QATAR | Page 20
INDEX
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3, 4
REGION
4
ARAB WORLD
INTERNATIONAL
5 – 17
COMMENT
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CLASSIFIED
SPORTS
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SPORT | Page 1
Mayweather
set for richest
sports year
ever
Call for more student
involvement
in museum projects
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KENYA | Reaction
Qatar condemns
attack on university
Qatar yesterday condemned the
attack on Kenya’s Garissa University
which led to the murder of 148
people and the injury of dozens
more. Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, in a statement, “condemned
violence in all its forms regardless
of its motives”, the official Qatar
News Agency (QNA) said. “The
statement also expressed Qatar’s
sincere condolences to the family of
the victims and to the government
and people of Kenya,” the QNA said.
The bodies of the 148 students and
security officers killed by Somalia’s
Shebaab militants in the university
were flown yesterday to Nairobi
and their desperate and grieving
loved ones. The day-long siege
of Garissa University was Kenya’s
deadliest terror attack since the
1998 bombing of the US embassy in
Nairobi. Page 5
QATAR | Event
Law faculty to hold
Moot Court contest
The Faculty of Law at Qatar
University, in collaboration with
Doha Centre for Media Freedom,
will organise the second regional
Arabic Moot Court Competition
from tomorrow to Wednesday.
Eight Arab teams from universities
of Bir Zeit, Sultan Qaboos, Kuwait,
Tunisia, Baghdad, Jordan, Qatar
and the Beirut Arab University will
participate. The Arabic Moot Court
Competition is an academic exercise
in which teams of students from
10 different law schools will act as
advocates as they make written and
spoken arguments to simulate an
actual criminal law case being held
before a high court.
EUROPE | Crash
Germanwings co-pilot
‘accelerated descent’
The pilot at the controls of a
Germanwings jet that crashed in the
French Alps accelerated the plane
into the mountainside, killing all
150 people on board, according to
French investigators. France’s BEA
crash investigation agency declined
to confirm growing evidence against
the co-pilot before completing its
own analysis, but the chilling new
detail from a newly recovered
second “black box” seemed to
corroborate prosecutors’ claims that
he killed himself and everyone else
deliberately. Page 11
MALI | Unrest
Police uncover
‘major attack’ plot
Detectives investigating an
explosion at a house in Mali’s
capital that killed a security guard
yesterday said they had uncovered
plans for a “major attack”.
Car wash centres in and around Doha experienced heavy rush yesterday as motorists lined up to clean their vehicles from
the dust accumulated on account of the severe sandstorm that lashed the country on Wednesday night. Serpentine queues
could be seen in front of most of the car wash outlets and people had to wait for several hours to get their vehicles tidied up.
PICTURE : Shaji Kayamkulam
Sea tourism sector
booming in Qatar
By Joey Aguilar
Staff Reporter
S
ea tourism in Qatar is booming
due to the growing interest of
residents in cruising, swimming
and diving as well as their keenness to
celebrate special occasions on board
yachts.
“An increasing number of people
want to cruise along Doha’s coastal waters,” Doha Yachting operations manager Loui Sheikh told Gulf Times during
a recent cruise aboard Italian brand Azimut’s luxurious Lavender 46ft yacht.
“Many residents want to try new
adventures besides going for a safari
ride in the desert,” explained the official who described Doha Yachting as
the first luxury yacht chartering company in Qatar.
“The weekend remains the busiest
time but some customers come during
the weekdays as well,” said Sheikh.
“Our four vessels are always out in
the sea.”
Many residents go for cruising,
swimming and diving. Some families
and groups celebrate anniversaries,
birthdays and other special occasions
on board luxurious yachts such as the
Lavender which can accommodate at
least 16 people.
Some customers prefer dinner
cruises and island hopping while others like to go around with their jet skis.
Aliyah island, home to desert hares
and a variety of birds such as flamingos, gulls and cormorants, provide
boaters with an opportunity to observe
local species in their natural habitat.
Other islands worth visiting include
Palm Tree Island and Al Safia which
are around 10 and 15 minutes from
Doha by boat.
The Qatar peninsula also covers
several islands but those looking to
explore beyond Doha’s activity-filled
islands have to travel longer.
Shrao, located three hours from
Doha by speedboat, is a haven for seabirds and visitors can also enjoy spotting turtles and admiring the small
fringe reef on its soft, sandy beach.
Haloul island showcases spectacu-
A view of the luxury room of Lavender. PICTURES: Jayan Orma
Lavender, the luxury yacht, can
accommodate 16 people.
lar views with hills rising to 190ft and
its coral reefs and beautiful shoals of
coral fish, ideal for scuba divers to explore and observe marine life. Ishat
island consists of three flat-topped islets bordered with stunning cliffs.
Fishing has also attracted many
people, knowing that Qatar’s waters
have various kinds such as barracuda,
king fish.
The opening of high-end and luxury
resort hotels has helped boost Qatar’s
sea tourism, according to Sheikh.
The previously uninhabited Banana
Island has recently been transformed
into a five-star island resort with a
shallow rocky side ideal for snorkelling.
While sea tourism becoming popular, he cited the growing competition
in the business with many players offering more services and bringing new
ideas into the Qatari market.
“This means customers would be
getting better services as well as new
offerings,” Sheikh observed.
While prices in Qatar are a bit higher
than other GCC destinations such as
Dubai, the official said the Qatari market is responding positively.
“I have been in the company for two
years and I see a lot of difference since
we started,” he pointed out.
The company is now co-ordinating
with diving schools to organise trips
for their students once or twice a week.
Mourjan Marinas operations manager Mohamed El Newishy echoed the
statements of Sheikh, describing Qatar as “a boater’s paradise”.
Located on the west coast of the
Arabian Gulf and surrounded by water
on three sides, the country is home to
a wealth of cruising and water sports
opportunities to explore from luxurious anchoring destinations.
in
In brief
d
Drivers flock to car washes
he R
is
bl TA 978
A 1
Q since
GULF TIMES
SATURDAY Vol. XXXVI No. 9682
April 4, 2015
Jumada II 15, 1436 AH
www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals
Iran sees
‘new page’
with world
after deal
Crippling sanctions over Iran’s
nuclear ambitions have left the
country’s economy reeling and the
announcement of the deal has been
greeted with celebrations
AFP
Tehran
I
ran vowed to stand by a nuclear deal
with world powers yesterday as
President Hassan Rouhani promised it would open a “new page” in the
country’s global ties.
Keen to win over domestic sceptics,
Iran’s leaders pushed the merits of a
potentially historic agreement, with
clerics touting its virtues at Friday
prayers in mosques.
The framework agreement - reached
on Thursday after marathon talks in
Switzerland -was hailed by world leaders as a major breakthrough in the 12year standoff between Iran and the
West, which has long feared Tehran
wants to build a nuclear bomb.
Diplomats, however, warned that
much work remained and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel
claimed the potential agreement posed
a “grave danger” to global security.
But in a live televised address, Rouhani said it could mark a turning point
for the Islamic republic’s relations with
the rest of the world.
“If the other side honours its promises, we will honour our promises,” he
said.
“New co-operation with the world
- both in the nuclear sphere and other
areas - will open a new page” for Iran,
he said.
The Islamic republic’s supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who will have
the final say on any deal, has not yet reacted to Thursday’s announcement.
But the proposed agreement could
still face opposition from Iranian hardliners against making any concessions
limiting the country’s nuclear programme.
Several conservative websites published comments from Mehdi Mohammadi, a political analyst, describing the
deal as “in no way balanced” and parts
of it as a “disaster”.
The country’s powerful religious authorities lined up behind it, however.
In a sermon that state media said
was replicated nationwide, Ayatollah
Mohamed Emami-Kashani praised the
agreement to worshippers in Tehran.
Earlier, well-wishers had hailed
Iran’s nuclear negotiators as they returned to Tehran from the talks in
Lausanne, with dozens lining the
streets and carrying Iranian flags.
Crippling sanctions over Iran’s nuclear ambitions have left the country’s
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
speaking during a press conference in
Tehran yesterday.
economy reeling and the announcement of the deal was greeted with celebrations.
Hundreds took to the streets of Tehran in the early hours of yesterday,
with drivers sounding their horns in
approval, people flashing V-signs for
victory and dancing while waving
white handkerchiefs in a traditional
Iranian celebration.
US President Barack Obama had
earlier welcomed the “historic understanding” with Iran after decades of
hostility, warning like other leaders
that work remains to finalise a highly
complex agreement by June 30.
The so-called P5+1 group - the US,
Britain, China, France and Russia plus
Germany - hope that the deal will make
it virtually impossible for Iran to produce nuclear weapons.
Iran, one of the world’s major oil
producing countries, has always denied seeking the atomic bomb, saying
its activities are for energy generation
and research. Page 3
Emir receives
call from Obama
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad
al-Thani yesterday received a call from
US President Barack Obama. President
Obama discussed with HH the Emir
the outcome of the 5+1 meeting with
Iran in Switzerland. He stressed his
administration’s commitment to the
region’s peace and stability. For his part,
HH the Emir expressed the State of
Qatar’s support to a peaceful resolution
and the importance of having the
region free of nuclear weapons. The
Emir also expressed hope that the deal
with Iran would enhance security and
stability in the region.
Saudi-led coalition in no ‘rush’ over Yemen
AFP
Riyadh
A
Saudi-led coalition trying to
halt the advance of Shia rebels
in neighbouring Yemen is in
no rush, its spokesman said yesterday, nine days into a campaign of air
strikes.
“Nine days is not that much time,”
particularly because the coalition is
confronting militiamen rather than
an organised army, Brigadier General
Ahmed Assiri told reporters.
“We should not be in a rush,” he
said. “The campaign is achieving its
goals and you can see that every day.”
The coalition aims to defeat the
Houthi rebels who seized power in the
capital Sanaa in February.
The Iran-backed rebels are allied
with military units loyal to Yemen’s
former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Meanwhile, two more Saudi soldiers
have been killed on the border with
Yemen.
“Two soldiers from the border
guards were martyred during an exchange of fire at a border point in Asir
region” in Saudi Arabia’s southwest,
said a spokesman of the interior min-
istry, cited by the official Saudi Press
Agency (SPA).
“They were subject to heavy fire
from a mountainous region inside the
Yemeni border, which made it necessary to respond in the same manner.
The situation was controlled with
support from the ground forces,” the
spokesman said.
The deaths come a day after the
ministry announced the first Saudi
casualty - a soldier shot from the Yemenis side of the border in the same
area - since the coalition led by Riyadh
launched air strikes against the Houthi
rebels on March 26.
Saudi Arabia has 150,000 troops and
100 warplanes assigned to the Yemen
operation, according to a Saudi adviser, but says it has no plan for now
to send ground forces into the neighbouring country.
After a night of intense coalition
bombardment, rebel forces yesterday
withdrew from President Abd-Rabbu
Mansour Hadi’s palace in Aden.
“The Houthi militia and their allies
withdrew before dawn from the AlMaashiq palace,” a senior official said
in Aden.
The rebels retreated to the nearby
central district of Khor Maksar. Page 4
People celebrating in Tehran after the announcement of the nuclear agreement.
2
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
QATAR
Teaching and
Learning Forum
begins on May 9
Qatar Foundation’s (QF’s)
Education Development Institute
is set to organise the second
annual Teaching and Learning
Forum on May 9 at the Qatar
National Convention Centre.
The event, which falls under the
umbrella of QF’s Pre-University
Education Office, will promote
professional development and
lifelong learning.
“This year we are expecting more
than 800 participants,” said
Sheikha Noof Ahmed bin Saif
al-Thani, director, Pre-University
Education Office.
The aim of the forum is to create
opportunities for teachers in
Qatar to share their knowledge
with other teachers within the
community, she explained.
“By offering this platform that
empowers teachers to reach their
full potential, we are helping to
foster excellence and support QF’s
vision to unlock the human potential
of future generations,” she added.
The conference will bring together
K-12 teachers, who provide education
at levels ranging from kindergarten
up to year 12, from across the
country to network, discuss, and
collaborate with each other.
Man dead, three
injured in accidents
One expatriate was killed and
three others were injured in
different accidents on Tuesday
and Wednesday, local daily
Arrayah reported yesterday.
A Yemeni man was fatally injured
in Al Rayyan area by a moving
vehicle while he was trying to
cross the road.
In another accident in Industrial
Area, two persons were severely
injured when a water tanker
overturned.
In an accident in Doha city, a
motorbike rider suffered serious
injuries when his bike overturned.
A number of minor road traffic
accidents were reported on
Wednesday. But there were no
injuries. The largest number of
accidents, 158, was reported
at Madinat Khalifa Traffic
Department, the daily added.
123 students selected to
take part in youth forum
Q
atar Foundation (QF)
has received 185 applications from students at
universities across Qatar for the
Doha Youth Forum on Crime
and Criminal Justice to be held
next week. Some 123 Qatari and
international participants in the
age group of 16-26 have been
selected for the event.
The forum is the first event
of its kind in the Middle East
and will be held over three days
from April 7 to 9 at the Qatar
National Convention Centre.
It has been timed to precede
the 13th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice slated for April
12-19 in Doha.
The youth forum is organised by Qatar Foundation in
collaboration with the organ-
ising committee of the 13th
United Nations Congress on
Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice.
The forum is a unique initiative launched by Qatar to engage
young people on issues related
to crime prevention and criminal justice, as well as familiarise
them with the role of the UN
and its functions. Additionally,
it will discuss student issues in
the region and challenges faced
by communities in fighting and
preventing crime. It will also
suggest practical solutions to
issues of criminal justice.
The event supports QF’s
strategic objective to promote the culture of innovation
and creativity while nurturing the human development
of the country’s future leaders
within an engaged society.
The student delegates will
role-play the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice, as part of the
forum, to discuss three designated themes. The first theme
addresses successes and challenges in implementing comprehensive crime prevention,
criminal justice policies and
strategies to promote the rule of
law at national and international level, and support sustainable
development.
The second theme questions
national approaches to public
participation in strengthening
crime prevention and criminal
justice. The final theme will engage young participants on their
responses to evolving forms of
crime such as cybercrime and
Some of the youth participants attending an orientation programme
trafficking in cultural property,
including lessons learned and
international co-operation.
Following the conclusion of
the Forum, specially selected
students will be given the once-
in-a-lifetime opportunity to
present the findings and chosen
recommendations from their
summit to the UN Congress on
Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice a few days later.
Students and organisers are
currently completing final preparations for the event, to ensure
that participants’ voices will be
brought to the forefront at the
forum.
Another award for Qatar e-Nature app
Q
Jack Saba accepting the award.
atar e-Nature, the first-ofits-kind smartphone application in the region, has received
a second honour for excellence.
In a ceremony in Kuwait, representatives of Sasol and Friends
of the Environment Centre (FEC)
received a “Best Arab Government
Smart Applications” award as part
of the Smart Government Awards.
The awards were held under the
patronage of Sheikh Mohamed Abdullah al-Mubarak al-Sabah, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and
chairman of the Central Agency for
Information Technology in Kuwait.
Jack Saba, GM of public affairs at
Sasol Qatar, received the award on
behalf of Sasol and FEC from Sheikh
Mohamed at a ceremony held in Kuwait last week.
“The growing number of awards
Qatar e-Nature has received around
the region speaks of the unique
and significant value it provides to
bring the love of nature to life for
the young generation and citizens
in general. We hope it inspires others to use innovative technologies
to bring the love of nature to more
people in the GCC,” said Dr Saif
al-Hajari, chairman of FEC.
This Smart Government Award
comes shortly after the Qatar e-Nature app received the Best m-Government Service Award in the envi-
ronment category on a regional level
from Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid
al-Maktoum, UAE Vice-President,
Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
Launched in 2013, the Qatar eNature app highlights plant, bird,
insect, mammal and reptile life in
the country. Sasol created the app
under its corporate social responsibility programme in partnership
with FEC.
Marjo Louw, president of Sasol
Qatar, said: “We are proud to see the
growth and recognition the Qatar
e-Nature application has received
in the region. We thank Minister alSabah and the government of Kuwait
for their recognition of our efforts.”
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
3
REGION
Netanyahu wants Israel ‘right to exist’ accepted
AFP
Jerusalem
P
rime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu demanded that
Iranian recognition of Israel’s right to exist be written
into an emerging nuclear deal, as
he convened top officials for talks
yesterday.
After meeting his security cabinet, which comprises key ministers, National Security Adviser
Yossi Cohen and other officials,
he said they were unanimous in
their opposition to the framework
agreement which emerged on
Thursday from marathon talks in
Switzerland between the Islamic
Republic and world powers.
“The cabinet is united in
strongly opposing the proposed
deal,” he said in a statement at the
end of the meeting, hours before
the onset of the week-long Passover Jewish holiday. “Some say that
the only alternative to this bad deal
is war,” he added.
“That’s not true. There is a third
alternative - standing firm, increasing the pressure on Iran until
a good deal is achieved.”
And he stipulated that one
of the provisions of a “good
deal” must be an end to Iranian
threats against the Jewish state.
“Israel demands that any final
agreement with Iran will include
a clear and unambiguous Iranian
recognition of Israel’s right to exist,’ he said.
“Israel will not accept an agreement which allows a country that
vows to annihilate us to develop
nuclear weapons, period.”
Israel is the Middle East’s sole,
albeit unacknowledged, nuclear
power. Repeating previous Israeli
warnings, Intelligence Minister
Yuval Steinitz said on Thursday
that all options were open.
“If we have no choice, we
have no choice... the military
option is on the table,” he said.
Government spokesman Mark
Regev said yesterday that the path
agreed in Lausanne toward a permanent deal was “a very, very dangerous direction”.
“Iran’s nuclear programme
doesn’t just threaten my country,
Iran’s nuclear programme threatens the peace and the security of
the world,” he said.
The framework deal clinched by
Iran and the so-called P5+1 group
of nations marked a significant
breakthrough in a 12-year standoff
between Tehran and world powers
over its nuclear programme.
Under the outline agreement,
Iran agreed to sharply curtail its
uranium enrichment capacity in
return for the lifting of punitive
sanctions that have crippled the
country’s economy.
Netanyahu took his battle
against the deal last month to the
US Congress, where he laid out Israel’s concerns to repeated standing ovations from lawmakers.
The trip infuriated the White
House and plunged US-Israeli relations to their frostiest for years.
Shortly after the outline of a
deal targeted for the end of June
was revealed, Israeli government
officials slammed it as “a historic mistake which will make the
world far more dangerous”.
“It is a bad framework which
will lead to a bad and dangerous
agreement,” they said on condition of anonymity. Under the deal,
Iran’s stocks of highly enriched
uranium will be cut by 98% for 15
years, while its unfinished Arak
reactor will not produce weaponsgrade plutonium.
The powers hope that this, along
with a reduction in its uranium
centrifuge numbers, will make
it virtually impossible for Iran to
produce nuclear weapons.
Israeli media were divided
over the accord, with an opinion piece in the daily Haaretz
calling it “not a bad deal at all”.
“Iran perhaps scored some victories in terms of the narrative...
but the world powers made significant achievements of their own on
the real practical issues,” the leftleaning paper said.
The Jerusalem Post, in an article
by British journalist Melanie Phillips, however, said the continuation of talks towards a lasting deal
was a “terrifying situation”.
“The US has been prepared to
allow a regime that is openly pursuing America’s destruction and
the annihilation of Israel to achieve
nuclear weapons breakout capacity,” she wrote.
Saudi hopeful
over Iran deal
but many still
have concerns
Reuters
Riyadh
S
audi Arabia has publicly
welcomed a framework nuclear deal with Tehran, but
in private mistrust remains deep.
King Salman told US President
Barack Obama by phone on Thursday that he hoped a final settlement of the nuclear dispute would
“strengthen the stability and security of the region and the world”.
However, many Saudis were
concerned about the implications of the framework deal that
Iran reached with world powers
on Thursday, intended to open the
way for negotiating a final settlement by mid-year.
“It’s about verification. If they
don’t comply, the boycott will be
reimposed. This is a reassuring
result,” said a Gulf source close to
official Saudi thinking, but added
that Riyadh was still worried about
Tehran’s role in the region.
“Iran may think that as a result
of this accord it is on the road to
respectability,” he said.
The framework agreement
reached in Lausanne curbs Iran’s
nuclear programme for at least a
decade and gradually lifts Western
sanctions on the oil producer, but
is contingent on reaching the final
pact by June 30.
Arab leaders have been alarmed
by Tehran’s drive to expand its
influence and tighten its grip
through allied forces and militias
on Arab states, from Iraq to Lebanon, and Syria to Yemen.
Ali Khedery, a former adviser to
US ambassadors in Baghdad, said
he was concerned the accord in
effect recognised Iran as a country on the threshold of a nuclear
weapons capability.
Khedery raised the question of
whether Iran wanted to become “a
respectable and respected member
of the international community”,
or continue as an exporter of revolutionary ideology as “a radical,
militant Shia Islamist theocracy”.
“If it’s the latter, then this will be
a disaster, and they will be able to
consolidate their control over Arab
regions where they are active,” he
said.
The foreign ministry in Bahrain, which accuses Tehran of stirring up unrest among its mostly
Shia domestic opponents, said it
hoped to see “a qualitative change
in Iranian policy toward non-interference in the internal affairs of
countries in the region”.
Tehran denies fomenting instability in Bahrain.
Saudi media cautiously welcomed the framework deal. “It
seems that Iran’s dream to acquire
nuclear weapons dissipated in the
Swiss city of Lausanne yesterday,”
the daily Al Watan newspaper
wrote yesterday.
Riyadh believes Iranian backing for Hezbollah in Lebanon,
President Bashar al-Assad in
Syria, Shia militias in Iraq and
the Houthis in Yemen has destabilised the region.
“It’s not that we expect the
West’s relationship with Iran will
be particularly cosy... It’s more
that a lifting of sanctions will help
Iran, even if oil prices are weaker,
and that this could embolden its
behaviour,” said a Saudi businessman familiar with official thinking.
Saudi concerns were raised
by how the Lausanne talks were
preceded by months of secret negotiations between Iran and the
Obama administration in 2013.
It contributed to Saudi fears that
Washington was steadily disengaging from the Middle East, and
that it could no longer be counted
on to back old allies and police the
activities of common foes.
Obama addressed those concerns on Thursday with reassurances to Gulf Arab states that the
deal would not affect Washington’s opposition to Iran’s behaviour in the region, and a promise to
invite them soon to Washington.
“He said our disagreements
with Iran on its political behaviour
and its using proxies to destabilise
the region, that’s still there. And
the sanctions related to these differences will remain in place,” said
Khaled al-Dakhil, a political science professor in Riyadh.
“If that’s the case, as it looks
now, then I believe the agreement
will be acceptable to the Saudis,”
he added.
Oman, which helped host some
of the diplomacy that led to the
framework deal, welcomed the
agreement yesterday.
Oman’s foreign ministry called
the accord “a fundamental and
important stage on the path to a
final agreement by June 30, which
opens a new phase towards more
security and stability regionally
and internationally”, according to
the state news agency.
Zarif waves to the crowd at Mehrabad airport in Tehran yesterday.
Nuclear negotiators given
rousing welcome in Tehran
AFP
Tehran
A
crowd of well-wishers
hailed Iranian negotiators yesterday as they returned to Tehran after agreeing
the framework of a potentially
historic nuclear deal with world
powers, Iranian news agencies
reported.
Several dozen people greeted
Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad
Zarif and his team as they left Tehran’s Mehrabad airport after returning from the negotiations in
Lausanne, the Isna news agency
reported.
“Viva Zarif! Viva Araqchi!” the
crowd chanted, in reference to
the minister and one of the main
negotiators, Abbas Araqchi.
Tehran Friday prayer
leader hails accord
Reuters
Dubai/Beirut
T
he leader of Friday
prayers
in
Tehran
hailed a framework
nuclear deal reached by Iran
and world powers, a sign
that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other
hardliners will back the accord.
Ayatollah Mohamed Emami-Kashani, a 78-year old
hardline cleric, gave the
weekly sermon at Tehran
University—a duty that rotates around senior members
of Iran’s conservative clerical
establishment.
“The negotiating team is
firm, wise and calm,” Emami-Kashani said, according
to the Iranian Students’ News
Agency (Isna). “The Supreme
Leader supports these representatives,” he added.
Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani initiated the talks
with the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia
and Germany after winning
power in 2013, dispatching
his foreign minister, Mohamed Javad Zarif, to lead the negotiations.
“We really have to say congratulations and well done to
the president and Mr Zarif,”
Emami-Kashani said.
Emami-Kashani
spoke
from behind a podium emblazoned with a saying from
the leader of Iran’s revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini,
which read: “We will put
America beneath our feet.”
The choice of clerics leading Friday prayers and the
speeches they give are often
co-ordinated with the office
of the supreme leader.
Khamenei has not yet spoken about the deal. He has
supported negotiations but
continued to lard his speeches with denunciations of the
United States, which he mistrusts deeply.
Despite the praise for the
framework agreement and
the negotiating team, Emami-Kashani also sounded a
cautionary note to the countries involved in the talks.
“If you break a promise, then
Iran will break its promise.”
In brief remarks at the airport,
Zarif praised Iran’s Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for “his remarkable support
for the negotiating team and his
guidance” in the talks, the official
Irna news agency reported.
Reaching out to Iranian hardliners who have opposed any deal
that would curb Tehran’s nuclear
activities, Zarif said work remained to finalise the agreement
before a June 30 deadline.
“This set of solutions will be
the basis for writing a final document,” he said at the airport.
“In negotiations, it is not supposed to be one side taking all the
advantages and the other side
surrendering,” Zarif said.
“We are proud because we will
never surrender... but in return
for the advantages that we gain,
we will give things in return so
we can move on,” he said.
“We have serious goals in the
negotiations and eventually,
based on what we have achieved
so far, we believe we can reach
them,” he added.
Residents lined the streets as
Zarif drove away from the airport, some carrying Iranian flags,
with the minister emerging from
the sunroof of his car and waving
to the crowd.
Ali Akbar Salehi, who led
the technical negotiations in
Lausanne, said the outline agreement was a major step forward.
“We will move on,” Salehi said
on arrival in Tehran. “We are
on the launching pad—in international relations, technology,
trade and the economy.”
In the wake of Thursday’s
agreement, several conservative
websites published comments
from Mehdi Mohammadi, a political analyst, describing the deal
as “in no way balanced”.
He said the agreement was a
“disaster for Fordow”, referring
to a nuclear facility that will remain open but not used for enrichment.
He also said the deal was
“vague on the timing of sanctions relief”.
Saeidollah Allahbedashti, an
aide to President Hassan Rouhani, denounced claims that he said
were undermining the achievements of negotiators.
“The public has proven it can
understand the difference between traitors and those who
serve” their country, he said at
the airport.
New visa rules make
Bahrain travel easier
F
Women sitting in a car flash the “V for Victory” sign as they celebrate in
Tehran on Thursday after the announcement of the framework deal.
ollowing on from the new
visa policy announced
in September 2014, the
Bahrain government has announced the second phase of
updates, which will allow business visitors and tourists to
spend longer periods of time in
the country and also improve
ease of access for GCC residents and visa holders.
In October 2014, a new visa
policy was implemented, allowing nationals from over
100 countries to obtain a visa
either online ahead of travel,
via the Bahrain government’s
eVisa website (www.evisa.gov.
bh), or on arrival.
Data from October 2014
to February 2015 show that
more than 1,400 visitors
from the 32 new countries
eligible for visa on arrival
and more than 2,300 visitors
from the 36 new countries
eligible for eVisas benefited
from the new policies, according to a statement.
From this month, both
business visitors and tourists
will be able to spend longer
periods of time in Bahrain as
the new policy dictates that
business visas will be valid for
a month and are multi-entry,
while visitor visas are valid
for three months and are also
multi-entry.
GCC residents of any nationality will be eligible to
receive multi-entry visas on
arrival or online, making it
easier for expatriates living in
the region to travel to Bahrain.
Further, nationals of countries
that are not included in the
countries eligible for eVisas or
visas on arrival can still apply
for eVisas if they have a visit
visa for any other GCC country.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Isa alKhalifah, assistant undersecretary for the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports
and Residence Affairs at
Bahrain’s ministry of interior, said: “We are pleased the
data show that a significant
number of people are already
benefiting from a greater ease
of access into Bahrain, supporting the business and tourism sectors in the kingdom.
The second phase of updates
will lead to further benefits
for visitors, with increased
flexibility and expanded eligibility.”
Khalid al-Rumaihi, chief
executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board,
added: “The new visa policy
is an important development
that places Bahrain among
the countries with the most
flexible visa policies in the
region. It enables expatriates
who do business in Bahrain to
easily travel in and out of the
kingdom, as well as boosting the tourism industry, and
will help contribute to the
continuing economic growth
and development in Bahrain.”
The new policy is also being accompanied by improvements to the individual screening process,
ensuring faster and more effective processing of applications.
4
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
REGION/ARAB WORLD
Israelis’ kidnap hoax sparks hunt in West Bank
AFP
Jerusalem
T
wo Israeli men were remanded in custody yesterday after they raised a false
alarm of a possible kidnapping by
Palestinian militants in the West
Bank to impress an ex-girlfriend.
The hoax report, centring on
the same area of the occupied
West Bank where three Israeli
teenagers were kidnapped and
murdered less than a year ago,
sent hundreds of soldiers, police and agents of the Shin Bet
security agency hammering on
the doors of frightened Palestinian villagers as they searched
house to house in the Hebron
district.
A hearing in a Jerusalem court
found that one of the men, Niv
Asraf, had concocted his own disappearance to try to win back his
ex-girlfriend.
Media reports said the plan was
that after going missing he would
reappear in a few days claiming to
have made a daring escape from his
captors. What police said turned
into a million-shekel manhunt
started on Thursday afternoon.
Asraf’s friend, Eran Nagauker,
said the two had been travelling
together when a tyre on their vehicle blew out near the Palestinian
village of Beit Anun.
Asraf set out to seek help but
failed to return to the car, his
companion told police.
The village became the focal point of the Israeli search,
with troops flooded into the area
searching homes and fields and
setting up roadblocks, an AFP
journalist at the scene said.
Asraf was found around midnight camped out in a dry river
bed in the sprawling Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, next to
Hebron, police said.
Both men are accused of giving
false evidence, breach of public order and obstructing a police officer
in the performance of his duty.
The June 2014 killings of three
teenagers in the Hebron area triggered a series of events that led to a
China
evacuates
foreign
nationals
Houthi rebels
quit palace in
Aden, Qaeda
makes gains
After a night of intense
coalition bombardment,
rebel forces withdrew
from President Abd-Rabbu
Mansour Hadi’s palace in
Aden, a senior official says
AFP
Aden
S
audi-led air raids drove
back rebels in the last
stronghold of Yemen’s absent president yesterday, while
Al Qaeda militants seized a major
army base in the southeast of the
country.
The impoverished state has
sunk further into chaos since
the coalition spearheaded by
Riyadh launched Operation Decisive Storm on March 26 to try to
halt the advance by Shia Houthi
rebels.
The turmoil has raised fears
that Al Qaeda will expand its
foothold in the deeply tribal
country, which lies near key shipping routes.
Yesterday the extremists captured the regional army headquarters in Mukalla, capital of
the southeastern province of
Hadramout, with no resistance, a
military official said.
The militants now control
nearly all of the city, where they
stormed a jail and freed 300 inmates a day earlier.
UN aid chief Valerie Amos
said on Thursday that 519 people
had been killed and nearly 1,700
wounded in two weeks of fighting, adding she was “extremely
concerned” for the safety of
trapped civilians.
The conflict has sent tensions
soaring between Iran and Saudi
Arabia.
Iran has angrily rejected accusations of arming the rebels, who
have allied with military units
loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to seize large parts
of Yemen, including the capital
Sanaa.
After a night of intense coalition bombardment, rebel forces
withdrew from President AbdRabbu Mansour Hadi’s palace in
Aden, a senior official said.
They had captured the hilltop
complex a day earlier in a symbolic blow to Hadi, who has fled to
Saudi Arabia.
“The Houthi militia and their
allies withdrew before dawn from
the Al Maashiq palace,” said the
official in Aden.
The rebel forces retreated to
the nearby central district of Khor
Maksar, where 12 rebels were reported dead in an overnight attack
by pro-Hadi militiamen.
The coalition airdropped rifles,
Turkey supports Saudi-led operation
Turkey wants a political solution to
the crisis in Yemen but has offered
support to a Saudi-led coalition that
has carried out air strikes against
Iranian-backed Houthi fighters,
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
said yesterday.
“Turkey announced that we can
give logistics support and intelligence support (to the Saudi-led
operation), but we are for political
solutions,” Cavusoglu told a news
conference during a visit to
Lithuania.
Turkey has not taken an active role
in the Saudi-led operations. Cavusoglu said no demands had been
made of Ankara beyond political
support. But he criticised the Shia
Houthi militia.
“What the Houthis are doing in
Yemen is unacceptable. It’s destabilising the country,” Cavusoglu
said.
ammunition and communications equipment to supporters of
the president in Aden battling to
prevent its fall, according to a local official.
In Mukalla, several hundred Al
Qaeda militants flying the black
banner of the extremist network
were seen patrolling and setting
up roadblocks.
Members of Al Qaeda in the
Arabian
Peninsula
(AQAP)
launched calls from mosques in
the city for “jihad against Shias”,
according to residents.
“Yemen is gradually drifting
towards a civil war of a confessional nature”, which “recalls the
early days of the Syrian and Iraqi
crises”, said Mathieu Guidere,
professor at France’s University of
Toulouse.
Before the latest chaos erupted,
Yemen had been a key US ally in
the fight against Al Qaeda, allowing Washington to carry out drone
attacks on its territory.
The government’s collapse
forced the United States to close
its embassy and withdraw US
special operations forces that
were helping Yemeni forces battle AQAP.
As a result of the US pullout,
“our capability is diminished”
against AQAP, a senior military
official in Washington said on
Thursday.
As part of its logistical support
for the Saudi-led campaign, the
United States will provide aerial
refuelling, the official said.
The United States was also delivering intelligence from surveillance satellites and aircraft to help
the Saudis monitor their border
and to track Houthi rebels as they
push south, the official added.
The intelligence was helping
create “a battlefield picture” of
where the Houthis were deployed
and to enable coalition aircraft to
avoid causing civilian casualties,
the official said.
Reuters
Beijing
A
Soldiers take part in a Saudi-Pakistani joint military exercise at an undisclosed location in Saudi Arabia in
this picture provided yesterday by Saudi Press Agency.
P
rime Minister Haider alAbadi ordered Iraqi forces
to oppose vandalism in the
city of Tikrit, retaken from the
Islamic State group this week, and
arrest those responsible, his office
said yesterday.
Security and military forces
were ordered to “deal with cases
of vandalism” carried out by
“gangs” seeking to tarnish the
achievements of government
forces and allied paramilitaries, a
statement said.
Abadi also called on “forces located in Tikrit to arrest everyone
who carries out such acts, and
preserve properties and facilities
in Salaheddin province,” of which
Tikrit is the capital.
The statement did not specify
what prompted the orders, but
militiamen have spray painted the
names of their groups on homes,
shops and other buildings, and
also looted clothing and toiletries
from shops.
Policemen from the rapid re-
sponse forces have written graffiti
on walls in Tikrit as well.
Militiamen have also admitted
to intentionally burning houses in
other recaptured areas that were
believed to have been used by IS
or to belong to its supporters.
A number of homes and businesses were burning in Tikrit
earlier this week, though at least
some of the fires were apparently
related to efforts to clear the city
of bombs.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s top Shia cleric who
is revered by millions, called on
security forces and allied paramilitaries to “preserve and guard
citizens’ properties in areas that
have been liberated”.
Doing so is a “religious and
national and moral duty”, Sistani
said in remarks read by his representative at Friday prayers in
Karbala.
Additionally, “it has an important role in encouraging those
who have not yet decided to participate in liberating their areas to
decide to participate,” he said.
“This is an important gain for
all.”
Chinese naval frigate has
evacuated 225 foreign
citizens from strife-torn
Yemen, its foreign ministry said,
marking the first time that China’s military has helped other
countries evacuate their people
during an international crisis.
Ten different nationalities
were among the evacuees picked
up on Thursday afternoon from
Aden and transported to Djibouti, the ministry of foreign affairs
said in a statement on its website
late Thursday.
The ministry said foreign governments - Pakistan, Ethiopia,
Singapore, Italy, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Britain, Canada
and Yemen - had requested China’s help. A spokeswoman said it
was the first time China had carried out a specific evacuation of
foreign nationals from a danger
zone.
A diplomatic source familiar
with the operation said it was
“very risky” and that fighting
had come close to the Chinese
warship.
“The Chinese ship was in the
right place at the right time,” the
source said.
A spokeswoman for Germany’s foreign ministry confirmed
that China had evacuated three
Germans to Djibouti, adding
that Berlin was “very thankful to
the Chinese government for its
support”.
A state television report yesterday showed evacuees, who
were mostly Pakistani, arriving
in Djibouti.
“We are really thankful to the
Chinese government, who really
helped us, and took us out (with)
the school children,” one woman
told China Central Television.
The broadcaster showed footage of young children stepping
off a Chinese warship waving
Chinese flags, and in one case,
kissing a seaman on the cheek.
The evacuation of foreigners
bolsters China’s image at home
and abroad, according to Shen
Dingli, an international relations
professor at Fudan University in
Shanghai.
“We wouldn’t look very good
if we have the capacity to help
others but no heart to do it,”
Shen said.
“Now we look really good,” he
added.
Militants advance
on Syria army base
Iraq PM orders arrest
of vandals in Tikrit
AFP
Baghdad
devastating 50-day war in the Gaza
Strip. That incident sparked a massive West Bank manhunt in which
hundreds of Palestinians were arrested and at least five killed.
In July, a 16-year-old Palestinian, Mohamed Abu Khder, was
kidnapped from East Jerusalem
and burned to death in a suspected Jewish revenge attack.
AFP
Beirut
F
Men sit on top of a vehicle carrying the coffin of a member of
the Shia Badr Brigade, who died in Tikrit in fighting alongside
government forces against Islamic State militants, yesterday in
the southern city of Basra.
ighters from Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate and allied militants advanced yesterday on
a key government-held military
base in northwestern Idlib province, a monitor said.
The advance follows the capture of provincial capital Idlib by
Al Nusra Front and its allies on
Saturday.
“Violent clashes have been under way since Thursday night between the army and Al Nusra and
its allies... around the Mastuma
base,” the Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights
said.
The base, 7km south of Idlib
city, is the biggest regime base in
the province, said Observatory
director Rami Abdel Rahman.
The opposition groups had
launched a “preventative attack
on the base” where regime rein-
forcements were arriving ahead
of a possible bid to recapture Idlib
city, he said.
The Observatory added that
clashes were under way between
the Islamist forces and government troops in the area around
the Shia-majority village of Fuaa.
With the fall of Idlib city, regime forces in the province control only two towns and a handful
of districts, along with the Abu
Duhur military airport and five
military bases.
Elsewhere in Syria, militants
from the Islamic State group have
pushed further into the Palestinian Yarmuk camp in Damascus and
now control 70% it, according to
the Observatory.
IS launched an assault on
Wednesday on the camp, after
Palestinian groups inside arrested
several militants.
Palestinian fighters and Syrian
rebels initially pushed back the IS
assault but the militants counterattacked and have made fresh ad-
vances since Thursday inside the
camp.
They have reportedly captured
a square where the camp’s 18,000
residents usually gather to receive
aid handouts.
The UN agency for Palestinian
refugees Unrwa expressed concern about the situation, saying it
had been unable to deliver aid to
the camp since Wednesday.
“Unrwa remains acutely anxious about the humanitarian impact of continuing armed conflict
between armed groups inside
Yarmuk,” spokesman Chris Gunness said.
“With intense fighting continuing into a third day, the lives and
safety of the 18,000 Palestinian
and Syrian civilians inside Yarmuk
are substantially threatened.”
The Observatory said government forces were shelling parts
of Yarmuk intensively while Palestinian fighters battling IS militants were running low on ammunition.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
5
AFRICA
Prayers no defence as non-Muslims targeted
Shebaab threatens
new attacks in Kenya
DPA/AFP
Nairobi/Mogadishu
S
hebaab has threatened to
carry out new attacks in
Kenya as the government
in Nairobi announced the permanent closure of the university
college where the Somali Islamist
group carried out its deadliest attack so far.
“There will be no more safe
place for Kenyans as long as their
troops are in Somalia,” Shebaab
spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud
Rage told pro-insurgent radio Andalus.
Kenya is participating in a
20,000-strong African Union
force that is helping the Somali
government battle Shebaab.
“You will see more deadly attacks in your country, Kenya,”
Rage said of Thursday’s attack
on the Moi University campus
in Garissa, which left 147 people dead and dozens of others
wounded.
The death toll rose to 148 yesterday, Kenya’s interior minister
said as he declared operations to
recover bodies over.
The final toll from Thursday’s
carnage was 142 students, three
police officers and three soldiers,
Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said.
Four Shebaab gunmen were
also killed.
“We have called off the operation after combing the whole
university, all the bodies have
been removed from the scene and
brought to Nairobi,” Nkaissery
told reporters, after arriving back
in the capital from Garissa. “This
Nigerian
poll officer
killed in
house fire
AFP
Kano
T
he electoral commissioner
for Nigeria’s second-most
populous state, Kano, has
died in a house fire with his wife
and two children, his office told
AFP yesterday.
Resident electoral commissioner Mukaila Abdullah presided over polls last weekend, in
which opposition presidential
candidate Muhammadu Buhari
won overwhelming support in
the northern state.
Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) also took all available seats in the parliamentary
vote held at the same time.
“It is true we lost our commissioner to a fire outbreak in
his house,” said Lawan Garba,
spokesman for the Independent
National Electoral Commission
(INEC) in Kano. “He died along
with his wife and two children.
We have conveyed the bodies to
his home town, Dutse (the capital of neighbouring Jigawa state),
where he will be buried after Friday prayers.”
The fire broke out at Abdullah’s house in the upmarket Nassarawa area of Kano.
Kano police spokesman Musa
Magaji Majia said the fire broke
out about 4.30am in an air conditioning unit in the living room.
Attempts were made to break
inside the house and when police
and security guards managed
to enter, the family was found
unconscious on the floor of the
bathroom.
“They quickly removed them
to Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, where the doctor
confirmed them dead ... from
inhalation of hot and black
smoke,” Majia said.
An investigation had been
launched, he added.
Nigeria had been on edge in
fear of a repeat of politically motivated post-poll violence but it
failed to materialise.
Defeated candidate President
Goodluck Jonathan was credited
with defusing tensions by conceding to Buhari even before all
results were declared.
Members of Kenya’s police force look out from the back of a truck as it enters the university campus of the
northeastern town of Garissa one day after the Shebaab attack.
is a very sad moment for us as a
country, and I urge calm and total co-operation with the security
personnel to make Kenya safe.”
Meanwhile, Shebaab spokesman Rage also confirmed that the
militants had singled out Christians as targets.
The attackers “released a
number of Muslim students as
they were storming the university and killed many Christians
inside the university”, Rage said,
confirming witness accounts that
people who were unable to answer
questions about the Qur’an were
shot dead.
Pope Francis condemned the
“act of senseless brutality” and
called “upon all those in authority
to redouble their efforts to work
with all men and women in Kenya
to bring an end to such violence
and to hasten the dawn of a new
era of brotherhood, justice and
peace”.
The
Kenyan
government,
meanwhile, announced the indefinite closure of the college, which
is located some 350km northeast
of Nairobi.
Its students are to be transferred to another campus, while
security is to be boosted at all
learning institutions, the Daily
Nation and other media quoted
Cabinet Secretary for Education
Jacob Kaimenyi as saying.
“Following the heinous act of
terrorism which was meted on our
University College ... the University College Management Board
has decided to close the University College with immediate effect,”
read a notice to students posted
by the university’s registrar outside its premises.
The Kenya National Union of
Teachers had asked the government to move students from Garissa to institutions in safer areas.
As the government set up a disaster operations centre at Nairobi’s Nyayo Stadium, the Red Cross
was seeking blood donations for
some of the 79 people who were
injured in the attack.
Zimbabwe’s ruling party
expels former VP Mujuru
AFP
Harare
Z
imbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF
party has expelled former vicepresident Joice Mujuru for allegedly plotting against elderly President
Robert Mugabe, the party announced
yesterday.
Mujuru, 59, was accused of “plotting
to unconstitutionally remove President
Robert Mugabe from office”, according to a statement from Simon KhayaMoyo, spokesman for the Zimbabwe
African National Union-Patriotic Front
(ZANU-PF).
She was also accused of “orchestrating factionalism in the party thereby
causing acrimonious divisions” and
“engaging in activities that smack of
corruption”.
Mujuru was long considered a likely
successor to Mugabe, who is 91 years
old and first came to power in 1980, but
she fell out with the veteran leader late
last year.
She was sacked as vice-president
in December, with her allies in government also fired and expelled from
ZANU-PF after Mugabe himself accused her of plotting to oust him.
Joice Mujuru is a former guerrilla
fighter from the liberation war in the
former Rhodesia and the widow of
army commander Solomon Mujuru,
who died in a mysterious house fire in
2011.
After holding cabinet posts in every
government since independence in
1980, Mujuru came under heavy attack
from Mugabe’s wife Grace, who was
promoted to head ZANU-PF’s powerful
women’s wing at the last party congress
in December.
Apart from the allegations seen as
grounds for Mujuru’s expulsion, the
First Lady also charged that Mujuru was
incompetent and had let her husband
do most of the work.
Mugabe replaced Mujuru as vicepresident with his justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, a hardliner in the
regime.
Radicals set British Boer
Wars memorial ablaze
AFP
Johannesburg
M
embers of a radical South African movement burned a
monument to British soldiers
who died in the Boer Wars (1899-1902),
describing it as a “colonial statue”, the
party and police said yesterday.
The protesters “put (a burning) tyre
over the statue” of a soldier in the centre of the southern town of Uitenhage,
police officer Basil Seekoei said.
“We haven’t arrested anyone yet.
We’re still busy with the investigation
first,” he added.
Responsibility for the incident on
Thursday was swiftly claimed by the
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a
political party formed in 2013 by Julius
Malema, formerly the firebrand youth
leader of the ruling African National
Congress (ANC), which expelled him
after a conviction for hate speech.
Luxolo Jacobs, a self-proclaimed
youth in the EFF, posted two photos on
Twitter of the statue in flames and covered in plastic by party militants.
“The statue of the Anglo-Boer War
fell in Uitenhage. When the Leadership
speaks, fighters respond,” Jacobs wrote.
Police said that the memorial was
“not badly damaged”.
But the incident follows calls by
Malema to bring down statues of South
Africa’s former white rulers, British and
Afrikaaner alike.
“We said that economic liberation
must be accompanied by the falling of
these colonial statues and we would
want to see them replaced by liberation hero statues,” EFF regional deputy
chairperson Bo Madwara said.
South Africans are currently debating the status of colonial-era monuments more widely, after student activists at the University of Cape Town
succeeded in having a statue of Cecil
Rhodes boarded up.
Rhodes (1853-1902), the British colonist, mining magnate and politician for
whom Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe)
was named, is seen in hostile circles as
the embodiment of white oppression in
southern African history.
The ANC, in power for 20 years following the end of white minority rule,
has issued threats to colonial monuments but thus far left most of them
standing in the name of national reconciliation.
Many of the injured and the
dead were flown for treatment or
identification to Nairobi, where
family members were invited to
collect bodies at a mortuary.
In one of the worst attacks
ever to have been carried out by
Shebaab, at least four gunmen
stormed the university campus at
dawn, killing two guards and then
gunning down students in dormitories or those trying to escape.
Some students said they were
spared because they could recite
verses from the Qur’an.
“They stood in the main path
from the hostels, asking questions about Islam and the Prophet
Muhammad. It was scary, because
Islam doesn’t teach about killing
those who don’t know about the
teachings,” Daily Nation quoted
student Hassan Abdi as saying.
Security forces cornered the attackers into one dormitory where
they were holding hostages.
The government said four attackers were eventually killed,
while Daily Nation reported that
suicide vests were detonated.
Kenya has offered a reward of
20mn shillings ($212,000) for
the suspected mastermind of the
attack, Mohamed Dulyadayn, a
former Qur’an teacher from Garissa.
Police have imposed an overnight curfew in and around Garissa until April 16.
Shebaab frequently targets
Kenya over its participation in the
military campaign against it.
The siege of a Nairobi shopping mall that cost 67 lives in September 2013 has been followed
by smaller attacks, mainly on the
Kenyan coast.
The mistake they made was to pray to Jesus.
An eyewitness of the deadly assault by Somali Islamist militants on a
Kenyan university spoke yesterday of three female students that he
saw executed as they begged for mercy.
Reuben Mwavita, 21, a student, said the three were kneeling in front of
the gunmen, praying for help.
“The mistake they made was to say ‘Jesus, please save us’, because that
is when they were immediately shot,” Mwavita told Reuters.
During Thursday’s attack, in which at least 147 people died, Shebaab
gunmen at first killed indiscriminately.
Later, though, they divided non-Muslims from Muslims.
“I was confused, I was terrified and was shaking, but I was not screaming and that is what saved me,” said Susan Kitoko, 24, from the hospital,
where she was nursing bruises and a broken hip from escaping through
a window. “The attackers were just in the next room, I heard them ask
people whether they were Christian or Muslim, then I heard gunshots
and screams.”
Others also spoke of harrowing escapes from the killing.
“There were many gunshots mixed with screams. I heard men shouting saying ‘We are Shebaab, we are Shebaab, we have paid you a visit
tonight’ ... Four of us in our cube ran and jumped through the window
from the first floor and went through the barbed wire fence,” said Tony
Otiende, 22, a student at the campus.
The college’s Christian Union may have taken a lot of the brunt because
of an early prayer meeting in the hall.
“They killed all my friends. I was praying with them when we heard gun
shots and two guys who wore hoods and carried long guns came in. I
escaped because I was standing next to the rear door, so I dashed out
with one other friend,” Kenneth Luzakula, a Christian Union student,
told Reuters.
“I could hear my friends still praying loudly and calling the name of
Jesus Christ,” he said. “Others were screaming. I heard gunshots repeatedly from the toilet nearby where we had hidden. They killed my friends
but I know they are all in heaven, because they died because they died
worshipping God.”
He said he lost more than 20 friends in the attack.
Somalia calls for closer security ties
Somalia and Kenya must boost security co-operation between them,
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said yesterday, as he offered
his condolences a day after “barbaric” Islamist gunmen massacred 148
students.
Mohamud said that he mourned the “lives of innocent students” killed
in the university in the northeastern Kenyan town of Garissa, offering
his “condolences to the families of those who have died in this attack by
the merciless terrorists”.
The attack on Thursday was claimed by Al Qaeda-linked Shebaab fighters, with all four of the gunmen detonating suicide vests after killing 147
people in the day-long siege.
One more victim died yesterday.
Mohamud said in a statement that the killings showed “the need to
reinforce the anti-terror co-operation between the two countries, with
the aim to eliminate this menace from the region”.
Kenya has been hit by a wave of grenade and gun attacks, often blamed
on sympathisers of the Shebaab and sometimes aimed at police
targets, since the army crossed into southern Somalia in 2011 to attack
Islamist bases, later joining the African Union (AU) force fighting them.
AU chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said yesterday that the killings were
“cowardly”, and praised Kenya for “its outstanding contribution to the
African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the huge sacrifices made
towards stabilising that country”.
6
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
AMERICAS
Philadelphia woman
held for IS ‘support’
Reuters/AFP
Washington
U
S authorities arrested a
Philadelphia woman yesterday and charged her
with attempting to provide support to the Islamic State (IS) militant group by planning to travel
overseas to join the organisation,
the US Justice Department said.
Thirty-year-old Keonna Thomas, also known as Fatayat alKhalifah and YoungLioness, was
charged with trying to provide
material support and resources,
including herself as a fighter, to
a foreign terrorist organisation,
the department said.
Having applied for the passport in February, she e-mailed
a radical cleric in Jamaica, saying that she had deactivated her
Twitter account until leaving
for Syria to avoid attention, they
added.
Among her disturbing tweets
was one last December.
Next to the picture of an armed
child she wrote: “I wouldn’t be
pleased till I became soldier of
the Islamic State.”
Under Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surveillance, she
allegedly e-mailed an IS extremist based in the group’s stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria.
In February she allegedly wrote
to him that it “would be amazing” to carry out a suicide attack,
adding that “a girl can only wish”,
court papers show.
She allegedly bought a visa for
Turkey and searched the Internet
for indirect travel routes to the
country, the most common transit point into Syria for Western
recruits to IS.
Prosecutors say she bought an
airline ticket from Philadelphia
to Barcelona intending to fly on
March 29.
Turkey is a common transit
point for people travelling from
Europe to enter Syria and join Islamic State.
Thomas does not yet have an
attorney, a spokeswoman for the
US Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia said.
If convicted, Thomas faces a
maximum sentence of 15 years in
prison, according to the Justice
Department.
Thomas’s is the second Syrialinked terror case involving US
women announced by prosecutors in days.
Two American women were
arrested in New York on Thursday and charged with planning
to build a bomb and attack the
United States, allegedly inspired
by Al Qaeda and IS.
Noelle Velentzas, 28, and Asia
Siddiqui, 31, risk life behind bars
if convicted of conspiracy to use
a weapon of mass destruction in
the United States.
US
intelligence
officials
warned in February that more
than 20,000 volunteers from
around the world, including more
than 150 Americans, had gone to
Syria to link up with extremists.
Velentzas and Siddiqui plotted
to hit police, government or military targets based on their “violent jihadist beliefs,” according to
the complaint filed in US District
Court in Brooklyn.
Thomas Dunn, attorney for Asia Siddiqui, speaks to reporters outside
The Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in the Brooklyn borough in New
York.
It said Velentzas and Siddiqui
were conspiring “to prepare an
explosive device to be detonated
in a terrorist attack in the United
States”.
The complaint said Velentzas had praised Al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attacks on the
United States and said she and
Siddiqui were “citizens of the Islamic State”.
The women, former roommates in the city borough of
Queens, had researched how to
build an explosive device and had
read textbooks on electricity and
watched online videos about soldering, it said.
When they were arrested,
agents found bomb-building
materials including propane gas
tanks, soldering tools, pipes, a
pressure cooker and fertiliser,
authorities said.
The women also voiced sup-
port for beheadings of Western
journalists and others by militants in control of territory in
Syria and Iraq, the complaint
said.
Charged with conspiracy to
use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property
in the United States, the pair appeared briefly before US Magistrate Judge Viktor Pohorelsky in
Brooklyn federal court.
Neither Velentzas, who wore a
black dress and hijab, nor Siddiqui, in a green T-shirt over black
clothing, entered a plea.
Authorities said both women
posed substantial flight risks,
and they were ordered detained
until trial.
Thomas Dunn, a court-appointed lawyer for Siddiqui, said
she would plead not guilty if indicted.
“I know it is a serious case,
but we’re going to fight it out in
court,” he said.
Velentzas’s lawyer Sean Maher
declined comment.
“We are committed to doing
everything in our ability to detect, disrupt and deter attacks by
homegrown violent extremists,”
Brooklyn US Attorney Loretta
Lynch said in a statement.
Lynch is President Barack
Obama’s nominee for US attorney-general.
Separately on Thursday, Muhanad Mahmoud al-Farekh, a US
citizen accused of training with
Al Qaeda in Pakistan, appeared in
Brooklyn federal court on charges
that he had conspired to provide
personnel to be used by Islamist
militants in support of efforts to
kill US citizens and members of
the US military abroad.
In March, the US Justice Department said a US Army National Guard soldier and his
cousin had been arrested on
charges of conspiring to support
the Islamic State militant group
in a plot that included a plan to
attack a military installation in
Illinois.
In another case, a SomaliAmerican teenager who was
stopped at a Minnesota airport
as he sought to fly to Turkey last
year pleaded guilty in federal
court in February to conspiring
to support Islamic State.
Also in February, three men
living in Brooklyn were charged
with conspiring to support Islamic State, and US authorities
said two of them had planned to
go to Syria to fight on behalf of
the group.
US man exonerated
after spending 30
years on death row
AFP
Washington
A
man in Alabama who has
been on death row for
nearly 30 years for murder and robbery charges will be
released after his case was dismissed, lawyers said on Thursday.
Anthony Ray Hinton walked
free yesterday after spending
close to three decades in jail over
the 1985 murder of two men in
two separate restaurant holdups.
Jefferson County Circuit Court
Judge Laura Petro dismissed all
charges against Hinton after his
lawyers from the Equal Justice
Initiative (EJI) argued there was
not enough evidence linking him
to the crimes.
“We are thrilled that Mr Hinton will finally be released because he has unnecessarily spent
years on Alabama’s death row
Governors enact
fixes to RFRAs
Indiana and Arkansas revised on
Thursday new religious freedom
acts that had drawn criticism
from rights groups and US
companies that assailed them as
discriminatory against gays.
Arkansas Governor Asa
Hutchinson, a Republican, signed
his state’s Religious Freedom
Restoration Act (RFRA) into law
minutes after it passed in the
statehouse.
Indiana Governor Mike Pence,
also a Republican, signed a
revised religious freedom law
that amended one he signed last
week.
The original measure catapulted
the state into a firestorm because
it lacked specific provisions to
prevent denial of services and
other discrimination against
homosexuals.
The state drew the ire
of companies like Apple
Incorporated, boycotts of official
travel by the states of New York
and Connecticut, and protests
by civil liberties groups and
individuals from around the
country.
when evidence of his innocence
was clearly presented,” said his
chief attorney Bryan Stevenson.
Hinton, who was 29 at the time
of the crime, is one of the longest-serving death row prisoners
in Alabama history and among
the longest serving condemned
prisoners to be freed, according
to EJI.
Hinton was charged after two
restaurant managers were shot
dead in a robbery at a fast-food
restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama.
Police did not find eyewitnesses or fingerprints evidence,
according to EJI.
That same year, another restaurant was held up at gun point
and the manager was shot and
seriously injured.
The manager identified Hinton
as the suspect, though Hinton
said he was at work at the time 15
miles (24km) away.
Police seized a gun owned by
Hinton’s mother and said it was
A
US sailor missing at sea
for 66 days was rescued
from his disabled boat
by a passing German cargo ship,
Coast Guard officials said.
Louis Jordan, 37, was reported
missing by his family on January
29.
He was taken aboard the
German-flagged container ship
Houston Express some 320km
off the North Carolina coast on
Thursday, the Coast Guard said.
A Coast Guard helicopter met
the tanker and then flew Jordan
to hospital in Norfolk, Virginia,
where he is reportedly in good
condition.
“We prayed and prayed and
hoped that you were still alive,”
Frank Jordan could be heard
telling his son Louis in an audio
recording released by the Coast
Guard after the rescue.
Jordan told family members
Reuters
Washington/Ottawa
C
anada declined a US
invitation last week to
jointly announce climate policy co-operation with
Mexico, with Ottawa saying
it has not yet finalised its own
domestic strategy, sources
from both countries familiar
with the discussions said on
Thursday.
On March 24, three days
before the United States and
Mexico announced they would
partner on a high-level bilateral clean energy and climate
policy task force, US officials
approached Canadian counterparts asking them to join the
effort, three sources said.
One source said that, while
Canadian officials said they
were supportive of North
American harmonisation of
climate policy, they were not
yet prepared to join the continental partners.
A spokesman for Prime
Minister Stephen Harper said
the suggestion that Canada
declined to participate was incorrect.
“This was an initiative between Mexico and the US. Canada fully supports continental
action and looks forward to
continuing to work with both
the US and Mexico on reducing
greenhouse gas emissions,” the
spokesman said.
Shane Buckingham, spokesman for Canadian Environment
Minister
Leona
Aglukkaq, had earlier said Ottawa was preparing to submit
its climate plan to the United
Nations “in the weeks ahead”
after it gets feedback from the
provinces about their own
emissions-cutting policies.
“Given the importance of
this submission, Canada wants
to ensure it has the most com-
plete picture of provincial and
territorial plans possible before submitting,” Buckingham
said.
On March 27, Mexico said it
would cap its greenhouse gas
emissions by 2026, becoming
the first emerging economy to
submit its climate plan ahead
of a key UN summit in Paris
from November 30 to December 11.
The United States formally
submitted on Tuesday its own
climate plan, which commits
the country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 28%
by 2025 below 2005 levels.
