department of Education and the Workforce, or DEW.

12 FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018AMERICAS / CLASSIFIEDS

Merger of education, labour departments in US on cardsAP

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration will propose a major reorganization of the federal government that calls for merging the education and labour departments, moving the federal food stamp program to the Department of Health and Human Services and renaming that agency.

Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in an interview that the effort is part of the president’s “drain the swamp’ agenda” and was aimed at streamlining a long list of overlapping regulations and department functions.

The sweeping reorgani-zation proposal, which will be formally unveiled during the President’s cabinet meeting, is the result of a presidential order signed by Trump in March 2017 calling for a review of the federal government aimed at identifying redundancies and streamlining agencies. It’s the latest in a long line of federal government overhaul proposals announced by administrations from both parties.

Mulvaney pointed to the fact that there are currently more than 40 job training programs spread across 16 different cabinet agencies — just one of a list of examples he cited.

“If it’s cheese pizza, it’s FDA, but you put pepperoni on it and it becomes a USDA product. I mean, come on?” he said. Among the specific proposals

outlined is a plan to merge the departments of education and labour into a single Department of Education and the Workforce, or DEW. The combined agency would oversee programs for stu-dents and workers, ranging from education and developing skills to workplace protections and retirement security.

The plan would also create a single food safety agency under the Department of Agri-culture and move the Supple-mental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, from the USDA to Health and Human Services, which would be renamed the Department of Health and Public Welfare and be refocused more broadly on public assistance programs.

Housing programs run by the USDA would also move to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and certain functions of the Army Corps of Engineers would be moved to the departments of transpor-tation and interior. The US Office of Personnel Manage-ment’s policy function would be moved into the Executive Office

of the President, while back-ground checks would move over to the Department of Defense.

Mulvaney said the plan was “not designed as a cost-saving” or as “a way to reduce the size of government” but said: “If effi-ciency drives you there, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Soon after he took office, Trump charged the Office of Management and Budget with coming up with a plan to reor-ganize the government and eliminate unnecessary agencies, pointing to redundancy and bil-lions of dollars being wasted. “We will develop a detailed plan to make the federal government work better, reorganizing, con-solidating and eliminating where necessary,” Trump said last year after signing an exec-utive order on the reorgani-zation. But whether the proposal will prove effective is unclear.

Many of the changes would require approval from Congress and congressional leaders have been hesitant to adopt a plan that would eliminate federal agencies they are charged with overseeing.

Even before the plan was announced, it was met with sxepticism among lawmakers and labour unions

Eliminating the Education Department has long been a goal of Republicans. President Ronald Reagan, for example, sought to eliminate the department during the 1980s but backed down amid a lack of support in Congress.

Seven dead as army-backed police operations sweep RioAFP

RIO DE JANEIRO: Seven people, including a boy of 14, have been killed in continuing violence between army-backed police units and Rio de Janeiro’s criminal gangs, reports said yesterday.

In the latest crackdown, soldiers and marines in cam-ouflage and carrying rifles could be seen searching people as they came in and out of two poor neighbourhoods, known as favelas, within the posh Copacabana beach area.

The military, which was put in charge of security in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year, said the operation involved 1,800 troops and 50 police officers. Their goal was to remove road-blocks put up by gangs and to “check up on reports of criminal activity and other illicit conduct.” The operation caused

large rush-hour traffic jams in the busy seaside area, but there was no sign of shooting incidents.

On Wednesday, in a separate operation conducted in the sprawling network of favelas known as the Mare, police backed by armored vehicles clashed with drug traffickers.

Six people carrying weapons, ammunition and drugs were killed, according to the G1 news site. A 14-year-old schoolboy who was hit by a stray bullet died of his wound later that night, G1 reported. “The boy was late and was going to school when he was shot,” municipal schools official Fatima Barros said on Globo television.

Brazil’s second biggest city, which hosted the Olympics in 2016, is suffering from a cocktail of surging violent crime and financial disarray.

A Brazilian navy soldier checks a resident at Chapeu Mangueira slum in Rio de Janeiro yesterday.

