MAY 23, AH - Oman Observer · 2020-05-22 · paring for Eid Al Fitr although visiting friends are...

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020 RAMADHAN 29, 1441 AH

ESTABLISHED IN 1981 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI VOL. 39 NO. 191 | PAGES 16

OMAN DAILY

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@omanobserver

HIS MAJESTY CONDOLENCES TO PAKISTANMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik sent a cable of condolences to President Dr Arif Alawi of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on the victims of a plane crash near Karachi Airport.

His Majesty expressed his sincere condolences and sympathy to the President, the families of the victims and the friendly people of Pakistan, praying to Almighty Allah to grant the victims’ families patience and solace. — ONA

HIS MAJESTY GREETED BY DIGNITARIES ON EID AL FITR MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik received a cable of greetings from His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs, on the occasion of Eid al Fitr. His Majesty the Sultan also received a cable of greetings from Lt Gen Sultan bin Mohammad al Numani, Minister of the Royal Office, on this occasion.

“With the advent of the coming of Eid al Fitr, it is my honour to greet Your Majesty on behalf of myself and all the security apparatus on this occasion,” he said.

Lt Gen Hassan bin Mohsen al Shraiqi, Inspector General of Police and Customs, also sent a cable of greetings to His Majesty the Sultan, on the occasion of Eid al Fitr. — ONA

MUSCAT: The Ministry of Health on Friday announced 424 new con-firmed cases with COVID-19, out of which 191 are Omanis and 233 expatri-ates. This brings the total number of cases in the Sultanate to 6,794. The number of patients in hos-pitals stand at 122, includ-ing 32 in intensive care, the ministry said on Thursday.

Of the total cases on Friday, 284 were from Muscat, 65 from North Al Batinah, 24 from Al Dhakiliyah and 18 from South Al Batinah.

It also coincided with the week that saw 13 deaths as it may be noted the first COVID-19 death was reported on April 4.

May 18 and May 20 saw three deaths with the victims aging between 34 and 70 years. The min-

istry on Friday announced the death of two residents, one of them is 57 years old and the other is 60 years old, bringing the number of deaths in the Sultanate to 34.

“More deaths among residents are due to the delay in approaching health institutions, and most of the deaths take place in the ICU as many

patients are late in seeking healthcare, and also due to chronic symptoms and delay in reaching the hos-

pital,” the ministry said.Meanwhile, Oman has the

lowest number of cases at 6,974 among the GCC states, pos-

sibly because of the number of tests, but Bahrain with 8,369 cases

has the least deaths among the GCC states with only 12.

May 18 aaannnnnnnnndddddddddddd MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy 2222222222000000000 sssssssssssaaaaaaww thhreeS T A F F R E P O R T E R

424 NEW CASES AS DEATHSTOUCH 34

SULTANATE REPORTS

2 SATURDAY MAY 23, 2020 www.omanobserver.om

MUSCAT: Eid is a joyous occasion where everyone likes to wear and look their best. But this Eid the shops have been closed but online has not been busy with flight disrup-tions. So something new to wear on Eid is not a reality this year.

“It has been not much of an issue,” said one inter-viewee adding, “I have not been thinking about it because there has been so much of the work.”

The rush for mussar and caps will not be seen and children may not be able to visit many family mem-bers to collect their Eidiya.

“We are preparing for Eid as usual, no visiting. Kids are already cleaning their rooms and the house in general, we have also been preparing sweets.

We had ordered halwa online and it will be deliv-ered. The preparations Shua and Arsiya are all being set. But there have been no new clothes we have discussed about it with the kids. The kids said it is an opportunity to

experience the feeling of not having new clothes. Yes, there is no beauty parlour this year, so we have decided to let it be natural,” said Mariyam Khalfan.

“Instead of visiting, we are going to settle for duo calls and the children have decided for the Eid greetings it will be a family portrait wishing everyone Eid Mubarak,” Mariyam added.

Meanwhile Zakiya al Hussaini said, “We do not need beauty parlours for Eid celebration but henna

is important. However, henna is often applied by someone in the family or friends.”

So even if there are obstacles families are filled with excitement pre-paring for Eid Al Fitr although visiting friends are not an option.

Eid holidays prior to the pandemic would have seen families taking short trips to various picnic spots in Oman but at present that would be vio-lation of the measures taken by the Supreme Committee to stem impact

of Covid _19 in Oman.The Public prosecution

has had 110 cases from the end of March 2020 violating various decisions of the Supreme Committee.

According to the Public Prosecution, “Failure to close down tourism sites, stores, clubs, health and fitness gyms in addition to barber shops and beauty salons are to remain closed. Violators shall be subject to an administra-tive fine of RO 3000. In case of repeated offence, the fine shall be doubled.”

SOMETHING NEW, NOT

A REALITY

TRADITION

L A K S H M I K O T H A N E T H

www.omanobserver.om SATURDAY MAY 23, 2020 3

L CKD WN

R A S H A A L R A I S I

R A S H A

WHERE ARE YOU GOING, BABA?YOU CAN’T GO OUT!

When the lock-down was d e c l a r e d here on the 18th of

March, the hardest task that we faced was forcing Dad to stay home. Now how would you convince a man who’s almost 80 — and rarely caught a cold at a younger age — that there was a pandemic with flu-like symptoms?

Being a science teacher, Mom took upon herself lec-turing him every morning about coronavirus that “hits the lungs of the eld-erly and kills them instant-ly”. Dad would cast her his iconic doubtful looks — who is she calling an old man anyway? — and mumbles: “Maybe!”.

