30 Nov 2017                                                                                                                                                                                      (CNN)

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                  30 Nov 2017

In anticipation of tonight’s screening of one of the most popular events at the Ajyal Youth Film Festival, Made in Qatar, a series of roundtable discussions were held earlier today between members of the local and international press and filmmakers, whose work has been selected for screening this year.

The eagerly-awaited annual slate of independently-made short films, some of which have been supported by Doha Film Institute (DFI), has been a core festival event celebrating the exciting state of filmmaking in Qatar.

Rawda Al-Thani, director of I Have Been Watching You All Along (Qatar/2017), made her short during a workshop at the DFI, which she says not only introduced her to different styles of filmmaking and allowed her to meet with others who shared her passion for film, but also changed the way she saw her future. Her film has already been screened at the Arab Film Festival in San Francisco, USA, but Al-Thani says that having the chance to show it “at home” is exciting.

“Qatari audiences are more responsive to locally-made films, they know the locations and they understand the characters and they identify with them,” she said, adding that the growth of the local film community has been inspiring and welcoming. “There was nothing when I was younger, we didn’t even know if the TV shows we saw were filmed here. People are always proud when they know a film has been made here, whether they like it or not.”

Currently on his third project and used to the challenge of making films without a budget, Khalifa Al-Marri, the director of Embodiment (Qatar/2017) explained how he came to be a filmmaker. “I have a background as an artist and I became interested after I took a workshop at the New York Film Academy through the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Centre here in Doha.” The course taught Al-Marri the basics, which he supplemented with courses at the DFI.

Remarking on how the local filmmaking community has grown since his first project was made in 2014, he added: “I used to know only 1 or 2 other people. Now, every event I attend, I see lots of familiar faces, but also many new ones.”

Other filmmakers also remarked on the way Qatar’s film community has developed.

“In the last 10 years, it has grown so much and not just in terms of more active participants but also in terms of growing appreciation for film, which you see in the increasing number of jurors and growing audiences for screenings,” explained Meriem Masraoua, director of Our Time Is Running Out (Qatar/2017). “I was lucky enough to pursue film at a time when all these initiatives, the DFI, Ajyal, were in their initial phases and it is amazing to be able to witness all the changes since then.”

Not everyone at the roundtable was just starting out. Aisha Al-Jaidah, director of animated short 1001 Days (Qatar/2017) was the first Qatari student to be sent to study animation abroad and has been the head of her own animation studio for several years. “I am very grateful to the DFI for all their help,” she said, explaining that her short is the first non-commercial project she has directed since leaving university. “They not only helped the creation process but are also helping to get the film out into the world. That’s a boost.”

Presented by Occidental Petroleum Qatar, this year’s Made in Qatar is a showcase of sixteen short films - narratives, documentaries, and animations – which will be shown in two programmes of eight films.

Made in Qatar Programme 1 screens tonight (Thursday Nov. 30) at 8:30PM. The second programme screens tomorrow (Friday Dec. 1) at 8:30PM and will be followed by an awards ceremony, when the 3-member jury of regional industry professionals - Lebanon’s Ely Dagher, Kuwait’s Dana Mado and Qatar’s Salah Al-Mulla – will announce the winners of this year’s prizes.

The 5^th Ajyal Youth Film Festival runs until Dec. 4. Tickets are priced QR25 for general screening, and are available for purchase 24 hours a day at ajyalfilm.com or from the Ajyal Katara Main Box Office in Katara Building 12 or Ajyal FNAC Ticket Outlet, FNAC Qatar at Doha Festival City.

The Ajyal Youth Film Festival is made possible thanks to its partners: Katara Cultural Village as its Cultural Partner; Qatar Tourism Authority is the Strategic Partner, and Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Ooredoo are the Principal Partners. For more details on the Ajyal Youth Film Festival, please visit www.dohafilminstitute.com/filmfestival

Beijing                                                                                                                                                                                              , 29 Nov. 2017                                                                                                                                                                                    (Xinhua)

Chinese President XI Jinping told his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, in a telephone conversation late Wednesday that  denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, maintaining international nuclear-nonproliferation regime, and preserving peace and stability in Northeast Asia are China's unswerving goal.

