Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                  24 Dec 2017

Ooredoo has today announced that Sealine Yachts as the latest partner to be added to the award-winning Nojoom loyalty programme.

Thanks to the new partnership, members can now earn and redeem Nojoom Points on yacht rentals with the Qatari company, Sealine Yachts, which specialises in providing yacht rentals for all occasions.

Sealine Yacht provides luxurious yachts with seating capacities from two - sixteen passengers  and are equipped with the latest safety and security features.

Redemptions for Sealine Yachts start at just 2,000 points for a QR 50 voucher. Members can present their QID and earn 1 Nojoom Point for every QR 1 they spend while they purchase Sealine’s services.

Every Ooredoo residential customer with a QID can enrol into Nojoom, which enables members to earn Nojoom Points each time they use an Ooredoo service or shop at Nojoom’s earn partners or use their services.

Points can be redeemed at over 220 local and international Nojoom partner outlets.

To find out more about Nojoom, visit Ooredoo.qa.

 

Doha

To mark Qatar National Day (QND), Vodafone Qatar launched its latest short film titled “Nostalgia for the Future” that tells the story of how technology bridges the gap between generations and brings people together. The film, which was proudly shot and produced in Doha using local talent, highlights Vodafone’s on-going commitment to Qatar.

The theme of the film comes as part of Vodafone’s new and dynamic brand, “The Future is Exciting. Ready?”, which represents an invitation from Vodafone to all its customers and the people of Qatar to embrace and enjoy the future together as partners.

In addition, the entire Vodafone team along with their Brand Ambassadors gathered internally on Thursday 14 December in a colourful celebration to mark QND. Vodafone also launched several activities across the country to commemorate QND and as a tribute to the country, exchanged its red brand colour for maroon for its QND campaign.

Fully in line with Qatar’s 2030 National Vision, Vodafone Qatar is committed to providing innovative services and solutions designed to further develop the telecommunications sector in Qatar as the country progresses toward its vision of becoming a knowledge-based economy. Vodafone’s increasingly strong links with all elements of Qatari society allows Vodafone to support the Qatar National Vision 2030 laid out by His Highness, The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

23 Dec 2017                                                                                                                                                                                  (ICC)

A glance at different international teams gives one a fair idea of the alumni of past ICC U19 Cricket World Cups. Just about every side is led by a player who figured in this tournament even though the focus often is on the trio of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson.

That is because these three played together in the 2008 edition and are now acknowledged as being among the best batsmen of their generation while also leading their national sides astutely. The story though is not much different for other teams, nor have the previous or following U19 CWCs been any less productive.

Smith’s batting averages have been astounding in Test cricket with him being on the top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings for two years, while Kohli has consistently been top-ranked in both shorter versions of the game. Kane Williamson too is a regular in the top charts across formats.

But then Joe Root of England, who played in the 2010 tournament, enjoys a similar status in international cricket while Sarfraz Ahmed (Pakistan), Dinesh Chandimal (Sri Lanka), Jason Holder (Windies) and Graeme Cremer (Zimbabwe) are among the others to have been at the helm.

If Kohli led India to victory in 2008, Sarfraz had done so in the edition preceding it. The Pakistan captain also has the distinction of leading his side to victory in a senior ICC competition, an epic win over favourites India in the 2017 Champions Trophy making it one of the most cherished moments in Pakistan’s history.

Kohli credits the U19 CWC for his development and also remembers his contemporaries from the time, as does Williamson.

India captain Virat Kohli: “The ICC U19 World Cup was a very important milestone in my career. It helped us get a good platform to build on and make our careers from thereon, so it holds a very importance place in my mind and heart. It’s very important to understand and respect the opportunity it provides you and as I said, for me, it holds a very special place in my heart.

“I remember playing against Kane. He was someone who always stood out in the team, his batting ability was very different from the other players who were around. Steve (Smith) I did not quite play against at the U19 level, so I didn’t watch him bat, but he has come a long way in his career as well. It is good to know that so many people from that batch, not just three of us captaining our countries, but apart from that a lot of players have played for their respective countries.”

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson: “It is a great stepping stone. Playing international cricket within your age group allows players to see slightly higher standards, the best of the best from the under-19 perspective, so (it is) a great tournament to be involved in.

