EMIRATES PLANE CRASH-LANDS IN DUBAI

Transcription

THURSDAY | AUGUST 4, 2016 | SHAWWAL 30, 1437 AH
VOL. 35 NO. 264 | PAGES 32 | BAISAS 200
Editor-in-Chief
ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI
Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising
PO Box 974, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
PELE MAY LIGHT RIO’S OLYMPIC FLAME P25
THE 28-YEAR-OLD ACTIVIST WHO TOOK ON FACEBOOK AND WON P24
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FISH TACKLE OCEAN GLOBAL WARMING BY PRETENDING IT’S NIGHT P30
EMIRATES PLANE CRASH-LANDS IN DUBAI
MIRACULOUS ESCAPE: All 300 on board the plane safe after fire on landing; firefighter loses life while battling the blaze
Muscat airport handles diversions
Muscat International Airport handled diverted flights on Wednesday.
VINOD NAIR
MUSCAT
An Emirates plane is seen after it crash-landed at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday. — Reuters
DUBAI: Three hundred passengers,
including
18
crew
members,
on
an
Emirates
flight
from
Thiruvananthapuram in southern India
had a close escape on Wednesday when
the plane burst into flames after landing at
Dubai airport, its scheduled destination.
Emirates chief executive Shaikh
Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum said that
there were no fatalities, but 13 people
were taken to hospitals with minor
injuries. He added that a firefighter lost
his life while battling the blaze.
“Evacuation
procedures
were
executed professionally. Cabin crew were
the last to leave the plane,” the official said
at a press conference in Dubai.
He added that the Boeing 777 aircraft
was up to date with inspection checks.
“As an operator it’s our duty to apply
all the rules when it comes to safety.”
However, Al Maktoum called for
people to await the findings of an inquiry
into the incident that occurred at 12:45
pm (08:45 GMT), minutes before the
scheduled landing at 12:50 pm.
The incident prompted the closure of
Dubai International Airport, one of the
busiest in the world, for both take-offs
and landings. Departures and arrivals
resumed at 6:30 pm (14:30 GMT) at the
airport, the government Dubai Media
Office reported.
The first to depart was a Gulf Air
flight to Bahrain, and the second a Qatar
Airways flight to Doha, Dubai airport
said. One passenger was quoted by
local Indian media as saying the flight
SAFE
INSIDESTORIES
As an operator, it’s our
duty to apply all the
rules when it comes
to safety. Evacuation
procedures were
executed professionally.
Cabin crew were the last
to leave the plane.
SHAIKH AHMED AL MAKTOUM
Emirates Chief Executive
PRACTICES
came down suddenly while landing and
bounced upwards, with some passengers
suffering minor injuries before escaping
via the emergency escape chute.
They were then taken to a corner of
the tarmac, where some were treated
for their injuries, a Kerala news website
quoted the passenger as telling a local
television channel over the telephone.
A pilot who witnessed the incident
told an Indian news channel that the
plane came in fast and hit the runway tail
first.
“We saw big flames, then the body hit
the runway and the right landing gear
collapsed, followed by the right engine
coming off. Then it skidded for a while
until it stopped,” he said.
TURN TO P5
August 3: The Public Authority for
Civil Aviation (PACA) confirmed to the
Observer that Muscat International
Airport has been handling more air
traffic due to closure of operations at
Dubai airport on Wednesday.
Operations at Dubai had to be
partially or fully suspended after an
Emirates airline flight EK521 arriving
from Thiruvananthapuram in India had
to crash-land at 12.45 pm because of a
mechanical failure.
Dubai airport announced the
resumption of operations at 6.30 pm
with priority given to larger aircraft.
An official source at PACA said: “We
are awaiting details from the ATC to
know the exact number of extra aircraft
Thank God ‘we are all safe’
LAKSHMI KOTHANETH
MUSCAT
While thanking God that “we are
all safe”, Mai said some airport staff
did not know whether the airport
was closed or flights were being
August 3: According to a first-hand
account from Mai al Abria, from Oman, postponed.
“We do not know how to book the
who was at the airport to catch a
flights as all the late flights are full.”
flight to Muscat, “Flights seem to be
Areen al Fahadiya was to have
suspended, but it is very crowded
boarded an Oman Air flight, expected
here. Airport employees told us to
book online for the next flight, but all to leave for Muscat at 3.30 pm.
TURN TO P5
flights are full.”
ALL SET FOR THE BIG DAY
Avoid over-prescription
and over-consumption
of drugs, says WHO
P7
NEPAL LAWMAKERS ELECT MAOIST
CHIEF AS PRIME MINISTER
9
DONALD TRUMP INSISTS HIS
CAMPAIGN IS UNIFIED
P
12
SOUTH AFRICAN VOTE TESTS
ANC HOLD ON CITIES
P
WEATHER TODAY
MUSCAT
MAX: 370C
MIN: 300C
SALALAH
MAX: 260C
MIN: 240C
SUNRISE 05.36 AM
PRAYER TIMINGS
FAJR: 04:13
DHUHR: 12:12
ASR: 15:37
MAGHRIB: 18:47
ISHA: 20:17
NIZWA
MAX: 430C
MIN: 290C
“We strongly advise both medical
practitioners as well as end users to
adopt what is called ‘Rational Use of
Medicines’ as antibiotic resistance is
one of the biggest threats to global
health today as it can affect anyone, of
any age, in any country,” said the WHO
source.
According to experts, all types of
medication — those considered ‘natural’
or those produced in a laboratory, have
some sort of after-effects.
Although prescription drugs are
expected to undergo stringent tests and
clinical trials, federal drug regulators
allow some level of side effects.
World-wide, a large number of
patients suffer or die because of the
side effects of prescription drugs, say
reports. Almost all medications, both
over-the-counter and prescription, have
some kind of after-effects, including
muscle aches to even death.
TURN TO P5
Rural areas will
get broadband
service by 2020
MUSCAT: The approval of the
Council of Ministers for National
Broadband Strategy (NBS) marks an
impressive jump in terms of keeping
pace with modern developments in
the field of broadband and meeting
the needs of the market and operators
of broadband. The Council has
mandated the Ministry of Transport
and Communications to oversee the
implementation of the strategy.
The strategy seeks to overcome
various constraints for expansion of
mobile broadband coverage, including
spectrum limitations, provision of
backhaul connectivity, adding new
towers, limited competition among
broadband providers and high cost to
reach rural areas, which represent 23
per cent of the total population.
DETAILS ON P3
KABEER YOUSUF
MUSCAT
August 3: Over-prescription and overconsumption of medicines are a “social
menace” that needs to be curbed to
safeguard public health and save the
nation’s resources, said a source at
World Health Organization (WHO).
Citing media reports, the source said
that doctors at both government and
private hospitals are in the habit of
prescribing medicines over and above
the required amount.
For instance, a patient with
complaints of seasonal flu is prescribed
an expectorant and painkillers, besides
generic medicine for common flu.
“Since
over-prescription
(of
medicines) puts lives at risk, one
has to be rational when prescribing
medicines,” said the source at the WHO
office in Muscat.
Moderation is required even in the
consumption of medicines, he added.
Over-prescription of medicines
at Public Health Centres (PHCs) are
causing a loss to the tune of millions to
the state exchequer every year.
At the same time, private medical
centres and hospitals are cashing in on
the ministry directive to all companies
to provide insurance cover to their
employees, said the source.
handled at Muscat.”
He said except for flights bound for
Dubai, there have been no delays of
flights operating out of Muscat to other
destinations.
“Resumption of operations at Dubai
will increase congestion in the airspace
as all pending flights will be trying
fly in and out of the city. There will be
also more pressure on us with regards
to aircraft movement,” he said. Oman
Airport Management Company in a
statement said that all facilities at Salalah
and Muscat are in place to handle the
diverted flights. It also announced the
suspension of flights from Muscat and
Salalah to Dubai for at least four hours.
Oman Air too in a statement
announced the uncontrollable delay
due to runway closure at Dubai
International Airport.
A general view of the swimming venue at the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. Just a day ahead of the opening ceremony at the Olympics, organisers say
that 1.3 million tickets remain unsold, an indication that spectator demand for Rio
has lagged behind previous summer games. SEE SPORT PAGES 25 & 26
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OMANDAILYOBSERVER
T H U R S DAY l A U G U ST 4 l 2 0 1 6
MSM index loses 8 points
Muscat Securities Market (MSM) general index 30 yesterday lost 8.1
points, comprising a decline by 0.14 per cent to close at 5,848.21
points, compared to the last session, which stood at 5,856.28 points.
Royal Office Minister visits
ROP-STF Qurayat unit
MUSCAT: Gen Sultan bin Mohammed (STF) in the Wilayat of Qurayat in the on its duties. He also viewed some
shows, exercises and training provided
al Numani, Minister of the Royal Office, Governorate of Muscat.
yesterday visited the Royal Oman
Gen Al Numani toured the unit’s to policemen.
— ONA
Police (ROP) Special Task Force Unit facilities during which he was briefed
Sultanate, Qatar review expertise
in combating pollution
MUSCAT: Mohammed bin
Salim al Toobi, Minister of
Environment and Climate
Affairs, received in his
office yesterday Mohammed
bin Abdullah al Rumaihi,
Minister of Municipality
and Environment, and his
accompanying delegation,
currently
visiting
the
Sultanate.
The two sides reviewed
of
enhancing
means
the
joint
cooperation
between
the
Sultanate
and Qatar, within the
framework of encouraging
cooperation and sharing
experience with the friendly
countries
in
scientific,
research and academic
fields, in addition to the
importance of enhancing
cognitive exchange in the
environmental and climate
affairs areas.
The two sides also
reviewed the advanced
experience
to
protect
the
environment
and
combating pollution, as
well as benefiting from the
international
experiences
and activating them to
promote
sustainable
development level.
The Qatari guest toured
Al Qurum Nature Reserve
during which he familiarised
himself with its natural
components and the exerted
efforts in protecting marine
organisms and birds, besides
reviewing the planting of
mangroves.
— ONA
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Broadband strategy to keep pace with rising needs
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
T H U R S DAY l A U G U S T 4 l 2 0 1 6
3
EXCELLENT CONNECTIVITY: Council of Ministers’ nod comes in response to the growing demand for high-speed broadband Internet services
MUSCAT: The Council of Ministers’
approval of the National Broadband
Strategy (NBS) marks an impressive
leap in terms of keeping pace with the
modern developments in the field of
broadband and meeting needs of the
market and operators in relation to
broadband.
The Council of Ministers mandated
the Ministry of Transport and
Communications to oversee the
strategy implementation, provide the
Council of Ministers with periodic
reports on the work progress and
approve
the
recommendations
proposed hereto.
This important move comes in
response to the growing demand
for high-speed broadband Internet
services during the last few years,
especially since the Internet-based
applications and services have become
an integral part of economic life and a
perquisite for improving the standard
of living of all beneficiaries.
The Sultanate’s NBS is designed in
a manner to ensure that it is in line
with the other national strategies in
a bid to maximise their prevalence
and the socioeconomic benefits
generated by it. By approving the NBS,
the Sultanate’s Government seeks to
FILE PICTURES
overcome several challenges, such as
low percentage of fixed broadband
consumers with slower growth and
high cost of broadband compared to
GDP per head benchmarked across
the region and globally.
The strategy also seeks to overcome
various constraints for expansion of
mobile broadband coverage, including
spectrum limitations, provision of
backhaul connectivity, adding new
towers, limited competition among
broadband providers and high cost to
reach rural areas, which represent 23
per cent of the total population.
The broadband services enable
citizens and expatriates to get high-
SQC-TANNS organises
cultural ceremony
MANAH: The Sultan Qaboos
College for Teaching Arabic to NonNative Speakers (SQC-TANNS) on
Wednesday organised a cultural
ceremony under the patronage of
Hamoud bin Ali al Aisari, Assistant
Secretary General of the Sultan
Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture
The strategy is based
on three main pillars
namely, reviewing telecom
regulatory framework,
stimulating demand
for broadband and
enhancing the broadband
infrastructure
and Science (SQHCCS).
The ceremony included several
programmes including poems
in Arabic, English, German and
Spanish literature translated into
Arabic, in addition to plays and
entertaining activities.
— ONA
speed Internet services at affordable
rates, which will make the services
provided by the various organisations
as per international standards and
more competitive that in turn will
bridge the digital divide.
The strategy is based on three main
pillars namely, reviewing telecom
regulatory framework, stimulating
demand for broadband and enhancing
the broadband infrastructure.
Oman Broadband Company (OBC)
endeavours to provide high quality
infrastructure with high capacity to
cover 50 per cent of the urban areas by
2020 and 95 per cent by 2030. It also
seeks to close the digital divide in the
Women’s role: Balancing family, work DISTURBING TREND
and extra work to ‘make ends meet’ Road crashes
August 3: Residents of Ibri, whose major
water sources of irrigation have been hit, could
breathe a sigh of relief soon as repair works are
in full swing.
Cracks in two of Ibri’s biggest aflaj (canals)
—Al Mabaoth and Al Mafjoor — have hit
the local farmers who depend on them for
irrigation.
A total of 30 young Omani volunteers
are working to repair the aflaj under the
supervision of Sunaidi bin Humaid al Suaily,
a member of the municipal council. The work
is expected to be completed in the next two
months.
The repairs, which began 95 days ago,
include fixing the cracks and desilting the
canals. “We welcome any help to the workers
at the site,” said Al Suaily.
claim 8 lives
this week
AMANI NASSER
MUSCAT
August 3: Moonlighting is something
many would like to take up at some
point in their careers to supplement
their income. With costs skyrocketing
and oil slump adding to the woes, many
in Oman, especially women, have taken
up extra jobs or are considering such a
move.
Money, however, is not the reason
all the time. Some look at it as a way
of gaining experience and improving
skills.
Take Amal Tannaf al Amri, for
instance. A senior nurse at the Renal
Medicine Unit in Ibri Hospital, she
also doubles as a sports coach. A fitness
buff herself, she gives fitness lessons
to women, where she teaches them
different ways of exercising and keeping
fit.
For Amal, extra work is an
“opportunity to improve skills and an
ideal way of increasing incomes”. She
loves sports, and she has been “doing it
for health, not financial, reasons”.
“Balancing a regular job along with
an additional one is a delicate task.
It depends on a person’s ability to set
priorities. A ‘second job’ should never
affect the main job,” she said.
Another employee, a designer in a
government company, said on condition
of anonymity that she works in a law
firm. “It is an excellent way of gaining
experience,” she said. The extra work
also helped her overcome a serious
financial crisis in the family.
Narjees al Manni, who teaches
physics at Al Ghalia bint Nasser School,
Picture for
representation
purpose only
ZAINAB AL NASSRI
MUSCAT
however, refuses to believe an additional
job will help boost career prospects. A
second work can prepare you for life,
but “it will not get you a leg-up”, she
adds.
After spending eight hours at school
every day and looking after children at
home, she is not keen on shouldering an
additional responsibility.
Asma al Guzaili, a chemistry
graduate, thinks a second job is “good
only for men”. “They (men) have to find
new sources of income and not women
because they have a lot of responsibilities
at home, have a career to think of and a
family to take care of.”
On the other hand, she said: “Since
women tend to spend more, they too
need to think of alternative sources of
income.”
Of course, men too have similar
views. Ibrahim al Saraai, a public
relations student at Nizwa University,
feels men should have hobbies such
Cracks in Ibri aflaj to be fixed soon
RAHMA ALI AL KALBANI
MUSCAT
rural areas by providing broadband
network with basic capacity by 2020.
This is in line with the government
vision towards building a knowledgebased economy.
The company builds and operates
the broadband network infrastructure
in a way that meets international quality
standards and become environment
friendly. It seeks to provide the service
to more beneficiaries through novel
ways. To this end, it signed agreements
with other infrastructure providers to
streamline efforts and reduce the cost
of construction, which in turn will
ensure affordable cost for all service
providers.
— ONA
as writing articles or selling products
through Instagram besides a regular job.
Media professional Rashid al Jabri
is “ready to do anything” to make some
extra money.
“If I need money, I will do anything,
even if it means driving a taxi or a water
tanker.”
Issa al Hinai, a clerk at the College of
Sciences at SQU, manages and organises
volunteer teams’ activities during his
free time. “Extra work fetches me
handsome financial rewards, besides
helping make new friends, serve society
and boost my career,” he said.
An engineering professional at Ibri
College of Technology said, “Extra work
is a big booster for women in terms of
knowledge, though I’m not looking at it
from the financial point of view.”
He has no problem if his wife
takes up extra work. “We both have a
responsibility, and it’s all for the welfare
of our children,” he added.
August 3: A total of eight people have
so far died in a spate of horrific vehicle
crashes reported around the Sultanate
this past week.
The most appalling of these mishaps
took place near Sultan Qaboos
University (SQU) just after midnight
on Sunday. Five people lost their lives
when a speeding vehicle careened into
them in a tragedy that has shocked the
capital region and indeed the nation.
Among those who perished were
two policemen preparing an accident
report when the car barreled into them
at around 1.30am.
The shocking incident sparked a
flurry of versions and interpretations
on social media.
On Monday, two Emiratis — part
of a family of tourists returning after a
holiday in rain-bound Salalah — were
killed when their vehicle went off the
road near Haima in central Oman.
The mishap occurred when
the driver lost control of his SUV
apparently as a result of fatigue. He
died in the crash along with his young
son. Four other members of the family
survived with moderate injuries.
Also among the fatalities of the
week was an Indian salesman who
died when his car collided with a
pickup van in Al Kamil near Sur on
Tuesday evening.
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OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Ministry holds workshop
on annual financial reports
MUSCAT: The Ministry of Commerce
and Industry yesterday organised a
workshop on annual financial reports
under the auspices of Ahmed bin
Hassan al Dheeb, Under-Secretary
of the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry.
The workshop aimed at introducing
the annual e-financial report service,
which was launched by the ministry in
June 2016, and how to use it through
“Invest Easy” portal.
report for all government agencies.
This service helps the investor in
The workshop was attended by 25
e-management of the final accounts of representatives from various companies
their institution through Invest Easy and audit offices.
without the need to deliver its financial
— ONA
SAF CHIEF RECEIVES IRANIAN
MILITARY DELEGATION
MUSCAT: Lt Gen Ahmed bin Harith al Nabhani, Chief of Staff of the Sultan’s Armed
Forces (SAF), received in his office at Muaskar Al Murtafa yesterday Brigadier
Mehrali Baranchashmeh, Head of Physical Education Department of Armed Forces
of Iran and his accompanying delegation, currently visiting the Sultanate. The two
sides exchanged talks on several matters of common concern. The visit of the
Iranian delegation comes within the framework of attending the joint coordinating
meeting of the Omani-Iranian Military Friendship Committee, in relation to the
cooperation between the two countries on various sport and military areas.
The meeting was attended by senior SAF officers. — ONA
Boost to military ties with India
MUSCAT: Air Vice Marshal Matar
bin Ali al Obaidani, Commander of
the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO),
received in his office at Muaskar al
Murtafa yesterday Air Vice Marshal
Sreekumar Prabhakaran, Vice Chief
of Air Staff in the friendly Republic
of India and his accompanying
delegation, currently visiting the
Sultanate.
The two sides exchanged viewpoints
and discussed several matters of
common concern in military fields.
The meeting was attended by
Air Commodore Al Zubair bin
Mohammed al Zubair, DirectorGeneral of Operations at the RAFO
Command. — ONA
Khareef boosts water resources
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE: Chances of a good recharge is better this year in Dhofar
KAUSHALENDRA SINGH
SALALAH
August 3: A good khareef excites not
only the tourists, local people of Salalah
and those getting benefited by doing
some business or the other during
the season. It also excites scientists,
agriculturists and weathermen, who
observe khareef from their own
perspective, analyse data and use them
for future planning.
People involved in the water
resources sector find khareef an
important source of groundwater
recharge, as continuous drizzling creates
a situation for horizontal precipitation
in the Salalah coastal plain aquifer.
Dr Khalid al Mushaikhi, Head
Section of Dams and Springs, Water
Resources in Salalah, said it was beyond
doubt that the khareef recharges
groundwater and the chances of good
recharge is better this year due to long
and intense monsoon this year.
“There has been less evaporation
due to absence of intense sunlight and
less run off of water due to drizzling like
condition. Unlike heavy rain, continuous
drizzling charges the groundwater more
because whatever is accumulated goes
directly into the earth,” said Dr Khalid.
He expressed happiness over good
accumulation of water in dams and
springs in Dhofar Governorate due
to the khareef, which is more intense
and likely to have longer duration this
season.
Dr Mahaad Mahaad I Shammas, a
senior faculty in Dhofar University has
done a detailed study on ‘Impact of
Dhofar fogwater forest on groundwater
recharge in the coastal aquifer’ in which
he has thrown light on the connection
between the experimental work in Jabal
Al Qara fogwater forest on horizontal
precipitation and groundwater recharge
to the Salalah coastal plain aquifer.
“The future impact of the forest
continuous decline on the aquifer was
investigated by simulation modelling.
The results of the fieldwork prove that
measured horizontal precipitations
Nobel, HM Prize-winning
Egyptian scientist, 70, dead
(interaction between trees and fogwater)
are considerably higher than measured
vertical precipitations (rainfall) during
the wet monsoon season.
“Simulation modelling of the impact
of reduction in groundwater recharge
originating from the mountain indicated
that the reduction of the tree cover
would result in a significant impact on
the aquifer sustainability,” mentioned Dr
Mahaad in his work.
Ground water scientist Dr Akram
Ali, who works as General Manager
Drilling at Eastern Overseas, finds
khareef as “an important source of
groundwater recharge in Dhofar, as a
minimum of 15,680,000 litres of water
on an average is recharged annually
from the monsoon water.”
“The climate of Salalah is dry and arid,
but the climate changes dramatically
during the monsoon season called
khareef. The mountains surrounding
Salalah work as a controlling factor
in precipitation from the monsoon,”
he said. Salalah has about 30 rain days
per year and monsoon rain account
for about 70 per cent of the rainfall on
the Salalah plain. Average rainfall on
the Salalah plain is typically between
100 and 120 mm per year, whereas it
is much higher, from 230 to 450 mm,
over the mountain areas. The averages
are based on rain guage readings only
and do not include the other significant
but unmeasureable components of
precipitation such as that derived from
interception of mist and fog moisture,”
said Dr Akram.
Dr Ahmed al Shanfari, Director of
the Department of Agricultural and
Livestock Research in Dhofar, finds
khareef beneficial for agriculture in
many ways.
“First of all the plants get enough
irrigation and wash out trees from pests
and diseases. It creates a green house
environment for Salalah and helps the
farmers in many ways,” he said and
added that the problems of papaya
mealybug and other pests were less
during the season.
Haj Mission chairman meets
owners of Haj companies
TAYMORA AL GHAWI
MUSCAT
August 3: Ahmed Zewail, an
Egyptian scientist who had won
the Nobel prize, died on Tuesday.
He was 70 years.
The cause of death is unknown
... whether it is cancer or something
else ... His doctor said his condition
was stable the last time I called him
last week,” a Reuters report said,
citing spokesman Sherif Foad.
A spokesman from California
Institute of Technology, where
he was a faculty member,
confirmed Zewail’s death but
had no information about the
circumstances.
Besides the Nobel chemistry
prize in February 1999 for his work
in femtochemistry, the study of
chemical reactions in ultra-short
time scales, Zewail had won the
Sultan Qaboos Prize in Sciences
and Physics in 1989.
In 2009, he was chosen by
the White House to be one of US
President’s advisers for science and
technology, along with 20 other
scientists.
Zewail was born on February
26, 1946 in Damnhor, Egypt. He
lived in the San Marino city in Los
Angeles.
MUSCAT: Shaikh Nasser bin Yousef
al Azri, Chairman of the Omani Haj
Mission, yesterday met with owners of
Haj companies and campaigns in the
Sultanate.
The meeting began with a review
of new regulations and laws in Saudi
Arabia during the season to serve
pilgrims and the new systems for the
development of performing pilgrimage
in connection with the owners of Haj
companies and campaigns, including
e-payment for Haj companies and
campaigns with respect to housing,
catering and transportation.
The meeting also touched on the role
of the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious
Affairs, being the organiser and
responsible for the Omani Haj Mission.
The meeting highlighted the
provided services by the mission for
Omani pilgrims, in particular and the
campaigns in general.
It also clarified the followed
procedures with regard of campaigns
and services offered by Haj companies
and campaigns, as well as the role of
the mission in taking care of pilgrims,
citizens and residents in the Sultanate.
The meeting also highlighted the
importance and role of Haj campaigns
in serving the pilgrims, transporting
them to the Sacred Lands and taking
care of them and to provide all means
of comfort to them.
— ONA
The workshop will have brainstorming sessions to divide areas for specific innovation
Diving for
the disabled
from Aug 21
MUSCAT: Scuba diving classes
will be conducted for the
physically challenged people
by Oman Disabled Divers in
association with International
Association for Handicapped
Divers (IAHD) and Euro Divers
Oman.
Titled ‘Diving for Disabled
People’, the classes will be held
from August 21 to 23 at the
Marina Al Bandar Rhowda.
“The event will be a
wonderful opportunity for
the handicapped people of
Muscat to experience scuba
diving for the first time,” Karin,
Euro Divers Team (Gulf Divers
LLC), told the Observer.
Scuba diving offers a
unique experience for the
handicapped people as it gives
them the freedom to move
in a weightless environment.
Scuba diving can be enjoyed
by anyone regardless of their
physical/mental ability.
Youth panel offers young
Omanis chance to innovate
AMANI NASSER
MUSCAT
August 3: The National Youth
Commission is planning to hold a
series of workshops and brainstorming
sessions soon to promote the concept of
innovation.
The initiative, founded by a group
of talented and entrepreneurs, aims to
produce a series of YouTube episodes.
Participants must be skilled in seven areas:
designing, script-writing, innovation,
electronic drawing, film direction and
montage.
“The youth will produce 10-12
episodes focusing on innovation culture.
The commission will provide all materials
required. Entries will be received until
mid-August,” said Badriya al Amri, a part
of the Media Committee at the National
Youth Commission.
“Participation will be through phases.
The first process includes registration
through the website, after which we will
meet participants and give them an idea
of the programme. Then, we will have a
brainstorming session to divide ideas to
specific innovation categories,” she said.
Participants must attach samples of
their works as well as personal information
on the commission’s website, www.
nyc.om. Their videos should focus on
exploiting resources and new innovations.
The National Youth Commission
recently launched workshops and
activities to improve skills, national
cadres’ peroration, research programmes
for researchers and experts from the
Sultanate. The commission will celebrate
the Third Omani Youth Day in October
to confirm the necessity of citizenship,
partnership, dialogue and innovation.
o a latenews
oman
ate e s
oman
EMIRATES PLANE CRASH-LANDS
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Avoid over-consumption of drugs
FROM PAGE 1
“Most side effects, however, vary from
person to person, depending on the dosage,
type of disease, age, weight, gender, ethnicity
and overall health,” said a source at a private
hospital. A statement from WHO says drug
prescription habits must follow WHO standard indicators to obtain the desired results.
The regional strategy to promote the rational use of prescribed medicines, updated
at the regional meeting of July 2010, recommended an analysis of medicines in health
care delivery in order to plan a coordinated
approach to improving the use of medicines.
Following the meet, the regional committee adopted Resolution SEA/RC64/R5 and
the national essential drug policy, including
the rational use of medicines.
Accordingly, WHO initiated a global action plan on anti-microbial resistance, including antibiotic resistance, at the World
Health Assembly in May 2015.
This global action plan, titled ‘Antibiotics:
Handle with care’, envisages prevention and
treatment of infectious diseases through safe
and effective medicines.
5
FROM PAGE 1
A video clip shared on social media
appeared to show the plane sliding across
the runway with the right engine becoming
detached from the wing.
A picture posted online by the Gulf News
site showed a plane in Emirates livery with
its fuselage on the ground and emergency
chutes deployed.
Thick clouds of smoke were coming
from the forward and middle sections of the
fuselage, and fire and emergency vehicles
were positioned around the aircraft.
The roof of the plane had completely
collapsed by the time emergency services
extinguished the fire.
Emirates said that the passengers and
crew included 226 Indians, 24 British people
and 11 Emiratis, with the remainder coming
from 17 different nationalities.
In the wake of the incident, Emirates
cancelled 22 flights originating in Dubai
and their return legs as well as six incoming
flights.
“Thankfully there was no fatalities among
our passenger(s) and crew,” Al Maktoum
said in a video message posted by the airline.
“Our first priority in this case...(is) the
well-being of our passengers and crew and
answering the queries from all the family.”
“We have extended our full cooperation
to the (authorities) and emergency service,”
he added.
A German aviation safety consultant said
it seemed unlikely that the plane had suffered
technical problems during the flight.
In that case there would have been major
emergency preparations in the airport and
the aircraft would normally have circled
before landing to use up fuel and prevent any
major fire, Heinrich Grossbonghart said.
The plane appeared to be at the end of the
runway, suggesting the pilot had wanted to
go around for another attempt at landing but
had been unable to complete the manoeuvre,
he added. — dpa
Tropical Storm
bears down on
Central America
GUATEMALA CITY: A
tropical storm, dubbed
Earl and packing nearly
hurricane-force winds, was
to hit northern Central
American countries
Wednesday, prompting
warnings and emergency
planning by authorities.
Earl was moving slowly
westward across the
Caribbean and was expected
to drive across the northern
coast of Honduras and
Guatemala on Wednesday
and slam directly into Belize
late Wednesday or early
Thursday before moving into
southeastern Mexico.
Honduras issued a red
alert for its Caribbean island
group the Bay Islands and
closed airports and schools
in the north.
Officials warned of winds
of 118 kilometres per hour. If
the wind force strengthens
any more, Earl would be
classified as a hurricane.
Belize’s National
Emergency Management
Organization said Earl “is
expected to deteriorate to
hurricane conditions” by late
Wednesday or early Thursday
and warned of heavy rains.
It previously said
extreme flooding, uprooted
trees, power cuts and the
destruction of “poorly
constructed and older timber
buildings” were likely.
Authorities in Belize will
open several shelters early
Thursday.
They told non-essential
government workers they
could go home to secure
their properties.
The US National
Hurricane Center said Earl
was moving westward at 22
kilometres per hour.
It said its winds were
forecast to reach peak
strength by the time it
reaches Belize, and then
weaken progressively as
it moves inland, toward
Mexico.
Very heavy rain in Belize
and Mexico “could result in
life-threatening flash floods
and mud slides,” it said.
— AFP
Thank God ‘we are all safe’
FROM PAGE 1
She was found standing in
a long queue along with her
mother to check into the next
available flight.
“They say it might take
four hours (for resumption of
flights). There are long queues
everywhere, be it the check-in
counters or the coffee shops.
With no place to sit, people are
squatting on floors,” said Areen.
With flights getting delayed,
some passengers were agitated.
The Observer was told that
the flights to Dubai might
be diverted to Al Maktoum
International Airport (Dubai
World Central).
While an announcement
that all departures from the
airport would resume at 18.30
came as a relief to many, some
were sceptical about it.
Meanwhile, the Emirates,
through the social media, said:
“Our priority remains those
involved and offering support to
families and friends concerned.”
Many congratulated the
Emirates crew on the social
media for the safe evacuation of
all passengers.
asia
asia
N Korea fires missile into Japan sea for first time
6
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
TOKYO SLAMS LAUNCH: One missile had landed in the Sea of Japan, another exploded on take off
SEOUL: North Korea on Wednesday
fired a ballistic missile directly into
Japanese-controlled waters for the first
time, drawing an outraged response
from Tokyo and ramping up tensions
with the United States and South Korea.
The US military said the North
had actually launched two Rodong
intermediate-range
missiles
simultaneously, but one appeared to
have exploded on take-off.
The launches followed a North
Korean threat of “physical action”
over the planned deployment of a
sophisticated US anti-missile system
in South Korea, and came just weeks
before the start of large-scale joint South
Korea-US military exercises.
Japan said the one missile had landed
in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), some
250 kilometres (155 miles) off its north
coast and within its Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ). “It’s a serious threat against
our country’s security,” Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe told reporters. “This is an
outrageous act that cannot be tolerated.”
The United States condemned what
it called a clear violation of UN Security
Council resolutions explicitly banning
North Korea’s use of ballistic missile
technology. “This provocation only
serves to increase the international
community’s resolve to counter (North
Korea’s) prohibited activities,” said
Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross. The
European Union said the North was
“clearly violating” its international
obligations set out in multiple UN
Japan names hawkish defence minister
resolutions. Germany’s foreign ministry
said Pyongyang has “deliberately put at
risk the security of another country”.
US Strategic Command said the two
missiles were launched from a site in
western North Korea at around 7:50 am
Seoul time (22:50 GMT Tuesday).
“Initial indications reveal one of the
missiles exploded immediately after
launch, while the second was tracked
over North Korea and into the Sea of
Japan,” it said in a statement.
It was the first time a North Korean
missile has been fired direct into
Japanese waters.
The second stage of a missile fired
over Japan had splashed down inside
the EEZ off Japan’s Pacific Ocean
coast in 1998. Japan’s top government
spokesman Yoshihide Suga slammed
Pyongyang for providing no advance
warning of Wednesday’s test.
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe appointed a conservative
ally as defence minister on Wednesday,
in a cabinet reshuffle that left most key
posts unchanged, and he promised to
speed up the economy’s escape from
deflation and boost regional ties.
New Minister of Defence Tomomi
Inada (pictured), previously the
ruling party policy chief, shares Abe’s
goal of revising the post-war, pacifist
constitution, which some conservatives
consider a humiliating symbol of
Japan’s World War Two defeat.
She also regularly visits Tokyo’s
Yasukuni Shrine for war dead, which
China and South Korea see as a symbol
of Japan’s past militarism.
Japan’s relations with China and
South Korea have often been frayed
by the legacy of Japan’s military
aggression before and during World
War Two.
Abe told a news conference the
economy was his top priority and he
would devote himself to lifting the
country out of deflation, but that he
“From the perspective of the safety
of aircraft and ships, it is an extremely
problematic, dangerous act,” Suga said.
The Rodong is a scaled-up Scud
variant with a maximum range of
around 1,300 kilometres (800 miles).
Pyongyang has conducted a series
of missile tests this year in defiance of
UN sanctions imposed after its fourth
also aimed to mend regional relations
in the face of the threat posed by North
Korea. “We will steadily strengthen ties
with neighbouring countries such as
China and South Korea, and proceed
with talks with Russia for a peace
treaty,” he said, referring to the fact
that Japan and Russia never signed a
treaty after World War Two because of a
territorial dispute.
Inada, a 57-year-old lawyer, is the
second woman to hold the defence
post. The first, Yuriko Koike, who held
the job briefly in 2007, was recently
elected Tokyo governor.
nuclear test in January. On July 19 it
launched three ballistic missiles —
including one Rodong — in an exercise
that the North said simulated a nuclear
strike on the South.
That came just days after Washington
and Seoul announced an agreement to
deploy the US Terminal High Altitude
Area Defence, or THAAD, system in
South Korea by the end of next year —
a move condemned by Pyongyang and
also vehemently opposed by China and
Russia. South Korean Foreign Minister
Yun Byung-Se said on Wednesday’s
missile test only served to “underline the
need to deploy THAAD”.
