All handwritten passports yet to be changed

Transcription

1 BUSINESS 18 SPORT 24 Ooredoo and QNB sign MoU to support SME sector Generation Amazing ambassador Xavi offers kids a memorable treat SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER MOHARRAM 1438 Volume 21 Number All handwritten passports yet to be changed Although the ICAO has not clearly explained the consequences of not having a machine readable passport, people failing to obtain such passports could have difficulty obtaining visas. By Sanaullah Ataullah DOHA: Several Asian embassies in Qatar have claimed that they have almost completed phasing out the handwritten passports held by their community members, in line with international requirements. The deadline set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for member countries for replacing all handwritten passports with machine readable ones ended on November 24 last year. Sources from several Asian embassies said yesterday that some of their community members still hold handwritten passports but their number is not big. Although the ICAO has not clearly explained the consequences of not having a machine readable passport, people failing to obtain such passports could have difficulty obtaining visas. Bangladesh has been issuing machine readable passport for many years. We have almost phased out the handwritten passports, a few might have been left, a senior official of the Bangladesh embassy told. Bangladeshi expatriates holding handwritten passport can approach the embassy in person or apply online to obtain the machine readable passports. We process 150 passports on a daily basis. It takes a maximum of two to three weeks because we get the new passports printed from Bangladesh. In case of emergency, the candidates can go to Bangladesh where they can get the new passports within three days, he added. Continued on page 2 Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif witnesses the exchange of documents between Qatar and Pakistan officials after the countries signed the 20-year LNG deal, yesterday. Qatar and Pakistan sign 20-year LNG deal DOHA: Qatargas and Pakistanbased Global Energy Infrastructure Limited (GEIL) signed a 20-year Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) in a special ceremony hosted by Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Qatari delegation was led by Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum and the Chairman of the Qatargas Board of Directors, accompanied by Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, the CEO of Qatargas, and senior Qatargas officials. The Qatari delegation was welcomed by Sharif, along with federal ministers and senior government officials of Pakistan. Under the terms of the agreement, Qatargas will supply 1.3 million tonnes per annum of LNG to Pakistan for 20 years, with provisions allowing the volume to increase to 2.3 million tonnes per annum. The LNG will be supplied from Qatargas 2, the world s first fully integrated LNG value chain venture, with the first cargo expected to be delivered to Pakistan in 2018 by Qatargas-chartered Q-Flex vessels. Continued on page 2 Emir greets Arab leaders on new Hijri Year DOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday exchanged cables of congratulations with the leaders of Arab and Islamic friendly countries on the occasion of the new Hijri Year, reports QNA. GCC asks UN to intervene in Aleppo DOHA: The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) demanded yesterday that the UN intervene in Syria to stop aerial bombardments of the city of Aleppo that it said were killing hundreds of civilians. The GCC representing Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman said a Syrian government offensive on the city was systematically destroying neighbourhoods and a flagrant aggression contrary to international laws. The Secretary-General... demands that the UN Security Council intervene immediately to stop the aggression on the city of Aleppo and end the suffering of the Syrian people, the GCC said in a statement on Saudi state news agency SPA. See also page 5 Promoting Unesco goals would be top priority: Al Kawari DOHA: Qatar has a programme to take Unesco out of its crisis which is going to be a fresh start for the organisation, said H E Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari (pictured), Cultural Adviser at Emiri Diwan and Qatar s candidate for the post of Unesco s Director General. Speaking in Doha on Friday to the German news agency, DPA, Al Kawari said that nomination of an Arab personality for the first time to the post of Director General of the organisation represented a great opportunity for a number of parties to cooperate. Asked about his vision for education in the Arab countries, Al Kawari said that education is a global issue and the solutions should not be geography-oriented. Al Kawari said, if he is elected as Director-General, his top priority would be to promote the goals of Unesco. The next priority is to find creative solutions to the organisation s financial problems. I believe the upcoming Director General will have to come out with creative suggestions to take the organisation out of the crisis it has been facing for decades, not simply sit in his office in Paris, he said. He noted that there are small and poor countries around the world that Qatar has a programme to take Unesco out of its crisis which is going to be a fresh start for the organisation. need support in carrying out the necessary projects to promote education. As a result, a new way for providing finances must be implemented in order to help those countries. On how he will deal with Unesco s financial problems, Al Kuwari said that business leaders from around the world could finance educational programmes on a larger scale. He added that Qatar s Educate A Child (EAC) programme will provide education to 10 million students across the globe by the end of Qatar has heavily supported Unesco programmes, Al Kawari said, citing its financial support to preserve world heritage sites in Sudan and Yemen as an example. On his candidacy, Al Kawari said, The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (Alesco) discussed my candidacy as an Arab nominee and I got support of 19 member countries. Later some Arab countries presented their nominations. I respect that because it is a matter of their sovereignty and none can question any state on their nomination, whether it be Egypt, Lebanon or any other country. But at the end, the world community must elect one who is efficient and who can fulfill the requirements, he added. Continued on page 4 Nomination of an Arab personality for the first time to the post of Unesco Director General represents a great opportunity for a number of parties to cooperate. Parents seethe as some nurseries demand no-liability declaration By Irfan Bukhari DOHA: Several parents with children in nurseries (creches) say that they have been taken by surprise by a clause in the admission form saying the facilities are not responsible for any injury or loss. They say that they have been forced to sign a paper declaring the non-liability of the facilities. Why do nurseries in Qatar make us sign a paper that says they are not responsible for injury or loss? Then who is responsible if something happens to our child? I am going public with this because I believe it has to be reviewed as soon as possible, says Maria Grepsiou Bergman, an expat woman who has stirred a debate on the issue on social media. has learnt during interactions with several residents that some creches (particularly those operating in Old Airport and West Bay localities) ask the parents to sign a no-liability form. Some parents have signed the form with the controversial clause under compulsion while some others refused to do so. The issue has triggered a heated debate on social media. Every nursery has this clause. I remember a lady whose child fell in the small swimming pool of a nursery and nobody noticed. The child was later taken to the emergency unit, said Lina Francis. Mustafa Reyad said that he had refused to sign the controversial form when a nursery insisted on that and ultimately found another facility. Basil Pathrose said that it was definitely not an official requirement in Qatar and urged parents to take up the issue with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs which is responsible for monitoring nurseries. He said as per his knowledge only two nurseries he had searched (in Old Airport and West Bay localities) had this no-liability form. We questioned them about it. As expected, they were just following orders of the owner/sponsor, and had limited knowledge about childcare and had been told to generate more fees, he said, adding: Why would you put your child in a nursery that does not take responsibility for the kids under their care and absolves itself of any injury or death within the nursery? Requesting anonymity, an employee of a nursery told that some nurseries had adopted this approach to avoid possible future litigation. He said sometimes children get injured due to their own mischief and the nursery management had to face legal cases. Continued on page 2

2 02 SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER 2016 DFI celebrates local talent at Focus on Qatar The event will not only screen compelling documentaries by local filmmakers but also foster insightful discussion on the art and future of documentary filmmaking. DOHA: Doha Film Institute is celebrating local filmmaking talent with a spotlight on the art of documentary at this year s Focus on Qatar to be held from October 5 to 7 at the Museum of Islamic Art. A special showcase that highlights the vision and talent of Qatari filmmakers, Focus on Qatar puts the spotlight on homegrown talents that have contributed to the growth of film culture in Qatar. This year s event will not only screen compelling documentaries by local filmmakers but also foster insightful discussion on the art and future of documentary filmmaking, and includes a dedicated Scenes from To My Mother and Al 7amal documentaries. section that pays tribute to Al Jazeera Documentary channels contribution to promoting the craft of documentary filmmaking in the region. Fatma Al Remaihi, Chief Executive Officer of the Doha Film Institute, said: Focus on Qatar is a celebration of filmmaking in Qatar, and highlights the achievements of our talented film community. The event presents the evolution that Qatar has seen in shaping a vibrant local film industry, and is inspired by the filmmakers whose work we aim to nurture through this initiative. This year s event shines the spotlight on documentary filmmaking, a compelling art form that has the power to inspire and provoke, and change our view of the world. Focus on Qatar 2016 highlights the remarkable strides our filmmakers have made in this medium of cinematic expression, that has gained significant popularity among Qatari filmmakers to address relevant and important issues and act as a catalyst for change. Focus on Qatar 2016 will flag off on October 5, 7.30 PM, with the screening of a collection of noteworthy short documentaries that Qatar has produced in the past years, either through the Institute s training programmes or by independent directors or by students of Northwestern University in Qatar. Audiences will have the opportunity to interact with filmmakers after the screenings. The documentaries to be screened include: Bader (Qatar, USA, Syria/2012) directed by Sara Al-Saadi, Maaria Assami and Latifa Al-Darwish; Al 7amal (Qatar/2015) by Amal Al Muftah; The Palm Tree (Qatar/2015) by Jassim Al-Rumaihi, which won the Made in Qatar award for best documentary at Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2015; Inside Out (Qatar/2015) by Fahad Al-Obaidly and Salwa Al Khalifa; To My Mother (Qatar/2015) by Amina Ahmed Al Bloshi; The Notebook (Qatar/2015) by Amna Al-Binali; and Mubarak Al Malik (Qatar/2016) by Aisha R. Al Muhannadi. Celebrating the contribution of the team at Al-Jazeera Documentary Channel in driving the documentary landscape in the region, on Oct. 6, Focus on Qatar will have a special Al-Jazeera Documentary Network Showcase at 7.30 PM. The final day of Focus on Qatar on Oct 7 will be dedicated to the industry with two panel discussions and an informal reception for production companies. The first panel on The State of Documentary in the Gulf at 4 PM will discuss funding opportunities, theatrical release, film festivals, television, online portals and other new broadcast platforms to help independent Gulf filmmakers. HOME Emir s greetings to China s Xi on National Day DOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday sent a cable of congratulations to President of the People s Republic of China Xi Jinping on the occasion of his country s National Day. Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani also sent a cable of congratulations to Xi Jinping on the occasion. Emir greets Nigeria s Buhari DOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday sent a cable of congratulations to President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari on the occasion of his country s Independence Day. President of Cyprus greeted DOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday sent a cable of congratulations to President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades on the anniversary of his country s Independence Day. Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani also congratulated President of the Republic of Cyprus on the occasion. Nurseries more careful after Villaggio tragedy Continued from page 1 He said that some nurseries had gone extra careful after the 2012 Villaggio incident that took the life of 13 children. It is pertinent to mention here that Qatar government had introduced strict regulations governing day care centers and nurseries in the wake of the Villaggio Mall incident. I can remember signing something similar too, at a well known good British nursery in Al Waab, said Emma Spiers, adding: I don t know if there is an issue here with parents suing nurseries, but with my son s nursery I felt the management clearly took covering their backsides very seriously. Any complaint I put to them in writing they never replied in writing ever, only by phone call. Marwa Atef says she refused sending her kids to any nursery that had this requirement. There are other nurseries that don t insist for that and my impression is that they would be more trustworthy, she said. Renee Koval, another expat came defending the nurseries, saying: Otherwise teachers can be jailed if your child does have a minor accident. For example, you child is using child safe scissors under teacher s supervision, he accidentally cuts himself a little bit, nothing major, as they are child-safe. The parents can go to the police and have the teacher arrested, for a true accident. Police College receives third batch of students DOHA: The Police College yesterday received the third batch of students enrolled for studying in the college. The new batch was welcomed by Captain Fahad Saeed Al Sobaie, Director of Training Department and Capt. Jassim Abdullah Al Khater, the third company commander, along with other officers and commanders. The students entered the college with the military trainers and were divided into four groups. They were given obligatory instructions to be followed in the new life in the college. Captain Fahad Al Sobaiee said that the college had made all preparations to receive the third batch in the college, and the life of a student in the college was entirely different from the one he was living before. Here a student learns how to organize his time, how to deal with other military rankers and seniors as well as other military-related subjects. There will be several military and sports training programmes to be practised by the student during this period under the supervision of trained professionals, he added. He stated that the College relies on modern methods in training, taking the best global methods in this field. The students had demonstrated their military parade talents during several occasions like National Day and Police College opening ceremony. The Police College of Qatar is working in cooperation with Chinese and American agencies. In February, we are working to sign a cooperation agreement with the Republic of China in aspects of training on various military parades and police field, he added. Many parents expressed their confidence that the college will rehabilitate their sons and make them serve their homeland and society. Only few hand-written passports remaining Continued from page 1 Nepalese embassy started issuing machine readable passports from 2014 and launched a massive campaign in collaboration with community organisations in the beginning of 2015 to do away with the handwritten passports, said a community source. We cannot say exactly how many Nepalese expatriates still hold handwritten passports but I assure you that there will be very few, said an official from Nepal embassy. The embassy has reduced the charges for issuance of new passport from some QR300 to QR180 recently. There is no rush at passport section. We receive very few applications for passport renewals these days. Our capacity is 400 passports per day. Since we do not have passport printing machine in Qatar the process will take about 30 days, he added. An official of the Pakistan embassy also said that there are only few handwritten passports still existing, especially those having 10 year validity. We have been issuing machine readable passports for the past five years. Our problem is that those who got machine readable passport five years ago are now applying for renewal, causing huge rush in the embassy, said the official. We have increased our capacity to cope with the rush, he added. The Indian embassy recently issued a reminder to community members to urgently replace their handwritten passports, with machine-readable ones. The government of India has been issuing machine readable Passports since By the end of July this year, it was estimated that there were approximately 210,000 handwritten passports were in circulation, said an embassy statement issued last month. The ICAO has exempted temporary travel documents or passports of limited validity in cases of emergency, which usually have a short validity period and are issued by consulates to distressed nationals so that they could return to their home country, according a statement posted on its website. It means non-machine readable passport holders especially those hailed from the countries that are not printing passport in Qatar will have two options in case of urgency; either wait two to four weeks for new passports or go to their countries on a travel document to get the machine readable passport. Embassies of some Asian countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan are still getting the new passports printed from their home countries. Pakistan a promising market Continued from page 1 Al Kaabi thanked Sharif for his warm hospitality and for hosting the signing of the long-term LNG supply deal with GEIL. Speaking at the ceremony, Al Kaabi said: The agreement with GEIL reinforces our confidence in Pakistan as a promising energy market. It also enables us to meet Pakistan s energy needs from the world s most reliable LNG producer, thus enhancing our long and historic brotherly relations. Al Kaabi added: This agreement also demonstrates our confidence in LNG, and natural gas in general, as a clean energy source that is instrumental in reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally. Commenting on the newly signed deal, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, CEO of Qatargas, said: Qatargas is pleased to commemorate the signing of a 20-year deal with GEIL for the supply of LNG into Pakistan. I am particularly pleased to strengthen our relationship with Pakistan, which continues to grow as an important LNG market. I have great confidence in this deal, and I look forward to our respective teams working together as we safely and reliably supply LNG to Pakistan. Army linked to politics in democratic and non-democratic states: Expert Azmi Bishara speaking at the Fifth Annual Conference on Democratic Transition held yesterday at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. By Mohammed Osman DOHA: No army is away from politics as long as they deal with war, defence and security as these issues are related to political, social and economic stability. Army has relations with politics in both democratic and non-democratic states but there is concern about its involvement in power and in the decision-making process, said Azmi Bishara, the General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in his opening speech at the Fifth Annual Conference on Democratic Transition held yesterday at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. The theme of the three-day conference is The army and politics during the transition to democracy and it brought together over sixty researchers from across the region, universities and research institutions and disciplines. In his keynote speech, Bishara stressed that «no military commanders overthrow regimes to let others rule and many people wrongly think that military coup is in their benefit. The army s relations with politics is not unique to Arab countries and it has to do with the Arab state structure and development, he added. The experience of military coups in Arab countries showed that the coups were mostly internally designed to overthrow the former regime to safeguard the interests of its coterie Bishara said. From the military experience in Turkey and Egypt, «we can learn that the military establishes coalition with civil and political powers to impose themselves on the societies.» Furthermore, armies in this region have played a role in the establishment of the modern states, and accelerated the transition process, and in some cases led the transition when there was instability, weakness of institutions and politicians. There is a connection between revolutions and military coups in this region and that is why coups have been seen as a means of bringing social and economical changes. Bishara highlighted that many Arab leaders admired to some extent the Kemal Ataturk model to modernize societies. It is difficult to set up a formula for the relations between army and politics due to differences of historical context, societies, faiths and the social structure of the armies, Bishara stressed. However, there are several common features such as the military service was the way for peasants to achieve social mobility along to establishment of loyalty to the profession and friendship of individuals which often used to form commanders of a coup. another factor is the political and ideological friction among members of the army after they take power or when they seek to take power. The Cold War encouraged Arab armies to play political roles and each of the superpowers then supported regimes with military backgrounds. The Academic Committee of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies said that over 100 authors submitted papers for consideration in the panel discussions, while a total of 35 papers were eventually accepted. The first session discussed a theoretical examination of the relationship between the military and the political authorities in the Arab world, the historical development of that relationship, and an understanding of the role which military plays in the transition to democracy, including a study of military coups as a political process. The second session highlighted some experiences of military direct interventions to take power through coups. The third session discussed the establishment of the Arab modern military institutions and development of its political roles. Alongside these, the conference will have a special panel dedicated to the study of the failed coup in Turkey and its repercussions for Turkey and the wider world.