“It is always fascinating as well that a number of guys you play against and play with, to see their progress. Often, when you meet players, you talk about the Under-19 World Cup. Each team had a few guys who are playing international cricket, which is good..

“You don’t get many opportunities to play World Cups, obviously at the top level – it is once every four years, if you are fortunate enough to be involved. So the opportunity to play at the age-group level is a very exciting opportunity and one that should be enjoyed.”

In the past, there have been captains like Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Sanath Jayasuriya, all alumni of the first edition in 1998 and known for their accomplishments as players rather than of captains, all scoring in excess of 10,000 runs in at least in one form of the game.

Michael Clarke (Australia), Michael Atherton (England), Virender Sehwag (India), Brendan McCullum (New Zealand), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka), Graeme Smith (South Africa), Chris Gayle (Windies) and Tatenda Taibu (Zimbabwe) are among the leading players to come through the U19 CWC system.

U19 World Cup players who went on to lead full-member sides:

Australia – Michael Clarke, Cameron White, George Bailey, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, David Warner

Bangladesh – Rajin Saleh, Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal

England – Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Alastair Cook, Graeme Swann, Eoin Morgan (played in U19 CWC for Ireland but captained England), Joe Root, Jos Butler, James Taylor

India – Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma

Ireland – William Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.

New Zealand – Lee Germon, Chris Cairns, Brendan McCullum, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Kyle Mills, Tom Latham

Pakistan – Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Salman Butt, Azhar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed

Sri Lanka – Sanath Jayasuriya, Thilina Kandamby, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Upul Tharanga, Thisara Perea, Lahiru Thirimanne

South Africa – Graeme Smith, Johan Botha, Hashim Amla, Dean Elgar

Windies – Jimmy Adams, Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Ganga, Ridley Jacobs, Sylvester Joseph, Darren Sammy, Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, Jason Mohammed, Marlon Samuels

Zimbabwe – Tatenda Taibu, Prosper Utseya, Brendan Taylor, Elton Chigumbura, Hamilton Masakadza, Graeme Cremer

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                      23 Dec 2017                                                                                                                                                                              (Vodafone)

Vodafone has delivered online safety workshops at 10 of Qatar’s boys and girls schools. This comes as part of Vodafone’s AmanTECH online safety programme, which aims to equip children, parents and teachers with the right tools to navigate the digital world safely.

The first workshop took place at Al Wajba Primary School followed by Sukina Preparatory School, Rokaya Preparatory Independent School, Ibn Sina Primary School, Al Razi Preparatory School Moath bin Jabal Primary School, Isra Independent Primaray School, Ali Bin Abitalib Preparatory School, Al Taawon Primary School and Hayan Bin Jaber Primary School.

The workshops require the children to perform tasks related to safety online to learn specific skills including identifying fake news vs real, safe online gaming, self-image and reputation online. The children were highly engaged and actively participated in discussions whilst having fun with their peers.

According to the latest statistics, Qatar has one of the highest internet penetrations in the world and the highest social media penetration. Nearly half of Qatari children aged 8-15 own a smartphone, and 76% of children aged 9-16 have a social network profile. The average Qatari 9-16 year-old spends over 3 hours per day on the net which is a considerable amount of time.

Mohammed Al Yami, Director of External Affairs at Vodafone Qatar, said: “Across the Vodafone Group, we have a wealth of experience in developing industry-leading initiatives to help parents and children navigate the online world. We are committed to ensuring that children in Qatar are given the opportunity to make the most of communication technologies for their development while also instilling healthy online habits.”

To address the important need in Qatar for digital literacy, Vodafone launched AmanTECH in 2014 which has been working through a three-pronged approach to reach out to parents, teachers and children aged between 5 and 17 with a focus on awareness, education and technical support.

The AmanTECH programme includes ongoing workshops, an online source for information and tips for parents [www.vodafone.qa/AmanTECH], where online magazines and a digital parenting guide is also available.

Istanbul                                                                                                                                                                                            20 Dec 2017                                                                                                                                                                                    (Andalu News)

Turkey’s president on Wednesday slammed a post retweeted by the United Arab Emirates' foreign minister social media targeting Fahreddin Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Medina from 1916-1919.

In an address to local headmen from across the country in the capital, Ankara, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "It is not a coincidence that those, who think it is a skill to be together with the tyrants at a period when Muslims are under attack and violence, target Fahreddin Pasha."

