FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2020 www.thepeninsula.qa23 MUHARRAM - 1442 VOLUME 25 NUMBER 8377 2 RIYALS

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Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor project 75% completeQNA — DOHA

Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani inspected the Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor project, as its first phase will be opened soon, during a visit by His Excellency yesterday afternoon, to a number of the project stations.

H E the Prime Minister reviewed the map of the project, which is being implemented by the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), and listened to a

detailed explanation of its latest developments, advantages, and integration with the Doha Metro network and the project’s land-marks, and its 32 bridges, including the longest bridge in Qatar with a length of 2.6 km,

the first suspension bridge with a length 1.2km and nine tunnels, including the longest and deepest two-way tunnel with a length of 2.1 km long and depth of 25 metres.

The project also provides

access to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadiums.

H E the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior praised the progress of the project’s work, appreciating the efforts of those in charge of it, and their

keenness to adhere to the schedule set for it. Also, His Excellency praised Ashghal’s dependence on local materials and national companies in the implementation of the project.

H E the Prime Minister and

Minister of Interior was accompanied during the visit by a number of senior officials and engineers at the Public Works Authority and repre-sentatives of the implementing companies.

Afghan peace talks to start in Doha tomorrowQNA — DOHA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the A f g h a n i s t a n P e a c e Negotiations will commence in Doha tomorrow.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that these vitally important direct negotiations between the different Afghan parties represent a step forward in bringing lasting peace to Afghanistan. This opportunity is made possible by agreement, signed between the United State and Taliban in Doha earlier this year.

Commenting on the announcement, the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Special Envoy for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution, H E Dr. Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani, said: “Qatar has always placed great value in the power of diplomacy and direct dialogue to resolve disputes. We will continue our role to create stability in the region. We are thankful for the work and cooperation of all parties and international partners involved and their support in bringing about this historic moment.”

Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani being given details about the Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor project which is being implemented by the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), during his visit yesterday.

MoI unveils new police uniformsSIDI MOHAMED THE PENINSULA

The security personnel will sport a new look from Sunday as the Ministry of Interior (MoI) unveiled yesterday new police uniforms that blend modernity with Qatari heritage and culture.

In a press conference held yesterday at the Police Training Institute, the Ministry said that the new uniforms are designed taking into account the combi-nation of modern and classical styles, in sync with the Qatari environment and nature of tasks while reflecting its authentic Arab civilisation.

The press conference was attended by Brigadier General Ahmed Jaber Al Hamidi, Chairman of the Committee for Approved Police Uniforms, and Major Fahad Saeed Al Subaie,

Committee Member.“The newly introduced

police uniforms are approved based on the Minister of Inte-rior’s Decision No. (41) of 2020 issued on July 16, 2020 regarding the renewal of the police uniforms and specifying the badges of military ranks for officers and other ranks,” said Brigadier General Al Hamidi.

He also said that the selection of police uniforms came as a result of field studies of the movement and mobility mechanism, and according to the nature of work of each unit and department.

It was taken into account in choosing the uniforms of women working in the Ministry of the Interior to adhere to the Islamic veil and to observe Islamic customs and traditions in their dress, Al Hamidi said.

Regarding the uniform of senior military ranks, he said there is a military uniform for senior military ranks, which will be used for ceremonies and accompanying delegations coming to the country to par-ticipate in major international forums.

For his part, Al Subaie said that special uniforms are designed for Public Transport Security, Airport Security, Traffic Patrol, and Stadium Security Department as well as for female police officers.

According to the Qatar Police Military Uniform Manual, uniforms are classified into “7” dress codes (ceremony uni-forms, official uniforms, duty uniforms, field uniforms, spe-cialized field uniforms, training uniforms, and special missions uniforms). There are different summer and winter uniforms

as well. The new uniform design

includes special specifications for airport security, traffic department, stadium security department, and public transport security department, Al Subaie noted.

Major Al Subaie added that

the amendments included an update on the logo of the Min-istry of Interior, and an update on all military accessories, which include all the separate pieces that are used with the uniform including military ranks, military insignia, scope, and cordon.

An MoI official explaining the details of the new uniforms.

SACHIN KUMAR THE PENINSULA

Qatar’s ports have maintained growth momentum in August in spite of challenges posed by due to COVID-19 pandemic. Hamad Port, Ruwais Port and Doha Port have registered increase in cargo handling in August.

The movement of vehicles wit-nessed a rise of around 18 percent last month as 4,091 were handled by the ports in August, compared to 3,469 vehicles in July this year. Con-tainer volumes also grew last month.

“Container volumes moving

through Mwani Qatar increased by approximately 4 percent in August 2020 compared to the same period of last year,” said Mwani Qatar on its official twitter account.

The ports handled 113,795 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) containers; 51,450 tonnes of general cargo and 27,883 tonnes of building material in August.

A total of 263 ships docked at the ports last month, according to data shared by Mwani Qatar on its twitter account.

The ports have delivered a

strong performance so far this year, demonstrating that the ports are playing a vital role in ensuring smooth supply of goods in these exceptional circumstances.

During the first six months of this year, Hamad Port, Ruwais Port and Doha Port have registered 102 percent increase in general cargo handling compared to the same period in last year.

The ports have remained busy in the first half of this year as 1,509 ships docked at Hamad Port, Doha Port and Ruwais Port during Jan-uary-June period.�P2

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health has clarified that passengers coming from low-risk countries will have to undergo swab test on the sixth day after arriving in Doha.

It said that Ehteraz status will be yellow till they complete

their seven-day quarantine and get a negative result in the swab test.

“They (Passengers from low-risk countries) must perform a swab test on day six and their Ehteraz status will not turn green until day seven after the swab test has

been performed and a neg-ative result has been ver-ified,” the Ministry said on its social media pages.

“Please note that returning passengers cannot have the swab test earlier than day six,” the Ministry added.

The Ministry added that this

process helps to reduce the risk of returning travellers bringing the virus back into Qatar and passing it on to other members of the community.

In the latest list of low risk countries the Ministry has included 41 countries.

� �P2

MoPH: Swab test for passengers on sixth day after arrival

The project has 32 bridges, including the longest bridge in Qatar with a length of 2.6 km, the first suspension bridge with a length of

1.2km and nine tunnels, including the longest and deepest two-way tunnel with a length of

2.1 km and depth of 25 metres.

We have completed 75% of Sabah Al Ahmad Corridor... This road represents a qualitative addition to the modern road network in Qatar. Today I paid an inspection visit to the project site and looked closely at the progress of work. I instructed to continue work depending on local materials and national companies for the remaining of this project and all other projects.

Cargo handling grows at Qatari ports in August

Cargo handling at Qatari ports

Qatar welcomes outcomes of inter-Libyan dialogue sessionsQNA — DOHA

The State of Qatar welcomed the promising outcomes reached at the end of the inter-Libyan dialogue sessions that were held in Bouznika, under the auspices of the Kingdom of Morocco.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this is a con-structive and important step in the national political path for which Qatar has always been calling, and this con-structive dialogue between the Libyan parties is a continu-ation of the path paved by the Skhirat Agreement. The statement said that Qatar expresses its deep gratitude for the pioneering role played by Morocco, and wishes the parties success in achieving territorial integrity, stability, security and prosperity for the Libyan people of all sects.

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W ALRUWAIS : 29o → 36o W ALKHOR : 28o → 39o W DUKHAN : 28o → 42o W WAKRAH : 28o → 39o W MESAIEED : 28o → 39o W ABUSAMRA : 26o → 45o

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PM meets British Defence Secretary

Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, met yesterday morning with UK Secretary of State for Defence, H E Ben Wallace and the accompanying delegation on the occasion of their visit to the country. During the meeting, they reviewed the strategic friendship, cooperation and relations between the two countries and ways to develop them, especially the joint efforts in the field of security and defence, in addition to discussing the most important developments of common interest.

ACS Doha opens new campus in Al KheesaTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

ACS International School Doha has opened its doors to its landmark new campus in Al Kheesa. Situated in an acces-sible location off Al Shamal Road, the state-of-the-art campus continues to remain well connected to the existing ACS Doha community, while also serving the expanding Doha areas including Lusail and The Pearl.

