SUNDAY 1 AUGUST 2021 www.thepeninsula.qa22 DHUL-HIJJAH - 1442 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 8700

Sport | 16

Dukhan Bank net profit

rises 10.7% to QR585.7m in Q2

Fares wins Qatar’s first Olympic gold

Business | 09

2 RIYALS

1 9 9 6 - 2 0 2 1 S I L V E R J U B I L E E Y E A R

QR2.10

QR2.05

QR1.95

Price of super grade petrol for a litre

Price of premium grade petrol for a litre

Price of diesel for a litre.

FUEL PRICE

Qatar Petroleum announced the fuel prices for the

month of August 2021.

PM issues decisions on Shura Council electionsQNA/THE PENINSULA — DOHA

As Qatar prepares for a historic Shura Council elections, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani has issued a slew of decisions yesterday to facilitate the elec-toral process.

The Prime Minister issued a decision to form the voters’ committee stipulated in Article 6 of the Shura Council’s Elec-toral System law promulgated by Law No. 6 of 2021, and the system and controls for its work, according to QNA.

The decision stipulates that the committee shall be formed of five representatives from the min-istry (the Ministry of the Interior), including the chairman and his deputy and four civil society rep-resentatives chosen by the min-ister. The deputy chairman shall replace the chairman in the event of his absence or prevented from attending, and the minister shall issue a decision naming the chairman, deputy chairman, and members.

Also, the PM issued another decision to form the candidates’ committee (stipulated in Article 6 of the Shura Council’s Electoral System law promulgated by Law No. 6 of 2021) and the system and controls for its work.

The decision states that the committee shall be formed of five representatives from the Ministry

of the Interior), including the chairman and his deputy, a judge of the Court of Appeal, a public lawyer from the Public Prose-cution, a representative from the National Human Rights Com-mittee, and a representative of civil society chosen by the min-ister. The deputy chairman shall replace the chairman in the event of his absence or prevented from attending.

Finally, the PM issued a

decision specifying the sources of financing electoral campaigns and the controls and procedures for supervising them.

The decision stipulates that the maximum expenditure of each candidate on electoral campaigns shall be QR2m and that each candidate may finance his electoral campaign with his own money or with cash or in-kind donations he receives from Qatari natural

persons, provided that the total of these donations does not exceed 35 percent of the maximum limit stipulated in the previous article. The candidate must notify the committee (the committee for monitoring expenditure on electoral adver-tising) of the names of the persons from whom he received a donation and the amount.

These decisions follow an earlier issuance by the Amir H

H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Law No. 6 of 2021 on the Shura Council’s Electoral System law.

Meanwhile, voters regis-tration begins today across the designated locations and through several mediums announced by the Ministry of Interior. During the past few months, Qatar has worked on developing constitutional pro-cedures and legislative tools.

Online enrolment for govt

school students beginsQNA — DOHA

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) has announced the opening date for early regis-tration for public school students for the academic year 2021-2022.

The ministry explained that registration is available from August 1 to August 15, 2021 through the e-portal on the ministry’s website at the link: https://eduservices.edu.gov.qa/, adding that no requests will be received man-ually, and registration will be online only.

In order to facilitate the process, the Ministry of Edu-cation and Higher Education clarified that requests for support and assistance related

to registering students in public schools will be received, starting today, where the parents can visit the Ministry’s staff at Jassim bin Hamad Hall in MoEHE’s Tower in the West Bay area for support.

The ministry will also receive public inquiries by calling the hotline 155, and through various social media.

Qatari students, those from other GCC countries, children of Qatari women and expa-triates working in government sectors can apply for registration.

The applications submitted by the parents of eligible stu-dents will be assessed by the Student Affairs Department. Approval of the application for registration will be made by the school.

Number of countries in Qatar's COVID-19 red list increasesFAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

According to the update by Ministry of Public Health on country classification related to COVID-19 has added many new countries to the red list and removed some from the green and yellow list.

The Ministry updated the country classification with the new travel and return policy on Friday. It has classified coun-tries in green, yellow, and red lists according to the level of risk in each country.

At present 21 countries are in the green list, 34 in yellow and 152 in red list. The red list has been increased by 58 coun-tries as there were 94 countries

previously. The green list has reduced by nine countries and number of countries in the yellow list is reduced by 34.

Six Asian countries India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines are not included under red, yellow, green classification.

As per the new travel and return policy from August 2, trav-ellers coming from one of these six countries and have been vac-cinated or recovered from COVID-19 in Qatar, are subject to a hotel quarantine for two days, and the quarantine period will end after obtaining a neg-ative PCR test result on the second day.

All other travellers coming from these countries are subject

to hotel quarantine for 10 days.Also according to the Ministry

screening will be carried out for passengers who show symptoms of infection as necessary, depending on the opinion of the medical team at the airport or entry points to the country.

Vaccinated passengers coming from red-rated countries will undergo a PCR test (at the passenger’s expense) upon arrival at Hamad International Airport or Land Port, if the test

result is positive, the passenger must comply with the isolation protocol.

But unvaccinated pas-sengers, those with vaccines not approved in Qatar, or who have not completed a period of 14 days from the date of the second dose, and arriving from green-rated countries will undergo five days home quarantine and a repeat PCR test in on day four, they will be discharged on day five if the test is negative.

Unvaccinated passengers arriving form yellow-rated countries will undergo seven days hotel quarantine and a repeat PCR test (on traveller’s expense) in the hotel on day six and will be discharged on day seven if test is negative. And unvaccinated passengers coming from red-rated countries will undergo a hotel quarantine for 10 with a PCR test on arrival at the hotel and on the ninth day. They shall be cleared on the 10th day if the test is negative.

Qatar has controlled the impact of COVID-19 by imple-menting restrictions and increasing vaccination. It has resulted in a consistent reduction in the number of new daily infections in the country. �P2

Registration of voters begins todayQNA/THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The voters’ registration process for the first Shura Council elec-tions will start today in all elec-toral districts, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has announced. The registration process will continue until Thursday (August 5). The Ministry called on citizens to register in the voters’ lists.

Registration and partici-pation in the Shura Council election are necessary to ensure real involvement in decision-making based on fair elections.

The Shura Council election is a historical event and an qualitative leap for popular par-ticipation in the country’s government.

In a statement issued on its website, MoI said that “in accordance with the provisions of Law No. (6) of 2021, promul-gating the Shura Council’s

Electoral System law and Decree No. 37 of 2021, defining electoral districts and their respective regions, the regis-tration for voters in all electoral districts will open from Sunday (today), 01/08/2021, and will continue until Thursday, 05/08/2021, from 4pm to 8pm.”

Regarding conditions that the voter must meet, the Min-istry clarified that “his original

nationality must be Qatari, and anyone who acquired Qatari nationality is excluded from the condition of original nationality, provided that his grandfather is Qatari and born in the State of Qatar and that he is fully eli-gible, not less than 18 years on 22/08/2021, and not have been convicted of a final verdict in a crime involving moral turpitude or dishonesty, unless he has

been rehabilitated.”The citizen should initiate

the registration application pro-cedures himself through the Metrash2 app, or by text message, or by personally attending any of the electoral headquarters. According to the MoI, the data required for reg-istration is the personal card number and the mobile number of the voter.

Qataris who are abroad can register through Metrash2 or by text message.

The MoI’s statement noted that the preliminary lists of voters would be announced on Sunday (August 8).

The Ministry of Culture and Sports called on young people to participate in the Shura Council elections. “The participation is an expression of the youth’s awareness of their pioneering role,” the Ministry said. �P2

Decisions for formation of voters' committee, candidates'

committee and a decision specifying source of financing

electoral campaigns issued.

Voters' committee to have five representatives from the

Ministry of the Interior, including the chairman and his deputy

and four civil society representatives.

Candidates' committee shall be formed of five representatives

from the Ministry of the Interior, including the chairman and

his deputy, a judge of the Court of Appeal, a public lawyer, a

representative from the National Human Rights Committee,

and a representative of civil society.

Donations for campaign shall not exceed 35 percent of the

maximum stipulated and shall be from Qatari natural persons.

The candidate must notify the committee (the committee for

monitoring expenditure on electoral advertising) of the names

of the persons from whom he received a donation and the

amount.

Voter registration to end on August 5, Thursday.

Registration can be done through the Metrash2 app, text message, or by personally attending any of the electoral headquarters.

Preliminary lists of voters to be announced on August 8, Sunday.

The red list has been increased by 58 countries, the

green list has reduced by nine countries and number

of countries in the yellow list is reduced by 34.

Vaccinated passengers coming from red-rated

countries will undergo a PCR test on arrival.

Amir directs to send Lekhwiya team for Turkey search operations

QNA — DOHA

Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani directed to send a team from the Qatar International Search and Rescue Group of the Internal Security Force “Lekhwiya” to the Republic of Turkey to participate in the search oper-ations for the missing in the fires that swept Turkish prov-inces.

This came in a phone call held by Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani with Turkish Interior Minister H E Suleyman Soylu yesterday.

During the phone call, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior expressed his deepest condolences and the condo-lences of the Qatari gov-ernment over the victims of the fires, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

The two sides also reviewed the strategic coop-eration ties between the two brotherly countries and ways of enhancing them, in addition to issues of mutual concern.

OFFICIAL NEWS

02 SUNDAY 1 AUGUST 2021HOME

W ALRUWAIS : 31o → 39o W ALKHOR : 33o → 44o W DUKHAN : 31o → 43o W WAKRAH : 30o → 44o W MESAIEED : 30o → 44o W ABUSAMRA : 33o→ 43o

Hazy at places at first, becomes hot

to very hot daytime with scattered

clouds and a chance of light rain at

places at times, humid by night.

Minimum Maximum34oC 44oC

WEATHER TODAY

LOW TIDE 05:20 – 17:08

HIGH TIDE 13:33–0:00

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PRAYERTIMINGS

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Bulgaria President honours Qatar’s AmbassadorQNA — SOFIA

President of the Republic of Bulgaria H E Rumen Radev met with the Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Bulgaria H E Rashid bin Ali Al Khater, on the occasion of the end of his tenure.

The Ambassador conveyed the greetings of the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, wishing him good health and happiness, and the government and people of Bulgaria continued progress and prosperity.

For his part, the President of Bulgaria entrusted the Ambas-sador to convey his greetings to H H Amir, wishing him good health and happiness, and the State of Qatar continued progress, development and

prosperity.During the meeting, the Bul-

garian President commended the efforts made by the Ambas-sador in strengthening the rela-tions of friendship and joint cooperation between the Republic of Bulgaria and the State of Qatar.

The Bulgarian President pre-sented the Order of the Madara Horseman First Degree to the Ambassador in recognition of his efforts during his tenure in enhancing relations between Qatar and Bulgaria.

For his part, the Ambassador expressed his thanks and appre-ciation to the Bulgarian Pres-ident for awarding him the Order of the Madara Horseman, and for the great joint cooperation between the two countries and for the positive developments in relations in various fields.

