Issue 261 - Oman Tribune

3
Nation
17
Zubair SEC launches
fourth Direct
Support Programme
Business
21
Iran sticks to guns
on oil market
share stand
Leisure
28
Two break US
bird-watching
record
Sports
Serena canters
to record
307th win
C.R. No.: 1/08898/0
Monday September
5 2016 w 3 Dhul Hijjah 1437 w Founder & Chairman: Mohammed Bin Suleiman Al Taie w Editor-in-Chief: Abdul Hamied Bin Suleiman Al Taie w Vol 13 Issue 3 28 pages
omantribune www.omantribune.com 200 baisas
9-day Eid holiday sends airfares sky high
His Majesty condoles
with Uzbekistan leader
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
MUSCAT His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said has
sent a cable of condolences to Nigmatilla Yuldashev, acting President of Uzbekistan, on the
death of President Islam Karimov. His Majesty
expressed his condolences to Yuldashev, the
Uzbek people and the family of the deceased.
IT WILL BE NINE DAYS
away from work in the wake
of the Royal Orders of His
Majesty Sultan Qaboos
Bin Said on the holidays for
Blessed Eid Al Adha holi-
TRA suspends
sale of Galaxy
Note 7
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
THE TELECOMMUNIcations Regulatory Authority (TRA) has suspended the
sale of Samsung Galaxy Note
7. This comes in the wake of
risks posed by fire-prone batteries. TRA said that it would
advise the public if there is any
update on the issue.
Samsung has recalled
this smartphone and halted
their sales in several markets.
It said new sales of the Note
7 in the affected markets will
resume after it deals with replacements, a process that
is expected to begin in two
weeks. The scale of recall has
been unprecedented.
day, making people make a
beeline for air tickets. The
official holidays for employees at the ministries, public
authorities and other state
administrative departments
as also the private sector will
be from September 9 to
September 15. With Sep-
tember 9 and 10 as also 16
and 17 being weekly holidays, work will resume only
on September 18.
Travel agents said the
rush for tickets was highest to Bangkok with Sri
Lanka, Malaysia, Georgia and Istanbul becom-
is also a surge in demand
for tickets to Kerala,” said
Arun Arvind, in charge of
retail and operations at
Fahad Express Travel and
Tourism.
Return air fares to Sri
Lanka were around 300
rials if the trip begins on
Sept 9 or 10 and comes
down to 200 rials on Sept
11 or 12, said Vijay Ojha,
tour manager of Al Hashar
Tourism and Travels. The
lowest fare for Thailand
was 200 rials, Georgia
200-240 rials and Malaysia 220 rials.
Top economists want to
put reforms in fast lane
Optimising resources, wooing private funds get focus
STRONG REFORMS AND
quicker diversification are
imperative for the Sultanate’s development and dependence on oil for revenue
remains a serious matter of
concern, say experts at the
National Programme for
Enhancing Economic Diversification ‘Tanfeedh’.
While there was the need
for a direction to find solutions,
the Sultanate had to ready a
road map for the economy to
overcome the vagaries, they
pointed out at an event held at
the Institute of Public Administration on Sunday.
The Ninth Five-Year Plan
attaches importance to optimising the resources and look
at investment opportunities
so that there is a shift from oil
to other sectors. The Plan policies have been so designed to
allow the private sector play
a leading role in pushing the
economic growth rates.
ADEN/ RIYADH Aden’s oil refinery resumed operations on Sunday, more than a year after the armed
conflict between Yemeni government forces and
rebels brought work to a halt, a spokesman said.
The facility was damaged during months of fighting
in 2015 that raged after the rebels and their allies
attacked the southern port city.
PAGE 5
Chinese flotilla worries Manila
MANILA The Philippines has asked China to
explain the increased presence of Chinese vessels near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the
South China Sea, the defence secretary said on
Sunday, expressing “grave concern”. PAGE 10
May warns of tough times
Storm threatens US Northeast
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON Storm Hermine
churned off the US Middle Atlantic Coast on
Sunday, with forecasters projecting it may regain
hurricane strength as it creeps north, spoiling
the Labor Day holiday weekend.
PAGE 12
Rosberg ends Hamilton ride
ONA
MONZA (Italy) Nico Rosberg pounced on a poor
start by his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton
to win Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza and
cut his championship lead.
PAGE 15
Busaidi and Zarif sign documents of the maritime agreement in Teheran on Sunday.
Oman, Iran seal maritime deal
TEHERAN
INSTRUMENTS
OF
ratification on the delimitation of the maritime border agreement between
the Sultanate and Iran in
LONDON
the Sea of Oman, signed
in Muscat on May 26,
2015, were exchanged
in Teheran on Sunday.
HE Sayyid Hamoud
Bin Faisal Al Busaidi,
Minister of Interior,
15 Yemen
soldiers killed
in Ansar
Allah attacks
ADEN
THINKING
ROBOTS
They are rewarded for correctly categorising the motion data from the original
swarm as genuine, and
those from the other swarm
as counterfeit. The learning robots that succeed
in fooling an interrogator
receive a reward,” he said.
The advantage of the approach -- Turing Learning
– is that humans no longer
need to tell machines what to
look for, according to Gross.
AS MANY AS 15 PROgovernment Yemeni soldiers were killed in rebel
attacks in the north and in a
suspected radical bombing
in Aden on Sunday, military
and security sources said.
Ansar Allah rebels and
their allies launched twin
attacks to try to retake the
port of Midi in the northern
province of Hajja, after loyalists had captured it, military sources said.
“Eleven soldiers were
killed in the attacks and
28 others were wounded,”
a military official said.
Meanwhile, a led coalition
warplanes carried out 15 air
strikes against the rebels to
stop their advance in the
area, military sources said.
Other air strikes hit rebel
positions in Sanaa and other provinces over the past
24 hours, they added.
Press Trust of India
Agence France-Presse
Turing test key to
science, tech
Machines have
‘intelligence’
we put a second swarm –
made of learning robots
– under surveillance too.
The movements of all the
robots were recorded and
the motion data shown to
interrogators.
“Unlike in the original
Turing test, however, our
interrogators are not human but rather computer
programs that learn by
themselves. Their task is
to distinguish between
robots from either swarm.
Aden refinery resumes work
LONDON Prime Minister Theresa May warned
of possible “difficult times ahead” for Britain’s
economy in an interview screened on Sunday as
she sought to build post-Brexit trade ties at the
G20 summit in China.
PAGE 11
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
Machines have ‘brains’
to learn your skills
BRITISH RESEARCHers have discovered that it is
now possible for machines
to learn how natural or artificial systems work by simply
observing them, without being told what to look for.
The discovery, by researchers at the University
of Sheffield, is inspired by
the work of computer scientist Alan Turing, who
proposed a test which a
machine could pass if it
behaved indistinguishably
from a human.
Dr Roderich Gross from
the Department of Automatic Control and Systems
Engineering and Sheffield
Robotics at the University
of Sheffield said, “Our study
uses the Turing test to reveal
how a given system, not necessarily a human, works”.
“We put a swarm of
robots under surveillance
and wanted to find out
which rules caused their
movements. To do so,
ing other destinations of
choice.
“Whenever there are
holidays Bangkok is the
favourite destination and
that is how it is now as well.
There is demand for Georgia and Istanbul, and flights
to London are full. There
signed minutes of the exchange of instruments of
ratification of the agreement on behalf of the
Government of the Sultanate while Mohammad
Javad Zarif, Minister of
Foreign Affairs, signed
on behalf of the Iranian
government.
Busaidi also met Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli,
Interior Minister of Iran.
Oman News Agency
W EATHER
PRAYER TIMING
Fajr
Sunrise
Dhohr
Asar
Maghrib
I’sha
04:34
05:50
12:11
03:38
06:26
07:38
MUSCAT
MAX
32˚C
MIN
26˚C
SALALAH
MAX
27˚C
MIN
26˚C
2
NATION
OMAN TRIBUNE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
Shell Intilaaqah programme to
support Omani entrepreneurs
Transportation, manufacturing and tourism sectors targeted
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
A REVAMPED SHELL
Intilaaqah Programme that
will support Omani entrepreneurs with training,
mentoring and counselling
was launched here at the
Public Authority for Small
and Medium Enterprise
Development (Riyada) office on Sunday.
The launch ceremony was
graced by HE Dr Hamoud
Bin Khalfan Al Harthy, Undersecretary of the Ministry
of Education for Education
and Curricula and Riyada
board member. The launch
included the signing of a
ground-breaking collaboration agreement between
Shell Intilaaqah and Riyada to improve support for
young Omani entrepreneurs
through training, mentoring
and counselling. The agreement was signed by Khalifa
Khalifa Bin Said Al Abri and Chris Breeze sign the agreement.
Bin Said Al Abri, Riyada
CEO, and Chris Breeze,
Shell’s Country Chairman
in Oman.
The launch was also attended by top executives
from public and private sector organisations including
Shell and Riyada.
Based on this agreement,
both parties will collaborate
to provide training, mentoring and counselling services
to entrepreneurs who are
between 20 and 55 years
in age. The programme will
help them start businesses
and grow and develop them.
Among the sectors in focus
are transportation, manufac-
turing and tourism.
Al Harthy said “Public and
private sectors are two wings
of the same body, so development of ties between them
are very necessary. We are
working on developing curriculum in general, including
integrating 21st century
skills and that includes en-
trepreneurship. In addition
we are also developing a
study plan that may provide
opportunities for students to
develop their skills related to
entrepreneurship”.
Al Abri said, “This programme will contribute to
achieving the goals of Riyada
in cultivating the culture of
entrepreneurship and the
support and development
of SMEs in terms of training
and development, especially
in the foundational stages.”
Breeze said, “Shell Intilaaqah will provide world
class training conducted by
Omani trainers and experts
who will be familiar with the
local business environment.
This initiative will also support Omani entrepreneurs
who successfully develop
businesses through the programme by linking them with
potential funding opportunities and other strategic
partners.”
Al Hasani to
visit China
MUSCAT
HE DR ABDULMUNIM
Bin Mansour Al Hasani,
Minister of Information,
will lead a delegation of officials to China on Monday
within the framework of activating international media
exchange and to familiarise
with the Chinese experience in the media sector.
The Minister will hold
talks on media relations
between the two sides
and ways of developing
them. The delegation
will visit several research
centres and official media
institutions, including
the official Xinhua news
agency and other media
and cultural centres.
The visit will also include meetings between
the Omani delegation
and an elite group of officials, intellectuals, journalists and academics to
find broad prospects of
cooperation and share
experiences between the
two sides.
Oman News Agency
Once ready, the school will have a capacity for over 650 students.
ABIS to feature ‘intelligent’
buildings, mobile furniture
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
AL BATINAH INTERNATional School (ABIS) in Sohar is building multiple,
state-of-the-art learning
spaces in a bid to become
the leading international
school in the region.
Co-owned as part of
a visionary ‘non-profit’
joint venture between
Sohar Aluminium and Orpic, the school spaces are
being designed by leading
architects of Fielding Nair
International. The team
has been responsible for
the architectural design of
some of the most innovative
school buildings worldwide, a statement said.
Once completed, at a
cost of approximately 8.3
million rials, the school
will have a capacity for
over 650 students divided
into learning communities
of approximately 150 students each. This is believed
to be the ideal number for
social relationships.
Major hallmarks of the
expansion include intelligent buildings with highquality mobile furniture
that can be easily altered
and adapted according to
the needs of the learner,
an ability to automatically
adjust temperature and
sunlight and immediate
lock-in in the event of a
security issue. In addition
there is a 1:1 iPad programme, enabling students
to easily share their screens
with the many WiFi-ready
LED screens in the school.
Each building’s interior
will be coated in memory
paint allowing students
and teachers to write on
the walls like a regular
whiteboard.
Originally founded in
2007 in a villa in Sohar, the
school has grown steadily
while remaining focused on
its mission to provide the
best international quality
education in the region
for its learners.
ABIS is authorised to
offer the International Baccalaureate Primary Years
programme, its prestigious
diploma programme, as
well as Cambridge University’s IGCSE. The school
has highly-qualified, multinational teachers employed
on the basis of their ability
to drive the mission of the
school forward.
The school’s caring
focus on individuals and
desire to build a close
relationship with its host
country has led to the
most ambitious scholarship
programme in the region.
When fully established,
the Orpic ABIS Assisted
Scholarship programme
will finance the education
of Omani children.
School head Neil Tomalin said, “There are
many great schools that
don’t have our resources.
The most important thing
is to have great teachers,
great students and a great
programme. However, we
believe that if you combine
these things with a great
learning environment,
learning culture, and smart
innovation, you will achieve
something wonderful.”
NATION
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
MOH forum
focuses on
rational
medicine use
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
MORE THAN 60 DOCtors from different governorates took part in the
workshop on rational use
and prescription of medicines, which was organised
by the Ministry of Health
(MOH) on Sunday.
The workshop aimed at
promoting safe and rational
drugs prescription and the
concept of optimal use. It
underlined the problems
arising from random and
irrational drug prescription.
The workshop further put
an emphasis on the fact that
the occurrence of drugs interaction increases with the
increase of the prescribed
medicine in the single prescription. It urged all attended doctors to consider this
while issuing any prescription. The workshop included
a number of lectures that presented the appropriate writing of medical prescription,
safe and rational antibiotics
prescription, and discussed
morbidity management.
The Rational Use of
Medicine Department will
be conducting similar lectures in this field with the
participation of a number of
its staff and of other health
institutions from different
governorates.
OMAN TRIBUNE
Zubair SEC launches 4th round
of Direct Support Programme
Initiative aimed at helping SMEs develop business networks
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
ZUBAIR SMALL ENTERprises Centre (Zubair SEC)
launched its fourth round
of the Direct Support Programme (DSP) under the
auspices of Khalid Muhammad Al Zubair, managing
director of The Zubair Corporation.
During the launch, there
was a performance by the
Capoera Training Centre
and members of Direct Support Programme 2016.
“Small businesses are a
vibrant and growing sector
within the economy. This
sector is expected to play a
significant role in realising
the nation’s economic diversification goals while helping
to create sustainable jobs and
generate new opportunities
for young Omanis,” said Al
Zubair. “Each successful
small enterprise strengthens the economy and in doing so, contributes towards
the sustainable growth of
our nation. We believe that
through collaboration and
partnerships we can achieve
The programme rewards members who prove their commitment towards success.
our national goals and move
ever closer towards a sustainable and prosperous future.
For this reason, and on top
of all the major advisory services it provides, a key aspect
of Zubair SEC’s strategy is
helping small enterprises to
develop business networks
and to cultivate partnerships
with large corporations and
established companies that
also recognise the importance of the small business
sector to the future of our
nation,” he added.
It also included a presentation on the programme,
its selection criteria and
process, the progress it
has witnessed in past three
rounds, and the anticipated
developments for the coming round.
Oasis Logistics also
made a presentation on
the development of the Biladi Mart wholesale project that has been specially
designed and launched as
part of The Direct Support
Programme.
The programme rewards
members who prove their
commitment towards success and dedication in applying the consultancy and
advice provided to them.
Their projects and businesses should also reflect proper
strategic planning and accurate feasibility studies.
Selected members receive
additional direct advisory
and consultancy services
as well as a financial grant
to support their businesses.
The number of beneficiaries of the programme
has reached 28 members
during the previous three
rounds. The geographical demographics show an
increase in the reach of the
programme to cover a good
number of governorates outside Muscat.
The work team of the
programme have further
developed the selection criteria and conditions to be
applied, adding a marked
progress in the quality of
the projects. The criteria
covered the social impact
aspect of each applying
project in an attempt by
the centre to encourage its
members to be aware of this
impact while designing and
running their businesses.
All Omanis are welcome
to apply. Applicants should
have a clear understanding
of the type of business they
have and they need to present a business plan.
Applicants need to be
members at Zubair SEC;
non-members are welcome
to sign up at the centre then
apply for the Direct Support
Programme during the application period.
Zubair will accept new applications from current and
new members to join the
programme and during the
months following the launch
of the fourth round, projects
and the performance of their
owners will be assessed accordingly.
The last date of enrollment is October 20.
3
Malayalam actor
to be felicitated
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
MALAYALAM WING OF
Indian Social Club is to honour leading Malayalam script
writer, producer, director
and actor Renji Panicker
with the prestigious Cultural
Award 2016.
It will be conferred as part
of the wing’s Onam celebrations from September 22 to
24 at the Grand Hall of Al
Falaj Hotel, according to
convener GK Karnaver.
He told mediapersons
that Malayalam Wing has
been honouring eminent
personalities from the film
fraternity every year and
this year it will be Panicker
who besides etching himself a name with his scripts
and directing box office hits
like Bharatchandran IPS
and Roudram, has earned
a name as an actor. Getting
into acting in 2014, Renji in
two years has appeared in 25
Malayalam films.
The celebrations will
commence with a formal inauguration on September
22 by Indian Ambassador
HE Indra Mani Pandey in
the presence of ISC chairman Dr Satish Nambiar and
honorary general secretary
Babu Rajendran.
It is a special occasion for
Malayalam Wing which is
Renji Panicker
celebrating its 20th anniversary and formal inauguration
was done by the Ambassador
and Malayalam veteran actor
Madhu on April 21.
The youth festival as part
of Onam celebrations were
held in May and June and
winners will receive trophies
and certificates on September 23, Karnaver added.
Students of the Indian
Schools in Muscat who had
excelled in Class X Class XII
CBSE examinations will be
presented awards on September 22. A highlight of the
celebrations is a live comedy
and mimicry show by Shaju
Sreedhar and Pandalam Ullas
of Vodafone fame. There will
be a traditional feast on September 24 for 3,500 guests.
As part of the anniversary celebrations, there
will be a play `Radheyan’
conceived and directed by
the wing’s music and drama secretary Sunil Kumar
K on October 28.
Defence minister meets Indian business delegation visits PEIE
adviser to Pakistan PM
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
MUSCAT
HE SAYYID BADR BIN
Saud Bin Harib Al Busaidi,
Minister Responsible for
Defence Affairs, received
in his office at Mu’askar
Bait Al Falaj Sartaj Aziz, the
adviser to the prime minister
of Pakistan on foreign affairs,
on Sunday.
The two sides reviewed
good relations between
the two friendly countries.
They also discussed several
fields of cooperation and
exchanged viewpoints on a
range of matters of common
concern.
The meeting was attended
by the Sultanate’s ambassador appointed to the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan, the
Pakistani ambassador to the
Sultanate and the delegation
accompanying the guest.
Separately, Aziz highlighted the deep-rooted
Oman-Pakistan relations
at a lecture at the Diplomatic Institute on Sunday.
He also stressed the peace
policy adopted by Pakistan
at the national and regional
levels.
He also pointed out that
about 250,000 Pakistanis
are working in the Sultanate. Aziz also called on for
concerted efforts by the
Sultanate and Pakistan to
enhance cooperation in
ports, communications,
parliament, sports, culture
and other fields.
He also underscored improvement of the security
situation in Pakistan after
launching the national counter terrorism plan. This improvement will provide more
investment opportunities for
countries of the region. It
also provides serious opportunity for cooperation and
working together to combat
all challenges before enhancing such cooperation.
At the end of his presentation, he said, “As two
friendly countries, we need
to continue building real
strategic relations that contribute to enhancing peace
in the region.”
Oman News Agency
55K720UW
A BUSINESS DELEGAtion from the Indian state
of Gujarat recently visited
the Public Establishment
for Industrial Estates
(PEIE) with the aim of
getting acquainted with
the investment climate in
the Sultanate in various
fields.
The delegation was
briefed about PEIE, its vision, which is to enhance
the Sultanate’s position as
a leading regional centre of
manufacturing, ICT, innovation and entrepreneurship
excellence. They were also
briefed about its mission in
attracting industrial investments and providing continued support, through
regionally and globally
competitive strategies, good
infrastructure, value adding
services, and easy governmental processes.
The delegation was
briefed on the objectives
of PEIE which comprise
attracting foreign investments to the Sultanate
and localising the national
capital; contributing to
stimulating the private
sector to achieve sustainable economic and social
development.
The delegation was
also introduced to PEIE’s
value-adding initiatives,
which include Origin
Oman Campaign, National Business Centre
(NBC), Industrial Innovation Centre (IIC), Human
Resources Development
Centre, and Communication and Investor Services
Centre.
The delegation aims at getting acquainted with the investment climate in the Sultanate.
4
NATION
OMAN TRIBUNE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
Sohar Islamic extends support
Al Wathbah Academy
graduation held in Sohar to Bahjah Orphan Society
MUSCAT
MUSCAT
BANK MUSCAT, THE
flagship financial services
provider in the Sultanate,
marked the graduation of
the new batch of al Wathbah
Academy in Sohar under the
auspices of HE Sheikh Hilal
Bin Nasser Al Sadrani, Shura
member representing the
Wilayat of Sohar.
Following the success of
the academy programme in
Muscat, the training programme leading to accredited international certification was launched in Sohar
as part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) aimed at equipping
youth and providing SMEs
with self-employment skills
boosting the country’s
progress and development.
Al Sadrani congratulated the
bank for the successful completion of another batch of al
Wathbah Academy in Sohar.
Fatma Al Maskiry, AGM
for SME Credit and Marketing, said: “Bank Muscat is
proud to celebrate the graduation of the first batch of al
Wathbah Academy in Sohar.
The unique initiative benefiting SMEs in Oman will play
an important role in filling
the gaps and empowering
entrepreneurs to chart suc-
SOHAR ISLAMIC - BANK
Sohar’s Islamic banking
window - has extended its
support to the Omani Bahjah Orphan Society for the
third year running.
The latest donation will
help finance the training
of orphaned members in
secretarial and managerial
courses.This donation is
the 14th corporate social responsibility (CSR)
related contribution from
the bank this year.
The donation was handed over to Omani Bahjah
Orphan Society head Ibtihaj Salim Al Yafai, at the
association’s head office
in Salalah by the bank’s
Senior AGM and Head
of Marketing and Customer Experience Mazin
Mahmood Al Raisi in the
presence of Ahmed Salim
Jaboob, Chief Branch Manager Saada branch.
Bank General Manager of HR and Corporate Support Munira
Abdulnabi Macki said,
“Orphans who are ready
to take up a career, may
face obstacles while entering the work force
in terms of not having
received appropriate
The new batch of al Watbah Academy in Sohar during the graduation ceremony.
cessful business ventures.
The academy marks a clear
progression of the welldefined strategy pursued
by the bank in line with the
directives of His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos Bin Said to
support the SME sector. In
light of the business environment in Oman which offers
opportunities and challenges
for the SME sector, the bank
remains committed to creating sustainable employment
opportunities for citizens.”
The academy aims to impart the required skills and
guidance for entrepreneurs
drawn from diverse fields to
embark on successful SME
business ventures. The
eight-month training programme was offered in association with experienced
faculty and consultants, leading to certification by Project
Management Institute.
Abdul Rahman Al Shizawi,
Acting Regional Manager of
North Batinah, said: “The
bank congratulates all the enterprising entrepreneurs who
have successfully completed
the SME training programme.
We appreciate the determination and commitment of the
successful graduates to follow their business dreams by
acquiring the required skills
and knowledge through the
unique programme.”
Said Al Jabri, who spoke
on behalf of the graduating
batch, thanked the bank for
the opportunity. It helped
to focus on key aspects essential to chart successful
business ventures, he added.
The bank’s al Wathbah
SME department offers a
comprehensive suite of tailor-made finance solutions
and non-financial services.
The bank has also
launched a series of initiatives to support women entrepreneurs in Oman. The
bank regularly conducts
workshops and seminars
to equip SMEs to identify
business opportunities and
tackle challenges.
Oman Tribune
Bank officials hands over the donation.
training and education.
Associations such as
the Bahjah Orphan Society plays a vital role in
supporting these young
adults, who may not have
been exposed to many
learning opportunities.
As such, we are glad to
offer them our support
and wish each of these
young women, the best
of luck in pursuing these
courses and we sincerely
wish them a bright and
successful career.”
Al Yafai said, “We are
extremely grateful to So-
har Islamic for its generous support. These courses
that we have prepared for
the students will provide
them with the training they
need to successfully take
up secretarial and managerial jobs in the future;
helping them become selfreliant and active members
of our society.”
The bank has supported several other
organisations and their
activities in the current year including the
Muscat Autism Centre,
Oman Road Safety As-
sociation, Oman Hereditary Blood Disorder
Association (OHBDA),
Omani Association for
Elderly Friends, Al Dakhiliyah branch of the
Oman Cancer Association, Omani Society for
the Hearing Impaired, the
Ibri and Sohar branches
of the Oman Association
for the Disabled, Dar Al
Atta’a, the Special Olympics Oman Association,
Salalah and Al Dakhiliyah
branch of the Al Noor Association for the Blind.
Oman Tribune
Starcare achieves ISO certification
MUSCAT
STARCARE HOSPITAL
is the first hospital in the
Sultanate to attain the ISO
14001 certification for
complying with international
standards for environmental
management systems, according to a press release.
Starcare has always welcomed technology and innovation to improve healthcare delivery. The group
advocated quality since its
inception and has been instrumental in benchmarking
quality practices in the private healthcare. The hospital
attained JCI Accreditation,
considered the gold seal of
excellence in healthcare in its
very first year of operation.
“Quality and quest for
improvement has become
part of our daily routine
and our employees are
torch bearers of this culture” said Dr Mohammed
Naseem, Starcare CEO.
International Organisation
for Standardisation (ISO)
is considered a benchmark
for performance of organisations with sub-specialties relating to different
industries and operational
specifications.
Granted to organisations
that has demonstrated commitment to environmental
stewardship, ISO 14001
The certification is given to organisations showing commitment to environment.
improves the recycling
process, reduces wastage,
enhances the supply chain
management, compliance
to environmental policies
and finally improve the
healthcare delivery. All employees are encouraged to
participate in the process.
Electricity utilisation
has been regulated accounting for a net sav-
ings of 10 per cent which
demonstrates a practical
application. “We believe
in giving something back
to the society as well as to
the environment. Starcare
is adopting environment
friendly initiatives across
all its units”, said K Jayan,
Vice-President Starcare
Healthsystems.
The hospital was also
nominated by the Ministry
of Health in the Sultanate for its pilot project on
Quality Healthcare in association with the United
Nations Organisation.
“Our efforts to maintain
high standards of quality
have been acknowledged
by the authorities and our
patients motivating us to
further improve,” said Dr
Askar Kukkadi, Director,
Starcare Healthsystems.
The group recently commissioned its latest 300-bed
ultra modern super specialty
hospital in Kozhikode in the
South Indian state of Kerala.
A help desk for treatment abroad is already live
at Starcare Hospital Seeb.
The new hospital will help to
bring in highly skilled doctors more often to Oman and
create an even better tertiary
care centre here, said Dr
Sadik Kodakat, Chairman
of Starcare Group.
Oman Tribune
Oman Chef’s Competition will be held as part of the expo.
Food and Hospitality
expo from Sept. 20
MUSCAT
THE SULTANATE’S BIGgest food exhibition, Food
and Hospitality Oman, is to
be held from September 20
to 22. As part of this, exhibition organiser Omanexpo, in
association with Oman Chefs
Guild, is to hold the seventh
Oman Chef’s Competition,
featuring the best chefs from
five and four-star hotels in
the Sultanate. The expo is to
be held at the Oman International Exhibition Centre.
The competition is aimed
to provide professional chefs
with an opportunity to showcase their culinary skills,
techniques and styles, raising the overall culinary art to
a higher level with excellence
and professionalism, according to a statement.The
competition consists of five
categories – three-tier wedding cake, tapas, petit four,
five-course plated gourmet
dinner and the mystery basket challenge.
Pascal Etienne, president
of the OCG, said: This time,
we have added the live cooking competition called the
‘Mystery Basket Challenge’,
where participants have to
prepare a three-course meal
in a fixed time. Visitors coming can watch live the skills
and expertise.”
OGC together with
Omanexpo is proud to host
the industry’s culinary contest. The rules and judging
criteria are based on World
OAB launches leadership
programme for employees
Chef Association and American Culinary Federation
standards. A jury of senior
chefs from the industry will
be judges, he added.
Ammar Ahmad, project
director of Food and Hospitality Oman, said: “Hosting
the competition is indeed a
step towards raising the culinary art to a higher level.
It is a celebration of the
talented chefs across the
country. The competition
is open to all professional
chefs from the hotels, restaurants, catering companies and bakeries. Those
interested can register their
team at the National Hospitality Institute, Wadi Kabir,
before September 14.
Oman Tribune
Work on track
at Palm Mall
in Muscat
MUSCAT
MUSCAT
OMAN ARAB BANK
(OAB) recently launched
a talent development programme entitled ‘Leadership Enhancement and
Development’ (LEAD). It
is a specialised training programme that aims to cultivate
the talents of high potential
nationals with guidance
from international experts.
The six-month programme
has been designed to utilise
best practices to empower
participants with opportunity, managerial expertise
and high-level workplace
solutions.
Amin Al Husseini, CEO
of Oman Arab Bank, said,
“Developing the skill sets
of Omani talent and enriching their lives to achieve
their career aspirations is
at the heart of everything
we do. Since our inception,
the bank has demonstrated
its dedication towards aiding the professional growth
of the Sultanate’s national
Amin Al Husseini
Adil A. Al Rahbi
workforce by creating environments that enable them
to thrive and be all they can
be. The LEAD programme
was inspired by the bank’s
vision and will provide our
young and highly motivated
OAB family members with a
first-of-its-kind opportunity
to develop their skills, learn
from the best, and position
themselves to be agents of
change.”
Adil A. Al Rahbi, Head
of Employee and Organisational Development, said,
“LEAD is truly a quantum
leap in capacity building.
The initiative will tremen-
dously accelerate the training and development of the
bank’s next generation of
leaders.
The programme has been
divided into four, two-day
modules with participants
undergoing
extensive
leadership training to hone
their expertise and develop
the know-how required to
spearhead their growth.”
Al Rahbi added, “20 employees have been selected
from our finest mid-level
staff after an online 360 degree evaluation. Selected
participants will continue
into their first modules,
where they will work side by
side with some of the best
motivational instructors
specialised in leadership
development.”
“The programme is a major breakthrough for OAB
and our succession planning
objectives . LEAD has been
designed in cooperation with
Inspirational Development
Group (IDG), and will be
facilitated by a team from
IDG, a global leadership and
management performance
consultancy.
The company has channeled its long history of
experience delivering highquality and intensive work
programmes to some of the
most prestigious organisations across the world.
Closely affiliated with the
Royal Military Academy
Sandhurst, IDG has worked
with some of the most important public and private sector companies in the region
from its Middle East office
based in Muscat.
Oman Tribune
MAHMOUD BIN MOhammed Al Jarwani, Chairman of Al Jarwani Group,
has said the group will invest
about 200 million rials in the
Madinat Al Irfan through the
establishment of an integrated city with hotels, shopping
malls, recreational centres
and walkway in Governorate of Muscat.
The investments in Muscat and Sohar are as per
schedule as more than 70
per cent of the Palm Mall
project in Muscat has been
completed, he said. The project will be a destination for
Omani families as it includes
recreational centres and a
hotel with 150 rooms and a
shopping mall that includes
the most prestigious brands.
The group is investing between 115 and 150 million
rials in the Palm Mall project.
Al Jarwani said on Sunday the project is spread
over 250,000 sqm with an
investment of nearly 115
million rials.
ONA
REGION
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
OMAN TRIBUNE
Avoid empty talk, Xi tells G20
Nations should confront slow growth, rising protectionism: Beijing
HANGZHOU (China)
CHINESE PRESIDENT
Xi Jinping urged world
leaders to avoid “empty
talk” and confront sluggish
economic growth and rising
protectionism as their summit opened on Sunday in the
scenic city of Hangzhou.
Xi welcomed Group of
20 presidents and prime
ministers with a handshake,
and an extended clasp with
Barack Obama, as both
men smiled despite protocol stumbles around the US
leader’s visit.
The Chinese leader said
the world economy “still
faces multiple risks and
challenges including a lack
of growth momentum and
consumption, turbulent
financial markets, receding global trade and investment”.
The rise of protectionism
is challenging economic
globalisation,
imperilling multilateral trade arrangements, and despite
regulatory reforms market
volatility is gathering pace,
he said.
“We hope the Hangzhou summit will come up
with a prescription for the
world economy and lead it
back to the road of strong,
balanced, comprehensive
and sustainable growth,”
Xi said.
The G20 brings together
representatives of 85 per
cent of the world’s GDP and
two-thirds of its population.
But experts fear the gath-
Johannes Eisele/AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping (centre) and his wife Peng Liyuan with G20 leaders and their spouses during a
group picture prior to a dinner banquet at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou on Sunday.
ering will be short on substance, with no acute crisis
pushing leaders to defy rising populist sentiment and
to take difficult steps such
as liberalising trade.
In a circular conference
hall in Hangzhou – the
eastern city left deserted
by a vast security operation
– Xi told leaders the G20
“should work with real action, with no empty talk”.
China is hoping a successful meeting will portray
it as an assured and powerful nation ready to assume
a role on the international
stage that befits its status as
the world’s second-largest
economy.
Authorities shut thousands of factories to try to
clear the skies of smog, and
encouraged residents to
leave town on free holidays,
as well as detaining dozens
of dissidents to prevent any
hint of unrest. The summit
was preceded by a flurry of
diplomatic activity on issues ranging from climate
change and the war in Syria
to international trade.
The US and China on
Saturday ratified the Paris
climate accord, a crucial
step towards bringing into
force the pact against global
warming.
There had been hopes for
another breakthrough, on
the long war in Syria, after
the US said it was close to
a deal with Russia on stemming the violence.
But negotiations between
Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterpart Sergei Lavrov yielded only an
agreement to convene again
on Monday, with Russia accused of “walking back” on
key issues.
Moscow and Washington
support opposite sides in
the conflict, which erupted
in March 2011 after President Bashar Al Assad unleashed a brutal crackdown
on a pro-democracy revolt.
Successive rounds of
international negotiations
have failed to end a conflict that has left more than
290,000 people dead and
forced millions to flee, a key
contributor to migrant flows
into Europe.
EU President Donald
Tusk said Europe was
“close to limits” on its
ability to accept new
waves of refugees and
urged the broader international community to shoul-
der its share of the burden.
The issue has become
a political hot potato for
European leaders as terror attacks and rising antiglobalisation sentiment
fuel public resentment of
immigration.
Pictures of a drowned
three-year-old Syrian boy lying on a Greek beach briefly
changed the discourse last
year, with Germany throwing open its borders, but a
major backlash swiftly followed.
Ahead of the summit, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned against
“rampant” protectionism
and nationalism, saying that
“building walls” was not the
solution.”
The talks are being held
in the wake of Britain’s
vote to leave the EU, which
leaves it with the task of renegotiating access to the
markets of the rest of the
world.
It is a huge job for the
world’s fifth-biggest economy, and Australian Prime
Minister Malcolm Turnbull
said Canberra had “got
things moving towards having a free trade agreement
with the UK”.
But European Commission chief Jean-Claude
Juncker said he opposes
such talks while Britain remains part of the EU, insisting they were an “exclusive
matter” for the bloc on behalf of its members and “we
are sticking to it”.
Agence France-Presse
UAE relaxes visa Yemen refinery operations
rules for Chinese resume after 1-year closure
DUBAI
CHINESE
VISITORS
to the UAE will now be
granted visas on arrival, the
Gulf state’s prime minister
announced on Sunday, in a
new bid to boost tourism.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, has a
burgeoning and increasingly prosperous middle class
that is travelling abroad in
numbers greater than ever
before.
“We have approved a decision to grant visas on arrival at the country’s airports
to visitors from the Republic of China,” said Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, who is also the
ruler of Dubai.
“Our relations with China are strategic and a priority,” he added in remarks
published on his official
Twitter account.
Chinese tourists previously had to obtain visas be-
fore travelling to the UAE.
The UAE has invested
billions of dollars over more
than a decade to put itself on
the map as a regional business and tourism hub.
Among the UAE’s seven
emirates, Dubai is the most
attractive for tourists.
More than 14.2 million people visited Dubai
in 2015, but the target is
25 million by 2020 when
the Gulf emirate hosts the
global trade fair Expo 2020.
In February, local media
quoted Dubai Tourism chief
Issam Kazim as saying that
450,000 Chinese visitors
made the trip to the emirate in 2015, in a 29 per cent
increase over the previous
year.
Apart from citizens of
its five Gulf neighbours,
nationals of 47 countries
– most of them westerners
– can obtain a visa on arrival
to the UAE.
Agence France-Presse
ADEN/ RIYADH
ADEN’S OIL REFINERY
resumed operations on
Sunday, more than a year
after the armed conflict
between Yemeni government forces and rebels
brought work to a halt, a
spokesman said.
The facility was damaged
during months of fighting
in 2015 that raged after
the rebels and their allies
attacked the southern port
city where President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi had
taken refuge, forcing him
into exile.
“The refinery has resumed activities after
receiving 66,000 tonnes
of crude oil” from around
one million tonnes stockpiled in the southeastern
province of Hadramawt,
Nasser Al Shaef said.
The refinery’s closure
triggered a severe short-
age of petroleum products
and a blackout in Aden
when the power station
ran out of fuel.
The situation improved
after loyalists backed by a
Saudi-led Arab coalition
pushed the rebels out of
Aden and four southern
provinces late last year, allowing fuel and power generators to be shipped in.
Also in Aden on Sunday,
a roadside bomb killed
two soldiers and wounded
three at a checkpoint in the
Sheikh Othman district, a
security official said.
He said insurgents,
who have boosted their
attacks in Aden over the
past few months despite
efforts to increase security, are suspected of be-
Impoverished nation exported modest
amounts of crude before the conflict
The coalition began a
military campaign against
the Iran-backed rebels in
March 2015. More than
6,600 people have been
killed in the conflict since
then, the UN says.
Impoverished Yemen
exported modest amounts
of crude before the conflict.
ing behind the bombing.
Separately, cross-border shelling from Yemen
killed a Saudi woman on
Sunday and wounded
two other citizens, the
kingdom’s civil defence
agency said.
The shelling at 2am
local time (1100 GMT)
Iran pistachio farms dying of thirst
SIRJAN (Iran)
THE PISTACHIO TREES
at the village in southern
Iran are long dead, bleached
white by the sun – the underground water reserves sucked
dry by decades of over-farming and waste.
The last farmers left with
their families 10 years ago,
and the village has the look
of an abandoned Martian
colony.
The dome-roofed, mudwalled homes are crumbling,
once-green fields are now
nothing but dirt furrows, and
the only sign of life is a couple
of drifters camping out in an
old storehouse.
Pistachios are Iran’s biggest export after crude oil,
with 250,000 tonnes of the
nut produced last year – a
figure only recently topped
by the US.
In Kerman province in
southern Iran, cities have
grown rich from pistachios,
but time is running out for
the industry as unconstrained
farming and climate change
take a devastating toll.
Near the city of Sirjan,
a long line of enormous
sinkholes like bomb craters
mark the points where an
underground aquifer was
Atta Kenare/AFP
An Iranian works at Hassan Ali Firouzabadi’s pistachio farm in Izadabad, a village
in the southern Iranian Kerman province.
pumped completely dry, and
the ground simply collapsed.
“Farming is being destroyed,” says Hassan Ali
Firouzabadi, who has lived in
the nearby village of Izadabad
for half a century.
His business is barely
clinging on. Some of his pistachio trees are old enough
to remember the golden age
of Shah Abbas in the 17th
century, but the leaves have
turned yellow-green from the
salty water he now dredges
up. “The well was six to 10
metres (deep) when I was a
child, but now it’s 150, and
the water is bitter and salty,”
he says. “This used to be a village full of people. Most have
left to become labourers and
drivers. Ten more years and
there will be nothing left.”
Iran faces two key challenges – dealing with a yearslong nationwide drought
that shows little sign of abating, and trying to convince
farmers to stop the uncon-
trolled pumping of water.
Some 300,000 of Iran’s
750,000 water pumps are
illegal – a big reason why the
UN says Iran is officially transitioning from a state of “water
stress” to “water scarcity”.
In 2013, Iran’s chamber
of commerce carried out a
survey showing that Kerman province was losing
about 20,000 hectares of
pistachio farms every year
to desertification.
For centuries, Iran relied
on one of the world’s most
sophisticated irrigation systems – a web of underground
canals known as “qanats”
that carried water from under mountains to the arid
plains. But then came the
electric pumps and chaotic
politics of the last century.
The need to preserve water
was little understood and
secondary to self-sufficiency
in food production – an attitude that persisted into the
sanctions era.