Venezuela sends ‘coup plotters’ to prisonAFP

CARACAS: Five members of Venezuela’s armed forces and three civilians were imprisoned late on Wednesday, convicted of taking part in a 2015 coup plot against President Nicolas Maduro, a prisoners’ rights group said.

A military court handed down sentences of between three and six years, the group Foro Penal announced. Maduro publicly denounced a coup plot in February 2015 that he said was backed by sectors of the opposition and financed by the US government.

The socialist president referred to it as the “blue coup” — a reference to the color of Venezuela’s air force uniform, saying the plot had been “dismantled.”

At the time, the socialist president said the plot involved bombing the Mira-flores presidential palace, other government buildings and the headquarters of state television. The US State Department dismissed the accusations.

Another rights group, Ven-ezuelan Justice, said Wednesday that around 150 members of Venezuela’s armed forces are in prison “for political reasons.” Maduro has presided over a free-falling economy since 2013, amid a col-lapse in the price of oil that has lead to chronic food and med-icine shortages, and forced hun-dreds of thousands to flee Ven-ezuela’s growing deprivation.

Maduro has ordered the release of more than 120 pris-oners since the beginning of June, as part of a policy to “heal the wounds” left over from deadly anti-government protests in 2014 and 2017. The 55-year-old former bus driver and union activist con-troversially sealed a second six-year term last month.

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Friday 22 June 2018

PAGE | 15PAGE | 15Greece nears

end to bailout odyssey

Intel CEO Krzanich resigns over relationship with employee

Investcorp white paper identifies compelling opportunities in USTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investments, which has an office in Doha, yesterday released its latest white paper examining six credit-related strategies that may help deliver value in today’s market envi-ronment.

The white paper examines US residential mortgages, cal-lable legacy RMBS, distressed middle market credit, Italian non-performing loans, senior secured loans and collateralised loan obligations. When com-bined, Investcorp explains that these strategies offer investors a meaningful range of opportu-nities to help deliver returns in today’s credit environment.

“Despite the pressures put on markets by rising US interest rates and narrowing credit spreads, certain credit strategies may present investors with potentially significant opportu-nities,” said John Fraser, Invest-corp’s Head of Credit Man-agement U.S. “At Investcorp, we’re focusing on strategies, such as senior secured loans and collateralized loan obligations, that may help deliver value to investors seeking to protect themselves from the impact that rising rates could have on more traditional fixed income assets.” “Today, we are leveraging our knowledge and expertise in dis-tressed credit to identify sophis-ticated hedge funds that are well-positioned to benefit from current imbalances in the industry,” said Jonathan Feeney, Co-Head of Research, Alter-native Investment Solutions at

Investcorp. “Within the mid-cap universe particularly, we’re seeing hedge funds discover opportunities for alpha by ana-lyzing the complex corporate events impacting the life and capital structure of companies.” Within the white paper, Investcorp describes how this group of credit-related sub-strategies may help generate returns by offering investors opportunities that lack signif-icant market dependency. After recent credit spread compres-sions and repeated interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve, these strategies may potentially provide attractive differentiated returns and margins of safety.

“Within the US residential mortgage market, for example, we are seeing significant demand from underserved borrowers who are currently shut-out of the

market,” said Greg Berman, Co-Head of Research, Alternative Investment Solutions at Investcorp. “In the decade since the Global Financial Crisis, regu-latory changes and shifting investor appetite – combined with a new generation looking to buy homes – have led to a mortgage market that no longer serves the breadth of potential borrowers. As a result, we are seeing a mismatch between supply and demand in the market that creates substantial opportu-nities for alternative non-tradi-tional lenders to fill the void.” Investcorp’s Alternative Investment Solutions (AIS) group launched in 1996 and currently has approximately $4.0bn in total AUM across its customized multi-manager solutions, hedge fund partnerships, alternative risk premia and special opportunities portfolios”.

John Fraser Jonathan Feeney

QSE benchmark index edges upTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index gained 40.67 points or 0.46 percent when the bourse closed the week at 8,922.52 points yesterday. The volume of shares traded decreased to 4,965,548 yesterday from the previous session’s 7,554,425 and the value of shares decreased to QR205m from QR393m, QNA reported.

