Volume 24 | Number 8062 | 2 RiyalsFriday 1 November 2019 | 4 Rabia I 1441 www.thepeninsula.qa

BUSINESS | 15 SPORT | 20

Brahimi brace fires Al Rayyan to victory; Qatar SC seal third win

China rolls out 5G services in race

to narrow tech gap

Prime Minister holds high-level talks in Turkey

QNA/ANKARA

Prime Minister and Interior Minister, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and Vice-President of the Republic of Turkey Fuat Oktay held an official talks session yesterday at the presidential palace in the Turkish capital Ankara.

The talks session focused on the stra-tegic relations between the two countries and prospects to further boost them in dif-ferent spheres. Talks during the session also tackled key regional and international issues. Members of the official delegation accompanying His Excellency attended the session, along with a lineup of senior Turkish officials. H E the Prime Minister and Turkish Vice-President, earlier held a bilateral meeting, where they discussed a host of topics of mutual interest.

H E the Prime Minister also met with the Minister of Interior in Turkey, Suleyman Soylu at the Turkish Interior Ministry. They discussed cooperation relations between the two countries and prospects of devel-oping them in addition to a number of matters of mutual interest.

Following the meeting, H E the Prime Minister and Turkish Interior Minister attended the signing of a Letter of Intent for cooperation in organising major events between the government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Republic of Turkey. Upon arrival at the Interior Ministry, His Excellency was accorded an official reception ceremony.

H E Prime Minister attended a banquet hosted by the Turkish Minister of Interior, in honour of His Excellency and the accompa-nying delegation. The function was attended by senior Turkish officials.

H E the Prime Minister at His Excellency’s residence in Ankara, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu. H E the Prime Minister also visited the Turkish Parliament Building in Ankara yesterday afternoon, where he met Speaker of Turkish Parliament Mustafa Sentop and a number of members of the Turkish Parliament.

During the meetings, both sides reviewed the strategic cooperation relations between the two brotherly countries and ways of enhancing them, in addition to the latest regional and international developments.

Prime Minister and Interior Minister, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, and Turkish Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu, attending the signing of a Letter of Intent in Ankara, yesterday. �P2

MoPH aims at building sustainable projectsTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Minister of Public Health H E Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari said that based on Qatar’s National Vision 2030, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and its partners are working to build

sustainable projects that will contribute to a long-term healthy life for current and future gener-ations.

This came yesterday in Her Excellency’s remarks at the opening of ‘A Healthy City for Children’ symposium, organised by the MoPH in collaboration with

the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), and attended by Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Dr. Mohammed Abdul Wahed Al Hammadi along with local and international experts, health sector participants, and university students.

Her Excellency explained that

the symposium covers two national priorities in the National Health Strategy 2018-2022; ‘Health in All Policies’ and ‘Healthy Children and Adolescents’. She noted that Qatar is seeking to acquire the World Health Organ-isation (WHO) Healthy City Accreditation by 2022 which will provide sustainable and healthier options for the population, espe-cially children.

She stressed that the imple-mentation of the Healthy Cities approach aims to ensure that there are appropriate environments in the cities of Qatar that support and promote health. She also stressed on the critical importance of pro-moting joint work with all MoPH’s partners from different sectors to achieve this goal.

During the ceremony, a short film, produced especially for the event by Qatar Foundation, was screened showing the most important sustainable benefits of a healthy city for children, in which a number of young stars from Qatar Academy schools embodied the vision of a healthy city and the benefits to be achieved for gener-ations to come. �P2

Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Dr. Mohammed Abdul Wahed Al Hammadi and Minister of Public Health H E Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari during the symposium yesterday.

GCC’s 1st technology vetting lab to come up in Doha THE PENINSULA DOHA

The Cybersecurity Affairs Sector at the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) yesterday signed a memo-randum of understanding (MoU) with TÜViT. TÜViT is a German company and subsidiary of TUV Nord – a key player in setting international standards in Infor-mation Technology (IT) and a trusted vendor for setting up the first National Vetting Lab in the GCC and Arab states. The new technology lab aims to test

security products for function-ality and vet ICT products, while enhancing the security standards in the country.

The lab will be the first of its kind not only in Qatar but in the GCC region and Arab States.

The MoU was signed by Eng. Nora Yousef Al Abdulla, Director of Critical Information Infra-structure Protection at the Cyber Security Sector, MoTC and Frank Beuting, General Manager IT Security, TÜViT.

“We are delighted to partner with TÜViT to set up the first regional Qatar National

Laboratory for Technology Vetting (Common Criteria Vetting Lab) in GCC and the Arab States.

The MoU reflects our com-mitment towards building safer, smarter and more resilient digital cities. We believe the Technology Vetting Lab will be an asset to the country and will be at the heart of the cyberse-curity sector in Qatar,” said Eng. Al Abdulla.

“In line with Qatar’s National Cybersecurity Strategy, we will be focusing on several product categories for different sectors

including oil and gas, IoT, smart cities and autonomous vehicles. QITCOM 2019 was a launchpad for us to announce the lab’s arrival and our vision of creating safer and smarter cities,” she added.

The lab process begins with vendors (technology developers) submitting a request to the lab to check hardware and software products. The lab conducts an extensive investigation into the products and issues certificates as needed. The entire process takes around six months to one year for each product. �P3

Qatar placed high in UN’s list of major donors of Multi-Partner Trust FundSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H E Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi has said that Qatar has secured first place in Arab countries and sixth in the world in the list of major donors of UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund.

“Qatar is committed to the United Nations through its con-tinued generous financial con-tributions to its many organisa-tions and entities,” H E Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, speaking at a programme organised to mark United Nations Day, which falls on October 24.

The programme was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Qatar National Com-mission for Education, Culture and Science, under a theme Qatar and United Nations Partnership, at the Diplomatic Club.

He said that the commit-ments also include opening of several United Nations offices in Doha, in addition to the active participation of Qatar in the United Nations meetings and collective efforts to promote interfaith dialogue, support the Alliance of Civilizations, protect human rights in Qatar and abroad and participate in decision-making by financing development, relief and reconstruction.

The event was attended by United Nations Secretary-Gen-eral’s Humanitarian Envoy, Dr. Ahmed Al Muraikhi; the Director of the Unesco Office in Doha, Anna Paolini, and a number of

officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and represent-atives of civil society and social and charitable institutions.

He praised the distinguished relations since Qatar joined the United Nations in 1971, pointing in this context to the formation of the permanent delegation of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in New York in the same year in order to represent the country and manage its relations with the Un, and then the opening of the Qatari missions represented in the United Nations in various cities of the world.

He stressed that Qatar’s support to the UN stems from its firm belief in the ability of the Organisation to overcome inter-national crises through its work to achieve international peace and security, combating ter-rorism and achieving the goals of sustainable development, and to face common challenges, especially the challenges of climate and climate change, which Qatar has supported the United Nations plans to address them.

Secretary-General of the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, Dr. Hamda Al Sulaiti called on the United Nations to introduce radical reforms in all its institu-tions and bodies so that its deci-sions have credibility and influence away from the domi-nation of some states and the Organisation shall have the greatest and effective role in ending the scourge of wars, famines and international con-flicts and in achieving respect for the sovereignty and terri-torial integrity of States. �P3

I held a constructive discussion with Turkish Vice-President H E Fuat Oktay, where we discussed the strengthening of bilateral relations and ways of developing them in various fields for the welfare and well-being of our brotherly people. We share similar visions on the various international and regional issues in order to establish international security and stability.

02 FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019HOME

Amir condoles with

Cameroon President

DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

sent yesterday a cable of

condolences to President

Paul Biya of the Republic

of Cameroon, on the vic-

tims of landslides caused by

heavy rains in western Cam-

eroon, wishing the injured a

speedy recovery. QNA

OFFICIAL NEWS

Foreign Minister sends

message to Kuwaiti

counterpart

Foreign Minister sends

message to Argentina

Foreign Minister sends

message to San Marino

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime

Minister and Foreign Minister

of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh

Sabah Khaled Al Hamad Al

Sabah received a message

from the Deputy Prime Min-

ister and Minister of Foreign

Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohamed

bin Abdulrahman Al Thani,

containing an invitation to

participate in the ministerial

meeting of the Organization

of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

Contact Group on Somalia,

slated for November 3 in Doha.

Qatar’s Ambassador to Kuwait,

Bandar bin Mohammed Al

Attiyah, delivered the mes-

sage during a meeting with the

Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister

and Foreign Minister. QNA

BUENOS AIRES: Minis-

ter of Foreign Affairs of the

Republic of Argentina, Jorge

Faurie received a written mes-

sage from the Deputy Prime

Minister and Minister of Foreign

Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohamed

bin Abdulrahman Al Thani,

pertaining to bilateral rela-

tions and means to boost and

develop them. The message

was handed over by Qatar’s

Ambassador to Argentina, Bat-

tal bin Meajeb Al Dosari, during

his meeting with the Director

of Protocol at the Argentine

Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Marcelo Salvia. QNA

ROME: Minister of Foreign

and Political Affairs and Jus-

tice of the Republic of San

Marino, Nicola Renzi, has

received a written message

from the Deputy Prime Min-

ister and Minister of Foreign

Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohamed

bin Abdulrahman Al Thani,

pertaining to bilateral relations

and ways of enhancing them.

The message was delivered

by the Ambassador of the

State of Qatar (Non-resident)

to the Republic of San Marino,

Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al Malki,

during his meeting with the

Ambassador of San Marino to

the Italian Republic, Daniela

Rotondaro. QNA

Amir sends two

messages to Burkina

Faso President

OUAGADOUGOU: Amir

H H Sheikh Tamim bin

Hamad Al Thani has sent

two written messages to the

President Roch Marc Chris-

tian Kabore of the Republic

of Burkina Faso, pertain-

ing to relations between the

two countries and ways of

boosting and developing

them. The messages were

delivered by Acting Charge

d’affaires Hussein Ibrahim

Al Bader, during a meeting

with the President. QNA

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum29oC 33oC

HIGH TIDE 07:28 – 18:23 LOW TIDE 01:27 – 15:02

Relatively hot daytime with slight dust at

places at times and some clouds.

FAJRSHOROOK

04. 24 AM

05. 41 AM

11. 17 AM

02. 29 PM

04. 55 PM

06. 25 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

Minister of Culture and Sports receives Ambassador of India

Prime Minister holds high-level talks in Turkey

Minister of Culture and Sports, H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, received yesterday Ambassador of India to Qatar, P Kumaran. They discussed aspects of cooperation between the two countries in the cultural and sports fields and ways to develop them.

QU placed fourth in QS Arab Region University RankingsTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

Qatar University (QU) has been placed fourth in the QS Arab Region University Rankings 2020. This is a significant improvement from 2019, where the university was placed sixth. The annual QS Arab Region University Rankings highlights 130 leading universities in this part of the world.

The methodology for this ranking was developed with the aim of reflecting specific challenges and priorities for institutions in the region, drawing on several indicators including international research network, papers per faculty and academic reputation.

President of QU Dr. Hassan Al-Derham said on this achievement: “Since 2015, Qatar University gained seven places. Over the five considered years, the institution moved up four times and did not present negative performances. In the 2020 Edition, Qatar University per-formed among the top 3% in the QS

World University Rankings for the Arab Region. All this while the number of insti-tutions ranked increased by five. The highest indicators QU scored in are: inter-national research network, papers per faculty, employer reputation which high-lights QU’s role in implementing the 2030 vision both on the local and international levels.”

This achievement consolidates QU’s recent achievement in the QS World Uni-versity Ranking as the institution moved from 332 in 2019 to 276 in the 2020 ranking, effectively jumping 56 places, and becoming one of the most improved universities. In 2017, QU released a five-year strategy for the years 2018-22, which mapped out the routes to achieving continuing performance excel-lence and builds on key areas of edu-cation, research, institution and engagement, while taking into consid-eration the plans and aspirations of Qatar National Vision 2030.

QA commemorates opening of its new ward at King Hussein Cancer CenterTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

Qatar Airways commemorated the opening of its new ward with a special ceremony held under the patronage of HRH Prince Talal bin Muhammad, Special Advisor to H M King Abdullah II, at the King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) in Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday.

Following the inauguration of the ward, Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Exec-utive, Qatar Airways and other represent-atives from the airline attended the King Hussein Cancer Foundation’s (KHCF) 2019 Hope Gala Event. Sponsored by Qatar Airways as a Diamond Sponsor and Official Airline Partner, the Gala aimed to raise funds to support the vital work of KHCF.

The ward opening was attended by Akbar Al Baker, alongside Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Qatar to Jordan, Sheikh Saud bin Nasser Al Thani; Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthäus, and other dignitaries and senior representatives from Qatar Airways.

On the occasion of the inauguration, HRH Prince Talal thanked Qatar Airways for its belief in the lifesaving mission of KHCF and KHCC, and for its dedicated and generous support, which has had a great positive impact on the Center and helped save the lives of KHCC patients.

Akbar Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways is honoured to support the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center and its efforts to fight cancer. I applaud their work to provide patients with the treatment and care they need to beat the disease, as well as its efforts to prevent cancer from devel-oping into its later stages through awareness-raising on a regional and inter-national level.”

“The opening of our new ward at the King Hussein Cancer Center demonstrates our commitment to the Jordanian people and the region. It is one small way Qatar Airways can give back to the local com-munity and contribute to this important cause.”

During the delegation’s visit to KHCC, Qatar Airways’ Oryx Kids Club Mascot, Orry, was present at the children’s play

area to entertain children currently under-going treatment at KHCC while Akbar Al Baker gave out toys to the children. The toys were donated by Box of Happiness, which is a charitable initiative that aims to bring joy to children around the world.

The Qatar Airways Ward will serve leukaemia in-patients through its 24

state-of-the-art rooms, and its naming commemorates the longstanding and fruitful partnership between the airline and KHCF/KHCC. In the past, Qatar Airways has supported the Foundation and Center through the donation of cutting edge lifesaving machinery and medical equipment.

MoPH aims at building sustainable projectsFROM PAGE 1

In the opening speech, Dr. Salih Ali Al Marri, Assistant Minister for Health Affairs at the Ministry of Public Health, said that the contri-bution of medical care to better health outcomes is about (10 to 20%) and the remaining 80-90% is deter-

mined by health-related, socio-eco-nomic and environmental factors.

Dr. Al-Marri noted that the National Health Strategy has iden-tified ‘Health in All Policies’ as a national health priority and has developed concrete plans and objectives to ensure an intersectoral

collaborative approach to improving health and equity for Qatar’s population.

Dr. Al Marri also maintained that obesity is a local and global problem that that calls for intensi-fying efforts in Qatar to combat it, especially among children, adding

that combating obesity requires a complex mix of policies to be put in place, as well as the strong collab-oration between different sectors in the country.

He reviewed number of signif-icant achievements in this regard, such as the recently-introduced

excise duty on carbonated drinks, the echo school scheme, the estab-lishment of Musheireb city and the Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) with its sustainable solutions.

Sultana Afdal, CEO of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), explained that based on WISH’s vision of creating a healthier world by promoting global collab-oration, it is important that people

from across different sectors work together.

Dr. Sadria Al-Kohji, priority leader of ‘Healthy Children and Adolescents’ in the National Health Strategy, explained that childhood obesity is one of the main challenges facing Qatar, with statistics showing that 18.8% of males and 15.5% of females under 20 suffer from obesity.

Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, during a high-level talks with Turkish officials in Ankara yesterday. BELOW LEFT: The Prime Minister with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu and the Speaker of Turkish Parliament, Mustafa Sentop (RIGHT).

Officials during the inauguration.

03FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019 HOME

Asian Medical Camp is commendable: Indian envoyTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

The 17th Asian Medical Camp has brought relief to many residents in Qatar. Ambassador of India P Kumaran praised the efforts of organisers for holding the medical camp.

“It is important to conduct a medical camp in such a large capacity for the last 17 years,” said P Kumaran, speaking on the inaugural session of the 17th Asian Medical Camp at Al Thumama Health Centre. He added “Embassy’s cooperation will always be with the camp. The Embassy has been associated with the camp since its inception. I attended last year’s camp also. The camp is a good relief for the expa-triates of Asian countries with a low income. The public health

sector in Qatar is excellent. The state-of-the-art medical services are provided by the country through the government facilities. The Asian Medical Camp is helping people to get closer to Qatar’s health systems”, the ambassador said. The 17th Free Asian Medical Camp was jointly organised by the Centre for Indian Community (CIC) and Indian Doctors Club (IDC) targeting thousands of low-income Asian expatriates has brought relief to thousands. The main sponsor of the camp were Ooredoo. More than 2,500 res-idents from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan who arrived from all parts of the country from 6.30 am on Friday, received a large-scale service in the camp. In addition to the pre-registered patients, hundreds of

others also utilised various facil-ities of check-ups in the camp.

Benny Behanan (Member of Indian Parliament) was the chief guest at the event. He said that the Asian Medical Camp is a proof of Indians’ health care services in the exile, more than just a medical camp. Dr Mohamed al-Hajri, Director of the Emergency Prepar-edness and Response Department, Ministry of Public Health, repre-senting the minister of public health appreciated the camp and the efforts by the entire team and extended the wholehearted support of the ministry for the camp.

Dr. Yousuf Al Musalmani Medical Director, Hamad General Hospital said that these services on the part of the Asian community are invaluable for the health sector which is an

important aim of Vision 2030. Centre for Indian Community (CIC) President KC Abdullatif pre-sided over the function. He emphasised the support of Ooredoo from for the last 17 Medical Camps and briefed the audience the milestones and key events of the past versions of the medical camp conducted as part of humane approach for the well-being and maintenance of the health that is precious to everyone. President of Indian Doctors Club Joel Jacob described the different amenities and services available at the camp. Dr. Samia Al Abdulla Executive Director of Operations at the PHCC stressed the impor-tance of medical camps and health awareness programmes. She also added that Qatar’s health system is considered as one of the top systems on the global level. Dr. Hanadi Al Hail Director of Al Thumama Health Centre, in her speech said that we have provided everything for the success of this outstanding medical event for the benefit of all spreading health awareness. PN Baburajan President, ICBF, in his felicitation speech, lauded the efforts of the organ-isers in conducting the camps and making them great success. Mohammed Yasir TK expressed the vote of thanks.The Ambassador of India, P Kumaran, with other officials, during the opening of the medical camp.

Qatar Media Corporation CEO meets Gambian Minister

The Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Media Corporation, H E Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Thani met here yesterday with the Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure in the Republic of The Gambia, Ebrima Sillah. They discussed media relations between the two countries and means to develop and promote them. The meeting was attended by The Gambia’s Ambassador to the State of Qatar, Foday Malang.

Qatar and Somalia sign agreement

Chief of Staff meets Italian Defence Minister

Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti (right), witnessed the signing of a preliminary agreement between Qatar and Somalia for the ‘Mutual Inclusion of Each Other’s Territories in the Service Areas of their Satellite Network’ on the sidelines of the Qatar IT Conference & Exhibition (QITCOM 2019). Afterwards, the Minister discussed with the Minister of Post, Telecom and Technology of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Abdi Ashur Hassan (left), on strengthening cooperation in postal and ICT services, along with addressing a number of other issues of mutual concern.

The Chief of Staff of Qatari Armed Forces, H E Lieutenant General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen Al Ghanim, met yesterday with Italian Minister of Defence, Angelo Tofalo, who is currently visiting Qatar. They reviewed military relations between the two countries and ways of enhancing them. A lineup of senior officers of the armed forces attended the meeting. Qatar placed high in UN’s list of major donors

FROM PAGE 1

In turn, the Director of the Unesco Office in Doha Anna Paolini praised the role of Qatar in support of Unesoc, indicating that Qatar hosts the Office of the Organization, noting that the relationship between the two parties is based on mutual understanding and respect. She also addressed the challenges that still face the achievement of the goals of the United Nations and UNESCO, such as racial dis-crimination against women, and problems of gender equality.

She also praised the great efforts made by Qatar in empowering women through legislation and laws besides education, which enabled Qatari women to assume leadership positions, as well as the representation of Qatar in international forums and UN organizations and other international organizations.