Ten minutes after the lec-ture, he would pick his car keys and head to the petrol pump to get his daily essen-tials: bread and magazines. Although Dad watched dif-ferent news channels to stay updated with the glo-bal COVID-19 situation, he found it hard to believe that whatever was happening

around the world was hap-pening here too concur-rently.

After a week of this cycle (Mom lecturing and Dad not paying attention), I decided to intervene as the dutiful daughter by simply hiding his car keys (and later feigning innocence). This didn’t stop him of course. Part of my daily task changed into keeping an eye on him as he kept sneaking out to the nearby supermarket when every-one was busy.

Fat Mansoor and I would watch him from the balco-ny crossing the yard and heading to the main gate before I shout: “Where are you going, Baba?”. Dad would be startled for a sec-ond before muttering that he was just checking if the gate is closed properly (even Mansoor found that hard to believe).

Dad’s effort to escape the house didn’t stop at that. He started calling his broth-ers and nephews asking them to pick him up for their weekly family gather-ing that had stopped. I

would hear him exclaiming on the phone: “What coro-na! Why would we catch corona when we know each other very well?”.

It amazed him to see my brother working from home and almost surren-dered to the fact when the newspapers stopped com-ing to our house. By now he was getting restless from staying home all day and decided to give escaping it a last try. And what time would be better than when I’m away at the vet’s? Walking back into the house one day, I heard the booming tune of the BBC’s news theme playing in Dad’s room. There was no way that he would stand it unless he’d turned deaf while I was away. I went to check and he was nowhere to be seen.

Dad’s clever maneuver had even tricked my mom and brother into believing that he was watching the news. The question was: where was he? I called him on his mobile and after the second call he picked up to inform me that he’d stopped

at the government office opposite of us to “say hello!”. Luckily, the office was closed the very next day.

Understanding how bored he must feel, I decid-ed to change his routine by taking him for short daily walks around the neigh-bourhood. It took him a while to get used to wear-ing the mask and keeping a safe distance from others (and most importantly not removing the mask when greeting them!).

At his age Dad finds it hard to understand or cope with the forced isolation. He doesn’t like the quiet expat neighbours who’d smiled politely at him when he tries chatting with them: “Why is your dog sniffing the ground? No food at home?”. Getting no answer from them, we continue our walk silently until sun-set.

Eid Mubarak folks!

The author is a certified skills trainer and the author of: The World

According to Bahja. [email protected]


SOCIETY

KEEPING THE FAITH: COMMUNITY FINDS WAYS TO OFFER CONNECTION, COMFORT

Wales is a dis-tinctive part of the United Kingdom,

with its own character, culture and way of life.

A small nation of just over 3 million people, the majority of the population are Christian, though Islam is the second most common religion with around 50,000 Muslims calling Wales home.

Most live in the south of country, with many Muslims originally coming to Cardiff, the capital, in the mid-nineteenth centu-ry during the city’s hey-day as the largest coal exporting port in the world.

Despite Islam being a minority religion in Wales, the country is open and has a proud history of multiculturalism. Each Ramadan, many mosques open their doors and eve-ryone is welcome to come

and break their fast, including non-Muslims. Large outdoor community Iftars are also common,

including an annual event on the lawns of Cardiff’s City Hall, where the First Minister of Wales gives an

address.This year, Wales has

been under lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, so annual celebrations have had to change. Mosques remain closed, and people are unable to visit family or friends, dis-rupting traditional prac-tices of Tarawih and Iftar.

However, the community is resilient and adapting in the face of change, with prayers and lectures being live streamed, giv-ing families the opportu-nity to pray together, stay connected and observe Ramadhan. Virtual Iftars have also become popu-lar, allowing people to come together with oth-ers from outside their household to break their fast.

While the lockdown has disrupted these tradition-al celebrations, it hasn’t taken away the communi-ty’s ability to give and help others.

While the lockdown has disrupted the traditional celebrations, it hasn’t taken away the community’s ability to give and help others


COVID-19

MUSCAT: India’s budget airline, IndiGo, will operate 97 reparation flights to Kerala from the Middle East, including Oman. The repatriation flights will include 10 from Muscat, 28 from Doha, 23 from Kuwait, and 36 flights from Saudi to Kerala.

The flights will be operat-ed between Kerala and Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. IndiGo has been granted nearly half of the total 180 repatriation flights allotted to private airlines.”

According to the Indian embassy sources, priority is given to medical emer-gency cases, pregnant

women, workers in dis-tress, senior citizens as well as to other Indian nationals who are stranded in diffi-cult situations.

The cost of tickets will

have to be borne by the passengers themselves and air tickets will be issued by the airline to shortlisted persons.

All passengers are

required to confirm accept-ance of all conditions of travel, including quaran-tine requirements in India as well as health require-ments to board the flight.

REPATRIATION OF INDIANS: INDIGO TO OPERATE 10 FLIGHTS TO KERALA

STAFF REPORTER

Expats vow to donate plasma after recovery

MUSCAT: Once proved COVID-19 positive, and successfully completed 14-days of isolation, seven expatriates in the Sultanate have vowed to donate their blood plas-ma to support the nation-al blood and plasma donation drive, as a token of gratitude to the State which took care of them during the time of ‘uncer-tainty’.

Those who listened to the calls for blood and plasma donation are Noushad Mahe, Rashid Ponnani, Mansoor, Raheem Thalassery, Rasheed CP, Rahees Edakkad and Naser Kasargod who are work-ing and running perfume shops in Muttrah, the focal point of COVID-19.

“How can we better express our deep grati-tude to the nation that gave us everything in life, made us sail through life and settled us and our families, and finally, took care of us when we fell sick with coronavirus”, says Naushad Mahe.

