Blasts in 3 Thailand resort towns kill 4

SATURDAY | AUGUST 13, 2016 | DHUL QA’ADA 9, 1437 AH
VOL. 35 NO. 273 | PAGES 20 | BAISAS 200
Editor-in-Chief
ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI
www.omanobserver.om
editor@omanobserver.om
Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising
PO Box 974, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
CHINA’S STABILITY FALTERS AS FACTORY OUTPUT SLOWS P9
RIHANNA TO RECEIVE MTV’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD P20
CORONATION COMPLETE AS BILES WINS ALL AROUND GOLD P13
REGION
Five Omanis die in Qarn
Alam accident, 7 injured
UN: More Palestine
homes demolished
RAMALLAH: Israel has razed more
Palestinian homes and other structures
so far this year than in all of 2015, the
United Nations said on Friday, as the
United States and France expressed
concern. Israeli authorities in the
occupied West Bank and annexed
east Jerusalem have demolished 726
structures this year, displacing 1,020
Palestinians, the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) said. In the whole of 2015 there
were 533 demolitions and 688 people
displaced, OCHA said.
PAGE 7
INDIA
Shah Rukh detained
at US airport again
NEW DELHI: Bollywood superstar Shah
Rukh Khan took to Twitter on Friday to
express his annoyance at being detained
by US airport immigration authorities
for the third time, saying the experience
“really, really sucks”.
The last time Khan, 50, was detained
by immigration officials in New York
in 2012, it sparked uproar among his
Indian fans who accused the US of
racial profiling, and led Washington to
apologise.
PAGE 5
SUBCONTINENT
Lanka, China sign
revised agreement
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Friday signed
a new deal to replace a controversial
agreement with a Chinese company
building a new city within Colombo
to remove its freehold rights over
reclaimed land after India voiced
concerns over the agreement. The
government said the Chinese investor
would be granted new land on a 99-year
lease instead of the freehold in the
original deal
PAGE 3
INSIDESTORIES
4
JAPAN IN TALKS TO DELIVER COAST
GUARD SHIPS TO PHILIPPINES
P
7
MORE THAN 270 KILLED IN FOUR
MONTHS IN YEMEN CONFLICT: UN
P
AT 90TH BIRTHDAY, FIDEL
CASTRO MULLS DEATH
P
8
WEATHER TODAY
MUSCAT
MAX: 390C
MIN: 300C
SALALAH
MAX: 270C
MIN: 250C
SUNRISE 05.40 AM
PRAYER TIMINGS
FAJR: 04:19
DHUHR: 12:11
ASR: 15:37
MAGHRIB: 18:40
ISHA: 20:10
NIZWA
MAX: 420C
MIN: 320C
KABEER YOUSUF
MUSCAT
22 GOLD, 2 SILVER, 2 BRONZE
USA’s Michael Phelps holds up four fingers for his fourth gold medal on the podium of the Men’s 200m
Individual Medley Final during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic
Aquatics on Friday. — AFP
P14
The ROP Air ambulances rushed to
the scene as soon as the nearby station
was alerted about the incident and
were rushed to Nizwa Hospital. The
Aug 12: Five citizens lost their lives
injured are in the ICU at the Hospital,
when the vehicle they were travelling
the sources added.
in collided head on with a trailer and
An average of two people died on
later with another vehicle in Qarn
Oman’s roads daily due to accidents
Alam, less than 400 kilometres from
in the first six months of this year,
the capital city, Al Dhakhiliyah on
according to figures from the National
Friday. Seven others were injured.
Center for Statistics and Information
According to the Royal Oman
(NCSI).
Police (ROP) officials, the deceased
Since the beginning of 2016
were identified as Naji al Yahyaee,
until the end of June a total of 2,100
Eisa al Hamdani (both from Wilayat
accidents took place which left 336
Barka), Juma al Bakri, Juma al Hattali
(from Rustaq); and Mazen al Aufi from people dead.
The number of deaths has
Suweiq were on a visit to a nearby site
when the accident happened at Wajah increased by 8.4 per cent compared to
310 of the same period last year.
at around 1.30 pm.
SHADOW OVER TOURISM: Explosions not linked to international militants; southern insurgents suspected
Blasts in 3 Thailand resort towns kill 4
HUA HIN: A series of blasts hit three
of the most popular tourist resorts as
well as towns in southern Thailand
on Thursday and Friday, killing four
people and wounding dozens, days after
the country voted to accept a militarybacked charter in a referendum.
Four bombs exploded in the upscale
resort of Hua Hin, about 200 km (125
miles) south of Bangkok on Thursday
evening and Friday morning, killing two
people and wounding at least 24.
Other blasts hit the tourist island
of Phuket, a resort town in Phang Nga
province, and Surat Thani, a city that
is the gateway to islands such as Koh
Samui in Thailand’s Gulf.
Hua Hin is home to the Klai
Kangwon royal palace, which translates
as “Far from Worries Palace”, where
King Bhumibol Adulayadej, the world’s
longest reigning monarch, and his wife,
Queen Sirikit, have often stayed in recent
years, until both were hospitalised.
Friday was a public holiday in
Thailand to mark the queen’s birthday,
which is celebrated as Mother’s Day.
No group has claimed responsibility,
though suspicion could fall on groups
fighting an insurgency in in southern
Thailand.
Police had intelligence an attack
was imminent, but had no precise
information on location or timing,
national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda
told reporters in Bangkok on Friday.
“We just didn’t know which day
something would happen,” he said.
Since Sunday’s referendum on the
constitution, there have been attacks
in seven provinces using improvised
explosive devices and firebombs,
Chakthip said.
The devices were similar to those
used by separatist insurgents in southern
Thailand, but that did not conclusively
show they were the perpetrators, he said.
Police ruled out any links to
international
terrorism,
as
did
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry, which said
A man is treated for injuries at the scene of a bomb explosion in the upscale resort
town of Hua Hin on Friday. — AFP
in a statement on Friday: “The incident
is not linked to terrorism but is an act of
stirring up public disturbance.”
Thai authorities beefed up security
at tourism spots, airports and on public
As Earth swelters, 1.5C global
warming target may be missed
OSLO: The Earth is so hot this year
that a limit for global warming agreed
by world leaders at a climate summit in
Paris just a few months ago is in danger
of being breached.
In December, almost 200 nations
agreed a radical shift away from fossil
fuels with a goal of limiting a rise in
average global temperatures to well
below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit)
above pre-industrial times while
“pursuing efforts” for 1.5C (2.7F). But
2016 is on track to be the hottest year on
record, also buoyed by a natural El Nino
event warming the Pacific, according
to the UN’s World Meteorological
Organisation.
The first six months were a sweltering
1.3C above pre-industrial times.
“It opens a Pandora’s box,” said Oliver
Geden, of the German Institute for
International and Security Affairs.”The
future debate about temperature targets
will be about overshoot.”
Many climate scientists say the Paris
targets are likely to be breached in the
coming decades, shifting debate onto
whether it will be possible to turn down
the global thermostat.
Climate scientists will meet in
transport in Bangkok, while Thai junta
chief and Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha expressed frustration about the
motives for the attacks.
“Why now when the country is
getting better, the economy is getting
better, and tourism is getting better? We
have to ask why and who did it,” he told
reporters.
The attacks are bad news for
Thailand’s tourist sector, which has been
one of the few bright spots in a sluggish
economy.
Tourism accounts for about 10 per
cent of gross domestic product and
Thailand was expecting a record 32
million visitors this year. Australia issued
a travel advisory saying Australians
should “exercise a high degree of caution”
and warned: “Further explosions in any
part of Thailand are possible.”
Two blasts on Friday morning in
Hua Hin came after twin explosions on
Thursday. One of those was near a bar
in a narrow alley in the town late on
Thursday, killing one Thai woman and
wounding 21 people, Krisana said.
Ten of those injured in the Hua Hin
blasts were foreigners, Krisana said, and
eight of them were women. — Reuters
Sailing championship from tomorrow
The world had agreed to
limit a rise in average global
temperatures to well below
2 degrees Celsius above
pre-industrial times while
“pursuing efforts” for 1.5C.
Geneva from August 15-18 to plan a UN
report about the 1.5C goal, requested by
world leaders in the Paris Agreement for
publication in 2018.
Overshoot is among the issues in
preparatory documents.
Developing nations see overshoot
as a betrayal of commitments by the
rich and a recipe to worsen heatwaves
such as in the Middle East this year or a
thaw of Greenland’s ice sheet that could
swamp island states by raising global sea
levels.
“There is a risk that ‘overshoot’ is a
slippery slope towards lower ambition,”
said Emmanuel de Guzman, secretary
of the Climate Commission of the
Philippines, which chairs a group of
43 emerging nations in the Climate
Vulnerable Forum (CVF).
Backing that view at the Rio Olympics,
some athletes have signs saying: “1.5
— the record we must not break” in a
campaign partly run by the CVF, whose
members includes Bangladesh, the
Maldives and Guatemala.
Developing nations say overshoot
lets world leaders pay lip service to 1.5C
while failing to act on pledges made in
Paris for a trillion-dollar shift from coal
and other fossil fuels towards renewable
energies.
— AFP
Sur: Preparations for National Sailing Championship are in full swing at Sur. The
championship will be held at Sailing School from August 14 to18. Sailors from
different sailing schools spread across the Sultanate will take part in it.
— Photo by Sushil Kumar Sharma, SEE P2
oman/latenews
oman/latenews
/l
2
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l A U G U ST 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
Junior
sailors
work hard to clinch national titles
SUSHIL KUMAR SHARMA
SUR
August 12: With the national sailing
championship around the corner, young
sailors from different parts of sultanate are
practicing hard to grab a title at national
event. Sailors from all four sailing schools
of Oman have gathered in Sur to attend a
training session and acquaint themselves
with the weather and sea conditions.
“We are putting our best efforts to
acquaint sailors with the sailing conditions
in the Sur, so they could be ready for the
competition, says, Abdullah al Farsi, chief
instructor at the Wave Sailing School.
Last year only one race was organised
for the ‘Optimist’ category and the winner
was Zakaria al Weheibi from Al Mussanah
Sailing School. This year races will be held
in three categories: optimist, laser 4.7 and
techno 293 (also called wind surfing).
“This training will help our sailors to
assess their capabilities and check their
gears. Yesterday they had a little session in
the water. Today they spent more time in the
water and acquainted themselves with the
changing weather conditions. Tomorrow
they will be ready to take up any challenges
in the national championship,” said Abdul
Aziz Salim Saif al Shidi, National Coach of
Oman sailing school.
Oman sailing school management has
ambitious future plan for their sailors.
“We are preparing our sailors for the 2020
Tokyo Olympics. We want them to be ready
to grab a title in the coming Olympics in
Tokyo. We are providing them the best
training by the finest of the professionals in
the sailing,” Feras Asqul (pictured), a senior
event officer at the Wave Oman Sailing
School, said.
RAIN ON THE MOUNTAIN
Heavy rain fell in different parts of Al Dakhiliyah and Al Dhahirah governorates
on Friday, leading to overflowing of wadis and slowing of traffic flow.
Heavy rains also resulted in the formation of several waterfalls
on Jabal Al Akhdar and adjoining mountains. — ONA
Scientists to unveil new
Earth-like planet
BERLIN: Scientists are preparing to
unveil a new planet in our galactic
neighbourhood which is “believed to
be Earth-like” and orbits its star at a
distance that could favour life, German
weekly Der Spiegel reported on Friday.
The exoplanet orbits a wellinvestigated star called Proxima
Centauri, part of the Alpha Centauri
star system, the magazine said, quoting
anonymous sources.
“The still nameless planet is believed
to be Earth-like and orbits at a distance
to Proxima Centauri that could allow
it to have liquid water on its surface
— an important requirement for the
emergence of life,” said the magazine.
“Never before have scientists
discovered a second Earth that is
so close by,” it said, adding that the
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
will announce the finding at the end of
August.
The report gave no further details.
ESO spokesman Richard Hook said
he is aware of the report, but refused to
confirm or deny it.”We are not making
any comment,” he said.
Nasa has announced the discovery
of new planets in the past, but most of
those worlds were either too hot or too
cold to host water in liquid form, or
were made of gas, like our Jupiter and
Neptune, rather than of rock, like Earth
or Mars.
Last year, the US space agency
unveiled an exoplanet that it described
as Earth’s “closest-twin”.
Named Kepler 452b, the planet is
about 60 percent larger than Earth and
could have active volcanoes, oceans,
sunshine like ours, twice as much
gravity and a year that lasts 385 days.
But at a distance of 1,400 light-years
away, humankind has little hope of
reaching this Earth-twin any time soon.
In comparison, the exoplanet
orbiting
Proxima
Centauri,
if
confirmed, is just 4.24 light-years away.
This is a mere stepping stone in
relation to the scale of the Universe but
still too far away for humans to reach in
present-generation chemical rockets.
—AFP
Ukraine accuses Russia of plotting unrest amid Crimea tensions
KIEV: Ukraine on Friday accused
Russia of plotting further unrest as the
international community sought to ease
tensions after the two sides ramped up
security around the disputed Crimean
peninsula.
Russia’s FSB security service has said
it thwarted “terrorist attacks” in Crimea
over last weekend by Ukrainian military
intelligence and beaten back armed
assaults, claims Kiev has fiercely denied.
Both sides in response have boosted
security around the region as the
simmering feud sparked by Moscow’s
annexation of Crimea in March 2014 has
unexpectedly flared up again, prompting
fears of a wider conflict.
Ukrainian troops near Crimea and
A Ukrainian Mikoyan MiG-29 jet fighter lands during a
along the frontline with pro-Russian
military aviation drills as Russia accuses Ukraine of
separatists in two other eastern
incursion into annexed Crimea. — Reuters
regions have been placed on high alert,
and Kiev’s military intelligence said
“the enemy is planning large-scale
provocative actions”.
It also accused Russia of increasing
its forces, replenishing munitions and
building up military hardware in the
war-scarred east of Ukraine.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
followed up angry accusations from
President Vladimir Putin by branding
He warned that Putin could sever
Russia’s military also said it has
Kiev’s alleged raids in Crimea “a crime diplomatic ties with Ukraine if “there delivered its most advanced S-400 air
against the Russian state and the people remains no other way to influence the defence system to Crimea after pledging
of Russia”.
situation”, Russian news wires reported. to deploy it there last month.
The system will become fully
operational in December, it said.
Ukraine’s security service has raised
its terrorist threat level to the highest
around Crimea and the eastern regions
of Donetsk and Lugansk, where proRussian rebels have been fighting
government troops for more than two
years.
Kiev’s alleged attempts at armed
incursions into Crimea saw a Russian
security service officer killed in clashes
while arresting “terrorists” at the
weekend, Moscow said.
And Russian soldier died in a firefight
with “sabotage-terrorist” groups sent by
the Ukrainian military on Monday.
Ukraine’s national security council
chief Oleksandr Turchynov on
Friday dismissed the claims, saying
Moscow was trying to cover up deadly
shootouts between Russian forces “who
traditionally abuse alcohol.”
In a move that was likely to add fuel
to the dispute Russian state TV aired
footage of the interrogations of several
alleged infiltrators the authorities
claimed to have captured and confessed
to having worked for Ukraine’s military
intelligence.
Kiev had previously said one of the
men being held in Russia had been
abducted and was a “hostage”.
—Reuters
subcontinent
subcontinent
i
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l A U G U S T 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
3
DRACONIAN: Bill allows PTA ‘unlimited powers’ to decide what is illegal
Activists fear new cyber-crime
law will hurt civil liberties
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has adopted a
much-criticised cyber security law that
grants sweeping powers to regulators
to block private information they deem The overly broad language
illegal.
used in the bill ensures
The National Assembly approved
the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill that innocent and ignorant
2015 late on Thursday after the Senate Pakistani citizens, unaware
had unanimously adopted it last month.
Government officials say Internet of the ramifications of
restrictions under the new law are what the bill entails, can
needed to ensure security against
be ensnared and find
growing threats, such as terrorism.
But the law has alarmed human themselves subject to very
rights and pro-democracy activists harsh penalties
worried that its vague language could
lead to curtailment of free speech and
unfair prosecutions.
“The overly broad language used
in the bill ensures that innocent and subject to very harsh penalties,” said
ignorant Pakistani citizens, unaware of Nighat Daad, founder of a group called
the ramifications of what the bill entails, the Digital Rights Foundation.
“There have been no provisions
can be ensnared and find themselves
Afghan govt partner
berates president
KABUL: Afghanistan’s chief executive
has castigated his ally Ashraf Ghani as
“unfit for the presidency”, in a public
outburst highlighting bitter internal
divisions that threaten their USbrokered power sharing agreement.
Abdullah Abdullah’s comments
come ahead of a September deadline
for the government to honour the
fragile agreement signed after the
fraud-tainted presidential election in
2014, which both leaders claimed to
have won.
By then the government is expected
to enact sweeping election reforms and
amend the constitution to create the
position of prime minister for Abdullah.
Observers say that deadline is
unlikely to be met, effectively tipping
Afghanistan into a political crisis.
“Electoral reforms were one of the
promises made when the National
Unity Government was formed.
Why weren’t these reforms brought?”
Abdullah said a small gathering in
Kabul.
“President, over a period of three
months you do not have time to see
saying Abdullah’s remarks “were
not in accordance with the spirit of
governance”, while at the same time
extending him an olive branch.
“The National Unity Government
will work collectively, and very soon
serious and effective discussions
will take place (regarding Abdullah’s
comments),” the palace said, without
offering details.
Abdullah said he would meet Ghani
on Saturday to try to iron out some of
their differences.
Their power-sharing deal, brokered
by US Secretary of State John Kerry, was
hailed after the troubled 2014 election
as a breakthrough as it averted potential
military and political confrontations.
But it was only meant to be a stopgap
arrangement before a more permanent
solution was fleshed out by a loya
jirga (grand assembly of elders) and a
constitutional amendment to formalise
Abdullah’s position as prime minister.
Divisions between the two leaders
are an open secret in Kabul but
Abdullah’s public outburst is a prelude
to what analysts are calling “political
set in place to protect sensitive data of
Pakistani users. The state cannot police
people’s lives in this manner.”
The law provides for up to seven
years in prison for “recruiting, funding
and planning of terrorism” online.
It also allows “authorised officers” to
require anyone to unlock any computer,
mobile phone or other device during an
investigation.
Activists say the bill’s vague language
without well-defined descriptions for
libel or defamation typical in other
countries’ could be used to prosecute
any satirical website, including political
ones.
The law also carries a penalty of three
years for “spoofing”.
“Whoever with dishonest intention
establishes a website or sends any
information with a counterfeit source
intended to be believed by the recipient
or visitor of the website, to be an
authentic source commits spoofing,” the
law says.
Daad said the bill allowed the
Pakistan Telecommunications Authority
“unlimited powers” to decide what was
illegal.
Governments around the world have
been grappling with how to block online
incitement to criminal activity, while
major Internet services have stepped up
campaigns to identify and remove Web
postings that incite violence.
Facebook, Google and Twitter are
working more aggressively to combat
online propaganda and recruiting
by militants while trying to avoid
the perception they are helping state
authorities police the Web.
More than 30 million of Pakistan’s
190 million people use the Internet,
mainly on mobile telephones, according
to digital rights organisation Bytes for
All. — Reuters
MYANMAR FLOODING KILLS 6,
DISPLACES HALF A MILLION
YANGON: Six people have died and more than 420,000 have been displaced
in widespread flooding in Myanmar over the past six weeks,the government
said on Friday.
Incessant downpours have brought floods to nine regions in northern
and central Myanmar, impacting more than 98,000 households, the staterun Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
Water levels in some regions have receded and some temporary shelters
have shut down, but the number of flood victims has continued to rise as the
floods shifted to the southern parts of the country.
The Myanmar government has spent more than 468 million kyat
(around $400,000) to aid people affected by the floods, the Global New
Light of Myanmar said.
The worst-hit area of Myanmar has been the Ayeyawaddy region.
Floods are common in Myanmar during the monsoon season.
Last year’s flooding killed as many as 100 people and affected more than
a million, the government said. — dpa
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe shakes hands with Norway’s Prime
Minister Erna Solberg as his wife Maithree Wickramasinghe and Solberg’s
husband Sindre Finnes look on in Colombo on Friday. Solberg
is in the country on a two-day official visit. — AFP
Sri Lankan parliament
endorses office to
trace wartime missing
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s parliament
has passed a law to establish an office
to trace people who disappeared
during a 26-year war and another
insurrection amid protests by
former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa’s
supporters in the chamber.
The law was passed without a vote.
It will enable independent
investigation of thousands of cases
of missing people, measures to trace
them and protection of their rights
and interests and those of their
relatives.
“We have brought this to
correct the past mistakes in the
history,” Foreign Minister Mangala
Samaraweera presenting the bill told
the parliament.
Rajapaksa’s supporters, who allege
that the move was to prosecute the
military, protested wearing black
bands and shawls.
Rajapaksa, now an opposition
legislator, was out of the country on
Thursday.
But Samaraweera said the
government was trying to safeguard
the military by looking into the
allegations levelled against them
and to maintain their reputation
internationally.
The United Nations and rights
groups have long urged justice for the
families of those who disappeared
during the war, including those who
were alleged to have been secretly
abducted by state-backed groups and
paramilitary outfits.
Sri
Lanka
has
already
acknowledged that some 65,000
people were missing, mostly ethnic
minority Tamils from its 26-year
war with Tamil Tiger rebels and a
separate Marxist insurrection.
President Maithripala Sirisena’s
coalition government has agreed to
address past human rights violations
through independent investigations
and to implement a resolution by
the United Nations Human Rights
Council (UNHRC).
Former president Rajapaksa’s
government had rejected the UN
recommendations, saying it wanted
to address rights concerns without
any international pressure.
M A Sumanthiran, an opposition
legislator from the main Tamil party
said the new law was the “first baby
step” in the process of reconciliation.
“There cannot be a reconciliation
without the ascertainment of
truth and in this process the most
important issue is the missing
person, persons who have been made
to disappear during the course of a
protracted war in this country,” he
said.
The office of missing persons will
trace those disappeared during the
war for an independent Tamil state
in the north and east of the island
of Sri Lanka and an armed revolt by
a radical Marxist group against the
government in 1987-89. — Reuters
Chinese investor will be granted new land to construct mega port city
Govt signs agreement for Colombo
International Financial City
An internally displaced Afghan family poses for a photograph at a temporary
home after they fled ongoing clashes between Afghan security forces and Taliban
militants in Nad Ali district of Helmand province on Friday. — AFP
your chief executive face-to-face for
even an hour or two? What do you
spend your time on?
“There are arguments in every
government but if someone does not
have patience for discussion, then he is
unfit for the presidency.”
The acrimony comes as Taliban
insurgents are threatening to overrun
Lashkar Gah, capital of the strategic
poppy-growing southern province of
Helmand.
Abdullah, a former anti-Soviet
fighter, also accused Ghani of
monopolising
power
and
not
consulting him over key government
appointments.
The presidential palace offered
a measured response on Friday,
fireworks” if their agreement is not
honoured.
Aside from election reforms, under
the deal the government is also expected
to hold parliamentary elections by the
end of September.
Political
opposition
groups,
including former president Hamid
Karzai, are mounting pressure to hold
the loya jirga to decide the government’s
constitutional legitimacy.
“The National Unity Government
deal is in danger,” Jawed Kohistani, a
Kabul-based political analyst, said.
“Electoral reforms, parliamentary
elections, loya jirga will almost
definitely not happen anytime soon.
This could plunge the government
into crisis.” — AFP
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Friday signed
a new deal to replace a controversial
agreement with a Chinese company
building a new city within Colombo to
remove its freehold rights over reclaimed
land after India voiced concerns over the
agreement.
The Sri Lankan government said
the Chinese investor would be granted
new land on a 99-year lease instead of
the freehold in the original deal entered
into when Chinese President Xi Jinping
visited Colombo in 2014.
“The tripartite agreement has many
features that are beneficial to Sri Lanka
that was lacking in the 2014 agreement
that is now being replaced,” the
government said in a statement.
For its part, the state-owned China
Communications
Construction
Company (CCCC) said it was
cooperating with the new Sri Lankan
government and confirmed entering
fresh agreements over the $1.4 billion
investment.
The Sri Lankan government had put
the project on hold pending a review
of all the big-ticket agreements signed
Sri Lankan pedestrians walk near an open sewer drain off Mount
Lavinia beach on the outskirts of Colombo. — AFP
under the previous administration of
Mahinda Rajapakse.
The entire project has also been
renamed “Colombo International
Financial City” instead of the original
title of “Port City” given to the
reclamation of 269 hectares (672 acres)
of land just next to the main Colombo
harbour.
CCCC said it expected the project
to create 83,000 new jobs and help Sri
Lanka attract another $13 billion in
direct foreign investment to develop
infrastructure within the reclaimed
land.
Last week, Sri Lanka formally said it
was withdrawing permission for CCCC
to buy the freehold to 20 hectares of
land being reclaimed after neighbouring
India objected and said there must be a
new agreement signed.
“India had a big concern about
giving freehold land to China near
the Colombo harbour,” government
spokesman Rajitha Senaratne told
reporters at the time.
“We have amended the agreement.
There will be no freehold land but it will
be on a 99-year lease.”
Former president Rajapakse relied
heavily on Chinese investment to
rebuild the country’s infrastructure
after the end of the island’s decades-long
ethnic war in May 2009, a move which
some say alienated India.
The Chinese-funded port was also
controversial among environmentalists.
Beijing has been accused of seeking
to develop facilities around the Indian
Ocean in a “string of pearls” strategy to
counter the rise of rival India and secure
its own economic interests.
China, the largest single lender to Sri
Lanka, secured contracts to build roads,
railways and ports under Rajapakse, who
is under investigation over allegations of
corruption during his decade in power.
— AFP
asia
asiaManila seeks formal talks with
4
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l A U G U ST 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
Army says taking
seriously ‘IS threat’
against Miss
Universe show
MANILA: The Philippines military
said on Friday it was taking seriously
what it believed was a call by IS
militants for an attack on the Miss
Universe contest being held in the
country next year.