GCC’s 1st technology vetting lab to come up in DohaFROM PAGE 1

Dirk Kretzschmar - Managing Director, TÜViT, added, “Qatar’s focus on cybersecurity propelled us to work with them on one of the most integral and exciting projects in the GCC, considering this will be the first lab we will help setup in the region. The first phase of the lab is in its final stages and nearing completion. We are looking forward to making it operation-ready by the end of Q4 – 2019.”

The security lab has been built to ISO standards and will be audited every two years to ensure it is up to the standards of the Common Criteria Recognition Agreement, an international agreement between 31 nations. This state-of-the-art technology lab is set to boost Qatar’s Cyber Security sector.

Officials after signing the agreement.

Qatari organisations’ strong ties with UN highlightedTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

The strong relations of Qatari organisations with United Nations were highlighted during a panel discussion on the sidelines of a programme held here yesterday to mark United Nations Day under a them ‘State of Qatar and United Nations Partnership’.

The panel discussion was moderated by Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Tariq Ali Al Ansari. A panelist, Chief Executive Officer of the Qatar Foundation for Social Work (QFSW) Amal Al Mannai said that the relationship between the foundation and the United Nations is centered on the consultative mem-bership obtained by the foun-dation in 2016.

In this regards, she said that the large international events mandated by the foun-dation to organize a con-ference on disability and development, which will be held in December, with the participation of all United Nations organizations.

She noted that an important session will be held in cooperation with the Min-istry of Foreign Affairs and Unesco on education, the s e s s i o n m i m i c s

the convergence of the Con-vention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with the United Nations sustainable development agenda and max-imizing access to education, employment, health and other important areas.

Al Mannai noted that the foundation has played a major role in the design of the national development strategy. It is currently responsible for more than 42 projects and needs the expertise of UN organizations in capacity building. For his part, Director of the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Horr, noted to the growing sense of the decline of the role of international organizations and their inability to interact with international issues.

He stressed that this feeling has grown with the rise of right-wing movements in Europe and America, and that the discussion between the concerned now revolves around the mechanism of restructuring organizations for themselves and restore confi-dence in their ability to restore their effectiveness, and their ability to react to crises.

Director of the Unesco Office in Doha Anna Paolini, praised the cooperation with Qatar National Commission for

Education, Culture and Science and their work with the gov-ernment and the long-term joint planning. Regarding edu-cation in Qatar, she explained that the role of the office is to follow up and review and ensure the quality of education at all stages from childhood to higher education, pointing to the achievement of Qatar in 2017-18 the fourth goal of development. She praised Qatar’s support for the Edu-cation Above All initiative and for all activities undertaken and supported by Qatar, which are appreciated by the Doha O f f i c e o r U n e s c o Headquarters.

For her part, Secretary-General Qatar National Com-mission for Education, Culture and Science Dr. Hamda Al Sulaiti said the Commission has set values that have ensured the basis of its work and programs, including respect for cultures, quality and transparency, pointing out that these values are based on international conventions and international educational organizations. Dr Al Sulaiti said that the commission plays the role of a link between institutions and official bodies and Unesco, stressing that there are programs and activ-ities that define the role of the society and its institutions.

The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H E Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi speaking at the event.

Refugees’ woes

04 FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Israel approves more than 2,300 settler homesAFP/JERUSALEM

Israel has approved the construction of 2,342 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, settlement watchdog Peace Now said yesterday.

It said the decision was taken on October 10 and that 59 percent of the new homes will be erected in “settlements that Israel likely may evacuate under a peace agreement” with the Palestinians. According to Peace Now, which closely monitors Israeli settlement building, plans for 8,337 housing units in the settlements have been approved since the beginning of the year.

It said this represented an increase of close to 50 percent compared with 2018 when plans for 5,618 housing units were approved. “This brings the average number of housing units approved in the three years since President Trump was elected, to 6,899 housing units, almost twice the average in the three years pre-ceding them,” said the NGO.

All settlements are con-sidered illegal under interna-tional law and are built on land that the Palestinians see as part of their future state, but Israel distinguishes between those it has approved and those it has not. Peace Now said that set-tlement construction has increased under Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is fighting for his political survival after failing to form a coalition government following September elections.

“Netanyahu continues to sabotage the possibility of a political agreement with the Pal-estinians by promoting more settlement construction in the West Bank, including in places where Israel may have to evacuate as part of a future agreement,” Peace Now said.

Included in the 2,342 new housing units are 182 that are due to be built in Mevoot Yericho, a former outpost near Jericho which the Netanyahu government legalised before the September polls, Peace Now said.

Ramping up the con-struction of settlement homes “is yet another dangerous step for both Israel and the Pales-tinians, led by a transitional prime minister whom the public did not trust in his policies.

Hezbollah, France call for new Lebanon govtREUTERS/BEIRUT

Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said yesterday, Saad Al Hariri’s resig-nation as prime minister would waste the time available for reforms that are widely seen as vital to steering the country out of a deep economic crisis.

France, which backs Hariri, also called for the quick for-mation of a new government that can enact urgent reforms.

Hariri resigned on Tuesday, propelled by an unprecedented wave of protests fueled by rising anger at a ruling elite blamed for steering the country towards economic collapse.

“Hariri’s resignation will contribute to wasting the time available to enact the reforms,” Hezbollah said in a televised statement. It also accused the United States of meddling in domestic affairs to spread chaos.

Parliamentarians from the Hezbollah movement called on Lebanon’s central bank to take steps to “guarantee avoiding the monetary situation spiraling out of control”.

Before he resigned, Hariri’s feuding government — which includes Hezbollah—had announced a list of reform plans last week, but these failed to defuse popular anger. The pro-posals also failed to prod foreign donors to release $11bn in badly needed aid that they pledged at a Paris conference last year.

After protests had largely subsided on Wednesday, pro-testers took to the streets again overnight and yesterday, with many demonstrators demanding

more resignations.In a separate statement, the

heavily armed Hezbollah said it targeted a drone over south Lebanon with “appropriate weapons” yesterday, forcing it to leave the country’s airspace.

Israel’s military said an anti-aircraft missile was fired from Lebanon at one of its drones but the aircraft was not hit.

Hezbollah had vowed in August to shoot down Israeli drones that violate Lebanon’s air-space on almost daily basis. That came after a suspected Israeli drone attack in a Beirut suburb. Banks, shut for nearly two weeks, are due to reopen today. Leba-non’s dollar bonds rose for the

first time in 10 working days with 2021 maturity debt rising 0.8 cents to 68.5 cents in the dollar, its biggest jump in six weeks.

The bonds have been under huge selling pressure in recent days amid simmering concerns about the government’s ability to meet its debt obligations. At nearly 150 percent of GDP, Lebanon has one of the world’s highest public debt burdens.

President Michel Aoun has formally asked the cabinet to continue in a caretaker role until a new one is formed, as required by Lebanon’s system of gov-ernment. A senior official familiar with Hariri’s thinking said he was ready to return as premier of a

new Lebanese government on condition it includes technocrats and can quickly implement reforms to stave off economic collapse.

Seeking to restore a sem-blance of normality, troops and riot police deployed on Thursday morning, reopening roads including a major highway north of Beirut and a bridge in the capital.

“We’ve been on the streets for 14 days. The politicians have been taking this as if nothing’s happening,” said Simon Nehme, a protester at the Ring Bridge in Beirut. “They’re stalling to get us bored and tell us to leave the streets. This won’t happen.”

Demonstrators walk on the street during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, yesterday.

Iraq president vows early polls as protesters demand moreAFP/BAGHDAD

Iraq’s president vowed yesterday to hold early elections in response to a month of deadly protests, but demonstrators said the move fell far short of their demands for a political overhaul.

In his first televised address in weeks, President Barham Saleh said the country’s embattled Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi was ready to step down, but there was so far no one to take his place.

“The prime minister expressed his willingness to submit his resignation, asking the political parties to reach an agreement on an acceptable

alternative,” said Saleh. He pledged to hold early

elections as soon as a new voting law and overnight commission was agreed, but his speech did not appear to impress demon-trators. “Barham’s speech is just an opiate for the masses,” said Haydar Kazem, 49.

“Abdel Mahdi’s resignation isn’t a solution, it’s part of the solution. The problem is with the ruling parties, not with Abdel Mahdi.” Iraq’s leaders have scrambled to respond to massive protests that erupted on October 1 over unemployment and cor-ruption, ballooning into demands for “the downfall of the regime.”

Saleh has held closed-door

talks with top figures over Abdel Mahdi’s ouster and parliament has called on the PM to come in for questioning. Abdel Mahdi has so far resisted, saying one con-dition for his appearance would be that the session be televised.

Lawmakers met yesterday for a fourth consecutive day and agreed to broadcast any session live, with Saeroon MPs chanting: “Adel must come! Adel must come!” Abdel Mahdi, 77, came to power a year ago through a tenuous partnership between populist cleric Moqtada Sadr and paramilitary leader Hadi al-Ameri.

The kingmakers’ alliance has frayed in recent months, as Sadr

threw his weight behind the pro-tests while Ameri and his allies backed the government.

A rapprochement built on Abdel Mahdi’s ouster appeared close on Tuesday night, but dis-agreements over who could replace him seemed to have slowed down the process.

The United Nations’ top rep-resentative in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, called for a national dialogue to draw a roadmap out of the crisis.

“Today Iraq stands at a crossroads. Progress through dialogue, or divisive inaction,” she said. “Full access to all information, facts and figures will prove key. Window dressing

will only feed anger and resentment.”

Iraq’s President Barham Salih delivering a televised speech to people in Baghdad yesterday.

Turkish forces capture 18 Syrian soldiersAP/ISTANBUL

Turkey’s defence minister said yesterday its forces captured 18 Syrian government soldiers in northeastern Syria, including two who are wounded.

Hulusi Akar said the soldiers were captured during Turkish reconnaissance southeast of Ras al-Ayn, but didn’t say when. Ankara was already in talks with Russia to hand over the Syrian soldiers, he added, according to the official ministry website yes-terday. Akar was speaking during a visit to Turkish troops at the border.

A Syrian Kurdish official said the soldiers were captured Tuesday during an intense battle between Syrian government forces and Turkey-backed fighters. Kurdish fighters were fighting alongside the Syrian troops. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

The town of Ras al-Ayn has been a flashpoint in Turkey’s invasion of northeastern Syria that has sought to drive back Kurdish fighters from its borders.

Turkey agreed to a cease-fire brokered by Russia on Oct. 22. Under the deal, Kurdish fighters would withdraw to 30

kilometers (19 miles) away from the Turkish border and Syrian government forces would take positions along the frontier. Joint Turkish-Russian patrols are due to begin Friday.

Turkey launched its cross-border operation earlier in the month to push out Syrian Kurdish fighters who had part-nered with U.S. forces against the Islamic State group. The invasion came after President Donald Trump ordered American forces to step aside. The U.S. negotiated an initial cease-fire. Ankara views the Syrian Kurdish fighters as an extension of the decades-long Kurdish insurgency in south-eastern Turkey.

Largely abandoned by their U.S. allies, the Kurdish fighters have leaned on Russia and the Syrian government forces to fend off Turkey’s invasion.

But the truce has been marred by accusation of viola-tions from both sides.

For days now, Turkey-allied fighters have been fighting Kurdish forces near Abu Rasein, a village between Ras al-Ayn and Tal Tamr, despite the deployment of Syrian gov-ernment forces. Syrian state media also reported some gov-ernment soldiers clashed with the Turkey-backed forces.

Kuwait appoints its first envoy to PalestineANATOLIA/KUWAIT CITY

Kuwait has appointed its first ambassador to Palestine. “The decision was made after Palestine welcomed the nomi-nation of Aziz Al Daihani, Kuwait’s ambassador to Jordan, to become a non-resident ambassador to Palestine,” local media reported quoting Pales-tinian Ambassador to Kuwait Rami Tahboub. The decision comes following talks between Jordanian King Abdullah II and Kuwaiti Amir H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, in Kuwait.

Islamic State confirms Baghdadi’s death, appoints successorREUTERS /CAIRO

The Islamic State (IS) militant group confirmed yesterday its leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi has been killed, the group’s news agency Amaq said in an audio tape following a US weekend raid.

Baghdadi, an Iraqi militant who rose from obscurity to declare himself “caliph” of all Muslims as the leader of Islamic

State, was killed by US special forces in northwestern Syria. The group had been silent until now. As successor it appointed someone Amaq only identified as Abu Ibrahim Al Hashemi Al Quraishi. Aymenn Al Tamimi, a researcher at Swansea Uni-versity focused on IS, said the name was unknown but could be a top figure called Hajj Abdullah whom the US State Department had identified as a

possible successor to Baghdadi “It could be someone we

know, who perhaps has just assumed this new name,” said Tamimi. The group, which con-trolled swathes of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017 and carried out atrocities that hor-rified most Muslims, also con-firmed the death of its spokesman Abul Hassan Al Muhajir. Baghdadi was killed in Idlib in northwestern Syria.

Ethiopian unrest death toll rises to 78AP/ADDIS ABABA

Ethiopia says 78 civilians died in last week’s unrest that was sparked when a prominent activist said the government had removed his personal security detail. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokeswoman said that 409 people were arrested. Billene Seyoum described the days of unrest as a “senseless act of violence.” Army troops were deployed to restore order.

Protesters urge disbanding of Bashir’s partyANATOLIA/KHARTOUM

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum urging the new government to disband ousted President Omar Al Bashir’s party. The protesters gathered in front of the Justice Ministry holding Sudanese flags and banners demanding the dissolution of the National Congress. They also called for action against Sudanese offi-cials who used force against peaceful protests in June which left 63 dead and hundreds injured.The Sudanese Forces for Freedom and Change Coalition, the opposition body which leads the protests, held the Sudanese Military Council responsible for the killings.

Refugees at a makeshift centre after being chased away from a corridor close to the offices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees(UNHCR), in Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday. They are asking the UNHCR to intervene on their behalf.

According to Peace Now, which closely monitors Israeli settlement building, plans for 8,337 housing units in the settlements have been approved since the beginning of the year.

05FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019 ISLAM

The character of Prophet MuhammadT

he Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) was an ordinary human being who served as a great example to mankind. Although he was

subject to the same limitations as any man, and faced many trials and tribulations, yet still accomplished outstanding success in delivering his divine mission.

The Prophet of Islam (PBUH) was sent as a mercy to all mankind, not to a specific group or race. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) epitomized good moral character and behavior. He was chosen by God – Allah to teach the people about morality and right-eousness, and to worship Allah alone.

Reputation of HonestyAlthough Prophet Muhammad

(PBUH) lived in a time when immorality and ignorance were rampant, he was still renowned for his upright and righteous character. Truthfulness and honesty were such an intrinsic part of his disposition, that he became known as Al Amin (the honest). Even the non-Muslims would entrust him with their valuable pos-sessions and would go to him as an impartial judge in their disputes.

When he first received revelation from Allah, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) stood on Mount Safa and called upon the people, “If I were to tell you that there was an army behind this mountain ready to attack you, would you believe me?” They responded with a resounding yes, in rec-ognition of his character and truthfulness. But when he said, “I am a warner sent to you…” they refused to accept his message. They disbelieved and revolted. Allah revealed the following verse in testament of the Prophet’s (PBUH) truthfulness: “We know indeed that what they say certainly grieves you, but surely they do not call you a liar; but they unjustly deny the verses of God.” (Noble Quran 6:33)

Compassionate to AllProphet Muhammad (PBUH) was

deeply grieved that so many people rejected his message. He was compas-sionate towards his people and desper-ately wanted them to be guided, but Allah reassured him: “Indeed, (O Muhammad), you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the rightly guided.” (Noble Quran 28:56)

At all times, he was concerned about the welfare of his people. He never took revenge for personal matters. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once said: “Allah will not be merciful to those who are not mer-ciful to the people.” (Sahih bukhari)

Obedient to AllahProphet Muhammad (PBUH) was

focused and subservient to Allah. He had total conviction and trust in Him. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:

“O Allah! To You I have submitted, and in You do I believe, and in You I put my trust, to You do I turn, and for You I argued.” (Sahih Bukhari)

Taught Justice and EqualityProphet Muhammad (PBUH) was a

just and noble individual. He empha-sized that all members of society were equal and duty bound to resist oppression and should not be content as onlookers. Justice and equality was paramount importance to him. He was meticulous and resolute in administering this.

“Help your brother whether he is the oppressor or the oppressed one.” When his companions asked him how they should help an oppressor, he replied, “By preventing him from oppressing others.” (Sahih Bukhari)

Pleasant And FriendlyProphet Muhammad (PBUH) was

known to have a pleasant and friendly countenance. It is well known he often

had a smile on his face, even in the midst of the stress of being outcast by his friends, neighbours, and some family members. One of his companions, Ibn Jaz narrated: “I have never seen a man who smiled as much as the messenger of Allah (PBUH).” (Tirmidi)

Family ManDespite being a public figure,

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was a family man. He had immense concern and empathy for his household and community. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “The best of you is he who is the best to his family, and I am the best among you to my family.” (Tirmidi)

When Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (PBUH), was asked how he occupied himself when he was at home, she said he helped with household duties, patched up his clothes, mended his shoes, and was a kind and affectionate companion. (Ahmad)

Humble LifestyleProphet Muhammad (PBUH) led a

very simple and humble life. He advised his followers to be likewise and content with what they had. He said: “Look at those who are less fortunate than your-selves, not those who are better off than yourselves, so you will not belittle the graces of Allah.” (Sahih Bukhari)

He achieved great success and victory, including the conquest of Makkah. The city which had treated him so cruelly and driven him away, was given back to him without the need for any bloodshed. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) rode into Makkah in complete humility and delivered a sermon to the assembled people. He spoke of broth-erhood and equality of man.

Generous and CharitableThe Prophet of Islam (PBUH) was

conscious of his community and the poor amongst them. Although he had little wealth, he was extremely charitable and continuously emphasized the impor-tance of giving charity. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:“On the day when all other shade will be gone, Allah will provide his shade for those who give charity.”

(Sahih bukhari)

Patient and SteadfastThroughout his life, Prophet

Muhammad (PBUH) endured many trials and hardships and the ‘Year of Sadness’ was particularly poignant. Three years before the historic migration to Madinah, the Prophet (PBUH) lost both his beloved wife Khadijah, and his uncle Abu Talib, who had been a great supporter and sincere guardian. These were two great associates of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and after their deaths, the per-secution of the Prophet and his small group of companions increased dramat-ically. Despite the pain and hardship, he remained patient and forbearing, uncompromising in his determination to spread the word of Allah.

Wise and Influential DiplomatProphet Muhammad (PBUH) was an

influential and charismatic leader who inspired, encouraged and motivated those around him. He led by example and practised all that he taught. He was a visionary with exceptional wisdom and foresight. He made treaties and alliances with many tribes, which demonstrated great diplomatic skills built on morality and honesty. He sat amongst his com-panions, ate with them and consulted with them. He also fought valiantly alongside them on the battlefield.

Epitome of MankindThroughout his life, Prophet

Muhammad (PBUH) maintained an impeccable demeanor. His character imbued virtue and righteousness. Allah approved of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) legacy and said: “Verily, you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example, for him who fears Allah and the Last Day, and who remembers Allah much.” (Noble Quran 33:21)

When Ayesha, the wife of the Prophet (PBUH), was asked regarding his character, she answered: “His char-acter was the quran.” (Sahih muslim)

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was gentle and forgiving. He was respectful and loving to the young and old alike. He promoted family unity, social cohesion and exemplified the virtues of maintaining good moral conduct at all times. He was an advocate of respecting parents, visiting the sick and main-taining the rights of neighbors.

He was a great leader, warrior, husband, father and role model for all mankind, until the end of time. He por-trayed a message of peace, unity, morality and justice. He was Muhammad (PBUH), the last of the Prophets of Allah.

https://islamfaith.com

Prophet’s lessons in leadershipJOHN ADAIR

During his hidden years in Makkah working with merchant-caravans, probably as a caravan leader, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) acquired a new name: Al

Amin, the Trustworthy One. The same root, inciden-tally, gives the English word amen, often used at the end of prayers, an expression of hearty approval. We can only guess What it was about the character or conduct of Muhammad (PBUH) that gave rise to this attractive sobriquet, but there is a clue. In 622 CE, while making ready for his migration from Makkah, Muhammad (PBUH) - in danger of his life - delayed long enough to dispose of some moneys that had been deposited at his house.

