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india india 8 OMANDAILYOBSERVER TUESDAY l DECEMBER 13 l 2016 CYCLONE VARDAH RIPS THROUGH CHENNAI TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION: Uprooted trees, damaged roof sheets were seen in city as most people remained indoors CHENNAI: Cyclone Vardah crossed the Chennai coast and ripped through the city killing ten and leaving a trail of destruction in the form of uprooted trees, damaged roof sheets and more. “The cyclone crossed the coast near Chennai Port Trust. It will weaken into a depression in the coming hours. However there will be rains and winds blowing at 70 kmph,” S Stella, Director, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said. She said the wind speed touched a peak of around 120 kmph when the first part of the powerful cyclone crossed the coast on Monday evening. The cyclone was accompanied by heavy to very heavy rains, which left Chennai drenched. But most people, aware of the nature’s fury, remained indoors, leaving the roads across the city virtually deserted. According to S Balachandran, another Director at the Regional Meteorological Centre, said the western part of the cyclone crossed the coast first and then came the central part. Stella said the Meenambakkam Meteorological Centre recorded a rainfall of 18 cm from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm. The Nungambakkam centre recorded 10 cm of rains. The cyclone felled several trees and claimed 10 lives, the government said. Overhead cables and electricity poles also crashed. Some trees fell collapsed on parked vehicles. Those on two wheelers who A man walks along a street covered with debris and fallen trees in Chennai as Cyclone Vardah approaches the Indian coast. (Inset) Residents walk through the rain in Chennai city. — AFP continued to drive despite warnings fell on the road due to strong winds. At least 260 trees and 37 electricity poles crashed in Chennai, officials said. The intensity of the gales made a severe impact on railway infrastructure, resulting in considerable damage to overhead electrical lines at several locations. This affect train services, said Anupam Sharma, the Divisional Railway Manager. A total of 20 trains were held up in Chennai stations. The government said over 8,000 people were shifted to relief camps set up in Chennai, Kanchipuram, Thiruvallur and Villupuram districts. As a precaution, the electricity board cut power supply to major parts of the city in the morning itself. Mobile phone signals were affected severely due to the cyclone. The railways cancelled suburban rail services and diverted some long distance trains. “As the wind speed is around 50 knots, it is not conducive to operate the flights,” Chennai Airport Director Deepak Shastri said. A total of 25 Chennai bound flights were diverted, nine got delayed and five were cancelled. The incoming flights were diverted to Bengaluru or Coimbatore. Passengers who reached Chennai by trains just before the cyclone hit faced huge problems reaching their destinations due to the fewer number of buses and autorickshaws on the roads. The Met department predicted rainfall over south coastal Andhra Pradesh, north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry over the next 36 hours (till Wednesday). The Tamil Nadu government declared a holiday for all government, government-aided private schools, colleges and other educational institutions in the affected areas. It has told the private sector to allow their workers to avail a holiday or work from home. It is not clear whether the educational institutions will open on Tuesday as several uprooted trees are blocking Chennai roads and need to be cleared. Meanwhile, more than 23,000 people in Tamil Nadu have been moved to relief centres, with plans for tens of thousands more to be evacuated if needed, a senior state official, K Satyagopal, said. More than 10,000 people from two districts in Andhra Pradesh state had also been moved, its disaster management commissioner, M V Seshagiri Babu, said. The NDMA warned fishermen not to venture out to sea for the next 36 hours, and urged residents to stay in safe places. Navy ships and aircraft, as well as 30 diving teams, were on standby to help move people and deliver aid if needed, a navy spokesman said. India’s cyclone season usually runs from April to December, with storms often causing dozens of deaths, evacuations of tens of thousands of people and widespread damage to crops and property. Wind speeds topped 300 km per hour in an Indian “super-cyclone” that killed 10,000 people in 1999, while a cyclone packing speeds of more than 200 kph lashed the east coast in 2013. — IANS Trains delayed, cancelled due to fog NEW DELHI: Thousands of passengers were stranded on Monday, as 90 trains were delayed and 16 cancelled due to dense fog in parts of north India. According to a Northern Railway official, the Lichchvi Express was running 34 hours behind its schedule, the Amritsar New Delhi Express was 30 hours late and the 12401 Islampur-New Delhi Magadh Express was delayed by 25 hours. The official said that 49 trains were rescheduled as the visibility dropped to 400 metres on Monday. The railways has rescheduled New Delhi-Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani Express, People sit around on a foggy morning in Amritsar. — AFP which will now depart at 4.40 am instead of its scheduled time of 5.05 pm. Even the New Delhi- Howrah Rajdhani Express was rescheduled to 10.10 pm instead of its scheduled time of 4.55 pm, while the New Delhi- Sealdah Rajdhani Express has been rescheduled for 9.30 pm. Meanwhile, according to the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which manages operations at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here, no flight was cancelled on Monday, though a few international flights arriving in Delhi were delayed. — IANS Pact signed with Indonesia on sea lanes security and defence President, PM greet nation on Milad-un-Nabi NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted the nation on the occasion of Miladun-Nabi, which is celebrated as the birthday of Prophet Mohammed. “Heartiest greetings and best wishes to all my fellow countrymen in India and abroad on Milad-un-Nabi,” Mukherjee tweeted. “May Holy Prophet’s message inspire us to work towards universal brotherhood, compassion, tolerance and well-being of all,” the President said in a series of tweets. “Let us on this day recall the life and ideals of Hazrat Mohammed Saheb and re-dedicate ourselves to the service of humanity,” he said. Modi tweeted: “Greetings on Milad-un-Nabi. May this occasion deepen the spirit of harmony and unity in our society, and may there always be peace and prosperity.” Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday greeted the nation on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi. Extending her greetings on the occasion, Gandhi said the message of brotherhood and compassion is the guiding light for humanity. India to see 65pc rise in mobile frauds in 2017 NEW DELHI: With the surge in digital transactions via e-wallets and other online payment gateways, mobile frauds are expected to grow to 60-65 per cent in the country by 2017, a leading industry body said on Monday. The joint study by Assocham and research firm EY, titled “Strategic National Measures to Combat Cybercrime”, said a secure cyberspace and the government’s initiatives in keeping tabs on cybercrime have become an important criteria for businesses to establish, operate and flourish in any region. “Mobile frauds are areas of great concern for companies as 40-45 per cent of financial transactions are done via mobile devices and this threat is expected grow to 60-65 per cent,” the study noted. Credit and debit card fraud cases top the chart of cybercrimes and there has been a six-fold increase in such cases over the past three years. “According to the data, about 46 per cent complaints of online banking related to/credit/debit card fraud followed by Facebook-related complaints (39 per cent — mostly morphed pictures/cyber stalking/cyber bullying),” the study said. Other major cyber complaints were cheating through mobile (21 per cent), hacking of e-mail ID (18 per cent), abusive/ offensive/ obscene calls and SMS (12 per cent) and others. Enforcing data security measures and creating proactive security monitoring capabilities are vital for an organisation to maintain a lead over emerging threats and protect their financial, intellectual and customer-related information, the study said. — IANS Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Indonesia Joko Widodo at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that India and Indonesia have agreed to ensure safety and security of the sea lanes while prioritising defence and security cooperation. “My extensive conversation with President Widodo today focused on the full range of our cooperation,” Modi said in a joint press conference with Indonesian President Joko Widodo following delegation-level talks between the two sides. “We agreed to prioritise defence and security cooperation,” he stated. “As two important maritime nations that are also neighbours, we agreed to cooperate to ensure the safety and security of the sea lanes, in disaster response and environmental protection.” Modi said that a joint statement on maritime cooperation signed after Monday’s talks outlined “the agenda of our engagement in this field”. “Our partnership will also extend to combating terrorism, organised crime, drugs and human trafficking,” he stated. Besides the joint statement on maritime cooperation, the two sides also signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on cooperation in the areas of youth and sports, and standardisation. The agreement on maritime cooperation assumes significance as several Southeast Asian nations have problems with China over the South China Sea. In July, an international arbitration tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled that China violated the Philippines’ rights in the South China Sea, one of the busiest commercial shipping routes in the world. The court accused China of interfering with the Philippines’ fishing and petroleum exploration, building artificial islands in the waters and failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone. China reacted angrily, calling the verdict null and void with no binding force and that “China neither accepts it nor recognises it”. But Beijing has since decided to go for bilateral talks with Manila. Indonesia, the largest of the Southeast Asian nations, however, does not have any such issue with China. In Monday’s address to the media, Modi said that Indonesia was one of India’s most valued partners in its Act East Policy. “It is the largest economy in Southeast Asia. And, India is one of the fastest growing large economies in the world,” he stated. The Prime Minister said that he and President Widodo agreed to build a strong economic and development partnership that strengthened the flow of ideas, trade, capital and people between our two countries. “I agreed with President Widodo to encourage Indian companies to work closely with Indonesia in the fields of pharmaceuticals, IT and software, and skill development,” he said. —IANS