Bulgaria President H E Rumen Radev meets with the Ambassador of Qatar H E Rashid bin Ali Al Khater on the occasion of the end of his tenure.

Qatar slams attack on funeral in Iraq

DOHA: The State of Qatar has

expressed its strong condemnation

and denunciation of the attack that

took place on a funeral gathering

in Saladin Governorate in northern

Iraq, leading to deaths and injuries.

In a statement yesterday, the Min-

istry of Foreign Affairs reiterated

Qatar’s firm stance rejecting vio-

lence and terrorism, regardless of

motives and reasons. The Minis-

try expressed Qatar’s condolences

to the victims’ families, the gov-

ernment and the people of Iraq,

and wished the injured a speedy

recovery. -QNA

Qatar condemns bombing in Somalia

DOHA: The State of Qatar has

expressed its strong condemnation

and denunciation of the bombing

that targeted a bus carrying a foot-

ball team in the southern Somali

city of Kismayo, which led to the

death of a number of players and

the injury of a number of people.

In a statement yesterday, the Min-

istry of Foreign Affairs reiterated

the State of Qatar’s firm position

of rejecting violence and terror-

ism, regardless of motives and

reasons. The Ministry expressed

the condolences of the State of

Qatar to the families of the victims

and the government and people of

Somalia, wishing a speedy recov-

ery for the injured. -QNA

Qatar slams attack in Afghanistan

DOHA:The State of Qatar has

voiced its strong condemnation

and denunciation of the attack

that targeted a United Nations

headquarters in Herat province,

western Afghanistan, leading to

the death of a guard and the injury

of others. In a statement issued

yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs reiterated the firm position

of the State of Qatar on rejecting

violence and terrorism, regardless

of motives and reasons. The Minis-

try expressed the State of Qatar’s

condolences to the families of the

victim and to the government and

people of Afghanistan, wishing the

injured a speedy recovery. -QNA

PM issues decision to form Candidates’ Committee for Shura Council electionsQNA — DOHA

Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani issued a decision to form the candidates’ committee (stipulated in Article 6 of the Shura Council’s Electoral System law promulgated by Law No. 6 of 2021), and the system and controls for its work.

The decision stipulates that the committee shall be formed of five representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, including the chairman and his deputy, a judge of the Court of Appeal, a public lawyer from the Public Prosecution, a representative from the National Human Rights Committee, and a representative of civil society chosen by the min-ister. The deputy chairman shall replace the chairman in the event of his absence or prevented from attending.

Each entity shall choose its representative in the committee’s membership, and a decision is issued by the Minister for naming the chairman and deputy chairman and members. The sec-retariat of the Committee shall be assumed by one or more of the Ministry’s employees, who shall be delegated and their speciali-sations and remunerations shall be determined by a decision of the minister.

Under the decision, the com-mittee receives applications for candidacy for the Shura Council elections by meeting the form prepared for this purpose, reg-isters candidacy applications, according to the date and time of their receipt, delivers the can-didacy applicant a receipt of the candidacy application, examines

candidacy applications, and checks that the conditions set by the constitution and the law are met by the candidate.

The committee shall also announce the preliminary lists of candidates who have fulfilled the requirements for candidacy at the headquarters of the electoral con-stituencies, decide on objections and grievances regarding the pre-liminary lists of candidates in accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned Shura Council’s Electoral System law, announce the final lists of candi-dates at the headquarters of the electoral constituencies, and by any other appropriate means arranged in an alphabetical order, amend the lists of candidates in accordance with the judicial rulings issued in this regard, receive and approve applications to waive candidacy, and exclude the candidate who has been proven to have lost one of the conditions that must be met by the candidate in the period between the announcement of the final lists of candidates and the date of the elections.

The decision stipulated that the committee shall carry out its work and responsibilities stipu-lated in the Shura Council’s

Electoral System law referred to and in this decision, before the Shura Council elections with a sufficient time determined by the minister, whether in the original or supplementary Shura Council elections, or the run-off elections, as the case may be.

Under the decision, as an exception to the provision of the previous paragraph, the com-mittee shall carry out its work and competencies with regard to the first elections for the Shura Council, starting from the date of issuing this decision. The com-mittee is considered in a per-manent session until the end of the electoral process and decides on the appeals submitted regarding the validity of the elections.

The decision stipulates that the committee meets at the invi-tation of its chairman, and its con-vening is valid only with the attendance of the majority of its members, including the chairman or his deputy. Its decisions are issued by the majority of the votes of the members present, and in the event of a tie in the votes, the side of the chairman shall prevail. Minutes are drawn up for each session showing what took place in the session, and signed by the

chairman and the secretary. The committee determines the dates of its meetings, and sets the rules and procedures necessary for the exercise of its competencies.

The decision permitted the committee to request what it deems necessary to exercise its powers of data or documents from ministries or other gov-ernment agencies, and it may invite to its meetings whoever it deems necessary to attend from among the employees of those bodies or others with competence and experience in the field of its competence to seek their opinion without having the right to vote.

The decision stated that the committee may form from among its members or other technicians and specialists working groups, or assign one of its members to study any of the topics related to the committee’s competencies.

The decision stipulated that the committee’s deliberations, work, reports, data and infor-mation obtained for its work shall be of a confidential nature, and its members and employees are pro-hibited from disclosing such data or information.

According to the aforemen-tioned decision, the committee submits to the minister, at the end of its mission, a report on the results of its work, proposals and recommendations. It also stipu-lated that the committee’s papers and minutes of its work shall be kept with the department con-cerned with elections in the min-istry, after the end of elections.

In its last article, the decision stipulated that it is effective starting from its date of issuance, and to be published in the Official Gazette.

PM issues decision to form Voters’ Committee for Shura Council electionsQNA — DOHA

Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani issued a decision to form the voters’ committee stipulated in Article 6 of the Shura Council’s Electoral System law promul-gated by Law No. 6 of 2021, and the system and controls for its work.

The decision stipulates that the committee shall be formed of five representatives from the Ministry of Interior, including the chairman and his deputy, and four representatives of civil society chosen by the minister. The deputy chairman shall replace the chairman in the event of his absence or prevented from attending, and the minister shall issue a decision naming the chairman, deputy chairman and members.

The secretariat of the com-mittee shall be assumed by one or more of the ministry’s employees, who shall be dele-gated, and their specialisations and remunerations shall be determined by a decision of the minister.

In accordance with the decision, the committee shall prepare, review and announce the voters’ lists. In particular, it shall have the authority to: receive and examine voters’ reg-istration requests, include those

who meet the conditions of the voter in the voters’ lists, add the names of those whose names were found not to be included in the lists despite their fulfilment of the legally prescribed condi-tions for the voter, and delete the names of the deceased from the voters’ lists, as well as delete the names of those who lost their voter status since the last review of the lists, as well as those whose names were entered by mistake or without right.

The committee is also con-cerned with determining the permanent address of the voter (according to the regulations included in the decision), announcing the voters’ lists, receiving objection or grievance requests regarding the initial

voters’ lists and deciding on them, announcing the final voters’ lists at the premises of the electoral constituencies and by any other appropriate means, and excluding the voter who has been proven to have lost one of the conditions that the voter must meet in the period between the announcement of the final lists and the date of the elections, and amending the voters’ lists in accordance with the judicial rulings issued in this regard.

The decision stipulated that the committee shall carry out its work and responsibilities stipu-lated in the law of the Shura Council’s Electoral System referred to and in this decision, before the Shura Council elec-tions with a sufficient time deter-mined by the minister, whether in the original or supplementary Shura Council elections, or the run-off elections, as the case may be.

Under the decision, as an exception to the provision of the previous paragraph, the com-mittee shall carry out its work and competencies with regard to the first elections for the Shura Council, starting from the date of issuing this decision.

The committee is considered in a permanent session until the end of the electoral process and decides on the appeals submitted regarding the validity of the elections.

The decision stipulates that the committee meets at the invitation of its chairman, and its convening is valid only with the attendance of the majority of its members, including the chairman or his deputy. Its decisions are issued by the majority of the votes of the members present, and in the event of a tie in the votes, the side of the chairman shall prevail.

National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking, Msheireb Museums sign MoUTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking at the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (MADLSA), and Msheireb Museums at Msheireb Properties have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaborative efforts

to increase awareness on the global issue of modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

The MoU was signed by H E Mohammed Hassan Al-Obaidli, Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Affairs and Secretary of the National Committee for Com-bating Human Trafficking, and Ali Al-Kuwari, Acting CEO of Msheireb Properties, in the

presence of Dr. Hafiz Ali Abdulla, Director of Msheireb Museums, and representatives from the Ministry and the company.

The agreement underlines the commitment of the Ministry and Msheireb Properties to enhance awareness of human trafficking, a scrouge that impacts communities and individuals around the world. The two

entities will join hands to implement awareness sessions on the subject. The cooperation agreement also covers supporting training courses and educational sessions hosted by schools and other entities in line with the mission of the Ministry and the Committee.

One of the key activations is updating the ongoing exhibition

at Bin Jelmood House in Msheireb Museums to cover modern slavery-related issues to coincide with the International Day for Combatting Human Trafficking on July 30.

Mohammed Hassan Al-Obaidli, Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Affairs, said: “The signing of this memorandum comes within the framework of

supporting joint efforts to combat human trafficking and cooper-ating with the concerned author-ities in this regard, in accordance with the tasks of the “National Committee for Combating Human trafficking,” which plays the role of the national coordi-nator and supervises the imple-mentation of the national plan in this field.”

Number of countries in Qatar’s COVID-19 red list increases

FROM PAGE 1

The Ministry reported 92 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 among community and 70 among travellers, yes-terday. Some 141 people have recovered from the virus during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases recovered

in Qatar to 223732.Yet, only one patient was

admitted in intensive care in the last 24 hours and 24 people continue to receive medical attention in ICU.

There were 6 cases of hos-pital admissions in the last 24 hours taking the total number

of patients in the hospital to 74.Some 4,908 doses of

COVID-19 vaccines have been administered during the past 24 hours.

The total number of vaccine doses administered since the start of the vaccination cam-paign is 3,780,468.

Registration of voters begins today

FROM PAGE 1

The upcoming Shura Council will have legislative authority and approve general state policies and the budget. It will also exercise control over the executive, except for bodies defining defence, security, economic, and investment policy.

Dr. Khalid Saleh AlS-hammari, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Law College of Qatar University, said Shura Council would have three specializations, political, legislative, and f inancial , related to approving the budget.

During his interview with Qatar TV, he added that there is cooperation between the judiciary and the executive authority in the Shura Council elections, and there are roles for each authority.

The secretariat of the committee shall be assumed by one or more of the ministry’s employees, who shall be delegated, and their specialisations and remunerations shall be determined by a decision of the minister.

The upcoming Shura Council will have legislative authority and approve general state policies and the budget.

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PM issues decision specifying sources of financing electoral campaignsQNA — DOHA

Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani issued a decision specifying the sources of financing electoral campaigns and the controls and procedures for supervising it.