For centuries the whole life of Makkah centered on its caravan trade. Everyone in Makkah, rich and poor alike, including women landholders (of whom there were a number), was anxious to have a stake in this lucrative business. The powerful families grew richer and more influential with each annual expe-dition; and the poorer families saved every available dinar in order to share in these commercial ventures. The merchants of Makkah formed themselves into a syndicate, pooling their capital to equip the caravan, and then shared proportionately in the returns from their joint enterprise. Usually a single person would be asked to constitute himself the banker for the occasion, receiving deposits from everyone inter-ested in a particular expedition, and then administer the funds as economically as possible. Most probably it was Muhammad’s consistency and scrupulous honesty in this role that earned him his reputation for trustworthiness.

A young widow in Makkah by the name of Khadija bint Khuwaylid more than once entrusted her investment money interest in a caravan into the keeping of one of her cousins— Muhammad (PBUH). She was so impressed by him profes-sionally, and attracted to him personally, that fol-lowing a custom allowed among the Arabs — the sexes were much more equal than in other

societies — she sent him a proposal of marriage which included the words: ‘0 son of my uncle’, she wrote in her letter, ‘I like you because of our rela-tionship and your high reputation among your people, your trustworthiness and good character and truth-fulness.’ Muhammad (PBUH) accepted her proposal. It was one of the wisest decisions he made. She was his only wife for 25 years until her death (620 CE), she bore him Fatima and sons (none survived) and other daughters. And she was the first person to believe in Muhammad’s (PBUH) prophethood.

Through all the trials and tribulations in Makkah, Khadija was Muhammad’s (PBUH) chief stay and support. She knew her man and believed him as only a woman in love can. Perhaps these words of the French historian and political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville about his wife may well express what Muhammad (PBUH) felt about his wife: ‘She softens, calms and strengthens me in dif-ficulties which disturb me but leave her serene.’

Meaning of Honesty and IntegrityClearly, then, Muhammad (PBUH) was a man

with a reputation for integrity. That word, from the Latin integer whole, is especially appropriate for Muhammad as far as Muslims are concerned, for in its primary meaning integrity implies unity that indi-cates interdependence of the parts and completeness and perfection of the whole. Human beings are like stones, some Muslims say, and Muhammad (PBUH) is as the only ruby among them. Honesty means a refusal to lie, steal or cheat in any way. Integrity goes a mile beyond honesty: it implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility or pledge. A leader with integrity is like the English poet William Words-worth’s ‘Happy Warrior’:

Who comprehends his trust, and to the sameKeeps faithful, with singleness of aim;And therefore does not stop, nor lie in waitFor wealth or honour, or for worldly state.This integrity extends through the entireness

or wholeness of the character. It is found in small matters

as well as great, for allegiance to truth is tested as much by small things as by those that are more important.

Notice the centrality of the value of truth, as evidenced by a firm adherence to truth in all things — in the concept of integrity. Khadija, you recall, mentioned Muhammad’s (PBUH) ‘truthfulness’ — that he habitually spoke the truth — as well as his ‘trustworthiness’, but in fact these two virtues go hand in hand. If you tell the truth, people will trust you; if you lie and the other person finds out, then trust will be diminished if not lost for ever.

Importance of Honesty in a LeaderWhy does truth or veracity, honesty and high

principle, matter in a leader? The reason is simple. Leaders who are true, and always speak the truth, create trust. And trust is vital in all human rela-tions, professional or private.

You can see why Muhammad (PBUH) insisted upon integrity in those who were chosen to be leaders in the Umma, the growing Muslim com-munity. There was to be no place for any form of bribery or corruption: not that this prohibition was - or is - easy, for man is ‘Violent... in his love of wealth’ (Quran 100:8).

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: I will stand surety for Paradise if you save yourself from six things: Telling untruths, violating promises, dishonouring trust, being unchaste in thought and act, striking the first blow, taking what is bad and unlawful.

Perhaps of all Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) successors it was the second Caliph, Umar, who is the chief exemplar of integrity in Islam. Although he lacked Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) humour and charm, Umar matched him in scrupulous honesty and uprightness in matters financial, his passion for impartial justice and his adherence to the simple, open and approachable Bedouin style of leadership. Numani, the authoritative biographer of Umar, emphasizes his unbending integrity:

Here, we must note that all the Caliph’s efforts in this regard would have counted for little if he had not himself led by example. He stressed

repeatedly that, as regards the Law, he stood on an equal footing with any other individual. He claimed no special privileges or exemptions as caliph. He proclaimed, instead, that his powers were limited and his exercise of them subject to scrutiny and criticism. Regarding public funds, Umar said: ‘I have no greater right on your money (ie public funds) than the guardian of an orphan has on that orphan’s property. If I am wealthy, I shall not take anything. If I am needy, I shall take for my main-tenance according to usage. You people - you have many rights on me which you should demand of me. One of those rights is that I should not collect revenues and spoils of war unlawfully; the second is that the revenues and spoils of war that come into my possession should not be spent unlawfully; another is that I should increase your salaries and protect the frontiers, and that I should not cast you into unnecessary perils.’

Integrity Reflects the Oneness of GodThis is a further reflection especially for Muslim

readers. The simple message of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was in Arabic tawhid, the oneness of God: Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He does not beget, nor is He begotten; And there is none like Him. (Quran 112:1-4)

For believers, God has self-evidently many qualities or attributes, or ‘names’ as they are called in the Islamic tradition. Encouraged by the Quran (7:180;17:110;20:8), Muslims selected 99 of these attributes of God describing this perfection, from the Quran and traditions. Referred to as ‘the most beautiful names of God’, they describe a range of characteristics that balance the power of God (the Creator, the Sovereign and the All- Knowing) with His love and mercy (the All-Loving, the Most Gra-cious and the All-Forgiving). The names are fre-quently memorised and used in prayers. One name that has been hidden by God is Ism Allah Ala’zam, ‘The Greatest Name of Allah’. Yet all this unfath-omably rich diversity is encompassed in an essential unity: ‘Say: He is Allah, the One...’

Integrity, you could say, Within this tradition is the counterpart of tawhid in a person’s life and character. If man is made in the likeness of God’, then personal integrity reflects the oneness of God.

www.islamicity.org

Although Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) lived in a time when immorality and ignorance were rampant, he was still renowned for his upright and righteous character. Truthfulness and honesty were such an intrinsic part of his disposition, that he became known as Al Amin (the honest). Even the non-Muslims would entrust him with their valuable possessions and would go to him as an impartial judge in their disputes.

06 FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019ASIA

Kashmir loses statehood as lieutenant governors take oath of officeREUTERS SRINAGAR

Shops and offices were shut in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday and the streets largely deserted as federal authorities formally revoked the restive state’s consti-tutional autonomy and split it into two federal territories.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision in August to change Kashmir’s status and tighten its grip over a region has stoked anger and resentment while a three-decade armed revolt rages.

Pakistan, which claims the whole of Kashmir, has con-demned the move. Its ally China, which is locked in a sep-arate decades-old dispute with India over the part of Kashmir called Ladakh, also slammed India for unilaterally changing its status.

Just after midnight on Wednesday, the federal govern-ment’s orders went into effect, dividing up the old state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories — one Jammu

and Kashmir, and the other the Buddhist-dominated enclave of Ladakh.

Both will be directly ruled by Delhi, and new lieutenant gov-ernors were sworn in at a high-security governor’s premises later yesterday.

“The unfulfilled dream of integrating Jammu and Kashmir has been accomplished,” said Home Minister Amit Shah, who is leading the political strategy to deal with Kashmir.

India is hoping that by opening up property rights in Kashmir to people from outside the region it can reignite eco-nomic growth, create jobs and turn the focus away from the militancy in which more than 40,000 people have died.

It blames Pakistan for keeping the revolt alive, allega-tions that the nuclear-armed neighbour denies. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Kashmir was a dispute left from history and it should be peacefully resolved.

“The Indian government officially announced the estab-lishment of so called Jammu Kashmir territory and Ladakh Union territory which included some of China’s territory into its administrative jurisdiction,” Geng said at a news briefing.

“China deplores and firmly opposed that. India unilaterally changes its domestic law and administrative divisions, chal-lenging China’s sovereignty and interests.

“This is awful and void, and this is not effective in any way

and will not change the fact that the area is under China’s actual control.”

India and China fought a war in 1962 and since then have been unable to resolve their border dispute. Pakistan and India have fought two wars since inde-pendence in 1947 and engaged in an aerial clash over the territory.

Yesterday, there was little traffic on the streets of Srinagar,

the main city in Indian Kashmir, except for children going to school to complete hastily arranged exams. Many children have been kept out of school since the August clamp-down.

Authorities deployed addi-tional paramilitary forces in parts of Srinagar where small protests have erupted in the past since the August 5 announcement of the change of status.

Still, there were 20 small

incidents of stone-pelting reported from Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir valley on Wednesday, a state police official said.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, one of scores of politicians in detention to prevent large pro-tests from breaking out, said the federal government must engage with Kashmiris before they become even more alienated.

Newly appointed Lieutenant Governor of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir Girish Chandra Murmu (left) takes oath of office from Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Gita Mittal (right), at the Raj Bhavan in Srinagar, yesterday.

Veteran CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta passes awayIANS KOLKATA

Veteran communist leader and trade unionist Gurudas D a s g u p t a ( p i c t u r e d ) , considered a very capable parliamentarian, died at his south Kolkata residence yesterday after a long battle with cancer. He was 82.

Dasgupta, deputy general secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), passed away at 6am, family sources said.

“He was admitted to Tata Medical Centre, where he was on ventilation also for some time. On Monday he was released from the hospital and brought home,” party state sec-retary, Swapan Banerjee told IANS.

Dasgupta, a three-term Rajya Sabha member, was also elected to the Lok Sabha twice — from Panskura in 2004 and Ghatal in 2009.

He began his long parlia-mentary career following his election to the Upper House of Parliament in 1985, and made his mark with his erudition, fearless and articulate oratory, speaking out with a crusader’s zeal against corruption, capitalism and what he always termed as the “neo-imperialist policies”. He was twice re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1988 and 1994.

Dasgupta lost the bypoll to the Panskura constituency in West Bengal in 2000, but won the seat in the general elections four years later as a Left Front backed candidate.

Dasgupta was one of those parl iamentarians who repeatedly highlighted the Bofors scandal that came into the public domain in the late 1980s during the prime minis-terial stint of Rajiv Gandhi.

Court forms board to examine Chidambaram’s healthIANS NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court yesterday directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director to immediately constitute a board of doctors, including former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s family physician Doctor D Nageshwar Reddy, and examine whether the Congress leader is required to be admitted in a sterile environment in hospital or not.

The court also directed the report must be placed before it today.

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait’s

direction came while hearing interim bail plea of former Union minister on health ground.

The court said that the board has to be constituted by 4pm yes-terday and thereafter the board has to sit and discuss this issue at 7pm. If doctor Reddy is not able to reach Delhi, then board could hold the meeting at 10pm, the court said.

His counsel and senior Advocate Kapil Sibal pressed for providing sterile environment to Chidambaram saying that he is suffering from Crohn’s disease, which has become acute during his days in custody. Emphasising Chidambaram’s treatment under

the supervision of his family doctor Reddy, Sibal also sug-gested that he should be admitted to Apollo hospital because he will get sterile envi-ronment there.

But, the court suggested that Chidambaram could get best medical care at AIIMS’ private ward, where various parliamen-tarians, judges and eminent per-sonalities are being treated time-to-time under the supervision of best doctors of the country.

Even Solicitor General Tushar Mehta gave similar sug-gestion and told the court that Chidambaram was examined by senior doctor Ahuja and on the

request of former minister, Ahuja had a conversation with doctor Reddy.

Reddy has told Ahuja that treatment given to Chidambaram is all right, Mehta told the court.

Asserting that Chidambaram should be treated at AIIMS, Mehta said that he was taken to hospital many times and doctors have suggested that there is no need of admitting the former minister in the hospital.

But Sibal did not agree with Mehta’s submission and said that he needs proper medical attention. He also said that Chidambaram would not get good atmosphere in the AIIMS.

When Sibal failed to con-vince the court, he said that he is withdrawing petition seeking Chidambram’s interim bail. Irked by Sibal’s response, the court remarked that the advocate of such stature should not behave like this.

“I am not a doctor. You (Sibal) are not a doctor. Let the doctor decide whether he needs to be admitted,” the court said.

During the course of argument, Sibal told the court that Chidambaram needs to be treated by doctor Reddy of Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, Hyderabad, because he is his family doctor.

Members of Treatment Action Group (TAG) during a protest to demand half the price of Xpert tests, used for tuberculosis diagnosis, to $5, at the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health launched by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) in Hyderabad , yesterday.

Anti-tuberculosis drug price slashedAFP HYDERABAD

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi slashed the price of a key anti-tuberculosis drug yesterday, boosting the battle against the world’s deadliest disease alongside the US launch of tests for a new treatment.

The initiatives came as the United Nations seeks to galvanize the campaign against TB, which killed 1.5 million people last year and saw 10 million more infected.

Scientists, who hailed Sanofi’s decision to cut the price of its rifapentine drug by two thirds, said the medical shield offered by such treatments would be

crucial to the UN aim of eradi-cating the disease by 2030.

“This lifesaving drug has, until now, been completely unaffordable in developing countries,” said Lelio Marmora, head of Unitaid, a global health initiative that helped broker the landmark deal between the firm and the Global Fund.

“This agreement will help transform political commitment to tangible action,” he added.

Sanofi, the world’s third biggest pharmaceutical maker by turnover, has cut the price of a three-month course of rifapentine from $45 to $15 for 100 poor nations struggling with the disease.

The cheaper price means aid

agencies and governments will be able to use the medicine more widely in their treatments.

Rifapentine, combined with the drug isoniazid, helps shield a person who has the TB infection from developing the disease but also from passing it on to others.

The announcement was made at a global lung health conference in Hyderabad, India, involving some 3,500 researchers, TB sur-vivors and activists from more than 80 nations.

The price cut follows an announcement earlier this week by Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline that a new vaccine tested in three African nations had shown par-ticular promise

Congress suspects govt spied on oppn, SC judges; demands probeIANS NEW DELHI

In the wake of reports of snooping of some Indians by an Israeli agency, the Congress yesterday accused the government of being behind it and demanded an investigation monitored by the Supreme Court.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said his party suspects that even judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, besides many opposition leaders, have been snooped upon.

The allegation comes in the wake of reports that WhatsApp of some journalists and activists was breached by an Israeli agency NSO by using ‘Pegasus’ surveillance software. The list and identity of the persons tar-geted has not been released.

“We suspect that many opposition leaders and judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are in this list,” Surjewala said.

He said the government should tell which agency of the Government of India has pur-chased and deployed the ‘Pegasus’ surveillance software and who has authorised them to do so, NSA or PMO?

“We urge the Supreme Court to take suo moto cogni-zance of this brazen and blatant illegal hacking of tele-phones and introduction of the spyware by the BJP gov-ernment agencies and conduct a court-monitored inquiry,” the

Congress spokesperson said.Referring to Telecom Min-

ister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s tweet in which he said WhatsApp has been asked to “explain” snooping, Surjewala said, this is “pot calling the cattle black”.

As per reports, the spyware ‘Pegasus’ not only reaches the WhatsApp but is able to turn on the phone’s camera and micro-phone to capture all activities in the vicinity of the phone, besides hacking all the security features of the phone, including listening to and sending passwords, contact lists, calendar events, text messages and live voice calls.

Facebook, owner of WhatsApp, has admitted that nearly 1,400 people, majority of them are Indians, have been affected by the phone hack of the ‘Pegasus’ spy ware. The number may actually be much larger as admitted by the Facebook itself as they have been unable to pinpoint the exact number of phone hacked by this spy ware.

“The ‘Right to Privacy’ of the citizens has been an anathema to the majoritarian BJP gov-ernment. Over last five years, BJP government has done eve-rything to crush the right of cit-izens, including every dissenting voice. It is time to remind the nation that the present BJP gov-ernment opposed the “Right to Privacy’ to be read as part of the fundamental rights,” Surjewala said.

India is hoping that by opening up property rights in Kashmir to people from outside the region it can reignite economic growth, create jobs and turn the focus away from the militancy in which more than 40,000 people have died.

07FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019 ASIA

At least 74 dead in Pakistan train blazeAFP RAHIM YAR KHAN

At least 74 people were killed and dozens injured after cooking gas cylinders exploded on a train packed with pilgrims in Pakistan yesterday, some dying after leaping from carriages to escape the inferno, authorities said.

Television footage showed flames pouring out of three car-riages as people could be heard crying during the incident, in a rural area of central Punjab province.

Some of the passengers — many of whom were pilgrims travelling to one of Pakistan’s biggest religious gatherings — had been cooking breakfast when two of their gas cylinders exploded, Ali Nawaz, a senior Pakistan Railways official, said.

Many Pakistanis carry food on long train journeys, but gas cylinders are supposedly banned. Pakistan’s Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed later told reporters that it had been a “mistake” to allow the cylinders on board.

Dozens of people crowded along the tracks staring at the burning carriages, which had been disconnected from the rest of the train, television images showed.

Firefighters rushed to the scene near Rahim Yar Khan dis-trict. Rescue workers and sol-diers could also be seen, as

bodies were carried away covered in white sheets.

“A cylinder exploded and I don’t know how, fire erupted everywhere,” one survivor, Muhammad Imran, said from a hospital in Rahim Yar Khan.

“I jumped out of the train to save my life. There was a whole line of people behind me, they pushed,” he said.

Muhammad Nadeem Zia, a medical superintendent at the hospital in Liaquatpur, the nearest town, said some of the victims were killed by head injuries sustained as they leapt from the moving train. He said at least 44 people had been injured.

Those hurt were being rushed to hospitals in the nearby city of Bahawalpur and else-where in Rahim Yar Khan dis-trict. Officials said many of the bodies were charred beyond

recognition.Prime Minister Imran Khan

said he was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy and had ordered an urgent inquiry.

Khan said the train was the Tezgam, one of Pakistan’s oldest and most popular rail services, which runs between the southern port city of Karachi to the gar-rison city of Rawalpindi, neigh-bouring Islamabad.

It had been diverted to facil-

itate the religious pilgrims trav-elling to Lahore.

Passengers were travelling to attend the annual Tablighi Ijtema, one of Pakistan’s biggest religious gatherings, which each year sees up to 400,000 people descend on a tented village outside Lahore for several days to sleep, pray and eat together.

The majority of those killed were pilgrims from southern

Sindh province, Nawaz said.The Tablighi Ijtema, which

began yesterday and concludes on Sunday, was founded by reli-gious scholars more than five decades ago and focuses exclu-sively on preaching Islam.

It usually sees hundreds of camps and sub-camps set up on the dusty site outside Lahore to accommodate people from across Pakistan, giving the gath-ering a festival feel.

Stalls sell cooked food, raw chicken and meat, vegetables and fruit, and even electrical appliances and batteries for mobile phones at a subsidised rate.

Railways minister Ahmed said it had been “tradition” for authorities to allow people trav-elling to the festival to board trains carrying cooking cylinders.

“I admit our mistake... this will not happen in the future,” he told journalists in televised com-ments from the nearby city of Multan.

“A tragedy that could have been avoided but ever since I can recall while travelling by train no baggage check or restrictions enforced,” human rights minister Shireen Mazari tweeted.

Nawaz said two of the car-riages were economy coaches, while one was business class, and that up to 88 passengers can fit into each.

Train accidents are common in Pakistan, where the railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.

In July, at least 23 people were killed in the same district when a passenger train coming from the eastern city of Lahore rammed into a goods train that had stopped at a crossing.

Accidents often happen at unmanned crossings, which fre-quently lack barriers and some-times signals.

People gather beside the burnt-out train carriages after a passenger train caught on fire near Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab province of Pakistan, yesterday.

CIA-trained Afghan forces behind war atrocities: ReportAP ISLAMABAD

Heavily armed men burst into the home in the middle of night, hustling four brothers into separate rooms, their hands bound. Afghan special forces then shot them in the head and heart. The operation, the CIA-trained Afghan unit said, targeted Islamic State militants in a remote region of eastern Nangarhar Province.