3 HOME SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER Six projects win 2016 WISE Awards Six winning projects from Canada, Lebanon, Brazil, France, India and the US address education issues related to personalised learning, female employment, student underachievement, education in emergency contexts and adult literacy. DOHA: The World Innovation Summit for Education yesterday announced six projects winning the 2016 WISE Awards. The awards recognise innovative initiatives addressing key education challenges. The winning projects originate from Canada, Lebanon, Brazil, France, India, and the US and address education issues related to personalised learning, female employment, student underachievement, education in emergency contexts, and adult literacy. WISE, of Qatar Foundation (QF), is an international initiative driving innovation and collaboration in education. Since 2009, recipients of the awards have joined a network of other successful and pioneering projects through which they gain global visibility and are given an opportunity to collaborate through various platforms, such as WISE Communications, WISE Publications and the WISE Summit. The projects also receive $20,000 each and are HBKU to hold Souqna bazaar to promote entrepreneurship DOHA: Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), is organising Souqna bazaar from October 6 to 8. It will be held at HBKU Student Centre from 11am to 9pm on Thursday and from 3pm to 9pm on Friday and Saturday to showcase local, entrepreneurial, small-scale businesses to the Education City community. In addition to students and their families, members of the public from across Qatar are welcome to attend and sample what s on offer. The bazaar as a platform to enhance social engagement between the community within Education City and the general public, allowing students to learn more about entrepreneurship from local business owners. The event will expose students and their family members and friends, to cultures and provide opportunity to experience the rich diversity celebrated by HBKU and its partners in Education City. Students will also have the chance to learn more about local start-ups and flex their entrepreneurial thinking skills as they browse products and services on display and hear success stories from members of the community. Maryam Hamad Al Mannai, Vice-President, Student Affairs, HBKU, said: We take great pride in celebrating our Qatari culture and heritage and the cultures of people from other nationalities based within our community. We are fortunate to have a diverse group of vendors and start-ups to showcase their goods and services. Visitors will get a glimpse into what is being created by talented entrepreneurs in Qatar. Ideas Box, one of the winning projects, is a mobile education unit to support refugees and other vulnerable populations. It was also a WISE Accelerator project. celebrated at the WISE Summit and other WISE events. Independent education consultants from Parthenon-EY assess the applicants and a jury of international education experts evaluates 15 shortlisted projects that aim at building a network of change-makers and inspire others around the world. Dr. Abdulaziz Al Horr, CEO, Qatar Finance and Business Academy, one of the 10 education authorities who form the jury, said: The 2016 WISE Awards embody the notion of education as empowerment. Each winning project can be seen as a tool to overcome some of the world s biggest education challenges. We are confident that this recognition will support the projects in promoting new ideas and practices and building a better future for all. Stavros N Yiannouka, CEO, WISE, said, We are happy to introduce the projects to a wider audience through the awards. We are confident that they are strong models that will inspire others to help build a more secure and prosperous future for individuals and societies everywhere through education. JUMP Math, a winning project, uses a guided discovery method to teach K to 8 math in Canada, the US, Spain, and Bulgaria. Education for Growth and Value Creation, based in Lebanon, supports the socio-economic status of rural Lebanese women through vocational education and training in tourism. Geikie is a personalised learning programme that supports students in Brazil who take the Exame Nacional do Ensimo Médio. Ideas Box from France and a WISE Accelerator project, is a mobile education unit consisting of compact media centres with laptops, tablets, e-readers, books, cameras, games and other resources to support refugees and other vulnerable populations. Little Ripples is an American project in Chad that reduces the barriers to early childhood education among Darfuri refugees through home-based education. In rural India, Tara Akshar works to reduce high rates of adult illiteracy among women. QNL and Unesco mark first International Day for Universal Access to Information DOHA: Qatar National Library (QNL), in cooperation with Unesco Doha Office and Qatar National Commission to Unesco, celebrated the first International Day for Universal Access to Information. The event focused on the importance of access to information to build inclusive knowledge-based societies by preserving knowledge and safeguarding documentary materials in Qatar. The public event was held at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (GU-Q). It featured a demonstration of the process used by QNL to digitise rare documentary materials and a presentation on QNL s Digital Library and its Open Access Author Fund. Dr. Claudia Lux, Project Director, QNL, said: QNL is honoured to have teamed up with Unesco Doha Office to celebrate the day, which represents one of the library s core values. DOHA: Qatar University (QU) hosted a seminar on joint research proposals between research institutions in the UK and Gulf research institutions in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Addressing the seminar, Dr. Malak Hamdan, Head, Science and Innovation (Gulf), British Embassy in Doha, said proposals should establish new research and innovation links, or develop existing ones between research groups, departments or institutions with the potential for long-term sustainability. Dr. Anna Paolini, Unesco Representative to the Arab states of the Gulf and Yemen, and Director of Unesco Doha Office, speaking at the event. QNL is committed to providing the local community with free access to information resources, whether in the digital form or in digital and print forms in the future. Dr. Anna Paolini, Unesco Representative to the Arab states of Each proposal should involve one principal applicant from the UK and one from a maximum of two partnering countries. Applications should cover specific areas such as food (including agricultural technology and crops, agri-food waste and food safety), water (including water security, water management, groundwater, waste water, and desalination), energy (including energy security, energy access, and renewable energy), food-water-energy nexus, and cyber security. Prof Mariam Al Maadeed, Vice- President, Research and Graduate Studies, QU, said: QU is always keen to embrace new opportunities the Gulf and Yemen, and Director, Unesco Doha Office, said: The day is an occasion to celebrate and further develop potential of information to help meet the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals 2030, and, in particular, the target of 16.10, which calls for ensuring public access to information and protection of fundamental freedoms. Dr. Hamda Al Sulaiti, Secretary- General of the commission, added: The celebration is part of Unesco s efforts to promote universal access to information and knowledge, ensure that the world s documentary heritage belongs to all and assist member states in harnessing new opportunities of the information age to create equitable societies. The 38th session of Unesco General Conference in November 2015 adopted a resolution to mark the day. As a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), QNL supports QF s mission to unlock human potential by preserving the nation s heritage for future generations. and collaborations that contribute to advancing research in new key areas while producing innovative solutions that reflect community and industry needs, and align with the goals and values of Qatar National Vision She noted that QU has undertaken 450 research projects with 319 collaborators in recent years, leading to 3,200 co-authored publications from 1,093 collaborating institutions. Deadline for submission of joint research proposals is October 7 at 6pm. The proposals submitted after deadline will not be considered for funding. Grants are for up to 400,000 for a maximum 24 months. The HR revolution: Why we need it By Dr. Sharoq Almalki W hereas business leaders should be forming a queue at the doors of HR departments, this is very rarely the case. Ensuring their organisation has a well-equipped and functioning HR team should be extremely high on every CEO s and business leader s priorities, but instead they tend to see HR as at best a department there to solve problems, and at worst a drain on resources with little or no benefit to the business. For far too long, HR has been seen as a brake to the company s progress, not the means by which it can achieve it. It is time to reinforce the true meaning and value of HR business partnerships. The business wheel In essence, business and a business goals are very simple, no matter what industry you are in. Customers have to buy what the company is selling and the staff need to get paid. Regardless of everything else, if you can get those two sides of that very simple equation right, everything else is a whole lot easier to achieve. The problem that arises if one or both of these objectives are not met, is more often the usual perception. CEOs tend to like and concentrate their time, efforts and praise on the so-called business people. These are the sales teams, the product and business managers, as these whom are most obviously bringing in the money directly to the company. On the other side of the coin, CEOs don t put as much weight onto the HR department s achievements, or can even undermine, or try to halt their progress, especially when those people are increasing the integrity of the organisation. Because of this, when a business achieves its targets it is the operations teams that get the credit, while if it fails to hit them, the blame is more often pointed at the HR team. When this happens, it is often accompanied by the cry of we need more people. The daily challenges for organisations The two main goals of a business mentioned earlier can only be achieved if a lot of other factors are in place and are working well. Unfortunately there are many other issues that occur in the workplace that can prevent this from happening. Examples of these include talent management, conflicts between managers and employees, succession planning, diversity and much more. Every one of these and there are many more will have a very real, and a very negative impact on the business overall performance, and HR is the only place where those issues will be confronted, tackled and dealt with. Yet HR is still nine times out of 10, not considered to be a business partner by the very same people whom are suffering at the hands of the issues listed above and others. HR reality Today s HR departments need to not only be more proactive in terms of producing tangible results for the company, they need to be seen to be doing it too. This will change people s perception of the industry and will mean they will get less resistance, and more support going forward. They need to step up and concentrate on issues such as change management and succession planning areas where results and solutions are produced and are evident for everyone to see. Resistance of having a modern HR A successful and well-functioning HR department will shine a spotlight on the areas of the business not performing well. It will reveal the business gaps, the shortcomings in employees and other departments. This, and more often than not the fear of this happening, is where the biggest resistance comes in to opening up the business to the HR team. People are wary of looking bad if their team is not hitting KPI s, so instead of using HR to help them achieve it they are likely to resist their influence in the first place. Solutions towards achieving a modern performing HR department This needs to come from all sides of the business, both inside and outside of HR. Human resource professionals need to understand and adapt to the business the specific one in which they operate, and the demands of modern business in general. On the flip side, management should provide a seat for HR in executive meetings. This will have the double benefit of HR being involved in crucial decision making processes, and will also raise the department s profile. Finally, all candidates should have to pass a behaviour test before progressing to the business interview, as part of the recruitment process. This should be absolutely mandatory for every job, every candidate. There will never be the case where only one person is qualified to perform the role, and the way the person behaves is equally as crucial and needs to be seen as so. The golden key Realistically, in order for these things to happen, the changes need to come from the very top. That person needs to not only recognise the power and benefit of having a modern HR department, but they also need to put actions in place so that the department is central to the business development, progress and success. (Dr. Sharoq Almalki is an employee engagement expert, author and public speaker engage@sharoqalmalki.com) October 7 deadline for UK-Gulf research project proposals A project is demonstrated at the seminar.

4 04 SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER 2016 HOME RAF launches medical project in Sudan A team of doctors will conduct 95 open heart surgeries, angiography and other procedures on 95 children under lease contracts registered DOHA: Al Rayyan Municipality registered 296 lease contracts, that includes 230 residential contracts and 66 commercial contracts during August with a total fee of QR1, 136,436. Meanwhile, the Technical Monitoring Section at Umm Salal Municipality has removed some encroachments on state properties in LaKhartiyat area, the Ministry of Municipality said yesterday on its official Facebook account. Al Khor and Al Dakhira Municipality also conducted inspections and caught a number of violations. Education not enough to stop terrorism: Al Kawari DOHA: Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) has provided QR800,000 for conducting angiography and open heart surgeries on 95 children in Sudan. The donation is part of a worldwide medical campaign entitled small hearths launched by RAF to provide treatment to poor children suffering from heart diseases. RAF has signed an agreement through its office in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, with a heart hospital in the country. As per the agreement, a team of doctors from the hospital will conduct 95 open heart surgeries, angiography and other procedures on 95 children under the age of 12. The doctors are providing their services voluntarily. An open heart surgery costs QR12,000 out of the hospital. RAF, in collaboration with Islamic forum organization, has A child receiving treatment under a medical project launched by RAF in Sudan. launched the fifth campaign of its small heart for children of poor families suffering from heart diseases in Sudan. Qualified doctors for angiography and open heart surgeries are available in Sudan but poor people cannot afford as an operation costs QR12,000. More than 200 cases were found requiring urgent heart surgeries every year. RAF conducted a survey in collaboration with its local partner and the social unit of the hospital to provide medical support to the most deserving children from poor families. The survey suggested that some cases were very serious and patients died due to delay in operation. The initiative is a rescue boat for the beneficiary children and their families who could not afford the cost of operation due to financial reason. RAF projects all over the world have benefited tens of thousands of people and the organisation has several projects lined up. Continued from page 1 Al Kawari said that he had visited a number of African, European, Latin American and Asian countries to seek their support for his candidacy, taking the chance to listen to their priorities for Unesco, which left a feeling that there was a commitment to education and heritage across the globe. He recalled his visit to Italy, which backed him for the post. During the visit, he gave a speech that highlighted the link between the poor education system and extremism. He noted most terrorists were holders of university degrees, a fact which shows that even higher education is not enough to stop extremism, and that required rethinking on how to improve education. He emphasised that there is one way for going forward and that would be to focus on moral values, along with academic education. The Qatari candidate also discussed the efforts he will make to bring the US back to Unesco. The US is a major power and it should not stay out of the organisation for long. He said that there were plenty of good signs he saw during his visit to the US, when he met with US Secretary of State John Kerry. He said if he is elected to Unesco s top post, he would host an annual summit in Paris on education, culture and science. He added that this was one of many ideas he had for promoting the role of the organization and financing its projects. I have many programmes and ideas which I don t want to disclose. But I am going to discuss them with the countries and the Unesco executive council. Among them is taking Unesco to every house and every individual in the world, said Al Kawari. AIMAC inaugurated Bombay Chowpatty gets new look Mohamed Hasan A E Mehza (centre), Chairman of Academy of International Music, Art and Culture (AIMAC), cutting the ribbon with Girish Kumar K R (right) President Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) and Habib Unnabi, VP of Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) on the opening of AIMAC yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit / Bombay Chowpatty, Qatar s popular meeting place for Bombay street food, has now refreshed its look with several features, including new smart uniforms for its staff. Bombay Chowpatty has also introduced a new menu with typical Bombay Chinese dishes. The restaurant is located at Family Food Center, Airport Road, Bank Street, Al Meera Airport Road, Al Meera Mansoura, and Al Khor Mall. Regency retains Leading Travel Agency awards Regency Travel & Tours CEO Tareq Abdullatif Taha receiving the award at a function in Dubai. DOHA: Regency Travel and Tours was awarded Middle East s Leading Travel Agency and Qatar s Leading Travel Agency by World Travel Awards for the 10th consecutive years respectively, at a glitzy WTA Middle East Gala ceremony held at St. Regis, Dubai. Hailed as Oscars of the Travel Industry, the World Travel Awards are highly coveted and contested awards, with winners being chosen purely by virtue of the votes they receive. Regency Travel & Tours CEO Tareq Abdullatif Taha, the driving force behind the company s stupendous success, was elated at the achievement and stated, We are honoured to represent the State of Qatar at this prestigious platform, and are absolutely thrilled on winning the Middle East and Qatar Leading Travel Agency titles for This is a proud moment for my entire team, and the awards are a testament to our commitment in driving value to our customers, delivering quality service and our ability to adapt to the constantly evolving travel space. Taha attributed this achievement to his customers for their trust and loyalty towards Regency Travel & Tours brand, as well as the team of 400 plus professionals for their dedication and passion.

