A week of extreme volatility in nickel prices has seen the industry's
fortunes divide as high cost operations start to buckle under the pressure of
low prices and their lower cost operations solider on.
Crashing LME nickel prices in mid-October saw a clutch of smaller
Canadian nickel producers with operations in the Sudbury basin announce
closures with days of each other. First Nickel suspended production at its
Lockerby Mine near Sudbury, Ontario citing low metal prices and the
challenging financial environment as reasons for the closure. The company
recently completed a feasibility study on an extension to the mine, which
would have yielded an estimated 420,000 mt/year of contained metal.
"We were always a high cost producer," First Nickel chief executive Bill
Andersen told Platts, "With nickel prices below $5/lb it becomes a no win
situation for us, breaking even doesn't work for us. We need to conserve cash.
I am a believer that commodities will out though and in Sudbury the economy
has elasticity. Six months ago Vale or Xstrata would have hired anyone who was
walking out of the door, now it looks as if there will be lots of unemployed
miners around."
Fellow Canadian miner FNX also suspended production at its Levack mine
after prices dropped. FNX chief executive David Constable told Platts that the
company had been looking at shutting nickel mining operations at Levack down
since nickel prices made losses over the summer. He said that he did not
expect operations to re-open any time soon.
World class nickel producers did not take long to follow their smaller
counterparts' lead. Brazilian mining major Vale announced Friday that it was
to slash production by 17,000 mt as part of a decision to stop the usage of
higher-cost thermal power generation, which in turn would result in a
reduction of nickel-in-matte output by 20%.
Australian miner Mincor Resources has cut nickel ore production for the
full year to between 16,000 mt and 19,000 mt, down from its original plan of
19,500 mt and 20,500 mt, following a review of its mining operations. The
Perth-based miner said the move will lower its cash costs to between A$5.40/lb
($3.68/lb) and A$5.70/lb payable nickel, from the current A$5.79/lb, what it
described as a necessary step in light of plummeting nickel prices.
A handful of nickel projects were eager to put forward a more positive
spin on the market, with representatives from European Nickel, Braemore
Resources and Mirabela speaking at Mining Journal's 20:20 Investor Series
Nickel Day in London Tuesday, all stating that their respective projects in
Turkey, Australia and Brazil, were all set to be profitable when they came on
stream. The speakers did agree however, that nearly half the world's current
nickel projects are non-economic at current price levels and that more cutback
announcements were likely.
PREMIUMS HOLD STEADY BUT PHYSICAL PICTURE BLEAK
The picture for physical nickel looks equally bleak. Traders told Platts
that spot business over the past week had become increasingly sparse with few
deals reported and those that had been sealed had been for negligible
tonnages.
"I have only done one deal and it was really small," a London-based
trader told Platts. "The premium was what you usually see for small lots of
cut cathode, $400/mt. Bullish as I would like to be I don't see any
fundamental change from last week."
The short covering rally at the beginning of the week, which saw nickel
push up over $3,000 in two days had little impact on physical movement,
according to a second UK-based trader. Three month LME nickel closed ring
trading at $12,100/mt Friday, a pick up from lows of under $10,000 on October
24, but still well below the cost of production for most producers.
"The physical market is still depressed," said the trader. "Stainless
mills remain closed and the only spot business we are seeing is sporadic
demand for truckloads of material from foundries."
The trader added that cheap briquettes, of grades which were
undeliverable to the LME, were still kicking around the European market and
could be picked up for as little as $50/mt.
"Most people are staying at the sidelines," said a Belgian-based trader.
"They are not in a rush to buy forwards. There is not enough liquidity in the
market for premiums to change much, but it really depends on a producer's
willingness to get rid of material."
Platts assessments for European physical nickel remain within range, with
only cursory movements across spreads. Traders said that producers remained
determined to keep premiums at their current levels on the few deals they
managed to seal, and that this stolid sentiment was likely to continue. Platts
saw full plate nickel premiums at $80-$150/mt plus LME cash on an in-warehouse
Rotterdam basis. Cut cathode premiums were seen at $300-$400/mt on the same
basis and briquettes held at $200-$300/mt.
