Al Dayani is 'main hope' as Doha welcomes world's best gymnasts

QGIRCO eyes

expansion

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has received a written message from the Emir of Kuwait H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, pertaining to bilateral relations. Kuwaiti Ambassador to Qatar, Hafeez Mohammed Al Ajmi, delivered the message during a meeting with the Emir at the Emiri Diwan yesterday.

Emir receives message from Kuwait Emir

BUSINESS | 21 SPORT | 28

Volume 22 | Number 7108 | 2 RiyalsWednesday 22 March 2017 | 23 Jumada II 1438 www.thepeninsulaqatar.qa

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Qatar football players are seen during a training session at Al Sadd Stadium in Doha, yesterday. Qatar host Iran in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match tomorrow at the same venue. The Asian Zone qualifying match will kick off at 7pm. Qatar coach Jorge Fossati headed the training session. →See also page 28

THE MINISTRY of Education and Higher Education has named Qatari winners of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Mak-toum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance for 2016- 2017, reported QNA.

Nasser Khalaf Al Buainain from Al Wakra Secondary School for Boys and Buthaina Abdullah Arhamah Al Kuwari from Aisha Bint Abu Bakr Sec-ondary Independent School for Girls won the Distinguished Student Award. Haya Ayed Al Shammari from Al Bayan Pre-paratory School for Girls received the Distinguished Teacher Award and Al Wakra Secondary School for Boys won Distinguished School/School Administration.

Jaber Al Shawi, Coordina-tor of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award in Qatar, said the awards won by stu-dents and educators in Qatar reflected the quality of the edu-cational system and the educational development wit-nessed by the country under the wise leadership, congratu-lating the winners who have worked hard in order to reach these achievements. The award seeks to improve the quality of the educational system and encourage initiatives, innova-tion and excellence in all literary and scientific domains.

The Peninsula

Qatar Airways and other airline compa-nies have barred passengers travelling on US-bound flights

from carrying any electronic devices on board except smart phones and medical devices.

The step was taken yester-day after the US government issued a ban on carrying elec-tronic devices other than smart phones and medical devices as cabin luggage on direct flights to US from 8 Middle Eastern countries. The airports affected are in Amman, Cairo, Kuwait City, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Casablanca, Riyadh and Jeddah.According to a new travel alert issued by Qatar Air-ways, passengers flying to US from Qatar on Qatar Airways flights are not allowed to carry electronic devices like laptop, game consoles or tablets on board.

"Effective 21 March in accordance with new United States government regulations, all passengers travelling on US-bound flights are prohibited from carrying any electronic devices on board the flight other than cellular and smart phones and medical devices needed during the flight,” said the airline.

It added: “Qatar Airways has made special arrangements to assist passengers in securing their devices in the aircraft's baggage hold. Prohibited devices, including laptops, tab-lets, DVD players and electronic games must be carried in checked luggage only."

A number of other airlines have also issued similar alerts informing passengers not to carry these items as cabin lug-gage. Meanwhile, Britain also

tightened airline security on flights from Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa banning laptops and tablet computers from the plane cabin following a US security warning.

Passengers flying directly to Britain from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey will be required to place those devices and large phones into hold luggage.

Canada is also considering prohibiting personal electron-ics on board flights from Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa after both the US and Britain announced bans.

The airlines and their host governments have already been informed of the order by US offi-cials, and some of them have begun informing passengers about the restriction. Airlines will be responsible for policing the cabin ban, and if they fail to do so could lose their rights to operate US routes. Laptops, tab-lets and portable game consoles are affected by the ban — which applies to direct flights to the United States — but they may still be stowed in the hold in checked baggage. Passengers on approx-imately 50 flights per day from some of the busiest hubs in the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa will be obliged to follow the new emergency ruling.

Huda N V The Peninsula

Qatar curtailed meat and poultry imports from Bra-zil, following reports that

the country has been exporting meat that is unfit for consump-tion. Consignments from Brazil will now be released only after analysis. Also Brazilian meat samples will be taken from local market for confirmation.

The Ministry of Public Health issued a circular to all ports of entry in the country to hold all consignments of cattle, poultry and their products from Brazil in all its forms and types. It stressed not to release the products before the samples are withdrawn and analysed. Only after the products are proven fit for human consumption and are found in conformity with the relevant technical regulations

and Gulf standards, will the products be released, the min-istry said yesterday.

The circular was issued fol-lowing news from international media about corruption issues related to Brazilian food, which included suspicions of illegal practices in some Brazilian beef and poultry slaughterhouses exporting to various countries.

As an additional precaution-ary measure, the Ministry of Public Health directed its inspectors to withdraw samples of Brazilian meat in the local market for validation. Brazil is the largest supplier of chicken to Qatar according to market sources. The authorities in Bra-zil suspended 33 government officials amid allegations that some of the country's biggest meat processors have been sell-ing rotten beef and poultry for years.Traders here said

yesterday the Ministry's decision could have a major impact on the market since majority of poultry, mainly frozen chicken, are imported from Brazil.

“Of some 325 frozen chicken shipments consumed in the country per month, just 10 to 25 are produced within the region. A majority of 300 monthly con-signments are imported from other countries and of thus 90% of the poultry is imported from Brazil,” Iqbal Vadakara, Business Consultant, Qatar Foods told this daily yesterday.

“Currently there is a ban on chicken import from France. Restriction of products from Brazil could lead to an acute shortage of poultry and meat products in the market. Almost all the major fast moving frozen chicken brands in the market are imported from Brazil,” he said.

Many electronicdevices banned on flights to US

Brazilian meat and poultry under observation

Four Qataris win Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award

The Peninsula

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has upgraded its system to issue licences

for discounts and promotional offers through the Ministry’s website.

According to the new system, the submission of applications and their review is conducted electronically to ensure service quality and that applications are completed at the scheduled time. The system will enable appli-cants to easily complete the procedures without visiting the Ministry, and will save clients time and efforts.

The services include the issu-ance, amendment and

cancelation of licenses for dis-counts (discounts, liquidations and shopping festival discounts) as well as the issuance, amend-ment and cancelation of licenses for promotional offers (special offers, prize draws, Swipe and Win ‘Imsah w Irbah’ and promo-tional offers).

The Ministry had earlier launched the “Shop with Confi-dence” initiative for announcing discounts and promotional offers in a bid to ensure transparency in commercial transactions and strengthen trust between suppli-ers and consumers, to the benefit of all parties.

Through the adoption of the “Shop with Confidence” mark, the Ministry aims to crack down

on violations, as well as fake and unlicensed promotional offers. Consumers can call the Minis-try’s hotline on 16001 to submit complaints or inquire about shops that have obtained licenses to offer discounts and promo-tional offers.

The contact center also ena-bles consumers to exercise their right to report violations con-cerning fake discounts and promotional offers. The Ministry asked all suppliers to comply with the relevant laws when offering and announcing dis-counts and promotional offers, whether inside shops and affili-ated malls, on storefronts and through advertisements in news-papers or other media.

Ministry simplifies issuance of licence for promotions

THE MINISTRY of Public Health yesterday confirmed a new case of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) in a 62 year old expatriate who has been suffering from chronic dis-eases. This is the first MERS case reported in the country this year taking the total number of con-firmed cases to 19 including seven deaths, since the outbreak of the disease worldwide, the Ministry said yesterday.

→ Continued on page 4

The step was taken by Qatar Airways and other airlines after the US government issued a ban on carrying electronic devices other than smart phones and medical devices as cabin luggage on direct flights to US from eight Middle Eastern countries.

New MERS case

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Training session

02 WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017HOME

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves at the Emiri Diwan yesterday. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Emir meets PM of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

Emir with Italian Ambassador Guido De Sanctis, who called on the Emir to greet him on the occasion of the end of his tenure in the country. Emir granted the ambassador Decoration of Al Wajbah in recognition of his efforts in enhancing ties between the two countries, and wished him success in his future assignments.

Emir meets outgoing Italian envoy

Emir ratifies MoUs with Kazakhstan, Venezuela and TajikistanQNA

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued yesterday Emiri Decree No. 17 of 2017 ratifying an agreement

between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Govern-ment of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the avoidance of double taxation and the preven-tion of financial evasion in respect of income taxes and the attached Protocol signed in Astana in 2014. The agreement

shall enter into force in accord-ance with Article 68 of the Constitution.

The Emir also issued decree No. 18 of 2017 ratifying coopera-tion agreement in the field of Law between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of Venezuela, signed in Caracas in 2015. It shall assume the power of law in accordance with article 68 of the constitution.

The Emir also issued Decree No 19 of 2017 ratifying a Memo-randum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Youth and Sport

between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Govern-ment of Venezuela, signed in Caracas in 2015. The MoU shall enter the force of law in accord-ance with Article 68 of the Constitution.

The three decrees are effec-tive starting from their date of publication in the official gazette.

The Emir also issued yester-day an instrument of ratification to approve the ratification of a draft memorandum of under-standing between Qatar Central Bank and National Bank of

Tajikistan signed in Doha in Feb-ruary this year.

The Emir issued an instrument of ratification to approve the rat-ification of a draft agreement for cooperation in health field between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan signed in signed in Doha.

The Emir issued an instru-ment of ratification to approve the ratification of a draft agree-ment for cooperation in the field of education, higher education and scientific research between

the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan signed in Doha on 06/02/2017.

The Emir also issued an instrument of ratification for cooperation in the legal field between the Ministry of Justice of the State of Qatar and the Min-istry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan signed in Doha.

EMir issued an instrument of ratification of a draft agreement for cooperation in the cultural field between the Government of the State of Qatar and the

Government of the Republic of Tajikistan signed in Doha.

The Emir issued an instru-ment of ratification to approve the ratification of a draft agree-ment on air transport between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.

The Emir ratified the Cabi-net decision No. 17 of 2017 expropriating some properties for the public good. The decision is effective starting from the date of issuance and is to be published in the Official Gazette..

03WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017 HOME

Qatar Motor Show turns into biennial event

Raynald C RiveraThe Peninsula

The Qatar Motor Show (QMS) will turn into a biennial event start-ing next year, organisers said yes-

terday. The announcement was made at yesterday’s press con-ference to reveal the features of this year’s edition which has been reformatted in response to market needs which included moving the event to April from January or February of its pre-vious editions.

Organised by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and Fira Qatar, the exhibition will be held from April 18 to 22 at the Doha Exhi-bition and Convention Center.

“Following discussions with key members of Qatar’s auto-motive industry and a thorough evaluation of trade and con-sumer demand, the organisers of the show have decided to shift the event to take place after the Geneva Motor Show, allowing brands to bring to the QMS the latest from the international brand launches, and showcase

for the first time in the region their newest automotive inno-vations, as well as shift the event to a biennial show starting from the 2018 edition,” said Ahmed Al Obaidli, Director of Exhibi-tions at QTA.

“The choice of dates for this year’s edition and the decision to organise the event on a bien-nial basis come in line with our efforts to create synergies with the global industry while responding to the needs of local retailers and brand owners,” he stressed.

The biennial editions of the QMS will take place in Novem-ber to align with the global automotive industry.

The five-day show will fea-ture the latest automotive trends and innovations and host sev-eral 2017 model debuts in the Middle East. With the theme ‘Driving to Innovation’, the event will see automotive retailers showcase their latest hybrid and tech-advanced vehicles that are paving the way of the future of the automotive industry.

More than 20 exhibitors are taking part in the show including leading international automotive brands that will exhibit top sports, luxury and mid-range automo-tive models including futuristic concepts and innovative models. Exhibitors will also include auto lifestyle goods and car-tuners, showcasing the latest car-related merchandise and auto-services.

This year’s QMS will also have an outdoor fan zone which will provide visitors a variety of performances and interactive activities, a parade of unique cars in West Bay featuring clas-sical cars and the fastest race cars on the road, and a first-of-its-kind exhibition of classic cars which include some of the rar-est in the world.

Ahmed Al Mulla, Chief Oper-ating Officer of Elan Entertainment. said: “The Show’s format evolution from a traditional exhibition to an experiential show is meant to engage more exhibitors and bring automotive enthusiasts closer to their favourite brands.”

Five-day show

Move in response to market needs which include moving the event to April from January or February of previous editions.

Five-day show to feature latest trends and innovations and host several 2017 model debuts. Ahmed Al Obaidli, Director of Exhibitions at Qatar Tourism

Authority (left), and Ahmed Al Mulla, COO of Elan Entertainment Group, at the press conference in Doha yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula

04 WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017HOME

Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah met with Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib Abdul Razaq, on the sidelines of the International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2017 (LIMA '17) which started in Langkawi, Malaysia, yesterday. They discussed bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in the military field and means of enhancing and developing them.

Defence Minister meets Malaysia PM

Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti with Dr Abdulaziz Salem Al Rwais, Governor of the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) in Doha yesterday. They discussed cooperation between the two brotherly countries in the field of information and communications technology. The meeting was attended by Mohammed Ali Al Mannai, President of CRA.

Transport Minister meets Saudi official

Over 100 companies to take part in Agriteq 2017Sidi Mohamed The Peninsula

As many as 100 local and international companies specialised in agricultural

products and equipment will participate in the 5th Qatar International Agricultural Exhi-bition (Agriteq 2017) which is opening today at the Doha Exhi-bition and Convention Center.

“This year we are focusing on local agricultural producers, live-stock breeders and will check how much level of food security has been achieved. This edition will witness auction of livestock espe-cially Shami goats (Levant goats) for the first time because people like it,” said Yousef Al Khulaifi, Director, Agricultural Affairs Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment yesterday while addressing a press conference.

The four-day exhibition is being held under patronage of Prime Minister and Interior

Minister H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani. The press conference was also attended by Mohammed Al Khouri, Director, Public Parks Department and Khalaf Ajlan Al Anzi, Director, Public Relations Department.

“Around 70 Qatari companies and 30 global companies are par-ticipating in the exhibition. This edition will also host a number of

seminars, workshops, and panel discussions to enable exchange of experiences and knowledge-shar-ing for the local sector’s further improvement. A number of local producers will share some of their success stories as well,” Al Khu-laifi added.

The inaugural session will be attended by the Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi and a number of the ministry officials in addition to Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“To reap maximum benefits from the exhibition, we will organize a number of meetings between local producers and guest farmers coming from other countries,” Al Khulaifi said, add-ing: “A number of deals will be signed in the exhibition between local and foreign companies. Participant companies of the exhibition also include compa-nies from Holland, Turkey and Palestine.”

Minister to attend

Inaugural session will be attended by Minister of Municipality H E Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi.

This edition will host seminars, workshops, and panel discussions to enable exchange of experiences.

HMC takes allprecautions→ Continued from page 1

The patient was isolated for appropriate care, after testing positive for the virus by the specialized laboratory at the HMC. The patient didn’t have contacts with anyone infected with MERS virus nor travelled out of the country over the past few weeks.

The emergency response team at the Health Promotion and Communicable Diseases Department at the Ministry responded as soon it was alerted about the case. It con-ducted elaborate tests to know the source of the illness. Necessary tests have been conducted on all those who came into contact with the patient, who have been kept under observation for two weeks, said the ministry.

More rains forecast

The Meet Office has fore-cast more rains from Thursday evening until

Monday evening. Over the weekend, temperature is e x p e c t e d t o d r o p significantly.

Weather charts show that the country would be affected again by a state of instability starting from Thursday evening. The sky is expected to become gradually cloudy with with light to moderate rain falls. The rains can become heavy accompanied by thunderstorms at times.

Kahramaa to mark WWD, GCC Water Week & Earth HourThe Peninsula

Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kah-ramaa) will celebrate,

through the National pro-gramme for Conservation and Energy Efficiency “Tarsheed”, the World Water Day (WWD) on March 22, the GCC Water Week from March 22 – 25, and Earth Hour on March 25. The events will take place at the Kahramaa Awareness Park. The morning shift from 8:00am – 12:00pm on Wednesday and Thursday will be for school students.

The World Water Day coin-cides with the GCC Conservation Week starting on March 22. It aims to mark the importance of conservation to save resources.

The State of Qatar cele-brates GCC Conservation Week by holding various activities to promote and deeply root the culture of conservation.

The theme of WWD 2017 is wastewater. Events will shed light on “Why west water?, We need to reduce and reuse it. Moreover, we need to reduce pollution resulting from waste-water to protect the environment and water resources, the company said in a press release.

Kahramaa endeavours to achieve its mission of “Provid-ing High Quality and Sustainable Electricity and Water for Better Living in Qatar”.

It aims to increase social advocacy and environmental compliance. It applies a com-prehensive strategy to achieve an integrated and sustainable management for Qatar water resources within the increas-i n g e n v i r o n m e n t a l challenges.

Kahramaa Tarsheed organ-izes various activities on these events to increase the aware-ness of water conservation.

This includes several activ-ities for children including conservation techniques and a play.

Celebrations will end with Earth Hour on 25th March. KAHRAMAA, through Tarsheed, supports this global initiative where millions of people around the world switch off unnecessary light from 8:30 – 9:30 pm.

Kahramaa has invited dif-ferent organisations to take part in earth hour as a contribution to the environment protection.

It is a common responsibil-ity to keep resources for the coming generations.

FROM LEFT: Yousef Al Khulaifi, Director of Agricultural Affairs Department; Khalaf Ajlan Al Anzi, Director of Public Relations Department; and Mohammed Al Khouri, Director of Public Parks Department at the press conference yesterday. Pic: Kammutty VP / The Peninsula

05WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017 HOME

Qatar Chief Justice and Chairman of Supreme Judiciary Council, H E Masood bin Mohammed Al Ameri, met in Doha yesterday with the Secretary-General of Turkey's High Council of Judges and Prosecutors, Bilgin Basaran, and his delegation. They discussed aspects of cooperation between the two judiciaries.

Chief Justice meets Turkish official

QNA

The Public Works Authority, Ashghal, has announced that it will

open a new local road that connects the Industrial Area Road to Bu Samra Street.

Road users travelling between the Industrial Area Road and Balhambar Street can now use the 400 metre stretch of Umm Al Saneem Street. The newly opened road will be accessible from today and comprises three lanes in each direction.