5 MIDDLE EAST SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER Aleppo hospital hit as Syria army presses assault As the situation for civilians grows increasingly dire, the largest hospital in east Aleppo was hit by barrel bombs. ALEPPO: The largest hospital in rebel-held east Aleppo was bombed yesterday for the second time in days as Syrian government forces pressed a Russian-backed offensive to retake the entire city. Aleppo, once Syria s vibrant commercial powerhouse, is now at the heart of a major military campaign by President Bashar Al Assad s fighters and his steadfast ally Moscow. The Gulf Cooperation Council urged the UN Security Council to immediately intervene to stop the aggression against Aleppo. The offensive, announced on September 22, has seen dozens of civilians killed and residential buildings flattened in the east, where an estimated 250,000 people live under government siege. As the situation for civilians grows increasingly dire, the largest hospital in east Aleppo was hit by barrel bombs, the medical organisation that supports it said. Two barrel bombs hit the M10 hospital and there were reports of a cluster bomb as well, said Adham Sahloul Erdogan slams US Congress ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned yesterday a US Congress vote to override Barack Obama s veto of a bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, saying he expected the move to be reversed as soon as possible. The allowing by the US Congress of lawsuits to be opened against Saudi Arabia over the 9/11 attacks is unfortunate, Erdogan said in a speech for the opening of parliament. It s against the principle of individual criminal responsibility for crimes. We expect this false step to be reversed as soon as possible, he added. Families of 9/11 victims have campaigned for the law, convinced the Saudi government had a hand in the attacks that killed almost 3,000 people. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens, but no link to the government has been proven. The Saudi government denies any ties to the plotters. An empty room at a damaged field hospital is seen after airstrikes in a rebel held area in Aleppo yesterday. of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS). Sahloul said a small group of patients and doctors were inside the hospital for basic triage, bandaging, and cleaning services for emergency cases when the bombardment began. SAMS radiologist and hospital administrator Mohammad Abu Rajab made an urgent call for help from inside M10. The hospital is being destroyed! SOS, everyone! he said in an audio message distributed to journalists. M10 had already been hit on Wednesday along with the second-largest hospital in the area, known as M2. That bombardment heavily damaged the two facilities and left only six fully-functional hospitals in the city s east, according to SAMS. A new barrel bomb fell this afternoon in front of the hospital, forcing medical staff... to evacuate all patients to another one and leave the hospital, a doctor at M10 said. European Parliament president Martin Schulz called the hospital bombing a war crime. Intl community must unite to prevent city annihilation, he tweeted. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that the systematic targeting of structures and health workers is particularly unjustifiable. The World Health Organization has called Syria the most dangerous place in the world for health workers, and Aleppo in particular has seen much of its medical infrastructure destroyed or heavily damaged. 2 dead in Mogadishu car bomb attack MOGADISHU: At least two people were killed and five injured yesterday when a car loaded with explosives blew up near a restaurant in Mogadishu, a security official and witnesses said. The car was parked in front of the Blue Sky restaurant, near a busy road close to the headquarters of the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) in a southern district of the city. The blast was detonated remotely outside the restaurant, security forces spokesman Mohamed Dahir said, adding that information we have gotten so far indicates that two civilians were killed in the blast. Sources said the restaurant is frequented both by security personnel and civilians. I saw two dead bodies and five wounded, most of them civilians who were passing by the area, added eyewitness Abdukadir Shilow. There is chaos around the restaurant and Somali forces sealed off the road after the blast. There was no immediate claim of responsibility although immediate suspicion fell on the Al Qaeda linked group Shabaab, locked in battle against the Somali government and which regularly mounts attacks in the city. Despite being driven out of the capital in 2011 by an African Union force deployed in 2007 the group still control vast swathes of outlying rural areas from which they launch guerrilla operations. Turkey extends mandate for troops in Iraq and Syria ANKARA: Turkey s parliament yesterday overwhelmingly approved a one-year extension of an existing mandate to use Turkish troops abroad in Syria and Iraq. The mandate was first approved by parliament in October 2014 and was renewed for another year in September It allows military action in Turkey s two southern neighbours against Islamic State and other groups deemed by Ankara to be terror organisations. Using the existing mandate, Turkey on August 24 launched an unprecedented operation inside Syria dubbed Euphrates Shield to back pro-ankara rebels fighting IS and a Kurdish militia. Ankara is also believed to have an unspecified number of troops in the Bashiqa camp outside IScontrolled Mosul in northern Iraq involved in training Iraqi fighters who plan to recapture the city. The bill passed easily on the first day of the new session of parliament with support from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), secular opposition Republican People s Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Only the pro-kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) voted against. According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, the new mandate will run until October 30, In his speech marking the opening of parliament, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the initial goal of the Syria operation was to create a safe area free of terror organisations some 5,000sqkm in size.

6 06 SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER 2016 ASIA / AFRICA Congo plans to delay national vote for two years The announcement is to stoke tensions after at least 50 people died last week in Kinshasa in clashes between protesters and security forces. KINSHASA: The president of Democratic Republic of Congo s electoral commission said yesterday that he expects the presidential election, originally scheduled for this November, to be delayed until December 2018, lawmakers present at his speech said. The announcement is likely to Nigeria I-Day celebration stoke political tensions after at least 50 people died last week in the capital Kinshasa in clashes between protesters and security forces over accusations that President Joseph Kabila is deliberately delaying the poll to cling to power. Kabila denies he is behind the delays, which he says are due to logistical and budgetary constraints in the impoverished,infrastructurestarved country. Commission president Corneille Nigeria s President Muhammadu Buhari attends a ceremony marking Nigeria s 56 independence anniversary at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday. US passport-forger admits dismembering dead man BANGKOK: An American accused of running a passport-forgery ring in Bangkok confessed to dismembering -- but not murdering -- a man found in his freezer, Thai police said yesterday, as detectives continue to piece together details of the macabre crime. The 63-year-old suspect, who police initially struggled to identify because of his numerous passports, was arrested one week ago alongside two other Americans accused of producing fake travel documents from their crime den in Thai capital. Police also found guns, drugs and the bagged body parts of a foreigner in their freezer. Herbert La Fon, described as the gang s ringleader, allegedly opened fire on police during the raid before the trio was handcuffed and detained. He admitted only that he dismembered the body but said he had no involvement in murdering the Hungarian man, Bangkok s police chief Sanit Mahathavorn said. Police are not yet convinced, he said recently, adding that he was up until 3am interrogating the American. Nangaa told delegates at ongoing multi-party talks that the commission would finish updating the voter registry on July 31, 2017 and require an additional 504 days to organise the vote, several people present at the closed door meeting said. A national deputy and the minister of parliamentary relations confirmed Nangaa s remarks on Twitter. The talks are meant to reach a consensus among Kabila s allies, opponents and civil society on the election date. However, most major opposition parties are boycotting the talks, which they say are intended to provide a pretext for Kabila to stay in office. Kabila, who took office in 2001 after the assassination of his father Laurent Kabila, is required by constitutional term limits to step down in December. Congo s economy has been Kidnappers release wife of CBN governor Four jailed for genocide killings in DRC LUBUMBASHI: Four ethnic Bantus have been convicted in the trial of 32 Bantus and Pygmys accused of crimes against humanity over 2013 clashes in DR Congo s troubled Katanga province, judicial sources said yesterday. The appeal court in Lubumbashi convicted four people (and sentenced them) to 15 years in jail, and freed 28 others, court official John Kasongo said, adding that those convicted were found guilty of counts of genocide by murder All four convicted were ethnic Bantus, he said. Fighting broke out in the ABUJA: The wife of Nigeria s central bank governor was kidnapped and held for some 24 hours, police and security sources said yesterday, in the latest high-profile abduction in the country s south. A federal police source in Abuja said Margaret Emefiele was seized on the road from Benin City in Edo state, southern Nigeria, to Agbor, in neighbouring Delta state, on Thursday. Five other persons were kidnapped along with her, said the source. They are her driver and four other women with whom she was travelling. Security officials secured her south-eastern province of Katanga in 2013 between a tribe of the Bantu majority, the Luba, and Pygmies from the Batwa group, who consider that they have long been marginalised, exploited and despised. More than a hundred people died in the fighting. Altogether, 34 people were accused of participating in the violence. Two of them are minors and their cases have been referred to a children s court. The United Nations Joint Office for Human Rights in the country (BCNUDH) has voiced concern over the disproportion between the (severity of the) charges and the way in which the investigation was conducted. However, Freddy Kitoko, a release at about 12:30am yesterday and she was taken to the Delta state police headquarters in Asaba. The other four people were also freed. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spokesman Isaac Okoroafor said he did not have more details but confirmed: She has been released. Margaret Emefiele s husband, Godwin, became CBN governor in March 2014, replacing Lamido Sanusi, who was dismissed after claiming the state-run oil firm had not remitted $20bn in revenue. Governor Emefiele has since had to face the fallout from an oil-dependent economy hit by the global fall in crude prices, which has led Nigeria into recession, weakened its currency and sent inflation spiralling. lawyer for the Pygmy defendants, praised the court decision. I am satisfied as all my clients were acquitted for lack of proof. But Kitoko added that he remained concerned due to the renewal of violence between the two communities over the past month. Fighting resumed on September 3, near Nyunzu town, in the newly-created Tanganyika province -- which was part of Katanga until last year. So far, eight people have been killed in the fresh violence. Since 2013 Katanga has been cut up into four provinces and has been the scene of numerous conflicts between the Bantus and Pygmies, engaged in a cycle of pillaging, arson, killings and displacements. damaged by the fall in global commodity prices. In June, the government cut its year 2016 budget by 22 percent and the growth forecast for 2016 has been cut from 9 percent to 4.3 percent. Congo relies heavily on the mining and oil sectors, which together account for about 95 percent of its export earnings. The current population of DR Congo is 80,300,523, based on the latest United Nations estimates. Dozens still held in Gabon over election violence LIBREVILLE: Some 70 people, including several opposition figures, were still in detention nearly a month after a wave of post-election violence erupted in Gabon, a judicial source said on Friday. Thirty-nine people have been charged for their alleged role in rioting and looting that broke out in Gabon after the disputed vote. They are being held pending trial, the source told on condition of anonymity. Some 30 others have been brought before a court and were awaiting sentencing, the source added. Violence erupted on August 31 after President Ali Bongo was first declared the winner of the contested vote. Opposition demonstrators who believed the election had been rigged set parliament ablaze and clashed with police, who made hundreds of arrests. Many of the detainees were released within days, after being held in often grim conditions. Among the opposition figures still in detention were ex-mp Bertrand Zibi Abeghe, who resigned in July. He was charged for incitement of rebellion and committing acts aimed at disturbing the public peace in the aftermath of the August 27 vote, which Bongo won by a wafer-thin margin. He is now being held in solitary confinement in a dungeon and no one is allowed to see him. He runs the risk of paying with his life for having the courage of resigning... during an election rally, said the former MP s lawyer, Eric Moutet. British aristocrat s son faces Kenya drugs trial Buffalo ride NAIROBI: A British aristocrat s son due to face trial in Kenya tomorrow for smuggling 100kg of cocaine knew nothing about the illegal shipment, foreign investigators believe. Jack Marrian, a 31-yearold sugar trader, faces a possible life sentence if found guilty of smuggling cocaine worth $6m. But the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) -- which worked with Spanish police to track and seize the shipment in late July -- believe Marrian and his co-accused, Kenyan clearing agent Roy Mwanthi, knew nothing of the drugs concealed in a sugar consignment from Brazil. We got information from our office in Spain. The intelligence was that their Spanish counterparts had information about a container that had suspected drugs in it, said Melvin Patterson, a DEA spokesman. Spanish police believe the drugs were intended to be unloaded in Valencia and sold on the lucrative European market, but something went wrong and they were shipped onward to Kenya. A criminal group based in Valencia, Spain, tried to get cocaine out of a container, but failed. Men ride buffaloes during the Pchum Ben festival, in Vihear Sour village in Kandal province, Cambodia, yesterday. Two tried in South African court for freeing penguin PORT ELIZABETH: Two men have appeared in court in South Africa accused of stealing a penguin called Buddy from a marine park and releasing him into the sea, police said on Friday. Adrian Donian, 22, and Emile du Plessis, 24, made a brief appearance in Port Elizabeth magistrate s court Thursday on charges of theft and malicious damage to property. Buddy, an endangered African black-footed penguin, was taken from Bayworld Oceanarium in Port Elizabeth in a nighttime raid last week, triggering international concern over his fate as he is likely to die in the wild. He was wrapped in a shirt, bundled in a car and taken the short distance to the coast where he was released into the Indian Ocean. The two men handed themselves into Humewood police station in the city on Thursday accompanied by their lawyer. Bayworld manager Dylan Bailey this week said that they had confessed to the crime and said it was a demonstration against animals being kept in captivity. But Bailey said Buddy, three, would not survive in the sea as he cannot hunt or fend for himself. The two men were charged and immediately appeared in court the same day and released on warning, police spokeswoman Priscilla Naidu said.

