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4.2 kg opium seized from transit parcel
4.2 kg opium seized from transit parcel Ahmed Shaaban / 23 August 2013 The Dubai Customs recently foiled an attempt to smuggle 4.2kg of opium, worth over Dh50,000 in the black market now, at Dubai Cargo Village. The contraband, hidden in five small handbags shipped in a postal parcel, was seized in transit while heading from an Asian country to a Western one through Dubai in an operation codenamed ‘Flying Opium Bags’. Saeed Ahmed Al Tayer, Director of Air Customs Centres Management at Dubai Customs, said the parcel included personal items, such as small handbags, as per the customs declaration. The customs inspectors suspected the parcel’s contents during routine clearance procedures, and referred it to the X-ray machine for scanning. The scanned image showed that the five handbags were stuffed with drugs. The K9 dog squad was brought to the scene. The dogs checked the bags and reacted positively. The Customs Mobile Laboratory was also called to take a sample from the contraband for examination. It reported that the substance found was narcotic opium. “The seized opium and investigation report were referred to the Anti-Narcotic Department of Dubai Police for necessary legal action.” Al Tayer said the Dubai Customs spared no effort in supporting international legitimate trade and controlling transportation of internationally prohibited and restricted goods which deemed harmful to the health of people whether infiltrated into the local markets or intended to transport overseas via Dubai. “Medical reports show that opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy that contains up to 12 per cent morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade.” Earlier this year, Dubai Customs seized over 12kg of opium, worth Dh300,000 as per the black market price then, at Dubai Cargo Village. In February, March and October 2012, Dubai Customs thwarted three separate attempts to smuggle 22kg of opium, worth over Dh550,000, in handbag shipments at the Cargo Village. “The Dubai Customs foiled 55 bids to smuggle different kinds of narcotics in 2010. Those included four bids to smuggle 12kg of opium valued at over Dh300,000,” he said. ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
UN chief calls for swift probe of attack in Syria
UN chief calls for swift probe of attack in Syria (AP) / 23 August 2013 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called on the Syrian government to allow a UN team now in Damascus to swiftly investigate an alleged chemical weapon attack outside the capital that killed at least 100 people. UN deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said Ban remains “deeply troubled” by the alleged attack on the eastern suburbs of Damascus on Wednesday and believe it needs to be investigated “without delay.” Syrian anti-government activists accused President Bashar Assad’s regime of carrying out an attack using toxic gas and have reported death tolls ranging from 136 to 1,300. Even the lowest figure would make it the deadliest alleged chemical attack in Syria’s 2 1/2-year civil war. The government has denied that it used chemical weapons, calling the allegations “absolutely baseless.” Del Buey said the secretary-general “takes positive note” of the UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday that backed his initial call for “a thorough, impartial and prompt investigation.” He said the secretary-general has been in touch with world leaders since Wednesday and is sending UN disarmament chief Angela Kane to Damascus to press for a UN investigation. Under the terms of an agreement with Syria negotiated by Kane and chief weapons inspector Ake Sellstrom in July, the UN team can investigate three previous incidents of alleged chemical weapons use. A new agreement would need to be negotiated for the 20-member team to be able to go to the Damascus suburb of Ghouta. The UN team is scheduled to investigate an alleged chemical weapons attack that happened March 19 on the village of Khan Al Assal outside the city of Aleppo, which was captured by the rebels last month. The government and rebels blame each other for the attack. The sites of the two other incidents to be investigated are being kept secret for security reasons. More than 35 countries signed a letter to the secretary-general Wednesday requesting the UN experts to launch “an urgent investigation … as expeditiously as possible” into Wednesday’s incident as well. Del Buey said the secretary-general is sending a formal request to the Syrian government to grant permission and access to the Ghouta area to the UN chemical weapons experts. “He expects to receive a positive response without delay,” del Buey said. UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, who briefed the Security Council on Wednesday, expressed hope that the Syrian government will give the team access to the site as soon as possible, though he cautioned that because of fighting “the security situation right now does not allow such access.” “This represents, no matter what conclusions are, a serious escalation with grave humanitarian consequences and human consequences,” Eliasson stressed. The secretary-general reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities so that humanitarian assistance can be urgently delivered to the area of the latest incident, del Buey said. Continue reading
UAE stocks hit multi-year highs on upswing in Gulf
UAE stocks hit multi-year highs on upswing in Gulf Issac John / 23 August 2013 Stock markets in the UAE rose to new multi-year highs on Thursday in line with a general upswing across the Gulf bourses with the sole exception of Saudi Arabia where the market recorded slight declines. Investors share a laugh as they monitor stocks at the Dubai Financial Market. Gulf economies are generally less vulnerable than most to capital outflows caused by rising US yields. — Reuters Dubai’s benchmark DFMGI index rose 1.1 per cent to 2,700 points as Abu Dhabi’s ADI climbed 0.7 per cent to 3,949 points — a new 58-month high. In Qatar, the QSI index advanced 0.4 per cent to 10,110 points. Despite a sell off in some emerging markets, most Gulf bourses recorded gains. Union Properties jumped 10.4 per cent, up for a fifth straight day as the stock played catch-up with the wider market. Union Properties shares are up 37.5 per cent year-to-date, compared with Dubai’s gains of 66.4 per cent. The stock accounted for a third of all trading on the bourse on Thursday. Emirates NBD, one of the biggest banks in the region, and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank rose after Goldman Sachs Group raised the duo to buy on “solid” second-quarter earnings. Emirates NBD advanced 1.8 per cent to Dh5.6, snapping two days of declines. The lender was the biggest gainer on the DFM General Index. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank climbed 2.5 per cent, the most in more than two months, to Dh5.3. The DFM and ADX are among the world’s top-five best-performing indexes this year. The Dubai Financial Market performed very well since the start of 2013; its General Index recorded a 12.7 per cent growth by the end of March, showing investors’ interest in the capital market. In the second quarter, UAE markets won a much-awaited milestone that will further increase investments in the stock market, as New York-based global index developer MSCI has decided to reclassify MSCI UAE from frontier markets to emerging markets status. GCC equity markets had a good start in 2013, largely due to an uptick in earnings across key cyclical sectors, such as banking and real estate. Analysts said expectations of double-digit growth in 2013 net income for Gulf companies were driving bullish sentiment. With their current account and state budget surpluses and currency pegs to the US dollar, Gulf economies are generally less vulnerable than most to capital outflows caused by rising US yields. Dubai’s index rose 1.1 per cent to its highest close since November 2008. In Qatar, banks helped the benchmark QSI rise 0.4 per cent, up for a fifth straight session to hit a near five-year high. Qatar International Islamic Bank and Qatar Islamic Bank rose 4.6 and 2.4 per cent. Elsewhere, Cairo’s benchmark index EGX30 gained 0.7 per cent, recovering ground for a third session from Monday’s two-week low. In Saudi Arabia, the index TASI slipped 0.3 per cent, coming off Wednesday’s 59-month high. Investors booked gains on food and agriculture shares — that sector’s index. — issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
