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Tuesday 30 April 2013
20 Jumada II 1434 - Volume 18
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Education for
10 million kids:
Sheikha Moza
Kerry meets
Arab ministers
EAC to help children in 34 countries
DOHA:
Educate
A
Child
(EAC), a global initiative to
bring primary education to
poor and marginalised children,
aims to reach ten million children across the world by 2015,
H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser
said yesterday.
EAC is targeting 34 countries,
which represent more than 60
percent of children who are out
of school. EAC will also issue a
report about attacks on schools
and educators, she said, while
addressing a high-level strategic
meeting at the Qatar National
Convention Centre.
“Educate A Child has succeeded in supporting 600,000
children into school over a period
of four months. This marks the
beginning of our ambitious effort,
which we want to see reach 10
million children by the end of
2015,” said Sheikha Moza.
“Together with Unesco, and
through our main parent foundation we will soon issue a
report that monitors cases of
attacks on schools and teachers,
to safeguard education in crisis,”
she added.
EAC has recently helped Unicef
keep 250,000 Syrian children, who
are affected by the conflict, in
school. The initiative is also introducing new programmes in countries, including the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Yemen and
Somalia.
The two-day high-level meeting
has brought together 17 government ministers, representatives
of international and local organisations and agencies, and representatives of civil society groups
H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser chairing a high-level meeting of Educate A Child programme with UN Special Envoy
for Global Education Gordon Brown and Unesco Goodwill Ambassador Marianna V Vardinoyannis, at the Qatar
National Convention Centre, yesterday.
A R AL BAKER
and the private sector from
around the world.
They discuss challenges and
plans to provide educational
opportunities to children deprived
of education.
With 61 million children
deprived of basic education and
28 million of them in conflict
zones, EAC is seeking to bring
high-quality learning to them
together with specialised organisations from around the world.
EAC is inspired by the
Millennium Development Goals,
which have been agreed at
globally. These goals seek to enable all children to access primary
schooling by 2015.
“Sixty-one million children are
out of school… the world has a
moral and development responsibility to address this problem
— a responsibility that cannot be
evaded,” said Sheikha Moza.
“It is truly embarrassing that
we live in a world where technological progress allows for so
much advancement in education,
while the humanitarian issue of
children out of schools cannot be
addressed,” she added.
Al Jazeera should accept bitter facts
DOHA: A report carried by this newspaper on April 25 titled ‘Al Jazeera on decline
in Arab Spring nations’ was based on the
results of a survey of top media outlets in
the region carried out by the Northwestern
University in Qatar.
The survey, on ‘Media use in the Middle
East’, and the tables for eight countries,
including Qatar, said that “Al Jazeera is the
top news source in the region overall, but in
varying levels by country”.
However, we based our report only on the
figures for three countries, namely, Tunisia,
Bahrain and Egypt as we discovered that Al
Jazeera had four percent share in Bahrain,
nine percent in Tunisia and 20 percent in
Egypt.
This, despite the fact that the popular
Doha-based channel was in the forefront of
covering uprisings in these countries and it
was widely believed that it would be one of
the leading (if not the leading) news sources
in these countries.
It goes without saying that Al Jazeera
remains the most popular channel in countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE,
Jordan and Lebanon (that are covered in the
survey) but, then, they are not Arab Spring
countries.
Reacting to our report, Al Jazeera has
asked in an email how we could simply make
a comparison and say its popularity is on the
wane in Arab Spring countries when no previous figures were released.
The Northwestern University in Qatar also
reacted to the report. Robb Wood, Media and
External Development Strategist at the university, said: “I can confirm that we did not
state that Al Jazeera is on the wane. Our
study drew no conclusions about increases
or decreases in the popularity of Al Jazeera”.
Al Jazeera, as we know, was the first Arabic
channel to cover the revolution when it began
in Tunisia that triggered the Arab Spring, so
the figures for Tunisia were quite shocking
for us at least (see table).
The channel quite actively covered the
uprisings in Bahrain, so, again, the figures
for this country (a mere four percent!) were
quite low.
Al Jazeera says, referring to the tables, that
the eight-country study showed it was the
overall number one news outlet across the
media — television and online. We haven’t
disputed this fact and have only drawn our
own conclusions based on the figures for the
three Arab Spring countries. We have every
right to be analytical.
Moreover, we didn’t say that our comparison was based on previous figures. It was
based on our own conclusion that since Al
Jazeera spearheaded the Arab revolution and
was the most watched channel in the Arab
world, it was natural to expect that it should
be the most popular TV station in the three
countries as well.
So was the case with Egypt where the
Northwestern University in Qatar’s survey
showed it trailing at number four slot after
Al Hayat, Al Kanat Al Oula and CBC.
The Northwestern University has an enviable reputation and for the first time conducted a survey on the media situation in
the Middle East, so it was natural for us, as
a Qatari newspaper, to give it wide coverage.
Al Jazeera has, in a rejoinder to our story,
said the figures quoted in the survey are based
on a question members of the public were
asked about their first source of news. “This
is completely different from total viewerbase and market share.” We don’t believe
this is true because surveys always reflect
the viewership and market share, and if the
Northwestern University hasn’t intended to
pick the market leaders, the survey has actually done so. The Channel must appreciate
the fact that surveys always reflect market
realities.
Al Jazeera also suggested that we should
have checked the facts and figures with it
before publishing the story. There is no need
to cross check with the channel the results
of a survey where respondents have given
Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed
bin Jabr Al Thani, Assistant
Minister for International
Cooperation Affairs at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said
Qatar would continue to support
EAC projects.
Gordon Brown, former British
premier and the UN Secretary
General’s special envoy for education, stressed the importance of
educating girls. He said 32 million girls were out of school due to
poverty, discrimination and trafficking.
WASHINGTON: US Secretary
of State John Kerry hosted
talks with top Arab League
officials yesterday as he pursued painstaking efforts aimed
at revitalising the Middle East
peace process.
The new top US diplomat has
devoted time and energy to trying
to find a way out of the impasse
and bring all sides back to the
negotiating table since taking
office on February 1.
He has travelled three times to
the region, meeting senior Israeli
and Palestinian officials as well as
Egyptian, Saudi, Jordanian, and
Qatari leaders, in a bid to revive
the peace talks, which last collapsed in late 2010.
The Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin
Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, chair
of the Arab Peace Initiative follow-up committee, headed the
delegation, which also included
Palestinian foreign affairs minister
Riyad Al Maliki and Arab League
chief Nabil Al Arabi.
“I think it’s an important meeting, an important era, which we
hope will lead to peace, a comprehensive peace between the Arabs
and the Israelis,” the prime minister said at the start of the talks.
AFP
Picture on page 2
THE PENINSULA
TOP NEWS OUTLETS
Al Jazeera is the top news source in the region overall,
but in varying level by country
BAHRAIN
EGYPT
TUNISIA
Google 26%
Al Hayat 23%
Facebook 52%
Bangla News 21%
Al Kanat Al Oula 23%
Shams FM 37%
Geography 19%
CBC 21%
Hanabel 33%
Al Bahrain Forum 12%
Al Jazeera 20%
JSC 30%
Facebook 11%
Al Nahar 12%
Al Sareh 16%
Sayidaty 14%
MBC 11%
Al Fada’ia Al Masria 10%
Al Watan 10%
Dream 10%
Nesma 12%
Al Wasseet 10%
Al Mihwar 9%
RTCI Radio 9%
BBC 8%
Al Nile Lil Akhbar 8%
Al Jazeera 9%
Twitter 8%
Al Akhbar 4%
Al Arabiya 9%
Al Jazeera 4%
their preferences. Though it has the right to dispute those figures,
a newspaper has the right to report them. The channel claims it
believes in ‘Opinion and the Other Opinion’, and so why can’t it
expect us to do the same?
We are reproducing here the tables for Tunisia, Bahrain and
Egypt, leaving it to our readers to decide whether our April 25
report was based on facts or speculation. Readers are the best judge.
THE PENINSULA
Syrian prime minister
survives bomb attack
Opposition rejects
Venezuela vote audit
Karzai confirms
receiving CIA cash
Barwa Avenue to open by Sept
DAMASCUS: Syrian Prime
Minister Wael Al Halqi escaped
an assassination bid yesterday,
surviving a blast against his
convoy in Damascus, in the latest attack on top members of
President Bashar Al Assad’s
regime. Soon after, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights
reported an air raid on Halqi’s
hometown of Jassem, in the
country’s south, killed 11 people
including eight rebel fighters.
The attacks came as UN chief
Bank Ki-moon issued a new plea to
Damascus to stop blocking an international inquiry into the alleged use
of chemical weapons and Republican
lawmakers in the United States
stepped up calls for American action
on the claims.
AFP
CARACAS:
Venezuelan
authorities yesterday began a
partial audit of the disputed
election won by Hugo Chavez’s
handpicked successor, as the
opposition flatly rejected the
move as insufficient.
Opposition leader Henrique
Capriles, who says he was the
real winner of the April 14 presidential vote, has accused election
officials of rejecting his appeal for
a full recount on the orders of the
ruling Socialist Party.
The National Electoral Board
has ruled that President Nicolas
Maduro — the leftist heir to the
late Chavez — won by 1.49 percent
of the vote, amending an earlier
tally that had Maduro up by 1.8
percent.
KABUL: Afghan President
Hamid Karzai confirmed yesterday that his office has received
money from the US Central
Intelligence Agency over the
past decade, with wads of cash
reportedly handed over in suitcases and backpacks.
Karzai thanked the US spy
agency for what he said was
money well spent just hours after
The New York Times reported that
Karzai’s office received tens of
millions of dollars in cash in a CIA
effort to win influence.
“Yes, the NSC of Afghanistan
has received money from CIA in
the past 10 years. The amount
was not big, rather it was small,”
Karzai said in a statement. AFP
See also page 8
AFP
DOHA: Barwa Commercial
Avenue (BCA), a commercial
and residential hub, is set to
open its first offices and retail
outlets by September and the
remaining offices and retail
units are expected to become
operational in the last quarter
of the year.
BCA has secured leasing
agreements with a number
of major local, regional and
international businesses.
Considered one of the longest
single project strip developments
in the world, BCA stretches over
8.5km in Ain Khaled district
and comprises five distinct
yet interconnected zones —
Jeera, Safwa, Joud Mall, Arkan
and Sayer, containing a mix
of residential, commercial
See also page 11
and retail components, and
an advanced infrastructure
network.
The QR7bn development
project offers 908,000 square
metres of state-of-the-art
facilities that include 640
retail stores, a medical centre,
entertainment venues, food and
beverage outlets, 730 offices,
540 residential units, and 12,000
parking spaces.
“The holistic environment
that we have envisioned for
businesses will be a major asset
in the community’s economic
development,” said Saad Al
Dosari, Chairman of BCA.
A total of 16,405 sqm worth of
office space has now been leased
to organisations such as Qatar
Islamic Insurance, Dicotech
Qatar, Hub Business Center
(Al Manaa), Lizonne Trading
and Contracting, FJ Trading
and Engineering Co, Al Shaibeh
Establishment Trading, TUV
SUD Middle East, Panorama
Events and Media, Argon Global
Trading and Contracting, AG
Tech, Hamton International, Al
Thulathi Trading Services and
Cont Co, Network Electrical,
Modern Building Trading
and Contracting, Intermodal
Services Co WLL, Qatar
Neon, AL Kaun Trading and
Contracting, Al Shaghairi
Trading and Contracting
Electra. New World Center
recently signed an MoU for
approximately 27,000 sqm of
retail space and 228 apartments.
THE PENINSULA
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
02
Schedule of
‘Mubadara’
announced
HOME
PM chairs Arab meeting in Washington
Injaz initiative to inspire youth
DOHA: Injaz Qatar, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to
imparting practical education
to youth, and a member of the
US-based ‘Junior Achievement’
(JA), another non-governmental entity, yesterday announced
the dates of the 6th ‘Annual
Young Enterprise of the Year’
competition to be held here
from May 22 to May 23.
The name of the annual competition has now been re-branded
as ‘Mubadara’, which means ‘initiative’ in Arabic.
Injaz provides vocational programmes for young people to
inculcate and develop entrepreneurial skills among students
between the age group of 12 and
24. It is part of its ongoing commitment to motivating, inspiring
and developing Qatar’s youth.
The organisation imparts education and training to the youth
on host of issues including money
management and how businesses
work.
The non-governmental organisation (NGO) also announced
the publication of its first annual
report (70-page, bilingual), documenting its achievements, activities, events, success stories and
financial figures for 2012 at a
media roundtable yesterday.
According to the report, about
7,750 students have participated
in courses offered at Injaz Qatar
since 2007. Participants of the
programme included students
from 27 independent schools,
two private schools and two
universities.
In addition, the report also
reveals that over the past five
years, Injaz Qatar has collaborated with 65 national and
multinational businesses that
have provided the organisation
corporate volunteers and financial support.
During the event, it reinforced
the importance of the role played
by all its partner companies, all of
which allow Injaz to broaden its
scope and reach.
Aysha al Mudahka, Executive
Director of Injaz Qatar, said:
“Our accomplishments have not
only been achieved by our team’s
hard work, but also through the
dedication of our volunteers who
have selflessly given their time,
knowledge and experience to our
causes, as well as the support of
our corporate and educational
partners.”
The NGO connects corporate
volunteers with schools to teach
a variety of different programmes
including Success Skills, Company
Programme, Be Entrepreneurial,
Banks in Action, Innovation
Camp, Personal Economics, More
than Money, Job Shadow Day and
Business Leader Campaign.
These programmes will
enhance knowledge and skills of
students, better equipping them
with the skills they need to succeed in the corporate world.
Once enrolled for a programme,
students are assessed regularly
to monitor their progress. For
example, this year’s results for the
‘Personal Economic Programme’
helped Injaz Qatar understand
how students have developed
interpersonal skills, recognised
their role in the local market
and most importantly, learnt the
importance of how education
helps to build both practical and
professional skills.
THE PENINSULA
The Director of Operation, Ammar Benaissa, and Marketing Associate,
Fatima Al Kharaz, during the media roundtable yesterday. KAMMUTTY VP
DCMF plans to
release annual
report today
DOHA: The Doha Centre for
Media Freedom (DCMF) will
today release its first annual
report on the challenges facing
journalists and their profession
across the world.
The report aims at “strengthening the “immunity” required
to allow media organisations to
continue their noble mission to
serve citizens through democracy,
justice and human rights,” said a
DCMF statement yesterday.
Reports issued by international and non-governmental
organisations reveal shocking figures about violations committed
against journalists. Only in 2012,
the number of journalists or other
media staffs killed has exceeded
120, while the number of scribes
jailed worldwide reached over 180.
“These shocking figures
strengthen our conviction and
determination to assist in protecting the right of those professionals to do their work, which is
a fundamental guarantor of universal rights and values,” said the
statement.
THE PENINSULA
The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, who is Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Arab
Peace Initiative, and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al Arabi, with other officials of the Arab Peace Initiative at a consultative meeting in
Washington, yesterday, ahead of a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry. During the meeting, the leaders discussed latest developments
of the Arab initiative and efforts by the Peace Initiative Committee under the chairmanship of Qatar, in addition to efforts for a joint and unified Arab
position to reach a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.
Kulluna to focus on heart health
DOHA: With a high incidence
of heart diseases in Qatar,
the next phase of an ongoing
national health and safety campaign, Kulluna, will focus on
cardiac health and preventive
measures against heart-related
illnesses.
The second phase of the campaign ‘Kulluna for a Healthy
Heart’ was announced at the
Hamad International Training
Center (HITC) yesterday. It will
educate people on heart diseases,
its prevention, treatment and lifestyle changes to encourage heart
health.
The campaign, in its new phase,
will focus on different elements of
prevention of heart diseases and
the behaviours, lifestyle and risk
factors that can lead to heartrelated illnesses such as smoking,
obesity, high blood pressure and
diabetes.
According to the National
Stepwise Survey conducted under
the supervision of the Supreme
Council of Health (SCH) last year,
nearly half of the Qatari population has three out of five of the
risk factors that can lead to lifestyle diseases.
Obesity is on the rise among
the population with 70 percent
overweight, out of whom 41.4 percent are obese while 16.4 percent
smoke. Close to 45.9 percent are
found to have low physical activity, with women as the most sedentary with 54 percent against 37
percent men.
The campaign is supported
FROM LEFT: Senior Cardiology Consultant, Dr Omar Al Tamimi, President of ConocoPhilips-Qatar, Gary Sykes,
Chief of Communications and Chief of Staff for the managing director's office, Mohammed Al Noaimi, Director of
Hamad International Training Centre (HITC), Dr Khalid Abdulnoor Saifeldeen and CEO of Heart Hospital, Dr Lionel
Jarvis, during the press conference at HITC yesterday.
ABDUL BASIT
by the Kulluna Healthy Heart
Team, which is made up of several multidiscipline professionals
from Hamad Medical Corporation
(HMC) and is sponsored by
ConocoPhillips.
The Director of Hamad
International Training Centre, Dr
Khalid Abdulnoor Saifeldeen, said
heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in men and
women around the world.
“We at Kulluna believe that
each one of us, with the right
information and encouragement,
can make changes that will result
in improved heart health and a
better quality of life and are committing to bettering the life of
the people of Qatar through this
interactive campaign,” he said.
“The first Healthy Heart campaign event will take place toward
the end of May and will offer a
range of advice, health checks
and tests for those concerned
about the state of their hearts,”
he added.
Solar-powered lamps for Salwa-Mesaieed highway
DOHA: For a first in the
country, the Public Works
Authority (Ashghal)
will
use a solar-powered lighting system at the SalwaMesaieed road that is nearing
completion.
Ashghal will also use LED
lamps, a highly efficient system
that helps in saving energy.
Solar-powered lighting system is being tested as a pilot
project in Salwa-Mesaieed Road
and will be used throughout the
country in the near future, if
the experiment proves successful, Ashghal said yesterday.
About 90 percent of the
expansion work on the road
connecting Mesaieed Industrial
City with Salwa Road through
Al Kharrara area has been
completed, Ashghal said. Of the
23km road, work has already
been completed on 20km.
The fast track project aims
to improve road services and
safety to be able to cope with
the heavy traffic in the area.
As part of the project, the road
leading to Mesaieed industrial area has been converted
to a highway with two lanes in
each direction, and an 8m wide
median with a protective fence.
The new Salwa-Mesaieed highway, with two lanes in each direction, and an 8m median with a protective fence.
“Ashghal has studied the
traffic flow on the said road to
identify means to meet the traffic safety requirements.
Based on this study, Ashghal
has used a wearing course (top
layer) made of high quality
bitumen that provides additional strength, durability, and
longevity to the road, to withstand the heavy trucks/vehicles
that constitute a large portion
of traffic in the area,” said the
statement.
To streamline the traffic flow
which has doubled due to the
increased capacity, one of the
existing roundabouts on the
road will be replaced with an
intersection provided with traffic lights.
THE PENINSULA
“Every day at the Heart
Hospital, we dedicate ourselves to
educating and informing the public about ways to prevent heart
diseases and practice healthy living,” said Dr Lionel Jarvis, CEO
of HMC’s Heart Hospital
Launched in 2012, Kulluna, is
a five-year national campaign
to improve health and safety in
Qatar. The first part of their campaign, ‘Keep Us Safe’ was dedicated to children safety.
THE PENINSULA
Advisory Council
holds meeting
DOHA:
The
Advisory
(Shura) Council yesterday
held its ordinary weekly
meeting session under its
Speaker H E Mohammed
bin Mubarak Al Khulaifi.
At the outset of the meeting, the Advisory Council
Secretary-General Fahd bin
Mubarak Al Khayareen read
the agenda, which was then
agreed upon.
The Advisory Council then
endorsed the minutes of its
previous session.
The Council discussed
the Financial and Economic
Affairs Committee’s report on
a draft law issuing the unified
system (law) for anti-dumping and countervailing and
preventive measures of Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC)
States.
The Council also reviewed
the report of the Financial and
Economic Affairs Committee
on a draft law on the organisation of exhibitions.
The Council decided to
submit its recommendations
thereon to the Cabinet.
QNA
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
HOME
03
Millennium forum to review results
Meet a platform to show Qatar’s capabilities: QSA chief
DOHA: The Forum of the
Millennium Development Goals
(MDG) kicked off in Doha
yesterday under the patronage of H H Sheikha Moza bint
Nasser and organised in cooperation with the Qatar Statistics
Authority (QSA).
The forum will review the
results of the fourth report of the
MDGs in Qatar and establish the
most important achievements and
challenges.
In 2000 member states of United
Nations agreed to a series of goals
which were to be attained by 2015.
These goals are: Eradicate extreme
poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote
gender equality and empower
women, reduce child mortality,
improve maternal health, combat
HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global
partnership for development.
Chairman of the QSA Sheikh
Hamad bin Jabor bin Jassim Al
Thani opened the two-day event
highlighting that these goals
reflect the aspirations of people
to a better life and sustainable
development.
Al Thani hoped that the forum
will discuss the MDGs in depth
after 2015, in addition to displaying achievements in terms of those
objectives and to identifying the
challenges that impede progress.
He called on all institutions in
the country to discuss new targets,
especially in terms of measuring
methods.
“We would like to show our
capable nation to the world,
including the achievement of
its international obligations to
respond to sceptics as an Arab
country in competition with other
countries to host major international events,” he added.
He called participants in the
forum to come up with specific
mechanisms of action to overcome the challenges and achieve
more, and emphasised the need to
prepare seriously for the post-2015
era. In the field of human development and occupation, Qatar
ranked first among Arab countries
and thirty-sixth globally.
“This shows the extent of development in various fields, especially the field of education and
health and standard of living,” he
clarified.
He demanded hard work and
fruitful cooperation to meet the
remaining challenges and referred
to two main goals: Qatari women’s
participation in public life and
the emissions of carbon dioxide.
Paolo Lembo, representative of
the United Nations Development
Programme, praised the efforts of
QSA at the local level and the Arab
world to find a distinct statistical system for Qatar and to find a
common statistical structure for
the Gulf and Arab countries.
Lembo also pointed out that
countries that have made progress
in the Millennium Development
Goals are those that succeeded
in designing a development plan
consistent with their own circumstances and objectives.
Nada Jafar of the Economic and
Social Commission for Western
Asia and Nasser bin Abdul Aziz Al
Nassr, High Representative for the
Alliance of Civilisations also took
part in the opening discussion.
Jamal Abdulla Al Yafei, an official from the Supreme Council for
Family Affairs, said that Qatar is
following its own specific plan for
empowering women to involve
them more in the labour market,
both in the public and private
sector.
This department is also considering how women can manage
their responsibilities in and out
of their home. “We are trying to
develop a new policy, maybe by
giving them part-time jobs,” he
added. Forty percent of Qatari
women are not working.
Local women work mainly in
the health and education fields.
“Sometimes they don’t want to
work with men; that’s why we
can also give them the option to
work in separate areas,” clarified
the expert. In addition, there are
more women than men in univerTHE PENINSULA
sities now.
Nasser bin Abdul Aziz Al Nassr, High Representative for the Alliance of Civilization, addressing the opening of the
Forum of the Millennium Development Goals at the Four Seasons Hotel yesterday.
SALIM MATRAMKOT
Local firms come forward to ‘Educate A Child’
DOHA: Several organisations
yesterday signed agreements
with ‘Educate A Child’ initiative
to support children deprived of
education around the world and
bring quality primary education to millions of out of school
children.
Agreements were signed on the
sidelines of a high level meeting
of ‘Educate A Child’ (EAC) held
at the Qatar National Convention
Centre.
QATAR AIRWAYS
Qatar Airways yesterday signed
a memorandum of understanding
with EAC.
The partnership is focused on
working together to promote the
EAC programme and to collaborate on special projects in key
markets of mutual interest.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive
Officer, Akbar Al Baker said,
“Qatar Airways is proud to be
associated with such a commendable cause. The partnership
we officially marked today represents the common bond we share
in spearheading global initiatives
that impact communities in a
progressive and forward-thinking
manner.
“One of our key strengths as
a global airline is that we cover
the globe right from our doorstep,
here in Doha, uniting people
together and bridging barriers.
The exposure we will generate
through our international passenger base will benefit the awareness
and involvement levels of the EAC
exponentially,” said Al Baker.
QSTEC
Qatar Solar Technologies
(QSTec)’s partnership with EAC
is focused on working together
in applications of solar energy, to
allow for the donation of solar panels to selected schools in specific
countries. It will provide affordable renewable energy for schools
in selected countries and other
solutions in the renewable energy
sector. “QSTec and SolarWorld
AG are proud to support this
important initiative,” said Dr
Khalid Klefeekh Al Hajri, QSTec’s
Chairman and CEO.
“Educating our youth and providing new opportunities for learning is a significant challenge for
many people living in remote communities. By working with EAC to
provide solar energy solutions for
schools, we aim to create an environment that facilitates innovative
learning for communities in areas
that otherwise don’t have access
to online education tools, Internet
connectivity or reliable electricity
supplies.”
EXXONMOBIL FOUNDATION
The ExxonMobil Foundation
and EAC signed an MoU to
discuss opportunities to work
together to support the enrollment of children in schools, and
provide quality education experiences for children in Angola,
Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and
Tanzania. The memorandum of
understanding was signed by
Marcio Barbosa, senior advisor to
H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser
and CEO of Education Above
All Foundation, and Suzanne
McCarron, president of the
ExxonMobil Foundation.
THE PENINSULA
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
04
HOME
Arab Spring enhanced EU-GCC ties
Scholars and diplomats take part in Qatar University workshop on Gulf-European Union relations
BY AZMAT HAROON
DOHA: Despite major differences
over
petrochemical industries, carbon tax
and human rights issues, the
Arab Spring has prompted
closer cooperation between
the European Union (EU) and
GCC countries.
This was stated by academic
scholars and diplomats who
converged here yesterday for a
seminar on promoting EU-GCC
dialogue on foreign policy issues.
The two-day international
workshop is organised by Qatar
University’s Gulf Research
Centre (GRC) and the Institute
for European Studies at Vrije
Universiteit Brussels as part of
a European Commission’s project
to promote deeper EU-GCC
relations.
An increase in political cooperation was particularly seen after
the 2010 diplomatic programme,
with convergence on crisis issues
such as Libya and Yemen.
“The points of contact between
the EU and GCC have increased
over the years. Now, there are
many high-level meetings that
discuss issues and exchange,”
Dr Christian Koch, Director of
the Geneva-based Gulf Research
Centre Foundation, told The
Peninsula.
He said that both sides had
done a commendable job of preventing Yemen from deteriorating further as nobody wanted to
see a further disintegration of
the security situation.
Some experts, however, were
sceptical of the extent to which
the relations would grow because
of a failure to negotiate terms of
Officials taking part in a seminar to promote EU-GCC dialogue on foreign policy issues at Qatar University yesterday.
the free trade agreement (FTA)
for almost 25 years.
Breaking the negotiation
impasse was difficult in what
regional experts said was EU’s
inability to understand the
human rights issue from a GCC
perspective, one of the important clauses of the FTA. Dr Koch
argued that human rights issue
had already been settled by the
EU and GCC.
“As far as the GCC is concerned, the discussion over
human rights has been done.
There is no more discussion
going on,” Dr Koch said.
“It’s a basic agreement that
one abides by the United Nations
charter on human rights and neither the EU nor the GCC have
a problem with it,” he added,
arguing that it is more a technical issue now as far as the Free
Trade Agreement is concerned,
which is about export duties.
Yet GCC countries may now
not be keen to sign the FTA with
EU over the European economic
crisis and an emerging interest
in the Asian markets.
“The real market for the GCC
now is Asia. We have seen the
trade volumes increase much
more exponentially (with Asia)
than with the EU,” Dr Koch
SHAIVAL DALAL
said, stressing that FTA may no
longer be as important as it was
10 years ago, especially from a
GCC perspective.
He also said that the sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf
region were critical in supporting certain industries and financial institutions in Europe in the
wake of the 2008-09 crisis.
As trade volume between
both sides continues to grow on
an annual basis, one of the key
issues that the EU is going to
decide by the end of this year will
be on the Generalised Scheme of
Preferences (GSP).
Experts also said that an
increase in socialisation among
the youth of both regions was
very critical to breaking a cultural distrust that had stalled EU
and GCC negotiations over the
years.
THE PENINSULA
Katara DFI Cinema to screen
award-winning Disconnect
A scene from the Golden Globe winning film, Disconnect.
DOHA: Disconnect, which stars
Golden Globe winner Jason
Bateman, will be screened next
month as part of Katara DFI
Cinema which brings the best
of international cinema to audiences in Doha.
Directed by Henry Alex Rubin,
the film will be screened at Katara
Drama Theatre, Building 16 from
May 9 to 15.
This gripping thriller premiered at the 69th Venice Film
Festival and had its North
American Premiere at the
Toronto Film Festival last year.
Disconnect is the tale of a teenage loner and talented musician,
who is bullied by his peers. A
man loses his savings; his wife is
a victim of identity theft. A journalist puts her interview subject
in danger and all of this happens
online. The Internet now connects
millions of us to each other at the
mere click of a mouse, but what
happens if those connections don’t
turn out the way we predict they
will? ‘Disconnect’ takes a look
at the underside of the Internet,
wondering what might be the
consequences of sharing too much
about ourselves with people we
don’t know enough about.
For tickets, Box Office timings and full films listing log in
to www.dohafilminstitute.com
or visit the DFI Ticket Outlet in
Katara, Building 26, from May 5
to 15 between 1pm and 7pm. The
Katara Drama Theatre Ticket
Outlet (Katara Building 16) will
be open from May 9 to 15, 30 minutes prior the day’s first screening
start time.
THE PENINSULA
TEDxYD, Bloomsbury to promote reading habit
DOHA: TEDxYouth@Doha
(TEDxYD) and Bloomsbury
Qatar Foundation Publishing
(BQFP)
have
launched
Laysh: To read or not to read,
a bilingual online reading initiative which is the first of its
kind in Qatar.
The campaign was aimed at
Qatar’s youth but open to the
greater community through the
Lash website (www.laysh.org)
which will run until June 1.
The goal of the campaign
is to get young people talking about reading, and provide
them with a virtual arena to
do so.
Participants aged 13 and
up will upload an English or
Arabic-language video of themselves on the Laysh website in
which they share their perspectives on reading. To encourage
creative participation,
the most imaginative video will be
rewarded.
Laysh is part of
BQFP’s larger dedication to enriching the reading and
writing environment
of Qatar, in both,
Arabic and English.
The campaign has
invited mentors to
submit their own
videos as “Friends of
Laysh.”
L ana Shamma,
Acting Director of
Reading and Writing
Development
at
BQFP, said “Laysh
is a great opportunity for us to interact with avid readers
across Qatar in a
less formal manner
than book clubs and
workshops.
“We are excited to
see the amazing ideas
that the community will come
up with.”
For TEDxYouth@Doha,
Laysh is an opportunity to
interact with youth online in a
manner as yet unseen in Qatar.
The programme is one of three
projects being launched by the
volunteer collective in 2013.
Uzair Mohammad, Chief
Curator at TEDxYouth@Doha,
said: “Laysh aims to kickstart
a conversation in the community in which everyone can get
involved.
“We want to hear people’s
perspectives: whether they are
unsure about reading, whether
they love it or dislike it. I personally am quite excited to
see how youth meld the art
of modern videomaking with
their passion for reading.”
Although Laysh is a collaborative effort between TEDxYD
and BQFP, the campaign has
been developed entirely by local
youth who have volunteered
to develop the programme, its
brand, website, and its youth
engagement strategy.
Updates and information
about Laysh can be found
on TEDxYouth@Doha and
BQFP’s Facebook and Twitter
pages, as well as on the Laysh
website – www.laysh.org.
THE PENINSULA
HOME/ MIDDLE EAST
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
05
Disney’s 100
Years of Magic
coming to Doha
Huge increase in
visitors from
Qatar to Thailand
Show’s Mideast debut from June 13
DOHA: ‘Disney on Ice celebrates
100 Years of Magic’, a globally
popular live family entertainment show, will have its Middle
East debut, staging seven performances, at the Qatar National
Convention
Centre
(QNCC)
from June 13 to 16.
Produced
by
Fe l d
Entertainment and watched by
millions of children and families
across the globe, Disney On Ice
celebrates 100 Years of Magic
brings together over 60 unforgettable Disney stars that span
the decades, a sing-along score
of award-winning Disney music,
stunning choreography, elaborate
sets and beautiful costumes.
Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse
and their friends from Disney’s
The Little Mermaid, The Lion King
and Beauty and the Beast will be
taking to the ice with beloved
princesses Cinderella and Snow
White. Joining them are Woody
and Buzz from Disney/Pixar’s
Toy Story, Nemo and Dori from
Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo and
even Stitch from Lilo & Stitch
drops in to wreak his usual havoc
during this grand celebration.