Indices of five sectors ended green and two in red yesterday. QSE Total Return Index increased 0.46 percent to 15,720.49 points and QSE Al Rayan Islamic Index gained 0.16 percent to 3,545.55 points. QSE All Share Index increased 0.25

percent to 2,594.04 points.The benchmark index lost

175.39 points or 1.93 percent in the past week compared to the pre-vious week. Trading value during the week decreased by 84.93 percent to reach QR 598m com-pared to QR 3.9bn. Trading volume decreased by 79.84 percent to reach 12,506,988 shares, as against 62,048,071 shares, while the number of transactions fell by 65.84 percent, to reach 9,017 transactions.

Market capitalisation fell by 2.14 percent to reach QR 488.85bn compared to the previous week’s QR 499.54bn. Banking and Financial Services sector led traded value during the week with 61.16 percent of the total

traded value. Industries sector accounted for 16.64 percent. Real Estate sector accounted for 6.95 percent and Transportation sector accounted for 5.36 percent of the total traded value.

Banking and Financial Services sector also led the traded volume with 40.13 percent of the total traded volume. Real Estate sector accounted for 23.49 percent. Transportation sector accounted for 12.92 percent and Industries sector accounted 12.09 percent.

QNB led trading value during the, accounting for 39.05 percent of the total traded value. Masraf Al Rayan accounted for 9.71 percent and Industries Qatar accounted for 7.89 percent.

Opec inches towards oil output dealAFP

VIENNA: Opec energy ministers expressed optimism yesterday that they were nearing a compromise on oil output policy, with Saudi Arabia acknowl-edging that a big production hike would be “politically unac-ceptable” to Iran, and Iran saying that it was “ready for a deal”.

Opec and non-Opec partner countries are due to hold crunch talks in Vienna today and tomorrow to decide the fate of an 18-month-old supply-cut pact that has cleared a global oil glut and lifted crude prices to multi-year highs.

Saudi Arabia, backed by non-member Russia, is now racing to convince the alliance

to raise production again in order to meet growing demand in the second half of 2018.

Adding an extra one million barrels per day to the market “sounds like a good target to work with”, Saudi Energy Min-ister Khalid Al Falih said at a seminar organised by the Organ-ization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

Iran, however, is fiercely opposed to unwinding the agreed production curbs, as its oil industry is bracing for fresh sanctions following US President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the international nuclear pact.

However, Iran’s oil minister said yesterday that the country was prepared to reach agreement. “We are going to discuss... we are

ready for a deal,” Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. Several other Opec members, including Ven-ezuela and Iraq, are also against major changes to the pact as they are unable to immediately boost

production. Signalling that posi-tions might be softening, Saudi’s Falih acknowledged that “not every country can respond to an allocation of higher production” and said it was important to be “sensitive” to those concerns.

Allowing countries like dom-inant player Saudi Arabia to make up for the shortfalls of other members “may be a tech-nical solution but it may not be politically acceptable to others”, he said at the Vienna seminar.

As the clock ticks down to the upcoming ministerial meetings, a face-saving com-promise appeared to be in the works. “We hope that there will be an agreement,” Iraqi Oil Min-ister Jabbar Al Luaibi said.

“Iraq is trying very hard to

narrow the gap between the two blocs.” UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei added: “I am very optimistic.” Observers say the participating countries could simply agree to stop exceeding their quotas for cutbacks, and stick to the agreed target of trimming production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd).

The 24 nations in the pact, known as OPEC+, are currently keeping more than two million bpd off the market. Most of the shortfall has come from Vene-zuela, where an economic crisis has savaged the nation’s petroleum production. Output has also plummeted in Libya, where fighting between rival factions has damaged key oil infrastructure.

Stock markets fall as trade wars get realAFP

LONDON: Global stock markets fell yesterday on escalating trade tensions between the United States and other world powers.

A day before the European Union was to slap retaliatory tariffs on a range of American benchmark products, including jeans and motorbikes, analysts said trade war fears were quickly turning into the real thing.

“We have a trade war — and it’s an escalating trade war,” SEB chief economist Robert Bergqvist said. The US’s apparent readiness to introduce tariffs on all imported Chinese goods made this “a serious sit-uation”, he said.