He said China would like to keep up communications with the United States and all other related parties, and jointly push the nuclear issue towards the direction of peaceful settlement via dialogues and negotiations.

In response, Trump said the United States has serious concerns over the launch of a ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The DPRK's Korean Central Television reported that the country successfully test-fired a newly developed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile early Wednesday morning, a move that has drawn condemnation from the international community.

Pyongyang said "The development and advancement of the strategic weapon of DPRK are to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country from the U.S. imperialists' nuclear blackmail policy and nuclear threat, and to ensure the peaceful life of the people."

It is the first launch since Sept. 15, when the DPRK fired a ballistic missile over northern Japan into the Pacific Ocean.

Trump said Washington highly values China's important role in solving the nuclear issue, and is willing to enhance communications and coordinations with China in search for solutions to the issue.

Also in their phone talks, the Chinese leader said that during Trump's visit to China earlier this month the two heads of state have exchanged in-depth views on key issues of common concerns and reached important consensuses on multiple fronts, which bears important significance for maintaining sound and stable bilateral ties.

Xi called on the two sides to carry out these consensuses, make good plans for high-level bilateral exchanges, as well as at other levels, ensure the second round talks under all four high-level China-U.S. dialogue mechanisms a success, and implement cooperation agreements and projects between the two countries.

He also urged the two sides to maintain close communications and coordination on important international and regional affairs.

To help soothe the Korean Peninsula situation, China has proposed a dual-track approach, seeking to advance denuclearization and establish a peace mechanism in parallel. Beijing, in its "suspension for suspension" initiative, calls on Pyongyang to pause its missile and nuclear activities, and calls on Washington to put its joint military drills with South Korea on hold.

In response to the DPRK's missile launch, the United Nations Security Council will hold an urgent meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

Since November last year, the Security Council has imposed export bans on coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, restricted joint ventures and blacklisted a number of DPRK's entities in response to the country's missile and nuclear tests.

It has also banned the hiring of DPRK's guest workers and capped oil exports.

Under UN resolutions, DPRK is barred from developing missiles and a nuclear weapons capability, but Pyongyang argues that the arsenal is needed for self-defense against the "hostile" United States.

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                    28 Nov 2017                                                                                                                                                                                  (QNA)

Mohamed Al-Muhannadi, Director of Population and Social Statistics department at The Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics said Qatar ranks among the world's lowest in terms of crime rates, reflecting the country's global security status, which goes in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 that aims at creating a society of security, justice, and economic prosperity.

AlMuhannadi made these remarks during a presentation at the opening of a workshop organised by the ministry on Monday on crime statistics, in which he told that Qatar has become a prominent centre in the world security indicators.

He noted Qatar has the lowest crime rate in the Middle East and the seventh-lowest crime rate globally in the same index, according to the latest annual Global Crime Index,  one of the largest and most popular encyclopedias on the Internet.

Al-Muhannadi pointed out that Qatar topped the list of Middle East and North Africa nations in the Global Peace Index for the ninth year in a row, and ranked 30th among the 163 countries included in the report of the London Institute for Economics and Peace. He said Qatar has maintained its first ranking in the Middle East and North Africa over the past years (2009-2017) and it has also achieved advanced positions globally in the same period by achieving high assessment rates that surpassed many developed countries.

He pointed out that Qatar ranked second on the list of the safest 24 countries in the world, according to the annual report issued by the Swiss Golden Visa organisation in 2016, expressing the ministry's appreciation for the performance of officials and components of civil society in the field of security.

Al-Muhannadi added that the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics was working in co-ordination with the data sources in order to standardise the concepts and terminology of the crime statistics data between the concerned parties so that each term was defined by the clients of those data.

Meanwhile, Sultan al-Kuwari, Assistant Undersecretary of Statistics Affairs at the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, stressed the importance of crime statistics and security information and their role in the development of security plans and strategies that help to protect society and maintain order and public safety.

