Amir patronises Education Excellence Award event - Qatar ...

QNADOHA

THE Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani patron-ised the 12th edition of the Education Excellence Award Ceremony at the Doha Shera-ton hotel on Sunday.

A total of 93 winners from among 292 who competed in this year’s nine categories were honoured.

Addressing the ceremony, Minister of Education and Higher Education HE Dr Mo-hammed bin Abdul Wahed al Hammadi affirmed that

Qatar’s sound strategic plan-ning and vision and its imple-mentations of development programmes are the basis for accomplishing success.

He said the guidelines issued for the national edu-cational curriculum marked the beginning of a new phase characterised by distinction and consistency. The new phase also seeks to strike balance between theoretical frameworks and scientific ap-plication of knowledge, which has been advanced to develop students’ capabilities and their innovation and creativity.

This was also aimed at pro-moting the spirit of citizenship among students and their ad-

herence to Islamic values and the principles and ethics of Qatari society, he added.

The minister congratu-lated the winners of the Edu-cation Excellence Day award,

stressing that Qatar, under its wise leadership, spares no ef-fort in caring for its students by providing them with aca-demic opportunities, choices and advantages at home and abroad.

He also congratulated all those who contributed to this achieving the excellence, in-cluding parents, schools and teachers.

On behalf of the honoured Excellence Award winner in the secondary level, Hamad Ali al Korbi expressed delight at the Amir’s patronage of the ceremony and honouring of

the winners of the Education Excellence Day award.

He said this is a great day that will remain in the memo-ry of all the winners who have worked hard for this moment and had the opportunity to shake hands with the Amir.

It is the most prestigious academic and scientific award in Qatar and represents a strong incentive for them to excel and contribute to Qatar’s renaissance and progress.

The Amir then honoured winners of the Education Ex-cellence Day award for the year 2019.

Amir patronises Education Excellence Award event

The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani patronised the 12th edition of the Education Excellence Award Ceremony at the Doha Sheraton hotel on Sunday; (right) The Amir honours one of the award winners. SEE ALSO PAGE 20

CATHERINE W GICHUKIDOHA

ORAL healthcare is very ex-pensive and it’s a huge bur-den on the private sector. The burden can be reduced, a top Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) official has said.

“We believe that oral health has a very high cost and it’s huge burden on the private sector,” said MoPH Director

of Public Health Department Dr Sheikh Mohammed al Thani on the sidelines of the launch of the Month of Oral and Dental Health Awareness campaign on Sunday.

Oral and dental hygiene are among the health priorities in Qatar, he said, adding that 88 percent of Qatari children and 61 percent non-Qatari children aged 6 years have tooth decay.

He said the National Health

Strategy 2018-22 had set a goal to reduce the prevalence of tooth decay among children under five years of age by 25 percent by 2022.

“This will happen as we have our National Oral Health Committee,” he said, adding that a new study will be con-ducted to find the prevalence of oral and dental health prob-lems among the children.

Dr Sheikh Mohammed said the government is going to work with children and adoles-cents to help in reducing oral and dental problems.

“We have a programme

with PHCC and schools to make sure that children have better awareness of how to

take care of teeth and gums. We are going to target the mothers, who should give chil-dren below 5 years of age prop-er foundation on dental care,” he added.

The Month of Oral and Dental Health Awareness campaign was launched in partnership with Hamad Med-ical Corporation (HMC) and Primary Health Care Corpora-tion (PHCC). Other supporters are College of North Atlantic-Qatar, Colgate Palmolive and schools.

About 88% Qatari kids under 6 years suffer tooth decay

QNA ABU DHABI

QATAR has stressed that de-spite the continuation of the illegal blockade, it firmly be-lieves that dialogue without preconditions is the best way to resolve the Gulf crisis.

In a speech at the 46th meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Or-ganization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries in Abu Dhabi, Director of De-partment of Inter-national Organiza-tions HE Yousef bin Sultan Yousef Laram said Qatar stands firmly in the face of extremism and terrorism in all its forms.

He said Qatar plays an ac-tive role in all international and regional efforts to combat extremism and terrorism at all levels, including cooperation with international organisa-tions and the United Nations.

He said this year’s meet-ing is taking place in the face

of major crises and increasing challenges facing many Islam-ic countries due to continued tension and increasing trends of violence and terrorism.

He called on the OIC to increase efforts to enhance co-operation among its members through unified positions, dis-carding divisions and differ-ences.

Continuing crises in some Muslim

countries without reaching just and comprehensive solutions was due to the failure of the international

community and the double standards in

dealing with issues by certain people, he noted.

He said all parties should continue efforts to resolve the crises.

He stressed Qatar’s firm stance to support the Palestin-ian people in obtaining their legitimate rights, especially an independent state with East Al Quds as its capital based on the 1967 borders.

Unconditional talks best way to resolve GCC crisis: Qatar

MONDAYMARCH 4, 2019

JUMADA AL-AKHIR 27, 1440VOL.12 NO. 4563 QR 2

Dr Sheikh Mohammed al Thani.

Qatar-Italy military ties strong: Envoy

Qatar and Italy have a close and dynamic

partnership in military field, including education and training programmes, Ital-ian Ambassador to Qatar HE Pasquale Salzano has said. The envoy made the remarks at a press confer-ence onboard the Italian frigate Carlo Margottini on Sunday.

Health strategy aims to reduce prevalence of tooth decay among kids by 25% by 2022

AMIR HONOURS WINNERS OF EDUCATION EXCELLENCE AWARD

The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani on Sunday met with winners of the 12th edition of the Education Excellence Award. The Amir talked to the winners on their edu-

cational achievements and projects. The Amir thanked the for their efforts and their families and teachers who supported them on this outstanding path. The Amir also urged the win-ners to continue on the path of excellence and achieving self-reliance to serve their society and country. The winners expressed great thanks and gratitude to the Amir for the honour and encouragement. The winners said being honoured and meeting the Amir today is the greatest motivation for them to achieve more and continue on the path of success to serve the country as well as contribute to the nation’s prosperity, especially as they consider His Highness their role model. (QNA)

Amir meets Education Excellence award winners

THE Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani will head to Vienna on Monday for an official visit to Austria. During the visit, the Amir will hold talks with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on bilateral relations and the means to develop them in different fields as well as a host of issues of common concern. During the Amir’s visit, the Qatari-Austrian Economic Forum will be held in cooperation between Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Qatar Chamber and Austrian Chamber of Commerce. An official delegation and a number of Qatar businessmen will accompany the Amir. (QNA)

Amir to visit Austria today

PM attends Arab Interior Ministers’ meet PAGE 20

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Business 12Nebras increases its stakes in Jordan’s power sector

Sports 16Dr Thani al Kuwari is Olympic Council of Asia vice-prez West Asia

Jordan king meets Mahmoud

Speaker of the Shura Council HE Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al Mahmoud met King Abdullah II of Jordan on the sidelines of the 29th APU Conference in Amman on Sunday.

02 Monday, March 4, 2019

Contact US: Qatar Tribune I EDITORIAL I Phone: 40002222 I ADMINISTRATION & MARKETING I Phone: 40002155, 40002122, Fax: 40002235 P.O. Box: 23493, Doha.

Amir congratulates Bulgarian presidentTHE Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani sent a cable of congratulations to President Rumen Radev of Bulgaria on his country’s National Day on Sunday. (QNA)

Amir sends condolences to Somalia president THE Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani sent on Sunday a cable of condolences to President of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on the victims of a car bomb explosion that took place in the capital Mogadhisu, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. HH the Amir condemned the explosion, stressing Qatar’s rejection of violence regardless of the motives and reasons. (QNA)

Deputy Amir greets president of BulgariaTHE Deputy Amir HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al Thani sent a cable of congratulations to President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev on the occa-sion of his country’s National Day. (QNA)

Deputy Amir sends condolences to Somalia president THE Deputy Amir HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al Thani sent a cable of condolences to President of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on the victims of a car bomb that took place in the capital Mogadhisu, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. (QNA)

PM congratulates Bulgarian counterpartPRIME Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani has sent a cable of congratulations to Prime Minis-ter of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov on his country’s National Day. (QNA)

PM sends condolences to Somalia counterpart

PRIME Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani has sent a cable of condolences to Prime Minister of Somalia Hassan Ali Khaire on the victims of a car bomb explosion that took place in the capital Mogadhisu, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. (QNA)

QNATUNIS

PRIME Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdul-lah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani participated in the 36th session of the Arab Interior Ministers’ Council, which was held at the council’s headquar-ters in the Republic of Tunisia.

The session is addressing a number of security issues and

challenges faced by the Arab countries. It will also discuss the resolutions of a number of conferences and meetings, as well as the outcomes of the joint meetings held with Arab and international authorities in 2018.

The meet will also address other important security is-sues.

The prime minister met with Minister of Interior of

the Sultanate of Oman Sayyid Hamoud bin Faisal al Busaidi on the sidelines of the meeting on Sunday.

During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral cooperation between Qatar and Oman, es-pecially in the security field. They also exchanged views on a number of topics mentioned on the meeting’s agenda.

Later in the afternoon, the prime minister left Tunisia af-

ter participating in the seventh session of the Tunisian-Qatari Supreme Joint Committee and the 36th session of the Arab Interior Ministers Council that were held in Tunis.

He was seen off at the pres-idential airport by Tunisia’s Minister of Interior Hichem Fourati, Ambassador of Qatar to Tunisia HE Saad bin Nasser al Humaidi and members of the Qatari embassy.

PM attends session of Arab Interior Ministers’ Council

Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani participates in the 36th session of the Arab Interior Ministers’ Council in Tunis on Sunday. The prime minister also met with Minister of Interior of Oman Sayyid Hamoud bin Faisal al Busaidi.

MME marks Wildlife DayTHE Ministry of Municipal-ity and Environment (MME), represented by the Center for Environmental and Municipal Studies and the Department of Protection and Wildlife, ob-served the World Wildlife Day on March 3.

The ministry observes this day as part of efforts to raise awareness of the day’s objec-tives to shed more light on the nature of wildlife and the qual-ity of services provided by the ministry; and to highlight the urgent need to curb violations committed against wildlife.

Director of Protection and Wildlife Omar Salim al Nuaimi said the ministry is making ef-forts to protect wildlife and monitor the violations of trading in endangered species and their products, in implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

He said his department works on the protection of endangered species such as the ‘hawksbill sea turtle’. The World Wildlife Day celebration saw a number of activities in-cluding a lecture on wildlife and a presentation on the projects for protection of endangered species. (QNA)

Nation 03Monday, March 4, 2019

‘HH Amir’s visit has cemented Qatar-South Korea relations’

ASHRAF SIDDIQUIDOHA

THE Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani’s momentous visit to South Ko-rea in January, 2019, which co-incided with the 45th anniver-sary of Qatar and South Korea’s bilateral diplomatic ties, has cemented relations between the two countries, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Qatar HE Kim Chang-mo has said.

In an exclusive interview with Qatar Tribune, the ambassador said that HH the Amir’s visit was significant

for both countries as it took bilateral cooperation to a new level with the signing of seven memorandums of under-standing (MoU) covering key sectors such as smart farming, land transport, fisheries and aquaculture, mutual recog-nition of mariners’ licences, training and capacity build-ing, as well as smart grid and port management.

He said: “It was HH the Amir’s second visit to South Ko-rea in five years, which suggests that His Highness considers South Korea as an important partner country. As for South

Korea, HH’s recent visit was also special because he was the first foreign head of state to visit the country in 2019.”

He said the ties between the two countries were upgrad-ed to “comprehensive partner-ship” in 2007.

Describing the summit meeting as highly successful and satisfactory for both sides, the ambassador said the two heads of states discussed ex-pansion of bilateral cooperation in several areas.

The MoU between Qa-tar and South Korea on smart farming, fisheries and aquacul-ture will help meet food security challenges, he noted, adding that both sides are looking for-ward to joint research to find out a tailored smart farming

model that best suits the situa-tion in Qatar. “We are planning to exchange visits of experts to study the conditions in detail,” he remarked.

Chang-mo stressed that Qatar and South have devel-oped strong cooperation, es-

pecially in the energy and con-struction sectors. For Qatar, South Korea is the number 1 export destination for its lique-fied natural gas (LNG) whereas for Korea, Qatar is the eighth largest overseas construction and engineering market.

“Moreover, our two coun-tries have many things in com-mon: both are small peninsula countries surrounded by big neighbours, stressing the im-portance of education as part of the national strategy and rapid economic development under wise leadership in a relatively short period of time. With Qa-tar’s industry diversification policy and National Vision 2030, I am sure our two coun-tries may have huge potential to expand our relationship to

other areas beyond energy and construction sectors, on the ba-sis of our mutual commonality and understanding,” he said.

On relations in diplomatic, economic, sports and cultural fields, Chang-mo said Qatar has been a strong supporter of South Korea’s efforts to bring peace and denuclearise the Korean Peninsula. Qatar and South Korea have worked in close consultation and coop-eration in international arenas such as the United Nations on various issues of mutual inter-est, he noted.

“In addition, Korean com-panies have actively participat-ed in major construction and engineering projects in Qatar such as Lusail Expressway, Hamad Port, National Museum

of Qatar, desalination projects etc, contributing to Qatar’s preparation for the 2022 Fifa World Cup and the country’s efforts to realise the National Vision 2030.

South Korea has hosted various international-level sporting events, including 1988 Summer Olympics, 2002 World Cup and 2018 Winter Olympics and is ready to share its experience in cybersecurity and other fields with Qatar as the country gears up to host World Cup 2022,” he said.

On talks between the US and North Korea, he said: “It’s definitely a little short of our expectations as they could not reach concrete agreement but it looks the two sides made clear progress in several aspects.”

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Qatar HE Kim Chang-mo.

Sidra, MADA ink deal to help patients with disabilitiesTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

SIDRA Medicine, the specialist women’s and children’s hos-pital, has signed an agreement with the Assistive Technology Center, MADA.

As per the agreement, MADA will provide assistive technologies that will help with increasing, maintaining and improving the functional capabilities of people with dis-abilities who are being cared for at Sidra Medicine. MADA will also offer training to Sidra Medicine’s speech, physio and occupational health therapists.

Commenting on the part-nership, Sidra Medicine’s CEO Peter Morris said: “Our partnership with MADA is a step in the right direction as we work towards helping our young patients become active participants in their own care. We are incredibly proud of our paediatric rehabilitation teams

and therapists and by upskilling them with the MADA assistive technology training to advance the healthcare services available for people with disabilities.”

The MADA devices, which are available in Arabic and English, help children without language to communicate, ex-press new ideas and integrate into schools and the commu-nity. High tech ‘eye-gaze’ equip-

ment such as customised iPads will allow the children to simply gaze at a particular letter or icon on a screen and create language. The devices are particularly helpful for young patients with conditions like anarthria and spinal muscular atrophy. Chil-dren with these conditions are often non-verbal and typically use assistive technologies to ac-cess communication.

Maha al Mansouri, CEO of MADA said: “As a non-profit or-ganisation, MADA works close-ly with organisations across Qatar to raise awareness and support persons with disabili-ties. Our agreement with Sidra Medicine demonstrates a joint commitment to empower chil-dren and young people with the right tools and support systems to enrich their lives and play a key role in our community.”

The agreement with Sidra Medicine also covers the train-ing of its therapists in the skills necessary to assess children with disabilities and recom-mend the correct assistive technology device.

Dr Lisa Thornton, division chief of Pediatric Rehabilita-tion Medicine at Sidra Medi-cine said: “We are grateful for MADA’s generous donation which will support our young patients who have difficulty communicating and express-ing themselves.”

Seven MoUs covering key sectors were signed during Amir’s visit to South Korea

MADA will provide assistive technologies to help people with disabilities being cared for at Sidra Medicine.

‘Pay greater attention to oral health’HEAD of the National Task Force for the Promotion and Prevention of Oral and Dental Health at the National Oral and Dental Health Committee Dr Wafaa al Mulla said the drive delivers important messages that encourage people to pay greater attention to oral and dental health.

“The Oral Health Month is part of broader awareness activ-ities that will be overseen by the National Oral Health Commit-tee. The message we are trying to send through the activities is that good oral health is impor-tant for everybody. Not taking care of your teeth and gums can lead to serious dental pain that affects your mental, physical and social well-being. Children’s dental problems can affect their eating habits and the ability to learn in school and overall growth and development.”

During the campaign, stu-

dents from various public and private schools will visit MoPH, three days a week for the en-tire month to learn about the importance of maintaining a healthy month.

Students of public and pri-vate schools will visit MoPH on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays of each week in March. About 200 students from four schools will partici-pate every day.

“We’ll also have booths at the entrance of all HMC hos-pitals where dental staff will provide free dental consulta-

tion. Brochures, pamphlets and children’s booklets will also be distributed. PHCC also has a lineup of activities and health centres to mark the Oral Health Month campaign.”

In addition, they will also be promoting the campaign and sharing oral health awareness messages through various so-cial media platforms.

PHCC programme Director and Head of Preventive Oral and Dental Health Najat al Ya-fei said the programme aims to enhance students’ awareness of oral and dental health.

Continued from page 1

Children perform at the launch of Month of Oral and Dental Health Awareness campaign. (HANSON K JOSEPH)

04 Monday, March 4, 2019 Nation

New Kenyan envoy urges expatriates to register with the embassy

CATHERINE W GICHUKIDOHA

THE new Kenyan Ambassador to Qatar HE Paddy C Ahenda has urged all Kenyans in Qatar to register with the embassy to enable the mission to have an accurate number of all Kenyan expatriates in Qatar, in order to serve them better.

The expatriates can register at the em-bassy website www.kenyaembassy.com or visit the embassy for registration.

Currently, there are over 27,000 Ken-yans in Qatar but only a few have registered with the embassy.

Speaking to Qatar Tribune, Ambas-sador Ahenda said, “We want the members of the Kenyan community to register their presence in Qatar with the embassy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar has more updated information about Kenyans than our embassy. Therefore, I would like to implore them to register with the embassy free of charge.”

He said the registration would help the embassy to disseminate information easily.

The information to be filled in includes place of work, contact details, details of next of kin in Qatar and Kenya, parents’ contacts, employer’s contact, residence and place of work, among others.

“The register we enable us to keep the residents up-to-date with the things that are happening back home. I am here for the Kenyans in Qatar,” he said.

Working under the slogan, ‘Help me to Help You’, the envoy urged the members of the community to cooperate with the em-bassy for their own good, advising them to not wait until there is any problem before to reach out to the embassy.

“It is advisable whenever you visit any foreign country where your embassy is there to pay a courtesy call to the embassy. Just let them know that you are around,” he advised.

Ahenda also revealed that the embassy is working to see how Kenyans can acquire the new e-passport without having to travel back home.

“We now have an immigration attaché

here who was not there before. This is to en-hance the issuance of passports and visas. The process will now be faster. I am working hard now with our office in Nairobi to bring the machines here so that the registration can be done here. This is because biometrics is needed. If the machines can be brought here, it will help Kenyans and save them a lot of money,” he said.

He added that they are waiting for the next financial year for the machines to be brought.

The new ambassador also wishes to set an umbrella group that will oversee all the other existing community groups. In this regard, he met leaders of the groups and prominent Kenyans in Qatar.

Kenyan Ambassador to Qatar HE Paddy C Ahenda.

Embassy working hard to see how Kenyans can be issued with e-passports in Qatar

QF SHOWCASES QATARI CULTURE, HERITAGE TO COMMUNITY

Qatar Foundation (QF) recently hosted its annual ‘Our Heritage’ event, which aims to showcase the country’s rich culture and heritage to the wider community. The event, held at Education City’s Ceremonial Court, brought together people from across the country to sample local food and learn about the country’s customs through interactive demonstrations, including pearl extraction and falcon presentations. Qatar Nanny Training Academy, a member of QF, hosted arts and crafts workshops and offered children the chance to play traditional games. Qatar Music Academy, also a member of QF, taught visitors about instruments from around the region, giving people the chance to learn to play them. (TNN)

Top global consultants to visit HMC in March-April

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORKDOHA

HAMAD Medical Corporation (HMC) will welcome a number of visiting consultants from various medical specialties in March and April.

Dr Nikhil Shah, chief of Minimally Invasive and Ro-botic Surgery at Piedmont Healthcare, Atlanta, Georgia, US, will visit the hospital from March 7 to 12.

Dr Ahmed Nassar, a special-ist orthopedic surgeon will visit from March 9 to 15.

Dr. Noriya Uedo, vice direc-tor of the Department of Gas-trointestinal Oncology at Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osa-ka, Japan, will visit HMC from March 18 to 21.

Dr Philippe Morel, a diges-tive laparoscopic surgery spe-cialist from Clinique de Geno-lier, Genolier, Switzerland, will visit from April 4 to 11.

Dr Duncan Whitwell, con-sultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Nuffield Orthopedic Centre NHS Trust in Oxford, England, will visit from April 7 to 10. Pa-tients wishing to make an ap-pointment should call the Bone and Joint Center at 4041 1140 or 4041 1141.

Other experts are sched-uled to visit this year as part of HMC’s focus on hosting highly-respected physicians and sur-geons from around the world. Hosting visiting international consultants, who are experts in their fields, is in line with HMC’s commitment to provid-ing specialised medical services to the people of Qatar.

Members of the public wishing to book an appoint-ment with one of the visiting consultants are advised to dis-cuss this option with their phy-sician. If your doctor agrees that an appointment with a visiting consultant is appropriate, they will provide a referral.