“We are slowly moving
past a long-held illusion that
we have endless resources,”
says Mohsen Nasseri at the
National Climate Change
Office in Teheran.
He says the government is
finally looking at financial incentives to encourage water
conservation. One scheme
offers funding for farmers
to buy modern irrigation
equipment, but changing
ingrained attitudes will take
time. “It’s late, but it’s happening,” Nasseri says.
Some farmers have taken
matters into their own hands.
The lushly green pistachio trees of Farhad Sharif’s
farm near Sirjan are an oasis
against the flat brown landscape.
Agence France-Presse
in the southern Jazan
region killed a woman
and wounded a man and
his son, according to the
agency’s spokesman Major Yehia Al Qahtani.
On Wednesday, a Saudi
border guard was killed
after shelling from Yemen hit a frontier post in
Jazan.
And a week ago, similar attacks killed three
children in Saudi Arabia
and wounded nine other
people.
Cross-border fire from
Yemen has killed about
100 civilians and members of the security forces
on the Saudi side since the
war began.
In Yemen itself, more
than 6,600 people,
mostly civilians, have
been killed since March
2015, according to the
UN.
Agencies
5
Stray dogs get
shelter in
battered Gaza
GAZA CITY (Palestine)
IN AN IMPOVERISHED
and war-battered territory
suffering food shortages and
a scarcity of jobs, Saeed Al
Ar knew it was a tall order
opening a dog shelter in
Gaza.
The Palestinian coastal
enclave crammed with 1.9
million people has been devastated by three wars against
Israel since 2008, and it remains under blockade by the
Jewish state and Egypt.
The fate of hundreds of
stray dogs outside towns
or near the Israeli security
fence have been anything
but a priority. “How can
we create a shelter for strays
when we need shelter ourselves?” is the typical view,
as expressed by a 27-yearold unemployed Gazan,
Jasser Al Sheikh.
“We must first feed our
children and find jobs for
thousands of unemployed
graduates.”
But Ar, a 45-year-old
father of seven, has taken it
upon himself to intervene,
spending his own money to
rescue the strays.
Last month, he opened
the territory’s first dog sanctuary in a relatively well-off
suburb south of Gaza City.
His Al Soulala Association for Protection, Rehabilitation and Training covers
2,700 square metres, complete with kennels which
currently house around 75
former strays.
Behind beige tarpaulin on
a vast sandy expanse, dogs
are fed and given training
to run and jump obstacles.
“This is the first kennel
in Palestine that supports
stray dogs and domesticates
them,” Ar said.
He used to run a police
unit for dogs specialising in
the detection of explosives
and drugs, and admits that
canines have always been
his passion.
When the movement
Hamas seized power in Gaza
in 2007, Ar found himself
out of a job. But he still collects a salary and now dedicates all his time to the dogs.
In the predominantly
Muslim territory, religious
authorities consider dogs to
be unclean or impure.
Some Gazans even shoot
at stray dogs that approach
their children or orchards,
while others find them
scary and blame them for
accidents.
The authorities lack the
resources even if they were
inclined to intervene.
In the past they even
tried to poison strays, but
stopped the culling over
concerns that it was also
dangerous to humans, a
municipal official said.
The kennel aims to catch
stray dogs, provide veterinary services and help domesticate them.
Since its opening, the
kennel has attracted a growing number of visitors, many
of them children. Some have
asked to adopt a pet, a trend
picking up in Gaza.
The phone rings constantly with people reporting strays in their neighbourhood.
In such cases, search
teams are sent out, said
COMPASSION
The kennel aims
to catch stray
dogs, provide
veterinary
services
and help
domesticate
them
Mohammed Al Hindi, 24,
a recently graduated nurse
and one of 25 volunteer
helpers.
Every morning, the volunteers tour participating restaurants and stores to collect
leftover meat and chicken for
the dogs, in a sign of changing attitudes in Gaza.
But Ar said he has already
spent $35,000 and cannot
make ends meet on his own
much longer.
The centre needs $5,000
a month to function properly, said Ar, who has
launched an online appeal
to animal protection groups
and lovers across the world.
“We have to get help
because at the moment we
are doing this with our own
money.”
Agence France-Presse
6
COMMENT
OMAN TRIBUNE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
Beginning of the end
Planning success
T
HE Sultanate’s judicious use of economic resources has helped it
record notable growth in the face of indifferent global situation. The
gross domestic product (IGDP) growth of 4 per cent achieved during
the Eighth Five Year Plan that ended in 2015 is indeed remarkable. It
is a testimony to the sagacity of the nation’s economic planners who
have managed to steer the ship of the nation through the choppy waters
of global economy. In a tribute to the financial wisdom of the government that took some drastic measures the deficit has been curtailed
to 6 per cent despite the steep fall in oil prices. It is a function of efficient governance to maintain the economic churn when there is a
slowdown at the doorstep. That is when public spending becomes
extremely important. Public expenditure shot up to 67.1 billion rials
in the Eighth Five-Year Plan when compared to 33.8 billion rials in
the Seventh one. Some resolute steps ensured that the inflation stayed
around a manageable 1 per cent through the last three years of the plan
period. The nation’s economic managers know that panic is not the
right response even to the worst global economic scenario. That is why
the nation has reacted with immense wisdom. The clarity of vision of the
government was evident in the decision to reduce the nation’s dependence on oil-based economy. The steady
growth in non-oil GDP achieved during
the Eighth Five Year Plan is proof of the
Sultanate’s financial wizardry. Non-oil
economic activities grew by a smart 8.7 It is a testimony to
per cent during the plan period helping the sagacity of the
to cushion global oil shock. As could be nation’s economic
expected, most of the contribution to
planners
non-oil growth came from the services
sector, amounting to a whopping 70
per cent.
The Sultanate is known for its equanimity in handling situations that
make most other nations succumb to panic. It is this wealth of wisdom
that has helped it come out unscathed from many a crisis. The government can be proud of its achievement in maintaining a respectable
growth rate amid sustained low oil prices. HE Nasser Bin Khamis Al
Jashmi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance, recently said the
government’s austerity measures helped keep down the deficit. But
the wisdom in choosing the steps was such that the Sultanate could
improve its efficiencies. “We must continue to contain the size of
spending and bring it to levels that are sustainable and in conjunction
with the revitalisation of non-oil revenues and increase the proportion
of its contribution to the total revenues of the state,” he remarked.
Those steps contributed immensely to curtailing the deficit to 6 per
cent for the whole of Eighth Five Year Plan. Meanwhile, the Sultanate’s
strategy of focus on high-growth sectors of tourism, mining, logistics,
petrochemicals and fishery in the Ninth Five-Year Plan is a logical extension of the previous plan. The stress on public-private participation
in the Ninth Five-Year Plan that began this year is considered among
the most efficient methods of deploying scarce resources. This would
increase the stake of the private sector and citizens in general in the
success of development programmes. The government’s proposals
for pushing economic diversification have already received the royal
blessings of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, which the Supreme
Council for Planning recently acknowledged.
92-year-old Mugabe is losing grip on Zimbabwe’s affairs
H
UNDREDS of young
protesters
dragged
logs into the streets of
Zimbabwe’s capital city,
lighting fires to block
motorists and dancing animatedly
around a pink placard that screamed,
“We want electoral reforms.”
But before they could march on the
country’s electoral commission to
show their discontent with President
Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZanuPF Party, they were set upon by riot
police armed with batons, tear gas,
and water-cannon trucks. The images
of police brutality that followed were
some of the ugliest that Zimbabwe has
seen in years.
“They are thinking that what happened in the Arab Spring is going to
happen in this country, but we tell
them that it is not going to happen
here,” Mugabe said of the demonstrators on state television later that day.
The protest on Aug. 26 was the
clearest sign yet that the man who has
ruled Zimbabwe for 36 years may be
starting to lose his grip on power. For
the past two months, anti-government
protests have roiled this southern African country, fuelled in part by a rapidly
deteriorating economy. But for the
first time, a broad-based coalition of
activist groups and opposition parties
– 18 in total – has come together with
a list of common demands: elections
before 2018, when the next one is
scheduled to take place, and a host of
measures to make the electoral process more transparent.
The message to Mugabe is clear:
It’s time for the 92-year-old president
and his party to go.
“We are frustrated and fed-up, so
we don’t care if Mugabe doesn’t want
an Arab Spring,” said Tendai Chipomo, who participated in the Aug.
26 protest. “We have to do what we
can to show the authorities that we are
prepared to die for our future because
we have nothing else left.”
Mugabe came to power as a hero
of the liberation war that ended in
Zimbabwe’s independence from
Britain in 1980. But his increasingly
authoritarian rule and disastrous
economic policies, which resulted in
hyperinflation and the abandonment
Thought For The Day
Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every
hand.
Mother Teresa
Founder & Chairman
Mohammed Bin Suleiman Al Taie
Editor-in-Chief
Abdul Hamied Bin Suleiman Al Taie
EDITORIAL
Email: editor@omantribune.com
cob@omantribune.com
Tel: 24491919. Fax: 24498938
CIRCULATION
Al-Atta’a Distribution LLC, PO Box 473, PC 130,
Azaiba, Muscat. Tel: 24491399 Mob: 98270847
Email: sathik2k9@yahoo.com
pastor named Evan Mawarire posted
a video online in April in which he
kissed the Zimbabwean flag and ticked
off a list of the government’s failures –
corruption, unemployment, and lack
of basic social services, among other
things – a nationwide social media
campaign was born under the hashtag
#ThisFlag. On July 6, the campaign
staged a “stay-away from work” protest that saw most urban businesses
shut down. In major towns across the
VIEWPOINT
Tendai Marima
country, police clashed with demonstrators and at least 100 people were
arrested.
Fast-forward to today and
Mawarire has fled to the countryside, accused of attempting to subvert the constitutional order. But
both the #ThisFlag campaign and
another campaign called Tajamuka
– “We don’t want,” in Shona, one
of Zimbabwe’s national languages
– have been involved in recent antigovernment protests. (Tajamuka is
led by Promise Mkwananzi, a young
activist who was arrested last week
on charges of inciting public vio-
lence and remains behind bars.)
Tajamuka and #ThisFlag have expressed support for the coalition of 18
opposition parties – led by opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Joice
Mujuru, a former vice president who
is now a vocal critic of Mugabe – that
came together recently to form the
National Electoral Reform Agenda
(Nera), which is lobbying for fairer
polls in 2018.
Few expect the Nera to achieve its
immediate reform goals, but some
analysts believe it may galvanise the
electorate behind opposition parties
in 2018.
So far Mugabe’s government has responded to the groundswell of opposition the same way it responded to the
protests on Aug. 26 – with violence
and intimidation. It has deployed additional security forces to urban areas,
rounded up suspected protesters,
and introduced a bill in Parliament
that would allow the government to
monitor and seize the laptops and
cellphones of suspected dissidents.
NYT News Syndicate
About the author
Tendai Marima is an academic researcher and freelance journalist
covering sub-Saharan Africa.
Brexit script in Apple ruling
EU order impinging on Ireland’s sovereign rights, Max Bearak writes
T
Published by:
Omani Establishment for Press, Printing, Publishing & Distribution LLC
PO Box 463, Muscat 100, Sultanate of Oman. Tel: 24491919
email: eomantribune@alwatan.com.om
of the Zimbabwean dollar in 2009,
have eroded his popularity. The “Old
Man,” as many Zimbabweans call him,
won his last two elections – in 2008
and 2013 – amid widespread intimidation, violence, and accusations of
vote-rigging.
As Zimbabwe’s economic woes
have deepened this summer amid
dollar shortages and rising unemployment,
Mugabe’s
Zanu-PF Party has faced
mounting
criticism from
grassroots activists and opposition politicians alike.
Some of the party’s wounds have been
self-inflicted. For instance, Second
Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko
stoked public outrage by living in
a five-star hotel for more than 18
months while the government supposedly searched for a suitable permanent residence for him. The cost to
taxpayers was as much as $600,000
for his extended stay in a luxury suite.
But Zanu-PF is also facing a more
energised and broad-based opposition movement. After a little-known
HE governing body
of the European
Union recently ruled
that one of its members, Ireland, had broken its
rules by allowing US-based
Apple to pay a tax rate of 1
per cent – and sometimes as
little as .0005 per cent. Ireland’s regular tax rate is 12.5
per cent, and the EU’s rules
state that members can’t give
special benefits to individual
companies, even if it is the
most highly valued company
in the world.
Under the EU ruling, Apple would be required to pay
Ireland more than $14.5 billion in back taxes. Both Apple
and the Irish government plan
to appeal.
That is a huge amount of
money for a small country like
Ireland, which suffered terribly after the 2008 financial
crisis and required a massive
bailout from the EU. Many
in Ireland are salivating over
what kind of public infrastructure or personal tax breaks
$14.5 billion could be spent
on. The sum is roughly equal
to Ireland’s entire health budget, to put it in perspective.
Others, however, see the
ruling as exactly why Ireland,
just like the United Kingdom
did with its Brexit vote, needs
to leave an interventionist,
anti-sovereignty European
Union.
To put the question a
different way: Did Apple,
in collusion with the Irish
government, rip off the Irish
public by arranging a huge
tax break? Or did the European Union just undermine
Ireland’s economic model
and strip the country of its
competitive
advantage,
risking Ireland’s long-term
growth?
Much of the debate across
the Irish Sea in Britain dur-
ing the lead-up to their referendum on EU membership
in June centered on the idea
that bureaucrats with no allegiance to Britain were sitting in Brussels and writing
their laws. Proponents of a
“Brexit” argued that leaving
the EU would allow the country to “take back control” of
its economy and borders.
After the EU’s ruling on
people are saying, ‘Why are
our laws being made somewhere else?’”
Others began using the
hashtag #Irexit, or argued
that it was the EU, and not
Ireland, that had broken
its treaty obligations to its
member-state.
Mehmet Simsek, Turkey’s
deputy prime minister, even
took the opportunity to sug-
tax rates unavailable to others.
Ireland’s second and
third-biggest parties seemed
to align with the ruling Fine
Gael party in opposing the
ruling. Both the Fianna
Fáil and Labour parties
spokespersons stated that it
was counter to their understandings of Ireland’s ability
to set its own tax rules, and
expressed worry that should
the appeals fall through, multinationals would lose faith in
Ireland as a destination for
investment. Apple employs
around 6,000 people across
Ireland, and made overtures
that those jobs would be kept
there.
That is a huge amount of money for a
small country like Ireland
Apple and Ireland, one of the
most outspoken Brexit leaders, Nigel Farage, tweeted
that the EU was “anti-democratic” and “doomed,”
and included a video of him
on a television show saying
“Across the whole continent,
gest that Apple shift from Ireland to Turkey, which isn’t a
EU member, where he’d be
“happy to provide more generous tax incentives.”
Apple will also appeal. At
the core of their argument is
a denial that they got special
WP-Bloomberg
About the author
Max Bearak writes about foreign affairs for the Washington Post.
How US and EU missed the bus for trade treaty
Trans-Atlantic politics is roiling efforts for a trade treaty, Leonid Bershidsky writes
G
ERMANY’S
vice
chancellor, Sigmar
Gabriel, says talks
about a major trade
deal between the European
Union and the US have failed,
though “nobody is really admitting it.” That statement should
be taken with a grain of salt, but
the Trans-Atlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership appears
to be doomed, at least until after
elections in the US and major
European countries.
Gabriel’s Economy Ministry
is not involved in the TTIP negotiations. He also is the leader
of Germany’s Social Democratic
Party, the coalition partner
of Angela Merkel’s Christian
Democratic Union but also its
biggest political rival. Germany
has a general election next year,
and polls show a 10-11 point
lead for the CDU over Gabriel’s
SPD, so it’s in the vice chancellor’s interest to kick off the
political season early and try to
score points by taking popular
positions. He is, for example,
also calling for a cap on the number of refugees Germany will accept – an unusual position for a
leftist, but one that the German
public considers reasonable and
Merkel rejects.
Denouncing the TTIP looks
like a similar ploy: The trade
deal’s negative rating in Germany reached 59 per cent late
last year. “As Europeans, we
mustn’t, of course, submit to
American demands,” the vice
chancellor said in an interview
with the German TV channel
ZDF.
Originally, EU and US officials planned to conclude the
deal by the end of 2014 – “on
one tank of gas,” as US Trade
Representative Michael Froman said. The 14 weeklong
rounds of talks held so far have
not produced a deal on any of the
27 subject areas, as Gabriel has
correctly pointed out. The EU’s
public report on the latest stage
of the talks reads as though they
are still in a starting phase. The
sides are still exchanging widely
diverging proposals on the most
contentious issues.
The three most sensitive areas concern trade in agricultural
goods, the mutual opening of
government procurement and
the resolution of disputes between governments and investors.
On agriculture, European
nations – especially France,
Italy and Greece – insist on the
recognition of their sole rights
to sell certain products under
their common names. Greece,
for example, demands exclusive
ownership of feta cheese. There
Investor conflict
resolution is
another politically
fraught issue
also are politically important issues such as European environmentalists’ objections to the US’
“chlorine-washed chicken” and
genetically modified corn.
On government procurement, Europeans have pointed
out that they have a unified bid-
ding system that would let US
companies compete for orders
at lower government levels but
that the US cannot provide
equal access to state- and citylevel procurement. Investor
conflict resolution is another
politically fraught issue. To anti-globalisation activists both on
the left and on the right, the deal
attempts to make multinational
corporations unaccountable to
national governments. The EU
is pushing for a greater role for
governments in regulating foreign investors’ activities.
All these issues have been
successfully resolved in the EU’s
trade deal with Canada, CETA,
which now needs approval by individual EU members and the
European Parliament to take
effect. For example, sub-federal
government procurement has
been opened with certain limitations, the European product
origin demands have been met,
and Canada agreed to use Europe’s new dispute resolution
mechanism – the Investment
Court System. Even so, the
negotiations and the legal editing of the text have taken much
longer than planned, and individual European countries can
still scuttle the deal.
In the case of TTIP, US negotiators did the deal a disservice
from the start by insisting on
stricter secrecy than necessary.
The public, acutely interested in
a major agreement that would
remove most of the remaining
trade barriers with the US, has
had to rely on partial leaks, and
distrust has flourished. Anti-free
trade activists have used this to
their advantage. Besides, as the
negotiations progressed, trust
in the EU has somewhat eroded,
and, as a recent study from the
Austrian Institute of Economic
Research showed, it is directly
correlated with support for the
TTIP. In addition, the US has
been less flexible than Canada,
even though it probably stands
to benefit at least as much as
does the EU. According to a
recent paper from the Leibniz
Institute for Economic Research
at the University of Munich,
TTIP could increase Europe’s
per capita GDP by 0.4 per cent,
while the US should get a 0.5
per cent boost.
WP-Bloomberg
About the author
Leonid Bershidsky is a Berlinbased columnist.
OPED
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
OMAN TRIBUNE
7
Texting and speeding are top killers
Traffic fatalities have risen dramatically for the second year, Fredrick Kunkle writes
I
HAD a friend in college who
saw the good in most things despite evidence to the contrary.
She believed passionately that
the federal government had imposed
a 55mph (88kmph) speed limit in
the 1970s to save lives. She lost the
bet – and maybe a little faith in government? – when she learned that it
had been done to save petrol.
So here we are in 2016, and the
National Safety Council has issued
a report saying that traffic fatalities
have risen dramatically for the second consecutive year – an estimated
9 per cent more over just the first
six months this year. It seems almost quaint these days to think the
government would do anything to
change that, unless there’s another
oil embargo.
The Council, citing preliminary
estimates, says more than 19,000
people have been killed on the nation’s highways since January 2016,
compared to the same period a year
earlier. This a figure that’s nearly 20
per cent higher than the number two
years earlier.
Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and chief executive of the
National Safety Council, said in an
interview that the number of annual traffic fatalities could exceed
40,000 for the first time since
2007. Think about that before you
head out this Labor Day weekend.
The jump in fatalities can be attributed at least in part to cheap
petrol and a decent economy, the
Council says. Average petrol prices
are 16 per cent lower this year, compared with 2015, and the mileage
people have driven is up 3.3 per
cent. More people are dying because
people are putting in more time on
the road.
But that’s half the story. Part of
the reason for the increase in traffic deaths is also that speed limits
have gone up. Part of the reason is
the smartphone in your hand. Part
of the reason is government inaction. Or apathy.
“The carnage on our roadways
should light a fire under our legislators, regulators and law enforcement to do even more,” Hersman
said. “Our complacency is killing
us.”
Keep in mind that the increase
in traffic deaths comes despite
advances in the safety design of
per cent of fatal crashes to about 30
per cent, Hersman said.
But higher speed limits are here
to stay as long as we can tolerate the
death toll. And little has been done
to combat the habit of texting and
driving despite mounting evidence
that this is killing people.
Hersman, who chaired the National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) from 2009 to 2014, told
For one thing, the driver might not be around to admit
he was texting at the time
vehicles and roadways, increased
use of safety belts, and success in
the fight against drunk driving.
Thanks to educational campaigns
and serious legal and financial consequences for driving and drinking,
the percentage of alcohol-related
deaths has dropped from about 50
me she has little doubt that the increase in traffic deaths can be attributed to the distracted driving and
the ubiquitous use of smartphones
and other technology in people’s
cars. But she said the data do not
yet show a definitive link, perhaps
because crashes are reported in a
way that doesn’t capture the impact
of distracted driving.
For one thing, the driver might
not be around to admit he was texting at the time. Or he might lie.
Hersman said she saw that in several
high-profile fatal accidents when she
was at the NTSB.
“We know that this data is flawed
in crash reports,” she said.
But the evidence that distracted
driving has gotten out of control –
especially from talking or texting
with a smartphone – is all around us.
It’s in surveys where people say they
hate that other people text and drive
but admit to doing the same. It’s in
over-the-road research where drivers are monitored as they travel. It’s
in roadside traffic counts where researchers observe passing vehicles.
It’s in news accounts of fatal crashes
and in lawsuits. It’s right before our
eyes, if you’ll take a moment to lift
your head from your phone.
But neither automotive manu-
facturers, the smartphone and
wireless industry, nor the federal
government gives a hoot. It’s probably because cracking down on the
use of electronic devices behind
the wheel would mean making a lot
of people mad or putting a dent in
all that money flowing through the
online economy.
Yet the statistics also show how
government can have an impact on
lowering traffic deaths – inadvertently sometimes.
In 1973, an oil embargo by the
Opec states delivered a devastating blow to the United States. The
nation realised perhaps for the first
time (but not the last) that it had a
petrol-guzzling problem. President
Nixon signed federal legislation that
incentivised the states to lower
speed limits to 55 mph to conserve
fuel. Only after the fact did it become
clear that those lower speeds led to
fewer highway fatalities.
WP-Bloomberg
Was Apple bitten by EU politics?
Brussels is targeting eurosceptics with $14.5b iPhone rap, Alastair Macdonald writes
T
HE European
Commission
denies that its
shock demand
that Apple Inc.
hand 13 billion euros
($14.5 billion) in back taxes
to Ireland is, in the pungent
phrase of Apple CEO Tim
Cook, “total political crap”.
But, say senior EU officials involved, the decision
certainly has a strong political element, even if Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says she is
confident her case will stand
up to Cook’s appeal on its
legal merits alone.
Brussels’ political target
is less corporate America
than eurosceptics at home
who threaten to pull the EU
apart if it fails to show alienated voters it can act in their
interests.
“Being political should
not be confused with politicised,” said a spokeswoman
for Commission chief JeanClaude Juncker. For him,
fighting tax avoidance had
been a “top priority” since
before he took over the EU
executive two years ago, she
said.
“The drive towards
fairer taxation is in President Juncker’s political
guidelines,” she said. At
the same time, Vestager is
an “entirely independent”
enforcer of EU competition
law, she added.
Efforts under way, including in the United States, to
clamp down on tax avoidance are political in the
sense that all states, with
budgets under strain, face
pressure from voters to
claw back cash from other
people, preferably wealthy
companies, tax experts and
government officials say.
For European Union
institutions, the struggle
is less for money – Apple’s
cash will go to Ireland if Vestager wins her case.
What Brussels is fighting
for is the EU’s very survival
against eurosceptics like the
Brexiteers who persuaded
Britons to quit the bloc in
June.
Those populists, on left
and right, from the UK Independence Party to France’s
National Front or 5-Star in
Italy, have scored with voters by accusing the EU and
the executive Commission
of cosying up to big, global
business against the little
people.
“Apple shows how you
fight against populism,”
a senior EU official familiar with the Commission
chief’s thinking told Reuters, describing a twopronged strategy directed
by Juncker.
One part of the strategy
is a push for new global tax
rules, led by EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs
Pierre Moscovici, a French
Socialist former finance
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.
minister. The other part
rests on punishing the worst
past abusers to deter others.
Vestager says the goal is
to change corporate culture
so that businesses anxious
for their reputation stop
trying to pay as little tax as
possible and choose to pay
“the right amount”.
On Juncker’s political
goal, he won government
backing in Paris and Berlin. And many European
media also welcomed the
Apple move. Le Monde,
leftish voice of establishment France and critic of
Juncker’s low-tax policies
when he was premier of
Luxembourg, said he had
shown “the zeal of the newly
converted”.
“Europe is changing,”
it wrote. “Bravo, Monsieur
Juncker.”
Showing voters EU
cares
“The EU’s message is
clear,” Juncker wrote for a
G20 meeting in China this
weekend. “All companies
must pay their fair share.
“This is first and foremost
a question of fairness. It has
urgent practical implications as well. We cannot let
down our schools, hospitals
and public services that
need this money.”
The $14.5-billion demand which angered the
United States and worried
Apple’s peers was engineered for shock and awe,
•
the EU official said. Juncker
sees Vestager as what the
EU president calls his “Rottweiler”, he added.
Apple and the Irish government say Vestager is rewriting the iPhone maker’s
He denied
involvement but,
aides say, the
uproar helped
galvanise Juncker
quarter-century of history in
Ireland. Apple denies that
Dublin gave it tax breaks
amounting to illegal state
aid.
What has changed is the
politics. The financial crisis
has impoverished Western
governments just as footloose young tech firms became hugely rich without
paying much tax anywhere.
US Senate revelations
about Apple in 2013 fuelled
public anger and, with some
irony, prompted the EU to
start inquiries.
Juncker’s own history
has also played a part. A
conservative prime minister of Luxembourg for 19
years, he helped transform
it from industrial rustbowl
to a financial hub its bigger neighbours saw as
helping businesses de-
prive them of revenues.
Weeks after taking over
the Commission in late
2014, he faced calls to resign when deals between
Luxembourg and global
corporates were splashed
in world media as the LuxLeaks affair.
He denied involvement
but, aides say, the uproar
helped galvanise Juncker
for a tax crackdown he had
already promised.
Driving his pledge to run
a “political Commission” to
reconnect with voters alienated by out-of-touch, technocratic elites in Brussels
was a fear that his five-year
term was, in his words, the
“last chance” to save the
Union from break-up.
Legal underpinnings
“It’s political in the sense
that, if the Commission
is prioritising the allocation of its resources, then
clearly tax evasion and tax
avoidance are very high on
the political agenda everywhere,” said Sophie in ‘t
Veld, deputy leader of the
centrist group in the European Parliament. “This is
something that citizens are
rightly and understandably
concerned about.”
That political approach,
Brussels officials stress,
does not mean capricious or
lacking legal basis. Vestager
is clear she must win in court
on some untested points of
law against the best tax at-
•
torneys Silicon Valley and
Washington can buy, and
against EU member state
Ireland.
Asked about Cook’s
comments to an Irish newspaper about the EU’s “political” motives, she said:
“I don’t think the courts
will hear any kind of political opinions or feelings or
what’s in your stomach or
whatever. They want the
facts of the case.”
Listen, then bite
Some EU officials think
the anger of Cook and US
•
officials at the historic scale
of the tax demand may partly
stem from underestimating
Vestager’s uncompromising character.
Tall, courteous and softspoken, she is a woman
who takes trouble to greet
captains of industry by the
lift and escort them back to
her office, often then serving them coffee herself. It
may wrong-foot those used
to more confrontational
politicians and executives.
She is a listener rather than
a talker.
“There are some people
who are very loud ... but ...
it is very important to have
a very, very, very open ear
to those who are not loud,”
the former economy minister and liberal party leader
told Reuters on taking office
two years ago.
People who work with
her say she listens closely
to career officials on her
staff -- much more than did
her Spanish predecessor
Joaquin Almunia, a professional economist.
One US tech giant to feel
a change of approach after
2014 was Google, with
whom Almunia worked for
years to reach a compromise
over concerns about its
market dominance. Since
last year, Vestager has hit
Google with three separate
charges.
She also put an end to
hesitation in Brussels by
launching a price fixing
case against Russian gas
giant Gazprom last year.
Most current state aid tax
cases, including Apple, were
launched by Almunia but
competition experts question whether he would have
come to Vestager’s radical
conclusion. Almunia’s own
predecessor Neelie Kroes,
now at another Silicon Valley darling Uber, said this
week the Dane had gone
too far against Apple.
Some observers believe
Vestager, a professional
politician since her student
days, may be tempted to use
cases to raise her profile and
further greater ambitions.
She says not.
Predecessors have also
taken on Washington,
among them Mario Monti,
later Italy’s prime minister,
who blocked a mega-merger
between GE and Honeywell in 2001 despite US
support for it, and Kroes,
who slapped heavy fines on
Microsoft in 2008.
There may be more to
come, Vestager says. Her
800 staff are looking at
about 1,000 inquiries
where firms may have gained
an edge by cutting tax deals
with governments seeking
investment.
A pastor’s daughter,
Vestager summed up her
political credo in the 2014
interview with Reuters: “I
was brought up with a very
strong value,” she said.
“That you should always
protect the few and the small
against those who want to
misuse their muscle.
Reuters
8
INDIA
OMAN TRIBUNE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
Taxman seeks data on Indians named in Panama Papers
NEW DELHI
WIDENING ITS PROBE
in the Panama Papers case,
the Income Tax department
has invoked various tax information exchange treaties
and sent about 200 requests
in order to obtain banking
and other financial data on
Indians named in the list.
Officials said, while
about 192 such requests
have already been dispatched to the foreign
shores, about a dozen
more are in the offing. The
countries to which these
references have been made
include the US, the UK,
Singapore, nations in the
Caribbean islands, Switzerland, British Virgin Islands
and the United Arab Emir-
ates (UAE), among others.
The department has also
got in touch with about
380 entities and individuals named in the list out of
which less than 200 have
owned up the accounts,
while the rest have either
disagreed or their whereabouts are not known and
are being traced, they said.
In order to get hold of
all those who are either refusing to own up or about
whom there is little information, the department
has invoked information
exchange treaties like the
Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA),
Tax Information Exchange
Agreement (TIEA) and
similar other protocols and
have sent 200 requests
across the globe to solicit
vital information and data
about them.
“What has been sought
is the banking and other
financial transactions data
of those Indians named
in the list. The requests
carry essential information gathered against such
entities based on the work
done in this regard by I-T
investigation wings across
the country,” they said.
The department, in many
cases, is facing non-cooperation and non-acceptance of accounts by numerous entities as revealed
in the Panama Papers and
hence had to widen its approach towards the foreign
jurisdictions and seek and
obtain “good and action-
able” information.
A multi-agency group
created to probe these cases
has already submitted five
reports to the government
and also to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on
black money in this regard.
The Income Tax department had earlier sent
a detailed questionnaire
to a number of individuals
Modi, Xi discuss
terror, China-Pak
trade corridor
PRIME MINISTER NARen dra Modi on Sunday
told Chinese President Xi
Jinping India’s concerns
over terrorism emanating from Pakistan through
which the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is being built.
In his 35-minute meeting
with Xi on the sidelines of
the G20 summit in Hangzhou city, Modi conveyed
to him that New Delhi and
Beijing “would have to be
sensitive to each other’s
strategic interests”.
“He (Modi) said it is of
paramount importance
that both countries respect
each other’s aspirations,
concerns and strategic
interests,” external affairs
ministry
spokesperson
Vikas Swarup told Indian
journalists here.
Asked whether terrorism
was discussed, Swarup said:
“It was raised.” The CPEC
passes through the restive
regions of Balochistan,
Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistani Kashmir.
In his candid comments
reflecting India’s concerns,
Modi said both India and
China need to be “sensitive” to each other’s strategic interests and called for
specific actions to “prevent
growth of negative perception”.
India has strongly opposed the project as it
claims Gilgit-Baltistan and
Pakistani Kashmir.
In his interaction with Xi,
Modi said the attack on the
Chinese embassy in Bishkek
was yet another proof of the
“scourge of terrorism”.
“China and India should
respect and care for each
other on issues of major
concern, and handle differences in a constructive
way,” Xi told Modi.
Xi said both sides had
seen healthy, stable and
speedy development of
their relationship, and that
as neighbours and developing nations they should conCONCERN
‘China and
India should
respect and
care for each
other on issues
of major
concern’
tinue high-level exchanges.
Beijing’s refusal to designate Jaishe Mohammad
chief Masood Azhar at the
UN Security Council has
irked India. This was Modi’s
eighth meeting with Xi as
the prime minister.
“China is willing to work
with India to maintain their
hard-won sound relations
and further advance their
cooperation,” Xi said while
meeting Modi.
Modi told Xi that “our
response to terrorism must
not be motivated by political
Nation’s income
inequality grows
NEW DELHI
INDIA IS THE SECOND
most “unequal” country
in the world after Russia,
with millionaires controlling more than half of
its total wealth, a report
by Johannesburg-based
wealth research firm New
World Wealth said earlier
this week.
In India, 54 per cent of
its wealth is controlled by
millionaires. While India is
among the 10 richest countries in the world with a total
individual wealth of $5,600
billion, the average Indian is
quite poor, the report said.
“The higher the proportion the more unequal the
country is. For instance, if
millionaires control over
50 per cent of a country’s
wealth, then there is very
little space for a meaningful middle class,” the report
said. Worldwide, Russia is
the most unequal country
where millionaires control
over 62 per cent of the nation’s total wealth.
Instead, Japan showed
up as the most equal country, with millionaires controlling only 22 per cent of
total wealth. The report also
found the US to be “surprisingly” equal, with millionaires controlling around 32
per cent of the total wealth.
“This is surprising low
considering all the negative press that the US gets in
terms of income inequality,”
it added. Britain was found
to be slightly less equal than
the US, with its millionaires
controlling around 35 per
cent of the total wealth there.
Indo-Asian News Service
consideration”, an apparent
reference to Pakistan.
Modi stressed the importance to “identify the suppliers, exporters and financiers
of terrorism.
Swarup refused to divulge if the issue of India’s
membership to the Nuclear
Suppliers Group figured in
the meeting with Xi.
“If you read between the
lines when we are talking
about our strategic interests, concerns and aspirations, it is not that China is
unaware of our strategic interests, concerns or aspirations or that we are unaware
of theirs. It is something that
both sides are aware of,”
Swarup said.
Earlier in June, China had
blocked India’s entry into
the nuclear trade grouping,
citing its non-signatory status to the Non-Proliferation
Treaty.
Modi also met his Australian counterpart Malcolm
Turnbull who assured his
country’s support to India’s bid for the NSG membership and the two leader
agreed to deepen the bilateral defence and security
cooperation.
Modi thanked Turnbull
for Australia’s pro-active
support to India’s membership of the elite nuclear
trading club when the two
leaders met on the sidelines
of the G20 Summit, Swarup
said. “Turnbull assured that
Australia will continue to
support India’s inclusion
in the NSG,” he said.
Agencies
NEW DELHI
made a beeline for the
small, dingy lane leading
up to the freshly-painted
house, where Mother
lived for 44 years and
also died on September
5, 1997. Lilies and other flowers were offered at
her tomb, as the devout
cutting across all religions
bent down and prayed.
The entrance to the
house was bedecked with
blue and white blossoms,
the colours that Saint Teresa chose for the sarees
to be worn by the nuns of
her order.
Two giant screens in
two rooms of the house
beamed the ceremony at
the Vatican live for the
visitors, who sat under a
life size flex of a smiling
Mother Teresa. There
were cheers as Pope Francis was seen arriving for
the celebrations at the St.
Peter’s Basilica in a ceremonial procession.
PASSENGERS
WILL
have to cough up 20 to
30 per cent more than the
existing fares of premier
Shatabdi Express to travel
by the Tejas trains which
will have commercial airlines-like services like calling bell buttons to summon
coach attendants and LCD
screens on ergonomically
designed seats.
Besides choicest cuisine
and Wi-Fi facility, there will
be toilet engagement boards
on the train whose interior
colour scheme will match
the exterior to give Tejas
passengers the feel of world
class travel.
Tejas train will be
equipped with many modern facilities some of which
are the first for the Indian
Railway, said a senior railway ministry official.
The official said since the
service will be of high quality, the fare will also have to
be more than the existing
structure, but refused to
quantify it. Though the decision about the fare has not
been taken yet, it is likely to
be 20 to 30 per cent higher
than those of Shatabdi, he
added.
Tejas trains are likely to
be introduced on DelhiLucknow route for daylong journey. These trains
will have executive class and
chair cars. The exterior of
the coaches will have a rising sun motif against golden
background.
Besides the improved aesthetics, Tejas coaches will
be equipped with 22 new
features, including entertainment LCD screens for
each passenger along with
headphone socket.
Agencies
Press Trust of India
Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters
A man holds a poster of Mother Teresa outside the Missionaries of Charity building in Kolkata, West Bengal,
on Sunday.
Mother Teresa declared saint
VATICAN CITY
MOTHER TERESA OF
Calcutta, known as the
‘saint of the gutters’ during her life, was declared a
saint of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Francis
on Sunday, fast-tracked to
canonisation just 19 years
after her death.
Tens of thousands of
people packed St Peter’s
Square at the Vatican for a
service to honour the tiny
nun, who worked among
the world’s neediest in the
slums of Kolkata, India,
and become one of the
most recognisable faces of
the 20th century.
A Nobel peace laureate,
her legacy complements
Pope Francis’s vision of a
humble church that strives
to serve the poor, and the
festivities in her honour are
a highlight of his Holy Year
of Mercy, which runs until
November 8.
Standing under a can-
vas hung from St Peter’s
Basilica showing the late
nun in her blue-hemmed
white robes, Francis said
she was a “dispenser of divine mercy” and held world
powers to account “for the
crimes of poverty they created”.
“For Mother Teresa,
mercy was the salt which
gave flavour to her work, it
was the light which shone
in the darkness of the many
who no longer had tears to
shed for their poverty and
suffering.”
Around 120,000 people
attended the ceremony,
according to Vatican estimates, celebrating the life
of a woman who Francis
said it might be difficult to
call ‘Saint’ as people felt so
close to her they spontaneously used ‘Mother’.
As people from across
the world gathered at the
Vatican along with delegations from more than
a dozen governments, the
canonisation was also celebrated in Skopje, the capital of modern Macedonia
where Mother Teresa was
born of Albanian parents
in 1910 and became a nun
aged 16.
In Kolkata, nuns shed
tears of joy and hugged
each other, amid euphoric scenes at the Mother
House, global headquarters of the Missionaries
of Charity, as the order’s
founder Mother Teresa
was declared a Saint by the
Vatican.
Hundreds of admirers
of the Albanian nun, who
made Kolkata (then Calcutta) her home for seven
decades to serve the poor
and the infirm, gathered
near the blue, three-storied
building since the morning
to soak in the festive atmosphere.
Outside, traffic was
thrown out of gear, as
people carrying blue
flags, and lilies in hand,
Ex-minister in
sex tape row
held for rape
FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
NEW DELHI
PTI
Kashmiri Pandits along with the members of Kashmiri Migrant Employees Association stage a massive protest in Jammu on Sunday. The minority Hindus of Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandits, fled the valley in the early 1990s
to save themselves from persecution at the behest of armed insurgency.
Troops dump colonial-era ‘Sam Browne’ belt
NEW DELHI
FEDERAL POLICE AND PARAmilitary forces have finally shed a
colonial uniform accessory, the
Sam Browne belt, a leather belt
with a supporting strap that passes
over the right shoulder, worn during ceremonial or martial events.
The belt, called the cross belt
in police lexicon, was named after
British army officer Sam Browne,
who served in India in the 19th
century. It was introduced for
police and Central Armed Police
Forces (CAPFs) officers under the
Indian Police Service (Uniform)
Rules, 1954.
While the armed forces
and a number of paramilitary
forces (CAPFs) have shed its
use gradually over the time, the
147,000-strong Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is the
Press Trust of India
Journey on
Tejas trains
to be costlier
than Shatabdi
Will maintain ties with Delhi: Beijing
HANGZHOU
and entities figuring in the
list of those allegedly holding offshore assets in tax
havens and is vetting their
response.