In reality, the raid took place in the province’s capital of Jala-labad, within earshot of Justice Ministry offices. In an interview with The Associated Press, the family said the dead brothers

included a school teacher and an assistant to a member of Afghan-istan’s parliament. The truth of their deaths was eventually revealed by local and interna-tional media and the country’s intelligence chief, Masoom Sta-nikzai, was forced to resign.

But that’s not enough, says Human Rights Watch in a new report released Thursday docu-menting what it says are mounting atrocities by US-backed Afghan special forces and rising civilian deaths by both American and Afghan forces. It calls for an investigation into whether the US has committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

The report says US-led peace

talks to end the 18-year-old war have omitted addressing the fate of the Afghan special forces that work “as part of the covert oper-ations of the Central Intelligence Agency.” The report suggests either disbanding them or bringing them under the control of the Defence Ministry.

“These troops include Afghan strike forces who have been responsible for extra-judicial executions and enforced disap-pearances, indiscriminate air-strikes, attacks on medical facil-ities, and other violations of international humanitarian law, or the laws of war,” it says.

Several Afghan, Taliban and US officials, including some who

are involved in trying to resus-citate peace talks, said the Taliban won’t agree to reduce attacks without a reduction in violence from the US and Afghan side.

President Donald Trump ended negotiations with the Taliban over what he said was the insurgents’ unacceptable level of violence.

According to HRW and several UN reports, Afghan special operations units are now partly responsible for rising civilian deaths and rights abuses. They operate with seeming impunity under Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Security Directorate, and hold nondescript names like Unit 01

or Khost Protection Forces.HRW’s report, the culmi-

nation of a nearly two-year inves-tigation, documented instances of families terrorized by night raids, summary executions and disappearances of people, some of whom are never heard from again. In preparing the report, researchers interviewed 39 Afghans directly impacted by offenses and several witnesses in nine different provinces.

The report tells of raids in Zurmat in eastern Paktia Province. Witnesses said Afghan and US strike forces blew open the door of one home and shot dead four men as the family watched.

Nearly 400 Rohingya go back to MyanmarAFP DHAKA

Around 400 Rohingya refugees have voluntarily returned to Myanmar from Bangladesh, Myanmar’s embassy there said yesterday, but with previous repatriation attempts having failed Dhaka was yet verify the claim.

Bangladesh is home to nearly a million Rohingya including 740,000 who fled a military crackdown in Rakhine state in August 2017 that the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar’s embassy posted photos on Facebook that pur-ported to show “46 more vol-untary returnees” being “warmly received” in Myanmar, taking the total number going back to 397 in an unspecified timeframe.

There was no immediate comment on the embassy statement from the Bangladeshi refugee commissioner and Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen said Dhaka would verify the claims.

But in a statement on Wednesday, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said the return of a “handful” of refugees did “not testify (to) any improvement of the ground reality in Rakhine”.

Rohingya leaders have refused to return without guaranteed security and citi-zenship — which they are cur-rently denied in Myanmar — and previous attempts to repatriate the Muslim minority fell flat when no-one turned up.

Since then however, Bang-ladesh has imposed an Internet blackout on the vast, squalid camps in the country’s south-east that house the refugees, and has announced plans to surround them with barbed-wire fences.

Authorities also want to move thousands of the refugees to an island in the Bay of Bengal beginning next month despite concerns for their safety from rights groups.Sri Lanka’s Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya shows a ballot box during a press

conference in Colombo, yesterday.

Sri Lanka candidate pledges laws against religious extremismAP COLOMBO

Sri Lanka’s governing party presidential candidate yesterday pledged to refocus the country’s security policy and introduce tough laws to tackle religious extremism and terrorism.

In his election platform, Sajith Premadasa identified reli-gious extremism, illegal drugs and corruption as three issues that require urgent attention.

His platform says the new

laws will allow better monitoring, investigation and prosecution of religious extremists, and will provide severe penalties for hate speech and misinformation.

“The defence budget will be enhanced to prioritise moderni-zation of the intelligence agencies, police and security forces in line with the National Security Strategy,” the platform said.

“Included in the modernisation of the police force will be a fresh policy on promotions that will reflect merit and recognize the

value of officers who are dedicated to their duty in pursuing chal-lenging, dangerous and important criminal cases,” the document said.

A position of national security adviser will be created by law and a Counter Terrorism Center will be established linking all relevant agencies, it said.

National security in the aftermath of deadly Easter Sunday bomb attacks has taken prominence in the election cam-paign as it enters the final two weeks.

Some of the passengers — many of whom were pilgrims travelling to one of Pakistan’s biggest religious gatherings — had been cooking breakfast when two of their gas cylinders exploded, Ali Nawaz, a senior Pakistan Railways official, said.

Pakistan issues coin and stamp to mark Guru Nanak birth anniversaryINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

As Pakistan gears up for the high profile inauguration of Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara next month, the government has issued a coin and a stamp to mark the occasion.

The Rs50 commemorative coin (pictured) and Rs8 stamp depciting the birthplace of Sri Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh religion, has been issued simultaneously to mark his 550th birth anniversary.

The coin will be available for Sikh devotees visiting Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara after the inau-guration of Kartarpur Corridor by Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 9.

One side of the coin reads, 550th Birthday Celebrations Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji 1469-2019

with a Gurudwara carved on it whereas on the other side it reads Islamic Republic Pakistan and Rs50 with Pakistan’s symbol, a moon and a star.

Khan, who has invited former Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and ex-Indian Punjab Minister and his cricket contemporary, Navjot Singh Sidhu, to the November 9 cer-emony, recently laid the foun-dation stone of Baba Guru Nanak University in Nankana Sahib in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

The Kartarpur Corridor, as it is called, has been built in record time and is expected to open a whole new chapter in the troubled history of the two nations. As well as building bridges with this ini-tiative, Pakistan is eyeing sizeable religious tourism with the visa-free facility.

Protesters are demanding that a new government be formed, one run by technocrats unaffiliated with the political class.

08 FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019VIEWS

What next for Lebanon after Hariri’s strategic exit?

On October 29, 13 days after massive protests broke out across Lebanon, Prime Min-ister Saad Hariri submitted his

resignation to President Michel Aoun, calling it a much needed “positive shock” to the country. Earlier in the week, he had consulted Aoun and made direct contact with Hezbollah for the first time since more than two years to probe where the group stands on forming a new cabinet. Hariri failed to reach an agreement with them on how to move forward and hence decided to step down.

The resignation, however, does not mean Hariri is fully disengaging from the ruling oligarchy. Rather, it reflects his intent to alter the parameters of the 2016 political deal between his Future Movement and the Hezbollah-Free Patriotic Movement alliance, which paved the way for Aoun taking the presidency.

It is the second time Hariri finds himself abruptly leaving his position as premier. In January 2011, while he was on a visit to Washington, ministers repre-senting Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) resigned, making his government obsolete and precipitating the ultimate formation of a new one under the leadership of Najib Mikati.

This time, however, it was a dif-ferent source of pressure that led to Har-

iri’s political exit. Protesters are demanding that a new gov-ernment be formed, one run by technocrats unaffiliated with the political class. But certain political forces are resisting and are set on forming a new cabinet to reflect the composition of the current

Lebanese parliament which was elected last year.

The Lebanese protests are putting pressure on the 2016 presidential deal that stabilised the political and security situation in Lebanon but reinforced the sectarian power-sharing agreement that encourages corruption and lack of accountability. This public pressure is inviting the ruling oligarchy to revert back to their political calculations that predate this political deal. Instead of heeding the protesters calls for change, the political class seems concerned with settling political scores to stay in power rather than rethinking the concept of governance.

Hariri, along with Walid Jumblatt, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, and Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces, want to renegotiate the param-eters of this political deal by deposing

President Aoun’s son-in-law and foreign minister, Gebran Bassil who has been widely criticised for his divisive rhetoric and attempted power grabs at the gov-ernment level.

Hezbollah and Aoun insist for now on keeping him in the government. However, the president’s position seems ambiguous given the infighting in his own family. Two of Aoun’s three daughters believe that Bassil is tar-nishing the credibility and legacy of their father and should go. Hezbollah has suggested that it would not agree to Bassil’s removal from the government if Hariri retains the premiership.

Hariri, for his part, seems to be playing the long game, hoping that his decision to resign will deflect public anger from him and help him regain some political capital. He and his allies believe that ending the presidential deal with Hezbollah might mean their political demise given their alternative is angry protesters who want them replaced, which explains why the oli-garchy bonded during the uprising in the past two weeks. The ball now appears to be in the court of Hezbollah and Aoun. The president will have to consult with parliamentarian blocs before announcing a new prime minister.

Forming a cabinet is a long process in Lebanese politics and its success will partially depend on the protesters’ ability to keep up the pressure on the streets in the face of possible provoca-tions from counterprotest forces.

At this point, there are three sce-narios with different possible outcomes.

First, Hezbollah and its allies in Par-liament could give Hariri the mandate to form a new cabinet in which case the prime minister will have to decide whether to try to put together a cabinet that keeps Hezbollah-FPM happy or to accept the protesters’ demand and put forward tech-nocrats for all ministerial posts.

Hezbollah and Aoun may decide either to resist or facilitate depending on public pressure and their own political calculations. Hezbollah understands that conceding to a government run by tech-nocrats might mean early parliamentary elections and a new political process that could diminish its power.

If Hariri pulls off a government of technocrats, this may mean that Hez-bollah is taking a step back from being

involved in the country’s political system. The group is unlikely to go in that direction, however, if the prime minister retains alone his post given his backing from the Trump administration.

Alternatively, Aoun, Hariri and Hez-bollah could reach an agreement that removes controversial ministers, like Bassil, puts some technocrats in minis-terial positions and proposes a reform plan. However, reproducing an amended version of the freshly resigned cabinet will most likely be met by public anger and further protests.

Second, Hezbollah and its allies could also take the lead in the par-liament vote on the new cabinet and name a credible prime minister to replace Hariri. The new premier could try to form a technocratic cabinet with the consent of Hezbollah and Hariri, which would appease the protesters, but it is hard to imagine that both parties would surrender policymaking to min-isters they cannot control.

Alternatively, Aoun and Hezbollah could use their simple majority to sideline Hariri and have the new premier seek a government with some technocrats in its ranks. This would push Hariri into opposition, force him to fight back within the “deep state” and reignite sectarian sentiments given that Hariri remains the political leader of the Sunni Muslims in Lebanon. Such a Lebanese government would be at risk of being perceived as Hezbollah-controlled and could face sanctions from the US, which has listed Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

The third and most likely scenario is the current cabinet remaining as a care-taker government in the foreseeable future and the political oligarchy hedging its bets on a waiting game. This would put pressure on the protesters to give up, as it would extend the country’s political and economic paralysis indefinitely.

Thus, Hariri’s resignation, far from resolving the crisis, has pushed the country further into political turmoil. In the short term, it is likely that Lebanon will face a political dead-end, until various forces weigh up their options. A quick resolution will largely depend on whether Hezbollah will remain in denial on the opposite side of a significant part of his own constituency or will show flexibility and ultimately recognise the new realities of the Lebanese uprising.

JOE MACARON AL JAZEERA

QUOTE OF THE DAY

We are moving with the US-Mexico-Canada trade

agreement, making progress every day. I’m optimistic that we are

still on a path to yes, and that ... we will come to

conclusion soon on that.

Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the US House

of Representatives

The biggest impeachment challenge? Commitment

The other day I heard a radio announcer say about the impeach-ment process that it

“drags on.” In that phrase he captured the biggest challenge now in front of us: com-mitment. This process will require commitment from all of us, regardless of which side one is on. It will also force each of us to revisit the question of what our fundamental com-mitments actually are - meaning our commitments not of party but of purpose.

It’s easier to keep than to regain freedom. If we love the chance to be free and equal citizens in a constitutional democracy, we’ll have to put in the miles, like a marathoner. We know it’s easier to stay fit than to get in shape, so we go

to the gym. Freedom’s no dif-ferent. And this is not to trivi-alize it. Health for the spirit and health for the body are two great foundations of human well-being.

So if the goal is keeping a society of free and equal cit-izens, what’s the right course?

There are sound reasons to support the impeachment process. There appears to be considerable evidence - from both the Mueller report and the House inquiry - that Pres-ident Trump has violated both the law and the Constitution, in particular his constitutional oath to exercise faithfully the powers of the office. There is also good reason to think, as I have argued previously, that these violations do rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

From another point of view the argument is often

made that Trump has done wrong but that our marathon course should run through the voting booth, not the impeachment process: Let the electorate make the call. This argument leaves me incred-ulous given where we are in the course of events. The pres-ident appears to have attempted to direct the consid-erable powers of his office toward eroding the integrity of the electoral process. This is like saying that we should let the outcome of the boxing match determine whether the guy accused of having lead in his gloves has lead in his gloves.

There is an argument for supporting Trump that I can understand: You voted for the guy. You committed to him. You believe in all of your com-mitments, including your political ones, in the same way

you believe in marriage. You’re already running a mar-athon and you’ve got mar-athon spirit. You’ll stick with him. That’s a reason I not only understand but also respect.

But give me that reason. Don’t hide behind the argument that the issue we’re dealing with now could be addressed via an election.

And if you do give me that reason about commitment, I would still ask you one more question: whether there might be another commitment worthy of your equally steadfast conviction. It is cap-tured in the closing lines of the Declaration of Independence when the Founders affirmed: “we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” They didn’t pledge even to George Washington. They pledged to democracy and one another.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

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

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI

osman@pen.com.qa

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

Qatar rides to smart future

Yet again, Qatar is making another ambitious dream come true by aiming to implement the smart city concept in the country. As a precursor to this, Prime Minister and

Interior Minister, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani along with the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, inaugurated the Smart City Expo Doha on Wednesday. The first edition of the Smart City Expo aims at introducing inno-vative technology that will contribute to improving the lives of citizens, residents and visitors through achieving social inclusion, sustainability and empowerment.

President Kagame expressed his happiness over his coun-try’s partnership with Qatar in the field of smart cities, saying that both countries are among the top 10 globally in the future vision and readiness to embrace change and its requirements.

In the smart city concept, a city uses information and com-munication technologies (ICT) to increase operational effi-ciency, share information with the public and improve both the quality of government services and the welfare of citizens. The concept aspires to optimise city functions and drive eco-

nomic growth while improving quality of life for its citizens using smart technology and data analysis. More than how much technology a city has at its dis-posal, what it chooses to do with technology is what matters.

For implementing the idea, a city should have a technology-based infrastructure, environ-mental initiatives, a top level public transportation system, a confident sense of urban planning and residents with a readiness to utilise its resources.

Qatar enjoys all these prereq-uisites as the country has already embraced and implemented the most modern technological advancement in the field of ICT. The country can boast of one of the best infrastructure set up with its well connected roads and the

newest metro lines. Its transportation system provides com-fortable travel options linking every nook and corner of the country. The tech-savvy citizens and residents are always open to new technological developments by embracing any innovation that come in handy for them.

One of the world’s first 5G network offered by both telecom operators of the country makes it more sensible and practical to implement the idea of a fully smart city. With the 5G network, Internet of Things has become almost a reality here, which will augment the smart city implementation.

Sustainability is another major facet of smart cities. Qatar has been very keen on sustainable development of the country and the smart city idea will add to the efforts toward achieving sustainability target. Smart technology will help cities sustain growth and improve efficiency for people’s welfare and gov-ernment in the years to come.

One may not wonder if we see autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars plying through Doha roads in the near future, taking the smart city concept to its next level.

One of the world’s first 5G network offered by both telecom operators of the country makes it more sensible and practical to implement the idea of a fully smart city. With the 5G network Internet of Things has become almost a reality here, which will augment the smart city implementation.

DANIELLE ALLEN THE WASHINGTON POST

09FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019 HOME

10 FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019ASIA

China denies reports of professor spying in BelgiumAP BEIJING

China said yesterday that reports that a professor leading a Beijing-backed language and culture institute in Belgium was involved in spying are untrue.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said some Western media have pub-lished “false reports of distor-tions about the Confucius Institute.”

“This is completely untrue and has ulterior motives. We res-olutely oppose this behaviour that hinders normal exchanges and educational cooperation

projects,” Geng told reporters at a daily briefing.

Confucius Institutes at uni-versities around the world have come under increasing scrutiny as some accuse them of being tools of Chinese Communist Party propaganda and influence.

The professor in the Belgium case, Song Xinning, told AP by phone from his home in Beijing that the Brussels immigration office gave him a notice on July 30 stating that his visa would not be renewed because he “sup-ported Chinese intelligence agencies’ spying and interference activities in Belgium.”

The accusations that he recruited intelligence personnel in the Chinese business and aca-demic community in Belgium were “invented from thin air,” Song said.

Song is a professor at Bei-jing’s Renmin University of China who specialises in European

studies. For the past three years, he was head of the Confucius Institute at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Song returned to China after his visa expired on July 31.

A spokesman for Belgium’s VSSE state security service declined to discuss the case.

Song said that he may have been targeted because he was known for organising “lively” events when he was leading the Confucius Institute, including monthly gatherings and aca-demic dialogues to which people of all nationalities were invited.

In September, Song applied from Beijing for visas to Finland,

Austria and Belgium for a work trip. He received a notice from the Belgian immigration bureau saying that he was banned from entering the Schengen Area, which encompasses 26 European states that have abolished passport controls.

Song said reports in Belgian media about his alleged ties to Chinese intelligence and spying were “fabricated,” adding that their descriptions of him as a “hard-liner within the Chinese Communist Party,” were ironic since he’s regarded in China as a liberal.

Officials in the US and Aus-tralia have called Confucius

Institutes a threat to national security and a tool for Chinese Communist Party interference in other countries.

A total of 26 have closed since 2014, most since mid-2018 and many over concerns about free speech, academic freedom and national security, according to the National Association of Scholars.

Some schools in the US decided to cut ties following the passage of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that forbids universities that host the institutes from receiving Defense Department funding for Chinese language study.

Third deadly quake in weeks hits PhilippinesAFP MANILA

A powerful earthquake struck the southern Philippines yesterday, killing at least five people and sparking searches of seriously damaged buildings that had already been rattled by two previous deadly tremors in recent weeks.

The 6.5 magnitude quake hit the island of Mindanao, the US Geological Survey said, causing locals to run to safety in the same area where a strong tremor killed eight people on Tuesday.

The powerful shaking caused serious damage to a condo-minium building in the major southern city of Davao, about 45km from the epicentre.

Nine people were hurt at the building, and rescuers believed at least one was trapped in the rubble, a local disaster official said.

Five people were killed in

nearby Cotabato province, including a local official who was crushed to death, a police officer said.

A hotel partially collapsed in another area, but a disaster official said the building had already been evacuated.

Locals have been left ter-rified by a string of powerful quakes, and hundreds of after-shocks since the first powerful tremor struck on October 16.

“I panicked and I rushed outside. I was afraid the building might collapse,” said Beth Lancian, a restaurant cashier in Davao. “There’s been an earth-quake almost every week.”

President Rodrigo Duterte was in his hometown of Davao when the shaking began, but his spokesman said he was unharmed.

Some 12,000 people were already in shelters on Mindanao island before yesterday’s quake hit, the government said, either

because their homes have been destroyed or they were too afraid to return to their residences.

The Philippines suffers regular tremors as part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity that

stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

In the 6.6 magnitude quake on Tuesday, a teenage boy was crushed by a falling wall as he tried to escape his school in Magsaysay,

the town spokesman said. The area was still suffering

the effects of a 6.4-magnitude quake that hit less than two weeks ago, killing at least five people and damaging dozens of buildings.

A building damaged by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake seen in Kidapawan town in the southern island of Mindanao, yesterday.

North Korea fires short-range projectiles: South’s militaryAFP SEOUL

North Korea fired two short-range projectiles yesterday, the South’s military said, with nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington at a deadlock.

The weapons were launched from South Pyongan province in an easterly direction over the sea, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

They flew 370km at a maximum altitude of 90km, they

said, adding: “We are main-taining readiness and monitoring in case of additional launches.”

In Washington, a senior Trump administration official said the United States was “aware of reports” and “con-tinuing to monitor the situation and consulting closely with our allies in Japan and South Korea.”