The decision stipulates that the maximum expenditure of each candidate on electoral campaigns shall be QR2m, and that each can-didate may finance his electoral campaign with his own money or with cash or in-kind donations he receives from Qatari natural persons, provided that the total of these donations does not exceed 35 percent of the maximum limit stipulated in the previous article. The candidate must notify the committee (the committee for monitoring expenditure on elec-toral advertising) of the names of the persons from whom he received a donation and the amount of the donation.

Under the decision, it is pro-hibited for any candidate to receive any contributions or support to finance spending on his electoral campaign from foreign or unknown sources, from a Qatari legal person, from a foreign natural or legal person, from a foreign entity, from a state or an international organization, or from an entity that a Qatari or foreign person contributes to its capital, natural or legal, regardless of its legal form.

The decision required each candidate twenty-four hours before the start of the electoral campaign to deposit all private funds and cash donations, which he received to finance his elec-toral campaign, in a bank account opened for this purpose in one of the national banks determined by

the committee. It is prohibited to spend on it from any source other than this account.

The decision also obligated the candidate to verify the sources of cash and in-kind resources, deposit in the bank account their amount or mon-etary value immediately upon receipt, manage the register and receipts of cash donations, determine the value of in-kind donations in accordance with the provisions of the law, manage and dispose of the bank account and manage checkbook, and not exceed the permissible legal funding ceiling, verify the elec-toral and legal nature of the amount to be paid, and the existence of original and credible documents related to amount, and prepare a list of electoral expenses. The decision also stated that the candidate may request account statements and copies of any documents related to the bank account, and he may withdraw the remaining amounts in the bank account and liquidate the in-kind resources that have not been consumed.

The candidate may also appoint an authorised person with legal powers to sign the opening of the bank account, deposit in it, withdraw from it, request, receive, issue and sign checkbooks, and bank transfer, provided that the delegate adheres to the same obli-gations stipulated in the decision.

According to the decision, spending on electoral advertising includes; expenses of printing, hanging and distributing election advertisements, posters and bro-chures, renting places to hang them, expenses of organizing election meetings, expenses due to service providers that these meetings require, and all expenses

related to their organization, office and shop rental expenses, and expenses of communication, equipment and tools for organ-izing election campaigns.

Expenditure, in accordance with the decision, also includes the expenses of electoral campaigning through the press, private media and social networking websites, the salaries of workers, their food and clothing expenses on the occasion of the completion of the electoral campaign work, the expenses of renting the means of transportation for electoral cam-paigns, the expenses of removing advertisements, posters and elec-toral brochures, and any other electoral advertising means.

The decision stipulates that expenditures on electoral cam-paigning shall be paid based on original documents proving the use of these expenditures in accordance with the purposes specified in the previous article, in the form of invoices, state-ments, documents or bonds dated and signed by suppliers and service providers. Payment of expenditures on electoral cam-paigning shall be by check or bank transfer for each expend-iture operation whose value exceeds (ten thousand riyals), and it is required that the withdrawal documents state the reason for the operation.

The decision states that deposit, withdrawal and transfer operations from the bank account for electoral campaign spending shall end forty-eight hours after the date of announcing the election results, and the candidate or his authorised representative may not withdraw the remaining balance after the end of the men-tioned period, except after sub-mitting a written declaration to

the bank signed by the candidate stating that there are no expenses owed for the benefit of others, and the closure of the bank account shall be based on a notification from the committee to the bank in which this account is opened.

The decision stipulated that a committee shall be established in the ministry, called the “com-mittee for monitoring expend-iture on electoral advertising,” consisting of two representatives from the ministry, one of whom shall be a chairman and the other a deputy chairman, and with membership from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the Qatar Central Bank, and the Audit Bureau.

Each entity shall choose its representative in the commit-tee’s membership, and a decision is issued by the Minister for naming the chairman and deputy chairman and members. The secretariat of the Committee shall be assumed by one or more of the Ministry’s employees, who shall be delegated and their spe-cializations and remunerations shall be determined by a decision of the minister.

According to the decision, the committee will monitor compliance with the maximum spending limit on electoral advertising, review and audit financial accounts for spending on candidates’ electoral

campaigns and funding sources, conduct the necessary investi-gations to ensure the accuracy of financial operations, and request information and docu-ments from the competent authorities within seven days from the date of their announcement. The committee may, for the purposes of veri-fying the accuracy of the candi-dates’ financial statements, request from each candidate any supplementary information from the date of his legal announcement of the request within the time indicated in this article.

The decision stated that the committee must request, within fifteen days from the date of the announcement of the election results, from each candidate to submit an account statement for his electoral campaign approved by an auditor, detailing the total private funds, cash and in-kind donations he obtained and their sources, and what was spent on the electoral campaigns. The aforementioned account statement shall be accompanied by a statement of the electoral campaign’s bank account, showing all withdrawals, deposits and bank transfers made from this account from the date of its opening to the date of its closure.

Under the decision, the com-mittee, within three months from

the date of announcing the election results, shall prepare a report that includes the names of the candidates whose financial statements were requested and whose account data was approved, and the names of the candidates who violated the rules and procedures for financing electoral campaigns. The Com-mittee also has the right to refer violations of electoral cam-paigning to the Public Prose-cution to take appropriate legal measures.

Under the decision, the com-mittee shall carry out its work and responsibilities stipulated in this decision before the Shura Council elections with a sufficient time determined by the minister, whether in the original or sup-plementary Shura Council elec-tions, or the run-off elections, as the case may be. As an exception to the provision of the previous paragraph, the committee shall carry out its work and compe-tencies with regard to the first elections for the Shura Council, starting from the date of issuing this decision. The committee is considered in a permanent session until the end of the elec-toral process.

Minutes are drawn up for each session showing what took place in the session, and signed by the chairman and the sec-retary. The committee determines the dates of its meetings, and sets the rules and procedures nec-essary for the exercise of its com-petencies. The decision obligated the chairman of the committee, or any of its members, to step down from participating in any of the committee’s work or compe-tencies, if the work or jurisdiction is related to one of his relatives or in-laws up to the second degree.

The decision stipulates that the maximum expenditure of each candidate on electoral campaigns shall be QR2m, and that each candidate may finance his electoral campaign with his own money or with cash or in-kind donations he receives from Qatari natural persons.

71% of services by Public Prosecution provided electronically during pandemicQNA/THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The demand for services provided through electronic portal of the Public Prosecution has reached to about 71 percent

during the pandemic, according to the Manager of Information Technology Department, Maryam Haji Abdullah.

She said that, only 29 percent of services were sought at the

Public Service Center in the Public Prosecution Building.

Haji Abdullah revealed this information while speaking about the new service application launched by the Public

Prosecution, in order to facilitate access to services and infor-mation, using various mobile platforms and operating systems, said a report published by QNA yesterday. The application,

launched by the Information Technology Department at the Public Prosecution, complements other electronic services that aim to deliver digital Public Prose-cution services to the public, such

as the website and self-service devices located in various loca-tions. The new Public Prosecution electronic services program is the second version of the application launched in 2016.

04 SUNDAY 1 AUGUST 2021HOME

MES produces outstanding results in CBSE Class XII examTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

MES Indian School produced outstanding results in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Grade XII, Examination 2021. A total of 513 students registered for the examination.

In the Science stream, Gayana Sam Santhakumar emerged as the school topper with 98.2% followed by Arup Biswas and Hanna Mariam Roji with 97.8% in the second position and Sooraj Suresh Babu, Aleena Fayaz and Hafsa Naeem Chohan in the third position with 97.2%.

In the Commerce stream, Chandini Sagar secured first position with 94.2% followed by Mohd Ali Irshad Baqri, Disha Dinesh Nayak, Vazhapilath Swetha Prasad and Zohra Mahwish in the second position with 94% and Alima Noor with

93.6% in the third position.In the Humanities stream,

Farah Shameer topped the school with 94% marks. Sana Thadakkattil secured the second position with 90.8% and Nidhi Niravbhai Bhatt with 88.2% in the third position.

A total of 33 students secured AI in all five subjects. They are Arup Biswas, Derik

Saldanha, Jayasankar Kumar Santhirani, Melvin, Punit Pande, Sooraj Suresh Babu, Aaleena Fayaz, Ameena Fathima, Amreen, Anushka Sumesh, Athulya Shaji, Bijitha Binu, Fathima Hiba Muhammed Bashe, Fatima Ajaz, Gayana Sam Santhakumar, Gayathri Sivakumar, Hafsa Naeem Chohan, Haneen Magdy Abdullah Taha, Hanna Mariam Roji, Heba Mariam Roji, Lubna Haroon, Malavika Kaimal, Nandini Rajagopalan, Nausheen Panali, Nawal Aboobakker, Neha Karakkattu, Nihan Kadar, Niya Nilofar, Risha Abdul Rasheed, Ruzna Ashraf, Sayana Shoukath, Shehna Shajahan & V Soundharya.

The top scorers in different subjects are as follows: Nihan Kadar topped in English and Home Science. Arup Biswas, Gayana Sam Santhakumar and Nandini Rajagopalan topped in

Mathematics. In Physics, Gayana Sam Santhakumar and Hanna Mariam Roji, in Chem-istry Sooraj Suresh Babu and Aaleena Fayaz and in Biology Sooraj Suresh Babu, V Sound-harya, Hanna Mariam Roji, Aaleena Fayaz and Anushka Sumesh emerged as the toppers.

Jayasankar Kumar San-thirani topped in Computer

Science and Bashar Farooq and Nawal Aboobakker emerged toppers in Informatics Practices. Punit Pande, Maheswer Sunil Kumar, Anand Vinodkumar, Risha Abdul Rasheed, Amreen, Malavika Kaimal, Kezia Alin Shaji, Aleena Grace Sunil,Riza Mayin and Lilian Biji emerged toppers in Engineering Graphics. Mohd Ali Irshad Baqri became subject topper in Business Studies.

Chandini Sagar emerged the subject topper in Accountancy and Anvitha Saji, Hiba Hussain, Jesna Lisa Sibi, Susan Palayil Eldo and Zainab Muhammad Suhail were the toppers in Eco-nomics. Farah Shameer was the topper in History, while Muhammed Faris Faizal secured highest marks in Physical Education.

The school Principal, Hameeda Kadar congratulated the students for their

remarkable achievements. “We attribute the success chiefly to the diligence and perseverance of our students and the constant guidance and timely assistance from Heads of sections and committed teachers. It shows commitment and sincerity on the part of everyone involved in the academic process,” said Hameeda Kadar.

Gayana Sam Santhakumar Chandini Sagar Farah Shameer

214 BPS students score above 90% in CBSE examTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Grade XII CBSE Board results were announced on 30 July 2021. This year Birla Public School had 433 students for the Grade XII Board Examination.

Out of this, 214 students scored above 90 percent and 211 students scored above 75 percent – distinction. The overall and Commerce stream topper is Swaathi Chidambaram with 97.60 %.