By announcing tariffs on

$50bn in Chinese imports and threatening tariffs on up to $400bn more, US President Donald Trump is testing a no-holds-barred strategy whose consequences remain unknown. China accounts for about half of the massive US trade deficit in goods, leaving the Asian powerhouse far more exposed to Trump’s tariffs than vice versa. Last year, the United States exported $130bn in goods to China but imported $505bn.

In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.9 percent to close at 7,556.44 points; in Frankfurt, the DAX 30 eas down 1.4 percent at 12,511.91; in Paris, the CAC 40 was down 1.1 percent at 5,316.01 points while the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.1 percent at 3,403.51 points.

US labour market tighteningREUTERS

WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing for unem-ployment benefits unex-pectedly fell last week, pointing to a further tightening of labour market conditions.

Other data showed a mod-eration in factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region in June amid a decline in new orders. Firms, however, continued to report overall increases in employment this month.

The robust labour market, which is underpinning eco-nomic growth, likely will pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates two more times this year. The US central bank last week increased borrowing costs for a second time this year and forecast two more rate hikes by the end of 2018.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased 3,000 to a sea-sonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ended June 16, the Labour Department said.

The labour market is viewed as being near or at full employment, with the jobless rate at an 18-year low of 3.8 percent. The unemployment rate has dropped by three-tenths of a percentage point this year and is near the Fed’s forecast of 3.6 percent by the end of this year.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, viewed as a better measure of labour market trends as it irons out week-to-week vol-atility, dropped 4,000 to 221,000 last week. Non-farm payrolls increased by 223,000 jobs in May.

Greece is slated to exit its latest rescue on August 20.

15FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018 BUSINESS

8,922.52 +40.67 PTS0.46%

QSE FTSE100 DOW BRENT7,556.44 −70.96 PTS0.93%

24,461.70 −196.10 PTS0.80% Dow & Brent before going to press

$65.54 -0.21

MarketWatchGreece nears end tobailout odysseyAFP

LUXEMBOURG: Eurozone ministers yesterday neared an agreement to set the terms of Greece’s departure from eight years of bailout programmes, despite splits over the degree of debt relief needed by cash-strapped Athens.

Greece is slated to exit its latest rescue on August 20 and finance ministers from the 19 countries that use the single cur-rency are looking to send off Athens with a sustainable debt level and enough cash to reassure financial markets.

If successful the talks will mark an important milestone for Europe nearly a decade after Greece stunned the world with out-of-control debts and set the scene for three bailouts and a near collapse of the euro single currency.

“We will deliver today, I’m optimistic we will find a debt relief package that will promote sustainability in Greek debt for the future,” said Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno, who heads the Eurogroup.

Greece’s €86bn programme was agreed in 2015 after six con-tentious months of negotiation and is set to end this summer, bringing the level of assistance received by Athens to €273bn since 2010. “Greece has really done the job and has delivered its commitments,” said French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire (pictured) as he arrived for the talks.

As ever in the Greek debt crisis, Germany and northern

eurozone states are the most resistant to debt relief and have demanded that Athens be closely tracked on reform implementation after the pro-gramme ends this summer.

Under German demands, Greece’s debt relief in the short-term will be conditional on the continued implementation of reforms, which if successful could inject about one billion euros to the government’s underfunded budget every year.

“We will ensure that the pressure to implement further reforms remains strong... in the medium and long term,” said Austrian Finance Minister Hartwig Loger.

Opposite the hardliners are France and the European Central Bank, which argue that reduced debt is crucial in order for Greece to gain the trust of the markets. “Nobody should lose money of course,” said EU

Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici in Brussels on Wednesday. “But we should col-lectively find a way to alleviate the debt, either by extending the maturities of existing loans, or by buying back the most expensive ones,” he said.

Also calling for deeper debt relief is the International Mon-etary Fund, whose tough-talking head Christine Lagarde is attending the talks.

The reform-pushing IMF played an active role in the two first Greek bailouts, but took only an observer role in the third in the belief that Greece’s debt mountain was unsustainable in the long term.

A senior EU source said “it is a pity” that the IMF had forsaken participating in the third rescue but that the fund was involved on a technical level “and markets won’t be shocked at all”.