Ice engineers will arrive in
Doha two weeks before the event
and begin building the ice from
scratch using two 64-tonne refrigeration units and 48,000 litres
of water. The process will take
between 24 and 48 hours.
Ali
Haidary,
Sport
&
Entertainment Solutions Founder
& CEO, said: “Our partnership
with Feld Entertainment signals
the beginning of a long-term commitment to bringing live family
entertainment productions to the
Middle East. We will begin with
Disney On Ice, in Doha, this June,
and we plan to bring other Feld
Entertainment Live events to the
region in the future.”
Horacio Renna, Vice-President
of Feld Entertainment Europe,
Middle East and Africa, said: “Over
the last 30 years, Disney On Ice
has travelled to over 60 countries
Officials during the announcement of Disney On Ice celebrates 100 of Years of Magic show in Doha.
throughout the world, but never to
Qatar. It has been our goal to find
a local partner who would work
closely with Feld Entertainment
to host the event in the region.”
Abdullah Al Bader, Director
of Tourism, Qatar Tourism
Authority (QTA), said: “We are
pleased to be hosting the biggest
Disney On Ice production, 100
Years of Magic, for the first time
in the Middle East.”
He added: “Welcoming such a
renowned international family
entertainment brand falls in line
with the QTA’s objective to make
Doha a popular family entertainment destination. We would invite
families to be part of the magical Disney experience, which has
been seen by millions throughout
the world.”
Tickets for the show start from
QR150 and go on sale next month
at Virgin Megastores across Doha
or at www.virginmegastor.me.
THE PENINSULA
Ashghal honours team behind Salwa Road calligraffiti
Officials from Ashghal and Qatar Museums Authority with the team behind the Salwa Road calligraffiti murals
project at a ceremony.
Sudan state declared
‘target’ by rebels
KHARTOUM: Sudanese rebels yesterday declared
North Kordofan state a target in a widening offensive,
as parliament met to discuss weekend attacks on the
region which had been largely free from unrest.
Except for occasional rebel forays over the border from
the conflict-plagued Darfur region, North Kordofan had
been generally peaceful.
But on Saturday a rebel coalition struck a major
North Kordofan town which residents said had been left
unguarded and was hit during coordinated attacks in the
insurgents’ most audacious act in years.
“North Kordofan state has all become our target,”
Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, spokesman for the Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), said.
SPLM-N, which has been fighting for two years in
South Kordofan state, belongs to the Sudan Revolutionary
Front (SRF) which also includes major insurgent groups
from Darfur.
Lodi said that insurgents on Sunday shelled the airport
area of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, for the
second time in two days.
He warned civil aviation to avoid the area, as well as
the airspace in North Kordofan. “It is becoming a target
for us,” Lodi said. “This is a very serious kind of warning.
This whole area has become an operational area.”
SRF said it attacked Umm Rawaba, the second-largest
town in North Kordofan, and several other areas in North
and South Kordofan as part of its strategy to reach the
capital Khartoum and overthrow the 24-year regime of
President Omar al-Bashir.
Parliament met in closed session to discuss the attacks
while Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein
inspected damage from the weekend assault.
Speaking to troops in a state television broadcast, he
said he wanted the area down to the South Sudanese
border “cleansed of rebels”.
The SPLM-N has shelled Kadugli periodically since
late last year, but on Saturday for the first time targeted
the airport region. That barrage killed four soldiers, Lodi
claimed, but residents reported only a few injuries.
AFP
DOHA: The Public Works
Authority (Ashghal) in collaboration with the Qatar Museums
Authority (QMA) yesterday
marked the completion of the
eL Seed “calligraffiti” murals
project on Salwa Road tunnels.
Led by French-Tunisian graffiti
artist eL Seed and his team, four
underground tunnels on Salwa
Road are now embellished with
artistic graffiti themes inspired
by anecdotes from Qatari culture
and markers of Qatari life. Each
of the 52 large-scale murals on
the tunnels feature different and
unique themes.
Ashghal President Engineer
Nasser Ali Al Mawlawi met with
the QMA officials and the calligraffiti team and thanked them
for their efforts and valuable
contributions to the successful implementation of the
project. He honoured Jean
Paul Engelen, Director of
Public Art at QMA, Khalid
Ali, QMA project manager,
as well as eL Seed and his
team of volunteers; Essa Al
Kawari, Jabr Al Kawari,
DOHA:
There
was
huge
increase in the number of visitors from Qatar to Thailand
last year, according to a Thai
tourism official.
Chalermsak Suranant, Tourism
Authority of Thailand, Director
for the Dubai & Middle East
Office, said 37,718 tourists from
Qatar visited Thailand last year
registering a 36 percent increase
compared the previous year.
Suranant was speaking on the
sidelines of an upcoming Middle
East roadshow to promote Thai
tourism to Qatar and Kuwait.
“We are looking forward to
meeting with our travel partners
in Kuwait and Qatar. The GCC is
an important market for Thailand
and over the years the visitor
numbers have steadily improved.
In 2012, Thailand received 69,223
visitors from Kuwait which is
15 percent increase compare to
2011 and 37,718 tourist from Qatar
which is 36 percent increase compare to 2011,” he said.
Tourism Authority of Thailand
(TAT) Dubai & Middle East office
is hosting pre-ATM (Arabian
Travel Market) roadshows to
Kuwait and Qatar to help boost
visitor numbers from the region.
The Thai tourism delegation will
be coming over to Doha for the
roadshow at the Oryx Rotana
hotel on Thursday.
With an average flying time of
just seven hours from the Middle
East, Thailand remains a popular tourist destination for visitors
from the region, offering a diverse
range of leisure attractions including shopping, sunbathing, gourmet
dining and entertainments.
Saudi court jails 7
for Al Qaeda link
Dima Masoud, Ahood Al Dafa,
Assil Diab, Rana Abu Selo, and
Salima Al Ismaili.
“In collaboration with QMA,
the calligraffiti work on Salwa
road is our first artistic endeavor
to promote Qatari heritage, traditions, art and culture through our
projects. I am greatly impressed
by the creativity of the artists
and admire their hard work and
dedication which truly reflects
in the paintings. We extend our
sincere appreciation to QMA led
by H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint
Hamad Al Thani for their commitment to develop, promote and
sustain art and heritage in Qatar,
and look forward to integrating
more such artistic initiatives to
reinforce Qatari art and culture
through our work,” said Mawlawi.
RIYADH: A Saudi court jailed
seven people convicted of supporting Al Qaeda to between
two and eight years in prison,
state news agency SPA reported.
Another defendant was jailed
for four months after he was convicted of “attempting suicide several times” in prison, as suicide is
forbidden in Islam, and a ninth was
acquitted, it said late on Sunday.
The lower special court did
not announce its verdict on
three remaining defendants of
the group of 12 — all Saudis
except for one Yemeni — as they
did not attend the hearing, said
SPA.
THE PENINSULA
THE PENINSULA/AFP
06
VIEWS
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
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Editorial
Cash for Karzai
Cartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate
HE revelation of Afghan President Hamid Karzai
receiving millions of dollars from the CIA comes at a
time when the response to the West’s intervention in
Afghanistan and Iraq is being freshly sifted through.
Though The New York Times report has let the cat among the
pigeons in Karzai’s government and the impoverished nation
struggling to find a foothold amid a Taliban insurgency, the
Afghan president, at least on the surface, has not responded
with alacrity. Karzai admitted that his office has been receiving
cash from the US external intelligence service for what he said
were “operational assistance to injured people, rental costs and
other goals.”
Afghanistan has been a close ally of Washington in its war
on terror and the regime in Kabul, it is well known, is propped
up by Washington. Karzai was brought in with US support to
help in running a government that was immediately threatened
by the Taliban. Washington has virtually hand-held the Afghan
government through very hard times — when the insurgency
was at its peak and Kabul was struggling to reconcile the needs
of a fragile nation with the demands of the West to crack down
on the Taliban. Western forces paid dearly for invasion of the
country as the militants inflicted heavy casualties on foreign
troops who were new to the terrain and the methods of fighting
of the insurgents. US troops also started training the Afghan
police force in modern warfare
techniques, trying to add value to
The report of
an aspect of security that would be
Karzai receiving critical for the security forces in the
long run.
cash from the
Amid much talk of the
CIA will further impropriety
of the US intervention
dent his image
in Afghanistan, Karzai has been
ruling
with
apparent
confidence, at
at a critical time
times holding his own against what
for Afghanistan. was often seen as the hubris of the
US administration. On occasions, he
has also chided Washington for drone attacks that kill innocent
civilians. Though Karzai’s reputation has not always been taintfree, the revelation of wads of currency notes in bags being
received by his office over the last ten years has certainly dented
his image. The beleaguered president maintains that the money
was given to the National Security Council for various purposes.
Karzai has been considered subservient to the US
administration by the Taliban, which refuses to talk to him.
The re-election of Karzai to the presidency in 2010 was
marked by widespread irregularities, which the West preferred
to ignore, in its own interest. It did not want to upset the apple
cart in Kabul when the going apparently seemed smooth.
Corruption in high places is not a new phenomenon. However,
when the issue is woven into the intricacies of statecraft, the
subject becomes more complex.
Though Karzai’s honest admission that his office received
money from the CIA is laudable, the revelation will certainly
not go down well with the people of Afghanistan. The disclosure
is likely to leave citizens of one of the poorest countries in the
world feeling alienated and bitter.
T
Growing fears of blowback
Islamist threat in Libya
iplomats are warning of
growing Islamist violence
against western targets in
Libya as blowback from
the war in Mali, following last week’s attack on the French
embassy in Tripoli.
The bomb blast that wrecked much
of the embassy is seen as a reprisal by
Libyan militants for the decision by
Paris the day before to extend its military mission against fellow jihadists in
Mali. The Guardian has learned that
jihadist groups
ejected from their
Timbuktu stronghold have moved
north,
crossing the Sahara
through Algeria
and Niger to
Libya, fuelling a
growing Islamist
insurgency.
“There
are
established links
between groups
in both Mali and
Libya — we know
there are established routes,” said
a western diplomat in Tripoli.
“There is an anxiety among the
political class here
that Mali is blowing back on them.”
That anxiety escalated last week
after militants detonated a car bomb
outside the French embassy, wounding
two French guards and a Libyan student, the first such attack on a western
target in the Libyan capital since the
end of the 2011 Arab spring revolution.
“The armed groups we are fighting
are fleeing to Libya,” said Colonel Keba
Sangare, commander of Mali’s army
garrison in Timbuktu. “We have captured Libyans in this region, as well as
Algerians, Nigerians, French and other
European dual-nationals.”
France sent troops to Mali in
January after an uprising in the north
D
Diplomats say
jihadists cross
the Sahara to join
cadres in Libyan
cities of Benghazi
and Derna. Police
stations in both
cities have been
hit by bombings in
the past few days.
started by the ethnic Tuareg National
Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
(NMLA), named for the independent
state it hopes to create.
The impetus for this uprising came
from ethnic Tuareg soldiers who had
fought alongside Muammar Gaddafi and
fled south when his regime fell. They
were later augmented by jihadists from
Libya and across north Africa, who triggered international condemnation for
their destruction of ancient Sufi Muslim
shrines in Timbuktu. The fear across the
Maghreb is that the French operation
that has pushed them out of the northern cities has inadvertently compounded
problems elsewhere in north Africa as
jihadist units disperse.
“If you squeeze a balloon in one
part, it bulges out in another,” said
Bill Lawrence, of International Crisis
Group, a political consultancy. “There’s
no question that the French actions in
Mali had the effect of squeezing that
balloon towards Algeria and Libya.”
Timbuktu residents say there are
links between Tuareg militants there
and in southern Libya. “There were
many Tuaregs in Mali who left during
the drought of 1973 — some of them
became senior figures in the Libyan
army under Gaddafi,” said Mahaman
Toure, 53. “I personally know a local
Tuareg who became a general under
Gaddafi and was here with the jihadists.
Now they have all gone back to Libya.”
Diplomats say jihadists cross the
Sahara to join cadres in Libya’s eastern
coastal cities of Benghazi and Derna.
Police stations in both cities have been
hit by bombings in the past few days,
part of an insurgency that threatens
to undermine the country’s fragile new
democracy. Chad’s president, Idriss
Deby, claimed at the weekend that
Benghazi was now home to training
camps for Chadian rebel fighters.
“From the perspective of an Islamist,
it makes sense,” said Dr Berny Sebe,
an expert on the Sahara region from
Birmingham University. “If you are in
northern Mali, the best thing that you
can do is to make your way across Niger
The other side
T
With his irresponsible remarks and
acts, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe seems determined to challenge
international law and force his country
apart from its Asian neighbors.
When asked about his government’s
position on an apology made by former
prime minister Tomiichi Murayama for
Japan’s colonial rule and aggression
in Asia, Abe said he was doubtful of
the exact definition of “aggression”.
“The definition of what constitutes
aggression has yet to be established
in academia or in the international
community,” he said at a parliamentary
meeting on Tuesday.
These words reveal Abe’s
GUARDIAN NEWS
Quote of
the day
Abe beautifying aggression
HE charging of Boston
bombing suspect Dzhokhar
Tsarnaev on Monday put to
an end, as a practical matter,
an incipient debate about whether he
should be held and questioned as an
“enemy combatant.” That’s just as well,
because it wasn’t a very intelligent
discussion. Republian Sens. John
McCain, Ariz., and Lindsey O Graham,
S.C., began calling for Tsarnaev’s
transfer to military detention on Friday
night, saying, “It is absolutely vital the
suspect be questioned for intelligencegathering purposes” and that “the least
of our worries is a criminal trial which
will likely be held years from now.”
and then into southern Libya, where
there is no state control.”
Eastern Libya has long been a base
for Islamists, who launched an unsuccessful uprising against Gaddafi in
the 1990s. Their units reappeared in
the uprising two years ago, and while
many have integrated with government
forces, others are campaigning for a
state ruled by clerics rather than secular politicians. Benghazi has become a
virtual no-go area for foreigners following attacks on the British, Italian and
Tunisian consulates, the fire-bombing
of an Egyptian Coptic church and the
killing of US ambassador Chris Stevens
in September. The bombing in Tripoli
indicates that terrorism has now spread
to the capital.
“Libya suffers this Mali blowback in
two ways,” said a diplomat in Tripoli.
“First there are the fighters arriving
here, second there are units carrying
out attacks in support of their brothers
[in Mali].”
The result is not only being felt
in Libya. In January, units from
Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, an Algerianbased Al Qaeda offshoot, struck the
In Amenas gas plant, killing 38 hostages, in what they said was retaliation
for France’s Mali offensive.
Ordinary Libyans are suffering.
Watching French police investigators
sifting through the mangled wreckage
outside the abandoned embassy, neighbour Emad Tillisy, a Tripoli businessman, shook his head. “This is so bad for
Libya,” he said. “It is the worst message we can send out to the world. We
need to have foreigners coming here
for business.”
Libya’s efforts to tackle the militants
are restricted by the distrust felt by
much of the population for government
security units, many of them drawn
from former Gaddafi-era formations.
Twin rocket attacks on oil and gas
pipelines earlier this month south of
Benghazi have meanwhile sent a shudder through Libya’s oil industry, almost
its only export earner.
undisguised beautification of Japan’s
aggression against its neighbors and
transmit the message that he will not
budge back from his stubborn stance
on Japan’s militaristic past.
It might be Abe’s logic that there is
no need for Japan to face up to the
history or feel remorse for the crimes
of its past militarism if Japan’s wartime
acts are not defined as “aggression”.
Abe has been the first Japanese
chief of government to express open
opposition to the Murayama statement, issued in 1995 at the 50th
anniversary of the end of World War
II, which acknowledged that, through
its colonial rule and aggression, Japan
“caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries,
particularly to those of Asian nations”.
His predecessors knew that supporting the statement was a prerequisite if
Japan was to maintain good ties with
its wartime victims, such as China and
the Republic of Korea, and obtain their
possible forgiveness.
Abe’s show of brazen revisionism
came only days after he made an offering at the notorious Yasukuni Shrine,
where 14 Class-A war criminals are
honored among Japan’s war dead.
Three cabinet ministers, including Taro
Aso,
China Daily
We need a welfare
system which is
more universal,
more focused on
young people and
women, extending
it to those who are
not covered...
Enrico Letta
Italian Prime Minister
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
VIEWS
07
Israeli credibility on line Afghan war comes
to US, in Boston
over Iran nuclear challenge
BY THOMAS GIBBONSNEFF
Israel has long insisted
on the need for a
convincing military
threat and setting clear
boundary lines for
Iran’s nuclear activity.
T
BY CRISPIAN BALMER and DAN
WILLIAMS
srael risks a loss of credibility over
both its “red line” for Iran’s nuclear
programme and its threat of military
action, and its room for unilateral
manoeuvring is shrinking.
After years of veiled warnings that Israel
might strike the Islamic Republic, Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out an ultimatum at the United Nations last September.
Iran, he said, must not amass enough uranium at 20 percent fissile purity to fuel one
bomb if enriched further. To ram the point
home, he drew a red line across a cartoon
bomb, guaranteeing him front page headlines
around the world.
However, a respected Israeli ex-spymaster
says Iran has skillfully circumvented the challenge. Other influential voices say the time has
passed when Israel can hit out at Iran alone,
leaving it dependent on US decision-makers.
“If there was a good window of opportunity
to attack, it was six months ago — not necessarily today,” said Giora Eiland, a former
Israeli national security adviser. Pressure from
Washington, he said, had forced Israel to drop
its strike plan. Israel has long insisted on the
need for a convincing military threat and setting clear lines beyond which Iran’s nuclear
activity should not advance, calling this the
only way to persuade Iran that it must bow
to international pressure.
Serving officials argue that Netanyahu’s
repeated warnings of the menace posed by
Iran’s nuclear project have pushed the issue to
the top of the global agenda and helped generate some of the toughest economic sanctions
ever imposed on a nation.
But some officials have also questioned
the wisdom of his red line, arguing that such
brinkmanship can generate unwelcome ambiguity — as the United States has discovered
with its contested stance on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Amos Yadlin, a former
military intelligence chief who runs a Tel Aviv
think tank, suggested last week that Israel
had also got itself into a tangle, saying Iran
had expanded its nuclear capacity beyond the
Israeli limit, without triggering alarms.
“Today it can be said that the Iranians have
crossed the red line set by Netanyahu at the
UN assembly,” Yadlin told a conference at
the Institute for National Security Studies
(INSS), which he heads.
Netanyahu’s office declined to respond to
Yadlin’s remarks, noting that the prime minister, in recent public statements, had said Iran
was “continuing to get closer to the red line”.
Tehran denies there is any military component to its nuclear activities, saying it
is focused only on civilian energy needs. It
charges that Israel, widely believed to have
his past week, Dzhokhar
Tsarnaev reportedly
told investigators that
he and his brother
set off bombs near the finish
line of the Boston Marathon in
part because of their opposition to the US wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan. As a Marine who
fought in Afghanistan in 2008
and 2010, the news made me
wonder: Had my war brought
the horrors of battle home?
My family’s home is a few blocks
from the blast site, where flying
shrapnel killed three people and
severed many limbs. When a relative told me, his voice brimming
with anger, that he wanted to kill
those responsible, I couldn’t help
feeling that I had somehow failed.
My family sounded like any of
the Marines I’d met after a comrade stepped on an improvised
explosive device: angry, confused,
spiteful. War had seeped through
my front door, and now my fivefoot-tall flower child of a mother
wanted revenge served cold.
When the September 11,
2001, attacks happened, I was a
13-year-old boy barely out of my
Pokemon phase. I remember that
day vividly, as we all do: gigantic
pieces of steel dissolving into a
sea of ash.
By April 15, 2013, my frame of
reference had changed. Now, at
25, I’ve experienced the horror of
the Boston finish line many times.
In Afghanistan, I’ve shoved my
knee into wounded Marines’ pressure points, smelled the cordite of
gunfights and explosions, and said
goodbye to dear friends. Recently,
however, I’ve returned home to
complete an English degree at
Georgetown University.
The images of the Boston bombing reminded me of things I saw
in southern Helmand province,
not the streets where I usually
do my Christmas shopping. Many
witnesses described the marathon carnage as “a war zone,”
and indeed it was: mangled flesh,
shocked faces, splattered blood.
Except the runners and spectators in Boston weren’t wearing
body armour and helmets. No helicopter swooped in through a cloud
of purple smoke to rescue them.
They weren’t combatants. Rather,
they were strangers, family members, co-workers and friends in
Nikes and New Balances, turning sweat-drenched T-shirts and
belts into tourniquets.
I deployed to Afghanistan
believing my presence in that
country would help stop attacks
such as Boston’s from happening.
But instead, my war had spilled
over, striking the city where
my 22-year-old brother goes to
school and where my mom, until
recently, felt perfectly safe eating
lunch outdoors.
The Tsarnaev brothers aren’t
I
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points to a red line drawn on the graphic of a bomb as he
addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York, last year.
the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal, is the
greater regional threat.
Keeping in step with Netanyahu, Israeli
defence and military officials issued clear
warnings this month that Israel was still prepared to go it alone against Iran, once more
beating the drums of war after months of relative quiet.
“We will do what is necessary when it is
necessary,” armed forces chief of staff Benny
Gantz told Israel Radio on April 16.
But there is increasing skepticism within
diplomatic circles about the viability of such
an option. Envoys doubt that the Israeli military could now make much of a dent on Iran’s
far-flung, well-fortified nuclear installations.
“If nothing happened last year, I struggle
to see why it will happen this year,” said a top
Western diplomat in Tel Aviv, speaking on
condition of anonymity given the sensitivities.
Israeli President Shimon Peres has done little to bolster belief in unilateral action, making
clear this month that he thought US President
Barack Obama would be the one to go to war
against Iran if nuclear diplomacy failed.
“He knows no one else will do it,” Peres told
Israeli TV. The United States offered Netanyahu
a new array of military hardware last week,
including refuelling tankers that could be used
to get fighter jets to and from Iranian targets.
However, Israel cannot match the sort of
firepower that the United States could bring
to a battlefield. For example, Israel lacks the
biggest bunker-busting bombs that experts say
would be needed to penetrate Iran’s underground Fordow enrichment plant.
Such limitations always cast doubt on a possible Israeli assault and the more time passes,
the more the doubts grow.
Ehud Barak, the previous Israeli defence
minister, said in November 2011 that within
nine months it would probably be impossible to halt Iran because it was increasing the
number of centrifuges and its network of sites,
creating what he termed a “zone of immunity”.
Seventeen months have gone by since then.
Washington has promised Israel it will not
let Iran develop a nuclear bomb. Israelis get
jittery, however, because they have set a very
different clock for when they believe it would
be necessary to intervene — hence the importance of the red line.
The Israelis make no distinction between
Iran developing the capacity to build an atomic
bomb and having the actual weapon. Yadlin
told the INSS conference that as soon as
Tehran could put just one rudimentary device
on a boat and sail it to an Israeli port, it was
a de-facto nuclear-armed nation.
Some analysts question whether Iran would
indeed attack Israel if it had an atom bomb,
or even try to build one, rather than just
establish an apparent nuclear capability to
project deterrence and regional power. To fire
a nuclear weapon at Israel, they say, could spell
the ruin of the Islamic Republic in counterstrikes by a foe with a far bigger nuclear arsenal. Gantz himself said last year he felt Iran’s
leadership was “very rational” and unlikely to
build an atomic bomb.
The US concern is to prevent Iran, which
has called for Israel’s destruction, from reaching the verge of acquiring a nuclear bomb — a
nuance at variance with Israel’s position that
provides a longer window of opportunity to continue diplomacy. Exasperated by Washington’s
refusal to set a clear ultimatum, Netanyahu
came up with his 240-250 kg limit for 20 percent enriched uranium, hoping this would concentrate minds. The Iranians stayed below this
threshold by converting 110 kg of the gaseous
material to solid form that they say is destined
to power a research reactor.
Yadlin said that rather than turn all of this
into solid reactor fuel, Iran had kept 80 kg of
it in the interim powdered state. That, he said,
could be converted back to original gas form in
around a week, inflating the stockpile beyond
250 kg. With the red line in possible jeopardy,
and unilateral military action in doubt, one
security official suggested that Israel might
turn to covert sabotage, with renewed focus
on those specifically working on the 20 percent
enrichment.
Five Iranian scientists and academics have
been killed or attacked since 2010 in incidents
believed to have targeted Iran’s nuclear programme. Israel has remained silent about the
attacks and other known acts of sabotage at
Iranian sites.
REUTERS
the first terrorists to cite US
military intervention in other
countries as a reason for targeting civilians, and they won’t
be the last. Despite our best
efforts and valour, I wonder,
have America’s wars made the
homeland less safe? Sure, we’ve
killed and captured thousands
of radicals who wanted to harm
Americans. But in doing so, have
we created more?
It wasn’t always easy to justify
serving in a war that has devolved
from its initial aim of ousting the
Taliban and Al Qaeda to a nationbuilding effort that appeared to
have come 10 years too late. The
conflict has dragged on for more
than a decade, becoming increasingly unpopular after years
of mixed results and no clear
definition of victory. The counterinsurgency mantra of “clearhold-build” echoed in our ears
as we fought an elusive enemy
and slowly pushed them out of
the city centres. Day by day, we
measured victory by the number
of wells we had helped build and
the time that had passed without
a casualty.
Some of my best friends came
home in flag-draped coffins,
and no one ever convincingly
explained to me why and what
for. On a recent winter afternoon,
after Afghan President Hamid
Karzai delivered an upbeat speech
at Georgetown on the future of
Afghanistan, I had the chance to
ask him what the sacrifice of my
brothers-in-arms meant to him
and his countrymen.
The answer I received was a
diatribe. Karzai cited September
11, 2001, and America’s global
war on terror but never directly
answered my question. I would
have liked a “thank you” or a sentence with “greatly appreciated”
in it. But there was not a hint of
gratitude in his response.
While I was deployed, I went to
bed at night believing that I was
protecting the homeland because
coming after my fellow Marines
and me was a much easier commute for those so hell-bent on killing Americans. But that argument
no longer makes sense if my war
has inspired our enemies at home.
The brothers who stand accused
of packing pressure cookers with
low-grade explosives and ball bearings were American citizens. My
own countrymen were apparently
responsible for filling my mom
with deep hatred, for killing an
eight-year-old boy and three others, for attacking my hometown.
I’d like to believe that my war
prevented an attack such as
Boston’s for some years. If the 16
months I spent in Afghanistan
delayed the bombing for just a day,
then it would have been worth it.
But my war failed to help those
people at the finish line. As those
bombs exploded, my war came
home.
WP-BLOOMBERG
Will Secretary Kerry outdo Hillary Clinton?
BY AARON DAVID
MILLER
eorge Marshall. Dean
Ac h e s o n .
Henry
Kissinger. James Baker.
These are the sorts of
names you’d see in a Secretary
of State Hall of Fame, if such
a thing existed. Enshrinement
would depend on negotiating a
consequential agreement, defusing a major crisis, articulating a
successful doctrine or fashioning a strategy for peace or war
that puts you at the centre of
American foreign policy.
Hillary Rodham Clinton didn’t
get there. But John Kerry might.
This isn’t a knock on Clinton’s
abilities or record, nor is it excessive optimism about what Kerry
might achieve as secretary of
state. Rather, it’s a recognition
that 90 percent of success in life
isn’t merely showing up — it’s
showing up at the right time. And
in showing up at Foggy Bottom
for President Obama’s second
term, Kerry may have done precisely that.
The president’s need to delegate more of his global portfolio as
he focuses on domestic issues, the
G
sheer variety and magnitude of
international problems to manage,
and the fact that Kerry, unlike
Clinton, has taken the job at the
end of his political career, when
he can afford to take greater risks
— all these forces come together
to give Kerry a chance to shine
that Clinton never had.
Don’t misunderstand: Clinton
was a fine secretary of state. She
fought for her department and
travelled the world in an effort
to improve America’s image. But
she had the misfortune of serving under the most controlling
commander in chief — on foreign
policy — since Richard Nixon. If
she didn’t own the kind of consequential issues relating to conflict,
war and diplomacy that make
secretaries of state into historic
figures, it is because she was not
allowed to. Instead, Clinton made
a virtue out of necessity, building
an agenda that included gender
equality, Internet freedom and
the environment. All important issues, just not Acheson or
Marshall territory.
On those matters relating to
peace and war, the president,
his White House advisers and
the National Security Council
dominated. The military, understandably, controlled Iraq and
Afghanistan together with the
president. When it came to thinking big on the US-Israeli relationship, Iran, strategy on Russia and
China, and the so-called Mideast
peace process, it was the White
House again. Even special envoys
such as George Mitchell and
Richard Holbrooke were viewed
as second-class citizens.
It was a tough spot for Clinton.
Certainly, all presidents seek to
dominate foreign policy. But great
secretaries of state don’t just
implement the White House’s
policies, they play a critical role
in shaping them. And presidents
often empower their top diplomats, giving them leeway to run
while watching their backs in
Washington.
Nixon may have been jealous of Kissinger, but he knew he
needed him, particularly during the
Watergate years. And George H W
Bush, because of his personal relationship with and high regard for
Baker, let him shape US policy on
key issues relating to Iraq, Russia
and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Clinton may have been a loyal team
player, and the president respected
her, but neither was very likely to
forget that one ended up with the
top job in Washington and the
other didn’t. As the withholder in
chief on foreign policy, the president never really depended on his
secretary of state.
Obama’s first-term foreign
policy was competent: no spectacular failures and, aside from
the killing of Osama bin Laden,
no spectacular successes, either.
He focused on winding down
America’s wars, was tough on terrorism and sought to work with
others rather than embracing
the lone-ranger diplomacy of his
predecessor.
But governing is about choosing, and in a second term — with
less time available and lame-duck
status looming — the choices
become harder for any president.
Given the state of the world and
the seeming absence of easy victories abroad, Obama has probably
realised that his real legacy will
be on the domestic side. Enter
Kerry, whom the president needs
to manage a dangerous world in a
way that he didn’t need Clinton.
Obama does not want to be
remembered as the president who
watched Iran obtain a nuclear
weapon, presided over the end of
the two-state solution and allowed
Syria to go the way of Rwanda. He
needs Kerry to revolve these challenges — or at least handle them.
Is Kerry up to the task?
“Men make their own history,”
Marx wrote, “but they do not
make it as they please.” No matter how talented and committed
Kerry may be, unless the world
offers real opportunities for effective US diplomacy, he may be on
the outside looking in at the Hall
of Fame, along with Clinton. By
attacking Israel in 1973, Anwar
Sadat gave Kissinger a chance
to broker three disengagement
agreements among Israel, Egypt
and Syria in 18 months; Saddam
Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait
in 1990 gave Bush and Baker a
chance to wage war and diplomacy effectively in the Middle
East. America’s post-World War
II dominance and the emerging
Cold War with the Soviet Union
gave Marshall and Acheson a
chance to be bold and visionary.
Crises aren’t enough, of course.
As secretary of state, you not
only need a set of events offering a real opportunity for success, you also have to figure out
how to deal with those exigencies when they’re in front of you.
Even with presidential backing,
the secretary of state must have
a personal presence, the capacity
to manipulate and anticipate, and
a negotiator’s mindset. The world
is a jigsaw puzzle with pieces scattered everywhere. In the heat of
a crisis, will Kerry be able to see
how the pieces fit together — and
actually assemble them?
All we know for now is that
Kerry desperately wants to do
it. “Global leadership is a strategic imperative for America, not
a favour we do for other countries,” he told the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee during his
confirmation hearing. “It amplifies our voice, it extends our
reach. It is the key to jobs, the
fulcrum of our influence, and it
matters.” His remarks might well
have been a personal manifesto
for a man who fashions himself
as the embodiment of the activist,
internationalist engager.
And he is engaged everywhere
— dealing with North Korea,
Turkey, China, Syria, even the
broken Arab-Israeli peace
process.
WP-BLOOMBERG
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
08
MIDDLE EAST
Dubai jails Britons on drug charges
Sentencing to feature in talks as UAE president visits London today
DUBAI: A Dubai court sentenced three Britons to four
years in jail on drug charges
yesterday, a decision that may
overshadow a visit to Britain by
the United Arab Emirates president because of allegations that
the defendants were tortured.
The three were convicted a
day after British Prime Minister
David Cameron voiced concern
about the allegations and his
spokesman said the case would
be on the agenda of his talks
this week with UAE President
H H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan.
Grant Cameron, Karl Williams
and Suneet Jeerh, all in their 20s,
were arrested in July 2012 during a holiday in the UAE. Police
said they had found a form of synthetic cannabis in their hire car.