Tensions on the divided Korean
peninsula are also building up ahead
of an annual South Korea-US military
exercise later this month that involves
tens of thousands of troops. North
Korea says such drills are a provocative
rehearsal for invasion, while Washington
and Seoul insist they are purely defensive
in nature.
Nearly 30,000 US troops are
permanently stationed in South Korea.
Pyongyang has repeatedly warned
of pre-emptive nuclear strikes against
the South and US targets there and
elsewhere, although the main focus of
its nuclear weapons programme is to
develop a credible strike threat against
the US mainland.
Since its fourth nuclear test, North
Korea has claimed a series of technical
breakthroughs
for
its
weapons
programme. It said it had miniaturised
a nuclear warhead and successfully
tested an engine designed for an intercontinental ballistic missile that could
reach the US mainland.
While some experts say the claims
are exaggerated, most acknowledge that
the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile
programmes have made significant
strides.
— AFP
FUTURISTIC TRANSPORT
Volcanic eruptions hit air travel
A model of an innovative street-straddling bus called Transit Elevated Bus is seen after a test run in Qinhuangdao, Hebei
Province, China, on Wednesday. The test bus currently consists of one segment, and is capable of carrying 300 people,
according to local media. — Reuters
Goodbye Jade Rabbit
BEIJING: China’s troubled but beloved Jade
Rabbit lunar rover has whirred its last, state media
said on Wednesday, after it bid humanity farewell
on social media.
The device, designed for a lifespan of a mere
three months, surveyed the moon’s surface for
31 months, the official Xinhua new service said,
overcoming numerous technical problems and
design flaws to become a national icon. But the
machine has stopped operations, Xinhua cited
the State Administration for Science, Technology
and Industry for National Defense as saying on
Wednesday. The rover was part of the Chang’e-3
lunar mission.
Millions of Internet users took part in an online
contest to select its name, which comes from the
pet of a moon goddess in Chinese mythology.
It began its adventure on December 2013,
sending back photographs of the lunar surface
and gaining huge popularity with Internet users
along the way.
Not long after landing its legend grew after a
“mechanical control abnormality” forced it offline,
prompting anxiety from its many supporters.
The rover later turned dormant and stopped
sending signals during the lunar night, which lasts
for two weeks and sees temperatures plummet.
But it made a dramatic recovery, to the delight
of its admirers. It was not clear on which day the
device finally “retired”.
An official media account carried a post
written as a first-person message from the plucky
rover to its fans on Sunday saying: “This time it
really is goodnight.
“There are still many questions I would like
answers too, but I’m the rabbit that has seen
the most stars!” it added. “The moon says it has
prepared a long, long dream for me.”
The post also contained a link to “Universal
Traveler”, a song by French electronica band Air.
It has received nearly 100,000 shares, likes
and comments, with one poster promising it
“countless carrot pies” according to Xinhua.
Another said: “I don’t know why I am so
heartbroken. It’s just a machine after all.”
The Chang’e-3 probe’s landing was the third
such soft-landing in history, and the first of its
kind since a Soviet mission nearly four decades
ago. It has been a source of national pride.
China sees the space programme as a symbol
of its rising global stature and technological
advancement, as well as of the Communist Party’s
success in reversing the fortunes of the onceimpoverished nation.
By 2018 the country aims to land its Chang’e-4
probe — named for the moon goddess in Chinese
mythology — on the dark side of the moon.
— AFP
JAKARTA: Volcanic eruptions
in Indonesia in recent days have
forced the closure of two airports
and disrupted some flights to the
holiday island of Bali, officials said
on Wednesday.
Mount Gamalama on the eastern
island of Ternate erupted early
on Wednesday after a moderate
earthquake in the area, sending ash
up to 600 metres (1,900 feet) into the
air and closing the island’s airport,
said the national disaster agency.
“People are advised to stay calm,”
said agency spokesman Sutopo
Purwo Nugroho, adding that
authorities were not yet planning
evacuations. The airport was
expected to stay shut until Thursday
morning. The volcano had stopped
violently erupting by Wednesday
afternoon. The airport on Lombok
was closed overnight from Monday
to Tuesday due to a drifting ash
Residents look at the Mount Sinabung volcano as it spews volcanic ash near
the Tiga Pancur village in Karo, North Sumatra on Wednesday. — AFP
cloud from erupting Mount Rinjani,
causing the cancellation of 29
domestic and international flights to
the resort island.
The airport on neighbouring
Bali, which attracts millions of
foreign visitors every year, remained
open but several flights between
Lombok and Bali were cancelled
while a handful of services between
Australia and Bali were also axed.
— AFP
Philippine cops kill
six linked to drug
tainted mayor
MANILA:
Philippine
police
commandos killed six bodyguards on
Wednesday who worked for a town
mayor who had turned himself in
over links to the illegal drug trade, as
President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug
war shifted from street peddlers to
officials.
Close to 400 people have been
killed in police operations against
illegal drugs since Duterte was sworn
in as president on June 30.
Media and rights groups have put
the figure almost twice as high at
770, including more than 200 killed
by vigilante groups. The number of
drug-related killings has alarmed
human rights groups, who have called
on the United Nations to condemn
the rise in extrajudicial killings in the
Philippines. The Philippine Senate is
to hold a legislative inquiry.
National
police
spokesman
Dionardo Carlos told reporters there
had been a gunbattle between the
police and bodyguards working for
Rolando Espinosa after police went
to search Espinosa’s home on Leyte
island in the central Philippines earlier
on Wednesday. — AFP
subcontinent
subcontinent
i
Nepal selects Maoist as premier
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
amid revolving-door politics
NEW LEADER: Prachanda becomes 24th prime minister of the Himalyan country
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s parliament on
Wednesday elected Prachanda, who led
a decade-long insurgency that topped
a feudal monarchy, as the Himalayan
nation’s new prime minister, a week
after K P Oli stepped down to avoid a
no-confidence motion.
Nepal has long been mired in
political instability and Prachanda, 61,
becomes its 24th prime minister since
protests led to the establishment of a
multi-party democracy in 1990. He has
served once before, after winning power
in 2008.
Prachanda, whose real name in
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, won 363 votes of
the 573 votes cast in the 595-member
parliament. Lawmkers draped Buddhist
prayer scarves around his neck after he
was elected unopposed.
“I will work for national unity, to
promote the interest of the country and
its people,” the bespectacled leader had
told lawmakers earlier.
The return of Prachanda, who still
uses his nom de guerre, which means
“fierce”, but has lost his former Robin
Hood image, is unlikely to end the
revolving-door politics that has sapped
business confidence in one of the
world’s poorest countries. “I don’t think
he will be stable,” said Guna Raj Luitel,
editor of the daily Nagarik. “There is
no agreement between parties on a
basic agenda for the country. They have
only agreed for convenience, and there
is already a deal to change the prime
minister after nine months.”
Prachanda’s confirmation became
possible with the support of parliament’s
biggest party, the centrist Nepali
Congress, and several smaller parties.
The Maoists are the third biggest group in
the legislature. Under a widely reported
power-sharing deal, Nepali Congress
leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is expected
to take over from Prachanda before
Nepal holds a general election at the
beginning of 2018. Party officials have
declined to comment. The two leaders
make for a disparate combination.
Deuba headed the cabinet that offered
a bounty of Rs 5 million ($50,000) for
Prachanda in 2001, at the peak of the
insurgency. Two years later, Maoist
guerrillas shot up Deuba’s convoy in
west Nepal, but he escaped unhurt.
Nepal’s newly-elected Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, greets supporters as he leaves the Parliament
Building in Kathmandu on Wednesday. Nepal’s parliament elected former guerrilla and Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal as
prime minister on August 3 after his predecessor resigned following deadly unrest over a divisive new constitution. — AFP
7
Tough measures to combat
drugs mooted in Myanmar
YANGON: Military officials and
lawmakers in Myanmar have voiced
disappointment over the southeast
Asian nation’s lacklustre efforts to
combat illegal drugs, urging it to step
up the battle on the narcotics trade.
Drugs pose a major headache for the
government led by Aung San Suu Kyi,
which governs the large, impoverished
and fractious country after winning a
landslide election victory in November.
Most drugs are produced in border
areas controlled by ethnic minority
rebels or by militias allied with the
military.
“The narcotic drug problems have
become perennial ones in Myanmar,
just like in other countries,” the staterun Myanma Alinn Daily on Wednesday
quoted Lt Gen Kyaw Swe, the home
minister, as saying.
Myanmar was directly ruled by
the military until 2011, when a semicivilian government took power. The
Ministry of Home Affairs is one of three
ministries overseen by the military.
The statement came during a twoday discussion of drug-related issues
by nearly 20 lawmakers in parliament’s
upper house. “Some government
employees are engaged in drugs
trafficking and abuse,” lawmaker Okka
Min said on Monday, urging police to
work more closely with ordinary people
to root out traffickers.
“Although the police do not know
who is trafficking the drugs, the people
do,” he added. “When the police try
to arrest the traffickers acting on tipoffs, nobody gets arrested. The culprits
have fled after receiving information in
advance.”
For decades, Myanmar has been
a major producer of opium and its
refined form, heroin, and is now also
a major source of methamphetamine
pills found across Southeast Asia and
beyond, a United Nations agency on
drugs and crime said last year.
Police figures show 49.95 million
of the pills were seized in 2,815 busts
across Myanmar last year.
The deputy home minister, Maj
Gen Aung Soe, enumerated a series of
measures planned to combat the drug
problem.
“More budget will be sought from
the government, the police force will be
expanded and laws to combat narcotic
drugs will be amended, in addition to
promoting educational campaigns,” he
said. — Reuters
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, an emotional and mild-mannered man
Five militants gunned down in Pakistan
KATHMANDU: Pushpa Kamal Dahal
became Nepal’s 39th prime minister
on Wednesday. Dahal, also known
as Prachanda, or the fierce one, was
the leader of the Maoist guerrilla
movement in Nepal during the 19962006 civil war.
He entered mainstream politics
through the Constituent Assembly
elections of 2008, before serving as
prime minister from 2008-2009.
Dahal was forced to resign in
May 2009 after then-president Ram
BaranYadav opposed his attempt to
sack army chief Rookmangud Katawal.
ISLAMABAD: At least five militants were
killed in a shootout with security forces in
Pakistan’s northwest on Wednesday, the
media reported. The exchange of firing
was triggered off when militants opened
fire at security forces in Kailash area of
Chitral district, a district located near
Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The forces responded and killed five
Frequent changes of government are
blamed on politicians who are seen as
selfish and power hungry, and who show
little concern for the plight of Nepal’s
28 million people. Nearly a quarter live
on less than $2 a day. Politics in Nepal,
which has great potential to generate
hydroelectric power, is closely watched
by giant neighbours China and India as
they vie for influence over the country
that is home to Mount Everest and the
birthplace of Lord Buddha.
In 2008, Prachanda visited China
Dahal has received criticism for the
luxurious lifestyle he has enjoyed since
joining mainstream politics.
He has also been criticised by
hardline Maoists for “wavering” from
their original stance and becoming
like “conventional Nepali politicians,”
leading the main Maoist party to
fragment into splinter groups.
Baburam Bhattarai, seen as his main
opponent within the party, went on to
form his own party, Naya Shakti, earlier
this year.
Born in Dhikurpokhari, Kaski district,
Dahal has a degree in agriculture
before India, breaking a tradition of new
Nepali leaders making New Delhi their
first foreign port of call. n a March visit,
Oli cosied up to China with a deal to use
its ports for trading goods with third
countries, ruffling feathers in India,
which controls landlocked Nepal’s main
overland trade route.
India is blamed in Nepal for
imposing a blockade on fuel and
essential goods last year after its
Madhesi minority protested against
the first post-monarchy constitution.
and worked briefly as a development
worker in Nepal’s villages.
Between 1996-2006, Prachanda
lived an underground life in Nepal’s
forests training the rebels. Bhattarai was
seen as the movement’s face during
this time. Despite being a former rebel
leader who was at the forefront of the
Maoist movement for years, Dahal is
known to be a mild-mannered and
emotional politician.
Photographs taken during the
period of the Maoist insurgency show
Dahal crying over the death of his
soldiers. — dpa
India denies the accusation. Prachanda
said his government would continue
the pacts Oli signed with China and
India. The Madhesis, mostly southern
plains dwellers with ties to India, say
the charter weakens their position in
the central government by dividing
their homeland. The new leader also
faces a huge reconstruction effort after
earthquakes that killed 9,000 people last
year, besides overseeing settlement of
war crimes cases against the Maoists and
the security forces. — Reuters
militants, while their accomplices fled
the scene. The incident happened after
Afghan Taliban launched two attacks in
Chitral district, in the country’s northwest
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and stole
hundreds of cattle. In one of the attacks
on Sunday, the Afghan Taliban killed two
shepherds and took away their herd of
over 400 cattle with them. — IANS
Chinese ship docks at Bangladesh port
DHAKA: Operations at Bangladesh’s
Payra Sea Port were unofficially flagged
off with the anchorage of a commercial
vessel from China. MV Fortune Bird
reached the outer anchorage of the port
in southwestern of Patuakhali district
on Monday afternoon. The port will be
officially inaugurated in a ceremony on
August 13, Payra Port Authority Chairman
Captain Saidur Rahman told bdnews24.
com. The vessel, however, could not
unload the 53,000 tonnes stone, mostly
for the Padma Bridge, due to bad weather,
Captain Saidur said. Several other foreign
ships would reach the port in the next
few days.
“Ships depend on high tide in other
ports, but there is no such problem
with Payra port because of its deep
navigability. Ships can travel to the port
24 hours a day,” the chairman added.
— IANS
FLOOD HAVOC IN MYANMAR
Bangladesh police kill suspect in minority murders
DHAKA: Bangladesh police shot dead a hardline
leader suspected in a series of recent killings targeting
foreigners and religious minorities, an official said on
Wednesday.
Nazrul Islam, 28, was killed on Tuesday in a
shoot-out with police, who said he had been involved
in at least 11 murders and two other attempts and
was a senior leader of the banned group Jamayetul
Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
Dhaka police described Islam, also known as Bike
Hasan, as a “top JMB terrorist” and said they recovered
a pistol and bullets from the site of the gunfight.
Bangladesh blames the JMB for a recent wave of
killings that have raised fears for the safety of religious
minorities in the country.
“He was shot dead during a gunfight at Mahendra
Crossing in Rajshahi city early Tuesday morning when
we raided the area,” the city’s police commissioner
Shafiqul Islam said. “Later we learned that the person
killed in the raid was the notorious Bike Hasan.”
The 28-year-old earned the nickname for his skills
on the motorbikes that the men behind the wave of
killings have frequently used to make a quick getaway,
Islam said.
“It’s a major success in our ongoing drive against
extremists,” he added.
Police suspect Nazrul Islam of involvement in the
murder of at least five Hindu men as well as a Japanese
farmer shot dead in northern Bangladesh last year.
He is also accused in the killings of a liberal
university professor, a leader of the minority Sufi faith
and a Christian grocer. Bangladesh authorities are
under pressure to crack down on extremism in the
world’s third largest Muslim-majority nation after a
recent increase in gruesome attacks.
Five gunmen stormed an upscale cafe in the capital
on July 1, killing 20 mainly foreign hostages and two
police officers in Bangladesh’s deadliest single militant
attack of recent years.
— AFP
A resident rides a wooden boat as other residents wade through floodwaters at a
village in Mandalay on Wednesday. Floods from monsoon rains have claimed two
lives in Myanmar’s Kachin state and displaced some 120,000 people in five regions
across the country’s north and central areas, a Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and
Resettlement official said on Wednesday. — AFP
The farmers have also taken an economic blow as hundreds of their livestock have been stolen by militants from across the border in Afghanistan
Pakistan’s Kalash tribe fears for survival after recent attacks
ISLAMABAD: Still reeling from the
brutal slaying of two of its people, the
Kalash tribe, known to keep to itself,
has urged the government step up to
the plate and ensure the security of its
people.
Apart from an emotional toll, the
farmers have also taken an economic
blow as hundreds of their livestock were
stolen allegedly by militants from across
the border in Afghanistan.
“The only livelihood and source of
income we have is through agriculture
and our livestock,” said Baaghi Gul,
the sister-in-law of slain farmer Noor
Ahmed. “If that too is taken away, what
are we left with?” she questioned.
Her brother was among the two men
killed in Charagah, Bahbaret in Upper
Chitral.
Ahmed’s nephew, an eyewitness,
said he would also have been killed
had he not managed to escape from a
hole created by water flowing through a
glacier.
Talking about that brutal incident,
the 16-year-old boy said he and his
uncles were sleeping near the animals.
He added Ahmed woke up at around
5 am to milk the goats when the attack
took place. Ahmed called out to him,
telling the boy not to come any closer as
there was danger.
The teenager recalled he and his
other uncle grabbed their pistol and
ventured out, only to see Ahmed falling
to machine gun fire. When the assailants
turned their attention to the boy, he
managed to narrowly escape.
The victim’s house, in mourning over
the death caused by Friday morning’s
attack, had Ahmed’s father, an aged man,
sitting inside. The man found it difficult
to overcome the grief caused by his son’s
murder.
In a corner of the room sat Ahmed’s
wife, draped in a black chador as is
customary for a Kalash widows.
She has to remain in this state for
seven days after the death and cannot
attend any ceremony for five months.
Besides her, Ahmed is survived by nine
children. Three days before the attack,
locals said they had seen some people
moving about suspiciously in the area.
This is the second such incident being
mourned by the family in just a few
years. Around two years ago, Ahmed’s
cousin’s son was also killed and at least
500 of his goats were taken away.
Residents of Kalash valleys believed it
was just the people of their community
that was being targeted, adding the
livestock of Muslims was also present in
the area.
It is not just the locals who are
targeted, but also those working for
their well-being. Athanassios Lerounis,
a Greek volunteer, was working in the
valley a few years ago. He had, among
other things, constructed a school, a
museum and a place for Kalash women
to wash their clothes and perform other
chores. However, he was abducted in
2010.
After much effort and negotiations,
he was released in 2011 and later left
Chitral due to the obvious threat to his
security.
Another foreigner, a Spaniard called
Jordi, was also killed, said a minority
councillor in the valley. She said Jiordi
had been living in the valley for some
time before he was killed in 2002.
A boy from Birir, living with him as a
helper, was also slain.
Under such circumstances, it is hardly
surprising that the Kalash community
fears for its safety and ultimate survival.
— Internews
analysis
analysis
l
8
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
THE CRISSCROSS OF RACE
AND GENDER IN MEDIA
SONIA AMBROSIO DE NELSON
[email protected]
W
inning her Democratic Party nomination for the 2016 presidential election in
November, Hillary Clinton has brought new dynamics into the race for the Oval
Office in the United States.
Her perseverance and goal oriented crusade saw no obstacles.
Looking back into the race in 2008, the battle between senators Barack Obama
and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidential
election offered two forms of political mobilisation: ethnicity and gender.
Just as Barack Obama’s campaign had empowered African-Americans, Senator
Clinton’s run had inspired women across the United States.
The context was a media spectacle as well as a sociological case for in-depth
studies on unconscious bias in voters’ attitudes and the media stereotyping role —
particularly — during the political campaign.
However, the failure of Hillary Clinton in reaching the Democratic Party’s
nomination 8 years ago should not be seen as a problem of gender.
From the beginning, Hillary Clinton projected herself as the candidate better
fit for the presidency. Womanhood was not originally the focus of her campaign:
experience was Senator Clinton entered the race with the winning ticket in her
hands — she had the name recognition like few other candidates.
Clinton showed fighting spirit persistence and toughness.
Yet it has both inspired and annoyed many people.
Critics would claim that she reached such high phase of political influence
because of her role as a former first lady and as a senator.
As a woman running for the commander-in-chief post for one of the most
powerful military country in the world, Clinton projected an iron will and
toughness that earned her remarks for being harsh and sometimes cold. Even
though, some of her most vehement female supporters complained of sexism in
the media. However, media gender stereotyping woman who seeks political office
is said to be as old as political institutions themselves.
Hillary Clinton, throughout her pursuit for the White House, has exhibited
a mix of skills from a tough person to a sensitive girl to the point to identify
herself with the ordinary woman who stays home baking cookies, one of her own
expressions to mark herself out from the ordinary homemakers.
During her years as First Lady, she attracted public and media attention.
Hillary had broken all the norms.
Probably as a consequence of her political performance and exposure, she
received the largest proportion of negative media coverage than any previous First
Lady. Then as a senator, Clinton started her 2008 campaign saying she wanted to
shatter the ultimate glass ceiling.
From the start, she showed she can take the punch.
But researchers such as Crystal Hoyt explain that when a woman is tough,
people tend not to like her. Professor Lynn Sanders, from the University of
Virginia, thinks that Hillary had successfully neutralised gender as an issue.
So, any assumption that sexism has hurt Clinton’s chances in the past and in
the 2016 electoral campaign is open to question since it has been reported that she
had surpassed almost every milestone for a politician, male or female, seeking to
occupy the White House. A female president in the United States is long overdue.
The question then is, if rich and poor countries around the world are able to
vote for or nominate a female leader, why one of the most powerful nations in
the world is not able to elect one of the most politically influential women in the
country?
For Kathleen Dolan, a political scientist at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee, Hillary Clinton is the only woman who could have done this- twice.
When the role of women in politics in other countries is compared to the United
States, it becomes clear that the US is lagging behind in this area.
Though, Clinton is not the first woman to seek the office.
Victoria Claflin Woodhull, at the age of 34, ran in the 1872 election as the
Equal Party nominee. She had Frederick Douglas, an African-American running
as her vice president.
Other four intentional candidates were Gracie Allen in 1940, Shirley Chisholm
and Linda Jenness in 1972, and Jill Stein in 2012.
Indian prime time needs truce
SANJEEV SRIVASTAVA
T
better part of his career, I will admit that if my phone
wo of the biggest stars of Indian News TV — Barkha Dutt was being thus tapped one could have also chanced upon
and Arnab Goswami — are now fighting in full public conversations with some politician friends that could have
glare. The gloves are off. And how! That this would happen been misconstrued without knowing the proper context.
— sooner or later — was inevitable.
By the way, there is a conversation in those tapes where
The signs were there for anyone who cared to see.
Niira Radia is criticising me for being a “show off and a loud
And not many viewers of prime time news were mouth”. Meanwhile, Arnab was emerging as the knight in
oblivious to these almost impossible-to-miss the signals.
shining armour in the collective consciousness of Indian
These were the not-so-subtle innuendos, the in-your- chattering classes. Raising issues of corruption in UPA-II,
face suggestions, mocking not just the style of journalism he was unsparing and clearly partisan.
and presentation of the other, but also questioning each
But he was riding on the common man’s disgust with the
government, was on the right side of public perception and
other’s motives and ideology.
Prime time news became an
soon created an almost embarrassing
obsession with a section of the English
gap between himself and others in
elite. It became a heady cocktail which
the ratings game. He did not always
combined pain and pleasure, ecstasy
follow journalism ethics and enjoyed
and agony in equal measure. News Prime time news became
tossing out — from the NewsHour
became secondary.
windows — rules of fair play and
balance. Others in the TV news
So did the debates. As star anchors an obsession with a section
became gladiators, the viewers began of the English elite. It
genre either followed him or did not
to behave more like spectators in a
change.
became a heady cocktail
Roman arena; baying for blood and
Not so much because she
constantly looking for their evening which combined pain and
supported the Congress and the
fix of adrenaline rather than reasoned, pleasure, ecstasy and agony
UPA but because she was seen as a
well-articulated arguments. So the
die-hard Modi critic, an enemy in
in equal measure. News
writing was on the wall.
the eyes of Modi bhakts.
On the other hand and largely
It all began with the second term became secondary.
of the United Progressive Alliance
thanks to his anti-establishment
government (UPA-II). Times Now
image and his relentless campaign
was climbing the ratings charts on
against the UPA — which
the back of its coverage of the 26/11
interestingly continued even after the
Mumbai terror attack.
Congress lost the 2014 elections — Arnab is now perceived
And then — out of nowhere — came the Radia Tapes.
as a supporter of the Modi government.
In the controversy that followed, Barkha Dutt’s
The Barkha-Arnab slugfest is now not just about
credibility took a hit. She has never fully recovered from clashing egos and contrasting styles, it’s about who is on
the episode. Those were difficult times for her. The more which side of our sharply polarised polity.
she tried to defend herself, the more she tied herself in
So Arnab, please stop calling journalists names on your
knots. She argued well, with an equal measure of logic and show. We are still a democracy. Allow them the freedom to
emotion. But she lost out on public perception and there’s tell a story as they want to. And Barkha, the shoe may be on
no fighting that. And here’s my disclaimer.
someone else’s foot today but it does not behove you to call
As somebody who has been a reporter/editor for a anyone a “chamcha”.
Aleppo residents defiant as rebels launch push to break siege
WEEDAH HAMZAH
S
moke has been rising over the streets
of eastern Aleppo, shattered by years of
Syrian government air raids and shelling.
Activists and children have been making
bonfires from car tires across the rebelheld enclave.
According to videos posted to social
media, they hope the reduced visibility
will make it harder for warplanes to find
targets. Eastern Aleppo last month took its
heaviest blow since rebels seized control
in 2012: Syrian forces backed by Russian
air strikes severed the Castello Road, the
enclave’s last route to the outside world.
A humanitarian catastrophe seemed
in the making. The UN warned that
food supplies for the enclave’s estimated
250,000 to 300,000 residents were likely to
run out in mid-August.
Local medical officials said there were
only about 20 medical specialists left, and
only two hospitals still operating after air
strikes put other facilities out of action.
Russia, whose air campaign has turned
the tide in favour of Syrian President
Bashar al Assad’s overstretched forces,
announced it would begin a major
humanitarian operation in the city.
The government would open three
humanitarian corridors for both civilians
and rebel fighters wishing to leave, Russian
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
In the Salaheddine neighbourhood
where one of the corridors is supposed
to have been opened, activist Kenan is
scornful.
“Hear the buzzing of the sniper fire; it
Rebel-held eastern Aleppo,
after enduring years of Syrian
air strikes and shelling, is
now facing a suffocating
siege. But many locals would
rather trust in a rebel counteroffensive than in Russian and
government promises that
they can cross the frontlines.
is still over our heads,” he tells over Skype.
Through the camera of his laptop,
Kenan — who, like others in eastern
Aleppo, prefers for security reasons to be
known only by his first name — shows the
area where the corridor is supposed to be.
It is a deserted no-man’s land, with
rubble marking the division between
rebel-held east and government territory
in western Aleppo.
“Do you see people gathering, can you
see women and children?” he questioned.
Syrian state media has reported that
dozens of families and some opposition
fighters have left western Aleppo
through the safe corridors, but the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
a monitoring group, puts the figure at
precisely twelve persons.
Local resident Abdullah, 32, says he
thought about using the corridor to get his
wife and three children to safety.
But, he says, “I was told that the
regime snipers could target them. One
opposition checkpoint in (the) Bustan
al Qasr (neighbourhood) said that my
family can pass but I am responsible for
what they could face.”
Men read one of the leaflets dropped by the Syrian army over opposition-held Aleppo
districts asking residents to cooperate with the military.
— Reuters
a a ys s
analysis
analysis
i
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
9
Everything in existence exists for a specific purpose
T
AHMED AL HARTHY
[email protected]
he 20th and 21st centuries have seen religion come
under scrutiny due to the advancement of scientific
understanding and the sudden rise of religious
extremism.
Religious belief has become, to the likes of
prominent atheists Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris,
irrational and, to an extent, evil. This does not mean
that religion went unquestioned and unchallenged
before the modern day.
Philosophers have long been pondering questions
pertaining to the unseen.
Why are we here? Does God exist? If so, which
god is he? And so on. Religious faith and the belief in
god were put under the magnifying glass during the
Age of Enlightenment, where no claim or proposition
was left unchallenged.
Religious thinkers were thus prompted to
justify and rationalise their beliefs by constructing
arguments that they believed were strong enough to
stand the barrage of scientific inquiry and the waves
of scepticism. It is for this that religion was in dire
need of a robust, but logical, defence.
This article looks at one such defence — William
Paley’s watchmaker argument. Paley’s argument is
an example of a teleological argument. The word
teleology comes from the Greek word telos which
means ‘end’ or ‘purpose’. The second half of the
word comes from the Greek word logos i.e. ‘study
of’. Hence, teleological arguments are constructed to
argue that everything in existence exists for a specific
purpose.
A purpose indicates a will, a will indicates a
personality, and that personality is god.
Such purposes are intrinsic in nature; they exist
regardless of human will.
Teleological arguments can be seen as a direct
response to the agnostic and atheistic position that
the universe and everything in existence is a product
of chance or of necessity.
Aristotle once said: “It is absurd to suppose that
ends are not present [in nature] because we do not see
an agent deliberating”.
William Paley provides an analogy to illustrate
his reasoning. Suppose you were walking in a garden
and you were to come across a rock lying on the grass.
One would think the rock had been lying there for
eternity; you would have no reason to doubt this.
Suppose you continued walking and then stumbled
across a fully-functioning watch — with all its
machinery and cogs suitably placed to be able to tell
time. To assume that the watch, like the rock, had lain
there forever would be absurd to Paley.
One would need to attribute the watch to a
watchmaker. Similarly, the universe with its apparent
fine-tuning and its harmonious flow of planets and
stars must be attributed to a designer — we cannot
say that it has existed forever.
The reasoning for such a comparison is due to the
universe being too suitable for life that it cannot be a
product of chance. The physical constants that make
up and hold up the basic fabrics of our universe are
perfect for life and for the formation of the universe.
Even the processes that led to the formation
of the universe were “finely-tuned” to allow for its
formation. It is well established that if the Big Bang
occurred a split second faster than it did, the initial
particles would have flown too far away from each
other to form the universe.
In examining the similarities between a watch
and the universe, one finds that the only thing they
have in common is their complexity and harmonious
functions. However this does not automatically mean
that harmony and complexity warrant a designer.
A watch is already known to be a human
invention. On the other hand, no one can be certain
that the universe was created by a deity.
David Hume was one of the first to spot the
weakness of analogical arguments, and despite
developing his arguments before Paley’s work,
Hume’s arguments provide a direct line of refutations
against the watchmaker argument.
One of Hume’s main criticisms was of the
analogical nature of the argument, whose faults are
aforementioned.
Hume believes it is not logically sound to compare
a watch to the universe, as we have multiple watches
by which to compare but only one such universe in
existence. The monotheistic traditions posit a perfect,
eternal and all-powerful being as being god.
However, our universe observes that like produces
like and thus a perfect god would automatically
create a perfect universe. Surely, according to
Hume, a perfect god would not allow for fault lines,
earthquakes and disease to be a part of his desired
universe. Furthermore, in regard to Hume assuming
that this imperfect world results in there being a God
that intends or allows evil to occur with in it, German
philosopher Gottfried Leibniz seems to provide an
adequate response.
Leibniz argues that the universe created by god is
the most perfect an imperfect universe can be.
The universe has a considerable amount of good
and the least amount of evil in it; if this was not the
case then we would all be leading depressed lives.
According to Leibniz, this is the only possible
world we can ever hope to live in as without this small
amount of evil, the good in the world would not be
manifest.
Leibniz uses the example of courage to illustrate
this point. If there was no fear, courage would not
even exist as a trait. Similarly, without sadness or such
negative feelings, we would not know or experience
the meaning of happiness. In other words, evil
provides contrast in our lives.
Using analogies is always tricky when building
arguments, and should one decide to use them they
must be careful in deciding its variables.
Paley might have avoided much of the criticism
should he have refrained from using this analogy in
his teleological argument.
Alternatively, Paley could have used a more
appropriate comparison.
Instead of using a stone as a variable, Paley could
have used a more complex variable such as the sun
which, like the watch, also tells time.
However, one would question if an analogy is
ever suitable in trying to compare god’s (or nature’s)
handiwork with that of man.
MAOIST-TURNED PM
PAAVAN MATHEMA
N
A supporter photographs Donald Trump during a campaign event at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Virginia.
epal’s new Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal spent years hiding
out in the jungle directing a guerrilla war against the state, before
transforming his Maoist revolutionary movement into a political party.
The charismatic 61-year-old — better known by his nom-de-guerre
Prachanda (“the fierce one”) — recruited thousands into his Maoist
army with a rousing call to end centuries of feudal inequality and
overthrow a 240-year-old monarchy.
The ten-year insurgency he led brought the Nepali state to its knees
as the Maoists won control of large swathes of countryside.
After a 2006 peace agreement the father-of-four made a triumphant
entry into politics, becoming prime minister for the first time after his
party won elections in 2008.
But the gloss quickly wore off and he resigned just nine months later
after the president blocked his efforts to sack the army chief in a row
over the integration of former Maoist fighters.
Prachanda was born a Brahmin — the highest Hindu caste — but his
family was poor and he spent his childhood herding goats and buffalo.
The extreme poverty he witnessed first hand in rural Nepal spurred
an interest in far-left ideology and he joined a communist party in 1980
at the age of 25.
He worked as a teacher, but gradually became convinced that an
armed insurgency was the only way to bring radical change to one of
the world’s poorest countries. Inspired by China’s Cultural Revolution,
he launched the “People’s War” in 1996, recruiting thousands of
youngsters including children into his Maoist army.
In recent years many former guerrillas have quit the party, accusing
Prachanda and other leaders of betraying their sacrifices.
He has come under fire for his lavish lifestyle, notably
when it emerged that he had rented a sprawling estate in
Kathmandu that includes a 15-room mansion, parking space for
more than a dozen vehicles, a building to house 70 guards and a table
tennis room.
“He began to be seen as (someone) attracted to not just money and
power but also to people outside the movement who were rich and
powerful, abandoning the rank and file and alienating his base,” said
Aditya Adhikari, an author and expert on the Maoist movement.
— Reuters
Donald Trump insists the campaign is unified
DOINA CHIACU
R
epublican Donald Trump insisted on
Wednesday that his presidential campaign
is unified, even as he faces open revolt from
some in his party amid one of the most
disruptive controversies of his unruly White
House run.
“There is great unity in my campaign,
perhaps greater than ever before. I want
to thank everyone for your tremendous
support. Beat Crooked H!” the Republican
nominee wrote on Twitter early on
Wednesday, referring to Democratic rival
Hillary Clinton.
The message belied the chaos that has
erupted in the Republican Party after the
New York real estate magnate engaged for
days in a public dispute with the parents of a
Muslim American soldier who died in Iraq.
The uproar has led many Republicans to
distance themselves from Trump and voice
support for the Khan family.
Several media outlets reported on
Wednesday that the campaign is in disarray
and that Trump had rejected advice from his
staff to drop the battle with the Khans.
According to one news report, the
Republican National Committee is looking
at its options in case Trump drops out.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus is furious
about the dispute with the Khans and has
spoken with Trump repeatedly asking him
to change course, ABC News reported on
Wednesday.