Buckingham said the United States and Canada already
align regulatory initiatives,
including harmonising vehicle standards, reducing sulfur
in gasoline and phasing down
HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons).
He said Canada also works
jointly with the United States
and Mexico through the Commission for Environmental
Co-operation.
In December, Harper said in
a televised interview with the
CBC that his government preferred a continental response
to climate change rather than
imposing a unilateral price on
carbon on Canada’s oil sector,
its fastest growing source of
greenhouse gas emissions.
Harper’s conservative government opposes carbon pricing policies, which have support from opposition parties.
The environment critic for
the opposition New Democratic Party in the Canadian
Parliament said climate policy was not a priority for the
Harper government.
“They’re hoping to form
some kind of Axis of Denial
with the next Republican (US)
government and they’re utterly disengaged on the climate
file,” said Megan Leslie, deputy
leader of the NDP.
Vanilla Ice takes burglary plea deal
Hinton is greeted by family outside the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, Alabama.
used in all three crimes.
Stevenson said Hinton, who
is black, was wrongly convicted
in part because the colour of his
skin.
“Race, poverty, inadequate legal assistance, and prosecutorial
indifference to innocence conspired to create a textbook exam-
ple of injustice,” Stevenson said.
Hinton has maintained his innocence during three decades in
prison.
Forensic experts, including
a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, examined the
seized gun and concluded it was
not used in the crimes.
Judge Petro granted him a new
trial last year after the Supreme
Court reversed the decision of a
lower court.
Hinton is the 152nd person on
death row to be cleared since 1973
and the second to be exonerated
in 2015, according to the Death
Penalty Information Centre.
Sailor missing for 66 days rescued at sea
DPA/AFP
Washington
Canada said ‘no’
to joint climate
announcement
that he survived by catching fish
with his hands and drinking rain
water, according to the Coast
Guard.
Frank Jordan, the sailor’s father, told CNN he did not know
what had caused his son’s boat
to break down.
In the audio clip released by
the Coast Guard, the father asks
the son how he is feeling.
“I’m doing fine now,” Louis
Jordan says.
The son said he was not able
to fix the boat and sail it back to
South Carolina, from where he
departed in January.
He said he worried every day
that his parents were crying and
believed he was dead.
“We were. I thought I lost
you,” the father says.
US media reports said the
boat had capsized and Louis
Jordan was found sitting on
the upturned hull when he was
plucked to safety.
Frank Jordan said his son was
in good spirits during a brief
conversation with him following his rescue.
He told CNN that he had not
given up hope that Louis would
be found alive despite his inexperience as a sailor.
“I knew he had a good seaworthy boat,” Frank Jordan said.
“I felt the boat was going to keep
him alive, so I had all sorts of
worries because he’s not an experienced sailor.”
Louis had left the relative
safety of the marina where the
boat was moored to “go out and
catch some fish”.
How his son ended up so far
off course was unknown, Jordan
said.
“I called him at one point a
few days after he left land ...
and he was a few miles offshore.
As far as how he got off track, I
don’t know,” he said.
He said his son’s “strong constitution” and religious belief
had kept him alive.
“He told me on the phone that
he was praying the whole time,
so I believe that sustained him a
great deal,” he said.
In an audio recording broadcast on US media, the father
thanked the skipper of the German vessel for saving his son.
The captain was not named.
“You are a good man, I swear.
You did what you’re supposed
to do and I sure do appreciate it
and I know my son appreciates
it,” Jordan senior said.
“It is a pleasure for us,” the
skipper responded.
“This is a beautiful world.
If everybody would just do the
right thing it would be great for
all of us. I sure appreciate it, sir,”
Frank Jordan said.
The ordeal was certainly severe but probably less tough
than the 13 months that Jose
Salvador Alvarenga, a native of
El Salvador who set out from
Mexico on a fishing trip, endured until he was rescued more
than 6,000 miles away near the
Marshall Islands in the South
Pacific in January last year.
Rap artist Vanilla Ice has accepted a plea deal in a Florida home
burglary case, agreeing to serve 100 hours of community service
to have his indictment dropped, his lawyers said.
The musician, best known for smash hit Ice, Ice Baby, was arrested
and charged in February with burglary and grand theft.
Robert Van Winkle, his real name, allegedly stole several items from
a foreclosed property adjacent to one he was renovating.
His lawyer said the case will be dismissed after 47-year-old Van
Winkle agreed to the volunteer hours, calling it “a very good
resolution for the case”.
“Rob has done charity work pretty much his whole life, and I
thought it was a perfect fit,” Attorney Bradford Cohen said. “He
is going to do community service hours which he does anyways,
and the whole case will be dismissed and he will be able to move
forward.”
After the please deal, Van Winkle said: “I never had any criminal
intent.”
At the time of his arrest, the rapper told authorities it was a
misunderstanding.
Now a reality television star, Van Winkle was renovating the home
from which the property was taken for a television programme, The
Vanilla Ice Crew, on the DIY network.
Police said they have returned the stolen items to the rightful
owner.
Chrysler to pay $150mn over death
A US jury has ordered automaker Chrysler to pay $150mn to
the family of a four-year-old boy who was killed when their Jeep
exploded into flames, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Remington Walden was killed in March 2012 in the US state of
Georgia when a car rear-ended the Jeep Grand Cherokee he was in,
causing the fuel tank behind the car’s rear axle to leak and set the
car on fire.
The jury found that Chrysler acted with “reckless or wanton
disregard for human life in the design or sale” of the 1999 Jeep
Grand Cherokee, knowing it could endanger lives, according to the
newspaper.
It concluded that Chrysler was responsible for Walden’s death and
ordered the car manufacturer to pay $150mn to the family.
The company did not reply to a request for comment.
Avril Lavigne
feared ‘dying’
from Lyme disease
Rocker Avril Lavigne has revealed
that she was bedridden for five
months due to Lyme disease and
felt she was dying.
The 30-year-old Canadian guitarist This February 15, 2011 file
and singer confirmed social media photo shows Lavigne at the
O2 arena in east London
exchanges about her illness and
ahead of the Brit Awards.
said she was feeling better after
her prolonged absence from public
view fuelled rumours about her condition.
“I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t move,”
Lavigne told US celebrity magazine People in an interview
published on Tuesday. “I thought I was dying.”
Lavigne said she spent five months in bed after being diagnosed
late last year with Lyme disease, which is generally spread by bites
from ticks.
“There were definitely times I couldn’t shower for a full week
because I could barely stand,” she said. “It felt like having all your
life sucked out of you.”
Lavigne said she was “80%” better and had been receiving care
from her mother in Ontario as well as the singer’s husband Chad
Kroeger, frontman for the band Nickelback.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
7
ASEAN
Malaysia cartoonist hit with ‘record’ nine sedition charges
AFP
Kuala Lumpur
A
Malaysian political cartoonist known for skewering the country’s ruling
regime was charged yesterday
with what his lawyer called a
record nine counts of sedition,
one of dozens of targets in a
deepening clampdown on civil
liberties.
Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque — who
goes by the pen name Zunar —
has faced sedition charges previously for his cartoons and had
collections of his works banned,
but the current charges stem
from his Twitter criticism of the
February jailing of opposition
leader Anwar Ibrahim.
“How can I be neutral if even
my pen has a stand? Being neutral in Malaysia means you are
supporting the corrupt government,” Zunar told the Malaysian
Insider news portal afterward.
The defiant cartoonist had
earlier arrived at a Kuala Lumpur
courthouse to face the charges
dressed in a purple mock prison
jumpsuit, clowning for journalists with a set of handcuffs.
His lawyer Latheefa Koya later
said nine sedition counts related to individual tweets were
entered, calling it a Malaysian
“record high” for a single court
appearance.
A single sedition conviction
can result in three years in jail.
“We will fight this. Sedition is
being used in the most ridiculous fashion,” she said.
The political coalition that has
ruled for 58 years keeps a tight
rein on mainstream media and
moves to squelch criticism of
its recurring corruption scandals and alleged rights infringements.
But since stumbling to its
worst-ever showing in 2013
elections against the Anwarled opposition, Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government
has moved to tighten its grip,
launching an accelerating freespeech clampdown.
Dozens of government critics, including opposition politicians, academics, activists, and
journalists, have been arrested
for sedition or other charges that
rights and legal groups call highly questionable.
Most have been released
shortly afterward pending court
proceedings.
Following Anwar’s jailing on
February 10 for five years on
sodomy charges, Zunar posted
tweets suggesting Malaysia’s
judiciary had bowed to regime
pressure to lock Anwar up.
The United States has said the
Anwar case raised questions over
judicial independence, concerns
dismissed by Malaysia’s government.
Police also recently seized
copies of Zunar’s latest cartoon
collection, which takes aim at
the Anwar trial, allegations of
government corruption, and the
widely alleged luxurious lifestyle of one of Zunar’s favourite
targets — Najib’s wife Rosmah
Mansor.
Human Rights Watch said
the charges against Zunar show
Najib’s “government has completely abandoned any pretense
of respecting the basic right of
freedom of expression.”
“Day by day, Malaysians are
losing more and more of their
rights and democracy at the
hands of an increasingly oppressive government,” the organisation’s Deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said in a
statement.
Zunar’s cartoons are published by leading news portal
Malaysiakini. Several published
collections have been banned
over the years.
Police earlier this week
charged the head of an independent publishing group and
four of the group’s editors with
sedition.
The group had published a
series of reports suggesting
fraudulent dealings involving a
government-owned investment
company launched by Najib, and
huge sums of missing funds.
Monks protest
Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque (Zunar) (right) poses for photographers dressed in a mock
prison jumpsuit and a set of handcuffs mocking his sedition charges at a courthouse in Kuala Lumpur.
Thailand junta
chief threatens
to shut down
critical media
Thailand’s Prime Minster
Prayut Chan-O-Cha has
ordered the country’s media
to toe the regime’s line or
face consequences
Officials stand in front of protesting Buddhist monks at the Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua, otherwise known as the Tiger Temple, in
Kanchanaburi province yesterday. After several days of stand-off, Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant
Conservation officials yesterday confiscated six allegedly illegal Asian black bears from the temple, also home to more than 100
Bengal tigers, despite the refusal from the temple’s abbott and protest by monks.
Anti-corruption panel head criticises Widodo
Reuters
Jakarta
I
ndonesia’s political elite
have closed ranks to undermine the country’s antigraft commission, which has
already been weakened by a bitter dispute over the president’s
choice for police chief, a senior
official of the agency said.
Johan Budi, acting deputy
chairman of the Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK),
also took a swipe at President
Joko Widodo, who was elected
last year amid hopes that he
would confront the corruption that plagues Indonesia, for
dithering over the row and allowing the commission’s work
to be derailed.
“I think the KPK is now a
common enemy for high-ranking politicians,” he told Reuters
in an interview in his Jakarta office late on Thursday.
“I don’t know what the future
holds for the KPK, but it will
depend on the president and the
legislature.”
Some members of parliament
were pressing for the laws em-
powering the KPK to be watered
down, he added.
The KPK is popular among
ordinary Indonesians for being
a thorn in the side of the establishment in a country that
Transparency International’s
corruption perception index
ranks below China and Niger.
The attack on the KPK started in January, when the agency
declared police general Budi
Gunawan a corruption suspect,
just days after he was named
the president’s choice for police
chief.
The police, the attorney gen-
eral’s office and members of
President Widodo’s administration sharply criticised the
KPK for that decision, saying it
was politically motivated.
Gunawan is close to former
President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Widodo’s chief patron and
head of his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle
(PDI-P).
Widodo, widely known to
Indonesians by his nickname
“Jokowi”, eventually withdrew
Gunawan’s candidacy in February after weeks of public
outcry.
AFP
Bangkok
T
hailand’s junta chief yesterday vowed to shut
down critical media outlets as he faced a growing international backlash against his
decision to replace martial law
with new powers retaining his
absolute authority.
Bemoaning critics of his regime, Prime Minister Prayut
Chan-O-Cha ordered the media
to toe the regime’s line or face
consequences.
“I will shut them down only
when they don’t say good things.
I have not yet shut down any
publications but please write in a
good way. If it is not good, then
I will need to do that,” a sternfaced Prayut told reporters during a visit to a military college in
Bangkok.
Prayut officially lifted martial
law on Wednesday, 10 months
after seizing power in a May
coup.
But the controversial law was
Prayuth Chan-O-Cha
replaced with a new executive
order retaining sweeping powers
for him and the military.
Among the new rules in the
order is a provision allowing
military officers to stop the publication or presentation of any
news they deem to be “causing
fear or distorted information”.
While media freedoms have
been curbed since the coup,
four bodies representing local Thai media condemned the
new press law saying the measures “interfere with the rights
and freedom of people and media much more than martial law
did”.
The order that replaced martial law was passed under Sec-
tion 44 of the junta-written
interim constitution, a controversial provision handing Prayut
power to make any executive
decision in the name of national
security.
It also upholds a ban on political gatherings of more than five
people, while the military retains
the right to arrest, detain and
prosecute people for national
security crimes or those who fall
foul of the country’s strict royal
defamation laws.
Only one area of the new order
appeared to soften the military’s
power. Civilians will still be tried
in military courts for national
security and lese majeste crimes,
but they can now appeal to higher tribunals.
Under martial law there was
no right of appeal to convictions
in military courts.
Replacing martial law has received short shrift both inside
Thailand and from Bangkok’s
Western allies, who have been
urging Prayut to return the kingdom to civilian democracy.
The European Union became the latest ally to criticise
the new powers late Thursday
saying they would not bring
Thailand “closer to democratic and accountable government”.
Boycott of election an option, says Suu Kyi
Still hopes for constitutional
change, presidency; Says
President Thein Sein not
sincere about reform; US
praise has made regime
“complacent”
Reuters
Naypyitaw
M
yanmar
opposition
leader Aung San Suu
Kyi said boycotting an
upcoming historic election was
an “option” if a military-drafted
constitution that bars her from
becoming president remains unchanged.
In an interview yesterday, the
Nobel laureate said that her opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party was “ready
to govern” but that President
Thein Sein was insincere about
reform and might try to postpone the election.
She also said US praise for
Myanmar’s semi-civilian government, which took power
in 2011 after nearly 50 years of
brutal military rule, had made it
“complacent” about reform.
While scathing about what
she called Thein Sein’s “hardline
regime”, Suu Kyi emphasised
the need to reconcile with the
military which detained her for
15 years until her release from
house arrest in 2010.
“We don’t think that boycotting the election is the best
choice,” said Suu Kyi, when
asked whether her party would
run with the constitution unchanged. “But we’re not ruling
it out altogether. We are leaving
our options open.”
However, she stressed the
importance of the November
general election, describing it
as “the real test of whether we
are on the route to democracy or
not.”
The NLD won Myanmar’s last
real election in 1990 by a landslide, but the military nullified
the result.
The party boycotted the 2010
poll, widely regarded as rigged,
which installed Thein Sein, a
former general and junta stalwart.
His government launched a
series of political and economic
reforms. Many people now feel
the reform process has stalled,
and the military - its immense
power largely unchecked - again
casts a shadow over the voting.
Suu Kyi said Thein Sein was
“sincere” about reform during
their first meeting in 2011. But
now, he was not.
“Because if he had been sincere about reform, then we
would be much further ahead
than we are,” she said, speaking
in a meeting room in Myanmar’s
sprawling parliamentary complex in the capital Naypyitaw.
She expressed concern that
Thein Sein might use peace talks
with ethnic rebels as a pretext to
delay the election.
For Suu Kyi, who turns 70 in
June, this is a pivotal year.
She and 42 other NLD members entered parliament after a
2012 by-election. Since then, say
Myanmar’s pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks
to Reuters during an exclusive
interview in her office.
critics, Suu Kyi has lent her hardwon democratic credentials to
a questionable government that
has given little in return.
But many more in this large,
poor and ethnically diverse na-
tion still see Suu Kyi as Myanmar’s best hope. Reforms have
raised expectations among its
53mn population but left most
people’s lives unimproved.
The constitution, drafted
by the former junta, reserves a
quarter of parliamentary seats
for military delegates, which effectively allows them to veto any
constitutional change.
It also bars presidential candidates with a foreign spouse or
child. Suu Kyi’s late husband and
two sons are British.
She said the presidency was
still within her reach. “Why
not?” she said. “Constitutions
are not permanent.”
But changing it, she admitted,
depended upon a government
she repeatedly described in the
interview as a “regime” of hardliners.
“They are not interested in
negotiations or in amending the
constitution or taking seriously
the will of the people...you could
hardly say they are moderates.”
Suu Kyi said she questioned
US praise of Myanmar’s government in the hopes of encouraging further reforms.
“I would ask whether it actually encourages them to do more
or it simply makes them more
complacent,” she said.
“The United States and the
West in general are too optimistic and a bit of healthy scepticism would help everybody a
great deal.”
A US official said in November, ahead of President Barack
Obama’s second visit to the
country, that Washington had
decided not to press for changes
to Myanmar’s constitution in a
bid to maintain influence with
its government.
But Suu Kyi said she did not
feel abandoned by the United
States and had “good friends”
there.
One “absolute necessity” was
mending relations with the military. “We can’t have a country that
is split between the military and
the rest of the people,” she said.
In 2012, Suu Kyi upset many
supporters by saying she had a
“soft spot” for the military. It
was founded by her father Aung
San, Myanmar’s independence
hero, whose portrait hung on the
wall behind her.
Now, she rejects criticism that
she had been outmanoeuvred by
Myanmar’s generals.
“We’ve always known that
they would not give up their
privileges easily,” she said.
“There’s a time when we have to
stand up for our principles and
there’s a time when one of the
principles should be national
reconciliation rather than digging up the past.”
Suu Kyi also denied claims she
had failed to speak up for the Rohingya Muslims, a mostly stateless people living in wretched
conditions in western Myanmar
after deadly clashes with majority Buddhists in 2012.
“When I talked about rule of
law and the fact that we condemned all forms of violence,
nobody was interested,” she said.
“This wasn’t news.”
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
8
AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA
CRIME
EMPLOYMENT
FUND-RAISING
RESCUE
Environmental reporter
suspected of extortion held
S Korea pursues talks with
North over Kaesong zone
Chinese law set to boost
trust in charities
Australian icebreaker
evacuates sick worker
Beijing police have arrested an environmental
reporter and his associates in an apparent
extortion scandal, as China works to crack down
on corruption in the news media. A string of
corruption scandals in China’s news media has
shaken the faith of the public in the largely statecontrolled industry and in response, the media
regulator unveiled tougher rules last year. The
group’s ringleader, surnamed Chen, is accused of
blackmailing businesses into paying hundreds of
thousands of yuan to delete embarassing online
reports about their activities on a website for
environmental news. Chen and four associates
were arrested late last month, police said.
South Korea said yesterday it will push for talks
in the coming week with the North over their
Kaesong joint industrial zone, after reports
Pyongyang has taken fresh steps to unilaterally
implement a wage hike. The North announced last
month that it would raise wages of the roughly
54,000 North Korean workers employed in the
125 South Korean firms operating in Kaesong.
South Korea demurred, insisting that employment
conditions in the zone could only be adjusted with
the agreement of both sides. Pyongyang went a
step further this week, directing the North Korean
accountants working in the Kaesong firms to start
calculating the proposed wage rises.
China has prepared a draft law for charities to
register directly with the government, making
it easier for them to raise funds and gain tax
exemptions, while allaying public concern over
the way they are run, following some high-profile
scandals. The draft law underscores official
concern about anaemic charity donations in the
world’s second-largest economy, which ranked
133 among 135 countries rated by the World
Giving Index, largely because of public mistrust
of charities. The law would give charities
more means to raise funds from the public, for
example, setting up donation boxes or through
charity events.
A seriously ill Antarctic worker returned to
Australia on an icebreaker yesterday, which
battled freezing temperatures and a seven-metre
swell to bring him home. The Aurora Australis
docked in the southern city of Hobart, almost
two weeks after evacuating the tradesman from
Australia’s Davis station. “He will require ongoing
medical treatment but we are very pleased he
has travelled well over the past couple of weeks
and his condition has not deteriorated,” said
Dr Jeff Ayton, the chief medical officer with the
Australian Antarctic Division. The sick worker
has not been named and no details given of his
illness.
North Korea
test-fires
four missiles
The missiles were launched
from a base on the west coast
and flew more than 100km,
The test comes ahead of
a visit by the US defence
secretary to South Korea
Agencies
Seoul
N
orth Korea test-fired
four short-range missiles into the sea off its
west coast yesterday in an operation apparently supervised
by leader Kim Jong-Un amid
heightened military tensions, a
South Korean military spokesman said.
The missiles were launched
from a base on the west coast
and flew more than 100km, the
spokesman for the South’s joint
chiefs of staff said.
“The missile test launch,
which lasted 45 minutes from
4:15 pm (0715 GMT), appeared
to have been supervised by Kim
Jong-Un,” he said, adding that
the exact model of the projectiles
was not known.
The exercise came at a time
of elevated tensions with
North Korea’s condemnation
of annual US-South Korea
military drills that Pyongyang
views as rehearsals for invasion.
One of the joint drills, Key
Resolve, wound up last month,
but the other, Foal Eagle, is set to
continue until April 24.
The annual exercises always
trigger a surge in military tensions between the two Koreas,
who remain technically at war
because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a ceasefire rather
than a peace treaty.
Seoul and Washington insist
the exercises are defence-based
in nature, but they are regularly
condemned by Pyongyang as
S Korea general assumes cyber-security post
South Korean President Park
Geun-Hye yesterday appointed
an army general to the new
post of national cyber-security
tsar, tasked with defending
against North Korean hacking
attacks.
Brigadier General Shin In-Seop,
who served as deputy chief
of the military’s cyber warfare
command launched in 2010, took
up his new duties immediately, a
presidential official said.
The new position is supposed
to serve as a “control tower”
for combined agency efforts
to counter North Korean
cyber warfare. South Korea,
one of the world’s most wired
nations, has blamed North
Korean hackers for a series
of cyber-attacks on military
institutions, banks, government
agencies, TV broadcasters and
media websites in recent years.
The South’s defence ministry
believes North Korea runs an
elite cyber-warfare unit with
up to 6,000 personnel, and
regards its ability to launch
hacking attacks as a major
security threat.
provocative rehearsals for invasion.
North Korea signalled its displeasure when this year’s drills
began in early March by firing
two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east
coast.
It also fired seven ground-toair missiles into the sea off its
east coast on March 13.
Yesterday’s launch came a
day after North Korea test-fired
a short-range missile from the
same base in Dongchang-ri, a
rocket launching site close to the
northern border with China, the
South Korean military spokesman said.
The Dongchang-ri site is bigger than the Musudan-ri site on
the east coast where the North
has launched long-range missiles.
UN resolutions ban any ballistic missile test by North Korea.
The nuclear-armed country
has pushed ahead with the development of ballistic missiles
and rockets, despite tough sanctions imposed by the international community.
In 2012, Pyongyang demonstrated its rocket capabilities by
sending a satellite into orbit, but
it has yet to conduct a test that
proves it has mastered the technology required for an effective
inter-continental ballistic missile.
Yesterday’s firings come ahead
of US Defence Secretary Ashton
Carter’s three-day visit to South
Korea, starting from Thursday,
to discuss the allies’ defence
against the North’s missile and
nuclear capabilities.
In full bloom
SHOW OF SKILLS
South Korean military honour guards toss rifles
into the air during a public event to show their
acrobatic performance at the War Memorial of
Korea in Seoul yesterday. The event marks the
resumption of a weekly show by honour guards
that has stopped during the winter season.
Queen bee
A performer wears a hat and outfit covered with bees at an exhibition hall about beekeeping during the Beijing Agricultural Carnival
yesterday. The annual event displaying agricultural products goes on till May 3.
China ex-security chief charged
with bribery and power abuse
AFP
Beijing
C
hina’s former security
chief Zhou Yongkang
was charged yesterday
with bribery, abuse of power
and disclosing state secrets, authorities said, making him the
most senior official prosecuted
in decades and setting the stage
for a dramatic trial.
Zhou — seen as an adversary
of President Xi Jinping — is
the most prominent victim of
the Communist Party’s muchpublicised
anti-corruption
drive, which has targeted highlevel “tigers” as well as lowlevel “flies”.
He had a background in the
oil industry and accumulated
vast power as he rose through
the ranks to become a member
of the ruling party’s elite Politburo Standing Committee
(PSC), the most powerful body
in China.
“The defendant Zhou Yongkang... took advantage of his
posts to seek gains for others
and illegally took huge property and assets from others,
abused his power, causing huge
losses to public property and
the interests of the State and
the people,” said the indictment, posted online by prosecutors.
“The social impact is vile
and the circumstances were
extraordinarily severe,” it said,
adding that he also “intentionally leaked state secrets”.
The document was filed with
a court in the northern port of
Tianjin, the Supreme People’s
Procuratorate added, but it gave
no indication of a trial date.
Chinese courts are closely
controlled by the ruling party
and a guilty verdict is a certainty.
The proceedings will be the
most significant in China since
the infamous Gang of Four —
which included Mao Zedong’s
widow Jiang Qing — were put
on trial and blamed for the chaos of the Cultural Revolution.
Xi has consolidated enormous power since taking office in 2012 and Zhou’s fate will
“establish Xi Jinping’s ultimate
authority over the entire country”, said Willy Lam, a politics
specialist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“This will strike fear into the
hearts of his opponents or potential opponents, because Xi
Jinping has total control over
the entire anti-corruption apparatus,” he added.
Zhou’s fall sent shockwaves
through the ruling party. After
months of rumours, party authorities announced last July
they were investigating him,
and he was expelled from the
party and formally arrested in
December.
Now 72, he retired in 2012 as
part of a once-a-decade leadership handover, but senior
Chinese politicians normally
remain significant players even
after officially stepping down,
and are generally immune from
retribution.
Days after Zhou’s arrest,
the Communist Party’s flagship People’s Daily newspaper branded him a “traitor”
and likened him to several past
turncoats who were all executed—setting off speculation that
Zhou himself could face a similar fate.
Under Chinese law bribery
can carry the death penalty in
some circumstances, while the
maximum penalty for leaking
state secrets is seven years in
prison.
Lam said a suspended death
sentence — normally commuted to life imprisonment —
was possible, but added: “This
is the most senior official since
the Cultural Revolution to have
been incriminated for corruption. So to set an example to all,
Xi Jinping might favour a death
sentence.”
Communist authorities have
touted the anti-corruption
drive as a root-and-branch
reform of the party to address
an issue that causes deep and
widespread public anger.
But critics note that China
has failed to implement institutional safeguards against
graft, such as public asset disclosure, an independent judiciary, and free media, leaving the
effort open to being used for
political faction-fighting.
The Communist party is
riven by internal divisions but
consistently seeks to present a
united front to outsiders.
Several of Zhou’s associates
have also been brought down
in the campaign, among them
Jiang Jiemin, the former head of
the body that regulates China’s
state-owned firms.
He is a former head of the
China National Petroleum Corporation, a post previously held
by Zhou, and the two are reportedly part of a Communist
Party faction with roots in the
oil industry, known as the “petroleum gang”.
The hearings will be the first
time Zhou has been seen in
public since October 2013. Officials have promised that they
will be open in accordance with
Chinese law, but attendance at
previous high-profile cases has
been closely controlled.
When former high-flyer Bo
Xilai — a Zhou ally who fell after a scandal around the killing
of a British businessman — was
prosecuted for bribery, nonofficial media were limited to
a “live” written transcript of
events, whose accuracy was
impossible to verify independently.
The China director of Human
Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson, said on Twitter: “Zhou
Yongkang, pivotal in denying
so many the right to a fair trial,
won’t get one himself.”
Tibet party boss says temples must be propaganda centres
Reuters
Beijing
B
A family strolls under fully bloomed cherry blossom trees along a riverside promenade in Tokyo
yesterday. Viewing cherry blossoms is a national pastime and cultural event in Japan, where
millions of people turn out to admire them annually.
uddhist temples and
monasteries in Tibet
must become propaganda
centres for the ruling Communist Party, where monks and
nuns learn to “revere” science
and appreciate the party’s love,
the troubled region’s top Chinese appointed official said.
Rights groups and exiles
say the officially atheist party
tramples on Tibetans’ religious
and cultural traditions and
seeks to co-opt religious figures
for its own ends.
China, which “peacefully
liberated” Tibet in 1950, says
it guarantees freedom of religion and its rule ended serfdom
and brought development to
a backward, poverty-stricken
region.
Writing in the influential
fortnightly party magazine
Qiushi, Tibet’s Communist
Party boss Chen Quanguo said
the more than 1,700 temples
and monasteries and 46,000
monks and nuns had to be seen
by the government as “friends”.
“Let the monks and nuns in
the temples and monasteries
have a personal feeling of the
party and government’s care and
warmth; let them feel the party’s
benevolence, listen to the party’s
words and follow the party’s
path,” Chen wrote in Qiushi,
which means “seeking truth”.
He called for temples and
monasteries in the region to be
outfitted with radios and televisions, as well as newspapers
and reading rooms.
“Monks and nuns should not
have to go out of their temples
or monasteries to understand
the party and government’s
policies and social progress,
or Tibet’s peace, stability and
good fortune, so as to be guided
to follow a path of revering scientific culture.”
Subscribers received the latest issue of the magazine yesterday.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
9
BRITAIN
CRIME
PEOPLE
OBITUARY
LAW AND ORDER
INQUIRY
Man charged with
baby girl’s murder
Hotelier buys chocolate
running bath for girlfriend
Progeria campaigner
Hayley dies aged 17
Four men held over
indecent images
Police probed over
killing response
A man has been charged with the murder of a
five-month-old baby girl who died after being
taken to hospital. Tomas Driukas will appear
before magistrates in Birmingham today charged
with killing the baby, who has not yet been named
by police. The 25-year-old electrician, of Crantock
Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham, was arrested on
suspicion of murder following the baby’s death
on Wednesday afternoon. Police were called to
reports that the child was experiencing breathing
difficulties at an address in Crantock Road shortly
before 1am on Wednesday. A 22-year-old woman
who was also arrested in connection with the
baby’s death has been released on police bail.
A man has bought his girlfriend a chocolate
running bath as an Easter present, a media
report said. Hotelier Danny Lambo, 37, purchased
the world’s first chocolate running bath for his
girlfriend Natasha Flynn for £10,000, Mirror
online reported. “(Egyptian queen) Cleopatra
was the ultimate queen of luxury, so a bath that
runs chocolate instead of water was the perfect
Easter gift for the queen in my life,” Lambo said.
“A standard Easter egg was just not going to cut
it this year, so I wanted to get a show-stopping
gift to show Natasha my love.” When filled, the
special edition bath can take up to 205 litres of
chocolate. “It really is amazing,” Natasha said.
A campaigner who raised awareness of the
condition progeria which causes those affected
to age eight times faster has died at the age of
17. The death of Hayley Okines, from Bexhill,
in East Sussex, who became known as the
“100-year-old teenager”, was announced by
her mother Kerry on her Facebook page. She
wrote on Thursday night: “My baby has gone
somewhere better. She took her last breath in
my arms at 9.39pm.” Hayley and her family had
fundraised for her medical treatment and to
raise public understanding of the condition, and
the teenager published her autobiography at
the age of 14 called Old Before My Time.
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of
making indecent images of children following
a series of police raids. About 20 officers from
Thames Valley Police executed search warrants
at five properties in Maidenhead, Berkshire, under
the Protection of Children Act. The four suspects,
two aged 34, one aged 25 and the other aged 39,
were detained on Thursday and have all been
released on police bail until May 8. Superintendent
Kate Ford said: “The action taken by Thames
Valley Police comes as a result of information
given to the police by the public. The aim of this
operation is to protect the community and to
bring the offenders to justice.”
Two police officers have been interviewed under
caution and placed on restricted duty while they
are investigated over suggestions they failed
to properly respond to an incident in which a
man was killed. The claims came to light during
an ongoing misconduct investigation, the
Metropolitan police said. Andrew Else, 52, was
stabbed more than 200 times during an incident
in Selsdon Park Road, Croydon in April last year.
Paranoid schizophrenic Ephraim Norman, 24,
earlier this year pleaded guilty to manslaughter
by reason of diminished responsibility. Local
officers were on the scene of the attack within
seven minutes, Scotland Yard said.
Teachers
‘given millions
in payouts’
Agencies
London
T
eachers
have
been
awarded tens of millions
of pounds in payouts after facing attacks from pupils,
injuries and discrimination at
school.
The figures, from last year,
reveal how one retired 70-yearold teacher from the East Midlands was awarded more than
£200,000 after being diagnosed
with mesothelioma - an asbestos-related cancer.
In another case, a London
school worker who was assaulted by an autistic student
received compensation totalling
nearly £180,000.
There are also examples of
teachers receiving smaller payouts due to accidents in the
workplace, including a teacher
who received £5,000 after getting her foot caught in a coat
lying on a cloakroom floor, and
one who was awarded £2,700
after a badly-fitted water heater
fell on her as she made a cup of
tea.
The NASUWT said it had secured compensation of around
£19.8mn for its members in
2014. This is down slightly from
£20.7mn in 2013.
It said the largest personal
injury claim was £210,000 for
the retired science teacher diagnosed with mesothelioma in
2013.
Between 1973 and 1984 she
had taught in classrooms that
had asbestos in the prefabricated buildings, ceiling tiles and
wall panels. In one the tiles regularly fell down and in another
they were replaced during term
time and during the school day,
NASUWT said, adding that as
the teacher taught science, she
also had to regularly handle asbestos mats.
Other claims include £85,000
for a 63-year-old school worker
from Yorkshire and Humberside
who suffered a broken hand,
stress and anxiety due to being assaulted and tackled to the
floor by a pupil as she took them
out of the classroom after they
attacked another pupil.
A 53-year-old East Midlands
teacher who suffered a serious
head injury due to tripping on
a defective carpet and falling
against classroom shelves was
awarded £74,598.89.
NASUWT general secretary
Chris Keates said: “The tragedy
is that in most cases compensation would be unnecessary if
employers followed good employment practices and appropriate health and safety procedures.
“Instead, teachers have their
careers, lives and health blighted
and millions of pounds of public
money has to be spent in compensation.
“Employers flout the law, but
it’s the teachers and the taxpayers who pay the price.”
She added that behind each
of the cases is someone who
has been damaged physically or
mentally because of injury or
unfair dismissal.
“The distress and pressure
of the incident to the individual
teacher and their family has
often been compounded by
years of legal action and court
proceedings before any award
is made,” Keates said. “While
compensation is important, it
can never make up for the fact
that many of these teachers
suffer permanent physical and
mental injury and often cannot
continue in their chosen career.”
Separate data from the NUT,
which does not publish an
overall compensation figure,
shows that one of their members was assaulted by an autistic pupil who punched her in
the legs during a day trip out,
leaving her with permanent
nerve damage to her knee and
forcing her to undergo knee
replacement surgery. She was
awarded compensation of
£178,000.
Another NUT member received £136,710 in a Criminal
Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) claim brought
after she was assaulted by a
14-year-old pupil in April 2010.
She suffered a prolapsed disc in
her neck and depression as a result and was dismissed from her
school on account of long-term
sick leave in May 2011.
Prime Minister David Cameron looks on as his wife Samantha holds seven-week old Regan during a visit to a family at a housing development in Chorley, northwest England,
yesterday.
No clear winners in
pre-poll TV debate
Reuters
Salford
T
he main TV debate of
Britain’s national election
campaign yielded no clear
winner with four opinion polls
producing four different winners,
but David Cameron’s attempt to
appear the most statesman-like
appeared to have paid off.
The event, on Thursday night,
was staged less than six weeks
before a close national election on
May 7 as polls suggest Cameron’s
Conservatives and Ed Miliband’s
opposition Labour Party are neckand-neck with neither on track to
win a majority.
The results of four snap opin-
ion polls released immediately
afterwards underscored why
the election - that will decide
who governs Britain’s $2.8tn
economy - is being widely described as the closest and most
unpredictable since the 1970s
with voters naming no less than
four winners.
One poll said Scottish nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon had
won, another said Labour’s Miliband had narrowly triumphed,
a third said Cameron, Miliband
and UK Independence Party
leader (UKIP) Nigel Farage had
come joint first, while a fourth
said Cameron and Miliband had
both won.
None of the leaders managed
to deliver a “killer line” that
would set them apart from the
other participants.
“There was clearly no knockout blow,” said Peter Kellner of
pollster YouGov.
Jonny Tudor, 17, who asked one
of the questions on the night, said
afterwards: “Some performed well
in answer to certain questions,
other performed well on different
subjects, but there was no definitive winner.”
But in a result that will calm
Conservative nerves, a Comres/
ITV poll showed 40% of voters
asked afterwards judged Cameron
was the most capable of leading
Britain, compared to 28% who
named Miliband.
In an unusual format for Britain, Cameron faced off against six
Son of local politician
held at Syria border
AFP
London
T
he son of a British local
councillor was among
nine people detained by
Turkish authorities for allegedly trying to cross the Syrian
border, his father confirmed.
The group were all members
of the same family and included four children, among them
a one-year-old, British police
said.
Shakil Ahmed, a councillor for the opposition Labour
party on Rochdale Borough
Council, near Manchester,
said he was “shocked, worried
and extremely upset” to hear
his son had been arrested on
the border.
“It’s a total mystery to me
why he’s there, as I was under the impression he was on
a work placement in Birmingham,” Ahmed said in a statement.
A student pursuing a degree in politics and sociology at Manchester University,
Ahmed’s son was among five
adults aged 21, 24, 47 and two
aged 22, who were arrested
in the Hatay region of southern Turkey. With them were
four children, aged one, three,
eight and 11.
They all currently live in Rochdale and are expected to be
returned to Britain from Turkey “in due course”, a police
spokesman said.
“What is obviously concerning is why a family was
seemingly attempting to take
very young and vulnerable
children into a warzone,” said
assistant chief constable Ian
Wiggett of Greater Manchester Police.
“Such a volatile and dangerous environment is no place
for them whatsoever.”
An investigation is underway into why the group was
travelling to Syria, but the
police said there was no evidence of any imminent threat
to Britain.
“I just want to speak to my
son and get him home as soon
as possible so I can find out
what’s going on,” Ahmed said.
The arrests were announced by the Turkish army
on Wednesday, but no further
details were given.
Turkey has repeatedly faced
criticism from its Western allies for not doing enough to
halt the flow across Turkish
territory of European nationals seeking to join Islamic
State (IS) fighters in Syria.
However it has made a
number of arrests in recent
months and insists it is doing
all it can to control the border.
Nine British medical students of Sudanese origin went
missing last month after travelling to Turkey with the apparent aim of crossing into
Syria to join IS.
Ankara was sharply criticised over the failure to stop
three British teenage girls who
crossed the Turkey-Syria border to join IS in February.
But in late March it deported
back to Britain a young woman
and three male teenagers suspected of trying to travel to
Syria.
political rivals in what was the first
and only full TV debate of a campaign that has yet to stir voters,
many of whom say they feel jaded
despite a rising economy.
In one of Cameron’s more
animated moments in an otherwise reserved performance, he
pointed to his rivals, one-byone, and said: “What I’m hearing is more debt and more taxes,
more debt and more taxes, a lot
more debt and more taxes, some
more debt and more taxes, and
definitely more debt and more
taxes.”
A rare moment of drama
came when a female audience
member briefly interrupted
Cameron to complain about
the number of homeless peo-
ple sleeping in the streets.
The ITV debate, held in a former
pie factory near the northern city
of Manchester, ranged across the
economy, the health service and
immigration in front of an otherwise quiet studio audience.
It put leaders of traditionally
fringe parties like Ukip and Natalie Bennett, the leader of the
left-wing Green Party, on an equal
footing with the Conservatives
and Labour, who have dominated
British politics for decades.
Sturgeon, the leader of Scotland’s nationalists, joined Welsh
nationalist leader Leanne Wood
and Nick Clegg, the leader of the
Liberal Democrats, the junior
party in the country’s coalition, to
complete the lineup.
Labour-SNP a lethal
cocktail, says Gove
Agencies
London
A
Police officers stand guard outside the family home of one of nine
British citizens in Rochdale, northern England, yesterday. The property is
thought to be the home of local councillor Shakil Ahmed.
Labour
government
propped up by the Scottish nationalists and
other smaller parties would be
a “lethal cocktail” that would
destabilise the country and
undermine the economic recovery, the Tories claimed yesterday.
Following Thursday night’s
seven-way televised leaders’ debate which saw a strong
showing from the SNP’s Nicola
Sturgeon, Conservative chief
whip Michael Gove said the
nationalists would pull Labour
leader Ed Miliband “well to the
left” if he was forced to rely on
their votes in the Commons.
“We saw in Sturgeon, certainly an impressive performance but also a performance
from someone well to the left
of not just the centre ground of
British politics, but well to the
left of Ed Miliband,” Gove said.
“I think it is a leap that is unmerited by the polls to say that
a SNP-Labour government
would be a popular choice in
this country. I think that people
appreciate that there would be
an inherent instability in that
arrangement. “I don’t think that
people would like the potential
chaos that would ensue if you
had Ed Miliband as prime minister having to make every decision
with Nicola Sturgeon and Alex
Salmond auditing it to decide
whether or not that decision was
in the interests of Scotland and
Scottish nationalism rather than
the whole of the United Kingdom.
“If the country chooses to
it could vote for a patchwork
coalition ... I prefer to say a lethal cocktail of different parties
which all have different objectives - there would be an automatic instability.” His comments
came after a clutch of instant polls
suggested that the one encounter
of the general election between
Miliband and David Cameron had
proved inconclusive - although
Sturgeon was widely seen to have
done well.
The Scottish First Minister
deliberately sought to reach out
to voters in England, saying that
SNP MPs at Westminster would
be “a voice to help bring about
change for you too.”
10
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
EUROPE
France says ‘non’ to
ultra-skinny models
Reuters/AFP
Paris
F
rance will ban excessively
thin fashion models and
expose modelling agents
and the fashion houses that hire
them to possible fines and even
jail, under a new law passed yesterday.
The move by France, with its
fashion and luxury industries
worth tens of billions of euros,
comes after a similar ban by Israel in 2013, while other countries,
like Italy and Spain, rely on voluntary codes of conduct to protect models.
The measure is part of a campaign against anorexia by President Francois Hollande’s government.
Lawmakers also made it illegal
to condone anorexia and said any
re-touched photo that alters the
bodily appearance of a model for
commercial purposes must carry
a message stating it had been
manipulated.
“Anyone whose body mass index ... is below a certain level will
not be able to work as a model,”
according to the amendment of a
bill voted by the lawmakers.
“The activity of model is
banned for any person whose
Body Mass Index (BMI) is lower
than levels proposed by health
authorities and decreed by the
ministers of health and labour,”
the legislation says.
The lawmaker behind the bill
previously said models would
have to present a medical certificate showing a BMI of at least 18,
about 55kg (121lb) for a height of
1.75m (5’ 9”), before being hired
for a job and for a few weeks afterwards.
The law, voted through the
lower house of parliament by
Hollande’s Socialist majority despite opposition by conservative
parliamentarians, envisages imprisonment of up to six months
and a fine of €75,000 ($82,000)
for any agency contravening it.
A second measure means that
any website inciting a reader to
“seek excessive thinness by encouraging eating restrictions
for a prolonged period of time,
resulting in risk of mortality or
damage to health” will face up to
a year in prison and fines of up to
€100,000.
“The prospect of such a punishment will have the effect of
regulating the entire sector,” said
Olivier Veran, the deputy proposing the amendment, who said
France moves to ban sunbed adverts, access for kids
France’s parliament approved a draft law yesterday banning advertising
for artificial tanning beds and salons, and prohibiting people under 18 from
using to the popular yet potentially dangerous ultraviolet technology.
The text also prohibits selling or giving away sunbeds to non-professionals,
and is part of a wider health bill expected to be voted into law by year’s
end.
“Our fellow citizens don’t know the risks they’re taking ... we are worried
about the home use of these machines,” said Health Minister Marisol
Touraine.
The bill also introduces requirements that tanning salon staff receive
proper training on the health risks of UV ray exposure.
Socialist legislator and former skin cancer specialist Michele Delaunay said
that tanning-induced melanoma is the second-fastest-growing form of
cancer, after lung cancer among women.
“The number of skin cancer cases is doubling every 10 years,” Delaunay
said, adding that experts have substantiated health risks involved to UV ray
exposure in sunbeds.
There are some 10,700 tanning salons in France, and 40,000 sunbeds.
Brazil and Australia have both banned minors from using tanning salons.
The UN’s World Health Organisation has warned that “UV radiation plays an
important role in the development of skin cancer, cataracts, and other eye
conditions, and suppresses the immune system”.
that similar measures had been
taken in Spain, Italy and Israel.
But France’s National Union of
Modelling Agencies, or SYNAM,
slammed the move for “lumping
together anorexia and thinness”.
It noted that some models were
naturally very slim and could argue they were being discriminated against by the measure.
“When you look at the criteria
behind anorexia, you can’t look
only at the body mass index when
other criteria are also involved:
psychological, a history of hair
loss, dental problems,” the head
of SYNAM, Isabelle Saint-Felix,
complained to AFP.
“It’s important that the models are healthy,” she said, “but it’s
a little simplistic to think there
won’t be any more anorexics if
we get rid of very thin models.”
The union warned the competitiveness of French modelling
could be undermined by the proposed laws.
Saint-Felix said nine out of 10
models used in French fashion
shows and magazines were foreign.
France’s ruling Socialists,
however, appear determined to
bring legislative oversight to the
sector.
Health Minister Marisol Touraine had previously said that
young models should “eat well
and look after their health”.
“This is an important message
to young women who see these
models as an aesthetic example,”
added the minister.
Elite and IMG, two big modelling agencies present in France,
both declined to comment on the
moves.
Some 30,000-40,000 people
in France suffer from anorexia,
most of them teenagers, health
experts estimate.
In 2010, Isabelle Caro, an anorexic 28-year-old former French
fashion model, died after posing
for a photographic campaign to
raise awareness about the illness.
Pope hears of indifference to Christian persecution
Reuters
Vatican City
P
ope Francis presided at a
Good Friday service where
he heard the Vatican’s official preacher accuse the international community of indifference
to the persecution of Christians,
a day after Islamist militants attacked a university in Kenya, killing at least 147 people.
Father Raniero Cantalamessa,
whose title is “preacher of pontifical household”, referred to
the attack, in which Shebaab
militants initially killed indiscriminately but later freed some
Muslims and targeted Christian
students during a siege that lasted about 15 hours.
The long “Passion of the Lord”
service, during which the Pope
prostrated in prayer on the marble floor of Saint Peter’s Basilica
on the day Christians commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion, is one
of the few times he listens while
someone else preaches.
Cantalamessa weaved his sermon around the plight of Christians today.
“Christians are of course not
the only victims of homicidal violence in the world, but we cannot ignore that in many countries
they are the most frequently targeted victims,” he said.
T
ributes poured in yesterday for Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira,
who has died at the age of 106,
after a long and fruitful career
spanning the silent and digital
eras of film.
He was the world’s last active
director to have started his career
in silent pictures.
Word of Oliveira’s death on
Thursday unleashed a flurry of
tributes from artists, critics and
politicians around Europe, with
the Portuguese government
decreeing two days of official
mourning.
Portuguese Prime Minister
Pedro Passos Coelho was expected to attend the director’s funeral
in his hometown Porto, and stars
Oliveira had worked with rushed
to pay tribute to his life and work.
“It is very difficult for me to
Reuters
Belgrade
S
erbia must co-operate
with a UN war crimes
court seeking the return
of an ultra-nationalist defendant, not on the basis of truth or
justice but because it’s the law,
the Balkan country’s president
said yesterday.
The remarks by President
Tomislav Nikolic underscored
the disdain many Serbs feel
for the Hague-based tribunal, which released firebrand
politician Vojislav Seselj in
November on grounds of illhealth only to demand his return this week.
Nikolic was Seselj’s righthand man during the war years
of Yugoslavia’s collapse in the
1990s, when both men were
disciples of a “Greater Serbia”
ideology.
But both Nikolic and Prime
Minister Aleksandar Vucic
– another former Seselj ally
– turned their backs on him
in 2008 when they pushed instead for Serbia’s Western integration.
Seselj’s return to Serbia, and
his subsequent refusal to heed
the tribunal’s call for him to
come back, has put them in
an awkward spot, confronting them with the unpalatable
prospect of having to extradite
a man who was once their close
friend.
“It’s always tough when you
have to co-operate exclusively
because of the law, and not
because of justice, God or the
truth,” Nikolic told local TV
Chuprija late on Thursday, in
comments carried by the state
news agency Tanjug yesterday.
The president also warned
the media to keep its distance,
Seselj: has cancer.
echoing an often hostile tone
used by officials in Serbia’s
conservative government towards its press critics.
“The media shouldn’t be
meddling in this, because
they’ll only make things worse.
I know who’s on which side.
And I can tell you honestly,
none of them is on the side of
Seselj. They want to use any
opportunity to bring down the
government,” he said.
Serbian co-operation with
the UN tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia has long been a
key condition of the country’s
closer integration with the European Union.
The Serbian government is
likely to face increasing Western pressure to arrest Seselj
if he does not agree to return
voluntarily.
Serbia wants the EU to open
the first so-called “chapters”
of accession talks this year.
Seselj, who has cancer, has
said that police will have to
carry him to the plane, though
Vucic has appeared to rule
out using force, saying Seselj would not be arrested in a
“raid”.
Seselj handed himself into
the tribunal in 2003, but was
released in November on compassionate grounds before
any verdict was reached in his
long-running trial.
This order was revoked on
Monday because he had publicly said he would not return
to the court once a verdict was
reached.
Germans eat 41,000 tonnes of rabbit
More than 41,000 tonnes of rabbit meat is consumed in Germany
every year, with two-thirds of that figure eaten at Easter, according
to figures from the rabbit meat production industry released
yesterday.
Unlike meat production for other animals, very few Germans seem
to have concerns about the conditions in which rabbits bred for
their meat are kept, animal rights organisations have said.
Many consumers are simply not aware of the production
conditions, unlike the controversy generated by the industrial
farming of pigs, turkeys of chickens, on which animal rights
organisations and some politicians have campaigned.
Groups like PETA in Germany and Vier Pfoten, which translates as
Four Paws, report that rabbits bred for their meat are often kept in
small cages like battery hens, which is difficult for a social animal
like a rabbit.
They also question the welfare standards of meat imported from
China and Eastern Europe.
Ten killed in Tajikistan mudslide
Pope Francis leading the ‘Via Crucis’ (Way of the Cross) procession at the Colosseum.
Cantalamessa denounced “the
disturbing indifference of world
institutions and public opinion
in the face of all this killing of
Christians ...”
Besides the Kenya killings, he
mentioned the beheading of 22
Egyptian Coptic Christians last
February by Islamic State militants in Libya.
Later in the day, the second
of four days of papal activities
culminating on Easter Sunday,
Francis led a candlelight “Way of
the Cross” procession around the
ruins of Rome’s Colosseum.
Tonight the leader of the
world’s 1.2bn Catholics celebrates an Easter Eve service in
Saint Peter’s Basilica and tomorrow he delivers his twice yearly
“Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the
world) blessing and message.
The Pope earlier condemned
the Kenyan university attack as
“senseless brutality”.
Francis has expressed alarm
over the plight of Christians targeted for their faith and has said
the international community
would be justified in using military force as a last resort.
European cinema
pays tribute to late
director Oliveira
AFP
Lisbon
Serbia war crimes
co-operation not
on ‘basis on truth’
imagine the world without his
light,” said American actor John
Malkovich, who played in Oliveira’s 2001 film, I’m Going Home,
about a successful Parisian actor
forced to confront solitude, old
age, and death when his family is
killed in a car crash.
“It is very sad, but c’est la vie.
He had a long, incredibly rich
life,” Malkovich told Portuguese
television.
“Manoel de Oliveira was very
special, at once both seductive and authoritarian, and often charming. He was above all
an artisan, working incessantly
on his films,” French daily Liberation quoted actress Catherine
Deneuve saying of the man with
whom she made two movies.
Born on December 11, 1908 in
Porto, Oliveira followed his passion for cinema by first becoming
a bit actor in silent films at the
age of 20, then directing his first
work in 1930.
During a career that spanned
Ten people were killed by a mudslide in Tajikistan yesterday while
working on an irrigation project in the mountains outside the
capital Dushanbe, authorities said.
“At noon on Friday they were laying an irrigation pipe when they
were struck by wet rockfall during their work,” Orif Nozimov,
spokesman for Tajikistan’s state emergencies committee, told AFP.
All of the victims were men between 20 and 30 years old, Nozimov
said, noting that only two of the bodies were recovered by a rescue
team.
Avalanches and mudslides are common in mountainous Tajikistan.
In February, a single avalanche claimed six lives in the east of the
Central Asian country.
In 2014, authorities recorded around 40 deaths related to natural
disasters, mostly mudslides and avalanches.
Tajikistan’s neighbour to the south, Afghanistan, has suffered its
worst avalanche season in recent memory, with more than 200
deaths this past winter.
Father tries to sell infant daughter
Spanish police said on Thursday that they had arrested a Romanian
father accused of trying to sell his week-old daughter for €5,000
($5,410).
Investigators have not yet taken the mother, 38, into custody, but
she and the father both face criminal charges in connection with
the case.
Investigators suspect the 43-year-old father and the mother
“decided to sell the baby from the start and the woman got
pregnant for that purpose”, Spanish police said in a statement.
The father is believed to have travelled to Romania before the
birth to wrap up the sale with buyers “he was in contact with via
Internet”.
The infant was taken away from her parents and placed in foster
care.
Police did not say when the arrest or the alleged crime occurred.
Portuguese director de Oliveira, then aged 99, sits with photographers during a photocall at the 61st
Cannes Film Festival in this May 19, 2008 file photo.
nearly a century, Oliveira produced around 50 films and documentaries, usually auteur productions based on theatrical or
literary works – including the
1985 The Satin Slipper, drawn
from the seven-hour play by Paul
Claudel.
His better-known movies include The Divine Comedy (1990),
Belle Toujours (2006) and The
Strange Case of Angelica (2010).
In 2008 he received a lifetime achievement award at the
Cannes film festival.
“He filmed virtually all the
movies he wanted to make up to
the age of 106. Fifteen days ago,
he was still working at a final
project he wanted to direct,” said
Ricardo Trepa, Oliveira’s actor
grandson, who acted in several of
the director’s movies.
Though Oliveira’s final film in-
spired by an epic poem by Luis de
Camoes was not uncompleted,
he left behind an autobiographical film made in 1982 that has
never been seen.
The movie is set to debut
sometime this month.
“Filming is my work, my passion,” Oliveira said in recent
years. “My life passed too quickly, and I never had any time to
lose.”
Four feared dead in boat sinking
Two fishermen died and two others were missing presumed dead
after their shellfish dredger capsized and sank off the east coast of
Italy, local officials said yesterday.
The vessel, the Sparviero, toppled over on Thursday as the crew
were hauling in shellfish in rough conditions off the town of
Civitanova in the Marche region.
The vessel sailed out of Puglia in southern Italy but had a mostly
Romanian crew.
The bodies of two of the sailors, one Italian and one Romanian,
were recovered and two other Romanians were unaccounted for
yesterday when rescue efforts were suspended because of the bad
weather.
The boat has not been recovered.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
11
EUROPE
UN body
calls on
Russia to
act against
rights
abuses
Reuters
Geneva
U
nited Nations rights experts on Thursday called
on Russia to repeal laws
limiting free speech and targeting homosexuals and to act firmly to prevent torture by police,
racist crimes and a wide range of
other human rights abuses.
The
18-member
Human
Rights Committee also told
Moscow it should move to prevent violation of a key UN pact to
which it is signatory by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, by
authorities in the Chechen republic, and in Crimea.
The calls came in a report that
indirectly drew a picture of a
country rife with persecution of
dissenters and of groups that do
not conform to Kremlin policies
while giving no recourse to an
independent judicial system.
“What worries us most (in
Russia) is the reduced space for
civil liberties as the result of an
onslaught of legislation,” Committee member Yuval Shany, an
Israeli professor of international
law, told a news conference.
The Committee’s 12-page
document largely referred to
“reports” of abuses and violence, including by what it called
“ultra-nationalist, racist and
neo-Nazi” extremists, and of
torture of crime suspects in jails.
It explicitly called for authorities to investigate allegations
that former Chechen police officer Zaur Dadayev, one of the
suspects detained in the February murder of Putin critic Boris
Nemtsov, was tortured in custody.
Moscow should take steps immediately to give “effective protection to lawyers, journalists,
human rights defenders and opposition politicians whose lives,
safety and security are under
threat”, the experts said.
The Committee, which monitors countries’ performance
under the 1976 International
Convention on Civil and Political Rights, issued the document
after examining Russia’s record
last month.
During a discussion then, Russian officials denied the truth of
many of the reports cited by the
body’s members, largely lawyers
and academics. But Moscow has
not responded formally.
The UN report said laws
signed by President Vladimir
Putin, including on limiting
Internet activity and restricting links between Russian nongovernmental organisations and
foreign groups, “appear” to violate the UN convention.
The Committee said it was
concerned by reports of hate
speech and violence against gays
and called on Moscow to “clearly
and explicitly state that it does
not tolerate any form of social
stigmatisation of homosexuals”.
It also noted “under-representation of women in decisionmaking positions” in political
life.
Alps crash co-pilot took
steps to accelerate plane
AFP/Reuters
Paris
I
nformation from the second black box found in the
wreckage of the Germanwings flight that crashed in the
French Alps confirms that the
co-pilot acted deliberately and
even accelerated as the doomed
plane descended, investigators
said yesterday.
“A first reading shows that
the pilot in the cockpit used the
automatic pilot to descend the
plane towards an altitude of 100
feet (30m),” said the French BEA
crash investigation office in a
statement.
“Then, several times during
the descent, the pilot changed
the automatic pilot settings to
increase the aircraft’s speed,”
added the investigators.
The latest information appeared to confirm the theory
that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz
deliberately smashed the plane
into the mountains, killing all
150 people on board.
Authorities found the second
black box, which contains technical flight data, on Thursday
after a grueling 10-day search in
difficult mountain terrain.
Alice Coldefy, the only woman
on the 43-strong elite mountain
police team, uncovered the box
on her first day on the search.
“Everyone was happy. (It was
a) relief for all the people that
had been working there for a
week and a half without a break,”
the 32-year-old told AFP.
The precious box, found
blackened by the fireball and
buried deep in mountain scree,
was transported to Paris late on
Thursday and specialist investigators began to analyse the data
immediately.
This handout photo taken on Thursday and released by France’s
Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) shows the Flight Data
Recorder (black box) of the Germanwings Airbus A320.
“Work is continuing to determine the precise sequence
of events during the flight,” the
BEA said.
Data from the first black box,
which records conversations
in the cockpit, suggested that
Lubitz, 27, locked his captain
out and then deliberately set
the plane on a deadly collision
course with the mountains.
The plane smashed into the
mountains last week at a speed
of 700kph (430mph), instantly
killing everyone on board – half
of them German and more than
50 from Spain.
The crash sparked a tricky
rescue mission, with authorities
scouring the pulverised debris
for clues and DNA to identify the
victims.
French prosecutors have said
that 150 DNA strands had been
isolated but have also stressed
this did not necessarily mean all
T
he Croatian government
has backed a bill on compensating the victims of
sexual violence committed during the country’s independence
war, which ended almost two
decades ago.
“More than 20 years since
the sexual violence was committed ... its victims, both men
and women, will finally get the
right to be treated with respect
and the right for their suffering to be recognised,” deputy
minister for veterans Vesna Nad
told a government session on
Thursday.
Victims would be entitled
to a one-time compensation
payment of up to €20,000
($21,800), depending on the
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve is assisted as he places a wreath by a stele in memory of the
victims of the Germanwings Airbus A320 crash, yesterday in the village of Le Vernet, French Alps.
interrupting his flight training.
Doctors had recently found
no sign that he intended to hurt
himself or others, but he was receiving treatment from neurologists and psychiatrists who had
signed him off sick from work a
number of times, including on
the day of the crash.
Police found torn-up sick
notes during a search of his
apartment after the crash.
The first black box suggested
that passengers were only aware
of what was to happen to them in
the final seconds.
However, French and German media claim to have seen
a video purportedly showing
the final moments aboard the
doomed airliner, which they said
was shot on a mobile phone that
somehow survived the crash.
The purported video reportedly shows a chaotic scene with
people screaming “my God” in
several languages.