The conditions for Athens after the bailout will be stricter than for Portugal, Ireland and Cyprus following their respective bailouts.

“For Greece, the key concern is to not have a fourth programme or give the appearance of a fourth programme,” an EU source acknowledged. “But there are some reforms where there needs to be deep follow-up going forward,” the source said.

The discussion on Greece will be followed by even more fraught talks over the future of the cur-rency and an ambitious proposal by France for a eurozone budget, for which Paris this week won backing from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Intel CEO Krzanich resigns over relationship with employeeAFP

NEW YORK: Intel Chief Exec-utive Brian Krzanich (pictured) has resigned over a “past consensual relationship” with an employee that violated a company non-fraternization policy, the technology company announced yesterday.

“Given the expectation that all employees will respect Intel’s values and adhere to the com-pany’s code of conduct, the Board has accepted Mr. Krzanich’s res-ignation,” the company said.

A spokesman for the company, a leader in data storage, declined to provide additional details about the employee involved.

Chief Financial Officer Bob Swan will serve as interim chief executive while the company searches for a replacement.

The company said it had “a robust succession planning process in place” and was looking both internally and externally for candidates. The company has also retained an executive search firm to help locate candidates.

Intel Chairman Andy Bryant praised Swan’s “ability to lead the company as we conduct a robust search for our next CEO.” As the chip business connected

to traditional personal com-puters has declined, Intel has shifted to a “data-centric” business oriented around cloud computing and data centers.

Krzanich, 58, joined Intel in 1982 and rose through the ranks to serve as chief operating officer before being tapped as CEO in 2013. Intel’s policy on non-fraternization bars man-agers from having romantic rela-tionships with direct or indirect subordinates, according to a person familiar with the policy.

The announcement on Krzanich’s departure was coupled with projections for second-quarter revenue of about $16.9bn and earnings of 99 cents per share. Intel’s revenues in 2017 were $62.8bn and it had 102,700 employees at the end of the year.

Bank of England edges nearer possible August interest rate hikeAFP

LONDON: The Bank of England left its key interest rate at 0.50 percent in an announcement yesterday following a regular meeting, as British inflation holds at a 14-month low.

BoE policymakers voted 6-3 to keep the rate on hold, down from the 7-2 result last time round, indicating that the central bank could hike borrowing costs at its next meeting in August, matching some analysts’ expectations.

Also at its June meeting meanwhile, the bank voted unanimously to maintain its quantitative easing stimulus policy, under which it has pumped £445bn ($586bn) around the UK economy.

“A vote of 6-3 to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.5 percent and quantitative easing unchanged... suggests that the Bank of England is closer to the ECB rather than the more aggressive US Federal Reserve in its outlook, with any tightening of mon-etary policy likely to come slowly and in modest steps,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

The pound rallied against the dollar on expectations that a rate hike could occur soon. “The pound has been given a significant boost by BoE after policymakers voted 6-3 in favour of leaving interest rates unchanged, with Andy Haldane joining Ian McCafferty and Michael Saunders in voting for a (quarter-point) hike,” noted Craig Erlam, analyst at Oanda trading group.

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Abraham’s Santhathikal (2D/Malayalam) 2:30pm & 11:15pm; The Incredibles 2 (2D/Animation) 2:00, 4:15, 6:30pm; Race 3 (Hindi) 2:15; 8:45 & 11:30pm; Jurrasic World: Fallen Kingdom (2D/Action) 5:00, 9:15 & 11:30pm; Din Mohabbat In (2D/Urdu) 5:00pm; Abla Tamtam (2D/Arabic) 7:30pm; Beirut (2D/Thriller) 7:15pm; Adrift (2D/Action) 9:15pm

ROYAL PLAZA

Abraham’s Santhathikal (2D/Malayalam) 2:15, 5:00 & 11:30pm; Race 3 (Hindi) 2:15; 8:45 & 11:00pm; The Incredibles 2 (2D/Animation) 2:30, 4:45 & 7:00pm; Maya: The Bee 2 (2D/Animation) 4:30pm; Jurrasic World: Fallen Kingdom (2D/Action) 6:15 & 11:30pm; Abla Tamtam (2D/Arabic) 7:30pm; Adrift (2D/Action) 9:15pm; Beirut (2D/Thriller) 9:30pm.