The military said a recent bombmaking video posted on social media,
apparently by IS militants in the
Middle East, carried a message in
Arabic script reading: “create bomb
for Miss Universe”. The pageant is due
to be held in the capital, Manila, in
January.
“We are taking the threat seriously,”
armed forces spokesman Colonel
Edgard Arevalo told reporters, though
adding that authorities had yet to
establish the authenticity of the video
or determine its source.
The Philippines says there are no
IS militants in the country although
the group has accepted, in a video
message, the allegiance of a notorious
Philippine militant group known as
Abu Sayyaf.
“We reiterate that there is no ISIS
in the Philippines,” Arevalo said,
referring to IS. “What we have are
groups claiming affiliations with ISIS
in their bid to draw funds. It is not
farfetched for ISIS to claim to have
cells in the Philippines to show global
membership.”
The Ministry of Tourism, which
helps organise the Miss Universe
pageant, was not alarmed by the
threat, said ministry spokeswoman
Ina Zara-Loyola.
“We consider this as serious as
well as the traffic problem that affects
our daily life,” she said, adding that
the authenticity of the video was
impossible to verify.
The government was confident
the army and police were “more than
capable in ensuring the public safety
and security”, she said. — Reuters
Probe into alleged police role in drug trade
Indonesia’s president has ordered security authorities to investigate allegations of police
involvement in the illegal distribution of drugs in the country. “Trace, investigate and process
the allegations if it is indeed true,” President Joko Widodo said in a statement issued late on
Thursday, ordering the police chief to create a team to investigate the claims. — Reuters
Beijing amid sea tension: Ramos
REKINDLING TIES: Informal discussions focused on the need to engage in further talks
HONG KONG: The Philippines
wants formal negotiations with China
to explore pathways to peace and
cooperation, the Southeast Asian
nation’s special envoy, Fidel Ramos, said
on Friday, after a meeting with former
Chinese deputy foreign minister Fu
Ying.
Ramos was speaking near the end of
a trip to Hong Kong undertaken in a bid
to rekindle ties with China, which have
been soured by a maritime dispute in
the South China Sea.
An arbitration court in the Hague
ruled on July 12 that China had no
historic title over the busy waterway and
had breached the Philippines’ sovereign
rights there. Beijing has dismissed the
court’s authority.
“Informal discussions focused on the
need to engage in further talks to build
trust and confidence to reduce tensions
to pave the way for overall cooperation,”
Ramos and Fu said in a joint statement
on Friday.
They added that China welcomed
Ramos to visit Beijing as the special
envoy of Philippine president Rodrigo
Duterte, who took office in June and has
signalled a greater willingness to engage
with China than his predecessor.
“It’s not really a breakthrough in a
sense that there is no ice here in Hong
Kong to break but the fish we eat... are
cooked in delicious recipes,” Ramos,
who had earlier referred to his visit as a
fishing expedition, told reporters.
China claims almost the entire South
China Sea, through which more than $5
trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and
Vietnam also have claims in the sea,
believed to be rich in energy deposits.
The statement added that both
Beijing and Manila would seek to
Former Philippine president Fidel Ramos (C) arrives for a press conference in Hong Kong on Friday. — AFP
promote fishing cooperation, marine
preservation, and tourism but made no
specific mention of the South China Sea
or the ruling, and did not set a timeframe
for possible talks.
Ramos said neither side asserted its
own sovereignty over disputed areas
in the South China Sea, such as the
Scarborough Shoal and Mischief Reef.
“There was no discussion on that
particular aspect, except to mention
equal fishing rights,” said Ramos.
The statement said the discussions
were held in a private capacity, and
Ramos said later other back channel
It’s not really a
breakthrough in a sense
that there is no ice here in
Hong Kong to break but the
fish we eat... are cooked in
delicious recipes
FIDEL RAMOS
Philippines special envoy
talks with China were under way.
“We hope this type of exchange can
assist China and the Philippines in
returning to dialogue and improving
relations,” China’s Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a
statement on the ministry’s website.
China seized the Scarborough Shoal
in 2012, denying Philippine fishermen
access, one of the factors that prompted
Manila to seek arbitration.
Ramos was president of the
Philippines from 1992 to 1998, when
China occupied the submerged Mischief
Reef. — Reuters
Japan in talks to deliver coast
guard ships to Philippines
President Rodrigo Duterte (L) greets visiting Japanese Foreign Minister, Fumio Kishida, during his courtesy call at the
presidential guest house in Davao city, southern Philippines. — Reuters
MANILA: Japan and the Philippines have
begun talks for the transfer of two large
coast guard ships to Manila, to help patrol
the disputed South China Sea, a Japanese
foreign ministry official said on Friday, as
part of a deal on defence equipment.
The two brand-new 90-metre multirole response vessels will be in addition to
ten 44-metre mid-sized coast guard ships,
worth 8.8 billion pesos ($188.52 million),
that Japan is set to start delivering next
week.
“Both governments are looking into
the possibility of getting two more
vessels, this time the bigger ones,” Masato
Ohtaka, deputy spokesman of Japan’s
foreign ministry, told journalists in Manila.
“We’re in the middle of dialogue
between the two sides, they are still
discussing details and we need a little
more time.” The ship delivery figured in an
80-minute meeting between Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on
Thursday in southern Davao City.
“We talked about how Japan can
help the Philippines in capacity building,
particularly with regards to maritime
security,” Ohtaka added.
China claims almost the entire South
China Sea where about $5 trillion worth
of trade passes every year. Brunei,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and
Vietnam also have claims on the sea
believed to have rich deposits of oil and
gas. Japan has no claim in the South
China Sea but it is in dispute with China
over small islands in the East China Sea.
China says it has “indisputable
sovereignty” over the area it claims
and has refused to recognise the court
ruling handed down last month in a case
brought by the Philippines.
Japan urged China to adhere to the
ruling, saying it was binding, prompting a
warning from China not to interfere.
“We are very concerned,” Ohtaka
said, adding that developments in the
East China Sea could parallel those in
the South China Sea, where Beijing has
stepped up the constant presence of its
coast guard ships. — Reuters
Now, Seoul is looking to expand its insect industry as a source of agricultural income by promoting more consumption
S Korea looks to generate buzz for edible insects
SEOUL: Bae Su-Hyeon’s lunch of sweet
potato soup and funghi pasta has bugs in
it. They’re part of the recipe.
“It didn’t feel like eating insects,”
says Bae, an 18-year-old student having
lunch with a friend at Papillon’s Kitchen,
a Seoul restaurant specialising in insects.
That’s because the mealworms in her
dishes were hydrolised into powder to
make the pasta and soup.
Insect-eating, or entomophagy, has
long been common in much of the
world, including South Korea, where
boiled silky worm pupae, or beondegi,
are a popular snack.
Now, South Korea is looking to
expand its insect industry as a source of
agricultural income by promoting more
consumption, joining a global trend that
has seen rising interest in insects as a
nutritious and environmentally friendly
food.
To do that, the government is trying At least 2 billion people eat
to make people more comfortable insects and more than 1,900
with the idea of eating crickets and
species have been used for
mealworms that are ground into powder
or hydrolysed to extract oils and protein food, according to the FAO,
and turned into food, from ice cream to which said entomophagy
sausages.
Kim Young Wook, chief executive of could play a key role in food
the private-sector Korean Edible Insect security
Laboratory and owner of Papillon’s
Kitchen, said key to winning over
sceptical customers was presentation.
delicious, that’s everything, because taste
“If people taste foods after having a speaks for itself,” he said this week at a
good first impression, and find they are tasting event staged by the Agriculture
Ministry.
South Korea’s insect industry was
worth 304 billion won ($278 million)
last year, nearly double from 2011,
although food for humans accounted
for just 6 billion won of that with the rest
coming from uses like animal feed.
The government wants to expand
the industry to 530 billion won by 2020,
with food making up nearly a fifth.
The number of farms producing
insects rose to 724 last year, from 265 in
2011.
Insects can be a rich source of fat,
protein, vitamins, fibre and minerals,
according to the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO). The
composition of unsaturated omega-3
and six fatty acids in mealworms is
comparable to that in fish and higher
than in beef and pork, it says.
Globally, at least 2 billion people eat
insects and more than 1,900 species have
been used for food, according to the
FAO, which said entomophagy could
play a key role in food security and
environmental protection. Insects need
less land and water than cattle.
Kim Jong Hee, who has been raising
insects since 2000 for animal feed, began
farming mealworms and crickets for
people in 2013.
“In the past, people used to shake
their heads when they thought of bugs,
but now more people believe insects are
edible,” he said. — Reuters
IN BRIEF
Elephant with
‘sabre-tooth’
tusks found
KUALA LUMPUR: A rare pygmy
elephant with tusks growing
downwards instead of up to give it
a look like a sabre-toothed tiger has
been found in Malaysia, a wildlife
official said on Friday.
The unusual looking animal was
found by a team of wildlife experts at
a palm oil planation in the Malaysian
state of Sabah on Borneo island on
Thursday.
“It is very rare,” said Sabah Wildlife
Department’s assistant director Sen
Nathan. “We’re not exactly sure why
the tusks are like that but it could be
a congenital defect or maybe because
of inbreeding.”
A similar elephant was caught on
camera a few years ago and in 2015 in
Sabah, Nathan said.
“The
tusks
resemble
the
prehistoric sabre-tooth tiger, but of
course, they are not related,” said
Andrew Sebastian, co-founder of
the Ecotourism and Conservation
Society Malaysia.
“It could make wildlife watching
in Sabah more interesting.”
— AFP
Abe will not
visit war-dead
shrine: Jiji
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe will not visit a
controversial shrine for war dead in
Tokyo on the anniversary of Japan’s
defeat in World War Two, Jiji news
agency has reported.
However, Abe plans to send
a ritual offering to the Yasukuni
Shrine to mark the anniversary on
Monday, Jiji reported on Thursday.
The shrine honours 14 Japanese
leaders convicted as war criminals
and is seen in China and South
Korea as a symbol of Tokyo’s wartime
militarism.
Abe has not visited the shrine in
person since December 2013, which
he said he did to show respect for
those who died for their country.
Japan’s new defence minister,
Tomomi Inada, has declined to say
whether she would visit the shrine
because it was a matter of conscience.
Inada had made regular visits to
Yasukuni in the past.
Masahiro Imamura, the minister
for reconstruction of disaster-stricken
areas, visited the shrine on Thursday
and said he prayed for Japan’s peace
and prosperity, Kyodo news agency
reported. — Reuters
CJ Group chief,
4,875 others
pardoned
SEOUL: South Korean President
Park Geun-Hye on Friday granted
pardons to 4,876 people ahead of
next week’s Liberation Day holiday,
including the chairman of CJ
Group, the country’s 15th largest
conglomerate by assets.
Lee Jay-Hyun, the ailing 56-yearold chairman of the CJ Group,
which has interests spanning food,
entertainment and logistics, was
sentenced last year to two and a
half years in jail for tax evasion and
embezzlement. However, Lee was
released from prison due to poor
health and has been in hospital after
undergoing a kidney transplant.
“In the case of businessmen, we
selected a limited number of people
... after gathering diverse opinions to
unite our people and overcome an
economic crisis,” the Justice Ministry
said in a statement.
It is a tradition for the president
to announce pardons ahead of
Liberation Day on August 15 and there
is a long history of convicted bosses
of the family-run conglomerates,
known as chaebol, being released or
having their sentences suspended.
india
da
india
i
India can decide its stand on
Bengaluru demolition drive
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has been on a demolition drive,
clearing illegal structures and encroachments on the basis of powers
granted under the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act.
HI-TECH FRAUD
ATM robbery in
Kerala: Suspect
sent to custody
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
A
Romanian national arrested on charge
of fraudulent withdrawal of money
from ATMs in the state capital was
on Friday sent to police custody till
August 22 by a court here.
Accused Gabriel Marian was earlier
brought here on Thursday evening
from Mumbai, where he was arrested
on Tuesday.
According to the police, Marian
is part of a gang operating from
Romania. Around Rs 2.50 lakh of
people who operated State Bank
of India ATM cards in the heart of
Thiruvanthapuram were siphoned
off by the accused through electronic
tampering at an ATM here.
Police said Marian has admitted to
his crime.
The gang first visited the city in
January while looking for ATM kiosks
with no surveillance.
Police said three accomplices of
Marian have since left India though
enforcement agencies have been
alerted about another gang member
who is still in the country.
The police is also probing if any
local helped out the gang members.
Marian was arrested by Mumbai
police on Tuesday when he was
withdrawing money from an ATM in
the Station Plaza.
Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra
told reporters at Kochi on Friday that
the modus operandi of the gang would
be revealed in three days. — IANS
S AT U R DAY l A U G U S T 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
IN BRIEF
South China Sea: Wang Yi
SUMMIT VENUE: Chinese foreign minister reviews BRICS preparations in Goa
PANAJI: It is up to India to decide what
position it wishes to take vis-a-vis the
ongoing South China Sea row, Chinese
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on
Friday.
Asked if China was seeking support
from the Indian government on the
issue, Wang said: “It is up to India to
decide what position to take.”
The Chinese minister is in Goa
to review logistics and security
arrangements ahead of Chinese
President Xi Jinping’s visit to the state
for the upcoming BRICS summit to be
held in October.
The Chinese delegation led by Wang
met Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar,
Governor Mridula Sinha as well as top
officials in-charge of organising logistics
and security for the BRICS event.
He visited two coastal resorts being
short-listed as venues for the BRICS meet
and which will host Chinese delegates
during the two-day event in October.
“Goa has a time honoured history,
beautiful landscape, rich resources and
hardworking people and is one of the
most developed states in India. Goa is
small, but beautiful,” Wang said after
meeting Chief Minister Parsekar.
“I believe this state is an epitome of
the future and bright prospect of India. I
am sure the BRICS summit will put Goa
at an even bigger stage,” he added.
“Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi
has invited Chinese President Xi to
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a visit to Fort Aguada in Goa on Friday. — AFP
attend the BRICS summit. Now that I
am paying a visit to India I have come
to the state of Goa to take a look at the
venues.”
Parsekar said Wang showed interest
in two technology-related projects
promoted by his government.
“He has shown interest in Goa’s
electronic city and IT Park and said that
after the BRICS summit they would be
interested in bringing investment here.
Especially there is scope for investment
MONSOON BREAK!
I believe Goa is an epitome
of the future and bright
prospect of India. I am sure
the summit will put it at an
even bigger stage
Chinese Foreign Minister
in electronic city, because we are in a
budding stage,” Parsekar said.
The Electronic City at Tuem village
and the IT Park at Chimbel village are
two pet projects of the Bharatiya Janata
Party-led government in Goa.
“The central government has given
Goa the opportunity to host the BRICS
summit. It shows the significance which
has been given to Goa by the Prime
Minister. Goa and China share historic
ties,” Parsekar said.
— IANS
Shah Rukh detained at US airport
Whenever I start feeling
arrogant about myself,
I always take a trip
to America. The
immigration guys kick
the star out of stardom
NEW DELHI: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh
Khan took to Twitter on Friday to express his
annoyance at being detained by US airport
immigration authorities for the third time,
saying the experience “really, really sucks”.
The last time Khan, 50, was detained by
immigration officials in New York in 2012, it
sparked uproar among his Indian fans who
accused the US of racial profiling, and led
Washington to apologise.
“I fully understand & respect security with
the way the world is, but to be detained at
US immigration every damn time really really
sucks,” Khan tweeted after he was pulled aside
at Los Angeles airport.
“The brighter side is while waiting caught
some really nice Pokemons”.
As news of Khan’s detention broke on
Indian television channels, US Assistant
Secretary of State Nisha Biswal quickly
expressed regret.
“Sorry for the hassle at the airport, @iamsrk
— even American diplomats get pulled for
extra screening!” Biswal tweeted.
Washington had previously denied
allegations that Khan was singled out because
his name denotes him as a Muslim.
Someone with the same name is
reportedly on a US no-fly list of 80,000.
After the 2012 incident, Khan joked
in a speech to Yale University that he was
accustomed to such hassles.
“Yes, it always happens... Whenever I
start feeling arrogant about myself, I always
take a trip to America,” he told students.
“The immigration guys kick the star out of
stardom.”
Khan was also detained for more than two
hours in 2009 at Newark airport outside New
York, prompting a similar Indian outcry and a
US apology.
In February, a Sikh Indian-American actor
and designer, Waris Ahluwalia, was barred
from boarding an Aeromexico flight from
Mexico City to New York because he refused
to remove his turban. — Reuters
Workers protect themselves from rain under a temporary shed along the roadside in New Delhi on Friday. — AFP
‘If you have a problem with a name suggested by us, send the file back to us. We will look into it’
Don’t try to bring judiciary to halt, SC tells govt
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
on Friday sharply criticised the
Modi government for sitting on the
recommendation of its collegium on the
appointment and transfer of judges in
High Courts, almost bringing judiciary
to the state of collapse.
Asking if by sitting on the
recommendations of the collegium,
the government was trying to bring the
judicial institutions to a “grinding halt”,
Chief Justice T S Thakur told Attorney
General Mukul Rohatgi that it would be
forced to intervene judicially and call
for every file sent to the government for
clearance by the collegium.
“Don’t force us to ask where the files
are. Don’t force us to judicially intervene.
Don’t try to bring this institution to a
5
grinding halt. That’s not the right thing
to do,” Chief Justice Thakur told the
Attorney General.
Pointing to a chart before him, Chief
Justice Thakur said: “We have a chart
here detailing the list of collegium
recommendations for appointments and
transfers. We can give it to you. There
are 75 names of High Court judges
recommended by the collegium. These
include names for appointments and
transfers of HC judges, including Chief
Justices. There is nothing on them from
your side so far.”
Seated with Justice A M Khanwilkar
and Justice D Y Chandrachud, Chief
Justice Thakur appeared unrelenting
even as the Attorney General made
repeated assurances that the concerns
With high courts functioning
with less than 50 per cent of
their sanctioned strength,
consequently affecting the
hearing of appeals
expressed by the court would be taken
up at the highest level in the government.
Pointing out that there was some
kind of “logjam” in the appointment of
judges to higher judiciary, Chief Justice
Thakur told the Attorney General:
“If you have a problem with a name
suggested by us, send the file back to
us. We will look into it.” One such
instance where the recommendation of
the top court collegium has not been
acted upon so far by the government
is of the transfer of the Chief Justice of
Uttarakhand High Court Justice K M
Joseph as the Chief Justice of the Andhra
Pradesh High Court. Despite top court
collegium recommending his transfer in
early May, the government is yet to issue
his transfer orders.
The top court bench headed by Chief
Justice Thakur gave vent to its anguish
over the dilly dally approach of the
government in clearing the names for
appointment of judges to the high courts
on a PIL by a 1971 war veteran who
has expressed concern over ever rising
vacancies in high courts.
Pointing out that with four million
cases and High Courts functioning
at 44.30 per cent of the sanctioned
strength of judges, Chief Justice Thakur
asked Attorney General Rohatgi to
immediately address the issue as “whole
situation is getting very difficult.”
With high courts functioning with
less than 50 per cent of their sanctioned
strength, consequently affecting the
hearing of appeals, Chief Justice Thakur
said people were languishing in jails
waiting for the hearing of their appeals.
“Should we deal with the issue
judicially? Should we fix accountability?”
he asked, pointing out that the process
for the framing of memorandum of
procedure can go on, but the appointment
of judges can’t wait. — IANS
Assam first
state to ratify
GST Bill
GUWAHATI: Assam on Friday
became the first state in the country
to ratify the constitution amendment
bill on the Goods and Services Tax
(GST) as the assembly unanimously
passed the bill.
The state cabinet approved the
bill on Friday morning, before it
was placed in the House during the
ongoing assembly session.
“A historic resolution was passed
in the assembly today (Friday). Assam
has become the first state to ratify
the constitutional amendment bill
relating to the GST,” Chief Minister
Sarbananda Sonowal tweeted soon
after it was ratified.
“I am sure Assam will benefit
from the GST through higher
economic growth and better revenue
collection,” said Sonowal.
Sonowal later told the media that
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
during a telephonic conversation,
congratulated him on the bill’s
ratification.
Finance Minister Himanta Biswa
Sarma said the Chief Minister wanted
Assam to become the first state to
pass the bill to send a positive signal
to the industry. — IANS
SC lifts ban on
large diesel
cars in Delhi
NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme
Court handed a reprieve to the auto
industry on Friday, ruling that new
diesel vehicles can be allowed on the
streets of the national capital as long
as a 1 per cent “green” tax is paid.
The news was welcomed by the
auto industry after a series of lower
court rulings banned diesel vehicles,
both new and old, on concerns
that their exhaust fumes were
contributing to Delhi’s deepening air
pollution crisis.
The Supreme Court allowed the
registration of large diesel vehicles
with an engine capacity of 2 litres or
more in Delhi and the surrounding
National Capital Region (NCR),
according to Harish Salve, a lawyer
connected to the case.
The green levy will be imposed
on the retail price of each vehicle,
excluding tax and other costs.
India’s highest court will decide
later on whether to impose the tax,
called a green cess, on diesel vehicles
with smaller engines, Salve added.
— IANS
Modi consults
parties on
Kashmir
NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR: Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on Friday
met leaders of national political
parties to find a way of ending weeks
of unrest in Kashmir, but some
separatists said the talks would be
futile if they did not include all the
parties to the conflict.
Security forces killed a militant
leader on July 8, sparking a wave of
violent protests across the region.
Police extended a curfew in parts
of the territory for a 35th day on
Friday, a clampdown that Kashmiris
said showed authorities’ failure to
defuse the tension.
With 54 protesters killed so far,
one of the two factions of the region’s
main separatist alliance, the Hurriyat
Conference, said there was no sign of
the anger abating.
“Unless
there
is
an
acknowledgement among all political
parties in India that Kashmir is a
dispute and not an internal issue and
has to be addressed accordingly, there
is very little chance of the situation
improving or real peace returning,”
said faction chairman Mirwaiz Umar
Farooq. — Reuters
t e world
the
o d
world
l
Firefighters bringing blazes
6
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l A U G U ST 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
Mexican president’s approval rating plumbs
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s approval rating has fallen to an all-time
low, according to a poll published on Thursday, and is seen as being punished for
lackluster economic growth as well as his failure to crack down on corruption and
ongoing drug violence. — Reuters
under control in Portugal, France
Putin gets new right-hand
man as chief of staff exits
ASSISTANCE: Portugal is aided by water bombers from Italy, Spain, Morocco and Russia
LISBON: Firefighters were making
progress in quenching forest fires that
have ravaged parts of Portugal and
France, officials said on Friday, as Spain
faced a rash of possibly deliberate blazes
in the northwest region of Galicia.
The situation had calmed down
on the frontline of fires in northern
Portugal and on the island of Madeira
where three people perished this week
in the flames. “Weather conditions
improved overnight, the wind is a bit
calmer and we have been able to make
progress,” Carlos Guerra, an official with
the national civil protection authority,
told Lusa news agency.
The mercury on Thursday topped 38
degrees Celsius, the hottest temperature
on Madeira since 1976, with winds
gusting to 90 kilometres per hour.
On Friday nearly 1,400 firefighters
continued to battle some six major fires
in northern Portugal, but they have
succeeded in halving the number of
blazes, officials said.
Portugal has been aided by water
bombers sent by Italy, Spain and
Morocco, and on Friday it announced
two more planes were coming from
Russia.
In southern France, firefighters
said on Friday that they had managed
to extinguish the blazes that swept
through more than 3,000 hectares
north of Marseille the past two days as
the Mistral wind that had fanned the
flames dropped sharply. Three houses, a
restaurant and a car repair garage were
gutted by fire and another 17 houses
were damaged.
Prosecutors are investigating the
Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) speaks with the newly-appointed Chief of Staff
of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino (R) and the newly-appointed
Presidential Representative for Environmental Management, Ecology and Transport
Sergei Ivanov (L) during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday. — AFP
Spanish firefighters having come from the neighbouring Catalonia region for reinforcement extinguish remaining blazes near
Ille-sur-Têt, southern France, on Saturday. — AFP
cause of a fire in Vitrolles, north of
Marseille, after a man was arrested near
the outbreak when local residents saw
him acting suspiciously.
French President Francois Hollande
said on Thursday the authorities
believe some of the fires were started
deliberately. He vowed the perpetrators
would be tracked down.
Likewise in Spain, officials said
on Friday that over the past few days
in Galicia on the Atlantic coast, the
number of fires have increased in a
way that raises suspicions they were
deliberately set.
“We cannot confirm it until police
French President Francois
Hollande said on Thursday
the authorities believe some
of the fires were started
deliberately
establish the cause (of the fires), but we
know that in the last few days, different
incendiary devices have been discovered
on site,” a source in the regional
government said. In all, firefighters in
Spain are battling some 15 blazes which
have ravaged more than 5,700 hectares
in five days.
The fires sweeping through Galicia’s
forested mountains are damaging to the
region’s logging industry.
Its federation issued a statement on
Thursday calling for “zero tolerance” and
severe punishment for anyone found
responsible for igniting the flames.
In the Pyrenees region near the
Spanish border, a fire that erupted
Thursday forced the evacuation of 60
people from their homes as the flames
edged dangerously close to a village,
MOSCOW:
A
month
before
parliamentary elections, President
Vladimir Putin has replaced his longtime ally Sergei Ivanov as Kremlin chief
of staff, appointing a low-profile former
diplomat in his place on Friday.
Putin named Anton Vaino, 44, to
the important post which involves
drafting laws for the president to
submit to parliament, monitoring their
enforcement and conducting analysis
of domestic and foreign affairs for the
president.
Ivanov’s departure follows the highprofile exits of the head of ailing state
development bank VEB in February
and the boss of Russian Railways last
year.
Putin, in a Kremlin meeting shown
on state TV, told Ivanov that the pair
had worked well together.
“I understand your desire to move
to another sphere of work,” Putin
said, saying Ivanov would become his
special representative for ecology and
transport.