Tomorrow, a diversion on Balhambar Street will route traffic to the newly opened road. The diversion will be permanent and is in coordi-nation with the Traffic Police Department.

QA names Dana Al Fardan official composerThe Peninsula

Qatar Airways yesterday named renowned Qatari artiste Dana Al Fardan as

the official composer for Qatar Airways Group.

This recognition caps a series of highly successful engagements, including the composition and 2016 perform-ance of The Beginning for Hamad International Airport, its official theme song.

Al Fardan’s original compo-sition, Art of Flight, is featured in the airline’s new television com-mercial featuring the innovative and game-changing Qsuite – Qatar Airways’ new Business Class product that allows passengers to

customise their experience on board. Parties of four can create their own cabin-within-a-cabin by lowering privacy panels and joining their Qsuites together. This product also features the first-ever double bed option in Business Class, all of which combine to bring elements of First Class to Business Class.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “Ms Al Fardan’s talent is well recognised around the world, and we at Qatar Airways are happy to provide another stage for her inspiring and beautiful music, and to pair it with our world-class service. At Qatar Airways, we look after the details in order to earn our best-

in-class reputation.”Al Fardan said, “I am hon-

oured to partner with Qatar Airways to represent their brand

musically. Travel, much like music, is experienced individu-ally but enriched when shared with others".

HMC observesWorld Down Syndrome DayFazeena Saleem The Peninsula

Hamad Medical Cor-poration (HMC) yesterday joined i n t e r n a t i o n a l act iv i t ies to

encourage people with Down Syndrome to say what matters to them and how to help improve their lives.

It was part of the activities to mark the World Down Syn-drome Day, where the voice of people with Down Syndrome, and those who work and live with them, were heard louder. Many shared their stories on social media with the hashtag #MyVoiceMyCommunity.

HMC while encouraging to share the stories of people with Down Syndrome released a short video on their Facebook page. It narrates as the voice of the child is heard. It begins with saying, “My mum, I can see a new world with people,” and ends saying “I feel my voice is heard.” The video also shows how children with Down Syn-drome play, study, go to school, associate with the community and live a normal life.

HMC also aimed at spread-ing awareness under the banner, ‘Encouraging people with Down Syndrome to speak up, be heard and influence gov-ernment policy and action to be fully included in the community.’

World Down Syndrome Day encouraged people across

the globe to choose activities and events that will raise awareness of what Down Syn-drome is, what it means to have the condition, and how people with Down Syndrome play a vital role in lives.

Down Syndrome is a chro-mosomal disorder that is caused by an error in cell division which results in an extra 21st chromo-some. The condition leads to impaired cognitive ability and physical growth. The estimated incidence of Down Syndrome is between one in 1,000 to one in 1,100 live births worldwide.

Each person with Down Syndrome is affected differ-ently, but most will have a number of physical character-istics and developmental problems.

Faulty chromosome

Down Syndrome is a chromosomal disorder that is caused by an error in cell division which results in an extra 21st chromosome.

Each person with Down Syndrome is affected differently, but most will have a number of physical characteristics and developmental problems.

Ashghal to open new road today

Qatari artiste Dana Al Fardan.

06 WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017HOME

Ambassador of France, Eric Chevallier, presenting the insignia of Officer of the Legion of Honor to Bader Abdullah Al Darwish, Chairman and Managing Director of Darwish Holding.

Qatari businessman awarded prestigious French honourThe Peninsula

The Ambassador of France, Eric Chevallier, presented the insignia of Officer of the Legion of Honor

to Bader Abdullah Al Darwish, Chair-man and Managing Director of Darwish Holding, in a ceremony on Saturday at the Residence of France.

Chevallier praised in his speech "the successful businessman whose activi-ties have strongly contributed to strengthen the economic relations between France and Qatar". "Bader Abdullah Al Darwish is a true partner of the French Embassy in Doha." he added.

Chevallier paid tribute to Al-Darwish, a "Qatari citizen, a remarkable business-man and a true friend of France", who is rewarded with the highest and most pres-tigious distinction in France.

Historic DC-3 plane lands in DohaThe Peninsula

The legendary Breitling DC-3 aeroplane has landed in Qatar as part of its

record-breaking world tour. This historic aircraft, which

is aiming to become the oldest plane to circumnavigate the globe, arrived at Doha on Sun-day ahead of the next leg of the trip which will take it to Dubai.

Having crossed the Gulf from Bahrain, flying low over Doha’s gleaming new skyline, the Brei-tling DC-3 is making its first ever visit to a region that today boasts some of the world’s leading air-lines, with fleets of state-of-the-art aircraft.

The visit of the Breitling DC-3 harks back to the early days of international aviation travel – its maiden flight took place just a few weeks after oil was first discovered in Qatar.

Speaking after arriving in Qatar, Breitling DC-3 pilot Fran-cisco Agullo said: “Crossing the Middle East, with its vast open desert, is something I’ve really been looking forward to since we started planning this project. And flying over Qatar at just 2,000 feet, far lower than com-mercial aircraft are normally allowed to, has been a truly unique experience and a per-sonal highlight of this world tour.”

The Breitling DC-3 world tour took to the skies on March 9, 2017, seventy-seven years to the day since its maiden flight.

Departing from Breitling’s home country of Switzerland, the plane will visit 54 countries over seven months, landing back in Swit-zerland at the Breitling Sion Airshow 2017 in September. Qatar is its sixth stop, following on from visits to Jordan and Bahrain.

To celebrate the world tour, Breitling is also introducing a 500-piece limited edition of its famous Navitimer aviation chronograph, of which 25 mod-els will be made available for the Middle East market.

This steel Navitimer 01 (46mm), powered by

Manufacture Breitling Caliber 01, will be distinguished by its case-back, which will be engraved with the Breitling DC-3 World Tour logo. Enthusiasts will have to wait until the end of 2017 to get their hands on this model – all 500 pieces will travel aboard the Breitling DC-3 around the planet, thus ensuring they are truly part of the entire adven-ture. Each watch will be delivered with a certificate signed by the flight captain.

The first Douglas DC-3 (DC for Douglas Commercial) twin-engine propeller plane made its maiden flight in 1935, at a time

when Breitling had introduced its first on-board chronographs for civilian and military aircraft.

Nicknamed the “Normandy landings plane”, the DC-3 seats 20 passengers and has a cruis-ing speed of 241km/h (130 knots). More than 16,000 DC-3 aircraft were built and most major air-lines acquired them as part of their fleet.

Today there are fewer than 150 DC-3 aircraft in flightwor-thy condition worldwide, including the Breitling DC-3, which itself flew for the first time in 1940.

Breitling DC-3 pilot Francisco Agullo waves the Qatari Flag as he lands in Doha.

QC provides school meals in Khartoum

The Peninsula

In partnership with Mujad-didun Charity, Qatar Charity's office in Sudan implemented a "School Feeding" project during

the school year 2016 - 2017 under the slogan "Hunger Free Society".

The project aimed at encouraging pupils to go to school, raising their academic achievement, improving their health conditions and address-ing the school dropout issue.

School dropout problem often increases in the suburban areas of the cities, where the parents could not meet their children's basic needs, espe-cially daily meals, due to the difficult economic circum-stances. As a result, pupils are

unable to concentrate during the class or complete the school day. The Ministry of Education officials in Khartoum com-mended QC's efforts, particularly offering support to the education field hoping to increase the number of beneficiaries.

"The project aims at provid-ing free daily meals to 4,000 pupils during the school year 2016-2017. School Feeding project targeted 16 schools in four peripheral and needy areas of Khartoum including (Khar-toum Bahri – Karary- Jebel Awliaa) at a cost of QR500,000 and it realised its desired objec-tives" said Mohammed Hussein Kermash, Director of QC's office in Sudan.

In this regard, teachers expressed their satisfaction with the project outputs that positively affected the pupils' achievement and maintained their psychological stability. Awadia Mohammed Ahmed demonstrated that the project benefited 400 orphaned, poor and homeless pupils enrolling in Al-Amal Al-Akhdar School in Maio, Jebel Awliaa.

For his part, Faris Al Zubair, Director of Mujaddidun char-ity commended QC's efforts leading to the success of the educational project that sup-ported pupils and low-income families hoping to expand part-nership with Qatar Charity to cover the needs of more schools in need.

Battling hunger

The project contributed to encouraging pupils to go to school, improving their health conditions and reducing the number of school dropouts.

Free daily meals were distributed to 400 pupils during the school year 2016-2017.

Qatar National Library hosts regional workshopThe Peninsula

Qatar National Library (QNL) recently hosted the International Federation of Library Associations’ (IFLA) Inter-

national Advocacy Programme (IAP) regional workshop for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC).

The workshop, which ran from March 13 to 15, was attended by representatives from the public library sector and library associations in the MENA region. It was the sixth in a series of six regional workshops held worldwide in Africa, Asia Oceania, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Launched by IFLA in the last quarter of 2016, IAP is a new capacity-building pro-gramme designed to raise the level of awareness among information service pro-fessionals on the role libraries can play in the planning and implementation of the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustain-able Development Goals (SDGs). The UN agenda is a framework of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a total of 179 targets from economy to environmen-tal and social development.

Commenting on the workshop, Dr Sohair Wastawy, Executive Director, QNL, said: "We are proud to host this IFLA event after QNL successfully held the 48th Met-ropolitan Libraries Conference (METLIB

2016 Qatar) last April. This reflects the firm and productive partnership between our two organizations and strengthens Qatar's presence in the global library and infor-mation services sector."

Opening the workshop, IFLA Secretary

General, Gerald Leitner, said: “If a country wants to achieve the United Nations 2030 Agenda, this will not be possible without libraries. We need to bring this to the atten-tion of policymakers and the United Nations. IFLA will support countries across the globe in achieving this.”

“72 countries have signed agreements with IFLA to start doing activities about libraries and the SDGs. No other organisa-tions have done this before. This is really exceptional. We believe that a success story for a global organisation like IFLA is only possible with a mix of activities on a glo-bal and on a national level. We wouldn’t be able to do this without a solid collabo-ration between libraries. This partnership is what makes it powerful,” he added.

Through the IAP, IFLA aims to establish an engaged community of advocates who will clearly articulate, at national and regional levels, the important role libraries play in development by contributing to the UN 2030 Agenda and the SDGs to ensure libraries and public access to information are included in National Development Plans

QNL, a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), advocates for univer-sal and open access to information, safeguarding Qatar and Islamic cultural heritage, promoting universal literacy, and providing access to information and com-munication technologies.

Gerald Leitner, IFLA Secretary General, opening the IFLA’s International Advocacy Programme (IAP) regional workshop for the Middle East and North Africa at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC).

Food being prepared as part of the project.

07WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017 HOME

H G Ramakrishnan, HRG & Companies along with O Asher, Managing Director – India Operations, Malabar Gold & Diamonds jointly inaugurating the 172nd showroom globally in Ballari, in India's Karnataka state on March 18 in the presence of Iflu Rahman, Regional Head, management members, dignitaries and well-wishers.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds opens another outlet in IndiaThe Peninsula

Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the leading jewellery retailer, extended its

presence in the Karnataka region of India by opening its 17th showroom in the region.

The grand opening was held on Saturday, March 18. The lat-est showroom was jointly inaugurated by H G Ram-akrishnan, HRG & Companies along with O Asher, Managing Director – India Operations, Malabar Gold & Diamonds in the presence of Iflu Rahman, Regional Head, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, management mem-bers, dignitaries and well-wishers.

This latest showroom of Malabar Gold & Diamonds located at Car Street, Ballari, in the southern state of Karnataka

is its 172nd showroom globally.

The showroom displays a significantly large collection of traditional as well as contem-porary jewellery in gold, certified diamonds, platinum, silver and precious gem jewel-lery across the world that can hold customer spell-bound with

their awe-inspiring beauty.Commenting on the occa-

sion, O Asher, Managing Director-India Operations, Mal-abar Gold and Diamonds, said, “The company’s next big plan for India will be small retail for-mat showrooms in India starting with Karnataka state. The com-pany would also invest Rs6.2bn to add 24 more outlets both in India and abroad over the next 3 to 6 months and hire over 1,000 professionals.”

Malabar group offers exqui-site and beautiful jewellery as a part of various brands presented at Malabar Gold & Diamonds’, namely Ethnix - Handcrafted Designer Jewellery, Era - Uncut Diamond Jewellery, Mine - Dia-m o n d s U n l i m i t e d , Divine- Indian Heritage Jewel-lery, Precia - Gem Jewellery and Starlet - Kids Jewellery.

The company would also invest Rs6.2bn to add 24 more outlets both in India and abroad over the next 3 to 6 months and hire over 1,000 professionals.

Defence Ministry officials train on cyber security

The Peninsula

Experts from Hamad Bin Khalifa Universi-ty’s College of Science and Engineering hosted representa-

tives from the Ministry of Defence for a course that high-lighted cyber security threats, ways to guard against them, and what to do when a cyber attack takes place.

Ten staff members from the Ministry of Defence took part in the five-day executive educa-tion course, which covered such topics as Applied Cryptography, Network Security (Malware,

Distributed Denial of Service attacks, Intrusion Detection Sys-tems), and Wireless Security – with extensive hands-on ses-sions covering the dreadful vulnerabilities that current wire-less networks are exposed to, and possible remedies.

Following the conclusion of the course, Dr Mounir Hamdi, Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at HBKU, said: “The executive education course on cyber security to the Ministry of Defence is an illustration of the importance of cyber security in Qatar as well as an illustration of the kind of collaboration that the College of Science and Engineer-ing at HBKU wants to establish with Qatari Ministries, industry, and society so as to contribute to QNV 2030.”

Speaking at the MoU sign-ing ceremony, Dr Khaled B Letaief, Provost of HBKU, said: “It is an essential part of the mission of our university to drive collaboration that enhances Qatar’s human capac-ity through dialogue and research.

Katara in deal with ISESCO to develop cultural industriesQNA

The Cultural Village Foundation Katara signed a memorandum

of understanding with the Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in the presence of the General Manager of the Cultural Village Foundation- Katara, Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, and the General Manager of ISESCO, Abdulaziz bin Othmane Al Tawjeri at a press conference yesterday at Katara's Amphitheatre.

Commenting on the MoU, the Katara General Manager said, "We eagerly welcome this partnership as it will enrich the cultural scene with its focus on her-itage and culture while supporting and developing cultural industries, with the objective of preserving our rich traditions and passing them on to our upcoming generations."

Speaking on signing the MoU, the ISESCO General Manager said: "It is my great-est pleasure to sign this memorandum of under-s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e well-known Cultural Village. The agreement is sought to emphasise on the cultural aspects found within socie-ties which usually act as an essential pillar when build-ing or developing any nation. Not to forget that Katara is characterised by the unique organisation of diversified events and constant devel-opments that are seen by the State of Qatar and the region."

HBKU course

It is an essential part of the mission of our university to drive collaboration that enhances Qatar’s human capacity through dialogue and research: HBKU Provost.

Ministry of Defence officials attending the course.

08 WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017HOME

Safari Win 10 BMW Cars Promotion 4th Lucky Draw Winners Nasser Mohammed Ad Ham, a Qatari national, and Saju Cherian, Indian, receiving the Car Key of BMW 5 Series from Safari Group of Companies Director/General Manager Zainul Abideen along with Safari management staff.

Safari gives prizes to promotion winners

Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani has sent a written message to Interior Minister of Italy, Marco Minniti, pertaining to promoting and developing bilateral relations. Qatar's Ambassador to Italy, Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al Malki, delivered the message during a meeting with the Italian Interior Minister.

PM sends message to Italian MinisterRAF collects QR1m for

drought-hit in Africa The Peninsula

Sheikh Thani bin Abdul-lah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) has collected about QR1m donation

in cash through a radio pro-g r a m m e t o p r o v i d e humanitarian aid to drought-hit people in the Horn of Africa.

The programme, which in English means 'Doors for Mercy', has been organised by RAF in collaboration with the Radio for the Holy Quran to raise funds for the campaign.

The famous scholar, Dr Kha-lid bin Abdullah Al Khaliwi, from Muslim World League (MWL) was invited in the programme to urge listeners to give donations.

The programme received overwhelming response from philanthropists in Qatar –citi-zens and expatriates to support the people fighting for survivals due to drought. Within an hour of the programme a total of QR913,250 were donated.

There is a severe drought in the Horn of Africa including Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia

whereby this natural disaster is threatening the life of thousands of people, said Al Khalifi. It is a religious obligation for those who could extend their helping hand to these most deserving people, he added.

RAF is waging a campaign to provide basic needs to thou-sands of drought affected people. They are being provided three types of a id

– food security by supplying food baskets, drinking water and medical services.

Food aid includes distribu-tion of food baskets containing four, rice, baby milk, edible oil, sugar and dates. A family com-prising six members will get enough food items for at least a month.

Under clean drinking water campaign, beneficiaries are being given medicines to pro-tect the water from bacteria and contamination.

The health service camping includes urgent medial caravans to rescue people suffering from epidemic and other infectious diseases. Medicines are being distributed to protect the patients suffering from diarrhea especially the children.

The campaign aims at col-lecting QR5m to provide foods, medicines and water to thou-sands of affected people in drought-hit countries.

Donors can call 5534181 to make their contributions or approach its donation collection centres at commercial centres across the country.

Two Qatari firms awarded Gulf Green MarkThe Peninsula

The Gulf Organization for Research and Develop-ment (GORD) yesterday

awarded the Gulf Green Mark environment product declara-tion (GGM-EPD) in accordance with ISO standards to two local companies.

The awards were announced at GORD's third meeting of TC06-GSC technical sub- com-mittee for green building at Ritz Carlton Hotel yesterday.

In his welcome address, Dr Yousef Al Horr, Committee Chairman and Founding Chair-man of GORD, said: “We are pleased to have the honour of the presidency of the committee for Qatar. We warmly welcome all

the members of the committee and appreciate their efforts of mutual cooperation and coordi-nation. It is indeed beneficial to have such committees formed between the Arab Gulf countries, which will definitely contribute to the upgrading of specifications of materials and equipment for green buildings and their per-formance standards suited to out environment and the climate of the region.”