These young men from the south Indian state of Kerala and elsewhere were moved by the way they were given treat-ment, careful attention by paramedical staff and doctors on call through their nearly two-week long isolation period in a hotel.

“We were given food and shelter by some good Samaritans and medical teams from the Ministry of Health who were moni-toring our progress and motivating to come back to life. Actually, one

shouldn’t be afraid of the fever and cough but bold enough to face it and con-quer it, adds Naushad.

They heeded to the renewed calls of the Ministry of Health’s Department of Blood Banks Services at the Directorate General of Specialised Medical Care which urged all COVID-19 recoveries to donate immune plasma after it was proven to be effective

as a supportive treatment for some cases in addi-tion to increasing demand for the blood plasma due to the increase in the number of patients in hospitals.

“We have requested all COVID-19 recoveries to donate immune plasma given the increasing demand for blood plasma as a result of the increase in corona virus cases, the Department appeals to all those who have recov-ered from COVID-19 to donate plasma to help patients in need for immune plasma”, said Dr Zainab Salim al Fana al Araimi (pictured), Director of Blood Banks Services Department

Those who wish to donate blood plasma can either WhatsApp their willingness on 94555648 or by calling 24591255.

KABEER YOUSUF


It’s not just a month in Hijri calendar that is passing, but 30 nights and days we got closer to Almighty Allah, divine

moments that we sought for forgiveness from the Supreme Power, breathes that we took reciting the holy Quran and we extended our hands and con-trol our tongues and above all, a month of immense divinity is passing by, according to Shaikh Ismail Menk, Mufti of Zimbabwe.

“As we draw close to the end of the holy month, believers should have to retrospect of what he or she has been offer-ing and it should reflect on their deeds, prayers, supplica-tions, and dig deeper in to the blessings of the holy month, he told the Observer.

As the holy month is about to bid adieu to the believers for this year, and as the last and final phase of Ramadhan is stepping down from our lives, believers are looking forward to welcoming the ‘best out of the bests’’ prayer times and draw themselves closer to Allah Almighty.

“When the holy month is winding up we are not sure if we all will be lucky enough to see another holy month next year in our lives, one should make the most of the interper-sonal skills, soft skills and val-ues that we learnt from the month”, Hatim Abdissalam, a religious scholar said.

“We all need to make use of the soft skills such as an atti-tude to goodness, charity, speaking no evil and seeing or doing no evil, growing positivity within and reaping positivity from others, helping others, being kind and generous and doing all for pleasing Almighty Allah throughout the rest of the year. We should imagine

ourselves as a slave on duty and work without taking a break to make the most of the holy month”, he adds.

The third 10 nights of the holy month during which the ‘Night of Power’, or ‘Qiyamul Lail’ is bestowed with and it is the same night the holy Quran descended to the earth for the mankind. The holy Quran says about this night as a night bet-ter than a thousand nights and believers are well aware of the power in the Night of Majesty.

They recommend to make a long Qiyaam prayer during the last nights of the holy month on which Laylat ul-Qadr could fall. Abu Hurayrah (radhiallahu ‘anhu) narrated that the Messenger (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Whoever stands (in qiyaam) in Laylat ul-Qadr [and it is facil-itated for him] out of faith and expectation (of Allah’s reward), will have all of his previous sins forgiven.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim; the addition “and it is facilitated for him” is recorded by Ahmad from the report of ‘Ubaadah bin as-Samit; it means that he is permitted to be among the sincere worship-pers during that blessed night.]

The Prophet (s.a.w) would stay up at night, wake his family and tie his lower garment tight. He would strive hard in worship during the last ten nights of Ramadhan as he did not do at other times. Whoever spends the night of Laylat al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, will be forgiven his previous sins. It simply indi-cates that believers need to, during the course of the next ten days, to make the most in ibadah, good deeds, reciting Qur’an, dhikr, making dua, Qiyamul-lail among others; as the benefits are in multiple folds.

K A B E E R Y O U S U F

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said that were a second wave of the novel coronavirus to hit the nation, he would not attempt to shut it down again.

“We are going to put out the fires, we’re not going to close the country, we’re going to put out the fire,” Trump said referring to a second wave.

“Whether it’s an ember or it’s a flame we’re going to put it out,” he added during a tour of an

auto manufac-turing plant in the mid western state of Michi-gan.

The statement comes as all 50 US states have eased lockdown restrictions to some extent, with Republi-can-led states largely pushing for quicker re-openings and

Democratic-led ones taking a more cautious approach.

Public health officials have warned that easing lockdown measures too quickly could lead to a second wave of the virus in the fall and winter.

Concerns are rising among public health officials that there will not be the political or public will to reinstate lockdown meas-ures if needed.

Despite Trump’s statements, the economic shutdowns that shuttered most of the country were implemented by state and local authorities, who would be responsible for reapplying lock-down orders.

While touring the Michigan auto plant, Trump refused to wear a facemask in public, de-spite the state’s attorney general calling on the president to don a mask in compliance public health orders. — dpa


WORLD

NEW DELHI/DHAKA: Authorities in eastern India and Bangladesh were on Friday strug-gling to restore road links, communication lines, water and elec-tricity after a devastat-ing cyclone in which at least 98 people were killed.

Cyclone Amphan made landfall on Wednesday accom-panied by high-speed winds and torren-tial rain. It destroyed homes and crops, uprooted trees, sub-merged vast tracts of land and snapped pow-er, water supply and communication lines in both India and Bangla-desh.

So far at least 98 deaths have been re-ported: 83 from West Bengal and Odisha states in India and 15 from Bangladesh, ac-cording to disaster management officials.