Several airlines and countries
around the world have since
ruled that two authorised crew
members must be present in the
cockpit at all times.
Air France said that they have
had two people in the cockpit
since Wednesday as a “temporary” measure after the European aviation safety agency issued
recommendations.
Meanwhile, German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported
that German prosecutors have
searched the offices of five doctors whose help was sought by
Lubitz.
Erdogan wants private
security guards replaced
AFP
Istanbul
T
Erdogan: I will suggest to my friends (the government) that they
remove private security guards altogether (from public
institutions).
Croatia to compensate victims
of war-time sexual violence
AFP
Zagreb
the victims had been identified.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited members of the
rescue team in the southern city
of Marseille to hail their work.
“Be proud of who you are,
what you have achieved,” he told
them.
It emerged on Thursday that
Lubitz had searched online for
information about suicide and
cockpit doors.
German prosecutors have said
Lubitz was diagnosed as suicidal
“several years ago”, before he became a pilot.
Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, has come
under huge pressure since the
crash after it was revealed that
Lubitz had told his bosses that
he had suffered from severe depression.
The German flag carrier said
the co-pilot had told the airline
in 2009 about his illness after
severity of the crime, under the
bill.
They would also be entitled
to monthly allowances of some
€320, healthcare, rehabilitation, psychological counselling
and free legal aid.
Nad called the compensatory measures an “answer to the
failure of both the state and society” to protect and enable the
victims’ rights over the past two
decades.
The bill has still to be approved by parliament, which is
expected to do so next month.
The number of sexual violence victims during the former
Yugoslav republic’s 1991-1995
war of independence is estimated at some 2,500.
Most of them were women
but some men, mostly those
held in detention camps, also
suffered sexual violence in the
conflict which claimed some
20,000 lives.
Unlike other victims of the
wars that tore the former Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s, in
particularly members of the
military, the victims of sexual
violence have long been neglected and not only in Croatia.
Their overall number is estimated at between 20,000 and
50,000, mostly of them being
Bosnian Muslim women who
were raped during the 19921995 war there.
In Bosnia, they have since
2006, 11 years after the end of
that country’s bloody war, to a
pension of some €290.
In Kosovo, the former Serbian province, they have the
status of war victims, but due
to budgetary constraints they
receive no financial compensation.
urkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
urged the government to
replace private security guards
with police forces in the wake of
two deadly shootouts in a week
that sent shockwaves through
the country, reports said yesterday.
Erdogan said that the ubiquitous use of private security
firms to guard public buildings
like courthouses but also hospitals and stadiums should be
outlawed.
“I will suggest to my friends
(the government) that they remove private security guards
altogether (from public institutions),” Erdogan said.
“I believe it would be a historic decision,” the Hurriyet
daily quoted him as saying in
a closed briefing on the presidential jet as he returned home
from Romania.
On Tuesday, two Revolutionary People’s Liberation PartyFront (DHKP-C) militants took
a prosecutor hostage at an Istanbul courthouse and held him
for hours before all three were
killed in a shootout with the
police.
The two gunmen who took
the prosecutor hostage had
reportedly entered the giant
Istanbul Caglayan Palace of
Justice – guarded by private
security guards – disguised as
lawyers.
“Turkey has its own police
department. It should set up
protection teams for courts.
Private security units should be
abolished,” Erdogan said.
“Not only courthouses, but
stadiums and hospitals should
be left to the police,” the president said.
It was not clear if he was calling for a blanket ban on private
security guards.
Security footage broadcast
on Turkish television on Thursday showed the two militants
easily entering the courthouse
and then moving to the prosecutor’s office.
In further violence on
Wednesday, police in Istanbul
killed an armed woman linked
to the DHKP-C after she tried
to storm the police headquarters in Istanbul.
According to official statistics, Turkey has approximately
270,000 private security guards
who are employed in the public
and private sectors.
Erdogan’s comments came
amid growing accusations from
opponents that the country is
turning into a police state, after
the Turkish parliament passed
draconian legislation in March
that boosts police powers.
Paris supermarket
hostages sue media
AFP
Paris
S
ix people who hid in a
supermarket refrigerator
during January’s Islamist attacks in Paris have sued
French media for broadcasting
their location live during the
siege.
Images broadcast from the
scene on January 9, when gunman Amedy Coulibaly stormed
into the Hyper Casher Jewish
supermarket, killing four and
taking others hostage, “lacked
the most basic precautions”
and endangered those still alive
inside, said a lawyer representing the group, Patrick Klugman.
Klugman singled out French
24-hour news channel BFMTV,
which revealed live on air that
the group – including a threeyear-old and a one-month-old
baby – was hiding from Coulibaly in the cold room, where
they were taken by one of the
supermarket’s employees.
“The working methods of
media in real time in this type
of situation were tantamount
to goading someone to commit
a crime,” Klugman told AFP on
Thursday, roundly criticising
coverage by other outlets of security forces movements during
the stand-off.
The lives of those hiding “could have been at risk if
Coulibaly had been aware in real
time what BFMTV was broadcasting”, Klugman said, adding
that the jihadist was following
the coverage of his raid on different channels and had been in
contact with BFMTV journalists.
The heavily-televised events
at Hyper Cacher in eastern Paris
came two days after Cherif and
Said Kouachi shot 12 people at
the offices of satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo.
All three gunmen were killed
after three days of attacks the
killed a total of 17 people and
deeply shocked France.
The lawsuit charges media outlets with endangering
the lives of others by deliberately ignoring security protocols, which carries a maximum
penalty of a year in prison and
€15,000 ($16,300) fine.
Der Spiegel said they secured
medical records, citing a summary of the prosecutors’ findings.
The magazine will publish the
story today.
Once the co-pilot Andreas
Lubitz’s name became public,
several doctors came forward
to say he had visited them, Der
Spiegel said.
He saw specialists for both
neurology and psychiatry, it
added, although it was unclear
whether this information also
came from the prosecutors’
findings.
The public prosecutors’ office
in Duesseldorf, where Lubitz
had a home, was not immediately available for comment when
contacted by Reuters.
Lithuania
to raise
military
spending
Reuters
Vilnius
L
ithuania, spooked by Russian military assertiveness,
outlined plans yesterday to
raise defence spending by a third
in 2016, contributing the highest
share of its economy to defence
since it joined Nato in 2004.
The Baltic country has never
met the informal Nato rule of
spending 2% of its economy on
defence and curbed its defence
budget during the 2009-2010
financial crisis.
By 2013, Lithuania was spending just 0.8% of GDP on defence,
the second smallest share of
Nato countries after Luxemburg.
The attitude changed in 2014,
however, when Russia took over
the Crimea peninsula and backed
separatists in eastern Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin denies
sending troops and weapons to
the region.
The
Lithuanian
Defence
Council, a defence policy setting
body, yesterday proposed raising
military spending by €149mn
($164mn) in 2016, to €574mn, or
about 1.46% of the economy, the
ministry of defence told Reuters
in an e-mail.
Lithuania has already upped
defence spending in 2014 and
2015, and its political parties
have promised to reach the 2% of
GDP goal no later than in 2020.
“This will get our army to a
whole new level, it will be ready
to ensure defence and deterrence, both in its own right and
together with the allies,” Defence
Minister Juozas Olekas said.
The minister did not mention Russia by name yesterday,
but Lithuania’s leaders have
frequently referred to the threat
from its huge non-Nato neighbour and former Soviet master.
If approved by parliament, the
increased budget will be used to
expand troop numbers and upgrade equipment, and for training with allies, Olekas said.
12
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
INDIA
DECISION
CRIME
CRIME
ATTACK
MYSTERY
Convicted of assault,
Goa minister resigns
Auto theft kingpin wanted
across India arrested
Angry man kills wife
for refusing medicines
Dogs maul patient
at Hyderabad hospital
T20 bookie found
dead in Goa
Goa Archives and Archaeology Minister
Francisco Pacheco, who was convicted in an
assault case upheld by the Supreme Court earlier
this week, resigned from the cabinet yesterday.
A spokesperson for the chief minister’s office
confirmed Pacheco submitted his resignation
to Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and it
was accepted. Parsekar hadearlier said it was
embarrassing to have a convicted minister in his
cabinet. Pacheco, a legislator from Nuvem, has a
string of cases against him related to extortion,
assault, bigamy and money laundering. He was
booked in July 2006 for assaulting Kapil Natekar,
a junior engineer in the state power department.
The leader of a notorious gang which stole cars
from across the country and was also wanted in
New Delhi and Mumbai was arrested in Guwahati
early yesterday, police said. The Guwahati police
swooped on Anil Chauhan from Azara area
along with an accomplice, Mamud Choudhury,
police commissioner Mukesh Agarwala told the
media. “Chauhan is a veteran in the field. His
network was spread across the country,” the
officer said. “We have confirmed with the police
in Mumbai, New Delhi and Meghalaya and found
that they were also on the lookout for Chauhan.”
The police recovered two pistols, five rounds of
ammunition and a vehicle from their possession.
Angry at his ailing wife’s refusal to take her
medicines, a man in Bihar’s Buxar district killed her,
police said yesterday. Salma Khatoon, 26, died of
her injuries after her husband Mohamed Mustafa
Abbasi hit her with a blunt object on Thursday.
“Salma was sick for some days and a doctor
had prescribed some medicines. But she was
not taking them regularly,” a Brahampur police
station officer said. “Her husband was unhappy
over it. When she refused to take the medicines,
her husband in a fit of anger hit her with a blunt
object,” the officer added. The seriously injured
Salma later died for lack of immediate medical
care. Police have arrested Abbasi.
A man waiting to be admitted to a Hyderabad
hospital for injuries sustained in a road accident
was mauled by two dogs yesterday. The incident
occurred at the Gandhi Hospital, one of the
biggest government-run hospitals in the city.
The man was waiting under a shed near the
emergency ward of the hospital when the dogs
attacked. He was later shifted to the emergency
ward. Following the incident, officials of Greater
Hyderabad Municipal Corporation swung into
action to launch a drive against stray dog menace
in the hospital premises. The incident occurred a
few days after pictures of dogs sleeping on beds
at Osmania General Hospital came to light.
A week before the Indian Premier League takes
off, a bookie previously arrested for accepting
bets on T20 matches was found dead in
mysterious circumstances, the Panaji police said
yesterday. The deceased, identified as Lakhpatraj
Jain, is a native of Ahmedabad in Gujarat. On
Thursday, Jain was found dead near some bushes
in the upscale Altinho area in Panaji, which also
houses the chief minister’s residence and other
VIP homes. “We found two offshore casino entry
ticket stubs in his pockets,” a police spokesperson
said, adding that the dead man had been staying
at a hotel owned by a casino group near Panaji.
There were no external injuries, police said.
MPs’ support
for tobacco
has Centre on
the defensive
IANS
Tezpur (Assam)
B
JP MP Ram Prasad Sarmah
yesterday claimed there
was no proof that smoking
tobacco led to cancer.
The MP from Tezpur told the
media here: “There is no proof
that smoking tobacco leads to
cancer. There has to be proof
that smoking cigarette leads to
cancer.
“One must prove that smoking is medically or chemically
harmful to one’s health,” he
added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party
leader referred to two of his acquaintances who he said used to
smoke 60 cigarettes every day
but enjoyed a healthy and long
life.
“One of them is still surviving,” he said.
Earlier BJP’s Lok Sabha member from Allahabad, Shyama
Charan Gupta, who is a member
of a parliamentary committee
on subordinate legislation on
tobacco, has claimed that there
was no evidence to show that tobacco causes cancer.
Gupta also alleged that there
was a global conspiracy to kill
India’s beedi industry.
Gupta added: “There are many
chain smokers who have not got
cancer. This is being done by
some foreign bodies. Why does
WHO want to implement this in
India and not in the US, which is
a better educated country?”
Last week BJP MP Dilip Gandhi, who heads a parliamentary
panel on subordinate legislation,
sparked a huge row after saying
that there was no Indian study to
confirm that use of tobacco led
to cancer.
Meanwhile the central government yesterday “dissociated” itself from comments made
by the BJP parliamentarians.
Union Health Minister J P
Nadda told Times Now news
channel “we are very clear that
the party (BJP) and the health
ministry do not subscribe to
their views. We dissociate with
their statements. It is for parliament to see. We don’t consider
individual recommendations.
“We are very much consistent in our stand of reducing the
consumption of tobacco,” the
minister said, adding that any
recommendation by the parliamentary committee would be
considered on merit.
The health ministry heeded
a recommendation of the committee when it decided to keep in
abeyance an October 2014 notification that made it mandatory
for all tobacco packets to carry a
pictorial warning covering 85%
of its principal display area.
Meanwhile, former union
health minister Anbumani Ramadoss yesterday appealed to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to increase the size of pictorial warnings on tobacco product packets to 85% as scheduled
earlier.
The founder member of the
PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi),
which is a National Democratic
Alliance ally, described arguments against increasing the size
of pictorial warnings on cigarette packets as “ignorant” and
“foolish”.
“It is high time the prime
minister intervened. I appeal to
him to order the health ministry to increase pictorial warning
to 85% immediately,” Ramadoss
told the media.
Ramadoss noted that some
MPs had stated there were no
studies to link tobacco use leads
to cancer, to which another parliamentarian has said by using
the same logic, sugar should be
banned.
The former minister said both
these were ignorant and foolish
utterances without any scientific
basis and the centre should stop
it “as the country should not be
put to shame”.
Kashmir disaster
An earthmover gets stuck in the swollen Jhelum river in Anantnag, Kashmir, yesterday. Nine people were killed in incidents of house collapse and landslide in Jammu
and Kashmir yesterday. A police officer in Jammu said seven members of a family were killed when their house collapsed following incessant rain in the hilly Doda
district of Jammu region. Two people were killed and two others injured in the border town of Uri in Baramulla district of the Kashmir Valley when they got trapped
under a tree dislodged in a landslide.
Fab India store sealed as
trial room camera found
IANS
Panaji
A
store operated by fashion
boutique chain Fab India
was sealed in Goa yesterday and three to four people
were detained for allegedly setting up a CCTV camera which
overlooked the store’s changing room where central minister Smriti Irani was trying out
clothes.
As police made the announcement, the North District police formed a special
squad to examine stores across
the coastal belt in the state for
mischievously placed security
cameras.
Teachers accused of
molesting 55 students
IANS
Akola (Maharashtra)
A
manhunt
has
been
launched to arrest two
teachers who face charges
of molesting 55 students of the
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
(JNV) in Akola, Maharashtra, an
official said here yesterday.
Based on mobile telephone
tracking, the Akola Civil Lines
police have detected the two
teachers to be hiding somewhere
in Amravati and sent a police
team to nab them, said Maharashtra Women’s Commission
(MWC) member Asha Mirge.
“These 55 girls, aged between
13-17 have given me a written,
signed statement about the incident involving the two teachers, who indulged in pervert
talks, molested them and made
sexual advances,” Mirge said.
She met district collectorate
officials with just one demand
- nab the culprits and book
them to serve as an example to
others.
The JNVs, directly administered by the human resource
development ministry, were
founded with a task of discovering talented children
from economically backward
sections and providing them
with the best of education and
residential accommodation to
bring them to the mainstream.
“A majority of the victims
are from very poor families but
extremely intelligent and has
been inducted into the JNV after passing a rigorous entrance
exam,” said Mirge, a gynaecologist.
The two teachers - Rajan
Gajbhiya, 42, and Shailesh
Ramteke, 49 - escape and went
into hiding after Mirge brought
the incident to the notice of
district collector Arun Shinde,
district superintendent of police Chandrakishore Mina, and
Principal R Singh.
“I plan to meet Maharashtra
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and write to Human Resources Development Minister
Smriti Irani, demanding safety
and security for all the girls
in such 600 residential JNVs
around India,” Mirge added.
Earlier, the principal informed Mirge that an internal
committee had forwarded its
report on the incident to the
JNV divisional commissioner,
Pune, who is in-charge of 64
schools in Maharashtra, 33 in
Gujarat, 26 in Goa and Daman
and Diu (two each), and one in
Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Mirge also spoke to many of
the 359 girls studying in JNV
at Akola and most of them
complained about the offensive language used by the two
teachers.
The MWC has dispatched
its trauma teams to each of the
JNVs in the state to ascertain
if there were similar incidents
elsewhere.
In December 2014, when
Mirge exposed the sexual assault of 32 girls, including seven who were raped and one who
committed suicide at the Tapovan Vidyalaya in Amravati, the
school was shut down, she said.
Irani, who was visiting the
store located near the upmarket
beach resort village of Calangute in north Goa, was trying
out clothes in the changing room
when members of her entourage
noticed the camera discreetly
pointed towards the dressing
room and raised a hue and cry.
A First Information Report
has been filed under Sections
354 and 509 of IPC, superintendent of police (North Goa)
Umesh Gaonkar said, adding
three to four people had been
detained.
“We have sealed the store.
Investigations are on,” Gaonkar
told reporters. Irani has also recorded her statement with the
Calangute police station.
The police have not disclosed
the identity of the detainees,
all of whom are employees of
the store operated by Fab India,
a leading Indian fashion label
which has a presence across India.
Calangute BJP legislator
Michael Lobo, who was first
contacted by Irani’s team after
the incident, said he and the police were scanning through the
video footage of the particular
CCTV camera which goes back
to at least three months.
“The camera is in a very
mischievous place and there
is footage of women changing
clothes for the past three to four
months. We have to crack down
on this evil. Many women and
Celebrity chief guest
men appear to have been targeted here,” Lobo said.
The Congress, meanwhile,
claimed that the ‘changing
room scandal’ was commonplace in Goa’s populous and
popular coastal belt which hosts
hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
“Not just this boutique. All
stores with such a facility must
be investigated. A union minister can at least alert the authorities but most people cannot,”
Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat said.
In the wake of Irani’s CCTV
camera episode and a case
in New Delhi where a mobile
phone was found in a changing
room, the Delhi Police is plan-
Political vendetta cause
of asset seizure: Maran
IANS
Chennai
T
Bollywood actress Chitrangada Singh inaugurates a function
in New Delhi yesterday.
ning to conduct another round
of search operations in malls
and showrooms.
Last month, a girl had spotted a phone in video-recording
mode inside the Van Heusen
trial room in south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar and had filed a complaint.
“After the incident, our team
had conducted a search operation in every malls and showroom of the national capital,”
special commissioner of police
(law and order) Deepak Mishra
said.
“We will conduct another
search operations in every mall
and showroom in the city to ensure dignity of women is safeguarded,” he added.
he Sun TV group continued to maintain a studied
silence yesterday over
the attachment of assets worth
Rs7.42bn belonging to Dayanidhi
Maran, Kalanithi Maran, his wife
Kaveri Kalanithi and other group
companies by the enforcement
directorate (ED).
Senior group officials were not
available for comments for the
second successive day, though it
was business as usual at various
channels owned by the group.
However, former telecom
minister and DMK (Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam) leader
Dayanidhi Maran has termed the
ED action as political vendetta.
The impact of the ED action
on the Sun TV Network’s scrip
would be known only on Monday
when markets open for trading.
On April 1, the Sun TV’s scrip
closed at Rs453.85 in the Bombay
Stock Exchange.
Kalanithi Maran owns 75% of
the Sun TV’s shares.
On Wednesday, the ED announced attachment of assets
(moveable and immovable) worth
Rs7.42bn belonging to the Maran
brothers, Kaveri Kalanithi and
group companies in connection
with the Aircel-Maxis deal case.
Dayanidhi Maran said the assets belonging to him that were
attached by the ED were acquired long before the alleged
crime. According to Dayanidhi
Maran, foreign investments in
an Indian company could be
made only with the approval of
the central government.
He claimed the Aircel-Maxis
deal was above the board.
The former telecom minister
claimed that he would fight the
case and win.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that Dayanidhi Maran used his influence
to help Malaysian businessmen
T Ananda Krishnan buy Aircel by
coercing its owner C Sivasankaran to part with his stake.
Sivasankaran alleged that
Dayanidhi Maran favoured the
Maxis Group in the takeover of
his company. He also alleged
that the company made investments through Astro Network in
a firm stated to be owned by the
Maran family.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
13
INDIA
RELIGION
CLASH
PEOPLE
OBITUARY
INVESTIGATION
India Muslim population
‘to be largest globally’
10 injured in violence
during procession
Khemka meets
Haryana governor
Veteran sports journalist
Pillay dies aged 85
Main accused in
Patna blast held
A report predicting India would surpass
Indonesia in having the world’s largest Muslim
population by 2050 was seen as confirming
a “demographic shift” in the country, observers said yesterday. “India will retain a Hindu
majority but also will have the largest Muslim
population of any country in the world, surpassing Indonesia,” the report on the future
of world religions by Pew Research Centre
said. In 2010 Hindus were the largest religious
group in the Asia-Pacific region, but by 2050
the number of Muslims in this region was
expected to surpass the number of Hindus,
the report said.
At least 10 people suffered injuries in Madhya
Pradesh’s Neemuch district when some miscreants pelted stones at a religious procession.
Police said some people hurled stones at the
procession. Soon both sides engaged in fighting, forcing police to lob tear gas shells and
baton charge to disperse the clashing crowd. Inspector general of police, Ujjain region, Madhu
Kumar said the situation was now under control
and some arrests had been made while police
were looking for yet more of the absconding
miscreants. He also said extra police force had
been requisitioned from neighbouring districts
as a preventive measure.
Senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka yesterday met
Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, two
days after he was abruptly transferred by the
state’s BJP government headed by Manohar Lal
Khattar. No details were available about what transpired at the meeting. Chief Minister Khattar had
on Thursday maintained that Khemka’s transfer
was a “routine administrative matter” even as his
government drew flak for shunting out the senior
bureaucrat under pressure from a powerful lobby
of transporters. The state’s outspoken Health and
Sports Minister Anil Vij, who came out in support
of Khemka earlier, too yesterday said that the
transfer was an “administrative matter”.
Veteran sports journalist T N Pillay died in Hyderabad yesterday, after prolonged illness. He was 85.
Pillay was one of the earliest sports journalists
from Hyderabad and was associated with English
daily, Deccan Chronicle for nearly 60 years, serving as its sports editor till about five years ago. Pillay, who gave a break to many sports journalists,
had also served as correspondent with Times of
India and Filmfare. Beginning his career in 1950s,
he introduced racing reporting in the city and
also played a key role in promotion of sports. He
was largely instrumental in formation of Andhra
Pradesh women’s cricket association and served
as its secretary.
The main accused in a high intensity bomb blast
in a residential colony in Patna was arrested
yesterday from Nalanda district, police said. “Main
accused Kundan Kumar was arrested from Ekangarsarai area in Nalanda by a special police team
and he will be brought to Patna for interrogation,”
a police official said. The explosion on March
30 ripped through a flat in the colony but no
casualty was reported. Police also recovered two
more bombs from the colony on the same day.
Following the arrest of the main suspect, Patna
senior superintendent of police Jitendra Rana
said the two other accused in the blast would be
arrested soon.
President
approves
govt’s land
acquisition
ordinance
Remarks on Sonia slammed
IANS
New Delhi
A
day before it was to lapse,
the land acquisition ordinance was re-promulgated yesterday with President
Pranab Mukherjee giving his assent to it, official sources said.
The ordinance, promulgated on December 31 last year to
amend the earlier act passed by
the UPA government in 2013,
was set to lapse today.
The re-promulgated ordinance includes the nine amendments with which The Right to
Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement
(Amendment) Bill, 2013 was
passed in the Lok Sabha in the
budget session’s first half.
The union Cabinet recommended the ordinance’s repromulgation on March 31 after
the government failed to secure
passage for it in the Rajya Sabha
where the ruling National Democratic Alliance is in a minority.
To enable this, the government has got the Rajya Sabha
prorogued. Under constitutional
provisions, at least one of the
houses has to be prorogued for
the government to issue an ordinance. The parliament went on a
month-long recess on March 20
and would reconvene on April 20.
Mukherjee had, however in
January this year, cautioned that
the ordinance route should be
taken only in “compelling circumstances”.
“To meet certain exigencies
and under compelling circumstances, the framers of the constitution deemed it necessary to
confer limited legislative power
upon the executive by way of
promulgation of ordinances when
the legislature is not in session
and circumstances justified immediate legislation,” he had said.
The Congress and other parties have mounted a strong attack on the ordinance.
Coinciding with the beginning of the budget session, activists and political parties had
held a two-day protest at Jantar
Mantar against the new bill.
Nurses in
Yemen forced
to weigh debts
against danger
Reuters
Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi
H
Congress workers stage a demonstration in Hyderabad yesterday against Union Minister of
State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Giriraj Singh’s remark that the Congress
accepted Sonia Gandhi as its leader “as she has white skin.”
undreds of Indian nurses
caught up in Yemen’s
civil war face a stark
choice between returning home
to financial ruin or taking a
chance by staying on in more
lucrative jobs that allow them to
pay off their debts.
India is trying to get around
4,000 nationals, more than half of
them nurses, out of Yemen, where
Houthi fighters have swept into the
southern port city of Aden despite
an air campaign led by Saudi Arabia to check their advance.
The medics’ predicament
highlights the dilemma facing
Indian health workers, many
from poor families who borrow
heavily to educate their children
and then send them abroad to
earn the money back.
The debts are sometimes owed
to middlemen who charge exorbitant fees to place Indians in
jobs abroad, and the government
has moved to crack down on the
practice by banning foreign recruitment by private companies
nationwide.
“For now I’m staying,” Indian
male nurse Meljo Joy said by telephone from the Al-Naqib Hospital in Aden.
The native of Kerala, where
most of the Indian nurses in
Yemen are from, chose not to
board an Indian naval vessel that
evacuated 349 people on Tuesday
from the city, preferring to take a
chance despite the fighting.
“In New Delhi, a famous hospital will give a maximum of $400
(a month) as salary,” Joy, 27, said.
“But accommodation and food is
very expensive. It (Yemen) is good
for me, because I get to save and
A
ssuring the people that
his government will live
up to their expectations,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
yesterday accused the previous
Congress-led UPA regime of
not having right intentions and
causing distress to farmers.
Addressing a rally here on the
first day of the Bharatiya Janata
Party’s national executive meeting, he sought to dismiss opposition’s criticism of the land acquisition bill while listing achievements
of his government since it assumed
power in May last year.
Referring to his own humble
origins, Modi said he fully understood the pain of farmers and
the poor.
Without naming the Congress
during his over-hour-long speech,
he attacked it repeatedly, while
stressing his government was taking quick decisions to ensure faster
economic development.
Noting sometimes a government’s intentions were more
powerful than its policies, he said
his government had been facing
criticism that it was following
the United Progressive Alliance
government’s policies, but added
the question was of intentions.
“Whatever your policy, your
intention was not right, ours is.
Hence we have gone ahead in the
race for development,” he said.
Accusing the opposition of
spreading falsehoods on the issue of black money, Modi said
his government had taken several
initiatives to curb black money
including forming a special investigation team and bringing a
bill in parliament on illegal money stashed abroad.
“I have made you a promise to
curb corruption. I will fulfil it,” he
said, adding there was an atmosphere of despondency during 10
years of UPAs’ rule but now things
had taken a positive turn.
“It seemed the country had deviated from its direction...At such
a juncture, the people of country
expressed their faith in Bharatiya
Janata Party and gave it a chance to
serve them with full majority.”
“The faith with which you
have posed in our team, we will
fulfil it and prove good on every
parameter.”
Modi said over Rs2tn had already come to the public exchequer due to auction process for
coal blocks followed by his government,
Noting this was realised from
auction of only 20 blocks out of
the 204 whose allocation was
cancelled by the Supreme Court,
he said: “When the others will
be auctioned, more money will
come”
Referring to the controversy
faced by UPA in spectrum allocation, he said over Rs1tn had come
to the exchequer due to auction of
spectrum during his government.
On the land bill, Modi said
there had been injustice with villages during years of Congress
rule and the farmers needed irrigation, roads and uninterrupted
power supply.
cants, Kochi’s Protector of Emigrants L Adolfus failed to take
action, say investigators.
Adolfus, contacted by Reuters,
denied colluding with Al Zarafa
or taking bribes. Al Zarafa’s office
in Kochi could not be reached by
telephone or e-mail. Nobody was
available to speak at its head office in Abu Dhabi.
As part of broader efforts by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to
improve the pay and conditions
of Indian migrant workers, New
Delhi has imposed a nationwide
ban on foreign recruitment of
nurses by private companies.
From May, only two state recruitment agencies will be allowed to operate in Kerala,
charging modest fees and working through legitimate diplomatic channels to curb bribe-taking
in destination countries.
“We are planning to conduct
the recruitments in a transparent
manner, without giving any room
for any sort of complaints,” said
K C Joseph, Kerala’s minister for
non-resident affairs.
For A A Joseph, a farmer whose
daughter Sini Elizabeth has gone
to work in Sanaa, the changes
come too late.
The family took on debts of
Rs250,000 ($4,000) to train Sini
and get her a nursing job in Yemen. When she got there, she was
paid Rs20,000 a month - half
what she was promised.
“I don’t know what we will do
when Sini returns - the money I
make from my farm is not enough
to meet our daily expenses,”
said Joseph. If his 26-year-old
daughter is not working, her
marriage dowry would become
unaffordable, he added.
For now, Sini is stuck in Sanaa,
but has reluctantly registered to fly
home on an Indian evacuation flight.
BJP will rule for next
20 years, says Shah
Modi targets Congress,
assures farmers help
IANS
Bengaluru
keep my salary in the bank.”
Lacking experience to work in a
more prestigious location, Joy paid
$2,000 to a recruitment agent to
land a job in Yemen. He earns $600
a month, gets free accommodation
and sends money to his family to
pay off a tuition loan.
As well as those taken from
Aden, India has airlifted 80 people from the capital Sanaa, but it
has been unable to send in more
flights because Riyadh, which has
air supremacy over its southern
neighbour, has not opened a safe
air corridor.
More than 100 nursing institutes in Kerala train thousands of
graduates every year, with more
studying outside the state, depressing local wages and creating
a strong incentive to seek betterpaid work abroad.
Monthly wages at hospitals in
Kerala start from Rs5,000, rising
with experience and seniority to
Rs25,000.
Fierce competition for jobs
abroad, meanwhile, puts nurses
at the mercy of recruiters who
sometimes demand large upfront fees or renege on promises
of more pay and safe contracts.
Following a raid this week by
tax officials on the office of one
agency in Kochi, the Central Bureau of Investigation has opened
an investigation into suspected corruption, conspiracy and
cheating.
A senior CBI officer said the
Al Zarafa agency had worked
“hand in glove” with a city official whose job was to protect the
interests of migrant workers.
The agency was hired to recruit
1,200 nurses to work in Kuwait
and, investigators say, charged an
up-front fee of Rs1.95mn ($31,300)
- 100 times the legal amount.
Despite complaints by appli-
IANS
Bengaluru
T
Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader Narendra
Modi gestures as he speaks during a public meeting held by the party
in Bengaluru yesterday.
he BJP, which stormed to
power nationally last year,
will rule India for 10-20
years, party president Amit Shah
announced here yesterday as the
party opened a meeting of its top
leaders.
“This government has arrived,” Shah said to thunderous
applause at the two-day meet,
addressing 330 delegates including Prime Minister Narendra
Modi. “The BJP will be in power
for the next 10-20 years.”
Speaking in chaste Hindi, Shah
also listed out the achievements
of the Bharatiya Janata Party and
Modi’s government since May
2014 on various fronts, including
economy and foreign policy.
He said the BJP-led National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had brought an end to
the policy paralysis of the earlier Congress regime. “We have
brought a new political culture.”
And after becoming the world’s
largest political party, the BJP an-
nounced that it would train the
over 15 lakh new members while
further speeding up its nationwide
membership drive.
Party leader Prakash Javadekar, who briefed the media
about Shah’s comments, said
the BJP had become the biggest
party in the world with 92.5mn
members. “We will cross the
100mn mark soon.”
Among those attending the
meeting is party patriarch L K
Advani.
As it was the executive’s first
meeting after the BJP got a majority in the Lok Sabha, an upbeat mood marked the inaugural
session at a star hotel in the city
centre amidst tight security.
Javadekar pointed out that besides ruling the world’s largest
democracy, the BJP was in power
in a dozen states — “including
eight states where we are in power on our own and four in alliance
with our partners”.
In his speech, Shah played
down the BJP’s shock defeat in
Delhi in February but quickly
added the party’s Delhi unit
needs to revive itself.
14
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
LATIN AMERICA
APPOINTMENT
OFFBEAT
OPINION
CLARIFICATION
PEOPLE
Peru defence minister
named premier
Identical Brazilian triplets
say ‘I do’ together
Olympic Park work on
schedule: Rio mayor
Mexico City denies 007
film killed businesses
Pope Francis to
visit Colombia
Peru’s president named Defence Minister
Pedro Cateriano as prime minister, replacing
Ana Jara, who was thrown out of office by
Congress earlier this week amid allegations
of corruption. A survivor of the cabinet
shakeup was Alonso Segura, Peru’s marketfriendly economy minister. His task this year
is to attract investment to the country’s
key mining sector. Cateriano, a 56-yearold lawyer, had been defence minister for
almost three years. Known for taking a
hardline with the opposition, his becoming
prime minister may do little to improve
President Ollanta Humala’s already difficult
relationship with Peru’s 130-member,
unicameral Congress.
Guests at a wedding in southern Brazil might
have thought they had too much to drink,
but they were not seeing triple. There were
indeed three identical brides. Triplets Rafaela,
Rochele and Tagiane Bini were married on
March 21 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in
a joint ceremony, fulfilling their childhood
dream of walking down the aisle together.
The 29-year-old sisters appeared in the same
white mermaid gown, with identical hairstyles
and matching veils. The only distinction was
the colour of their bouquets. The trio has
done everything together since they were
young, and dreamed of getting married on
the same day. Their father was beaming as
he gave them away.
Work on the Deodoro Olympic Park in Brazil
is on schedule and will not be affected by
layoffs at the company building it, Rio de
Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes said. The mayor
said the 2016 Olympic host city had put up
money for the venue while engineering firm
Queiroz Galvao SA waits for a loan from
state-run lender Caixa Economica Federal.
Queiroz Galvao is one of 29 companies being
investigated in a price-fixing and kickback
scandal at oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA
that is stalling infrastructure projects. Local
media reported that Queiroz Galvao, which
leads the consortium building the Olympic
Park, had fired 70 workers because of difficulty
obtaining the loan.
Mexico City’s government has denied that
local businesses were hurt when James
Bond descended on the capital to film
scenes for the next 007 movie in the historic
centre. The local small business chamber
of commerce, Canacope, complained this
week that the closure of streets caused total
losses of $24.6mn to some 6,600 shops.
But the city government countered that the
filming of Spectre between March 19-April 1
had increased the number of visitors to the
historic centre by 53%, with hotel occupancy
rising 30%. “We can affirm that the event
did not affect but improved commercial
conditions for businesses in the capital’s
centre,” it said in a statement.
Pope Francis will visit Colombia, the Vatican
said as the pontiff urged Colombians to
work for peace as the country conducts
talks with Marxist rebels to end 50 years
of war. The Pope will add Colombia to
an upcoming tour of Latin America, the
Vatican said in a letter to the country’s
Catholic leadership, without specifying a
date. “We will receive (the Pope) with open
arms and hearts as a messenger of peace
and reconciliation,” President Juan Manuel
Santos said. The government is more than
two years into peace negotiations with the
Farc. “We should not lose energy or hope
in the face of this project’s difficulties,” the
letter said of peace efforts.
Racially
abused
footballer
feels ‘pity’
for offender
Fuel storage facility ablaze
Brazil fails to
stem banned
pesticides’ use
by farmers
IANS
Rio de Janeiro
C
orinthians
midfielder
Elias said he felt “pity”
for the offender after
becoming the victim of South
American football’s latest racism
controversy.
The Brazil international was
allegedly called a monkey by
Cristian Gonzales, an 18-yearold centre-back of Uruguayan
club Danubio, during a Copa
Libertadores football match in
Sao Paulo on Wednesday, which
Corinthians won 4-0, reports
Xinhua.
Television footage showed a
visibly affected Elias being restrained by teammates before
he denounced the incident to
referee Diego Haro, who took no
action against Gonzales.
Elias, who played in Brazil’s
friendly victories over France
and Chile in the past week, released an official statement condemning the behaviour.
“Before a free-kick was taken, I was called a monkey by
Gonzalez,” Elias said.
“After we scored and during
the celebration he repeated the
insult, this time with gestures
imitating a monkey.”
“It’s lamentable that episodes such as this still happen.
It disgusts me even more that it
happened in my country, in my
home.”
“He (Gonzalez) is still very
young and I hope that in time,
when he matures, he will realise
that racism is repugnant. Now
that my head has cleared, I don’t
feel anger, only pity,” he added.
The 29-year-old’s teammates
Cassio and Emerson called for
Gonzalez to be given a lengthy
ban.
“I hope action is taken and
that the player is punished,”
Cassio said.
“If not, this type of thing will
continue. Punishments need to
be heavier. The federation needs
to punish the player and the
club. It (racism) has gone too far.
There are no more arguments to
defend it.”
Reuters
Limoeiro do Norte, Brazil
T
Smoke rises from a fire at a fuel storage facility run by Ultracargo in Santos, near Sao Paulo.
Eighty firefighters were rushed to the facility run by Ultracargo near Brazil’s port of Santos, Latin
America’s largest, the local fire service said. The company said there had been no victims from
the fire and it was too early to say what had caused it. The port of Santos said it had moved five
ships docked at a nearby terminal due to the blaze.
Falklands War files
to be declassified
AFP
Buenos Aires
A
rgentine President Cristina Kirchner said she
has ordered the declassification of all secret documents
on the 1982 Falklands War with
Britain.
Speaking on the 33rd anniversary of Argentina’s invasion
of the disputed South Atlantic
islands, which it calls the Malvinas, Kirchner said the defence
ministry had 30 days to make all
files on the conflict public.
She also used the anniversary
- commemorated in Argentina
as the Day of the Veterans and
Fallen of the Malvinas Islands
War - to criticise Britain’s recent
announcement that it will beef
up its defences in the islands.
Kirchner said Argentina was
determined to gain sovereignty
over the islands, but through
peaceful means.
“International law and dialogue, not militarisation, are the
path to a reunion and sovereign-
ty,” she said at a ceremony in the
city of Ushuaia, at the southern
tip of South America.
“We will see the islands form
part of our territory again. It’s
not just wishful thinking,” she
told an audience that included
war veterans in dress uniform.
“We will see the islands
form part of our
territory again. It’s not
just wishful thinking”
British Defence Secretary
Michael Fallon last week announced plans to spend £180mn
over 10 years to counter “continuous intimidation” from Argentina in the Falklands.
Kirchner’s government condemned the measure as “provocation.”
Argentina claims it inherited
the remote, wind-swept islands
from Spain when it gained independence.
Britain argues it has historically ruled the islands and that the
islanders should have the right
to self-determination. In a 2013
referendum, 99.8% voted to remain a British overseas territory.
The dispute has flared again in
recent years since the discovery
of significant oil deposits off the
islands.
The 74-day Falklands War
claimed the lives of 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British soldiers
and three islanders. The remains
of 123 Argentines killed in the
war have never been identified.
In 2012, Kirchner asked the
International Committee of
the Red Cross to mediate with
the British government so DNA
samples could be taken from the
bodies, which are buried on the
island in graves marked “Argentine soldier known only to God.”
Argentina’s secretary for the
Malvinas, Daniel Filmus, said officials had finished taking DNA
from the soldiers’ relatives for
comparison.
he farmers of Brazil have
become the world’s top
exporters of sugar, orange
juice, coffee, beef, poultry and
soybeans. They’ve also earned
a more dubious distinction: In
2012, Brazil passed the US as the
largest buyer of pesticides.
This rapid growth has made
Brazil an enticing market for pesticides banned or phased out in
richer nations because of health
or environmental risks.
At least four major pesticide
makers - US-based FMC Corporation, Denmark’s Cheminova
A/S, Helm AG of Germany and
Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta AG - sell products here that
are no longer allowed in their domestic markets, a Reuters review
of registered pesticides found.
Among the compounds widely
sold in Brazil: paraquat, which
was branded as “highly poisonous” by US regulators. Both Syngenta and Helm are licensed to
sell it here.
Brazilian regulators warn that
the government hasn’t been able
to ensure the safe use of agrotoxicos, as herbicides, insecticides
and fungicides are known in Portuguese.
In 2013, a crop duster sprayed
insecticide on a school in central
Brazil. The incident, which put
more than 30 schoolchildren and
teachers in the hospital, is still
being investigated.
“We can’t keep up,” says Ana
Maria Vekic, chief of toxicology
at Anvisa, the federal agency in
charge of evaluating pesticide
health risks.
Record bid
FMC, Cheminova and Syngenta said the products they sell
are safe if used properly. A ban in
one country doesn’t necessarily
mean a pesticide should be prohibited everywhere, they argue,
because each market has different needs based on its crops,
pests, illnesses and climate.
Helm, based in Hamburg, didn’t
respond to requests for comment.
“You can’t compare Brazil to
a temperate climate,” says Eduardo Daher, executive director
of Andef, a Brazilian pesticide
trade association. “We have more
blights, more insects, more harvests.”
Public-health specialists here
reject that argument. “So what
if the needs of crops or soils in
Brazil are different?” says Victor Pelaez, a food engineer and
economist at the Federal University of Paraná, in southern Brazil.
“What’s toxic in one place is toxic everywhere, including Brazil.”
Screenings by regulators show
much of the food grown and sold
in Brazil violates national regulations. Last year, Anvisa completed its latest analysis of pesticide
residue in foods across Brazil.
Of 1,665 samples collected,
ranging from rice to apples to
peppers, 29% showed residues
that either exceeded allowed
levels or contained unapproved
pesticides.
Since 2007, when Brazil’s
health ministry began keeping
current records, the number of
reported cases of human intoxication by pesticides has more
than doubled, from 2,178 that
year to 4,537 in 2013. The annual
number of deaths linked to pesticide poisoning climbed from 132
Britain spied on
Argentina: Snowden
AFP
Buenos Aires
D
People walk past a 2,300 metre-long carpet made out
of flowers and coloured sawdust by Guatemala City
municipal employees and volunteers in an attempt to set a
new Guinness World record. The previous record stands at
2,012 metres.
to 206. Public health specialists
say the actual figures are higher
because tracking is incomplete.
The pressures are clear here in
Limoeiro do Norte, a town in the
arid northeastern state of Ceara.
The state used to be anything
but a breadbasket. But since the
1990s, Brazil has built a system of
irrigation canals in the area, and
farming has flourished. So, too,
has pesticide use.
In November, a federal court
upheld a ruling that forces Fresh
Del Monte Produce, the global fruit giant, to indemnify the
widow of a worker whose liver
failed after repeated handling of
pesticides. In Limoeiro do Norte,
a state court is weighing charges
against a landowner accused by
police of ordering the murder of
an anti-pesticide activist.
“This is a giant laboratory for
the worst of industrial-scale agriculture,” says Raquel Rigotto, a
physician and sociologist at the
Federal University of Ceara in
Fortaleza, the state capital. Rigotto says her research team has
found traces of many pesticides
in water taps in the area, and a
higher rate of cancer deaths there
than in towns nearby with little
farming.
The world has much riding on
Brazil’s food boom. The population is expected to rise nearly
30% over the next three decades,
leaving 2bn more mouths to feed.
Brazil’s booming agricultural
sector will be a critical source of
nourishment. But with its equatorial sunlight, steady temperatures and year-round harvests,
Brazil is also a fertile place for
insects, fungi and weeds. To keep
them at bay, farmers are applying
more and more pesticides.
ocuments leaked by fugitive US intelligence analyst
Edward Snowden show
Britain spied on Argentina to
monitor its efforts to win sovereignty over the Falkland Islands,
Argentine media said yesterday.
Britain, which defeated Argentina in a brief, bloody war over
the South Atlantic islands in 1982,
carried out “covert interception
and intervention operations and
other manoeuvre” on Argentina
from 2008 to 2011, reported news
portal TN, citing documents obtained from Snowden.
The website said the Joint
Threat Research Intelligence
Group, a British agency, carried
out a “long-term, far-reaching”
espionage programme dubbed
Operation Quito that included
attempts to spy on military and
political leaders’ communications
and spreading pro-British propaganda online.
“The new, never-before-seen
documents expose how (Britain’s)
most secret task forces used a dirty
game and systematic disinformation to launch their cyber-offensive,” said the website.
“The objective: to prevent Argentina from getting back the islands.”
Snowden, a former contractor at the US National Security
Agency, has lived in exile in Russia since 2013 after revealing mass
spying programmes by the US and
its allies.
Tension over the Falklands,
which Argentina calls the Malvinas, have been on the rise again
since British Defence Secretary
Michael Fallon last week announced plans to spend £180mn
over 10 years to counter “continuous intimidation” from Argentina.
Argentine President Cristina Kirchner said on Thursday
at commemorations to mark the
33rd anniversary of the invasion
that Buenos Aires “is not a danger
to anyone,” dismissing London’s
move to beef up defences as political posturing ahead of Britain’s
general elections on May 7.
Argentina claims it inherited the
remote, wind-swept islands from
Spain when it gained independence.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
15
PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN
UNREST
CRACKDOWN
TRIAL
REVENGE
ORDER
Afghan family of seven
killed in roadside bombing
Six militants killed in
military operation
Punjab province sends six
cases to military courts
Tax office receives trolley
of garbage over dues tussle
PM directs for early closure
of shops, markets
Seven members of one family were killed
yesterday when their car struck a roadside
bomb in eastern Afghanistan, an official said.
Four children, one woman and two men were
killed when the car they were travelling in
hit the bomb in Logar province, provincial
spokesman Din Mohammad Darwish said. There
have been no claims of responsibility but using
roadside bombs is a frequent Taliban tactic to
target security forces. Security in Afghanistan
has worsened ahead of the Taliban’s regular
spring offensive. In the northeastern province of
Kapisa, two members of a family were killed and
four others wounded in a shooting. Unknown
gunmen broke into a house in Mahmoud Raqi
city and opened fire at the family.
At least six militants were killed and several
injured when Pakistani security forces launched
an operation in Balochistan province yesterday
afternoon. The dead included two suicide bombers
who blew themselves up when the troops
surrounded them. During the operation at Loralai in
Balochistan, the militants opened fire at the troops
and six insurgents were killed, Dawn online reported
citing Frontier Corps spokesperson Khan Wasey.
Wasey said the troops recovered explosive material
including detonators and suicide jackets from the
hideout of the killed militants. The latest figures on
operations being carried out by civilian and military
agencies across Pakistan reveal that 10,616 people
have been arrested on various charges since the
launch of the National Action Plan.
Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province has
transferred six of the selected seven terrorism
cases to the military courts for trial after a
formal approval by the federal government,
reliable sources said yesterday. The provincial
government had selected the seven cases for
military courts and sent them to the interior
ministry for approval by the end of February.
Prominent among them is the Sri Lanka cricket
team attack case. The government had initially
underlined 46 or so terrorism cases pending
decision in the provincial anti-terrorism courts
(ATCs) for trial in the military courts last month.
But except for the seven almost all were decided
by the ATCs or discarded by the provincial apex
committee headed by the chief minister.
A local government department in Larkana
district of Sindh province hit back at Pakistan’s
Federal Board of Revenue’s tax demand of
Rs20mn ($200,00) by bringing a tractor
trolley full of garbage and dumping the
waste at the main entrance of the income
tax office. The tax department had asked the
Taluka municipal administration (TMA) to pay
Rs19.9mn in taxes and duty. The documents
show that the TMA has made payment of more
than Rs500mn under different heads, without
deducting tax at source and no record for the
payment was provided to the tax officials.
Under the recovery drive ordered by the FBR,
the tax department collected Rs13mn from the
TMA, while Rs6.5mn are yet to be recovered.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday
directed the authorities concerned to take steps
to get shops and markets closed earlier as he
expressed the resolve that the government
would add around 10,000MW electricity to
the national grid during its tenure. He said the
government was taking all the steps necessary
to meet the energy shortages in the country
during its tenure. While chairing a high-level
meeting on the energy situation, he said the
government expected to add around 10,000MW
of electricity to the national grid during its tenure
and would generate power through solar, wind,
hydro, nuclear as well as through LNG. Pakistan
is currently facing a shortfall of around 5,0006,000MW of electricity, which is expected to rise.
176 Pakistan citizens
evacuated from Yemen
AFP
Islamabad
P
akistan evacuated nearly
200 of its citizens from
war-torn Yemen yesterday
as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
discussed the crisis with his
counterpart in Turkey.
There were tears and relieved
smiles at Islamabad’s Benazir
Bhutto International Airport as
the specially chartered Pakistan
International Airlines plane arrived with the 176 evacuees.
Pakistan has yet to decide
whether to accept Riyadh’s request for it to join the Saudiled coalition fighting back Shia
Houthi rebels trying to take over
Yemen.
More than 500 Pakistanis
were evacuated on Sunday and
the latest batch arrived from
Djibouti, where they had been
taken by sea from Yemen by the
Chinese navy.
“I live right next to the airport and even I got some bullets through my window about
two weeks ago, so since then, I
moved out,” a mother-of-four
said.
“The main thing is I didn’t
want my children to suffer from
the trauma of what was going on
around us.”
Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said 50 of the 176 would
travel on to Karachi.
Defence Minster Khawaja Asif
told reporters there were between 200 and 250 Pakistanis
still stranded in Yemen and the
government was trying to get
them home within the next two
days.
Pakistan’s parliament will
meet on Monday to debate
whether to join the military coalition led by close ally Saudi Arabia.
Islamabad says it is ready to
defend Saudi territorial integrity but does not want to inflame
sectarian divides.
Speaking in Turkey after
talks with his counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, Sharif urged
parties to the conflict to try to
find a peaceful resolution.
The countries taking part in
the Yemen offensive are largely
Sunni Muslim and the intervention has been strongly criticised
by Iran, the leading Shia power.
As well as having a 20% Shia
population, Pakistan also shares
a border with Iran.
Meanwhile, around 175 Pakistanis are still awaiting evacu-
ation from Yemen’s port city of
Mokallah.
A Pakistan navy ship reached
Mokallah port on Thursday, but
the evacuation was delayed because of skirmishes which erupted around the port city following
Wednesday night’s jailbreak by
Al Qaeda, in which some 300 inmates were freed.
Another group of 145 Pakistanis,
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif speaking at a press conference
at the Turkish Prime Minister’s office at Cankaya Palace yesterday in
Ankara.
Sharif stands
by S Arabia
Reuters
Ankara
P
Pakistani citizens evacuated from Yemen greet relatives as they leave Benazir International Airport in Islamabad yesterday.
Fresh cyber bill tough
on individuals, but
soft on crimes
Internews
Islamabad
P
akistan
government’s
latest bill aimed at regulating Internet usage
is tougher, curbs civil liberties and focuses more on
moral aspects of its use than
cybercrime itself.
At least this is how most information technology experts
describe the new Prevention
of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015,
which was sent to the National
Assembly standing committee
on IT and Telecom yesterday.
While Internet Service Providers Association convener
Wahajus Siraj described the bill
as “draconian”, Pakistan Software Houses Association board
member Afaque Ahmad termed
it “wrong and senseless”.
“In its current form, the bill
is a disaster. It was not made
by an expert draftsman with
adequate knowledge of the nuances of language, a comprehension of technicalities and
technologies, someone who
unwilling to move to other cities
for evacuation, is still in Yemen’s
capital Sanaa. However, authorities are planning to send a special
flight to airlift them from Sanaa.
Around 3,000 Pakistanis lived
in Yemen, with some 1,000 trying to leave the country, after
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies
launched airstrikes against the
Houthi militia.
understands international laws.
This is a hard combination
to find,” Ahmad said.
Ahmad spent three years
drafting what he calls “the
original bill” alongside a group
of IT experts and lawyers. He
said that the government had
side-lined all the relevant
stakeholders from the process
of drafting the law.
“Our version of the bill curtailed the abusive powers of
agencies such as the Federal
Investigation Agency (FIA).
We insisted that authorities get
permits before making arrests.
We had also tried to make
sure that innocent people were
not thrown in jail,” he said, explaining that the bill in its current form did not protect the
rights of citizens.
“Our version of the bill emphasised the rights of defendants and the qualifications of
judges who would adjudicate
on cybercrime cases,” said
Afaque Ahmad.
Another IT expert explained
how the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015 had
serious issues with regards
to definitions and technical
language.
“There is a difference between ‘a warrant is required’
and ‘a warrant may be required’.
Civil safeguards have been removed by parliamentarians
who do not understand the
technicalities of the subject,”
he said.
However, State Minister for
Information Technology Anusha Rahman explained that
the Prevention of Electronic
Crimes Bill 2015 had been
sent to the National Assembly
standing committee with proposed amendments after being extensively scrutinised by a
special review committee.
The minister explained that
the special review committee
was constituted on the direction of the National Assembly
standing committee on IT and
Telecom and consisted of technical and legal experts as well
as MNAs.
She said the committee had
analysed the bill clause by
clause in order to make it more
compatible with the National
Action Plan (NAP) to counter
terrorism and extremism.
“It is imperative that the bill
caters to the growing needs and
challenges related to the Internet,” said Rahman, describing
the process as “a gigantic task”
that involved lengthy discussions and multiple review
meetings.
Talking about some of the
bill’s salient features, a senior MoIT official said the bill
was drafted in line with the
current legal system to minimise chances of failure in
prosecution.
“One of the major challenges
was establishing special courts
to fight cyber-crime. But that
would be a time-consuming
process.
We have to deal with the
problem urgently under NAP,
hence it was decided that session’s judges would be trained
in the subject, enhancing
their capacity and making
them smarter than the person
committing the crime,” the
official said.
akistan is concerned by
the overthrow of Yemen’s
government and will stand
by Saudi Arabia as it leads a
campaign against Houthi rebels
there, Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif said yesterday.
Sharif called on Thursday for
a joint session of Pakistan’s parliament to consider whether to
join the Saudi-led military coalition, which has launched days of
air strikes to try to stem the advance of the Iran-allied Houthi
fighters.
“We are concerned at the
overthrow of the legitimate government in Yemen by use of force
by non-state actors,” Sharif told
a news conference in the Turkish
capital Ankara, where he is on an
official visit.
“We have agreed to extend all
possible support in the defence
of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty
and territorial integrity,” he
said.
Largely Sunni Muslim Pakistan is a regional ally of Saudi
Arabia. Pakistan also shares a
long border with Iran, considered to be the centre of Shia
power and Saudi Arabia’s main
regional rival.
The Houthis and their allies
seized a central district of the
southern city of Aden on Thursday, the last major holdout of
fighters loyal to Saudi-backed
President Abd-Rabbu Mansour
Hadi. They took over the capital
Sanaa six months ago.
Health reforms: Serious patients
assured beds in teaching hospitals
Internews
Peshawar
T
he Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province health department is taking measures
to ensure that seriously ill or injured patients get beds on priority at the teaching hospitals as
part of its reform programme in
health sector, official sources say.
The step is part of the implementation of the Health Reforms
Act 2015 under which the government has granted financial
and administrative autonomy
to the four teaching hospitals Khyber Teaching Hospital, Lady
Reading Hospital, Hayatabad
Medical Complex in Peshawar
and Ayub Teaching Hospital,
Abbottabad to make optimal use
of the resources for the benefit of
patients.
Under the law, the government has appointed hospital and
medical directors in the designated hospitals while process is underway to put in place
a 10-member board of governors after which the hospitals
would see drastic changes.
One such major change is the
appointment of beds’ managers
in the hospitals who would be
responsible for allotment of beds
to the patients on need basis.
The sources requesting anonymity said that currently most
of the patients visiting private
clinics of the senior consultants were referred by them to
the public sector hospitals to get
hospitalised due to which the
poor and seriously ill patients
were deprived of a chance to get
beds.
Poppy cultivation
Farmers work in a poppy field on the outskirts of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province yesterday. The Afghan
opium cultivation has once again hit a record high, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
16
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
PHILIPPINES
Philippines on alert
ahead of typhoon
Agencies
Manila
DPA
Manila
F
ive people drowned
when an overloaded passenger boat capsized in
the southern Philippines, a
military spokesman said yesterday.
The wooden vessel was carrying around 50 people, along
with hundreds of bags of cement and iron bars, when it
left the port of Jolo on the way
to the southern city of Zamboanga on Thursday, Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc
said.
The accident occurred between two islands off Sulu
province, 1,000km south of
Manila.
Emergency workers rescued
14 people, including seven
children, while five bodies
were retrieved, said Cabunoc.
The Coast Guard said passing fishing boats also rescued
P
hilippine authorities yesterday prepared to evacuate thousands of people
ahead of possible tidal surges,
flash floods and landslides from
an incoming typhoon.
Typhoon Maysak had weakened over the last two days, but
was still packing maximum sustained winds of 150km per hour
and gusts of up to 185kph as it
neared the country’s eastern
coast, the weather bureau said.
“Local government units and
police are prepared to enforce
pre-emptive or forced evacuations if necessary to ensure the
safety of everyone,” said Interior
Undersecretary Austere Panadero.
“We encourage the public to
heed the orders of the authorities,” he added.
Maysak is expected to start
bringing rain and strong winds
by today and make landfall over
the coast of the northern provinces of Aurora and Isabela tomorrow, the weather bureau
said.
Authorities also told tourists
to head home or bunker down
before the typhoon hits.
About 10,000 foreign and Filipino tourists have gone to Baler
Bay in Aurora, a popular spot for
surfers, since the holiday began
on Thursday, officials said. Baler
town, about 150km northeast of
the capital, Manila, has a population of about 36,000.
“Tomorrow we will impose a
preemptive evacuation to escape
from the typhoon,” said Elson
Egargue, head engineer of the
Aurora disaster council. He said
more than 50 schools and gymnasiums in Aurora were ready to
take displaced people.
People in Baler would be told
not to swim after and fishing
boats had already been stopped
from going to sea, Egargue said
in a radio interview.
Five people
dead as boat
capsizes
Typhoon Maysak seen strengthening into a category 5 hurricane.
Resort owners in Baler warned
their guests about the approaching storm, with some tourists
planning to leave the beaches
early, radio reports said.
Authorities said an estimated
10,000 tourists were believed to
be staying in hotels and resorts
along the eastern coasts of Aurora and Isabela.
Local authorities ordered
hotels and resorts to tell their
guests to start leaving or moving
to safer areas.
“A reminder to all inns and
accommodations to tell their
guests that they should be on
their way home by Friday and
should no longer be in town by
Saturday,” Mayor Nelianto Bihasa said in order.
“If the visitors do not leave
today, we will conduct pre-
emptive evacuation if they are
in a low-lying or coastal area,”
he added. “If they still refuse, we
will implement forced evacuation.”
In the adjacent province of
Isabela, authorities have identified evacuation centres for residents of four coastal towns that
could be at high risk from the
typhoon, said Governor Faustino Dy III.
“The wind is picking up but
the sun is still out,” he said. “But
we have prepared and emergency workers and relief goods have
been pre-positioned.”
Dy noted that the Sierra Madre
mountain range running across
the provinces of Isabela and Aurora would hopefully break the
typhoon’s strength.
“We can expect possible flash
floods over low-lying areas and
landslides over mountain slopes
along the path of the typhoon,”
chief weather forecaster Esperanza Cayanan said.
“Rough to very rough sea conditions will also prevail over the
eastern seaboard of the northern
region of Luzon, hence dangerous to all sea vessels,” she added.
A top-rated category 5 typhoon earlier this week, Maysak
has weakened to category 2 with
winds gusting up to 185km per
hour (115 mph), the weather bureau said.
Maysak was about 700km
(435 miles) northeast of Virac on
Catanduanes island yesterday.
It was moving slowly northwest
and would weaken further into
a tropical storm by the time it
makes landfall on Sunday, the
weather bureau said.
“This typhoon can still be destructive ... Even at 120 to 150
kph, it can still bring destructive
winds,” Raymund Liboro, assistant secretary of the Science and
Technology department, told a
briefing. He said winds would be
strong enough to uproot trees,
blow some roofs off houses, and
topple electric posts.
The typhoon could damage
rice and corn crops in central
and northern Philippines, but
damage is likely to be minimal
because the major rice harvest
was finished around February.
About 20 major typhoons pass
through the Philippines yearly.
Almost 8,000 people were killed
or missing after Haiyan, a category 5 typhoon, struck central
provinces in 2013.
an undetermined number of
people from the capsized vessel, which was unregistered
and did not pass through inspection.