Spanning 60,000 square metres, the new campus is designed to accommodate almost 2,500 students and boasts countless facilities designed for inside and outside-the-classroom learning. It fea-tures a FIFA-sized football pitch, an all-weather athletic track, a large multi-purpose indoor gym and a 25-metre swimming and learners’ pool.

The school enjoys

purpose-designed drama studios, music practice rooms, wellness and warrior studios, among other amenities. It also supplies well-equipped science laboratories and libraries to dedicated Lower, Middle and High School buildings.

Robert Cody, Head of School at ACS, said: “We are excited to welcome back the ACS com-munity to our new campus. The new ACS Doha campus embodies the spirit of learning and I know our community will embrace the outstanding facil-ities at the new school. The inspiring atmosphere and addi-tional facilities created by our new physical environment are designed to cater to our stu-dents’ various talents and cre-ative outlets, to promote their academic growth. It has enabled us to add even more choices and options to our curriculum for students.”

Sponsor of the new school, Muhammed Sultan Al Jaber, Chairman of Al Jaber Group, whose companies are a leading provider of construction and consulting, trading, production, hospitality and other services in Qatar, said: “The new ACS Doha school is a positive devel-opment for ACS, and for edu-cation in Doha. This state-of-the-art campus will benefit the entire school community and I am proud to have partnered with ACS and to have delivered

this exciting new development as part of its long-term vision for Qatar. I believe this new campus is a benchmark in Doha, contributing significantly to the city’s education provision, and Qatar’s vision.”

Tim Cagney, Chief Exec-utive, ACS International Schools, added: “Since we opened nine years ago, ACS Doha has distinguished itself by delivering a rigorous academic education that respects the diversity of its student body,

and the individuality of learning styles. The move to our landmark new campus enables us to realise our vision and the future of education in Qatar. By creating environments that are innovative and nurturing, we can help our students as curious and confident learners to pursue their dreams, and get ready for what comes next.”

ACS Doha offers all IB pro-grammes and continues to develop ways to enhance its stu-dents’ academic experience.

New campus of ACS International School Doha in Al Kheesa.

MoPH: 206 new COVID-19 cases and 232 recoveriesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) yesterday announced registration of 206 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country. Among them, 12 were travellers returning from abroad.

Another 232 people have recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recovered cases in Qatar to 117,978.

All new cases have been introduced to isolation and are receiving necessary healthcare according to their health status.

The Ministry further said that measures to tackle COVID-19 in Qatar have suc-ceeded in flattening the curve and limiting the spread of the virus. The number of daily new cases and hospital admissions has gradually declined over the

past few weeks.The Ministry also said that

Qatar has one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the world — a result of Qatar’s young population; proactive testing to identify cases early; expanding hospital capacity, especially intensive care, to ensure all patients receive the medical care they need; and protecting the elderly and those with chronic diseases.

However, the Ministry has emphasised the importance of taking precautions against COVID-19. “Unless we follow all precautionary measures, we may experience a second wave of the virus and see numbers increasing — there are already signs of this happening in other countries around the world. Now more than ever, we must be careful and protect the most vulnerable,” the Ministry said.

The Qatari aid plane was received by Minister of Labour & Social Development, who is also Chair of the High Government Committee to Support the Affected by Floods, H E Lina Al Sheikh; Commissioner General of Humanitarian Aid Abbas Fadlallah, and other officials.

Qatar sends more aid to Sudan QNA — DOHA

In the implementation of the directives of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the State of Qatar’s aid continued to be transferred to support the brothers in the Republic of the Sudan, affected by the floods that swept through 16 states of the country.

The Qatar Fund for Devel-opment, in coordination with the Standing Committee for Rescue and Relief Works and Humanitarian Aids for Afflicted Areas in Brotherly and Friendly Countries, sent a new batch of aid amounting to 46 tonnes of various medical and relief materials, bringing the total aid to 88 tonnes, carried by a Qatari Amiri Air Force aircraft, accompanied by a team from the Qatar International Search and Rescue Group (Lekhwiya).

About 3,500 abandoned vehicles removed since JulyTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The fifth joint campaign to remove abandoned vehicles was launched in Um Salal yesterday.

The campaign comes within the framework of the con-tinuous efforts of the Ministry of Municipality and Envi-ronment (MME) to limit the number of abandoned vehicles and equipment that distorts the aesthetic view of the State. Since the beginning of this year, the committee has removed about 7,500 vehicles from all municipalities.

The drive is being con-ducted by the Joint Committee for Removing Abandoned Vehicles, in collaboration with Public Cleanliness and Mechanical Equipment Depart-ments , and securi ty authorities.

Marzouq Mubarak Al Mas-ifari, Assistant Director of the Mechanical Equipment Department, who is also a

member of the joint committee, said the campaign was launched in early July this year starting from the Industrial Area of Doha Municipality.

He said the total number of abandoned vehicles removed by the Joint Committee has reached more than 81,000 from

all regions in the country since the committee was set up in 2013.

“The campaign to remove abandoned vehicles was launched last July, and started from Doha, Al Rayyan, Al Khor & Al Thakhira. During the past week it focused on Al Daayen

municipality, and currently it is underway within the geo-graphical area of Um Salal,” he said.

Al Masifari noted that about 3,500 abandoned vehicles have been removed since the start of the campaigns in July.

The committee also receives reports about aban-doned cars on the committee’s hotline number.

Mohammed Faraj Al Kubaisi, Assistant Director of the General Cleaning Department at the MME and member of the committee, said the committee seeks to intensify its efforts as required during the coming period to remove all neglected vehicles and equipment from all regions of the country. He also called on people to cooperate with the authorities to accomplish this work. The drive is also an implementation of Law No. (18) of 2017 on public hygiene due to the health and environmental damage it causes.

A vehicle being loaded onto a truck during the drive to remove abandoned vehicles.

MoPH: Swab test for passengers on sixth day after arrival

FROM PAGE 1

As per the travel policy announced by the Gov-ernment Communications Office, arrivals to Qatar from low-risk countries are required to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival at the airport, and to sign a formal pledge to adhere to quar-antine at home for a week, noting that the traveller’s status on the Ehteraz appli-cation will be yellow, which means that they are required to quarantine.

If there are accredited COVID-19 testing centres in one of these low-risk coun-tries, obtaining a COVID-19 free certificate from one of these centres exempts the traveller from taking the test at the airport on arrival in the country, provided that the date of obtaining the certif-icate does not exceed 48 hours before travelling.

These passengers are also required to undergo a seven day home quarantine upon arrival.

If the result of test done on the sixth day is positive, the traveller will be transferred to isolation, and if it is neg-ative, the quarantine period ends at the end of that week and the traveller’s status on the Ehteraz application will change to green.

Second round of Secondary School Certificate exam results announcedQNA — DOHA

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has announced the results of the second round of the General Secondary School Certificate tests for the 2019/2020 academic year, which were approved by Minister of Education and Higher Education, H E Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulwahed Al Hammadi.

Assistant Undersecretary for Evaluation Affairs at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education Khalid Abdullah Al Harqan confirmed that the success rate in day schools reached 66.84 percent, in adult education 47.42 percent, in the Religious Institute Preparatory Sec-ondary school for Boys 50 percent, and in Qatar Tech-nical Secondary School for Boys 90 percent. Whereas, the pass rate in the Qatar Schools of Banking Sciences and Sec-ondary Business Adminis-tration reached 100 percent.

The Ministry invited stu-dents and parents to visit the public services portal to view the results via the following link: https://eduservices.edu.g o v . q a / W e b P a r t s /DisplayMarks/#/.

It added that the date of issuance and printing of the Secondary School Certificate for successful students will be announced later.

Cargo handling grows at Qatari ports in August

FROM PAGE 1

The ports handled 727,716 tonnes of general cargo in the first six months of this year, compared to 360,644 tonnes in the same period in 2019. The ports handled 32,779 units of vehicles and 305,504 livestock during January-June period.

Hamad Port, Qatar’ gateway to world trade, occupied a major share in the total cargo handling. Hamad Port is helping in diversifying country’s economy. Along with general cargo traffic, the port handles a variety of specialist imports including livestock, automobiles, and bulk grain.