GCC Standardization Organ-ization delegates, representatives of various Standardization Organization from gulf states such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain attended the meeting, among other experts.

On behalf of the

Standardization Organization of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Eng Muhammed Al Dab-lan said: “It is important to established such committees as this committee in particular will play a major role in standardi-zation at the level of the GCC countries. On behalf of the Standardization Organization, I assure all support to the com-mittee in carrying out the tasks assigned to it in order to meet the objectives of the member states. ”

The certificate was awarded to SAMEET Concrete Industries and AI Waab Plastics for their commitment to manufacture products in accordance with the highest environmental standards and sustainability practices.

Dr Yousef Mohamed Al Horr (right), Chairman, Gulf Organistion for Research and Development, with Eng Abdullah Al Rubai (left), Director of Municipalities and Housing in GCC; and Eng Mohammed Abdullah Al Dablan, Representative, GSO, at the meeting, held at The Ritz-Carlton in Doha, yesterday. Pic: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula

Military College students attend two human rights lecturesThe Peninsula

Two lectures on human rights and national institutions for human

rights were delivered by offi-cials of the National Human Right Committee (NHRC) to the students of Ahmed bin Mohammed Mi l i tary College.

Jaber Al Huwail, Director of Legal Affairs at the NHRC introduced to the students the national human rights insti-tutions and their common mission of these institutions which is receiving complaints related to violations of human rights and investigate them.

In addition to raising awareness, teaching differ-ent segments of the societies about human rights.

Paris principles are the minimum international requirements for these organ-isations to play their role in a more effective ways, Al Huwail explained adding that, these principles are a group of global standards that reg-ulate and guide the work of the national institutions for human rights.

Al Huwail pointed out that Paris principles stipulates that establishment of these institutions must be in accordance the national con-stitutions of the country and law regulating their activities and clearly stating their mandates.

The Qatar National Human Rights Committee was established in accord-ance with the Qatari Constitution as the issue of human rights is national issue for the society and global issue at the same time.

Respect of the rights whether they are political, social, cultural or economic and whether they are rights of individual or group shows commitment to the values of equity, justice and human dignity without any discrim-ination, Al Huwail said.

NHRC is not a govern-mental body or part of civil society organiations, rather it is an national official body with consultative authority.

Experts discuss brand identityThe Peninsula

Bedaya Center for Entre-preneurship and Career Development (Bedaya

Center), a joint initiative by Qatar Development Bank and Silatech, held the “Brand Iden-tity and Packaging” networking event at Doha Fire Station “Matafi”.

The event saw participation of a number of companies spe-cialised in the field of brand identity and other ones special-ised in packaging and wrapping.

Moreover, pioneers and experts addressed the gather-ing consisting of startups, entrepreneurs and audience about the importance of the brand identity for their compa-nies and projects, and the significance of packaging and wrapping in creating a good image for their companies.

The event focused on the concept of brand identity for startups, companies and projects which comprises of several tools such as logo, booklets and man-uals, colours and fonts, website, pages on social media platforms, and the like.

The event also tackled the challenges of finding good

packaging which has become an indicator of success for com-panies in promoting their products.

This aspect of packaging has therefore become a lead-ing marketing tool used for this matter in different areas such as creativity, design, printing, quality and methods which work all together to increase the popularity of products and increase the demand.

On this occasion, Reem Al Suwaidi, General Manager of Bedaya Center, said: "We always strive to provide the best tools, ways and solutions that will help support startups and entrepreneurs to cement their position in the local market as a start, and move into foreign markets in future stages”.

“Brand identity and pack-aging are two of the most important tools which support the vision and ambitions of the project owners and help them reach their objectives and meet their goals. Keeping this in mind we decided to dedicate one of our networking events to be on this topic in collaboration with experts from this field which will eventually help all partic-ipants to develop and enhance their businesses”, she added.

Radio appeal

The programme received overwhelming response from philanthropists in Qatar –citizens and expatriates to support the people fighting for survivals due to drought.

RAF is waging a campaign to provide basic needs to thousands of drought affected people.

QNA

The annual Youth Forum, in the context of the 60th session of the

Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the United Nations (UN) in Vienna, chose Qatari student Ghanim Mohammad Al Muftah to be the official speaker of the forum. The forum submitted recommen-dations to the UN.

In addition to Al Muftah, Abdullah Khamis Al Kubaisi represented Qatar and were accompanied by Ibrahim Murshed Al Mohannadi as a supervisor.

The students attended a workshop held on the side-lines of the forum, along with 40 students from around the world.

The forum aims to gather young people from 32 coun-tries who actively monitor drug use in their schools and communities, to exchange ideas, visions and different perspectives on how to bet-ter protect the health and wellbeing of their peers, schools and communities.

Citizen in final of Tripoli Quran learning contestQNA

Qatar's Abdullah Hamad Salem Abu Shareedah has qualified for the final

stage of Tripoli International Competition of Holy Quran, Azm Tripoli Prize, in Lebanon.

Lebanese Prime Minister

Saad Al Hariri stressed in a speech during an official cere-mony last night the importance of the memorisation and reci-tation of Holy Quran for Muslims.

For his part, Abu Shareeda said that he has made it to the final stage thanks to the

continuous attention of Qatar to its citizens and the provision of centres for learning and mem-orising the Holy Quran, expressing his hope to win the first prize.

Participants from thirty countries around the world are taking part in the contest.

Youth Forum chooses Qatari student as official speaker

09WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017 MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Migrants wait to be rescued from a sinking dingey off the Libyan coasal town of Zawiyah, east of the capital, yesterday, as they attempted to cross from the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Libya has long been a stepping stone for migrants dreaming of a better life in Europe, but people smugglers have stepped up their lucrative trade in the chaos since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.

Waiting for rescuers

Amman/Beirut

Reuters

Syrian rebels stormed a government-held area in northeastern Damascus yesterday for the second time in

three days, sources on both sides said, the opposition’s first such large scale foray in over four years inside the capital.

For rebels, the assault has shown they are still able to wage offensive action, though their situation remains very dif-ficult near Damascus and across the country as a whole.

President Bashar Al Assad and the Syrian army, along with allied Russian, Iranian and Shia militia forces, have gained the upper hand in the war for west-ern Syria over the past 18 months, culminating in the full recapture of Aleppo in December.

The spokesman for one of the main insurgent groups involved in the attack, said the new offensive began at 5am, targeting an area rebel fighters had seized from government control on Sunday before being forced to retreat.

A Syrian military source said rebel fighters had entered the area, setting off a car bomb at the start of the attack. The source said a group of rebels that had entered the area had been encircled and were “being dealt with”.

The rebel groups have launched the assault from their Eastern Ghouta stronghold to the east of the capital. Govern-ment forces have escalated military operations against East-ern Ghouta in recent weeks, seeking to tighten a siege on the area. The rebel assault aims partly to relieve that pressure. The fighting has focused around the Abassiyin area of the north-eastern Jobar district, some 2km east of the Old City walls, at a major road junction leading into the capital.

A witness in the Tijara res-idential area near the fighting said dozens of tanks were deployed — an unusual scene for residents of inner Damas-cus, whose quarters been spared the widespread fighting on the fringes of the sprawling city.

Rebels launch second attack on Damascus

Kano

AFP

Gunmen killed 17 people, mostly women and chil-dren, after invading a

farming community in central Nigeria, police said yesterday, the latest violence linked to grazing rights disputes.

The attack in Benue State occurred on Monday, state police spokesman Moses Yamu said, saying attackers on motor-cycles and in a car opened fire on a market and set buildings

on fire. "There was indeed an attack yesterday afternoon on a market in Zaki Biyam by unknown persons. Seventeen people were killed and 11 injured by the gunmen," Yamu said.

"We have not made any arrests and we are yet to find out the motive for the attack. We have been given some names of people suspected of involve-ment in the attack and we are on their trail."

An investigation is under way. Local media said between 30 and 50 people were killed

in the attack in a region wracked by a long-running conflict between nomadic Fulani herders and local farm-ers over grazing rights. Nigerian President Muham-madu Buhari condemned the "loss of lives" in a statement issued yesterday.

"The President condemns the wicked attack and directs security agencies to begin immediate investigation with a view to bringing the perpetra-tors of the dastardly act to book," his office said.

Accra/AFP

GHANAIAN authorities have closed the popular tourist destination of Kintampo Falls after 20 people died in a tree fall tragedy, officials said.

A group of high school and university students were swimming on Sun-day afternoon at the picturesque waterfalls in the Brong-Ahafo region, some 450km by road from the capital Accra, when a massive tree crashed into the water, crushing some to death and injuries scores of others. Police said an investigation had been launched into the tragedy but that no foul play was suspected. The ministry called on the tour-ism authority to "embark on a comprehensive safety audit of all major tourist attractions in the country."

Ankara

AFP

Turkey said yesterday it would ask the United States to reverse a ban on

electronic devices larger than mobile phones in the cabin of flights from 10 airports in Tur-key, the Middle East and North Africa.

"We particularly emphasise how this will not benefit the pas-senger and that reverse steps or a softening should be adopted," Transport Minister Ahmet Ars-lan told reporters, saying the decision was not right for Tur-key or the US.

Airlines hit by the ban include flag-carrier Turkish Air-lines, which has the highest foreign sales of any Turkish company.

The airline's profits have already been hit by a slew of terror attacks in Turkey in 2016.

Arslan said Turkish officials were speaking to their relevant American counterparts regard-ing the ban, which applies to direct flights to the US.

The minister said he hoped there would be a "positive" out-come from the talks, which began on Monday.

"Annually, 80 million

flights take off from Istanbul and in my opinion, people should not confuse it" with less high-profile destinations, Arslan added.

"In that sense, we already take all kinds of security measures."

Laptops, tablets and porta-ble game consoles are affected by the ban, but they may still be stowed in the hold in checked baggage.

The new emergency ruling affects passengers on approxi-mately 50 flights per day from some of the busiest hubs in the Middle East and North Africa as well as Turkey.

US officials defended the decision, saying it was the "right thing to do" to secure the safety of those travelling.

Other airlines affected include Royal Jordanian, Egyp-tAir, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways.

Turkish Airlines — in which the government holds a stake of just over 49 percent — issued a statement earlier yesterday con-firming the ban.

Arslan said that passengers head to the US for many reasons including developing bilateral trade, adding that the ruling could negatively affect travel-lers' comfort.

17 dead in Nigeria market attack

Turkey seeks reversal of US flight laptop ban

Kuwaiit City /AFP

THE Kuwait National Cinema Company said yesterday it has decided to ban Disney's hit movie "Beauty and the Beast", citing its "responsibil-ities" despite it already having been screened. The film was released in the Gulf state on Thursday, but the privately owned company withdrew the film four days later to review its content.

"Beauty and the Beast" has come under fire in some Muslim countries, but Disney said yesterday it will be released in Muslim-majority Malaysia with no cuts.

Starring "Harry Potter" star Emma Watson, the movie has raised hackles worldwide among religious groups.

Ghana shuts tourist site where 20 died in accident

Second attack

The spokesman for one of the main insurgent groups involved in the attack said the second offensive in three days began at 5am, targeting an area rebel fighters had seized from government control on Sunday before being forced to retreat.

Kuwait bans 'Beauty and the Beast' hit movie

The next round of Syria talks are starting tomorrow and are expected to last until April 1. As all sides prepare for the talks, the United Nations Syria mediator has urged both the Syrian government and

the opposition delegations to engage in serious and substantive talks to find a solution to the crisis. De Mistura has been making serious and intense ef-forts to bring the talks to a logical conclusion with tangible results, but unfortunately, the situation on the ground isn’t promising. The regime and opposition forces seem be not in a serious mood to make concessions that will take the talks forward, while on the ground, fighting continues between the two sides despite a ceasefire that is still in force. Further complicating the process, the rebels and jihadists launched a fresh assault on east Damas-cus yesterday. The renewed fighting in the Syrian capital came two days after the govern-ment forces repelled the largest rebel incursion into the capital in years.

The talks scheduled to begin in Geneva have some serious and sticky issues on the agenda whose discussions are expected to generate plenty of heat and acrimony. The talks will fo-cus on governance, constitutional reforms, the UN-sponsored elections and counter-terrorism measures, all of which are important issues and the UN mediator De Mistura

has urged all sides “to do the necessary preparations in advance of the fifth round to be ready to en-gage

substantively and proactively on the substance of all four baskets on the agenda in parallel”.

The UN envoy is trying hard to bring both sides closer. He is conducting a shuttle diplomacy between the supporters of the

warring sides, consulting officials in Russia and Turkey before returning to Geneva. Despite his best efforts, divisions are proving difficult to heal. For example, Turkish-backed rebel groups stayed away from ceasefire talks in Astana criticising Russia for failing to get the Syrian government and its allies to abide by a ceasefire brokered in December.

Though the success of Geneva talks would depend on the willingness of both sides to make conces-sions, it would depend more on Bashar Al Assad’s willingness to accommodate the opposition. The talks are hitting roadblocks due to Assad’s arrogance and stubbornness. Assad is using the advantage he has gained over the opposition to push his agenda by inflicting total defeat on his opponents. Russia is entering the talks to advance the objectives of Assad rather than try for a solution that gives justice to all sides.

Despite the current differences, the UN-mediated talks offer the best way to find a solution to the Syrian crisis.

10 WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017VIEWS

E S T A B L I S H E D I N 1 9 9 6

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

msalim@pen.com.qa

Syria talks

QUOTE OF THE DAY

If we are committed to achieving further economic growthand maintaining peace, then everyone should be open to new approaches.

Hage GeingobNamibia’s President

Despite the current differences, the UN-mediated talks offer the best way to find a solution to the Syrian crisis.

The most damning aspect of the new report by the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which accuses Israel of being an apartheid state, is not the

unearthing of allegedly long-discredited equa-tions of Zionism with racism and apartheid.

Rather, it’s that the authors have used the scalpel of international law and the seemingly moribund International Covenant on the Sup-pression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid to create a new matrix of analysis of the occupation, its generative dynamics, and likely future path that will prove extremely hard for even Israel’s most ardent defenders to refute in the coming years.

The report, Israeli Practices Towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apart-heid, immediately gained notoriety when the head of ESCWA, Rima Khalaf, was forced to resign after the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres denounced the report and asked for it to be removed from the Commission’s website.

Khalaf, a Jordanian national with exten-sive government and international experience who was a primary force behind the Arab Human Development Report series which has been highly critical of Arab regimes and the broader regional systems of governance, had to know that heralding the report as the first ever UN one to explicitly describe Israel as an apartheid and “racial state” would bring her downfall at ESCWA. And indeed, not only was the report disavowed by UN Secretary-Gen-eral Antonio Guterres and, it seems, removed on his orders from the Commission’s website, Khalaf did resign shortly thereafter.

This begs the question of what she hoped to accomplish by framing the report thus. Although it seems to be removed from the ESCWA’s website.

As the journalist Ben White explains, the new report is a detailed analysis of Israeli leg-islation, policies and practices that enable Israel to “operate an apartheid regime” that “dominates the Palestinian people as a whole” and as such is a “crime against humanity under customary international law and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court”. The report describes a panoply of practices, techniques and legal and adminis-trative mechanisms by which Israel maintains a system that segregates Palestinians from Jews on both sides of the Green Line and out-side Israel/Palestine based on membership in specific ethno-religious groups.

What makes the report even more contro-versial is that unlike most accusations of apartheid-like behaviour, which are limited to the Occupied Territories, it accuses Israel of engaging in apartheid even against Palestin-ian citizens of the state and Palestinians outside the country.

According to Virginia Tilley, professor at the University of Illinois — one of the report’s princi-pal authors — her team was mandated or tasked with understanding “if there was one regime that was bringing all these policies [through Israel/Palestine and abroad] into a coherent whole”.

What did the UN apartheid report expose in reality?Mark LeVineAl Jazeera

Is Israel an apartheid state?While accusations of apartheid still

shock the American ear, Israelis from Holocaustsurvivors to prime ministers have long warned that the country was or risked becoming an apartheid state.

South Africans, too, have debated the issue; while some prominent figures such as Judge Richard Goldstone, who chaired the controversial report into the 2008-09 Gaza War, declared that “in Israel, there is no apartheid”, other scholars and activists, from the Human Sciences and Research Council and Des-mond Tutu to prominent Jewish intellectuals such as Lisa Ohayon and David Theo Goldberg - one of the world’s pre-eminent theorists of race - have documented how”the legal structures of apartheid and Israel map on to each other in very disturbing ways” and have little hesitation labelling Isra-el’s “separation barrier” an “apartheid wall” in purpose and function.

I would invite readers to study the voluminous final report of the South Afri-can Truth and Reconciliation Commission and compare it to the regular reports on the occupation, not merely by interna-tional human rights organisations but by the US State Department and Israeli Jew-ish organisations’ reports as well, and ask them to decide for themselves how closely Israeli policies resemble those of the South African apartheid state.Yet, however important historically and mor-ally, comparisons with South Africa were, for the report’s authors, beside the point.

The only “benchmark” that matters today is whether Israel’s actions fall within the parameters of the Crime of Apartheid as defined by international covenant and the International Criminal Court. And the report argues “with clar-ity and conviction that Israel is guilty of the international crimes of apartheid as a result of the manner in which it exerts control over the Palestinian people”.

More specifically, Tilley explains that “the main finding was that what looks like different policies are in fact part of one policy. The core purpose is to pre-serve Israel as a Jewish state, and that requires an overwhelming Jewish majority to ensure that Palestinians could never vote in any way that would

alter the laws privileg-ing the Jewish people over other people in the state. And we found that the ways different

segments of policy work together … all coordinate that central core purpose.”

Crucially, the report deploys a striking new term, the “strategic [elsewhere: geo-graphic and juridical] fragmentation of the Palestinian people,” to describe the main method through which Israel imposes an apartheid regime, with Pales-tinians divided into four groups who live in four “domains”: Palestinian citizens of Israel against whom ‘civil law’ is deployed to restrict their freedom; Palestinians in East Jerusalem governed by ever more exclusionary ‘permanent residency laws’; Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who live under belligerent occupation; and Palestinians living as refugees or in exile who are precluded by law and policy from returning to their homeland.

