Tehran                                                                                                                                                                                                   17 Sept 2017                                                                                                                                                                                   (AlJazeera News)

Iran will not give in to US "bullying" as Washington attempts to undermine Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

"Iran, which is a powerful nation, will not give in to pressure and will not bow," Khamenei said in an address to police officers in Tehran on Sunday.

"The corrupt, lying, deceitful US officials insolently accuse the nation of Iran... of lying, whereas the nation of Iran has acted honestly and will continue on this path until the end in an honest manner," said Khamenei.

President Hassan Rouhani left on Sunday for the UN General Assembly in New York, where he is set to hold crucial talks on the 2015 nuclear deal, which eased international sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran's atomic programme.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to tear up the deal and his administration has been looking for grounds to declare Iran in non-compliance, despite repeated UN declarations that Tehran has stuck to its commitments.

Trump must make a decision by mid-October whether to certify that Iran is complying with the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). If he does not, Congress has 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions waived under the deal.

Khamenei said in his speech that "US bullying will not work on the Islamic Republic."

"You are the liars. The nation of Iran is standing firm and any wrong move ... will face a reaction by the Islamic Republic," said the supreme leader.

Iran's warning

Iran said last month it could abandon the nuclear agreement "within hours" if the US imposes any new penalties, after Washington ordered unilateral sanctions over Tehran's ballistic missile tests.

Rouhani, speaking on Sunday before leaving for New York, said the US should join the countries that continue to support the nuclear deal.

The US imposed unilateral sanctions in July, saying Tehran's ballistic missile tests violated a UN resolution that endorsed the nuclear deal, and called upon Tehran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

It stopped short of explicitly barring such activity.

Iran denies its missile development breaches the resolution, saying its missiles are not designed to carry nuclear weapons.

 

The UN atomic watchdog hit back on Monday at US criticism of the Iran nuclear deal, insisting its inspections there are the world's toughest and that Tehran is sticking to the accord.

"The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under [the 2015 deal] are being implemented," International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano told reporters.

"The verification regime in Iran is the most robust regime … currently existing. We have increased the inspection days in Iran, we have increased inspector numbers ... and the number of images has increased," he said in Vienna.

"From a verification point of view, it is a clear and significant gain."

US President Donald Trump has called the agreement between Iran and six major powers reducing its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief "the worst deal ever negotiated".

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley made a case last week for how the United States could back away from the landmark agreement.

"You can't put lipstick on a pig," Haley said. "We have to look at the reality that this deal is flawed."

Trump has to certify in mid-October whether he believes Iran is abiding by the nuclear deal and that sticking to it is vital to US national security interests.

If, as seems increasingly likely, Trump decides not to give the green light, Congress will then have 60 days to debate whether to re-impose sanctions on Iran.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said last month the top foreign policy priority for his new government was to protect the nuclear deal from being torn up by the United States.

"The most important job of our foreign minister is first to stand behind the JCPOA and not to allow the US and other enemies to succeed," Rouhani told parliament, using the technical name for the 2015 agreement.

 

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                   16 Sept 2017

Lulu Hypermarket Doha carried out it's 5th draw of two Mercedes Benz Cars and Cash Gift vouchers on last Thursday. Present on the occasion were Oudiman AlQahtani, Inspector at Ministry of Economy & Commerce of Qatar, Shanavas P. M., Regional Manager, Keith Gordon Smith, Retail Operations Manager and Krishnakumar. R., General Manager.

Lucky winners of two 2017 model E-200 series Benz cars were presented the keys to the lucky winners Christian Agbanyo, (Coupon No. 1143828) and Miss Vijayalakshami Kennedy (coupon No. 2039296)

Consolation prizes of Lulu Gift vouchers worth QAR.10,000/- and QAR.5,000/- were presented to 10 winners.

 

Berlin, Germany                                                                                                                                                                                 15 Sept 2017                                                                                                                                                                                 (AlJazeera News)

Emir of State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AlThani says he is ready to sit at a negotiating table to solve the three-month-long regional crisis.

Emir of Qatar is on his first foreign trip since Qatar's diplomatic rift with its Arab neighbours.

"As you know we have had a siege of more than 100 days against Qatar," Sheikh Tamim said at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Friday.

"We spoke about Qatar's readiness to sit at the table to solve this issue."

Merkel's government has announced efforts to mediate in the crisis, which saw Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severing diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar in June.

The Arab states accuse Qatar of backing "terrorism", an allegation Qatar denies.

Germany has been supporting diplomatic efforts to try and defuse the crisis, with Merkel inviting all sides to sit at the table.

She said she was concerned that there was still no solution to the crisis, adding she supported efforts by Kuwait and the US to mediate an end to the dispute.