Mwani Qatar has imple-mented series of measures to limit the spread of coronavirus in the ports which has not only kept the workforce safe but has also ensured uninter-rupted supply of goods in the country. The ports had set the new volume and productivity benchmarks in 2019. Hamad Port, Ruwais Port and Doha Port received 4,082 vessels and handled 1.34 million TEUs containers during the year.

03FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2020 HOME

Attorney-General meets Tunisia PMQNA — TUNIS

Prime Minister of the Republic of Tunisia, H E Hisham El Mechishi, met Qatar’s Attorney-General (A-G), H E Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al Marri, who is currently visiting Tunisia. During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues related to combating terrorism, joint action in the field of rule of law, and other issues of common concern. The A-G also met Tunisian Minister of Justice, H E Muhammad Busta. The two sides exchanged views on strength-ening judicial and legal cooper-ation between the two brotherly countries, exchange of experi-ences and joint work in this field. Qatar’s Ambassador to Tunisia, H E Saad bin Nasser Al Humaidi, also attended the meetings.

Mandarin Oriental, Doha presents natural Qatari honeyTHE PENINSULA — DOHA Mandarin Oriental, Doha, has partnered with Bu Saif’s Apiary to harvest its own natural Qatari honey called Malika. Translated from Arabic, Malika means “queen” and the name is inspired by the queen bee. By buying the honey and sweet-tasting treats made with it, guests will be supporting Mandarin Oriental’s efforts to protect biodiversity, which is a key part of its sustainability strategy.

Made with nectar from the fragrant blooms of the indig-enous Sidr tree, the aromatic honey will be harvested twice each year, when the tree flowers between September and March. The iconic symbol of Qatar, the highly resilient Sidr nurtures life in the desert by providing comforting shade, medicinally potent leaves and nutrition for living creatures, including bees.

With one-third of the world’s crops reliant on bee pollination, Mandarin Oriental, Doha aims to encourage greater awareness of bees’ vital role and to support bio-diversity through its own bee-keeping. As part of the hotel group’s ‘Act with Responsi-bility’ mission, the project reflects Mandarin Oriental’s deeply ingrained sustainability values. Guests can indulge in delicious treats made with Malika honey at the hotel by ordering the Malika Honey gelato at Gelato or the beehive-inspired Honeycomb Cake or chocolate pralines at Baraha Lounge and Mandarin Lounge. Guests can purchase pots of pure Malika honey for QR70 each at any of those three hotel outlets.

Doha Debates amplifies voices in youth-driven UN dialogueTHE PENINSULA — DOHA In a special edition of Doha Debates’ #DearWorldLive programme, showcased as part of the United Nations’ 75th anniversary Youth Plenary, young activists from Brazil, Luxembourg, and South Africa have discussed lessons learned from the world’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The programme, a pro-duction of Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates, examined the successes and failures of world leaders and global institutions in combating COVID-19, and identified changes that must happen in our communities and nations, and throughout the world.

Participants in the pro-gramme were Paloma Costa Oliveira, a climate activist from Brazil; Obakeng Leseyane, founder of South Africa’s EdConnect education initiative; and Félix Feider, a conserva-tionist and environmental

activist from Luxembourg.Oliveira said that the coro-

navirus-related sanitary chal-lenges in the developing world are enormous. “How can you not give access to water that is treated, but at the same time say that you have to wash your hands?” said Oliveira.

She said that in some parts of the world “society is still filled with ego and individuality,” leaving many with a “failed system” for coping with the pandemic.

Urging individuals to play their part in ensuring good leadership during these chal-lenging times, Leseyane said, “A lot of problems are deeply political, and they are deeply entrenched in the systems. So if you are not happy about your particular institution and if you are not happy with how your congress is functioning, if you are not happy with how your local municipality is func-tioning, engage. Part of engaging is not just voting; it

means you spread electoral education.”

Feider called for a combi-nation of community activism and international solutions and said, “This is a global problem and a global problem needs a global solution — it all starts with local activists on the ground. “We need system-wide transformative change to move away from a system of decades of colonialism and exploitation of nature and of the poor and then move towards a system that promotes nature and pro-motes equality and justice and fairness.”

The live programme was transmitted worldwide, with the top five viewing nations being Brazil, India, Turkey, the US, and Indonesia.

Doha Debates corre-spondent Nelufar Hedayat hosted the 30-minute #Dear-WorldLive programme and moderated the entire three-hour virtual UN75 Youth Plenary, including the opening

session with UN Secretary-General António Guterres; the president of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir; and the UN Secretary-General’s youth envoy, Jayathma Wickramanayake.

The recently concluded first season of #DearWorldLive focused on the global response to the COVID-19 crisis. The

second season of the lives-treaming programme, debuting this fall, will examine the struggle for racial equality around the world.

#DearWorldLive episodes livestream on Doha Debates’ Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channels and at D o h a D e b a t e s . c o m /DearWorldLive.

Moderator and speakers during the #DearWorldLive programme of Doha Debates.

QRCS celebrates International Day to Protect Education from Attack

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) and other local and international organisa-tions concerned with education and humanitarianism celebrate the Interna-tional Day to Protect Education from Attack, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly to be observed annually on September 9.

Proposed by H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, it reflects the importance attached by Qatar to edu-cation as an inherent right for all children and reiterates the necessity of protecting this right against any form of violation, abuse, or restriction.

The International Humanitarian Law prohibits assault on schools and educa-tional institutions, being civilian entities that must be protected during war. The Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War stipulates the following: “The Parties to the conflict shall take the nec-essary measures to ensure that children under fifteen, who are orphaned or are separated from their families as a result of the war, are not left to their own resources, and that their maintenance,

the exercise of their religion, and their education are facilitated in all circumstances”.

As an auxiliary to the State of Qatar in its humanitarian and social policies, and inspired by its underlying mission of saving lives and preserving dignity, QRCS holds education as a major field of its humanitarian action, both locally and internationally.

QRCS cherishes its partnership with EAA, in light of their common goals of ensuring quality education and

improving the school environment for the children of vulnerable communities affected by disasters or conflict. Edu-cation is believed to be a vehicle to unleash society’s potential; trigger devel-opment; raise the standards of living for individuals; and promote the values of science, peace, and coexistence.

In Qatar, QRCS offers academic assistance to pay for the tuition fees and living expenses for poor students, under the requirements and criteria enforced by the Humanitarian Services Fund. In cooperation with the Ministry of Edu-cation and Higher Education, the QRCS School Program holds lectures and drills for school students, teachers, and admin-istrative staff on three main areas: health education and first aid, Safe School for Earthquake Risk Reduction, and IHL.

As regards foreign operations, QRCS has many projects to back all sorts of educational institutions: from basic to university-level, from medical to voca-tional, and from postgraduate to special. Examples include, but are not limited to, support for education in remote areas (Afghanistan), rehabilitation of damaged schools (Iraq), scholarships for Pales-tinian medical physicians (Qatar), spon-sorship of MA and Diploma programmes (Gaza), and reconstruction of university premises destroyed by the 2014 war in Gaza.A file photo of a QRCS project to support education in remote areas of Afghanistan.

Deputy PM and Minister of State for Defence meets UK Defence Secretary

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs, H E Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, met yesterday with Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom, H E Ben Wallace, who is visiting the country. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations in the military and defence fields between the two friendly countries, and ways to enhance and develop them. The meeting was attended by a number of senior officers of the armed forces, and the delegation accompanying the British Secretary of State for Defence.

Qatar affirms pivotal role of youth in global peaceQNA — NEW YORK

The State of Qatar affirmed the pivotal role of youth in preventing conflicts and building and maintaining peace, and that they are essential partners in this, calling on member states to play a major role in facilitating youths’ participation and giving them a leadership role in preventing conflicts and building peace.

This came in a statement delivered by Qatar’s Per-manent Representative to the United Nations, H E Ambas-sador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, before the UN Security Council Arria-formula meeting on the implemen-tation of the Council’s resolu-tions on youth, peace and security by UN peace operations.

Sheikha Alya expressed the State of Qatar’s welcome to host the High-Level Global Conference on Comprehensive Peace Paths for Youth, to be held in Doha on May 29-30, 2021, in cooperation with Finland, Colombia, and the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth.

H E said that the con-ference seeks to search for common ground with the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), UN Women, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Network of Young Peace-builders (UNOY Peacebuilders). The conference will be sup-ported by the Education Above All Foundation (EAA), she added.