The Science stream topper is Sudharshan Sarvanan, Aaron

Varughese Chandapillai and Simple Sibi Joseph who scored 97.20%

The Humanities stream topper is Fizafathima Thepar-ambil Mumthaj who scored 97.00%.

A total of 52 students got A1 grade in all the five subjects. One student in Mathematics, two students each in Physics, Chemistry Engineering graphic and Psychology scored centum. In all, the school got 845 A1s, in all the subjects.

This year the school regis-tered 90.53 % school average in Science, while it is 85.98% in Commerce, 88.05 % in Humanities and overall school average registered is 89.18%.

The toppers in commerce s t ream are Swaathi

Chidambaram, Niel Biju Samuel and Deepthy Jose.

Toppers in Science stream are Sudharshan Sarvanan, Aaron Varughese Chandapillai,

Simple Sibi Joseph, Vishnu Tirth Bysani, Afra Banu Shaikh Aslam, Serena Anthony, Sita, Drashti Nikhil Modi, Reuben Peter Silveira, Rishika Angadi Girish, Hana Nishan, Aingela Mulakkaleth Shibu, Amal Mohamed Inthikaf, Farwa Bismi, Muhammed Faiz Abbas, Ninav Neshikumar Lali, Sakina Husain, Sana Salim Sheikh, Fathima Manooja, Soumya Sangam Jha.

Toppers in humanities stream are Fizafathima Theparambil Mumthaj , Niveditha Ajay, Aditi Sadavarte and Fiza Shiadh.

Sudharshan Sarvanan

Fizafathima Theparambil MumthajSwaathi Chidambaram

QRCS volunteers were present at alldistribution points throughout Eid daysTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Volunteering and Local Devel-opment Department at Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS), has supported the Adahi Project, co-implemented by QRCS and Widam Food Company, during the Eid Al Adha successfully, and attained its goal of reaching out to as many beneficiaries as possible.

Executive Director of Volun-teering and Local Development at QRCS, Muna Fadel Al Sulaitis said that the project provided food aid for the vulnerable families and groups, with the aims of achieving food security, establishing a glorious act of worship in Islam, making it easier for Muslims to offer the ritual sacrifice during the Eid Al Adha, engaging individual and institutional donors in the promotion of social solidarity, and ensuring the delivery of charity to those eligible.

“We designed a well-organised scheme to distribute the food aid under the applicable preventive measures. Together with our partner, we could distribute a total of 500 heads of sheep to 750 vul-nerable families registered with QRCS’s seasonal assistance program, in addition to 711 families, or 3,555 persons, as indirect beneficiaries,” said Al Sulaiti.

“As usual every year, Widam played an essential role in the success of the Adahi Project. They provided the heads of

sheep purchased by the donors via different means of donation. Then, they slaughtered the animals within the ritually designated timeframe. The meat was divided into rations, packaged as per health require-ments, and handed over to the ben-eficiaries at two locations: Umm Salal Central Slaughterhouse and Al Wakra Central Slaughterhouse,” she added.

Regarding the efforts of volun-teers who took part in the execution of the Adahi Project, Al Sulaiti said that 23 volunteers were present at all distribution points throughout the days of Eid, to organise the distri-bution process.

SMSes were sent to the benefi-ciaries registered with the system on the second day of Eid, with a dif-ferent code for each beneficiary. The preventive measures were observed by applying the drive-through mechanism. Two lanes were assigned for car entry, after checking for the receipt SMS.

Also, plastic bags were used for handling the ID cards of benefici-aries, to avoid direct contact.

The volunteer in charge receives the beneficiary’s ID card in a plastic bag and checks their personal number and code (yellow for half of Udhiyah and red for whole Udhiyah) at the registration gate.

QRCS volunteers assisting beneficiaries of Adahi Project.

A total of 52 students got A1 grade in all the five subjects. One student in Mathematics, two students each in Physics, Chemistry Engineering graphic and Psychology scored centum. In all, the school got 845 A1s, in all the subjects.

Ooredoo to launch broadband promo to boost small businessesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Ooredoo, the leading one-stop national ICT provider, is set to launch a new business broadband promotion suited to smaller businesses, including those based from home offices.

Ooredoo is offering promo-tional data and devices on Aamali Mobile Broadband to support Small and Medium Enterprise customers.

Among the many offers is Double Data with Aamali Mobile Broadband Gold or Titanium plans, a Huawei 5G device bundle with Aamali Mobile Broadband Platinum or Executive Plan, or a Netgear M5 5G device bundle with Aamali Mobile Broadband Extreme Plan at no extra cost.

Both available devices are smart WiFi routers, providing coverage throughout business premises and open to multiple devices. Data allowances range from 60GB to 2TB, allowing customers to select a plan in line with their needs. Every plan runs on Ooredoo’s

ground-breaking 5G network, increasing speeds and volumes of data based on the plan selected.

Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad bin Nasser Al Thani, Chief Com-mercial Officer at Ooredoo, said: “We, at Ooredoo, know that running a small business involves looking for maximum savings and value, so we are thrilled to make available this new promotion for the small and medium enterprise cus-tomers. Increasingly, small business customers are finding that access to a powerful 5G network is integral to their daily operations, but that they need solutions that suit their par-ticular business, so these pro-motional packages are an ideal combination.”

Business customers can lev-erage the Ooredoo Advantage, making Ooredoo ‘Best for Business’, thanks to its breadth and depth of talent, best fixed and mobile networks, broadest portfolio of ICT services and solutions, and trusted partner for 60 years.

Division G Toastmasters conducts first Council meeting for 2021-22THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Division-G of Toastmasters International, District 116 conducted its first Division Council meeting on July 23, by introducing its newly elected executive committee and the division’s vision for the new term.

Director of Division-G, Alar Mel Mangai, DTM opened the meeting. She is a passionate

member of the Toastmasters fraternity held various lead-ership positions and a champion speaker.

She shared her vision with key emphasis on membership excellence by way of mem-bership retention, building new clubs and excellence in educa-tional programs.

She then introduced the executive committee com-prising of dynamic leaders

namely Rinku Saha (Program Quality Director), Salman Gaffary Hilmi (Club Growth Director), Diana May Tangente (Area 25 Director), Shameer P Hassen (Area 26 Director), Mohamed Nazik Cader (Area 27 Director), Deepti Potnis (Area 28 Director), Bindu Pillai (Administration Manager), Shakeal Badurdeen (Public Relations Manager), Nalini Mathur (TLI Chair), Ritu

Maheshwari (Aurum Awards Chair), Zahra Saleh Ali (Social Media Manager), Muhammad Kallat (Finance Manager) and Felipe Catinoy (Logistics & IT Manager).

The four Area directors pre-sented their plans for the toast-masters’ year 2021-22 together with other division officials with a common goal to take Division G and District 116 to greater heights.

05SUNDAY 1 AUGUST 2021 GULF / MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

IN BRIEF

Turkey evacuates panicked tourists by boat from wildfiresAP — ISTANBUL Panicked tourists in Turkey hurried to the seashore to wait for rescue boats yesterday after being told to evacuate some hotels in the Aegean resort of Bodrum due to the dangers posed by nearby wildfires, Turkish media reported.

Coast guard units were leading the operation and authorities asked private boats and yachts to assist in evacu-ation efforts from the sea as new wildfires erupted. Video showed plumes of smoke and fire enveloping a hill close to the seashore.

The death toll from wildfires raging in Turkey’s Mediter-ranean towns rose to six yes-terday after two forest workers were killed, the country’s health minister said. Fires across Turkey since Wednesday have burned down forests and some settlements, encroaching on vil-lages and tourist destinations and forcing people to evacuate.

The minister of agriculture and forestry, Bekir Pakdemirli, said yesterday that 88 of the 98

fires that broke out amid strong winds and scorching heat have been brought under control. Neighborhoods affected by the fire in five provinces were declared disaster zones by Tur-key’s emergency and disaster authority.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the area yes-terday, inspecting the damage from a helicopter.

Speaking from the town of Manavgat, Erdogan announced that the Turkish government would cover the rents for people affected by the fire and rebuild their homes. He said taxes, social security and credit pay-ments would be postponed for those affected and small busi-nesses would be offered credit with zero interest.

“We cannot do anything

beyond wishing the mercy of God for the lives we have lost but we can replace everything that was burned,” he said.

Erdogan said the number of planes fighting the fires had been increased from six to 13, including planes from Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, and that thousands of Turkish per-sonnel as well as dozens of hel-icopters and drones were assisting the firefighting efforts.

At least five people have died from the fires in Manavgat and one died in Marmaris. Both towns are located on the Med-iterranean and are tourist destinations.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 400 people affected by the fires in Manavgat were treated at hospitals and released, while 10 others were still hospitalized for fire injuries. In Marmaris, 159 people were treated at the hospital and one person was still undergoing treatment for burns.

In southern Hatay province, flames jumped into populated areas but were later apparently brought under control.

Wildfires are common in Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean regions during the arid summer months. A heat wave across southern Europe, fed by hot air from Africa, has led to wildf ires across the Mediterranean.

Firefighters in Italy’s Sicily yesterday battled dozens of blazes fuelled by high temper-atures, prompting the region’s governor to request assistance from Rome. Some 150 people

trapped in two seaside areas in the city of Catania were evac-uated late Friday by sea, where they were picked up by rubber dinghies and transferred to Coast Guard boats.

Temperatures in Greece and nearby countries in southeast Europe are expected to climb to 42 degrees Celsius (more than 107 Fahrenheit) Monday in many cities and towns and ease only later next week.

Turkey has blamed some

previous forest fires on arson or outlawed Kurdish militants. President Erdogan said yes-terday that authorities were investigating the possibility of “sabotage” causing fires.

Tourism is an important source of revenue for Turkey, and business owners were hoping that this summer would be much more profitable than last year, when pandemic travel restrictions caused tourism to plummet.

Firefighting helicopters collect water to extinguish a wildfire near Marmaris, Turkey, yesterday.

US official lands in Sudan to support democratic transitionAP — CAIRO

The US official who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on genocide landed in Khartoum yesterday, aiming to support Sudan’s fragile transition to democracy before travelling to Ethiopia to press the government there to allow humanitarian aid to the war-torn Tigray region.

Samantha Power, adminis-trator of the US Agency for International Development, is set to meet with top Sudanese officials including General Abdel Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling sovereign council, and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, the civilian face of S u d a n ’ s t r a n s i t i o n a l

government. She will also travel to Sudan’s western region of Darfur where she said she investigated atrocities in the its civil war in the 2000s.

“I first visited Sudan in 2004, investigating a genocide in Darfur perpetrated by a regime whose grip on power seemed unshakeable. I couldn’t imagine Sudan would one day be an inspiring example to the world that no leader is ever per-manently immune from the will of their people,” Power wrote on Twitter upon her arrival in Khartoum.

Power’s visit to Khartoum is meant to “strengthen the US Government’s partnership with Sudan’s transitional leaders and citizens, explore how to expand

USAID’s support for Sudan’s transition to a civilian-led democracy,” USAID said.