analysis OMANDAILYOBSERVER 9 TUESDAY l DECEMBER 13 l 2016 Time to catch them young and nurture them analysis LAKSHMI KOTHANETH lakshmiobserver@gmail.com H e is just 18 years old and he won Red Bull’s title, King of Drift. He just got his driving licence. So where did he get all this energy and skill? And he has been go-karting for many years. Haitham al Hadidi impressed visitors from other countries as well as his home-based fans at the Red Bull Car Park Drift Final 2016 held at Sultan Qaboos Port. Spectators continued to cheer and jump on the stands as he was handed the trophy. Just as we rushed to capture the emotions of winners and the team members, I saw a gentleman come to support Hathim with a little flag and wondered if it was just another fan. There was pride in his eyes. It was soon revealed he is Hathim’s grandfather, Shekhan al Abry. He spoke about his grandson’s interest in cars even as a child and how Hathim’s father and rest of the family nurtured that interest. “I never thought I will see this in my life,” Al Abry said. It was a great moment to be with the grandson, rejoicing and soaking in his success. It left a lot to think about. When a grandfather comes to support a venture, you can imagine the support system for a child. Mentors come in all forms. As a child, one of the best form of support comes from maternal/ paternal grandparents, besides parents. Grandparents can handle shocks better than parents, who are very often in the “midst of impatience”. There are, however, children who do not have any of these support systems and yet excel. One reason, of course, is they have inborn talent and second, the teachers have identified and nurtured the budding talent. Identifying talent is as important as imparting knowledge to students. Equally important is offering opportunities for youngsters to prove and challenge themselves. The Shell Road Safety Awards 2016 was yet another platform that featured young talent. There were students and educationists, proud of their brilliant students, who had gathered at the Road Safety Institute of Royal Oman Police to attend the prize distribution. There were young ones who had painted to convey their message – the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving. There were young researchers and multimedia presentations that were delivered by students. Identifying talent is as important as imparting knowledge to students. Equally important is offering opportunities for youngsters to prove and challenge themselves. There is another important aspect of the whole initiative: the event has created many ambassadors of road safety who would be the right candidates to drive home the message of staying safe on roads. The message of road safety has been conveyed through the media, but nothing is as effective as a young one in the family cautioning elders when he/ she sees someone in the family speaking on the cellphone, or worse, texting while driving. “Making calls or replying to a text message can wait until you are safe to respond,” said Assem al Kharousi, a young school student. Another student on the podium asked, “Who is responsible for the young students being left behind in school buses? What is the role of school bus drivers? How can parents contribute to solving the issue?” “School buses have become a cause of concern vis-a-vis road safety. There are not enough studies about students being left behind in buses, except for one in the UAE. Why are kindergarten students forgotten in school buses?” “There is a need to teach students,” she pointed out. One of the important points that drew everyone’s attention was the photograph of Maryam al Kharousi, a survivor. She cried out for help and pressed the horn. When she didn’t receive any response, she decided to pick her bag and jump through the bus window.” “We need smart schools. Work on cooperation with schools, universities and colleges to invent alarms or sensors,” she suggested. To come to this conclusion, she had conducted research and visited schools to make a presentation while studying the subject. And all this was definitely not part of her school curriculum! Quake hits Aceh education COCO LIU Greece seeks ‘compromise’ in reform standoff G RENEE MALTEZOU AND LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS reece wants to end a standoff with its lenders through ‘honest compromise’, its finance minister said, indicating a willingness to give ground on reform, but he warned that inflexibility on their part could inflame antiestablishment sentiment in Europe. Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said he anticipated a deal could allow the country’s inclusion in an asset-buying programme of the ECB by the spring of 2017, allowing Greece to then test markets with a debt issue later in the year. Greece, which is on its third international bailout since crisis first hit the indebted nation in 2010, is again at odds with lenders on fiscal targets and the scope of reforms required to conclude its latest review on bailout progress. European Union and International Monetary Fund mission chiefs left Athens last month without a deal on key bailout review issues, including labour and energy reforms. Talks are being held over teleconferences until there is enough progress for direct talks to resume, probably this week. “The Greek expression is ‘put water into wine’. It’s not an expression I like, because I wouldn’t like my wine watered down, but you know what I mean, to reach an honest compromise,” Tsakalotos said in an interview. Delays in signing off on the bailout review, he argued, could temper economic recovery, an early return to markets, and further deepen a view — already entrenched with the result of referendums in Britain and Italy — that Europe was out of sync with its citizens and was not solving problems. “I can’t see the logic of returning to uncertainty and delay,” he said adding Greece was meeting its bailout commitments and was ‘constructively engaging’ with creditors. “We don’t go to the institutions with “this is our stance, take it or leave it” we try to respond to their criticisms, when they have objections to the nature of our structural measures, and we are willing to discuss all those issues in good faith.” Euro zone ministers want Greece to maintain a primary fiscal surplus of 3.5 per cent beyond 2018, but have yet to specify Greece, which is on its third international bailout since crisis first hit the indebted nation in 2010, is again at odds with lenders on fiscal targets and the scope of reforms required to conclude its latest review on bailout