Ivanov said he had asked Putin to
move him on from the post after four
South Sudan refugees Eurostar staff in Britain begin strike
pouring into Uganda
GENEVA: Around 110,000 people have
fled to Uganda from South Sudan this
year, most of them escaping fighting
that erupted anew last month, the
United Nations said on Friday.
The UN’s refugee agency said it
was “extremely worried” about South
Sudan’s rapidly escalating displacement
crisis, warning that neighbouring
countries and humanitarian groups
were struggling to meet demands.
Roughly 82,000 of those who have
sought refuge across South Sudan’s
southern border in 2016 have moved in
the last five weeks, UNHCR said.
The influx was sparked by renewed
fighting between the government forces
of President Salva Kiir and those loyal
to ex-rebel Chief Riek Machar.
Another 100,000 South Sudanese
have fled north this year into Sudan, but
most of that movement occurred earlier
in the year and was partly linked to
food insecurity. Overall, more than 2.5
million people have been driven from
their homes since South Sudan’s war
erupted in December 2013, including
930,000 who have fled to neighbouring
countries, UNHCR said.
“What you are seeing in South Sudan
is now the world’s fourth biggest refugee
situation” behind Syria, Afghanistan
and Somalia, UNHCR spokesman
Adrian Edwards told reporters in
Geneva.
Those fleeing to Uganda in recent
weeks — 90 per cent of whom
are women and children — have
increasingly reported being targeted in
robberies and sexual assaults, UNHCR
said.
“Armed groups are also reportedly
abducting children aged 12 and above
from schools and threatening people,”
the UN agency added in a statement.
Uganda, which has long been
a landing spot for South Sudanese
refugees, is working to expand reception
centres and camps near the border.
But some sites are already hosting
five times the number of people they
were designed accomodate. — AFP
LONDON: Staff on the Eurostar rail
service between Britain and mainland
Europe started four days of strike action
on Friday although the company insisted
there would be minimal disruption to
services.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport
Workers’ Union (RMT) said its
members should have “a fair crack when
it comes to anti-social hours”.
Eurostar said that all passengers
booked to travel would be able to do so.
In total, under four per cent of services
across the four days will be hit, it added.
On Friday, only the 8.04 am (0704
GMT) service from London to Brussels
and the 12.52 pm (1052 GMT) service
from Brussels to London were being
cancelled.
No services will be cancelled on
Saturday and four between London and
Paris will be cancelled on Sunday as well
as two more between the British and
French capitals on Monday, it added.
Monday is a public holiday in France
and Belgium and the strike comes
during the busy summer holiday season
across Europe. Another strike is due to
be held for three days over the weekend
of August 27, which includes a public
holiday in Britain.
Passengers walk past pickets from the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ Union
(RMT) outside Eurostar’s St Pancras International terminal in central London on
Friday. — AFP
“We have made some small changes
to our timetable with all passengers due
to travel on affected trains notified in
advance to allow them to change their
booking to another train on the same
day,” Eurostar said in a statement.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash
said talks were due to be held on Friday
morning.
“Our Eurostar train manager
members are solid, determined and
united this morning as they kick off the
first phase of strike action in a fight for a
decent work/life balance,” he said.
“Pickets are out at St Pancras
International
(Eurostar’s
London
terminus) as we send the message to the
company that we expect them to honour
basic agreements with the union that
date back eight years.” — AFP
years and that he had done the job for
four years and eight months.
Vaino, his replacement, used to
work in the Russian Embassy in Japan
and has worked as deputy head of the
Kremlin administration since 2012.
He is not a household name in
Russia, unlike Ivanov, who was spoken
of as a possible presidential contender
in 2008 and worked as Putin’s deputy
when Putin ran the FSB security service.
“Vaino is not the worst appointment,
but he is not a political figure,” former
Kremlin adviser Gleb Pavlovsky said,
noting that Ivanov would keep his seat
on Putin’s Security Council and hence a
degree of influence.
Political analyst Abbas Gallyamov
said Vaino was less of a hawk than
Ivanov and had a reputation as a good
manager.
Rumours about Ivanov’s departure
had been circulating for some time
because he had suffered health problems
after the death of his son, Gallyamov
said. Ivanov’s son drowned off the coast
of the United Arab Emirates in 2014.
—Reuters
Activist launches
legal challenge
against Brexit
BELFAST: A Northern Ireland
human rights activist has launched
a legal challenge against any British
attempt to leave the European
Union, saying it would be in breach
of the 1998 peace deal that brought
peace to the British province.
Raymond McCord’s move is one
of several attempts being made to
use the courts to stave off a British
exit from the EU.
Northern Ireland voted on June
23 to stay in the EU, with 56 per
cent voting ‘Remain’, putting it at
odds with the United Kingdom’s
overall 52-48 per cent result in
favour of leaving.
McCord is arguing that the
British government would be
in breach of its domestic and
international treaty obligations
under the Good Friday Agreement
if it leaves the EU and that it
would be illegal to leave without
a parliamentary vote in the British
House of Commons.
The 1998 agreement ended
three decades of tit-for-tat killings
between Catholic Irish nationalists.
— Reuters
The SPD could gain 23 per cent of the vote in Berlin and 24 per cent in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, according to the poll
Merkel’s conservatives heading for setback in state elections
BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela
Merkel’s
conservative
Christian
Democrats could suffer a setback at two
state elections to be held next month
amid a surge in support for the rightwing populist Alternative for Germany
(AfD) party, according to a poll
published on Friday.
The voter survey, drawn up by
pollsters Insa for the daily Bild, pointed
to the left-leaning Social Democrats
(SDP) remaining as the biggest party in
the parliaments in the eastern state of
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the city
state of Berlin after the elections.
However, the polls also underlined
the rise in the number of voters backing
the anti-foreigner AfD in the wake of
the dramatic increase in the number of
refugees arriving in the country.
While the AfD could garner
While the AfD could garner 14 per
14 per cent of the vote in
cent of the vote in Berlin, the party could
secure 19 per cent in MecklenburgBerlin, the party could
Vorpommern, which is also where
secure 19 per cent in
Merkel’s own constituency is located.
Founded three years ago as a
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
eurosceptic party, the AfD has since
which is also where Merkel’s
lurched to the right, with the party
own constituency is located
emerging as a major critic of minorities
in Germany and expressing opposition
to Berlin’s liberal stance on refugees.
Success next month in MecklenburgVorpommern and Berlin means that Germany’s 16 states.
that the extreme right-wing National
the AfD would be represented in 10 of
The rise of the AfD would also mean Democratic Party (NPD) is wiped out
of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
parliament with support for the NPD
sinking to just 3 per cent from 6 per cent
in the last election in 2011.
The SPD could gain 23 per cent of
the vote in Berlin and 24 per cent in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, according
to the poll.
But both figures represent a
significant fall from the 2011 elections
with the AfD having sapped support
from the major political parties.
Likewise, support for the CDU
has dropped to just 18 per cent in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
from
23.4 per cent in the last election and
stagnating at 23 per cent in Berlin,
according to the Insa poll.
The CDU would also come in third
place in the Berlin election behind the
environmentalist Greens.
As is the case at the national level
under Merkel, the SPD and the CDU
have formed so-called grand coalitions
in both Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and
Berlin.
But the Insa poll also raises the
prospects of new coalition constellations
in both states.
If it is returned as the biggest party
in both states, the SPD could consider
forging new governing alliances
including with the Greensand the hardleft Die Linke. — dpa
region
o
region
i
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l A U G U S T 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
IS fighters abduct 2,000
civilians in northern Syria
INBRIEF
Saudi Arabia
stops 3 women,
7 children from
joining Syria war
‘HUMAN SHIELDS’: IS confiscated residents’ cars, forced
civilians into them and then headed for Jarabulus
BEIRUT: IS group fighters seized
around 2,000 civilians to use as “human shields” on Friday as they fled their
stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria,
US-backed forces and a monitor said.
The abductions came as Russian
and Syrian jets pounded rebel positions
in second city Aleppo, an AFP correspondent and the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights monitor said.
The Arab-Kurdish alliance known
as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
expelled most of the IS fighters from
Manbij last week, but dozens continued
to put up a tough resistance.
On Friday they withdrew from a
district in northern Manbij heading for
the IS-held town of Jarabalus along the
border with Turkey, taking the captives
with them.
“While withdrawing from a district
of Manbij, Daesh (IS) abducted around
2,000 civilians from Al Sirb neighbourhood,” said Sherfan Darwish, spokesman for the Manbij Military Council, a
key component of the SDF.
“They used these civilians as human
shields as they withdrew to Jarabulus, thus preventing us from targeting
them,” he said, adding that women and
children were among those taken.
The Britain-based Observatory,
which relies on sources on the ground
The Britain-based Observatory says the battle for Manbij
claimed the lives of at least
437 civilians — including
105 children — and killed
299 SDF fighters and 1,019
extremists
to cover the conflict, also reported that
IS had abducted around 2,000 civilians
as they fled Manbij. It said IS confiscated residents’ cars, forced civilians into
them and then headed for Jarabulus.
In January, IS abducted more than
400 civilians, including women and
children, as it overran parts of Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria. It later released around 270 of them.
Thousands of civilians were held captive by the group in Fallujah which Iraqi
forces recaptured in June after a fourweek offensive.
On Friday, the SITE intelligence
Group said IS had killed five men in Iraq
for smuggling people out of territory it
controls.
It was not immediately clear how
many extremists fled Manbij which the
SDF captured on August 6.
But Darwish said that SDF managed
to rescue 2,500 civilians who had been
held captive by IS fighters there.
The US-backed forces combed AlSirb on Friday for any remaining extremists, he added. With air support
from the US-led coalition, the SDF began its assault on Manbij on May 31,
surging into the town itself three weeks
later.
But their offensive was slowed by a
massive extremist fightback, before a
major push last week saw the SDF seize
90 per cent of the town.
The United Nations has said that
more than 78,000 people have been
displaced since then. Manbij was a key
transit point along IS’s supply route
from the Turkish border to Raqa, the de
facto capital of its self-styled “caliphate”.
The Britain-based Observatory says
the battle for Manbij claimed the lives
of at least 437 civilians — including 105
children — and killed 299 SDF fighters
and 1,019 extremists.
The Observatory, meanwhile, reported that 15 civilians were killed on Friday
in Syrian and Russian air raids on rebel
positions in the divided city of Aleppo.
— AFP
QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE
A boy reacts from the sound of machine gun as he attends a tribal gathering for
Houthi fighters in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. — Reuters
More than 270 killed in four
months in Yemen conflict: UN
CAIRO: The United Nations’ human
rights office says 272 civilians have
been killed in Yemen’s conflict in four
months alone this year.
Between April 11 and August 11,
543 civilians were wounded, said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman of the
Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights, noting that the number
of civilian casualties “has been steadily
mounting over the past few weeks.”
“In just the past week... 49 civilians
were killed and another 77 injured,” she
said in a statement on Friday.
Among the recent deadly attacks
that Shamdasani mentioned was an airstrike on Tuesday that hit the Al Khafifa
food factory in the capital Sanaa in
which she said 10 civilians died and 13
factory workers were injured.
A Health Ministry official had said
on Tuesday that 14 civilians were killed
in that airstrike by the coalition.
The airstrike was the first in weeks
on the capital.
“The total number of civilian casualties between March 2015 and August
11, 2016 stands at 10,270, including
3,704 killed and 6,566 injured,” according to Shamdasani.
The coalition jets bombed rebel
positions in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on
Friday for a fourth consecutive day,
residents said, wounding six civilians
as the United Nations condemned the
fighting since peace talks broke down.
Air strikes hit a presidential compound and military base in Sanaa early
on Friday and wounded six farmers on
a road west of the capital, said the residents.
— dpa/Reuters
Turkey seeks arrest of soccer
striker Sukur, seizes assets
Iraqi men look at books displayed by a street vendor on Al Mutanabbi street in central Baghdad on Friday. — AFP
ANKARA: Turkey has issued an arrest warrant for one of its most celebrated soccer
players, former international striker Hakan Sukur, ordering the seizure of his assets as
part of an investigation into last month’s failed coup, state media said.
Prosecutors accuse Sukur of “being a member of an armed terror group”, a reference to the organisation of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen whom Ankara says
was behind the abortive putsch.
After football, Sukur went into politics and was in 2011 elected to parliament for
President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party. He resigned in 2013.
The player’s father, Sermet Sukur, was detained on Friday in the northwestern province of Sakarya, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. A court on Thursday had ordered
his arrest, as well as that of Sukur.
A court ruled on Friday that all bank accounts, vehicles and other assets belonging
to Sukur, the national team’s all time top scorer, and his father be seized, Anadolu said.
Hakan Sukur lives in the United States and is among some 350 people being
sought by the Turkish authorities. He faced a separate court case in June accused of
insulting Erdogan. The case has yet to be concluded.
Turkey is seeking the extradition of 32 diplomats who went on the run after they
were recalled by Ankara as part of investigations into last month’s failed coup attempt,
the foreign minister said on Friday.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking at a news conference in Ankara with
his Iranian counterpart, said a total of 208 Turkish diplomats had been recalled as part
of the coup investigation, but 32 of them had fled to other countries.
“We have been in contact with the countries where they fled and are working on
their extradition,” he said.
Three military attaches have also gone on the run, including two who fled from
Greece to Italy, and another who fled Bosnia, the minister said, without specifying
where the third attache had gone. Two Turkish generals based in Afghanistan who
travelled to Dubai and another attache who was working in Saudi Arabia have all
already been sent back to Turkey. — Reuters
World powers see the unity government as vital to tackling a raging terrorist insurgency
Israel steps up demolitions of Palestinian buildings: UN
RAMALLAH: Israel has razed more
Palestinian homes and other structures
so far this year than in all of 2015, the
United Nations said on Friday, as the
United States and France expressed concern.
Israeli authorities in the occupied
West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem
have demolished 726 structures this
year, displacing 1,020 Palestinians, the
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
In the whole of 2015 there were 533
demolitions and 688 people displaced,
OCHA said. The structures included
houses, shelters for livestock and installations such as solar panels.
Many were funded by foreign donors
such as the European Union and its individual member states, which say they
are working to meet urgent humanitarian needs of people under military occupation.
Israel says it forbids unlicensed construction, invoking treaties with the Palestinians that give it full control over 60
per cent of the West Bank designated as
“Area C” and asserting sovereignty over
all of Jerusalem.
Between August 2 and 8, OCHA
said, “in 14 separate incidents in Area C
and east Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities destroyed, forced owners to destroy,
or confiscated 42 structures for lack of
building permits, displacing 30 people.”
Israeli NGO B’Tselem said that since
the start of the year Israel razed at least
188 homes in the West Bank alone, “the
highest number since B’Tselem began
documenting home demolitions on
grounds of ‘lack of building permits’ in
2006.”
France on Thursday condemned Israel’s destruction last week of structures
it funded in the West Bank village of
Nabi Samuel.
It was the third time this year that
Israel has torn down French-financed
structures, said a French foreign ministry statement, “which includes the dismantling of a school in February.”
“France is deeply concerned by the
accelerated pace of demolitions and
confiscations of humanitarian structures
7
A Palestinian protester hurls stones during clashes with Israeli forces following a weekly demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel on Friday in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. — AFP
that should benefit the Palestinian pop- put an end to these practices which are was worried about Israeli plans to raze
ulation living in Area C,” it added.
contrary to international law.” In Wash- the tiny Palestinian village of Susiya, in
“We call on the Israeli authorities to ington, the US State Department said it the southern West Bank. — AFP
DOHA: Saudi Arabia said on Friday
it had prevented three Saudi women
and seven children from travelling
through Lebanon to join the conflict
in neighbouring Syria, the Saudi state
news agency SPA reported.
The three sisters and their children were detained by Lebanese authorities in Beirut and flown back
to Saudi Arabia on Thursday after
the husband of one of the women
told police they planned to join the
war, SPA quoted an interior ministry
spokesman as saying.
Police said the husband, who was
the father of three of the children,
had tipped them off on Monday. The
children were aged between one and
10 years old, the statement added.
A former British spy chief said
in December that Syria had become
the pre-eminent global incubator for
a new generation of militants after
extremist groups there more than
doubled their recruitment of foreign
fighters to as many as 31,000 over the
past 18 months. — Reuters
23 Egyptians
kidnapped in
Libya freed
CAIRO: Twenty-three Egyptian
workers kidnapped in Libya were
freed and returned to their country
on Friday, Egyptian state television
reported.
One of the freed Egyptians told
state television they had been kidnapped by people demanding ransom, in an interview at a border
crossing between the neighbouring
North African countries.
State television reported they were
freed by “Libyan special forces in coordination with the Egyptian general
intelligence service”.
It aired footage of the workers arriving at the border crossing, waving
Egyptian flags. They were kidnapped
near the oil town of Brega and held
hostage for 10 days, one of them said.
Thousands of Egyptians brave the
unrest in Libya for employment despite government warnings to avoid
the war-torn country.
In 2015, the IS group’s affiliate in
Libya announced it had kidnapped
and beheaded 21 Coptic Christians,
most of them Egyptian. — AFP
‘US military was
too positive
on IS fight’
WASHINGTON: The US Central
Command painted too rosy a picture
of the fight against IS in 2014 and
2015 compared with events on the
ground and grimmer assessments
by other analysts, according to a
US congressional report issued on
Thursday.
The report came from a task force
established by the Republican chairmen of the House of Representatives
Armed Services Committee, Intelligence Committee and Defence Appropriations subcommittee.
House Democrats, who have accused Republicans of launching repeated partisan investigations purely
for political reasons, did not participate. They released findings from
their own investigation on Thursday,
including that Central Command’s
analysis system had flaws including
insufficient accommodation of dissenting views.
The Republican report found
“widespread dissatisfaction” among
analysts at Tampa-based US Central
Command who felt their superiors
were distorting their research. Central Command is responsible for
combat operations in the Middle East
and South Asia. — Reuters
analysis
l
8
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
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With cardboards, Venezuelans bear high dying cost
MARIA ISABEL SANCHEZ
W
ith food and medicine short, life is hard in Venezuela — and death is hard too.
The country’s situation is so acute that families
are burying their loved ones in cardboard coffins.
The more well-off ones can hire a casket for a
few hours, just for the funeral.
A lack of materials and soaring inflation
fuelled by an economic crisis are making funerals
a costly business.
“It is more expensive to die here than to stay
alive,” says funeral director Ronald Martinez, in
the northern city of Maracay.
Miriam Navarro had to borrow money from
her neighbours after her brother died a month
ago.
“I felt so depressed. I didn’t have all the money
the funeral parlour was asking for,” she says.
“If it hadn’t been for people in my community,
I would have had to bury him in the yard.”
The 66-year-old housewife spoke to AFP in
the half-built home where she lives in the northeastern town of Maracay.
With the help from neighbours, she bought a
cheap fiberboard coffin from Martinez.
“We have had to resort to secondary markets
Sobbing, she remembers having the same difficulties six years ago, when one of her sons was and that drives up costs,” he says.
The cost of the cheapest funeral service has inshot.
creased by about 60 times, to
“I couldn’t afford to bury
some 280,000 bolivars. The
him either,” she says.
minimum wage in Venezue“Even if the funeral
la is 33,000 bolivars —about
home trusts you, you have
$50 by the official exchange
to have the cash ready to
rate.
pay straight away or they’ll
Five years ago a coffin cost
Five years ago a coffin
take the body out and keep
720 bolivars. Now that is the cost 720 bolivars.
the box.”
Now that is the price of a
Venezuelans used to price of a loaf of bread. A
loaf of bread.
favour brass coffins as
lack of materials and soaring
For no less than 55,000
a cheaper alternative to
inflation fuelled by an
bolivars a family can buy a
wood.
fiberboard coffin.
But the current crisis economic crisis are making
Or they can rent one for
changed that.
25,000.
Two years ago the price funerals a costly business.
“This kind is cheaper and
of oil — Venezuela’s crucial
no one notices that it is not
export — collapsed.
Factories in the country were previously turn- made of wood or is second-hand,” Martinez says.
“I change the interior and sometimes I reing out hundreds of tonnes of brass every month.
That has now fallen to as little as 60 tonnes, paint it.” Elio Angulo reckons renting out coffins
says Juan Carlos Fernandez, director of the Na- breaches hygiene regulations.
He makes “bio-urns” out of corrugated cardtional Chamber of Funeral Businesses.
board in the northeastern town of Barquisimeto.
These biodegradable containers can hold a
body, or ashes for the many families who opt for
cremation to avoid the cost of a cemetery plot.
He has seen families bring bodies in bags to
the crematorium because they cannot afford a
casket.
That is another humiliation for citizens who
are already suffering the daily grind of queuing
for hours to buy food.
President Nicolas Maduro’s opponents blame
his economic management for the crisis.
He says it is a capitalist conspiracy.
Angulo’s cardboard coffin costs 50,000 bolivars. He says it can hold up to 125 kilos (275
pounds) and is stronger than the medium-density fiberboard used for other cheap coffins.
“It is meant for cremation but can also be used
for burials. It offers a solution for a country in crisis,” he says.
“It is economical and accessible to Venezuelans who do not have enough money to get by”
when a relative passes away, he adds.
“Nowadays, dying is making a lot of people
poor.”
— AFP
Shark may live 400 years
WILL DUNHAM
T
he Greenland shark, a big and slow-moving deep-ocean predator that
prowls the frigid waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic, can claim the
distinction of being the planet’s longest-living vertebrate, with a lifespan
perhaps reaching about 400 years.
Its extremely sluggish growth rate, about four-tenths of a inch (1 cm)
per year, had already tipped off scientists that it lived a very long time,
and research published on Thursday calculated the Greenland shark’s
lifespan for the first time.
Danish marine biologist Julius Nielsen said radiocarbon dating that
analysed the shark’s eye lens found that the oldest of 28 sharks studied
was likely about 392 years old, with 95 per cent certainty of an age range
between 272 and 512 years. Females astoundingly did not reach sexual
maturation until they were at least 134 years old, Nielsen said.
The Greenland shark, up to about 18 feet (5.5 metres) long, is among
the largest carnivorous sharks.
Nielsen, a University of Copenhagen doctoral student who led the
study published in the journal Science, said the findings should bring
this shark much-deserved respect.
“This species is completely overlooked, and only a few scientists in
the world are working with this species,” Nielsen said.
“Our findings show that even though the uncertainty is great that
they should be considered the oldest vertebrate animal in the world,”
Nielsen added.
Nielsen said the vertebrate with the longest-known lifespan until
now was the bowhead whale, topping 200 years.
Greenland sharks have a plump elongated body, round nose, relatively small dorsal fin, sandpaper-like skin and gray or blackish-brown
coloration. They are slow swimmers and are nearly blind, but are capable hunters, eating fish, marine mammals and carrion.
They are known to be relatively abundant throughout the North Atlantic and Arctic, particularly from eastern Canada to western Russia.
They occasionally are spotted by deep-sea robotic submarines at
latitudes further south, such as in the Gulf of Mexico. They have been
observed in depths down to 1.4 miles (2.2 km).
“They may widely inhabit the deep sea, potentially living anywhere
water temperatures are below about 5 Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit),”
said Australian Institute of Marine Science marine biologist Aaron
MacNeil, who was not involved in the study.
MacNeil said the study did an admirable job of tackling a difficult
matter but questioned an element of the dating analysis and said the
estimate of a roughly 392-year-old shark “seems high to me.”
— Reuters
Fidel Castro (R) with Nelson Mandela at Mandela’s in Johannesburg in 2001. — AFP file picture
At 90th birthday, Fidel Castro mulls death
DENIS DUETTMANN
F
idel Castro, once Cuba’s “Maximum Leader,”
has been pondering his own death ahead of
his 90th birthday on Saturday.
“The time will come for all of us,” he told
Cuba’s Communist Party Congress in April,
moving several delegates to tears.
Most Cubans have never lived without
the man they know simply as Fidel.
During his rule from 1959-2006, Castro
challenged 10 US presidents. He set up a
communist regime on the doorstep of the
United States and allegedly survived more
than 600 assassination attempts.
According to official records, Fidel Castro was born out of wedlock on August 13,
1926, in the eastern Cuban town of Biran
to a Spanish immigrant who had become a
successful farmer and his domestic servant.
He went to school with the children of
farm hands and from an early age witnessed
the bitter poverty in which most Cubans
lived.
Castro went on to study law in Havana
and immediately delved into university
politics. The young Castro made no secret
of his ambitions. He told fellow students he
wanted “fame and glory” and was far from a
Spartan revolutionary at the time: He wore a
pinstripe suit and drove a cabriolet.
After graduation Castro started a law
firm, but his real passion was politics. In
1952, he ran for a seat in Congress, but a
coup staged by General Fulgencio Batista halted the elections. The dictatorship
thwarted Castro’s budding civilian career
and turned him into a revolutionary.
The following year, Castro and a handful
of fellow militants attacked a military bar-
racks in Santiago de Cuba, but the army defeated the poorly planned plot.
“Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me,” the flaming Castro famously told the judges.
He was sentenced to 15 years but was
released in an amnesty just two years later.
He left for Mexico with his brother Raul and
built a rebel group to foment revolution in
Cuba. In exile Fidel met Argentinian Ernesto “Che” Guevara, his later comrade-inarms, and learned guerrilla tactics.
Castro returned to Cuba in 1956 aboard
the yacht Granma, along with 81 men. After
initially suffering severe losses, the revolutionary group gained ground, and by late
1958 went on the offensive. Batista fled on
New Year’s Eve, and Castro announced the
triumph of his revolution early on January
1, 1959.
Castro ruled with an iron fist and was
accused of widespread human rights violations as he comprehensively remade Cuba,
confiscating not only the property of foreign
Castro ruled with an iron fist
and was accused of widespread human rights violations as he comprehensively
remade Cuba, confiscating not
only the property of foreign
companies but even his own
family’s
companies but even his own family’s.
Land reform put the Castro regime at
odds with the United States,which imposed
a trade embargo and supported a failed invasion by armed Cuban exiles at the Bay of
Pigs in 1961.
Castro became an ally of the Soviet Union, and in 1962, the deployment of Soviet
missiles on Cuba brought the world to the
brink of nuclear war.
Yet Castro positioned himself as a key
figure representing non-aligned nations.