Sudan is now on a fragile path to democracy and is ruled by a military-civilian gov-ernment after a popular uprising led to the military’s ouster of longtime autocrat Omar Al Bashir in 2019. The Khartoum government, which seeks better ties with the US and the West after nearly three decades of international iso-lation, faces towering economic and security challenges that threaten to derail its transition into chaos.

The US official would also meet with Ethiopian refugees in Sudan who recently fled the conflict and atrocities in the

Tigray region which borders Sudan.

Since the Tigray war began in November, tens of thousands of Ethiopians have crossed into Sudan, adding to the country’s economic and security challenges.

Power’s five-day trip will also take her to Ethiopia as part of international efforts to prevent a looming famine in Tigray, a region of some 6 million people that has been devastated by the months-long war.

Power will meet with Ethi-opian officials “to press for unimpeded humanitarian access to prevent famine in Tigray and meet urgent needs in other conflict-affected

regions of the country,” USAID said.

The world’s worst hunger crisis in a decade is unfolding in Tigray, where the US says up to 900,000 people now face famine conditions and interna-tional food security experts say the crucial planting season “has largely been missed” because of the war.

Ethiopia’s government has blamed the aid blockade on the resurgent Tigray forces who have retaken much of the region and crossed into the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions, but a senior official with the US Agency for Inter-national Development this week told the AP that is “100% not the case.”

People walk near the parliament building in Tunis, Tunisia, yesterday.

Prominent judge under house arrest in TunisiaREUTERS — TUNIS A Tunisian judge who has been accused by human rights groups of hiding terrorism-related files has been placed under house arrest for 40 days, local radio and a security source said yesterday.

The move against Judge Bechir Akremi came after Pres-ident Kais Saied pledged to lead a campaign against corruption in all sectors, following his dis-missal this week of the prime minister and freezing of parliament.

Right activists in Tunisia see Akremi as symbolising cor-ruption in the judiciary, saying he is close to the Ennahda mod-erate party, the biggest party in parliament.

Lawyers and secular parties

said files he allegedly hid include those related to the assassination of two secular leaders Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi in 2013, which led to massive protests at the time that ended with the o v e r t h r o w o f t h e government.

Akremi has not commented on these accusations and was not immediately available to comment on Saturday.

Ennahda rejects accusa-tions that it has ties to the judge or that it has interfered in judicial files.

Tunisia has been thrust into a political crisis by Saied’s action on Sunday.

Ennahda and other major parties have accused the pres-ident of a coup, which he denies.

Iraq military: Many feared dead in terrorist attackAP — BAGHDAD

An attack on a funeral procession in northern Iraq has claimed a number of victims, Iraq’s military said in a statement on Friday.

The military said the “ter-rorist” attack in the province of Salahaddin resulted in a “number of victims” but did not provide specific figures.

An Iraqi security official

said eight people had been killed, among them police and civilians, and that armed mili-tants had opened fire on the crowd. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity said the attack had been perpetrated by the Islamic State group. The death toll could not be imme-diately confirmed. The military said it will provide details once an investigation is complete.

Northern Iraq has been a

hotspot for IS activity since their territorial defeat in 2017 by Iraqi security forces with assistance from the US-led coa-lition. Iraqi forces routinely carry out anti-IS operations in the rugged mountainous northern region and the deserts of western Iraq where they are known to be holed up.

IS attacks have abated in recent years but continue in these areas.

Macron calls for

talks to end

conflict in TigrayPARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron called for the opening of talks to end hostilities in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, the Elysee Palace said in a statement yesterday.

The statement came after calls Macron held earlier in the day with Ethiopian Prime Min-ister Abiy Ahmed and Sudanese counterpart Abdalla Hamdok. Macron also said all restrictions should be lifted to allow the delivery of human-itarian aid in Tigray, where thousands of children could suffer life-threatening malnu-trition, according to the United Nations children’s agency. — Reuters

Saudi Arabia

reports 11 new

COVID-19 deaths

RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Health announced yesterday 1,146 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of infections in the Kingdom to 525,730.

The Ministry also reported 11 new deaths, putting the tally of fatalities at 8,237, adding that 1,086 cases have recovered, raising recoveries toll to 506,089.

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Min-istry of Health said on Friday that 766 people were infected with COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the total infected cases to 397,098. The death toll from the virus climbed to 2,314 after regis-tering 5 mortalities in the cor-responding period. — QNA

4.5 magnitude

quake hits Algeria

ALGIERS: A 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit the province of Tipaza in northern Algeria yesterday. The Algerian Centre for Research in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Geophysics said the epicentre of the earth-quake was located 6 kilo-metres southwest of Beni Milleuk of the province. There were no immediate reports of losses. — QNA

The death toll from wildfires raging in Turkey’s

Mediterranean towns rose to six yesterday after two

forest workers were killed.

06 SUNDAY 1 AUGUST 2021ASIA

IN BRIEF

Japan, Thailand, Malaysia post record infections REUTERS — BANGKOK

The Olympics host city Tokyo, as well as Thailand and Malaysia, announced record COVID-19 infections yesterday, mostly driven by the highly transmissible delta variant of the disease.

The surge in delta variant cases is rattling parts of Asia previously relatively successful in containing COVID-19, such as Vietnam, which will from Monday impose strict curbs on movement in several cities and provinces.

Cases also surged in Sydney, where police cordoned off the central business district to prevent a protest against a strict lockdown that will last until the end of August.

Police in Sydney closed train stations, banned taxis from dropping passengers off downtown and deployed 1,000 officers to set up checkpoints and to disperse groups.

The government of New

South Wales reported 210 new infections in Sydney and sur-rounding areas from the delta variant outbreak.

Tokyo’s metropolitan gov-ernment announced a record number of 4,058 infections in the past 24 hours. Olympics organisers reported 21 new COVID-19 cases related to the Games, bringing the total to 241 since July 1.

A day earlier Japan extended its state of emergency for Tokyo to the end of August and expanded it to three pre-fectures near the capital and to the western prefecture of Osaka.

Olympics organisers said yesterday they had revoked accreditation of a Games-related person or people for leaving the athletes’ village for sightseeing, a violation of measures imposed to hold the Olympics safely amid the pandemic.

The organisers did not dis-close how many people were

involved, if the person or people were athletes, or when the vio-lation took place.

Malaysia, one of the hotspots of the disease, reported 17,786 coronavirus cases yes-terday, a record high.

Thailand also reported a daily record high of 18,912 new coronavirus infections, bringing its total cases to 597,287. The country also reported 178 new deaths, also a daily record.

The government said the Delta variant accounted for more than 60% of the cases in the country and 80% of the cases in Bangkok. The variant is not necessarily more lethal than other variants, but much more transmissible, said Supakit Sirilak, the director-general of Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences.

At Thammasat University Hospital near the capital Bangkok, a morgue over-whelmed by COVID-19 deaths has begun storing bodies in refrigerated containers,

resorting to a measure it last took in a 2004 tsunami, a hos-pital director said.

China is battling an out-break of the Delta variant in the eastern city of Nanjing which has been traced to airport workers who cleaned a plane which had arrived from Russia.

Vietnam, grappling with its

worst COVID-19 outbreak, announced that from Monday it will impose strict curbs on movement in its business hub Ho Chi Minh City and another 18 cities and provinces throughout its south for another two weeks.

COVID-19 infections have increased by 80% over the past

four weeks in most regions of the world, WHO Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghe-breyesus said on Friday.

“Hard-won gains are in jeopardy or being lost, and health systems in many coun-tries are being overwhelmed,” Tedros told a news conference.

People raise the Indonesian flags during a mass vaccination program at the Jakarta Convention Center building in Jakarta, Indonesia, yesterday.

Pakistan reports

nearly 5,000 new

virus cases

KARACHI: The fourth wave of coronavirus continues to strike Pakistan as the country recorded nearly 5,000 new infections, the highest single-day tally in the past two months, the Health Ministry said yesterday.

The country saw over 4,000 daily cases in the fourth day in a row, with 4,950 fresh infections yesterday — the highest since April 30.

With the new additions, the country’s overall case count surpassed 1 million.

Some 65 more people lost their lives due to the disease, bringing the death toll to 23,360. At least 940,264 people have so far recovered from COVID-19 in Pakistan, the data also showed. - Anadolu

Mastermind behind

2019 Kashmir

attack killed

SRINAGAR: The mastermind behind a 2019 attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary troops has been killed in a shootout with security forces, Indian police in Kashmir said yesterday.

Mohammad Ismail Alvi, the commander of militant organisat ion Jaish-e-Mohammad was killed south of the regional capital Sri-nagar, Vijay Kumar, the police chief of Kashmir said.

“Mohammad Ismail Alvi alias Lamboo alias Adnan was from the family of Masood Azhar. He was involved in con-spiracy and planning of Lethpora Pulwama attack,” Kumar said. -AP

Indian, Chinese

army officers meet

to defuse standoff

NEW DELHI: Top Indian and Chinese army commanders met yesterday after a gap of three months to discuss the expeditious disengagement of thousands of forces in a bid to ease the 15-month border tensions and clashes.

Indian army spokesman Col. Sudhir Chamoli said the meeting started yesterday on the Chinese side of the border in the eastern Ladakh region but gave no other details.

The meeting was expected to end later yesterday and both sides were likely to issue state-ments today.

The 12th round of army-level talks appears to have been pushed by a meeting of the foreign ministers of India and China in Tajikistan on July 15. Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the military standoff was profoundly disturbing their ties. - AP

Taliban assaults

on three major

cities repulsed,

says Afghan govt

ANADOLU — KABUL

Taliban attempts to capture three major cities in Afghan-istan have been successfully repulsed, officials said yesterday.

The insurgents mounted assaults on the cities of Lashkargah and Kandahar in the south and Herat in the west on Friday evening, but were driven away as Afghan forces inflicted heavy casualties on them, Interior Ministry spokes-person Mirwais Stanekzai said in a statement.

Lashkargah and Kandahar are the capitals of the Helmand and Kandahar provinces, which lie next to Pakistan, while Herat is the capital of the Herat province that borders Iran.

The Afghan Defence Min-istry said yesterday that 131 Taliban fighters were killed, 62 wounded, and five others arrested in security operations in Ghazni, Paktika, Kandahar, Zabul, Herat, Jowzjan, Takhar, and Kapisa provinces over the past 24 hours.

On Friday evening, the Taliban were said to be at the door of Afghanistan’s third-biggest city Herat, which has a population of around 2 million.

Malaysian PM postpones Parliament sessionAP — KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia’s embattled prime minister postponed a critical parliamentary session set for tomorrow, citing COVID-19 infections and allowing him to avoid a no-confidence vote amid growing calls for him to resign.

A circular sent to law-makers yesterday said the session will be held at a later date, after the Health Ministry deemed Parliament a high-risk venue. Eleven cases were detected on Thursday among staff and others.