"Where were your ancestors when our Fahreddin Pasha was defending Medina?" Erdogan asked

His remarks came after U.A.E. Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan retweeted a post on Twitter, which accused Fahreddin Pasha of committing crimes against the local population and theft of their property.

In the post, Turks are accused of stealing "most of the manuscripts of the Mahmudiyah library in the city" and sending them to Turkey.

"These are Erdogan’s ancestors and their history with Arab Muslims,” the tweet read.

Erdogan said: "It seems that you never knew about this [Turkish] nation, and Erdogan, and his ancestors."

About the claims of theft, Erdogan stressed it was not stealing but "protecting the holy relics of the Prophet Mohamed from the invaders".

Fahreddin Pasha sent the holy relics to Istanbul during the British invasion of Hejaz, Erdogan said and told how hard the Ottoman governor tried to protect the relics.

Topkapi Palace in Istanbul hosts the Chamber of the Holy Relics, which contains various relics of Prophet Mohamed, his companions, and other items associated with him.

Similarly, Erdogan said, during the Second World War the relics were also sent to some secret places outside Istanbul for safekeeping.

The issue was also on the agenda of Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin, who on Tuesday tweeted:

"It is a shame that @ABZayed, FM of UAE, retweets this propaganda lie that seeks to turn Turks & Arabs against one another, again.

“It was Fahreddin Pasha who bravely defended Medina against the British plans then. Is attacking President Erdogan at all costs the new fashion now?"

22 Dec 2017                                                                                                                                                                                      (Daily The News)

Pakistan's Kalash community comprising of an estimated 5,000 members has a unique culture and lifestyle that has been a source of major attraction.

'Chitramas', a winter festival is one of the longest festivals celebrated by the Kalash community every year. It starts from 10th December and lasts till 22nd December. It comprises of 50 different ceremonies, some of which are very binding, others not quite so.

All the community members dance and sing together. Men and women come together to perform rituals and sing religious songs, while other rituals are performed in segregation.

Sacrifices of lamb, goat and cow are offered during this festival. On the last day that is 22nd December, all the community members including men, women and children gather at Jastakhan to perform worship.

Kalash community had a Riyasat in Chitral but over the years, some people were killed, others went into hiding, some converted to Islam and now around 5,000 form a community that resides amongst the Hindukush mountains in three valleys of Bamboret, Birir and Rambur in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

They have schools and hospitals in which the new generation is being educated and hopes to keep the tribal uniqueness alive.

The community is known for their hospitality and generosity however, they don't let non-Kalash members in their ceremonies for three days from 18th to 21st December.

The rituals of the community are strictly followed and this can be gauged by the fact that if anyone dies during the festival days, their death is kept a secret till the festival ends. The family of the deceased continues to take part in the celebrations and festivities with others.

"The Chitramas festival is a celebration before the long, tiring hibernation days in which people stay inside their homes and feed on saved food due to extreme weather conditions." said Kalash leader Abdul Khaliq.

Karachi                                                                                                                                                                                                22 Dec 2017                                                                                                                                                                                          (Daily The News)

A Gwadar-bound Pakistan International  domestic flight was delayed for a couple of hours today on Friday at the Jinnah International Airport after pilots sensed danger aboard the aircraft.

Fire tenders and  Commandos from the Airport Security Force (ASF) surrounded the plane on the runway  after  pilot informed the control tower about the danger.

According to Geo TV, after thorough inspection by the security officials the  "danger" aboard the aircraft turned out to be a cat that was hiding in the cockpit .

The flight was given green signal once  it was cleared  by the ASF.

Rawalpindi, Pakistan                                                                                                                                                                          22 Dec 2017

Shortly after Pakistan's Foreign Office strongly reacted to US Vice President Mike Pence remarks, Pakistan Military Spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor has said that allies do not put each other on notice and such statements could undermine efforts against war on terror.

In an interview with a private TV, Director General Inter Services Public Relations, said Pakistan security forces has done what others could not do against the terrorists.

He said Pakistan was dragged into Afghan war, adding that terrorists’ sanctuaries in Afghanistan should be wiped out. Pakistan had long been demanding elimination of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan leadership, hiding in Afghanistan, DG ISPR added.

Major General Asif Ghafoor went on to say, “Pakistan is not fighting against terrorists for money. We received money from US under coalition support fund, which Pakistan spent in this war.”