Most of the deaths were caused by trees

falling on thatched houses, the collapse of parts of buildings due to the impact of the winds and rain, and electrocu-tion, officials said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out aerial surveys of the devastation in Odi-sha and in West Bengal, which bore the brunt of the cyclone in India.

He announced an advance of Rs 10 billion ($132 million) for imme-diate relief work in West Bengal and compensa-tion of Rs 200,000 for

the families of each of the dead and Rs 50,000 for those injured.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee estimated the damage caused by the cyclone to be around Rs 1 trillion. She said 6.4 million people had been affected in West Bengal.

Disaster management teams, local adminis-trations, police and fire departments were en-gaged in relief and res-toration efforts in the state.

Thousands of trees which blocked roads, including in Kolkata, one of India’s larg-est cities, were being cleared, water pumped out and electricity and drinking water lines gradually restored.

The clean-up opera-tions are complicated by the new coronavi-rus with millions now housed in emergency shelters after their homes were destroyed.

— dpa

DEATH TOLL NEARS 100 AS INDIA, BANGLADESH

CLEAN UP AFTER CYCLONE

No shut down if second virus wave hits: Trump

98 DEATHS HAVE BEEN

REPORTED: 83 FROM WEST BENGAL AND ODISHA STATES IN

INDIA AND 15 FROM BANGLADESH


WORLDPakistan plane with 98 on board crashes on homesKARACHI: A Pakistani plane with nearly 100 people on board crashed into a resi-dential area in the south-ern city of Karachi on Friday, killing several peo-ple on the ground.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane was close to landing when it came down among houses, sparking an explosion and sending plumes of smoke into the air that could be seen from some distance away.

Rescue workers and local residents pulled people from the debris, as firefight-ers tried to extinguish the flames. An AFP reporter witnessed charred bodies being loaded into ambu-lances.

Seemin Jamali, a director from Jinnah Post Graduate Medical College in the city, said eight dead and 15 injured people had been brought to the facility.

“They were all from the ground, no (plane) passen-gers have been brought here,” she said.

Residents near the scene said their walls shook before a big explosion erupt-

ed as the plane slammed into their neighbourhood.

“I was coming from the mosque when I saw the plane tilting on one side. The engines’ sounds were quite weird. It was so low that the walls of my house were trembling,” said 14-year-old witness Hassan.

Karachi resident Mudassar Ali said he “heard a big bang and woke up to people calling for the fire

brigade”. PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said there were 91 passengers and seven crew on board the flight, which lost contact with air traffic control just after 2.30 pm (0930 GMT).

Interior Minister Ijaz Ahmad Shah said the plane had developed a technical fault and that the pilot had said the craft had lost an engine and issued a may-day call.

The disaster comes as Pakistanis across the coun-try are preparing to cele-brate the end of Ramadhan and the beginning of Eid al Fitr, with many travelling back to their homes in cit-ies and villages.

Abdul Sattar Khokhar, a spokesman for the coun-try’s aviation authority, said the Airbus A320 was travel-ling from Lahore to Karachi.

— AFP

PARIS: France, Germany and eight other European nations said on Friday they “regret” US President Donald Trump’s decision to exit an international mil-itary surveillance treaty over alleged noncompli-ance by Russia.

Trump said on Thursday that Moscow was not fully adhering to the Open Skies pact, which lets its nearly three-dozen signatory nations carry out short-notice flights over anoth-er’s territory to monitor potential military opera-tions.

The accord was designed

to increase transparency and raise confidence between world powers, and advocates say Washington’s exit could pose a security threat for Europe.

“We regret the announce-ment by the United States of its plan to pull out of the Open Skies treaty, even though we share the con-cerns about how the accord is being carried out by the Russian Federation,” the countries said in a joint statement issued by France’s foreign ministry.

“This treaty remains functional and useful.”

The US accuses Russia of blocking flights from over certain sites and of not allowing surveys of military exercises, which are nor-mally allowed under Open Skies.

Nato ambassadors are meeting Friday to discuss the US withdrawal, due to take effect in six months’ time.

Friday’s statement was signed by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Sweden.

“The Open Skies treaty is a crucial element in the

framework for reinforcing trust that has been created in the past decades, aimed at increasing transparen-cy and security for the euro-Atlantic zone,” it said.

The European nations said they would work to resolve “outstanding ques-tions” with Moscow, includ-ing “unjustified restric-tions” imposed on flights over Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania.

“We continue to urge Russia to lift these restric-tions and pursue the dia-logue with all parties” to the treaty, they said. — AFP

EU nations ‘regret’ US pullout from surveillance treaty


ANALYSISSurge in vivid virus-inspired dreams

Not long after the corona-virus pan-demic dra-m a t i c a l l y

changed San Diegans’ daily lives in March, it started taking over their nights, as well.

Local residents — like millions of others around the world — have been having fre-quent, vivid and often disturbing dreams inspired by their anxie-ties about Covid-19. Type the phrase #covid-dreams or #coro-nadreams into Twitter and you’ll see thousands of posts by celebrities, athletes, health care workers and everyday folks sharing their strange and puzzling p a n d e m i c - f u e l e d dreams.

Estela Bobadilla, a San Diego psychotherapist who specialises in dream analysis, said she noticed an immedi-ate uptick in patients reporting coronavirus-related dreams after the stay-at-home orders began two months ago.

To respond to the sud-den need, she set aside Sunday appointments just for first responders and offers free appoint-ments to people who have lost their jobs dur-ing the pandemic.