All three had pleaded not guilty
to charges of possessing and
intending to sell illegal drugs and
said police had subjected them to
beatings and threatened them with
guns — allegations the police deny.
UAE Judge Ali Attiyah Saad
found the three guilty in Dubai
Criminal Court and sentenced
them to four years in jail each.
Defence lawyer Issa bin-Haider
said the sentences indicated the
court had dropped the charge of
intent to sell illegal drugs, which
would have carried a more severe
punishment.
Abdel Hamid Mahdi, who represents Grant Cameron, said he
planned to appeal against the
sentence, asking for clemency. It
is common for convicts to be pardoned during UAE national and
religious holidays, particularly
first-time offenders.
In London, David Cameron’s
spokesman said the case of the three
Britons would feature in his discussions with Sheikh Khalifa, who was
to arrive for a state visit today.
“We have asked for a full and
impartial independent investigation into these incidents,” the
spokesman told reporters. “The
state visit is primarily a chance to
develop and strengthen relations
between our two countries. As
part of that there will be opportunities to raise a wide range of
issues, including concerns about
these cases,” he added.
In a letter to Reprieve, a
London-based legal charity which
campaigns for prisoner rights,
Cameron said on Sunday that
Britain had repeatedly raised
concerns about the torture allegations with the UAE, saying the
authorities’ failure to organise a
full medical examination of the
men was worrisome. “We continue to press for evidence of a
full, impartial and independent
investigation,” Cameron wrote.
At a hearing in the case in
March, police officer Osman Ali
Abdulla, who took part in the
Britons’ arrests, denied any of the
men were abused or beaten and
said they were treated well.
There is zero tolerance for
drug-related offences in the UAE,
a regional business hub and tourist destination where millions of
expatriates live and work. There
are severe penalties for drug trafficking and possession.
Reprieve investigator Kate
Higham urged Cameron yesterday to push for their release during his talks with Sheikh Khalifa.
“The central fact of this case
remains that these men were tortured by police, but there has been
no proper investigation into their
abuse,” she said in a statement.
During his two-day visit to
Britain, the UAE leader will be
hosted by Queen Elizabeth at
Windsor Castle, hold a meeting
with Cameron and have tea with
the Prince of Wales.
Series of car
bombs and
shootings kill
23 across Iraq
the side on time and save the lives
of the passengers,” the source said,
adding that it was unclear whether
the attackers knew that the plane
was Russian.
The plane was returning from
a resort in Egypt, a popular destination for Russian tourists.
BAGHDAD: At least 23 people were killed in Iraq yesterday in a series of car bombs in
Shia areas and militant attacks,
medics and police sources said,
taking the week’s death toll to
nearly 200 as sectarian violence
intensifies.
Clashes have increased as the
civil war in Syria puts strain on
fragile relations between Sunnis
and Shias. The tensions are at
their highest in Iraq since US
troops pulled out more than a
year ago.
The latest bout of blood-letting began when security forces
raided a Sunni protest camp
near Kirkuk last week triggering
clashes that quickly spread to
other Sunni areas including the
western province of Anbar, which
borders Syria and Jordan.
Iraq decided yesterday to close
a border crossing with Jordan for
two days starting today due to
“organisational issues”, the interior minister said without giving
any details. It is the second time
this year that authorities have
ordered the closure of the Traibil
border post in Anbar.
The demonstrations had eased
in the past month, but this week’s
army raid on a protest camp in
Hawija, near Kirkuk, 170km north
of Baghdad, angered Sunnis and
appears to have given insurgents
more momentum.
Early yesterday, at least
nine people were killed and 40
wounded in two car bomb explosions in Amara, 300km southeast
of Baghdad.
The first of two blasts in
Amara, ripped through a market
where people were meeting to eat
breakfast, and the second hit an
area where day labourers were
gathering to look for work.
Another car bomb was detonated
in a market in Diwaniya, 150km
south of Baghdad, killing two people, police said. “I was preparing
to go to work when a big explosion
shook my house and broke the glass
in all the windows,” said witness
Widy Jasim. “I ran outside, the
explosion was near my house and
bodies were everywhere”.
A bomb in a parked car went
off near a busy market in Kerbala,
killing at least three people. A
further six people were killed in
an explosion near a Shia worship
site in Mahmudiya, about 30km
south of Baghdad.
AGENCIES
REUTERS
REUTERS
Syria beefs up air
defences, says US
WASHINGTON: With technical support from Russia, Syria
has bolstered its air defences,
posing a threat to US aircraft
if America decides to intervene
in the war, a US official said
yesterday.
The official confirmed a report
that first appeared in the Wall
Street Journal.
Word of the upgraded defences
takes on new urgency given US
assertions that Syria may have
used chemical weapons against
rebel forces — an assessment
that will test President Barack
Obama’s repeated statement that
such a move would be a “game
changer” for Washington.
“The Syrians have stepped up
their efforts in recent years to
bolster their air defences, particularly after the covert nuclear
facility they were building was
destroyed,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official was alluding to a
nuclear reactor destroyed in an
Israeli air raid on September 6,
2007.
The regime of President Bashar
Al Assad relied on technical support from Russia to upgrade its
air defence system, which dates
back to the Soviet era, this official said.
But the United States rarely
interfered because it viewed Iran
as the region’s larger threat, the
Journal said. And in the early part
of the Obama administration, the
United States sought to improve
ties with both Russia and Syria,
it added.
Russian technicians are on
hand with many of the antiaircraft defence units to provide
assistance and repair broken
equipment with parts imported
from Russia, the Journal said.
Quoting a US intelligence
assessment, the Journal said that
in August 2008 Russia began shipping 36 SA-22 Pantsir S1 units to
Syria. They combine surface-toair missiles and an anti-aircraft
gun, and are mounted on combat
vehicles and thus mobile.
In 2009, Moscow started upgrading Syria’s outdated analogue SA-3
surface-to-air missile system,
turning them into a system which
is mobile and digital and capable of
taking out cruise missiles.
A destroyed car is seen on a street lined with buildings damaged by what activists said was shelling by forces
loyal to President Bashar Al Assad in the besieged area of Homs.
Missile attack on plane
Republicans are calling for US
action of some kind against Syria
in light of the new reports that
Damascus may have used chemical weapons against rebel forces.
One military option — not
under consideration at this point
— would be to establish a no-fly
zone, which would involve taking
out Syria air defences.
Meanwhile,
unidentified
assailants fired two land-to-air
missiles at a Russian passenger plane carrying around 200
people when it flew over Syria
earlier yesterday, the Interfax
news agency reported, citing an
UAE pardons
more than
100 Egyptian
prisoners
Brotherhood out for revenge on judiciary: Amr Moussa
DUBAI: The United Arab
Emirates pardoned more than
100 Egyptian prisoners yesterday in a move hailed by the
Egyptian Ambassador to Abu
Dhabi as a gesture that will
improve
strained
relations
between the two countries.
Ties between Egypt and
the UAE soured after veteran
Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak
was toppled in 2011. The UAE
has voiced distrust of the Muslim
Brotherhood that helped propel
Egyptian President Mohammed
Mursi to power last year.
UAE President H H Sheikh
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan also
paid the outstanding fines for the
103 inmates, state news agency
WAM said, but those freed did
not include 11 Egyptians detained
last year on suspicion of training Islamists how to overthrow
governments.
WAM said the pardon “underlines the president’s keenness to
offer the released prisoners the
opportunity to start a new life
and alleviate the suffering of their
families”.
The Egyptian Ambassador
Tamer Mansour said the decision
was “an initiative that is bound
to open all paths of good deeds
between Egypt and its sister, the
UAE”. “It will also remove all the
harmful residues that had clung
to their historic relations in the
previous period,” he added in a
statement.
REUTERS
CAIRO: Egypt’s ruling Muslim
Brotherhood is trying to exact
revenge on the judiciary for
years of imprisonment and
political exclusion, but is attacking the wrong target, opposition leader Amr Moussa said
yesterday.
The elder statesman said that
Egypt faced an exceptional “tobe-or-not-to-be crisis” worse than
after its 1967 defeat by Israel, and
President Mohammed Mursi
would do better to pursue national
unity rather than division.
Mursi appeared to back down
when he agreed with senior judges
on Sunday to seek a compromise
on judicial reform instead of acting on proposals by his Islamist
supporters to force more than
3,000 judges into retirement.
Moussa, 76, a former Arab
League secretary-general and
Egyptian foreign minister, said
the assault on judicial independence should never have happened
in the first place.
informed source in Moscow.
“The Syrian side informed us that
yesterday morning unidentified people had fired two land-to-air missiles
which exploded in the immediate
proximity of a civilian plane belonging to a Russian airline,” the source
was quoted as saying. “The crew has
been able to move the aircraft to
“This is not a concession. This
is what should have been done
from the start,” he said in an
interview in his liberal opposition Congress Party’s office, saying Mursi’s climbdown came after
strong public disapproval.
Asked what had prompted
the campaign against the judiciary, Moussa said: “I believe it
is a strange feeling of revenge,
of punishment. Some say that
the judges were responsible for
it (their imprisonment). In fact
Workers protest
Workers shout slogans against the government during a protest along Mohamed Mahmoud street near Tahrir
Square in Cairo yesterday. The Egyptian Union of Independent Syndicates, together with workers, political
groups and movements that support labour rights, will hold rallies on Labour Day on May 1.
this was not true. They got a lot of
rulings from the judges that they
were innocent.”
The Muslim Brotherhood was
outlawed for much of its nearly
80-year existence, and its members were repeatedly imprisoned,
tortured and barred from most
political activity under former
President Hosni Mubarak, who
was overthrown in a 2011 uprising.
Moussa said the Brotherhood
was wrong to brand him a “remnant” of the old regime, simply
because he had served Mubarak
for a decade as foreign minister.
That argument had not prevented
many Egyptians from voting for
him in last year’s presidential
election, when he came fifth.
“Egypt is not divided between
the Muslim Brotherhood and others, or between people of today
and people of yesterday. Egypt
is for all Egyptians... the previous regime is finished, is gone,”
he said.
REUTERS
Gunmen hold Libyan
ministry under siege
TRIPOLI: Dozens of gunmen
kept Libya’s foreign ministry
under siege for a second day
yesterday, as violence spread
when police officers firing their
guns in the air stormed the
interior ministry demanding
higher wages.
A correspondent and witnesses
said that around 30 vehicles, some
mounted with anti-aircraft guns,
and unidentified armed men have
encircled the foreign ministry in
Tripoli since Sunday, demanding
it sack officials from the previous
regime of Muammar Gaddafi.
Banners demanding the adoption of a law that would enforce
the expulsion of Kadhafi-era officials were Monday plastered on
the gate of the ministry building.
“The ministry is closed,”
Aymen Mohamed Aboudeina,
one of the protesters, said, adding
that “talks will be initiated in the
coming hours with the concerned
ministries”.
He said the siege would be lifted
when the protesters’ demands are
met through a vote in the General
National Congress — the highest
political authority in Libya — on
a bill calling for the expulsion of
former regime employees.
Separately, a group of angry
police officers entered the compound of the interior ministry on
the airport road, firing their guns
into air and demanding promotions and salary hikes, witnesses
said.
“The situation has calmed
down now. Officers just wanted to
make their voices heard against
injustices”, a security source said.
AFP
INTERNATIONAL
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
09
Boston suspect
had links with
slain Islamists
France to cut
armed forces
by 10 percent
Killed suspect tried for Russian passport
MAKHACHKALA, Russia:
One of the brothers suspected
of carrying out the Boston
bombings had made links with
two figures in the Islamist
anti-Kremlin insurgency in the
Northern Caucasus, both of
whom were killed by Russian
security forces, a security
source said yesterday.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who
was himself killed during his
capture by US authorities, was
known to have been in contact
with a Dagestan militant named
Makhmud Nidal and also a militant of Canadian origin named
William Plotnikov, a Russian
security source in the Northern
Caucasus said.
Plotnikov took part, like
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in boxing
competitions in both Canada and
the United States and the two
men also had contacts on social
networks, said the source.
Plotnikov was among seven
militants killed in a shootout with
Russian security forces in July 2012.
It was not clear if they ever met on
the territory of Dagestan itself.
According to the Moscowbased Novaya Gazeta opposition
newspaper, which also published
details of Plotnikov’s links to
Tsarnaev, he was a 21-year-old
ethnic Russian who had converted
to Islam in Canada.
It said that Tsarnaev’s name
first became known to the
Russian security forces when
Plotnikov was arrested in 2010 in
the Dagestani town of Izberbash.
He was later released.
Makhmud Nidal, meanwhile,
was a known militant with whom
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was seen
when he made a trip back to
Dagestan from the United States
in 2012, the security source said.
They were seen together four
times, on each occasion at a
mosque known for its Salafist tendencies in the Dagestani capital
Makhachkala.
During his visits to the mosque
he became the subject of some
interest among fellow worshippers owing to an unusual interest
in the study of Islam.
Nidal was killed in May 2012
in a “counterterrorist” operation
in Makhachkala. After his death,
Tsarnaev disappeared from the view
of the Russian security services.
The avowed purpose of
Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s visit to
Dagestan in 2012 was to obtain
a new Russian passport which in
the end he never picked up.
The visit is now being closely
scrutinised in Russia and the
United States to see if the true
aim was to activate contacts with
Islamists in Dagestan, which has
been dogged by an anti-Kremlin
insurgency for years.
A source in the Dagestan centre
for fighting extremism, which is
part of the federal security service, told the Novaya Gazeta that in
the light of the latest information
it appeared this was the case.
“Judging by this all, Tamerlan
Tsarnaev indeed came to
Dagestan with the aim of making contact with militants,” said
the source.
But the source added that he had
failed to achieve his goal as it takes
several months for a willing new
militant to go through a “quarantine” period to be accepted by other
Islamists as one of their own. After
the deaths of Nidal and Plotnikov,
Tameralan Tsarnaev “lost his
contacts, got scared and jumped.”
AFP
Rescue workers search at the scene of an explosion in downtown in Prague, Czech Republic, yesterday.
Dozens hurt in Prague gas blast
PRAGUE: A powerful gas blast
ripped through a four-storey
building in Prague’s historic centre yesterday, injuring 35 people
including foreigners, and causing panic in the Czech capital.
Rescuers had feared there
could be bodies trapped under
the rubble of the heavily damaged
office block, but the city’s mayor
said nobody was believed to have
been killed.
The force of the explosion damaged parked cars and two adjacent
university buildings, blew out windows in nearby streets, and shook
apartment blocks across the
Vltava river. “It was a gas blast,
not a terror attack,” Prague mayor
Bohuslav Svoboda told reporters.
Rescuers had voiced fears that
sniffer dogs would find several people dead in the rubble, but Svoboda
said: “They haven’t found anyone...
and nobody is reported missing.”
“It was a terrible blast, everyone was awfully scared,” a woman
working at the adjacent journalism faculty of Prague’s Charles
University said, declining to give
her name. “Everyone was running,
the blast toppled the bookshelves
in the library. In one classroom
there were lots of injured students,
the librarians had blood on their
T-shirts,” she added.
“At one department the blast
wave broke a window on one side
and warped the door on the other
so people couldn’t get out and had
to kick the door open.”
Thirty-five people were injured,
including two Kazakhs, two
Portuguese, one German and one
Slovak, said Zdenek Schwarz, head
of Prague emergency services.
Police sealed off the popular tourist
area and evacuated 230 people from
nearby buildings, fearing further
gas leaks, Prague police spokesman
Tomas Hulan said, adding that several hundred officers were called into
action after the explosion.
A photographer at the scene
saw dozens of people with cuts
from shattered glass from windows along the debris-strewn
Divadelni Street. Injured victims
were treated on the spot for cuts,
some with blood streaming down
their faces and bandages on their
heads and many of them in shock.
Jan Hora, a structural engineer,
told Czech TV the damaged building — a former block of flats now
used as office space — had to be
supported with poles but would
probably not collapse.
The force of the blast shifted
the wall of the building by about
five centimetres (two inches) and
Hora said the blast likely occurred
on the ground floor, where the
ceiling was destroyed .
Minister Jason Kenney and Human
Resources Minister Diane Finley
have scheduled a news conference
for Monday afternoon to announce
reforms to the programme, which
the Conservative government was
expected to present to Parliament
in its budget implementation bill.
“While Canada is experiencing significant skills shortages
Five doctors jailed for
Kosovo organ trafficking
PRISTINA: An EU-led court in Kosovo yesterday
sentenced five doctors to up to eight years in prison
for illegal organ harvesting and transplants.
Former Kosovo health minister Ilir Rrecaj — who
admitted during the trial that he knew that illegal kidney transplants were carried out at the Medicus clinic
in Pristina in 2008, but denied covering them up — was
acquitted. Prominent Pristina urologist Lutfi Dervishi got
the stiffest term of eight years for “organised crime and
human trafficking,” the judge said in the verdict.
His son Arban Dervishi was sentenced to seven years
and three months while the other three defendants
received between one and three years imprisonment.
Royal hoax caller to testify
at British inquest
LONDON: An Australian radio presenter will give
evidence at an inquest into the death of a nurse who
hanged herself after putting through a hoax call seeking information on Prince William’s pregnant wife
Kate, the presenter’s lawyers said yesterday.
Mel Greig asked to appear as an individual at the
inquest into Jacintha Saldanha’s death, which provoked
worldwide anger at the radio DJ’s actions. “(Greig) is
determined to address any questions surrounding her role
in these tragic events as part of the inquest,” her lawyers
Slater & Gordon said in a statement.
Dutch royal handover today
AMSTERDAM: Queen Beatrix will pass the crown to
her eldest son Willem-Alexander today, making him the
first king of the Netherlands in over 120 years and the
Dutch are getting ready for a party. Orange, the royal
colour, is everywhere. Houses are covered in bunting
and flags. Shop windows are stuffed with orange cakes,
sweets, clothes and flowers.
April 30, or Queen’s day,
is always a day for partying in the Netherlands.
AGENCIES
in many sectors and regions,
this government believes that
Canadians must always have
first crack at job opportunities
when they become available,” said
Stephen Lecce, spokesman for
Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
“The government is moving quickly and taking action to
reform the temporary foreign
worker program to ensure that
Canadians are given the first
chance at available jobs.”
Despite 7 percent unemployment nationally, in some areas
and in some professions there are
labour shortages, and Canadian
employers are allowed to bring in
foreign workers if the employers
can demonstrate that they cannot
Man faces
charges in ricin
letters case
find Canadians to do the work.
The program was designed mainly
to bring in cheap agricultural workers but it has expanded rapidly to
fill shortages elsewhere, both highskilled positions in the booming
resource sector and low-skilled jobs
such as servers at the country’s ubiquitous Tim Hortons coffee shops.
TUPELO,
Mississippi:
A
Mississippi
martial
arts
instructor appeared in federal
court yesterday to face charges
in connection with mailing letters containing the deadly poison ricin to President Barack
Obama and other US officials.
Everett Dutschke, 41, was
arrested on Saturday in Tupelo,
Mississippi, after authorities
searched his former business and
home. He is charged with developing and possessing ricin and
attempting to use it as a weapon.
Wearing an orange prison
jumpsuit, Dutschke responded
briefly to a judge’s questions at the
hearing in Oxford, Mississippi,
on whether he understood the
charges against him. The judge
ordered a preliminary hearing be
held on Thursday when prosecutors will present more detailed
evidence in the case.
An indictment detailing the
charges is under seal but could be
made public later on Monday, said
George Lucas, Dutschke’s court
appointed attorney. Dutschke has
denied having any involvement
with the ricin letters and said he
cooperated with federal officials
during their searches.
REUTERS
AGENCIES
AFP
Canada to clamp down on temporary foreign worker programme
OTTAWA: The Canadian government was set to announce
tighter rules to prevent employers from using its temporary
foreign worker programme to
squeeze Canadians out of jobs,
acting after two high-profile
cases tarnished the program’s
reputation.
Citizenship and Immigration
PARIS: France plans to axe
nearly 10 percent of all jobs in
the armed forces as it battles a
financial crisis, a government
review showed yesterday, in
what critics said would reduce
the country’s military clout.
The white paper, which sets
the general direction of France’s
defence policy, seeks a balance
between the need to protect
France from high-level threats
and budgetary constraints as the
country teeters on the verge of
recession.
While reducing France’s
deployable forces, the review
calls for better cyber-defence
and intelligence, with a particular
focus on drones of its own.
France’s deficit of surveillance
drones was highlighted during
its recent intervention against
Islamist rebels in Mali, where
the United States deployed several Predator drones in support
of French forces.
“If there is one common theme
in what we wanted to implement with the white paper, it is
to ensure the best training, the
best equipment and the best possible intelligence for our armed
forces. They deserve it,” French
President Francois Hollande said.
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
10
ASIA / PHILIPPINES
New push to end Russia-Japan islands row
Putin, Abe to order foreign ministers to reopen talks; Tokyo keen to increase imports of Russian energy
MOSCOW:
Russian
President
Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe pledged yesterday
to renew efforts to find a solution to a
decades-long territorial row that has
prevented the two sides from signing a
World War II peace treaty.
After two hours of talks in the Kremlin,
they agreed to order their foreign ministers to reopen talks on finding options
for a solution that could be presented to
the leaders.
Abe, making the first high-level official visit by a Japanese prime minister to
Moscow in a decade, hailed the outcome
as a “great result” and said he had succeeded in building a strong bond with the
Russian leader.
A joint declaration by the two leaders
agreed it was “abnormal” their countries
had not signed a peace treaty 67 years
after the end of World War II.
They expressed determination to overcome “the existing differences” on the
islands dispute through talks although
there was no concrete suggestion of what
solution could end the years of deadlock.
The
dispute
surrounds
the
southernmost four of the Kuril islands
— known in Japan as the Northern
Territories — which have been controlled
by Moscow since the end of World War II
but are still claimed by Tokyo.
Since returning to power in December,
Abe has made improving relations with
Russia a priority and given rise to cautious hope by backing the resumption of
stalled talks on a solution.
The last such top-level official visit
to Russia was by then prime minister
Junichiro Koizumi in January 2003.
Former prime ministers Yasuo Fukuda
and Taro Aso visited in 2008 and 2009
for shorter, lower-level trips.
Japan is particularly interested in
increasing its import of Russian energy
resources as it seeks to diversify supplies
in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear
disaster in 2011.
Yet there remains little hope of an
immediate breakthrough, with Tokyo
insisting the four islands currently inhabited by around 16,500 Russians are its
territory and Moscow showing no hint
of a compromise.
“It does not mean that we will solve
everything tomorrow if the problem has
not been solved for the past 67 years,”
Putin said. “We did not create this problem — we inherited it from the past.
“But at least, we will continue work
on this complex issue, but one that is so
important for both sides.”
Abe said: “I feel that we have established personal, trusting relations.”
“We managed to agree that we will
renew these talks and we will speed up
this process. I consider this a great result
of this meeting.”
Crying contest
Manila says
peace talks
have failed
Most South Korean
workers leave joint
industrial zone
PAJU: Most remaining South
Korean workers at a troubled
joint industrial zone in North
Korea returned home early
yesterday after Seoul ordered
a pullout following months of
tensions.
Forty-three workers from
Kaesong — once a rare symbol
of inter-Korean cooperation —
crossed back over the world’s
most heavily militarised frontier
shortly after midnight, according
to Seoul’s Unification Ministry.
But seven supervisors remained
for talks with the North Koreans
about unresolved administrative
issues such as the wages of local
workers, according to the ministry, which did not say when they
were expected to return.
The evacuation raises the prospect of the permanent closure of
the industrial park, the last point
of contact between the two Koreas
and a key source of income for
Kim Jong-Un’s isolated regime.
South Korean companies with
factories at the site have expressed
shock at the sudden pullout.
The complex is the victim of
escalating tensions triggered by
a nuclear test by the North in
February, which has been followed
by a series of bellicose threats of
nuclear war and missile tests by
Kim Jong-Un’s regime.
The South’s Unification
Ministry played down concerns about the seven remaining employees, who work for
the Kaesong Industrial District
Management Committee and telecoms company KT Corp.
“We believe there is no chance
of South Korean officials being
held as hostages because both
sides have been locked in talks on
specific and practical issues since
Friday,” said ministry spokeswoman Park Soo-Jin.
“North Korea did not raise
such issues suddenly to block
them from crossing the border.
We hope both sides will narrow
their differences soon.”
South Korean Foreign Minister
Yun Byung-Se told a forum in
Seoul yesterday that “the window of dialogue is still open” on
Kaesong, according to the South’s
Yonhap news agency.
But some observers believe the
shutting down of the complex
would be permanent as the factory equipment there would fall
into disrepair and the firms would
soon lose their customers.
“Some people say that the complex may be reopened in a few
weeks or months once the two
sides hammer out a deal, but it’s
a ludicrous idea,” Yang Moo-Jin,
a professor at the University of
North Korean Studies in Seoul,
told AFP.
“Once the complex dies, the
North will naturally deploy its
troops back there, returning the
military situation to the preKaesong days. All the artillery
units targeting Seoul will move
closer to the border, which will
surely heighten military tension.”
Pyongyang announced on
April 8 that it was pulling out
its 53,000-strong workforce from
Kaesong, angered by the South’s
mention of a “military” contingency plan to protect its staff at
the site.
AFP
Relatives show pictures of garment workers who are missing, during a
protest to demand capital punishment for those responsible for the collapse
of the Rana Plaza building, in Savar, outside Dhaka, yesterday.
been toiling amid the stench of
rotting corpses, were shattered
by the death late on Sunday of
meetings between Buddhist and
Muslim leaders to foster religious
and ethnic tolerance, but also said
segregation of the two communities “must be enforced at least
until the overt emotions subside”.
Rakhine State is home to an
estimated 800,000 Rohingya,
regarded by the authorities as
illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.
The report, which calls them
“Bengalis”, urged the government
to assess their citizenship, but
under a 1982 law that Rohingya
activists said was drafted by the
former junta to exclude them.
The commission said Rakhine
a female garment worker who
had clung to life against the odds
before being overwhelmed by a
fire at the scene.
Britain’s Primark and Spain’s
Mango have confirmed that their
products were made in the block.
Italy’s Benetton acknowledged
having its clothes made in Rana
Plaza recently, but claimed it was
a “one-time order”.
Primark yesterday said it would
pay compensation to the victims
of the disaster, adding that it was
working with a local aid agency
to help provide emergency food
to families.
Worried that Western firms
could look elsewhere, manufacturers met representatives of at
least 30 leading brand names such
as Walmart, H&M and Gap in a
bid to assure them about safety
standards.
The meeting ended with an
announcement that the manufacturers and buyers had agreed
to form a joint panel to come up
with a firm safety action plan.
AFP
Climbers, guides make peace after Everest brawl
KATHMANDU:
A
trio
of European climbers have
made peace with a group of
Nepalese guides working on
Mount Everest after a “terrifying” high-altitude brawl that
sparked a police investigation,
officials said yesterday.
Ueli Steck, a Swiss national,
and Simone Moro of Italy, who
has climbed the world’s highest
peak four times, had a bust-up
with the guides near the summit
on Saturday.
An American eyewitness,
speaking by telephone on condition of anonymity, said Steck,
Moro and British photographer
Jonathan Griffith were asked to
wait on the mountain while the
REUTERS
AFP
Deploy more troops, Myanmar urged
Textile bosses beg firms not to leave Bangladesh
DHAKA: Bangladeshi textile
bosses pleaded yesterday with
Western clothing giants to keep
doing business with them after
nearly 400 people died in a factory collapse as hopes of finding
more survivors faded.
Organisers of the mammoth
rescue effort ordered in cranes
yesterday to clear the ruins of
what was once an eight-storey
factory compound before it caved
in five days ago while some 3,000
textile workers were on shift.
As Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina paid her first visit to the
tangle of concrete, the confirmed
number of dead stood at 382.
But the toll is expected to shoot
up now that heavy lifting equipment is being used. Rescuers had
earlier been wary of using anything but hand-held drills over
fears that machinery could force
more masonry to collapse onto
survivors.
Emergency workers, who have
Buddhists felt threatened by “the
rapid population growth of the
Bengali population”.
It recommended that if the government went ahead with a proposed family planning programme,
it should “refrain from implementing non-voluntary measures which
may be seen as discriminatory or
that would be inconsistent with
human rights standards”.
The commission also urged the
government and international
organisations to improve food
security and living conditions in
overcrowded camps before the
annual monsoon.
MANILA: The Philippines said
yesterday that peace talks with
communist rebels had collapsed
and a target of ending the decades-long insurgency by 2016
was impossible to achieve.
Philippine President Benigno
Aquino’s administration is looking for a “new approach” following nearly three years of failed
negotiations and a fresh surge in
deadly violence, chief government
negotiator Alex Padilla said.
“We are at an impasse now.
Whether we talk or not, the
same violence continues, nothing
has changed. So why will we force
ourselves to talk?” Padilla said.
Aquino had said he wanted
to seal a peace deal to end the
44-year insurgency, which has
claimed an estimated 30,000 lives,
before his term ended in 2016.
When asked about the timeframe, Padilla said: “That is gone.”
The government and the rebels
had initially raised hopes in early
2011 that they were on the right
track when they announced after
top-level talks in Norway that
both sides were committed to
signing a peace deal by June 2012.
But negotiations barely progressed after that.
Padilla blamed the Netherlandsbased communist leadership, the
National Democratic Front, for
the failure, accusing it of setting
new and impossible conditions for
talks.
He said this had been a tactic of
the rebels in more than two decades of peace talks with previous
administrations, and questioned
their sincerity in seeking peace.
Padilla said the government did
want to re-open negotiations at
some point.
Babies, held by amateur sumo wrestlers, break into tears as a gyoji or referee checks how loud they cry
during the Nakizumo Festival, or crying baby contest, at Sensoji Temple in Tokyo, yesterday. The traditional
event to determine how loud and long the babies cry, is held to celebrate the babies’ growth and pray for
their good health.
YANGON:
Myanmar
must
urgently address the plight of
Muslims displaced by sectarian
bloodshed in western Rakhine
State and double the number
of security forces to control the
still-volatile region, an independent commission said yesterday.
Its long-awaited report recommended a mixed bag of humanitarian and security responses to
violence last June and October
that killed at least 192 people
and left 140,000 homeless, mostly
stateless Rohingya Muslims in
an area dominated by ethnic
Rakhine Buddhists.
The commission called for
Nepalese rigged up some ropes.
The Europeans, who were
trying to climb the 8,848-metre
mountain by a new route without
supplementary oxygen, ignored
the request and carried on.
“Then some ice fell and hit
the Sherpas, which made them
angry,” said the eyewitness.
Later in the day, a furious group
AFP
of Nepalese stormed up towards
the climbers’ tents and pelted
them with stones until the men
came outside, after which a loud
argument ensued and punches
were allegedly thrown.
Mediation meetings between
the climbers and the local Sherpas
took place yesterday.
AFP
Taiwan sticks to ‘One China’ policy
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou yesterday renewed his
support for the “One China” policy as the island marked the 20th
anniversary of talks with former rival China. Ma, who initiated
detente with Beijing when he came to power in 2008 and has seen
a marked improvement in relations, pledged to maintain the status
quo which he said was to the island’s benefit. Taipei is becoming
increasingly reluctant to push for political negotiations with its
giant neighbour due to a lack of consensus among its people.
More arrests over Xinjiang violence
BEIJING: China has arrested 11 more suspects over clashes in
the ethnically divided region of Xinjiang last week that left 21
people dead, state media said yesterday. China blamed the violence in the western Chinese region on “terrorists”, but rights
groups say the charge is used to justify the authorities’ use of
force against members of the mostly Muslim Uighur minority.
State-run news agency Xinhua said all 19 suspects had now been
arrested after the incident on April 23 in Kashgar’s Bachu County.
Xinhua, citing Xinjiang police, said the suspects were from a “terrorist group” that was founded in September 2012.
Four climbers dead in Japan
TOKYO: Four climbers died over the weekend and two others
are missing on mountains including Mount Fuji in central Japan,
police and news reports said yesterday. On Sunday police found
the body of a 56-year-old woman who had been missing since an
avalanche hit a group of climbers on Mount Shirouma in Nagano
prefecture the previous day. The department also found the bodies
of two men in their 50s on Sunday while they were climbing elsewhere, local media reported. Police in Yamanashi prefecture said
the body of a 53-year-old man was found on Mount Fuji on Sunday
and news reports said he appeared to have suffered a severe fall.
