Tag Archives: opinion
Germany’s Thomas Bach elected IOC president
Germany’s Thomas Bach elected IOC president (AP) / 11 September 2013 Thomas Bach was elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday, keeping the powerful sports body in European hands. Bach, a 59-year-old German lawyer, succeeds Jacques Rogge, the Belgian who is stepping down after 12 years as head of the Olympic body. New International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, German Thomas Bach (L), greets outgoing IOC President Jacques Rogge (R) after the announcement of his election during the 125th IOC session on Tuesday. -AFP Bach, the long-time favourite, defeated five rival candidates in the secret balloting. He received 49 votes in the second round to secure a winning majority. Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico finished second with 29 votes. Bach received a standing ovation for nearly a full minute after Rogge opened a sealed envelope to announce his victory. Bach bowed slightly to the delegates to acknowledge the warm response and thanked the members in several different languages. “This is a really overwhelming sign of trust and confidence,” Bach said. A former Olympic fencing gold medalist who heads Germany’s national Olympic committee, Bach becomes the ninth president in the 119-year history of the IOC. He is the eighth European to hold the presidency. Of the IOC’s leaders, all have come from Europe except for Avery Brundage, the American who ran the committee from 1952-72. Bach is also the first gold medal-winning Olympic athlete to become IOC president. He won gold in team fencing for West Germany in 1976. “I know of the great responsibility of an IOC president,” Bach said. “This makes me humble. I want to lead the IOC according to my motto, ‘Unity and Diversity. “I want to be a president for all of you. This means I will do my very best to balance well all the different interests of the stakeholders of the Olympic movement. This is why I want to listen to you and to enter in an ongoing dialogue with all of you. You should know that my door, my ears and my heart are always open for you.” After awarding the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo and bringing wrestling back into the games, the IOC completed the last of its three critical votes — choosing the person for the most powerful job in international sports. Bach’s supporters had hoped for a first-round win, but a second-round victory still showed that he had a big base of support. Carrion, who chairs the IOC’s finance commission and negotiates lucrative US television rights deals, wound up being Bach’s only serious challenger. The votes fell off after that with Ng Ser Miang of Singapore getting six, Denis Oswald of Switzerland five and Sergei Bubka of Ukraine four. C.K. Wu of Taiwan was eliminated in the first round after an initial tie with Ng as low vote-getter. Ng had been considered a strong contender, but his chances were dented after Tokyo’s win because the IOC was unlikely to give Asia two major prizes in a row. Bach has long been viewed as the favourite because of his resume: former Olympic athlete, long-serving member on the policy-making IOC executive board, chairman of the legal commission, head of anti-doping investigations and negotiator of European TV rights. None of the six candidates has made any dramatic proposals for change, promising to continue the line pursued by Rogge, particularly in the fight against doping. The election follows Saturday’s IOC decision to send the 2020 Games to Tokyo and Sunday’s vote to reinstate wrestling for the 2020 and 2024 Games. The presidential vote is what most of the 100-plus IOC members had been focusing on. Much of the pre-election talk among the members has been about the power of Shaikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, the Kuwaiti who heads the Association of National Olympic Committees. The Shaikh was a key backer of Bach. With his influence in Asia and among the national Olympic committees, the Kuwaiti can deliver a large number of votes. He was seen as playing a key role in Tokyo’s victory, even helping Istanbul get to the second round of voting to keep Madrid out of the final. Continue reading
Dubai price cap on fishes in six months
Dubai price cap on fishes in six months Sajila Saseendran / 10 September 2013 Fish sold in Dubai’s fish market in Deira will soon have price caps according to their seasonal availability. The Dubai Fishermen’s Cooperative Association which signed an agreement with the Dubai Municipality on Monday, plans to start displaying the daily price list for each type of fish sold in the market in six months, said the Chairman of the Association Major-General Mohammed Saeed Al Marri. “We will fix the maximum price that traders can ask for and the margin of profit for the parties involved. Customers can try and bargain but the vendors can’t hike the price above what is listed for the day,” he told Khaleej Times after the MoU signing ceremony. The pricing of the fish will keep varying as it will depend on the seasonal availability of the fish stock. “We will not allow anyone to create any artificial scarcity of any type of fish and we will ensure that people and food outlets get seasonal fish at reasonable rates,” said Al Marri. The municipality, which manages the market, had already banned illegal vendors in the market and authorised uniformed and licensed Emiratis to regulate the sale of every day’s catch. Khalid Juma Al Falasy, the general manager of the association, said about 600 tonnes of fish are transported to the market every day with almost 60 per cent of it coming from Oman, Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan. As per the new agreement, the association will manage and control the brokering and auctioning activities in the market by collaborating with the municipality. The municipality will continue its activities with regards to the general management and supervision of the market, maintaining the cleanliness and inspections on fish. The new agreement also seeks to enhance the process of Emiratisation in the market as well as to apply a mechanism to ensure transparency and accuracy in the dealings. “Our aim is to organise the entire activities (of the market) and put it in to a system which enhances the fair (handling) of things. Emiratisation doesn’t mean that other nationalities are out of the circle; all are welcome but through proper channels and system.” Assistant Director-General of the Dubai Municipality Obeid Al-Shamsy said: “We would like to support those who are basically in the profession of fishing and encourage them to continue the same with confidence and zeal.” With the new move, officials said, all kind of information related to the fish items, price and rules and regulations will be clear and available for everybody in a transparent way. The association will have special area for broker activities as well as an office to carry out administrative and accounting activities. It will submit quarterly report to the municipality including details related to the fish stock reaching the market, quantity of imported and exported stuff, daily price rates and the figures of vehicles coming from other countries to transport fish. sajila@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
JLT motorists caught in jam
JLT motorists caught in jam Muaz Shabandri / 10 September 2013 Thousands of motorists were stuck in their cars on Monday morning after traffic came to a standstill in the Jumeirah Lake Towers community. Some motorists spent more than two hours in their cars as traffic backed up from Shaikh Zayed Road leading up to the entire stretch of the road going around the community. The slow-moving traffic at the JLT roundabout in Dubai on Monday. — KT photo by Leslie Pableo Police officers confirmed the incident on Twitter as Dubai Police tweeted, “Broken down vehicle is causing traffic congestion at JLT.” Rush hour traffic continued late on Tuesday evening also as motorists complained similar traffic snarls in the same area. Some motorists complained that a major roundabout in the middle of the development was closed and traffic from three different roads was being rerouted to one exit. “It usually takes me seven minutes to reach office from my house in Emirates Hills. On Monday, it took more than two-and-a-half hours and it was absolutely chaotic. There were no signs explaining which roads were closed,” said Manjari Khatwani who works for an international media company in JLT. Most motorists in the area were unaware as limited traffic signs and new road diversions added to traffic problems. Offices in JLT were severely affected as the so-called ‘planned road closure’ had choked access to buildings in the area. Security staff working in the area were seen directing traffic towards an exit leading to Shaikh Zayed Road as teams from civic authorities also rushed to the site. Rami Salame works for an advertising agency in the area. He called on authorities to plan better and help avoid such situations. “There can’t be three or four roads leading to one exit. Someone has to take responsibility for better planning and build more access and exit points in the area,” he said. JLT’s master developer, Dubai Multi-Commodities Center, was tight-lipped about the traffic crisis. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) also did not reply to questions by Khaleej Times . muaz@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