A longtime marriage and family therapist, Bobadilla is a union, or Jungian, analyst who believes that people’s dreams deliver mes-

sages and symbols from the unconscious mind. In times of great upheav-al like wars or pandem-ics, people suppress their anxieties in order to carry on with their daily lives. But those thoughts rest like seeds in the unconscious mind where they “grow like little plants, always seeking the light” in dreams.

“Usually I tell people to think of their dreams as their unconscious knocking on your door. If you don’t pay atten-tion, they’ll knock a little louder. Then they’ll bang on the door because

they need your atten-tion,” Bobadilla said.

One couple who are first responders came to Bobadilla for coun-seling after they both experienced dreams about their child being in danger. They had sent their child to live with family during quaran-tine to avoid the chance of infection and their fears were showing up in their dreams. — dpa

After COVID-19 first appeared in China late last year, doc-tors quickly real-ised what made some patients

more vulnerable to the virus than others: age, gender and underlying health problems all played a part.

Now, as the pandemic kills hundreds across the world each day, experts say evidence is mounting that other socioe-conomic factors — specifically connected to race and income — influence who become sick and who dies.

Officials in Europe and the US have insisted that COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate. But the figures suggest otherwise.

A slew of recent studies have highlighted how people from minority backgrounds in Britain and the United States — two of the hardest hit nations — are

disproportionately more likely to die from COVID-19 than their white counterparts.

Research printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association this month found that COVID-19 mortality was “substantially higher” among black and Latino patients than in white patients.

In Chicago, the rate of infec-tion was 925 per 100,000 black people compared with 389 among white people.

Age-adjusted black mortality in New York City was more than twice as high as white, a trend backed up by another study carried out by Britain’s Inst

That found that black Britons were 2.5 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than their white compatriots.

In addition, several studies suggest that deprivation is a key determinant in COVID-19 cases. — AFP

Coronavirus, race and income: how the virus discriminates

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this page are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the opinion of the Observer.

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Type the phrase #coviddreams or

#coronadreams into Twitter and you’ll see thousands of posts by

celebrities, athletes, health care workers and everyday folks

sharing their strange and puzzling

pandemic-fueled dreams

Experts say evidence is mounting that other determining factors — specifically race and income — play a key role in how the virus chooses its victims. — AFP

P A M K R A G E N

Pandemic prioritises local production of pharma, foodMUSCAT: Oman and mem-ber states of the GCC bloc are expected to see an uptick in the localisation of food and pharmaceutical manufacturing activities — one of several learnings from the COVID-19 pandem-ic which had thrown global supply chains into disarray and imperilled the smooth flow of essential commodi-ties into the import-depend-ent Gulf region.

Local production of criti-cal goods is one of several potential opportunities emerging from the crisis that Oman, among other GCC states, must look to capitalise on in order to be better equipped for future upheavals of this nature, according to a key official of the Sultanate’s logistics industry

Omar Mahmood al Mahrizi (pictured), CEO — Sohar Freezone and Deputy CEO — Sohar Port, made the comments while taking part in a webinar on Thursday, organised by leading Hong Kong based events man-agement firm Transport Events. Fellow panellists included Shaikh Al Abdullah al Sabah, Director General — Kuwait Ports Authority, and Gagan Seksari, Director — Global Investments, Red Sea Gateway Terminal, Saudi Arabia.

Speaking on the theme, ‘Current Challenges and Future Opportunities for Ports and Terminals in the Middle East,’ Al Mahrizi said: “With the Gulf states import-ing around 70 per cent of their food requirements, (sourcing supplies) became a huge challenge when sup-

ply chains were under dis-ruption; India was under lockdown, and so were trucking movements. We had to resort to direct importing in the circum-stances; it was a harsh les-son for us in the region. Hopefully we shall see more investment in these critical sectors,” he stated.

Al Mahrizi also listed opportunities emerging from the anticipated de-

risking of supply chains, with countries expected to give greater emphasis to port centric logistics, direct importing, and intermodal options. Digitalisation and paperless transactions are also expected to speed up trade facilitation, while port authorities themselves will step in to contribute to sup-ply chain transparency by improving integration and information sharing via

technology, he noted.But he acknowledged

challenges ahead for the port and maritime industry from the pandemic as well as the economic downturn unleashed by low oil prices. Import and export volumes are expected to slump as a result of the slowdown across the Gulf region. Economic uncertainty is also likely to delay new investment decisions over the short term, while fund-ing of new industrial projects could become more expensive, thus delay-ing new expansions, he said.

The grim outlook comes as Sohar Port and Freezone reported continued steady growth in 2019, attracting 3,144 vessels calls and gen-erating 62 million tonnes in total throughput volumes during the year. Sohar Freezone, which currently has over 200 tenants and investors, saw an uptick in warehousing capacity, which was put to good use during the pandemic, he added.

C O N R A D P R A B H U


BUSINESS

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES:

Sohar Port and Freezone reported continued steady growth in 2019, attracting 3,144 vessels calls and

generating 62 million tonnes in total

throughput volumes during the year

MUSCAT: Oman’s Ministry of Finance has stressed that it is committed to meeting the government’s payment obli-gations to power generation and water desalination com-panies operating in the Sultanate whose output is covered by purchase agree-ments signed under the pro-visions of the Sector Law.

The Ministry assertion, which came in a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA) on Friday, is in apparent response to disclosures filed by a number of listed power and water companies notify-ing shareholders of a deci-sion by Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), the state-run monop-oly offtaker of power and water, to temporarily with-hold payment of certain investment and fuel charges payable to the producers.