"Germany is not a part of this conflict, but would like, in line with its values, to help get this conflict resolved in such a way that all can keep their face," Merkel said.

"We view with concern the fact that 100 days since the start of the conflict no solutions can yet be seen," Merkel told the joint press conference.

"And we spoke about the need for all the parties to sit at one table again as soon as possible."

Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's foreign minister, has said the country's intelligence service would play a role in clearing up accusations that Qatar supports "terrorist" groups.

Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane, reporting from Berlin, said Germany is attempting to ratchet up diplomatic pressure to get the feuding nations on the same table.

"The German desire here is to play a more broad role, diplomatically speaking, in the Gulf area and it clearly wants this issue to be dealt with as speedily and peacefully as possible," he said.

Sheikh Tamim was expected to fly out to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron later on Friday.

Al Jazeera's senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said that momentum seems to be building towards a diplomatic resolution.

"There is certainly a need to go beyond the last 100 days, now that there is an understanding by every leader around the world that the dispute must be resolved diplomatically, sooner rather than later," he said from London.

 

Amsterdam                                                                                                                                                                                         15^th Sept. 2017

Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company, is exhibiting at the annual IBC exhibition in Amsterdam, the leading platform for the broadcast, content delivery, digital media and satellite sectors across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

The company is showcasing Es’hail-1, currently transmitting high quality, premium DTH television content from the 25.5°/26° East neighborhood for leading channels such as Al Jazeera and beIN Sports, and Es’hail-2, the company’s second satellite scheduled for launch soon.

In addition to providing transmission and expansion opportunities for established news and sports channels, a growing number of new Arabic channels are choosing Es’hailSat to launch in the MENA region.

Qatari cultural channel QATAR TV and Al Kaas Sport Channel both recently launched their channels on               Es’hail-1.

Es’hailSat is also pushing ahead with plans to expand its satellite fleet. Es’hail-2, a new high-performance satellite with sophisticated anti-jamming capabilities will be positioned at the 26° East hotspot position for TV broadcasting, significantly adding to the company’s ability to provide high quality, premium DTH television content across the Middle East and North Africa. And discussions are already ongoing with customers and stakeholders to define the requirements for a further satellite - Es’hail-3 and Es’hail-4.

 

With a commitment to providing broadcasters with secure and independent satellite transmission, Es’hailSat has commissioned its own teleport.  Located at a dedicated and secured site north of Doha, the new facility will provide satellite TT&C and capacity management together with a wide range of teleport services such as uplink, downlink, contribution, multiplexing, encoding, playout and broadcasting.  The high-tech teleport will also provide back-up studios for TV channels and serve as a disaster recovery facility for broadcasters.  The site will be linked with key media broadcasters by a redundant, dedicated fibre optic link.

Ali Al Kuwari, President and Chief Executive Officer of Es’hailSat, said: “We have had tremendous growth since our commercial launch in 2013 with utilization rate of Es’hail-1 at higher than industry average. With our new state of the art teleport nearing completion and Es’hail-2 scheduled to be launched soon, IBC gives us the right platform to engage with customers and partners, and showcase our capabilities and future plans. We see this exhibition as an important element in our strategy to attract customers who value broadcasting independence and quality of service with focused coverage”.

Addis Ababa                                                                                                                                                                                        15 Sept 2017                                                                                                                                                                                     (QNA)

Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of State of Qatar met with Moussa Faki Mohamed, Chairperson of the African Union Commission today in Addis Ababa.

Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister briefed Chairperson of the AU Commission on the latest developments in the Gulf crisis. He also expressed Qatar’s appreciation of the African Union’s position to resolve the crisis through constructive dialogue among all parties as well as the AU’s support for the mediation led by the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah.

Chairperson reiterated the position of the African Union, announced by Alpha Conde, President of the Republic of Guinea and President of the African Union, towards the crisis, calling for resolving it through dialogue and diplomatic efforts, and supporting Kuwaiti mediation as a way to resolve the crisis, which is the same position advocated by Qatar since the beginning of the crisis.

Dr Akililu Hailemichael, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia received  Al-Mahmoud and his delegation upon arriving.  Present at the airport were also Mesganu Arga Moach, Ambassador  of Ethiopia to Qatar and of Qatari diplomats posted at embassy in Addis Ababa.

Qatar delegation left for Doha same day.

London, UK                                                                                                                                                                                       15 Sept 2017                                                                                                                                                                                         BBC News

An "improvised explosive device" was detonated on a Tube train in south-west London during Friday's morning rush hour, injuring 29 people.

The blast, at Parsons Green station on a District Line train from Wimbledon, is being treated as terrorism.

So-called Islamic State says it carried out the attack, which Prime Minister Theresa May condemned as "cowardly".

A hunt is under way for the person who placed the device and the area around the station has been evacuated.