China reports latest bird flu death
BEIJING: A man in Shanghai died from bird flu yesterday, the
latest person to die from the H7N9 strain of the virus first discovered in humans in March that has now killed at least 24 people. The 89-year-old died after 12 days of medical treatment, state
news agency Xinhua said, citing Shanghai health authorities. Cases
of the virus, confirmed in well over 100 people, have spread to several new provinces in recent days, including Fujian and Hunan.
AFP
PAKISTAN / AFGHANISTAN
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
11
CIA paid millions
to Karzai’s office
Seven dead in
Afghan cargo
plane crash
in the grip of organised crime.
Nahid Fareed, a member of
parliament from western Herat
province, who usually supports
Karzai’s government, said the
claims in the story represented a
“serious issue”.
KABUL: A civilian cargo plane
crashed shortly after take-off
at a huge US-run airbase in
Afghanistan yesterday, killing all seven crew members on
board, officials said.
Rescue teams rushed to the
scene after the plane smashed
into the ground inside the boundaries of Bagram airfield, a key
transport hub for US-led military
operations in Afghanistan.
“All seven of the crew on board
died in the accident,” a spokesman for the Nato military coalition said, adding that there was
no reported insurgent activity in
the area at the time.
The spokesman said that the
flight out of Bagram airbase, 50
kilometres north of Kabul, had
been operated by the US-based
National Air Cargo company.
Aircraft crashes are fairly
frequent in Afghanistan, where
the 100,000-strong international
military mission relies heavily
on air transport as it battles the
Taliban insurgency across the
country.
A Nato plane crashed in the
south on Saturday, killing four
US service members in another
incident that the coalition said
was not due to insurgent fire.
REUTERS
AFP
Money was meant to buy influence for spy agency
KABUL: Tens of millions of US
dollars in cash were delivered by
the CIA in suitcases, backpacks
and plastic shopping bags to the
office of Afghanistan President
Hamid Karzai for more than
a decade, the New York Times
says, citing current and former
advisers to the Afghan leader.
The so-called “ghost money”
was meant to buy influence for the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
but instead fuelled corruption and
empowered warlords, undermining Washington’s exit strategy
from Afghanistan, the newspaper
quoted US officials as saying.
“The biggest source of corruption in Afghanistan”, one
American official said, “was the
United States.”
The CIA declined to comment
on the report and the US State
Department did not immediately
comment. The New York Times
did not publish any comment
from Karzai or his office.
“We called it ‘ghost money’,”
Khalil Roman, who served as
Karzai’s chief of staff from 2002
until 2005, told the New York
Times. “It came in secret and it
left in secret.”
There was no evidence that
Karzai personally received any of
the money, Afghan officials told
the newspaper. The cash was
handled by his National Security
Council, it added.
In response to the report,
Karzai told reporters in Helsinki
after a meeting with Finnish leaders that the office of the National
Security Council had been receiving support from the US government for the past 10 years. He said
the amounts had been “not big”
and the funds were used for various purposes including assistance
for the wounded.
“It’s multi-purpose assistance,”
he said, without commenting on
the report’s claims the funds
fuelled corruption and empowered warlords.
However, Afghan Foreign
Ministry spokesman Janan
Mosazai told reporters in Kabul
that there was no evidence to back
up the claims in the story.
Agency to question
Rehman Malik over
Bhutto murder
Khan urges terrorists to allow peaceful election
ISLAMABAD: The Federal
Investigation
Agency
of
Pakistan will be interrogating former interior minister
Rehman Malik in the Benazir
Bhutto assassination case, it
has been learnt.
According to sources in the
agency, the decision to include
Malik, who was Benazir’s head
of security when she was assassinated, in the investigation
was taken after former president Pervez Musharraf told the
Joint Investigation Team that
the former interior minister
was responsible for the Pakistan
People’s Party chairperson’s
murder.
During his interrogation,
Musharraf maintained two security plans had been chalked out
for Benazir’s protection; one for
external security and the other
for internal security.
“Rehman Malik was responsible for Benazir Bhutto’s internal
security; she was assassinated
following a lapse in internal
security,” an FIA source quoted
the former president as saying
during an investigation.
Musharraf repeatedly denied
having any role in the PPP leader’s assassination, he added.
Musharraf ’s lawyer Salman
Safdar confirmed his statement
on the existence of an internal
security plan under Rehman
Malik’s supervision. “Only Malik
knew about the arrangements
made for that plan,” he maintained. “Why was there such a
major breach of security? Only he
can give an answer to that.”
INTERNEWS
For more than a decade the cash
was dropped off every month or so
at the Afghan president’s office,
the New York Times said. Handing
out cash has been standard procedure for the CIA in Afghanistan
since the start of the war.
The cash payments to the president’s office do not appear to be
subject to oversight and restrictions placed on official American
aid to the country or the CIA’s
formal assistance programmes,
like financing Afghan intelligence agencies, and do not appear
to violate US laws, said the New
York Times.
US and Afghan officials familiar with the payments were
quoted as saying that the main
goal in providing the cash was to
maintain access to Karzai and his
inner circle and to guarantee the
CIA’s influence at the presidential
palace, which wields tremendous
power in Afghanistan’s highly
centralised government.
Much of the money went to
warlords and politicians, many
with ties to the drug trade and in
Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai gives a statement during Nato Foreign
Affairs ministers meeting at the Nato Headquarters in Brussels last week.
some cases the Taliban, the New
York Times said.
US and Afghan officials were
quoted as saying the CIA supported the same patronage networks that US diplomats and law
enforcement agents struggled to
dismantle, leaving the government
PPP willing to offer Khan PM slot
Cricket legend and chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) , Imran Khan (left) addresses supporters during
a general election campaign meeting in Murree, yesterday.
LAHORE: The chairman of
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),
Imran Khan, has appealed to
terrorists to stop terror activities during upcoming general
elections and give him the space
to implement his slogan of creating a “new” Pakistan.
He was addressing a press conference after holding a meeting
of party candidates from Lahore
at the party office yesterday. The
meeting also discussed in detail
election campaign strategies.
During a meeting, Imran called
upon the candidates to mobilise
women and Tabdeeli Razarkars
(TRs) in the campaign to ensure
door-to-door persuasion.
Answering various queries
regarding terrorist attacks in
different parts of the country, especially in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and
Karachi, Khan declared the parties which had remained a part of
the war on terror and supported
the Americans on drone attacks
were now drawing the wrath of
the masses for all those misdeeds.
Regardless of the matter, he
said, he would also appeal to the
incensed people to give him space
to bring change and to realise his
dream to form a new Pakistan.
In reply to a question about
continuing military operations
in troubled areas of the country,
he said his party believed the
military operations were not a
solution to the problem.
On a query about allegations
levelled by JUI-F chief Maulana
Fazlur Rehman wherein he
declared him (Imran) an agent
of the Jewish lobby in Pakistan,
Khan rebutted the allegation,
saying the Maulana was himself
a hypocrite, and declared if his
association with the Jewish lobby
was proved, he would immediately
quit politics.
Khan also reiterated that his
party would introduce a system
based on justice and equality after
coming into power and serve the
masses in the best possible way.
He also promised that he would
bring to an end load shedding in
three and half years and control
burgeoning inflation, besides providing a good number of jobs to
unemployed youth.
ISLAMABAD: While Imran
Khan is drawing huge crowds
on his campaign trail, a senior
leader of the Pakistan People’s
Party (PPP) predicts that his
party and Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) could form the
next coalition government at
the centre.
“The PPP could also offer
Imran Khan the office of prime
minister in the coalition government,” Mian Manzoor Ahmed
Wattoo, the president of PPP’s
central Punjab chapter, said in
a candid interview yesterday in
Okara, where he was on a campaign trail.
“If Imran Khan plays his
cards carefully, his party can
bag more seats than PML-N in
the centre,” he said. Manzoor
Wattoo, whose party successfully
completed its five-year constitutional term in office, predicted
a hung Parliament as a result
of the upcoming election. He
He said if PTI came to power,
there would be an equivalent system for both the poor and the rich.
He stressed that youth could play
a vital role in changing the system
and they should work for change
with PTI in establishing a new
Pakistan.
Imran Khan is a contestant on
a National Assembly seat from
Lahore, NA-122 and Mian Aslam
Iqbal was contesting election from
provincial seat PP-148 from the
same NA constituency, but he did
not participate in the meeting due
believes no political party could
win a simple majority, either in
the centre or in the provinces.
“If the PPP outvotes its
rivals, we’ll invite the PTI to
form a coalition government,”
he added.
“If the PPP can join hands
with the ANP, JUI-F and MQM,
it can also form a coalition with
Imran Khan,” he said referring
to the last coalition government
that his party led for five years.
He added that President Asif
Ali Zardari believed in political
reconciliation.
Asked about PPP’s strategy
for Punjab, Wattoo said even if
his party retained the seats it
had won in the 2008 elections, it
would be better placed to form
a coalition government in the
province. “We can join hands
with PML-N if the party wins
enough seats in Punjab,” he
added.
INTERNEWS
to reported differences with the
PTI leadership.
However, Aslam reached the
party office very late to join Khan
when he was just leaving for his
campaign to Mandi Bahaudin and
Sargodha districts.
Soon after Aslam reached
the office, PTI Lahore President
Abdul Aleem Khan expressed his
resentment and both the leaders exchanged harsh words that
prompted other party workers to
intervene to break the ice.
INTERNEWS
Young workers
Suicide bomber kills ten in Pakistan
PESHAWAR:
A
suicide
bomber targeting police killed
at least 10 people in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, including the son and nephew of an
Afghan official involved in peace
negotiations with the Taliban,
authorities said.
The bomber was riding a
motorcycle and detonated his
explosives as the police patrol
drove by in Peshawar, said city
police chief Liaqat Ali Khan.
The two Afghans who were
killed, Qazi Mohammad Hilal
Waqad and Mohammad Idrees,
were working at their country’s
consulate in Peshawar, said Afghan
Consul General Syed Mohammad
Ibrahim Khel in Peshawar.
However, it did not appear they
were the targets of the attack,
Khel said.
Waqad’s father, Qazi Amin
Waqad, is a member of the
Afghan High Peace Council, said
an official at the Afghan Embassy
in Islamabad, Shakir Qarar. The
council was appointed by the
Afghan government to hold peace
talks with the Taliban to end the
11-year-old war in neighbouring
Afghanistan. The peace council
member was in Afghanistan when
the attack occurred, and Waqad
and Idrees were driving to work
at the time, Qarar added.
The blast killed 10 people
and wounded 42, said Khan, the
Peshawar police chief. Three
policemen were among the
wounded. Many of the dead and
wounded were on a nearby passenger bus, which bore the brunt
of the explosion, said Khan.
Local TV footage showed the
wreckage of the bus and the
motorcycle, as rescue workers
rushed wounded people to hospitals in the city.
No one immediately claimed
responsibility.
The Pakistani Taliban has been
waging a bloody insurgency against
the government for years and has
stepped up attacks ahead of next
month’s parliamentary election.
Also yesterday, two gunmen
riding a motorcycle attacked a
campaign office of an anti-Taliban political party in northwestern Pakistan, killing a worker
there, police chief Khan said. The
Awami National Party office is in
the city of Nowshera.
Elsewhere in the northwest,
a suicide bomber detonated his
explosives near a vehicle carrying Awami National Party candidate, Mohammad Ahmed Khan,
in Charsadda district, said local
police chief Ghulam Hussain.
Khan was not hurt, but one person was killed and nine were
wounded.
The Taliban have specifically
targeted secular political parties that have supported military
offensives against the militants in
the northwest. The Taliban have
largely spared Islamic parties and
others who believe the government should strike a peace deal
with the militants, rather than
fight them.
“Unless the government, the
country’s independent election
commission and security forces
ensure that all parties can campaign freely without fear, the
election may be severely compromised,” Ali Dayan Hasan, the
head of Human Rights Watch
in Pakistan, said in a statement
issued Monday.
Bashir Jan, a senior member of
the Awami National Party who
survived a recent bomb attack
in the southern city of Karachi,
also criticized the government
for not doing enough to protect
candidates, but he said they were
determined to carry on.
AP
Young Afghans work at a brick kiln on the outskirts of capital Kabul,
yesterday.
12
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
INDIA
Indian origin
Pakistan
refuses
to
shift
Sarabjit
officer wins
Govt warns parties not to play politics over issue
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD:
India yesterday appealed to
Pakistan
to
release
critically injured Sarabjit Singh
on humanitarian ground but a
Pakistani medical board ruled
that the Indian death row
prisoner would continue to get
treatment in that country.
India’s Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA) asked Pakistan to
take a “sympathetic and humanitarian” view on Sarabjit, who
is battling for life after being
attacked in a jail in Lahore, while
federal ministers asked opposition
parties not to play “petty politics”
and cooperate to help Sarabjit.
The possibility of transferring
Sarabjit Singh to India for treatment could be considered in order
to provide him the “best medical
treatment available here”, the
ministry said.
“In view of the recent tragic
events and present circumstances, we once again appeal to
the government of Pakistan to
take a sympathetic and humanitarian view of this case, and
release Sarabjit Singh,” it said in
a statement.
The appeal came after Sarabjit’s
family, which is already in Lahore,
pleaded that he be taken to any
other country for treatment
immediately.
“Please take him to any other
country for better treatment.
Please save his life,” Sarabjit’s sister, Dalbir Kaur, pleaded through
news channels.
Dalbir Kaur, along with
Sarabjit’s wife Sukhpreet Kaur
and daughters Swapandeep and
Poonam, arrived in Lahore on
Sunday afternoon from Amritsar
to see Sarabjit at Lahore’s Jinnah
Hospital.
The MEA statement said
that officials of the Indian High
Commission were in touch
with medical authorities at the
Jinnah Hospital “and we would
like to consider the option of
transferring Sarabjit Singh to
India so that he can benefit
from the best medical treatment
available here”.
Based on the most recent medical bulletin put out by doctors
treating Sarabjit, “it is clear that
his condition remains critical. We
share the anguish and concern
of his family members, and our
prayers will remain with them”,
the statement said.
However, a medical board
formed by Pakistan’s Punjab
Attack planned,
says former spy
Poonam (right) and Sukhpreet Kaur, the daughter and wife of Sarabjit Singh
respectively, leave the hospital in Lahore, yesterday.
government to take a view on
the Indian prisoner’s condition
yesterday held that Sarabjit will
continue to receive treatment in
Pakistan.
The four-member medical
panel shot down the possibility of Sarabjit being sent abroad
for specialised treatment and
decided that he would continue to
be treated in Pakistan, Geo News
reported yesterday.
Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital principal Mahmood Shaukat, who
heads the panel, conducted an
examination of Sarabjit and his
two CT scan reports.
Sarbajit suffered severe head
injuries and surgery was not possible at this stage, according to
the medical board.
Sarabjit was admitted to the
Lahore hospital after a vicious
attack on him by some of the prisoners at the Kot Lakhpat Jail on
April 26. He is in coma. His family
has arrived in Pakistan on a special visa issued by the Pakistani
government.
A Pakistani daily yesterday in
its editorial said that the attack
on Sarabjit could have serious
implications for Pakistan-India
ties.
Sarabjit Singh’s “fate has
been caught between India and
Pakistan’s problematic relationship that hardly saw smooth and
steady sailing all these years. His
mercy petition remains pending”, said an editorial in the Daily
Times. In India, while the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
blamed the central government
for not taking adequate steps to
ensure Sarabjit’s safety in the
Pakistani jail before the murderous assault on him, a federal
minister asked parties not to play
“petty politics” on the issue.
Parties should not play petty
politics, but come together to
provide relief to the family of
Sarabjit Singh, Minister of State
for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev
Shukla said yesterday.
“Some people are trying to
make political gains out of this
issue. We should work together
and provide relief to him
(Sarabjit) and his family instead
of indulging in petty politics,”
Shukla told reporters.
He said that the Indian government was working hard and
making all the required efforts in
the case.
Information and Broadcasting
Minister Manish Tewari also said
that political responses to the
murderous attack on Sarabjit
in the Lahore jail needed to be
cautious.
“Whatever happened is very
unfortunate and condemnable, but it would be better if the
official reaction on this matter
comes from the External Affairs
Ministry or the Indian High
Commission in Pakistan,” Tewari
said.
KOLKATA:
A
former
Indian spy, who languished in
Pakistani jails for two decades,
yesterday called the attack on
death row convict Sarabjit
Singh in Lahore a “preplanned” one, carried out with
connivance of the authorities.
The spy, who claims that
in 1977, he was given a blank
cheque to kill deposed prime
minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto,
said it was impossible for death
row convicts to carry out such
assaults without the connivance of authorities. Bhutto was
lodged in the Lahore jail at the
time, after being deposed in a
military coup.
Having served time in a
number of Pakistani jails
between 1976 and 1996 on
charges of being an Indian spy,
Elahi said convicts on death
row are kept under very strict
surveillance guided by stringent
stipulations in that country.
“Such convicts are taken out
of their cells for a walk only once
a day for half an hour, and they
are handcuffed. So it is impossible for a convict on death
row to attack someone,” Elahi,
who has served time with Asif
Ali Zardari, now the Pakistani
president, told IANS.
Sarabjit, 49, who had been
lodged in Pakistani prisons for
over 22 years, suffered critical
head injuries in an assault by
four to five prisoners with bricks
and prison plates in Kot Lakhpat
Jail in Lahore on Friday. He has
gone into coma, and is under
treatment at Jinnah Hospital,
Lahore.
Pakistani authorities have
registered complaints against
two inmates, both death row
convicts.
“The security is very tight,
with several people guarding the
convicts during the walk. No two
death row convicts are taken out
for walk at the same time. They
are taken out turn by turn. Till
one is locked in his cell, another
convict waiting for the gallows is
not let out,” Elahi said.
The assertion by Pakistani
officials that two death row
Swapandeep (left), and Dalbir
Kaur, daughter and sister of
Sarabjit Singh, leave hospital in
Lahore, yesterday.
convicts led the attack does not
hold water, he said.
“It is neither possible for two
death row convicts to attack
Sarabjit together, nor is it possible for any such convict to attack
Sarabjit, who also belongs to the
same category,” said Elahi, who
still bears the scars of torture.
“I have no doubt the attack
was pre-planned, and there was
the connivance of Pakistani officials,” he said.
Elahi said superintendents in
Pakistani jails are all-powerful.
He recalled that a jail superintendent had once inflicted burn
injuries on him.
“Nobody can raise a finger
against them. The Indian prisoners are tortured daily. During
my long stay in Pakistani jails,
the prisoners were really good
to me, though jail officials were
hostile.”
Elahi, a spy of the late 1960s
and 1970s, had twice crossed
over to Pakistan — once via
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
and once through the western
border.
The Kolkata-based Elahi also
found it puzzling how the guards
at the watch towers failed to
notice such a group assault.
However, he said making
knives out of spoons was common and blades could also be
obtained in Pakistani jails.
IANS
IANS
racism case in
South Africa
DURBAN: A South African
court has ordered that an
Indian origin policeman, who
was overlooked for a promotion because of his race, be paid
333,000 rands (about $37,000) in
back pay, reports said yesterday.
Captain M Munsamy had
applied for three posts of superintendent in 2000, but he was
denied all three on one ground or
the other, The Mercury newspaper
reported.
While one post was denied to
him on the ground that Indian
males were over-represented
and Africans under-represented,
another was denied on the ground
that he lacked relevant experience, while the third was denied
on the ground that it required a
female to be appointed for the
sake of “representivity”, Durban
Labour Court acting judge Benita
Whitcher said in her judgment.
When Munsamy reached the
rank of Major in May 2011, equivalent to that of a superintendent,
he sued the police ministry and
department, claiming the difference in the salary he would have
got had he been promoted 11 years
ago and the salary he was paid 11
years later.
In his testimony to the court,
claiming that he had over 25
years’ experience at the time he
applied for the promotion, he
said he should not be relocated
for the sake of promotion as he
would then have to leave his home
and family in KwaZulu-Natal
province.
Ruling in favour of Munsamy,
the court said the main stumbling
block in the whole affair was a
document issued by the police
employment equity division which
earmarked 70 percent of the posts
for black people.
“Fixed quotas for the promotion process were essentially
established. The numerical goals
document reflected that Africans
were to be awarded 192 posts,” the
report quoted the judge as saying.
“As there were only 195 posts
available for promotional purposes, this target reflects that
almost 100 percent of the proposed posts were to be given to
African applicants. If the document had been followed strictly, it
would have required that no single Indian person be promoted.”
IANS
Stuntman killed during stunt over river
KOLKATA:
A
daredevil
Indian who held the Guinness
World Record for covering the
longest distance on a zip-line
while hanging by his hair has
died while performing a stunt,
officials said yesterday.
Sailendra Nath Roy, a
49-year-old police officer, was
attempting to cross the turbulent River Teesta on Sunday in
West Bengal on a 180-metre
wire above the water.
After attaching his shoulderlength hair to a pulley on the
wire, Roy had completed about
half of the distance but he then
became entangled and found
himself unable to move, an AFP
photographer at the scene said.
Hundreds of spectators initially cheered him on, but then
began screaming in horror when
they saw Roy making increasingly desperate attempts to
move forward.
Stuntman Sailendra Nath Roy performing the stunt during which he died.
“Roy tried frantically to get
hold of a second rope to reach
the finishing point,” senior local
police officer K Jayaraman told
AFP.
After about 20 minutes, he
became motionless and was
eventually rescued by local
people. No ambulance or a
doctor was present during
the performance, which was
watched by his family.
After being admitted to hospital in Siliguri, 450km away, he
was declared dead by doctors of
a suspected heart attack.
A post-mortem is expected
later. Roy had achieved the
Guinness World Record after
covering 82.5 metres on a zip
wire while attached by his hair
in 2011 at the Neemrana Fort,
a heritage hotel in the desert
state of Rajasthan.
Last year he used his hair to
drag an engine and four coaches
of the heritage Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway.
Roy’s younger brother Benoy,
who was witnessing his brother’s stunt for the first time, told
AFP: “We were proud of his
bravery. He was sure to win but
destiny has taken his life and
the most beloved member of our
family as well.”
AFP
Congress Telangana MPs squat at parliament gate
NEW DELHI: As the agitation for creation of a separate
Telangana state continues, five
Congress MPs from Andhra
Pradesh yesterday morning
began a 48-hour-long sit-in at
the main entrance of parliament to press for the formation of the state.
MPs Ponnam Prabhakar,
G Vivekanand, Rajaiah Siricilla,
M Jagannath and G Sukhender
Reddy are staging the sit-in on
the stairs at the main entrance
to the building and say their
demands are not being heard
inside the House so they are
forced to agitate outside.
“We have been raising the
issue inside the house, but since
our voice was not heard we were
forced to sit here. There was a
promise to create Telangana,
they set up a committee, the
report came, what is the reason
for delaying it now,” Prabhakar
told IANS.
“We will be sitting here till
11am of May 1, to register our
protest. We want Telangana to
be formed,” Prabhakar added.
Several leaders and other
parliament members met the
agitating MPs, who are sitting
virtually blocking the entrance.
Leader of Opposition in the
Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj met
the agitating MPs and expressed
her solidarity with their cause.
“People are sitting on a hunger strike for 48 hours. They
are saying that the government
did not keep its promise on the
statehood issue,” she said after
meeting the MPs.
“Since the Congress is not
fulfilling its promises, these people are forced to protest... We
are completely pro-Telangana,”
she said supporting the demand
for a separate state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) has promised to create
a separate state of Telangana
out of Andhra Pradesh within
three months if the party came
to power at the centre.
Congress
MPs
from
Telangana region have been
vocal in their demand for
a separate state, causing
much discomfort to the party
leaders.
IANS
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
INDIA
13
Bedlam in Parliament
over coal block row
Houses adjourned as BJP demands PM’s resignation
Actress Chitrangada Singh signs on a slogan board during a “Soldier for Women” promotional campaign in
Hyderabad, yesterday. The campaign was organised to encourage Indian men to treat women with dignity and
respect, following a spate of of sex attacks that have made global headlines.
SC seeks details on minor’s rape
NEW DELHI: The Supreme
Court yesterday directed Delhi
Police to file an affidavit giving
details of steps taken after they
received a complaint from the
parents of a five-year-old girl
who was gang-raped after being
abducted in the capital.
The apex court bench of Chief
Justice Altamas Kabir, Justice
Vikramajit Sen and Justice Sharad
Arvind Bobde directed police to
file the affidavit on the petition of
NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan.
The court sought the details
of steps taken by police after the
girl’s parents gave a complaint
after she went missing from
Gandhi Nagar in east Delhi on
April 15.
The judges’ direction came
after they declined to accept a
police explanation that was submitted in court on a plain paper.
The petitioner had sought
initiation of contempt of court
proceedings against the police
commissioner, the area deputy
commissioner of police, the area
police station chief and the investigating officer of the case.
The NGO said police disregarded the January 17 order of
the apex court which said that in
“case a complaint with regard to
any missing children is made in
a police station, the same should
be reduced into a first information report and appropriate steps
should be taken to see that followup investigation is taken up
immediately thereafter”.
As the court took up the plea
for hearing, Additional Solicitor
General Siddarth Luthra told
the court that another bench of
the court was seized of a similar matter. But senior counsel H
S Poolka, who appeared for the
NGO, told the court that the matter being dealt with by the bench
headed by Justice G S Singhvi was
different from the one raised by
IANS
the petitioner.
China biggest enemy, Pakistan
not a threat: Mulayam Singh
NEW
DELHI:
Samajwadi
Party chief Mulayam Singh
Yadav yesterday accused the
UPA government of being
“weak and cowardly” over the
incursion of Chinese troops in
Ladakh and warned that China
“is the biggest enemy” of India
but “Pakistan is no threat”.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha,
the former defence minister
alleged that the Chinese incursion
was aimed at annexing Indian
territory.
“I have been raising this issue
for the past eight years. I had
warned that that there will be a
repeat of 1962. I even went and
met the prime minister, yet there
was no response. Now (External
Affairs Minister) Salman
Khurshid is going to China. What
for? Beg before them?” an angry
Mulayam Singh asked.
Khurshid is scheduled to visit
Beijing early next month.
Mulayam Singh claimed that
100,000 square km of Indian territory has been “occupied” by
China, and accused the government of “doing nothing”.
“When the Army chief himself says the troops are ready to
respond, why is the government
not issuing instructions to it?
They (China) insulted us in 1962.
They are insulting us now in the
world fora,” he said.
Besides Mulayam Singh, several members voiced concern on
the stand-off that continues with
China at the border.
“I would request and I would
urge upon the government that
adequate steps be taken to drive
out the Chinese forces from the
Indian territory and all attempts
should be made to demarcate
the Line of Actual Control,”
demanded Biju Janata Dal’s
Bhartruhari Mahtab.
Trinamool Congress MP Sudip
Bandyopadhyay urged the speaker
to allot time for a full debate on
the issue. “The PM should come
and make a statement in the
house,” he said.
On April 15, a Chinese platoon
set up camp 19km inside Indian
territory in Depsang Valley in
Ladakh.
India has tried through meetings with local military commanders and through diplomatic
channels to get China to vacate
the spot. China insists that it has
not intruded into Indian territory.
Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh has said that India does
not want to “accentuate the situation” and that it is a “localised
problem”.
IANS
Good ties with Delhi in our
interest, says Prachanda
Trinamool MP
grilled in chit
fund scam probe
NEW DELHI: Nepal’s former
prime minister and head of
the country’s largest party, the
Unified Communist Party of
Nepal (Maoist), Pushpa Kamal
Dahal ‘Prachanda’ said yesterday that his party had agreed
that his country cannot prosper
“without good relations with
India”.
The decision taken at the
party convention last month
was an “important turning point
of the party’s ideological point”
and has “created a new basis and
new relations with India”, said
Prachanda, visiting India after
four years.
The “Indian issue figured for
the first time” at the party convention, he said.
The party “clearly criticised
the narrow nationalism and feudal nationalism” of earlier thinking and “indicated progressive
KOLKATA: Taking forward
investigation into the multibillion rupee chit fund muddle
that has rocked West Bengal,
police yesterday quizzed ruling
Trinamool Congress MP Kunal
Ghosh while Congress activists
demonstrated on the streets
demanding
Chief
Minister
Mamata Banerjee’s resignation
in the scam.
Nearly took weeks after the
Saradha Group companies went
bust and downed shutters across
the state unable to repay thousands of depositors, the under-fire
Mamata Banerjee government
distributed leaflets asking investors to keep their money in small
savings schemes in post offices.
The leaflets said: “Don’t step
into such allurement and get
cheated. The government will
have nothing to do in that case.”
nationalism and through this we
can create atmosphere where we
can develop good relations...”
“Without good relations and
understanding with India, we
cannot prosper,” said Prachanda,
adding that the three points were
“very important and created new
dynamics for the party”.
He said during his visit to
China earlier in the month, the
Chinese leadership had told him
they “support” his decision “to
have good relations with India”.
He also stressed on pushing
forward economic development
of his country which he said was
in in the larger interests of both
India and China.
The Maoist leader, who is on a
four-day visit to India, floated his
“vision” of a trilateral cooperation
between India, China and Nepal,
which he said “was not a distant
IANS
dream”.
IANS
NEW DELHI: Both Houses
of parliament were adjourned
till today as the BJP yesterday demanded Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh’s resignation
over the contentious issue of
coal blocks allocation.
However, it was agreed at an
all-party meeting called by Lok
Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to
break the ongoing logjam that the
crucial finance bill, along with the
railway appropriation bill and
the demands for grants of various ministries would be taken up
today, said sources.
The financial bills need to be
passed on a priority basis, so that
funds can be released to ensure
the smooth running of government, the sources said.
Before the all-party meeting,
Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Kamal Nath appealed to the
opposition to allow the House to
function.
“I appeal to the opposition to
let the house function. We have
lost five days and I appeal to
parties that parliament is the
right forum for debate,” Kamal
Nath said.
Both the Houses were first
adjourned till noon, then till
2pm, and finally for the day.
In the Lower House, the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
members came near the speaker’s podium soon after the
house resumed after its first
adjournment, and raised slogans
demanding the prime minister’s
resignation.
Amid the din, Samajwadi Party
chief Mulayam Singh Yadav raised
the issue of Chinese incursion in
the Ladakh area of Jammu and
Kashmir.
As unruly scenes continued,
Congress MP Girija Vyas, who
was in the chair, adjourned the
house till 2pm.
Later, deputy speaker Kariya
Munda adjourned the House till
today as the din resumed.
The BJP has sought a statement
from the government on the coal
blocks allocation and alleged that
Law Minister Ashwani Kumar
and the Prime Minister’s Office
interfered with the work of the
Central Bureau of Investigation’s
probe into the issue.
Rajya
Sabha
chairman
M Hamid Ansari earlier adjourned
the House till noon after members
of the BJP did not allow Question
Hour to commence.
The chairman’s repeated
requests to allow Question Hour
to proceed went unheeded. As
the opposition members did not
relent, Ansari adjourned the
House till noon.
When the ruckus continued
even after the House met again, it
was then adjourned till 2pm and
later for the day.
Both the Houses have seen
repeated disruptions by opposition parties over the allocation of
coal blocks and the 2G spectrum
issues.
IANS
Indian stabbed in Bahrain
DUBAI: A 35-year-old Indian
man in Bahrain was stabbed,
allegedly by one of his employers, in a row after he went to
collect his passport.
Radhakrishnan Thankappan
Nair sustained injuries in his
hand and shoulder and is being
kept in the intensive care unit of
the Salmaniya Medical Complex
in Bahrain’s capital, Manama,
the Gulf Daily News reported
yesterday.
According to the report,
when Nair, hailing from
Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala,
went to get his passport ahead of
a planned holiday, his employer
allegedly told him that he would
get it only if he signed a blank
document.
At this, a row broke out.
“The employee accuses his
employer of attacking him during a dispute over passport,” the
report cited Bahrain’s Interior
Ministry sources as saying.
“He came out of the office
with a torn shirt and blood on
it, but the employer denies it and
accuses him of hurting himself.
A probe is under way to find the
actual cause of the fight.”
While members of the
Malayalee community have visited Nair in hospital, the Indian
embassy in Bahrain is also investigating the matter.
Nair has been working in this
company, based at Mina Salman,
for six years now.
IANS
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
16
Jackson lawyers
to file case
against promoter
PRAYER TIME
Fajr (Dawn)
3:37
Shorook (Sunrise)
4:59
Zuhr (Noon)
11:31
Asr (Afternoon)
3:00
Maghrib (Sunset)
6:05
Isha (Night)
7:35
WEATHER
Weather
Conditions:
Today
Wednesday
Thursday
Mostly cloudy
Mostly cloudy
Partly cloudy
High: 28°
Low: 21°
High: 30°
Low: 24°
Cloudy with
chance of
scattered rain,
may be with
thundery at
times.