Malaysia’s political crisis deepened when the king rebuked the government for misleading Parliament on the

status of ordinances it issued during the coronavirus state of emergency. The opposition, which has filed a motion of no-confidence against Prime Min-ister Muhyiddin Yassin, slammed the postponement as an excuse for him to stay in office.

“Many parties feel it’s not because of COVID-19. This political crisis must be resolved immediately. This constitutional crisis must be addressed,” tweeted Ahmad Maslan, a law-maker in the biggest party in Muhyiddin’s alliance that has backed calls for the premier to quit.

There was no immediate comment from Muhyiddin’s office. This was not the first time

Muhyiddin has suspended Par-liament due to the virus. Par-liament has been shut down for several months just after he took office in March 2020, and since January this year, after the king approved his plan for an emer-gency to tackle the pandemic.

The state of emergency allowed him to rule by ordi-nance without legislative approval until Aug. 1, at a time when his razor-thin majority in Parliament is in jeopardy.

Public anger against Muhy-iddin has built up as cases jumped eightfold since January. New daily infections breached 10,000 on July 13 for the first time and have stayed there since, despite a virus emergency in January and a lockdown since

June 1. Total deaths have risen to nearly 9,000. Nearly 20% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

Hundreds of black-clad Malaysian youth earlier yes-terday rallied in central Kuala Lumpur to demand Muhyiddin’s resignation and early resumption of regular Par-liament sessions. Some carried mock corpses wrapped in white cloth to depict the growing virus death toll.

Parliament reopened Monday for the first time this year after Muhyiddin caved to pressure from the king, but the five-day special sitting was only to brief lawmakers on the pan-demic and debates were banned.

China reports 55 new cases as delta spreads from NanjingREUTERS — BEIJING

China yesterday reported 55 new coronavirus cases on the mainland for July 30, compared with 64 cases a day earlier, as the Delta variant spreads across the country during the summer holiday.

Thirty of the new infections were local cases, compared with 21 the previous day, the National Health Commission said in a statement. There were no new deaths. The other 25 cases originated overseas.

A majority of the local cases were reported in Jiangsu province where Nanjing, its provincial capital, is facing an outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant this month traced to airport workers who cleaned a plane which arrived from Russia.

Nanjing has reported 190 locally transmitted cases since July 20, while there has been a total of 262 cases across the country, figures released yes-terday showed.

The Nanjing outbreak has

spread to other cities in Jiangsu, to the country’s capital Beijing, and to other provinces including Anhui, Sichuan, Liaoning, Guangdong and Hunan.

Suzhou, a major city in Jiangsu, announced yesterday it is shutting all games parlours for chess, cards and mahjong, after several people in another Jiangsu city caught the virus while playing in one such parlour.

To curb the outbreak in Beijing, some schools in the city have asked students on summer vacation to return to Beijing at

least 14 days before the autumn semester starts on August 15, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Zhengzhou, a provincial city in Henan province hit by heavy floods this month, announced yesterday that people must test negative for COVID-19 before leaving the city. It also reported one asymp-tomatic case, its first in months.

Some who contracted the Delta variant in Nanjing had been vaccinated, official data showed.

07SUNDAY 1 AUGUST 2021 EUROPE

Thousands protest against health pass in FranceREUTERS — PARIS

Thousands of people protested in Paris and other French cities yesterday against a mandatory coronavirus health pass for entry to a wide array of public venues, introduced by the government as it battles a fourth wave of infections.

Protesters injured three police officers in Paris, a police spokesperson said.

It was the third weekend in a row that people opposed to President Emmanuel Macron’s new COVID-19 measures have taken to the streets, an unusual show of determination at a time of year when many people are focused on taking their summer break.

“We’re creating a segregated society and I think it is unbelievable to be doing this in the country of human rights,” said Anne, a teacher who was demonstrating in Paris. She declined to give her last name.

“So I took to the streets; I have never

protested before in my life. I think our freedom is in danger.”

Visitors going to museums, cinemas or swimming pools are already denied entry if they cannot produce the health pass showing they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have had a recent negative test.

Parliament approved a new law this week that will make vaccinations man-datory for health workers and extend the health pass requirement to restau-rants, trade shows, trains and hospitals.

Police estimated some 13,500 people

demonstrated on the streets of Paris, another police spokesperson said.

About 3,000 police officers were deployed in the capital, with anti-riot officers striving to keep demonstrators on authorised routes.

Authorities sought to avoid a repeat

of events last week, when scuffles between police and demonstrators broke out on the Champs-Elysees.

Protesters were also out in other cities like Marseille, Lyon, Montpelier, Nantes and Toulouse, shouting “Freedom!” and “No to the health pass!”.

Protesters attend a demonstration called by the “yellow vest” movement against France’s restrictions, including a compulsory health pass, to fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Paris, France, yesterday.

Putin, Erdogan

discuss bilateral

relationsQNA — MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed in a phone call yesterday with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen and develop them in various fields.

In a statement, the Russian presidency (Kremlin) said the two leaders discussed the emergency situation in Turkey due to forest fires. They noted the importance of the two countries’ cooperation in dealing with this natural dis-aster. Putin pointed out that Russia would continue to provide comprehensive assistance to Turkey’s fire-fighting efforts, it said.

Erdogan thanked his Russian counterpart for sending five more Ilyushin II-76 firefighting planes with a capacity of 40 tons of water and three more Mil Mi-8 fire-fighting helicopters to support Turkey in its fight against the forest fires. The two sides agreed to continue contacts at various levels and expressed mutual resolve to continue working together to implement bilateral agree-ments in trade, the economy, energy and other spheres.

Germany may discontinue free rapid tests for unvaccinatedAP — BERLIN

Germany’s government plans to stop covering the cost of rapid coronavirus tests, according to the nation’s health ministry.

“Health Minister Jens Spahn already said weeks ago that he

thinks it’s conceivable for the government to stop offering free tests to unvaccinated people at a later date,” the min-istry told the German news agency dpa. The confirmation comes after a report in the Bild newspaper, which said the gov-ernment would stop paying for

tests as soon as everyone has had the opportunity to receive two doses of vaccine, meaning late September or early October.

Since March, German cit-izens and residents have been eligible to receive free rapid coronavirus tests in pharmacies

and designated testing centres across the country. The tests have been a crucial part of Ger-many’s reopening strategy: Those who cannot show proof that they are fully vaccinated or have recovered from the virus must present a negative test result for certain activities,

including dining indoors at res-taurants or staying in a hotel.

Some officials have recently begun advocating for this shift to incentivise vaccination, saying unvaccinated individuals should bear the costs once eve-ryone has had an opportunity to get the vaccine.

A view of a fire at Le Capannine beach in Catania, Sicily, Italy, on Friday.

Firefighters battle wildfires in Sicilian town of Catania, airport shutREUTERS — MILAN

Firemen in Italy said yesterday they were battling for a second straight day wild-fires in Sicily that reached the town of Catania, forcing people to leave their homes and the local airport to tempo-rarily shut down.

The firemen said on Twitter they had been conducting 250 operations in Sicily in the past 24 hours, of which 50 were in Catania alone.

The city famous for its Baroque architecture is located on the slopes of Mount Etna on the island’s eastern coast.

The fires hit the area of Catania facing the sea, destroying the local beach resort La Capannina where social media images showed charred beach chairs and umbrellas.

With temperatures approaching 40

degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), hot winds have stoked the flames across the island, with fires erupting also in the Palermo province, causing ashes to rain on the Sicilian capital, local media reported.

Earlier this week, fires swept through various parts of Southern Europe, including Spain and Turkey’s southern regions, while also ravaging the Italian island of Sardinia.

To tame the flames in Sardinia, Italy was forced to request help from the European Union, which on Monday sent four forest firefighting planes, after more than 350 people were evacuated.

The Italian arm of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said yesterday almost 20,000 hectares (49,420 acres) of land in Sardinia had suffered because of the fires which killed animals and destroyed century-old woods.

Italy records 16 virus deaths, 6,513 casesREUTERS — MILAN Italy reported 16 coronavirus-related deaths yesterday, down from 18 the day before, the health ministry said, and the daily tally of new infections fell to 6,513 from 6,619.

Italy has registered 128,063 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in

February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.35 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 — not including those in intensive care — stood at 1,851 yesterday, up from 1,812 a day earlier.

There were 25 new admis-sions to intensive care units, up from 20 on Friday and the total number of intensive care patients increased to 214 from a previous 201.

Some 264,860 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, up from a previous 247,486, the health ministry said.

Finland wildfireA general view of firefighting operations in Kalajoki, Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland, yesterday.

Russia reports pressure drop in space station service moduleREUTERS — MOSCOW The head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency said yesterday that pressure in a Russian service module on the Interna-tional Space Station had dropped as a result of an air leak. Pressure had fallen over a two-week period before a Russian research module, the Nauka, threw the station out of control when its engines fired shortly after docking on Thursday, but Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin said the two events were not linked.

The fall in pressure was a result of a known minor air leak in an isolated transfer chamber of the Zvezda service module and pressure will be raised in the next 24 hours, Roscosmos said in a statement.

“It was an expected and not a ‘sharp’ drop in the still prob-lematic Zvezda and it is not linked to the research module,” Rogozin tweeted in response to media reports.

Pressure in the service module dropped on July 29, the day the Nauka research module

docked, to about one third of its level on July 14 but would be increased, Rogozin tweeted.

The air leak in the Zvezda module, which provides living quarters for crew members and life support systems, was detected last year. It poses no danger to the crew but persists despite attempts to fix it by sealing cracks.

Russia said on Friday that a software glitch, and possible lapse in human attention, were to blame for an emergency caused by inadvertently reignited jet thrusters of the Nauka research module.

Russia held a scientific council meeting yesterday to discuss the future use of the Russian segment of the space station, which was sent into orbit in 1998 and is supposed to work until 2028.

“The chief constructors council noted after considering the current condition of the Russian ISS segment that the use of the Russian ISS segment after 2024 creates additional risks due to the ageing of equipment,” Roscosmos said.

Hungary's healthcare workers protest for higher wagesAP — BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

Several thousand healthcare workers and their supporters gathered in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, yesterday to demand wage increases and better conditions for those working in the country’s ailing public health system.

The crowd, which included supporters from several of Hun-gary’s largest trade unions, said the COVID-19 pandemic had

only worsened the already pre-carious situation of health care workers while their demands for pay hikes and reduced working hours had gone unheeded by the government.

The Hungarian Chamber of Health Care Professionals, which called for the demon-stration, said the government had not consulted with them before passing an overhaul of the health care system in March that increased wages for

doctors but not for many others working in hospitals, like nurses and orderlies.

Hungary’s healthcare system has struggled to cope with the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, which ravaged the country in fall and winter, giving it one of the highest per-capita death rates in the world.

A government decree in November, issued as part of Hungary’s pandemic state of emergency, stripped health care

professionals of their rights to resign in an effort to prevent an outflow of overburdened doctors and nurses.