The Incredibles 2 (2D/Animation) 2:30; 5:00 & 7:15pm; Abraham’s San-thathikal (2D/Malayalam) 2:00; 6:00 & 11:30pm; Race 3 (2D/Hindi) 2:00, 8:30 & 11:15pm; Maya: The Bee 2 (2D/Animation) 4:15pm; Adrift (2D/Action) 9:30pm; Jurrasic World: Fallen Kingdom (2D/Action) 4:45 & 11:00pm; Beirut (2D/Thriller) 7:00pm; Leilet Hana Wa Srour (2D/Arabic) 9:00pm

Abraham’s Santhathikal (2D/Malayalam) 12:00, 12:30, 2:15, 3:15, 5:00, 5:45, 6:00, 7:45, 8:45, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30pm 1:15am, 1:45am & 2:00am; Race 3 (Hindi) 6:00 & 11:30pm, B-Tech (Malayalam) 3:15pm & 08:30pmTik Tik Tik (Tamil) 1:00, 3:30 & 9:00pm

Abraham’s Santhathikal (2D/Malayalam) 11:30am, 2:30; 5:30, 8:30 & 11:30pmRace 3 (Hindi) 11:30am, 5:15, & 11:00pmThe Incredibles 2 (2D/Animation) 10;30am, 3:45 & 6:15pmJurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2D/Action) 2:40, 7:30, 10:10, 7:00, 9:40; 10:30pm.Tik Tik Tik (Tamil) 12:30; 3:10; 5;50 & 9;00pm

Abraham’s Santhathikal (2D/Malayalam) 12:30, 3:30; 6:30 & 9:30pm; Adrift (2D/Action) 12:30; 5;30; 2:40 & 4:50pmThe Incredibles 2 (2D/Animation) 12:30, 3;00, 5:30 & 8:00pmJurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2D/Action) 10:30am, 4:30 & 10:10pm Tik Tik Tik (Tamil) 1:00, 3:30 & 9:00pm

Deadpool 2 is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool, distributed by 20th Century Fox.

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Yestserday’s answer

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16 FRIDAY 22 JUNE 2018MORNING BREAK

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Strong wind expected over most areas

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PRAYER TIMINGS With a billion users, Instagram takes on YouTube in videoAFP

SAN FRANCISCO: Instagram late on Wednesday said it now has more than one billion active users, as it unveiled a new long-form video feature in a bid to attract “creators” like those on YouTube.

It becomes the fourth Facebook platform to hit the billion-user mark, including the namesake social network with more than two billion users, and the messaging applications WhatsApp and Messenger.

Instagram, which had some 800 million users as of September, has been outpacing rival social networks such as Twitter and Snapchat and has been gaining younger users even as Facebook itself has seen declines in the youth segment.

Instagram chief executive Kevin Systrom announced the milestone as

he unveiled the new video application known as IGTV. “We have now a com-munity of one billion users,” Systrom told the event in San Francisco.

“Since our launch in 2010, we’ve watched with amazement as the com-munity has flourished and grown.” As Facebook itself has moved deeper into video, Instagram will become a direct competitor to YouTube with IGTV.

IGTV will enable any user to upload long-form videos and will also include “channels” from video “cre-ators,” similar to a format employed by Google-owned YouTube which has given rise to a number of YouTube “stars.” “Anyone can be a creator -- you can upload your own IGTV videos in the app or on the web to start your own channel,” Systrom said.

Systrom said IGTV is built to be used on a smartphone, and boosts the time for videos from the previous limit

of one minute. “The way we are watching video is changing,” Systrom told the event.

He added that IGTV is “built for how you actually use your phone, so videos are full screen and vertical.” The launch comes amid a shift in video viewing habits away from traditional television to online platforms including Netflix and Hulu, and with more people watching both professional and user content on services like YouTube.

According to the research firm eMarketer, 181.7 million Americans will watch video content on their smart-phones at least once a month this year, up 6.1 percent from a year ago.

Product manager Ashley Yuki told the event that IGTV “is an open platform from day one, so everyone can become a creator.” Rolling out for the iOS and Android apps, IGTV will allow any user to upload videos up to

10 minutes long, with the limit for larger accounts at one hour.