It was the latest in a series of launches by the North but the first since October 2, when it fired a sea-launched missile in a pro-vocative move — a submarine-based missile capability would

change the military balance.The North then walked away

from working-level nuclear talks with the US in Sweden, saying it was disappointed at the lack of “new and creative” solutions offered by Washington.

Pyongyang is under multiple sets of international sanctions over its nuclear weapon and bal-listic missile programmes, which it says it needs to defend against a possible US invasion.

It is demanding the easing of the measures and has repeatedly urged Washington to

come forward with a new offer by the end of this year.

The South’s National Security Council expressed “strong concern” over yesterday’s launch and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned it, saying it “threatens peace and stability of the country and the region”.

The North had carried out more than 20 launches this year, he told reporters: “It is clear that the objective is to improve its missile technologies. It is nec-essary to further strengthen our security surveillance.”

Officials in the US and Australia have called Confucius Institutes a threat to national security and a tool for Chinese Communist Party interference in other countries.

Shuri Castle goes up in flames, in Naha on the southern island of Okinawa, in japan, yesterday.

Fire engulfs Shuri Castle in OkinawaREUTERS TOKYO

A fire has destroyed much of Shuri Castle, a World Heritage site on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, with its main hall reduced to a skeleton.

Television footage showed firefighters still battling flames at the multi-structured, wooden castle yesterday morning. Emer-gency responders received the first call about the fire around

2:47am (1747 GMT), public broadcaster NHK said

A popular tourist attraction, Shuri was built more than 500 years ago as the royal castle of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Located on a hilltop over-looking the city of Naha and enclosed by curved stone walls, the castle and its surrounding structures were painted a vivid red, and recognisable by their sloped tiled roofs.

It has been destroyed and

rebuilt after many fires most recently in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

After World War 2, the castle served as a campus for Okinawa’s largest public uni-versity until the mid 1970s. Fol-lowing a restoration, the castle re-opened as a national park in 1992. It was designated a World Heritage site in 2000.

In addition to the main hall, the north and south halls have been destroyed, NHK said.

Beijing ends key conclave with promise to protect HKAFP BEIJING

China’s Communist Party elite concluded a key meeting in Beijing yesterday with a promise to protect the “stability” of Hong Kong, which has been rocked by months of unrest.

The Fourth Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee is a closed-door meeting of high-ranking officials where the country’s future direction is dis-cussed, and this week’s meet was the first since 2018.

In the communique pub-lished yesterday, the gov-ernment admitted that China was “facing a complicated situ-ation of significantly increased risks and challenges domesti-cally and abroad”.

Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has rights unseen in the mainland and is governed by the Basic Law.

But the city has been rocked by months of unrest from pro-testers who say those rights are being rolled back by an increas-ingly authoritarian Beijing.

In response, yesterday’s communique said the plenum proposed “upholding and

improving” the system of “one country, two systems”, without giving more specific details.

“The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region... must be governed in strict accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law, and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao should be safe-guarded,” it read.

Promoting the “peaceful reunification of the motherland” was a key theme of the plenum, according to the communique, particularly with regards to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing sees as part of its territory, awaiting reunification.

“We must firmly advance the process of peaceful reunifi-cation of the motherland.... deepen cross-strait integrated development, safeguard the well-being of Taiwan compa-triots, and unite the large numbers of Taiwan compatriots to jointly oppose “Taiwan inde-pendence” and promote reuni-fication” the communique read.

The plenum also said the party and the people “must more tightly unite around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core”.

Japan’s justice minister resigns in fraud scandalAP TOKYO

Japan’s justice minister resigned yesterday over election fraud allegations involving his wife, also a lawmaker, and about his own reported gift-giving alle-gations, becoming the second Cabinet minister to step down in a week.

Katsuyuki Kawai’s (pic-tured) resignation after the trade minister resigned last Friday are an embarrassment to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, which has been also plagued with a series of gaffes that have incited public anger.

Abe told reporters he accepted the resignation sub-mitted by Kawai.

“I decided to respect his decision ... I was the one who appointed Mr. Kawai and I deeply feel my responsibility for causing this result,” Abe said. “I offer my deep apologies to the people.”

Kawai denied he or his wife did anything wrong.

“I believe both my wife and I carried out election campaign by abiding by law. I will thor-oughly investigate the case and fulfil my accountability.”

Isshu Sugawara resigned as trade minister over allegations that he and his aides offered money and gifts to his supporters in violation to election law.

Body of missing UK tourist found off Cambodia coastAFP PHNOM PENH

The body of a 21-year-old British tourist was found floating in the sea more than a week after she went missing from a Cambodian island, police said yesterday.

Amelia Bambridge was dis-covered in waters near the Thai border, said Chuon Narin, police chief of Preah Sihanouk province.

“We found the body of the missing British woman,” Narin said, adding it would be taken to nearby Sihanoukville.

He did not speculate what happened to her after she dis-appeared from a beach party on the island of Koh Rong on October 24, but earlier this week said she may have drowned.

Brother Harry Bambridge confirmed in a Facebook post that he had identified the body.

“It’s my little sister Amelia,” he wrote. “There’s nothing more I wanted (than) to bring her back alive. I’m sorry to you Amelia Bambridge the round is on me when we meet again in heaven.”

The discovery brings a tragic end to a desperate search involving more than 100 members of the police, army, navy and Bambridge’s relatives.

Bambridge had befriended other travellers, and the alarm was raised after she did not check out of her hostel fol-lowing a party that went into the early hours on the beach.

Police later found her bag and phone in the area where she was last seen at around 3:30 am.

11FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019 EUROPE

UK Parliament Speaker Bercow steps down

Ukraine plans more troop withdrawals in eastREUTERS KIEV

Ukraine plans more troop with-drawals in the eastern Donbass region as a confidence building measure to help pave the way for four-way peace talks with Russia, France and Germany, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said yesterday.

Ukraine’s military and Russian-backed rebel forces began a phased troop with-drawal in the eastern town of Zolote this week, part of a series of measures to end a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people in the last five years.

Ukraine plans to do the same in the town of Petrivske provided there are no ceasefire violations in the area, Zelenskiy said, speaking alongside Nato Sec-retary-General Jens Stoltenberg at a press briefing.

That could help pave the way for talks between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany in the so-called “Nor-mandy Format”, he said.

“I see no doubt that we will have a meeting if all parties are committed to it and want to meet

in the Normandy four format,” he said.

Relations between Ukraine and Russia collapsed following Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014 and its support for

separatist fighters who control swathes of territory in eastern Ukraine.

A ceasefire signed in the Belarus capital of Minsk in 2015 halted the worst of the bloodshed but it is routinely flouted and

both sides accuse the other of being an obstacle to peace.

Ukraine’s military said there were seven instances of shelling on Wednesday alone, using weapons that were banned under the ceasefire accord.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine was ready to speed up preparations to become a Nato member.

Stoltenberg called on Russia to withdraw its forces from eastern Ukraine and return Ukrainian vessels captured in a naval skirmish last year.

“Allies are encouraged by the progress in Stanytsia Luhanska and other areas, where troops are pulling back,” Stoltenberg said. “But elsewhere, the conflict in Donbass continues to claim lives.”

Stoltenberg also ddressed the Ukrainian parliament, saying the country’s path to Nato mem-bership was contingent on Ukraine passing reforms and fighting corruption.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before a meeting in Kiev, yesterday.

Court rejects legal bid to Merkel’s climate policyAFP BERLIN

A Berlin court yesterday threw out a case brought by three farmers against Chan-cellor Angela Merkel’s government over its failure to meet climate protection targets, hyped by campaigners as the first such legal challenge in Germany.

After the government admitted it would fail to meet its own and EU green-house gas reduction goals for 2020, the would-be plaintiffs, farmers backed by environmental group Greenpeace — had tried to sue to force corrective action.

They said the government was breaking the law and infringing on their fundamental rights by damaging their crops.

A crowd of around 30 Greenpeace activists rallied outside the courthouse as

the hearing got underway in the morning. But judges found there was “no visible

legal basis that would create an obligation for the federal government to act” if they heard the case, the Berlin administrative court said in a statement.

The original cabinet decisions to set the climate targets were not legally binding, they said, while EU commitments could be met in other ways like partici-pating in the bloc-wide emissions trading scheme.

Neither did damage from heat, droughts and torrential rains to the farmers’ crops and livestock infringe on their property rights guaranteed under Germany’s constitution, the judges found.

Lawmakers and government “have scope to evaluate, judge and make policy concerning obligations to protect funda-mental rights that is subject only to limited

control by the courts,” they said, appearing to agree with government’s arguments.

“Plaintiffs did not demonstrate that

the federal government’s measures were completely inappropriate and inadequate” the court added.

Ukraine, Nato issue statement on minority rightsREUTERS KIEV

Ukraine and the Nato issued a joint statement committing to uphold minority rights in Ukraine, a step welcomed by the Hungarian authorities who had threatened to block Kiev’s Nato membership over the issue.

Hungary has clashed with Ukraine over what it says are curbs on the rights of roughly 150,000 ethnic Hungarians to use their native tongue, especially in education, after Ukraine passed a law in 2017 restricting the use of minority languages in schools.

Hungarian diplomats had vetoed a previous draft of the joint declaration by Ukraine and Nato as it did not contain a ref-erence to its neighbour’s obli-gation to fully respect the rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine.

Language is a sensitive issue in Ukraine, where some Ukrainian speakers argue that the prominence of Russia is a legacy of the Soviet era that undermines Ukraine’s identity.

“Regarding the protection of the rights of national minorities, we assured allies that Ukraine is complying with all the recom-mendations of the Venice

Commission on the education law,” Zelenskiy said at a briefing alongside Stoltenberg.

The Commission had urged Ukraine to ensure a substantial level of teaching in official lan-guages of the EU, such as Hun-garian and Romanian, both of which have significant minor-ities in Ukraine.

It also said Ukraine should ensure a sufficient proportion of education in minority languages in addition to Ukrainian, allow more time for gradual reform, exempt private schools and enter into a new dialogue with minorities.

Greek MEP claims evidence fabricated in neo-Nazi murder trialAFP ATHENS

A former top official with Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party accused authorities of fabricating evidence in a landmark murder trial impli-cating dozens of party members.

Yiannis Lagos, elected to the European Parliament in May, told a court that cellphone exchanges with other fellow sus-pects on the night of the 2013

murder had been “stitched up” to incriminate them.

“I do not accept the charges,” Lagos said, denying any respon-sibility for the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas by an alleged Golden Dawn member.

Lagos was elected to the European Parliament with Golden Dawn but defected from the party a few weeks later, citing disagreement with its policies.

Once Greece’s third-strongest party, Golden Dawn has been in disarray as a verdict in the four-year trial edges closer.

The party suffered heavy losses in a July general election, failing to enter parliament for the first time since 2012.

Based on a flurry of phone conversations between alleged Golden Dawn members on the night Fyssas was murdered, the prosecution says the act was

allegedly carried out with the knowledge of senior party members, Lagos among them.

Lagos is among more than a dozen current and former senior Golden Dawn members on trial, including party chief Nikos Michaloliakos, who is to testify in November.

In the party’s military-style hierarchy, Lagos was its local commander for the Piraeus area where Fyssas died, prosecutors found.

The rapper’s mother Magda Fyssas has also claimed Lagos had given party henchmen the go-ahead to stab her son.

“Nothing would have been done without approval from Lagos, there is no chance,” she told the court in 2015.

Alongside many other senior Golden Dawn members, Lagos was jailed after Fyssas’s murder but was released pending the conclusion of the trial.

Greenpeace activists protest with apples in front of a court before the start of a lawsuit of farmers against the German government, in Berlin, yesterday.

Polish zoos rescue 9 tigers stranded on Belarus borderAFP WARSAW

Nine stranded tigers found “emaciated, dehydrated, with sunken eyes” have been rescued by two Polish zoos after a gruelling journey through Europe during which a tenth feline died, officials said.

Polish authorities have charged a Russian man with alleged animal abuse after a truck that set off from Italy on October 22 carrying the tigers got stuck for days on the border with Belarus.

Vakhitov F, who is believed to have organised the trip and was travelling with the tigers and two drivers, was detained and “the prosecutor has decided to charge him with animal abuse,” said Agnieszka Kepka, spokeswoman for the regional prosecutor’s office.

“The tigers are alive,” said the zoo in the western city of Poznan, which welcomed seven tigers overnight Wednesday and yesterday while a facility in the northern town of Czluchow took in the other two.

“The tigers were emaciated, dehydrated, with sunken eyes, excrement stuck to their fur, urine burns, in a total state of stress, without the will or desire to live... Maltreated, suffering and humiliated,” the Poznan zoo said on its Facebook page.

AFP LONDON

John Bercow stepped down yesterday after 10 years as speaker of Britain’s House of Commons — a role that rocketed him into the heart of the Brexit battle, and won him European fans.

The man in the middle of more than three years of fiery parliamentary debates has proved a controversial figure, loathed by pro-Brexit supporters and hailed by its foes.

Animated, verbose and with an idiosyncratic style, the 56-year-old Bercow has yelled “Order! Order!” more than 14,000 times during his tenure as the 157th speaker.

His backers said he has bol-stered the rights of back-benchers to hold the gov-ernment to account.

A social media mash-up by German television of Bercow trying to calm down rowdy MPs has been seen thousands of times. A Belgian newspaper called him “irreplaceable”.

Dutch daily De Volksrant wrote: “The only order in British politics comes from John Ber-cow’s mouth in these turbulent days.”

Both Britain’s main party

leaders paid tribute to Bercow on Wednesday as he chaired the weekly prime minister’s ques-tions session for the final time.

“Although we may disagree about some of the legislative innovations you have favoured, there is no doubt in my mind that you have been a great servant of this parliament and of this House of Commons,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Johnson, in his own inimi-table style, said the tennis fan had been “peppering every part of the chamber with (his) own thoughts and opinions, like some uncontrollable tennis ball machine, delivering a series of literally unplayable, unre-turnable volleys and smashes”.

He also likened Bercow’s glare to a “trademark Tony Montana scowl”, after Al Pacino’s character in the 1983 film “Scarface”.

Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn added: “You’ve done so much to reform this House of Commons and our democracy is the stronger for the way you have done it.”

Bercow will not stand in the December 12 general election.

His replacement as speaker will be chosen on Monday. Nine candidates are standing, including his three deputies and former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman.

Bercow’s number two, Lindsay Hoyle, is the bookmakers’ odds-on favourite to win. By con-vention, the main parties give the speaker a clear run in a general election, standing down their candidates.

John Bercow has yelled “Order! Order!” more than 14,000 times during his tenure as the 157th speaker.

Members of German conservative party seeks end to snipingAP/BERLIN

Prominent members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party are calling for an end to internal sniping after the latest in a string of poor election performances.

Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union

finished third in an election Sunday in Thuringia, a state it once dominated. That result prompted criticism of both the chancellor and her successor as party leader, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

Leading conservative and one-time Merkel rival Friedrich Merz assailed Merkel for her

“inertia and lack of leadership.” Merz, 63, narrowly lost a bid for the party leadership to Merkel ally Kramp-Karrenbauer last year and is widely believed still to have ambitions to run for chancellor.

Merz’s intervention itself drew sharp criticism. Yesterday, a c a l l c r i t i c i s i n g

“self-destructive” behaviour by “individuals” and assailing attacks that were “politically mindless as well as excessive in tone and style” had gathered support from 28 party lawmakers.

Jens Spahn, the health min-ister and himself a candidate in the last party leadership race,

criticised the party for arguing again about its leadership only a year later. He defended the record of Merkel’s government, an uneasy coalition with the center-left Social Democrats.

And Daniel Guenther, the governor of Schleswig-Holstein state, said that “I think a few old men who perhaps haven’t

achieved what they wanted to in their lives want to take the opportunity to settle old scores.”

Merkel, 65, chose to step down as party leader last year and said she won’t seek a fifth term as chancellor in the next general election, which is due in 2021. It isn’t yet clear who will run to succeed her.

12 FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019EUROPE / AMERICAS

Colombia deploys elite forces after massacreAFP TORIBÍO

Colombia’s government ordered the deployment of 2,500 elite troops to combat dissident FARC guerillas after an attack that killed an indigenous leader and four guards.

The country’s main indig-enous organisation for its part denounced the “bloodletting” of its people and called for a national demonstration.

President Ivan Duque accused guerrillas who rejected a historic 2016 peace deal with the government that ended a half-century of armed conflict of wanting to use “weapons to silence and terrorise indigenous communities.”

In response, he announced

the creation of an elite force of 2,500 troops that will have the mission of taking control of ter-ritory, “closing the drug traf-ficking routes” and “dismantling” the dissident organisation.

Leaders of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) meanwhile said its people were being “per-secuted, murdered and massacred.”

“We call all of Colombian society to stand up in defense of life, rights and territories,” said Luis Fernando Arias, a top ONIC adviser, at a press conference.

The indigenous group expects to march alongside unions, peasants and students on November 21 during a strike against the government’s policies.

The ONIC will also seek an “extraordinary visit” from the Inter American Commission on Human Rights and the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz.

The organisation wants to highlight its “situation of human-itarian, social and economic urgency,” and called on Duque to “end the bloodletting” stemming from the indigenous communities rejecting drug traf-fickers’ demands to take part in the illicit trade.

Leader of the Nasa com-munity Cristina Bautista and four members of the indigenous guard were killed by rebels in an area of Cauca department in the southwest that is under indig-enous jurisdiction.

Juncker’s surgery delays Luxembourg spy trialAFP LUXEMBOURG

A Luxembourg court was forced yesterday to delay the next hearing in a tortuous spy scandal case after former prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker announced plans to undergo surgery.

Juncker, currently president of the European Commission, will be operated upon on November 11 to treat an aortic aneurysm in his abdomen and will be unable to appear as a witness in the Luxembourg trial starting on November 19.

Twelve hearings had been set aside for the case, in which three agents of Luxembourg’s SREL intelligence agency are accused of using illegal wire taps in 2007 while Juncker was still their premier.

“The prosecutor’s office is

contacting the different parties to propose another delay to the trial, while still hoping that it can at least begin this year,” a judicial source said.

Before taking up the EU role, Juncker served as Luxembourg’s prime minister for 18 years before fall-out from the SREL scandal triggered an election that saw him pushed from power.

Officers under his authority were accused of a variety of wrong doings between 2004 and 2009, including using illegal wire-taps to keep tabs on one of their own informants.

This in turn links the SREL case back to investigations of an earlier intrigue to rock the Grand Duchy, the “Bommeleeer affair” — an unsolved series of 1984 and 1986 explosives attacks on power lines and public buildings.

Spain offers to host climate summit after Chile’s withdrawalREUTERS SANTIAGO

Spain has offered to host the United Nations’ COP25 climate change summit in Madrid, following Chile’s withdrawal as host amid raging street protests in the South American nation.

The Spanish government said in a statement yesterday

that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had indicated that it was ready to do what was needed to host the summit in Madrid.

The summit is aimed at fleshing out details of the imple-mentation of the landmark Paris Agreement climate pact, amid calls for urgent action from envi-ronmental groups and climate protesters.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said Sanchez had offered to host the summit in Spain on the same days as previously scheduled, between December 2 and 13.

I hope that this generous offer from the president of Spain... represents a solution,” Pinera said. “We have shared this information with the leading

authorities at the United Nations.”The so-called Conference of

the Parties (COP) is the formal meeting of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

A spokesman said the UNFCCC was waiting to receive an official letter from Spain offering to host the talks and would then organise a meeting

to assess the offer, which could be as early as today.

Chile’s withdrawal is the first time that a nation has pulled out of hosting the conference with just a month to go.

Violent riots in recent days have left large parts of capital Santiago shut down, with its vital metro transport system suffering nearly $400m in damage.

US diplomat backs North Macedonia’s Nato membershipAP SKOPJE

A senior US diplomat has reaf-firmed Washington’s support for North Macedonia’s efforts to join Nato and the European Union, two weeks after France vetoed the country’s EU membership talks.

Matthew Palmer, a US special representative for the Western Balkans, said after meeting North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev yes-terday that the US was looking forward to the country becoming Nato’s 30th member “in short order.”

Skopje hopes to join the western military alliance by the end of the year or in January 2020.