High: 31°
Low: 27°
DOHA - SUN & SEA
SUN
TIDE
SEA
WIND
SUNRISE | SUNSET
HIGH | LOW
04:59 18:05
07:15 &20:00 03:30 & 13:15
05-12 /25 KT
TODAY
THE REGION
TOMORROW
HI/LO WEATHER
HI/LO WEATHER
MUSCAT
35/26
Mostly cloudy
36/26
Clear
MAKKAH
36/28
T- storm
36/27
Clear
Chance of storm
KUWAIT
32/23
Partly cloudy
30/23
BAHRAIN
29/24
Cloudy
29/24
SANAA
27/14
T-storms
27/13
Chance of storm
RIYADH
25/19
T-storms
28/19
Chance of storm
DUBAI
33/25
Chance of rain
33/27
Partly cloudy
BAGHDAD
36/21
Chance of rain
36/19
Partly cloudy
THE WORLD
TODAY
32/19
Mostly cloudy
TOMORROW
HI/LO WEATHER
ATHENS
Clear
HI/LO WEATHER
30/19
Clear
WASHINGTON
20/16
Chance of rain
19/11
Chance of rain
SYDNEY
25/13
Mostly cloudy
22/12
Chance of rain
LONDON
14/04
Partly cloudy
16/05
Mostly cloudy
PARIS
MORNING BREAK
16/09
Mostly cloudy
19/11
Mostly cloudy
ISTANBUL
26/13
Clear
29/13
Clear
MANILA
35/26
Mostly cloudy
34/26
Chance of storm
DHAKA
39/27
Chance of storm
40/27
Chance of storm
DELHI
39/28
Clear
38/25
Clear
ISLAMABAD
32/18
Clear
32/19
Clear
LOS ANGELES: Lawyers for
Michael Jackson’s mother will
launch their case for massive
compensation from the promoter of his last doomed tour,
at the trial over the late King of
Pop’s 2009 death.
Opening statements are due
in Los Angeles at the wrongful
death trial pitting Katherine
Jackson against AEG Live, whom
she blames for negligently hiring
Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted over his killing.
Underlining the high stakes,
lawyers from both sides have
spent an unusually long four
weeks picking the 12-member
jury — six men and six women—
who will decide whether the promoters have to pay out potentially
billions of dollars.
Murray, convicted and jailed
for involuntary manslaughter in
2011 for giving the singer an overdose of propofol, could be called
to give evidence, but has said he
will plead right to remain silent to
avoid incriminating himself.
The late pop star’s 82-year-old
mother, as well as his two elder
children, will also give evidence
in the trial that comes nearly four
years after his death, and could
last more than three months.
Jackson died at his Los Angeles
mansion on June 25, 2009 aged 50,
from an overdose of the powerful
sedative propofol, administered by
Murray to help the “Thriller” legend deal with chronic insomnia.
At the time of his death, he was
rehearsing for a series of 50 shows
in London, organised with the
Anschutz Entertainment Group
in what was seen as an attempt
to revive his career, and also to
ease his financial woes.
Jackson’s mother claims that
AEG Live pushed her son too
hard to prepare for the London
shows.
But AEG claims that Jackson
had a history of drug abuse long
before the singer met Murray, hired
to care for him before and during
the shows at London’s O2 Arena.
News in Numbers
QATAR ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
CHART: 1
GDP GROWTH
2
By the end of 2013, service activity is expected to contribute more
than 60pc of the total growth in Qatar’s economy, and its share in total
real GDP will rise to 32.5pc, from an expected 31.1pc in 2012. Further
expansion is anticipated in financial services, telecommunications
transportation and other service segments. Activity at the new Doha
International Airport is expected to ramp up in 2013 ahead of its
scheduled opening for passengers the following year. The share of
industry—manufacturing, construction and utilities—in total output is
also expected to continue rising in 2013, to 19.8pc, from a projected
18.9pc in 2012.
Share in GDP, 2013 ( pc )
Services
Industry (manufacturing, construction and utilities)
Hydrocarbons
Real GDP
Nominal GDP
Source : http://www.qsa.gov.qa/
AFP
Hilen Mirren honoured
at UK theatre awards
LONDON: Helen Mirren was
crowned best actress at Britain’s
top theatre awards for reprising
her Oscar-winning portrayal of
Queen Elizabeth, while a play
about a boy with autism was the
night’s top winner, taking home
seven Olivier prizes.
Mirren, 67, has won stellar reviews for starring in The
Audience, Peter Morgan’s play
about the private weekly meetings between the queen and the
12 British prime ministers during
the six decades of her reign.
Mirren is no stranger to royalty
having won an Academy award,
a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA,
one of the UK’s most prestigious
entertainment honours, for the
same role in the 2006 film The
Queen that was also written by
Morgan.
The actress said the monarch
deserved an Olivier, Britain’s
equivalent of Broadway’s Tonys,
after receiving an honorary
BAFTA this month for supporting the film and TV industry.
The queen, 87, demonstrated
her support for the film industry
last year when she starred with
actor Daniel Craig in a James
Bond spoof at the opening of the
London Olympic Games.
“Each time I (play her) I feel
people are really responding to
the queen,” Mirren told reporters after accepting her award
from Harry Potter actor Daniel
Radcliffe at British theatre’s
biggest night at London’s Royal
Opera house.
“I feel I am rather coasting
along on that love and respect,”
added the actress who had been
nominated three times previously
for best actress at the Olivier
awards.
She beat Hattie Morahan in
A Doll’s House, singer-turnedactress Billie Piper in The Effect
and Kristin Scott Thomas in Old
Times to take home the leading
female honour.
Mirren’s co-star, Richard
McCabe, won the award for best
supporting actor for playing the
prime minister Harold Wilson.
But the biggest winner of the
37th Olivier awards was The
Curious Incident Of The Dog In
The Night-Time that opened at the
National Theatre in London in
Victoria Beckham plans
retail store in London
Helen Mirren with her award for best actress during the Lawrence Olivier
Awards for theatre at the Royal Opera House in London.
2012 and transferred to London’s
West End theatre district this
year.
The play, based on Mark
Haddon’s 2003 award-winning
novel, won seven of the eight
awards for which it was nominated, equalling a record set by
Matilda the Musical in 2012.
It was named the best new play
while Luke Treadaway won the
best actor statuette for playing
15-year-old Christopher, a maths
prodigy with autism who sets out
to solve the mystery of who killed
his neighbour’s dog.
He beat Rupert Everett in Judas
Kiss, Mark Rylance in Twelfth
Night, Rafe Spall in Constellations,
and James McAvoy in Macbeth for
the top male prize.
“The book created such an
amazing central character who
people seem to relate to even
though he has behavioural problems and his way of viewing of the
world,” Treadaway, 28, told said.
REUTERS
Shorty carries on New Orleanz jazz tradition
NEW ORLEANS: Musician
Troy Andrews, better known as
“Trombone Shorty,” witnessed
his first New Orleans Jazz &
Heritage Festival at age 12 —
not from the viewing area but
on stage. “I was playing with
my brother’s brass band,” said
Andrews, now 27.
At this year’s New Orleans Jazz
& Heritage Festival, Andrews
will be given a high honour. He
will perform for the first time as
the closing act of the final day
on the biggest stage. That time
slot previously had long been
occupied by one of New Orleans’
most famous bands, the Neville
Brothers.
The festival, which began on
Friday and ends on May 5, has
music lovers filling the walkways
linking 12 stages arranged across
150 acres of the festival grounds,
not far from downtown.
During the next two weekends,
some 500 bands will perform at
the festival, including a sprinkling
of big names from Billy Joel, Dave
Matthews and Adam Levine to
Jill Scott, George Benson and
Willie Nelson.
The stars will help draw some
400,000 people through the gates
over the seven days of the festival, but many fans are interested
in less famous local performers
such as Trombone Shorty and
Orleans Avenue, Rebirth Brass
Band, Irvin Mayfield, Anders
Osborne and Tab Benoit, among
the 400-plus bands in the lineup
that hail from New Orleans and
the surrounding area.
“I can’t believe the mix of music
here,” said Keith Oliver, who came
to the festival from Richmond,
Virginia.
“I don’t know where else you
could hear great blues, jazz, gospel
and all the rest all in one place,”
Oliver said as he and his wife
merged into the sea of flowered
shirts and sun hats heading for
the next stage.
Festival producer and director Quint Davis said the festival
showcases New Orleans’ “musical DNA.” “People in New Orleans
are wired different for music,” he
said. “It’s not just entertainment
here, it’s sustenance. It’s like poboys and fried oysters — we can’t
live without it.”
Davis, in his 44th year of producing the festival, said he continues to be impressed by the depth
of the local talent pool. That enables him to book one out-of-town
headliner per day on each stage
and fill all the remaining slots
with Louisiana bands in genres
including jazz, blues, gospel, R&B,
hip-hop, Cajun, zydeco, Latin and
Caribbean.
REUTERS
LONDON:
British
fashion
designer and former Spice Girl
Victoria Beckham (picutred)
said life as a working mother is
a struggle but she relishes the
challenge and plans to expand
her empire with a retail store in
London.
As mother to three boys —
Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 10, and Cruz,
8 — and to 21-month-old daughter
Harper, Beckham said balancing
her family life and career was a
constant juggle.
“The children are my priority and always have been and
always will be so it’s a little bit
of a juggling act,” she told the
Vogue Festival at London’s Royal
Festival Hall on Sunday.
“I really enjoy being a mum, I
love my kids more than anything,
but I love doing what I do as well
and it’s just getting the balance
right which is not easy, at all.”
With her second son Romeo
appearing in the latest Burberry
campaign and football star husband David Beckham fronting an
underwear campaign for H&M,
39-year-old Beckham is busy.
But she said she was keen to
build further on her success in
fashion with plans to open her
first retail store in London.
“This is where I want to have
my first store... I’d like to do something that is really new, really
fresh. Something a little bit conceptual but not too much,” she said
without giving any more details.
Beckham, who made her
name as pop singer Posh Spice
in the 1990s British all-girl band,
entered into fashion in 2004
with American denim brand
Rock and Republic, co-designing
jeans, skirts and knitwear before
launching her own line in 2006.
As a model she has also
appeared in campaigns for designers Marc Jacobs and Dolce and
Gabanna.
She introduced her Victoria
Beckham collection of dresses in
2008 which was well received by
the fashion industry and is now a
regular fixture on the New York
Fashion Week circuit.
Beckham, whose designs are
worn by actresses Gwyneth
Paltrow, Anne Hathaway as well
as singer Beyonce Knowles, said
she wanted women to be empowered and confident in her clothes.
“A lot of thought goes into everything I design to make a women
feel the best that she can feel,”
she said.
“Women are always going to feel
a little bit insecure. There is a lot of
pressure on women to look a certain way and I want to help women
feel good about themselves.”
Beckham’s comments on body
image came ahead of a debate on
body size at the festival where
models Daisy Lowe and David
Gandy shared their experiences
of working in fashion.
Earlier this month British
Vogue magazine signed a 10-point
agreement with trade union
Equity to ensure that models will
not work more than 10 hours a
day and to ensure their working
conditions in a studio or on location are healthy.
This comes as part of a wider
initiative by the fashion industry
to encourage a healthier approach
to body image.
In February, the Council of
Fashion Designers of America
issued new guidelines at New
York Fashion Week to stop the
use of underage and underweight
models from walking the runways.
REUTERS
Tuesday 30 April 2013
20 Jumada II 1434
Volume 18
Number 5685
Price: QR2
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
editor@pen.com.qa | adv@pen.com.qa
Editorial: 44557741 | Advertising: 44557837 / 44557780
Over 2,100 exhibitors for Project Qatar
Canada, India, Korea, Romania, Spain and Thailand taking part for the first time; two new events lined up
DOHA: Over 2,100 exhibitors,
including 1,920 international
exhibitors will feature at the 10th
edition of high-profile Project
Qatar 2013. Canada, India,
Korea, Romania, Spain and
Thailand are among the nations
taking part for the first time in
the event, which is scheduled to
open on May 6, 2013.
The event, billed as the region’s
leading building trade exhibition,
kicked off its latest edition yesterday with a press conference at
The Hilton, Doha.
George Ayache, General
Manager of IFP Qatar and
Organiser of Project Qatar, said:
“With all eyes on Qatar’s booming
construction sector, Project Qatar
has become an essential access
point for industry heavy weights,
foreign governments, trade associations and key decision makers
to forge deals in Qatar. Now in its
10th year, Project Qatar continues
to support the country’s economic
diversification by empowering
local, regional and international
SMEs to grow their businesses
and drive real progress in the
industry.
Juma Rashid Saif Al Dhaheri,
the UAE Ambassador to Qatar,
said: “The event forms an important link for commercial exchange
among nations and a forum to
address the issues that currently
face the construction sector in the
region. It is our great pleasure
that the United Arab Emirates
represented by Dubai Exports
Promotion is among the participants in this exhibition.”
The UAE delegation includes a
trading delegation comprising the
UAE prominent industrial and
trading companies that are specialized in the construction, contracting and building materials.
The distinguished participation
of the Dubai Exports Promotion
in the biggest space at Project
Ambassadors of various countries and organisers of Project Qatar during a press conference at Hilton Hotel yesterday.
Qatar 2013 for the third consecutive year emphasises its role
in enhancing the opportunities
for cooperation between Qatar
and UAE, increasing volume of
exports by signing trading contracts and transactions, offering services and expertise and
discussing future cooperation
opportunities between the two
countries.
Michael
O’Neill,
UK’s
Ambassador to Qatar, said: “I am
delighted that this year we have
the largest ever presence of UK
companies exhibiting at Project
Qatar, with 21 UK firms on the
official UK pavilion and many
others exhibiting independently.
UK construction companies,
architects, consultants and suppliers are at the forefront of this
industry. We see Qatar as a vital
market that can benefit from
the UK’s fantastic track record
of commissioning and delivering
mega construction projects with
high quality and standards. I am
also pleased to say that UK Trade
& Investment has already confirmed support for Project Qatar
2014, showing our commitment
to growing the UK presence in
Qatar.”
Ambassador of Korea to Qatar,
Chung Keejong, said: “Dozens of
Korean companies have established their reputation in the
Qatari market by their robust
activities. And, we are confident
that Project Qatar will continue to
comprise a great opportunity for
more Korean companies, offering
their best and most competitive
products, to enter the market.”
Ahmad Jazri Mohd Johar,
Ambassador of Malaysia, said
that the Malaysian government is
proud to support the participation
of Malaysian companies in Project
Qatar. Malaysian companies
would like to extend their hands
to Qatar in undertaking some
of the projects earmarked for
the World Cup 2022 and achieving its Vision 2030 objectives.
Several Malaysian companies are
already actively involved in various projects in Doha.
This year’s edition will unveil
an advanced matchmaking platform for businesses to meet
potential partners and suppliers.
Additionally, Project Qatar 2013
will introduce two new events Facility Management Qatar, the
first knowledge-sharing platform
for the GCC’s lucrative facility
SHAIVAL DALAL
management industry; and Man
and Architecture, which will feature some of the most prominent
architects in the world and host
high level discussions on local
architectural projects, challenges,
and best practices. Project Qatar
2013 will also feature a major gala
event where local and regional
companies will receive special
recognition for their participation in Project Qatar throughout
its 10 year history. Ambassadors
of China, India, Canada, Senior
trade Advisor, UBI France were
also present at the press meet.
THE PENINSULA
Aamal profit rises
to QR56.7m in Q1
The Board meeting of Pak-Qatar Takaful Group held in Doha recently.
Stellar 2012 for Pak-Qatar Takaful Group
DOHA: The Pak-Qatar Takaful
Group made a profit after tax
of Rs45.44m in 2012 full year,
with Pak-Qatar Family Takaful
Ltd posting a profit after tax
of Rs26.67m and Pak-Qatar
General Takaful Ltd with
Rs18.77m.
Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al
Thani, the Chairman of the
Group, announced the group’s
2012 full-year results at the Board
Meeting held in Doha recently.
Having started the journey in
2006 when takaful operators in
Pakistan were making efforts
for a strong footing in an industry dominated by conventional
players, Pak-Qatar celebrated
the first profitable year of the
Group.
With commendable performance from both companies since inception and a
standout performance during
2012, Pak-Qatar Group is on
a solid platform to witness a
prosperous future and most
importantly to perform its duty
of fulfilling financial protection
and saving needs of our customers, he said.
Operating in an environment
where competition is more
intense, Pak-Qatar General
Takaful Ltd displayed impressive
performance during the outgoing year.
The group look to the years
ahead and pledge to remain
committed
to
excellence,
keep abreast of changes and
innovations and by adopting better management will continue
to achieve its goal ‘Together for
Better”.
Pak-Qatar Takaful is a
Pakistan-based firm established
and owned by major financial
institutions and businessmen
including, Qatar National Bank,
International Islamic, Masraf Al
Rayan, Qatar Islamic Insurance
Company and Sheikh Ali bin
Abdullah Al Thani.
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Aamal Company QSC
(Aamal), one of Qatar’s leading
listed companies with a diversified business portfolio, yesterday reported net profits of
QR56.7m for the first quarter
of 2013, up 4 percent compared
to the corresponding period
last year.
The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of QR0.104
for the first three months of this
year, up 8.3 percent compared to
QR0.0964 for the same period
in 2012.
Revenues of the company declined by 6 percent to
QR459.8m in Q1, 2013, compared to QR491.3m in (Q1, 2012).
There were no fair value gains on
investment properties in either
Q1, 2013, or Q1, 2012; net profit is
stated after the deduction of head
office costs but before the deduction of non-controlling interests.
Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al
Thani, Chairman of Aamal, said:
“Announcing our full year results
for 2012 in March, I said that
Aamal was successfully repositioning the company by expanding its industrial manufacturing
capacity to take full advantage of
Qatar’s modernisation and heavy
capital investment in infrastructure. This strategy continues to
make progress with net profits
at our industrial manufacturing
division rising by 27.8 percent in
the first quarter of 2013 compared
to the corresponding period in
2012, helping to underpin a rise
in earnings per share in excess of
8 percent.
“Aamal Company has leading
market positions, strong finances
and a well-balanced strategy. I
remain convinced that the company is well placed to continue
to expand both sustainably and
robustly.Manufacturing activities, within a broadly diversified
group, and our alertness to new
opportunities in a fast-growing
and increasingly sophisticated
Qatari economy, sets Aamal
Company apart.”
Tarek El Sayed, Managing
Director, said: “In addition to our
focus on the industrial division,
Aamal Company will also continue to focus on its other business
areas as this diversity is one of
its key strengths. As an example,
earlier this year Aamal signed an
agreement to create a joint venture with Vivantes International
Medicine (Vivantes), the biggest hospital group in Germany,
to build an outpatient medical
centre in Doha. This agreement
underlines Aamal’s strong position in the medical sector.”
THE PENINSULA
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
18
BUSINESS
Tasweeq exports 45m
tonnes of GTL products
Company celebrates five years of successful operations
Widam Food
sales surge
19.5pc in Q1
DOHA: Widam Food, Qatar’s
premium
meat
provider,
announced yesterday that its
sales surged by 19.5 percent for
the first quarter of 2013. The
net profits reached QR20.69m
compared with QR20.33m for
the same quarter last year.
EPS (earnings per share) also
increased to reach QR1.15, compared with QR1.13 per share during the same quarter last year.
Ahmed Nasser Sraiya Al Kaabi
(pictured), Managing Director
and Chief Executive Officer of
Widam Food, said: “Such positive results are a strong testament to the company’s continued
investments to grow its business,
expand its workforce, and tap
into new industries. This level of
increase also reflects our expenditures to upgrade our facilities
and business units and therefore
enhance the company’s performance across the board.”
“Additionally, the results reflect
our steadfast efforts to maintain,
for the time being, what we have
achieved so far over the past few
years and this includes Widam
Food’s track record which is earmarked with the highest levels
of success the company has witnessed to date. We are confident
that our new projects will lead to
further growth in the future.”
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: Qatar International
Petroleum Marketing Company
Ltd.
(Tasweeq)
sold
and
exported around 45m tonnes
of GTL products in 2012. The
company’s shipment amounted
to 130 cargoes per month,
almost 4 cargoes per day in the
year, Tasweeq Chief Executive
Officer Saad Al Kuwari said.
On the occasion of Tasweeq’s
fifth successful years of operations, Al Kuwari said: “Tasweeq
began its responsibilities in
2008 when it started marketing
regulated products, which then
included liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG), condensates, refined
products and sulphur. In 2009, our
product line expanded to include
non-regulated products, such as
Qatar’s crude oil entitlements
under an agency agreement with
Qatar Petroleum, in addition to
local petroleum sales. In 2011,
Tasweeq started exporting gasto-liquids (GTL) products such as
GTL naphtha and, most recently,
GTL jet fuel. In 2008, we lifted 40
cargoes per month,” he said.
He added: “In terms of manpower, we capitalise on the quality of our human resources.
Our world-class employees are
truly our most important asset.
Tasweeq currently employs a total
of 164 staff, of which 42 percent
are Qatari nationals. Tasweeq is
well positioned to reach 50 percent Qatarisation by 2015 and our
Qatarisation strategy supports
Qatar National Vision 2030.”
The company recently celebrated five years of successful
operations in the presence of
H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh
Al Sada, the Minister of Energy
and Industry. The celebration was
also attended by Tasweeq’s Board
Members, VIP guests, the company’s management and staff as
well as by members of the media.
Al Kuwari thanked the
Minister for his continuous guidance and support to Tasweeq, and
he also, applauded the contribution, commitment and dedication
of the company’s employees.
During the ceremony, Dr Al
Sada distributed congratulatory
H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada (right), the Minister of Energy and
Industry receiving a memento from a Tasweeq official.
certificates to Tasweeq employees who completed five years of
service thus far with the company.
The minister also distributed certificates to Tasweeq’s leadership
team for successfully completing
the Coaching for Excellence
Programme. The extensive workshop has enabled them to apply
skills, principles and coaching
onto the workplace as “certified
coaches”.
THE PENINSULA
Tasweeq employees who completed five years of service posing for a group picture with their congratulatory certificates.
Nissan recalls over 123,000 Altimas
NEW YORK: Nissan Motor Co Ltd is recalling more than 123,000 Altima
sedans in the United States to adjust the inflation of the spare tyres,
which could be over- or under-inflated. About 123,308 Altimas from model
year 2013 are affected by the recall, according to documents filed the US
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Due to a production issue that has since been corrected, the spare tires in
some of the recalled cars may have too much or not enough air in them, NHTSA
said. In some cases, the over inflation may have been significant enough to hurt
the tires’ structural integrity, causing them to fail and increasing the risk of a
crash, NHTSA said. The recall is expected to begin May 3.
REUTERS
MAF moves Central London’s properties to
closer to
be showcased in Doha show
Egypt deal
DUBAI: Dubai retail firm
Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) is
in advanced discussions to
buy Egypt’s largest supermarket chain from family-owned
Mansour Group, two sources
said yesterday.
A due diligence process for the
purchase of Mansour Group’s
Metro chain and discount grocery
store Kheir Zaman has been concluded, one source said, speaking
on condition of anonymity as the
matter is not public. The Mansour
Group’s retail business is worth an
estimated $200m to $300m.
Both companies have agreed to
go ahead with the deal and some
minor details are now being cleared,
the source said. The transaction
shows the growing interest of Gulf
companies in expanding into the
region’s most populous Arab country at a time when valuations are
low due to the economic instability
following the Arab Spring.
Mansour Group, also the largest distributor of General Motors
cars in Egypt, has been looking
to sell Metro and Kheir Zaman
since last year. MAF chief executive Iyad Malas saidin January
that the deal was in the due diligence stage. MAF, which is the sole
franchisee of French hypermarket
chain Carrefour in the Middle East,
declined to comment on the report.
Mansour Group was not immediately available to comment.
The Egyptian group is also
a shareholder in French bank
Credit Agricole’s Egyptian
business and runs McDonald’s
Corp’s chain in Egypt among its
other businesses. Metro is one
of Egypt’s largest supermarket
chains with more than 40 outlets
in 10 cities.
Unlisted MAF, which also runs
nearly a dozen malls across the
Middle East and North Africa,
is keen on expanding in Egypt
through acquisitions, according to
one Dubai-based banking source
who is aware of the discussions.
Carrefour Egypt, which has 13
outlets across the country, is a
joint venture between MAF and
the French retail group.
REUTERS
DOHA: The developers of prime central
London real estate project, Fitzroy Place, will
showcase the new development to potential
investors from Qatar on May1-2, 2013 at the
Four Seasons Hotel. Comprising, 235 private
apartments in addition to over 300,000 sq ft
of retail and restaurant space as well as educational facilities and public open space, the
development offers a compelling investment
case for those looking to invest in prime new
build property.
Fitzroy Place is located in Fitzrovia, London
W1, an area of London bordered by Mayfair,
Soho, Marylebone, Bloomsbury and Regents
Park, with proximity to world famous stores like
Liberty and Selfridges. Fitzrovia is founded on
its rich cultural history and creative spirit. Over
the centuries the area has been home to some of
the world’s leading writers, artists and creative
thinkers, from Charles Dickens to Jimi Hendrix,
and the Saatchi brothers to Coldplay.
The development is close to the University
College London, King’s College London, the
London School of Economics and the University
of Westminster. Central St Martins, one of the
world’s most celebrated art colleges, the Royal
Academy of Music and the London College of
Fashion, also have campuses nearby.
London’s new Crossrail service, due to open
in 2017, will offer a direct service to London
Heathrow Airport with a journey time of
thirty minutes. There will be six Crossrail stations in central London one of which will be
located within about five minute stroll from
Fitzroy Place.
Daniel van Gelder, Co-Founder, Exemplar, the
developer of Fitzroy Place, said: “Prime Central
London has long been a sought after destination
for real estate investors from the UAE due to its
strong rental track record and continued growth
prospects, and its proximity to world-class education institutions, offices and tourist attractions.
Fitzroy Place with its unrivalled location is one
of the rare new build development schemes in
Prime Central London.
“Fitzroy Place is a made up of a winning combination of a strong and reputable financial backer
in Aviva Investors, an unrivalled Prime Central
London location and Exemplar’s depth of experience in quality property development. This offers
investors in Qatar a very unique opportunity to
invest in a property in London which will see
strong appreciation over the years. ”
An inside view of one of the private apartments in Fitzroy Place.
THE PENINSULA
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
BUSINESS
19
Qatar bourse
index down;
Dubai falters
Ooredoo to report earnings today
DOHA: Qatar Exchange was
down 8.85 points or 0.10 percent to 8,628.31 points yesterday from the previous closing
of 8,637.16 points. Among the
top losers were Commercial
Bank whose share dropped
1.53 percent to QR64.50, Qatar
Islamic Bank lost 1 percent to
QR69.20, National Leasing fell
1.74 percent to QR33.80 and
The Investors was down 0.88
percent to QR23.65. The banking and financial sector dropped
0.33 points, the industrial sector gained 0.15 points and the
services sector lost 0.33 points.
Meanwhile, Oman’s Nawras
made its largest one-day decline
in six months after the telecommunications operator posted a fifth
straight drop in quarterly profit,
weighing on a downbeat Muscat
bourse. Nawras dropped 6.8 percent, its biggest fall since October
22, to slump to a 10-week low.
The operator, majority-owned
by Ooredoo, reported a 21 percent drop in first-quarter profit
on Sunday, missing analysts’ estimates. “Capital expenditure is
expected to be high this year, so
2013 will be a challenging period
even with mobile penetration
and data revenue increasing,”
said Kanaga Sundar, Gulf Baader
Capital Markets head of research.
Kuwait’s Wataniya, another
Ooredoo subsidiary, last week
posted a 31 percent drop in firstquarter profit, also a fifth straight
quarterly decline.
Ooredoo, which is due to report
its earnings today, ended flat.
Analysts on average forecast it
will post a 13.8 percent increase
in quarterly profit. Oman’s index
fell 0.9 percent to a three-week
low, but is up 6.3 percent in 2013.
Dubai’s index gave back early
gains to end lower for a first
session in seven, easing from
Sunday’s three-and-a-half-year
high as investors booked gains in
some of this year’s top performing stocks.
“The fact we hit a new high
before closing lower could be a
trigger for more profit taking in
the coming days — we need to
take a breather,” said Sebastien
Henin, portfolio manager at The
National Investor.
Dubai fell 0.3 percent to 2,101
points, with its next resistance
level at 2,201 points, said Bruce
Powers, a technical analyst and
corporate advisor at Orpheus
Capital in Dubai.
Emaar Properties lost 0.2 percent, while lender Emirates NBD
and telecom firm du each fell 1.4
percent. Emaar and du are up
47.7 and 46.1 percent respectively
in 2013. Emirates NBD has gained
75.4 percent over the same period.
Egypt’s main index fell for a
fourth session in six, slipping 0.6
percent to 5,199 points. It is down
4.8 percent this year.
“The market is continuing its minor correction,” said
Mohabeldeen Agena, head of
the technical desk at Beltone
Financial in Cairo.
Saudi Arabia’s index rose 0.4
percent, its seventh advance in
eight sessions since April 17’s
four-week low, although only one
of these gains was of more than
0.5 percent. The narrow movement of the index has masked the
divergent performance of different sectors.
Petrochemicals fell 0.3 percent. The sector has now declined
6.6 percent from March 27’s
10-month peak, dropping after
Saudi producers reported declining first-quarter profits and oil
prices see-sawed. It is now nearflat for the year.
Retail and cement, which rely
on local demand, are up 16.8 and
10.7 percent respectively in 2013.
“Concerns and uncertainty
about global demand is affecting
petrochemicals,” said Hesham
Tuffaha, a Riyadh-based fund
manager.
“The gains in retail and other
sectors are not just based on sentiment, but valuations too - quarter-on-quarter companies have
made double-digit profit gains.”
QNA/REUTERS
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.
World stocks rise; S&P 500 nears record
NEW YORK: World stock
indexes and the euro advanced
yesterday as the formation of a
new government in Italy eased
uncertainty about the political
future of the country, the thirdlargest economy in the euro
zone, while tame inflation data
drove down US Treasury yields.
US stocks jumped, also buoyed
by stronger-than-expected US
housing data. The S&P 500
extended recent gains and was on
track for a record closing high.
The index is up 11.9 percent for
the year so far.
“Wall Street appears primed for
another assault at record highs,”
said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak
& Co in New York.
US price data showed inflation
remained quiet, suggesting the
Federal Reserve, which will begin
a two-day policy meeting today, will
not be ending its accommodative
monetary stance any time soon.
Recent signs of weak US
growth had raised expectations
the Fed will keep its pace of bond
buying unchanged at $85bn a
month at its meeting this week,
US pending home sales rise
A ‘for sale’ sign in front of a house in Silver Spring, Maryland. Pending home sales rose in March after a
February slump, showing strength persists in the US housing comeback, the National Association of Realtors
said yesterday.
H&M seeks entry into India
NEW DELHI: Swedish fashion
retail giant H&M aims to open 50
stores in India to tap the South
Asian nation’s growing middleclass market, an Indian government statement said yesterday.
It is the second Swedish chain
to seek entry into India after the
government last year relaxed legislation to allow foreign retailers
to set up shop in India and sell
directly to Indian consumers to
boost investment from abroad.
H&M, one of the world’s leading clothing retailers by sales,
has applied to make a $131m
investment and “will establish 50
stores”, the government said.
But Stockholm-based H&M
added in a statement that there
“are no concrete plans” yet for
when it would open its first stores
in India. Commerce Minister
Anand Sharma said in New Delhi
he welcomed the application by
H&M. “After the liberalisation of
FDI policy in single brand retail,
there has been a considerable
interest shown by all global retail
majors,” Sharma said.
“The government remains
committed to a liberal economic
reforms agenda,” he added, saying
foreign investment was “a source
of technology, finance and means
of creating gainful employment”.
In February, H&M which like
many other European retailers is
seeking to diversify from the crisis-hit euro zone, said it aimed to
start “with a few stores” in India
and would “expand heavily” if all
went well. The application by H&M
comes as IKEA awaits final government clearance to enter India and
invest $1.9bn in coming years. It
hopes to open 25 of its trademark
blue-and-yellow stores in India as
part of an emerging markets push.
India’s cabinet is expected to
meet tomorrow to make a final
decision on IKEA’s application.
IKEA’s entry into India is being
closely watched by rivals as a test
case for how a large foreign corporation navigates India’s byzanAFP
tine rules and red tape.
while the European Central Bank
is widely expected to announce an
interest rate cut when it meets on
Thursday.
Investors welcomed the formation of a broad coalition government in Italy under new Prime
Minister Enrico Letta, two
months after inconclusive general elections, though investors
remain cautious over how long
the new growth-focused government will survive.