He added that the two-day workshop on crime statistics was in line with the requirements of the national development strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030.
He pointed out that the workshop would also be the starting point for the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSD) in accordance with the crime statistics manual adopted in that field.

Experts and technicians in the field of crime statistics attended the workshop along with representatives of the main stakeholders responsible for crime statistics in the country and a number of specialists and those interested in this field.

The workshop aims at identifying sources of crime statistics, their importance and how to develop them, identifying indicators of sustainable development of crime statistics, as well as informing the participants about the international classification of crime for statistical purposes of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
It also studies how to use the best advanced and modern methods in the field of crime statistics in order to improve the quality and dissemination of data and enhance the concept of frameworks of cooperation and exchange between institutions and ministries in the country in this area.

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                  28 Nov 2017                                                                                                                                                                                    (MOFA)

Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi , Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of State of Qatar met Tuesday Masahisa Sato,  Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Both discussed means of enhancing the bilateral relations and mutual cooperation, as well as issues of common concern.

A number of officials of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar were also present on the occasion.

Hyderabad, India                                                                                                                                                                              28 Nov 2017                                                                                                                                                                                  (Misc. media reports)

Ivanka Trump,  daughter and Advisor to the US President Donald Trump met this morning  Indian Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister Swaraj Sushma.

Ivanka Trump is heading a US delegation to attend three days long Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) being inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister this afternoon today in Hyderabad, India.

Ivanka, an American television personality, fashion designer, author and businesswoman is visiting the country on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This is the first time that the Global Summit is being held in South Asia.

Niti Aayog in partnership with the Governments of the United States is hosting the eighth edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad.

After the welcome remarks by the Prime Minister and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Ivanka Trump will address the summit. She is likely to stress on ensuring women entrepreneurs have access to capital, access to networks and mentors, and access to equitable laws, PTI today reported.

According to excerpts of her speech obtained by PTI, Ivanka is likely to speak on fuelling the growth of women-led businesses and how all over the world entrepreneurs are revolutionising our economies, and improving our societies.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be hosting a royal dinner at the Taj Falaknuma Palace in honour of  Ivanka Trump and accompanying members of US delegation.

Jakarta                                                                                                                                                                                                  27 Nov 2017                                                                                                                                                                                      ANTARA News)

At least 445 flights have been canceled due to the eruption of Mount Agung in Bali, thereby affecting the travel plans of some 89 thousand passengers, an official stated here on Monday.

Director of Air Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation Maria Kristi Endah Murni noted during a press conference here on Monday that the increase in volcanic activity of Mount Agung has prompted the officials to temporary close the Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali.

"The assumption is that each flight carries some 200 passengers," Murni remarked.

Moreover, Mount Agung`s eruption has affected 51 flights, or some 2,900 passengers, at the Lombok International Airport.

The Lombok International Airport, which was also closed temporarily due to the rise in activity of Mount Agung, has been reopened at 6 a.m. local time on Monday.

The government will continue to coordinate and monitor the situation for the next 24 hours, she remarked.

On the same occasion, Secretary General of the Ministry of Transportation Sugiharjo noted that the airports will be kept open or shut down based on the direction of the wind carrying volcanic ash from Mount Agung.

The government has readied some 100 shuttle buses in Bali and West Nusa Tenggara to provide alternative means of transportation to the passengers affected by Mount Agung`s eruption.

Secretary of PT Angkasa Pura I Israwadi said the airport operator will have several airports readied to redirect flights heading to Bali, such as the Juanda Airport of Surabaya, Lombok Praya Airport, Sultan Hassanudin Airport of Makassar, Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan Airport of Balikpapan, Adi Soemarmo Airport of Solo, Ahmad Yani Airport of Semarang, and Adi Soetjipto Airport of Yogyakarta.

The Indonesian Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) has raised the alert status of Mount Agung from alert level III to IV, the highest, indicating eruption hazards.