Traffic Diversion on part of Hazm Al Themaid Street


THE Public Works Authority (Ashghal) will implement a traf-fic diversion on part of Hazm Al Themaid Street in Al Foroush Area where traffic will be divert-ed to a newly constructed paral-lel street from Tuesday, March 5 (tomorrow).

The diversion to be imple-mented in coordination with the General Directorate of Traf-fic will last for 6 months.

Drivers coming from Al Kharaitiyat Area can use the alternative road, which has one lane in each direction, heading to the open part of Hazm Al Themaid Street or

to Al Rufaa Street (known as Celebration Road).

Drivers coming from Al Themaid Area can use the alternative road to reach Al Kharaitiyat Area.

It is worth mentioning that the alternative road includes two roundabouts to facilitate lo-cal access to the existing petrol station and schools in the area.

The diversion will facili-tate the upgrading of Hazm Al Themaid Street to serve the new residential areas within Al Foroush and Kharatiyat through providing connectivity to Al Rufaa Street for the resi-dents in the future as part of the roads and infrastructure project in Al Foroush and Kharaitiyat.

Majlis discusses ways to preserve culture through art and languageTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

THE Majlis – Cultures in Dialogue, a travelling cross-cultural exhibition organised at the initiative of the Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, gathered visitors around interesting open cul-tural discussions at the Insti-tut du monde arabe (IMA) in Paris recently.

The exhibition, which will continue at IMA until March 10, invites visitors to sit in the majlis to listen to stories and engage in conversations on what they see and hear; trans-mitting cultural dialogue by exchanging their impressions of the exhibition and learning about common ground be-tween different cultures.

The open discussions held on the topics ‘The Power of Lan-guage in Shaping Culture’ and ‘Evolving Art to Identities’ fo-cused on the advancement and preservation of culture through language and art, giving par-ticipants an opportunity to view

the world with a different lens and explore other traditions, customs, beliefs, societies and much more.

Commenting on the exhibi-tion’s concept, Sheikh Moham-ed bin Faisal al Thani, mem-ber of the board of trustees of Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, who attended the first cultural dialogue, said: “Since its launch, the Maj-lis – Cultures in Dialogue has aimed to create a respectful and meaningful dialogue among different cultures and com-munities and has reflected the growing importance of muse-ums in voicing the rich history that cultures possess.

“Through ‘The Power of Language in Shaping Culture’, The Majlis – Cultures in Dia-logue’ embraced the different thoughts surrounding the pres-ervation of language as a means of preserving culture and dis-cussed the way language and culture have developed over time and influenced each oth-er.”

The open discussion also

invited visitors to share their experiences and perceptions about the power that a lan-guage has in the shaping of culture, while discovering the way a language is able to form a whole generation of thoughts and stories.

The discussion saw partici-pation of renowned speakers, including Jacqueline Morand-Deviller, associate professor of Public Law and Political Sci-ence and Professor Emeritus at

Pantheon-Sorbonne University, and Dr Nasser al Hinzab, legal counsel of Qatar to UNESCO.

Equally interesting to the visitors, the ‘Evolving Art to Identities’ dialogue has shed light on how art can contribute to positive change in societies and the crucial role it plays in the development of cultures.

The participants included Julien Borowczyk, member of the French National Assembly, Philippe Heracles, chairman

of the Board of Directors at Le Cherche-Midi Editeur SA, Claude D’Anthenaise, directeur of Paris Museum of Hunting and Nature, Ghaleb Bencheikh, president of the Foundation of Islam in France, Vianne Sa-voli, artist and financial market professional, as well as Cecile Plaisance, renowned photogra-pher, and Jean-Paul Scarpitta, director and curator. They dis-cussed the influence of art on shaping identities from one side and the role that the iden-tity could have in inspiring art from another side.

Professor Monem Jemni, moderator of the open discus-sions, said: “The majlis set-up, which is hardly known in the Western world, is the perfect fa-cilitator for dialogue. All visitors expressed their views freely at an equal level.”

The exhibition will host its last open discussion ‘Sports as a Driver of Cultural Change’ on March 10 at 3pm before travel-ling to other European destina-tions and encourage dialogue among other societies.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal al Thani attends the first cultural dialogue of The Majlis – Cultures in Dialogue in Paris recently.

(PHOTO BY JALAL PATHIYOOR)

QC delivers winter relief to Syrian refugees in Lebanon


QATAR Charity (QC) continues to provide heating fuel, warm clothes and other winter as-sistance to Syrian refugees in Arsal and many other areas of Lebanon to ease their suffering.

The assistance comes as part of QC’s ‘Below Zero’ campaign in light of recent blizzards and rainstorms that hit the country in the last few days, flooding the refugee camps there.

Despite the accumulated snow that covered the streets and continuous rainfall, Qatar Charity’s field teams managed to deliver the aid to the Syrian refugees in the affected areas.

A Syrian refugee in a camp, which is three kilometres away from Arsal, thanked the Amir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani and the people in Qatar for their continued support.

He noted that the fuel oil that Qatar Charity teams and

its local partners managed to distribute to the refugees, is a basic material needed by affect-ed families in the harsh cold.

Jassim al Ali, a refugee liv-ing in an informal camp in Be-qaa, spoke about the hardship of his family. “The water has entered our tent. We spent the whole night pulling water out of the tent, but it was flowing into the tent again and again”, said Ali. This is the worst win-ter for the refugees in the re-gion, he added.

Donations in favour of the campaign can be made through Qatar Charity’s web-site (QCH.QA/B0) and app (QCH.QA/APP). Donors can also request a ‘home collector’ through the app or by dialing the hotline, 44667711, to make their contributions.

Contributions to the ‘Be-low Zero’ campaign can also be made through Qatar Charity’s 27 branches and 97 collection points in commercial complex-es within the country.

QC continues to provide heating fuel, warm clothes and other winter assistance to Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

QRCS, QFFD provide winteraid in northern Syria, Turkey


UNDER its 2019 Warm Winter campaign, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has initiated a multifaceted programme for internally displaced people (IDPs) and host communities in northern Syria, as well as Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Funded by Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), the programme aims at meet-ing the increasing needs in the northern part of the war-torn country.

QRCS’ representation mis-sion in Turkey has already provided 2,400 bags contain-ing winter clothes including underwear, outerwear, cap, gloves, coat and shoes for chil-dren aged 5-14 years in the city and countryside of Al-Bab.

In partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent, another 16,000 winter clothes bags are prepared for distribution, 10,000 in the city and country-side of Idlib, and 6,000 in Kilis, a city in south-central Turkey.

Also, work is in pro-

gress to distribute a total of 200,000 litres of heating oil to 2,000 families, or 10,000 people, in the city of Jisr Al-Shughur. Each family will re-ceive an average of 100 litres of heating oil.

Together with the Turkish Red Crescent and the munici-pal council of Kilis, QRCS is to deliver 1,200 tonnes of coal for the city’s Syrian refugees to use in heating.

Meanwhile, QRCS’ field teams are restoring 985 dam-aged houses in northern Syr-ia, to be handed over to their owners within a few days. A total 5,000 people are esti-mated to be the beneficiaries.

In addition, 250 torn tents inhabited by worst-affected families will be replaced in Jisr Al-Shughur, with another 200 tents to be replaced later.

The communities of the northern governorates of Syria suffer appalling living condi-tions due to the destruction of houses, deficiency of infra-structure, overpopulation, and lack of the least requirements for a decent life.


AS part of celebrating the Best Bud-dies International Month of March, Best Buddies Qatar Village is organ-ising various activities at The Mall of Qatar, aiming at bringing joy to the lives of children.

Visitors to the village can par-ticipate in memory games, collecting puzzles, colouring contests, question mazes and storytelling, among other activities.

Laalei Abu Alfain, executive di-rector of Best Buddies Qatar and act-ing director of Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities, said: “Best Buddies Qatar holds numerous ac-tivities across the country in March every year. We are very glad to bring joy to the organisation’s members and involve more children and their fami-lies in our events. Best Buddies Qatar Village is a great occasion where any child can play games and do art.

“Best Buddies Qatar’s mission is to enhance the lives of people with and without intellectual and develop-mental disabilities through social in-tegration and one-to-one long lasting meaningful friendships. We appreci-ate the Mall of Qatar management and the volunteers from Michael E DeBakey High School for helping the Best Buddies Qatar’s mission and this programme.”

Latifa al Kuwari, director of Reha-

bilitation and Integration Unit, com-mented: “Opening Best Buddies Qa-tar Village at the Mall of Qatar helps deliver the message to the wider audi-ence to light up the role of Best Bud-dies Qatar in the community, and to guide entities and individuals to con-tribute to the ending of social isolation of persons with disabilities.”

Stuart Elder, CEO of The Mall of Qatar, said: “Mall of Qatar is proud to partner with Best Buddies Qatar. We are an integral part of Qatar commu-nity, providing enjoyment, entertain-ment and opportunities for everyone. We are thrilled to host Best Buddies

Qatar Village to help create awareness about volunteering and the impor-tance of integrating people with devel-opmental and intellectual disabilities in everyday life.”

Best Buddies Qatar is a govern-mental non-profitable organisa-tion under umbrella of Shafallah Center and Qatar Foundation for Social Work. Established in 2008, it organises various events, activi-ties and programs throughout the year. In addition, the organisation provides job opportunities and op-portunity to develop personal and professional skills.


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Best Buddies Qatar Village opens for visitors at The Mall of Qatar

The visitors to the village can participate in memory games, collecting puzzles, colouring contests, question mazes and storytelling, among other activities.

Ooredoo, Dell EMC launch SmartStadium solution for mega events


OOREDOO, the region’s leading enabler of digital business innova-tion, and Dell EMC, the world’s lead-ing provider of cloud infrastructure and innovative business solutions, launched a Smart Stadium demo to transform mega events around the world, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, recently.

The technology titans have devel-oped the Smart Stadium technology that aims to maximise the safety and security of athletes and coaches, fans, media and organisers at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and other mega-events across the world.

The Smart Stadium solution combines the speed, capacity and reliability of Ooredoo’s industry-leading 5G network with Dell EMC’s deep learning capabilities to deliver enhanced security. As the first coun-try to demo the solution, Qatar can accelerate its digital transformation as well as strengthen its position as a hub for global events. Ooredoo ex-

pects to roll-out the solution across its markets in the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia.

By using camera-enabled drones to patrol venues, mega-event organ-isers can record and transmit high definition video footage via Oore-doo’s secure 5G network to local data centres. Here, the data is combined with CCTV footage and analysed by computers – all within seconds – to spot hazards such as dangerous ob-jects and potential disturbances.

The system also utilises multi-cloud, edge computing, artificial in-

telligence and machine learning, and video analytics technology from Dell EMC to identify potentially danger-ous objects in real time, giving all stakeholders of events the ability to respond promptly.

Yousuf Abdulla al Kubaisi, chief operating officer, Ooredoo Qatar, said: “As Qatar ascends the world stage in mega-events, our partner-ship with Dell EMC combines the strengths of both companies to en-sure that Qatar is a world leader in smart stadium and mega-event safety and security. At Mobile World

Congress, we’re showcasing how technology can allow fans, play-ers and media worldwide to focus on what matters most – enjoying a world class sporting event.”

Visitors to the Ooredoo stand experienced a live demo of a key component of the security solution – object detection – which uses deep learning techniques and a specially configured ‘neural network’ to de-tect and track potentially hazardous objects.

Ghassan Kosta, country Manag-er, Dell EMC Qatar, said: “Fans are more connected than ever before. By combining Ooredoo’s 5G technol-ogy with Dell EMC’s innovations, mega-event organisers can integrate the ecosystem of staff, vendors, and fans for real-time decision-making to enhance fan safety. Our part-nership can also expand the smart stadium experience across mobile ticketing, concessions and loyalty programmes.”

The solutions being developed will benefit WC Qatar 2022 as well as other large events across the world.

Officials of Ooredoo Qatar and Dell EMC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

CRA participates in preparatory meeting ahead of WRC-2019


THE Second Session of the Confer-ence Preparatory Meeting (CPM) of the World Radiocommunication Con-ference 2019 (WRC-2019) concluded recently at the International Telecom-munications Union (ITU) headquar-ters in Geneva, Switzerland.

A high-level Qatari delegation led by Mohammed Ali al Mannai, presi-dent of the CRA, participated in the CPM and submitted 12 contributions as part of the CPM documents. During the various working group meetings, the Qatari delegation contributed to-wards the final report which will be discussed at the WRC-2019 to be held from October 28 to November 22.

WRC is held every four years to revise the international treaty gov-erning the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-sat-ellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits, as well as to address any issue concerning radiocommunication at global level. Qatar is among the ITU Member States that have signed the treaty, which obliges the signatory

states to comply with the treaty pro-visions in accordance with the special Radio Regulations.

“Since the CRA ensures that all radio spectrum related matters are effectively managed and allocated, it is keen to participate in international meetings and conferences like the CPM. Regulatory development creates opportunities for a multi-trillion dol-lars industry, which in turn enhances the development of communities globally. Global or regional spectrum harmonisation for fixed, mobile, sat-ellites and broadcasting industries is essential to create economies of scale of roaming and interoperability,” said Mannai.

After the WRC-2019, CRA will start updating the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) taking into consideration the new outcomes. The NFAP is a comprehensive frequency allocation document that provides a transparent, clear and non-discrimi-natory approach to the management of radio spectrum. Besides, it is a guide for individuals, government and private entities on how the frequency bands are allocated in Qatar.

Ooredoo’s 5G and Dell EMC’s deep learning prowess demonstrates high-tech safety and security

Able Group launches Patta Power ToolsTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

ABLE Group, one of the largest im-porters, exporters, wholesalers and retailers of a wide variety of build-ing materials in Qatar, on Sunday announced the launch of power tools from the Taiwanese hardware giant Patta International.

The partnership agreement gives Able Group the exclusive rights to import and distribute Patta power tools, including Angle Grind-er, Circular Saw, Electric Blower, Electric Drill, Rotary Hammer, Heavy Drill Machine and Hacksaw Machine along with all the required accessories.

The launching ceremony was attended by Patta Group Chair-man David Huang, Assistant Vice-President Heidi Liu and Secertary Tina Shen.

Huang signed the agreement giving exclusive rights to Able Group to import and distribute Pat-ta Power Tools.

Able Group Chairman Rashid Abdulla Saheed al Amir al Kaabi said, “The Able Group was launched 40 years back in 1975 as a small family business. The company has grown exponentially over the years and has supported the rise and growth of Qatar. We are still work-ing hard to meet the requirements for preparing Qatar for the World Cup 2022 and beyond. We are very proud of Qatar’s achievements over

the last many years and will con-tinue to support the country in its development plans.”

Able Group Managing Direc-tor Basheer Payyanattil said, “We are delighted to sign this exclusive agreement with Patta International for their newly-launched power tools, which are of a very high qual-ity and perfectly suitable for Qatar market. We have been dealing with Patta for the past 10 years and have a very strong partnership. With this agreement, we hope to strengthen our ties even further.”

Huang said, “We are excited to be in Qatar and to sign the agree-ment with Able Group to distrib-ute our power tools. Able Group is a company that has been steadily growing over the many years that we have been in partnership with them and we are confident that this new deal will be mutually beneficial for our individual businesses.”

Able Group has been partnering with Patta International for their

wide range of building materials including fastners, different types of screws, blind rivets, rivet nuts, nails, bolts and nuts, wall plugs, concrete nails, roofing nails, self-drilling screws and various hand tools for over 10 years.

Able Group was launched in Qatar in 1975 as a family business which has grown to become one of the largest building material sup-pliers in the Middle East dealing in the distribution by wholesale, im-port and export of sanitary, paint-ing tools, hand tools, power tools, safety products, plumbing, electri-cal, carpentry items, hardware and building materials etc.

Today, the Able Group is a brand that symbolises trust and reliability that its customers can depend on. Able Group retail shops offer qual-ity products with unmatched prices and innovative services. Their vast product range includes well-re-nowned brands and products for different sectors.

Officials of Able Group and Patta International at the launch ceremony.

IEI Qatar chapter Annual General Meeting heldTHE Qatar Chapter of the Institu-tion of Engineers, India (IEI) held its Annual General Meeting at the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) recent-ly, which was attended by 40 mem-ber engineers.

Honourary Chairman Abdul Sa-thar welcomed the gathering and appreciated the active participation of the engineers in the functioning of the chapter.

Honourary Secretary Dr Abdul Hameed gave a presentation on the chapter’s activities in the past year, which included technical seminars,

workshops and Engineers’ Day cele-brations. The meeting unanimously approved the audited accounts and budget presented by Honourary

Treasurer Sajeet George.Raziullah compered the event and

Durai Manivannan proposed the vote of thanks. (TNN)

Reports by Santhosh Chandran For events and press releases email

[email protected] or call (974) 4000 2222Indian Experience


Indian artistes weave magic with dance performances

A DANCE troupe of Dishaa Crea-tive Dance from India weaved magic with its

amazing performance of con-temporary dances at DPS- MIS Auditorium in Al Wakra recently. The event was held as part of “Festival of India” under the India-Qatar Year of Culture 2019, an initiative of the Embassy of India in co-ordination with and sup-port of the Ministry of Cul-ture, Government of India, and Qatar Museums (QM), the official partner-nation for the 2019 Year of Culture.

The dances presented on the occasion were an

amalgamation of several Indian dance styles struc-tured around six themes in six parts, namely, aura (Yoga), elements (Based on two life-supporting ele-ments of fire and water), two shades (depicting two sides

of life), ‘mohe rang do laal’ (semi-classical Kathak), ‘ju-galbandi’ (fusion of differ-ent Indian dance forms) and ‘Holiya me ude la gulal’ (folk dance conveying the spirit Holi, the Indian festival of colour that celebrates the

onset of spring).The artistes who en-

thralled an over 600-strong audience and made the even-ing lively with their spectac-ular performances included Aditi Chatterjee, Anurag, Deepak Verma, Deepak, Dis-

ha Sharma, Jai Singh, Manak Sharma , Rakesh Kumar, Tahir Ali, Sonu and Kamala Pati Sharma. The dances were choreographed by Basu Sharma.

The programme was jointly organised by the Indi-an Cultural Centre and Indian Community Benevolent Fo-rum with the support of man-agement of DPS-MIS School. It was compered by Seenu Pillai. Nayana Wagh, head of cultural activities introduced the artistes to the audience and Nirmala Shanmugapan-dian, cultural coordinator at Indian Cultural Centre, pro-posed a vote of thanks.

Earlier at a brief public function, Third Secretary at the Indian Embassy Shruthi Purushotham and the chief guest on the occasion along with Acting President of In-dian Cultural Centre Vinod V Nair, President of Indian Community Benevolent Fo-rum P N Baburajan and President of DPS-MIS Has-san Chougule felicitated the members of the Dishaa Crea-tive Dance troupe.

A ROADSHOW titled “Vibrant Terry Towel 2019” was held in Doha recently to promote the

‘Vibrant Terry Towel Global Expo and Summit 2019 (VT-GES 2019), and highlight its salient features. Ambassador of India to Qatar HE P Ku-maran was the chief guest at the event.

Textile Development Foundation (TDF), a lead-ing not-for-profit associa-tion working for hundreds of small decentralised terry towel and textile units locat-ed at Sholapur in the Indian state of Maharashtra in asso-ciation with Global Network, an international trade adviso-ry firm based in Ahmadabad, Gujarat, and the Indian Busi-ness & Professionals Council, Qatar (IBPC), had organized the roadshow which was at-tended by around 50 people from this sector.

The first of its kind event focused on the towel indus-try in India. The VTTGES 2019 scheduled to be held in Sholapur from Septem-ber 25 to 27, 2019, will bring customers, towel manufac-turers, importers, exporters, technologists and traders together on a common plat-form to discuss, share, de-bate and celebrate the best practices of the towels indus-try. It will be one of the key commercial milestones of the year with 100 Sholapur-based towel companies as exhibitors and several other

booths earmarked for yarn manufacturing, machinery, textile dyes & chemicals.

Speaking at the event, the Indian ambassador pre-sented some pertinent facts on trade between Qatar and India. He said the export from India to Qatar has risen by more than 80% in 2017-18 and is expected to rise further in 2018-2019. He also laid strong emphasis on the key factors that are driving India as a business and investment destination, along with the opportunities emerging in Qatar. He also added that the textile sector of India is the second biggest employer af-ter the agriculture sector.

Azim Abbas, President of IBPC in Qatar, welcomed the promoters of VTTGES 2019 from India and con-veyed IBPC’s whole hearted support to Vibrant Terry Towel 2019.

Anmol Modi, senior head (Promotions) of Vibrant Terry Towel 2019, highlight-ed some facts on the home textile sector globally and Indian performance in this sector. He mentioned the strength of the textile cluster of Sholapur and its success in gaining geographical indica-tion (GI) status for Sholapur jacquered towel and ‘chad-dar’ (blanket). An invitation was extended to the attend-ees with details on the ben-efits of visiting Vibrant Terry Towel Global Expo & Sum-mit 2019.

Doha roadshow promotes

VTGES 2019 to be held in India

Indian farmers’ body holds ‘Harvest & Food Festival’

INDIAN expatriate group Nammude Adukkalathot-tam (NAD) which pro-motes farming among the

community members organ-ised harvest festival for or-ganic vegetables cultivated in their farms.

Noted film actress from Kerala Lakshana inaugurat-ed the event by lighting the ceremonial lamp.

This is for the fifth con-secutive year that the forum is organising a festival in winter.

The programme featured exhibition and sale of organic vegetables cultivated in Qa-tar besides a host of cultural programmes presented by the members of the forum.