About 500 Indians figure
in the list which includes
prominent businessmen,
film celebrities and those
belonging to lucrative professions.
last to jettison this piece accoutrement of the uniform.
“The issue regarding use of
Sam Browne belt by the officers
has been examined in detail....
It has been observed that armed
forces and other CAPFs have already dispensed with wearing the
cross belt. In view of the above, it
has been decided to do away with
the wearing of Sam Browne belt
by the CISF officers with immedi-
ate effect, except by the personnel who have to carry swords on
ceremonial occasions,” the force
said in a recent circular to all its
field formations in the country,
accessed by this agency.
The all-leather belt, a senior
official said, is used by officers to
hold the sword during ceremonial
events like the Raising Day of the
force or a unit and passing out
parades. As the name suggests,
the belt is brown in colour and is
hung from a small metal clip on the
waistbelt called ‘frog’ in order to
latch it and make it diagonally go
over the stomach and back of the
cop wearing it.
“It was also seen to be a little
uncomfortable as someone who
wore it was always in a hurry to
take it out as soon the ceremonial
job is done.”
Press Trust of India
THE FORMER WOMen’s minister of Delhi, who
was sacked over a ‘sex tape’,
has now been arrested following a claim by a woman
shown in the tape that he
raped her, an investigator
said on Sunday.
Sandeep Kumar was arrested on Saturday, days
after he was dismissed as
women’s and children’s
minister following the video
leak to television channels
which showed him kissing
two women.
“He was arrested on a
complaint filed by one of
the woman seen in the video. She has alleged Kumar
raped her. The investigations have just started,”
Vikramjit Singh, deputy
police commissioner of
Delhi, said. The married
woman, who cannot be
named for legal reasons,
said in her complaint to police that Kumar spiked her
drink with sedatives before
sexually assaulting her last
year at his residence, the
officer said.
She alleged the minister
had promised her a job and
help in securing a government benefits card.
Singh said the second
woman seen in the video has
yet to be identified and efforts are being made to contact her for her testimony.
The nine-minute video
was sent late Wednesday to
a local news channel and to
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal, who immediately
sacked him from his cabinet.
Only snippets of the
“sex tape” were aired on
the channel, showing Kumar on a bed wearing only
shorts and kissing one of
the women. A set of photographs allegedly show him
kissing another woman.
Kumar, a married father
of one, has denied the allegations. He says the tape was
fabricated and a political conspiracy to tarnish his image.
Separately, the controversy involving Kumar
further rankled the AAP as
a party MLA shot off a letter
to Kejriwal, criticising party
leader Ashutosh’s stand and
alleged that a “coterie” was
damaging the party.
Bijwasan MLA Devinder Sehrawat, who had earlier spoken out against the
manner in which AAP had
sacked Prashant Bhushan
and Yogendra Yadav, said
the situation is getting indefensible and disgraceful and
action needs to be taken to
remove “rotten elements”.
Agencies
INDIA
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
OMAN TRIBUNE
9
J&K separatists Isolate backers and sponsors of
refuse to talk terror, Modi tells Brics leaders
to lawmakers
HANGZHOU
CM calls for unconditional dialogue
SRINAGAR
TOP KASHMIRI SEPAratist leaders on Saturday
refused to talk to national
opposition leaders who
were part of an all-party delegation that arrived here on
a mission to restore peace in
the restive valley that is battling nearly two months of
the deadliest unrest in years.
Janata Dal-United leader
Sharad Yadav and Communist leaders Sitaram
Yechury and D Raja went
to meet Geelani at his upscale Hyderpora residence.
But the hardline Hurriyat
chairman refused to even let
them in and the three MPs
left after waiting at his door
for about 10 minutes, informed sources said.
Outside the house, several of Geelani’s supporters massed around and
angrily shouted slogans
as the MPs’ cars and security vehicles went past.
They chanted “Go India,
go back” and “We want
freedom”.
A disappointed Yechury
later told the media that
they “had come to hold
talks and listen to his (Geelani’s) viewpoint”.
“We can move forward
(to solve the Kashmir
problems) only through
talks. But he didn’t open
the door,” Yechury said.
After their failed bid at
Haiderpora, the three leaders returned to the Shere
Kashmir
International
Convention Centre where
they had earlier attended a
meeting of all parties with
Chief Minister Mehbooba
Mufti.
Mehbooba pitched for
unconditional dialogue with
all stakeholders as she met
the all-party parliamentary
delegation and offered to
help in this regard.
She said she was committed to help initiate a
“sustained and meaningful
dialogue” within the state
with political groups, irrespective of the ideological
views and predilections of
the political groups.
Sharad Yadav, Yechury
DECISION
Hurriyat
had already
decided not to
meet the MPs
who had come
with Rajnath
Singh
and Raja earlier went to
meet Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front chief
Yasin Malik at a police
hub turned into a prison
at Humhama, close to the
Srinagar airport, on the
outskirts of the city.
Malik met them barely
for 10 minutes but more
to say that there was no
point in holding any talks
with the MPs, sources said.
Also detained with Malik
are three key Geelani aides.
Separately, Asaduddin
Owaisi of the All India Majlise Ittehadul Muslimeen
went to meet moderate
Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz
at Chashma Shahi where a
tourist hut has been converted to a sub-jail. Separatist leader Shabir Shah was
also brought to the sub-jail.
Mirwaiz was cold to
Owaisi, saying the Hurriyat
had already decided not to
meet the MPs who had come
with federal Home Minister
Rajnath Singh.
The separatist leaders
had earlier in a statement
said the delegation from
Delhi has not “spelled
out its mandate” and had
no clear agenda of its engagement in the valley,
where normal life has been
disrupted for nearly two
months now.
As the MPs landed in
Srinagar, more violence
erupted across the Kashmir
Valley. Police sources said
nearly 100 people were
injured in clashes between
stone-pelting protesters
and security forces at various places.
As many as 40 people
were injured as security
forces used shotgun pellets to disperse thousands
of protesters in south Kashmir’s Shopian district. A
mob of protesters later set
ablaze a multi-story sprawling complex of the district
administration.
Agencies
IN AN INDIRECT REFErence to Pakistan, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
asked the Brics member nations to “isolate supporters
and sponsors of terror”.
In a meet with the leaders
of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics)
ahead of G20 summit, Modi
said “terrorists in South
Asia, or anywhere for that
matter, do not own banks
or weapons factories”.
“Clearly, someone funds
and arms them, and Brics
must intensify joint efforts
not just to fight terror but to
coordinate actions to isolate
those who are supporters
and sponsors of terror,” he
said. In the meet, Modi said
terrorism was the primary
source of instability and the
biggest threat to societies.
“Clearly someone funds
and arms them and Brics
must intensify joint efforts
not just to fight terror but to
coordinate actions to isolate
those who are supporters
and sponsors of terror,” he
said, without naming Pakistan which is a close ally of
China. Describing Brics
as “an influential voice”
in international discourse,
Modi said it was the grouping’s shared responsibility
to shape the global agenda
and help developing nations
achieve their objectives.
He said terrorism remains the “primary source
of instability and the biggest
threat to our societies” and
countries and the supplies
chains have a global reach.
Use of social media to promote radical ideology is
“growing dimension of this
threat”, he added.
Swarup during a media
PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Jacob Zuma and Brazilian President Michel Temer pose for a group photo before the Brics
meeting in Hangzhou, China, on Sunday.
briefing said “this (Modi’s
address to the Brics leaders meeting) tells you how
strongly the prime minister
intervened on the issue of
terror and how be believes
that this really is the central
challenge facing the moment and unless we have
collective approach to this,
it will not be possible for us
to defeat this.”
Swarup said it was important to have informal discussions with the other Brics
leaders ahead of the grouping’s 8th annual Summit in
Goa from October 15-16.
Modi, in his address to
the four other leaders of
the grouping said: “We,
as Brics, are an influential voice in international
discourse. It is, therefore,
our shared responsibility
to shape the international
agenda.
Obama praises tax reforms
HANGZHOU
PRIME
MINISTER
Narendra Modi on Sunday exchanged views
with Barack Obama on the
sidelines of the G20 summit with the US president
praising the “bold policy”
move on Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform
in a “difficult” global
economic scenario.
Obama in his intervention during the G20 sum-
mit praised Modi for the
recent tax reform as an
example of “bold policy”
in an otherwise “difficult
global economic scenario”.The government has
set April 1, 2017 as the target for rolling out the GST,
considered the biggest tax
reform in a long time.
Meanwhile, Modi invited Saudi Arabia to invest
more in India’s infrastructure, particularly in the
railways, during a meet-
ing with Deputy Crown
Prince Mohammad Bin
Salman Al Saud.
“The prime minister invited greater Saudi investment, particularly through
the National Investment
and Infrastructure Fund,”
official sources said. “He
also sought greater cooperation in infrastructure,
particularly modernisation of railway stations,”
the sources said.
Agencies
“Our shared responsibility to shape international
agenda in manner that helps
developing nations achieve
their objectives,” he said in
this picturesque eastern
Chinese city on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
The four other leaders
who participated in the
meeting of the five-member bloc included Brazilian
President Michel Temer,
Chinese President Xi Jinping - with whom Modi
held bilateral talks earlier,
Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African
President Jacob Zuma.
“Our summit next
month would not only be
an opportunity to deepen
ties with ourselves, we will
also interact with ndia’s
neighbouring countries of
BIMSTEC - Nepal, Bhutan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Myanmar and Thailand,
who have been invited for
the outreach summit.
Agencies
Officials’ suspension over Naik NGO issue draws flak
NEW DELHI
AFTER THE FEDERAL
government suspended
four federal home ministry officials, including
an Indian Administrative
Service (IAS) officer, for
alleged lapses over the issuing of licence to Islamic
tele-evangelist Zakir Naik’s
NGO, senior officials have
expressed their resentment
over the punishment meted
out.
A group of senior officials
in the home ministry reportedly registered with federal
home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi their protest over suspension of joint secretary GK
Dwivedi.
“Some officials have met
the home secretary on the
issue (over the weekend),”
a source said. Four officials
of the home ministry were
suspended on September 1
for their “lapses” in renewing the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)
licence of the NGO Islamic
Research Foundation (IRF)
of tele-preacher Zakir Naik.
Naik’s Peace TV and his
speeches have come under
the scanner of the federal security agencies for allegedly
propagating radical views,
especially in the aftermath of
the July 1 Dhaka terror siege
that left 22 people dead.
According to security
agencies, Naik through
Peace TV had reportedly
promoted radical Islamist
views. While the probe by
the home ministry and secu-
rity agencies was on, the law
ministry has favoured registering a case against Naik
and IRF for pursuing divisive
agenda and communalism.
The home ministry officials told the home secretary
that suspension of Dwivedi, a
joint secretary in the foreigners cell, was uncalled for as
the lapses were committed
by his juniors only.
“The action against
Dwivedi appears demoralising,” a source said, and
stressed that the home ministry should reconsider its
decision as regard a senior
official who was discharging
his duties diligently.
The home ministry and
especially home minister Rajnath Singh were displeased
after the mandatory FCRA
licence of NGO IRF was
renewed by the foreigners
division.
Sources said the online
route for issuance of licences was utilised by the
NGO on August 19 even as
a probe was on against Naik.
Sources said that suspended IAS officer Dwivedi has
been working on a number
of “pet projects” of the Na-
rendra Modi government,
offering long term visas
and citizenship to Hindus,
Sikhs and other minorities
of Pakistan, Bangladesh and
Afghanistan.
He also worked on the
merger of Person of Indian
Origin card scheme with
Overseas Citizen of India
card scheme.
Indo-Asian News Service
INSIDE INDIA
Close call for 12
Asom Rifles men
IMPHAL
IT WAS A NARROW EScape for a patrol of 12 Asom
Rifles in Manipur’s border
district of Chandel when
militants tried to ambush
them using a remote-controlled bomb on Sunday,
officials said.
Intelligence sources said
that at 2pm, the patrolling
personnel discerned that
a bomb was buried at the
side of the village road leading to Kwatha Khnnuou, a
little distance away from
the Trans-Asian highway
No 1. Police said that there
might have been some other
bombs buried along the
road or hung from the tree
branches.
With the arrival of the
additional Asom Rifles personnel, a search operation
was launched in the nearby
areas. However, no suspects
were detected. A police officer said that the militants
must have slipped away
towards the no man’s land.
There have been some
sensational
ambushes
against the security forces
claiming several lives. Attacking security personnel
along the highway linking
Manipur to Myanmar in this
district have been a recurring feature.
To check the free movement of the insurgents along
the international border, the
construction of a 10kmlong border fence was
started at Moreh.
Indo-Asian News Service
KEEP RUNNING, KEEP FIT
Kirron Kher leads actors
in Parliament attendance
NEW DELHI Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP
Kirron Kher leads the actor-turned-MPs in attending Parliament sessions, while Rekha has
finished last. According to the PRS Legislative
Research, Kher, who represents Chandigarh,
was top with 85 per cent attendance, maximum
among actors. She was followed by Paresh Rawal, BJP MP from Ahmedabad East constituency.
Clean India may rope in Olympians
NEW DELHI Rio Olympics medalists PV Sindhu
and Sakshi Malik, besides Olympian Dipa Karmakar are likely to be the new faces of ‘Clean
India’ Mission for creating awareness about the
prime minister’s initiative. “We are very keen
to involve both Olympic medal winners Sakshi
and Sindhu along with gymnast Dipa Karmakar,
in the mission” secretary, drinking water and
sanitation, Parameswaran Iyer said.
4 killed as Maoist groups clash
RANCHI Four persons were killed in a fight
PTI
Women participate in Pinkathon in New Delhi on Sunday. More than 9,000 women in different age groups participated in pinkathon, an initiative to raise awareness about the importance of a healthy lifestyle for women.
Selfie hunters crowd Singur factory site
SINGUR
WITNESSING A FRENZY OF ACTIVI
ties after having stood desolate for nearly
eight years, the abandoned Tata Motors plant
here in West Bengal’s Hooghly district is fast
becoming a favourite with “selfie hunters”.
Following the Supreme Court’s verdict,
the Mamata Banerjee government has been
working on a war footing to initiate the process of returning the land to the farmers
from whom it was taken for setting up a plant
which was to roll out the ‘world’s cheapest
car’- the Nano. Since the Supreme Court’s
verdict, a large number of people have been
visiting Singur, around 40km from Kolkata,
which was on the boil between 2006 and
2008 after the then Left Front government
acquired 997.11 acres of land for setting up
the small car factory.
“So far I have seen Singur only in headlines or on TV. With the court’s verdict now
bringing the focus back, I couldn’t refrain
myself from visiting,” said a man who along
with his daughter took several selfies before
the abandoned plant. “Singur is synony-
mous to Mamata’s struggle for the people.
This plant is a symbol of the sufferings of
the common people and their eventual triumph. Years from now when people will ask
me, I can proudly say I was in Singur,” said
another proudly clicking himself in front
of the plant.
Meanwhile, the administration continued carrying out the survey at a brisk pace,
for initiating the process of returning the
acquired land.
Besides installing watch towers and installing light towers to work at night, the
administration has been using drone and
GPS satellite mapping for aerial survey.
State Panchayat Minister Subrata
Mukherjee visited the site and supervised
the survey work. He met District Magistrate Sanjay Bansal and Superintendent of
Police Pravin Triptahi, who all are camping
at the site.
“The way work is being carried out, I am
very confident we will be able to hand over
cultivable land to the farmers very soon,”
said Mukherjee.
Indo-Asian News Service
between two Maoist groups in Jharkhand’s
Khuti district, police said. According to
police, four persons were first fired at and
injured, and later killed with a sharp-edged
weapon at Kasira village under jurisdiction of
Karra police station in Khuti district.
Met centre to forecast cold wave
NEW DELHI The India Meteorological Depart-
ment (IMD) will issue winter forecast and cold
wave alerts for the season from this year. The
forecast will be issued for the December, January and February. “By November end this year
we will be issuing winter forecast for the season,” IMD director-general KJ Ramesh said.
Bhushan Steel chief arrested
NEW DELHI Bhushan Steel said a Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court held the
company’s chairman BB Singal guilty under
the Indian Electricity Act in the case related to
Bhushan Industrial Company Ltd. of Chandigarh. “The court held Singal guilty under the
Indian Electricity Act, 1910, “ says a report.
10
ASIA
OMAN TRIBUNE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
Obama, Xi feel South China Sea chill as G20 summit starts
HANGZHOU (CHINA)
US PRESIDENT BARACK
Obama pressed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping late on Saturday on
territorial disputes in the
South China Sea, urging
Beijing to uphold its legal
obligations and stressing
the US’ commitments to
its regional allies.
Xi said China would
continue to safeguard its
sovereignty and maritime
rights in the South China
Sea, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry’s website.
The two leaders and their
delegations met for over four
hours before Obama and Xi
talked one-on-one as they
took a night-time stroll.
Tensions over the disputed waters between
China and its neighbours
were expected to hang over
the G20 summit, which
opened in Hangzhou on
Sunday.
After the meetings with
Xi and his top oficials,
Obama emphasised the
importance for China to
“abide by its obligations”
to an international maritime
treaty in the dispute over
rights to South China Sea.
An arbitration court in
The Hague ruled in July
that China had no historic
title over the waters of the
South China Sea and had
infringed on the rights of
the Philippines.
Beijing rejected the ruling. But Xi said in his talks
with Obama that China
“will persist in peacefully
resolving disputes through
consultations with parties
directly involved”. He urged
the US to “play a constructive role” in the peace and
stability of the region.
The White House said
Obama had “underscored
the US’ unwavering commitment to the security of
its treaty allies. The president reafirmed that the US
will work with all countries
in the region to uphold the
principles of international
law, unimpeded lawful
commerce, and freedom of
navigation and over-light.”
Obama stressed the need
for “an open trade and investment environment and
the need for China to pro-
tect religious freedom for
all of its citizens,” it said.
In a separate statement,
Chinese Foreign Ministry,
said the US should drop
its “double standards on
the South China Sea” and
play a constructive role in
maintaining regional peace
and stability.
Xi told Obama that China objects to the deploy-
Chinese flotilla
near key shoal
worries Manila
THE PHILIPPINES HAS
asked China to explain
the increased presence of
Chinese vessels near the
disputed Scarborough
Shoal in the South China
Sea, the defence secretary
said on Sunday, expressing
“grave concern”.
Philippine Defence Secretary Delin Lorenzana
said a Philippine Air Force
(PAF) plane saw four Chinese coast guard ships, two
barge-like vessels and two
suspected troop ships near
the shoal on Saturday.
“The presence of so
many ships, other than
coast guard in the area is
cause for grave concern,”
Lorenzana said.
“The Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) has
already called the attention
of the Chinese Ambassador
and demanded explanation,” he added.
The shoal, which is located just 230 kilometres
from the main Philippine
island of Luzon, has long
been a bone of contention between the two
countries.
Lorenzana said that earlier this year, the Chinese
tried to bring in dredging
barges in an apparent attempt to turn the Scarborough into an artiicial island
but were dissuaded by the
US.
“If they try to construct
anything in Scarborough
it will have far reaching adverse effect on the security
situation,” he added.
The Chinese Embassy
in Manila could not be
reached for comment.
Philippine President
Rodrigo Duterte has said
he intends to ask Beijing
-- possibly at a regional
summit in Laos this week
-- if they are building up
the shoal despite an international court ruling
rejecting most of China’s
claims in the resourceACTION
Duterte said he
intends to ask
Beijing if they
are building
up the shoal
despite the UN
court ruling
rich area.
Duterte said on Friday
he had received an unsettling intelligence report
showing China had sent
barges to the contested
Scarborough Shoal and
had appeared to begin construction in the area for the
irst time.
An arbitration court in
The Hague ruled in July
that China’s claims to almost all of the strategic
sea had no legal basis and
its construction of artiicial
islands in disputed waters
was illegal.
The United States has
warned of “actions” if Beijing extends its military
expansion to the Scarborough Shoal.
China has sought to assert its claims in the South
China Sea by building a
network of artiicial islands
capable of supporting military operations.
Its massive land reclamation has prompted criticism
from the US and claimant
countries, with Washington warning it endanger
freedom of navigation in
international waters.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have
claims to the sea, through
which over $5 trillion in
annual trade passes.
The Scarborough Shoal,
a rich ishing ground within
the Philippines’ exclusive
economic zone and 650
kilometres away from the
nearest major Chinese
landmass, is a particular
lashpoint.
China took control of
Scarborough Shoal in
2012 after a stand-off with
the Philippine Navy.
Duterte, who took ofice
in June, had earlier vowed
to mend ties with China
after his predecessor Benigno Aquino angered Beijing by iling the arbitration
case in 2013.
Agence France-Presse
DHAKA
The World Health Organisation (WHO) ranks
Malaysia’s healthcare system
as the world’s 49th most developed. Singapore igures
in the top 10.
The WHO has declared
the Zika outbreak an international health emergency,
and if Malaysia’s ight against
dengue is any indication, it
will struggle with Zika.
Malaysia recorded a total
of 120,836 dengue cases
last year.Malaysian authorities say dengue is a bigger
problem than Zika.
But regional health experts believe Zika is signiicantly under-reported in
Southeast Asia as authorities fail to conduct adequate
screening and also because
of its usually mild symptoms.
BANGLADESH’S FUNdamentalist Jamaate Islami leader and media tycoon Mir Quasem Ali was
buried in the wee hours
on Sunday in his ancestral
village in Manikganj after a
funeral prayer following his
execution last night for war
crimes.
Mir Quasem, 63, considered as the top inancier of
the Jamaat, was hanged at
the Kashimpur Central Jail
on the outskirts of Dhaka at
10:30pm on Saturday.
Three ambulances, one
of which carried his body
left Kashimpur prison after
12:30am. A Fire Service
car, six vehicles of RAB and
police and three other cars
were escorting them when
they left the jail premises,
Bdnews24 reported.
His relatives had already
reached Chala village to
prepare for the burial. The
body arrived in the village
at 2:45am and he was buried around 3:30am after a
funeral prayer.
Police did not allow outsiders to enter the village.
In Islamabad, Pakistan
has said it was ‘deeplysaddened’ by Dhaka’s execution of Mir Quasem and
alleged that he was hanged
after aconviction “through
a lawed judicial process.”
Mir Quasem was the
sixth person to be executed
for war crimes committed
during the country’s 1971
Liberation War against
Pakistan.
His execution came after
he refused to seek presidential clemency.
Agence France-Presse
Press Trust of India
Mohd Rasfan/AFP
A pest control worker fumigates a school classroom on the eve of the annual national Primary School Evaluation Test in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Malaysia braces for more Zika
cases as local infection found
KUALA LUMPUR
MALAYSIA IS BRACING
for more Zika cases, oficials
said on Sunday, after detecting the irst locally infected
patient, which could further
stretch a health system struggling with dengue.
Both Zika and the dengue
virus are spread by the Aedes
aegypti mosquito, which is
common in tropical Malaysia, and across the region.
Neighbouring Singapore
on Saturday conirmed 26
more cases of locally-transmitted Zika infections, the
health ministry and National
Environment Agency said,
bringing the tally to 215.
Three days ago, Malaysia reported its irst Zika
infection - a woman living
near Kuala Lumpur who
contracted the virus during
a visit to Singapore.
On Saturday, Malaysian
authorities said they had
detected the irst local infection: a 61-year-old man
in Kota Kinabalu, in the Malaysian part of Borneo island.
“The conirmation of the
second case of Zika in Kota
Kinabalu suggests that
the virus is already present
within our communities,”
Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said.
“Zika is present in our
country. New cases will continue to emerge,” he posted
on his Facebook page.
Zika infections in pregnant women have been
shown to cause microcephaly as well as other brain abnormalities. The connection
between Zika and micro-
cephaly irst came to light
in Brazil, which has since
conirmed more than 1,800
cases of microcephaly.
Since reporting its irst
Zika infection, Malaysia
has increased insecticide
spraying to kill mosquitoes.
It has also stepped up health
checks at its main border
with Singapore, through
which 200,000 people
pass daily.
Malaysia faces a much
more challenging ight
against Zika, doctors say.
“Zika will spread even
faster in Malaysia than Singapore because our Aedes
volume is so much higher
and the breeding grounds
are enormous,” said Amar
Singh, head of the paediatric
department at Hospital Raja
Permaisuri Bainun in Ipoh.
INSIDE ASIA
Hong Kong votes
amid freedom call
HONG KONG
YOUNG HONG KONG
independence activists calling for a complete break
from China stood in major
elections for the irst time
on Sunday, the biggest vote
since 2014 pro-democracy
rallies.
They are ighting for seats
in the Legislative Council,
or LegCo as concerns grow
that Beijing is tightening its
grip on the semi-autonomous city. Polling stations
were busy as campaigners
with megaphones urged
residents to vote on a hot
and humid day.
But wins for the young activists could split the democracy camp’s vote -- and end up
playing into the hands of proBeijing parties. The more strident independence activists
were banned from running in
Sunday’s election.
Polls show some of the
handful of pro-independence
candidates running may win
seats. Hong Kong political
analyst Joseph Cheng says
he expects new faces in the
legislature.
“This election is very much
characterised by an inter-generational change of politicians
and political leaders,” he said.
One voter who gave her
name as Sandy said she
favoured independence.
“This is a very critical time...
we are here to ensure a voice
can still be heard,” she said.
But while win for antiChina activists would be a
massive coup, many still feel
they are chasing an impossible cause.
Student voter Wilson
Vai, 21, said he supported
the pro-democracy camp
-- but felt calling for independence was going too far.
Agencies
Japan typhoon kills 17
as new storm brews
TOKYO The death toll from Typhoon Lion-
rock has risen to 17 in Japan, with several
people still missing, and oficials said on
Sunday a new storm threatens the country’s
southwest. Two more deaths were conirmed
on Sunday from the major typhoon which hit
northern Japan last week, said an oficial in
Iwate. Now a new typhoon is bearing down
on the country’s main island of Kyushu in the
southwest.As of 4 pm (0700 GMT) Typhoon
Namtheun was some 909m southwest of the
city of Amakusa in western Kyushu.
38 killed in Kabul collision
KABUL At least 38 people were killed and 28
were injured in Afghanistan after a fuel tanker
collided with a passenger bus, causing a massive explosion, local oficials said on Sunday.
The incident took place on a major highway
connecting the southern province of Kandahar with the capital city of Kabul.
Nepal landslide claims 4 lives
KATHMANDU At least four persons including
Tyrone Siu/Reuters
People queue up as they wait to cast their votes for the Legislative Council election at a polling station in Hong
Kong on Sunday.
Bindi Irwin pays touching tribute to ‘my hero’ dad
SYDNEY
AUSTRALIANS PAID TRIBute to the memory of “Crocodile
Hunter” Steve Irwin on Sunday
on the tenth anniversary of the
death of the iconic television
celebrity and conservationist.
Irwin, world-famous for his
daring stunts with dangerous
animals, died on September 4,
2006 after being stabbed in the
heart by a giant stingray while
filming on the Great Barrier
Reuters
Bangladesh
buries tycoon
hanged for
war crimes
Beijing’s explanation sought
MANILA
ment of a US missile shield
in South Korea to help
protect against the North
Korean nuclear threat.
Xi told Obama it was the
responsibility of China and
the US to carry out a successful G20 summit and
to inject momentum to
the global economy, Xinhua said.
Reef in Queensland.
As the nation marked Father’s
Day on Sunday, his daughter,
Bindi Irwin, who was eight years
old when her father died, wrote a
tribute on Instagram and Twitter
alongside an image of her beaming father carrying her as a baby:
“You’ll be my hero for my entire existence. I love you more
than words can describe.”
The 18-year-old, a media
star, promotes her father’s
conservation causes.
Irwin’s close friend and manager John Stainton, who was
with Irwin when he died, said
it was still “hard to talk about”
what happened.
“It was never a put on, he was
larger than life in life,” Stainton
added, speaking to ABC radio
on Friday.
“He burnt a hole in the fabric of our lives as he jumped
through the television and
grabbed you by the scruff of
the neck. He had that magne-
tism and there was nothing like
him before.”
Irwin’s son, Robert, told the
Brisbane Times news website
he was working towards being a
wildlife photographer to “carry
on in his (father’s) footsteps”.
Earlier this week, Irwin’s father
Bob released a letter his son wrote
to his parents when he was 32 to
thank them for their support, but
which he only found this year.
“Probably one of the most
unfortunate things in a bloke’s
life is that it takes over 30
years to realise how essential you have been to build
my character, my ethics and,
most importantly, my HAPPINESS,” Irwin wrote.
Other Australians took to
social media websites to recall
where they were when they
heard the news of Irwin’s sudden death, while sharing their
appreciation for his conservation efforts.
Agence France-Presse
two children were killed on Sunday when a
house was swept away in a landslide triggered by incessant rain in western Nepal. The
incident occurred at around 2am in Syangja
district when the victims were sleeping in the
house, police said.
Suspect held in publisher killing
DHAKAPolice in Bangladesh have arrested
another suspect in the killing of a publisher
who was hacked to death by radicals in last
October. “Another man whom we believe was
one of the main prime suspects in killing the
publisher was arrested on Saturday,” Monirul
Islam, chief of the counterterroism cell of the
Dhaka police, said on Sunday.
Panic erupts over Manila quake
TAGUM (PHILIPPINES) A strong earthquake
shook parts of the southern Philippines on
Sunday, briely panicking residents, the
government volcanology ofice said. The
6.0-magnitude quake rocked the southern
island of Mindanao but there were no initial
reports of damage or casualties.
EUROPE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
OMAN TRIBUNE
May warns of
difficult times
for economy
US ‘will help’
Turkey bring
coup plotters
to justice
HANGZHOU (China)
partner in providing aid and
assistance to vulnerable citizens that have poured out of
Syria as well as Iraq,” he said
at a meeting with Erdogan.
“This is not an issue in
which Turkey should be
carrying the burden alone,”
he added. “It needs support
from all of us, and we intend
to provide it.”
THE UNITED STATES
is committed to bringing
the perpetrators of the
attempted coup against
Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan to justice,
President Barack Obama
said on Sunday.
At talks with Erdogan
on the sidelines of the G20
summit, Obama said: “We
will make sure that those
who carried out these activities are brought to justice.”
Tensions between the
two Nato allies have risen
sharply since the failed coup
attempt against Erdogan
on July 15, with Ankara
launching a wide-ranging
crackdown and demanding
that the US extradite Gulen.
An exiled former imam
living in the eastern state of
Pennsylvania, Gulen strongly denies any involvement
with the bid to overthrow
Erdogan.
The dispute has soured
public perceptions of the
United States in Turkey
and risks undermining a
deep security relationship.
US officials insist they will
extradite Gulen if Turkey
can present proof he was
actually involved.
The meeting in Hangzhou was the two leaders’
first face-to-face encounter
since the coup attempt.
Obama said the US was
committed to “investigating
and bringing the perpetrators of these illegal actions
to justice” and assured
Erdogan of American cooperation with Turkish
authorities.
Since July, Ankara has
detained, removed, or arrested tens of thousands of
people within the judiciary,
military, education system
and police force for alleged
links to Gulen’s movement
or the coup itself.
US-Turkey tensions have
also been strained by Turkey’s bombing of Kurdish
positions in northern Syria.
The targets included
Kurdish groups that are
backed by Washington and
seen by it as integral to the
fight against the Daish. Ankara accuses them of being
in league with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),
a group which has claimed
responsibility for deadly attacks inside Turkey.
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
UK to focus on post-Brexit trade ties
LONDON
PRIME MINISTER THEresa May warned of possible
“difficult times ahead” for
Britain’s economy in an interview screened on Sunday
as she sought to build postBrexit trade ties at the G20
summit in China.
Speaking to BBC television, May also ruled out a
new general election anytime soon, saying Britain
needed stability following
June’s referendum vote to
pull out of the European
Union.
She also said that the government will set out next
week the work it has done
so far on preparing to leave
the European Union.
She voiced optimism
about the health of Britain’s economy but warned
that there could be tough
times ahead.
“I’m not going to pretend
that it’s all going to be plain
sailing,” she said. “I think
we must be prepared for the
fact that there may be some
difficult times ahead. But
what I am is optimistic.”
May, who took office in
July after David Cameron
quit following the referendum, also confirmed
Downing Street briefings
that she is not intending to
call a general election soon.
This is despite the ruling
Conservative party having
only a small majority in the
House of Commons, which
could make it hard to pass
controversial laws, and
Jeremy Corbyn’s deeply
divided opposition Labour
lagging in opinion polls
and holding a leadership
contest.“I’m not going to
be calling a snap election,”
May said.
“I’ve been very clear that
I think we need that period
of time, that stability, to be
able to deal with the issues
that the country is facing
and have that election in
2020.”
STABILITY
I think we
need that
period of time,
that stability,
to be able to
deal with the
issues that the
country is facing’
She also dismissed comments by Scottish First
Minister Nicola Sturgeon
that the Brexit vote had
shifted the debate on Scottish independence just two
years after Scots voted by 10
percentage points to reject
it. Opinions polls did not
suggest the Scottish people
want another vote, May said.
May and her Brexit
minister David Davis have
given little detail about what
Britain’s future relationship
with the EU will look like,
saying only they want it to
involve curbs on immigration and a good deal on
trade.
“He (Davis) will be making a statement to parliament this week about the
work that the government
has been doing over the
summer and obviously how
we are going to take that forward in shaping the sort of
relationship we want with
the EU,” May said.
May has been clear she
will not trigger Article 50,
the formal process of leaving the bloc, this year but
said the government would
not delay getting on with
Brexit.
“I am very clear also that
the British people also don’t
want the issue of Article 50
just being kicked into the
long grass,” she said.
May is meeting world
leaders including US President Barack Obama and
China’s Xi Jinping at the
G20 summit.
She told the BBC she
wanted to “start to scope
out” with them how future
trade deals would look postBrexit.
But Obama spoke out
strongly against Brexit
during the referendum campaign, warning Britons they
would go “to the back of the
queue” for a US trade deal if
they voted to leave.
European Commission
chief Jean-Claude Juncker
also said Sunday he opposes
trade negotiations between
Britain and other nations
while it remains part of the
bloc after Australia said it
was about to launch talks
on the issue.
Agencies
Nicolas Asfonri/Pool/Reuters
British Prime Minister Theresa May during the opening ceremony of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China.
Anti-immigrant party beats
Merkel’s CDU in state poll
BERLIN
GERMAN CHANCELlor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats fell to third place in a
state election on Sunday
behind the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and
anti-immigrant Alternative
for Germany (AfD) party,
TV exit polls showed.
In a stinging defeat for
Merkel one year ahead of
parliamentary elections,
the upstart AfD won 21 per
cent of the vote in their first
election in MecklenburgVorpommern state by
campaigning hard against
the chancellor’s policies
on refugees, according to
an exit poll by the ARD TV
network.
The SPD, which has ruled
the rural state on the Baltic
coast with the CDU as junior coalition partners since
2006, won 30.5 per cent of
the vote, down from 35.6
per cent in the last election
in 2011. The CDU won 19
per cent, down from 23 per
cent in 2011, and its worst
result ever in the state, the
broadcaster said.
The far-left Left Party
won 12.5 per cent, down
from 18.4 percent five
years ago, while the proenvironment Greens won
5 per cent, down from 8.7
per cent. The far-right NPD
was knocked out of the state
assembly, falling below the
5 percent threshold for the
first time since 2006 with
3.5 per cent, down from 6
per cent in 2011.
The election, taking place
exactly a year after Merkel’s
decision to open Germany’s
borders to hundreds of
thousands of refugees, will
be followed by another key
vote in Berlin in two weeks
and national elections next
September.
Voters already punished
Merkel in three state elections in March, voting in
droves for the AfD and rejecting Merkel’s Christian
Democrats.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a small coastal state
in northeastern Germany
with just 1.3 million eligible voters, but losses there
would be humiliating for
Merkel, who has her own
electoral district in the state.
The AfD, founded two
years after the last election
in the state, is expected to
capture 22 per cent of the
vote, the same as Merkel’s
Christian
Democratic
Union (CDU), junior partner in the state’s ruling coalition, according to a poll
by broadcaster ZDF.
The Social Democrats,
senior partners in the
state’s ruling coalition, are
expected to win 28 per cent
of the vote, compared with
35.6 per cent in the last
state-wide election in 2011.
The AfD is also making
gains nationwide, a new poll
showed on Sunday. If the
national election were held
next week, the AfD would
win 12 per cent of the vote,
making it the third-largest
party in Germany, according to a poll conducted by
the Emnid institute.
Reuters
Europe ‘close to limits’ on ability to accept refugees
HANGZHOU (China)
EUROPE IS “CLOSE
to limits” on its ability to
accept new waves of refugees, EU President Donald Tusk said on Sunday,
urging the broader international community to
shoulder its share of the
burden.
“The practical capabil-
ity of Europe to host new
waves of refugees, not to
mention irregular economic migrants, is close
to limits,” he told a press
conference on the sidelines
of the G20 summit.
A steady stream of
refugees has flowed into
Europe over the last year,
largely fleeing the civil war
in Syria.
The issue has become
a political hot potato for
leaders in the region as a
series of terror attacks and
rising anti-globalisation
sentiment have combined
to create an increasingly
inhospitable environment
for refugees from the brutal
conflict.
Germany threw open
its borders and volunteers
across Europe flocked to
train stations and frontier
crossings to welcome those
fleeing war and poverty.
But a major backlash
swiftly followed. The EU’s
outer borders have since
come back down hard, the
so-called Balkan migrant
route has shut and anti-migrant sentiment has soared.
Tusk said there were 65
million displaced people
around the world, and “the
G20 community should
scale up its share of responsibility”. “We have
enough space for all parties
to discuss these problems
including China,” he said,
calling for financial assistance and development aid
for migrants’ countries of
origin. “Only global efforts
Refugee policy leaves Merkel isolated
SCHWERIN (Germany)
CHANCELLOR ANGEla Merkel’s party faced
a backlash as the antimigrant populists won 21
per cent of the vote in their
first election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state,
a year after the German
leader opened the borders
to refugees.
Around 1.33 million
voters are electing a new
regional parliament for
the northeastern state of
Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania, which is also
home to Merkel’s constituency Stralsund.
The polls come exactly
a year after the German
leader made the momentous decision to let in tens
of thousands of Syrian and
other migrants marooned
in eastern European countries.
Although she won praise
at first, the mood has since
turned, giving way to fears
over how Europe’s biggest
economy will manage to integrate the million people
who arrived last year alone.
Her decision has left her
increasingly isolated in
Europe, and exposed her
to heavy criticism at home,
including from her own
conservative allies.
Right-wing
populist
Alternative for Germany
(AfD), which has campaigned heavily against
Merkel’s liberal refugee
policy, recorded strong
support at the polls. Earlier
opinion polls had suggested that it might even unseat
the German leader’s party
CDU from second place
after the Social Democrats.
In the sprawling farming
and coastal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania -- Germany’s poorest
and least populous -- the
issue of refugees and integration has also become the
deciding factor for one in
three voters.
“I am voting AfD. The
main reason is the question over asylum-seekers,”
said a pensioner and former
teacher who declined to be
named.
“A million refugees have
come here. There is money
for them, but no money to
bring pensions in the east
to the same levels as those
of the west,” he said, referring to the lower retirement
payments that residents of
former Communist states
receive compared to those
in the west.
Illustrating the political
damage to Merkel over her
policy, a survey published
Thursday show her Christian Democratic Union
(CDU) expected to garner
22 per cent at the polls -only as much as the antimigrant upstart party AfD.
The Social Democrats
(SDP) -- which had topped
the vote in the last polls in
2011 -- meanwhile were
predicted to win around
28 per cent at the elections,
Rolex dela Pena/Pool/Reuters
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives to attend the
G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China.
two weeks before capital
Berlin holds its state polls.
Compared to other states
across Germany, the northeastern
MecklenburgWestern Pomerania hosts
just a small proportion of
migrants under a quota
system based on states’ income and population -- having taken in 25,000 asylum
seekers last year.
Most of them had already
decided to abandon the
state, preferring to head
“where there are jobs,
people and shops,” said
Frieder Weinhold, CDU
11
candidate. But he acknowledged that the “migration
policy has sparked a feeling
of insecurity among the
people.”
“We tell them ‘we will
manage this’ but they want
to know how,” he said, in
reference to Merkel’s “We
can do it” rallying cry.
After a series of attacks
by asylum-seekers in July
-- including two claimed
by the Daish organisation
-- the mood has also darkened. Political analyst Hajo
Funke estimates that the
AfD will win 25 per cent
of the vote and become the
second biggest party in the
state, after the SPD.