Specialist officers there securing the remains of the improvised device and ensuring it is stable.

'Cowardly attack'

Mrs May said the attack had been "intended to cause significant harm".

She said the UK's terror threat level would remain at severe - the second highest - but would be under review.

Speaking in Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, she said there would be an increased armed police presence on the transport network in London.

Hundreds of detectives and MI5 are investigating the attack, which took place at 08:20 BST on an eastbound train.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley earlier refused to say whether anyone had been arrested.

Earlier reports in morning after the explosion,  Witnesses reported panicked scenes as a result of the blast at 08:20 BST at Parsons Green station on the District Line.

A white bucket inside a supermarket bag was photographed inside the carriage, although it did not cause extensive damage.

Police are treating it as a terror attack.

 

Islamabad                                                                                                                                                                                             14 Sept 2017                                                                                                                                                                                    (Daily 'Dawn')

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued bailable arrest warrants for former Pakistan's Cricket player turned politician and member of Pakistani parliament, Imran Khan following his failure to show up for the contempt of court proceeding on Thursday.

The election body also ordered the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf, a political party, Chairman to submit surety bonds worth Rs0.1 million.

The commission, while hearing the contempt of court case against Imran Khan filed by PTI dissident and one of the founding members Akbar S. Babar, also ordered the party chief to appear before the court on September 25.

The counsel for Imran Khan, Babar Awan, argued that the PTI chief was abroad and had returned to the country just an hour ago.

“Imran Khan respects the election commission and will appear before the ECP whenever it orders,” Awan maintained.

On this, the counsel for the petitioner argued that the ECP’s orders have been violated. “Had he [Imran Khan] respected the institutions, he would have been present here,” said the counsel, asking the commission to continue with the regular proceeding.

Following this, the ECP reserved its judgement in the contempt case and issued bailable arrest warrants against the PTI chief, and ordered him to appear before the court on September 25.

Last month, ECP had issued a second show-cause notice to Imran Khan after he failed to reply to the earlier notice regarding the contempt of court proceedings against him.

Imran Khan had initially challenged maintainability of the contempt petition and raised objections over ECP’s jurisdiction to initiate contempt proceedings against him; the commission, however, declared on August 10 that it had the legal right to hear the contempt case.

It had then issued a formal show-cause notice to the PTI chairman, asking him to submit a reply by Aug 23.

PTI chief's counsel Babar Awan had then appeared before the five-member ECP bench — headed by Chief Election Commissio­ner (CEC) retired Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza — and pleaded that they wanted to challenge the ECP’s judgement regarding the maintainability of the contempt petition and hence, should be granted some time to do so.

Imran Khan had accused the ECP of being biased in the foreign funding case following which his counsel had tendered an apology with the commission. However, the PTI chairman in a TV interview later said that his counsel had tendered an apology in his personal capacity and that he had not apologised.

Geneva                                                                                                                                                                                              14 Sept 2017                                                                                                                                                                                   (QNA)

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman AlThani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar said that Qatar has learned the lesson from the unjust siege to reduce its dependence on its immediate neighbours, pointing out to Qatar's commercial openness to many countries. He was interviewed by  'Le Temps' of Switzerland, the Foreign Minister said 'The siege countries accuse us of spreading lies about the telephone conversation that took place between Emir of Qatar and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and that is unacceptable.

He said that the Gulf crisis was not expected and there were no indications of its occurrence.  Only a few days before the beginning of the crisis, Saudi Arabia was a very strong ally of Qatar, everything that had happened was orchestrated to justify the siege, and that it concerned a group of countries whose actions could not be predicted.

Replying to a question, Qatar top diplomat said that Qatar hosts the biggest US military base outside America as well as the headquarters of the International Coalition against ISIS. He said that the two countries also co-operate in the fields of security, counter-terrorism, defence and economy.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman AlThani said that the GCC countries' consensus is necessary to ensure that regional security is not jeopardised, despite the differences of views on a number of issues.

He said that the siege countries do not want a rational exchange of arguments. "They want to put us under guardianship. We are a sovereign country. We have the same rights as Saudi Arabia, regardless of the size or strength of our country."

Responding to a question on relations with Iran, Qatar Foreign Minister said that from the beginning, Qatar has been defending the idea of overcoming differences with Iran through dialogue rather than confrontation. On the other hand, he said that the Arab peoples revolted against dictatorships, "We had to move when these dictatorships started killing their own people." He explained that Qatar has tried to assist these regimes to make some reforms, "But when these attempts failed and the dictators began to kill their own people, we had to take a side, and we chose the people," he said.

The peoples of these countries are the ones who ignited the revolutions of the Arab Spring and not Qatar, he stressed, adding, "these peoples deserve appreciation for this achievement."