7 ASIA / PHILIPPINES SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER US & South Korea to pay price for missile system People s Daily said China s opposition to THAAD would never change as it was a serious threat to the regional strategic security balance. BEIJING: The United States and South Korea are destined to pay the price for their decision to deploy an advanced missile defence system which will inevitably prompt a counter attack, China s top newspaper said yesterday. Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high this year, beginning with North Korea s fourth nuclear test in January this year, which was followed by a satellite launch, a string of tests of various missiles, and its fifth and largest nuclear test last month. In July, South Korea agreed with the United States to deploy the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to protect against any North Korean threats. South Korea aims to deploy the system on a golf course, a defence ministry official said on Friday. But the plan has angered China, which worries that THAAD s powerful radar would compromise its security and do nothing to lower temperatures on the Korean peninsula. In a commentary, the ruling Communist Party s official People s Daily said China s opposition to THAAD would never change as it was a serious threat to the regional strategic security balance. Like any other country, China can neither be vague nor indifferent on security matters that affect its core interests, the newspaper said in the commentary, published under the pen name Zhong Sheng, meaning Voice of China, often used to give views on foreign policy. The United States and South Korea have to wake up to the fact that the Korean peninsula is no place to take risks, it added. If the United States and South Korea harm the strategic security interests of countries in the region including China, then they are destined to pay the price for this and receive a proper counter attack, the paper added recently, without elaborating. China has repeatedly promised to take specific steps to respond since the THAAD decision was announced, but has given no details about what it may do. The United States and South Korea have said THAAD system does not threaten China s security or target any country other than North Korea. China is North Korea s most important diplomatic and economic partner, but Beijing has been infuriated by its nuclear and missile tests and has signed up for strong United Nations sanctions against North Korea. However, China has continued to call for talks to resolve the North Korean issue and said sanctions are not the ultimate solution. At a reception in Pyongyang on Friday for China s National Day, Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun said that his country wanted to consolidate its friendship and ties with North Korea, China s Xinhua news agency said yesterday. The report made no mention of the nuclear issue. South Korea President Park Geun-hye waves to the crowd during a commemoration event marking Armed Forces Day at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters in South Chungcheong Province, yesterday. Park urges North Koreans to defect SEOUL: South Korean President Park Geun-Hye called on North- Koreans to abandon their country yesterday and defect, just a day after a soldier walked across the heavily fortified border into the South. In a rare message directly addressed to rank-and-file troops and North Korean citizens, the president invited North Koreans to relocate to the bosom of freedom. We are well aware of the gruesome realities you face, said Park during a speech marking the country s Armed Forces Day. The universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights and welfare are the precious rights you should also enjoy, she added. We will keep the road open for you to find hope and live a new life. Please come to the bosom of freedom in the South whenever you want. The call comes a month after North Korea s deputy ambassador to Britain defected to SouthKorea, handing Seoul a major propaganda coup at a time of rising tension on the divided Korean peninsula. Park said defections by North Koreas fleeing hunger and oppression were increasing drastically. There have been persistent defections, even by North Korean elites who have been supporting the regime. Duterte s Hitler remarks deeply troubling : Pentagon chief KO OLINA: Pentagon chief Ashton Carter on Friday criticised the deeply troubling remarks by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in which he likened his deadly war on crime to Hitler s efforts to exterminate Jews. Carter s comments came during a regional security summit with Southeast Asian ally nations, where he sought to reassure counterparts that Washington s ongoing commitment to its Asia rebalance would continue into the next US administration. Earlier Friday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had made televised remarks drawing parallels between his campaign to wipe out his country s drug problem and Adolf Hitler s genocidal drive. Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now there are three million drug addicts (in the Philippines). I d be happy to eliminate them. Carter said the remarks were not discussed at the summit. But speaking personally for myself, I find those comments deeply troubling, he said. The informal meeting of the Asean, held on Oahu in Hawaii, focused mainly on longer-standing regional issues such as continued unease over China s growing reach across the South China Sea. Beijing has in recent years expanded its physical presence in Cache of illegal guns and explosives seized in Basilan Anatolia ZAMBOANGA CITY: The Philippine military revealed yesterday that troops seized a cache of firearms during a law enforcement operation against the Abu Sayyaf militant group in a remote village in the troubled southern island province of Basilan. Maj Filemon Tan Jr, Western Mindanao Command spokesman, said in a statement that troops were conducting patrols in the village of Katipunan in Tuburan town when they came across a suspicious person who responded by firing shots. The suspect then reportedly ran to a nearby house and alerted the occupants who ran off in different directions. According to Tan, soldiers then conducted pursuit and later searched the vicinity, where they recovered an assorted variety of firearms, explosives and ammunition. the strategically vital waterway, turning small maritime features, islets and reefs into much larger islands capable of holding military facilities. Carter has repeatedly stressed that the US military will ignore Beijing s contentious South China Sea claims, and keep operating in waters and airspace surrounding the islands. The US would like to help all our nations see more, share more, and do more to keep Southeast Asia s vital waterways open and secure, Carter said. Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines recently agreed to conduct joint sea patrols to fight piracy, organised crime, and terrorist activity in the Sulu Sea. YANGON: A two-year-old girl was killed and two children injured yesterday after their village was hit by heavy artillery in Myanmar s rebel-held north, an activist and local resident said, the latest violence to threaten the new government s peace bid. The shots were reportedly fired in Pu Wang village in northern Shan state, an area bordering China where ethnic minority rebels are locked in a long-running battle with the Myanmar army. US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter shakes hands with Philippines Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana at an Asean security meeting in Hawaii. Children hit by artillery in Myanmar Sporadic clashes in the region have displaced tens of thousands of people and dampened enthusiasm for a peace push driven by Myanmar s newly elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It happened in the morning today when these three children were playing. Six powerful shots were fired into the village, Ying Sau, a pastor in Kachin village said. His nephew s two-year-old daughter was killed, while two children, ages 5 and 6, were injured and taken across the border to a hospital in China, he said. Khon Ja, an activist from the Kachin Peace Network, also reported the death and posted photos on Facebook of the injured children receiving treatment. Both blamed the heavy firing on the Myanmar army, which could not reach for comment. Myanmar s restive borderlands have been rowcked by several outbreaks of violence in recent weeks, only a month after Suu Kyi launched a major peace dialogue aimed at ending the simmering insurgencies. Her summit brought many key players to the table for early peace talks, though several powerful ethnic militias actively clashing with state troops did not attend. Terror threat in Southeast Asia growing : Minister KO OLINA: The threat that violent extremist groups pose to Southeast Asia is growing each year as they become more organized and focused in their aims, Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Friday. Ng was speaking to reporters following a meeting of Southeast Asia defence ministers with US Defence Secretary Ash Carter in Hawaii, where the defence chiefs devoted a major chunk of time to discussing the threat from Islamic State and similar groups. Over 1,000 Southeast Asians have flocked to join Islamic State s self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, Ng said. Every year we meet, the situation and threat from extremist terrorism rises, Ng said. Compared to, say, a year or even two years ago, they re more organized...they re more networked, they re more clear in their articulation of what they want to achieve. Security officials said in June that Southeast Asian militants who claim to be fighting for Islamic State said they had chosen one of the most wanted men in the Philippines to head a regional faction of the group. Authorities in the region have been on heightened alert since IS claimed an attack in Jakarta in January in which eight people were killed, including four of the attackers. Hong Kong leader calls for unity with China HONG KONG: Hong Kong s leader called on the city to unite behind its current political system yesterday in the face of increasing calls for independence from China, as protesters were bundled from the auditorium where he was speaking. Leung Chun-ying was giving an annual address as part of National Day celebrations which mark the founding of the People s Republic of China by Mao Zedong in 1949, after communist forces won a civil war on the mainland. Hong Kong is governed under a semi-autonomous one country, two systems arrangement -- a deal made when the city was handed back to China by Britain in The agreement protects Hong Kong s freedoms for 50 years, but there are growing fears those liberties are being eroded by Beijing, leading to increasing tensions. Leung described the system as the most beneficial and most practical for Hong Kong. One country, two systems needs each and every Hong Kong resident to defend it to their utmost, Leung said. He also encouraged young Hong Kongers to visit China, saying there was deep kinship between the two sides.a group of pro-democracy lawmakers interrupted the speech shouting: CY step down!. Security escorted them from the hall at the harbourfront convention centre, with one district councillor carried out. Veteran Democratic Party legislator James To, among the protesters, said Leung had caused divisions in the city and has made Hong Kongers feel they can t go on (with Leung in charge). Several new legislators who won seats in elections last month and are calling for self-determination and independence for Hong Kong boycotted the event. Former protest leader Nathan Law, who at 23 is the youngest ever member of the Legislative Council, said he stayed away because of what he described as China s human rights violations. As long as they don t recognise that what they are doing is wrong, we shouldn t go and celebrate this kind of holiday, Law said, listing the Cultural Revolution and the disappearance last year of five booksellers from Hong Kong as among the incidents. The booksellers worked for a publishing house known for salacious titles about Beijing leaders. All surfaced in detention in China. Law led mass pro-democracy rallies in 2014 which failed to win concessions from Beijing. He is now calling for self-determination for the city. Since the 2014 rallies, there have been increasing demands for a break from China. Newly elected pro-independence lawmaker Yau Wai-ching also boycotted the event. It s not the national day of the Hong Kongers, she said. Leung Kwok-hung (centre), Chairman of the League of Social Democrats, yells during a protest on China's National Day celebrations in Hong Kong, yesterday. Large red banners calling for Hong Kong independence were draped across several university buildings Saturday. A small group of protesters led by rebel lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, known as Long Hair, gathered outside the convention centre calling for the release of political prisoners in China.

8 08 SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER 2016 VIEWS ESTABLISHED IN 1996 CHAIRMAN SHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI editorinchief@pen.com.qa ACTING MANAGING EDITOR MOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED msalim@pen.com.qa DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR HUSSAIN AHMAD hussain@pen.com.qa Need for restraint Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has never been shy of controversy or bluntness. In fact, his no-nonsense approach and toughness had helped him win votes in the presidential election. But the Philippine leader found himself surrounded by controversies even after becoming president and his statement triggered global headlines. Duterte on Friday drew parallels with the Holocaust and his anti-drug crackdown, which has left more than 3,000 people dead and raised concerns about human rights violations. His statement again brought to the spotlight his anti-drug war and it came amidst worsening relations with Philippines close ally the United States. Last week, Duterte had said joint military exercises of Filipino and American troops scheduled for next week in the Philippine will be the last such drills. His foreign secretary, however, quickly said the decision was not final. Any strain in US-Philippines relations at this stage is considered unhealthy due to tensions in the region arising from the maritime disputes with China. Any change in Manila-Washington military strategy and alliance would impede Washington s plans to expand the footprint of US forces in Southeast Asia to counter China. Philippine President needs to move more cautiously while addressing the drug problem in his country. Bilateral relations and foreign policies are not moulded in a day. They take years to develop and strengthen and have to go through the rough and tumble of politics on either side and are shaped by the personal views and idiosyncrasies of various leaders. Though every elected leader has the democratic right to pursue the foreign policies he wants, the rules of global diplomacy demand a certain poise and modesty in recasting strong, well-founded relationships. Elected with a huge majority, Duterte is hugely popular in the Philippines but his popularity abroad is under a cloud due to his pronouncements. At the same time, it will be wrong to judge Duterte based on his statements. The president must be trying to endear himself to his people through exaggeration and hyperbole. The president has said his main objective is to bring the country to a new era of peace where the drug problem and criminality are eradicated. He also wants to leave a legacy of peace with the National Democratic Front, the Communist Party, the MNLF, MILF and other groups that have been engaged in decades of conflict with the government. His intentions are indeed noble and if achieved, will take his country to a new era of peace and prosperity, but he has to realise that controversies will only throw obstacles in his path and are only disturbing distractions. The United Kingdom will have a position in the negotiations and we, as a United Kingdom government, will be negotiating with the European Union. Theresa May British Prime Minister EDITORIAL Quote of the day Putin s Syria playbook? To recapture Soviet glory By John Lloyd The destruction of Aleppo, especially the city s eastern neighborhoods that are tenuously held by antiregime rebels, is largely pushed out of the nightly news by the fierce fighting around the presidential race in the United States. A few doughty reporters and photographers venture into Syria, but usually the cameras stay at a safe distance, so that much of what we see are the flashes and smoke from shells and bombs bursting in its cities. At other times, we see smartphone video of haggard people running for shelter or transporting the wounded, screaming in pain, to hospitals where there is little help for them. There s a Western consensus that the Russians are assisting their Syrian allies, President Bashar Al Assad s forces, in pounding the city, and with some diplomatic reservations, especially by the United Nations that their jets destroyed an aid convoy last week. The UN Security Council last weekend heard blasts against Russia from Western powers. US Ambassador Samantha Powers said that, Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive. UK Ambassador Matthew Rycroft went further: Russia and Assad, he said, had unleashed a new hell on Aleppo. Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes. As the Syrian ambassador was called to speak, Rycroft led a walkout of Powers and the French ambassador, Francois Delattre. Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin then denied that Russia was involved. Why is Moscow putting itself on the wrong side of history, because who can doubt that history will record Assad as a monstrous tyrant and Russia as his sinister ally? In fact, Russia does doubt that, but it covers its reasons for the alliance with the smallest fig leaf of denial. Vladimir Putin is, bit by bit, seeking to rebuild the glory and the power that he believes was the Soviet Union. The USSR was a large player in the Middle East. Today, the sole physical inheritance from those years is the leased docking facilities at Tartus, on Syria s northern coast. After the evacuation of the Soviet bases in Egypt s Alexandria and Mersa Matruh in the late 1970s, Tartus remains Russia s only foothold on the Mediterranean. Though views differ on how vital it is it s too small to host Moscow s larger warships the port remains an important supply point. The Kremlin s political and strategic calculations are even more important. Putin believes that Western interventions in other countries usually presented as humanitarian actions mask an agenda of aggression and of neo-imperialism. In a crucial speech to the UN General Assembly last year, he both criticised the West for refusing to take Assad s side in the Syrian civil war and applied the same logic to Western meddling in Ukraine, where he claimed outsiders had orchestrated a military coup that triggered civil war as a result. The Russian president sees the United States as a constant, implacable opponent, with a powerful military that must be The Russian president sees the United States as a constant, implacable opponent, with a powerful military that must be checked at every opportunity. checked at every opportunity. But there is another rationale, at once more personal and more coldly rational, for retaining the alliance with Assad. It lies in the president s experience in the Russian region of Chechnya, in the Caucasus. Chechnya s more than one million people have been among the most oppressed, and the most warlike, in both tsarist and Soviet times. The province declared independence in late 1991, as the Soviet Union was disintegrating. Russia s opposition to the nationalist uprising sparked the first Chechen war ( ), which left it a semi-autonomous, semi-dependent state. When war flared again in late 1999, Putin was prime minister and made most decisions in place of an ailing President Boris Yeltsin. A better prepared Russian army, fighting a war brutal on both sides, reduced much of the capital, Grozny, to rubble. By 2000, Moscow had ended most organized resistance, though guerrilla activities continued until 2007, when Ramzan Kadyrov, son of a former Chechen president and strongly backed by Putin, imposed an often corrupt and savage dictatorship. Separatism was suppressed, Grozny rebuilt and Chechnya remained loyal to Moscow. Chechnya is the model for war in Syria, Grozny the model for the assault on Aleppo. For the Russian president, all talk of truce or negotiations is so much hypocrisy, entertained only as a diplomatic cover, with no intrinsic merit. For him as the 2015 UN speech made clear this is a war fought by terrorists against a legitimate government. Once such a war starts, the only route for the government is the use of unrelenting force against its foes. The second Chechen war made a hero of then relatively unknown Putin, with his tough response to separatist attacks boosting his popularity. It was the Russian leader s introduction to a politics in which war and strength produced popularity at home a route well-trodden in Ukraine, Crimea and now in Syria. It is ruthlessness in pursuit of power, and it makes a major player of a country much reduced in means. Aleppo is Russia s realpolitik. Civil Defence members search for survivors at a site hit by an air strike in the rebel-held Al Shaar neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria. EDITORIAL TEL: / FAX: / P. O. BOX: 3488, DOHA, QATAR editor@pen.com.qa ADVERTISING TEL: / 780 FAX: CLASSIFIED: adv@pen.com.qa SUBSCRIPTION / HOME DELIVERY TEL: /839 FAX: info@tawseelqatar.com