“He showed that socialist revolutions
were possible in the Third World,” said Cuban expert Bert Hoffmann of the Hamburgbased GIGA Institute of Latin American
Studies. “Free education and healthcare
were globally acclaimed achievements.” But
after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba
fell into a deep economic crisis. Many Cubans still remember with a shiver the deprivations they endured during the so-called
“special period” in the early 1990s.
Tourism revenue and cooperation with
oil-rich Venezuela eventually helped Cuba’s
socialist leadership stave off collapse.
Castro relinquished power on July 31,
2006, as he underwent surgery for an unspecified illness. His exit became permanent
two years later, when Raul was officially appointed as the country’s leader.
Raul Castro lacks his older brother’s charisma but has been able to pursue Fidel’s political agenda with little opposition.
Fidel remains a powerful symbol. “He is
necessary as a figurehead, as an ideal justification,” Castro biographer Volker Skierka
says, “particularly now that closer ties are
being built with the United States.” — dpa
ESTABLISHED ON 15 NOVEMBER 1981
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili
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SATURDAY | AUGUST 13, 2016 | DHUL QA’ADA 9, 1437 AH
business
STEEL PROTECTIONISM GOES GLOBAL AS FEW CAN SURVIVE LOW PRICE P11
ISACA MUSCAT CHAPTER CONDUCTS OPEN SESSION P10
BIZ BUZZ
Euro zone Q2
growth slows
BRUSSELS: Euro zone second quarter
growth slowed sharply, official data
confirmed on Friday, weighed down by
Brexit concerns and a poor performance
in struggling France and Italy.
Growth in the 19-nation euro zone
came in at 0.3 per cent, down from 0.6
per cent in the three months to January,
but the figures were unchanged from
the initial estimate given last month, the
Eurostat statistics agency said.
The 0.3 per cent quarterly gain was
in line with analyst forecasts compiled
by data company Factset. Analysts said
at the time of the initial estimate last
month that uncertainty in the run-up to
Brexit had likely dampened activity after
a very strong first quarter. — AFP
Maersk profit sinks
in tough market
MADRID: Spain’s energy giant
Abengoa, struggling under a billionsstrong debt pile, said it had reached
a deal with creditors and investors
allowing it to ward off bankruptcy.
The renewable energy firm
had until October 28 to strike a
debt restructuring agreement after
announcing last year that it was
filing for preliminary protection from
creditors following years of frenzied,
unsustainable expansion.
In a statement, the company said
it had struck “a deal... on the terms
and conditions for the restructuring
of its financial debt and its
recapitalisation” with creditors such
as Banco Popular and Santander bank
and investors like KKR Credit.
Under the agreement, the
company will be given a muchneeded liquidity boost of 1.17 billion
euros.
The world player in solar and
wind power, biofuels and water
management has already launched
a recovery plan as it seeks to reduce
its debt burden which stood at 8.7
billion euros at the end of last year.
This includes the sale of biofuels
assets and other non-strategic
holdings, as well as job cuts. — AFP
ASIAN STOCKS HEAD FOR BEST WEEK IN MONTH AS WALL STREET GAINS P12
Alara to discuss Washihi copper-gold project with PAM
BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT
Aug 12: Australian based minerals
exploration
and
development
firm Alara Resources Ltd says its
investments in the Sultanate will benefit
from moves by the Omani government
to prioritise the development of the
mining industry.
Alara recently completed an infill
drilling programme for Al Hadeetha
Copper-Gold Project in Oman, with
additional high grade copper and
gold mineralisation being identified
on top of existing mineral resources
at the Washihi deposit. Overall, the
environment bodes well for Alara’s
plans to develop the low cost coppergold Washihi resource.
Moves were made earlier in the year
by Omani sovereign wealth funds to
further develop the mining industry
through the establishment of the
A$200 million Mining Development
Oman entity.
A meeting with Oman’s Public
Authority of Mining (PAM) is
scheduled for the last week of August
and is a key step towards the award of
the Washihi mining licence.
Oman is currently experiencing
some extraordinary events with
the government promoting and
prioritising development of the mining
industry. Mining Development Oman
has been capitalised with A$200
million and plans to raise a further
A$130 million through IPO on Oman’s
stock exchange before the end of the
year.
Late last year the Public Authority
for Mining in Oman submitted a draft
of the new mining law for approval
by relevant ministries. The new law is
expected to help attract investment to
develop the mining sector into a major
contributor to the country’s gross
domestic product.
The mining sector is also preparing
for an international mining and
minerals conference, to be held in
Muscat in January.
Alara has a portfolio of projects in
the Middle East and was focused on
an infill drilling programme during
the June quarter at the 70 per cent
owned Al Hadeetha Copper-Gold
Projects in Oman. The company has
completed an advanced scoping study
on both the Daris and Al Hadeetha
Copper-Gold Project in Oman. Most
recently it completed a feasibility study
for the Washihi deposit within the Al
Hadeetha project.
The company is transitioning to
establish itself as a base and precious
China’s stability falters
as factory output slows
COPENHAGEN: Danish oil and shipping
conglomerate AP Moller-Maersk on
Friday reported a plunge in profits
in the second quarter in the face of
tough market conditions, but beat
expectations as it continued to cut costs.
Net profit in the period plummeted
to $101 million from $1.07 billion
as revenue fell 16 per cent to $8.86
billion. “In response to challenging
supply-demand imbalances, the group
continues to execute on factors that
are within our control by reducing
cost and delivering high operational
performance,” the company said.
“Maersk Oil has reduced operational
costs by 25 per cent, upholding a breakeven at $40 to $45 per barrel. The costs
in Maersk Line have been reduced to an
all-time low level,” it added. — AFP
Abengoa wards off
bankruptcy with
creditor deal
www.omanobserver.om
editor@omanobserver.om
Chinese workers sewing Santa Claus dolls at a toy factory in Ganyu district in Lianyungang, east China’s Jiangsu province. — AFP
BEJING: China’s recent economic
stabilisation faltered in July as factory
output, retail sales and investment all
slowed, while the broadest measure of
new credit rose the least in two years.
All main indicators released on
Friday missed economist estimates in
Bloomberg surveys:
Industrial production rose 6 per cent
in July from a year earlier, less than the
projected 6.2 per cent gain. Retail sales
climbed 10.2 per cent last month versus
the estimate for 10.5 per cent. Fixedasset investment increased 8.1 per cent
in the first seven months of the year,
compared with a projection for 8.9 per
cent growth. Aggregate financing was
a two-year low of 487.9 billion yuan
($73.4 billion) in July, less than half of
the median estimate of 1 trillion yuan
in Bloomberg’s survey new yuan loans
stood at 463.6 billion yuan, also the
slowest pace since July 2014 and less
than the projected 850 billion yuan
increase The broad M2 money supply
rose 10.2 per cent, the weakest gain
since April 2015
“With this downward trend it’s
hard to meet the government’s 6.5 per
cent minimum target,” said Wang Tao,
chief China economist at UBS Group
Policy makers face a choice:
boost demand with cheap
credit that risks undermining
financial stability, or curb
debt expansion even if that
slows the economy.
AG in Hong Kong, adding that policy
makers are now concerned about rising
leverage. “If this slowdown becomes
sharper, the government will switch
back to prioritising stabilising growth.”
Policy makers face a choice: boost
demand with cheap credit that risks
undermining financial stability, or
curb debt expansion even if that slows
the economy. Friday’s data suggests the
second option is being pursued for now.
With tepid global demand and domestic
businesses reluctant to invest, the
government has increased fiscal support
this year, even as it held off from further
benchmark interest-rate reductions.
The yield on China’s benchmark 10year government bond dropped to 2.665
per cent, the lowest since 2006, after the
People’s Bank of China released the
money supply data.
Underscoring
the
economy’s
dependence on a property market
recovery, long-term loans to households
— the majority of which are mortgages
— increased more than the total new
bank loans in July for the first time since
2007.
Property development investment in
the first seven months of the year rose
5.3 per cent, while the value of property
sales during the period soared 39.8 per
cent, the National Bureau of Statistics
said. Home sales value rose 41.2 per
cent while new property construction
increased 13.7 per cent.
Bloomberg’s monthly gross domestic
product tracker slipped to 6.94 per cent
in July, from 7.13 per cent a month
earlier. Economists expect the official
growth pace, at 6.7 per cent in the first
and second quarters, will slow in the
third quarter and again in the fourth.
“The real economy has weak demand
for financing or investment, and banks
are also tightening credit on risk
concerns,” said Liu Dongliang, a senior
analyst at China Merchants Bank Co in
Shenzhen. — Bloomberg
metals mine development and
production company.
The Washihi JORC Resource
estimates have been updated to comply
with the 2012 code and are now being
revised to incorporate the results of the
recent drill programme. The current
Washihi resource contains 14.1 million
tonnes at 0.80 per cent copper and 0.18
g/t gold. Washihi’s Indicated Resource
can be converted into a Reserve only
after a mining licence is issued.
The Washihi mining licence
application was first submitted in
April 2013. Since that time it has
passed through various government
authorities and the local community
representatives to obtain ‘no objection’
status.
The upcoming presentation to the
Public Authority for Mining has been
arranged through the company’s joint
venture partners and is a key step
towards award of the mining licence.
Project management proposals
to bring Washihi into operation are
currently being assessed with contract
awards expected in the last quarter of
the year. The continued evidence from
Oman’s government to invest into the
development of its mining industry
is a positive sign for Alara given how
advanced their project is and the
commodities it hosts.
The Al Hadeetha Copper-Gold
Project is the most advanced copper
project in the country, in terms of
time to production. The project also
contains the country’s single largest
JORC copper resource.
US labour market
firming; inflation
remains benign
WASHINGTON: The number of
Americans filing for unemployment
benefits fell last week, pointing to
sustained labour market strength in
early August that could help spur faster
economic growth.
Other data on Thursday showed an
unexpected rise in import prices in July
as a drop in petroleum prices was offset
by gains in the cost of other goods.
However, renewed dollar strength is
expected to curb underlying inflation in
the coming months.
“The data remain consistent with
a still-strong trend in employment
growth, which means the backdrop
for consumer spending remains
favourable,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief
US economist at High Frequency
Economics in Valhalla, New York.
Initial claims for state unemployment
benefits slipped 1,000 to a seasonally
adjusted 266,000 for the week ended
August 6, the Labor Department said.
Claims for the prior week were
revised to show 2,000 fewer applications
received than previously reported.
Claims have now been below
300,000, a threshold associated with a
strong labour market, for 75 straight
weeks, the longest streak since 1973
when the labour force was smaller.
The four-week average of claims,
considered to be a better measure of
labour market trends as it irons out
week-to-week volatility, rose 3,000 to
262,750 last week.
With the labour market perceived
to be either at or approaching full
employment, there is probably little
room for further declines in claims.
A report on Wednesday showed
layoffs fell to a near two-year low in
June.
The upbeat claims report and betterthan-expected financial results from
retailers Kohl and Macy’s boosted US
stocks.
DXY was largely changed against a
basket of currencies.
In a separate report, the Labor
Department said import prices edged
up 0.1 per cent last month after
increasing 0.6 per cent in June.
Economists polled by Reuters had
forecast import prices falling 0.3 per
cent in July.
In the 12 months through July,
import prices fell 3.7 per cent, the
smallest decrease since November
2014, after declining 4.7 per cent in the
12 months through June.
Import prices excluding petroleum
increased 0.5 per cent, the largest gain
since April 2011, after dropping 0.3 per
cent in June. — Reuters
Job seekers work with recruiters at GRID Alternatives solar job fair in San Francisco,
California. — Reuters
omaninternational
business
10
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
OCBC quarterly profit slumps 15pc
Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp, Southeast Asia’s second-largest lender, reported a 15 per cent
decline in quarterly profit as loans contracted, provisions rose and income from its insurance
unit slumped. Net income sank to S$885 million ($655 million) in the three months to June from
S$1.05 billion a year earlier, the Singapore-based bank said.
S AT U R DAY l A U G U ST 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
ISACA Muscat Chapter
conducts open session
MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET
MSM Weekly Bulletin From 07/08/2016 To 11/08/2016
Regular Market
Low
Close
Pr.
Prev.
Close
Diff
%
Diff
(OR)
Last
Pr.
Last
Offer
Last
Bid
Market Cap
Par
Value
OM0000003125
GLOBAL FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
1,774,750
303,839
117
0.185
0.158
0.180
0.155
16.129
0.025
0.177
0.179
0.177
36,000,000
0.100
OM0000002366
AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING
1,453,371
142,127
149
0.100
0.095
0.099
0.092
7.609
0.007
0.098
0.098
0.097
2,970,000
0.100
OM0000002028
GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS
1,123,182
293,824
166
0.270
0.251
0.267
0.250
6.800
0.017
0.267
0.267
0.266
5,607,000
0.100
OM0000002549
BANK DHOFAR
2,388,996
593,865
41
0.259
0.241
0.251
0.241
4.149
0.010
0.256
0.269
0.256
426,499,551
0.100
OM0000001517
HSBC BANK OMAN
3,678,914
369,846
85
0.103
0.098
0.102
0.098
4.082
0.004
0.102
0.102
0.101
204,031,905
0.100
OM0000002820
GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES
2,179,989
270,116
109
0.126
0.120
0.123
0.119
3.361
0.004
0.123
0.124
0.123
7,237,716
0.100
OM0000001160
NATIONAL GAS
399,385
251,563
62
0.636
0.616
0.632
0.616
2.597
0.016
0.632
0.636
0.632
34,760,000
0.100
OM0000002440
AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING
1,260,136
181,394
129
0.147
0.141
0.142
0.139
2.158
0.003
0.142
0.143
0.142
12,780,000
0.100
OM0000001772
AL ANWAR HOLDING
4,716,759
924,665
267
0.199
0.193
0.197
0.193
2.073
0.004
0.197
0.198
0.197
34,475,484
0.100
OM0000001483
NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN
216,987
55,161
21
0.256
0.252
0.255
0.251
1.594
0.004
0.255
0.256
0.255
376,069,225
0.100
OM0000004925
AL BATINAH POWER
175,832
34,900
8
0.200
0.197
0.200
0.197
1.523
0.003
0.000
0.202
0.000
134,977,486
0.100
OM0000001681
OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING
1,577,175
226,242
107
0.145
0.140
0.141
0.139
1.439
0.002
0.141
0.141
0.140
17,184,375
0.100
OM0000003224
RENAISSANCE SERVICES
1,826,163
509,835
161
0.283
0.273
0.282
0.278
1.439
0.004
0.279
0.279
0.277
84,255,304
0.100
OM0000001418
RAYSUT CEMENT
132,910
191,234
26
1.440
1.420
1.440
1.420
1.408
0.020
1.440
1.440
0.000
288,000,000
0.100
OM0000001533
OMINVEST
328,151
185,109
18
0.570
0.556
0.566
0.560
1.071
0.006
0.566
0.566
0.556
359,857,643
0.100
OM0000002200
AHLI BANK
932,833
176,149
18
0.189
0.187
0.189
0.187
1.070
0.002
0.189
0.189
0.182
269,331,831
0.100
OM0000001087
OMAN UNITED INSURANCE
28,050
8,388
7
0.304
0.297
0.300
0.297
1.010
0.003
0.000
0.304
0.295
30,000,000
OM0000001525
OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE
849,513
174,675
32
0.206
0.203
0.205
0.203
0.985
0.002
0.203
0.206
0.201
41,000,000
0.100
OM0000003521
GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON.
4,634,793
491,311
241
0.107
0.104
0.105
0.104
0.962
0.001
0.105
0.105
0.104
30,447,967
0.100
Security Name
ISIN
BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT
Aug 12: The Muscat Chapter of
ISACA, a global association serving
IT assurance, governance and cyber
security professionals in partnership
with the College of Banking and
Financial Studies (CBFS), conducted
open session to announce the refresher
classes for all certification courses for
Omani executives yesterday.
ISACA, a US-based association,
offers
education,
networking,
credentialing and career development
opportunities around the world.
ISACA offers certifications such as
Certified Information System Auditor
(CISA), Certified Information Security
Manager (CISM), Certified in Risk
and Information Systems and Control
(CRISC), Certified in the Governance
of Enterprise IT (CGEIT) and Cyber
Security Nexus (CSX) entailing skills-
based training.
“To facilitate the students to get
prepared better, the Chapter conducts
refresher classes for a period of 3
months for both June and December
and the refresher sessions are held in
the weekends for the convenience of
the professionals. We aim at youngsters
who have high growth plans in their
chosen field”, Badri N Subudhi,
Secretary, ISACA Muscat Chapter said.
“The response from Omani
executives was overwhelming as they
displayed their ambitious career growth
plans at the session”, Eishwar Kodan,
CISA Director and Ajith Kumar, CISM
Director told the Observer.
ISACA
Muscat
Chapter
is
engaged on these programmes
aims at hone the skills of local
professionals and executives in cyber
security and Information Security
practice domains.
OM0000004735
SEMBCORP SALALAH
OM0000002176
AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS
OM0000005005
ALMAHA CERAMICS
OM0000001095
DHOFAR INSURANCE
OM0000001509
DHOFAR INT.DEV.AND INV. HOLD.
OM0000001749
A McDonald’s 10 piece chicken McNuggets box is photographed at the Times
Square location in New York. — Reuters
LOS ANGELES: A charity looking
to fight the rise of dangerous, drugresistant bacteria on Thursday asked
the public to help convince McDonald’s
restaurants around the world to stop
serving meat and milk from animals
raised with routine use of medically
important antibiotics.
A week after the world’s biggest
fast-food company took that step
with poultry at its US restaurants,
UK-based ShareAction launched an
online campaign enabling people to
email McDonald’s Corp CEO Steve
Easterbrook.
The group, which promotes
socially responsible investing, wants
Easterbrook to prohibit the use of
antibiotics important to human
medicine in McDonald’s global chicken,
beef, pork and dairy supply chains, for
purposes other than disease treatment
or non-routine control of veterinariandiagnosed illness.
“We hope this action will encourage
McDonald’s to supersize their
ambition,” ShareAction Chief Executive
Catherine Howarth said.
Scientists have warned that regular
use of antibiotics to promote growth and
prevent illness in healthy farms animals
contributes to the rise of antibioticresistant “superbug” infections, which
kill at least 23,000 Americans each year
and pose a significant threat to global
health.
McDonald’s referred Reuters to
an earlier statement that said it was
premature to set a timeline for curbing
antibiotic use in meats other than
chicken, due to varying agricultural
More than 70 per cent of
all antibiotics used in the
United States and half of
those used in the United
Kingdom are given to
livestock.
practices and regulations around the
world.
“We continue to regularly review
this issue,” that statement said.
Rival Wendy’s Co said last week
that by next year, it would stop using
chickens raised with antibiotics
important to human health. It also said
it would set specific goals for pork and
beef production in 2017.
Meanwhile, Yum Brands Inc’s KFC
fried-chicken chain is under fire for a
policy that critics say effectively allows
for routine use of antibiotics by its
chicken suppliers.
More than 70 per cent of all
antibiotics used in the United States
and half of those used in the United
Kingdom are given to livestock,
ShareAction said.
In April, an investor coalition with
about $1 trillion under management, led
by ShareAction and the Farm Animal
Investment Risk & Return Initiative,
pressed McDonald’s and nine other
large food companies to set timelines
for stopping the non-therapeutic use of
antibiotics important to human health
in their supply chains. — Reuters
Turnover
Trades
High
0.100
262,773
62,323
26
0.242
0.237
0.237
0.235
0.851
0.002
0.240
0.240
0.238
226,233,552
0.100
4,545,285
1,221,465
340
0.273
0.265
0.267
0.265
0.755
0.002
0.265
0.268
0.266
33,347,755
0.100
237,695
114,090
39
0.480
0.478
0.480
0.478
0.418
0.002
0.480
0.482
0.480
25,200,000
0.100
0
0
0
0.206
0.206
0.206
0.206
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
41,200,000
0.100
2,000
796
1
0.398
0.398
0.400
0.400
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.400
0.000
98,560,000
0.100
OMAN CEMENT
15,488
7,275
3
0.470
0.460
0.470
0.470
0.000
0.000
0.462
0.470
0.462
155,510,174
0.100
OM0000001822
UNITED POWER
57
174
1
3.060
3.060
3.400
3.400
0.000
0.000
0.000
3.740
3.060
2,720,000
1.000
OM0000001889
SALALAH MILLS
0
0
0
1.475
1.475
1.475
1.475
0.000
0.000
0.000
1.475
0.000
71,040,519
0.100
OM0000001962
AL MADINA INVESTMENT
183,863
11,631
31
0.066
0.061
0.062
0.062
0.000
0.000
0.063
0.063
0.062
12,843,386
0.100
OM0000002143
UNITED POWER-PREF SHARES
OM0000002226
AL JAZEERA SERVICES
OM0000002275
SHELL OMAN MARKETING
OM0000002341
OMAN CHLORINE
OM0000002374
UNITED FINANCE
OM0000002523
0
0
0
1.000
1.000
1.000
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
1,200,000
1.000
607,795
124,722
93
0.210
0.203
0.204
0.204
0.000
0.000
0.203
0.205
0.203
12,485,672
0.100
425
813
4
1.915
1.900
1.900
1.900
0.000
0.000
1.915
0.000
1.915
180,500,000
0.100
0
0
0
0.500
0.500
0.500
0.500
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.484
0.000
34,051,830
0.100
0
0
0
0.150
0.150
0.150
0.150
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.158
0.136
48,945,478
0.100
AL JAZEERA SERVICES PREF SHARE
0
0
0
0.550
0.550
0.550
0.550
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
27,782,093
0.100
OM0000002572
OMAN OIL MARKETING
0
0
0
1.880
1.880
1.880
1.880
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
1.880
115,197,000
0.100
OM0000002648
NATIONAL FINANCE
0
0
0
0.138
0.138
0.138
0.138
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.150
0.131
37,415,301
0.100
OM0000002796
BANK MUSCAT
4,167,972
1,617,551
403
0.390
0.386
0.388
0.388
0.000
0.000
0.388
0.388
0.386
968,545,100
0.100
OM0000002804
ASAFFA FOODS
0
0
0
0.860
0.860
0.860
0.860
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.856
0.000
103,200,000
0.100
OM0000002846
GULF INV. SER. PREF SHARES
0
0
0
0.105
0.105
0.105
0.105
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.106
9,596,032
0.100
OM0000003000
ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR.
0
0
0
1.480
1.480
1.480
1.480
0.000
0.000
0.000
1.480
1.470
102,120,000
0.100
OM0000003141
ACWA POWER BARKA
0
0
0
0.708
0.708
0.708
0.708
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.640
113,280,000
0.100
OM0000003281
TAAGEER FINANCE
475,000
57,950
39
0.122
0.122
0.122
0.122
0.000
0.000
0.122
0.122
0.121
30,937,980
0.100
OM0000003539
GALFAR ENGINEERING-PREFERED.S
OM0000003661
VOLTAMP ENERGY
OM0000003711
SOHAR POWER
OM0000003968
OOREDOO
OM0000004248
SMN POWER HOLDING
OM0000004669
SHARQIYAH DESALINATION
OM0000004933
OM0000001707
0
0
0
0.394
0.394
0.394
0.394
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
49,342,590
0.100
4,319
1,944
17
0.456
0.450
0.458
0.458
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.458
0.420
27,709,000
0.100
443,513
124,184
57
0.280
0.280
0.280
0.280
0.000
0.000
0.280
0.280
0.278
61,882,800
0.100
1,413,309
1,062,664
110
0.760
0.740
0.752
0.752
0.000
0.000
0.752
0.752
0.744
489,510,061
0.100
0
0
0
0.716
0.716
0.716
0.716
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.712
0.000
142,939,090
0.100
50
220
1
4.400
4.400
4.500
4.500
0.000
0.000
4.400
4.500
4.400
44,010,972
1.000
AL SUWADI POWER
65,932
13,059
5
0.199
0.198
0.198
0.198
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.211
0.198
141,452,455
0.100
OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY
33,955
61,154
6
1.805
1.800
1.800
1.805
-0.277
-0.005
0.000
1.795
1.750
161,460,000
0.100
OM0000001145
PORT SERVICES CORPORATION
297,978
69,643
26
0.236
0.233
0.234
0.236
-0.847
-0.002
0.000
0.240
0.233
22,239,360
0.100
OM0000003026
OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION
348,097
574,568
72
1.655
1.630
1.630
1.655
-1.511
-0.025
1.630
1.640
1.630
1,222,500,000
0.100
OM0000003398
BANK SOHAR
1,673,972
302,742
110
0.175
287,205,382
0.183
0.176
0.179
0.183
-2.186
-0.004
0.176
0.176
0.100
OM0000004768
AL MADINA TAKAFUL
270,717
19,894
26
0.075
0.073
0.073
0.075
-2.667
-0.002
0.073
0.074
0.073
12,775,000
0.100
OM0000002168
AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES
251,769
56,243
31
0.229
0.220
0.222
0.229
-3.057
-0.007
0.222
0.225
0.222
65,759,437
0.100
OM0000001319
NATIONAL ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS
0.225
0.208
0.210
0.225
-6.667
-0.015
0.210
0.215
0.210
7,050,005
0.100
Par
Value
165,000
35,936
22
Sum:
45,144,853
10,925,281
3,227
Security Name
Volume
Turnover
Trades
Parallel Market
Low
Close
Pr.
Prev.
Close
Diff
%
Diff
(OR)
Last
Pr.
Last
Offer
Last
Bid
Market Cap
OM0000001046
PACKAGING CO. LTD
22,100
44,421
2
2.010
2.010
2.010
0.526
282.129
1.484
2.010
0.000
0.000
6,030,000
1.000
OM0000004511
ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK
12,449,139
795,352
158
0.066
0.063
0.066
0.063
4.762
0.003
0.066
0.066
0.065
66,000,000
0.100
ISIN
Email campaign asks
McDonald’s to take US
antibiotic curbs global
Volume
High
OM0000002564
AL HASSAN ENGINEERING
OM0000001368
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND.