NAD is the only agri-

cultural group affiliated to Indian Cultural Centre, the apex body of Indian expatri-ate organisatrions, function-ing under the aegis of Indian embassy.

Speaking to “Qatar Trib-une”, an office-bearer of the forum said that the promo-tion and support offered by the concerned authorities in Qatar have inspired enthu-siasts to focus on cultivation of organic vegetables and fruits. The organic culture will not only help protect the environment but also pro-vide naturally-produced veg-etables for healthy living.

Kerala expatriate Ani Thomas who secured a place in the Limca Book of Records

for growing the longest Okra in his domestic garden was also honoured on the occa-sion.

Indian farmers and of-fice-bearers of the forum in-cluding Ambara Pavithran, Ramla Samad (president), NB Jawahar, Amir Koya, Si-ros Ravindran, Gigi Aravind, Suraj Ramanadhan, Yasr, Rasiya Rafiq, Viji Joseph and Suresh Krishnan attended the function.

Principal of MES Indian School Hameeda Kader, CEO of Castle Constructions Mibu, Manager of Kalayan Jewellers Sudheesh and the playback singer Shafi Kollam were among others who at-tended the event.

Indian forum organises patriotic songs contest

QATAR Mahe Souhrida Sangamam (QMASS), a socio-cultural organisa-

tion of the Indian expatriates hailing from Mahe and neigh-boring regions of Malabar in southern Indian states of Ker-ala, organised an inter-school patriotic song competition for the students of Indian schools in Doha, recently.

Forum President Shuhaib K.K inaugurated the event. In spite of the ongoing exams, nearly 100 students from six Indian schools took part in the wonderful competition which generated strong patriotic feelings.

The event started with the participants, judges and the audience paying homage to the brave martyrs who have sacrificed their lives for the

country. At the end of a scintillat-

ing performance by the school students, ICC President Mani-kandan declared the result which the students, parents, school officials and general public accepted with a re-sounding applause.

Students of Ideal Indian School bagged the first posi-tion with the contestants from MES Indian School and Raja-giri Public School sharing the second position. Shanthi Ni-kethan School received third prize and Bhavan’s School and Olive International School

received consolation prizes. The winners will be honoured later.

At the event, tributes were paid to veteran Gandhiyan Ra-him Master who passed away earlier this month at Mahe. As a dedicated Gandhiyan KNM Rahim spent his whole life spreading the teachings and noble values of Mahatma Gandhi to nooks and corners of North Kerala, said the ICC President while unveiling a full-size portrait of Rahim Master at the event. Forum President Shuhaib KK, Gen-eral Secretary Thaju Mamas, Convener Manmmadhan Mambally, Shajahan, Lilar Parambath, Ullas Kayakandy, Rizwan and Rinu Josephal-so spoke at the condolence meeting.

The programme was jointly organised by the Indian Cultural Centre and Indian Community Benevolent Forum with the sup-port of management of DPS-MIS School

QATAR-INDIA CULTURAL YEAR 2019


HBKU to host Kuwaiti prospective studentsTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

IN an effort to build on bilater-al ties and showcase academic programmes, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) will host 10 prospective Ku-waiti national students.

The visitors, whose tour will extend for four days, will have the chance to learn more about the university’s programmes, initiatives and research opportunities avail-able to international stu-dents, as well as the range of teaching facilities and other academic resources.

The HBKU-sponsored visit, in cooperation with the Embassy of Kuwait, coincides with the celebration of Kuwait National Day.

A slew of events were held in Qatar to celebrate Kuwait National Day under the theme of ‘Kuwait and Qatar: One Peo-ple’. The events served to un-derscore the strong ties bind-ing Qatar and Kuwait, as well as the two countries’ vision in the fields of higher education and human development.

Ambassador of Kuwait to Qatar HE Hafeez bin Moham-

med al Ajmi said, “The delega-tion of students who are set to visit HBKU will undoubtedly benefit from a unique cultural and academic exchange and experience. We are particu-larly pleased to associate with HBKU as one of our valued partners and a distinguished provider of educational ser-vices in the region.”

Maryam al Mannai, vice-president for Student Affairs at HBKU, said: “We value the contribution of our interna-tional students to the academ-ic and social life on campus and all of our degree pro-grammes have significant rep-resentation from Kuwait. Our ambition is for students to find value in HBKU’s nurturing environment where they can obtain a world-class research education not far from home.”

The Kuwaiti students tak-ing part in the visit will be in-troduced to HBKU’s multidis-ciplinary specialised research and teaching capabilities based on the institution’s com-mitment to cultivating excel-lence and innovation, and the opportunities to actively con-tribute to solving challenges for Qatar and the world.

QNL to celebrate women’s feats


QATAR National Library (QNL) will organise a num-ber of activities in March to recognise and celebrate wom-en’s role in society and their remarkable achievements throughout history.

On March 7, a full day of events, including lectures, art-ists’ talks and video streaming of contemporary practitioners will explore women’s historic role and enduring influence on Islamic art. Leading artists from around the world, including Dr Veeda Ahmed, a famous paint-er, will deliver lectures on a va-riety of topics. Dr Ahmed stud-ied the influence of Persian and Mughal drawings and paintings on the contemporary art prac-tice in India and Pakistan at the University of Oxford.

On the occasion of Interna-tional Women’s Day on March 8, visitors will have the chance to hear the success stories of no-

table Qatari women and learn about their pioneering role in Qatari society in a panel discus-sion. The panelists will include Rasha al Sulaiti, initiator of the first Arabic audiobook project in Qatar; Shaza Ali, produc-tion manager of Purplebox, an e-shopping platform; Hissa Hamed, a pioneer in the volun-teering field; Elham al Ansari, volunteer activist and fashion designer; and Nouf al Marri, founder of Kashta restaurant and Chef Nouf Company for restaurant management. Dr Latifa al Darwish, chief execu-tive officer of project manage-ment company Itlaq, will mod-erate the discussion.

On March 13, the library will host a concert featuring the works of Dana al Fardan, a Qatari composer, songwriter and symphonic artist. Fardan’s work has gained international recognition, and she was re-cently named the official com-poser for Qatar Airways.

“Women continue to play an important role in Qatari society, and they have always had a positive impact on eve-ryone around them. Our events throughout March highlight women’s contributions to our community and their achieve-ments throughout our history,”

said Hind al Khulaifi, acting di-rector of Research and Learning Services at QNL. “We encourage everyone to visit us in celebrat-ing the success of Qatari women in advancing our society.”

Sustainable gardening and its long-term benefits to the community is the focus of the workshop ‘Ladies, Go Beyond Organic: Let’s Talk about Sus-tainable Gardening’ on March 16. On March 21, in celebration of Mother’s Day, children are invited to join their mothers at a storytime activity at the Chil-dren’s Library. Children will also have the opportunity to craft special Mother’s Day gifts.

Turning the focus to self-empowerment for women, sound therapist Natalie Kelly will lead a special guided sound meditation workshop

on March 26. A host of other themed

events around sports and sci-ence are open to visitors of the library during March, including history lectures, forums and the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra’s monthly concert.

Visitors will have the chance to hear from select UK and Qatari sports ambassadors about their success stories on March 4 at ‘We Talk Sports’. A self-improvement workshop on March 6 is designed for those seeking personal growth by discovering their strengths and hidden skills.

On March 16, the library will launch its new Homework Club, where students can get help with their schoolwork in vari-ous subjects from volunteers. Visitors will have the chance

to meet volunteers at specific times on Mondays and Satur-days throughout each month.

The monthly Science Book Forum will hold its monthly session on March 24. The lec-ture ‘Dust Storms from Mars and Titan to Qatar’ will explore the origins of dust storms and how they affect Qatar’s land-scape and environment.

On March 26, the library’s Book Club for the Blind will hold a book discussion on The Other Senses,which presents the life of PreetiMonga, a visu-ally disabled woman who grew up facing severe health chal-lenges, but continued to keep a positive outlook on life.

Music and film enthusiasts can attend the Qatar Philhar-monic Orchestra’s monthly concert ‘At the Movies’ on March 21.

Experts from the library’s preservation and conserva-tion team will hold a lecture on March 31, titled ‘Why and How to Identify and Classify Islamic Manuscript Papers’, to provide basic information about manu-script preservation.

More details about the li-brary’s March events and the continuing exhibitions are available at www.qnl.qa/en/events.

Qatar National Library will host a variety of activities in March to recognise and celebrate women’s role in society.

Concert, panel and lectures to honour women’s role in Qatari society

Pearl-Qatar hosts HDC’s first two live cooking showsTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

HOSPITALITY Development Company (HDC), a subsidiary of United Development Compa-ny (UDC) and one of the leading hospitality and fine dining com-panies in Qatar, commenced the first-of-its-kind live cooking show at The Pearl-Qatar Island, at The Amphitheater, 30 La

Croisette, Porto Arabia.The first show was hosted

last Thursday by Qatari chef Aisha al Tamimi, who prepared some of her signature dishes and shared some of her exqui-site cooking secrets.

In the second show, Leba-nese chef Richard Khoury inter-acted with the audience taking food enthusiasts through an in-spirational cooking journey.

The shows attracted fami-lies and food enthusiasts who were able to interact with both chefs. Two other lively culinary shows will be hosted by the leading Indian chef Vineet Bha-tia on March 7 and the last show by popular Kuwaiti Chef Fawaz al Omaim on March 8.

The doors will be opened to audience at 6pm, while shows will start at 6:30pm.The first show was hosted by Qatari chef Aisha al Tamimi while the second show was hosted by Lebanese Chef Richard Khoury.

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HAMAD BIN SUHAIM AL THANI CHAIRMANADEL ALI BIN ALI MANAGING DIRECTORDR HASSAN MOHAMMED AL ANSARI EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Behind North Korea’s YouTube Ambitions

NORTH Korea is famous for operat-ing propaganda websites on an in-dustrial scale. It is understood that North Korea currently operates more than 160 propaganda sites.

These include news and tourism websites as well as online communities, all of which are designed to promote North Korea and its ideology and turn as many people as possible into North Korean sympathisers.

Pyongyang does not limit its efforts to its own websites, however. It also has a great interest in social media outlets, es-pecially Western ones.

As the latest example, Uriminzokkiri, one of the most active North Korean prop-aganda websites, has resumed providing YouTube clips on its pages.

Uriminzokkri began to offer links to YouTube clips on its channel from Febru-ary. It appears that the website reopened its channel, dubbed uriminzok, on You-Tube this time last year.

Apart from YouTube, Uriminzokkiri

utilises Youku, a Chinese video hosting service that is similar to YouTube, to pro-mote its videos. It has uploaded a variety of video clips including news clips, North Korean music videos, and propaganda output.

Separately, in December last year, a propaganda website, DPRK Today, add-ed accounts on audio streaming website Soundcloud and video-sharing platform Vimeo, increasing its list of social media channels. Another propaganda website, SoGwang, also expanded the number of social media outlets available on its web-site for users to share its content from five to 17 in January.

Since social media outlets are an effec-tive tool to reach out to a wider audience, it is easy to conclude that North Korea is actively expanding its usage of them for the purpose of propaganda. This might not be the only explanation, however.

The Wall Street Journal reported in September last year that North Korean agents were utilising American social me-dia outlets and US technology to make for-eign money in moves aimed at subverting

the US-led sanctions against Pyongyang.North Korea is hiding from interna-

tional sanctions by disguising itself on social network outlets and using US job sites, instant messengers, and internet payment services, the paper added.

Wall Street Journal estimated that

North Korea’s total revenue from software development projects using fake social media accounts could be millions of dol-lars. It is unclear what efforts, if any, are being made to stop North Korea’s social media ambitions.

One of the most well-known deterrent measures is the shutdown of accounts that are verified as being backed by Pyongyang.

For instance, Uriminzokkiri’s You-Tube channel was once shut down in 2017 for violating the social media platform’s community guidelines.

At that time, a YouTube spokesperson told Radio Free Asia that the channel “re-peatedly” violated the community guide-lines, without elaborating further.

Apart from that, YouTube also shut down the official account of North Korea’s state-controlled Korea Central Television in 2016. Before the closure, the channel played an important role in disseminat-ing Pyongyang’s messages to the outside world via hundreds of videos on the plat-form. The cause of that shutdown was also unknown, but observers believed it was a part of concerted efforts to tighten

the US-led sanctions against the North.However, since these are merely a few

official channels, critics believe the impact is limited. Other argue such moves only serve to limit an important resource for studying one of the most isolated and se-cretive countries in the world.

The latest summit between the United States and North Korea concluded without any agreement being reached, despite the fanfare that accompanied its announce-ment. Since the issue of lifting sanctions was identified as one of the main reasons behind the failure of the summit, some view it as a sign that sanctions have had an impact. Proponents argue they should continue until the complete denuclearisa-tion of North Korea.

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, for in-stance, pointed out in its latest editorial that the summit proved once again that sticking with strict sanctions is effective.

In this regard, it has become more im-portant to recognise North Korea’s latest move to beef up its efforts on social media as sanction busting and come up with con-crete measures to deter these efforts.

The reclusive regime’s social media monetisation is aimed at subverting international sanctions

Opinion

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THE OPINION AND ANALYSIS PAGES ARE THE AUTHORS’ OWN. QATAR TRIBUNE BEARS NO RESPONSIBILITY.

THE House Intelligence Committee will hold its first open hearing un-der the new Democratic majority. When I took over as chairman of the committee in January, there was no

shortage of topics that would be obvious candidates for the committee to focus on—China’s growing might, Russian in-terference in our election, Turkey’s drift, or countless other threats. Our first hear-ing will not be on any of those topics, but rather on an issue that may surpass them all in importance, and yet underlies each: the rise of authoritarianism and the threat to liberal democracy around the world.

Ronald Reagan once called America the “shining city upon a hill.” Today, our light of freedom is shining less brightly. Across the globe, democracies are mired in an ugly brand of populism often direct-ed against “the other,” and are displaying a troubling receptivity to autocracy as an alternative model of governance. If these trends continue, it will be a tragedy for humankind and a disaster for our nation-al security.

The fight for freedom and democracy has been a long and arduous one. The blood of millions was spilled in the 20th century for the cause of democratic gov-ernance and respect for fundamental hu-man rights. Out of the ashes of two world wars and the grinding decades of the Cold War, America looked across the globe and saw a world that seemed to be slowly, but irreversibly, becoming freer and more democratic. The world, it appeared, might finally become “safe for democracy,” in the words of President Woodrow Wilson.

Our optimism was once again mis-placed. The past decade has demonstrat-ed that democratic change is not inevita-ble, but must be doggedly pursued by free societies. At present, democracies are backsliding the world over, with threats to the rule of law, freedom of the press, and independent civil society growing ever more severe. The unipolar moment of the 1990s has given way to an embold-ened Russia headed by Vladimir Putin and an increasingly assertive China led by Xi Jinping, both bent on promoting their own brand of authoritarian rule through a combination of military might, cyber–informational warfare and theft, and the skillful use of economic leverage.

In Caracas, Ankara, Budapest, Ma-nila, Brasília, and elsewhere, strongmen have firmly grasped power. Rulers such as Viktor Orbán and Recep Tayyip Er-dogan came to power through democratic means, but moved swiftly and brutally to centralise power and stamp out opposi-

tion. They have attacked the independent judiciary, the media, and the opposition political parties in their countries, wag-ing campaigns of harassment, imprison-ment, and violence. The Trump admin-istration does not fully grasp the threat these trends portend to our national in-terest or what it means when treaty allies such as Hungary, Turkey, and the Phil-ippines see their interests more closely aligned with those of our global adversar-ies in Moscow or Beijing than with those of the United States.

There is no single cause for democratic retrenchment, but tectonic shifts in the global economy, the advent of the internet and new modes of communication, and the refugee crisis have helped fuel populist backlashes that empower autocratic rul-ers. These enormously disruptive societal changes—imagine the invention of the printing press and the Industrial Revolu-tion taking place simultaneously—have tested the capacity of representative gov-ernment, which by design moves with de-

liberation and trends toward moderation.At last week’s national-security con-

ference in Munich, our allies questioned America’s commitment to our transat-lantic alliance and our ideals. We must respond, clearly and without equivoca-tion, in defense of our values and our democratic allies. We must be clear-eyed about these threats and recognise that hu-man progress is not an inevitability, but will have to be won anew by each genera-tion. Our diplomats, military, and intel-ligence agencies must have the support and resources they need to help America lead the free world, and to anticipate and respond when Russia, China, and others seek to extend their reach and undermine democratic societies.

In his resignation letter as secretary of defence, James Mattis defined the stakes, writing that it was “clear that China and Russia want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model.” He also issued what, for the famously stolid Mat-tis, amounts to a cri de coeur, writing that “while the US remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies.”

It is this call that Americans—Demo-crats and Republicans—must answer.

(A member of the Democratic Party, Adam Schiff has served in

US Congress since 2001.)

America Must Stand As A Bulwark Against Autocracy

ADAM SCHIFF TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

The US House Intel Committee’s hearing will focus on crucial issues like rise of authoritarianism and threat to liberal democracy around the world

(Tribune News Service)

WE don’t yet know if socialism will crack apart in Venezuela, but as peo-ple scramble for basic necessities, we do know that oil could play a role in

the downfall of the oppressive regime and the restoration of a civil society. Put another way, as the Trump administration tries to oust the Venezuelan regime and support in-terim president Juan Guaidó, a key point of leverage is a boardroom right in Texas.

Venezuela’s state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, owns a refin-ery and retail fuels busi-ness in Houston: Citgo. As the new Venezuelan government attempts to gain control of the Citgo leadership from social-ist leaders, the US has placed sanctions on the oil company’s finances to transfer revenue and as-sets to Guaidó’s reformist government-in-waiting.

The Texas part of the story involves the terrifying arrest of six Cit-go executives, five of them US citizens, who had flown to Caracas in late 2017 for a meet-ing. Upon arrival, the group was arrested on charges of fraud for plans to refinance debt, but some observers said the motivation was political. Those Americans are still living in terrible conditions in a Venezuelan prison, according to reports from their families in Louisiana and Texas.

The fight highlights the state’s emerging position in global geopolitics, as Texas ener-gy companies continue to boost oil produc-tion to record levels. Much of this growth is a result of good fortune in natural resources and a free-market approach to business, rather than deliberate government policies. And that’s surely the secret of our state’s success. But as its market influence grows, Texas politicians and oil industry executives should step into a leadership role on inter-national democracy and human rights.

When and where we have property rights and a rule of law, we expand the opportunity for human potential. By pushing Venezuela

to respect companies that are willing to do business in that country, the US can chip away at one of the great humanitarian crises of the moment. In this case, the Texas oil in-dustry can play a significant role in putting Venezuela on a better trajectory.

Venezuela, an OPEC country, has enor-mous oil reserves. PDVSA produces oil and sends it to refineries, of which Citgo has three in the US: Lemont, Ill.; Lake Charles, Louisiana; and Corpus Christi. The compa-ny also licences Citgo brand service stations

to carry the company’s fuel.Let’s not forget that

Citgo has deep Dallas roots. The company was Dallas en-ergy investor T Boone Pick-ens’ first takeover target in 1982. In the midst of that fight, Cities Service refin-ing and fuel marketing op-erations were sold to South-land Corp., the Dallas-based owner of 7-11. A few years later, Southland sold Citgo

to the Venezuelans.Further, a little Irving oil-production

outfit called Exxon Mobil Corp began invest-ing billions in production activities in Ven-ezuela shortly before Hugo Chavez became president. When Chavez nationalised the oil industry, he expropriated Exxon assets and the company pulled out. As an aside, some-one from the administration might want to call up Rex Tillerson. As a former secretary of state and former chief executive of Exxon, he could have a few key insights here.

Sadly, Maduro may be completing Chavez’s move to kill the goose that laid Venezuela’s golden egg of crude. Chavez first touted his vision to socialise the energy in-dustry to redistribute oil riches to the poor. Now that revenue helps pay for a military that blocks food and medical aid from get-ting to the Venezuelan people who need it.

Democracy and free markets won’t solve all of Venezuela’s problems. But unleash-ing the market and embracing democracy would get more oil flowing out and essential supplies flowing in. Viva capitalism.

Texas’s Emerging Position In Global Geopolitics

Venezuela crisis shows that the state’s politicians and oil industry executives must step into a leadership

role on international democracy and human rights

TAE-JUN KANG TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

North Korea is hiding from international sanctions by disguising itself on social network outlets and using US job sites, instant messengers, and internet pay-ment services, WSJ reported

Hugo Chavez first touted his vision to socialise the energy industry to redistribute oil rich-es to the poor. Now that reve-nue helps pay for a military that blocks food and medical aid from getting to the Venezuelan people who need it

There is no single cause for demo-cratic retrenchment, but tectonic shifts in the global economy, the advent of the internet and new modes of communication, and the refugee crisis have helped fuel populist back-lashes that empower autocratic rulers


News in brief

KOLKATA:SEVERAL people were injured as clashes broke out in various parts of West Bengal on Sunday when police sought to stop BJP activists from holding the ‘Vijay Sankalp’ bike rallies. Launched by Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Friday, the bike rallies are part of the party’s nationwide outreach campaign ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, in West Bengal, the rallies were denied permission because of board examinations and traffic issues, a senior police officer said. In Kolkata, police intercepted the rally participants on Central Avenue, Jorabagan, Kakurgachi and other important points. (IANS)

Clashes as police stop BJP bike rallies in Bengal, many hurt

KABUL: At least 20 people including a number of children have been killed in flash floods in six districts and the capital of Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province, the UN said late Satur-day. The victims were killed when their homes collapsed or the vehicles they were travelling in were swept away, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). At least 10 people from five districts were still missing, OCHA said. An estimated 2,000 homes had been reportedly damaged across the affected districts and Kandahar city, where 600 houses had been either damaged or destroyed. (DPA)

Flash floods in southern Afghanistan leave at least 20 dead

IANSPATNA

IN the first show of strength in Bihar ruled by BJP in al-liance with JD-U, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked Congress and its allies for demoralis-ing security forces by ask-ing for proof of air strikes against terror camps in Pa-kistan and for “making the enemies smile” by issuing statements.