The resolution of Italy’s political stalemate helped bring its fiveand 10-year borrowing costs down
to their lowest level since October
2010 at a bond sale yesterday,
while yields on 10-year debt in
the secondary market fell 13 basis
points to 3.93 percent.
MSCI’s world equity index was
up 0.8 percent, while the broad
FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of top
European shares provisionally
closed up 0.5 percent, led higher
by Milan’s FTSE MIB, which rose
2.2 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 121.68 points, or 0.83
percent, at 14,834.23. The Standard
& Poor’s 500 Index was up 13.74
points, or 0.87 percent, at 1,595.98.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was
up 34.42 points, or 1.05 percent, at
3,313.68. The Fed’s stimulus measures have helped US stocks rally
for much of this year.
Egypt parliament
halts reading of
tax law needed
for IMF deal
Bahrain picks banks
for sovereign bond
CAIRO: Egypt’s parliament
halted its reading of a new
income tax law yesterday, saying
the government had not shown
who would be affected by the
measure that is needed to secure
a badly needed $4.8bn IMF loan.
Lawmakers criticised the government’s competence in drafting
the legislation, adding to uncertainties about the IMF deal just
days after a deputy finance minister who was a key negotiator with
the IMF resigned.
Speaker of the upper house
of parliament Ahmed Fahmy
appeared visibly frustrated as
he announced that the chamber
would halt what had been scheduled as its final reading of the law
because it did not have the necessary government data.
“What finance ministry or tax
authority does not know how to
calculate the income bracket or
who benefits and who is harmed?
This is not worthy of the council,”
Fahmy said, as members clapped
their support. Fahmy said that
debate was suspended “until the
government provides correct
data, otherwise this government
can go wherever it wants to go.”
In addition to cutting fuel subsidies and raising sales taxes,
Egypt has said it will rein in its
soaring budget deficit with measures including tax changes targeting the wealthy. Two weeks of
talks in Cairo between Egyptian
officials and an IMF team earlier
this month failed to produce an
agreement.
REUTERS
EURO RISES
The euro rose 0.5 percent to
$1.3095, with hedge funds cited
among key buyers. The euro’s session peak of $1.3115, the highest
since April 19, was reached midway through the London session.
Some analysts say the euro
could weaken should the ECB
cut its main interest rate by 25
basis points, from 0.75 percent
currently, when it meets on
Thursday; a rate cut would erode
the euro’s interest rate advantage
over the dollar and yen.
“The euro would likely weaken
somewhat on that, but the overall move will be muted,” said
John Doyle, currency strategist at Tempus Consulting in
Washington, DC. “The expectation is starting to get priced in.”
A Reuters poll of 76 economists last Thursday showed only
a narrow majority of 43 expected
DUBAI: Bahrain has mandated banks for a sovereign
bond issue, three sources familiar with the matter said yesterday, with proceeds likely to help
the oil exporter plug a budget
deficit this year.
The government of the Gulf
kingdom is seen taking advantage of low borrowing costs due
to falling US Treasury rates and
healthy investor appetite for Gulf
investment-grade debt.
Bahrain has mandated BNP
Paribas, Citigroup Inc, JP
Morgan Chase and GIB Capital,
the investment banking arm of
Gulf International Bank, for the
issue, three banking sources told
Reuters yesterday.
All the sources requested anonymity because details of the
mandate are not yet public. Any
transaction is expected to be at
least $500m in size.
“Bahrain has the weakest
public finances of the oil producing states and the highest
breakeven price by far,” said
Simon Williams, HSBC’s chief
economist for the region, referring to the price of oil. “Even at
a $100 a barrel, I expect Bahrain
to be running a budget shortfall
this year.”
Bahrain depends on crude from
an oil field it shares with Saudi
Arabia for some 70 percent of
its budget revenue. It is the only
nation out of the six-member Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) facing a fiscal deficit in 2013.
The state needs oil prices to
average $122 per barrel this year
to be able to balance its budget, a
a 25-basis-point cut at this week’s
ECB policy meeting, which would
take the bank’s refinancing rate
to a record low of 0.5 percent.
Inflation, as reflected in the
personal consumption expenditure price index, rose just 1 percent over the 12 months through
March, the smallest gain since
October 2009 and a slowdown
from the 1.3 percent logged in the
period through February.
Benchmark
US
10-year
Treasuries were unchanged, with
the yield at 1.665 percent. US
data also showed that contracts
to purchase previously owned
U.S. homes rose in March as the
housing market continued to pick
up pace this year. A weaker dollar helped drive gains in both US
crude oil prices and gold.
US light crude was up $1.34
at $94.34. Brent crude was up 59
cents to $103.75 a barrel, after
making its biggest weekly gain
since November last week.
Spot gold rose 1 percent to a
session high of $1,477.70 an ounce
but then pared the gains to trade
at $1,468.19 an ounce.
REUTERS
finance ministry official estimated
in November, by far the highest
level in the Gulf Arab region.
Yet some expect investor
response to the planned bond to
be healthy. “This is a smart move
by the government; costs of borrowing are low compared to the
outstanding issues and yet there
is still demand,” a regional fixed
income trader said. “People are
happy to invest in the low 4 percent area.”
Despite recent political unrest,
the Bahrain government has been
keen to project a “business as
usual” image and has regularly
tapped global debt markets to
raise financing.
The high likelihood of political and economic support from
Saudi Arabia has also boosted
investor sentiment.
Bahrain, rated BBB by
Standard & Poor’s, tapped global
markets with a $1.5bn 10-year
deal in July last year, which
priced at 99.867 cents to yield
6.143 percent.
Yields on the bond have fallen
substantially since issue. It was
bid to yield 4.2 percent yesterday
morning, according to Thomson
Reuters data.
Costs to insure against sovereign default have also tumbled.
Bahrain’s five-year credit default
swaps (CDS) were trading at a
midspread of 201 bps yesterday,
according to data from Markit.
CDS prices have been largely
stable this year, but are substantially lower than levels of 350 bps
a year ago.
REUTERS
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
20
BUSINESS
Gulf states to keep growing despite cheaper oil
Qatar projected to grow 5 percent in 2013 and 2014; Dubai to decelerate slightly to 3.3 percent this year
DUBAI:
Economic
growth
in Gulf Arab economies is
expected to slow through next
year but should still be healthy
as investment in the private
sector offsets an expected drop
in oil prices, a Reuters poll
showed yesterday.
Analysts say that for the next
couple of years the Gulf will not
enjoy oil prices of around $110-$115
that have boosted economic growth
since early 2011. Brent crude oil
slumped by more than $22 to below
$100 a barrel in the two months
through mid-April and has since
recovered only slightly.
“For most members of Opec,
they will not be able to increase
production. They may even have
to cut it, so they will lose revenue because of that,” said Giyas
Gokkent, chief economist at
National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
“From a demand perspective, Chinese growth seems to be
slowing down because of what’s
happening in the euro zone.
When you put all of those things
together, forecasts for oil prices
are for at least the next two years
in a slight downtrend.”
The poll of 19 analysts forecast
that economic growth in Saudi
Arabia, for example, would ease
to 4.1 percent in 2013 and 4.0
percent in 2014. That would be
a substantial slowdown from 6.8
percent last year, but still count
as strong growth by international
standards thanks to expansion of
the private sector and increased
government spending.
Other members of the Gulf
Fiat profit falls in Q1;
Chrysler sales slump
DETROIT/MILAN: Carmaker
Fiat’s first quarter profit slumped
more than expected as its US unit
Chrysler’s sales suffered from
the phase out of the Jeep Liberty
pending a new model launch.
“We knew we would be limping
in the quarter. I just didn’t think I
was going to limp that much,” said
Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of both Chrysler and its parent Fiat, on a conference call.
Marchionne in January warned
that Chrysler’s first-quarter earnings would be down from a year
earlier because of the expense of
product launches and the fact
that the Jeep Liberty SUV was
no longer being produced.
The Liberty’s successor, the
Jeep Cherokee, was not sold in
the first quarter and will not be
sold until the third quarter. But
Marchionne said that there were
delays in the production launches
of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and
RAM heavy duty trucks, which he
said are among the highest profitmakers for the carmaker.
Fiat, which took control of
the third-largest US automaker
when Chrysler emerged from a
government-sponsored bankruptcy four years ago, stood by
its financial forecasts for 2013
despite a worsening European
car market and lower revenue in
the US for the first quarter. Fiat
said it sees full-year revenue in
the ¤88bn to ¤92bn range .
At Chrysler, first-quarter net
income fell 65 percent to $166m
from $473m a year earlier. Net
revenue slipped 6 percent to
$15.4bn. On the conference call,
Marchionne introduced Richard
Palmer, Chrysler’s chief financial
officer, by saying Palmer would
give the “not so glorious details
of a not so glorious quarter.”
Chrysler said it will increase
vehicle shipments in the second
quarter by at least 13 percent from
the first quarter, to 650,000 vehicles up from 574,000 in the first
quarter. Of the vehicles the company shipped in the first quarter,
73 percent went to the US market,
up from 69 percent a year earlier.
Marchionne said the Jeep Grand
Cherokee will show strong April
sales, and that the biggest boost in
Grand Cherokee sales will show in
REUTERS
the third quarter.
QATARI MARKET
Bond
Coupon
Maturity
Currency
Mid-Price
Yield
Moody’s
S&P
Qatar Govt
5.15%
09/04/2014
USD
104.31
0.53 %
Aa2
AA
Qatar Govt
3.125%
20/01/2017
USD
106.50
1.33 %
Aa2
AA
Qatar Govt
6.55%
09/04/2019
USD
125.25
2.02 %
Aa2
AA
Qatar Govt
5.25%
20/01/2020
USD
118.38
2.29 %
Aa2
Qatar Govt
4.5%
20/01/2022
USD
114.25
2.66 %
Aa2
AA
Qatar Govt
9.75%
15/06/2030
USD
174.50
3.79 %
Aa2
AA
Qatar Govt
6.4%
20/01/2040
USD
136.50
4.13 %
Aa2
AA
Qatar Govt
5.75%
20/01/2042
USD
126.75
4.15 %
Aa2
AA
Qatari Diar
3.5%
21/07/2015
USD
105.63
0.94 %
Aa2
AA
AA
Qatari Diar
5%
21/07/2020
USD
114.75
2.74 %
Aa2
AA
Comqat
5%
18/11/2014
USD
105.63
1.32 %
A1
A-
Comqat
3.375%
11/04/2017
USD
104.63
2.15 %
A1
A-
QIB
3.856%
07/10/2015
USD
104.63
1.90 %
NR
NR
QNB
3.125%
16/11/2015
USD
104.25
1.42 %
Aa3
A+
QNB
3.375%
22/02/2017
USD
104.88
2.04 %
Aa3
A+
Doha Bank
3.5%
14/03/2017
USD
104.50
2.28 %
A2
A-
Qtel
3.375%
14/10/2016
USD
106.13
1.55 %
A2
A /*-
Qtel
7.875%
10/06/2019
USD
131.00
2.39 %
A2
Qtel
4.75%
16/02/2021
USD
112.38
2.96 %
A2
A /*-
Qtel
5%
19/10/2025
USD
111.00
3.88 %
A2
A /*-
Rasgas
5.5%
30/09/2014
USD
106.13
1.11 %
Aa3
A /*-
A
Rasgas
5.832%
30/09/2016
USD
108.50
3.19 %
Aa3
A
Rasgas
5.298%
30/09/2020
USD
111.13
3.58 %
Aa3
A
SOVEREIGNS
Bond
PDA*
Maturity
Currency
Mid-Price
Yield
Moody’s
S&P
Abu Dhabi Govt
5.5%
08/04/2014
USD
104.63
0.53 %
Aa2
AA
Abu Dhabi Govt
6.75%
08/04/2019
USD
126.75
1.96 %
Aa2
AA
Dubai Govt
6.7%
05/10/2015
USD
110.38
2.29 %
NR
NR
Dubai Govt
4.9%
02/05/2017
USD
107.50
2.90 %
NR
NR
Dubai Govt
7.75%
05/10/2020
USD
125.38
3.80 %
NR
NR
Dubai Govt
6.45%
02/05/2022
USD
118.13
4.03 %
NR
NR
Qatar Govt
4%
20/01/2015
USD
105.50
0.78 %
Aa2
AA
Bahrain Govt
6.273%
22/11/2018
USD
116.63
3.00 %
NR
BBB
Bahrain Govt
5.5%
31/03/2020
USD
110.38
3.78 %
NR
BBB
Egypt Govt
5.75%
29/04/2020
USD
93.00
7.03 %
Caa1
B-
Morocco Govt
4.5%
05/10/2020
EUR
107.13
3.41 %
NR
BBB-
*Periodic Distribution Amount
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Published by HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, P O Box 57, Doha, Qatar which
is licensed and regulated by Qatar Central Bank and Jersey Financial Services
Commission. Information quoted is from publicly available sources or proprietary
data and subject to change. HSBC accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising
out of the use of all or part of this material. This information is general and does not
take into account individual circumstances, objectives or needs. The price of bonds
can and does fluctuate. The secondary market for bonds may not provide significant
liquidity or may trade based on prevailing market conditions. Past performance is not
a reliable indicator of future performance. You should consider these matters and
consult your financial advisor prior to making any investment decisions.
Cooperation Council (GCC) — the
United Arab Emirates, Kuwait,
Qatar, Oman and Bahrain — are
expected to see broadly similar
growth over the next two years,
according to the poll.
“Underlying GCC growth in
2013 should be better than the
softish forecasts suggest thanks
to the solid performance of the
non-oil sector,” said Daniel Kaye,
senior economist at National
Bank of Kuwait.
In the UAE, which has been
recovering from Dubai’s 20092010 corporate debt crisis, growth
is expected to decelerate slightly
to 3.3 percent this year from an
estimated 3.5 percent in 2012,
before edging up to 3.4 percent
in 2014, the poll showed.
Qatar, which is gearing up to
spend some $140bn on infrastructure before it hosts the 2022
World Cup soccer tournament, is
projected to grow 5.0 percent in
both 2013 and 2014, although that
would be slower than the 6.2 percent expansion seen in 2012.
BUDGET SURPLUSES
The somewhat softer outlook for the world oil market is
expected to take a toll on the
GCC’s fiscal balances, since oil
and natural gas revenue provides
the bulk of budget income.
Saudi Arabia, the top Arab
economy, has been raising budget
spending by an average 14 percent
annually in the last decade. As a
result, the oil price it needs to balance its budget jumped to $85 per
barrel in 2013 from $38 in 2008,
the International Monetary Fund
has estimated.
However, assuming oil prices
do not plunge into the $80s
and stay there for an extended
period, the bigger Gulf Arab
economies are still far from slipping into the red.
“Despite strongly expansionary spending, most of the GCC
states will remain comfortably in
surplus, with the exception being
Bahrain, for which we forecast a
small deficit,” said Liz Martins,
HSBC’s senior economist for the
Middle East.
In Saudi Arabia, the fiscal surplus should halve to 7 percent of
gross domestic product this year
from 14.2 percent in 2012, the
poll showed. The 2013 forecast
is slightly below the 7.1 percent
predicted by a previous Reuters
poll in January.
In 2014, analysts expect Saudi
Arabia will post a budget surplus
of 4.1 percent of GDP. The IMF
has warned that because of rising state spending, Saudi Arabia
might slip into a small fiscal deficit of 0.5 percent of GDP as soon
as in 2018. But Saudi finance minister Ibrahim Al Assaf said this
month that government spending
was likely to increase at a more
moderate pace in coming years.
“Over the longer term, I think
this kind of spending growth will
take them (the GCC) into deficit
territory even if oil prices stay
high, but since debt levels are low
and reserves are ample, that’s not
the end of the world for the Gulf,”
Martins said.
REUTERS
Iran squeezed
by higher
edible oil costs
KUALA LUMPUR: Iran is
having to pay a premium for
basic foodstuffs such as cooking
oil, highlighting the increasing
strain on Tehran from Western
sanctions aimed at its disputed
nuclear programme, even though
the sanctions don’t cover food.
Wilmar International, the
world’s largest listed planter, and
Mewah International, a $570m
edible oils processor — both listed
in Singapore — are driving sales to
Iran on long-term contracts, with
Middle Eastern trading sources
reporting premiums of up to $30
a tonne to the cash benchmark.
Food shipments are not targeted under the sanctions, but the
financial squeeze has cut off firms
operating in Iran from much of
the global banking system and
pushed inflation above 30 percent.
Oil exports, Iran’s major source of
hard currency, have more than
halved since 2011.
FOOD EXPORTERS
Food exporters largely shun
Iranian deals, with a volatile rial
currency deepening risk and
foreign banks wary of financing
the food trade for fear of reputational damage. A shopkeeper
in Tehran said he had put up his
price of imported cooking oil by
up to 30 percent this month. A
900 millilitre bottle of cooking oil
costs around 39,000 rials ($3.18),
compared to a 1 litre bottle that
sells for $3.10 in Britain and $1.20
in palm oil-producing Malaysia.
Another storekeeper said prices
had been stable for weeks.
Iran has shifted to Southeast
Asian palm oil as sanctions and
limited supplies have disrupted
imports of soybeans and oil from
Argentina. Malaysia, the world’s
second-largest palm oil producer,
saw exports to Iran jump 60 percent last year to a record 548,603
tonnes — still less than 5 percent
of Malaysia’s total exports of
about 17 million tonnes.
Wilmar and Mewah dominate the trade with Iran where
demand for high-value refined
palm olein, used in cooking oil,
can reach 500,000-700,000 tonnes
a year. Wilmar sells to Saudi
Arabian food company Savola,
which buys palm oil to feed its
edible oil processors in Iran, three
Middle Eastern trading sources
said. They said Wilmar demands
a premium of $20-$30 per tonne
to cover potential payment delays
and interest charges.
REUTERS
Cars drive past an office of VTB bank in Moscow yesterday. VTB attracted a new class of sovereign investors
into Russia with a $3.3bn share sale, whose proceeds the state-controlled bank pledged to invest in expanding
its share of the domestic market.
Qatar, Norway and Azeri SWFs take
over half of VTB share offering
MOSCOW: VTB attracted a
new class of sovereign investor into Russia with a $3.3bn
share sale, whose proceeds the
state-controlled bank pledged
to invest in expanding its share
of the domestic market.
Russia’s second-largest bank
is offering stock at a third of the
price at which it floated six years
ago, reflecting the impact of the
global crash, a troubled acquisition and a costly push into investment banking.
The deal was covered before
subscriptions were due to open,
VTB said yesterday, with backing from sovereign funds from
the energy-rich states of Norway,
Qatar and Azerbaijan, described
by CEO Andrei Kostin as “committed, long-term investors”.
Kostin had presided over an initial public share offering in 2007
and a subsequent stock offering
in 2011, which helped send VTB’s
share price lower, but after months
of financial diplomacy the urbane
former diplomat has managed to
reel in big-ticket investors.
“From now on we are planning to feed only bulls, not
bears,” Kostin joked on a conference call with analysts. “Those
bears present at this conference,
please find another victim.” The
buyers, investing in Russia for the
first time, follow in the footsteps
of Chinese sovereign fund CIC,
which bought VTB stock in 2011
and later acquired stakes in gold
miner Polyus and fertiliser firm
Uralkali.
The latest deal reflects President
Vladimir Putin’s preference for a
state-driven capitalist model, based
on long-term strategic partnerships, after the 2008 crash caused
finance capital - and western banks
- to leave the country.
VTB is selling 2.5 trillion shares
on the Moscow stock market at
4.1 kopecks apiece, a discount
of 10 percent to last Thursday’s
close. It will raise a total of
102.5bn roubles ($3.3bn). After
taking into account the fact that
the new shares are not entitled to
2012 dividends, the discount narrows to 6.8 percent, the bank said.
For Kostin, the capital-raising
marks a chance to turn the page
after the ill-fated takeover of
Bank of Moscow in 2011, which
uncovered a balance sheet hole at
the acquired bank and triggered
Russia’s largest-ever bailout.
The share issue will bolster
VTB’s Tier 1 capital adequacy
ratio - a key measure of a bank’s
ability to absorb losses - to 11.9
percent from 10.3 percent as of
December 31, higher than Russian
market leader Sberbank.
Yet rather than just filling
holes in its balance sheet, as many
western banks are being required
to do to meet tougher regulatory
requirements, VTB said it wants
to deploy the new capital to win
market share in Russia’s retail
lending sector.
The capital injection should see
VTB through to 2016, while retail
lending would expand by 25 percent this year, outpacing corporate lending growth of 15 percent.
Norges Bank Investment
Management, Qatar Holding and
the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan
signed up for more than half of the
offering, with the rest accounted
for by Russian and foreign institutions. The sovereign funds were
unavailable for comment.
The Russian government was
expected to waive its right to
subscribe to the offering, which
would dilute its 75.5 percent
stake to 60.9 percent. Minority
shareholders will have from May
6 to May 17 to exercise their subscription rights, but even if they
decline, the offering would still be
fully covered by the cornerstone
investors, VTB Chief Financial
Officer Herbert Moos said.
REUTERS
US officials arrest Swiss banker
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bullion - Mumbai
Gold (10 gm) Standard
Rs. 27600
Silver (1 kg)
Rs. 46320
Indian Rupees
QR1 = 14.79
Sensex
BSE
19387.50
NSE
5904.10
Short-term investment plan from LIC International upto 6.4 percent return
p.a. (in dollar)
Housing loan from HDFC LTD
Mutual Fund: Buy & Sell: SBI MF, HDFC MF, UTI MF, Birla Sun Life MF,
Tata MF, Reliance MF etc.
Advise on Indian Income Tax matters for NRIs.
Contact: Investec, Tel: 44325060/44365060 email: investec@qatar.net.qa
ZURICH: US officials have arrested a former UBS banker working for
the Swiss operations of Coutts, the private banking division of Royal
Bank of Scotland Group Plc, sources said. The arrest comes as US
authorities crack down on tax evasion and has revived Swiss bankers’
fears that they could face detention if they travel to the United States
and are suspected of helping people hide money in offshore accounts.
Coutts notified staff in Geneva on Friday that one of its private
bankers had been arrested last week when he entered the US for a
vacation, a source familiar with the situation said.
“The Federal Department for Foreign Affairs has knowledge of the
temporary arrest of a Swiss citizen in New York and is providing support
in terms of consular protection,” the Swiss government said. According
to reports, the man was transferred to Miami and fitted with an electronic surveillance bracelet. The reports did not make it clear whether
he remains in custody. The man worked with Russian clients for UBS
until 2009, and began working at Coutts in 2012.
REUTERS
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
MARKET
QE Indices Summary
QE Index
QE Total Return Index
QE Al Rayan Islamic Index
QE All Share Index
8,628.31
12,327.87
2,634.89
0.10 %
0.10 %
0.16 %
2,199.84
0.00 %
QE All Share Banks & Financial
Services
QE All Share Consumer Goods &
Services
QE All Share Industrials
QE All Share Insurance
QE All Share Real Estate
QE All Share Telecoms
2,030.07
0.33 %
5,294.07
0.51 %
3,128.45
2,002.9
1,582.42
1,205.99
0.15 %
0.00 %
0.04 %
0.12 %
QE All Share Transportation
1,450.15
0.64 %
Today
29-04-2013
Previous day
28-04-2013
8,628.31
8.85
8,637.16
43.90
0.10
3.22
8,064,255
263,930,801.35
3,525
0.51
3.33
7,276,015
273,267,910.03
4,012
Change
%
YTD%
Volume
Value (QAR)
Trades
INDEX
Day’s Close
All Ordinaries
QE Market Summary Comparison
Index
WORLD STOCK INDICES
Up 14 | Down 18 | Unchanged 07
5108.284
Pt Chg
25.631
% Chg
0.5
Cac 40 Index/D
3845.45
35.4
0.93
Dj Indu Average
14712.55
11.75
Egypt Cma Gn Idx
1026.29
32.57
Hang Seng Inde/D
22580.77
Iseq Overall/D
Year High
5174.4
21
GOLD & SILVER
Year Low
4664.6
GOLD
QR173.088
SILVER
QR 2.8590
Buying Selling
3871.58
3584.38
0.08
14887.5
12035.1
3.28
999.95
312.38
33.06
0.15
23944.74
21423.25
3885.66
24.31
0.63
4009.59
3396.67
Karachi 100 In/D
18822.85
-94.86
-0.5
18986.03
16036.31
BRENT
Nikkei 225 Index
13884.13
-41.95
-0.3
13974.26
10398.61
$ 103.47
DUBAI
S&P 500 Index/D
0
0
0
1597.35
1266.74
Straits Times/D
3361.92
13.05
0.39
3353.04
3160.83
Straits Times/D
2971.47
22.7
0.77
3035.78
2657.77
EXCHANGE
RATE
US$.......................... QR 3.6305
UK ........................... QR 5.6240
Euro ......................... QR 4.7455
CA$.......................... QR 3.5595
Swiss Fr .................. QR 3.8650
Yen .......................... QR 0.0369
Aus$ ........................ QR 3.7338
Ind Re ...................... QR 0.0666
Pak Re ..................... QR 0.0366
Peso ........................ QR 0.0877
SL Re....................... QR 0.0285
Taka ......................... QR 0.0463
Nep Re .................... QR 0.0418
SA Rand .................. QR 0.4018
CRUDE OIL
$ 102.18
QR 3.6500
QR 5.7028
QR 4.8121
QR 3.6292
QR 3.9222
QR 0.0376
QR 3.8081
QR 0.0679
QR 0.0374
QR 0.0895
QR 0.0290
QR 0.0472
QR 0.0427
QR 0.4110
QATAR EXCHANGE | DAILY TRADING REPORT | 29-04-2013
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS A List of Shares from the world
COMPANY
NAME
NET
CHG
VOLUME
TRADED
A C C-A/D
1243.5 -2.4
Aarti Drugs-B/D
175
7.9
Aban Offs-B/D
274.9
3.1
Aegis Logis-B/D 143.5 -0.25
Ahmed.Forg-B/D 102.5
1
Alembic-B/D
18.05 0.2
Alok Indus-B/D
9.19 -0.89
Andhra Paper-B/D 204.7 0.15
Apollo Tyre-A/D 95.15 4.15
Ashok Leyland-/D 22.5 0.05
Ballarpur In-B/D 17.75 -0.2
Banaras Bead-T/D
31 1.45
Bata India-A/D
708.8 -5.25
Beml Ltd-B/D
164.25
0
Bhansali Eng-B/D 22.16 0.62
Bharatgears-B/D 37.05 -1.7
Bhartiya Int-B/D 224.65 -6.05
Bhel-A/D
191.3 2.4
Bom.Burmah-B/D 125.8
1.8
Bombay Dyeing-/D 87.4 0.85
Canfin Homes-B/D156.95 -1.75
Castrol Ind-A/D 326.6 4.15
Century Enka-B/D 112.1 0.95
Century Text-A/D
291 5.05
Chambal Fert-B/D 55.4
1.2
Chola Invest-B/D 266.2 -3.2
Cipla-A/D
407.55 -2.1
City Union Bk-/D
54.4 -0.35
Cmc Ltd-B/D
1328.5 -29.35
CLOSE
17463
3951
40095
1958
3748
12298
3368069
38109
262831
177747
21029
3194
20096
15942
8282
2164
9008
206015
204987
83425
3685
57248
3649
98249
181430
24924
89048
20250
100905
COMPANY
NAME
CLOSE
NET
CHG
VOLUME
TRADED
Colgate-A/D
1389.95
Dcm Financia-B/D 1.48
Dhampur Sugar-/D 44.7
Dr. Reddy-A/D 1992.65
E I H-B/D
60.1
E.I.D Parry-B/D 154.15
Eicher Motor-A/D2924.45
Electrosteel-B/D
16.9
Emco-B/D
19.75
Escorts-B/D
57.35
Essar Oil-A/D
84.8
Eveready Indu-/D 17.4
F D C-B/D
89.35
Federal Bank-A/D 448.25
Ferro Alloys-B/D
5.26
Finolex-B/D
107.1
Forbes-B/D
600
Gail-A/D
350.9
Gammon India-B/D 22.4
Gangotri Tex-B/D 1.64
Garden P -B/D
48.8
Goodricke-B/D 130.65
Goodyear I -B/D 276.75
Hcl Infosys-B/D
39
Him.Fut.Comm-B/D 9.47
Himat Seide-B/D
32
Hind Motors-B/D 8.99
Hind Org Chem-/D 12.38
Hind Unilever-/D 497.6
-4.9
0.02
0.2
2.6
0.2
3.4
45.25
0.2
-0.45
0.9
-0.85
-0.2
-0.55
-14.05
0.12
0.75
0
0.1
0.45
-0.16
0.3
-0.6
21.15
-0.4
0.56
0
0.03
0.03
32.45
14118
5210
6665
8662
25646
7123
1247
26150
19032
63557
547984
56395
12747
68305
6929
54982
16160
34655
4038
3330
3376
9836
26141
104855
554695
12247
145627
2495
2071427
COMPANY
NAME
NET
CHG
VOLUME
TRADED
Hind.Petrol-A/D 313.55 4.7
Hindalco-A/D
98.8 -0.2
Hous Dev Fin-A/D 863.95 -8.65
I F C I-A/D
30.95 0.85
Idbi-A/D
89.65 0.8
Ifb Ind.Ltd.-B/D
85 -0.1
India Cement-B/D 82.95 1.75
India Glycol-B/D 136.65 -0.15
Indian Hotel-A/D
58.3 2.05
Indo-Bcount-B/D 12.01 -0.49
Indusind-A/D
478.2 20.15
J.B.Chemical-B/D 79.2 0.8
Jbf Indu-B/D
105.55 0.2
Jct Elect P -B/D
0.43 0.01
Jct Ltd-B/D
0.84 -0.01
Jik Indust-B/D
0.96 -0.04
Jktyre&Ind-B/D 113.95 2.5
Jmc Projects-B/D 78.2 -1.7
Kabra Extr-B/D
24.5 -0.95
Kajaria Cer-B/D 203.45 6.65
Kalpat Power-B/D 80.15 0.75
Kalyani Stel-B/D 42.95 0.15
Kilburnengg-B/D 13.76 1.19
Klg Systel-B/D
10.2 0.08
Kopran-B/D
14.29 0.04
Lakshmi Mach-B/D1985.8 -28.15
Lloyd Metal-B/D
11.8 -0.81
Lloydsfin.-B/D
0.75
0
Lok.Hous&Con-B/D 14.98 -0.03
CLOSE
43506
559867
78657
1321574
178667
5835
77371
1940
81796
6869
1465078
15430
51652
4020
32142
7105
59140
3074
4836
22025
10508
9844
2375
2294
57986
1351
8381
4121
219932
COMPANY
NAME
NET
CHG
VOLUME
TRADED
Lupin-A/D
685.8
1.1
Lyka Labs-B/D
9.3 0.16
Mah.Seamless-B/D 222.7 6.95
Mangalam Cem-B/D137.35 3.4
Maral Overs-B/D 13.34 1.94
Mastek-B/D
133 -3.1
Max India L-A/D 209.8 -1.75
Mrpl-A/D
47.35 -0.55
Nahar Spg.-B/D
71.1 -0.1
Nation Alum -A/D 35.55 -0.2
Navneet Pub.-B/D 56.75 0.05
Nepc India-B/D
2.19 0.11
Nrb Bearings-B/D 37.3 2.2
O N G C-A/D
328.8 4.45
Oil Country-B/D
41.6 -0.35
Onward Tech-T/D
42 -1.15
Orchid Chem-B/D 65.6 0.55
Orient Hotel-B/D
19.3 0.05
Patspin India-/D
4.93 0.23
Radico Khait-B/D 125.45 -0.7
Rallis India-B/D
129 4.4
Rallis India-B/D
129 4.4
Reliance Indus/D 392.3 3.2
Ruchi Soya-B/D 69.75 0.3
S Bk Bikaner-B/D 432.55 2.35
Samtel-B/D
2.37 0.11
Saur.Cem-B/D
19.4 -0.05
Tanfac Indust-/D
11 -0.3
Tanfac Indust-/D
11 -0.3
CLOSE
37043
3325
23339
3755
8130
22503
5251
63450
3027
52358
7791
1223
459507
200544
2087
1245
75713
1156
2745
5401
59165
59165
123576
232658
4640
5898
14200
2040
2040
COMPANY
NAME
CLOSE
NET
CHG
VOLUME
TRADED
Thirumalai-B/D
Timexgroup-B/D
Tinplate-B/D
Ub Engineer-T/D
Ub Engineer-T/D
Ucal Fuel-B/D
Ucal Fuel-B/D
Ultramarine-B/D
Unitech P -A/D
Univcable-B/D
95.55 1.55
13.02 -0.13
42.35 -0.3
21.15 -0.5
21.15 -0.5
54.6
1
54.6
1
59.3 0.3
27.85 0.85
32
-3
4829
19185
6074
1902
1902
3613
3613
1162
2609768
1719
LONDON
3I Group/D
337.5
Assoc.Br.Foods/D1945.58
Sky B/D
847
Barclays/D
289.5343
Bg Group/D
1070
Bp/D
452.5
Brit Am Tobacc/D 3589.5
British Airway/D276.4574
Bt Group/D
283.9
Centrica/D
378.7212
Gkn/D
273.7827
Hsbc Holdings/D 700.2
Imperial Tobac/D 2296
Kingfisher/D
313.6
Land Secs Grou/D 880.5
Legal & Genera/D 168.2
-0.7
478242
20 249996 B
-3.5
654845
-1.15 15350329
5 1262961
-1.6 6329042
-7
602804
0
0
-1.9 5693336
3 1286999
2.8 1278818
0.3 5622584
19
460550
-2.3 3131032
4
283965
0.7 4286859
COMPANY
NAME
CLOSE
NET
CHG
VOLUME
TRADED
Lloyds Bnk Grp/D 53.42 0.51 65150759
Marks & Sp./D
414 -1.3
573472
Next/D
4389 -20
102597
Pearson/D
1139
-5
683171
Prudential/D
1125
5 1065885
Rank Group/D
167.71
0.1
1184
Rentokil Initi/D
100.9 4.25 6161982
Rolls Royce Pl/D
1124
-8
847575
Rsa Insrance G/D 111.564 -1.5 6397380
Sainsbury(J)/D
378.6 -4.2 2597419
Schroders/D
2329
42
213034
Severn Trent/D
1812
4
408307
Smith&Nephew/D 749.6914 6
231774
Smiths Group/D
1240
3
142782
Standrd Chart /D 1633.95
1 1118045
Tate & Lyle/D
846 -5.5
265089
Tesco/D
365.2 -1.75 4023711
Tomkins/D
0
0
0
Unilever/D
2780
13 1127535
United Util Gr/D 739.2653 6.5
533963
Vodafone Group/D 196.3 -0.9 20849723
Whitbread/D
2605
27
353118
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
SPORT
23
Heat complete
play-off sweep
Blackhawks,
Penguins top
Stanley Cup
play-off seeds
Terry dazzles for Celtics against Knicks
MILWAUKEE,
Wisconsin:
LeBron James scored 30 points
to lead Miami over Milwaukee
and complete a sweep into the
second round of the NBA playoffs yesterday while Boston
avoided being swept out by New
York.