9 OPINION SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER Mapping my return A Palestinian memoir By Dr Daud Abdullah Salman Abu Sitta s Mapping My Return is much more than a personal memoir. Although the author says that it is not a research work, it does intertwine personal tragedy with the Palestinian national Catastrophe known as the Nakba. It tells the story of the author s struggle and that of his people, against all odds, to maintain their identity and regain their patrimony. Abu Sitta became a refugee at the age of ten and has dedicated the rest of his life to identifying those who were responsible for burning his family home and occupying their land in Al Ma in, Beersheba District, in May The book demolishes many of the founding Zionist myths about Israel, such as the claim that it was only the Zionist state that made the desert bloom. Abu Sitta describes the scenery he remembers seeing as a youngster on his homestead: The meadows were like a carpet of green as far as you could see, dotted with all the colours imaginable. The landscape, he adds, brought forth scarlet posies, yellow daisies and yellow and white chrysanthemums; a vast bouquet created by the good earth. Everything revolved around the land. There is a tinge of bitterness that runs through the entire fabric of this book. The author speaks of the death, destruction and dismemberment that European imperialism and the Zionist movement brought to the region. In later life, as a student and professional engineer, whenever he had the opportunity, he would remind Westerners and the Inglizi especially of their seminal injustice. There is, moreover, a deep sense of betrayal that confronts the reader. Abu Sitta contrasts the arrival of the British in 1917, as victors bearing a promise of their sacred trust of civilisation to prepare Palestine for independence, with their departure three decades later, abandoning Palestine and its defenceless people to the mercy of well-armed Jewish militias and terror gangs. The book demolishes many of the founding Zionist myths about Israel, such as the claim that it was only the Zionist state that made the desert bloom. His commentary of the attack on Al Ma in is as vivid as you could imagine. Confusion and mayhem reigned supreme. The hail of bullets tracing arcs in the sky, the hurried confusion, the agonising cries, and the shouts for a missing child heightened our fear of impending death. When his mother cried in desperation, Where are you? he cried back reassuringly, I am here. Abu Sitta concludes his chapter, The Conquest, with a resounding cry; that if the future was vague, the past he had just left behind was frozen in his mind and became his present forever. A striking feature of this memoir is the ability of the author to maintain friendships. Whether it was with his immediate or extended family members, childhood friends, teachers, locals or foreigners, he never lost contact. Letters written from these relationships would, in the fullness of time, provide invaluable information for the book. From its opening chapters it offers a clear explanation for the author s academic achievements. The thirst for education was, and still is, a distinguishing feature of the Palestinian character. Abu Sitta says it is the only territory that Palestinians could capture and hold without any fear of conquest or occupation. Long before the Nakba, his father Shaikh Hussein Abu Sitta planted the seeds of education when, in 1920, he built the first school in his area. Using the proceeds from his land he financed the project as well as the education of his sons. When the land was conquered by the Zionists in 1948 the old man was left distraught and financially broken. During a visit in 1995, Dr Abu Sitta recalled the eucalyptus tree which his father planted in the school yard; it still stands majestically as a witness to the presence of its absent family. Once in exile the persecution never ceased. After their village was overrun and captured, Abu Sitta s family took refuge in Khan Yunus in the Gaza Strip. There, like the tens of thousands of other refugees, they were pursued relentlessly, becoming victims of one massacre after another. This has been a pattern that has continued until today, despite which their will to survive and return to their stolen homes has never been broken. On 3 November 1956 Khan Yunus was the scene of one of the worst massacres. His childhood friend, Nadid Hafez, with whom he was corresponding regularly, was the victim of what was clearly a gratuitous act of murder during a raid on his family home. Despite pleas from the child s mother, the soldiers emptied their machine gun magazines into the boy s chest. And with a victorious smile, they left the scene. In the aftermath the town died; it became a place of widows hidden behind closed doors. Incredibly, Abu Sitta produced samples of the long letters that Nadid wrote to him while he was then a student in Egypt. They expressed a burning ambition to join young Salman in Cairo to further his education. That dream was cut short brutally by the Zionist colonisers. If their purpose was to drive fear into the hearts of the refugees and make them forget their Palestinian Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria. homeland, they failed miserably. Despite their savagery, the massacres committed in Gaza in 1956 did not get any coverage in Western books, or in Moshe Dayan s diary. There was no international tribunal, no meeting of the UN Security Council, and no media reports. Reading Abu Sitta s memoir is by no means a journey through a dry chronicle of unending tragedy and pain. It is about the coming of age of a young man growing up and having all the natural encounters and fun that young boys are expected to have. He recalls acting as the postman for his elder brother as he pursued his future bride. It reveals his own personal flirtations as a student and describes with exquisite precision the attractions of his wandering eyes. The book also has its elements of adventure and suspense. Against the wishes of his father and unknown to his brother in whose care he was entrusted, young Salman once escaped from Gaza with his sister to El Arish in Egypt, fleeing the constant Zionist attacks. And there is an element of humour, such as the weekends that he spent with a childless Egyptian couple. He had a terrible fear of the sleeping arrangements, as he slept between them in the same bed. The man, Salama Salem, was big and fat; and Salman could not see beyond his round belly. Worse still, he snored in short burst like a machine gun. They were sleepless nights. For the politically initiated the book is somewhat less than candid on some matters. Although Abu Sitta met Yasser Arafat, the future chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, as far back as 1948 he offered very little information about the activities of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) and Arafat s role within it. In fact, years later, in Kuwait, Arafat never approached him to join the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah). No member of his family was asked, and no explanation was given. He recalls how in 1974, when he was selected to be a member of the Palestine National Council, he was unable to attend the Twelfth Session in Cairo where the Ten-Point Transitional Programme was adopted. He gives no reason why he did not attend this important meeting. Did he know what was being plotted behind the scenes? He describes the Ten-Point Programme as a naïve and misguided policy, the first of many calamitous concessions that were to follow. Despite this, Abu Sitta concludes strangely on the same page that he thought Arafat was a true patriot and would not sell out. In 1988 when the PNC adopted a resolution in Algiers to declare an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza, Abu Sitta voted against it. A few years later, after the Oslo hoax, as he calls it, he wrote a long letter to Arafat in Tunis, delivered by hand. In it he reminded the PLO leader that 85 per cent of the people of Palestine were uprooted from their ancestral home. You know, Abu Ammar, that Palestinians have never before signed any agreement, armistice, or any accord of any kind, in which they agreed to forfeit any part of their country or their rights. You cannot do this today under any pressure. By this time Abu Sitta had begun to work closely with Edward Said, Ibrahim Abu Lughod, Hisham Sharabi, Naseer Aruri China s government wants GMOs. The people don t. and Shafiq Al Hout to ensure that the PLO returned to its founding principles. Sadly, as a group of illustrious scholars, time was not on their side. All of his compatriots in this group have passed away, leaving Salman Abu Sitta as the last one standing. Nevertheless, he continues to soldier on. He has not lost hope. In 1995 Abu Sitta took his daughter, Rania, the twelfth generation of his family and the first of her generation to be born in exile, to his home village in Al Ma in. Ben Gurion, he says, must have turned in his grave because although many of the old have died the young have not forgotten their patrimony. Abu Sitta s sojourn as a refugee has taken him from Palestine to domiciles in Egypt, Kuwait, England and Canada. The research for this book took him to libraries and archives in great cities such as Cairo, Damascus, Istanbul, London, Paris, Leipzig, Munich and Berlin, to name but a few. Now he knows who the present occupants of his land are, their numbers and how they have divided all of its 4,750 acres. After decades of persistent struggle and research, he has been able to put faces to the enemy. His one remaining dream is to have a tombstone in his native Al Ma in with the epitaph: Born here, torn away from his home at a young age, he spent the rest of his life flying in the skies of the world on the long, arduous journey to return home and he made it. Although it lacks an index, this is a book that should be a mandatory study for young Palestinians and all those who believe in the justice of their cause and their right to return. The writer is the Director of Middle East Monitor (Memo). By Adam Minter Bloomberg T he latest food safety scandal in China might be its most damaging. Earlier this week, a former doctoral student at one of the country s national testing centers for genetically modified organisms went public with allegations of scientific fraud, including claims that records were doctored extensively, that unqualified personnel were employed under illegal contracts and most seriously that authorities refused to take action when his concerns were aired privately. On Wednesday, China s Ministry of Agriculture responded to a social media storm by suspending operations at the center. hat might take care of the current scandal, but the Chinese public s hostility toward T GMOs won t go away so easily. Those concerns have only grown over the past decade as the government has increased its support of GMOs, including approval of the stateowned ChinaChem Group s $43bn takeover offer for the Swiss seed giant Syngenta. These efforts have galvanised a very public opposition that transcends China s typical political fault lines, and created one of the government s most intractable headaches. Feeding China s huge population has never been easy. But over the last three decades, the challenges have become considerably greater as urbanisation devoured farmland, and pollution made even more of it unusable. Today, the government is faced with the task of feeding 21 percent of the world s population with 9 percent of its arable land. Its reliance on foreign goods has made China the world leader in imports since Officials now fear the country could become dependent on foreigners for its food supply and the government remains committed to maintaining self-sufficiency in rice, wheat, and other key grains. As a result, the political pressure to increase yields is considerable. In fact, this pressure is centuries-old. Domesticated rice first appeared in the Yangtze River Valley at least 8,000 years ago, and Chinese farmers and scientists have been innovating ever since. In 1992, China became the first country to introduce a GMO crop into commercial production, when it sowed a virus-resistant tobacco plant on 100 acres. Since then, the government has issued safety certificates for a wide range of GMO crops, ranging from chili peppers to petunias. Yet, so far at least, only cotton has gone into wide cultivation. Other GMOs especially rice, a staple of the Chinese diet are still awaiting approval to be domestically cultivated. Safety concerns have long been the favored excuse for the lack of approvals. But that s not credible when the scientific consensus within and outside of China is that GMOs are safe, and the Chinese government itself has long allowed importation of GMO soybeans and corn for use in animal feed and cooking oil. Instead, the government is clearly worried about widespread public opposition to GMOs, which is showing up on social media and among the urban middle class. The first source of that opposition is a widespread belief that GMOs are a foreign conspiracy against Chinese health. This isn t merely a fringe idea on social media. In 2013, a major general in the People s Liberation Army wrote an op-ed for China s hypernationalist Global Times newspaper that compared GMOs to biological weapons. The consequences will be far worse than what the Opium Wars wrought, he wrote. Shall China develop a biological weapons program? As nationalism has become amplified under President Xi Jinping, that sentiment has become more prevalent. In 2014, Guangzhou military officials requested a ban on GMO food for their troops (the request was later censored). But the far more damaging source of anti-gmo sentiment is the broadly held certainty that the government is incapable of ensuring a safe food supply GMO, or otherwise. It s a legitimate concern. For three decades, China has suffered through a string of food safety scandals, including dead pigs floating in the Yangtze River and rats masquerading as hotpot mutton. In response, China has enacted new food safety laws, but they appear to have made little difference. Two weeks ago, for example, police seized 1,000 tons of substandard frozen meat, much of which was soaked in bleach. Meanwhile, a few weeks earlier a farmer in far western China found himself the target of a national social media storm when local authorities revealed he d been raising GMO corn on his land (the farmer claimed he d been duped by a company that had hired him to cultivate its crop). Feeding China s huge population has never been easy. But over the last three decades, the challenges have become considerably greater as urbanisation devoured farmland, and pollution made even more of it unusable. All thoughts and views expressed in these columns are those of the writers, not of the newspaper. All correspondence regarding Views and Opinion pages should be mailed to the Editor-in-Chief.

10 10 SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER 2016 Govt bans Indian films as Kashmir tensions rise The tit-for-tat retaliation came after Pakistani actors and technicians were banned from working on Bollywood sets by the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association. & Internews ISLAMABAD: Indian films have been banned in cinemas across Pakistan as tensions between Islamabad and nuclear-armed rivals New Delhi over recent scuffles in the disputed Kashmir region spilled into the world of Bollywood and celebrity. The tit-for-tat retaliation came after Pakistani actors and technicians were banned from working on Bollywood sets by the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA). Tensions have been simmering for months between India and Pakistan, but were dangerously ratcheted up on Thursday when India claimed it had carried out surgical strikes across the heavily militarised Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in disputed Kashmir. It is deeply regrettable that a film trade body, the IMPPA, has passed a resolution to ban Pakistani stars and technicians from working in India, a statement from Pakistan s Film Exhibitors and Distributors group said late Friday. (Following) the IMPPA decision... the majority stake holders of the (Pakistani) film industry have decided to suspend the screening of all Indian films until normalcy returns. Celebrities on both sides of the border have also weighed in on tensions over the past week. Bollywood star Salman Khan saw a vicious social media backlash after he was reported as saying that Pakistani artists should not be equated with terrorists. While singer Adnan Sami, British-born but of Pakistani origin who received Indian citizenship last year, has been slated on Twitter by Pakistanis since praising Indian forces. Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt received a similar roasting when he posted an image of himself calling for peace. Sadly, there isn t much difference in the level of sanity on both sides, observed Pakistani media website Mango Baaz in a story comparing the online reactions across the border. Indian movies are screened in a majority of Pakistani cinemas, as filmmakers in the South Asian nation strive to revive its struggling motion picture industry. Many Pakistani singers and film actors have been cast in the Indian films in a bid to improve people-to-people contact between the rival countries. Cinema employees in Karachi were seen removing the giant posters advertising Indian films over the weekend and replacing them with banners for Pakistani and Hollywood movies. Meanwhile, a member of the IMPPA has resigned after a ban was slapped on Pakistani artists working in India. In response to the development, Rahul Aggarwal posted a letter of resignation on Facebook citing fundamental terrorism between the two countries as the root cause. He said, Art is above politics and as the custodians of this art it is our responsibility to bring people together rather than divide them. Furthermore, he added that the two countries needed to come together to promote peace and not war as we are one and alike. He noted that since the governing body did not recognise his voice, he felt it as a personal failure and thus useless to the association. All Parties Hurriyat Conference protest PAKISTAN Activists of All Parties Hurriyat Conference shout anti-indian slogans during a protest in Islamabad yesterday. Afghan military kill six security forces in mistake AP KABUL: Five Afghan soldiers and a police officer were killed in an air strike carried out by an Afghan military helicopter in western Farah province, Afghanistan s Ministry of Defence said yesterday. The ministry said in a statement that the helicopter had used inaccurate information from ground forces when it conducted the air strike late Friday night. It says the forces were being attacked by insurgents in the Bala Buluk district. When they called for air support, the helicopter incorrectly fired a rocket at a checkpoint occupied by Afghan security forces. The incident is being investigated, the statement said. It comes after a US air strike in eastern Nangarhar province early Wednesday killed at least 15 people. Officials and the UN mission in Kabul say the dead were civilians. Taliban fighters advance on Helmand capital LASHKAR GAH: Taliban fighters have advanced closer to Lashkar Gah, capital of the strategic southern province of Helmand, pushing into a farming district on the other side of the river from the town, officials said yesterday. Though the Western-backed government in Kabul pushed the insurgents back with the aid of US airstrikes in August, it is struggling to reverse the tide of the fighting. Capturing the city would give One dead and dozens injured in earthquake Anadolu KARACHI: At least one person was killed and around 30 others injured when an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale struck northwest Pakistan, including the capital Islamabad yesterday. The earthquake, with its epicentre in the Hindukush mountains of neighbouring Afghanistan, struck parts of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, Muzaffarabad and Islamabad in the afternoon. However, reports of casualties and property damage started to arrive in the evening although telecommunication services in the affected areas were suspended. The lone casualty, according to local ARY TV channel, was from the Abbottabad district while 12 people were injured in Naran, a famous tourist destination. Over a dozen students were also injured after the wall of a local college collapsed due to the tremors in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, local channel Dunya TV reported. Television channels broadcast footage of terrified residents including women and children rushing out of their homes in quake-hit parts of the country. Pakistan is among the most earthquake-prone regions in the world. The country is located on the Eurasian Tectonic Plate, which is known for high levels of seismic activity. the Taliban their first provincial capital since the northern city of Kunduz fell briefly a year ago and would reinforce the impression that government forces are losing momentum in the war. The insurgents, who control large sections of the province, are now in Bolan, an agricultural zone that links Lashkar Gah with Gereshk, a town that straddles the main Highway One, as well as Marjah district centre to the west. The Taliban came to our villages, blocked the main road and are attacking security forces, said local resident Rozi Mohammad. Local officials said security forces were engaging the insurgents and were expected to begin offensive operations soon though they faced strong opposition. We are about 300 metres away from the Taliban positions. They are firing at us from residents homes and we are waiting for fresh forces to repel them, said Hesmatullah, a policeman whose unit was involved in the fighting. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said government forces had taken heavy casualties. The Taliban has tightened pressure on Helmand for much of the past year and is now estimated to control or contest most of the districts in the province, which supplies a major proportion of the world s illegal opium. Last week, frustrated by police and army units that have left a string of checkpoints across the province without fighting, the governor of Helmand Hayatullah Hayat threatened to put troops on trial for abandoning their positions. Those who have escaped and come to Lashkar Gah will be tried. They will be investigated, he told a meeting of officials and tribal elders. Supporters of Pakistani cricketer-turned-opposition leader Imran Khan react during a public meeting in Raiwind, some 40km from Lahore. PTI march turns Lahore & Raiwind festive Internews LAHORE: Fleets of vehicles loaded with workers and decorated with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) flags kept on bumping their way to the Raiwind march venue yesterday throughout the day. It had representation from across the country besides Lahore. The participants were also from several walks of life. Muhammad Rafique, one of the participants heading towards the venue, said he was a government servant. Though I m a government servant, I really want to see Imran Khan in power; all those to whom we ve voted earlier have failed to deliver, he said. He said though he was a public servant but he was attending the rally as a duty because there should be an end to corruption. The party was well prepared to host the show. Besides the city areas, several reception camps had been set up on Raiwind Road to receive workers convoys. I expect over 200,000 people in the rally, Ashraf Sohna, a PTI leader from Okara, said while receiving the participants at the venue. It will be a great success of the party if such a huge number of people attend the event. Shopkeepers on Raiwind, however, were critical to the PTI for choosing the road for the rally. Commission will visit Karachi to probe boat used in Mumbai attack Internews ISLAMABAD: A commission constituted to examine a boat thought to have been used in the 2008 Mumbai attacks will visit Karachi on October 6, a date fixed by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Saturday. Other than examining the boat, which is named Al-Fouz, the commission will also record the testimony of a witness who saw it being seized at the Karachi shipyard. The boat was allegedly used by the suspects in the Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people were killed and more than 300 were injured, to cross into Indian waters. The commission consists of an ATC judge, officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the defence counsel and court officials. There was disagreement earlier over whether the prosecution s witness should record his statement while standing next to the boat, which is berthed at the Karachi shipyard, or if the boat should somehow be produced before the court so that Internews it is admitted into evidence. The ATC had dismissed the FIA s petition to allow the commission to examine the boat, which was then challenged before the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The FIA had said the IHC had remanded the case back to the ATC, which provided the prosecution an opportunity to produce evidence to strengthen their case. According to the FIA s application, the commission should be permitted to travel to the boat, which should be exhibited as evidence as it was allegedly used to carry the assailants to the seas of Pakistan and India which had led to the attack in Mumbai. FIA officials maintain that the boat was taken into possession by the investigating officer in the presence of a witness who had identified it as the same one used by the suspects. They argued that the boat was too large to be produced in court and that the examination of the witness cannot be completed separate from the production of the boat before the court, hence the commission needed to be permitted to travel to see the boat. USAID partners with banks for $88m green projects KARACHI: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) yesterday partnered with five banks to lend an estimated $88m for the development of clean energy sector in Pakistan. The US Consul General Karachi Grace Shelton presided over the signing of a partnership agreement between the USAID and Habib Bank Ltd, MCB Bank Ltd, Faysal Bank Ltd, Meezan Bank Ltd and JS Bank Ltd. Under the 15-year partnership, the US government agency agreed to settle half of the total bad loans. Approximately, $88m in financing will be available to support the development of the clean energy sector. Partner banks will be able to provide debt financing to smallscale clean energy projects undertaken by developers, companies or households. The loan is for purchasing energy equipment. The US Government is excited to partner with some of Pakistan s leading private commercial banks and support the banks efforts in promoting clean energy, said William Hammink, USAID Assistant to the Administrator for Afghanistan-Pakistan Affairs.