Systrom described the new app as “a separate space, a dedicated space to enjoy video without being dis-tracted.” Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012 for a combination of cash and stock worth some $1bn at the time.

Since then it has become a strong engineer of growth for Facebook in terms of users and ad revenues.

While Facebook offers no detailed revenue breakdown, eMarketer esti-mates Instagram will generate $5.48 billion in net US ad revenue this year, up 70.4 percent from last year and accounting for more than one-fourth of Facebook’s net mobile ad revenue.

Facebook itself is also ramping up its video offerings with original shows and this week announced new formats including interactive game shows, quizzes and polls.

Facebook expands fact-check effort to photos and videosAFP

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook said yesterday that it would launch fact-checking of photos and videos as it expands the effort to curb misinformation to more countries.

The huge social network, which has been a fre-quent target for failing to stop the spread of false news, said it will use machine learning and other technical tools for its effort to clamp down on manipulated images and videos. “One challenge in fighting misin-formation is that it manifests itself differently across content types and countries,” said a blog post from Facebook product manager Tessa Lyons.

“To address this, we expanded our test to fact-check photos and videos to four countries. This includes those that are manipulated (e.g. a video that is edited to show something that did not really happen) or taken out of context (e.g. a photo from a previous tragedy associated with a different, present day con-flict).” After being blamed for allowing misinformation and manipulation during the 2016 US election, Facebook has stepped up efforts to clamp down on fake accounts and the spread of hoaxes, rumors and other false information.

Lyons said Facebook’s fact-checking efforts is now in place in 14 countries, with more to be added this year, using independent partners to verify information. “These certified, independent fact-checkers rate the accuracy of stories on Facebook, helping us reduce the distribution of stories rated as false by an average of 80 percent,” she said.

She added that Facebook was working to identify “repeat offenders” as part of the fact-check effort.

“Historically, we have used ratings from fact-checkers to identify pages and domains that repeatedly share false news,” she said.

“We then take action by reducing their distribution and removing their ability to monetize. To help curb foreign interference in public discourse, we are beginning to use machine learning to help identify and demote foreign pages that are likely to spread financially moti-vated hoaxes to people in other countries.”

Electric scooters launched in Paris, to spread in EuropeAFP

PARIS: The boulevards of Paris, already bustling with a dizzying range of transport devices, are set to feature a new shared electric scooter system that has swept the US and is now heading for Europe.

California-based Lime launched a pilot scheme for the two-wheeled powered scooters yesterday in several districts of the French capital and will roll them out across the city.

“Very quickly our fleet will grow to respond to demand,” Lime’s director for France, Arthur-Louis Jacquier, said.

The US start-up, which already operates bike-sharing schemes in Berlin and Frankfurt, has big ambitions in Europe as it competes with other fast-expanding American rivals such as Bird. The new e-scooters arrive as Paris faces problems with two of its flagship transport innovations over the last decade which forged the city’s repu-tation as a pioneer for new forms of commuting.

The city’s bike-sharing scheme Velib’, launched in 2007 and since copied around the world, is in disarray after a change of contractor led to major problems and a shortage

of bikes. An electric car-sharing system known as Autolib, launched in 2011, could be at the end of the road after it ran up major losses that neither local authorities, nor private operator Bollore are prepared to absorb.

The public body that oversees the car system is set to meet on Thursday and could vote to cancel the contract with Bollore, which would leave its 150,000 users in the lurch.

Paris city authorities estimate the loss incurred from cancelling the deal at “several tens of millions of euros” while Bollore, owned by French

magnate Vincent Bollore, expects it to be up to 300 million.

Autolib was never adopted by Parisians in the way they took to the shared bikes, meaning that the number of subscribers was lower than expected while new taxi apps such as Uber undercut it on cost.

Lime and other private oper-ators of new transport-sharing solutions are looking to capi-talise on the problems with Velib’ and Autolib’, which are both backed by public money.

Chinese bike-sharing groups such as GoBee and Ofo as well as Singapore’s Obike have piled

into the French market, adding to the ever-expanding range of options available to commuters and travellers.