“I want to know from Congress and its allies why they are demoralizing secu-rity forces by asking for proof

of the air strikes against ter-ror camps. Why are they is-suing such statements that benefit our enemies?” Modi asked addressing NDA’s Sankalp rally in Patna where he formally launched NDA’s campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Bihar.

“Congress and its allies are doing things which are enough for making the en-emies smile. At a time when there was a need to speak as one against terror factories, 21 parties in Delhi came to-gether to speak against the NDA. People won’t forgive them,” Modi said.

Cong and allies demoralising forces by seeking proof of Pakistan air strikes: PM

AFPDHAKA

BANGLADESH is cracking down on chemical warehouses in an historic Dhaka district a week after a fire killed 70 people in buildings used for deodorant and plastics storage, an official said Sunday.

Five task forces led by military officers, police and of-ficials have raided Old Dhaka buildings and cut off utilities to at least 50 buildings in the past three days after chemical warehouses were found in their basement and under floors.

The owners of the buildings have been ordered to relocate

the flammable chemicals to safer places outside the capital as part of the initiative launched on Thursday. “We are deter-mined there will be no flamma-ble chemical warehouses in any Old Dhaka residential area,” Dhaka’s mayor Sayeed Khokon said. He said the drive would continue until April 1.

The crackdown is in re-sponse to a massive fire which broke out on February 21 at Chawkbazar, a 300-year-old historic Old Dhaka district, kill-ing at least 70 people and injur-ing another 50.

Fire service officials said a warehouse of deodorant and granular plastic in one of the

five buildings that caught fire fuelled the inferno, which took more than 12 hours to control.

The disaster recalled a June 2010 fire in the nearby neighbourhood of Nimtoli in which 123 people were killed. Again a blaze ripped through residential buildings that dou-

bled as chemical warehouses.Residents said chemical

storage is a lucrative busi-ness in Old Dhaka, which was founded by the Mughals in 1608, where building owners allegedly bribe authorities to turn a blind eye to the stores.

On Saturday the taskforce faced resistance from Old Dhaka traders, prompting the authorities to halt the drive for several hours. It resumed after intervention by the mayor.

According to one survey conducted in 2015, some 70 percent of Old Dhaka residen-tial buildings, home to three million people, are used to hoard chemicals and other

goods. “In our estimate there are 20,000-25,000 chemical warehouses and factories in Old Dhaka,” Abu Naser Khan, presi-dent of local environmental rights group Poribesh Bachao Andolon (POBA) said.

“Each of this warehouse is a ticking time bomb. Chemi-cals are stored haphazardly there without following any proper guidelines. There will be more disasters if these warehouses continue to re-main there,” he said.

The city authorities launched a similar drive after the 2010 fire, but it ground to a halt following pressures from business owners.

B’desh launches crackdown after deadly Dhaka inferno

A Bangladeshi rescue worker inspects a burnt building following a fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital city, recently. (AFP)

AFPKUALA LUMPUR

MALAYSIA is open to restart-ing the hunt for Flight MH370 if firms come forward with cred-ible leads and concrete propos-als, the transport minister said Sunday, five years on from the plane’s disappearance.

US exploration firm Ocean Infinity mounted a fresh hunt on a “no find, no fee basis” last year for several months, using hi-tech drones to scour the seabed, but did not locate the plane.

Hundreds of people, in-cluding some of the relatives of those onboard, gathered at a Kuala Lumpur shopping mall

Sunday to mark the anniversary of the jet’s disappearance.

Only a few fragments of

MH370 have been found, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores. Two of those pieces

were put on display Sunday for the first time at the memorial.

There is no new search planned, but Transport Min-ister Anthony Loke said at the event that the government was open to hearing proposals to re-sume the hunt.

“If there are any credible leads and any specific propos-als, especially from Ocean Infin-ity, we are more than willing to look at it,” he said.

Jacquita Gonzales, whose husband Patrick Gomes was a crew member on the flight, said there was “no closure until the plane is found, until we exactly know what hap-pened to the aircraft and our loved ones on board.

Malaysia says open to resuming MH370 search

Philippine prez signs into law bill to print handbook on OFW rights and duties

MANILATIMESMANILA

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Du-terte has signed into law the bill that aims to produce a handbook on the rights and responsibilities of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Republic Act 11227, also known as the “Handbook for OFWs Act of 2018,” was signed by the President on February 22, but was released to the media only on Saturday.

President Rodrigo Du-terte Under the new law, the Philippine Overseas Em-ployment Administration (POEA) will develop, publish and disseminate a standard handbook on the rights and responsibilities of Filipino migrant workers.

The handbook for OFWs shall be issued to all land and sea-based workers free of charge.

The guidebook shall serve as a reference for OFW rights and shall contain vital infor-mation to help Filipino work-ers address their problems and concerns abroad.

It will also include infor-mation on the labor and liv-ing conditions in the country of their destination, as well as in the Philippines for their return.

The handbook shall be written in languages, includ-ing local dialects, that would be easily understood by OFWs.

The POEA, in coordina-tion with other concerned agencies, is mandated to im-

plement the new law, which takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Ga-zette and in at least one news-paper of general circulation.

Sen. Emmanuel Joel Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Devel-opment, earlier said the dis-tribution of such handbook

would help in preventing abuses of Filipino abroad.

The move, he added, also complements the work-ers’ education programs by various government agencies working on the welfare of OFWs.

“In the face of increas-ing number of abuses against OFWs, perhaps, we can go back to the basics by equip-ping our workers abroad with the right information at the right time and in the right way,” Villanueva said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Five task forces led by military officers, police and officials have raided Old Dhaka buildings

We are determined there will be no flammable chemical warehouses in any Old Dhaka residential areaSayeed Khokon

Cong slams Modi govt after OIC condemns ‘state terrorism’ in J&K

IANSNEW DELHI

THE Congress on Sunday slammed the Narendra Modi government over the Organi-sation of Islamic Coopera-tion (OIC) adopting a reso-lution condemning “Indian barbarities and human rights violations” in Indian-admin-istered Jammu and Kashmir.

The Congress strongly reacted to New Delhi giving “legitimacy” to the OIC by attending the summit in Abu Dhabi and accused the Modi government of “surrender-ing India’s national interest”.

The resolution was adopted on Saturday, a day after External Affairs Minis-ter Sushma Swaraj attended the summit.

Besides terming elimi-nation of militant Burhan Wani an “extra judicial kill-ing”, the OIC condemned

“intensified Indian barbari-ties since 2016 in Kashmir that led to the death of over 220 people” and also criti-cised the “inhuman practice of using pellet guns”.

“The Modi government had touted the invitation to the OIC as a great diplomat-ic success but it has turn out to be a huge embarrassment for India. The OIC resolu-tion not just condemned In-dian terrorism in Kashmir but also called India an oc-cupier in Kashmir,” Con-gress spokesperson Manish Tewari said here.

“For so many decades India has deliberately cho-sen to avoid attending the OIC. But the Modi govern-ment not just gave it legiti-macy by attending but in turn got India labelled a terrorist country and an oc-cupier in Kashmir,” said the former Union Minister.

60-hour gunfight in Indian Kashmir ends; eight dead SRINAGAR: At least eight people have died in a fierce gun battle between militants and army forces in Indian-administered Kashmir over the past three days, officials said on Sunday amid high tensions between India and Pakistan in the disputed Himalayan region. Among those killed in clashes since Friday were five Indian security forces per-sonnel, two militants and a civilian, when forces entered villages in the Kupwara district after receiving intelligence of militant presence there. According to the Indian army, two militants were killed Sunday in the Kupwara clash that had lasted for over 60 hours. A paramilitary soldier wounded earlier also succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.

Two army fighters, two policemen and a civilian were killed earlier, while eight more people were injured in fighting on Friday and Saturday, police officials said. Indian and Pakistani forces have been on edge since a tense air battle between fighter jets on February 27, following an Indian counter-terrorism operation in Pakistan the day before, targeting an alleged training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group. The JeM had claimed responsibil-ity for killing 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers in a suicide bombing in India-administered Kashmir on February 14. (DPA)

Modi trying to hide failures behind Indo-Pak tensions: MayawatiLUCKNOW: Bahujan Sa-maj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Sunday accused the Narendra Modi govern-ment of trying to hide behind the Indo-Pak tensions and extract political mileage out of the air strikes on terror launch pads in Balakot in Pakistan. Addressing party office-bearers and leaders at a hurriedly called meeting in the state capital, the BSP leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was whipping up the issue of air strikes to “hide the failures of the last four years”. (IANS)

The messages written on paper planes displayed during remembrance ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 plane’s disappearance, in Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday. (EPA-EFE)

Pakistan set to act against banned outfits, rejects charge of links to Pulwama attack

TRIBUNE.COM.PKISLAMABAD

IN a major policy decision, Pakistan is set to take deci-sive action against all pro-scribed organisations as well as against the head of banned Jaish-e-Muhmamad (JeM), a senior security official famil-iar with the development re-vealed here on Sunday.

The official, however, in-sisted that the move to take action against such individu-als was taken before the Pul-wama attack.

It is not clear what spe-

cific action would be taken against Masood Azhar but indications are that Paki-stan may withdraw its op-position to the listing of Masood in the UN Security Council terror list.

“The state has to decide whether individual is impor-tant or the larger national interest of the country,” the official replied when asked if Pakistan would no more op-pose the UNSC action against Azhar. The official also clari-fied the decision to act deci-sively was taken not to give any “face saving” to India.

“We need to correct our-selves in our own national interests and not someone else’s,” he added.

Furthermore, the official shared that the Pakistani au-thorities had conducted in-vestigations into the Pulwama attack and found “no evidence whatsoever of any involve-ment of Pakistan or any or-ganisation in the attack.”

He said the country’s leadership had decided that Pakistan was determined to take action against anyone found involved in the Pul-wama attack.

Asia 09Monday, March 4, 2019

AFPALGIERS

HUNDREDS of students staged new protests on Sun-day in the Algerian capital and other cities against a fifth term for ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as he faced a mid-night deadline to register for April elections.

Chanting “Bouteflika go away”, protesters rallied near the main city centre campus of the University of Algiers, cor-doned off by police, AFP jour-nalists said.

Hundreds more students held rallies at campuses across Algiers, including at the Faculty of Law near the headquarters of the Constitu-tional Council.

Police fired water cannon to prevent protesters from reaching the Council, where candidates must register for

the presidential race, security sources said.

Rallies inside and outside campuses in the northeast-ern city of Annaba also drew hundreds chanting “anti-Bouteflika” slogans, a local journalist said on condition of

anonymity.The TSA news website re-

ported other protests in Alge-ria’s second and third cities, Oran and Constantine, as well as in Bouira, Skida and Gelma in the east and Tiaret and Mo-staganem in the southwest.

Bouteflika’s announce-ment in February that he would seek another five-year term despite his failing health has unleashed angry protests.

Bouteflika, who uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public since a 2013

stroke, has remained silent on the demonstrations since they broke out last month.

The 82-year-old flew to Switzerland on February 24 for what his office described as “routine medical checks”.

The presidency has not detailed when he will return from the Geneva hospital, which was calm when AFP vis-ited on Sunday.

On Saturday, Bouteflika sacked his campaign man-ager Abdelmalek Sellal, a for-mer premier who successfully oversaw the president’s past three re-election bids, state media said, without giving a reason.

Sellal was removed ahead of a deadline of midnight (2300 GMT) on Sunday for contenders to register for the April 18 election, and replaced by Transport Minister Abdel-ghani Zaalene.

Algeria erupts in protests against Bouteflika’s fifth presidential run

Members of the Algerian community in Paris protest against the fifth term of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Place de la Republique in Paris, France, on Sunday. (EPA)

On last day of filing candidacy, students demand ailing president pull out of the April 18 election race

AFPGAZA CITY

SOME 800 Palestinians crossed on Sunday from the Gaza Strip into Egypt on their initial stage of a pilgrimage to Makkah, the first time since 2014 Egyptian authorities have granted visas for such a trip.

The pilgrims left at around dawn and were to be met by buses on the Egyptian side to bring them to Cairo’s airport, from where they would fly to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, said a Palestinian official at the Ra-fah crossing in the Gaza Strip.

Fifteen Gazans among the 800 were not authorised to cross, according to a Palestin-ian security official at Rafah, without providing the reasons.

Security sources on the Egyptian side of the Rafah cross-ing confirmed it was the first such permission for the Muslim umrah pilgrimage since the start of Egyptian military operations in northern Sinai in 2014.

Umrah is the lesser pil-grimage to Makkah that can be completed throughout the year, as opposed to the annual hajj pilgrimage.

Around 2,500 pilgrims are authorised annually to leave Gaza via Egypt for the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam that Muslims must undertake at least once in their lifetime.

Since the overthrow of Islam-ist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, Egypt has faced a jihadist insurgency in North Sinai.

Last year, Egypt’s military

launched a major offensive against the Sinai jihadists, though Cairo has for years considered the entire area a security priority.

Gaza, run by Islamist movement Hamas, has been under an Israeli blockade for more than a decade. Gaza mil-itants and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.

The Rafah crossing with Egypt is the only one out of Gaza not controlled by Israel. It had been largely closed in recent years, but was reopened some 10 months ago.

Around 300 travellers use it daily in either direction, ac-cording to figures dating to December provided by the Gi-sha NGO, which monitors the blockade on Gaza.

800 Palestinians allowed to exit Gaza for Makkah pilgrimage

AFPDUBAI

FIVE Yemeni children were killed in an attack on their home in flashpoint Hodeida prov-ince, the UN and medics said, months into a ceasefire agreed by the government and rebels.

The UN children’s agency (UNICEF) said that the five children were “playing at home” when they were killed on Thursday. It did not give details on the nature of the at-tack or the perpetrators.

“Each day, eight children are killed or injured across 31 active conflict zones in the country,” UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore said in a statement Saturday.

Medics in the Tuhayta dis-trict, in southern Hodeida, on Sunday confirmed to AFP that

they had transferred dead and wounded children to a hos-pital in the government-held Khokha district nearby.

The Red Sea province of Hodeida has witnessed some of the Yemen war’s most in-

tense fighting, which has eased since the government and Huthi rebels agreed to a cease-fire in the area in December.

The Iran-backed Huthis have battled the government and its allies in a coalition led

by Saudi Arabia and the Unit-ed Arab Emirates for control of the impoverished country for four years.

Hodeida, held by the rebels

since 2014, has witnessed in-termittent clashes between the Huthis and pro-government forces since the ceasefire went into effect on December 18.

Around 10,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have been killed and more than 60,000 wounded since Saudi Arabia and its allies joined the con-flict in 2015, according to the World Health Organization. Rights groups say the real fig-ure could be five times as high.

The conflict has triggered what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 10 million people at risk of starvation.

Over 24 million Yemenis -- more than three quarters of the country’s population -- are now dependent on some form of aid for survival, according to the UN.

Five Yemeni children killed in attack on Hodeida home

Thousands across France protest against Bouteflika PARIS: Thousands of people marched in Paris and other French cities on Sunday to protest Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid to stand for a fifth term in office. The demonstrations coincide with large-scale rallies in Algeria to denounce the ailing president’s bid to hang on to power.

Organisers said 10,000 demonstrators from Algeria’s large diaspora gathered in the Place de la Republique, in central Paris. Police put the numbers at 6,000.

Many waved their national flag or wore it over their shoulders, shouting, “out, out”, an AFP jour-nalist at the scene witnessed. Organisers said about 1,000 turned out in the Mediterranean port of Marseille in the south, and a few hundred in the southwest city of Toulouse. “No to the mandate of shame, 20 years is enough,” proclaimed one placard. Since gaining independence from France in 1962, “Algeria has been run by the same group of men, the same system,” 62-year-old Abderrahmane Hamirouche told AFP. “Algeria is ruined while it’s a country that potentially could be rich. What is there left for future generations?” the IT specialist asked. Algeria, a former French colony, won independence in 1962. (AFP)

Syria force pounds holdout IS village

AFPBAGHOUZ

KURDISH-LED forces backed by US warplanes rained artillery fire and air strikes on Sunday on be-sieged and outgunned mili-tants making a desperate last stand in a Syrian village.

Islamic State group fighters holed up in Bag-houz, the last sliver of the once-sprawling “caliphate” that their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed in 2014, responded with small arms fire as the Syrian Dem-ocratic Forces advanced.

AFP reporters near the front line saw explosions lighting up the sky over the eastern Syrian farming village after an airstrike hit an under-ground ammunition depot.

The crackle and thud of gunfire and shelling filled the air, as did plumes of thick black smoke over Baghouz, a small cluster of ruined build-ings nestled in a palm-lined bend of the Euphrates.

“There are tunnels. We’re not sure how many members of the Islamic State are still inside,” an

SDF commander said from a rooftop about 400 metres from the front line. “They are completely besieged. They have planted many ex-plosive devices in the houses and on the roads,” he said.

The militants’ last re-doubt was said to be about half a square kilometre in size a week ago and it shrank even further with the last few hours of fighting.

Besieged militants in Baghouz respond with small arms fire as SDF advances

300 IS-linked Syrians freedBEIRUT: Nearly 300 Syrians suspected of belonging to the Islamic State group have been freed because they have “no blood on their hands”, Kurdish authorities who were holding them said.

Their release was an-nounced late onSaturday by the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration of northern Syria, which said in a state-ment that 283 Syrians had been set free. The statement said they were men who “have no Syr-ian blood on their hands”, suggesting that they did not take part in any fighting. (AFP)

Qaeda-linked group kills 21 regime forcesBEIRUT: A Syrian militant group linked to Al Qaeda killed 21 re-gime and allied forces on Sunday near Idlib province, in one of the deadliest breaches of a six-month-old truce deal, a monitor said.

“At dawn, 21 fighters from the regime forces or allied militia were killed in an attack by Ansar al-Tawhid jihadists,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“Five militants were also killed,” Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Britain-based monitoring group, said.

Ansar al-Tawhid has ties to the larger Hurras al-Deen group, which is also active in the area. Both are considered semi-officials franchises of Al Qaeda in Syria.

The area of Idlib and small parts of the adjacent provinces of Hama and Aleppo are mostly controlled by the rival Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organisation.

HTS is led by fighters who formerly belonged to Al Qaeda’s ex-affiliate in Syria. (AFP)

British FM in Yemen for peace talks ADEN: British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt held talks with his Yemeni counterpart in government-held Aden on Sunday, in the first visit by a western foreign minister to the war-torn country in years. “I am here because this is really the last chance for peace,” Hunt said from Aden, in a video uploaded to his Twitter account.

Hunt held talks with Yemen’s top diplomat Khaled al-Yamani on the conflict and “international efforts to bring peace to Yemen”, state news agency Saba said.

They discussed an agreement on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange between the warring sides, brokered by the United Na-tions at talks in Sweden in December, Saba said. Britain has resisted pressure to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which along with the UAE leads a pro-government alli-ance in Yemen battling Iran-backed Houthi rebels. (AFP) British Foreign Secretary Jeremy

Hunt (right) and his Yemeni counterpart Khaled al-Yamani in Aden on Sunday. (AFP)

Jordan slams Israel for blocking top Muslim officials from AqsaAMMAN: Jordan on Sunday accused Israeli authorities of barring top Palestinian Muslim officials from Al-Aqsa mosque in annexed east Jerusalem.

Sheikh Abdel Azim Salhab, head of the Waqf religious authority that runs the site in the disputed city, has been barred for 40 days and his deputy for four months.

Two other religious of-ficials have been detained, Firas al-Dibs, spokesman for the Waqf which answers to Jordan as custodian of Al-Aqsa, the third holiest site in Islam after Makkah and Medina, said. (AFP)

Palestinian pilgrims sit in a bus before departing for the holy city of Makkah to perform the Umrah, at the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday. (AFP)

Israel hits Hamas sites after balloons with ‘explosives’ launched

GAZA City: Israeli aircraft have struck two Hamas observa-tion points in the Gaza Strip, a security source said on Sunday, after the army reported balloons carrying an “explosive device” were sent toward Israel.

No injuries occurred from the strikes late Saturday east of Al-Bureij in the central Gaza Strip and east of Rafah in the south of the blockaded enclave run by Islamist movement Hamas, according to a Hamas security source.

The strikes occurred after a “cluster of balloons carrying an explosive device was launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory,” the Israeli army said in a statement. “No injuries or damage were reported.” (AFP)

Nigeria court says extradition of Cameroon separatists ‘illegal’

AFPLAGOS

A Nigerian court has con-demned as “illegal and un-constitutional” the arrest and deportation of Cameroonian separatists who had applied for asylum in Nigeria, their lawyers said Sunday.

In January 2018, Nigeria arrested and sent back 47 an-glophone separatists who had fled Cameroon following a

crackdown by the authorities.The move was denounced

by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, which said most of them had filed asylum claims. It accused Nigeria of breach-ing international agreements.