11 INDIA SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER Border firing escalates rift; UN to mediate The army chief reviewed the operational preparedness of the army along the borders in the wake of heightened tension. NEW DELHI: India-Pakistan tension escalated afresh yesterday as forces of the two countries exchanged fire along the border in Jammu and Kashmir, sparking international concerns with UN chief Ban-Ki Moon offering mediation to negotiate peace between the rival neighbours. The skirmish in the Akhnoor sector of the International Boundary that caused no casualties came days after India claimed to have conduced deadly surgical strikes at terror launch pads in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Defence sources in Jammu said Pakistan Rangers targeted Indian posts and civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy machine guns. Indian border forces retaliated but no damage was reported on the either side, they said. Both sides accused the other of resorting to unprovoked fire in the latest violation of the 2003 ceasefire agreement. It was the fifth breach of the truce in the past four days when military tension rose following the Indian covert anti-terror operation across the Line of Control (LoC) - the 740km de facto border that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Indian Army Chief Gen. Dalbir Singh visited Jammu and some border posts and complimented soldiers who carried out the September 28 surgical strike that was said to have annihilated seven terror launch pads located in Tatta Pani, Leepa Valley, Bhimber and Kael in Kashmir. The army chief reviewed the operational preparedness of the army along the borders in the wake of heightened tension. Pakistan has denied the Indian claim of the surgical strike, terming it as a hyped routine border clash. Yesterday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the Pakistani denial is because it is in a state of coma just like anyone is after a surgery. We do not want to capture any nation. Lord Rama won Lanka and gave it to Vibhishana. We did the same in Bangladesh. We do not want to harm anyone, but if someone harms us a befitting reply will be given. The rising rift has led to thousands of residents being relocated from around border villages in India amid fears of further military clashes between the two nuclear-powered nations. This has also caused global worries with the US in a direct message to Pakistan urging it to exercise restraint when it comes to using atomic weapons. Border I would Security just say Force nuclear-capable (BSF) personnel states stand have guard a very at clear Wagah responsibility border, some to 35km exercise from restraint Amritsar, regarding yesterday. Move diplomatically to defuse tension with Pakistan: CPI-M KOLKATA: Claiming that the pro-us tilt in the Narendra Modi government s foreign policy had made the country a target for terror groups opposed to Washington, the CPI-M yesterday called upon the government to keep up the diplomatic and political efforts to defuse tension and eliminate the terrorism originating from Pakistan. Exuding hope that there would not be any further escalation in the India-Pakistan tensions in the coming days, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General secretary Sitaram Yechury also said the central government should initiate steps for the safety and security of the people from cross-border terrorism. Referring to the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian army on terrorist hideouts across the Line of Control, Yechury hoped incidents like what happened in Pathankot and the recent one at Uri will not recur. We feel the government should ensure the safety and security of Indians from cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan, he told a media conference here. We hope henceforth there would be no further escalation of the conflict. We urge the government of India that it should continue with the diplomatic and political moves to defuse tension and eliminate the scourge of cross-border terrorism that is originating from Pakistan, Yechury said. India has claimed to have conducted deadly surgical strikes at terror launch pads in Pakistanadministered Kashmir on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, Governor visits Apollo Hospital; Jayalalithaa recovering well CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao yesterday visited Apollo Hospital here where Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was admitted for treatment last month and expressed happiness at her recovery, said a Raj Bhavan statement. According to the statement, Rao was briefed by Pratap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, on the treatment given to Jayalalithaa. Rao also visited the ward where she was being treated and was happy to note that she was recovering well, the statement said. Rao s visit comes a day after DMK President M Karunanidhi said the Elephant tourism Governor has not gone and met the Chief Minister, who has been in the hospital for more than a week. The state government and Apollo Hospital are maintaining silence on Jayalalithaa s health condition. For want of credible and detailed information, different kinds of rumours about Jayalalithaa continued to do the rounds across a cross-section of the society. An hospital official had told yesterday morning that a medical bulletin might be issued around afternoon. However no bulletin was issued till the evening. Karunanidhi, who wished Jayalalithaa a speedy recovery, said the state government should put a stop to rumours about her medical condition. Due to keeping of Jayalalithaa s health condition a closely-guarded secret, some people are spreading baseless rumours about her health condition, he said in a statement here on Friday. There is also no news on leaders of ruling AIADMK s allies meeting her in hospital, he said. Karunanidhi said though there were news reports on Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan visiting Apollo Hospital, there was no report about his meeting her and asking after her health. The former Chief Minister said the state government should have at least released a photograph of her in the hospital as she chaired a meeting of state officials on the Cauvery water issue and dictated her speech to be read out at a meeting on the subject in New Delhi. She was also making party announcements. A baby elephant follows its mother as tourists go on an elephant safari on the opening day of the Kaziranga National Park in Bokakhat district of northeastern Assam state, yesterday. Pakistan has denied the Indian claim of the surgical strike, terming it as a hyped routine border clash. The rising rift has led to thousands of residents being relocated from around border villages in India amid fears of further military clashes between the two nuclear-powered nations. To a query on what has prompted the CPI-M to favour talks with Pakistan despite the failure of such initiatives in the past, Yechury said India-Pakistan talks was the government s declared agenda. Referring to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh s meeting with BENGALURU: In a rare show of unity, opposition parties yesterday once again urged the Karnataka government not to release Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu even if it meant disobeying the Supreme Court s fresh order. We have told the Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) not to release water at any cost and abide by the state legislature s unanimous resolution to retain it only for drinking purpose, said opposition leader and former BJP Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar after a three-hour long all-party meeting here on the contentious issue. There is no question of releasing water any more. We are with the government on this issue as unanimously decided by the state legislature last week (September 23) in the interests of the people, said Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. Asserting that the opposition parties were with the ruling Congress in upholding the resolution, JD-S lawmaker YSV Dutta told the media that the opposition leaders were even ready to go to jail with the chief minister if the Supreme Court sent them there for not obeying its order. Let not the Supreme Court take only the Chief Minister to task. We are ready to share the blame for disrespecting its order again. First of all, where is the water to release for irrigation when whatever we have is not sufficient to meet the drinking needs of the people in the region till June next, reiterated Dutta. Deficit monsoon rains in the catchment areas depleted the storage levels in the four reservoirs across the river basin to an all-time low of 27 tmc then US President George Bush, the CPI-M chief said the American leader had then described India is a country with a vast Muslim population where not even a single one of them was a Taliban. Can you say the same today? We have seen reports of Al Qaeda and IS recruiting from India. The more you get closer to the US, the more you become vulnerable to the anti- US terror groups. He also opposed Maharashtra Navnirman Sena s diktat post the Uri attack to the Pakistani artistes to leave India, saying arts and culture should not be mixed with politics. Political parties urge Karnataka govt not to release water (thousand million cubic) feet, which is barely sufficient for supplying drinking water to the people in cities, towns and villages in the state s southern region. We have urged the government to file a review petition tomorrow, seeking to modify the court s September 30 order, as the state does not have water to release for irrigation in Tamil Nadu at the cost of supplying it for drinking purpose to our people in the region, Shettar said. Opposition members of Parliament and the state legislature told the Chief Minister that they were keen to file affidavits, asking the top court to penalise them as well for being a party to the decision against releasing the water. The opposition leaders have reiterated their earlier stand against releasing water and sought modification of the apex court s order. We will consider their views and suggestions at the cabinet meeting and decide on the next course of action keeping in view the interests of the people, state Home Minister G. Parameshwara said. In a related development, JD-S leader and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda resorted to a hunger strike at the Mahatma Gandhi statue outside the state s secretariat in support of the people, including farmers in the region who have been protesting against release of depleted water resources. The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) should step in at least now in the interest of the people in both the states. We are not against giving water to Tamil Nadu if the reservoirs had enough of it to share. As drinking water is a priority, we have to ensure that we have enough of it for supplying to our people till the onset of the next monsoon, as the Cauvery is a heavily rain-dependent river, said Gowda. Nine children drown in Telangana HYDERABAD: Ten people including nine children drowned in four different incidents in Telangana yesterday. A mother and her five children were drowned when a car was washed away in a stream in Nizamabad district yesterday, police said. The driver and another occupant of the car were rescued by police with the help of locals. The incident occurred in Pillivagu near Karegam in Nizamabad district when the car was crossing the stream. Rescue workers retrieved bodies of Rajmani, 40 and her children, all aged under seven. Two-year-old twins and a 10-month-old baby were among those killed. The incident occurred when the woman and children were going to a hospital at Pitlam in the same district. In another incident, two children were drowned in a pit in Kandlakoya in Ranga Reddy district near Hyderabad. The incident occurred when the children fell into the pit while playing. UP dengue toll rises to 148 LUCKNOW: The dengue toll in Uttar Pradesh s state capital rose to 148 with the death of seven more people, an official said. On Friday, at least 54 new patients tested positive for the vector-borne disease in various hospitals of the city, taking the number of patients to 1,800. Officials informed that fogging and spraying of anti-larva medicines was on at many localities. We hope that the weather turns quickly reducing the temperatures and putting an end to dengue and other vector-borne diseases, said a health department official, pointing out that the mosquitoes would not survive in cold weather. The Chief Minister s office along with the Chief Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar are said to be personally monitoring the situation.

12 12 SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER 2016 Black money disclosures top `65,250 crore Given the tax rate, penalty and surcharge of 45% this can fetch the government a little under `30,000 crore. NEW DELHI: Unaccounted wealth worth `65,250 crore was declared by 64,275 people under the Income Declaration Scheme with scope for upward revision once the full tabulation is completed, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced yesterday. Given the tax rate, penalty and surcharge of 45 percent, this can fetch the government a little under `30,000 crore. In the previous 1997 scheme, the taxation figure was about `9,760 crore. Briefing reporters on the scheme that was available from June 1 till the midnight of September 30, the Finance Minister said the tax authorities were still tabulating the declarations, both in physical and electronic form. So this (declarations) could be revised upward once the full tabulation takes place, Jaitley said, adding that the money collected would go into the Consolidated Fund of India and will be used for social security purposes. Roughly, the declarations work out to `1 crore per declarant. Some will be higher, some will be lower, he said, but ruled out any revelation of the names of the people who have Farm care availed of the scheme. We won t give any specific information on tax declarants. Within minutes of the media briefing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the achievement. I compliment all those who chose to be tax compliant in the Income Declaration Scheme This is a great contribution towards transparency & growth of the economy, Modi said in a tweet. Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairperson Rani Nair and the team have put in tremendous effort on all aspects relating to IDS Congrats to them, he said, while also praising Jaitley and his team for the tremendous work they have made. The Finance Minister said the latest scheme should be viewed along with the numerous other steps the government has taken to ensure unaccounted wealth is declared and more people become tax compliant. In this regard he mentioned the setting up of the Special Investigation Team to probe such cases, the rehaul of the Benami Act to help the state take over such assets and the follow-up on expose by various agencies of wealth stashed abroad, along with a specific scheme in this regard. In such large numbers people came to disclose income in eight figures. They have realised that they will benefit by tax compliance. Considering all the steps taken by government cumulatively, these are very significant amounts, the Finance Minister said. The amount received from other schemes, and from foreign black money scheme, is over and above this (the declaration scheme). This is an important step towards more and more people becoming tax-compliant. This I see as a positive development, Jaitley said. Folk dancers perform during the full dress rehearsal on the eve of Vibrant Navratri Mahotsav at the GMDC ground in Ahmedabad yesterday. Poised to perform RANCHI: At least four villagers were killed and more than 20 injured in police firing in Jharkhand s Hazaribagh district yesterday morning, an officer said. Prohibitory orders were imposed in area. The situation is under control. Additional forces were sent to spot, Inspector General Operation and Police spokesperson MS Bhatia said. According to Bhatia, the problem began when police took Congress legislator Nirmala Devi from Barkagaon in Hazaribagh into custody. She has been staging a protest at the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant gate for last few days. The NTPC was finding difficulties in taking heavy machines inside Farmers work in their rice field at Naushera Dhalla village, about 45km from Amritsar, yesterday. NEW DELHI: The new hi-tech Garages Museum at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here provides visitors with some great experiences, allowing them to feel the presence of Mahatma Gandhi and as if he is walking with them by using virtual reality (VR) technology. The New Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum Complex, which now includes the Garages Museum and Clock Tower in addition to the Stables Museum will be open for the public from October 2. A 3-D theatre showcases a short film on Mahatma Gandhi while a dedicated VR area allows visitors to walk with Mahatma Gandhi. Using some really interesting ideas and impressive digital systems, it also brings across the lives and works of the 13 Indian Presidents since 1950, the beauty and environment of the campus and important visitors to Rashtrapati Bhavan. It is exciting to observe a major part of the modern Indian history through paintings, sculptures, videos, audios and visual representations and plenty of unique artefacts gifted by foreign delegates and personal belongings of the presidents have very artistically been put for visitors to observe. Four dead in Jharkhand firing Major events in the history of the country have been given prominence as President Pranab Mukherjee takes a lot of interest in knowing developments in history, The President s Press Secretary, Venu Rajamony said. When he became President, he was extremely curious to know about it. He had numerous questions and I feel that it s from there that the making of the museum began. We wish to change the image of Rashtrapati Bhavan as a monument of the British to a functioning building that has been the premises of the republic of India. We saw the parliament museum and made a comprehensive conservation master plan as we decided to have a world class museum, the work area. Police took custody of the Congress legislator. The villagers forcefully freed Nirmala Devi and abducted Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Circle Officer (CO) and thrashed them brutally. Additional reinforcement were sent. The aggressive villagers continued pelting stones on the police, said Bhatia. At least six policemen were critically injured and two police vehicles torched after which the police opened fire at the villagers. The ASP was rushed to Ranchi for treatment. The villagers supported by the opposition parties were protesting against land acquisition and low compensation amount by the NTPC. Earlier, former Congress MLA of Barkagaon Yogendra Sao fought for the cause of the villagers and later his wife Nirmala Devi, now MLA, supported them. The NTPC Barkagaon project is facing protest since In 2010, coal mines in the area were allocated to the NTPC but work could not begin. The entire opposition showing solidarity with the villagers had visited the Barkagaon in July this year. The NTPC had lodged an FIR against former Chief Minister and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajantantrik (JVM-P) president Babulal Marandi, former central minister and Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay and others for entering into the mining area without permission. Earlier in August, the opposition leaders had surrendered in the Hazaribagh court but the police refused to arrest them. The issue was taken by Chief Minister Raghubar Das. Hazaribagh MP and central minister Jayant Sinha and former central minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha held meeting with the Chief Minister and villagers. Bids of `53,000cr on day one of spectrum auction Walk with Mahatma Gandhi at Rashtrapati Bhavan NEW DELHI: India s biggest telecom spectrum auction, that started yesterday, received commitments of `53,000 crore approximately from telecom operators after five rounds of bidding while there were no takers for 700 MHz and 900 MHz bands, according to data by the Department of Telecommunications. The majority of activities were seen in the 1800 MHz band. The maximum bids of 75 were received for Mumbai circle with a provisional winning amount of `.69.6 crore per block with an excess of 50 bids, while the second highest bids were received for Assam circle with a provisional winning amount of `.8 crore per block. However, this circle also saw 30 less bids. The companies participating in the auction are Bharti Airtel, Rajmony said. The museum very elegantly depicts the story of the planning and construction of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the British Viceroys who occupied it till 1947, their reaction to the freedom movement, transfer of power and the formation of the republic. The making of Rashtrapati Bhavan has been very interestingly displayed through the original designs by Herbert Baker and Edwin Lutyens. It is very children-friendly as it allows you to get stamps and souvenirs with your pictures. Touch screen systems are almost everywhere to help people find information about the pictures on display. There are holographic projections and three Vodafone India, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular, Aircel and Tata Tele -- who have together furnished a total earnest money of `14,653 crore. Surprisingly, the 700 MHz band, meant predominantly for 4G (LTE) services which will support broadband data, as well as Internet Protocol telephony such as voice over LTE network -- measures that can bring major cost benefits to customers -- went without bids. In the Delhi circle, the reserve price for 700 MHz is pegged at `1,595 crore per MHz -- which is the highest -- and for pan-india, it is `11,485 crore per MHz. The auction now is central to the government realising the revenue target of `98, crore that has been provided for in the budget against other communications services -- the bulk of which is scheduled from the fee paid for spectrum. dimensional busts of Presidents speaking to the visitors. The museum also has an art gallery that artists can use for holding temporary exhibitions. Also, various paintings and sculptures that were earlier displayed in the Marble Hall and other locations of Rashthrapati Bhavan are on display. There will be nominal registration charges of `50 per head. Children below the age of 8 years will be exempt from charges, said Rajmony, adding: The Museum Complex will be open all days from 9am to 4pm except Mondays. Entry and exit for visitors will be through gate number 30 on Mother Teresa Crescent. INDIA Fasting Kerala legislator shifted to hospital THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala opposition legislator Anup K Jacob, who was on an indefinite fast in the foyer of the state assembly, was shifted to hospital after his health deteriorated yesterday. Jacob was on fast along with two other legislators. It was the fourth day of the fast with the Congress-led opposition up in arms alleging that there was collusion between the state government led by Pinarayi Vijayan and the private medical college managements, who raised the fees steeply. Jacob is a former minister in the Oommen Chandy cabinet and the lone member of the Kerala Congress (Jacob), an ally of the United Democratic Front. Narrow escape for Rahul Gandhi in Agra AGRA: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is on his Kisan Mahayatra through Uttar Pradesh, had a narrow escape at Agra yesterday when he came in contact with a live electricity wire. The incident happened when he was garlanding the statue of Maharaja Agrasen in the Favvara area of the Taj city. As Gandhi bowed to garland the statue, an electricity wire, apparently used to feed the shops in the market, touched his head, forcing him to move back immediately. An SPG functionary, standing next to him, held him, fearing that he might lose balance, a witness said. Meghalaya CM calls for more surgical strikes SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has asked the BJP-led NDA government to launch surgical strikes on base camps of various northeastern militant outfits located in Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Centre should deal with the installations of anti-national elements on foreign soil since going beyond the international boundary is not a state subject, Sangma told journalists on Friday He was praising the Centre and the Indian Army for the surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC). Record power generation by NTPC plant SHIMLA: Public sector NTPC s 800MW Koldam Hydro Power Station in Himachal Pradesh has achieved a record generation, it was announced yesterday. It has generated 2, million units (MUs) against the design energy of 2, MUs in the first two quarters of this fiscal year, Group General Manager Sanjeev Kishore said. The plant, located on the Satluj river, has a capacity to generate 3,054 MUs annually.

