MANILA, July 17:Millions of people in the Philippines endured a second sweltering day without power today after a ferocious typhoon paralysed the capital and tore down flimsy rural homes, claiming at least 38 lives.
Authorities expressed frustration as reports from badly damaged areas filtered in and the death toll from Typhoon Rammasun, the first major storm of the Southeast Asian archipelago’s rainy season, was nearly doubled to 38.
“We still have to find out what exactly are the reasons a lot of our countrymen refuse to heed the warnings,” National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chief Alexander Pama told reporters.
As part of a “zero casualty” effort, the government evacuated nearly 400,000 people from the path of Rammasun and warned others to stay indoors.
But many of the people who died were outdoors, killed by falling trees, collapsing buildings and flying debris, according to the council’s data.
Pama said the death toll could rise further, with mobile phone and other forms of communication still cut to some rural areas. He said at least eight people remained missing.
Rammasun, a Thai word for “Thunder God”, swept in off the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday night, then brought wind gusts of up to 160 kilometres an hour across land to Manila and other heavily populated northern regions.
“It really scrambled whole towns, blowing down houses and toppling power lines,” the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, Richard Gordon, told AFP.
The typhoon cut electricity supplies to nearly all of Manila, a megacity of more than 12 million people, and surrounding urban areas.
Schools and government offices were closed throughout the capital, hundreds of flights suspended and the stock exchange closed.
The stock exchange and government offices re-opened today, but many schools remained closed partly because of the power problems.
The Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the country’s largest power distributor which serves the capital and surrounding areas, said 1.9 million households still did not have power yesterday.
With the temperature in Manila expected to hit 30 degrees Celsius and the air thick with tropical moisture, Meralco could not give any estimate to frustrated residents when power would be restored. (AGENCIES)
Typhoon power woes in Philippines as death toll hits 38
Paswan seeks ban on onion exports before allowing imports
NEW DELHI, July 17: Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has suggested to the Commerce Ministry to first impose a ban on onion exports before allowing imports from other countries to boost domestic supply and check prices.
Pawan has suggested this in a letter written to Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman when the Food Ministry’s views were sought on importing one lakh tonnes of onions, officials in the know said.
In the letter, Paswan said that onion exports have come down marginally due to the imposition of MEP by the government last month. But onion in small quantities are still being exported and this needed to be curbed first before allowing imports from other countries.
Last month, the minimum export price (MEP) on onion was re-introduced at USD 300 per tonne barely three months after the previous government in March had abolished it. MEP was again raised to USD 500 per tonne early this month to curb exports.
MEP is the rate below which no exports are allowed.
Onion prices have been rising due to speculation amid anticipation of below normal monsoon despite sufficient supplies in the country.
The wholesale price of onion at Lasalgoan in Maharashtra — Asia’s largest onion market — have risen by over 50 per cent to Rs 20.15 per kg today, from Rs 13.25 per kg on the same day last month.
Retail prices of the bulb have almost doubled to Rs 30-40 per kg in the national capital since May.
Onion production is estimated to have risen to 192 lakh tonnes during 2013-14 crop year (July-June), from 168 lakh tonne in 2012-13. Exports meanwhile fell to 13.58 lakh tonnes last fiscal from 18.22 lakh tonnes in 2012-13.
The domestic demand during the lean period from June to November is met through stored rabi (winter) and fresh kharif (summer) produce. (PTI)
Few civilians who venture out into their fields return after Pakistan firing in Arnia sector on Thursday. —Excelsior/Rakesh
Few civilians who venture out into their fields return after Pakistan firing in Arnia sector on Thursday. —Excelsior/Rakesh
Emergencies Ministry members work at the site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region on Thursday. (UNI)
Emergencies Ministry members work at the site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region on Thursday. (UNI)
Cops chase away protesters in Srinagar on Thursday. —Excelsior/Amin War
Cops chase away protesters in Srinagar on Thursday. —Excelsior/Amin War
Typhoon power woes in Philippines as death toll hits 38
MANILA, July 17: Millions of people in the Philippines endured a second sweltering day without power today after a ferocious typhoon paralysed the capital and tore down flimsy rural homes, claiming at least 38 lives.
Authorities expressed frustration as reports from badly damaged areas filtered in and the death toll from Typhoon Rammasun, the first major storm of the Southeast Asian archipelago’s rainy season, was nearly doubled to 38.
“We still have to find out what exactly are the reasons a lot of our countrymen refuse to heed the warnings,” National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chief Alexander Pama told reporters.
As part of a “zero casualty” effort, the government evacuated nearly 400,000 people from the path of Rammasun and warned others to stay indoors.
But many of the people who died were outdoors, killed by falling trees, collapsing buildings and flying debris, according to the council’s data.
Pama said the death toll could rise further, with mobile phone and other forms of communication still cut to some rural areas. He said at least eight people remained missing.