The authorities said dark smoke and ash have been billowing up to 3,400 meters above the mountain`s peak, thereby prompting officials to shut down Bali`s Ngurah Rai Airport from Monday until Tuesday evening.

The 3,142-meter-high volcano has been rumbling since August 2017.

On Nov 21, Mount Agung had erupted, releasing volcanic ash and smoke some 700 meters high from the crater at 5:05 p.m. local time.

Following the eruption, the PVMBG has also called on all villagers in the disaster-prone areas, tourists, and other individuals to avoid any activities near the volcano and other regions within a 10-kilometer radius from the volcano`s peak.

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                     26 Nov 2017                                                                                                                                                                                 (MOFA)

Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar  received Sunday a copy of credentials of ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Qatar Nguyen Dinh Thao.

AlMuraikhi wished the Ambassador success in his duties, affirming to provide all support to promote the relations between the two friendly countries to closer cooperation in various fields.

Islamabad                                                                                                                                                                                           27 Nov 2017                                                                                                                                                                                        (The News)

ISLAMABAD: Leaders of religious parties on early Monday eventually reached an agreement with the government to amicably end 22-day long Faizabad sit-in.

As per details,  Federal Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Federal Interior Secretary Arshad Mirza signed the agreement from government’s side while Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi, Pir Afzal Qadri and Muhammad Waheed Noor signed the agreement from on behalf of the religious parties.

Earlier, Zahid Hamid  resigned as Federal Law Minister in face of countrywide protests and Faizabad sit–in by religious parties over the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat clause fiasco.

According to reports, Zahid Hamid has tendered his resignation and is waiting for its approval by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Earlier on Sunday, civil and military leaderships decided not to use force against the Tehreek Labaik Pakistan (TLP) protesters staging a sit-in at the Faizabad Interchange of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. It was also decided that Rangers, not the army, will be deployed to deal with the sit-in issue.

Zahid Hamid has resigned as Federal Law Minister in face of countrywide protests and Faizabad sit–in by religious parties over the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat clause fiasco.

Zahid Hamid tendered his resignation after his meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif which was approved by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Hamid  said that he  has resigned for the sake of bringing the ongoing crisis to an end that flared up after a crackdown against the protesters at Faizabad Interchange on Saturday morning.

"In order to restore peace, I have made up my mind to step down."He added.

He denied  any direct involvement  in controversial amendment in Khatam-e-Nabuwwat clause, which was later restored to its original form.

Islamabad                                                                                                                                                                                         27 Nov 2017                                                                                                                                                                                      (Media/The News)

Ahsan Iqbal, Interior Minister of Pakistan was summoned by Islamabad High Court this morning of Monday where he faced barrage of questions from Justice Shaukat Aziz over the agreement signed with the Faizabad protesters.

Ahsan Iqbal was summoned by the high court in Faizabad sit-in for the last 21 days where protesters have blocked main highway of Murree Road and effecting millions of people movements.

He informed the court that an agreement has been reached with the leadership of Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah Pakistan (TLYRA), who had occupied a main highway to the capital since November 6.

Chief Commissioner Islamabad read out the six-clause agreement before the court which called for resignation of Law Minister Zahid Hamid, revocation of cases against the party leaders and release of an inquiry report into the amendment of law and others.

The interior minister, Secretary Interior Arshad Mirza signed the agreement on behalf of the federal government while a senior military official Maj Gen Faiz Hamid acted as a witness to it.

On this, Justice Shaukat sought explanation from the minister over involvement of an army officer. Under which law Gen Hamid acted as a mediator, he asked.

Iqbal assured the court that the sit-in will end soon.

Justice Aziz remarked that the protesters were creating chaos in the capital for the last 21 days but there was no action, where's 'Raddul Fasaad' he asked, referring to army's operation aimed at eliminating residual / latent threat of terrorism.

Would army allow dharna near GHQ, the judge asked.

Later, the hearing was adjourned till next week. After the court appearance, Ahsan Iqbal left the venue without talking to media.