The military spokesman said Pakistan does not need any US aid but mutual trust.

He said Pakistan’s nuclear assets are safe and Washington itself has acknowledged this.

In an apparent warning to Pakistan during his visit to Afghanistan, Pence said; "Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our efforts in Afghanistan. The days to shelter terrorists have gone. It has much to lose by continuing to harbour terrorists.

"I believe victory is closer than ever before," US media quoted Pence as saying during his meeting with troops.

Earlier, Foreign Office Spokesman strongly reacted to Pence’s remarks, saying allies do not put each other on notice. On notice should be those factors responsible for exponential increase in drug production, expansion of ungoverned spaces, industrial scale corruption, breakdown of governance, and letting Daesh gain a foothold in Afghanistan.

Also focus should be on creating peace and reconciliation mechanisms, the spokesman said and added that “Finally, externalizing blame should be put on notice.”

Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson said that Pence’s statement is at variance with the extensive conversations we have had with the US Administration.

 

Islamabad                                                                                                                                                                                         22 Dec 2017

Strongly reacting to US Vice President Mike Pence’s remarks, Pakistan has said that allies do not put each other on notice.

In a statement Foreign Office Spokesman said, allies do not put each other on notice. On notice should be those factors responsible for exponential increase in drug production, expansion of ungoverned spaces, industrial scale corruption, breakdown of governance, and letting Daesh gain a foothold in Afghanistan.

Also focus should be on creating peace and reconciliation mechanisms, the spokesman said and added that “Finally, externalizing blame should be put on notice.”

Spokesperson said that Pence’s statement is at variance with the extensive conversations we have had with the US Administration.

Soon after the UNGA rejected Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israel capital, the US Vice President Mike Pence landed in Afghanistan for an unannounced visit on Thursday night to meet with Afghan leadership and rally US troops for his first trip to the country as vice president.

In an apparent warning to Pakistan during his visit to Afghanistan, Pence said; "Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our efforts in Afghanistan. The days to shelter terrorists have gone. It has much to lose by continuing to harbour terrorists.

"I believe victory is closer than ever before," US media quoted Pence as saying during his meeting with troops.

According to reports, Pence and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani discussed the changes to the US strategy in Afghanistan, progress against Taliban militants and terrorist groups and the country's delicate political state of affairs.

About an hour and a half later, Pence was back on the military base in Bagram to rally several hundred US troops, thanking them for their service during the holiday season and taking the chance to tout the direction of the new US strategy, US Media reported.

Bamako, Mali                                                                                                                                                                                    21 Dec 2017                                                                                                                                                                                        (QNA)

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani and President of Mali Ibrahim Boubacar Keta discussed bilateral relations and the ways to boost cooperation in various fields, especially economy, investment and sports, in Bamako on Thursday.

They also discussed cooperation between the two countries in combating terrorism.

The Emir and the Malian President witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Qatar and Mali on cooperation in the field of sport.

A MoU was signed by Qatar Fund for Development (QFD) and the Mali government to cooperate in the education sector.

The Malian President thanked the Emir for accepting his invitation to visit Mali.  He said the Emir's visit will enhance ties between the two countries.

The Emir thanked the Malian President and the Malian people for the hospitality that he and the accompanying delegation received.

The Emir said the visit comes as part of deepening ties between the two countries on all fronts.

Later, after his departure from Bamako International Airport, the Emir of State of Qatar sent a cable to the President of Mali, thanking him for the warm reception and honour he received during the visit which provided an opportunity to exchange of views on issues of common concern and a discussion on the ways to support and strengthen the friendship and cooperation ties between the two countries.

The Emir also wished the president health and happiness and wished the people of Mali further development and growth.

Earlier on arrival at the Bamako Int'l Airport, The Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani was received by  Ibrahim Boubacar Keta, President of the Republic of Mali.  Emir of Qatar was given guard of honour on arrival at the Bamako Airport.

Present on the occasion were Abdoulaye Idrissa Maiga, Prime Minister of Mali, a number of ministers, senior officials, Cheick Ahmed Tidiany, ambassador of Mali to the State of Qatar , Abdulrahman Ali Al Kubaisi, ambassador of Qatar to Mali , heads of diplomatic missions in Mali, and officials of Qatari embassy.