They have also added to congestion on pavements and led to criticism from pedestrians who must often weave around bikes that have been badly parked or scattered on streets.

As well as pedal-bikes, electric bikes, electric mopeds, motorbikes and cars and buses, Paris’ streets are also awash with skateboards, scooters and increasing numbers of battery-operated unicycles.

Complaints about electric scooters have mounted in US cities such as San Francisco where dangerous driving and competition for space with pedestrians and drivers has caused tension.

The Lime scooters in Paris will have a top speed of 24km an hour and are able to travel 50km on a single charge. All the vehicles, which have a GPS and can be reserved using a mobile phone app, will be collected each evening by Lime and recharged.

They will not be allowed on pavements, the company said, adding that prices are a minimum one euro per hire, then 15 centimes a minute.

Famed sign-language gorilla Koko diesAFP

SAN FRANCISCO: The famed gorilla Koko, known for mastering sign language and building a rapport with humans, has died in California, a research center announced yesterday. She was 46.

Born Hanabi-ko (Japanese for “Fireworks Child”) on US independence day in 1971 at San Francisco Zoo, she was widely known by her nickname. Animal psychologist Penny Pat-terson began teaching Koko sign language in 1972.

The western lowland gorilla became one of the most famous subjects of research into how apes use language, reputedly learning more than 1,000 words in American Sign Language, and becoming the subject of books and television shows.

“Koko touched the lives of millions as an ambassador for all gorillas and an icon for inter-species communication and empathy,” The Gorilla Foun-dation announced in northern California. Koko passed away on Wednesday morning in her sleep, the center said.

“She was beloved and will be

deeply missed,” it added. Robin Williams, the late actor, was one of those with whom Koko built a rapport. The pair were filmed tickling each other, with Williams laughing, in 2001. Koko tried on Williams’ glasses and lifted up his shirt to tickle him.

Williams later called the experience “mind-altering”. “We shared something extraor-dinary: laughter. Koko under-stands spoken English and uses over 1,000 signs to share her feelings and thoughts about daily events: life, love, even death. It was awesome and unforgettable,” he said.

Patterson started to teach Koko sign language a year after she was born, and with collab-orator Ronald Cohn moved her to Stanford in 1974, going on to establish The Gorilla Foun-dation. Koko appeared in doc-umentaries and twice appeared on the cover of National Geo-graphic. The first cover, in 1978, was a photograph that Koko had taken of herself in a mirror.

Besides Williams, she met other celebrities such as the now Oscar-winning Leonardo DiCaprio and Star Trek actor William Shatner.

Antarctic researchers welcome winter solsticeAFP

SYDNEY: Scientists based in Antarctica welcomed the winter solstice by plunging into icy waters yesterday as part of a “mad tradition” heralding the return of brighter days after weeks of darkness.

In temperatures of -22 degrees Celsius (-7.6 degrees Fahrenheit), staff at Australia’s Casey research station marked midwinter’s day by cutting a small pool in the thick ice before stripping off and jumping in.

Casey station leader Rebecca Jeffcoat said midwinter day — the shortest of the year — was the

most anticipated occasion on the Antarctic calendar and has been celebrated from the time of the early explorers.

“Swimming in Antarctica’s below freezing waters is some-thing of a mad tradition, but our hardy expeditioners look forward to it, with 21 of the 26 people on station brave enough to take an icy dip this year,” she said.

“Midwinter day is really important in Antarctica because it marks the halfway point of our year here on the ice and it means the sun will spend slightly longer in the sky each day.” Celebrations took place at all three of Aus-tralia’s Antarctic research stations

and its sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island base, with messages from home read out.

Jeffcoat, who is experiencing her first Antarctic winter, said the continent was extraordinary. “The environment is spectacular and harsh, and we experience the most incredible range of conditions, from below freezing blizzards to auroras, or the mid-winter twilight as the sun skims the horizon,” she said.

Australia currently has 75 researchers living and working on the frozen continent as part of the Australian Antarctic Program, with most of them on 12-month postings.

An electric scooter belonging to the Bird company is waiting for a rider on a street of downtown Washington, DC, yesterday.

Double rainbowA double rainbow can be seen above trees on the horizon in Halle, western Germany, yesterday.