The Ambassador indicated that the conference will bring together a large number of actors which are actively par-ticipating in peace and peace-building processes, pointing out that the conference also builds on the progress made since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security in 2015 and on the outcomes of the first Interna-tional Symposium on Youth Participation in Peace Proc-esses that took place in Hel-sinki in 2019.

Qatar’s UN Permanent Representative expressed hope that the Doha Global Con-ference would be a turning point for the youth, peace and security agenda, not only by generating political commit-ments at the national level but also by encouraging partici-pation in sustainable and inclusive peace processes for youth, and by opening the door for youth to formulate peace processes around the world.

She also stated that the global conference will present a report on Qatar’s progress, as young people contribute constructively to formal and informal peace processes, noting that the report will review progress made in the implementation of the main

recommendations of the global policy paper “We Are Here: An Integrated Approach to Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes”, which was developed in con-junction with the international symposium.

The Ambassador praised the recent report of the UN Secretary-General and his rec-ommendations that encourage the meaningful participation of youth in peace and security efforts, saying that this is a path towards a new and compre-hensive approach for youth to be engaged in peace and security and security efforts, and a valuable contribution to a collective commitment to building and sustaining peace and achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

H E Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani affirmed that the State of Qatar attaches great importance to the role of youth in many con-flicts that it has mediated over the years and that every medi-ation carried out by the State addressed important issues related to the aspirations of youth and their role in building peace, noting Qatar’s track record in launching innovative project initiatives in cooper-a t i o n w i t h y o u t h organisations.

Qatar’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations, H E Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, says High-Level Global Conference on Comprehensive Peace Paths for Youth, to be held in Doha on May 29-30, 2021, would be a turning point for the youth, peace and security agenda.

Proposed by H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the day reflects the importance attached by Qatar to education as an inherent right for all children and reiterates the necessity of protecting this right against any form of violation, abuse, or restriction.

AP — BEIRUT

A huge fire broke out at Beirut’s port yesterday, raising new panic among residents still struggling with the traumatic effects of the catastrophic explosion at the same site last month.

Some sought safety in closed bathrooms or threw open their windows to guard against shattering glass in case of another blast; others piled into cars to flee the capital.

Dark smoke and the smell of toxic fumes enveloped Beirut in the evening as army heli-copters circled and sprayed water over the orange flames, helping firefighters on the ground.

It was unclear what caused the blaze at the port, which was decimated by the August 4 explosion when nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate blew up, sending out a shock wave that killed nearly 200 people and caused widespread damage.

The Lebanese army said the fire started in the port’s duty free zone amid containers of tires, oil and other flammable materials.

Fabrizio Carboni, regional director for the International Red Cross, tweeted that the warehouse on fire is where his organisation stores thousands of food parcels and oil, risking the serious disruption of

humanitarian operations.Port Director Bassem Al

Qaisi told Voice of Lebanon radio that the fire started in a warehouse containing barrels of cooking oil and later spread to where tyres were piled. He added it was too early to say if it began as “the result of heat or some other mistake.”

In a sign of the ever-wid-ening gulf of distrust after the explosion, many Lebanese accused politicians of deliber-ately trying to destroy evidence at the port that led to the blast. Yesterday’s fire was the second mysterious blaze there this week, following a small fire on Tuesday that also caused some panic but was quickly extinguished.

Lebanon is gripped by an

unprecedented economic crisis and financial collapse, blamed on decades of mismanagement and corruption by an entrenched political class. Last month’s blast is seen as the cul-mination of leaders unable to manage the country’s affairs or protect its people. So far, authorities have been unable to provide answers about the explosion, and there has been no accountability for it.

For Dana Awad, a mother of two girls, the fire brought back memories of the tremor that shook her Beirut neigh-bourhood before the explosion.

“We opened all windows and are in the corridor right now,” Awad said as they sought safety in a hallway. “I am still feeling the earth shake. Living a flashback.”

Jennifer Moorehead, Save the Children’s Country Director in Lebanon, said the fire will inevitably bring back distressing memories to many Lebanese children who are still trying to recover from last month’s blast.

“Children in Beirut have experienced a terrible shock and they need time to recover; today’s fire and panic will only make things worse,” she said.

Najat Saliba, a professor specialising in atmospheric chemistry at the American Uni-versity of Beirut, tweeted warnings for the elderly and children to protect themselves or even to leave the city if pos-

sible until the smoke cleared.The raging fire and column

of smoke was eerily similar to the one that preceded the dev-astating explosion.

Yesterday, panicked resi-dents cracked open windows and called or texted warnings to each other. Local TV stations said companies with offices near the port asked employees to leave the area. Some hid in bathrooms, while others dropped what they were doing and rushed home.

A video on social media showed port employees running from the fire, a chilling reminder of the dozens of workers and 10 firefighters who were killed in the blast.

Lebanese troops closed the major road near the port and rerouted traffic.

A highway that runs parallel to the port was blocked with cars, some with terrified-looking women and children

trying to flee. “Get out of my way!” one woman screamed at others blocking her path. A woman sitting in the car next to her covered her ears with her hands, looking traumatized by it all.

04 FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2020MIDDLE EAST

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Lebanese firefighters trying to put out a fire that broke out at Beirut’s port area, yesterday. Thick black columns of smoke rose into the sky, as the army said it had engulfed a warehouse storing engine oil and vehicle tyres.

Iran begins expansive annual war games amid tensions with USAP — TEHRAN

Iran’s military yesterday began an expansive annual three-day exercise near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state TV reported, with the manoeuvers taking place amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the US.

Units from the navy, air force and ground forces are participating in a nearly 2 million sq km area of the Gulf of Oman. State television said Iranian submarines and drones were being deployed.

State TV aired footage of the launching of various short range surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and of jet fighters and airborne troops descending on vessels including a sub-marine. One of the missiles hit a drone from a mock enemy.

“Marines and commandos... infiltrated at subsurface, surface and air levels by using domestic equipment built by the defense ministry and our scientific and industrial centers,” said Adm. Shahram Irani, the military’s spokesman for the exercise.

O n W e d n e s d a y ,

Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, com-mander of the annual exercise dubbed Zolfaghar-99, said the operation is aimed at “improving readiness in con-fronting foreign threats and any

possible invasion.”Sayyari’s comments hinted

at the threat of military conflict amid tensions between Iran and the US, which has sought to extend a years-long U.N.

weapons embargo on Tehran that is due to expire in October.

The US Navy’s 5th Fleet, which patrols Mideast waterways, declined to comment on the exercise.

Last month, US Central Command published a black-and-white video showing what appeared to be Iranian special forces fast-roping from a heli-copter onto the oil tanker MT Wila, whose last position appeared to be off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates near the city of Khorfakkan.

Iranian state television later acknowledged the brief seizure, referring to the operation as a routine inspection without elaborating.

In July, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard fired a missile from a helicopter tar-geting a replica of a US aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz in an exercise aimed at threat-ening the US.

In January, a US drone strike killed a top Iranian general at the Baghdad airport and Tehran responded by firing ballistic missiles at American forces in Iraq.

Iran’s navy operates in the Gulf of Oman on the eastern side of the strait, through which 20% of all oil shipping passes.

Houthis say attacked ‘target’ in Riyadh with missile, dronesREUTERS — DUBAI

Yemen’s Houthi group said it had attacked an “important target” in the Saudi capital Riyadh yesterday using a ballistic missile and drones.

A Saudi-led coalition, which has been at war with the Iran-aligned group since 2015, did not confirm an attack on Riyadh, but said it had inter-cepted and destroyed a number of ballistic missiles and explosive drones launched towards the kingdom.

Yahya Sarea, a spokesman for the Houthi military, said the group used a Dul-Faqqar ballistic missile and three Samad3 drones to attack an important target in Riyadh, without giving more details. The group have attacked Riyadh several times before.

“The attacks are a response to the enemy’s per-manent escalation and its con-tinuing blockade against our country,” Sarea said in a statement posted on Twitter.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition said Houthi forces had launched the mis-siles and drones at civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, without giving more details.

Iranian boats during a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic strait of Hormuz in southern Iran, yesterday. The Iranian navy began a three-day exercise in the Sea of Oman, deploying an array of warships, drones and missiles.