“There is no way to check
how many more are missing
because we have no records
of the total number of people
on board,” said Coast Guard
spokesman William Arquero.
“There is no way to check
how many more are
missing because we have
no records of the total
number of people on
board”
Sea travel is a key mode of
transportation in the Philippines, an archipelago of more
than 7,000 islands.
The country was the site of
the world’s worst peacetime
maritime disaster when a ferry
collided with an oil tanker days
before Christmas in 1987, killing more than 4,300 people.
De Lima, Pena told to
explain TRO defiance
Manila Times
Manila
T
he 6th Division of the
Court of Appeals has
ordered Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Makati
City Vice-Mayor Romulo
Pena to explain within three
days why they should not be
cited for contempt for stopping the implementation of
an injunction it issued against
the suspension of Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay
Jr.
De Lima and Pena were
among the principal respond-
ents in the indirect contempt
charges filed against Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales
and Interior Secretary Manuel
Roxas 2nd for not honoring the
May 16 temporary restraining
order (TRO).
Associate
Justice
Jose
Reyes, chairman of the 6th
Division, said Pena was included when he took over as
acting mayor of Makati after the suspension order was
served on Binay by the Department of Interior and Local Government.
The Binay camp said Pena’s
act was tantamount to defiance of the TRO.
Philippines observes Good Friday
AFP
Manila
P
eople in the fervently
Catholic
Philippines
marked Good Friday, in
acts of devotion that attracted
thousands of spectators.
The annual ritual in scorching hot farmlands just outside
of Manila is one of many colourful outpourings of faith in the
Southeast Asian nation, where
80% of its 100mn people are
Catholics.
San Fernando Archbishop
Florentino Lavarias has discour-
A Good Friday procession in Manila yesterday.
aged extreme acts of devotion,
saying there are other ways to
profess one’s faith.
“Our acts should be geared
toward good works. Christian life is not something that
is done overnight,” he counselled.
San Fernando Mayor Edwin
Santiago openly conceded that
the religious ritual has vast economic benefits for the community.
“We don’t have the exact
record of the money... but for
sure the Good Friday activities
help our locals in their businesses,” he said.
This year’s spectacle attracted a crowd of 60,000, roughly
the same number last year, San
Fernando Councillor Harvey
Quiwa told AFP.
While organisers tried to keep
the event solemn, the general
mood appeared more festive
with dozens of hawker stalls
selling food and souvenirs, giant
streamers of mobile phone companies set up in various places
and crowds taking photos with
their smartphone and tablet
cameras.
Foreign tourists flocked to
view the spectacle.
Waldemar Traczyk, 50, a his-
tory professor from Poland, said
he saved up for seven years so
he and his wife could fly to the
Philippines to witness Friday’s
events.
The Philippines is known
around the world for its fervent
brand of Catholicism, which was
introduced by Spanish colonisers in the 1500s.
An annual procession in
downtown Manila drew 5.5mn
barefoot devotees last January,
authorities said.
A mass by Pope Francis in the
capital’s main outdoor park a
week later drew a record crowd
of 6mn people.
Mindanao’s returnees get help with kelp in the Philippines
Agencies
Zambonga City
F
or most of his life, Faizal
Pasaki’s existence has been
closely tied to the seas. He
begins his day at dawn, trailing
his boat through the calm water into a field of empty plastic
bottles bobbing on the surface,
holding up ropes to harvest seaweed.
Until recently, indigenous
groups of Muslim tribes like
the Tausug and Sama Dilaut
have been living in stilt houses
and farming seaweed along the
shores of idyllic island villages
like Leha-Leha and Layag-Layag in Mindanao in the southern
Philippines.
This tradition was shattered
when clashes broke out between
armed groups and government
forces in Zamboanga in September 2013. Some 120,000 people
were displaced from 11 coastal
barangays. Many ended up in
evacuation centres and camps,
unsure if they would be allowed
to return home or to resume
their traditional livelihoods.
After many months of living
in squalid conditions in these
camps, some 370 displaced
people, among them vulnerable women and children, have
returned to the island villages
since last December.
“It’s good to be back here,”
said Faizal Pasaki, a seaweed
farmer trying to rebuild his life
back in Leha-Leha. He is looking
forward to ending his family’s
dependency on food provided by
the local government.
“We have our livelihood here,”
he said. “Life is here. We cannot
continue to survive on canned
sardines and instant noodles.”
UNHCR’s head of Mindanao
operations, Peter Deck, added:
“All throughout their lives, seaweed farming has been their
source of income. This is their
traditional livelihood and it is
through this that they can provide for their families.”
Recognising this, UNHCR is
supporting a livelihoods project
to build concrete platforms on
stilts that will allow farmers
to dry their seaweed under the
sun. Members of the community
are helping with the construction. Today, for example, Faizal
is pouring cement into hollow
wooden columns. Others fasten
bamboo panels together for the
flooring.
It is a worthy investment: A
kilo of fresh seaweed can sell for
4 pesos (less than 10 cents) while
the same weight in dried seaweed can fetch nearly nine times
more in income.
In Leha-Leha an air of normality is returning as people get
back on their feet – children are
going back to school, the women
are at home tying bundles of
seaweed for planting while the
men are out at sea collecting
seaweed.
But Faizal is concerned over
the temporary nature of their return. For reasons of security and
environmental hazards, the local government has announced
a policy to designate island villages as “no return” zones.
Whether this policy will be
lifted is still unclear. Authorities
said a geo-hazard mapping must
be carried out first to establish
that the areas are really hazardprone and not fit for habitation.
The Philippine Commission on
Human Rights is monitoring
these issues that affect the rights
of the displaced families.
“We are people of the sea,”
said Faizal. “There’s no other
place we would rather be. Put us
in another place and we would
still find ourselves back here.”
Presently there are over
30,000 internally displaced
people in Zamboanga city awaiting return or relocation to permanent shelters. The authorities
target completing construction
of these permanent shelters by
June this year.
Alongside other UN agencies
and the rest of the humanitarian
community, UNHCR welcomes
solutions planned by the local
authorities.
“Any durable solution implemented must recognize the
IDPs’ right to freedom of movement and respect the right to
return to their places of origin”
said Deck.
“Where return is not feasible,
voluntary relocation must be
considered and cultural sensitivity must be observed for this
vulnerable group of indigenous
people.”
Whether they opt for return or
relocation, it will likely be a long
road to recovery for Zamboanga’s displaced.
A woman processes seaweed before placing it on a solar dryer in Leha-Leha village, part of a UNHCR
project to help returnees in Zamboanga’s island villages restore their traditional livelihood.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
17
SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL
Lanka steps up scrutiny
of 28 Chinese projects
Reuters
Colombo
S
ri Lanka ordered a review
of 35 investment projects
yesterday, most of them
awarded to Chinese firms by
the previous administration,
suggesting ties remain fragile
despite Beijing’s attempts to
assuage concerns.
China has pledged $1bn in
new grant money to Sri Lanka to
address complaints that its investment was aimed at furthering its own strategic interests
rather than Colombo’s.
The main dispute is over a
port city project in Colombo
that the government has suspended pending a review of
approvals. But other road and
port projects have come under
scrutiny since the President
Maithripala Sirisena took office
in January.
A cabinet note seen by Reuters said the government had
compiled a list of 35 projects
which had been awarded
without competitive bidding
on the grounds that they were
of critical importance to rebuilding after the island’s civil
war.
A government minister said
28 of the listed projects were
Chinese-funded.
“The cabinet sub-committee
on economic affairs has appointed an official committee
to review these proposals and
submit a report,” the note said.
India, which has long had
close ties with Sri Lanka, has
been unable to match Beijing’s financial and technical
assistance.
Sri Lanka’s cabinet decided yesterday that all future
projects will be awarded on the
basis of open tenders, spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said.
Chinese companies building a road in a Colombo suburb have also agreed to cut the
cost of the $520mn project
by Rs30bn ($225.73mn), said
Senaratnehe.
China has poured millions
of dollars into Sri Lanka’s infrastructure since the end of a
26-year civil war in 2009, when
Colombo was largely shunned
by Western investors because of
its human rights record.
President Maithripala Sirisena travelled to China just weeks
after his government halted a
$1.4bn port city project that had
been inaugurated by Chinese
President Xi Jinping during a
visit in September. He cited a
lack of government approvals.
The move has strained ties
with Beijing, which says the
port project is in line with local laws and has warned that
any cancellation would deter
foreign investors.
Senaratne said the Chinese
delegation offered the new
grants without any conditions on the fate of the port city
project.
Under the port city plan,
108 hectares of land next to the
main commercial port of Colombo would be taken over by
China Communications Construction, including 20 hectares
on an outright basis and the rest
on a 99-year lease.
India has raised security concerns over the Chinese land
ownership as it uses the Colombo port for most of its transshipment. Those concerns
were aggravated by the docking of Chinese submarines in
Colombo last year.
Senaratne said Xi told Sirisena during the visit that if any issues arise related to the region,
China is willing to discuss them
trilaterally with both Sri Lanka
and India.
Haisna vows
to complete
trials of war
criminals
By Mizan Rahman
Dhaka
B
randing Khaleda Zia as
the ‘queen of destruction’ Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina has said that
the BNP chairperson’s dream
of assuming power would
never come true as the people
of Bangladesh are now on the
track of sure prosperity towards becoming a middle income nation by 2021.
“We create and she ruins”
said the prime minister when
she referred to the dream of
Khaleda Zia, who wants to go
to power on the dead bodies of
innocent people with a failed
attempt to involve the people
in her so-called movement.
Hasina, also the Leader of the
House, said this while delivering her valedictory speech in the
parliament as the fifth session of
the parliament was prorogued.
“We want to let the people
live in prosperity and with
peace as the country is now
moving forward to its coveted
goal,” she said expressing her
firm commitment to stand
beside the people in building
Bangladesh as a middle income country by 2021 and a
developed one by 2041.
Hasina said the 10th parliament, held on January 5, was
constituted by overcoming
various odds and obstacles
created by the BNP-Jamaat alliance. The people didn’t support them to foil democracy,
she said.
The 10th parliament is
somewhat better in terms of
its good democratic practice,
she said, adding that the opposition, unlike in the ninth
parliament, is now discharging its constructive responsibilities in the House.
“In the ninth parliament,
the opposition never played a
constructive role in the parliament as the Leader of the
Opposition at that time did
not give any importance to the
House,” she said.
Hasina appreciated the role
of the opposition in the 10th
parliament saying, now the
people do not hear filthy language and badmouthing from
members of parliament.
The prime minister said the
ultimate goal of her government is to ensure welfare of
the nation. All members of
parliament should perform
with responsibility in this regard, she said.
Hailing the president for his
well-thought out inaugural
speech delivered in the first session, the prime minister said his
speech had truly reflected the real
picture of the socio-economic
development of the country.
“The president in his
speech perfectly articulated
the country’s development
and Bangladesh’s emergence
Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar meets Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala in Kathmandu yesterday.
Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina
as a role model of development
in the world,” she said.
In her more than one hour
speech, Prime Minister Hasina
criticised a section of the people under the banner of ‘Shata
Nagorik Committee’ saying,
how the conscious people can
support the petrol bomb attacks and killing innocent people in the name of movement.
She also expressed her firm
commitment to complete the
trial of the war criminals saying, the trial would continue to
free the nation from the decades old stigma.
She said no country like
Bangladesh allowed anti-liberation force in the politics. Trial
of the war criminals must be
completed to deliver justice to
the relatives of the martyrs of
independence as well as materialising the aspiration of the
people believing in the spirit of
War of Liberation, she said.
She said Bangladesh is
struggling to be free from
hunger and poverty even after
45 years of the independence.
Anti-liberation force killed
Bangabandhu and four national leaders as they retrieved
the country from the ruin of
war in a very short period and
was moving forward in a quick
pace to prosperity.
She blamed former president Ziaur Rahman for rehabilitation of the anti-liberation
force in politics saying, Zia
brought many war criminals to
the country from abroad and
freed the criminals who were
in jail for their crimes against
humanity in 1971.
Pointing out the High Court
order declaring the regime of
Zia as illegal, the prime minister said the verdict is a big lesson for those who like to play
a game with the democratic
rights of the people.
Hasina said Bangladesh
came to existence at the cost of
huge sacrifice to realise some
basic expectations. Her government is making relentless
efforts to fulfill those expectations, she said.
She said the poverty rate
declined to 24% during the
period of her government in
office since 2009. Now there is
no crisis of food in the country,
she said adding her government aimed for further reducing the poverty to 10% during
the remaining period of the
present tenure.
Nepal leaders urged to seek
consensus on constitution
IANS
Kathmandu
I
ndian foreign secretary
S Jaishankar yesterday
wrapped up his two-day official visit to Nepal conveying
a common political message
from New Delhi to the leaders
of the Himalayan nation that
they must draft their new constitution on the basis of broader
consensus and compromise.
Jaishankar met President
Ram Baran Yadav, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, Constituent Assembly chairman Subash
Chandra Nembang, chairman
of the Communist Party of
Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) K P Oli, United
Communist Party of NepalMaoist (UCPN-M) chairman
Pushpa Kamal Dahal and leaders of an alliance of Madeshbased parties.
Law to ban
hate speech
The Indian foreign secretary
conveyed two key messages
from New Delhi to Nepal’s political leadership - that they
must seek broader political
consensus on the constitutiondrafting process and that federalism was an internal matter of
Nepal and India has no say in it.
“I conveyed to them that India is committed to working
with the people of Nepal for a
democratic, stable, peaceful and
prosperous Nepal,” the Indian
foreign secretary said in his departure statement, adding that
India’s relations with Nepal are,
and will continue to be, a matter
of the highest priority.
In separate meetings with top
political leaders on Thursday
and yesterday, Jaishankar highlighted the importance of consensus in the statute writing
process and urged the leaders to
finalise the new constitution as
soon as possible.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister Office, Koirala, during his meeting
with Jaishankar, appreciated
Indian’s ‘Neighbourhood First
Policy’ in its foreign policy architecture and hailed the recent
initiatives by the two nations in
strengthening bilateral ties.
Koirala also assured the Indian
diplomat that Nepal would vote
for India’s bid for a permanent
seat in the UN Security Council.
According to the statement,
Jaishankar stressed for better
connectivity among the Saarc
member states including energy co-operation and conveyed
best wishes to Koirala in advance for promulgation of the
new constitution.
Promulgation of the new
constitution is the key agenda
for Nepal but the political parties have already missed the
January 22 deadline to do so.
Due to irreconcilable differ-
ences among the top parties,
an understanding could not be
reached on finalising the constitution despite two successive constituent assemblies
working on the issue.
According to Maoist leader
Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Jaishankar told the party leaders that India wished for
early promulgation of the
constitution in Nepal.
“There are precedents elsewhere in the world that the constitution is written on the basis
of broader consensus and compromise. We also encourage the
same in Nepal that will direct
the political competition in the
right direction after promulgation of the new constitution.
“Constitution writing is like
setting the rules of the game,”
Jaishankar told the political
leaders. “Once that is done,
the real game and political
competition begin.”
Sri Lankan President Maithripala
Sirisena
Sirisena
begins
Pak visit
tomorrow
IANS
Colombo
S
ri
Lankan
President
Maithripala Sirisena will
pay a state visit to Pakistan
from April 5 to 7 at the invitation
of the president and prime minister of Pakistan, officials said
yesterday.
This will be the first visit by
the newly elected Sri Lankan
president to Pakistan. He assumed office in January this year.
During the visit, Sirisena will
meet with President Mamnoon
Hussain, who will host a state
banquet in his honour, Xinhua
news agency cited the Pakistani
foreign ministry as saying.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
will hold bilateral talks with
Sirisena.
A number of agreements for
co-operation in various fields
will be signed after the talks, a
foreign ministry statement said.
Pakistan’s National Assembly
speaker and senior ministers will
call on the visiting president.
As members of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) and the Commonwealth, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka co-operate closely and coordinate with each other on issues of common interest and regional and international concern,
the foreign ministry said.
8 Lankans safely
leave Yemen
The Sri Lankan government
yesterday said eight of its
nationals had safely left Yemen
as fighting intensified in that
country.
Out of the eight, three had
reached Djibouti in the early
hours of yesterday while the
remaining five were on their
way home via sea, Xinhua news
agency cited an official from the
foreign ministry in Colombo as
saying.
The government said this week
that it was making arrangements
to evacuate at least 100 of its
citizens stranded in Yemen as
fighting escalated between the
Houthi rebels and the Saudi
military forces.
The ministry of foreign affairs, in
co-ordination with the Sri Lankan
embassy in Muscat, Oman, which
is concurrently accredited to
Yemen, is exploring all possible
avenues to ensure the safe return
of the Sri Lankans.
The government has already
requested India, China and the UN
to help evacuate the Sri Lankan
citizens trapped in Yemen.
Devotees at mass
DPA
Colombo
S
ri Lanka’s government will
introduce laws that ban
all religious and ethnic
hate speech, a spokesman said
yesterday.
A jail term of up to two years
will be given to those found
guilty of causing communal
or religious disharmony, government spokesman Rajitha
Senaratne said.
A government appointed
commission earlier recommended that such laws should be implemented in order to help mend
the discord between the majority
Sinhala and minority Tamils.
Sri Lanka has witnessed a
string of ethnic riots and religious related clashes, including a
major riot in 1983 in which more
than 1,000 Tamils were killed after 13 Sinhala soldiers were killed
by Tamil rebels.
Devotees hold a wooden cross during a Good Friday mass at a church in Colombo yesterday. Holy week is celebrated in many Christian
traditions during the week before Easter.
18
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
COMMENT
Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah
Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed
Production Editor: C P Ravindran
P.O.Box 2888
Doha, Qatar
[email protected]
Telephone 44350478 (news),
44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery)
Fax 44350474
Collaborative engagement only
way for China and the US
In today’s world, no great
power can afford to operate
in a vacuum
By Stephen S Roach
New Haven
GULF TIMES
Obama looking to
legacy with Iran deal,
but many ifs remain
Barack Obama has lauded a “historic” deal to contain
Iran’s nuclear programme in what could be seen as a
vindication of his foreign policy of reaching out to some
of America’s long-time foes.
But more than seven years after he was derided as
“naive” as a candidate when he expressed willingness to
sit down with the leaders of Iran, Obama himself admits
that major questions remain.
And he has warned Iran against backsliding on the
political framework agreed in Switzerland, while stressing
that the deal is not built on trust of Tehran, but on
stringent verification measures.
But Iran’s compliance is not the only issue that Obama
must face in the coming months. A recalcitrant Congress
may also throw roadblocks in Obama’s way.
Speaker of the House John Boehner, the top Republican
in Congress, has already said that the deal’s parameters
“represent an alarming departure from the White House’s
initial goals”.
US lawmakers have repeatedly clashed with Obama
over the Iran talks. Members of both parties have been
pushing for greater say in the deal and clamouring for
more sanctions, while the US administration has warned
that such actions may scuttle negotiations with Tehran.
Republicans have ratcheted up the pressure by hosting
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak
about the dangers of a deal with Iran and sending a letter
to Iran’s leadership
suggesting that a
future president
could back out of the
deal.
Washington and
Tehran broke off
relations after the
1979 Islamic revolution, in which the US-backed Shah
was ousted and Americans were held captive for over a
year in the US embassy in the Iranian capital.
The intensive nuclear talks have nurtured hopes that
relations could be mended over the long term.
Senators plan to push forward later this month with a
measure that would require Congress be given a vote on
any deal.
Known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of
2015, the legislation would require Obama to submit
the text of an Iran nuclear agreement to Congress and
prohibit the suspension of sanctions for 60 days while
lawmakers weigh the deal.
Obama will have to prove to Congress that the deal will
keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, according to
Republican Senator Ron Johnson.
A national survey by Pew Research earlier this week
found that most Americans want Congress to have the
final say on the deal and also express scepticism about
whether the Iranians are serious.
However, another new poll by the Washington Post and
ABC News shows that a majority of Americans do favour
an agreement with Iran.
Obama remains firmly committed to allowing
diplomacy to work, comparing the deal to historic arms
control agreements reached by the Nixon and Reagan
administrations with the Soviet Union during the 1970s
and 80s, when Obama noted Moscow was a “far more
dangerous adversary” than Iran.
C
hina is generating a lot of
confusion nowadays, both at
home, where senior officials
now tout the economy’s “new
normal”, and abroad, exemplified by
America’s embrace of Cold War-style
tactics to contain China’s rise. On both
counts, the disconnects are striking,
adding a new dimension of risk to the
impact of the “China factor” on a fragile
world.
The official view in China is that its
economy has already arrived in the
Promised Land of the “new normal.”
Indeed, that was the theme of the
just-concluded China Development
Forum (CDF) – an important platform
for debate among China’s senior
officials and a broad cross-section of
international participants that occurs
immediately after the annual National
People’s Congress.
Since the CDF’s inception in 2000,
the Chinese government has used the
event to signal its policy priorities. In
2002, for example, the CDF focused on
the impact of China’s accession to the
World Trade Organisation – a precursor
to a spectacular surge of export-led
growth. In 2009, the emphasis was on
China’s aggressive post-crisis stimulus
strategy. And last year’s event addressed
implementation of the so-called Third
Plenum reforms.
This suggests that China’s “new
normal” will be the government’s top
priority this year. But there remains
considerable ambiguity as to what
exactly the new normal entails – or
whether it has even been achieved.
In his keynote speech at the CDF,
Zhang Gaoli, one of the seven members
of the Politburo Standing Committee
(the Chinese Communist Party’s
highest decision-making body),
declared that the senior leadership has
rendered the “strategic judgment that
China’s economy has entered the stage
of the new normal”. Yet, at the CDF’s
wrap-up session, Premier Li Keqiang
suggested, a bit less decisively, that
China is basically following the world
economy in its transition to a new
normal.
In short, China’s government
is confusing a path with the final
destination – a point that I stressed
in my remarks to the CDF, in which I
argued that China is in the early stages
of rebalancing its economy toward
services and consumption. In fact,
China is far from settling in to a new
normal.
The imperative to
co-operate is an
inevitable outgrowth
of globalisation
The best way to measure how far
China still has to go is to consider the
development of its services sector – the
infrastructure of consumer demand
in an economy. The good news is that
services are now growing faster than
any other sector, having reached 48%
of GDP in 2014 (thus surpassing the
end-2015 target of 47% well ahead
of schedule). The tough news is that
this remains significantly lower than
the 60-65% share typical of a more
“normal” economy.
Given this, it is worrying that China’s
leaders believe that the new normal is
already at hand. The notion that this
critical transition has occurred risks
generating complacency at a time
when China should be focused on
the wrenching, but essential, process
of structural adjustment – one that
will take at least another decade to
complete.
Continuing the shift to a servicesled growth model is important for a
number of reasons. With services in
China employing 30% more workers
per unit of output than manufacturing
and construction, the sector’s
expansion will help to preserve social
stability, even as economic growth
slows to 7%. Observers in the West,
focused largely on the slowdown of
headline GDP growth, continue to
miss this key point. Moreover, because
the services sector also requires fewer
commodities and less energy, this
transition will help China address its
serious environmental problems.
In the meantime, China faces
another, equally daunting challenge:
the US’ growing determination to
contain its growing influence. At this
year’s CDF, tensions between the
hegemon and the rising power were
widely discussed, both in the formal
sessions and on the sidelines.
Three developments were
especially noteworthy: US resistance
to China’s efforts to establish the
Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank – a stance now rejected by
most of America’s closest allies;
President Barack Obama’s signature
trade initiative, the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, which excludes China;
and yet another effort by the US
Senate to enact legislation on currency
manipulation that takes dead aim
at China. Combined with ongoing
disputes over cyber security and
territorial claims in the East and South
China Seas – not to mention questions
about America’s geostrategic “pivot”
toward Asia – these issues have chilled
the Sino-American relationship.
It fell to Henry Kissinger, who was
present at the dawn of the modern
US-China relationship, to put it all into
context. At the CDF, he stressed how
different the situation is now, compared
to 1972, when he and then-president
Richard Nixon first met with Mao
Zedong and Zhou Enlai. Unlike the
immediate military threats back then,
today’s challenges – such as climate
change, cyber security and global
health – can be addressed only through
collaborative strategic engagement.
The imperative to co-operate is an
inevitable outgrowth of globalisation.
As Kissinger emphasised, the Middle
Kingdom of China’s dynastic era knew
nothing of the Roman Empire, and vice
versa. In today’s world, however, no
great power can afford to operate in a
vacuum. They receive instantaneous
feedback from one another – especially
on shared challenges – whether they
like it or not.
In a sense, it is no surprise that the
US is bristling over China’s ascendance.
After all, dominant powers have always
struggled to cope with rising ones.
Nonetheless, China, burdened by 150
years of perceived humiliation by the
West, does not take kindly to that
reaction.
As China confronts the challenges of
its economy’s shift to a new normal, it
will need to find common ground with
the US. And America will need to work
to deepen its understanding of China’s
transition. Both countries will have to
show leadership, vision and openness to
collaborative engagement. Sadly, there
was little sign of that at this year’s CDF.
- Project Syndicate
zStephen S Roach, a faculty member at
Yale University and former Chairman
of Morgan Stanley Asia, is the author
of a new book Unbalanced: The
Codependency of America and China.
A recalcitrant
Congress may
throw roadblocks
in Obama’s way
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How scary is the bond market?
By Robert J Shiller
New Haven
T
he prices of long-term
government bonds have been
running very high in recent
years (that is, their yields
have been very low). In the US, the
30-year Treasury bond yield reached
a record low (since the Federal Reserve
series began in 1972) of 2.25% on
January 30.
The yield on the United Kingdom’s
30-year government bond fell to
2.04% on the same day. The Japanese
20-year government bond yielded just
0.87% on January 20.
All of these yields have since moved
slightly higher, but they remain
exceptionally low. It seems puzzling
that people would tie up their money
for 20 or 30 years to earn little or
nothing more than these central
banks’ 2% target rate for annual
inflation.
So, with the bond market appearing
ripe for a dramatic correction, many
are wondering whether a crash could
drag down markets for other longterm assets, such as housing and
equities.
It is a question that I am repeatedly
asked at seminars and conferences.
After all, participants in the housing
and equity markets set prices with a
view to prices in the bond market, so
contagion from one long-term market
to another seems like a real possibility.
I have been thinking about the
bond market for a long time. In fact,
the long-term bond market was the
subject of my 1972 PhD dissertation
and my first-ever academic
publication the following year, coauthored with my academic adviser,
Franco Modigliani.
Bond-market crashes
have actually been
relatively rare and
mild
Our work with data for the years
1952-1971 showed that the long-term
bond market back then was pretty easy
to describe. Long-term interest rates
on any given date could be explained
quite well as a certain weighted
average of the last 18 quarters of
inflation and the last 18 quarters of
short-term real interest rates.
When either inflation or short-term
real interest rates went up, long-term
rates rose. When either fell, so did
long-term rates.
We now have more than 40 years
of additional data, so I took a look to
see if our theory still predicts well. It
turns out that our estimates then, if
applied to subsequent data, predicted
long-term rates extremely well for the
20 years after we published; but then,
in the mid-1990s, our theory started
to overpredict.
According to our model, long-term
rates in the US should be even lower
than they are now, because both
inflation and short-term real interest
rates are practically zero or negative.
Even taking into account the impact
of quantitative easing since 2008,
long-term rates are higher than
expected.
But the explanation that we
developed so long ago still fits well
enough to encourage the belief that we
will not see a crash in the bond market
unless central banks tighten monetary
policy very sharply (by hiking shortterm interest rates) or there is a major
spike in inflation.
Bond-market crashes have actually
been relatively rare and mild. In the
US, the biggest one-year drop in the
Global Financial Data extension of
Moody’s monthly total return index
for 30-year corporate bonds (going
back to 1857) was 12.5% in the 12
months ending in February 1980.
Compare that to the stock market:
According to the GFD monthly S&P
500 total return index, an annual
loss of 67.8% occurred in the year
ending in May 1932, during the Great
Depression, and one-year losses have
exceeded 12.5% in 23 separate episodes
since 1900.
It is also worth noting what kind
of event is needed to produce a 12.5%
crash in the long-term bond market.
The one-year drop in February 1980
came immediately after Paul Volcker
took the helm of the Federal Reserve
in 1979. A 1979 Gallup Poll had shown
that 62% of Americans regarded
inflation as the “most important
problem facing the nation”.
Volcker took radical steps to deal
with it, hiking short-term interest
rates so high that he created a major
recession. He also created enemies
(and even faced death threats).
Regarding the stock market and the
housing market, there may well be a
major downward correction someday.
But it probably will have little to do
with a bond-market crash. That was
the case with the biggest US stockmarket corrections of the last century
(after 1907, 1929, 1973, 2000 and
2007) and the biggest US housingmarket corrections of all time (after
1979, 1989 and 2006).
It is true that extraordinarily low
long-term bond yields put us outside
the range of historical experience. But
so would a scenario in which a sudden
bond-market crash drags down prices
of stocks and housing. When an
event has never occurred, it cannot
be predicted with any semblance of
confidence. - Project Syndicate
zRobert J Shiller, a 2013 Nobel laureate
in economics, is professor of economics
at Yale University and the co-creator
of the Case-Shiller Index of US house
prices.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
19
COMMENT
Last chance for Ukraine and Europe
The deterioration of
Ukraine’s situation is
accelerating
By George Soros
London
T
he European Union stands
at a crossroads. The shape it
takes five years from now will
be decided in the coming 3-5
months.
Year after year, the EU has
successfully muddled through its
difficulties. But now it has to deal
with two sources of existential crisis:
Greece and Ukraine. That may prove
too much.
Greece’s long-festering crisis has
been mishandled by all parties from
the outset. Emotions now are running
so high that muddling through is the
only constructive alternative.
But Ukraine is different. It is a
black-and-white case. Vladimir
Putin’s Russia is the aggressor,
and Ukraine, in defending itself, is
defending the values and principles on
which the EU was built.
Yet Europe treats Ukraine like
another Greece. That is the wrong
approach, and it is producing the
wrong results. Putin is gaining
ground in Ukraine, and Europe is so
preoccupied with Greece that it hardly
pays any attention.
Putin’s preferred outcome in
Ukraine is to engineer a financial and
political collapse that destabilises the
country, and for which he can disclaim
responsibility, rather than a military
victory that leaves him in possession
of – and responsible for – part of
Ukraine. He has shown this by twice
converting a military victory into a
ceasefire.
The deterioration in Ukraine’s
position between the two ceasefire
agreements – Minsk I, negotiated last
September, and Minsk II, completed in
February – shows the extent of Putin’s
success. But that success is temporary,
and Ukraine is too valuable an ally for
the EU to abandon.
There is something fundamentally
wrong with EU policy. How else could
Putin’s Russia have outmanoeuvred
Ukraine’s allies, which used to lead the
free world? The trouble is that Europe
has been drip-feeding Ukraine, just
as it has Greece. As a result, Ukraine
barely survives, while Putin has the
first-mover advantage. He can choose
between hybrid war and hybrid
peace, and Ukraine and its allies are
struggling to respond.
The deterioration of Ukraine’s
situation is accelerating. The financial
collapse of which I had been warning
for months occurred in February, when
the hryvnia’s value plummeted 50% in
a few days, and the National Bank of
Ukraine had to inject large amounts of
money to rescue the banking system.
The climax was reached on February
25, when the central bank introduced
import controls and raised interest
rates to 30%.
Since then, President Petro
Poroshenko’s jawboning has brought
the exchange rate back close to the
level on which Ukraine’s 2015 budget
was based. But the improvement is
extremely precarious.
This temporary collapse has shaken
public confidence and endangered the
balance sheets of Ukrainian banks and
companies that have hard-currency
debts. It has also undermined the
calculations on which Ukraine’s
programmes with the International
Monetary Fund are based. The IMF’s
Extended Fund Facility became
insufficient even before it was
approved. But EU member states,
facing their own fiscal constraints,
have shown no willingness to consider
additional bilateral aid. So Ukraine
continues to teeter on the edge of the
abyss.
At the same time, a radical reform
programme within Ukraine is gaining
momentum, and slowly becoming
visible to both the Ukrainian public
and the European authorities. There
is a stark contrast between the
deteriorating external situation and
the continuing progress in internal
reforms. This gives the situation in
Kyiv an air of unreality.
One plausible scenario is that Putin
achieves his optimal objective and
Ukraine’s resistance crumbles. Europe
would be flooded with refugees – 2mn
seems to be a realistic estimate. Many
people expect that this would mark
the beginning of Cold War II. The
likelier outcome is that a victorious
Putin would have many friends in
Europe, and that the sanctions on
Russia would be allowed to lapse.
That is the worst possible outcome
for Europe, which would become
even more divided, turning into a
battleground for influence between
Putin’s Russia and the US. The EU
would cease to be a functioning
political force in the world (especially
if Greece also left the eurozone).
A more likely scenario is that Europe
muddles through by drip-feeding
Ukraine. Ukraine does not collapse,
but the oligarchs reassert themselves
and the new Ukraine begins to
resemble the old Ukraine.
Putin would find this almost as
satisfactory as a complete collapse.
But his victory would be less secure,
as it would lead to a second Cold War
that Russia would lose, just as the
Soviet Union lost the first. Putin’s
Russia needs oil at $100 a barrel and
will start running out of currency
reserves in 2-3 years.
The latest chapter in what I call
the “Tragedy of the European Union”
is that the EU will lose the new
Ukraine. The principles that Ukraine
is defending – the very principles
on which the EU is based – will be
abandoned, and the EU will have to
spend a lot more money on defending
itself than it would need to spend
helping the new Ukraine succeed.
There is also a more hopeful
scenario. The new Ukraine is still
alive and determined to defend
itself. Though Ukraine, on its own,
is no match for Russia’s military
might, its allies could decide to do
“whatever it takes” to help, short
of becoming involved in a direct
military confrontation with Russia or
violating the Minsk agreement. Doing
so would not only help Ukraine; it
would also help the EU to recapture
the values and principles that it seems
to have lost. Needless to say, this is
the scenario I advocate. - Project
Syndicate
zGeorge Soros is chairman of Soros
Fund Management and of the Open
Society Foundations.
Weather report
LEGAL HELPLINE
Three-day forecast
Women entitled to 50 days paid maternity leave
To avail of the maternity
leave, the employee
should submit a medical
certificate
By Nizar Kochery
Doha
QUESTION: I have been working
with a company in Doha for
more than two years now. My
sponsorship is with the company
and I am about to take maternity
leave within a couple of days. Our
company has so far never given
any maternity benefits to anyone.
But as per Qatar’s Labour law is
it possible for me to claim salary
during my maternity leave? If so,
how many days of paid leave would
I get as per law? Will they give me
full pay or only basic salary?
JJ, Doha
ANSWER: One year in employment
with the same employer is the only
requirement for entitlement of
maternity benefits. According to
Article 96 of the Labour Law, female
employees are entitled to 50 days
paid maternity leave with full salary.
The leave must be taken in the period
immediately before and after delivery
provided that the leave must include 35
days in the post-delivery period.
If the post-delivery health condition
hinders return to work after the end
of the maternity leave period then,
provided that an adequate medical
certificate is furnished, an employee
may take unpaid leave for a period not
exceeding 60 consecutive or staggered
days.
To avail of the leave, the employee
should provide to their employer a
medical certificate issued by a licensed
physician stating the expected delivery
date.
Compensation
for damage
Q: We are a construction
company facing a claim wherein
contributory negligence is
established. Do local laws
permit a contracting party to be
compensated against all acts,
errors and omissions arising from
the work of the other party, even if
the first party is negligent?
TRM, Doha
A: Qatar Civil Law - No 22 of 2004
allows the contracting party to
seek compensation for any direct,
foreseeable damage from the defaulting
party. The contracting party may
even seek compensation for indirect
damage from the defaulting party in
the event of gross misconduct or gross
negligence.
However, negligence of one party
may reduce the liability of the other
party, as well as the amount of any
damages awarded.
Employees can
divide annual leave
Q: Can an employer refuse an
employee’s request for splitting
annual leave? Can the employer
postpone the employee’s annual
vacation arbitrarily? How many
minimum days of leave the
employee can legally avail of in a
year?
AT, Doha
A: Employees covered under Law No
14 of 2004 can divide their annual
leave into two and avail half of it the
following year subject approval of the
employer. Though the employer has
the right to decide when a worker can
go on leave, the law stipulates that
employer must not be unfair in making
that decision.
The employer does not have the right
to postpone the annual vacation of a
worker to the year next to the one in
which the leave is due. If a worker has
put in less than five years of continuous
service with a company, he is entitled
to three weeks of leave every year. If his
service duration is more than five years,
he is eligible to get four weeks of leave
each year.
Termination
without reason
Q: Can an employer terminate
an employee without stating
any reason? I work with a subcontractor but unfortunately
the company is facing a major
financial problem, forcing it
to cut costs. I’m likely to be
retrenched as part of the costcutting programme. I may have
to look for another job. But I
need to wait five more months to
transfer my sponsorship because
I have been working with the
present company for only seven
months now. My visa expires on
September 1. Are there any laws
requiring a minimum number
of labourers to be employed on a
particular construction project?
Can financial reasons be ground
TODAY
High: 30 C
Low : 20 C
Relatively hot during the day and
slight dust at times with some clouds
for termination? My employer is
willing to transfer my sponsorship
but do I have to complete one year
for that? Is there any alternative?
TH, Doha
A: As per Qatar’s Labour Law, an
employment contract of indefinite
duration is terminable by notice and
no reasons to be established by either
of the parties. There are no provisions
in the laws of Qatar that require a
minimum number of local employees
to be employed on a particular
construction project.
The employer may take reduction
of manpower as part of its financial
control measures and the obligation of
the employer is limited to payment of
dues and repatriation. Visa transfers
are subject to rules and regulations of
immigration.
Negotiate with the employer to reach
a mutually-agreeable term of further
employment to enable to meet the
requirements of transfer or request
to grant no-objection for return
on another employment visa after
repatriation.
SUNDAY
High: 32 C
Low : 21 C
Sunny
MONDAY
High: 33 C
Low : 22 C
Sunny
Fishermen’s forecast
OFFSHORE DOHA
Wind:NW-SW’LY 8-16/22KT
Waves: 2-5/7 Feet
INSHORE DOHA
Wind:NW-SW’LY3-12/16 KT
Waves: 1-2/3Feet
Around the region
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Weather
today
Cloudy
M Sunny
Cloudy
Sunny
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Sunny
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M Sunny
Max/min
29/22
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28/18
32/19
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32/24
31/18
22/12
Weather
tomorrow
Sunny
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Sunny
Sunny
Sunny
Sunny
Sunny
P Cloudy
Max/min
31/22
32/16
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28/22
33/25
28/21
22/13
Weather
tomorrow
P Cloudy
P Cloudy
Sunny
P Cloudy
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Cloudy
P Cloudy
S T Storms
Cloudy
Sunny
T Storms
M Sunny
Cloudy
M Sunny
Cloudy
S T Storms
Cloudy
Showers
S Showers
P Cloudy
S T Storms
Rain
Cloudy
Max/min
14/11
19/13
34/27
10/-1
26/13
21/13
32/26
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11/06
32/24
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28/18
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zPlease send your questions by
e-mail to: [email protected]
(Mobile: 55813105)
LEGAL SYSTEM IN QATAR
According to Article 139, an agent shall
not buy items entrusted for sale, either
directly or under a pseudonym, unless
with the permission of the judge and
without prejudice to what stipulated in
the law to the contrary.
Brokers and experts shall not buy
property entrusted for sale or for
estimation of its value. According
to Article 142, maritime sales are
sales that include all or some of the
provisions related to marine insurance
and carriage by sea.
If there is no provision regarding
maritime sale in the law then the
international rules and regulations
for sales issued by the International
Chamber of Commerce will apply.
A CIF sale is a sale of goods whereby
the seller undertakes to export by
sea to a specific place for a lump
sum including the cost of the goods,
insurance and the freight charge on the
ship to the port of destination. The sale
is considered as C&F if the seller is not
committed to the insurance.
The seller shall conclude the carriage
contract on usual terms for the carriage
of the goods to the port of destination
agreed upon and by the normal route
for the voyage. The seller shall be
responsible for the payment of the
cost of freight and any other costs
determined at the time and place of
loading.
As per Article 146, the seller shall
at its expenses undertake to ship the
goods on board at the port of shipment
on the date agreed upon as stipulated in
the contract or within reasonable time
if the time for shipment is not specified.
The seller shall obtain necessary
license and shall bear the charges of
packaging, weighing, measuring,
counting or quality checking the goods
as required for shipment. The seller
shall immediately notify the buyer
on the shipment of the goods and the
name of the vessel.
The seller shall bear the risk for any
damages to the goods up to the time
when it passes through the vessel and
thereafter the risk passes to the buyer.
According to Article 148, the seller
shall procure an insurance contract
with a reputed insurer covering the
goods against the voyage risk provided
that seller shall not contract as an
insurer to the buyer.
In case of partial shipment,
insurance shall be made covering each
consignment separately. The insurance
contract shall be executed by means of
a negotiable policy in accordance with
custom at the port of shipment, but
the amount of insurance shall not be
less than the price stipulated in the sale
contract plus 10%.
The seller shall be bound only to
insure against the normal risk of
carriage and shall not be bound to
insure against the special risks of
particular trade, unless otherwise
agreed. The seller shall not be held
liable to insure goods sold against war
risks, unless otherwise agreed.
As per Article 149, the seller shall
send, without any delay, to the buyer
a clean negotiable bill of lading of the
goods sold, containing a statement
establishing that the goods are shipped
on the date or within the grace period
fixed for shipment, duly authorising
the buyer or his representative to
take delivery of the goods under
endorsement of the same, or by
assignment of such right through a
suitable legal method. If the bill of
lading covers the shipping charges,
the carrier company shall endorse it
on the date of shipment as a record
of loading. The bill of lading shall be
considered clean if it does not contain
any additional clauses confirming the
existence of defects in the goods or in
the method of packing.
Around the world
Athens
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Sao Paulo
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Weather
today
Sunny
P Cloudy
M Sunny
P Cloudy
Sunny
Cloudy
S T Storms
S T Storms
P Cloudy
M Cloudy
T Storms
Cloudy
Showers
Sunny
Snow
S T Storms
Showers
Rain
P Cloudy
P Cloudy
T Storms
Showers
Clear
Max/min
20/10
21/16
37/26
09/00
27/14
23/14
31/26
32/26
26/22
12/05
32/24
30/23
12/08
36/23
03/-1
30/21
18/11
13/08
26/16
17/07
32/27
21/18
24/11
20
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
QATAR
Gulf Mall: a growing attraction
By Peter Alagos
Business Reporter
G
ulf Mall, Qatar’s newest
shopping
destination,
has started attracting
many visitors and customers
even before its formal opening.
“We were not expecting any
customers or visitors when we
initially opened our first store
in Qatar last March 24,” a staff
member of UK-based clothing
and homeware retailer Matalan
told Gulf Times yesterday.
“Since both Matalan and
Gulf Mall belong to the same
owner, we were the first store
to open,” explained the staffer
while pointing out that people started visiting the shopping destination shortly after
advertisements from Azadea
Holdings appeared in the media.
Yesterday, as many as 15
brands under the Landmark
Group opened their doors to the
public, with another four to five
brands ready to serve customers
from tomorrow, a company staff
member said.
In its Facebook account, Gulf
Mall posted that more than 200
“famous shops and brands” will
be available to a wide range of
customers, including 13 cinemas
that are set to open “soon”.
A staff member working in
a store under Azadea said the
company initially opened seven
brands, with seven more stores
expected to open once the mall
is fully operational. She said
among the highly-anticipated
brands of the company is San
Francisco-based clothing line
Old Navy.
“This would be the first time
for Old Navy to open shop in Qatar and many people have been
anticipating its arrival here because of its popularity, quality of
the merchandise, and practical
price range,” she said.
A concessionaire staff member said the Gulf Mall management is yet to convey any information on a formal opening
An exterior view of Gulf Mall fronting Al Shamal Expressway. PICTURES: Shaji Kayamkulam
Qatar’s newest shopping destination is drawing increasing numbers of
visitors.
date: “But with the simultaneous
opening of many brands, patrons
of these stores could surely expect more of them to open this
month alone.”
One visitor observed that the
brands offered at Gulf Mall are
“world-class”, adding that the
prices of the products, mostly
clothing merchandise, “are very
affordable”.
Aside from clothing stores and
other retail shops, Al Meera also
opened a store at Gulf Mall on
Thursday.
Located at Gharrafa, between
Lulu Hypermarket and Ezdan
Mall, and parallel to Al Shamal
Expressway, Gulf Mall is open
from 9am to 10pm from Saturday
to Wednesday and 9am to 11pm
on Thursday and Friday.
As many as 15 brands opened to the public yesterday.
More student involvement
in museum projects sought
By Joey Aguilar
Staff Reporter
Q
Dr David Reilly speaks at the symposium.
Integrative medicine
focus of symposium
W
ays to effectively integrate complementary
and alternative treatments with conventional medicine were explored at a symposium hosted by Weill Cornell
Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q). The symposium was attended by more than 200 healthcare professionals.
The symposium, co-ordinated
by WCMC-Q’s Division of Global and Public Health, featured
speeches by healthcare experts
on a variety of integrative medicine topics such as acupuncture,
mind-body medicine, and nutritional and herbal supplements.
Strategies for enabling self-care
and building therapeutic alliances with patients were also
discussed.
The symposium, which had
the theme ‘Integrative Medicine:
A Refreshing Approach to Optimum Health’, explored the positive aspects of alternative therapies, but also the dangers and
risks they can pose to patients.
The relatively new movement
towards ‘integrative medicine’
encourages physicians to speak
to their patients to ensure that
any evidence-based alternative
therapies they are using complement conventional therapies and
do not endanger health by conflicting with prescription drugs,
for example.
Dr Ravinder Mamtani, professor of Healthcare Policy and Research at WCMC-Q, explained:
“As physicians, we have a responsibility to engage empathetically with patients to discover
the complementary and alternative therapies they might be using. One compelling reason for
this is that research has shown
that a large number of patients
make use of complementary
therapies, so it would be remiss
to ignore this factor.”
Dr Javaid Sheikh, dean of
WCMC-Q, gave the keynote
address. This followed remarks
by Dr David Reilly, consultant physician at the National
Health Service Centre for Integrative Care in Glasgow, Scot-
land, who spoke on self-care,
wellness enhancement and human healing.
Dr Sheikh said: “It is extremely gratifying to welcome so
many healthcare professionals to
WCMC-Q to discuss and explore
the impact of complementary
and alternative therapies, which
is an absolutely crucial issue for
healthcare providers in the 21st
century. As preventative medicine and self-care become increasingly important, we have a
duty to accommodate the complementary therapies used by
patients, to understand how they
can be beneficial and to raise a
warning flag when they could be
harmful.”
Dr Mamtani also spoke about
practical measures for the integration of complementary
medicine into conventional
healthcare. The symposium concluded with an interactive Q&A
session moderated by Dr Sohaila
Cheema, director of the Division
of Global and Public Health at
WCMC-Q.
atar Museums (QM)
wants to involve more
university students in its
various programmes that provide opportunities for learning
and career development.
“I want to see more students
in museums,” QM chairperson
HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint
Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said
while speaking at the “Generations of Culture” panel discussion at Georgetown University
in Qatar on Wednesday.
“Though the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is full of visitors, I rarely see students,” she
said. Though QM brings renowned artists and architects
from various countries to Doha,
Sheikha Al Mayassa lamented
that few students make use of
such opportunities.
“We are really targeting the
schools but it is much harder
at the university level because
it is very difficult to enforce it,”
she explained. “Being versed in
the language of art, even if you
don’t become an artist or collector, helps you in your career
wherever you go.”
Sheikha Al Mayassa said QM
is trying to create all possible
incentives for students. QM will
be organising a faculty meeting
on having courses for students
who could also do some research
for the institution.
As part of QM’s efforts to
reach more people, the QM
Academy has decided to open
its art programme to the public.
QM’s director of education
Dr Jelena Trkulja said the programme, modelled on the col-
lege curriculum, offers various courses. These include art
history, museum studies, archaeology together with site
management and traditional
architecture, and conservation
and preservation of both objects
and buildings.
“QM sees itself as an educational institution but with the
same mission to enrich the lives
of people living in the society and
to enlarge knowledge,” she said.
For young graduates, Sheikha
Al Mayassa said the Fire Station “Artist in Residence” programme can help find spaces at
the newly-opened art facility.
From the 170 applicants, an
independent jury will select at
least 20 artists.
For those who are interested
in making short films, the Doha
Film Institute (DFI) is giving professional help and mentoring.
DFI director for Strategy and
Business Development Hanaa
Issa said they had worked closely with Northwestern University in Qatar which offers film
studies and courses.
DFI recently launched a film
fund initiative to help Qatari directors, writers and people who
have just started making films.
“It is a very hands on programme where they would come
in and work with us … we would
mentor them and even spend
resources with them if they are
selected,” she said.
Students can also join various
internships and volunteer programmes under QM’s culture
hub headed by Sheikha Nouf
Mubarak Saif al-Thani
Students,
organisations,
clubs and study groups can use
the hub’s facilities, Sheikha
Nouf said.
More than 200 students, alumni and faculty members participated in the “Generations of Culture” panel discussion at Georgetown University
in Qatar.
CHINA ECONOMY | Page 3
OUTPUT BOOST | Page 4
Job growth
hits 10-month
low in March
Toyota set to
resume plant
building
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Jumada II 15, 1436 AH
COURT SETTLEMENT: Page 11
GULF TIMES
BUSINESS
Takeda to offer $2.2bn
to settle Actos cases
Nuke deal to help Iran
reclaim lost oil market
Reuters
New York
Turkey
inflation
surges
on rising
food costs
Reuters
Istanbul
A
framework accord to curb Iran’s nuclear
programme forged on Thursday could
eventually allow Tehran to reclaim lost
ground in the global oil market. Yet the deal all but
guarantees that cannot happen before next year.
By ensuring that sanctions remain intact until
Western powers are satisfied Tehran is adhering to
the terms, and giving negotiators until June 30 to
hammer out a comprehensive agreement, the deal
offers little chance for any significant increase in
exports until 2016.
While global Brent oil prices tumbled as much as
5% on Thursday to $54 in anticipation of a deal that
could allow Iran to begin selling more crude within
months, traders later began weighing the timing of
that return. Brent traded at more than $55 a barrel
by day’s end.
Verifying compliance by Iran, once the world’s
fifth-largest oil producer, will “likely take many
months after implementation, which itself is likely
to slip from the June 30 target,” said Bob McNally,
president of energy research group Rapidan Group
and a former adviser to President George W Bush.
Jason Bordoff, founding director at Columbia
University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and
former adviser to President Barack Obama, agreed:
“It is going to take time for Iranian oil to come back
to the global market, likely not until 2016 at the
earliest.” The delayed impact may be quietly welcome news for Saudi Arabia, Iraq and others in the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), who had feared that a rapid rebound
in Iranian output could pile more pressure on oil
prices that have halved since last summer due to a
global glut. However it may also make for a tricky
summer. Opec is due to meet on June 5, the first
gathering since it decided in November to maintain production despite tumbling prices.
In the meantime, global demand has been rising
more quickly than expected and US shale oil production growth is rapidly slowing, adding to the
market’s uncertainty.
“This preliminary deal will be hanging over ...
the oil market through the rest of this quarter,” said
oil analyst Jim Ritterbusch.
US and EU sanctions, which have choked off
nearly 1.5mn barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian exports since early 2012, will only be suspended after
the International Atomic Energy Agency has “verified that Iran has taken all of its key nuclear-related
steps,” according to a statement outlining the plan
of action issued by Iran and world powers in Switzerland.
“If at any time Iran fails to fulfill its commitments, these sanctions will snap back into place.”
Most market experts had said they were betting on an increase of 200,000 to 600,000 bpd in
Iran’s exports within six months of easing sanctions. Tim Boersma, acting director of the Energy
Security and Climate Initiative at Brookings Institution, said Iran might even manage 500,000
bpd within 90 days. Yet a full recovery in output
R
was seen as unlikely until the second half of 2016
as new investment would be needed to rejuvenate
fields. Even that may now be optimistic.
“Sanctions relief is unlikely to begin for at least
six months to a year even after a deal is signed in
June,” analysts at Energy Aspects said in a note on
Thursday.
It is unclear whether any potential buyers might
move early to step up purchases, betting that
Washington and European powers will be unlikely
to punish them for a breach of sanctions that are
about to be phased out.
Even before the deal, Iran was set to export another 300,000 bpd in coming months, much of it
to India, according to Michael Cohen, head of energy commodities research at Barclays.
Yet the risk of political repercussions from
Washington and limited access to tanker insurance
due to tough European restrictions are likely to
prevent refiners such as PetroChina and Hindustan Petroleum Corp – who have said they are eager
to buy more crude from Iran – from moving early.
Beyond this year, however, the breakthrough
could turn Tehran’s recent role in the global oil
market on its head.
For most of the past three years, crushing sanctions acted as a prop for oil prices hovering near
$100 a barrel.
“While it will take a while for Iranian crude exports to recover - even if they fully comply with the
terms of the deal - today’s announcement further
limits the upside price risk in today’s oversupplied
global oil market,” said Trevor Houser, a partner
with the Rhodium Group.
The Iranian nuclear deal, which heralds a lifting
of sanctions choking the country’s economy, could
offer an unparalleled opportunity for foreign oil
companies, but may take time to tap.
Thursday’s deal “could represent a first step towards a return of Western oil companies” to Iran,
said an analyst.
The sanctions imposed on Iran by the US, then
by the UN and European Union, led to the gradual
departure of major Western oil companies, leaving
just Chinese and Indian firms.
The lifting of sanctions offers a rare opportunity: entry into a country that is both a major oil and
gas producer.
Despite sanctions cutting oil output by over a
quarter, from 4mn barrels per day in 2008 to 2.81
mbpd on average in 2014, Iran still remains the fifth
largest producer in the Opec. It exports around 1.1
mbpd of oil. Iran holds the second-largest gas reserves in the world behind Russia. “Iran is a country with considerable oil and gas potential,” said
Francis Perrin, head of the SPE group of energy
policy trade journals.
ising food costs pushed Turkey’s
consumer prices sharply higher
in March, data showed yesterday, which may encourage the central
bank to resist political pressure for aggressive rate cuts in the run-up to elections in June.
Faced with flagging growth and parliamentary elections, President Tayyip
Erdogan has demanded lower borrowing costs, raising concerns about the
independence of the central bank.
The central bank kept rates on hold
at its last meeting, citing the impact of
a sliding currency on inflation. March’s
rising food prices also highlight the
pressure on living costs for ordinary
Turks - something Erdogan and the AK
Party he founded want to avoid ahead
of elections. The inflation outlook “is
far from justifying” a resumption in
interest rate cuts, Finansbank economist Gokce Celik said in a note. “We
see the bank remaining on hold in its
April meeting, as it did in March.”
Consumer prices jumped 1.19%
month-on-month, the Turkish Statistics Institute said, well above the
0.89% increase forecast in a Reuters
poll. Food prices contributed to half
that increase. Unlike core inflation,
also closely watched by economists,
consumer prices include food and energy costs, which are beyond the control of central banks.
“We are face-to-face with an inflation dynamic that does not sit with the
trend we desire,” Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek told broadcaster NTV in
an interview, adding the trend could be
helped by lower oil prices.
Nonetheless, Turkey will “easily”
see 4% growth this year, Simsek said.
A nuclear deal with Iran would be positive for Turkey’s exports, he added.
Compared with the same month last
year, the consumer inflation rate rose
to 7.61%. Domestic producer prices
rose 1.05% on the month, for an annual
rise of 3.41%, the data showed.
However, separate data on auto sales
for the month gave a somewhat brighter picture of consumer health, showing a rise of 75% from the same period
last year, when sales were battered by
a tax increase and tougher credit regulations. The Automotive Distributors
Association said forthcoming elections and expected structural reforms
would have a “decisive” impact on the
auto industry in the coming year.
Billions up for grabs if deal opens Tehran economy
Reuters
Dubai
Iranian investment banker Ramin
Rabii says he shouted in joy when he
learned that Tehran and world powers
had reached a deal which promises to
lift economic sanctions on Iran. Then
he called colleagues to discuss the
business implications.
Rabii, managing director of Turquoise
Partners, a Tehran-based investment
firm with about $200mn of assets
under management, has been
grappling for years with the results
of the sanctions: unstable growth,
high inflation, international banking
restrictions and hard currency
shortages.
The agreement on curbing Iran’s
nuclear programme, reached on
Thursday, will – if confirmed in a final
deal by a June 30 deadline – begin
to ease those crippling problems for
Turquoise and thousands of other
Iranian firms.
“We’ve been preparing for this moment
for 10 years,” Rabii said by telephone,
adding that in the months leading up
to the deal Turquoise was in touch
with hundreds of potential foreign
investors about opportunities for them
if sanctions were lifted.
He said the company now planned to
develop its asset management and
brokerage businesses, and would hold
roadshows for investors in Europe and
possibly Dubai.
Frozen out of the international banking
system, its foreign trade slashed by the
sanctions, Iran looks likely to become
the biggest country to rejoin the global
economy since post-Communist
eastern Europe in the early 1990s.
The resulting boom could create tens
of billions of dollars worth of business
for both local and foreign companies
and shift the economic balance in the
Gulf, which has so far been heavily
weighted towards the rich Gulf Arab oil
exporting countries.
“Precautionary talks have already
started between Iran and some big
Western investors” in areas such
as oil and autos, said Iranian-born
economist Mehrdad Emadi of London’s
Betamatrix consultancy. “Now there
will be accelerating momentum.”
He predicted annual growth of Iran’s
$420bn economy would rise by as
much as 2 percentage points to over
5% in the year after a final nuclear deal.
It could accelerate further to 7% or 8%
in the following 18 months – matching
the growth of Asia’s “tiger economies”
during their boom years.
Iran’s trade with the European Union,
which totalled €7.6bn ($8.3bn) last
year, could balloon 400% by mid-2018,
Emadi said.
The complex web of financial, shipping,
energy and technology sanctions
woven by the US, the European
Union and the UN is expected to
take years to remove, even if a final
nuclear agreement is reached and
implemented smoothly.
As a result Iran’s oil exports, cut by the
sanctions to about 1.1mn barrels per
day from 2.5mn bpd in 2012, may not
start rebounding before 2016.
But the single most damaging
sanctions measure, the US Treasury’s
use of Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT
Act to identify Iran as a money
laundering area, could be lifted quickly
by the Obama administration, analysts
believe. This would have a big impact
on trade and investment by letting
foreign banks deal with Iran without
fear of being targeted by US officials.
Iran could be re-admitted to the SWIFT
global payments system, from which
it was expelled in 2012, within three
months of a final nuclear deal, Emadi
said. Rabii said the boost to Iranian
production from easier trade would
quickly spur the economy, even if big
foreign investment deals took longer
to arrange.
“Iranian industry is currently operating
at about 60% to 70% capacity. Thirty
per cent is idle – that’s because of the
sanctions. Getting this working again
is the low-hanging fruit of lifting the
sanctions.”
The economic benefits would extend
across the Gulf, particularly to Dubai,
which is a traditional hub for business
with Iran and has a large Iranian
community.
The sanctions slashed Dubai’s trade
with Iran by more than a third; the
emirate could now become a jumpingoff point for foreign companies going
back into Iran. Airlines and logistics
firms around the region also stand to
profit. Tarek Sultan, chief executive
of Kuwait-listed logistics giant Agility,
said Iran was potentially attractive
because its isolation had encouraged
it to develop indigenous expertise
that could allow it to leapfrog other
economies.
“When the international situation is
resolved and restrictions are lifted,
we’ll be among the first ones in there,”
Sultan told Reuters late last year.
Other parts of the Gulf economy may
at least temporarily be hurt by the rise
of Iran. Gulf Arab stock markets are
reforming themselves to attract foreign
capital; Saudi Arabia plans to open its
bourse to direct foreign investment
within months. These markets will now
have a major rival for funds in Tehran.
Any increase in Iranian oil sales could
come at the expense of Saudi Arabia,
Opec’s biggest producer, which has
lifted its output near 10mn bpd. The
kingdom already faces a record budget
deficit this year because of low oil
prices.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
2
BUSINESS
Samsung to win Apple A9
chip orders for next iPhone
Dow Jones
Tokyo
Bloomberg
Seoul
A
S
amsung Electronics Co will manufacture the main chip in Apple
Inc’s next iPhone model, regaining a customer previously lost to Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, people with direct knowledge of the matter
said.