1,091,516
35,564
42
0.033
0.032
0.032
0.031
3.226
0.001
0.032
0.033
0.032
2,720,000
0.100
OM0000001566
OMAN FISHERIES
6,833,254
441,709
288
0.068
0.062
0.064
0.062
3.226
0.002
0.064
0.066
0.064
8,000,000
0.100
932,745
73,319
81
0.080
0.075
0.078
0.075
4.000
0.003
0.079
0.079
0.078
5,866,224
0.100
OM0000001400
OMAN FLOUR MILLS
74,647
45,454
10
0.612
0.600
0.608
0.590
3.051
0.018
0.608
0.652
0.608
95,760,000
0.100
OM0000004776
TAKAFUL OMAN INSURANCE
15,000
1,830
2
0.122
0.122
0.122
0.119
2.521
0.003
0.122
0.124
0.120
12,200,000
0.100
OM0000001897
MAJAN COLLEGE
13,510
7,025
4
0.520
0.520
0.520
0.510
1.961
0.010
0.520
0.530
0.500
15,600,000
0.100
OM0000001590
MUSCAT FINANCE
17,219
2,066
4
0.120
0.120
0.120
0.118
1.695
0.002
0.120
0.122
0.120
32,005,869
0.100
OM0000004420
BANK NIZWA
3,324,499
256,600
88
0.078
0.076
0.077
0.076
1.316
0.001
0.077
0.077
0.076
115,500,000
0.100
OM0000001020
OMAN CHROMITE
0
0
0
3.640
3.640
3.640
3.640
0.000
0.000
0.000
3.600
0.000
10,920,000
1.000
OM0000001053
OMAN TEXTILE HOLDING
0
0
0
0.320
0.320
0.320
0.320
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.320
1,920,000
1.000
OM0000001111
GULF HOTELS (OMAN)
0
0
0
10.495
10.495
10.495
10.495
0.000
0.000
0.000
9.500
0.000
35,980,239
1.000
OM0000001178
MUSCAT GASES
0
0
0
0.616
0.616
0.616
0.616
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.616
0.558
18,480,000
0.100
OM0000001186
NATIONAL BISCUIT INDUSTRIES
0
0
0
3.750
3.750
3.750
3.750
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
3,750,000
1.000
OM0000001194
AREEJ VEGETABLE OILS AND DERIV
0
0
0
3.675
3.675
3.675
3.675
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
25,357,500
1.000
OM0000001228
OMAN HOTELS AND TOURISM
0
0
0
0.396
0.396
0.396
0.396
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.434
0.000
27,660,600
0.100
OM0000001251
DHOFAR BEVERAGES FOOD STUFF
0
0
0
0.260
0.260
0.260
0.260
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
5,200,000
0.100
OM0000001269
COMPUTER STATIONERY IND.
0
0
0
0.260
0.260
0.260
0.260
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
2,600,000
0.100
OM0000001285
NATIONAL MINERAL WATER
0
0
0
0.060
0.060
0.060
0.060
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.060
1,620,182
0.100
OM0000001301
DHOFAR CATTLE FEED
0
0
0
0.225
0.225
0.225
0.225
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.224
0.000
18,191,250
0.100
OM0000001384
FINANCIAL SERVICES
0
0
0
0.165
0.165
0.165
0.165
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.149
0.000
10,725,000
0.100
OM0000001426
OMAN REFRESHMENT
0
0
0
2.150
2.150
2.150
2.150
0.000
0.000
0.000
2.200
2.150
107,500,000
0.100
OM0000001434
NATIONAL REAL ESTATE DEVLOPMEN
0
0
0
5.000
5.000
5.000
5.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
8,812,500
1.000
OM0000001475
SWEETS OF OMAN
0
0
0
1.340
1.340
1.340
1.340
0.000
0.000
0.000
1.340
0.000
9,380,000
0.100
OM0000001608
OMAN PACKAGING
0
0
0
0.300
0.300
0.300
0.300
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.330
0.300
9,730,758
0.100
OM0000001657
SOHAR POULTRY
0
0
0
0.206
0.206
0.206
0.206
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
618,000
1.000
OM0000001665
DHOFAR TOURISM
0
0
0
0.490
0.490
0.490
0.490
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.480
0.000
13,695,500
1.000
OM0000001715
AL BURAIMI HOTEL
0
0
0
0.880
0.880
0.880
0.880
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
3,144,092
1.000
OM0000001723
OMAN ORIX LEASING
0
0
0
0.113
0.113
0.113
0.113
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.124
0.115
28,367,452
0.100
OM0000001806
MUSCAT NATIONAL HOLDING
0
0
0
1.790
1.790
1.790
1.790
0.000
0.000
0.000
1.775
0.000
8,950,000
1.000
OM0000001855
MAJAN GLASS
0
0
0
0.190
0.190
0.190
0.190
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.188
0.000
7,984,427
0.100
OM0000001871
UBAR HOTELS & RESORTS
0
0
0
0.129
0.129
0.129
0.129
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
6,452,258
0.100
OM0000001921
MAJAN CAPITAL FUND
0
0
0
1.545
1.545
1.545
1.545
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
4,555,250
1.000
OM0000001939
NAT. PHARMACEUTICAL IND.
0
0
0
0.110
0.110
0.110
0.110
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
5,500,000
0.100
OM0000001996
DHOFAR POULTRY
0
0
0
0.180
0.180
0.180
0.180
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
7,200,000
0.100
OM0000002036
MUSCAT THREAD MILLS
0
0
0
0.114
0.114
0.114
0.114
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
1,685,613
0.100
OM0000002077
AL OMANIYA FINANCIAL SER.
0
0
0
0.300
0.300
0.300
0.300
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.300
0.000
80,359,063
0.100
OM0000002101
OMAN FIBER OPTIC
0
0
0
4.570
4.570
4.570
4.570
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
32,973,089
1.000
OM0000002150
AL FAJAR AL ALAMIA
0
0
0
0.748
0.748
0.748
0.748
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
36,899,027
0.100
OM0000002234
NATIONAL SECURITIES
0
0
0
0.169
0.169
0.169
0.169
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.153
0.000
3,380,000
0.100
OM0000002267
GULF MUSHROOM PRODUCTS
0
0
0
0.336
0.336
0.336
0.336
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.334
0.000
11,553,199
0.100
OM0000002317
AL BATINAH HOTELS
0
0
0
1.125
1.125
1.125
1.125
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
4,074,596
1.000
OM0000002333
SALALAH PORT SERVICES
80
49
1
0.616
0.616
0.648
0.648
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.616
0.000
116,534,635
0.100
OM0000002382
SALALAH BEACH RESORT
0
0
0
1.380
1.380
1.380
1.380
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
8,625,000
1.000
OM0000002580
OMAN EDU. & TRIN. INV.
966
166
1
0.172
0.172
0.172
0.172
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.185
0.172
12,040,000
0.100
OM0000002606
AL SHUROOQ INV. SER. HOLIDNG
0
0
0
1.035
1.035
1.035
1.035
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
5,175,000
1.000
OM0000002622
OMAN OIL MARKETING PREF SHARES
0
0
0
0.250
0.250
0.250
0.250
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
806,250
0.100
OM0000002671
GULF STONES
0
0
0
0.110
0.110
0.110
0.110
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
3,993,000
0.100
OM0000002697
SHELL OMAN MARK. PREF SHARES
0
0
0
1.050
1.050
1.050
1.050
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
5,250,000
0.100
OM0000002812
SAHARA HOSPITALITY
0
0
0
2.500
2.500
2.500
2.500
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
14,583,333
1.000
OM0000002879
HOTELS MANAGEMENT CO. INT.
0
0
0
1.250
1.250
1.250
1.250
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
3,750,000
1.000
OM0000002911
THE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
0
0
0
0.113
0.113
0.113
0.113
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.113
0.000
7,913,385
0.100
OM0000003075
DHOFAR UNIVERSITY
0
0
0
1.485
1.485
1.485
1.485
0.000
0.000
0.000
1.485
0.000
20,790,000
1.000
OM0000003083
AL KAMIL POWER
0
0
0
0.312
0.312
0.312
0.312
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
30,030,000
0.100
OM0000003190
FINCORP AL-AMAL FUND
0
0
0
0.964
0.964
0.964
0.964
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
3,098,902
1.000
OM0000003265
NATIONAL DETERGENT
0
0
0
0.660
0.660
0.660
0.660
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.660
11,228,250
0.100
OM0000005963
PHOENIX POWER
5,179,316
793,030
166
0.154
0.152
0.153
0.154
-0.649
-0.001
0.153
0.153
0.152
223,778,023
0.100
OM0000001152
OMAN NATIONAL ENGINE. INVT.
44,137
7,950
10
0.182
0.180
0.180
0.187
-3.743
-0.007
0.180
0.180
0.175
18,000,000
0.100
OM0000002689
OMAN CERAMIC COMPANY
0.448
0.404
0.404
0.448
-9.821
-0.044
0.404
0.404
0.380
764,447
1.000
9,937
4,019
8
Sum:
30,008,065
2,508,554
865
Security Name
Volume
Turnover
Trades
Third Market
Low
Close
Pr.
Prev.
Close
Diff
%
Diff
(OR)
Last
Pr.
Last
Offer
Last
Bid
Market Cap
Par
Value
OM0000001459
AL-OULA COMPANY
0
0
0
0.530
0.530
0.530
0.530
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
2,703,000
1.000
OM0000001814
OMAN INT. MARKETING
0
0
0
0.518
0.518
0.518
0.518
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
259,000
1.000
OM0000002119
DHOFAR FISHERIES AND FOOD IND.
0
0
0
1.280
1.280
1.280
1.280
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
3,251,200
1.000
OM0000002192
OMANI EURO FOODS INDUSTRIES
0
0
0
1.000
1.000
1.000
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
2,000,000
1.000
OM0000002259
ABRASIVES MANUFACTURING
0
0
0
0.050
0.050
0.050
0.050
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
50,000
1.000
Sum:
0
0
0
Security Name
Volume
Turnover
Trades
ISIN
High
Bonds and Sukuk Market
High
Low
Close
Pr.
Prev.
Close
Diff
%
Diff
(OR)
Last
Pr.
Last
Offer
Last
Bid
Market Cap
Par
Value
OM0000000535
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 39TH
0
0
0
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
150,000,000
100.000
OM0000000543
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 40TH
0
0
0
113.800
113.800
113.800
113.800
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
113,800,000
100.000
OM0000000550
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 41 ST
0
0
0
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
100,000,000
100.000
OM0000000568
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 42 ED
0
0
0
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
80,000,000
100.000
OM0000000576
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 43 RD
0
0
0
103.670
103.670
103.670
103.670
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
103,670,000
100.000
OM0000000584
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 44 TH
0
0
0
104.885
104.885
104.885
104.885
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
104,885,000
100.000
OM0000000592
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 45 TH
0
0
0
104.195
104.195
104.195
104.195
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
208,390,000
100.000
OM0000000600
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 46 TH
0
0
0
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
102.000
0.000
200,000,000
100.000
OM0000000618
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 47 TH
0
0
0
100.400
100.400
100.400
100.400
0.000
0.000
0.000
100.400
0.000
301,200,000
100.000
OM0000000626
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 48 TH
0
0
0
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
100,000,000
100.000
OM0000000634
GOVERNMENT BONDS ISSUE 49 TH
0
0
0
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
100,000,000
100.000
OM0000001624
MUSCAT FINANCE BONDS
0
0
0
1.005
1.005
1.005
1.005
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
5,025,000
1.000
OM0000002093
ALALOMANIYA FIN.UNSEC C.C.B.4
0
0
0
0.100
0.100
0.100
0.100
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
1,228,378
0.100
OM0000003240
RENAISSANCE SERVICES BONDS A
0
0
0
0.130
0.130
0.130
0.130
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
1,785,426
0.100
OM0000003257
RENAISSANCE SERVICES BONDS B
0
0
0
0.145
0.145
0.145
0.145
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
18,461,452
0.100
OM0000003810
BANK MUSCAT SUBORDINATED BONDS
0
0
0
1.050
1.050
1.050
1.050
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
78,750,000
1.000
OM0000004016
AHLI BANK UNSECURED.SUB. BONDS
0
0
0
1.045
1.045
1.045
1.045
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
36,575,000
1.000
OM0000004396
AL OMANIYA FIN.SER .BONDS 4
0
0
0
0.103
0.103
0.103
0.103
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
2,060,000
0.100
OM0000004628
BANK SOHAR BONDS 4.5
457
46
3
0.100
0.100
0.110
0.110
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.110
0.100
5,243,334
0.100
0.100
ISIN
OM0000004867
BANK MUSCAT C C B 4.5
234,328
24,604
13
0.105
0.102
0.105
0.105
0.000
0.000
0.105
0.000
0.105
33,562,481
OM0000005955
AL OMANIYA FIN. CONV. BONDS 6
0
0
0
0.100
0.100
0.100
0.100
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
1,837,430
0.100
OM0000006045
SOVEREIGN SUKUK ISSUE 1
0
0
0
1.000
1.000
1.000
1.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
250,000,000
1.000
OM0000005971
B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5
1,416,318
141,216
25
0.100
0.095
0.095
0.100
-5.000
-0.005
0.095
0.000
0.095
30,795,353
0.100
1,651,103
165,866
41
Sum:
Weekly Summary
Traded Volume
Total Turnover
Market Cap
Trades
up
Down
Equal
Sec. Traded
76,804,021
13,599,701
17,283,504,072
4,133
32
11
17
60
Index
Highest
Lowest
Index Value
Prev Val
Diff
Diff %
Group
Buy Vol %
Buy Val %
Sell Vol %
Sell Val%
MSM30 Index
5,904.85
5,869.14
5,896.74
5,869.79
26.95
0.46
OMANIS
86.50 %
75.14 %
90.34 %
84.32 %
Financial Index
7,620.60
7,514.92
7,612.49
7,514.92
97.57
1.30
GCC
6.01 %
12.07 %
1.44 %
4.39 %
Industrial Index
7,588.71
7,511.43
7,566.30
7,519.61
46.69
0.62
ARABS
2.46 %
1.56 %
1.39 %
0.98 %
Services Index
3,212.22
3,200.13
3,208.16
3,202.60
5.56
0.17
OTHERS
5.04 %
11.23 %
6.82 %
10.31 %
MSM SHARIAH INDEX
894.06
890.03
892.76
891.32
1.44
0.16
Nationalities Trading
Indecies
international
Bosch India’s Q1 net profit rises
business
siness
Global engineering and electronics company Bosch India on Friday reported a standalone net
profit Rs 3.78 billion for the first quarter (Q1) that ended on June 30. The company’s standalone
net profit rose by 0.80 per cent to Rs 3.79 billion during Q1 compared to Rs 3.76 billion during
the corresponding period in the last fiscal, Bosch India said in a regulatory filing.
F
rom the US to India,
regulators around
the
world
are
pushing harder than
ever to shield local
steel industries from
foreign competition.
Nations imposed 85 new duties
and other taxes on steel imports
in the first half, according to
the Russian Steel Association,
which counted preliminary and
permanent measures. That’s 49 per
cent more than a year earlier.
The trade frictions are the
result of a saturated steel market
and record exports from China,
where producers are looking for
new customers as the economy
moves away from manufacturing.
The cheap imports make it harder
for US and European steelmakers
to make money, leading to job
losses and pressuring politicians to
defend their local industry.
“The world is turning into a
global trading war in steel because
demand is weak, while the industry
is in overcapacity crisis,” said
Kirill Chuyko, a strategist at BCS
Global Markets, Moscow’s largest
brokerage. Russia is targeted by
tariffs because it’s the lowest cost
producer and the weak ruble is
seen as an “unbeatable advantage,”
he said.
Data from China on Friday
showed that mills were still
churning out supplies. Output
in July was higher than the
same month a year earlier, and
over the first seven months of
2017, nationwide production
was down just 0.5 per cent. The
country accounts for about half of
worldwide output.
Dumping Disputes
The World Trade Organization
said in July that it has seen a
“significant increase” in traderestrictive measures generally,
calling it “the last thing the global
economy needs,” in an online
statement. Complainants have
accused exporters of selling steel
below cost, a practice known as
dumping, to push competitors out
of business and grab market share.
It’s a theme that’s gaining
political
traction.
Donald
Trump, the Republican nominee
for US president, vowed his
administration would ensure
“American steel for American
infrastructure” in a June speech
outside of Pittsburgh, known as
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l A U G U S T 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
11
Steel protectionism
goes global as few
can survive low price
Steel City before the industry collapsed
decades ago.
Earlier this month, Chinese and
Russian producers of non-stainless cold
rolled steels were hit by the European
Union with five-year tariffs as high as
36.1 per cent after the EU found that
imports from the two countries unfairly
undercut manufacturers. The US has
also imposed duties on certain hotrolled steel flat products from seven
countries including Australia, Brazil
and Japan.
There’s some evidence that the tariffs
are working, according to ArcelorMittal,
the top producer in Europe and the
US. It said last month that steel prices
recovered in those regions after trade
measures were implemented and the
company reported its best quarterly
profit since 2014.
Steel Sweet Spot
“The US steel companies have clearly
been in a very sweet spot with tariffs,”
said Alon Olsha, an analyst at Macquarie
Group Ltd in London. “The tariffs in
Europe pale in comparison, but there’s
a lot of positive sentiment around the
impact these tariffs could have.”
Chinese producers won’t be hurt
by more tariffs in developed countries
because the majority of exports are
going to nearby Asian countries and
they’re seeking new business in Africa
and the Middle East, said Kevin Bai,
a Beijing-based analyst at consultants
CRU Group.
For Russian producers, low
production costs mean they’re able to
make money despite tariffs because they
can reroute shipments to more distant
markets, according to Chuyko.
However, the duties pose a risk in the
long term, according to Peter Archbold,
Senior Director at Fitch Ratings Ltd.
If steelmaking costs increase, which
could happen if the rouble strengthens
and energy costs rise, then Russian
producers may need to idle some
production capacity that serves export
markets, said Chuyko of BCS Global
Markets.
‘Definitely Worrying’
“Growing protectionism is definitely
worrying,” said Dmitry Kolotilov, head
of trading policy at Severstal PJSC, the
fourth-largest Russian steelmaker. “It
limits the access to traditional markets.”
The extra duties are unfair to
Russian producers and in some cases,
the investigations violate WTO rules,
Kolotilov said.
Severstal is using legal measures to
protect its rights and has also focused
on more advanced products that aren’t
targeted by tariffs, he said.
In India, officials took extra steps
this month to insulate domestic mills.
Regulators added two months to a
programme imposing
minimum
import prices and an anti-dumping tax
will be levied on hot-rolled flat steel
products from China, Russia, Japan,
Korea, Brazil and Indonesia.
“The trade war in the global steel
industry is hotting up,” according to a
research report from Investec Plc.
“It is difficult to see where this will
end, but former major steel producers
such as the US and UK have to decide
if they wish to maintain a domestic
steel industry or whether they wish to
become totally dependent on imported
steel.”
— Bloomberg
US refiners reap rewards from Latin American fuel shortage
T
he
Latin
American
refinery bust has proved
to be a boon for US fuel
makers.
From Brazil’s Petroleo
Brasileiro SA to Mexico’s Petroleos
Mexicanos, state oil companies have
failed to complete nine projects worth
at least $36.4 billion that would have
supplied 1.2 million barrels of gasoline
and diesel daily. US refiners have stepped
up to help fill the gap, with exports
almost doubling in the past six years,
according to the US Energy Information
Administration.
Falling oil prices, high levels of debt
and failure to find partners to help
finance the plants are among the reasons
cited by Pemex, Costa Rica’s Refinadora
Costarricense de Petroleo SA and
Colombia’s Ecopetrol SA for postponing
their plans. Brazil’s Petrobras has been
slowed by the price drop as well as a
corruption scandal.
“Refinery investment plans in the
region have really fizzled out over the
past year or so,” Mara Roberts, a BMI
Research analyst based in New York,
said in an email. “Latin America is keen
to take in growing US supplies.”
US exports to the region have been
rising steadily and reached a record 1.88
million barrels a day this year. Latin
America now accounts for 42 per cent
of America’s fuel exports, up from 38
percent a decade ago. US fuel output
increased 4.1 per cent over two years to a
record 19.9 million barrels a day in 2015,
EIA data show.
Companies including Valero Energy
Corp, Marathon Petroleum Corp and
US exports to the region
have been rising steadily and
reached a record 1.88 million
barrels a day this year. Latin
America now accounts for
42 per cent of America’s fuel
exports, up from 38 per cent
a decade ago.
PBF Energy Inc have boosted the
operating rates of their refineries, and
with US domestic demand growing
more slowly, the outlet to Latin America
is helping sop up excess fuel supply. The
utilization rate was at 93.3 per cent in
the week ended July 29, the highest since
November.
Buoyed by cheap oil and gas
from shale formations, US refiners
increased runs and invested in export
terminals, said John Auers, Executive
Vice President of Turner Mason & Co,
“It’s a hand and glove situation,”
a Dallas-based consulting firm. Latin
America is an “obvious” destination for Auers said. About 25 per cent of Latin
the US fuel because of its proximity to America’s fuel demand is currently met
the Gulf Coast and the delays in building by the US, he said.
A vessel carrying gasoline or diesel
refineries there, he said.
“We have a competitive advantage
going to Mexico and South America,”
Gary Simmons, Valero’s Senior Vice
President of supply and international
operations, said on the company’s July
26 earnings call.
US refiners are facing competition
from Europe, the Middle East and
Asia, where exports are surging. Brazil
imported diesel from China and Hong
Kong in May for the first time in at least
five years.
“Certainly we are seeing stray
barrels from the Middle East coming
into LatAm, and we could see more if
European distillate demand deteriorates,
but US Gulf Coast refiners are wellpositioned to take advantage of LatAm
demand growth,” Andrew Echlin, a New
York-based analyst with Energy Aspects
from the Gulf Coast can deliver to Ltd.
Petrobras has ended up with four
Mexico in two days compared with
at least 15 for a cargo coming from unfinished refinery projects amid the
slump in oil prices and a corruption
European rivals.
scandal that broke in March 2014
‘Competitive Advantage’
when police arrested a former refining
chief, accusing him of involvement in a
pay-to-play scheme. The former chief,
Paulo Roberto Costa, was found guilty
of money laundering and is currently
under house arrest after agreeing to
cooperate with the investigation.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the
US benchmark, rose 1 percent to $43.92
a barrel at 12:33 pm Singapore time.
Halting Work
Brazil’s state-controlled energy
company halted construction of two
300,000-barrel-a-day refineries, the
Premium I and Premium II plants. It
stopped work on the 165,000 barrel-aday Comperj petrochemical complex
and postponed an expansion of the
Abreu e Lima refinery.
In response to a request for
comment, Petrobras said decisions on
the construction of new refineries will
be announced as part of its next five-year
investment plan.
It didn’t disclose when that
announcement will be made. Ecuador’s
ministry of strategic sectors, which is
in charge of the project to build the
new Pacifico refinery, didn’t return
calls and emails seeking comment.
Valero, Marathon and PBF declined to
comment.
Pemex shelved plans to build the
300,000-barrel-a-day Tula Bicentenario
refinery and is seeking partners to
operate its six existing plants after posting
15 consecutive quarterly losses. Last
year for the first time Mexico imported
more gasoline than it produced. Pemex
declined to comment on plans for future
or existing refineries.