Lebanese army shot down Israeli drone

AFP — BEIRUTLebanon’s president said yesterday a huge fire at the Beirut port could have been an “intentional act of sabotage” or an accident, and those responsible must be held accountable.

“Today’s fire could be an intentional act of sabotage, the result of a technical error, ignorance, or negligence. In all cases, the cause needs to be known as soon as possible, and those responsible held to account,” President Michel Aoun said, according to his office.

REUTERS — BEIRUT

Israel’s military said yesterday that one of its drones fell inside Lebanon during “operational activity” along the frontier, while the Lebanese army said it had shot it down.

“There is no risk of breach of information,” an Israeli army spokesman said, offering no further details.

The Lebanese army said in a statement that the drone “penetrated Lebanese air-space over the town of Aita Al Shaab and was shot down by members of one of the army posts.”

Sabotage or accident, says President

ANATOLIA — BAGHDAD

Health authorities in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Oman yesterday confirmed additional fatalities due to the novel coro-navirus pandemic.

Iraq’s Health Ministry said 82 more people have died from the pandemic, bringing the country’s tally to 7,814.

The number of coronavirus infections in the country reached 278,418 with 4,597 new

cases reported in the last 24 hours. Saudi Arabia said with 24 more patients succumbing to the disease, the number of deaths has reached 4,189, while recoveries neared 300,000.

The Gulf Arab country recorded 708 additional infec-tions over the past 24 hours, raising the tally to 323,720.

In a statement, Libya’s National Center for Disease Control said 15 more people died from COVID-19 and 477 others tested positive.

The country’s tally now rose to 20,939 cases, including 339 deaths, and 2,420 recoveries.

In Oman, the Health Min-istry recorded 11 additional fatalities along with 398 infec-tions and 210 recoveries. The country’s total cases now stand at 88,337, including 762 deaths, and 83,325 recoveries.

In Kuwait, the Health Min-istry said four more people died from the pandemic, bringing the country’s tally to 556. The number of infections reached 92,822 with 740 new cases reported in the last 24 hours.

Reports from Jordan said one died and five more people have tested positive for the virus over the past 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 2,739, with the total number of recoveries to 2,004. The country’s death toll currently stands at 20.

The Health Ministry in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza on Thursday reported 195 new coronavirus cases and a death of a six-month-old child from the virus.

Since March, the number of infections in Gaza has risen to 1,551, including 10 deaths and

114 recoveries.“The number of active cases

in Gaza rose to 1,427,” the min-istry said, calling on residents to abide by health protocols to help stem the virus’ spread in the strip.

The Hamas-led government imposed a lockdown in Gaza on Aug. 24 to help curb the out-break in the blockaded enclave.

Israel recorded 3,904 more coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, its highest single-day figure since June, the Health Ministry said yesterday.

The total number of cases stands at 142,582, including 1,054 deaths and 109,757 recov-eries, the ministry said in a statement.

It added that 4,746 of the COVID-19 patients are in critical condition and 158 in moderate condition.

Pandemic claims more lives in Iraq and Oman

Rocket hits Baghdad airport, no casualtiesREUTERS — BAGHDAD

A Katyusha rocket fell in the vicinity of Baghdad airport but caused no casualties, Iraq state news agency INA said yesterday, the second such attack on the airport this week.

On Sunday, three Katyusha

rockets landed within the perimeter of the airport. One of them landed on an airport garage, damaging four civilian vehicles, but caused no casualties.

Last week, in three sep-arate incidents several rockets landed either near the airport

or inside Baghdad’s heavily for-tified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions. Those attacks also caused no casualties.

Washington blames such attacks on Iranian-backed militia groups. Iran has not directly commented on the incidents.

The Middle East came close to a large conflict in January after a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian General Qassem Sole-imani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad airport. Iran-aligned militias have sworn to avenge their deaths.

Jordan reinstates compulsory national military serviceAFP — AMMAN

Jordan announced the rein-statement of compulsory military service for jobless men aged between 25 and 29.

Men will serve a 12-month stint, made up of three months of military training and nine months of professional and technical training.

Huge Beirut port fire raises panic among residents

Port Director Bassem Al Qaisi told Voice of Lebanon radio that the fire started in a warehouse containing barrels of cooking oil and later spread to where tyres were piled. He added it was too early to say if it began as “the result of heat or some other mistake.”

Salam: The greeting of all ProphetsPROF SHAHUL HAMEED

The Muslim greeting of s a l a m , a s s a l a m u alaykum in Arabic means “peace be upon you”. It may be new to many that this greeting was taught by Prophets Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them).

The greeting of MosesThe language of Moses

(PBUH) was Hebrew: In Hebrew the greeting is: shalom aleichem. This means the same as “assalam alaykum”.

Traditionally the pious Jews use the greeting shalom aleichem, “peace be upon you!” And its natural response is: aleichem shalom, “upon you be peace,” or the slightly more formal wa’aleichem ashalom, meaning “and upon you be peace.”

This Hebrew response is paralleled by the Arabic response, “wa alaykum salam.”

Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic belong to the Semitic family of languages since they were derived from the same parent language. The close kinship of the Semitic languages to one another can be seen in the persistence of the same roots from one language to another.

So the root s-l-m, for example, means “peace” in Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, and other Semitic languages. Thus Hebrew and Aramaic are lexi-cally, etymologically, as well as syntactically kindred sister languages.

And for that reason, when Jews greet one another with “shalom aleichem” it is almost the same as the Arabic “assalamu alaykum“.

The greeting of JesusJesus (PBUH) taught the

same greeting to his disciples. See the following verses from the Gospels:

And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. (Luke 10:5)

And as they thus speak, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. (Luke 24:36)

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. (John 20:19)

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and

Thomas with them: Then came Jesus (PBUH), the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. (John 20:26)

Jesus (PBUH) spoke the Aramaic language, which is only a dialect of the Hebrew lan-guage. So, the English expression, “peace be unto you” given in the Gospels as the equivalent of what Jesus (PBUH) taught, is a translation of the original Aramaic expression used by Jesus (PBUH): “shalom aleichem“.

Islam and peaceThe word “Islam” is derived

from the same root as the Arabic word “salam“, meaning peace. The name of the religion “Islam” means the peace one may attain by submitting to the laws of God.

We know that peace is extremely valuable and essential for the happy co-existence and healthy growth of individuals, families, and societies.

History teaches us that if peace is absent for a long time, a society would face death,

destruction, and even extinction.

And religions teach of eternal peace for the dead souls in the hereafter. As sensible beings, it is our duty not only to seek peace, but also to strive for its attainment in every sphere of life.

Indeed, peace is a state of balance and harmony arising out of our conforming to the laws of nature and our obe-dience to the moral laws of religion.

Both these sets of laws are from God Almighty Himself. Muslims believe that this is because it is God Who created the universe and its laws.

Whether we want it or not, everything in the universe will-ingly or unwillingly obeys God’s laws which are called Laws of Nature.

In other words, everything in the universe submits to God Almighty and is at peace with Him and the world around.

Islam — or “living in peaceful submission to God” — is at the initial level, our sub-mission to the laws of nature; and we become “Muslims” (=

those who submit) at this level, willingly or unwillingly.

And there is a second level of living in peace, that is what the ancient prophets and their followers did, as is evident from this verse:

Say: “We believe in God, and in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, and that which has been bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and their descendants, and that which has been vouchsafed by their Sustainer unto Moses and Jesus and all the other prophets: we make no distinction between any of them. And unto Him do we surrender ourselves. (3:84)

The English sentence at the end of the verse, “And unto Him do we surrender ourselves” is a translation of the original Arabic, “Wa nahnu lahu Muslimoon“.

This can also be rendered thus: “and we are Muslims”.

ConclusionThe purport of the verse is:

We believe in all the prophets of God and in all the revealed

books of God — and we do not differentiate between one and another of the prophets of God. Because, as Muslims, we give the same respect and honor to all the Muslim prophets of God. This is because all the prophets of God and their followers were living in “Islam”.

And then there is Islam as the complete submission to God Almighty, as revealed in the Last Testament called the Quran, to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):

This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. (5:3)

That is to say, Islam as taught by the earlier prophets was completed and perfected by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The foregoing underscores the fact that we cannot have a better prayer than the prayer for salam — Islam — peace.