progress. how long it should keep this up and have also left open the question of longer-term debt relief. Last week, they offered relief on shortterm debt, which will eventually lop about 21 points off the country’s massive debt mountain now standing at just under 180 per cent of GDP, but did not outline any medium- or long-term debt relief measures. Both are important factors for the IMF in weighing up whether it will join the present bailout programme worth up to 86 billion euros. Germany, Europe’s paymaster, wants the IMF on board to add credibility to the programme. A 3.5 per cent surplus retained post-2018, when the bailout programme ends, implies a heavier tax burden and more pension cuts for Greeks, who have been squeezed due to a deep recession. It’s an option ruled out by Greece’s leftist-led government which argues the austerity burden is already crippling for a nation where one in four are unemployed, and many households rely solely on elderly relatives’ pensions to make ends meet. “No government would be able to legislate more measures to be implemented in 2019 and further. There is no economic sense in that and there is no political possibility of them being carried out,” Tsakalotos said. The IMF has said that with the current set of reforms agreed with Athens, Greece will only reach a primary surplus of 1.5 per cent of GDP in 2018 and therefore the euro zone should grant it more relief or Athens should implement deeper cost-cutting. With Greece’s euro zone partners insisting on a 3.5 per cent surplus after 2018, Athens has offered a half-way compromise of attaining a 2.5 per cent surplus. Tsakalotos said his proposal remained on the table, though he said there had been no in-depth discussion of it at the Eurogroup meeting. “The IMF — I’m disappointed with it — the IMF has said on countless occasions that it thinks that in the post-programme period we should not have very high surpluses, that Greece can not have more austerity. “But in all honesty, I didn’t see them giving any fight with the Europeans on reducing the fiscal surplus,” Tsakalotos said. The pressure, he said, seemed to be applied only on Greece, and not those who were stalling on a better deal on debt, an indirect reference to Germany’s reticence. “What we want is an IMF that fights on two fronts,” he said. —Reuters L HEAD OFFICE Tel: 24649444, 24649450, 24649451, 24604563, 24699437 Fax: 24699643 SALALAH OFFICE Tel: 23292633 Fax: 23293909 NIZWA OFFICE Tel: 25411099 P.O. Box 955, P.C. 611 Website: omanobserver.om ast week’s earthquake in Indonesia’s northern province of Aceh damaged dozens of schools, undermining children’s ability to recovery from the trauma of the disaster, aid groups said. Wednesday’s 6.5 magnitude earthquake, which toppled dozens of buildings and killed at least 100 people, was the worst disaster to hit the region since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Among those affected are 30,000 children and young people whose schools are closed as a result of the earthquake, said aid agencies. In Aceh’s Pidie Jaya, one of the hardest-hit districts, the quake damaged nearly a third of schools, with at least seven completely destroyed, according to Yayasan Sayangi Tunas Cilik, a local aid agency. Many residents of the town of 140,000 have been sleeping in shelters and relief workers last week were handing out food, water, and blankets. With students now on their winter break, the destruction might not have an immediate impact on their study, but it undermines their sense of safety, said Ronald Sianipar of Yayasan Sayangi Tunas Cilik. “When school buildings are safe, we know they are the best place for students to be following a disaster like this. It creates a sense of normality and safety and supports children’s emotional recovery,” he said in a statement. “With no schools to go to, there are no places for students to gather together and release their fear,” he said. At least 80 million children living in areas affected by war or natural disasters had their education disrupted last year, according to a report by British charity Theirworld. Schools offer a safe place to learn and play which in turn can help children deal with trauma in the aftermath of a crisis, say experts, but education is often overlooked by aid donors. When children are out of school, they are more vulnerable to falling prey to child labour, trafficking and extremism. Sianipar said his organisation was trying to help by creating play areas in camps where many families are living, and may set up temporary classrooms in tents. Local authorities in Pidie Jaya say they plan to reopen schools in time for the start of the new semester in January. But aid workers say children are still fearful. “Children in Pidie Jaya are afraid of going back to school,” Irsyad Hadi, spokesman in Jakarta for the global child rights organisation Plan International, said by phone. “Many schools are badly damaged. Even though some schools only have minor damage, students and teachers are still concerned. They are afraid of entering buildings.” — Thomson Reuters Foundation ESTABLISHED ON 15 NOVEMBER 1981 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili ADVERTISING AL OMANEYA ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS, P.O. Box 3303, P.C. 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman Tel: SWITCHBOARD: 24649444 DIRECT: 24649430/24649437/24649401 Fax: 24649434 DISTRIBUTION AGENT Al OMANEYA for Distribution & Marketing, P.O. Box 974, P.C. 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Tel: 24649351/24649360 Fax: 24649379 e-mail: editor@omanobserver.om PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising P.O. Box 974, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman subscribe@omanobserver.om 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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Crude at $45 may cut deficit

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