Samsung will start making Apple A9
processor chips at its Giheung plant in
South Korea, the people said, asking
not to be identified because the contract hasn’t been discussed publicly.
Additional orders will go to Samsung’s
partner Globalfoundries Inc, according
to another person familiar with the arrangement.
Winning this order from Apple will
help the world’s second- largest chipmaker rebound against TSMC, which
last year ended Samsung’s monopoly
over contracts to make iPhone and iPad
chips. Both manufacturers have boosted
capital expenditures to gain business
from Apple and Qualcomm Inc in the
more than $300bn semiconductor industry.
The Apple order may lead to additional business, said Song Myung Sup,
a Seoul-based analyst at HI Investment
& Securities Co “If Globalfoundries
quickly adopts Samsung’s most advanced technology and increases yield,
it could also win orders from Qualcomm.” Kelly Yeo, a spokeswoman for
Samsung, declined to comment. Kevin
Kimbal, a Globalfoundries spokesman,
said his company doesn’t comment on
any customer relationships. Josh Rosenstock, an Apple spokesman, declined to
comment. Elizabeth Sun, a spokeswoman for TSMC, declined to comment.
Apple picked TSMC to produce A8
processors for the iPhone 6 and iPhone
6 Plus devices. Those agreements came
as the relationship between Apple and
Samsung soured because of legal disputes dating to 2011.
Apple’s decision to turn back to the
rival for supply of crucial components
may vindicate Samsung’s investments
in trying to grab the lead in manufacturing technology. Apple spent $25.8bn on
chips last year, accounting for 7.6% of
industry purchases, researcher Gartner
Inc said.
The Cupertino, California-based
smartphone maker has yet to announce
specifications or unveil a design for its
next new iPhone. In the past, Apple
has introduced interim versions denoted with an S, leading to speculation
the next device out this year will be the
iPhone 6s.
Supplying chips for the iPhone and its
own S6 smartphone will help Samsung
turn its non-memory semiconductor
business from a 1tn won ($914mn) loss
last year to a 1tn won gain, said Song
Japan
welcomes
another
bull year
of HI Investment.Samsung and TSMC
said they would invest heavily this year
to put advanced production capabilities
in their plants, moves that analysts said
were based on assumptions they would
get orders from Apple.
Taiwan Semiconductor, the world’s
biggest contract manufacturer of
chips, budgeted a record $12bn for
plants and equipment. Chairman
Morris Chang told investors in October that TSMC would lose ground to
Samsung in the most-advanced chip
technology before reclaiming the up-
per hand in 2016.Whether Samsung
can hold onto the contract exclusively
may depend on how quickly TSMC can
bring online more advanced production and the pricing that both companies are willing to offer Apple. The
benefit of using one supplier – in Samsung’s case with the backup of Globalfoundries – comes from the cost
savings in designing the chip to fit that
chipmaker’s specific manufacturing
technique and not having to replicate
that work elsewhere.
UBS AG estimates Samsung made
$3.7bn in capital expenditures on its
processor business last year and may
raise that to $4.9bn this year. Samsung
doesn’t disclose those figures, but
executives said on a January 29 conference call the company will boost
spending this year.
Shares of Samsung closed flat at
1,434,000 won in Seoul today. The
stock has risen 8.1% this year, compared with a 6.8% advance for the
benchmark Kospi index.
The company is spending $15bn on a
new chip plant outside Seoul.
Samsung partnered with Globalfoundries last year in the made-to-order chip business, an alliance targeting
TSMC. Globalfoundries is licensing
Samsung’s most advanced 14- nanometre processor technology, giving
customers access to factories in Texas,
New York state and South Korea.
One nanometre, equal to one billionth of a metre, measures the size
of connections within a chip. A lower
number implies more advanced technology, allowing semiconductors to be
smaller and more powerful.
s the calendar ticks over
to a new financial year in
Japan, investors will be
hoping the Nikkei 225 Index can
deliver an encore performance
to a rally that helped the benchmark notch up its best returns in
nine years.
The Nikkei delivered an impressive 31% return, including
dividends, in the 12 months to
March 31 as the Bank of Japan’s
unconventional monetary policies and the Abe government’s
fiscal stimulus helped stir modest signs of life in the world’s
third largest economy. The
Nikkei was the best performing
major index in the first quarter
when measured in US dollars.
A handy boost to the annual returns came from the embrace of
more shareholder friendly policies, with Nippon Steel pledging
to raise payouts and Japan Post
setting its dividend ratio at 50%
in its upcoming IPO.
Analysts expect the Nikkei
to continue its advance in 2015
on hopes the Bank of Japan will
unleash another round of ultraloose monetary policy despite
signs of improved conditions
in parts of the economy. The
Tankan survey of business activity released on Wednesday
showed an improved outlook
among small and large companies compared to the fourth
quarter last year.
However, the Bank of Japan
continues to be stalked by its
long-time nemesis: very low
inflation. In fact, core inflation,
which removes the effect of energy and food prices, was zero in
February. The lack of price pressures will annoy policymakers at
the central bank who have set an
inflation target of 2%. Stoking
price pressures is a key component in the government plans
to revive Asia’s second biggest
economy, one that could use a
decent dose of inflation to help
address a debt-to-GDP ratio
well in excess of 200%.
It is the spectre of ongoing low-flation that has many
economists pencilling in another
round of quantitative easing
from the central bank. Since the
financial crisis the Bank of Japan
has lagged the Federal Reserve in
terms of expanding its balance
sheet to engineer ultra-easy
monetary conditions through
purchases of government bonds
and other assets.
Hong Kong and Shanghai, future metals allies or rivals?
By Andy Home
London
Yesterday the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE)
expanded its metals trading suite to include both
nickel and tin.
What is the preeminent trading venue for industrial
commodities in China now boasts a base metals
portfolio that fully matches that of the London
Metal Exchange (LME), which dominates trading
everywhere outside of China.
In theory this should benefit both exchanges by
stimulating arbitrage flows.
And in theory it should also benefit Hong Kong
Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx), which bought the
LME in 2012 and which aims to leverage the LME
franchise to replicate in the commodities space its
Stock Connect mainland equities trading model.
But there remains an ambivalence at the heart of
this metals trading triangle.
Are Hong Kong and Shanghai future collaborators
or potential competitors in the world of metals
pricing?
The SHFE’s launch of nickel and tin futures fills an
obvious gap in its base metals offering.
But there remains a wide gulf between the
Shanghai and London metals markets.
The former is still in essence a Chinese market with
just about all of its liquidity deriving from mainland
players.
SHFE metal prices are inclusive of the value-addedtax levied on imports and denominated in renminbi
with all the accompanying constraints arising from
China’s capital controls.
The Shanghai market also has a significant retail
investment user base, in stark contrast with the
LME and its industrial and financial wholesaler
clientele.
That difference in user profile helps explain why
some SHFE contracts fare better than others in
terms of volumes.
Copper, which is an investment favourite the world
over, is the highest-volume base metal traded on
the SHFE. Zinc comes in second, largely because
its relatively low price appeals to Chinese retail
punters.
Aluminium and lead, by contrast, have low retail
investment appeal, whether in China or anywhere
else, and SHFE volumes are dwarfed by the
equivalent LME contracts, where only the biggest
investment players dare to venture.
Even attempting the sort of volume comparison
shown in the graphic above is tricky given the
differing formats and methodologies used by the
two markets.
The figures, for example, exclude LME options
turnover because there is no options trading on the
SHFE.
The SHFE volume figures are a double-count
because of the SHFE’s practice of counting both buy
and sell as separate volume contributors. The LME
volume figures, meanwhile, are as arcane as the
London market’s trading system with its multiple
prompt dates and tiered membership structure.
Broadly speaking, the two markets are best viewed
as two complementary trading systems with
arbitrageurs offering a degree of connectivity,
albeit one constrained by the obvious technical
hindrances.
It is precisely this gap between the international and
Chinese metals markets that HKEx is looking to fill,
building on its existing role as a renminbi gateway
between China and the rest of the world.
The template is already there in the Stock Connect
link-up with the Shanghai stock exchange. Launched
in November last year, it has just passed another
milestone with record “southbound” (mainland
to Hong Kong) trading turnover of HK$5,593mn
yesterday.
The glittering prize for HKEx would be to achieve
something similar in terms of connecting China,
the largest consumer and in many cases the largest
producer of base metals, with the international
metals market-place.
For China it would mark another step towards
eventual renminbi convertibility and a transition
from resented price-taker to coveted price-setter
status. For the trading community outside of
China it would represent the opening up of what is
the world’s biggest player in all things metallically
tradable.
Hong Kong’s unique status, enshrined in Deng
Xiaoping’s “one country, two systems” description,
makes it the obvious connector, according to HKEx
Chief Executive Charles Li.
“’One country, two systems’ is our core competitive
advantage,” he wrote in a June 2013 blog.
“Without the ‘one country’, Hong Kong would not
have the opportunity to support the Mainland.
Without the ‘two systems’, Hong Kong would be
no different from other Mainland cities.” (Charles Li
Direct, June 28, 2013)
It would, he argued, be a win-win situation for
mainland markets such as SHFE.
“We do not intend to take away business from
our Mainland peers. Rather, we are interested in
cooperation and creating new markets and new
opportunities together.”
The intriguing question, though, is whether SHFE
agrees, or whether metals will be just another battleground in a centuries-old trading rivalry between
Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Shanghai is itself pursuing its own
internationalisation agenda, most obviously in
the form of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ),
established in 2013 as a testing ground for financial
reform. Another connector path to the international
market-place has been opened up by the Shanghai
Gold Exchange, located in the FTZ and the first
Chinese exchange to explicitly target foreign
participation.
When it comes to base metals, Shanghai’s
ambivalence about its relationship with the London
market, and by association, with its Hong Kong peer,
is encapsulated in the thorny issue of warehousing.
The LME lobbied long and hard to extend its
warehousing network into mainland China as a way
of smoothing and encouraging arbitrage between it
and the SHFE.
The latter evidently did not see this as a “win-win
situation” and the China Securities Regulatory
Commission decreed a ban on the listing of overseas
exchange warehouses. A ban which remains in
place to this day. wAnd while the ban is still there,
there remains a high degree of uncertainty as to
SHFE’s place in the grand scheme of metals trading
envisaged by HKEx’s Li. The launch of nickel and tin
futures to match the base metals portfolio traded on
the London Metal Exchange maintains rather than
resolves that uncertainty.
Andy Home is a columnist for Reuters. The opinions
expressed here are those of the author.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
3
BUSINESS
China’s job growth hits
10-month low in March
Reuters
Beijing
Agreement
on new
bank rules
faces delay
Reuters
Tokyo
E
fforts to protect the world’s
banks from interest-rate
risks are bogged down,
with an agreement on new rules
likely to be delayed by at least
several months, people involved
in the discussions said.
Basel Committee negotiators have reached an impasse on
the rate-risk requirements, two
people involved in the process
told Reuters, with Britain and
Germany seeking requirements
for banks to increase their capital, whereas the US and Japan argue that the issue should continue to be left to local regulators.
“As the discussions are going now, reaching an agreement
looks difficult,” one source said
of the talks in the Swiss financial
centre. As part of the response to
the 2007-2009 financial crisis,
the Basel Committee of banking
supervisors has been toughening
rules such as requirements for
stronger capital buffers to prevent or combat future crises.
They are also planning rules
to ensure banks can withstand
sharp moves in interest rates,
which are at historic lows around
the world. The issue takes on
particular significance as the
Federal Reserve is expected to
raise US interest rates in coming months, with potential ripple effects for banks and markets
worldwide.
But as the banking crisis fades
in memory, only to be replaced
by a lingering economic slowdown, governments are losing
interest in financial reform and
focusing on economic growth,
despite warnings that dangers
still lurk. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England
and chairman of the Financial
Stability Board global regulator
body, expressed concern in February about “reform fatigue.
Reuters
Shanghai
C
C
hina’s services sector expanded in March
even as growth in employment and new
business fell to their lowest in at least eight
months, a private survey showed yesterday, in yet
another sign that the weak Chinese economy may
need more policy aid.
The HSBC/Markit China Services Purchasing
Managers’ Index (PMI) inched higher to 52.3 in
March, compared with February’s 52.0, and above
the 50-point level that separates growth from a
contraction in activity on a monthly basis.
But the marginal expansion was offset by lacklustre growth in employment, which fell to a
10-month trough of 51.1. Growth in new businesses was at an eight-month low.
“Chinese manufacturers and service providers
both managed only modest increases in output at
the end of the first quarter,” said Annabel Fiddes,
economist at Markit, adding that data “suggests
that relatively weak client demand had dampened
growth across both sectors”.
Fiddes said service sector companies “took a more
cautious approach to hiring, raising their staff numbers only slightly over the month, while job shedding
accelerated across the manufacturing sector”.
The services survey resonates with three other
PMIs released earlier this week that showed stubborn weakness in China’s factory and services sectors last month, adding to bets that Beijing will
have to increase policy support to avoid a sharper
downturn.
Slugged by a cooling property sector – where
prices fell at a record pace last month – and a slowdown in exports and investment, China’s economic growth is expected to slip to around 7% this year,
the worst in a quarter of a century.
Even the services sector, one of the rare bright
spots in the world’s second-largest economy last
year, appears have finally succumbed to the broader economic downdraft, judging by the recent
patchy performance in the PMI.
Indeed, HSBC/Markit noted that business confidence in the sector was well below the historical
average in March.
To stoke growth, many economists expect China
to further cut interest rates this year, reduce the
amount of reserves that banks must hold and unveil additional measures to help the weakest sectors such as the housing market.
Regulators on Monday cut downpayment requirements for home buyers for the second time in
six months.
The last time China relaxed banks’ reserve re-
Beijing
firm faces
bond
default
Employees work on the assembly line at Hon Hai Group’s Foxconn plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Chinese manufacturers and service providers
managed only modest increases in output at the end of the first quarter, said an economist at Markit yesterday.
quirements was on Feb. 4, three days after an official survey of the factory sector showed activity
unexpectedly shrank to a 2-1/2-year low.
As China remakes its economy to boost domes-
tic demand and reduce reliance on exports and
manufacturing, services are an increasingly important growth pillar.
It has accounted for the bigger part of China’s
economic output for at least two years, with its
share rising to 48.2% last year, compared with the
42.6% contribution from manufacturing and construction.
loud Live Tech Group, a
troubled Chinese Internet technology firm, is in
danger of defaulting on 240mn
yuan of interest and principal
payments due to bond investors
on April 7, the firm announced
late Thursday.
If the firm does default it
would be only the second time
a listed Chinese company has
done so following a similar default by Chaori Solar in 2014.
However, the Chaori default,
initially hailed as a major step
forward in rationalising the price
of credit in China by allowing
companies to default on bonds,
ended up with a bailout for investors, raising the question of
whether China’s political system
has the will to force bond investors to take heavy losses when
borrowers default.
Cloud Live Tech posted a notice April 2 on the Shenzhen
Stock Exchange website, saying trading in Cloud Live Tech’s
stock and bonds was suspended
as of April 2, but will resume on
April 7 if the firm is able to make
the payment.
The Chaori Solar default was
resolved by a local governmentled bailout which resulted in a
consortium of nine firms investing in the company to restructure its debt, and a partial guarantee of outstanding bond issues
by two other firms, including
state-owned China Great Wall
Asset Management.
Chinese interbank bond prices
fell and yields spiked after the
initial Chaori Solar default announcement and the spread between high- and low-rated corporate debt also widened. Both
fell back, however, following the
bail-out announcement in October.
So far the bond market reaction to Cloud Live Tech’s announcement has been more
muted.
Oasis eyes Kyocera, Canon after Nintendo win
Bloomberg
Hong Kong
O
asis Management, the Hong
Kong-based activist fund that
called for the changes unveiled
last month by Nintendo, is turning its attention to Kyocera Corp and Canon Inc.
Oasis owns about 1% of Kyocera’s voting
rights, according to a letter to the fund’s
investors obtained by Bloomberg. It’s
urging the Kyoto-based manufacturer to
return cash to shareholders by selling its
stake in Japan Airlines Co and “greatly”
reducing holdings of KDDI Corp, and to
restructure its solar business, the March
26 letter says. Oasis is calling for Canon
to take private two listed subsidiaries.
Oasis is the latest fund to push for
change at Japanese companies, after
Daniel Loeb’s Third Point pressed ro-
bot-maker Fanuc Corp in February to
buy back shares and communicate more
with investors. Seth Fischer, founder and
chief investment officer of Oasis, writes
in the letter that businesses are more receptive to ways to boost returns as the
government takes steps to improve corporate governance.
“Why do we think they will listen to
us? We are not the first investor to ask,”
Fischer writes in the letter, referring to
Kyocera. “This time, however, it is not
just us as foreign investors who are asking but the full force of the domestic
establishment.” Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe is seeking to increase return on equity at Japan’s companies. The nation
introduced a stewardship code last year,
intended to get institutional investors
to urge companies to use capital more
efficiently. The regulator and the Tokyo
bourse are starting a governance code for
companies in June to complement these
principles. A government-backed stock
index that picks members for their ROE
and profitability began in 2014.
Successful activist investing has been
a long time coming in Japan, where efforts by Steel Partners, the Children’s
Investment Fund Management UK and
others have been largely rebuffed.
Fanuc’s shares jumped 13% on March
13 after the Nikkei newspaper reported
the secretive manufacturer will consider ways to increase investor returns
and start a shareholder-relations department. Nintendo surged 36% over
two days in March after saying it would
partner with DeNA Co to develop games
for mobile devices. Oasis had previously
called for the Kyoto-based company
to broaden its focus from consoles to
smartphones.
Kyocera had a 13% stake in wireless
operator KDDI as of September 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
It owned 2.1% of Japan Airlines, the data
show.
Selling the Japan Airlines stake, cutting holdings of KDDI and returning
cash to shareholders would boost Kyocera’s return on equity, the Oasis letter
says. The company’s ROE stood at 4.6%
at the end of December, compared with
8.3% for the benchmark Topix index,
Bloomberg data show.
More can be done to stem losses in Kyocera’s solar business, where lower feedin tariffs in Japan and Chinese competition are curbing returns, Fischer wrote in
the letter.
Canon should take private Canon
Electronics Inc and Canon Marketing Japan Inc, he wrote. Canon owns controlling stakes in Canon Electronics, which
makes components, and Canon Market-
ing, which distributes the finished products, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Parent-child listings are considered
“ripe for abuse and represent bad corporate governance,” according to the letter.
“Canon’s current financial standing
and that of its listed subsidiaries puts
the company in good stead to correct the
current governance anomaly.”
Elly Yoshikawa, a spokeswoman
for Kyocera, said the company had
received a letter from Oasis. She declined to comment on the contents, citing company policy, and said Kyocera
isn’t aware if Oasis owns its shares. Jun
Misumi, a spokesman for Canon, said
the media department isn’t aware of
any action by Oasis.A spokesman for
Oasis declined to comment on the content of the investor letter. The Financial
Times reported some of the details of
the letter on March 29.
Hard money, soft standards? Tough questions for China’s new bank
AFP
Beijing
China scored a diplomatic coup
by enticing almost 50 countries
including key US allies to join its new
development bank.
But analysts say authoritarian Beijing
now faces a daunting task managing
a multilateral institution for the first
time, with members ranging from the
Netherlands to Nepal.
By Tuesday’s deadline to seek founding
membership of the $50bn Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
a total of 49 countries and Taiwan
had applied, the finance ministry and
governments said.
They include four of the five permanent
members of the UN Security Council, 18
out of 34 members of the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) and all 10
members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Conspicuous by their absence are the
US and Japan.
China already has leading roles in the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
that links it with Russia and Central
Asian countries, and the Brics group
of emerging economies – which also
comprises Brazil, Russia, India and
South Africa.
But the AIIB “is on a whole different
level”, said Christopher Balding, of
Peking University’s HSBC Business
School.
“This is a lot more money, this is
countries that have a lot more influence
and expect to be taken a lot more
seriously.”
The signatories include countries
closely tied to China such as
Kazakhstan and Myanmar, but also
some of Washington’s biggest allies
– Germany, Britain, France, Italy and
Australia.
With democratic and market systems
they will have strong views on issues
such as the environment, human rights,
corruption and efficient lending.
China has basked in the enthusiastic
acceptances of its invitations despite
US opposition, but the victory could
end up a case of “be careful of what you
wish for”, Balding added.
“The more countries like this that you
bring on board, the tougher it’s going to
be for you to control and the more input
those people are very reasonably going
to expect to have,” he told AFP.
The Global Times newspaper,
affiliated with the ruling Communist
Party mouthpiece People’s Daily,
acknowledged as much on Wednesday,
saying in an editorial: “The more
countries and regions join, the harder it
will be for us to achieve a consensus in
the future.”
Reports said a key part of Beijing’s
appeal was a willingness to give up veto
power over the bank’s decisions – which
it said it was not seeking.
ANZ economists said the AIIB could
offer “a new approach for Asia’s
infrastructure financing”, with “more
transparent and well-developed
practice and policies from advanced
economies”.
But there are enduring concerns over
the openness of a bank helmed by
China - which is led by an authoritarian
Communist Party embroiled in
endemic corruption - and whether
Beijing will want to use it to push
its own geopolitical and economic
interests as a rising great power. Asia
will need vast transport, power and
telecommunications networks in
coming decades, costing far more than
existing multilateral lenders such as the
US-led World Bank and the Japan-led
Asian Development Bank (ADB) are
considered able to deliver.
An ADB study once estimated
infrastructure spending demand at $8tn
between 2010 and 2020.
Under President Xi Jinping China, the
world’s second-largest economy, is
pushing to build on the ancient Silk
Road trade routes on land and sea, a
“One Belt, One Road” initiative expected
to be part-funded by the AIIB.
“Beijing is clearly pursuing economic
statecraft in a big way, centring its
foreign policy on the strategy of what
I’ve called ‘Talk softer and carry a large
purse’,” said Damien Ma, an expert at
The Paulson Institute in Washington.
The approach is built around a
“grandiose vision of recreating the
old Silk Road trading routes to further
integrate Eurasia economically”, he said
in an email.
“All the newly formed entities, AIIB, Silk
Road Fund, Brics Bank etc, should be
viewed as vehicles that will support this
ambitious endeavour in one form or
another.”
China insists it has no ulterior
or selfish motives. “The AIIB is a
mutually beneficial initiative and is a
beneficial complement to the existing
international economic order,” vice
finance minister Shi Yaobin said in a
statement, promising it will be built
“in an open, transparent and highlyefficient manner.”
The AIIB could erode the role of the
World Bank and the ADB. The US and
Japan have so far refused to apply,
with Tokyo’s Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yoshihide Suga saying it remains
“dubious” about governance.
US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said
in Beijing that Washington was still
concerned over standards, adding:
“The initial decisions of what kinds of
projects are invested in will obviously
be a very important signal as to how it
will proceed.”
Given China’s experience so far, such
caution may be warranted.
“The record of Chinese lending to
places like Africa and Latin America,
let’s just say is chequered at best,
whether investing in projects that
have either essentially defaulted or are
very tenuous,” said Balding, citing a
multibillion-dollar deal for Venezuelan
oil in particular. Ultimately, some say
that Beijing recognises the need for a
strong Western contribution.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
4
BUSINESS
Nissan pledges self-driving cars in Japan in 2016
AFP
Tokyo
The boss of Nissan wants to put selfdriving cars on Japan’s roads next
year, and says they will be able to
navigate busy urban environments
on their own by 2020.
Carlos Ghosn, chief executive, said
formidable technological and legal
challenges remain but that the
direction of travel was plain.
“There will be a Nissan product in
Japan, which will carry autonomous
drive,” he told reporters on Thursday
at the New York International Auto
Show. “Obviously when you have this
kind of technology, you want also the
Japanese market to enjoy it as soon
as possible.”
A five-year tie up with Nasa on the
technology would see the initial roll
out by December 2016, with cars
that can drive on highways without
anyone at the wheel.
In 2018, models should have the
ability to avoid hazards and to
change lanes, and by 2020, vehicles
should be able to autonomously
manoeuvre through crowded city
roads.
“It’s going to happen step by step,
because we need to make sure
that the regulators in the different
countries feel comfortable,” Ghosn
said, according to Kyodo News.
“To persuade the regulators that you
can take your hands off the wheel or
your eyes from the road is going to
take a lot of demonstration.”
Nissan, Japan’s second biggest
automaker, is also looking at working
with domestic rivals Toyota and
Honda on the technology.
Reports in February said the
three are planning to team up
with electronics giants and the
government in a bid to propel the
country into the front ranks of selfdriving cars.
The move is part of a government
initiative to support domestic
industries as competition in the field
intensifies globally, with Google
testing its own car and Apple also
reported to be working on such a
vehicle.
The Japanese government has set
up a panel to look at the legal issues
surrounding autonomous cars,
which under current laws are not
allowed on public roads.
One of the key factors is that of who
bears responsibility in the event of
an accident when a car is driving
itself.
Advocates of self-driving cars say
they could help reduce the number
of crashes on the roads because
they remove the potential for human
error.
Ghosn: Planning to team up with electronics giants.
Toyota set to resume
plant building after
three years’ hiatus
Dow Jones
Nagoya, Japan
Bloomberg
Sydney
T
oyota Motor is set to start building
plants again following a three-year
freeze, spending around $1.25bn
on factories in Mexico and China, people
familiar with the matter said yesterday.
The plants are likely to start operating around 2018 or 2019 and will expand
Toyota’s production capacity by several
hundred thousands of vehicles, the people said. An official decision is expected
to be made later this month, they said.
The world’s best-selling auto maker is
finally shifting into expansion mode after
a period of caution during which President Akio Toyoda called for an overhaul
of manufacturing lines.
Over the last several years, Toyota
has been developing new manufacturing equipment and engineering technology that can be used to shrink the size of
new plants and make some existing plants
more efficient. The auto maker recently
said it can cut initial plant investment by
40% compared with 2008 levels.
“We are gradually starting to witness the next stage for new plants,” Toyoda told investors last month. He said
the company had to make a “sweeping
change” to “make our plants competitive,
instead of merely pursuing volume.”
Toyota aggressively built new plants in
the early and mid-2000s, leaving it with
excess capacity and high fixed costs after
the global financial crisis. It hasn’t made
a major investment in new factories since
2012, when it announced a new plant in
Thailand.
“We truly suffered. We rapidly expanded production, but there was no time for
workers to think,” Mitsuru Kawai, a senior
managing officer at Toyota, told reporters
yesterday in Nagoya, central Japan.
While Toyota froze its investments-a
move it has called “a willful pause”-rivals
including Volkswagen AG have expanded
capacity to meet growing demand. Mexico has developed into an auto manufacturing hub that exports cars to the US,
while China is the world’s biggest auto
market.
“In China, the European and US auto
makers like General Motors are leading,”
Tetsuo Ogawa, one of Toyota’s managing officers leading the China business,
told reporters yesterday. He said Toyota
holds a 5% to 6% share in the market and
is putting priority on quality over sales
growth.
The Chinese auto market continues to
grow, though the pace of gains is expected
Australia’s
record bond
maturity flood
in April to
stoke demand
R
A model poses next to a Toyota Motor’s concept car FCV as a worker wipes the car at the Seoul Motor Show 2015 in Goyang. The
world’s best-selling automaker is set to spend around $1.25bn on factories in Mexico and China, people familiar with the matter
said yesterday.
to slow this year. The China Association
of Automobile Manufacturers said it expected passenger-vehicle sales to rise 8%
to 21.3mn vehicles this year, compared
with 9.9% growth in 2014 and a 16% increase in 2013. Toyota said last year that
it was aiming to double sales in China to
around two million vehicles. Toyota has
been working on manufacturing lines
that can be quickly adjusted in several
hours or less to respond to changes in
demand for various models. It has also
developed more-efficient laser welding
machines and press equipment that helps
shorten lines. The new technology is expected to be introduced at the new plants
as well as some existing factories.
At the Myochi plant in central Japan,
where Toyota makes power train-related
parts and other components, one section
has shrunk to 12 meters from 27 meters,
Kawai said.
Toyota has said it plans to manufacture
10.21mn vehicles in 2015 and sell 10.15mn
vehicles, figures that include group companies Daihatsu Motor Co and Hino
Motors.
Toyota became the first auto maker
world-wide to make and sell more than
10mn vehicles a year. But some analysts
say Volkswagen, which has been aggressively expanding sales, could surpass the
Japanese auto maker soon.
ecord Australian dollar
bond maturities will leave
investors flush with cash
in April, supporting demand
even with yields at record lows.
About A$37.4bn ($29bn) of
Australian dollar-denominated
notes were issued with due dates
next month, the largest Aussie
maturity on record, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Some
of that debt was repaid early this
month.
The influx of cash comes as
global appetite for higher- returning debt drives demand for
Australian debt along with the
prospect a slowing economy will
spur more central bank interestrate cuts. The federal government took advantage with an
A$4.25bn sale of 20-year notes
last week at a 2.75% coupon that
matches the lowest ever for the
nation’s nominal bonds.
“We certainly see the market
receiving a lot of support from
those maturities,” said Adam
Donaldson, the Melbournebased head of debt research at
Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “There’s a lot of coupon
payments as well. And supply
of high-grade bond paper is
going to be quite limited.” The
volume of Australian-dollar
denominated-notes initially issued globally with April 2015
due dates compares with totals
of A$35.3bn for June 2011 and
A$34.6bn for May 2013, the
biggest months previously seen,
the data show. About A$32.2bn
in April 2015 notes remain outstanding.
Next month’s maturities include a 6.25% bond from the
Australian
federal
government that has had as much as
A$14.8bn in notes issued since it
was first sold in 2002. The government last week retired early
about A$3.47bn of the April 15,
2015, securities on the same day
it sold its new 2035 bond, data
compiled by Bloomberg show.
The state of New South Wales
also chose to retire last week
A$300mn of its April 1 notes,
leaving A$2.21bn outstanding,
while Western Australia still
has on issue A$2.3bn of its April
2015 line, having put as much
as A$3.62bn of the bond into
the market since 2007, the data
show.
Among provincial borrowers,
South Australia also has A$2.3bn
of notes coming due, while
Tasmania needs to pay back
A$982mn. The A$2.6bn owed
by European Investment Bank is
the largest Kangaroo bond set to
expire in April, while Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank BA, Suncorp Group,
General Electric Co and Telstra
Corp are among companies paying back bonds.
In addition to maturities,
the supply of cash will also be
boosted by interest payments
to bondholders. Australia &
New Zealand Banking Group
estimates there will be largerthan-normal coupon payments
of A$4.3bn from the federal
government, state governments
and sovereign-backed Kangaroo
bond issuers, according to Sydney-based interest-rate strategist Martin Whetton.
He sees the lump of maturities
next month adding “significantly” to the average duration, or
interest-rate sensitivity, of the
Australian market. Whetton says
that bolsters his expectations for
lower yields and a flatter curve.
Australia’s 10-year bond yield
has declined 10 basis points this
month to 2.36%. The threeyear yield has fallen seven basis
points to 1.72% and touched a
record low 1.71% on Monday in
Sydney.
“Previous big maturities, especially since the crisis, have
tended to lead to a tightening
of the Aussie-US bond spread,”
David Goodman, head of global capital markets strategy at
Westpac Banking Corp, said in
Sydney on Monday. He said that
the premium Australian 10-year
yields offer over US Treasuries
could eventually go to zero or
invert from a spread of 40 basis
points as of 5pm on Monday in
Sydney.
China eases rules for selling loans as asset-backed securities
Bloomberg
Beijing
China relaxed rules for the sale of assetbacked securities, making it easier for
banks to transform some of the country’s
85tn ($14tn) yuan of outstanding loans into
tradable notes.
Institutions no longer need to seek approval
from regulators for each ABS sale, the
People’s Bank of China said yesterday on its
website. Those licensed by the China Banking
Regulatory Commission to sell ABS will be
able to determine the timing and location of
the issuances after registering the amount of
planned sales and their maturities with the
CBRC, according to the new rules.
China’s central bank was studying a system
in which lenders could register for a two-year
quota and multiple ABS sales, people familiar
with the matter said in February. The rules
announced today covering ABS sales on the
interbank and exchange-traded markets said
issuers can decide themselves how often
they conduct sales and what the quotas will
be. The rule change coincides with Premier
Li Keqiang’s pledge last month to “make
better use of existing funds” to support
economic growth, which moderated last year
to the slowest pace since 1990. Asset-backed
securitisation, in which lenders package
loans into collateral for note sales, can help
banks make room on their balance sheets for
new lending.
“It will cause an explosive growth of China’s
ABS market,” Zhou Hao, an economist at
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in
Shanghai, said of the new rules. “It’s a very
positive move for the banking system and the
economy.”
Chinese banks sold a total of 269.1bn
yuan of securities backed by loans last
year, compared with 15.8bn yuan in 2013,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Year-to- date, the issuances have been 33.1bn
yuan in 2015. Sales may increase to 1-2tn yuan
a year as a result of the rule change, Zhou
said.
Under the old system, banks applying to
issue ABS had to go through an examination
and approval system that could take months,
a key factor hindering growth of the ABS
market.
Expansion of China’s ABS markets also
comes as the securities have attracted global
regulatory scrutiny since the 2008 financial
crisis, when loans to subprime home buyers
in the US went bad. China resumed approvals
of ABS in 2012 after having suspended an
earlier trial in 2008.
“It’s far too early to worry about any US-style
ABS risks in China,” ANZ’s Zhou said.
In a separate statement yesterday, the PBoC
reiterated that it will maintain sufficient
liquidity and ensure “reasonable growth” in
credit and social financing, while increasing
the share of direct financing and lowering
financing costs.
A pedestrian walks past the People’s Bank of China headquarters in Beijing. In a statement yesterday,
the bank reiterated that it will maintain sufficient liquidity and ensure reasonable growth in credit and
social financing, while increasing the share of direct financing and lowering financing costs.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
5
BUSINESS
DJIA
WORLD INDICES
Company Name
Apple Inc
Exxon Mobil Corp
Microsoft Corp
Johnson & Johnson
Wal-Mart Stores Inc
General Electric Co
Jpmorgan Chase & Co
Procter & Gamble Co/The
Pfizer Inc
Verizon Communications Inc
Chevron Corp
Walt Disney Co/The
Coca-Cola Co/The
Merck & Co. Inc.
Visa Inc-Class A Shares
Intl Business Machines Corp
Home Depot Inc
Intel Corp
Cisco Systems Inc
Unitedhealth Group Inc
United Technologies Corp
Boeing Co/The
3M Co
Mcdonald’s Corp
Goldman Sachs Group Inc
Nike Inc -Cl B
American Express Co
Du Pont (E.I.) De Nemours
Caterpillar Inc
Travelers Cos Inc/The
Lt Price
125.32
84.30
40.29
99.64
80.73
24.94
60.52
82.43
34.38
49.47
105.28
106.00
40.68
57.10
65.29
160.45
114.54
30.81
27.13
117.36
117.13
149.28
162.80
95.83
191.55
99.66
79.70
71.39
80.24
107.74
% Chg
0.86
-0.19
-1.06
0.49
0.02
0.40
0.95
0.13
0.15
1.12
0.47
0.53
0.00
0.42
0.17
0.80
1.25
0.00
-0.44
-0.08
1.04
0.43
0.17
-0.48
-0.35
0.11
0.98
0.58
0.75
0.59
32,220,131
11,297,401
37,487,476
6,097,146
5,795,731
29,213,060
12,697,771
6,169,838
25,111,848
13,344,199
5,123,901
3,651,641
14,343,102
7,583,525
5,083,011
4,671,578
4,065,097
20,909,633
19,527,211
2,497,135
4,227,259
2,934,194
1,852,617
6,614,276
2,296,301
1,920,221
5,695,160
8,865,572
3,556,034
1,105,581
FTSE 100
Company Name
Wpp Plc
Wolseley Plc
Wm Morrison Supermarkets
Whitbread Plc
Weir Group Plc/The
Vodafone Group Plc
United Utilities Group Plc
Unilever Plc
Tui Ag-Di
Travis Perkins Plc
Tesco Plc
Taylor Wimpey Plc
Standard Life Plc
Standard Chartered Plc
St James’s Place Plc
Sse Plc
Sports Direct International
Smiths Group Plc
Smith & Nephew Plc
Sky Plc
Shire Plc
Severn Trent Plc
Schroders Plc
Sainsbury (J) Plc
Sage Group Plc/The
Sabmiller Plc
Rsa Insurance Group Plc
Royal Mail Plc
Royal Dutch Shell Plc-B Shs
Royal Dutch Shell Plc-A Shs
Royal Bank Of Scotland Group
Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc
Rio Tinto Plc
Reed Elsevier Plc
Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc
Randgold Resources Ltd
Prudential Plc
Persimmon Plc
Pearson Plc
Old Mutual Plc
Next Plc
National Grid Plc
Mondi Plc
Meggitt Plc
Marks & Spencer Group Plc
London Stock Exchange Group
Lloyds Banking Group Plc
Legal & General Group Plc
Land Securities Group Plc
Kingfisher Plc
Johnson Matthey Plc
Itv Plc
Intu Properties Plc
Intl Consolidated Airline-Di
Intertek Group Plc
Intercontinental Hotels Grou
Imperial Tobacco Group Plc
Hsbc Holdings Plc
Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc
Hargreaves Lansdown Plc
Hammerson Plc
Glencore Plc
Glaxosmithkline Plc
Gkn Plc
G4s Plc
Friends Life Group Ltd
Fresnillo Plc
Experian Plc
Easyjet Plc
Dixons Carphone Plc
Direct Line Insurance Group
Diageo Plc
Crh Plc
Compass Group Plc
Coca-Cola Hbc Ag-Cdi
Centrica Plc
Carnival Plc
Capita Plc
Burberry Group Plc
Bunzl Plc
Bt Group Plc
British Land Co Plc
British American Tobacco Plc
Bp Plc
Bhp Billiton Plc
Bg Group Plc
Barratt Developments Plc
Barclays Plc
Bae Systems Plc
Babcock Intl Group Plc
Aviva Plc
Astrazeneca Plc
Associated British Foods Plc
Ashtead Group Plc
Arm Holdings Plc
Antofagasta Plc
Anglo American Plc
Aggreko Plc
Admiral Group Plc
Aberdeen Asset Mgmt Plc
3I Group Plc
#N/A Invalid Security
Lt Price
1,539.00
4,019.00
195.70
5,255.00
1,737.00
222.20
938.00
2,856.00
1,213.00
1,964.00
244.30
153.20
480.00
1,076.50
956.00
1,508.00
620.00
1,116.00
1,147.00
997.00
5,160.00
2,097.00
3,223.00
260.40
469.90
3,616.00
428.20
442.40
2,126.50
2,024.50
349.60
943.50
2,751.00
1,156.00
5,832.00
4,790.00
1,679.50
1,650.00
1,436.00
227.40
7,055.00
876.90
1,306.00
550.50
554.00
2,484.00
79.08
281.20
1,259.00
362.80
3,395.00
251.00
349.70
598.50
2,529.00
2,626.00
3,131.00
582.30
2,195.00
1,162.00
667.50
280.75
1,569.50
360.70
298.80
423.50
691.50
1,130.00
1,844.00
416.10
319.60
1,890.50
1,762.00
1,183.00
1,279.00
253.20
3,310.00
1,115.00
1,715.00
1,855.00
442.90
838.50
3,577.00
442.85
1,431.50
852.90
523.00
254.75
524.50
985.00
553.00
4,645.00
2,866.00
1,082.00
1,099.00
718.00
997.00
1,568.00
1,551.00
464.90
484.20
0.00
% Chg
1.72
0.70
0.31
0.57
2.48
0.98
-0.16
1.53
0.17
0.31
0.43
-0.20
0.52
-0.51
1.32
0.33
-0.08
-0.09
1.33
1.01
-1.90
0.62
0.47
0.89
0.23
1.29
0.38
0.71
-0.26
-0.32
1.22
-0.68
-0.40
0.35
0.47
-0.23
0.27
0.18
-0.49
0.98
0.79
-0.18
0.54
0.36
4.43
1.51
-0.39
0.25
0.32
-1.41
0.24
-0.36
0.06
-0.25
0.64
-0.61
2.82
0.64
3.00
0.00
-0.07
-1.18
0.26
0.53
0.50
0.79
-1.21
0.80
-1.50
1.51
0.66
1.18
0.97
0.94
4.66
-0.63
1.60
0.00
-0.92
0.82
0.34
0.12
1.09
0.17
-2.62
0.18
0.38
2.19
0.10
-0.40
0.73
0.10
1.78
-0.46
0.37
-2.11
-1.92
1.10
0.71
0.19
1.42
0.00
Volume
3,352,515
479,401
6,254,489
302,992
941,806
42,690,525
1,468,075
1,884,275
446,138
400,301
20,514,959
14,107,671
5,848,085
5,558,860
826,382
2,439,217
1,209,891
1,372,560
2,775,407
2,260,876
2,272,426
595,748
270,765
5,633,516
1,441,801
1,491,291
3,219,288
1,400,834
3,479,449
2,819,298
8,928,286
4,994,210
5,609,194
4,403,793
1,021,428
652,852
2,606,552
969,235
2,640,163
7,273,531
322,211
5,807,357
990,218
1,441,607
17,553,938
860,736
99,901,518
9,710,634
1,284,548
10,729,220
375,617
19,978,759
1,244,048
5,444,644
265,972
568,395
5,145,656
21,648,644
477,099
702,359
2,173,674
25,864,106
5,346,846
3,497,068
2,220,597
3,709,912
1,396,893
1,708,400
996,131
2,624,682
3,480,340
3,292,802
1,655,579
2,476,576
746,784
9,725,911
746,678
1,553,316
1,524,324
571,651
15,847,806
1,771,991
2,238,426
20,899,148
7,614,690
9,752,150
3,499,842
38,046,988
5,645,016
1,195,092
8,961,867
1,546,086
584,916
1,732,839
2,802,093
2,317,060
7,662,642
710,441
429,165
2,768,100
1,056,077
-
TOKYO
Company Name
Inpex Corp
Daiwa House Industry Co Ltd
Sekisui House Ltd
Kirin Holdings Co Ltd
Japan Tobacco Inc
Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd
Toray Industries Inc
Asahi Kasei Corp
Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings
Kao Corp
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd
Astellas Pharma Inc
Eisai Co Ltd
Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd
Fujifilm Holdings Corp
Shiseido Co Ltd
Jx Holdings Inc
Lt Price
1,311.00
2,424.00
1,777.00
1,601.00
3,892.50
5,065.00
999.00
1,159.00
616.00
7,701.00
711.30
6,108.00
5,933.00
1,954.50
8,320.00
1,871.50
4,412.00
2,245.00
463.70
% Chg
0.69
2.86
1.98
-0.19
0.87
-0.94
-0.03
1.05
0.98
-0.54
2.02
2.78
-0.20
1.16
-0.60
-0.43
1.98
1.63
0.69
Indices
Volume
Volume
4,386,600
2,520,100
4,764,600
2,637,700
2,441,400
2,424,800
5,466,000
3,280,000
5,677,000
825,500
7,387,300
2,028,500
2,100,700
5,664,900
1,771,600
1,327,000
3,384,600
1,668,400
8,672,800
Lt Price
Change
Dow Jones Indus. Avg
S&P 500 Index
Nasdaq Composite Index
S&P/Tsx Composite Index
Mexico Bolsa Index
Brazil Bovespa Stock Idx
Ftse 100 Index
Cac 40 Index
Dax Index
Ibex 35 Tr
17,763.24
2,066.96
4,886.94
15,026.62
44,202.94
53,123.02
6,833.46
5,074.14
11,967.39
11,634.00
+65.06
+7.27
+6.71
+84.07
+478.16
+801.26
+23.96
+11.92
-33.99
+64.20
Nikkei 225
Japan Topix
Hang Seng Index
All Ordinaries Indx
Nzx All Index
Bse Sensex 30 Index
Nse S&P Cnx Nifty Index
Straits Times Index
Karachi All Share Index
Jakarta Composite Index
19,435.08
1,564.16
25,275.64
5,869.74
1,152.07
28,260.14
8,586.25
3,453.75
22,270.03
5,456.40
+122.29
+9.99
+192.89
+36.83
-1.26
+302.65
+95.25
+6.73
+102.79
-10.47
TOKYO
Company Name
Bridgestone Corp
Asahi Glass Co Ltd
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Meta
Sumitomo Metal Industries
Kobe Steel Ltd
Jfe Holdings Inc
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd
Sumitomo Electric Industries
Smc Corp
Komatsu Ltd
Kubota Corp
Daikin Industries Ltd
Hitachi Ltd
Toshiba Corp
Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Nidec Corp
Nec Corp
Fujitsu Ltd
Panasonic Corp
Sharp Corp
Sony Corp
Tdk Corp
Keyence Corp
Denso Corp
Fanuc Corp
Rohm Co Ltd
Kyocera Corp
Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd
Nitto Denko Corp
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Nissan Motor Co Ltd
Toyota Motor Corp
Honda Motor Co Ltd
Suzuki Motor Corp
Nikon Corp
Hoya Corp
Canon Inc
Ricoh Co Ltd
Dai Nippon Printing Co Ltd
Nintendo Co Ltd
Itochu Corp
Marubeni Corp
Mitsui & Co Ltd
Tokyo Electron Ltd
Sumitomo Corp
Mitsubishi Corp
Aeon Co Ltd
Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Gro
Resona Holdings Inc
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdin
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Gr
Bank Of Yokohama Ltd/The
Mizuho Financial Group Inc
Orix Corp
Daiwa Securities Group Inc
Nomura Holdings Inc
Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdin
Ms&Ad Insurance Group Holdin
Dai-Ichi Life Insurance
Tokio Marine Holdings Inc
T&D Holdings Inc
Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd
Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd
Sumitomo Realty & Developmen
East Japan Railway Co
West Japan Railway Co
Central Japan Railway Co
Ana Holdings Inc
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone
Kddi Corp
Ntt Docomo Inc
Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc
Chubu Electric Power Co Inc
Kansai Electric Power Co Inc
Tohoku Electric Power Co Inc
Kyushu Electric Power Co Inc
Tokyo Gas Co Ltd
Secom Co Ltd
Yamada Denki Co Ltd
Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Softbank Corp
Lt Price
5,000.00
782.00
295.30
0.00
223.00
2,663.00
1,733.50
1,563.00
36,705.00
2,434.00
1,983.00
8,164.00
831.40
512.40
1,467.50
8,194.00
364.00
818.20
1,565.50
231.00
3,450.00
8,630.00
65,570.00
5,486.00
26,665.00
8,320.00
6,560.00
17,000.00
7,850.00
667.10
1,229.00
8,426.00
3,995.50
3,667.00
1,638.00
4,879.50
4,401.50
1,312.50
1,182.50
18,245.00
1,273.50
694.90
1,586.50
8,288.00
1,302.00
2,420.00
1,365.00
771.40
605.60
500.40
4,648.00
716.40
213.90
1,740.00
960.90
720.00
3,836.00
3,440.00
1,818.00
4,656.50
1,714.50
3,662.00
2,865.00
4,517.00
10,185.00
6,511.00
22,660.00
326.80
7,545.00
2,805.00
2,128.00
455.00
1,435.00
1,138.00
1,357.00
1,132.00
779.90
8,110.00
485.00
47,610.00
6,965.00
% Chg
2.23
0.00
0.17
0.00
0.90
0.02
0.84
0.35
0.62
0.66
2.19
0.37
0.05
-0.04
1.38
2.07
1.39
1.73
-0.32
0.00
3.42
1.53
0.28
1.86
-0.04
2.72
0.38
2.94
-0.47
0.66
0.45
0.58
1.40
1.12
0.92
-0.45
2.12
0.73
0.34
4.26
0.24
-0.17
-0.75
-0.13
0.19
-0.84
1.00
-0.21
-0.75
-0.46
-0.63
-1.05
-0.23
1.19
1.32
0.66
1.60
0.89
1.00
0.46
2.60
0.70
0.21
0.44
0.30
0.17
0.40
1.05
0.95
1.19
0.59
-0.44
-1.17
-0.87
-0.29
-0.88
1.18
0.75
0.21
1.05
-0.43
Volume
3,891,500
3,258,000
36,154,000
7,152,000
1,412,100
1,830,000
2,500,300
147,300
2,867,500
3,404,000
818,200
13,733,000
20,355,000
6,385,000
1,727,900
20,953,000
8,643,000
9,647,500
12,338,000
14,003,400
609,300
178,300
1,453,100
727,300
1,041,900
808,800
914,200
1,092,200
6,655,000
5,743,200
5,102,600
2,957,600
1,188,100
3,456,900
1,116,000
5,263,900
3,584,900
1,059,000
1,126,700
3,298,500
4,621,800
7,815,500
343,800
2,966,300
4,877,000
3,221,200
54,455,800
8,382,500
10,177,000
6,390,400
3,518,000
104,339,300
5,205,600
19,854,000
14,491,100
997,400
931,900
4,342,100
1,666,700
3,907,700
3,089,000
3,213,000
1,873,000
821,100
686,500
345,200
13,615,000
1,366,300
3,779,700
3,841,700
6,139,100
1,021,500
2,089,100
961,000
1,718,700
6,418,000
438,100
3,534,000
511,000
4,829,900
SENSEX
Company Name
Zee Entertainment Enterprise
Yes Bank Ltd
Wipro Ltd
Ultratech Cement Ltd
Tech Mahindra Ltd
Tata Steel Ltd
Tata Power Co Ltd
Tata Motors Ltd
Tata Consultancy Svcs Ltd
Sun Pharmaceutical Indus
State Bank Of India
Sesa Sterlite Ltd
Reliance Industries Ltd
Punjab National Bank
Power Grid Corp Of India Ltd
Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd
Ntpc Ltd
Nmdc Ltd
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Lupin Ltd
Larsen & Toubro Ltd
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd
Itc Ltd
Infosys Ltd
Indusind Bank Ltd
Idfc Ltd
Idea Cellular Ltd
Icici Bank Ltd
Housing Development Finance
Hindustan Unilever Ltd
Hindalco Industries Ltd
Hero Motocorp Ltd
Hdfc Bank Limited
Hcl Technologies Ltd
Grasim Industries Ltd
Gail India Ltd
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
Coal India Ltd
Cipla Ltd
Cairn India Ltd
Bharti Airtel Ltd
Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd
Bharat Heavy Electricals
Bank Of Baroda
Bajaj Auto Ltd
Axis Bank Ltd
Asian Paints Ltd
Ambuja Cements Ltd
Acc Ltd
Lt Price
340.85
847.75
633.20
2,883.70
632.70
323.65
77.50
564.90
2,542.65
1,081.15
273.45
190.15
836.05
151.95
146.45
306.45
147.75
128.65
3,644.70
1,202.10
2,037.50
1,734.25
1,361.05
332.45
2,173.95
925.25
172.70
189.65
323.15
1,337.05
883.50
132.20
2,655.85
1,033.25
940.85
3,694.05
384.80
3,533.65
363.00
709.60
213.35
402.30
804.20
230.70
168.90
2,019.80
569.65
821.70
260.25
1,585.90
% Chg
-0.26
3.92
0.69
0.20
0.48
2.18
0.52
2.67
-0.44
5.59
2.40
0.34
1.22
5.23
0.83
0.03
0.61
-0.08
-1.42
1.20
1.45
0.85
3.64
2.03
-2.00
4.43
3.44
3.07
2.42
1.62
1.14
2.48
0.61
1.03
-4.03
1.98
-0.77
1.29
0.03
-0.40
-0.23
2.29
-0.81
-1.98
3.30
0.16
1.69
1.28
1.94
1.48
Volume
2,358,107
3,154,013
1,258,599
603,255
5,021,883
3,736,730
3,262,165
4,643,076
1,212,559
4,384,788
13,566,560
3,238,572
3,589,107
7,747,967
1,628,769
2,444,335
3,238,089
1,277,384
754,702
749,947
809,727
1,107,614
538,416
7,584,145
1,842,745
1,068,933
5,738,738
10,325,477
8,971,018
1,550,066
915,986
7,939,748
387,809
1,018,409
4,418,586
44,088
1,528,927
308,923
1,513,234
1,820,730
1,009,966
5,970,362
1,152,932
3,828,388
3,336,354
220,101
4,210,630
968,257
1,390,513
185,301
Traders monitor transactions at the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Exchange said it would
help investors prove their ownership of mainland stocks.
Hong Kong Exchange pledges
to defend investors in China
Bloomberg
Hong Kong
H
ong Kong Exchanges & Clearing said it will help international investors defend their
ownership rights should problems
arise amid concerns about Chinese legal protections for shareholders.
The bourse amended its clearing
rules last month, committing to provide certificates of ownership to investors who bought shares through Hong
Kong’s exchange link with Shanghai.
HKEx said it would also help investors prove their ownership of mainland
stocks.
“These amendments to the rules will
reinforce the interests of foreign investors,” said Marc-Andre Bechet, a legal
director at the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry. Luxembourg
is a home for investment funds with
about $3.7tn in net assets, according to
ALFI. The changes “will be definitely
welcomed by investment managers.”
International funds need tangible
proof they actually own the shares
they’ve purchased. Such assurances
had been unclear with the bourse link,
established last year to give foreigners
unprecedented access to the Chinese
equity market. In a December report,
the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association said there
was no clear system for confirming
who owns Chinese stocks purchased
through the Hong Kong exchange.
“Funds in the US and Europe need to
show that they’ve got good ownership
title, they need to be able to enforce
their shareholder rights,” James Fok,
HKEx’s head of global strategy, said in
an interview. “We are very comfortable
with the fact that an investor holding their shares through HKSCC as a
nominee has full and good legal title
to their shares in the mainland.” HKSCC stands for Hong Kong Securities
Clearing Co, which is HKEx’s clearing
entity.
Executives from HKEx met fund
managers from Luxembourg and Ireland last month to discuss investment
through the link.
Luxembourg’s financial regulator
has given eight funds permission to
use the program, according to Patrick
Hommel, a member of the secretariat
HONG KONG
HONG KONG
Company Name
Aluminum Corp Of China Ltd-H
Bank Of East Asia
Bank Of China Ltd-H
Bank Of Communications Co-H
Belle International Holdings
Boc Hong Kong Holdings Ltd
Cathay Pacific Airways
Ck Hutchison Holdings Ltd
China Coal Energy Co-H
China Construction Bank-H
China Life Insurance Co-H
China Merchants Hldgs Intl
China Mobile Ltd
China Overseas Land & Invest
China Petroleum & Chemical-H
China Resources Enterprise
China Resources Land Ltd
China Resources Power Holdin
China Shenhua Energy Co-H
China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd
Citic Ltd
Clp Holdings Ltd
Cnooc Ltd
Cosco Pacific Ltd
Esprit Holdings Ltd
Fih Mobile Ltd
Hang Lung Properties Ltd
Hang Seng Bank Ltd
Henderson Land Development
general at the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier.
Officials from the Central Bank of
Ireland also met HKEx representatives, and the nation’s financial regulator may soon grant its first approval
to a fund to invest through the link, according to the Irish Funds Industry Association. The IFIA’s Chief Executive
Officer, Patrick Lardner, welcomed the
changes, saying that they may encourage fund managers to start investing
through Stock Connect.
Proving ownership of Chinese
shares is so far the biggest outstanding issue that prevents many investors
from using the link, said Ben Valentine,
the head of pan-Asia electronic execution at Citigroup in Hong Kong.
Global investors have purchased
about 41% of the aggregate 300bn
yuan ($48.4bn) quota of shares available through the link.
“Make no mistake, China is the market people are focused on,” Valentine
said. “Based on the assumption that
all this stuff gets resolved, it’s just going to be a bigger uptick in terms of the
volume that we are going to see going
into China.”
Lt Price
4.17
30.90
4.62
6.76
9.14
28.10
18.56
159.40
4.43
6.56
34.95
30.70
102.80
26.15
6.23
15.20
22.55
20.10
20.35
12.90
13.78
65.45
11.18
10.66
7.81
4.13
22.15
140.60
55.40
% Chg
4.77
0.00
1.09
0.60
2.01
0.36
0.11
0.13
2.07
1.08
0.58
1.15
1.38
1.16
0.65
-0.13
1.35
0.25
2.16
3.53
2.38
-0.98
1.27
2.90
-0.13
0.98
0.68
-0.28
-0.81
Volume
54,507,878
3,797,531
432,501,154
49,775,161
13,323,781
7,324,463
5,302,210
2,836,215
41,418,839
339,814,402
49,317,271
5,431,306
18,324,486
38,274,032
138,763,016
8,020,442
14,688,215
7,951,898
21,804,944
68,600,330
24,546,503
5,466,245
66,981,879
12,132,000
18,318,964
15,288,114
4,865,180
1,085,782
2,628,581
Company Name
Hong Kong & China Gas
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clear
Hsbc Holdings Plc
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd
Ind & Comm Bk Of China-H
Li & Fung Ltd
Mtr Corp
New World Development
Petrochina Co Ltd-H
Ping An Insurance Group Co-H
Power Assets Holdings Ltd
Sino Land Co
Sun Hung Kai Properties
Swire Pacific Ltd-A
Tencent Holdings Ltd
Wharf Holdings Ltd
Lt Price
17.96
196.00
67.00
108.70
5.85
7.59
37.55
9.14
8.75
93.15
77.70
12.70
121.00
105.70
149.80
55.25
% Chg
0.56
0.26
0.68
0.28
1.56
-0.52
1.21
0.66
1.39
-1.38
-1.02
0.47
1.26
-0.47
1.22
1.38
Volume
7,787,767
9,075,569
15,083,394
2,877,217
434,091,342
17,012,949
5,663,855
23,171,292
86,819,597
27,549,484
3,115,487
2,109,822
3,665,809
2,000,898
14,679,077
5,025,502
GCC INDICES
Indices
Doha Securities Market
Saudi Tadawul
Kuwait Stocks Exchange
Bahrain Stock Exchage
Oman Stock Market
Abudhabi Stock Market
Dubai Financial Market
Lt Price
11,699.03
8,733.79
6,221.37
1,427.63
6,268.45
4,538.72
3,614.70
Change
+168.02
-78.56
-15.15
+1.04
+27.99
+43.21
+82.92
“Information contained herein is believed to be reliable and had been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The
accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This publication is for providing information only and is not intended
as an offer or solicitation for a purchase or sale of any of the financial instruments mentioned. Gulf Times and Doha Bank
or any of their employees shall not be held accountable and will not accept any losses or liabilities for actions based on
this data.”
CURRENCIES
DOLLAR
QATAR RIYAL
SAUDI RIYAL
UAE DIRHAMS
BAHRAINI
DINAR
KUWAITI
DINAR
6
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
BUSINESS/LEISURE
Adam
Peer-to-peer loans soar in US,
challenging traditional banks
AFP
California
J
osh Smith, a 30-year-old blogger on finance, was in the midst
of a career change in 2009 when
he sought to refinance $8,000 in
credit card debt.
“At the time, I was making the
transition to freelance,” he said.
“When I asked the bank, they did
not want to lend me the money because I was leaving a permanent position for freelance.”
Smith turned to the online marketplace Lending Club and had a
deal within six days.
“Getting a peer-to-peer loan was
incredibly simple,” he told AFP.
Led by companies such as Lending
Club, which went public in December, borrowing money from other
individuals and groups via Internet
marketplaces has surged in the US.
The volume of loans made
through intermediaries like Lending
Club has jumped an average of 84%
each quarter since 2007, according
to PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Total loans reached $5.5bn in 2014
and are projected to hit $150bn or
more in 2025, the accounting firm
said in a February report.
“Think of them as eBays for money,” Consumer Reports magazine
said in January.
“Just as eBay brings buyers and
sellers together, peer-to-peer platforms bring borrowers in need of
loans from $1,000 to $35,000 together with investors who want to
earn better returns than those offered by banks.”
Peer lending platforms can give
borrowers better rates than conventional banks, while providing investors a higher yield in an era of low
interest rates.
The interest rate varies with the risk
and generally falls between six and
12%. Prospective borrowers are vetted as they would be at conventional
Pooch Cafe
Garfield
Bound And Gagged
Mall Cinema (1): Komban
(Tamil) 2.30pm: Cinderella (2D)
5pm: Fast & Furious 7 (2D) 7pm:
Decor (2D) 9.30pm: Paper Planes
(2D) 11.30pm.