And the best greeting we can give to our fellow beings is nothing but “peace be upon you” — “assalamu alaykum“.

(From Discovering Islam’s archive.)

Universal justice: Examples from Islamic historyABSAR HUSAIN KAZMI

Most non-Muslims may not be aware of the fact that Islam com-mands Muslims to contribute to society at large, regardless of whether it be a predominantly Muslim or non-Muslim society.

Islam teaches its followers to work hand in hand with their fellow citizens in order to bring about positive change, peace, and justice in their society. This is evident from the story of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph), peace be upon him, in the Quran.

After he was released from prison and declared innocent by the king, he was honoured and offered a position in the Egyptian government. Joseph, peace be upon him, himself requested:

Appoint me over the storehouses of the land. Indeed, I will be a knowing guardian. (Quran, 12:55)

Prophet Joseph, peace be upon him, did not see any contradiction in being Muslim and playing an important role in a non-Muslim society.

Furthermore, God often refers to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, as a mercy to all creation, not just for Muslims.

The obligation of promoting justiceAs part and parcel of contributing

towards the improvement of society, Muslims are required to promote justice in their communities, regardless of whether those commu-nities are majority Muslim or non-Muslim. God commands Muslims in the Holy Quran:

O you who have believed, be persist-ently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. (Quran 4:135)

A few examples from Islamic history

will help to demonstrate this fact…

The pact of chivalryAn interesting incident took place in

Makkah before the advent of Prophet Muhammad’s, peace be upon him, prophethood, i.e. before he began preaching Islam. A non-Makkan mer-chant came to Makkah to sell his goods. A Makkan man took some of his goods and refused to pay for them. The mer-chant approached various clans of the Quraish seeking help, but because Makkah was a tribalistic society, all refused to help him.

Finally, the man went to the top of a mountain and began shouting his griev-ances to all who could hear him. In response to this, some of the leaders of the Arab tribes came together and forced the Makkan man to pay the merchant what he was owed. Furthermore, some of these leaders formed what is known as the Pact of Chivalry (Hilf ul Fudool) where they committed to working together to counter injustice and restore the rights of the weak and oppressed in society.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon

him, witnessed this Pact of Chivalry and – even though it was initiated by poly-theists – he remembered it approvingly. Much later during his Prophethood he said:

‘I witnessed a confederacy in the house of ‘Abdullah ibn Jada’an. It was more appealing to me than herds of cattle. Even now, in the period of Islam, I would respond positively to attending such a meeting if I were invited.’

The case of the falsely accusedDuring the Prophet’s rule in Madinah,

a Muslim man stole some flour and weapons from the home of another Muslim. When people became suspicious of him, he took the weapons to a Jewish man and asked if he could store them in his home for safekeeping. Furthermore, he made a trail of flour leading from the home of the person he originally stole the items from to the home of the Jewish man. Then he turned around and accused the Jewish man of stealing both the weapons and the flour. The Jewish man protested and claimed his innocence.

This caused confusion in Madinah

and due to the false evidence presented, even the Prophet, peace be upon him, was inclining towards believing the accusation against the Jewish man. At this point, God Himself intervened and revealed nine verses of the Holy Qur’an (Qur’an 4:105 – 113) exonerating the Jewish man and exposing the lies and deceit of the Muslim thief.

Prophet and Jewish ManIn another incident, the Prophet

Muhammad, peace be upon him, once took a loan from a Jewish man called Zayd ibn Sana’a. Before the repayment was due, Zayd came to the Prophet and harshly demanded that he pay back the loan immediately, claiming that his fore-fathers were known to be defaulters. The Prophet’s close companion Umar, may God be pleased with him, was with the Prophet at the time. He became extremely upset at Zayd’s behaviour and was on the verge of beating him.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, managed to calm down the situation. Addressing Zayd, he smiled and said: ‘There are still three days to go before repayment is due.’ Then addressing Umar, he said, ‘We would expect better treatment from you. You could have advised me to be more careful about repaying loans and you could have advised the Jewish man to be more cour-teous when demanding repayment.’ He then asked Umar to repay Zayd with dates and to add an extra amount of dates.

Upon this, Zayd revealed that he had actually staged the entire incident because he wanted to test the character of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in order to determine if he truly possessed the noble manners befitting a prophet. He immediately accepted Islam.

www.whyislam.org

The miracle of creationAHMAD ZAKI HAMMAD

Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding. (Quran 3:190)

The human creation is a being of limitations that God has endued with creative con-sciousness. This union of con-straint and ranging imagination makes discovery an interesting part of our very essence.

The instruments, tech-niques, and culture of curiosity we have devised to satisfy this exploration instinct have vastly expanded our awareness of the secrets of the physical world. Unseen structures of matter are continually discerned at previ-ously impregnable levels; forces, energies, and dimensions that shape material existence are continually theorised, tested, and recast; human under-standing of the invisible mech-anisms and connections that bring the universe into seamless coherence are hypothesised, debunked, and postulated again —such that steadily, inevitably existence yields her enigmatic attributes to our mortal minds.

The scientific sensibility, for the most part, has evolved enough (at least for peer review purposes, if for no higher reason) to restrain researchers who would otherwise rush feck-lessly to state the “last word” on the natural world.

There are, however, scien-tists who have grown too wise to deny transcendent meaning and purpose in existence, and who have realised that to allege the opposite, based entirely upon lab or fieldwork, is to overreach the competence of empirical inquiry. One of modern science’s most lauded breakthroughs in these early days of the new millennium, for example, has been the declared completion of the project to map out the human genetic code, or genome.

This has enabled us for the first time to decipher in a rather comprehensive manner the relationship connecting sequences of vital molecules in our cells to our physical attributes and conditions. Inter-estingly, one of the project’s directors heralded this achievement with the words, “Today we celebrate the first glimpse of our instruction book, previously known only to God.”

If one listens past the seeming arrogance of these words for a moment, one hears a new tone that has slowly emerged among the scientists our time; namely, a humbling recog-nition that the mere proportion of what is unknown about cre-ation far outstrips all human comprehension of it. However reluctant or incidental this con-cession may be, it pointedly underscores the need for religion (and philosophy within the realm of its competency) to recover the right to contemplate the findings of science and relate them to truths known to man only by way of revelation and informed reflection.

Indeed, human discovery of the natural world deepens the religious experience because it heightens our real-isation of the existence of system, complexity, harmony, order, and magnitude in cre-ation on a scale that seriously dents (if not outright dismisses) the theories of an accidental universe. Natural inquiry, unfettered by anthropological agendas, has the capacity to inform and affirm the recog-nition of divine purpose in cre-ation - recognition found in all human beings. Such an opti-mistic, congruous, and innate view of existence is perhaps the antidote to a terrible sense of alienation and the myriad per-sonal psychoses and social turmoil that have resulted from this disaffection. What truth or hope can possibly inhabit a view of ourselves as fleeting organic luck adrift in endless space? The God-given impulse to under-stand our surroundings serves to relocate our spiritual selves and earthly purpose in a colossal universe. This impulse to “know”, when guided by reve-lation, shall conduct us to the eventuality we so crave - coming near to our sole and resplendent Maker.

The word “Islam” is derived from the same root as the Arabic word “salam”, meaning peace. The name of the religion “Islam” means the peace one may attain by submitting to the laws of God. We know that peace is extremely valuable and essential for the happy co-existence and healthy growth of individuals, families, and societies.

As part and parcel of contributing towards the improvement of society, Muslims are required to promote justice in their communities, regardless of whether those communities are majority Muslim or non-Muslim. God commands Muslims in the Holy Quran: O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. (Quran 4:135)

05FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2020 ISLAM

Algeria parliament adopts constitutional reformsAFP — ALGIERS

Algeria’s parliament yesterday adopted draft constitutional reforms, a flagship initiative of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune aimed at responding to the demands of the country’s “Hirak” protest movement.

In a show of hands, the amended constitution was approved by 256 of the 462 members present in the Peo-ple’s National Assembly, said speaker Slimane Chenine.

The reforms will now be put to a referendum on November 1, the anniversary of the start of Algeria’s 1954-1962 war of inde-pendence from France.

“The proposal is fully in line with the requirements of modern state building and responds to the demands of the popular movement (Hirak),” Tebboune said on Sunday after

the government gave the reforms the green light.