The ministry statement ref-erenced efforts by OPWP to

reach an understanding with the companies with regard to the withheld payments, as well as to review the expan-sion plans of the sector based on demand trends.

Those discussions, it said, were part of efforts to improve the efficiency of bill collection and reducing production costs with a view to mitigat-ing the subsidy burden on the government, without preju-dice to the government’s obli-gations to the parties con-cerned.

B U S I N E S S R E P O R T E R

BUSINESSwww.omanobserver.om SATURDAY MAY 23, 2020 11

FINANCE MINISTRY COMMITS TO SETTLING POWER SECTOR DUES

Dilemmas posed by COVID-19 pandemic

The number of infections from the coro-navirus pan-demic is close

to five million people glo-bally, while the number of deaths has exceeded 315,000 since the epi-demic appeared in China in December 2019. Today, COVID- 19 has spread in 196 countries and re-gions, according to World Health Organisation WHO) data.

The pandemic takes a massive toll in the form of dead and sick people, un-employment, corporate bankruptcies, slump-ing global oil prices and a worsening economic recession. These issues constitute a challenge to global leaders, includ-ing US President Donald Trump, who is focusing his attention, with an eye on the November elec-tions, on those perceived to be hostile to his poli-cies. Not surprisingly, China, Iran with the World Health Organization have received great criticism from his end on a daily basis, while the US has threatened to cut off all financial support for the WHO in its belief that it stands with China on this crisis.

Today, America is the country most af-fected by this epidem-ic, with infections close to 1.5 million cases, and deaths surpassing the 90,000-marke. This virus has paralyzed the move-ment of people and the commercial and econom-ic movement of many ad-vanced industrial coun-tries alongside America. Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Can-ada have each witnessed thousands of cases and deaths, as have other countries in Asia. In Eu-

rope, infections have ex-ceeded 1.9 million cas-es, and the disease has spread to Latin American and Caribbean countrie, along with many Middle Eastern countries. The Gulf Cooperation Council countries witness numer-ous infections and deaths daily, despite the precau-tionary measures tak-en in this regard. Africa has reported over 2,700 deaths and more than 85,000 cases, according to WHO data, which con-firms that the disease is now spreading from the north to the south.

The WHO reaffirms the need for countries to im-plement social distanc-ing measures to limit the spread of the virus, among other preventive steps. At the same time, we believe that the dis-ruption of commercial and economic interests and activities leads to the spread of more unem-ployment, the accumu-lation of debts to institu-tions, the loss of business by young people and the difficulty in finding a live-lihood. Everyone today is living in a confused state, especially those who make political deci-sions about what must be done to satisfy the mass-es and provide them with healthcare, livelihoods and welfare support at the same time.

It is impossible to do business as a result of precautionary meas-ures, the decision to keep people in their homes without income impacts their means to a liveli-hood. Between these two imperatives, life goes on and leaves behind many deaths, hospitalisations and economic problems, with little sign of hope in the absence of a vaccine to fight this disease.

HAIDER AL [email protected]

The ministry statement referenced efforts by

OPWP to reach an understanding with the companies with regard

to the withheld payments, as well as to review the expansion

plans of the sector based on demand trends


Oil drops on China-US tensions, demand doubtsLONDON: Oil fell 5 per cent on Friday towards $34 a barrel as tensions rose between the United States and China, and doubts grew about the pace of demand recovery from the corona-virus crisis.

China is set to impose new national security legislation on Hong Kong, prompting a warning from US President Donald Trump. Beijing also failed to set an economic growth target as the pan-demic hammers the world’s second-largest economy.

Brent crude LCOc1 dropped $1.57, or 4.4 per cent, to $34.49 a barrel at 1005 GMT, after falling as low as $33.54. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 declined by $1.88, or 5.5 per cent, to $32.04.

“Investors are once again having to contend with an intensifying war of words between the US and China,” said Stephen Brennock of broker PVM. “The corona-virus has nullified a decade of global oil demand growth and the recovery will be slow.”

Oil has slumped in 2020, with Brent hitting a 21-year low below $16 in April and US crude falling below zero. With fuel use rising and supply cuts starting, Brent has since more than dou-bled and was on track for a fourth weekly gain.

“The oil market is not out of the woods yet,” said Eugen Weinberg of Commerzbank.

“We regard the latest price rally on the oil market to be excessive.”

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, are reducing supply by a record 9.7 mil-lion barrels per day from May 1 to support the mar-ket.

Export figures suggest

OPEC+ made a strong start. In a sign of the glut easing, US crude inventories fell last week. Gasoline demand is rising and some airlines are planning for a return of European travel.

Traders will be keeping an eye on US demand for the Memorial Day weekend, a time when fuel use usually rises. — Reuters

LONDON: Gold gained on Friday as an escalation in US-China tensions under-pinned bullion’s safe-haven appeal, although positive economic indica-tors after some countries eased lockdowns set up the precious metal for a weekly drop.

After declining 1.4 per cent on Thursday, spot gold rose 0.5 per cent at $1,734.27 per ounce by 0747 GMT. US gold futures climbed 0.9 per cent to $1,737.

Bullion had rallied to its highest since October 2012 on Monday, but has since lost ground and is now heading for a 0.4 per cent weekly decline.

“The fundamentals are

still supportive for gold. But, there was a slight improvement in the manu-facturing activity in Europe and the US, the PMI data last night was slightly bet-ter,” said Avtar Sandu, a senior commodities man-

ager at Phillip Futures.The euro zone economy’s

contraction eased in May, the Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) survey showed. Germany’s private sector recession also improved on loosening of lockdown

curbs.However, US-China fric-

tions dampened risk appe-tite, supporting bullion and offsetting pressure on the metal’s prices from the slightly better data.