“Justice Chikere declared the arrest and detention of the 12 applicants illegal,” said a statement from Nigerian law firm Falana & Falana, re-ferring to a ruling issued last week in the capital Abuja.

Hundreds flee as Nigerian pipeline explodesWARRI: A major Nigerian oil pipeline has exploded, local police said on Sunday, forcing nearby residents to flee and raising suspicions of possible sabotage.

The Nembe Creek Trunk pipeline runs from an oil terminal in Bonny to the state of Bayelsa with capacity of 150,000 barrels per day. The explosion happened on Friday.

“We have not been officially briefed on the incident, but it oc-curred,” Bayelsa police spokesman Asinim Butswat said. “No lives were lost as a result of the explosion and we can’t confirm if it was an attack by militants or an equipment failure unless the people managing the facility go there to determine the cause,”he said. (AFP)

Gulf / Middle East / World10 Monday, March 4, 2019

SIMFEROPOL: The head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Crimea said he was arrested on Sunday by authorities in the Russian-annexed peninsula. Father Kliment said he was speak-ing by phone from a police station in the Crimean capi-tal of Simferopol, where he had been arrested at a bus station. Police did not tell him why he was being held, he said. The arrest comes after a historic religious split between Kiev and Moscow, which may lead to the closure of Kliment’s church, the Cathedral of Saint Vladimir and Saint Olga. (AFP)

Ukrainian church archbishop held in Crimea

ROME: Supporters of Italy’s fractured centre-left opposi-tion Democratic Party (PD) choose a new leader on Sunday who they hope can take on the ruling populist coalition led by the far-right Lega. The PD was left reeling and languishing in the polls since the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the anti-immigrant Lega won power in elections and formed a government in June of last year. The three leader-ship candidates are little known internationally, with Nicola Zingaretti, who has been compared to Britain’s Labour chief Corbyn. (AFP)

Italy chooses centre-left leader to battle populists

News in brief

AFPWASHINGTON

US diplomats have visited a dual US-Saudi national who was reported to have been tortured while imprisoned in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Ri-yadh, a top White House of-ficial said Sunday.

The New York Times, citing the detailed account of an unnamed friend, said guards dragged Walid Fitaihi, a Harvard-trained doctor, to a room in the hotel where he was slapped, blindfolded, stripped to his underwear and bound to a chair.

They then proceeded to tor-

ture him with electric shocks in a session that lasted about an hour, according to the friend, the Times said.

John Bolton, the White House national security advi-sor, was asked about Fitaihi’s treatment, in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union.” “As of this moment, my under-standing is we’ve had what’s called consular access, mean-ing American diplomats in Saudi Arabia have visited with him.

“Beyond that, we don’t re-ally have any additional infor-mation at this point,” Bolton added.

President Donald Trump

has faced sharp criticism for favoring the Saudi crown prince as a key regional ally even after the October 2 murder of dissident jour-nalist Jamal Khashoggi, an

American resident, by Saudi agents in Istanbul.

US intelligence has con-cluded Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s killing despite Riyadh’s insist-ence it was a rogue operation.

Jared Kushner, the presi-dent’s son-in-law and White House advisor, met last week with the crown prince in Ri-yadh to rally support for a Mid-dle East peace proposal.

Fitaihi, 54, was one of about 200 prominent Saudis who were locked up in the Riyadh luxury hotel as part of a sweep-ing crackdown on corruption under Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de facto ruler.

Many of those detained were reported to have been tortured and abused, and some were forced to turn over large sums of money to gain their release.

Fitaihi was one of about 60 who were held for prosecu-tion after the 15-month-long crackdown, which was seen as cementing Prince Moham-med’s power.

Fitaihi, who received un-dergraduate and medical de-grees from George Washington University and a master’s in public health from Harvard, founded a private hospital in Jeddah after his return from the United States around 2006.

US diplomats have visited jailed US-Saudi doctor: Bolton

AFPNATIONAL HARBOR, UNITED STATES

PRESIDENT Donald Trump rallied right-wing activists Saturday with a speech of-fering conservative red meat on immigration, trade and the threat of “socialism” as he sought to move on from a bruising week in domestic and international politics.

“We believe in the Ameri-can dream, not in the socialist nightmare,” he said to boister-ous applause from hundreds of supporters at the annual Conservative Political Ac-tion Conference (CPAC) near Washington.

“America will never be a so-cialist country,” Trump added in a mammoth two-hour speech that seemed to draw energy from the fervent reception of-fered by some of his influential supporters in the room. It was his first public appearance since coming home empty-handed,

and to criticism from all sides, after a nuclear-disarmament summit with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.

He told CPAC the meeting was “very productive”–but that he would not “make a deal just for the sake of doing it.” The White House is also smarting from explosive testimony on Capitol Hill by Trump’s former lawyer and fixer on Wednes-day that branded him a cheat and a racist.

Trump, often speaking in mocking tones, portrayed the Green New Deal climate strate-gy touted by the left of the Dem-ocratic party as a socialist plan that will devastate the fossil fuel and automotive industries.

He said progressive health-care policies would “lead to co-lossal tax increases” -- and ac-cused the Democrats of having “totally abandoned the Ameri-can mainstream” on issue such as immigration and abortion.

With the federal investiga-

tion into possible collusion be-tween the Trump campaign and Russia reportedly approaching its conclusion, Trump again berated Special Counsel Rob-ert Mueller’s team as partisan hacks out to get him, adding that “these people are sick.”

His voice dripping with sarcasm, he suggested that his call in summer of 2016 for Rus-sia to find and release Hillary Clinton’s emails was a joke that had been obtusely taken at face value by the media.

On the foreign front, Trump

repeated his claim that the last Islamic State group fight-ers in Syria would be captured or killed imminently–“as of tomorrow”–after on Thurs-day telling US troops “we just took over” 100 percent of the caliphate. Two weeks earlier Trump had declared the fall of the so-called caliphate would be announced “over the next 24 hours.”

He railed against Chinese tariffs on American goods and said the US loses $500 billion a year to the world’s second big-gest economy -- “such a disas-ter.” Trump regularly ignores the dominant US services sector to focus only on goods, when in 2017 the US trade deficit with China was actually $337 billion –not $500 billion.

Trump last year initiated a tariff war with Beijing, which has taken a nasty bite out of US growth. Although both sides say they are now close to resolving the dispute.

America will never be a socialist country, the US president asserts in a 2-hour speech

US President Donald Trump hugs the US flag as he arrives to speak at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on Saturday. (AFP)

Trump warns conservatives against ‘socialist threat’

AFPLONDON

THE Dutch husband of Shami-ma Begum, a British-born teenager who fled to join Is-lamic State, wants to live with her in the Netherlands, he said in an interview out Sunday from detention in Syria.

Yago Riedijk, who is being held in a Kurdish-run deten-tion centre in northeast Syria, married Begum days after she arrived in territory held by IS when he was 23 and she was 15, he told BBC television. Begum,

19, from east London and now in a refugee camp, has said she would like to return to Britain but has been stripped of her British citizenship by the gov-ernment which deems her a se-curity threat.

Riedijk, 27, says he now rejects IS after having fought for the jihadist group. Instead, he wants to return home to the Netherlands with his wife and their newborn son. Their first two children died.

“I would love to go back to my own country... I now under-stand the privileges I lived with.

The privilege of living there as a citizen,” he said.

“I understand that many

people have a problem with what I did... I have to take re-sponsibility for what I did. Serve my sentence.” Asked if he thought marrying a girl of that age was acceptable, he ac-knowledged that she had been “very young”.

“When my friend came and said there was a girl who was interested in marriage, I wasn’t that interested because of her age, but I accepted the offer anyway,” he replied.

“We sat down and she seemed in a good state of mind. It was her own choice, she was

the one who asked to look for a partner for her.

“Then I was invited and yeah, she was very young and it might have been better for her to wait a bit. But she didn’t, she chose to get married and I chose to marry her.”

Riedijk, from Arnhem, told the BBC that he had been imprisoned and tortured after IS suspected him of being a Dutch spy. He surrendered to Syrian fighters.

“I lived a miserable life. I was imprisoned. I was tortured. I lived in fear,” he said.

IS teen’s Dutch husband wants her to join him in Netherlands

Europe / Americas 11Monday, March 4, 2019

Mocking tonesTrump, often speaking in mocking tones, portrayed the Green New Deal cli-mate strategy touted by the left of the Democratic party as a socialist plan that will devastate the fossil fuel and automotive industries.

Key Democrat to widen Trump probe, requests documents from Trump Jr

DPAWASHINGTON

THE chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee said Sunday that he wants a broader investigation into President Donald Trump.

“It’s very clear that the president obstructed justice,” said Representative Jerry Na-dler, whose committee would be responsible for starting impeachment proceedings against Trump.

Nadler said in an interview with broadcaster ABC that his committee would request docu-ments beginning Monday from more that 60 people, including the president’s eldest son, Don-ald Trump Jr, “to begin the in-vestigations to present the case

to the American people about obstruction of justice, corrup-tion and abuse of power.” Na-dler said that the ongoing in-vestigation by special counsel Robert Mueller is insufficient, and that he and fellow Demo-crats in Congress believe the focus should be broader.

The interview follows the public testimony on Wednes-day of Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who ac-cused his former boss of telling multiple lies as a candidate and after taking office.

Cohen, who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, tax eva-sion and campaign finance violations, called Trump a “conman” and a “cheat” in the testimony before the House Oversight Committee.

Russia determined to prevent Venezuela military intervention

DPAMOSCOW

RUSSIA is determined to pre-vent a military intervention in Venezuela, the speaker of the country’s upper house of par-liament said on Sunday.

“We are very afraid that the United States may stage any provocations to provoke bloodshed and find a reason and pretext for intervention in Venezuela,” said Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko in comments car-ried by the state news agency TASS.

“But we will do our utmost to prevent this,” she added.

Matviyenko did not say how Russia would block such a move.

The US has not explicitly ruled out a military interven-tion in Venezuela, where an economic crisis presided over by President Nicolas Maduro has precipitated mass migra-tion due to dire humanitarian conditions.

The US supports Juan Guaido, an opposition leader who declared himself in-terim president in January and called for fresh elections, along with numerous other Latin American and European states.

Maduro has the backing of Russia, China and regional allies Cuba, Nicaragua and Bo-livia.

On Saturday, Russian For-

eign Minister Sergei Lavrov doubled down on the Krem-lin’s criticism of Washington’s involvement in the oil-rich na-tion’s internal affairs.

Following a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Lavrov said that aggressive influence from outside the country “under the hypocritical pretext of human-itarian aid has nothing to do with the democratic process.” Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez visited Mos-cow this weekend for talks.

Guaido calls for mass protests ahead of return CARACAS: Venezuela’s opposition leader called for mass protests across the country on Monday as he announced his return to the country after a week touring Latin American allies.

“I’m announcing my return to the country. I am calling on the Venezuelan people to mobilize all over the country tomorrow at 11:00 am (1500 GMT),” Guaido said on Twitter.

Guaido, who has been recognized by more than 50 countries as interim president, gave no details of when or how he would return. (AFP)

Walid Fitaihi.

Migrants scramble aboard Calais ferry, sparking police sweepLILLE: Migrants hoping to reach Britain scrambled aboard a cross-Channel ferry in the northern French port of Calais, spark-ing a vast police sweep of the ship, officials said Sunday.

Some 100 migrants, trying to reach Britain, broke through the port’s perimeter late Saturday, senior regional official Jean-Philippe Vennin said.

“Around 50 of them managed to get aboard a ferry”, the “Calais Seaways”, which had just arrived from Dover, in Eng-land, he said.

At least 46 had been apprehended by Sunday morning, but several more were still on an outside catwalk attached to the ship’s funnel and firemen were attempting to get them to come down, Vennin said.

“Firemen initially managed to get close to them but were unable to talk them down, a second attempt is underway,” the official said, adding that the operation was made difficult by strong winds and rain. (AFP)

Shamima Begum.

Side-front in Britain’s Brexit drama–the US CongressWASHINGTON: With Britain deadlocked on negotiating its divorce from the European Union, an unexpected side-front is emerging -- the US Congress. Conservatives who pushed the June 2016 ref-erendum that ended in the shock decision to leave the 28-mem-ber bloc dangled the prospect of a free trade agreement with the United States as proof that Britain would not be isolated.

But while nationalist-minded President Donald Trump has welcomed Brexit, the main hitch to Britain’s exit has raised alarm among key US lawmakers -- the prospect of the return of a physical border that divides Ireland.

The elimination of the border between the Republic of Ire-land and British-ruled Northern Ireland was a key component of the Good Friday agreement of 1998 -- brokered with the United States and made possible through the fruition of the integrated EU -- which largely ended three decades of conflict that killed around 3,500 people. (AFP)

White House security chief calls Trump-Kim summit a ‘success’WASHINGTON: US national security advisor John Bolton denied Sunday that last week’s nuclear summit with North Korea was a failure, despite President Donald Trump coming home empty-handed.

A high-stakes second meet-ing to strike a disarmament deal with the North’s Kim Jong Un broke up in disarray Thurs-day in Hanoi, without even a joint statement.

Bolton told CBS’s “Face the Nation” Trump’s failure to obtain commitments from Pyongyang on destroying its nuclear capability should be seen as “a success, defined as the president protecting and advancing American na-tional interests.” (AFP)

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK DOHA

NEBRAS Power (Nebras) and its subsidiary Nebras Power Investment Management (NPIM) have entered into a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire AES Corpo-ration’s (AES) stake in three Jordanian power projects to-gether with Mitsui, the Qatari firm announced in a state-ment on Sunday.

Nebras currently owns 24 percent stake in each of the three projects, while Mitsui owns 40 percent.

The closing of the acquisi-tion deal is subject to obtain-ing approval from lenders of each of the project companies.

Nebras said upon clos-ing, NPIM will be a major-ity shareholder and will have operational control on these plants, which have an aggre-gate capacity of more than 650 MW representing more than 14 percent of the current installed capacity in Jordan.

All power plants are locat-ed in Al Manakher, 15 km east of Amman. IPP1 Power Plant and IPP4 Power Plant started commercial operations in August 2009 and July 2015 respectively. AM Solar Power Plant is expected to reach its commercial operational date in July 2019.

Nebras Chairman Fahad Hamad al Mohannadi said, “This step is in line with the vision of Nebras’ board of di-

rectors to boost the company profile as a successful inter-national company.

“We are continuing the development and invest-ments with our international partners in power generation and water desalination pro-jects regionally and globally. The expansion of our invest-ments in Jordan is a result of the trust and confidence we have in the Jordanian energy market and its regulations over the last few years.” Ne-bras CEO Khalid Mohammed Jolo said, “Nebras started its investment activities in 2014, and currently we have stakes in four projects in Jordan.” “The new deal will support these investments,” he added.

Jolo said, “The agreement indicates the importance of the Jordanian power market for us. Nebras continues its commitment to expand its

investments with balanced steps and diversification in terms of geographies and

technologies.“This step is in line with

the company’s long-term strategy to expand and strengthen its international presence and expertise.

“This project supports the economic growth of Jordan by fulfilling the electricity de-mands in

the country.” Chief Business Develop-

ment Officer at Nebras Power, Faisal Obaid al Siddiqi, said, “We are pleased to enter into this transaction which is an expression of our strong part-nership with Jordan.

“With the addition of these projects, Nebras and its partners will provide over 700 MW to the electricity grid of Jordan, contributing to the steady growth in en-ergy demand and the stabili-sation of the energy sector in the country.”

The company to buy AES Corp’s stake in 3 Jordanian power projects

Nebras Power Chief Business Development Officer Faisal Obaid al Siddiqi

Nebras increases its stakes in Jordan’s power sector


QATARGAS has supplied a commissioning liquefied natu-ral gas (LNG) cargo to India’s newest LNG receiving termi-nal in Ennore, near the south Indian city of Chennai, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

Qatargas said the commis-sioning LNG cargo was deliv-ered onboard the vessel ‘Go-lar Snow’ on February 25 by the Swiss commodity trader, Gunvor, to the state-owned In-dian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), which owns and oper-ates the 5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) terminal.

Qatargas sold the cargo

free on board (FOB) basis to Gunvor, the statement said.

Ennore will be India’s fifth operational LNG terminal and the first LNG terminal on the East Coast of India.

Once fully commissioned, Ennore will provide regasified LNG to anchor customers, in-cluding Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Madras Fertilizers Limited, and Manali

Petrochemicals, the statement added.

Qatar has established a strong partnership with India since July 1999 when Qatar-gas started supplying LNG to Petronet. Since then it has delivered over 1,500 cargoes under its various long-term sales and purchase agreements as well as supplying significant volumes into the short term or spot market.

India is a key market for Qatargas given its geographical proximity and growth poten-

tial. In addition to the Ennore Terminal, terminals located at Mundra and Jaigarh are also due to be commissioned in the near future as well as a host of other gas related infrastruc-ture projects.

These additional terminals will increase India’s capacity to import LNG from 30 MTPA to 44 MTPA – a 46 percent increase as India continues to make strides in achieving its ambitious target of 15 percent gas in the energy mix, Qatar-gas said.

The LNG cargo was delivered onboard the vessel ‘Golar Snow’ on February 25

Qatargas supplies commissioning LNG cargo to India’s Ennore

AmCham Qatar to host seminar on new foreign investment law

SATYENDRA PATHAK DOHA

IN a bid to familiarise repre-sentatives of global firms about the new law on investment of Non-Qatari capital in economic activity, the American Cham-ber of Commerce in Qatar (Am-Cham Qatar) is all set to host its prestigious ‘Distinguished Speaker Series’ on March 20.

On January 7 this year, Qa-tar issued law on investment of non-Qatari capital in eco-nomic activity to repeal and replace the previous law on in-vestment of non-Qatari capital in economic activity.

According to a statement issued by AmCham Qatar, the new law permits 100 per-cent ownership for foreign investors in most sectors of the economy and is meant to drive overseas investment and achieve economic diversifica-tion in accordance with the Qatar National Vision 2030.

It comes as part of the leg-islation Qatar issued lately in a bid to position itself as an in-vestment hub, the statement said.

This joint session of the ‘Distinguished Speaker Se-ries’ will be led by Charbel

Maakaron from Squire Patton Boggs and Abdulla al Majed from the Business Develop-ment and Investment Promo-tion Department at the Minis-try of Commerce and Industry.

Charbel Maakaron is the managing partner of Squire Patton Boggs’ Doha office. He specialises in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions and regulatory matters.

Charbel is recognised as a specialist on Qatar laws and often serves as a local law ex-pert in international disputes.

His specialisation in in-ternational commercial law, coupled with a practical un-derstanding of local laws, al-lows him to efficiently guide clients through the legal com-plexities of commercial trans-actions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Charbel currently also serves as the chairman of ICC Qatar Arbitration.

AmCham Qatar hosts events open to AmCham Qatar members and members of the wider business community, and serves as a key forum for Ameri-can, domestic and international businesses to pursue common commercial interests and build relationships in Qatar.


THE International Cham-ber of Commerce Qatar (ICC Qatar) held its first Banking Commission meeting of the year in Doha recently, Qatar Chamber said in a statement on Sunday.

The Vice Chairman of the ICC Qatar Banking Commis-sion, Ghassan Azar, presided over the meeting in the pres-ence of representatives from the majority of banks in Qatar.

Director of International Relations and Chamber Af-fairs of ICC Qatar, Sheikha

Tamader al Thani, provided updates regarding ongoing meetings with the concerned parties related to the use of the internationally accepted ICC Uniform Rules on De-mand Guarantees 758 when issuing guarantees.

Tamader said, “The Bank-ing Commission meeting is an important opportunity to consider the latest issues rel-evant to the banking industry. Some of the topics discussed included ICC draft opinions, issuance of guarantee clauses by banks and Incoterms 2020 among others”.

Azar highlighted the im-

portance of the upcoming ICC Banking Commission Annual

Meeting 2019 that will be held on April 8-11 in Beijing.

He said the event gathers banking executives and gov-ernment officials from more than 65 countries to rethink the future of trade finance; en-

courage governments, regula-tory bodies and G20 leaders to remove obstacles to trade finance and stimulate eco-nomic growth and job crea-tion.

“Other topics include the increasing prominence of digitalization within the trade finance sector, the ongoing changes in regulatory and compliance requirements and the growing interest—from both banks and customers—in supply chain finance meth-ods,” he added.

Azar also urged members to attend the ICC Qatar An-nual Trade Finance Training

on March 27, which will pro-vide professionals with best practices.

The training will also be beneficial to business execu-tives active in trade finance. This comprehensive banking workshop will enable attend-ees to obtain 6.5 PDUs.

Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QF-CRA) CEO Michel Ryan, who attended the meeting as a guest of ICC Qatar, gave in-sight on the work of QFCRA.

He said that he was very pleased to support the impor-tant work that the Commis-sion undertakes.

ICC Qatar hosts first Banking Commission meeting of 2019

International Chamber of Commerce Qatar officials at the first Banking Commission meeting in Doha recently.

