MONDAY

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

JUMADA AL-AKHIRAH 10, 1439
VOL.11 NO. 4192 QR 2

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Business 17 Sports 32 Chill Out

Qatar Insurance Co to raise Qatar edge Denmark in A Stitch
capital to QR3.2 bn World Schools Handball at the right time

Emir greets Emir

of Kuwait on
National Day
PM VISITS JEWELLERY & WATCHES EXPO
Crisis hampering
humanitarian
DOHA The Emir HH Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad al Thani
on Sunday sent a cable
of congratulations to the

efforts of GCC
Emir of Kuwait HH Sheikh
Sabah al Ahmad al Jaber al
Sabah, on the occasion of
his country’s National
Day. (QNA)

Qatar welcomes
UN resolution on
Syria ceasefire
DOHA Qatar has welcomed the
UN Security Council’s resolu-
tion calling for a cessation of
hostilities without delay in Syria.
An official source at the Foreign
Ministry called on the Security
Council to continue serious
and immediate work to protect
civilians in Syria and to ensure
that humanitarian assistance
reaches all those in need. (QNA)
Saudi sports chief
spreading lies about
Qatar World Cup
THE head of the Saudi Sports
Authority, Turki al Sheikh, is
continuing to spread lies and ru-
mours about Qatar’s hosting of
the FIFA World Cup in 2022. He
is spreading false information
about the imminent withdrawal
of the World Cup from Qatar.
The website of the German
magazine Fox said Saudi Arabia
is promoting the news that FIFA
will announce the withdrawal of
the 2022 World Cup from Qatar
by the end of this summer. In
the face of this statement, it is
abundantly clear to FIFA’s sus-
picion that the president of the
Saudi Sports Authority promotes
false news, using sport as a
weapon of pressure for politi-
cal gain, which runs counter to
the most basic Olympic spirit
and international conventions
governing sport.
Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani visited the 15th Doha
Jewellery and Watches Exhibition at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center on Sunday. The PM toured the pavilions
of the exhibition and saw the latest designs of Qatari and global companies specialised in the manufacturing of
jewellery, watches and precious gemstones. The PM also toured the pavilion of Qatari women designers of jewellery
to support and encourage Qatari talent in this field. PAGE 16
Ooredoo racing ahead to
offer 5G services in Qatar
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
BARCELONA
OOREDOO Group is racing ahead
on the path to 5G as it became
the first company in the world to
acquire 5G New Radio (NR) with
equipment suitable for corporate
customers.
The announcement came on
Sunday on the eve of Mobile World
Congress in Barcelona.
“Ooredoo is proud to announce
its first-in-the-region speeds of 2.3
Gbps with amazing 3.5 ms latency.
By using Ooredoo 5G spectrum at
3.5 GHz, Ooredoo will continue to
expand the footprint of 5G,” it said
in a statement.
Ultra-fast 5G networks, al-
ready in Qatar, double the speed of
current 4G network. 5G will trans-
form daily lives, organisations,
and industry verticals benefiting
the speed and ultra-low latency.
Waleed al Sayed, Deputy Group
Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo
Group, and Chief Executive Of-
ficer, Ooredoo Qatar, said: “At the
Mobile World Congress, Ooredoo
Group is enhancing our position as
a global innovator, racing ahead to
our goal to become the world’s first
company to provide wide 5G cover-
age. By providing superior speeds,
we will enable organisations, cities,
and countries to fully transform
digitally in the era of Smart Cities
and the Internet of Things. ”
More on page 5 Ô
states: UN envoy
UN chief backs Kuwaiti mediation efforts to resolve GCC crisis
QNA quirements that must be met by any char-
DOHA itable organisation that deals with them.
And the fact that the UN cooperates with
THE ongoing Gulf crisis has been dis- all the Qatari charities intensively, clearly
tracting the humanitarian and develop- negates any suspicion that these charities
ment efforts of the Gulf Cooperation support or finance terrorism. Otherwise,
Council (GCC) countries, United Nations the UN would not cooperate with them.”
Secretary-General’s Envoy for Humani- He revealed that new offices of hu-
tarian Affairs HE Dr Ahmed bin Moham- manitarian organisations will open in
med al Muraikhi has said. Doha, an indication of the closer relation-
Reaffirming UN Secretary-General ship between Qatar and the UN.
Antonio Guterres’ firm support for the “We seek closer cooperation between
Kuwaiti mediation ef- Qatar and UN organisa-
forts to resolve the Gulf tions through the open-
crisis, Muraikhi said, We seek closer ing of offices for UN
“Guterres has expressed cooperation representatives in Qatar.
his strong support for between Qatar And we have already re-
continuing efforts with and UN organisations ceived approval for a rep-
Qatar and other Gulf
states to differentiate
between political and
humanitarian issues, so
through the opening
of offices for UN
representatives in Qatar.
resentative of UNHCR,
and a representative of
the United Nations Of-
fice for the Coordination
that efforts to provide
necessary assistance to
the needy and deserving
– HE Dr
Mohammed
Ahmed
al
bin
Muraikhi
of Humanitarian Affairs
in Doha,” he said, add-
ing that this comes in the
are not distracted in the context of developing and
wake of many crises in strengthening relations
the region – especially in Syria, Yemen between Qatar and UN.
and Iraq,” he said. Muraikhi explained that his strategy
Muraikhi said Qatar is the first Arab focuses on four axes, the most important
country to support the UN humanitarian of which is the intensification of field vis-
organisations, and the most prominent its to crisis areas.
globally in providing support to humani- “After the 11th meeting of the Syrian
tarian and relief organisations. donors that was held in Doha, we pro-
On whether UN organisations and of- posed that the 12th meeting should be
ficials are convinced by the allegations of held in one of the Syrian neighbouring
the siege countries about Qatari charities countries, and Lebanon was selected to
funding terrorism, he said, “The UN or- host it,” he said.
ganisations are certainly not convinced,
especially as the UN has standards and re- Continued on page 2 Ô

‘YEAH, WE LOVE More rain likely this week

KUWAIT’
Qatar, represented by the Ministry
of Culture and Sports (MCS) with
the supervision of Qatar Cultural
and Heritage Events Center, is
taking part in Kuwait’s celebration
of its 57th National Day and the
27th Liberation Day. The MCS has
adopted the slogan ‘Yeah We love
Kuwait’ for all the events, which
are being held on Marina Beach in
Salmiya from February 20 to 26
and events being held at the Sabah
Al-Ahmad Heritage Village from
February 16 to 28. PAGE 15
T HE country received moderate rain
on Sunday, with the Met Department
forecasting more rain in the next couple of
days. Doha, Al Wakra, Al Khor, Mesaieed
and Ruwais witnessed a drizzle with a pos-
sibility of more rain on Sunday night.
Head of forecasting at Qatar Meteorol-
ogy Department Abdulla al Mannai said
that there is more chance for rain on Tues-
day, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. “The
temperature will also decline to 16 degree
Celsius on these days,” he said.
The QMD has urged the public to be
cautious and avoid going to sea as well
as to follow latest updates through its
official social media accounts. Meanwhile,
the rain emergency committee of the
Ministry of Municipality and Environment
(MME) has pumped out more than 2 mil-
lion gallons of rainwater from roads and
neighbourhoods. Head of the committee
Safar al Shafi said that around 2.4 mil-
lion gallons of rainwater were pumped out
until Sunday morning. He said all efforts
to pump out rainwater and deal with all LONDON LAUNCH
the risks are done in cooperation with the
Public Works Authority (Ashghal) and Qatar DESTINATION FOR
Meteorology Department.
SANTHOSH CHANDRAN/
QA’S AIRBUS
HISHAM ALJUNDI PAGE 2 A350-1000 (PG 5)

DJWE charity auction raises QR1.99 mn UK WARSHIPS

SATYENDRA PATHAK
DOHA
THE charity auction of six be-
spoke jewellery pieces crafted
by young Qatari designers,
four special edition wrist-
watches and two gold bangles
of Chopard raised a staggering
QR1.99 million at the Doha
Jewellery and Watches Exhi-
bition (DJWE) on Sunday.
Held under the patronage
of Prime Minister and Minister
of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah
bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani,
the first-of-its-kind auction was
organised to support Education
Above All (EAA).
Qatar, a white gold hinged-
bangle with round-out dia-
monds and rubies crafted by
young Qatari designer Nouf al
Meer sold for QR400,000, the
Participants at the charity auction in Doha on Sunday. (JALAL PATHIYOOR)
highest amount, at the auction.
AlGhla Jewellery’s white
gold tiara named Qatar Al E’zz
was sold for QR300,000. Set in
yellow gold with the outline of
Qatar in mother of pearl, Qatar
Al E’zz has 6 carat white dia-
monds and 43 carat rubies.
Another jewellery piece
that sold for QR300,000 was
Hairaat’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’, a
pair of ear pendants each top
ARRIVE IN
with oval cabochon sleeping
beauty turquoise.
Leila Issam Fine Jewellery’s
QATAR FOR
‘Ombres’, a pair of white gold
diamond and pink sapphire ear-
JOINT DRILLS
rings, was sold for QR240,000, Two warships of the
while Ghand Jewellery’s ‘Mi- British Royal Navy arrived
hrab’, a pair of diamond and at Doha Port on Sunday to
white gold earrings, fetched participate in joint exercises
QR180,000 during the auction. by the two countries. These
Ghada Al Buainain Jewel- exercises come within
lery’s ‘Pipe in Gold’ was sold for the framework of the joint
QR130,000. military cooperation
Conducted by Doha-based between Qatar and the UK
Albahie Auction House, the to combat terrorism and
auction also saw Chopard sell violent extremism. (QNA)
four special editions wrist-
watches along with two gold
bangles for QR440,000 to
support ‘Educate a Child’, a
programme run by Education
Above All.
Continued on page 16 Ô
02 Monday, February 26, 2018
Drugs & Alcohol
Committee holds
first meeting
THE Drugs and Alcohol Com-
mittee on Sunday held the
first meeting under the chair-
manship of Prime Minister
and Minister of Interior HE
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser
bin Khalifa al Thani, head of
the committee.
During the meeting, the
committee reviewed the efforts
of the General Directorate of
Drug Control, in addition to the
topics on the meeting agenda,
most importantly the adoption
of the committee’s working
system and organisation of its
meetings, draft national drug
control strategy and drug regu-
latory and legislative control
mechanisms, including the pro-
posed new drug control bill.
In addition, the meeting
reviewed the proposals submit-
ted on the Law No 19 of 1993 on
the regulation of the circulation
of substances with psychologi-
cal impact and the precursor
chemicals control mechanism.
The committee also re-
viewed a number of other topics
on the agenda. (QNA)
Qatar hands over Al-Amal city
apartments to beneficiaries
CHAIRMAN of the Qatar
National Reconstruction
Committee HE Ambassa-
dor Mohammed al Emadi
handed over a number of
apartments in HH Sheikh
Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Tha-
ni’s Al-Amal Residential City
to beneficiaries.
The ceremony was held at
the residence of Ambassador
Light rains may continue till weekend: Mannai
Abdulla Mohammed al Mannai.
MME pumps out 10mn gallons of rainwater
THE Ministry of Munici-
pality and Environment
through its Joint Commit-
tee for Rain Emergencies
pumped out more than
10mn gallons of rainwater
from waterlogged roads on
Sunday morning.
Head of Committee Sa-
far al Shafi said that until
Sunday morning, over 10
million gallons of rainwa-
ter were pumped out using
182 tanks operated by 429
workers. He added that they
had received 58 complaints
of waterlogging from resi-
dents all of which have been
addressed successfully.
He further said that
the exercise to drain rain-
water from waterlogged
FM MEETS IRAQI PARLIAMENT SPEAKER: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani met with Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representa-
tives Saleem al Jabouri in Doha on Sunday. The meeting discussed supporting and developing bilat-
eral relations, and a number of topics of mutual concern. (QNA)
FM receives message from Iraqi FM
DEPUTY Prime Minister
and Minister of Foreign Af-
fairs HE Sheikh Mohammed
bin Abdulrahman al Thani
received a written message
al Emadi at the Mashtal Hotel
in Gaza City in the presence
of Engineer Naji Sarhan, un-
dersecretary of the Ministry
of Public Works and Housing
in Gaza, and a group of repre-
sentatives of supervision and
contracting companies.
Abdul Daim Abu Madin,
donor of the land on which the
HH Sheikh Hamad Bin Khali-
SANTHOSH CHANDRAN
DOHA
AS Doha and other areas of
Qatar continued to receive
intermittent rains on Sun-
day, Qatar Meteorology De-
partment (QMD) has fore-
cast the wet spell to continue
until weekend with slight
drop in the temperature for
the time being.
Speaking to Qatar Trib-
une, Head of Forecasting
and Analysis Section at the
QMD, Abdulla Mohammed
streets is carried out by
the MME in coordination
from Iraqi Foreign Minister
Ibrahim al Jaafari relating to
bilateral relations between
the two countries. The mes-
sage was delivered by Charge
fa Al Thani city was built, also
participated in the ceremony.
Al Amal Residential City
has 24 residential buildings,
comprising 288 apartments,
including infrastructure,
services and public facilities,
and public facilities serving
the city’s population such
as school, kindergarten and
nursery. (TNN/GAZA)
al Mannai, said: “There may
be a brief break from the
rains on Monday, but it is
expected to resume again on
Tuesday which will continue
till Friday. The minimum
temperature during the pe-
riod is also expected to drop
to 16 degree Celsius.”
“The department has
urged public to be cautious
and avoid going to sea as well
as to follow latest updates
through our official social me-
dia accounts,” he added.
It is worth mention-
with the Public Work Au-
thority ‘Ashghal’ and Qatar
d’Affaires at the Embassy of
Iraq in Qatar HE Abdulsat-
tar Hadi al Janabi during
a meeting with the FM in
Doha on Sunday. (QNA)
Doha Municipality starts art contest
for children focusing on food safety
HISHAM ALJUNDI
DOHA
DOHA Municipality Director
Eng Jamad Matar al Nuaimi
inaugurated the 17th Drawing
Competition and Exhibition for
Children in Doha on Sunday.
Organised by the Hygiene
Control department of the
municipality, the event is be-
ing held this year under the
theme ‘Little Inspector’ and
focuses on raising awareness
about food safety measures
among children.
It seeks to enhance chil-
dren’s awareness on how to
store food in a healthy and hy-
gienic way. It also encourages
healthy eating habits in order to
ward off diseases.
More than 80 public and
private schools of different lev-
els are taking part in the exhibi-
ing here that different ar-
eas of Qatar, including
among others,Doha, Al
Wakra, Al Khor, Mesaieed
and Ruwais have received
good volume of rains since
Saturday afternoon.
The rain is expected to
benefit the farmers the most
as many of them have expand-
ed their farms to cultivate a
variety of crops in order to
beat the siege. The wind cou-
pled with light rain is a big re-
lief for date farmers as it helps
in pollination of palm trees.
Meteorology Department.
(HISHAM ALJUNDI/DOHA)
SHURA SPEAKER MEETS IRAQI COUNTERPART: Speaker of the Advisory (Shura) Council HE Ahmed bin Abdul-
lah bin Zaid al Mahmoud met with the Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives Saleem Abdullah al
Jabouri and his accompanying delegation in Doha on Sunday. They discussed the parliamentary relations
between the two countries and means of supporting and developing them. A number of Shura officials
attended the meeting. (QNA)
Halal Qatar Fest from March 2
THE Cultural Village Founda- 2 to 10, 2018. The festival will sheep barns presentation – as
tion will launch the 7th edition of include three main events – Al well as educational and enter-
Halal Qatar Festival from March Mazain, Al Mazad Auction and tainment activities. (TNN)
tion, which runs for four hours safety and proper food con- and posters will win the compe-
everyday from 9am until 1pm sumption, in addition to fridge tition and the winning students
and will last until March 22. magnets and wallpapers that will be awarded prizes.
The exhibition also features show best ways to preserve and
paintings and posters created consume food. (PHOTOGRAPH BY
by students to promote food Twenty selected paintings RAFEEK PALAYOOR)
Qatar one of the biggest supporters
of Yemeni people, says UN envoy
Continued from page 1 Ô real opportunity to inform On Qatar’s efforts to pro-
donors about the realities vide relief to Yemeni people,
“IN this regard, a visit was of refugee living conditions, Muraikhi said Qatar has also
organised on January 23, in and how donations reach the been one of the biggest sup-
which delegations from 14 refugees to motivate them porters of the Yemeni people
countries participated and to increase their donations, and alleviating the suffering
they focused on field trips which had a significant im- of the people in Yemen.
to learn about the situation pact on increasing the do- The UN envoy thanked
of the Syrian refugees and nors’ sympathy,” the UN en- Qatar for its efforts in the
visited their camps. It was a voy said. field of humanitarian work.
Arab League official praises
Qatar’s focus on education
MALEK HELALI
DOHA
THE General Director of the Arab League
Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organiza-
tion (ALECSO) Dr Saoud al Harbi has praised
Qatar’s wise leadership’s interest in advancing
education as well as the officials’ focus on moti-
vating young generations and local experts.
This came during the director’s visit to the
Scientific Excellence Award exhibition at Cul-
tural Village-Katara. Dr Harbi was accompa-
nied by Dr Hamda al Sulaiti, secretary general
of Qatar National Commission for Education,
Culture and Science and the executive presi-
dent of the award.
The ALECSO director toured the exhibition ture generations.
documenting the development of Scientific Ex- “I have noticed a great variety in the top-
cellence Day over the past 10 years. ics covered by the Scientific Excellence award
Dr Harbi noted that the Scientific Excel- which gives it a sense of richness and continuity
lence Day is a pioneering step by Qatar in the and I hope it succeeds and advances further in
field of education and reflects the govern- the future as Qatar is following the right path in
ment’s support of national expertise and fu- this field,” he added.

Qatar Airways offers up to 40% discount
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
QATAR Airways (QA) is inviting
passengers to discover breathtak-
ing new destinations by taking
advantage of its latest global sales
promotion, offering them dis-
counts to many new and exciting
locations across its global network.
The new promotion, ‘Breath-
taking Experiences, Extraor-
dinary Offers’, will provide QA
‘Breathtaking Experiences, Extraordinary Offers’
passengers discounts of up to 40
percent on all cabin classes. Pas-
sengers travelling with friends
and family can also enjoy a special
discount with the airline’s Com-
panion Offer in Premium.
Qatar Airways Chief Commer-
cial Officer, Ehab Amin, said: “We
are delighted to offer our latest pro-
motion, ‘Breathtaking Experiences,
Nation
Extraordinary Offers’ and invite our
valued passengers to discover many
exciting new places to explore on
our extensive global network. Pas-
sengers now have even more incen-
tive to travel with friends and fam-
ily, as they can take advantage of
our Companion Offer in Premium.
We look forward to welcoming all
passengers on board.”
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
members will earn Double Qmiles
when booking in Premium during
the promotional period. Members
need to register for the offer prior
to travel.
Besides, a 10 percent dis-
count will be applied to car rent-
als booked online and to transport
booked with QA’s luxury chauffeur
partner, Blacklane, when using the
promocode. Customers will also
enjoy a 15 percent discount when
booking Al Maha services and
lounge access online.
QA passengers can plan and
book their next trip and enjoy dis-
counts and offers valid from Feb-
ruary 26 to March 7, 2018, with
travel validity between February
26, 2018, and February 20, 2019.
To be eligible for the bonus
Qmiles, passengers should regis-
ter by March 7, 2018, or at least
24 hours prior to travel, which-
ever is earlier.
Monday, February 26, 2018 03
QBG, Education City
Mosque announce
2nd edition of AlUtrujah
Holy Qur’an contest
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
THE Qur’anic Botanic Garden (QBG), a
member of Qatar Foundation (QF), and the
Education City Mosque have announced
the second edition of the AlUtrujah Holy
Qur’an contest.
The contest will take place at the begin-
ning of the Holy Month of Ramadan 1439 H
at the Education City Mosque.

‘Georgia keen on collaboration with The contest encourages students and

community members to study the Holy
Qur’an, and highlights the Qur’anic verses
and stories that focus on botanical terms. The

Qatar on technology & innovation’ contest, which features a series of different

INTERVIEW
AILYN AGONIA
DOHA
THE new Ambassador of Georgia
to Qatar HE Nikoloz Revazishvili
sees a great potential for coop-
eration between Qatar and his
country in the fields of science
and education.
In an interview with Qatar
Tribune recently, Revazishvili,
who became the second ambas-
sador of Georgia to Qatar since
the Embassy opened in Doha in
2012, said he would like to un-
derline cooperation between Qa-
tar and Georgian institutions in
technology and innovation.
“Technology and innova-
tion are the future of everything.
Every field without exception is
becoming technologised. And
unless you grasp this technology
and apply it to various areas of
life, you will fall behind. I would
like to facilitate the cooperation
between Georgia’s Innovation
and Technology Agency, which
is operating under Ministry of
Economy and Sustainable Devel-
opment of Georgia, with Qatar
Science and Technology Park.”
“This cooperation can in-
clude experience sharing in the
Ambassador of Georgia to Qatar HE Nikoloz Revazishvili.
(PHOTOGRAPH BY HANSON K JOSEPH)
fields of innovation, technology
and R&D commercialisation and
access facilitation for Georgian
startups on Qatari market and
vice versa. Of course the devel-
opment and strengthening of
already existing cooperation in
trade, investments and tourism
will be on my main agenda. In
these fields we see a great poten-
tial for further growth,” the am-
bassador added.
Further commenting on the
state of bilateral ties between
Qatar and Georgia, Revazishvili
said the two countries maintain
very positive dynamics of bilat-
eral ties in political, economy,
culture and education areas.
He said that following sev-
eral high level visits between
the Qatar and Georgia in the
last decade, more than 10 agree-
ments and MoUs have already
been signed in different spheres.
He added that many more are
under consideration or ready to
be signed in the nearest future.
These include the agreements on
Cooperation in Investment Mat-
ters and on Economic, Trade and
Technical Cooperation, he added.
categories, is open to both male and female
schoolchildren in Qatar under 12 years old.
Fatima al Khulaifi, manager of QBG, said:
“AlUtrujah is the name of the pleasant citrus
‘Technology and innovation are the future of everything. fruit. The name of the contest was selected
Unless you grasp technology and apply it to various based on the Hadith of the Prophet Muham-
mad (PBUH): ‘The example of the believer
areas of life, you will fall behind. I would like to who reads the Holy Qur’an is the example of
facilitate the cooperation between Georgia’s Innovation AlUtrujah; its taste is delicious and its scent
and Technology Agency, which is operating under is pleasant.’ The contest aims to encourage
the Education City community and primary
Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of school students to study the Holy Qur’an and
Georgia, with Qatar Science and Technology Park’ to act upon it being the Holy Book of The
Almighty Allah, the guidance and mercy for
~ HE Nikoloz Revazishvili, Ambassador of Georgia to Qatar human beings.”
Mohamed al Ghurbani, head of Islamic
“We are observing that after sis, Qatari market became more Affairs in QF’s Community Development De-
primary exploration of invest- accessible for foreign products. partment, said: “This edition of the AlUtru-
ment opportunities in Georgia In 2017, exports from Georgia jah contest helps the community, and stu-
in recent years, businessmen to Qatar increased more than dents in particular, better understand the
from Qatar are gradually mov- 2.5 times. Significant quantity of message of the Holy Qur’an, particularly in
ing to concrete investment ac- Georgian agricultural and food the important area of botany. This is a sig-
tivities. Over the past years, a products has already reached nificant part of Islamic heritage and religion,
large number of businessmen Qatar’s retail market. After con- and we look forward to educating the com-
from Qatar, many of whom siderable success in attracting munity in this area.”
representing the biggest Qatari tourist flows from Qatar, intro- The contest is open to all students below
companies, have visited Georgia duction of Georgian products to the age of 12 in Qatar, including students of
to learn the business climate of the Qatari market can be consid- QF schools and non-QF schools. Registration
our country. The signing of these ered as a very positive indicator is open on the QBG’s website at ‘www.qbg.
two agreements will mark a new for development of economic org.qa’ for the three categories, for one, two,
chapter in the development of relations,” the ambassador said. or three Juz’. All rounds of the contest will
economic relations and invest- “I am confident that more be conducted at the Education City Mosque;
ments between our countries,” Georgian products will reach the first round of the contest runs from May 1
said Revazishvili. consumers in Qatar in the near- to 6, 2018. Eligible competitors will move on
Moreover, in view of oppor- est future. We want to use the to the final rounds from May 20 to 24, 2018.
tunities opening up for foreign opportunities such as Qatar In- A number of associated activities will be
products owing to the unjust ternational Agricultural Exhibi- organised during the contest, including com-
blockade imposed on Qatar, tion or Foodex to bring relevant munity lectures on ethics and stories of the
Revazishvili underscored the Georgian companies to establish plants mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and Ha-
possibilities of introducing more contacts with local counterparts. dith of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Georgian products - such as We are also examining the possi- The QBG will also organise an exhibition
manufactured goods - in the lo- bility of importing various man- of the plants mentioned in the Holy Qur’an
cal market. ufactured goods from Georgia,” and Hadith, and will display photographs
“We realise that since the cri- he added. and live forms of the plants, along with tradi-
tional tools made from those plants.
04 Monday, February 26, 2018
MoI offers tips MoI makes great leaps in drug control
for safe driving
in rainy condition
AS the country is witness-
ing rainfalls, the Ministry of
Interior has urged motorists
to take extra precautions to
ensure their safety on the
roads. The ministry has giv-
en some safety measures to
follow during rainy period.
The safety tips are:
• Drive at a slower
pace: As rain falls, it cre-
ates slick conditions caus-
ing skids more easily. The
best way to avoid skidding
is to slow down vehicle.
Driving at a slower pace af-
fords enough control and
allows more of the tyre’s
tread to make contact with
the road, which leads to
better traction.
• Avoid tailgating:
It takes about three times
longer to brake on wet roads
than on dry roads. Since
more distance is required
to brake, it is important not
to tailgate. Keep more than
usual distance between you
and the vehicle in front of
you.
• Run air condi-
tioner to clear water vapor
QC delivers ambulances to Mogadishu hospitals Ministry recalls faulty
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
QATAR Charity’s (QC) Somalia
office has delivered three ambu-
lances to hospitals in the capital
Mogadishu to support the coun-
try’s health services.
The ambulances were hand-
ed over at a ceremony attended
by local ministers and officials
as well as members of the Qatari
and other embassies.
The ambulances have been
provided at a time when many
hospitals in Somalia were fac-
ing severe shortage of patient
transport services, especially
for urgent cases, as many vehi-
cles were not designed to pro-
vide first aid.
Minister of Health of So-
malia Dr Fawzia Abikar Nour,
Minister of Planning and In-
vestment Jamal Mohammed
Hassan, Chargé d’Affaires of the
on wind screen: In case wa-
ter vapor gathers on the car
windscreen, run the air con-
ditioner to clear it for more
visibility.
• Check the validity
of the vehicle’s sign lights
and the windshield wipers.
• Follow safety
guidelines during bad
weather conditions to en-
hance traffic safety and pre-
vent accidents.
• Concentrate on
driving: Driving during bad
weather requires greater
care, concentration and
non-engagement with other
things, especially when it
rains and visibility is low.
• Park your vehicle
off the road if you cannot
see road so that you keep
your safety and that of
others.
• Turn on wind-
shields’ wipers to remove
water on the car’s glass.
• During rain, avoid
pressure on the brake as
hard as it may cause the car
to slip, due to difficulty to
control. (TNN)
The ambulances have been provided at a time when many hospitals
in Somalia were facing severe shortage of patient transport services.
Embassy of Qatar in Mogadishu
Hassan bin Hamza, the Ambas-
sador of Turkey to Somalia Ol-
gen Becker, several members of
the Somali parliament, officials
of the hospital benefiting from
the project and director of the
Qatar Charity office in Somalia
attended the ceremony.
QNA
DOHA
THE Ministry of the Interior
(MoI) made great achieve-
ments in the area of drug
control in last year, in terms
of awareness-raising and pre-
vention, rehabilitation and
training or through regional
and international cooperation
to counter the scourge, said
Assistant Director-General
of the General Directorate of
Drug Control at the Ministry
of the Interior Brigadier Gen-
eral Amr al Humaidi.
Humaidi said the directo-
rate also recorded seizures of
some quantities of drug and
the dismantling of interna-
tional trafficking networks,
stressing that the achieve-
ments were the result of well-
studied plans and fruitful
cooperation with various rel-
evant bodies.
He highlighted the minis-
try’s attention to human re-
sources through continuous
training which covers all as-
pects related to drug control
and the latest updates in this
area, pointing out that the
training process includes new
narcotics, routes and methods
of smuggling, concealment
and detection.
He said the directorate
participated in foreign train-
ing courses in all areas related
to the field of drug control,
adding that the employees of
the public administration and
supporting bodies took part in
events aimed at building their
capacities and improve their
expertise to keep up with in-
ternational developments in
drug crimes.
Among the academies and
bodies with which the direc-
torate had cooperated were
the Turkish International
Academy against Drugs and
Organised Crime, the United
Somalia’s Minister of Health
praised the role of Qatar in as-
sisting Somalia and highlighted
QC’s humanitarian efforts and
contributions to alleviate the
suffering of those affected by
famine and disasters in all the
regions of Somalia. She also ex-
pressed her gratitude for these
QTerminals is pleased to announce the following tender:
S/N
1 Tender Ref: QT/2018/01
• Tender documents may only be requested from securityinfo@qterminals.com
• The tender closing date is 24th March 2018 at 1200hrs.
• An Authorization Letter must be attached to any and all requests for tender
• Proposals should be addressed and delivered to QTerminals, Qatar
Nation
In our belief that drug crimes do not stop at the border,
the General Directorate of Drug Control has given its
utmost attention to enhancing bilateral, regional and
international cooperation with regional, Arab and
international agencies.
~ Major Mohammed Abdullah al Khater
Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime and the United States
Drug Enforcement Adminis-
tration, he said.
Regarding the directo-
rate’s efforts in international
cooperation, Director of Stud-
ies and International Affairs
Department of the directorate
Major Mohammed Abdullah
al Khater said Qatar is com-
pletely free of any production,
manufacturing or cultivation
of narcotic or psychotropic
substances, adding that at-
tempts were being made to
smuggle specific substances
to the country through its
land, air and sea ports.
“In this sense, and in our
belief that drug crimes do not
stop at the border, the General
Directorate of Drug Control
has given its utmost attention
to enhancing bilateral, regional
and international cooperation
with regional, Arab and inter-
national agencies,” he said.
Khater said bilateral
agreements and memoran-
dums of understanding were
signed with several States
with a view to drying up drug
sources and activating the
mechanisms of controlled de-
livery and the appointment of
liaison officers and interna-
tional judicial cooperation in
criminal matters, including
the exchange of legal assist-
ance with a view to strength-
ening evidence and prevent-
ing the impunity of criminals.
He added that the depart-
ment has also been keen to
participate in various interna-
humanitarian efforts and the
effective initiative to revive the
normal life in Somalia.
On his part, the Chargé
d’affaires of the Embassy of
Qatar in Somalia Hassan bin
Hamza, hailed the continued
Qatari support for the hu-
manitarian cause and praised
QC’s humanitarian and devel-
opmental efforts in Somalia.
Hamza pointed out that such
a project will contribute to the
rescue of many lives and cover
a part of the need of hospitals
for ambulances.
Abdul Nour Haji, director of
QC’s office in Somalia, thanked
the people of Qatar for their con-
tinuous support to the people of
Somalia to alleviate their suffer-
ing by meeting their health and
relief needs and implementing
development projects to make a
difference in their lives.
It is noteworthy that QC’s
Invitation to Tender
Tender number Subject
Request for Proposal (RFP) for the supply of Security
Services at Hamad Port
until 10th March 2018 at 1200hrs. No requests for tender documents will be
accepted after this time. Tender documents will be distributed electronically.
documents along with a copy of the Qatar I.D. of the authorized person.
tional forums related to drug
control efforts to keep abreast
with the latest in this area and
to expand the circle of interna-
tional communication through
which the exchange of success-
ful experiences are shared.
“Through the internation-
al contact section of the de-
partment, we coordinate with
the relevant bodies directly
and immediately to contribute
to the protection of the inter-
national community from this
scourge by exchanging infor-
mation with different coun-
tries to combat international
drug trafficking,” he said.
Khater stressed that
the General Directorate of
Drug Control has succeeded
through joint operations with
counterparts in some coun-
tries and through the imple-
mentation of the mechanism
of controlled delivery in de-
tecting huge quantities and
deals of drugs directed to the
Gulf States, dismantling a
number of networks of inter-
national trade in drug, seizing
specific quantities, including
the seizure of large quantities
of the captagon drug estimat-
ed at 8 million tablets in 2017.
The directorate had re-
ceived several thank-you let-
ters from counterparts and
international organisations,
including Interpol, the Brit-
ish National Crime Agency,
the United States Drug En-
forcement Administration,
the Permanent Mission of the
Gulf Cooperation Council to
the United Nations in Vienna
office in Somalia delivered medi-
cines and medical supplies to the
Mogadishu City Hospital as part
of the emergency relief project
for the victims of the bombing
towards the end of last year.
QC and UNHCR signed a
cooperation and partnership
agreement last October, in
which both parties announced
their intention to work to-
gether to reintegrate Somali
returnees, internally displaced
people (IDPs) and receiving
communities through the con-
struction and rehabilitation
of public infrastructure in the
water, education, shelter and
sanitation sectors.
QC has also signed a coop-
eration and partnership agree-
ment with the government of
Somalia to define the general
framework of cooperation in
humanitarian and develop-
ment affairs.
in view of the vigorous efforts
made in the field of interna-
tional cooperation, he said.
He added that Qatar was
honoured for two years in a
row by the General Secretariat
of the Council of Arab Minis-
ters of the Interior by award-
ing it the best operational
cooperation field at the Arab,
regional and international
levels, which led to the seizure
of a number of drug smug-
gling networks.
On the prevention and
awareness aspect, the directo-
rate focused on drug damage
prevention, one of the main
axes of the national drug con-
trol strategy. It has devoted
considerable attention to the
promotion of community
awareness of the drug threat
to help all segments of society,
especially young people by ed-
ucating them on the dangers
of addiction as well as by pro-
moting Islamic values, high
ethical standards and values
among young people.
Captain Nasser Zayed al
Shahwani, assistant director
of the Department of Stud-
ies and International Affairs
at the General Directorate
of Drug Control, said the de-
partment has developed well-
thought-out plans based on
scientific evidence to protect
society and all its sectors, es-
pecially youth and students.
He added that these ef-
forts included seminars, ex-
hibitions, educational forums,
pamphlets, leaflets and post-
ers to raise awareness of the
dangers of drugs, as well as to
promote awareness through
the media and social network-
ing sites, in addition to organ-
ising awareness campaigns
targeting school and universi-
ty students and employees of
private institutions and com-
panies as well as expats.
The department said it
Lenovo Laptop
ThinkPad X1 Carbon
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
THE Ministry of Economy
and Commerce (MEC), in
collaboration with Al Mana
Computer Services and Qatar
Computer Services, dealers
of Lenovo products in Qatar,
has announced the recall of
5th generation Lenovo Laptop
ThinkPad X1 Carbon over pos-
sible overheating of battery
due to an unfastened screw.
The ministry said the re-
call is part of its ongoing ef-
forts to ensure that suppliers
follow up on product defects
and repairs to protect con-
sumers.
The ministry has urged
consumers to refrain from us-
ALECSO D-G visits
scientific exhibition
DIRECTOR-GENERAL of the Arab League Education,
Culture and Science Organization (ALECSO) Dr Saud
Hilal al Harbi has praised the wise leadership of Qatar’s
interest in education and the keenness of the officials to
encourage upcoming generations and national expertise
towards education during a visit to the documentary ex-
hibition of the Scientific Excellence Award and the mural
held in Katara.
organised 191 lectures for
18,288 people, 37 drug aware-
ness exhibitions with 44,984
people benefited from them.
Last summer, the department
held 18 lectures in clubs for
532 people and 17 awareness
training courses benefiting
1,335 people, and organised
four workshops for 141 people.
Shahwani said schools are
being targeted as effective in-
stitutions in the prevention of
drugs through the implemen-
tation of many educational
programmes and activities
such as student awareness
project, cultural competitions,
electronic awareness, scientific
publications, among others.
He pointed out that the
activities contributed to the
development of personal and
social skills of students and
help them acquire life skills to
enlighten them and prevent
them from drugs and other
dangerous substances.
There is close cooperation
with a number of bodies in the
country to raise awareness of
the dangers of drugs such as
the Ministry of Education and
Higher Education, the Qatar
Foundation for Social Work,
the Qatar Media Corporation,
all the accredited TV channels
in the country, the media and
many civil society organisa-
tions, he said.
Shahwani said that the di-
rectorate, in cooperation with
the General Directorate of
Traffic and the Standing Com-
mittee for Drugs and Alcohol,
held the first media forum in
October, in which many jour-
nalists participated, especially
social network activists.
He also pointed to the
workshop held in cooperation
with the Ministry of Educa-
tion and Higher Education on
the role of the Ministry of the
Interior in protecting children
within the educational system.
ing the product and contact the
company to do the necessary.
The ministry promised to
coordinate with the dealer to
follow up on the maintenance
and repair works and to com-
municate with customers to
ensure that the necessary re-
pairs are carried out.
The ministry has urged
all customers to report any
violations to its Consumer
Protection and Anti-Com-
mercial Fraud Department,
which processes complaints,
inquires and suggestions
through Call center: 16001,
email: info@mec.gov.qa,
Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, Insta-
gram: MEC_Qatar and mo-
bile app for Android and IOS:
MEC_Qatar.
QNA
DOHA
1DYLJDWLRQ0LODKD+HDG2IÀFH(DVW,QGXVWULDO6WUHHW0DLQ5HFHSWLRQDV
per the above closing date.
• Bidders shall submit their proposal in 1 sealed PLAIN envelope labelled:
“QTerminals Tender Ref: QT/2018/01 – RFP Submission
Request for Proposal for the supply of Security Services at Hamad Port”
• (QFORVLQJ2VHDOHGHQYHORSHVODEHOOHGDV(QYHORSH$7HFKQLFDO2IIHUDQG
(QYHORSH%&RPPHUFLDO2IIHU(OHFWURQLFFRSLHVRIWKH5)3VKRXOGDOVREH
submitted by the tender closing date to the above email address with the
subject line “Tender Ref: QT/2018/01 – RFP Submission”.
• A non-refundable bid fee of QR1,000/= (one thousand Qatari Riyals) must be
included with all proposals in the form of a crossed cheque made payable to
47HUPLQDOV//&
• Proposals should be valid for acceptance for 90 days from the Tender closing
date.
• This RFP does not commit QTerminals to award a contract or to pay any costs
incurred in the preparation or submission of proposals, or costs incurred in
making necessary studies for the preparation thereof. QTerminals reserves
the right to accept or reject any or all offers without assigning any reason
whatsoever.
• %LGGHUVQRWFRPSO\LQJZLWKWKHDERYHWHUPVZLOOEHGLVTXDOLÀHG
T +974 4448 6111 | F +974 4448 6100 | P.O. Box 11112, Doha, Qatar
qterminals.com
During the visit, he took a look at the pictures, docu-
mentaries and publications that mark the Scientific Ex-
cellence Award in its past versions.
Secretary-General of the Qatar National Commission
for Education, Culture and Science Dr Hamda Hasan al
Sulaiti and the CEO of the award briefed Dr Harbi on the
development of the award in the past decade.
Harbi said the award is one of Qatar’s leading steps
which embody a part of the interest the leadership
gives to education.
He highlighted that the encouragement of those
responsible for the education in the country and the
national expertise towards science and excellence is a
pride to all.
He also met with Katara General Manager Dr Kha-
lid bin Ibrahim al Sulaiti and discussed cooperation be-
tween the two institutions.
Director-General of the Arab League Education, Culture
and Science Organization with Katara General Manager
Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al Sulaiti in Doha on Sunday.
 Nation Monday, February 26, 2018 05

Ooredoo Group acquires 5G Network Spectrum

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
OOREDOO Group is racing ahead
on the path to 5G as the world’s
first having 5G New Radio (NR)
with commercial equipment suita-
ble for business customers, the tel-
ecom company announced at the
Mobile World Congress being held
in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday.
Live in Qatar, Ooredoo is
proud to announce its first-in-
the-region speeds of 2.3Gbps with
amazing 3.5ms latency. By using
Ooredoo 5G spectrum at 3.5GHz,
Ooredoo will continue to expand
the footprint of 5G.
The ultra-fast 5G networks,
which are already in place in Qatar,
will double the speed of current 4G
network. 5G will transform daily
lives, organisations and industry
verticals benefiting the speed and
ultra-low latency. Applications of
5G could include autonomous ve-
hicles, robotic surgery, and aug-
mented and virtual reality sports.
As part of its network moderni-
sation programme ‘Evolution to
5G’, Ooredoo Group is starting the
5G journey in its home market of
Qatar. Ooredoo Group will share
the best practices as it rolls out 5G
across the Middle East, North Afri-
ca and Southeast Asia in the future.
Waleed al Sayed, deputy group
chief executive officer of Ooredoo
Group and chief executive officer of
Ooredoo Qatar, said, “At the Mobile
World Congress, Ooredoo Group is
enhancing our position as a global
innovator, racing ahead towards
our goal to become the world’s first
company to provide wide 5G cover-
age. By providing superior speeds,
we will enable organisations, cit-
ies and countries to fully digitally
transform in the era of Smart Cities
and the Internet of Things. This is
a major milestone in delivering on
our promise to enrich people’s dig-
ital lives and allow them to enjoy
Ooredoo Group is taking
part in the Mobile World
Congress in Barcelona,
Spain. The telecom
company has announced
the world’s first 5G
deployments in Qatar
the benefits of the Internet.”
The 5G commercial service
experience will also bring to life
Smart Cities and Smart Stadiums
in Qatar.
This is yet another milestone
in Ooredoo’s journey to 5G and
one of the latest network mod-
ernisation milestones achieved
by the company in early 2018,
following the roll out of 4G+ in
Myanmar and 3G services in the
West Bank, Palestine.
At Mobile World Congress,
Ooredoo’s stand can be visited
in Hall 2 - Stand 2H60 at the
Fira Gran Via in Barcelona until
March 1, 2018.

London is launch destination for QA’s Airbus A350-1000

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
QATAR Airways (QA) has announced
that London is the first route for the
world’s first commercial service of its
Airbus A350-1000.
The five-star Gulf carrier is the
global launch customer for the state-
of-the-art-aircraft, following deliv-
ery by Airbus from the aircraft man-
ufacturer’s base in Toulouse, France,
last Tuesday.
The world’s first A350-1000 XWB
embarked upon its first commercial
service to the UK capital on Saturday
(February 24) as QR15 at 15:55 hrs
and after a seven-hour 30-minute
flight, landed at London’s Heathrow
Airport at 20:25 hrs. The A350-1000
will operate a daily non-stop service
between Doha and London.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Ex-
ecutive, Akbar al Baker, said: “We
have chosen London as the inaugural
destination for this remarkable air-
craft because at 23 feet longer than
the A350-900, it is able to provide
a significant increase in capacity on
one of our most popular routes, of-
fering enhanced levels of comfort for
our passengers. For the first time in
an Airbus aircraft, it will also feature
our award-winning, patented Qsuite,
offering a First Class experience in
Business Class for both business and
leisure travellers.”
“As one of our flagship routes, we
provide our passengers with the most
advanced aircraft to fly in comfort and
style from Doha to London. Our new
A350-1000 provides this in abun-
dance, alongside its sister aircraft, the
A350-900, the double-decker A380
as well as the Boeing Dreamliner and
the Qsuite-fitted Boeing 777. We look
forward to introducing this highly-
impressive next-generation aircraft
to many other cities, thanks to our ex-
tensive and rapidly expanding global
route network.”
Rolls-Royce President Civil Aero-
space, Chris Cholerton, said: “We
congratulate the entire team at Qatar
Airways on being the first to operate
the Airbus A350-1000. We are very
The world’s technologically advanced passenger aircraft embarked on its first commercial flight to London on Saturday.
proud to see our Rolls-Royce Trent
XWB-97 engines powering this first
flight. They are not only the most
powerful engines we have ever pro-
duced but they are also the most ef-
ficient, delivering the same fuel con-
sumption per passenger as a small
family car over the same distance.”
QA offers six flights a day between
Doha and London, providing a fast
and frequent connection between the
two capital cities. Passengers can also
book flights through Qatarairways.
com on British Airways’ daily code-
share service between Doha and Lon-
don. QA’s elegant premium lounge
at London Heathrow Airport’s Ter-
minal 4 offers a calm and luxurious
welcome to passengers flying in First
Class and Business Class. Resembling
a boutique hotel or private club, it of-
fers traditional Arabic hospitality with
a gourmet dining experience, innova-
tive deli-counter, private showers, a
comprehensive business centre and
comfortable seating areas, separated
by olive trees and fountains.
The A350-1000 XWB will offer a
total of 327 seats across two cabins,
with 46 award-winning Qsuite Busi-
ness Class seats and 281 18-inch extra
wide Economy Class seats. It offers
enhanced levels of passenger com-
fort, thanks to the lowest twin engine
noise level of any aircraft, advanced
air conditioning technology and full
LED mood lighting.
Later this year, QA will launch the
first daily direct flights between Doha
and Cardiff, UK. From May 1, 2018,
the new service will provide the Welsh
capital with links to the rest of the
world via QA’s extensive global route
network. The flights will help provide
new economic, leisure and travel op-
portunities for Welsh businesses
through closer links with the rapidly
expanding economies of India, China,
Australasia and South East Asia. It
will also boost and deepen existing
trade and industry links between Qa-
tar and the UK.

Free Product
Recall

QA, Rolls-Royce hold training

programme for nationals
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
QATAR Airways’ (QA) Al Darb Qa-
tarisation programme and Rolls-
Royce, one of the airline’s major
strategic partners, hosted two suc-
cessful training programmes at the
Rolls-Royce Learning and Develop-
ment facility in Derby, the UK, ear-
lier this month.
The event was designed to en-
able Al Darb Qatarisation partici-
pants to benefit from Rolls Royce’s
leadership and expertise.
The annual Business Manage-
ment and Commercial Awareness
training courses, which each took
place over five days, saw 40 top Al
Darb candidates fly to the UK to
participate, as part of the airline’s
commitment to develop future lead-
ers of the national carrier.
Nationals from various depart-
ments throughout QA, including
commercial, HR, finance, contracts,
technical engineers and captains
took part in the courses, which were
delivered by Rolls-Royce profes-
sionals, and consultants and profes-
sors from UK universities.
During the courses, participants
learned from experts about various
subjects beneficial to the aviation
industry, including corporate strat-
egy, financial management, culture
and leadership. The final two days of
the course saw the talented nationals
put their learning to the test, as they
were challenged to develop plans to
create their own successful airline, in
a real-time simulation exercise.
Qatar Airways Senior Vice-Pres-
ident - Human Resources, Nabeela
Fakhri, said: “Our partnership with
Rolls-Royce continues to grow and
develop, and we are proud to be
able to offer bespoke training to our
nationals not only locally in Doha,
but also internationally. This year,
we flew out 40 of our top nation-
als from the Al Darb Qatarisation
programme to the UK, double the
number from last year, and again
our nationals have excelled during
the training and were exposed to
invaluable knowledge from the best
professionals.”
Rolls-Royce Head of Customer
Leadership Development, Dr Dav-
id Ashworth, said: “We are proud
to support QA’s Al Darb Qatari-
sation programme. By building
on our strong partnership, we are
able to offer our training expertise
to QA future leaders and also of-
fer all the delegates on the course,
including those from Rolls-Royce,
Lenovo Laptop ThinkPad X1 Carbon
the opportunity to benefit from
shared experience.”
Delegates who participated in 5th Generation
the training programme were cho-
sen based on their high perform-
ance and length of service with the
company. Possible overheating of battery due to an unfastened screw
Defect

Refrain from using the product and contact the company to

Process do the necessary
Al Mana Computer Services W.L.L.
Contact Qatar Computer Services W.L.L.
Phone: 44489966 / 44441212

For any consumer protection issues please contact us on the hotline 16001

Qatar Airways’ Al Darb Qatarisation programme flew 40 nationals to the UK for bespoke training.
06 Monday, February 26, 2018 Nation

Your Health First launches ‘Khayr Qatarna’

AILYN AGONIA
DOHA
A NEW brand of locally-grown
fruits and vegetables to be known
as ‘Khayr Qatarna’ will hit the Qa-
tari supermarkets in a few months.
The specialty of the product is that it
is grown in the state-of-the-art, cli-
mate-controlled greenhouses within
certain schools in Qatar.
It is the next phase of Project
Greenhouse, a part of Weill Cor-
nell Medicine-Qatar’s (WCM-Q)
flagship programme Sahtak Awa-
lan – Your Health First, aimed at
inspiring schoolchildren to take
part in helping Qatar become
more self-sufficient in fruit and
vegetable production.
The innovative new phase of
Project Greenhouse was launched
in the presence of Qatar’s Minister
of Education and Higher Educa-
tion HE Dr Mohammed bin Abdul
Wahed al Hammadi and other VIPs
including Qatar Foundation Acting
CEO Omran Hamad al Kuwari and
WCM-Q Dean Dr Javaid Sheikh at
Qatar National Convention Centre
in Doha on Sunday.
Also present were the President
and General Manager of Occidental
Petroleum of Qatar Andrew H Ker-
shaw, Vice-President and Joint Ven-
ture Manager of ExxonMobil Qatar
Dominic Genetti and Undersecre-
tary Assistant for Agriculture Affairs
and Fisheries Resources Dr Falah
bin Naser al Thani.
Minister of Education and Higher Education HE Dr Mohammed bin Abdul Wahed al Hammadi with other dignitaries at an event in Doha on Sunday. (HANSON K JOSEPH)
Speaking at the glitzy launch-
ing event witnessed by more than
1,500 schoolchildren who were
directly involved in Project Green-
house and senior representatives of
Sahtak Awalan’s strategic partners,
Dean Sheikh said that the next level
of Project Greenhouse has begun
with the installation of three large
greenhouses in public schools to
produce five to six tonnes of cucum-
bers and 1.25 tonnes of tomatoes per
six month growing season plus large
crops of a wide variety of other veg-
etables like broccoli, green beans,
zucchini, aubergines and more.
He added that the number of
greenhouses will be increased to 10
in due course to grow more fresh
and homegrown produce to bring
to the local market under the new
‘Khayr Qatarna’ brand. He added
that the products are likely to make
its way to the local supermarkets in
a few months.
“Inspired by Qatar National
Vision 2030, Sahtak Awalan has
worked to create initiatives that take
real action, one of which has been
Project Greenhouse. It teaches us a
valuable lesson: if you plant a seed
and nurture it with care, it will flour-
ish. Even from harsh, rocky soil, hu-
man ingenuity and care can create
a thriving garden that will in turn
nurture the community. This is why
Project Greenhouse has been such
an overwhelming success because
we have given children the tools and
the opportunity to take action to
create something positive, and they
have seized that opportunity with
both hands and incredible energy,”
he said.
“The initial pilot project of 15
greenhouses proved such an instant
hit with students that we quickly ex-
panded and we now have more than
130 greenhouses installed in almost
every elementary school in Qatar,”
he added.
The newly-installed greenhous-
es will be used to grow fruit and
vegetables under the technical and
specialist supervision of the Min-
istry of Municipality and Environ-
ment. The ministry will also moni-
tor the distribution of the produce
which will be sold through local
supermarkets. Students will con-
tinue to be involved with the green-
houses, learning more about food
production and economics. Any
profits from the initiative will be re-
invested in Project Greenhouse.
In a statement, Hammadi said:
“Project Greenhouse represents an
inspiring initiative to raise aware-
ness of healthy lifestyles. It has
transformed schools into productive
units that enjoy learning both theo-
retical and applied knowledge, and
has promoted the culture of healthy
nutrition among students by pro-
ducing their own and healthy food.”
The minister praised the role of
the students who took part in the
Your Health First campaign and
called on all school administrations
and stakeholders to engage with
Project Greenhouse and to create a
suitable school environment for the
success of the initiative.
Sahtak Awalan’s strategic part-
ners include the Ministry of Pub-
lic Health, Qatar Foundation, the
Ministry of Education and Higher
Education, the Ministry of Envi-
ronment and Municipality, the Su-
preme Committee for Delivery and
Legacy, Occidental Petroleum and
ExxonMobil.