The neo-Nazi NPD
could garner five per cent,
he said, even if he did not
expect Merkel to change
course over the vote given
the relatively small weight
of the state.
Yet this would mean that
the AfD, which was founded in 2013 as an anti-euro
party before morphing into
a xenophobic party, would
enter yet another regional
parliament.
After scoring strong
results in three key state
elections this year, AfD is
now represented on the
opposition benches of half
of Germany’s 16 regional
parliaments.
Leading members of the
party have sparked outrage
over insulting remarks,
including one disparaging
footballer Jerome Boateng,
who is of mixed German
and Ghanian descent, as
the neighbour no German
wants.
Days ahead of Sunday’s
vote, Merkel urged the
population to reject AfD.
“The more the people
who go to vote, the less
the percentage won by
some parties that, in my
view, have no solution for
problems and which are
built mainly around a protest -- often with hate,” she
told broadcaster NDR in an
interview.
Agence France-Presse
will be able to bear fruits.”
US President Barack
Obama praised Ankara’s
efforts to help refugees,
thanking his Turkish
counterpart Recep Tayyip
Erdogan for the country’s
“exceptional humanitarian
support of refugees.”
“Turkey hosts more refugees than any country in the
world, and it has been a key
12
AMERICAS
OMAN TRIBUNE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
Trump softens tone in last-ditch attempt to woo black voters
DETROIT
REPUBLICAN PRESIDEntial candidate Donald
Trump struck a compassionate tone when addressing black churchgoers in
Detroit on Saturday, part of
a late bid to soften the edges
of an abrasive presidential
campaign weeks before the
US election.
The visit to Great Faith
Ministries International, in
the heart of a city famous as
a symbol of economic and
urban decline, was his irst
to an African-American
church, according to the
pastor.
Trump has faced complaints of racial insensitivity, with his provocative
anti-immigrant rhetoric,
his false accusations that
President Barack Obama
was born outside the United States, and an aggressive
America-irst platform seen
as catering to white voters.
While the Republican
nominee called for “a civil
rights agenda for our time,”
he stopped short of outlining policy speciics on how
to address inner city poverty
and the challenges facing minorities. “Our nation is too
divided,” he said, setting
aside his usual stridency,
and adopting a humble tone.
He told the audience that
he came to listen to their
concerns, expressing sympathy for the out-of-work
young men he had seen on
boarded-up Detroit streets.
“Nothing is more sad than
when we sideline young
black men with unfulilled
potential, tremendous potential,” Trump said, speaking from notes.
“Our whole country loses out without the energy
of these folks. We’re one
nation. And when anyone
hurts, we all hurt together,”
he said.
Trump was received
courteously and rewarded
with occasional bursts of applause as he set about trying
to allay the deep scepticism
of African-Americans who
have swung overwhelmingly behind his rival, Hillary Clinton.
Blacks account for 12 per
cent of the US electorate,
and Trump, who trails in the
polls with 66 days before the
election, recently has sought
to broaden his appeal.
Before the speech, protesters chanting “Dump
Trump” tried to breach
police barriers to gain entrance.
“The devil’s in the pulpit!” shouted Wyoman
Mitchell, one of several
dozen protesters who were
pushed back by horse-
mounted police and other
oficers in the tense encounter. Rick McGowan, who
works in Detroit schools,
described Trump’s outreach here as “an insult to
black people.”
“He’s never come to our
rescue,” McGowan said.
“Why are we supposed to
believe him now?”
Agence France-Presse
New Jersey on
alert as storm
Hermine nears
Emergency declared in 3 counties
NEW YORK/
WASHINGTON
STORM HERMINE CHUrned off the US Middle Atlantic Coast on Sunday, with
forecasters projecting it may
regain hurricane strength as
it creeps north, spoiling the
Labor Day holiday weekend
with high winds, soaking
rains and surging seas.
The storm, which claimed
at least two lives, in Florida
and North Carolina, is expected to stall off the coast
of New Jersey and other major population centres in the
Northeast for several days,
according to the National
Hurricane Center (NHC).
Authorities up and down
the coast have ordered
swimmers and surfers to
stay out of treacherous waters on the holiday weekend
when many Americans celebrate the end of summer.
Projections show the
outer reaches of the storm
could sweep the coastlines
of Rhode Island or Massachusetts later in the week as
Hermine crawls north and
northeast.
It was classiied as a Category 1 hurricane until it
lost strength while cutting
across Florida and Georgia,
packing sustained winds of
up to 105kph. Forecasters
expected winds to return
to hurricane force of more
than 119kph by Sunday
evening.
“It’s going to sit offshore
and it is going to be a tremendous coastal event with
a dangerous storm surge
and lots of larger waves
probably causing signiicant beach erosion, for the
next few days,” said senior
hurricane specialist Daniel
Brown.
The surge was expected
to extend from Virginia to
New Jersey.
New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie declared a
state of emergency in three
coastal counties of the state,
which was devastated by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
DANGEROUS
It’s going to sit
offshore and it
is going to be
a tremendous
coastal event
with a
dangerous
storm surge for
a few days’
The town of Beach Haven, New Jersey, issued an
emergency alert advising
anyone planning to leave
Long Beach Island, a barrier island that draws summer crowds, to do so before
Sunday night’s high tide.
Delaware Governor Jack
Markell declared a limited
state of emergency for Sussex County, which includes
the coastal resorts of Bethany Beach and Rehoboth
Beach.
Hermine, the irst hurricane to make landfall in
Florida in 11 years, swept
ashore on Friday near the
Maduro in bid
to allay unrest
CARACAS
VENEZUELA ON SATurday named publicly 18
military commanders to
oversee the production
and distribution of food
and basic goods in an effort
to alleviate severe shortages
affecting the country.
Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez selected
the military personnel for
the “Great Mission of Sovereign Supply and Security,”
appointments formalised in
the state newspaper.
“We will have thorough,
precise control of the strategic areas,” Padrino Lopez
said on Saturday.
“This semester we will
record supply levels greater
than what we presented in
the irst semester, and next
year, we will already have a
structure to increase projection and improve distribution.”
Venezuelan President
Nicolas Maduro created
the plan to combat severe
shortages -- which private
irms say have hit 80 per
cent -- of basic products
like rice, sugar and toilet paper that has fueled
mounting unrest.
Authorities, meanwhile,
said most of 30 or so protesters arrested in a rally
against Maduro have now
been freed, after mass
demonstrations over food
shortages.
“They have been set
free,” Alfredo Romero of
the NGO Venezuelan Justice Forum said on Twitter.
Agencies
town of St Marks with winds
of 129kph.
It left North Carolina with
power outages, looding,
downed trees and power
lines, while rain and tides
brought looding along
Virginia’s coast.
In the northern Florida
town of Ocala, a falling tree
killed a homeless man sleeping in his tent. In North
Carolina, a tractor trailer
overturned on a bridge over
the Alligator River, killing
the driver.
Overnight, four people
suffered minor injuries
when a tornado hit a campground in Hatteras Village,
Dare County, North Carolina, oficials said.
People posted pictures
of looding and high tides
from North Carolina to
Delaware.
In Virginia Beach, Virginia, Seth Broudy, 45,
owner of the Seth Broudy
School of Surf, said high
winds and tides looded
parking lots by his home
on Saturday. The water
and wind receded, but the
ocean remained unsafe on
Saturday afternoon, he said.
“Right now it’s rough
as hell. It’s dangerous,”
Broudy said in a telephone
interview. “It’s just out of
control. It’s like sitting in a
washing machine and spinning around.”
Life-threatening storm
surges were possible, the
hurricane center said. A
surge is a rise of water above
a predicted tide, pushed by
high winds.
Agencies
Jessica Kourkounis/AFP
High winds from tropical storm Hermine make their way north and effects can be seen as waves crash into shore in Atlantic City, New
Jersey, on Sunday.
Young Americans reject Trump: Obama
WASHINGTON
BARACK OBAMA BE
lieves that young Americans
“completely reject” Republican White House hopeful
Donald Trump’s tough line
on immigration and that
most Americans share their
stance.
“There’s a long tradition in the United States of
inclusion, immigration, diversity,” the president said
in an interview broadcast
on Sunday on CNN but recorded before he left for the
Group of 20 summit meeting in China.
“I don’t think that’s going
to change because Trump’s
got a little more attention
than usual,” added Obama.
He reiterated that he felt
certain the 70-year-old real
estate mogul would not suc-
ceed him as president next
January.
“If you look at the current polls,” Obama said,
“he’s been able to appeal to
a certain group of folks who
feel left out or worried about
the social change, who have
legitimate concerns around
the economy and (are) feeling left behind. But that’s not
the majority of America.”
“And if you talk to younger people, the next generation of Americans, they completely reject the path” taken
by Trump.
The president said it was
important to “pay close attention” when there was a
rise in intolerance and calls
for “banning certain classes
of people,” a clear allusion to
Trump’s call last year to ban
all Muslims from entering
the country “until we ind
out what’s going on.”
But overall, Obama concluded, “I’m optimistic.”
After issuing a series of
contradictory signals on
immigration -- relecting the
tensions within his campaign
team -- Trump delivered a
much-anticipated speech
on Wednesday in Phoenix,
Arizona that essentially repeated the hard line on immigration that helped fuel his
rise during the Republican
primaries.
Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence,
meanwhile, said in an interview on Sunday he would
release his tax returns this
week but that Trump had
not budged from a plan that
might see his own kept under wraps until after election
day.
“Donald Trump and I
ONE CLOWN SHOWED
up on a roadside in a rain
poncho, another waved money at children near woods.
The reported sightings of
silent, menacing clowns in
northeastern South Carolina may be part of a horror
movie publicity stunt or an
elaborate hoax, but they are
no laughing matter for parents and police.
Over the past two weeks,
residents have told authorities they have spotted clowns, or people who
looked like clowns, on at
least eight occasions.
Investigators have failed to
conirm a single sighting and
the descriptions have varied
in detail. But police are nev-
WASHINGTON
Ezequiel Becerra/AFP
An artiste performs during the Eighth Annual Whale and Dolphin Festival at Bahia Ballena Beach in Puntarenas, San Jose. The whale watching season in Costa Rica runs from July until October.
ertheless urging parents to
be cautious.
“I will usually let my son
play in our backyard where I
can see him from the kitchen,
but now I won’t let him go
outside the house without
me,” said Jessie Owen, a
29-year-old
Greenville
mother of two.“All it would
take is one second. One
promise of candy and he
until the IRS completes its
audit. That agency has said
Trump is free to release the
returns whenever he wants.
His failure to do so has
fueled speculation that he
fears some embarrassing
revelation: perhaps that his
fortune is far smaller than
the $10 billion he speaks of,
that he has donated far less to
charities than he suggests, or
that he has awkwardly close
business ties to Russian interests.
Clinton’s returns, released last month, showed
she and her husband, former president Bill Clinton,
had adjusted gross income
of $10.6 million last year,
placing them at the very top
of American households.
Kaine and his wife had income of $313,000.
Agencies
New tourniquet
to save wounded
American troops
A WHALE OF A STORY
Creepy clowns scare S. Carolina parents
WASHINGTON
are both going to release
our tax returns,” Pence,
the Indiana governor, said
on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’.
“I’ll be releasing mine in
the next week. Donald
Trump will be releasing his
tax returns at the completion of an audit.”
When the NBC interviewer suggested that the audit -by the US Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) -- might not
be completed until after the
November 8 election, Pence
replied only, “We’ll see.”
The release of such returns has been a tradition of
American presidential politics for a half-century, and
Democrat Hillary Clinton
and her running mate Tim
Kaine have already released
theirs.
But Trump has deferred,
saying he cannot release his
would be gone,” she said.
One theory is that the
clowns are connected to the
release of the independent
horror movie 31, by director Rob Zombie. A preview
of the movie, which features
a gang of sadistic clowns,
screened on Thursday evening at a theatre in Greenville, population 61,000.
Greenville Police Chief
Ken Miller told reporters
that investigators do not
know if the sightings had
any connection with the
movie, whether it was one
or more people looking for
“kicks” or something more
sinister.
Representatives of the
movie could not be reached
for comment.
One motorist in Green-
ville called 911 to say he
caught a leeting glimpse
of a igure standing the side
of the road wearing a “clown
mask” and a clear rain poncho, according to Master
Deputy Ryan Flood of the
Greenville County Sheriff’s Ofice. The caller said
the clown then disappeared
into a wood.
Reuters
THROUGHOUT THE
history of modern warfare,
countless wounded ighters
have been saved from bleeding to death by tourniquets
-- the straps or ties that wrap
around a damaged limb and
staunch hemorrhaging.
But what if a soldier is shot
through the pelvis, or in the
armpit, where a tourniquet
would be of no use?
Militaries the world over
have grappled with the question for decades, and the issue took on new urgency
during the US-led wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Now the US Army has
found an answer.
The service currently is
training and equipping its
combat medics with a new
device, called a junctional
tourniquet. It looks a bit
like a belt, but comes with
two inlatable bladders that
can be pumped up to put
pressure over a wound, even
in locations where a traditional tourniquet would be
ineffective.“Exsanguination
(bleeding to death) is the
most common cause of potentially survivable death for
wounded warighters,” said
Ellen Crown, a spokeswoman for the US Army Medical
Materiel Agency.
The junctional tourniquet
is designed so “a person can
position it in under a minute
-- a crucial factor for combat
medics who only have mere
minutes to save a fellow
warighter’s life if he or she
is haemorrhaging.”
The bullet lodged high
in his upper thigh, likely
severing a femoral artery,
a location where a normal
tourniquet would have little
effect. By inlating one of the
junctional tourniquet’s bladders over the wound, medics
stemmed the blood loss, and
he ultimately survived.
“The junctional tourniquet is a way to see how we
can save more lives,” said the
Army’s new surgeon general,
Lieutenant General Nadja
West.Regular tourniquets
had gone in and out of vogue
among battleield medics
over the years, West noted.
Now the US Army teaches
its combat soldiers to correctly use tourniquets.
“They are usually the ones
that are right beside their
buddies when something
happens,” West said.
“If they are in the vehicle
that is hit by an IED (bomb),
they may or may not have a
medic on that vehicle, but a
survivor who can put a tourniquet on within minutes.”
Agence France-Presse
NEWS FEATURE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
OMAN TRIBUNE
13
Buffalo race on last leg as young sulk
‘Makepung’ pits two farming communities of Bali against each other marking harvest season
BANJAR JEMBRANA
(INDONESIA)
WEARINGCROWNSAND
colourful horn coverings,
the buffaloes haul wooden
carts at high speed past
paddy ields on Bali, with
the racers aboard cracking
whips in a bid to push their
beasts on to victory.
Hundreds of spectators
cheer from the sidelines,
hoping their team will
come out on top in the annual festival on the Indonesian island reminiscent of
chariot racing.
The buffalo racing,
known as ‘Makepung’, pits
two farming communities
against each other in western Jembrana district, in a
tradition that marks the rice
harvesting season.
A world away from the
popular tourist hangouts
further south on the island, the races are an
awe-inspiring spectacle
that see participants
stand on speeding carts
with flags fluttering from
the top, as two buffaloes
pull each of the rudimentary vehicles.
But the races, which
have been held annually
for decades, are falling
out of favour -- regular
competitors are now
elderly and few of the
younger villagers are keen
to take up the sport.
“I am old now, and there
is no new generation,” said
Kadek Nuraga, 51, who has
been racing for the West
Ijo Gading community for
over 35 years.
“Many of the older racers would like to retire,
some are already over 60,
but they simply don’t have
much choice. Somebody
needs to preserve the tradition.”
Nowadays younger people tend to leave Jembrana
once they have reached
adolescence in search of
better education in cities,
and community elders
complain that those who
stay are more interested in
playing video games than
the high-speed buffalo
races.
One of Nuraga’s sons,
now aged 27, has already
left his village, and he is
training his neighbour’s
teenage son at the weekends so he can take up the
reins of the sport in the
future.
But training a good
competitor takes time
and the older a competitor gets, the easier it is for
him to fall off a speeding
cart, said Makepung chief
organiser Made Mara.
Some veteran racers have
even died after tumbling
off speeding carts.
There is such a shortfall
of people wanting to take
part that some teams are
have to hire racers, said
Komang Hendra, Jembrana
tourism chief.
But this costs 100,000
rupiah ($7.50) per race,
a hefty sum in a country where many earn the
equivalent of two to three
dollars a day.
Still for many Jembrana
residents the investment is
worthwhile due to the potential inancial gain.
The typical prize money
for each session of the
Makepung race is 25
million rupiah ($1,900)
but that is split among
the whole winning team,
often made up of 1-200
people.
But the value of a pair of
victorious animals tends
to soar on the local market
tion started in the 1960s
when two communities on
either side of the Ijo Gad-
STRIVING HARD
‘I am old now, and there is no new
generation. Many of the older racers
would like to retire, some are already
over 60, but they simply don’t have
much choice. Somebody needs to
preserve the tradition’
and some can reach prices
of 175 million rupiah.
The Makepung tradi-
ing river took a competitive approach to working
their ields, with farmers
Vietnam tastes no baggage in baguette
HANOI
It has Been mOre than six decades since the end
of French colonial rule in
Vietnam, but when President Francois Hollande arrives this week he’ll struggle
to avoid a quintessential
legacy of his country’s rule:
the baguette.
Smeared with pate and
loaded with fresh coriander and cucumber, or just
enjoyed with a pat of fresh
butter, “banh mi” are a delicious symbol of Vietnam’s
lasting links with its former
occupiers.
“The French were very
proud of banh mi. I think
French cuisine has had a
lot of inluence on Vietnamese cuisine,” baker
Nguyen Ngoc Hoan said
from his busy boulangerie
in Hanoi’s French Quarter.
Hoan started baking banh
mi -- which refers to plain
bread or the popular “petit
pain” loaded with meat,
vegetables or fried egg -- in
1987 and ive years later got
a stint at the bakery in the
storied Metropole hotel,
built by the French at the
turn of the 20th century.
The sandwich has become a foodie favourite in
hipster enclaves around the
globe, sold from food trucks
and sipped with craft beer in
both its classic form and a
lurry of new varieties.
Hoan’s father was also a
baker but discouraged his
son from following in his
loured footsteps.
Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP
Participants prepare their animals to compete in a ‘Makepung’ or water buffalo race in Jembrana district on Bali island.
Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP
Female employees sell bread at ‘Hoan Boulangerie’ shop in Hanoi.
“The baking profession
chose me, it was not my decision,” Hoan said, speaking in front of a wall of ovens
as his workers tirelessly
knead dough nearby.
He started his career
baking what he called Vietnamese bread -- airy on the
inside, crusty on the outside
-- but after training with a
French baker in Shanghai
decided to switch to the
denser French-style.
Now, he churns out thousands of warm baguettes
daily, along with croissants, creme caramel and
homemade pate.
French bread was irst
made in Vietnam to feed
hungry soldiers in Indochina, France’s empire which
spanned much of Southeast
Asia from 1858 to its crushing defeat in the Dien Bien
Phu battle in Vietnam in
1954.
But the French became
known for more than food,
gaining a brutal reputation
for crushing anti-imperialist
movements and putting
Vietnamese laborers to
work in gruelling conditions on rubber plantations,
while heavily taxing citizens
during periods of drought
and famine.
Most French who came
to Vietnam weren’t interested in low-level jobs like
baking.
to ill the gap, Chinese
and Vietnamese worked
in boulangeries -- often
hidden away in the back so
customers wouldn’t know
who was baking their bread.
“By 1910, little baguettes or ‘petit pain’ were
sold in the street to (Viet-
namese) people who were
on their way to work,” according to Erica Peters,
food historian and author of
Appetites and Aspirations in
Vietnam.
In the years that followed,
meat, vegetables or ish appeared in the bread -- precursors to the modern-day
banh mi sold all over Hanoi,
a city rife with French colonial architecture, bistros
and cafes.
Other culinary inluences
leaked in too.
Local cooks used meat
scraps and unused bones
from French butchers to
create pho -- the national
dish of beef or chicken
noodle soup, according to
Peters. Coffee and creme
caramel are some of the
other French culinary leftovers.
The ubiquity of those inluences will not be lost on
President Hollande, who
arrives late on Monday for
talks with Vietnam’s leadership and French businessmen.
Today, Vietnam’s commercial capital Ho Chi
Minh City is dotted with
chic cafes serving croque
monsieur and macarons at
Paris prices.
But the $1 banh mi still
rules Hanoi’s street food
scene.
It is so engrained in Vietnam’s culinary culture that
few draw its lineage back to
France.
“I don’t know and don’t
care whether it’s French,
I just serve it like this,”
said Nguyen Thi Duc
Hanh, sitting in front of
her shop as the lunchtime
rush begins.
She sells hundreds per
day and keeps her menu
simple: banh mi served
with pate and a fried egg,
beef steak or her very own
version of “boeuf au vin”
made with local spices.
One of her regulars,
nguyen Van Binh, said
he has been eating banh
mi for 50 years, and unlike Hanh, thinks of it as
a hybrid dish.
“Banh mi came from
France but it was changed
and adapted to suit Vietnamese tastes,” said Binh,
before digging into his fried
egg and pate served with a
crusty roll.
Agence France-Presse
racing each other as they
laboured.
What started off as a bit
of fun evolved into a serious
competition and now the
communities ield teams
each year for the racing
season.
The season runs from
July to November, with
races roughly every fortnight, and this year involved about 300 water
buffaloes.
The competitors from
the West Ijo Gading team
dress in green and adorn
their carts with green lags,
while those from the East
Gading Team use the colour red.
A race day usually lasts
about five hours, with
numerous races that each
typically see one cart from
each community hurtling
down a track that measures about 1,500 metres.
There are four categories, with buffaloes
deemed the fastest in the
irst category. One of the
communities is declared
the winner at the end of a
day’s racing.
While the sport does
not lure tourists in the
same numbers as Bali’s
palm-fringed beaches, each
race day usually attracts
foreigners, in addition to
many locals.
For most Jembranese,
the inancial gains are just
a bonus and the real attraction is the prestige.
“It’s not actually winning the prize that matters
-- there’s a certain pride
and prestige if you win
Makepung,” said tourism
chief Hendra.
Agence France-Presse
14
OMAN TRIBUNE
KALEIDOSCOPE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
BLAZING SPACE WHALE
The Space Whale is lit as approximately 70,000 people from all over the world gather for the 30th annual Burning Man arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, on Saturday.
WOOING FLOATING VOTERS
Jim Urquhart/Reuters
SAYING IT WITH TRADITION
Robyn Beck/AFP
Stefanie Loos/Reuters
A boat promoting Alternative for Deutschland party in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election in Schwerin, Germany.
DANCING DAMSELS
Alan Carter, 29, of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe takes part in a protest rally
against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipe, near Cannon Ball, North
Dakota, on Saturday.
SORRY, IT’S MY GAME
Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP
Dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games 2016 at the hippodrome of
Cholpon-Ata on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Saturday.
AFP
A picador and his horse fall as a bull charges during the Atlantique corrida in Bayonne, France, on Saturday.
SPORTS
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
OMAN TRIBUNE
15
Rosberg spoils Hamilton hat-trick bid
German driver makes best of slow start by teammate to lift Italian GP crown in Monza
MONZA (Italy)
NICO ROSBERG POUNced on a poor start by his
Mercedes teammate Lewis
Hamilton to win Sunday’s
Italian Grand Prix in Monza
and cut his championship
lead to just two points.
The 31-year-old German
took the lead at the start,
when pole-sitter Hamilton became bogged down,
and pulled away to control
the race and finish 15 seconds clear of the defending
three-time champion.
Hamilton, who effectively lost the race in the
first 20 metres when the
lights went out, now leads
the title battle with 250
points ahead of Rosberg
on 248.
Sebastian Vettel came
home third, 5.9 seconds
further adrift, ahead of his
Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen to the delight of the
home fans.
It was Rosberg’s first
Italian win, his seventh
of the season and 21st of
his career, boosting his
championship challenge
with seven races remaining.
“Thank you very much
guys,” said Rosberg. “It’s
great to win Italy.”
It was also the 50th podium finish of Rosberg’s
career and prevented
Hamilton completing a
cherished hat-trick of Italian wins, to equal a feat
achieved only once before
by Juan Manuel Fangio in
the 1950’s, and register his
50th career victory.
It was the first time in
seven years that the race
was not won by the driver
starting from pole position.
“Good job!” grimaced
Gabriel Bouys/AFP
Winner Nico Rosberg (centre) celebrates on the podium next to second-placed British driver Lewis Hamilton (left) and third-placed German driver Sebastian Vettel
following the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale circuit in Monza on Sunday.
Hamilton as he shook
hands with Rosberg afterwards.
Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth for Red Bull
ahead of Valtteri Bottas of
Williams, Dutch teenager
Max Verstappen who was
seventh in the second Red
Bull, Sergio Perez of Force
India, retirement-bound
Felipe Massa in the second
Williams and German Nico
Hulkenberg in the second
Force India.
After three days of searing late-summer heat, con-
ditions were slightly cooler
when the lights went out
with an air temperature of
29 degrees and the track
at 38 in the old royal park,
some 20km north of Milan.
Hamilton’s initial reaction saw him depart cleanly
only to lose momentum as
Vettel, from third, passed
him and Rosberg took the
lead. The champion, as if
glued to the asphalt, fell
to sixth.
Hamilton clawed a place
back on lap two when
Jolyon Palmer in a Renault
collided at the first chicane
with Felipe Nasr’s Sauber,
the Brazilian spinning,
before soon retiring only
to re-join, and the Briton
losing his car’s front wing,
before his retirement. Nasr
was given a 10-seconds
penalty.
For Hamilton, running
on soft tyres, the race became a strategy exercise.
“Remember, Lewis, the
three cars ahead are on
super-soft tyres so they’ll
be quick for a few laps and
then they will degrade,”
he was told. At the front,
Rosberg was pulling clear
with a run of fastest laps
while Hamilton scrapped
to pass Bottas for fourth.
After 10 laps, Rosberg led
Vettel by 4.4 and Hamilton, who eventually surged
past the Finn on the main
straight, by 11 seconds.
“The rears are pretty
wasted already,” Hamilton told the team as he
fell a further second adrift
before being instructed to
push harder before the first
pit-stops began.
The Ferraris were soon
in, both for more supersofts, indicating that the
scuderia were adopting
a two-stop strategy while
Mercedes, with Hamilton
inheriting second place 15
seconds behind Rosberg,
sticking to ‘Plan A’.
By lap 20, Hamilton
1. Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes) 1hr 17min
28.089sec, 2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) at 15.070sec, 3. Sebastian Vettel (GER/
Ferrari) 20.990, 4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) 27.561, 5. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red
Bull) 45.295, 6. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Williams)
PALLEKELE (Sri Lanka)
AUSTRALIA’S STANDin skipper David Warner
led by example, hitting a
brilliant century in their
five-wicket win against Sri
Lanka to complete a 4-1
series victory on Sunday.
Australia’s bowlers laid
the foundation for their victory after routing Sri Lanka
for 195 in 40.2 overs in the
final match of the series at
51.015, 7. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)
54.236, 8. Sergio Perez (MEX/Force India)
1:04.954, 9. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams)
1:05.617, 10. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Force
India) 1:18.656, 11. Romain Grosjean (FRA/
Haas) 1 lap, 12. Jenson Button (GBR/McLar-
en) 1 lap, 13. Esteban Gutierrez (MEX/Haas)
1 lap, 14. Fernando Alonso (ESP/McLaren) 1
lap, 15. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Toro Rosso) 1
lap, 16. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) 1 lap,
17. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Renault) 1 lap, 18.
Estéban Ocon (FRA/Manor) 2 laps
the Pallekele International
Cricket Stadium.
The modest chase looked
far from a cakewalk, however, as the visitors slumped to
25 for two in the sixth over
before Warner’s century
helped them romp home
with seven overs to spare.
Warner found an able ally
in George Bailey and the
duo added 132 runs as the
world champions went on to
exact a modicum of revenge
after being whitewashed in
the preceding three-match
test series.
Bailey (44), the top-scorer
in the five-match series,
missed his third successive
fifty but Warner could not be
denied his seventh ODI century for a total of 199 for five.
The teams will now
square off in a two-match
Twenty20 series beginning
on Tuesday.
Reuters
SCOREBOARD
Oman Air stay in contention
as Alinghi take Russia lead
MUSCAT
THE SPELLBINDING
rivalry between Oman Air
and Alinghi tilted in the
Swiss boat’s favour in the
Extreme Sailing Series
following another tough
day on the River Neva in
St Petersburg, said a press
release on Sunday.
Light winds and a strong
tide combined to test
the fleet once more, with
rhythm and consistency
disrupted among even the
most experienced crews as
Oman Sail’s foiling GC32
Oman Air finished the third
day in second place, adrift
of Alinghi by four points
with a day still to go.
For skipper Morgan
Larson and his team of Pete
Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth,
Nasser Al Mashari and James
Wierzbowski, the mix of results with an outright win and
a podium place jumbled up
with lower finishes, have set
things up nicely for a perfect
finale on the last day.
Just 20 points separate
the top four teams and the
outcome of the St Petersburg Act could come down
to the double points last
race on Sunday.
“It was tricky out there
today,” commented tactician/ trimmer Greenhalgh.
“We got a bit tangled up,
received a penalty, and didn’t
really get our momentum going on the river today, plus
the shore crew have some repairs to do again this evening
so that we are race ready for
the final day.
“We have to take the rough
with the smooth and tonight
we will have a good night’s
sleep and come back tomorrow and sail well. We need
to go into the last race with a
good chance of winning and
sail smart.” The prospect of
a hard fought four-way contest to decide the outcome
was excellent motivation,
added Al Mashari, Oman’s
number one bowman.
“This race course in St
Petersburg is one of the
hardest on the Extreme
Sailing circuit,” he said.
“So we are happy with
our position going into
the final day and know we
have what it takes to see it
through to the end.”
Oman Tribune
Sri Lanka
D de Silva c Starc b Faulkner - - - - - - - - - - - - - 34
D Gunathilaka b Zampa - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 39
K Mendis c Wade b Hastings - - - - - - - - - - - - - 33
D Chandimal c Wade b Starc - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
U Tharanga c Zampa b Head - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15
K Perera lbw b Head - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 14
D Shanaka b Zampa - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13
S Pathirana c Faulkner b Boland - - - - - - - - - - 32
D Perera b Starc - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5
S Lakmal b Starc - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0
A Aponso not out - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0
Extras (lb-2 nb-1 w-6) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9
Total (all out, 40.2 overs) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 195
Fall of wickets: 1-73, 2-77, 3-78, 4-121, 5-129,
6-145, 7-165, 8-184, 9-184
Bowling: M Starc 9-0-40-3 (nb-1 w-3), J Hastings
7-1-30-1, S Boland 6.2-0-28-1, J Faulkner 7-0-30-
1 (w-2), A Zampa 6-0-43-2 (w-1), T Head 5-0-22-2
Australia
D Warner c & b D de Silva - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 106
M Wade c K Mendis b D Perera - - - - - - - - - - - - 3
U Khawaja c Gunathilaka b D Perera - - - - - - - - 6
G Bailey lbw b D Perera - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 44
T Head c Lakmal b D de Silva - - - - - - - - - - - - 13
J Faulkner not out - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8
J Hastings not out - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8
Extras (b-2 lb-2 w-7) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11
Total (for 5 wickets, 43 overs) - - - - - - - - - - 199
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-25, 3-157, 4-179, 5-189
Bowling: S Lakmal 8-1-30-0 (w-3), D Perera
10-1-51-3 (w-1), S Pathirana 10-0-36-0 (w-1), D
Shanaka 2-0-10-0, A Aponso 6-0-33-0, D de Silva
7-0-35-2
Man of the match: D Warner (Australia)
Man of the series: G Bailey (Australia)
Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP
Australian players with their trophy after winning the final one day international
match against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Chhetri can play for five more years: Constantine
MUMBAI
CALLING SUNIL CHHETRI
the team’s “talisman”, national
coach Stephen Constantine said
the poacher can play for 4-5 years
at the top level provided he kept
himself fit.
Chhetri played a stellar role in
India’s 4-1 rout of higher-ranked
Puerto Rico in the international
football friendly here last night.
“Sunil Chhetri is the talisman of
this team. He is a wonderful player.
He has been scoring goals for the
last 10 years. I keep teasing him,
saying ‘your time is almost done’,
but he’s not having that. He says he
has another 4-5 years in him,” said
Constantine after India’s key player
set up two goals and scored one in
a dazzling display of creative football at the Andheri Sports Complex
stadium that hosted its first major
game.
“But look, he keeps himself in
great shape. He is one of the leaders of the team, the captain. And as
long as he’s fit, he plays,” said the
Englishman after India, ranked 152
on the Fifa table, humbled Puerto
Rico, ranked 114, by coming back
from a goal down.
Constantine also said that Chhetri, the regular captain who gave away
his armband for the game in favour
of Norway-based goalie Gurpreet
Singh Sandhu, can play in multiple
positions up front.
“A player of his calibre, you have
to find the space for him. For me,
his place is behind the striker. He
brings other people into the game.
He has an eye for goal, he sees the
pass, and he works. It’s not like he’s
Agence France-Presse
RESULTS
Warner stars, Australia
win Lanka ODI series
Teams in action during the race in Russia.
had cut the gap to 13.4s,
reporting that his “tyres
are fine” as he continued
his pursuit of the German.
After 24 laps, Rosberg
pitted from the lead for mediums. A ‘slow’ 3.9s stop
saw him emerge second
behind Hamilton - leading
for the first time – until the
Briton pitted and rejoined
behind the two Ferraris.
Obeying orders, Hamilton preserved his new
tyres, while itching to pass
the Ferraris and chase
Rosberg, who led him by
10 seconds, as Manor’s
hopes of a points finish
ended when German Pascal Wehrlein pulled up and
retired.
Vettel pitted again after
33 of the 53 laps, rejoining fifth ahead of a rampant
Verstappen. A lap later,
Raikkonen did the same
and also took softs, slotting
in behind the Dutchman.
With 17 laps remaining,
Rosberg led Hamilton by
11.5 with Ricciardo third,
until he took his delayed
second stop for more super-softs to equip him for
a final high-speed scrap
with Bottas.
That included the Australian producing one of
the passes of the season
when he attacked and
squeezed beyond Bottas
at the first chicane to claim
fifth. The F1 circuit moves
next to Singapore.
walking about. Personally, I like to
play him behind the striker,” said
the coach. “However, there is
no lock on his position. In some
games, I like him on the left or the
right, but at this point in his career, I
see him playing behind the striker,”
he added in praise of the country’s
highest goal-scorer.
To tone down the euphoria
and give it a realistic touch, the
Englishman said winning just one
game against Puerto Rico wouldn’t
change India’s Fifa rankings.
Press Trust of India
India’s Sunil Chhetri in action.
Al Nasr back
Wanderley
in probe into
nationality
DUBAI
UNITED ARAB EMIRates club Al Nasr are backing their Brazil-born forward Santos Monteiro
Junior Wanderley after he
was provisionally suspended
by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) pending
an investigation into his
nationality.
The 27-year-old was
banned for 60 days by the
AFC on Friday after Indonesian authorities said
his passport was forged or
falsified.
“Our legal team is already
in receipt of all documents so
that we can file our response
before the AFC,” Humaid Al
Tayer, board chairman of the
Al Nasr Football Company,
told Emirati newspaper
Gulf News. “We are behind
Wanderley as we have signed
him after duly scrutinising all
documents and paperwork.”
The AFC said Wanderley
had registered in the Asian
Champions League (ACL)
tournament as an ‘Asian
player’.
Participating clubs are allowed to field three foreign
players and a fourth noncitizen who has nationality of one of the AFC’s 46
member nations.
The governing body said
it had sought explanations
from three players that had
played in the tournament
about how they had obtained their nationalities.
It said it was also conducting an investigation
into the misappropriation
of “certain passports” that
had been used in AFC national competitions.
Wanderley, who played
for Brazilian clubs Flamengo and Cruzeiro before
spending the last five years
playing for Middle Eastern
sides, scored a brace for Al
Nasr against Qatari side
El Jaish in the first leg of
their ACL quarterfinal two
weeks ago.
Reuters
16
Army besieges
Aleppo as peace
talks stumble
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
3 DHUL HIJJAH 1437
Libya forces
face ‘fierce’
resistance
from Daish
FLIGHT OF COLOURS
MISRATA
The measure gives the
military extra powers to
conduct operations normally done only by the
police, officials have said.
Opposition Congressman Edcel Lagman said
on Sunday that Duterte’s
declaration “unduly alarms
the people”, raising fears
of a possible imposition of
martial law.
“What has been happening unabated and with impunity are the extrajudicial
killings perpetrated by police
authorities and their civilian
cohorts,” Lagman said.
LIBYAN PRO-GOVERNment forces are facing
“fierce resistance” from
Islamic State group holdouts in Sirte and it could
take several days to gain
full control of the city, a
spokesman said Sunday.
Forces loyal to Libya’s
Government of National
Accord (GNA) launched
a new attack on Saturday
against Daish in Sirte, the
coastal city seized by the
radicals last year.
Backed by weeks of US air
strikes, pro-GNA fighters have
recaptured nearly all of what
had been the radicals’ main
stronghold in North Africa.
Daish men are now cornered in a last district of the
city but Reda Issa, a spokesman for loyalist forces, said
it was proving difficult to
dislodge them.
“Daish is putting up
fierce resistance in their
last neighbourhoods,”
Issa said. “They are trying
to make the battle last longer although they know it
will be over soon.”
At least 10 pro-GNA
fighters were killed and 60
wounded in Saturday’s offensive, with most of the
deaths caused by car bombs
and suicide attacks, Issa said.
Fighting had eased on
Sunday, he said, as progovernment forces sought
ways “to minimise the casualties caused by Daish suicide attacks the next time
there will be an offensive”.
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Kerry, Lavrov to meet again today
BEIRUT
SYRIAN TROOPS REnewed the siege of rebelheld parts of Aleppo on
Sunday, as Washington
and Moscow failed to
reach a deal on stemming
violence in the country’s
devastating war.
Turkish forces and allied
Syrian rebels meanwhile
expelled Daish from the
last stretch of the SyrianTurkish border under its
control, a monitor said.
Syrian state media said
the army and allied forces
had taken an area south of
Aleppo, severing the sole
route left into the eastern
neighbourhoods held by
the opposition.
“The armed forces in
cooperation with their
allies took full control of
the military academy zone
south of Aleppo and are
clearing the remaining
terrorists from the area,”
state television said, citing
a military source.
It said the advance “cut
all the supply and movement routes for terrorist
groups from southern
Aleppo province to the
eastern neighbourhoods
and Ramussa.”
The development leaves
about 250,000 people
living in rebel-controlled
parts of the city cut off
from the outside world
once again, and will raise
new fears about a humanitarian crisis in Aleppo.
Once Syria’s economic
powerhouse, the city has
been ravaged by the war that
began with anti-government
protests in March 2011.
It has been roughly
divided between government control in the west
and rebel control in the
east since mid-2012, but
The advance cut all
the supply routes
for terror groups
from southern
province to the
eastern areas
in recent months regime
forces slowly began to encircle the east.
In July, they severed the
only road into the rebel
neighbourhoods, the key
Castello Road running
from the Turkish border in
the north, creating food and
fuel shortages in the east.
In early August, rebel
forces including Al Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate
battled government forces
south of the city to open
a new route to the east,
through Ramussa district.
But in recent days government forces backed by
Syrian and Russian war
planes launched a counteroffensive.
A key government ally,
Moscow began an aerial
campaign in support
of President Bashar Al
Assad’s government last
September, even as it continued to publicly support
efforts for a negotiated solution to the five-year war.
Earlier on Sunday, hopes
were raised that Moscow
and Washington might be
on the verge of announcing
a deal to halt the bloodshed.
US President Barack
Obama said both nations
were working “around the
clock” on a ceasefire, and
a State Department official
said a deal was close.
But the hopes evaporated later in the day,
with a State Department
official saying Russia had
“walked back on some of
the areas we thought we
were agreed on.”
Instead, US Secretary of
State John Kerry and his
Russian counterpart Sergei
Lavrov are set to meet again
on Monday in Hangzhou,
China, where G20 leaders
are gathered.
Agencies
Andrej Isakovic/AFP
The Frecce Tricolori team performs ahead of the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale
circuit in Monza on Sunday.
Death toll in Philippines crime
war touches 2,400 in 3 months
MANILA
THE DEATH TOLL
from Philippine President
Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody
anti-crime crusade has
passed the 2,400 mark in
the less than three months
since he took office, police
figures showed on Sunday.