Asian shares fell after Beijing’s plan to impose new national security leg-islation on Hong Kong drew a warning from US President Donald Trump. Adding to uncertainties, China dropped its annual growth target for the first time.

Gold has held ground above the key $1,700 per ounce level, building impe-tus to reach its 2011 peak in the coming quarters, Fitch Solutions said in a note. — Reuters

BUSINESS

Gold regains footing as major power tensions flare

BUSINESS

BEIJING: China dropped its annual growth target for the first time on Friday and pledged more government spending as the COVID-19 pandemic ham-mers the world’s second-big-gest economy, setting a sombre tone to this year’s meeting of parliament.

The omission from Premier Li Keqiang’s work report marks the first time China has not set a target for gross domestic product (GDP) since the govern-ment began publishing such goals in 1990.

The economy shrank 6.8 per cent in the first quarter, the first contraction in decades, hit by the outbreak of the new corona-virus, which started in the cen-tral Chinese city of Wuhan.

“We have not set a specific tar-get for economic growth for the year, mainly because the global epidemic situation and econom-ic and trade situation are very uncertain, and China’s develop-ment is facing some unpredict-able factors,” Li said at the start of parliament.

Domestic consumption, invest-ment and exports are falling, and the pressure on employ-ment is rising significantly, while financial risks are mounting, he warned.

China has set a target to cre-ate over 9 million urban jobs this year, according to Li’s

report, down from a goal of at least 11 million in 2019 and the lowest since 2013.

Ahead of the National People’s Congress, the week-long meet-ing of the largely rubber-stamp parliament, China’s top leaders have promised to boost stimu-lus to bolster the economy amid rising worries job losses could threaten social stability.

China is targeting a 2020 budg-et deficit of at least 3.6 per cent of GDP, above last year’s 2.8 per cent, and fixed the quota on local-government special bond issuance at 3.75 trillion yuan ($527 billion), up from 2.15 tril-lion yuan, according to Li.

The government will issue 1 trillion yuan in special treasury bonds this year, the first such issuance. It will transfer 2 tril-lion yuan raised from the bigger 2020 budget deficit and special anti-coronavirus treasury bonds to local governments, Li said.

Local government bonds could be used to fund infrastructure projects, while special treasury bonds could be used to support firms and regions hit by the out-break.

The fiscal stimulus in Li’s report is equivalent to about 4.1 per cent of China’s GDP, accord-ing to Reuters calculations based on the fiscal measures announced. — Reuters

PARIS: Renault could disappear if it does not get help very soon to cope with the fallout from the coronavirus crisis, France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday, while adding the carmaker also needed to adapt to the situation.

Le Maire told Europe 1 radio that Renault’s French plant in Flins must not close and that the company should be able to keep as many jobs as possible in France, but should also remain com-petitive.

“Yes, Renault could disappear,” said Le Maire. He added Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard was working hard on a new strategy plan, and had the support of the French government.

Le Maire also told Le Figaro newspa-per he had not yet signed off on a 5 bil-lion euros ($5.5 billion) loan for Renault, and that discussions were continuing.

Renault shares were down 2.9 per cent in early trade, underperforming a 1.5 per cent fall on France’s benchmark CAC-40 equity index.

The government has consistently said French carmakers must bring more production back to France in exchange for government support for the strug-gling industry, and that it wants compa-nies such as Renault to develop “green-er” cars with low levels of pollution.

Renault is partner in a broader alli-ance with Japanese companies Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, and the alliance is due to announce a revamped strate-gy on May 27. — Reuters

Renault could disappear and must adapt


CHINA DROPS GDP GOAL, VOWS SPENDING

The government has consistently said French

carmakers must bring more production back to France in

exchange for government support for the struggling

industry

CINCINNATI, US: FC Cincinnati hired former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam as its head coach on Thursday, although the Major League Soccer team bungled the online announcement.

The club sent out a tweet welcoming Stam, but the accompanying photo was of Ajax youth coach Tinus van Teunenbroek.

After catching heat across cyberspace, FC Cincinnati deleted the faulty post and tweeted a photo of the real Stam with the playful caption, “ICYMI: Join us in welcoming our actual new head coach, Jaap Stam. #FCCincy”

According to Yahoo

Sports, the photo snafu originated with photo serv-ice Getty Images misidenti-fying a 2013 photo of van Teunenbroek as being Stam. FC Cincinnati used that photo with its original tweet.

Stam, 47, becomes the fourth person to coach FC Cincinnati in its second year of MLS play. Alan Koch remained on the job when the team moved from the United Soccer League to MLS, but he was fired last May after the team opened 2-7-2. Yoann Damet took over as the interim coach, then

was replaced by Ron Jans in August, and the team completed a 6-22-6 year.

Jans resigned in February as the team was conducting an investiga-

tion into whether he used a racial slur.

Damet again became the interim coach, and he led the team to two

losses before the MLS season was

suspended in mid-March due to the corona-virus pandemic.

Stam most recently was the head coach of Feyenoord in the Netherlands last year, but he did not complete a full

season before resigning in October. He previously coached Ajax’s reserve team and PEC Zwolle, both in his native Netherlands, and Reading in England’s second division.

In his playing career, Stam was a center back whose most notable teams were the Netherlands’ PSV Eindhoven (1996-98), England’s Manchester United (1998-2001), Italy’s Lazio (2001-04), Italy’s AC Milan (2004-06) and Ajax (2006-07). He also made 67 appearances for the Dutch national team from 1996-2004, participating in the side that finished fourth at the 1998 World Cup in France. — Reuters


SPORTSMELBOURNE: Tokyo Games organisers face “real problems” staging the Olympics next year as coro-navirus infections contin-ue to soar, senior interna-tional Olympic official John Coates said.