WCM-Q’s talk focuses Residents showing signs of illness after return

on childhood diabetes
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
CHILDHOOD diabetes and
the best ways to diagnose and
manage the disease were the
subject of the latest instalment
of Weill Cornell Medicine
– Qatar’s (WCM-Q) Grand
Rounds lecture series.
The talk, entitled ‘Diabe-
tes in Children: Causes, Clas-
sification and Management’
was delivered by Profes-
sor Khalid Hussain, chief of
paediatric endocrinology at
Sidra Medicine.
Professor Khalid Hussain of Sidra
Medicine discusses childhood dia-
betes at WCM-Q’s Grand Rounds.
Speaking to a lecture hall
of physicians, nurses, phar-
macists and other healthcare
professionals, Prof. Hussain
outlined the different types of
diabetes in children, explained
how particular diagnoses can
alter the treatment and man-
agement of the disease, and
spoke about the research that
is furthering the understand-
ing of childhood diabetes.
He also reminded the au-
dience of the basic symptoms
of the condition and that dia-
betes manifests itself through
either a defect in the body’s
production of insulin leading
to a higher concentration of
glucose in the blood, or a de-
fect in the action of insulin –
essentially the body does not
make insulin or it becomes
resistant to it.
In children, Prof. Hus-
sain said that type 1 diabetes,
where the pancreas fails to
produce enough insulin, is
the most common, whereas in
adults, type 2 diabetes is more
prevalent and manifests itself
as insulin resistance. Type 2
diabetes is generally related
to lifestyle and affects around
17 percent of people in Qatar
whereas type 1 is a complex
autoimmune disease.
Along with these most
common variations of the
condition, Prof Hussain also
outlined other types of the
condition, including neonatal,
mitochondrial, syndromic and
MODY (Maturity-Onset Dia-
betes of the Young).
He went on to describe the
most effective management of
the various types of diabetes
and how accurate diagnosis
of the specific variation affects
the medication and control of
the disease.
The lecture was accredited
locally by the Qatar Council
for Healthcare Practitioners-
Accreditation Department
(QCHP-AD) and interna-
tionally by the Accreditation
Council for Continuing Medi-
cal Education (ACCME).
Dr Stephen Atkin, profes-
sor of medicine at WCM-Q,
said: “Professor Hussain is an
acknowledged expert on child-
hood diabetes and a renowned
clinician and researcher. His
talk has been truly valuable
for healthcare professionals
and his work in the labora-
tory will hopefully continue to
bring further enlightenment
to the topic.”
from abroad should seek medical help: HMC
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK consult their doctor or visit the laria, dengue, West Nile Virus been exposed to.
DOHA Travel Clinic at HMC’s Com- and Zika,” said Dr Khattab. Many gastrointestinal ill-
municable Diseases Center, or “Other symptoms that nesses, for example, are more
HAMAD Medical Corporation another health centre that pro- should not be ignored include common in certain South-East
(HMC) has urged residents who vides travel medicine services. abdominal pain, cough or Asian countries and the Indian
are experiencing signs of ill- According to Dr Khattab, al- shortness of breath and loss subcontinent, while malaria
nesses after travelling abroad, though most travellers who be- of appetite. It is important for is prevalent in Africa, India,
especially to a developing come sick will experience only travellers to be educated about South-East Asia and some
country or region known for mild illness, it is important for their risk of contracting diseas- South American and Carib-
mosquito-borne illnesses such residents to be vigilant and to es and medical conditions such bean countries. Meningitis is
as malaria, dengue, West Nile monitor their health. as typhoid fever, Hepatitis A, more common in sub-Saharan
Virus and Zika, to seek immedi- He said that while most Hepatitis B and intestinal para- Africa and yellow fever is most
ate medical help. infections will result in symp- Dr Mohamed Abu Khattab, con- sites. These conditions can be prevalent in subtropical areas of
Dr Mohamed Abu Khattab, toms within two to six weeks sultant, communicable diseases serious and require medical in- South America and Africa.
who is a consultant specialis- of travel, incubation periods and travel medicine. tervention,” added Dr Khattab. Dr Khattab said it is impor-
ing in communicable diseases vary and some conditions can An initial diagnosis for tant not to ignore persistent
and travel medicine at HMC, present months to years after symptoms of illness or is gener- most travel-related illnesses symptoms of illness and when
said that anyone who has trav- initial infection. ally feeling unwell should seek can be quickly made if the pa- seeking medical attention to
elled outside the country and is “Persistent fever can be a medical advice, particularly if tient is able to provide specific inform the treating doctor of
experiencing persistent symp- symptom of serious disease. they have not taken precautions details regarding the destina- any recent travel. To book an
toms, specifically high fever or Any resident who has travelled before travelling to countries tion travelled to and the poten- appointment at HMC’s Travel
diarrhoea, should immediately abroad and is experiencing that have reported cases of ma- tial risk factors he or she has Clinic, call ‘4025 4003’.
Doha Festival City partners
Get to the heart of your health! with Hamad Medical Corpora-
tion to host a free ‘Kulluna for
a Healthy Heart’ roadshow
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA City helps raise awareness around this
worthy cause and also encourages as
THIS week and until February 27, visi- many people to take part in the com-
tors to Doha Festival City can visit the plementary testing by providing an
Kulluna Healthy Heart roadshow as easy to access place in which to do it.
part of its partnership with Hamad At Doha Festival City, we are invested
Medical Corporation (HMC). in the wellbeing of our wider commu-
From 10am to 10pm each day dur- nity and are always looking for more
ing the week, expert doctors will be on ways to promote a healthy way of life.”
hand to offer screenings for any hid- Dr Khalid Saifeldeen, Director of
den heart issues as well as offer advice Hamad International Training Cent-
and guidance on how to improve and er, Hamad Medical Corporation and
maintain a healthy heart. Chairman of Kulluna, said: “As heart
The word ‘Kulluna’ in Arabic disease is a leading cause of death in
means ‘all of us’ and it is being used Qatar, the Kulluna for a Healthy Heart
for this campaign in the belief that International Training Centre. Kul- style. The pop-up clinic will offer tests campaign aims to promote cardiac
everyone can take steps to improve luna activities take many forms as its for cholesterol, blood pressure, blood health and prevent heart diseases. By
health, wellbeing and safety for them- messages need to reach as wide an sugar levels and Basal Metabolic Index providing simple health checks as well
selves, their families and the com- audience as possible. free of charge. as interactive information about incor-
munity in general. The programme As heart disease is one of the big- Khalid Sam Hosn, General Man- porating diet and exercise into daily
is conducted in cooperation with gest health issues in the country, Doha ager, Doha Festival City, said: “We are life, Kulluna for a Healthy Heart also
medical institutions and educational Festival City, is supporting HMC, as honoured to be supporting the Kullu- seeks to help people understand that
establishments under the umbrella of part of a drive to increase awareness of na for a Healthy Heart campaign. We making small changes can have a big
HMC and is coordinated by Hamad the disease and promote a healthy life- hope the pop-up clinic at Doha Festival effect on their heart health.”

Women face more risk of dying from heart disease

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
CARDIOVASCULAR diseases
(CVDs) are a leading cause of
death in Qatar and the number
one cause of death globally.
While both men and wom-
en may share many of the
same symptoms of a heart at-
tack, a woman’s experience
can be very different from a
man’s and women are more
often misdiagnosed.
In addition to chest, jaw and
back discomfort, women may
also experience anxiety, sleep
disturbances, stress, fatigue and
body aches. They may also de-
scribe the sensation felt during
a heart attack as heaviness or
pressure, compared to men who
often complain of chest pain.
Research attributes these
differences to a number of fac-
tors, including age, as young
women may not be aware that
they have a heart condition.
Physiological differences are
also a factor, with women be-
ing less likely than men to seek
help quickly.
Commenting on the differ-
ences in the signs and symp-
toms of heart disease experi-
enced by men and women, Dr
Nidal Ahmad Asaad, Chair-
man of Cardiology at HMC’s
Heart Hospital, said: “Each
year, heart disease kills more
women than men. Heart at-
tacks are also thought to be
more deadly in women be-
cause their hearts are affected
by pregnancy, menopause
and hormonal changes, with
a large percentage of young
women who have premature
acute heart attacks having a
history of pregnancy disor-
as eating and drinking more
healthily, getting more exer-
cise and stopping smoking, we
can help reverse this trend,” Dr
Asaad also said.
Risk factors for heart dis-
ease common to both men and
women include high cholester-
ol, smoking, obesity and physi-
cal inactivity. Risk factors specif-
ic to women include gestational
diabetes, pre-term delivery,
hypertension in pregnancy and
breast cancer treatments. Hav-
ing an autoimmune disorder
also increases one’s risk of heart
disease.
HMC recently concluded the second conference in Cardiac Clinical Imaging. As part of its continuing
efforts to provide excellent
ders, such as gestational dia- holistic approach that includes “The good news is that in- cardiac care in Qatar, HMC
betes or hypertension.” psychological support, psycho- creased awareness can help recently organised the second
“Women with known or sus- social support and education to control the key risk factors conference in Cardiac Clinical
pected heart disease, of course, make the lifestyle changes that and prevent heart disease. By Imaging under the theme ‘De-
require excellent medical care, will enhance their heart health,” encouraging just a few simple fining the future vision of car-
but they also require a more Dr Asaad added. daily lifestyle changes, such diac imaging’. The conference
was aimed at raising awareness
of, and stimulating interest in,
cardiac imaging as a profession
and highlighting the important
role it plays in the diagnosis,
treatment and management of
heart conditions.
Commenting on the im-
portance of the conference,
Dr Maryam al Kuwari, Senior
Consultant, Cardiac Imaging
and Chief Radiologist at HMC,
said: “The conference primari-
ly focused on the importance of
a multidisciplinary approach
to care across sub-specialties
such as clinical imaging, cardi-
ology, nuclear cardiology and
echocardiography. Moreover,
the latest techniques in cardiac
imaging diagnosis and man-
agement and the research and
developments in cardiac im-
aging and related fields were
also discussed.”

Indian embassy
issues 56 ECs, 13
air tickets in Feb
THE Embassy of India in Doha
held its monthly Open House
on the embassy premises on
February 22 to address the
consular and labour related is-
sues of the Indian nationals in
Qatar.
The grievances brought to
the notice of the embassy were
related to delayed payment of
wages and violation of con-
tract terms and conditions.
Ambassador of India HE
P Kumaran, Third Secretary
(Labour & Community Wel-
fare) Dr M Aleem and other
embassy officials met the
complainants, discussed their
problems in detail and assured
them of the embassy’s active
follow up of their cases with
the concerned authorities in
the government of Qatar.
The Indian Community
Benevolent Forum (ICBF)
President Devis Edakulathur,
Vice-President Babu Rajan,
along with members of the
ICBF Management Committee
also participated in the Open
House.
An embassy delegation
visited the Central Prison and
Deportation Centre last week
to enquire about the welfare of
detainees from India. The to-
tal number of Indian nationals
in the Central Prison and the
Deportation Centre currently
is 219 and 100, respectively.
Since January 2017, 14
Open Houses have been held
by the embassy and 92 com-
plaints were received during
the events. Out of these, 68
complaints have been resolved
and 24 are under active follow
up of the embassy.
The embassy has issued 56
Emergency Certificates (ECs)
in February 2018 to Indian na-
tionals for their repatriation.
It also issued 13 air tickets to
needy Indian nationals for
their return to India in Febru-
ary 2018. (TNN)
60 international
HBKU & Qatar Shell to launch influencers
joint research seminar series Qatar INFLOW
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
TO bridge the gap between
academia and industry, Ha-
mad Bin Khalifa University’s
(HBKU) College of Science
and Engineering (CSE) and
Qatar Shell are initiating Joint
Sustainability Research Semi-
nars (JSRS) on February 28.
The maiden lecture is one
of three lectures offered this
academic year and will focus
on Global Energy Transi-
tion and Shell. It will be de-
livered by Dr Dhruv Arora,
who has extensive expertise
in the field of sustainable
development.
Discussions will aim to
provide students, staff, faculty
and all attendees with an in-
dustry insider’s perspective on
efforts that are underway to
preserve and protect the envi-
ronment by targeting sustain-
Panellists at an event share their personal experiences in academia, government, business and volunteer organisations.
VCUarts Qatar and the US Embassy
attend
able growth in the energy and
water sectors.
To be held at the Liberal
Arts and Science Building
in Education City, the lec-
ture will additionally provide
guests with a unique opportu-
nity to network with experts.
Attendees will learn more
about the significant steps that
the oil and gas industry leader
is presently taking to build a
low-carbon energy future and
enable consumer access to
modern energy.
CSE, a multidisciplinary
college with three divisions
in the fields of Life Sciences,
Information and Computing
Technology, and Sustainable
Development, leads higher ed-
ucation programmes that aim
to tackle today’s challenges
and opportunities in engineer-
ing, science and e-technology.
Dr Mounir Hamdi, dean
of CSE, said: “We continu-
Nation
ously endeavour to com-
plement all academic and
theoretical knowledge of our
programmes with industrial
insights to achieve a more in-
formed understanding of the
world. The Joint Research
Seminar Series with Qatar
Shell is a critical undertaking
to link industry and academia
as we strive to enhance the
learning experience of our
students and inform the gen-
eral public, building on solid
expertise that our partners at
Qatar Shell can provide.”
Dr Arora is the research
and development and tech-
nology manager at the Qatar
Shell Research and Technol-
ogy Center. Under his stew-
ardship, the centre plans to
continue research and devel-
opment efforts in catalyst,
water, corrosion and CO2
utilisation, and initiate new
research themes that are
aligned with Qatar National
Vision for 2030.
Dr Arora holds a BTech in
Mechanical Engineering from
the Indian Institute of Tech-
nology in New Delhi, India; a
PhD in mechanical engineer-
ing and material science; and
an MBA from the Rice Univer-
sity in Houston, the USA.
The JSRS builds on the
shared values to strengthen
awareness about energy
and environmental sustain-
ability. Upcoming lectures,
scheduled to be held in
March and April,will include
specialist insight into inte-
grated onsite water, material
and corrosion in the oil and
gas industry.
To attend the upcoming
lecture, members of the pub-
lic can register online by log-
ging on to ‘www.hbku.edu.qa/
en/academic-events/hbku-
shell-research’.
Monday, February 26, 2018
VICTOR BOLORUNDURO
DOHA
MORE than 60 global in-
fluencers with a combined
reach in excess of 100 mil-
lion people are participating
in the Visit Qatar INFLOW
Summit being held at the
Ritz Carlton Hotel in Doha
from February 25 to 28.
The event, which fea-
tures representatives of
several industries and top
brands, is powered by Qa-
tar Airways in collaboration
with Visit Qatar.
INFLOW(Influencers
of The World) is a platform
that actively brings together
brands with leading blog-
gers, digital influencers, so-
cial media content creators
and digital trendsetters from
all over the world.
The event highlights
Qatar as an ultimate travel
and leisure destination and
gives brand representatives,
marketing professionals and
digital content producers
from various industries such
as hospitality, technology,
fashion, beauty, travel from
within the country an op-
portunity to discuss business
collaborations with the inter-
national influencers.
Canadian social media
star Shay Mitchell and In-
stagram’s travel guru Liz
Eswein from New York are
other top influencers drawn
from 16 countries includ-
ing Canada, the US, Rus-
sia, Germany, the UK, Italy,
Lebanon, Kuwait, Italy and
Qatar at the event. They rep-
resent different sectors such
as travel, sports, gastronomy
and spas.
Speaking at a press con-
07
The four-day event will fea-
ture exclusive B2I meet-
ings and conference to
help brands in Qatar find
the right digital influencer
partners to promote their
services and products
Qatar INFLOW Summit
powered by Qatar Airways
is our first international
Business-to-Influencers
(B2I) summit and we are
confident that this powerful
event will shine a new light
on Qatar. We firmly believe
that Qatar’s potential as an
ultimate travel destination
with its limitless entertain-
ment opportunities and at-
tractions can be explored
through digital content crea-
tion. The summit provides
an excellent opportunity to
bring Qatar tourism to the
forefront.”
The four-day event will
feature exclusive B2I meet-
ings and conference to help
brands in Qatar find the
right digital influencer part-
ners to promote their serv-
ices and products.
Afsin Avci, co-founder
of INFLOW Summits, said,
“Influencer marketing marks
a new era of marketing and
communications, present-
ing endless possibilities for
brands. The VisitQatar IN-
FLOW Summit is a unique ex-
perience that will explore this
exciting new marketing tac-
tic and its benefits for Qatar
tourism. The innovative sum-
mit will allow Qatar’s brands,
agencies and industries to un-

inspire students to ‘Be the Change’ ference on Sunday, Emre

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
VIRGINIA Commonwealth
University School of the Arts in
Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) and the
US Embassy in Qatar hosted a
panel discussion in celebration
of US Black History Month ti-
tled ‘Be the Change’.
The panellists shared
their personal experiences in
Devarajan Girishan. academia, government, busi-
ness and volunteer organi-
Indian expat dies sations, and discussed best
practices in local and global
of cardiac arrest efforts to promote education,
improve health and access to
medical services, and foster
more diverse and inclusive
communities.
Under the banner of ‘Be the
Change’, the event encouraged
students to look for opportu-
nities to be positive examples
and contribute their time and
talents to their local communi-
ties.
Participants in the panel
included Dr Rogaia Abush-
araf, Professor, Georgetown
University in Qatar; Ameera
al Ishaq, Head of Psychology
Unit at Hamad Medical Cor-
poration; Amal al Shammari,
the CEO of Embrace Doha;
and Essa al Mannai, Executive
Director of Reach Out to Asia
(ROTA).
Speaking on behalf of
the US Embassy was Carissa
Gonzalez, Public Affairs Of-
ficer, who said: “We are proud
to celebrate the legacy of Dr
Martin Luther King, Jr., one of
America’s greatest agents for
positive change, and to partner
with VCUarts Qatar during US
Black History Month to both
honour our past and to look to-
ward the future. We are excited
to support, in any way we can,
the efforts of our local partners
and of Qatar’s youth to build up
Gelen, co-founder of IN-
FLOW Summits, said, “Visit
lock the potential of influenc-
er marketing and help their
brand grow through digital
collaborations.”
their communities and make a
difference.”
Valerie Jeremijenko,
VCUart Qatar’s Assistant Dean
for Student Affairs, thanked the
US Embassy for partnering with
the university: “VCUarts Qatar
is proud to partner with the US
Embassy in Qatar to commem-
orate US Black History Month.
As an avid supporter of inter-
cultural communications, it’s
important to raise awareness
and encourage global exchange
of knowledge and skills as it al-
lows us to learn more about oth-
er cultures and ways of thinking
about the world.”
The event featured representatives of several industries and top
brands. (RAFEEK PALAYOOR)

SANTHOSH CHANDRAN
DOHA

AN Indian expatriate died of

cardiac arrest in Doha recently.
The deceased Devarajan
Girishan (59) hailing from
Thiruvananthapuram district
in Kerala was working as an
engineer in a private company
in Doha.
An official of Cultural Fo-
rum, a socio-cultural asso-
ciation of Kerala community,
said that the mortal remains of
Girishan were flown to Kerala
after completion of formalities
at the Embassy of India and
the concerned offices and have
reached his home.
Girishan is survived by wife
Baby Girishan and daughters
Geethu Girishan and Megha
Girishan.
Naseem Al Rabeeh Healthcare Group
opens 2 outlets in Al Rayyan, Aziziya
SANTHOSH CHANDRAN
DOHA
NASEEM Al Rabeeh Health-
care Group, a leading health
care chain in Gulf region,
opened two more outlets in
Qatar recently, including
one in Al Rayyan and anoth-
er in Aziziya. Presently, the
group has five outlets in the
country.
Sheikh Hassan bin Khalid
bin Hassan al Thani inaugu-
Sheikh Hassan bin Khalid bin Hassan al Thani and other officials at the inauguration of Naseem Al Rab- rated the Naseem Al Rayyan
eeh’s Al Rayyan Branch. It was followed by the e-launch of Al Rabeeh Dental Centre in Aziziya. Branch. It was followed by
the e-launch of Al Rabeeh
Dental Centre in Aziziya. The
event was attended by several
eminent personalities.
The new branch in Al
Rayyan called ‘Naseem Al
Rabeeh Medical Centre
Doha’ is a multispecialty
medical centre with all sup-
portive departments includ-
ing, radiology, pathology and
a fulltime pharmacy. The
centre will function from
7am till 12 midnight in dif-
ferent shifts.
The Al Rabeeh Dental
Centre in Aziziya will pro-
vide various dental services,
including orthodontics, en-
dodontic and prosthodontic.
The centre will be open from
8am to 10pm.
The ceremony was at-
tended by Vice-Chairman and
Managing Director of Na-
seem Al Rabeeh Healthcare
Group Mohammed Miandad,
Chief Executive Officer Babu
Shanavas, General Manager
Munir Ali Ibrahim, Moham-
med Ashraf, Rishad PK and
Mohammed Arif.

Expat finishes 475km epic run Runners brave weather to complete

around Qatar with flying colours 160-km cross-country marathon
THE solo event, Alone, A Run
Around Qatar,concluded at Katara
on Sunday with long-term resident
Pierre Daniel finishing his 475km
epic run.
He was met by family, friends
and sponsors at the finishing line
with everyone lauding this great
feat. Daniel seeks to set an official
world record of running across
north to south of Qatar. The time
62-66 hrs is the current estimate
of the final time and the record will
be subject to ratification by official
body over the coming weeks.
Daniel said:“I am thrilled to
be done and see my family and
friends but also can’t wait to tell
more and more of the story over
coming weeks to inspire others to
their own potential and encour-
age them to go and see what I
have seen.”
Supported by MBM Transport
and with key partners Katara and
Aspire, Daniel undertook the chal-
lenge for his love for adventure
and the State of Qatar.
Over the last seven days Pierre
has had less than 4.5 hours of sleep
at times, with as little as 2 hours on
most nights, and has burnt an es-
timated 48,000 calories, approxi-
mately 7,000 a day, almost 3 times
the normal recommended amount
for a man of his age.
(LEZIMA GOMES/DOHA)
EXPATRIATE runners braved the
sudden changes in the weather con-
dition to complete Qatar’s 160-km
cross-country marathon near Al
Shamal on Saturday.
The event organised by Doha
Bay Runners Club (DBRC) began
at southern desert of Qatar on
Friday with 19 expatriate runners
from the UK, India, the Philip-
pines, Syria, France, Canada, Mo-
rocco, Nigeria, Spain and Brazil.
However, only Philippine expa-
triates Rossyle Ayuro and Rommil
and a Brazilian expatriate Filipe
Mallet completed the entire 160-
km race as many of the runners
withdrew from the run after 50-km
owing to indifferent weather, while
French expatriate Loic Bourdon,
who lead the marathon quit after
completing 100-km. Speaking to Qatar Tribune, a an inspiration for sport lovers.
An initiative of social me- participant and member of DBRC, The event was not only to encour-
dia group, the marathon through Vinodh Gopinathan said: “The age the spirit of sports among the
desert was the first of its kind in the unexpected rise in temperature residents but also to promote a
country. The runners stopped for on Friday was a big challenge for healthy living.”
refreshments after every 50-km. the runners. The marathon was (SANTHOSH CHANDRAN/DOHA)
08 Monday, February 26, 2018

ESTABLISHED SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

Opinion PRINTED AT ALI BIN ALI PRINTING PRESS

HAMAD BIN SUHAIM AL THANI CHAIRMAN

ADEL ALI BIN ALI MANAGING DIRECTOR
DR HASSAN MOHAMMED AL ANSARI EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

America’s Last, Best Hope

For Gun Reform
The Fuzzy Math Of Funding
Republicans are now discussing gun control law after
students vow to keep the country’s attention on the issue
Iraq’s Reconstruction
L
ESS than a week after Nikolas Cruz But it was hard not to hear the desperation
stormed his old Florida high school in his voice, and those of other NRA mouth- The war-torn country would need constant help from
with an AR-15 assault rifle, Sonjhia pieces. History does not necessarily dictate
Lowery found herself in the entryway the future, and LaPierre’s demographic, like
donors and investors to rebuild the economy
of CK McClatchy High School listening LaPierre himself, is ageing and ageing.
to her daughter’s classmates discuss how to Faced with an onslaught of criticism KRISHNADEV CALAMUR | “The fact remains that it will take a lot
survive a mass shooting. from traumatised parents and teenagers TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE of work and a long time for the structures
“Kids,” she fumed to The Bee, “shouldn’t in Parkland, Trump has surprised people to hold up,” she said. “These individuals

have to come to school and have those kind by reflexively, for the moment, supporting
of conversations.” some modest gun-control measures. Among
She’s right. They shouldn’t. If anything them, changing the age to buy a firearm
has been made sickeningly clear over the from 18 to 21 and requiring stricter back-
past few days, it’s that we have acquiesced ground checks for would-be purchasers.
to the firearms industry to an insane degree. Under the category of better late than
An entire generation of young Ameri- never, he also told the Justice Department
cans has come of age, having never known to draft a ban for “bump stocks,” which
life without active shooter drills. They’re fu- can make legal semi-automatic rifles fire at
rious – and fed up with living in fear. nearly the speed of an illegal machine gun.
It’s not just in Parkland, Florida, where Still off the table is a prohibition on
Cruz marched into Marjory Stoneman assault-style rifles, as supported by Sena-
Douglas High School and killed 17 people on tor Dianne Feinstein of California and other
Valentine’s Day. Or in Sacramento, where congressional Democrats. Meanwhile, the
a rumour that someone was going to shoot president is pushing the ridiculous idea of
up McClatchy High scared dozens of stu- arming teachers, and recently ended an
dents into staying home on Tuesday. Or in Obama-era policy that would have made it
Whittier, where police this week seized guns harder for people with mental health issues
and high-capacity magazines from a student to get a firearm even as he blamed the Flori-
who threatened to spray bullets at a continu- da shooting on Cruz’s mental instability. But
ation high school in the Los Angeles suburb. after years of hearing Republicans parrot the
It’s national, and the kids are right. NRA line, seeing them discuss gun control at
This has to stop now. The only question is all is shocking. To know that teenagers are
whether President Donald Trump and con- the reason it’s happening is inspiring.
gressional Republicans will finally do the What else could Trump do after the fa-
right thing by following California’s lead ther of an 18-year-old girl who was killed at
and enacting some sensible gun laws. Will Marjory Stoneman Douglas yelled at him
they listen to the nation’s teenagers, now during a White House “listening session”?
being led by an especially determined and “One school shooting and we all should’ve
media-savvy group from Marjory Stoneman fixed it,” Andrew Pollack said. “And I’m pis-
Douglas High? Or will they fall in line, as sed because my daughter, I’m not going to
ever, with the National Rifle Association? see again.”
The gun lobby has long led the GOP And what else could Senator Marco Ru-
around by the nose with its blood money, bio do after being dressed down by 17-year-
including House Majority Leader Kevin old on live TV? “It’s hard to look at you,”
McCarthy and the rest of California’s Cameron Kasky told the Florida Repub-
congre$$ional delegation, which got nearly lican, “and not look down the barrel of an
$800,000 in campaign contributions. AR-15, and not look at Nikolas Cruz.”
History suggests the answer is likely On Wednesday, as kids across the coun-
to be the NRA, no matter how hollow and try left classrooms in solidarity, the stu-
morally repugnant its views have suddenly dents regrouped.
come to seem. On Thursday, the group’s “We will make change in this country,”
chief, Wayne LaPierre, shamelessly attacked Lorenzo Prado, an 11th-grader, told law-
gun control advocates and the press, and makers in Tallahassee. “And if not today, to-
declared that that schools need to be “hard- morrow. And if not tomorrow, the day after
ened” with more “good guys with guns,” even that and the day after that, until we achieve
though an armed deputy at Marjory Stone- the change that we want in this country.”
man Douglas never went inside to stop Cruz. We wish them luck. Lives depend on it.
Tribune News Service
A
T first glance, a conference on Iraq
that raised $30 billion this week
may look like a success. But com-
pared to the estimated $88 billion
the Iraqi government said was
needed to rebuild the country after the
devastation wrought by ISIS and US-led
airstrikes, the amount sounds paltry. And
like most things involving Iraq, its neigh-
bours, and reconstruction, the true pic-
ture is far more complicated.
“If we compare what we got today to
what we need, it is no secret, it is of course
much lower than what Iraq needs,” Iraqi
Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said
in Kuwait, where the conference was or-
ganised. “But we know that we will not get
everything we want.”
The days when Iraq got the kinds of
sums it asked for at conferences like this
one might be over. Many of the usual inter-
national donors are tapped out. Some, like
the Arabian Gulf countries, are focused on
internal economic reform and on Yemen,
which has been devastated by a civil war
that is also proxy war between Iran and
Saudi Arabia. Others, such as the United
States, have become more inward-looking.
Fareed Yasseen, the Iraqi ambassador
to the US, acknowledged the challenges of
raising money in the current geopolitical
climate. “We never thought we’d get that
amount [$88 billion],” he told me. “There’s
donor fatigue and countries that need in-
ternational assistance more than we do.”
Still, the countries that pledged funds
this week for Iraq illustrate what could be
the start of a regional willingness to stabi-
lise the country. Turkey, which has been
involved in Iraq’s reconstruction since
the end of the war that ousted Saddam
Hussein, was the biggest contributor. It
pledged $5 billion. The Saudis, who may
be wary of the composition of the next Ira-
qi government (elections are in May and
Riyadh doesn’t want pro-Iranian inter-
ests to gain power), promised $1.5 billion.
Kuwait, which organised the conference,
pledged $1 billion; Qatar an additional $1
billion. There were smaller contributions
from the United Arab Emirates, Germa-
ny, the EU, and the Islamic Development
Bank. The United States did not pledge
any money, but said it would offer more
than $3 billion in financing to help US
companies invest in Iraq.
Much of the money will flow into Iraq
only if contracts or agreements actually
materialise. Still Sajjad Jiyad, who runs
the Bayan Center, an Iraqi think tank in
Baghdad, pointed out that 76 govern-
ments showed up at the conference, along
with 1,800 firms, NGOs, and internation-
al corporations. “They may not have bid
today,” he said, “but … they can go back
and apply for credit lines and guarantees
and bid on specific projects.”
Iraq’s neighbours are looking not just
to provide aid, but for investment
opportunities in the country. They want
to convert Iraqi debt to them into
equities in projects or gas shipments
Michael Knights, an Iraq expert at the
Washington Institute, told me that while
the top-line numbers might have looked
disappointing, there was much to be op-
timistic about.
“What a lot of people have been im-
pressed with is that the Iraqis have come
out in a very mature way and tried to
put in a decent amount of effort trying
to attract private sector investment to
the country, trying to reassure investors,
putting on a good show,” he said. “And,
I think, this should be viewed more as an
investment conference than as an aid con-
ference. That’s the key takeaway there.”
Still, Iraq is only just recovering from
the war with ISIS. The cities the terror-
ists occupied were destroyed—and fix-
ing them is expected to cost $22 billion.
Corruption remains a problem, as well.
Transparency International ranked Iraq
166 out of 176 countries in 2016, the most
recent year for which data are available.
Samya Kullab, a senior correspondent
with Iraq Oil Report, a news organisation
that covers the country’s energy sector,
told me that Iraqi officials were aware of
the perception among the donor com-
munity that the country was corrupt. One
way to mitigate that perception was with
the establishment of the Iraq Reconstruc-
tion Fund, which is run by Mustafa al-Hi-
ti, a highly respected official, who began
to work with the World Bank. But, Kullab
acknowledged, that won’t entirely solve
the problem.
and the system itself allowed corruption
to flourish. It will take a long time for that
to be remedied.”
The World Bank’s involvement in the
reconstruction is designed to assuage
some of the corruption concerns (though
the bank’s record in such matters is spot-
ty). Jiyad pointed out that the bank would
audit the projects being financed with the
funds that are raised. And, he said, Iraqis
are asking for a transfer of skills and ex-
perience rather cash “because we’ve seen
where that leads.”
Jiyad said he was optimistic about the
pledges made by Iraq’s neighbours. Or
as Knights put it: “A few years ago, these
were the countries that a lot of Iraqis be-
lieved were the people who backed [ISIS],
and who gave them sanctuary and gave
them money. Well, now these guys are
giving billions of dollars to Iraq instead.”
Importantly, Iraq’s neighbours are
looking not just to provide aid, but for
investment opportunities in the country.
They want to convert Iraqi debt to them
into equities in projects or gas shipments.
“Generally speaking the country is
coming out of a very dark period and has
that burst of optimism that you often get
in Iraq,” Knights said. “And there’s go-
ing to be a lot of private-sector driven,
population-driven, service-sector driven,
investment opportunities.”
Iraq’s neighbours are also looking at
the country’s electoral and sectarian poli-
tics. Most of the areas that need rebuild-
ing, including Mosul, Iraq’s second-big-
gest city, are dominated by Sunnis. These
were the places where ISIS put down deep
roots. As Iraq’s Shia-dominated govern-
ment tries to rebuild, it will want to en-
sure that these Sunni-majority areas re-
ceive a fair share of reconstruction funds.
Ultimately, that might be the only recipe
for a united Iraq.
Iraq’s Arab neighbours are wary of
Iran’s influence in the country’s politics.
It is far from certain that Haider al-Aba-
di, the Iraqi prime minister, will remain
prime minister after elections in May.
The election results could determine if all
the money that was pledged this week in
Kuwait comes through; they could also
determine if more funds are promised for
the reconstruction of Iraq.
No matter what Iraq asked for, it’s un-
likely the country would be able to spend
$88 billion this year—or the next year, or
indeed even in 2020. But in the coming
years, depending on what the Iraqis do
with the amounts that have been pledged
in Kuwait, there will be other opportu-
nities to raise money. “This is not a one
and done,” Knights said. “This is part of
an ongoing process of attracting not just
aid donors but also investors to Iraq who
expect to see a return.”

Could The SCO Expand Into The Middle East?

The likely upgrading of Iran to full membership of SCO could lead to Turkey and the GCC states joining the China-led group
JONATHAN FULTON | security concerns, described in the Chi- disputes among members. China has a long tries under United Nations sanctions could agreement (FTA) within the organisation,
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE nese shorthand of the ‘three evils’: ter- relationship with Pakistan and Russia with not be admitted. The removal of sanctions saying, “We are open to cooperation and
rorism, religious extremism, and ethnic India, and the thinking is that organisation- in 2016 has opened the possibility of Iran ready to discuss the creation of a free trade

I
N June 2016, the world watched as
the United Kingdom voted for Brexit
and wondered what it would mean for
the European Union and other pillars
of the liberal international order. That
same week, few were paying attention as
the architecture of an emerging regional
order in Asia added a new dimension. The
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
held its annual summit in Tashkent, Uz-
bekistan, and announced that India and
Pakistan would begin the process of be-
coming full members, joining China, Rus-
sia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan,
and Tajikistan. It was the first time that the
SCO admitted new members, and it may
not be the last, with future expansion pos-
sibly bringing the SCO to the Arabian Gulf.
In June 2017 another SCO summit was
held, this time in Astana, Kazakhstan, when
the admission of its two newest members
was formalised. It is now the most populous
regional organisation, with three billion
people, accounting for 17.5 percent of the
world’s proven oil reserves, and as much as
50 percent of known natural gas reserves,
and about 14 trillion dollars in GDP.
The SCO was formed in 2001, largely as
a security forum. Governments through-
out the region have shared transnational
separatism. The need to coordinate on
these issues has been apparent on several
occasions, most recently in August 2016
when the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan
was attacked, killing the driver of the car
which rammed into the embassy’s gate
and injuring three Kyrgyz embassy work-
ers. Kyrgyz and Chinese authorities said
the driver was linked to Uyghur separatist
groups, particularly the East Turkestan Is-
lamic Movement (ETIM), a group labelled
as a terrorist organisation by both China
and the United States. ETIM’s goal is os-
tensibly the establishment of an independ-
ent state called East Turkestan that would
cover territory in parts of China’s Xinjiang,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pa-
kistan, Turkey, and Afghanistan. As such,
counterterrorism cooperation has been
one of the pillars of the SCO which covers
much of the same territory.
Until recently, it looked like the SCO
would essentially remain a Central Asian
security forum, but full membership for
India and Pakistan signals a larger geopo-
litical ambition. On the face of it, admitting
two nuclear states that have fought three
wars against each other appears counterin-
tuitive. However, it has been described as an
opportunity to provide a platform to settle
al efforts could ease tensions in South Asia.
More likely, traditional realpolitik will
play a part in maintaining order. Bilateral
relations between China and Pakistan are
already dense, with the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) a major part
of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), de-
scribed as “the most significant and far-
reaching initiative that China has ever put
forward.” Given this strategic importance
for China, a stable Pakistan is vital. An SCO
with only Pakistan as a member would iso-
late India and increase the potential for
aggression; an SCO that includes both is
one less threat to manage.
India is the world’s second largest
arms purchaser, and Russia has long been
among its top suppliers, an important ele-
ment of what Russian President Vladimir
Putin described as a “privileged strategic
partnership” in a state visit to New Delhi
last December. This relationship presum-
ably provides a counterbalance to the Chi-
na-Pakistan bloc.
While this round of SCO expansion has
long been expected, a potential next round
was discussed last spring: the upgrading
of Iran’s status from observer state to full
member. Iran applied for full membership
in 2008, but the SCO had stated that coun-
joining, with Putin stating, “We believe that
after Iran’s nuclear problem was solved
and United Nations sanctions lifted, there
have been no obstacles left.” China’s depu-
ty foreign minister also expressed support
for Iranian membership, saying that China
“welcomes and supports Iran’s wish to be-
come a formal member of the SCO.”
An interesting spillover effect of Iran
in the SCO could be the further expansion
of the SCO into the Middle East. Turkey is
already a dialogue partner, and given its
importance in the BRI, it could consider
membership eventually as well. The Gulf
leaders also have significant trade relations
with China, India, and Pakistan. Iranian
membership could be the catalyst for Saudi
Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council
members requesting a seat at the SCO table.
There have also been signs that SCO
cooperation is expanding beyond secu-
rity issues to focus on trade and finance,
something that China has long wanted but
the other members have been cool toward,
reluctant of Chinese economic dominance.
A Heads of Government Council was held
in Astana last November, and Chinese Pre-
mier Li Keqiang called for establishing an
SCO development bank, and indicated that
China is interested in pursuing a free trade
zone. This will help to remove trade barri-
ers. They hinder the development of coun-
tries and the world economy.”
Taken together with last May’s BRI
summit in Beijing and the growing list of
countries joining the China-led Asian In-
frastructure Investment Bank, the SCO
expansion appears to represent a China
that is increasingly comfortable taking a
leadership role in its own version of global
governance. For the time being, it indi-
cates the shape of an emerging China-cen-
tred Eurasian order, in which Xi Jinping
is making China great again and regional
states seemingly content to bandwagon.
SCO heads of state will meet again in
June in Qingdao, China, and the Chinese
Foreign Ministry has already confirmed that
Iran will be participating. Regional observ-
ers will no doubt be paying close attention,
anticipating the next round of SCO expan-
sion and how it may affect regional affairs.
(Jonathan Fulton is assistant
professor of political science at Za-
yed University in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
His research focuses on China’s
relations with the Middle East, Gulf
International relations, and Chi-
nese foreign policy.)

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THE OPINION AND ANALYSIS PAGES ARE THE AUTHORS’ OWN. QATAR TRIBUNE BEARS NO RESPONSIBILITY.
 Philippines / Southeast Asia / World Monday, February 26, 2018 09
Xi poised to extend rule as China set to lift term limits
ber-stamp National People’s general secretary in late 2012, realising the “Chinese dream
Xi’s two predecessors served two 5-year Congress starting March 5. Xi Xi has waged a remorseless of national rejuvenation” --
terms, but he has signalled bigger ambitions is expected to be given a sec- battle against corruption, his slogan to restore the na-
ond term in office during the which has seen more than tion to its former glory.
two-week-long session. one million people punished. “No organisation or in-
AFP serve no more than two con- Xi has been chipping Some also see the campaign as dividual has the privilege to
BEIJING secutive terms” of five years, away at the collective model a means for him to eradicate overstep the constitution or
the official Xinhua news agen- of leadership that was pro- internal opposition. the law,” Xinhua quoted him
XI Jinping, China’s most cy reported Sunday. moted by Deng Xiaoping, the A major outcome of the as saying.
powerful leader for decades, “I think he will become architect of the country’s eco- 19th Party Congress was the Xi is keeping a key ally by
could stay in office indefinite- emperor for life and the Mao nomic reforms in the 1980s. decision to establish a new an- his side as he cements power.
ly after the Communist Party Zedong of the 21st century”, Xi’s two predecessors, ti-graft agency, the National The feared former head of
called for the removal of pres- Willy Lam, politics professor Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, Supervisory Commission, that the anti-graft agency, Wang
idential term limits. at the Chinese University of both served two five-year will coordinate investigations Qishan, stepped down from
Xi, who is also party Hong Kong, told AFP. terms, but he has signalled at all levels of government and the Standing Committee last
chief and seen as the coun- “If his health permits, bigger ambitions. expand its remit to include October because at 69, he had
try’s most formidable ruler he wants to serve 20 years, At the 19th five-yearly Chinese President Xi Jinping non-party members. reached the traditional retire-
since Mao Zedong, has been which would mean until 2032 Communist Party congress The Central Committee ment age.
president since 2013 and the as secretary general of the last October, Xi unveiled a does not have a formal term only accorded to one previous proposed listing the commis- But Wang was selected
64-year-old leader would party, and 2033 as state pres- new seven-member Politburo limit. leader, Mao, during his life- sion as a new state organ in earlier this year as a deputy
have to step down in 2023 ident,” Lam said. Standing Committee -- its top Xi also saw his eponymous time. the constitution. to the upcoming National
under the current system. The proposed change, ruling body -- that lacked any political philosophy -- Xi Jin- The Central Committee Xi told party officials on People’s Congress annual
But the party’s Central which would also apply to the clear heir apparent to him. ping Thought on Socialism also proposed adding Xi’s Saturday the constitution was session, fuelling speculation
Committee proposed deleting vice-president, will be sub- He was also given the cus- with Chinese Characteristics “thought” to the national con- key to building a moderately that he could become Xi’s
from the constitution the stip- mitted to legislators at the tomary second term as party for a New Era -- included in stitution, joining Mao again. prosperous society, building a vice-president or gain some
ulation that a president “shall annual full session of the rub- general secretary, a job which the party’s charter, an honour Since taking over as party modern socialist country and other influential role.

One killed, 4 injured as

DR Congo police fire to
disperse banned protests
AFP
KINSHASA
ONE person was killed and
at least four injured as police
fired live bullets and tear gas
to disperse banned protests
calling on DR Congo President
Joseph Kabila to stand down.
The church-backed pro-
tests in the Democratic Repub-
lic of Congo come after months
of tension sparked by Kabila’s
prolonged rule and long-de-
layed elections in the vast and
chronically unstable country.
In the capital Kinshasa,
one man was killed and two
people seriously injured as po-
lice opened fire on demonstra-
tors.
“Since 7am we have re-
ceived three injured people
from the Catholic march. Two
were seriously injured and
Philippine officials’ team visits
one died from a bullet wound
in the chest,” said Francois
Kuwait amid labour dispute
Kajingulu, a senior doctor at
the St Joseph de Limete hos- 2nd delegation tasked with negotiating bilateral treaty for domestic workers to be in Kuwait next week
pital in central Kinshasa.
An AFP journalist in the
northeastern city of Kisangani
said at least two people suf-
fered bullet injuries as police
fired on marchers.
Hundreds began marching
after mass at Kisangani cathe-
dral but were dispersed by se-
curity forces who fired bullets
and tear gas.
The demonstrators fled
back into the cathedral singing
the national anthem, “Debout
Congolais” (Arise Congolese).
Three priests were arrested as
they led a march in the Saint
Pierre de Wagenia district in
the east of the city. Officers
took them away in a police ve-
hicle, the journalist said.

Scores on trial over

failed Burkina coup
AFP They are accused of in-
OUAGADOUGOU volvement in a coup launched
the following year by Com-
MORE than 80 people go on paore’s old presidential guard
trial before a military court on against the transitional gov-
Tuesday over the failed 2015 ernment that took power after
coup in Burkina Faso, includ- the veteran leader’s fall.
ing two top generals accused The elite unit known as the
of masterminding the plot. RSP briefly took the country’s
The case is being seen as a leaders hostage before the
test of the credibility of justice coup was thwarted by street
in the former French colony protesters and support from
which has been blighted by the army which attacked the
numerous coups and mutinies plotters’ barracks.
since gaining independence in Fourteen people died and
1960. The two main defend- 270 were injured in the unrest.
ants among the 84 on trial Coup leader Diendere, the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) from Kuwait arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, following President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to evacuate workers after a Filipina was
are generals Djibrill Bassole former head of the RSP, and found dead in a freezer, in Pasay city, Metro Manila, Philippines, recently. (REUTERS)
and Gilbert Diendere -- key al- his co-defendants are accused
lies of former president Blaise of a range of crimes including AFP the Syrian capital, Damascus, phones and passports, which protection under a different
Compaore who was chased undermining state security KUWAIT CITY after an Interpol manhunt. Philippine President currently can be confiscated entry visa.
from power in October 2014. and murder. Philippine Deputy Min- Rodrigo Duterte earlier by employers. “There are a lot of oppor-
A DELEGATION of Philip- ister of Labour and Employ- this month announced a Anna del Mundo, who met tunities for the Filipinos” in
pine labour officials were in ment Ciriaco Lagunzad said departure ban for Filipinos the delegation at the Philip- Kuwait, she said. “I hope that
Kuwait City Sunday to assess the delegation was looking planning to work in pines’ embassy on Saturday, the government will hear us.”
Cambodia ruling party sweeps the impact of a new ban on at the side effects of the ban, Kuwait, after the murder said her recruitment agency A second labour delega-
Senate vote in absence of opposition Filipinos working in the emir- which will likely impact many had already been hurt by the tion tasked with negotiating
ate, a source of much-needed families dependent on remit- there of 29-year-old ban. a bilateral treaty for domestic
PHNOM Penh Cambodia’s ruling party swept controversial Senate remittances. tances from relatives who Joanna Demafelis She said the agency had workers is slated to arrive in
elections on Sunday, early results suggest, in a vote derided as Philippine President Ro- work in Kuwait. hired around 100 nurses for Kuwait City next week, Phil-
a “farce” by critics as it proceeded without a viable opposition. drigo Duterte earlier this Speaking on the sidelines working here are in good con- a Kuwait hospital but they ippines Ambassador Renato
Strongman Premier Hun Sen has overseen a crackdown on the month announced a depar- of a meeting with the Filipino dition and safe,” he said. were now stuck home due to Pedro Ovila told AFP.
press, civil society and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue ture ban for Filipinos plan- community in Kuwait, he told “It cannot be business as the ban. Authorities in Manila say
Party (CNRP), which was disbanded following a court ruling last No- ning to work in Kuwait, after AFP the ban would not be usual. Unless the conditions Anna Bunda, who also some 252,000 Filipinos work
vember not long after its leader was arrested on treason charges. the murder there of 29-year- lifted until his government change -- and that will be sub- works in the recruiting sector, in Kuwait, many as maids.
The Senate vote arouses little interest in Cambodia because the old Joanna Demafelis. secured safety guarantees. ject to negotiations -- the ban said she planned to lobby the They are among over two
upper house is seen as a rubber-stamp body and candidates are Her body was found in a “I would like to find out stays.” Philippines’ Overseas Work- million employed in the re-
elected by other officials rather than the public, but the result is a freezer and a Lebanese-Syr- from the associations, the Among the key demands ers Welfare Administration to gion, whose remittances are
sign of things to come in the general election set for July. (AFP) ian couple suspected of her organisations of Filipinos are that Filipino workers be lift the ban for skilled workers a lifeline to the Philippine
murder have been arrested in whether the other Filipinos allowed to keep their cell- -- who she said enjoy greater economy.