While the new agreement on wages and benefits was signed by some 95% of those working in Hungary’s public health care sector, as many as 5,000 refused to sign the new required contracts.

A survey released in June by the Independent Health Care Union found that nearly half of

health care professionals in Hungary planned either to leave the sector or retire as soon as legal conditions allow it.

In attendance at the protest was Budapest’s liberal mayor Gergely Karacsony, who plans to run against Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban in closely watched elec-tions next spring.

Karacsony said Hungary’s healthcare system needs increased funding.

IN BRIEF

UK's virus cases

down by 33%

over past weekLONDON: Britain has reported 26,144 new cases of COVID-19, government data showed yesterday, meaning the fall in cases between July 25 and July 31 stood at 33% compared with the previous seven days.

A further 71 people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19, taking the seven-day increase to 9.2%.

A total of 46.81 million people had received a first dose of a vaccine against coro-navirus by July 30 and 38.13 million people had received a second dose. — Reuters

Russia registers

23,807 new virus

cases, 792 deaths

MOSCOW: Russia reported 23,807 new coronavirus cases yesterday, including 3,514 in Moscow, taking the national tally of infections to 6,265,873.

Russia’s coronavirus task force said that 792 more deaths of coronavirus patients had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, raising the country’s COVID-19 death toll to 158,563.

The federal statistics agency has kept a separate count and has said Russia recorded around 290,000 deaths related to COVID-19 from April 2020 to May 2021. — Reuters

Albania repatriates

5 women, 14

children from Syria

AP — TIRANA, ALBANIA

Albania is repatriating five Albanian women and 14 children from Syria’s troubled Al Hol camp who were related to Albanians who joined extremist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq, the country’s prime minister said yesterday.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Interior Minister Bledi Cuci were in Beirut meeting with Lebanese Gen. Abass Ibrahim, who has played a key role in the repatriating efforts, together with intelli-gence services from other countries.

“The good news is the 14 children and five women (have been taken out) from the hell camp,” said Rama. “I am here to take the children and women and turn them back to our homeland tomorrow.”

He did not specify if any of the women will face terrorism charges upon their return.

Parliament approved a new law this week that will make vaccinations

mandatory for health workers and extend the health pass requirement to restaurants, trade shows, trains

and hospitals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the theft and trafficking of antiquities and historical manuscripts, eroding our collective memory and ability to share it with future generations.

08 SUNDAY 1 AUGUST 2021VIEWS

CHAIRMANDR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI osman@pen.com.qa

EDITORIAL

QATAR bowed out of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) Gold Cup after going down against hosts United States in the semi-final on Friday. It was Al Annabi’s debut in the Concacaf’s blue riband event and such was their performance in the tournament that it will last for long in the memories of those who watched the Asian champions in action.

Qatar, who entered the event as a guest side, started their campaign with a thrilling 3-3 draw before winning the next two matches against Grenada (4-0) and Honduras (2-0) to top their group. In the quarter-final, the Felix Sanchez-coached side defeated El Salvador 3-2 before being edged out by the hosts 0-1 in a gripping clash. Al Annabi were dominating the match against the US but it was not their day as a goal in the 86th minute ended their hopes of reaching the final.

Still, Qatar departed the event with their heads held high as they become the second Asian side after South Korea (in 2002) to reach semi-finals of the tournament. The experience of playing against the teams which the Asian champions rarely meet can be highly beneficial for the FIFA World Cup 2022 hosts. “It is good to play different football schools since we are accustomed to playing against Asian teams. We have gained a lot of experience that will benefit us during the upcoming tourna-ments and matches. We just have to keep working on playing better,” said Sanchez.

Qatar have been in phenomenal form in 2021 as the loss to the US on Friday was their first defeat in 11 international matches this year that include 8 victories and two draws.

The Qatar Football Association’s efforts to give best preparations to the national side is yielding positive results, which can be gauged by team’s performance in recent years, with the Asian Cup 2019 triumph their best so far. Before the Gold Cup, the QFA also paved the way for the national team’s participation in Copa America 2019 and the ongoing European Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Qatar’s next main assignments this year will be the September’s European Qualifiers and the inau-gural FIFA Arab Cup in November-December, dubbed the test event before Qatar hosts the foot-ball’s showpiece event.

The team’s preparations for the home World Cup are going in the right track and all the team needs is to stay focused and keep gaining expe-rience. There is a plenty of action still to go for Qatar in the coming months and if Al Annabi continue their fine run, they will enter the World Cup brimming with confidence and will be able to perform well against any opposition in the world.

Brilliant Gold Cup show

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Quote of the day

Our commitment is to Peru and to no other

interest than to dedicate each and every one of

our efforts to build a more just, free and dignified

country. We will not disappoint your trust.

Pedro Castillo, President of Peru

From gold coins to medieval antiquities, treasure hunters have discovered 47,000 artifacts in the UK during lockdown.

Many feel as if the COVID-19 pandemic is stealing their present and jeopardising their future. But this unprecedented global public health emergency is also precipitating the destruction of our past, one piece at a time. Indeed, the pandemic has exacerbated the theft and trafficking of antiquities and historical manuscripts, eroding our collective memory and ability to share it with future generations.

Although the theft of antiquities has been a problem since antiquity itself, its pace has increased during the pan-demic, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa – areas rich in heritage sites. As many societies remain in a forced standstill because of the pan-demic, looters and smugglers are reducing ancient sites to rubble. The illegal digging for antiquities in Egypt alone more than doubled in 2020.

It is difficult to estimate the exact size and monetary value of the illicit antiquities market. According to Roger Atwood’s 2020 book Stealing History, it could be worth anywhere between $300m to $6bn a year. UNESCO reports that the illicit trade in cultural goods – of which antiquities trafficking is a part – is worth $10bn a year. A portion of these profits is known to be used to finance conflicts and global terrorism.

Between 2010 and 2014, there was a substantial increase in the trade of illegal antiquities from the Levant, in large part due to ongoing conflicts. According to the Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research (ATHAR) Project, which investigates and documents the digital underworld of trafficking in looted artefacts, the pace of such activities in the Middle East and North Africa has accelerated further during the pandemic.

This uptick in antiquities theft and smuggling was caused by several inter-connected reasons. First, antiquities trafficking provides a much-needed revenue stream for those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Second, due to COVID-19 lockdowns and budgetary restrictions, authorities loosened the monitoring of archaeo-logical sites and museums, leaving them more vulnerable to theft and looting. Third, many traffickers managed to lev-erage the rise of the digital economy during the pandemic.

Indeed, the online illicit trade in looted antiquities spiked after the pan-demic hit. Today, these items are not only widely being sold on the dark web, but also on popular social media platforms.

The trafficking of antiquities is not

the exclusive realm of terror groups and organised crime networks. Witting and unwitting collectors and auction houses, impoverished local populations and tourists also contribute to this theft. As such, all of us, civil society, businesses, governments, and international organi-sations must mobilise to protect our past.

The antiquities market is driven by supply and demand. Antiquities are sold in both legal and illegal markets. There are also grey markets, where antiquities of unknown origin or those whose documentation has been lost are being sold. It is not always easy to dis-tinguish between these markets, but that is what must be done to protect our past.

There are practical steps that we can take in the short term, such as training border officials to help them differen-tiate between original and fake pieces, electronically tagging all antiquities, promoting more transparent auctions, and imposing severer penalties for traffickers.

There have long been calls for a global policy to counter antiquities trafficking.

However, existing frameworks lack enforcement mechanisms and do not account for technological developments like digital commerce. Therefore, we must develop enforceable agreements that are in line with the realities of the 21st century.

Since antiquities trafficking has moved online, we must work with digital marketplaces, social media plat-forms, and payment processing com-panies. Concluding a binding agreement based on UNESCO’s basic actions to counter the illicit sale of cultural objects online is a good place to start.

Education is also a key tool in the fight against antiquities trafficking because too many groups remain unaware of the challenge and its impli-cations. Debate is necessary because not all involved agree on the way forward.

It is through initiatives like the Himaya Project – led by Qatar National Library in association with UNESCO, Interpol and the World Customs Organi-sation – that we can counter the traf-ficking of antiquities and manuscripts. Such projects and initiatives can help us raise awareness, help others realise the significance of heritage items, cultivate public debates around their preser-vation, and decide how to better protect them.

Controlling the trafficking of her-itage material across the Middle East and North Africa is a herculean task, but it is possible if we come together. National libraries, museums, interna-tional organisations, and civil society groups must continue working together to raise awareness and promote binding rules that address this grave threat to the historical rights of nations and peoples.

In 2015, then-United States Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “each ancient artefact, rich in memory, rich in meaning, conjures a story that we can ill afford to lose”.

His words were right then and are still right today. We cannot ignore the trafficking of cultural antiquities and manuscripts. In losing them we lose part of our collective past forever. Who will set history free if it is stolen?

KATE ABNETT REUTERS

A group of mostly smaller countries submitted new, more ambitious climate pledges to the United Nations this week, raising pressure on big emitters including China to do the same ahead of a major UN climate summit in November.

UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said that as of Sat-urday the United Nations had received new pledges from 110 countries, out of the nearly 200 that signed the 2015 Paris climate accord.

“It is still far from satis-factory, since only a little over half the parties (58%) have met the cut-off deadline,” Espinosa said in a statement,

urging laggards to “redouble their efforts” and make more ambitious commitments to protect the planet.

A total of 15 countries - most of them small and with relatively low CO2 emissions - submitted new pledges this week, ahead of a July 30 deadline for them to be counted in a UN report.

They included Sri Lanka, Israel, Malawi and Barbados. Malaysia, Nigeria and Namibia were among the larger countries to submit tougher climate targets this week.

With deadly heatwaves, flooding and wildfires occurring around the world, calls are growing for urgent action to cut the CO2 emis-sions heating the planet.

But the United Nations’ latest analysis of countries’ climate pledges said that taken together, they would still lead to global warming far beyond the 1.5 degree limit that would avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

“I truly hope that the revised estimate of collective efforts will reveal a more pos-itive picture,” Espinosa said.

China - the world’s biggest emitter of CO2 - and countries including India and South Korea have not yet submitted new climate pledges. They are facing considerable interna-tional pressure to do so ahead of the UN climate summit.

The United States and European Union, the world’s second and third biggest emitters, hiked their targets in

recent months, promising to slash emissions faster this decade. Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, an island country near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean which is highly vulnerable to rising sea levels, urged rich nations who have not yet hiked their pledges to step up.

“If these major economies submit 1.5C-aligned NDCs, it would make a world of dif-ference,” she said. A country’s climate pledge is known as a “nationally determined con-tribution”. Countries that miss the deadline for inclusion in the UN report can still submit new pledges before the summit in November, by which time every country is expected to submit a new pledge.

How can we end antiquities trafficking?

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More countries hike climate pledges, piling pressure on major emitters

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IN BRIEF

US imposes new Cuba sanctionsREUTERS — WASHINGTON The United States has imposed sanctions on the Cuban police force and two of its leaders in response to the Havana govern-ment’s crackdown on protesters, and President Joe Biden promised Cuban-American leaders more actions were coming.