It said senior officials are looking into how
to replace Trump on the Republican ticket
for the November 8 election. The Trump
campaign had no immediate comment on
The uproar has led many
Republicans to distance
themselves from Trump and
voice support for the Khan
family. Several media outlets
reported that the campaign is
in disarray and that Trump had
rejected advice from his staff to
drop the battle with the Khans.
the report.
Late on Tuesday, Meg Whitman, a
prominent Republican fundraiser and chief
executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise,
endorsed Clinton’s White House bid, calling
Trump an “authoritarian character” and a
threat to democracy.
In an interview with The New York Times,
Whitman said it was time “to put country
first before party.”
Trump has had a running dispute
with Khizr and Ghazala Khan since they
took the stage at last week’s Democratic
National Convention to cite their son’s
sacrifice and criticise Trump’s proposal
to combat terrorism by temporarily
banning Muslims from entering the United
States.
Many Republican leaders, including
House of Representatives Speaker Paul
Ryan and Senator John McCain, have
criticised Trump’s attacks on the parents
of Army Captain Humayun Khan, who
received the Bronze Star Medal after he
died in Iraq in 2004.
Trump hit back on Tuesday by denying
both Ryan and McCain support in their
re-election bids, in an interview with The
Washington Post.
Even Trump’s longtime ally, New
Jersey Governor Chris Christie, said on
Tuesday it was inappropriate to criticise
the Khan family.
Representative Richard Hanna of
New York became the first Republican in
Congress to endorse Clinton, although
several other Republicans in Congress have
said they will not support Trump.
The dispute over Trump’s treatment of
the Khans, coming just two weeks after he
was formally anointed the White House
nominee at the Republicans’ convention,
was the latest rift in a party already frayed by
internal dissent over Trump.
A former reality TV star who has never
held public office, Trump swept aside 16
rivals to win the party primary contests,
winning support particularly from white
blue-collar workers who feel neglected by
the political establishment.
His plans have included the ban on
minorities and building a wall along
the Mexican border to keep out illegal
immigrants.
He has also proposed renegotiating trade
treaties, opening up to Russia, revamping
Nato and has suggested Japan and South
Korea should get nuclear weapons.
ESTABLISHED ON 15 NOVEMBER 1981
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili
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india
iindia
d 2 buses with 22 washed away in
10
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Kejriwal framing my family: AAP MLA
AAP MLA and a former minister, Asim Ahmed Khan, on Wednesday accused Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal of trying to frame his family members in false cases and threatened to
“expose” him. Khan said: “I know many things which would create problem for him (Kejriwal).
This is why he want to frame my family members to silence me. But I will soon expose him.”
IN BRIEF
Arunachal
cabinet
expanded
ITANAGAR: In its first expansion
of the cabinet, Arunachal Pradesh
Chief Minister Pema Khandu on
Wednesday expanded his cabinet
by inducting 10 ministers including
former Speaker Nabam Rebia.
Governor
Tathagata
Roy
administered the oath of office and
secrecy to the newly appointed
ministers at Darbar Hall of the Raj
Bhavan.
Khandu was sworn in as the
Chief Minister on July 17, ending
months of political instability in the
hilly state.
The same day, senior Congress
leader Chowna Mein was sworn in
as Deputy Chief Minister.
Those included in the cabinet
on Wednesday include Tanga
Byaling, Rajesh Tacho, Nabam
Rebia, Honchun Ngandam, Wangki
Lowang,
Kamlung
Mossang,
Tapang Taloh, Kumar Waii, Takam
Pario and Jomde Kena. All of them
were sworn in as cabinet ministers.
— IANS
Mid-air crash
averted over
Guwahati
GUWAHATI: Two Indigo aircraft
miraculously escaped colliding with
one another over Guwahati, leaving
some passengers and crew members
shaken and needing medical aid,
officials said on Wednesday.
At least four passengers and
two cabin crew were shaken by
the near disaster, a spokesman for
Indigo Airlines said. The passengers
complained of giddiness while the
cabin crew needed first aid.
The incident took place on
Tuesday evening when an Indigo
flight from Mumbai to Guwahati
was about to land at the Lokapriya
Gopinath Bordoloi International
Airport. Just then, an Indigo
flight bound for Chennai took off,
crossing the flight path of the first
aircraft.
“The IndiGo flight en route to
Guwahati experienced turbulence
due to monsoon,” said the Indigo
spokesman, adding this caused it
to climb down by 250-300 feet, just
when the Chennai-bound aircraft
was taking off. The spokesman said
the flight finally made a normal
landing. The four passengers and
two cabin crew were given medical
assistance. — IANS
Oppn moves
no-confidence
motion in Goa
PANAJI: The opposition in Goa on
Wednesday formally moved a noconfidence motion against the BJPled coalition government.
Nine opposition members,
including seven from the Congress,
supported the motion of noconfidence that was allowed by
Speaker Anant Shet.
Earlier, the opposition staged
a walkout during Question Hour,
accusing the treasury benches
and the Speaker of conspiring to
ensure that questions critical of the
government were missing from the
day’s roster.
“Pointed questions related to the
offshore casino parked near the Dr
Salim Ali bird sanctuary, garbage
collection scam and a question
related to purchase of government
vehicles which we had asked
are suspiciously missing today,”
legislator Vijai Sardesai said.
Chief Minister Laxmikant
Parsekar said: “The opposition
MLAs have asked the questions to
the wrong department. — IANS
Maharashtra as bridge collapses
MONSOON TRAGEDY: The sheer force of flood waters built up huge pressure on the bridge
RAIGAD (MAHARASHTRA): At
least two buses with 22 people and
four to five private vehicles were
washed away early on Wednesday
in flood waters after a British-era
bridge collapsed on the Mumbai-Goa
highway, authorities said.
Till late evening there was no trace
of either the Maharashtra State Road
Transport Corp buses or the other
vehicles after they plunged into the
swollen Savitri river in Raigad district,
officials said.
The Maharashtra government,
National Disaster Response Force, Navy
and Coast Guard launched a massive
air and sea operation. Two bodies were
found amid fears that all the vehicles
may have been washed away to the
Arabian Sea in the coastal Konkan
region.
Because the buses were plying at
night, they carried only 11 people each,
Raigad Collector Sheetal Ugale said.
Both buses were headed to Mumbai.
One started from Jaigad, driven
by S S Kamble with V K Desai as the
conductor. The other set off from
Rajapur with E S Munde at its wheels
and P B Shirke as its conductor.
In the afternoon, Munde’s bag
and tiffin box were recovered a short
distance away from the tragedy
site. The disaster struck after heavy
rains flooded the Savitri river, which
originates in Mahabaleshwar and flows
through Ratnagiri-Raigad districts.
The sheer force of the flood waters
built up huge pressure on the sevendecade-old bridge near Mahad around
midnight and it collapsed, with around
Bystanders watch as rescue personnel use a boat to patrol near the scene of a bridge collapse over the River Savitri in Raigad
district some 100kms south of Mumbai on Wednesday. — AFP
a dozen piers totally washed out by the
gushing waters.
“The bridge was built during the
British era,” Ugale said.
Traffic on the route has been diverted
to a new parallel bridge nearby.
By late afternoon, grieving relatives
of the passengers on the two buses
and one of the private vehicles reached
Mahad and anxiously waited for
information about the fate of their kin.
Stunned by the tragedy, MSRDC
Minister Eknath Shinde ordered a
structural safety audit of all bridges on
the busy and treacherous Mumbai-Goa
highway, especially in view of the 10day Ganeshotsav next month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
called up Maharashtra Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis and offered help
in the rescue work. Railway Minister
Suresh Prabhu ordered deployment of
railway medical teams.
Fadnavis, his ministers and
opposition
leader
Radhakrishna
Vikhe-Patil rushed to the spot. Raigad
Collector Ugale and Superintendent
of Police Suvez Haque monitored the
LURING KIDS
rescue operations.
Fadnavis announced a probe into
the incident. Incessant rains continued
to hamper rescue operations in the
region.
Rains also continued to lash the
entire coastal Konkan region as well as
northern and western Maharashtra.
The tragedy found its echo in
Parliament and the Maharashtra
assembly where several opposition
leaders attacked the government for not
shutting down the old bridge though it
had exceeded its lifespan. —IANS
YSR Congress
protests in LS
over special
status to AP
NEW DELHI: Despite an assurance
from the government that a solution
will be found to Andhra Pradesh’s
demand for special status, members
of the YSR Congress on Wednesday
continued their protest in the Lok
Sabha — the assurance has, however,
convinced NDA ally Telugu Desam
Party (TDP) to stay away from the
demonstration.
As soon as the lower house
assembled to begin the day’s
proceedings and took up the
conventional
Question
Hour,
members from YSR Congress, Andhra
Pradesh-based regional outfit, trooped
near the speaker’s podium.
The party members raised slogans
like “we want justice” and “give special
status to Andhra”.
“You continue with the protest
despite the statement by the Finance
Minister, why do you do that,” Speaker
Sumitra Mahajan was heard asking the
agitating members.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had
on Tuesday assured the members
that the issue of special status
for the southern state was under
consideration.
Making a brief intervention amid
noisy scenes in the house on Tuesday,
Jaitley had said: “The government
stands by the commitments it has
made in supporting Andhra Pradesh
to the fullest. Even today, I have had
a word with Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and
we are trying to find a solution.”
TDP leader and union Minister of
State for Science and Technology YS
Chowdary on Tuesday told reporters
that his party will maintain a “wait and
watch policy”. — IANS
V S Achuthanandan named
head of Kerala reforms panel
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former
Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan,
who was in contention for the top
political post in Kerala after the
May 16 assembly elections, was on
Wednesday appointed chairman
of the Administrative Reforms
Committee (ARC), a post carrying
cabinet status.
Now, all eyes are on 92-year-old
veteran leader, who remained the
Chief Minister of Kerala during 200611, whether he will accept the post.
After Pinarayi Vijayan was
made the Chief Minister of the Left
Democratic Front (LDF) government
in May, Achuthanandan categorically
said that none of those who know
him will believe he is hankering after
any post.
Sources close to the former chief
minister said once he receives the
government notification, cleared on
Wednesday by the state Cabinet, he
will speak to the media.
It is the first time that a former
Chief Minister has been given
the ARC post. On two previous
occasions, the ARC was headed
by serving Chief Ministers — E M
S Namboodiripad and later by E K
Nayanar.
Senior Indian Civil Service officer
M K Vellodi, who also served as a
diplomat, also led the ARC at one
point of time.
The ARC post is seen as an
attempt to mollify the veteran who
was aiming for the chief minister’s
post for the second time after
leading the LDF to a huge win in the
May 16 assembly polls.
Last month, the Kerala assembly
amended a 1951 rule to enable a
legislator to take up the post of ARC
chairman, which was opposed by
the Congress-led opposition.
— IANS
A vendor arranges stuffed animals and plush toys outside his shop at a wholesale market in Hyderabad on Wednesday. — AFP
Court rejected Roy’s plea to sell Sahara’s property on its own to raise money to return investors’ deposits
Deposit Rs 300 cr, says SC; extends Sahara chief parole
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
on Wednesday extended the parole of
Sahara chief Subrata Roy till September
16 and directed him to deposit another
Rs 300 crore to continue to stay out of
jail.
Asking Sahara to deposit Rs 300
crore, a bench of Chief Justice T S
Thakur, Justice Anil R Dave and Justice
A K Sikri gave the Sahara chief time
till September 15 to deposit the money,
orally observing that failing this he will
be sent back to the Tihar jail here.
“It goes without saying that you will
go back (to jail) if you don’t deposit Rs
300 crore,” Chief Justice Thakur observed
as Kapil Sibal, appearing for Roy, urged
the apex court not to say in its order that
default in depositing Rs 300 crore would
result in the return journey to jail.
Roy was granted parole on May 6
after his mother passed away on May 5.
His
son-in-law
Ashok
Roy
Choudhary too was granted parole. The
parole was extended for two months
on May 11. Thereafter, it was extended
till August 3 and, on Wednesday, till
September 16.
Besides directing for the deposit
of Rs 300 crore, the bench said that
Sahara would give a list of its immovable
properties to Securities Exchange Board
of India that it wants to sell.
The court rejected Roy’s plea to be
permitted to sell Sahara’s property on its
own to raise money to return investors’
deposits collected in 2008 and 2009
through Optionally Fully Convertible
Debentures (OFCDs).
“We will not allow. Stop playing these
games with us. We are tired of it,” the
Chief Justice observed as Sibal urged
the court: “Please allow me to sell the
properties, (and tell market regulator
Besides directing for the
deposit of Rs 300 crore,
the bench said that Sahara
would give a list of its
immovable properties to
Securities Exchange Board of
India that it wants to sell
SEBI) don’t go ahead with the e-auction
of his properties.”
Seeking a free hand for Sahara to sell
its assets instead of market regulator
SEBI, Sibal told the bench that he
(Subrata Roy) would get better buyers
than what market regulator was getting
through e-auctioning.
The bench was told that if permitted
a free hand, Sahara would sell properties
at 110 per cent of the prevailing circle
rates. Referring to one of the assets
about which Sibal said there was a
buyer willing to pay much more than
the highest prices that SEBI got through
e-auctioning, the bench told him to
direct that buyer to approach the market
regulator.
Telling the court that his business has
improved ever since he was set free on
parole on May 6, Subrata Roy told the
bench: “I have to give confidence in the
market that now I am out.”
He said this while assuring the court
that if allowed to act on his own he would
bring the money within one and a half
years. Sibal offered to file an undertaking
to that affect.
The bench reminded Sibal of the
group’s earlier claim that its worth was
Rs 1,87,000 crore. “You know how many
zeros are there,” the Chief Justice asked
Sibal. Sibal told the court that whatever
cash that the SEBI was getting over and
above Rs 5,000 crore should be kept as
margin money to get a bank guarantee
of Rs 5,000 crore which it is negotiating
with Canara Bank. — IANS
india
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Parliament passes tax reform
Removal of unmanned level-crossings sought
Most rail accidents take place around unmanned level-crossings, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu told
the Lok Sabha on Wednesday calling for the removal of such crossings as a national priority. “To remove
unmanned level crossings should become national priority because most accidents happen there,” Prabhu
told the members during Question Hour.
CRISIS SOLUTION
Saudi to assist
thousands of
stranded workers
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has agreed
to assist thousands of laid-off Indian
workers stranded in the kingdom
without money or food, an Indian
minister said on Wednesday.
More than 6,200 of the stranded
Indian workers were employed by
construction firm Saudi Oger, a
conglomerate owned by the family
of former Lebanese prime minister
Saad al Hariri, which has been unable
to pay workers’ salaries for months,
according to Indian officials.
India’s junior foreign minister
Vijay Kumar Singh, visiting Riyadh
on Wednesday to meet Saudi Labour
Minister Mufrej al Haqbani, said
the Saudi government had provided
assurances that it would resolve the
crisis and ensure workers’ financial
claims were pursued, even if the
workers returned home.
“Things are not as bad as they
have been shown and projected,” the
minister said in joint remarks with
Haqbani after their meeting.
“Things are very fine. We are in
constant touch with all the officials
and the various departments of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Haqbani said Saudi Arabia’s King
Salman had directed officials to take
all measures to resolve the problem at
the government’s expense, and Riyadh
would hire lawyers to pursue the
workers’ claims and make sure their
rights were respected.
A total of about 7,700 Indian
workers were stranded, according to
Indian officials. Of these, 4,072 were
staying in worker camps in Riyadh
while 2,153 were in Jeddah.
— Reuters
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OMANDAILYOBSERVER
IN BRIEF
bill aimed at common market
ECONOMIC BOOST: GST is one of the most significant tax reforms in the history of India
NEW DELHI: India’s upper house of
parliament backed a major tax reform
on Wednesday that seeks to transform
the country into a common market,
though opposition benches urged
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley not to
overtax businesses and consumers.
A bill allowing the constitution to be
amended so that a nationwide Goods
and Services Tax (GST) could be rolled
out was held up for years by political infighting. Its passage marks a victory for
Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he
eyes an economic boost for Asia’s thirdlargest economy.
“GST is one of the most significant
tax reforms in the history of India,”
Jaitley told lawmakers.
The finance minister vowed to roll
out the new sales tax as soon as possible,
but refrained from committing to a
firm schedule after missing the original
launch date of April 2016.
The measure would harmonise 11
state and central levies into a national
sales tax, reducing business transaction
costs. Economists at HSBC forecast
the GST would produce a boost of 0.8
percentage points in India’s economic
growth within three to five years.
The gains are far from granted,
however, and much will depend on its
implementation, in particular pitching
the tax at the right level to offset
possible revenue losses without fuelling
inflation.
A government-appointed panel has
suggested a standard GST rate of 17-18
percent but Indian states want a higher
level.
Morgan Stanley reckons a higher
A customer buys plastic items at a shop in New Delhi on Wednesday. — AFP
rate could push up retail inflation by
as much as 70 basis points. That should
worry Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) faces tough tests in crucial
state elections next year.
“There is most definitely a risk that
the GST will contribute to a pickup
in inflation,” said Amitabh Dubey, an
analyst at Trusted Sources. “That will
contribute to negative sentiment.”
The Modi government’s most
ambitious reform has been a long time
coming. The Indian leader had wanted
the GST to come into effect in April
2016, hoping to reap its economic
dividends in time for his expected reelection bid in 2019.
Although the measure enjoyed
broad political support, its passage was
blocked by differences over its design,
and a series of compromises agreed to
win over states risks diluting the tax’s
impact.
The two-year-old deadlock was
broken only after the government
offered concessions to the opposition
Congress party, which had originally
proposed the GST while in power but
has opposed what it termed as a “flawed”
tax.
P Chidambaram, Jaitley’s predecessor
and a senior Congress leader, blamed the
government for the deadlock. “It could
have been resolved in five minutes,” he
said. “But the government was rather
stubborn.”
Chidambaram warned of the risk of
“creeping taxation” and urged capping
the GST rate by law at 18 percent to
ensure it is “non-inflationary, acceptable
to public and an efficient way of taxing
without tax evasion”. He also asked for
safeguards to prevent any tinkering in
the rate without the approval from both
houses of parliament.
The passage of the constitutional
amendment bill on Wednesday kicks off
a legislative marathon in which both the
federal and state parliaments will need
to pass further laws setting the rate and
scope of the GST.
Tax experts say that passing further
legislation, training tax collectors, setting
up IT systems and preparing companies
for the new tax regime makes launching
the GST by next April, the start of the
next financial year, very challenging.
If all goes well, they say, a July or
October 2017 start date looks more
probable. — Reuters
Government seeks mercy for 17
Indians on death row in Kuwait
FLOWERY DAY
R A K SINGH
NEW DELHI
Customers buy flowers at a wholesale flower market in Hyderabad on Wednesday. — AFP
August 3: The Indian government has
approached the Kuwaiti government
with a request to show mercy to 17
Indians on death row in Kuwaiti jails,
facing the capital punishment following
their conviction in various serious crimes,
including drug trafficking.
The government is hopeful that
Kuwait will show mercy to the Indians
on death row and commute their death
sentences into life imprisonment.
The government apprised the
Parliament of its daunting task to secure
mercy for the 17 condemned Indian
prisoners in Kuwait, amid the unfolding
humanitarian crisis involving nearly
10,000 jobless, migrant Indian workers
in Saudi Arabia, with the government
obliged to take up the Herculean task of
evacuating them.
“There are 17 Indian nationals in
Kuwaiti jails, awarded death penalty after
being convicted to serious crimes.
13 of them are on death row on
charges of drug trafficking,” Minister
of State (External Affairs) Gen (Retd) V
K Singh told the Lok Sabha yesterday,
in response to a query whether the
government has received any request to
rescue Indians, facing death sentences
in Kuwait, for their involvement in drug
trafficking there.
“Our Mission (in Kuwait) has taken up
the matter with the Kuwaiti government,
requesting them to show mercy
and commute their sentences to life
imprisonment,” said the minister.
A senior MEA official later told the
Observer, “We are pretty hopeful that the
Kuwait government will show mercy to
the condemned Indian prisoners.”
The disturbing information about
17 Indians facing death penalty in
Kuwait has come close on the heels of
information about the stay of execution
of Indian national Gurdip Singh, who was
to be executed on the night intervening
July 28-29 on drug charges in Indonesia,
but was not been put to death following
the last minute request by Indian
government.
Responding to Lok Sabha members
query, Singh also told the House that
“India and Kuwait have signed an
Agreement for the Transfer of Sentenced
Persons, which came into force in April
2015.”
“This however, does not provide for
transfer of prisoners on death sentences,”
said Singh.
Chief Minister said women are now empowered and they would not allow family members to consume or store liquor
Women support Bihar’s stringent prohibition law
PATNA: The fairer gender in Bihar
are all for prohibition of liquor. While
the men are divided over the Bihar
Prohibition and Excise Bill 2016 that
was recently passed by the assembly,
women in the state are happy that the
legislation will ensure a complete ban on
liquor in the state.
“After constructing roads and
providing electricity in the last 10 years,
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (pictured)
has now done a good job by banning
liquor,” said Munia Devi, a resident of
Gaunpura village near Patna. “No one
will dare to violate the stringent law,” she
said.
Clearly, she doesn’t see the law to be
11
draconian as has been suggested by a
large number of men and the BJP.
Munia is not alone. A similar
sentiment was expressed by Shanti Devi,
a vegetable vendor at Pethia Bazaar on
Patna’s outskirts. “We don’t care whether
it is draconian or not. What matters
is that the liquor ban should be total.
Women suffer the most because of
liquor trade,” she said.
“Liquor ban is good for us. My
husband, who spent half of his daily
earnings on liquor, now saves money for
the family,” said Shanti. Both Munia and
Shanti thanked the chief minister for
imposing prohibition in April.
It’s not much different in middle class
families where the prohibition has been
welcomed by the women.
Manorama Singh, a mother of two,
said only a tough law can ensure a total
liquor ban. “There are hundreds of rules
to control pollution and smoking in
public places. But no one cares to adhere
to those rules. But here the liquor ban
has been strictly implemented. The new
legislation will address the loopholes
that might be there,” she said.
Mamata Sharma, a school teacher in
Naubatpur, said the new legislation will
create fear among the liquor mafia who
take advantage of the shortcomings in
the old prohibition law.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who
lauded the support he received, has
said that women are now empowered
and they would not allow their family
members to consume or store liquor in
their houses.
Under the law, all adult members of
the family could be arrested if liquor was
found stored in any household. But this
has certainly irked many men. Sumit
Kumar is one of those not happy with
the new law. “The new prohibition law is
like a Talibani diktat.
Any one can be targeted by the police
in the name of prohibition. It is wrong,”
he said, adding that the BJP has rightly
called the legislation as draconian.
— IANS
Sonia shifted
to Ganga Ram
Hospital, stable
NEW DELHI: Congress President
Sonia Gandhi was on Wednesday
shifted to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
here and was likely to undergo
further tests for the fever and high
blood pressure that she was suffering
from, doctors said.
“Soniaji was brought to our
hospital around 1.30 pm. Her
condition is stable now. Senior doctors
are attending on her,” a senior doctor
said. Earlier, Gandhi, who took ill in
Varanasi on Tuesday, was admitted
to the Army Research and Referral
Hospital. According to doctors, she
suffered from dehydration, fever and
high blood pressure.
A Ganga Ram Hospital doctor,
who did not wish to be named, said
that a medical board was being set up
to study the Congress chief ’s health.
She has previously been treated
for several health complications,
including chest infection, at the
Ganga Ram Hospital. A health
bulletin issued by the Ganga Ram
Hospital stated that Gandhi’s
condition was stable. — IANS
Higher grant for
martyred armed
personnel
CHANDIGARH: The Haryana
government
on
Wednesday
announced that it has increased
ex-gratia grant given to the family
members of Armed Forces personnel
who die in the line of duty.
“The revised rate of ex-gratia for
battle casualties which occurred on
or after March 24,2016, has been
enhanced from Rs 20,00,000 to Rs
50,00,000.
It is in case of death in war or IED
Blast and action against militants
or terrorist or border skirmishes,”
a spokesman of the Haryana
government said.
The benefit will include martyrs
from the Army, Navy and Air Force
belonging to Haryana.
“In case of death declared as battle
casualty by the defence authorities,
irrespective of any operation or
any specified area of operation,
defence forces personnel posted in
United Nation Peace Keeping Force
and accidents like air crash, motor
transport accident, accident at sea,
heart attack and loss of life during
natural calamities, the rate of exgratia has been enhanced from Rs
20,00,000 to Rs 50,00,000,” the
spokesman said. — IANS
Bulandshahr
incident causes
ruckus in RS
NEW DELHI: The gang-rape in
Bulandshahr and other atrocities
against women were raised in the
Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, creating
a brief ruckus as several members
demanded a discussion on the matter.
The issue was raised by Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati
in the upper house, who accused the
government of remaining silent on
the issue.
Samajwadi Party member Jaya
Bachchan also said there should be
no politics on the issue of women, and
added there should be a discussion
on it. Congress leader Ambika
Soni, meanwhile, said it was not the
parliament members, but ministers
of the Uttar Pradesh government
who are playing politics on the issue.
A woman and her daughter were
gang-raped in Bulandshahr in Uttar
Pradesh last week after their car was
stopped on highway by robbers.
In another incident, a 19-year-old
schoolteacher was allegedly gangraped by three men in Uttar Pradesh’s
Bareilly on Tuesday. — IANS
t eworld
the
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world
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OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Test for ANC as S Africa
votes in local elections
TUNNEL RIDE
VOTERS AGAINST GOVT: Party risks losing control of key cities
Engine driver Daniel Schaerer drives a train to the northern gates of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world’s longest train
tunnel, during a media visit, near the town of Erstfeld, Switzerland on Wednesday. — Reuters
Technocrat
Chahed new
Tunisia PM
S Sudan president fires
ministers allied to rival
TUNIS: Tunisia’s President Beji
Caid Essebsi named a littleknown technocrat as prime
minister on Wednesday after
parliament ousted Habib Essid in
a vote of no-confidence over his
handling of economic reforms
and security.
Opposition parties quickly
denounced the appointment of
Youssef Chahed, an agricultural
science specialist and junior
minister under Essid, saying
he lacked the credentials for
the job and had been chosen
simply because he was a pliant
ally of the president. Since its
2011 revolution to oust Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has
grown into a model of democracy
in a turbulent region. But militant
attacks on tourist spots last year
have tested the government, and
political infighting in the ruling
coalition has slowed economic
progress needed to ease social
tensions especially among the
young employed.
— AFP
JUBA: South Sudan’s President Salva
Kiir fired six ministers allied to his longtime rival Riek Machar late on Tuesday,
widening a political rift in the world’s
newest nation and drawing threats of
more fighting.
Kiir filled the vacant posts, including
that of petroleum minister, with
people linked to a breakaway faction
of Machar’s SPLM-IO party, further
aggravating divisions between senior
politicians in the oil-producing nation.
About 60,000 people have fled an
outbreak of fighting between the two
men’s supporters over the past three
weeks, the United Nations says, on top
of the hundreds of thousands already
forced to flee in two years of ethnically
charged violence.
UN emergency relief coordinator,
Stephen O’Brien, said the violence
and “the culture of impunity” must
stop before the humanitarian crisis
worsened even further.“The people
of this country have suffered far too
much. There is no military solution to
this conflict, the fighting must stop and
the atrocities must end immediately,” he
told a news conference during a visit to
Juba. Both sides agreed a peace deal last
year and set up a unity government.
But the ceasefire broke down several
times and Machar left the capital last
month, demanding an international
force intervene to keep their forces
apart. The chaos has dismayed regional
and world powers who helped broker
South Sudan’s secession from Sudan in
2011, and had hoped its independence
would draw a line under decades of war
and instability that spread across east
Africa. Kiir dismissed the ministers
of the interior, petroleum, higher
education, labour, water, as well as lands
and housing in a statement read out on
state television.
The replacements were made on
the recommendation of Vice-President
Taban Deng Gai, who announced he
was taking over the SPLM-IO in July.
“We are not surprised by the steps
taken by... Kiir and Taban Deng Gai,”
Machar’s deputy spokesman, Nyarji
Jermlili Roman, said.
— AFP
JOHANNESBURG: South Africans
voted on Wednesday in closely contested
municipal elections that could deal a
heavy blow to the African National
Congress (ANC), which has ruled since
leading the struggle to end apartheid.
Nelson Mandela’s former party risks
losing control of key cities including
the capital Pretoria, the economic
hub Johannesburg and coastal Port
Elizabeth, according to some polls.
Development in South Africa has
been patchy since Mandela won the
first multi-racial elections in 1994, with
many black communities still enduring
poor housing, inadequate education
and a lack of opportunities.
With the economy stalling and
unemployment hitting record levels, the
main opposition Democratic Alliance
(DA) and the radical leftist Economic
Freedom Fighters (EFF) both hope to
secure major gains.
In Johannesburg’s Soweto township,
residents queued to vote at a school
near the former homes of Mandela
and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. “We
are tired of this self-serving leadership.
People are tired, even grannies are sick
and tired of this government,” Nathi
Mulaudzi, a 40-year-old unemployed
truck driver, said.
But President Jacob Zuma retains
widespread support, especially in
rural areas, and the ANC’s patronage
network and deep coffers could help it
maintain a hold in the majority of the
278 municipalities.
“There are so many negative things
that are said about ANC but I’m thinking
about what (Mandela) went through
under apartheid so I’m just doing it
for him,” said Lebogang Maponyane, a
43-year-old unemployed woman from
Soweto, after voting for the ANC.
The election is seen by some as a
referendum on Zuma, who has been
weakened by corruption scandals, court
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu holds his balot paper before he casts his vote
during the elections in Milnerton, Cape Town, on Wednesday. — AFP
cases and dire economic data, including
an unemployment rate of 27 per cent
and zero per cent GDP growth.
The DA, which controls in Cape
Town, is looking to take new cities and
build momentum ahead on the 2019
general election.
“It is a historic day today, we have
got to do everything in our power to
vote for change. This is our moment,”
said Mmusi Maimane, the party’s first
black leader, as he cast his ballot in
Johannesburg.
The final polls by Ipsos showed
the DA ahead in Nelson Mandela Bay
(Port Elizabeth) and in a close fight in
Tshwane (Pretoria) and Johannesburg.
The results, most of which are
expected on Thursday, may pile pressure
on Zuma, 74, to step down before his
second term ends in 2019.
He exuded confidence as he voted
in his rural village Nkandla, where
publicly-funded upgrades to his
sprawling homestead have been one
of the biggest controversies of his
administration.
Adding to the vote uncertainty is the
revolutionary socialist EFF party, which
has not stood in municipal elections
before, but has drawn large crowds to its
rallies.
“EFF will perform very well,” party
leader Julius Malema said after he voted
in the northern province of Limpopo.
“Young people will come out — they
are not apathetic and politically active
and the EFF will mobilise them.”
The party, which won six per cent
of the vote in the 2014 general election,
advocates land redistribution without
compensation and the nationalisation
of mines.
“If ANC lose some big metros, it will
be a dire situation for President Zuma,”
Judith February, a researcher with the
Institute of Security Studies, said.
“It would be hugely symbolic to lose
Nelson Mandela Bay or Johannesburg
— cities of black workers. But we should
never underestimate the ANC.”
With polling due to end at 1700
GMT, voters are choosing mayors and
other local representatives responsible
for hot-button issues including water,
sanitation and power supplies. — AFP
Australia reject uranium mine over tiny creatures
SYDNEY: Australian environmental authorities on
Wednesday rejected a Canadian bid to build a mine at
a major uranium deposit due to fears the project could
threaten tiny underground wildlife.
Cameco, one of the world’s biggest publicly listed
uranium producers, wants to develop the Yeelirrie deposit
in Western Australia after buying it from BHP Billiton four
years ago.
But the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)
said on Wednesday the project could threaten the viability
of some species of tiny subterranean fauna.
“The stygofauna habitat at Yeelirrie is particularly rich,
with 73 species recorded,” said its chairman Tom Hatton.
He said despite Cameco’s “well-considered management
strategies” the EPA concluded that “there was too great a
chance of a loss of species that are restricted to the impact
area”. Stygofauna, named after the Styx river in Greek
mythology, are blind and colourless. Most live exclusively in
groundwater, according to the Australian government.
They are made up mostly of crustaceans but include
some invertebrates, and in Australia, two blind fish species.
Cameco said it respected the decision and would work
with the government on how to manage the viability of
such fauna at the proposed mine, which was to extract
7,500 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate each year
and include two open pits, processing facilities, roads
and housing. “We believe that with further sampling
and research, subterranean fauna can be appropriately
managed” at Yeelirrie, said managing director
Brian Reilly.
— AFP
AROUND THE WORLD
IS names new leader of
Nigeria’s Boko Haram
Indonesian farmers
launch case over oil spill
Four more Japanese
caught over ATM heist
CAIRO: IS has named a new leader of Boko
Haram, the Nigerian militant group which
last year swore allegiance to it. Abu Musab al
Barnawi was named IS governor for West Africa
in a two-page interview in its weekly magazine,
Al Naba, which was circulated late on Tuesday.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, a
former military ruler who took office last year,
has made it a priority to defeat Boko Haram,
which has tried to create a state adhering
to strict sharia law in the northeast during a
seven-year insurgency. Boko Haram controlled
a swathe of land in northeast Nigeria around
the size of Belgium at the end of 2014 but was
pushed out by Nigerian troops, aided by soldiers
from neighbouring countries, early last year.
In the interview, Al Barnawi said Boko Haram
was “still a force to be reckoned with” and that
it had been receiving new recruits. Despite
having been pushed out of most of the territory
it controlled, Boko Haram has carried out suicide
bombings in northeast Nigeria and Cameroon,
Niger and Chad, focusing on busy public areas
such as markets and mosques.
SYDNEY: Indonesian seaweed farmers launched
a Aus$200 million class action on Wednesday
over a major oil spill in Australia, claiming the
blow-out devastated their livelihoods.
The spill in the Montara field in the Timor Sea,
north of Australia, leaked thousands of barrels of
oil for close to 10 weeks before it was capped.
The case filed in Sydney’s Federal Court on
behalf of up to 13,000 Indonesian farmers is
against the firm which operated the well-head
platform, PTTEP Australasia.
Ben Slade, class actions principal at law firm
Maurice Blackburn in Sydney, said the huge
spill was still impacting farmers in the eastern
Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur.
“If the company thought that this issue would
go away because the farmers are Indonesians,
or because they didn’t understand their legal
rights, they were sorely mistaken,” he said.
“This case is a perfect example of how the
Australian class action regime provides access
to justice for people who would otherwise have
no voice and no recourse against their corporate
wrongdoer.”
TOKYO: Japanese police arrested four people
on Wednesday in connection with a multimillion dollar bank heist, including a member
of a group affiliated with the country’s biggest
organised crime syndicate.
The 1.8 billion yen ($17.8 million) haul
reportedly involved more than 100 people
making a series of cash withdrawals from some
1,700 ATMs across Japan using fake credit card
data from a South African bank.
Investigators had already made at least two
arrests after launching a nationwide manhunt in
May but are yet to unveil exactly how the crime
was organised and carried out.
The latest four are accused of having
coordinated to steal a total of 3.8 million yen
from ATM machines located at five convenience
stores in Ichihara city, east of Tokyo, according to
an investigator with Chiba prefectural Police.