Blacklisted N Korean general, Ivanka Malaysia elephant sanctuary trumpets

Trump attend Olympic closing event
AFP
SEOUL
A blacklisted North Korean
general and the daughter of
US President Donald Trump
attended the Winter Olympics
closing ceremony together
Sunday, in the final piece of
the Games-led diplomacy that
has dominated headlines from
Pyeongchang.
Brief footage of the VIP
enclosure at the arena showed
South Korean President Moon
Jae-in shaking hands first with
Trump’s daughter Ivanka, and
soon afterwards with North
Korean General Kim Yong
Chol -- who reportedly ex-
effort to cut human-animal conflict
AFP trained to aid the National El- from elephants to orangutans
that crossed the Demilitarised KUALA GANDAH, MALAYSIA ephant Conservation Centre’s and tigers, but the numbers of
N Korea ready for talks with US Zone Sunday morning, but his effort to help elephants who many rare species have fallen
SEOUL North Korea is “very willing” to hold talks with the United visit has sparked angry pro- A HERD of elephants tramp become embroiled in conflicts dramatically in recent decades.
States, its delegation to the Winter Olympics closing ceremony tests from conservatives as he through jungle before lum- with humans. Some have been hunted for
said Sunday, according to Seoul’s presidential Blue House. In is accused of masterminding bering into a river under the They accompany a highly- their body parts that are then
a meeting with the South’s President Moon Jae-in, the North’s past attacks on the South. watchful gaze of their keepers, trained team on their mis- sold on the black market, but
delegation “agreed that inter-Korea talks and North-US relations The nuclear-armed North training at a Malaysian sanctu- sions to find and subdue fellow a growing number are falling
should improve together”, the Blue House said in a statement. has gone on a charm offen- ary for their vital work in re- pachyderms whose habitats victim to human-animal con-
Pyongyang has frequently said it is willing to talk without precon- sive over the Games, send- ducing human-animal conflict. have been encroached on, and flict -- which happens when
ditions, but Washington says it must first take concrete steps ing athletes, cheerleaders and The sanctuary in Kuala are putting themselves and vil- rapid expansion of plantations
towards denuclearisation. (AFP) performers. Leader Kim Jong Gandah, central Malaysia, is lagers at risk. or development of settlements
Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong at- an area of secluded rainfor- Since the centre started encroaches on animals’ natu-
tended the opening ceremony. est where “mahouts” -- as the operations about 30 years ago, ral habitats.
pressed willingness to talk to the row behind her -- just two Moon had an hour-long keepers are known -- care for its staff have relocated more Many elephants in Malay-
Washington. seats away from US General meeting with Kim ahead of the a 26-strong group of endan- than 700 wild elephants, tak- sia have been injured or killed
A senior US administra- Vincent Brooks, who com- closing ceremony, in which the gered Asian elephants. ing them away from inhabited after coming into contact with
tion official said there was no mands Washington’s forces in North Korean delegation said A handful were rescued af- areas and deep into the jungle. humans when they wander
interaction between Ivanka, the South. Pyongyang was willing to talk ter suffering injuries or being Malaysia is home to vast onto the country’s ubiquitous
who was placed next to Moon’s Kim arrived at the head of to Washington, according to orphaned, but most of them tracts of rainforest and a ka- palm oil plantations, or enter
wife, and Kim, who was in an eight-member delegation Seoul. have been domesticated and leidoscope of exotic wildlife, settlements and eat crops.
10 Monday, February 26, 2018 Pakistan/ South Asia

Mountaineer attempts first winter solo summit on K2 HC delays order on

AFP
ISLAMABAD
A Russian-Polish mountaineer
has launched the first solo at-
tempt to summit Pakistan's K2
–the world's second-highest
park–during winter, in what
fellow climbers described as a
reckless decision.
Denis Urubko, 44, was part
of a team of Polish mountain-
eers attempting to be the first
to scale the 8,611-metre (28,251
feet) K2 in winter, but broke
away from the group after a se-
ries of disagreements.
The climber left behind his
team at K2's base camp on Sat-
urday, with sources close to the
expedition citing his increasing
frustration at his fellow climb-
ers' pace.
"He was trying to persuade
the team to push for the summit
in February," a porter accom-
Khaleda’s bail plea
panying the group said Sunday,
adding Urubko argued that con-
ditions in March would make a
summit difficult.
"He has had a heated debate
with the team leader and left for
the summit without saying a
word," the porter added on con-
dition of anonymity.
The Polish team confirmed
the incident, saying Urubko left
Camp Two without a radio after
refusing to speak to the expedi-
tion's leader.
Pakistani sources said the
latest incident followed mount-
ing dissatisfaction after Urubko
became upset when the team
abandoned a planned route to
the peak earlier this month.
Fellow mountaineers ex-
pressed concerns over Urubko's
attempt to summit K2 alone,
in what is largely considered
one of the world's most difficult
climbs. "A solo attempt of K2 in
He is known as the
‘Himalayan expert’ among
the mountaineering
community... but his decision
is not correct and does not
suit someone of his stature
Karim Shah, a mountaineer
decision is not correct and does
not suit someone of his stature,"
added Shah.
Urubko made headlines
Denis Urubko, 44, poses for a photograph as he is part of Polish across the world as part of a
mountaineers team attempting to be the first to scale the K2 at two-member team that saved a
the K2 base camp, Pakistan, on Sunday. (AFP) French mountaineer in a daring
night-time rescue on Pakistan's
winter is completely suicidal," Urubko, described the attempt Nanga Parbat last month.
said Pakistani climber Mirza as "very risky". Following the rescue, Urub-
Ali. "He is known as the 'Hima- ko returned to K2 to join the ef-
Karim Shah, an experienced layan expert' among the moun- fort to become the first team to
mountaineer and friend of taineering community... but his summit the peak in the winter.
THEDAILYSTAR.NET
DHAKA
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia,
who landed in jail on Febru-
ary 8 upon conviction in a graft
case, has to wait for a few more
days to know the fate of her HC
bail petition.
The High Court yesterday
did not pass any order after con-
cluding the hearing on her peti-
tion. It rather said it will deliver
order on her bail prayer after
getting the case records from
the lower court that sentenced
her to five years' imprisonment
in the Zia Orphanage corrup-
tion case.
The former prime minister
on February 22 filed an appeal
with the HC challenging the
special court's verdict and also
sought bail. The same day, the
HC accepted the appeal and
stayed the special court's ver-
dict that fined her in addition
to the jail term. It also ordered
the court to send the case docu-
ments to it within 15 working
days.
Officials at the special court
yesterday said they received the
HC order and were working on
it.
"We will try to send the
case records as soon as possi-
ble," one of the officials told this
newspaper, seeking anonymity.
Khaleda had to wait for 11
days to get the certified copy of
the verdict to file the appeal.
Her lawyers, who were ex-
pecting that the HC would grant
her bail, expressed disappoint-
ment at the HC's stance.

CPEC is a shared
PTI starts campaign to
‘recover man missing
Sri Lankan PM takes venture for
regional prosperity:
after Shehbaz remarks’ over law & order after Pakistani minister
APP
ISLAMABAD

local election debacle

TRIBUNE.COM.PK
LAHORE
Imran is ‘captain MINISTER of State for Infor-
of liars’: Shehbaz mation, Broadcasting, National
THE Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf History and Literary Heritage
(PTI) has announced a cam- LAHORE: Punjab Chief Min- Marriyum Aurangzeb while ad-
paign to recover Faisal Subhan, ister Shehbaz Sharif labeled dressing the opening ceremony
man who the party claimed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of the CPEC Cultural Caravan
disappeared after hurling al- chief Imran Khan on Sunday Festival at PNCA here Sun-
legations of corruption against as the “captain of liars”, the day, said that the CPEC was a
Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz media reported. The Paki- project for shared destination of
Sharif. stan Muslim League – Nawaz regional development and pros-
The decision was taken at (PML-N) leader claimed perity, which was supported by
a party meeting chaired by PTI that the ruling party always people of both the countries.
chief Imran Khan on Sunday. served the public. “Our She said that relations be-
The party also decided to tenures are associated with tween Pakistan and China were
expedite its anti-corruption public service,” he said. rooted in mutual respect and
campaign in Punjab and break CM Shehbaz further love and the friendship between
locks of the civil secretariat of- claimed that Imran’s govern- the two countries had become
fices of the provincial govern- ment in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa an indelible and important part
ment, locked in protest against performed “very badly” in the of Pakistan’s history. She said
arrest of Lahore Development last 4.5 years. Taking a jibe that the CPEC was also a cor-
Authority (LDA) DG Ahad at the former cricketer, he ridor of cultural harmony be-
Khan Cheema. said that the PTI chief has tween China and Pakistan and
The PTI chief, chairing the made a record number of people-to-people contacts.
meeting in Lahore via video link u-turns. (TRIBUNE.COM.PK) The minister said that for
from Islamabad, directed the the successful implementation
party MPAs to break the sealed of the development project it
offices if not reopened by 2pm tion as Shehbaz having his very was also imperative to know
on Monday. The party is also set own “Panama moment”. and understand each other’s
to hold protest demonstrations He added that as senior PAS culture. She said that Pakistan
in and outside the Punjab As- Bureaucracy has been compro- had signed cultural accords
sembly tomorrow. mised, the country’s top court with China, which would en-
Imran, later, took to Twit- must guarantee that the Metro hance cooperation between the
ter to demand a judicial in- and Orange Line Project agree- two countries in the domain of
quiry into the ‘disappearance’ ments must be brought before films, theater, press, publica-
of Subhan, who is allegedly the the masses. tions and related fields besides
chief executive officer (CEO) of Imran said the character promotion of cultures.
a shell company Capital Con- of the ‘royal servant of Punjab’ She said that during the
struction. has been unmasked. “It is unac- democratic regimes, culture
He had allegedly confessed ceptable that such mega public was duly promoted.
to the Chinese regulatory au- money projects remain covert The artists, she added, had
thority, tasked to probe cor- and evade all transparency and a sterling role in projecting Pa-
ruption in the Multan Metro accountability,” he added. (File photo) Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. kistan’s identity as a moderate
project, that Shehbaz Sharif However, Punjab Law Min- and peaceful country. The art-
along with other family mem- ister Rana Sanaullah had said sisted that he could be removed ists and democracy had deep
bers received kickbacks in over- on Saturday that a company Last week’s drubbing in municipal polls only by parliament, where his links with each other, she said,
seas accounts from the project.
The PTIchief, in a series of
in Pakistan used the name of
a Chinese company to launder
was due to the govt’s failure to prosecute These changes as well as
party enjoys a comfortable ma-
jority.
adding that during the demo-
cratic era the creative abilities
tweets today, termed the revela- money from Pakistan to China. those responsible for high-profile murders those soon to be made However he has admitted of the artists and journalists
on the UPFA side of the that his administration was gained strength.
& corruption, says Wickremesinghe government will slow to deliver on a 2015 elec- Marriyum said that the
tion promise to prosecute cor- CPEC Cultural Caravan would
Youth behind Islamabad sit-in over strengthen us to better rupt members of the former help in presenting Pakistan as a
AFP another reshuffle will be car- serve our people regime. peaceful and emerging country
Naqeeb’s killing found shot dead COLOMBO ried out within two weeks, Rajapakse, whose family before the comity of nations.
President Maithripala Sirisena
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Aftab Mehsud, a young man who played President Maithripala Sirisena wields enormous influence in
an active role in the sit-in held recently in Islamabad to pro- SRI Lanka's prime minister said after the swearing-in cer- Sri Lanka, has staged a dramat-
test against the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud, was found took over the key law and or- emony. Mahinda Rajapakse. ic comeback since launching
shot dead under mysterious circumstances in a suburban der ministry Sunday as part of "These changes as well as Wickremesinghe said last his Sri Lanka Podujana Pera-
area of the city on Saturday. According to an official of the a cabinet reshuffle, after a local those soon to be made on the week the defeat was due to the muna or People's Front party.
city’s Saddar police station, Attaullah, the bullet-riddled body election defeat sparked calls for UPFA side of the government government's failure to prose- Rajapakse's party comfort-
of Aftab was found at an under-construction house in the his resignation. will strengthen us to better cute those responsible for high- ably won in all regions apart
city’s Naqeshbund Town. Premier Ranil Wickremes- serve our people," Sirisena said profile murders of journalists from the battle-scarred north
Sources said that a piece of paper was found with the body on inghe was sworn in to the min- referring to his United people's and major corruption during and east where, as president,
which names of the victim and his father and his telephone number isterial post Sunday, a week Freedom Alliance, the junior Rajapakse's decade in power. he brutally crushed a separatist
were written. Aftab’s father, Khair Badshah Mehsud, told the police that after the minister in charge of partner in government. Wickremesinghe will hold Tamil movement to end the is-
his son had left his home on Friday night. He said he received a call on the police, Sagala Ratnayaka, Coalition members had de- the Law and Order ministry in land's ethnic war in 2009.
Saturday and was informed about the body of his son. A student of resigned amid accusations he manded urgent reforms after addition to being the minister The ex-president has de-
Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan, Aftab hailed from Makeen area had failed to prosecute mem- they were heavily defeated in of National Policies and Eco- manded a snap general elec-
of South Waziristan Agency. He moved to Karachi where he became bers of the former regime. Sev- the February 10 local council nomic Affairs. tion and challenged his suc-
friends with Naqeebullah Mehsud. (DAWN.COM) eral other ministerial changes elections by the new party of Last week, he dismissed cessor's right to govern after
were also made Sunday while former strongman president calls for his resignation and in- his drubbing in the polls. Marriyum Aurangzeb.

Rohingya exodus still growing, six months into crisis

AFP
TEKNAF, BANGLADESH
HUNDREDS of desperate Ro-
hingya Muslims are still pour-
ing over the Myanmar border
into Bangladesh every week,
bringing harrowing accounts
of torture and murder, six
months after a military crack-
down sparked the massive ref-
ugee crisis.
One of the recent arrivals,
Nur Mohammad, said his vil-
lage in Myanmar's Rakhine
state was surrounded by Bud-
dhist vigilantes for days before
they were allowed to leave.
"The Moghs (Buddhists)
torched our houses, kept us
confined and starving," Mo-
Newly arrived Rohingya children walk inside the UNHCR transit point hammad said. "Villages are
at Ghumdum in UKhiya, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, recently. (EPA) razed to the ground. We walked
for days through mountains to
reach here."
Thirty-year-old Enayetul-
lah was among the 200 Ro-
hingya who crossed the Naf riv-
er into Bangladesh on Friday.
Most of his neighbours
had left earlier, part of a
700,000-strong Rohingya exo-
dus since August 25, leaving
behind desolate and burned-
out villages.
"We stayed all these months
hoping the situation will be
fine. But in recent weeks, secu-
rity forces have taken away our
young men. If they abduct 10,
only one returns," Enayetullah
said.
Enayetullah also accused
Myanmar security forces of
torching his shop, prompting
him and his three brothers
The Moghs (Bud-
dhists) torched our
houses, kept us con-
fined and starving,”
Mohammad said. “Vil-
lages are razed to the
ground. We walked for
days through moun-
tains to reach here, ”
says Nur Mohammad
to flee their home in Mogna-
para village near the town of
Buthidaung.
The military crackdown in
the north of Rakhine has been
termed "ethnic cleansing" by
the United Nations and the
United States. While Bang-
ladesh and Myanmar talk of
repatriating the refugees, the
influx continues. Some days
200 people cross the border,
on others a few dozen make the
perilous journey. More than
2,500 have entered the over-
flowing camps in Bangladesh
so far in February.
Hundreds of Rohingya vil-
lages have been torched in the
crackdown, according to refu-
gees and monitoring groups.
Human Rights Watch said
Friday that another 55 villages
have been razed since Novem-
ber.
"If they send us back, we'll
be tortured or killed. We would
rather be killed here in Bang-
ladesh. Here, at least I'll get a
Muslim burial," said Moham-
mad Elias, whose group has
staged protests against repa-
triation in recent weeks.
According to the UN,
since the repatriation deal was
signed on November 23, nearly
70,000 Rohingya have arrived
in Bangladesh throug different
routes in and near Cox's Bazar
district.
"Those who came in recent
days said they were tortured,"
Mainuddin Khan, Teknaf
town police chief, said. Some
Rohingya who remained in
Rakhine's three main Muslim
districts said the situation has
improved in parts of the region,
but life in the empty villages
was unbearable.
Maun Maung Tin, a Ro-
hingya from Maungdaw, said
it was impossible to buy or sell
goods and they were afraid to
complain to authorities.
 India
Kodiyeri gets second term as Kerala CPI-M state secretary
THRISSUR: On expected lines, senior CPI-M politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan
News on Sunday was unanimously elected as the party's state secretary for a second three-
year term. The election of the new secretary and its state committee is the last in the
in brief agenda of the 22nd State Party Conference that comes to a close with a massive public
rally here on Sunday. The 64-year-old leader was the former State Home Minister during
2006-11 in the V.S. Achuthanandan government. An 87-member state committee was
elected which saw nine existing members being left out and another 10 added. (IANS)
Monday, February 26, 2018 11
DRDO successfully test-flies ‘significant’ drone Rustom-2
NEW Delhi: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Sunday successfully
carried out a test flight of indigenous drone Rustom-2 at its Aeronautical Test Range in Karnata-
ka's Chitradurga district, an official statement said. A medium altitude, long endurance unmanned
air vehicle being developed by DRDO for the three defence services, the Rustom-2, with capability
to fly for 24 hours at a stretch, can conduct sustained surveillance and can also carry weapons
along. "This flight assumes significance given the fact that this is the first flight in user configura-
tion with higher power engine. All parameters were normal," the DRDO said in a release. (IANS)

Modi calls for empowerment of Rahul mocks at

women to make country strong ‘chowkidar’ Modi
‘Our dream of ‘New
over bank fraud
IANS
India’ is where MUDHOL (KARNATAKA)

women are strong MOCKING at Narendra Modi

and empowered
and equal partners
in the development
of the country’: PM
IANS
NEW DELHI
TOUCHING upon the issues of
daily safety, women empower-
ment and "technology for wel-
fare" in his monthly radio ad-
dress "Mann Ki Baat", Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on
Sunday said his dream of "New
India" was the one where wom-
en were strong and empowered
and equally contributed to the
country's development.
He also urged the people to
become conscious and aware
of their own safety and said
technologies like artificial in-
telligence (AI) must ensure the
welfare of the poor, the under-
privileged and the needy.
The Prime Minister said:
"If we are not aware of safety in
daily life, if we are not able to at-
tain a certain level, it will get ex-
tremely difficult during the time
of disasters.
"There are messages and
slogans everywhere about safe-
ty measures at work places and
on streets. But these messages
are hardly followed. If we stay
alert, abide by the prescribed
rules, we shall not only be able
to save our own lives but we can
prevent catastrophes harming
society."
Urging the concerned de-
partments under corporations
and municipalities who possess
the fire brigades to visit differ-
ent schools once a week or a
month and conduct mock drills,
he said it will have dual benefit
free of cost.
The Prime Minister said
that India was a land of geo-
graphic and climatic diversi-
ties. "As far as disasters are
concerned, the country has
witnessed different disasters
(File photo) Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his monthly radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
including chemical and indus-
trial mishaps." Modi lauded the
National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA) for reaching
areas hit by earthquakes, floods,
cyclones and landslides within
no time.
Stressing on the need to
organise awareness campaign
about safety, the Prime Minister
said that thousands of people
used to die due to heat wave few
years ago but after the NDMA
organised workshops on heat
wave management, as part of
a campaign to raise awareness
among people, the death count
in 2017 was dropped to around
220.
"Which means if people
accord priority to safety, we
PM lauds NDMA
The Prime Minister said that
India was a land of geographic
and climatic diversities and
lauded the National Disaster
Management Authority (NDMA)
for reaching areas hit by
earthquakes, floods, cyclones
and landslides within no time.
can actually attain it," he said.
Speaking about International
Womens' Day on March 8, the
Prime Minister said: "There are
many programmes that are held
in our country and the world.
Today the country is moving
forward from the path of wom-
en development to women-led
development."
Quoting Swami Vivekanan-
da's saying that the idea of a
perfect womanhood was per-
fect independence, Modi said
the dream of "New India" was
where the women were empow-
ered.
"It is our duty to ensure
the participation of women in
every field of life, be it social or
economic life. We are part of a
tradition where men were iden-
tified due to women. Yashoda-
Nandan, Kaushalya-Nandan,
for claiming to be a 'chowki-
dar' (watchman) than the
Prime Minister of the coun-
try, Congress President Ra-
hul Gandhi on Sunday won-
dered how the multi-crore
Punjab National Bank fraud
could happen under his NDA
government.
"Modi says he is the coun-
try's 'chowkidar' and not the
Prime Minister. He also says
he is a 'sevak' (servant) of the
people.
“Then, he should explain
how a diamond trader (Nirav
Modi) could siphon off Rs
22,000 crore from a pub-
lic sector bank without his
knowledge," Gandhi said at
a public rally here in Karna-
taka's Bagalkot district.
Gandhi, on a three-day
visit to the southern state
since Saturday for the sec-
ond time this month as part
of the Jan Ashirwada Yatra,
told the gathering that Modi
had betrayed the people by
making them stand in long
queues at banks for days to
draw cash after the Novem-
ber 8 demonetisation in 2016
while a business tycoon was
allowed to flee the country
Gandhari-Putra, these were
identities of a son.
"Today, woman power has BJP peeping into kitchens
shown inner fortitude and self-
confidence, has made herself
self-reliant. Not only has she ad-
to see what’s cooking: Azad
vanced but carried forward the IANS
country and society to newer GUWAHATI
heights.
"After all, our dream of 'New ACCUSING the BJP of playing
India' is the one where women the politics of religion, senior
are strong and empowered and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi
are equal partners in the devel- Azad on Sunday said the party
opment of the country," he said. had been entering the people's
Referring to a suggestion kitchen to see what meat they
from a listener, the Prime were eating.
Minister urged countrymen "They have gone to the
to felicitate mothers and sis- kitchens of people or hostels to
ters, who have completed 100 see what meat is being eaten or
years, on the occasion of In- kept in the fridges there. That
ternational Women's day. has never been the responsibil-
Rahul Gandhi.
after looting a bank. Quoting
the state's 12th century so-
cial reformer Basavanna that
'do what you say and show
what you have done', Gan-
dhi said that though Modi
too invokes Basavanna and
bows before his portrait, he
failed to keep the promises
he made to the people when
he got elected as the Prime
Minister in 2014.
"Modi vowed deposits of
Rs 15 lakh in each bank ac-
count by bringing back black
money stashed abroad. I want
to know if any one of you got
the money so far. Raise your
hands if you have," the Con-
gress chief said to which his
audience shrugged and cho-
rused a loud 'no'.
ity of the ruling party in India,"
he said at a press conference
here after returning from Meg-
halaya, where polls will be held
on February 27 along with Na-
galand.
"Ours is a country with di-
versity. India is not used to such
interferences by the govern-
ment on people's food habits or
who goes to a temple, mosque,
church, or gurdwara," Azad
said. He accused BJP of form-
ing government in Manipur by
misusing constitutional offices.

CRPF to get 25 high-end drones
to tackle Maoists, terrorists
IANS
NEW DELHI
THE Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF) is all set to pur-
chase 25 high-end drones to
equip itself to better conduct
anti-Maoist operations and deal
with militants in Indian-admin-
istered Kashmir.
The tendering process for
the procurement of the drones
has started and they are ex-
pected to be introduced by the
CRPF–the country's largest
paramilitary force - in the next
three-four months, a Deputy
Inspector General-rank of-
ficer said on the condition of
anonymity. A pre-bid confer-
ence for the procurement of the
drones was held on September
12, 2017, and the online and of-
fline tender was opened on Oc-
tober 26, 2017, with a validity of
six months.
These drones–each costing
around Rs 15 lakh–are being
purchased to help the CRPF
personnel during surveillance,
reconnaissance and detection
in day and night operations in
Indian-administered Kashmir
and in the dense forests of Mao-
ist-hit states like Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Madhya Pradesh
and Maharashtra.
The 25 new drones will join
CRPF's fleet of 40 and help to
get real-time inputs and avoid
attacks on its troopers. "The
drones will have capacity to
integrate geo-referenced mas-
ter mapsprovided in one of the
commonly used digital map for-
mats with real-time and clear
video during flights at heights.
Campaigning
for Meghalaya
polls ends
SHILLONG: The high-decibel
campaign for assembly elec-
tions in Meghalaya, where
the BJP is seeking to unseat
the ruling Congress, ended
on Sunday. Voting to the 59
of 60 assembly constituen-
cies will take place on Tues-
day morning. The counting
of votes will take place on
March 3. Election in William-
nagar Assembly seat has
been adjourned following the
killing of Nationalist Congress
Party candidate, Jonathone
Sangma in an IED blast in
East Garo area. (IANS)
Villagers flee Kashmir front line as
India, Pakistan trade artillery fire
REUTERS
SRINAGAR
INDIA and Pakistan have ex-
changed artillery fire in the
disputed Kashmir region forc-
ing hundreds of people to flee,
police in Indian Kashmir said,
raising fresh doubts about a
15-year-old ceasefire between
the nuclear-armed rivals in the
area.
It was not clear what trig-
gered the latest fighting on Sat-
urday in the Uri sector on the
so-called Line of Control (LoC)
that divides the mostly Muslim
Himalayan region.But tension
has been running high since an
attack on an Indian army camp
in Kashmir this month in which
six soldiers were killed.
India blamed Pakistan for
the attack and said it would
make its rival pay for the "mis-
adventure".
Police superintendent Im-
tiaz Hussain said artillery shells
fired by the Pakistan army fell
in the Uri area and hundreds
of villagers had fled from their
homes.
Indian forces returned artil-
lery fire, an Indian officer said,
the first time the heavy guns
had been used since a 2003
ceasefire along the disputed
frontier.
The two armies have been
exchanging intermittent small-
arms and mortar fire over the
past couple of years as ties de-
teriorated.
There was no immediate
comment from Pakistan.
Hussain said Pakistani
authorities made announce-
ments from a mosque advis-
ing villagers living close to the
LoC on the Indian side to flee,
saying the situation was bad.

Nation mourns Bollywood icon Sridevi; funeral likely

IANS
MUMBAI
VETERAN actress Sridevi, 54,
passed away in Dubai after car-
diac arrest, engulfing the entire
country in a pall of gloom.
From Indian stars to In-
dian political personalities to
Pakistani icons, her fans and
admirers expressed shock and
disbelief.
The Padma Shri recipient
passed away in Dubai on Satur-
day night due to cardiac arrest.
Sridevi was there to attend the
marriage function of actress
Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit
Marwah, along with husband
Boney Kapoor and younger
daughter Khushi.
Her other daughter Janhvi
stayed back reportedly due to
work commitment towards her
debut film "Dhadak". In a mov-
(File photo) Veteran Bollywood actress Sridevi. ing gesture, Indian industrial
magnate Anil Ambani has sent
an aircraft to Dubai to bring
back her body to India later on
Sunday.
The funeral is likely to take
place on Monday, although
there is no word from the fam-
ily on this so far.
Born in Sivakasi in Tamil
Nadu on August 13, 1963,
Sridevi began her career at the
age of four in the devotional
film "Thunaivan".
That marked the beginning
of a journey in filmdom that
saw her work across Tamil, Tel-
ugu, Kannada, Malayalam and
Hindi productions, leading her
to become one of the most for-
midable actresses of the 1980s
and 1990s in Bollywood–in
fact, the only female "super-
star" the industry has seen.
She is remembered for her
performances in some of the
iconic Bollywood films like
"Mr. India", "Nagina", "Sad-
ma", "ChalBaaz", "Chandni",
"Khuda Gawah", among many
others in different Indian lan-
guages. Sridevi, who made
a comeback to Bollywood in
2012 with "English Vinglish"
after a long break of 15 years,
was last seen in "Mom" in 2017.
President Ram Nath Ko-
vind, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, Congress President Ra-
hul Gandhi condoled the death
of the veteran actress saying
that she was an incredibly tal-
ented and versatile actress.
Union Minister of Textiles
and Information and Broad-
casting Smriti Irani, Union
Home Minister Rajnath Singh
and West Bengal Chief Min-
ister Mamata Banerjee, also
mourned the loss. Tibetan
Prime Minister-in-exile Lob-
sang Sangay said that "like
millions, he will miss her too".
People in Pakistan are going to
miss Sridevi: Adnan Siddiqui
MUMBAI: Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui, who essayed the
role of Sridevi’s onscreen husband in “Mom”, says people in
Pakistan are going to miss her as much as the people in India.
“I am in Dubai. I was invited for Srideviji’s nephew’s wedding.
She was there smiling dancing looking as beautiful and healthy
as ever. Who would believe that she wouldn’t be here just four
days later? I met her husband Boney Kapoor saab last (Febru-
ary 17),” Adnan said. “I just couldn’t bear to see him looking
so devastated...I am really saddened. I was honoured to have
worked with her in ‘Mom’,” he added. The actor also said: “I am
truly saddened that she is no more with us and we won’t see her
again. The people in Pakistan are going to miss her as much as
the people in India. God give strength to her family.” (IANS)
From southern movie stars Ra- celebrities had a sense of dis-
jinikanth and Kamal Haasan, belief. "I'm shocked and very
veterans like Lata Mangeshkar, disturbed. I've lost a dear friend
Anupam Kher, Hema Malini and the industry has lost a true
and Madhuri Dixit-Nene and legend," tweeted Rajinikanth,
younger celebrities like Farhan who featured with her in the
Akhtar and Alia Bhatt -- the memorable "ChaalBaaz".
12 Monday, February 26, 2018
News
in brief
Iraq condemns 15
women to death
for IS links
BAGHDAD An Iraqi criminal
court on Sunday sentenced
to death 15 Turkish women
after finding them guilty of
belonging to the Islamic
State group, a judicial of-
ficial said. Another Turkish
woman accused of member-
ship in the jihadist group
was given a life sentence,
the official said. (AFP)
Four killed in
Turkish family
‘fight over shed’
ISTANBUL Four people have
been killed and five wound-
ed in a fight that erupted
within the same family in
the western Turkish region
of Bolu over a woodshed
between their houses, local
officials and reports said
Sunday. The dispute over
the shed had long persisted
between cousins Ayhan and
Zeki Buyuktopac, who lived
in two neighbouring houses
in the usually placid Bolu
region south of the Black
Sea. (AFP)
Iran’s ex-intel
minister slams
handling of
prison death
TEHRAN An ex-intelligence
minister in Iran on Sunday
criticised the handling of an
environmentalist’s death
in prison, saying the public
would not believe he was a
spy unless the case was han-
dled by a “competent agen-
cy”. Ali Younessi, who was
intelligence minister under
reformist president Moham-
mad Khatami between 2000
and 2005, shone a rare light
on the turf war between Iran’s
multiple security agencies in
his interview with the daily
Iran newspaper. (AFP)
Palestinian gets
life for murder of
Israeli ex-girlfriend
JERUSALEM A Palestinian
was sentenced to life in
prison on Sunday for the mur-
der of his Israeli ex-girlfriend
in a killing authorities said
was motivated by national-
ism, police said. Mohamed
Kharouf, a resident of Nablus
in the Israeli-occupied West
Bank, was arrested by Israeli
police in August 2017 after
the body of Mishal Halimi
was discovered. The 30-year-
old went missing in May,
according to media reports,
and a crime of passion was
suspected as she had been
pregnant and married to an-
other man at the time. (AFP)
Israeli fire kills
Palestinian on
boat from Gaza
AFP
JERUSALEM
A PALESTINIAN was killed
on Sunday when Israeli forc-
es opened fire on a boat from
the Gaza Strip after it left
a zone where Israel allows
Palestinians to fish, officials
said.
A spokeswoman for the
Israeli army said the boat
“deviated from the designat-
ed fishing zone in the north-
ern Gaza Strip.”
Naval forces called on the
boat to halt, then fired warn-
ing shots in the air before
shooting toward it when the
three people on board did
not stop, the spokeswoman
said.
A severely wounded Pal-
estinian later died from his
wounds, she said. The other
two Palestinians were de-
tained by security forces.
The fishermen’s union in
Gaza said a boat with three
fishermen was fired upon by
Israel’s military.
Israel and Palestinian mil-
itants in Gaza, run by Islam-
ist movement Hamas, have
fought three wars since 2008
and the territory has been
under an Israeli blockade for
more than 10 years.
Fishing off the northern
part of the strip, adjacent to
Israel, is limited to six nau-
tical miles offshore and the
Israeli navy regularly fires
at Palestinians at the zone’s
outer limit.
Christian leaders close church
at Jesus’s burial site in tax row
AFP
JERUSALEM
CHRISTIAN leaders Sunday
took the rare step of clos-
ing the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, built at the site of
Jesus’s burial in Jerusalem,
in protest at Israeli tax meas-
ures and a proposed property
law.
It was not immediately
clear how long the closure
of the church, announced by
Christian officials at a news
conference and which began
at around noon (1000 GMT),
would last.
Strikes, clashes Syria ceasefire won’t
affect offensive in
hit Ghouta despite Afrin, says Turkey
UN-backed truce
Although there appeared to be fewer air strikes, ground fighting intensifies: Monitor
Doctors tend to ten-year-old Omar who was injured in an air strike that killed several members of his family in Otaybah, in Syria’s rebel-held
enclave of Eastern Ghouta, as his father and seven-year-old sister, Manar, watch on at a make-shift hospital on Sunday. (AFP)
AFP
DOUMA, SYRIA
NEW regime air strikes and
heavy clashes shook Syria’s
rebel enclave of Eastern
Ghouta on Sunday despite a
UN demand for a ceasefire to
end one of the most ferocious
assaults of Syria’s civil war.
After days of diplomatic
wrangling, the Security Coun-
cil on Saturday adopted a
resolution calling for a 30-day
ceasefire in Syria “without de-
lay”, to allow for aid deliveries
and medical evacuations.
President Bashar al-As-
sad’s forces launched a major
bombing campaign against
the enclave on the edge of Da-
mascus a week ago, with more
than 500 people since killed.
The UN resolution has
raised hopes of stemming the
bloodshed but it remains un-
clear when or how broadly
Saudis get a taste of opera, jazz Families of IS suspects in Iraq
AFP
RIYADH
OPERA made its debut in Riy-
adh at the weekend with a clas-
sic Arabian love story, as bands
from Beirut to New Orleans
performed at the kingdom’s
first-ever jazz festival.
Long known for its ultra-
conservative mores, the king-
dom has embarked on a wide-
ranging programme of social
reforms that includes boosting
sports and entertainment and
allowing women to drive from
June.
Music lovers had their first
taste of jazz when a three-day
festival opened on Thursday
Gulf / Middle East
The church is considered
the holiest site in Christianity,
built where Christians believe
Jesus was crucified, buried and
resurrected, and is a major pil-
grimage site.
“As a measure of protest,
we decided to take this un-
precedented step of closure
of the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre,” Greek Ortho-
dox, Armenian Apostolic and
Catholic leaders said in a
statement.
They said recent Israeli
measures seemed to be “an
attempt to weaken the Chris-
tian presence in Jerusalem”.
Pope calls for halt to violence
VATICAN CITY Pope Francis on Sunday called for an immediate
end to violence in Syria to allow aid deliveries, especially in the
rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta which has been hit by regime
bombardment. “This February has been one of the most violent
(periods) in seven years of conflict,” he said during Angelus
prayers. “All this is inhuman. One cannot fight evil with another
evil.” “I therefore issue an urgent appeal for an immediate halt
to violence to allow access to humanitarian aid -- food and medi-
cines -- and the evacuation of the wounded and sick. (AFP)
the ceasefire could be imple-
mented.
Russia is a key ally of As-
sad’s regime and in a phone
call on Sunday German Chan-
cellor Angela Merkel and
French President Emmanuel
Macron urged President
Vladimir Putin to use his in-
fluence.
They called on Russia “to
exercise maximum pressure on
the Syrian regime to achieve an
immediate suspension of air
face ‘collective punishment’
at the Riyadh Intercontinental
hotel, showcasing performers
such as regional darling Chady
Nashef of Lebanon.
The opera “Antar and
Abla” -- a legendary story of
love between an Arab war-
rior and his cousin -- also drew
crowds on Friday and Saturday
in Riyadh’s Princess Noura
University.
Such events would have
been unimaginable a few years
ago, when the much-feared re-
ligious police wielded authority
to shut down concerts as they
curbed any mixing of genders.
Since the appointment in
June of 32-year-old Prince Mo-
hammed bin Salman as heir to
UN faces rival drafts on Iran missiles for Houthis
AFP
UNITED NATIONS, UNITED STATES
THE UN Security Council on
Sunday was considering two
draft resolutions on Yemen af-
ter Russia put forward a rival
text aimed at blocking action
against Iran over missiles sent
to the country’s Houthi rebels.
The council is set to vote
on Monday on renewing sanc-
tions on Yemen for a year, but
a British-drafted text also calls
for “additional measures” in
response to a UN report which
found that Iran had violated
the arms embargo on Yemen.
The rival Russian-drafted
text presented to the council
raids and fighting”, Merkel’s
office said in a statement.
In Douma, the main town
in Eastern Ghouta, fresh air
raids and artillery strikes
could be heard on Sunday,
an AFP correspondent in the
town said.
At least seven civilians
were killed in strikes on Sun-
day, according to the Syr-
ian Observatory for Human
Rights monitoring group,
bringing the total number of
the throne, Saudi Arabia has
launched an image overhaul,
lifting bans on entertainment,
including cinemas and public
music festivals, and scaling
back restrictions on women.
The reforms are largely
motivated by economics and
are part of a strategy to diver-
sify the economy away from
oil and create jobs for young
Saudis.
Saudi Arabia’s General En-
tertainment Authority (GEA)
last week announced it will
stage more than 5,000 fes-
tivals and concerts in 2018,
double the number of last year,
and pump $64 billion in the
sector in the coming decade.
Tribesmen inspect fragments of a Houthi ballistic missile at a farm in
Marib, Yemen, recently. (REUTERS)
on Saturday and seen by AFP
would extend the sanctions
regime on Yemen until Febru-
ary 2019 without any reference
dead in the week to 527, in-
cluding 129 children.
Although there appeared
to be fewer air strikes, Observ-
atory chief Rami Abdel Rah-
man said, fighting had intensi-
fied on the ground.
Heavy clashes erupted
in southern areas of Eastern
Ghouta, he said, with at least
13 members of pro-regime
forces and six fighters from
the Jaish al-Islam rebel group
killed.
“They are the most violent
clashes to take place since
the beginning of the month,”
said Abdel Rahman, whose
Britain-based group uses a
network of sources across
Syria to monitor the country’s
conflict.
Mohamed Alloush, a key
figure in Jaish al-Islam, tweet-
ed that the rebels were “resist-
ing” bids by regime forces to
enter the region.
AFP
BAGHDAD
IRAQ is denying relatives of
suspected Islamic State group
jihadists security clearance to
obtain identity cards, in what
amounts to a form of “col-
lective punishment”, Human
Rights Watch said on Sunday.
“Iraqi security officers are
routinely denying relatives of
suspected Islamic State (IS)
members the security clear-
ance needed to obtain identity
cards and other documents, “
HRW said.
to the UN report’s findings on
Iran and possible action target-
ing Tehran.
Diplomats said Russia
AFP
ANKARA
TURKEY on Sunday wel-
comed the unanimous de-
mand by the UN Security
Council for a 30-day ceasefire
in Syria, but insisted that its
own operation against a Kurd-
ish militia in the Afrin region
was not affected.
With support from the Da-
mascus regime’s ally Russia,
the Security Council on Sat-
urday adopted a resolution on
the ceasefire to allow for aid
delivery as concern rises over
the humanitarian situation in
the rebel enclave of Eastern
Ghouta.
“We welcome the resolu-
tion adopted by the UN Se-
curity Council in response to
the worsening humanitarian
situation all across Syria, in
particular in Eastern Ghouta,”
Turkey’s foreign ministry said
in a statement.
But it added that Turkey
“will remain resolute in fight-
ing against the terrorist or-
ganisations that threaten the
territorial integrity and politi-
cal unity of Syria.”
Last month Turkey
launched a military operation
against the Kurdish People’s
Protection Units (YPG) militia
in the western enclave of Afrin
in northern Syria.
The operation has raised
tensions with Washington,
which works closely with the
YPG in the fight against jihad-
ists in Syria.
But Turkey sees the YPG
as the Syrian branch of the
Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK), which for more than
three decades has waged an
Egypt freezes assets of
leading government critic
AFP
CAIRO
EGYPT has frozen the assets of
leading government critic Ab-
del Moneim Abul Fotouh, ar-
rested earlier this month over
alleged links to exiled members
of the outlawed Muslim Broth-
erhood, the prosecution said
Sunday.
His February 14 arrest
came after he joined a call for
a boycott of a presidential elec-
tion next month that the in-
cumbent, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,
is expected to win easily after
most rivals were sidelined or
withdrew.
Abul Fotouh was detained
shortly after arriving from Lon-
don, where he gave interviews
in which he was critical of the
Egyptian government.
“Denying government ben-
efits because of perceived family
relationships instead of individ-
ual security determinations is a
form of collective punishment
prohibited under international
human rights law.” The New
York-based rights watchdog
said in a statement that without
proper documentation these in-
dividuals cannot move freely in
fear of arrest, nor can they apply
for jobs or welfare benefits.
Children denied birth cer-
tificates “may be considered
stateless and may not be al-
lowed to enrol in school”, while
could veto the British text, al-
lowing for a vote on its own
draft resolution.
Negotiations were continu-
ing on Sunday.
The report by a UN panel
of experts concluded that Iran
was in violation of the 2015
arms embargo after determin-
ing that missiles fired by the
Houthis at Saudi Arabia last
year were made in Iran.
Russia maintains that the
report’s findings are not con-
clusive enough to justify action
against Iran. Britain, backed by
the United States and France,
had initially sought to condemn
Iran, but that was dropped in
negotiations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan
insurgency against the Turk-
ish state and is banned by
Turkey, the US and the Euro-
pean Union as a terror group.
“There is no question of
this decision (by the UN Secu-
rity Council) having any affect
on the operation that Turkey
is pursuing,” Deputy Prime
Minister Bekir Bozdag said in
televised comments.
Without directly men-
tioning the decision at the
UN, President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan also indicated that
there would be no let-up in the
operation.
“It will continue until the
final terrorist is destroyed,”
Erdogan said in the southern
city of Sanliurfa. He said that
Turkey had killed more than
2020 “terrorists” in the opera-
tion, but it is not possible to
verify this figure.
The YPG however said in
a statement it was prepared
to halt all military operations
-- except those against Islamic
State jihadists -- “while re-
serving the right to retaliate...
in case of any aggression by
the Turkish army.”
He was remanded in cus-
tody for 15 days and placed on
the Egyptian blacklist of “ter-
rorists”.
On Sunday, the public
prosecutor’s office said it had
decided to “sequester the as-
sets of the Muslim Brother-
hood leader (Abul Fotouh) and
other people who have been
placed on terrorist lists”.
It said an ongoing judicial
probe had shown Abul Fot-
ouh’s funds were being “used
to carry out terrorist activities”.
The interior ministry said
following his arrest that Abul
Fotouh, a former leading mem-
ber of the Muslim Brotherhood
and candidate in the 2012 pres-
idential election, had contacts
with the group’s members in
exile “to sow trouble and insta-
bility”.
widows who fail to get death
certificates for their husbands
cannot inherit or remarry, it
said. “Iraq’s security forces are
marginalising thousands of
families of (IS) suspects by de-
priving them of the basic docu-
ments they need to rebuild their
lives,” said HRW’s deputy Mid-
dle East director Lama Fakih.
“Unless this collective pun-
ishment stops, the authorities
will be further destabilising
the situation in Mosul and
other former ISIS-held cities,”
she said using another acro-
nym for IS.