Defending champion Miami
rolled over the Bucks 88-77 to win
their Eastern Conference best-ofseven series in four games and
become the first team to advance
despite guard Dwyane Wade
being sidelined by a knee bruise.
Wade will have time to heal.
The Heat will not open the second round against Chicago or
Brooklyn until Saturday at the
earliest.
“The way we are playing, we
don’t want too much rest,” James
said. “We just have to continue
to work our habits, get space on
offense and stay tight on defense.”
At Boston, Jason Terry scored
the Celtics’ last nine points in
the final 92 seconds of overtime
to lift the hosts over the Knicks
97-90 and pull Boston within 3-1
in that series, whose winner will
face Atlanta or Indiana.
The Celtics forced a game five
tomorrow, although no team in
NBA history has ever rallied to
win a playoff series after losing
the first three games.
NBA Results
WASHINGTON: Results yesterday from the
first round of the NBA play-offs (all series
best-of-seven):
Eastern Conference
In Boston
Boston 97 New York 90 (overtime)
(New York lead series 3-1)
In Milwaukee
Miami 88 Milwaukee 77
(Miami win series 4-0)
In Los Angeles
San Antonio 103 LA Lakers 82
(San Antonio win series 4-0)
“The spirit and heart of a
champion is what kept us going,”
Terry said. “They made a great
run at us. But we’re not dead yet.”
The Heat swept a series for the
first time since 2005. Miami had
taken 3-0 leads in the opening
playoff round the past two years
but failed to finish off the set in
four games either time.
A Monte Ellis jumper pulled
Milwaukee within 69-67 before
Miami unleashed a 19-5 scoring run that included a 4-for-4
3-point shooting effort, two from
beyond the arc by Ray Allen and
others by Mario Chalmers and
Shane Battier.
When James capped the run
with a layup, the Heat enjoyed
their biggest lead to that point at
88-72 and Milwaukee’s fate was
sealed. “Anytime they were able to
test us, we were able to withstand
it,” James said.
“After they would make a run,
we were able to counter with one
of our own.”
At Boston, the Knicks rallied
from 20 points down in the third
quarter to take the lead at 84-82,
only to have Kevin Garnett equalize on a jumper for Boston to send
the game into overtime.
Terry, who finished with 18
points, made a 3-pointer with
1:32 remaining in the extra fiveminute session that gave Boston
a 91-88 lead.
Carmelo Anthony answered
with an inside jumper for the
Knicks but Terry hit a fadeaway
baseline jumper to put Boston
ahead 93-90.
Anthony missed a 3-point
attempt and Terry added two free
throws and a layup to boost the
Celtics’ final victory margin.
Paul Pierce lead Boston with 29
points while Jeff Green added 26
and Garnett had 13 points and 17
rebounds.
Anthony, who has never
reached the second round of the
NBA playoffs, had 36 points and
Raymond Felton added 27 in a
losing cause.
AFP
Pau Gasol (16) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots over Matt Bonner
(15) and Gary Neal (14) of the San Antonio Spurs in the first half during
Game Four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2013 NBA
Play-offs at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, yesterday. The
Spurs defeated the Lakers 103-82.
Barcelona to show real colours in London: Tomic
MADRID:
Injury-hit
Barcelona were picked apart by
traditional rivals Real Madrid
on Sunday but their meeting
at the Euroleague Final Four
in London next month will be
a different story, Barca centre
Ante Tomic said.
The Spanish rivals will clash
for berth in the grand final of
Europe’s premier club basketball competition while holders
Olympiakos Piraeus take on
CSKA Moscow in the other semi
in London’s O2 Arena hosting the
showpiece event from May 10-12.
“It will be a different game in
London, probably low-scoring
because there will be so much
more at stake,” Tomic said after
Barcelona slumped to a 78-65
defeat against his former club.
“This was the last dress
rehearsal for the Euroleague Final
Four for both sides as we’ve met a
few times this season already and
there are no secrets between us.
“Real are a fast-flowing and
free-scoring team with very good
transition from defence to attack.
We nurture a similar style so it
should be a fascinating contest in
London.
“We missed three key players
Tigers beat
Braves 8-3 for
3-game sweep
Shabab Qatar, Gateway
maintain unbeaten run
DETROIT: Miguel Cabrera is
one hitter who can certainly be
trusted to swing at a 3-0 pitch.
Cabrera hit a three-run homer
on that count yesterday, and it
broke the game open in the seventh inning, helping the Detroit
Tigers finish off a three-game
sweep of the Atlanta Braves with
an 8-3 victory.
Austin Jackson and Omar
Infante also homered for the
Tigers, and Doug Fister struck
out eight in seven innings on a
rainy night at Comerica Park.
“You’ve got to make sure `Skip’
gives you the sign to swing. That’s
when you decide to swing or not
swing,” Cabrera said.
Atlanta’s Mike Minor (3-2)
allowed a three-run homer to
Jackson in the third, and although
the Braves came back to tie it,
Cabrera doubled and scored in the
sixth to make it 4-3.
AGENCIES
through injury and we also had
several walking wounded in this
game, hence we will use the next
two weeks to recuperate and
prepare for what’s coming in
England,” he said.
Barca and Real reached the
Euroleague Final Four in contrasting fashion, with Real enjoying a 3-0 sweep of Maccabi Tel
Aviv in their best-of-five quarter-final series while Barca were
pushed to the limit in a 3-2 defeat
of Panathinaikos Athens.
Having won two Spanish cups
at Real from 2009-2012, Tomic
will now aim to clinch the most
DOHA: Shabab Qatar and Gateway Hockey
Club maintained their unbeaten run in the
Qatar National Hockey League.
In matches at Al Rayyan Stadium, Shabab
Qatar powered their way past former champions Wanderers through a brilliant all round
performance.
The score line of 3-0 was not an actual reflection of the Shabab dominance. The dominant
Shabab forwards were kept at bay only through
some great defending by keeper Shannon and the
deep defenders Jude and Stevan.
With Sohail Mustaffa moving well in the midfield the Shabab team played like a well oiled
machine and were a treat to watch.
It was not long before Shabab opened the scoring in the 31st minute through Sheraz Ali.
Omar Gulzaeb increased the margin for
Shabab through a opportunistic deflection in
the 44th minute and Sheraz Ali capped off a
good performance with a drag flick goal in the
coveted trophy in European club
basketball in his first season at
Barcelona. Pointing out that passion will be running high again
after he was taunted by Real fans
on Sunday, Tomic also praised his
counterpart Felipe Reyes who led
the home team with a game-high
19 points.
“There is no bad blood between
Real and me, it’s a game like any
other. Of course it’s the biggest
derby in Spanish club basketball
so emotions are always running
high and I am sure it will be the
case again when we meet in the
Final Four.“Reyes is still one of
60th minute. Shabab now have 12 points from 4
matches.
In the other match, Gateway Hockey Club produced a below par performance but still overcame a fighting fit United Hockey 9-1. Waseem
top scored with four goals, Shahid Nasir scored
three while Lateef and Rajeev scored a goal each.
Jackson scored the lone goal for United Hockey.
Meanwhile, Mesaieed Hockey Club (MHC),
playing under the PAK banner registered
their first points when they beat Doha Hockey
Club (DHC)-2 by six goals to three. In a rough
and tough match, which witnessed some ugly
scenes, MHC were stretched to the limit by the
DHC-2 team for whom Edo and Stephan were
outstanding.
Edo Swart showed glimpses of his earlier stint
in the Dutch League scoring two while Lucy
scored one goal for DHC. Manzoor scored 3,
Rizwan, Shafqat and Usman scored a goal each
for MHC.
THE PENINSULA
Baseball Results
NY Yankees
Philadelphia
Miami
Boston
Cincinnati
Tampa Bay
Kansas City
Minnesota
Pittsburgh
Oakland
Seattle
La Dodgers
San Diego
Arizona
Detroit
Cleveland
3
5
6
6
5
8
9
5
9
9
2
2
6
4
8
10
Toronto
NY Mets
Chicago Cubs
Houston
Washington
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland
Texas
St. Louis
Baltimore
La Angels
Milwaukee
San Francisco
Colorado
Atlanta
Kansas City
2
1
4
1
2
3
0
0
0
8
1
0
4
2
3
3
Rizwan (left) of
Mesaieed Hockey Club
(MHC), tackles Graham
of Doha Hockey Club
(DHC)-2 during the
Qatar National Hockey
League at Al Rayyan
Stadium.
the best pivots in the game, he is a
pillar for Real with his outstanding positional play in the paint
and the uncanny ability to collect
so many offensive rebounds.”
Gifted with exceptional speed,
ball-handling skills and mid-range
shooting for a man 2.18 metres
tall, Tomic is likely to be sized up
by several NBA teams but has
no plans yet to move across the
Atlantic to the world’s strongest
basketball league.
“I am very happy at Barcelona
and I am really not thinking about
the NBA at the moment,” he said.
REUTERS
WASHINGTON: The Chicago
Blackhawks
and
Pittsburgh
Penguins, who each won a
league-best 36 games in a shortened National Hockey League
season, are co-favourites in the
Stanley Cup play-offs that start
today.
A campaign that began with
acrimony over financial issues
was revived by a Chicago team
that set an NHL record by producing standings points in its
first 24 games, going 21-0-3
before suffering a defeat in
regulation-time.
Pittsburgh followed in March
with a 15-game win streak,
matching the second-longest victory run in NHL history, two shy
of the league record the Penguins
set in the 1992-93 season.
A four-month lockout over
money issues was finally settled
between players and club owners
with a new collective bargaining
agreement in January, but not
before the season was reduced
from 82 to 48 games per team.
As a result, the 2013 campaign
was an intense 100-day charge to
set up a full 16-team post-season
that starts about three weeks
later than normal, with a champion to be crowned in late June.
In the Western Conference
first round, top seed Chicago
will face Minnesota, second seed
Anaheim will face Detroit, third
seed Vancouver will meet San Jose
and defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles will play fourth
seed St Louis.
In the Eastern Conference
first round, top seed Pittsburgh
will meet the New York Islanders,
second seed Montreal will play
Ottawa, third seed Washington
will face the New York Rangers
and fourth seed Boston will play
Toronto.
Chicago, sparked by Patrick
Kane and Jonathan Toews, began
the season 21-0-3 before suffering a regulation-time loss and
the Blackhawks went on to finish
with a NHL-low seven regulation
defeats.
Minnesota slumped in the
final month of the season and
the Wild were the last team to
clinch a playoff berth, winning
their final game to sneak inside
the line. Minnesota lost two
of three regular-season games
against Chicago.
AFP
24
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
SPORT
Horschel seals maiden
victory in New Orleans
The American wins by one shot in rain-hit final round
AVONDALE,
Louisana:
American
Billy
Horschel
charged ahead with six consecutive birdies, then held his
nerve down the stretch to win
his maiden PGA Tour title by
one shot at the Zurich Classic
of New Orleans in Avondale,
Louisiana yesterday.
Two strokes off the pace going
into a weather-disrupted final
round, Horschel took advantage of rain-softened conditions
and preferred lies at the TPC
Louisiana as he sealed his longawaited breakthrough victory
with an eight-under-par 64.
The slim 26-year-old, who had
recorded top-10s in his three
previous starts on the U.S. circuit, stunningly drained a 26-foot
birdie putt at the par-five last to
post a 20-under total of 268.
US PGA Zurich
Classic Scores
NEW ORLEANS: Leading
scores yesterday after the final
round of the $6.6m US PGA
Zurich Classic of New Orleans
(USA unless noted, par-72):
268 Billy Horschel 67-71-66-64
269 D.A. Points 66-68-70-65
271 Kyle Stanley 72-67-65-67
273 Bobby Gates 67-70-70-66, Lucas Glover
65-67-70-71
274 Boo Weekley 65-68-73-68, Harris
English 68-70-69-67
275 Aaron Watkins 71-69-70-65, John
Peterson 71-67-70-67, Nicolas
Colsaerts (BEL) 70-68-70-67, Lee
D.H. (KOR) 70-70-68-67, Luke Guthrie
67-71-69-68, Kevin Stadler 68-72-6570, Jimmy Walker 67-71-66-71
276 Bubba Watson 73-65-72-66, Ernie Els
(RSA) 67-69-72-68, Peter Tomasulo
73-67-68-68, Justin Rose (ENG) 68-6970-69, Nick Watney 69-69-69-69,
Henrik Norlander (SWE) 71-70-65-70
Horschel repeatedly pumped
his right fist in delight after his
ball disappeared into the cup for
his ninth birdie of the day, then
removed his cap to acknowledge
loud cheers from the gallery
packed around the 18th green.
“Oh man, it’s something I have
worked so hard for and there are
so many people I need to thank.
And they all know who they are,”
an emotional Horschel told Golf
Channel after coping with two
weather delays during the final
round.
“And for that putt to go in ... I
hadn’t made a long one all week
and I said, ‘I am due for a long
one, I am due for a long one. Just
commit to it.’
“It came off the putter so good
and I am so happy it went in. This
is unbelievable right now.”
Fellow American D.A. Points,
playing with Horschel, had been
tied for the lead with three holes
remaining but settled for second
place after closing with a sevenbirdie 65.
Overnight leader and 2009 US
Open champion Lucas Glover,
bidding for his fourth PGA Tour
victory, fell back with an early
bogey on the way to a 71 and a
tie for fourth at 15 under.
Glover began the day two
strokes in front and he parred
the first five holes before play was
suspended for about three hours
as the first wave of thunderstorms
rolled into the area.
At that point, his lead had
shrunk to just.
Soon after play resumed, Points
and Horschel briefly moved into
a three-way tie at the top as they
each birdied the par-five seventh before Jimmy Walker sank
a 26-foot eagle putt at the same
hole to edge a stroke in front.
Glover slid back with a bogey
at the seventh after overshooting
the green and hitting a poor chip
Korea’s Park
triumphs
at LPGA
Shootout
IRVING, Texas: World number
one Park In-Bee drained a birdie
putt at the final hole yesterday
to win the inaugural North
Texas LPGA Shootout, holding
off Spain’s Carlota Ciganda by
one stroke.
Park claimed the sixth LPGA
title of her career and her third
this year, a run of success that
saw her rise to number one in
the world this month -- one
week after her major victory at
the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
The South Korean played
steady golf, posting four birdies
without a bogey, her four-under
67 at Las Colinas giving her a
13-under total of 271.
Ciganda, who kept the pressure
on Park with her own birdie at
18, finished with a one-under 70
for 272.
“Today coming into the final
round, I was two shots back, and I
didn’t really think about winning
so much,” Park said. “The front
nine I was given a lot of birdie
chances out there, and nothing
seemed to be going in, so I was a
little bit frustrated.”
Ciganda, the 2012 Rookie of
the Year on the Ladies European
Tour, started the day with a twostroke lead.
After a bogey at the second she
settled down, posting birdies at
the third, sixth, eighth and 10th
to move to 14-under for the tournament -- two strokes in front of
Park as they dueled in the final
group.
But the young Spaniard’s round
came unstuck with a bogey at the
14th, followed by a double-bogey
at 15 that let Park assume a oneshot lead.
At the par-four 14th, Ciganda
drove behind a tree and her
attempt to hit over saw her ball
clip a branch.
Al Anabi Racing
Top Fuel Team
excels in Houston
Billy
Horschel
poses for
a photo
with the
winner’s
trophy after
winning
the Zurich
Classic
of New
Orleans
at TPC
Louisiana
in
Avondale,
Louisiana,
yesterday.
coming back. Former Walker Cup
amateur Horschel also birdied the
eighth and ninth to move one
ahead at 16 under before being
joined by Walker, who rolled in
a 10-footer to birdie the par-four
eighth.
While Walker stumbled with
a double-bogey at the par-three
ninth, where his bump-and-run
from below the green failed to
crest the slope and rolled back to
his feet, red-hot Horschel kept
charging forward.
He sank a 14-footer to birdie
the 10th and a six-footer at the
par-five 11th to get to 18 under,
two ahead of Points.Both players
picked up a shot at the par-four
12th, Horschel sinking a 15-footer
there to tie the PGA Tour record
this season of six consecutive
birdies.
On resumption, he wisely laid
up in two, then struck a wedge
approach to 26 feet short of the
hole before sinking the birdie putt
to clinch an emotional victory.
China’s 14-year-old Guan
Tianlang, after making his second
consecutive cut on the PGA Tour,
signed off with a two-over 74 to
finish at four-over 292, stone last
in the 71-strong field. REUTERS
Muirfield
changes set
tough test for
Open stars
Inbee Park In-Bee of South Korea celebrates with her trophy after winning
the 2013 North Texas LPGA Shootout at the Las Colinas Counrty Club
in Irving, Texas, yesterday.
At the 15th her ball bounced
into the water on the right.
“I saw the ball bouncing on the
green, so I thought that maybe it
was there long,” Ciganda said of
her approach into 15. “But when
I was approaching the green, I
could see that the wind was hard
and the ball was in the water.
“So I mean I just tried to make
up on that, and I missed my putt,
so then it was a six and that was
it. I think that was the key hole
because until that time I think
I was winning by two and then
by one.”
At the par-five 18th, Park was
in the fairway and Ciganda just
off the fairway with a testing shot
through the trees to the green.
Park opted to go for the green
and finished up just short, while
Ciganda fired through the green.
Ciganda’s pitch left her a tough
birdie putt, but she rattled it in
to pull level, leaving Park, who
chipped to about four feet, with
a birdie putt to win.
The South Korean calmly
rolled hers in, giving a little fist
pump as the ball dropped.
“I was trying to be very patient
and finally the last one dropped,”
she said.
AFP
LPGA North Texas
Shootout Scores
IRVING, Texas: Leading
final-round scores yesterdayfrom the North Texas LPGA
Shootout (USA unless noted,
par-71):
271 Park In-Bee (KOR) 67-70-67-67
272 Carlota Ciganda (ESP) 66-70-66-70
274 Suzann Pettersen (NOR) 70-70-68-66
275 Park Hee-Young (KOR) 68-70-73-64,
Ryu So-Yeon (KOR) 71-68-68-68
276 I.K. Kim (KOR) 70-71-67-68
277 Stacy Lewis 72-70-69-66, Feng
Shanshan (CHN) 71-67-70-69, Karine
Icher (FRA) 71-69-67-70, Choi Na-Yeon
(KOR) 70-69-66-72
278 Paula Creamer 73-69-69-67, Cristie
Kerr 70-73-67-68, Dewi Claire
Schreefel (NED) 75-70-65-68, Christina
Kim 68-72-67-71
279 Giulia Sergas (ITA) 73-68-72-66, Mo
Martin 67-74-70-68, Caroline Masson
(GER) 64-71-69-75
280 Jane Park 72-69-73-66, Julieta
Granada (PAR) 70-70-71-69, Lexi
Thompson 71-71-68-70, Chella Choi
(KOR) 71-69-70-70
Qatar’s Al Anabi Racing Top Fuel Team cars driven by Shawn Langdon
(left) and Khalid alBalooshi race in the semi-finals near Houston, Texas.
Langdon won and advanced to his third final round in six races this season.
PICTURE BY: GARY NASTASTE
LONDON: Tiger Woods,
Rory McIlroy and the rest of
the leading contenders for the
British Open title have been
set a tough task after organisers at this year’s Muirfield
venue added an extra 158
yards and plenty of rough to
the course.
New tees have been added
on seven of the holes, taking the overall distance of the
course from 7,034 yards to 7,192
yards, par 71 for this year’s
Championship.
The biggest difference is
on the ninth, where a land
swap with neighbours the
Renaissance Club has enabled
the tee to be moved back almost
50 yards -- extending the parfive to 554 yards -- with a new
bunker added on the right of
the fairway.
“We are absolutely delighted
to be back at Muirfield for the
16th time,” said the chief executive of R&A, Peter Dawson.
“It’s immensely popular with
the players. Jack Nicklaus’
comment about ‘What you see
is what you get’ at Muirfield
was perhaps directed at
other links courses with blind
shots and where more luck is
involved.
“The ground here is relatively flat and every hole seems
to be going in a different direction but we will be setting the
golf course up to challenge
these golfers.
“The rough has been cut
down over the winter but will
regenerate over the coming
weeks. We will see the rough
up and you are unlikely to
win an Open Championship at
Muirfield from the rough.
“The amount of rough is
weather-dependent but we will
get plenty.”
AFP
BAYTOWN, TEXAS: Victory
was within the team’s grasp
but did not happen.
Still, for the Qatar Al Anabi
Racing Top Fuel Team, the twotime World Championship team
owned by Sheikh Khalid bin
Hamad Al Thani, it was a stellar weekend at the O’Reilly Auto
Parts NHRA Spring Nationals
near Houston.
After the best combined qualifying effort of the season, both
Qatar Al Anabi Racing Top Fuel
teams enjoyed an excellent day
of racing.
Al Anabi driver Shawn
Langdon was the No. 3 qualifier
posting his fourth-consecutive
top-four qualifying effort.
After racing in the final round
one week ago in Charlotte,
Langdon advanced to today’s
final round making two finalround appearances in eight days.
He defeated Tony Schumacher,
Terry McMillen and his teammate, Khalid AlBalooshi, before
losing to Bob Vandergriff in the
final round.
With the final-round appearance, Langdon moved up one
spot to third place in the NHRA
Mello Yello Top Fuel point
standings.
“We are definitely disappointed we didn’t win the race
today,” Langdon said.
“Hats off to all of our Al Anabi
crew guys because they did a
fantastic job today. It was unfortunate we couldn’t get the win in
the final because the Al Anabi
car ran so well all weekend,” he
added.
Dubai driver AlBalooshi was
the No. 2 qualifier at the O’Reilly
Auto Parts Spring Nationals, it
was his career-best qualifying
effort.
In eliminations, he defeated
J.R. Todd and Spencer Massey
before losing to his team-mate,
Shawn Langdon in the semifinals. It was AlBalooshi’s second semi-final appearance of the
season. He moves up one spot in
the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel
point standings and is now tied
for sixth with Morgan Lucas.
“The weekend started off perfectly,” AlBalooshi said.
He added: “The Al Anabi car
has been very good going down
the track fast every time except
the last run in the semi-finals.
The track was tricky all weekend, but thisis racing.”
“Overall it was a good day; we
keep doing a good job but losing
for some reason, but it was still
a good day because we won some
rounds. Our car and our team
are getting better and better,
and we are doing the right direction. Thank you to everybody on
our team for his hard work, and
thanks to Sheikh Khalid for his
support,” he pointed out.
THE PENINSULA
QMMF’s Al Sulaiti
grabs first point
MONTMELO,
SPAIN:
Qatar Motor and Motorcycle
Federation
(QMMF)
rider
Saeed Al Sulaiti grabbed his
first point of the seaon at the
2013 Spanish Championship in
Montmelo.
Al Sulaiti started the Moto2
race in 21st position and rode a
strong race to finish 15th in difficult conditions for the riders in
Spain.
After the race, Al Sulaiti said
he was pleased with his performance in Spain. He said: “The start
of the race was messy, everyone
was everywhere. I tried to avoid
the touch with other riders in
the first two laps. Also in the
first seven laps, the track wasn’t
really wet and at the same time is
not dry; it was a little bit slippery.
Then the rain becomes heavier
and from this moment I feel really
confidence with the bike.”
The Qatari added: “In the last
two laps, I saw riders in front
of me and I tried to catch them
and, I managed to overtake one
of them. I think that is a good
result. I started 21st and today
it was so cold and I have never
ridden in this conditions so, I am
quite happy. I want to give thanks
to my team they did a hard work
this weekend and now I am looking forward for the next race.”
Elsewhere, Al Sulaiti’s teammate Nasser Al Malki suffered
bad luck as the Qatari rider
crashed in the warm-up before
the race. Al Malki said: “The race
was difficult, it was so cold and I
crashed in the warm up lap before
to the start of the race. I managed to go to the garage and we
fixed the bike and I started at the
end of the grid. The first part of
the race I couldn’t push harder
because of the new tyres for rain,
the track was slippery and in
some corners I think that there
was oil or something because the
bike was sliding too much.”
He added: “I started the last
and I passed many people until
I achieved my position. I want to
finish in the top ten but I have
had bad luck today. Thanks to
all my teamas there were many
people helping me this weekend.”
THE PENINSULA
Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) rider Saeed Al Sulaiti
(No.95) negotiates a bend during the Spanish CEV Championship at
Montmelo Circuit. Al Sulaiti won his first point in the championship.
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
SPORT
25
Clubs aim
to book
spots in AFC
knock-outs
Qatar’s Al Thawadi in Malaysia ahead of AFC Elections
Qatar’s Hassan Al Thawadi (in black) speaks to journalists at a hotel ahead of the AFC Elections in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday. RIGHT: Al Thawadi gestures while talking to journalists. Al Thawadi will go head-to-head with Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain for the FIFA Executive Committee member position. The AFC elections will take place on May 2.
AFC candidate urges probe
into ‘vote interference’
I urge FIFA, AFC to act, says United Arab Emirate’s Al Serkal
SINGAPORE: One of the top
candidates to become Asian
football’s next leader called yesterday for an investigation into
allegations of vote-buying and
interference which have surfaced before this week’s vote.
Yousef Al Serkal said that
the “serious” allegations needed
to be probed and he warned
that he could launch an appeal
if his bid for the Asian Football
Confederation (AFC) presidency
fails.
The UAE football chief was
referring to claims that the
Olympic Council of Asia (OCA)
tried to influence the AFC’s
2009 presidential vote on behalf
of Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin
Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who is standing again this week.
Media reports have said the
OCA has again been active ahead
of Thursday’s vote in Kuala
Lumpur by accompanying Sheikh
Salman on his election travels and
block-booking hotel rooms in the
Malaysian capital.
“We need to investigate these
allegations... I urge FIFA to
intervene, I urge our (AFC) disciplinary committee to act. These
allegations are serious,” Serkal
said.
“This has to be investigated. As
a vice president of the AFC, as a
candidate, I appeal to the relevant
bodies to react, investigate and
find out who is trying to influence
and manipulate our vote.”
A video report on the Inside
World Football site showed two
AFC delegates alleging interference by the Kuwait-based OCA
ATP/WTA
Portugal Open
Results
ESTORIL,
Portugal:
Results from the ATP/WTA
Portugal Open yesterday (x
denotes seeding):
Women’s First Round: Elena Vesnina
(RUS x7) bt Maria Joao Koehler (POR) 6-4,
6-1; Svetla na Kuznetsova (RUS) bt Varvara
Lepchenko (USA x6) 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-2;
Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) bt Anna Tatishvili
(GEO) 6-1, 7-5; Ayumi Morita (JPN) bt Laura
Robson (GBR) 6-2, 7-5
Men’s First Round: David Goffin (BEL) bt
Pedro Sousa (POR) 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-4.
Munich Results
MUNICH,
Germany:
Results
from
the
ATP
Munich Open yesterday (x
denotes seeding):
First Round: Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) bt PaulHenri Mathieu (FRA) 6-3, 6-4; Ivan Dodig
(CRO) bt Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 6-4, 6-4;
Daniel Brands (GER) bt Tobias Kamke (GER)
5-7, 6-4, 6-3; Marinko Matosevic (AUS) bt
Kevin Krawitz (GER) 6-2, 6-4.
in the 2009 vote, which Sheikh
Salman lost to Qatar’s Mohamed
bin Hammam.
Yesterday, one of Al Serkal’s
rivals, Hafez Ibrahim Al Medlej,
suggested both the OCA and
world body FIFA had brought
influence to bear on the election
process.
“For me I wish always Asia to
decide for itself, without interference from other organisations like
the OCA or FIFA, or any other
organisation. It should be an
Asian matter,” Medlej said.
Medlej added that he was considering pulling out of the election this week in order not to split
the Middle East vote. Of the four
candidates, Thailand’s Worawi
Makudi is the only one not from
West Asia.
However, Serkal said he was in
a “strong” position and believed
he would win the vote if it goes to
a second round. He also expressed
concern over claims that Sheikh
Salman was linked to the persecution of footballers in Bahrain.
“I am a man who believes in the
freedom of rights,” he said.
The Bahraini royal has been
forced on to the defensive over
allegations, which he has strongly
denied, that he oversaw the arrest
of players and officials who took
part in pro-democracy protests
in 2011.
The AFC is electing a successor
to bin Hammam, who was accused
of bribery during the 2011 FIFA
presidential vote as well as financial wrongdoing during his time in
office. He stepped down last year.
RIGHT: Yousef Al
Serkal of United
Arab Emirates (left)
and Sheikh Salman
bin Ebrahim Al
Khalifa of Bahrain
are seen together.
Al Serkal will face
Sheikh Salman,
Dato’ Worawi
Makudi of Thailand
and Dr. Hafez
Ibrahim Al Medlej of
Saudi Arabia for the
AFC President position. The AFC elections will take place
on May 2.
SINGAPORE: Asian football
officials may be forced to tally
yellow and red cards or even
hold a special lottery to decide
the last 16 as an ultra-competitive AFC Champions League
group phase goes down to the
wire.
With eight knock-out berths
still available, 16 teams are in the
running, setting up a mad dash
for the line in the final group
games today and tomorrow.
Group C is the only pool where
both qualifying berths, and top
spot, have been decided. In Group
B, both spots are still available
and all four teams -- Lekhwiya,
Pakhtakor, Al Ettifaq or Al
Shabab Al Arabi -- could finish
top.
And in Group E, Buriram
United’s campaign to become the
first Thai team to qualify may be
decided by a count of yellow and
red cards, or even a specially convened lottery.
With Buriram and Vegalta
Sendai tied on points, head-tohead record, goal difference and
goals scored, if both teams win
or draw they may be relying on
their disciplinary record to clinch
second spot behind group winners
FC Seoul.
And should Japan’s Sendai,
on seven yellow cards compared
to Buriram’s 15 yellows and one
red, suffer a meltdown against
Jiangsu Sainty, qualification could
be decided by a lottery at AFC
headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
Buriram coach Attaphol
Puspakom, urged his players to
maintain their belief when they
take on group winners FC Seoul.
AFP
Today’s AFC
Champions
League Fixtures
SINGAPORE:
AFC
Champions
League
group
games to be played on today.