The group included Takanari Fukuda,
49, a member of an underworld, or ‘yakuza’,
group affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi,
Japan’s largest organised crime syndicate, the
investigator said.
A man wearing a hat decorated with worthless note bearers’ cheques during a protest against
government plans to introduce bond notes — a local token currency equivalent to the US dollar,
and unemployement on Wednesday in Harare.
— AFP
region
o
region
i
Erdogan regrets Gulen alliance
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
13
TURKEY FACES CHALLENGES: Council of Europe backs Turkey ‘clean-up’ after coup
Men try to put out a fire of a loaded truck after an air strike on a truck parking lot in
the rebel-held town of Atareb in Aleppo province on Wednesday. — Reuters
Syrian forces roll back
rebel gains in Aleppo
BEIRUT: Syrian regime forces
bolstered by Russian air strikes
recaptured territory overnight in the
southwest suburbs of the battleground
city of Aleppo, rolling back the shortlived gains of a rebel offensive.
Rebels and their radical allies
launched an assault on Sunday in a
bid to ease a more than two-week
government siege of opposition-held
districts of the city.
But regime fighters have put up
a fierce fightback, retaking several
positions from beleaguered rebel forces,
a monitor said on Wednesday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights said government forces seized
two hilltops and two small villages in
the southwest suburbs of Aleppo late
Tuesday.
“The regime is launching counterattacks to absorb the fierce rebel
offensive,” said Observatory head
Rami Abdel Rahman. “The opposition
offensive has not achieved the results
that were expected at this stage,” he said.
A journalist in east Aleppo said
clashes and shelling could be heard
throughout the night, followed by
barrel bomb attacks and air strikes in
the early morning.
The groups waging the offensive
— including fighters from Al Qaeda’s
former Syria affiliate and the powerful
Ahrar al Sham — have promised to end
the government encirclement of eastern
parts of Aleppo.
They are seeking to capture Ramussa,
a district in Aleppo’s southwest suburbs,
in a bid to cut off government forces and
open a new route into the city for rebels.
But they have struggled to hold newlyacquired territory in the face of heavy
Russian air strikes, Abdel Rahman said.
They have managed to keep control
of at least four hilltops and one small
village, he added.
Longtime regime ally Moscow
launched an air campaign in support
of President Bashar al Assad’s forces
in September. Wednesday’s edition
of Al Watan, a newspaper close to
the government, said government
forces, backed by Russian air strikes,
“advanced again south and southwest
The battle for Aleppo —
Syria’s second city — is
critical for both the regime
in Damascus and the forces
seeking to overthrow it.
of Aleppo causing major setbacks” for
rebel factions.
And pro-regime website Al Masdar
News said an initial rebel advance into
the Ramussa district was pushed back
“following a long and gruesome battle”.
The Britain-based Observatory said
more than 50 rebels and allies had been
killed since the assault began, as well as
dozens of regime troops.
Overnight, at least 10 civilians,
including four children, were killed in
rebel shelling of government-controlled
districts on Aleppo’s southwestern
edges, the monitor said. More than 40
civilians have been killed by shelling
on government-held neighbourhoods
since Sunday. The battle for Aleppo
— Syria’s second city — is critical for
both the regime in Damascus and the
forces seeking to overthrow it. It was
Syria’s commercial hub until 2012,
when clashes left it roughly divided
between government troops in the west
and rebels in the east. Eastern districts
came under government siege on July
17, sparking concerns for the estimated
250,000 people still living there.
Last week Russia announced the
opening of “humanitarian corridors”
to allow residents and surrendering
fighters to flee for government-held
territory.
This was met with scepticism by
residents and international observers,
and 35 NGOs in a statement on Tuesday
called the initiative “deeply flawed”.
The groups, including Save
the Children and Oxfam, urged
implementation of a UN call for a
weekly 48-hour humanitarian pause in
Aleppo.
— Reuters
ISTANBUL: The head of a top European
rights watchdog on Wednesday backed
a “cleaning up” of Turkish institutions
after a failed coup blamed on supporters
of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.
Despite growing concern over
the post-coup crackdown, Council
of Europe chief Thorbjorn Jagland
said there had been insufficient
understanding in Europe about the
challenges faced by Turkey.
His comments came as President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a rare apology,
asked forgiveness for having an alliance
with Gulen in the early years of his
political career.
Almost 26,000 suspects have now
been rounded up after the coup,
which Ankara blames on followers of
Gulen who built up a presence in key
institutions including the military.
Gulen denies the accusations.
Jagland’s comments accepting the
need for a crackdown contrasted with
the tone of several EU officials who while
condemning the coup have expressed
alarm over the scope of the arrests.
“I recognise that of course there is
a need for taking on those who were
behind this coup and also on this secret
network,” Jagland said after talks with
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in
Ankara.
“I would like to say there has been
too little understanding from Europe
over what challenges this has caused to
the democratic and state institutions
of Turkey,” said Jagland, referring to
Gulen’s group. “We however have been
informed about it for a very long time.
So therefore of course we see a
need for cleaning up all of this,” added
Jagland, one of the most senior European
officials to visit Turkey in the wake of the
botched July 15 putsch.
According to Interior Minister Efkan
Ala, 25,917 people have now been
detained, 13,419 of whom have been
Shadow of Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan is cast on a mosque drawing as he
addresses the audience during a meeting of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate in
Ankara.
— AFP
remanded in custody over their roles in
the coup.
The CoE promotes democracy
and the rule of law in Europe and its
members include states who are not EU
states like Turkey and also Russia.
But Jagland, who was later to meet
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also
emphasised the importance of all moves
being carried out within the rule of
law and the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Turkey has declared a three-month
state of emergency after the coup and
said it will suspend the rights convention
for this period.
Cavusoglu said: “We have never made
compromises on our understanding of
SOLIDARITY AGAINST TERROR
democracy and will never do.”
Later the foreign minister took to
Twitter to praise Jagland’s stance, saying
he hoped the solidarity of the CoE chief
“sets an example for our other European
friends.”
“Europe should realise how it moves
away from its own values as it excludes
Turkey,” Cavusoglu said.
Turkey has sent an array of
documentation to the United States
asking for Gulen’s extradition and has
so far expressed exasperation over the
slowness of Washington in taking up the
issue.
“You have to be blind and deaf not
to understand that he is behind all of
this,” Erdogan said in an interview with
Mexican television, describing any delay
in extradition as “intolerable”. Gulen’s
influence in Turkey goes back to the
premierships of Bulent Ecevit in the
1970s and he was a strong presence in
Turkish politics before anyone had even
heard of Erdogan.
As a new and untested forces
in politics, Erdogan’s Justice and
Development Party (AKP) was happy
to team up with Gulen after it came to
power in 2002, sharing a conviction that
Islam should lie at the heart of politics.
But in his first apology on the issue,
Erdogan said he had failed to see the
“true face” of his former ally.
“I know that we have to give account
both to our God and to our people. Let
my God and my people forgive us,” he
said.
The coup was led by disgruntled
elements in the military who the
authorities say were followers of Gulen
fast-tracked to senior positions by
rigging in examinations.
In a symbolic sign of how he has
regained control of the military, Erdogan
on Wednesday visited the chief of staff
headquarters for the first time since the
putsch.
— AFP
Pentagon probes
another Syria strike
for civilian deaths
An Iraqi man gives a rose to a member of the Iraqi security forces on Wednesday in Baghdad’s Tahrir square as people put up
posters bearing messages of solidarity from Nice and other cities hit by attacks, a month after the deadliest single bombing
ever to strike the Iraqi capital.
— AFP
WASHINGTON: The US military
has completed initial assessments
of an air strike that allegedly
killed civilians in northwestern
Syria last month and is now
formally investigating the
incident, a defence official said on
Wednesday.
It is the second such full probe
to be launched after two US-led
strikes near the IS stronghold
of Manbij in July allegedly left
dozens of civilians dead.
The latest investigation is
into a July 28 strike northwest of
Manbij, which according to the
Britain-based Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights killed at least
15 civilians.
“This incident has been found
to be credible enough to warrant
a formal investigation, which is
under way,” said Colonel Chris
Garver, a spokesman for the USled coalition fighting radicals of
the IS group in Iraq and Syria.
— AFP
What was once a crowded shopping area has become a monument to the dead, where mourners light candles
Iraq blast survivors live with fear and nightmares
BAGHDAD: Sheets of flame and smoke
engulfed the street and buildings around
Sami Aziz’s Baghdad shop, burning
people alive in scenes he likened to “the
day of judgement”. Aziz and others are
now repairing their stores at the site of
a suicide bombing that sparked raging
fires and killed 323 people on July 3,
while also contending with the trauma
of what they saw.
What was once a crowded shopping
area has become a monument to the
dead, where mourners light candles and
dozens of banners bearing the names of
victims hang from the charred hulks of
buildings that held upmarket stores.
The blast took a devastating toll on
survivors and the friends and relatives
of the dead. “Many wounded entered
here...the shop was full of blood, but we
cleaned it,” said Aziz, 40, in his clothes
shop near the scene of the blast.
“The impact of families burning Honestly, we are having
before my eyes is something that can’t be nightmares now...My future
erased.”
is unknown because I don’t
One of his children was with him
in the shop when the bomb exploded have any protection...I
outside, and was deeply affected, am afraid that if I go out, I
Aziz said. “Honestly, we are having
won’t return
nightmares now,” he said, adding that he
now fears to leave his house.
SAMI AZIZ
“My future is unknown because I
don’t have any protection...I am afraid little before 1:00 am on July 3.
The area was teeming with shoppers
that if I go out, I won’t return,” he said.
The suicide bombing, claimed by the ahead of the holiday marking the end of
IS group, hit the Karrada Dakhil street a the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Life was “very happy” before the
bombing, said Aziz, who filmed its
aftermath from the entrance of his shop.
Flames streamed from a nearby
building, rubble covered the sidewalk,
and when he looked to the right of his
shop, the street was blocked by a wall of
flame and smoke.
“The situation wasn’t terrifying — it
was more than terrifying,” said Aziz,
describing it as being like “the day of
judgement”.
“The psychological impact will
remain, because I saw with my eyes
the people burning here.” The bombing
destroyed millions of dollars’ worth of
property and wrecked the livelihoods of
shop owners, workers and their families,
leaving people financially destitute as
well as in mourning.
“A woman came to me yesterday. Her
husband died, his store was burned, his
money was gone, only she and her child
remained,” said Aziz. “She said, ‘I don’t
have money for milk.’”
Aziz is repairing his shop, which he
said suffered an estimated $50-60,000 in
damage plus some $100,000 in destroyed
merchandise. He said he was paying for
repairs himself. Ali Mohammed, 28, was
in his clothing store when the suicide
bomber struck, but was able to escape
out the back before the building went up
in flames.
“As soon as I reached the street, the
whole building was burned. I got out
with only my clothes,” said Mohammed,
who was wounded by shards of glass.
“We’ve seen explosions before, but
they didn’t reach the level of fire so that
in five seconds, it burns a whole place,”
he said. Mohammed said he lost around
150 of his friends in the explosion and
subsequent inferno.
“My friends are dear to me, because
I see them more than my family,” he
said. Mohammed said his family owns
multiple stores on the street and suffered
half a million dollars or more in losses.
For now, they are only repairing one
shop. Volunteers helped clear out the
rubble and make repairs to the shop, but
there has been no assistance from the
government, he said.
— AFP
americas
Icymi
14
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
ERADICATION
Colombia destroys 104 cocaine labs
Colombian law enforcement has destroyed 104 cocaine laboratories capable of producing
some 100 tonnes of the drug annually, the head of the anti-narcotics police said on
Tuesday. “This is a structural blow to the finances of drug trafficking,” anti-narcotics police
Director-General Jose Angel Mendoza told Reuters in the jungles of Guaviare province.
DRIVE
Impeachment trial
closer to sealing
Rousseff’s fate
Miami-Dade mosquito control worker Carlos Vargas sprays to eradicate the Aedes
aegypti mosquito larvae at a home in Miami, Florida. — AFP file photo
Florida to begin aerial
spraying of insecticides
to control Zika
CHICAGO: Florida was scheduled to
conduct an aerial insecticide spraying
campaign on Wednesday in an effort to
kill mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus,
officials in Miami-Dade County said.
The campaign will cover a 10-mile
area that includes the one-mile-square
area just north of downtown Miami
that health officials have identified as
the hub of Zika transmission in the
state, the officials said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the US Centres for
Disease Control and Prevention issued
an unprecedented travel warning,
urging pregnant women to avoid travel
to the Miami neighbourhood at the
centre of the investigation.
The Zika outbreak was first detected
last year in Brazil, where it has been
linked to more than 1,700 cases of
microcephaly, a birth defect marked by
small head size that can lead to severe
developmental problems in babies.
The virus has spread rapidly through
the Americas and Caribbean and its
arrival in the continental United States
has been widely anticipated.
Florida health officials announced
another non-travel related case of Zika
on Tuesday, bringing the total to 15.
The aerial spraying campaign
was recommended by the CDC in
conjunction with the Florida Health
Department to reduce adult mosquito
populations that might be capable of
carrying the Zika virus.
In a conference call on Tuesday,
CDC Director Dr Thomas Frieden
expressed concern that vector control
efforts so far have not been as effective
as hoped. A CDC expert is currently
conducting tests in Miami to see if
mosquitoes in the area have developed
insecticide resistance.
Florida had been using two products
in the pyrethroid class of insecticides.
In its aerial campaign, the state will use
a chemical called Naled that has been
approved by the US Environmental
Protection Agency, according to Joseph
Conlon, a spokesman for the American
Mosquito Control Association.
Naled is from a different
class of insecticides known as
organophosphates. According to the
CDC, the chemical has been widely
used to control mosquito populations
in the United States, including in
Miami, Tampa and New Orleans.
The CDC recommended the same
chemical for aerial spraying in Puerto
Rico. — Reuters
DAY OF AGRICULTURAL
REVOLUTION MARKED
Bolivia’s President Evo Morales speaks during a ceremony to mark the “Day of
Agricultural Revolution” in Challapata south of La Paz. — Reuters
Dilma Rousseff
rides her
bicycle near the
Alvorada Palace
in Brasilia on
Wednesday.
— Reuters
BRASILIA: A Senate report found
on Tuesday that Brazil’s suspended
President Dilma Rousseff violated
the constitution by manipulating
government accounts, moving her
drawn-out impeachment trial closer
to deciding her fate.
The report is expected to be
approved by the impeachment
committee on Friday and by the
full Senate next Tuesday, leading
to the final trial phase in which the
81 Senators must reach a verdict at
the end of August or first days of
September.
The impeachment of the unpopular
leftist leader has paralysed Brazilian
politics for seven months and held
interim President Michel Temer in
a legal limbo that has hindered his
efforts to pull Brazil from fiscal crisis
and severe recession.
Rousseff is accused of altering
official budget figures and using funds
from state-run banks to cover up the
real state of Brazil’s faltering economy
as she ran for re-election in 2014.
Her impeachment would mark
the end of 13 years of rule by the leftof-centre Workers Party and leave
Latin America’s largest economy in
the hands of the Temer, Rousseff ’s
conservative vice-president.
Brazil’s stock market and currency
have strengthened since Rousseff
was suspended by the Senate on May
12 as investors bet on her removal
and replacement by Temer, who has
outlined policies favouring private
business.
But Temer has avoided unpopular
austerity measures needed to balance
Brazil’s overdrawn accounts until he is
definitely confirmed in the job to serve
out Rousseff ’s mandate to 2018.
While 54 votes are needed to
convict Rousseff, or two-thirds of
the Senate, Brasilia-based political
consultancy ARKO Advice says
between 56 and 60 Senators today
favour removing her, a narrow margin
that is unlikely to be reversed because
Temer is seen delivering political and
economic stability.
Efforts to defend Rousseff by her
Workers Party and its founder, former
president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,
who faces corruption charges, have not
been enough to save her, Arko said.
— Reuters
California blaze near Big Sur
traced to unattended campfire
LOS ANGELES: A blaze that has
scorched some 17,400 hectares and
destroyed dozens of homes near
California’s famed Big Sur coast was
sparked by an illegal, unattended camp
fire in a state park, authorities said.
The so-called Soberanes Fire, which
erupted on July 22, began as a small
blaze, 2 feet in diameter, ignited by
unknown individuals in a section of
Garrapata State Park that was closed
to camping and campfires, according
to US Forest Service spokesman Don
Jaques. No arrests have been made, he
added.
The more than 5,450 fire personnel
battling the blaze have been able to draw
containment lines — a measure of how
much of its perimeter has been cleared
by fire crews of unburned vegetation —
around only 18 per cent of the wildfire
so far.
Steep, mountainous terrain as well
as hot, dry conditions have hampered
efforts to quell the fire tearing through
drought-parched chaparral, grass and
timber.
One person, a bulldozer operator
hired by property owners to help battle
the flames, died last week when his
vehicle rolled over. It was the second
California wildfire-related death in a
week.
A firefighter stands on steep terrain while fire crews create fire breaks at Garrapata
State Park during the Soberanes Fire north of Big Sur, California.
— Reuters file photo
In addition, 57 homes and 11 other
structures have been destroyed while
some 2,000 remained under threat on
Tuesday, fire officials said. About 350
residents have been ordered to evacuate
the area, though some evacuation orders
have since been lifted.
The fire threat, coming in the middle
of the region’s summer travel season,
has prompted the closure of several
popular California campgrounds and
recreation areas along the northern end
of the Big Sur coastline, including Point
Lobos State Natural Reserve and Pfeiffer
Big Sur State Park.
Another fire broke out on Saturday in
grass and brush about 48 km northeast
of Fresno, in central California. It has
since charred about 817 hectares and is
threatening 400 structures, prompting
evacuations in the area, according to the
California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection.
Five structures, including three
homes, have been destroyed, fire
officials said. — Reuters
US Air Force
declares F-35A
fighter jet
‘combat ready’
WASHINGTON: The US Air Force
declared an initial squadron of F-35A
stealth fighters as ready for combat,
a major milestone for the futuristic
aircraft dogged by delays and cost
overruns.
The squadron of about 12 planes
is based at Hill Air Force Base in
Utah and the planes’ combat rating —
known as initial operational capability
— comes after completion of a raft of
tests and training exercises.
“The F-35A will be the most
dominant aircraft in our inventory,
because it can go where our legacy
aircraft cannot and provide the
capabilities our commanders need on
the modern battlefield,” said General
Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, who heads
the US Air Combat Command on
Tuesday.
Air Force officials did not give a
timeline of when the squadron might
see combat, but said an overseas
deployment is likely by early 2017.
With a price tag of nearly $400
billion for a total of 2,443 F-35 aircraft
— most of them destined for the Air
Force — the plane, built by Lockheed
Martin, is the most expensive in
history. — AFP
The system is the second-busiest subway system in the United States, with 750,000 riders on an average weekday
US capital city struggles with limping metro service
WASHINGTON: Letitia stands on a
metro station platform in downtown
Washington, waiting for a train that she
now realises is not going to come.
“I will be walking home tonight and
all the nights to come,” said the 28-yearold woman, who works as a cashier at a
24-hour supermarket.
In the US capital city, an urgently
needed upgrade of the metro system
means service on Friday and Saturday
nights now stops at midnight instead of
3 am, to allow for repair work overnight.
But it also means people like Letitia,
who would not give her last name, are
losing a crucial mode of transportation.
“I have 30 minutes walking at 1 am
in a neighbourhood where you do not
want to do that,” she said.
“They don’t give us other
options.” Much of the transportation
infrastructure in the United States is
decades old and in such poor condition
that it has become an issue in the
presidential election.
“Our infrastructure is that of a thirdworld country,” Republican candidate
Donald Trump has said repeatedly. The
Washington metropolitan area, with a
population of more than six million, is
no exception.
Its Metrorail system was a source
of pride when it opened 40 years ago,
but today it’s better known for shoddy
carriages, delays and fires.
Problems in recent weeks included
a derailment and a near-collision.
Complaining about Metro is a favourite
pastime of DC residents and there’s even
a popular Twitter account that features
criticism in real time.
The most serious incident recently ‘Our infrastructure is that
was in January 2015, when an electrical of a third-world country,’
problem caused a tunnel to fill with
smoke, choking passengers in a disabled Republican candidate
train. One person died. “The metro has Donald Trump has said
to be safe,” said Paul Wiedefeld, general
repeatedly. The Washington
manager and chief executive of the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit metropolitan area, with a
Authority, which also provides bus population of more than six
services.
million, is no exception
Wiedefeld is presiding over a yearlong
programme called SafeTrack that started
in June to repair and upgrade the intensive work was necessary because
subway system, causing major service trying to fix problems with “small
interruptions.
bandages” was no longer adequate.
Wiedefeld said the accelerated,
The system is the second-busiest
subway system in the United States, with
750,000 riders on an average weekday.
“The DC Metro historically has been
a great strength of this region, but over
time we under-invested in maintenance
and repair,” Wiedefeld said.
Last week, he proposed making
the midnight weekend Metro closure
permanent, and rolling back Sunday
night service from midnight to 10 pm.
“SafeTrack is the right approach
but we are going to need more time to
continue the job,” he said.
But businesses like restaurants, bars
and clubs say a change like that would be
a huge blow.
“We have heard from member
restaurants that sales are down as
much as 20 per cent due to early Metro
closures and the current SafeTrack
schedule,” warned the head of the
Restaurant Association of Metropolitan
Washington, Kathy Hollinger.
“The impact of the Metrorail’s
schedule on restaurants and small
businesses cannot be ignored.”
Near the U Street Metro station, in an
area packed with nightlife, the manager
of Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant,
Mahaylu Daasyn, said he was having to
let employees leave earlier.
“We don’t really feel an impact on
clients. The problem is the employees.
At this rhythm, we won’t have anyone in
the kitchen anymore, then we’ll have no
choice but to close earlier,” Daasyn said.
People who can afford to are turning
to ride-sharing services. — AFP
eu ope
eur
europe
Ireland against UK’s push to abolish customs union
Italian PM Renzi meets Malala
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi has met the youngest-ever Nobel peace prize winner,
19-year-old child education activist Malala Yousafzai, a spokesman said.
The meeting took place on Tuesday at an undisclosed location.
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
15
VOICE OF CONCERN: Ireland’s business leaders concerned that new Trade Minister is pushing an agenda that could be detrimental to Ireland
ANDY JALIL
LONDON
August 3: Ireland’s business leaders
are concerned that Britain’s new Trade
Minister, Liam Fox is pushing an
agenda that could be “detrimental” to
Irish trade. Fox is putting pressure on
his Prime Minister, Theresa May to
break free from an agreement which
ensures there are no tariffs on goods
moving within the European Union.
Despite the result of the referendum
vote to leave the EU, it was believed
that Britain would remain within the
‘customs union’ but Fox, who was
one of the central figures in the Leave
campaign, has indicated he wants the
freedom to cut all existing ties with
the EU. Such a move would impact
greatly on Anglo-Irish relations, adding
“significant” administrative costs and
delays to trade crossing the border
between Northern Ireland, which is
in the United Kingdom, and southern
Ireland which is part of the EU.
Prior to the referendum, the UK
Treasury warned that leaving the
customs union would lead to crossborder transactions being subject to
“various forms of customs control
and their liability to duty determined
according to complex rules or origin.”
Historically, a customs union is
a grouping of countries which agree
not to apply tariffs or quotas on trade.
Usually, they also agree to apply
common tariffs and quotas to goods
coming from outside. In reality, the
European Union has a customs union
at its core and is a purpose of the whole
operation. The European Union was
formed as essentially a customs union.
The Treaty of Rome in 1957, which
established the European Economic
Community (EEC), banned duties
on imports and exports between the
Liam Fox
six participating states, with common
tariffs applying to outside countries.
The EEC’s customs union was
completed two years ahead of the
1970 deadline. That gave the whole
enterprise a big boost in internal
morale and international reputation.
Armed Metropolitan Police counter terrorism officers take part in an exercise on the River Thames in London on Wednesday.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced the start of Operation
Hercules in which 600 additional firearms officers will be deployed in visible roles in the capital. — AFP
NOUMEA: More than a thousand people from New Caledonia’s indigenous
Kanak community took to the streets of the territory’s capital on Wednesday
to demand better access to jobs and official posts. Protesters gathered outside
the headquarters of Noumea’s main employer federation as well as the French
territory’s congress, government and high commission buildings. “If it isn’t
taken into account, the (employment) issue carries serious social risks and
could greatly destabilise relations in the country,” said Andre Forest, president
of the USTKE union representing Kanak people, which called the strike.
The union, which also called for a general strike, estimated some 3,000
people attended the protest. Police put the number at 1,500.
A 1998 agreement between France and New Caledonia promised greater
autonomy for the Pacific Ocean archipelago and its original population, but
protest organisers said it had yet to yield concrete results.
The territory is due to hold a referendum on independence from France by
2018 as part of the agreement. — AFP
Ex-Yugoslav spies get life terms
MUNICH: A German court sentenced two former Yugoslav intelligence chiefs
to life in prison on Wednesday for masterminding the murder of a Yugoslav
dissident in the southern German state of Bavaria more than three decades
ago. Croats Josip Perkovic, 71, and Zdravko Mustac, 74, top officials in the
communist-era Yugoslav secret service, were found guilty of complicity in the
murder of Stjepan Durekovic, also a Croat, who was found dead of gunshot
wounds and head injuries in a garage in the town of Wolfratshausen in 1983.
Croatia extradited the two men in 2014, under pressure from Germany.
Prosecutors alleged that Durekovic’s murder was ordered by a leading
Yugoslav politician. Durekovic’s dissident activities had appeared to be the
motive for his murder, but the politician actually wanted to prevent Durekovic
from disclosing his son’s illegal business dealings in the state-owned petrol
company INA, according to the indictment. Durekovic once ran the INA before
leaving for the West.
Another man, the owner of the garage who had managed to win
Durekovic’s confidence, was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany in
2008 for his part in the murder. At the time, the court established that 22 Croats
were murdered in West Germany, at the behest of the Yugoslav leadership.
— Reuters
Sweden not to deport Turkish asylum seekers
STOCKHOLM: Sweden will “for the time being” not deport Turkish asylum
seekers linked to the country’s political opposition in the wake of last month’s
attempted coup in Turkey, authorities said on Wednesday.
The Swedish Migration Agency’s decision applies to individuals who
have “credible links” to the failed July 15 coup attempt in Turkey, including
supporters of preacher Fethullah Gulen who lives in the United States and
members of the political opposition.
The agency registered 11 asylum bids from Turkish nationals since July 18,
citing weekly tallies. Since January, the agency has registered 172 applications
for asylum from Turkey. — dpa
a trade unit and does negotiation on all
of our behalves using just one external
border. It would be detrimental to trade
crossing the border between Northern
Ireland and the Republic (of Ireland).”
McKeever said it would result in
companies having to account for the
origins of each individual piece of a
product assembled in Ireland. “I’ve
seen estimates that an importation of
border and need to comply with all
the rules and regulations and the extra
paperwork which could mean hiring
extra staff could add about 25 per cent
to the cost of trade,” he said.
During a visit to the United States
last week, Fox told the “Wall Street
Journal” staying in the custom union
would limit Britain’s ability to negotiate
lower tariffs with other trading
partners. While members of the union
do not charge each other tariffs for
most goods, they do impose a common
external tariff on all goods coming
from outside. “We have nothing to
fear from forging our own tree-trade
environment and breaking out on our
own,” Fox said.
He also set a date of 2020 for
completing the Brexit negotiations.
Reports in London suggest Theresa May
and Chancellor Philip Hammond have
yet to be convinced that the advantages
of leaving the customs union would
be offset by the liberty to negotiate. A
spokesperson for the Irish government
said they were not concerned by his
comments “because we’re so early in
the process here.”
However, Burke said it would be
difficult to see how the Common Travel
Area will be maintained if Fox’s agenda
is followed. She said it “beggars belief ”
that the UK would abandon an EUwide deal in order to “go chasing after
potential trade with small economies.”
Central London house prices show
biggest fall in 7 years after Brexit
OPERATION HERCULES IN BRITAIN
IN BRIEF
New Caledonian people seek better jobs
Before the EU came on the scene
there had been various smaller-scale
attempts at customs unions. After
very slow progress with other forms
of European cooperation, including
defence, the focus switched to trade
which now remains as a major element
in the Union.
Fox’s approach has been described
by the Director of Corporate, Strategic
and International Affairs at Irish
Business and Employers’ Confederation
(IBEC), Mary Rose Burke as “madness”.
She said: “I was a bit staggered when I
read it. Any additional barriers, even
if the tariff is set at zero, would be a
hindrance. The paperwork would be
very challenging.”
Similarly
Simon
McKeever,
Chief Executive of Irish Exporters’
Association, said the UK leaving the
tariff-free zone has “potential to get
very messy for us.” He said: “The EU is
Italy probing
possible IS role
in migrant flows
ROME: Italy is investigating whether
IS is involved in organising the passage
of tens of thousands of migrants across
the Mediterranean, its justice minister
said on Wednesday.
The Turkey to Greece migration
route has been largely shut down since
a repatriation deal was struck between
the European Union and Ankara in
March, but hundreds of people are
arriving in Italy every day, mostly from
Libya. Criminal gangs have taken
advantage of chaos in Libya to charge
mainly sub-Saharan Africans, looking
for a better life in Europe, hundreds of
dollars to make the voyage.
“From the information available,
there is an investigation under way
focused on whether representatives of
ISIS have crucial roles in controlling
and managing migrant flows to Italy,”
Justice Minister Andrea Orlando told
a parliamentary committee.
He told the hearing on immigration,
Europe’s border-free Schengen accord
and the activity of European police
agency Europol that details of the
investigation were secret.
“The risks we have to take on are
high,” he said, adding there was also a
suspicion the militants were trying to
influence where in Italy migrants were
eventually placed.
The militant group has made
money by selling oil from fields it
seized in the Middle East and North
Africa and from plundering weapons
and ammunition.
Militant groups have smuggled
members into Europe among the
migrants, German Chancellor Angela
Merkel has said. The migrants are
taking often unseaworthy boats from
Libya to Italy. — Reuters
LONDON: House prices in London’s
most expensive areas recorded their
biggest fall in nearly seven years in
July after the Brexit vote reinforced a
downward trend caused by a rise in
property taxes, a consultancy said on
Wednesday.
Knight Frank’s prime central London
index fell 1.5 per cent last month from
a year earlier, due to the uncertainty
created by the June 23 referendum and
a rise in property taxes which pushed up
prices and brought sales forward to the
start of 2016.
“Since the vote, a number of buyers
have requested discounts due to the
climate of political and economic
uncertainty,”
Head
of
London
Residential Research Tom Bill said.
“The decision to leave the European
Union has provided a backdrop of
short-term uncertainty that is affecting
behaviour in the prime central London
property market,” he said.
Prime central London stretches from
Notting Hill and Knightsbridge, home
to department store Harrods, in the
west to the City of London and Islington
towards the north and east.
In Knightsbridge, prices fell 7.3 per
cent last month, the biggest drop of
any of the 15 areas examined whilst the
biggest rise was 5.3 per cent in the City
of London.
A row of houses seen in London. — Reuters
Property prices in the capital’s most
desirable areas began recording annual
declines in the run-up to the vote,
according to Knight Frank, but July’s fall
is the biggest since October 2009, when
Britain began recovering from the 20078 financial crisis. But Knight Frank said
that the primary reason for the decline
remained changes to stamp duty, a
property tax, which raised the amount
paid on the most expensive properties
and on second homes and buy-to-let
investments, key to the central London
market.
Commercial property took the
biggest hit in the wake of the EU
referendum with investors pulling
out money from funds, forcing some
to be suspended. But there have
been warnings in recent weeks from
housebuilders and estate agents that
residential property prices and demand
could suffer. Britain’s biggest house
builder, Barratt Developments, said
last month that it might slow the pace
of construction to prepare itself for an
expected slowdown.
London-focused estate agent
Foxtons blamed Brexit for its slump in
profits. Knight Frank said rental values
last month fell 3.6 per cent in London,
a city where many young professionals
cannot afford to buy their own homes
due to high property prices.
The number of prospective tenants
fell 6.8 per cent year-on-year in the three
months to the end of June, impacted by
the vote, it said. — Reuters
Most Germans don’t blame Merkel’s refugee policy for attacks
BERLIN: An overwhelming majority
of Germans do not blame Chancellor
Angela Merkel’s open-border refugee
policy for two recent attacks in the
country linked to the extremist group
IS, according to a poll released on
Wednesday. Last month, Germany was
reeling from four separate attacks that
left a total of 13 people dead and scores
injured, with IS claiming its “soldiers”
carried out two of the assaults. A survey
by the Berlin-based pollster Forsa
found that 69 per cent of Germans do
not believe there is a link between the
two attacks claimed by IS and the large
numbers of migrants who have arrived
seeking refuge from conflicts in Middle
East and Africa. — dpa
SELFIE IN FRANCE
Portuguese scouts take a selfie during the European scout meeting “Roverway 2016” at the Arenes de Lutece in Paris on
Wednesday. — AFP
world
o dinpictures
p ctu es
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16
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Flashmob stunt
triggers street
panic in Spain
C
SAFE WITH MOM: A white lioness named Kleopatra laps up one of her
three cubs born a few days ago at the Tbilisi zoo on Tuesday. — AFP
AERO SHOW: Ukrainian fighters MIG-29 take part in the practical flights to fulfill the
system of combat duty during the exercises at the Air Force military base in the
small town of Vasylkiv, some 40 km from Kiev on Wednesday. — AFP
BOIS BOVINE: Calves shelter in their pen at the Joli Bois farm in ValleroisLe-bois, on Tuesday. — AFP
PERFECTING THE MOVES: Ballet dancer and stage
performer Mikhail Baryshnikov performs during a
rehearsal for the “Letter to a Man” show in Riga,
Latvia. — Reuters
Monkey gets another chance to claim his selfie
NEW YORK: The People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (Peta) animal
rights organisation has filed an appeal
to the US Court of Appeals for justice
to Naruto — a now-famous monkey
known for taking a ‘selfie’ that prompted
an unprecedented copyright lawsuit —
at claiming ownership over his image.
The image was taken in 2011 by
Naruto, then a six-year-old male freeliving crested macaque in Indonesia.
Photographer David J Slater had left
his camera unattended in an Indonesian
forest which allowed Naruto to take
several photos of himself.
Slater and his company, which both
claim copyright ownership, published
the photos that Naruto indisputably
took.
Peta sued, claiming that Naruto was
the author of the photos and that Slater
had infringed on Naruto’s copyright.
Disappointingly, in January, a federal
judge dismissed the monkey selfie suit,
finding that a non-human animal could
not own a copyright.
“In every practical (and definitional)
sense, he (Naruto) is the ‘author’ of the
works,” argued PETA in the appeal brief
filed on Tuesday.