Each group is oppressed through “distinct laws, policies and practices” that together constitute the larger regime of apartheid in Israel/Palestine.

Hypocrisy and the BDSNot surprisingly, Israeli officials were

quick to question ESCWA’s credibility, given its membership of 18 Arab coun-tries excluding Israel despite its location in western Asia (unlike Tunisia, for exam-ple) and the fact that the human rights records of most members are little better than Israel’s. But hypocrisy is literally written into the fabric of the UN, and is in fact on display every time the US vetoes a Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s prosecution of its interminable occupation, or Russia vetoes a resolution that might force Bashar Al Assad to stop murdering his people by the thousands.

This reality doesn’t change the fact that with the report now part of the UN record, the chances increase that the General Assembly or other bodies will request a ruling from the ICC or International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality of the occu-pation. The report provides a strong case for the argument that the goals and con-duct of the occupation are illegal, and thus that states, international organisations, and civil society are obligated to impose sanctions and other punitive measures to compel Israel to bring its actions into com-pliance with international law.

Most strikingly, however, the report concludes by calling explicitly for “broaden[ing] support for boycott, divestment and sanctions initiatives among civil society actors”. In bringing BDS directly into the legal conversation, the authors are opening the way for the ICC or ICJ to affirm the legitimacy of such tactics under international law.

As Israel moves inexorably towards annexing the West Bank, and with it the confrontation of apartheid in its barest form, the questions raised by the report will become impossible to avoid.

In that regard, Rima Khalaf and the report’s authors have done Israelis, Pales-tinians and the world community a favour by calling for a clear determination by the highest international tribunals as to the nature of Israel’s rule over some five million Palestinians in the occupied territories and millions more living in the shadows of exile, and its responsibilities going forward.

The report provides a strong case for the argument that the goals and conduct of the occupation are illegal, and thus that states, international organisations, and civil society are obligated to impose sanctions and other punitive measures to compel Israel to bring its actions into compliance with international law.

ED ITOR IAL

11WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017 OPINION

an interesting move for a politician who was once considered Silvio Berlusconi’s protégé. His NCD party was founded in 2013 as an offshoot of Berlus-coni’s Forza Italia after the two had a falling out. But his moderate-right party never quite got off the ground as anything more than a junior partner with an abstract, conservative agenda. It holds only a smattering of seats in Italy’s parliament and the European Parliament.

Some said the change smacked of a publicity stunt. “He’s fighting for survival,” Stefano Stefanini, a former Italian ambassador to NATO, told Foreign Policy. “NCD is not faring well in the polls and risks heavy losses in the elections.”

Alfano may be hoping an image reboot will help him fill the vacuum left by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The firmly pro-Europe center-left leader stepped down in December after Italians rejected his constitutional reform in a referendum, leaving the country in limbo until the next election, which could be held later this year or in February 2018. For now, Renzi’s ally Paolo Gentiloni has been guiding the government as a placeholder prime minister.

The uncertainty has set off a fierce battle among Italia’s political parties. Renzi and his Democratic Party are trying to revive their momentum, while the anti-establishment Five Star Movement is surg-ing in the polls. The far-right Northern League is hoping to capitalize on migration issues. And 80-year-old Berlusconi is even trying to get back in on the action with a “Trumpian” hard-right recast.

Iran’s perennial reformist-conservative fracas

Iran is preparing for its 12th presidential election scheduled for May 19, 2017. In an address deliv-ered at a gathering of members of the Executive Election Board on February 25, President Has-san Rowhani warned his audience: “In this case

[election] I will not accept if someone announced that the Guardian Council was responsible; [or] the Guardian Council had the responsibility of supervis-ing the election. Therefore, if any security, armed forces, or law enforcement institution violates the law, we should stand and protest.”

President Rowhani has always demonstrated boldness. However, his latest statement suggests anxiety. What is Rowhani’s main obsession? Who is he talking to? And what is it that he is trying to con-vey? To read his mind, one should look at the military authority distribution module and the align-ment of political forces in the Islamic republic.

Unlike other republics, in the Iranian political system, the chief commander of the country’s armed forces is not the president, but the supreme leader. He delegates the command of the police force to the interior minister. This also depends on who the pres-ident is. For instance, during the presidency of late Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-1997) and Mah-moud Ahmadinejad (2006-2013), the supreme leader delegated command to the interior minister.

But during Mohammad Khatami’s presidency (1997-2005), the supreme leader delayed delegation of command for over a year. He did it only when then Interior Minister Abdullah Nouri, a key ally of Khatami, was removed by parliament following an interpellation and replaced by Mosavi Lari, a less controversial figure.

As far as President Rowhani is concerned, the supreme leader has delegated command of the police force to the current interior minister.

Yet the police force makes up only a small por-tion of the Iranian security establishment given the existence of other more powerful security institu-tions, such as the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution and the Basij Resistance Force, among others.

As a result, President Rowhani’s law enforcement authority is very limited.

That said, with less than three months until the election, there is considerable mix-up in the conserv-ative camp. At their recent gathering, the conservatives chose 21 nominees. Out of this number, they shortlisted 14 people after a two-week

consultation.Had such a list been compiled by the reformist-

moderate camp, it would have made sense. Given the unpredictability of the Guardian Council, it could be argued that moderate-reformists should have at least a few reserve candidates so they would not end up with an unwanted surprise by the disqualification of their principal candidate during the vetting process in the Guardian Council.

But this is not the case with the conservatives at all, as any candidate nominated by them already has the guaranteed approval of the council. Therefore, the reason behind the introduction of over 14 nomi-nees should be sought somewhere else, namely, the source of their power.

The conservatives’ sources of power are by and large derived from what is popularly known as Boy-out (plural of the Arabic word “bayt”, or “house”, which also bears the connotation of “sanctity” and is used only for the houses of the top Shia clergy).

At the top of all these Boyout is that of the supreme leader, which is the religious and political powerhouse of the Islamic republic. There is no self-made person in the conservative camp who can personally emerge as an all-influential and popular figure.

As a result, around election time, many people are tempted to try their luck. But they do it by lobby-ing with the boyout, rather than lobbying with various political forces at the grassroots level.

If one looks at the 14 names on the so-called list, they are arranged in alphabetical order. This means the initials of the nominees’ names are the only crite-ria under consideration.

Furthermore, several of these nominees have tried their luck before, and some of them -- such as Qalibaf and Mohsen Rezaee -- have done this more than once.

More importantly, most of them are non-clerical, which appears more problematic.

The ruling religious authorities have had two bit-ter experiences with non-clerical presidents. Abdul Hasan Bani Sadr (1980-1981) stood against Ayatollah Khomeini and was eventually impeached and removed. Ahmadinejad, during his second term

(2009-2013), also quarrelled with the current supreme leader.

As a result, the clergy have developed serious doubts over the reliability of a president from outside their guild. It is due to this deficiency of trust that a few days earlier a group of conservatives officially invited Ibrahim Raeesi, the current custodian of Astan e Quds Razavi, to be their candidate, though he reportedly turned the invitation down.

As noted by Bastani, an expert on Iranian politics, Raeesi’s rejection is related to the rumour about his candidacy as a possible successor to the supreme leader, since entering the race and losing would ruin his chances of ever assuming the supreme leadership as well.

It would not seem appropriate for a supreme leader candidate to have an electoral defeat under his belt.

What the principled (conservative) camp appre-ciates but refuses to admit is that it is suffering from a lack of popular legitimacy. Although in democracies, elections are part of the democratic practice and mechanisms for peaceful transfer of power, in the Iranian context, elections are viewed as “a marathon of democracy versus theocracy”.

The general trend in Iranian presidential elec-tions show that Iranian voters have particularly targeted the absolute authority of the supreme leader.

That is why one can easily see in the Iranian presidential elections that the popular grace has been with non-conservative candidates who have been more distant from the establishment, particularly from the supreme leader.

In contrast, the reformist-moderate camp is in a better position. It enjoys some sort of popular legitimacy.

Moreover, there is no shortage of self-made can-didates in this camp. If the Guardian Council allows, they have Muhammad Khatami, Abdullah Noori and Muhammad Reza Arif, among many others. They are even comfortable with Natiq Noori, a one-time con-servative, who lost badly against Khatami in 1997.

Apart from this, President Rowhani himself is in a sound position, and reformist-moderate forces seem

EEurope may finally be entering calmer waters. Angela Merkel affirmed her image as leader of the free world in a press confer-ence with U.S. President Donald

Trump on Friday. Talk of a Geert Wilders victory in the Netherlands now seems like a bad nightmare. And European Union wonk Emmanuel Macron seems to be edg-ing out right-wing Marine Le Pen in France’s presidential race.

What’s more, Italy has a new pro-EU party. On Saturday, Italy’s foreign minister Angelino Alfano announced he was refashioning his New Center Right as Pop-ular Alternative, a new party that aims to draw liberals and moderate conservatives to a pro-EU agenda.

“We are the political movement in Italy that defends Europe,” he declared at the former NCD’s national assembly. He also unveiled a new blue-and-yellow heart logo (mirroring EU flag colors) and the slo-gan: “Dare to build. Together.”

It was

Europe has a new defender in Italy

A file picture shows Iranians attending an annual rally commemorating the anniversary of the revolution.

“The choice of a new party is just to find some new clothes and place the party well for the next elections,” Rosa Balfour, the director of the German Marshall Fund’s Europe program, told FP. “I guess he assumes he could be kingmaker.”

Alfano framed his party as a counterweight to the anti-establishment mood sweeping Italy. He defined the party as an alternative to the Lepenisti, an Italian term for supporters of far-right French politician Marine Le Pen. It’s also an alterna-tive “to the leftists that only want to go backwards; those who are only thinking of the bulldozer; those who say ‘no’; and those who don’t care about the Republic,” he said.

But will an expressly pro-Europe stance play well in Italy?Former Prime Minister Renzi espoused similar positive

views about the EU and liberal progress, but still lost support. Some even compared Renzi’s referendum debacle to Brexit, the United Kingdom’s referendum to leave the EU. But most observers said voters were mostly fed up with Renzi’s personal style and disliked the domestic changes his party proposed. Populist parties, like the Five Star Movement and the Northern League, have flirted with anti-EU rhetoric in the past. But it doesn’t always play well. Though Italians often complain about EU intrusion into the country’s financial system and lack of solidarity for dealing with the migrant crisis, there seems to be less appetite for a full-blown “Italexit.” After Brexit, an Ipsos Mori poll found 48 per cent of Italians said they would vote to remain in the EU if it were put to a vote. Only 28 percent would vote to leave and 26 percent were undecided or wouldn’t vote.

Alfano is probably encouraged by Prime Minister Paul Rutte’s relative success in the Dutch elections, argued Ste-fanini. “In Europe, you can win on a conservative pro-EU platform,” he said.

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to have reached a consensus about standing behind him.

In a nutshell, the principled camp is at a serious disadvantage in terms of securing popular trust in favour of its candidate as well as the availability of a suitable candi-date, while the moderate-reformist camp is in a far better position in both aspects.

In such a scenario, the conserv-atives have only two options to redress this imbalance. One option is to use the Guardian Council, which is under their control, and disqualify President Rowhani, along with any other candidate potentially supportable by reform-ist-moderate forces.

This seems costly for the estab-lishment, as it affects election turnout -- a key issue in the Islamic Republic. The ruling elites always project election turnout as a sign of support for their ruling style.

The alternative option is to manage the voting outcome through manipulation and rigging, the way it was allegedly done in the 2009 election. It is here that Presi-dent Rowhani’s statement -- quoted above -- finds its relevance.

As an insider with first-hand security experience and informa-tion, President Rowhani might suspect that certain elements of the Iranian security forces are intend-ing to manipulate results of the vote. President Rowhani is in fact trying to mobilize all his executive power to ensure a fair election. He is quite sure that in a fair voting environment, the conservative can-didate could not make headway.

Teshgom KamalAnatolia

President Rowhani has always demonstrated boldness. However, his latest statement suggests anxiety. What is Rowhani’s main obsession? Who is he talking to? And what is it that he is trying to convey? To read his mind, one should look at the military authority distribution module and the alignment of political forces in the Islamic Republic.

Kavitha Surana The Washington Post

12 WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017ASIA

Park appears for interrogationSeoul

AFP

South Korea's ousted president Park Geun-Hye was questioned by prosecutors yesterday about the corruption

and abuse of power scandal that brought her down, after using executive privilege to avoid them for months while in office.

Park apologised to the pub-lic as she arrived at the prosecutors' office in Seoul,

adding: "I will undergo the inves-tigation sincerely."

The nation's first female president was impeached by parliament in December as mil-lions took to the streets to demand her removal over the sprawling scandal, which has exposed the links between pol-itics and business in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Her dismissal was confirmed by the country's top court ear-lier this month, ending the political career of a woman who

grew up in the presidential pal-ace as the daughter of army-backed dictator Park Chung-Hee.

As a private citizen once again, Park's convoy drove at walking pace through crowds of flag-waving supporters lining the street outside her home -- some of them lying on the pavement to try to block her exit before she left.

Every inch of the journey was covered live on television, with cameramen trailing the vehicles in cars and on motorcycles and at fixed points along the route.

Questioning by prosecutors is a key step in South Korea's judicial process before a suspect is charged.

It can last for many hours, late into the night, and can be repeated if officials deem it necessary.

Park faced two prosecutors and an investigator and was accompanied by one of her law-yers, but standard procedure bars him from interjecting, only allowing consultations during

rest breaks -- which could be an issue for her.

The 65-year-old has a repu-tation for fastidiousness and as president reportedly refused to use toilets that had been employed by others.

She had a packed lunch of seaweed rice rolls and sand-wiches brought by one of her security guards, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.

"She has been cooperating well," it quoted a prosecutor as saying, adding she would return home after the questioning.

The interrogators were addressing her as "Madam pres-ident", he added, but in the

transcript she was referred to as "suspect".

Park faces multiple charges ranging from abuse of power and coercion to bribery. She is the fourth former South Korean leader to be probed or jailed over corruption scandals.

Two former army-backed leaders who served in the 1980s to 1990s -- Chun Doo-Hwan and Roh Tae-Woo -- served prison terms for bribery after they stepped down.

Roh Moo-Hyun, who served from 2003 to 2008, killed him-self by jumping off a cliff after being probed by prosecutors over corruption allegations in 2009.

Thief nabbed after ice cream binge in JapanTokyo

AFP

A HAPLESS Japanese thief has got himself into a sticky spot with police after being arrested for breaking into offices and raiding refrigerators to binge on sweet treats.

Yasuhiro Wakashima, 51, is accused of gobbling down over 250 desserts during more than 40 incidents since 2013 -- with ice cream, choc-olate and puddings top of his wish list, Tokyo police said yesterday.

The suspect, an unem-ployed man from the central prefecture of Ishikawa, was dubbed "Sugar" by investiga-tors fo l lowing his high-cholesterol trail, accord-ing to national broadcaster NHK.

Wakashima was caught on surveillance video pilfer-ing fridges across Tokyo and in his home prefecture. Police also used DNA evidence to get their man, who is said to have left crumbs and leftovers at the crime scenes.

Dili

AFP

A former guerrilla fighter has won East Timor's presidential election in

just one round, an early count indicated yesterday, in a sign of growing stability for Asia's youngest nation.

With most ballots counted, Francisco Guterres -- known by his nom de guerre "Lu Olo" -- had received over 57 percent of votes cast in Monday's poll, according to the election commission.

That is comfortably above the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off.

"Guterres's closest rival, Education Minister Antonio de Conceicao, was on 33 percent in a crowded field of eight

candidates," election commis-sion chief Alcino Baris said.

If final results confirm Guterres's victory, he will take over the largely ceremonial role

at a challenging time for the tiny half-island nation 15 years after it gained independence follow-ing Indonesia's brutal occupation.

Tokyo

AFP

The prospect of a cheaper funeral is being used to entice elderly Japanese

drivers to give up their licences as police step up efforts to pre-vent accidents caused by ageing motorists.

Deadly accidents involving elderly drivers are a growing problem in a country where the

population is rapidly growing older and some 4.8 million peo-ple aged 75 or older hold a licence.

Japan this month introduced a new rule under which drivers aged 75 or older must pass cog-nitive tests when renewing their licences.

Now, a funeral service com-pany in central Japan has from this month started offering a 15 percent discount to elderly driv-ers who give up their permits.

"We've been offering funeral services to those who lost fam-ily members in car accidents," Shigenori Ariga of the funeral company Heiankaku said.

"We want to help prevent deaths caused by such acci-dents," he said.

Ariga said the discount was offered after a request by the local police department in the city of Ichinomiya in Aichi prefecture.

HK protester begins jail termHong Kong AFP

A HONG KONG activist who was attacked by seven police officers during mass pro-democracy rallies in 2014 began a prison sentence yes-terday for his own assault on police.

Ken Tsang was found guilty last year of assaulting and resisting officers during the "Umbrella Movement" protests.

Tsang himself had been sentenced in May last year to five weeks in prison after being found guilty of splash-ing liquid on police during the street rallies. He immediately appealed and was bailed.

Guterres set to win East Timor poll

Cheaper funeral for retired Japan drivers

Five frozen tigers found in VietnamHanoi

AFP

Five frozen tigers have been discovered in a Vietnam-ese man's freezer with

their organs removed, accord-ing to official reports yesterday, in a country seen as a global hub for the illegal wildlife trade.

Tiger organs and bones are used for medicinal purposes in the communist country, where a thriving local market drives the illegal sale of animal parts including ivory and rhino horn.

But Vietnam is also a key transit route for wildlife parts

destined for elsewhere in Asia, including neighbouring China.

The five tigers were discov-ered in the central province of Nghe An on Monday, accord-ing to a report from the official provincial newspaper.

"The authorities found inside a freezer five dead tigers, with the skins intact but the internal organs removed," it said.

The tigers were Indochi-nese, according to Vietnam News Agency, but officials said police would investigate fur-ther. Police refused to comment.

Five frozen tigers seized by local authorities in a Vietnamese man's freezer with their organs removed, in central province of Nghe An.