— Bloomberg
international
business
S AT U R DAY l A U G U ST 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
‘•Š‹„ƒ•™‹‰•–‘’”‘ϐ‹–
‘Š‘‡ƒ’’Ž‹ƒ…‡•ƒ”
TOKYO: ‘•Š‹„ƒ•ƒ‹†‘”‹†ƒ›‹–•™—‰–‘ƒ’”‘ϐ‹–‹–Š‡’”‹ŽǦ
—‡“—ƒ”–‡”ǡ–Šƒ•–‘…‘•–…—–•ƒ†–Š‡•ƒŽ‡‘ˆ‹–•Š‘‡ƒ’’Ž‹ƒ…‡
„—•‹‡••Ǥ
Š‡˜ƒ•–…‘‰Ž‘‡”ƒ–‡ǡ™Š‹…Š‹•–”›‹‰–‘–—”–Š‡’ƒ‰‡‘ƒ
‡„ƒ””ƒ••‹‰ ƒ……‘—–‹‰ •…ƒ†ƒŽǡ •ƒ‹† ‹– „‘‘‡† ƒ ‡– ’”‘ϐ‹– ‘ˆ
͹ͻǤͺ„‹ŽŽ‹‘›‡ȋ̈́͹ͺͲ‹ŽŽ‹‘Ȍ‹–Š‡“—ƒ”–‡”ǡ”‡˜‡”•‹‰ƒͳʹǤ͵„‹ŽǦ
Ž‹‘›‡‡–Ž‘••ƒ›‡ƒ”ƒ‰‘Ǥ
‘•Š‹„ƒƒŽ•‘‡’–‹–•ϐ‹•…ƒŽ›‡ƒ”–‘ƒ”…Šˆ‘”‡…ƒ•–•—…Šƒ‰‡†ǡ
™‹–Š–Š‡‰”‘—’‡š’‡…–‹‰ƒͳͲͲ„‹ŽŽ‹‘›‡‡–’”‘ϐ‹–‘•ƒŽ‡•‘ˆͷǤͳ
–”‹ŽŽ‹‘›‡Ǥ
‘…‡ ’”‘—† ’‹ŽŽƒ” ‘ˆ …‘”’‘”ƒ–‡ ƒ’ƒǡ ‘•Š‹„ƒ Šƒ• „‡‡ „‡Ǧ
•‹‡‰‡† „› ’”‘„Ž‡•ǡ ‘•– ‘–ƒ„Ž› ƒ ’”‘ϐ‹–Ǧ’ƒ††‹‰ •…ƒ†ƒŽ ‹
™Š‹…Š„‘••‡•ˆ‘”›‡ƒ”••›•–‡ƒ–‹…ƒŽŽ›’—•Š‡†•—„‘”†‹ƒ–‡•–‘…‘˜Ǧ
‡”—’™‡ƒϐ‹ƒ…‹ƒŽ”‡•—Ž–•Ǥ
ƒ’ƒǯ•ƒ–‹‘ƒŽ’‡•‹‘ˆ—†‹•ƒ‘‰–Š‡†‹•‰”—–Ž‡†‹˜‡•Ǧ
–‘”••—‹‰‘•Š‹„ƒǡ™Š‹…Š•ƒ™‹–••–‘…Ž‘•‡ͶͲ’‡”…‡–‘ˆ‹–•˜ƒŽ—‡
‹–Š‡™ƒ‡‘ˆ–Š‡•…ƒ†ƒŽǤ— AFP
ƒŽƒ›•‹ƒǯ•‡…‘‘‹…
‰”‘™–Š•Ž‘™•–‘Ͷ’…
Business Briefs
Business Briefs
Business Briefs
Business Briefs
Business Briefs
Business Briefs
12
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
KUALA LUMPUR: ƒŽƒ›•‹ƒǯ• ‡…‘‘‹… ‰”‘™–Š ‡ƒ•‡† ‹ –Š‡ •‡…Ǧ
‘†“—ƒ”–‡”ǡ–Š‡…‡–”ƒŽ„ƒ•ƒ‹†‘”‹†ƒ›ǡƒ––”‹„—–‹‰–Š‡•Ž‘™Ǧ
†‘™–‘ƒ†‡…Ž‹‡‹‡š’‘”–•ƒ‹†•—„†—‡†‰Ž‘„ƒŽ†‡ƒ†Ǥ
Š‡ ‡…‘‘› ‰”‡™ ͶǤͲ ’‡” …‡– ›‡ƒ”Ǧ‘Ǧ›‡ƒ” ‹ –Š‡ ’”‹Ž –‘
—‡’‡”‹‘†ǡ…‘’ƒ”‡†™‹–ŠͶǤʹ’‡”…‡–‹–Š‡ϐ‹”•–“—ƒ”–‡”ƒ†ͶǤͻ
’‡”…‡–‹–Š‡•‡…‘†“—ƒ”–‡”‘ˆʹͲͳͷǤ–‹•ƒŽƒ›•‹ƒǯ••Ž‘™‡•–”ƒ–‡
‘ˆ‡š’ƒ•‹‘•‹…‡ƒͳǤͳ’‡”…‡–…‘–”ƒ…–‹‘‹–Š‡–Š‹”†“—ƒ”–‡”‘ˆ
ʹͲͲͻ†—”‹‰–Š‡‰Ž‘„ƒŽϐ‹ƒ…‹ƒŽ…”‹•‹•Ǥ
Dz‡•’‹–‡ –Š‡ •–”‘‰‡” ‡š’ƒ•‹‘ ‹ †‘‡•–‹… †‡ƒ†ǡ ‰”‘™–Š
™ƒ•™‡‹‰Š‡††‘™„›–Š‡…‘–‹—‡††‡…Ž‹‡‹‡–‡š’‘”–•ǡdzƒ
‡‰ƒ”ƒ•ƒ‹†Ǥ
‡”‰›Ǧ‡š’‘”–‹‰ ƒŽƒ›•‹ƒ Šƒ• –Š‡ –Š‹”†ǦŽƒ”‰‡•– ‡…‘‘› ‹
‘—–Š‡ƒ•–•‹ƒǡ„—–Šƒ•„‡‡‰”ƒ’’Ž‹‰™‹–ŠˆƒŽŽ‹‰‘‹Ž’”‹…‡•ƒ†
™‡ƒ ‘˜‡”•‡ƒ• †‡ƒ† Ȅ †‡–‹‰ ”‡˜‡—‡• ƒ† ’—––‹‰ •‡˜‡”‡
’”‡••—”‡ ‘ –Š‡ ”‹‰‰‹–Ǥ Š‡ …‘—–”› Šƒ• ƒŽ•‘ „‡‡ ”‘…‡† „› ƒ
ƒ••‹˜‡ ϐ‹ƒ…‹ƒŽ •…ƒ†ƒŽ ƒ‹† ƒŽŽ‡‰ƒ–‹‘• –Šƒ– „‹ŽŽ‹‘• ‘ˆ †‘ŽŽƒ”•
™‡”‡•–‘Ž‡ˆ”‘ƒ•–ƒ–‡‹˜‡•–‡–ˆ—†ˆ‘—†‡†ƒ†‘˜‡”•‡‡„›
–Š‡’”‹‡‹‹•–‡”Ǥ— AFP
ƒ’ƒ–‘ˆ—†̈́ʹǤͶ„
”ƒ‹Ž™ƒ›‹Š‹Ž‹’’‹‡•
MANILA: ƒ’ƒ‘”‹†ƒ›ƒ‘—…‡†‹–‹•’‘—”‹‰ƒƒ••‹˜‡̈́ʹǤͶ
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‹Žƒǯ•‘–‘”‹‘—•‰”‹†Ž‘…Ǥ
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…‘‡…–ƒ‹Žƒ–‘‡ƒ”„›—Žƒ…ƒ’”‘˜‹…‡–‘†‡…‘‰‡•––Š‡…ƒ’‹Ǧ
–ƒŽƒ†Š‡Ž’•’—”‡…‘‘‹…ƒ…–‹˜‹–›Ǥ
DzŠ‹• ‹• ‘‡ ‘ˆ –Š‡ „‹‰‰‡•– ’”‘Œ‡…–• ƒ’ƒ Šƒ• ‡˜‡” ‡„ƒ”‡†
—’‘ —•‹‰ –Š‡ ›‡ Ž‘ƒǡdz ƒ•ƒ–‘ Š–ƒƒǡ †‡’—–› ’”‡•• •‡…”‡–ƒ”›
ˆ‘”ƒ’ƒǯ•ˆ‘”‡‹‰‹‹•–”›ǡ–‘Ž†”‡’‘”–‡”•‹ƒ‹ŽƒǤ
Dzƒ‹Ž™ƒ›•ƒ”‡‘‡‘ˆ‘—”ˆ‘”–‡•ǤǤǤ‡•›’ƒ–Š‹•‡™‹–Š–Š‡‹Ž‹’‹Ǧ
‘•–Šƒ––Š‹•‹•ƒ’”‘Œ‡…––Šƒ–‡‡†•–‘„‡†‘‡˜‡”›ǡ˜‡”›“—‹…Ž›Ǥdz
Š–ƒƒ •ƒ‹† ƒ’ƒ ™ƒ• ƒŽ•‘ ‘’‡ –‘ „—‹Ž†‹‰ ƒ ”ƒ‹Ž™ƒ› ‹ –Š‡
•‘—–Š‡””‡‰‹‘‘ˆ‹†ƒƒ‘ǡƒ’”‘Œ‡…–Š‹Ž‹’’‹‡”‡•‹†‡–‘†Ǧ
”‹‰‘—–‡”–‡Šƒ†’”‡˜‹‘—•Ž›•ƒ‹†Š‹ƒ‘ˆˆ‡”‡†–‘ˆ—†Ǥ
Š‡ Š‹Ž‹’’‹‡• Šƒ• •‘—‰Š– –‘ •–”‡‰–Š‡ –‹‡• ™‹–Š ˆ‘”‡”
‘”Ž† ƒ” ˆ‘‡ ƒ’ƒ ƒ• ‹– ˆƒ…‡• ƒ –‡•‡ ƒ”‹–‹‡ †‹•’—–‡ ™‹–Š
‡‹Œ‹‰‘˜‡”–Š‡‘—–ŠŠ‹ƒ‡ƒǤ— AFP
Asian stocks head for best week
in month as Wall Street gains
TOKYO: Asian stocks headed for the largest weekly
gain in a month, following US equities higher, as a
rebound in crude oil buoyed energy producers and
Hong Kong shares extended a world-beating rally.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1 per cent to
139.17 as of 4:10 pm in Hong Kong, near a one-year
high and taking gains this week to 2.5 per cent. Japan’s
Topix index capped its best week in a month and
foreign buying sent Indian shares toward the longest
stretch of weekly advances since March. Hong Kong
equities reached the highest level since November after
earnings topped estimates and investors shrugged off
disappointing Chinese economic data.
“As long as US shares continue to rally, equity
markets will remain stable,” Michael McCarthy, Chief
Market Strategist in Sydney at CMC Markets, said
by phone. “The rally looks sustainable. What we’re
looking at is a climb into the wall of worry into the
year-end, with elevated risks given these abnormal
monetary conditions.”
After a choppy start to the year, the Asian
benchmark gauge climbed 23 per cent from a February
low through Thursday, shrugging off the effects of
Britain’s vote to leave the European Union as central
banks unleash further monetary easing while data
spurs confidence in the world’s largest economy.
Wagers on the Federal Reserve hiking borrowing costs
this year linger below 50 per cent.
The S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average
and Nasdaq Composite Index all closed at all-time
highs on Thursday for the first time in 16 years as
retailers Macy’s Inc and Kohl’s Corp posted earnings
that beat analyst estimates. Oil headed for its steepest
weekly advance since April amid speculation informal
OPEC talks next month may lead to stabilization
measures after prices tumbled into a bear market.
The Topix advanced 0.6 per cent on Friday as Japan
shares resumed trading after Thursday’s holiday. The
measure rose 3.4 per cent this week as the yen held
losses. India’s S&P BSE Sensex headed for a third
weekly increase as foreign funds have been net buyers
for 24 days in a row, the longest stretch since Prime
Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014.
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.8 per cent as CK
Hutchison Holdings Ltd climbed after earnings beat
estimates. The measure has surged 14 per cent in
the past three months, the most among major global
benchmark gauges, amid an improving interest-rate
outlook and signs of stability in the city’s property
market.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of
mainland shares traded in Hong Kong surged 1.4
per cent, extending gains for a seventh day. The
Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.6 per cent as
stake purchases by China Evergrande Group fuelled
A man walks past electronic quotation boards displaying share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (L) and the
foreign exchange rate between the yen and the US dollar (R) in Tokyo yesterday. — AFP
Oil extends gains in Asian trade
SINGAPORE: Crude prices rose in Asia on Friday, extending overnight gains after Saudi Arabia’s oil
minister hinted producers could agree to limit production.
Rumours have been circulating that global producers are mulling a deal to freeze output to help
stabilise the market. Prices entered a “bear” market last week, falling more than 20 per cent and closing
below $40 a barrel for the first time since April.
Khalid al Falih was reported as saying on Thursday that an informal meeting of Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) countries next month would be the occasion for producers to
discuss “any possible action”.
Prices soared more than four per cent on Thursday in reaction to the minister’s comments, which
were seen as a positive development in a market grappling with a supply glut.
At around 0730 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in September was up 25
cents, or 0.57 per cent, at $43.74 and Brent crude for October added 12 cents, or 0.26 per cent, at $46.16
a barrel.
The rebound follows a drop in prices earlier this week after official US data showed a jump in crude
inventories, taking by surprise investors who expected a drawdown in supply.
A monthly report from Opec also showed Saudi Arabian oil production was at nearly 10.5 million
barrels per day in July — a record high, above peak levels seen the same time last year.
But markets remain cautious, after meetings earlier this year failed to agree on any production ceiling
as key crude producers preferred to fight for market share. — AFP
optimism that the pace of merger activity in the
property industry will accelerate.
Taiwan’s Taiex index added 0.2 per cent, Australia’s
S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.4 per cent and New
Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.1 per cent.
South Korea’s Kospi index increased 0.1 per cent
and Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.1 per cent.
Vietnam’s VN Index slid 0.7 per cent, paring gains this
week to 4.5 per cent, the most since October.
— Bloomberg
Wall St banks ask Fed for five more
years to comply with Volcker rule
WASHINGTON: Big Wall Street banks are asking the
US Federal Reserve to grant them an additional fiveyear grace period to comply with a financial reform
regulation known as the Volcker rule, people familiar
with the matter said.
If the Fed agrees, the extension would give banks
more time to exit fund investments that are difficult to
sell, but no longer allowed by the law.
The added grace period, which follows three oneyear extensions, would start next year and run through
2022. The law on Volcker rule implementation
says banks can ask for an extra five-year extension
for “illiquid” funds, where banks had contractual
commitments to invest.
In deciding whether to grant Wall Street more
leeway, the Fed has asked banks to provide details on
their specific investments to prove that they fall under
the statutory definition of “illiquid,” said the people,
who requested anonymity to discuss non-public
regulatory discussions.
Those seeking the extension include Goldman
Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase &
Co and some other banks, the sources said.
They are making their push in part through Wall
Street lobbying group the Securities Industry and
Financial Markets Association.
Congress intended to provide “an appropriate
transition period” so that banks could exit illiquid
funds without disrupting markets, SIFMA added.
The banks and the Federal Reserve declined to
comment.
The Volcker rule, named after former Federal
Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, is part of the sweeping
2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law.
It aims to reduce risk-taking by preventing banks
from using their own capital to make speculative bets.
Critics say its many loopholes — with exemptions
for activities like merchant banking and foreign
The skyline of lower Manhattan is seen as people lay on the grass in Brooklyn Bridge Park in the Brooklyn
borough of New York City. — Reuters
exchange trading — have made it less effective than it
was intended to be.
“It’s laughable that the biggest, most sophisticated
financial firms in the world claim they can’t sell the
stakes year after year,” said Dennis Kelleher, CEO of
non-profit Better Markets.”Everyone else in America
has to comply with the law and Wall Street should also.”
TOUGH CALL: The Fed has already granted three
one-year extensions for compliance with a broader
provision of the Volcker rule regarding stakes in hedge
funds and private equity funds — the maximum
number of extensions it could provide in that context.
The new requests, which were widely expected,
concern only “illiquid” fund investments.
The Fed risks criticism for giving Wall Street more
wiggle room, but also risks blame for fire-sale losses
or for banks and their investor clients getting tied up
in court if they are forced to exit certain contractual
agreements quickly.
Before the crisis, big banks had proprietary trading
desks that made bets on market direction, as well as
in-house hedge funds, investments in external hedge
funds and co-investments alongside clients in internal
private-equity funds. — Reuters
SATURDAY | AUGUST 13, 2016 | DHUL QA’ADA 9, 1437 AH
sport
PHELPS WRITES NEW PAGE WITH FOUR WINS IN SAME EVENT P14
Rio Games
MEDALS TABLE
1
United States
16
12
10
38
2
China
11
8
12
31
3
Japan
7
2
13
22
4
GBR
6
6
6
18
5
AUS
5
5
6
16
6
KOR
5
3
4
12
7
GER
5
3
1
9
8
HUN
5
1
1
7
9
RUS
4
8
8
20
10 ITA
3
6
4
13
11
FRA
3
4
5
12
12
KAZ
2
2
3
7
13 NED
2
2
2
6
14
THA
2
1
1
4
15 ESP
2
0
1
3
15 SUI
2
0
1
3
17
2
0
0
2
18 NZL
1
5
0
6
19 CAN
1
2
5
8
20 SWE
1
2
1
4
21
BEL
1
1
1
3
21
BRA
1
1
1
3
21
SLO
1
1
1
3
24 COL
1
1
0
2
24 SVK
1
1
0
2
24 VIE
1
1
0
2
27
POL
1
0
2
3
27
TPE
1
0
2
3
29 CZE
1
0
1
2
29 GRE
1
0
1
2
31 ARG
1
0
0
1
31 FIJ
1
0
0
1
31 IOA
1
0
0
1
31 KOS
1
0
0
1
31 ROU
1
0
0
1
36 RSA
0
3
1
4
37 PRK
0
2
2
4
38 DEN
0
2
1
3
38 UKR
0
2
1
3
CRO
40 AZE
0
2
0
2
40 INA
0
2
0
2
42 GEO
0
1
1
2
42 LTU
0
1
1
2
44 IRL
0
1
0
1
44 MAS
0
1
0
1
44 MGL
0
1
0
1
44 PHI
0
1
0
1
44 TUR
0
1
0
1
49 EGY
0
0
2
2
www.omanobserver.om
editor@omanobserver.om
SPAIN, LITHUANIA WIN FOLLOWING BOMB SCARE P15
CORONATION COMPLETE
AS BILES WINS ALL AROUND GOLD
US gymnast Simone Biles celebrates after the women’s individual all-around final of the Artistic Gymnastics at the Olympic Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. — AFP
A
s Simone Biles stood locked in
a tight embrace with her team
mate Aly Raisman, waiting for
her final score to come up on
the big screen, the concerned look in her
eyes suggested she had no idea who would
be crowned Olympic all around champion.
The American, however, was the only
one still in the dark in the brightly lit Rio
Olympic Arena on Thursday as the hollering
cheers and standing ovation that greeted
her final tumbling pass on the floor exercise
confirmed what everyone knew long before
the judges’ verdict came up -- Biles was the
new champion.
When a stupendous score of 15.933
confirmed she had beaten Raisman by 2.100
points with a total of 62.198, the coronation
that had been in the planning stages ever
since she won the first of a record three
successive world titles in 2013 could finally
take place.
Then the woman who had remained stoic
throughout the previous two hours as she
showcased her jaw-dropping skills across
four apparatus, finally let her guard down
and burst into tears.
As the realisation hit home that she
finally owned the biggest individual prize in
the sport, the crowd saluted a gymnast who
had just become the first woman in 20 years
to win the Olympic all-around title as the
reigning world champion.
“Every emotion hit me at once so I was
just kind of a train wreck,” Biles said after
scooping a second gold in Rio following her
success in the team final on Tuesday.
“Everything was going through my head
but mainly it was like I had finally done it
and when that hits you, you can’t really stop
the emotions.”
For Raisman, claiming silver with a
total of 60.098 meant redemption after she
suffered a gut-wrenching disappointment
to miss out on the bronze four years ago to
Russia’s Aliya Mustafina on the tiebreak rule.
This time, the American was all smiles as
she stood one step higher than Mustafina on
the podium.
“After the tiebreak of 2012 it was very
heartbreaking and now coming back and
‘Moscow Nights’ saves Russia’s day in Rio
R
ussian Aliya Mustafina’s graceful floor
routine to the tune of “Moscow Nights”
saved the day for the former gymnastics
powerhouse by landing her a bronze medal at the
all-around women’s finals on Thursday.
Mustafina came in with a total of 58.665 points,
miles away from Americans Simone Biles and
Aly Raisman, but a terrific score when compared
with her unfortunate Russian compatriot Seda
Tutkhalian, who tumbled down the standings from
fifth to third last after a horror show on the floor.
Long resigned to the fact no one would beat
the sensational Biles, Mustafina instead rejoiced
in her bronze -- the same medal she collected in
London 2012. “I’m happy with this day. I feel proud
for my country,” a smiling Mustafina told reporters
through an interpreter in reference to her Russianaccented choreography.
While Biles and Raisman wow with their
athletic prowess and sky-high whirls, Mustafina fits
the more traditional Soviet-era mould of dancerlike gaits and moves.
The Soviet Union won eight successive women’s
team golds between 1952 and 1980, but in recent
years Russians have slipped off the podiums as
American gymnasts have taken a stranglehold of
the sport. Still, Russia’s women’s team pocketed
silver at the team finals on Tuesday.
Mustafina, who turns 22 next month, was coy
about whether she would be aiming for the 2020
PAKISTAN ATTEMPTING TO BUILD LEAD IN FOURTH TEST P16
finally having that redemption after four
years of working so hard and five times
of trying in the all around final at world
championships and the Olympics, it’s really
special to finally be on the podium,” she said.
FREE SPIRIT
But she was under no illusion which
medal she had been aiming for.
“No one goes in thinking they can beat
Simone. People don’t go in thinking they can
beat Usain Bolt either. It’s kind of the same
thing.”
As far as Biles was concerned, she is
incomparable.
“I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael
Phelps, I’m the first Simone Biles.”
Many reigning world champions before
Biles have tried to conquer the Olympics,
Roque, ‘Best boxing coach in
the world’ who has won it all
T
Olympic Games in Tokyo.
“I will think about it when I have a rest after
these Olympics, I’ll go to the gym and I will think,”
she said, wearing her Russian team sweatshirt.
Error-prone team mate Tutkhalian, for her part,
lamented thinking too much after falling off the
beam.
“I had been thinking about it and I was upset,”
said Tutkhalian.
“And on the floor I have fallen because I was
upset after my fall on the beam. During the floor
exercise, I don’t know, I didn’t have the strength any
more. I don’t understand why.”
In a gasp-inducing floor routine, Tutkhalian
sat down and fell on her back following her first
tumble, stumbled on her spin and then bumped
her head on her third tumbling pass.
Still, Tutkhalian, a 1 metre 42 dynamo who
only just turned 17, has plenty of days ahead to
represent Russia.
“I feel very sad that she made these mistakes on
her last two apparatus, but she is very young and
she has everything in front of her,” said Mustafina.
— Reuters
only to crumble under the weight of
expectation -- thus becoming victims of
what in gymnastics circles is known as the
“curse of the world champion”.
But rather than being crushed by the
hype, Biles is such a free spirit that she simply
soared higher and higher on Thursday with
a dazzling floor performance that will live
long in the memory of those lucky enough
to be in the Rio Olympic Arena.
Biles earned 15.866 on the vault, 14.966
on the asymmetric bars and 15.433 on the
balance beam.
On the floor, her explosive tumbling
passes -- which included her trademark
soaring double layout with half twist at the
end -- had the Brazilian crowd on their feet
as her sassy moves were choreographed to
hip-swinging Samba beats.
Biles’ triumph made her the fourth
successive American to win the title -following the successes of Carly Patterson,
Nastia Liukin and Gabby Douglas -- which
is the longest winning streak by a country in
the Olympic discipline.
Biles and Raisman completed a one-two
finish for the second time for the U.S. after
Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson won gold
and silver respectively in 2008.
It was also the first time since 1992 that
both the men’s and women’s all around
champions were members of the gold medal
team at the same Olympics. — Reuters
he name Peter Roque Otano probably won’t mean much even to
most boxing fans.
But the Cuban is one of the most successful amateur boxing trainers in history, spanning a five-decade career
that started in his homeland
and currently finds him in
Azerbaijan, via numerous other countries
including the United
States.
He says he has won
more than 500 medals, including numerous Olympic golds and
world championships, and
he is the man behind some of
the finest Cuban boxers of recent
times.
Team USA called him “the best coach
in the world” when it snapped him up in
2012. Roque, who was once coach of his
country’s national team and later defected, is at the Rio Olympics on just his latest
assignment, masterminding Azerbaijan
to what he hopes will be more glory for a
young, unheralded team.
Like many Cubans, he does not wish
to discuss what lay behind his reasons for
leaving the country. But talk to him about
his many successes in boxing and Roque’s
soft features open up.
Asked by AFP what his secret to boxing success was, Roque, who started boxing aged eight, said: “My whole
life has been dedicated to
boxing. You need dedication. Sometimes you even
need to forget your family if you want to be successful.
“I have 46 years
teaching and learning. But I need to keep
learning. We have a young
team here, but they learn
from me -- and I from them.”
The rest of the amateur boxing
world also wants to draw on his rich experience, and he has visited more than
70 countries to give seminars and train
young fighters.
“When you meet so many people, with
so many cultures and different food, it
opens your eyes and the breadth of your
knowledge, and everything you learn is
applicable in your work, in your life,” he
says, speaking in his native Spanish.
— AFP
Murphy gets US backstroke double
14
Ryan Murphy completed a backstroke double and extended
a US winning streak on Thursday, adding the Olympic men’s
200 metres gold to the 100 title he won earlier in the week.
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R D AY l A U G U S T 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
M
ichael
Phelps
of the United
States won the
Olympic
200
metres individual
medley on Thursday to capture the
22nd gold medal of his career and
become the first swimmer to win
the same event at four consecutive
Games.
Japan’s 400 IM champion Kosuke
Hagino won silver and Wang Shun
of China took bronze, both moving
dramatically through the field on the
final length after turning in fifth and
seventh place.
It was yet another extraordinary
swim for Phelps, 31, who has now
won two individual and two relay
golds at his fifth Olympics, two years
after coming out of retirement.
His medal haul has now risen to
26, including two silvers and two
bronzes, with the 100 butterfly final
still to come on Friday. Thirteen of his
golds have come in individual races,
the rest in relays.
“Right now I don’t know how to
wrap my head around that. I don’t
know what to say. It’s been a hell of a
career,” Phelps told reporters, while
acknowledging the strain on his
31-year-old body.
“That hurt a lot... my body is in
pain, my legs are hurting, I’m tired.”
Despite winning four golds in
London in 2012, Phelps has said he
was dissatisfied with his preparation
and results there and wants to bow
out on his own terms.
“The biggest thing for me through
the meet so far is I’ve been able to
kind of finish how I wanted to. I’ve
been able to come back and I’ve been
able to accomplish things that I just
dreamt of,” he said.
“GREATEST EVER”
He was lauded by the Rio crowd,
with one banner proclaiming “Phelps
Greatest Olympian Ever”. At the
medal ceremony he swayed slightly
and breathed deeply, his eyes moist, as
he listened to the US anthem.
Phelps then raised his arms to
salute the crowd as fiancee Nicole
cradled their baby son Boomer in the
stands. There was little time to savour
the moment, however, as he raced
back off the pool deck to get ready for
the semi-finals of the 100m butterfly,
which he also has the chance to win
for a fourth successive Games.
He finished second in his semifinal to qualify fifth fastest for Friday’s
final.
In the medley, Brazil’s Thiago
Pereira went off fastest, leading from
Phelps after the butterfly leg, with
Ryan Lochte of the United States and
Hagino neck-and-neck just behind.
With the Rio crowd’s excitement
mounting, the three turned almost
together after the backstroke, with
Lochte just 0.01 seconds ahead.
Phelps led from Pereira and Lochte
at the final turn and powered on as the
other two faded, opening the way for
Hagino and Wang to grab the two
other medals.
Phelps clocked one minute, 54.66
for a comfortable winning margin of
1.95 seconds.
— Reuters
PHELPS
Chang sparkles
for South Korea
writes new page in Games history
S
22
Gold
2
Silver
2
Triple gold medallist Ki,
favoured to clinch back-toback individual titles, was
off her best but recovered
to defeat Mexico’s Alejandra
Valencia 6-4 in the bronze
playoff. Valencia had shaken
up the tournament earlier by
thrashing wayward world
number one Choi 6-0 in the
quarter-finals, leaving the
Korean to weep in anguish
as she was escorted from the
arena by her coach.