Nebras Power CEO Khalid Mohammed JoloNebras Power Chairman Fahad Hamad al Mohannadi

India key market for Qatargas

India is a key market for Qatargas given its geographical proximity and growth potential

Ennore will be India’s fifth operational LNG terminal and the first LNG terminal on the East Coast of India

The Banking Commission meeting discussed topics including ICC draft opin-ions, issuance of guaran-tee clauses by banks and Incoterms 2020

Nebras currently owns 24 percent stake in each of the 3 projects

All power plants are located in Al Manakher, 15 km east of Amman

NPIM will be a majority shareholder and will have operational control on these plants, which have an aggregate capacity of more than 650 MW representing more than 14 percent of the current installed capacity in Jordan

POWER PROJECT

Woqod postpones EGM to March 25

TNNDOHA

QATAR Fuel (Woqod) has rescheduled its Extraor-dinary General Assem-bly Meeting to March 25,

due to lack of quorum on Sunday. The meeting will be held at the Ritz Carton Doha (Al Wosail Ballroom) at 5 pm, Woqod CEO Saad Rashid al Muhannadi said in a statement on Sunday.

MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019

Nakilat achieves 5-star grading by British Safety Council PAGE 14

JRE announces three more luxury projects in Turkey PAGE 14

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Economy & Business

AFPPARIS

US officials have said any trade deal with China will in-clude a provision to prevent manipulation of the exchange rate to help exporters but Bei-jing’s currency regime reflects a complex reality.

US President Donald Trump, who has accused the Asian giant of artificially un-dervaluing its currency for competitive purposes, last week said “we have a deal” with China on the currency.

And White House eco-nomic adviser Larry Kudlow on Thursday said the draft documents would prohibit currency manipulation and oblige authorities in Beijing “to report any interventions in the market.”

But at the centre of the is-sue is a paradox: China does not necessarily want a weak currency, and the downward pressure on the yuan is in large part caused by US eco-nomic conditions, like rising interest rates.

The yuan or renminbi (RMB) is not freely converti-ble and the government limits its movement against the US dollar to a two percent range on either side of a central par-ity rate which the People’s Bank of China sets each day to reflect market trends.

That managed float system limits volatility: the currency has remained confined in the last five years between 6.2 and 6.8 yuan to the dollar, a his-torically high level, compared to 8.28 fixed rate in the 2000s.

While the RMB strength-ened 6.3 percent in 2017, it depreciated by 5.7 percent last year, falling to its lowest level in a decade, which was enough to spur speculation Beijing was putting its foot on the currency scale again.

But the International Monetary Fund has said the RMB is not undervalued, and in a July report said it was “broadly stable against the basket of currencies ... and broadly in line with funda-mentals.”

Even the US Treasury has regularly acknowledged in a semi-annual report, most re-cently in October, that Beijing is not manipulating its curren-cy. Beijing, however, shook the markets in August 2015 with a one-time devaluation that weakened the yuan by about five percent in a week.

The decision led to mas-sive capital flight out of Chi-na, which exacerbated the currency’s decline. Outflows amounted to nearly $650 billion in 2016. The PBOC actively intervened in cur-rency markets in 2015-2016 to counteract this deprecia-

tion, using its massive foreign reserves to buy yuan. Capital flight slowed as the RMB sta-bilized.

Analysts say more recent weakening of RMB is not due to manipulation but is the result of China’s economic slowdown, the trade war, and

rising US interest rates that push up the value of the dollar against all currencies as inves-tors search for higher yields.

But amid renewed opti-mism on the progress of trade negotiations with Washing-ton, the yuan has rebounded by almost three percent since

early January. China certainly can use its colossal foreign re-serves -- $3.1 trillion at the end of January -- to intervene if it chooses to prop up the RMB.

And after the experience in 2015 and 2016, anxious to halt the yuan’s plummet, the PBOC had drastically tightened capi-tal controls to keep funds from flooding out of the country.

A weakened yuan makes Chinese exports cheaper and more competitive and can therefore partly offset the im-pact of US tariffs.

But economists dispute the Trump administration’s claim that Beijing has been keeping the currency artificially weak and in fact say it has been making an effort to keep it from falling too much.

US makes China’s currency major issue in trade talksREUTERS

OXON HILL

PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Saturday renewed criti-cism of the Federal Reserve and said the US central bank’s tight monetary policy was contributing to a strong dollar and hurting the United States’ competitiveness.

“We have a gentleman that likes a very strong dol-lar at the Fed,” Trump said at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland. “I want a strong dollar, but I want a dollar that’s great for our country not a dollar that is so strong that it is prohibi-tive for us to be dealing with other nations.”

Trump, who has made the economy a key part of his political platform, has repeat-edly criticised the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, whom he ap-pointed to head up the Fed, for raising interest rates.

The US central bank, after raising interest rates four times last year, has sig-naled recently that it will be “patient” before tightening monetary policy further, in a nod to rising concerns about the economic outlook amid financial markets volatility, slowing global growth and a trade war between the United States and China.

“We have a gentleman in the Fed that loves quantita-tive tightening. We want a strong dollar, but let’s be rea-sonable,” Trump said. “Can you imagine if we left inter-est rates where they were .... if we didn’t do quantitative tightening, this would lead to

a little bit lower dollar.”A weaker currency gen-

erally makes a country’s ex-ports more competitive.

Powell has said he will not be swayed by political pressure and gave a clear as-sertion of the Fed’s independ-ence in early January when he said that he would not re-sign even if Trump asked him to do so. That followed re-ports in mid-December that Trump had discussed with his advisers the feasibility of firing Powell after the Fed raised rates again.

Strong dollar hurting US competitiveness, says President Trump

US President Donald Trump.

Trade deal to include provisions to prevent yuan manipulation, says White House advisor

Analysts say weak yuan is not necessarily result of manipulation

13Monday, March 4, 2019

China certainly can use its colossal foreign reserves -- $3.1 trillion at the end of January -- to intervene if it chooses to prop up the RMB.

Trump slams Fed chairman

Trump says US central bank’s tight monetary policy was contributing to a strong dollar

He has criticised the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, for raising interest rates

The Fed has signalled recently that it will be ‘patient’ before tightening monetary policy further

Is Trump’s charge against yuan manipulation justifiable?

Yuan has rebounded by almost 3% since early January on trade deal hope

Other reason for a weak yuan is slowdown of Chinese economy

Chinese currency is partially convertible and a weak yuan helps exports and offsets US tariffs

Economy & Business14 Monday, March 4, 2019

REUTERSPARIS

A three percent tax on the French revenue of large internet compa-nies could yield €500 million (568.5 million pounds) per year, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday.

Le Maire told Le Parisien newspaper the tax is aimed at companies with worldwide digi-tal revenue of at least 750 mil-lion and French revenue of more than €25 million.

He said the tax would tar-

get some 30 companies, mostly American, but also Chinese, German, Spanish and British, as well as one French firm and several firms with French ori-gins that have been bought by foreign companies. The paper listed Google, Amazon, Face-book and Apple (the four so-called “GAFA” companies) but also Uber, Airbnb, Booking and French online advertising spe-cialist Criteo as targets.

“A taxation system for the 21st century has to built on what has value today, and that is

data,” Le Maire said.He added it is also a matter

of fiscal justice, as the digital gi-ants pay some 14 percentage points less tax than European small-and-medium sized com-panies. Fairer taxes are a key demand of the “yellow vest” pro-tests seen across France in the past three months.

Le Maire said the tax would target platform companies that earn a commission on putting companies in touch with cus-tomers.

Companies selling their

products on their own websites would not be targeted, such as French retailer Darty which sells

TVs and washing machines via its website.

But companies such as Am-azon earning money as a digital intermediary between a pro-ducer and a client would have to pay. The tax would also target the sales of personal data for ad-

vertising purposes. In order to avoid penalising companies who already pay taxes in France, the amount paid will be deductible from pretax income, Le Maire said. He will present a draft law to the cabinet on Wednesday before it is presented to parlia-ment.

France has led a push for firms with significant digital rev-enue in the European Union to pay more tax at source, but has made little headway as Germany is cool to the idea, while mem-ber states with low corporate

tax rates such as Luxembourg and Ireland firmly oppose the proposal. In an interview with weekly Journal du Dimanche, Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bom-pard said it is high time to end the fiscal imbalance between brick-and-mortar firms like his and the US and Chinese internet platform companies.

“They pour their products onto markets without even pay-ing value-added tax, and hardly any other tax at all. On the same turnover they should pay the same tax,” he said.

French tax on internet giants could yield € 500 million per year: Le Maire


NAKILAT has achieved a ‘five-star’ grading following its re-cent Five Star Occupational Health and Safety Audit con-ducted by the British Safety Council (BSC).

This is the second consecu-tive year that Nakilat has re-ceived the ‘five-star’ grading, which is the highest available rating that can be achieved in the audit, said a press release by the company on Sunday .

The British Safety Coun-cil’s Five Star Occupational Health and Safety Audit as-sesses organisations’ safety management system against a worldwide benchmark of cur-rent best practices.

Nakilat underwent a de-tailed, quantified and objective evaluation of its occupational health and safety manage-ment system and had its per-formance measured against a number of key best practice indicators, the statement said.

The audit specification includes the five best prac-tice indicators of leadership, stakeholder engagement, risk management, organisational

health and safety culture and continual improvement.

Nakilat received the ‘Sword of Honour’ Award by the Brit-ish Safety Council following its achievement of the maximum ‘Five Star’ grading in Decem-ber 2018.

Nakilat’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eng Abdullah al Sulaiti said, “At Nakilat, safety is a core value and is the cor-nerstone of our operations. We

are deeply committed to pro-viding shipping and maritime services in a safe, reliable and efficient manner.

“We all are proud of the company’s safety initiatives which place great emphasis on occupational health and safety, employee wellbeing and also enhance the safety culture.

“I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the British Safety Council for their

guidance and support towards this achievement and to our employees for their efforts in achieving and maintaining such results.”

Nakilat is a Qatari LNG transport company providing an essential transportation link in Qatar’s LNG supply chain. Its LNG shipping fleet is the largest in the world, com-prising 65 LNG vessels. Na-kilat also owns and manages

one FSRU vessel and four large LPG carriers.

Nakilat operates the ship repair and construction fa-cilities at Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard in Ras Laffan Industrial City through two strategic joint ventures N-KOM and NDSQ.

Nakilat also offers a full range of marine support ser-vices to vessels operating in Qatari waters.

Nakilat gets 5-star grading by BSC for 2nd consecutive year

Nakilat underwent a detailed, quantified and objective evaluation of its occupational health and safety management system and had its perfor-mance measured against a number of key best practice indicators.

The British Safety Council’s audit assesses organisations’ safety management system


THE Just Real Estate (JRE), a leading property service pro-vider in Qatar, has announced the addition of three luxury properties for people looking to invest in the lucrative Turkish landscape.

One of these properties is only ten minutes away from the Atatürk Airport, combining residential, service apartments, hotel and office living with its

unique architectural sensibili-ties, and has been awarded the ‘best mixed-use project’’ by the European Property Awards, the company said in press realse.

The project options range from 1+0 to 5+1 duplexes, of-fering every type of high-qual-ity social opportunity.

Another boutique project is located on the historical pen-insula along with the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Topkapı Pal-ace and Hagia Sophia Museum. With its authentic restoration

of the historical buildings and low-rise architectural approach preserving the region’s histori-cal character, the living spaces of the future are being built in-side the past as residence flats, hotel-serviced apartments and commercial units.

The last of three is a project tucked into the pine forests of Istanbul’s prized Çekmeköy district. At this property, one can enjoy nature without leav-ing the city and can live life in the comfort of their villa, which

combines luxury and aesthetics with a perfect architectural ap-proach.

Nasser al Ansari, Chairman of JRE, said, “We are proud to present an expansive range of mixed-use properties to our fellow Qataris who are look-ing to invest in Turkey, a land of burgeoning opportunities. While in the past, we have suc-cessfully presented many lux-ury boutique properties in the Turkish landscape, these new additions will further augment

our already established luxe portfolio.

“These properties truly symbolise the futuristic haven that people dream of possess-ing. They adhere to our vision of offering sustainable real es-tate development in Qatar and overseas. This is the just the start of a great year for us, as we have many more projects in the offing to satiate the growing needs of our esteemed clients and help them choose their per-fect residential property.”

Just Real Estate announces three more luxury projects in Turkey for investors

The Just Real Estate is offering a range of mixed-use properties to Qataris looking to invest in Turkey.

UK firms report weakest growth in nearly 6 years

REUTERSLONDON

BRITISH businesses reported their weakest growth in nearly six years during the past three months due to fears of a no-deal Brexit and rising global trade barriers, the Confedera-tion of British Industry said on Sunday.

The CBI’s index of private-sector activity over the past three months dropped to -3 in February from zero in Janu-ary.

This was its lowest since April 2013, when Britain was still recovering from the global financial crisis. Firms expected similar weakness in the three months ahead, when Britain is due to leave the Eu-ropean Union after over 40 years of membership.

Prime Minister Theresa May has yet to win parlia-ment’s support for a Brexit transition deal although she has paved the way for a possi-ble delay to Brexit beyond its scheduled date of March 29.

“More and more compa-nies are hitting the brakes on investment and day-to-day

business decisions are becom-ing increasingly problematic,” the CBI’s chief economist, Rain Newton-Smith, said.

A survey last week showed manufacturers stockpiled goods by the most on record for any big advanced economy as they prepared for the pos-sibility of border delays after Brexit.

The Bank of England pre-dicts Britain’s economy will grow by just 0.2 percent in the three months to March and growth in 2019 to be the weak-est since 2009, even if Brexit goes smoothly.

Britain’s trading partners in Europe are facing weaker growth too, due to trade ten-sions between the United States and China that have hurt global manufacturers.

The CBI survey was based on responses from 650 busi-nesses in retail, manufactur-ing and services.

US layoffs on rise after sweeping corporate tax cuts

AFPWASHINGTON

THE US jobs engine has con-tinued to deliver for nearly a decade, putting more Ameri-cans back to work and send-ing unemployment to a his-toric lows.

But, just over a year after Congress enacted sweeping corporate tax cuts meant to jolt the economy, a shadow has crept into the picture: Layoffs are also on the rise.

While claims for unem-ployment benefits remain low, major companies have begun to swing the axe even as many enjoy the tax wind-fall and solid profits, and are spending record amounts of cash to buy back their own stock from investors.

In February alone, layoffs were announced by PepsiCo, the video-gaming giant Acti-vision Blizzard and the cos-metics marketer Avon.

General Motors enraged President Donald Trump in November by announcing a 15 percent cut to its work-force while shuttering auto plants in the political bat-tleground states of Ohio and Michigan.

Economists say tax cuts often fuel investments like mergers and acquisitions, which frequently result in job cuts -- at least initially -- as some workers become redundant.

Automakers, toy manu-facturers, banks, tech firms and telecommunications giants are trimming their workforces.

Job cuts jumped 29 per-cent last year in the wake of the tax reform to about 540,000, the highest in three years, according to Challenger, Gray & Christ-mas, an outplacement firm that tracks staff reductions.

And job cuts in January hit 44,653, higher than 20 of the prior 24 months, the firm reported.

Despite the increase in layoffs, first-time claims for jobless benefits have risen only slightly in recent months -- suggesting the cur-rent US jobs market is so hot many laid-off workers find new jobs even before they need to claim unemployment insurance.

The economy created over 220,000 new jobs each month on average in 2018, up from about 180,000 in the prior year. The reasons driving layoffs vary. Banking giant Wells Fargo announced in September it was cutting five to 10 percent of its work-force as it focused more on internet banking.

And some firms shed workers because they worry the economy could hit a rough patch in the near fu-ture or are seeing rising raw material costs, John Chal-lenger, the employment firm’s CEO, told AFP. But as more companies merge, more employees become re-dundant: combined firms no longer need two departments to handle accounts payable, human resources or IT.

At Nakilat, safety is a core value and is the cornerstone of our operations. We are deeply committed to providing shipping and maritime services in a safe, reliable and efficient mannerNakilat Chief Executive Officer Eng Abdullah al Sulaiti

French FM Bruno Le Maire .

The CBI’s index of private-sector activity over the past three months dropped to -3 in February from zero in January

The tax is aimed at compa-nies with worldwide digital revenue of at least 750 mil-lion and French revenue of more than €25 million

JOB CUTS Automakers, toy

manufacturers, banks, tech firms and telecommunications giants are trimming their workforces

Job cuts jumped 29 percent last year in the wake of the tax reform

Economists say layoffs initially follow tax cuts

www.guide.com.qaMonday, March 4, 2019

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IKOLI VICTORDOHA

AL RAYYAN will start their 2019 AFC Champions League Group B campaign with an away match against Saudi Ara-bia’s Al Ittihad on Monday.

Al Rayyan will be making their ninth appearance in the competition, although they have yet to progress beyond the group stage.

The kick-off is at 20:35hrs at Abdullah Sports Satdium in Jeddah. The UAE’s Al Wahda and Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv are the other Group B teams.

Al Rayyan qualified for the group stage after beating Iran’s Saipa 3-1 in play-off round to qualify for the tournament. Two last-minute double salvo helped The Lions rally from behind to win the game.

The Qatari club arrived in Jeddah on Saturday with

a 20-man squad with the technical crew led by Turkish coach Uygun Bulent and some administrative officers.

The mission also included Saad al Muftah, a security offi-cial nominated by the Al Rayy-an Club and the Asian Football Federation to accompany Qa-tar’s team during his stay in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Bulent’s men have not been in the best of form re-cently, having lost their last two QNB Stars League games and are fourth in the table.

The Lions will depend on the strike partnership of Gelmin Rivas and Jorge Borges for the goals. Veteran striker Sebastian Soria is part of the team and may get some playing time in the game. Dame Traore and Gonzalo Viera have formed a good partnership at the back and on their good day are solid in reading games to provide the

needed cover.Rodrigo Tabata has been

the livewire in the Al Rayyan ranks. Not only he orches-trates their attacks, but also finds himself among goals. If he’s in his right elements, the playmaker will be pivotal to their win in Jeddah today.

For the Saudi club Al It-tihad, they return to the AFC Champions League for the first time since 2016.

Al Ittihad are two-time AFC Champions League winners, having lifted the trophy in 2004 and 2005, but they have been less of a force in recent years and exited at the group stage in their last appearance.

Al Ittihad are enduring a difficult season in the Saudi Pro League and currently sit in the bottom two, but go into the game on the back of a 1-1 draw with Jeddah rivals Al Ahli on Friday.

Al Rayyan get ready to face Ittihad in Jeddah

Al Rayyan players warm up for a training session with coach Uygun Bulent ahead of their AFC Champions League clash with Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Sunday.

Sheikh Ahmad re-elected OCA chief, Dr. Thani is vice-president West Asia

MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019

Los Angeles Galaxy unveil former star Beckham’s statue as MLS kicks off PAGE 18

Everton draw dents Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes PAGE 18

AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

AL RAYYAN VS AL ITTIHAD (8.35PM)

SHEIKH JOAAN ATTENDS OLYMPIC COUNCIL OF ASIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING

AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Qatar Olympic Committee President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al Thani, QOC Second Vice-President Dr. Thani bin Abdulrahman al Kuwari and QOC Secretary-General Jassim al Buenain at the 38th Olympic Council of Asia General Assembly in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday.

AGENCIESBANGKOK (THAILAND)

SHEIKH Ahmad al Fahad al Sabah was officially re-elect-ed as President of the Olym-pic Council of Asia (OCA) for an eighth term while Qatar Olympic Committee’s Second Vice President Dr. Thani bin Abdulrahman al Kuwari was elected as the OCA vice-pres-ident (West Asia) at the 38th OCA General Assembly meet-ing in Bangkok on Sunday.

HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al Thani, President, Qatar Olympic Committee, the QOC Secretary-General Jassim al Buenain and Direc-tor of QOC Sport Affairs De-partment Khaleel al Jabir also attended the meeting.

President of the Japanese Olympic Committee Tsuneka-zu Takeda retained his posi-tion as a vice-president.

“I will do my best to contin-ue working for this organisa-tion,” Sheikh Ahmad told dele-gates following his re-election.

Earlier on Saturday, the

OCA President Sheikh Ahmad welcomed delegates to Arnoma Hotel in the presence of Thai-land’s Minister of Tourism and Sport Weerasak Kowsurat and the Deputy Prime Minister and Thailand National Olym-pic Committee President Gen. Prawit Wongsuwang.

Sheikh Ahmad praised the role of Bangkok and Thailand in the development of the Olympic movement in Asia and said all sports leaders ap-preciated their hosting and or-ganisational capability.

After the official speeches, a short video of the history of the Asian Games, which dates back to the First Far Eastern Champi-onship Games in 1913 in Manila before the first Asian Games in 1951 in New Delhi was shown. With the next two Asian Games host cities already decided through to 2026, this gives the movement a history of 113 years.

The OCA Award of Merit was presented to three people who have contributed much to the sports movement in Asia: former OCA Information and

Statistics Committee Chair-man Bahram Afsharzadeh (Iran NOC), Jean Hammam, President of Lebanon Olympic Committee, and Erick Thohir, President of Indonesia NOC and Chairman of the 18th Asian Games Organising Com-mittee INASGOC.

The Sheikh Fahad Hiro-shima Asia Sports Fund award was presented to the former Mayor of Hiroshima at the 1994 Asian Games, Takashi Hiraoka.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the OCA’s 12th Asian Games in the Japanese city. Hiraoka was the Mayor from 1991 to 1999.

Eris Herryanto, who was Secretary-General of the 18th Asian Games Organising Com-mittee INASGOC, reviewed the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang which involved 17,000 athletes and team offi-cials from 45 National Olympic Committees, 11,000 media and 13,000 volunteers. He reported that the Games had attracted 1.7 million domestic visitors and 79,000 international tourists.Sheikh Ahmad al Fahad al Sabah, President, Olympic Council of Asia addresses the 38th OCA General Assembly in Bangkok on Sunday.