However, the majority
of the killings of supposed
drug dealers and other criminals were not credited to the
police but listed instead as
“deaths under investigation”,
which means vigilantes may
have been responsible.
Police have killed 1,011
G20 facelift for ancient China city
HANGZHOU (China)
THE TRANQUIL WAters of Hangzhou’s West
Lake have inspired Chinese
poets and painters for centuries. On Sunday the serenity was imposed by force
as authorities deployed a
vast security operation for
the G20 summit.
The throngs of tourists
who usually crowd the shores
of the island-dotted lake were
absent and the surrounding
roads closed off -- except for
police vehicles and the occasional motorcade of black
luxury cars emblazoned with
national flags.
But when a handful of locals living in the immediate
area were allowed past the
cordon, they took advantage of the empty streets
to embrace an untraditional
pursuit: road-top selfies.
Young people sat on
the tarmac taking pictures
of themselves, while others
made star-shaped poses
with their arms and legs
for friends to snap them.
The streets spruced up
for the benefit of leaders,
trees glowing with artificial lights, made an ideal
backdrop.
State media say that
more than two million
people out of a population
apartments near the G20
venue were offered sizeable cash incentives to
leave their homes.
But treatment was
apparently harsher for
Hangzhou’s vast population of migrant workers,
with several saying they
were ordered to shut their
‘We were ordered to close our restaurant,
so I’ve gone back to my hometown’
of some nine million have
left Hangzhou, taking advantage of paid holidays
which local firms have been
ordered to give employees.
Local reports said
so many people visited
Huangshan, a mountain
range in the next province
where Hangzhou residents
were given free tickets, that
hillside passes turned into
human traffic jams.
Wealthier residents of
small businesses without
compensation.
“We were ordered to
close our restaurant, so I’ve
gone back to my hometown
in Sichuan,” said a woman
surnamed Zhou. “We are
losing money.”
“At the beginning we
were told about compensation but it didn’t happen,”
she added.
Security is generally
tight for G20 summits
wherever they are held, as
they are a magnet for protesters seeking a global
audience for their cause.
State media say that
since December one million people have been mobilised as “volunteers”.
Red-armbanded personnel stand, squat or sit on
street corners and inside
apartment compounds
throughout Hangzhou,
apparently with little to do.
A policeman prevented a
reporter from taking photos
of the guards in one compound, and several volunteers
said they needed authorisation to speak to media.
“I work for a state-owned
enterprise, who have organised this volunteer work,”
said one armbanded worker
surnamed Wang, sitting on
a stool near a bus stop.
“My job is to look out for
people who get off the bus
with dangerous items such
as knives.”
Agence France-Presse
suspected criminals since
Duterte took office at the
end of June, while there
were another 1,391
“deaths under investigation”, the figures showed.
Duterte was elected in
a landslide in May vowing
to end crime and kill tens
of thousands of criminals.
Since then, police have
shot dead several drug suspects every day while other
alleged criminals have been
killed by mysterious gunmen or turned up dead with
crude cardboard signs labelling them drug dealers.
Police have insisted they
only act in self-defence and
say the other murders are
carried out by drug syndicates trying to silence
their members. The United
Nations and rights groups
have condemned the extrajudicial killings but Duterte
has shrugged off the criticism and vowed to press his
campaign, which includes
police carrying out doorto-door searches.
Last week, Duterte declared a “state of lawlessness” following a bomb
blast in his southern hometown of Davao that left 14
dead.
Scepticism
over climate
change
over: Ban
China scientists turn
sand into fertile soil
HANGZHOU (China)
CHINESE SCIENTISTS
have claimed to have converted sand into fertile soil
using a new method which
they hope will be useful to
fight desertification.
A team of researchers
from Chongqing Jiaotong
University has developed
a paste made of plant cellulose that, when added to
sand, helps it retain water,
nutrients and air.
A 1.6-hectare sandy plot
in Ulan Buh Desert in Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region, north China, has been
transformed into fertile land,
yielding rice, corn, tomatoes, watermelon and sunflowers, after being treated
with the new method.
An issue of the Englishlanguage journal Engineering, published by the Chinese Academy of Engineer-
UNITED NATIONS SECretary-General Ban Kimoon said on Sunday that
climate change scepticism is over, the day after
the United States joined
China to ratify the Paris
agreement to curb climatewarming emissions.
“The debate over climate
phenomenon is over scientifically and environmentally,” said Ban, adding that the
influence of climate change
deniers or sceptics has
waned. “It is affecting our
day-to-day life,” Ban said.
US President Barack
Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping deposited
the legal instruments to
join the Paris agreement to
Ban on Saturday, Ban said.
Reuters
BEIJING
ing (CAE), will publish the
research by the Chongqing
scientists Yi Zhijian and coauthor Zhao Chaohua.
“The new method will
hopefully help turn desert
areas into an ideal habitat
‘The new method
will hopefully
help turn
desert areas
into an ideal
habitat for plants’
for plants,” state run Xinhua quoted Yi as saying.
The plants in the sandy test
plot needed about the same
amount of water as those
grown in regular soil, but
required less fertilizer and
bore higher yields, according to estimates by experts.
Since 2013, scientists
have been experimenting
with outdoor cultivation at
two sites with areas of approximately 550 and 420
square metres in Chongqing,
where scientists simulated
desert landform conditions.
According to the scientists, the plants have survived
the heavy rain and high temperatures, the typical climate
conditions in Chongqing.
The crops, including rice
and corn flourished in the
converted soil.
The converted sand has
proved to be an ideal habitat for plant species with a
strong resistance to wind
erosion, according to the
research findings.
The cost of sand conversion is between 22,500
yuan and 40,500 yuan
($3,373 to $6,071) a
hectare, Yi said.
Press Trust of India
Printed at Al Watan Al Omaneya Printing Press
17
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
3 DHUL HIJJAH 1437
Iran sticks to guns on IMF may trim growth
outlook
on
weak
trade
oil market share stand
WASHINGTON
Teheran wants to lift output to pre-curb level
BIZ BYTES
Daimler
plans six
e-cars
TEHERAN
FRANKFURT German
carmaker Daimler
plans to roll out at least
six, and possibly as
many as nine, electric
car models as part of its
push to compete with
Tesla and Volkswagen’s Audi, a person
familiar with Daimler’s
plans said. Page 19
INDICATORS
Major Indices
Nikkei
16,925.68
Hang Seng 23,266.70
-1.16
+104.36
Asian Indices
BSE
NSE
Karachi
Dubai
28,532.11
8,809.65
39,464.65
3,535.36
+108.63
+35.00
-274.02
+23.59
Draft Rates
India Rs.
Pakistan Rs.
Bangladesh Taka
Philippine Peso
173.50
271.25
203.55
120.75
Source: Oman & UAE Exchange
Gold Rates
Gold (London)
$1,325.21
IRAN IS READY TO SUPport any decision to help
restore balance to the oil
market after it regains its
pre-sanctions market share,
the Iranian oil ministry’s
Shana news agency reported, quoting a minister.
Algerian Energy Minister
Nouredine Bouterfa said
after talks in Teheran with
his Iranian counterpart,
Bijan Zanganeh, that the
Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(Opec) wanted an oil price
of between $50 and 60 a
barrel, according to Shana.
“Deputy
Petroleum
Minister in International
Affairs and Trading Amir
Hossein Zamaninia voiced
Iran’s support for any decision that would help restore
balance in the oil market,
saying the country can
only be cooperative in this
field once it regains its presanctions oil market share,”
Shana said.
Global oversupply in oil
File
An Iranian works on an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields in the
Arabian Gulf, near Teheran.
had knocked crude prices
down from mid-2014 highs
above $100 a barrel to a 12year low earlier this year of
around $27 a barrel. Brent
has since rebounded and
was trading at around $49
a barrel last week.
Iran, Opec’s third largest
producer, has been sending positive signals that it
may support joint action
to prop up the oil market,
potentially aiding efforts to
revive a global deal on freezing production levels.
Members of Opec will
meet on the sidelines of the
International Energy Forum (IEF), which groups
producers and consumers,
in Algeria on Sept. 26-28.
Zanganeh has confirmed
that he will attend the Alge-
ria meeting. Zamaninia said
Opec countries need to find
a way to revive the quota system. “Naturally, if a country
wants to produce at its full
capacity, there will not be
any balance in the market,”
Zamaninia said, without
naming any country, but
in an apparent reference to
Saudi Arabia.
Agencies
Kuwait posts $15.22b S&P affirms
deficit over oil slide Qatar ratings
KUWAIT
KUWAIT’S GOVERNment posted a budget
deficit of KD4.6 billion
($15.22 billion) for the
fiscal year 2015/16
(FY15/16) as a result of
the sharp decline in oil
prices.
The deficit, before the
transfer to the Future
Generations Fund (FGF),
reached 13.4 per cent of
GDP and was the first in 17
years; it compares to an average budget surplus of 21
per cent of GDP recorded
during the previous five
years, said a NBK report.
However, the Kuwaiti
government
remains
committed to its development plan projects and a
similar deficit of 13 per
cent of GDP is expected
for FY16/17 as the low
oil price environment prevails, it said.
The government saw
revenues decline for the
second consecutive year
largely on lower oil prices.
Revenues, at KD13.6 billion, were down by 45 per
cent in FY15/16. The
price of Kuwaiti crude
averaged $43 per barrel
in FY15/16, 47 per cent
lower than the year before.
During the same period,
oil production saw a small
increase of 1.5 per cent to
average 2.9 million barrels
per day. As a result, oil revenues dropped by 46 per
cent to KD12.1 billion or
35 per cent of GDP, the
TOUGH TIMES
Non-oil
revenues were
also down
notably due
to the
suspension
of Iraqi
reparation
payments
lowest ratio in a decade.
Non-oil revenues were
also down notably in
FY15/16 due to the suspension of Iraqi reparation
payments.
A 38 per cent decline in
non-oil revenues was due
to a government decision to
postpone the repayment of
the remaining KD1.4 billion in Iraqi reparations
due from the UN Compensation Commission
(UNCC) until early 2017.
Other non-oil revenues
actually improved in
FY15/16, rising by 11 per
cent. Income tax revenues
and customs taxes and fees
rose by 41 per cent and 9
per cent, respectively, and
represent almost 30 per
cent of total nonoil revenues.
Low oil prices prompted the government to reduce spending notably,
with cuts mostly hitting
non-essential expenditures with little impact on
the domestic economy, it
said.
Government spending
was reduced by 15 per cent
in FY15/16 to KD18.2
billion; spending dropped
to 76 per cent of non-oil
GDP, its lowest ratio in six
years.
More than half of the
savings was automatic,
the result of a drop in the
cost of fuel and electricity
subsidies. Most of the rest
came from transfers to independent public agencies
and authorities.
Wages and salaries continued to grow, albeit at a
slower pace, while infrastructure projects were the
only area to see a pickup in
spending.
Agencies
DOHA
S&P GLOBAL RATINGS
has affirmed its ‘AA’ longterm and ‘A-1+’ short-term
sovereign credit ratings on
Qatar with stable outlook.
The rating agency expects the country’s economy to grow by about 4 per
cent during 2016-2019, in
line with the pace of growth
over the last four years.
We expect that population growth will slow over
2016-2019 as projects are
completed.
S&P expects oil production and refining facilities
coming online over the
next couple of years will also
support manufacturing activity. However, the agency
is expecting a step change in
production and the hydrocarbon sector will likely
remain at broadly similar
levels of output, albeit with
some increase in gas output
expected from 2017.
“We note the government’s efforts to diversify
the economy, while maintaining its strategic position in the global natural
gas market. In our view,
medium- and long-term
challenges to Qatar’s competitive position in the LNG
market are likely to come
from new shale production,
Russia’s gas pipeline to China, and increased pressure
to delink LNG contracts
from the price of oil.
“Qatar has one of the
Patel set to
take charge
as RBI chief
MUMBAI
URJIT PATEL, THE NEW
governor of RBI who has
maintained a contrasting
low-profile to outspoken
and rockstar-like Raghuram
Rajan, has his immediate
task cut out -- finishing the
‘unfinished agenda’ of his
predecessor on completing ‘deep surgery’ of banks
and winning the war on inflation.
Incidentally, it was Patel
who scripted a new framework for fighting price rise,
which earned him the informal title of ‘inflation warrior’.
See Page 18
lowest costs of natural gas
production, $1.60 to $2
per million British Thermal Units, and so we expect
Qatar Petroleum to remain
profitable. Its strategy has
been to diversify into all
major markets, adjusting
the mix of destinations and
contract types according to
market needs. The majority
of its gas exports are underlong-term contracts, which
provides some certainty regarding the volumes sold.
S&P projects a decline in
government hydrocarbon
income, in the financial
transfers from Qatar Petroleum, which come to the
government budget with a
six-month lag. The government is expected to finance
fiscal deficits through debt,
both on the domestic and international markets, rather
than by drawing upon its
assets at Qatar Investment
Authority.
“We expect that gross
debt will rise to 50 per cent
of GDP over the next few
years, but actually decline on
a net basis. This is because
we expect investment returns on Qatar’s substantial
assets to improve in 2016,
above the accumulation of
new debt. However, we note
that the average change in
debt over the coming years
is high, which will add to interest costs as a proportion of
fiscal revenues,” the agency
said.
Agencies
INTERNATIONAL MONetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine
Lagarde said the institution will likely downgrade
its 2016 global growth
forecast again as economic prospects are dimmed
by weak demand, flagging
trade and investment and
growing inequality.
Lagarde said in an interview that G20 leaders need
to do far more to spur demand, bolster the case for
trade and globalisation, and
fight inequality. And while
some major threats to the
global economy have yet to
materialise, such as recession sparked by Britain’s
vote to leave the European
Union or a collapse in Chinese growth, she described
the overall outlook as
“slightly declining growth,
fragile, weak and certainly
not fueled by trade.”
“You could argue that
Brexit is not really delivering the massive crisis that
we had expected, you could
argue that the Chinese
transition is proceeding
reasonably well, and you
could argue that low com-
modity prices have gone up
a little bit,” Lagarde said.
“So this is on the surface.”
“However, when you
look deep down at the economic growth prospects,
at the growth potential, at
the productivity, we are not
getting very good signals,
and we will probably be
SLOW PACE
The IMF is
due to revise
its World
Economic
Outlook
forecasts in
early October
ahead of
its annual
meetings
revising down our forecast
for growth in 2016.”
The IMF is due to revise its World Economic
Outlook forecasts in early
October ahead of its annual meetings. Another cut
would be the sixth straight
growth markdown in about
18 months. Citing global
uncertainty over the June
23 Brexit vote, the IMF
in July cut global GDP
growth estimates to 3.1
per cent for 2016 and 3.4
per cent for 2017 - down
about a tenth of a point for
each year.
The full economic impact of the Brexit crisis
will probably not be fully
known until 2017, when
more will become apparent about the shape of the
future UK-EU relationship, Lagarde said. But she
noted that Britons’ wealth
has already been eroded
by a 15 per cent decline
in the pound’s value, and
that UK consumer and
business confidence data
was weak.
Lagarde said she will tell
G20 leaders on Sunday
and Monday in Hangzhou,
China that further reductions in growth potential
and more obstacles to the
free movement of goods,
services, capital and people
would hurt all of them. She
said people harmed by trade
and innovation need to be
helped by policies to allow
them to retrain and acquire
new skills and job mobility.
Reuters
18
BUSINESS
OMAN TRIBUNE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
IOC ‘will double’ refining Rockstar central
capacity to meet demand banker signs off
Firm to invest $6b to raise capacity to 150mt by 2030
NEW DELHI
INDIAN OIL CORP
(IOC), the nation’s largest
oil company, plans to nearly
double refining capacity to
150 million tonnes by 2030
to meet fast expanding energy needs of the country,
its Chairman B Ashok said.
The company has capacity at refineries to produce
80.7 million tonnes per annum of fuel currently.
“IOC is self-sufficient
in the refining segment,
but keeping in view the rising demand for petroleum
products in the short-term,
we are aiming at a refining
capacity of about 100-110
million tonnes per annum
by the year 2022 and progressively scale it up to at
least 150 million tonnes
by the year 2030,” he said.
International Energy
Agency’s World Energy
Outlook projects 4 per cent
CAGR growth in India’s
fuel demand to 348 million
tonnes by 2030, from 184
million tonnes in 201516. BP projects demand
India banking
laggards to
miss capital
infusion
NEW DELHI
THE INDIAN GOVERNment has set parameters for
public sector banks for receiving capital support and
only those lenders which
fulfil the criteria post third
quarter results would be
eligible for funds.
“The Finance Ministry
has set parameters for getting capital support. Those
who fulfil the criteria post
third quarter results would
be eligible for capital infusion,” sources said.
The government in July
had announced the first
round of capital infusion
of Rs229.15 billion for
13 banks.
“75 per cent of the
amount (Rs229.15 billion)...Is being released
now to provide liquidity
support for lending operations as also to enable
banks to raise funds from
the market,” the Finance
Ministry had said.
“The remaining amount,
to be released later, will be
linked to performance with
particular reference to
greater efficiency, growth
of both credit and deposits
and reduction in the cost of
operations,” it had said.
Sources said that the
second round of funding
would be in addition to
the remaining 25 per cent
of the Rs229.15 billion
capital infusion announced
in July.
Agencies
Indian Oil Corporation has capacity to produce 80.7 million tonnes per annum of
fuel.
to be 335 million tonnes
while EIA has pegged it at
294 million tonnes, which
translates into a CAGR of 3
per cent.
India has a refining capacity of 232.06 million
tonnes.
“Our core business is
liquid fuels, LPG, lubes,
petrochemicals and natural gas. With the prognosis
that fossil fuels will continue
to dominate the energy mix
till the year 2040, we have
a fairly large window of
opportunity to profitably
expand in our core busi-
ness while at the same time
getting ready for the lowcarbon economy of the future,” he said
IOC will expand its refining capacity to 104.55 million tonnes by 2022 from
the current 80.7 million
tonnes per annum with an
investment of about Rs400
billion (approximately $6
billion).
It is looking to scale up its
Koyali refinery in Gujarat
to 18 million tonnes from
13.7 million tonnes while
capacity of the Panipat refinery in Haryana will be raised
by a quarter to 20.2 million
tonnes from the current 15
million tonnes.
A 3-million tonnes capacity addition each is planned
for Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura
and Bihar’s Barauni refineries, which will take their capacity to 11 million tonnes
and 9 million tonnes, respectively.
The recently-commissioned 15 million tonnes
Paradip refinery in Odisha
will see a capacity addition
of 5 million tonnes while
about 3 million tonnes will
be added in IOC’s Digboi
and Bongaigaon refineries
in the North-East.
He, however, did not give
details of the expansions
that will take the capacity
to 150 million tonnes.
Agencies
SBI looks to seal merger by March
MUMBAI
STATE BANK OF INDIA
(SBI) hopes to kick off
merger of its associates as
well as Bharatiya Mahila
Bank with itself by October-end and try to complete
the process by March next,
making it the 45th largest
lender globally in terms of
assets.
Early August, the central
board of SBI had approved
the acquisition of all the
five associate banks and
Bharatiya Mahila Bank and
finalised the swap ratios for
the merger.
“The merger process will
start by October-end. The
grievance committee will
come back to us hopefully
by the end of this month,
thereafter we have to send
it to the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) and then to the
government for the final
approval, which may probably take a month. Post
which the merger can take
place,” SBI chief Arundhati
Bhattacharya said.
SBI has three listed associate banks — State Bank
of Bikaner & Jaipur, State
Bank of Mysore, State Bank
of Travancore, and two unlisted associates — State
Bank of Patiala and State
Bank of Hyderabad.
Under the swap ratio
for the merger proposal,
SBBJ shareholders will
get 28 shares of SBI (Re1
each) for every 10 shares
(Rs10 each) or a ratio of
1:28, while SBM and SBT
shareholders will get 22
shares of 10 SBI shares.
In the case of Bharatiya
Mahila Bank, 44,231,510
shares of SBI will be
swapped for every 1 billion
of Rs10.
Agencies
MUMBAI
AS MINT STREET REAdies for a new sheriff, the
three-year tenure marked
with numerous controversies ended on Sunday for
Raghuram Rajan – who
sacrificed economics for
electrical
engineering
in college and ended up
doing a ‘deep surgery’ of
banks while at RBI.
He rocked too many
boats while heading the
Reserve Bank of India
-- earning ‘ad hominem’
attacks and also open criticism by those wanting him
to be faster with rate cuts
and much slower on cleaning the balance sheets of
banks.
But those showering
him with bouquets were
numerous too, giving him
titles like ‘Rockstar Rajan’
and ‘Bond of Mint Street’,
which he himself appeared
to acknowledge by once
remarking -- “My name is
Rajan and I do what I do”
-- a clear play on the introductory dialogue of the famous British spy character
James Bond.
The most vocal critics
of Raghuram Govind Rajan -- incidentally a name
having names of multiple
gods -- came from rightwing ideologues, including for his analogy that
India’s fastest-growing
economy tag was like
‘one-eyed being king
among the blind’, which
has been seen by many as
the prime reason for his
tenure getting cut short
at three years – the lowest
for any RBI Governor in a
long time.
Outspoken as he has
been with his views,
53-year-old Rajan went
on to make public that he
was willing to stay longer
but an “agreement” could
File
Raghuram Rajan
not be reached with the
government in this regard.
Rajan, who is credited
with predicting the global
economic crisis of 2008
and has decided to return
to academia, said he would
be back with his public
speeches in India after
a break, while making a
strong pitch for retaining
RBI’s autonomy and allowing it to say “no” to the
government whenever
required.
Press Trust of India
Patel checks in
as RBI chief
MUMBAI
URJIT PATEL, THE
new Governor of RBI
who has maintained a
contrasting low-profile
to outspoken and rockstar-like Raghuram Rajan, has his immediate
task cut out -- finishing
the ‘unfinished agenda’ of his predecessor
on completing ‘deep
surgery’ of banks and
winning the war on inflation.
Incidentally, it was
Patel -- often referred
to as ‘Dr Patel’ by Rajan -- who scripted a new
framework for fighting
price rise, which earned
him the informal title of
‘inflation warrior’.
However, it is the
‘deep surgery’ ordered
by Rajan to cleanse the
Urjit Patel
File photo
balance sheets of the
banks from bad loans
that may pose greater
challenges for Patel,
as a number of banks,
corporates and others
have been lobbying
hard against what they
call the ‘unwarranted
urgency’ shown by the
RBI in this regard at the
cost of hurting investment climate.
Agencies
Energy looks
Renault Symbol comes with freebies JSW
to buy coal assets
MUSCAT
WITH ITS DYNAMIC
appearance, innovative
technologies, and advanced safety systems,
Renault Symbol is winning
the hearts of auto enthusiasts. For those who aspire
to own the perfect family
sedan, this is the ideal time
as Renault Oman, from the
house of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, has announced
an exciting offer on Renault
Symbol for the benefit of
customers. Renault Oman’s
new promotion which has
already begun will go on
till October 31.
Every customer buying
the Renault Symbol will
benefit a great deal from
the exciting offer. Renault
Oman not only pledges the
finest owner experience for
the customers of Renault
Symbol but also assures a
lot more benefits.
A senior official for SBA
said, “Renault Symbol
is a status-enhancing yet
affordable sedan. The vehicle is very popular with
those looking for a car for
the families. Its modern
design and attractive equipment package, combined
with its low fuel consumption make the new Renault
Symbol the perfect sedan
for families. We are pleased
to offer unlimited benefits
to the customers who want
to own a Renault Symbol.”
Customers who buy Renault Symbol will be entitled
to receive cash back of 600
rials.
Renault Symbol customers will be qualified to
receive free registration.
All Renault Symbol buyers will be eligible for free
extended warranty period
of up to six years.
Customers of Renault
Symbol will get a service
package of 30,000 kms or 2
years (whichever comes earlier). Competitive advantages such as roominess, boot
space, modern equipment
and engine displacement
ensure it has everything required to make it a hit with
customers in Oman.
Symbol is packed with
topnotch technology and innovation. It offers an enjoyable ride, significant power
while maintaining low levels
of fuel consumption. It is fitted with an automatic gearbox and a 1.6L 16V engine;
placing it among the highest
size of engines available on
the B Sedan segment. The
compact sedan offers spacious interior with seating
for five adults, a 510 Litres
bootspace, and the possibility to increase it up to
1,257 Litres with the rear
benchseat folded.
The Renault Symbol also
offers plenty of safety features. It is equipped with
front driver and passenger
airbags, driver seatbelt unlock alarm, ISOFIX attachments for child seats, three
points rear seatbelts with
three rear headrests in addition to a central locking
system and a speed sensitive
door lock. It also boasts as
standard front fog lights,
daytime running lights,
and most importantly an
antilock braking systems.
Oman Tribune
MUMBAI
SAJJAN JINDAL-LED
JSW Energy is likely to
continue with its acquisition spree, as it scouts for
coal and thermal power assets overseas, a company
official said.
The company, which in
the past two years has agreed
to buy four power assets in
India, is also on the lookout
for coal mines abroad to
replace some of its current
imported coal requirements.
“Looking at assets outside
India certainly interests us;
we are not averse to acquisitions outside. We have not
come across many exciting
opportunities. Africa is an
upcoming market, but we
have to be very careful of the
country risks and political
risks,” said Sanjay Sagar,
joint managing director and
chief executive officer, JSW
Energy.
JSW Energy, which operates around 4,531 Mw
in India, does not have any
exposure to power assets
abroad. In the last decade, it
has stayed away from making
big investments in coal assets
abroad.
The company is keen to
integrate backwards with
overseas coal mines. In
July, it agreed to acquire
100 per cent stake in Minerals & Energy Swaziland (Pty)
Limited for $1.5 million in
Africa. Sagar added further
coal mine acquisitions will
depend on the exploration
of this mine. “We are hoping to find coal there. If it
has sufficient quantity of
coal, then we might not need
to look at any other asset,”
Sagar said. On the quantity
of coal, Sagar did not give an
estimate, but said the mine
would be viable at 150 million tonnes and above.
Agencies
BUSINESS
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
OMAN TRIBUNE
19
LG to invest
in smart
home, robot
technology
Rising oil import costs may Daimler plans
become Asia’s growing pain to roll out six
SEOUL
Search for energy resources has nearly ground to halt
SOUTH KOREA’S LG
Electronics said on Sunday
it will aggressively invest in
robots, seeking to capitalise on advancing artiicial
intelligence that may eventually lead to sophisticated
machines performing everyday human tasks.
LG, in a statement, said
its appliances division is
preparing the irm’s entry
into the robotics industry
with the aim to develop
products that will work
closely with home appliances products such as
refrigerators, washers and
air conditioning units.
“We will prepare for
the future by aggressively
investing in smart home,
robots and key components
and strengthen the home
appliances business’s capabilities,” said Jo Seungjin, head of LG’s appliances
business.
Advances in ields such
as artiicial intelligence and
wireless communications
are allowing for more sophisticated machines that
can talk to each other via
the internet and perform
more complex tasks.
Countries across the
world are investing heavily in robotics in hopes to
develop a new industry or
cope with socioeconomic
problems such as low
birth rates or an ageing
population by introducing
machines which can serve
humans as cooks, caretakers or laborers.
LG did not elaborate on
how much it plans to invest in its push or when it
expects to launch robotic
products, but the irm said
it is exploring a variety of
options through the combination of technologies
including autonomous
driving and artiicial intelligence.
Reuters
electric cars
FRANKFURT
SINGAPORE
A WIDENING GAP BETween Asia’s oil production
and demand is creating a
growing capital drain for
the region and leaving countries vulnerable to global
supply disruptions and a
sudden surge in oil prices.
Asia’s net oil imports
surpassed the total amount
of oil consumed in North
America in 2015 and are
set to rise after producers
slashed spending on exploration and production
on low oil prices, leaving
oilields at risk of sharp
production declines in the
next decade.
Activities across AsiaPaciic to search for energy resources have nearly
ground to a halt in the past
year while recent exploration inds have struck more
natural gas than oil, analysts
said.
As Asia’s net imports
grow and crude prices
recover, the region’s oil
import bill is set to climb
back above $500 billion
in 2017 for the irst time
in three years, calculations
based on forecasts by the International Energy Agency
and a Reuters crude oil price
poll in August showed.
“With demand growth
set to continue and outpace declining domestic
production, this leaves Asia
increasingly vulnerable to
rising prices,” said Energy
Aspects analyst Virendra
Chauhan.
The oil price slump since
mid-2014 had given Asian
economies a breather from
high import bills.
But oil demand in the
Asia-Paciic is expected to
grow by 800,000-900,000
barrels per day (bpd) this
year and next, while the region’s output could shrink
A gas pump hanging from the ceiling at a petrol station in Seoul.
by 240,000-330,000bpd
during the same period,
Chauhan said.
The gap between oil production and demand has
jumped over 30 per cent
since 2010 to an estimated
25.7 million bpd in 2016
and is set to grow by another
1.1 million bpd next year.
Rising oil prices, however,
means the cost could soar
by a third in just one year to
$566 billion.
“We have seen two years
in a row in 2015 and 2016
oil investments declining,”
International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol
said. “This would mean oil
security and oil markets may
face a challenge as a result
of a huge drop in the investments in a very few years in
the medium term.”
Producers across the region are struggling, which
is not being helped by in-
ternational oil companies’
capital and expertise leaving
the region, said Chauhan.
Consultancy
Wood
Mackenzie expects Asia’s
oil production to fall to 5
million barrels per day in
2025 from 7.6 million bpd
in 2016.
“We’ve seen a number
of projects delayed – some
cancelled – plus the level
of investments in existing
oil ields is falling,” Angus
Rodger, director of AsiaPaciic upstream research
at Woodmac said.
“That has a minor impact
in the short-term, but if you
go out to 2020, it means
oil production across the
region will have declined
signiicantly.”
China is leading the
decline, with output
hitting a ive-year low
in July as producers
shut-in marginal ields
while imports hit a record.
Indonesian oficials said
they are looking at ways to
shore up a production target
of 780,000bpd in 2017,
the lowest since 1969 and
40,000bpd lower than
2016’s forecast.
“We are discussing how
to make Cepu block production higher than now,”
Director General of Oil
and Gas Wiratmaja Puja
said, adding that output
at the oilield operated by
Exxon Mobil may increase
by 15,000bpd.
Indonesia, the largest
oil producer in southeast
Asia, faces a potential 2025 per cent natural decline
in production unless it
steps up activities such as
drilling and well servicing,
said Muliawan, deputy for
operations at regulator
SKK Migas.
China, Indonesia and
Reuters/Files
India have been actively
investing in overseas oil
production assets to supplement domestic output.
China has also been
broadening its sources of
supply, taking more oil from
Russia and Latin America
to reduce its dependence
on the Middle East, as well
as building its strategic
reserves to cushion itself
in the event of an oil price
shock.
The region’s biggest oil
consumer is also turning to
gas and renewable energy,
but these are long-term solutions.
Asia imports just over half
of its oil from the Middle
East and will continue to
rely heavily on Gulf producers, analysts said, exposing
the region to geopolitical
risks that have disrupted
oil production and exports.
Reuters
GERMAN CARMAKER
Daimler plans to roll out
at least six, and possibly as
many as nine, electric car
models as part of its push
to compete with Tesla
and Volkswagen’s (VW)
Audi, a person familiar with
Daimler’s plans said.
The maker of MercedesBenz cars remains on track
to unveil a new electric car
at the Paris motor show
next month.
In July, the German
carmaker said it had accelerated development of
premium electric cars, a
segment currently dominated by US-based rival
Tesla.
German trade magazine
Automobilwoche earlier
cited company sources
as saying Daimler would
bring to market more than
six electric car models between 2018 and 2024.
German irms are investing heavily in electric cars,
a segment once neglected
by the industry as customers shunned their limited
operating range and high
cost.
But a growing political
backlash against diesel
fumes and recent advances in battery technology to increase the reach
of an electric car by up to
50 per cent have spurred
major investments by
Volkswagen, Daimler and
suppliers such as Bosch
and Continental.
OPTIMISTIC
German trade
magazine earlier
cited sources as
saying Daimler
would bring to
market more
than six electric
car models
between 2018
and 2024
Reuters’ source said
Mercedes would also make
an SUV model with a plugin hybrid engine powered
by fuel cells, which would
have a range of up to 50km
on battery power and would
then run on electricity generated by hydrogen.
Reuters
Reuters/Files
The Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive at the Frankfurt
Motor Show in Frankfurt.
New Nissan Patrol V6 makes Apple tax ruling ‘based on facts, rules’
global debut in Middle East
HANGZHOU (China)
AN EU RULING THAT
Apple must pay a huge tax
bill to Ireland was clearly
based on facts and existing
rules and was not a decision
aimed against the US, European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker said
on Sunday.
Last week, EU antitrust
regulators ordered Apple to
pay up to 13 billion euros
MUSCAT
NISSAN RECENTLY ANnounced the launch of its
new 2017 Patrol V6 which
makes its global debut in
the Middle East in September 2016 in complement
to the current Patrol V8
lineup while offering the
same levels of prestige to
a broader customer base in
the market, according to a
Suhail Bahwan Automobiles
press release.
Meticulously engineered
for over 60 years, the Patrol
is Nissan’s lagship SUV
model with a rich heritage
and passionate following
in the Middle East that
dates back to the 1950s.
With refreshed styling enhancements of the region’s
iconic SUV, the all-new Nissan Patrol adds more style to
its already impressive ‘go
anywhere’ versatility, technology and comfort.
“The new Patrol V6 complements the legendary Patrol V8 which is considered
one of the most powerful,
spacious and popular SUVs
in the Middle East,” said
Samir Cherfan, Managing
Director of Nissan Middle
East. “Our Nissan Patrol
business has expanded
close to 4 times from FY11
to FY15, and with the introduction of the Patrol V6
we aim to grow by 20 per
cent over the next 2 years.
“Speciically designed
and built for the demands
of the region while taking
into account increasing
consumer appeal for more
fuel eficient, practical, fullsized SUVs, the Patrol V6
still retains the high levels of
power and prestige that the
legendary Patrol is famous
for and has earned it the title
‘hero of all terrains in life.”
“Nissan Patrol drives
forward carrying not just its
proud reputation but also a
distinct sense of reinement,
ground-breaking technology and exceptional comfort.
It’s the next great advance
in 4x4category” said a senior SBA oficial. “We are
conident that our lagship
SUV for Oman will exceed
all expectations,” he added.
The new Patrol 4L V6
was designed for and tested
in the region to meet all types
of terrain and temperature
conditions while delivering
the same legendary off-road
and on-road capability. It delivers best in class power in
the V6 category. With 275
horsepower and 394Nm, the
Patrol V6 offers 12 per cent
more torque in the driving
range than the competition
while retaining the same towing capacity as the Patrol V8.
Its increased fuel economy makes the Patrol V6 an
appealing proposition to a
wider customer base, while
offering better ride quality
and a quieter cabin than its
competitors.
“Like the existing V8,
the new Patrol V6 offers
incredible power, exceptional passenger and baggage space, and delivers
industry-leading value in
a prestige SUV. With this
new addition to the current
Patrol range, Nissan’s commitment to offering incomparable levels of choice to its
customers is reafirmed, and
we are certain the new Patrol
V6 will continue to raise the
bar on what a luxury SUV
should be,” added Cherfan.
Suhail Bahwan Automobiles is largely committed
to supporting Nissan’s
growth in the Sultanate
through major emphasis on
customer satisfaction and
by providing world-class after-sales services in Oman.
With a national network
of more than 20 showrooms, 22 service centres
and 35 spare parts outlets,
SBA has further built upon
its legacy of trust, excellent
customer service and providing value for money to
each of its customers.
Oman Tribune
($14.5 billion) in taxes to
the Irish government after
ruling that a special scheme
to route proits through Ireland was illegal state aid.
Apple’s Chief Executive
Tim Cook last week described the ruling as “total
political crap”, but France
and Germany have come
out to back Brussels on the
decision.
Juncker said EU Commission investigations on
taxation had mainly targeted
European companies.
The decision comes
amidst a coordinated global
initiative to crack down on
tax evasion by multinational
companies, spearheaded by
the Paris-based Organisation
for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD).
The ruling against Apple
has pushed the issue into
the limelight and raised the
risk of signiicant push-back
from the US, analysts say,
where some lawmakers are
saying the result represents
a European encroachment
on the US potential tax base.
Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Center
for Tax Policy and Administration said he believed it
would be unlikely to serve
as a precedent for enforcement on future income
earned by multinationals.
Reuters
20
BUSINESS
OMAN TRIBUNE
Google shelves
plan to make
smartphone
the matter said.
Axing Project Ara is one
of the irst steps in a campaign to unify Google’s
various hardware efforts,
which range from Chromebook laptops to Nexus
phones. Former Motorola
president Rick Osterloh
rejoined Google earlier
this year to oversee the effort. Google sold Motorola
Mobility to Lenovo Group
in 2014.
Modular smartphones
have generated great enthusiasm in the tech community for their potential
to prolong the lifespan of
a device and reduce electronic waste.
But the devices are dificult to bring to market
because their interchangeable parts make them bulky
and costly to produce, said
analyst Bob O’Donnell of
TECHnalysis Research,
adding that he was not
surprised to see Google
halt the project.
“This was a science experiment that failed, and
they are moving on,” he
said. Project Ara was one
of the lagship efforts of
Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group,
which aims to develop new
devices, but it had various
stops and starts.
This is a sad turn of
events for fans of the ambitious modular concept.
“Project Ara proved too
ambitious and costly to
make modular phones a
reality”
Last year, the company
shelved plans to sell the
modular phone in Puerto
Rico with Latin American
carriers.
SAN FRANCISCO
ALPHABET INC.’S GOOgle has suspended Project
Ara, its ambitious effort to
build what is known as a
modular smartphone with
interchangeable components, as part of a broader
push to streamline the company’s hardware efforts,
two people with knowledge
of the matter said.
The move marks an
about-face for the tech
company, which announced a host of partners for Project Ara at its
FOCUS CHANGE
The company’s
aim was to
create a phone
that users could
customise on the
fly with an extra
battery, camera,
speakers
or other
components
developer conference in
May and said it would ship
a developer edition of the
product this autumn.
The company’s aim was
to create a phone that users could customise on the
ly with an extra battery,
camera, speakers or other
components.
While Google will not be
releasing the phone itself,
the company may work with
partners to bring Project
Ara’s technology to market,
potentially through licensing agreements, one of the
people with knowledge of
Agencies
Belgium voices doubts over
TTIP, seeks pause in talks
Formula One
sale to
Liberty Media
next week
Negotiations unbalanced, may have to be abandoned: Michel
GERMANY
TOP
OPEN
HIGH
BELGIAN PRIME MINISter Charles Michel on
Saturday became the latest European politician to
voice doubts over the possibility of the EU agreeing
a major new trade deal with
the United States, saying
in a newspaper interview
that negotiations might
have to be abandoned for
now.
“This treaty could represent growth and jobs for
Europe on condition that
it is balanced,” Michel said
in an interview published
in Belgian business daily
L’Echo.
“What is on the table
doesn’t seem to be. So,
for the moment, I prefer
to say that it’s not right
and that perhaps we will
resume negotiations later.
That said, there is an
electoral reality in America. They are campaigning.”
Washington and Brussels are officially committed to sealing the
Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership
(TTIP) before US President Barack Obama leaves
office in January, but serious doubts have surfaced.
Last week French
Trade Minister Matthias
Fekl said he would request a halt to the talks
at an EU trade ministers’
meeting on September 23
after German Economy
Minister Sigmar Gabriel
had declared that talks
were “de facto dead”.
Observers have said
Fekl and Gabriel are responding to public mis-
0.187
LOW
BEST BID BEST ASK TRADES VOLUME
PRICE VOLUME PRICE VOLUME
0(0%)
0.187
BANKMUSCAT(BKMB)
BANKSOHAR(BKSB)
0.382
0(0%)
0.174
0.004(2.4%)
GULFINVESTME..(GISI)
32,518
0.188
0.380
41,787
0.173
276,417
0.118 0.001(0.85%)
0.117
NATIONALBANK..(NBOB)
0.245
0(0%)
OMANUNITEDI..(OUIS)
0.280
0(0%)
Total trust of the TTIP proposals which critics say would
lower environmental and
food standards and allow
foreign multinationals to
challenge government
policies. Both France and
Germany are due to hold
elections in 2017.
EU trade chief Cecilia
Malmstrom, who is in
charge of trade negotiations for the European
Union, said last week she
was surprised to hear the
comments before she had
been able to brief trade
ministers at the meeting
in Bratislava.
“They are advancing.