13 EUROPE SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER Spain s Socialist Party chief Sanchez steps down Sanchez s resignation could see the party lift its veto on a new government led by acting conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. MADRID: The embattled head of the Spanish Socialists Pedro Sanchez resigned yesterday after losing a vote among top party members, in a move that could pave the way to unblocking the country s political paralysis. His resignation, which he announced to a gathering in Madrid of the roughly 300 members of the party s federal committee, could see the party lift its veto on a new government led by acting conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Since December 2015, the country has been without a fully-functioning executive as rivals have failed to agree on a government following two elections in which none of the main parties won an absolute majority. Sanchez s announcement came after 17 of his 35-strong executive quit together on Wednesday in a bid to force the 44-year-old Socialist Party (PSOE) leader out. His detractors want the party to use the 85 parliamentary seats it won in June polls to help unblock the national deadlock and allow Rajoy to lead a right-wing government by abstaining in a vote of confidence, rather than voting against as it did earlier this month. Supporters of Sanchez however believe it would have been preferable to stop Rajoy from ruling again, even if it meant prolonging the deadlock. The PSOE has been wracked for months by internal dissent, and the ill-feeling was evident again yesterday as Sanchez supporters shouted no means no, no means no. Dozens of Sanchez backers roundly booed his opponents at the party s headquarters, decrying them as putschists and fascists as they gathered for the meeting. The PSOE s place is in the opposition, said Socialist lawmaker Eduardo Madina, who opposes Sanchez. Upstart leftist party Podemos party leader Pablo Iglesias was quit to react to Sanchez resignation, tweeting: Those in the PSOE who want to give the government to the (conservative) PP have won. Sanchez opposes another Rajoy term, pointing to repeated corruption scandals hitting the PP and inequalities sparked by years of austerity. Spain doesn t deserve another four years of Mariano Rajoy at the head of the Spanish government four more years with a prime minister who has systematically lied to Spanish society, he said on Friday. Sanchez had already hinted he would step down if a majority of those at the federal committee rejected his vision of what direction the party should take in other words if they favoured abstaining. Obviously I could not put into Climate activist group Reclaim the Power lie on the ground and carry luggage during a protest against airport expansion plans at Heathrow Airport in London, yesterday. Terror charge slapped on 15-year-old French student PARIS: A 15-year-old high school student was charged and held on suspicion of wanting to commit a terror attack directed by a notorious Syria-based French jihadist, a judicial source said. The teenager was charged over criminal associations with a terrorist group, the source said. The minor had been in contact using Telegram the encrypted messaging app popular among French radicals with Rachid Kassim, a French jihadist based in the areas of Syria and Iraq held by the Islamic State group. The adolescent, who was not previously known to intelligence services, was taken in for questioning from his parents house in Domont and held in police custody before appearing before the court. There was a suspicion he was going to commit an act, said one source close to the investigation, adding that the minor had said while in custody that he had abandoned the plan. Kassim, a 29-year-old former social worker from the Loire valley who has appeared in several IS propaganda videos, is believed to have been a key influence on many of the youths. The 15-year-old charged was very active on the Telegram messenger, where he liked two stations that broadcast jihadist propaganda, said a source. He was also in contact, using the encrypted messaging service, with another teenager himself in touch with Kassim. LONDON: High-profile Conservatives outlined proposals for a post-brexit system of work permits yesterday, highlighting the pressure Prime Minister Theresa May faces to cut immigration and appease eurosceptics while addressing the concerns of business leaders. May is due to speak today during the first day of the ruling Conservatives annual conference with the government having given little detail as to what it will seek from the European Union as part of a Brexit deal. Many of the 52 percent of Britons who backed leaving the bloc were motivated by concerns about immigration from within the EU, but BELFAST: Pro-British protestants ended a three-year protest in Belfast yesterday after the authorities allowed them to complete a march marking a 17th century military victory, passing a neighbourhood dominated by rival Catholics. Protesters began their vigil in July 2013 at the point where police halted the parade marking King William of Orange s victory over the Roman Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped secure Protestant supremacy in Ireland. Parades are staged annually by Protestant unionists, who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. The tradition is business leaders are concerned about a so-called hard Brexit involving immigration caps and excluding Britain from the single market. Three former cabinet ministers and a prominent eurosceptic backbencher are among those who contributed to the roadmap plan, which includes proposals to strike bilateral trade deals within two years, the Daily Telegraph reported. The best system is a work permits system with caps on numbers, one of the authors, former works and pensions minister Iain Duncan Smith told BBC radio yesterday. It s implemented very strongly at the lower end of low skilled work which is where most of the difficulties and problems have been and at the upper end... you have a very light-touch process that allows seen as provocative by Catholic Irish nationalists who want to be part of a united Ireland. The Parades Commission, a body set up to resolve Northern Ireland s annual marching season tensions, brokered a compromise between the rival sides under which local residents agreed to end their protests during the outbound leg of the of the march from the city centre to a parade ground. In exchange, the marchers agreed a moratorium on the return leg back past the Catholic area, which routinely sparked rioting in the evening of every July 12. Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein described the agreement as heralding a new era of peace building in North Belfast. Early yesterday morning, two Orange Order bands and more than Supporters of Socialist Party leader Pedro Sanchez gather outside PSOE headquarters in Madrid, yesterday. practice a decision that I don t agree with, he said. An interim leadership will now be appointed, which will likely direct the LONDON: More than a hundred people demonstrated at London s Heathrow Airport yesterday, including dozens who took part in a die-in at one terminal, just weeks before Prime Minister Theresa May s government is due to decide where to build a new runway. After a decade of reviews and U-turns, the government is expected to rule in mid-october on whether to build a third runway at Heathrow, Europe s busiest airport, or at its smaller London rival Gatwick. Expansion plans have been opposed by residents and some lawmakers at both locations. Protesters lay on the floor of people to come and go, he added. Britain has said official divorce talks from the EU, which are due to last two years, will not begin until early Many ardent Brexit backers, however, have called for discussions to begin as soon as possible. In a sign of the delicate balance May must strike, finance minister Philip Hammond told the Telegraph that immigration controls must not damage the economy, leading to wider job losses or a decline in living standards. Several carmakers warned this week that tariffs on exports would hurt their businesses in Britain, with Nissan saying it would halt new investment in its plant without a pledge of compensation if tariffs were imposed. Socialists to abstain if Rajoy decides to go for another vote of confidence, thus unblocking the situation and avoiding a third round of elections. Protests in Heathrow against expansion Heathrow s Terminal 2, with many wearing white masks in a so-called die-in to highlight the impact of air travel on climate change and pollution levels. One woman wearing a mask lay next to a banner which read: Stay Grounded. No New Runways. Others took part in a cycle ride nearby, wearing red T-shirts with the message: No 3rd runway, according to images posted on Twitter. Heathrow has said it will comply with an extended ban on night flights and meet European air quality rules if the project gets the green light. It has also said it will meet 11 conditions set out by Britain s Airports Commission, including a requirement on air quality which states that new flights will only be permitted if air quality does not breach EU limits. Pro-Brexit Tories hand PM plan to cut EU immigration a hundred marchers passed the Catholic estate, with some 60 protesters looking on with signs reading: walk of shame. A caravan that had been used to house the protesters at the vigil was towed away. Over 600 police, many in riot gear, were on duty for yesterday s march. The cost of policing the protests since 2013 has been in excess of 21m pounds ($27m), the police said. A 1998 peace agreement paved the way for a power-sharing government of unionists and nationalists, meant to end decades of sectarian and political killings in Northern Ireland. Violence has subsided, but police say the threat from dissident groups opposed to the peace deal remains high. May will meet CEO Carlos Ghosn next month to try to persuade him not to scrap investment plans, The Times reported. Nissan declined to comment on whether a meeting would take place, but a spokesman said: We will continue our discussions with the government. However, future business decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis. Reflecting concerns from some housebuilders, local government minister Sajid Javid said he did not want to worsen the country s housing crisis by restricting the right of European builders to come to Britain. Whether it s construction or any other sector, we don t want to make it any more difficult for those industries than it is, he was quoted as saying by the Financial Times. Spain s parliament has until October 31 to produce a government or new elections will be called in December the third in a year. Merkel says she has not changed course on migrant policy BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted yesterday she had not reversed course on her policy on migrants, two weeks after she said she wished she could turn back the clock to better prepare Germany for last year s influx. Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU) suffered electoral routs in two state elections last month as voters rejected her open-door migrant policy just a year ahead of a federal election. I have not changed my policy, but made policy, Merkel told the Saturday edition of the Saechsische Zeitung. I see no change of course other than coherent work for many, many months. Merkel told the paper she had been working since last summer on solutions which are good for Germany and for Europe. This includes protecting Europe s external borders and fighting the causes of migrant flight from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. In addition, Germany has had to bring order to the process of dealing with the influx of refugees, she said. Our aim is that a situation like last year does not happen again and in fact we have made great progress over the past 12 months. Merkel said the aim was now to push ahead with sending back those who had no right to asylum in Germany, as well as agreeing legal quotas to distribute refugees among EU member states in an appropriate way. On Friday, Germany revised down the number of migrants it took in last year to 890,000 from a previous estimate of 1.1 million. Belfast protest ends as police let parade pass after three years A police cordon seperates nationalist protesters and a parade by the unionist Orange Order at the Ardoyne shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast, yesterday.

