ASIA  |  Anniversary
Deputy PM attends Bandung celebrations
HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud yesterday participated in celebrations held to mark the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference which founded the Non-Aligned Movement and the 10th anniversary of the New African-Asian Strategic Partnership, signed by member states in 2005 in Bandung in West Java, Indonesia. The celebration was held as part of activities of the Afro-Asian Summit 2015.  Several heads of state and government from Asian and African nations performed a Bandung Historical Walk, to re-enact a similar walk performed by dozens of leaders from both continents during the 1955 conference.

QATAR  |  Conviction
Expatriate fined for smuggling ‘grenade’
An Arab expatriate was sentenced to a month’s suspended jail term and a fine of QR1,000 by a Doha Criminal Court for being convicted of smuggling a grenade without gunpowder, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported yesterday. The man had landed with his family at Hamad International Airport after a trip to Europe. Upon a search of his luggage, the customs officers found the “grenade” hidden among children’s toys. They estimated the price of the item at QR50,000 and accused the man of  evading the customs officials and referred him to the court.  The accused claimed the grenade, which he described as “a toy sold at very small price in a European country”, was given to his son by a friend.

ASIA  |  Dispute
China rejects robbery claim
Beijing yesterday dismissed an accusation by Manila that the Chinese coastguard robbed Filipino fishermen at gunpoint during a confrontation in the disputed South China Sea, calling the claim “inconsistent with the fact”.  The rebuttal came one day after the Philippine fisheries bureau said that fishermen aboard three vessels with clear Chinese coastguard markings boarded two fishing boats in Scarborough Shoal earlier this month and took the crew’s catch. Page 16

ARAB WORLD  | Discussions
Qatar team for Djibouti meeting
An Advisory Council delegation, representing Qatar, is taking part in the three-day session of the Arab Inter-parliamentary Union (AIPU)  in Djibouti.

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