The country’s Nato ambi-tions had been thwarted in the past by Greece, which had vetoed its accession over a now resolved dispute over the country’s previous name, which Athens saw as har-bouring irredentist claims on its own province named Macedonia.

The European Union is divided over whether to allow membership talks with North Macedonia as anti-immigration sentiment rises in the bloc, but Nato is ready to welcome Skopje into the Western mil-itary alliance.

Georgia’s SC halts execution for man convicted of murderREUTERS ATLANTA

The Supreme Court of Georgia halted the execution of a man who was convicted of shooting and killing a convenience store clerk while stealing two 12-packs of beer with two other men more than 20 years ago, local media reported.

The state’s high court issued a stay in the case of Ray Cro-martie, 52, who was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Wednesday evening for the 1994

shooting death of convenience store clerk Richard Slysz.

The stay was issued so that the court could determine whether the execution order was properly filed earlier this month, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

The Georgia attorney-gen-eral’s office said the current exe-cution order was void and that it would seek a new order, the newspaper reported.

Attorney-general office offi-cials could not be reached by Reuters for comment outside of

normal operating hours.Cromartie was accused of

borrowing a gun from his cousin and then went to the Madison Street Deli in Thomasville and shot and wounded store clerk Dan Wilson in the face on April 7, 1994.

Three days later, Cromartie and his friends Corey Clark and Thaddeus Lucas went to Junior Food Store in Thomasville, Georgia, to steal beer. When the pair entered the store, Cromartie shot Slysz twice in the head, killing him, prosecutors said.

Cromartie and Clark tried to open the cash register but were unsuccessful. Cromartie then took two 12-packs of Budweiser beer and the men fled, according to court papers.

Cromartie was arrested three days later. During the trial, Clark and Lucas testified against Cro-martie. Both men pleaded guilty to lesser charges, court papers showed.

The US Supreme Court rejected Cromartie’s request for an appeal in his case in December last year.

Three eastern members breached EU migrant law, says court adviserAFP BRUSSELS

The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland likely broke EU law by refusing to take in asylum seekers at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, the top EU court’s legal adviser said yesterday.

The opinion issued by the European Court of Justice’s advocate general, Eleanor Sharpston, does not determine what the court will end up deciding in the ongoing case, but her advice is often influential.

“By refusing to comply with the provisional and time-limited mechanism for the mandatory relocation of applicants for international protection, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have failed to fulfil their obliga-tions under EU law,” she found, according to a statement given by the court.

Poland hit out at the assessment, with a government spokesman saying “the most important objective... is to ensure the security of citizens,” according to the country’s PAP news agency.

Warsaw acted “in the interest of Polish citizens and in the defence against uncontrolled migration,” said the spokesman, Piotr Mueller.

In 2015, as Europe struggled with an influx of asylum seekers, many of them from war-torn

Syria, the European Union announced a temporary mech-anism to relocate thousands of refugees from the hardest-hit countries of Italy and Greece to other parts of the bloc.

But the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland refused, triggering a complaint against them by the EU Commission.

Sharpston decided the three countries’ arguments invoking security concerns were insuffi-cient because they still had the right to bar individuals deemed a threat, and a “spirit of mutual trust and cooperation must prevail”.

In a sharply worded con-clusion, the advocate general said that for some member states to duck their obligations towards EU solidarity because they viewed the decisions as “unwelcome or unpopular is a dangerous first step towards the breakdown of the orderly and structured society governed by the rule of law”.

“The principle of solidarity necessarily sometimes implies accepting burden-sharing,” her opinion stated.

In the end, a 2016 deal struck between the EU and Turkey greatly reduced the number of asylum seekers reaching Europe.

Turkish authorities stepped up their efforts to prevent crossings to Greece in return for billions of euros in EU aid money.

But, while the urgency has diminished, the principle of relo-cating refugees and asylum seekers remains important in the EU as it struggles to come up with a workable new system to distribute migrants among the member states.

Work on a revised system has stalled because of reticence by eastern member states.

In September, four countries — France, Germany, Italy and Malta — reached an agreement between themselves for the relo-cation of asylum seekers, hoping it would serve as the nucleus for a wider, permanent arrangement for the EU.

But resistance is limiting its uptake, notwithstanding the relocation to France and Germany of some of the 100 migrants who disembarked on Italy’s island of Sicily on Wednesday from a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) operated ship that rescued them in the Mediterranean.

Poland hit out at the assessment, with a government spokesman saying “the most important objective... is to ensure the security of citizens,” according to the country’s PAP news agency.

An indigenous woman walks next to a Colombian Army armoured vehicle in Toribio, yesterday.

Pilot ejects safely after Air Force F-16 crash in New MexicoAP HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE

The Air Force said that a pilot successfully ejected from an F-16 before the fighter crashed in southern New Mexico during a training flight.

According to Holloman Air Force Base officials the F-16 assigned to the 49th Wing at the base crashed on Tuesday night about 80 miles (129km) southeast of the base.

Officials said in a statement that the pilot was taken to a hos-pital for treatment, but it did not provide information on any injuries to the pilot, whose identity was not released.

The statement released yesterday added a board of officers will investigate the crash and that its cause wasn’t determined immediately.

Climate protestYoung people place potted plants on the forecourt of the European Commission headquarters, as part of a demonstration for the environment and climate change named ‘School strike for a better future’, in Brussels, yesterday. Youth, under the ‘Youth for Climate Action’ banner, are demanding political action concerning climate change.

13FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019 AMERICAS / CLASSIFIEDS

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House formalises Trump impeachment processAFP WASHINGTON

Congress formally opened a new, public phase of its corruption investigation into Donald Trump yesterday as US lawmakers voted for the first time to advance the impeachment process targeting the US pres-ident.

“Today, the House takes the next step forward as we establish the procedures for open hearings... so that the public can see the facts for themselves,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy.”

The top Democrat and Trump’s chief nemesis in Con-gress addressed fellow law-makers shortly before her chamber took a morning vote along party lines — 232 to 196 — to pass a resolution that lays out rules for the next stages of the impeachment process.

Trump has repeatedly branded the inquiry as illegit-imate and politically motivated and he was true to form in his instant reaction to the vote in the

bitterly divided House. “The Greatest Witch Hunt In

American History!” he boomed on Twitter.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham issued a longer statement, accusing oppo-sition Democrats of being “fun-damentally un-American” in their “unhinged obsession with this illegitimate impeachment.”

“Democrats are choosing every day to waste time on a sham impeachment — a blatantly partisan attempt to destroy the President,” she said.

Trump meanwhile called on Republicans to rally behind him even as he faced the embar-rassing likelihood of becoming the third president in history to

be impeached and placed on trial for removal in the Senate, over an alleged scheme to extort Ukraine’s help to get him ree-lected in 2020.

The embattled president retweeted a rallying cry from Fox News host Laura Ingraham that called on Republicans to “stand together and defend the leader of their party against these smears.”

Trump is accused of with-holding military aid to compel Ukraine to mount a corruption probe against his Democratic election rival Joe Biden -- effec-tively using US foreign policy in an illegal shakedown for his per-sonal political benefit.

Trump and loyal Republicans dismiss the case as a “sham,” but congressional investigators have heard a steady flow of corrobo-rating evidence from government officials testifying behind closed doors on Capitol Hill.

The landmark resolution did not have unanimous Democratic approval. Two Democrats joined all Republicans in opposing the measure, although former Republican Justin Amash, now an independent, supported it

-- and offered a searing warning to his former party.

“Excusing his misbehaviour will forever tarnish your name,” he tweeted to Republicans. “History will not look kindly on disingenuous, frivolous, and false defenses of this man.”

The inquiry now moves into the public eye — giving Amer-icans the chance to hear on live television the evidence against Trump.

The House Intelligence Com-mittee, which has led the inquiry so far, will host open hearings,

presenting witnesses and docu-mentary evidence and allowing Republicans to challenge the case against Trump.

The minority can also suggest subpoenas but majority Democrats have final say, a rule that has angered Republicans.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks during a media briefing ahead of a House vote authorising an impeachment inquiry into US President Trump on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, yesterday.

Chicago teachers and mayor trade blame as strike extends into 11th dayREUTERS CHICAGO

The Chicago teachers union and Mayor Lori Lightfoot lashed out at one another over who was to blame as a strike that caused 300,000 public school students to miss classes extended into an 11th day yesterday, despite a tentative contract deal.

The two sides were at loggerheads over whether additional days would be added to the school calendar to make up for lost classes and whether the city’s 25,000 teachers would be compensated for pay lost during the second-longest teachers’ strike in recent US history.

“Our members are tired, frustrated and miss their students ... we want to return to the classroom,” Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement. “By not restoring days of instruction to our students lost during the strike, the mayor is making it clear that she is more

concerned about politics than the well-being of students.”

Lightfoot, a first-term Democrat, has rejected the demand for makeup days and accused the union of reneging on a deal reached on Wednesday with the third-largest US school district.

“We’ve given them a historic deal by any measure,” Lightfoot said. “The fact that our children aren’t back in school tomorrow is on them.”

She added: “I’m not compensating for days they were out on strike.”

Union leaders called on rank-and-file members to rally yesterday morning to press for their outstanding demand. The Chicago walkout follows a wave of teacher strikes across the country over wages and education funding during the past two years, including a week-long work stoppage in Los Angeles in January. African-Amer-icans and Hispanics account for the majority of Chicago’s public school enrollment.

Braving snow and cold temperatures, thousands marched through the streets near City Hall during the 11th day of the teachers strike in Chicago, yesterday.

US Health insurance rule for migrants faces lawsuitANATOLIA ANKARA

Seven US citizens and a non-governmental group filed a lawsuit against a rule which requires migrants to prove they can afford health care before they get the US visa.

The federal lawsuit was filed in Portland, Oregon to challenge the rule that is set to take effect on Sunday, according to Cali-

fornia daily The Modesto Bee.It accuses the Trump admin-

istration of preventing citizens from bringing their foreign family members to live with them in the US.

It will affect those seeking migrant visas from abroad to reduce migrant access to public programs and family-based migration system.

“Congress makes laws, the president executes them. This is

an egregious attempt to supersede and overturn congres-sional will, not only in the immi-gration realm but in the health care realm,” the daily cited Jesse Bless, the director of federal lit-igation at the American Immi-gration Lawyers Association, who helped file the case.

Under the visa rule, the required insurance can be bought individually or provided by an employer and it can be

short-term or catastrophic coverage.

President Donald Trump has pursued a hardline approach to immigration, both legal and illegal, since coming to the office and Washington signed a safe third country agreement with Guatemala in late July and with El Salvador mid-September.

The safe third-country agreement forces Central American migrants to apply for

asylum in the signed country and be processed in that country before they can seek asylum in the US, even though under US laws migrants are allowed to apply for asylum within the US or at official ports of entry.

Although Mexico rejected such a deal, it reached another one in June with the US admin-istration following a tariff which obligates the country to reduce the immigration flow.

Democrats are choosing every day to waste time on a sham impeachment — a blatantly partisan attempt to destroy the President: White House press secretary

Clash between rival gangs leaves 6 dead at Mexico jailREUTERS/MEXICO CITY

Six inmates were killed yesterday in a clash between rival groups at a prison in the central Mexican state of Morelos, including one of the former leaders of a criminal gang blamed for the 2014 disappearance of 43 student teachers, state authorities said.

Another two inmates were injured, and taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital.

Morelos state police and soldiers from the Mexican army and National Guard militarised police were sent in to regain control of the prison.

“Some 350 security personnel were deployed for the implementation of the national security pro-tocols, and full and total control (of the prison) was regained,” authorities said in a statement.

“Raymundo Isidro, the former Morelos state leader of criminal gang Guerreros Unidos leader, was among those who were killed,” the statement added.

In 2014, Guerreros Unidos mistook 43 student teachers in the southwestern city of Iguala in Guerrero state for members of a rival outfit, killed them, incinerated their bodies in a nearby garbage dump and tipped their remains into a river.

The abduction and apparent massacre of the youths, widely believed to have been committed by corrupt police working with the violent drug gang on the night of September 26, 2014, drew international outrage and condemnation of the administration of former President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Vaping-related deaths in US rise to 37, says health agencyANATOLIA WASHINGTON

The death toll from mysterious lung illnesses linked to vaping across the US has risen to 37, according to the nation’s health protection agency.

“The cases of vaping-related illnesses jumped to 1,888,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a statement.

Last week, the agency ver-ified more than 1,600 con-firmed and probable cases in 49 of the US’s 50 states. Alaska is the sole exception.

Officials are continuing to search for a cause for the outbreak.

Most of the affected patients reported vaping THC, the psy-choactive ingredient in can-nabis, though investigators have yet to officially determine a cause for the illnesses that have included problems breathing, chest pains and vomiting.

The CDC recommends people to not use e-cigarettes or vaping products that contain THC and not to modify products purchased through retail establishments.

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BUSINESSPAGE | 16 PAGE | 16

Apple creates new ways to create

iPhone sales in saturated market

Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot to create fourth-biggest carmaker

15FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019

Oil prices fall on rising US crude stocks REUTERS LONDON

Oil prices came under pressure yesterday from rising US crude oil stocks and weak factory activity in China, with few bullish factors on the horizon.

Brent crude futures were down 13 cents at $60.48 a barrel by 1338 GMT, erasing earlier gains. They had dropped by 1.6 percent on Wednesday and the contract is set for a monthly decline of about 0.5 percent.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 48 cents at $54.58. On the month, however, they are set for a rise of about 0.9 percent, its biggest monthly gain since June.

The front-month Brent con-tract for December delivery expires on Thursday. The one for January delivery was also down.

Factory activity in China shrank for a sixth straight month in October while growth in the country’s service sector activity

was its slowest since February 2016, official data showed yesterday.

A protracted trade war between China and the United States has been weighing on the demand outlook for oil.

Leaders from the United States and China encountered a new obstacle in their struggle to end the damaging trade conflict when the summit at which they were supposed to meet was can-celled because of violent pro-tests in host nation Chile.

QSE index closes at 10,188.97 pointsTHE PENINSULA/DOHA

Qatar Stock Exchange’s (QSE) benchmark index lost 188.92 points, or 1.82 percent, last week when the bourse closed yesterday at 10,188.97 points.

Trading value during last week increased by 8.02 percent to reach QR1.03bn compared to QR955.86m. Trading volume increased by 8.65 percent to reach 332.24 million shares, as against 305.79 million shares, while the number of transactions rose by 5.69 percent, to reach 22,674 transactions as compared to 21,454 transactions. Market cap fell by 2.07 percent to reach QR563.42bn as compared to QR575.35bn at the end of pre-vious week, reports QNA.

Banking and Financial Services sector led traded value last week with 48 percent of the total trading value. Industries sector accounted for 17.24 percent. Consumer Goods and Services sector accounted 14.36 percent and Real Estate sector accounted 7.05 percent. When compared on daily basis, the QSE index dropped 94.71 points, 0.92 percent, com-pared to Wednesday’s closing.

The volume of shares traded increased to 82.69 million from 62.73 million on Wednesday and the value of shares increased to QR300.32m from QR177.60m on Wednesday.

2019 Offshore Technology ConferenceStephen Greenlee, ExxonMobil Global Business Development President speaks during the ‘2019 OTC Brasil Conference’ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For the first time the expo offered interactive sessions in the newly created Offshore Arena where leading operators covered FPSOs (floating production storage and offloading), subsea solutions, marine renewable, and digital transformation in the offshore E&P sector.

Boeing says up to 50 ‘737NG’ planes grounded globally over cracksAFP SYDNEY

Boeing announced yesterday up to 50 of its popular 737NG planes had been grounded after cracks in them were detected, in another blow to the US air-craft maker following two deadly crashes.

Australian national carrier Qantas became the latest airline to take one of the planes out of the air, as it said it would urgently inspect 32 others but insisted passengers had nothing to fear.

The announcement by Qantas came after authorities in Seoul said nine of the planes were grounded in South Korea in early October, including five operated by Korean Air.

Boeing had previously reported a problem with the model’s “pickle fork”, a part which helps bind the wing to the fuselage.

This prompted US regulators to early this month order immediate inspections of aircraft that had seen heavy use.

Following the Qantas announcement, a Boeing spokesperson yesterday told AFP in Sydney that less than five percent of 1,000 planes had cracks detected and were grounded for repair.

The spokesperson did not give an exact figure, though five percent equates to 50 planes of 1,000 inspected.

Boeing and Qantas stressed trav-ellers should not be concerned.

“We would never operate an

aircraft unless it was completely safe to do so,” Qantas head of engineering Chris Snook said.

But the discovery has heightened fears that the scale of the 737NGs’ problem may have been underesti-mated. The US Federal Aviation Administration had initially ordered immediate checks of Boeing 737NG planes that had flown more than 30,000 times. But Qantas said it had found the fault in a more lightly used aircraft than those singled out for early checks; one that had recorded fewer than 27,000 flights.

“This aircraft has been removed from service for repair,” Qantas said in a statement, adding it had hastened its inspections of 32 other 737NG planes to be completed by Friday.

The airline said it generally used the aircraft on domestic routes, flying primarily between major cities as well as shorter-haul trips to New Zealand.

A spokesman for Australia’s avi-ation regulator said the industry response was about “nipping a potential safety problem in the bud by taking proactive action now”.

Australia’s Virgin Airways also conducted checks on its 17 Boeing 737NG planes and did not find any issues, the regulator spokesman added.

But there were calls for Qantas to ground its entire 737 fleet until checks were complete.

“These aircraft should be kept safe on the ground until urgent inspections are completed”, an engineers’ union representative, Steve Purvinas, said in

a statement.Qantas described the call to ground

its 737 fleet as “completely irresponsible”.

“Even when a crack is present, it does not immediately compromise the safety of the aircraft,” said Snook.

Stephen Fankhauser, an aviation expert at Australia’s Swinburne Uni-versity of Technology, said that the parts were designed so the “structure can tolerate some level of damage or degradation”.

“The inspection period is set to ensure the cracks do not continue to grow to a dangerous length and then significantly compromise the strength of the airframe,” he said.

A Boeing spokesperson said the company “regrets the impact” the issue was having on its customers and was “working around the clock” to fix the problem.

“Boeing is actively working with customers that have airplanes in their fleets with inspection findings to develop a repair plan, and to provide parts and technical support as nec-essary,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The NG is a precursor plane to the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded since mid-March following the two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Boeing is still trying to restore its safety reputation after two 737 MAX crashes last year that killed 346 people and highlighted problems with the planes’ flight handling software.

China rolls out 5G services in race to narrow tech gapAFP BEIJING

China’s three major state telecom operators rolled out 5G wireless technology yesterday, as the country races to narrow its technology gap with the US amid a bruising trade war.

China Mobile, the country’s largest carrier, announced its 5G services were available in 50 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, with packages starting from 128 yuan ($18) a month.

Rivals China Telecom and China Unicom are also offering services at comparable prices in major cities, according to notices on their websites.

The ultra-fast mobile Internet service, which is 100 times faster than existing 4G networks, allows consumers to download full-length films within seconds, or use apps with virtual reality.

The technology will also pave the way for driverless cars, further automation in factories, and allow users to remotely control appliances such as coffee makers and ovens via the internet.

China is expected to be a front-runner in the adoption of 5G services with over 170 million 5G subscribers by next year, according to estimates by China Telecom. South Korea will be in

second place with a predicted 75,000 users, followed by the US with 10,000, analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein said in a research note last week.

“China will promote the deep integration of new gener-ation information technology and the real economy,” said Chen Zhaoxiong (pictured), vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Tech-nology at a technology con-ference yesterday.

“This involves accelerating the integration and application of 5G in industries, transpor-tation, energy, agriculture, edu-cation and health,” Chen said, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.

Beijing has been pushing for a quick rollout of the technology, and China’s state economic planner said in January that developing a 5G network was one of its “investment priorities” this year.

16 FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019BUSINESS

Apple creates new ways to boost iPhone sales in saturated marketBLOOMBERG SAN FRANCISCO

Apple executives put aside their typical praise of the iPhone’s sleek design and breakthrough tech-nology on Wednesday for more mundane topics such as installment plans, trade-in programs and giveaways.