“Had the Monkey Selfies been made
by a human using Slater’s unattended
camera, that human would undisputedly
be declared the author and copyright
owner of the photographs. Nothing in
the Copyright Act limits its application
to human authors. Protection under
the Copyright Act does not depend on
the humanity of the author, but on the
originality of the work itself,” the appeal
read. According to Peta, if the lawsuit
succeeds, it will be the first time that a
nonhuman animal has been declared the
owner of property rather than a piece of
property himself or herself.
It will also be the first time that a
right has been extended to a nonhuman
animal beyond just the basic necessities
of food, shelter, water, and veterinary
care. In our view, it is high time.
“The fact that copyright ownership
by an animal has not been previously
asserted does not mean that such rights
cannot be asserted,” Peta wrote.
Peta is seeking the court’s permission
to administer and protect Naruto’s
copyright in the “monkey selfies,”
without compensation, with all proceeds
to be used for the benefit of Naruto and
his community.
Naruto is known to field researchers
in Sulawesi who have observed and
studied him for years as they work in the
region.
— IANS
rowds ran in panic after mistaking
a flashmob-style performance for a
militant attack in a Spanish coastal
resort, police and media said. Scores
of people responded to social media
invitations to descend on Platja d’Aro
on Tuesday evening and run around
pretending to be paparazzi, papers
reported. Participants held tripods and
selfie sticks and pretended to be chasing
a celebrity. But other people in the streets
mistook the objects for guns and fled,
blocking traffic and sending restaurant
tables flying, media reported.
Eleven people were treated for
minor injuries, anxiety attacks and heart
palpitations, with at least two hospitalised
police said. Five German women, aged
between 20 and 25, were arrested,
accused of involvement in the stunt, the
force added. They were charged with
public order offences and will appear in
court later on Wednesday.
Tensions are high after a series of
attacks claimed by the IS in France and
Germany in recent weeks. — Reuters
Old German
currency haul in
donated laundry
DUSSELDORK: Two charity group
volunteers in Germany got more than
they bargained for when a plastic bag
containing thousands of Deutsche Mark
tumbled out of the donated laundry
they were sorting out. The two workers
in the western German state of NorthRhine Westphalia informed the police of
the discovery, and the rightful owners of
the old western German currency were
located, police said on Wednesday.
Police would not say the exact
amount discovered, only that it was
in the five-figure range. At the current
exchange rate, 10,000 Deutsche Mark
could be cashed in for about $5,725.
— dpa
THURSDAY | AUGUST 4, 2016
business
CRUDE OIL PRICE
Oman Crude ---------------$ 39.59
Brent Crude -----------------$ 41.62
Light Crude -----------------$ 39.38
GOLD PRICES
Oman 24 Kt per gram --------------------------RO 17.40
Oman 22 Kt per gram --------------------------RO 16.65
UAE 24 Kt per gram -------------------------AED 165.00
UAE 22 Kt per gram -------------------------AED 155.00
CURRENCY RATES (RO 1)
US Dollar------------------------------------------------ 2.60
Euro --------------------------------------------------------2.32
British Pounds ----------------------------------------1.94
Indian Rupee ------------------------------------- 174.16
Pakistan Rupee ---------------------------------- 271.90
Philippine Peso --------------------------------- 122.38
SOURCE: MALABAR GOLD AND DIAMONDS
Fuel price reform buoys
gains of marketing firms
REVENUE UPTICK: All three fuel marketing firms link earnings
growth to price deregulation
CONRAD PRABHU
MUSCAT
August 3: Deregulated fuel prices
that came into force with effect from
January 15, 2016 have boosted the gross
earnings of all three fuel marketing
companies operating in the Sultanate.
Shell Oman Marketing Company
SAOG, Oman Oil Marketing Company
SAOG and Al Maha Petroleum
Products Marketing Co SAOG —
licensed by the Ministry of Oil and Gas
to distribute and supply automotive
fuels across the Sultanate — reported
earnings growth averaging around 9
per cent for the first half of this year.
All three firms attributed the
uptick in sales revenues primarily
to fuel price reform adopted by the
Omani government as part of a raft
of measures designed to cushion the
effects of the global oil price downturn
on national revenues.
Oman Oil Marketing Company
reported gross earnings of RO 199.466
million for the six months ended on
June 30, 2016, versus RO 192.939
million posted for the corresponding
period of 2015, entailing an increase
of nine per cent. Company Chairman
Salim Abdullah al Rawas ascribed the
increase to “deregulation” of fuel prices.
On the flip side, the scrapping of
subsidy on fuel prices did contribute
to a “notional drop” in retail business
sales, the Chairman noted. Profit after
tax declined 9 per cent to RO 5.022
million this year, down from RO 5.528
million for the corresponding period
of 2015, he said.
Shell Oman Marketing reported a
10.7 per cent jump in gross revenues,
which climbed to RO 183.4 million
during the first six months of this year,
the company said in the Directors’
Report for H1 2016. Net earnings rose
28 per cent to RO 8.8 per cent, aided
in part by a “significant non-recurring
item” coupled with business growth and
efficient cost management, the report
added.
Al Maha Petroleum Products saw its
gross sales climb eight per cent to RO
186.3 million for the January-June 2016
period, up from RO 172.9 million for
the corresponding period of 2015.
“Retail sales increased during the
period solely on account of the increase
in (fuel) selling rates from mid-January
2016, despite a drop in product demand
mainly in the border areas,” said Gamal
Ali al Ghamal, Deputy Chairman.
The price of Mogas Super (M95)
rose almost 50 per cent to 180 baisas
per litre last month in the highest it has
ever reached since tariffs were linked to
the international price of crude earlier
this year. The pump price of M95 has
since declined to 166 bs per litre.
BoE set to axe rates to record low
LONDON: The Bank of England is
expected to slash interest rates to a
record-low 0.25 per cent this week and
could pump more stimulus into the
economy as it battles the fallout from
Britain’s vote to leave the EU, economists
say.
The announcement, due on Thursday
after the British central bank’s latest
monetary policy meeting, would take
rates to their lowest level in the BoE’s
322-year history
It would also be the first reduction
since March 2009, when the bank cut
to the current all-time low of 0.50 per
cent — and launched its quantitative
easing (QE) bond-buying programme
to stimulate lending and growth during
the global financial crisis.
Analysts believe the BoE might
possibly increase the amount of its QE.
“The BoE is widely expected to ease
monetary policy this week in response
to... Brexit,” said economist Larry
Hatheway at asset manager GAM,
adding that inflation was less likely to be
on target due to the weaker economic
outlook.
“The market anticipates at least a
quarter-point cut in the base rate, but an
expansion of asset purchases and a ‘bias
to ease’ would not be surprises.”
Bright data had showed last week that
Britain’s economy accelerated 0.6 per
cent in the second quarter of this year
in the run-up to the shock decision by
voters on June 23 to exit the European
Union.
However, more recent data has
indicated that economic storm clouds
are gathering — and a recession could
be around the corner.
Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)
surveys have all signalled sharp drops
in construction, manufacturing and
private sector business activity for July.
Adding to the gloomy picture is
growing evidence of a faltering property
market.
The BoE flagged last month that
it might deliver an interest rate cut in
August in response to the Brexit vote
but policymakers did not signal the
precise size and nature of any stimulus
measures.
In July, the BoE had also maintained
the amount of QE cash stimulus
pumping around the economy at £375
billion ($497 billion, 448 billion euros).
“This week’s manufacturing PMI
report is the latest in a long list of
survey data which shows that the vote
to leave the EU has caused significant
uncertainty, and negative shock is on
the way,” said Hargreaves Lansdown
economist Ben Brettell.
“Prior to the referendum, the UK
economy was ticking along quite nicely.
“If the UK had voted to remain in
the EU, there is no reason to suspect this
trend would not have continued, and as
per usual the Bank of England would
now be discussing the likely timing of
the first interest rate rise.
“The Brexit vote has blown that
completely out of the water,” Brettell
said. — AFP
www.omanobserver.om
[email protected]
GULF STOCK MARKET
Muscat ------------------------------------------------- 5,848.21
Abu Dhabi-------------------------------------------- 4,509.62
Dubai --------------------------------------------------- 3,431.90
Qatar -------------------------------------------------- 10,560.86
Kuwait ------------------------------------------------- 5,463.15
Bahrain ------------------------------------------------ 1,161.80
Saudi --------------------------------------------------- 6,232.62
SAATCHI BOSS TO STEP DOWN AFTER ROW
PARIS: French advertising giant
Publicis said Kevin Roberts (pictured),
the Chairman of its Saatchi & Saatchi
business, would resign on September 1
after the veteran advertising boss said
some women lacked “vertical ambition”.
Roberts, the British-born executive,
sparked a sexism row after he was quoted
in an interview as saying that he doesn’t
spend any time on gender issues as the
gender diversity debate was over in the
advertising world.
“The Supervisory Board and the
Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe
took note of Kevin Robert’s decision to
step down with effect from September 1st
2016, prior to his retirement date due in
May 2017,” Publicis said in a statement.
Publicis had this week asked Roberts
to take an immediate leave of absence
as the group did not tolerate “anyone
speaking for our organisation who does
not value the importance of inclusion”.
In an interview with the Business
Insider website, Roberts said that some
women at key junctures in their careers
did not want to lead businesses and
people, and that managers should reflect
on how to deal with the ambitions of
female and male employees who “simply
want to be happy and do great work”.
“Their ambition is not a vertical
ambition, it’s this intrinsic, circular
ambition to be happy,” Roberts was
quoted as saying by Business Insider.
“So they say: ‘We are not judging
ourselves by those standards that you
idiotic dinosaur-like men judge yourself
by’. — Reuters
omaninternational
business
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OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Lira slips most in emerging markets
Turkey’s lira fell after data showed inflation accelerated more than forecast in July,
undermining confidence in the central bank’s resolve to control price gains that eat into
returns on the nation’s assets. Stocks and bonds also dropped. The currency weakened 0.9
per cent to 3.0189 per dollar as of 3:40 pm in Istanbul, the most in emerging markets.
Bank Muscat lines up high value
prizes in Salalah Al Mazyona draw
MUSCAT: Bank Muscat is all set to celebrate
the second quarterly prize draw of Al
Mazyona Savings Scheme on Sunday, August
14, at Hilton Salalah Resort. Shaikh Abdullah
Aqeel Al Ibrahim, Acting Deputy Governor of
Dhofar, will be the guest of honour at the event
in which six winners covering all governorates,
including two from asalah Priority Banking
and two from al Jawhar Privilege Banking, will
receive high value prizes totalling RO 800,000.
The ceremony will be attended by dignitaries,
Premier banking customers and Management
Team members from the bank.
Al Mazyona quarterly prizes include RO
100,000 each for two customers across Oman,
RO 250,000 each for two asalah Priority
banking customers and RO 50,000 each for
two al Jawhar Privilege banking customers.
Al Mazyona 2016 scheme offering RO
10 million in prize money is an incredible
incentive for maintaining a healthy savings
habit. Al Mazyona ensures higher winning
chance to all customers across the Sultanate.
With attractive weekly, monthly, quarterly,
special and year-end prizes, the popular
scheme offers high-value prizes throughout
the year to maximum number of customers in
all regions.
Committed to enhancing banking services
to the premier segment, the bank’s strategy
focuses on differentiated and specialised
banking experience distinguishing Premier
banking clients from competitors.
The exclusive prizes for ‘asalah’ Priority
banking customers include two monthly
prizes of RO 50,000 each, two quarterly prizes
of RO 250,000 each and the year-end jackpot
prize of RO 500,000 for one customer. The
bank also offers special prizes to al Jawhar
Privilege Banking customers, including two
monthly prizes of RO 25,000 each and two
quarterly prizes of RO 50,000 each. Premier
banking customers can also participate in all
other al Mazyona weekly, monthly, quarterly
and special prize draws.
Reaching out with a powerful call for
savings, al Mazyona offers exclusive prizes
for different segments, including women,
children, youth and high saving customers.
As on date, al Mazyona savings scheme
guaranteeing more for everyone to share is the
biggest prize money in Oman and the region
with prizes ranging from RO 1,000 a week to
RO 10,000 a month and RO 100,000 every
quarter, in addition to special and year-end
prizes.
Adding excitement to festivals and national
celebrations, the 2016 savings scheme also
rewards customers with special prizes, besides
aspirational prizes of RO 1 million to be
shared by two customers at the end of year.
An exclusive draw for Zeinah women
customers coinciding with Omani Women’s
Day is a highlight in which 10 customers will
be rewarded with RO 10,000 each. On the
occasion of the National Day, a special draw
will be held offering RO 10,000 each for 10
winners.
The eligibility for al Mazyona prize draws
is to maintain a minimum balance of RO 100
which entitles customers to win RO 1,000
every week. By maintaining a minimum
balance of RO 1,000, customers are eligible
win the RO 10,000 monthly prize, RO 100,000
quarterly prize and the grand prize of RO
500,000 at the end of the year. For every RO
100 balance, customers get 1 chance to win –
so with RO 1000, they get 10 chances to win.
The more the saving, the better the chances to
win.
Insight Information Tech named
Omantel’s ‘Best Success Story’
BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT
August 3: Insight Information Technology
Company has won the Omantel’s 2015 SME
Excellence Award for the Best Success Story.
According to founders Rashid bin Salim
al Salmi and Mohsin al Salmi, “Due to the
increasing dependency on electronic systems
in the public and private sectors and the great
pace of technological development in the
Sultanate, we saw a gap in the market and a
great need for a quality, Oman-based, cyber
security company.”
Rashid continued, “We started in 2003
by providing cybersecurity solutions for
companies according to the information
security standards and needs of the market
here in Oman. Our services cover a number
of aspects of data infrastructure protection
including supporting network security and
data protection”.
Speaking about the future vision of the
company, Rashid added, “We have noticed
a growing awareness of the importance of
data protection among Omani organisations
and we hope this trend will continue to grow
in the coming years. We aim to play greater
role in providing the latest technologies and
services in this field.”
Mohsin al Salmi, the founding co-partner
of Insight Information Technology also
noted, “Information security is a new and fast
growing field that and face many challenges
such as a lack of awareness among the public
about the importance of information security
and how to deal with increasing threats
towards data infrastructure. We work together
to provide these services for our clients.”
Mohsin also noted the government’s focus
and His Majesty
the
Sultan’s
support
for
SMEs to play a
greater role in
economic and
technological
development in
the Sultanate.
“The invention
of the Internet
and the rapid
d e vel opme nt Rashid bin Salim al Salmi
of technology
and telecommunications has revolutionized
the way we do business as a society and has
enhanced our reach to different markets,
suppliers and customers. The royal directives
reflects the growing importance of technology
for SME development in this country.”
SAMSUNG SAID IN TALKS TO BUY
ASSETS OF FIAT AUTO PARTS UNIT
SEOUL: Samsung Electronics Co is in
advanced talks to buy some or all of the
operations of auto-parts maker Magneti
Marelli from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV,
according to people familiar with the matter.
Samsung is particularly interested
in Magneti Marelli’s lighting, in-car
entertainment and telematics business and
could consider an acquisition of the whole
company, the people said, asking not to be
identified as the discussions are private. The
deal could be worth more than $3 billion
with a goal of closing this year, said one of the
people. That would make it Samsung’s biggestever acquisition outside South Korea. Fiat’s
shares rose the most since October 2014.
A move into automobile components
would help decrease Samsung’s reliance on
consumer electronics. Vice Chairman Lee Jae
Yong, 48, is reshaping South Korea’s biggest
company as he takes on more responsibilities
once held by his father. He has sold off assets
and narrowed the conglomerate’s scope as he
seeks to bounce back from a downturn in the
smartphone business.
Lee, who has been a director of Fiat
Chrysler’s controlling shareholder Exor SpA
since 2012, would also position his company
to benefit from the rising interest in cars from
technology companies. Apple Inc, Baidu Inc
and Google are pushing into automobiles,
seeking to deploy their technology into
new areas as cars become more advanced.
Samsung had more than $70 billion of cash
and marketable securities as of March 31,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
In addition to global leadership in
smartphones, Samsung is the world’s biggest
producer of memory chips and televisions.
Samsung declined to comment in an e-mail
statement. A Fiat Chrysler spokesman had no
comment.
Fiat Chrysler rose 7.3 per cent to 5.85 euros
at 1:25 pm in Milan after gaining as much as
9.8 per cent. The shares have lost 31 per cent
this year, compared with an 18 per cent decline
in the Stoxx Europe 600 Automotive & Parts
Price Index. Exor climbed 3.6 per cent to 34.10
euros. News of the talks also lifted shares of
Sogefi SpA, another Italian parts maker that
has attracted interest from private-equity
firms. Sogefi gained 9.4 per cent to 1.62 euros.
The first major carmaker to strike a deal with
Google on driverless vehicles, the company is in
discussions with other technology companies,
Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne
said on a conference call after the company’s
second-quarter earnings results last month.
After calling off efforts to pursue a merger
with General Motors Co, Marchionne has made
eliminating debt his highest priority before he
leaves the post in 2019. Achieving the goal
would put Fiat Chrysler in a better position
to find a partner. Marchionne contends that
the auto industry wastes too much money and
needs to consolidate to finance investment in
new technology.
“It makes sense for a manufacturer to
separate and crystallize value from their
components business,” George Galliers, an
analyst at Evercore ISI, said by phone from
London. “Ford and GM separated their
businesses several years ago.” — Bloomberg
BUSINESS ALERT
Ford tests LiDAR sensor technology
MUSCAT: Ford Motor Company has been actively involved in continuously redefining technology in its
automobiles. Many of these
futuristic features and technologies have made their way
in to Ford vehicles allowing
customers to go further on
every journey.
Recently, under the cover
of night, a Ford Fusion Hybrid autonomous research
vehicle with no headlights on,
navigated along lonely desert
roads, performing a task that
would be perilous for a human
driver.
Driving in pitch black at
Ford Arizona Proving Ground
marks the next step on the company’s journey to delivering fully autonomous vehicles to customers
around the globe. It’s an important development, in that it shows that even without cameras, which rely
on light, Ford’s LiDAR — working with the car’s virtual driver software — is robust enough to steer flawlessly around winding roads. While it’s ideal to have all three modes of sensors — radar, cameras and
LiDAR — the latter can function independently on roads without stoplights.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data has found the passenger vehicle occupant fatality rate during dark hours to be about three times higher than the daytime rate.
“Thanks to LiDAR, the test cars aren’t reliant on the sun shining, nor cameras detecting painted white
lines on the asphalt,” says Jim McBride, Ford technical leader for autonomous vehicles. “In fact, LiDAR
allows autonomous cars to drive just as well in the dark as they do in the light of day.”
To navigate in the dark, Ford self-driving cars use high-resolution 3D maps — complete with information about the road, road markings, geography, topography and landmarks like signs, buildings and
trees. The vehicle uses LiDAR pulses to pinpoint itself on the map in real time.
Additional data from radar gets fused with that of LiDAR to complete the full sensing capability of
the autonomous vehicle.
Muzn National Charity
campaign
MUZN Islamic Banking has launched a new charitable initiative designed to encourage customers
to give back in line with the principles of Islam.
Each time a customer opens a Muzn savings
or Flexi Wakala account with Muzn and deposits
money in the account, the bank will donate a proportionate amount on their behalf to a charity at
the end of the campaign period.
To provide initial funding and momentum to
the campaign, Muzn is making an upfront donation of RO 5,000 to the charity fund.
Yuzly Yusof, Head of Muzn Islamic Banking,
said: “Muzn strives to make meaningful contributions to the society. This campaign is built around
the idea of donating and spreading smiles across
the Sultanate by encouraging people to give back
to their communities. We look forward to engaging our customers in this important new campaign
over the comings weeks and months.”
Muzn’s latest charitable campaign builds on National Bank of Oman’s recent Iftar Sa’im initiative
to support families with essential provisions ahead
of the holy month of Ramadhan. A team of NBO
volunteers including the bank’s senior management team delivered more than 1,200 food hampers to low income families across the Sultanate to
ensure they have all the essential food staples. In
addition to the food parcels donated by NBO, the
bank’s employees also made personal donations of
essential items to help families ahead of the holy
month
New turbocharged engines give more power
AUTOMOTIVE
technologies are changing and in fact
getting smarter. One of these
technologies is the use of Turbocharged engines to increase
fuel efficiency and environmental performance without
compromising on the much
needed power when you need
it. Ever since the 1960s, automobile manufacturers have
been pushing the automotive
industry to make their cars
more fuel efficient, without reducing the overall power output. Automobile manufacturers have learned that the best
way to solve this problem has
been to use smaller engines
with turbochargers, which can
deliver high power and efficiency.
Mazda has been a pioneer
in coming out with new efficient smarter technologies
that can be used in mass production in the past like the rotary engines and quite recently the SKYACTIV technology that not only
makes the engine more efficient without compromising on power, it also enhances the safety and response of the transmission to give more Zoom-Zoom
The biggest advantage of utilising a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine is the ability to generate more
power with the efficiency of a 4-cylinder. Turbo-4 engines operate much like their naturally aspirated
4-cylinder counterparts. While displacement remains the same, turbocharged engines have the ability
to get a boost in power when it is needed. So when you need to get your car up to highway speeds, the
turbocharger pushes compressed air to the cylinders, making more room for fuel.
R R Nair, raffle draw winner of ‘Win up to 10 kilos of gold’ campaign by Malabar Gold & Diamonds
receives the prize ¼ kg gold from Muhsin P, Branch head.
omaninternational
SocGen Q2 net up 8.1 per cent
business
siness
French bank Societe Generale said its second-quarter earnings rose 8.1 per cent from a
year earlier, bolstered by the sale of its shares in Visa Europe. The bank reported a 1.5 billion
euro ($1.7 billion) net profit for the period, higher than the 1.4 billion euros predicted by
economists in a survey by FactSet.
GM and Ford US
sales miss mark
GM reported that sales fell 2 per cent to 267,258 vehicles, at the low end of expectations,
while Ford posted sales of 216,479 vehicles, down 3 per cent.
DETROIT: The biggest US automakers,
General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co,
reported July US sales that disappointed Wall
Street but results were strong overall for the
industry despite fears its long growth spurt
may soon be over.
GM reported that sales fell 2 per cent
to 267,258 vehicles, at the low end of
expectations, while Ford posted sales of
216,479 vehicles, down 3 per cent.
Overall, July US auto sales rose 0.7 per
cent to 1.52 million vehicles, according to
Autodata Corp, for a seasonally adjusted
annualised rate of 17.88 million vehicles.
Autodata said the annualised rate for July was
the highest since last November.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected,
on average, 17.7 million vehicles on the
annualised basis, and 21 economists polled
by Reuters had expected 17.36 million
vehicles.
GM’s Chief Economist, G Mustafa
Mohatarem, and Ford’s Sales Chief, Mark
LaNeve, both said sales are still at healthy
levels. Sales for the year were 1 per cent
higher than they were at this time in 2015,
which ended at a record high, Mohatarem
said. “Let’s calm down on the doomsday talk,”
he said at an industry conference in Traverse
City, Michigan.
GM thinks there is potential for a new
record for US industry auto sales this year,
Mohatarem said.
Nonetheless, GM shares shed 4.4 per
cent, Ford slid 4.3 per cent and Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles NV dropped nearly 4 per cent.
Each of Ford’s four top-selling models lost
ground, including the Explorer SUV, which
dropped 22 per cent. GM and Ford are the
market leaders by sales volume.
FCA, the No 4 by US sales, said its sales
rose 0.3 per cent, missing estimates.
Since 2009 when auto sales slipped to a
modern-day low, the industry has posted
annual growth.
“The growth is over,” Ford Chief Financial
Officer Bob Shanks said in an interview with
Reuters last week. Pent-up demand built
during the last recession has been satisfied,
and lower used car prices are drawing some
buyers away from new vehicles.
Wes Lutz, owner of Extreme Chrysler
Dodge Jeep Ram in Jackson, Michigan, said
consumers “are maxed out and can barely
afford the vehicles they are driving.” Lutz
said he is expanding his used car showroom,
anticipating that new vehicle sales will
decline.
Japanese and South Korean automakers
reported more robust monthly sales than had
been expected, boosting total vehicle sales
as consumers continued to spend on pickup
trucks and SUVs.
Toyota Motor Corp, No 3 in the US
market, reported sales down 1.4 per cent, but
it surpassed expectations.
Showing the largest gains were corporate
stablemates Hyundai Motor Co, sales up 5.6
per cent, and Kia Motors Corp , sales up 6.5
per cent, beating expectations.
Incentive spending in July was 9.9 per cent
of average vehicle selling prices, up from 9.6
per cent a year earlier, said auto sales website
and industry analyst TrueCar Inc. — Reuters
Standard Chartered profits
slump as key markets stall
HONG KONG: Asia-focused bank Standard
Chartered said on Wednesday its net profit
had slumped 66 per cent in a “challenging”
environment, with growth shrinking in key
markets and uncertainty following Britain’s
vote to leave the European Union.
The bank said it was making “good
progress” although performance in 2016
would remain subdued and ordinary
dividends were on hold.
Good news on bad loans helped boost
early trading in London — shares were up
four per cent on Wednesday morning at
613.20 pence per share.
The results showed loan impairment had
been reduced by 34 per cent year-on-year to
$1.1 billion from 1.65 billion.
However, net profit fell to $509 million for
the first half of 2016, down 66 per cent from
$1.512 billion in the same period in 2015.
Pre-tax profit was also down 46 per cent
at $994 million from $1.82 billion last year
while revenues dropped almost 20 per cent
to $6.81 billion.
Chief Executive Bill Winters pointed to
lower growth rates in key markets including
Hong Kong, Singapore and the US, and
stalling global growth as having an impact, as
well as the UK’s unexpected Brexit.
“Although
our
performance
has
substantially improved, income growth
remains muted and returns are weak,”
Winters said in a statement.
Chairman John Peace said that while
Brexit had shaken the world economy,
Standard Chartered was protected to an
extent by its focus outside Europe.
“There is a degree of economic uncertainty
following the UK’s referendum on European
Union membership, but the majority of our
business operates in other parts of the world
and is relatively less impacted,” said Peace.
He added there was a “long way” to go
to achieve the level of returns needed for
shareholders.
Operating expenses were down 13
percent, reflecting cost-cutting measures
including senior staff redundancies.
Like many global banks, Standard
Chartered is battling turmoil in global
financial markets that have seen stocks and
commodities plunge.
In February it said it had swung to a
surprise $2.36 billion net loss in 2015 against
a backdrop of global market volatility,
restructuring costs and bad loans, adding
that its 2016 performance would remain
“subdued”.
It announced in November that it was
refocusing on “affluent retail clients” rather
than corporate and institutional banking
businesses and would exit or restructure
$100 billion of assets and axe 15,000 jobs.
The bank also said executive directors did
not receive bonus payments for the year.
Current bank chairman Peace will be
succeeded in December by 62-year-old Jose
Vinals, currently financial counsellor and
director of the monetary and capital markets
department at the International Monetary
Fund. — AFP
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET
19
international
business
20
ING boosts operating profit by a quarter
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Dutch bank ING, the country’s biggest lender, said its Q2 operating profits rose by more than a quarter
as it boosted lending. Underlying net profit, which strips out one-off items, rose by 26.7pc to 1.4 billion
euros ($1.6 billion). Net profit more than quadrupled to 1.3 billion euros, but the rise was due to the fact ING
booked in the Q2 last year 1.1 billion in losses as it lowered its stake in domestic insurer NN Group.
MARKET PENSIVE: Bond yields up globally on doubts of central bank support * Bank shares under pressure, energy hit by falling oil
Asia markets slip, weak stimulus hits Japan stocks
HONG KONG: Most Asian markets
tumbled for a second day on Wednesday,
extending a global retreat, with Tokyo
taking a hit from a strong yen after
Japan’s economy-boosting stimulus
programme fell flat with investors.
Stocks rallied last month on promises
of support from central banks. But
disappointments about stimulus, weak
US data, plunging oil prices and worries
about European banks have sent dealers
scurrying for cover.
Japan’s government on Tuesday
unveiled details of a 28 trillion yen
($273 billion) package that it hopes will
kick-start growth in the world’s number
three economy.
But the plan fell short of market
expectations as only a quarter of it is
new spending. The yen, seen as a safe
haven asset in times of uncertainty,
surged as a result.
The disappointing package —
unveiled days after another sub-par
stimulus from the Bank of Japan — saw
the dollar tumble to a three-week low of
100.86 yen.
While it had edged up to 101.22
yen in Asian trade on Wednesday, the
stronger Japanese currency dragged on
the country’s exporters and the Nikkei
closed down 1.9 per cent.
“After all the build-up, it’s a
disappointment,” Shane Oliver, a global
investment strategist at AMP Capital
Investors in Sydney, told Bloomberg
News.
This will weigh on Asian stocks,
“reflecting the negative response we’ve
Oil trades near four-month low as
surplus withstands supply drop
Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange
in Frankfurt, Germany. — Reuters
already seen in the US and Europe
overnight,” he added.
Hong Kong was down 1.5 per cent
in the afternoon with traders also
playing catch-up with regional losses on
Tuesday when the city’s exchange was
closed because of a typhoon.
By the close Sydney shed 1.4 per cent,
Seoul was 1.2 per cent off and Singapore
shed one per cent with Manila more
than two per cent lower. Wellington and
Taipei also tumbled. However, Shanghai
bucked the regional trend to close 0.2
per cent higher.
US and European markets ended
down on Tuesday, with anxiety growing
that stress tests on Europe’s banks were
overly lenient, said Chris Low, Chief
Economist at FTN Financial.
The overriding fear concerns the
difficulty banks face making money in
a low interest rate era.
Oil struggled to recover, with
investors on edge after the commodity
Rio Tinto Q2 underlying profit dives low
SYDNEY: Mining giant Rio Tinto said
its underlying earnings dived to their
lowest point for a decade in the first half
on Wednesday, hit by weak commodity
prices, even as its net profits surged.
Underlying profits — investors’
preferred measure — at the world’s
second-biggest miner fell 47 per cent
from a year earlier to $1.56 billion in
the six months through June.
The results were the lowest since
2004, according to Bloomberg News,
and broadly in line with analysts’
expectations.
They are the first delivered under
new Chief Executive, Frenchman JeanSebastien Jacques, who took over from
Sam Walsh last month.
Jacques said the miner was focused
on delivering value to shareholders,
which includes cost-cutting, amid a
backdrop of “continued volatility and
lower commodity prices”.
The cuts helped net profit more
than double to $1.71 billion in the
six months to June 30, up from $806
million in the corresponding period
last year.
Capital spending for the six months
dropped significantly to $1.32 billion,
while net debt fell six per cent to $12.9
billion.
Raw material prices have suffered
amid a supply glut due to slowing
demand from China, world’s largest
commodities consumer. — AFP
Earnings drop as gloom gathers over Europe banks
HSBC’s up-to-$2.5 billion
buy-back soothes investors
HONG KONG/LONDON: HSBC said
its first-half profit tumbled 29 per cent,
slammed by slowing growth in its home
markets in Britain and Hong Kong, but
Europe’s biggest bank cheered investors
by announcing plans to buy back up to
$2.5 billion of its shares.
The lender’s shares rose as much as
1.9 per cent after the buy-back took
the sting out of a drop it reported on
Wednesday in January-June pre-tax
profit to $9.7 billion, just below an
average estimate of $10 billion compiled
by Thomson Reuters.
Analysts joined investors in
welcoming the buy-back, along with
a commitment from the London- and
Hong Kong-based bank to maintain
current dividend levels for the
foreseeable future, despite gloom in its
key markets.
By 0653 GMT HSBC shares in Hong
Kong were trading up 1.8 per cent at
HK$51.70, rebounding from a fall of 1.7
per cent prior to the announcements.
But as Britain’s vote to leave the
European Union clouds economic
prospects, and Hong Kong absorbs
slower growth in China, HSBC warned
it had decided to “remove a timetable”
for reaching its targeted return on equity
in excess of 10 per cent by the end of
next year. Return on equity at end-June
was 7.4 per cent.
HSBC also said it was committed to
sustain annual ordinary dividend for the
A man walks past a HSBC bank branch in London, Britain. — Reuters
year at current levels for the foreseeable
future. That commitment, along
with the buy-back, was described by
Bernstein analysts in a note as positive
for the bank’s shares in the short-term.
Group Chief Executive Stuart
Gulliver, however, said in a call with
Reuters that the bank had removed the
word “progressive” from its guidance on
dividend payout plans, as a reflection of
tougher market conditions.
“’Progressive’ was interpreted by
everyone as meaning it is going to go up
every quarter notwithstanding what is
happening in the world, so what we are
saying is we are committed to sustain the
dividend at the current level,” Gulliver
said. Gulliver said in a statement the
buy-back — following the disposal
of HSBC’s Brazil unit last month in a
$5.2 billion deal — “demonstrated the
strength and flexibility” of its balance
sheet.
“The fall in profits is pretty much to
be expected as indeed is lower guidance
on ROE (return on equity) given nighon zero interest rates,” said Hugh Young,
head of equities at Aberdeen Asset
Management, a top HSBC shareholder.
“The buy-back may be more of a
token gesture, like the earlier marginal
dividend increase,” Young said, adding
that he believed the management
would continue to invest in its business
plan.
The bank reported its earnings as
clouds gather over Europe’s banking
sector, rattled by deteriorating profit
and yields amid record low interest rates
and higher regulatory costs. — Reuters
sank into a bear market — a 20 per cent
fall from recent highs — on renewed
worries about a supply glut as the
crucial US summer driving season nears
its end.
Brent edged down 0.2 per cent to
$41.79 and West Texas Intermediate
added 0.2 per cent to $39.58.
Both contracts are well down from
the levels above $50 touched in early
June when output was hit by disruptions
in Nigeria and Canada.
BIZ BRIEF
Noble Group
collapses 19 pc
over 2-days as
volumes surge
SINGAPORE: Noble Group Ltd shares
extended their slump to the lowest
since 2003, ahead of a one-week
period that’ll see the commodity
trader’s new rights-issue stock begin
trading and the company report
quarterly earnings.
The shares lost as much as 8.3
per cent to 12.2 Singapore cents
and closed 0.8 per cent down at 13.2
cents in the city-state. On Tuesday,
the stock sank 18 per cent, drawing a
query from the exchange, and Hong
Kong-based Noble Group said it was
unaware of the reason for the move.
The stock has lost 19 per cent
over two days, with about 319
million shares traded on Wednesday,
after 336 million changed hands on
Tuesday. That compares with a daily
average of about 93 million shares in
2016, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg. The one-for-one rights
issue will see 6.5 billion new shares
added.
After a turbulent 2015 that saw
a plunge in its shares and the first
annual loss in almost two decades,
Noble Group is facing further
challenges. The company has raised
about $500 million in the rights issue
to shore up its finances, with the
fund-raising supported by Chairman
Richard Elman and China Investment
Corp, and the new shares are
expected to start on the main board
of the exchange on Thursday. It’s also
seeking a buyer for Noble Americas
Energy Solutions, an asset it once
labelled as core.
“Investors are jittery over Noble’s
continued cash-raising activity, with
some uncertainty over the potential
sale of the North American energy
business given the recent slip in oil
prices,” said Terence Lin, Assistant
Director of Bonds and Portfolio
Management at Singapore-based
fund researcher iFast Corp.