UK Conservative MP
apologises to Corbyn
over spy allegation
AFP
LONDON
A VICE chairman of Brit-
ain’s Conservative Party on
Saturday apologised to La-
bour’s Jeremy Corbyn after
tweeting that the opposition
leader had “sold British se-
crets to communist spies”.
Tory MP Ben Bradley
sent the message following
reports that Corbyn had
met with a Czechoslovakian
spy masquerading as a dip-
lomat during the Cold War.
Corbyn’s legal team
threatened Bradley with
court action for defamation
unless he issued an apology.
“I fully accept that my
statement was wholly un-
true,” said Bradley.
“I accept that I caused
distress and upset to Jer-
emy Corbyn by my untrue
and false allegations, sug-
gesting he had betrayed his
country by collaborating
with foreign spies.
“I have no hesitation in
offering my unreserved and
unconditional apology,” he
added, saying he would do-
nate a sum to a local food
bank in lieu of damages.
Labour said it was
“pleased Ben Bradley has
admitted what he said was
entirely untrue and apolo-
gised”.
The party on Friday
brushed off claims by a
former spy for then Czech-
oslovakia that veteran left-
ist Corbyn had knowingly
cooperated with the com-
munist intelligence agen-
cy, calling it a “ridiculous
Britain’s opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn arrives
to speak to the EEF Manufacturer’s Organisation, in London,
recently. (REUTERS)
NEWS
IN BRIEF
Alpine avalanche
kills skier, injures
three others
GENEVA A cross-country
skier was killed and three
others were injured in an
avalanche in the Swiss Alps,
police said Sunday. The
avalanche on the Tsa moun-
tain, above the village of
Arolla in the southern Swiss
canton of Wallis, swept
away the skiers shortly after
2:00 pm (1300 GMT) on
Saturday, cantonal police
said. The four skiers had
left the Tsa mountain refuge
in two separate groups and
had been moving through
a narrow passage when
the avalanche hit. Rescue
workers arrived by helicop-
ter and were able to dig out
the buried skiers, who were
flown to hospital. (AFP)
Greek anarchists
smash Novartis
office amid scandal
ATHENS A Greek anarchist
group attacked the Athens
headquarters of Novartis
on Sunday, Greek police
said, amid bribery allega-
tions against the Swiss
pharmaceutical giant.
Members of the Rou-
vikonas (Rubicon) group
broke the entry box and
windows of the offices
with a sledgehammer and
threw red paint before they
fled. Rouvikonas claimed
the attack in a post on an
anti-establishment website
saying it came in sup-
port of those implicated
because they face allega-
tions from anonymous
witnesses. (AFP)
I accept that I caused
distress and upset to
Jeremy Corbyn by my
untrue and false
allegations, suggesting he
had betrayed his country
by collaborating with
foreign spies
Ben Bradley
smear”.
“The former Czechoslo-
vak agent Jan Sarkocy’s ac-
count of his meeting... has
no credibility whatsoever,”
a spokesman for Corbyn
said in a statement.
The Sun, a right-wing
tabloid opposed to Corbyn,
published documents last
week purportedly from the
Czech State Security Ar-
chive referring to meetings
between an agent and Cor-
byn in 1986.
The Sun said Corbyn
had been given the code-
name “COB”.
Corbyn was a relatively
new Labour MP at the time,
having been first elected to
parliament in 1983, and
was an active member of
the trade union, anti-nu-
clear and anti-apartheid
movements.
A spokesman for the
Labour leader said he met
a diplomat but never know-
ingly talked to a spy and
“neither had nor offered any
privileged information”.
Syrian Kurd leader held in Prague Two terror attacks foiled this year: France
AFP
ISTANBUL
AUTHORITIES in the Czech
Republic detained one of the
most prominent leaders of the
Syrian Kurds at the request of
Turkey, officials said Sunday,
as Ankara pushes a military
operation against Kurdish mi-
litia in northern Syria.
Saleh Muslim, long a fig-
urehead of the Syrian Kurdish
movement, was detained on
Saturday night at an upmarket
Prague hotel, Czech and Turk-
ish officials said.
Turkish officials said An-
kara was already working
to have Muslim, the former
co-chair of the main Syrian
Czech schoolboy maps life from disabled to designer
AFP
CERNOSICE
THE TOY cars, double-deck-
ers, stuffed toys and pillows
on his bed are meticulously
ordered into neat rows, but
Matej Hosek still inspects his
room with a frown, looking for
shortcomings.
He pushes one car back
by a millimetre with satisfac-
tion, then opens a folder with
dozens of transport maps he
has drawn as part of his battle
with autism.
Diagnosed with severe As-
perger syndrome, the 13-year-
old bespectacled boy has found
peace and order in sophisticat-
ed maps of his own making.
Not only that, they have
also turned him into a fashion
designer of sorts.
“I guess this is something
God has given him in ex-
change for what he has taken
away from him,” says Matej’s
UK / Europe
Merkel to give outspoken
party critic cabinet berth
Jens Spahn to be named health minister in bid to quell discontent in CDU’s right-wing
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel (centre) and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz attend a European Union leaders informal summit in
Brussels, Belgium, on Friday. (REUTERS)
AFP
BERLIN
GERMAN Chancellor Angela
Merkel has decided to give a
cabinet role to an outspoken
critic within her conservative
party, as she looks to quell
surging discontent in the right
wing of the group, a senior
party official said Sunday.
Merkel is to name
37-year-old Jens Spahn as
health minister in her new
cabinet later Sunday, Saxony
state leader Michael Kret-
schmer of Merkel’s Christian
Democratic Union (CDU)
party said, confirming media
reports.
“It’s a good sign because he
is a dedicated politician who
Kurdish political movement,
the Democratic Union Party
(PYD), extradited to face ter-
ror charges in Turkey.
The arrest comes as Tur-
key presses a military opera-
tion against the Kurdish Peo-
ple’s Protection Units (YPG)
militia -- the military wing of
the PYD -- in the enclave of Af-
rin in northern Syria.
Ankara sees the YPG and
PYD as the Syrian branch of
the Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK), which for over three
decades has waged an insur-
gency against the Turkish
state and is banned by Turkey,
the US and the European Un-
ion as a terror group.
Muslim is wanted by Tur-
mother Michaela Hoskova.
Matej was a noisy child,
“crying 23 hours a day,” she
says, recalling their life in a
Prague block of flats where
neighbours regularly banged
on their walls or, worse, left
scratches on their cars.
The family, which includes
Matej’s little sister Sofia,
moved to a house in Cernosice,
a small town just southwest of
Prague, where Matej “could
cry as loud as he wished”.
Then he discovered maps.
“People used to kick us out
of trams because he was yell-
ing all the time. Then one day,
on a tram, I gave him a map to
read, I don’t even know where
I got it. And he calmed down,”
says Hoskova.
Matej started to ask for
tram and underground rides
to check if the transport maps
were correct.
He started to copy maps,
including his favourite, the
has shown for years that he is
acting in the interests of this
country,” said Kretschmer,
who belongs to the CDU’s
right wing.
“He will certainly be a good
health minister.”
Merkel has been stung
by criticism from within the
ranks of her CDU party af-
ter a tricky September elec-
tion left her struggling to
secure a continued “grand
coalition” that would enable
her to launch a fourth term
governing Europe’s biggest
economy.
Spahn has been at the
forefront of the backlash,
slamming Merkel’s centrist
policies, particularly on im-
migration, and advocating a
key over a February 2016
bombing in Ankara that killed
29 people that the Turkish au-
thorities blamed on Kurdish
militants.
He has been charged in the
case and faces 30 life sentenc-
es if found guilty. Muslim has
rubbished the charges.
“The PYD chief has been
arrested,” President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan told cheering
crowds in the southern city
of Sanliurfa. “Our hope is the
Czech Republic will hand him
over to Turkey.”
Czech police confirmed a
67-year-old foreigner was be-
ing held after being detained
on Saturday based on a Turk-
ish Interpol notice.
(File photo) Matej Hosek, Czech schoolboy with Asperger syndrome,
shows a map that he designed, in his bedroom, in the village of Cer-
nosice, Czech Republic. (AFP)
London Underground, which
he knows by heart, before
drawing his own.
Picking Cardiff off a map
Stung to the
quick
Merkel has been stung by
criticism from within the ranks
of her CDU party after a tricky
September election left her
struggling to secure a
continued “grand coalition”
that would enable her to
launch a fourth term governing
Europe’s biggest economy
sharp conservative shift.
The country’s major par-
ties are all facing pressure
AFP
PARIS
FRANCE has foiled two ter-
ror attacks this year targeting
a leading sports team and the
armed forces, Interior Minister
Gerard Collomb said Sunday.
Paris is still on its highest
level of alert after a string of
Islamist attacks over the last
three years.
“Since January 1, we have
foiled two planned attacks
which had not been totally fi-
nalised but a number of people
were in the process of trying to
execute them,” Collomb said
on Europe 1 radio.
One was “in the east” of the
country and one “in the west”,
of Britain for its cool name,
Matej drew an imaginary un-
derground for the Welsh capi-
tal. Other cities followed, and
Monday, February 26, 2018
from the far-right AfD party
which has railed against a
mass influx of refugees that
peaked in 2015.
The potential inclusion of
Spahn in her cabinet line-up
could help to defuse the inter-
nal rebellion ahead of a CDU
congress set for Monday.
Beyond the health post,
Merkel is expected to fill the
remaining CDU ministries
with loyalists, keeping Ursula
von der Leyen at the defence
ministry, putting close ally Pe-
ter Altmaier on the economic
affairs brief and placing Julia
Kloeckner in the agriculture
job.
However Merkel’s con-
servatives have had to relin-
quish key cabinet positions,
Paris is still on its highest
level of alert after a string
of Islamist attacks over the
last three years
he said. One of them was
planned against a “big sports
team” where “young people
were targeted”, and the other
the armed forces.
He said police had followed
a number of people suspected
Islamists and arrested them.
“That is how we were able to
thwart” these plots, Collomb
said, but declined to give further
details as to the location of those
held or the planned targets.
According to official fig-
ures, 20 attacks were foiled in
the metro plans improved.
“With some cities, he said
their system had no logic so he
started to re-draw the plans,”
says Hoskova, a former jour-
nalist.
The family’s life began to
change as Matej’s condition
improved, they started to go
on holidays, which was un-
thinkable when he was small.
“We always go to the infor-
mation centre first. We need
maps,” chuckled Hoskova.
Officially diagnosed with
Asperger syndrome at age 10,
Matej gradually started coming
to terms with his condition.
“Children with Asperger
syndrome have a problem
with verbal communication.
When they see things in a pic-
ture, they become easier to un-
derstand,” says Lenka Micha-
likova, an adviser to autistic
people.
“Structure and visualisa-
tion serve as an anchor in their
13
including the powerful finance
minister, to convince the So-
cial Democrats (SPD) to again
govern in coalition.
The SPD still needs to ap-
prove the arrangement, with
the results of a crunch mem-
bership ballot due to be an-
nounced on March 4.
If its members vote “no” in
the postal and online ballot,
Germany faces more political
paralysis and likely snap elec-
tions that would threaten an
end to Merkel’s 12 years in
power.
The CDU is set to vote
on the deal at its meeting on
Monday, but with the expect-
ed move to assuage her critics,
approval is thought likely to be
a formality.
France in 2017.
In November 2015 Paris
was hit by a wave of terror at-
tacks claimed by the Islamic
State group, on the Bataclan
concert hall, Paris bars and the
Stade de France football stadi-
um, that left 130 people dead.
In January of that year,
two French militants who had
sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda
killed 11 people at the Paris of-
fice of the satirical newspaper
Charlie Hebdo.
A total of three people were
killed in two attacks in France
last year claimed by the Islamic
State group - one in April on the
Champs-Elysées and another in
October at a railway station in
the southern city of Marseille.
uncertainty. They offer pre-
dictability, a clue.”
Grappling with depres-
sion and anxiety since puber-
ty, Matej needs an assistant
at school but his results are
above-average.
When he moved from
fourth grade to fifth and had to
go to different classrooms, he
struggled, until he drew a map
of the school.
“I must pay good attention
to how I’m drawing the maps
because I like everything to be
precise,” he tells AFP, explain-
ing how he measures the maps
he copies with a ruler before-
hand.
“Every time I look at a
map, I calm down. That’s
what’s interesting about me.”
Inspired by a film about
the Christian Dior fashion
house, Matej once wrapped
one of his maps around a man-
nequin standing in the living
room as decoration.
14 Monday, February 26, 2018
Democratic memo says GOP
out to undercut Russia probe
The 10-page document calls the Republican version ‘a transparent effort to undermine’ investigations
US President Donald Trump (right) and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during their joint news conference at the White House in Washington, on Friday. (REUTERS)
REUTERS
WASHINGTON
THE Democratic minority on
the US House of Representa-
tives Intelligence Committee
on Saturday released a re-
sponse to Republican charges
that the FBI and Justice De-
partment have abused the law
in their investigation of pos-
sible ties between Russia and
Donald Trump’s 2016 presi-
dential campaign.
The Democrats’ 10-page
memo, released on Saturday
in partially-redacted form,
calls an earlier Republican
version “a transparent effort
to undermine” the FBI, the
Justice Department, Special
Counsel Robert Mueller, and
congressional probes into pos-
sible collusion between Russia
and the Trump campaign.
The Republican memo, the
Democrats allege, “also risks
public exposure of sensitive
sources and methods for no
legitimate purpose.”
The Democratic memo
Brazil govt seeks
extradition of man
arrested for gun
trafficking
REUTERS
BRASILIA
BRAZIL’S government is seek-
ing the extradition of a Brazil-
ian man who was arrested by
US authorities in Florida, al-
legedly for shipping automatic
weapons to the South Ameri-
can country.
The arrest of Frederik
Barbieri came one week af-
ter Brazil resorted to the
military to try to control vio-
lence and crime in Rio de Ja-
neiro, where heavily-armed
drug gangs control the city’s
slums.
The United States is the
largest source of guns enter-
ing Brazil that end up in the
hands of armed criminals
and drug traffickers, ac-
cording to a Brazilian police
report seen by Reuters last
month.
Barbieri was arrested on
Friday evening at his home in
Fort Pierce, Florida, Nestor
Yglesias, spokesman for Im-
migration and Customs En-
forcement’s Miami Field Of-
fice, said on Saturday.
“He was arrested by spe-
cial agents from Homeland
Security Investigation, which
is a component in ICE,” Ygle-
sias said, adding Barbieri will
make an initial appearance
before a federal magistrate on
Monday.
A Brazilian law enforce-
ment officer had earlier said
Barbieri was arrested in Mi-
ami.
Brazil has sought his ar-
rest since 60 automatic rifles,
including AK-47s and other
combat rifles, were found at
Rio de Janeiro airport in June
hidden in a shipment of pool
heaters.
and a Republican counterat-
tack that included a point-by-
point refutation of the minority
Democrats’ conclusions, are an
escalation of the partisan feud-
ing that Rep. Adam Schiff, the
ranking Democrat on the Intel-
ligence Committee, and other
members of his party have said
is sabotaging the House com-
mittee’s investigation.
The latest duel on Capitol
Hill comes as Mueller’s in-
vestigation gathers steam, in-
cluding a guilty plea on Friday
from Richard Gates, Trump’s
deputy campaign manager.
In a message posted on
Twitter, Trump responded,
“The Democrat memo re-
sponse on government surveil-
lance abuses is a total political
and legal BUST. Just confirms
all of the terrible things that
were done. SO ILLEGAL!”
In a statement, the com-
mittee’s Republican Chair-
man, Rep. Devin Nunes, re-
newed his allegations, saying:
“The American people now
clearly understand that the
Mexican leader cancels US visit over wall Venezuela opens nominations for
AFP
WASHINGTON
MEXICO and the United
States have shelved tentative
plans for a visit to Washington
by President Enrique Pena Ni-
eto as tensions persist over a
proposed border wall, US me-
dia reported Saturday.
Pena Nieto had already can-
celled a visit in January last year
because of US President Donald
Trump’s insistence that Mexico
pay for the wall, which he wants
as part of his efforts to curb im-
migration.
The White House had said
in mid-February that the two
Students brace for emotional return to Florida school
AFP
WASHINGTON
STUDENTS and teachers pre-
paring Sunday to return to
the Florida school that was
the scene of a gruesome mass
shooting called the prospect
“daunting” and “scary” as they
urged politicians to act swiftly
to address gun violence.
“Imagine being in a plane
crash, and having to get on
the plane every day and go
somewhere else,” David Hogg,
a survivor of the February 14
shooting at a Parkland, Flor-
ida high school, told ABC’s
“This Week.”
“I can’t imagine, emotion-
ally, what me and my fellow
students (will) go through that
day.”
Some students and teach-
ers will be back at the school
on Sunday for what is being
called “orientation.” Teachers
and staff are to return full-
time Monday and Tuesday to
prepare their classrooms for
students’ return on Wednes-
US / Americas
In a message posted on
Twitter, Trump responded,
‘The Democrat memo
response on government
surveillance abuses is a
total political and legal
BUST. Just confirms all of
the terrible things that were
done. SO ILLEGAL!’
FBI used political dirt paid for
by the Democratic Party to spy
on an American citizen from
the Republican Party.”
“We wanted it out be-
cause we think it is clear evi-
dence that the Democrats are
not only trying to cover this
up, but they’re also colluding
with parts of the government
to help cover this up,” Nunes
said during an appearance at
the Conservative Political Ac-
tion Conference in Oxon Hills,
Maryland.
In a statement released on
Saturday, White House Press
Secretary Sarah Sanders said:
The White House had said
in mid-February that the
two presidents were work-
ing on arranging a meeting
presidents were working on
arranging a meeting.
But The Washington Post,
which first reported cancella-
tion of the provisional meet-
ing, said both countries agreed
to call it off after a testy tel-
ephone call ended in an im-
passe over the border barrier.
The phone call took place
last Tuesday.
Visitors view memorials at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland, Florida, on Saturday. (REUTERS)
day.
Seventeen people died in
the attack. Authorities have
charged a 19-year-old former
student, Nikolas Cruz, in the
assault.
One teacher who has al-
ready been back told NPR ra-
dio that the shock of returning
to a classroom left exactly as
it had been during the attack,
notebooks still on desks, the
calendar still set to February
“While the Democrats’ memo-
randum attempts to undercut
the president politically, the
president supported its release
in the interest of transparency.”
The Democratic memo
charges that Republicans delib-
erately omitted facts from their
document that undermine their
allegation that the FBI con-
ducted improper surveillance of
one-time Trump campaign aide
Carter Page, “whom the FBI as-
sessed to be an agent of the Rus-
sian government.”
The Justice Department’s
request for a surveillance war-
rant “was based on compelling
evidence and probable cause
to believe Page was knowingly
assisting clandestine Russian
intelligence activities in the
US,” the memo says.
“The FBI had ample reason
to believe that Carter Page was
acting as an agent of a foreign
power based on his history, in-
cluding the fact that he had pre-
viously been a target of Russian
recruitment, his travel to Russia
and other information,” Schiff
Citing US and Mexican of-
ficials, the Post said Trump
“would not agree to publicly
affirm Mexico’s position that
it would not fund construction
of a border wall that the Mexi-
can people widely consider of-
fensive.”
Pena Nieto’s visit had
been considered for February
or March, the Post said, but
the Mexican leader wanted to
avoid public embarrassment.
Building the border wall
was a primary pledge of the
2016 presidential campaign by
Trump, who says the barrier
is necessary for his country’s
security.
14, made her so physically ill
she had to leave.
Amid ardent demands
by students like Hogg for ac-
tion, President Donald Trump
has said he is open to raising
the minimum wage for gun
purchases and to banning so-
called bump stocks, which can
effectively convert semi-auto-
matic weapons into automatic
firearms.
A new CNN poll, conduct-
said in a statement.
The Democratic memo,
which was released by the
White House at mid-afternoon
on Saturday as Republican
committee chairman Nunes
was addressing the Conserva-
tive Political Action Commit-
tee, had been reviewed by the
FBI and the Justice Depart-
ment before its release, Schiff
said.
“But it is unfortunate
that the weekend release of
the Democratic memo by the
White House was delayed be-
yond what was necessary and
to the advantage of those seek-
ing to mislead the American
public,” he added.
The Democratic memo
also disputes a Republican
charge that the FBI initiated a
counterintelligence investiga-
tion in late July 2016 based on
an unverified dossier compiled
by former British intelligence
officer Christopher Steele and
paid for by the Democratic
National Committee through
a law firm.
presidential vote as US protests
AFP
CARACAS
VENEZUELA is now accepting
candidate registrations for its
April 22 presidential elections,
but opposition politicians and
the United States are rejecting
the terms of the poll.
Tania D’Amelio, an official
of the National Electoral Coun-
cil (CNE), said nominations
would be accepted through
Monday. The council will an-
nounce which nominations are
accepted by Thursday.
Opposition politicians
Delta, United
abandon US gun
lobby after shooting
WASHINGTON US airlines
Delta and United on Satur-
day joined the ever-expand-
ing list of companies cutting
ties with the National Rifle
Association, the country’s
powerful gun lobby, in the
wake of a deadly school
shooting in Florida. The
“#BoycottNRA” hashtag has
gained traction on Twitter
since the Valentine Day’s
rampage at Marjory Stone-
man Douglas High School
in Parkland, Florida left 14
students and three staff
dead. (AFP)
ed a week after the Florida
shooting, shows surging pub-
lic support for stricter gun
laws, surpassing levels seen
even after other horrific shoot-
ings of recent years, and for a
ban on powerful semi-auto-
matic weapons like the AR-15
used in Parkland.
Rainstorms across
US Midwest threaten
fresh flooding
REUTERS
MISSISSIPPI
A BAND of thunderstorms
reaching across the lower
Mississippi Valley into Ohio
on Saturday killed a Ken-
tucky woman in her home
and threatened more flood-
ing in an area that has al-
ready seen evacuations be-
cause of high water.
The storm system pack-
ing hail, high winds and
possible tornados was fore-
cast to drop from 2 to 4
inches (5 to 10 cm) of rain
by early Sunday from Ar-
kansas into the Ohio Valley.
Much of the area was
under flash flood warn-
ings or watches after being
saturated by rain in the past
week or so, the National
Weather Service said.
“It’s a pretty high-im-
pact event over a very large
area,” Bob Oravec, a fore-
caster with the agency’s
Weather Prediction Centre
in College Park, Maryland,
said by telephone.
Indiana Governor Eric
Holcomb issued a disaster
emergency for 11 counties
because of damage from
widespread flooding, espe-
cially from the Kankakee
River in northern Indiana.
In Ohio, Governor John
Kasich declared an emer-
gency in 17 counties along
the Ohio River and in the
southern part of the state
because of high water and
storm damage.
Manafort asks court for
release to attend funeral
REUTERS
WASHINGTON
PAUL Manafort, President
Donald Trump’s indicted
former campaign chairman,
asked for court permission
on Saturday for release from
home confinement to attend
the funeral of his father-in-
law.
In a filing in federal court
in Washington, Manafort said
his father-in-law died on Sat-
urday and that he would like to
travel from his Virginia home
to Long Island, New York, to
attend the wake, funeral and
burial services.
Manafort has been
have accused the CNE of being
under the thumb of President
Nicolas Maduro.
The presidential elections,
with Maduro seeking a new
term that would keep him in
office until 2025, are tradi-
tionally held in December.
They were moved forward by
the ruling Constituent Assem-
bly, which is controlled by the
governing party.
Maduro called Wednesday
for snap legislative elections
for the National Assembly, pro-
posing to bring them forward
by nearly two years to coincide
Abuse at Chilean church school
was a ‘perverse game’: Victim
AFP
VIÑA DEL MAR
SEXUAL abuse at the hands
of priests marked the child-
hood of Jaime Concha since
the day when, at age 10, he
entered a school run by the
Marist Brothers religious or-
der in Santiago.
He is now 55 years old
and a doctor. After all these
years, his case is one of doz-
ens finally being investigated
by the Catholic Church in
Chile -- a church rocked by
the scale of a sex-abuse scan-
dal that tainted the recent
visit of Pope Francis.
Concha told AFP his
treatment at the hands of the
Marist Brothers was like “an
everlasting perverse game.”
He says he has now bro-
ken decades of silence about
his childhood trauma to try
to come to terms with the
devastation it has wreaked
on his life since he first en-
tered the order’s Alonso de
Much of the area was
under flash flood
warnings or watches after
being saturated by rain in
the past week or so, the
National Weather Service
said
A 79-year-old woman
died in her rural home near
Logan, Kentucky, when it
was struck by an apparent
tornado, Nashville, Ten-
nessee, TV station WKRN
reported.
Quoting emergency
management officials, the
broadcaster said the woman
and her husband, who was
unharmed, did not hear any
siren.
County officials did not
respond to a request for
comment.
Kentucky Governor
Matt Bevin said on Twitter
late Saturday, “We’ve lost
multiple Kentuckians to-
day due to severe weather
events in the western part
of our state.”
“The Potential for simi-
lar weather continues to
move into Kentucky over-
night,” he said in a tweet.
The governor asked that
all citizens to take weather
warnings seriously.
Flooding has claimed at
least three lives this week,
including a 1-year-old girl
in Michigan, according to
media.
charged with conspiring
to launder money, lying
on his tax returns and fail-
ing to register as a foreign
agent for lobbying work for
a pro-Russian political party
in Ukraine, among other
charges.
His request comes one day
after Rick Gates, Manafort’s
longtime business partner,
pleaded guilty to conspiracy
against the United States and
lying to investigators.
Gates is now cooperating
with Special Counsel Robert
Mueller and his probe of Rus-
sia’s interference in the 2016
US presidential campaign.
with the April 22 poll. And he
hit back at the opposition MUD
coalition, which had said it
would not take part in the early
elections without guarantees
they would be free and fair.
“We are going to (hold) the
elections come rain, shine or
lightning, with or without the
MUD,” said Maduro.
But the US, which under
President Donald Trump has
been deeply critical of Maduro’s
leadership in crisis-torn and
economically suffering Ven-
ezuela, on Saturday rejected the
call for an early legislative vote.
Ercilla school in Santiago.
“There was a real con-
spiracy where everyone was
linked and they were waiting
for us,” said Concha, refer-
ring to the religious brothers.
“They used excuses like
the scout camp, the voca-
tional exam or the retreat to
abuse us.”
Jaime remembers his
first holy communion day
as “sickening,” as he had to
receive the communion wa-
fer from the same priest who
had abused him.
“As a child, what was I
going to say about what hap-
pened to me?” asked Concha.
“I ended up not talking,
being quiet because of fear,
because of shame afterward.”
The abuse began in the
classroom and continued
in school hallways and hid-
den corners of the school
grounds, including the
Marist Brothers’ living quar-
ters and while away camping
with the Boy Scouts.
 Nation Monday, February 26, 2018 15

‘YEAH, WE LOVE KUWAIT’

Qatar’s
Qa
Qatar
ttar’s message
meessssage
agee of
of solidarity
so darity & brotherhood
solida b other
bro herhhood
ood aatt K
oo Kuwait’s
uwaiit’’s National
National Da
Na D
Day
ay celebra
ccelebrations
bra
ation
ns
Deputy Emir
congratulates
Emir of Kuwait
THE Deputy Emir HH Sheikh
Abdullah bin Hamad al Thani sent
on Sunday a cable of congratula-
tions to the Emir of Kuwait HH
Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Jaber
al Sabah on the occasion of his
country’s National Day. (QNA)

PM congratulates
Emir of Kuwait
PRIME Minister and Minister of
Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin
Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani sent
on Sunday a cable of congratula-
tions to the Emir of Kuwait HH
Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Jaber
al Sabah on the occasion of his
country’s National Day. (QNA)

 ATAR represented by the

Ministry of Culture and
Sports (MoCS) and under the
supervision of Qatar Cultural
and Heritage Events Center
(QCHEC) is taking part in Kuwait’s cel-
ebration of its 57th National Day and 27th
Liberation Day.
The MoCS has adopted the slogan
‘Yeah, We love Kuwait’ for the events, which
are being held on Marina Beach in Salmiya
from February 20 to 26 and at Sabah Al-
Ahmad Heritage Village from February 16
to 28. The events are attracting a large au-
dience daily.
The QCHEC has organised the events
in coordination with several official or-
ganisations in the country, including the
Culture and Arts Department, Center for
Theater Affairs, Nomas Center and Maw-
ter Center. The events include, among oth-
ers, plastic art exhibition and Qatari folk-
lore presentation. The Ministry of Culture and Sports has adopted the slogan ‘Yeah, We love Kuwait’ for the events, which are being held on Marina Beach in Salmiya from February 20 to 26 and at Sabah Al-Ahmad
Besides, the Al Reyada Girls Center Heritage Village from February 16 to 28. The events highlight similarities of cultural traditions in Arabian Gulf.
presented operetta titled ‘Yeah, We love
Kuwait’ at Abdulhussain Abdulredha The- Marri added that by taking part in the proposal for the centre’s participation in the puppetry three months ago. distinguished events that embody various
atre recently. celebrations, the QCHEC has highlighted Kuwait’s celebrations was submitted during Among the events held are the Al aspects of the life of the Qatari society and
Mohammed Salan al Marri, general the brotherly ties between the two coun- an earlier visit to the country. Nasa (shooting) event, Al Bidaa event its heritage and tradition.
coordinator of Qatar’s Participation in Ku- tries. He also congratulated the Kuwaiti Director of the Center for Theater Af- and Mwater event. Director of Culture The events shed light on the elements of
wait’s celebrations, said, “We share with government and its people on the occasion. fairs at the MoCS Salah al Mulla said that and Arts Department at the MoCS Ahmed Qatari heritage and demonstrate the similari-
our brothers in Kuwait the joy of their na- Corporate Communications Manager at this is the first participation of the centre in Jassim al Kuwari said the pavilion at the ties between the customs and traditions of
tional day celebrations.” QCHEC Maha al Mohannadi said that the an event outside Qatar since the founding of Heritage Village includes more than 20 different countries of the Arabian Gulf. (TNN)
16 Monday, February 26, 2018
PRIME Minister and Min-
ister of Interior HE Sheikh
Abdullah bin Nasser bin
Khalifa al Thani visited the
15th Doha Jewellery and
Watches Exhibition (DJWE)
taking place at Doha Exhibi-
tion and Convention Center
on Sunday. The PM toured
the exhibition pavilions
and saw the latest designs
of Qatari and global com-
panies specialised in the
manufacturing of jewellery,
watches and precious
gemstones. He also toured
the pavilion of female Qatari
jewellery designers to sup-
port and encourage Qatari
talents in this field. (QNA)
AUCTION FOR A CAUSE
YOUNG QATARI DESIGNERS
SHINE BRIGHT
T
HE focus shifted entirely towards
the Young Qatari Designers on
Sunday evening at the 15th
edition of Doha Jewellery and
Watches Exhibition as marvels of their
creations were auctioned to support
the Education Above All initiative of Her
Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
The charity auction
was attended by sev-
eral VIPs, bidding
on the exclusive
signature pieces
designed by
Nada al Sulaiti
(Hairaat); Nouf
al Meer (Nouf
Jewellery); Ghada
Al Buainain;
Leila Abu Issa
(Leila Issam Fine
Jewellery); Shikha
Mohamed (Al Ghla
Jewellery); and
Jawaher &
Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery: High on style
(PHOTOGRAPHS BY JALAL PATHIYOOR)
The Last Word
PRIME MINISTER VISITS DJWE 2018
Hueb pieces add
glamour to Fifty
One East pavilion
By SATYENDRA PATHAK
HUEB, a Brazilian fine jewellery brand, has added glamour to
the Fifty One East pavilion with its latest innovations to attract
the attention of women in Qatar.
The brand’s un-
derstanding of what
women want to wear
is like an unspoken
pact that is woven
into the fabric of
Models showcase collections by designers at an auction. each design, Hueb
Brand Director
Thiago Hueb told
Qatar Tribune.
“Hueb’s aes-
thetic reflects its
Brazilian heritage. Hueb Brand Director Thiago Hueb.
It is unabashed yet
refined, precious yet infinitely wearable. In other words, impec-
Hissa Mohammed al Mannai (Ghand cably crafted luxury designed to be worn every day,” he said.
Jewellery). According to him, Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition
The Young Qatari Designers (DJWE) is an ideal platform for Hueb to showcase its latest
initiative, launched last year as part products in the Middle East.
of Qatar Tourism Authority’s efforts to “The response we are getting for our products here in
support local talent, is one of Doha Doha is encouraging. People in Qatar are very fond of Brazil-
Jewellery and Watches Exhibition’s key ian heritage and culture and that could be the reason many
pillars to support and develop young women have shown keen interest in our products,” he said.
creative talent and provide them a glo- Hueb jewellery adds to women’s innate sense of style and
bal platform to showcase their unique makes them culturally savvy and self-assured by nature.
and exclusive designs. (TNN) There is appetite for luxury products in Qatar, Thiago said,
adding that Doha remains one of the most active markets for
Hueb products in the region.
Ali Bin Ali Group Vice-Chairman and EVP Nabeel Ali bin Ali with other dignitaries and
officials at an auction held by AlBahie Auction House at Doha Jewellery and Watches
Exhibition on Sunday. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY JALAL PATHIYOOR)
‘Auction amount bigger
than expected’
ers will now be an integral part
Continued from page 1 Ô of upcoming editions of DJWE,
she added.
ALBAHIE Auction House Di- The base price of QR30,000
rector Jennifer Bishop said the for each piece would go to
amount raised at the auction the designers, while the total
was much bigger than what was amount raised above the base
expected. price would go to Education
“It is very encouraging Above All foundation, she
‘Qatar’ piece by given the fact that such an auc- also said.
young Qatari tion was held for the first time The Young Qatari Design-
designer, Nouf al in Qatar. Such responses will ers (YQD) initiative, launched
Meer, sold for the motivate more young Qatari last year as part of Qatar
highest bid for designers to showcase their tal- Tourism Authority’s efforts to
ent,” Jennifer said. support local talent, is one of
QR400,000 The auction of jewellery DJWE’s key pillars to support
pieces by young Qatari design- young creative talent.
By SATYENDRA PATHAK
VAN Cleef & Arpels has brought en-
chanting high jewellery creations and
timepieces to the Doha Jewellery and
Watches Exhibition.
Renowned for its exceptional
savoir-faire, Van Cleef & Arpels uses
exceptional stones in this creative se-
lection of ultra-feminine jewellery and
timepieces whilst gracing a world
which is fluid, constantly evolving
and perpetually renewed.
Admirers of beauty are
thronging the Van Cleef &
Arpels pavilion at the ongo-
ing exhibition to discover the style within its high phires, is also drawing a lot of atten- shared values, Nada said.
Maison’s unique high jewel- jewellery creations. tion, she said, adding that Organdi Roaring Twenties have exerted a
lery creations and timepieces, Fawzia, a trans- diamond necklaces are also popular strong influence on all the pieces on
combining refinement and el- formable necklace this year. display, she said, stressing that much
egance, a senior official of the into a tiara, diamonds Haute couture and high jewellery of the jewellery recalls the freedom,
company said. and one pearl-shaped are kindred spirits, she said, adding extravagance and modernism which
Nada Hachache, high jew- diamond of 1.08 car- that they inhabit a universe governed marked that period.
ellery ambassador at Van Cleef ats, is one of the most by the same values: a respect for tra- “Sumptuous textiles are evoked by
& Arpels, told Qatar Tribune special displays this dition, the transmission of special- creations that imitate the fabric of fine
that, this year, the selection on year, she said. ised skills, and the constant pursuit garments. Ornaments like buttons,
offer is laced with precious crea- Ruban Secret, a of perfection. zips, pompoms and ribbons are trans-
tions inspired by couture, high- watch in pink gold, dia- Van Cleef & Arpels’ high jewellery formed into a glittering interplay of
lighting the play of volume and monds and pink sap- collection couture is a tribute to these metal and precious stones,” she said.
 www.facebook.com/QatarTribune

www.youtube.com/QatarTribuneChannel

www.twitter.com/Qatar_Tribune

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2018

QNCC to raise output by 5,500 DOW 25,097.83

+135.35 PTS QE 9,080.13
-16.23 PTS SENSEX 34,142.15
+322.65 PTS GOLD 1,331.30
-0.11%

tonnes within H1 PAGE 18

BRENT WTI SILVER
PRICE PERCENTAGE PRICE PERCENTAGE 16.56
67.12 +1.10% 63.57 +1.27% -0.50%

QFMA approves Qatar Insurance Co to

listing of QETF on
QSE from March 5
QNA
DOHA
QATAR Financial Markets
Authority (QFMA) has ap-
proved the listing of the Qa-
tar Exchange Traded Funds
(QETF) for trading its units
on the Qatar Stock Ex-
change (QSE) from March
5.
In a press release on
Sunday, the QFMA said the
listing of QETF for trad-
ing is a continuation of its
efforts to constantly de-
velop Qatari capital mar-
ket, maintain its regional
and international gains,
advance the competitive-
ness of the capital market
in the country and diversify
investment products in the
Qatari capital market.
Investment funds play
an important role in capital
markets as they can offer
investment opportunities
to small investors under the
supervision of specialised
entities, which may reduce
their overall exposure to
risk.
“In order to keep up
with the developments and
transformations in the fi-
nancial sector, both domes-
tically and internationally,
particularly with regard to
the financial markets sec-
tor, the QFMA had issued
legislations regulating the
listing of such funds, as
it issued in 2013 the list-
ing rules for investment
fund’s units, and the list-
ing rules for real estate in-
vestment fund’s units in
2015,” QFMA CEO Nasser
al Shaibi said.
raise capital to QR3.2 bn
The board approves
distribution of cash
dividend of 15%
ASIF IQBAL
DOHA
QATAR Insurance Company
(QIC) shareholders on Sunday
approved to raise the capital of
the Group from QR2.7 billion
to QR3.2 billion, and also ap-
proved the distribution of cash
dividend of 15 percent.
Speaking at the annual
general meeting (AGM), QIC
Deputy Chairman Abdulla bin
Khalifa al Attiya, said, “We
look forward to 2018 with
cautious optimism for im-
proving conditions ahead. We
will adhere to our strategies
and will explore underwriting
and investment opportunities
to achieve prudent and sus-
tainable bottom line driven
growth and generate attractive
returns for our shareholders.”
Attiya said that 2017 was
a challenging year with global
industry’s hope for accelerated
growth and improved bottom
line profitability being consist-
ently challenged by the emer-
gence of major speed bumps,
both natural and man-made.
“The impact has been ex-
aggerated due to sequential
Qatar Insurance Company Deputy Chairman Abdulla bin Khalifa al Attiya (left) at the company’s annual
general meeting in Doha on Sunday.
nature of the windstorms that
caused a total industry loss of
up to $100 billion.”
He further said, “QIC,
through its global operations,
was significantly impacted by
these unprecedented natural
catastrophic events.
“The other major event
that adversely impacted insur-
ers operating in the UK insur-
ance market, where QIC Group
also had exposure through its
international operations, was
the sharp and unexpected re-
duction of the Ogden discount
rate in the UK in the first quar-
ter in 2017, which forced the
insurers to increase their loss
reserves.” “The industry-wide
impact of Ogden is estimated
to be $10 billion increase in
loss reserves,” Attiya said.
“For QIC, the challenges
were further compounded by
an unexpected political stand-
off in the region which impact-
ed the relationship within the
GCC.”
Attiya said the resultant
turbulence impacted the re-
gion, where QIC has a large
presence for more than 50
years.
“Despite the prevailing
market stress, QIC has dem-
onstrated resilience in its glo-
bal operations,” he added.
Last year, QIC Group re-
ported net investment income
of QR903 million. The key
contributors to the reported
growth were the Group’s dedi-
cated global reinsurance and
specialty insurance subsidiar-
ies as well as the life and medi-
cal segments of the business
emanating from the Middle
East. The international sub-
sidiaries namely Qatar Re,
Antares and QIC Europe Ltd
(QEL) now account for ap-
proximately 75 percent of the
Group’s total GWP.
Commenting on the
Group’s financial performance
in 2017, Group President and
CEO, Khalifa Abdulla Turki al
Subaey, said, “Despite global
situation, which has massively
influenced major sectors in
the region, QIC Group has
witnessed strong business mo-
mentum and has performed in
line with our expectations.”
He said the overall per-
formance in 2017 highlights
the Group’s well laid out strat-
egy and its successful execu-
tion.
“For 2018, our outlook
remains cautiously positive.
We shall focus on consoli-
dation and enhance our op-
erational efficiency,” Khalifa
pointed out.

Mwani Qatar, Indonesia’s

Pelindo 1 sign agreement
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA

QATAR Ports Management Com-

pany (Mwani Qatar) and PT
Pelabuhan Indonesia I (Pelindo 1)
signed a memorandum of under-
standing (MoU) to boost sharing of
information and technology in the
field of ports operation and man-
agement.
The MoU aims to encourage
logistics works and trade, and ex-
plore new initiatives, a press state-
ment said on Sunday.
The deal was signed in the Min-
istry of Transport and Communi-
cations presmises by Mwani Qatar
CEO Captain Abdulla al Khanji and
Pelindo 1 President and Director Officials of Mwani Qatar and Indonesia’s Pelindo 1 sign MoU at an event in Doha
Bambang Eka Cahyana. on Sunday.
Khanji said the deal marks an
important starting point towards applying the best global practices Pelindo 1 is one of the four
enhancing partnership, develop- and standards, as well as main- state-owned port companies in
ing business and benefiting from taining a world-class operational Indonesia, which manages ports
the technical expertise and capa- efficiency in all its operations,” he in the west of Indonesia. It also
bilities of both companies. said specialises in logistics services.
“This cooperation would con- Khanji added, “The deal helps There are 17 ports in the west
tribute to achieving the company’s stimulate trade and boost invest- of Indonesia, across four provinc-
plans that aim to boost Hamad ment and economic diversifica- es such as Aceh, North Sumatra
Port’s pioneering status region- tion, thus achieving the goals of and Riau Islands. Pelindo 1 owns
ally and internationally through the Qatar National Vision 2030.” six subsidiaries.

Nakilat posts QR847 mn profit in 2017

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
NAKILAT reported net profit of
QR847 million for the year ended
December 31, 2017, with earnings
per share of QR1.53, the company
announced in a press statement on
Sunday.
The board of directors has rec-
ommended to distribute cash divi-
dends of 10 percent of the nominal
value of its capital to sharehold-
ers, which is equivalent to QR1 per
share.
The board said it would hold
the annual general meeting on
March 20.
During the year, Nakilat suc-
cessfully deployed the company’s
strategic plans towards maintain-
ing its global leadership in LNG
transportationplaying an integral
role in Qatar’s LNG supply chain,
the statement said.
Despite the challenges facing
the energy and maritime industry,
the company managed to achieve
positive results across its opera-
tions that exceeded planned expec-
tations in 2017 through enhanced
operational efficiency and a reduc-
tion in general and administrative
expenses and finance costs.
The net profit achieved in the
fourth quarter of 2017 was higher
than in the third quarter of 2017
and fourth quarter of 2016, by 21
percent and 16 percent respective-
ly, the company noted.
The rating agencies continued
to rate Nakilat highly during rating
affirmations processes last year,
They attributed the company’s
success to its resilience to market
volatility as well as its consistent
and reliable record in operating
LNG vessels, the statement said.
Nakilat’s board commended
the company’s steady financial
results despite the challenging
business environment, a reflec-
tion of the company’s strength and
resilience.
“Complemented by strategic
long-term agreements with well-
established charterers, Nakilat has
managed to maintain steady cash-
flow and generate positive value
for our shareholders,” the board
said in a statement.
“Given the volatile market con-
ditions, the company embarked
on cost optimisation initiatives,
capitalising on profitable business
growth, and achieving cost sav-
ings.
“In addition, Nakilat contin-
ues to explore and capitalise on
different business opportunities
and mitigating business risks to
strengthen the company’s interna-
tional position as a global leader
in the LNG shipping industry,” the
statement added.
18 Monday, February 26, 2018
Tax perks
could boost
consolidation
of Thailand’s
bank sector
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
PROPOSED incentives
to encourage mergers,
combined with the imple-
mentation of new banking
standards, could lead to
greater consolidation with-
in Thailand’s banking sec-
tor, according to the Oxford
Business Group.
It said the govern-
ment hopes the sector will
strengthen lenders amid
plans to fast-track indus-
trial growth.
In December, Apisak
Tantivorawong, the finance
minister, said his ministry
was considering a plan to
make mergers more ap-
pealing by offering tax in-
centives to local lenders
and assisting companies
with the costs of amalga-
mation.
The minister said the
proposed measures would
be aimed at bolstering the
sector and better preparing
domestic operators for in-
creased international com-
petition, but he released no
further details.
“Our policy is not to
force but to give incen-
tives to motivate them into
thinking... because Thai-
land does not have a bank
that can be called a cham-
pion bank that can compete
overseas,” Apisak said.
Indeed, while Thai
companies are expand-
ing their regional pres-
ence, offshore deals are
still largely undertaken by
banks outside ASEAN, with
European, US or Japanese
institutions responsible for
financing the majority of
mergers and acquisitions
(M&A).
However, a factor that
could further improve the
competitiveness of local fi-
nancial institutions in the
region is the implementa-
tion of the ASEAN Bank-
ing Integration Framework
(ABIF).
The ABIF, to be intro-
duced in 2020, will grant
qualified banks greater ac-
cess and flexibility to oper-
ate in other ASEAN mar-
kets, opening up expansion
opportunities and increas-
ing investment flows.
However, given the
stringent capital and opera-
tional requirements, many
banks may not qualify for
the ABIF grading, poten-
tially encouraging lenders
to partake in mergers or ac-
quisitions. This could lead
to a greater role for Thai
banks in the region.
In addition to making
local banks more competi-
tive overseas, the Thai gov-
ernment proposals are de-
signed to put the sector in
a better position to support
domestic growth.
At present, many Thai
corporations are expanding
at a rate significantly higher
than local banks, meaning
individual lenders are not
equipped to extend the lev-
el of credit required by the
business community.
The 2016 launch of
Thailand 4.0, which aims
to promote higher levels of
investment in domestic in-
dustry to expand the role of
value-added sectors, could
ease the recent trend of
capital moving offshore.
Focus Softnet participates in MoTC’s SME digital transformation programme
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
FOCUS Softnet Qatar on
Sunday announced that it is
participating in the Digital
Transformation of Small &
Medium Enterprise (DTSME)
programme to be organised
under the patronage of Qatar’s
Ministry of Transport and
Communications (MoTC). The
company will demonstrate
how Qatari SMEs can digitally
transform their businesses
with cloud-based ERP solu-
tions at the DTSME workshop,
which will be held at 3 pm on
February 27 at Al Nasser Tow-
er in Doha.
As part of its initiatives to
develop and sustain the coun-
try’s ICT sector and to acceler-
SHEIKH AHMED MEETS WITH ECUADORIAN MINISTER
Minister of Economy and Commerce HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed al Thani on Sunday met with Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Trade Pablo Campana.
They discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and discussed aspects of enhancing cooperation, especially in the economic, trade and investment fields.
QNCC to raise output by
5,500 tonnes within H1
The cement producer’s fifth plant is set to become operational in the first half, says chairman
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
QATAR National Cement
Company (QNCC) plans to
have its fifth plant opera-
tional within the first half of
2018 and increase its overall
production capacity by 5,500
tonnes of cement per day.
The company’s produc-
tion, in both OPC and SRC cat-
egories of cement, reached 3.5
million tonnes in 2017 from
3.7 million tonnes in the pre-
vious year, QNCC’s Chairman
and Managing Director Salem
bin Butti al Naimi said in his
address to shareholders on its
assembly meeting on Sunday.
The production of washed
sand increased to 9.1 million
tonnes in 2017 from 8.8 mil-
lion tonnes in the previous
year. Similarly, calcium car-
bonate production increased
to 40,000 tonnes from 37,400.
Sales of all types of cement
reached 3.4 million tonnes
Al Mouj Muscat offers investment opportunities for Qataris
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
QATARIS are expected to be
among the top investors at the
Al Mouj Muscat, Oman’s life-
style destination, in 2018, ac-
cording to the company.
The stable economy, com-
bined with the Government’s
drive towards diversification
and growth, factor heavily in
positioning Oman as an at-
tractive high-yield investment
prospect for Qatari citizens, Al
Mouj said in a statement.
By the end of the third
quarter of 2017, foreign direct
investments to Oman rose by
nearly 13 percent, suggesting
a positive trend that is set to
continue into 2018. This year,
Al Mouj Muscat is looking to
ate achieving Qatar’s National
Vision 2030, MoTC is organ-
ising the DTSME programme
to promote digital innovation,
competitiveness and growth
of SMEs through end-to-end
digital transformation of their
value chain in areas such as
web enablement, e-commerce
and cloud, supported by an
ecosystem of technology ena-
blers.
The objective of the event
is to enhance awareness of the
benefits of using modern tech-
nology in the business sector
and to help SMEs to connect
with the right service provid-
ers to begin their digitisation
journeys.
“Focus Softnet is pleased
to partner with MoTC for their
DTSME programme, which
Economy & Business
QNCC’s Chairman and Managing Director Salem bin Butti al Naimi and other board of directors at the company’s assembly meeting on Sunday.
in 2017 against 3.7 million
tonnes in the previous year.
While the sales of washed
sand increased to 9.5 million
tonnes in 2017 from 8.1 mil-
lion tonnes, those of calcium
carbonate increased to 43,000
tonnes from 36,000 tonnes.
The total value of sales
revenue was recorded at
QR1.03 billion for 2017, com-
pared with QR1.14 billion for
the previous year.
The shareholders’ equity
increased, as of December 31,
2017, to QR3.14 billion, com-
highlight a number of positive
investment opportunities that
appeal to Qataris available in
Oman, including through its
own master development.
With an increasing
number of Qataris look to
Oman as an attractive invest-
ment prospect, Al Mouj Mus-
cat could be the perfect invest-
ment opportunity.
Being the First Integrated
Tourism Complex, Al Mouj
Muscat offers investors high
capital appreciation, high
rental yield and the opportu-
nity of 100 percent freehold
ownership when buying prop-
erty in the award-winning
destination.
Al Mouj Muscat brings a
number of residential, com-
mercial and retail opportuni-
aims to enable Qatari SMEs to
digitise by harnessing technol-
ogy and innovation in the cur-
rent digital economy of Qatar.
Through our presentation,
‘Automate your business with
Focus 8 cloud ERP’, we will
address how Qatari SMEs can
digitally transform their busi-
ness using our flagship next-
generation ERP solution,” said
Ali Hassan, Chief Operations
Officer, Focus Softnet Qatar.
Cloud adoption in the re-
gion is growing at a rapid pace.
According to Markets and-
Markets forecast, the Middle
East Cloud Applications mar-
ket will be worth $2404.5 Mil-
lion by 2020. Focus Softnet
definitely sees an increased
uptake of Software-as-a-Serv-
ice (SaaS) and Cloud-enabled
pared to QR3.09 billion at the
end of the previous year. The
company achieved a net profit
of QR327 million for 2017
against QR475 million in the
previous year.
The decline in the net prof-
it was caused by the general
economic situation, which
has led to lower demand. Be-
sides, the competition in the
local market forced the com-
pany to reduce selling price of
cement from April 2017.
The QNCC board of direc-
tors recommended the dis-
ties available for investment
and is set to handover an ad-
ditional 500 residential units
to customers this year.
Al Mouj Muscat is a world-
class Integrated Tourism
Complex, situated along a
stunning 6 km stretch of Mus-
cat’s coastline that comprises
of Oman’s only signature
designed PGA Standard 18-
hole links golf course, a 400
berth Al Mouj Marina and The
Walk, a 70-unit retail area
which forms the commercial
and leisure hub of the com-
munity.
It is currently showcas-
ing investment opportunities
across its luxury residential
properties including villas,
townhouses and apartments
across the GCC.
applications over the next few
years as organizations acceler-
ate their digital transforma-
tion efforts.
“As part of their digital
transformation plans, Qatari
SMEs are increasingly inter-
ested in adopting Cloud and
tribution of 45 percent of the
share capital or QR4.50 for
each share as cash dividend to
the shareholders for 2017.
In 2017, QNCC support-
ed the massive construction
boom in Qatar by meeting the
market demand for all types
of cement and washed sand.
It was also able to meet
the local market demand for
cement last year, thanks to
the utmost utilisation of the
company’s capacities. The
year also saw QNCC increase
its percentage of Qatari staff
Al Mouj Muscat is a world-class Integrated Tourism Complex, situated along a stunning 6-km stretch of
Muscat’s coastline.
As part of their digital
transformation plans, Qatari
SMEs are increasingly
interested in adopting Cloud
and SaaS solutions to be
agile and fully digitised.
Focus Softnet Qatar Chief
Operations Officer Ali Hassan
SaaS solutions to be agile
and fully digitized. Our next-
generation ERP — Focus 8
— is cloud ready and built on
thin-client architecture, which
will help businesses to access
their data remotely, increase
productivity, save on IT in-
and follow-up their training
and development to cover
various aspects.
For 2018, the company
aims to continue its support
of the infrastructure devel-
opment of the country by
meeting the market demand
of various products at high
quality and competitive price.
It also aims to diversify
the production by adding new
types of cement to meet the
demand of local market and
utilise the opportunity of ex-
port.
frastructure costs, and deliver
enhanced security for their
data,” Hassan added.
Focus Softnet has been
striving to consistently pro-
vide solutions and products
using emerging technologies
with high quality standards
and zero errors. With a strong
emphasis on R &D, the com-
pany has been constantly in-
novating and developing new
technologies and solutions.
Focus Softnet’s ERP solutions
are tailored to suit require-
ments of Enterprises as well as
SMEs.
Focus 8, the company’s
next-generation ERP, inte-
grates business intelligence
tools, and provides real-time
reporting using multi-dimen-
sional posting of transactions.
Don’t let fraud
halt corporate
lending: India’s
Assocham
IANS
NEW DELHI
THE alleged multi-million dol-
lar fraud on India’s state-run
Punjab National Bank (PNB)
by diamantaire Nirav Modi
should not halt the entire
system of corporate lending
as demoralisation would set
in among public sector bank
(PSB) employees, industry
body Assocham said on Sun-
day.
The country can "ill-afford"
such fraud induced credit
slowdown at a time when cred-
it growth is showing signs of
recovery and the economy set
to grow at a higher pace, the
Associated Chambers of Com-
merce and Industry of India
(Assocham) said in a release
here.
Noting the disturbing re-
ports about banks clamping
down certain impractical rules
and procedures for trade fi-
nance, affecting both import-
ers and exporters in the wake
of the PNB scam, Assocham
said the letters of credit (LOC)
or letters of undertaking (LOU)
allegedly misused by the dia-
mond traders are legitimate
instruments in global trade.
"While we may seek long-
term solutions like privatisa-
tion of the banks, the need of
this hour is to rally around
honest bank officers and the
honest business entities which
have built trust on each other,"
Assocham Secretary General
D.S. Rawat said in a statement.
"Let one or a few black
sheep not derail our finan-
cial system, which is resilient
enough to withstand this kind
of shocks, though ideally such
jolts are better avoided and
averted through systemic re-
forms," he added.
According to Assocham,
"letters of credit or letters of
undertaking are an interna-
tionally accepted system of
global trade."
"While we need to ensure
safe and sound functioning of
the system and not allow loop-
holes like those in the PNB
system of money or guarantee
transfer, let banks not over-
react and hit the trade and in-
dustry."
Noting that Indian exports
in January showed a decel-
eration in growth "even when
the global economy is on the
uptick", Assocham said: "The
pick up in the domestic econ-
omy would require higher
imports. Thus, both imports
and exports are key to our
economy."
“Today, businesses need ERP
systems that are not only fast
and strong, but also secure
and dynamic. Focus 8 fulfills
these requirements with its
unmatched flexibility, unbeat-
able security and a surprising
ease of use. It enables clients
with scalability, mobility,
governance, efficiencies and
international standards for
every industry,” Hassan con-
cluded.
The company has opti-
mized its flagship products for
mobile and other connected
devices, including thin-PC
type terminals. Focus Softnet
is offering its large installed
base of regional customers the
option to migrate to the cloud
using a choice of single and
multi-tenant options.