--Michelle Madsen, michelle_madsen@platts.com-
Monday, November 3, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Russian oligarch nabs Norilsk man
Former Norilsk Nickel first deputy director general Alexander Popov
joined Mikhail Prokhorov's investment group Onexim Thursday as executive
director of the group, after a brief stint of just over a month at Norilsk.
A source told Platts that Popov had made the move on Monday after leaving
Norilsk, the world's largest nickel producer, at the end of September. Popov
joined Norilsk in August from Rosbank where he was chairman of the board. He
has been replaced by Oleg Modestovich, former executive director of Dinamo
Telecom, who joined Norilsk in August as an adviser to the company's chief
executive, former KGB-officer Vladimir Strzhalkovsky.
The move represents further management level change at Norilsk. The
company has been objected to an escalating battle for board control between
its two major shareholders, oligarch Vladimir Potanin and aluminium mining
major UC Rusal, owned by Oleg Deripaska, one of Russia's richest men since
Rusal bought a 25% stake in Norilsk from Onexim group boss Prokhorov in April.
Prokhorov's sale of his stake to Rusal came after he decided to split from
long-time business partner Potanin.
Popov said in a statement that his purpose was to "implement the group's
financial strategy." He added that the financial sector was being restructured
due to weakened positions of some large players and that, "it is the right
time for financial institutions having access to significant funds and a
professional team to take over the market."
The move comes in a week when nickel prices tanked to lows not seen since
1999, as the base metal's price dropped below $10,000/mt. The metal has lost
over 80% of its value in May 2007, which saw nickel reach highs of over
$50,000/mt. Three month nickel on the London Metal Exchange was bid at around
$9,000/mt Friday morning.
--Michelle Madsen, michelle_madsen@platts.com
joined Mikhail Prokhorov's investment group Onexim Thursday as executive
director of the group, after a brief stint of just over a month at Norilsk.
A source told Platts that Popov had made the move on Monday after leaving
Norilsk, the world's largest nickel producer, at the end of September. Popov
joined Norilsk in August from Rosbank where he was chairman of the board. He
has been replaced by Oleg Modestovich, former executive director of Dinamo
Telecom, who joined Norilsk in August as an adviser to the company's chief
executive, former KGB-officer Vladimir Strzhalkovsky.
The move represents further management level change at Norilsk. The
company has been objected to an escalating battle for board control between
its two major shareholders, oligarch Vladimir Potanin and aluminium mining
major UC Rusal, owned by Oleg Deripaska, one of Russia's richest men since
Rusal bought a 25% stake in Norilsk from Onexim group boss Prokhorov in April.
Prokhorov's sale of his stake to Rusal came after he decided to split from
long-time business partner Potanin.
Popov said in a statement that his purpose was to "implement the group's
financial strategy." He added that the financial sector was being restructured
due to weakened positions of some large players and that, "it is the right
time for financial institutions having access to significant funds and a
professional team to take over the market."
The move comes in a week when nickel prices tanked to lows not seen since
1999, as the base metal's price dropped below $10,000/mt. The metal has lost
over 80% of its value in May 2007, which saw nickel reach highs of over
$50,000/mt. Three month nickel on the London Metal Exchange was bid at around
$9,000/mt Friday morning.
--Michelle Madsen, michelle_madsen@platts.com
Monday, October 6, 2008
Pirates of the Gulf of Aden
The warm waters of the Gulf of Aden became the focus of the world's media after Somali pirates hijacked the Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying a cargo of 33 T72 Soviet-era tanks as well as other heavy artillery on September 25, triggering fears that the arms could fall into the hands of terrorist sympathizers. With reports of gun battles on board, deaths of both crew members and pirates and a ransom demand of a hefty $20 million, the hijack of the Faina is the highest-profile case of piracy off the Horn of Africa in a year which has seen the area become the world's most dangerous stretch of sea.
The Faina is just the latest in a string of container ships, chemical tankers and private vessels to have fallen into the hands of a cabal of increasingly aggressive pirates. Operating off the coast of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in the north of the former French territory Somalia, pirates have marauded the waters around the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden since the government of the east African country disintegrated in 1991, but with over 17 boats hijacked in September alone, attacks in the past year have escalated beyond anything previously seen by international maritime watchdogs.
