9 International Thursday, January 9, 2020 India restricts palm oil imports after Malaysia criticism of Modi Indonesia’s share of India’s palm imports could rise MUMBAI: India imposed restrictions on new citizenship law, which critics say under- third of India’s palm oil imports, but a lower imports of refined palm oil and palmolein yes- mines the country’s secular foundations. duty on refined palm oil helped Malaysia to terday, a move sources said was retaliation Palmolein is a liquid form of palm oil used in overtake Indonesia as India’s biggest suppli- against top supplier Malaysia after its criticism cooking. New Delhi had earlier this week er in 2019. Palm oil is crucial for the of India’s actions in Kashmir and a new citizen- informally asked palm oil refiners and traders Malaysian economy as it accounts for 2.8 ship law. The Indian Ministry of Commerce and to avoid buying Malaysian palm oil. percent of gross domestic product and 4.5 Industry issued a notification declaring that The decision to restrict all imports of percent of total exports. State-owned and the import of refined palm oil “is amended refined palm oil is also likely to boost business private Malaysian refineries will likely have from ‘Free’ to ‘Restricted.’” for Indian refiners of the vegetable oil. Indian to scramble to find new buyers for their Four industry sources told Reuters that the crude palm oil, soyoil soybean and rapeseed refined product. memo was an effective ban on imports of prices jumped after the announcement. Indian refiners need the boost as refining refined palm oil, meaning India can now only “This move in a way will punish Malaysia activity in the country has been hit in the past import crude palm oil. It will hit Malaysia, the and will help local refiners as well,” a Mumbai- year by imports of cheaper refined palm oil, main supplier to India of refined palm oil and based refiner, who declined to be named, said. said B V Mehta, executive director of the palmolein, but is likely to help Indonesia, the The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA), a biggest exporter of crude palm oil. Indian gov- Industry did not respond to a request for fur- Mumbai-based trade body. “Indian refiners ernment and industry sources told Reuters that ther information. Malaysia’s Primary Industries were struggling for survival ... The ban on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nation- Minister Teresa Kok, who is responsible for the refined palm oil imports will help refiners, local alist government was seeking to target palm oil industry, declined to comment. farmers and help in creating new jobs,” Mehta Malaysia after recent criticism of India by “Malaysia is in a lose-lose situation with said. Palm oil accounts for nearly two-thirds of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. this ruling,” said Sathia Varqa owner and co- India’s total edible oil imports. The country Mahathir said in October that India “invad- founder of Singapore-based Palm Oil buys more than 9 million tons of palm oil annu- ed and occupied” Kashmir, a disputed Muslim- Analytics, adding “India will ramp up buying of ally, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia. majority region also claimed by Pakistan. Last CPO from Indonesia.” Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of In this file photo, a worker collects palm oil fruits at a plantation in Bahau, month he said India was stoking unrest with its Indonesia traditionally corned around two- palm oil, followed by Malaysia. — Reuters Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. — Reuters water,” the APY Lands executive committee said in a Snipers to cull statement. South Australia’s environment department, which is supporting the aerial cull, said the drought had also created “critical animal welfare issues” as some 10,000 camels in camels have died of thirst or trampled each other as they Man pleads not guilty rush to find water. drought-stricken “In some cases dead animals have contaminated impor- to murder of 19 at tant water sources and cultural sites,” a spokesperson Australia added. Camels were first introduced to Australia in the 1840s to aid in the exploration of the continent’s vast inte- Japan care home rior, with up to 20,000 imported from India in the six decades that followed. SYDNEY: Snipers took to helicopters in Australia yester- YOKOHAMA: The man accused of murdering 19 dis- Australia is now thought to have the largest wild camel day to begin a mass cull of up to 10,000 camels as abled people at a Japanese care home in one of the population in the world, with official estimates suggesting drought drives big herds of the feral animals to search for country’s worst mass killings pleaded not guilty yester- more than one million are roaming the country’s inland water closer to remote towns, endangering indigenous day as his trial began. Satoshi Uematsu, a former employ- deserts. The animals are considered a pest, as they foul communities. Local officials in South Australia state said ee of the care center