QFBA joins hands with MUFG to help develop Qatari talent
QNA
DOHA
THE Qatar Finance and Busi-
ness Academy (QFBA) recent-
ly signed an internship part-
nership with Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial Group’s (MUFG)
banking arm - The Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, to host
three Kawader internship pro-
grammes at their Asian offices
in Singapore, Malaysia and
Hong Kong.
According to a QFBA
press release, the agreement
between QFBA and MUFG is
an extension of partnership
wherein MUFG in 2015 hosted
interns at their London offices,
MUFG was the first organisa-
tion to open the international
platform for the Kawader pro-
gramme, and this year they
offered placements in their
Asian market. BTMU’s focus
was to enhance knowledge
and further support beyond
border relationship between
MUFG and Qatar.
Dr Mohammed Abdul-
lah al Emadi, Acting CEO of
QFBA, said, “QFBA’s partner-
ship with Mitsubishi UFJ Fi-
nancial Groups (MUFG) is in
line with the Academy’s man-
date of building a well-quali-
fied human capital base that
Economy & Business
supports the financial sector
in the country and the region,
while bolstering its effective
contribution to the realisation
of a knowledge-based econo-
my under the umbrella of the
Qatar National Vision 2030.”
He added: “On the indus-
try level, this will raise the
skills and knowledge of the
human capital in the banking
industry, and will match the
sectors training qualifications
with the evolving job market
needs.
“The individuals and or-
ganisations in Qatar will get to
benefit from a higher standard
of service that better caters to
MUFG has proven to be a
great partner adding
substantial value to the
Kawader programme with its
well structured and
thought-out internship experi-
ence for the Kawader interns.
Dr Mohammed Abdullah al
Emadi, Acting CEO of QFBA
their banking needs. This ini-
tiative creates a win-win situ-
ation for all parties involved
and opens up a whole world of
opportunities in the industry.
“MUFG has proven to be
a great partner adding sub-
stantial value to the Kawader
programme with its well struc-
tured and thought-out intern-
ship experience for the Ka-
wader interns.”
The programme has al-
ways assured a good alliance
between QFBA and MUFG in
recognising MUFG and its as-
sistance in shaping the bright
minds of the future by giv-
ing them an opportunity to
uniquely learn skills on an in-
ternational platform. MUFG,
having been the first one to in-
Monday, February 26, 2018
troduce global exposure to the
programmes plans to main-
tain its admirable standing.
Katanori Otsuji, GM
BTMU Doha Office, said, “We
at MUFG are honoured to
have supported the Kawader
program since its very begin-
ning by hosting Qatari stu-
dents in our global offices for
internships, including London
and various Asian countries.”
He added: “We are always
impressed by the enthusiasm
and competence of the stu-
dents who join our teams and
manage to make a lasting im-
pression within a short space
of time. We wish to congratu-
19
late the QFBA on the excel-
lent work they are doing to
develop Qatari talent through
this outstanding training pro-
gram and we are committed
to maintaining our partner-
ship with Kawader for years to
come.”
The Kawader programme
is a unique initiative with the
aim to provide state-of-the
art professional experiences
to enhance collaboration be-
tween the financial and the
academic sectors. The in-
ternship period is for at least
four weeks with full hands
on training provided to the
intern.

Al-Attiyah Foundation Chairman Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah

and HBKU President Dr Ahmad M Hasnah shake hands after
signing an MoU, in Doha on Sunday.

Al-Attiyah Foundation
inks deal with HBKU
for research in energy
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
QINVEST Chairman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al Thani, Chief Executive Officer Tamim Hamad al Kuwari and a board member address a press conference
announcing the 2017 results of the company, in Doha on Sunday.
building partnerships with

QINVEST posts net profit

DOHA
THE Al-Attiyah Foundation
and the Hamad Bin Khalifa
University (HBKU) on Sun-
day signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) to
collaborate in energy and
sustainable development
research.
After signing the MoU,
Al-Attiyah Foundation
Chairman Abdullah bin
Hamad al Attiyah said, “It
gives me great pleasure to
see my foundation work
in close partnership with
this prestigious university.
I hope, together we can of-
fer valuable insights to our
stakeholders here in Qatar
and around the world.”
HBKU President Dr Ah-
mad M Hasnah said, “En-
ergy and sustainability are
key research and academic
themes at HBKU and our
collaboration with The Al-
Attiyah Foundation rep-
resents a commitment to
local stakeholders, as well
as developing solutions that
serve a better future for Qa-
tar.
“Knowledge-sharing
and resource exchange are
fundamental to a better un-
derstanding of the challeng-
es we face. HBKU is fortu-
nate to have the support of
the foundation, which will
reinforce the impact of our
research.”
The Al-Attiyah Founda-
tion and HBKU will seek
mutually beneficial oppor-
tunities to work together on
policy reports, research and
engagements. Both insti-
tutions will share relevant
resources and co-organise
joint events, including sym-
posia, roundtable discus-
sions and seminars.
Through the agreement,
HBKU and The Foundation
will collaborate in sourcing
research funding, fellow-
ships and scholarships sup-
port.
of QR65.9 million for 2017
The company
registers operating
profit of QR177.3
million on revenues
of QR368.6 million
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
QINVEST on Sunday reported
an operating profit of QR177.3
million ($48.7 million) and
net profit of QR65.9 million
($18.1million) for 2017. Rev-
enues from all business lines
stood at QR368.6 million
($101.3 million), the company
said in a statement.
The group’s global assets
stood at QR4,459.8 million
($1,225.2 million) as of De-
cember 31, 2017.
QINVEST is Qatar’s lead-
ing private investment group
and one of the region’s most
prominent Islamic financial
institutions
“Its prudent investment
approach, stringent provision-
ing policy and underleveraged
balance sheet has provided
stability amid regional uncer-
QINVEST shareholders and other guests at the press conference.
tainties,” the statement said.
The group continues to
maintain a healthy capital
adequacy ratio of 26 percent
as per QFCRA Basel rules, as
compared to the regulatory
requirement of 10.5 percent.
In addition, QINVEST has
continued to enjoy a strong
liquidity position of $120 mil-
lion as of December 31, 2017.
QINVEST has also taken the
decision to early adopt IFRS9
accounting standard, reduc-
ing future volatility from its
reported results.
QINVEST Chairman
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad
bin Jassim bin Jaber al Thani
said, “In 2017, we were able to
capitalise on relatively more
favourable global market con-
ditions. We remain prudent in
our management of risk and
have built up a strong liquid-
ity position and an underlev-
eraged balance sheet that has
enabled us to invest in key glo-
bal markets on an opportunis-
tic basis.
“Looking ahead, we re-
main committed to our busi-
ness strategy, which is based
around making strategic in-
vestments that prioritize di-
versification and risk-adjusted
returns and delivering value
to clients and shareholders at
a time when they are counting
on us the most.”
QINVEST Chief Executive
Officer Tamim Hamad al Ku-
wari said, “Over the past year,
QINVEST has successfully
structured new investment
opportunities across a number
of different asset classes, with
a particular focus on the in-
ternational real estate market,
debt and equity investments,
and funds.
“These opportunities were
structured with our investors
in mind as we understood
early on that there was an un-
met demand in the market for
access to the US real estate
market in a Sharia’a compliant
manner. Our team was able
to provide the market with a
compelling avenue to access
these markets.
“We are starting 2018 with
an active investment book and
a healthy pipeline of deals and
we will continue to invest in
the business for the future,
selectively investing across
different sectors and markets
where there are opportunities
for growth. I’m confident that
QINVEST’s successful track
record will continue to provide
investors with access to excit-
ing international investment
opportunities.”

Workspace provider Regus opens 10th business centre in Qatar

New centre opens
in Lusail Twin
Towers in Doha to
support network
expansion
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
LEADING global workspace
provider Regus has announced
the opening of its 10th busi-
ness centre in Qatar at an event
attended by Sheikh Mansour
Jabr Jassim Jabr al Thani and
Sons.
The new centre, located on
the 11th and 12th floors of the
Lusail Twin Towers in Doha,
aims to support Regus’ net-
work expansion as demand for
flexible workspace in the coun-
try continues to increase.
The office space in Doha’s
Twin Towers is one of the re-
gion’s most prestigious ad-
dresses. Each tower has 32
floors, ample car parking and
restaurant and entertainment
facilities. Here, businesses can
operate alongside several big
corporates, a five star hotel, as
well as cafes and a health club.
The working environment
offers good natural light and
the range of facilities in the
building and the surrounding
area are on par with interna-
tional standards. This modern
building provides a comfort-
able, productive working en-
vironment, with a strong busi-
ness community.
Alina Gomotirceanu,
Country Manager for Regus
in Qatar, said, “With the rising
popularity of mobile working,
people now, more than ever,
need professional places to
meet clients or contacts. Meet-
ings in coffee shops and home
offices are not always suitable.
We have witnessed a strong
demand for flexible and mod-
ular office spaces and we are
proud to open our 10th busi-
ness centre in Qatar today to
meet this demand.”
As businesses become
more mobile, the demand for
flexible workspaces is increas-
ing. Digitalisation is changing
how people work, with 53 per-
cent of professionals across the
world now working remotely
for at least half of their work-
ing week.
Millennials are also a driv-
ing force behind this trend,
with seven out of 10 millenni-
als claiming they would trade
other work package benefits
for better workspace.
At the same time, business-
es want the financial and stra-
tegic benefits of flexible work-
ing spaces and Qatar has been
attracting such businesses for
the past two decades.
The country’s economic
growth is expected to acceler-
ate in 2018 due to strong glo-
bal growth and the country’s
economic diversification.
Last year, Qatar witnessed
an impressive growth in the
construction sector, with busi-
ness sentiment for 2018 im-
proving due to the 2022 World
Cup preparations. Focus Eco-
nomics forecasts an economic
growth of 2.9 per cent in 2018,
making Qatar a desirable desti-
nation for start-ups and SMEs.
Regus aims to support new
businesses that are required
to have a 12-month lease on a
physical office space in order
to obtain a trade licence to op-
erate in Qatar.
Regus is the largest inter-
national workspace provider in
Qatar with multiple locations.
Centres in Doha are located in
the Pearl, West Bay, Doha Air-
port, Bank Street and Jaidah
Square among others.
Each private office can be
upgraded to add more desks or
relocated, while temporary of-
fices can also be rented, to cov-
er the duration of a project. The
serviced offices are supplied
with furniture, high-speed in-
ternet and a staffed reception,
with additional services such
as meeting rooms and virtual
offices available.
20 Monday, February 26, 2018
BoE sees rate increase
sooner than expected
Economists expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates to 0.75% from 0.5% by May
Earlier this month the central bank said interest rates might need to rise somewhat sooner and by somewhat more over the next three years than policymakers had expected.
REUTERS
LONDON
THE Bank of England might
need to raise British interest
rates somewhat sooner than
Deputy Governor Dave Ram-
sden had expected if wage
growth picks up early this
year, according to a newspa-
per interview released on Sat-
urday.
Ramsden was one of two
policymakers who opposed
the BoE’s decision in No-
vember to raise interest rates
for the first time in a decade,
but appears to have shifted
his stance somewhat in com-
ments published by the Sun-
day Times newspaper.
US top court to weigh Microsoft overseas data case with Justice Department
REUTERS
WASHINGTON
A major privacy rights fight be-
tween Microsoft Corp and the
Justice Department reaches the
Supreme Court this week, with
the justices considering wheth-
er US law allows prosecutors to
compel technology companies
to hand over data stored over-
seas.
The nine justices will hear
arguments on Tuesday in a case
that pits the interests of tech
companies and privacy advo-
cates in safeguarding customer
data against the demands of
law enforcement in obtaining
information crucial to criminal
and counterterrorism investiga-
tions.
The case began with a 2013
warrant obtained by prosecu-
tors for emails of a suspect in
a drug trafficking investigation
that were stored in Microsoft
computer servers in Dub-
Daimler, BAIC to invest $2 bn in China car factory Saudi inflation soars in January after
REUTERS
BERLIN
DAIMLER and its Chinese
partner BAIC plan to invest
almost $2 billion in a state-of-
the-art factory in China, under-
lining their relationship as rival
Geely makes a surprise swoop
on the German carmaker.
The two will invest more
than 11.9 billion yuan ($1.88
billion) in modernizing a plant
to build premium Mercedes-
Benz cars including electric
vehicles, BAIC said in a filing to
the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
dated Friday and confirmed by
Daimler on Sunday.
The chairman of Chinese
carmaker Geely said late on Fri-
day he had bought an almost 10
percent stake in Daimler, in a
$9 billion bet to access the Mer-
Earlier this month the
central bank said interest
rates might need to rise some-
what sooner and by some-
what more over the next three
years than policymakers had
expected in November, due to
a strong global economy and
signs wages are rising faster.
“We all will keep a close
eye on what happens through
the early part of this year to
see if that (BoE) forecast of
wage growth picking up to 3
percent is realised,” Ramsden
was quoted as saying by the
Sunday Times.
“But certainly relative to
where I was, I see the case for
rates rising somewhat sooner
rather than somewhat later.”
lin. The company challenged
whether a domestic warrant
covered data stored abroad. The
Justice Department said be-
cause Microsoft is based in the
United States, prosecutors were
entitled to the data.
The case is being closely
watched by other countries
wrestling with similar concerns,
including members of the Euro-
pean Union. A ruling is due by
the end of June.
A 2016 decision by the New
York-based 2nd US Court of
Appeals siding with Microsoft
marked a victory for tech firms
that increasingly offer cloud
computing services in which
data is stored remotely. Presi-
dent Donald Trump’s adminis-
tration appealed that ruling to
the Supreme Court.
Globally dominant Ameri-
can tech companies have ex-
pressed concern that customers
will go elsewhere if they think
the US government’s reach ex-
cedes-Benz owner’s technology.
The move poses a challenge
to Daimler, which as well as its
Chinese partnership with BAIC
Motor Corporation has an in-
dustrial alliance to develop cars
and trucks with Renault-Nis-
san, which owns a 3.1 percent
stake in Daimler.
Geely’s Chairman Li Shufu,
who quietly built up the 9.7
percent stake, is now expected
to meet Daimler executives in
Stuttgart on Monday, a source
familiar with the matter said,
and hopes to meet top German
government officials in Berlin.
His approach contrasts
with that of previous Chinese
investors in German technol-
ogy companies - such as Mi-
dea, which bought Kuka, which
bought a large stake in Kion
- who have tended to engage
Economy & Business
BoE stance
O Deputy Governor Dave
Ramsden was one of two
policymakers who opposed
the BoE’s decision in
November to raise interest
rates for the first time in a
decade, but appears to
have shifted his stance
somewhat in comments
published by the Sunday
Times newspaper
Economists polled by Re-
uters expect the BoE to raise
interest rates to 0.75 percent
from 0.5 percent by May, and
The nine justices will hear
arguments on Tuesday in a
case that pits the interests
of tech companies and pri-
vacy advocates in safe-
guarding customer data
against the demands of law
enforcement in obtaining
information crucial to crimi-
nal and counterterrorism
investigations
tends to data centers all around
the world without changes be-
ing made to the law.
Microsoft, which has 100
data centers in 40 countries,
was the first American company
to challenge a domestic search
warrant seeking data held out-
side the United States.
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s
president and chief legal officer,
told reporters last week the US
government should not be able
Geely Chairman Li Shufu
in lengthy consultation with
stakeholders.
Berlin said it saw no need
to take any action over Geely’s
purchase, either in terms of
competition rules or of foreign
investment rules.
financial markets price in a
high chance of a further rate
rise to 1 percent before the
end of 2018.
The BoE’s chief econo-
mist, Andy Haldane, told law-
makers on Wednesday that he
thought interest rates might
need to rise slightly faster
even than the central bank
had expected when it set out
fresh economic forecasts ear-
ly in the month.
However, Governor Mark
Carney said at the same event
that future monetary policy
decisions would depend heav-
ily on how businesses and
consumers react to ongoing
talks on the terms of Britain’s
departure from the Euro-
If the Supreme Court were to rule in favour of Microsoft, the govern-
ment could still gain access to data held overseas, but the process
would be more cumbersome and potentially take longer.
to act unilaterally to access such
data without taking into ac-
count the laws and interests of
other countries.
“It’s more likely to be a reci-
pe for international tension and
“It is a company decision,”
a government spokesman
said. “Due to the character of
the investment as a minority
stake, there is no need to act.”
The government declined
to comment on a report in
German tabloid Bild am
Sonnntag that Li would visit
the German chancellery for a
“secret meeting” with Angela
Merkel’s economic adviser
on Tuesday. Daimler also de-
clined to comment on any
possible meetings with Li.
Geely said it wants an al-
liance with Daimler, which is
developing electric and self-
driving vehicles and is the
only German carmaker not to
be controlled by a family, to
respond to the challenge from
new rivals such as Tesla and
Uber.
pean Union in March 2019.
Britain’s economy underper-
formed other major advanced
economies last year, due to a
hit to consumer demand from
higher inflation triggered
by the pound’s fall after the
Brexit vote, as well as com-
paratively weak business in-
vestment.
The unemployment rate
also rose slightly in the final
quarter of 2017, though at
4.4 percent it remains near
a 42-year low. Ramsden told
the Confederation of Brit-
ish Industry on Friday that
the economy could not grow
faster than 1.5 percent a year
without starting to add to in-
flation pressures.
chaos,” Smith said.
Solicitor General Noel Fran-
cisco, the administration’s top
lawyer in Supreme Court cases,
said in court papers that a rul-
ing for Microsoft “would ham-
price hikes to boost non-oil revenues
AFP
RIYADH
INFLATION rates in Saudi Ara-
bia soared in January after the
government introduced a string
of price hikes to boost non-oil
revenues, authorities said on
Sunday.
Rates rose three percent in
January compared to the same
period the previous year, the
General Statistics Authority said
in a report on its website.
The jump was even more
stark in December, having
jumped 3.9 percent since the
previous year. Inflation rates in
the oil-rich kingdom remained
in negative territory for almost
all of 2017, as the economy con-
Cisco wants to disrupt
wireless radio access
market led by Huawei,
Ericsson and Nokia
REUTERS
BARCELONA
CISCO Systems said on Sun-
day it aims to disrupt the
wireless radio access market
led by Huawei, Ericsson and
Nokia by backing challeng-
ers who make more flexible
software versions of tradi-
tional mobile gear.
Cisco, known for making
networking gear that moves
big volumes of data around
the internet, wants a bigger
share of the mobile market
by backing these alterna-
tive providers rather than by
making radio access equip-
ment itself.
Its radio access network
push is part of Cisco’s efforts
to prove to mobile network
operators that investing in
modern infrastructure and
automation tools can help
them to cope with increased
data demands, while lower-
ing costs.
The Silicon Valley com-
pany made the announce-
ment ahead of this week’s
Mobile World Congress in
Barcelona, where hundreds
of telecom operators are
looking for new ways to deal
with exploding customer
data demands and intense
pricing pressures.
Cisco said it is working
with more than 20 network
operators to offer next-gen-
eration 5G services, which
promise to deliver not just
faster phones and video, but
also connected cars and in-
ternet-connected industrial
sensors over the next dec-
ade. “Many of the things we
enable you to do, you can do
before 5G,” Yvette Kanouff,
general manager of Cisco’s
business unit for telecom
service providers, told Reu-
ters in an interview.
Ray Mota, an industry
analyst at ACG Research,
said Cisco was looking to
convince operators to spend
more on what he called “pre-
cursors to 5G”, which solve
pressing network issues but
won’t need to be replaced
once 5G rolls out in earnest
starting around 2020.
Ovum, another research
firm, said Cisco’s message
was that “an operator can
deliver much of the func-
per domestic law enforcement
and counterterrorism efforts.”
If the Supreme Court were
to rule in favour of Microsoft,
the government could still gain
access data held overseas, but
the process would be more
cumbersome and potentially
take longer. Lawmakers are
considering making changes to
the 1986 law.
Bipartisan legislation has
been introduced in Congress
to update the statute, a move
backed by both Microsoft and
the administration. The meas-
ure would let US judges issue
warrants while giving compa-
nies an avenue to object if the
request conflicts with foreign
law. If Congress were to pass
the bill before the Supreme
Court rules, the case would like-
ly become moot.
Though Microsoft is based
in the United States - Red-
mond, Washington, to be pre-
cise - the appeals court said
The government last year
doubled the price of tobac-
co, increased the prices of
soft drinks and energy
drinks, and imposed hefty
fees on expatriates and
their dependents
tracted due to persistent low
oil prices. But Riyadh has been
steadily imposing new fees and
taxes in a quest for new sources
of revenue.
The government last year
doubled the price of tobacco, in-
creased the prices of soft drinks
and energy drinks, and imposed
hefty fees on expatriates and
their dependents. In January,
Work on 5G
services
Cisco said it is working with
more than 20 network
operators to offer
next-generation 5G
services, which promise to
deliver not just faster
phones and video, but also
connected cars and
internet-connected
industrial sensors over the
next decade
tionality of 5G, with up to
85 percent of its features,
today.”
So-called virtual Radio
Access Network (vRAN)
providers include mobile
industry outsiders like Intel,
Red Hat, Mavenir, Phazr,
and Tech Mahindra which
seek to replace proprietary
wireless radios made by the
mobile industry’s big three
with cloud-based software.
Virtual radio gear ena-
bles customers to rely on
commodity computer hard-
ware, cutting out big costs
for mobile networks. Cisco’s
effort is supported by Indian
operator Reliance Jio, which
since 2016 has up-ended the
country’s mobile market by
building a state-of-the-art
4G network and giving away
free voice and data serv-
ices for six months to win a
wide following. Cisco’s bid
to open up the market puts
it in competition with the
big mobile equipment ven-
dors, including No. 2 ranked
Ericsson. Cisco also has a
two-year-old joint sales pact
with Ericsson in which they
cooperate on 160 current
deals, Kanouff said.
Network market re-
search firm Dell‘Oro esti-
mates that revenue from
Radio Access Network
(RAN) equipment - which
has declined in recent years
- is set to stabilise before
growing modestly to around
$30.5 billion by 2022 as 5G
commercial networks take
off.
the emails were beyond the
reach of domestic search war-
rants obtained under a 1986
US law called the Stored Com-
munications Act. The Microsoft
customer whose emails were
sought told the company he was
based in Ireland when he signed
up for his account.
Other companies includ-
ing IBM Corp, Amazon.com
Inc, Apple Inc, Verizon Com-
munications Inc and Alphabet
Inc‘s Google filed court papers
backing Microsoft. Google has
mounted challenges similar to
Microsoft‘s.
The administration has the
support of 35 states led by Ver-
mont who say they routinely
seek access to data stored over-
seas, especially in cases involv-
ing child pornography.
Several foreign govern-
ments, including Ireland and
Britain, filed court papers rais-
ing concerns about the US gov-
ernment’s position.
government-set prices at the
pump roughly doubled, electric-
ity costs were sharply hiked and
a five-percent value-added tax
(VAT) was imposed for the first
time. Over the last 12 months,
costs of transport have gone up
10.5 percent while food and bev-
erages surged 6.7 percent, the
report said.
Taken together, these price
hikes were the main drivers for
the increase in the consumer
price index, according to the re-
port. Saudi Arabia has posted
budget shortfalls since 2014 af-
ter the crash in oil prices. The
kingdom withdrew around $250
billion from its financial reserves
in the past four years to finance
the budget deficit.

Russia remains China’s top oil supplier as pipeline expands
Angola and Iraq took the second and third
positions ahead of Saudi Arabia
REUTERS
BEIJING
RUSSIA remained the top
crude oil supplier to China in
January, data showed, begin-
ning 2018 on a strong note af-
ter the start-up of an expanded
trans-Siberia pipeline and as
Beijing released more crude
import quotas to independent
refiners.
Angola and Iraq took the
second and third positions for
Self-driving cars
with ‘remote’ drivers
could test on Calif
roads in April: DMV
REUTERS
SAN FRANCISCO
SELF-DRIVING cars that
back up their computerized
system with a remote hu-
man operator instead of a
fallback driver at the wheel
could be tested on California
roads as early as April, the
state department of motor
vehicles said.
Relying on a remote hu-
man operator - who could
control multiple autono-
mous vehicles from miles
away - is a step that would
allow a path to profitability
in the nascent field of self-
driving technology by elimi-
nating California’s require-
ment for in-car minders.
Experts believe early
adopters of the technol-
ogy will include ride-hailing
services seeking to maxi-
mize paying passengers
while eliminating paid back-
ups traveling with them.
The race to develop au-
tonomous vehicles includes
such global automakers as
General Motors and tech-
nology giants like Alphabet
Inc’s Waymo unit. If they
are ready to deploy the re-
mote monitor technology
by April, it would be the first
time they could test their
cars on public roads in the
state without physical driv-
ers present.
The remote control
technology, already used by
NASA and the military, is
seen as a way to more quick-
ly usher in the commercial
rollout of self-driving cars.
The new regulations are ex-
Central bank tap-turning risks parching the recovery
REUTERS
LONDON
THE global recovery has pow-
ered through into the new year,
bringing with it expectations
for tighter monetary policy,
something that tends to be fol-
lowed eventually by recession
– and last time round, financial
and economic shock.
Major central banks such
as the US Federal Reserve, the
Bank of England and the Bank
of Canada have already raised
interest rates, while the Eu-
ropean Central Bank is mov-
ing ever closer to unwinding
its own ultra-easy monetary
policy.
So far, those banks have
been reluctant to move rapidly,
instead leaving the monetary
taps open to try to drive up
stubbornly low inflation and
maintain growth.
“The danger is that we
end up stoking bubbles which
ultimately have even more
the month, leapfrogging Saudi
Arabia, which was the second-
largest supplier to China in
2017.
Russian supplies came in
at 5.67 million tonnes, or 1.34
million barrels per day (bpd),
up 23.4 percent from a year
earlier, data from the Chinese
General Administration of
Customs showed on Saturday.
The January number com-
pared with 1.194 million bpd
in December.
pected to be approved later
this month, and take effect
in April after a month-long
public notice period.
Companies like Nissan,
Waymo and startups Zoox,
Phantom Auto and Starsky
Robotics have been working
on the technology, which al-
lows for a remote operator
to take control of a vehicle if
the underlying autonomous
system inside the car en-
counters problems, known
in the industry as difficult-
to-solve “edge” cases.
“We think we have the
ultimate backup system
- which is a human,” said
Elliot Katz, co-founder of
Phantom Auto, which last
month at the CES technolo-
gy conference demonstrat-
ed how cars driving in Las
Vegas could be remotely
controlled from Mountain
View, California, over 500
miles away.
The presence of a re-
mote operator also helps
companies reassure law-
makers and the public, said
Katz, who said he expected
companies to deploy such
technology on California
roads soon after April.
Getting rid entirely of
drivers capable of taking
the wheel in case of prob-
lems has concerned some
lawmakers.
US Senators Dianne
Feinstein of California
and Richard Blumenthal
of Connecticut have ques-
tioned the safeguards in
an autonomous vehicle
bill currently stalled in the
Senate.
disastrous long-term conse-
quences,” said Peter Dixon at
Commerzbank.
But if they tighten policy
too soon - or too fast - they risk
choking off the synchronized
global upturn that has delight-
ed policymakers, politicians,
and vast swathes of jobless peo-
ple who have finally got back
into work.
If the current US economic
expansion, already 102 months
long, lasts another two years as
many expect, it will be the long-
est in more than 150 years.
Already-solid US growth
will be lifted this year by tax
cuts, something most econo-
mists polled by Reuters say is
not warranted at this late stage
of the business cycle.
But it’s not just the US
economy that is steaming
ahead. Dozens of countries are
now enjoying economic growth
well above their 10-year mov-
ing averages.
HSBC economists noted in
Economy & Business
Last month, data showed
Russia notched up its second
year as China’s largest supplier
in 2017, surpassing Saudi Ara-
bia - OPEC’s top exporter - by
some 150,000 barrels each
day.
The strong Russian ex-
ports to the world’s largest
crude oil buyer came as a sec-
ond East Siberia-Pacific Ocean
(ESPO) pipeline, as well as ex-
panded domestic connections
in China, started commercial
operation in January.
In a reshuffle of the pack,
Angola ranked second with
4.68 million tonnes, or 1.1 mil-
lion bpd, of crude in January,
ECB pulls the plug on
Latvia’s failing ABLV
REUTERS
FRANKFURT/RIGA
LATVIA'S ABLV Bank is fail-
ing or likely to fail and will be
wound up as saving it is not in
the public interest, the Euro-
pean Union's Single Resolu-
tion Board and the European
Central Bank (ECB) said sepa-
rately on Saturday.
Accused by US authorities
of large-scale money launder-
ing, ABLV failed this week to
come up with a survival plan
as customers fled and man-
agement could not come up
with sufficient cash, despite
offers of emergency central
bank liquidity.
Privately held ABLV,
Latvia's third-biggest bank,
has been in focus since US au-
thorities accused it of covering
up money laundering, bribing
officials and facilitating the
breach of sanctions against
North Korea.
"Due to the significant de-
terioration of its liquidity, the
bank is likely unable to pay
its debts or other liabilities as
they fall due," the ECB, ABLV's
supervisor, said.
"The bank did not have suf-
ficient funds which are imme-
diately available to withstand
stressed outflows of deposits
before the payout procedure of
the Latvian deposit guarantee
fund starts," the ECB added.
Latvian Prime Minister
Maris Kucinskis said the coun-
try's authorities would gather
for an emergency meeting on
Monday following the failure
as they keep watch for any fall-
out on other banks.
Kucinskis said Latvian au-
thorities and local and inter-
national experts need to agree
on steps to improve financial
supervision.
"That_s why the emer-
gency meeting of the Financial
Sector Supervision Council
has been called on Monday
... and this question has also
been put on the agenda of
the government (next week),"
Kucinskis said in an emailed
statement to Reuters.
"I am convinced both
about the stability of the Latvi-
an financial sector and the
ability to take significant steps
so that the banking sector
could regain its reputation,"
Kucinskis added.
Latvian Finance Minister
File photo of Bank of Canada.
a recent report that periods in
which the majority of countries
are expanding at above their
long-run trends tend to be as-
sociated with heightened mon-
etary and financial risks.
“Synchronized global
growth has tended to occur
during only three stages in each
down 5.4 percent from a year
earlier. China imported 4.45
million tonnes, or 1.05 million
bpd, of crude from Iraq, up 28
percent from a year ago.
Saudi Arabia supplied 4.29
million tonnes, or 1.01 million
bpd, to China in January. That
was down 15 percent from the
same year-ago rate and com-
pared with 1.11 million bpd in
December.
Even so, exports from the
kingdom are expected to rise
to record levels this year as
Saudi Aramco ramps up sup-
plies to Chinese state oil firm
CNOOC, as well as the Huajin
refinery owned by defense gi-
File photo of head office of ABLV Bank in Riga, Latvia. (REUTERS)
Dana Reizniece-Ozola told a
news conference depositors
with ABLV were entitled to
have their funds guaranteed.
"From this moment, or from
the 7th March, the bank's cli-
ents, depositors, are able to
have the payment of guaran-
teed deposit during eight work-
ing days," Reizniece-Ozola said.
The US money launder-
ing accusations, denied by the
bank, destabilised the lender
and around 600 million euros
worth of deposits left within
days, forcing the ECB to sus-
pend all payments on Monday
to prevent a disorderly collapse.
The Resolution Board not-
ed ABLV does not provide crit-
ical functions and its failure is
not expected to have a signifi-
economic cycle: in the initial
recovery from recession; the
years immediately preceding
the next recession; or ahead of
some sort of financial trauma,”
they said.
While some individual fore-
casters have racked up impres-
sive track records for accuracy,
ant NORINCO.
China’s total crude oil im-
ports last month soared 20
percent from the same month
a year earlier to a record rate
of 9.57 million barrels per day,
beating the previous peak of
9.17 million bpd.
Customs data also showed
China’s oil imports from the
United States soared to 2.01
million tonnes last month, or
roughly 472,508 bpd. That
compares with just 257,861
tonnes a year ago.
In 2017, U.S. shipments,
which benefited from OPEC-
led supply cuts, averaged
about 153,000 bpd.
Accusations
Privately held ABLV, Latvia’s
third-biggest bank, has been
in focus since US authorities
accused it of covering up
money laundering, bribing
officials and facilitating the
breach of sanctions against
North Korea
cant adverse impact on finan-
cial stability. ABLV said it had
fulfilled its regulatory require-
ments but was not allowed to
economists as a group consist-
ently fail to predict recessions.
In a late-January survey,
they said the global economy
would expand 3.7 percent this
year and 3.6 percent in 2019,
faster than they expected in
October.
“Global growth has been
accelerating since 2016 and
all signs point to a continuous
strengthening of that growth,
in 2018 and next year,” the
IMF’s Managing Director,
Christine Lagarde, told a news
conference at January’s World
Economic Forum annual
meeting in Davos.
Meanwhile, stock markets
across the world repeatedly set
record highs in 2017 but have
had a turbulent start to the
year.
“It’s hard not to see recent
market turmoil as a taste of
what’s to come as we enter a
world in which central-bank
support for asset prices can no
longer be taken for granted,”
Monday, February 26, 2018
Customs data also showed China’s oil imports from the United States
soared to 2.01 million tonnes last month.
resume operations due to "po-
litical considerations."
"The bank emphasises: the
amount of its assets is sufficient
to satisfy demands of all clients
and creditors. All deposits guar-
anteed by the Deposit Guaran-
tee Law shall be disbursed with
the funds of ABLV Bank," it
said in a statement.
The bank, like many others
in Latvia, has sizable depos-
its from foreign clients, many
from Russia and Ukraine.
Around 40 percent of all bank
deposits in the Baltic country
are from non-residents, and
international agencies have
long warned that some are re-
lated to illegal activities.
To combat money laun-
dering, Latvia announced
Alliance Bernstein economists
told clients.
Some 23 percent of inves-
tors believe the biggest tail risk
for markets is a policy mistake
by the Federal Reserve or ECB,
according to a December sur-
vey by Bank of America-Mer-
rill Lynch.
The Fed is almost certain
now to raise rates three times
in 2018, in line with the central
bank’s own projections, a Reu-
ters poll found, even though
some US policymakers are still
worried about weak wage infla-
tion and overall price pressures.
The risks are increasing
that it will deliver four hikes.
Polls also found that Brit-
ain’s Bank of England will in-
crease borrowing costs in May,
earlier than previously thought,
and while it will be a long wait
before the ECB raises interest
rates, it is expected to end its
asset purchases by the end of
the year.
Those predictions for tight-
21
plans on Friday to gradually
halve the share of bank depos-
its held by non-residents. But
that was not enough to save
ABLV, which had until Fri-
day to present the ECB with a
credible survival plan or face
closure. Hinting at its eventual
fate, Latvian Finance Minister
Dana Reizniece-Ozola said the
state would not step in to res-
cue ABLV if it were about to
collapse.
"ABLV is not regarded as
a systemic bank, which means
the government would not
rescue it because its expo-
sure to the Latvian economy
is low," Reizniece-Ozola said.
"There is some systemic im-
portance (but) ... it is not cru-
cial or critical."
ening come despite persistently
below-target inflation. Policy-
makers say those price pres-
sures will come and that robust
growth rates can withstand
tighter policy.
Yet who can forget the ECB
raising borrowing costs in July
2008, just before the biggest fi-
nancial crisis in recent memory
and as European growth was
already at a near-standstill,
only to be forced into slashing
rates months later.
It flip-flopped again in
2011.
The world is different now
to how it was then, however,
said Commerzbank’s Dixon,
with many of the imbalances
and problems that afflicted
economies resolved.
“The fact is, you can’t con-
tinue to run economies on this
kind of ultra-expansionary
monetary policy forever. You
have to take away the punch
bowl now in order to prevent a
bigger hangover later,” he said.
22 Monday, February 26, 2018 Economy & Business

‘Terrible mistake’ for

long-term investors
to be in bonds: Buffet
REUTERS
NEW YORK
BILLIONAIRE Warren
Buffett prodded ordinary
investors on Saturday to
stay invested in US stocks,
ignoring price swings,
guidance from people with
fancy credentials and the
temptation to load up on
bonds.
Buffett said it is a “ter-
rible mistake” for investors
with long-term horizons
— among them, pension
funds, college and endow-
ments and savings-minded
individuals — to measure
their investment “risk” by
their portfolio’s ratio of
bonds to stocks.
The long-time bull on
US companies and the
economy issued his latest
letter to Berkshire Hatha-
way Inc shareholders on
Saturday.
Treasury yields have
been rising since the start
of the year, stemming from
brewing inflationary pres-
sures and massive bond
supply to help fund US
President Donald Trump’s
tax overhaul.
Higher rates have kept
US equity markets under
selling pressure, as in-
vestors worry borrowing
costs could hurt compa-
nies’ profitability. Earlier
this month, stocks suffered
their first 10 percent pull-
back since early 2016.
High-grade bonds, he
said, can increase the risk
of an investment portfolio
as inflation eats away at the
return.
“There is simply no tell-
ing how far stocks can fall
in a short period,” Buffett
said. “As an investor’s in-
vestment horizon length-
ens, however, a diversified
portfolio of US equities
becomes progressively less
risky than bonds, assum-
ing that the stocks are pur-
chased at a sensible mul-
tiple of earnings relative
to then-prevailing interest
rates.”
For its part, Buffett said
Berkshire is sitting on $116
billion of low-yielding cash
and government bonds -
whose average maturity
was 88 days as of year-end
2017. They are struggling
Trump tax reform gives
to put that money to work
Buffet $29 billion boost
because of a “purchasing
frenzy” by deal-hungry The billionaire investor said his company’s net gain stood at $65.3 bn in 2017, partly due to the new tax code
chief executives employ-
ing cheap debt that pushed
“prices for decent, but far
from spectacular, busi-
nesses” to “an all-time
high.” [nL2N1QE0A4]
Known to fans as “the
Oracle of Omaha,” Buf-
fett, 87, has suggested US
stocks are probably the
best bet over time, en-
couraging people to make
easy choices and stick with
them, eschewing high-fee
fund managers, for in-
Bonds risky
There is simply no telling
how far stocks can fall in a
short period. As an
investor’s investment
horizon lengthens, however,
a diversified portfolio of US
equities becomes
progressively less risky than
bonds, assuming that the
stocks are purchased at a
sensible multiple of
earnings relative to
then-prevailing interest
rates, Warren Buffett said in Known as the “Oracle of Omaha” — after his birthplace in the Midwestern state of Nebraska — Warren Buffett is one of the world’s most successful investors.
his latest letter to Berkshire
AFP corporations from 35 percent nesses “hit an all-time high,” losses of at least $400 billion
Hathaway Inc shareholders
NEW YORK to 21 percent, allowing many to
undertake major new outlays
Nice cheque amid what he called “a purchas-
ing frenzy.”
— at 2 percent.
“No one, of course, knows
stance. BERKSHIRE Hathaway, the and others to book significant O Berkshire Hathaway’s “Price seemed almost irrel- the correct probability,” he
In 2014, Buffett said holding company of US bil- fiscal gains. 2017 operations brought evant to an army of optimistic added.
he plans to put 90 percent lionaire investor Warren Buf- Berkshire Hathaway whol- purchasers,” Buffett noted. Buffett concluded with a
of the money he leaves to fett, received a stunning $29 ly owns dozens of companies only $36 billion in net gain Still, he said, the company little advice to fellow inves-
his wife, Astrid, when he billion check last year from — from Dairy Queen to Du- O The remaining $29 “will have opportunities to tors: “Though markets are
dies into an S&P 500 in- the US government, thanks to racell — and holds significant make very large purchases” go- generally rational, they occa-
a new tax law that massively shares in large and diverse
billion was delivered in ing forward, with emphasis on
dex fund, and 10 percent in sionally do crazy things,” he
government bonds. lowered corporate tax rates. corporations including Ameri- December when Congress those available at “a sensible wrote.
Buffett in 2007 bet a In his much-anticipated can Express, Apple, Bank of rewrote the US Tax Code purchase price.” “Seizing the opportunities
founder of the asset man- annual letter to shareholders, America, Charter Communi- Buffett said Berkshire then offered does not require
agement company Protégé Buffett explained that the com- cations, Coca-Cola, Delta Air
O Berkshire’s net earnings would stick with a “simple great intelligence... (or) a de-
Partners LLC $1 million pany’s net gain of $65.3 billion Lines, General Motors, Gold- rose last year from $24.07 guideline: The less the pru- gree in economics,” but rather
that a Vanguard S&P 500 in 2017 was only partly due to man Sachs, Moody’s, Wells billion to $44.94 billion dence with which others con- “an ability to both disregard
index fund would outper- his employees’ efforts. Fargo and Southwest Airlines. duct their affairs, the greater mob fears or enthusiasms and
form several groups of “Only $36 billion came Buffett’s newsletters are the prudence with which we to focus on a few simple fun-
hedge funds over a decade. from Berkshire’s operations,” read with intense interest ings rose last year from $24.07 must conduct our own.” damentals.”
He won that bet last year. he wrote. “The remaining $29 on Wall Street and beyond. billion to $44.94 billion. Buffett also said that while Forbes magazine estimates
The proceeds were given to billion was delivered to us in Known as the “Oracle of Oma- The year also saw the com- Berkshire’s insurance holdings Buffett’s personal worth at
Buffett’s charity of choice, December when Congress re- ha” — after his birthplace in the pany’s war chest swell to $116 would take a $2 billion after- some $87 billion.
Girls Inc of Omaha. wrote the US Tax Code.” Midwestern state of Nebraska billion in cash and US Treasury tax hit from losses caused by He has undertaken — as
Yet his own unease Still, Buffett assured stock- — he is one of the world’s most bills, financial manna that Buf- hurricanes last year in Florida, part of the so-called Giving
with market prices comes holders, “The $65 billion gain successful investors and one of fett wants to use to make sig- Texas and Puerto Rico, other Pledge he co-founded with Bill
as other investors have is nonetheless real — rest as- its richest men. Now 87, he has nificant new acquisitions. reinsurance companies did far Gates and Facebook CEO Mark
struggled with the same sured of that.” been investing since he first The company’s often-im- worse. Zuckerberg — to donate more
problem after a near-dec- The new law, greatly touted bought stock at the age of 11. pressive pace of acquisitions And he estimated the than 99 percent of his fortune
ade long bull market. by President Donald Trump, His latest newsletter re- had slowed last year, he noted, chances of a “mega-catastro- to charities, and has already
lowered the tax rate paid by US ports that Berkshire’s net earn- when the prices asked for busi- phe” this year — one causing given away some $32 billion.

‘Housing incentives spur construction in Trinidad and Tobago’

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
TRINIDAD and Tobago has
launched two programmes
to incentivise new residen-
tial housing projects, with the
aim of addressing a national
housing shortfall and boost-
ing activity in the construction
sector, Oxford Business Group
(OG) has said
The Housing Construc-
tion Incentive Programme,
first announced in the 2018
budget and enacted on Janu-
ary 1, provides grants of up
to TT$100,000 ($14,800), or
plots of land in lieu of payment,
to developers who construct
government-approved housing
units and sell them to people
on the Housing Development
Corporation (HDC) waiting
list.
As a further incentive, the
income derived from the sale of
houses under the programme
will be exempt from tax.
The programme targets
the development of projects in
the middle and upper-middle
price range of the property
market. In order to qualify
for the incentives, contractors
must follow design, specifica-
tion and price guidelines set
by the government, with the
standards and oversight of the
programme to be provided by a
ministerial committee.
The programme builds on
an earlier incentive aimed at
assisting people construct their
own homes.
Unveiled in November,
the Aided Self-Help Housing
Programme offers subsidised
mortgages with interest rates
of 2% and 5% from T&T Mort-
gage Finance to eligible citizens
with land approved for resi-
dential use. It also subsidises
pre-approved house plans, and
provides a list of registered
building contractors, technical
assistance and oversight for the
construction of homes.
Citizens without land are
also eligible. Successful ap-
plicants are given the right to
buy a fully developed lot from
the government at 30% of
market value, and receive the
same benefits and support as
landowners taking part in the
scheme. The government is
offering 1,000 blocks of fully
serviced land as part of the ini-
tiative.
To qualify, all applicants
must be first-time homeown-
ers and have a total household
income than does not exceed
TT$25,000 ($3,700) per
month.
Efforts to incentivise hous-
ing construction follow years
of demand outweighing sup-
ply, and come amid reduced
government spending and in-
creased costs for public hous-
ing developments.
The fall in national energy
revenue and subsequent slow-
ing of the economy in recent
years has caused state spend-
ing on key programmes to be
scaled back. Total government
expenditure is projected to be
TT$50.5bn ($7.5bn) in 2018,
down from TT$62.8 ($9.3bn)
in 2014.
The shortage of funds for
public projects has been exac-
erbated by a sharp rise in con-
struction costs. According to
2018 budget papers, the aver-
age cost of building a housing
unit through the HDC has more
than tripled from TT$300,000
($44,400) in 2015 to TT$1m
($148,000).
These factors have contrib-
uted to difficulty meeting hous-
ing assistance requirements.
There are more than 150,000
applications for public hous-
ing, according to the HDC;
however, current limitations
mean the state only has the ca-
pacity to oversee the construc-
tion of 2000 units annually, a
figure that falls well short of the
waiting list.
The government hopes that
by encouraging the private sec-
tor to take part in mid-range
housing development through
incentives programmes, it will
allow the HDC to dedicate its
resources solely to lower in-
come brackets, and focus on
providing affordable rental
dwellings and low-cost homes
built on a rent-to-own basis.