14 14 SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER 2016 AMERICAS Cops release videos of officer shooting man The videos show the officer fired four times at close range almost immediately after Alfred Olango suddenly raised both hands to chest level and took what was described as a shooting stance. Agencies EL CAJON, CALIFORNIA: Alfred Olango, the unarmed black man shot and killed by police in a suburb of San Diego, was remembered in a demonstration yesterday organised by clergy members and supporters of Olango s family. The event comes as two videos of the shooting were released by authorities, something the family and community leaders had urged. The videos show the officer fired four times at close range almost immediately after Olango, 38, suddenly raised both hands to chest level and took what was described as a shooting stance. In addition to the videos, police showed the 4-inch electronic cigarette device Olango had in his hands when he was shot. The shots came less than a minute after police arrived at the scene in response to Olango s sister calling 911 and reporting he was acting erratically. Our only concern at this point was community safety, police Chief Jeff Davis said. We felt that the aggression of some some of the protesters was escalating to the point where it was necessary to release some information and truly, it was my hope to relieve some of that concern. Police and prosecutors said an investigation was still under way into the fatal shooting of Olango and that no decision had been made on whether to criminally charge the officers involved. This is as difficult a situation as any law enforcement officer will ever encounter and it s one we never seek, Davis said. That being the case, a tragic event took place that took a life and had a major impact on our community. Video of the incident comes from two sources: A camera mounted at the drive-thru window of the Los Ponchos taco stand in El Cajon and the cell phone of a bystander. Both videos show two officers confronting Olango in the Colombia referendum today Posters urging to vote for No in referendum on the peace agreement in Cali, Colombia, yesterday. Colombians will vote in a referendum today on whether to ratify a historic peace accord. Police Chief Jeff Davis holds up a vape similar to the one held by Alfred Olango after police released video showing the the death of Alfred Olango, in California, yesterday. restaurant s parking lot before opening fire, one with a gun and the other with a Taser. In the bystander video, which lasts only about 17 seconds, a woman can be heard shouting: Officer don t shoot him! before at least four shots ring out and she screams. A lawyer for the family said they welcomed the release of the videos, but he questioned the tactics used by Officer Richard Gonsalves. The longer of the two videos released by police came from a surveillance camera in the drive-thru of a restaurant. It is roughly a minute, has no sound and police blurred out the heads of everyone in it. Organisers admit fault in Trump s microphone WASHINGTON: When Donald Trump complained about his microphone after his televised presidential debate Monday with Hillary Clinton, few people believed him viewers had no trouble understanding his words. But, the well-respected Commission on Presidential Debates said that in fact, the Republican candidate was right. Regarding the first debate, there were issues regarding Donald Trump s audio that affected the sound level in the debate hall, the commission said on its website. In that terse phrase the independent group thus confirmed that Trump was right in denouncing the quality of his microphone, even if his initial complaint was met with widespread derision and disbelief. They gave me a defective mic. Did you notice that? he asked reporters after the debate. My mic was defective within the room. I wonder, was that on purpose? Was that on purpose? Hillary Clinton, enjoying the moment after a debate in which Trump seemed to struggle as the evening wore on, quipped that anyone complaining about microphones is not having a good night. It was not clear how much difference the technical problems might actually have made. Trump s words were at all times audible on the several networks that carried the debate, though at times there seemed to be a slight echo. SAT tests won t contain questions exposed: College Board NEW YORK: For the first time since a massive security breach exposed about 400 unpublished questions meant for upcoming SAT tests, the College Board will administer the important college entrance exam this weekend. The not-for-profit organisation says no version of tests given will contain any of the items exposed in the breach. In a statement issued August 3, the College Board called the breach a serious criminal matter and pledged to take the stolen test content off SAT administration schedule while investigation is under way. College Board spokesman Zach Goldberg said we have nothing to add to that statement. A person with access to the questions for upcoming exams had provided with hundreds of confidential test items, a section of media reported in August. The questions and answers include 21 reading passages - each with about a dozen questions - and about 160 math problems. As part of an investigation into the breach, federal authorities raided the home of Manuel Alfaro, a former top College Board executive who has become an outspoken critic of the organisation. On August 26, FBI agents seized computers and other materials from Alfaro, who spent 21 months with the College Board before being dismissed as executive director of assessment design and development in February Among other criticisms, Alfaro has alleged the College Board failed to follow its own specifications in developing the math sections of the new SAT, which launched in March. His allegations are contained in a series of posts on the social network LinkedIn. Alfaro, who has not hired an attorney, declined to comment. Independent testing specialists have said the breach represents one of the most serious security lapses that has come to light in the history of collegeadmissions testing. How widely the items have circulated remains unclear. As is common in China, test-prep operators there have been offering access to what they claim to be upcoming tests ahead of this weekend s exam. California mulls giving more freedom to test self-driving cars SAN FRANCISCO: California will allow companies more leeway in testing self-driving cars on public roads while restricting how the nascent technology is advertised under revised draft regulations released yesterday. The new regulations would allow for absence of a driver in some instances, provided there is two-way communication with the vehicle. The original draft regulations by the Department of Motor Vehicles were criticised by some tech companies and carmakers as being overly restrictive and stifling innovation. Moreover, disabled groups complained that the requirement of a driver in the car hurt the very people that autonomous vehicles would most benefit. California has been at the forefront of the fast-growing autonomous vehicle industry and is one of a handful of states to have passed regulations enabling selfdriving car testing on public roads. Currently, 15 companies have permits to drive autonomous vehicles on public roads provided there is a licenced driver in the car. Now, carmakers will have to certify they have met a 15-step safety assessment issued by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Connecticut mobster tied to art heist near death BOSTON: A mobster who prosecutors contend knows the whereabouts of paintings stolen from a Boston museum in the largest art heist in US history is near death, according to his lawyer, the Boston Globe reported yesterday. Robert Gentile, 80, had been scheduled to stand trial last month for selling a loaded firearm to a convicted killer, charges that his attorney contends were the product of a federal sting operation intended to pressure him into leading federal agents to paintings stolen from Boston s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in His trial was delayed by his failing Sons of El Chapo likely behind ambush in Mexico MEXICO CITY: Sons of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin El Chapo Guzman were likely behind an armed attack on a military convoy on Friday, which left five soldiers dead and 10 wounded, a senior security official said yesterday. The attack took place on the edge of the city of Culiacan in northern Sinaloa state, along Mexico s Pacific coast, the home base of the Sinaloa Cartel, whose former leader Guzman was recaptured in January. The convoy was transporting a detainee, Julio Ortiz, when it was ambushed by armed men hurling grenades which caused two of the convoy s vehicles to burst into flames, said General Alfonso Duarte, regional defence ministry commander in charge of Sinaloa. Ortiz was arrested in El Chapo s hometown of Badiraguato in Sinaloa. Ortiz was involved in a conflict over control of drug crops pitting Aureliano Guzman, a brother of El Chapo, against Alfredo Beltran, a leader of the rival Beltran Leyva cartel. Ortiz was taken alive by the attackers, but it was unclear whether he was an ally or enemy of the armed men. We aren t sure (about the identity of the attackers), but it s very probable that they work for the sons of El Chapo, Duarte told reporters in a joint news conference with Sinaloa Governor Mario Lopez. health and a request by defence attorney Ryan McGuigan that he be evaluated to determine if he was mentally capable of standing trial. Gentile s family has been advised by officials to prepare for end-of-life arrangements, the Globe reported yesterday. A spokesman for federal prosecutors in Connecticut declined to comment. Cycling for peace Gentile has repeatedly denied knowing the whereabouts of any of the art taken in what stands as one of Boston s longest-unsolved highprofile crimes. McGuigan told the newspaper that he visited his client in a South Carolina hospital to see if he wanted to make a deathbed confession, and suggested that prosecutors might allow him to return to his home in Manchester, Connecticut if he was able to produce the stolen art. A tearful Gentile responded that he did not have them. The brazen theft at the private museum was carried out by two men dressed in police uniforms who apparently overpowered a night security guard who had buzzed them in a back entrance. None of the 13 artworks has been recovered. Hundreds of children and adults participate in a recreational event called bike ride that aims to help prevent violencem in Suchitoto, 47km east of San Salvador, in El Salvador, yesterday.

15 AMERICAS SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER Hurricane soaks Colombia; heads for Jamaica The Hurricane Matthew s winds had slipped from a peak of 260kph to 230kph and it was expected to reach the eastern part of Jamaica tomorrow. AP KINGSTON, JAMAICA: One of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history weakened a little yesterday as it drenched coastal Colombia and roared across Caribbean on a course that still puts Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba in the path of devastating winds and rain. Matthew briefly reached the top hurricane classification, Category 5, AP PASADENA, CALIFORNIA: A man armed with a knife and reported to be bipolar died after a struggle with Pasadena police officers who were called to an apartment following reports of a disturbance. and was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Felix in The US National Hurricane Center in Miami said Matthew s winds had slipped from a peak of 260kph to a still-devastating 230kph and it was expected to reach the eastern part of Jamaica tomorrow. The forecast track would carry it across Cuba and into the Bahamas, with an outside chance of a brush with Florida, though that would be several days away. As Matthew skimmed past the northern tip of South America there were reports of heavy flooding and at least one death the second attributed to the storm. Authorities said at least 18 houses were damaged along the La Guajira peninsula of Colombia, which has been suffering from a multi-year drought. They said a 67-year-old man was swept away to his death by a flash flood in an area where it hadn t rained for four years. Local TV broadcast images of cars and tree trunks surging though flooded streets in coastal areas. Colombian authorities closed Pasadena police Chief Phillip Sanchez said a fight ensued after the officers used a Taser on the man when he ignored their orders to drop the knife. After he was subdued, officers noticed he wasn t breathing and attempted to revive him, Sanchez said in a statement. Paramedics also tried but failed, and the man was Jamaicans flock to the supermarkets to take care of last minute shopping before the arrival of Hurricane Matthew in Kingston, Jamaica, yesterday. access to beaches and urged residents living near the ocean to move inland in preparation for storm surges. In Jamaica, high surf began pounding the coast and flooding temporarily closed the road linking the capital to its airport. Carl Ferguson, head of the marine police, said people were starting to heed calls to relocate from small islands and areas near rural waterways. Many also began stocking up for the emergency. pronounced dead at his apartment. Police did not reveal the man s name but several family members identified him as Reginald Thomas, a father of eight children. Several added that while Thomas had a long history of mental illness that included previous run-ins with police, he was not a violent person. Some said they suspected police Jamaicans are accustomed to intense storms, but Hurricane Matthew looked particularly threatening. The US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is also potentially in path of the storm. A mandatory evacuation of non-essential personnel, including family members of military personnel was underway and everyone remaining behind was being told to take shelter. Forecasters said rainfall totals could reach 25 to 38 centimeters with isolated maximum amounts overreacted because Thomas was black. He was struggling with mental illness but the police know this, said Thomas brother-in-law, Forrest Elder. But he wasn t treated as a patient or a victim, Elder continued. He was treated as a suspect, and that s how they treat us. Early yesterday, about 100 people of 63 centimeters in Jamaica and southwestern Haiti. In Haiti, civil protection officials broadcast warnings of a coming storm surge and big waves, saying the country would be highly threatened from the approaching system over the next 72 hours. They urged families to prepare emergency food and water kits. Emergency management authorities banned boating, particularly along the impoverished country s southern coastline. Armed man dies after struggle with California police marched from the apartment complex through streets of Pasadena to the police department to protest Thomas death. The group blocked roads and intersections but was otherwise very peaceful. Thomas wife, Shainie Lindsay, told KTLA-TV that her husband himself called police to their apartment when he realised he needed help. New York police to buy 1,000 body cameras NEW YORK: The New York Police Department, the largest city police force in the United States, has agreed to buy 1,000 body cameras, officials confirmed yesterday. The move is part of a nationwide push to equip more police with the technology in response to a national outcry over the deaths of unarmed often African American men at the hands of police in disputed circumstances. An official at the New York s mayor s office confirmed that the police department had agreed to order 1,000 body cameras from Seattle-based Vievu LLC. The city of more than 8.5 million people has around 34,500 uniformed police officers. The department worked very closely with all the concerned parties in the selection process. We are looking forward to the implementation of the programme, a police spokeswoman said in a statement. The Daily News newspaper said the planned purchase was part of a five-year, $6.42m contract that police hope to start rolling out in 20 precincts by the start of New York police began a body-camera pilot programme in December 2014, six months after the death of father-of-six Eric Garner in a police chokehold that sparked nationwide protests. The tiny, flat cameras look like pagers and can be clipped onto uniforms to record police interactions and activities in real time. The devices, which are far cheaper than dashboard cameras, are a relatively recent innovation in the United States but the New York agreement is likely to increase chances they will become standard equipment in coming years.

16 PRAYER TIMINGS WEATHER Minimum: 28o C Maximum: 36o C FAJR am SHOROOK am ZUHR ASR am pm MAGHRIB ISHA pm pm HIGH TIDE 05:45-17:30 LOW TIDE 11:30-23:45 Hazy at places at first becomes hot daytime with slight dust and some local clouds. 16 SUNDAY 2 OCTOBER ONLINE CHART BUST MOST READ To fight belly fat, prioritize sleep US government cuts cord on internet oversight Luis Enrique praises Iniesta before 600th game TWEET OF THE DAY Follow us on Snapchat Open Snapchat and scan the Snapcode to add account. Scientists design a universal flu vaccine LONDON: A new generation of universal flu vaccines has been designed, to protect against the future global pandemics that could potentially kill millions of people. The vaccine, designed by an international team of scientists, has the potential to give protection for up to 88 percent of known flu strains worldwide in a single shot, spelling the end of the winter flu season. The components of this universal flu vaccine would be short flu virus fragments called epitopes that are already known to be recognised by the immune system. Our collaboration has found a way to select epitopes reaching full population coverage, said Pedro Reche of Complutense University, Madrid. Every year researchers choose a strain of flu as the vaccine, hoping that it will protect against next year s strains. We know this method is safe, and that it works reasonably well most of the time, said Derek Gatherer of Lancaster University in Britain. However, sometimes it doesn t work as in the H3N2 (influenza A) vaccine failure in winter and even when it does it is immensely expensive and labour-intensive. Previous pandemics include the Spanish flu of 1918, and the two subsequent pandemics of 1957 and 1968, which led to millions of deaths. Currently, annual flu epidemics are estimated to cause up to half a million deaths globally, recent reports from the World Health Organization revealed. Colour fun MORNING BREAK Young people throw coloured powder as they take part in the Festival of Colours in Bishkek yesterday. Minimalist running shoes good for muscles HONG KONG: Running in minimalist shoes can increase leg and foot muscle volume, finds a new study. The researchers for the study recruited 38 runners with an average age of 35, who have been running for six years on average with their traditional running shoes (TRS), footwear of heel-to-toe drop over 5 mm, with additional cushioning pad and artificial arch support. Among the 38 participants, 20 runners selected randomly to the experimental group underwent a six-month training programme. At the beginning, each participant was given a pair of minimalist running shoes (MRS) and a selfmonitoring programme including transition exercise regimes such as calf strengthening exercise and balance training. The other 18 runners in the control group received the same training programme running with their own TRS. All the participants were invited to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning for measuring their right leg and foot muscles before and after sixmonth intervention. The mean volume of the extrinsic foot muscles (EFM) attached from the leg to foot increased from around 25,100mm three per kg to around 27,000mm three per kg, an increase of 7.05 percent and the intrinsic foot muscles (IFM) attached from the heel to toes increased from around 4,600mm three per kg to near 5,000 mm three per kg, an increase of 8.8 percent. Lure of Uluru hard to resist Uluru, a large sandstone rock formation and the world s largest monolith, situated in the southern part of the Northern Territory in central Australia and southwest of the nearest large town Alice Springs. ULURU: The urge to scramble up Uluru, the great red rock rising out of Australia s desert heart, is difficult to resist for many tourists, despite the risk of upsetting the local Aboriginal people. A modest link-chain rail guides visitors up the steepest slopes of the formation once known as Ayers Rock, but the traditional Aboriginal owners, whose connections to the site date back tens of thousands of years, do not welcome climbers. The locals consider it sacred but more than 35 people have died attempting to scale the monolith since the late 1950s. Uluru is sacred in our culture. It is a place of great knowledge, reads a sign from the traditional Anangu owners at the bottom of Uluru. Under our traditional law climbing is not permitted. As custodians, we are responsible for your safety and behaviour. Too many people have died or been hurt causing great sadness. The park authorities have long looked to close the climb permanently, although it is currently left up to visitors to decide whether to tackle the sandstone monolith which soars 348 metres. About 300,000 people visit each year and, while there are no official figures on how many climb, their numbers are reported to have declined significantly. Situated in the remote Outback, Uluru began to be promoted as a place for tourists in the 1940s. In the years since, attitudes have radically changed and in 1985 the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, was officially handed back to the traditional owners. The park s majority Anangu board want to be satisfied on three measures before shutting the climbing route down that the proportion of visitors climbing has fallen below 20 percent, that adequate new visitor experiences are in place, and that the natural and cultural experiences offered are the critical factor for people visiting the park. Tour operators say overseas visitors often respect the spiritual significance of the site, but it s not unusual for Australians such as tourist Katie Lucas to take the opposite attitude. No, I really think you should have the option, she said. If you want to do it, you should be able to do it. I know it s aboriginal land but there s aboriginal land all over Australia and we are doing all sorts of things on their land. Safety is a major concern at Uluru where summer temperatures can hit 45 degrees Celsius and the climb and parts of the base walk are closed in extreme heat. As if to demonstrate the dangers, three young men got stuck in a crevasse on Uluru on September 19 and had to be lowered to safety in a difficult, all-night rescue operation. Rescuers battled strong winds and abseiled 320 metres to save the stranded Australians, all aged 22. Sharks: The feared predators now look for protection for survival JOHANNESBURG: Sharks may elicit less sympathy than elephants or rhinos, but experts say the feared predators are under increasing pressure from unmanaged commercial fishing and desperately in need of further protection. Unregulated fishing and international trade in shark products for human consumption have led to a precipitous drop in numbers. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year, according to an authoritative 2013 study, an amount that conservationists say threatens the survival of many shark species. Sharks are slow-growing and slow to reproduce, and the market for their body parts especially fins and gill plates are driving overfishing. Shark are also hunted for their meat, skin, liver oil and cartilage, as well as being accidentally caught by industrial longline fishing. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference, which is under way in Johannesburg, is to vote on whether to increase protection for the silky shark and three species of thresher sharks. The decision would put them into the CITES appendix II, which bans all trade in parts, unless under stringent conditions. The demand particularly for fins, for meat and gill plates is higher than ever, warned Andy Cornish, an expert on sharks at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Many countries have no management whatsoever for sharks anybody can take whatever they want. Even in some countries that have regulations, they are not well enforced, and as a result, 25 percent of sharks and rays and their relatives are threatened with extinction. Fiji, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, which rely on marine life for tourism, are leading proposals to have 13 threatened species of shark and rays given stronger CITES protection. Sharks are a vital ecological part of the ocean fabric and rays are keystone species, so we need to protect them, Dan Ashe, director of the US Fish and Wildlife Services, said. Silky sharks, thresher sharks and the devil rays are being unsustainably harvested. Fins are the most valuable part of sharks, with shark fin soup often consumed at prestigious banquets in China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Finning slicing off shark fins while they are alive and tossing them back into the water to die -- has been banned by many regional fishing bodies, but still occurs in parts of south-east Asia. In a high-profile attempt to curb consumption, China recently outlawed fin soup at state functions. A fisherman lands a blue shark at the Ebrie lagoon fishing harbour in Abobo Doume, Abidjan.