outside Tokyo, did not dispute his water sources and trample native flora while foraging for “extremely large” herds have been encroaching on rural involvement in the 2016 stabbing rampage during his first food over vast distances each day. Traditional owners in communities-threatening scarce food and drinking water, court appearance on charges including murder. the APY Lands have for years mustered and sold off feral damaging infrastructure, and creating a dangerous hazard After prosecutors read out the details of the charges, camels but more recently they have “been unable to man- for drivers. SYDNEY: Ian Rowan, the 2009 world champion camel jockey, the judge asked Uematsu “is there anything in the charges age the scale and number of camels that congregate in dry It comes after Australia experienced its hottest and dri- leads camel “Aloki” along Sydney’s Circular Quay during a that differs from the facts?” “No there isn’t,” Uematsu conditions”, according to the environment department. est year on record in 2019, with the severe drought caus- promotional event in this July 4, 2011 file photo. — AFP replied, dressed in a navy suit with a white shirt and tie, As a result, “up to 10,000 camels will be destroyed in ing some towns to run out of water and fuelling deadly his long black hair tied back in a ponytail. But despite accordance with the highest standards of animal welfare”, bushfires that have devastated the country’s southeast. The admitting the horrifying attack, Uematsu’s lawyers local media reported. “These (camel) groups are putting it added. Public broadcaster ABC reported the animals five-day cull in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara entered a plea of not guilty, saying their client was suffer- pressure on the remote Aboriginal communities in the APY would be killed away from communities and the carcasses (APY) Lands-home to about 2,300 indigenous people in ing a “mental disorder” linked to his use of marijuana. Lands and the pastoral operations as the camels search for burned. — AFP the north-west of South Australia-is the first in the state, “He abused marijuana and suffered from mental ill- ness. He became a different person and as a result, this incident happened,” his lawyer said. “He was in a condi- tion in which either he had no capacity to take respon- Planes, trains and sibility or such a capacity was significantly weakened.” Dozen hurt in The session was disrupted shortly after it began boxes: Ghosn’s when court security restrained Uematsu after he fresh Indian reportedly attempted to put something in his mouth. The disturbance prompted the judge to call an audacious escape unscheduled recess, and Uematsu was not in court student clashes when the session briefly resumed in the afternoon. TOKYO: Private jets, bullet trains and boxes with Uematsu has reportedly said he wanted to eradicate AHMEDABAD: At least a dozen people were injured holes for breathing: Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan, all disabled people in the horrifying attack at the Tsukui yesterday in fresh clashes between student groups loyal where he was awaiting trial, is worthy of a Hollywood Yamayuri-en center in the town of Sagamihara outside to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opponents plot. A millionaire many times over, used to hob-nob- Tokyo, which also injured 26 people. He turned himself in to police after the attack, carrying bloodied knives, with the main opposition Congress party, police said. bing with the Davos set, Ghosn chafed at what he felt and it later emerged that he had left his job at the home Student politics has turned ugly in recent weeks over were the tight restrictions imposed as a condition of just months earlier and had been forcibly hospitalized several issues, including a new citizenship law, heavy- his bail ahead of an expectedly lengthy trial for finan- after telling colleagues he intended to kill disabled peo- handed police tactics and hikes in university fees. cial misconduct. ple at the center. He had been discharged after 12 days The latest confrontation, in Modi’s home state, As 2019 drew to a close, the former boss of Renault- came two days after attackers rampaged through a when a doctor decided he was not a threat. He had also Nissan made a break for it. Here’s what we know about written a letter outlining plans to attack the home, Delhi university, leaving 34 injured and sparking his dramatic flight: nationwide protests. Critics and media reports claiming “disabled people only create unhappiness.” Prosecutors said they would prove he was capable blamed the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ‘Bullet train’ (ABVP), a student body linked to Modi’s ruling of taking responsibility for the attack, adding the ram- Contrary to early reports of a Houdini-like escape Bharatiya Janata Party, for the violence on Sunday page was “inhumane” and left “no room for leniency.” from his house hidden in a musical instrument case, it evening at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).