He said that the peoples of the Arab Spring countries believed in the possibility of reaching peaceful solutions, and there was no terrorism at that time, explaining that violence started when these peoples were subject to the brutality of the regimes which paved way for terrorist organisations to take benefit from this situation in strengthening their forces.

On Qatar's relations with Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), he said that the countries that accuse us of supporting what they call a terrorist movement are the same countries that support Hamas." He pointed out that any assistance to the people of Gaza is welcomed because the people desperately need it.

He said that Qatar along with several countries has a joint operation room working for moderate groups in Syria. "We still believe in the realism of the hopes placed in the Free Syrian Army or the re-organisation of moderate forces," he said. The minister also pointed out that there is an international commitment in this regard, but part of the international community now focuses on the fight against ISIS, and no longer speaks about the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which killed more than 500,000 people.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman AlThani said the solution to the Idlib issue lies in re-establishing the moderate opposition and providing it with more aid, adding that it was the lack of support for the moderate opposition that allowed the Nusra Front to strengthen its influence.

Ankara                                                                                                                                                                                              14 Sept 2017

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the latest developments in the Gulf crisis and ways to solve it through diplomatic channels, in Ankara on Thursday.

The two leaders also discussed the most prominent regional and international events and exchanged views on them,   'QNA', Qatar's official news agency reported.

Meeting between both leaders held at the Presidential Palace in the Turkish capital, the Emir and Erdogan reviewed the close relations and prospects for their development in various fields to serve the common interests of the two friendly countries and peoples.

After visiting Turkey, the Emir left for Berlin on Thursday for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel which will be held on Friday. The Emir will hold talks with Merkel on the prospects of cooperation between the two friendly countries and ways to develop them, in addition to the latest regional and international developments, primarily the Gulf crisis.

Turkish president hosted a dinner in honour of Qatari ruler at the presidential palace.

Earlier on arrival at Esenboga Int'l Airport, Emir of Qatar was received by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mehmet Simsek, Governor of Ankara Ercan Topaca and Qatar's Ambassador Salem bin Mubarak al-Shafi, senior officials and members of the Qatari Embassy.

Later, Emir and the accompanying delegation were seen off at Esenboga International Airport by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mehmet Simsek and Qatar's Ambassador, in addition to members of the Qatari Embassy.

Ibrahim Kalin, a Turkish government spokesman told the reporters prior to the meeting with the Qatari leader and called for the Gulf nations to resolve their concerns through dialogue.

Sheikh Tamim is also scheduled to visit the Republic of France. In Paris, the Emir will meet with President Emmanuel Macron and discuss with him ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two friendly countries, in addition to the Gulf crisis and issues of common concern.

The Gulf crisis erupted after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt cut ties with Qatar accusing it of backing extremism and fostering ties with Iran on June 5.

Doha denies the claims and Ankara has insisted there is absolutely no evidence to back the allegations.

Erdogan has strongly spoken out against the sanctions applied by the Saudi-led bloc against Doha.
Erdogan in July embarked on a regional tour of the Gulf countries, with visits to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar in a bid to defuse the crisis.

On Wednesday, Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah met with Erdogan at his presidential palace.

Mediation efforts led by Kuwait suffered a setback on Saturday when Saudi Arabia said it was halting all dialogue with Qatar, on the pretext that Doha misrepresented the context of a phone call between the Emir and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

 

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                     13 Sept 2017                                                                                                                                                                                     Qatar Media Corporation/                                                                                                                                                               Daily Gulf Times

The construction works of 2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums have not been aff ected by the Saudi-led blockade on Qatar,

Manoj Kumar, a senior civil engineer, has said. “The stadiums for the 2022 World Cup were planned well in
advance and construction works on these sites have not stopped because of the siege,” Kumar told Qatar Urdu Radio’s live radio show Haqeeqat yesterday.

“Khalifa International Stadium is ready for the World Cup. The basic structure of Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor
is complete and nearly 40-50% of the work has been done on it,” he added.

The companies immediately began re-routing the transportation of materials after the blockade started. “The government, along with construction companies, had contingency plans for the mega projects earlier — taking into account all the possible risks. This is the reason why the siege did not aff ect the construction sector the
way Saudi Arabia and the UAE perhaps thought it would,” he said.

“Soon, the entire infrastructure of Qatar will be interconnected, and the plan is to build a dense network of roads near stadiums for better mobility. The fact that construction is under way on most roads around the country even as we speak tells us that the impact of the siege has been minimum.”

Haqeeqat, which aims to engage and interact with the large South Asian expatriate community in Qatar, is a joint venture of Gulf Times and Qatar Media Corporation Urdu Radio. It is broadcast from Sunday to Thursday on FM107.

One can log on to Qatar Urdu Radio on Facebook and ‘@QatarUrduRadio’ on Twitter for feedback and comments
about the show.