AYENI OLUSEGUNDOHA

WORLD youth champion Ghanim Aboujassoum of Qa-tar continues to set the pace in the Amir Cup Bowling tour-nament at the Qatar Bowling Center here on Sunday.

The youth international despite struggling with his first two games showed enough composure in the last four to fend off fellow Qatari Mansour al Hajri. Ghanim bowled a su-perb 211, 162, 252, 237, 202 and 257 and now has an aver-

age of 224.67. This year’s Amir Cup

will see the winner clam the $20,000 top prize due to an increase in the total prize mon-ey from $61, 400 to $102,000 and Ghanim s focused on put-ting his name amongst other home-grown winners.

“I’m still leading but yes-terday was better than today because of the lane change but I was able to recover, so overall I bowled well,” Ghanim said.

With 2017 winner Jassim al Muraikh yet to get on the floor, Ghanim sees his chance to set

a good target for himself and to join the likes of Muraikhi, Bandar al Shafi, Mubarak al Muraikhi and Abdulla al Qat-tan as the only Qatari winners.

“The goal is to win the trophy as it is in the Emir’s name. But if I finish in the top four then it would have been a good performance because there will be a lot of profes-sional players from Monday so let’s see. I will rest for a day and see what the others bowl,” he added.

The Qatar Bowling Federa-tion president Abdulsalam Ab-

bas Hassan had earlier hailed the players for their ability to combine both school and training with so many compe-titions lined up and Ghanim is upbeat despite the challenge.

“The World Youth Cham-pionship win was great and it has helped with my confi-dence. However, it has been stressful for us due to school work and balancing that with training but we can always play well especially here at home.”

The Amir Cup is a prestig-ious Asian Bowling Federation ranking tournament which

continues to attract profes-sional athletes and this year the competition is steep with former champion Danielle McEwan of the USA and 2017 second-placed Francois Louw of South Africa set to get in the action. Singapore’s Muhd Jaris Goh will hope to win the title this year after losing to coun-tryman Basil Dil Ng last year.

After six games in each qualifying round, the top 32 players will qualify for the sec-ond round until the last two players are left to compete in the final.

World youth champion Ghanim Aboujassoum receives his prize from a Qatar Bowling Federation official for posting the highest series score at the Qatar Bowling Center on Sunday.

Qatar’s Aboujassoum continues to set pace

WHO’S saying what on Twitter after Roger

Federer won his 100th career title on Saturday:“WELCOME to the ‘Triple Digit’ tournament victory club @roger-federer - I’ve been a bit lonely - glad to have the company.”– Jimmy Connors, the only other man to win 100 titles, ending his ca-

reer on 109.“HEARTIEST congratulations @rogerfederer Winning 100 titles dur-ing your unbelievable career is a truly mighty achievement. I expect more to come this year and beyond! #RF100 Rocket.”– Aussie legend Rod Laver

“THE GREATEST CHAMPION

EVER, @rogerfederer! Congrats to the ultimate GOAT! What an incred-ible achievement! #RF100.”– Former German tour player Nicolas Kiefer

“HUGE congrats to my mate, the awesome @rogerfederer.”– Hollywood star Hugh Jackman (AFP)

AFPSINGAPORE

RED hot world number two Park Sung-hyun shot a stun-ning best-of-the-week round of eight-under par round of 64 Sunday to claim a two-stroke victory at HSBC Women’s World Championship.

The 25-year-old South Korean reeled in early lead-er Australian Minjee Lee by the turn and four birdies on a flawless back nine saw her finish the $1.5 million tour-nament at 15 under-par with Lee back on 13-under after a three-under 69.

“I’m really, really delighted and happy with my play today, and I think today is one of the best days that I am playing so far on the LPGA Tour,” said Park.

“I didn’t think I would win this fast and I’m really happy. I used to have a tough begin-ning (of the season) in the last years, and this first win is so fast I think I will play re-ally comfortable the rest of my season.”

World number three Lee’s challenge faltered after a bo-gey five on the 14th which handed Park a one-stroke lead which she extended with a fur-ther birdie on the 16th.

Tied for third on 11-un-der were South Korea’s Ko Jin-young and Spain’s Zahara Munoz, who both had final rounds of 69.

Park is wildly popular among fans in her homeland who follow the her around the world in packs, with many this week sporting the message “Shut up and attack” on their shirts. Not that Park needed any advice as she stayed ee-rily calm and demonstrated a steely nerve when the pres-sure was on.

Park shoots stunning 64 to win Women’s

World Championship

Sports 17Monday, March 4, 2019


THE equestrian excellence at Al Shaqab, which began with the just concluded Lon-gines Global Champions Tour (LGCT), the Global Champi-ons League (GCL), Hathab national series’ eighth round and an inter-nations camp for juniors, shall continue for an-other seven days before culmi-nating in the hosting of CHI Al Shaqab 2019 (a tribute to Qa-tar’s rich equestrian tradition) from March 7 to 9.

First held in 2013, CHI Al Shaqab is the only equestrian competition of its kind in the Middle East and Asia region to be sanctioned by the In-ternational Equestrian Fed-eration (FEI), and features showjumping, dressage and para dressage. The event regu-larly attracts the best athletes and horses from around the world to Qatar.

The dazzling final day of LGCT on Saturday saw a thrill-ing finish and Omar al Mannai, Event Director and Commercial Manager of Al Shaqab praised the riders’ performance.

“We have been thinking on how we can latch onto the high standard and performance of

this event for the youth -- we have an international camp which is with the event. It is a training camp, a cultural ex-change between 14 countries with 21 riders; they have start-ed already and continue until the next event, in-between there will be clinics, and with some of the big names so they can give their experience to the younger generation. Uliano Vezzani the course designer

was very smart today and he could satisfy the riders and the crowd. Congratulations to all,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ali Yousef al Rumaihi of Qatar Equestrian Federation and an Olympic showjumping rider himself said that the excitement shall continue.

“I am happy that we host-ed the opening leg of LGCT, the weather was nice though

it was windy which is normal. The level of the competition was very high. In the Global Champions League also the competition was tough and Doha Falcons did a good job and I hope they will perform better in the future legs.

“Our riders got a good ex-perience of the five-star com-petition and they excelled in the atmosphere of riding alongside the world stars.

The course was challenging and provided a great experi-ence for the horses and the riders alike.

“The excitement shall con-tinue with we now gearing up to host the CHI Al Shaqab. We hope the weather stays good and we have a much larger audience and something new since there will also be the dressage and para-dressage competitions. Nice to see

something different in each show,” said Rumaihi.

The events showcase Al Shaqab’s standing as a center of excellence with state-of-the-art facilities, while the enter-tainment on offer both during and between the events pro-vides for a memorable experi-ence for the spectators.

Between LGCT competi-tion and the start of CHI Al Shaqab 2019, the multipur-

pose venue is open to all with an exciting Festival Area offer-ing an array of fun and enter-tainment activities for adults and children alike.

There is also a drawing competition which has at-tracted 270 artists of differ-ent nationalities.

Various games and pro-motional events have a prize of $10,000 for families and spectators during the week.

Al Shaqab equestrian extravaganza to continue throughout the week

Al Shaqab, member Qatar Foundation, has announced various entertainment events for the full week till the end of the international CHI Al Shaqab 2019 equestrian competition on Saturday, March 9.

CHICAGO: From Mother Teresa and Malala Yousafzai to Serena Williams and J.K. Rowling, iconic women worldwide were honored on US women’s football jerseys in the Americans’ Saturday match against England. The contest in Nashville, Tennessee, was part of the SheBelieves Cup, with the Americans donning blue jerseys with the names of influential women each player admires on their backs. Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic nun and missionary whose char-ity work aided the poor, was selected by McCall Zerboni. “I picked Mother Teresa because she is the ultimate definition of selfless love and serving for others without getting anything in return,” Zerboni said. Malala, a 21-year-old Pakastini human rights advocate fight-ing for women’s rights, was worn by two-time FIFA Player of the Year and two-time Olympic champion Carli Lloyd. Crystal Dunn picked 23-time tennis Grand Slam singles winner Williams, who served as a personal idol. Other names worn by players included US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, actresses Tina Fey and Jennifer Lawrence, astronaut Sally Ride, singers Cardi B, Beyonce and Carri Underwood and poets Maya Angelou and Audre Lorde. (AFP)

US eve footballers pay tributes to iconic women

Quick read

Iraqi girls compete during the local Universities Table Tennis Championship in the central city of Najaf on Sunday. (AFP)

Action from the Amir Cup Bowling tournament being held at the Qatar Bowling Center on Sunday.

Roger Federer’s 100th title: Who’s saying what

Roger Federer after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the ATP final in Dubai on Saturday.

Park Sung-hyun of South Korea holds the winner’s trophy after the final round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship at the Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore on Sunday. (AFP)

DPALONDON

LIVERPOOL missed the chance to go back to the top of the Pre-mier League as they were held to a 0-0 draw at neighbours Everton on Sunday.

Mohamed Salah and Fa-binho missed the best chances to win it, but the draw means Liverpool are now one point be-hind Manchester City with nine games to go.

Brendan Rodgers tasted de-feat in his first game as Leices-ter manager as Andre Gray’s in-jury-time winner gave Watford a 2-1 victory.

Chelsea won 2-1 at Fulham in the day’s other match.

Liverpool had the better of the chances at Goodison Park, with Salah missing a couple of times and Fabinho mis-con-trolling in front of goal.

At Watford, Rodgers got a taste of what he can expect as Leicester manager, with Vardy scoring a fine goal but Gray winning it in time added on.

Vardy looked to have se-cured a point when he equal-ized Troy Deeney’s early head-er, but Gray scored from close range two minutes into time added on to win it for the home side.

Watford remain eighth, though level on points with seventh-placed Wolves while Leicester stayed 11th.

Sixth-placed Chelsea won 2-1 at Fulham to move back within a point of Arsenal in fifth, with a game in hand.

“I thought after going be-hind so early we regrouped and had some good moments,” Rodgers said.

“At half-time we reinforced about some issues around the speed of our game but I thought the play was excellent.

“It looked like only one team would win the game. The goal at the end is a case of man-aging the game.

“It is something that will get better as we work together. I was pleased with the spirit of the team.” Watford had been

humbled 5-0 at Liverpool in midweek but Deeney headed Gerard Deulofeu’s teasing free kick into the Leicester net for the opener after just over four minutes, the 12th goal Leices-

ter have conceded in the first 15 minutes this season.

Leicester improved as the match went on and Vardy raced on to Tielemans’ through-ball and finished coolly for the equalizer.

But Watford continued to believe and Deeney fed Gray, whose left-foot strike sealed the win. “Based on possession and keeping the ball Leicester deserved [more,]” Deeney said. “But we were more potent espe-cially in the first half.

We are a threat going for-ward we always look like we will score.

“We aren’t happy to win just one and lose three, we want to finish as high as we can.” Caretaker manager Scott Park-er took charge of Fulham for the first time and saw his fight hard but eventually be beaten by west London neighbours Chelsea.

Gonzalo Higuain put Chel-sea in front on 20 minutes only for Calum Chambers equalized seven minutes later.

But Jorginho restored Chel-sea’s lead four minutes after that and Chelsea held on to take all three points and leave Ful-ham still 10 points from safety.

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri praised his side, although he admitted they had tired as the match went on.

“In seven days we played 120 minutes in a difficult match against City, we played 90 very expensive minutes against Tot-tenham, and today a very im-portant derby against a team with a new coach,” he said.

“It was a very difficult match. So very good for 60 minutes, then very tired, but it was a normal reaction to our seven days.” Parker said he was proud of his players.

“It has been a big few days,” Parker said. “It is a massive season with a lot of disappoint-ments. My message at the start was that the fans look at us with pride and I have got a feeling they did that.

That’s what makes me happiest.”

Rodgers loses first game in charge at Leicester City; Chelsea beat Fulham 2-1

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (centre) in action against Everton players Bernard (left) and Lucas Digne during their epl match at the Goodison Park in Liverpool, on Saturday. (EPA)

Liverpool held by Everton, surrender top position

AFPMADRID

JOSE Mourinho accused Real Madrid of lacking fight and looking unhappy against Bar-celona on Saturday, just as the pressure cranked up on coach Santiago Solari after a second successive Clasico defeat.

Mourinho has been among those mentioned as a possible replacement for Solari, as Ma-drid have been knocked out of both the Copa del Rey and, realistically, La Liga’s title race within four days.

The fact that both losses came at the hands of Barca, and at the Santiago Bernabeu, compounds the misery.

After losing 3-0 in the cup on Wednesday, Madrid were inferior again in the rematch, as Ivan Rakitic’s delightful chip earned Barcelona a 1-0 win.

“I think it was not a happy performance,” Mourinho said as a pundit for beIN Sports. “It was not the performance of a happy team, of a team with great belief and self-esteem.

“Clearly they are now in a zone after a few bad results, especially after the cup match, where they are in a low. They couldn’t bring to the game what I used to call the tempera-ture of the big matches. They were passive.

“I cannot speak about a bad performance, it is just a soft performance. Sometimes you play like this against medium teams and in the end, you get

a positive result, but against the top teams you have to do a lot more than this if you want to win.” Former Real Madrid president Roman Calderon has claimed Mourinho will take over in the summer.

“I’m pretty sure he has general information about the club of his passion,” Mourinho said. “But he knows more than me because I know absolutely nothing about it at all.” -- ‘We will fight for it’ --Mourinho also said it was “very flatter-ing” to hear Spanish Football Federation president Javier Tebas saying last month La Liga missed coaches like him and Pep Guardiola.

Many will see Mourinho’s comments as conveniently timed given Solari now appears particularly vulnerable.

When Solari took charge in November, Madrid were seven points behind Barcelona but that gap now stands at 12. They have also lost three consecu-tive games at home for the first time in 15 years.

“Football is about being clinical and they were much more clinical,” said captain Ser-gio Ramos. “It is true with the consistency Barca are showing, they have increased the gap on us again and taken another im-portant step towards winning the league.” Madrid’s season, and perhaps Solari’s future, will again depend on them winning the Champions League. They carry a 2-1 lead into the second leg at home to Ajax on Tuesday.

“We need the league for fit-ness and rhythm so we must continue working and keep winning games,” Ramos said. “We have another final in the Champions League on Tues-day and we will fight for it. In the league we will try to reduce the gap.”

Jose who was a pundit for beIN Sports in the game is tipped to replace coach Solari

Unhappy Madrid were too soft

against Barca, says Mourinho

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (left) argues with Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos during their Spanish league match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on Saturday. (AFP)

Galaxy honour Beckham on MLS opening dayAFO

LOS ANGELES

MAJOR League Soccer kicked off a new season on Saturday with 10 games and a tribute to football great David Beckham whose arrival in 2007 helped usher in a new era for the then upstart league.

A statue of the former Eng-land captain was unveiled by the LA Galaxy outside their stadium in an emotional ceremony prior to their 2-1 victory over the Chi-cago Fire.

Beckham’s former Galaxy coach Bruce Arena and team-mate Robbie Keane, as well as Beckham’s wife, Victoria, at-tended the ceremony.

“From day one when myself, Victoria, and the kids arrived in this city we felt at home and for that we will be forever grateful,” said Beckham, who is set to be-come an MLS club owner when expansion side Inter Miami joins the league. “This city has always felt like home for me. My wife, my kids, my parents, and my friends, I couldn’t have had the

career I had without the support from you guys.”

Beckham made headlines around the world when he moved to the United States in 2007 after an illustrious career at Manchester United and Real Madrid. His Galaxy deal was

widely reported to be for $250 million over five years, but in reality the $250 million figure was his potential earnings from salary, endorsements and club revenue. His base salary was $6.5 million a year but he was promised a percentage of Galaxy

revenues.Beckham played for the Gal-

axy until 2012, taking league ti-tles in his final two campaigns, during a career that also featured a stop with England’s national team. “He wasn’t one of the fast-est players on the field, nor did he score many goals,” Arena said. “He was an outstanding passer and a great free-kick spe-cialist. “He was an intelligent and skillful player. He was sim-ply a great leader and a winner.”

Said former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, “the impact he had on the sport here in America can’t be overstated. He was the first true big name to come to the States.”

Beckham helped pave the way for European star players to follow and so it was fitting that Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored on a late header Saturday to lift the Galaxy to a season-opening win over the Fire.

Ibrahimovic, who was sec-ond in MLS last season with 22 goals in his debut campaign, rushed in to put his header past Fire goalkeeper David Ousted in the 80th minute.

“We are not 100 percent but we worked to get our first three points,” said Ibrahimovic.

Elsewhere, Toronto FC cap-tain Michael Bradley’s brace lifted the Canadian side to a 3-1 victory at Philadelphia in the opening game of the season.

The 31-year-old US mid-fielder found the goal three min-utes into first half stoppage time and again in the 62nd to put To-ronto on top.

Mexico’s Marco Fabian an-swered for the Union in the 73rd minute but US midfielder Nick DeLeon sealed Toronto’s vic-tory three minutes into stoppage time.

Former professional soccer midfielder David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham pose for a photo with his statue at Dignity Health Sports Park in California on Saturday. (AFP)

Klopp laments missed chances as Liverpool lose EPL lead

AFPLIVERPOOL

LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp was left to rue a number of missed chances from his side in a 0-0 draw at Everton on Sunday that allowed Manches-ter City to maintain top spot in the Premier League.

Mohamed Salah passed up two glaring opportunities either side of half-time, while Fabinho was also wasteful as Liverpool failed to score for the third time in four games.

“It’s OK, it’s a very difficult game for a lot of reasons,” said Klopp. “In a game that was dif-ficult to control we had three or four really big chances.

“It’s a 0-0 in a derby, we kept our unbeaten run against Everton. It is not what we wanted, but something easy to accept because it is a difficult game.”

Klopp is still to taste defeat in a Merseyside derby as Liv-erpool’s unbeaten run against Everton stretches back to 2010.

However, the Reds have now dropped points in four of their last six league games to put the title race in City’s hands just over a month since Liver-pool had the chance to open up a seven-point lead at the top.

“It was clear it could hap-pen as long as City wins,” added Klopp. “We didn’t think about City when they were a point behind us, now we are a point behind. They have to win, we have to win, we will see who wins more often.”

Liverpool’s upcoming fix-tures at least appear more win-nable after a difficult run that saw them also travel to Man-chester United last weekend before a short trip to Goodison Park.

“Manchester United away and Everton away are tough games, you are not going to win 3-0, 4-0 or 5-0 every week,” said Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.

“We have to take the posi-tives and keep going. We are still in the race.”

GOALLESS DRAW DENTS HOPES

Free-kick specialist“He was an outstanding passer and a great free-kick specialist. He was an intel-ligent and skillful player. He was simply a great leader and a winner,” Bruce Arena said.

Watford 2 - 1 Leicester City Fulham 1 - 2 Chelsea Everton 0 - 0 Liverpool

Results

18: Agüero (Man City)17: Salah (Liverpool)16: Aubameyang (Arsenal), Kane (Tottenham)14: Mane (Liverpool)12: Hazard (Chelsea), Lacazette (Arsenal), Lukaku (Man Utd), Sterling (Man City)11: Jimenez (Wolverhampton), Pogba (Man Utd), Sigurdsson (Everton), Son Heung-min (Tottenham)

Leading scorers

Sports18 Monday, March 4, 2019

Du Plessis, Tahir power South Africa to dominant ODI triumph

AFPJOHANNESBURG

SOUTH African captain Faf du Plessis hit an unbeaten cen-tury as South Africa cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the opening one-day international in Johannes-burg.

The hosts won the toss at the Wanderers Stadium, asked Sri Lanka to bat and bowled them out for 231, a total South Africa overtook with more than 11 overs to spare.

Du Plessis made 112 not out as South Africa cruised to vic-tory and then praised veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir for ensuring South Africa chased a modest total.

Tahir took three for 26 in ten overs as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 231 after being sent in on a good batting pitch. He twice broke partnerships that threatened to take Sri Lan-ka to a challenging total.

“He is probably my biggest weapon as a captain over the years,” Du Plessis said of Tahir.

But the captain added that early strikes by Lungi Ngidi, playing in his first international match since suffering a knee injury in November, had also been important.

“Imran bowled brilliantly in the middle overs today but it is really important to get wick-ets with the new ball,” said Du Plessis.

Ngidi took the first two wickets to reduce Sri Lanka to 23 for two. Tahir, who turns 40 later this month, was not included among Cricket South Africa’s contracted players, announced last week. But he showed he remains a key mem-ber of the country’s one-day bowling attack with an immac-ulate performance.

Tahir ended a third wicket stand of 76 between Kusal Perera (33) and Oshada Fer-nando (49) when he had the left-handed Perera caught be-

hind off a googly during a first spell of one for 18 in seven overs.

Kusal Mendis, who top-scored with 60, added 94 for the fifth wicket with Dhananjaya de Silva (39) before Tahir dis-missed both batsmen in the first two overs of his second spell.

Sri Lankan captain Lasith Malinga rued the failure of his batsmen to capitalise on good starts.

“We lost wickets at crucial times,” he said, pointing out that on both occasions when a

promising partnership was bro-ken the other ‘in’ batsman had been dismissed almost imme-diately.

Fernando, making his one-day international debut was run out one short of a half-cen-tury in Tahir’s next over after Perera’s dismissal.

Reeza Hendricks was caught behind off Vishwa Fernando in the second over of South Africa’s innings but Quinton de Kock and Du Ples-sis both batted aggressively

against the new ball.

Lucky reprieveDu Plessis hit three succes-

sive fours off Thisara Perera and had raced to 32 in the eighth over when he was dropped, with Lakshan Sandakan putting down a relatively straightfor-ward chance at short third man.