STATE TAKEOVER

Anbang takeover puts China’s companies on notice

REUTERS
SHANGHAI
WHEN the Chinese government
on Friday took control of Anbang
Insurance Group Co Ltd, owner of
New York’s iconic Waldorf Astoria
Hotel, it cited provisions in the
country’s insurance law designed
to head off financial calamity.
The manoeuver was sudden
but not altogether surprising, as
the once aggressively acquisitive
conglomerate had been under
tightening government scrutiny
for months, with its insurance
revenue stream curtailed, regula-
tory teams supervising its opera-
tions since June and its chairman
in police custody.
Chinese law allows for similar
takeovers across the financial
sector; banking and securities
laws, for instance, allow the state
to step in with banks and broker-
ages, legal analysts say.
While lawyers and analysts do
not think the Anbang seizure her-
alds an impending wave of nation-
alizations, they say it sets a fresh,
and for some, worrying precedent.
The government showed it was
not afraid to wield a big stick.
“I think any private players in
the financial sector who are big
enough to potentially be a head-
ache for the government and who
have had regulatory problems
must be worried,” said Andrew
Gilholm, director of analysis for
China and North Asia at the risk
consultancy Control Risks.
The one-year takeover of
Anbang, extendable for a second
year, was triggered under articles
144 and 145 of the Insurance Law,
according to the China Insurance
Regulatory Commission, or CIRC.
The provisions grant the state
broad powers to seize insurers
that face serious solvency issues,
break the law, harm the public in-
insurance companies for problems
arising from misappropriation of
funds or huge losses, according to
state media.
In both cases the CIRC mobi-
lized a rescue fund to accumulate
significant stakes in the insurers
and gain control. It later di-
vested.
The CIRC said on Friday that
Anbang’s chairman, Wu Xiaohui,
was being charged with economic
crimes and the company had
broken the law, putting Anbang
at risk of being unable to pay its
debts. It also said things were
stable now and the company was
operating normally.
Since Anbang is a private com-
pany, publicly available financial
The Chinese government on Friday took control of Anbang Insurance Group to details were sparse, so it’s hard to
head off a ‘financial calamity’. know exactly what triggered the
takeover.
terest, or for any other issues that Since the mid-2000s, the The debt-fueled company
may affect the company’s ability CIRC has temporarily taken claimed 1.97 trillion yuan ($311.1
to repay its debts. control of least two other smaller billion) in assets and ranked 139
on the Global Fortune 500 list.
It had dropped more than $30
billion on acquisitions in recent
years and was known for investing
money in a way that created asset-
liability mismatches.
The CIRC has not responded
to calls and a fax on Friday seek-
ing more information about the
takeover.
Li Shu, partner at Beijing Li-
angGao Law Firm, said the CIRC
was not obliged to make public
the evidence justifying its decision
to seize an insurer.
Anbang isn’t the only con-
glomerate with major overseas
assets to come under government
scrutiny in recent months.
HNA Group, the parent of
Hainan Airlines, Dalian Wanda,
Fosun and others that had once
enjoyed apparent government
support and encouragement to
invest abroad, has been buffeted
by the shifting policy winds.
 www.guide.com.qa
23
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24 Monday, February 26, 2018
President and Executive Director of Nokia Rajeev Suri presents the company’s recent 5G novelties on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday. (EPA-EFE)
Nokia sees 5G rollout a
year ahead of schedule
The first commercial 5G roll-outs are due to begin this year, says Chief Executive Rajeev Suri
REUTERS
BARCELONA/HELSINKI
TELECOM operators are ac-
celerating their timelines
for the roll-out of next-gen-
eration 5G networks, lifting
Nokia’s confidence of an up-
lift for its business this year,
Chief Executive Rajeev Suri
said on Sunday.
The telecom network in-
dustry, dominated by China’s
Huawei, Finland’s Nokia and
Sweden’s Ericsson, is weath-
ering the toughest part of a
decade-long cycle as demand
for 4G gear falls.
But the first commercial
5G roll-outs are due to begin
this year and Suri said he ex-
Entrepreneurs look to harness artificial intelligence for greater good
AFP
SAN FRANCISCO
AS debate swirls on whether ar-
tificial intelligence will be a boon
or a curse for humanity, two
Indian-American entrepreneur
brothers are out to ensure the
emerging technologies don't just
benefit the richest in society.
Romesh and Sunil Wad-
hwani this week launched what
is billed as the world's first non-
profit institute dedicated to
putting AI to work improving
lives of poor farmers, rural health
care workers or teachers in com-
munities with scant resources.
"AI will go where AI will go;
it is difficult to predict where,"
Sunil Wadhwani said of the con-
flicting views on the emergence
of computers more brilliant than
their human creators.
BMW, Great Wall to jointly produce electric Mini vehicles in China
The Chinese venture could start making the electric Mini around 2021 or 2022.
pected large deployments in
the United States, South Ko-
rea, Japan and China to take
place sooner than what the
industry could have expected
a year ago.
“The confidence about
where that 5G uplift comes
from is understanding the
accelerated timelines opera-
tors now have,” Suri told Re-
uters in an interview ahead
of the Mobile World Con-
gress taking place in Barce-
lona this week.
A year ago, operators
were saying 5G rollouts
would be big maybe at the
back end of 2019, he noted.
“Now, it has accelerated
by almost a year, which is
"Our focus is how many tens
of millions of lives can we im-
prove in the next five or 10 years.
Where AI goes in 100 years, it
will go."
The entrepreneur broth-
ers, who have a series of lucra-
tive startups to their name, have
committed $30 million over 10
years to the Wadhwani AI in-
stitute, established in Mumbai
with the Indian government as
a partner. Areas targeted at the
outset will include health care,
education, agriculture and urban
infrastructure.
The project's founders hope
AI could help nurses in rural ar-
eas with diagnoses, advise how
to optimize crops, translate text
books into various languages
as needed or even spot signs
students might be on paths to
dropping out. "AI is a game-
Economy & Business
4G demand falls
O The telecom network
industry, dominated by
China’s Huawei, Finland’s
Nokia and Sweden’s
Ericsson, is weathering the
toughest part of a
decade-long cycle as
demand for 4G gear falls
good news for the sector,
because then they’ll be the
next wave of investment
coming and we can base our
timelines now off of knowing
this.”
Nokia said on Sunday
it had struck a partnership
agreement with China Mo-
The entrepreneur brothers,
who have a series of lucra-
tive startups to their name,
have committed $30 mil-
lion over 10 years to the
Wadhwani AI institute,
established in Mumbai
with the Indian government
as a partner
changing technology," said Sunil
Wadhwani, who is based in Pitts-
burgh as a trustee for Carnegie
Mellon University.
"A lot of developing coun-
tries are getting left behind;
US and China are leapfrogging
ahead."
Students from New York
University and the University of
Southern California will travel
to Mumbai to collaborate, while
bile - the biggest mobile
operator globally by sub-
scribers – to develop new
5G networks for industrial
uses across the world’s most
populous country. Europe,
however, so far lacks the cat-
alysts for rapid, large-scale
5G rollouts, he added.
“Far and away, the US
and China activity will dwarf
Europe ... (but) I think some
5G will be launched (in Eu-
rope) at some point in 2019,”
he said. Suri said he believed
Nokia was well positioned
for the 5G era, partly thanks
to its 2016 acquisition of
Franco-U.S. Alcatel-Lucent
that broadened Nokia’s port-
folio. On Sunday, Nokia also
the brothers also plan to partner
with players in Silicon Valley,
where Romesh Wadhwani is
based. The ethical issues raised
by AI -- from its potential to de-
stroy jobs to the power it could
exert over people's lives -- will be
front of mind, according to insti-
tute chief P. Anandan, a former
Microsoft Research director.
"It has the potential to be
used badly, or run away on its
own," Anandan said of AI.
"At the end of the day, you
are going to manage that by be-
ing aware of it from the start and
applying it where intentions are
good."
Internet giants have been
investing heavily in creating
software to help machines think
more like people, boosted by
super-fast computer processing
power and access to mountains
REUTERS
FRANKFURT
GERMAN premium carmak-
er BMW and China’s Great
Wall Motor Co have signed a
letter of intent to jointly pro-
duce electric Mini vehicles in
China, BMW said on Friday.
If successfully concluded,
the BMW-Great Wall talks
could yield a first foreign
manufacturing partner for
Great Wall and a first Mini
assembly site outside Europe
for the German group.
“Next steps will be to
agree on the details of a pos-
sible joint venture and coop-
eration agreement and clari-
fy aspects such as the choice
of production location and
concrete investments,” BMW
said on Friday.
hinted that it expected to
announce a major deal with
Vodafone, but declined to
elaborate.
Among its smaller an-
nouncements, Nokia said it
would collaborate with Fa-
cebook on high-speed, fixed
wireless access technologies,
and would acquire US soft-
ware firm Umium to boost
its wi-fi product offerings.
Nokia said last month
that its stepped-up capital
spending to win future 5G
upgrade deals would weigh
on profitability this year.
It forecast an operat-
ing margin of 6-9 percent
for 2018 and a rebound to
around 9-12 percent in 2020.
of data to analyse. AI has been
put to work in the form of vir-
tual aides, for recognizing peo-
ple's friends in photos, fighting
"fake news," stymying the online
spread of violent extremist mes-
sages and more.
But the rise of artificial intel-
ligence brings mighty new chal-
lenges too, and the new initiative
coincides with the release of a
report by AI scholars warning
the technology has the poten-
tial to be exploited for nefarious
purposes. "These technologies
have many widely beneficial ap-
plications," said the study pro-
duced by the Future of Human-
ity Institute, the nonprofit group
OpenAI and others.
"Less attention has histori-
cally been paid to the ways in
which artificial intelligence can
be used maliciously."
Automakers and suppliers
are scrambling to meet
tough new Chinese quotas
for less polluting cars,
which call for electric and
rechargeable hybrid vehi-
cles to account for a fifth of
total sales by 2025
Great Wall said in a sepa-
rate statement a joint ven-
ture with BMW would greatly
improve its technology level
and brand premium, better
meet the needs of consum-
ers and further tap into the
new energy vehicle market at
home and abroad.
Automakers and suppli-
ers are scrambling to meet
tough new Chinese quotas
Telefonica launches
voice assistant
‘Aura’ in six countries
REUTERS
BARCELONA
SPANISH mobile opera-
tor Telefonica on Sunday
launched a voice-activated
assistant, called ‘Aura’, in six
countries, using artificial in-
telligence to interact with its
customers.
The announcement, on
the eve of the Mobile World
Congress in Barcelona,
comes a year after Telefonica
promised a makeover in re-
sponse to US tech giants like
Amazon, whose interactive
aide Alexa has become a big
seller.
Telefonica, present in 17
markets across Europe and
Latin America, is offering its
assistant in Argentina, Bra-
zil, Chile, Germany, Spain
and Britain.
“A year ago we said we
wanted artificial intelligence
to be the basis of our clients’
relationship with us and we
are delivering on our prom-
ise,” Chairman Jose Maria
Alvarez-Pallete said on Sun-
day.
“Digitalization is the core
of our business and thanks
to the deep internal transfor-
mation that we have under-
gone in the last eight years
we have become a company
of smart platforms.”
European telecoms have
struggled to grow as regula-
tors crack down on roam-
ing fees, data prices erode,
and opportunities to achieve
economies of scale by merg-
ing fade because markets are
already concentrated.
They also face a strug-
gle to keep up with so-called
platform companies like
Amazon, Google or Face-
book that have proven highly
adept at using customer data
to sell products, services or
advertising online.
Aura won’t seek to com-
pete - instead it will operate
Boeing to have 51%
stake in new venture
with Embraer: Paper
REUTERS
BRASILIA
BOEING Co will have a 51 per-
cent stake in a joint company
currently being negotiating
with Brazilian aircraft maker
Embraer, O Globo newspaper
columnist Lauro Jardim re-
ported on Sunday.
Boeing has agreed to a
Brazilian government demand
that the US company have no
more than a 51 percent con-
trolling share, Jardim said,
without citing sources.
Boeing and Embraer did
not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
Boeing has sought Brazil-
ian government approval of
the partnership with Embraer
that would create a new com-
pany focused on commercial
aviation, excluding Embraer’s
defense unit, Reuters reported
three weeks ago.
The Valor Economico
newspaper later reported that
Boeing’s proposal would give
it an 80 percent to 90 percent
stake in a new commercial jet
business with Embraer.
for less polluting cars, which
call for electric and recharge-
able hybrid vehicles to ac-
count for a fifth of total sales
by 2025.
According to analysts at
Bernstein, the Chinese elec-
tric Mini will be built on a
new platform to be devel-
oped by the joint venture
rather than on the same ba-
sis as the battery-powered
Mini that will enter produc-
tion at BMW’s British plant
in Oxford from 2019.
The Chinese venture
could start making the elec-
tric Mini around 2021 or
2022, they said, adding it
would also produce models
under an own brand.
But they were “puzzled”
why BMW would have only
a minority stake in the ven-
as a branded app in Argen-
tina, Brazil and Britain, will
run on Telefonica’s pay-TV
platform in Spain, while be-
ing available via Facebook
Messenger in Chile and Ger-
many.
It will soon be integrated
with Google Assistant, as
well as Microsoft’s Cortana
in 2019, Telefonica said.
Telefonica, which has in-
vested 56 billion euros ($69
billion) in its digital upgrade
since 2012, forecast last
week that sales would grow
by 1 percent this year - slow-
er than the high double dig-
its achieved by US players.
It also said it was work-
ing with Deutsche Telekom
Telefonica President
Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete
of Germany, Dutch KPN and
Orange of France on a so-
called data-portability initia-
tive.
This comes before new
European Union rules that
enter force in May - called
the General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) - that
give customers greater rights
over how their personal data
is handled by companies.
Data portability foresees
allowing people to receive or
transfer data collected about
them online, in an accessi-
ble form, as part of a wider
policy agenda of shielding
citizens from corporate sur-
veillance.
Embraer is the world’s
third largest planemaker and
the leader in the 70-seat to
130-seat regional jet market.
With the proposed tie-up
Boeing would be the market
leader in the smaller passen-
ger jet market, creating stiffer
competition for the CSeries
aircraft program designed by
Canada’s Bombardier Inc and
backed by European rival Air-
bus SE.
Boeing’s initial plan to buy
Embraer was rejected by the
Brazilian government because
it did not want a foreign com-
pany to control its defense unit
for strategic security reasons.
The government main-
tains a so-called golden share
in Embraer, a former state
enterprise, that gives it veto
power over strategic decisions,
including Boeing’s push for a
tie-up. On Thursday Brazilian
Defence Minister Raul Jung-
mann told reporters that Boe-
ing had understood Brazil’s
refusal to give up control of
Embraer. He said negotiations
on the creation of a third com-
pany were advancing well.
ture, less than the 50 percent
it holds in its existing Chi-
nese manufacturing venture
with Brilliance, as that would
give Great Wall rights to the
intellectual property the two
companies develop together.
Neither BMW nor Great
Wall commented on the de-
tails of the planned venture,
saying details still needed to
be worked out.
BMW also said it would
further expand its venture
with Brilliance, and that it
had no plans to set up an ad-
ditional sales organisation in
China.
Rival Audi last year grap-
pled with a dispute with
dealers in China who were
worried they could lose busi-
ness to Audi’s local partner,
SAIC Motor Corp.

Man City hammer Arsenal
Manchester City roll back the years to
win first trophy of Guardiola era PAGE 27
Eddie Pepperell with his prize and officials after the presentation at the Doha Golf Course on Sunday. (Right) The English golfer in action during the final day’s play of Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. (PICS: HANSON K JOSEPH)
Englishman
ends long wait
to land his first
European Tour
title with one-shot
win over Fisher
RAAJIV TRIPATHI
DOHA
IT'S all destiny that Englishman Eddie Pepperell was
able to lay his hands on his first European Tour title
– the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters (CBQM). The
course and conditions kept varying, making the Doha
Golf Club layout, designed by Peter Harradine, argu-
ably one of the toughest on the circuit.
The 27-year-old Pepperell, who couldn't win any-
thing since claiming the Open Cotes d’Armor Bre-
tagne on the Challenge Tour in 2012 despite playing
many a solid rounds and tournaments since then,
contested with his great friend, countryman and
playing partner Oliver Fisher on a dramatic final day.
The two separated by just one shot entering the
final par-5 hole, raising hopes for a possible playoff.
Even as Fisher, who fought back after dropping three
shots at a stage, squandered his birdie opportunity
narrowly to card a 71 for a 17 under aggregate, Pep-
perell, whose approach shot from the rough landed
more than 10 feet to the left of the pin, took two putts
to par the hole and register his breakthrough victory
with an 18 under 270 total.
Immediately after rolling the ball in, Pepperell
took his cap off and celebrated his long-awaited tri-
umph by throwing the ball long onto the course to a
big applause from the crowd. Apart from the Mother
of Pearl Trophy, the Englishman took home 236,315
euros. The second-place finish was worth 157,543
euros for the 29-year-old, whose one and only win
on the Tour had come in the 2011 Czech Open.
The triumph by Pepperell in the 129th Tour ap-
pearance was second by an Englishman in Doha after
Chris Wood raised the trophy aloft in 2013. He was
fourth in 2015 with two missed cuts, including last
year, in his previous five starts.
Pepperell collected 305,058 points to zoom
to 13th in the 2018 European Tour Rankings
from 188th. Also he is now the third player
from England to win a title on the 2018 Eu-
ropean Tour season, following Chris Paisley
(BMW SA Open) and Tommy Fleetwood (Omega
Dubai Desert Classic).
Swede Markus Kinult played a good round
of 68 to total 16 under 272 and finish third, get-
ting 88,762 euros. Four players shared the fourth
spot one shot further down – Spaniards Gonzalo
Fernandez-Castano and Pablo Larrazabal alongside
French Gregory Havret and Renato Paratore. Each
collected 55,795 euros. Paratore fired eight birdies
and dropped a shot to get a 66, which only French
Romain Wattel could emulate today, to shoot from a
tied 23rd to get a share of the fourth spot.
George Coetzee (South Africa) and Sebastian
Heisele (Germany) returned a 68 each to win
the eighth spot jointly with minus 14 total,
earning 33,605 euros each.
Adrian Otaegui, the second day leader
from Spain, French Mike Lorenzo-Vera
and British Matthew Baldwin were tied for
the 10th with 13 under 275. They collected
26,279 euros apiece.
When the day began under strong
wind and overcast conditions with the
course being a bit soggy after the over-
night rain, Pepperell had been consist-
ent up to the first eight holes. His other
playing partners Fisher and American Sean
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2018
Kohli wants more from India
India captain says team can deliver more after HANDBALL
receiving ICC mace for Test championhip PAGE 30 WORLD SCHOOLS LEAGUE
Pepperell holds
nerve to emerge as
CHAMP AT CBQM
meant he reached two under for the day. However,
Fisher upped the ante with two birdies in three holes
It feels good, a relief. I am as pleased as I can be. to start his return journey.
I was super-confident today. I said to my friend it’s Fisher lost a shot off the 13th but recovered it on
the 14th to start putting pressure on the leader. Then
an inevitability. I don’t wish that to sound arrogant, he turned on more heat on Pepperell by collecting
two more birdies in the next three holes. Both then
I want it to sound confident. came down to the final hole off which Fisher was bet-
ter placed. But his birdie putt curved slightly inward
to miss the cup by a whisker and Pepperell, whose
Eddie Pepperell after winning the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters title third shot landed in the rough, parred the hole to de-
fend the slender lead and secure the win.
Fisher said about his fightback, “I hit a lot of good
shots coming down the back nine and gave myself a
Crocker, third after three da
Crocker days, time.
s had a horrible time minuss 18 off the ne
birdie to get to min nextt and threatened lot of good chances, but there were just too many bo-
While Fisher dropped three shots, Crocker had the course total record of 268, shared by Doha double geys today – four in total – so you’re never going to
four setbacks to have their challenge weakened con- winners Paul Lawrie (1999) and Adam Scott (2008). win a tournament making that many mistakes on a
siderably. On the other hand, Pepperell sank the ball Crocker started the back Sunday. But at least I pressed him all the way.
off the par-5 ninth to post his first birdie of the day nine with a birdie but “I was proud of myself the way I settled down
and widen his lead to under 17. He added another dropped two shots and made some good swings coming around the
off the par-3 13th. turn. It’s not the result I wanted, but there was
Though he col- some good stuff there. I think it was 268 to the
lected a second front of the green on the 18th and it was slightly
birdie, he would into the wind off a downslope so it was a bit of a
go to finish with shame that I couldn’t give the three wood a crack
10 under 278 but that’s all I could have done,” Fisher added.
in a tied 28th, “I’m feeling good and it is a big relief. This is the
both Fisher and first (win) for me at last. I’m as pleased as I can be. I
Pepperell went did not have any expectations, to be honest with you.
through ups and I have had some good opportunities win before in the
downs to create a 2013 and 2014, I guess. Then I had some of the strug-
suspenseful finish. gle in the 2016,” said Pepperell.
A dropped shot by “I wouldn’t say that I have had chances to win be-
Pepperell on the fore but I would add that I did not have a lot of great
par-4 15th and chances to win as I had here. I played really well from
a birdie off the tee to green. I am very happy with the wedge and
the next iron play. Even today, I had a good front nine and
played to my strength. So I feel it was great to win the
title here,” added Pepperell, who lost his card in 2016
before getting it back immediately through Q-School.
After that, Pepperell has been doing well on the
Tour, landing four top fives and three top tens from
his last 10 events in 2017. He missed the cut in both
Abu Dhabi and Dubai Desert Classic but started to re-
gain his rhythm through the Maybank Championship
and the Oman Open. He continued to build up and
emulated Chris, combining patience and precision.
“Oli made it really tough and I made it tough for
myself with the second shot at 18. I felt good all day,
I felt comfortable. I didn't feel that comfortable with
my swing but I was in a great place mentally and I
kept telling myself that I'm going to win this.
“I feel it is just another good performance with a
win. I had a lot of good performances last year but I
feel sometimes there is a very thin margin between
the winner, second and third. It is really tough to
win here and it is so tough to be consistent among
top five or top 10. I think I have achieved that but the
only thing is that I have not been able to achieve any
win before. I feel that if I’m consistent, my time will
come and today it did come. I think if I play the way I
played here, I’ll have more wins.”
Talking about the tense final hole shots, the win-
ner said, “Oli had a chance and if he had holed it, this
would have been a great finish. This is just a game
margin. I have had it go against me many times in the
past. Today it worked for me. There would be more
More on page such times in my career where golf will make a lot of
31 Ô sense of pride for me,” Pepperell added.
26 Monday, February 26, 2018
Suarez hat-trick extends six-goal Barca’s La Liga lead
Messi continued his return to goalscoring
form with a double to reach 30 in all
competitions for the season
AFP
MADRID
LUIS Suarez hit a hat-trick and
Philippe Coutinho scored a bril-
liant first league goal for Bar-
celona as the La Liga leaders
thrashed Girona 6-1 on Satur-
day to open up a 10-point lead
at the top of the table.
Lionel Messi continued
his return to goalscoring form
with a double to reach 30 in all
competitions for the season, as
Wydad win Super
Cup as VAR used
for first time in
Africa
AFP
CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
AMIN Tighazoui scored from
a free-kick to give Wydad
Casablanca a 1-0 CAF Super
Cup victory over TP Mazembe
Saturday as the video assist-
ant referee (VAR) system was
used for the first time in Af-
rica.
The goal that separated
Champions League winners
Wydad of Morocco and Con-
federation Cup title-holders
Mazembe of the Democratic
Republic of Congo came on 83
minutes in Casablanca.
France-born Tighazoui,
who was not part of the
Champions League-winning
team last November, curled
the set-piece over the defen-
sive wall and past outstand-
ing goalkeeper Sylvain Gbo-
houo.
Earlier, the VAR system
being trialled in several Eu-
ropean countries with mixed
results, was used for the first
time in Africa after 58 min-
utes at Stade Mohamed V.
The Zambian referee ini-
tially awarded a second pen-
alty within three minutes to
Wydad only to change his
mind after running to the
sideline and watching replays
of the incident.
While the huge Moroccan
crowd in the 65,000-seat sta-
dium were naturally with the
decision, it did appear that a
Wydad player fell theatrically
to the ground inside the box.
VAR was supposed to de-
but in Africa last month dur-
ing the Nations Champion-
ship in Morocco, but trial runs
were held instead.
Bentaleb Manchester United’s midfielder Jesse Lingard (second right) and teammates celebrate on the pitch after the English Premier League match at
penalty seals Old Trafford in Manchester, on Sunday.
Schalke win at Mourinho says Lukaku played ‘fantastically well’ following his goal and assist
Leverkusen AFP
AFP
BERLIN
SCHALKE climbed from sixth
to third in the Bundesliga on
Sunday as Nabil Bentaleb
scored on his comeback to seal
their 2-0 victory at 10-man Bay-
er Leverkusen.
It was a sweet return for the
ex-Tottenham Hotspur mid-
fielder, who was dropped from
Schalke’s squad a fortnight ago
and told to improve his attitude.
Bentaleb’s penalty just be-
fore the final whistle capped a
deserved win for Schalke who
had taken the lead with just 11
minutes gone in Leverkusen.
When Daniel Caligiuri
found Guido Burgstaller with
pass from 40 metres, the Aus-
trian striker superbly flicked
the ball over a defender and hit
the bottom left corner of the net
from 15 metres.
Leverkusen’s fortunes fur-
ther dipped when defensive
midfielder Dominik Kohr was
sent off for a second yellow card
after just 38 minutes.
Schalke made the numeri-
cal advantage count late on and
only a reflex save by Germany
goalkeeper Bernd Leno denied
Swiss striker Breel Embolo.
Embolo broke clear on 83
minutes and floated his shot
over Leno, but the Bayer keep-
er got a glove to the ball and
steered it over the crossbar.
Schalke then sealed the win
thanks to a Leverkusen mis-
take.
When 19-year-old Greece
defender Panagiotis Retsos
stumbled with the ball at his
feet, Embolo snatched posses-
sion and sprinted away.
Barca extended their advantage
over closest title rivals Atletico
Madrid, who visit Sevilla on
Sunday.
Real Madrid remain off the
pace in third, despite a com-
fortable 4-0 victory over Alaves
that saw Cristiano Ronaldo net
a double and Gareth Bale back
on the scoresheet.
It was the perfect outing for
Barcelona after ninth-placed
Girona had taken a shock early
lead on their first-ever visit to
English Premier League
Man United fight back Tottenham with
to beat Chelsea 2-1 late winner at
with Lingard winner Crystal Palace
him...he was a little bit lost underway.
MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM
ROMELU Lukaku broke his
barren run against top six
Premier League opposition
and provided the winner for
Jesse Lingard as Manchester
United came from behind to
beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Traf-
ford.
Victory against his
former club was particularly
sweet for Jose Mourinho
as he got one over on Chel-
sea boss Antonio Conte, but
more importantly moves
United back above Liverpool
into second place in the Pre-
mier League.
Defeat allied to Totten-
ham Hotspur’s late win ear-
lier in the day at Crystal Pal-
ace sees Chelsea slip to fifth.
The visitors en-
joyed the better of
the first period but
failed to build on
Willian’s 32nd
minute opener.
Lukaku lev-
elled seven
minutes later
from close
r a n g e
and then
crossed
for sub-
stitute
L i n -
gard to
head home a s
a ruthless United took full
advantage of their limited
chances.
“I think he played fantas-
tically well,” said Mourinho
on Lukaku’s performance.
“The team didn’t start
well, didn’t start very confi-
dent, happened the same to
the Camp Nou, as Coutinho,
Suarez, Messi and Ousmane
Dembele shone on their first
start together.
Portu took advantage of
hesitation from Barca centre-
back Samuel Umtiti to round
goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Ste-
gen and slot into an empty net
to put Girona ahead in La Liga’s
newest Catalan derby.
The hosts took less than
two minutes to get back on
level terms, though, as Messi
collected the ball in midfield
before sending Suarez through
to score.
Messi’s wizardry put Ernes-
to Valverde’s side in front on
the half-hour mark, after Sua-
(AFP)
but then he went together
with the team.
“He ended the game with
the image of a hand in the
goal.”
“It’s a good day for me
and we won so that’s the
most important thing,” said
Lukaku.
“To get the winner would
have been even better for
me, but to get the goal be-
fore half-time was really im-
portant for us. We showed
our qualities and our desire
in the second half.”
The spectre of another
fiery clash between Mour-
inho and Conte, who have
publicly bickered in recent
months, hogged the head-
lines before kick-off, but
there was a peace offering
when the pair shook hands
before the ac- tion got
Sports
Barca’s Luis Suarez celebrates
scoring a goal with Jordi Alba.
(REUTERS)
rez touched down a long pass
from Andres Iniesta for the Ar-
Moments later, the hosts
Mourinho recalled Paul
Pogba to his starting XI af-
ter dropping the £89 mil-
lion (100 million euros,
$124 million) midfielder
for Wednesday’s stalemate
at Sevilla in the Champions
League.
But it was one of Conte’s
two changes from his side’s
1-1 draw with Barcelona in
midweek who nearly made
an immediate impact.
Alvaro Morata started for
the first time in six weeks,
but saw his side-footed vol-
ley from Marcos Alonso’s
driven cross come back off
the bar just four minutes in.
Chelsea dominated pos-
session in the opening quar-
ter, but much like they did
to Barcelona on Tuesday
with limited time on the ball,
United restricted them to
few other clear-cut chances.
United had
offered little
going forward
themselves
until An-
thony Mar-
tial’s low
cross
picked
out Alexis Sanchez inside
the area.
However, the Chilean
is still waiting for his first
big moment since join-
ing United last month as
he poked the ball tamely
into the arms of Thibaut
Courtois.
gentinian. It looked as though
the chance had gone when
Messi was forced wide, but
the league’s top scorer showed
trademark footwork to jink past
several defenders before slot-
ting into the bottom corner.
The five-time Ballon d’Or
winner was running the show,
and he doubled the advantage
just seven minutes later with a
low free-kick under the wall.
Having gone five games
without a goal before his cru-
cial equaliser in the 1-1 draw
at Chelsea in the Champions
League in midweek, Messi has
scored three in two games.
Barcelona’s fourth goal
came on the stroke of half-
were caught by a blistering
Chelsea counter-attack to
open the scoring.
Willian picked up the ball
just outside his own area and
drove through the United
midfield before exchanging
passes with Eden Hazard.
The Brazilian then un-
leashed a shot too powerful
even for David de Gea to reg-
ister his fourth goal in three
games.
The lead lasted just seven
minutes, though, as for the first
time in a United shirt, Lukaku
netted against one of their top
six rivals -- at the seventh time
of asking.
Sanchez fed Martial and his
clever reverse pass was slotted
home by Lukaku to muted cel-
ebrations against his former
club.
Lukaku nearly had a spec-
tacular second 22 minutes
from time when he caught a
Sanchez cross flush with an
acrobatic volley, only to be de-
nied by a finger tip save from
Courtois.
However, the Belgian did
make a decisive contribution
when he dropped deep and his
in-swinging cross was met by
a perfectly timed run by Lin-
gard.
Conte had surprisingly
removed Hazard just before
conceding and that decision
looked all the more puzzling as
Chelsea searched in vain for an
equaliser.
Willian saw another ef-
fort smothered by De Gea at
the second attempt at his near
post as United held out for just
a second win over Chelsea in
15 meetings.
time with Girona’s defenders
left begging for the interval af-
ter Messi’s perfectly-weighted
pass found Coutinho to square
for Suarez to tap in.
The Catalan giants eased
off slightly in the second half,
but Coutinho got off the mark
in the league in style as he cut
inside and curled a long-range
strike into the far corner.
French winger Dembele
played his part too late on as
he crossed from the left for
Suarez to complete a hat-trick.
After a slow start to the
campaign, the Uruguayan for-
ward has now scored 17 goals
in his last 14 league matches.
Earlier on Saturday, Real
Kane rescues
The win pushed Pochettino’s men
two points above Chelsea
AFP
LONDON
HARRY Kane struck late to se-
cure Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0
victory at Crystal Palace on Sun-
day that moved Mauricio Po-
chettino’s side into the top four
immediately ahead of Chelsea’s
visit to Manchester United.
Spurs appeared set for dis-
appointment after struggling
to break down a Crystal Palace
fighting to move clear of the rel-
egation places.
But Kane finally found the
breakthrough on 88 minutes,
meeting Christian Eriksen’s
corner at the far post and direct-
ing a header past goalkeeper
Wayne Hennessey who should
have done better after getting a
firm hand to the ball.
“We left that very late. I
thought it weren’t going to be
our day, because we had a few
chances, especially me...but we
kept going until the end and
eventually got our rewards,”
Kane said after netting his 35th
goal of the season.
The win pushed Pochet-
tino’s men two points above
Chelsea and while they knew
the positions could be reversed
by the end of the day, they could
be satisfied they had increased
the pressure on Antonio Con-
te’s side. Pochettino made 10
changes to the side that drew
with Rochdale in the FA Cup
seven days previously but the
more significant fact was that
his line-up showed just one
change to the team that drew
at Juventus in the Champions
League.
The withdrawal of Jan Ver-
tonghen after the centre-back
picked up a knock in training
the day before the game meant
Eric Dier slotted in alongside
Davinson Sanchez in central
defence in an otherwise famil-
iar Spurs line-up. By contrast,
Hodgson’s hand was forced by
the absence of 12 senior players,
leaving the Crystal Palace man-
ager with few options.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 20,
came in at right-back for his
senior debut and the depth of
the home side’s injury problems
was reflected on the substitutes’
bench where four of the seven
replacements had yet to make a
Premier League appearance for
the club.
The makeshift nature of the
Palace line-up was reflected in a
Tottenham’s Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his goal during the
Premier League match at Selhurst Park, in London, on Sunday. (EPA)
coach Zinedine Zidane hailed
Ronaldo’s selflessness af-
ter the forward gave up the
chance of a hat-trick by al-
lowing Benzema to take a late
penalty at the Santiago Berna-
beu.
Zidane restored Bale to
the starting XI to reunite the
‘BBC’ front line of the Welsh-
man, Ronaldo and Benzema.
Ronaldo, whose first goal
was created by a magnificent
Benzema flick, stood aside in
the 89th minute to allow the
Frenchman to convert only
his fourth league goal of the
season.
“The gesture of Cristiano is
very important,” said Zidane.
disjointed start that could have
seen Tottenham three up in-
side 16 minutes had the visitors
made more of a succession of
defensive errors.
Ben Davies should have
done better after Andros
Townsend unexpectedly failed
to clear Eriksen’s free-kick al-
though the left-back insisted he
had a strong claim for a penalty
after colliding with Hennessey.
Then two minutes later, an
even better opportunity fell to
Kane who was uncharacteristi-
cally wasteful when Patrick van
Aanholt sliced a clearance into
the forward’s path. Kane was
only eight yards out but placed
his shot too close to Hennes-
sey who diverted the effort over
the bar. A third Palace error al-
lowed Dele Alli to evade the off-
side trap and collect Eriksen’s
floated ball over the top but the
England midfielder rushed his
attempt to direct a header over
the onrushing Hennessey.
It seemed only a matter of
time before Palace’s defence
would be unpicked and Timo-
thy Fosu-Mensah was fortunate
an offside flag meant his clear
foul on Kane inside the home
area went unpunished.
But Hodgson’s side grew
in confidence and began to cut
out the mistakes as the first half
progressed.
They offered little going
forward, but by getting bodies
behind the ball, the home side
halted a succession of Totten-
ham attacking moves, leaving
Kane frustrated at the lack of
opportunities to come his way.
A sliced shot that flew high
and wide by Kane early in the
second half confirmed things
were not going the visitors’ way.
And having withstood the early
pressure, Palace began to ap-
pear increasingly threatening
on the counter-attack, without
ever managing to test keeper
Hugo Lloris.
Alexander Sorloth, the
striker signed during the last
transfer window, led two breaks
that ensured Tottenham were
forced to apply a degree of cau-
tion as they pursued the break-
through.
But the visitors’ frustration
was compounded when a third
penalty appeal was rejected, this
time after Alli went to ground
following a clumsy challenge by
Van Aanholt, before relief came
in the form of Kane’s header.

City players bask in triumph
Manchester City’s defender Vincent Kompany lifts the trophy as Manchester city players celebrate their victory in the English League Cup final match at Wembley Stadium in London
on Sunday. (AFP)
Man City beat Arsenal
3-0 to win League Cup
Kompany on target in Manchester City’s first trophy of the Guardiola era
AFP
LONDON
MANCHESTER City won the
first trophy of the Pep Guar-
diola era on Sunday, brushing
Arsenal aside 3-0 in the League
Cup final with the help of an
old-fashioned route-one goal
from Sergio Aguero.
It was an impressive state-
ment of intent from Guardio-
la’s team at Wembley after a
shock FA Cup defeat to lowly
Wigan last week ended their
bid for an unprecedented
quadruple.
City opened the scoring in
the 18th minute when a long
punt upfield from goalkeeper
Claudio Bravo was controlled
by Aguero, who coolly lifted
the ball over a helpless David
Ospina in the Arsenal goal.
Captain Vincent Kompany
doubled the lead in the second
half with just over half an hour
to go and David Silva put the
game out of the reach of Ar-
sene Wenger’s team.
The runaway Premier
League leaders will be hoping
to use the victory as a spring-
board to greater glory as the
season approaches its final
stretch but defeat for Wenger
means he has never lifted the
League Cup.
On a bitterly cold, clear day
in London, City, in their light
blue kit, took control early,
playing measured football and
Bounedjah hits four as Sadd trounce Khor FIFA’S fourth seminar
Hamdallah scores brace in Rayyan’s
4-0 victory over Qatar SC
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
AL Sadd notched up three more
crucial points with a 5-0 victory
over Al Ahli in Week 18 of the
QNB Stars League on Sunday.
Al Sadd moved to 46
points, two less than table top-
pers Al Duhail who had beaten
Al Khor 4-0 on Saturday. Al
Ahli remained on 19 points.
Striker Baghdad
Bounedjah scored in the fifth,
55th, 75th and 81st minutes
of the game, dominated by
The Wolves, especially in the
second half, in front of home
crowd. Jugurtha Hamroun
scored the other goal (90+2).
Al Sadd, who had won
their first two matches in the
AFC Champions League, start-
ed without key players Xavi
Hernandez, Hassan al Hay-
dous and Boualem Khoukhi.
And Pedro sat out serving a
suspension.
It is true that Algerian
Manchester City’s defender Vincent Kompany (left) vies with Arsenal’s defender Sead Kolasinac during the
English League Cup final match at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. (AFP)
enjoying the lion’s share of
possession against a side who
have made Wembley a second
home in recent years.
But Arsenal went closest to
taking the lead within the first
10 minutes, with new signing
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
seeing his scuffed shot saved
by a sprawling Bravo.
Seconds later Aguero
found the side netting after an
incisive break from City, who
looked short of their fluent
Bounedjah, who now has 12
goals to his credit in the QNB
Stars League, gave Al Sadd an
early advantage, but the game
was slow-paced in the first
half.
Akram Afif then had the
disappointment of being
thwarted by Al Ahli goalkeeper
Yazan Naim.
Al Sadd started the second
session by introducing Xavi, in
place of Ali Asad, and Khoukhi
for Yasir Abubakr.
Yassine Chikhaoui fought
like a one-man army in the
Al Ahli midfield. On the other
hand, Xavi made some impact
with his creative moves.
Bounedjah’s second goal
came in training-session fash-
ion as he flicked in the ball off a
cross from Abdelkarim Hassan.
Al Ahli, who were without
Meshaal Abdullah, brought in
striker Mohammed Muntari,
back from a long injury layoff,
soon after the hour mark, but
The Brigadiers could not find
best.
But it was Aguero who
broke the deadlock, control-
ling the ball as Arsenal’s de-
fence failed to deal with the
danger, silencing the boister-
ous Arsenal fans.
The Argentine striker has
scored in each of his past five
games in all competitions
against Arsenal and this was
his 199th goal in City colours.
It was an unusual goal for
Guardiola’s team, who have
Al Sadd players during a QNB Stars League match at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Sunday.
the net for once.
Khoukhi almost made it
5-0, but cracked his rising shot
against the horizontal.
After Bounedjah added two
more goals, Hamroun com-
pleted the tally with literally
the last kick of the match.
Sports
been lauded for their silky
passing game this season,
which has already seen them
hailed as one of the finest sides
in Premier League history.
City made a bright start
to the second half and cap-
tain Kompany was in the right
place to steer home Ilkay Gun-
dogan’s shot from the edge of
the box after a Kevin De Bru-
yne corner in the 58th minute.
It was no more than City
deserved against a lacklustre
Elsewhere, riding on Ab-
derrazaq Hamdallah’s two
goals, Al Rayyan defeated hosts
Qatar SC 4-0.
Al Rayyan took their points
tally to 39, while Qatar SC
stayed on 18 points.
Hamdallah (25th and 37th
Catalyst for
more laurels
O The runaway Premier
League leaders will be
hoping to use the victory as
a springboard to greater
glory as the season
approaches its final
stretch.
Arsenal and the Belgian cel-
ebrated wildly in front of his
own fans.
Just seven minutes lat-
er Arsenal were left with a
mountain to climb when Silva
smashed the ball past Ospina
into the far corner of the net to
make it 3-0.
Former Barcelona and
Bayern Munich boss Guar-
diola kept faith with reserve
goalkeeper Bravo for the
Wembley showpiece ahead of
first-choice Ederson. Bravo
has played in every round of
the competition so far.
Wenger also played his
number two between the
sticks, fielding Ospina ahead
of Petr Cech.
City look nailed on to win
the Premier League and have
virtually guaranteed a place in
the Champions League quar-
ter-finals after a 4-0 first win
in the first leg of their last-16
tie against Basel.
minutes), Mohsine Moutouali
(62nd) and Rodrigo Tabata
(83rd) scored the goals.
The total number of goals
netted by Hamdallah in this sea-
son’s QNB Stars League thus
stands at 15, while Tabata took
his tally to 12.
Monday, February 26, 2018
Milinkovic-Savic,
Immobile fire
Lazio into third,
Juve snowed off
The win saw Lazio overtake Inter,
who had moved third with a 2-0 win
over bottom club Benevento
AFP
MILAN
CIRO Immobile and Sergej
Milinkovic-Savic continued
their goal scoring sprees to
lift Lazio into third in Serie A
with a 3-0 win over Sassuolo
on Sunday. Both sides finished
a bad-tempered clash with 10
men as Serb Milinkovic-Savic
scored a brace, opening the
score with a curler after seven
minutes and adding a second
after the break to bring his tally
to 11 goals this season.
Immobile stepped up to
slot home a penalty after half
an hour to give him six goals in
Lazio’s last three games -- 32
this season and a league lead-
ing 23 in Serie A.
“I’m sure he’ll win the
Golden Boot, he deserves it for
how he works every day,” said
coach Simone Inzaghi of Im-
mobile.
“The important thing is
that we continue to perform
like today.
“We had played three
games in a week, now we have
three more. We have little time
to recover, but when you have
goals (the) fatigue in your head
disappears faster.”
The win saw Lazio overtake
Inter Milan, who had moved
third with a 2-0 win over bot-
tom club Benevento in the San
Siro on Saturday, and drop to
fourth.
Roma can reclaim third
position later on Sunday when
they host AC Milan, who are
seventh.
Sunday’s Serie A game
between champions Juven-
tus and Atalanta in Turin was
postponed because of heavy
snow in northern Italy.
Six-time defending cham-
pions Juventus are a point be-
hind leaders Napoli who are in
turn 14 points ahead of Lazio.
Napoli can extend their
advantage further when they
play Cagliari in Sardinia on
Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (second left) celebrates with teammates
during the Serie A match in Reggio Emilia, Italy, on Sunday. (EPA-EFE)
concludes in Doha
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
THE Seminar for FIFA Referee
Technical & Fitness Instruc-
tors concluded on Friday and
witnessed the attendance of
100 FIFA Technical and Fit-
ness Instructors from around
the world.
Organised by FIFA and
hosted by the Qatar Football
Association (QFA), the semi-
nar’s objective is to prepare the
technical and fitness instruc-
tors for the FIFA refereeing
activities in 2018. The seminar
is based on teach the teacher
concept as the instructors will
be able to transfer the knowl-
edge they have learned during
the seminar back to their re-
spective countries and regions
and help develop the referees.
Speaking at the closing cer-
emony, Hani Ballan said: “On
behalf of QFA, I would like to
thank you all and thank FIFA
for giving the trust and oppor-
tunity to Qatar and QFA not
only to organise the last semi-
nar that we are concluding to-
27
Monday.
Stefan de Vrij, Marco Paro-
lo and Luis Alberto all started
on the bench for Lazio ahead of
next week’s Italian Cup semi-
final, second leg clash against
AC Milan in Rome.
Lazio took the lead when
Milinkovic-Savic -- who has
been linked with a move to
Manchester United -- picked
up a Felipe Anderson cross
and curled the ball home cour-
tesy of a slight deflection off
Sassuolo midfielder Luca Maz-
zitelli.
Lazio doubled their lead
amid controversy, with a pen-
alty awarded following consul-
tation with the video assistant
referee (VAR) after the ball
struck Federico Peluso’s hand.
Immobile stepped up and
made no mistake from the
spot.
The 28-year-old scored a
double last week to get Lazio
back to winning ways after a
three-match losing streak, and
hit a hat-trick in a 5-1 rout of
Steaua Bucharest in Europa
League action on Thursday.
Khouma Babacar missed
a chance to pull one back for
Sassuolo before the break, with
the hosts’ penalty appeals after
Matteo Politano was brought
down on the edge of the box
going unheeded.
Two minutes after the
break Milinkovic-Savic added
his second, again off a Felipe
Anderson cross.
Both sides played the final
half an hour with 10 men as
tempers flared with Domenico
Berardi and Adam Marusic
both shown straight red cards
after consultation with the
VAR.
Berardi was sent off for
a bad tackle on Stefan Radu
while Marusic saw red for el-
bowing Brazilian defender
Rogerio.
Sassuolo are now just three
points above the relegation
zone.
night, but also to organise the
first three we held throughout
the month. We are honoured
and privileged to organise such
esteemed courses. It has been
a pleasure to have you in Qa-
tar.”
“Refereeing is thinking, if
we look at how much referees
have developed, we are quite
envious of everything they ex-
perience. But this is because
they are our diamonds and we
need to protect them. We pro-
tect them by being knowledge-
able, fair, transparent, and be-
ing the people they can come
and talk to,” he added.
Massimo Busacca, FIFA’s
Director of Refereeing said at
the closing ceremony: “We had
four big events here in Qatar.
This is the fourth event and
again, we want to really thank
QFA for organising these
big events. Everything went
smoothly without any prob-
lems. We are in a country of
football and referees. So they
know what an organisation
like FIFA needs to organise a
seminar as such.”
28 Monday, February 26, 2018 Sports

Embiid sparks Sixers to seventh

straight win; Warriors blow out OKC
REUTERS
PHILADELPHIA

JOEL Embiid had 28 points

and 14 rebounds to lead six
Philadelphia 76ers players in
double figures in a 116-105 vic-
tory over the Orlando Magic
on Saturday at the Wells Fargo
Center in Philadelphia.
Embiid recorded his 22nd
game of at least 20 points and
10 rebounds.
Ben Simmons added 17
points, JJ Redick contributed
16 and Marco Belinelli had 15
for the Sixers, who won their
seventh in a row.
Robert Covington also
scored 12 points, and Dario Sa-
ric had 11.
The Sixers also won 10
straight at home for the first
time since 2002-03 in coach
Larry Brown’s final season.
Warriors 112, Thunder 80
Nick Young capped a
14-point flurry with a pair of
3-pointers late in the third
quarter, helping Golden State
pull away from Oklahoma City
en route to a blowout in a na-
tionally televised showcase
game in Oakland, Calif.
The win was the Warriors’
first in three tries against the
Thunder this season. Okla-
homa City was attempting to
become the first team in the
Steve Kerr coaching era to beat
Golden State three straight
times in the same season.
Kevin Durant had a game-
high 28 points and Stephen
Curry 21 for Golden State,
which never led in a 125-105
home shellacking at the hands
of the Thunder when the teams
last met on February 6.
Celtics 121, Knicks 112
Kyrie Irving put on an-
other brilliant show for the
fans in basketball’s Mecca
with 31 points, nine rebounds
and eight assists to lead Bos-
ton past New York at Madison
Square Garden.
The first-year Celtic has
Philadelphia 76ers centre Joel Embiid (right) shoots against Orlando Magic centre Nikola Vucevic during the second quarter at Wells Fargo
Center in Philadelphia on Saturday. (USA TODAY SPORTS)
made lasting memories at
the world-famous venue, in-
cluding his then-career-high
41-point performance against
the Knicks while wearing a
protective face mask with the
Cleveland Cavaliers in 2012.
Jaylen Brown added 24
points, Terry Rozier scored 14
off the bench and Al Horford
had 13 points and 10 boards
for the Celtics, who won their
second straight game out of
the All-Star break following a
three-game losing streak.
Heat 115, Grizzlies 89
Tyler Johnson scored 23
points, and Justise Winslow
added 17 points as Miami
handed visiting Memphis its
ninth straight loss.
The Heat separated them-
selves in the third quarter.
Wayne Ellington knocked
down a pair of 3-pointers, and
Miami outscored Memphis
18-4 in the final five minutes
of the quarter. Ellington had
15 points off the bench on
five 3-pointers and was one of
six Miami players to finish in
double figures.
Andrew Harrison scored
17 points, and Deyonta Davis
finished with 14 points for the
Grizzlies, who haven’t won
since a Jan. 29 victory over
Phoenix.
T’wolves 122, Bulls 104
Jeff Teague scored 25
points and dished seven as-
sists as Minnesota beat Chi-
cago at Target Center in Min-
neapolis.
Andrew Wiggins scored
23 points on 10-for-18 shoot-
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant is congratulated by team-
mate Draymond Green after making a three point basket against
the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second quarter at Oracle Arena in
Oakland on Saturday. (USA TODAY SPORTS)
ing for Minnesota, which
outscored Chicago 36-22
in the fourth quarter. Karl-
Anthony Towns (22 points,
13 rebounds) and Taj Gibson
(19 points, 10 rebounds) each
posted double-doubles.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls
with 21 points and seven as-
sists. David Nwaba main-
tained his hot play with 14
points and nine rebounds for
Chicago, which lost its third
game in a row.
Lakers 113, Kings 108
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
saved four of his season-high
34 points for a late spurt that
propelled Los Angeles to a vic-
tory over Sacramento.
The win allowed the Lak-
ers to snap a three-game road
losing streak and was the 14th
in their last 21 games. They
began the season with just 11
wins in their first 38 contests.
The Kings lost for the 10th
time in their last 13 home
games.
Jazz 97, Mavericks 90
Donovan Mitchell scored
25 points and added six re-
bounds and five assists to lead
Utah over Dallas.
Derrick Favors scored 14
points and had six rebounds.
Rudy Gobert added 13 points
and 10 rebounds for the Jazz.
Utah (31-29) won for the 12th
time in its last 13 games.
J.J. Barea scored 17 points
to lead the Mavericks. Dirk
Nowitzki chipped in 12 points
and 10 rebounds. The Maver-
icks (18-42) lost for the fourth
straight time and the 14th
time in their last 17 contests.
Blazers 106, Suns 104
Portland guard Damian
Lillard had 40 points and 10
rebounds, and his driving
layup with nine-tenths of a
second remaining enabled
Portland to complete a season
sweep over Phoenix.
CJ McCollum had 21
points and Jusuf Nurkic had
14 points and 13 rebounds for
the Blazers, who overcame
a 15-point deficit in the final
7:26 for their fifth victory in
their last six contests.
Devin Booker had 30
points and nine rebounds and
TJ Warren had 19 points for
the Suns, who have lost nine
in a row, 14 of 15 and 17 of 19.
They have been outscored by
183 points in the losing streak.