This is the reality for the Cupertino, California-based tech-nology giant. The smartphone market is saturated and growing slowly at best, so Apple must find new ways to persuade consumers to upgrade their iPhones and sell them digital services and accessories.

Fiscal fourth-quarter results, reported Wednesday, suggested the strategy is beginning to work. While iPhone revenue dropped 9 percent, overall sales rose and the company forecast more top-line growth for the key holiday period. The shares gained 1.6 percent to $247.14 as the

market opened yesterday, valuing the company at $1.1 trillion.

Services and accessory revenue jumped to records as users bought apps for their existing iPhones, attached wearable devices like AirPods and Apple Watches, and subscribed to services like Apple Music and iCloud storage.

But the plan will only keep working if the installed base of active Apple devices grows steadily, led by the iPhone. That will be a challenge because consumers aren’t upgrading to newer handsets as often as they once did. Over the last three years, the average age of a smartphone has increased more than three months to 19.5 months, according to research by UBS. In a survey by the investment bank, respondents said they plan to replace their devices every 28.5 months, or almost two-and-a-half years.

During a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, Apple Chief

Executive Officer Tim Cook (pictured) and Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri described a potential solution to this upgrade problem: A new feature for the Apple Card that lets users pay for their iPhones over 24 months with no interest and manage that payoff program directly from their iPhone.

“One of the things we are doing is trying to make it simpler and simpler for people to get on these sort of monthly financing kind of things,” Cook said. “We are cognizant that there are lots of users out there that want sort of a recurring payment like that in the receipt of new products.”

The CEO did brag about the latest iPhone’s camera, but con-versation soon turned to more prosaic topics. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty asked whether it was realistic to expect the iPhone business to return to growth in 2020. Cook refused to be drawn into a long-term

prediction but said he was encouraged by the initial reaction to the new phones.

When asked about about China, Cook said new iPhone pricing, a monthly payment program and trade-in offers have helped to improve performance in the country.

Other analysts asked whether offering Apple’s new TV+ streaming service free for a year with a new device purchase was the start of a broader bundling of hardware and services. Cook said he wanted to grow the TV+ audience quickly and saw this as a way to do it. He wouldn’t rule out attaching another free service offer to hardware purchases in the future.

Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot to create 4th-biggest carmakerAP/MILAN

Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Peugeot said yesterday they have agreed to merge to create the world’s fourth-largest automaker with enough scale to confront big shifts in the industry, including a race to develop electric cars and driverless technologies.

Italian-American Fiat Chrysler brings with it a strong footprint in North America, where it makes at least two-thirds of its profits, while Peugeot is the No. 2 automaker in Europe. Both lag in China, however, despite the participation of Peu-geot’s Chinese shareholder, Dongfeng, and are playing catching up in developing electric vehicles.

Fiat Chrysler shares were trading up 9 percent at €14 in Milan, while PSA Peugeot shares were down 3.2 percent to AP €22.84.

The 50-50 merger is expected to offer savings of €3.7bn ($4bn), which the automakers expect to

achieve without any factory clo-sures, a concern of unions in both France and Italy where the car-makers have more overlap.

Fiat Chrysler’s strongest brands are Jeep SUVs and Ram trucks and it is focusing on relaunching its premium and luxury brands, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, with a focus on hybrid engines. It still makes smaller cars under the Fiat marquee, mostly for the European and Latin American markets.

PSA Peugeot makes mostly small, city-friendly cars, family sedans and SUVs under the name-plates of Peugeot, Citroen and Ger-many-based Opel, which it bought in 2017. That is where the com-panies can expect to have the most

overlap. The new company would be worth $50bn, with revenue of €170bn ($189bn). It would produce 8.7 million cars a year, still behind Toyota, Volkswagen and the Renault-Nissan alliance, which make over 10 million each.

Once a merger is finalised, PSA Peugeot CEO Carlos Tavares (pic-tured) will be chief executive of the new company, with Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann becoming chairman. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley will have a senior executive role.

“This convergence brings sig-nificant value to all the stakeholders and opens a bright future for the combined entity,” Tavares said in a statement.

CROSSWORD

A set of three brothers are due to marry a set of three sisters, until one of the brothers starts to realise that they are all reincarnations from 600 years earlier and the wrong couples are about to get married.

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SPORT17FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019

You can’t play cricket bitter, it detracts from yourself and

makes you stop concentrating on what you need to do.

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell, who is taking an indefinite break from cricket due to mental health issues, said in a recent interview.

Al Ahli vs Umm Salal

Al Ahli Stadium at 17:15Al Arabi vs Al Wakrah

Al Arabi Stadium at 19:25

TODAY’S ACTION

Hamilton could smash Schumacher’s records: WolffREUTERS LONDON

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff can see Lewis Hamilton (pictured) going on to smash Michael Schumacher’s greatest Formula One records, the win and title milestones once considered sure to stand the test of time, in years to come.

The 34-year-old Briton is set to seal his sixth world champi-onship -- one short of Schu-macher’s seven -- at the US Grand Prix in Texas on Sunday.

Another race victory would leave him only seven short of the great German’s 91.

“I think he’s going to race as long as he feels he enjoys it and that he is competitive enough,” Wolff said when asked whether he felt Hamilton might race into his 40s like Schumacher.

“There is an age factor, that isn’t kicking in and that hasn’t happened (yet). Kimi (Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion for Ferrari and now with Alfa Romeo) has had his 40th birthday so why not?”

“In between we need to con-tinue to deliver a good enough car. If we do that, then yes he could shatter (Schumacher’s records),” added the Austrian,

whose team have been pushed hard by Ferrari this season.

Schumacher, who won five titles in a row for Ferrari between 2000 and 2004, retired in 2012 at the age of 43.

Hamilton, now on 83 vic-tories, has maintained an average of 10 wins a season for the past six years with the dominant team of the sport’s V6 turbo hybrid era.

“I think it’s exciting. It’s an exciting potential new target,” Wolff said of the prospect of chasing Schumacher’s tally.

“Of course the pressure will increase but if he would not be able to cope with pressure, he wouldn’t be a five or six times world champion.”

Formula One is set for a major rules overhaul from 2021, with technical and financial changes aimed at creating a more level playing field among teams and to make it easier for drivers to overtake. Mercedes have already

won this year’s constructors’ championship and are sure of completing an unprecedented sixth title double in succession.

Wolff said Mercedes, who have one of the biggest budgets and are set to provide engines to four of the 10 teams in 2021, rel-ished the opportunity 2021 represented.

“This team has won in 2009, 2014, 2017 and 2019 -- every year that there has been a change. We are really looking forward to this change,” he declared.

In 2009, the Brawn GP team won both titles with a ‘ d o u b l e diffuser’ concept t h a t w r o n g -f o o t e d r i v a l s and left t h e m rushing to catch up.

M e r c e d e s promptly bought the team and returned as a

manufacturer in 2010. The V6 turbo era started in 2014, with the Mercedes engine immediately proving a cut above the rest.

Wolff said the will to win was as strong as ever, and referred to a comment made by the New Zealand coach ahead of the All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup semi-

final defeat to England in Japan.“Put in very simple words,

h e was asked whether there was a risk of losing against England and he said: ‘You’ve

got to be careful of the hungry animal,

because if the animal is hungry it’s going to eat you’.

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ambition of other teams,” s a i d W o l f f . “Every single person in this team is hungry. I t h a s n ’ t changed.”

The 34-year-old Briton is set to seal his sixth world championship -- one short of Schumacher’s seven -- at the US Grand Prix in Texas on Sunday.

are set to provide engines to of the 10 teams in 2021, rel-d the opportunity 2021 esented.This team has won009, 2014, 2017 2019 -- every year there has been a ge. We are really ng forward to this ge,” he declared.n 2009, the wn GP

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got to be carethe hungry an

because animahungrgoing you’.

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ambof other tes a i d W“Every sperson inteam is huI t h achanged.”

Miami race faces fresh hurdles, says F1 chiefREUTERS AUSTIN

Formula One has hurdles to overcome if it is to have a race in Miami in May 2021, the sport’s chairman Chase Carey said after new planning obstacles emerged.

The Miami Herald reported that Miami-Dade County commissioners passed a resolution on Tuesday ena-bling them to prohibit road closures linked to racing events in or near residential areas.

They also agreed to a public hearing on whether to allow races near the Miami Dolphins Hard Rock stadium, the proposed venue.

The newspaper reported, however, that the Dolphins organisation had a legal right to host events on the site under an agreement with the county and mayor Carlos Gimenez could veto the new measures.

“We had a vote yesterday that created new issues for us to try and address... we do have hurdles to overcome now to put the race in Miami,” Carey told a Formula One investor meeting.

Miami would be a second Grand Prix in the United States after the round in Austin, Texas, that is being held this weekend.

Formula One and local organisers in April abandoned plans to hold the Miami race in the downtown area after businesses and residents objected.

Formula One and local organisers in April abandoned plans to hold the Miami race in the downtown area after businesses and residents objected.

The new stadium plans for the race, and an agreement in principle, were announced earlier this month but have also been met with local opposition.

Nationals stun Astros to win maiden World Series titleREUTERS WASHINGTON

The Washington Nationals stunned the Houston Astros 6-2 in a winner-take-all Game Seven on Wednesday to secure their maiden Major League Baseball World Series title in a Fall Classic unlike any other.

The Astros got a dominant outing from starting pitcher Zack Greinke and took a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning but that was where the visiting Nationals finally struck back, grabbing a lead they would not relinquish.

When the final out was recorded, Nationals players streamed onto the field from the dugout and bullpen, tossing their gloves into the air with arms raised in cele-bration while the orange-clad crowd inside Houston’s Minute Maid Park watched in silence.

For the Nationals, who began playing in the US capital in 2005 when the Montreal Expos moved there and changed their name, the win put the finishing touches to a stunning turnaround after they began the season with a mis-erable 19-31 record.

“I believe in these guys and they believe in each other. The biggest thing for us is never quit,” said Nationals manager Dave Martinez.

“We were 19 and 31 - we didn’t quit then and we weren’t going to quit now.”

Anthony Rendon kicked off the Nationals rally in the seventh with a solo shot off Greinke, and Howie Kendrick came up with a go-ahead two-run blast off Astros reliever Will Harris two batters later.

The Nationals, who faced elimination five times during the postseason, added another run in the eighth and then put the game out of reach with a two-run ninth inning before closer Daniel Hudson retired the side.

“We stuck together - I know that. We had nothing left to lose, people had written us off,” said Rendon.

“We just kept fighting and were happy to come out on top.”

The victory set off celebra-tions in Washington, a city whose last World Series victory came in 1924 when the Senators defeated the New York Giants.

In the first World Series Game Seven to feature former Cy Young winners as opposing starters, it was the Astros who struck first when Cuban first baseman Yuli Gurriel belted a solo home run off Nationals starter Max Scherzer in the second inning.

Greinke, who Houston acquired in a July trade, faced the minimum 13 batters through 4-1/3 innings before finally surrendering a walk to Howie Kendrick.

Right-hander Greinke, who showcased incredible control of every aspect of his game for most of the night and even chipped in with five fielding assists, walked one batter after surrendering the Rendon homer and then left the game.

S c h e r z e r , w h o

had a cortisone shot to help alleviate the neck and back spasms that caused him to miss his scheduled start on Sunday’s Game Five, gave up seven hits and two runs over five innings.

By clinching the title in Houston, the result marked the first time in any American professional sport where all seven games in a best-of-seven series were won on the road.

The game also brought an end to a World Series that

early on saw the Astros deal with controversy over a since-fired front office member who taunted a group of female journalists in the team’s clubhouse.

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who gave up a com-bined four runs over 14-1/3 innings during his two starts, was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series.

“It’s just surreal - and to be able to do it with this group of guys is something special,” said Strasburg, who earned wins on the road in both his starts, including a do-or-die Game Six.

“Guys went out there and scored some runs for me. It was a big team win.”

Washington Nationals’ players and officials celebrate with the Commissioners Trophy after defeating the Houston Astros in game seven of the 2019 World Series.

NBA: Curry breaks hand in Warriors’ loss

REUTERS SAN FRANCISCO

Ricky Rubio hit two of Phoenix’s five 3-pointers in a 21-0, first-quarter run on Wednesday as the Suns ran away from Golden State 121-110 in San Francisco on a night when the Warriors lost Stephen Curry to a broken left hand.

With the Warriors already down 83-54 in the fourth minute of the third period, Curry collided with Suns centre Aron Baynes on a drive to the hoop and fell hard on his left arm.

The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player was taken immediately to the locker room, and the Warriors later announced he had broken his hand in the incident.

The Warriors have now endured major injuries to Kevin Durant (ruptured Achilles tendon), Klay Thompson (torn ACL) and Curry in their past six non-exhibition games, dating back to last spring’s NBA Finals. Durant left in the summer as a free agent, signing with the Brooklyn Nets.

Rockets 159, Wizards 158 James Harden scored 59 points and hit

a free throw with 2.4 seconds left to lift Houston to a wild win over host Washington.

After Bradley Beal sank three free throws to tie it with 7.7 seconds left, Harden drove, got the foul call and made the first free throw. He missed the second, and Washington was unable to get off a shot.

Golden State Warriors’ guard Stephen Curry (foreground) reacts after an injury.

The Washington Nationals stun the Houston Astros 6-2 in a winner-take-all Game Seven to secure their maiden Major League Baseball World Series title in a Fall Classic.

REUTERS TOKYO

England have named an unchanged starting team for tomorrow’s Rugby World Cup final against South Africa, with the introduction of scrum-half Ben Spencer on the bench the only variation from the 23-man squad that beat New Zealand.

Spencer, who has 20 minutes of international expe-rience from three replacement appearances, only arrived in Japan on Monday as a replacement for Willi Heinz after he was ruled out due to an injury picked up in the semi-final.

Winger Jonny May and captain Owen Farrell have both recovered from dead legs, with prop Kyle Sinckler also fit after limping off in the semi-final with a calf problem.

There had been

speculation coach Eddie Jones would revert to the lineup he used against Aus-tralia, with Farrell at fly-half to beef up the midfield in the face of South Africa’s physical assault, but he has stuck with the side which produced one of England’s best perform-ances for years to beat the All Blacks.

The match is Jones’s 50th in charge and his win per-centage of 80% is the best of any England coach.

England are seeking their second title following their 2003 victory while South Africa are looking for their third -- the last coming in 2007 when they beat England in the final.

Kolbe returns for BoksKolbe ret

AP TOKYO

A painful knockout loss in 2007 was the catalyst for an All Blacks resur-gence that led to unprecedented Rugby World Cup success.

In his last game in charge, Steve Hansen wants his players to use another painful defeat as inspiration for a new dynasty for New Zealand’s rugby team.

A 19-7 semi-final loss to England last weekend has the two-time defending champions playing Wales on the next-to-last day of the World Cup - for third place.

“It is different, you can’t sidestep that. There’s a lot of pain involved and a lot of hurt, but you’ve just got to make that work for you,” Hansen said. The quarter-final loss to France in 2007 “has earned us two World Cups because it’s created a real pain that’s personal and deep inside you.

“When you have adversity in sport, it makes you tougher.”

Hansen and Wayne Smith were assistants to Graham Henry 12 years ago when the All Blacks were upset in Cardiff. The squad decamped almost immediately.

And get it out of their systems they did.

The coaching staff was retained, and it rebuilt the team that won the

World Cup on home soil in 2011, ending a 24-year title drought. Hansen took over and led the All Blacks to victory in 2015 in England, when the home team was uncere-moniously bundled out in the pool stage. The All Blacks were the first back-to-back Rugby World Cup winners.

Hansen used his team selection on Wednesday to highlight how champion teams recover from being, in his words, rocked.

With that in mind, he picked a combination to take on Wales that was balanced between giving deserving veterans Kieran Read, Ben Smith and Sonny Bill Wil-liams a send-off in the All Blacks jersey, while also utilising some of the backup players and ensuring it was a lineup that could win.

“It’s an important test match for a number of reasons,” Hansen said. “One: We’ve just come off a loss. Two: It’s Wales and we’ve got a history with them that we need to keep feeding.”

That’s New Zealand’s 31-3 record in head-to-heads - Wales last beat them in 1953.

“We’ve got a legacy and a responsibility to that legacy,” Hansen said.

The All Blacks haven’t lost

consecutive tests since August 2011, two months before winning the World Cup.

Wales coach Warren Gatland is desperate to end the drought against the All Blacks before he goes back to live in New Zealand. He guided the Welsh to a Six Nations Grand Slam this year but wasn’t able to steer them to a first World Cup semi-final victory. They’re now 0-3 in the last four following the 19-16 semifinal loss to South Africa.

“They like to play an arm wrestle. They love the ball to stay in play because they think they’re

the fittest side in the world at that arm wrestle, physical game,” Hansen said. “That’s been Warren’s style for a long, long time.”

Gatland’s last selection as Wales coach has been impacted by injury, with Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Aaron Wainwright and Tomas Francis all unavailable from an already-depleted squad.

Alun Wyn Jones will again start as captain, but Gatland has made nine changes to the starting XV, including elevating Rhys Patchell to start at fly-half in favour of Dan Biggar.

18 FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019SPORT

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All Blacks look to sign off with World Cup bronze

England unchanged for final

Memorable England vs South Africa encountersREUTERS TOKYO

Brief descriptions of five key matches between South Africa and England ahead of tomorrow’s Rugby World Cup final at Yokohama International Stadium:

The countries have played 42 tests with South Africa winning 25 and England 15. There have been two draws.

2007 - SOUTH AFRICA 15 ENGLAND 6 (PARIS)South Africa won the game’s biggest prize for the

second time after a try-less World Cup final in which they never needed to move away from the safety-first approach that got them there.

Fullback Percy Montgomery kicked four penalties and centre Francois Steyn added a fifth but the match turned on referee Alain Rolland’s decision to rule out a try from England’s Mark Cueto soon after halftime.

A clean break from centre Mathew Tait got England down to the South Africa line and Cueto went over in the corner but Rolland reviewed the television footage and decided the winger’s foot had strayed into touch before he got the ball down.

2007 - SOUTH AFRICA 36 ENGLAND 0 (PARIS)The second match of England’s World Cup title

defence was a pool-stage thrashing and followed two heavy defeats to the Springboks in South Africa in June internationals that year.

South Africa exposed the frailties of the reigning champions in clinical fashion, with winger JP Pietersen crossing twice, flanker Juan Smith once and fullback Percy Montgomery adding 18 points from the boot.

While the Springboks stormed through the rest of their pool matches, England recovered from their heaviest defeat at the World Cup to stun Australia in the quarter-finals, beat France in the semis and join them in the final (see above).

2003 - ENGLAND 25 SOUTH AFRICA 6 (PERTH)A tight Rugby World Cup Pool C tussle was tied 6-6

at halftime and England only broke clear in the 63rd minute when centre Will Greenwood scored the sole try of the game against the run of play.

England flanker Lewis Moody charged down a clearance kick from Springboks fly-half Louis Koen and Greenwood showed his footballing skills to get the ball over the line and touch down.

Johnny Wilkinson, the England fly-half, kept up his 100% record at the tournament with four penalties, a conversion and two late drop goals that took the match beyond the reach of the Springboks.

Not the most fluent performance from eventual champions England but it all but secured them a place in the quarter-finals as pool winners.

2002 - ENGLAND 52 SOUTH AFRICA 3 (TWICKENHAM)

This humiliating low for the Springboks came after lock Jannes Labuschagne had been sent off in the 23rd minute for a late shoulder charge on England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson.

The brutality with which the South Africans approached the contest shocked many and there was scant sympathy as they fell to their heaviest test defeat.

England scored seven tries as they shored up their credentials ahead of their run to a maiden World Cup triumph in Australia the following year.

1999 - SOUTH AFRICA 44 ENGLAND 21 (PARIS)A remarkable kicking display from flyhalf Jannie

de Beer ultimately enabled South Africa to blow out the scoreline in what had been a tight quarter-final at the Stade de France.

De Beer’s faultless kicking contributed 34 points to his team’s tally and his five drop goals were unprece-dented in the test game.

The defending champions also had tries from scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen and winger Pieter Rossouw as they eased into a semi-final against Aus-tralia, which they would lose to a Stephen Larkham drop goal in extra time.