Coates, Australia’s Olympic chief and head of the International Olympic Committee’s inspectorate for Tokyo, said organisers had to assume there would be no vaccine for COVID-19, or none in sufficient quan-tity, in time for the Games.

“We’ve got real problems because we’ve got athletes having to come from 206 different nations,” Coates told a roundtable held by Australia’s News Corp.

“Yesterday, there was 10,000 new cases in Brazil. Very few countries are as

advanced in coping with this as (Australia). “(Japanese) Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe says Games can only happen in 2021.

We can’t postpone it again and we have to assume that there won’t be a vac-cine or, if there is a vaccine, it won’t be sufficient to share around the world.”

In March, the IOC and Japanese government took the unprecedented deci-sion to delay the Games, which had been due to start in July, for a year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

COVID-19 has infected more than five million peo-ple and killed about 334,000 people around the world, with countries like Brazil and the United States struggling with thousands of new cases every day.

Coates said Games organ-isers would need to start planning in October for what could be a “very dif-ferent” Olympics if there were no signs COVID-19 was being eradicated.

“By October this year, if there are signs that it is being contained but not eradicated, then we are starting to work through — and we’re preparing for it now — the different scenar-ios by which the sport could take place,” he said.— AFP

FC CINCINNATI BOTCH ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW COACH STAM

COATES SAYS TOKYO

GAMES FACES REAL PROBLEMS

DUE TO COVID-19

WE’VE GOT REAL

PROBLEMS BECAUSE

WE’VE GOT ATHLETES

HAVING TO COME

FROM 206 DIFFERENT

NATIONS

JOHN COATESSENIOR IOC OFFICIAL


SPORTS

JOHANNESBURG: The divi-sions in South African crick-et were exposed again when Cricket South Africa (CSA) president Chris Nenzani said Graeme Smith’s call for Sourav Ganguly to become International Cricket Council chairman did not have offi-cial approval.

“We must respect both the ICC protocol and our own protocol in deciding which candidate to back,” Nenzani, a controversial figure who has stayed in office despite several calls for his resigna-tion, said on Thursday night.

“There have been no candi-dates nominated as yet and once such nominations have been made the Board of CSA will take its decision in terms of its own protocol.”

Smith, CSA’s director of cricket, said at a press con-ference on Thursday that he believed India’s Ganguly, a fellow former Test captain, was the best man to succeed another Indian Shashank Manohar, whose term as ICC chairman is about to expire.

“We have the highest

regard for the opinions of our director of cricket, Graeme Smith, who is a well-respected figure in world cricket and has already made an immense contri-bution in fulfilling his man-date to make our cricket teams world leaders again,” said Nenzani. “At the moment we don’t want to anticipate any candidates who may be nominated for this impor-tant position to lead the game we all love.”

The administration of

cricket in South Africa has been in turmoil since the constitution of CSA was changed at the annual meet-ing last September to allow Nenzani an extra year in office after he had already served the maximum two three-year terms.

The extension was osten-sibly to guide the organisa-tion through a new system headed by then-chief execu-tive Thabang Moroe.

But Moroe proved a divi-sive figure and was sus-

pended in December on charges of misconduct. Before his suspension he had alienated the country’s players’ association and created a storm when he withdrew the accreditation of five journalists who had been critical of him.

A major sponsor ended its relationship with CSA and another sponsor called for the resignation of the board, headed by Nenzani. This call was echoed by the players’ association. Two of CSA’s five independent directors and one non-independent director resigned.

Jacques Faul, chief execu-tive of the successful Titans franchise, was appointed as interim chief executive and Smith took the director of cricket role after initially expressing misgivings.

Since then Faul and Smith have effectively taken charge of running the game in the country, while the board have largely remained in the background – until Nenzani’s statement on Thursday night. — AFP

CSA REFUSESTO BACK SMITH’S

SUPPORT OF GANGULY

FROOME RELISHESNEW CHALLENGE IN VIRTUAL CYCLING RACE


SPORTS

PARIS: Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome said he was relishing a new test as he headlines ‘The Challenge of Stars’ virtual cycling race against an Italian backdrop this weekend.

The Giro d’Italia, the first Grand Tour of the season, originally set for May 9-31, has been pushed back until October.

But 16 riders -- eight sprinters and eight climbers -- will partici-pate in a knockout tournament in two categories on the BKOOL cycling simulation platform.

“At a time like this when we are unable to race it’s great to be able to use technology to put on an event like The Challenge of Stars

and bring entertainment to the cycling fans,” said former Giro d’Italia winner Froome.

Sprinters will race over 1.2km in the virtual Tuscan countryside on Saturday, with climbers including

Froome and fellow multiple Grand Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali of Italy tackling a 2.9km ascent up a simulated Stelvio on Sunday.

Team Ineos rider Froome will ride against France’s Warren Barguil of Team Arkea Samsic in the head-to-head format, with Nibali taking on CCC Team’s Simon Geschke of Germany.

Challengers also include Germany’s Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Denmark’s Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team)and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), France’s Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea-Samsic) and Australia’s Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal). — AFP

AT A TIME LIKE THIS WHEN WE ARE UNABLE TO RACE IT’S GREAT TO BE ABLE TO USE TECHNOLOGY TO PUT ON AN EVENT LIKE THE CHALLENGE OF STARS AND BRING ENTERTAINMENT TO THE CYCLING FANS

CHRIS FROOMEFORMER GIRO’D ITALIA WINNER

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