Mall Cinema (2): Komban
(Tamil) 2pm: Home (2D) 4.30pm:
Detective Byomkesh Bakshi
(Hindi) 6.15pm: Fast & Furious 7
(2D) 9pm: The Canal (2D) 11.30pm.
Mall Cinema (3): Bonta: Axel
(The Biggest Little Hero) (2D)
2.30pm: Fast & Furious 7 (2D) 4 &
11pm: Paper Planes (2D) 6.30pm:
100 Days Of Love (Malayalam)
8.15pm.
Cryptic Clues
Sudoku
Sudoku is a puzzle
based on a 9x9 grid.
The grid is also
divided into nine
(3x3) boxes. You are
given a selection of
values and to complete the puzzle,
you must fill the
grid so that every
column, every row
and every 3x3 box
contains the digits
1 to 9 and none is
repeated.
Weekly’s Solutions
ACROSS
1. It’s not often the present
combines with the past
(3,3,4)
7. A good shot, but the
winner lost the point (5)
8. Defames a large number
and gets into a row (7)
10. It brings insects to a
sticky end (3-5)
11. I depart right after the
operatic prince (4)
13. I’d call round, but not on
foot (6)
15. Fatal delay, perhaps,
involves a number (6)
17. They have good reason to
renounce the world (4)
18. Stage a hunger-strike,
and stick to it (4,4)
21. A number in Exeter
possibly going too far (7)
22. It’s put in during games
of tennis (5)
23. Groundless rumour that
there’s unemployment? (4,6)
The volume of loans made through intermediaries like Lending Club has
jumped an average of 84% each quarter since 2007, according to
PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
banks, but the process is more rapid.
The companies that serve as intermediaries typically charge between 0.5 and 5% of the sum borrowed.
The market is booming for peerlending brokers as banks remain
cautious about opening up their loan
books in the wake of the 2008 crisis,
and being pressed with tighter regulations. California-based Prosper
Marketplace has facilitated $1bn
in loans the last five months and is
aiming for $3bn in 2015, said chief
executive Aaron Vermut.
“What I think changed after the
crisis of 2008 is that the big banks
really left a big vacuum in the lending space,” Vermut said.
To limit the risk for lenders, companies like Lending Club and Prosper
split loans among different investors.
The default rate is three to four%, according to the website Lend Academy.
Goldman Sachs said earlier this
month that seven% of the bank industry’s annual $150bn profits could
be at risk from new credit sources in
the next five years.
That is pressing conventional
banks to refashion themselves to keep
up with the new online competition.
“Emerging players will force the
incumbents to change competitive
behaviour,” Goldman Sachs said.
“We would expect pricing of products to adjust, driving potentially
lower returns.”
Nessa Feddis, a senior vice president at the American Bankers Association, said large banks would
adjust if demand for alternative
lending stays high.
“The industry does not see it as a
threat. It sees an opportunity,” she
said. “Many of the banks are indirectly involved with peer-to-peer
lending as lenders. Also banks, like
other businesses, learn from the
competition and evolve.”
But Feddis said there was a need
for regulators to ensure a “level
playing field” between banks and
the emerging class of financial players. For example, banks are kept to
strict capital requirements not faced
by alternative lenders.
But that marks a big difference
between the two approaches: peer
lending platforms do not take deposits like banks to make their own
loans, but are just brokers who take
a fee for matching lenders and borrowers.
Komban (Tamil) 10.45pm.
Royal Plaza Cinema Palace
(1): Detective Byomkesh Bakshi
Cinema Land Mark (1): Paper
(Hindi) 2.45pm: Fast & Furious 7
Planes (2D) 2.30 & 9.30pm:
(2D) 5.30, 8 &10.30pm.
Komban (Tamil) 4.30pm: Fast &
Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (2):
Furious 7 (2D) 7pm: The Canal
Bonta: Axel (The Biggest Little
(2D) 11.30pm.
Hero) (2D) 3pm: Fast & Furious
Cinema Land Mark (2): Bonta:
7 (2D) 4.30pm: Cinderella (2D)
Axel (The Biggest Little Hero)
7pm: Paper Planes (2D) 9pm:
(2D) 2.30pm: Fast & Furious 7
Detective Byomkesh Bakshi
(2D) 4, 8.30 & 11pm: Cinderella
(Hindi) 10.45pm.
(2D) 6.30pm.
Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (3):
Cinema Land Mark (3): The
Home (2D) 2.30pm: The Canal
Canal (2D) 2.30pm: Home (2D)
(2D) 4.30 & 11pm: Paper Planes
4.15pm: Decor (2D) 6.15 & 8.30pm: (2D) 6.30pm: Decor (2D) 8.30pm.
Quick Clues
DOWN
1. Nurse for a goat (5)
2. Decoration for the brave
perhaps (3-5)
3. One issue or several (6)
4. Late edition story (4)
5. Not free to wed (7)
6. It’s not the same as a
disagreement (10)
9. A miserable and penitent
condition (5,5)
12. Plant holders? (8)
14. Indeed it’s not distinguished
(7)
16. It’s worn by a woman for a
dance (6)
19. Could be Poe’s a fabulous
story-teller (5)
20. We are - or used to be (4)
ACROSS
1. Playful (10)
7. Stir (5)
8. Compensation (7)
10. Ceaseless (8)
11. Couple (4)
13. Dry scholar (6)
15. Relent (6)
17. Additionally (4)
18. Limit (8)
21. Defame (7)
22. Put up (5)
23. Impolite (10)
DOWN
1. Lucky shot (5)
2. Exaggerated (8)
3. Notch (6)
4. A few (4)
5. Nomad (7)
6. Victorious (10)
9. Reinforce (10)
12. Tormentor (8)
14. Scorn (7)
16. Lower (6)
19. Frigidly (5)
20. Chrysalis (4)
Weekly’s Solutions
QUICK
Across: 6 Plaster; 7 Adult; 9 One;
10 Indolence; 12 Composition; 15
Temperature; 17 Reprieved; 19
Nip; 21 Berth; 22 Mention.
Down: 1 Blank; 2 Use; 3 Mean; 4
Adventure; 5 Elector; 8 Cosset;
11 Co-operate; 13 Purged; 14
Deleted; 16 Minor; 18 Even; 20
Ate.
CRYPTIC
Across: 6 Curtain; 7 Kudos;
9 Ate; 10 Love-knots; 12
Performance; 15 Suit himself; 17
Architect; 19 Spa; 21 Relay; 22
Spartan.
Down: 1 Quits; 2 Eta; 3 Lido; 4
Turntable; 5 Contact; 8 Pearls; 11
Went ahead; 13 Flirts; 14 Guarded;
16 Sprat; 18 Cope; 20 Art.
8
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
BUSINESS
Visa to miss deadline
for new Russia
payment system
Reuters
Moscow
V
Pedestrians walk past the World Bank headquarters in Washington. Russia faces a protracted recession as the impact of Western sanctions lingers and oil prices stay low, the World
Bank said in a report.
Moscow faces protracted
recession: World Bank
Reuters
Moscow
R
ussia faces a protracted recession
as the impact of Western sanctions
lingers and oil prices stay low, the
World Bank said in a report published last
week.
In its baseline scenario, the bank expected Russia’s gross domestic product
to contract by 3.8% in 2015 and a further
0.3% in 2016, describing medium-term
growth prospects as dim.
The World Bank’s lead economist for
Russia, Birgit Hansl, said “adjustment to
the new oil price reality and the sanctions
environment” was a key policy challenge.
“If we look more into the medium term,
the main challenge for Russia is the continued dearth in investment,” she said,
presenting the report.
The bank’s latest forecasts are more
pessimistic than those made in December,
when it expected the economy to shrink
by 0.7% this year and grow by 0.3% in
2016.
The new baseline forecasts assume that
the oil price will recover only marginally
over the next two years, averaging $53 per
barrel in 2015 and $57 per barrel in 2016,
reflecting ample global supplies and moderate demand.
Under a more optimistic scenario, with
oil averaging $65.5 per barrel in 2015 and
$68.7 per barrel in 2016, the economy
would contract by 2.9% this year and grow
by only 0.1% in 2016, the World Bank said.
Its latest forecasts assume that sanctions imposed against Russia because of
its role in the Ukraine conflict would stay
in place in 2015 and 2016.
The sanctions could have damaging
long-term consequences that may last
even after the sanctions are lifted, the
bank said, citing the case of South Africa
where sanctions imposed in the 1980s
caused a major slump in investment.
In Russia’s case, sanctions were likely to
exacerbate an existing investment shortage. “Low investment demand hints at the
deeper structural problems of the Russian
economy and has already initiated a new
era of potentially small growth,” the report said.
The bank also warned that a projected
3.8% budget deficit this year could “severely deplete” the budget’s Reserve Fund,
currently equal to around 4.7% of GDP.
Hansl said, however: “One could argue
that it is prudent to use fiscal buffers at
these times as a counter-cyclical measure.”
The Bank also foresaw a $122bn capital and financial account deficit this year,
reflecting continuing heavy capital outflows, only partially covered by a $74bn
current account surplus.
isa still needs one or
two months to transfer
processing of transactions made on its credit cards
in Russia to a local payment
system, but Mastercard will
make an obligatory deadline,
the head of the payment system said.
Russian authorities ordered foreign card companies
to move processing of their
transactions in Russia to a
newly created local payment
system or put down a hefty security deposit.
The new rules were introduced after Visa and Mastercard stopped providing services for some Russian banks
that were sanctioned over
Moscow’s role in the Ukraine
crisis.
“With
Mastercard
the
project is completed, all the
banks are signed up. With Visa
there is a fully fledged project,
which has been agreed. Signing up and certifying the
banks is under way,” Vladimir
Komlev told journalists in
comments agreed for publication on Friday.
“There is an understanding
of the time frame (for Visa) to
complete the project, around
one to two months.”
Foreign card companies
whose local transactions
aren’t processed in Russia
must deposit collateral related
to the average daily turnover
on their cards with the central
bank to ensure Russian customers don’t suffer if they halt
services in the country.
Komlev declined to comment on whether Visa would
have to pay the security deposit, and Visa refused comment on the issue.
Visa said its cards would
continue to function normally until it completely moved
processing of transactions
made on its cards in Russia to
the local system.
Russia’s top lender Sberbank said transactions made
on Mastercard cards it had
issued would be processed by
Russia’s National Payment
Card System, which is owned
by the central bank.
Rostislav Yanykin, head of
Sberbank’s bank cards department, said he did not know of
any banks that had managed
to transfer processing of Visa
cards to the local payment
system.
“Visa is slightly more tricky
than Mastercard,” he said.
“They have an exchange protocol for cash machine operations that is much more difficult.”
Komlev, the head of Russia’s
payment system, also said he
thought the system he heads
would help residents of Crimea. Visa and Mastercard late
last year stopped supporting
bank cards used on the peninsula Russia annexed from
Ukraine.
Visa and Mastercard late last year stopped supporting bank
cards used on the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
9
BUSINESS
ECB says its QE programme
already boosting recovery
Eurozone
deflation
eases,
jobless
rate drops
AFP
Frankfurt
AFP
Brussels
T
he European Central Bank said
it is increasingly confident that
its controversial bond purchase
programme is helping boost the eurozone’s economic recovery, even as a top
official expressed doubts about its effectiveness.
In the minutes of the governing
council’s meeting on March 4 and 5
released last week, the ECB said that
“members generally shared the assessment that significant positive effects
... could already be seen” from the new
bond purchase programme known as
quantitative easing (QE).
And that was leading to “prudent
optimism” about the recovery outlook,
showed the minutes, which are published with a four-week delay.
On January 22, the ECB announced it
would embark on a QE policy, used by
other central banks, and make sovereign bond purchases to boost the worryingly low level of inflation in the 19
countries that share the euro.
Under the programme, the ECB aims
to buy €1.14tn ($1.2tn) worth of bonds
between now and September 2016 at a
rate of €60bn per month. And the latest data showed it had bought a total
€41.02bn worth of bonds by March 27.
However, some prominent ECB
members—notably the head of the German central bank or Bundesbank Jens
Weidmann and ECB executive board
member Sabine Lautenschlaeger—have
repeatedly expressed doubts about the
need and impact of such a programme.
Lautenschlaeger told a German magazine that she had “doubts whether the
economic effects of the purchase programme will reach the desired magnitude.”
And she warned that the current very
low level of interest rates could lead to
the formation of asset price bubbles.
Before joining the ECB’s executive
board, Lautenschlaeger was vice president of the German central bank and
she shares the same scepticism as Weidmann. Nevertheless, at the governing
council’s last policy meeting in Nicosia,
Cyprus, in March, there appeared to be
agreement that QE was indeed helping
to ease financial market conditions and
the cost of external finance for companies, the minutes showed.
Coupled with recent positive economic data and signs of a turnaround
in inflation, “this provided grounds
for ‘prudent optimism’ regarding the
scenario of a gradual recovery and a re-
D
An illuminated sign for the European Central Bank headquarters seen outside the main building in Frankfurt. The ECB said it is increasingly confident that its
controversial bond purchase programme is helping boost the eurozone’s economic recovery.
turn of inflation rates to levels closer to
2.0%,” the minutes stated.
At the same time, there was “no
room for complacency,” the governing
council members agreed.
There were still downside risks, most
importantly geopolitical and political
risks “inside and outside the euro area.”
And insufficient progress on structural
reforms was one of them, the minutes
said. “Determined policy action was
needed in other policy areas. A strong
message to governments (is) warranted
to seize the opportunity for a renewed
impetus for structural reforms to boost
potential growth,” the minutes said.
Berenberg Bank economist Christian Schulz said the key message of the
minutes was the “upbeat assessment
of the start of quantitative easing and
sharp warnings against governments’
complacency.”
“We should not expect any policy
changes from the ECB between now
and mid-2016, unless severe downside
or upside risks to the economic trajectory materialise,” Schulz said. “If the
recovery gets stronger than the ECB
currently projects, some particularly
hawkish members may start a discussion about tapering the purchases early,” he added.
But Capital Economics economist
Jonathan Loynes disagreed.
“The ECB still has a lot more work to
do. And for now at least, it appears to
recognise that,” he said. The ECB only
started publishing its minutes this year
in a bid to make the thinking behind its
monetary policy decisions more transparent. In doing so, the ECB is following the example of the likes of the US
Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.
But unlike the US Fed, the minutes
do not reveal which central bank governor voted for or against a particular
policy decision. The ECB said this was
necessary to prevent the central bank
chiefs being put under political pressure in their home countries.
The ECB is fiercely independent and
its governing council members take a
vow to act in the interests of the eurozone as a whole rather than their individual countries.
Draghi’s helping hand lifts Britain’s asset-backed debt market
Bloomberg
London
Mario Draghi’s bid to revive Europe’s
asset- backed securities market is
having the desired effect in the wrong
place: Britain.
Sales of notes secured by the UK
collateral from mortgages to credit
card debt totalled £8.3bn ($12.3bn) in
the first three months of the year, the
busiest quarter since the end of June
2012, according to UniCredit. Euroarea issuers placed €7.7bn ($8.3bn) of
securities in the same period, the least
since the first three months of last year.
Draghi’s bond-purchase programme
is suppressing yields in the euro area,
inadvertently fuelling investor demand
for UK securities. The European Central
Bank president is seeking to breath
life into the region’s market for assetbacked debt, which contracted more
than 40% since 2010, because it allows
banks to transfer risks to investors and
encourages new lending to companies.
“The UK market is benefiting from the
hunt for assets,” said Manuel Trojovsky,
structured credit analyst at UniCredit
in Munich.
“There’s a supply squeeze in European
ABS, which has been aggravated by the
ECB entering the market and triggering
a rally.”
GMAC UK Plc, a subsidiary of General
Motors Co, sold £498.8mn of notes
backed by UK auto loans in March,
while Lloyds Banking Group securitised
£1bn of credit card debt. Nationwide
Building Society and Banco Santander
sold the only bonds secured by
high-quality UK mortgages this year,
according to Morgan Stanley.
The UK’s asset-backed debt market
is Europe’s largest at €193bn and is
excluded from Draghi’s programme,
which is focused exclusively on notes
denominated in euros and backed by
euro-area collateral.
The Frankfurt-based central bank has
acquired €4.6bn of such debt since
November.
That’s distorted the market,
suppressing some eligible bonds’ yield
premiums relative to benchmark rates
to the lowest since before the financial
crisis and pushing investors into
assets outside the scope of Draghi’s
programme.
Bonds secured by UK collateral account
for 59% of all asset-backed debt sold in
Europe in the first three months of the
year, the most since the first quarter of
2012, according to UniCredit.
“UK issuance came back to life in the
first quarter,” said Vasundhara Goel, an
analyst at Morgan Stanley in London.
Prudential’s M&G unit raised more than
300mn euros for a new fund targeting
asset-backed securities the ECB won’t
buy, said Patrick Janssen, a money
manager in London. M&G oversees
€21bn of asset-backed debt and favours
UK residential mortgage-backed
securities, he said.
The fund, targeting returns of 1.5%
more than the London interbank
offered rate, will also invest in notes
from issuers outside the euro region
backed by collateral including
leveraged loans and commercial
real estate debt, said Janssen, who
manages the fund with James King
and Matthew Wardle.Top-rated UK
residential mortgage-backed securities
are diverging from similar Dutch bonds,
according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The average premium over benchmark
rates offered by UK notes versus that
for Dutch securities widened to nine
basis points from two basis points in
November, when the ECB started its
purchase programme.
Dutch bonds pay an average spread
of 25 basis points, the least since
August 2007, compared with 34 basis
points for those in the UK, the data
show.
“I have not seen as many relative-value
trades as this in a very long time,
and the best of these are to be found
in UK RMBS versus Dutch RMBS,”
M&G’s Janssen said. “The ECB is really
changing the face of the ABS market”.
eflation in the eurozone
eased in March, official
data showed, reducing concerns that the European
economy faces a dangerous spiral after four straight months of
falling consumer prices.
The threat of deflation in
the eurozone remains a global
concern, with fears that a huge
bond-buying spree by the European Central Bank came too late
to fight off the negative effects of
falling prices.
But prices in the 19-nation
single currency bloc were down
0.1% in March, less than the
drop of 0.3% in February with
low energy costs still impacting
the cost of living, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said.
Unemployment rate also
slipped to 11.3% in February,
down from a revised 11.4% in
January and 11.8% a year before
in a further positive sign.
“Overall, the data will likely
dilute fears that deflation could
become entrenched in the eurozone with long-term debilitating growth effects,” said Howard
Archer, European Economist at
IHS Global Insight.
“In fact, it may not be long before the markets start seriously
questioning whether the ECB
will continue to fully enact its
Quantitative Easing programme
all the way through to September 2016,” he said.
Prices first fell into negative
territory in December with a
-0.2 figure and hit -0.6% in January. But the easing to -0.3% in
February and the further weakening in March will be welcomed
by the ECB.
However, after stripping out
volatile energy and food prices,
so-called core inflation still fell
to 0.6% from 0.7% a month earlier. “The latest data on eurozone
inflation and unemployment
do little to diminish the danger
of a prolonged period of deflation in the currency union,” said
Jonathan Loynes, chief economist at Capital Economics.
Core inflation matched a
record low, “emphasising the
weakness of underlying price
pressures in the region,” Loynes
said. In January, the ECB set
out its huge bond-buying programme, an audacious and controversial scheme to ward off deflation and stimulate growth in
the eurozone, which expanded a
weak 0.9% in 2014.
But with a cash-strapped
Greece in a bitter row with its
European partners and on the
cusp of tumbling out of the euro,
analysts fear that a new debt crisis in the eurozone could affect
the world.
On Monday, Fitch ratings
agency said a renewed eurozone
debt crisis was the biggest risk to
the global economy, even greater
than unstable oil prices, and despite the ECB’s quantitative easing programme.
Economists fear deflation
almost as much as rampant inflation because shoppers tend
to put off purchases in the belief they may be cheaper in the
future.
EU wants to ditch ban on proprietary trading at banks
Reuters
London
E
uropean Union plans to ban
banks taking market bets with
their own money should be
scrapped to avoid crimping the flow of
funds needed for economic recovery,
an EU document showed.
The bloc’s executive European
Commission has proposed a draft law
to ban proprietary trading at banks and
force lenders to isolate other forms of
risky trading to help keep the financial
system stable.
Latvia, current holder of the EU
presidency, in its first full proposal
to revise the draft law, wants to ditch
the ban in the latest sign of how policymakers’ attention is switching from
regulation to reviving growth.
“The changes reflect the fact that
there is a mandatory separation of
proprietary trading rather than a
ban,” the document seen by Reuters
said. Even then, trading would have
to trigger a host of quantitative and
qualitative criteria for identifying
excessive risks before actual separation would take place, meaning separation would not be automatic but
down to supervisory discretion, the
document added.
“Excessive risks are identified only
after balancing the risks against the
benefits to the real economy for market
making,” the document said.
Banks have warned that structural
separation would exacerbate already
thinning liquidity in some markets
which policymakers are increasingly
concerned about.
The watering down of the Commission’s draft law is backed by several
member states, including France.
“The debate on framing has to be
envisaged in the broader context of
the overall objectives of the regulation, in particular reducing excessive
risks of trading activities and ensuring an appropriate treatment of market making, in line with the ECB opinion,” France said in comments to the
EU presidency.
The European Central Bank (ECB)
has said the draft law should not harm
the flow of funds to the economy from
useful market-making, or whereby
banks enable investors to buy and sell
securities.
Daniele Nouy, who chairs the ECB’s
supervisory arm that regulates top
euro zone lenders and will apply the
new rules, told EU lawmakers that they
should be “very careful about marketmaking, which helps businesses fund
themselves”.
“The supervisor needs to have some
margin of manoeuvre, nothing should
be fully automatic, whatever criteria is
used, as it’s better for when it comes to
financing our economies,” Nouy told
the European Parliament’s economic
affairs committee, which has joint say
with EU states on the draft rules. “It’s
better for when it comes to financing
our economies... for supervisors to
decide on a case-by-case basis,” she
added.
Latvia also proposes other changes,
such as allowing a bank to own a trading entity, though subject to some limits on the organisational structure if
deemed necessary.
Some EU lawmakers worry the final
law will end up being a far cry from the
Commission’s original intention.
“It looks like we are not going to get
anywhere near that point,” Philippe
Lamberts, a Green party lawmaker,
told the economic affairs committee
Britain has already decided to
force banks from 2019 to legally separate retail arms from risky trading,
and a banking official said the UK
is now worried that without “automaticity”, it could be challenged by
lenders over EU rules that give regulators discretion.
The European Union headquarters in Brussels. The EU plans to ban banks taking
market bets with their own money should be scrapped to avoid crimping the flow
of funds needed for economic recovery.
10
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
BUSINESS
Big bank brokerages in
US lose market share
to independent firms
Reuters
Pittsburgh
S
ecret contracts, covert real-estate deals, scurrying
around after nightfall to
avoid detection: this is how far
big-bank brokers are prepared
to go when they plan to go independent.
It is a risky enterprise. If the
brokerage learns that someone
intends to leave, it often dismisses the broker so the bank
can try to retain clients.
The Botkin Group, a team of
brokers in Pittsburgh who produced $1.6mn in revenue last
year for Morgan Stanley, went so
far as to require non-disclosure
agreements from contractors
who made new signs, installed
phones and delivered furniture
to their new office. They never
visited the building during daylight, always staggered their
arrival times and parked in the
back.
“We felt like we worked for the
CIA,” said Lester H Botkin, 35,
the youngest of the group, which
also includes his father, Lester
P Botkin, 63, sister, Sara Botkin,
37, and one client service associate.
They represent growing numbers of brokers who are leaving
big bank brokerages, such as
Morgan Stanley, Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo
Advisors and UBS Group to
branch out on their own.
The big four brokerages lost
nearly 7% of their market share
to independent firms between
2008 and 2013, according to
Boston-based research firm
Cerulli Associates, a leading global analytics firm. In the next five
years, Cerulli expects independent advisory firms to surpass the
big brokerages in their control of
the market, according to a survey of 7,000 brokers working at
firms across the industry.
Most departures so far have
concerned brokers who managed relatively few assets. Analysts and industry sources say
they expect 2015 to be a turning
point for financial advisers who
manage more than $200mn in
assets at the four big Wall Street
brokerages collectively referred
to as wirehouses.
The reason is that many of the
retention bonuses those firms
gave employees during the 2008
financial crisis will reach their
final instalments this year. At
the same time, several brokerages have started deferring more
Pedestrians pass by Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York. Big bank brokerages such as Morgan Stanley, Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch,
Wells Fargo Advisors and UBS Group lost nearly 7% of their market share to independent firms between 2008 and 2013.
of advisers’ current pay. Cerulli
estimates 30% of wirehouse advisers are considering going independent.
Historically, best-performing
brokers have hopped from one
of the big four to another at least
once in their career, collecting
multimn-dollar sign-on bonuses in the process.
Some recent high-profile
moves followed such a pattern:
a team of Merrill Lynch advisers
who managed $6.5bn in assets
left for Morgan Stanley while a
group of Morgan Stanley brokers
with $1.6bn under management
switched to Merrill Lynch.
The Botkins also considered
leaving Morgan Stanley for another big bank that offered them
$5mn over 9 years, including a
$1.6mn up-front payment.
But more brokers are opting to
go independent because many
brokerages have raised clients’
fees and minimum balances, and
Dale raises $200mn for
hedge fund launch
Reuters
London
A European hedge fund being
launched by one of the sector’s
most successful managers plans
to start operating in May after
luring at least $200mn in capital,
sources familiar with the matter
said, reflecting strong demand
from investors.
Chris Dale, who says his fund
made $450mn trading long-short
equities over nine years at Millennium, one of the world’s biggest
hedge funds, will target long-term
investments in large European
stocks, a presentation by his new
fund, dubbed Kintbury, showed.
After a relatively quiet 2014 for
large European launches, 2015
has already seen several industry
figures look to strike out on their
own, including ex-Lansdowne
Partners’ partner Stephen Kirk,
who plans a summer launch.
Leading a small team including
ex-Millennium colleague Nick
Xanders, Dale aims to achieve net
annualised returns of between 10
and 15% by trading in companies
with stock market values of more
than €3bn ($3.2bn), the presentation seen by Reuters showed.
While at Millennium, Dale made
10.9% a year in a fund that had $1.1bn
in assets at its peak. In the three
months to May, just before he left
Millennium, however, Dale posted
a loss of just over 9% pre-fees, the
presentation showed. Kintbury had
been due to launch in the first quarter but would now likely be ready for
launch on May 1, sources said.
Three sources said total assets
would be at least $200mn. Initial
investors in a hedge fund start-up
tend to include the partners themselves as well as high net-worth
individuals and pension funds, all
looking for higher returns at a time
of rock-bottom interest rates. Calls
to Dale and emailed messages to
Xanders and Kintbury’s chief operating officer, John Aves, remained
unanswered.
The fund will analyse stocks and
management to hunt out companies with an improving cashflow
model, better return on capital
employed, a better strategic or
competitive advantage and which
are growing earnings and receiving
positive analyst earnings revisions,
the presentation document said.
It will typically have between
25 and 35 open positions at any
time and a maximum exposure to
any one stock of 5% of gross capital. The top five positions betting
on a stock price rising can make
up to 40% of its total exposure.
Funds like Kintbury, so-called
long/short equity hedge funds
which bet on stock prices either
rising or falling, have started
strongly in 2015, returning just
over 4% in the first two months of
the year after losing 0.3% in 2014.
pressured brokers to lend more.
“If you’re a big team and
banking is an important part of
your business, then a wire can
be a wonderful place,” said Sara
Botkin. “But if you’re more focused on financial planning and
investment strategy, it can be a
harder place to run your business.”
Lester P. Botkin said that in
recent years, Morgan Stanley
had pressured brokers to charge
typical clients more than 1.25%.
If he, in a mid-size market like
Pittsburgh, wanted to charge
clients less, it came out of his
paycheck.
Morgan Stanley said advisers
were allowed to negotiate fees
with clients and were under no
obligation to charge the 1.25%
rate. It declined to comment on
any further aspects of the article.
The Botkins estimate they will
nearly double their annual take-
home pay by running their own
business, despite higher expenses. Their new business, Botkin
Family Wealth Management,
pays LPL Financial Holdings Inc,
a leading provider for independent wealth management business, for technology, compliance
and trading services.
All the Botkins took from
Morgan Stanley’s office the day
they left was a framed painting
of a section of the Augusta National Golf Club’s course called
“Amen Corner,” and contact information for about 400 clients.
All the clients they contacted
agreed to join the new firm, they
said.
Typically, advisers who move
keep 80-90% of their clients.
Client surveys find that those
who move with advisers usually
do so because they value personal relationships they develop
with brokers and do not want to
be assigned to someone new.
Publicly, bank executives play
down broker departures, but
they have been taking steps to
blunt their impact wealth management, which has been playing a growing role in generating
banks’ profits.
For example, wealth management accounted for 49% of
Morgan’s net revenue in 2014,
up from about 40% in 2010, the
year after it expanded the business by buying Smith Barney.
As Reuters reported in February, Bank of America has been
making it harder for brokers to
take clients with them when
they leave, modifying an industry-wide agreement on what
client information advisers can
take with them.
Mindful how much is at stake,
brokers are taking no chances.
The Botkins kept a sign outside of their new office that said
“fabulous building for sale” as a
decoy until after they moved in.
Cerberus Capital
seeks over $3bn
for private
equity fund
Reuters
New York
C
erberus Capital Management is seeking
more than $3bn for its
latest flagship private equity
fund to invest in distressed assets such as non-performing
loans and ailing companies
that need to be restructured,
people familiar with the matter said.
This will be the first global
private equity fundraising initiated by Cerberus since one of
its private equity investments,
Freedom Group, was mired in
controversy. Freedom Group is
the maker of the Bushmaster
rifle that was used by Adam
Lanza when he killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy
Hook Elementary School in
Newtown, Connecticut, in
December 2012.
Cerberus has told investors
it is targeting between $3bn
and $3.5bn for the new fund,
dubbed Cerberus Institutional Partners (CIP) VI, the
people said. The fund’s size
will be capped at $4bn, the
people added, noting that the
fundraising process had just
started.
At the time of the Sandy
Hook shootings, the fundraising process for the previous private equity fund, CIP
V, had already begun and was
only a few months away from
completion, with most investors already having made their
minds up on whether to invest
based on Cerberus’ investment track record. That fundraising ended in April 2013,
raising $2.61bn, short of Cerberus’ original $3.75bn target.
To be sure, the New Yorkbased firm manages other
non-private equity funds and
has raised more than $12bn
from investors in several funds
in the last two years. These include direct lending and real
estate funds.
The sources asked not to be
identified because the fundraising process is confidential.
Cerberus declined to comment.
Founded in 1992 and named
after the mythical manyheaded dog that guards the
gates of the underworld, Cerberus is not known for its big
leveraged buyouts, though in
January it led a group of investors that combined their
Albertsons supermarket chain
with peer Safeway in a $9.2bn
merger. Other notable investments include Japanese railway and property company
Seibu Holdings and US yellow
pages owner YP LLC.
The firm has strong returns
to show investors in its last
flagship fund. CIP V reported
an annualized net internal rate
of return of 29.3% as of the
end of September, according
to California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest US public
pension fund investor.
CalPERS did not respond
to a request for comment on
whether it will invest in CIP
VI.
At least one major public pension fund investor has
publicly expressed concern
over Freedom Group. Three
days after the Sandy Hook
massacre, California State
Teachers’ Retirement System
(CalSTRS), the second-largest
US public pension fund, said it
was reviewing its investment
in Cerberus because of the
Freedom Group holding. A day
later, Cerberus said it would
seek to sell the gun maker.
However, more than two
years later, the private equity
firm still owns the company.
An auction for it led to offers
that were deemed too low.
Cerberus also tried to create
a liquidity mechanism to let
individual fund investors cash
out of Freedom Group, yet that
plan fell apart over disagreements about the company’s
valuation.
Cerberus has repeatedly
communicated to its investors that it wants to sell Freedom Group and that investors
themselves don’t want the
company sold at a knockdown
price, according to the sources.
Freedom Group’s finances
are deteriorating due to a recall of some of its rifles and
the ensuing backlash from
customers. It reported an operating loss of $15mn in the
nine months to the end of
September, versus a $177.2mn
operating profit in the prior
year, as sales dropped 29%. It
had debt of $879mn and just
$156.3mn in cash at the end of
September.
In the latest chapter of this
saga, California’s state treasurer on Wednesday sent a
stern letter to CalSTRS, asking that Cerberus sell Freedom
Group. CalSTRS answered
that “contractual obligations
and legal constraints severely
limit our options to exit this
investment”.
A CalSTRS spokesman declined to comment on whether
the public pension fund will
invest in CIP VI, but noted
that CalSTRS had not invested
in a Cerberus fund since 2008.
M&S returns to non-food sales growth
Reuters
London
B
ritish retailer Marks &
Spencer posted its best
quarterly non-food sales
performance in four years,
putting behind it the online
distribution problems that ruined its Christmas and buying
its chief executive more time to
secure a recovery.
Shares in Britain’s biggest
clothing retailer rose as much as
6.3% to a seven-year high after
it said sales of general merchandise, spanning clothing, footwear and homewares, rose 0.7%
in the past quarter at stores
open more than a year.
CEO Marc Bolland highlighted “high single-digit” likefor-like sales growth at both its
relatively upmarket Autograph
and Limited clothing brands,
and noted positive press reviews
of a £199 ($295) suede skirt that
will hit stores this month and
is attracting high levels of preregistration.
The outcome was the first
time in 15 quarters M&S has not
posted a fall in non-food likefor-like sales and was also better than analysts’ average forecast of down 1.2%.
It followed a third-quarter
slump of 5.8%, reflecting unseasonal weather in October
Pedestrians pass the Marks & Spencer store in London. The British retailer posted its best quarterly
non-food sales performance in four years, putting behind it the online distribution problems that ruined
its Christmas and buying its chief executive more time to secure a recovery.
and November and disruption
at its e-commerce distribution
centre at Castle Donington in
central England.
Bolland, CEO since 2010,
has spent billions of pounds
addressing decades of underinvestment at M&S, overseeing
a redesign of products, stores,
logistics and its website.
But a new clothing team he
set up in 2012 has so far failed
to deliver a sustained increase
in sales. When products have
proven a hit, it has often struggled to replenish supplies fast
enough before shopper interest
subsided.
However, a food business
outperforming the wider grocery market and improving
profit margins both in non-food
and food have kept investors
onside, with M&S shares rising
44% over the last six months.
“It’s a step-by-step journey
and we’re taking steps in the
right direction,” Bolland told
reporters. Asked how long he
planned to stay as boss, he said:
“I’m really enjoying the role and
there’s more to do.”
M&S shares were up 30.5
pence at 560.5p on Thursday.
“We continue to see a material gross margin opportunity
in general merchandise, which
we expect to drive forecast upgrades over the next few years,”
said Investec analyst Kate Calvert.
Bolland’s strategy is to focus
on margin. M&S maintained
guidance for a rise in general
merchandise gross margin in
2014-15 of between 150 and 200
basis points, having promoted
less and focused more on fullprice sales.
M&S.com sales returned to
growth in the quarter with sales
up 13.8%, while Castle Donington was said to have performed
well.
Like-for-like sales in M&S’s
food business rose 0.7% in the
13 weeks to March 28, its fiscal
fourth quarter, a 22nd straight
quarterly rise. Full-year gross
margin guidance for food was
maintained at up 10 to 30 basis points. However, M&S said
macro-economic issues in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, coupled with a weakening in the
euro, had dented second-half
profit in its international division, where fourth-quarter
sales fell 3.8%.
M&S, expected to post a first
profit rise in four years when it
reports yearly results on May
20, said it still expected analysts’ consensus for 2014-15
profit to edge up from £641mn
prior to the update.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
11
BUSINESS
Takeda Pharma offers $2.2bn
to settle Actos cases in US
Bloomberg
New York
The head office of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co in Tokyo. The officials at Asia’s largest drugmaker have proposed to settle more than 8,000 lawsuits in federal and state
courts in the US.
tlement offer from some lawyers who
have sued the drugmaker over Actos,
the people familiar with it said. Some
attorneys contend $2.2bn isn’t enough
compensation for all patients who developed bladder cancer after taking the
drug, the people said.
Actos sales peaked in the year ended
March 2011 at $4.5bn and accounted
for 27% of Takeda’s revenue at the
time, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.
Actos has generated more than $16bn
in sales since its 1999 release, according to court filings. Takeda now faces
generic competition over the drug from
Ranbaxy Laboratories.
More than 3,500 Actos suits have
been consolidated before US District
Judge Rebecca Doherty in Lafayette,
Louisiana, for pretrial information
exchanges, according to court dockets. The company faces another 4,500
cases in state courts in Illinois, West
Virginia, California and Pennsylvania,
according to court records.
Under Takeda’s offer, only Actos patients who have already sued or who
have already hired a lawyer to file a
lawsuit would be eligible to participate in the settlement, the people said.
That limitation is designed to help the
company avoid paying to resolve a new
wave of suits, the people added.
“There is no deal and it is highly
questionable whether there will be
one without further scorched-earth
litigation,” Paul Pennock, one of two
lawyers overseeing the federal-court
litigation for plaintiffs, said in an email “But at least Takeda recognises
that attempting to compensate these
cancer victims and their families is the
right thing to do.”
Takeda hired Douglas Marvin, a lawyer with Williams & Connolly in Washington, to help negotiate the potential
deal with lawyers for former Actos patients, the people said. Marvin helped
negotiate a $4.85bn settlement with
Merck to resolve about 30,000 lawsuits
over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx in
2007.
Takeda has faced at least nine trials
since 2013 over claims it hid Actos’s
cancer risks, including the Louisiana
trial.
The company has won three defence
verdicts and other damage awards
against the drugmaker have been
thrown out or are on appeal.
Still, five juries that have reviewed
the evidence of Takeda’s handing of
Actos have held the company liable for
consumers’ injuries.
“If Takeda can settle the multidistrict cases for $2.2bn, they should
sign the papers and leave town,” Erik
Gordon a professor at the University of Michigan’s business and law
schools who teaches about class-action settlements.
Bollore raises Vivendi stake again as shareholder battle looms
Reuters
Paris
T
ycoon Vincent Bollore raised
his stake in French media group
Vivendi for the third time in a
month to reach 12% as he gears up for a
fight with activist shareholders.
To solidify his hold on the group,
Bollore – Vivendi’s chairman and largest shareholder - plans to keep buying
shares and may seek more board seats,
according to a disclosure to the French
markets authority.
US hedge fund P Schoenfeld Asset
Management (PSAM), which says it
owns 0.8% of Vivendi, wants shareholders to back two resolutions at an
April 17 annual meeting that would require Vivendi to return €9bn ($9.7bn)
to investors after selling four of its six
businesses.
Another fund wants to prevent Vivendi from putting into place double
voting rights for holders who own
shares for more than two years, as
French law allows.
The fight is over the future of Vivendi, which has been through a radical slim-down in the past two years
under Vincent Bollore. At issue is how
Dutch PM says ABN Amro
listing possible in 2015
Reuters
Amsterdam
The Dutch government still
intends to seek a stock market
listing for ABN Amro this
year, despite a recent political
dispute around questions of
banking ethics and executive
pay, Prime Minister Mark Rutte
said on Thursday.
Rutte told reporters in The
Hague that “this year is still
really very long” and there
is time for ABN Amro’s initial
public offering to take place
once various questions raised
by parliament have been
addressed.
“I think that it’s still possible,”
Rutte said.
“In any case this cabinet wants
to press ahead with a stock
market listing,” he said.
ABN Amro was nationalised
in 2008 in a bailout that
eventually cost taxpayers
€24bn ($26bn). After years of
cost-cutting and refocusing
operations on the Dutch
market, ABN Amro’s year-end
2014 book value was €14.9bn.
Last week, Finance Minister
Jeroen Dijsselbloem postponed
a decision over a listing
for the bank as lawmakers
lodged a flurry of questions
over a proposal by the bank’s
supervisory board to increase
Reuters
London
B
T
akeda Pharmaceutical Co has
offered to pay more than $2.2bn
to resolve claims of hiding its
Actos diabetes medicine’s cancer risks
in what would be one of the largest US
settlements of patient lawsuits targeting drugs or devices, three people familiar with the matter said.
Officials at Asia’s largest drugmaker
propose to settle more than 8,000 lawsuits in federal and state courts in the
US, said the people, who asked not to
be identified because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly about the
offer.
Such a deal would amount to a payment of about $275,000 for each case.
Any settlement would be the first in the
three-year litigation over the diabetes
drug.
A federal jury in Louisiana last year
ordered Takeda and Eli Lilly & Co to pay
a combined $9bn in damages to a shopkeeper who blamed Actos for causing
his bladder cancer.
That award, the seventh-largest in
US history based on data compiled by
Bloomberg, was later reduced by more
than 99% to $36.8mn by a judge.
“This is a strong signal that Takeda
really wants to settle these cases so it
can avoid any more huge verdicts,” Carl
Tobias, who teaches product-liability
law at the University of Richmond in
Virginia. “But the per-case number indicates they don’t want to have to pay a
premium to settle these claims.”
Takeda’s chief executive officer,
Christophe Weber, declined to comment in an interview in Osaka today,
citing the ongoing litigation. “Takeda
always had the same position. We believe that Actos provides the right benefit risk ratio for patients, is still a good
medicine for patients,” said Weber.
A final deal hasn’t been reached
and the talks could still fall apart, the
people said. Takeda also could choose
to settle some lawyers’ inventories of
cases under the $2.2bn proposal and
continue negotiations on others, the
people added.
There’s opposition to Takeda’s set-
UK markets
watchdog to
bare more teeth
in policing
competition
pay for most of the bank’s top
managers by 100,000 euros
each.
With the IPO in danger of being
derailed, the board members
said Sunday they would not
accept the raise and the
supervisory board member
in charge of remuneration
resigned Tuesday.
Lawmakers subsequently
lodged further questions about
the strength of the bank’s anticorruption measures.
The affair has exposed new
strains within Rutte’s centreright coalition after the junior
partner, Dijsselbloem’s Labour
party, suffered heavy defeats in
local elections on March 18.
ABN Amro’s Chief Executive
Gerrit Zalm is a prominent
member of Rutte’s ruling
Liberal party. He had lobbied
both for ABN Amro’s IPO as
soon as possible and for the
salary increase.
“We know that we don’t agree
about this,” Dijsselbloem said
on Wednesday. Zalm “has
emphasized (to me) that he
thinks it’s very regrettable that
this has led to so much ado.”
Both Rutte and Dijsselbloem
said on Thursday that they still
have confidence in the board,
including Zalm.
A parliamentary debate over
ABN has been tentatively
scheduled for April 15.
it spends the proceeds from the asset
sales, the group’s strategy, and how
much power Bollore should have versus
other shareholders.
Having exited telecoms and video
games, Bollore and Vivendi management now want to build the group up
into a stronger media group by adding to its Universal Music Group and
French pay-TV operator Canal Plus,
and making acquisitions.
PSAM founder Peter Schoenfeld told
Les Echos newspaper in an interview
that he was “optimistic” of winning
the support of a majority of shareholders but that it was still too early to say.
“Our action can lead to a rise in Vivendi’s share price, which will put it in
a better position to make acquisitions
and build a large group ... our aim is not
to break up Vivendi,” he said.
“The only thing we are asking is better remuneration for shareholders and
a clarification of the strategy.”
PSAM has accused the company
of giving too much leeway to Bollore
to boost his stake at “undervalued
prices”. It has also urged the company
to consider spinning off part or all of
its Universal Music Group. Bollore
Group bought a further 24.6mn Vivendi shares, raising its stake to 12.01%
from 10.2%. It now holds 162mn shares
worth €3.8bn.
Bollore paid €23.08 a share, compared with Wednesday’s closing price
of €23.50. The stock was trading down
1.6% at €23.13 by 0957 GMT on Thursday. “With the power struggle between
him and certain shareholders, Bollore
will continue to buy as many Vivendi
shares as possible on the market between now and the April 17 AGM,” one
Paris-based trader said.
Schoenfeld told Les Echos that he
had asked to meet Vincent Bollore several months ago, and that a series of
dates were agreed but then cancelled.
ritish banks and markets
are bracing themselves
for a fresh onslaught from
their regulator after it assumed
extra powers to police competition in financial markets.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), launched in 2013
to shake up supervision after
the 2007-09 financial crisis
highlighted failures, already has
competition as a core aim.
But the changes mean the
watchdog can back this up by
being able to punish firms that
breach UK and European Union
competition law, break up markets, or refer a market directly to
Britain’s lead competition body,
the Competition and Markets
Authority (CMA).
Lawyers working in the sector
expect relatively quick results as
the government presses the FCA
to boost competition in a banking sector dominated by the “Big
Five” high street lenders as new
challengers take time to build up
market share.
Two reviews in particular will
be shaped by the new powers.
The FCA has announced an
investigation into wholesale
banking and will be able to use
its new powers to make changes.
And a separate Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR)
makes recommendations in June
which the industry hopes will
be limited to revising voluntary
codes of conduct.
“What the new powers do
is give them real meat to their
competition objective and if
you think about FEMR and right
across the wholesale and retail
space, it will be an issue,” said
Jonathan Herbst, global head of
financial services at Norton Rose
Fulbright law firm.
“They don’t wish to be price
regulators so how they are going to navigate that remains to be
seen,” Herbst said.
Deb Jones, the FCA’s director
of competition, has said competition won’t be a standalone
matter for her 50 staff.
“Instead, we have to bring
competition thinking, as it relates to our objectives and remit,
into every decision, rule, and action we take,” she has said.
But lawyers say the FCA will
be under pressure to show results.
“Those 50 people will be put
to use very quickly,” said Jacqui Hatfield, a financial services
lawyer at ReedSmith.
“They can go anywhere they
like as the only reason they have
to give is that a particular area
is not working for consumers or
market users. They will go for
wholesale and then retail banking, perhaps at the same time,”
Hatfield said.
Asian markets rise in quiet trade
AFP
Tokyo
A
sian markets rose yesterday in
holiday-thinned trade as investors looked ahead to the release
of US jobs data later in the day, while
Shanghai retreated on profit-taking after
a recent rally.
Wall Street provided a positive lead
following another round of upbeat US
indicators, although the dollar dipped
against the yen.
Tokyo rose 0.63%, or 122.29 points,
to 19,435.08 and Seoul added 0.81%, or
16.35 points, to 2,045.42.
Shanghai rose 1.00%, or 38.15 points,
to 3,863.93, extending a rally that has
seen the index surge to seven-year highs
over the past month on hopes for fresh
monetary easing by China.
Bangkok gained 0.25%, or 3.82 points,
to 1,536.05, while Kuala Lumpur rose
0.14%, or 2.55 points, to 1,834.52.
Hong Kong, Jakarta, Singapore, Mumbai, Sydney, Wellington, Manila and Taiwan were closed for public holidays.
With few catalysts to drive trade, investors were biding their time until the
release in Washington of the US nonfarm payrolls figures, which will be pored
over for clues about the Federal Reserve’s
timetable for hiking interest rates.
“We’re likely to be in a wait-and-see
mode today” before the jobs report and
given the holidays, Juichi Wako, a senior
strategist at Nomura Holdings in Tokyo,
told Bloomberg News.
Yesterday’s report said the US econ-
Pedestrians in reflection walk past a share prices board in Tokyo. Japanese stocks closed up 122.29 points to 19,435.08 yesterday.
omy added 245,000 non-farm jobs last
month, down from February’s extra
295,000, according to a Bloomberg survey.
On Wall Street the three main indexes advanced after data showed jobless
claims fell last week, suggesting more
tightening in the labour market, while
the trade deficit shrank to a more than
five-year low, which analysts said should
give a boost to first-quarter economic
growth.
The Dow added 0.37%, the S&P 500
gained 0.35% and the Nasdaq rose 0.14%
While the Fed is expected to raise rates
by the end of the year, there is no consensus on exactly when they will do so. The
chances of an early summer hike have
been dampened by some soft economic
figures over the past month, including
this week’s weak private-sector jobs figures and easing manufacturing growth.
In forex trade the dollar edged down
to ¥119.67 from ¥119.77 in New York late
Thursday.
The euro stood at $1.0888 and ¥130.29
in European trade from $1.0879 and
¥130.30 in US trade. Oil markets were
closed for trade yesterday. Crude prices
tumbled Thursday after six world powers
and Iran announced they had agreed on a
framework to curb the Islamic republic’s
nuclear drive.
With the tentative deal likely to allow
Iran crude exports back on the markets,
Brent North Sea crude, the global benchmark contract, slumped $2.15, settling at
$54.95 a barrel.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate shed 95 cents to close at $49.14.
Gold fetched $1,200.50 against
$1,203.48 late Thursday.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
BUSINESS
GULF TIMES
QSE WEEKLY REVIEW
Bourse on a roller-coaster drive; key index gains 288 points
By Santhosh V Perumal
Business Reporter
Volatility in the crude prices led to a
roller-coaster drive in the Qatar Stock
Exchange, which closed the week with
ebullient 288 points enrichment in the
key index and QR15bn in capitalisation.
Strong buying interests were visible
particularly in the industrials and real
estate stocks during the week that
saw the bourse announce the new
selling and pricing mechanism of the
rights issue as part of modernising the
financial framework.
Foreign institutions’ buying support
was largely instrumental in lifting the
20-stock Qatar Index 2.53% during the
week that witnessed Ooredoo disclose
that its high speed 4G+ network will be
available across Qatar by the end of this
year and that its return on investments
from overseas operations is set to be
“substantial”.
The market was seen strengthening
in the first three days to reach as
high as 11,711 points on Tuesday and
saw strong profit booking in the
next day but only to gain on the last
day to overall settle at 11,699 points
during the week which saw a Bank
of America Merrill Lynch report that
said Qatar’s credit rating is expected
to be unchanged this year due to
institutional constraints.
Dubai had gained 6.09%, Abu Dhabi
(3.79%) and Muscat (2.54%); whereas
Saudi Arabia fell 1.91%, Bahrain (1.17%)
and Kuwait (0.02%) during the week
that saw the Ministry of Development
Planning and Statistics disclose that
Qatar has estimated to have grown
6.2% year-on-year in 2014, lifted by
double-digit expansion in the non-oil
sector.
Qatari bourse has so far (year-to-date)
reported 4.78% decline against Kuwait’s
4.81% fall, Dubai’s 4.22% and Muscat’s
1.18%; while Saudi Arabia rose 4.81%,
Abu Dhabi (0.22%) and Bahrain (0.07%).
Crude witnessed a volatile scenario on
concerns that fighting in the Arabian
Peninsula between Saudi Arabia and
Houthi rebels in Yemen could disrupt
supplies but there were also reports on
Iran inching towards nuclear deal and
the growing US inventories.
The Qatari bourse’s overall bullish
momentum came amidst profit booking
by local retail investors and domestic
institutions during the week which saw
Doha Bank, Qatar’s fifth largest lender
by assets, complete the amalgamation
of the Indian operations of the HSBC
Bank Oman.
Small, micro and large cap stocks
witnessed the maximum buying
interests during the week that
witnessed Qatar General and
Reinsurance Company enter into a
definitive agreement with Oriental
Enterprises Company to wholly acquire
the latter.
The 20-stock Total Return Index
expanded 2.97%, All Share Index
(comprising wider constituents) by 2.7%
and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 3.27%
during the week that saw about 74% of
the stocks show gains to investors.
Industrials stocks appreciated 4.88%,
realty (3.88%), banks and financial
services (1.96%), transport (1.6%),
consumer goods (1.24%), telecom
(0.51%) and insurance (0.01%) during
the week that saw Global Investment
House project that Qatar’s banking
sector is expected to have the highest
return on equity among the Gulf
lenders this year.
Of the 43 stocks, 31 gained, while only
11 declined and one was unchanged.
Nine each of the 12 banks and financial
services and the nine industrials, five
of the eight consumer goods, three of
the four real estate, two each of the five
insurers and the three transport and
one of the two telecom stocks closed
higher during the week.
Major gainers included QNB, Industries
Qatar, Doha Bank, International Islamic,
Ahlibank Qatar, Masraf Al Rayan,
Alijarah Holding, Dlala, Qatar Electricity
and Water, Gulf International Services,
Aamal, Mesaieed Petrochemical
Holding, Mazaya Qatar, Ezdan,
Vodafone Qatar and Nakilat; even as
Ooredoo and al khaliji bucked the trend
during the week. Market capitalisation
expanded 2.43% to QR632.47bn with
small, micro, large and mid cap equities
gaining 2.68%, 2.17%, 2% and 1.72%
respectively during the week.
Large, small and mid cap scrips were
seen losing value 8.16%, 1.78% and
0.69% respectively year-to-date; even
as micro caps gained 2.32%.
Foreign institutions turned net buyers
to the tune of QR125.3mn against net
selling of QR132.11mn the previous
week.
Non-Qatari retail investors’ net buying
strengthened to QR41.01mn compared
to QR31.81mn the week ended March
26.
However, local retail investors turned
net sellers to the extent of QR118.08mn
against net buyers of QR7.73mn the
previous week.
Domestic institutions also turned
net profit takers to the tune of
QR48.22mn compared with net
buyers of QR92.75mn the week ended
March 26.
A total of 38.42mn shares valued at
QR1.9bn changed hands across 23,241
transactions during the week.
The real estate sector saw a total of
10.52mn equities worth QR308.25mn
change hands across 3,980
transactions and as many as 13.4mn
banking stocks valued at QR740.65mn
trade in 6,594 deals.
The industrials sector saw a total of
5.91mn shares worth QR494.77mn
changed hands across 5,656
transactions and the telecom sector
witnessed 5.33mn equities valued at
QR139.45mn trade in 3,681 deals.
The market saw a total of 2.04mn
consumer goods shares worth
QR156.44mn change hands across
2,281transactions.
The transport segment recorded
1.02mn shares valued at QR47.82mn
trade in 825 deals and the insurance
saw a total of 0.2mn equities worth
QR11.08mn change hands across 224
transactions.
In the debt market, there was no trading
of treasury bills and government bonds
during the week.
US job growth brakes sharply,
clouds Fed rate hike timing
Reuters
Washington
U
S employers added the
fewest number of jobs
in more than a year in
March, the latest sign of weakness in the economy and one
likely to further delay an anticipated interest rate increase by
the Federal Reserve.
Nonfarm
payrolls
rose
126,000 last month, less than
half February’s pace and the
smallest gain since December
2013, the Labor Department
said yesterday.
The weakness was concentrated in the goods-producing
sector, which has been hurt by
a strong dollar and lower crude
oil prices. Leisure and hospitality also saw a sharp slowdown in
jobs growth, suggesting harsh
winter weather could have
dragged on hiring.
While the jobless rate held at
a more than 6-1/2-year low of
5.5%, the workforce shrank. The
labour force participation rate
returned to a more than 36-year
low reached late last year.
“The report confirms the
emerging narrative of slowing growth momentum seen in
the other economic indicators.
It will weaken the argument
for a mid-year (rate) hike,” said
Millan Mulraine, deputy chief
economist at TD Securities in
New York.
The tepid increase in payrolls
ended 12 straight months of job
gains above 200,000 - the longest streak since 1994.
In addition, data for January
and February were revised to
show 69,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported, giving the report an even
weaker tone.
After its robust stretch, the
jobs figures now appear more
in line with other signals from
consumer spending to housing
starts and manufacturing that
have suggested the economy
grew at a sub-1% annual rate
in the first quarter. Economists
A woman walks past a ‘Now Hiring’ sign as she leaves the Urban Outfitters store at Quincy Market in Boston, Massachusetts. US employers
added the fewest number of jobs in more than a year in March, the latest sign of weakness in the economy and one likely to further delay an
anticipated interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve.
had forecast that payrolls would
rise 245,000 last month.
Prices for US government
debt rallied as investors pushed
back their expectations for a Fed
rate hike, while US stock index
futures fell about 1%. The dollar dropped against a basket of
currencies.
The US central bank has kept
overnight interest rates near
zero since December 2008, but
a number of officials have said
an increase will likely be considered at its June policy-setting meeting. While economic
growth is expected to rebound,
it appears increasingly unlikely
the Fed will have sufficient signs
of strength in hand by then.
“Now the timing for the liftoff could be delayed to September or even to December.
The June date is not off the
table, however, assuming the
economy and employment rebound,” said Sung Won Sohn,
an economics professor at California State University Channel
Islands in Camarillo.
The buoyant dollar and lower oil prices have combined to
crimp the profits of some large
companies, forcing a reduction
in capital spending.
Equipment maker Caterpillar has warned that lower oil
prices will hurt its business in
2015, and Procter & Gamble, the
world’s largest household products maker, has cautioned that
the dollar would hit its profits.
The dollar has gained about
13% against the currencies of
the main US trading partners
since last June. Economists say
the impact is equivalent to a
half-point interest rate hike.
At the same time, the sharp
oil price drop has curtailed US
drilling activity. Payrolls in the
mining sector fell 11,000, reflecting ongoing weakness in oil
and gas extraction. Energy producers have idled half of their
rigs since October.
A harsh winter and a nowsettled labour dispute at normally busy West Coast ports
have also weighed on activity, as
has softer global demand. Bad
weather is estimated to have
lopped off as much a seventenths of a percentage point
from first-quarter growth.
Construction employment fell
1,000 last month, while manufacturing payrolls slipped by
1,000.
There was, however, some
good news in the report.
Average hourly earnings increased 0.3%. Even so, that only
lifted the year-on-year gain to
2.1%, in the same tepid range
that earnings growth has held to
for several years.
With Wal-Mart and McDonald’s recently announcing
pay increases for their hourly
workers, wage growth could
gain traction in the months
ahead. Other companies, including TJX Cos and health
insurer Aetna, also have announced pay hikes.
Although the labour force
participation rate, or the share
of working-age Americans who
are employed or at least looking
for a job, slipped one-tenth of
a percentage point to 62.7% in
March, other measures on the
Fed’s so-called dashboard continued to improve.
A broad measure of joblessness that includes people who
want to work but have given up
searching and those working
part-time because they cannot
find full-time employment fell
to a more than 6-1/2-year low
of 10.9% from 11% in February.
The number of Americans
unemployed for 27 weeks or
longer also declined to its
lowest point since November
2008.
In a sign that cold weather
could have undercut job growth,
the average work week fell to
34.5 hours, the lowest since
September, from 34.6 in February. About 182,000 people said
they could not get work because
of inclement weather, slightly
above the historical average of
141,000.
“It is possible that the colderthan-normal weather slowed
hiring activity,” said Lewis Alexander, chief economist at
Nomura Securities International in New York.
Greece says
ready to
make IMF
payment
on April 9
Reuters
Athens
G
reece will pay a loan
tranche due on April 9 to
the International Monetary Fund on time, its deputy
finance minister said yesterday,
seeking to quell fears of default after a flurry of contradictory statements on the issue in recent days.
Greece is fast running out of
cash and its eurozone and International Monetary Fund lenders have frozen bailout aid until
the new leftist-led government
reaches agreement on a package
of reforms.
That prompted the interior
minister to suggest this week that
Athens would prioritise wages
and pensions over the roughly
€450mn ($489mn) payment to
the IMF, though the government
denied that was its stance. Eurozone officials then said Greece
told them it will run out of money
on April 9, which the finance
ministry denied saying.
“We strive to be able to pay
our obligations on time, Dimitris
Mardas told Greece’s Skai TV.
“We are ready to pay on April 9.”
Adding to the confusion, German magazine Der Spiegel quoted a finance ministry general
secretary, Nikos Theocharakis,
as saying Greece would probably
not pay next week’s IMF tranche,
prompting another denial from
the Greek finance ministry.
Theocharakis said Greece
would be “close to the end” on
April 9 and called the technical
teams from its creditors “completely useless,” according to an
extract of the article due to be
published on Saturday.
“Mr. Theocharakis never
characterised the technical
teams of the institutions with
the phrase attributed to him,”
the ministry said in a statement.
“On the contrary ... he referred
to them as saying they include
‘top-notch people with impressive skills.’”
Russia tycoon becomes obstacle to Holcim-Lafarge deal
Reuters
London/Moscow
A
Russian billionaire with a reputation for corporate bust-ups
is trying to play spoiler in Holcim and Lafarge’s effort to create the
world’s biggest cement company, only
weeks before a shareholder vote to ratify the merger.
Filaret Galchev, second-largest
shareholder in Switzerland’s Holcim
with 10.8%, is ramping up the pressure
to renegotiate a better deal.