Superb Scotland stun England Ovechkin, Kuznetsov lead

to end Grand Slam aspirations Capitals over Sabres
REUTERS
WASHINGTON

EVGENY Kuznetsov had a goal

Scotland captain John Barclay (centre) lifts the Calcutta Cup after beating England in the Six Nations Round 3 rugby match at Murrayfield Sta-
dium in Edinburgh, Britain on Saturday. (EPA-EFE)
REUTERS
EDINBURGH
SCOTLAND produced a blis-
tering display of attacking
rugby to hand Eddie Jones
just his second defeat as Eng-
land head coach and end the
visitors’ Grand Slam aspira-
tions with a 25-13 Six Nations
victory at Murrayfield on Sat-
urday.
Led by the brilliance of
Huw Jones, who scored a
brace of tries, and Finn Rus-
sell -- criticised before the
game but at the heart of Scot-
land’s best play -- the hosts
opened up a 16-point halft-
ime lead, with Sean Maitland
also touching down.
England improved after
the break with a converted
Owen Farrell try, but Sam
Underhill was shown a yel-
low card to inhibit hopes
of a comeback as the hosts
held out for a famous victory
in Gregor Townsend’s first
Calcutta Cup fixture as head
coach.
and three assists, and Alex
Ovechkin scored twice as the
Washington Capitals defeated
the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 on Sat-
urday night in Washington.
Ovechkin played in his
983rd game, which tied Calle
Johansson for the top spot in
franchise history. Ovechkin
already leads the franchise by
comfortable margins in goals
(596) and points (1,105).
When he reaches 600 goals,
Ovechkin will be the 20th play-
er in NHL history to do so. He
scored twice in the third period
in this game.
The victory let the Caps
(77 points) jump over Pitts-
burgh (76) and the Flyers (76)
for first in the Metropolitan
Division. Florida beat the Pen-
guins 6-5 Saturday while the Buffalo Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues is stopped by Washington
Flyers were off. Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer during the second period of an NHL
Philipp Grubauer started hockey game recently.
in goal for Washington and
made 28 saves, beating the trade for Kane is “apparently ally worked his way through
“It’s a great feeling. We - especially in the first half. opening exchanges were full- Sabres for the second time this imminent.” all five Buffalo players, split-
knew how important this We forced mistakes. We dis- blooded but dominated by week -- the Capitals won 3-2 in The Sabres were not helped ting the last two before pushing
week was going to be, what it cussed opportunities we felt Scotland who showed plenty Buffalo on Feb. 19. by Washington’s fast start. the puck through the goalie’s
meant to our supporters and we could create and it was of attacking intent which Grubauer has now won his Kuznetsov scored 50 seconds five-hole. Those two displays
the players played with real pleasing the way we took yielded a penalty, kicked by last three starts while No. 1 into the game after skating of speed put the Capitals on top
pride,” Townsend said. them.” Greig Laidlaw for a 3-0 lead. goalie Braden Holtby has gone through several Buffalo players by two goals after two periods.
“There was also real in- Following a pre-game Buoyed by a vociferous 0-3-2 in his past five. and beating goalie Robin Leh- Sam Reinhart cut the lead
tensity, and great accuracy scuffle in the tunnel, the crowd the hosts consistently Andre Burakovsky and Lars ner after faking him out a bit. to 2-1 on a backhand shot 14
stretched the visitors’ defence Eller also scored once apiece In the second period, Bura- seconds into the third period.
and Jones collected a deft for the Capitals in the win. kovsky turned in another strong Ovechkin then scored a key
Farrell-Wilson to explain fracas Russell grubber kick to dive The Sabres pulled Evander individual effort with 6:40 left insurance goal later in the pe-
England and Scotland have been asked to explain a brief over next to the posts to score Kane from their lineup with in the second period left that riod on the power play. He took
tunnel ruckus that erupted ahead of their Six Nations match Scotland’s first home try the league’s trade deadline -- 3 gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead. a pass from John Carlson and
in Edinburgh on Saturday. Television footage appeared to show against England since 2004. p.m. on Monday -- approach- He picked up the puck deep fired a wrist shot into the high
England back Owen Farrell and Scotland forward Ryan Wilson Farrell kept the visitors in ing. The Buffalo News said a in Washington’s end and liter- right corner with 9:47 left.
embroiled in some pushing and shoving before fellow players touch with two penalties, but
separated the pair. their attack was lethargic and
“Six Nations Rugby will be writing to the unions to request in defence they simply could
clarification on what happened in the tunnel,” a Six Nations not contain Scotland with Quick read
spokesperson said on Sunday. Russell and Jones combining
Once the unions have responded, tournament organisers to create the field position for Timberwolves’ All-Star Jummy Butler has meniscus injury
will decide whether to launch an investigation or initiate dis- Maitland to dive over in the
ciplinary proceedings. England coach Eddie Jones, along with corner. LOS ANGELES: Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler has a meniscus injury in his right knee the Timberwolves said
players from both sides, denied any knowledge of the incident. At 15-6 down, a series Saturday, a day after the All-Star guard was carried off the floor in the third quarter of a loss to the Hou-
“I’ve been coaching a game. I’ve been pretty busy. Are you of attacking penalties ham- ston Rockets. Butler underwent an MRI exam on Saturday which revealed the meniscal injury, the NBA
aware of it? You can show it to me after the press conference, pered England and their in- team said in a statement. The Timberwolves did not give any timetable for his return, saying only that
then we can have a chat about it,” Australian Jones quipped at discipline was compounded further updates on his progress would be issued when more information becomes available. Butler was
the post-match press conference. “In all seriousness, I don’t shortly before halftime when rebounding a missed shot when Rockets forward Nene appeared to lean slightly on his right knee. Butler
know about it. If there was, we shouldn’t let that detract from a Jones burst through and held took a couple of steps after that, turning and planting his right foot then falling to the court and clutch-
great Scotland victory.” (AFP) off Mike Brown and Anthony ing the knee. Butler, has helped the Timberwolves reach fourth place in the Western Conference. (AFP)
Watson to score.
 Sports Monday, February 26, 2018 29

Sudden-death Russia win ‘No jerks!’ - the

Olympics hockey gold
AFP
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA
RUSSIANS ended a 26-year
Olympic men’s hockey title
drought on Sunday and capped
their dramatic 4-3 over-time
victory over Germany by sing-
ing their banned national an-
them on the ice.
Kirill Kaprizov scored the
power-play goal that will be
forever remembered in Rus-
sian hockey history 9:40 into
the extra period, producing the
only Russian men’s gold at the
Pyeongchang Games.
“Everybody is up in Russia
and they are celebrating. Mon-
day will be a holiday in Rus-
sia,” Russian top scorer and
tournament Most Valuable
Player Ilya Kovalchuk said. “It
feels good to do something like
that for the country.”
Kaprizov’s goal began a
joyous celebration as the Rus-
sian squad raced onto the ice
for hugs and laughter while
flag-waving supporters roared
with delight.
“It’s a very big moment,”
Russian captain Pavel Datsy-
uk said. “We’re all happy and
especially in this moment for
Russia.”
“It feels good but I have
accomplished my dream,”
Datsyuk said. “Now I have no
dream.”
Russia -- competing in
South Korea under a neutral
flag as “Olympic Athletes from
Russia” -- had not won hockey
gold since the 1992 Albertville
Games.
Then they represented
the Unified Team, only a few
weeks after the breakup of the
Soviet Union, whose hockey
dynasty captured eight Olym-
pic golds.
This year’s Russians were
unable to see their flag raised
or hear their anthem played as
part of the punishment for the
systemic doping scandal at the
2014 Sochi Olympics.
But as the Olympic flag rose
and Olympic anthem played,
Russian teammates linked
arms and joined supporters in
singing the Russian national
anthem, their voices drowning
out the recorded music in an
emotional moment.
“It felt great,” Kovalchuk
secret to Norway’s
Olympic success
AFP proach based on camaraderie
PYEONGCHANG and bonhomie – from grass-
roots all the way to Olympic
FAMOUS for its mountains, level.
fjords and rugged beards, “We are not super-hu-
Norway gave the world the man,” insisted Ovrebo. “It is
Vikings and A-ha – and for organic. This is about organi-
good measure it even invent- sation, it’s about values, it’s
ed the cheese slicer. about hard work.”
But when it comes to
sport, the Norwegians create
headlines roughly once every No egos!
four years, when the nation
of 5.2 million makes one hell O Norway’s strength lies
of a racket at the Winter Ol- in its team spirit. The
ympics. athletes go to eat tacos
Norway finished top of together on Friday nights
the Pyeongchang medals after training, and inflated
table on Sunday, winning egos are not tolerated.
a record 39 medals – 14 of
them gold.
“It’s amazing to win this Norway’s tight-knit phi-
many medals and something losophy means top Norwe-
to be proud of,” Norway’s chef gian skiers share hotel rooms
de mission Tore Ovrebo told – and even beds – to further
AFP in an interview. strengthen team bonding.
“But we must keep raising Many Norwegian athletes
the bar and find new chal- have day jobs to support their
lenges for the future.” Olympic dreams. The team
A winter superpower, has carpenters, plumbers
Norway failed to win a single and teachers among its ranks,
gold or silver medal in Rio said Ovrebo.
two years ago. “We are part of the real
“Oh, in the summer it’s world – we are not like a fair-
catastrophic,” sighed Ovrebo. ytale,” he insisted. “It’s hard
“We want to improve our sys- work.”
tem in the summer sport.” Norway’s strength lies in
But Norway’s prowess at its team spirit. The athletes
winter sports is freakishly im- go to eat tacos together on
Germany’s Patrick Hager (right) tries to score a goal past Olympic Athletes from Russia, Andrei Zubarev, Artyom Zub, and goalie Vasili pressive. Friday nights after training,
Koshechkin during their ice hockey men’s final match at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics on Sunday. (REUTERS) From Aksel Lund Svin- and inflated egos are not tol-
dal’s dashing victory in the erated.
TOP 20 NATIONS AT THE 2018 WINTER GAMES ed for one resembling the finally captured gold in their downhill to the extravagantly “No jerks allowed!” said
NHL Detroit Red Wings, who fifth Olympic appearances. bushy moustache of Robert Ovrebo, referencing remarks
Country G S B Total boasted championship teams “When I started playing it Johansson, who anchored made by alpine skier Kjetil
1Norway 14 14 11 39 known for Russian stars. was my dream and goal to win Norway to team ski jump- Jansrud.
2Germany 14 10 7 31 After being presented the Olympic gold medal for the ing gold, the Scandinavians “There’s no good explana-
3Canada 11 8 10 29 medals by retired Soviet goalie nation,” Kovalchuk said. “It have sparkled, outperform- tion for why you have to be
4USA 9 8 6 23 legend Vladislav Tretiak, the took me almost 30 years but it ing Germany, Canada and the a jerk to be a good athlete,”
5Netherlands 8 6 6 20 Russians took a victory lap and feels really good.” mighty United States. declared the downhill silver
6Sweden 7 6 1 14 saluted the fans who cheered Datsyuk, at 39 years and Their success owes much medallist, outlining the team
7South Korea 5 8 4 17 them loudly. 220 days, became the old- to a quaintly egalitarian ap- ethos.
8Switzerland 5 6 4 15 “It was the higher powers est gold medallist in Olympic
9France 5 4 6 15 from above who granted us men’s hockey history, surpass-
10Austria 5 3 6 14 these medals,” Russia’s Andrei ing Britain’s Carl Erhardt from
11Japan 4 5 4 13 Zubarev said. 1936.
12Italy 3 2 5 10 Russia’s only previous The Germans were seconds
13OAR 2 6 9 17 gold at Pyeongchang went to from pulling off a Wunder auf
14Czech 2 2 3 7 women’s figure skater Alina Eis (Miracle on Ice) upset be-
15Belarus 2 1 0 3 Zagitova. fore Russian Nikita Gusev’s
16China 1 6 2 9 With NHL players absent shorthanded equaliser with
17Slovakia 1 2 0 3 for the first Olympics since 55.5 seconds remaining led to
18Finland 1 1 4 6 1994, it was a German league the sudden death extra period.
19Great Britain 1 0 4 5 all-star squad against the best Finally they settled for sil-
20Hungary 1 0 1 2 of Russia’s two top clubs. ver but also their best-ever
Former NHL stars Koval- Olympic finish, surpassing Bronze medal winning team of Norway during the medal cer-
said. “We knew we would do it Denied even their usual chuk and Datsyuk, who each bronzes in 1932 and as West emony for the Alpine Skiing Team event. (EPA-EFE)
if we won.” uniforms, the Russians opt- took 2002 bronzes for Russia, Germany in 1976.

Games not ‘tainted’ by Russian doping: Bach Inspirational Jessica Korda claims
AFP
PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA
OLYMPICS chief Thomas
Bach denied the Pyeongchang
Winter Olympics had been
“tainted” by the Russian dop-
ing scandal as officials voted
to keep Russia’s suspension in
place for the closing ceremony
on Sunday.
Bach said Russia’s ban
from Olympic participation
will automatically be lifted if
anti-doping officials do not
find any more Russian drug
cases at Pyeongchang, where
two Russians tested positive.
Russia’s national Olympic
Committee hailed Sunday’s
IOC vote and said it expected
its suspension to be lifted
“within the next few days”.
“According to the standing
order, it takes 72 hours to im-
plement the test procedure,” a
statement said.
Thomas Bach
The Russian question has
hung over Pyeongchang. The
country was banned for sys-
temic doping but 168 “clean”
Russians were allowed to com-
pete -- only for a curler and a
bobsledder to fail drugs tests.
But Bach said the IOC had
sent a “clear message” on Rus-
sia, who competed as “Olympic
Athletes from Russia” (OAR)
and are unable to fly the na-
tional flag at the closing cere-
mony following Sunday’s vote.
“I don’t think, quite frank-
ly, that these Olympic Winter
Games have been tainted by the
Russian affair because we had
no Russian team here. This was
a clear message,” Bach said.
The vote to keep Russia’s
ban in place for the time be-
ing followed a recommenda-
tion from the IOC’s executive
board, which met Saturday
and early Sunday to thrash out
Russia’s fate.
Bach said the positive tests
from curler Alexander Krushel-
nitsky, and women’s bobsleigh
pilot Nadezhda Sergeyeva, were
the “key factor” in the decision
not to immediately lift the ban.
But he added: “These are
cases of negligence. There is
no indication whatsoever of
systemic or systematic doping
here, or of any involvement of
the OAR leadership or... the
Russian Olympic Committee.”
Neither Krushelnitsky or
Sergeyeva contested the find-
ings of their doping tests, but
both are free to challenge any
eventual suspensions from
their sports. Both are provi-
sionally suspended.
Stanislav Pozdnyakov,
head of the Russian delega-
tion, echoed Bach when he
blamed “negligence rather
than malicious intent” for the
positive tests.
But Francesco Friedrich, a
German bobsledder who won
his second gold of the Games
on Sunday, had little sympathy.
“What should I say? I think
they have two more positive
doping tests. It’s their own
problem, they don’t have to do
it,” he said, just after the IOC
made its announcement.
“It’s not fair for all the other
guys, we fight for the medals.”
Honda LPGA after jaw surgery
AFP
CHONBURI, THAILAND
AMERICAN Jessica Ko-
rda fended off challengers to
emerge victorious in the Honda
LPGA tournament on Sunday
with a strong performance in
the final push that helped her
hold onto her lead.
After a somewhat uneven
start with two birdies and a
bogey, Korda sank four bird-
ies on the back nine including
a 25-footer on the 17th hole to
finish with a five-under-par 67.
Korda left the 72 holes at
the Siam Country Club in Thai-
land’s Chonburi province at
25-under, a new tournament
record and also her fifth LPGA
tour victory.
“I can’t believe it, today was
such a blur, I was just trying to
make birdies. I tried to relax,
Jessica Korda
but I was nervous,” Korda told
LPGA.com. “This was my first
event, my rookie year. I played
really, really well this week.”
The 24-year-old, who is
making her season debut after
jaw surgery, pushed ahead of a
four-way tie on the opening day
of the $1.6 million purse tour-
nament to card a 62 on day two.
During the third round she
made five birdies on the back
nine to make up for an early
bogey and entered the final day
with a four-stroke lead.
Korda crushed the hopes of
local favourites the Jutanugarn
sisters, though Moriya Jutanu-
garn managed to finish tied sec-
ond with American player Lexi
Thompson at 21-under.
Moriya was within a few
strokes of Korda but a bogey on
the 12th hole kept her just far
enough out of the top.
Korda’s own sister Nelly fin-
ished in a tie for 14th.

Tiger Woods says 69 gives him a shot at Honda Classic

AFP
MIAMI
TIGER Woods fired a one-un-
der par 69 in the third round of
the Honda Classic on Saturday,
and said the first sub-70 round
of his comeback gives him a
shot at leader Luke List.
List carded a four-under par
66 at PGA National for a seven-
under par total of 203.
Woods, seven shots back on
even par 210, insisted he wasn’t
out of the running on the de-
manding course in Palm Beach
Gardens, Florida.
“I put myself where I’ve got
a shot going into tomorrow,”
Woods said. “I’m going to have
to shoot something under par
for sure. If I can go ahead and
post a number early, you just
never know.”
The 14-time major cham-
pion notched his first score in
the 60s in nine rounds this year.
In fact, it’s his first score in
the 60s on the US PGA Tour
since he carded a 68 in the third
round of the 2015 Wyndham
Championship.
Since then, debilitating back
trouble had seen Woods largely
sidelined. He missed all of 2016
before an abortive comeback
bid in 2017 ended with spinal
fusion surgery last April.
So far in his latest comeback
he’s finished tied for 23rd at
Torrey Pines and missed the cut
last week in Los Angeles.
But Saturday’s round had
him feeling optimistic.
“That’s probably the high-
est score I could have shot to-
day,” Woods said. “I really hit it
good.”
Woods who hit nine of 14
fairways and 13 of 18 greens in
regulation.
Tiger Woods tees off on the “The hard part has been
3rd during the third round of trying to get the ball to go in
The Honda Classic golf tour- the hole,” Woods said. “These
nament at PGA National on greens are a little tricky.”
Saturday. (USA TODAY SPORTS) Woods made his first birdie
at the eighth, where he was
in the fairway off the tee and
struck his approach within six
feet. The birdie putt him just
three shots off the lead.
After he was unable to con-
vert birdie chances at 10 and 11,
he rolled in a 20-footer to save
par at the 12th.
He drained a 14-footer
for birdie at 13, but was in the
rough off the tee at the par-
three 15th and was unable to get
up and down for par after his
chip caught the fringe.
He missed the green en
route to a bogey at 17, but re-
bounded with a birdie on the
par-five 18th despite finding a
fairway bunker off the tee.
List seized sole possession
of the lead with a birdie from a
greenside bunker at the par-five
18th -- rebounding from a bo-
gey at 17.
His second straight 66 put
him one stroke in front of reign-
ing PGA Champion Justin Tho-
mas and former US Open win-
ner Webb Simpson.
Thomas’s five-under 65 was
a seven-stroke improvement
on his second-round 72. Simp-
son, who also shot 72 on Friday,
carded a 66.
“The course played a fair bit
easier, not as much wind,” said
Thomas, who had four of his six
birdies on PGA National’s tough
back nine.
30 Monday, February 26, 2018
Ever-hungry Kohli wants more from India
AFP
CAPE TOWN
INDIA captain Virat Kohli
refused to bask in his team's
success in South Africa as he
received the International
Cricket Council Test cham-
pionship mace for the second
year running.
Somewhat incongruously,
the mace was presented to
Kohli on Saturday at the end
of a triumphant limited overs
campaign. India won a one-
day international series 5-1
and a Twenty20 series 2-1.
Perhaps it was a reminder
to Kohli that second-ranked
South Africa had won a Test
series at the start of the tour.
"I'd say we are still 80
percent," Kohli said of the
Test team as he looked for-
ward to major challenges in
coming tours of England and
Australia later this year.
“When we are able to
achieve what we want to in
the two tours, we'll be more
content. But our 80 percent
is also exciting. To be a
world-class side, you have to
be 100 percent.”
Taylor, Santner
heroics get
Kiwis home
Hosts score
last-over win
over England in
first One-dayer
AFP
HAMILTON
A century by Ross Taylor and
lusty late hitting by Mitch
Santner delivered a last-
over victory to New Zealand
against England in their first
One-Day International in
Hamilton on Sunday.
In a match filled with
twists and turns, the outcome
hung in the balance until Sant-
er smacked a six in the final
over to get New Zealand home
with four balls to spare.
Rival captains Kane Wil-
liamson and Eoin Morgan both
said the initiative “ebbed and
flowed” throughout the match.
“There wasn’t much be-
tween the sides and I think
that’s what reflected in the
result,” added England skip-
per Morgan.
Taylor with 113 and
Latham (79) paved the way
for the New Zealand win and
when England produced a
middle-order collapse Sant-
ner hit a match-winning 45
off 27 deliveries.
Ben Stokes celebrated
his return to international
cricket with the crucial wicket
of Latham to snap a 178-run
stand with Taylor and have
New Zealand at 205 for four in
the 40th over.
They slipped further to
244 for seven before Santner
lashed out to chase down Eng-
land's 284 for eight.
“When we broke the part-
nership we knew we were
back in the game but taking
it towards the end we just
didn't have enough in the
tank,” said Morgan.
Williamson, who won the
toss and elected to bowl, ex-
pecting the dew to have an ef-
fect late in the day-night match,
singled out key moments which
went New Zealand's way, par-
ticularly with bowling late in the
England innings.
“We had to play a lot of
cricket before the dew came in
but I think it was a factor to-
night,” he said.
“A lot of credit to the
SCOREBOARD
ENGLAND
J. Roy b Santner
J. Bairstow c Taylor b Boult
J. Root b Munro
E. Morgan c Southee b Sodhi
B. Stokes c Taylor b Santner
J. Buttler run out (Southee)
M. Ali c Guptill b Sodhi
C. Woakes c and b Boult
D. Willey not out
T. Curran not out
Extras: (b1, lb4, w6)
TOTAL: (For 8 wkts, 50 overs)
Although the cut-off date
for the ICC rankings only
comes in April, India cannot
be overtaken. Apart from the
mace and the glory India will
collect a million dollars in
prize money.
An acknowledgement of
our success in the truest
format of the game.
Virat Kohli in his tweet
Kohli will leave South Af-
rica on Sunday having daz-
zled with his batting artistry
and his no-holds-barred cap-
taincy style.
It is doubtful whether any
visiting captain in modern
times has made a greater im-
pact than Kohli, who stated
on arrival that his India team
feared no opposition nor any
conditions. "We look at the
pitch and adapt to the condi-
tions," he said. "Every game
is a home game. It's as simple
as that."
New Zealand’s Colin Munro celebrates dismissing England’s Joe Root
during their first One-Day International match at the Sneddon Park in
Hamilton on Sunday. (REUTERS)
death bowling. To keep them
to 70-something in the last
10 was a very good effort,”
Williamson added.
“It was a brilliant partner-
ship (from Taylor and Latham)
but also from Mitch Santner at
the end to bring us home.”
New Zealand were in trou-
ble at the start of their run
chase as they fell to three for
27 in the 10th over.
Taylor, with his 18th cen-
tury, and Latham clawed the
home side back into the game
with their 178-run stand be-
fore Stokes stepped up to re-
move Latham for 79.
Latham's dismissal
sparked a middle-order col-
lapse with three wickets falling
for 10 runs.
As Taylor started to run
out of partners, he tried to
up the pace to get New Zea-
land home but with 25 balls
remaining and New Zealand
needing a further 45 runs, he
was stumped on 113.
But if England had a whiff of
Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Bairstow), 2-89 (Roy), 3-104
49 (Morgan), 4-139 (Stokes), 5-181 (Root), 6-228 (Ali),
4 7-253 (Woakes), 8-284 (Buttler).
71 Did not bat: A. Rashid
8 Bowling: Southee 10-1-47-0 (2w), Boult 10-0-64-2
12 (3w), Santner 10-0-54-2, de Grandhomme 4-0-20-0,
79 Sodhi 10-0-63-2 (1w), Munro 6-0-31-1.
28 NEW ZEALAND
11 M. Guptill c Stokes b Woakes
11 C. Munro c Buttler b Woakes
0 K. Williamson c Buttler b Willey
11 R. Taylor st Buttler b Rashid 113
284 T. Latham c Root b Stokes
ICC Cricket Hall of Famers Sunil Gavaskar (left) and Graeme Pollock (right) present the ICC mace for
Test championship to India captain Virat Kohli at a ceremony in Cape Town at the conclusion of India’s
tour of South Africa on Saturday. (ICC-CRICKET.COM)
His early press confer-
ence set the tone for the
tour. Articulate, occasionally
combative with journalists
who challenged, for instance,
his selection policies, Kohli
stayed true to his mantra of
playing positive cricket and
not taking a backward step.
victory, Santner had other ideas
with a rapid two fours and four
sixes to get New Zealand home.
Stokes, returning for his first
international since a nightclub
incident five months ago, had an
undistinguished turn at bat after
New Zealand won the toss and
elected to bowl.
The all-rounder lasted 22
balls and was gone for 12 while
the foundation of the England
innings was laid by Root, with 71
off 75 deliveries and Buttler who
belted 79 off 65 before he was
run out off the penultimate ball.
England were looking at a
score of more than 300 until
tight New Zealand bowling re-
stricted them to just 31 runs be-
tween the 42nd and 48th overs.
New Zealand were imme-
diately in trouble at the start of
their chase when Colin Munro
belted a six off the second ball
he faced and was gone two balls
later without adding to his score.
Kane Williamson only
managed eight off 23 balls and
Martin Guptill went for 13.
H. Nicholls c Roy b Curran
C. de Grandhomme c Buttler b Stokes
M. Santner not out
T. Southee not out
Extras: (lb5, w8)
TOTAL: (For 7 wickets; 49.2 overs)
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (C Munro), 2-27 (Williamson), 3-27
(Guptill), 4-205 (Latham), 5-206 (Nicholls), 6-215 (de
13 Grandhomme), 7-244 (Taylor).
6 Bowling: Willey 6-1-26-1, Woakes 8.2-0-47-2 (1w),
8 Curran 10-0-65-1 (2w), Stokes 8-0-43-2 (2w), Ali 5-0-
30-0, Rashid 10-0-55-1 (1w), Root 2-0-16-0 (2w).
79 Toss: NZ. Result: New Zealand won by 3 wickets.
Sports
He did not complain
about the seam-friendly Test
pitches prepared for South
Africa's fast bowlers, even
though ICC match referee
Chris Broad rated the pitches
for the first two Tests "aver-
age" and his successor Andy
Pycroft condemned the pitch
Smith to lead
Rajasthan
Royals in IPL
AFP
NEW DELHI
AUSTRALIA captain Steve
Smith will lead the Rajasthan
Royals in the 2018 Indian Pre-
mier League season, the club
announced on Saturday.
Smith will join Australian
spin legend Shane Warne,
who was announced as
the team’s mentor earlier
this year.
The eight teams in the
cash-rich IPL – boosted re-
cently by a new five-year
$2.5-billion media deal –
spent almost $70 million at
an auction for players ahead
of the Twenty20 tournament,
which runs from April 7 to
May 27.
“We came to the conclu-
sion that Steve Smith would
be the ideal candidate for the
job,” Zubin Bharucha, Rajas-
than Royals’ head of cricket,
said Saturday.
“Smith has been incredible
as captain of Australia. He is
someone who leads the team
by example.”
The Australian skipper, in
a statement released by the
club, said he was looking for-
ward to leading the team.
“It’s an honour and privi-
lege to be leading (the) Roy-
als and I'm looking forward to
working with the King (Shane
Warne),” Smith said.
In 2008, Warne captained
the Royals to victory in the in-
augural season of what is now
the world's most watched do-
mestic T20 league.
The Royals, along with
the Chennai Super Kings,
were banned for two IPL
seasons over a spot-fixing
scandal.
They have put together a
strong squad ahead of their
return for the 2018 sea-
son, bagging top names like
England all-rounder Ben
Stokes at the player auction
last month.
QEF honours Italian course designer
0
2
45
8
13
287
Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) President Hamad Abdulrahman al Attiyah with Italian course designer Uliano Vezzani and others after the
felicitation on Saturday. Vezzani along with Qatar’s Abdul Kareem Sabri, Mohammed Abdulrahman and Saeed Alrashdi had designed the course
for the three-day HH The Emir’s Sword equestrian competition which concluded on Saturday.
best of the worst conditions Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal
by winning the third Test. proved a master stroke.
Then they outclassed South Kohli's form obscured
Africa in the white ball games. flaws in the rest of the Indian
Kohli was the leading run-scor- batting. None of the other
er for either side in both the specialist batsmen averaged
Tests and one-day games. He 30 in the Tests but Shikhar
showed resolve, sound tech- Dhawan shone in the one-
nique and courage in difficult day matches. Rohit Sharma
conditions in the Tests, scoring managed a single impressive
286 runs, including the only innings, a century in the fifth
century of the series, at an av- one-day international after
erage of 47.66. Kohli was out for 36, his low-
He exploded on more est score of the series.
batsmen-friendly pitches in the Although Kohli bristled at
one-dayers, striking a world the suggestion that India did
record bilateral series total of not select their best possible
558 runs at a staggering aver- side for the first two Tests,
age of 186.00, scoring at a frac- Ajinkya Rahane's batting in
tion under a run a ball. the third Test suggested he
His teammates responded should have played earlier,
to Kohli's example. The bowl- while Kumar's omission for
ers, in particular, were out- the second Test was baffling.
standing. Given his chance Kohli and several other
in the Tests, Jasprit Bumrah senior players have been rest-
used for the third Test at the showed he was much more ed for a triangular T20 series
Wanderers as "poor". than a good one-day bowler, starting in Sri Lanka on March
Kohli's response was that while Mohammed Shami, 6. The lucrative interlude of the
sub-standard pitches helped Ishant Sharma and Bhuv- Indian Premier League starts
his bowlers as much as they neshwar Kumar all troubled in April. Kohli has shown that
helped the South Africans. the South African batsmen. ambition is a stronger driving
Although India lost the first In the one-day games, In- force than money - and he ex-
two Tests, they were com- dia's bold gambit of picking pects his teammates to follow
petitive in both and made the two wrist spinners in Kuldeep his example.
Rohit to captain India for
Sri Lanka T20 tri-series
Kohli, Dhoni
given rest
lection
commit-
tee said
in a state-
ment.
AFP “The The Squad for
NEW DELHI h i g h -
perform- T20I series
INDIA’S Rohit Sharma a n c e
will captain the coun- t e a m Rohit Sharma (captain),
try's 15-member Twen- h a s Shikhar Dhawan (vice-capt)
KL Rahul
ty20 squad for the tri-
nation series against
s u g -
gested Suresh Raina
Sri Lanka and that ade- Manish Pandey
Bangladesh next quate rest should Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeepter)
month, selec- be given to our Deepak Hooda
tors announced fast bowlers to Washington Sundar,
on Sunday. help improve ath- Yuzvendra Chahal
The Indian letic performance, Axar Patel
selectors announced that maximise perform-
some team seniors in- ance, maximise rest Vijay Shankar
cluding regular captain and prevent injury,” Shardul Thakur
Virat Kohli had been Prasad added. Jaydev Unadkat
rested for the series. The tri-nation Mohammed Siraj
“We have kept in mind series will be played Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper).
the workload and upcom- at Sri Lanka's R Pre-
ing schedule while finalising madasa Stadium.
the team for Nidahas Trophy India, who lost Africa 2-1, subsequently won
2018,” M.S.K Prasad, chair- the Test series both ODIs and T20 series this
man of the all-India senior se- against South February.
TENNIS TAKES
Khachanov wins in Marseille for second career title
PARIS: Russia’s Karen Khachanov claimed his second career title on Sunday when he beat France’s
Lucas Pouille 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in the final of the Marseille ATP tournament. The 21-year-old Khachanov, the
Dubai-based world number 47, won his maiden title at Chengdu in 2016. Khachanov hit 16 aces in the
one-hour, 49-minute clash to deny Pouille who was the champion in nearby Montpellier just two weeks
ago. “It’s the second title in my career, so I am extremely happy,” said Khachanov. “I just need to keep
working and keep going. I think both of us played a good match, really solid, and just a few points
made the difference.” (AFP)
Schwartzman, Verdasco set up Rio Open final
RIO DE JANEIRO: Argentine Diego Schwartzman beat Nicolas Jarry 7-5 6-2 on Saturday to reach the
final of the Rio Open and set up a showdown with Fernando Verdasco after the Spaniard beat Fabio
Fognini 6-1 7-5. The semi-final results mean the tournament will have a new winner and give either
Schwartzman or Verdasco their first ATP tour title in more than a year. Verdasco, at 34 the oldest of
the four semi-finalists, broke Fognini in the first game of the match and then romped through the first
set. Italian Fognini, who knocked out home favourite Thomaz Bellucci in the first round, improved in the
second set but could not stop Verdasco from breaking in the decisive 12th game to wrap up the match.
World number 23 Schwartzman was too good for Chilean Jarry, who was aiming to reach his first ATP
final. The Argentine broke early in the first set before closing out the opener and then overran the
22-year-old in the second. (REUTERS)
 Sports Monday, February 26, 2018 31
COMMERCIAL BANK QATAR MASTERS 2018 GOES TO STEADY ENGLISHMAN PEPPERELL

Harradine’s QGC design stands the test of time SCORES (AFTER 4TH DAY)
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Telecast reaches world, said: “Congratulations to, Eddie

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households cial Bank Qatar Masters. The design of
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PARATORE Renato
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8 HEISELE Sebastian GER -14 67 68 71 68 274 41,475 € 33,605
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK my favourite projects. It very much used 10 BALDWIN Matthew ENG -13 68 70 68 69 275 32,433 € 26,279
DOHA the natural rugged land and is one of 10 LORENZO-VERA Mike FRA -13 68 68 69 70 275 32,433 € 26,279
the few golf courses that has not relied 10 OTAEGUI Adrian ESP -13 67 66 73 69 275 32,433 € 26,279
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21st edition of the Commercial Bank boundaries. 13 HORSEY David ENG -12 71 68 65 72 276 25,258 € 20,465
Qatar Masters with the iconic Mother “I am especially delighted that the 13 NIXON Matthew ENG -12 69 68 69 70 276 25,258 € 20,465
of Pearl Trophy safely in Englishman golf course has stood up to the test of 13 PAVAN Andrea ITA -12 68 69 67 72 276 25,258 € 20,465
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Eddie Pepperell’s possession after a time with the game of golf changing so 19 BJÖRK Alexander SWE -11 70 69 69 69 277 19,308 € 15,644
week of captivating golf at Doha Golf much in the 20 years since it opened 19 FERNANDEZ Scott ESP -11 69 70 71 67 277 19,308 € 15,644
Club. with the length by some of the best play- 19 QUIROS Alvaro ESP -11 66 70 70 71 277 19,308 € 15,644
There were ups and downs, twists ers in golf through modern equipment 19 RAI Aaron ENG -11 65 73 69 70 277 19,308 € 15,644
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the key factor for such enthralling action Oliver Fisher of England chips during the fourth day’s play at the Commercial Bank being elite athletes. 19 WALLACE Matt ENG -11 69 71 67 70 277 19,308 € 15,644
is the exceptional golf course on which Qatar Masters in Doha on Sunday. (PHOTOGRAPHS: HANSON K JOSEPH) “The golf course nines were reversed 19 WARING Paul ENG -11 68 70 70 69 277 19,308 € 15,644
the drama was played out. by the European Tour for the Commer- 19 WATTEL Romain FRA -11 71 69 71 66 277 19,308 € 15,644
Peter Harradine’s design is a classic finished tied fourth, said: “It's a tough some good approach play.” cial Bank Qatar Masters and the golf Selected
risk and reward golf course on which course. The greens are really firm and South Africa’s Erik Van Rooyen club has now followed that for the other 28 CROCKER Sean USA -10 67 68 67 76 278 15,313 € 12,407
good golf will profit but errant shots will quick but it helps to make some good added: “It's quite a tricky course and 51 weeks of the year. The change to the 39 GALLACHER Stephen SCO -8 68 66 74 72 280 10,850 € 8,791
be unrelentingly punished, especially scores if you are feeling it.” my first time I'm here so it's really fun golf course is adding a mere 12 yards 53 JAIDEE Thongchai THA -6 70 70 69 73 282 5,979 € 4,845
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with the wind getting up, and it received Englishman Aaron Rai, who ended out there. If you don't play within your- by adding a couple of new tees on three 61 LAWRIE Paul SCO -4 68 72 71 73 284 4,025 € 3,261
high praise this week during a tourna- the week in a share of 19th place, said: self the ball can get away from you. The holes. It is virtually as it was in 1998 61 WHITE Joshua ENG -4 67 73 69 75 284 4,025 € 3,261
ment that was broadcast around the “The course itself is very good. There are course is in really good shape.” and is virtually as it was when Andrew 72 MOLINARI Edoardo ITA -2 66 74 70 76 286 2,621 € 2,123
world to 518 million households. some tricky holes but there are some op- Harradine, whose company has Coltart (Scotland) won the inaugural 76 KARLSSON Robert SWE 0 68 71 71 78 288 2,610 € 2,112
Frenchman Gregory Havret, who portunities if you drive it well and have designed over 200 courses around the Qatar Masters,” said Harradine.

Al Adaid Desert Challenge draws big participation

The event to
consist of cycling
& running at the
scenic Sealine
course
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
THE third Al Adaid Desert
Challenge, classified by the
UCI as 3 category event, has
attracted a record number of
participants not only from Qa-
tar but also from outside.
Scheduled for March 2, the
one-day event, which earlier
had only cycling over 35 kms,
has added running on a course
of 26.7 kms to make it more
appealing.
The event is organised by
Qatar Cyclists under the pa-
tronage of Qatar’s Ministry
of Culture and Sport and in
cooperation with Qatar Tour-
ism Authority (QTA), Qatar
Cycling and Triathlon Federa-
tion (QCTF) and International
Cycling Federation (UCI).
Participants of this year’s
cycling race will need to over-
come seven gruelling sand
dunes and several flat sandy
patches with a total distance
of 38.5 km - a route that boasts
the reputation of the UCI Class
3 event as the toughest off-
road mountain bike race in the
region.
Last year, the event had
drawn big international inter-
est and the organisers are ex-
pecting about 400 participants
in both the competitions. The
2017 Elite Men’s champion
Erik Dekker has been an-
nounced as the official ambas-
sador and the Dutch veteran
star is garnering a big interna-
tional support through social
media channels for the 2018
edition. The Elite Women’s
champion Pia Sundstedt of
Finland will also try to defend
her title.
Dr Jamal al Khanji, Man-
aging Director of Al Adaid
Desert Challenge, said in a
press conference on Sunday,
Executive Officer Jassim Ali al
Moftah and Manar Khalifa al
Muraikhi, Director, PR, Brand
and Corporate Communica-
tions in Ooredoo.
Dr Abdulaziz al Kuwari
said, “We wanted to add run-
ning to this event last year but
it was not possible. But this
time, when we prepared the
track, we did in such a way that
it can be used by the runners
as well.
“The event will help the
Qatari runners who are aim-
ing to contest in the upcoming
Samla Desert Extreme Trek.
They can assess their prepara-
tions through our event. Be-
sides that we are having the
Al Adaid Desert Challenge MD Dr Jamal al Khanji (second right), Qatar Cyclists President Dr Abdulaziz al National MTB Championship
Kuwari (second left) and QCTF President Dr Mohammed Jeham al Kuwari during a press conference in for the first time during the Al
Doha on Sunday. (JALAL PATHIYOOR) Adaid Desert Challenge and
there will be a Qatari winner,”
“We’re very excited about this event is growing rapidly and Also present during the he added.
year’s event on March 2 at the we’re very pleased to add that press conference were: Dr Ab- Talking about the cycling
Sealine course. We’ve included this year we’re expecting a dulaziz al Kuwari, President of contest, he said, “We have got
running this year so that we much bigger participation Qatar Cyclists, Qatar Cycling very encouraging response this
can reach out to more partici- from Qatar and outside as and Triathlon President Dr time after a hugely successful
pants. well. The preparations are in Mohammed Jeham al Kuwari, event last year. Lots of inter-
“The reputation of our full swing,” he added. Doha Insurance Group Chief national cyclists are coming
to take part to collect impor-
tant UCI ranking points. We’re
hoping to have about 300 cy-
clists and 100 runners, despite
the political crisis in the region.
“Last year, we had partici-
pants from three countries in
the region. They are not here
this time. So I feel this number
is very big and we’re quite de-
lighted about the growth,” Dr
Abdulaziz added.
During the 2017 edition,
around 40 Qatari riders com-
peted in the race and they
achieved impressive results,
including a sixth place finish
for Abdullah Afif in the UCI
Elite Category.
Dr. Mohammed Jeham
al Kuwari, President of Qatar
Cycling and Triathlon Federa-
tion commented “It is amaz-
ing to see the rapid progress
of this event, mountain bikes
are more popular than ever in
Qatar, and the addition of Al
Adaid Desert Challenge to UCI
calendar last year was a proof
that we are heading in the right
direction.”
32 Monday, February 26, 2018 Sports

Qatar edge Denmark by a whisker

The home team to clash with Bulgaria and the winner will advance to the next stage of ISF World Schools Handball
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
QATAR edged Denmark 19-18
in their final Group A match at
the ISF World Schools Hand-
ball Championship on Sunday.
The home team beat
Morocco in their opening
match before losing to Poland
and Austria.
With the win, Qatar will
take on Bulgaria for a place in
the next phase of the competi-
tion on Monday.
Defending boys' cham-
pion Turkey beat Brazil 22-19,
while Greece, Austria, Israel
and Germany all sealed im-
portant wins.
In the girls' draw, Hun-
gary continued their run of
wins with comfortable 37-19
thrashing of Austria.
Greece pipped Sweden 23-
22, while Denmark made light
work of France 40-17. The
Czech Republic, Croatia, Ger-
many and Brazil all picked up
wins in Sunday's matches.
Defending champions Tur-
key are clubbed with Brazil,
Greece and Belgium in Group
C.
France, the tournament’s
most successful sides with six
titles and runners-up in the
2016 edition, are with Croatia,
Serbia and Bulgaria in Group
C, while Germany, Czech Re-
public, Romania and Georgia
complete Group D.
Hosts Qatar, Denmark,
Austria, Poland and Morocco
are in the same group in the
tournament organised by Qa-
tar School Sports Association
(QSSA), in technical collabo-
ration with Qatar Handball
Federation.

Action shots of the Qatar vs Denmark match during the ISF World Schools Handball Championship in Doha on Sunday. Qatar won 19-18.

Khaiat is ‘King of Drift’ at Red

Bull Car Park Drift qualifier
Qutami finishes
2nd; Mohtaseb 3rd
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
MOHAMAD al Khaiat claimed
the title of ‘King of Drift’ at the
Qatar’s 2018 Red Bull Car
Park Drift. The series returned
to Qatar on its 10th anniversa-
ry for a sensational qualifying
round that drew over 5,000
motorsports fans to the Lo-
sail Circuit Sports Club. The
event was held under the sup-
port and supervision of the
Qatar Motor and Motorcycle
Federation (QMMF) and in
partnership with Vodafone,
Losail Circuit Sports Club,
TOTAL, Falken Tires, Q Tire,
Qatar’s Red Bull Car Park Drift champion Mohamad al Khaiat is flanked by second-placed Mohammed and Chevrolet Qatar.
Qutami (left) and third-place winner Abdullah al Mohtaseb on the podium in Losail. The event featured re-
markable rally and drift ace
Abdo Feghali, who returned to
direct the competition while
giving the spectators a daz-
zling signature show.
Khaiat rightfully earned
first place with 358 points in
his BMW M2, after putting on
an unforgettable run that set
him apart from other contest-
ants. Starting with 25 drivers
initially, the event brought
forth both a competitive and
fun atmosphere for motor-
sports enthusiasts.
Khaiat’s captivating per-
formance swayed the judges
and the fans throughout all
three rounds. Running up in
second place was Mohammed
Qutami who drove a BMW
E30 with enough style to se-
cure 344 points as Abdullah
al Mohtaseb came in third in
Nissan 370Z for 271 points.
Sultan al Mureikhi, Executive
Director of Qatar Motor and
Motorcycle Federation, pre-
sented the trophies.
Khaiat said after the event,
“The Red Bull Car Park Drift
2015 marked my entry to the
world of drifting, and winning
that title was a motivation for
me not to give up. Now in 2018,
winning the title again, I would
say everyone has the drifting
fire in them, and I know when
exactly to ignite the spark.”
The judges' panel was made
up of rally veteran John Pierre
Nasrallah, T2 Champion Adel
Hussein and Motorsports ex-
perts Amr al Hmad and Yusif
Basil. Judging was based on
an all-rounded criterion that
assessed the drivers’ skill, style
and vehicle appearance.
The “Symphony of Sound
and Speed” was conducted in
partnership with Vodafone
Qatar. For the first time in
Qatar, audience experienced
the fusion of sounds, speed
and smoke in a symphony
that brought together tradi-
tional and digital music in-
struments enhanced by the
raw sound of drifting cars.
Professional drifter and Red
Bull athlete Abdo Feghali
launched this experience
with his spectacular display
of control and prowess that
stunned the crowd.
Red Bull athletes Brian
Kapper and Petr Kraus also
contributed to the engaging
scene. The two put together
an exhibition of trials that
pit motorbikes and mountain
bikes head to head.