Japan cabinet approves anti-conspiracy billTokyo

Reuters

Japan's cabinet yesterday approved legislation that would penalise criminal con-

spiracies, a move critics say threatens civil liberties, but offi-cials say is needed to prevent terrorist targeting events like the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Proponents say the steps are vital in a security climate where terrorism risks have grown and in order to ratify a UN Treaty

aimed at battling international organised crime.

"Considering the current sit-uation regarding terrorism and looking ahead to the Olympics and Paraolympics three years hence, it is necessary to fully prepare to prevent organised crimes including terrorism," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshi-hide Suga told said.

Japanese governments have tried to pass similar legislation three times since 2000, when the United Nations adopted a

Convention against Transna-tional Organised Crime, but the bill stands a better chance of success this time.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition has a two-thirds majority in both houses of par-liament and public worries about terrorism ahead of the Olympics have grown after deadly attacks overseas, although an opinion poll released by Kyodo news agency on March 12 showed 45.5 per-cent were opposed to the bill

while 33 percent favoured it.Suga said the legislation

would apply only to groups pre-paring to commit terrorist acts and other organised crime groups and would not target the "legitimate activities" of civil groups or labour unions.

Opponents, including the Japan Federation of Bar Asso-ciations, have doubts.

They view the proposed change as part of Abe's agenda to tighten control at the expense of individual rights, chilling

grassroots opposition to gov-ernment policies such as the construction of a US military base on Okinawa island.

"It is very clear that the Jap-anese public security sector – police and prosecutors – employ an extremely expansive interpretation of any aspect of criminal law so ... regardless of the limited list of potential crimes, they will interpret it in an extremely elastic way," said Lawrence Repeta, a law profes-sor at Meiji University in Tokyo.

Graft probe

Park apologised to the public as she arrived at the prosecutors' office, adding: "I will undergo the investigation sincerely."

Park faced two prosecutors and an investigator and was accompanied by one of her lawyers, but standard procedure bars him from interjecting.

Supporters of South Korea's impeached president Park Geun-hye wave the national flags, in Seoul, yesterday.

South Korea's ousted leader Park Geun-hye arrives at a prosecutor's office in Seoul, yesterday.

East Timor presidential candidate Francisco Guterres (centre left) is congratulated by his supporters, in Dili, yesterday,

13WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017 ASIA

Water supply

Thailand boosts defence ties with PhilippinesBangkok

Reuters

Thailand’s junta leader and Philippine Presi-dent Rodrigo Duterte agreed yesterday to strengthen military

ties and cooperate against cross-border criminality, including illegal drugs.

Duterte has faced criticism over the bloody nature of his campaign against drugs while Thailand’s junta is under pres-sure from the West to restore democracy nearly three years after it took power in the name of ending instability.

"On the security matters,

Thailand and the Philippines are willing to work together in tight-ening the military ties of both countries as we are concerned about the challenges in address-ing terrorism and all forms of transnational crimes,” the Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-

ocha said yesterday.As the Philippines chairs the

regional meetings of the Asso-ciation of Southeast Asian Nations this year, Duterte emphasised the need for the bloc to complete the framework of a code of conduct to ensure all parties follow legal and dip-lomatic processes in settling territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Although the Philippines has moved closer to an accom-modation with China over the contested waterway under President Duterte, friction remains.

Thailand has no territorial claim in the South China Sea.

Australia criticised over treatment of aborigines

Manila

Reuters

The Philippines plans to file a strong protest against China after it announced

preparatory work for an envi-ronmental monitoring station on a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.

China five years ago started blockading the Scarborough Shoal, a rocky outcrop within the Philippines' 200 mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and the

United States has warned Bei-jing against carrying out the land reclamation work there.

Justice Minister Vitaliano Aguirre said Manila would file a complaint against Beijing's plan to install a radar station on Scar-borough Shoal.

"The case which will be filed is fairly strong I think," he said.

"The Philippines would take necessary action to defend and protect the country's sovereignty and entitlements in the disputed maritime borders," presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said

in a statement."President Rodrigo Duterte

has repeatedly asserted that the Philippines is not giving up its claims and our entitlements over the area," he said.

The mayor in charge of administration of disputed South China Sea islands and reefs China controls last week said preparatory work was being planned this year to build mon-itoring stations on a number of islands.

Duterte was asked on Sun-day for his response to the report

of a radar station to be built at the Scarborough Shoal and said: "We cannot stop China."

He also said it was pointless going to war with China.

Aguirre said the Philippines would renew its strong ties with Washington in the face of Chi-na's aggressive action in the shoal, which is 124 nautical miles from nearest coast of the main island of Luzon.

"As a matter of fact, we're strengthening the relationship with the United States," he said recently.

Manila to protest China's actions on disputed sea

Drunk pals cause Vietnam flood with prankHanoi

AFP

A BOOZY prank that saw three men open the floodgates of a reservoir in central Viet-nam resulted in crops being destroyed and may lead to hot season water shortages, offi-cials said yesterday.

The men were detained after their drunken high jinks in south-central Phu Yen province unleashed two mil-lion cubic metres of water, equivalent to about 800 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Officials said several hec-tares of sugarcane fields were washed away and thousands of tonnes of crops destroyed in two nearby hamlets on account of the men's antics.

Local police also said that the March 15 incident could cause water shortages and drought as the hot season approaches.

Islamabad

Internews

Mayor of Islamabad and Chairman Capital Development Authority

(CDA), Sheikh Anser Aziz (pic-tured) has said that the capital city would be made one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

"Islamabad’s Master Plan will be restored and special attention will be paid to the facilities like health, education, provision of clean drinking water, sewerage, parking, encroachments, street lights etc.," he said.

All the owners of commer-cial buildings can now add one storey which will help them earn additional money and scarcity of office and residential space would be resolved to some extent, he informed.

He said that four new hos-pitals are being constructed

while every sector will have a hospital in future.

Capital Hospital will be demolished to establish a state-of-the-art hospital.

Parking plazas will be con-structed in different location in the cities while Blue Area will be given preference in it where the parking problem has become serious, he said, adding that new sectors will be establish to address the issue of rising population.

He said that Islamabad is in dire need of infrastructure expansion for which long-term planning is in process.

"Planning for construction of 10th Avenue, under pass to connect sector F-7 with sector F-8 and under pass to connect sector G-7 and G-8 are in final stages and there will be no com-promise on environmental protect ion and cost efficiency".

Filipino marine among dead in rebels' ambushZamboanga

Anatolia

A Philippine marine has been killed and 8 others wounded in an ambush that occurred after negotiators agreed to restart peace talks, according to the military yesterday.

Capt Arvin Encinas, 6th Infantry Division spokesman, said that the 20-minute clash took place in Sultan Kudarat province on Monday.

The platoon was report-edly conducting security patrols in Kalamansig town following reports of recruit-ment activities by the New People’s Army when they were ambushed by around 10 rebels.

Jerusalem

AFP

An Australian government probe has found no evi-dence taxpayer money

was misused by the World Vision NGO in the Gaza Strip, after Israel alleged millions of dollars were diverted to Hamas.

In August 2016, Israel accused World Vision's Gaza head Mohammed al-Halabi of siphoning off millions of dollars per year to the Islamist group which rules the Palestinian enclave, claims the NGO said it had seen no evidence for.

Australia had given millions of dollars to the charity's work in the Palestinian territories in previous years and immediately suspended its funding for their Gaza programmes, with the

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) announcing a review.

"The review uncovered nothing to suggest any diversion of government funds," DFAT said in a statement yesterday.

Halabi's case is ongoing but his lawyers have accused the prosecution of refusing to hand over much of the evidence.

World Vision itself is also conducting an independent review of its operations to deter-mine whether any graft occurred.

DFAT said funding to World Vision's programmes would remain frozen pending the result of the probe and Halabi's trial.

Tim Costello, chief advocate for World Vision Australia, said he was "very pleased and very relieved" at the findings.

"Our own ongoing audit has not uncovered any diversion of funds," he said, though he stressed it would not be final-ised until the summer.

"For DFAT to say there was no diversion of funds is very welcome."

A spokesman for Israel's for-eign ministry declined to comment.

Islamabad to be world's most beautiful cities

Probe clears World Vision over Gaza caseSydney

Reuters

Australia came under fresh criticism over its treatment of its indige-

nous population yesterday as a UN investigator examined the impact of a government takeover of remote commu-nities and as Canberra pushes its bid to join the UN Human Rights Council.

UN special rapporteur Victoria Tauli-Corpuz this week started a 15-day tour to review the impact of laws surrounding the govern-ment's 2007 intervention, which was aimed at curbing alcohol abuse, domestic vio-lence and improving health.

"The special rapporteur's visit comes at a time we're hearing harrowing allega-tions from young people brutalised by the youth jus-tice systems," Tammy Solonec, Indigenous Rights Manager of Amnesty Inter-national Australia, said.

"Prime Minister Turnbull must show federal leadership in setting a national plan to address it."

Australia's human rights record on indigenous issues has come under scrutiny with a royal commission in the Northern Territory and a par-liamentary inquiry in Victoria hearing allegations of abuses against juvenile prison inmates.

A file photo of members of the Australian Aboriginal community of Ramingining.

A Pakistani worker fills a water tanker from a hydrant, for providing water to residential areas in Islamabad, yesterday, ahead of World Water Day.

Govt funds

Our own ongoing audit has not uncovered any diversion of funds. For DFAT to say there was no diversion of funds is very welcome: Australia official.

Master plan

Islamabad’s Master Plan will be restored and special attention will be paid to the facilities like health, education, provision of clean drinking water, sewerage, parking, encroachments, street lights: Mayor

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha welcomes Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the Government House, in Bangkok, yesterday.

Diplomacy

On the security matters, Thailand and the Philippines are willing to work together in tightening the military ties of both countries: Thai PM

14 WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017ASIA

Seoul

AFP

North Korea's uranium enrichment facility has doubled in size over the

last few years, the UN's atomic watchdog chief has warned, as global tensions grow over Pyongyang's burgeoning nuclear weapons programme.

Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that the iso-lated state's nuclear capacities are being ramped up.

"The situation is very bad... It has gone into a new phase," Amano said, in the report pub-lished on Monday. "All of the indications point to the fact that North Korea is making progress, as they declared."

International alarm over

Pyongyang's military ambitions has risen after a series of mis-sile launches and nuclear tests last year, and earlier this month it fired four rockets in what it described as practice for an attack on United States military bases in Japan.

The North, which also tested a powerful new rocket engine at the weekend to coin-cide with a trip to Asia by US Secretary State Rex Tillerson, has long coveted a missile capa-ble of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead.

Pyongyang has rapidly expanded its facilities for enriching uranium and pluto-nium production in recent years, Amano said recently, expressing doubt over the potential for a diplomatic solution.

Bimstec discusses Bay of Bengal securityNew Delhi

IANS

In a bid to enhance cooper-ation in countering security challenges in the Bay of Bengal region, the national security chiefs of the Bim-

stec countries held their first meeting yesterday.

"The meeting noted that Bimstec member-states face common security challenges and underlined the necessity of addressing traditional and non-traditional security challenges to harness economic prosperity and human security in the region," the External Affairs Min-istry said in a statement.

"The meeting underscored the importance of recognising the Bay of Bengal as common

security space and agreed to work out collective strategies for common responses," it stated.

"Given that terrorism con-tinues to remain the single most significant threat to peace and stability in the Bay of Bengal region, the Meeting recognised the need for urgent measures to counter and prevent the spread of terrorism, violent extremism and radicalisation and decided to take concrete measures to enhance cooperation and coor-dination among their law enforcement, intelligence and security organisations and enhance capacity building."

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) is a regional grouping of Bang-ladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri

Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

With the South Asian Asso-ciation for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) regional group increas-ingly becoming ineffective mainly due to non-cooperation by Pakistan on several issues, India has been giving more importance to the Bimstec regional grouping in recent times.

Yesterday's meeting was in pursuance of the decisions taken at the Bimstec Leaders' Retreat held in Goa in October last year on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit.

According to the External Affairs Ministry statement, the Bimstec member-states were also invited for a Conference on

Counter Radicalisation to be hosted by India.

"Noting with concern the emerging trends in cyber space that have security implications, the meeting decided to deepen cooperation among the respec-tive cyber institutions through a joint forum on cyber security," it stated.

"The meeting emphasised the importance of maritime security in view of the signifi-cance of the Bay of Bengal for the well-being, prosperity, secu-rity and socio-economic development in the Bimstec member-states and decided to examine ways to further strengthen maritime security cooperation, including human-itarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR)."

Court declares Ganges and Yamuna rivers living entitiesMumbai

Reuters

AN Indian court has declared the sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers living entities, giving them the same legal rights as human beings, in a move analysts say may do little to protect them or keep them clean.

The legal order comes just days after New Zealand declared its Whanganui river a living entity and appointed two guardians to protect its interests, making it the first river in the world to be given these rights.

The high court in India's northern Uttarakhand state said the Ganges and its long-est tributary, the Yamuna - both held sacred by millions of Hindus - have the right to be legally protected and not be harmed, and can be par-ties to disputes.

The court ordered that the two rivers be represented by the chief of the National Mis-sion for Clean Ganga - a government body overseeing projects and conservation of the Ganges - as well as the state's chief secretary and advocate general.

"This will help protect the rivers, as they now have all the constitutional and statu-tory rights of human beings, including the right to life," said M C Pant, a lawyer for the public interest litigation against the state for inaction in clearing encroachments on the banks of the Yamuna, yesterday.

The Ganges, a trans-boundary source of water for millions, flows more than 2,500km from the Himalayas in northern India through Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal.

Taiwan launches submarine project to counter China

Malaysian state declares bird flu emergencyKuala Lumpur

Anatolia

A northeast Malaysian state has declared an emergency fol-lowing an outbreak of H5N1, a highly pathogenic avian influ-enza virus.

The move by Kelantan state’s government came after 28 locations in six districts tested positive for H5N1, com-monly known as bird flu.

In a statement, the gov-ernment said a total of 33,153 poultry and 13,342 eggs have been disposed to date.

"Overall, until March 19, a total of 28 locations tested positive for H5N1 virus in six areas, which involves 43 premises," it stated.

Kaohsiung

AFP

Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen launched the island's first ever home-grown

submarine project yesterday in the face of what the government says are growing military threats from China.

The move comes after China sent its only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, through the Taiwan Strait in January, in one of a number of military drills held as relations deteriorate.

Taiwan last week warned of an increased invasion risk from China and has pledged to boost its military in response.

Tsai called the launch of the submarine plan a "historic

moment" at a naval base in southern city of Kaohsiung.

She was presiding over a for-mal signing ceremony to initiate the project between the navy, Taiwanese shipbuilder CSBC Corporation and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, which devel-ops combat system integration.

Delivery of the submarine is expected to take eight years and it is likely to be deployed within 10 years.

Tsai said it was part of the island's "indigenous defence policy".

"I want to tell you all that the Taiwanese always face challenges bravely and overcome them".

Taiwan's navy currently operates a fleet of four

submarines, bought from abroad, but only two of them can be deployed in the event of war.

The other two were built by the United States in the 1940s

and are only used in training as they are too old for combat.

As part of her visit, Tsai boarded Taiwan's Zwaardvis-class submarine the Hai Hu,

which was purchased from the Netherlands.

Tsai watched the simulated firing of a torpedo while on board.

North Korea boosts nuclear programme

New survey: China overtakes Japan in worst countries listSeoul

AFP

The row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of a US mis-

sile defence system has seen China overtake even former coloniser Japan in the ranking of South Koreans' least favoured countries, a survey shows.

Japan has consistently been Southerners' most disliked country after North Korea, mainly due to disputes over Tokyo's wartime atrocities including the use of up to 200,000 Korean women as sexual slaves for Japanese troops.

But now, South Korea and the US have begun deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to guard against missile threats from the nuclear-armed North, infuriating China, which sees it as compromising its own capabilities.

Beijing launched a series of measure against the South seen as economic retaliation, forc-ing dozens of South Korean retail stores in China to shut their doors and banning Chi-nese tour groups from visiting.

China's rating in an opin-ion poll by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies slumped from 4.31 in January to 3.21 in

March, on a 0-10 scale, with 10 representing the most favourable.

Japan's number also fell amid a diplomatic row over the "comfort women" issue, from 3.56 to 3.33.

"A drop in the Chinese fig-ure was expected given Beijing's response to THAAD but the "sharp decline" was surprising," Asan said in a statement.

"Even more surprising is that Koreans are now more favourable toward Japan (3.33) than China (3.21)," it said, noting Japan had con-sistently been Koreans' least favoured country after the North Korea.

Don't ignore carbon stored in soil: KonroteRome

Reuters

The Earth's soils contain more carbon than the planet's atmosphere and

vegetation combined, but are dangerously neglected in the fight against climate change, Fiji's president told a UN con-ference yesterday.

George Konrote, whose small Pacific nation is threatened by rising sea levels, warned com-mitments under the Paris climate change agreement to limit glo-bal temperature rises would be "in vain" if carbon trapped in soil was to be released.

"The negative impact on our environment and life as we know it could be colossal," Kon-rote told the meeting, held by the UN Food and Agriculture Organ-ization (FAO) in Rome.

"We cannot afford to neglect a resource that could be our seri-ous and viable ally against climate change."

Small island developing states are already suffering the impacts of climate change, including rising seas and more extreme weather, and have pushed hard for more ambitious international efforts to reduce planet-warming emissions.

Fiji was the first country to

ratify the Paris treaty last year and will preside over the next major UN climate change meet-ing, known as COP23, in Bonn , Germany in November.

Soil naturally absorbs car-bon from the atmosphere through a process known as sequestration. Besides helping reduce harmful greenhouse gases, carbon sequestration is a boon for farming.

"Soils with high organic car-bon content are likely to be more fertile and productive, better able to purify water, and help to increase the resilience of liveli-hoods to the impacts of climate change," said the FAO's director

general Jose Graziano da Silva.But when land is overex-

ploited or degraded, trapped carbon is released back into the atmosphere, resulting in planet warming emissions.

About a third of the world's soils are degraded because of soil erosion contamination and the sprawl of cities.