REUTERS TOKYO

South Africa winger Cheslin Kolbe (pictured) has returned to the starting side for the Rugby World Cup

final against England in Yokohama tomorrow after he recovered

from an ankle injury.Kolbe missed the

Springboks pool match against Canada with an ankle problem and had to leave the field in the latter stages of the quarter-final against Japan before sitting out their 19-16 semi-final win over Wales.

“Cheslin is fit and he is back in the team,” Erasmus told a

news conference yesterday.

“We were a bit nervous when we lost him for the semi-final, but the nice thing about the squad... is that we have a lot of depth.

“Cheslin is world class and he has shown that whenever he has played for us.”

Kolbe is the only change to South Africa’s squad with Erasmus sticking to a massive pack and having six for-wards on the bench to bring on as replacements in the second half.

Captain Siya Kolisi will earn his 50th test cap in the final, where he will compete against England’s twin open-sides Tom Curry and Sam Underhill.

Replacement scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies, who on Wednesday was named as a contender for World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year award, and the versatile Frans Steyn are the only two replacement backs.

Steyn is the only player in the squad to have appeared in a World Cup final before, having been part of the side that beat England in the 2007 final.

LINE-UPS

NEW ZEALAND: Beauden Barrett, Ben

Smith, Ryan Crotty, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko

Ioane, Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith; Keiran

Read (captain), Sam Cane, Shannon Frizell,

Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Nepo Laulala,

Dane Coles, Joe Moody. Reserves: Liam

Coltman, Atu Moli, Angus Ta’avao, Patrick

Tuipulotu, Matt Todd, Brad Weber, Anton

Lienert-Brown, Jordie Barrett.

WALES: Hallam Amos, Owen Lane,

Jonathan Davies, Owen Watkin, Josh

Adams, Rhys Patchell, Tomos Williams;

Ross Moriarty, James Davies, Justin Tipuric,

Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Beard, Dillon Lewis,

Ken Owens, Nicky Smith. Reserves: Elliot

Dee, Rhys Carre, Wyn Jones, Jake Ball,

Aaron Shingler, Gareth Davies, Dan Biggar,

Hadleigh Parkes.

New Zealand’s players perform the Haka before the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final match between England and New Zealand at the International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama in this October 26 file photo.

A 19-7 semi-final loss to

England last weekend has the

two-time defending champions

playing Wales on the next-to-

last day of the World Cup - for

third place.

Coach Steve Hansen has picked

a combination to take on Wales

that was balanced between

giving deserving veterans

Kieran Read, Ben Smith and

Sonny Bill Williams a send-off

in the All Blacks jersey.

The All Blacks haven’t lost

consecutive tests since August

2011, two months before

winning the World Cup.

SOUTH AFRICA Willie Le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk, Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Mbongeni Mbonambi, Tendai MtawariraReplacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Franco Mostert, Francois Louw, Herschel Jantjies, Frans Steyn.

ENGLANDElliot Daly, Anthony Watson, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (captain), Jonny May, George Ford, Ben Youngs, Billy Vunipola, Sam Underhill, Tom Curry, Courtney Lawes, Maro Itoje, Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Mako Vunipola.Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Joe Marler, Dan Cole, George Kruis, Mark Wilson, Ben Spencer, Henry Slade, Jonathan Joseph. Coach Eddie Jones

19FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019 SPORT

Djokovic sets up Tsitsipas quarter-final at ATP ParisAFP PARIS

Novak Djokovic saw off Britain’s Kyle Edmund yesterday to reach his eighth ATP Paris Masters quarter-final, while Grigor Dimitrov knocked out fifth seed Dominic Thiem.

Top seed Djokovic, battling Rafael Nadal for the year-end world number one spot, needed seven set points in the first set before winning with a 7-6 (9/7), 6-1 score-line.

“It was good. I wasn’t really feeling comfortable in the first set,” said the 32-year-old, who has been struggling with the flu this week.

“It was a bit like yesterday (against Corentin Moutet). I hope to be better in the next match.”

The 16-time Grand Slam champion is chasing a record-extending fifth Bercy title and will next face world number seven Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4.

The 21-year-old Tsitsipas leads his head-to-head with Djokovic 2-1, after victories at the Shanghai Masters earlier this month and the 2018 Canadian Open.

Djokovic is hoping to tie Pete Sampras’ record of finishing six years as the world’s best player, but Nadal can be sure of denying the Serbian that achievement

with a maiden Paris title this week.

World number 75 Edmund, hoping to push for a place in Britain’s Davis Cup squad, held his own in the first set, saving two set points to send the opener to a tie-break.

He then rallied from 6-3 down in the breaker to level at 7-7, saving four more set points

as his powerful forehand started to dominate, but Djokovic finally took it at the seventh time of asking with a winner up the line.

Edmund’s resistance was ended as Djokovic broke to love in the third game of the second set en route to a run of six straight games which secured an ultimately comfortable victory.

Former world number three Dimitrov produced a fantastic performance to beat fifth seed Thiem 6-3, 6-2 and reach the last eight in Paris for the first time.

It will also be the Bulgarian’s first Masters quarter-final since the Canadian Open last year as he continues his rise up the rankings.

Dimitrov was the world number 78 heading into the US Open, but reached the semi-finals and is now ranked 27th.

The 28-year-old, who had dispatched 12th seed David

Goffin in round two, defended brilliantly throughout as two-time French Open runner-up Thiem appeared to feel the effects of winning his home title in Vienna last weekend.

Dimitrov will take on Cristian Garin for a semi-final spot, after the unseeded Chilean saved three match points in a deciding-set tie-break to end the run of French qualifier Jeremy Chardy.

The world number 42 claimed five straight points to close out victory, winning 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) to book his maiden Masters quarter-final.

“It was a really tough fight, Jeremy is such a good player. I played my best,” said Garin.

Greek star Tsitsipas, who has reached at least the semis in each of his last three tournaments, eased past De Minaur, ending the Australian’s hopes of qualifying for next month’s ATP Tour Finals in London.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after his victory yesterday.

Third Round

Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Kyle Ed-

mund (GBR) 7-6 (9/7), 6-1

Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE x7) bt Alex

de Minaur (AUS) 6-3, 6-4

Cristian Garin (CHI) bt Jeremy Chardy

(FRA) 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (8/6)

Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) bt Dominic

Thiem (AUT x5) 6-3, 6-2

ATP PARIS MASTERS WTA Finals: World No.1 Barty marches into last-four stage REUTERS HONG KONG

World number one Ashleigh Barty booked her place in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals yesterday as the Australian made short work of Petra Kvitova, handing the Czech a 6-4, 6-2 defeat.

Barty needed to win to be sure of progressing having won one and lost one of her opening matches, and she did so in style as she dominated to win in 88 minutes against a tired looking Kvitova, who exits the compe-tition with three straight losses.

“I felt like I executed really well tonight and I think overall I knew I had to come out here and play aggressively and play to win,” said Barty.

“It was a really good match tonight and I’m really excited to have another chance to play here on this beautiful court.”

Barty took the first set after breaking Kvitova in the fifth game, using her athleticism and movement around the court to put the Ukrainian under con-stant pressure.

The Australian continued her dominance early in the second set, breaking Kvitova twice in the first three games to establish a winning margin over the Czech, who racked up 31 unforced errors across the match.

Later in the evening, Belinda Bencic joined Barty in the last four after Kiki Bertens withdrew from their meeting after losing the first set to the Swiss.

Bertens, who came into the tournament after the first round as an injury replacement for Naomi Osaka, called for the doctor after losing the opening set and, after a brief consul-tation, headed for the locker room and a retirement.

“With Kiki, we were fighting a lot for coming here for the eighth spot for the WTA Finals, so it was nice to have a match for the semi-finals,” said Bencic.

“But I’m sorry that maybe the gas ran out. It’s the end of the season so everyone’s exhausted and I wish her the best.”

Bertens broke early in the opening set and surged ahead, only to surrender her own serve in the 10th game to allow Bencic to pull level.

The Swiss went on to claim the first set before an emotional Bertens withdrew.

“I’m super happy with how I fought in the first set, it was not easy,” said Bencic.

“She was slowing the pace down well. It was tactically good from her, serving bombs, serving aces so it wasn’t easy.

“But I’m happy with how I played and how I fought and I’m excited to be in the semis.”

Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in action during the match against Austria’s Dominic Thiem.

Ashleigh Barty of Australia celebrates her victory against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in Shenzhen, yesterday.

Morgan to decide England future after World T20

SL legend Sangakkara to lead MCC against Essex

REUTERS CHRISTCHURCH

England’s limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan will take a call on his future after next year’s Twenty20 World Cup in England, the 33-year-old said.

Morgan led England to their maiden ODI World Cup victory in July on home soil but has battled back injuries in recent years.

“I won’t say I’ll be finished after the next World Cup as I’d be afraid I’ll only creep over the line and maybe fall off,” Morgan told reporters on the eve of the five-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand.

“I don’t want to let anyone down. I want to drive through the World Cup in Australia and then make a call after that.

“We have a special group of players at the moment. I feel very lucky to lead that group and I think we can do some-thing even more special down the line.”

England have rested Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler and Jason Roy for the Twenty20 series against a side they edged out on boundary count in the final of the ODI World Cup at Lord’s.

England have included five uncapped players in their Twenty20 mix though Morgan felt it may not be easy for them to break into the World Cup squad.

“There aren’t a lot of places up for grabs in our best XI and probably our final 15 for 12 months down the line.

“But we’re not only building for 12 months down the line but the following World Cup as well.

“I think we’re in a reasonably strong position. We’ll look to build our best XI and 15 for every series leading in to fine-tune roles and have absolute clarity in what we’re trying to do as a team.”

AFP LONDON

Sri Lankan cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara, the first overseas president of the Marylebone Cricket Club, will captain the MCC against English county champions Essex in Sri Lanka next March, it was announced yesterday.

The 42-year-old batting great -- whose 15 year international career encompassed 134 Test appearances and over 400 one day internationals -- will lead out his side in the English domestic season’s traditional curtain-raiser at the Galle International Stadium from March 24-27.

The clash between the MCC and the champions dates back to 1970 and has been played abroad since 2011 -- the last edition in Dubai suffered from that most English of interruptions... rain.

Sri Lanka has been selected for several reasons: the MCC’s World Cricket committee will meet there in March, and the match is timed to coincide with Eng-land’s World Test Championship matches in the country.

Sangakkara, who became MCC Pres-ident on October 1r, said the game would be of huge benefit to the sport in Sri Lanka.

“It is hugely important to support cricket in countries such as Sri Lanka and taking the Champion County match to Galle is a fantastic way for the Club to provide its backing for the game on a global level,” he said in a statement.

“I am looking forward to playing for and indeed captaining the MCC team, which will be full of exciting young talent ready to challenge the county champions.”

Maxwell takes break to deal with mental health problems

REUTERS MELBOURNE

Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (pictured) is taking an indefinite break from cricket with immediate effect as he undergoes treatment for mental health issues, coach Justin Langer said.

Maxwell, who played in Australia’s two T20 wins against Sri Lanka in recent days and starred in the Adelaide series-opener, will be replaced by b a t s m a n D ’ A r c y Short for the third and final

match in Melbourne today.Langer said he had

spoken to Maxwell after sensing something was amiss with the hard-hitting 31-year-old before the Adelaide game, Aus-tralia’s first international of the home summer.

“I’m not sure what prompted (it) just before Adelaide,” Langer told reporters in Melbourne.

“But you just could tell it was not quite right and he probably wasn’t going

to say (anything).“Even though in

Adelaide he had that i n c r e d i b l e

innings and fielded like a

genius like he can, I

don’t think he got much joy

out of it, to be honest.”

A fan

favourite and one of Aus-tralia’s most devastating batsmen in short-format cricket, Maxwell was in fine touch at Adelaide Oval where he blasted 62 off 29 balls to hasten his team to a 134-run victory.

He was also his usual energetic presence in the field, effecting a brilliant run-out and engaging in b a n t e r w i t h broadcasters.

“They often put on a mask,” Langer said of people suffering mental health problems.

Maxwell, who has played 110 one-day inter-nationals and 61 T20Is, will be assessed in Melbourne over the next “day or so”,

Langer said.Melbourne man

Maxwell ranks among Australia’s top-earning athletes, enjoying global prestige as a coveted gun-for-hire in domestic T20 competitions.

But his goal of breaking into the Test side, seen as

the pinnacle of the sport in Australia, has largely been frustrated.

The all-rounder has been dropped several times in his career of seven Tests and was snubbed for the Ashes series played in England over August-Sep-tember. The hosts retained the urn.

“You can’t play cricket bitter, it detracts from yourself and makes you stop concentrating on what you need to do,” Maxwell said in a recent i n t e r v i e w w i t h Espncricinfo.

A number of top Aus-tralian cricketers have battled mental health problems in recent years.

Much-hyped talent Will Pucovski took a break from domestic cricket a year ago and also withdrew from the Test squad in January to undergo treatment.

Three-Test batsman Nic Maddinson also took time off in 2017 after being dropped from the Test side before returning to the game after treatment.

days and starred in the Adelaide series-opener,will be replaced byb a t s m a n D ’ A rD c yShort forthe third and final

it was not quite right and he probably wasn’t going

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Maxwell, who played in Australia’s two T20 wins against Sri Lanka in recent days and starred in the Adelaide series-opener, will be replaced by batsman D’Arcy Short for the third and final match in Melbourne today.

SPORTPAGE | 17 PAGE | 19

NBA: Stephen Curry breaks hand in

Warriors’ loss against Phoenix

Djokovic sets up Tsitsipas quarter-final at ATP Paris

Friday 1 November 2019

THE PENINSULA BORDEAUX

Al Shaqab Racing’s Khataab landed the French Purebred Arabian Breeders’ Challenge, a Group 1 for four-year-old and older Purebred Arabians, in Bordeaux, France, yesterday.

The Thomas Fourcy-trained seven-year-old grey son of Amer lined up in the 1900-metre event as the favourite and did not disap-point, winning by four lengths in front of his nearest rival.

In the early stage of the black type event, Khataab sat in the rear guard through the race before cruising past the outside of the racing pack to win with impressive ease in the hands of jockey Jerome Cabre.

It was a one-two for Al Shaqab Racing and Thomas Fourcy with Kair Al Cham being the runner-up under Julien Auge.

The X . Thomas-Demeaulte-trained and Ioritz Mendizabal-ridden Belqees

was a further length behind in third.

The Alban de Mieulle-bred Khataab came here off an excellent second place in the Gr1 Qatar Arabian World Cup, which was run on the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe day, behind champion Ebraz.

Fourcy commented after the race that Khataab had come out of the race so well and knowing his predilection for the softer ground, he had no hesitation to bring him to this competition.

Khataab wins in superb one-two for Al Shaqab Racing in France

Al Shaqab Racing’s Khataab, ridden by Jerome Cabre, on his way to win the French Purebred Arabian Breeders’ Challenge (Group 1) in Bordeaux, France, yesterday.

Brahimi brace fires Al Rayyan to victory; Qatar SC seal third winCHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

Former champions Al Rayyan relied on a brilliant double by Yacine Brahimi to ease past Al Sailiya 2-0 for their sixth successive win in the QNB Stars League (QSL), yesterday.

The victory in the Round 9 match put Al Rayyan on top with 21 points, one point clear of Al Duhail, who will face the defending champions Al Sadd tomorrow in a crunch tie. At the Al Ahli Stadium yesterday, Brahimi put Diego Aguirre’s side ahead just seven minutes after the kick-off.

Following a pass from Khalid Moftah, in-form Brahimi managed to escape from a challenge from Mustafa Abdel Hamid and dribbled a long way before beating the Al Sailiya goalkeeper Khalifa Abavacar inside the penalty area.

After the early goal, Al Sailiya foiled several attempts made by Al Rayyan, including a close one in the 35th minute by Mohamed Alaa, who just missed the target.

Al Sailiya also made several attempts for an equaliser but Al Rayyan avoided any damage, thanks to heroics of goalkeeper Fahad Younis.

In the second half, both sides looked equally strong in defence, before Brahimi struck again in injury time (90+3) to seal the victory.

It was Algerian star’s 6th goal of the season.

As Al Rayyan and Al Duhail occupy top two spots, Xavi’s Al Sadd are sitting at the third spot with 15 points, having played three matches less due to their AFC Champions League commitments.

Earlier in yesterday’s first match, bottom placed Al Shahania put hosts Qatar SC to test despite going down

1-0 at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium.

Uzbek striker Sardor Rashidov scored the winning goal for Qatar SC just before the half-time break (45+1) following a stiff resistance from the visitors who are yet to record a win this season.

Al Shahania, coming from three consecutive draws, could not make a breakthrough despite being resilient against the Alejandro Galvez-led team.

Qatar SC enjoyed most of the ball possession in the first half, which ended in their favour after Rashidov struck following a cross from Kayke Rodriguez in stoppage time.

Ali Ferydoon and Ramin Rezaein made attempts to level scores, but did not succeed. The third win of the season promoted Qatar SC to eighth position in the standings as they moved on to nine points.

Qatar SC were winless for four weeks before outplaying Al Khor 2-1 in the fifth round. Last week they trounced Umm Salal 5-0.

Under new coach, former Qatar international and Al Sadd midfielder Wesam Rizik who came in place of Spaniard Carlos Alos Ferrer, Qatar SC are showing a rapid progress and to send a warning to the top teams in the League.

QNB STARS LEAGUE ROUND 9

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

Qatar SC 1-0 Al Shahania

Al Rayyan 2-0 Al Sailiya

TODAY'S FIXTURES

Al Ahli vs Umm Salal

Al Ahli Stadium at 17:15

Al Arabi vs Al Wakrah

Al Arabi Stadium at 19:25

TOMORROW

Al Khor vs Al Gharafa

Al Khor Stadium at 17:15

Al Duhail vs Al Sadd

Al Duhail Stadium at 19:25

Ateej bags top honours at QREC’s 4th Race MeetingAbdurahman Fahad Abdullah Al Attiyah, representative of Ateej who won the Late Rabiah Saad Al Kaabi Cup at QREC’s 4th Race Meeting, receiving the trophy from Issa bin Saad Al Kaabi. Dr. Fahad Bin Abdullah Al Attiyah & Son’s Ateej registered his first feature victory in Qatar when Ryan Curatolo rode the six-year-old to a thrilling victory at the Al Rayyan Park turf yesterday. Ateej’s run of in-frame finishes in Qatar continued as the Ahmed Mohamad Kobeissi saddled horse won the miler by a neck over Gassim Mohammad Ghazali schooled Spaghetti, with Harry Bentley in the saddle, at the post. BOTTOM: Ateej on his way to victory.

Qatari fans buy 60% of tickets allocated in Visa PresaleFIFA ZURICH

As football fans in South America and Asia eagerly wait to find out the continental champions that will represent them at the competition, the exclusive Visa Presale for the FIFA Club World Cup 2019 presented by Alibaba Cloud concluded with a total of 27,896 tickets allocated.

A total of 60% of those were secured by fans based in the host nation Qatar, with the United Kingdom (14%) and Brazil (4%) also making the top three. All the tickets made available for the second-round double-header, the semi-final featuring Liverpool and the final were snapped up.

Fans hoping for another chance to secure their spot will be able to do so exclu-sively via FIFA.com/tickets from 15:00 Doha time on November 14. Visa, the Official Payment Services Partner of FIFA, is the preferred payment method for the tournament.

Matches will be played from 11 to 21 December at three venues in Qatar. The full match schedule can be found on FIFA.com. Tickets are affordably priced in three categories, ranging from QR25 for Category 3 tickets to the first three matchdays up to QR400 for Category 1 tickets for the double-header comprising the third-place play-off and the final.

Fans applying for a single ticket for double-header matchdays will be able to attend both games at the stadium. From December, fans whose ticket applications are successful will be able to download their tickets within their FIFA Ticketing Account at FIFA.com/tickets and print them at home before the match. FIFA will also be oper-ating a resale platform on FIFA.com/tickets, which will offer ticket holders the oppor-tunity to resell tickets upon interest from a third party.

FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019

Al Rayyan’s Yacine Brahimi (right) celebrates with team-mates after scoring their second goal against Al Sailiya at the Al Ahli Stadium, yesterday.