Group C
Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan (IRI) vs Al
Gharafa (QAT) at 8:30 pm (1600 GMT)
Spurs’ Bale scoops PFA awards
LONDON:
Tottenham
Hotspur midfielder Gareth
Bale became only the third
man to be named the English
Professional
Footballers’
Association (PFA) player of
the year and young player of
the year in the same season on
Sunday.
The 23-year-old Wales international, who also won the
main award in 2011, has scored
19 Premier League goals this
season - a tally bettered only
by Manchester United striker
Robin van Persie with 25 and
controversial Liverpool forward
Luis Suarez (23).
“It’s a massive honour. To be
voted by your peers is one of
the biggest things in the game.
It’s great to win it and I am
delighted,” Bale said.
“When you look at the list,
there are some massive names
on it but I couldn’t have done
it without the team. They have
been fantastic this year and so
has the manager.”
His frightening pace, agility and clinical finishing have
marked him out again this term
Al Ahli (KSA) vs Al Nasr (UAE) at 9:00 pm
(1800 GMT)
and his successful switch from
left wing to a roving central midfield role has also helped fifthplaced Spurs in their pursuit of
a Champions League spot.
He took the main award - presented at a ceremony - ahead of
second-placed Suarez, last year’s
winner Van Persie and fellow
nominees Manchester United’s
Michael Carrick and Chelsea pair
Eden Hazard and Juan Mata.
Bale joins Cristiano Ronaldo,
Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer
and Mark Hughes in earning the
main award twice. REUTERS
AFP
Group D
Al Ain (UAE) vs Esteghlal (IRI) at 7:50 pm
(1550 GMT)
Al Rayyan (QAT) vs Al Hilal (KSA) at 6:50 pm
(1550 GMT)
Group G
Sanfrecce Hiroshima (JPN) vs Beijing Guoan
(CHN) at 7:00 pm (1000 GMT)
Pohang Steelers (KOR) vs Bunyodkor (UZB) at
7:00 pm (1000 GMT)
Group H
Central Coast Mariners (AUS) vs Kashiwa
Reysol (JPN) at 8:30 pm (1030 GMT)
Guizhou Renhe (CHN) vs Suwon Bluewings
(KOR) at 6:30 pm (1030 GMT)
Twenty years on, Seles still carries attack scars
BERLIN: The knife attack on Monica
Seles (pictured), which took place in
Hamburg 20 years ago today, not only
dictated security at sports events over
the last two decades, but changed the
victim’s life forever.
A similar attack must rank as every
sports stars’ worst nightmare and any
harmless fan, waiting for hours simply for
their idols’ autograph, is now viewed as a
potential threat by security staff.
French Open champion Maria
Sharapova, who won her 20th consecutive clay-court match when she defended
her Stuttgart WTA title on Sunday, is
renown for having scores of bodyguards
in the wings when she steps on court.
“It’s not something I worry about, the
security guys would be pretty quickly onto
it if there was a problem,” she said on the
subject.
But Seles is the first to admit the attack
robbed her of her self confidence.
She had finished both 1991 and 1992 as
the world’s top ranked female player and
in 1990, aged just 16, she had become the
youngest-ever French Open champion.
On April 30, 1993, the tennis world was
at her feet.
Having won her eighth Grand Slam title
at the Australian Open earlier that year,
the Yugoslav (of Serbian origin) was still
only 19 when she played her quarter-final
at Hamburg’s Rothenbaum in the day’s
last match.
Having won the first set against
Bulgaria’s Magdalena Maleeva, Seles
was resting during a break in play when
Guenter Parche, a 38-yearold unemployed tool maker,
plunged a 23cm-long knife
into her back.
Her attacker had waited
four days for his chance.
His motive was that as
an ardent admirer of Steffi
Graf, he had been irritated
that Seles had usurped
the German in the world
rankings.
After his arrest, he was
found to be carrying 1000
deutschemarks (€511) and
had a ticket to fly to Italy
where Seles was registered
to play at the Rome tournament the following week.
He told Hamburg police he had been
planning the attack for weeks but only
wanted to harm Seles, not kill her.
At his trial, Parche’s lawyer said his client lived in a fantasy world and his interest
in Graf had reached an unhealthy level,
fuelling his hatred of Seles.
Experts confirmed Parche had a personality disorder and the judge ruled it was
attempted assault, not murder, giving him
a two-year suspended sentence.
Due to the light sentence, Seles has
never set foot on German soil again.
“Germany is the country
where that man attacked me
from behind, yet was not sufficiently punished,” she said
later in a television interview.
“I cannot understand why
this man did not have to pay
for his crime.”
Two factors saved Seles
from further harm.
At the moment of her
attack, she was bending forward to get up from her seat,
sparing her the full length of
the blade, which missed her
spine by five centimetres.
A security guard then
wrestled Parche to the ground to prevent
a second stabbing, holding him in a headlock, while others rushed to help Seles.
“I didn’t know what exactly had happened,” Seles recalled.
“Suddenly I remembered it was hard
to breathe and I felt a terrible pain in my
back.”
Parache was arrested and taken away
in handcuffs by police, while a distraught
Seles was taken to hospital.
Incredibly, the tournament was not
cancelled and Graf, ironically, went on to
beat Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in
the final.
A million marks (€511,291) had been
spent on security for the Rothenbaum
tournament and Seles had employed several security guards to protect her.
She lapsed into depression after her
attack and her weight shot up by 30kg due
to binge eating.
She made her comeback in July 1995 in
Atlantic City against Martina Navratilova
and eventually won the Australian Open
for the fourth time in 1996.
But she never recovered the form she
has showed from before her attack and
eventually retired in February 2008.
Having suffered several strokes, Parche
is now incapacitated in a nursing home
in Nordhausen, Thuringia, but Seles said
the scars of her attack are both physical
and mental.
“I was stabbed on court, in front of
thousands of people,” she wrote in her
autobiography.
“It is not possible to talk about distancing yourself from that. It changed my
career and irrevocably damaged my soul.”
AFP
26
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
SPORT
Bangladesh complete first
Test victory in Zimbabwe
Masakadza’s 111 not out goes in vain; hosts lose by 143 runs
HARARE:
Hamilton
Masakadza’s determined 111 not
out went in vain as Bangladesh
wrapped up only their fourth
Test win yesterday to earn a
share of a two-match series
with Zimbabwe.
Masakadza held off the
Bangladesh attack for more than
six hours but lacked support at
the other end, allowing the tourists to bowl Zimbabwe out for 257
and complete a 143-run victory at
Harare Sports Club.
The home side went into the
final day with six wickets intact
and a slim chance of scoring the
263 runs still required to chase
down a target of 401.
Although Masakadza gave
Zimbabwe hope of avoiding defeat
after seeing out a wicketless first
hour with his younger brother,
Scoreboard
Bangladesh (I innings): .................... 391
Zimbabwe (I innings): ...................... 282
Bangladesh (II innings): ........ 291/9 decl
Zimbabwe (II innings):
V Sibanda c Sohag b Shakib ....................32
R Chakabva b Shakib ..............................22
H Masakadza (not out) ......................... 111
B Taylor lbw Ziaur ...................................10
M Waller b Ziaur .....................................15
S Masakadza lbw Ashraful .......................24
E Chigumbura c Robiul b Sohag .................2
R Mutumbami b Ziaur .............................12
G Cremer c Nasir b Ziaur ...........................3
K Meth lbw Robiul .....................................4
K Jarvis lbw Shakib ...................................7
Extras (B-4, LB-7, NB-4) .........................15
Total (all out) ..................................... 257
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-66, 3-96, 4-118,
5-164, 6-169, 7-200, 8-214, 9-219.
Bowling: Robiul 20-5-53-1; Sajidul 3-1-90; Shakib 11.3-0-52-3; Sohag 31-11-56-1;
Ziaur 23-8-63-4; Ashraful 7-1-13-1.
Result: Bangladesh won by 143 runs.
Series: 1-1 drawn.
Bangladesh and Zimbabwe’s captains Mushfiqur Rahim (left) and Brendan Taylor pose with the trophy they share after drawing the series 1-1 on the
final day of the second Test match at the Harare Sports Club, in Zimbabwe, yesterday. RIGHT: Zimbabwe’s batsman Hamilton Masakadza celebrates
reaching his century.
Shingirai, a double breakthrough
quickly put the result beyond
doubt.
The Masakadzas had thwarted
Bangladesh’s bowlers for 119 minutes in total after coming together
on the fourth evening but they
were parted when Shingirai
was trapped lbw by Mohammad
Ashraful for 24.
With Elton Chigumbura soon
falling lbw to Sohag Gazi and
Ziaur Rahman claiming the wickets of Richmond Mutumbami and
Graeme Cremer after lunch, the
match only stretched into the
second half of the day because
of Masakadza, who went to his
century with a huge hit over midwicket for six.
When Shakib Al Hasan trapped
Kyle Jarvis lbw, Masakadza
had run out of partners and
Bangladesh had their fourth Test
win from 79 matches -- and their
first ever in Zimbabwe and first
Test win since 2009.
“After such a huge defeat
in the first Test the boys have
come back well,” said Bangladesh
captain Mushfiqur Rahim. “We
were under big pressure because
when we play against Ireland
and Zimbabwe we are expected
to win every match at home or
abroad.”
Zimbabwe were left to lament
a number of soft dismissals from
the batsmen and dropped catches
in the field over the course of the
five days.
“We haven’t helped ourselves
this match and Bangladesh have
come back strongly and were
deserved winners in the end,”
said captain Brendan Taylor.
“We had too many bad sessions
and Bangladesh probably won
two-thirds of the match. They
adapted quickly to the conditions and they made us pay.”
Mushfiqur was named Manof-the-Match for his 60 and
93, which both came af ter
top-order collapses, while
Bangladesh seamer Robiul
Islam was man of the series
after picking up 15 wickets over
the two matches.
AFP
Pakistan drops
Afridi from
Champions
Trophy squad
LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistan
yesterday axed Shahid Afridi
from their 15-man squad for the
Champions Trophy following
the allrounder’s below-par performances in South Africa and
a domestic competition.
The 33-year-old, who still holds
the world record of fastest oneday century -- off 37 balls made
against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in
1996 -- has not taken a single
wicket in his last six one-day
internationals.
Undoubtedly the most popular
player in Pakistan recently, Afridi
has hit just two half-centuries in
his last 15 one-day innings, while
managing a mere 70 runs and
three wickets in four matches
for his domestic side this month.
He was also dropped from the
one-day squad for last year’s tour
of India before making a comeback to the team for the limitedover series against South Africa
in March, where his top-score of
88 came in a losing cause.
Chief selector Iqbal Qasim said
Afridi had not been in good form
recently.
“Afridi had been selected as a
bowling allrounder but he was not
up to the mark and couldn’t score
at crucial occasions so we had to
left him out,” Qasim told reporters while announcing the squad.
Afridi has 7201 runs and 348
wickets in 354 one-day internationals.Pakistan will be led
by Misbah-ul Haq in the eightnation Champions Trophy to be
played in England from June 6-23.
They are drawn in group B
alongside arch-rivals India, the
West Indies and South Africa.
They play the West Indies at The
Oval, London on June 7 before
squaring off with South Africa
(June 10) and India (June 15).
Squad: Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir
Jamshed, Imran Farhat, Asad
Shafiq, Abdul Rehman, Shoaib
Malik, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Umar Amin, Junaid
Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Saeed
Ajmal, Asad Ali, Ehsan Adil,
Wahab Riaz.
AFP
New Zealand
seek revenge
against
England
Watson, Samson carry Rajasthan
over the line; Mumbai Indians win
WELLINGTON: A galvanised
New Zealand head to Britain
determined to finish off a job
they came so close to completing in a thrilling climax to
their drawn Test series against
Alastair Cook’s England at
home last month.
Brendon McCullum’s (pictured) underdogs had the entire
Eden Park crowd on the edge of
their seats as they got to within
one wicket of achieving a remarkable 1-0 series victory over the
world’s second ranked side late
on the final day.
Poor weather undoubtedly
played a part in the series, though
as McCullum said after England’s
final pair survived 19 nerve-jangling deliveries in Auckland, the
hosts could have won it 2-1 had
rain not intervened in Dunedin
and Wellington.
Coach Mike Hesson echoed
those sentiments on Monday as
his side gathered in Auckland for
their flight to England, with their
first game of the tour, a three-day
match against Derbyshire beginning on Saturday.
“The term ‘unfinished business’
reflects how we felt after that
final day of the third Test at Eden
Park last month,” Hesson wrote in
his tour diary on the New Zealand
Cricket website (www.blackcaps.
co.nz).
“Being so close to victory over
the second-best Test nation in the
world was hard to swallow and
I’ve never seen the guys so disappointed in the shed afterwards.
“I couldn’t have been prouder
of their efforts but that was certainly little consolation at the
time.”
The two-Test tour also includes
three one-dayers before the
International Cricket Council’s
one-day Champions Trophy
tournament. The trip ends with
MUMBAI INDIANS
D R Smith c Miller b Chawla ....................33
S R Tendulkar b p Kumar ...........................9
K D Karthik b Gony ..................................25
R G Sharma (not out)...............................79
K A Pollard (not out) ................................20
Extras (LB-3, W-4, NB-1) ...........................8
Total (for 3 wkts in 20 overs)............ 174
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-43, 3-86.
Bowling: P Kumar 4-0-24-1 (1w); Azhar
Mahmood 4-0-32-0; P Awana 4-0-16-0
(1w); M S Gony 4-0-43-1 (1nb, 1w); P P
Chawla 2-0-24-1; D J Hussey 2-0-32-0 (1w).
KINGS XI PUNJAB
Mandeep Singh b Malinga .........................9
S E Marsh c Pollard b Ojha ......................10
M Vohra c Pollard b Johnson .....................1
D J Hussey c Johnson b Ojha ..................34
D A Miller c Tendulkar b Johnson .............56
Gurkeerat Singh c Smith b H Singh ............2
Azhar Mahmood c Karthik b H Singh ..........9
M S Gony c Karthik b H Singh ....................0
P P Chawla c Rayudu b Kulkarni ..............12
P Kumar c Tendulkar b Kulkarni ...............24
P Awana (not out)......................................0
Extras (B-4, LB-3, W-5, NB-1) .................13
Total (all out in 20 overs) .................. 170
Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-16, 3-55, 4-76,
5-79, 6-110, 7-111, 8-132, 9-149, 10-170.
Bowling: M G Johnson 4-0-29-2 (3w); S L
Malinga 4-0-39-1 (1w); D S Kulkarni 4-0-442 (1nb, 1w); P P Ojha 3-0-22-2; Harbhajan
Singh 4-0-14-3; K A Pollard 1-0-15-0.
Player-of-the-Match: RG Sharma (MI)
two Twenty20 internationals.
While the development of the
one-day side is of importance for
New Zealand Cricket given the
format’s pre-eminence in focus
ahead of the 2015 World Cup
the country is co-hosting with
Australia, the Test results will be
critically monitored.
The team lifted their standard
of play in the longest form of the
game at home against England
and their fighting spirit diminished memories of the side that
limped home from South Africa
having been thrashed 2-0 by the
Proteas, which included being
bowled out for 45 in the first
innings of the first Test.
The top three of Peter Fulton,
Hamish Rutherford and Kane
Williamson blossomed as they
gave the rest of the order a solid
foundation to build on, while
McCullum’s decision to drop
down to six solidified the lower
middle order.
Trent Boult appeared to
have realised his potential as a
Test-class paceman while Neil
Wagner was a tireless and tough
competitor.
The decision to stick with
the same starting side throughout the England series has also
meant that regular Test players
like batsman Martin Guptill and
pace bowler Doug Bracewell, who
were injured, may find it difficult
to force their way back into the
team now they have recovered.
REUTERS
JAIPUR: Shane Watson’s brilliant all-round effort and a brisk
half-century by Sanju Samson
helped Rajasthan Royals beat
Royal Challengers Bangalore
by four wickets in their Indian
Premier League (IPL) match
yesterday.
Rajasthan Royals thus maintan
their unbeaten run at home at the
Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
A combined batting effort from
the Royal Challengers took them
to 171 for six with Chris Gayle top
scoring with 34 off 16 balls. Shane
Watson was the pick of the bowlers, taking three for 22.
Rajasthan Royals found an
unlikely hero in Samju Samson
as the pocket dynamo smashed 63
off 41 balls while Watson scored
41 off 30 balls as Rajasthan chased
down the visitors’ total in 19.5
overs.
Rajasthan are now tied on 12
points with Royal Challengers but
have an inferior run-rate so they
remain in third position.
Samson and Watson together
strung a 68-run stand for the
third wicket. One might have
thought Watson, who has already
scored a century and an unbeaten
Scoreboard
Rajasthan Royals’ Sanju Samson plays a shot through the offside during their IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sawai
Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur yesterday.
98, to be the aggressor but it was
diminutive man from Kerala who
took the attack to the bowlers.
When Samson finally got out,
Rajasthan still required 56 off
Scoreboard
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
A Mukund b Trivedi ................................... 19 R Dravid b Henriques ................................ 22
C H Gayle c Samson b Watson ................... 34 A M Rahane c Singh b Rampaul ................... 2
V Kohli c Faulkner b Watson....................... 32 S V Samson c Kartik b Rampaul ................. 63
A B de Villiers c Faulkner b Sreesanth ......... 21 S R Watson c de Villiers b Singh ................. 41
M C Henriques (run out-Faulkner) .............. 22 B J Hodge b Vinay Kumar .......................... 32
S S Tiwary (not out) ..................................... 8 S T R Binny (not out) .................................... 6
R Rampaul c Samson b Watson ................... 3 O A Shah (run out-Kohli) .............................. 1
R Vinay Kumar (not out) ............................. 22 J P Faulkner (not out)................................... 1
Extras (LB-5, W-3, NB-2) ........................... 10 Extras (LB-3, W-2) ...................................... 5
Total (for 6 wkts in 20 overs)............... 171 Total (for 6 wkts in 19.5 overs)............ 173
Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-66, 3-99, 4-123, Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-48, 3-116, 4-162,
5-145, 6-149.
5-167, 6-168.
Bowling: A Chandila 4-0-39-0; J P Faulkner Bowling: R Rampaul 4-1-28-2; R P Singh 4-04-0-42-0 (3w); S Sreesanth 4-1-35-1 (2nb); S 35-1 (1w); R Vinay Kumar 3.5-0-39-1; M C
R Watson 4-0-22-3; S K Trivedi 3-0-20-1; S T Henriques 2-0-6-1 (1w); M Kartik 3-0-32-0; J
R Binny 1-0-8-0.
D Unadkat 3-0-30-0.
34 balls. Brad Hodge’s cameo of
32 off 18 balls took the hosts to
within touching distance of the
target but a twist in the tale still
remained.
Watson got out in the penultimate over with Rajasthan requiring 10 runs off 9 balls.
Vinay Kumar dismissed Hodge
in the second ball of the last over
while Owais Shah (0) was run out
the very next ball to create some
last-minute excitement.
With Rajsthan requiring three
off two balls, Stuart Binny (6 not
out) hoicked Vinay Kumar for a
four over mid-wicket to give his
team a crucial victory.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharmaled Mumbai Indians beat Kings
XI Punjab by four runs at the
Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai
yesterday as the hosts registered
the sixth victory in this year’s IPL
. Punjab’s run chase never really
took off as a disciplined Mumbai
bowlers continued to take wickets
at a regular intervals to leave the
David Hussey side struggling.
Harbhajan Singh (3/14) and
Pragyan Ojha (2/22) shared five
wickets between them to make
Punjab’s scoring difficult.
David Miller was Punjab’s lone
warrior, scoring 56 runs off 34
balls with five 6s and one four.
With his dismissal, Mitchell
Johnson sealed Punjab’s fate.
Ojha started the Punjab’s downward slide when he dismissed
Shaun Marsh in the seventh over.
AGENCIES
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
SPORT
27
Real Madrid take comeback Wiggins
expects
last-minute
inspiration from Derby game decision
on Tour
Spanish giants aim to overturn 4-1 deficit against Borussia Dortmund
MADRID: As they contemplate
how to overturn a 4-1 deficit to
reach the Champions League
final, nine-time European Cup
winners Real Madrid are taking inspiration from a similar
feat against Derby County four
decades ago.
The Spanish giants were caught
cold by Borussia Dortmund in
their semi-final first leg last week,
when, despite being one of the
favourites to step out at Wembley
on May 25, they were left on the
brink of a surprise elimination.
Since their return to Spain,
Real have delved into their
extensive archives to dig up past
examples of heroic fightbacks
to convince fans and players of
today’s second-leg possibilities.
Real have overturned an identical scoreline once before in
Europe’s elite club competition,
against Derby in 1975.
Charlie George scored a hattrick for the English champions
in a 4-1 second-round triumph
at the Baseball Ground, and he
scored again in the return leg at
the Bernabeu.
However, a Real side which
included current Spain boss
Vicente del Bosque levelled the
tie to force extra time, and striker
Santillana struck a 100th-minute
decider for a famous 5-1 victory,
Champions League
LONDON: Champions League semi-final,
second-leg fixtures (all 1845 GMT, first-leg
score in brackets).
Playing today
Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund (1-4)
Playing tomorrow
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich (0-4)
to progress 6-5 on aggregate. “The
games against Derby and Borussia
Moenchengladbach (a similar
comeback in the UEFA Cup) were
incredible games,” Santillana told
sports daily Marca.
“The Bernabeu, if you light the
match, burns everything.”
Much of Real’s hope of a
comeback rests with Cristiano
Ronaldo, who missed the city
derby against Atletico Madrid
in La Liga on Saturday, when a
second-string side triumphed 2-1
at the Calderon.
Ronaldo is the Champions
League’s leading scorer with 12
goals and has netted 51 times in
50 games for his club so far this
season, but picked up a muscle
problem in Dortmund and trained
apart from the group again on
Sunday.
Real will be wary of launching
a cavalry charge at a Dortmund
side unbeaten on their travels in
Europe this year as it would leave
their shaky defence even more
exposed than usual.
They have the leakiest backline
of the four teams remaining with
18 goals conceded, and have kept
only one clean sheet in the competition so far.
The second leg is also a
challenge to Real coach Jose
Mourinho’s prestige as failure to
progress from a third successive
Champions League semi-final
would test the patience of club
president Florentino Perez.
With the La Liga title about
to fall to Barcelona, and Real’s
European campaign hanging by
a thread, next month’s King’s Cup
final might end up representing
Mourinho’s last chance for major
silverware this season.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid coach
Juergen Klopp said there is no
danger Borussia Dortmund will
suffer from stage fright.
Klopp said his team’s performance against Bayern Munich in
the 2012 German Cup final in
Berlin, when Lewandowski scored
a hat-trick, was proof they can
perform under pressure on the
biggest of stages.
“For us it’s the same situation as last year’s German Cup
final,” Klopp told reporters at the
Bernabeu.
AGENCIES
Real Madrid’s
Portuguese
coach Jose
Mourinho gives
a press conference in Madrid,
yesterday, on
the eve of the
UEFA Champions
League match
against Borussia
Dortmund.
PSG on cusp of title after edging Evian
PARIS: Nine-man Paris SaintGermain moved to the brink of
their first Ligue 1 title in 19 years
with a gritty 1-0 victory over
relegation-threatened Evian on
Sunday night as they exacted
revenge for their French Cup
quarter-final exit.
Javier Pastore scored the game’s
only goal five minutes after halftime in Annecy as PSG racked up
a fifth successive win, despite the
late dismissals of Marco Verratti
and David Beckham, to move nine
points clear of Marseille with just
four games remaining. Owing to a
far superior goal difference, PSG
can effectively wrap up the league
crown next weekend at home to
Valenciennes for what would be
their first championship since
1994, while Evian stay out of the
bottom three on the same basis.
A dour first half at the Parc des
Sports presented few chances for
either side with the legs of Evian
goalkeeper Bertrand Laquait preventing Zlatan Ibrahimovic from
Prize money for top
10 only: Ecclestone
LONDON: Bernie
Ecclestone
(pictured) has made
clear that Formula
One will pay prize
money to only the
top 10 teams from
the end of this
season.
Since 2010, payments have been
made to the 11th
and 12th-placed
teams to help
three newcomers
on reduced budgets who came in
after the abrupt
departure of major
manufacturers Honda, Toyota
and BMW.
There are now 11 teams remaining after the demise last year of
Spanish-based HRT. Ecclestone,
the sport’s commercial chief, said
the plan was to return to rewarding the top 10 only, injecting more
drama into the battle to avoid last
place.
“It’s a bit more incentive to get
going and get into the top 10. It’s a
bit like the football where you can
go up and down,” he told Reuters
in a telephone interview.
The confidential Concorde
Agreement that governs the sport
expired at the end of last year and
a new one, to run to the end of
2020, has yet to be signed by all
parties.
In its absence, Ecclestone
has agreed individual commercial agreements with all of the
teams expect Russian-licensed
Marussia, who have finished 11th
in the last three years and behind
Caterham.
Marussia chief executive
Graeme Lowdon confirmed to
that his team had
not been offered
a bilateral agreement by rights
holders CVC but
was reluctant to
discuss the matter.
“It is our understanding that none
of the parties are
making any public
comment about
the financial discussions relating
to a new Concorde
Agreement and
on that basis we
would prefer not
to make any comment,” he added.
Ecclestone said after HRT
folded that he would rather have
10 teams, providing one of them
was Ferrari.
The new Concorde Agreement,
which must be signed by all
teams as well as the governing International Automobile
Federation (FIA), should replace
the various bilateral agreements
once it comes into operation.
Ecclestone told reporters at the
Bahrain Grand Prix this month
that the detailed document was
“in the hands of the lawyers”.
The FIA said on March 8 that
negotiations were “proceeding
positively in order to be concluded
in the near future”.
Marussia are 10th overall
after four of this year’s 19 races
and ahead of Malaysian-owned
Caterham. They nearly finished
10th last year but lost out to
Caterham in the final race.
The two tail-enders considered
a merger late last year but the
idea was abandoned after initial
talks.
REUTERS
putting the visitors ahead, while
Saber Khlifa had Salvatore Sirigu
at full-stretch as his fizzing drive
whistled over the crossbar.
But PSG made what proved
to be the decisive breakthrough
five minutes after the interval as
Christophe Jallet played a cleverly
disguised square ball for Pastore
to clip beyond Laquait and into
the far corner for his fourth goal
of the campaign.
Ibrahimovic should have doubled the lead shortly after as
Verratti’s stabbed effort bounced
back off the bar only for the Swede
to lash over with the goal at his
mercy, while Ezequiel Lavezzi was
guilty of an equally-glaring miss
as his hesitancy allowed Cedric
Mongongu to make a vital block
after he had rounded Laquait.
Evian’s quest for an equaliser
saw Sirigu palm away a Daniel
Wass free-kick before the Italian
made an excellent low save to
deny Khlifa as PSG recorded a
fifth straight clean sheet.
The victory was marred,
though, by Verratti’s dismissal on
82 minutes for a second bookable
offence, a red card that saw the
Italian draw the ire of Ancelotti
as he trudged off the pitch before
Beckham was harshly issued his
marching orders in stoppage time
for a foul on Youssef Adnane.
The game then descended into
further chaos after the final whistle as Khlifa and Sirigu were both
shown red after a melee broke out
between the sides.
AFP
Boullier heralds Lotus
as title contenders
LONDON: Team chief Eric
Boullier has heralded Lotus’s
emergence as title contenders
for 2013 and signalled a raft of
upgrades that will increase the
Renault-powered outfit’s competitiveness at next month’s
Spanish Grand Prix.
Reflecting on the points earned
in the four ‘flyaway’ season-opening Grands Prix in Australia,
Malaysia, China and Bahrain,
Boullier said he and the team
were confident they can can
maintain the big overall improvement in form that has lifted them
to the front of the field.
“It is always difficult to keep
any momentum actually, but we
can say we are fighting with the
best now,” said Boullier.
“The challenge the team faces
going forward though is in ensuring that it has the development
potential to push on.”
Lotus’s early form has made
them the most improved team
in the field in year-on-year
comparisons.
Finn Kimi Raikkonen has
delivered three podium finishes,
including a victory in Australia,
and the team overall has scored
36 points more this season than
it did in the same four races
last year. Raikkonen alone has
improved his tally by 33 points to
emerge as a serious contender for
the drivers’ world title.
And Boullier promised that the
early season dazzle is no flash in
the pan for the team as they seek
to end Red Bull’s three year reign
at the top.
Looking ahead to the Spanish
race at the Circuit de Catalunya
near Barcelona on May 12, he
STANDISH,
United
Kingdom: Bradley Wiggins yesterday claimed Team Sky could
wait until the Tour de France is
underway before deciding their
team leader for the race.
Wiggins, 33, won the Tour,
as well as a gold medal in the
Olympic time trial, last year and
starts his attempt to become
the first Briton to win the Giro
D’Italia in Naples on Saturday.
In November, team principal
Dave Brailsford confirmed that
Chris Froome, who completed a
victory in the Tour de Romandy
at the weekend, would be the
team’s principal rider for the Tour
de France.
Fellow Briton Froome finished
second to Wiggins in last year’s
Tour de France and angered his
team-mate by attacking on some
of the mountain stages.
Wiggins has refused to rule out
attempting to become the first
rider to win the Giro and the Tour
since Marco Pantani in 1998.
But he said that that Brailsford
will make the call in the days
leading up to the start of the Tour,
which begins on June 29.
The British rider also said he
felt that a final decision may not
even be taken until they are week
into the race and will be down to a
“natural hierarchy” that develops.
“It’s the three days before it
that Dave will make a decision as
to who we go with,” Wiggins said
yesterday.
“Dave’s the man, he’s the guru.
He will decide. The best-case scenario at this stage is I win the
Giro, I come out of it, stay healthy,
we do all the training camps that
we do in between the Giro and
the Tour.
“Chris’s preparations continue
as they are, he ends up winning
the Dauphine and we both arrive
at the Tour ready to go in the best
possible (shape). And Dave’s got
to make a call, somewhere there,
as to who is the leader.
“At this stage, all being well, it
may be that we end up joint leaders for that first week until the
racing decides.
“Without racing against each
other when we hit the mountains or whatever, the racing
decides naturally who the leader
becomes.
“It may be that we both stay in
contention until that week, Chris
wins the mountain stage, takes
the yellow jersey in which case
there is a natural hierarchy there
and then I try and finish second
as he did last year.
AFP
Cycling and
doping bodies
announce deal
German driver Sebastian Vettel (right) of Red Bull Racing celebrates
on the podium after winning the 2013 Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix
together with second placed Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus
F1 Team at the Sakhir Circuit near Manama, Bahrain, in this April 22,
2013 file picture.
said: “We have an update for the
car, just like everybody. I don’t
know what Red Bull means by
massive - so we will see!
“But we will all bring a nice
package and I promise you that
the development of this car is
going very well.”
Lotus are not the only team
enjoying an improved points tally.
Both Ferrari and Mercedes
have shown big gains this year
with the former’s Brazilian
driver Felipe Massa delivering
28 points more in 2013 than he
scored in 2013 -- a major part of
the team’s improvement by 32
points. Mercedes, with Brition
Lewis Hamilton showing the way,
have improved by 27 points.
By contrast, McLaren, the
team he left behind, have dropped
69 points over four races and need
to see a sensational return from
the promised major new upgrade
they intend to run in Spain.
“Maybe it is a character flaw,
but I have made it reasonably
clear from Australia that I am
not even talking about 2014 at the
moment,” said team boss Martin
Whitmarsh, when asked if he
was abandoning this season and
switching early to ensure he has
a car ready for 2014.
“One of my weaknesses is I
want to be competitive. I want to
get back to the front and I want
to come to grands prix thinking
we can win. We haven’t thought
that for the last four races and we
want to get it back.”
AFP
PARIS:
The
International
Cycling Union (UCI) said yesterday that it has agreed to
cooperate fully with the French
anti-doping body at this year’s
Tour de France.
The two bodies had been at
loggerheads but have now found
common ground ahead of the
sport’s glamour event.
“The UCI and the independent
Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation
(CADF) have announced a continuation of their partnership
with the French Anti-Doping
Agency (AFLD) to conduct antidoping tests at the major races
held in France in 2013,” said the
UCI statement.
“The CADF and AFLD will
combine resources and expertise
to organise and provide antidoping tests, including for the
Criterium du Dauphine in June
and the Tour de France in July.”
The agreement marks a victory
for the AFLD which had been
fighting for total collaboration.
The agreement covers the
centenary Tour, which runs
from June 29 to July 21, as well
as all other races taking place in
France.
“The UCI is determined to
ensure that cycling is a clean
sport. As such, we are extremely
happy to be partnering with the
AFLD,” said UCI president Pat
McQuaid.
AFP