They are difficult. We
knew that from the beginning, but they have not
failed,” she said, adding
the aim was still to con-
clude talks before President Barack Obama’s
term ends in January.
“That is still our aim and
if that is not possible it
makes sense to make as
much as progress as possible,” she said.
“It’s very difficult to
say this is a bad deal because there isn’t any deal
yet. Nothing is concluded
until everything is concluded.”
Separately China and
the United States made
“significant progress” in
talks last week on investment rules, state news
agency Xinhua reported
on Sunday.
Reaching an agreement over the so-called
‘negative list’ of businesses in China that are
WASHINGTON
32
1,239,344 232,986 0.187 0.188 0.188 0.188 0.187
0.384
4,142
78
311,213 118,571 0.382 0.380 0.380 0.382 0.380
0.175
200,000
35
1,123,820 191,969 0.167 0.171 0.167 0.174 0.167
50,000
0.120
5,000
2
20,146
2,377 0.118 0.118 0.117 0.118 0.118
0.244
12,000
0.245
2,016
8
172,051
42,152 0.245 0.245 0.245 0.245 0.245
0.260
210,000
59,800 0.285 0.285 0.285 0.285 0.280
2,000
0.285
28,011
2
157
0.195
9,500
0.216
35,040
1
100,000
3,076,574 647,855
out of bounds to foreign
investors is crucial in
sealing a treaty between
Beijing and Washington
that would lift investment
flows between the world’s
two largest economies.
The issue has been
made more prominent by
a wave of Chinese acquisitions of US companies
that have raised questions
over the inability of US
companies to buy assets
as freely in China.
During last week’s
meeting in Beijing, the
two nations exchanged
for the third time the latest revised draft of the
negative list.
“This signals a common
goal to establish an investment system that is non
discriminative, transpar-
Reuters
Reuters
Fiat Chrysler scouts for Marelli partner
TURNOVER LAST P.CLOSE CLOSE NET %
124,107
Agencies
A sign against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership free trade agreement in Frankfurt.
REGULAR MARKET
FINANCIAL SECTOR
ALANWARHOLD..(AAIT)
ent and open,” a Ministry
of Commerce spokesman
was quoted as saying on
Sunday. “Two sides will
intensively push for further negotiations, expedite the work pace in order
to reach a win-win, high
level investment treaty.”
China has not made
public the negative list,
although sources said
previously that the number of items on the list in
earlier drafts had fallen to
between 35 and 40, from
around 80 previously.
Securing an investment
treaty with the United
States could bring a muchneeded boost to China’s
slowing economy, where
domestic investment is at
its lowest since 2000.
A SALE OF FORMULA
One to Liberty Media is to
go ahead next week, the
sport’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone
told German trade magazine auto motor und sport
on the sidelines of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on
Saturday.
The magazine said that
according to Ecclestone,
Liberty Media will transfer
the irst of two tranches of
payment in the $8.5 billion
deal on Tuesday.
Recent media reports
had said that British
broadcaster Sky as well as
a consortium of Liberty
Media’s sister company
Liberty Global and Discovery Communications were
also circling Formula One.
Fiat Chrysler’s Chief
Executive Sergio Marchionne earlier said the
industry as a whole had a
vested interest in stability
for Formula One.
“I’ve had this conversation with CVC in the past,
I’ve had it with Bernie ...
I think it’s important that
we provide stability and a
long-term view. I’m sure
that will happen soon,”
he said.
Auto motor und sport
said Ecclestone left it unclear what role he would
play once a deal had gone
through. It quoted him as
saying: “I will do what I
have always done. What
role I play is my decision.”
Formula One’s biggest
shareholders are private
equity irm CVC Capital
Partners with a 35.5 per
cent stake and US fund
manager Waddell & Reed
with 20.9 per cent
BRUSSELS
MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET
COMPANY
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
FIAT CHRYSLER AU
tomobiles is in talks with several parties, including South
Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., over the future
of its components business
Magneti Marelli, the carmaker’s chairman John Elkann said.
“There are ongoing talks,
but nothing formal,” Elkann
said on Saturday during a
meeting of shareholders in
his family’s EXOR holding
company.
Talks with oficials from
the Korean group had taken place on the sidelines of
EXOR board meeting earlier
this week, he added.
Samsung Electronics’s
vice-chairman Jae Yong
Lee is an independent board
member of EXOR.
“We have talked about
Magneti Marelli and also
other issues, including the
insurance sector ... as we
own PartnerRE,” Elkann
told journalists.
The components unit is
attracting interest because
it could have an important
role in car development in
the coming decades, Elkann
said, adding FCA was keen
to strengthen the business.
Last month FCA CEO
Sergio Marchionne said
Magneti Marelli’s future
would be outside the Fiat
group in the medium- or
long-term, but for now it was
essential to its parent company. Samsung has identiied
automotive components as a
growth driver as sales in its
existing businesses, including smartphones, slowed.
Reuters
INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
ALANWARCER..(AACT)
0.210 0.003(1.41%)
21,000 0.210 0.210 0.213 0.210 0.210
ALMAHACERAMI..(AMCI)
0.478 0.004(0.84%)
0.470
60,000
0.476
23,860
11
150,000
71,700 0.478 0.478 0.474 0.478 0.478
ALJAZEERAST..(ATMI)
0.236 0.007(3.02%)
0.236
9,900
0.239
17,942
10
63,600
15,227 0.238 0.239 0.232 0.240 0.236
OMANCEMENT(OCOI)
0.478 0.002(0.42%)
0.478
12,044
0.480
83,203
4
87,956
42,043 0.478 0.478 0.480 0.478 0.478
RAYSUTCEMENT(RCCI)
1.490 0.025(1.71%)
1.370
793
1.490
16,367
19
50,000
74,500 1.490 1.490 1.465 1.490 1.490
VOLTAMPENERG..(VOES)
0.450
0(0%)
0.452
10,000
0.460
1,202
4
34,000
15,308 0.452 0.450 0.450 0.452 0.450
49
Total 485,556 239,777
SERVICES SECTOR
ALBATINAHPO..(BATP)
0.199
0(0%)
0.195
4,000
0.199
84,529
6
227,972
45,366 0.199 0.199 0.199 0.199 0.199
OMANINVESTME..(OIFC)
0.193
0(0%)
0.192
16,500
0.193
30,000
46
OOREDOO(ORDS)
0.712
0(0%)
0.712
42,242
0.720
27,428
11
17,758
12,684 0.712 0.716 0.716 0.716 0.712
OMANTELECOMM..(OTEL)
1.560
0.01(0.64%)
1.560
3,293
1.570
25,000
13
43,632
68,066 1.560 1.560 1.570 1.560 1.560
PHOENIXPOWER(PHPC)
0.144
0(0%)
0.144
21,529
0.147
10,000
17
658,547
94,826 0.144 0.144 0.144 0.144 0.143
93
Total 1,837,420 354,622 0.193 0.193 0.193 0.193 0.193
2,785,329 575,564
PARALLEL MARKET
FINANCIAL SECTOR
ALOMANIYAFI..(AOFS)
0.289
0(0%)
0.000
0
0.289
30,008
ALIZZISLAMIC..(BKIZ)
0.065
0(0%)
0.065
45,000
0.068
5,000
1
50,000
3,250 0.065 0.065 0.065 0.065 0.065
BANKNIZWA(BKNZ)
0.077 0.001(1.32%)
0.077
35,728
0.078 1,035,843
19
252,672
19,439 0.076 0.077 0.076 0.077 0.076
ALBATINAHDE..(DBIH)
0.088 0.001(1.15%)
0.087
10,000
0.089
10,000
2
25,700
2,262 0.088 0.088 0.087 0.088 0.088
HSBCBANKOMA..(HBMO)
0.098
0.098
108,000
0.099
81,889
13
515,000
50,480 0.098 0.098 0.098 0.099 0.098
ALSHARQIAIN..(SIHC)
0.129 0.001(0.78%)
0.128
Total 0(0%)
0.103
0(0%)
1
1,210
350 0.289 0.300 0.300 0.289 0.289
20,000
0.131
45,000
4
11,500
40
856,082
77,266
0.103
284,630
0.104
40,492
30
751,465
77,472 0.103 0.103 0.103 0.105 0.103
1,486 0.130 0.129 0.128 0.130 0.129
INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
GALFARENGINE..(GECS)
OMANFISHERIE..(OFCI)
0.060
0(0%)
0.060
54,650
0.061
66,200
10
87,850
5,271 0.060 0.060 0.060 0.060 0.060
OMANFLOURMI..(OFMI)
0.632
0(0%)
0.620
5,000
0.632
30,278
1
1,722
1,088 0.632 0.632 0.632 0.632 0.632
41
841,037
Total 83,831
SERVICES SECTOR
SEMBCORPSALA..(SSPW)
0.240
0(0%)
0.235
10,000
0.240
338
1
162
39 0.240 0.238 0.238 0.240 0.240
ALSUWADIPOW..(SUWP)
0.199
0(0%)
0.199
32,008
0.203
3,500
4
147,992
29,450 0.199 0.199 0.199 0.199 0.199
5
148,154
29,489
0(0%)0.0730.073
60,000
0.073
20,000
1
10,000
740 0.074 0.074 0.074 0.074 0.074
1
10,000
740
Total UNDER_MONITORING MARKET
INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
ALHASSANENG..(HECI)
Total MARKET SUMMARY
0.074
386
8,202,732 1,654,523
Hino Trucks to go on display
at Middle East transport expo
MUSCAT
HINO MOTORS AND
Saud Bahwan Automotive
will be displaying the latest
range of the world-famous
Hino Trucks at the ‘Middle
East Transport and Logistics
Expo’ exhibition.
Hino Motors with a rich
and varied experience spanning over 100 years are the
manufacturers of Hino
trucks and buses. Hino is
the largest manufacturer
of heavy and medium duty
commercial trucks in Japan.
Globally Hino produces over
100,000 vehicles per year
including a growing number
of light duty trucks.
The brand Hino over
the years has gained immense reputation for legendary quality, durability,
reliability and environment
friendliness. At Hino, innovation is a core business
philosophy. In 1991, Hino
Motors launched the world’s
irst mass-produced buses
powered by diesel-electric
hybrid system. And as hybrid
technology was reined over
the years, 2003 witnessed
the launch of Hino’s Dutro
Hybrid truck. Hino engines
are equipped with Diesel
Particulate active Reduction
system, which has earned
extensive recognition for
achieving ultra-low emissions in Diesel engines for
commercial vehicles.
In Oman, Saud Bahwan Automotive LLC, a
lagship company of Saud
Bahwan Group (SBG), is
the exclusive distributor for
HINO vehicles. The Group
is known for its commitment
to achieve excellence in customer care as well as creating
new benchmarks in quality
service.
Hino’s sprawling facility
located in Muscat, includes
Sales, Service and Spare
Parts facilities under one
roof. The Service workshop has over 50 bays and
is equipped with the latest in servicing tools and
diagnostic equipment, including a unique high-tech
paint booth for customised
requirements.
Hino Service is available
all across Oman at various
touch points of the SBG
Network and the dedicated
team of technicians and
Service Support Staff will
leave no stone unturned to
ensure that the customer
receives timely, adequate
and quality service support
and break-down assistance.
The Hino Spare Parts
operations at the new facility
feature a customer-centric
approach in its design and
management systems. The
warehouse has a vast storage area ensuring an impressive 95 per cent availability
of parts off the shelf. The
Central Parts Distribution
Centre remains connected
to other Hino spare part
outlets across Oman via a
digital network and has a
special online access to the
stock at Hino Motors to minimise response time.
In Oman Hino has a wide
range of products starting
from 4.5 Ton GVW to 100
Ton GCW, catering to the
variety of requirements of
the customers. These include Light Duty Trucks
– DUTRO – 300 Series,
Medium Duty Trucks –
500 Series and Heavy Duty
Trucks – 700 Series.
The Hino 300 Series is
an ideal transport solution
with an impressive payload
allowance. Rugged and reliable, the Hino 300 can be
easily relied upon to get your
goods safely to their destination. The Hino 300 Truck is
backed by a long history of
quality, durability and reliability and Hino’s tried and
tested technology.
The Hino 500 series is
renowned for power and
performance. Nimble and
streamlined, the Hino 500
can easily manoeuvre in
tight spaces, making it ideal
to meet the transport needs
of the logistics, construction and manufacturing industries. It is also an excellent transport solution for
general freight, including
refrigerated cargo.
The Hino 700 series
trucks are relied upon for
a range of heavy duty jobs.
It continues to win over
heavy truck buyers with its
class leading combination
of reliability, comfort and
affordability..
Oman Tribune
Making a statement with pride
A town that breathes music
— PAGE 22
21
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
— PAGE 23
3 DHUL HIJJAH 1437
It helps to
stop trying
for a while
Doing two simple
things can help you
get motivated, writes
Tina Gilbertson
W
Red-faced cormorants, the common birds that allowed Olaf Danielson to break the record. “No ultra
rarity or epiphany moment,” he wrote on his blog.
Getting an eyeful of birds
Two rivals break US birdwatching’s biggest record, writes Karin Brulliard
M
ANY a record
was broken
this summer.
Here’s one
that didn’t
win a gold medal or much
fanfare: It was for extreme
birdwatching - and two
people surpassed it.
Just over halfway through
the year, a man named John
Weigel spotted a Buller’s
shearwater in California
on July 16, making him the
holder of the record for most
bird species seen in North
America in a calendar year:
750. But two days later, Olaf
Danielson of South Dakota
saw his 750th bird of 2016,
a red-faced cormorant in
Alaska. Now the men are in
a ierce competition -- such
that exists in this normally
genteel pastime -- to see how
high the record can go in a
year when strange El Nino
weather patterns, as well
as some recent taxonomic
splits that “created” more
species to spot, may have
made their oddball adventure feasible.
This quest is referred to
as a North American “Big
Year,” and the goal is to see
as many as you can of the almost 1,000 species on the
American Birding Association’s list for the continental
United States and Canada in
a year. (It was ictionalised
in the 2011 box ofice lop
“The Big Year.”) From
1998 to 2013, the record
was 748 bird species. A man
named Neil Hayward broke
that with 749 in 2013. Now
Weigel, 60, and Danielson,
50, are crisscrossing the
continent to push into the
upper 700s - but not many
people who don’t frequent
birding websites would
know that.
“I was tired, and I’m not
sure what you’re supposed
to do,” Danielson said of his
non-celebration upon seeing
his 750th species on July 18.
“I guess you want to enjoy
the moment, but it’s hard
when you’re alone.”
And being alone is a big
part of a Big Year. Seeing
the birds often happens in
a group, because hardcore
birders descend on spots
where websites report rare
bird sightings. But getting
to them - because winning
means checking off hard-toind birds - takes an exhausting amount of time alone on
airplanes and in cars.
What else does a Big Year
take? A good eye for birds
and a good ear for their calls,
because you can check off a
species just by hearing it. It
also takes stamina, loads of
free time and a lot of money.
By the end of July, Danielson
had spent nearly $70,000,
lown 124,800 miles on
129 lights, driven 33,934
miles, spent 192 hours looking for birds at sea, walked
273 miles and visited 35
states and provinces. He’d
also slept 12 nights in
cars. Weigel said he hadn’t
tracked miles travelled nor
dollars spent, though he said
his bid has been “hideously
expensive.”
“I’ve had to go from West
Coast to East Coast and back
again in 24-hour periods,
and then back again, no
worries,” Weigel said. “All
I know is American Airlines
loves me.”
At core, Big Year hopefuls
must also possess what many
might consider a seriously
geeky drive to see lots and
lots of birds. That’s not totally unusual among birders,
who embrace “listing” - tallying species on “life lists,”
or backyard lists, or even
“how many birds they’ve
seen through the sunroof
of their car,” joked Geoff
LeBaron, the Christmas
Bird Count director at the
National Audubon Society.
“It doesn’t have to be
crazy, gonzo travel to every
farthest corner of the country,” he said.
But it’s fair to say Danielson and Weigel have rare
levels of the birding burn.
Danielson, for example,
tallied 594 North American species in 2013, and he
did it naked. Among other
pursuits, he is a writer, and
he says his publisher put him
up to it; the result was a book
titled “Boobies, Peckers &
Tits: One Man’s Naked Perspective.” (Shockingly, the
effort resulted in no arrest
record.) This year, Danielson said, the stars aligned for
a more traditional Big Year.
He’d sold his emergency
room stafing company, his
family situation allowed it,
and he was turning 50.
“A lot of these [birding]
places are really, really
strenuous,” said Danielson, who dedicated his blog
chronicling the effort to the
grandmother who taught
him about birds when he was
a kid. “A friend of mine and
I got off the trail in the western Arizona desert on probably the hottest day of 2016.
We made it back to our car
all scratched and cut up and
dehydrated . . . if I’m 60, do
I want to do that? No.”
Weigel does, and not for
the irst time. An American
by birth, he moved in 1981
to Australia, where he owns
the Australian Reptile Park.
He said he was turned onto
birding a decade ago, and
he’s since done two Big Years
in Australia, where his 2014
record of 770 species still
stands. Now he’s doing the
North American version to
draw attention and funds to
his side project, Devil Ark, a
conservation breeding program for Tasmanian devils
that is partnered with Global
Wildlife Conservation.
“Apart from the obvious
but hopefully avoidable risks
of inancial ruin and family
dissolution, why not?” Weigel - who, for complicated
reasons, considers his 750th
bird a black swift in Idaho wrote on his blog.
These days, both Weigel
and Danielson are wandering around St. Lawrence,
an island in the middle of
the Bering Sea that is part of
Alaska but closer to Siberia.
So are lots of other hardcore
birders, because remote
Alaskan islands are places
where strong winds can blow
birds that breed in Siberia but
migrate at this time of year to
Asia. They’re “vagrants”
- birds that aren’t typically
North American. But if spotted on Alaskan soil? Another
check on the Big Year list.
“It’s windy, cold, sleety,
cold and miserable,” Weigel
said by phone. “Did I mention cold and miserable?”
A big question among those
aware of Weigel and Olafson’s
undertaking is how they broke
the record so early in the year
- a feat the American Birding
Association’s blog called “unthinkable.”
LeBaron said they’ve
got a few things working in
their favor. First, El Nino
weather patterns are pushing
vagrants into the corners of
North America; Weigel said
he has seen 93 vagrants so
far. Second, the American
Ornithologists’ Union has
recently “split” a few species, which happens when
published research shows
that birds that look alike are
genetically different. This
year, the union split two the Western scrub-jay and
Leach’s storm petrel - into
two and three different species, respectively. (Sometimes the opposite happens,
which is called “lumping,”
LeBaron said, adding: “The
birds don’t care; it’s just
how humans are accepting
them.”) Also key, LeBaron
said, are “listservs, the Internet, and the ability to get to
places very quickly to see a
bird that somebody just saw
yesterday.”
Danielson, who has now
seen 757 species, said he
didn’t think El Nino had
been any help to him. “At
the end of the day, how you
get to the top is a big credit
card bill,” he said.
Lest you think this quest
sounds fun, Weigel and
Danielson assured it is not
- well, not exactly. Weigel,
now at 760 species, described himself as “just trying to survive this next six
weeks on the island,” where
he’s seeking rarities and trying to get on every boat trip
possible, even though they
can make him violently ill.
Washington Post-Bloomberg
SERENE MOMENTS
Tourist boats cruise on the Seine river along the Notre Dame Cathedral at sunset in Paris.
Ludovic Marin/ AFP
HEN your “get up and
go” has “got up and
gone,” when there’s no
more “pep” left in your
step, sometimes the best thing you can
do is just stop trying for a while.
Moving forward feels great, but movement takes energy. When’s the last time
you took a break without feeling guilty?
Resting is a productive and appropriate project that could help you get your
groove back.
Having said that, maybe you don’t
have the option of sitting around doing
nothing. Somehow, you’ve got to ind
or create the motivation to get moving
again, regardless of how stuck you feel.
That’s when it’s time to do two things.
The irst is to remind yourself of your
own agency. No matter how helpless
you may feel at a time like this, no matter what challenges you face, you have
control over the little things in your life.
You’re the only one who gets to decide whether to brush your teeth, rinse
out that empty yogurt container, or
sweep up that debris on the loor near
the front door.
When life won’t give up its rewards to
you, you can still reward yourself with
clean hair, a timeout, or a carrot. (Make
it a baby carrot with peanut butter; you
need the nutrients.)
Losing motivation creates a sense of
powerlessness, not to mention a lack of
direction and purpose. It casts a spell
that makes you forget your autonomy.
But total powerlessness is most often
an illusion.
Once you inspire yourself
by being proactive in
smaller tasks, you’ll
be better able to roll
up your sleeves and do
some heavy lifting on the
bigger stuff
Who else makes those moment-tomoment decisions about whether to
wash a dish, darn a sock, or do a pushup?
When you feel paralysed by obstacles
like apathy, low energy, or indecision,
taking small, unrelated actions can rev
that idling engine.
The best activities are simple acts of
grooming and household management.
Sprucing up your resume and applying for jobs on the Internet is not a
small action; don’t ask yourself to do that
before you have some wins under your
belt in the form of clipped nails, a tidy
drawer, or a changed light bulb.
Once you inspire yourself by being
proactive in smaller tasks, you’ll be
better able to roll up your sleeves and
do some heavy lifting on the bigger
stuff.
The second thing to do if you’ve
lost your mojo is to follow these three,
simple words: Just start it. I remember an instructor in graduate school
telling us that if you simply begin to
do a task, motivation kicks in within
10 seconds.
You read that right: 10 seconds may
be all it takes to shift from “I don’t want
to do it” to “I’m already doing it, so I
might as well continue.”
Let’s say, for example, you’re trying
to get yourself to go to the gym. Get
up right now and gather your workout
clothes and/or shoes. Fill a water bottle
or do whatever it takes to prep for a trip
to the gym.
You’re far more likely to follow
through and actually go if you start doing anything related to your goal.
Between these two tools - inspiring
yourself through small actions or committing to just 10 seconds of activity you’ll be able to make more progress
than you would by sitting there berating
yourself for being stuck. Loss of motivation can be a symptom of depression.
If your condition becomes entrenched,
please consider speaking with a counselor or other mental health professional.
Tina Gilbertson is a therapist in
Portland, Oregon and author ofthe
book “Constructive Wallowing.” Her
webiste is www.TinaGilbertson.com.
Washington Post-Bloomberg
22
FASHION
OMAN TRIBUNE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
A plus-size clothing label was able to move from bankruptcy to a success story, writes Robin Givhan
T
HREE years ago, Ashley Stewart was a retail
nightmare. It was an
unprofitable mess of
189 stores buried in
unglamorous malls and innercity business districts. It was also
operating in the digital Stone Age
with outdated e-commerce and no
social-media strategy. It had already
suffered through one bankruptcy
and was headed into another.
All the while, it was selling
clothes to some of fashion’s most
disrespected customers: Plus-size
women. African-American women.
For James Rhee, recounting this
litany of woes and sins is now a form
of bragging. How bad were things?
God-awful. Which means that, by
comparison, things are now pretty
great.
“It had no value,” says Rhee, who
stepped in as chief executive officer
when the company hit rock-bottom
in 2013.
Today, Ashley Stewart, which is
privately owned, has risen from the
depths of financial despair to ride
a cultural, social and demographic
wave. It has become a streamlined
and profitable 21st-century brand
with an e-commerce business accounting for 40 per cent of its
revenue, as well as a lively socialmedia presence. A brand kept on
life support by the loyalty of black
women now has an online customer
base that is 40 per cent white. And
instead of losing $7 million a year,
Rhee says, the brand is ringing up
profits of $20 million annually.
The upswing is, in part, because
of better management and improved technology. It is surely a victory for math geeks. But Rhee also
made several bets that are paying
off. He put his faith in Instagram,
body pride and diversity.
“Part of my thinking during the
first six months was, when you
look at the world over the next 10
years, are you going to bet on social
media? That women over size 12
will have their day? Will nonblack
women look at black women as
emblems of beauty?”
“I believe the time has come for
this woman.”
He may be right.
The average American woman is
about 5’3” and weighs a smidgen
over 166 pounds, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Her waist circumference is 37.5 inches, which means
James Rhee, executive chairman
and chief executive officer of
Ashley Stewart
that at the Gap she wears a size 18
and at Gucci she does not exist.
The variety of fashion available to plus-size customers has
expanded significantly in the past
decade. Brands such as Lane Bryant are upping their fashion savvy
with the help of designers Sophie
Theallet and Prabal Gurung. Christian Siriano, who has also worked
with Lane Bryant, has gained a
reputation as a Seventh Avenue
designer who not only is eager to
dress non-model-size celebrities
but is also particularly adept at it.
Most recently, he designed the
gown Leslie Jones wore to the premiere of her film “Ghostbusters.”
And when Fashion Week begins
in New York on Sept. 8, designer
Byron Lars will present a collection
that ranges from size 0 to 18.
Plus-size models such as Ashley
Graham are more prominent in
glossy magazines, and the understanding of precisely what plus-size
customers want from the fashion
industry has shifted: They aren’t
searching for clothes to make them
look thinner; they want clothes to
help them realise the sexy and
glamorous vision they already
have of themselves. Indeed, Graham will present her unabashedly
sexy lingerie line on the fashion
week runway in partnership with
the Canadian plus-size retailer Addition Elle.
Ashley Stewart is exploiting
all those cultural shifts to get its
share of a $20 billion segment of
the fashion business.
“We never talk ‘plus.’ We
never talk race. We want to make
... clothes that are affordable, ontrend and make her look great,”
Rhee says.
Race, however, was part of the
original Ashley Stewart business
model - and part of what made it
different.
The company was founded in
1991 by New York real estate developer Joseph Sitt, who believed
money was to be made by bringing
mainstream retail to underserved
urban neighbourhoods. He was
not a fashion guy; he was a bricksand-mortar guy. But to convince
national brands that they could
build profitable businesses in
predominantly African-American
communities, he had to show them
what was possible.
His market research revealed
that among the many businesses
these neighbourhoods were lacking, there was a particularly glaring
omission: women’s apparel. Sitt’s
research also showed that many of
those potential customers were
plus-size. As Sitt noted in a 2006
interview with Inc. magazine, he
came up with the store’s name by
merging Laura Ashley with Martha Stewart, two brands that he
thought “were icons of upscale
Americana, and we wanted to bring
that upscale shopping experience
- the antithesis of what you’ve seen
in the inner city.”
He built tremendous goodwill
for the stores within the communities by participating in local
fundraisers and handing out discount coupons. But mostly, he
gave his customer the fashion that
she craved.
“She wants it to be tight and
sexy. She wants to be noticed,”
says Kristen Gaskins, president
and chief merchant officer. “She’s
conservative; she goes to church.
But she also has an active nightlife.”
The result was a brand that grew
from one store to more than 350,
spread out over 100 cities, and that
was hailed as a symbol of urban renewal. Sitt’s company branched out
to speak to Latina women with the
Marianne brand. The enterprise
eventually brought in a reported
$400 million in annual sales.
In 2000, he sold the company
to the first of many private equity
firms that would preside over a
downward spiral - one caused by
overexpansion, poor management and a shift into basic, boring
clothes - that gained speed during
the recession.
Ashley Stewart filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and again in 2014.
It was as the second bankruptcy
was looming that Rhee, who was on
the board of the parent company,
resigned from his position and took
the reins of Ashley Stewart.
Rhee is first generation KoreanAmerican - a Harvard-educated
lawyer who never practiced law.
He spent two years teaching high
school history before settling into
a career in finance. “The learning
curve was steep and humbling,”
says Rhee, 45, who also holds an
ownership stake in the company. “I
told everyone that on paper, I was
the least qualified person to run the
company.”
But he had unlikely emotional
connection to Ashley Stewart’s
customer base, which has a history of not being served well by
the fashion industry.
“The brand reminds me of my
mom,” he says. “She didn’t grow
up here or speak the language. She
was an educated woman, but she
didn’t always feel comfortable. But
she’d go into a Korean grocer and
they’d be speaking her language,
and I could see that she’d feel
comfortable. I could see it in her
shoulders.”
“One of the things our brand
stands for,” Rhee says, “is not judging people, but being accepting.”
During the first six months of
Rhee’s tenure, he visited stores
and watched customers shop.
He noticed that many of the
black women who browsed during
the week were focused on getting a
good deal. But when they came in
on the weekend, they were often
searching for something special for
an evening out. And they were willing to pay full price. He also learned
that a lot of the women were not just
devoted customers, but also devout
churchgoers.
“I’d go shopping every Sunday
after church,” says Connie Holmes,
a D.C. police officer. “One Sunday,
I was looking at the line and it was
so long. I said, ‘I can’t wait all day;
I have to go home and cook dinner!
You all need more help in here!’ “
So the store’s manager suggested
she fill out an application. She’s
been working as a part-time clerk
for five years.
Rhee took what he learned
about the customers and applied
it to a business plan. While every
company uses social media - to sell
products, to build a network - Rhee
added church to the conversation.
The company promotes #churchflow - a hashtag that the Sunday
morning community uses when
posting pictures of their church
fashion. The brand also promotes
its more modest offerings as perfect
for Sunday service or a fellowship
hall dinner.
In an industry regularly criticised for its disinterest in diversity,
Ashley Stewart has aggressively
reached out to black women with
block parties in Brooklyn, panel
discussions on black entrepreneurship and cross-promotions
with Carol’s Daughter, a brand
specialising in products for natural
and chemically relaxed hair.
Rhee also made fundamental
organisational changes. He closed
about 100 stores. He decreased the
payroll from 1,800 employees to
1,000. He upgraded the website
and revamped the merchandising
team. He sped up the production
cycle so the company can get fresh
goods into stores within four to six
weeks. The Ashley Stewart shop
in Largo, Maryland, survived the
purge. It’s tucked into an openair mall that includes Foot Locker,
Shoe City, Sprint and a lot of empty
storefronts. Tyrone Holland,
the store manager, has been with
Ashley Stewart for about 10 years.
Before that, he’d spent two decades
working in fast food.
He has gotten to know a lot of
his customers because a lot of them
come in regularly. Janice Berry
estimates that she shops the store
Part of the Ashley
Stewart collection.
about 15 times a month, which is
to say that she is the kind of customer that retailers dream about.
Berry is a 69-year-old black woman
with a lineless face, a pixie haircut
and rimless eyeglass. She wears a
size 14, perhaps a 16. “I like sporty
things, but sexy,” she says. “They
have something for the younger
crowd, but nice, sexy stuff for the
older woman.”
Ashley Stewart is not a runway
brand with fashion cachet. It is not
especially inventive or luxurious.
But it no longer trafficks in basics.
It sells styles that were once presumed to be taboo for women of
a certain size. In addition to business attire, the racks are filled with
jersey jumpsuits, off-the-shoulder
blouses, jeggings,tulle skirts and
denim cutoffs that barely look long
enough to cover the tush. All of this
is available in size 12 to 26, some
of it as large as a 32.
“People think it’s so much harder to service this customer than it
is,” Gaskins says. “She really isn’t
a separate customer. If I wake up
tomorrow as a size 22, I’m still going to be me.”
The fashion industry is at a
crossroads. As it looks forward to
its twice-yearly ritual of runways
shows, it mulls multiple questions:
Do catwalk productions geared to
the trade make sense when shoppers are accustomed to direct access to pretty much everything?
How do fashion brands monetise
Instagram followers? Can Seventh
Avenue continue to ignore women
larger than a size 14?
In June, Ashley Stewart got a new
owner: The Invus Group. The investment firm also owns Weight
Watchers, which is either a grand
contradiction or perfect synergy.
The stores, most of which are about
3,500 square feet, have not been
remodelled. They are not glittering showcases. And while plenty of
customers have noticed improvements, others have not. “I think it’s
the same,” shrugs Tonie Anstead,
59, as she browsed the sale racks.
But adds: “If you want colour, this
is the place to be.” Oh, and she
likes the shirts.
How bad were things? The
company sold scrap metal from its
warehouse to help make payroll.
By comparison, that makes even
a lukewarm customer assessment
practically a rave.
Washington Post-Bloomberg
ENTERTAINMENT
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
OMAN TRIBUNE
23
CELEB TALK
Renee Zellweger found
comeback scary
The place, which has produced some music legends, stays in the groove, writes Leigh Ann Henion
ACTRESS Renee Zellweger found returning to
the spotlight “scary”. The 47-year-old, who took
a six-year break from the industry, before starring
in “Bridget Jones’s Baby”, admits to initially harbouring a few nerves about her comeback, reports
dailymail.co.uk. “It was scary coming back,” Zellweger said. She has starred in “Bridget Jones’s Diary”
and “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” before.
“Especially since I love this character and didn’t want
to disappoint anybody. I always feel a slight twinge
of impostor syndrome when I go to work, it’s an
ever-present sentiment for me that I’ll be thinking,
‘Okay, this is the time I’m going to be discovered
and fired’, and after being away for so long, it was
strong this time.
Paloma Faith hates
washing hair
SINGER Paloma Faith says she hates washing her
hair. The “Picking up the pieces” hitmaker, who is
pregnant with her first child, wishes her hair could
clean itself because she can’t bear standing under the
shower dousing her hair with shampoo and water,
reports femalefirst.co.uk. “I wish hair would just
wash itself. It’s such a drag having to wash it every
other day. I can’t stand it,” she tweeted. Faith announced that she and her long-term boyfriend Leyman Lahcine were expecting a baby last month. “I
am so delighted to tell you I am going to take a short
while off to have a baby. I have spent my whole life
wanting to be a mother and now the time has come
for me to so I feel so lucky,” Faith had announced.
Rishi turns 64, B-Town
showers good wishes
VETERAN actor Rishi Kapoor turned 64 on Sunday, and his friends and colleagues from the Hindi
film industry have wished him a year full of love and
happiness. And the celebrities also had a special
message for the “Bobby” star -- keep on inspiring.
The actor has been part of the industry for over four
decades and has given hits like “Mera Naam Joker”,
“Bobby”, “Khel Khel Mein”, “Hum Kisise Kum
Naheen”, “Karz” and “Prem Rog”. The actor was
last seen on screen in the “Kapoor & Sons”. Here’s
what the celebrities had to say on Rishi’s birthday:
Amitabh Bachchan: Happy Birthday Chintu ji...Love
and happiness always...Chintu, we did some great
films together!
Amy Jackson to shoot
action sequences for ‘2.o’
ACTRESS Amy Jackson, who has rejoined the sets
of superstar Rajinikanth’s Tamil science-fiction action drama “2.o” after a brief hiatus, will be shooting for some action sequences from Monday here.
“She joined the sets back on Saturday. In the latest
schedule, the makers will shoot some action scenes
featuring Amy Jackson and Rajinikanth. One of the
most important portions of the film will be shot in
the following weeks,” a source told IANS. An elated
Amy shared the news on her twitter page, “Landed
up in Chennai! Shooting my action packed scenes
for @shankarshanmugh Robot 2.0.” Being helmed
by S. Shankar, the film also stars Akshay Kumar as
the antagonist, Sudhanshu Pandey and Adil Hussain.
I
T’S Sunday morning at
Beulahland Bible Church
in Macon, Georgia, and the
man in the pulpit is preaching to the choir. With 76
members, it’s larger than some
congregations. Finally, he turns
to face the rest of us. Theater
lights are blazing. Movie-quality
cameras glide through the air on
mobile cranes.
The choir stands. The crowd
stands. Here it comes: The sound
of keyboards, drums.
Seventy-six voices, rising. One
thousand hands, clapping.
All the singers are good. But
one of them is exceptional. He’s
hitting highs and lows, chasing
notes into places other singers
just cannot go.
The preacher calls out to the
soloist: I wanna drink from the
cup you’re drinking from!
Macon, population roughly
90,000, was once known as a
great music city, like Motown and
Memphis. When you ask Maconites how this came to pass, they
often say it was something in the
water. So, maybe it’s fitting that
one of its most famous natives
sang about sitting on the dock
of a bay.
Otis Reddingwas the son of
a preacher man. He sang in his
father’s choir before he took to
the stage. His industry break
came unexpectedly, in 1962,
when he attended a local musician’s recording session. When
Redding - who would go on to
be crowned the King of Soul asked for a chance to sing, he
introduced the world to his first
hit single, “These Arms of Mine.”
That day, he gave the studio
band one directive: Just gimme
those church things! And those
church things are here! Today!
Almost every hand in this place
is raised.
I’m in attendance because the
church building where Redding
got his start no longer stands and,
when I told his daughter, Karla
Redding-Andrews, that I’d like to
witness the spirit of his old choir,
she directed me to Beulahland.
I’m here because this is the town
where the Allman Brothers Band
got their start. Where Little Richard was born. Where, once, it was
common to see bluesman Willie
McTell walking the streets with
a placard.
Beulahland is, in Christian
tradition, where residents of a
destroyed city waited to be called,
as pilgrims, to the holy land. But
for some music lovers, to be in
Macon is to have already arrived.
It was at a concert featuring
Otis Redding that Duane Allman
turned to his brother, Gregg, and
said: We’ve got to be part of this.
They were two fatherless boys
from Florida, and they were being exposed to a pioneer of soul
music, a genre incorporating
gospel and rhythm and blues.
When Redding died in a plane
crash in 1967, Phil Walden, Redding’s manager and co-founder
of Macon’s now-defunct Capricorn Records, declared that he
would never again become so
personally invested in an artist.
But when he heard Duane
Allman’s guitar, he changed his
mind.
Walden - a white promoter
who, early on, would have been
arrested if he had entered segregated venues to see the black
artists he represented - suggested
that Duane start a band. Jai “Jaimoe” Johanson, a black drummer
who’d backed Redding on tour,
was the first person to join. He
was an Allman Brother before
Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley,
Butch Trucks or even Gregg
Allman. But they came soon after, bringing bits of blues, jazz,
country and rock.
It was in the alchemy of these
genres, converging in Macon,
that Southern rock was born.
When the band was named one
of the top 100 of all time by Rolling Stone, Billy Gibbons of ZZ
Top wrote: “The Allman Brothers Band was a true brotherhood
of players - one that went beyond
race and ego.” This brotherhood
Clark Bush, left, and William Dantzler in Fresh
Produce Records, where it’s possible to pick
up Allman Brothers Band albums and locally
grown gourmet mushrooms. Bush is the son
of longtime Allman Brothers roadie Joseph
“Red Dog” Campbell.
is what fans have come to adore
about the Allman Brothers, in
addition to their music.
Some of the band’s most faithful fans have gathered in Macon
annually, since the 1990s, for
GABBAfest, an event hosted by
the Georgia Allman Brothers
Band Association (GABBA).
When I first got to town, I went to
a concert at the historic Douglass
Theatre, where festivalgoers had
gathered to hear Jaimoe playing
stations in Finland. The song:
“Not My Cross to Bear.”
When the pirate announced
that Timo had just heard the
Allman Brothers Band from Macon, Georgia, he immediately
bought a record player, ordered
the album. It took three months
to reach him. “That guitar! The
drums!” he said. “I thought: OK,
this music is me!”
Timo still lives in small-town
Finland, where he and his wife
in the South, at a time when
long hair provoked catcalls and
being part of an integrated band
brought danger.
In Rose Hill, they could let
down their guard, play music.
Still, death seemed to be hunting the Allman Brothers in the
early years, especially Duane.
In 1970, he was almost killed by
an opium overdose. As the legend
goes, Berry Oakley cried over his
body, begging for Duane to be
Grant’s Lounge, established in 1971,
has played host to bands such as Lynyrd
Skynyrd and was an early Allman Brothers Band venue. It still welcomes regional bands and living legends such as
Robert Lee Coleman, former guitarist
for James Brown and Percy Sledge.
with his jazz group.
With sometimes shocking
precision, I heard at least a dozen fans recall the first time they
heard the opening of an Allman
Brothers song. Timo Nieminen, a
Finnish optometrist with shaggy
blond hair, who has been coming
to GABBAfest for 15 years, was
one of them.
“I didn’t have a record player,” he recalled. “But I did have
a small radio. I used to listen to
pirates.” It was 1970, when
there was a surge of pirate radio
use bicycles to get around. But
there’s something magical about
the moment he leaves the Atlanta
airport, making his way to Macon
in a rental car. When he passes all
the strip malls and motels, he has
a sense of kinship. “The music is
home,” he said. “And you have to
be here to really feel it.”
Some people fear cemeteries. But for the Allman Brothers,
Rose Hill Cemetery, established
circa 1840, was a refuge, one of
the few places they knew they’d
be left alone. They were hippies
granted just one more year of life.
Duane survived.
Almost a year later, to the date,
he was killed in a motorcycle
crash.