Reverting the trend is key both to tackling global warming and to feeding the world's grow-ing population, according to FAO.

President Konrote called on global governments to support sustainable soil management practices through policy and investment.

Goodwill gesture

"The meeting underscored the importance of recognising the Bay of Bengal as common security space and agreed to work out collective strategies for common responses".

Yesterday's meeting was in pursuance of the decisions taken at the Bimstec Leaders' Retreat held in Goa in October last year.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visits Panshi fast combat support ship during her trip at a navy base in Kaohsiung, yesterday.

A file photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks at a rocket warhead tip after a simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile.

15WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017 EUROPE

Crucial vote today

The Scottish parliament is expected to vote today to endorse Sturgeon’s call for a second vote, less than three years after Scots rejected independence in a 2014 referendum.

A Blue Tit is seen in a garden in Vertou near Nantes, France, yesterday.

Building abode

Edinburgh

AFP

Scottish lawmakers yes-terday begin a two-day debate on First Minis-ter Nicola Sturgeon’s call for an independ-

ence referendum—a major headache for Prime Minister Theresa May as she prepares to launch Brexit.

The Scottish parliament is expected to vote today to endorse Sturgeon’s call for a second vote, less than three years after Scots rejected independence in a 2014 referendum.

Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party (SNP), which runs the semi-autonomous government in Edinburgh, says Britain’s vote to leave the EU means Scots should be able to reconsider.

“This crucial decision over our future should not be made unilaterally by me, or by the prime minister,” Sturgeon said.

“It should be made by the people of Scotland, and I call on parliament to give the peo-ple that choice.”

She said her Brexit compro-mise for Scotland to be allowed

to remain in the European sin-gle market even as the rest of Britain leaves had been met with “a brick wall of intransi-gence” in London.

The SNP does not have an outright majority in Scottish parliament, but it has already secured support of Green party for another independence bid.

Patrick Harvie, leader of the Greens, said: “I think Theresa May will be taking a huge risk... if she refuses to acknowledge that we have a right in Scotland to have a say about our future.”

Scotland voted against independence by 55 percent in September 2014, but the

campaign left the unionist camp politically divided while nation-alists flocked to the SNP in droves.

Sturgeon has yet to convince a sceptical electorate, with a series of recent polls showing support for independence has barely moved since 2014 —including a Panelbase poll concluded on Friday which found it stood at 44 percent.

“We believe a referendum cannot happen while the Brexit process is being played out,” said

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, May’s most senior rep-resentative in Edinburgh.

“We believe a referendum should not happen when there is no public or political consent for it to happen.”

John Curtice, professor of pol-itics at the University of Strathclyde, suggested May’s intransigence and the current lack of public support for another referendum may actually work in Sturgeon’s favour.

“The ‘Yes’ side still has con-siderable ground to make. More time to argue her case might, in truth, be just what Nicola Stur-geon wants,” he said.

One of the arguments that helped sway Scottish voters in 2014 was the economic uncer-tainty that would come with independence.

Critics say the situation is now worse, after a fall in oil prices has hit Scotland’s energy industry and blown a hole in its public finances.

Brussels

AFP

THE EU’s remaining 27 member states will hold a special summit on April 29 to decide political objectives for Brexit talks, presi-dent Donald Tusk said yesterday.

“In view of what was announced in London yesterday, I would like to inform you that I will call a European Council on Sat-urday, April 29 to adopt guidelines for the Brexit talks,” Tusk told a press conference in Brussels.

He said he will issue the draft guidelines for the 27 lead-ers within 48 hours of May triggering Article 50 — the divorce clause in the EU’s trea-ties—next week.

“I personally wish the UK hadn’t chosen to leave the EU but the majority of British voters decided otherwise. Therefore we must do everything we can to make the process of divorce the least painful for the EU,” he said.

“Our main priority for the negotiations must be to create as much certainty and clarity as pos-sible for all citizens, companies and member states that will be negatively affected by Brexit.”

Tusk said the EU would also seek to lessen the impact on “our important partners and friends around the world, like Japan.”

Dublin

Reuters

Northern Ireland politicians could be given more time or face another election

if rival parties cannot agree on a power-sharing arrangement by next week, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said yesterday.

The province’s main nation-alist and unionist parties were given until March 27 to form a government following snap elec-tions earlier this month, or risk decision-making taken back to London for the first time since 2007.

Kenny, whose government is co-guarantor with Britain of the two-decade old peace deal that ended three decades of vio-lence and introduced devolved government by power-sharing, said he did not want a return of direct rule from Britain.

“If the latter (direct rule) is out, what are you left with - either 1) a functioning executive, 2) further elections or 3) some sort of further extension of time, so I do hope that the politicians come together,” Kenny told Ire-land’s parliament.

Britain’s Northern Irish min-ister James Brokenshire has also

played down the idea of London taking charge. However he has not indicated that he would con-sider granting the parties more time before calling a third elec-tion in the space of a year.

The March 2 election saw Sinn Fein surge to within one seat of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and deny pro-Brit-ish unionist politicians a majority in the regional local assembly for the first time since Ireland was partitioned in 1921.

Among its demands for re-entering government, Sinn Fein insists they will not vote for DUP leader Arlene Foster as First

Minister until the scandal that triggered the poll — a botched heating subsidies scheme she established —is cleared up.

Foster has resisted those calls, saying she is not prepared to step aside temporarily while a public inquiry that could take six to 12 months is held.

Sinn Fein’s chief negotiators, party president Gerry Adams and its Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill, spent yester-day in Londonderry, and not Belfast where the talks were tak-ing place, following the death of former leader Martin McGuinness.

Belfast

Reuters

Martin McGuinness (pic-tured), the Irish Republican Army com-

mander who laid down his arms to become a key architect of Northern Ireland’s peace, died yesterday aged 66, prompting tributes from allies and former enemies alike.

The face of Irish Republican-ism for many during some of the worst moments of three decades of sectarian bloodshed that killed more than 3,600 people, McGuinness remained a figure of hate for many pro-British Protestants until his death.

But he earned widespread respect across Britain and Ire-land by embracing his bitterest rivals to cement the 1998 peace deal and allow Northern Ireland to slowly return to normality.

“While I can never condone the path he took in earlier part of his life, Martin McGuinness ultimately played a defining role in leading Republican movement away from violence,” British Prime Minister Theresa May said.

“In doing so, he made an essential and historic contribu-tion to the extraordinary journey of Northern Ireland from conflict to peace.”

He was present during the

opening salvoes of Northern Ire-land conflict as a 20-year-old IRA commander fighting British army on streets of his native Lon-donderry on behalf of a community he said had been denied basic human rights.

McGuinness rose to become a senior IRA commander and was convicted in 1973 of being a member of the group after being stopped in a car packed with explosives and bullets. “Martin McGuinness never went to war, it came to his streets, it came to his city, it came to his commu-nity,” fellow Republican leader Gerry Adams said yesterday.

“He was a great man in my opinion and he will be missed.”

By 1980s he emerged along-side Adams as a key architect in electoral rise of Sinn Fein, IRA’s political wing, advocating a strat-egy of using ballot box alongside Armalite rifle.

Minsk

Reuters

BELARUSSIAN President Alexander Lukashenko said yesterday a “fifth column” was plotting to overthrow him with the help of foreign-backed fighters, days before a planned street protest in Minsk against a new tax.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with for 23 years, is grappling with unrest over a plan to force unemployed or those in part-time work to pay $250 a year - widely referred to in Belarus as a “tax on social parasites”.

He said security forces had detained “a couple dozen of fighters” who were used by foreign parties to stage upris-ings and were being trained in camps in Ukraine with money funnelled through Poland and Lithuania.

“There are some people bent on blowing up the situ-ation. in the country. I call them the fifth column. They are not an opposition. They want to stage a rebellion in the country,” state agency Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying.

London

Reuters

An ancient Assyrian winged bull sculpture destroyed by Islamic State (IS) fight-

ers in 2015 is to be remade from empty Iraqi date syrup cans and displayed in Trafalgar Square in London.

The work by US artist Michael Rakowitz has won next commission for the square’s

unoccupied Fourth Plinth, upon which a series of 11 new artworks have been displayed since 1999, organisers said yesterday.

The original winged bull, a protective deity known as the Lamassu, stood from about 700 BC at a gate of the ancient city of Nineveh on the outskirts of the modern-day Iraqi city of Mosul.

The bull was destroyed by the militants along with other artefacts in Mosul Museum.

“It’s the first time this project has been situated in a public space, and it’s happening when we are witnessing a massive migration of people fleeing Iraq and Syria,” said Rakowitz.

As part of a US-led coalition, Britain participated in invasion of Iraq in 2003, justified at the time by allegations that dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

Rakowitz started working in

2007 on a project in which he uses recycled Middle Eastern food packaging to recreate arte-facts damaged or destroyed during the looting of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad in 2003. He now also includes objects destroyed by the IS.

Trafalgar Square is one of London’s main focal points, attracting thousands of tourists every day. It has been scene of countless official celebrations and

ceremonies, but is also a venue of choice for mass protests. The Fourth Plinth was erected in 1841 to display an equestrian statue, but money ran out and it remained empty for 158 years until a programme of special commissions was launched.

Rakowitz’s Lamassu will be unveiled next year and will fol-low on from sculpture on display now, a giant thumbs up by David Shrigley called “Really Good”.

Scottish MPs debate second referendum

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaking in the chamber on the first day of 'Scotland's Choice' debate on a motion to seek the authority to hold an indpendence referendum at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, yesterday.

EU to hold special Brexit summit on April 29: Tusk

Parties could be given more time for talks: Irish PM N Ireland mourns IRA peacemaker Martin McGuinness

Belarus leader alleges plot as unrest continues

Destroyed by IS, ancient winged bull to rise again in London

16 WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017EUROPE

A woman takes photograph of a blossoming bush in a park in Vienna, Austria, yesterday.

Blossom season

Paris

AFP

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen came under assault from all sides in a presidential election debate that

provided a test of centrist Emmanuel Macron’s ambitions to be leader.

Le Pen and Macron, the two leading candidates according to opinion polls with just over a month to go before voting begins, traded barbs in the tel-evised debate watched by nearly 10 million people.

Commentators agreed, how-ever, that neither landed a knockout blow. Macron, the 39-year-old former economy minister who is untested at the ballot box, had the most to lose in his first major debate—and the first ever of the main candi-dates before the first round of voting—but he held his ground.

It was Le Pen, 48, who was repeatedly thrust onto the defen-sive as Macron, the conservative nominee Francois Fillon, the Socialist Party’s Benoit Hamon and fifth-placed leftist radical Jean-Luc Melenchon all tore into her protectionist, anti-immigra-tion programme.

Former frontrunner Fillon,

who is trying to refocus atten-tion on his politics after becoming embroiled in a host of scandals, said Le Pen’s pro-posal to ditch the euro and bring back franc would cause “eco-nomic and social chaos”.

She accused him of “scaremongering”.

Le Pen is hoping to ride the wave of populism that led Brit-ish voters to choose to quit the

EU and swept Donald Trump to power in the US, though the fail-ure of Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders’s party to perform more strongly in his country’s general election last week was a setback to her hopes.

While polls show that Le Pen would finish in the top two at the first round on April 23, they also show she would be hand-ily beaten in the May 7 runoff by either Macron or Fillon.

Le Pen was playing to her support base when she accused Macron of being “in favour” of burkini, a full-body swimsuit worn by some Muslim women that was banned by several coastal French towns last year.

He bridled at the suggestion, accusing her of “lying” by “twist-ing the truth” and seeking to “divide the French” over the issue.

Fillon, 63, who has slipped into third in the polls over accu-sations he paid his wife hundreds of thousands of euros for doing parliamentary work of which there is little record, tried to present himself as a safe and experienced pair of hands.

The former prime minister poured scorn on Le Pen’s pro-posal to pull out of the euro.

“You don’t leave the euro and the protection afforded by

the European Central Bank... for an adventure... that would ruin borrowers and savers alike,” Fil-lon said. Le Pen retorted: “That’s called Project Fear, Mr Fillon. It was used before Brexit.”

Le Parisien newspaper said the debate was “serious and edu-cational” but “not decisive”.

It welcomed the focus on pol-icy after a campaign so far overshadowed by Fillon’s expenses woes and Le Pen’s refusal to meet investigating magistrates over claims she misused European Par-liament allowances.

“At last the subject was poli-tics, which in a campaign in which scandals have obliterated policies and ideas, was starting to become urgent,” Le Parisien said in an editorial.

The rightwing Le Figaro praised Macron, saying he was “omnipresent” in the debate “and outpaced his opponents”.

Several commentators also lauded Melenchon, noted for his rhetorical flourishes. Former economy minister Macron was most animated when he took on Le Pen over the burkini.

Le Pen said the garment was a sign of the “rise of radical Islam in our country” and accused Macron of supporting it.

Macron said it was above all “a public order problem”.

“Do not use it to divide the French,” he told the National Front (FN) leader, accused her of trying to transform “the over four million French people, whose religion is Islam... into enemies of the Republic”.

A former investment banker, Macron himself came under scru-tiny over his links to the rich.

Berlin

Reuters

FRANCE must accelerate reforms and changes to tackle growing social and economic problems that are fuelling nationalism, populism and the rise of Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, a top German official said yesterday.

European Affairs Minister Michael Roth told German broadcaster SWR2 he viewed French presidential frontrun-ner Emmanuel Macron and his unabashed support for Europe as “remarkably positive.”

Macron vowed during a visit to Berlin last week to reform French economy if elected to restore trust with Germany and move Europe forward. Roth told the radio broadcaster French President Francois Hollande had begun needed reforms, but more work was needed to reverse the gains made by Le Pen.

“We’re interested to see that our closest partner in the EU returns to political, cultural, social and economic stability,” Roth said. “This path of renewal and change has to be accelerated dramatically.”

He also said the EU should carefully consider potential consequences of its policies, including tough rules on budget and deficits.

“We should keep the political costs in mind. If, in the end, a European policy that we are also responsible for propels Marine Le Pen into office as president, I do not think we should support that,” he said.

Roth said he was heart-ened by results of Dutch election and hoped it proved a harbinger for the French election as well. “Europe was, is and will remain a life insur-ance for us in times of crisis, and in the end, I’m convinced that the citizens of France will see it the way large majori-ties did in the Netherlands, as well as Germany,” he said.

Rome

Reuters

Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, benefiting from a split in the ruling Dem-

ocratic Party (PD) and divisions in centre-right, has built a strong lead over its rivals, an opinion poll showed yesterday.

The Ipsos poll in Corriere della Sera newspaper put the 5-Star, which wants a referen-dum on Italy’s membership of the euro, on 32.3 percent - its highest ever reading and 5.5 points ahead of the PD, which was on 26.8 percent.

The survey suggests the 5-Star is likely to emerge as the largest group in national elections due by early 2018, although it might struggle to create a govern-ment given its stated aversion to forging coalitions.

Such a scenario could spook financial markets wary of both the 5-Star’s euroscepticism and the threat of prolonged political

instability in Italy, which has the heaviest public debt burden in Europe after Greece.

The PD appeared to be pay-ing price for its internal feuds, dropping more than three per-centage points in a month, as former prime minister Matteo Renzi battles to reassert his authority following a walkout by a left-wing faction.

The breakaway group, backed by former prime minis-ter Massimo D’Alema and former industry minister Pier Luigi Ber-sani, has created a new party, the Democratic and Progressive Movement, which had backing of 3.3 percent in the Ipsos poll.

“Political parties that preoc-cupy themselves with their internal divisions are elector-ally doomed,” said the British-based think tank Euroin-telligence in a note.

“We are now at the point where it becomes increasingly improbable for the PD to regain power after next elections.”

The centre-right is riven by its own divisions, with former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi looking to take charge of the bloc once more, but struggling to find common ground with old ally the Northern League, which has shunted to the far right.

Yesterday's poll of some 5,000 people put the anti-immi-grant Northern League on 12.8 percent, with Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (Go Italy!) on 12.7 percent.

A small centre-right party, which is in government coali-tion and is led by Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, has seen its support gradually erode and was put at 2.8 percent, meaning it risks failing to even enter the next parliament.

Alfano’s group, which rebranded itself at the weekend as the Popular Alternative, is the only mainstream party besides PD and MDP, which openly touts a pro-EU agenda, raising the prospect of a eurosceptic gov-ernment taking power in Italy.

Warsaw

Reuters

Poland’s defence minister has accused European Council President Donald

Tusk (pictured) of working with Russia’s Vladimir Putin to harm Polish interests in the wake of a 2010 plane crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others in Russia.

The ministry notified military department of National Prose-cutor’s Office that it suspected Tusk, who was Polish prime min-ister at the time, of an “abuse of trust in foreign relations”.

A spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office in Warsaw confirmed it had received min-istry’s notification, which effectively accuses Tusk of dip-lomatic treason. It now has 30 days to decide whether to investigate. Tusk’s office in Brus-sels declined to comment.

This marks gravest formal charge against him by the rul-ing right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, led by Kaczynski’s brother Jaroslaw, Poland’s most powerful politician and a long-standing opponent of Tusk.

Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz told Gazeta Polska Codziennie daily yesterday: “Tusk made an illegal contract with Vladimir Putin to the detri-ment of Poland and should bear criminal responsibility for that.”

State news agency PAP quoted the notification as say-ing Tusk agreed to terms that prevented Poland from playing a full part in investigating causes of the crash near Rus-sia’s city of Smolensk.

Macierewicz alleged Tusk failed to secure from the start an agreement with Moscow “to guarantee participation of rep-resentatives of Poland in all investigative activities on the site”, this allowed Russia to limit the Polish role.

Tusk also failed to take steps that would enforce the return of Tu-154 plane wreck-age to Poland, the notification said, and all these actions amounted to acting to the det-riment of Poland.

Russia has repeatedly refused Poland’s demand to return the Tu-154 wreckage and its black box recorders, citing its own ongoing investigation.

The notification covers period from the plane crash on April 10, 2010 to 2014, when Tusk took up his current post as chair-man of EU leaders’ summits.