De Kock and Du Plessis were briefly slowed when Sri Lanka’s spinners came on but were soon scoring freely again in a second wicket partnership of 136 off 129 balls before De Kock was leg be-fore wicket to off-spinner Akila Dananjaya for 81, made off 72 balls with 11 fours.

“Quinny is a big player,” said Du Plessis. “He puts bowl-ers under real pressure.”

Du Plessis went on to his 11th one-day international cen-tury and finished with 112 not out off 114 balls, with 15 fours and a six. He and Rassie van der Dussen (32 not out) took South Africa to victory with an un-beaten third wicket partnership of 82 off 96 balls.

Du Plessis was named man of the match.

South Africa’s Faf du Plessis plays a shot during the first one-day international (ODI) cricket match against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg Sunday. (AFP)

AFPHAMILTON (NEW ZEALAND)

DEFIANT centuries from Soumya Sarkar and Mah-mudullah were in vain as Trent Boult’s five-wicket haul gave New Zealand a crushing victory over Bangladesh in the first Test by an innings and 52 runs in Hamilton on Sunday.

After the stubborn dou-ble-century partnership took Bangladesh to 361 for four in their second innings, Boult opened the final chapter of the Test when he bowled Soumya for 149.

The crucial wicket ended a 235-run stand with Mah-mudullah (146) for the fifth wicket and saw Bangladesh cave in with the Test all over 68 runs later, just after tea on day four.

“The fight today was as tough as Test cricket does get,” New Zealand captain Kane Wil-liamson said after Boult’s lethal spell with the second new ball trumped the 54-over battle by Soumya and Mahmudullah.

It was Soumya’s maiden hundred and the fifth and high-est century for Mahmudullah as they pounded the bounda-ries and took control of the short-ball barrage that deci-mated their first innings.

“That plan didn’t work very well for us today and we had to go back to trying to stop some scoring for a period of time, be-cause they were scoring quick-ly,” Williamson said.

“There was some fantastic batting.

“When the breakthrough came with the second new ball, which was obviously a fairly long time coming, it was great

that we were able to open up an end from that point on.”

The match had belonged to New Zealand long before they declared their first innings at a colossal 715 for six - a first in-nings lead of 481 - but Soumya and Mahmudullah were deter-mined to make crossing the finish line as difficult as possi-ble for the hosts.

Mahmudullah called it a “gutsy innings” as they batted together for nearly three ses-sions and produced the sixth best partnership by a Bangla-desh pair.

When Boult finally bowled Soumya, the 26-year-old left-hander stood motionless for several seconds as he realised the significance of his wicket

before departing the ground.The remaining five wickets

lasted only 18 overs.When Bangladesh resumed

Sunday on 174 for four they faced a Herculean task to score a further 307 just to make New Zealand bat again.

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis proved with their (rain-as-sisted) match-saving 274-run stand in Wellington before Christmas it is possible to defy the odds in New Zealand.

But, Soumya could not hold out that long and when the new ball was taken he lasted 14 more deliveries before Boult ended his resistance and the tenacity left the innings.

Boult finished with five for 123 and Tim Southee took three for 98.

Boult bags five wkts despite double-century stand by Sarkar & Mahmudullah

Centurians Soumya Sarkar of Bangladesh (left) and teammate Mohammad Mahmudullah celebrate a boundary during day four of the first cricket Test match against New Zealand at the Seddon Park in Hamil-ton on Sunday. (AFP)

Innings win for NZ over Bangladesh


“BEWARE of the wind!” is David Howell’s sound advice on how to play the challeng-ing Peter Harradine-designed Doha Golf Club when the 22nd staging of the Commer-cial Bank Qatar Masters gets underway on March 7.

Howell has come close to being an ever-present competi-tor in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Since playing in the inaugural event in 1998, the current European Tour Tournament Committee Chair-man has missed only the 2005 and 2007 editions.

In that time, the likeable

Englishman, who is also a reg-ular television golf pundit and broadcaster, has had five top-10 finishes and came in fourth in 2003, just three shots off the winner, South Africa’s Darren Fichardt.

“I’m a great fan of Doha Golf Club and the Commer-cial Bank Qatar Masters,” says Howell, who has played more than 600 tournaments in his illustrious European Tour ca-reer. “After the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Qatar Mas-ters is the oldest and most well-established tournament in the Middle East and it’s a course the players love to play.

“It’s a driver’s layout,” says Howell, “but you have to make sure you respect the wind be-cause it’s always there. It’s a re-ally tough test, although there are birdie and eagle chances to be had. The 639-yard par-5 ninth is the longest on the course, yet the par-4 16th is an eagle opportunity and if you can produce a big hit on the 589-yard par-5, 18th it can pro-

vide the perfect place for a spec-tacular finish.”

Howell, who was on the win-ning team in both his appear-ances in The Ryder Cup, in 2004 at Oakland Hills, Michigan, USA, and in 2006 at the K Club in Kildare, Ireland, by the same emphatic score of 18.5 to 9.5, says: “It’s a great field as always with plenty of former Ryder Cup players and past winners – it’s an interesting combination of young, rising stars competing with experienced campaigners which should add up to an excit-ing four days.”

Ryder Cup star Howell looks to continue his love affair with DGCThe 43-year-old has played in all but two editions of the event with stellar record

MIC, Wellon record easy wins in CDC cricketTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

MIC defeated sponsors team CDC by 38 runs in the inau-gural match of the 30th CDC Cricket Tournament with Atiq putting up a fine all-round dis-play at the Losail Cricket Com-plex.

MIC, after electing to set the target, piled up 160 for four in 20 overs. They started confidently to get 26 for one in the first first six overs. Atiq cut loose and smacked 50 runs off just 25 deliveries, including five sixes and a four. Rizwan hit a six and two fours in 25.

Thereafter Akhtar and Wa-hid added 21 and 20, respec-tively to take the total to 160. Omer, Fahad, Arif and Nasir shared the wickets.

CDC had a slow start to the chase and lost Omer, Abdullah

and Fahad with only 22 on the board after five overs. Arif and Shabbir arrested the slide with the former hitting 32 runs with a six and four boundaries and the latter getting three fours in 20. Under pressure, CDC

finally were shot out for 129 in 18.1 overs.

Nasir took three wickets for 11 runs, Khalid and Zaka-ria shared four. Ehtisham, Arif and Atiq dismissed one player each. Atiq of MIC was declared the man of the match for his all-round performance.

Earlier in the morning, Sanjiv Jain, CDC– Business Development Manager, and Sai Manoj, Millennium Trav-els General Manager, inau-gurated the tournament in the presence Qatar Veterans Cricket officials, players and match officials.

Wellon CC posted a com-fortable 65-run triumph over 11 Opera Brothers after col-lecting 170 for seven in 20 overs and Mitra Mandal held off Engineering Supplies and got home by two wickets in other two matches.

COMMERCIAL BANK QATAR MASTERS

19Monday, March 4, 2019

Other matches:

Wellon CC beat 11 Opera Brothers by 65 runs

Wellon CC: 170 for 7 in 20 overs Prasana 44 [18 balls, 6x3, 4x3] Nalinda [24], Sanjaya [24], Nifraz 4 wickets, Pradeep 3 wickets)11 Opera Brothers: 105 all out in 19 overs (Mosni 20 [28 balls, 4x2], Fasmy 18 [14x3], Samatha 3 wkts, Doshan 2 wkts)Man of the match: Prasanna (Wellon CC)

Mitra Mandal beat Engineering Supplies by 2

wickets

Enginering Supplies: 98 all out in 15.2 overs (Rusty 31 [18 balls, 6x3, 4x1], Shemil 20 [13 balls, 6x2], Kunal 4 wkts, Shoaib 2 wkts)Mitra Mandal: 99 for nine in 19.2 overs (Kunal 48 [23 balls, 6x4, 4x4], Ajay 14 [18 balls, 6x1, 4x1], Shreejith 2 wkts, Siraj 2 wkts)Man of the match: Kunal (Mitra Mandal)

BRIEF SCORES

BANGLADESH (1ST INNINGS): 234

NEW ZEALAND (1ST INNINGS): 715-6 DECL

BANGLADESH (2ND INNINGS, OVERNIGHT 174-4):

Tamim Iqbal c Watling b Southee 74Shadman Islam c Boult b Wagner 37Mominul Haque c Taylor b Boult 8M. Mithun c Williamson b Boult 0Soumya Sarkar b Boult 149Mahmudullah c Boult b Southee 146Liton Das b Boult 1Mehidy Hasan c Raval b Wagner 1Abu Jayed b Boult 3

Khaled Ahmed not out 4Ebadat Hossain c Boult b Southee 0Extras (w6) 6Total: (all out; 103 overs) 429

Fall of wickets: 1-88 (Shadman), 2-100 (Mominul), 3-110 (Mithun), 4-126 (Tamim), 5-361 (Soumya), 6-379 (Das), 7-380 (Mehidy), 8-413 (Jayed), 9-429 (Mahmudullah), 10-429 (Ebadat)Bowling: Boult 28-3-123-5 (4w), Southee 24-4-98-3, de Grandhomme 10-1-33-0, Wagner 24-4-104-2 (2w), Astle 15-3-58-0, Williamson 2-0-13-0.Toss: New Zealand

SCOREBOARD

SRI LANKA:

N. Dickwella c and b Ngidi 8U. Tharanga b Ngidi 9K. Perera c De Kock b Imran Tahir 33O. Fernando run out (Miller) 49K. Mendis c Van der Dussen b Imran Tahir 60D. de Silva st De Kock b Imran Tahir 39T. Perera c Miller b Rabada 7A. Dananjaya run out (Van der Dussen) 0L. Malinga c Imran Tahir b Ngidi 15L. Sandakan c De Kock b Nortje 3V. Fernando not out 1Extras (w7) 7Total (47 overs) 231

Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Dickwella), 2-23 (Tharanga), 3-99 (K. Perera), 4-101 (O. Fernando), 5-195 (De Silva), 6-210 (Mendis), 7-211 (Dananjaya), 8-213 (T. Perera), 9-219 (Sandakan)

Bowling: Rabada 9-0-48-1 (2w), Ngidi 10-0-60-3 (1w), Nortje 7-1-33-1, Pretorius 7-0-44-0, Imran Tahir 10-1-26-3, Mulder 4-0-20-0.

SOUTH AFRICA:

Q. de Kock lbw b Dananjaya 81R. Hendricks c Dickwella b V. Fernando 1F. du Plessis not out 112H. van der Dussen not out 32Extras (lb1, w5) 6Total (2 wkts, 38.5 overs) 232

Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Hendricks), 2-150 (De Kock)Bowling: Malinga 7-0-37-0 (1w), V. Fernando 5-0-43-1 (1w), Dananjaya 10-0-52-1, T. Perera 3-0-22-0, De Silva 4-0-21-0, Sandakan 9.5-0-56-0 (2w).Did not bat: D. Miller, W. Mulder, D. Pretorius, K. Rabada, A. Nortje, Imran Tahir, L. NgidiResult: South Africa won by eight wickets

SCOREBOARD

David Howell of England hits his tee shot during the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai recently. (GETTY IMAGES)

It’s a great field as always with plenty of former Ryder Cup players and past winners – it’s an interesting combination of young, rising stars competing with experi-enced campaigners which should add up to an exciting four days.”

CDC Business Development Manager Sanjiv Jain hits a ceremonial shot to inaugurate the CDC Cricket Tournament 2019 in presence of Qatar Veterans’ Cricket officials and players at the Losail Cricket Complex.

Sri Lanka Cricket secures $11.5 mn withheld by ICCCOLOMBO: Sri Lankan cricket’s crisis-ridden governing body announced on Sunday it had secured the release of $11.5 million withheld by the International Cricket Council for eight months due to a row over its leadership. The ICC froze the funds due to Sri Lanka after the country’s government last year appointed an unelected official to run the sport following a bitter dispute between rival candidates. Sri Lanka Cricket has long been beset by graft allegations and in-fighting, with the ICC recently labelling it the most corrupt cricket administration. Delayed elections were finally held late last month, with Shammi Silva chosen as president. (AFP)

Sports

The Last Word20 Monday, March 4, 2019

AMIR FETES WINNERS OF EDUCATION EXCELLENCE DAY AWARDS

THE Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani honoured the winners of the Education Excellence Day Award for the year 2019 at a ceremony held at the Doha Sheraton Hotel on Sunday. The ceremony was attended by a number of sheikhs, ministers, heads of diplomatic missions ac-credited to the State, senior education officials and parents of the outstanding students and researchers. HH the Amir also met with winners of the 12th edition of the Education Excellence Award and urged them to continue on the path of excellence to serve their society and country. (QNA)

Bulgarian community in Qatar celebrates National Day

AILYN AGONIADOHA

THE upcoming visit of Bulgar-ian President Rumen Radev to Doha next month will reaf-firm Bulgaria’s commitment to developing its important part-nership with Qatar, Ambas-sador of Bulgaria to Qatar HE Metin Kazak has said.

The slated visit of the Bul-garian President to Qatar fol-lows a fruitful first state visit of

the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani to the Europe-an country last year.

Speaking during the diplo-matic reception held on the oc-casion of his country’s National Day on Sunday, Ambassador Kazak outlined the highlights of the bilateral relations be-tween Qatar and Bulgaria last year which included discus-sions between the leaders of the two countries on deepening the contacts between them in busi-ness and academics, as well as future partnerships in the fields of economy, energy, agriculture, transport, trade and tourism, among others.

According to Ambassador

Kazak, “The two countries will support the participation of their national energy companies in joint projects in exploration, extraction, transmission and distribution of hydrocarbons from Qatar to Bulgaria and the region of South Eastern Europe.

“Very promising is the cur-rent cooperation between the two port administrations, the IT sectors and the agriculture in-dustry. Qatar’s policies of trade diversification and development of domestic manufacturing are opening for more bilateral co-operation and investment op-portunities.”

He said the 30th anniver-sary of the establishment of dip-

lomatic relations between Qatar and Bulgaria will be celebrated next year. The envoy added that

Qatar Airways’ direct flights be-tween Sofia and Doha have sig-nificantly increased the bilateral

exchanges and opened a bridge between Bulgaria, Qatar and many Far East destinations.

He also highlighted the positive outcome of some Qatari private investors in Bulgaria, particularly Sheikh Mohamed Jassim al Thani, a main sponsor of the event, who makes possible Bulgarian agriculture products to be known by the consumers in Qatar and other Middle East countries.

On the occasion, Ambas-sador Kazak also brought to the fore the many attractions of his country. “Bulgaria is well known as the country of ancient history and culture, of toler-ant and peaceful coexistence of

different religions. As our na-tional hero and leader of the lib-eration movement Vasil Levski preached, his struggle was for ‘a pure and sacred republic’ in which ‘Bulgarians, Turks, Jews and others will enjoy equal rights in every aspect’,” the envoy said.

The event was attended by Minister of Administrative Development, Labour & Social Affairs HE Yousuf Mohamed al Othman Fakhroo, Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry HE Dr Ahmed bin Hassan al Hammadi, Director of the Pro-tocol Department at the min-istry HE Ambassador Ibrahim Yousif Abdullah Fakhroo and other dignitaries.

HE Yousuf Mohamed al Othman Fakhroo, HE Dr Ahmed bin Hassan al Ham-madi and Ambassador of Bulgaria HE Metin Kazak cut a cake during Bul-garia’s National Day celebrations in Doha on Sunday. (JALAL PATHIYOOR)

Italian frigate Carlo Margottini visits Doha for second time, cementing maritime ties

AILYN AGONIADOHA

ITALIAN Ambassador to Qatar HE Pas-quale Salzano has underlined the close and dynamic partnership between Qatar and Italy in the military field, including education and training programmes.

The envoy made the remarks at a press conference on board the Italian frigate Carlo Margottini on Sunday.

The sophisticated naval unit led by Commander Marco Guerriero is on its second visit to Doha as part of the naval campaign in the Middle East and the Arabian Sea aimed at ensuring presence and surveillance for the protection of sea lines of communication of national interest.

Ambassador Salzano said Margot-tini’s current visit, along with the former visits of the ‘sisters’ frigates ‘Carabiniere’ and ‘Martinengo’, confirms the solid commitment of the Italian Navy to con-tinue cooperation with the Qatari Navy.

“The forms of cooperation between Italy and Qatar in the military involve all sectors, but we are especially proud that they are focused on education and training programmes, and exchange of best practices. In this respect, Italy represents for Qatar much more than a reliable industrial partner in the sup-ply of naval units by providing advanced trainings for the Qatari personnel - for the navy’s future leaders. We are togeth-er laying the foundation for stable and

strong bilateral relations, not only for the present but most importantly for the future,” he said.

According to the envoy, ‘Carlo Mar-gottini’ conducts cooperation activities with the Qatari Navy, while contributing to promoting Italy’s national industry, specifically the Italian companies Fincan-tieri, Leonardo, MBDA and Elettronica, which designed, built and equipped this advanced multi-purpose Frigate.

Ambassador Salzano said, “This ves-sel embodies all Italy’s well-known assets

- innovation and creativity applied to the industrial design and customised manu-facturing.. Over the years, Italy has built on very strong naval traditions based on the dedication and professionalism of the proud women and men who form the Italian Navy, whose skills have kept pace with industrial developments and tech-nological innovation.”

Commander Guerriero highlighted the features of ITS Margottini that makes it a jewel of Italian technology such as the combat management system, full inte-

grated sensors and weapon systems, in-frared detection and tracking system, ad-vanced electronic warfare as well as the two NH90 NFH multi-role helicopters with specific avionics and mission equip-ment for naval operations produced by Leonardo on board the naval unit.

He added that after Doha, ITS Mar-gottini will proceed to Oman in line with their naval campaign in the Middle East and the Arabian Sea.

The NH90 is developed to meet the requirements of NATO, an international customers operating in any region. It has also been chosen by Qatar, and Leonardo company is the prime contractor for the 28 NH90 helicopter programme agree-ment signed during DIMDEX 2018.

In this regards, Leonardo will also be responsible for the assembly, delivery and support of the 12 helicopters dedicat-ed to naval applications. Deliveries will start before FIFA World Cup 2022 and will continue through 2025.

“Leonardo designed, produced and integrated the core technologies of the ship, namely the combat management system, key radars and sensors, commu-nications and defence systems. The same high level of capabilities will be provided to Qatar on its new vessels. Qatar will start receiving its NH90 helicopters by end of 2021, months before FIFA World Cup 2022, while joined training activities with Qatari pilots already started in Italy together with Italian Army and Navy,” according to an official statement from Leonardo company.

Also present at the press conference and tour of the ITS Margottini were rep-resentatives from Italian companies Fin-cantieri, MBDA and Elettronica.

Italian Ambassador to Qatar HE Pasquale Salzano and Commander Marco Guerriero at a press conference in Doha on Sunday. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY JALAL PATHIYOOR)

Qatar, Italy enjoy close military tie-up: Envoy

93 contestants win award in nine categoriesQATAR celebrated on Sunday the 12th Education Excellence Day Award Ceremony, which honoured 93 winners from 292 who compet-ed in this year’s nine categories.

On the sidelines of the celebra-tions, the Head of Statistics and Planning Authority HE Dr Saleh bin Mohammed al Nabit said the Education Excellence Award cer-emony confirms Qatar’s commit-

ment to education and learning, as it is a crucial part of Qatar’s vision for human development. The large investments made by Qatar in education, he noted, is the highest in the world on a per capita basis.

Chairman of Qatar Business-men Association Faisal bin Qassim al Thani said the leadership’s com-mitment to honouring outstanding

students, including primary school students, is a clear indication of the importance attached to education as the cornerstone of the nation’s advancement and progress, giving citizens confidence in the bright fu-ture of their children.

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Educa-tion Dr Ibrahim Saleh al Nuaimi said the award has proved its suc-

cess over the years, evident by the number of participants that in-creases with every year.

Chief Executive of the award and Secretary-General of Qatar National Commission for Edu-cation, Culture, and Science Dr Hamda Hassan al Sulaiti said the award is proceeding steadily to-wards realising the vision of the wise leadership to build a distin-

guished scientific generation capa-ble of local and international com-petition. The winners expressed their delight at winning the award. They said they were pleased with the attendance of HH the Amir, which will serve as an inspiration for them for years to come.

The prizes include med-als as well as cash ranging from QR10,000 to QR100,000. (QNA)

MoI celebrates Int’l Day of Civil Defence

QNADOHA

THE Ministry of the Interior (MoI) celebrated the Inter-national Day of Civil Defence in the presence of a number of officials and officers of the ministry, as well as repre-sentatives of companies and related institutions and school children.

The celebration this year was held under the theme of ‘Children’s safety, our re-sponsibility’. The General Directorate of Civil Defence highlighted its efforts in fighting fires and accidents, raising awareness of civil safety rules and continuing training in evacuation while ensuring the highest stand-

ards of safety and security in the face of natural and hu-man accidents.

Director of the General Directorate of Civil Defence, Brig Hamad Othman al Du-haimi said the Ministry of the Interior takes pride in its human resources, capabili-ties, equipment and modern management techniques that are capable of protecting the country’s current and future projects.

Duhaimi commended the country’s wise leadership for its commitment to the safety and security of people, and for its support to the Civil Defence department. He also praised Civil Defence workers for risk-ing their lives to ensure the safety of people.

Several activities for children were held as part of celebration of the International Day of Civil Defence.

Bulgarian President to visit Doha next month: Ambassador

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