Duane’s body was left in cold
storage. Before he could be buried, Berry was also in a fatal motorcycle accident. The two musicians had been thrown almost
the same number of feet. They
both collided with large vehicles,
as friends watched from behind.
The Macon roads they collapsed
on ran parallel.
The Royal Johnson Band performs at
Grant’s Lounge in Macon, Georgia,
as part of GABBAfest. The Lounge
is sometimes referred to as the birthplace of Southern Rock.
Now, so do their Rose Hill
graves.
As I walked among the magnolia trees in the 65-acre cemetery, I searched for the locales
made famous by the Allman
Brothers Band, which - outside
of brief hiatuses and a revolving cast of musicians - didn’t
disband until 2014. At first, I
found only crumbling masonry
and honeysuckle growing wild.
Thirty minutes into my visit, I
heard someone call my name. I
scanned the landscape, noticed
that one of the chiseled birds I’d
been admiring wasn’t stone at
all. It took flight right over Mark
Vormittag’s head.
I’d met Mark, a GABBAfest attendee from Chicago, the night
before at Grant’s Lounge, which
is known as “The Original Home
of Southern Rock.” Mark and
his friend Seth Ellerbee invited
me to watch them re-create a
promo image seen on the Allman Brothers’ debut album: in
a tomb alcove, hidden from view,
on a hillside.
The men took turns standing in an archway. When they
started talking about memorabilia, Mark looked over, studied
my face to see if they were boring
me with the minutiae of their Allman musings. “We could go on
like this for 20 years,” he said.
“And we probably will!”
But no one spoke as we made
our way up from the tomb,
back into the light, on our way
to Duane and Berry’s interment site. Dickey Betts is said
to have written “In Memory of
Elizabeth Reed” as an homage
to a woman he made love to on
Elizabeth Reed’s tombstone
(1845-1935). It is one of the
closest to where his Allman
brothers are buried.
Duane’s tombstone, visible
through a locked gate, includes
the notes to an instrumental,
“Little Martha.” According to
fan lore, Jimi Hendrix - another
guitarist legendary enough to
vie for the best-ever in Rolling Stone - came to Duane in
a dream and taught him how to
play the song. It has no words.
But it communicates emotions
that linger long after the music
has reached its natural end.
Martha Ellis was a young girl
when she died and was buried
in Rose Hill. Her marker has
become known as Little Martha. She’d been dead 76 years
before Duane Allman memorialized her. Or maybe he never
did. Maybe the song was, as
many suggest, named for an
old girlfriend. To the fans who
visit, it doesn’t seem to matter
much. Duane’s memorial is behind bars, but the statue of Little
Martha Ellis is not.
Her memorial gets touched.
It gets hugged.
When I found Little Martha,
who resembles a hollow-eyed
Alice in Wonderland, I noticed
that pilgrims had left offerings
of pennies and lilies at her feet.
They inspired me to lean down
to read the message etched below
the statue that so many have come
to associate with Duane’s lucid
dreamtime story. “Her memory is
a sweet solace by day,” the lichenmottled marble read. “And pleasant dreams by night.”
When the Allman Brothers
moved to Macon in 1969, they
were starving artists. One day,
they walked into the H&H Restaurant and ordered a plate to
share. Embarrassed at their multitude and the small portion, they
didn’t eat until the proprietor Louise Hudson, who would later
be known as Mama Louise - went
into the back. But she saw them
and took pity, bringing them each
a plate. She told them to eat what
they wanted and pay her back after a gig.
It was the story of loaves and
fishes, retold with macaroni and
cheese.
Famously, they gave her
credit in the liner notes of their
“Idlewild South” album for providing vittles.
Washington Post-Bloomberg
24
TRIVIA
OMAN TRIBUNE
THE MIDDLETONS By Ralph Dunagin & Dana Summers
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
BOUND & GAGGED By Dana Summers
SUDOKU
Yesterday’s Solution
How to solve
the puzzle:
The number grid
should be filled up with
numbers 1-9. Each
column and row should
contain the numbers
1-9. No digit should be
repeated within a row
or column. Also, in the
box, there should be no
repetition of numbers
from 1 to 9.
ANIMAL CRACKERS By Fred Wagner
BROOM HILDA By Russell Myers
BLISS By Harry Bliss
GASOLINE ALLEY By Jim Scancarelli
HALF FULL By Maria Scrivan
TODAY IN HISTORY
STAR GAZING
Sep 5
1698
September 5, 1698
Tsar Peter the Great of Russia
imposed a tax on beards as part of
a effort to modernise Russian
society following western European models
1980: The 17km St Gotthard road
tunnel, at the time the longest in the
world, was opened in Switzerland
1991: The constitution of the Soviet
Union was virtually abolished
2002: President Hamid Karzai of
Afghanistan narrowly escaped an
assassination attempt in Kandahar
2008: Quentin Bryce was sworn in as
Australia’s first female Governor
General, the representative of the
monarch, Queen Elizabeth II
Picture: Newscom
© GRAPHIC NEWS
ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL
19) -- Attend to shared finances
today and tomorrow. Review
your resources. Heed a call to
action for something you feel
passionate about. Figure the
costs and craft a plan.
TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20)
-- Begin a two-day partnership
phase. Contribute to a shared
cause.
Avoid
distractions
and stay on topic. Adjust
to what others need now.
Listen graciously. It could get
romantic.
GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20)
-- Adjust and adapt in real time.
Coordinate with your team.
Balance the physical demands of
a job with the support your body
needs. A little stretching goes a
long way.
CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22)
-- The next two days are reserved
for fun. Listen to what nature
has to say. You’re developing a
new perspective. Go play with
people you love and admire.
LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22) -- Take
care of home and family for the
next few days. The natives may
be restless. The gentle approach
works best now. Make repairs
and sort things out together.
VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22) -You’re even smarter than usual
for the next few days. Research
and writing projects flow.
Consider a differing opinion.
Make recommendations gently.
Anticipate resistance. Present
your argument tactfully.
LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22)
-- Focus on making money over
the next few days. Compute
expenses and revise budgets to
suit. Scratch out the things you
can’t afford. Check orders for
changes.
SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21)
-- Personal power, energy and
confidence surge today and
tomorrow. Stay out of a squabble.
Heed advice from a critic. Don’t
overlook one friend for another.
Utilize gentle diplomacy.
SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC.
21) -- Quiet, contemplative tasks
soothe for the next two days.
Offer advice only if asked. Note
a controversy that’s in process.
Stay sensitive to a loved one’s
wishes.
CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN.
19) -- Confer with allies today
and tomorrow. Your friends are
your inspiration. Guard against
being impetuous. Conversations
provide insight. Circumstances
dictate actions. Update the plan
as you go.
AQUARIUS
(JAN.
20FEB. 18) -- Begin a testing
period. Compete for more
responsibilities. Consider new
career opportunities for the next
few days. Focus on the goal and
winning is a distinct possibility.
PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH
20) -- If you can get away
for a little while, go. Enter a
two-day adventurous phase.
New
opportunities
present
themselves. Watch the road
ahead and slow for curves.
Hoy en la Historia
CINEMAS
TELEVISION
DISCOVERY
CHANNEL
0600
How Stuff’s Made
0630 How Do They Do It?
0700 Alaska The Last Frontier
0750 Kindig Customs 0840
Fast N’ Loud 0930 Auction
Hunters Pawn Shop Edition
0955 Storage Hunters 1020
Dallas Car Sharks 1045 How
Stuff’s Made 1110 How Do
They Do It? 1135 Fast N’
Loud 1225 Sharks Among Us
1315 Shallow Water Invasion
1405 Auction Hunters Pawn
Shop Edition 1430 Storage
Hunters
1455 Dallas Car
Sharks
1520 Alaska The
Last Frontier 1610 Kindig
Customs
1700 Fast N’
Loud
1750 How Stuff’s
Made 1815 How Do They Do
It? 1840 Gold Divers 1930
Yukon Men 2020 Running
Wild With Bear Grylls 2110
Storage Hunters 2135 Dallas
Car Sharks 2200 Gold Divers
2250 Tba 2340 Sharks vs
Dolphins Face Off 0030 Fast
N’ Loud 0120 Kindig Customs
0210 Gold Divers 0300 Tba
0350 Sharks vs Dolphins Face
Off
0440 Auction Hunters
Pawn Shop Edition
0505
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Car Sharks
DISNEY CHANNEL 0700
Boyster 0710 Super Matrak
0735 Super Matrak 0800
Pokemon Bw Adventures In
Unova 0825 K.C. Undercover
0850 Supa Strikas
0915
Danger Mouse S1
0940
Phineas And Ferb
1005
Counterfeit Cat 1010 Gravity
Falls 1035 Lab Rats Bionic
Island 1100 Rocket Monkeys
1125 Ultimate Spider-Man
1150 Boyster 1220 Boyster
1245 Pair Of Kings
1310
Pair Of Kings 1335 Lab Rats
Bionic Island 1400 Lab Rats
Bionic Island 1430 Phineas
And Ferb
1455 Phineas
And Ferb
1520 Kickin’
It
1545 Pokemon Bw
Adventures In Unova
1610
Disney Mickey Mouse 1615
Supa Strikas
1640 Supa
Strikas 1705 Lab Rats Bionic
Island 1730 Danger Mouse
S1
1755 Kirby Buckets
1825 K.C. Undercover 1850
Annedroids
1915 Gamer’s
Guide To Pretty... 1940 K.C.
Undercover 2005 Counterfeit
Cat 2010 Gravity Falls 2035
Pickle And Peanut 2100 Lab
Rats Bionic Island 2125 Supa
Strikas 2155 K.C. Undercover
2220
Gamer’s Guide To
Pretty... 2245 Guardians Of
The Galaxy
2310 Marvel
Avengers Assemble
2340
Disney Mickey Mouse
OSN MOVIES 0700 Wrath
0900 Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles 1045 Justice League
Gods And Monsters 1230 Into
The Storm 1415 The Hobbit
The Battle Of The Five 1700
Wrath 1900 Into The Storm
2100 Edge Of Tomorrow 2300
Green Street 3 Never Back
Down 0100 Smiley 0300
Sharknado 3 Oh Hell No!
0500 Justice League Gods And
Monsters
OSN MOVIES COMEDY
0500 Se Puder... Dirija! 0700
Bubble Boy 0900 Indian
Summer 1100 Se Puder...
Dirija! 1300 Under The
Tuscan Sun 1500 Spy Hard
1700 Indian Summer 1900
The Bounty Hunter 2100
Thank You For Smoking 2300
Horrible Bosses 2 0100 A
Long Way Down 0300 The
Bounty Hunter
OSN MOVIES DRAMA 0600
Mood Indigo 0815 Memorial
Day (2011) 1000 Escape
(2012) 1200 Streetdance
All Stars 1400 Experimenter
1600 Odd Thomas 1800
Escape (2012)
2000
Rosewater 2200 Dark Places
0000 The Devil’s Violinist
0215 Fading Gigolo 0400
Rosewater
OSN MOVIES KIDS 0530
The Olsen Gang In Deep
Trouble 0700 Moomins And
The Comet Chase 0900 Ploddy
Police Car On The Case 1045
Bolts And Blip 1215 Pim And
Pom The Big Adventure 1345
Ploddy Police Car On The Case
1515 Blue Elephant 2 1700
Jack And The Cuckoo Clock
Heart 1900 Bolts And Blip
2100 Memory Loss 2300
Blue Elephant 2 0045 Jack
And The Cuckoo Clock Heart
0215
Ploddy Police Car
On The Case 0345 Memory
Loss
OSN MOVIES 0800 Miss
You Already 1730 The Walk
1930 Divergent 2200 Oliver’s
Deal 0000 American Heist
0145 The Lazarus Effect
0315 Divergent 0545 Dawn
Of The Planet Of The Apes
AL BAHJA
CINEMA
CITY CINEMA, GRAND MALL
TEL: 22020002
CITY CINEMA, SOHAR
Tel: 26840312 /26843510
FINDING DORY - (3D) (Animation |
Adventure | Comedy) (PG), Cast: Ellen
DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill,
Timings: 12:30PM,5:00pm
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE (Action)
(12+), Cast: Dwayne Johnson and Kevin
Hart., Timings: 03:00PM & 09:30PM
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING
GLASS (2016) (PG12), Cast: Mia
Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Timings:
2:30PM,7:15PM & 9:15PM
THE CONJURING 2 (2016) (15+), Cast:
Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Madison
Wolfe, Timings: 04:45PM,11:45PM
THE CONJURING 2 (2016) (15+)
Gold Class, Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Madison Wolfe, Timings:
06:15PM,11:15PM
STAR TREK BEYOND (2016) (PG12),
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl
Urban, Timings: 12:45PM,7:00PM &
11.30PM
STAR TREK BEYOND (2016) (PG12)
Gold Class, Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Timings:
03:30PM,08:45PM
MECHANIC: RESURRECTION – 2D (Action/Crime/Thriller) (PG12), Cast: Jason
Statham, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones,
Timings: 10:00, 11:45PM
BLOOD FATHER -2D (Action/Thriller)
(12+), Cast: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty,
Diego Luna, Timings: 3:15, 5:15, 9:45,
11:45PM
THE INFILTRATOR -2D (Biography/
Crime/Drama) (15+), Cast: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger,
Timings: 6:15PM
SKIPTRACE – 2D (Action/Comedy)
(PG12), Cast: Jackie Chan, Johnny Knoxville, Bingbing Fan, Timings: 5:30PM
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS– 3D
(Animation/Adventure/Family) (PG), Cast:
Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Matthew
McConaughey, Timings: 3:30, 7:30PM
MORGAN- 2D (Drama/Horror/Mystery)
(15+), Cast: Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy,
Rose Leslie, Timings: 4:15, 11:55PM
HANDS OF STONE- 2D (Action/Biography/Drama) (15+), Cast: Edgar Ramírez,
Usher Raymond, Robert De Niro, Timings:
3:15, 7:30PM
KICK BOXER: VENGEANCE-2D (Action) (PG12), Cast: Dave Bautista, Alain
Moussi, Gina Carano, Timings: 2:30, 7:10,
11:30PM
AKIRA- 2D (Hindi/Action/Thriller)
(PG12), Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Amit Sadh,
Urmila Mahanta, Timings: 9:00PM
PRETHAM- 2D (Mal/Comedy/Horror)
(PG12), Cast: Jayasurya, Govind Padmasoorya, Aju Varghese, Timings: 7:30PM
JANATHA GARAGE - 2D (Telugu/Action/
Drama) (TBC), Cast: Mohanlal, Junior
N.T.R., Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Timings:
8:45PM
CITY CINEMA, AL SHATTI
Tel: 24692656 (after 2pm)
BLOOD FATHER – 3D (12+) Action |
Thriller, Cast: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty,
Diego Luna, Timing: 03:30, 07:30, 09:30,
11:30 PM
KICK BOXER: VENGEANCE – 2D
(PG12) Action, Cast: Dave Bautista, Alain
Moussi, Gina Carano, Timing: 05:30,
11:45 PM
MECHANIC: RESURRECTION – 2D
(PG12+) Action | Crime |Thriller, Cast:
Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee
Jones, Timing: 03:30, 07:15, 09:30 PM
MORGAN – 2D (15+) Drama| Horror |
Mystery, Cast: Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy,
Rose Leslie, Timing: 07:30, 11:30 PM
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS – 3D
(PG) Animation | Adventure |Family, Cast:
Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Matthew
McConaughey, Timing: 03:00, 05:30 PM
HANDS OF STONE – 2D (15+) Action |
Biography| Drama, Cast: Edgar Ramírez,
Usher Raymond, Robert De Niro, Timing:
05:00, 09:15 PM
CITY CINEMA, RUWI
Tel: 24831809
SCREEN 1
AKIRA - (2D) (Hindi | Action |Thriller)
(PG12), Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Amit Sadh,
Urmila Mahanta, Timings: 3.30, 6.30,
9.30 PM
SCREEN 2
RUSTOM (Action/Thriller) –12+, Cast
: – Akshay Kumar, Ileana, Esha Gupta,
Timing: 3.45, 9.45 PM
MOHENJO DARO (Action/ Drama /
History) –PG12, Cast : – Hrithik Roshan,
Pooja Hegde, Kabir Bedi, Timing: 6.45 PM
SCREEN 3
BLOOD FATHER - (2D) (Action | Thriller)
(12+), Cast: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty,
Diego Luna, Timings: 03:45, 5.30, 10.00
PM
RUSTOM (Action/Thriller) –12+,
Cast : – Akshay Kumar, Ileana, Esha
Gupta, Timing: 7.15 PM
AKIRA PG12 (Hindi) (Action |Thriller),
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Amit Sadh, Urmila
Mahanta, Timing: 9.15 PM
MECHANIC: RESURRECTION 12+
(Action | Crime |Thriller), Cast: Jason
Statham, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones,
Timing: 3.30 & 9.45 PM
PRETHAM PG12 (Malayalam) (Comedy
| Horror), Cast: Jayasurya, Govind Padmasoorya, Aju Varghese, Timing: 7.20 PM
MORGAN 15+ (Drama| Horror | Mystery),
Cast: Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rose
Leslie, Timing: 11.45 PM
CITY CINEMA, PANORAMA MALL
MARAUDERS ( Action ) ( 12+ ) CP#,
Cast : Bruce Willis, Christopher Meloni,
Timing: 3:00, 6:30, 11:45 PM.
SULTAN (Hindi) ( Action ) ( PG12 ) CP#,
Cast : Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma,
Timing: 3:15, 8:30, 11:30 PM.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE ( Action
| Crime | Comedy ) (12+) CP#, Cast :
Dwayne Johonson, Kevin Hart, Danielle
Nicolet, Timing: 5:00, 9:00 PM.
SHAJAHANUM - PAREEKITTIYUM (
Malayalam | Romance | Comedy ) ( PG )
CP#, Cast : Kunchako Boban, Jayasurya,
Amala Paul, Timing: 7:00 PM.
BLOOD FATHER - (2D) (Action |
Thriller) (12+) VIP LOUNGE, Cast: Mel
Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, Timings: 03:45PM, 05:45PM, 09:45PM &
11:30PM
BLOOD FATHER - (2D) (Action | Thriller)
(12+), Cast: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty,
Diego Luna, Timings: 03:15PM, 07:00PM,
09:45PM & 11:30PM
HANDS OF STONE - (2D) (Action | Biography| Drama) (15+) VIP LOUNGE, Cast:
Edgar Ramírez, Usher Raymond, Robert
De Niro, Timings: 07:30PM
HANDS OF STONE - (2D) (Action |
Biography| Drama) (15+), Cast: Edgar
Ramírez, Usher Raymond, Robert De Niro,
Timings: 03:45PM & 09:45PM
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS - (3D)
(Animation | Adventure |Family) (PG),
Cast: Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Matthew McConaughey, Timings: 03:15PM
& 06:00PM
MORGAN - (2D) (Drama| Horror |
Mystery) (15+), Cast: Kate Mara, Anya
Taylor-Joy, Rose Leslie, Timings: 08:00PM
& 11:45PM
AKIRA - (2D) (Hindi | Action |Thriller)
(PG12), Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Amit Sadh,
Urmila Mahanta, Timings: 08:45PM
ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE - (3D)
(Animation | Adventure | Comedy) (PG)
MX4D, Cast: Ray Romano, Denis Leary,
John Leguizamo, Timings: 05:30PM
WAR DOGS - (2D) (Comedy| Drama |
War) (12+), Cast: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller,
Steve Lantz, Timings: 07:15PM
SKIPTRACE - (2D) (Action | Comedy)
(PG12), Cast: Jackie Chan, Johnny Knoxville, Bingbing Fan, Timings: 05:00PM &
11:30PM
SUICIDE SQUAD - (3D) (Action,
Crime, Fantasy) (12+), Cast: Will Smith,
Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Timings:
07:15PM
CITY CINEMA, BURAIMI
CITY CINEMA, AZAIBA MALL
BLOOD FATHER 12+ (Action | Thriller),
Cast: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego
Luna, Timing: 3.45, 5.15, 8.00 & 11.30
PM
KICK BOXER: VENGEANCE TBC (Action), Cast: Dave Bautista, Alain Moussi,
Gina Carano, Timing: 5.30,9.45 & 11.30
PM
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (3D) PG
(Animation | Adventure |Family),
Cast: Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson,
Matthew McConaughey, Timing: 3.30 &
6.00 PM
THE INFILTRATOR 15+ (Biography|
Crime | Drama), Cast: Bryan
Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane
Kruger, Timing: 7.00 PM
THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (3D)
(Animation | Adventure | Comedy) (PG)
CP#, Cast: Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet,
Kevin Hart, Timing: 05:15 PM
MECHANIC: RESURRECTION (2D) (Action | Crime | Thriller) (PG12) CP#, Cast:
Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee
Jones, Timing: 03:15, 06:30, 11:45 PM
SKIPTRACE (2D) (Action | Comedy)
(PG12) CP#, Cast: Jackie Chan, Johnny
Knoxville, Bingbing Fan, Timing: 07:00,
09:00 PM
A FLYING JATT (Hindi) (2D) (Action
| Sci-Fi | Romance) (PG12) CP#, Cast:
Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez,
Nathan Jones, Timing: 03:00; 05:45,
08:30, 11:15 PM
CITY CINEMA, SUR
RUSTOM (Hindi) (2D) (Action |Thriller)
(12+) CP#, Cast: Akshay Kumar, Ileana,
Timing: 03:45, 06:00, 10:30 PM
MOHENJO DARO (Hindi) (2D) (Adventure | Romance) (PG12) CP#, Cast:
Hrithik Roshan, Pooja Hegde, Kabir Bedi ,
Timing: 03:00, 08:50, 11:00 PM
KISMATH (MAL) (2D) (Romance | Comedy) (PG) CP#, Cast: Shane Nigaam, Sruthi
Menon, Vinay Forrt, Timing: 08:30 PM
CITY CINEMA, SALALAH
MECHANIC: RESURRECTION (2D)
(PG12) (Action | Crime |Thriller),
Cast: Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones, Timings:
02:00/09:15/11:45PM
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (3D)
(PG) (Animation | Adventure |Family),
Cast: Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson,
Matthew McConaughey, Timings:
12:00/03:55PM
HELL OR HIGH WATER (2D)
(12+) (Crime | Drama), Cast: Dale
Dickey, Ben Foster, Chris Pine, Timings:
12:15/06:00PM
KICK BOXER: VENGEANCE (2D)
(PG12) (Action), Cast: Dave Bautista,
Alain Moussi, Gina Carano, Timings:
01:00/04:05/11:55PM
HANDS OF STONE (2D) (15+) (Action |
Biography| Drama), Cast: Edgar Ramírez,
Usher Raymond, Robert De Niro, Timings:
02:45/07:55PM
BLOOD FATHER (2D) (12+) (Action | Thriller), Cast: Mel Gibson,
Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, Timings:
02:15/10:00/11:30PM
AKIRA (2D) (PG12) (Hindi) (Action |
Thriller), Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Amit Sadh,
Urmila Mahanta, Timings: 08:50PM
SKIPTRACE (2D) (PG12) (Action | Comedy), Cast: Jackie Chan, Johnny Knoxville,
Bingbing Fan, Timings: 05:15PM
PRETHAM (2D) (PG12) (Malayalam)
(Comedy | Horror), Cast: Jayasurya,
Govind Padmasoorya, Aju Varghese, Timings: 07:35PM
JANATHA GARAGE (2D) (PG12)
(Telugu) (Action /Drama), Cast: Mohanlal,
Junior N.T.R., Samantha Ruth Prabhu,
Timings: 05:50PM
FILM CITY, QURUM
Telephone: Ruwi: 24831152
ENGLISH MOVIES (DVD)
Prince of Persia
Titanic When in
Rome Tooth Fairy
Clash of the Titans
Cop out The Young
Victoria
HINDI MOVIES (DVD)
No One Killed
Jessica Dil
Toh Bacha
Hai Ji Band
Baja Baarath
Guzaarish Jhootha
Hi Sahi Toonpur
Ka Superhero
Rakth Charitra 2
Mirch Tees Mar
Khan Golmaal
3 Rakth Charitra
Action Replay
Godfather Ramaa
Peepli Live
Lamhaa Crook
Anjaana Anjaani
Aisha Tere Bin
Laden Help
Housefull We Are
Family Emotional
Atyachar
Dabaang
HELL OR HIGH WATER: (Crime / Drama): Dale
Dickey, Ben Foster, Chris Pine, Showtime: 4.00
p.m., 10.00 p.m. & 11.55 p.m., CP NO: 2061
(12+)
THE INFILTRATOR: (Biography / Crime /
Drama): Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane
Kruger, Showtime: 2.00 p.m., 9.30 p.m. & 11.55
p.m., CP NO: 2062 (15+)
MECHANIC: RESURRECTION: (Action / Crime
/ Thriller): Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Chowtime: 8.00 p.m., CP NO: 2055 (PG12)
AKIRA (Hindi): (Action / Crime / Drama): Sonakshi Sinha, Amit Sadh, Urmila Mahanta, Showtime: 4.30 p.m. & 7.00 p.m.,CP NO: 2063 (PG12)
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS: (Animation /
Adventure / Family): , Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Matthew McConaughey, Showtime: 2.00
p.m. & 6.00 p.m., CP NO: 2064 (PG)
FILM INFORMATION
Tel: 24540856 Fax: 24541231
Reservation: 24540855.
E-mail:bahjacin@omantel.net.om
Website:www.albahjacinema.net
STARS CINEMA
STARS CINEMA 1
JANATHA GARAGE (TELUGU )( ACT)
Cast : Jr Ntr, Mohanlal &Samantha
Show Time : 3.30pm
PRETHAM (MAL ) (HOR)
Cast : Jayasurya, Aju Vargees
Show Time : 6.30, 9.30pm
CINEMA 2
PRETHAM (MAL ) (HOR)
Cast : Jayasurya, Aju Vargees
Show Time : 3.30pm
JANATHA GARAGE (TELUGU )( ACT)
Cast : Jr Ntr, Mohanlal &Samantha
Show Time : 6.30, 9.30pm
CINEMA 3
AKIRA (HINDI) (ACT) (PG 12+)
Cast : Sonakshi Sinha, Anurag Kayshap
Show Time : 3.45, 6:45, 9.45pm
CINEMA 4
KIDAARI (TAMIL) ( ACT) (+ 15)
Cast : M SasiKumar, NirhilaVimal
Show Time : 3.45, 6:45, 9.45pm
INFORMATION:
Tel: 24791641, 24786776, 24789032
Website: www.isurf.com
NEXT CHANGE
IRU MUGAN (TAMIL)
ANN MARIA (MAL)
25
SIT. VACANT
STAFF REQUIRED IN
SALALAH
FOR SERIOUS OMANIS
ACCOUNTANTS & LIGHT
DRIVERS
A reputed company seeks
to employ Omanis for the
following vacancies.
(Salalah residents are
preferable)
- Accountants (No. 5)
- Light drivers (No. 3)
Contact: 95879900
Email: recruitment855hr@
gmail.com
Kinaan Medical Center announces the following vacancies
offer: - General nurse
- Laboratory technician
- Dermatologist
- Gynaecologist. Please send your
CV on kmc5444@gmail.com,
Tel: 22005524
Experienced female science
teacher is needed for bilingual
school. Tel: 24490281, Email:
schoolteamoman@gmail.com
A private school located at Al
Seeb area looking for an English
teacher preferably Filipino
national for more information
contact 98982088, 99429352
SIT.WANTED
Seeking job for position of
public relations officer, having 3
years experience or position of
foreman with 5 years experience,
retired from government, age 43
years. Contact: 98209820
Syrian, engineer with 2 years
experience looking for job in
construction company. Tel:
94989541
Supermarket manager with
10 years experience. Tel:
98802258
Factory manager, European,
20 years experience in Oman,
well verserd in of English,
Urdu, Arabic. Work through
international production &
quality plan. Tel: 93312609
Wanted nurse Omani/ Indian/
Filipino. Tel: 91777739
Looking for a female teacher
with English as mother tongue
to give private lessons in the
language. Tel: 95249000
A printing company is looking
for salesman with valid Omani
driving licence. Printing sales
experience will be an added
advantage. Please send CV to
office@colour-house.com
Family accomodation for rent in
Al Khoudh with 3 bedrooms, 2
bathrooms, hall. Tel: 99433044
Flat two bedrooms & majlis at
Ghubra. Tel: 99444566
2 BHK Darsait. Tel: 95311488
F OR RENT
Villa in Al Khoud
Villa in Al Qurum. Tel:
92978878, 99224005
Villa in Sur Al Hadid on the
Corniche near Dreams resort.
Tel: 99112262, 92125648
A flat for rent at Madinat Sultan
Qaboos. Tel: 96100333
Microsoft certified trainer
Database- programming
training manager. Tel:
98850637
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
New flats for rent at Al Ghubrah
near to Atlas hospital opposite
to Panorama mall. Interested
candidates please contact:
00968-97093283
From the owner: flats for families near Ghubra health center.
Tel: 9934641/ 95548774
An office at South Maabela near
oman oil consisting of 3 rooms +
FOR SALE
Second hand office furniture
(a table + chairs + file
cupboard ) for 250 OMR. Tel:
98085645/94259326
A new building in Suwaiq
opposite the police station.
Tel: 99331110/ 99831110/
96183510
A villa for rent at South Maabela
7 consisting of 9 rooms + toilets
+ kitchen+ hall. 555 OMR per
month. Tel: 98085645
Finder hand over to ROP
SERVICES
Atikur Rahaman
Nationality: Bangladeshi
Passport No. : AA 7447499
Finder hand over to ROP
Satata Ali Nawaz
Nationality: Bangladeshi
Passport No.: W0667821
Finder hand over to ROP
AL HADAF RENT A CAR
The rent starts from RO 6.000
(six rials) per month, and RO
7.000 (seven rials) for fifteen
days, and RO 8.000 (eight rials)
for one week, in addition to
reception and customer delivery
services from and to airport or
hotel. For inquiry: 98209820/
95285412
Mondal MD Tohidal
Nationality: Indian
Passport No. : M 7582023
Finder hand over to ROP
Bahadur
Nationality: Indian
Passport No. : G 3183862
Finder hand over to ROP
P P LOST
BASMA AL HAYA AL ASRIYA
We deal in all kind of CCTV
security camera installation
& sale and services of dishes,
satellite items. Contact:
96967492, 9610241, 9610240
adnankotli143@gmail.com
Sajid Ali
Nationality: Pakistani
Passport No.: GQ 1792693
Finder hand over to ROP
Abu Tahar
Nationality: Bangladeshi
Passport No.: AC 1305353
AC SERVICES
Window, split and other type
of A/Cs services, repairing and
installation. Tel: 95779616
Maintenance and installation
of all types of ACs, central and
normal. Tel: 95779616
INVEST
Land plot for light industrial
use near Maabela. All utilities
are available. Area 100,000.
It can be leased partially or
wholly. Excellent entries and
exits. Some streets are paved.
Email: Al_barakh.rei@hotmail.
com, Tel: 99801232/ 99073400/
25412208
Mechanical engineer, 27 years
experience in mechanical
work, expert in hydraulic and
pneumatic system, expert in
plastic industry, juice industry
and all type of mechanical
machine. Tel: 99663174, Email:
shakil2004pk14@yahoo.com
Architect, Jordanian, experience
of 23 years in the field,
including 15 years in the Muscat
Municipality administration
building permits. Tel: 99314280
INFORMATION
FLIGHT TIMINGS
WEATHER FORECAST
WEATHER FORECAST
05-09-2016
SERVICES
Royal Oman Police
Emergencies and inquiries
9999
General Directorate of
Passport and Residence
24569603
Directorate General of Customs 24521109
Traffic violations inquiries
24510228,
24510227
Public Relations Admin
24560099
Royal Oman Police online
address
www.ropoman.net, www.
ropnet@omantel.net.om
OMANTEL
Directory Information 1318
GSM Service
1234
Muscat Ruwi
24633233
Qurum
24633316
Al Khuwair
24632099
Seeb
24537300
Al Khoudh
24537300
Nizwa
25410123
Sumail
25351288
Rustaq
26875123
Sohar Industrial
26751939
Sohar
26840123
Shinas
26748424
Suwaiq
26714172
Barka
26883454
Sur
25546663
Ibra
25570000
Masirah
25504123
Jaalan Bani Bu Ali
25554123
Al KamIl
25557003
Buraimi
25650123
Ibri
25690998
Mirbat
23268424
Airport
24521174
Dibba
26836660
Khasab
26730166
AIRPORT INFORMATION
Inquiries
24519456
24519223
Domestic Flights
24519230
Enquiry
24600100
Ministry of Commerce 24817013
PHARMACIES
WEATHER: Partly cloudy to cloudy skies along the coastal areas of
Dhofar Governorate and adjoining mountains with chances of isolated
rain. Mainly clear skies over rest of the Sultanate with chances of
clouds development and isolated rain over Al-Hajar Mountains and adjoining areas during afternoon. Chances of late night to early morning
low level clouds or fog patches over governorates of Al-Wusta, north
and south Al-Sharqiya and the coastal areas of Oman Sea, may give
light rain over north Al-Batinah governorate during tomorrow early
morning.
EXPECTED WINDS: Along the coastal areas of Oman Sea wind will
be easterly to northeasterly light to moderate during day becoming
variable light at night. While along the coastal areas of Arabian Sea it
will be southwesterly moderate to fresh and over rest of the Sultanate
winds will be southeasterly light to moderate.
SEA STATE: Rough sea along the Arabian Sea coasts with maximum
wave height of 4.0 meters and moderate along Musandam coast with
maximum wave height of 1.75 meter and slight over Oman Sea coasts
with maximum wave height of 1.25 meters.
CAUTIONS: Poor horizontal visibility during fog.
TEMPERATURE: Muscat maximum 32˚C & minimum 26˚C. Salalah
maximum 27˚C & minimum 26˚C.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY: Muscat 60 to 93 per cent & Salalah 80 to
97 per cent.
TIDE: Muscat High Tide: 11:08am. & 11:25pm. Low Tide: 05:33pm.
& 05:25am. Salalah: High Tide: 10:32am. & 10:50pm. Low Tide:
04:49pm. & 04:36am.
HELPLINE
TEMPERATURES
24 HOURS BRANCHES OF Muscat PHARMACY
Ruwi Main 24702542, 24794186
Al Sarooj, Sarooj Filling 24695536
Al Khuwair, Souq 24485740, 24487980
Al Ghubrah, Al Maha Filling 24497264
Al Mawelah, Al Maha Filling 24537080
Sohar, Old Souq 26840211, 26842703
Salalah 23291635
Al Hail 245359770
Hamriya 24833323
Carrefour, City Centre 24558704
Al Shatti, Qurum 24695477
24 HOURS ATLAS PHARMACY, GHUBRA 24503585
Duty hours Pharmacies Tel. No.
8pm – 8am Scientific, Al Qurum, Bausher 24566601
8pm – 8am Al Hashar, Ruwi, Muttrah 24833115
8pm – 8am Ahmed, Al Hail north 24541856
8pm – 8am Al Salam, Al Mabilah, Al Seeb
24451092
1pm – 4pm Al Nabhani, Ghala, Bausher 24591454
1pm – 4pm Muscat, Al Hamriyah, Muttrah 24833323
1pm – 4pm Al Jabri, Al Mawaleh south 24544824
1pm – 4pm Belqees, Al Mabilah south 24454624
8pm – 1am Al Murshid, near Al Rustaq Hosp 26875561
8pm – 1am Barka, Al Souk, Barka 26882140
8pm – 1am Al Shifaa, Al Souk, Saham 26854997
8pm – 1am Badr Al Jashmi, Al Souk, 25524533
8pm – 1am Al Lamaa, Alayat Ibra, Ibra 25571860
8pm – 8am Al Ruwdha, Al Souk, Sur 25546454
1pm – 4pm Sur, Al Souk, Sur 25540669
8pm – 8am Zahrat Al Buraimi, Al Sara St, 693504-050
8pm –8am Al Shamsi, Al Sara St 25650452
8pm – 8pm Al Ziyanah, Al Iraqi 25694458
1pm – 4pm Al Aryaf 2, Al Souk, Ibri, 25691389
8pm – 8am Muscat, Al Souk, Sohar 26840211
1pm –4am Ahmed Al Sa’adi, Sohar 26842242
8pm – 8am Al Hazfa, Marfa Dares, Nizwa 25426102
1pm – 4pm Al Qala’a, Farq, Nizwa 25431666
8pm – 8am Muscat, Oqad, Salalah 23210635
1pm – 4pm Naïf, Al Salam St, Salalah 23299466
HOSPITALS
Hospital Board Emergency
Royal 24599000
Health Services Dpt
Muttrah 24797602
Quriyat 24845001 24845003
SQH,
Salalah
Police
23211555
24603988
23211151
24603980
Khoula
Al Nahda
Ibn Sina
Nizwa
Al Rostaq
Sumayil
Izki
Haima
Al Buraimi
24560455
24831255
24876322
25439361
26875055
25350055
25340033
23436013
25650855
24563625
24837800
24877361
25425033
26877186
25350022
25340033
23436055
25652319
Sur
Tanam
Masirah
Ibra
Adam
Bidiya
Ibri
Saham
Khasab
25440244
25499011
25404018
25470533
25434167
25483535
25491011
26854427
26830187
25461373
25499033
25404018
25470535
25434055
25483535
25491990
26855148
26830187
Dibba
26836443
26836443
Burkha
26828397
26828397
Sinaw
25474338
Intensive Care Unit at Khoula Hospital:
Very limited visiting of ICU patients
from 3pm-4pm daily Burns Unit: 4pm6pm on week days. 10am-12noon and
4pm-6pm on weekends and holidays.
Special Care Baby Unit: Parents may
visit at any time.
City
Max Min
Seeb
Khasab
Dibba
Madha
Buraimi
Yanqul
Ibri
Fahud
Sohar
Suwaiq
Rustaq
Samail
Nizwa
Saiq
Jabal Shams
Bahia
Adam
Mudhebi
Ibra
Sur
Ras Al-Hadd
Masirah
Duqm
Haima
Marmul
Mhout
Thumrait
Salalah
Qairoon Hairiti
Salalah Port
AL-Halaniyat
Jabal Samhan
Jabal AlQamar
Al Amerat
33
38
34
34
43
41
44
43
34
35
40
42
40
28
22
40
41
41
41
43
27
32
33
44
43
35
40
29
24
27
28
23
24
43
28
32
30
30
30
28
30
26
30
28
28
31
26
20
15
27
26
25
27
30
23
24
22
21
25
24
25
26
20
25
24
18
19
31
Departures
Departures
Arrivals
Arrivals
Flight No.
To/Via
STD
Flight No.
To/Via
STD
Flight No.
To/Via
STD
Flight No.