That left South Korea’s
proud record in Ki and
Chang’s hands and the pair
fought a thrilling duel for the
right to protect the legacy.
As gusts of wind buffeted
the terraces, Chang drew her
final arrow needing an eight
to topple Ki but hammered
it into the innermost gold
circle for 10 to close out
their match 7-3. In the
final, Chang never wavered
despite the most difficult of
shooting conditions.
The devout Christian
exhaled as her final arrow
scored a winning nine before
hugging her coach.
— Reuters
DEFIANT EFIMOVA SAYS
TIRED OF DOPE QUESTIONS
A
Bronze
Underwater view shows USA’s Michael Phelps
taking part in the Men’s 100m Butterfly
Semifinal in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. — AFP
outh Korea’s Chang
Hye-Jin stepped out
of compatriot Ki Bobae’s shadow before
fending off a brave challenge
from German Lisa Unruh to
claim the women’s individual
archery gold medal at the
Rio Olympics on Thursday.
The least fancied of
three formidable Koreans
in the draw, the 29-year-old
Chang upset champion Ki
in a nerve-jangling semifinal but ensured the title
remained in South Korean
hands for an eighth time in
nine Olympics.
On a cool, blustery day
at the Sambadrome, Chang
stood firm in the titledecider, nailing two perfect
scores of 10 in the decisive
fourth set to close out the
match 6-2 and send her
country’s fans into a frenzy.
“After winning over Ki ...
I felt a lot of responsibility
for South Korea, so I felt I
should do my best to win
this final,” said Chang, who
also won the team title with
Ki and Choi Mi-Sun on
Sunday.
defiant Yulia Efimova said she was tired of answering questions about her past doping suspensions
and defended her right to compete in the Olympics,
where she claimed her second breaststroke silver medal on
Thursday.
“On one occasion I made a mistake... I won in the courts
and I don’t think I have to answer these questions any more,”
the Russian told a news
conference
alongside
gold medallist Rie Kaneto of Japan, who beat her
in the 200 metres final.
With two past doping
suspensions, Efimova,
bronze medallist in the
event in London 2012,
was initially excluded
from the Rio Games but succeeded in a last-minute appeal
to sport’s highest tribunal to be allowed to compete.
“They considered my appeal and I won. If someone likes
it or dislikes it, if they have a different opinion then they just
have to go in front of the Court of Arbitration,” she said.
Comments by US swimmer Lilly King describing Efimova as a drug cheat set up a tense clash in Monday’s 100
breaststroke final, in which the American defeated the Russian, followed by an awkward news conference.
Distraught after that race, Efimova was all smiles on
Thursday as she was presented with her medal.
— Reuters
Fraser makes most of golden Rio Games opportunity
A
ustralia’s Marcus Fraser
made the most of a
golden
opportunity
taking a three shot first
round lead as golf made
a subdued return to the Olympics after
112 years on Thursday with the sport’s
biggest names and fans staying away.
There were tears and fireworks
during some superb golf at the Gil
Hanse designed course carved into the
Marapendi Nature Reserve.
The only thing missing were
spectators with half the 12,000 tickets
for the opening round going unsold
and only 3,100 passing through the
turnstiles.
Adilson da Silva, the only Brazilian
in the field, was given the honour of
striking the opening tee shot, receiving
a smattering of applause from the sparse
early morning crowd. He later broke
down in tears recalling how growing up
he made clubs out of tree branches.
While da Silva provided the
emotional moment of the day, Britain’s
Justin Rose delivered the
fireworks, carding the
first ever hole-inone in Olympic
competition when
he aced the parthree 191-yard
fourth hole.
The man of the
moment, however,
was Fraser who only
found his way onto
the Australian team when
world number one Jason Day,
2013 Masters champion Adam Scott,
Marc Leishman and Matt Jones all
declined Olympic selection.
The 38-year-old journeyman took full
advantage of his good fortune mixing
nine birdies with a single bogey for an
Olympic course record eight-under 63.
“Very rarely do you get to represent
your country,” said Fraser, who plays
primarily on the European Tour. “I feel
very fortunate to be in this position.
“Right now I have the Olympic
record. That’s pretty cool. This is one of
the best rounds I’ve ever played, given
the circumstances.”
The
expected
celebration
surrounding golf ’s reappearance on the
Games programme fell flat after the
world’s four top-ranked players — Day,
Americans Dustin Johnson and Jordan
Spieth and Northern Irishman Rory
McIlroy — opted out over the mosquitoborne Zika virus.
Sitting three back from Fraser in Rio
was British Open champion Henrik
Stenson of Sweden and Graham DeLaet,
who opened defence of the gold medal
won by Canadian George Lyon at the
1904 Summer Games, with a five-under
66.
One shot further adrift are Rose,
Belgian Thomas Pieters, German Alex
Cejka, Frenchman Gregory Bourdy and
Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello.
“If you look at the leaderboard loads
of people are in contention,” said Rose.
“I always like to take the leader out of it
in my mind because you never know if
they are going to continue and I’m right
there with the rest of them.”
The US team had a rough start, with
Matt Kuchar leading the way with a twounder 69 and the three other members
failing to crack par. Patrick Reed was
on 72, twice Masters champion Bubba
Watson 73 and Rickie Fowler 75.
Da Silva, who had the small galleries
firmly in his corner, overcame a jittery
start to card a respectable one-over 72 to
stay on the fringe of medal contention.
“We used to cut branches in the
shape of a golf club,” said Da Silva, tears
dripping off his face. “Just before the tee
off my head was everywhere, don’t goof
this, don’t make a scene.
“It’s such a big deal you know. All my
friends are talking about it saying it’s
such a nice thing to do.”
And for all the worries about Zika,
there was more talk on Thursday of the
threat from capybaras, the world’s largest
rodent, and caimans, a kind of alligator,
that roam the course.
“Still lower numbers than we are used
to but a lot more passionate, energetic
crowd,” said Rose. “This is competition
at the highest level and what I live for.”
— Reuters
Ethiopia’s Ayana shatters WR
Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana smashed the world record to win
the Olympic 10,000 metres title on Friday, blowing away the
competition in one of the greatest ever long-distance races
at the Games.
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R D AY l A U G U S T 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
Spain, Lithuania win following
BOMB SCARE
S
pain tipped off in an
eerily empty arena
due to a bomb scare
but the 2012 silver
medallists finally showed
up on the court for an allimportant first Olympic
basketball win on Thursday.
After last-second losses
in their first two games,
Spain got past Nigeria 96-87
in a match-up of desperate
winless teams, led by 16
points from veteran centre
Pau Gasol.
In other Group B action,
Argentina and Lithuania
showed why they will
both be tough to beat
in the knockout phase,
with Lithuania, now 3-0,
emerging 81-73 victors.
In one of the betterplayed contests so far,
forward
Mindaugas
Kuzminskas had 23 points
on 9-of-13 shooting as the
big and quick Lithuanians
disappointed a deafening
crowd of Argentine fans.
But there were virtually
no fans on hand as Spain
and Nigeria tipped off in
the 16,000-capacity venue in
Rio’s Olympic Park.
Security forces delayed
fans entering to stage
an apparent controlled
explosion of a suspicious
item just outside.
“We heard the explosion.
We didn’t know exactly
what it was. We just kind
of looked around and said,
‘What’s going on?’” said
Gasol.
“We thought maybe
nobody came to watch the
game.”
Spain also got a scare
from the African underdogs, who led by a point
after three periods, fuelled by an eventual 13
three-pointers including seven from red-hot
shooting guard Chamberlain Oguchi.
But balanced scoring down the stretch
from Spain’s veteran Olympians helped
them dodge a potentially fatal third loss.
Spain, number two in the world, was
bridesmaid in the past two Games to
the powerful USA squad of NBA
stars.
“Nigeria just kept battling us,
but we were able to get out of
it. That was the first step in the
right direction,” said Gasol, who
moves from the Chicago Bulls to
the San Antonio Spurs for the
coming season.
Spain, 1-2, still must
face both the tough
Argentines
and
Lithuania
in
its remaining
pre l i m i n a r y round games.
N i g e r i a
dropped
to
0-3.
Furious
finish Lithuania
led Argentina
30-27 after a
low-s c or ing
first half, but it
was a different
story after that.
15
Manu Ginobili, a four-time NBA champ
with the Spurs, scored 12 of his team-high 22
points in the first four minutes after the break
and Argentina went on to grab a 42-40 lead.
Both sides continued to pour in the buckets
and the score was repeatedly tied down the
stretch as the vocal fans from neighbouring
Argentina went crazy.
But the Lithuanians were too strong
especially on the glass, grabbing 51
rebounds to 29.
“The game was tough and especially
the crowd helped them a lot but we stayed
focused. It wasn’t a panic and in the end we
won,” said Kuzminskas.
An electric atmosphere awaits on Saturday
when Argentina faces Olympic hosts — and
longtime football rivals —Brazil, which upset
Spain earlier in the week.
Brazil will be smarting after losing 8076 in the day’s early game to Croatia, which
was led by Bojan Bogdanovic’s 33 points. The
United States is overwhelming favourite to
take a third straight gold medal and opened
by routing China and Venezuela.
But Australia made them work for a 98-88
win on Wednesday that dented their aura of
invincibility.
The Spain-Nigeria game was unaffected by
the security scare and spectators were allowed
in soon after the detonation. Arena officials
declined comment.
There have been at least three controlled
explosions of suspect items in Rio since the
Olympics started. One was near the finish
line of the cycling road race on Saturday.
— AFP
Chinese swimmer Chen
fails doping test: Xinhua
Fearless Harrison revels in second gold
T
China’s Chen Xinyi competes in the
Women’s 100m Butterfly heat at the Olympic
Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. — AFP
BEIJING: Chinese Olympic women’s swimmer
Chen Xinyi tested positive for a banned substance at
the Rio Olympics on August 7, state media said on
Friday citing the country’s swimming association,
the latest doping scandal to mar competition at the
Games.
Controversies over doping overshadowed
the build-up to Rio and, far from dying down as
events got under way, have flared anew as US and
Australian competitors have branded their Russian
and Chinese rivals as drug cheats.
Chen, 18, failed a test for the diuretic
hydrochlorothiazide and has applied to the
International Olympic Committee for a hearing
to look into the matter, state news agency Xinhua
cited the Chinese Swimming Association (CSA) as
saying. The CSA has required Chen to cooperate
with the investigation, Xinhua said.
“If the assertion is true, the CSA will earnestly
implement anti-doping regulations and safeguard
legal interests according to law,” Xinhua cited an
unnamed CSA official as saying in a statement.
“The Chinese Swimming Association resolutely
opposes the use of banned substances, will actively
cooperate with the investigation by the Court of
Arbitration for Sport, and respect its final ruling,”
the official said.
Hydrochlorothiazide, known as a masking
agent, is a banned substance because it can be used
to spur weight loss and cover up the presence of
other illegal drugs by diluting urine collected in
doping tests. The World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA) said in March that it would investigate
allegations that Chinese swimming covered up
positive tests ahead of Olympic trials.
China which topped the medals table at the
2008 Beijing Olympics and came in second at the
2012 London Olympics behind the United States,
has said it holds a zero-tolerance approach to
doping and had taken “all necessary measures” to
ensure that its athletes are clean.
Chen finished fourth in the women’s 100m
butterfly final on Sunday, and was scheduled to
swim in the 50 freestyle heats on Friday in Rio.
“It wasn’t quite perfect, but there are no regrets
after trying one’s hardest,” Chen wrote on her
official microblog on Monday after her latest race,
her only post this year. “Go team China!” she said.
Doping controversies have plagued this year’s
swimming competitions after Australian Mack
Horton called his rival and fellow Olympic
swimming gold medallist Sun Yang a “drug cheat”,
and US gold medallist Lily King criticised Russia’s
twice-banned swimmer Yulia Efimova. — Reuters
he list of multiple-gold medallists
in judo may be short but American
Kayla Harrison never had any
doubt that she would successfully
defend her Olympic title.
At the Rio Games on Thursday, Harrison
defeated France’s Audrey Tcheumeo to become
the first judoka to win two gold medals in the
women’s — 78kg category, creating a legacy as
one of the sport’s all-time greats.
“I think it’s really hard to repeat as an
Olympic champion, I think it’s one of the
hardest things you can do,” Harrison told
reporters, lauding the job her coaches Jimmy
Pedro and his father “Big Jim” did in getting
her battle-ready.
“They pushed me to the point where when
I showed up today, I knew that I had worked
harder than everyone and no one was going to
take it away from me.”
Fearless — like the name of the foundation
she founded to support sexual abuse survivors
like herself — Harrison came out aggressive
from the get-go and surged her way towards
the final, shrugging off boos from a partisan
crowd that was hoping for a gold for her
longtime rival Mayra Aguiar of Brazil.
A final between Aguiar and Harrison, who
held a 9-8 edge in their head-to-head record,
would have been a dream match-up, but the
Brazilian lost in the semi-finals and they never
did meet on Thursday. Instead, the 26-yearold American faced Tcheumeo in the clash for
gold. Ahead on only penalties with seconds to
go, she got her French opponent to submit on
a hold for a match-ending ippon.
There has been much speculation over
whether Harrison will compete in mixed
martial arts but she declined to discuss her
post-judo future in the immediate wake of her
triumph.
“I’m just going to live in the moment and
be Olympic champion,” said Harrison, whose
gold in London was the first by an American
judoka. But she left little doubt about whether
she would continue in judo.
“I’m happy, I’m retiring. Two-time Olympic
champion, that’s it.”
Aguiar and Slovenia’s Anamari Velensek
went on to take bronze.
Tcheumeo’s silver, along with Cyrille
Maret’s bronze in the men’s — 100kg on
Thursday, marked the third judo medal for
France in Rio, but they remain without gold
going into the final day of competition.
In the other men’s medals, Lukas Krpalek
of Czech Republic claimed gold, Azerbaijan’s
Elmar Gasimov won silver and Japan’s
Ryunosuke Haga won the other bronze.
— Reuters
c c et
cricket
sport
16
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l A U G U ST 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
FOURTH TEST: Pakistan batsmen dug in for their task from the start of the second day’s play trailing by 325 runs after resuming at 3/1
Pakistan attempting to build lead with Shafiq
FROM ANDY JALIL AT KIA OVAL
LONDON: Pakistan were having to
battle hard in the fourth Test in reply to
England first innings of 328 with Asad
Shafiq playing a major role in seeing
his side to 217 for three and trailing by
111 runs shortly after tea. At the time
of this report going to press, Shafiq was
unbeaten on 90 and Younis Khan was on
35 in an unbroken stand of 90.
Pakistan batsmen dug in for their
task from the start of the second day’s
play trailing by 325 runs after resuming
on 3 for one. The nightwatchman Yasir
Shah stayed on for over an hour with
his 26 runs helping to take the score to
52 before Steve Finn had him edging
to Joe Root at second slip. He had
been fortunate earlier when Alex Hales
dropped a straightforward catch at gully
off the bowling of Stuart Broad.
In a reshuffled batting order, Asad
Shafiq came in at number four, a position
normally occupied by the experienced
Younis.
Pakistan needed to rebuild the
innings and the two batsmen of much
promise, Azhar Ali and Shafiq settled
into a cautious partnership. Despite
being quite defensive they were quick
to pick the balls to score of with quick
singles as well as the bigger shots for
England’s Alastair Cook speaks with Pakistan’s Azhar
boundaries.
Ali as they leave the field at stumps. — Reuters
Shafiq had opened his account with a
four off Finn and soon took two fours in
an over off Chris Woakes who had been taken his wicket in that same over but been just as poor as Pakistan’s in the which was taken on 97 for two, had given despite getting both his hands to the ball.
brought on in a double bowling change James Anderson, at third slip, missed a England innings on the first day.
Finn a chance with a return catch which He had hit Finn for two fours in the over
along with Finn. England might have difficult chance. England’s catching had
Azhar, on 35, shortly before lunch, the lanky pace bowler could not hold before being dropped. Azhar moved on
Smith wants Australia
batsmen to ‘reinvent’ game
to avoid whitewash
COLOMBO: Captain Steve Smith
believes Australian batsmen will have
to “reinvent” their game to avoid
a whitewash in the third and final
test against Sri Lanka beginning on
Saturday.
The hosts have already clinched the
series after back-to-back victories at
Pallekele and Galle, with their spinners
laying bare spin frailties of the tourists
whose number one test ranking is at
stake.
As they brace for another trial
by spin, this time at the Sinhalese
Sports Club Ground, Smith spelled
out what it would take to thwart the
likes of Rangana Herath and Lakshan
Sandakan.
“Looking at this wicket it looks like
it’s going to take a fair bit of spin from
day one,” Smith said on the eve of the
match.
“So you have to be proactive in the
way you play. You’ve almost have to
reinvent your game to be successful on
these surfaces.
“In Australia, you don’t get balls
that are turning like they are here
and skidding on, everything’s pretty
consistent. So it’s finding a way, I guess,
and getting outside your comfort zone.”
Left-arm spinner Herath has been
the tormentor-in-chief, while left-arm
Chinaman bowler Sandakan troubled
them in Pallekele, while off-spinner
Dilruwan Perera claimed 10 wickets at
Galle.
Australia were yet to name their
Looking at this wicket it
looks like it’s going to take a
fair bit of spin from day one.
So you have to be proactive
in the way you play. You’ve
almost have to reinvent your
game to be successful on
these surfaces
STEVEN SMITH,
Australia skipper
playing XI but Smith acknowledged his
team would have to find a way to score
runs against the hosts’ formidable spin
attack.
“It might be about sweeping, or
coming down the wicket or getting
deep in your crease,” said Smith, who
managed 120 runs in four innings to
remain the team’s leading scorer in the
series.
“Sometimes it’s easy to do in the
(practice) nets and when you get out in
the middle there are guys around the
bat, there’s the pressure of the match
and it’s a whole different ball game.
“It’s just having the courage and faith
to sometimes take a risk you may not
take in Australia, and different ways
of thinking to get around different
situations.
— Reuters
to 44 with fours in consecutive overs off
Broad and his last scoring shot was a
waft over the slip cordon off Anderson
which took him to 49.
Pakistan’s fourth wicket stand of
75 came to an end when Azhar, in
attempting a sweep off Moeen Ali,
gloved a catch to the wicketkeeper.
England’s appeal for the catch had
been turned down but their request for
a review was successful. Shafiq at that
stage was on 40, he had got to 39 when
he came down the pitch to hit Moeen
for six. He reached his 15th Test half
century, from 75 balls, steering the offspinning all-rounder to third man for
his seventh four.
Shafiq
formed
another
fine
partnership with Younis with the fifty of
the stand coming in 66 balls and while he
played his shots freely, Younis was more
watchful. Shafiq played two powerful
cuts for four to point and backward
point in an over from Finn taking his
score to 69 and at tea, with him on 79,
Younis on 26, in a stand worth 69 at
that point, Pakistan were 196 for three,
trailing by 132.
SCOREBOARD
England first innings: 328
Pakistan first innings: (O/n: 3/1):
S Aslam lbw Broad3
A Ali c Bairstow b Ali49
Y Shah c Root b Finn26
A Shafiq (batting)79
Y Khan (batting)26
Extras (B-8, LB-2, W-1, NB-2)13
Total (For 3 wkts, 57 overs)196
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-52, 3-153.
Bowling: Anderson 14-5-37-0, Broad 11-3-33-1,
Finn 13-1-43-1, Woakes 11-2-36-0, Ali 8-0-37-1.
Mourinho claims United are contenders
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom:
Jose Mourinho insisted on Friday that
Manchester United will be contenders
for the Premier League title in his first
season in charge at Old Trafford, and
criticised some of his rival managers
for not being brave enough to make the
same claim.
United have not won the league
title since Alex Ferguson’s last season
at the club in 2013, with David Moyes
and Louis van Gaal both failing to
mount a challenge during their spells as
managers. Finishing fifth in the Premier
League last season signalled the end of
Van Gaal’s two-year stay, but Mourinho
clearly expects to do far better and
has not been frightened to make his
intentions clear.
Mourinho — who won the title three
times in his two spells as manager of
Chelsea — said: “We feel that we are
candidates to win the title.
“We know that not one or two or
three more than that have the same
ambitions. We cannot speak differently.
We want to fight for the title.
“If at the end of the season we are not
champions because someone is better
than us then great, that’s football.
“But at Manchester United Football
Club you cannot say differently, we have
to fight for the title.
“Many more think the same way
as us but they are afraid to say it. They
prefer to play a defensive game in words.
“They prefer to say or to hide or
to play defensively with the words,
that’s not our way. I don’t think that’s
Manchester United. I think Manchester
United has to say we want to win the
title.
“We have all the respect for the
others and maybe we don’t win, maybe
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, Marouane Fellaini and Luke Shaw before the game. — Reuters
we arrive end of season and are happy
to finish top four. It depends on how the
season goes.
“But in this moment when I speak
to you, I speak to my players too, and I
cannot speak differently.”
Key suspensions United will begin their title challenge
at Bournemouth on Sunday without
world-record signing Paul Pogba,
who must serve a one-match ban for
collecting two yellow cards playing for
Juventus in last season’s Coppa Italia.
Pogba, who cost United £89m
($115.3m) to bring back to Old Trafford
for a second spell, may not have been
match-fit, having only completed
his protracted transfer last Monday,
although Mourinho admitted he was
not aware of the ban until two days ago.
Mourinho added: “I don’t speak
about suspended or injured players. I
speak about the ones that are ready to
play.
“I forget about Paul for a few days
and on Tuesday he will be ready to
(prepare) to play versus Southampton
(next Friday).
“I knew this situation with the yellow
cards but I didn’t know at that time if
the accumulation of yellow cards would
bring a player to suspension.”
Defender Chris Smalling also
misses United’s opening game through
suspension after being sent off in last
season’s FA Cup final.
But Mourinho has an otherwise fit
squad to select from. And the former
Real Madrid and Inter Milan coach said
the number of wide players he has at his
disposal was behind his decision to loan
Adnan Januzaj to Sunderland, and not a
falling out with the player.
“He fits in my plans, that’s why he’s
on loan and that why he’s on loan at a
Premier League club,” said Mourinho.
“If he doesn’t fit in my plans we don’t
care about which club and where he’s
going. We just send him to Borussia
Dortmund where he didn’t play one
match.”
— AFP
England’s Hales fined for umpire dissent
Australia’s captain Steven Smith (left) gestures while talking with coach Darren
Lehmann (right) during a training session at The Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC)
Ground in Colombo. — AFP
LONDON: England opener Alex Hales
has been fined for showing dissent after
confronting the third umpire following
his first-innings dismissal in the fourth
Test against Pakistan, the International
Cricket Council said on Friday.
Nottinghamshire batsman Hales was
given out for six on Thursday’s first day at
The Oval when he clipped Mohammad
Amir and Yasir Shah, diving forward in
front of the square leg umpire, claimed
a low catch.
Hales stood his ground and on-field
umpires Marais Erasmus and Bruce
Oxenford called on replay official Joel
Wilson for assistance.
After several minutes studying
seemingly inconclusive pictures, West
Indian official Wilson decided there was
not enough evidence to overturn his onfield colleagues ‘soft signal’ of out and
Hales had to go, with England 23 for one
in the seventh over.
Hales shook his head as he walked
off but an ICC statement issued on
Friday said he had been punished for his
conduct towards Wilson after he had left
the field.
An ICC statement said that after he
had been given out, Hales “visited the
third umpire’s room and questioned the
decision”.
The ICC statement added: “He also
made some inappropriate comments as
he was leaving the room.”
Hales was fined 15 per cent of his
match fee, a punishment equating
to £1,500 ($1,947, 1,739 euros), by
match referee Richie Richardson for
breaching article 2.1.5 of the ICC code
of conduct which relates to “showing
dissent at an umpire’s decision during an
international match”.
After Thursday’s play, Hales admitted
the offence and accepted the sanction
proposed by Richardson, a former West
Indies captain.
As such, there was no need for a
formal hearing.
It is understood that Hales will be
spoken to by England team management
regarding his conduct towards Wilson
and his decision to post a tweet showing
a photograph of the disputed catch.
All level one breaches of the ICC code
carry a minimum penalty of a warning/
reprimand and/or the imposition of a
fine of up to 50 per cent of the applicable
match fee.
— AFP
SATURDAY | AUGUST 13, 2016 | DHUL QA’ADA 9, 1437 AH
www.omanobserver.om
editor@omanobserver.om
OKINAWA’S
snakeskin banjo stands test of time
Q DANIEL LEUSSINK
E
normous
python
skins
hang from a wire inside the
sweltering workshop where
Seibun Nakamine sculpts a
piece of Okinawa’s musical
identity.
They are essential for the wiry 69-year-old
craftsman who has spent nearly half a century
making the three-stringed sanshin.
The snakeskin-covered instrument,
similar to a banjo, sits at the heart of the subtropical island chain’s rich musical history.
Its contagious, twangy sound is a fixture at
weddings, festivals, and other celebrations.
Sitting on the wooden floor of his tiny
studio, a pair of huge ox horns on the wall
above, Nakamine sees his work as much more
than assembling an instrument which can
take several weeks to make and cost as much
as $5,000.
Crafting a sanshin — which means three
strings in Japanese — from ebony wood is like
giving birth to a child, he said.
“When I sell them to musicians, I feel like
I am marrying off my daughter,” Nakamine
said.
“The art of making the sanshin is based
on really old customs. It’s complex, but very
exciting to do.
“It’s my job to figure out how to craft its
body from the middle with the best possible
balance and in the most beautiful way,” he
added.
Nakamine — who has already chosen the
sanshin music to be played at his funeral — is
part of a dying breed.
He estimates there are only about 50
professional sanshin makers left in Okinawa
these days.