— Bloomberg
HONG KONG: Oil traded near a
four-month low in New York on signs
the global supply surplus persists even
as stockpile declines in the US pare the
excess.
Futures added 0.8 per cent in New
York after slipping 5 per cent the
previous two sessions. Inventories
slid by 1.34 million barrels and
gasoline stockpiles fell, the American
Petroleum Institute was said to report.
Energy Information Administration
data on Wednesday is forecast to
show crude and motor fuel supplies
decreased. Brent oil, the global
benchmark, entered a bear market
on Tuesday, joining West Texas
Intermediate.
Oil has tumbled more than 20 per
cent from its June peak, meeting the
common definition of a bear market
and ending a recovery that saw prices
Attention will now turn to Friday’s
US jobs report for a fresh snapshot of
the US economy, with a weak figure
likely to dent expectations of a Federal
Reserve rate rise this year.
Key figures: Tokyo — Nikkei 225:
DOWN 1.9 per cent at 16,083.11
(close); Shanghai — Composite: UP
0.2 per cent at 2,978.46 (close); Hong
almost double from a 12-year low in
February. Analysts from Citigroup
Inc to Bank of America Merrill Lynch
are confident the slump will be shortlived and investors are paying the
smallest premium in two months to
protect against a drop in crude from
now through the end of the year.
“July was a brutal month for the
bulls,” said Seth Kleinman, Londonbased head of European energy
research at Citigroup Inc. “Supply is
going down, demand is still going up.
Those lines are going to cross. Have
they crossed yet? At this point it’s hard
to know.”
WTI for September delivery was
33 cents higher at $39.84 a barrel on
the New York Mercantile Exchange at
10:22 am in London after advancing
as much as 1 per cent earlier.
— Bloomberg
Kong — Hang Seng: DOWN 1.5
per cent at 21,800.43; Euro/dollar:
DOWN at $1.1204 from $1.1224;
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3306 from
$1.3354; Dollar/yen: UP at 101.22 yen
from 100.90 yen; New York — DOW:
DOWN 0.5 per cent at 18,313.77
(close); London — FTSE 100: DOWN
0.7 per cent at 6,645.40 (close). —AFP
Axa H1 profit rises on life, health earnings
MUNICH: Axa SA, France’s biggest insurer, said first-half profit rose 4 per cent as
increased earnings from life and health insurance helped offset higher claims from
natural catastrophes.
Net income climbed to 3.2 billion euros ($3.6 billion) from 3.1 billion euros a year
earlier, the Paris-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. That missed the
3.6 billion-euro average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Thomas Buberl was appointed to take over as Axa’s CEO after Henri de Castries
unexpectedly said he would leave the company in September. Buberl, 43, plans to
increase Axa’s profitability through 2020 by seeking 2.1 billion euros of cost cuts and
growing digital investments. Growing earnings is increasingly difficult for insurers like
Axa and Allianz SE as competition for premiums intensifies and quantitative easing
hurts income from investments.
“Our balance sheet remains very strong with a Solvency II ratio at 197 per cent,
well within our target range,” Buberl said in the statement. The ratio, a measure of an
insurer’s ability to absorb losses under regulatory rules introduced in Europe this year,
stood at 205 per cent a year ago. Axa’s target range is from 170 per cent to 230 per
cent.
Axa rose as much as 3 per cent in Paris trading and was down 0.4 per cent at 17.32
euros as of 9:25 am. The stock has fallen 32 per cent this year, giving the company a
market value of about 41.9 billion euros. The Bloomberg Europe 500 Insurance Index
declined 22 per cent over the same period. — Bloomberg
A money changer counts Turkish lira bills at an currency exchange office in
central Istanbul, Turkey. — Reuters
UK services shrink most since 2009
LONDON: Britain’s services sector, the largest part of the economy, is shrinking at the
fastest pace in seven years, adding weight to arguments for the Bank of England to
loosen policy this week.
Markit said its Purchasing Managers Index plunged to 47.4 in July from 52.3 in
June, below the 50 level that signals contraction. The gauge hasn’t been this weak
since March 2009, when the BoE cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low and
launched quantitative easing to aid the economy.
Surveys of confidence and business activity have slumped since Britain’s decision
in June to quit the European Union, and the BoE is expected to respond with fresh
stimulus when it announces its next policy decision on Thursday. Markit said its
services, manufacturing and construction indexes are signalling a quarterly economic
contraction of 0.4 per cent.
“It’s too early to say if the surveys will remain in such weak territory in coming
months, leaving substantial uncertainty over the extent of any potential downturn,”
said Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit in London.
The latest report comes as the National Institute of Economic and Social Research
warns of a “marked” slowdown in UK growth as Brexit damps investment and
consumer spending. They expect the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee to reduce
its key rate to 0.1 per cent from 0.5 per cent currently, with cuts this week and in
November. — Bloomberg
p
pers
p
pective
business
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
DEBT TRAP
21
China’s robotics rush gets its debt out of control
NATHANIEL TAPLIN
D
own a side street
bracketed
by
massage parlours
and cheap hotels
in this city on
the banks of the
Yangtze river, a humanoid food service
robot trundles around the corner of a
table in a cafe, red eyes flashing in tune
with synthesised classical music.
The Wuhu Hands On Café’s waiter,
named ‘Hero,’ has no customers on a
drizzly Friday morning. He is, though,
a symbol of Wuhu city’s hopes of
becoming a major centre for robotics,
and the local government’s ability to
chase that dream through the debt
markets, whether it makes commercial
sense or not.
‘Hero’ was the result of six months
research at a nearby robotics park that
has cost 2.2 billion yuan ($332 million)
to establish. For the park’s next stage,
including a hotel, an exhibition centre
and a cultural plaza, Wuhu is raising
another 1.2 billion yuan through a socalled local government finance vehicle
(LGFV), and offering a raft of incentives
for firms to set up there.
The problem is it is not alone. Dozens
of other medium-sized Chinese cities
like Wuhu, which is west of Shanghai
in Anhui province and has a population
of around four million, have similar
robotics park plans.
And the ease with which
municipalities can use off balance
Beijing’s drive to make the
nation a leader in robotics
through its ‘Made in China
2025’ initiative launched
last year has set off a rush as
municipalities up and down
the country vie to become
China’s robotics centre.
A robot is presented at Wuhu
robotics centre in Wuhu, Anhui
Province, China.
companies like LGFVs to finance
infrastructure — some needed, some
not — is rapidly boosting China’s
already high debt burden. Meanwhile,
investors gambling that Beijing will
not allow the debt to default while
infrastructure remains a critical support
for growth, have bid up LGFV bonds to
new highs.
Beijing’s drive to make the nation a
leader in robotics through its ‘Made in
China 2025’ initiative launched last year
has set off a rush as municipalities up
and down the country vie to become
China’s robotics centre.
The investment boom comes
as the industry is already showing
warning signs of overcapacity, despite
increasing demand for robots in auto
manufacturing and electronics.
Growth in demand for industrial
robots in China fell by more than two-
thirds to 17 per cent in 2015 — and
yet more than 40 robotics parks have
sprouted throughout the country in the
last two years, according to industry
data. In June, the National Business Daily
reported Vice Minister of Industry and
Information Technology Xin Guobin
warning that China’s robotics industry is
showing signs of over investment and of
“a high-end sector becoming low-end.”
China’s Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology had no
immediate comment when contacted.
LGFVs first gained popularity in
China in the 1990s as a way to fund
municipal projects without running
afoul of new restrictions on cities’
official borrowing.
They played a key role in shoring up
economic growth in the global financial
crisis but also became a major source of
China’s debt burden. Outstanding debt
was $26.56 trillion, or 255 per cent of
gross domestic product at the end of
2015, up from 220 per cent just two
years before, according to the Bank for
International Settlements.
A short-lived crackdown by Beijing
on LGFV financing in late 2014 was
quickly watered down as growth
sputtered to a twenty-five year low last
year.
In China as a whole, LGFV bond
financing climbed 72 per cent in the
first five months of 2016 from the same
period last year to 740 billion yuan,
while the vehicles’ total outstanding
bond debt now stands at around five
trillion yuan, according to Everbright
Securities data sourced from the
Chinese information provider WIND.
“Loads of infrastructure-investing
companies are exhausting every means
they can get to get money,” says Li
Yujian at Bohai Trust, which offers
high-interest loans to companies who
cannot get all the financing they need
in mainstream debt markets.
For a command economy, China
has a very decentralised fiscal system
with local governments responsible
for about 85 per cent of fiscal spending
but receiving only 50 per cent of tax
revenues. Officials turn to debt to fill the
gap.
As a result, Beijing often lacks a
clear picture of what local governments
are doing, and cities have little reliable
data on their neighbours, leading to a
dangerous tendency for duplication
— especially when Beijing throws
its weight behind a given sector, like
robotics.
The convoluted work-arounds
to funnel cash to oftentimes risky
local projects also tend to muddy the
question of who is actually responsible
should matters go awry. “We are just
a financing platform. We raise money
and we lend it out,” says Yang Bin of
the Wuhu city-owned Jiujiang Area
Construction Investment Corporation,
which sold the bonds for the robotic
centre’s expansion.
The money will be spent by building
contractors for the robotics park. There
are also local and central government
subsidies to attract firms to use the
facilities. The lynchpin of this elaborate
edifice remains government backing,
implicit and sometimes explicit. Market
participants say investing in LGFV debt
is essentially a bet on Beijing’s interest
in keeping credit flowing smoothly to
local governments.
“All of those companies have very
weak standard credit metrics. The
reason they can borrow is because
of local government support, which
depends on central government
policy,” says Jie Peng of Western Asset
Management in Singapore, which
invests in some LGFV debt in large
Chinese cities.
The support, including a 3.2 trillion
yuan Beijing-backed local government
debt swap last year, means LGFVs can
offer relatively high interest rates while
allowing bondholders to feel they are
not likely to be heavily exposed to the
consequences if investments sour.
The yield to maturity on the
Jiujiang Area Construction Investment
Corporation’s 1.2 billion yuan bond is 3.8
per cent, about 0.5 of a percentage point
higher than official local government
debt in the same part of China.
To many investors, that looks
like a good deal — LGFV debt has
outperformed most other corporate
debt over the past year as defaults in
other sectors have risen.
The local debt boom, though, has
raised fears of a new round of wasted
investment. Elsewhere in China,
cities are building gargantuan sports
stadiums, far bigger than they need;
hundreds of amusement parks, many
of which do not have the attractions to
compete against rivals in neighbouring
towns; and innovation centres without
enough entrepreneurs. — Reuters
*What’s the big deal about India’s *Bitcoin tanks after
TAX POLICY
VIRTUAL CURRENCY
Hong Kong exchange
‘hacked’
goods and services tax?
UNNI KRISHNAN
A
I
ndia’s decade-long wait for
a national sales tax that will
create one of the world’s biggest
single markets could be almost
over.
On Wednesday evening,
lawmakers in the upper house of
parliament may finally vote on a
constitutional amendment to enable
the goods-and-services tax, known as
GST. Once fully implemented, the tax
will go a long way towards fulfilling
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge
to make it easier to do business in the
world’s fastest-growing big economy.
Q: What is the GST?
The GST will replace at least 17 state
and federal levies, making the movement
of goods cheaper and seamless across a
market holding 1.3 billion consumers,
about four times the US population. It
would be far simpler than the current
system, where a good is taxed multiple
times at different rates. The underlying
principle is to tax goods at the point of
consumption rather than production.
What economic impact will it have?
GST can boost economic growth by as
much as 2 percentage points, according
to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Greater
tax compliance has the potential to boost
revenues for the government, helping
narrow Asia’s widest budget deficit and
allowing more funds to be allocated to
schools and highways.
How early could we see these results?
They may start to show up gradually
in the fiscal year starting April 1, 2017.
That’s because there are still some steps
before the GST can be fully implemented.
What obstacles are remaining?
Once the bill clears the Upper House,
the government will seek passage in
the Lower House, where Modi’s ruling
party has the numbers for approval. The
legislation will then need to be ratified by
at least half of India’s states, which could
happen over the next few months.
Once that is done, parliament needs to
introduce at least one more bill detailing
GST can boost economic
growth by as much as 2
percentage points. Greater
tax compliance has the
potential to boost revenues
for the government, helping
narrow Asia’s widest budget
deficit and allowing more
funds to be allocated to
schools and highways.
the structure of the tax, which includes
a state GST and a central GST. The
earliest this could occur would be the socalled winter session of parliament that
normally starts in November.
What is the tax rate?
That won’t be announced for months.
The constitutional amendment bill
would create a GST Council comprising
the nation’s finance minister as well as
representatives from the states. This
body will determine the final rate.
Modi’s top economic adviser and the
main opposition Congress party want to
cap the rate at around 18 per cent, while
some states want a higher levy. Globally,
rates for similar consumption taxes
range from 5 per cent to 27 per cent, and
the median for OECD countries is about
20 per cent.
Why didn’t India’s founders
implement a national sales tax?
The constitution laid out the method
of taxation in 1950, soon after several socalled princely states — territories ruled
by a native monarch under the British
Emperor — agreed to join the Dominion
of India. Different levels of economic
development and local sensitivities
necessitated a two-tier system at the
time.
Are all goods and services covered
under the GST?
In negotiations over the GST, some
state governments have managed
to exempt chief revenue-generating
products such as alcohol, petroleum and
real estate. The GST Council may also
decide to tax certain luxuries — such as
a flat-screen TV, for example — at a far
higher rate than food staples.
How will the GST affect companies?
Companies will have to overhaul their
accounting systems, which may involve
one-time investment costs. There may
also be chaos in the short term as the
government gets the computer software
up and running.
Will the GST affect inflation?
Prepare for a short-term spike in
prices. Citigroup Inc’s economists say
countries like Canada, Australia and
New Zealand saw a one-time increase
in inflation after GST implementation,
which normalised in a year. Modi’s
advisers say the impact on India’s
consumer prices will be negligible if
the GST rate is capped at 18 per cent.
If the rate is around 22 per cent, then
they project inflation to accelerate 0.3
per cent to 0.7 per cent — mostly due to
education and health services.
What sectors will benefit?
Logistics companies stand to gain as
it becomes easier to ferry goods across
India. Other sectors largely depend
on the fine print of the GST, including
exemptions. — Bloomberg
major Hong Kong-based Bitcoin exchange has
suspended trading after $65 million in the virtual unit
was reportedly stolen by hackers — sending the digital
currency plunging more than 20 per cent.
Bitfinex said it had suspended all transactions after
discovering that some users’ Bitcoins had been taken.
“Today we discovered a security breach that requires us to halt all
trading on Bitfinex, as well as
halt all digital token deposits to
and withdrawals from Bitfinex,”
the company said in a statement
posted on its website late on
Tuesday. “We are investigating
the breach to determine what
happened... we will look at
various options to address customer losses later in the investigation,” it
said.
Bloomberg News reported hackers took 119,756 Bitcoins, or about $65
million at current prices, from the platform.
The value of the often-volatile currency plunged on Wednesday to as
low as $482.82 from $603.06 on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg News
data, before rising to $539.53 on Wednesday afternoon.
“Yes, it is a large breach,” said Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase, a
cryptocurrency wallet and trading platform.
“Bitfinex is a large exchange, so it is a significant short-term event,
although Bitcoin has shown its resiliency to these sorts of events in the
past.”
The breach is the latest blow to digital currencies after the ‘New York
Times’ reported in June that hackers diverted more than $50 million from
an experimental fund of another platform that trades Ether, a similar unit
to Bitcoin.
But the biggest case was in 2014, when the Tokyo-based Mt Gox
trading exchange, then the largest in the world, declared bankruptcy when
hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoins were vanished or were stolen.
The company admitted 850,000 coins — worth around $480 million at
the time — had disappeared from its digital vaults.
The collapse left a trail of angry investors calling for answers and
denting the virtual currency’s reputation.
Its former CEO Mark Karpeles is facing allegations that he fraudulently
manipulated data and pocketed the cash. His lawyers said last month he
had been released on bail in Japan a year after his arrest on embezzlement
charges.
In the wake of the scandal, Japanese lawmakers passed a bill stipulating
that all “virtual currency” exchanges must be regulated by the country’s
Financial Services Agency.
Bitcoins are generated by complex chains of interactions among a
huge network of computers around the planet, and are not backed by any
government or central bank.
Bitcoin was launched in 2009 as a bit of software written under the
Japanese-sounding name Satoshi Nakamoto. — AFP
THURSDAY l AUGUST 4, 2016
[email protected]
www.omanobserver.om
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ͻͻͺͶʹͻͻʹǤͳͲǦ͸
WE ͷ
for lease in City of Nizwa at
the public road and near the
compound of the governor
of Al Dakhliyah. They are
͵ͷͲǤ
The area can be extended
͸ͷͲ
͸
to the block are ours also.
ͻʹʹ͵ʹͷͻʹǤ
·····
·····
TWO new apartment for rent
in Al Qurum near Mina al
Fahal. Contact. ͻͶ͸͸Ͷ͸͵ͷǡ
ͻͷͺͷͲ͵ͶͷǤ
·····
Ali al Maashari: 99639264 [email protected]
Mohammed al Rashdi: 99841230 [email protected]
VILLA for rent in North Al
Hail consists of 4 bedrooms
with toilets for each room +
Ǥͻͻ͹͸ͲͻͲͺ
·····
A COFFEE shop with all

near Hail Al Awamir School.
99469900.
·····
ELFAYED for sedative
investment in Salalah
introduces the best price
and utilities, for rent: Super
ϐǡǡ
and yearly. ͻͺͲ͵ͷͳ͵ͷȀ
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·····
ͳƬʹflats for
rent at Ruwi and Al
Khoudh. 93994402,
93994403, 24834644.
·····
FLATS for rent in Salalah
European design, farm
view, good situation in
the centre near the sea,
ϐǤͻʹͳͺͳͷʹͶ
WhatsApp.
·····
ONE ϐ
Al Hail and 2km from
Wave Muscat, contains 4
bedrooms, living room, a
kitchen and 2 toilets, RO
300. ͻͻͲ͹͹͹ʹʹǤ
CERTIFIED Fumigator
who can handle all
types of fumigation
services for a reputed
Trading Company in
Muscat. Should have
relevant educational
ϐǡ
ϐǡ
experience in
fumigation service,
good co-ordination
skills and having
driving licence.
Interested candidates
may forward their
CV with copies
of educational
ϐ
ͳͲ
ǣ̷
omnatel.net.om
·····
FREE
INFORMATION
ABOUT ISLAM
If you would like
to know more
about
Islam, please
call:
Tel : 99425598,
99250777,
99353988,
99253818,
99341395,
99379133,
For ladies:
99415818,
99321360, 99730723
Or visit:
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23
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Situation Vacant
URGENTLY required
experienced MEP
Engineers and
Estimators. Contact
95229608, 93214092
or [email protected]
·····
WANTED A Bilingual
Sales Executive, with 3
to 4 years experience &
driving licence. Should be
dynamic and capable of
planning sales forecast,
calls and reports. Fluency
in Arabic must. Email CV to
[email protected]
·····
LOOKING for Indian female
marketing with journalistic,
advertising and media
background. 93946622, ali.
[email protected]
·····
WANTED Sales Engineer —
A reputed trading company
dealing with agency products
in Oil & Gas, petrochemicals
and power sectors, is looking
for a sales engineer having
an experience of 2-3 years in
dealing with piping materials,
valves, instrumentation
ǡǡϐ
etc. Having valid Omani
driving licence and only those
candidates who can get a NOC
from the current employer may
apply with a photograph in the
resume to: eng2cvob@gmail.
com
REQUIRED 3-5 years
experienced marketing/
sales engineer for a well
reputed company in Oil &
Gas sector. GCC experience
and driving licence
preferred. Please send CV
to [email protected]
·····
REQUIRED registered
Omani Nurse (MoH
licence) with experience of
5 years and ready to work
ϐȋȌ
with 14 days/14 days
rotation for the position of
Clinic Manager. For more
details please contact Dr
Ghazwan 93280260
or send CV to:
medicalinformation2016@
gmail.com
·····
Services
1. AC maintenance and
servicing.
2. Fridge, washing
machine and dish
washer repairing.
3. Painting and cleaning
services. 4. Electrical,
plumbing and carpentry
work 97014234,
99447257, 24504281.
·····
AL SUMRI AC
maintenance. We are
ready to repair and
install all types of
Air-Conditioner within
Muscat Governorate.
94301888.
·····
·····
·····
·····
AZOOZ House of truest
Providing domestic
servant, cook and
babysitters, from
Filipino, Sri Lanka,
India and Bangladesh.
95330209/ 24831448.
RESIDENT in Oman for 20
years, 10 years experience
in procurement, Omani
Government tenders,
setup marketing plans
and strategies, importing,
organising projects and
events, holding British
passport enable for
ϐ
businesses, have car and NOC
94123939
HIGH Pressure Trading
ǡϐǡ for
Accounts Clerk and PRO with
one or two years experience in
Sohar kindly send your CV with
ǣϐ̷Ǥ
·····
A NEW medical complex in Izki
required medical staff:
·····
·····
- 2 Pharmacists.
WE are looking for civil
engineer should have 6 years
experience and can manage and
supervise in construction site.
99332131/ 24185238. Email:
[email protected]
94359172.
REQUIRED Staff for cafe and
restaurant in Muscat. Send CV
to: [email protected]
Reply all or forward more
MAINTENANCE: 1. AC
Maintenance & Servicing;
2. Fridge, Washing Machine
& Dish washer repairing; 3.
Painting & cleaning services;
4. Electrical & Plumbing
Carpentry work. Contact:
99447257, 97014234,
24504281.
·····
·····
·····
REQUIRED urgently a Quantity
Surveyor (Pre-Tender) with
ϐǤ
For reputed excellent grade civil
construction company. Please
forward the CV to the following
fax number: 00968 24836811.
OMANI public relation
manager/ marketing
manager required for an
ϐǤǤ
Omani citizens with healthcare
ϐ
experience only need to apply
with English CV and photo to:
[email protected]
WE offer you the Business
Services: Maintenance of
buildings and villas for
paint and carpentry and
decoration works and
installation of material water
proof and cleaning services
building management and
leasing of real estate (Out
motto is to provide quality
in all our business). Muscat
Renaissance Development
and Investment.99070093.
THE White Pearl Enterprises
urgently need experienced
beautician lady & henna artist
for a beauty salon in Bausher.
They should be honest and
hardworking. Limas Beauty
Centre. If you are interested,
please 99350707 or
99250707.
·····
WANTED expat with at least
a diploma in accounting or
ϐ͵
experience in a construction
company working in GCC.
To apply email your CV to:
[email protected]
·····
URGENTLY required
Expatriate Heavy Duty
Drivers, JCB Operators with
valid Omani licence. Send your
CV to gdsoman@gdsoman.
com. Contact: 99890076,
93894018, Fax: 24590866.
·····
ACCOUNTANT, Indian male,
B.Com, 10 years experience in
Oman with D/L, specialised
in Tally ERP 9 & Focus, up to
ϐǤ
Ǥϐ
attested in Oman.
99622639.
A REPUTED building material
showroom in Al Khuwair is
looking for general manager
with minimum experience of 10
ϐǤ
91408823 for interview
appointment
A CONSTRUCTION company
looking for a Project Engineer
with minimum 5 years
experience, able to handle
all type of construction
works. Contact details: Email:
[email protected]
90699920
·····
OMAN experienced
Indian Lawyer, (35) BA,
Arabic, LLB, MBA. Knows
English, Arabic. Looking
for suitable position in
ϐǤ
Presently working as
a legal adviser. NOC
available. 97351649.
E-mail: advocatesharaf@
gmail.com
·····
AZOOZ House of truest
Providing all type
of workers skill and
unskilled from Filipino,
Sri Lanka, India and
Bangladesh. Email:
[email protected]
95330209/ 24831448.
- 2 General doctors.
- 1 Specialist obstetrician
and gynaecologist.
- 2 Paediatrician and
specialist.
- 1 Dermatologist.
- 1 Spec phys
otorhinolaryngology.
- 2 X-Ray technicians.
- 2 LAB technicians.
·····
Situation Wanted
·····
·····
REQUIRED Marketing/
PR Manager for a modern
restaurant group in Oman.
ϐ
Photoshop. Charismatic,
ǡϐǤ
Excellent writing/editing
skills. Degree in relevant area.
Fluent in English. Send CV to
[email protected]
·····
A LEADING international
ϐ
information technology
headquarter in Ruwi seeks
an Omani female (secretary)
holder of general diploma
ϐ
Wilayat Muttrah. The CV is
emailed to [email protected]
·····
URGENTLY required Building
Technician. 98111363.
·····
SUBCONTRACTORS required:
SME contractors interested
in telecom side — civil and
underground telephone cable
laying work — may contact
Mr S Ravi 99424605 or Mr
Sayed.99358733 of National
Telephone Services Co LLC.
PRIVATE medical centre
in Mudhaibi requires
females physicians in
the following specialties:
Obstetrics and gynaecology
1, Dermatologists &
Cosmetologist 1, Dentist
1, Pharmacist 1, Nurses 3
93553245.
·····
·····
ABU Sultan Trad.
Steel fabrication workshop
shade store gate car parking
skib tank, all type of steel
making. 923200920
Nazam. Barka Industrial
Area.
·····
·····
PROVIDES all kinds of legal
works, LLC registration,
agreements, contracts.
Takes all kinds of cases of
companies.97351649.
·····
Ad agency background —Art
Director/Sr Graphic Designer
seeks job. Branding and
print media with NOC. Please
contact 96148101
·····
INDIAN female, 24 years, MBA
(Finance and HR), B.Com
(Computer Application),
currently on family visa,
looking for suitable placement
in Admin, HR or Finance.
Contact: 93839846, e-mail:
[email protected]
·····
20 YEARS experienced
GCC, Electrical Engineer/
project manager. Experience
in GIS substation, EHV, MV,
LV system and oil & gas
and infrastructure projects.
NOC available. Oman D/L.
97928445, t.siva.rao16@
gmail.com.
·····
Situation Wanted
LOOKING for suitable
placement, Indian female,
Master in computer
application with 11 years
of experience in data
warehousing, Teradata
and date modelling
looking for suitable
placement in Muscat.
91192543. E-mail:
[email protected]
·····
INDIAN, male, BE in Electrical
and electronics with Post
Graduate Diploma in Power
Systems (Transmission
and distribution), seeks
placement. Presently in Oman
on visit. Contact 94669679.
E-mail: prsabarish@gmail.
com
·····
INDIAN male graduate Civil
Engineer from Muscat college,
holding 2 years employment
visa and D/L, seeks
suitable placement. Contact
99315714.
·····
INDIAN male, age 25, looking
for suitable placement in sales
and marketing. Having 2 years
of Indian experience. Contact
97939084, 97351786.
E-mail: mohammedusr126@
gmail.com.
·····
INDIAN male, B.Tech (ECE)
MBA (HR), 2 years of
experience CCNA, CCNP and
hands on practice on LINUX,
MCSE, looking for suitable
job, presently on employment
visa, release available. Contact
email: syedvizarat7@gmail.
com 95584814
·····
INDIAN Commerce graduate
with MBA Finance, having
9 years experience seeks
suitable placement. Contact
0096893655079,
00919916317946
·····
AUTOCAD Civil Draftsman,
having experience in road
projects. Preparing plan
ϐǡǧ and
structural drawings. E-mail:
[email protected]
94034544.
·····
·····
FRIENDS MANPOWER:
Filipino housemaids
and all kinds of workers.
24489268 Tel:/Fax:
24478153, 92462496.
·····
KHALIFA Al-Sinani
Manpower — labourers &
housemaid from Indonesia,
Kenya, Uganda and other
countries. Al Suwaiq. To
communicate 26713500,
26713600.
·····
TO ADVERTISE
HERE, CALL:
[email protected]
or call: 91 70 86 07
·····
AN MBA with more than 10
years of sales & marketing
experience in Gulf and 1.6
years in Oman in electronics
& appliances division. Having
Omani driving licence, NOC
available. 91298641
·····
INDIAN male, 23 years PG
Dip in Petroleum Engineering
and B.Tech in Mechanical
Engineering Holding UAE
driving licence, seeks suitable
placement immediately.
95880127, 95084905,
[email protected]
·····
ϐǡ
Indian female, 10 years
business and IT experience
in sales and marketing,
consulting, product
management rules in banking
and sustainability currently
on visit visa, looking for
ϐǤ95431357.
·····
LOOKING for job. Electrical
Engineer from India having
5 years of experience in the
ϐǡǡ
brand management, business
development and also
having experience on events
and exhibitions. Currently
in Muscat on family visit
visa. Abhishek Ganguly.
91912078, ganguly1508@
gmail.com
·····
SAFETY ϐǡ
male, 28 years, having 3
years experience in general
Industry and construction
ϐǣǡ
OSH Academy 48 hours,
ϐ
year diploma HSE, Masters
in Commerce. 93107730.
[email protected]
·····
Situation Wanted
TALENTED engineer,
Indian, male 24
years, BTech-EEE,
AutoCAD, E-CAD,
seeking for a good job
opportunity, ready
to join immediately.
92907983/ 99346546,
ϐ̷Ǥ
·····
ACCOMPLISHED and
resourceful business
management and
operational professional
with 15+ years of successful
experience credited with
Hospitality Industry looking
for a suitable opening. NOC
available. 97769546.
·····
INDIAN driver with
Omani driving licence.
97333357.
·····
26 YEARS, Gulf experience
Sri Lankan, pastry and
bakery chef looking for job.
Release - NOC available.
91783266.
·····
INDIAN female, 25, Masters
in Biotechnology, seeks
a suitable placement.
Interested to work in food,
pharmaceutical industries
and desalination plants.
Currently at Muscat in family
visit visa. 94907670/
94517141. Email:
[email protected]
·····
INDIAN male, 24 years civil
engineer working in Oman,
NOC available professional
in building design, seeks
job. 90342980. Email:
[email protected]
·····
For Sale
For Rent
USED CARS FOR SALE
DIESEL Tanker, 1,600
gallon Volvo, 1987.
92836774.
MERCEDES Benz C180 Model 2009 (234677Km run)
in good running condition for sale. Further, Hyundai
Sonata car Model 2003 (305684Km run) and Mazda
323 car Model 2001 (585273Km run) - for sale on asis-where-is basis. These can be inspected at NTS Camp
in Ghala.
·····
A COMMERCIAL residential
plot, 594 sqm, have a title
ϐ
Seeb Municipality, has a
corner open to two streets,
RO 150,000. 95123578.
Manpower
WE provide cleaning and
loading staff. MODERN
SPARKLE LLC. +968
95367541.
a) Carpenter -2 nos.
b) Mason - 5 nos.
c) Steel Fixer - 3 nos.
d) Helper - 5 nos.
e) Tile Mason - 5 nos.
please send email to
INDIAN female, IT graduate, BE
(Hons) Systems Administration
with 2 years experience
in teaching, seeks suitable
position in education/training
industry, communication.
96447091. fatimahaq24@
outlook.com
·····
MBA, HR Marketing (male 26),
3 years experience in Noor
Islamic Bank (UAE), 1 year HR
Coordinator looking for suitable
placement. 901462412,
[email protected]
·····
Announcement
THE company (Jasim Al
Jabri and Partner Trade.
(Partnership)) registered with
the Directorate of Commerce
and Industry in South Al
Sharqiyah Governorate
announces that it is changing
its commercial name into
the company of The Modern
Elevated House (Partnership)
and who is objecting to the
ϐ
objection at the Directorate
of Commerce and Industry
of South Al Sharqiyah
Governorate.
·····
Lost
ROWENA Arcega has
lost Filipino passport No
EC4020330. Finder please
handover to ROP.
·····
AKHIL Thulasidharan Pillai
has lost Indian passport No
J9907590. Finder please
handover to ROP.
·····
Intersted parties may contact on 99259157/ 93891398.
Sealed offers with vehicle-wise quote should be submitted
on or before 4th August 2016 with security deposit.
·····
INDIAN male, 29 years,
BSc graduate with Omani
driving licence and 7 years
of sales experience in home
appliances, IT products,
ϐ
equipment. Currently working
on employment visa, NOC
available, seeking for suitable
placement immediately.
97890607, ashrafambar@
gmail.com
URGENTLY REQUIRED
A reputed Group requires following construction
workers with local release for visa transfer.
SHOP FOR SALE
Tiles & sanitary wares
showroom, Rustaq
Sanaiya (before
Jabreen Showroom).
97844477,
97844474.
·····
GP Clinic (16 years) run by
couple doctors for sale at
Madha, Musandam region,
Oman with or without
sponsorship. 92510642,
26739221.
·····
DENTAL clinic (modern) in
Sohar. 91163316.
·····
·····
2007 model Toyota Corolla
(1.8) in excellent condition,
maintained by dealer, single
owner (doctor) for sale
92510642, 26739221.
·····
RESTAURANT in an excellent
location in Salalah with
equipment and workers.
93397812.
A SHOWROOM in Al
Qurum in strategic location
with extravagant interior
design on 280 sqm is
offered for sale at RO
25,000. 92470024.
·····
FOR sale: Extravagant
and furnished residences
for female students in Al
Khuwair, Al Mawaleh and Al
Khoudh along with all assets.
99001332.
ͳȎ
behind GUtech is
offered for sale. The
land enjoys a permit
for twin-villa.
2) A LAND is for sale in
Al Maabela 8 owner.
95959166.
·····
·····
·····
99639264
Ali al Maashari
[email protected]
ANNEX in Al Khoudh
A’Sad Street, 2
bedrooms + sitting
room and others.
98881738.
MDRAFIQUL Islam has lost
Bangladeshi passport No
AC6918479. Finder please
handover to ROP.
·····
SUMON Ahmed Chowdaury
has lost Bangladeshi passport
No AD3691613. Finder please
handover to ROP.
·····
·····
TWO ϐ
Al Hamriya main road.
99331448.
MD Suhel Miah has lost
AF8084681. Finder please
handover to ROP.
·····
·····
AGRICULTURAL Land
of 60,000 sqm at the
public road with no well.
94380002.
ALA Audin has lost
AF4384523. Finder please
handover to ROP.
·····
·····
DELUXE villa at M/Sultan
ϐ
Khuwair (A/CS), MBD and
Walja Ruwi. 97167846.
·····
ǧand
ϐ
Maabela consists of 3
bedrooms, sitting room
and toilets for each room
+ sitting room and kitchen
close to water source.
99700908.
·····
Rent/Investment
Industrial land in
Rusayil, suitable for all
industrial work and
business99323957,
95490842.
·····
Guest House
QURUM BEACH
HOTEL24564070.
·····
99841230
Mohammed al Rashdi
[email protected]
94501166
DIRECT: 24649595 — FAX : 24649590
international
business
b
i
24
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Online shopping helps Deutsche Post
German logistics group Deutsche Post said on Wednesday it had achieved its strongest-ever secondquarter operating result, boosted in large part by online shopping. „Our Post, eCommerce and Parcel
division in particular contributed to the positive trend“ that saw Deutsche Post increase its net profit to
541 million euros ($606 million), a 66 per cent leap over the same period in 2015, chief executive said.