The government pledged the reforms would bring a “radical change in the system of governance”, prevent

corruption and enshrine social justice and press freedoms in the constitution.

The revision also sets out to reinforce the “principle of sep-aration of powers, ethics in

political life and transparency in the management of public funds,” so as to “spare the country any drift toward tyran-nical despotism”, it added.

Tebboune had promised to press for reforms during elec-tions late last year after the res-ignation of longtime leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika under pressure from the Hirak movement, which widely rebuffed the polls.

Algeria’s constitution has been modified several times since independence and was tailored to Bouteflika, who

gained unlimited powers of appointment for top official positions.

Since Bouteflika’s resig-nation in April last year, the judiciary has handed down heavy prison sentences against former officials and influential businessmen once close to him, mostly on charges of corruption or nepotism.

But since the weekly Hirak protests were halted in March due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, political opponents, independent media and activists have also been targets of a crackdown.

The revised constitution has already been criticised by jurists and rejected by a group of parties and associations linked to Hirak, which has slammed it as a “laboratory constitution” and described the referendum as “treachery”.

Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad addresses parliament members during a voting session on constitutional reforms in the capital Algiers, yesterday.

Chickens in a classroom converted into a poultry house because of COVID-19 in the town of Wang’uru, Kenya, on August 28, 2020.

Chickens roost in empty Kenya classrooms amid COVID-19REUTERS — MWEA, KENYA

Rows of spinach sprout in the sports field where the students of Roka Preparatory school once played football, and clucking chickens fluff their feathers in sawdust-covered classrooms where children once sweated over their exams.

No students have thundered down these eerily quiet cor-ridors since March, when Kenya abruptly closed its schools three days after the first case of COVID-19 was detected.

The loss of income means some private schools will shut

permanently. “I had to think of how to use the classrooms because they were haunting,” James Kung’u, the school’s director, said as he tended veg-etables in the fields around 100 km northeast of the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

“When you wake up in the morning, and you find the empty classes looking at you — as an investment, (it’s) very discouraging.”

Kenya’s 11,400 private primary and secondary schools serve about 2.6 million stu-dents, the Kenya Private Schools Association says.

They vary from bare class-rooms charging a few thousand shillings a term to ultra-mani-cured campuses serving the nation’s elite.

Peter Ndoro, the associa-tion’s chairman, said around 150 schools have already gone bust. Most of the 158,000 teachers working in private schools are on unpaid leave, he said. While some schools have been able to oversee distance learning, in others the pupils — and the teachers — have no way to connect to the Internet. They have to look for creative ways to make money.

Opposition predicts loss in Ethiopia’s regional pollsAFP — MEKELE, ETHIOPIA

Opposition leaders in Ethiopia’s Tigray region yesterday conceded they were unlikely to make significant inroads as officials tallied results from regional elections that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has deemed illegal.

The ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has touted the polls as evidence of its democratic credentials while accusing Abiy, winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, of running roughshod over insti-tutions in an attempt to consol-idate power.

But it was unclear whether opposition parties would actually gain seats in the regional parliament — known as the State Council — against the TPLF, which has dominated Tigrayan politics for decades.

“I am worried we may end up with having 100 percent TPLF in the council, but let’s wait and see,” said Girmay Berhe, head of the Tigray Inde-pendence Party. “I don’t see significant change in the political culture. The TPLF will dominate the council and will probably get 98 or 99 percent of the seats,” said Hayalu Godefay, chairman of oppo-sition party Salsay Woyane Tigray. Ethiopia was supposed to hold national elections in August, but the national poll

body announced in March they would need to be postponed because of the pandemic.

However leaders in the once-powerful Tigray region rejected the extension of man-dates — which would have expired in October — con-tending Abiy will have no legit-imacy after that.

Their decision to hold their own elections this week has rankled federal officials, who have said they have “no legal basis” and are “null and void”.

Voting proceeded peace-fully Wednesday, and the election commission has reported turnout of greater than 97 percent.

Preliminary results could be released as soon as Thursday evening but are more likely to come out Friday.

The TPLF led the armed struggle to topple the brutal Derg regime in 1991 and went on to control the governing coalition that took over.

Though the party has been sidelined under Abiy it remains in command in Tigray, whose people make up six percent of Ethiopia’s population of 110 million.

Election commissioner Muluwork Kidanemariam said yesterday it was too soon to identify general trends in the results but suggested he would not be surprised if the TPLF won handily.

Scientists look for cure for Sudan’s ‘silent death’ from flesh-eating cutsAFP — KHARTOUM

It seemed little to worry about: Sudanese farmer Khadija Ahmad was planting onions when she stepped on a thorn that pierced her sandal and cut her foot.

But the thorn brought with it a flesh-eating infection, a bac-terial and fungal disease called mycetoma, which rips through the body causing severe deformities.

For Ahmad, a 45-year-old from El Fasher in western Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region, the first she knew some-thing was wrong was when her foot swelled.

“At first I didn’t have any pain, just a lump,” she said. “We thought it would pass.” Myc-etoma, listed as a neglected tropical disease by WHO, is all

too common in Sudan.“I waited nine years before

coming,” Ahmad said, as a doctor examined her at the Mycetoma Research Center (MRC) in the capital Khartoum.

“When I arrived, it was too late,” she said, holding up her prosthetic leg in her arms. “It had to be amputated.” She now has to take medication for life.

Sudanese have another name for the disease; the “silent death”.

While few cases are fatal, mycetoma destroys the lives of its victims. Many infected are young farmers walking barefoot in the fields, the WHO says.

For workers depending on manual labour to survive, the crippling infections act as a life sentence. Mycetoma, caused by bacteria or fungus and entering the body usually through cuts,

is a progressively destructive infectious disease of the body tissue, affecting skin, muscle and even bone.

It is often characterised by swollen feet, but it can also cause grotesque barnacle-like growths and club-like hands.

“The disease grows slowly and slyly inside the body over many years,” said Ahmad Hassan Fahal, founder of the MRC clinic.

It can manifest itself any-where on the body, not just where the entry cut was made.

“The organism goes inside the skin, and then it grows,” Fahal said. “Disability is very common; almost 60 percent of people who catch the disease end up with deformed limbs.” It thrives in the humid heat of tropical climates. Sudan is par-ticularly affected by mycetoma,

but it is endemic in a geo-graphical “belt” of some 40 countries ranging from neigh-bouring Ethiopia and Chad, to India, Mexico and Venezuela.

“In Sudan, we also call it the ‘silent death’, because it creates different problems — disability, deformity and difficulties — and it can kill the patient,” Fahal said. “People lose their limbs and cannot work.” Since MRC was founded in 1991, it has treated 9,000 patients free of charge from all over Sudan.

For a fifth of those arriving at the centre, the only option left is amputation.

Yet those who reach the centre are “the lucky ones”, Fahal said.

“Most of the people are in the villages in remote areas and cannot come here,” he said. “They are the poorest of the

poor.” In MRC’s modern hos-pital, 30 specialist doctors treat 400 patients per week — including patients coming from other mycetoma-affected nations.

But MRC’s focus is its cutting-edge laboratory, a unique global research centre dedicated to the disease.

In a treatment room, 22-year-old Walid Nour Al Dayem lies with his left foot wrapped in bandages.

“A year ago, I was cutting the wheat harvest when I stepped on a thorn,” said Dayem, who comes from the farming village of Managil, in central Gezira state.

“At the time, I didn’t feel much, but afterwards it got worse.” The local hospital told him to seek help at MRC.

“Now I am waiting for my

fate to be decided,” he said morosely. Doctors took samples from Dayem’s leg to see if his case is a bacterial or fungal infection, or both. For myc-etoma, either is possible, com-plicating MRC’s long search for drugs. Antibiotics help against bacterial infections, but not for fungal cases.

“The difficulty in finding a cure for this disease is because it is made of two different things, bacteria and fungus,” Fahal said.

“So far, nobody has been able to create a medicine for the two together.” But researchers are working with Japanese and Swiss scientists on a new drug.

“Hopefully, next year or the year after, we will have a result,” he said with a wide smile. “If we succeed it would be a great first.”

The revised constitution has already been criticised by jurists and rejected by a group of parties.