The archipelago, which sits about 650
kilometres
southwest of the Japanese
FOR MANY THOUGH, THE
SANSHIN REMAINS A
POWERFUL REMINDER
OF OKINAWA’S HISTORY,
AND ITS SOULFUL SOUND
CAN MIRROR A VAST
RANGE OF EMOTIONS,
FROM INTENSE SADNESS
TO BUBBLING JOY.
mainland, was once home to the independent
Ryukyu kingdom until it was annexed by
Tokyo in the late 1800s.
For hundreds of years before that,
Okinawa had strong links with China where
a similar three-stringed instrument, the
sanxian, served as a model for what would
become the sanshin and, later, the Japanese
shamisen.
Okinawa, the scene of some of World War
II’s heaviest fighting, became a US colony after
Japan’s surrender in 1945. It was returned to
Tokyo’s control in the early seventies.
‘Shadow warriors’
During the tough post-war years, some
Okinawans resorted to a makeshift version of
the instrument made out of a piece of wood
and tin can.
“Playing the sanshin was a comfort and
helped to relieve the stress,” said musician
Tatsuo Chinen in the capital city Naha that
specialises in sanshin music.
But Chinen thinks the sanshin is not only
an instrument of the past.
“There are many young people who are
now interested in this instrument,” he added.
For many though, the sanshin remains a
powerful reminder of Okinawa’s history, and
its soulful sound can mirror a vast range of
emotions, from intense sadness to bubbling
joy.
Sometimes that joy translates into
islanders opting to play sanshin music —
or listening to a performance — instead of
working, Nakamine joked.
“It’s my opinion, but if you ask me,
Okinawans like fooling around,” he says.
The sanshin has now crossed over into
other more pop and rock-like musical styles
among Okinawan bands. And so Nakamine
tries to match what he creates to the voice and
musical style of his clients.
“If you try to determine the sanshin’s
sound when it’s done being made, you’re
already too late,” he added.
“That won’t answer a customer’s needs.”
The craftsman’s sun-wrinkled hands are
a hot commodity and his order backlog can
sometimes stretch back more than 10 months.
But it’s not his opinion of the work that
counts most, Nakamine said.
“The musician judges whether a sanshin is
good or bad,” he said.
“As craftsmen, we do our best to make a
great instrument. But in the end we’re only
(working) in the shadow of the musician.
“We’re shadow warriors.”
— AFP
international
features
18
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l A U G U ST 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
culturelifestyle
Torch festival
shines on
in Chinese
hill country
S
Woman
dressed in
traditional
Yi costumes
waiting to perform
at the Torch Festival in
Xichang. — AFP
urrounded by green
hillsides and fluttering
flags, young women
wearing silver headdresses
and colourful costumes
filed onto the stage,
dancing hand in hand as sounds of
singing filled the valley.
For centuries, the Yi people of
southwestern China have celebrated
their biggest holiday of the year, the
torch festival, over three days during
the sixth lunar month.
Traditionally an occasion for
matchmaking, with young men and
women searching for potential spouses,
the festival has become an occasion for
the Yi to pay maintain their customs
in a time of rapid change in China’s
countryside.
In an effort to boost growth and
lift living standards, Beijing aims to
resettle millions of rural people in
cities in coming years.
Modernisation has already brought
transformation to the remote area of
southwestern Sichuan province where
roughly two million Yi people live, with
a new airport and railroad networks
crisscrossing the hills.
At this year’s festival, an amplifier
blared songs and a stream of
commentary not in the local language
but in Mandarin Chinese.
Spectators watching the festival
wore backward baseball caps and cargo
shorts.
Women with dyed hair snapped
selfies with the girls as they adjusted
their delicate and complex costumes.
At night, revellers and tourists
carried long torches past a tall bonfire
shooting sparks into a rainy sky, and
dreadlocked shamans put themselves
through painful rituals with scorching
hot metal implements.
It increasingly rare for young Yi
people to don the traditional clothes of
their ancestors.
“This is my first time wearing the
full traditional costume,” said one girl
at the festival outfitted in a towering
metal hat.”I really like wearing it. At
other festivals we don’t wear it.”
Some women carried yellow
umbrellas and sported long skirts of
red and gold, others wore tinkling
metal ornaments, embroidered belts,
and hats shaped like chandeliers.
Men paraded in leather helmets
and shields, bearing swords and
staffs, while a troupe of young women
walked together under brilliant yellow
parasols.
Wenze Mochen, 20, said she had
had her costume since she was a
child.”My mother had people make it
for me,” she said.”It usually takes a few
months to make one.”
— AFP
— PHOTOS BY FRED DUFOUR
Edinburgh Festival: World’s biggest annual arts event
Red Kangaroos from Australian circus act ‘Circus Oz’ performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. — AFP
Q JULIETTE RABAT
N
early two months after
Britain shocked the
world by voting to leave
the European Union,
Edinburgh festival is
celebrating the European roots which
have enriched its arts calendar for nearly
70 years.
With its medieval streets animated
by late-night revellers, billboards and
noisy hawkers promoting the latest
shows, Edinburgh’s festival bears a
striking resemblance to one of its most
well-known continental peers — the
annual arts festival held in Avignon in
southeastern France.
But while dance and theatre
dominate the Avignon Festival —
founded in 1947 by French actor Jean
Vilar — its northern cousin hosts artists
from across the cultural spectrum,
including circus, art-house theatre,
musical comedy and cabaret.
In the Scottish capital, the
International Festival and the Edinburgh
Fringe, which is dominated by stand-up
comedy, run alongside one another until
August 29.
When the International Festival was
created, “the idea of a multi-genre arts
festival that we are now very familiar
with was completely unknown,” Festival
Director Fergus Linehan said.
“Rather than being the focus of
celebrating an area or an art form, it was
celebrating internationalism. And to be
honest Europeanism in particular,” he
said.
With a line-up including Italian
opera “Norma”, which honours
Cecilia Bartoli, “Richard III” by
German director Thomas Ostermeier,
and “Shake”, a French adaptation of
Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”, this year’s
festival reflects the European culture
that has nourished its repertoire since it
began shortly after World War II.
The International Festival plays host
to 75 shows in a dozen venues, while the
Fringe hosts over 3,000 shows in 300
venues.
‘Proud to be European’
“The Fringe started off as a kind of
more anarchic, kind of response to the
established thing,” says Shona McCarthy,
Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Fringe
Society.
Artists at Fringe have been given
full license to express their creativity
ever since it was set up in 1947 as
an alternative to the Edinburgh
International Festival.
While the more recognised event
boasts meticulous programming and
strict form, all an artist needs to take
part in Fringe is an idea and a willing
venue.
McCarthy said she hoped Brexit
would not be a barrier to international
participation in the Fringe, which, like
the International Festival, does not
receive any direct EU funding.
Five shows selected by the French
Institute of Scotland include Gogol’s
“Diary of a Madman”, performed
in English by French actor Antoine
Robinet.
The Institute will also host a Turkishlanguage production of Boris Vian’s
“The Empire Builders”, by Theatre Hayal
Perdesi.
And if any doubt remains about
the political leanings of the Scottish
capital — where 75 per cent of voters
opted to remain in the EU — a sign in
the window of the famous Patisserie
Maxime lays it out clearly: “Proud to be
European.”
Linehan said much of the antiEuropean rhetoric heard around the
bitterly-fought referendum ran directly
against the values of the festival. “We
are joined (to Europe) culturally, we
can’t untangle us,” he said.
— AFP
Thai women from the indigenous Akha community of Kelantan state, as
they pose for pictures before a ceremony to celebrate the International
Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in Shah Alam on the outskirts of
Kuala Lumpur. International Day of the World’s Indigenous People is
marked each year on August 9 to promote and protect the rights of the
world’s indigenous population. The event also recognizes the
achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to
improve world issues such as environmental protection. — AFP
books
features
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l A U G U S T 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
19
THE CURSED FATHER
HARRY POTTER AND HIS LAST OUTING?
Q VIKAS DATTA
I
t has been over a week since the
“last” Harry Potter story came,
with the “Boy Who Lived” now
an overworked, middle-aged
father who can’t seem to get
on with his younger, less-gifted
son.
Reaction has been mixed, with some
grateful for the opportunity to revisit the
wizarding world, some unhappy with
its finality, and those critical of content
and/or format.
Which one of these reactions is
justified — and deserved?
At first, it must be appreciated that
Harry Potter and his world still exert
such allure that, nine years after what
was touted as the explosive climax in
2007, the series’ readers, as well as the
next generation, eagerly awaited the new
book. (Most also participated in related
promotional events, which showed the
franchise remains lucrative.)
Meanwhile media coverage was not
limited to the release and reviews, but
to what readers thought, and even the
conversation in queues of waiting fans.
Given the high levels of interest
and expectations, it was evident that
reactions would be fast — and some of
them furious.
But it calls for — and the series
indeed deserves — a more circumspect
approach.
It is indisputable that reading is a
personal and subjective experience.
But still some fairly objective
observations can be drawn as far as
an author’s choice of treatment, the
underlying themes and, what we
can term, lets say, “story fatigue” are
concerned.
And “Harry Potter and the Cursed
Child” is no exception.
Take method.
Readers may have been surprised
to see at the top of the cover a bold
identification of a “Special Rehearsal
Edition Script” and author JK Rowling
(who was identified as originator of
an original story idea) shared credit
with John Tiffany and Jack Thorne
Harry Potter and son in the last
scene of the film adaptation of
the last book in the series.
Harry Potter play tops French
bestseller list... in English
T
Caveat Emptor, as they say.
Even being presented as a play
might have been unprecedented but not
inexcusable.
Readers of the series have been used
to be seeing the action from Harry’s
viewpoint, but the first book itself
(“The Philosopher’s Stone”), as well as
the fourth (“The Goblet of Fire”) and
the sixth (“The Half-Blood Prince”)
see the narrative begin from another
perspective.
Other variants may also be mentioned
to stress that an author has leeway, and
can’t be bound to a certain style on the
basis of precedent.
Then, the entire series has been
adapted cinematically, and it is safe to
say that many more people will have
encountered the Potter world on screen
rather than through the books, while
those who read the books before seeing
the films may admit that the depiction
may not correspond to what they
imagined.
A play, which has sparse space for
description or rumination, definitely has
limitations over a continuous narrative,
but, on the other hand, can be more
focused.
So, those expecting the same format
And thus this style can, quite
as earlier had already been well warned justifiably, claim benefit of doubt rather
— and no one prevented them from than straight condemnation.
peering in to check.
Let’s deal with content itself.
he world’s best-loved
wizard has bewitched
youngsters in France,
where the script of the new
Harry Potter play has topped
the bestseller list... in English.
Over 36,000 Englishlanguage copies of the script
of “Harry Potter and the
Cursed Child” have been sold
in France in the first week,
propelling it to the top of the
Actors playing Harry Potter, his middle child
GFK/Livres Hebdo bestseller
Albus Severus, and wife Ginny Weasley in
list. “Only a Harry Potter
play “The Cursed Child” — IANS
could sell so many copies in
English,” Livres Hebdo, a literary
magazine, said on its website on Wednesday, noting it was the first time a play
had led the Top 20.
“The Cursed Child” was written by Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany, in
collaboration with Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
While failing to match the popularity of the Harry Potter novels it has notched
up record sales for a play in Britain and the United States.
The hero of Hogwarts has also long been a favourite in France — despite the
French having a famously fraught relationship with his native tongue.
The seventh and final novel in the original series, “Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows” sold 200,000 English-language copies in France within two
weeks of its launch in 2007. It went on to sell around 315,000 copies in total.
In the play, which is currently running at a London theatre, the wizard grows
up, marries and has three children.
In the US and Canada it sold more than two million copies in the first two
days. In Britain, it sold more than 680,000 copies during the same period.
The French edition is due out on October 14. — AFP
(whose name was in bolder script but
still dwarfed by Rowling’s). And if you
still didn’t get it, the cover also clearly
announced it was a new play by Thorne.
A diplomat examines
Indian spirituality
Q M R NARAYAN SWAMY
I
Reaction has been mixed,
with some grateful for the
opportunity to revisit the
wizarding world, some
unhappy with its finality,
and those critical of
content and/or format
t is not another
book on spirituality.
A key reason being
the author, when the
book came out, was
a serving diplomat,
India’s ambassador to
Italy and San Marino.
Basant K Gupta
admits he has not
written anything
original.
But he feels it is
vital to repeat and
sharpen the message
in our scriptures in
new forms and plain
language.
And Gupta has succeeded in doing that.
The scriptures say that spirituality is nothing but an
extension of morality or Dharma and remains relevant
to everyone regardless of age and profession.
It is also an integral part of our daily lives.
But the pursuit of spirituality will require harmony
between the body, mind and the soul.
In simple language, Gupta, a versatile exponent of
both the Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana, writes how one
can accomplish it.
The first part of the book covers the genesis of the
Vedas and the six schools of Indian philosophy that
emerged from them.
It also discusses the basic tenets of Vedanta.
The second part introduces the history of the
Mahabharata and the message of the Bhagavad Gita
and extensively brings out the teachings of its 18
chapters. Gupta says that people can resolve their
inner problems and calm their restless mind only by
integrating Dharma into daily life. ”Without inner
peace, outer peace is impossible.
We may change our home or job countless times,
but until we calm our restless, disconnected mind, we
shall never find true happiness.
In order to establish peace within our minds, we
need to relentlessly pursue spiritual paths.”
It is no new message. But Gupta — with his
diplomatic skills — conveys the idea beautifully.
At the outset, it must be known
that the genre of fantasy or encounters
with magic long predate Rowling (an
invisibility cloak and Hermione’s bag
with an Undetectable Extension Charm
to accommodate much more than its
size, can be found in Urdu dastaans
like “Amir Hamza” and “Tilism-eHoshruba”).
What sets her works apart, and
appealing to even adult readers, is that
its themes are more serious than the
choice of young protagonists would
indicate, including class and race,
heredity and ability, choices and their
consequences, loyalty, and the prospect
of death, among others.
Then time travel, which plays a key
role in “The Cursed Child”, is always
a tricky subject, because there are no
guidelines as to what changes in the
future intervening in the past may lead
to and how permanent the effects may
be.
Then “story fatigue”: Would we
welcome further adventures of an older
and less interesting Harry, constantly
compared with the previous ones, or
thought the plots were becoming stale?
There is no bar on new cycles — Rick
Riordan has done it with his Greek
demigod Percy Jackson — but it is
always touch and go.
So what conclusion do we come to?
We can consider this part of the canon,
which it has good claims too, given
how much it is intertwined with books
three (“Prisoner of Azkaban”) and four
(“Goblet of Fire”), or we can consider the
number seven’s epilogue as the definitive
end.
And is it goodbye finally? Rowling has
clearly said so, but did anyone forecast
number eight or seven and a quarter (if
you didn’t like it)? And who knows what
the circumstances are tomorrow?
Adolf Hitler’s short-lived successor
and his contribution
A
dolf Hitler is so identified with the Nazi epoch
that it is commonly thought that his Third Reich
began and ended with him.
It almost did but in the few days between
his suicide and the surrender, Nazi Germany had another
Fuehrer, who had been engaged in efforts to save as many of
his countrymen from a vengeful enemy in the war’s last few
months, and more so when he held power briefly.
But over 70 years after the war, why should this man’s
story interest us? For one, due to its balanced account of how
the Second World War was a more close thing than realised,
and in the immense human suffering it saw, there was a
German leader whose intention was ameliorate it — unlike
his predecessor.
Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, the commander-in-chief of
the Navy, was an unexpected choice to succeed Hitler, over
any top Nazi Party leader or a high officer of the army.
He is also not known like other top military figures like
Field Marshals Erwin Rommel, Erich von Manstein, Gerd
von Rundstedt or General Heinz Guderian, despite his service
(and its specific branch — submarines — which he headed
for most of the war) coming close to defeating the Allies, by
strangling its supply lines.
But what he actually did in the war, why he was chosen as
the head of state, and what he did is a story that is not much
known, and historian Barry Turner tells with flair.
Turner, who terms Doenitz a “deeply enigmatic figure”
among all the military leaders in the war, tries to set his record
straight (though never glossing over negative facets), and in
doing so, give a sense of the confused situation in the war’s
last months.
Starting from the scene in Hitler’s bunker in a battered
Berlin, where the dictator and his newly-wedded wife Eva
Braun have just committed suicide, the author gives a terse
account of the tense developments in that desperate April
1945 which led to candidates like Hermann Goering, Heinrich
Himmler, and others being passed over.
Turner then sketches Doenitz’s life and career right from
his joining the Imperial German Navy
as a cadet in 1910 (aged 18) to the
Second World War.
Also included are the strategic
discussions and debates that ensued in
the run-up (where Turner observes then
commander-in-chief Erich Raeder, who
d
otherwise admired his subordinate and
helped him quite a lot, “could never quitee
at
make the leap in strategic imagination that
nce
was second nature to Doenitz”) and once
it was on, a balanced account of what his
U-Boats accomplished.
rner
But the book really picks up pace as Turner
comes to the reverses that Nazi Germany faced
as the western Allies successfully returned to the
European mainland and in the east, the Soviet
icular,
steamroller gained pace — which in particular,
ath.
meant much trouble for civilians in their path.
It was then Doenitz convinced Hitler to agree
to an evacuation and Operation Hannibal began.
Ever bigger than Dunkirk, this, since its
ought out
beginning in January 1945 to its end, brought
nearly two million civilians and soldiers across the
Baltic, and the story is told here in all its shades of
on.
heroism, courage, cowardice and desperation.
w he, as the
Equally compelling is the story of how
new chief of the country, tried to do the same during
ave as many
the negotiations for surrender, trying to save
soldiers and civilians from the Soviets — though the
Allies soon divined his objective and ended it with the Soviets
getting suspicious of collusion.
It then recounts his fledgling government’s dissolution, his
arrest as a war criminal and trial, imprisonment and life after
release, when he chose to maintain a low profile.
After his death on December 24, 1980 (being one of
the longest-surviving German leaders from the War), the
mourners at his funeral included officers of the German —
and the British Navy, both of whom ignored instructions not
to wear uniforms.
As British Admiral of the Fleet Lord Boyce (First Sea Lord
and Chief of the Naval Staff 1998-2001, Chief of the Defence
Staff 2001-2003), observes in his introduction that the author
produces enough evidence for the reader to decide if Doenitz
played his role in the war “fairly” — it is not a conclusion that
will prove hard to reach. — IANS
entertainment
features
@
20
OMANDAILYOBSERVER
S AT U R DAY l A U G U ST 1 3 l 2 0 1 6
fantasyworld
RIHANNA
to receive MTV’s lifetime
achievement award
R
Robert
Redford
Cast members Bryce Dallas Howard
(L), Oakes Fegley (C) and Oona
Laurence pose at the premiere of the
movie “Pete’s Dragon” in Hollywood.
— Reuters (Inset) Robert Redford.
on magical childhood stories
H
ollywood veteran
Robert
Redford
returns to his
childhood love of
fantasy stories in
“Pete’s Dragon,” a
new Disney film about an orphaned boy
living in a forest and his friendship with
one such creature.
The fantasy adventure is a remake of
the 1977 movie of the same name and
this time movie features a realistic greenfurred computer-generated creation of
the dragon named Elliot.
Redford, 79, known for films such as
“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”
and “Out of Africa”, plays Meacham,
the father of forest ranger Grace (Bryce
Dallas Howard) and the only one other
than Pete (Oakes Fegley) to encounter
the dragon.
You’re seen as this champion of
independent cinema, so what was it
that made you decide to go into this?
This was about a chance to return
to my own childhood experience and
remember times when I was a kid... I
loved stories that had magic in them.
Then you grow out of that as you get
older and you miss it. So this was a
chance to play a role in a film that
allowed me to step back into that time.
How did you imagine the dragon?
Did anyone give you any cues?
No, you really had to imagine the
dragon because all you got when you
were working was a pole with a tennis
ball at the end and that was the dragon
... You had to imagine what the dragon
would look like because it hadn’t been
developed yet.
What do you think this film says
about the environment?
If we keep cutting down trees, if we
keep cutting things away and taking
things away, pretty soon there will be
nothing left to take away. There will be
no planet... I think the film illustrates
the value of something like a forest, the
storytelling values something like an
animal in the forest that no one believes
exists. I think those are very important
things in this day and age because we
become pretty cynical.
So how much would you say you
live the life of someone who keeps
their eyes open?
My eyes are always open. I’m always
looking at what’s beyond or behind what
I’m looking at and also I love using my
imagination. I exercise that because
that’s what storytelling is about. I love
storytelling because I think we’re bred
on storytelling. — Reuters
ihanna will receive MTV’s
lifetime achievement award
at the August 28 Video
Music Awards (VMA) show,
MTV said on Thursday, joining the
likes of Kanye West, Madonna and
Beyonce.
The Michael Jackson Video
Vanguard award is the highest
honour in the video music industry,
and reflects an artist’s impact not
just on music but on pop culture,
fashion, film and philanthropy.
Rihanna, 28, has twice
won the coveted video of the
year at the MTV ceremony
and is an eight-time
Grammy winner with more
than 61 million albums
sold. The “Umbrella” singer
also set up the Clara Lionel
Foundation, which works to
improve health and cultural
services in her home of
Barbados and beyond.
Rihanna will perform at
the ceremony in New York,
where she is nominated for
four VMA’s for her song
“Work” with Canadian
rapper Drake, and her
collaboration
with
Calvin Harris on “This
is What You Came For.”
Rapper West won the
Vanguard award in 2015
and other previous winners
include Michael Jackson,
Britney Spears and Justin
Timberlake.
— Reuters
@bollywood
Archaeology, love and songs,
‘Mohenjo Daro’ already a winner:
Bollywood brings ancient city to life Hrithik
Q SERENA CHAUDHRY
Q SUBHASH K JHA
O
ne of the world’s earliest
cities has been brought
back to life in one of
Bollywood’s newest films,
“Mohenjo Daro”, which re-imagines
life in 2016 B.C. in an Indus Valley
civilisation whose walls, streets and
citadel can still be seen today.
Indian director Ashutosh Gowariker
recreated the city to stage an epic
romance that is also a tale of the fight
between good and evil, in the grand
Bollywood tradition.
“I like telling untold stories and I feel
that about this civilisation, not much
has been said,” Gowariker said.
“I thought, why not weave a story
based on the findings of all these
archaeologists, and try and do it to the
utmost sincerity and honesty. Keep the
fact as much as you can intact, but also
weave in fiction, because only then can a
story be told, and a cinematic story too.”
Mohenjo Daro, in modern-day
Sindh province in Pakistan, is a World
Heritage Site, one of the best preserved
in South Asia where visitors can see a
well-planned city built of unbaked brick
dating back to the beginning of the third
millennium B.C.
From the director of 2002 Academy
Award-nominated
Raj-era
movie
“Lagaan”, and starring acclaimed Indian
actor Hrithik Roshan, “Mohenjo Daro”
is expected to be one of the biggest
movies out of Bollywood this year.
Roshan, who starred in Gowariker’s
2008 hit 16th-century love story “Jodhaa
Akbar”, said he had been relieved to find
the filmmaker was on top form.
“He is just as insane about and
passionate about his films as he was, and
I think he always will be,” said Roshan,
who was injured while performing his
F
or Hrithik Roshan, “Mohenjo
Daro”, is already a winner.
He believes “success” lies
in enjoying doing what you
love and in that sense, the Ashutosh
Gowariker directorial has been
enriching for him.
Hrithik Roshan (L) and Pooja Hegde pose during the promotion of their Hindi film
‘Mohenjo Daro’ in Mumbai. — AFP
own stunts for the film.
now, we’ll be too old to do it at a time in
“Before we started the film... we had the future,” he said.
spoken of this. If he and I don’t make a
“Mohenjo Daro” is released
film like this, then this kind of film will worldwide yesterday.
never be made. And if we don’t do it
— Reuters
Excerpts from the interview:
“Mohenjo Daro” is your first
release in almost two years. Nervous
and anxious?
I’m curious, not nervous or anxious.
I guess because there is enough
experience behind me which has taught
me a few good things about failure and
success. And that true success is actually
enjoying your experience doing what
you love. “Mohenjo Daro” is already a
victory as I have spent my days well on
it.
You went through traumatic
personal problems and health issues
while the movie was being filmed.
Did these problems affect your
performance?
Not at all. The only problem I face
is how to make my day well spent.
The problem is of choosing the right
challenges, taking strong decisions,
making time for loved ones, using any
opportunity to spread more love. So in
that regard, all my problems are positive.
You also injured your leg while
shooting this film. How did that affect
you?
Yes, I did break my ankle and it was
a terrible thing to happen to anyone, but
it just reminds you that anything can
happen in the next second and that if life
can be unpredictable for the worse then
it can also be unpredictable for the best.
Did the setbacks help you grow as
an actor?
It is my lows that keep me very
curious about life, almost like a child
because I know something magical can
happen in the next second and I look
forward to it wide-eyed.
“Mohenjo Daro” is your second
film with Ashutosh Gowariker. Was
there a great understanding between
the two of you this time?
Definitely! This is a man who gave
me a film like “Jodhaa Akbar”. So it was
easy to put my faith in his vision the
second time over. Also, he is a friend
and I value loyalty over anything else.
When you commit to something you
must commit a 100 per cent. And see it
through.
But in “Jodhaa Akbar”, you had
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to romance.
Here you have a newcomer?
For the role of the girl Chaani we
needed someone who was not only
a good actor but also someone who
could portray the simplicity and purity
of those times. Pooja Hegde fit the
role perfectly. She is unafraid of being
vulnerable in front of the camera and
she is not acting to impress people.
How did you reference a character
that goes back 5,000 years?
Whether it’s 5000 years, 3000 years,
present or future, human emotions will
always remain the same. So creating
the character to fit those times was
an exterior exercise, not an internal
emotional one. So in that regard it was
easy.
Have your sons seen “Mohenjo
Daro”?
My family has chosen to watch it
on the big screen on the day of release.
They don’t want to dampen it with a
preview on the smaller screen. So I still
don’t know their reaction.
If you had a chance, what is the one
thing you’d like to change in “Mohenjo
Daro”?
Nothing, once something is out of
your control it’s futile to think back. In
any case, I am proud of the film and
would want to change nothing. I am
grateful and blessed for being given the
chance to do what I love. That is enough
for me.
— IANS