Why rise of one per cent makes Yellen’s job harder
JEANNA SMIALEK
I
ncome inequality could be
making Janet Yellen’s job
even harder. Rich Americans
spend less of their pay cheques
than households of more
modest means. As the top
one per cent accounts for an increasing
share of the nation’s income, it may be
reducing consumption, hurting growth
and boosting savings. That could be
contributing to rock-bottom interest
rates that have left the Federal Reserve
chair with little scope to ease in the next
recession.
Take David Levine, a former chief
economist at Sanford C Bernstein & Co
who’s been a member of the one per cent
for decades. Levine says he’s “not living
frugally” yet still spends only about a
fifth of his income to maintain a very
comfortable lifestyle on Manhattan’s
affluent upper west side.
Contrast that with a middle-class
American family. Those making between
$70,000 and $80,000 spent about 78 per
cent of their incomes in 2014.
The debate about income inequality,
and the general lack of wage growth
for America’s middle class, is being
amplified as a social issue by this year’s
presidential race.
Now economists are taking a harder
look at what it means for growth, and
at a follow-on implication. By boosting
savings and reducing overall demand
in the economy, America’s large income
divide could be one factor lowering the
so-called neutral setting for interest
rates, a theoretical concept that describes
the interest rate that neither spurs nor
slows growth.
The neutral rate matters for monetary
policy makers: if it settles at a lower level,
it means policy is able to provide less
stimulus than in the past and officials
have less room to support the economy
by cutting rates the next time recession
strikes. That would matter for everyone.
“There’s going to be a lot of interest
in ways that we can increase that neutral
rate,” said Gauti Eggertsson, a Brown
The debate about income
inequality, and the general
lack of wage growth for
America’s middle class,
is being amplified as a
social issue by this year’s
presidential race.
University economist who is researching
the topic. “If inequality is playing a role
there, that might suggest fiscal policy has
a role to play.”
Eggertsson and his colleague Neil
Mehrotra are trying to quantify how
much inequality is weighing on interest
rates. They expect to release their
findings by early next year in a study
that may be the first of its kind, though it
builds on well-established theories.
Economists are almost positive
that the neutral rate has fallen in the
aftermath of the financial crisis. It’s
hard to pin a precise number on the
theoretical concept, but San Francisco
Fed President John Williams and his
co-author Thomas Laubach found in
a recent paper that the rate in the US
probably fell to 0.4 per cent adjusted
for inflation in 2015, down from 2.3 per
cent in 2007.
The neutral setting is expected to rise
over time as the economy returns to its
full potential, but expectations for that
longer-run rate have also dipped. Fed
officials’ median projection stood at
3 per cent in June before counting for
inflation, down from 3.75 per cent a year
earlier.
Various forces could be driving the
drop, but much of it boils down to a lack
of demand — and that’s where inequality
comes in.
According to secular stagnation,
a theory developed by economist
Alvin Hansen in the late 1930s,
lower population growth rates cause
an oversupply of savings, suppress
aggregate demand and drive down
growth. Harvard economist Lawrence
Summers has suggested the 2008 crisis
may have ushered in a new era of such
mediocrity. As a result, the short-term
neutral rate of interest may be lastingly
lower.
Higher inequality has caused a shift
toward saving, Summers said in a 2014
speech. “Reduced investment demand
and increased propensity to save operate
in the direction of a lower equilibrium
real interest rate,” he said.
Last year, the top one per cent of
American households took home $1
million in income on average, not
including capital gains, and held 18 per
cent of the total income share in the
country, based on data from the World
Wealth and Income Database. That’s up
from 13.5 per cent two decades earlier
and 8 per cent in 1960.
Levine, who is a member of
the
inequality-focused
network
Responsible Wealth, retired in 1999
at age 52 after a career on Wall Street.
Even though he lives off a small part
of his investment income, that’s still
sufficient to maintain a home on
Central Park West and a house in the
country, while indulging a love of fine
dining — he recently took a party of
nine or 10 guests to Del Posto in New
York, where a five-course dinner starts
at $149 a head before beverages.
Levine said that today’s CEOs and
top earners also live on a fraction of
their income. “Even those with the very
highest incomes probably don’t have
consumption expenditures for the most
part that are bigger than $5 million, $10
million — it’s hard to spend more than
that.”
While saved money finds its way
back into the economy in other ways —
money parked at banks can be lent, for
instance — at the end of the day, money
may stimulate less demand in the hands
of the rich because the overall demand in
the economy for discretionary products
and services is reduced.
“It’s a kind of chicken and egg thing
— just having money in the bank doesn’t
mean that there are profitable lending
opportunities,” said John Schmitt,
Research Director at the Washington
Centre for Equitable Growth. “If they’re
sitting on all this money, they have a
sense that there’s not enough demand
out there.”
What’s up for debate is how significant
of a factor inequality is in actually
lowering rates. Eggertsson said that his
preliminary works suggests it has played
some role, and he suspects that it’s “nontrivial” — though the research will need
to bear that out.
Not everyone agrees. Former
Minneapolis Fed President Narayana
Kocherlakota said that while the
prospect that inequality is lowering the
neutral rate is “very interesting argument
and it’s one that’s worth pursuing — it’s
not one that immediately strikes me as
being compelling.”
Kocherlakota, who is a Bloomberg
View columnist, reasons that inequality
has been climbing for a long time, yet
the neutral rate’s major moves, based
on most models, have come since
the financial crisis. Others, including
Schmitt, argue that inequality’s full
effects didn’t manifest themselves in the
run-up to the housing crash because
middle-class
households
boosted
borrowing and spent out of their home
wealth to mask their falling share of
overall national income.
It could create room for action if
inequality is part of the reason interest
rates are lower. Fiscal policies can be
designed to lessen inequality. There’s
no real solution to structural forces that
have pushed down neutral rates, like the
aging of the population.
“Some of these forces are unlikely
to revert back,” Eggertsson said. And
society may find that it wants natural
rates higher, because the lower they are,
the less ammunition monetary policy
can provide in a crisis. “We’re one shock
away from hitting the zero bound again
— that can create difficulties.”
— Bloomberg
The 28-year-old activist who took on Facebook and won
ADAM SATARIANO AND
STEPHANIE BODONI
A
new US-European
Union data-privacy
accord that took
hold this week could
have been a reason
to celebrate for
Max Schrems, the 28-year-old whose
successful landmark lawsuit against
Facebook last year led to the new rules
affecting more than 4,000 companies.
Instead, he’s saying the new rules should
be thrown out as well.
Schrems says the new framework
is muddled, allowing mass amounts of
data collected by American technology
companies to continue making its way
to US national security agencies. He
expects the new policy to be struck
down again by courts, leaving global
companies further in limbo. “Privacy
Shield is the product of pressure by the
US and the IT industry — not of rational
or reasonable considerations, “Schrems’’
said in a statement after the rules, which
began on August 1, were passed by
European lawmakers last month. ‘‘It is
very likely to fail again.’’
Such predictions from a boyishlooking law student who works from an
apartment in Vienna would have been
shrugged off a few years ago. But after
Schrems’s lawsuit led Europe’s highest
court to overturn a longstanding
agreement that was used by the world‘s
biggest companies to transfer Internet
data across the Atlantic, his threats are
taken more seriously.
‘‘He’s as big of a disrupter as Snowden,’’
says Robert Bond, a veteran privacy
attorney with the firm Charles Russell
Speechlys LLC in London, referring
to the former security contractor who
leaked US secrets. ‘‘What he’s done has
had a considerable impact on business.’’
At issue is the transfer and sharing
of data from Europe to the US — all
The rules governing the
movement of the data, a
16-year-old pact called Safe
Harbor, had never been
given much thought outside
of legal circles. Schrems‘s
lawsuit changed that, with
Europe‘s highest court saying
they didn‘t adequately
protect the privacy rights of
European citizens.
the Google searches, Facebook ‘‘likes,’’
and e-commerce transactions that
companies use to refine its products and
boost advertising. The rules governing
the movement of the data — a 16-yearold pact called Safe Harbor — had never
been given much thought outside of
legal circles. Schrems’s lawsuit changed
that, with Europe’s highest court saying
they didn‘t adequately protect the
privacy rights of European citizens.
Companies were forced to scramble to
strike new private contracts to transfer
data legally to business partners and
affiliates on the other side of the Atlantic
— a more costly and cumbersome
process than having a single standard
like Privacy Shield.
The new rules aim to address the
concerns among many Europeans
that their data is being misused by US
government agencies. Privacy Shield
creates new protections about how the
data of Europeans is used, including
guarantees that it won‘t be collected
by intelligence agencies without
justification, and the right to go to court
if they think it’s being mishandled.
Yet with the new rules likely to be
challenged again in court, some
companies are waiting to adopt them
and instead are sticking to other legally
binding contracts. ‘‘We are evaluating
the text to decide if we will join the
scheme,’’ Facebook said in a statement.
Microsoft yesterday said that it would be
adopting Privacy Shield.
‘‘We have a right to privacy in the
constitution of the European Union; it’s
like the US freedom of speech.’’ Privacy
activist Max Schrems: Schrems acts the
part of an online activist. He arrives late
to a recent interview dressed in black
shorts, black T-shirt and flip flops,
rubbing his eyes after oversleeping.
Once discussing the minutia of
European privacy law, he perks up,
speaking in mile-a-minute paragraphs
dotted with profanity. His interest in
privacy was piqued in 2011. Studying
abroad in the heart of Silicon Valley, at
Santa Clara University, attorneys from
area technology companies including
Facebook spoke to his class. He
noticed a common misunderstanding
— or disregard — for European data
protection laws. ‘‘They didn’t know a
European was in the room,’’ he says.
As part of a research project,
Schrems requested from Facebook
all the data the company gathered on
him dating back to when he started his
account in 2008. He was shocked to find
messages regarding a friend’s medical
condition he thought were deleted. He
filed 22 complaints against Facebook
with the Data Protection Commissioner
in Ireland, where Facebook has its
European headquarters, over its use of
people’s personal information.
In 2013, when revelations about
mass access to people’s data by US
secret services broke, Schrems filed a
new complaint against Facebook over
its transfer of data to the US, where it
wasn’t adequately protected. The case
ended up in the EU Court of Justice,
which sided with Schrems. He says
the implicit contract people make by
trading their personal data in exchange
for free online services has gotten out of
balance in favour of industry. ‘‘We have
a right to privacy in the constitution
of the European Union; it’s like the US
freedom of speech,’’ Schrems says.
Critics say Schrems and other
privacy
advocates
are
seeking
unrealistic solutions. The new rules
strike a better balance by providing
Europeans with protections that weren‘t
available previously, said Eduardo
Ustaran, a lawyer specialising in privacy
law at Hogan Lovells International
LLP in London. ‘‘Policymakers need
to be ambitious and realistic in equal
measure,’’ he said.
Schrems’s battle is one of many
regulatory challenges US technology
companies are facing in Europe. Google
is being investigated for antitrust
violations related to its search engine,
advertising business and Android
mobile operating system. Apple is facing
what could be a multi-billion dollar tax
bill for unpaid taxes in Ireland. And
while Privacy Shield effects the transAtlantic movement of data, new rules
starting in 2018 could have a tougher
effect about how technology companies
collect data within Europe.
Taken together, the issues are
challenging the borderless view adopted
by technology companies that what
they’ve created in the US will transfer
seamlessly abroad. The technology
industry has warned against the
‘‘Balkanisation’’ of the Internet, where
a patchwork of regional laws creates
different Internet experiences based
on location. Schrems doesn’t see that
as such a bad thing — likening it to
McDonald’s changing its menu to
appeal to local markets. ‘‘There’s this
idea that one size fits all and the one size
is made in Silicon Valley,’’ Schrems says.
Schrems is happy he helped dent
that view in Europe, but after being
supported largely with family support
during his legal tussles with Facebook,
he still has a PhD dissertation to
complete that he hasn’t made much
progress on for about a year. He says
he may eventually establish a nongovernmental organisation that will
investigate and sue companies for
privacy violations. ‘‘I’m basically
working from home without any
infrastructure and we still got a huge
case done,’’ he says. ‘‘If you put that in a
professional setting, you could possibly
get a lot done.’’
— Bloomberg
THURSDAY | AUGUST 4, 2016 | SHAWWAL 30, 1437 AH
sport
WILL RIO GAMES SET A RECORD FOR WOMEN ATHLETES? P26
www.omanobserver.om
[email protected]
RAIN STALLS INDIA MARCH TOWARDS WIN OVER WINDIES P27
OMAN GEAR UP FOR ASIAN CUP QUALIFIERS P28
A DAY TO GO
A Japanese gymnast practices on the vault of the men’s artistic gymnastics ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. — AFP
Olympic chiefs struggle to
contain Russia doping scandal
RIO DE JANEIRO: The Olympic
movement struggled to douse mounting
wrangling over the Russia doping
scandal as football prepared to launch
the Rio Games on Wednesday.
International Olympic Committee
(IOC) president Thomas Bach called for
deep reforms of the World Anti-Doping
Agency, while the Court of Arbitration
for Sport (CAS) rebuffed appeals by 17
Russian rowers against their exclusion
from the Rio Olympics.
With appeals involving a dozen
other Russian swimmers, wrestlers
and weightlifters still to be decided,
the controversy over state-run doping
blamed on the Russian government
threatened to overshadow Friday’s
opening ceremony.
Late on Tuesday, Brazilian police used
tear gas against demonstrators trying to
obstruct the tour of the Olympic flame
in a Rio de Janeiro suburb.
Official competition starts on
Wednesday with Marta’s Brazil taking
on China in the top tie of the first day of
women’s football matches. Zimbabwe’s
women, ranked 93rd in the world, take
on number-two ranked Germany in
their first ever match at the Olympics.
On Thursday, football golden boy
Neymar’s Brazil start their campaign
for a first-ever football gold in a match
against South Africa.
But sports politicians have been
hogging the limelight in the run-up to
the Games as they argue over how to
answer Russia’s widespread doping.
The IOC president said the Russia
scandal, which he has described
as “contemptuous,” had exposed
deficiencies in Wada.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive member and current president of
the World Anti-Doping Agency Craig Reedie arrives for a press briefing during the
129th International Olympic Committee session in Rio de Janeiro. — AFP
“Recent developments have shown
that we need a full review of the Wada
anti-doping system,” he told an IOC
session that continues on Wednesday.
REEDIE OFFENDED
“The IOC is calling for a more robust
and efficient anti-doping system,” Bach
said. “This requires clear responsibilities,
more transparency, more independence
and better worldwide harmonisation.”
He blasted calls for a “nuclear option”
blanket ban on Russian athletes.
Other IOC members launched direct
attacks on Wada and veiled asides at its
British chief Craig Reedie.
“It saddens me to say this, but at times
Wada has seemed to be more interested
in publicity and self-promotion rather
than doing its job as a regulator,”
Argentina’s IOC member Gerardo
Werthein said.
Reedie said he was “personally
offended” by Werthein’s comments,
revealing that he confronted the
Argentine during a break in the meeting.
“I heard a view this morning that the
system is broken,” he told IOC delegates.
“I would like to say that all of it is
not broken, part of it is broken and we
should start identifying those parts that
need attention.”
The international sports tribunal
is holding special hearings in Rio to
help the process of deciding how many
Russians will compete in Rio.
CAS rejected a challenge by 17
Russian rowers against their exclusion
from the Olympics over doping, a
tribunal official said.
Daniil Andrienko led 16 other rowers
lodging a case against the World Rowing
Federation and the IOC on Monday
demanding to compete in Rio.
The tribunal must still give a verdict
on appeals by three swimmers, a wrestler
and the Russian weightlifting federation.
Russia has been at the centre of a
new doping storm after an independent
investigator, Canadian lawyer Richard
McLaren, said in a report for Wada that
there had been widespread state-backed
doping in Russia.
In reaction, the IOC ordered sporting
federations to draw up lists of Russians
who could compete in Rio.
The federations have eliminated at
least 117 competitors from the group
of 387 athletes the Russian Olympic
Committee had entered.
Once all federations have reported
and CAS has ruled on the appeals, a
three-member IOC panel will decide
the final Russian lineup.
Canoeist Andrey Kraytor and
wrestler Viktor Lebedev made their own
appeals against the order along with
swimmers Vladimir Morozov, Nikita
Lobintsev and Yulia Efimova.
Decisions on the swimmers had been
expected on Tuesday.
The Russian weightlifting federation
is seeking to overturn its suspension
by the International Weightlifting
Federation over the doping. If successful,
it said, the organization would launch a
new case on behalf of eight weightlifters
banned from the Olympics.
On Wednesday, the IOC session is
expected to accept that climbing, karate,
surfing, skateboarding and baseballsoftball join the Olympic program at the
2020 Tokyo Games. — AFP
Pele may light Rio’s
Olympic flame
the report,
which showed
the producer
of the opening
ceremonies, Abel
Gomes, meeting in a
restaurant with Pele.
The report
comes amid intense
speculation as to
who will be the last
of the total of 12,494
torch carriers to light
the Olympic flame at
RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian football
the stadium.
legend Pele may be the person
On Wednesday the names of a
to light the Olympic flame at the
number of prominent names were
opening ceremony on Friday —
revealed as those chosen to take
provided he can clarify it with his
part in the torch relay in the streets
public relations firm, the news portal of Rio, including footballer Cafu,
O Globo reported on Wednesday.
football coach Carlos Alberto Parreira,
The report said that the 75-yearvolleyballer Jackie Silva, and Helo
old Pele had been approached
Pinheiro, the inspiration for the song
about lighting the flame at Maracana “Girl from Ipanema.”
Stadium, but that he said he had
Pele - Edson Arantes do
to consult with his public relations
Nascimento - was three times World
company.
Cup champion with Brazil and scored
Among other factors, Pele noted
more than 1,000 goals in his long
that he had other appointments on
career.
Friday, O Globo said.
In 1999, Pele was elected Athlete
There was no official confirmation of the Century by the International
from Rio Olympics officials to
Olympic Committee. — dpa
Olympics
olympics
l
26
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Phelps to carry US flag at Games opening
Swimming star Michael Phelps has been chosen as the US flag bearer at the Olympic Games
open, the US Olympic team announced. “I’m honoured to be chosen, proud to represent the
US, and humbled by the significance of carrying the flag and all it stands for,” said Phelps.
Will the Rio Olympics set a new
world record for women athletes?
LONDON: The International Olympic
Committee (IOC) is hoping the 2016
Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will
set a new record for the participation
of female athletes, beating the last
Games where 44 per cent of the
competitors were women.
With two days to go to the
opening ceremony, here are some
facts about the path towards gender
equality at the Olympics, which will
bring together about 11,000 athletes
from more than 200 countries:
The ancient Greek Olympics were
male-only Games. Women were
barred from competing and only
unmarried women could watch the
events but thanks to a loophole,
Greek women could win prizes as
owners of race horses with male
riders.
Larisa
Latynina in
Tokyo
olympiad
1964
The first ever female Olympic
winner was Kyniska, daughter of King
Archidamos of Sparta, whose chariot
won the four-horse chariot race at the
96th Olympiads in 396 B.C.
When the Olympics were
resurrected in the 19th century,
women were again initially banned.
No female athletes took part in the
first modern Olympics in Athens in
1896.
The founding father of modern
Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin,
opposed female participation
reportedly on the grounds that
it was “impractical, uninteresting,
unaesthetic, and incorrect”.
Women first appeared at the
1900 Games in Paris, when 22 of
997 entries were female athletes
who competed in five sports: tennis,
sailing, croquet, equestrianism and
golf.
At the 1900 Games, Countess
Hélène de Pourtalès, of Switzerland,
became the first ever female gold
medalist as part of a mixed-gender
sailing crew. Days later British tennis
player Charlotte Cooper became the
first woman to win a singles event.
In 1991 the IOC decided all new
sports wishing to be included on the
programme must feature both men’s
and women’s events.
The 2012 Games were the first
where women competed in every
single sport on offer. However men
could not compete in synchronized
swimming and rhythmic gymnastic
and are still barred from doing so in
Rio.
The 2012 London Olympics were
the first in which every participating
nation fielded at least one female
athlete, as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and
Brunei which had previously failed
to do so, bowed to pressure from the
IOC.
Pioneer Saudi sportswoman Sarah al Attar (right)
has already raced at the Olympics, but now her
campaign will become a marathon as she uses the
Rio Games to break down barriers in the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia is doubling its
women’s team in 2016, fielding two
runners, a fencer and a judoka. Qatar
and Brunei are fielding a woman
each.
Some sports offering events for
both sexes remain biased. Women
can compete only in freestyle
wrestling, not Greco-Roman. Boxing
has only three weight classes for
women versus 10 for men.
Rugby sevens will debut in Rio as
a new sport, marking the first time
that women play the game at the
Olympics.
The United States will be
represented in Brazil by the largest
women’s team ever fielded by any
nation, made of 292 athletes.
While the IOC has been promoting
gender equality in sport, the number
of women holding leadership roles in
governing bodies remains low. Only
25 out of the IOC’s 126 members and
honorary members are women.
Ukrainian gymnast Larisa Latynina
is the most successful female
Olympian to date, having won nine
golds, five silvers and four bronzes
for the Soviet Union between 1956
and 1964.
Betty
B
ettty Robinson
Rob
(US, second from left) was the first 100m female
Olympic
O
lyympic gold medalist in 1928.
Ancient Greek Games was only for men.
Sreejesh says India
staying focused in
Rio ‘magic world’
MUMBAI: PR Sreejesh says his dual
role as India hockey captain and
goalkeeper is to allow his teammates the
freedom to express themselves in Rio
but knows he must keep them focused
on the medal hunt in the “magic world”
of the Olympics.
The 30-year-old was second choice
at London 2012 behind then captain
Bharat Chetri but has since established
himself as the clear number one.
He was named captain for the recent
Champions Trophy in London where
India rested some seniors, including
regular captain Sardar Singh, ahead of
the Rio Games.
While Sreejesh led the side to the
sliver medal, as India lost the final to
Australia in a penalty shoot-out, he said
he never imagined it would lead to him
wearing the armband at the Rio Games
too.
“I never expected it,” Sreejesh said in
a recent interview. “I have always said
being part of the team and winning
a medal for my country was my first
preference.
“I never dreamt of captaining
the team and leading the side in the
Olympics. It’s a great honour.”
Sreejesh has been a rock for India in
front of goal since making the junior
national team in 2004. It took him
another couple of years to make the cut
for the senior side.
He made crucial saves during the
2014 Asian Games final when India beat
arch-rivals Pakistan, which sealed their
spot for Rio. In 2015, Sreejesh received
the Arjuna award for his contribution
to the national team.
Sreejesh said the captaincy would
not have a huge influence on his role.
“I am a goalkeeper. My first duty is to
save the goal,” he said by telephone from
the team’s training camp in Bengaluru.
“The second is to communicate with
my defenders and organise them.
“Third is I need to give them
confidence as a goalkeeper. I think as
captain too I have to do these three
things. There is no extra burden on me.
“It’s all about giving them the
freedom to do what they want.
“Olympics is a place where you can
Star Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh said
the captaincy would not have a huge
influence on his role.
be easily distracted to a lot of things and
it will seem like a magic world. It will all
be about reminding them our goal as a
team.”
India are the most decorated nation
in the sport’s Olympic history but the
South Asians collected the last of their
eight gold medals back at the Moscow
Games in 1980.
After failing to qualify for Beijing,
India made it to London four years
later but finished last of the 12 countries
taking part.
India, who are in Pool B in Rio along
with Argentina, Canada, Germany,
Ireland and the Netherlands, have
created optimism back home thanks
after a strong build-up to the Games.
Sreejesh feels India have the right
balance between youth and experience,
with a number of players from London
2012 still part of the mix for Rio.
Consistency will be the key, he
added.
“The last couple of years has given us
confidence. We have beaten all the top
teams and won medals,” he added.
“It has given us confidence that now
we are ready to beat any team and we
will carry that to Rio.” — Reuters
Chinese athletes and netizens round on Rio
B
EIJIING Chinese Internet users
BEIJING:
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avve accu
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accused the Rio Olympics of
b
eiingg unsafe
uns and inferior to Beijing’s
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offering after athletes said
th
hey w
ere robbed and faced broken
they
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fa
acilitties.
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Ch
hine hurdler Shi Dongpeng
Chinese
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old
d sstate
tate media that his personal
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mputer was stolen on arrival
computer
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razil posting security camera
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errifieed social
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avoid
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p
hiilossoph
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Ta
able tennis star Fan Zhendong
Table
sshowed
howed pictures on the Weibo
so
ociaal media
me service of himself and
social
tteammate
eam
mmate Zhang Jike fixing a broken
shower curtain rail in the Olympic
village.
London Olympic medal-winning
gymnast Feng Zhe weighed in on a
verified social media account with
his own complaint about a clogged
toilet in a training centre.
Chinese Olympic-goers have
been victims of “frequent” theft
in Brazil, China’s foreign ministry
said last week in a warning to its
citizens abroad to take greater safety
precautions.
The warning received widespread
coverage in China, which hosted
impressive Games at a massive cost
eight years ago, generating much
national pride.
“The environment of the Rio
Olympics is too poor. Play me more
clips of the 2008 Beijing Olympics,”
one Weibo user said, expressing a
common sentiment.
Chen Ying, of state broadcaster
CCTV, wrote on Weibo: “Started
my Rio Adventure! I feel like I’m
shooting a Wilderness Survival
instead of reporting the Olympics.”
Chinese screenwriter Zhou Yu
quipped: “I feel that it’s necessary
to send a peacekeeping force so the
Olympics can be successfully held.”
China are sending their largest
team to an overseas Olympics, but
forecasters predict the 416 athletes
will fail to match the country’s
greatest medal haul, achieved on
home soil. — AFP
The Chinese team pose as they arrive at the Olympic Village Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
— Reuters
c cket
cric
et
sport
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
Rain stalls India against Windies
TASK: The hosts crumbled to 48 for 4 and face a deficit of 256 runs to avoid defeat on fifth day
BCCI
27
TALK
INDIA BOARD OPPOSES
‘TWO-TIER’ TEST PLAN
India to host
Bangladesh Test
for first time
Anurag Thakur
West Indies batsman Darren Bravo watches as bowler Mohammed Shami of India bowls a delivery to Kraigg Brathwaite on the fourth day of the second Test at Sabina Park
in Kingston, Jamaica. — AFP
KINGSTON, Jamaica: West Indies’
vulnerable top order crumbled again
in between the showers to be 48 for
four in their second innings on a
rain-ruined fourth day of the second
Test against India at Sabina Park in
Jamaica on Tuesday.
Trailing on first innings by 304
runs after the tourists reached 500 for
nine declared at tea on the third day,
the hosts, still facing a deficit of 256
runs to avoid a second consecutive
innings defeat in the four-match
series, were grateful for the passage
of a tropical storm that limited play to
just 15.5 overs in the morning session.
Frustrated by the same weather
system that erased the final session on
day three and delayed the start of play
on the fourth morning for over an
hour, India’s varied attack nevertheless
made up for the lost time by again
exploiting the glaring weaknesses of
the West Indies batsmen.
With his place in the team on the
line after a succession of low scores
in his fledgling Test career, Rajendra
Chandrika was the first to go, bowled
for one by a delivery that made extra
height from tall fast bowler Ishant
Sharma and rebounded off the
batsman’s right elbow onto the stumps
as he attempted to pull out of the shot.
His opening partner, Kraigg
Brathwaite, and new batsman Darren
Bravo were peppered with regular
short-pitched bowling from both
Sharma and Mohammed Shami.
Bravo in particular was lucky to
survive the concerted assault but at
the other end, the introduction of
Amit Mishra broke the 36-run stand
when Brathwaite, on 23, miscued an
attempted pull off the leg-spinner
SCOREBOARD
WEST INDIES 1ST INNINGS 196
INDIA 1ST INNINGS 500 FOR 9 DECL
WEST INDIES 2ND INNINGS
K Brathwaite c Rahul b Mishra ................ 23
R Chandrika b Sharma .............................. 1
D Bravo c Rahul b Shami ......................... 20
M Samuels b Shami .................................. 0
J Blackwood not out ................................. 3
Extras (nb-1) .................................... 1
Total (for 4 wkts, 15.5 overs) .......... 48
Fall of wicket: 1-5, 2-41, 3-41, 4-48
Bowling: I Sharma 6-0-19-1, M Shami 7.52-25-2, A Mishra 2-1-4-1
for Lokesh Rahul to take the catch
running back from midwicket.
Marlon
Samuels
was
comprehensively bowled by Shami
with no addition to the total and off
what proved to be the last delivery
before the interval, Bravo failed to
Australia captain Smith banking on
reverse swing on Galle turner
GALLE, Sri Lanka: Galle has built a
reputation as a spinners’ paradise but
Australia captain Steve Smith hopes
there will be substantial reverse swing at
the venue as his top-ranked team bid for
a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka
in the second Test.
Sri Lanka inflicted a 106-run defeat
on the touring side at Pallekele last week
in the opening match of the three-Test
series with the spinners taking 18 out of
20 Australian wickets to fall.
The hosts’ three-pronged spin attack
will be brimming with confidence on a
dry surface at Galle for the match that
starts on Thursday, and will hope to take
an unassailable lead against Australia,
ranked number one in Tests by the
International Cricket Council.
South Africa pacemen Morne
Morkel and Dale Steyn claimed 16
wickets between them as they bowled
South Africa to a 153-run victory in
Galle in 2014.
Australia will hope their fast
bowling duo of Mitchell Starc and Josh
Hazlewood can do something similar.
Debutant left-arm spinner Jon Holland
will replace the injured Steve O’Keefe
and will partner off-spinner Nathan
Lyon.
“Looks pretty dry, I daresay it’s going
to take some spin, which at the same
time there’s quite a big breeze so I think
it will drift a lot for the spinners,” Smith
told reporters.
“Talking to Allan Donald (bowling
consultant) who was here with the
South African team in that game, he
said the ball reversed quite significantly
from both ends.
“Morkel had it going away from the
Australia’s Jon Holland (right) delivers a ball as teammate Nathan Lyon looks on
during a practice session at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle. — AFP
right handers and Steyn had it going
into the right handers, so we’ve got Starc
who can do and Hazlewood can do and
Mitchell Marsh bowls good reverse
swing as well, so we’ve got the bases
covered.”
Angelo Mathews’ side are reeling
from injuries to their fast bowlers with
Dhammika Prasad and Dushmantha
Chameera ruled out of the three-match
series, while Suranga Lakmal was
also absent from the opening Test at
Pallekele due to an ankle complaint.
They suffered yet another injury
setback with seamer Nuwan Pradeep
injuring his hamstring during practice.
Mathews said the team will wait till
Thursday for Pradeep to get fit, failing
which uncapped left-arm seamer
Vishwa Fernando could be drafted in.
The Sri Lanka captain was aware
that the Australians will devise a way to
neutralise their spinners, especially leftarmer Rangana Herath.
“You can’t write the Australians off
against Herath,” he said.
“They came up with a different
strategy in the second innings, like
using the crease a lot, and sweeping
him a little bit. We have got to be
cautious.
“They didn’t get runs, but they are a
very attacking top order and the guys
who didn’t get runs in Pallekele, we have
to be cautious of.
“It’s a tough place to play spin here.
It will turn more than in Pallekele I
reckon, but we still need to bowl in the
right areas to take wickets.”
— Reuters
negotiate another lifting delivery
angled into the body and Rahul held
the catch at third slip to remove the
left-hander for 20.
In losing three wickets for seven
runs at the end of the truncated
session, the West Indies exactly
replicated their predicament at the
start of the match when their captain,
Jason Holder, won the toss and chose
to bat first.
Roston Chase, who claimed five
wickets with his off-spinners in India’s
marathon innings, will be expected
to join Jermaine Blackwood at the
crease on the final morning, weather
permitting, with the home side in
desperate need of some meaningful
resistance, and more realistically
further significant intervention from
the weather, to avoid another innings
defeat. — AFP
NEW DELHI: The head of India’s
powerful cricket board has voiced
opposition to controversial plans for a
two-tier Test system being considered
by the game’s governing body, a report
said on Wednesday.
Anurag Thakur, president of the
Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI), told a newspaper smaller
nations would lose out on revenue
and the chance to compete against
the top teams. “The BCCI is against
the two-tier Test system because the
smaller countries will lose out and the
BCCI wants to take care of them. It is
necessary to protect their interests,” The
New Indian Express, a Chennai-based
daily, quoted him as saying.
“In the two-tier system, they will lose
out on a lot, including revenue and the
opportunity to play against top teams.
We don’t want that to happen.
“We want to work in the best
interests of world cricket and that is why
our team plays against all the countries.”
The International Cricket Council
(ICC) first discussed the proposal to
split Test cricket into two divisions at
a meeting in Edinburgh last month
and is due to debate the plan further in
September.
Under the scheme being considered,
the top seven-ranked teams would join
a de facto premier league designed to
boost interest in Test cricket.
The other three lowest ranked sides
— which are currently the West Indies,
Bangladesh and Zimbabwe — would
then join a second division which would
also include the likes of Afghanistan
and Ireland.
Although England, Australia and
New Zealand have all come out in favour
NEW DELHI: Bangladesh
will play their first-ever Test
match in India next February,
a top cricket official said on
Wednesday.
Although India have crossed
the border to Bangladesh, the
Tigers have never played a fiveday match on Indian soil since
they gained Test status in 2000,
mainly because of scheduling
clashes.
Bangladesh have featured in
two limited-overs tournaments
in India — the Champions
Trophy qualifiers in 2006 and
the World Twenty20 this year.
Board of Control for Cricket
in India (BCCI) president
Anurag Thakur called the
upcoming match a historic
occasion and a “great addition”
to India’s home season. “As a
leading Test-playing nation it
is BCCI’s responsibility to give
opportunity to every Testplaying nation,” he said.
India are currently second in
the International Cricket Council
Test rankings while Bangladesh
are ninth.
Bangladesh Cricket Board
chief Nazmul Hassan said the
match would be a memorable
experience for players and fans
of both countries. “The long wait
for us to play a Test match on
Indian soil is finally over and this
is a time for celebration,” he said.
The one-off match will be
played in Hyderabad from
February 8 to 12. — AFP
of the proposal, India’s opposition could
well mean it is now dead in the water.
Former BCCI president Shashank
Manohar is head of the ICC and
India, which is the game’s financial
powerhouse, has a history of ensuring
that its stance prevails on key debates
within the global body. The plan has
been fiercely opposed by the likes of
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. — AFP
Muralitharan was delighted by the performances of century-maker
Mendis and Sandakan who took seven wickets on his debut
Sri Lanka proving life after
legends, says Murali
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s first win
over Australia in two decades proves
the islanders have the talent to step
into the boots of their recently retired
greats, according to Test cricket’s
most successful bowler Muttiah
Muralitharan.
Speaking ahead of the second Test
in Galle which begins on Thursday,
Muralitharan reflected in glowing
terms on batsman Kusal Mendis and
spin bowler Lakshan Sandakan’s key
roles in last weekend’s thrilling victory
in Pallekele even though both are
newcomers to Test cricket.