To/Via
STD
9W539
AI986
WY643
WY637
WY225
SG062
WY211
WY657
WY235
FZ132
WY201
WY251
WY345
WY271
WY341
WY601
WY371
WY123
WY241
WY901
WY847
WY667
WY691
TK775
BG022
WY331
4H584
PK226
WY3901
ET625
EK867
QR1133
EY385
FZ042
MS931
WY641
WY917
GF561
WY903
WY603
EP6556
WY323
WY669
WY291
FZ044
WY823
WY373
WY815
WY633
WY253
WY905
WY263
WY843
G9115
WY231
WY3301
WY283
WY207
WY605
WY203
WY245
EK863
WY717
WY337
WY919
QR1129
EY383
WY311
9W533
GF563
FZ038
Bombay
Bombay
Kuwait
Abu Dhabi
Cochin
Ahmedabad
Trivandrum
Bahrain
Hyderabad
Dubai
Bombay
Madras
Islam Abbad
Jaipur
Lahore
Dubai
Colombo
Munich
Delhi
Salalah
Jakarta
Doha
Dammam
Istanbul
Chittagong-Dacca
Kathmandu
Dubai
Karachi
Salalah
Addis Ababa
Dubai
Doha
Abu Dhabi
Dubai
Cairo
Kuwait
Khasab
Bahrain
Salalah
Dubai
Shiraz
Karachi
Doha
Calicut
Dubai
Kuala Lumpur-Sgapore
Colombo
Bangkok
Abu Dhabi
Madras
Salalah
Lucknow
Manila
Sharjah
Hyderabad
Mukhaizna
Banglore
Goa
Dubai
Bombay
Delhi
Dubai
Zanzibar-Daresslam
Kathmandu
Khasab
Doha
Abu Dhabi
Chittagong
Cochin
Bahrain
Dubai
0020
0020
0050
0105
0105
0110
0110
0110
0110
0115
0115
0120
0125
0135
0145
0145
0155
0200
0215
0215
0215
0225
0225
0230
0230
0245
0300
0315
0415
0435
0450
0500
0500
0510
0510
0640
0715
0715
0750
0750
0810
0835
0835
0845
0845
0900
0900
0905
0910
0915
0925
0940
0955
0955
1000
1000
1000
1020
1020
1025
1040
1045
1050
1050
1100
1100
1105
1135
1145
1215
1225
IX350
PA451
WY813
WY663
WY3921
WY683
WY131
WY631
WY645
WY405
WY143
WY101
WY413
WY153
WY927
WY609
WY433
WY675
FZ046
4H585
WY613
WY655
WY907
QR1127
EY387
WY3905
WY623
WY681
WY647
WY909
GF565
WY3909
EK865
WY695
WY3907
WY653
WY661
G9117
WY913
WY915
FZ048
WY611
4H586
4H586
WY635
FZ050
AI978
WY421
KL442
WY817
9W529
WY407
6.00E+82
AI908
AI974
WY705
WY677
GF567
LX243
QR1135
BA072
WY673
LH617
EY381
Calicut
Lahore
Bangkok
Doha
Duqum Oman
Riyadh
Paris
Abu Dhabi
Kuwait
Cairo
Malpensa
London Heathrow
Amman
Zurich
Salalah
Dubai
Tehran
Jeddah
Dubai
Doha
Dubai
Bahrain
Salalah
Doha
Abu Dhabi
Salalah
Dubai
Riyadh
Kuwait
Salalah
Bahrain
Salalah
Dubai
Dammam
Salalah
Bahrain
Doha
Sharjah
Salalah
Salalah
Dubai
Dubai
Dacca
Dacca
Abu Dhabi
Dubai
Hyderabad-Banglore
Beirut
Doha-Amsterdam
Bangkok
Trivandrum
Cairo
Bombay
Madras
Delhi
Daresslam-Zanzibar
Medina
Bahrain
Dubai-Zurich
Doha
Abu Dhabi-Heathrow
Jeddah
Doha-Frankfurt
Abu Dhabi
1255
1315
1320
1330
1335
1335
1345
1345
1350
1350
1350
1400
1410
1420
1430
1445
1445
1615
1620
1630
1710
1735
1740
1745
1750
1810
1840
1840
1845
1850
1855
1900
1910
1915
1920
1920
1920
1955
2000
2015
2025
2035
2100
2100
2115
2145
2200
2200
2220
2225
2230
2235
2245
2300
2310
2310
2310
2325
2325
2330
2330
2350
2355
2355
SG061
WY676
WY424
WY672
WY682
WY648
WY914
FZ131
WY916
BG021
TK774
4H583
PK229
GF560
ET624
EK866
QR1132
EY384
MS930
FZ041
WY114
WY902
WY638
WY154
WY658
WY644
WY144
EP6555
WY668
WY692
WY674
WY102
FZ043
WY602
WY422
WY346
WY342
WY272
WY202
WY3902
WY236
G9114
WY226
EK862
WY242
WY212
WY252
QR1128
EY382
WY918
WY844
9W530
WY604
GF562
WY372
FZ037
IX337
WY642
WY332
PA450
WY705
WY818
WY824
WY904
WY634
WY670
WY324
WY606
WY906
WY3302
WY920
Ahmedabad
Jeddah
Beirut
Medina
Riyadh
Kuwait
Salalah
Dubai
Salalah
Dacca-Chittagong
Istanbul
Dacca
Lahore
Bahrain
Addis Ababa
Dubai
Doha
Abu Dhabi
Cairo
Dubai
Frankfurt
Salalah
Abu Dhabi
Zurich
Bahrain
Kuwait
Malpensa
Shiraz
Doha
Dammam
Jeddah
London Heathrow
Dubai
Dubai
Beirut
Islam Abbad
Lahore
Jaipur
Bombay
Salalah
Hyderabad
Sharjah
Cochin
Dubai
Delhi
Trivandrum
Madras
Doha
Abu Dhabi
Khasab
Manila
Trivandrum
Dubai
Bahrain
Colombo
Dubai
Calicut
Kuwait
Kathmandu
Lahore
Daresslam-Zanzibar
Bangkok
Sgapore-Kuala Lumpur
Salalah
Abu Dhabi
Doha
Karachi
Dubai
Salalah
Mukhaizna
Khasab
0001
0005
0005
0005
0010
0015
0020
0030
0035
0100
0135
0200
0215
0325
0335
0350
0355
0400
0410
0415
0515
0635
0640
0640
0650
0650
0705
0710
0715
0715
0735
0740
0800
0805
0805
0815
0825
0830
0835
0835
0900
0905
0920
0930
0935
0950
0955
1000
1010
1015
1020
1045
1115
1130
1140
1140
1155
1200
1205
1215
1215
1220
1220
1230
1230
1250
1300
1340
1345
1400
1400
4H585
FZ045
WY3922
WY292
EY386
QR1126
WY204
WY632
WY208
WY264
WY664
EK864
WY232
WY246
WY254
WY284
WY610
GF564
G9116
WY374
WY684
WY646
FZ047
4H585
4H586
WY614
WY848
WY338
WY434
FZ049
AI977
KL441
WY124
9W534
AI973
6.00E+81
BA073
WY624
AI907
WY908
WY656
WY312
QR1134
WY414
LX242
WY3906
GF566
LH616
EY388
SG061
WY910
9W540
WY3910
AI985
WY406
WY662
WY3908
WY654
WY928
WY816
WY612
WY696
Dacca
Dubai
Duqum Oman
Calicut
Abu Dhabi
Doha
Bombay
Abu Dhabi
Goa
Lucknow
Doha
Dubai
Hyderabad
Delhi
Madras
Banglore
Dubai
Bahrain
Sharjah
Colombo
Riyadh
Kuwait
Dubai
Dacca
Doha
Dubai
Jakarta
Kathmandu
Tehran
Dubai
Banglore-Hyderabad
Amsterdam-Doha
Munich
Cochin
Delhi
Bombay
Heathrow-Abu Dhabi
Dubai
Madras
Salalah
Bahrain
Chittagong
Doha
Amman
Zurich-Dubai
Salalah
Bahrain
Frankfurt-Doha
Abu Dhabi
Ahmedabad
Salalah
Bombay
Salalah
Bombay
Cairo
Doha
Salalah
Bahrain
Salalah
Bangkok
Dubai
Dammam
1530
1535
1635
1640
1645
1645
1655
1710
1740
1740
1745
1745
1750
1750
1750
1750
1800
1810
1905
1915
1915
1920
1940
2000
2000
2025
2035
2040
2055
2100
2105
2105
2105
2115
2125
2130
2140
2150
2200
2200
2200
2210
2225
2225
2225
2230
2240
2245
2300
2300
2310
2315
2320
2325
2330
2335
2340
2340
2345
2350
2355
2355
B737-8
A320
B737-900
E175AR
B737-800
B737-8
B737-800
E175AR
B737-800
B737-8
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
B737-900
B737-700
B737-800
A330-200
B737-800
B737-900
A330-300
B737-900
B737-800
B737-8
B777-2ER
B737-800
MD83
A320
B737-800
B737-8
A330
B777
A320
B737-8
B737-800
B737-800
ATR42-50
A320
A330-300
B737-900
F100
B737-900
B737-900
B737-800
B737-8
A330-300
B737-800
A330-300
E175AR
B737-800
B737-900
B737-800
A330-300
A320
B737-800
E175AR
B737-800
B737-800
B737-700
B737-800
B737-800
A330
B737-800
B737-800
ATR42-50
A320
A320
B737-800
B737-8
A320
B737-8
B737-8
A321
A330-300
B737-800
E175AR
B737-800
A330-300
B737-900
B737-900
B737-800
A330-200
A330-300
B737-800
A330-200
E175AR
B737-900
B737-700
B737-900
B737-8
MD83
E175AR
E175AR
B737-800
A320
A320
B737-900
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
A320
B737-900
A330
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
A320
B737-800
B737-800
B737-8
B737-900
MD83
MD83
E175AR
B737-8
A320
B737-800
A330-200
A330-200
B737-8
B737-800
A320
A320
A320
B737-800
B737-800
A320
A330-300
B777
B777-2ER
B737-900
A330-300
A320
B737-8
A330-300
B737-800
B737-900
B737-900
B737-800
B737-800
B737-8
B737-800
B777-2ER
B737-8
MD83
A320
A320
B737-8
A330
B777
A320
B737-800
B737-8
A330-300
B737-900
E175AR
A330-300
E175AR
B737-900
A330-300
F100
B737-900
B737-800
A330-300
A330-300
B737-8
B737-700
B737-800
B737-800
B737-900
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
A320
B737-800
A330
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
A320
A320
ATR42-50
A330-200
B737-8
B737-900
A320
B737-800
B737-8
B737-8
B737-800
B737-800
A321
B737-800
A330-200
A330-300
A330-300
E175AR
B737-900
B737-900
B737-700
B737-900
E175AR
ATR42-50
MD83
B737-8
E175AR
B737-800
A320
A320
B737-800
B737-900
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
A330
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
B737-900
A320
A320
B737-800
B737-800
B737-900
B737-8
MD83
MD83
E175AR
A330-300
B737-800
B737-700
B737-8
A320
A330-200
A330-200
B737-8
A320
A320
B777-2ER
B737-800
A320
B737-800
E175AR
B737-800
B777
B737-800
A330-300
B737-900
A320
A330-300
A320
B737-8
B737-800
B737-8
B737-900
A320
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
B737-800
E175AR
A330-300
B737-900
B737-800
26
SPORTS
OMAN TRIBUNE
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
Ivorians qualify for Nations Cup finals
Title-holders survive scare as Bailly clears stoppage-time header at goal-line to hang on to 1-1 draw
JOHANNESBURG
TITLE-HOLDERS IVORY
Coast cleared a header off
their goal-line in stoppage
time to hang on to a 1-1
draw with Sierra Leone late
on Saturday to squeeze into
the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Jonathan Kodjia scored
via a bicycle kick after 35
minutes for the Ivorians
before a sell-out 25,000
crowd in Bouake but Kei
Kamara equalised on 67
minutes with a glancing
header following a freekick.
It was Kamara, back after
a self-imposed one-year
exile having accused Sierra
Leone officials of disrespecting him, who almost
took his country to the finals
after a 20-year absence.
Sierra Leone were awarded a corner five minutes into
stoppage time but a far-post
Kamara header was cleared
off the line by Eric Bailly.
Ivory Coast qualified for
a seventh straight Cup of
Nations by winning Group I
with six points after drawing
twice against Sierra Leone
and taking four points off
Sudan.
Sierra Leone finished
with five points and Sudan
with four.
Algeria,
Cameroon,
Egypt, Ghana, GuineaBissau, Mali, Morocco,
Senegal and Zimbabwe secured places ahead of the final round and hosts Gabon
are automatic participants
as hosts.
Another 14 matches are
scheduled for Sunday with
the remaining five places up
for grabs.
Ethiopia fell behind
against Seychelles in Hawassa before goals from Getaneh Kebede and Saladin
Said either side of half-time
brought a 2-1 win and hope
of qualification as one of the
best two runners-up.
It was the sixth goal of
the qualifying campaign
for Kebede in Group J and
moved him to the top of the
scorers charts.
Fouad Al Triki scored a
late goal as Libya shocked
Cape Verde 1-0 in a Group
F match interrupted when
a dog wandered onto the
pitch in Praia.
Defeat eliminated Cape
Verde, who were briefly
Issouf Sanogo/AFP
Ivory Coast’s Eric Bailly (right) fights for the ball with Sierra Leone’s Mohamed Bangura during the African
Cup of Nations qualification at Stade de la Paix in Bouake late on Saturday.
ranked No.1 in Africa this
year and had been seeking
a third consecutive Cup of
Nations appearance.
A brilliant goal from
Manchester City teenager
Kelechi Iheanacho on 78
minutes earned alreadyeliminated Nigeria a 1-0
Group G win over Tanzania
in Uyo.
The Super Eagles took a
short corner and the striker
moved across the edge of
the penalty area before unleashing a left-foot thunderbolt into the roof of the net.
Group H winners Ghana
lacked numerous first
choices, including Andre
‘Dede’ Ayew and Asamoah
QUALIFYING RESULTS
Group B
Angola 1 (Gelson 54) Madagascar 1
(Bapasy 17)
Group F
Cape Verde 0 Libya 1 (Al Triki 90+2)
Group G
Nigeria 1 (Iheanacho 78) Tanzania 0
Group H
Ghana 1 (Tetteh 24) Rwanda 1
(Hakizimana 83)
Mozambique 1 (Bheu 90+10) Mauritius 0
Group I
Ivory Coast 1 (Kodjia 35) Sierra Leone
1 (K. Kamara 67)
Group J
Ethiopia 2 (Kebede 34, Said 56-pen)
Seychelles 1 (Henriette 21)
Group K
Senegal 1 (Keita 32, Diedhiou 90-pen)
Namibia 0
Group M
Cameroon 2 (Moukandjo 35-pen,
Ekambi 54) Gambia 0
South Africa 1 (Kekana 26) Mauritania
1 (Diallo 17)
Gyan, and were held 1-1 in
Accra by Rwanda.
Samuel Tettah put the
Black Stars ahead midway
through the opening half
with a low shot and Muhadjir Hakizimana levelled off
a free-kick seven minutes
from time. Mozambique
jumped from fourth to second in the same mini-league
after a last-gasp goal earned
a 1-0 win over Mauritius in
Maputo.
Cameroon cruised to a
2-0 victory over bottomof-the-table Group M team
Gambia in Limbe.
Benjamin Moukandjo
converted a first-half penalty for a foul on Karl Toko
Ekambi, who scored the
second goal soon after
half-time.
STANDINGS
P W D L GF GA Pts
Group B
DR Congo 5 4 0 1 12 5
12
C.A.R.
5 3 1 1 8 7
10
Angola
6 1 2 3 7 8
5
Madagascar 6 0 3 3 5 12 3
Group F
* Morocco 5 4 1 0 8 1
13
C. Verde 6 3 0 3 11 7
9
Libya
6 2 1 3 8 6
7
S. Tome 5 1 0 4 4 17 3
Group G (Final standings)
* Egypt 4 3 1 0 7 1
10
Nigeria 4 1 2 1 2 2
5
Tanzania 4 0 1 3 0 6
1
Note: Chad withdrew after matchday 3
for financial reasons
Group H (Final standings)
* Ghana 6 4 2 0 14 3
14
Mozambique 6 2 1 3 5 7
7
Rwanda 6 2 1 3 9 6
7
Mauritius 6 2 0 4 3 15 6
Group I (Final standings)
* I. Coast 4 1 3 0 3
S. Leone 4 1 2 1 2
Sudan
4 1 1 2 2
Group J
* Algeria 5 4 1 0 19
Ethiopia 6 3 2 1 11
Seychelles 6 1 1 4 5
Lesotho 5 1 0 4 5
Group K
* Senegal 6 6 0 0 13
Burundi 5 2 0 3 7
Namibia 6 2 0 4 5
Niger
5 1 0 4 2
Group M (Final standings)
* Cameroon 6 4 2 0 7
Mauritania 6 2 2 2 6
S. Africa 6 1 4 1 8
Gambia 6 0 2 4 1
2
2
3
6
5
4
5
14
11
10
13
11
4
3
2
9
9
7
18
6
6
3
2
5
6
9
14
8
7
2
Note: * denotes qualified teams
Group winners and best two runners-up
from four-team groups qualify for 2017
tournament with hosts Gabon
Agence France-Presse
Blind Snyder all set to rule pool in Rio
BALTIMORE
BRAD SNYDER STILL
sees the pool spread out
around him, vivid as ever,
his blindness be damned,
as sure as he can feel the
water against his limbs.
He sees the wake forming
behind him as he churns
through his lane and the
black lines on the bottom
and the bright colors of the
lane lines, guiding him to
the wall. When he really
gets going, flying along
at race pace, he can make
himself forget he is blind.
Those are the moments he
lives for, the moments that
carry him back, more than
anything else, to his old life.
It’s not that Snyder, a
32-year-old
Baltimore
resident, is trying to escape his reality. His reality
is that he is blind, having
been wounded by an IED
in Afghanistan in 2011
when he was a lieutenant in
the Navy, and he is getting
better every day at accepting and embracing that. His
reality is that everyday life is
more challenging now than
it was before the injury. But
in some ways, he has found,
it is also richer.
“I have this golden opportunity in front of me,”
he said one morning following another training
session. “I’m going to embrace it wholeheartedly.”
The military man in Snyder has come to think of the
quadrennial Paralympic
Summer Games as deployments. In 2012, even as he
Jonathan Newton/Washington Post
Brad Snyder’s coach Brian Loeffler taps him on the back to let him know to turn.
was trying to make sense of
this new, darkened world
he had unwittingly entered, he was “deployed”
to London, where he came
back with two gold medals
and one silver.
And this month, Snyder
will deploy again, this time
to Rio de Janeiro, for the
2016 Paralympic Games,
where he intends to swim
in six events, defend his two
2012 titles - in the 100 and
400 metre freestyles in the
S11 category, for athletes
who are completely blind and perhaps steal a couple
more across an assortment
of butterfly, backstroke and
individual medley events.
“I feel like I’m the best
freestyler in the world,”
said Snyder, who is, in fact,
ranked first in the world at
both 100 and 400 metres.
“I want to back that up.
I want to protect those
events. I feel like those are
mine to lose.”
While the 2016 Paralympic Games have been
plagued by financial woes,
which have forced organisers to slash budgets ahead
of Wednesday’s Opening
Ceremonies, none of the
competitive events themselves will be affected, and
a grass-roots campaign called #FillTheSeats - to
send Brazilian children to
the Games for free recently
received a boost when it
was promoted in a tweet
by the rock band Coldplay.
When he gets to Rio,
Snyder will be considerably more prepared, both
mentally and physically,
than he was four years ago.
In 2012, the London Paralympics came so soon after
his injury that he barely had
time to contemplate what
his new life would look like.
Within two months of
being wounded, Snyder,
the former captain of the
Naval Academy men’s swim
team, was in a swimming
pool for rehabilitation, and
he found that his return to
the water brought him closer to feeling like his old self
than anything else. Within
four months, he was being
recruited to try out for the
Paralympics - which, at the
time, he had never heard
of - and within five months
he was swimming in his first
sanctioned meet, posting
a time in the 100 free that
immediately ranked as fifth
best in the world.
And on Sept. 7, 2012,
the one-year anniversary of
his injury, he won the second of his two gold medals
in London.
Only afterward, back
home again and without
the intense training regimen to anchor his life,
did Snyder have to come
face to face with his new
reality.
“That’s when I had to
start to figure out who is
Blind Brad,” Snyder said,
“and who is Blind Brad going to be.”
In his mind, Snyder had
prepared himself to lose a
leg or even his life. They
were risks he understood
to be part of life as a lieutenant in a Seal explosiveordnance disposal unit.
When he left for a mission,
he made sure his belongings were in order and his
bed was made, just in case.
His careful preparations
made no contingency for
blindness.
WP News Syndicate
SPORTS
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
OMAN TRIBUNE
27
Bale hungry ‘to make more history’
Wales set sights on 2018 World Cup; Coleman banks on Real flier to carry momentum
CARDIFF (UK)
GARETH BALE TAKES
his first step on the road
to World Cup qualification with Wales against
Moldova on Monday and
manager Chris Coleman
believes he is still getting
better.
Bale, 27, scored three
times as Wales created a
sensation by reaching the
semi-finals at Euro 2016,
matching the best performance by a British team in
an overseas tournament.
The challenge now facing him is to build on that
momentum by firing Wales
to the 2018 World Cup in
Russia and Coleman says
the Real Madrid flier is hungry to make more history.
“Gareth scored inside
75 seconds of Real’s first
game of the season (against
Real Sociedad), but I never
get surprised by him,”
Coleman said ahead of the
Group D opener at Cardiff
City Stadium.
“I know he’s capable of
almost anything and I think
Madrid are very excited
about the future with Balo.
“They recognise that
they’ve got someone who’s
going to be there for a while
and someone who is capable of winning everything.
“He’s getting better and
better still. Along with that
incredible ability, he’s got
that first-class mentality as
well.
“It’s a winning formula
for Real Madrid and for
Wales, and I think he will
have another good season.”
Wales were among the
fourth seeds in qualifying
for Euro 2016, but their
exploits in France catapulted them into Pot One
for the World Cup qualifying draw.
John Sibley/Reuters
Wales’ Gareth Bale (centre) during training session with teammates at Cardiff City Stadium.
pine for it. “It was so special, but it is gone, that moment is finished. We have
to create something new.”
An independent nation
since 1991, Moldova have
never qualified for a major
championship and have
only won one of their last
21 games.
They finished rock bottom of their Euro 2016
qualifying group after los-
ing eight and drawing two
of their 10 matches.
The teams have only
played each other twice, in
qualifying for Euro 96, when
they won one game apiece.
Late former Wales
manager Gary Speed,
Coleman’s predecessor,
scored the only goal when
the teams met in Cardiff,
with Coleman also playing.
Kosovo set for historic debut amid woes Japan’s Honda
wants young
guns to step up
Italy all set
to bounce
back in style,
says Ventura
In an evenly balanced
group, they are likely to face
strong challenges for the one
automatic qualifying berth
from Austria, Serbia and the
Republic of Ireland. Georgia
complete the pool.
While Bale is fit and firing, Wales will be without
Aaron Ramsey against
Moldova -- as they were
when they lost to eventual
champions Portugal in the
Euro semi-finals.
The Arsenal midfielder
has a hamstring injury.
Attacking midfielder
Jonathan Williams, who
recently joined Ipswich
Town on loan from Crystal
Palace, is also out.
Goalkeeper
Wayne
Hennessey is expected to
start despite missing Palace’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth last weekend due
to a leg problem.
Prior to the Euros,
Wales had not competed at
a major tournament finals
since the 1958 World Cup
and their exploits electrified the nation.
Cardiff City Stadium
will be packed to the rafters for the team’s return
to action, but Coleman
has warned that his side’s
achievements in France
PRISTINA
DESPITE SEVERAL POtential players remaining in
“limbo”, Kosovo will make
history on Monday, playing
their first ever competitive
match in a World Cup qualifier against Finland.
Kosovo became the
210th member of Fifa in
May, but excitement ahead
of the Balkans outfit’s
historic match has been
marred by questions over
who will be allowed to play
for the team.
According to Fifa’s rules,
someone who has played
for another national team
cannot normally switch allegiance, so a number of
Kosovo’s potential players
have had to apply individually for special permission
-- which is still awaited.
“It is unprecedented as
they played for other national teams while Kosovo
was not a member of Fifa...
Now they should be given
this opportunity like everyone else,” the head of
Kosovo’s football association Fadil Vokrri said.
“Fifa should allow a oneoff exemption for Kosovo.”
A Fifa spokesman said
the various applications
“are currently pending and
being investigated” but he
could not give an estimation
of how long the decision process would take.
Kosovo unilaterally de-
AFP/Files
Kosovo still have a number of players awaiting Fifa clearance including Belgian
midfielder Adnan Januzaj (left).
clared independence from
Belgrade in 2008 and remains unrecognised by
several countries, including Serbia and Russia.
Serbia vehemently opposed Kosovo’s admittance
to world governing body
Fifa, which came soon after
Europe’s governing body
Uefa narrowly approved
their membership.
“It is a dream coming
true,” midfielder Alban
Muja wrote on his Facebook page. He intends
to play for Kosovo after
switching from the Albania.
A total of 24 players with
roots in Kosovo currently
play for six other national
teams.
Most of them play for
Albania, who are mourning
the decision of four players
so far from their European
Championships squad earlier this summer to play for
Kosovo.
Others include Belgium’s Adnan Januzaj,
Finland’s Perparim Hetemaj and Sweden’s Arber
Zeneli, who all await the
green light from Fifa.
Amid the uncertainty
ahead of the game at Finland’s Turku Stadium,
coach Albert Bunjaki has
had to operate with two
lists of footballers -- 15
who can definitely play and
11 awaiting permission.
He decided to assemble
the first meeting of the
team on September 1 in
Turku for intensive training ahead of the match.
Despite the complications,
Bunjaki remained upbeat.
“This is just the beginning of the project of creating a good team for the
next European Championships,” he said.
Choosing to switch teams
was an agonising decision
will count for nothing in
the new campaign.
“When I got home, for
the two weeks after it I
think my wife was expecting me to be a certain way,
and I was not,” said Coleman, whose side are unbeaten in six competitive
home games.
“I was on a bit of a downer. The situation is so exciting. It is exhausting, but
according to Norway’s Valon
Berisha, who has applied to
play for Kosovo.
“I was born in Norway
and everything I achieved
was thanks to Norway. I
was in limbo for three to
four weeks not knowing
what to do.”
In the end, he decided to
play for Kosovo while his
brother Veton will stick
with Norway, he said.
Along with Finland,
Kosovo will face Croatia, Turkey, Iceland and
Ukraine in their debut in
World Cup qualifying.
As they don’t yet have a
stadium that meets international standards, Kosovo
will play the opening home
qualifier against Croatia on
October 6 in the Albanian
city of Shkodra.
Kosovo’s officials are
hoping the stadium in the
capital Pristina will be
ready for World Cup qualifiers by June next year.
Bajram Jashanica, a
defender for Albanians
Skenderbeu Korce, has
already made his debut for
Kosovo in a friendly against
Turkey, and said the long
wait for Monday’s match
was motivating the team.
“Emotions are running
high around us. We have to
overcome them in order to
achieve a good result. We
are ready and we can make
it,” said.
Agence France-Presse
you have all that emotion.
“But when it finishes,
you don’t get weaned off it.
It is over and you are back
into reality as fathers and
husbands.
“It was really hard and
I know a lot of the lads
(found it hard), too. You
miss that buzz.
“You feel like you need
a rest when it is going on,
but once it finishes, you
HAIFA (Israel)
TOKYO
it’s not just me. There are
a number of experienced
players on this team that
feel the same way.
“The young players
can’t expect others to lead
the team and I am sure they
are starting to understand
that. Everyone has to stand
up and be counted. That is
what the Japan national
team is all about.”
minutes in France, the Atletico
Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielders played all 90 minutes in
Belgium.
Dani Carvajal, 24, replaced
31-year-old Juanfran at rightback, whilst the only other
player to start who missed out
on the Euros, Vitolo, played
a crucial role in both goals
scored by Manchester City’s
David Silva.
NEW ITALY COACH
Giampiero Ventura said he
was unconcerned by Thursday’s home defeat to France
ahead of his team’s opening World Cup qualifier in
Israel on Monday.
The 2006 World Cup
champions slumped to a
3-1 defeat in Bari on Thursday but Ventura, who took
over the Azzurri hotseat
from new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, does
not expect such a stern test
in Haifa.
“With the greatest of respect, Israel aren’t France.
We will analyse (the)
match, we’ll look at some
errors that we can avoid and
I’m sure we’ll put in a better performance,” Ventura,
68, said.
Even so, there is anxiety
in the Italian camp with
striker Graziano Pelle,
who scored against France,
insisting: “There are no excuses, we must beat Israel.”
Italy are expected to
battle with Spain for top
spot in Group G and the
only automatic qualification place.
The 2010 world champions begin their campaign
against minnows Liechtenstein while Albania and
Macedonia round out the
group.
The winners of each
group will qualify for the
2018 World Cup in Russia, while the eight best
runners-up advance to the
play-offs.
Midfield orchestrator
Marco Verratti, who missed
the 2016 European Championships due to injury,
says Italy are up against it.
“We have been put in a
difficult group, but if we
do what what we can then
we have a good chance of
getting through,” he said.
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
JAPAN MIDFIELDER
Keisuke Honda has berated
his younger teammates
after their shock loss to
United Arab Emirates and
demanded more effort from
them in their next World
Cup qualifier against Thailand on Tuesday.
A profligate Japan lost
2-1 at home to 74thranked UAE in their Group
B opener on Thursday and
defeat in Bangkok would be
another serious setback to
their hopes of advancing
from a section that includes
heavyweights Australia and
Saudi Arabia.
“A surprising number of
players watch and read the
news so they know what I
say,” Honda, who scored
his team’s only goal against
UAE, told Japanese media
after training in Bangkok.
“I don’t think they are
going to change straight
away, but maybe become
aware of the fact that they
have to make more of an
effort.
“I want to give them the
opportunity to change
their mindset. I have to
pull the team forward
when it needs pulling, and
Japan lost 2-1
at home to 74thranked UAE
in their Group
B opener on
Thursday
Thailand, ranked 120th
in the world, have enjoyed
an impressive run to the
final phase of Asian qualifying and gave a good account of themselves in a
1-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia
in Riyadh.
AC Milan midfielder
Honda said Japan, ranked
49th in the world, would
need to go “all out” with
the intention of winning
the rest of their qualifiers.
Reuters
Lopetegui’s new-look Spain face daunting task
MADRID
FAINT HOPES SPAIN’S
spectacular fall from grace at
the 2014 World Cup was a
mere blip, were extinguished
as another early exit at Euro
2016 finally ended Vicente del
Bosque’s eight-year reign as
coach.
Julien Lopetegui is the man
charged with restoring Spain’s
former glories, but he faces a
demanding task in just getting
La Roja to Russia in two years’
time with Euros’ conquerors
Italy lying in wait in qualifying.
Spain haven’t lost a World
Cup qualifier for a remarkable 23 years and that record
shouldn’t be challenged when
Liechtenstein visit Leon at the
start of the long road to Russia
on Monday.
Yet, Lopetegui’s new era
needs to hit the ground run-
ning with a trip to Italy next up
in early October and only the
group winners guaranteed to
qualify.
Lopetegui’s appointment
after Del Bosque’s resignation
was generally seen as an underwhelming one. Despite success
in winning the under-19 and
under-21 European championships with the Spanish youth
ranks, his debut in a top-flight
managerial role with Porto
ended without a trophy and the
sack in January 2016.
However, that scepticism
eased after a convincing 2-0 win
away to Belgium on his debut.
Tellingly, he has already begun
to inject a tired looking squad
with the fresh blood it needed
prior to the Euros.
Of the 11 that started in Brussels on Thursday, nine were in
Del Bosque’s Euros squad. Yet,
Lopetegui has not shied away
Agence France-Presse
from big decisions.
Captain and record caps
holder Iker Casillas was finally
left out of the squad, as was
two-time European champion
and World Cup winner Cesc
Fabregas.
The selection of Fabregas
after a poor season with Chelsea ahead of Koke and Thiago
Alcantara at the Euros was an
unpopular one. Tellingly, having played just a combined 45
28
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2016
3 DHUL HIJJAH 1437
Serena canters to record 307th win
World No. 1 surpasses Navratilova, matches Federer’s mark; Wawrinka, Murray advance
NEW YORK
RESULTS
SERENA
WILLIAMS
sped past another milestone late on Saturday
en route to the US Open
fourth round as men’s
contenders Andy Murray
and Stan Wawrinka clawed
their way into the last 16.
World number one Williams dominated Sweden’s
Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-1
to surpass Martina Navratilova for most Grand Slam
wins by a woman with 307.
Not only has the
34-year-old
American
surpassed Navratilova, she
matched Roger Federer’s
mark for men.
“To be up there with
both men and women is
something that’s superrare, and it actually feels
good,” said Williams,
who said she was “really
excited” to reach 307.
“Obviously I want to
keep that number going
higher,” added Williams,
who will get her chance
when she takes on Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova
for a quarter-final berth.
In the one hour it took to
subdue Larsson, Williams
again appeared untroubled
by the shoulder injury that
has slowed her since her
Wimbledon triumph.
“It definitely feels solid,”
she said. “I’m doing a lot of
work on it so I can keep it in
this position.”
While Williams encountered little resistance, it was
another story for the top
men’s seeds in action.
Wawrinka, a two-time
Grand Slam winner and
twice a semi-finalist in New
York, had the closest call,
saving a match point in a
4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6
(10/8), 6-2 victory over
Britain’s Dan Evans.
The 31-year-old third
seed saved the match
point at 5/6 in the fourth
set tiebreaker, breaking
the will of his 64th-ranked
opponent.
“It’s always good to win
by saving match point. It’s
Men’s third round
Dominic Thiem (AUT x8) bt
Pablo Carreño-Busta (ESP)
1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5
Juan Martín Del Potro
(ARG) bt David Ferrer
(ESP x11) 7-6 (7/3), 6-2,
6-3
Illya Marchenko (UKR) bt
Nick Kyrgios (AUS x14)
4-6, 6-4, 6-1 - retired
Stan Wawrinka (SUI x3) bt
Dan Evans (GBR) 4-6, 6-3,
6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/8), 6-2
Kei Nishikori (JPN x6) bt
Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 4-6,
6-1, 6-2, 6-2
Ivo Karlovic (CRO x21) bt
Jared Donaldson (US) 6-4,
7-6 (7/3), 6-3
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x22)
bt Joao Sousa (POR) 6-4,
6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Andy Murray (GBR x2) bt
Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) 7-6
(7/4), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
Women’s third round
Serena Williams (US x1)
bt Johanna Larsson (SWE)
6-2, 6-1
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)
bt Zhang Shuai (CHN) 6-2,
7-5
Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP
x11) bt Elena Vesnina (RUS
x19) 6-4, 6-3
Simona Halep (ROM x5) bt
Timea Babos (HUN x31)
6-1, 2-6, 6-4
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL
x4) bt Caroline Garcia (FRA
x25) 6-2, 6-3
Ana Konjuh (CRO) bt
Varvara Lepchenko (US)
6-3, 3-6, 6-2
Karolina Pliskova (CZE
x10) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS x17) 6-2,
6-4
Venus Williams (US x6) bt
Laura Siegemund (GER
x26) 6-1, 6-2
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AFP
Serena Williams of the US hits a return to Johanna Larsson of Sweden during the US Open women’s singles match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre
in New York late on Saturday.
always something special,
that’s for sure,” said Wawrinka, who had his left ankle
taped after twisting it during the match. “It was a
tough battle and I’m happy
to get through.”
Many of Murray’s troubles against Paolo Lorenzi
were of his own making as
he allowed the energetic
Italian journeyman to make
him look ordinary through
two sets before pulling
himself together to win
7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
“I had to stop rushing,”
said Murray, who arrived at
the year’s final Grand Slam
off victories at Wimbledon
and the Rio Olympics and
may have expected less
from Lorenzi, the 34-yearold who only won a first
ATP title in July.
“I was making a lot of unforced errors and (Lorenzi)
is very solid, and doesn’t
give you cheap points,”
Murray said. “I was looking for those cheap points
too often.”
Murray takes on Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, a 6-4,
6-1, 3-6, 6-2 winner over
Portugal’s Joao Sousa, for
a quarter-final berth.
Wawrinka next faces
63rd-ranked Ukrainian
Illya Marchenko, who advanced when a hurting Nick
Kyrgios, hobbled by a painful right hip, retired while
trailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Kyrgios, the 14th seed
from Australia soldiered on
after receiving treatment at
the end of the second set
before opting out at the
end of the third.
Sixth-seeded Kei Ni-
shikori of Japan, two years
removed from his run to the
final, rallied for a 4-6, 6-1,
6-2, 6-2 win over France’s
Nicolas Mahut.
Nishikori, who has
dropped a set in each of
his matches so far, will
take on Ivo Karlovic for a
quarter-final berth after the
towering Croatian defeated 19-year-old American
Jared Donaldson 6-4, 7-6
(7/3), 6-3.
Juan Martin del Potro,
whose career was nearly
derailed by injuries after
his 2009 US Open triumph, fired 37 winners
in a 7-6 (7/3), 6-2, 6-3
victory over Spanish 11th
seed David Ferrer.
He next faces eighthseeded Austrian Dominic
Thiem, who celebrated
his 23rd birthday with a
1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory
over Pablo Carreno Busta
of Spain.
Women’s fourth seed
Agnieszka
Radwanska
advanced with ease, dispatching France’s Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3 to set
up a meeting with Croatian
Ana Konjuh, a 6-3, 3-6,
6-2 winner over American
Varvara Lepchenko.
Hungarian Timea Babos
put a scare into Romanian
fifth seed Simona Halep,
surging back in the second
set and taking a 3-1 lead in
the third before falling 6-1,
2-6, 6-4.
Halep, who fell in the
semi-finals to eventual
champion Flavia Pennetta
last year, will play Spain’s
Carla Suarez Navarro for
place in the quarter-finals.
Dimitrov ‘back in love’ with sport
NEW YORK
GRIGOR DIMITROV
was once in danger of
spending his career either
struggling to live up to
being dubbed the “new
Federer” or being known
as the boyfriend of Maria
Sharapova.
But with Federer sidelined from the US Open
and with Dimitrov and
Sharapova no longer the
sport’s golden couple, the
25-year-old Bulgarian is
enjoying having the spotlight lifted from him.
“I think a lot has changed
over the past year and a half
for me. I fell in love with
tennis again. It’s simple
as that,” said Dimitrov,
a former world number
eight, now down at 24 in
the rankings.
A 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
win over Portugal’s Joao
Sousa on Saturday gave
him a place in the second
week of a Slam for the first
time this year.
World number two
Andy Murray awaits him
on Monday with a spot in
the quarter-finals at stake.
Dimitrov appeared to
have the world at his feet
in 2014. Sharapova was his
girlfriend and he reached
the semi-finals of Wimbledon and quarter-finals of
the Australian Open.
But his form went downhill in 2015 and in the first
half of this year.
Between May and June,
he endured a six-match losing streak and his ranking
slumped to 40, his lowest
Suarez, also celebrating
a birthday Saturday as she
turned 28, defeated Russian
Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-3.
Sixth seed Venus Williams, whose seven Grand
Slam titles include US
Open crowns in 2000 and
2001, coasted into the
round of 16 with a straightforward 6-1, 6-2 win over
German Laura Siegemund,
setting up a tough meeting
with 10th-seeded Karolina
Pliskova.
The hard-hitting Czech,
who shocked Angelique
Kerber in the final of the
US Open tuenup in Cincinnati, defeated Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-4.
Agence France-Presse
Kyrgios quits
US Open over
hip injury
NEW YORK
the rest of my career.”
Against Wimbledon and
Olympic champion Murray,
he has a 6-3 losing record,
but he came out on top in
their last clash in Miami in
March. “I think our styles
just kind of fit our games.
There’s going to be a lot of
challenges against Andy,”
he said.
“He’s going to be ready
as ever. He’Ts just really
confident right now. He’s
been playing extremely
good tennis. He knows
what to do.”
A TEARFUL NICK KYRgios, a dark horse to win the
US Open, retired from his
third-round match against
Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko
with a hip injury on Saturday, ending the Australian’s
bid for a maiden grand slam.
A limping Kyrgios was
trailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 when
he decided he was unable to
carry on playing. The 14th
seed was seeking to reach
the last 16 at Flushing
Meadows for the first time.
“It’s tough, I don’t like to
retire, that is probably the
second or third time I’ve
done it,” offered a dejected
Kyrgios.
“I’ve got a lot of belief in
my game to still win matches when I’m not feeling
great but his (Marchenko’s)
strength is to make balls
and move me around, it’s
not great.
“To be fair my hip was
bothering me my first two
matches and I got through,
so I guess it was just a matter of time.”
Kyrgios had looked ready
to cruise into the fourth
round behind a blazing
serve and some brilliant
shot-making but nothing
is ever straight-forward
with the big Australian, who
began to rub his right hip
after taking the opening set.
By the end of the second
set won by Marchenko,
Kyrgios was ready to quit.
Agence France-Presse
Reuters
Michael Reaves/AFP
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria returns a shot to Joao Sousa of Portugal during the US Open men’s singles third
round match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in New York late on Saturday.
in three years.
The summer has seen
a resurgence with Danny
Vallverdu -- once part of
Murray’s coaching team
-- in his corner becoming
the Bulgarian’s sixth coach
since 2009.
At the Toronto Masters,
he reached the last-eight,
losing to Kei Nishikori.
In Cincinnati, on the eve
of the US Open, Dimitrov
made the semi-finals at a
Masters for the first time,
defeating world number
three Stan Wawrinka in
the third round before los-
ing to eventual champion
Marin Cilic in three sets.
“I have started to enjoy
the process again. I’m en-
“You don’t think of
anything else. I started to
enjoy those butterflies before a match, complaining
World No. 2 Andy Murray awaits him on
Monday with a spot in quarters at stake
joying the work again. I’m
enjoying waking up in the
morning early to come to
practice. I’m enjoying doing the ice baths again. I’m
enjoying pretty much everything that I do,” he said.
to your coach that you’re,
like, short of breath because you’re so nervous to
come on court.
“Those are moments
I’m sure I’m always going
to appreciate hopefully for