The US Treasury Department said the sanctions, which appeared to be largely symbolic, were a reaction to “actions to suppress peaceful, pro-democratic protests in Cuba that began on July 11”.

Targets of the sanctions are two Cuban police force leaders, as well as the Cuban interior ministry’s national police force, the department said.

“There will be more, unless there’s some drastic change in Cuba, which I don’t anticipate,” Biden said during a meeting with Cuban-American leaders at the White House.

His meeting came as the politically important com-munity calls for more support for protests in Cuba that rep-resent the biggest populist out-pouring against the government on the Communist-run island in decades.

“The United States is taking concerted action to bolster the cause of the Cuban people,” said Biden.

Biden said he had asked the Treasury and State departments to report back in a month on how to allow remittance pay-ments from Americans to

Cubans without the Cuban gov-ernment profiting.

In addition, Biden has been working on a plan to try to provide wireless communica-tions to Cubans and augment US embassy staff in Cuba, a senior administration official said.

The protests erupted this month amid Cuba’s worst

economic crisis since the fall of its old Soviet Union ally and a record surge in coronavirus infections.

Thousands took to the streets, angry over shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil lib-erties, and the authorities’ han-dling of the pandemic.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has blamed the unrest on the United States, which in recent years has tightened its decades-old trade embargo on the island.

He has said many protesters were sincere but manipulated by US-orchestrated social media campaigns.

Last week, the US Treasury announced sanctions on Cuba’s defense minister and an interior ministry special

forces unit over allegations of human rights abuses in the crackdown that followed the protests, which saw hundreds

of activists detained. Repub-licans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have urged more measures.

US President Joe Biden meets with Cuban-American leaders at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday.

Haiti police: Former Supreme Court judge suspect in president’s killingREUTERS — PORT-AU-PRINCE Haitian police on Friday outlined fresh accusations against a former Supreme Court judge over her links to the assassination of President Jovenel Moise earlier this month, saying she had met with some Colombian mercenaries accused of killing him.

The assassination of Moise

has plunged the Western hem-isphere’s poorest nation deeper into chaos, and launched an international manhunt for mercenaries and the murder masterminds across the Americas.

Haitian police had earlier this week issued an arrest warrant for Wendelle Coq-Thelot, a former Supreme Court judge who was ousted

with two other judges earlier in February when Moise alleged a coup was being planned against him.

Coq-Thelot’s whereabouts are unknown and she could not be reached for comment.

Colombian mercenaries and Haitian-Americans arrested in the wake of Moise’s murder said they had met Coq-Thelot, according to Inspector

General Marie Michelle Verrier, the spokesperson for the National Police of Haiti.

“Several of them have indi-cated that they have been to Mrs. Coq’s home twice,” Verrier told reporters.

“These people gave to (police) details of documents signed during the meetings at Mrs. Coq’s home.”

Police have raided

Coq-Thelot’s main home as well as other residences in the countryside, Verrier said. A wanted poster for Coq Wan-delle has also been launched.

Many questions remain over who was behind the assassination this month and how the killers gained access to the president’s home. Haitian officials blamed a squad of mostly Colombian

mercenaries, three of whom were killed by police.

A top Moise security official was arrested on suspicion of involvement on Tuesday.

Colombia has also called on Haiti to guarantee the legal and medical rights of 18 Colom-bians detained on the Car-ibbean island for alleged par-t ic ipat ion in Moise’s assassination.

Mexico's vaccination campaign People, with ages between 18 and 29, queue to receive a dose of the Sputnik V coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, in Mexico City, Mexico, on Friday.

Canada official: 4th virus wave possible if steps not takenAP — OTTAWA

Canada’s chief public health officer said on Friday that the country could face a fourth wave of COVID-19, driven by the delta variant, by the end of summer if restrictions are eased too quickly and before enough people have been vacci-nated.

Dr. Theresa Tam said robust vac-cination rates have helped reduced hospitalizations and deaths but inoc-ulations must rise further to avoid renewed strain on hospitals and the health-care system.

She urged younger adults to become fully vaccinated as soon as possible, saying they continue to lag among age groups but are associated with the highest rates of

disease transmission. About 6.3 million Canadians have not received a first dose and over 5 million have not had a second, Tam told a news briefing.

“With just over five weeks until Labor Day in Canada, this time is crucial for building up protection before we gather in schools, colleges, university and workplaces this fall,” she said.

As of July 24, 89% of seniors aged 70 or older had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to gov-ernment figures. But only 46% of Cana-dians aged 18 to 29 were fully vacci-nated, as were 54% of those aged 30 to 39.

Tam said vaccine coverage must be more than 80% in all age groups to establish better protection.

Peru’s Castillo names moderate leftist as finance ministerREUTERS — LIMA Peru’s Pedro Castillo appointed moderate economist Pedro Francke as finance minister late on Friday, an olive branch to rattled markets after the newly-elected president earlier named members of his Marxist Free Peru party to several other cabinet positions.

Castillo named Guido Bellido, a hardliner and Marxist from the Andean city of Cuzco who is little known in Lima circles, as prime minister on

Thursday, initially dampening investor hopes for a more mod-erate cabinet. The move ham-mered bond markets and the sol currency.

But the swearing in later in the day of moderate left-wing economist Francke, a top adviser to Castillo who had helped the recently elected president soften his image, appeared aimed at soothing jittery investors.

Prime Minister Bellido earlier in the evening had expressed on Twitter his “full

support” for the more moderate Francke, saying they would “work together for the country.” Francke, a close confidant of Castillo and long a favorite for the finance job, a day earlier had left a ceremony to swear in newly appointed cabinet members just minutes before it started, ratcheting up the drama and leaving investors who favored Francke for the job in the lurch.

Most of the rest of Castillo’s cabinet was sworn in on Thursday.

Ivan Merino, a little known mining specialist close to Free Peru, was tapped to oversee the sprawling metals industry in the world’s No.2 copper producer. Castillo, a self-described Marxist-Leninist, campaigned on promises to hike taxes on miners to underwrite health and education reforms.

Markets remained on edge throughout the day Friday as investors anxiously awaited Castillo’s choice for the key finance minister position.

“Don’t worry. Everything’s

going to be fine,” Bellido said in brief comments to reporters early in the day.

Castillo, inaugurated on Wednesday, took to Twitter in the early hours of Friday to defend his new government.

“Our cabinet belongs to the people. It answers to the people,” Castillo wrote.

“Our commitment is to Peru and to no other interest than to dedicate each and every one of our efforts to build a more just, free and dignified country. We will not disappoint your trust.”

A view of Corfo lagoon in Trelew, Chubut, Argentina, on Thursday.

Activists concerned as Argentina lakes turn pinkREUTERS — BUENOS AIRES

Two lakes in a far-flung coastal region of Patagonia, in Argentina, have turned fluo-rescent pink, as of yet unex-plained phenomena that local environmentalists fear could be harmful and caused by indus-trial contamination.

The lakes, located near an industrial park on the outskirts of the Argentine city of Trelew, sprawl across a dusty,

desert-like plain and are largely undeveloped. Officials with the municipality of Trelew recently uncovered a truck dumping waste in the watershed, according to posts made by the city on social media.

Authorities gave conflicting views to local media, however, on whether the sudden change in color of the lakes was harmful. Environmentalists were more concerned.

Local activist Pablo Lada,

a member of Argentina’s National Ecological Network (RENACE), said the pink color could potentially be the result of a dye typically used to give prawns raised nearby their typically rose-colored hue.

Local and regional environ-mental officials are investi-gating the cause and potential damage to the lakes but have yet to arrive at any conclusions.

US sues Texas to

block state

troopers from

stopping migrantsAP — EL PASO, TEXAS

The Biden administration sued Texas on Friday to prevent state troopers from stopping vehicles carrying migrants on grounds that they may spread COVID-19, warning that the practice would exacerbate problems amid high levels of crossings on the state’s border with Mexico.

The Justice Department asked for an immediate block on Governor Greg Abbott’s order issued on Wednesday, which allows the Texas Department of Public Safety to “stop any vehicle upon rea-sonable suspicion” that it transports migrants. Troopers could then reroute vehicles back to their point of origin or impound them.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in El Paso, mirrors a letter that Attorney General Merrick Garland sent the gov-ernor a day earlier, arguing that the state was usurping and even interfering with the federal government’s respon-sibility to enforce immigration laws.

Abbott, a Republican who is facing reelection next year, wrote Garland on Friday to argue that the federal gov-ernment was interfering with his obligations to protect Texas residents.

”It is clear from the argu-ments in your letter that the State of Texas and the federal government face a constitu-tional crisis,” Abbott wrote.

The lawsuit escalates ten-sions between the Biden administration and Abbott over the governor’s actions on the border, which have included jailing migrants on state crimes and building new barriers.

For months, the two-term governor has sought to claim former President Donald Trump’s hardline mantle on immigration, inflaming pas-sions on a polarizing issue. Civil rights groups and immi-gration advocates have said Abbott’s move for troopers stop vehicles could invite racial profiling and restrict the ability of shelters to take in newly arriving families.

Declarations submitted with the lawsuit offered fresh evidence of large numbers of migrants showing up at the border with Mexico, with senior officials warning that the governor’s order could sig-nificantly impede transpor-tation and other federal operations.

The Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector had more than 8,300 migrants in custody on Wednesday.

Mexico finds 8 men shot to death at

drug cartel campMEXICO CITY: Prosecutors in western Mexico say they have found the bullet-riddled bodies of eight men at what appeared to be a drug cartel encampment.

The bodies were found on Thursday in a rural, hilltop area outside the town of Cotija, in the western state of Michoacan.

The state prosecutors office said the men were found wearing military-style clothing.

They have not yet been identified. Drug cartels in Mexico fre-quently use such remote rural camps as training or staging grounds, or to hold kidnapping victims. — AP

Quake jolts Peru’s north Pacific coastLIMA: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook the north Pacific coast of Peru on Friday, sending people fleeing their homes, damaging a centuries old church and injuring at least one person.

The US Geological Survey reported that the earthquake hap-pened at 12:10pm local time, with an epicenter about 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of the city of Sullana. It was also felt in southern Ecuador.

The earthquake caused many citizens of Sullana to leave their homes. A woman was injured after being trapped under a col-lapsed wall while a car was crushed by bricks.

Footage from local TV stations showed that part of the cornice on the façade of Piura’s cathedral, built in the 16th century, fell off. The earthquake also damaged two other houses of worship in different communities and three fire stations.

The video also showed products scattered on the floor of a supermarket in Piura, about 615 miles (990 kilometers) north of the capital, Lima.

President Pedro Castillo left a military parade to travel to Piura, according to a statement from the presidential office.

Earthquakes are frequent in Peru. — AP

There will be more [sanctions], unless there’s

some drastic change in Cuba, which I don’t anticipate.

Joe Biden US President