Rammasun, a Thai word for “Thunder God”, swept in off the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday night, then brought wind gusts of up to 160 kilometres an hour across land to Manila and other heavily populated northern regions.
“It really scrambled whole towns, blowing down houses and toppling power lines,” the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, Richard Gordon, told AFP.
The typhoon cut electricity supplies to nearly all of Manila, a megacity of more than 12 million people, and surrounding urban areas.
Schools and government offices were closed throughout the capital, hundreds of flights suspended and the stock exchange closed.
The stock exchange and government offices re-opened today, but many schools remained closed partly because of the power problems.
The Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the country’s largest power distributor which serves the capital and surrounding areas, said 1.9 million households still did not have power yesterday.
With the temperature in Manila expected to hit 30 degrees Celsius and the air thick with tropical moisture, Meralco could not give any estimate to frustrated residents when power would be restored. (AGENCIES)
RBI, Monetary Authority of Hong Kong ink MoU for info exchange
MUMBAI, July 17: Reserve Bank has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Monetary Authority of Hong Kong for exchange of supervisory information.
“The RBI today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for supervisory cooperation and exchange of supervisory information with the Monetary Authority, Hong Kong,” RBI said in a notification.
The MoU with Monetary Authority, Hong Kong, was signed by Arthur Yuen, Deputy Chief Executive, Banking, the Monetary Authority, Hong Kong and Harun R Khan, Deputy Governor, RBI.
The signing ceremony was held at the Monetary Authority office in Hong Kong.
RBI has been signing the MoU and Letters for Supervisory Cooperation with supervisors of other countries to promote greater co-operation, including sharing of information about the supervised entities among the national authorities.
With this, RBI has signed MoUs with 21 supervisors for supervisory co-operation. (PTI)
Nickel futures weaken by 0.22% on global cues
NEW DELHI, July 17: Nickel prices moved down by 0.22 per cent to Rs 1,152.90 per kg in futures trade today as participants reduced their exposures, tracking a weak trend overseas and sluggish demand from alloy-makers in the spot market.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, nickel for delivery in July month declined by Rs 2.50, or 0.22 per cent, to Rs 1,152.90 per kg in a turnover of 538 lots.
Similarly, the metal for delivery in August traded lower by Rs 2.90 or 0.22 per cent, to Rs 1,159.20 per kg in 32 lots.
Analysts attributed the fall in nickel prices at futures trade to a weak trend in metal at the London Metal Exchange (LME) and low demand from alloy-makers at domestic spot markets also influenced prices. (PTI)
Groupon India, Spice Safar to offer Rs 100 off on rail tickets
NEW DELHI, July 17: Following the success of its ‘onion deal’ last year, eCommerce firm Groupon India has partnered Spice Safar to offer a new ‘Rail Deal’ under which consumers will get Rs 100 off on rail tickets.
Under the deal, which goes live today, Groupon India will offer 1,000 coupons everyday for Rs 9. Using the coupon, consumers can book rail tickets using Spice Safar app to get Rs 100 off on a transaction.
“Last year, we had the onion deal under which we sold 23,000 kgs of onions. We wanted to bring a deal that would have the wow factor. Rail journey is something all of us have done at some point in time but there are never discounts on that,” Groupon India CEO Ankur Warikoo told PTI.
With today’s deal, consumers will get that benefit as well, he added.
The discount will be borne by the two firms as Railways does not offer any discounts. He, however, declined to divulge any details.
“There are offers on air travel but not on railways, which is one of the most used mode of travel in the country. We wanted to give our users a unique offer on that,” he said.
Warikoo added that he expects this deal to also take off well with students and small business owners taking the lead.
Starting today, the offer would be available for five days and each day, 1,000 coupons would be put up for purchase at 12 noon everyday.
Saket Agarwal, CEO of Spice Safar, said: “Consumers today rely on mobile apps whether it is for booking tickets or paying bills. Our association with Groupon aims to reach out to our valuable customers and make ticket booking a hassle-free experience.”
Spice Safar has 90,000 users in the country.
Last year, Groupon India announced a unique marketing strategy to offer onions at Rs 9 a kg to the first 3,000 bidders every day for seven days. The offer became so popular that it resulted in a flood of traffic that temporarily overloaded the company’s servers, crashing the site.
Launched in 2008 and publicly listed on the NYSE in 2011, Groupon offers daily deals across categories like food and beverages, wellness and travel. It has a presence in over 48 countries and has over 200 million subscribers.
“India is the fastest growing country for Groupon. We have seen business growing upwards of 100 per cent year-on-year. F&B and wellness comprise 60 per cent of our sales here,” Warikoo said. (PTI)
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather addressing party workers convention at Charar-e-Sharief on Thursday.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather addressing party workers convention at Charar-e-Sharief on Thursday.