Clashes as Mali starts post-coup transition talksREUTERS — BAMAKO

Police fired tear gas to disperse campaigners for civilian rule before substantive talks over Mali’s political future began in Bamako yesterday, a sign of a deep-ening rift over who should lead the post-coup transitional government.

About 100 supporters of the M5-RFP coalition, which led months of protests against now-deposed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, clashed with police at the entrance to the conference centre in the capital, delaying the start of talks.

The junta that toppled Keita on August 18 has said the transitional government could be led by a military officer, while the M5-RFP and regional leaders have called for a civilian to take the role.

“They are trying to con-fiscate our revolution from us,” said Bakary Keita, a senior M5-RFP member. “We were very clear from the start. We want a civilian as president of the transition, not a soldier.”

International powers fear the political uncertainty could undermine the fight across West Africa’s Sahel region against militants linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State, as a

previous coup did in 2012.Supporters of the ruling

junta, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), assembled across the street from the building hosting the talks with political parties and civil society groups.

Some carried signs saying “Long live the CNSP” and por-traits of CNSP president Colonel Assimi Goita.

“This is about diagnosing, without complacency, the problems undermining our democratic system,” Goita said in opening the three-day talks, but did not weigh in on who should lead the transition.

West African leaders have said the CNSP must name a civilian interim president and prime minister by September 15 if they are to start easing sanctions imposed after the coup.

The talks were boycotted by the main alliance of pro-inde-pendence Tuaregs in northern Mali, who complained that the CNSP had cancelled a planned meeting with them last week.

The chaos unleashed by a Tuareg rebellion in 2012 led to militants briefly taking over all of the desert north, before French forces intervened the following year to push them back.

58 killed in DR Congo massacresAGENCIES — BUNIA, DR CONGO

Fifty-eight people have been killed in two massacres in the eastern DR Congo province of Ituri, the province’s interior minister said yesterday, attrib-uting the attacks to a notorious militia.

Twenty-three people were killed in Irumu territory in southern Ituri on Tuesday, fol-lowed by 35 yesterday, said minister Adjio Gidi. He blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which originated in the 1990s as a Ugandan Muslim rebel group.

ADF have killed more than 1,000 civilians since the start of 2019, according to UN figures.

"They finished off the poor civilians with knives and firearms. People have been panicking since this morning and are already fleeing," said Rachel Tarwayi, administrator of Irumu territory.

The United Nations says violence attributed to the ADF has soared since the start of the year, following the launch of a large-scale army cam-paign to wipe out the militia.

As a result, the ADF aban-doned its bases, split into smaller more mobile groups, and took revenge on civilians in an attempt to divert the army's resources to protect vil-lages. On Wednesday night fighters attacked the villages of Tsabi and Tondoli, around 120 km south of the city of Bunia, said Gili Gotabo, head of a civil rights groups in Irumu. "Among the dead there are unfortunately three village chiefs," Gotabo said by telephone.

Uganda to resume international flights on Oct 1AGENCIES — KAMPALA

Uganda said yesterday it would reopen its sole interna-tional airport to commercial flights on October 1, more than five months after its closure as a measure to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in the East African nation.

The move is the latest in a series of steps by the gov-ernment of President Yoweri Museveni to gradually lift one of Africa’s tightest lockdowns and rejuvenate the economy, badly hurt by the shutdown.

“We’re preparing to open for resumption of flights on October 1,” spokesman for the country’s state-run Civil Avi-ation Authority (CAA), Vianney Lugya, said of Entebbe Inter-national Airport.

Lugya said a raft of new procedures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the airport were being worked on ahead of re-opening but that among them arriving pas-sengers would be required to have a coronavirus-free cer-tificate from their countries of origin obtained 72 hours before travel.

He said they had already notified all airlines that operate out of the airport.

Uganda imposed one of Africa’s toughest anti-corona-virus lockdowns, including sealing all borders, closure of nearly all businesses and halting movement of both public and private vehicles. Public gatherings were also banned.

Most of measures have since been removed but schools, churches and bars remain closed.

The total number of people who have contracted the virus in Africa has surpassed 1.32 million, while recoveries topped 1 million, according to the latest data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Africa.

The death toll from the coronavirus in Africa has reached 31,902.

Southern Africa is the most affected in terms of both caseload and death toll, with 642,431 infections.

06 FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2020AFRICA

07FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2020 ASIA

India hails ‘game-changer’ French jets as tensions with China heightensAFP & BLOOMBERG — AMBALA

India’s defence minister hailed the formal commissioning yesterday of the country’s first new French Rafale jets as a “strong message” to its adver-saries, amid an escalating border row with China.

The first five of a $9.4bn order for 36 Rafale aircraft for-mally entered service following a ceremony in Ambala in northern India.

“The induction of Rafale is a strong message for the world and especially for those who challenge India’s sovereignty,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, without mentioning China directly.

“Our country will not take any step to disturb peace any-where. We expect the same from our neighbours,” Singh added.

Earlier this week shots were fired for the first time in 45 years on the Himalayan border with China, after a medieval-style battle in June that saw 20 Indians killed.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is

set to meet his Chinese coun-terpart Wang Yi in Moscow yes-terday for the first time since deadly tensions between the two nations erupted in May along their disputed Himalayan border.

The two were due to meet in Moscow on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit organised by Russia, India’s foreign min-istry spokesman Anurag

Srivastava said at a briefing in New Delhi.

India and China have been increasing their troop strength along the 3,488km border known as the Line of Actual Control since May. The military standoff, in which gun shots were fired this week for the first time since 1975, remains unre-solved despite multiple rounds of negotiations between military commanders and diplomats and two phone calls between Wang and Jaishankar.

The latest skirmishes came just days after Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, agreed to ease ten-sions after “frank and in-depth discussions” in Moscow.

It’s led to deteriorating eco-nomic ties, with India limiting Chinese investments, tightening scrutiny on visas and moving to keep Huawei Technologies Co out of 5G networks. India last Wednesday banned 118 Chinese apps including Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s popular game PUBG Mobile Lite and payments service Alipay, following up on its June ban of several applica-tions including ByteDance Ltd’s

viral short-video service TikTok.Differences worsened after

India, in its first offensive move since the conflict began, moved thousands of soldiers to mountain peaks to claim vantage points along the south bank of Pangong Tso — a glacial lake roughly the size of Singapore — to counter what it views as an intrusion by Chinese forces.

The decision to capture high ground that was previously unoccupied revived tensions that had cooled since June when

20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops were killed in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

Even before relations with China nosedived, India was moving strategically closer to the West, deepening security cooperation with the United States, Japan and Australia in the Asia-Pacific region.

It has also embarked on a $130bn modernisation of its armed forces — including ordering attack helicopters

from the United States and a missile defence system from Russia.

Manoj Joshi, a defence and foreign policy expert at New Delhi based think-tank Observer Research Foundation, said the new French jets were a “morale booster for the coun-try’s defence forces”.

But he cautioned: “If you are China, you’re not going to take few Rafales seriously. A handful of planes cannot bog down a military power like China.”

French Defence Minister Florence Parly (left) listens as her Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh speaks during a joint press conference after attending an induction ceremony of Rafale jets into the Indian Air Force at the Ambala Air Force Station in Haryana, yesterday.

India and Japan call for strong partnership in post-virus worldAP — NEW DELHI

Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart agreed yesterday that a strong part-nership between their nations will be critical in charting the course for the global community in the post-coro-navirus world, an Indian official said.

Abe, who is stepping down because of a chronic health problem, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed an agreement between the armies of the two countries that will give them access to each other’s bases for supplies and services.

“They concurred that the agreement will further enhance the depth of defense cooperation between the two countries and contribute to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region,” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in a statement.

In a telephone call, the two leaders also reviewed the status of an India-Japan Special Stra-tegic and Global Partnership program, including a high-speed rail project that is to link the Indian cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

In December, Abe canceled a meeting with Modi in the northeastern state of Assam, where street protests erupted over a new Indian law that grants citizenship based on religion and excludes Muslims.

Abe was scheduled to travel to Assam and Manipur states to discuss security and economic ties with Modi as part of annual exchange of visits by the two leaders.

Myanmar army tries to discredit Rohingya abuse confessionsAFP — YANGON

Myanmar’s milita