Muralitharan, who is a member of
the Australia squad’s tour coaching staff,
has been involved in a war of words
with Sri Lanka’s board, bitter that his
old employers have not sought out his
advice themselves. But the man whose
800 Test wickets remains a world record
six years after retiring has been keeping
a close eye on Sri Lanka’s rebuilding
efforts after the departure of some of the
finest players in their history.
Despite his current role for Australia,
Muralitharan was delighted by the
performances of Mendis, who hit a
maiden Test ton in Pallekele, and in
particular that of Sandakan who took
seven wickets on his debut. It was only
Sri Lanka’s second Test victory over
Australia and the first since 1999.
But Muralitharan cautioned that
Sri Lanka’s Lakshan Sandakan (right) and
team-mate Kusal Mendis play football
during a practice session in Galle. — AFP
Sandakan — a left-arm wrist spinner
who got some dramatic turn in Pallekele
— would need careful mentoring if he is
to achieve his full potential and not fall
by the wayside. “There’s no doubt about
the talent we have. Those two young
guys have bright futures ahead of them,”
Muralitharan said. “But the thing is we
need to nurture them.”
Muralitharan, a former off-spinner,
said he was “really impressed” with the
25-year-old Sandakan who took 4 for 58
in the first innings.
But he said the fate of Ajantha
Mendis — another Sri Lankan spinner
whose Test career fizzled out after an
impressive start — should serve as a
cautionary tale.
“Look at what happened to (Ajantha)
Mendis. He took a truckload of wickets
at the start. But when he went through a
couple of lean series, he was put under
pressure and then went into a defensive
mindset,” he said. “Today he is nowhere.”
TALENT SPOTTING
Muralitharan said he was fortunate
to have had a “strong leader” like Arjuna
Ranatunga who skippered Sri Lanka to
victory in the 1996 World Cup. “He
(Ranatunga) was great in spotting talent
and then guiding them,” Murali said.
“He backed players even when they
failed repeatedly. Then they repaid
his faith big time. All the players who
came into the national side when he
was captain went on to have long and
successful careers.”
The 1996 triumph ushered in a
golden age as Sri Lanka churned out a
succession of top-class players.
When established batsmen such
as Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva
stepped aside, they were replaced by
the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and
Mahela Jayawardene who became Sri
Lanka’s two highest run scorers. Both
have retired in the past two years and
other stars such as dashing opener
Tillakaratne Dilshan and slingy fast
bowler Lasith Malinga have also quit
Test cricket. — AFP
football
ootba /sailing
/sa
g
sport
t
Former Ferrari
28
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
driver Amon
dies aged 73
AMON RESPECTED ON THE GRID
DESPITE NEVER WINNING IN
FORMULA ONE
AUCKLAND: Former Ferrari driver Chris Amon,
often described as one of the best in Formula One
never to have won a race, has died at the age of 73
after a battle with cancer, family of the New Zealand
motorsport great said on Wednesday.
Amon was part of a well-known trio of New
Zealand drivers competing in Formula One in the
1960s and early 70s alongside Bruce McLaren and
Denny Hulme, who both enjoyed more successful
careers in the sport’s premier series.
Bad luck was often cited as the key reason for his
lack of Formula One victories, with former world
champion Mario Andretti once famously saying:
“If he became an undertaker, people would stop
dying.”
Like McLaren, with whom he won the Le Mans
24-hour endurance race in a Ford GT40 50 years
ago, he founded his own team but Chris Amon
Racing failed to achieve much success.
“Chris battled cancer in recent years but
retained not only a close interest in Formula One
— and his very wide range of favourite topics —
but also his wonderful sense of humour complete
with infectious chuckle,” Amon’s family said in a
statement.
McLaren chairman Ron Dennis praised Amon
as he paid tribute to the driver.
“It was with profound sadness that I heard the
news this morning that Chris Amon had passed
away,” Dennis said in a statement.
“He nearly won a fair few, but always it seemed
that his luck would run out before he saw the
chequered flag,” Dennis recalled, terming Amon as
“one of the fastest racing drivers”.
Williams also paid tribute to Amon who
finished on the podium 11 times, also driving for
March and Matra among 13 teams in a career that
spanned 14 seasons.
— Reuters
Chris Amon sitting in the
Ferrari 412T F1 car
Oman gear up for Asian Cup task
CAMPS: Lopez Caro picks 31 players, second camp to end with a friendly against Turkmenistan
OPL launches fixtures for
first round of 2016-17 season
MUSCAT: The Omantel Professional
League (OPL) has launched the
fixtures for the 2016-17 season with
the Super Cup expected to inaugurate
the season on September 8 where
Fanja (defending league champions)
take on Saham (defending His Majesty
Cup Champions).
The OPL starts on September 17
with newcomers Oman expected to
open campaign against Suwaiq in the
opening match of the league season.
SIX-A-SIDE
The launch of the league also
included the launch of the reserve
league as well as the Under-18,
Under-15 and Under-13 competitions
in accordance with the AFC criteria
for club licensing. The second half of
the season, whose fixtures will only be
announced later, will be played from
the first week of February to May 14,
while the season will conclude with the
HM Cup final either on May 19 or May
20, 2017.
MUSCAT: Oman’s national football
team is currently having a preparatory
camp to identify the best team for the
preparation of Asian Cup Qualifiers and
the Gulf Cup the following year.
Coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro has
picked a group of players as he prepares
for next years Gulf Cup as well as Asian
Championship in the coming 2016-17
Season.
“Our aim is to create a strong team
and for this we will need to put in a
lot of effort. We will be focusing on
both technical and tactical aspects as
we prepare” said Lopez Caro when he
spoke to the press before the first camp.
The national team coach has picked
31 players and the second camp of the 2
proposed camps began yesterday as the
coach looked to stay prepared.
The camp ends with a friendly
against Turkmenistan, which will be
held this Monday at the Sultan Qaboos
Sports Complex with a 19:30 Kickoff.
The team list for the same is:
Ahmed Faraj al Rawahi, Harib Jamil
al Saadi, Hussain Ali al Hadhari, Motaz
Saleh Abd Rabu, Fahad al Jalbobi,
Yassin al Sheiadi, Nadir Awadh, Omar
al Malki, Mohsin Jawhar al Khaldi,
Saud Khamis al Farsi, Said Obeid,
Abdul Majeed Shamas, Mahmood
Mabrook al Mushaiferi, Ali al Busaidi,
Azan Abbas, Mohammed Salim al
Maashari, Raid Ibrahim, Omar al
Fazari, Ahmed Saleem al Mukhaini,
Abdul Salam Amer, Riyadh Sobait
al Alawi, Mohammed al Habsi,
Mohammed Ramadan, Abdul Rahman
al Ghassani, Faiz al Rasheedi, Hosham
al Shaaibi, Abdul Aziz al Muqbali, Eid
al Farsi, Khalil Nassib al Darmaki,
Khalid al Yaqoobi and Mohammed al
She’eba.
Al Farsi dominates Musannah ranking regatta
HOCKEY
Group picture of Ranking Race participants
From Ranking Race in Musannah
The Oman veteran’s hockey team.
Oman veteran’s hockey
team set for Morocco
MUSCAT: The Oman veteran’s
hockey team is leaving on August 4 to
participate in the Morocco six-a-side
indoor tournament being organised in
Morocco from August 6 to 9.
Teams from Egypt, Sudan, Libya,
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are the other
teams apart from Oman that will
participate in the tournament.
Oman veteran’s team had earlier
won a tournament in Egypt.
The chairman of Oman Veteran
Hockey Mohammed Shambeh al Raisi
is accompanying 23-member team as
head of the delegation. Abdul Rehman
al Raisi is the coach, Mustafa al Lawati
is the manager and Yusuf Darweesh will
lead the Oman team in the competition.
Oman will be fielding two teams in the
competition. The team is supported by
Oman Hockey Association. WJ Towels
has offered to sponsor the trip.
MUSCAT: Al Moatsem Hamood al
Farsi, the young Optimist sailor who
was Oman’s best prospect at the recent
Optimist World Championships in
Portugal, was top of the leaderboard
in Oman Sail’s July Ranking Regatta at
Musannah Sports City this week.
The 14 year-old Al Farsi, a member
of the Musannah Sailing School and
the best performing Omani youngster
in the 100 strong Optimist class at
2016 Musannah Race Week in January,
was the runaway winner in a fleet of 33
youth competitors, the cream of Oman
Sail’s Omantel Youth Programme.
Over two days of intensive racing,
he swept to victory in four of the six
races completed to take the gold medal.
Alaa al Amrani also from Musannah
and Mohammed al Alawi from Sur
were tied on points in second place but
Alaa took the silver medal on tie break
with Mohammed having to settle for
bronze.
The success of fourth placed Ahmed
al Oraimi demonstrated the massive
progress being made at Sur Sailing
School, which is the newest and most
remote of the Oman Sail sailing schools
of which there are now four at Al Mouj,
Musannah, Bandar Al Rowdha and
Sur. These improvements were also in
evidence in the Schools Team rankings
where Sur closed the gap on defending
champions Al Mouj to four points.
The National Ranking Regattas are
staged six times a year and are used as
selection trials for the Omantel Youth
Squad, which represents Oman at
international competitions across the
region and beyond, as well as training
opportunities to upskill sailors,
coaches and race officials.
“We saw improved performances
from the sailors on the second day
of the ranking races and it gives us a
better idea for our selections,” said
Oman Sail’s Youth Manager, Mohsin
al Busaidi. “These youngsters have
a lot of work to do to be competitive
at international level as we saw in the
recent Worlds but they are talented
and more than capable of achieving
their aims.
“The next time we will see them
in action will be at the 2016 National
Championships at Sur from August
14-18 where all the youth classes —
the Optimists, Laser 4.7 and Techno
293 windsurfer — will be competing.”
The Tour Women’s Team set to compete in Sweden
MUSCAT: Oman Sail’s Dee Caffari is in
Sweden this week with her all-women
crew on board EFG Sailing Arabia —
The Tour to compete in the Farr 30
Internationals as a training platform
for next year’s offshore classic around
the Arabian Gulf and to promote EFG
Sailing Arabia — The Tour 2017.
Caffari has put together a team of six
mixed Omani and European sailors for
the event in Bastad in Sweden, which
runs from August 1-7 with four days of
racing starting today.
Most familiar among the Omani
crew is Ibtisam al Salmi who has spent
part of the summer competing in
Europe on the Oman Sail all women’s
J80 alongside Marwa al Khaifi and
Tamadher al Balushi, her team-mates
for the trip to Sweden, all of them
taking time out from their ‘day jobs’ as
Oman Sail sailing instructors.
Volvo
Ocean
racers
Libby
Greenhalgh and Abby Ehler, who were
both members of the all-women’s Team
SCA in the last race will make up the
rest of Caffari’s team alongside Kate
Macgregor, the British match racer
who competed at the London 2012
Olympics.
Caffari and her Omani girls are all
familiar with the one design Farr 30
boats, which have been used in EFG
Sailing Arabia — the Tour, the Gulf
region’s No 1 offshore race, since it was
created in 2011.
the switch back to Farr 30s should be — The Tour 2017 which is a fantastic
“So far this year, the girls have straightforward but really this event is event especially for international
been racing J80s in Europe so making all about promoting EFG Sailing Arabia teams looking for serious warm water
competition in the European winter,”
said Caffari.
The annual EFG Sailing Arabia —
The Tour has changed and grown with
each edition over six years to become
the most highly regarded sailing event
in the Middle East as well as an effective
platform for showcasing the Gulf,
tourism and its maritime heritage.
Sailor’s blogs from last year’s Tour
gave an insight as to why EFG Sailing
Arabia — The Tour is gaining ground
among competitors and becoming an
iconic and sustainable sailboat race.
They spoke at length about the
scenery, which ranged from ‘utterly
barren to stunningly beautiful’ with
1,000m cliffs and massive sandbanks
and of the navigational hazards that
ocean going sailors find so irresistible
such as giant tug boats and barges, oil
fields, exclusion zones and islands.
There were night time reports from
Team Averda of ‘oilfields burning
hot and red, oceans being lit up by
‘phosphorescence so luminous the
boats left a trail of ‘glow in the dark’
plankton behind them’.
All the teams made reference to the
gruelling physical and mental exertion
brought on by the long watches and the
sudden changes in conditions from a
perfect 10 knot breeze and clear skies
to leaden skies, lumpy seas and 30
knot gusts. For the professionals, EFG
Sailing Arabia — The Tour is a test of
skills. To everyone else, it is a test of
character which explains its appeal.
oman
The arrest of Anne Frank
This day in 1944, during the Holocaust, a tip from a Dutch informer led the
Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse, where they find
and arrest Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family and four others.
@ art&photography
features
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
29
Omani clinches 2nd
best photo in Nat’l
Geographic contest
Q RAHMA ALI AL KALBANI
M
ohammed Sulaiman al Badaai
won second place in the National
Geographic Moments Photography
Competition besting hundreds of
other submissions from different
photographers coming from all
Arab countries.
With the theme: Arab Countries Food and Flavours,
Mohammed’s photo showed mqadeed as it is being
prepared by a man. Mqadeed is a dry thin layer of meat
which is popular in the Dhofar Governorate.
“When I responded to the competition announced by
the National Geographic Abu Dhabi channel by sending
my photo, I wasn’t expecting for it to go anywhere,” he
said.
“But when they communicated with me after one
month saying that my picture was in the top 50 pictures,
for me, it was already enough.”
But the best was yet to come.
“After two weeks they announced that my photo came
second. There were no words to describe how happy and
proud I felt at that moment,” Al Badaai said.
“It was my first time to participate in a photography
competition and winning such a big one encouraged me
to learn more about photography and invest more in this
hobby,” he added.
Al Badaai is a 28-year-old geologist and photographer
who currently works as a hydrological engineer in
Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources.
‘Oman in the eyes of expatriates’ art expo opens
Q KABEER YOUSUF
F
*
or those who have chosen Oman as their second home, they need
not to go far in order to scribble a few words of endearments or
put emotions into paper and splash them with colour to show
their admiration for their motherlands. Here in the Sultanate,
dreams were made to come true.
Five expatriate women have come together to answer the call
of a hotel to display some of their finest works to announce to the rest of the
world that Oman is their second motherland. They were provided a platform to
put into art what they felt the first time they arrived in the country.
Aptly titled ‘Wow’ or Wednesday on walls, artist homemakers Mahija Suresh,
Usha Satheesan, Mita Poddar, Sony Libin along with Bincy Lee Binu who is also
an employee of the hotel, have displayed their impressions on the huge walls of
the City Seasons Hotel in Al Khuwair since yesterday.
“It’s a monthly event aimed at promoting Oman as a destination and to
support budding local artists,” Ahmed al Raisi, Deputy GM of the hotel, said.
The expo begins on first Wednesday of each month.
“We, our ex-GM Christian Palacin and I, first thought of doing something
for the society in terms of helping and supporting the local talents and we
decided to conduct monthly art expo on a regular basis. The response has been
tremendous and we are planning to identify more local artists in the future,” he
added.
There are nearly 25 paintings that reflect the various aspect of the Omani life.
Women in different abayas from different wilayats, traditional sports like camel
racing and horse racing, children going to school, and not the least, the various
attractions and historic monuments of the Sultanate are some of the topics that
captured the imagination of the budding artists.
The series of expos began last year with the works of Oman’s acclaimed artist
and National Geographic Photographer Ahmed al Toqi, followed by Safiya al
Bahlani, another creative name in the Oman’s art arena along with Ahmed al
Raisi, Marriot Peens and Dalia al Bassami have displayed their works as part of
the Wow — Wednesday on walls event.
The expo which started yesterday will last for one month.
crossword
CRYPTIC PUZZLE
ACROSS
1 Supporters very useful to
actors (5)
6 Cries: ‘Shoot at random!’ (5)
9 Figures to go into town for a
book (7)
10 Certificates of some
description (5)
11 Taking a rest from being
truthful (5)
12 Floral component in the form
of a lacy cross (5)
13 Decoration of stone, possibly
(7)
15 It doesn’t take long to get dry
(3)
17 Desire it for a companion (4)
18 In World War II, a victor in a
very thorough way! (6)
19 A boaster’s bloomer (5)
20 Join up with either 8 or 22
Down (6)
22 Members of an eleven (4)
24 Paternal army man (3)
25 Plants trees for a chap (7)
26 One can hardly make light of
his villainy (5)
27 To fix something, I have to be
in the right (5)
28 Noted duet arrangement, as
from Chopin (5)
29 Imaginably apt to go up? How
funny! (7)
30 Wine swilled by an unnamed
comedian (5)
31 Though keen or cutting, it may
be fine by the week-end (5)
DOWN
2 Something hard for a space
traveller to shoot up (6)
3 On which to stand
statuesquely, stonily staring (6)
4 Little man of the month? (3)
5 Where there’s a point to gain,
possibly (5)
6 Salvation Army crusade? (4,3)
7 Stone mostly derived from
chalcedony (4)
8 Being bright, can upset little
Leslie (6)
12 Roll down to the sea (5)
13 Punished a good number (5)
14 Reprove for having sold out
the Conservative leader (5)
15 Deadly sins are so numerous!
(5)
16 Categorise as a study group (5)
18 One of the pair we left
incompletely finished (5)
19 Religious type, but he’d be acid
if his self-starter went (7)
21 A name I have for being
natural (6)
22 Attend to out-of-order inlets
(6)
23 Golfed sportively with Bob (6)
25 Use of a veil? (5)
26 A champion may mean
nothing to her (4)
28 Animal chewing some leeks
(3)
EASY PUZZLE
ACROSS
1 Muscular pain (5)
6 Hit (5)
9 Previously (7)
10 Exhausted (5)
11 Dead language (5)
12 Danger (5)
13 Saunters (7)
15 Domestic fowl (3)
17 Rip (4)
18 Suitcase (6)
19 Black bird (5)
20 Expressed a view (6)
22 Dry (4)
24 Notebook (3)
25 Ship (7)
26 Tracks (5)
27 Biscuit (5)
28 Scope (5)
29 Take for granted (7)
30 Flower (5)
31 Snoops (5)
DOWN
2 Fame (6)
3 Adviser (6)
4 Affectionate tap (3)
5 Insects (5)
6 Aquatic bird (7)
7 Russian river (4)
8 Peals (6)
12 Implore (5)
13 Bend (5)
14 Quick (5)
15 Bees’ homes (5)
16 At no time (5)
18 Swerves (5)
19 Wed again (7)
21 Country (6)
22 Cook gently (6)
23 Edit (6)
25 Conflict (5)
26 Agents, informally (4)
28 Unit of current (3)
12, Cloud 13, MI-chae-L 15, Rep.
17, Only 18, Fed-O-ra 19, FA-Red
20, Trader 22, S-it-E 24, Hen 25,
M-utters 26, Al-tar 27, Hippo(crates) 28, Frome 29, Sweater 30,
Med-ES 31, Dying.
DOWN: 2, Re-TA-in 3, Smithy 4,
Tun 5, S-tall 6, Endu-red 7, Age-D
8, Letter 12, C-Ed-ar 13, Mo-U-th
14, Clean 15, Rosie 16, Paces 18,
Femur 19, Fellows 21, Retire 22,
Sta-RR-y 23, T-rum-an 25, MArat 26, Apse 28, Fed.
YESTERDAY’S EASY
SOLUTIONS
ACROSS: 1, Dream 6, Satan 9,
Bestows 10, Sprat 11, Ether 12,
Dubai 13, Rivulet 15, Sup 17, Ores
18, Better 19, Rower 20, Donkey
22, Arid 24, SAS 25, Athlete 26,
Bombs 27, Tiber 28, Boils 29,
Amorous 30, Chars 31, Stack.
DOWN: 2, Repair 3, Abacus 4,
Met 5, Stout 6, Sweater 7, Asti 8,
Avenue 12, Decoy 13, Roads 14,
YESTERDAY’S CRYPTIC
Veins 15, Store 16, Pride 18, Beats
SOLUTIONS
19, Reforms 21, Oafish 22, Almost
ACROSS: 1, BR-est. 6, Eagle 9, 23, Italic 25, Abort 26, Bear 28,
Must-ang 10, Sta-I-n 11, D-ebts Bus.
international
features
@
30
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
From Upper Volta to Burkina Faso
This day in 1984, The Republic of Upper Volta changed its name to
Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is a francophone country. It has a
population of 18.7 million as of 2016.
reallife
@ worldcheck
#Australia
62-year-old woman becomes oldest
Australian to give birth
A
62-year-old Australian has become the country’s oldest woman
to give birth, local media reported on Wednesday.
The unnamed Tasmanian mother gave birth to a girl
in Melbourne on Monday, the broadcaster Channel Seven
Sri Lanka
success
whets
international
appetite for
mangrove
conservation
Pioneering national
programme to protect Sri
Lanka’s coastal mangroves
could be extended to another
island country.
S
ri Lanka’s pioneering nationwide programme to save its damaged mangrove
forests is bearing fruit a year on, prompting the US conservation group
backing it to look for another island country to launch a similar effort.
Duane Silverstein, Executive Director at California-based Seacology,
a non-profit that protects island habitats, said he was planning to visit a
candidate island state in the Caribbean in the next month.
“This project, if it happens, is most definitely inspired by the success (in) Sri Lanka,”
he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, declining to name the potential project site as
negotiations were ongoing.
From the late 1980s into the 1990s, the destruction of Sri Lanka’s mangroves had
official sanction, as the government handed out public land to large companies to clear
for shrimp farms along the northwest coast.
“We were helpless — there was nothing we could do. Earth movers would come
in and clear tracts overnight that had taken hundreds of years to grow,” said Douglas
Thisera, director of conservation at the Kalpitiya-based Small Fishers Federation of Sri
Lanka (Sudeesa), which is partnering on the mangrove scheme.
Hundreds of acres of ecologically important mangroves in northwest Puttalam
district — around 40 per cent of the area’s forests — were cleared and replaced by large
ponds, Thisera said.
But the threat ended last year when Colombo designated more than 37,000 acres
(some 15,000 hectares) of coastal mangroves as protected, making it illegal to cut down
the delicate forests.
“It should have been done a long time back,” said Thisera, popularly known as the
“Mangrove Master”, surveying large craters left by shrimp farms dotting the Puttalam
lagoon now abandoned due to disease or business failure.
IMPROVING LOCAL LIVES
Mangrove trees grow in saltwater, forming a vital part of the natural cycle in coastal
lagoons. Fish and other marine creatures like prawns use the deep roots as breeding
areas.
The forests protect coastal communities from abrupt tidal shifts and storms, while
slowing shore erosion.
Mangrove swamps also store carbon, helping to curb planet-warming emissions —
another reason to keep them intact.
Sri Lanka’s countrywide protection initiative, praised as the first of its kind in the
world, has gained momentum in the past year, experts say.
“Sri Lanka is showing the world that it is possible to conserve mangrove forests
while also improving the lives of local people, restoring wildlife habitats, and helping to
ameliorate climate change,” said Dhammika Wijayasinghe, Secretary-General of the Sri
Lanka National Commission for Unesco, at the opening of a flagship mangrove museum
on July 26.
Sudeesa, which is hosting the museum at its main office in Chilaw, plans to conduct
tours there for at least 20,000 schoolchildren who will come to learn about the nearby
mangroves, as well as conservation training for adults.
“We hope that other countries with mangrove forests will follow Sri Lanka’s lead
and replicate the success of this model,” Wijayasinghe added, speaking on the first
International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem.
According to Seacology, which partners with the government on the mangrove
programme, around half the island nation’s identified mangrove forests have now been
surveyed and marked out with posts, up from zero when the project began.
Those who live alongside mangroves say no value was given to the forests in the past.
“People would go in and just cut them to use as firewood,” said widow Anne Priyanthi,
53, who lives near Puttalam lagoon.
Thisera said the destruction was partly due to lack of awareness. “But poverty also
played a big role,” he added.
A survey by the Fisheries Ministry some two years ago found the average monthly
income among fisher families was around $16, while just over half lived below the
national poverty line.
Thisera said that without tackling poverty, efforts to protect mangroves would be
futile, “because people just look at them as free cooking fuel”.
RAISING AWARENESS
Since the conservation scheme began, the government has enacted laws and provided
manpower to protect the forests, with the navy sending personnel to plant over 36,000
mangrove trees.
The plan aims to set up 1,500 community groups to look after existing mangroves,
and to replant around 3,000 hectares within five years.
Seacology has launched an island-wide push to reforest degraded areas, raise public
awareness, and provide economic assistance to local people to raise them out of poverty.
It aims to help more than 15,000 people, half of them widows and the rest school
dropouts, living close to the 48 lagoons where mangroves thrive.
In the last year, more than 190 women have received micro-loans to start small
businesses.
Priyanthi from Puttalam is one of them, setting up a pig farm with an initial loan of
LKR 10,000 ($68.70). She then applied for a further LKR 75,000, and now earns about
LKR 25,000 per month, which is enough to pay for her children’s education.
The women and others benefiting from the project also act as community leaders in
conservation work.
Silverstein said the success of the Sri Lanka programme so far had enabled Seacology
to raise $3.4 million from private donors and the World Food Programme to fund it fully
for five years.
The biggest challenge was when recent floods destroyed seedlings in a nursery, he
added.
Sudeesa’s Thisera said building community awareness about the advantages of
protecting mangroves, after generations of neglect, was a tough task — as would be
maintaining interest in conservation after the funding runs out. — Thomson Reuters
Foundation
reported.
Australian Medical Association President Michael Gannon wrote on
Twitter that it was “madness, selfish and wrong” for the woman to have the
baby and asked whether “anyone thought ahead to its teens.”
The woman gave birth at 34 weeks through cesarean section, Channel
Seven said. The mother and baby were reportedly both in good health.
The woman was implanted with a donor embryo in an operation outside
Australia and was supported throughout the pregnancy by her78-year-old
partner, the Sydney Morning Herald said. — dpa
#Australia
Some fish tackle ocean global
warming by pretending it’s night
S
ome fish may cope with the changing chemistry of the oceans
linked to global warming by permanently setting their body
defences to night-time levels, the time of day when they find sea
water least hospitable, a study said on Monday.
Man-made carbon dioxide, released into the air by burning fossil fuels,
forms a weak acid when mixed with water that can harm marine life in
what is likely to be a worsening effect of global warming this century.
Fish adjust their bodies every day because levels of carbon dioxide
naturally in the seas peak at night and dip during sunlight hours when
algae, seaweed and other plants absorb carbon dioxide to generate energy.
The study of spiny damselfish, a small species from Australia’s Great
Barrier Reef, found that those best able to tackle high carbon levels in the
water produced offspring with flexible body clocks that helped adapt to
acidification.
In 2014, the UN panel of climate scientists said that “ocean acidification
poses substantial risks to marine ecosystems” if man-made greenhouse gas
emissions rise at medium to high levels this century. Acidification makes
it harder for creatures such as scallops or lobsters to grow their protective
shells. Other studies have found it can also disrupt the behaviour of fish,
from sharks to salmon. — Reuters
#United States
Fluctuating atmosphere of
Jupiter’s volcanic moon revealed
J
upiter’s volcanic moon Io has a thin atmosphere that collapses in the
shadow of the planet condensing as ice, say Nasa-funded researchers,
revealing the freezing effects of its shadow during daily eclipses on
the moon’s volcanic gases.
Io is the most volcanically-active object in the solar system.
“This is the first time scientists have observed this remarkable
phenomenon directly, improving our understanding of this geologically
active moon,” said Constantine Tsang, scientist at the Southwest Research
Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
The volcanoes are caused by tidal heating, the result of gravitational
forces from Jupiter and other moons.
These forces result in geological activity, most notably volcanoes that
emit umbrella-like plumes of sulphur dioxide gas that can extend up to
480 km above Io and produce extensive basaltic lava fields that can flow for
hundreds of miles.
The new study documents atmospheric changes on Io as the giant
planet casts its shadow over the moon’s surface during daily eclipses.
“Io’s atmosphere is in a constant state of collapse and repair and shows
that a large fraction of the atmosphere is supported by sublimation of SO2
ice,” added study co-author John Spencer.
Though Io’s hyperactive volcanoes are the ultimate source of the SO2,
sunlight controls the atmospheric pressure on a daily basis by controlling
the temperature of the ice on the surface.
“We’ve long suspected this, but can finally watch it happen,” Spencer
noted.
The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, was
funded by Nasa’s Solar System Workings and Solar System Observations
programmes. — IANS
Billboard 100 first publication
This day in 1958, the Billboard Hot 100 was published for the first time. It
is currently the music industry standard record chart in the United States
for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are
based on radio play, online streaming, and sales (physical and digital).
@ localscenes
insideOman
features
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
31
The thrill of cinematic make-up
Q TAYMORA AL GHAWI
A
t one point, you may have wondered how movies make cuts and
bruises so believable — like when limbs are cut off and blood
oozes from a person creating that chilling, often nauseating
effect. You might have sat inside a cinema, disgusted with the
burnt skin of an actor seeing the tiny bits of muscles getting
battered and abused.
Movies wouldn’t be so believable if after a terrible fire, or an exaggerated highoctane fight, actors remain unscathed. We watch movies and enjoy them based on
how close they are to reality.
Movie making is an expensive, money-eating process. And beside the actors,
directors and the scriptwriters, the behind-the-scene people contribute much
more to the success of a film.
The department in-charge of making most things we see on film is called the
Special Effects (FX) department. Under this department, one particular area that
takes time and so much effort is the work done by the cinematic make-up crew.
Twenty-three-year-old Issa al Naamani is an Omani make-up artist who has
been specialising in cinematic make-up for over three years now.
Contrary to popular belief, not everyone who knows about make-up
automatically qualifies for this kind of job. Fact is, Issa is a graduate of fine arts and
the skill set he learned from the university armed him only but a little regarding
the true difficulty of cinematic make-up.
As he shared, the ability of making a fantasy into a reality is in itself an art. He
said that artists normally take a very long time to get things right.
In a conversation, Issa said that to get the desired look and feel, they have to
use different chemicals and colours. Often this requires experimenting because
the colours alone, of say a torn skin, has a range that they have to pay particular
attention to get it right.
Issa said the job demands a lot from an artist, adding he only survived because
it has always been his passion.
“I really am happy when I’m working with cinematic effects. In each project, I
always have this strong desire to develop myself,” he said.
Issa noted that small effects change the actor’s personality. As some film
characters are very demanding, their team must work hard so that the character
will achieve the effect suited for what the film requires.
“There are many things to be considered when doing cinematic make-up,” he
noted. “Sometimes, you have to consider the amount of light and exposure so that
you can level the kind of effect that you must apply.”
“The tools we used for cinematic make-up is not that different from the regular
ones. We also use foundations, powders and eyeliners. There’s just a certain level
of precision that is needed since the lights on the film set can truly show or hide
the beauty of a creation,” he said.
For those wishing to follow in Issa’s footstep, the artist shared that he went
through different courses to improve his skills.
“I’ve attended many workshops specific to this field and I also participated in
many TV shows to refine my skills,” he said.
It occurred to him he was totally ready when he won the cinematic effects
competitions for Arabs held in KSA in 2014. Issa was also a winner in a talent
competition for students of Colleges of Technology this year.
@ sharedthoughts
Texting while walking
Nizar al Musalmy
[email protected]
Smartphones, I can see, are causing
us distress and forcing lifestyles that
are unhealthy for our well-being.
Individuals continue with work while
at home, thus being diverted away
from sleeping and resting time.
E
very time I look around, I get confronted
by a clear reality — the smartphones. I
see people using them for WhatsApp,
viber, Twitter, email, Talk, Instagram,
Skype and the list is endless.
These smartphones have become
part of everyone’s life. It is astonishing to see even
children some of them so very young using high-value
smartphones. The essence for now is the fact that the
number using smartphones has increased immensely
and continues to increase with each passing day.
No doubt, we need them to keep us up-to-date with
technology and the progression curve life is taking.
However, smartphones, I can see, are causing us
distress and forcing lifestyles that are unhealthy for
our well-being. Individuals continue with work while
at home, thus being diverted away from sleeping and
resting time. The results would be insomnia and related
problems.
Worse still, is that there are people who actually
drive while texting on their smartphones. These types
of people are so pathetic and their deed so dangerous
so much so that I refuse to talk about them in the name
of protesting.
For today, let’s concentrate on those who use
smartphones while walking. In their effort to be well
informed and to be up-to-date with what is going on
around, you see people walking and crossing roads
while their eyes are glued at their smartphones. As they
reach to cross the road their eyes are still on the phone.
You; as the drive will suddenly start to slow down
while wondering what is going on. It does not bother
them that they put their lives and those of others in
danger and as you beckon them to cross, these people
walk across and no sooner do they do so, they take their
eyes back to their phones.
I have also seen some women doing this even in
high heels. You see them walking like they are about to
topple over but they continue to glue their eyes on their
phones while walking. Finding balance on high heels is
enough a challenge leave alone doing it while your eyes
are on the phone.
Looking at your phone reduces your field of vision
and makes you less aware of things happening around
you. As a result, you may not see oncoming danger,
such as a car or pothole or even your fellow pedestrian.
On this account of seeing people looking at their
phones while walking, I tasked my mind to function
and come up with a solution.
That is why I now call upon all business minded
people to come across and join me in forming a
manpower company that will have staff who will be
hired to offer the service of guiding people while they
walk in the streets.
In this new service, if you are one of those who are
always using their phones while walking, you will have
a dedicated person who will talk directly to you.
This person will hold your arm and tell you about
humps and steps as you approach them and will say
whether you need to go up or down, left or right.
As you continue to concentrate on your phone
screen, this service will allow you to get to know any
potential hazards that lie ahead and say where they are.
You will be guided to your destination and into your
seat, and your guide will place his/her hand on the
back of the seat before they sit you down, so you can
orientate yourself.
Be rest assured that your guide will not walk away
without saying that he/she is leaving. And you can call
him or her whenever you start a new journey.
So, oh you business oriented persons, if you are
interested in this kind of business, please get in touch
and let’s create employment opportunities and make
some money.
Enjoy your weekend!
THURSDAY | AUGUST 4, 2016
www.omanobserver.om
[email protected]
The thrill of
cinematic
make-up
Did you ever wonder how they
get the visual effects of broken
limbs so real in movies? Issa
al Naamani has been working
with cinematic make-up for
over three years now. Find out
what it takes to be one... P31
@editor’spick
moviedate
worldcelebration
happeningtoday
nowshowing
ICE AGE — COLLISION COURSE
COAST GUARD DAY
Scrats epic pursuit of his elusive acorn
catapults him outside of Earth, where he
accidentally sets off a series of cosmic
events that transform and threaten the
planet.
Coast Guard Day honours the
courageous work of coast guards.
Although originally celebrated to
honour American coast guards
for bravely saving 33,500 lives
when Hurricane Katrina struck the
US Atlantic coast, it is just apt to
be adapted as a day for coast
guards all over the world.
To celebrate, treat a coast guard
you know for a meal. That would
surely make their day.
— daysoftheyear.com
Have you seen this movie?
With 5 as the highest and 1 as the lowest,
how would you rate this film? Send us your
review at [email protected] and get
a chance to see your feedback on this spot
next week.
An aerial view of an oil palm plantation in Musi Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra,
Indonesia, on August 2, 2016, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. — Reuters