The 51-year-old tycoon has rejected
merger terms already revised in Holcim’s favour as “not satisfactory and
half-baked.” An overture from Holcim Chairman Wolfgang Reitzle on
Wednesday to give Galchev a longcoveted board seat at the new company
was quickly dismissed.
Galchev wants to re-open the question of the exchange ratio which makes
each Lafarge share worth 0.90 shares
of Holcim.
But Reitzle has ruled out renegotiating the terms and signalled he
would unveil a new CEO soon to placate shareholder concerns, though it
remains to be seen if this is enough to
bring Galchev onside.
Galchev is the most visible figure in a broader movement of Holcim
shareholders unconvinced by the supposed merger of equals. US fund Harris Associates, which recently upped
its Holcim stake to 6.38% making it
third-biggest holder, is reserving judgment until it knows who the CEO of the
combined group will be.
Holcim needs to convince two thirds
of its shareholders to approve a capital increase to fund the deal at a May
8 meeting. People familiar with the
Galchev: Seeking better terms.
situation said Holcim appeared ready
to take the calculated risk of going
ahead with the vote without Galchev’s
support, betting he will balk since the
value of his Holcim holding could fall if
the deal is scuppered.
Bernstein analyst Phil Roseberg said
the vote remains open and a “no” vote
from Galchev’s Eurocement would
block the deal.
Holcim said yesterday it was confident shareholders will approve the
merger. Galchev now has those supporting the deal scrambling to pin
down his motives. He bought 6.5% of
Holcim via Eurocement in 2008, later
increasing to 10.8%.
With an estimated net worth of
$4.3bn, Galchev is the 23rd richest man
in Russia, according to Forbes. Married
with two children, he started in the
coal industry but made his fortune in
cement, buying up plants in Russia,
Ukraine and Uzbekistan in the early
2000s.
Eurocement is now Russia’s biggest
cement producer with a 35% market
share. At Holcim, Galchev has not always been welcomed, sources say,
because the company’s largest shareholder and grandson of the founder,
Thomas Schmidheiny, feared a possible takeover bid. Schmidheiny never
offered Galchev a board seat and did
not pre-inform him of the Lafarge deal.
The Holcim spokesman denied tensions with Galchev, saying all shareholders were welcome. A representative for Schmidheiny said the heir was
neutral to Galchev’s stakebuilding.
One source said Galchev was already
unenthusiastic and concerned about
his stock being diluted when company
advisors met him almost a year ago,
when the deal was announced.
Professing to simple tastes despite
his wealth, Galchev is known in Russia
for a number of high-profile disputes
with business associates.
In the early 2000s he repeatedly
clashed with US investment fund Russia Partners over control of their 44%
stake in a Eurocement subsidiary. And
following the 2009 economic crisis, he
was taken to court by long-time business partner Georgy Krasnyansky after
trying to renegotiate payments for a
24% stake in Eurocement.
One person said the Russian billionaire wanted revenge for being
sidelined in the deal, but others say
financial pressures are driving factors.
Boris Kontsevich, co-founder of consultancy Grey Consulting and former
Lafarge Russia commercial director,
said Galchev had been hurt by Russia’s
economic crisis.
Russia’s economy slowed in 2014, hit
by Western sanctions over Moscow’s
involvement in the Ukraine crisis and
a collapse in oil prices. Cement prices
have fallen and Eurocement’s firstquarter sales were down 30%.
GOLF | Page 5
SPOTLIGHT | Page 8
McIlroy
seeks career
slam at
Masters
India may
bid for
2024
Olympics
Satuday, April 4, 2015
Jumada II 15, 1436 AH
FOOTBALL
GULF TIMES
Messi fit to
face Celta
Vigo
SPORT
Page 3
SPOTLIGHT
Mayweather
set for richest
sports year
ever: Forbes
AFP
Los Angeles
F
El Jaish's Abdulqadir Ilyas (15) celebrates his goal with Wessam Rizq (7) and Mosaab Mahmoud during their QSL match against Al Shamal yesterday.
FOOTBALL
Romarinho stars
as Jaish thrash
relegated Shamal
Lekhwiya set to wrap up fourth Qatar Stars League title today
By Sports Reporter
Doha
R
El Jaish's Romarinho (L) vies for the ball with Shamal's Osam Musa.
omarinho (Romario
Ricardo da Silva)
was twice on target yesterday as El
Jaish thrashed Al Shamal 5-1
to stay in the hunt for a third
place finish in the Qatar Stars
League.
With Lekhwiya set to
seal the title today with two
matches to spare if they beat
Al Shahaniya, and Al Sadd
almost assured of the second
spot, it’s the battle for third
that is keeping local fans interested.
And yesterday, El Jaish, who
were just one point ahead of
Qatar Sports Club, extended
their advantage by a further
three after coasting to a fluent
victory against the alreadyrelegated Al Shamal who are
last in the standings with just
one win from 24 matches.
El Jaish went ahead in the
15th minute through Romarinho who scored from just
outside the penalty area after
a bit of poor defending by Al
Shamal allowed Aboobacker
Essa to snatch the ball and
In another match
yesterday, Al Arabi
defeated neighbours Al
Ahli 2-0. Sergio Dutra
and Paulinho were on
target for the winners
squeeze in a pass onto the
Brazilian’s path.
The Army men, who started
the tournament as legitimate
title contenders but fell way
behind Lekhwiya and Al Sadd
midway through the event,
clearly packed too many guns
for Al Shamal.
They consolidated in the
30th minute through Abdulqadir Ilyas, again largely
due to Shamal’s incompetent
defence.
Ilyas found himself perfectly placed to chest down
a long goalkick from El Jaish
‘keeper Saoud al-Khater and
scored with an easy lob over
Shamal custodian Chihab
Salheddine’s head.
Having taken a 2-0 lead
at the interval, El Jaish were
determined to score as many
goals as possible and struck
in the third minute after resumption, with Romarinho
finding the net from an assist
by Magid Mohamed.
loyd Mayweather’s blockbuster May 2 bout with Manny Pacquiao will help make
the American fighter’s 2015
earnings shatter the all-time record
for a sportsman’s annual pay, Forbes.
com calculated yesterday.
Forbes noted that Mayweather will
likely to earn at least $150 million and
Pacquiao more than $100 million for
the welterweight world title showdown in Las Vegas.
The financial news website said
payouts could be higher still if more
than three million pay-per-views are
sold.
Mayweather’s haul would represent the highest yearly earnings
ever by an athlete, surpassing Tiger
Woods’ inflation-adjusted record of
$125 million in 2008, Forbes said.
Woods currently occupies both
first and second place on Forbes’ list
of all-time highest paid athletes in a
given year, adjusted for inflation, his
adjusted earnings of $120 million in
2009 number two on the list.
NBA legend Michael Jordan is next,
with inflation-adjusted earnings of
$115 million in both 1997 and 1998.
Woods’ $113 million in 2007 and 2010
are next.
The highest boxer on the list is
former heavyweight world champion
Mike Tyson, with inflation adjusted
earnings of $112 million in 1996.
Forbes said its figures were the result of 25 years of tracking athletes’
earnings.
Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum has
predicted that record-shattering revenue totals for the May 2 mega-fight
could surpass $400 million.
Ali denies picking Manny as favourite
AFP
Los Angeles
Al Shamal went down further in the 70th minute, this
time courtesy of an own goal,
when Sultan Saad fired the
ball into his own net while attempting a clearance off a shot
from Yousuf Muftah.
An 80th minute penalty by
Mohamed Muntari fetched El
Jaish their fifth goal, but Al
Shamal gained some sort of
consolation when they managed to pull one back, thanks
to Ali Fartous who scored after receiving an assist from
Hamad Faraj.
El Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi, who before the match
had spoken of his disappointment at his team not being
able to live up to their promise, was not complaining yesterday.
“We played very well and
deserved this huge win which
will help us star in contention
for the Cup tournaments,”
said Lamouchi.
In another match yesterday,
Al Arabi defeated neighbours
Al Ahli 2-0. Sergio Dutra and
Paulinho were on target for
the winners.
Al Ahli and Al Arabi are
sixth and seventh in the
standings.
That includes $74 million from
just over 15,000 tickets at the MGM
Grand Garden Arena.
The foreign rights to the fight sold
for a record $35 million, according to
Arum.
As Forbes noted, the big X-factor in
a final revenue figure is pay-per-view
sales.
Boxing’s record for pay-per-view
purchases is the 2.4 million buys
from Mayweather’s split-decision
win over Oscar de la Hoya.
The record for pay-per-view receipts is the $152 million set by Mayweather’s 2013 bout with Saul ‘Canelo” Alvarez.
Mayweather-Pacquiao, a fight
more than five years in the making between the men considered
the best pound-for-pound fighters
of their generation, is expected to
“crush” both pay-per-view numbers, Forbes noted. The Wall Street
Journal reported this week that the
pay-per-view price for the fight will
be a record $99 for the high definition
feed, with a standard definition version costing a slightly cheaper $89.
B
oxing legend Muhammad Ali isn’t in the prediction business when
it comes to the May 2
mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.
A report on celebrity website TMZ
this week quoted Ali’s daughter,
Rasheda, as saying the former
heavyweight world champion and
civil rights activist “is Team Pacquiao all the way.”
“He knows Manny’s a great fighter
... but it’s more about what he does
outside the ring. He’s such a charitable person,” the website quoted her
as saying.
On Thursday, however, a statement
from an Ali publicist posted on the
Muhammad Ali Center website
denied that the champ was backing
either fighter.
“Muhammad Ali would like to wish
both Floyd Mayweather and Manny
Pacquiao well in their upcoming
fight on May 2,” the statement said.
“Muhammad never offered to
anyone his prediction on the fight.
Information that was published
earlier this week and picked up by
other media is either a misquote or
someone else’s personal opinion.
“The stories saying that Muhammad Ali has chosen a favourite in
the fight are false.”
Ali, who turned 73 in January and
has battled the effects of Parkinson’s disease for decades, hasn’t
attended a fight in years.
He isn’t expected to be at the MGM
Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
on May 2 when Pacquiao and Mayweather meet in a welterweight
world title fight.
Pacquiao, a two-term congressman
from Sarangani province in the Philippines, is 57-5 with two drawn and
38 knockouts while Mayweather is
47-0 with 26 knockouts.
The fight long wanted by fans
around the world has been five
years in the making, and is expected to shatter revenue records.
“Muhammad has the utmost
respect for both fighters who will
undoubtedly give boxing fans an
incredible match,” the statement
said.
“He believes the significance of
this fight will rival other historic
matches. Muhammad Ali will join
the rest of the world on May 2 to
watch this match-up.”
2
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
FOOTBALL
Inter would
be ‘delighted’
to sign Toure,
says Mancini
Yaya Toure remains a target
for Inter Milan although coach
Roberto Mancini has claimed
that no talks have been held
to bring the Manchester City
midfielder to the San Siro.
Mancini returned to Milan
for his second spell at Inter
in November last year, but
the Nerazzurri remain in a
dogfight to qualify for Europe
next season.
City midfielder Toure has long
been singled out as a target
for Mancini, who coached the
Ivory Coast international during his four-year spell at the
English club.
But while Mancini admitted
his admiration for the 31-yearold, he said no talks had been
held yet.
“There are no talks about
Toure, I’ve always said he’s a
Manchester City player but
we’d be delighted if we could
sign him for Inter,” Mancini
said on Friday.
Despite Inter’s struggles to
keep pace in Serie A—they
currently sit 10th, 30 points
behind leaders Juventus and
15 behind Lazio in the third
and last Champions League
qualifying place—Mancini
remains defiant.
He recently said Inter hope
to challenge for the Scudetto next season, although
to do so the club—owned
by Indonesian tycoon Erick
Thohir—will have to spend
big in the summer transfer
market.
Inter are one of several top
clubs to have recently come
under the scrutiny of UEFA’s
financial fair play regulations,
and Mancini added: “We have
to respect the regulations but
I strongly believe Inter will be
very competitive next season.
We’ll only sacrifice players if the team can emerge
stronger for it.”
Inter, meanwhile, have
become the latest club to
be linked with Paulo Dybala,
although Palermo owner
Mauro Zamparini has slapped
a 40mn-euro ($44m, 29.5m
pounds) price tag on the
Argentinian striker’s head.
“Dybala is a quality player,
he’s young and I think he’ll
become a top class forward.
Inter are a big club and
naturally we’re looking for
quality players so we can
start winning again,” Mancini
admitted.
Inter host basement side
Parma on Saturday and
although Mancini has warned
against taking the league
strugglers lightly, he has
underlined the need for wins
over the closing 10 games of
the campaign.
“We have to do our best over
our last 10 matches. It’s not
easy to take over mid-season
but you can only get results
with time and through hard
work,” he added.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Liverpool mind the gap
ahead of Arsenal trip
‘We really want to make sure we perform and give ourselves a chance to get a positive result’
AFP
London
L
iverpool visit Arsenal
for a potentially definitive Premier League encounter this weekend,
as the runners and riders in the
race for Champions League
qualification embark upon the
season’s final lap.
Having had their 13-game
unbeaten run ended by Manchester United before the international break, Liverpool find
themselves five points below
the Champions League spots
with only eight games of the
season remaining.
Another defeat at the Emirates Stadium could see Liverpool cut adrift, but victory
would take them to within three
points of their opponents, revitalising their quest for a topfour finish.
“In terms of the objectives
going into the game, it’s no
different to what it was before Manchester United, but
of course we had a disappointing result and performance last
time out,” said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.
“We really want to make sure
we perform and give ourselves a
chance to get a positive result.”
Arsenal are seeking to record
a seventh league win in succession—a feat they last achieved in
March 2012 - and with Manchester City not in action until Monday, victory would lift Arsene
Wenger’s side up to second place.
“It’s a big game and an opportunity for us to continue our
run, which is what we want to
do,” Wenger told his pre-match
press conference.
“You know after the international break it’s always important that you come back and
straight away you are on it.”
Mathieu Debuchy, Mikel
Arteta, Jack Wilshere and Abou
Diaby are all back in training
for Arsenal after injury, while
Wenger said Danny Welbeck
had a “little chance” of playing
after hurting his knee on England duty.
Daniel Sturridge and Adam
Lallana could both feature for
Liverpool despite withdrawing
from the England squad through
injury, but Steven Gerrard and
Martin Skrtel are suspended.
Raheem Sterling, meanwhile,
is likely to find more than a few
camera lenses trained on him
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.
after he confirmed that he has
rejected a new contract offer
and described reported interest
from Arsenal as “flattering”.
United, a point behind Arsenal
in fourth place, will also have designs on supplanting City ahead
of a home game with relegationthreatened Aston Villa.
Louis van Gaal’s side appear
to have clicked, belatedly, after
stylish victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool,
but captain Wayne Rooney has
warned that those wins will
count for nought if they do not
kick on.
Chelsea close in
Asked if the 2-1 success at
Anfield had been a six-pointer,
the England skipper replied:
“Yes it was, but that means
nothing if we don’t beat Aston
Villa on Saturday.
“Obviously Arsenal play Liverpool as well, so if we can get
the win against Villa, that will
be an even better result than
Liverpool was for us.”
Tottenham and Southampton, both six points below the
top four, have opportunities to
make up ground on at least one
of the teams above them.
Southampton travel to Everton on Saturday, while Spurs
visit third-bottom Burnley the
following day.
Six points clear with a game
in hand on all their pursuers,
leaders Chelsea can take another step towards the title
when they welcome Stoke City
to Stamford Bridge.
Jose Mourinho’s side have
stuttered in recent weeks,
drawing successive home games
against Burnley and Southampton, and midfielder Cesc Fabregas has urged his team-mates
not to let their standards slip.
“Now we have to fight hard
to win the Premier League and
make this season a great year,”
said the Spaniard.
“We still have the chance
to win the double (league and
League Cup), and for that reason we cannot relax for a moment.”
SPOTLIGHT
FIXTURES
(1400 GMT unless otherwise
stated)
Today’s matches
Arsenal v Liverpool (1145 GMT),
Chelsea v Stoke City (1630 GMT),
Everton v Southampton, Leicester City v West Ham United,
Manchester United v Aston Villa,
Swansea City v Hull City, West
Bromwich Albion v Queens Park
Rangers
Tomorrow’s matches
Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur
(1230 GMT), Sunderland v Newcastle United (1500 GMT)
Monday (1900 GMT):
Crystal Palace v Manchester City
OPINION
Mourinho rules out surgery for Costa
AFP
London
D
iego Costa will not
need an operation to
solve his ongoing hamstring problem, Jose
Mourinho claimed, as the Chelsea manager also insisted the
forward will be selected for today’s home match against Stoke
City.
Costa sat out Spain’s Euro
2016 qualifying win over Ukraine
and then the 2-0 friendly defeat
to the Netherlands over the last
week, but Mourinho insisted
that the best way to deal with the
situation is with Chelsea’s current approach.
“To work as he does in the
season, in prevention to make
the muscle stronger, but at the
same time elastic and flexible,”
the Chelsea boss said.
“Recover well with no big accumulation of fatigue. This is
what we do. We don’t believe in
operations. Our medical department and myself, we believe an
operation is the last resort for
every injury, so we try and be
conservative, to train and recover and try and compensate the
problems.
“I don’t believe we’ll ever go in
the surgery direction.
“It was the same injury, a
hamstring, and he dedicated
Defending champions City
travel to in-form Crystal Palace
on Monday, by which time they
could conceivably be in fourth
place in the table and nine
points below Chelsea.
Bottom club Leicester City
and second-bottom Queens
Park Rangers are running out
of time to close the gap on the
teams above them, but thirdbottom Burnley trail fourthbottom Sunderland by a slender
point.
Sunderland host Newcastle
United in the Tyne-Wear derby,
where the visitors will be looking to halt a chastening run of
four consecutive defeats against
their local rivals.
Chelsea forward Diego Costa.
himself to recovering,” Mourinho said of Costa’s international
absence.
“No days off, the medical department were saying. Morning,
afternoon, working hard. We can
say we did all the tests and scans
to confirm, two days ago, scientifically the situation and at this
moment the muscle is fine.
“But football is more than
that: you need confidence, to believe that you don’t need to break
your intensity and are free to ex-
press yourself at the maximum
intensity, and that’s our doubt.
“We’ll see the next 24 hours.
But selected? That’s for sure.”
Hazard set to start
Mourinho also expects Eden
Hazard to start against Stoke,
despite complaints of fatigue
during the week following the
international break.
The forward was involved
in Belgium’s 5-0 win over Cyprus, and then the 1-0 win
over Israel, in their Euro 2016
qualifying group.
“Hazard is tired because he
played two matches in three
days because he played in Israel,
travelled, didn’t sleep, arrived in
Belgium 5am or 6am, and he’s
been playing.
“We think he can recover in
these couple of days, but he plays
tomorrow. That’s football.”
Otherwise, Chelsea have no
injuries, but John Obi Mikel is
not yet fit enough to be involved.
Mourinho also claimed the ti-
tle race has now extended to four
teams, given how tight the top
is, and refused to do what he did
in 2004-05 and predict a date
Chelsea would win the league.
“Four [teams] now,” Mourinho
said, with the two Manchester clubs and Arsenal all giving
chase.
“Look at the points difference.
You have to say four now. Not
five, because there’s a gap from
fourth to fifth and, with eight
matches to go, that’s a difficult
game from first to fifth.
“But the points difference between second, third and fourth
makes me think and feel that
they are there.
“We need six victories and
one draw from nine matches. A
good situation for us, and one
all the other clubs would like to
have. But it’s pure mathematics.
We need to win six matches and
draw one. We need to do that,
and we haven’t done it yet.”
Asked whether he could put
a date on the day they’d win the
league, he said it’s “too early”.
“But if we’re champions in the
last match, I’m more than happy
with that. I’m not thinking about
how or when. I’m just thinking
that we need to win six matches
and draw one.
“Every victory we have now is
one victory less that we need, and
one less occasion for our opponents to reach us. We have to go.”
Koeman cool on
Saints’ Champions
League chances
AFP
London
S
outhampton
manager Ronald Koeman
has admitted that the
chances of seeing the
south-coast side qualify for
the Champions League are
now remote.
With eight games of the
season remaining, the Saints
are sixth in the table, six points
adrift of Manchester United in
fourth.
Dutchman Koeman remains
upbeat about his side’s chances of qualifying for Europe, but
knows the Europa League is a
more realistic possibility.
“Realistically the Champions League will be difficult for
us because we have the distance to make up in points,”
Koeman said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Everton.
“If we win the next two or
three games we’ll be fighting for it, but the Champions
League is more for the big
teams.
“We play eight finals now
and the season so far has
been fantastic. If we reach
Europe, it will mean a special
Southampton manager
Ronald Koeman
season for the club.”
On the trip to Goodison
Park to face an Everton side
who have endured a difficult
season but have won their last
two matches, Koeman added:
“Everton are a tough test because they deserve to be in a
higher position in the table. I
like the way they play football
and how Roberto Martinez is
doing his job.
“They won the last two
games and are playing with
more confidence. It will be a
tough game, but a nice one because we play the same way.
“How we play is about winning, not about controlling
and defending. That makes the
game more open than normal.”
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
3
FOOTBALL
SPANISH LEAGUE
Messi fit to face Celta Vigo
‘We are very strong at home, we have 10 finals left and Sunday is the first of them’
the bench with Luka Modric,
Toni Kroos and Isco keeping
their places in the side that lost
2-1 at the Camp Nou last time
out. Meanwhile Raphael Varane
should replace the injured Pepe
in defence.
Valencia will also be attempting to maintain an unlikely title
challenge when they face Villarreal at home on Sunday.
Los Che have taken 25 points
from a possible 30 to remain just
eight points adrift of Barca and
face both the Catalans and Madrid in the remaining 10 games
of the season.
“We are very strong at home,
we have 10 finals left and Sunday
is the first of them,” captain Dani
Parejo told the club’s website.
“It is a derby between two
teams fighting for similar objectives. We are in third, whilst
they aren’t in great form and
need the win. It will be a good
game between two sides that
like to play good football with
intensity.”
Valencia could be back down
to fourth before they kick-off at
the Mestalla, though, as Atletico Madrid trail Nuno Espirito
Santo’s men by just a point and
the champions are in action on
Saturday away to a Cordoba side
that have lost their last nine La
Liga games.
AFP
Madrid
F
our-time World Player of
the Year Lionel Messi has
been passed fit to continue Barcelona’s title
charge when they travel to Celta
Vigo tomorrow, hoping to avenge
a shock defeat to the Galicians
earlier this season.
Messi missed both Argentina’s
friendly wins over El Salvador
and Ecuador in the past week
due to a foot injury picked up in
Barca’s crucial 2-1 victory over
eternal rivals Real Madrid a fortnight ago.
However, he took part in a
light training session on Thursday and the club confirmed that
the inflammation in his foot had
improved.
The trip to Vigo kicks off an
intense month for Barca with
seven league fixtures and a
Champions League clash with
Paris Saint-Germain to come in
the next 28 days.
However, defender Gerard
Pique welcomed the challenge of
trying to win the treble for just
the second time in the club’s history after failing to pick up any
silverware last season.
“The most important part of
the season is coming now,” said
the Spanish international.
“There are a series of very
hard games and the Champions
League quarter-finals around
the corner. We know how hard
it will be and we need to be up to
the task if we want to win titles.
“We have the team to do it
and we have shown how we have
improved throughout the year
which gives us a lot of confidence. We have the experience of
last year and we have to try and
improve on that.”
Barca will be without the injured Jordi Alba and suspended
FIXTURES
World Player of the Year Lionel Messi has been passed fit travel to Celta Vigo tomorrow.
Javier Mascherano, but Sergio
Busquets will be fit to take
his place in the starting lineup for the first time in over a
month.
Neymar set to be
called as witness in
Barcelona tax case
Real Madrid can close to within a point of the leaders when
they face struggling Granada in
Sunday’s early game.
Los Blancos have only won one
of their last four league games,
but will be confident of a return
to winning ways against a Granada side that hasn’t won away
from home since September.
James return
Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti
will have a full compliment of
midfielders to choose from for
the first time in five months as
BUNDESLIGA
Injury-hit Bayern head
to resurgent Dortmund
mistaken, we never have been,
but we have never considered
ourselves to have no chance
and that also goes for now.”
With five wins and two
draws in their last seven league
games, Dortmund have pulled
away from the Bundesliga’s
relegation zone.
They are free to focus on
their domestic form following
their Champions League exit
to Juventus in the last 16.
Even missing Ribery, Alaba
and Robben, Klopp expects
Bayern to be dangerous.
“We still have to reckon
with some top quality from
Bayern, those boys can all play
football,” he said.
“But the fact is, Bayern will
have to make a few changes
without their three fastest
players, which is what we have
to be concerned about.
“You have to prepare yourself for how the opposition will
line-up against you.”
Without Robben, Bayern’s
top scorer this season with 17
goals in 21 games, Guardiola
will be missing some pace on
the flanks, especially on the
left without wing-back Alaba
and winger Ribery.
“It’s bad news,” said Bayern
captain Philipp Lahm.
“They are really important
for us. We mustn’t complain,
we need to look forward.
“We’ve got a big squad and
have to compensate for losses
like this.”
AFP
Munich
I
Brazilian star Neymar is set to
be called as a witness along
with seven other people in the
investigation into possible tax
fraud by Barcelona in relation
to his transfer to the Camp Nou.
Radio station Cadena Ser
announced yesterday that “according to legal sources, prosecutors will ask him to appear as
a witness in the tax fraud case
against Barcelona president
Josep Maria Bartomeu, the club
and former president (Sandro)
Rosell”.
According to the same sources,
the Madrid court that deals with
complex financial cases will
accept the request.
Cadena Ser added that the
request that Neymar appears
in person before the court is
justified by the fact that he
personally signed nine of the 13
contracts being investigated.
The Catalan club and their
former and current presidents
are accused of hiding the
real cost of the transfer that
brought the Brazilian star, now
23, to Barcelona from Santos
in 2013.
Prosecutors say Neymar cost
“at least 83,371,000 euros”
(£61.19m, $90.7m) and not
the 57mn initially reported by
Barcelona.
A trial could take place in the
autumn and might only last a
week, Cadena Ser added.
Prosecutors last month
requested a prison sentence
of two years and three months
for Bartomeu and seven and a
half years for his predecessor
Rosell.
The Madrid court is also calling for a fine of 22.2mn euros
($24.1mn) against the club over
the transfer deal.
Judge Pablo Ruz said various
contracts produced “were designed to cover or hide the fact
that in reality they represented
a higher cost for Barcelona” in
order to “avoid or significantly
reduce the money paid to the
tax authorities”.
The cost of the transfer rose
steeply when Barca decided
to bring forward an initial
agreement signed in 2011 for
the player to move in 2014 by
a year as other clubs, including
rivals Real Madrid, attempted to
hijack the deal.
Rosell resigned over the scandal in January 2014 with his
then vice-president Bartomeu
taking charge.
James Rodriguez should make
his return from a broken bone in
his foot.
The Colombian will probably have to settle for a place on
njury-hit Bayern Munich
head to resurgent Borussia Dortmund today shorn
of their top stars and with
the hosts out to prove there
is still life in Germany’s ‘Der
Klassiker’.
The Bundesliga has been
won twice each by Dortmund
and Bayern over the last four
years and the media here has
dubbed their meetings ‘Der
Klassiker’—Germany’s answer
to Spain’s ‘El Clasico’ between
Barcelona and Real Madrid.
But a glance at the Bundesliga table highlights Dortmund’s dramatic fall from
grace this season with Jurgen
Klopp’s side currently tenth
having started February bottom of the table after a disastrous run of results.
In contrast, Bayern are ten
points clear in the league table
and heading towards a third
straight league title.
But Pep Guardiola’s Bavarians will be missing injured
key stars Arjen Robben, David
Alaba and Franck Ribery at the
Signal Iduna Park.
Defender Holger Badstuber
is struggling with a hip injury,
but veteran striker Claudio
Pizarro is set to return from a
leg injury.
Bayern lost for the third
time this season last time out
going down 2-0 in Munich to
Borussia Moenchengladbach,
a fortnight ago.
There is, however, no talk of
an upset from the Dortmund
camp. “At the moment it’s
certainly not a top-of-the-table clash when you look at the
table,” admitted Dortmund’s
director of sport Michael Zorc.
“But it will still grab the attention ofmns of fans across
Germany.”
‘Bad news’ -With Germany
winger Marco Reus in superb
form for both club and country
alongside top-scorer Pierre-
FIXTURES
Bayern Munich’s Austrian defender David Alaba during the
German first division Bundesliga match versus Borussia
Moenchengladbach in Munich, southern Germany on March 22.
Bayern Munich announced on Wednesday that Alaba will be out
“for around seven weeks” with a knee ligament injury suffered
playing for his country.
Emerick Aubameyang, Dortmund have the attack to cause
Bayern problems.
“We have generally never
given up on a home game in
advance,” said Klopp, who will
be without Germany squad
members Kevin Grosskreutz
and Erik Durm.
“I would suggest we don’t
talk much and instead try to
put in a good performance.
“We’re not at the same level
as Bayern and, unless I am
(all times 1330 GMT unless stated)
Today’s matches
Bayer Leverkusen v Hamburg,
VfL Wolfsburg v VfB Stuttgart,
Hoffenheim v Bor. Moenchengladbach, Werder Bremen v Mainz
05, Eintracht Frankfurt v Hanover
96, Freiburg v Cologne, Borussia
Dortmund v Bayern Munich
(1630)
Tomorrow’s matches
Augsburg v Schalke 04, Hertha
Berlin v Paderborn (1530)
(all times GMT)
Today’s matches
Sevilla v Athletic Bilbao (1400),
Cordoba v Atletico Madrid (1600),
Almeria v Levante (1800), Malaga v
Real Sociedad (2000)
Tomorrow’s matches
Real Madrid v Granada (1000),
Valencia v Villarreal (1500), Getafe
v Deportivo la Coruna (1700), Celta
Vigo v Barcelona (1900)
Monday Espanyol v Elche (1800)
Gravely ill
US teen gets
‘wish’ to see
FC Bayern
Munich play
William Stuhlreyer doesn’t
speak German, but he has
no trouble rattling off the
names of FC Bayern Munich’s
top stars: Schweinsteiger,
Lewandowski, Mueller,
Goetze.
The California teenager
says he’s one of the German
team’s biggest fans.
At his parents’ home in
Alameda, a suburb of San
Francisco, he proudly shows
off the club flag on his bedroom wall. He’s wearing a hat
with the team’s logo and a
team jersey with number 19 Mario Goetze.
Stuhlreyer’s dream is to
see them play live someday. And on April 11 that
dream will come true when
Bayern take the field to
play Eintracht Frankfurt as
Stuhlreyer cheers them on in
the stands.
“I’ll be screaming a lot in
English, and I will try a bit of
German,” he told DPA. “There
will be a lot of screaming!”
In November, he was shouting for joy when the Make
A Wish foundation told him
and his family the good news.
They’re flying William Stuhlreyer, his older sister Ellie and
their parents to Germany this
Easter Sunday, April 5.
The international organization aims to “enrich the
human experience with hope,
strength and joy” by granting
wishes to children and teens
suffering from serious illness.
Stuhlreyer suffers from Barth
syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that weakens the heart
muscle and immune system
in boys and men and stunts
their growth. Only about 200
people have been diagnosed
with the disease worldwide.
“You just think I’m younger
than I am, because I’m so
small,” the 15-year-old said.
“A lot of people ask me, are
you 10?”
When he was born, his
parents knew right away
that something was wrong.
Doctors at Yale University
Hospital discovered the cause
when he was 9 months old.
4
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
FOOTBALL
Swedes’
love for
Ibrahimovic
unshaken
by outburst
FRENCH LEAGUE
PSG aim to strike blow
in ‘Classique’ showdown
‘A sort of supremacy is at stake but at the end of the day there is only three points up for grabs’
A foul-mouthed outburst
by Paris Saint-Germain star
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has
drawn virtually no criticism
in his native Sweden, where
churlish comments have only
underscored his image as a
straight-talking underdog.
The 33-year-old will face the
French league’s disciplinary
commission on April 9 for
comments made after PSG’s
defeat at Bordeaux on March
15, when he labelled France a
“shit country” that “does not
deserve PSG.”
French Prime Minister
Manuel Valls said he was
“shocked”, while far-right
National Front leader Marine
Le Pen suggested the Swede
could leave France if he was
unhappy.
But in Sweden few people
were upset or even surprised
by the spat.
Mats Lilienberg, who played
with Ibrahimovic at Malmo,
painted a picture of a hardworking, focused athlete
whose hyperbole was only
part of his charm.
Beneath the swagger he “is
another person if you know
him,” the 45-year-old former
teammate told AFP.
“He was coming up, he was
young and cocky. He was
exactly the same then as he
is today. But... he’s very kind,
humble. He’s there for people
who are close to him,” he
said.
Role model
In Ibrahimovic’s hometown
of Malmo there were no signs
that the French controversy
had dented the image of the
city’s own superstar.
“He’s got class, he’s got good
character. His attitude is not
always good but you still like
it,” 16-year-old Elias Abdullah said on the sidelines of a
school football tournament.
“It’s not every day that a
small guy from Rosengaard
becomes the world’s best
football player,” he added,
referring to the immigrantheavy neighbourhood where
Ibrahimovic, like himself,
once lived.
Ibrahimovic, born in Sweden
to a Bosnian father and a
Croatian mother, admitted
in a 2011 autobiography that
the first time he ventured into
the city centre was in his late
teens, feeling like an outsider
who knew very little about
the country’s top footballers
until he became one himself.
“I mean, I was from Rosengaard. I didn’t give a damn
about the Swedes. I’d been
following the Brazilians,” he
said.
Rags to riches story
Since then he’s made a
remarkable journey into
mainstream Swedish culture,
winning numerous awards.
A “fantastic class journey”,
as detailed in his best-selling
autobiography, helped boost
his popularity in the country,
says Cristine Sarrimo, an assistant professor of literature
at Lund University.
The story was a “myth about
an anti-hero who... succeeds
against the odds, completely
on his own merits,” she said.
Anja Gatu, a sports columnist
at regional daily Sydsvenskan, said that even though
he still had his detractors—
some of whom could be
found among the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats—Ibrahimovic’s football skills had
won over the Swedish public
after an initially rocky start.
The fact that he “never made
a secret of wanting to be the
best” coupled with his brash
comments—sometimes made
in jest but misunderstood—
sat uneasily with some
Swedes, she said.
Gatu herself took offence in
2013 when he waded into a
row over the Swedish FA’s
decision to reward Swedish
midfielder Anders Svensson with a car, but not his
female counterpart Therese
Sjoegran.
AFP
Paris
P
aris Saint-Germain can
strike a major blow in
the Ligue 1 title race by
continuing their impressive recent record against
Marseille when the bitter rivals
meet at the Stade Velodrome
tomorrow.
The defending champions
have spent most of the season
playing catch-up at the top but
finally reached the summit after
beating Lorient 3-1 in their last
outing a fortnight ago, leading
Lyon by one point and Marseille
in third by two points.
Laurent Blanc’s side have
dominated the fixture known as
‘Le Classique’ in recent years,
with their 2-0 win at the Parc
des Princes in November their
sixth in a row against OM.
Indeed, they have won seven
and drawn one of the last eight
match-ups since going down
3-0 at the Velodrome in November 2011, when Andre Ayew
was among Marseille’s scorers.
“Before the current period,
Paris were struggling because
we were better off financially,”
recalled Ayew, the son of former
Marseille and Ghana star Abedi
Pele, in an interview with sports
daily L’Equipe this week.
“Since being taken over by
the Qataris, Paris have taken on
another dimension. We need to
be realistic. They have brought
in players to build a great team
and they proved that against
Chelsea,” he added with a nod to
PSG’s Champions League last16 win over the London side last
month.
“Playing in a Classique is
unique. My dad always used
to say to me that these were
matches you couldn’t lose.”
Marseille have climbed right
back into contention after taking seven points from a possible
nine in March having previously
gone four games without a win.
And Marcelo Bielsa’s side
will look to make the most of
having home advantage, with a
record crowd of around 64,000
expected at the renovated Velodrome, where the atmosphere
Marseille’s French president Vincent Labrune (left) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) football club’s Qatari president Nasser al-Khelaifi. Paris Saint-Germain can strike a major blow
in the Ligue 1 title race by continuing their recent record against Marseille when the rivals meet at the Stade Velodrome tomorrow.
can be among the most raucous
in Europe.
“This match is always a bit
special,” Paris coach Laurent
Blanc, who played in the fixture
for OM for two seasons in the
late 1990s, told PSG TV.
“A sort of supremacy is at stake
but at the end of the day there is
only three points up for grabs. It
is an exciting game to take part
in for various reasons, especially
because of the satisfaction we can
give to the supporters.”
Marseille coach Bielsa has
a decision to make in attack,
where Andre-Pierre Gignac has
been the first choice this season
but Michy Batshuayi is the man
in form.
Batshuayi came off the bench
to score twice in the 4-0 win
against Lens last time out and
the Belgian, who made his full
international debut last weekend, has scored six goals in his
last five games.
Dangerous outsiders
With their main rivals facing
each other, Lyon will hope to
take advantage when they go to
Guingamp on Saturday.
Hubert Fournier’s side, who
lost 2-1 at home to Nice in their
last outing, are without the injury-prone Yoann Gourcuff as well
as France right-back Christophe
Jallet, who suffered a dislocated
shoulder on international duty.
Meanwhile, Monaco remain
dangerous outsiders in the title
race as they sit six points behind
the leaders with a game in hand.
The principality club entertain Saint-Etienne, just one
ITALIAN LEAGUE
FIXTURES
(kick-offs 1800GMT unless
stated)
Today’s matches
Guingamp v Lyon (1500GMT),
Lille v Reims, Lorient v Rennes,
Metz v Toulouse, Montpellier v
SC Bastia, Nice v Evian
Tomorrow’s matches
Bordeaux v Lens (1200GMT),
Nantes v Caen (1500GMT),
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain
(1900GMT)
EPL
Tension mounts ahead of
crucial Roma-Napoli clash
AFP
Rome
R
ome will be on high
alert today as Roma
host Napoli for the
first time since a supporter was killed last year in
clashes between the teams’ rival fans.
The game has been scheduled
for 1030 GMT (1230 local time)
due to fears over fan violence.
Last May, Napoli fan Ciro Esposito was shot and killed by a
hardline Roma ‘ultra’ supporter
on the fringes of the Italian Cup
final.
City officials have banned
visiting Napoli fans from the
game and ticket sales among
the Roma supporters are not
expected to soar either.
But the match itself is crucial to both sides’ Champions
League qualification hopes.
With Juventus boasting a
14-point lead over secondplaced Roma, the Bianconeri
look to already have a fourth
consecutive scudetto sewn up.
But the race to join them in
the Champions League next
season is far from over, and
faltering Roma are the target
for several hopefuls, including
Napoli.
A remarkable return of eight
draws from a recent nine-game
run effectively ended Roma’s
title hopes and left Rudi Gar-
point behind them in fifth, at
the Stade Louis II on Friday.
“We are aiming to continue
climbing the table. Every match
is decisive now,” said Monaco
coach Leonardo Jardim, who
will be without veteran defender Ricardo Carvalho due to
a twisted knee.
Elsewhere, Bordeaux, in
sixth, host Lens on Sunday,
while bottom side Metz entertain fellow strugglers Toulouse
and Lorient host Brittany rivals
Rennes today.
Roma forward Adem Ljajic.
cia’s men holding just a onepoint lead over city rivals Lazio
with 10 games remaining.
Sampdoria sit in fourth, four
points further adrift, with Napoli in fifth a further point off
the pace.
Roma finally got back to winning ways away to Cesena prior
to the international break, but
will be without injured striker
Gervinho.
Roma forward Adem Ljajic
says beating Napoli is important to keep Lazio at bay.
“Saturday’s game counts a
lot for both sides, but we want
to go out and play our game and
try to win,” Ljajic said.
“Lazio are a top side and are
having a great run at the moment, but for now we’re in second and we’ll do everything to
stay there.”
While victory has eluded
Roma of late, Napoli have not
exactly been blazing a trail,
dropping five points behind
Lazio after winning only one of
their last six league games.
An eventual slip-up by Roma
could see high-flying Lazio,
who are away at Cagliari, move
up to second place, adding spice
to the existing bitter rivalry between the capital clubs.
“Finishing second (behind
Juve but above Roma) would
be like winning the title for us,”
Lazio captain Stefano Mauri
told Sky Sport. “In the city,
people are really starting to
feel the rivalry and our fans are
desperate for us to go ahead of
Roma.”
Fiorentina host Sampdoria in a
clash that, while considered crucial for their respective European
hopes, was already expected to
serve up a cracking game between two attacking sides.
Vincenzo Montella’s men
have lost only once in their last
11 league games but welcome
Sinisa Mihajlovic’s team with
doubts over the availability of
winger Manuel Pasqual and defender Stefan Savic.
Sampdoria are looking for
their fifth win on the trot and
should be confident following
a well-deserved home win over
Inter Milan two weeks ago that
left Mihajlovic purring.
“It was the best football
we’ve played all season,” said
the Serbian.
AC Milan’s face a tough trip
to Palermo as they chase a Europa League place, while city rivals Inter, a further point off the
pace in 10th spot, host basement side Parma.
Juventus, who have lost only
once this season, are in action
late today when they host a tenacious Empoli side that is unbeaten in eight games.
FIXTURES
Today’s matches
Roma v Napoli (1030 GMT),
Atalanta v Torino, Cagliari v Lazio,
Genoa v Udinese, Verona v Cesena,
Inter Milan v Parma, Palermo v AC
Milan, Sassuolo v Chievo (all 1300),
Fiorentina v Sampdoria (1630),
Juventus v Empoli (1900)
Middlesbrough steal
a march in race to
the Premier League
AFP
London
M
iddlesbrough stole
a march on their
Championship
promotion rivals
as they returned to the top
of the table a 1-0 win against
lowly Wigan Athletic yesterday.
With Bournemouth and
Watford not playing their
games against Ipswich Town
and Derby County respectively until later in the day,
Aitor Karanka’s side kept
themselves firmly in the hunt
for automatic promotion to
the Premier League thanks to
Patrick Bamford’s 17th strike
of the season.
The on-loan Chelsea striker
bent a low effort into the bottom corner in the 20th minute
and that was enough to see
off second-bottom Wigan
and send Middlesbrough two
points clear.
It was also a good afternoon
for Norwich City, who are out
of the top two only on goal difference alone after a 1-0 win at
Brighton.
It was exactly one year ago
this weekend when the Canaries sacked Chris Hughton, but
there was to be no revenge for
the Brighton boss as his new
side were downed by Bradley
Johnson’s cool finish just after
the hour.
Brentford also moved back
into the top six after a 4-1
thrashing of west London rivals Fulham.
The Bees surged into a twogoal lead thanks to Stuart Dallas’s brace.
Ross McCormack’s penalty
got the struggling Cottagers
back in it with 20 minutes to
go, but late efforts from Alan
Judge and Ramallo Jota ensured Brentford romped to a
memorable victory.
Wolverhampton Wanderers also climbed back into the
play-off places with an impressive 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest.
Kenny Jackett’s side went in
front just 20 seconds after the
restart with a fine effort from
distance by Benik Afobe and
Bakary Sako’s 72nd-minute
penalty ensured they moved
up to sixth despite Dexter
Blackstock’s late strike.
Millwall breathed fresh life
into their survival fight with
a 2-1 win against 10-man
Charlton Athletic in a dramatic south London derby at
The Den.
Elsewhere, fourth-bottom
Rotherham United’s plight
is more precarious after they
went down 2-1 at Birmingham
City.
Bournemouth will have the
chance to reclaim top spot
when they take on Ipswich,
while Watford make the trip to
promotion rivals Derby.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
5
GOLF
SPOTLIGHT
FOCUS
McIlroy seeks career
slam at Masters
‘It’s a big deal, what I’m trying to achieve’
The 25-year-old would become the first European
golfer to complete the career sweep of the men’s golf
majors with a triumph at Augusta National. McIlroy
would join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan,
Gene Sarazen and South African Gary Player on the
career Grand Slam list, although Woods would remain
the youngest to complete the sweep, having done so at
age 24 by winning the 2000 British Open.
AFP
Augusta
W
orld number one Rory McIlroy chases his third consecutive major title and tries to
become only the sixth player
to complete a career Grand Slam next
week at the Masters.
The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland would become the first European
golfer to complete the career sweep of the
men’s golf majors with a triumph at Augusta National. “It’s a big deal, what I’m
trying to achieve,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy would join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen and
South African Gary Player on the career
Grand Slam list, although Woods would
remain the youngest to complete the
sweep, having done so at age 24 by winning the 2000 British Open.
And McIlroy would do so on the Augusta National layout founded by Bobby
Jones, who won his 1930s-era version of
a career slam by taking the US and British
Opens and Amateurs.
McIlroy might well have already owned
the green jacket symbolic of Masters su-
premacy had he not suffered a back-nine
collapse while leading in the final round
in 2011 and fired an 80 to finish in a share
of 15th.
But that humbling defeat prompted
McIlroy to bounce back and win his first
major in his next opportunity, the 2011 US
Open at Congressional, and since then he
has added the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championships and last year’s British Open.
This year, McIlroy won at Dubai and
finished second at Abu Dhabi but stumbled in his US tuneups for the Masters,
missing the cut at the Honda Classic and
opening with a 73 at Doral before rallying
to finish ninth and then share 11th at Bay
Hill two weeks later.
McIlroy was not unhappy that he had
yet to find his top form, hopeful his timing would be perfect for Masters week. “I
sort of like that because if I had played really well the last few weeks, how do I keep
this going,” McIlroy said after Bay Hill.
“It’s almost like it’s nice to be able to
try and build yourself up. I don’t feel like
I’m right there. I feel like I’m just gradually building myself up so it’s actually not
a bad position to be in.”
Crowd roars echoing along the back
nine around Amen Corner and into golf
history have names for their volume, a
Jack roar or a Tiger roar, but Augusta National could face a new level of loud in the
final round—the McIlroar.
And this time, McIlroy has greater confidence in his ability to grind out a victory.
“I think it’s something that you need,”
McIlroy said. “Augusta is one of the most
mentally challenging weeks of the year.
You get off there on Sunday night and
you’re sort of done.
“It’s a tough week and in that regard.
But I can feel I’ve made good strides with
my long game. If I can just tidy the wedge
play a little bit around the greens, hopefully that will be good to go.”
McIlroy downplays the idea he is a
runaway favourite, even though the buzz
about his chance at history has been
building for the past eight months. “Given how I’ve been playing. I guess if you
go on form then probably no,” McIlroy
said of himself as a favourite. “There are
a lot of guys that are playing well to be up
there, but maybe not the favorite.”
Sweden’s second-ranked Henrik Stenson has had a solid start to the season
despite no titles, taking second at Bay
Hill and fourth at Doral and the Valspar
Championship.
New faces out to
shine at Masters
AFP
Augusta
I
t seems like only yesterday
that Rory McIlroy was the
hunter. Next week when
he tees off in what will be
his seventh Masters he is quite
clearly the hunted.
The
25-year-old
world
number one is aiming to win his
third straight major title and in
so doing become just the sixth
player in history to complete a
career Grand Slam of the sports’
four crown jewels.
To achieve that feat and enter
the realms of golfing greatness
the Northern Irishman will have
to vanquish a rapidly-evolving
cast of characters. When he first
teed off in earnest at Augusta
National in 2009, Tiger Woods
still reigned supreme, Phil Mickelson was in his prime and Ernie
Els loomed large.
The youthful McIlroy had
them all in his sights. Six years
on, much has changed.
Woods may well be in terminal
decline at 39, riddled by injuries
and loss of form. He is ranked
104th in the world. Mickelson
is also struggling, the 44-yearold missing cuts and slumping
to 21st in the rankings. Els at 45
looks like a spent force and is
down at 82nd place.
But, as ever, from out of the
ashes a new generation of top
players is emerging. Leading the
way are three Americans—all
younger than McIlroy.
Jordan Spieth is only 21 but he
has already won twice on the US
PGA Tour, most recently at the
Valspar Championship in February. Fellow Texan Patrick Reed
at 24 has won four times, while
Brooks Koepka from Florida
grabbed his breakthrough win
in February a month ahead of his
25th birthday.
What the trio have in common is they all possess loads of
talent and the burning desire to
match up to and eventually unseat McIlroy from the pinnacle
of the game.
Spieth, who some believe is
the finest young talent to emerge
in the United States since Woods
back in the late 1990s, is in no
doubt over what he needs to do.
“Right now what I’m really
focused on is Rory McIlroy is
number one in the world,” he
said after winning the Valspar
win. “That’s who everyone is
And defending champion Bubba
Watson could grab a share of more Masters lore by repeating. Together with his
2012 win, Watson could match Nickalus
as the only players to win the Masters
three times in four attempts, Nicklaus
doing so in 1963, 1965 and 1966. “Everybody is talking about Rory,” Watson said.
“I’m just hoping I can come in under the
radar.”
The only other reigning major champion at Augusta this week is 2014 US Open
winner Martin Kaymer of Germany, who
has yet to crack the top 30 in seven Masters starts. “The last two or three years I
played really well but my putting let me
down a little bit,” Kaymer said.
“I proved to myself I can play the
course. It’s just a matter of making a few
putts here and there.”
No one knows that better than Jordan
Spieth, the 21-year-old American who
shared second last year in his Masters debut and returns to Augusta National off a
Valspar title last month. “This year I feel
a little better having closed that tournament out,” Spieth said. “My swing feels
better. Putting stroke is getting there. All
in all, very confident about where I’m at
going in.”
trying to chase. Our ultimate
goal is to eventually be the best
in the world and this is a great,
great stepping stone.
“Going into the four majors of
the year to have closed one out
in this kind of fashion is going to
give me a lot of confidence.”
Reed also says he would relish
the opportunity of being in contention with McIlroy going down
the back nine on Sunday at Augusta National.
“At the end of the day, come
Sunday, if I do everything well,
I should have a chance,” he said.
“You know, if I don’t, then that
means I have to figure something
else out and I need to work on
something else.
“I would love to get up to that
position where I’m a true rival
against him (McIlroy) or battling
it out one versus two, but I’ve got
some ways to go. I think I’m 15th
now so I still have a couple more
spots to move up.”
So the joint pressures of gaining golfing immortality and being the player everyone wants to
beat are sure to weigh heavily on
McIlroy’s shoulders at Augusta.
He has already felt the full
agony of a Masters meltdown in
2011 when he led by four strokes
going into the final round but
collapsed down the back nine to
a woeful 80 that left him in a tie
for 15th. He believes though that
ultimately he gained more than
he lost on that occasion.
“It was a huge learning curve
for me and I needed it, and
thankfully I have been able to
move on to bigger and better
things,” he told the BBC in an interview. “Looking back on what
happened in 2011, it doesn’t
seem as bad when you have four
majors on your mantelpiece.”
McIlroy looks destined to add
to his tally of major titles with
the likelihood that he has 20
more years of top golf ahead of
him. But he admits that to end
his career without having at least
once donned a Masters green
jacket would be unthinkable.
“If I was to look back as a
60-year-old at my career and
had not won a green jacket I
would be very disappointed,” he
added. “It is the only one left
and it is a course I feel I can do
well at. I feel I could win multiple times, but getting that first
one is the most important thing.
Winning all four majors means
you are a complete player. I can
achieve something special.”
Jordan Spieth is only 21
but he has already won
twice on the US PGA Tour.
FIVE INTRIGUING MASTERS STORYLINES THAT COULD DEVELOP
Rory McIlroy’s quest for a first Masters
victory and a complete set of Grand Slam
titles alongside the growing doubts over
Tiger Woods are the main talking points
ahead of the Masters. But there are other
intriguing storylines that could develop.
Here are just five:
CAN AMERICAN BUBBA MAKE IT
THREE OUT OF FOUR?
Augusta National brings out the best in the
volatile but likeable Watson and he won there
in 2012 and last year. A third triumph this year
would make him just the second man alongside
Jack Nicklaus to have won the Masters three
times in four years.
The select band of players who have won
three times also include Arnold Palmer, Tiger
Woods, Sam Snead, Jimmy Demaret, Gary
Player, Nick Faldo and Phil Mickelson.
CAN A EUROPEAN PLAYER WIN
THE MASTERS AGAIN?
No European player has won the Masters
Bubba Watson is the
defending champion
at Masters.
since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999, that victory
bookending a 20-year period of 11 wins for
Europe starting with Seve Ballesteros in 1980.
No one can explain why this has happened at
a time of big successes for European golfers
elsewhere. There are currently six Europeans
in the world top 20 including number one and
two Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson.
WILL WE SEE A FIRST ASIAN
WINNER OF THE MASTERS?
South Korea’s Y E Yang remains the only Asian
player to have won a major title at the 2009
PGA Championship, but it was countryman KJ
Choi who came closest to winning at Augusta
National with three top 10 finishes. Best bet
this year would seem to be Japan’s fast-rising
Hideki Matsuyama, currently ranked 16th in the
world and playing in his fifth Masters.
HOW WILL DUSTIN JOHNSON
PERFORM AFTER TIME OUT?
The big South Carolinian took six months off
from the game last year to deal with unspeci-
fied personal issues but has returned with a
bang this year following the birth of a son with
wife Paulina Gretzky, daughter of the hockey
legend. Johnson promptly won the WGC-Cadillac Championship last month in superb fashion
and he is back up to seventh in the world
rankings. He is yet to win a major title despite
coming close at the PGA Championship and the
British Open.
WILL THE RECORD OF OLDEST PLAYER
TO WIN A MAJOR TITLE BE SMASHED?
Currently that mark stands to Julius Boros who
won the 1968 PGA Champinship at the age
of 48. The record has been under challenge
increasingly in recent years most notably by
the then 59-year-old Tom Watson at the 2009
British Open.
But the general belief is that the Masters is
the likeliest venue for it to happen. Last year
Freddie Couples led a record six 50-and-over
players into the weekend. He stayed in contention deep into the final round before fading
down the back nine.
6
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
GOLF
SPOTLIGHT
Tiger seeks long climb
back after nightmare year
Woods yet to prove his surgically repaired back and knees can still contend over 72 holes at age 39
AFP
Augusta
H
aving endured the worst year of his career, Tiger Woods arrives at Masters
week struggling to recapture the form to
finish 72 holes, much less to add to his 14
major titles.
The former world number one has sunk to 104th
in the rankings, his lowest point since before taking his first PGA title at the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, and played only 47 tournament holes this
year. Forget catching the career record 18 majors
of Jack Nicklaus. Set aside the idea of three more
PGA wins to match Sam Snead’s all-time victory
record of 82. Woods has yet to prove his surgically
repaired back and knees can still contend over 72
holes at age 39.
Woods managed only 11 holes at Torrey Pines in
February before withdrawing with back issues. He
missed the cut in January at Phoenix after a careerworst 82 in the second round. In 10 PGA events
since January of last year, Woods has withdrawn
three times, missed three cuts and one secondary
cut and completed 72 holes only three times, sharing 25th last year at Doral, placing 69th at the 2014
British Open and sharing last at his Hero World
Challenge charity event last December, his third
injury comeback event of 2014.
Back surgery a year ago caused Woods to miss
the Masters for the first time in 20 years. He made
three comebacks in 2014 but had issues with his
back and his game each time, looking less imposing and more irrelevant with every failure.
“I’ve put in a lot of time and work on my game
and I’m making strides, but like I’ve said, I won’t
return to the PGA Tour until my game is tournament ready and I can compete at the highest level,”
Woods said last month after skipping his usual final Masters tuneup at Bay Hill.
“I hope to be ready for the Masters and I will
continue to work hard preparing for Augusta.” If
Woods returns to competition as expected next
Thursday at Augusta National, it will mark his
longest layoff ahead of the Masters since 2010,
when he endured a five-month layoff in the wake
of his infamous sex scandal that included a humbling public apology telecast worldwide.
Few places offer Woods the chance to awaken
the echoes like Augusta National, where he has
won four times and knows the secrets to success
as few others. In 2010, Woods shared fourth in
his comeback. He shared fourth in 2011 and 2013,
adding those to his 13 top-10 finishes at Augusta
National starting with his record-shattering 1997
groundbreaking first major triumph.
Since then, Woods has never played more than
three majors without managing a top-10 finish, a
mark he puts at risk in his next major start. Woods
has not won a major title since the 2008 US Open,
a drought of 20 major starts since with six having
been missed due to injuries, and he has not won
any title since the 2013 World Golf Championships
event at Firestone.
Woods once commanded golf balls to bend to his
will, from powerful long tee shots to amazing creativity and execution of rescue efforts and deadly
accuracy on the putting green. But his injury-ravaged back and surgically repaired knees no longer
respond in the same way as in the glory days.
He would need to become the first player to win
more than three majors after his 39th birthday to
catch Nicklaus. No place better showcases Woods
Tiger Woods made three comebacks in 2014
but had issues with his back and his game
each time, looking less imposing and more
irrelevant with every failure.
than Augusta National, where he became the first
black golfer to win a major title and the first green
jacket winner to put cheeseburgers on the Champions Dinner menu.
For all his magical shotmaking, sports fans were
drawn to Woods for his fist-pumping passion, his
LPGA
Rancho Mirage, California:
World number one LYDIA KO
equalled Annika Sorenstam’s
LPGA record with her 29th
straight under-par round
on Thursday in the ANA
Inspiration. Ko, the 17-year-old
sensation from New Zealand,
scrambled to a one-under-par
71 in the first major championship of the season.
Ko equalled the record set
by Sweden’s Sorenstam in
2004 to finish the day tied for
10th, four off leader Morgan
Pressel, who shot a 67.
“I really wasn’t hitting my
driver well, and here the
rough can get pretty thick,”
said Ko, who had five birdies
and four bogeys.
“When you’re in that
position, a record was the last
thing I was thinking about.”
Ko teed off on the 10th hole
at Rancho Mirage Country
Club’s Dinah Shore tournament course. She was at even
par—with four bogeys and
four birdies—when she found
herself behind the trees to the
left of the seventh fairway.
“It was a pretty nasty place
to be, but I had my driver.
There were two gaps. I said I
hope I at least have one that I
can go through,” she said.
“I said I’m going to try to
hit the biggest hook I could,
and it would have probably
looked really bad, that swing
on camera, but it ended up
being OK.”
She found the green and
two-putted for par, then birdied the eighth to get back in
red numbers. Even when she
left herself a tap-in for birdie
at the eighth, Ko said she
wasn’t thinking about tying
Sorenstam’s record.
“It felt like a long time since
I made a birdie. I was just excited that I hit a good shot in
there. The record really wasn’t
in my head.”
Instead she was just trying
to keep herself in contention
for a first major title—one of
the only accolades missing
from the teenager’s already
stunning resume. Ko played
her first nine in tricky winds
that had calmed down for the
afternoon starters. Despite
trailing the leader by four
strokes Ko sounded far from
discouraged. “We’ve got a lot
of golf left to play,” Ko said.
gusta National as surely as if he had redesigned and
reseeded the layouts himself.
Woods noted last December that “Father Time
is undefeated,” but as he faces the later stages of
his historic career, the world will be watching to
see what sort of fight he delivers.
HOUSTON OPEN
Former champ Pressel
seizes first round lead
AFP
Rancho Mirage, California
Record-equalling Piercy takes lead
AFP
Houston
Scott Piercy lines up a putt on the
ninth hole during the first round of
the Houston Open at the Golf Club of
Houston in Humble, Texas. (AFP)
S
M
organ Pressel seized the first-round
lead at the ANA Inspiration on
Thursday, signalling she isn’t ready
to let Lydia Ko usurp her as golf’s
youngest major champion without a fight.
Pressel fired a bogey-free five-under par 67
to take the first-round lead in golf’s first major
of 2015 -- the newly-renamed tournament that
was formerly known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Pressel was 18 when she lifted the trophy on
the same Dinah Shore Tournament course in
2007 at Mission Hills Country Club. Ko, the
17-year-old New Zealand sensation who in
February became the youngest golfer to reach
number one in the world, is trying to add another
“youngest to-“ achievement to her resume, but
has some work to do after a first-round 71.
With her 29th straight round under par on the
LPGA tour, Ko matched the record set by Swedish great Annika Sorenstam in 2004. But she was
only tied for 10th, four shots off Pressel’s lead
heading into Friday’s second round. Pressel had
a one-shot lead over former world number one
and nine-time LPGA tour winner Ai Miyazato of
Japan, who is still seeking her first major crown.