Le Pen under attack as Macron passes first test

FROM LEFT: French presidential election candidates, right-wing Les Republicains party Francois Fillon, En Marche ! movement Emmanuel Macron, far-left coalition La France insoumise Jean-Luc Melenchon, far-right Front National party Marine Le Pen, and left-wing French Socialist party Benoit Hamon, pose before a debate organised by the French private TV channel TF1,in Aubervilliers, outside Paris, early yesterday.

Plane crash: Tusk accused of treason

France must accelerate reforms: German official

Italy’s 5-Star builds strong lead over Renzi’s PD in polls

Prague

Reuters

A Czech zoo has started sawing off the horns of its 21 rhi-nos to protect them from poaching after the killing of a rhinoceros in France earlier this month.

The zoo in Dvur Kralove, some 150 km from Prague, keeps 17 black rhinos and four southern white ones, the largest group in Europe. “The decision to remove rhino horns was not made easily at all,” Premysl Rabas, the zoo’s head, said. “However the risk the rhinos currently face not only in the wild but even in zoos is too high, and safety of the animals is our first concern. A dehorned rhino is definitely a better option than a dead rhino.” The first rhino to go under chainsaw was Pamir, a southern white rhino male, and others will lose their horns in the near future.

Czech zoo saws off rhino horns

Presidential debate

Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, the two leading candidates according to opinion polls, traded barbs in the televised debate watched by nearly 10 million people.

It was Le Pen, who was repeatedly thrust onto the defensive as Macron, Francois Fillon, Benoit Hamon and Jean-Luc Melenchon all tore into her protectionist, anti-immigration programme.

Tragic journey

Some 500 migrants are believed to have drowned or been killed this year including 22 deaths just reported by the Libyan coast guard, compared to a total of 159 on the route last year.

17WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017 EUROPE

Souring relations

The announcement by Union of European Turkish Democrats underscored a sharp deterioration in relations between Nato allies Germany and Turkey.

Belgian Catherine Bloemen, 86, sits among more than 20,000 stuffed and plastic toys, she is collecting for more than 65 years, in her house in Brussels, Belgium, yesterday.

A unique passion

Berlin

Reuters

Turkish officials will take part in no further campaign rallies in Germany ahead of an April 16 referendum in

Turkey, organisers said yester-day, after a key ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said they were not welcome in the country.

The announcement by Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD) underscored a sharp deterioration in relations between Nato allies Germany and Turkey ahead of the refer-endum on boosting the powers of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“We will not organise any further events with Turkish gov-ernment officials before the referendum,” UETD President Zafer Sirakaya told German

magazine Wirtschaftswoche.German local officials have

cancelled several campaign ral-lies by Turkish ministers on its territory in recent weeks, citing security concerns, prompting Erdogan to accuse Berlin of using “Nazi” tactics, a charge that has incensed Merkel’s government.

“Enough is enough,” Volker Bouffier, Vice-Chairman of Mer-kel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said yesterday.

“Mr. Erdogan and his

government are not welcome in our country, and that must be now be understood,” Bouffier, who is also premier of Hesse state, told DLF radio.

German media had reported that Erdogan planned to visit Germany this month to rally the estimated 1.4 eligible Turkish voters living in the country to support his constitutional reform plans.

Berlin has said it has not received a formal request for a visit by Erdogan.

Bouffier said such a visit would create security problems. “Someone who insults us in this way cannot expect that we will assemble thousands of police to protect him,” he said.

Reiner Haseloff, another member of Merkel’s CDU and premier of Saxony-Anhalt state, echoed Bouffier’s criticism.

“Those who compare us to Nazis are not welcome. That is

not acceptable,” he told Die Welt newspaper in an interview pub-lished yesterday.

He said Berlin should not rely on local and state governments to make decisions about visits by Turkish politicians as it has up to now.

On Monday, Merkel again called on Turkey to stop the Nazi comparisons and said Berlin reserved the right to block future appearances by Turkish officials if they did not comply with Ger-man law, which explicitly forbids malicious disparagement of the government.

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the diplomatic note in which Berlin approved further visits by Turkish politicians had an explicit reference to the Ger-m a n l a w a g a i n s t disparagement.

“If that happens, and there are violations of our laws, then will have to ... revoke the note”

and approvals of various visits, Gabriel told reporters yesterday after a meeting with EU Commis-sion Vice-President Frans Timmermans.

Timmermans said EU offi-cials were united in rejecting the Nazi comparisons.

“President Erdogan’s com-ments about Germany and the Netherlands are not allowed. We don’t want to be compared to Nazis,” he said.

The Netherlands, also home to a large ethnic Turkish diaspora, has been embroiled in a similar row with Turkey.

Erdogan repeated his criti-cism of Germany and other European countries, saying today’s “fascist and cruel” Europe resembled the pre-World War II era.

Erdogan also said that Tur-key could no longer be pressured by considerations such as a $6bn migrant deal, under which it

agreed to stop illegal migrants from crossing into Greece in exchange for financial aid and accelerated EU membership talks.

“They cannot threaten us with any of these things any-more,” he said. “Let’s first switch to the new system on April 16, then there will be a very differ-ent Turkey rising.”

EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn told the Bild newspaper in an interview published yester-day that Turkey’s prospects for joining the EU would be “increas-ingly unrealistic” unless it changed course and stopped moving away from European values.

Hahn said the EU had repeat-edly voiced its concerns about the “increasingly authoritarian path of President Erdogan”.

“Threats are no way to make policies. They make a reasona-ble dialogue impossible,” he said.

Geneva

Reuters

Some 6,000 migrants have been rescued on the central Mediterranean between

North Africa and Italy in the last few days, as greater numbers take that route in warmer weather, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said yesterday.

The human tide seeking to reach Europe by sea - most of them sub-Saharan Africans — is mainly coming from Libya to Italy, after the deal between the European Union and Turkey a year ago largely shut down that route.

“We have yet to complete March, and we are already

racing at a pace of arrivals that has exceeded anything we’ve seen before in the Mediterra-nean,” IOM spokesman Joel Millman told a news briefing, yesterday.

“This is typical of spring, get-ting very busy, but it’s not typical to have the numbers be so high

this early and the correspond-ing deaths that go with it.”

Millman said some 500 migrants are believed to have drowned or been killed this year including 22 deaths just reported by the Libyan coast guard, com-pared to a total of 159 on the route last year.

Italian and European offi-cials said on Monday they are ready to send equipment and economic aid to Libya to help fight traffickers who have thrived in a power vacuum left by the 2011 overthrow of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

So far this year 16,248 migrants have arrived in Italy, up from 13,825 in the same period last year.

Paris

AFP

French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux was placed under preliminary inves-

tigation yesterday for hiring his two daughters as parliamentary aides, prompting comparisons with scandal-hit presidential hopeful Francois Fillon.

Le Roux, 51, was to meet Socialist Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to provide explana-tions over the latest scandal to hit France’s already embattled political class with elections a month away.

The TMC channel reported early yesterday that Le Roux gave his daughters several short-term contracts between 2009 and 2016

for which they earned a total of €55,000 ($59,500). The girls were still in school when he first hired them and continued doing work for him—paid with taxpayers’ money—when they were in university.

Le Roux, who has denied any wrongdoing, told TMC his daughters had worked for him during their summer holidays.

He has only held the interior portfolio since December after taking over from Cazeneuve, and faced his most serious cri-sis at the weekend when a man was shot dead at Paris’s Orly air-port after attacking a soldier.

Cazeneuve, without naming Le Roux or referring to the scan-dal, said at a Paris event yesterday that government offi-

cials must be “irreproachable”.“Otherwise the authority of

the state is weakened,” Caze-neuve said.

Le Roux was conspicuously absent from the event after ini-tially being scheduled to attend.

The interior minister also slipped out of a Senate hearing without speaking to reporters and cancelled two other appear-ances yesterday.

French lawmakers are allowed to hire family members as assistants, as long as they do real work.

Fillon, once the frontrunner in France’s presidential race, has been charged with misuse of public funds after placing his wife Penelope and two of their children on the public payroll.

Stockholm

AFP

The Swedish parliament has held its first war game in 20 years in response to

worries over global politics, its speaker said yesterday, as ten-sions with Russia rise.

A delegation of 50 lawmak-ers—which would have the power to replace parliament in the event of the threat of war or an outright conflict—held the drill on Monday at an unknown location, said speaker Urban

Ahlin, declining to give details on what the manoeuvre involved.

“These are secret scenarios...you were exposed to pressure,” Ahlin told reporters yesterday. “It went really well.”

The delegation is made up of politicians from the left-wing, centre-right and far-right parties.

A non-Nato member, Sweden has not seen armed conflict on its territory in two centuries.

The drill has been planned since 2014, but Ahlin said an

increasingly hostile situation in the world and in the region also prompted the exercise.

“The worsened (global) envi-ronment also has a significance,” he said, adding that the drill would have been postponed if Sweden deemed the world and region safe.

The last time lawmakers held such an exercise was in 1997.

“If everything had been great then people would have said we can wait for a few more years,” Ahlin told reporters.

“Unfortunately, we see a

direction in which countries are boosting their weaponry,” he added, without naming any countries.

Sweden this month announced plans to bring back conscription this year—seven years after abandoning it—to respond to global security chal-lenges including Russia’s assertive behaviour in the Baltic Sea region.

“We are in a context where Russia has annexed Crimea,” Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said at the time of the

announcement. He said, “They are doing

more exercises in our immedi-ate vicinity.”

The Swedish military’s budget has been slashed over the past two decades as its mis-sion was revamped to focus more on peacekeeping opera-tions abroad and less on domestic defence.

Russia has repeatedly warned Sweden and neighbour-ing Finland against joining the Nato, an issue regularly debated in both countries.

Warsaw

Reuters

POLISH Prime Minister Beata Szydlo yesterday shrugged off opinion polls showing sliding support for her Law and Jus-tice (PiS) party since the government tried and failed to stop political rival Donald Tusk being reappointed to a top EU post.

Support for PiS fell 5 per-centage points to 29 percent in an IBRiS poll, published on Monday, while Tusk’s Civic Platform was up 10 points to 27 percent.

Yesterday, Rzeczpospol-ita daily published research by same pollster showing 62 percent of Poles had a nega-tive view of Szydlo, while 56.5 percent were critical of PiS-backed President Andrzej Duda. “My conclusions from these two polls are they are of low credibility,” Szydlo told private broadcaster Polsat News.

A number of previous surveys had shown stable support for PiS at around 35 percent.

Tusk, a former Polish prime minister and long-standing rival of PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was reappointed as chairman of European Union summit meetings earlier this month despite an attempt by War-saw to replace him with another Polish candidate.

No more Turkish rallies in Germany before referendum

French minister probed for hiring daughters as aides

Swedish parliament holds first war game in 20 years

Migrant rescues increase on sea route to Italy: IOM

However, the overall number of migrants arriving in Europe, and particularly on Greek islands, has dropped sub-stantially since the EU and Turkey agreed to prevent peo-ple making the crossing in return for financial and diplo-

matic incentives.Across Europe, 160,331

migrants arrived by sea at this time last year compared to an estimated total of 20,484 arriv-als so far this year, which includes those reaching Greece and Spain.

Migrants wait to disembark in the port of Catania, on the island of Sicily in Italy, yesterday following a rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea. Some 946 migrants have been rescued.

Polish PM shruggs off polls showing govt slide

18 WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017AMERICAS

Thousands gathering near the Kukulcan Pyramid to celebrate the Spring equinox at the Chichen Itza archaeological site in Yucatan State, Mexico, yesterday.

2017 Spring equinox

Two African spurred tortoises (Centrochelys sulcata) donated by the Salvadorean Arauca breeding farm, at the National Zoo of El Salvador in San Salvador, yesterday.

New entrants

Washington

AP

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch batted away Democrats’ efforts yesterday to get him to reveal his views on

abortion, guns and other contro-versial issues, insisting he keeps “an open mind for the entire process” when he issues rulings.

Gorsuch answered both friendly questions from major-ity Republicans and more probing questions from Demo-crats the same way, maintaining what he described as a rigid neu-trality that is required of a judge.

“My personal views, I tell you, Mr. Chairman, are over here. I leave those at home,” Gorsuch said in response to a question from Judiciary Commit-tee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

Questioned by Democratic

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of Califor-nia about the Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling affirming the right of people to keep guns in their homes for self-defense

— District of Columbia v Heller — Gorsuch said, “Whatever is in Heller is the law and I follow the law. ... It’s not a matter of agree-ing or disagreeing.”

As a long day of questioning wore on, senators and Gorsuch engaged in a routine well-estab-lished in recent confirmation hearings. The nominee resists all requests to say how he feels about Supreme Court decisions, even as he is asked about them again and again.

Gorsuch, nominated by new President Donald Trump, tried to allay Democrats’ worries about his impartiality by saying he keeps an open mind, consist-ent with one of his mentors.

“I decide cases,” not politi-cal issues, he said, invoking former Justice Byron White. “It’s a pretty good philosophy for a judge.”

Gorsuch said he has not been asked since his nomination to make promises about future

rulings. “I don’t believe in litmus tests for judges,” he said. “No one in that process asked me for any commitments.”

Republicans are unani-mously supporting Gorsuch, and they asked supportive questions as he appeared for a second day before the committee. But Dem-ocrats made clear on the first day that they were in no mood to “rubber stamp a nominee selected by extreme interest groups and nominated by a pres-ident who lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes,” as Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont put it.

Gorsuch himself sought to emphasize his strong belief in the separation of powers in his opening statement on Monday, pledging to be independent or “hang up the robe.” Seeking to take the edge off Democratic complaints that he has favored the wealthy and powerful in more than 10 years as a federal

judge, the 49-year-old Colo-radan said he has ruled both for and against disabled students, prisoners and workers alleging civil rights violations.

A Supreme Court confirma-tion hearing is a major occasion on Capitol Hill, but Monday’s was overshadowed by a separate event in the Capitol complex. On the House side, FBI Director James Comey testified that the bureau is investigating Russian meddling in last year’s election and possible links and coordi-nation between Russia and associates of Trump.

Blending the two hearings, Democratic Sen. Richard Blu-menthal of Connecticut referred to “a looming constitutional cri-sis” that the Supreme Court might need to resolve. The court’s eight current justices are roughly divided ideologically between conservatives and liberals.

Gorsuch stresses ‘open mind’ on rulings

Washington

AFP

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will skip a Nato meeting in April

but travel to Russia the same month, officials said yester-day, fuelling fears about Washington’s commitment to the alliance.

Tillerson will be replaced by his deputy at the Brussels meeting on April 5 and 6, despite Washington’s efforts to quash questions about US President Donald Trump’s support for Nato and quest for better ties with Moscow.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to visit Trump at his Florida golf resort at some point in early April, and Till-erson would be expected to attend, but State Department officials gave no public expla-nation for his decision to skip Brussels. Instead, they insisted Tillerson will in any case meet most of the foreign ministers from the 28-nation military alliance at the State Department in Washington this week at a meeting of the coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

“He has already met with officials from Ukraine. After these consultations and meet-ings, in April he will travel to a meeting of the G7 in Italy and then on to meetings in Russia,” one senior US offi-cial said.

In Brussels, the United States will be represented by Tom Shannon, the highest ranking career diplomat left in the State Department from the previous administration and Tillerson’s acting deputy. After almost two months in the job, Tillerson has yet to appoint a deputy or any assist-ant secretaries and he has adopted a low-profile stance.

Washington

AFP

Twitter said yesterday that it suspended 376,890 accounts in the second

half of 2016 for “promotion of terrorism,” an increase of 60 percent over the prior six-month period.

The latest suspensions bring the total number of blocked accounts to 636,248 from August 2015, when Twitter stepped up efforts to curb “vio-lent extremism,” the company announced as part of its latest transparency report.

The actions come with social networks under pressure from governments around the world to use technology tools to lock out jihadists and others who use the platforms to recruit and launch attacks.

Twitter said separately the number of government requests for user data rose seven per-cent from the prior six-month period, but affected 13 percent fewer accounts. For requests to remove content — from gov-ernments and others including copyright holders — the number of requests was up 13 percent but the number of accounts fell 37 percent.

Twitter announced that the FBI had informed the social network it was no longer under a “gag order” that prevented the disclosure of five cases involv-ing “national security letters”—special requests from the US law enforcement agency in national security cases.

As a result, Twitter was able to inform the affected users of the FBI requests. “As we con-tinue to push for more

transparency in how we can speak about national security requests, we will update this new section in future transpar-ency reports,” Twitter stated.

Twitter, which is pressured by certain governments to remove “hate speech,” dis-closed for the first time a partnership with a third-party research group called Lumen to catalog any information removed.

Twitter said it began the agreement with Lumen in 2010. “Unless we are prevented from doing so, when we withhold content in a certain country Twitter will continue to provide a copy of the request to Lumen so anyone can see what type of content was removed and who made the request,” the com-pany said. Another section of the transparency report was devoted to “legal removals,” or requests to remove content from verified journalists and other media outlets.

“Given the concerning glo-bal trend of various governments cracking down on press freedom, we want to shine a brighter light on these requests,” Twitter said.

It received 88 legal requests from around the world to remove content posted by ver-ified journalists or news outlets, but did not take any action on the majority of the requests, “with limited exceptions in Ger-many and Turkey,” which accounted for 88 percent of such requests. “For example, we were compelled to withhold tweets sharing graphic imagery following terror attacks in Tur-key in response to a court order,” Twitter said.

Twitter suspends more accounts linked to ‘terror’

San José Pinula

AFP

Guatemalan police stormed a juvenile detention cen-tre early yesterday and

freed four guards taken hostage by inmates who killed two oth-ers during a riot over what they called harsh treatment.

But one of the hostages died soon thereafter of injuries suf-fered during the ordeal, which started around midday on Sun-day. Authorities said he had been beaten severely and stabbed. Two other freed captives have head injuries, said a spokesman for the

fire department, Mario Cruz. Journalists outside the Stage II facility for boys in San Jose Pinula, just to the east of Guate-mala City, saw dozens of armed officers rush inside the blue-and-white building surrounded by barbed wire fences, while others took positions on the roof. Yells and detonations were heard from inside during the raid.