Doha likely to host historic

Rugby League Test in October
VICTOR BOLORUNDURO
DOHA
WITH increasing interest in
rugby in Qatar, the country is
likely to witness another inter-
national event as the current
Australian coach and former
rugby league international Mal
Meninga is considering an ex-
pression of interest to host an
end-of-season Test in Qatar in
October, several media reports
from Australia indicated.
Meninga is exploring the
possibility of a charity match
against Tonga to raise money
for the victims of Cyclone Gita.
Meninga, who is widely
regarded as one of the finest
The venue, which will also
be used during the 2022
FIFA World Cup, is where
the Socceroos lost the
2011 Asian Cup final 1-0
to Japan, the Post Courier
reported.
players in the game's history,
is the only player in history
to be selected for four Kanga-
roo Tours. He toured with the
Kangaroos in 1982, 1986, 1990
and 1994.
A proposal for the Kiwis
to play a test in Denver, USA
looks to be shot down now
that Qatar is on the radar, the
reports said.
The Kiwis are set to play
the Kangaroos in New Zea-
land at the end of the year in
the first trans-Tasman clash
on home soil since 2014, but
Meninga suggests the game
should be moved to the Mid-
dle East where the Kiwis could
play the World Cup champi-
ons there as a warm-up for
their three-Test series against
England in the UK.
It is likely Doha would host
the Test featuring Kangaroos
stars Cameron Smith and Greg
Inglis, at Khalifa International
Stadium.
The venue, which will also
be used during the 2022 FIFA
World Cup, is where the Soc-
ceroos lost the 2011 Asian Cup
final 1-0 to Japan, the Post
Courier reported.
According to the daily,
Meninga has the support of
the players, who have shown
a renewed sense of passion
and commitment towards the
Kangaroos jersey since his ap-
pointment as coach following
Tim Sheens’s reign. Given the
timing of the proposed Test,
it’s unlikely the NRL clubs will
be opposed to the idea as some
have been towards the mid-
season Test between New Zea-
land and England in Denver
during the standalone Origin Current Australian coach and former rugby league international Mal Meninga (centre) is considering an
II weekend. expression of interest to host an end-of-season Test in Qatar in October, media reports suggest.
 Monday, February 26, 2018

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Designs by Stitch

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A Stitch team member works on a design
  

LEZIMA GOMES
DOHA


TITCH Creative Studio, the
first professional fashion stu-
dio in Qatar, was established
last year. It caters to Fine
Arts graduates in two ways:
employs them to design for the studio,
or, guides them in setting up their own
business/brand.
Nayla Ahmad, the brain behind Stitch
Creative Studio said that the studio lays
emphasis on education, research and
crafting new designs. “Since opening the
studio, the Stitch team has employed
two graduates from VCUQ. The studio’s
primary aim is to put the Made in Qatar
label on high-quality fashion products,”
she explained. The designs created in-
house are then translated into garments
to be sold online, as also in a studio situ-
ated in Bali, Indonesia.
Professionally, the Stitch Creative
Studio
offers
brand devel-
opment services
to local designers.
That also includes studies
on patternmaking and sampling services.
“We have a rigorous selection process
and have close relationships with the
designers we work with. Also, we are
always looking to include new designers.
Anyone interested can just drop in their
CVs to contactus@stitchcreativestudio.
com” she said.
Educationally, they offer begin-
ner, intermediate and advanced sewing
classes to the public. “We
believe in the joy, power and
importance of making garments and
want to share that experience with oth- Sleevless shirt
ers. We are very proud to say that we use muslin
original patterns and designs generated
in-house for all our sewing classes. We
carefully develop everyday clothing that
we believe people will enjoy sewing and
be proud to wear,” said Ahmad.
 *%0)('*)"
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Ahmad, who is also an assistant
professor in the Fashion Department
at VCUQ, holds a Fashion Design and
Merchandising Degree from the college,
and advanced degrees in Patternmaking,
Construction, Garment Technology and
Design Research from Central Saint Mar-
tins and London College of Fashion.
Ahmad said that at Stitch, they focus
on ready-to-wear designs. “The main
characteristics we embrace are moder-
nity, versatility, and comfort. We endeav-
our to make unique pieces that people
will not find in stores,” she said.
What makes Stitch Creative Studio
unique is their diverse and strong team.
“We have fashion design degrees from
accredited institutions and fashion indus-
try experience. The studio is local. Most
importantly, we all share a strong com-
mitment to fashion and more specifically
the fashion industry in Qatar. We see the
future, and it is a bright one,” said Ahmad.
The studio is working towards be-
coming a local resource for fashion
production and a base for local designers
and professionals. “I envision it a place
where ideas can be conceived and real-
ised from start to finish,” she said. The
Stitch team is dedicated to creating their
own designs and sources fabrics interna-
tionally. They rarely take custom-made
orders and when they do, they usually
have a national aspect to them (eg for
National Sport Day).
The studio faced a lot of challenges
coing up and continues to do so. “One
of the main challenges we are currently
facing is space. I love our current studio
in Katara but our operation is outgrow-
ing it fast and I have not been able to find
a suitable alternative. Outside, the rent is
outrageously high,” Ahmad explained.
Meanwhile, their upcoming collec-
Work stations at Stitch Creative Studio
Garments created by the team at Stitch
tion, Mama Moza, is resortwear, which
is currently in production for a March
release. Ahmad explained with a laugh
“Quirky as it may seem our muse is a
Banana. The collection aims to make you
smile, maybe even laugh. We intend to
achieve that by using unusual peculiar
prints and lots of colour.”
Stitch Creative Studio is open to the
public and has a lot of upcoming classes.
“All new classes will launch when the
new website, www.stitchcreativestudio.
com, launches in a couple of months.
Stay tuned, we have a wonderful selec-
tion and range and look forward to
meeting sewing enthusiast in Qatar,”
explained Ahmad.
“We would love to hear your ideas
about what you would be interested in
learning. Email us what you would like
to see offered and your preferred tim-
ings. Contact us@stitchcreativestudio.
com.” she said.
Speaking about future plans, she
said, “We will launch a t-shirt brand, a
collaborative men’s bow tie brand, and a
sewing supplies’ shop. The fabrics sold in
the shop will be available in large quanti-
ties to facilitate local production.”
(Cover photo: stitch team member works on a
design)
 
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TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
M
OMPAKERS Qatar (KQ),
Indonesian women photog-
raphy enthusiasts in Qatar,
celebrated its third anniver-
sary recently. KQ’s 32 mem-
bers are mostly wives of Indonesian
expatriates working in various sectors
such as banking, trade, services, infra-
structures, hospitalities and oil and gas
industry.
Formed on Janauary 7, 2015, Kom-
pak means ‘always together’, in Indo-
nesian language (Bahasa). KQ is part
of Upload Kompakan (UK) based in
Indonesia.
Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar
Air Marshal (Retd) HE Muhammad
Basri Sidehabi congratulated KQ on
its third Anniversary. The envoy wel-
comed and appreciated the efforts of
the Indonesian community in Qatar
(Permiqa) led by Edwin Kurniawan
with its various community organisa-
tions (religious, sport, professional,
educational and cultural) for partici-
pating and supporting the activities of
the embassy.
Upload Kompakan (UK) was
founded on September 2014 by Echi
Sofyan and her three friends. UK is a
group of photographers for showcas-
ing their creativity through Insta-
gram, which currently, has more than
141,000 members. Members of the
UK are spread all over Indonesia and
even abroad, from Europe, America,
Australia, Asia, including Qatar.
In celebrating its third anniversary,
KQ adopted the theme ‘Kompakers
Qatar Moving Up’ by holding various
activities, such as a photo contest for
KQ members, photo contest for UK
members, and also anniversary cer-
emony followed by a food photography
workshop and natural light workshop
by Qatar’s top food photographer, Mo-
hammed J al Ansary at Double Tree by
Hilton Doha hotel.
According to embassy official Boy
Dharmawan, as representatives of
the Indonesian people and its gov-
ernment, the envoy keeps urging the
community to be good residents by
obeying all rules and regulations of the
host country, as well as maintaining
unity and integrity among themselves
in Qatar.
3'"13)1&3'
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TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK


N keeping with the national objective of promoting a healthy lifestyle
among the people, the Springfield Nursery celebrated its Annual Sports
Day recently. During the fun-filled day, children participated in various
races and drills. The sports day activities included various sports, such
as running race, bursting the balloons, frog race, playing with colours,
fill your basket etc. We strongly believe that for the holistic development of
a child, sports are equally important as academics. The Annual Sports Day
helps children explore their hidden interests as they indulge in healthy com-
petition with each other.
 
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TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

OHA Toastmasters Club, the
first club of Qatar, is all set
to welcome and implement
Pathways, the new educa-
tion programme launched by
Toastmasters International. Pathways
Ambassador Anil Nair and Club Path-
ways Guide Nisamudheen S A presented
an informative and explanatory module
on the new programme in the presence
of District Program Quality Director,
Rajeswar Sundaresan, DTM.
The Toastmasters Pathways Learning
Experience features interactive content,
engaging videos, skill-building activi-
ties and projects and powerful tools for
tracking the progress and growth of indi-
viduals. A wider choice of 10 different
learning paths is available as compared
to two in the traditional programme. A
Ì

 ‘ULTIMATE ELTON AND THE ROCKET BAND’
TORBA FARMERS MARKET
When: Till February 2018
Time: 9 am to 4 pm (Thur) | 8:30 am to 10:30 am
and 2 pm to 5 pm )Fri)
Venue: Farmers Market Qatar, Ceremonial Court -
Qatar Foundation
Admission: Free
Torba Farmers Market will be an open air, weekly
farmers market every Thursday and Friday until
February in Qatar Foundation. It will be open to
the public. By creating a community around local
food, Torba Market promotes the consumption
of local food, thereby giving livelihood to lo-
Pathways kit was presented to Niloufer
Samal, Vice President Education and
cal farmers and enhances food knowledge and
culture throughout Qatar. Everyone is welcome.
When: March 1
Time: 7:30 pm
Venue: Radisson Blu Hotel Giwana Ballroom
Admission: Tickets (QR390/person including
international buffet and selected beverage)
Be flabbergasted at the performance of Elton
John tribute singer Paul Bacon as The Ultimate
Elton & The Rocket Band brings you classic hits
like Candle in the Wind, Don’t Let the Sun Go
Down on Me, I’m Still Standing, Your Song and
Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting. “Momentar-
ily believing it was Elton himself. And when he
started to sing, I was even more convinced”
John Reid, Elton’s manager for 28 years. For
tickets and reservations, call 44281555.
DOHA JEWELLERY AND WATCHES EXHIBITION
When: Till February 26
Venue: Doha Exhibition and Convention Center
Admission: Free
More than 400 international luxury brands will
display their finest work, special editions and
unique pieces, alongside the most talented
emerging local jewellery designers at the Doha
Jewellery and Watches Exhibition. This unique
3'"13)1&3'
Khaliq Burhan, Secretary. educational organisation that teaches public
Toastmasters International is a non-profit speaking and leadership skills.
M1*4H&1'(
H)C+C$*)-(L*K
KERALITE Engineers Forum (KEF) , Qatar conducted its first
one- day drama camp by renowned theatre group in Qatar,
Remembrance. It was conducted in two batches, one for children
and one for adults. This full-day programme was compiled and
directed by Krishnanunni at the Mystic Art Centre, Doha. (TNN)
PERSPECTIVES - CONTEMPORARY
WOMEN ARAB ARTISTS EXHIBIT
When: Till March 19
Time: 9 am to 7 pm
Venue: Art 29 at W Doha Hotel and Residences
Admission: Free
Perspectives showcases the artworks of 11 female
Arab artists representing seven Arab countries. The
exhibition is presented by Al Markhiya Art Gallery.
HEC PARIS EXECUTIVE SHORT PROGRAM
When: March 28-29
Venue: Tornado Tower, West Bay
HEC Paris in Qatar is offering an Ex-
ecutive Short Program in ‘Leading Lead-
ers through Complexity’ with Dr Michelle
Zandvoort. Course Tuition Fees $2,195
KARTING AT LOSAIL CIRCUIT SPORTS CLUB
When: Every Thursday & Friday until May 31
Time: 5 pm to 10 pm
Venue: Losail Circuit Sports Club
Admission: QR125 for adults for a 15-minute ses-
exhibition is open to all jewellery and time pieces
sion | QR25 for childdren for a 5-minute session
connoisseurs, and represents an unmissable
Karting action is back again for the start of the win-
opportunity for brands and designers to meet
ter for all the adrenaline junkies in Qatar looking for
with their public in a convivial and exclusive
some track action at the Losail Circuit Sports Club.
atmosphere. Visit www.djwe.qa for more details.
A karting track for adults juniors are available.
 D)*&4H'*$4
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DOHA

The candle-making workshop with Paolo Terenzi.
Paolo demonstrates proper candle-making techniques to guests.

LUE Salon recently hosted
Paolo Terenzi of the legendary
Italian fragrance and lifestyle
brand Tiziana Terenzi, to hold
a candle-making workshop
for media, fashionistas and social media
influencers in Qatar. Tiziana Terenze is a
family-owned niche brand of fragrances
with products like candles, perfumes and
home products.
Paolo Terenzi is the director and the
main perfumer or the ‘nose’ of the com-
pany. Terenzi, a professional musician
with degrees in law and philosophy with
backgrounds of chemistry and physics, has
worked with top international fashion and
beauty brands before launching his own
perfume within his company brand.
During the candle-making workshop,
he taught guests on how to make the
Tiziana Terenzi classic, The Mini. It is their
smallest candle and comes in either white
or black glass with their logo embossed in
24-carat gold.
Terenzi began the workshop by ex-
plaining the different types of wax that
they use for their candles.
“This is a special kind of wax we use,
which is organic and non-toxic. It also
burns so cleanly that when the candle is
burned out, you can reuse the beautiful
glass container as even a drinking glass,”
he said as he cut up the large wax slabs and
heated them in a kettle, reminding guests
not to overheat the wax as that can destroy
the composition of the wax.
He went on to add fragrances and even
a ‘secret ingredient’ to the hot wax which
he said is responsible for the long-lasting
fragrance of the candle. For the wick of the
candle, Terenze used a flat wooden wick
instead of the commonly used cotton.
“There are two types of wood in this
wick. The first type will enhance the scent
while the other type of wood, produces
a crackling sound as the candle
burns. The crackling sound will re-
produce the crackling of a fireplace
and helps to create a relaxed envi-
ronment. A steady hand is needed
while pouring the
wax so that it
pours evenly and
that the wick is
straight, and to
ensure that you
don’t burn your-
self,” said Terenzi,
as he carefully
poured the hot wax
Paolo carefully pours hot wax into the glass
containers.
into the glass into which a wick had already
been placed.
“This is one of our most popular can-
dles and comes in either white or black to
suit your home décor. It will burn for seven
hours and create a unique sensory experi-
ence that encompasses both scent and
sound and helps enhance the mood.”
During the workshop, Terenzi also
demonstrated how the Tiziana Terenzi
porcelain air diffuser, a new version of
potpourri, is created.
“The air diffuser is actually a porcelain
stone which has been infused with fra-
grance. The specially created porcelain has
been shaped by hand and fired creating a
porous medium that will allow the fra-
grance to infuse into the stone,” he said.
This innovative and patented fragrance
diffusion system works for approximately
three months. The stone may
then be refreshed by
spraying it with your
favorite scent.
Guests attending
the workshop got
the opportunity to
learn candle-making
nuances from the
master perfumer
and also made the
candles themselves.
All Tiziana Terenze
fragrance products are
available at Blue Salon.
 
*4HC"Y0I)&C)" Y  D)'

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IANS

D
N international team of scien-
tists has used multiple modes
of light to uncover details
hidden beneath the visible
surface of Spanish painter Pa-
blo Picasso’s masterpiece ‘La Misereuse
accroupie’ or ‘The Crouching Woman.’
Researchers released their findings
on Saturday’s press conference at the
ongoing four-day annual meeting of the
American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science held in Austin, Texas,
Xinhua reported.
The 1902 oil painting, owned by Art
Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Canada,
depicts a crouching and cloaked woman,
painted in white, blues, grays and greens.
Researchers used non-invasive port-
able imaging techniques, including in-
frared reflectance hyperspectral imaging
and then an X-ray fluorescence imaging
instrument to detail those buried images.
It shows that Picasso painted over
another painter’s work after rotating it
90 degrees to the right, using some of the
landscape forms in his own final com-
position. For example, Picasso incorpo-
rated the lines of the cliff edges into the
woman’s back.
Picasso also made a major compo-
sitional change, the study showed. The
artist initially painted the woman with
a right arm and hand holding a disk but
then covered them with her cloak in the
final work.
Marc Walton, a research professor
of materials science and engineering at
Northwestern University said, “Picasso
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had no qualms about changing things
during the painting process.”
The imaging techniques allowed art
collectors to better understand Picasso’s
style, influences and process.
“When we saw the rendering of the
lead elemental map, it became clear to
me that the arm hidden under the visible
surface of ‘La Misereuse accroupie’ is the
same as the proper right arm of a crouch-
ing woman in a Picasso watercolour
recently sold at auction,” said Kenneth
Brummel, the AGO’s assistant curator
of modern art. The watercolour is titled
“Femme assise” (1902).
“We now are able to develop a chro-
nology within the painting structure to
tell a story about the artist’s developing
style and possible influences,” said San-
dra Webster-Cook, AGO’s senior conser-
vator of paintings.

La Misereuse accroupie” or “The Crouching Woman.”

Analysis of the pigments present in the paint layers of La Misereuse accroupie (NU-ACCESS)
(PHOTO: SUNDAYPOST.COM) Researchers setting up La Misereuse accroupie for scanning (Art Gallery of Ontario)
 4'0)'C34+04' *4HC"Y0I)&C)" Y  Q

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AFP

D
DARK secret long held by Swedish author
Astrid Lindgren led her to create one of the
most beloved heroines of children’s literature,
Pippi Longstocking, according to a new biopic
at the Berlin film festival.
Becoming Astrid by Danish filmmaker Pernille Fischer
Christensen exposes the little-known backstory behind
one of the world’s most enduring girl characters, with her
gravity-defying red plaits, abundant freckles and superhu-
man strength.
While still a teenager in conservative Sweden in the
1920s, the then Astrid Ericsson had an affair with her boss,
the married editor-in-chief of the local newspaper, and fell
pregnant.
The film examines the wrenching choices she was
forced to make as a result, and the life lessons she drew.
“What happened here in this story made Astrid a really,
really strong person,” Fischer Christensen said. “One of
the things she might have learned from this is you have to
think for yourself.
“(Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel) Kant also
said this but Astrid Lindgren says these things in a very,
very simple way that just enters you when you are a child.”
Fischer Christensen, 48, who called Lindgren “one of (From left) Maria Dahlin, Danish actress Alba August, Danish film director Pernille Fischer Christensen, Norwegian actor Henrik Rafaelsen,
the most innovative and influential artists of our time”, Danish author and Screenwriter Kim Fupz Aakeson and Anna Anthony at the 68th edition of the Berlinale film festival in Berlin on February
said Lindgren and her characters set an example for gen- 21. (AFP)
erations of people.
“I would not be the same person if I had not had Pippi,”
she said.
The movie, which drew enthusiastic applause and a lot
01*+342D(')3HI"C43(L
of tears at a press preview, introduces Astrid as a teenager
living on her family’s farm in a close-knit but judgemental
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Taken with her writing talent and independent streak,
the editor, Blomberg, offers her a job but quickly falls in IC1-('*)"I0L34H*40*/'L0
love with her and they begin a discreet affair.
When she becomes pregnant, Blomberg insists he $*),Hk(+*('04H&)34223),1LC)C1@
wants to marry her, but his wife refuses to give him a
divorce and threatens to press adultery charges.
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Meanwhile the parents’ land in the southern province
of Smaland belongs to the Protestant church, leading them
K,C3'(YCI&4HC4'/)01-,0(C4H
to fear they could be cast out if Astrid’s out-of-wedlock
pregnancy comes to light.
Astrid Lindgren, and the cover of her book. (&K0)L&+C4(')042'L
She flees to Copenhagen to give birth to her son, Lasse, children’s literature. mom to every child in the world -- a very powerful,
in secrecy, and then bids a painful goodbye to him as she As told in the film, based in part on a groundbreak- brave and sensitive woman who affected all of us who
leaves him with a Danish foster mother, Marie. ing 2015 biography by Jens Andersen, Astrid’s traumatic have read her books.”
The separation is agonising for Astrid, and although experience left its scars. Lindgren only began writing down the tales in the
she makes frequent visits, the toddler calls Marie “Mama” But it also liberated her from many of the oppressive 1940s, during World War II, and they were first published
when he begins to speak. conventions of her time, making her an early trailblazer for in 1945.
But when Marie falls ill, Astrid has to take custody of gender equality. They were revolutionary not only for their female
three-year-old Lasse as a single mother struggling to get by Only decades after she became a literary superstar and protagonist, but also for insisting that children and their
in Stockholm on a secretary’s salary. a national icon, in the 1970s, did Lindgren first tell the concerns should be taken seriously, the director said.
After Lasse contracts whooping cough while Astrid story to a female journalist. The film begins and ends with Lindgren as an old
is trying to juggle motherhood and her full-time job, the Danish actress Alba August, daughter of Oscar-winning woman, opening sacks of hand-drawn birthday cards sent
film imagines that she begins to invent fanciful tales to director Bille August, said she was drawn to the role of to her from children around the world.
comfort him. The bedtime stories, telling of people who Astrid because she was a “rebel”. She died in 2002 in Stockholm, almost a complete
only drink soda and say “good morning” to each other “To start with she was just a role model for every girl century after her birth.
all day long, form the foundation of the massive body of her age where she lived,” she said. Becoming Astrid screened in the Special sidebar sec-
work about Pippi, among the most translated books in “And she ended up being a hero in Sweden and a tion of the Berlinale.
 *4HC"Y0I)&C)" Y  I3'&C)"

)3H0%3$C(*40*/C-34H
SUBHASH K JHA

D&2&('YQ}0I)&C)" Y 

IANS


E all say good things
about the dead. But
Sridevi was truly spe-
cial. Her mere pres-
ence could light up the
screen like no other actress.
Sridevi started her career as a
child actor when she was all of four.
“I knew nothing about acting at
that age. I’d do exactly what the direc-
tor asked me to do. I think I contin-
ued doing that in my later years,” she
once told me.
All our conversations were coordi-
nated by her devoted husband Boney
Kapoor. It was always difficult to
make Sridevi talk. She was always an
actor, not a talker.
I don’t think she enjoyed talking
about herself. And she was extremely
health conscious. No late nights, no
partying. Though she avoided eating
beyond her dietary regime, Sridevi
loved to feed others.
I remember when former actress
Asin came to stay in her building,
Sridevi would prepare and carry tif-
fins with South Indian goodies for the
younger actress.
Sridevi was shy. But once she
took to you, she was comfortable. She
loved having fun and enjoyed going
out for meals and shopping with her
daughters Jahnvi and Khushi. What
made her very uncomfortable were
the gawking crowds. She longed for
privacy and for uninterrupted time
with her precious family.
The craving for private time with
the family came from her childhood
when baby Sridevi spent hours in
and out of studios in Chennai and
Hyderabad, playing roles when she
should just have been... well, playing.
Her stint as a Bollywood star be-
gan in 1978 with Solva Sawan, which
bombed. She was all but written out
of Bollywood for the next three years
until she was re-launched in Himmat-
wala in 1981. There was no looking
back thereafter.
Jeetendra, who starred with
Sridevi in Himmatwala and a string After her marriage to Bollywood “She came to my special screen- “There is nobody else who can do
of hits in the 1980s, told me of her producer Boney Kapoor, Sridevi ing of Padmaavat with Boney Ka- Hawa hawaai and Kate nahin katte
self-discipline. slowed down her career but returned poor. She loved my film and said she the way she did. She had natural-born
“Uss ladki mein ek lagan thi... ek with a bang in 2012 with English wanted to work with me. That wasn’t instincts for the camera, which she
junoon tha. She was determined to Vinglish. destined to happen. It will remain a sharpened and honed over the years.
make it as big in Hindi cinema as she Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a huge lacuna in my oeuvre. How could she It is strange to be talking about her
was in Tamil and Telugu. I’ve never Sridevi fan, remembers his last meet- go so suddenly? Sridevi can’t die. in the past tense. I can’t believe she’s
seen a more hard-working actress.” ing with her. She’s magic. gone,” Bhansali added.

*4HC"Y0I)&C)" Y  
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vYH3C+*4H1LC34
SINGER Chris Brown reportedly sent
singer Rihanna an expensive birthday
gift for her birthday.
Brown spent $30,000 on a diamond
chain for Rihanna’s birthday on February
)(GLC'(3'34
20, a source told hollywoodLife.com.
And “he sent it over with 30 red
roses”, the insider added.
The source said Rihanna actually
enjoyed the gift and she “was happy he
remembered her birthday, but she’s not
going to wear the chain” because “it’s
CH0,0340k42,0
not her style at all anymore”.
The source added: “It’s something
she would have worn back when they
were together, but she’s a grown woman
now and she’s changed.”
The Work hitmaker didn’t try to hide
it either from her boyfriend Hassan
Jameel. The source said she was “open
and honest” about the unexpected
birthday gift from Brown.
“She showed him the chain and told
him she was keeping it,” the source said.
Nick Knowles and Jessica Rose Moor.
(inset) William Baggage.
*,,"$**H
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IANS
EESE Witherspoon has
praised A Wrinkle In Time
L0@"0C)@*,HC1'*)
director Ava DuVernay for
representing different kinds
('C)(C(
of women within her movie. 'L0&K1*+3423(40"
The 41-year-old actor stars as Mrs.
Whatsit in the upcoming Disney movie +*%30IC(0H*4'L0Q  Reese
based on the 1962 novel of the same
name by Madeleine L’Engle, reports
4*%0,*/'L0(C+04C+0 Witherspoon
femalefirst.co.uk.
She says that the production will
I"
be important for young people eve-
rywhere as the diverse cast -- which
includes the likes of Oprah Winfrey it’s possible. And also,
and Mindy Kaling – means everyone is they’ll see women who
equally represented. are heroes, who are
When asked how important she all different sizes
thinks the movie will be, Witherspoon and all different
said: “I read the book as a little girl, races. Women are
and I really was excited when Ava ex- the heroes of a lot
plained her vision for the film.” of kids’ lives, and to
“She was like ‘I’m gonna deviate a see that properly rep-
lot. I want to have the house in Down- resented is way over-
town LA. I want the kids to be of all due and exciting.
different ethnicities. I want kids to “I think it’s excit-
watch this movie and know that any- ing to have a director with
thing’s possible. that kind of vision, and to have
“I get emotional, thinking how little Disney’s belief in her, to give her an
kids going to the theatre will actually incredible amount of creative control
see a character and an actor that looks and free reign to create this magic,”
like them. That will make them think she added.
)304H(L3K$3'LM3+j*40@(3H0HkY
IANS
31-M4*$,0(k(0#@$3/0
+*%0(*4$3'L40$+C4
THE estranged wife of ‘DIY SOS’ presenter
Nick Knowles has a new boyfriend. Jessica
has started dating 27-year-old RAF engi-
neer William Babbage, after the two met at
a local pub, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
A source told The Sun: “She is really
happy. It’s no secret that at times she has
struggled with the split. But she gets on
with Will like a house on fire.”
Jessica, 30, has a three-year-old son Ed-
die with Nick, 55, and the TV star has met
her new love.
“Nick was very polite. All he cares
about is Eddie’s happiness and that he is
surrounded by stable people,” said source.
“Obviously Nick has done a lot of work
with injured soldiers through the military
charity Walking with the Wounded so
he has a lot of respect for anyone in the
Forces. He has no problem with William
and feels everyone has to move on at
some stage,” the source added. (IANS)
 ENNIFER Lawrence believes her
friendship with reality TV star Kim
Kardashian West is “one-sided” as
she is a huge fan of the reality TV star.
The Red Sparrow actress is a huge
/00,(0443/0)C$)0410
fan of the reality TV star and her fa-
mous family and when she discovered
that she would be interviewing Kim for
‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, she went to Kris
Jenner’s house for dinner and bonded
with the family.
Speaking to people.com, Lawrence,
27, said: “I don’t know that she’d call
me her friend. It’s probably a one-sided
friendship.
“When I found out that I was going to
be interviewing her I was like, ‘Oh my God,
my whole life has been building up to this
moment. I wanted to get as much informa-
tion as I could. I wanted to do due diligence Kim Kardashian West and Jennifer Lawrence
on Kim Kardashian. I went over to Kris
(Jenner’s) house and had dinner with the nice people, (they’re) very close, (they “They’ve been absolutely lovely to me.”
whole family.” have a) loyal bond with one another, Lawrence previously admitted that she
She added: “They are smart, ground- which I think is a positive thing to put wound up drunk and naked in a closet dur-
ed and normal and funny. They’re very out into the world. ing the dinner at Jenner’s house.
 
*4HC"Y0I)&C)" Y  *,,"$**H
IANS


HAH Rukh Khan, who is touted
as one of the biggest superstars of
the Hindi film industry, says he is
)0C,,"$C4''*I0C,0204H[
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done with the tag and now wants
to be a legend.
Shah Rukh was speaking at the fourth
edition of Global Business Summit on ‘Bol-
lywood’s Digital push: What it means for
the stakeholders’.
“I am 26 years old in the film industry ing through the book I found that the only should be made... So, I produce films, so I
which is half my lifetime really. From here reason homo sapiens have dominated the can do different kind of films and showcase
on I am going to spend time in the world rest of the species is because of one thing – it to everyone,” Shah Rukh said.
of cinema than the outside of it... I realised because we gossip,” said the superstar. L342(LC%01LC420HY'L34- Talking about the change, he said:
I should do away with the tag of being a The actor said that the spreading of '01L4*,*2"LC(1LC420HGL0)0 “Things have changed, I think technology
superstar instead I should work towards tag ideas is a way of story telling. 3(C,*'+*)01*)K*)C'3(C'3*4GGG has changed. There is a lot more corpo-
of being a legend,” he said. “Genuinely, story-telling has ratisation... I think we have become more
He added: “No megastar... as anchored communication
'L34-$0LC%0I01*+0+*)0 disciplined. We finish films on time, date
egoistic and self-centred like between human beings. H3(13K,340HG0¡43(L¡,+(*4 releases and all this was not there... There
me will fade away into the Even entertainment is '3+0YHC'0)0,0C(0(C4HC,,'L3( are rehearsals and everything is fixed and
past without trying to actually a derivative $C(4*''L0)0GGGL0)0C)0)0@ it is mainly because the stakes are so high.
wedge his or her foot of story-telling. It is really expensive to make a film... It is
into the door to the Whether music, L0C)(C,(C4H0%0)"'L3423(¡#0H genuinely a risky business.”
future. So even I art or poetry, C4H3'3(+C34,"I01C&(0'L0 Asked when we will get our next SRK,
want to put myself all these things ('C-0(C)0(*L32LG especially with the growth of digitalisation,
into the future of are a form of he said: “I believe that there will be stars
cinema like I have story-telling,” he will be a lot of changes on how we consume bigger than me... not from cinema perhaps
been in the past added. cinema and watch it. But mainly the chang- but digital part of cinema...
25 years.” The modern es is going to be how we market cinema... “There will be digital stars and much
“I really want art of story-telling “The second change that is going to bigger stars than I can ever be and I truly
to be a legend. is of course film- happen is that there is going to be... there believe that... but it may not have that kind
Unfortunately, making, he said. will be radical movement away from the of longevity.”
there are no “I think there has content itself...instead of waiting for loans, “But if you measure from the standard
articles or books been radical change there is going to be a lot more crowd-fund- of earnings... We will be even larger,” he
on how to be a in cinema and con- ing,” he added. added.
legend. So, I rum- tent over the years. A Shah Rukh says there will be a big Talking about what qualifies a hit film
mage through my change even in the way change between the viewer and how an nowadays, he said: “It is wonderful what
personal library... we consume films. But individual watches the film. Aamir Khan and Salman Khan have done...
I found a book on right now, I think we are He added: “Right now the movie that But I think it is just scratching the surface
the history of hu- witnessing the greatest attracts us, it’s a momentary catch of emo- right now... We do have very few theatres
man kind called change. The greatest change tions or expression but soon movies will in our country... there is a bottle neck from
Sapiens and of this century has been the itself become an experience. They will be wanting to supply to the consumer... That’s
go- evolutionary revolution that interactive.” why films do so well in China.
has taken over the human kind is Artificial intelligence, virtual reality They have 50,000 to 60,000 theatres
the opening up communication, and visual effects all these are so important in China... and there are only 10,000 to
information on the digtised that roles of actors and stars will diminish, 20,000 here.
platform,” he added. stressed the actor. Shah Rukh says that it is an industry
Shah Rukh says The access to cinema will be easier. and it’s a job. “I think the more money
that the future “It is going to be on your mobile...there comes in this business, the better films you
of cinema will will be no more appointment cinema. Cin- can make... I have been very fortunate that
be changed ema will be at will – whenever and where the people I have worked with... like Yash
through the ever you want to watch. I do not think Chopra to begin with and up to now the
advent of cinema theatres will close down,” he said. youngsters... they have this sensibilities that
digitisation. “I am a producer by choice only because we need to make money for this industry,”
Shah Rukh Khan “There I want to make the kind of films that I think he said.

01*)H342(*42(LC(I01*+0+*)01*+K,31C'0H4*$[32
IANS world moves towards modern technology, The film also stars veteran actor
an inevitability, our sense of recreation Rishi Kapoor.

D MITABH Bachchan says the

process of recording songs has
become more complicated now.
Big B, who has recorded a song titled
Badumba for his upcoming film 102
Not Out, wrote on his blog: “The entire
concept of recording songs has changed.
From being complicated several years ago,
it is now even more complicated as the
preservation and exploitation has become
even more complex.”
“Guided and managed by a stream
of knowledge aware professionals and
entrepreneurs, it is educative and enter-
taining to hear and assess the quality of
people that one has to meet, in order to
have a vision of the coming years,” he
added.
Amitabh’s character will be seen
as a 102-year-old father to 75-year-old
character of Rishi in the film, directed
by Umesh Shukla.
Billed as a most unusual father-
and-son love story, the film is based on
playwright Saumya Joshi’s well-known
Gujarati play by the same name. The Amitabh Bachchan
film will release on May 4.
 *,,"$**H
*4HC"Y0I)&C)" Y  

C+CI32')C(L
'C,-0)[ C4%00)342L
IANS

ANVEER Singh calls himself

“a big trash talker” and says
that he has no control over it.
Richa Sharma

Ranveer was speaking at an event

where Premier League announced
him as their brand ambassador
&(31LC(I004
in India. The film star said there
is much banter among Bollywood
actors when it comes to watching
football matches.
“There is banter for sure. Banter
is one of my favourite things. I am
a big trash talker and sometimes
even at formal sort of engagements,
I am not able to control my verbal
diarrhoea. Abhishek Bachchan and
Arjun Kapoor are both big Chelsea
fans... so, we go back and forth bat-
tering each other,” Ranveer said.
Talking about his stint as the
brand ambassador of the Premiere
League in India, Ranveer said: “It is
a matter of great honour and huge
privilege. I genuinely believe this
is the best league in the world.” He
said he has been into the Premiere
League for 17-18 years and with his
appointment as its brand ambas-
sador, he understands his role in
growth and development of sports
culture in India.
“I thoroughly enjoy it as I get to
watch matches, to be part of these
wonderful initiatives and to meet
football legends... so it is a real treat
and surreal.
Ranveer Singh
My Twitter bio says ‘Living The
Dream’ and it feels exactly like
that,” Ranveer said. Talking about
Padmaavat, Ranveer said: “It’s
doing something I had never imag-
ined. It’s one of those rare films that
sort of encompasses everything,
be it critical acclaim, commercial
success or love of the audience.”
He said that it is one of those “rare
movies” that can be remembered
10-15 years down the line and
people will still appreciate it then
because of its timeless quality. Ran-
veer has an interesting line-up of
films which includes Zoya Akhtar’s
Gully Boy, Rohit Shetty’s Simmba
and Kabir Khan’s 83.
+"KC((3*4(3410
1L3,HL**H[ 31LC
IANS
 INGER Richa Sharma, who grew up singing
devotional songs with her father, says music
has been her passion since childhood.
Richa will be seen as a celebrity guest in this
weekend’s episode of the second edition of the
Colors’ live singing reality show ‘Rising Star 2’,
read a statement.
“Music has been my passion since I was a child.
I have grown up singing devotional songs with my
father and I enjoy all genres of music,” she said.
Through the show’s theme, #UthaoSochKiDee-
war, the contestants got a chance to share their
stories about them overcoming obstacles in their
lives.
“As a viewer, I am intrigued by the theme of
the show i.e #UthaoSochKiDeewar. The fact that
the show is a great platform for individuals to keep
their inhibitions aside and follow their passion for
singing, is what has me hooked to this season,”
said the singer, known for songs like Sajda and
Zor ka jhatka.

CK*4('0K( IANS lips of a minor girl contestant of the

&TV show went viral online.
Actress Raveena Tandon tweeted:
“Whatever the situation, accidental,

H*$4C(.&H20  INGER Angarag Mahanta, popu-

lar as Papon, has decided to step
down as a judge on the singing
The National Commission for Pro-
tection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has
issued a notice to both the singer and
unintentional, affection, love, though
it is sad the Papon controversy hap-
pened, it will be an eye-opener and les-

*4(L*$
reality show ‘The Voice India Kids’
after a complaint was filed against him
for “inappropriately kissing” a minor.
“Since I am in no mental state to
fulfil most of my professional obliga-
tions, I have decided to step down as
a judge on the show till the matter in
which I have been falsely implicated
is fully resolved and the investigations
are over,” Papon tweeted.
“I have full faith in the judicial sys-
tem and eventually the truth will pre-
vail. In the interim, I would appreciate
that my privacy is respected,” he added.
Earlier this week, a video in which
Angarag Mahanta aka Papon Papon is seen planting a kiss on the
the channel.
The film industry is divided on the
issue. While some came out in support
of the singer, others slammed him.
Actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthi
tweeted: “If anybody behaved with my
daughter the way Papon did with the
teenage girl, I would slap him several
times in such a way that no one dared
behave that way again.”
On Friday, Papon had said in a
statement: “I might have done it spon-
taneously but in today’s environment,
to touch a girl child, however innocent
your thoughts are, is not advisable. I
am sorry for that.”
son for all to not getting carried away,
and not cross a line which can be seen
as inappropriate.”
Singer Monali Thakur, who sang
the female version of Moh moh ke
dhaage that was also crooned by Pa-
pon, tweeted in his support: “I got so
many calls yesterday for this ridiculous
misinterpretation of a man’s gesture of
affection! I am a girl and I know what
is sexual perversion in a man! And Pa-
pon is anything but that! Leave aside
for a kid! Lotsa love Papon. #iStandby-
Papon”
#pervertpapon is also trending on
Twitter.
 
*4HC"Y0I)&C)" Y 
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For Subscriptions Contact us at:

Phone: 40002111 Mob.: 55878073
Fax: 40002224 Post Box No.: 23493
Email: circulation@qatar-tribune.com

L0 3HH,0'*4( C,/&,,

31-)C1" D43+C,)C1-0)(

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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
/HYHO Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS DOWN 36 Bridge entrance 44 Bumped into
  1 Fitting the
season
1 Airport surface
2 Galápagos lizard
structure
37 ATM code
45 With 58-Across,
where Parliament
7 Innermost part 3 With 17-Across, 38 One-swallow sits
  11 Gp. known for
travelers’
where the Duma
sits
drink
40 Pakistani port
46 Library patron
47 “The Canterbury
checks? 4 Hebrides 41 Railroad Tales” inn
&RPSOHWHWKHJULG 14 Ancient markets language maintenance 49 Campaign poster
15 Erelong 5 French narrative vehicle word
VRHDFKURZFROXPQ 16 Bow (out) poem 42 With 52-Across, 54 White flakes
DQGE\ER[ 17 See 3-Down 6 Like closing where the 57 Hawaiian Punch
financial reports Assembleia alternative
LQEROGERUGHUV 18 Sullen look
7 Legislative
19 “Well, __-di-dah!” Nacional sits 59 Hail, to Caesar
FRQWDLQVHYHU\GLJLW 20 Nutmeg spice
impasse ... and
WR)RUVWUDWHJLHV what occurs at
21 NY engineering this puzzle’s ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RQKRZWRVROYH sch. near circles?
Albany
6XGRNXYLVLWZZZ 23 See 13-Down
8 “Oh Yoko!”
dedicatee
VXGRNXRUJXN 25 Enero to enero 9 Or so
26 Charcuterie fare 10 __ nous
62/87,2172 27 Tippi of “The 11 Stand
Solution to previous puzzle
78(6'$<ҋ638==/( Birds” 12 Long key
28 Black bird’s call 13 With 23-Across,
29 Necessitate where the
31 Goes on and on Hellenic
32 Fish often fried Parliament sits
33 “The Thin Man” 22 Bit of butter
actress 24 Enter cautiously
34 Zeta follower 26 Cat call
35 Pack away 30 Platform for Siri
37 Ratings for 32 “Cookin’ With
family-friendly __”: rapper/chef’s
films web show
38 Rathskeller draft 35 Overconfidence 02/28/18
39 __ goo gai pan
40 Wine-and-cassis
drink
41 Cooped-up
 ‹7KH0HSKDP*URXS'LVWULEXWHGE\ female
7ULEXQH&RQWHQW$JHQF\$OOULJKWVUHVHUYHG 42 Break in the
action
43 20 Questions
category
45 Food scrap
48 More unsightly

'C)C,- By Nancy Black, Tribune Content Agency,

Linda Black Horoscopes
ARIES (Mar 21-Apr 19 )
Fun and love take priority. Don’t
worry about long-term objectives;
enjoy the present moment. Wait to
make important decisions. Relax,
and savor simple sweetness.
CANCER (Jun 21-Jul 22)
Insights about finances and in-
come reveal new options. Confirm
intuition with hard data. Research
upcoming purchases for the best
value. Reconcile accounts.
LIBRA (Sep 23-Oct 22)
Develop your team strategy over
the next few days. Group actions
surge forward after the ground-
TAURUS (Apr 20-May 20)
Handle short-term practical mat-
ters at home. Adapt to a change or
surprise. Household issues have
your attention today and tomorrow.
Provide what your family needs.
LEO (Jul 23-Aug 22)
Focus on personal matters.
Take care of yourself before
others, for now. Upgrade your
style. Recharge by follow-
ing your own enthusiasms.
SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21)
Professional responsibilities have
your focus today and tomorrow.
Challenges require your response.
50 Minor body-shop
job
51 Lipton product
52 See 42-Down
GEMINI (May 21-Jun 20) 53 Inc., in London
54 Wild guess
Creativity surges for a few days. 55 Class-conscious
Express and communicate. Sift org.?
56 Bouncing effect
through data, and reserve judg- 58 See 45-Down
ment for now. Research and sort 60 “Spring forward”
the options. Consider possibilities. letters
61 À la mode
62 Confessor
VIRGO (Aug 23-Sep 22) 63 Enzyme suffix
64 Watch word?
Changes cause a disruption. 65 Word on a lost-
Calm another’s anxieties with dog poster
By Paul Coulter
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
02/28/18
your solid roots. Look back
for insight on the road ahead.
Prepare your action plan.
THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME
by David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21) Unscramble these four Jumbles,
one letter to each square,
For a new perspective, change to form four ordinary words.
your vantage point. You don’t need
to go far. Find what you’ve been
CONKK
Check out the new, free JUST JUMBLE app

work has been carefully done. Don’t let anyone push you seeking in your own backyard.
Focus on immediate concerns. around. Show up and perform. ©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
All Rights Reserved.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19 ) AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18 ) PISCES (Feb 19-Mar 20 ) SMURT

Make inroads quietly. Advance Keep an open mind. Don’t worry Slow down, and take extra care
on financial goals one step at a about money, but don’t spend around sharp objects. There’s a GIROIN
time. Get terms in writing. Chal- much either. Avoid risky business. communications breakdown. Stick
lenge the generally-held opinion. Listen to the underlying com- to basic actions and routines.
Look for hidden opportunities. mitment in another’s concern. Consume in moderation.
FBETUF
Your sirens sing you toward adventure this year. Participation and coordinated Now arrange the circled letters
/"*& team efforts win valuable victories. Vacations or romantic adventures this sum-
to form the surprise answer, as
suggested by the above cartoon.

$0)0I*)4 mer relax you into a thoughtful planning phase that inspires and motivates your Ans. “ - ”
work and health. Collaboration is your secret power. To get the advantage, check here:
'*HC"X the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
Jumbles: BLAND PRONG
(Answers tomorrow)
LIMBER ACCUSE
Yesterday’s
Answer: The four-star military commanders retired and
became part of the — GENERAL PUBLIC
 
*4HC"Y0I)&C)" Y 
*%30(4NC'C)
CITY CENTRE CINEMA
GAME NIGHT (COMEDY): 10.30 AM, 11.45 AM, 12.45 PM, 2 PM, 3 PM, 4.15 PM,
5.15 PM, 6.30 PM, 7.30 PM, 8.45 PM, 9.45 PM, 11 PM, 12 AM
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE (CRIME): 11.30 AM, 2 PM, 4.30 PM, 7 PM, 9.30
PM, 12 AM
MOM AND DAD (HORROR): 12 PM, 2 PM, 4 PM, 6 PM, 8 PM, 10 PM, 12 AM
REVENGE (ACTION): 11.30 AM, 1.45 PM, 4 PM, 6.15 PM, 8.30 PM, 10.45 PM
WAR COMMANDERS (ANIMATION): 7 PM, 9.15 PM, 11.30 PM
WOLF WARRIOR 2 (ACTION): 10.30 AM, 1 PM, 3.45 PM, 6.30PM, 9.15 PM, 12 AM
BLACK PANTHER (ACTION): 11.30 AM, 12.30 PM, 2.30 PM, 3.30 PM, 5.30 PM,
6.30 PM, 8.30 PM, 9.30 PM, 11.30 PM
OKDET EL KHAWAGA (ARABIC): 12.15 PM, 2.30 PM, 4.45 PM, 7 PM, 9.15PM, 11.30 PM
HEY JUDE (MALAYALAM): 12 PM, 3 PM, 6PM, 9 PM, 12 AM
SONU KE TITU KI SWEETY (HINDI): 11.45 AM, 2.45 PM, 5.45 PM, 8.45 PM, 11.45 PM
WELCOME TO NEW YORK (HINDI): 12.30 PM, 3.15 PM, 6 PM, 8.45 PM, 11.30 PM
MISSION KATHMANDU (ANIMATION): 11 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM, 5 PM
DEN OF THIEVES (ACTION): 1.15 PM, 7 PM, 9.45 PM
AADHI (MALAYALAM): 11.15 AM, 5.15 PM, 11.15 PM
AIYAARY (HINDI): 2.15 PM, 8.15 PM
NOTICE. Timings are subject to change without prior notice.
œ
VILLAGGIO CINEMA
GAME NIGHT (COMEDY): 10.30 AM, 12.45 PM, 3 PM, 5.15 PM, 7.30 PM,
9.45 PM, 12 AM
MOM AND DAD (HORROR): 11 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM, 5 PM, 7 PM, 9 PM, 11 PM
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE (CRIME): 11.15 AM, 1.45 PM, 4.15 PM,
6.45 PM, 9.15 PM, 11.45 PM
REVENGE (ACTION): 12.15 PM, 2.30 PM, 4.45 PM, 7 PM, 9.15 PM, 11.30 PM
WOLF WARRIOR 2 (ACTION): 12.30 PM, 3.15 PM, 6 PM, 8.45 PM, 11.30 PM
WELCOME TO NEW YORK (HINDI): 12.15 PM, 3 PM, 5.45 PM, 8.30 PM,
11.15 PM
BLACK PANTHER (ACTION): 10.30 AM, 1 PM, 12 PM, 3 PM, 4 PM, 6 PM, 7 PM,
9 PM, 10 PM, 12 AM. (IMAX 3D) 11 AM, 2 PM, 5 PM, 8 PM, 11 PM
SONU KE TITU KI SWEETY (HINDI): 11.45 AM, 2.45 PM, 5.45 PM, 8.45 PM,
11.45 PM
COCO (ANIMATION): 12.30 PM, 5PM, 9.30 PM
JUMANJI (ADVENTURE): 11.30 AM, 4.30 PM, 9.30 PM
EARLY MAN (ANIMATION): 12 PM, 4.45 PM, 9.30 PM
OKDET EL KHAWAGA (ARABIC): 2.45 PM, 7.15 PM, 11.45 PM
DEN OF THIEVES (ACTION): 2 PM, 7 PM, 12 AM
MAZE RUNNER (ACTION): 2 PM, 6.45 PM, 11.30 PM
ASIAN TOWN CINEMA MALL CINEMA
WELCOME TO NEW YORK (HINDI): 6 PM GAME NIGHT (COMEDY): 7.30 PM
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE (CRIME): 7.30 PM
HEY JUDE (MALAYALAM): 6.30 PM, 8.30 PM, 11.30 PM
MOM AND DAD (HORROR): 9.45 PM BLACK PANTHER (ACTION): 5 PM, 9 PM
AADHI (MALAYALAM): 7 PM, 10 PM
SONU KE TITU KI SWEETY (HINDI): 4.30 PM, 11.30 PM
MISSION KATHMANDU (ANIMATION): 2 PM, 3.30 PM
WELCOME TO NEW YORK (HINDI): 2.15 PM, 9.15 PM
WOLF WARRIOR 2 (ACTION): 11.30 PM WAR COMMANDERS (ANIMATION): 7 PM
AADHI (MALAYALAM): 2.15 PM HEY JUDE (MALAYALAM): 4.45 PM, 11.30 PM
GULF MALL CINEMA LANDMARK CINEMA
BLACK PANTHER (ACTION): 11.30 AM, 2.30 PM, 4.30 PM, 5.30 PM. 8.30 PM,
GAME NIGHT (COMEDY): 2.30 PM, 7 PM
11.30 PM. (VIP SCREEN): 10.30 AM, 1.30 PM, 4.30 PM, 7.30 PM, 10.30 PM
WELCOME TO NEW YORK (HINDI): 7.30 PM, 11.30 PM
(3D): 11 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM, 3 PM, 5PM, 6 PM, 8 PM, 9 PM, 11 PM, 12 AM
MOM AND DAD (HORROR): 10 PM
GAME NIGHT (COMEDY): 12.15 PM, 2.30 PM, 4.45 PM, 7 PM, 9.15 PM,
BLACK PANTHER (ACTION): 4.30 PM, 11.30 PM
11.30 PM. (VIP SCREEN) 10.30 AM. 12.45 PM, 3 PM, 5.15 PM, 7.30 PM,
MISSION KATHMANDU (ANIMATION): 2.30 PM, 4 PM, 5.30 PM
9.45 PM, 12 AM
WAR COMMANDERS (ANIMATION): 9.30 PM
WELCOME TO NEW YORK (HINDI): 12 PM, 2.45 PM, 5.30 PM, 8.15 PM,
11 PM WOLF WARRIOR 2 (ACTION): 11.15 PM
AADHI (MALAYALAM): 2.15 PM HEY JUDE (MALAYALAM): 5 PM, 7 PM, 8.45 PM
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE (CRIME): 11 AM, 1.30 PM, 4 PM, 6.30 PM,
9 PM, 11.30 PM
EARLY MAN (ANIMATION): 11 AM, 1PM, 3 PM, 5 PM, 7 PM
OKDET EL KHAWAGA (ARABIC):12 PM, 2.15 PM, 4.30 PM, 6.45 PM, 9 PM,
11.15 PM
ROYAL PLAZA
MOM AND DAD (HORROR): 11.45 AM, 1.45 PM, 3.45 PM, 5.45 PM, 7.45 PM, MOM AND DAD (HORROR): 11.30 PM
9.45 PM, 11.45 PM MISSION KATHMANDU (ANIMATION): 2 PM, 3.30 PM, 5 PM
SONU KE TITU KI SWEETY (HINDI): 11.45 AM, 2.45 PM, 5.45 PM, 8.45 PM, GAME NIGHT (COMEDY): 7.45 PM BLACK PANTHER (ACTION): 6.30 PM
11.45 PM HEY JUDE (MALAYALAM): 2.30 PM, 9 PM AADHI (MALAYALAM): 5 PM
WOLF WARRIOR 2 (ACTION): 12.15 PM, 3 PM, 5.45 PM, 8.30 PM, 11.15 PM SONU KE TITU KI SWEETY (HINDI): 11.15 PM
HEY JUDE (MALAYALAM): 9 PM, 12 AM WELCOME TO NEW YORK (HINDI): 2.30 PM, 7 PM
WAR COMMANDERS (ANIMATION): 5 PM, 9.30 PM
WOLF WARRIOR 2 (ACTION): 11.30 PM
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE (CRIME): 9.15 PM
AL KHOR CINEMA
BLACK PANTHER (ACTION): 11.30 AM, 5.30 PM, 11.30 PM
GAME NIGHT (COMEDY): 11 AM, 3.15 PM, 7.30 PM, 11.45 PM
HEY JUDE (ANIMATION): 11.15 AM, 2.15 PM, 5.15 PM, 8.15 PM,. 11.15 PM
AADHI (ACTION): 2.30 PM, 8.30 PM
MOM AND DAD (HORROR): 1.15 PM. 5.30 PM, 9.45 PM
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