Seven-time major winner and two-time
champion at this event Juli Inkster headlined a
group of four players tied on three-under 69.
She was joined by France’s Gwladys Nocera,
South Korea’s Ryu So-Yeon and fellow American
Alison Walshe.
determination and an aura of invincibility that delighted a public far beyond golf’s typical fan base.
Woods won by embarrassing margins, taking
full advantage of new technology with a fitness
regimen unseen before in golf. Woods spawned a
lengthening of courses and a “second cut” at Au-
Ko matches
record with
29th straight
under-par
round
Morgan Pressel of
the USA hits a shot on
the 15th hole. (AFP)
It was a further stroke back to South Korea’s
Choi Na-Yeon, England’s Charley Hull and
American Austin Ernst.
Then came Ko, heading a big group on 71. Defending champion Lexi Thompson was a stroke
further back on 72, tied for 26th. Ko had the disadvantage of playing in gusty early winds, while
Pressel played in the afternoon.
“I was watching this morning because it was
on TV, and it looked very challenging out there,”
Pressel said. “This afternoon there was not
much wind at all, a little on the front nine, but
not nearly what it was in the morning.”
Pressel birdied two of her first three holes,
then picked up three more shots coming in.
That included a chip-in birdie at 13 that tied
her for the lead, and she took the outright lead
with a five-foot birdie putt at the last.
“I kept the ball in play most of the day. I was
never really in terrible position,” Pressel said.
“There are a lot of tight tee shots out here, and I
was able to hit it where I wanted to.”
cott Piercy matched a Houston Open
record on Thursday, firing nine birdies
in a nine-under-par 63 for the firstround lead in the US PGA Tour event.
Piercy, looking for a victory that would give
him a berth in next week’s Masters, the first
men’s major of 2015, can only hope his form
holds. “It’s the first round,” said Piercy, who
has struggled to get on track since elbow surgery sidelined him for much of last year. “If
I’m sitting here Sunday, then I’ll be superexcited.”
Piercy’s effort matched the 63s shot on the
Golf Club of Houston Tournament Course by
Australian Adam Scott and Americans Johnson Wagner, Phil Mickelson and Jimmy Walker. He had a two-stroke lead over Germany’s
Alex Cejka and American J B Holmes.
Cejka had eight birdies in his seven-under
round while Holmes eagled the par-four 10th
to go with six birdies and a bogey. Mickelson,
tuning up for a run at a fourth Masters title, headed a group on 66 that also included
Charles Howell, Shawn Stefani and Luke
Guthrie.
Mickelson chipped in for birdie on his first
hole, the par-four 10th, to set the tone for a
round that included seven birdies. Even a
closing bogey at the ninth didn’t diminish his
pleasure in the improvements he’s seen in his
short game thanks to some intensive practice
in the wake of last week’s equal 30th place
finish in the Texas Open.
“I was able to turn that around in a few days
and the game feels pretty good,” said Mick-
elson, who won the Houston title in 2011.
Mickelson’s Houston Open results haven’t
been much of a barometer for his success at
Augusta National.
He finished tied for 27th in 2011 at the Masters and won the Green Jacket in 2010 after
tying for 35th in Houston. Even so, he’d be
happy to go into Augusta playing good golf.
“This is a big week for me,” Mickelson said.
“I felt the game was close last week. The only
thing missing was chipping and short game. If
I can play well this week or continue on playing for the next three days, it should be some
good momentum for next week.”
Mickelson is one of more than 30 players in
the field who are Augusta-bound, and Piercy
would like nothing more than to join them.
He said a marathon practice session earlier this week had helped him solve a swing
problem. “In my 13th hour, something kind of
clicked and I figured it out,” Piercy said.
“On Wednesday I kind of ingrained it, kept
working on it. And today was awesome, it really was.” Piercy had surgery on his right arm
in February of 2014. He was injured for almost
a year before having surgery.
“It’s been two years since I’ve really put a
clubface on a ball like I know how, like I feel
like I should,” said Piercy, who won his two
PGA Tour titles in 2011 and 2012.
7
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
SPORT
NBA
Major League Baseball roundup
Cavs ice Heat,
Wade injures knee
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving scored 23 points
Detroit Tigers right-hander
Justin Verlander is headed to
the disabled list to start the
season because of pain in his
right triceps.
It is the first DL stint for the
32-year-old Verlander in his
10-year career.
Manager Brad Ausmus said
Thursday that Verlander, a
six-time All-Star and winner of
the MVP and Cy Young awards
in 2011, could return to start as
soon as April 12.
Last season, Verlander finished 15-12 with a 4.54 ERA and
159 strikeouts.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer
Bailey will start the season on
the disabled list while he continues his recovery from flexor
tendon surgery in September.
Bailey worked five innings
in a minor league game on
Wednesday and gave up five
earned runs and six hits, but
had no issues with the elbow
and will next pitch in another
minor league game on April 6.
The Reds are hoping for a
return to the club by the middle of April for the 28-year-old
Bailey, who signed a $105 million contract extension in 2014
and posted a 9-5 record with a
3.71 ERA before the injury last
season.
Oakland Athletics outfielder
Coco Crisp could miss 6-8
weeks if he opts for surgery to
remove bone spurs from his
right elbow.
The San Francisco Chronicle
reported the arthroscopic
procedure would also remove
bone chip fragments.
If he is sidelined, the A’s would
be without two starting outfielders to open the season as
Josh Reddick is sidelined with
a strained oblique.
The New York Mets signed
centre fielder Juan Lagares to
a four-year, $23 million contract extension that covers all
arbitration years and includes
a team option for the fifth year.
Lagares, who won a Gold Glove
in centre field for the Mets last
season, hit .281 with four home
runs and 47 RBIs in 2014.
The Boston Red Sox optioned
outfielders Jackie Bradley
Jr. and Rusney Castillo to
Triple-A Pawtucket before an
exhibition game against the
Minnesota Twins.
Bradley opened the 2014
season as Boston’s starting
centre fielder, but the Red Sox
are set in the outfield this year
with Hanley Ramirez in left,
Mookie Betts in center, Shane
Victorino in right and backups
Allen Craig and Daniel Nava.
Castillo, a top Cuban prospect,
signed a $72.5 million contract
with the Red Sox during
the offseason and could be
recalled from the minors relatively quickly.
The New York Yankees
acquired infielder Gregorio
Petit from the Houston Astros
in exchange for cash considerations. The Yankees also
announced that shortstop
Brendan Ryan has a Grade
2 right calf strain that he
suffered while pursuing a
ball hit up the middle during
Wednesday’s exhibition game.
It’s unknown how long Ryan
might be out. Last season with
Houston, Petit batted .278 with
two home runs and nine RBIs
in 37 games.
National Football League roundup
LeBron James (left) of the Cleveland Cavaliers grabs a rebound over Miami Heat’s Hassan Whiteside (centre) during their NBA game in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday. (AFP)
DPA
Los Angeles
T
he Cleveland Cavaliers are tuning
up for the playoffs, while the Miami Heat suffered a blow to their
post-season hopes after losing
star guard Dwyane Wade to a left knee
injury.
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving scored
23 points, and the Cavs rolled the Heat
114-88 Thursday for their 17th consecutive home court win.
Iman Shumpert netted 17 while Tristan
Thompson grabbed 15 rebounds for Cleveland (49-27), which moved 3.5 games ahead
of idle Toronto and Chicago for the No 2
playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
Miami (34-41), meanwhile, dropped
into a tie with idle Boston for the eighth
and final playoff spot in the East with
seven games remaining.
More importantly, the Heat lost their
leader, Wade in the second quarter to a
left knee bruise following a nasty slip on
a drive from the right side.
“I knew I was in trouble on my way
down,” said Wade. “It could have been
worse. I was a little concerned but once
they did the tests on my knee to make
sure all the ligaments were strong and
straightened, it’s a little better.
“The only thing I feel is where my left
knee banged on the floor. That’s the sorest right now.”
Wade will have treatment Friday but
his status is uncertain for Saturday’s road
game against Detroit as well as Sunday’s
at Indiana.
“We’ll just see when Saturday comes,”
said the three-time NBA Champion.
“Hopefully it gets better. If I’m good
enough to go, of course I will.”
Luol Deng and Hassan Whiteside led
Miami with 17 points apiece.
Ahead 34-27 after one, Cleveland
opened a 19-point cushion in the second
period before having it trimmed to 61-50
at halftime.
The Heat pulled within 10 in the third
quarter but could never whittle it down
to single digits. Late in the period, James
converted a three-point play, Matthew
Dellavedova spotted Thompson for an
emphatic alley-oop dunk and J R Smith
buried a 3-pointer.
The Cavs carried a 91-72 cushion into
the final frame and widened it to 26 en
route to the lopsided win for a split of the
four-game season series.
Elsewhere
Golden State Warriors 106, Phoenix
Suns 105: Harrison Barnes hit the goahead layup with four-tenths of a second
remaining, lifting the Warriors to a dramatic win - their 11th straight - over the
visiting Suns. Barnes’ heroics came after
Eric Bledsoe broke free for a layup to put
the Suns on top with 4.5 seconds to play.
It followed Stephen Curry’s wide-open
3-pointer that had the Warriors ahead by
one. Curry finished with 28 points, and
Klay Thompson added 16 for the league-
best Warriors (62-13), who improved
to 35-2 at home. Bledsoe had 18 points,
Markieff Morris and T.J. Warren added
17 apiece for the fading Suns (38-38),
whose fifth straight loss dropped them
4.5 games out of the final playoff spot in
the West with six left.
Houston Rockets 108, Dallas
Mavericks 101: James Harden had
24 points, Jason Terry buried the tiebreaking 3-pointer with just over four
minutes remaining in a 20-7 finishing
kick, rallying the visiting Rockets over
the Mavs. Trevor Ariza scored 19, Josh
Smith had 15 and 12 rebounds while Corey Brewer netted 14 for Houston (5224), which outscored its hosts 31-18 in
the final quarter to move a half-game
ahead of idle Memphis for No 2 seed
in the West behind Golden State. German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki netted
21 points, while Monta Ellis added 19
for Dallas (46-30), which sits 3.5 games
ahead of Oklahoma City for the seventh
playoff spot in the West.
Longtime Chicago Bears
centre Roberto Garza was
released Thursday in the latest
move in a roster makeover by
new general manager Ryan
Pace.
Garza, 36, will be replaced by
Will Montgomery, the former
Denver Broncos centre who
played for current Bears coach
John Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase in 2014.
Montgomery started eight
games for the Broncos last
season following five seasons
with the Washington Redskins.
Fourteen-year veteran Garza
started every game in seven of
his 10 seasons with the Bears.
The Broncos agreed to terms
with defensive lineman
Antonio Smith on a one-year
contract, reuniting him with
the staff that coached him in
Houston.
Smith, 33, was released by the
Oakland Raiders on Tuesday
in a move that saved them $4
million in salary cap space.
The Miami Dolphins signed
linebacker and special teams
player Spencer Paysinger to a
one-year contract and agreed
to a one-year deal with quarterback Josh Freeman.
Former first-round draft pick
Freeman is returning to the
NFL after being out of the
league last season. He last
played in 2013 with the Min-
nesota Vikings, starting one
game before he was benched.
The Minnesota Vikings signed
a pair of veteran combine
participants, quarterback
Mike Kafka and defensive end
Caesar Rayford, and waived
quarterback Pat Devlin.
With Kafka replacing Devlin,
the Vikings still have three
quarterbacks on the roster,
including starter Teddy Bridgewater and backup Shaun Hill.
Kafka spent last season with
Tampa Bay, backing up Josh
McCown and Mike Glennon.
The Oakland Raiders signed
offensive tackle J’Marcus
Webb.
A seventh-round pick by the
Chicago Bears in 2010, Webb
has played 55 games, starting
45, for the Bears (2010-12) and
Minnesota Vikings (2013-14).
Webb signed with the Kansas
City Chiefs last year but
did not make the team and
returned to the Vikings in
November.
The Atlanta Falcons waived
safety Zeke Motta.
Motta was a seventh-round
pick by the Falcons in 2013,
and recorded 16 tackles while
starting one game as a rookie.
He missed last season with a
neck injury that landed him on
the reserve/physically unable
to perform on Aug 25.
NHL
Red Wings waste strong outing, fall to Bruins 3-2
By Helene St James
Detroit Free Press (TNS)
T
he Detroit Red Wings found April to
have a cruel start.
They hosted Atlantic Division rival
Boston Thursday at Joe Louis Arena,
and played better than they have in a month
only to be undone by three straight Bruins goal
that left the Wings with a 3-2 loss and clinging
to third place. Both teams have 93 points but the
Wings have a game in hand on Boston.
“We played a lot better game than last time,
and we’re doing a lot of good things,” captain
Henrik Zetterberg said. “We’re definitely going to feel better than after last game. If we keep
playing like this, we’re going to be fine.”
The Wings fired 37 shots at Tuukka Rask. The
Bruins had just 25 on Petr Mrazek, who had a
solid game blemished when he was beaten twice
within two minutes and change in the third period, after the Wings had built a two-goal lead.
Zach Trotman beat Mrazek short side with 2:08
to go in regulation.
“I would have liked to have the last one back,”
Mrazek said. “It slid off my pants and went in. I
thought I had it.”
Head coach Mike Babcock called it, “a good
hockey game. We had lots of opportunity. We
had probably as good pace as we’ve had in a long
time. Did a lot of good things and in the end Rask
kept us from winning the game. I didn’t think we
backed up or got on our heels at all.
“For me, it’s the best we’ve played in a while.”
Babcock called the third goal unfortunate, but
said he’d likely stick with Mrazek as the starter.
Mrazek was pulled for the extra attacker, but
the Wings didn’t help themselves when they
took a too many men penalty with 48 seconds
remaining. “You have a board and you write it
down and you say this is who’s got who, and they
know what number they got,” Babcock said. “I
guess they got out there for the wrong guy.”
Luke Glendening scored his 12th goal of the
season and Stephen Weiss converted during a
power play.
Pavel Datsyuk missed a second straight
game because of re-aggravating the pain from
a blocked shot in March, but Riley Sheahan did
return after missing three games. Drew Miller
also suited up, extending his streak to 159 consecutive games despite getting struck in the face
by a skate two nights earlier.
Maybe it was the influx of at least one returning player, maybe it was the realisation that they
couldn’t expect Mrazek to steal another point
for them like he did Tuesday, but the Wings
demonstrated they do know how to play from
the first drop of the puck. They dominated from
the opening shift, making life hard on Rask.
They played, in 20 minutes, better than the entire 65 minutes Tuesday against Ottawa, better
than they played throughout much of the 5-8-2
slop-fest that was the month of March.
“We came out right away, something we’ve
minutes later, but it was back at even strength
they finally beat Rask, on their 20th shot. The
puck bounced off the end boards and Glendening pounced, sending it up and over Rask for a
much-deserved lead. Glendening had another
great scoring chance late in the period, courtesy
of Marek Zidlicky, who managed to knock the
puck off a Bruins defender despite being on his
belly, getting back up and then passing the puck
through the legs of another Bruin before finding
Glendening.
Teemu Pulkkinen used Detroit’s fourth power
play to fire a shot that Rask kicked away, and
Justin Abdelkader’s stab at the rebound went
wide. There were six seconds left when Weiss
chipped a puck from paint, but Carl Soderberg
scored two minutes later when he connected
on a rebound that slid beneath Mrazek. He was
beaten again when he strayed too far from his
net, allowing Eriksson to swoop the puck into an
open net to sully what up till then had been such
a good night for the Wings.
RESULTS
Boston Bruins’ Zach Trotman (second from left) celebrates his third period game-winning goal with
teammates Brett Connolly (second from right) and Zdeno Chara (right) during their NHL game
against Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. (AFP)
talked about for a long time,” Niklas Kronwall said.
“But I thought all the way through, our game was
more of the way we want to play the game.”
Mrazek wasn’t nearly as busy as Tuesday, but
among his finer work was denying Loui Eriksson when he swept in and attempted to stuff a
backhand during a power play in the second period. The Wings got their third man advantage
Columbus
Washington
Ottawa
Boston
Florida
St. Louis
NY Rangers
Chicago
Los Angeles
4
5
2
3
6
4
3
3
8
NY Islanders
Montreal
Tampa Bay
Detroit
Carolina
Calgary
Minnesota
Vancouver
Edmonton
3 (SO)
4 (SO)
1 (OT)
2
1
1
2
1
2
8
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
SPORT
SPOTLIGHT
BADMINTON
India ‘considering
bid for Olympics’
The Commonwealth Games held in 2010 were mired in corruption scandals
Saina faces
Xuerui in
Malaysia
Open semis
IANS
Kuala Lumpur
W
orld No.1 Saina
Nehwal set up a
semi-final
clash
with
China’s
reigning Olympic champion
Li Xuerui as she beat Chinese
Sun Yu 21-11, 18-21, 21-17 in the
quarter-finals of the $500,000
Malaysia Open Superseries
Premier at the Putra Stadium
here yesterday.
Olympic bronze medallist
Saina faces a tough task to go
past World No.3 Xuerui, who
battled past compatriot and
former World champion Yihan
Wang 14-21, 21-15, 21-12 in 55
minutes. Saina, 25, trails twotime World Championships silver medallist Xuerui 2-8 in career meetings.
However, Saina was in her element from the beginning in the
match against Sun. She hardly
broke into a sweat before capturing the first game 21-11. After
zooming to a 12-4 lead, it was
easy for the Indian.
But in the second game,
World No.15 Sun showed grit
and fought her way back. She
raced to a 7-1 advantage and
Saina chased the game before
six straight points helped her
equalise at the 14-point mark.
However, Sun kept her calm to
take the second game 21-18.
Saina controlled the third
game from the start. Relying on a
strong array of strokes and sharp
movement inside the court, the
Hyderabadi enjoyed a 11-7 lead
at the break.
Sun fired seven points on the
trot to level the game at 14-all
and even held a 17-16 lead before Saina asserted herself and
grabbed five consecutive points
to snatch the game 21-17.
With this win in an hour and
11 minutes, Saina, who last week
won the India Open, took a 3-1
lead over the 21-year-old Sun in
career meetings.
zIn the other semi-final
reigning
world
champion
Carolina Marin faces former
World No.1 Shixian Wang of
China, who staved off Japanese
Nozomi Okuhara 21-19, 15-21,
22-20 in a marathon encounter that lasted one hour and 51
minutes.
World No.2 Carolina of Spain
dismissed Hong Kong qualifier
Yi Ngan Cheung 21-12, 21-9 in
just 34 minutes.
zIn men’s singles competition, China’s World No.1 Chen
Long beat Japanese Kento Momota 21-16, 21-11. Reigning
world champion Chen will meet
compatriot Wang Zhengming
who beat Xue Song 21-17, 21-9.
World No.2 and European
champion Jan O Jorgensen also
progressed to the semi-finals
after registering a comprehensive 21-9, 21-15 victory over
Hong Kong’s Wei Nan.
China’s
five-time
world
champion Lin Dan overcame
compatriot Tian Houwei 11-21,
21-16, 21-13. Two-time Olympic
champion Dan will meet Danish
Jorgensen in the semi-final.
A file picture from the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in New Delhi.
By Jason Burke
The Guardian
I
ndia may bid for the 2024
Olympics, hoping to host
the event for the first time
in almost seven decades as
an independent nation.
According to local media
reports, the Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi, who won a
landslide victory last year, is
keen to hold the Olympics in the
emerging Asian power. Thomas
Bach, the International Olympic Committee president, will
meet Modi later this month in
Delhi.
The Times of India quoted
an “official source” confirming
that the “government is exploring the possibility of India hosting the Olympics”. However,
the source told the newspaper,
the prime minister had made
it clear that he “does not want
a repeat of the 2010 Commonwealth Games … He wanted to
know the costs, financial implications and other details.”
The Commonwealth Games
held in Delhi five years ago led to
major corruption scandals. The
authorities were criticised when
infrastructure projects were not
completed in time, athletes
complained about their accommodation, and costs soared.
The final costs of the event
has never been accurately determined but may have been up
to $10bn (£6.7bn), according to
some estimates. Many of the
world-class facilities that were
constructed for the Commonwealth Games now lie virtually
unused.
“That was a huge missed opportunity to showcase India to
the world. What we remember
of it is corruption and mismanagement. We’d have to consider
if we can afford the Olympics
and what the legacy might be,”
said Prof Boria Majumdar, a
sports historian.
The Indian Olympic Association was also suspended from
December 2012 for 14 months
for defying the Olympic charter
by electing officials facing corruption charges relating to the
2010 event. The ban was only
lifted in February last year. Indian athletes had competed for
part of the Sochi Winter Games
under the IOC flag.
Majumdar said the huge increase in the number of media
accreditations issued to Indian
journalists for the London Olympics showed how interest in
the Olympics had grown in India in recent years. The south
Asian nation of 1.3 billion people won six medals at the London event, taking 55th place.
The US won 104, China 88 and
the UK 65.
“The Olympic movement
claims to be a global movement
and so has to come to south
Asia sooner or later. Maybe 10
years ago I would have said no,
but I think now mounting a bid
for 2024 would be a distinct
step in the right direction,” he
said.
Brazil will host the 2016 Olympic Games, followed by Tokyo in 2020. Rome, Boston and
Hamburg have already declared
themselves as candidates to
hold the 2024 Olympics. Bids
are also possible from Nairobi,
Casablanca, Doha, Bangkok,
Paris and St Petersburg. The
winner will be announced in
September 2017.
BOXING
FOCUS
Amir Khan announces Algieri as surprise opponent
The Guardian
London
A
mir Khan has ended
speculation over his
next opponent by announcing he will fight
the former light-welterweight
world champion Chris Algieri on
30 May.
The Bolton fighter had come
under increasing pressure to take
on his British rival and IBF welterweight champion, Kell Brook,
in June. However, Khan, who was
also linked with bouts against
Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman, said he was already deep in
negotiations to fight somebody
else.
On his wife’s YouTube channel
Khan announced: “The next opponent will be Chris Algieri. I will
be taking that fight at 147lbs [the
welterweight limit]. He’s from
New York, he’s had 21 fights and
only lost one fight. He’s the same
height as me, 5ft 10in, ranked
No8 in the world. We’re all happy
with the fight so hopefully it can
lead to bigger ones in the future.”
IBF world welterweight champion Kell Brook has criticised
Amir Khan’s decision to fight
India’s Saina Nehwal eyes a return against Yu Sun of China during
their women’s quarter-final match at the 2015 Malaysia Open
badminton championship in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Chris Algieri as the British boxers’ war of words continued
The bout has yet to be rubberstamped but Khan added: “I’m
looking forward to getting this
fight announced officially by my
manager and adviser, Al Haymon.”
Algieri’s only defeat in his
21-fight professional career came
in his last bout against Manny
Pacquiao, who faces Floyd Mayweather Jr in a mega-fight in Las
Vegas on 2 May.
Algieri was knocked down six
times en route to a heavily lopsided points loss in November
last year. Yet Khan believes his
American foe is a credible opponent as he wrested the WBO
light-welterweight title off the
much feared Ruslan Provodnikov
in June 2014.
Khan said: “You can class him
as an A-class opponent. He has
fought decent opponents, beaten
decent opponents, and just fell
short against Manny Pacquiao,
which is an A-star opponent.
“He’s a decent boxer overall.
He knows how to box and knows
how to move well. He takes a decent amount of shots and he’s
got a decent amount of power,
so I think overall it’s going to be a
Algieri’s only defeat in his
21-fight professional career
came in his last bout against
Manny Pacquiao, who faces
Floyd Mayweather Jr in a
mega-fight in Las Vegas on
2 May
good fight for me.”
The 28-year-old hopes to fight
in Algieri’s home city of New
York, with Khan’s only previous outing there an 11th-round
stoppage of Paulie Malignaggi at
Madison Square Garden in May
2010. This time, though, Khan
wants the non-title bout at the
Barclays Center.
“Having that fight in New York
will be good for the UK fans in a
way because it will give them a
chance to travel and it won’t be
as far as going to [Las] Vegas,“ he
said. “This time I’d like to fight at
the Barclays Center, which I’ve
never fought at.”
Khan has made no secret of his
desire to chase lucrative showdowns against Mayweather or
Pacquiao and is confident a win
over Algieri can lead him to that.
“Hopefully this can lead me on
to the bigger fights in the future,
which is what I’m looking at,” he
added.
Pedrosa arm
surgery a success,
Repsol Honda say
Reuters
Madrid
D
ani Pedrosa had successful surgery on a
persistent arm problem yesterday and is
expected to be sidelined for
four to six weeks, the Spaniard’s Repsol Honda team said.
Pedrosa, 29, will miss the
MotoGP in the United States
on April 12 and the race in Argentina a week later while he
recovers from the operation.
Repsol Honda added that
test rider Hiroshi Aoyama will
temporarily take Pedrosa’s
place in the team alongside
world champion Marc Marquez.
After Friday’s operation
in Madrid, Pedrosa will have
regular checkups with surgeon
Angel Villamor in the coming
weeks and then begin a custom
physiotherapy program.
“A recovery time of four to
Pedrosa is suffering from a
problem common among
motorcycle racers. Pressure
builds up in the forearm,
causing intense pain, and
makes riding a bike difficult
when the muscle becomes too
big for the ‘sack’ that it sits in
six weeks is expected, however, his return to racing won’t be
confirmed until Dr. Villamor
can ascertain the success of the
surgery,” Repsol Honda said.
Pedrosa is suffering from a
problem common among motorcycle racers. Pressure builds
up in the forearm, causing intense pain, and makes riding a
bike difficult when the muscle
becomes too big for the ‘sack’
that it sits in.
Pedrosa, whose compatriot
Marquez has won the last two
championships, has not won a
MotoGP race since the Czech
Grand Prix last August and was
sixth in the season-opener in
Qatar last weekend.
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
9
SPORT
MIAMI OPEN / MEN’S DRAW
CRICKET
Djokovic holds
off Ferrer to book
Isner clash
Djoko and Isner posted straight sets wins over Ferrer and Nishikori respectively
AFP
Key Biscayne, Florida
N
ovak Djokovic recovered from a slow start and
had to battle at the end to overcome tenacious
Spaniard David Ferrer on Thursday to reach
the Miami Masters semi-finals.
Serbia’s world number one triumphed 7-5, 7-5 and
advanced to a meeting with big-serving American John
Isner, who overpowered Japan’s world number five Kei
Nishikori 6-4, 6-3.
Djokovic, the defending champion and winner of the
Indian Wells title less than a fortnight ago, came from
two breaks down in the first set as Ferrer celebrated his
33rd birthday with a runaway start.
But Djokovic reeled him in to take the first set and
served for victory leading 5-4 in the second.
Ferrer was having no part of it. He broke Djokovic,
but was broken himself a game later to let Djokovic
again serve for the match.
Djokovic now owns eight straight wins over the
Spaniard, winner of three titles already this season.
“David is one of the toughest opponents, I knew the
match would be physical,” said Djokovic. “He gives you
nothing and makes you work for every point.
“My strategy was to try and dominate from the baseline, but stay alert for chances to come to the net. That
is something I’ve been working.
“It was a tough match, but one that I enjoyed. The
next round will be totally different against Isner, who
has one of the best serves in the game.”
The tense moments against Ferrer followed Djokovic’s great escape against Alexandr Dolgopolov, who
was up a set and a break in his fourth-round loss to the
Serbi.
Isner, whose year has been modest at best, has exploded into form on the hardcourts of Miami, where he
has yet to drop a service game.
He ended the hopes of world number five Nishikori,
Asia’s top player who reached the US Open final last September. It was Isner’s second top-10 win of the tournament, after his upset of sixth-ranked Milos Raonic on
Tuesday.
“Things just snowballed for me,” Isner said, adding
that the hot conditions suited his game perfectly.
He made the most of that firing 13 aces and 33 winners overall. “I just played well,” Isner said. “I’ve been
serving well really for a while now, and I did that again
today. I was taking care of my serve. I was taking my
chances on his serve, and the ball was finding the right
spots for me.”
NO CHANCE FOR NISHIKORI
Nishikori had never faced the monster delivery of Isner and was unable to cope with the power off the big
man’s racquet. Isner delivered his final ace on match
point after 70 minutes. “He played really well today—
everything—I didn’t have any chance,” said Nishikori,
who managed only five winners. “His forehand, his
backhand, he hit some winners from back of the baseline. I couldn’t really stop him today.”
Nishikori reached the Miami semi-finals a year ago
after beating Ferrer and Roger Federer but was unable
to play his scheduled match against Djokovic because
of a groin injury.
“It’s really disappointing to lose today,” he said. “But
I had a good three matches here. I think I’m playing
good again.”
IANS
New Delhi
D
elhi Daredevils’ head
coach Gary Kirsten
said yesterday that he
wanted Yuvraj Singh
(pictured right) in the team
because of his great rapport with
him during his tenure as the Indian cricket team boss. He also
said the flamboyant all-rounder
was motivated more than ever
to perform in the Indian Premier
League (IPL).
“I had a great experience
working with Yuvraj in the Indian team,” Kirsten was quoted
as saying by iplt20.com. “He is
fit as he has ever been. For me, I
really wanted him in this team as
he is from this part of the world.
I don’t think there is a guy more
motivated than Yuvraj.”
On the appointment of South
African Jean Paul Duminy as the
team’s captain, the World Cupwinning former India coach said
that the left-hander has leadership credentials.
“JP is a fantastic human being,” Kirsten said of his compatriot.
“He has already started captaining South African T20 team.
We wanted continuity as he has
played for the franchise and
knows a lot of Indian players. It
was a natural choice. He has got
good leadership credentials.”
Kirsten also admitted he was
up to the task of managing an IPL
side last year when Delhi finished
at the bottom of the eight-team
tournament.
“Yeah, could be. It’s a good observation. I think I was without a
doubt (caught off-guard). I think
I learnt a lot from last year that
IPL is different to international
cricket. It takes a bit of getting
used to for any coach,” Kirsten
said.
“Physically, it’s a demanding
tournament. Last year, we didn’t
have great back-up. But we do
have some good combinations
this year. It’s about getting our
thinking process right.”
FOCUS
Knock against Pak
most important of
my career: Watson
John Isner serves against Kei Nishikori during their Miami Open quarter-final match at Crandon Park Tennis Center in
Key Biscayne, Florida, on Thursday. (AFP)
Williams edges Halep to set Miami
final against Suarez Navarro
AFP
Key Biscayne, Florida
A
Serena Williams serves against Simona Halep during their Miami Open semi-final in
Key Biscayne, Florida, on Thursday. (AFP)
in the final so that’s unbelievable.”
Williams has won all four of her
matches against Suarez Navarro without
dropping a set.
Shane Watson scored an unbeaten 64 against Pakistan in the 2015 ICC
World Cup quarter-final last month.
IANS
Ahmedabad
MIAMI OPEN / WOMEN’S DRAW
frustrated Serena Williams
clawed into her 10th Miami final
on Thursday, defeating Simona
Halep 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
Williams, apparently rattled by the
Halep cheer squad who drowned out
most of the chants for the home hope,
saw her mighty forehand desert her in the
second set, in which Halep converted the
only break point of the set to force a third.
World number one Williams, who captured her 19th Grand Slam title at the
Australian Open this year, regrouped to
seize a 5-2 lead in the third only for the
world number three from Romania to
battle back.
Finally Williams found a way, and she
will bid for an eighth Miami title against
Carla Suarez Navarro.
Spain’s Suarez Navarro earned her
place in the biggest match of her career
with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Germany’s
Andrea Petkovic.
“I was barely able to regroup,” admitted a relieved Williams. “I was making so
many errors and was so frustrated.
“The only thing that was working for
me was coming to the net. I’m just happy
to get through this one.
“Still, it was actually a fun match, I’m
Yuvi very motivated
to perform in IPL:
Delhi coach Kirsten
But she said she’d have to play better to
lift the trophy yet again in Miami.
Williams swept the first set with ease
before Halep, who captured the biggest
title of her career at Indian Wells less than
a fortnight ago, found her own rhythm in
the second.
In the third, Williams overcame her
nerves and flaky forehand to build a 5-2
lead, only for Halep to push the set to
5-all.
However, Williams broke her two
games later to pull off the victory.
“I had to dig deep to stay on the court. I
could only keep trying,” Williams said. “I
never gave up and here I am.”
Saturday’s final will be the biggest career test yet for Suarez Navarro, seeded
12th.
The diminutive Spaniard, who honed her
game in the Canary Islands, came out on
top in a loose match, combining with Germany’s Petkovic for nearly 60 unforced errors in less than 90 minutes on court.
Suarez Navarro, who is now poised to
break into the top 10 in the world rankings, converted three of her 10 break
point opportunities and was never in serious trouble.
“I played a good match, an important
match like this is difficult,” said the winner. “I just tried to play my game and enjoy it.
“Playing this final is an important
event for me. I train in the off season in
hopes of playing a final like this,” added
the Spaniard, whose only WTA title came
in Portugal last year.
A
ustralian all-rounder
Shane Watson has said
that his unbeaten knock
of 64 runs against Pakistan in the World Cup quarterfinal is the “most important
innings” of his One-Day International career as he was plain
“lucky” to survive the hostile
spell from Pakistan pacer Wahab
Riaz.
Watson, who battled poor
form going into the tournament,
ensured Australia’s victory after
being put in a tight spot by Riaz
during a devastating spell of pace
while chasing during the quarter-final.
Australia won the World cup
for the fifth time after beating
New Zealand in the final in Melbourne on March 29.
“I thought about it as loud as
it can get. I had a lot of luck specially to be able to get through
that couple of overs in that spell.
It worked well for me,” Watson,
here to play in the Indian Premier
League (IPL) starting on April 8,
said yesterday.
“It is the most important innings that I have played in ODI
cricket as I said that I had a lot
of luck through that phase because I was able to stay in win the
match for my team.”
Watson has now been a part of
two World Cup teams (2007 and
2015) and said winning the trophy again was like having a second baby.
“Well I don’t have a second
child yet but may be, it’s a feeling
close to that. First time in West
Indies was special but to win it
second time in front of the home
crowd is what dreams are made
of. I feel very lucky to be born at
the right time to play World Cup
at home,” he said.
He was all praise for the team’s
fast bowlers, who performed
exceptionally throughout the
tournament. Left-arm pacer
Mitchell Starc was the highest
wicket-taker of the tournament
with 22 wickets, which made him
the “Player of the Tournament”.
“Incredible. I mean the fast
bowling unit of 2007 was as good
as they got but the way this group
executed the plans is incredible,”
he added.
“Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell
Starc along with Josh Hazlewood complemented each other
very well. We executed our plans
against big teams like India and
Pakistan perfectly.” said Watson.
He was particularly impressed
with Starc.
“Starc has pace and swing. He
has the variations to trouble the
best batsmen in the world during
death overs. He has the ability to
bowl at different phases.
And for someone so young and
able to do that at big stage is a great
thing,” the all-rounder said.
Watson said he is fresh and
raring to play for the Royals and
didn’t need any break after a gruelling 44-day World Cup.
“No, I will be fine. We have
played only 9 games (World Cup)
in 6 weeks whereas we normally
play 9 matches in three weeks.
There has been less pressure on
the body and easy to go,” he concluded.
10
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
CRICKET
SELECTION
SPOTLIGHT
Ajmal in, Akmal out
as Pak pick squad to
tour Bangladesh
Pakistan’s new selection committee, headed by Haroon Rasheed,
warned the squads that discipline would be closely watched
Rohit-led
Mumbai
Indians aim
for second
IPL crown
IANS
Mumbai
M
Saeed Ajmal is back with a remodeled action.
AFP
Lahore
P
akistan recalled star spinner
Saeed Ajmal in all three formats as selectors announced the
squads for the national side’s
Bangladesh tour yesterday, but there was
no place on the plane for under-performing batsman Umar Akmal.
Ajmal has undergone remedial work to
fix his bowling action after it was ruled illegal in September and he was suspended,
forcing him out of last month’s World
Cup.
The 37-year-old had been key to Pakistan’s success in Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20 matches before
his action was reported as suspect during
Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka in August last
year.
Pakistan’s new selection committee,
headed by former batsman Haroon Rasheed, warned the squads that discipline
would be closely watched.
“We have told the players that Pakistan
comes first,” said Rasheed.
“There will be no compromise on discipline and that’s why we have dropped
Umar from all formats and Ahmed Shehzad from two.”
Head coach Waqar Younis had complained about Shehzad and Umar’s lack
of discipline during Pakistan’s World Cup
campaign, which ended in a quarter-final
defeat to hosts and eventual champions
Australia.
Umar managed just 164 runs in seven
Umar Akmal:
dropped for
indiscipline
matches while Shehzad scored 222 in as
many games.
Spinning allrounder Mohamed Hafeez also returns to all three formats after
missing the World Cup with a calf injury.
He too has suffered problems with his
action, which was ruled illegal in Decem-
ber, and faces a re-test on April 9 to try to
get clearance to play.
The one-day squad will be captained
by Azhar Ali, replacing the now retired
Misbah-ul-Haq.
Misbah continues to lead the Test side
while Shahid Afridi, who also retired from
one-day cricket after the World Cup, will
captain the Twenty20 side.
Pakistan will play two Tests, three oneday internationals and a Twenty20 on the
Bangladesh tour, with the first one-dayer
starting on April 17.
Fit-again pacemen Junaid Khan returns
to the Test and Twenty20 squads while
Umar Gul manages a Twenty20 berth.
Also dropped from the World Cup
squad were Younis Khan and opener Nasir Jamshed, who both had disappointing
tournaments, and paceman Mohamed Irfan, who is injured.
Promising youngsters Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Mukhtar Ahmed and Mohamed
Rizwan are included in various sqauds for
the first time.
Squads
Test: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Babar
Azam, Mohamed Hafeez, Sami Aslam,
Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan,
Haris Sohail, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah,
Zulfiqar Babar, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab
Riaz, Junaid Khan, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali
One-day international: Azhar Ali
(captain), Sami Aslam, Sarfraz Ahmed,
Mohamed Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Fawad
Alam, Mohamed Rizwan, Haris Sohail,
Sohaib Maqsood, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir
Shah, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil,
Sohail Khan
Twenty20: Shahid Afridi (captain),
Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed,
Mohamed Hafeez, Mukhtar Ahmed,
Sohaib Maqsood, Haris Sohail, Mohamed
Rizwan, Saeed Ajmal, Saad Nasim, Sohail
Tanveer, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Umar
Gul, Junaid Khan.
umbai Indians, the
most talked about
team in the Indian
Premier
League
(IPL), gear up for the eighth edition of the cash-rich tournament
as one of the favourites to clinch
the title for the second time.
The 2013 champions are all
set to make an impression under
newly-appointed coach Ricky
Ponting, whose aggression and
experience would be a big plus to
the squad.
Last year, led by hard-hitting
Indian opener Rohit Sharma,
the team reached the play-off
stages where they lost to Chennai
Super Kings (CSK) in the eliminator by 7 wickets.
But after the 2015 IPL auctions
the team looks more formidable
even before the start.
Among the notable buys were
Australia’s World Cup-winning
opener Aaron Finch, who was
bought for Rs.3.2crore. The Victorian, part of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL last season, has
played 22 Twenty20 Internationals for Australia and scored
756 runs.
New Zealand’s Mitchell McClenaghan is another crucial
purchase. With his ability to pick
up wickets, the left-arm pacer is
considered a limited overs specialist, who has turned out in 16
Twenty20 Internationals for his
national side claiming 17 wickets.
India’s spinner Pragyan Ojha
bowled with guile during the
team’s triumphant run in 2013.
During his seven-year IPL stint,
the Odisha born has got 89 wickets in 91 matches.
The 2011 and 2013 Champions League T20 winners have
retained bulk of the team they
fielded last year and that allows
for continuity. Leading from the
front will be Rohit, who would be
gunning to better his lacklustre
show last year when he managed
just 390 runs from 15 games.
The advantage the team had
over the years is the pool of talented players, both Indians and
overseas. The presence of Indian
batting great Sachin Tendulkar
till the sixth IPL was a great
boost for the side.
Apart from Rohit, young talent
in the squad includes batsmen
like Aditya Tare, Ambati Rayudu,
Unmukt Chand and not to forget
pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who bowls
with a unique action.
As a player, Rayudu is yet to
convince many experts, but as a
talent his ability has been talked
about in volumes over the years.
The team has showed a lot of
faith in the 29-year-old and
it’s to be seen if he can pay back
rightly.
The experience of seasoned
campaigners Harbhajan Singh,
R. Vinay Kumar, Parthiv Patel
will hugely count in Indian soil.
Among the overseas players who were retained were New
Zealand’s all-rounder Corey An-
derson, World Cup winning Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood,
West Indies big-hitter Keiron
Pollard, South Africa pacer
Marchant de Lange, West Indies
batsman Lendl Simmons, and
last but not the least the highest
wicket taker in IPL history Sri
Lanka’s Lasith Malinga.
Having all-rounders like Anderson and Pollard is always an
advantage for any team, not only
in batting but also because of the
duo’s electric fielding. Pollard,
who didn’t find a place in the
West Indies World Cup squad,
will aim to prove his point and
get his national spot back.
After a fantastic World Cup,
Hazlewood will surely be handy
for the team, considering his
form.
However, the rich pool of foreign talent could pose the problem of plenty for the team, as IPL
rules allow only four overseas
players in the final eleven.
No doubt like every season
Malinga will be the key man
for the 2013 champions. Since
joining the side in 2009, he has
bowled at an economy of 6.53 in
83 matches, claiming 119 wickets. The Sri Lankan is also the
first bowler to complete 100
wickets in the competition.
While they have a strong batting and bowling arsenal, it’s
their athletic fielding under the
watchful eyes of fielding guru
Jonty Rhodes that gives them an
edge.
Mumbai Indians play their
first match against defending
champions Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata on April 8.
The squad:
Indian Players: Rohit Sharma
(captain), Aditya Tare, Ambati
Rayudu, Jaspreet Bumrah,
Pawan Suyal, Shreyas Gopal,
Unmukt Chand, R Vinay Kumar,
Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper),
Akshay Wakhare, Pragyan Ojha,
Nitish Rana, Sidhesh Lad, J Suchith, Hardik Pandya, Abhimanyu
Mithun, Harbhajan Singh.
Foreign Singings: Corey
Anderson (New Zealand), Josh
Hazlewood (Australia), Kieron
Pollard (West Indies), Lasith
Malinga (Sri Lanka), Merchant
de Lange (South Africa), Lendl
Simmons (West Indies), Aaron
Finch (Australia), Mitchell McClenaghan (New Zealand), Aiden
Blizzard (Australia).
BOTTOMLINE
Shakib confident of doing well against Pak
Sri Lanka selectors quit amid
efforts to clean up the game
AFP
Colombo
S
ri Lanka’s cricket selectors, headed by former
skipper Sanath Jayasuriya, quit yesterday to
allow a new management to take
over the island’s cricket governing body, which has been mired
in allegations of widespread corruption.
Jayasuriya, 45, has been
accused of politicising the
game after he became a
member of parliament
Jayasuriya, 45, has been accused of politicising the game
after he became a member of
parliament from president Mahinda Rajapakse’s party following his retirement from the game
in 2009.
The former batsman also
copped criticism for making
four changes to the team at last
month’s World Cup quarter-finals that Sri Lanka lost to South
Africa by nine wickets.
Critics took issue with the
inclusion of new opening batsman Kusal Perera and paceman
Dushmantha Chameera for Sri
Lanka’s defeat in the lopsided
match.
Jayasuriya—a member of Sri
Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-win-
ning team—said he was bowing
out to give the new management
an opportunity to appoint a new
selection panel but did not rule
out a comeback.
“I am always available if Sri
Lanka Cricket needs me to serve
the country in the future,” he
said in his letter of resignation, a
copy of which was seen by AFP.
He said the other four members of the selection panel had
also stepped down, though their
contracts run until the end of the
month.
“We gave separate letters of
resignations and have quit,” Jayasuriya told AFP.
The mass resignation comes
just days after Sports Minister
Navin Dissanayake appointed
an interim committee headed by
former Test player Sidath Wettimuny to manage Sri Lanka
Cricket, asking him to “clean up”
the administration of the sport.
DHAKA, IANS: Bangladesh
all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan
yesterday exuded confidence
about playing well against Pakistan at home later this year.
Pakistan’s tour of Bangladesh
will begin with a three-match
One Day Internationals (ODI)
series on April 17, followed by a
Twenty20 (April 24) and a twomatch Test series beginning
on April 28, reports bdnews24.
com.
Shakib, part of the Indian
Premier League (IPL) franchise
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR),
also said that doing well in
the tournament will help him
gather confidence for the Pakistan series.
“Obviously, I will have the Pakistan tour on my mind. Because
I will play only two matches (in
the IPL). If I do play in the first
two matches and play well, the
confidence will come in handy.”
The southpaw thinks the
wickets will assist Bangladesh
bowlers in the series against
Pakistan.
The ace all-rounder said he
wants to help improve his
team’s ODI rankings since the
next ODI World Cup in 2019 will
be played with 10 teams with
the teams ranked in the top
eight qualifying automatically.
The two other spots will be
filled by a qualifying round.
“This year is very crucial for us.
Winning against bigger teams
will give us more points. And
then we will have chances of
climbing the ranking.”
Gulf Times
Saturday, April 4, 2015
11
CRICKET
SPOTLIGHT
‘I don’t want to accept that
my England career is over’
Nick Compton, still angered by his dropping from the setup, insists he has not given up hope
By Ali Martin
The Guardian
A
s England are drilled
ahead of Monday’s
first warm-up match
in balmy St Kitts, one
of their recent discards will be
knuckling down in the somewhat more brisk climes of county
cricket, hoping a weight of runs
can force his way back in.
Nick Compton, who made
the switch back from Somerset
to Middlesex during the winter, is curious about the future
of English cricket. Following our
discussion the opening batsman
asks whether change is truly on
the cards this summer.
Will the arrival of a new chairman at the England and Wales
Cricket Board in May truly bring
a fresh start for all? Can a player
in his 30s, previously discarded in
the name of “culture”, really return to the fold? Kevin Pietersen’s
name, if you cannot already tell,
had cropped up during the conversation.
Alastair Cook preferred to talk
about wickets and runs before the
three-Test series but still had to
field questions on the batsman’s
wish to return to the fold
Compton cannot help but
wonder whether he too was
dropped for reasons other than
form; that his face simply did not
fit. The 31-year-old, however, is
also conscious of how analysis of
his handling by England, during a
brief six-month spell that ended
two years ago, will be perceived.
He is not a bitter and is happy
to concede that his chance was
possibly taken with “one-and-ahalf hands, not two”. Nine Tests,
two centuries and an average of
31 – it is an honest appraisal of
his own returns. But he can also
take pride in his partnership with
Alastair Cook that boasted the
highest average yield – 57.93 runs
– of any English opening pair in
the past 53 years.
“I feel like I’m in the prime of
my career now and I want to kick
on again,” he says. “In my own
mind I’ve been the most prolific
top-order run-scorer in the last
four or five years in domestic
cricket. I’m not going to give up
hope. I don’t want to accept it.”
But if an England recall is possible, then it would be helpful if
questions over his own disposal
were answered honestly. “It’s like
being dumped by a girlfriend and
you don’t think they have given
you the real reasons. There’s no
closure,” he muses.
Did he feel there was a pressure
to fit in a certain way? “I do,” he
replies. Did he ever think it wasn’t
Nick Compton: hanging on to hope
just runs that saw it end? “Yeah, I
do. But I’ll never get that answer.
You just get the same comment
from selectors: ‘The door is never
closed, keep scoring runs.’ But
then you hear rumours. I thought
I was going well and then suddenly you get dropped and spend
nights in bed lying awake reflecting.”
The right-hander recalls a
nightmare final Test, the second
against New Zealand at Headin-
gley in 2013, in which his dream
of turning out in an Ashes series
that summer ended under the
then head coach Andy Flower.
Scores of one and nine, the latter over a torturous 75 minutes
at the crease when quicker runs
were the order of the day, did him
no favours. But then the full story,
he insists, was not known at the
time.
“I had broken my finger in the
first Test after [the then batting
coach] Graham Gooch hit me in
the nets – no one knew,” Compton explains. “Then I got hit in the
ribs on the morning of the second
Test by [the then limited-overs
coach] Ashley Giles. On the fifth
day I couldn’t move, I couldn’t get
out of bed, I couldn’t breathe in
properly and I definitely couldn’t
throw or dive for the ball. I had a
scan and it came back as a hairline
fracture. So I could not field on
that day. And that’s when Andy
Flower went absolutely berserk.”
It was a second dressing down,
with Compton adding that he had
already been told off by Flower
for practising the pull shot while
fielding in the deep. The senior
bowlers, he was told, did not like
it and that had to be respected.
“He made it clear he wasn’t
happy with me not fielding that
final day and you wonder did that
have an impact? And you want
answers because you want back
in,” he adds. “That said, you can
pontificate all you want but as the
player, the difficult part is that
ultimately you are the one that
loses out.”
It is here where the issue of
culture is discussed. Have England gone too far in putting team
morale before runs and wickets? “I’ve always had the belief
you must pick the best team and
manage it. Every player should be
available,” Compton replies. “You
want winners and if KP has his
pads on, is in form and hungry,
then I would want to be watching.
The game is about bums on seats
and we’re in danger of losing that.
“It would be nice if we could all
move on from the past. I think in
cricket it’s about putting forward
independent thinkers. We need
them in this game. I just hope
we’re not trying to mould everyone into being a certain type of
individual or person. The great
thing about cricket is we are all
different.”
It is at this point that Compton
pulls out his smartphone, upon
which he has saved the famous
quote from former Tottenham
striker Steve Archibald for future
reference: “Team spirit is an illusion glimpsed in the aftermath of
victory.”
“You look back at the best
teams – like the great Australia
side – and it is well-documented there were personal issues,”
Compton adds. “Whether you
like a bloke or not, as long as
you are both working towards
the greater good, I couldn’t care
less. That’s where things need
to be looked at. There are some
very good players out there and
perhaps their faces don’t fit for
whatever reason. That has never
made sense to me. You should
encourage individuals. Sport is
won by good individuals, players
with high skill levels.”
All of this gets Compton no
closer to a recall, of course. And
with Yorkshire’s Adam Lyth and
the returning Jonathan Trott
called up as possible opening
partners for the upcoming series
against West Indies, and Sam
Robson only recently jettisoned
after seven Tests, it already looks
a tough route back. Compton remains grateful to Somerset for
allowing him to attempt this at
Middlesex having agreed his release one season into a three-year
contract.
“I had five brilliant years at
Taunton. But being dropped from
England hit me hard,” he adds.
“Having fallen off the England
cliff and reaching 30, it hit home
that my life in London was important to me. Somerset understood where I was at and were
fantastic in the way they handled
it. My goal now is to earn the respect of my new team. I can’t just
walk in. I have to earn it.”
To do that Compton will revert to the currency he knows
best – county runs, with the aim
of passing 1,000 for a fifth consecutive season. And then who
knows? If the idea of Pietersen
playing for England again can be
countenanced, then truly anything is possible.
BOTTOMLINE
Pietersen’s shadow looms large over England
By Ali Martin
The Guardian
T
hree hours before boarding
their plane for the Caribbean
on Thursday morning, the
England Test captain, Alastair
Cook, and his head coach, Peter
Moores, sang in perfect harmony.
The hatchet over Cook’s removal
from the one-day side before that
abominable World Cup campaign, we
are told, has been removed. Their sole
focus? The three-Test series against
West Indies that begins a week on
Monday. Their main frustration?
Fielding questions about you know
who.
It seems whatever the captain, his
head coach and their team do, the spectre of Kevin Pietersen looms large
over it. Not that Cook or Moores were
particularly evasive. They engaged
with the subject and even accepted its
topicality but they also neatly pointed
upwards to their seniors at the England
and Wales Cricket Board when it came
to responsibility.
Colin Graves, the incoming chairman, Tom Harrison, the chief executive, and Paul Downton, the managing
director, are the guys to ask about Pietersen’s chances of a comeback, they
said. All three men were in attendance,
buzzing around behind the scenes as
besuited players shuffled around the
hotel at Gatwick airport. None were in
front of the microphones, of course.
Pietersen, if you have spent the past
32 days unhooked from the matrix,
wants back in. The 34-year-old batsman saw the door to an England re-
turn – previously bolted top and bottom – creak slightly ajar when Graves
publicly stated that, rightly, he must
play county cricket in order to make
any talk of adding to his 104 Test caps
mean something.
After conversations with Graves over
the phone, Pietersen secured release
from his Indian Premier League commitments with Sunrisers Hyderabad
and now embarks on a run-plundering
mission at Surrey in Division Two in
the hope that a failing England set-up
will hit select-all delete on memories
of his incendiary autobiography and
come calling. If there is a chance, it remains Rizla-thin.
All that matters for Cook and
Moores, they insisted, is the next five
weeks and an opposition described
recently by Graves – who does not officially start his job until 15 May – as
“mediocre”. Those comments have
created something of a stir in the Caribbean, and when a considered and
respected broadcaster such as Tony
Cozier compares them to Tony Greig’s
famous “grovel’ line in 1976, you know
a nerve has been touched. The current
Test captain insists he does not share
the sentiment.
“Anyone who has got to cross over
the line and face 90mph bowling from
the likes of Kemar Roach and play
against some very experienced cricketers will have a different view,” Cook
said. “Certainly in our team, we do. To
win any series away from home takes
a huge amount of skill and effort, so
we’ve just got to focus on that. People
can say what they want but it’s irrelevant to us. We’re there to take wickets
and score runs.”
On that last point, Cook could do
with a few. Ever since his name was
foolishly included in the statement
that announced Pietersen’s separation
from the England team 14 months ago,
the left-hander – who approaches two
years without an international century
– has looked haunted at the crease. The
30-year-old pointed to scores of 95, 70
not out and 79 in the 3-1 win over India
last summer as signs of recovery. They
are, however, scarcely remembered as
vintage.
“The beauty of cricket is what
record you have behind you, what
you’ve achieved in the past, it’s always
irrelevant,” said Cook, who claims he is
fresh again after three months at home
with his young family. “Every time you
bat you start on nought. That’s what
motivates me and nothing will give me
more pleasure on this trip than scoring
runs and leading England.”
Both Cook and Moores had hoped to
talk at greater length about the players inside the squad jostling to make
their XI for the first Test in Antigua on
13 April, rather than the one outside it
who has not faced a red ball since January last year. They did, at times, manage to turn some of the chat in that
direction.
“This is about an England team and
we haven’t mentioned their names,”
Moores said. “Their dreams are being
made on this trip – Adam Lyth being
one, Mark Wood another – and that
they’re not getting airtime is frustrating. There’s Adil Rashid, and Jonathan
Trott has worked hard to get back into
this England team. I understand Kevin
is a huge subject but I don’t think me or
Cooky can be drawn into that.”
Cook said: “We’ve got to focus on
the exciting thing and that’s the next
few weeks, and the guys that are lucky
enough to pull on that shirt, to represent our country, to be committed to
playing for England. I was with Adam
Lyth when he got that phone call from
[national selector] James Whitaker in
Dubai. This tough Yorkshireman was
then in tears talking to his mum. That
is what playing cricket for England
is. And getting that opportunity, to
be standing in the airport in his first
England suit, he’ll remember it forever
now. We’ve got to concentrate on that.”
Both men are right to an extent.
Trott’s comeback from troubled times
is an uplifting story, the idea of an
English leg-spinner in Rashid mouthwatering and if the young fast bowler
Wood is as captivating with the ball
as he is in an interview, England have
a crackerjack cricketer on their hands.
But, as always, it all comes back to
results. To shore up their own positions – and make the number of Pietersen’s runs for Surrey an irrelevance
– Cook and Moores simply need this
series won handsomely.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
SPORT
GULF TIMES
GCC BEACH GAMES
Kuwait duo win gold in
rowing on opening day
‘Our team has been preparing hard and we have entered the competition with great confidence’
By Sports Reporter
Doha
K
uwait won the first gold
medal at the second edition
of the GCC Beach Games
yesterday, with its rowing
team coming out on top in the doubles
event at Katara Beach.
The experienced pair of Mohamed
al-Sabti and Mohamed Burabei finished first in C2x, ahead of UAE and
Bahrain, who bagged silver and bronze
medals respectively.
UAE team consisted of Hamad
Saeed and Hamid Hassan, while Imad
Abdullah Murad Ali and Ashraf Majid
al-Khalifa al-Majid paired for Bahrain. Hosts Qatar’s team of Ahmed
Salim and Abdul Rahman al-Tamimi
had a disappointing outing and finished fourth, ahead of Saudi Arabia. In
today’s 500metre individual competition, Kuwait is once again the favourite to win gold.
The competitors had to battle high
waves and finally it was Kuwaitis who
fared better. Apart from rowing, Katara is also hosing sailing and open
water swimming events.
Hasan Abdulla Mohsin, assistant
secretary general of Qatar Sailing Federation was confident that the hosts
will fare much better in today’s competition. “Our team has been preparing hard and we have entered the competition with great confidence. We did
expect to get gold today and there were
high hopes, but we couldn’t win. But
we must regain our focus and bounce
back strongly,” Mohsin said.
In handball, Qatar beat Oman 2-0
(16-14, 19-18) while Oman beat Bahrain 2-0 (16-10, 13-12) in the opening
matches.
Over 300 athletes from across the
GCC are participating in 13 events
across eight disciplines, with Al Kass
channel broadcasting the excitement
live. Handball, basketball, football
events are being held at Al Gharafa
Beach grounds.
In addition to the athletes, the
GCC Beach Games will see the participation of 70 team officials and 150
technical officials from the six GCC
countries taking part. Aspetar, one of
the world’s leading specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospitals
and the first of its kind in the Middle
East, will provide medical services for
the Games while the prestigious AntiDoping Laboratory Qatar will handle
the drug testing for the event.
The concept of a Beach Games was
created by the Olympic Council of
Asia (OCA) with the staging of the
first-ever Asian Beach Games in Bali,
Indonesia in 2008, and is seen as a
pioneer in bringing new sports to the
sand. The Asian Beach Games have
been held every two years since, with
the most recent edition being hosted
in 2014 in Phuket, Thailand. Its popularity and success led to a resolution
at the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly in November 2014 to launch
a World Beach Games, with the first
event set to take place in 2017.
Qatar Olympic Committee secretary general Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and other officials witness the proceedings of the opening day of the 2nd GCC Beach Games yesterday. (Below) Action from
the handball match between Qatar (in maroon) and Oman. Qatar won the match 2-0 (16-14, 19-18). PICTURES: Mamdouh
Kuwaiti rowers Mohamed al-Sabti and Mohamed Burabei (right) win the C2x competition ahead of their UAE counterparts at Katara yesterday. (Right) First-placed Kuwaiti rowers, second-placed Emirati rowers
Hamad Saeed and Hamid Hassan and third-placed duo from Bahrain Imad Abdullah Murad Ali and Ashraf Majid al-Khalifa al-Majid pose on the podium with Khalid al-Muhanadi, the executive director of the 2nd
GCC Beach Games, and other officials. PICTURES: Jayan Orma
Glittering Prize Giving rounds off Desert Challenge
Agencies
Abu Dhabi
T
Qatar’s Mohamed Abu Issa (centre) receives the winner’s trophy from ATCUAE president Mohamed Ben Sulayem (left) and Yas Marina Circuit CEO Tarek al-Ameri after taking the Desert Challenge
quads crown for the second time in three years.
he 25th Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge came to a climax with a glittering gala dinner and prize giving
ceremony at Yas Marina Circuit.
ATCUAE president Mohamed Ben Sulayem and Yas Marina Circuit CEO Tarek
al-Ameri presented trophies to winners in
all the categories at the conclusion of the
event, which was held under the patronage
of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahyan,
the Ruler’s Representative in the Western
region.
The winners included Russia’s Vladimir
Vasilyev, who captured the cars title for
the second year in a row, and Spain’s Marc
Coma who secured the Desert Challenge
bikes crown for the eighth time.
Two trophies went to UAE competitors,
with Ahmed al-Fahim winning the T3 buggies category and fellow-Emirati Mansour
al-Helei capturing the T2 production class
cars title. Qatar’s Mohamed Abu Issa won
the Desert Challenge quads crown for the
second time in three years.
The Desert Challenge was the second round of this year’s FIA World Cup
for Cross Country Rallies for cars and the
opening round of the FIM Cross Country
Rallies World Championship for bikes.

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