President Jimmy Morales later tweeted: “Thanks to God and to the quick and efficient action of our @PNCdeGuatemala” (Gua-temala’s national police force). The scene unfolded less than two weeks after 40 teenage girls died

in a fire at a nearby overcrowded youth shelter in the same town. Officials earlier said two security guards at the Stage II center were killed and five were injured by the inmates.

Pablo Castillo, a spokesman for the national police, said that negotiations to free the remain-ing four guards taken hostage had broken down. And that is when the police moved in. The Guatemalan prosecutor’s office for human rights said about 40 members of the feared Barrio 18 street gang had led the revolt in the Stage II juvenile center. It said the riot started after a visit

by other members of the gang.The facility is supposed to

house minors, but of 56 known gang members, 39 are adults, said Vladimir Lopez, deputy minister of the social welfare ministry. Fire fighters put out a blaze that had started in part of the facility.

The youth inmates were said to have rebelled against mal-treatment by guards. A similar motive was reported in the nearby Virgin of the Assumption shelter, where teenagers had claimed sexual and other abuse by personnel before the deadly March 8 fire.

Rio de Janeiro

Reuters

Five armed men burst into a small town hospital in the Brazilian Amazon, sur-

rounded security guards and shot dead a prominent land rights activist, local media reported yesterday, in the latest deadly attack on land campaigners.

Waldomiro Costa Pereira, an activist with the Landless Work-ers Movement (MST) was killed on Monday when gunmen stormed the hospital in Para-uapebas in northeastern Brazil’s Para State, campaigners said in a statement.

Brazil has become one of the world’s most dangerous coun-tries for land rights activists, with 61 killings last year, the highest level since 2003, according to the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), a Brazilian advocacy group.

The motive for Pereira’s murder is unclear, MST said, but the activist had been recover-ing in hospital from a previous assassination attempt.

“This is yet another murder of workers in the state of Para,” MST said in a statement.

“Impunity has become com-monplace as has the action of criminal militia groups,” the group said, adding Pereira was

a long-time activist in the “struggle for agrarian reform”.

At the time of his killing, Pereira was not active with the MST and was instead devoting his time to advising the local government on agriculture, the activist group said.

Local officials in the city of Parauapebas condemned the murder and police said they are investigating the killing, the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper reported. Conflicts over territory are common in Brazil where one percent of the population owns nearly half of the nation’s land, according to a 2016 study from the University of Windsor in Canada.

Tillerson to skip Nato meeting next month

Police storm juvenile centre and free guards

Gunmen storm Amazon hospital; murder Brazil land activist

Controversial

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch batted away Democrats’ efforts to get him to reveal his views on abortion, guns and other controversial issues.

Gorsuch, nominated by President Donald Trump, tried to allay Democrats’ worries about his impartiality by saying he keeps an open mind, consistent with one of his mentors.

19WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017 AMERICAS

NEWS BYTES

Canada refugee claims spike in first two months of 2017TORONTO: A spike in refugee claims for the first two months of 2017 put Canada on track for the highest number since at least 2011. A fifth of those claimants were caught crossing the border illegally. Growing numbers of asylum-seekers are coming to Canada in the wake of the election of US President Donald Trump, who has pledged to crack down on refugees and undocumented immigrants. Canada’s federal government has taken heat from opponents on both the left and right for its wait-and-see approach to the influx. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found almost half of Canadians want people who entered the country illegally to be deported. Statistics released by the government show 5,520 people made refugee claims in Can-ada in January and February. If the pace of asylum-seekers keeps up, it will mean upwards of 33,000 refugee claims filed in Canada this year - almost 40 percent higher than 2016.

NEW YORK: President Donald Trump is about to become a grandfather for the ninth time after his son Eric revealed that he and wife Lara are expecting their first child. “@LaraLe-aTrump & I are excited to announce that we are adding a boy to #TeamTrump in September,” Eric Trump tweeted. The presi-dent sent congratulations in a retweet. “Very proud and happy for the two of you!” he wrote. Donald Trump already has eight grandchildren: His oldest son Donald Jr, 39, has five kids, while his daughter Ivanka, 35, has three. Eric, Ivanka and Donald Jr are the children of Trump’s first marriage to Ivana Trump. Eric and his older brother have run their father’s firm, the Trump Organization, since the Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House in January. The company oversees the president’s vast array of investments in the United States and abroad, from real estate to hotels and golf clubs. Eric’s wife Lara Trump, a 34-year-old former producer for the tabloid television news show “Inside Edition,” is now involved with animal charities.

PORT-AU-PRINCE: Haitian lawmakers early yester-day approved the new prime minister’s cabinet following a 19-hour session, despite criticism over the sparse details on how to pay for his government programme. Prime Min-ister Jack Guy Lafontant, named a month ago by President Jovenel Moise, answered questions from members of par-liament before obtaining support from 95 lawmakers. There were six ‘no’ votes and two abstentions. Last week the Sen-ate approved the new government programme after 16 hours of debate. Lafontant has vowed to fund his government plan — which includes new roads, schools and hospitals — by bat-tling corruption, broadening the tax base and cutting back on unneeded expenditures. Haiti is struggling to emerge from a major cholera outbreak, with an estimated 30,000 cases expected this year, and is still suffering from the effects of the January 2010 earthquake, with tens of thousands of people still camping in tents without proper sanitation.

PHILADELPHIA: A law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation says the FBI and IRS will announce corruption charges against embattled Philadel-phia District Attorney Seth Williams. The charges come after a lengthy investigation into $160,000 in gifts that Wil-liams failed to report, including a new roof, a $2,700 couch and luxury vacations. Williams, the city’s first black dis-trict attorney, announced last month he would not run for re-election this year. The 50-year-old Democrat said he showed poor judgment and regretted “mistakes in my per-sonal life and in my personal financial life.” Williams has said he encountered financial problems amid a divorce and tuition costs for his children.

Los Angeles AFP

A series of storms that pounded California this winter have forced the

shutdown of the state’s iconic coastal highway in several areas, spelling economic disaster for the region that relies heavily on tourism.

The closures along Highway 1, one of America’s most pictur-esque roads, came after heavy downpours led to a number of mudslides and the collapse of a key bridge in February that cut

off the town of Big Sur from the rest of California.

Officials said the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge, which buckled from the storms and is being demolished, will not be replaced for at least six months. “Since February we went from off sea-son to no season,” Stan Russell, executive director of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce, said.

He said businesses such as the world-famous Nepenthe res-taurant and a number of upmarket retreats had been forced to temporarily shut down as they were no longer

accessible. “Until last week, we had 1,000 people unemployed in a community of 1,500 or so,” Russell said.

He added that some estab-lishments in Big Sur such as the luxury Post Ranch Inn, where rooms average $1,200 a night, were looking at the possibility of shuttling guests by helicopter as the tourist season gets fully under way. “The losses for the town are certainly in the mil-lions,” he said. “The Post Ranch Inn alone does over a million a month.”

Meanwhile about 450

remaining residents on one side of Big Sur, which has been split in two, have been forced to rely on air drops and backpackers for supplies.

A narrow half-mile foot trail expected to be completed this week will allow residents who live on the south side of the bridge to cross for short periods of time, several times a day. The scenic Highway 1 runs between southern and northern Califor-nia and draws tourists from around the globe with its stun-ning panoramic views of the Pacific.

Trump twists arms on Obamacare repealWashington

AP

President Donald Trump yesterday warned House Republicans they would lose their seats in next year’s

midterm elections if they failed to back the GOP health care overhaul and fulfill a long-prom-ised goal to undo Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.

In a rare trip to the Capitol, the president met behind closed doors with rank-and-file Repub-licans, some wavering on the legislation two days before a cli-mactic vote. Top House Republicans unveiled revisions to their bill on Monday night in hopes of nailing down support.

Trump’s message to Repub-licans: “If you don’t pass the bill there could be political costs,” said Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C. According to a person in the room who described the closed-door meeting on condition of anonymity, the president explic-itly predicted that many House Republicans would lose seats and the party would lose control of the chamber in next year’s elec-

tion if the bill fails.Senate Majority Leader Mitch

McConnell, R-Ky, signaled he’d use Trump’s clout to pressure unhappy Republicans in his chamber, where the legislation’s fate remains foggy. “I’m optimis-tic that none of my members, in the end, want to be responsible for the status quo on

Obamacare,” said McConnell, referring to the law Republicans have set out to dismantle this year. He said when the Senate debates the GOP measure, he would “have the president weigh in with our folks as well.”

The GOP bill would disman-tle Obama’s requirements that most people buy policies and that larger companies cover work-ers. Federal subsidies based largely on peoples’ incomes and insurance premiums would end, and a Medicaid expansion to 11 million more low-income peo-ple would disappear.

The Republican legislation would provide tax credits to help people pay medical bills based chiefly on age, and open-ended federal payments to help states cover Medicaid costs would be cut. Insurers could charge older con-sumers five times the premiums they charge younger people instead of Obama’s 3-1 limit, and would boost premiums 30 percent for those who let coverage lapse.

Rep. Chris Collins, R-NY, said Trump told Republicans he would campaign for them if they backed the bill. Trump didn’t indicate what he would do to

those who vote against the bill, but during the caucus, he singled out Rep. Mark Meadows, R-NC, one of the outspoken critics of the bill. Collins said Trump asked Meadows to stand up, called him a great guy and said he is count-ing on Meadows to get this over the line. “The president is very adroit at putting somebody on the spot and he did that today with Mark Meadows,” Collins said. Asked if there was a threat to Meadows in that, Collins responded: “There was no threat whatsoever.”

Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis, told reporters that if Republicans pass the legislation, “People will reward us. If we don’t keep our promise, it will be very hard to manage this.”

Trump’s closed-door meet-ing with House Republicans came as party leaders released 43 pages worth of changes to a bill whose prospects remain dicey. Their proposals were largely aimed at addressing dis-sent that their measure would leave many older people with higher costs.

Included was an unusual approach: Language paving the

way for the Senate, if it chooses, to make the bill’s tax credit more generous for people age 50-64. Republicans said the plan sets aside $85 billion over 10 years for that purpose.

The leaders’ proposals would accelerate the repeal of tax increases Obama imposed on higher earners, the medical industry and others to this year instead of 2018. It would be eas-ier for some people to deduct medical expenses from their taxes.

Older and disabled Medicaid beneficiaries would get larger benefits. But it would also curb future growth of the overall Med-icaid program, which helps low earners afford medical coverage, and let states impose work requirements on some recipients. Additional states could not join the 31 that opted to expand Med-icaid to more beneficiaries under Obama’s law, the Affordable Care Act.

In a bid to cement support from upstate New Yorkers, the revisions would also stop that state from passing on over $2bn a year in Medicaid costs to upstate counties, though it

exempts Democratic-run New York City from that protection. The change was pushed by Col-lins, one of Trump’s first congressional supporters. Local officials have complained the practice overburdens their budgets.

Republican support teetered last week when a nonpartisan congressional analysis projected the measure would strip 24 mil-lion people of coverage in a decade. The Congressional Budget Office also said the bill would cause huge out-of-pocket increases for many lower earn-ers and people aged 50 to 64.

Democrats have opposed the GOP repeal effort. They tout Obama’s expansion of coverage to 20 million additional people and consumer-friendly cover-age requirements it imposed on insurers, including abolishing annual and lifetime coverage limits and forcing them to insure seriously ill people. House approval would give the legisla-tion much-needed momentum as it moves to the Senate, which Republicans control 52-48 but where five Republicans have expressed opposition.

Los Angeles Reuters

Grammy award-winning hip hop artist Wyclef Jean said he was hand-

cuffed and “treated like a criminal” when he was briefly detained yesterday by law enforcement officers in Los Angeles as they investigated a robbery.

In tweets and video of the incident posted to his Insta-gram and Twitter feed, the Haitian-born former Fugees singer said he appeared to have been the victim of “another case of mistaken identity” and threatened to sue.

“I was treated like a crim-inal until other police showed up and pointed out they had wrong person,” Jean, 47, wrote on Twitter.

“I am sure no father wants his sons or daughters to see him in Handcuffs espe-cially if he is innocent,” he added. Jean blamed the Los Angles Police Department for the incident, which occurred around 1 a.m. PDT (0800 GMT), but in fact it involved sheriff’s deputies, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

The sheriff’s department told NBC in Los Angeles that Jean was briefly detained while deputies were looking for a suspect matching his description who had carried out an armed robbery at a gas station in West Hollywood.

Revised bill

The president explicitly predicted that many House Republicans would lose seats and the party would lose control of the chamber in next year’s election if the bill fails.

The GOP bill would dismantle Obama’s requirements that most people buy policies and that larger companies cover workers.

Wyclef Jean blasts police after being detained

Closures along California highway hit tourism

9th grandchild on the way for Trump

Philadelphia prosecutor to be charged

Haitian lawmakers okay new cabinet

20 WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2017MORNING BREAK

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan kicks a ball, as president of the Turkish Football Federation Yildirim Demiroren and Turkish Union of Clubs President Goksel Gumusdag look on during the "Premiere Summit 2" at the Halic Congress Center in Istanbul. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday acknowledged he was still rankled by Turkey's failure to win the right to host the Olympics.

A Presidential shot!

South Korean actress Kim Tae-ri celebrates after winning the Best Newcomer award at the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong, yesterday.

New actress awarded

FAJRSHOROOK

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Drone-catchers aim at grand take off San Leandro Reuters

The enemy drone whined in the distance. The Interceptor, a drone-hunting machine from Sil-

icon Valley startup Airspace Systems, slinked off its launch pad and dashed away in hot pursuit.

The hunter twisted through the air to avoid trees, homed in on its target, fired a Kevlar net to capture it, and then carried the rogue drone back to its base like a bald eagle with a kill.

Airspace is among some 70 com-panies working on counter-drone systems as small consumer and com-mercial drones proliferate. But unlike others, it aims to catch drones instead of disabling them or shooting them down.

A demonstration at Airspace head-quarters in San Leandro, California, showed a compact aircraft just a few feet wide, yet capable of sophisticated, autonomous navigation and accurate targeting of a drone in motion.

It is still early days in the drone-defence business. Security professionals both public and private worry about dangerous drones at mil-itary sites, airports, data centres, and public venues like baseball stadiums. But counter-measures carry risk, too.

For example, the US Air Force recently tested experimental shotgun shells for shooting down drones. But if the drone carries a payload like a bomb or chemical weapon, it could still

fall on its target.Jamming the radio signals to the

drone does not always work, either. Drones differ from “remote-control-led” aircraft because they can fly to pre-set coordinates autonomously. The fastest drones can reach 150 miles per hour, too quick for human pilots fly-ing another drone to catch.

The technical challenge of safely stopping a dangerous drone appealed to Guy Bar-Nahum, one of the inven-tors of the Apple iPod and the engineering brains behind Airspace Systems.

“We are creating a very primitive brain of an insect, a dragonfly,”

Bar-Nahum said. “It wakes up, sees the world and doesn’t really know where it is. But it has goals to capture the other drone, and it’s planning a path in the world and knows how to move through the world.”

The Interceptor must pack com-puting power and sophisticated software into that tiny drone brain. Unlike the emerging driverless car, it has to understand its environment without the benefit of an internet con-nection to a massive mapping database.

“My background is in physics, and it’s all about modelling the world” with math, Bar-Nahum said. “What we do

in this lowly startup that looks to be a normal, military ‘take ‘em down’ kind of company is build machines that can model the world.”

The business model is challenging too. Currently, only law enforcement officials have the authority to inter-fere with another drone’s flight. Regulations also require a certified pilot to stand ready to intervene in any commercial drone flight and keep a line-of-sight view of the aircraft.

Thus Airspace Systems will not be selling its aircraft, but rather leasing a system, complete with operators and a mobile command centre, to customers.

The New York Mets have an inter-est in using the system to protect Citi Field in New York City, according to Sterling VC, the venture capital arm of Sterling Equities, which owns the sta-dium and also invested in Airspace.

The danger from hostile drones became more clear in the last few months when the US military said Islamic State fighters were using them to attack Iraqi troops in the battle over Mosul.

The military news site Defense One reported IS was using an array of con-sumer-style drones, including an agile quadcopter version for dropping explosives.

At least 70 companies worldwide are working on various types of coun-ter-drone systems, said Mike Blades, aerospace and defence analyst with Frost & Sullivan.

Thai turtle who swallowed coins diesBangkok

AFP

A sea turtle nicknamed "Piggy Bank" has died after complications

from surgery to remove nearly 1,000 coins she swal-lowed during captivity, Thai vets said yesterday.

The reptile was thought to be recovering well from the pioneering seven-hour oper-ation earlier this month to remove five kilogrammes of coins lodged in her digestive tract — good luck pennies tossed into the pool she was kept in. But she took a sud-den turn for the worse over the weekend, developing blood poisoning from serious intestinal problems after the coins were removed.

Jaz Banga, co-founder and chief executive of Airspace Systems, stands next to an Interceptor autonomous aerial drone his company developed to capture enemy drones during a product demonstration.

Wellington

AFP

Researchers have found that New Zealand's kea parrot has the avian

equivalent of an infectious laugh — a call that when heard prompts others to drop every-thing and have some fun.

Kea live in alpine areas and are renowned in New Zealand for being intelligent and mis-chievous, often called "the clown of the mountain".

But a paper published in the journal Current Biology yester-day argues the bird's playful reputation is not entirely anthropomorphic.

Austrian researcher Raoul Schwing found the kea has a "play call" distinct from its other vocalisations, which caused other parrots to start playing

spontaneously. Schwing, a doc-toral student in animal behaviour at Auckland Univer-sity when the research was conducted, said even birds that were by themselves began play-ing when they heard the call.

"The fact that at least some of these birds started playing spontaneously when no other birds had been playing suggests that, similar to human laugh-ter, it had an emotional effect on the birds that heard it, putting them in a playful state," he said.

Raoul said similar "emo-t i o n a l l y c o n t a g i o u s " vocalisations had previously been recorded in chimpanzees and rats, but the kea was the first non-mammal.

He said the call was akin to a form of infectious laughter and warranted further study.

New Zealand parrot has 'infectious laugh'

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