"The levels of piracy we are seeing in the Gulf of Aden at the moment are the highest we have seen since the reporting centre was set up in 1992," said Noel Choong, spokesman at the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting arm in Kuala Lumpur. "We have never seen so many ships attacked in such a short period of time and the situation is getting worse. The pirates have also become more sophisticated. While previously pirate gangs would just pick off smaller ships, they are now going for bigger and bigger boats"
The stretch of sea which hugs the coastline of the horn of Africa forms a natural passage up to the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping routes, through which up to 20,000 ships pass every year. It's the route of choice for anyone wanting to transport goods or commodities from Asia to Europe, and it is used by a large number of metal producers who ship ores and refined metal from mineral-rich Australia.
METAL PRODUCERS STOLID IN FACE OF PIRATE THREAT
The recent upsurge in piracy in the region, which has seen 60 boats attacked since January with 12 boats still being held for ransom, has not yet deterred the world's largest metal producers from shipping through the high risk waters to the Suez Canal. BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata all told Platts that they continue to ship cargoes through the Gulf of Aden, despite the potential cost of ransom and delays to shipments should their cargoes get held up.
A considerable volume of metal gets shipped through the Gulf of Aden and on to the Suez Canal every year. Indonesian tin, nickel-in-matte from parts of Asia and Polynesia, aluminium from the Persian Gulf and some smaller cargoes of Australian iron ore all use this vital trade route to reach consumers, smelters and refineries in Europe.
IMB director, Captain Pottengal Mukendan said that the relative nonchalance displayed by metals producers to the fate of their cargo was unsurprising given that the majority of the risks taken by shipping through stretches of water targeted by pirates are burdened by the ship's owner rather than by commodities producers. "The only effect on the cargo owners is the delay," said Mukendan "There has not been any threat of cargoes being destroyed or ruined as yet, they are just interested in the money."
The flow of money from concerned ship owners into the hands of pirates has grown at a remarkable rate. According to the IMB, previous to the recent upswing in piracy ransoms demanded would rarely top $200,000. The average sum currently demanded by the pirates as ransom is $2 million and with a hefty $20 million asked for the Faina, it looks like a new precedent has been set.
LOSS OF XSTRATA CARGO PASSES PRESSURED MARKET BY
On July 20 a Japanese-registered ship called the Stella Maris was hijacked by pirates near Caluula, carrying a cargo of over 40,000mt of lead ingots and zinc concentrate from Anglo-Swiss mining giant Xstrata's Mount Isa mines near Townsville in Australia, heading for the company's Northfleet refinery near London. Mining giant Xstrata is still locked in negotiations with pirates over the release of the bulk carrier, over two months after the vessel was captured.
"To lose 27,000 mt of lead is pretty drastic and under any other circumstance they would have had to declare force majeure," a UK-based lead trader when asked what impact the loss of the lead would have on the market. "They have been quiet about it and as a result of clever management and belt tightening they have been able to just about squeeze by on what they've got. If they had received the lead then they would have had 27,000 mt more than they could sell. If the metal is delivered in to them before Christmas then they will have a problem. They will have to physically get it through the refinery."
While the metal may not be factored out of the market, it's not clear when, or if it will reach Northfleet. An Xstrata spokeswoman confirmed to Platts that the boat was still being held by pirates in Eyl, but added that the company was pushing for a rapid settlement and that Xstrata was confident that the material would soon be back into the market.
While the ship and its crew languish in captivity off the Puntland coast, the value of the cargo of the Stella Maris remains subject to ever more volatile market conditions. Three-months lead and zinc on the London Metal Exchange have seen prices slump throughout the third quarter of 2008, with zinc seeing over 25% of its value disappear since May and lead dive down by around 35% in the same period.
"The market would be better off if that lead and zinc just sank," one European trader told Platts. "At least that way it might do something to shore up prices." Other traders argued that it was difficult to gauge the true effect of the absence of the hijacked metal on the market given the current financial maelstrom, which has made it increasingly difficult for market players to accurately judge demand strength.
Paul White, head of forecasting and statistics at the International Lead and Zinc Study Group told Platts that, "the metal will still be on the market no matter where it is, if in a boat off the coast of Somalia or in the UK. In terms of lead concentrates there is a fair amount coming into Europe at the moment. If the market is weak, a trader may not be able to pass on costs to a buyer. This is the situation we see with lead and zinc at the moment."
SHIP OWNERS TO BEAR HEFTY INCREASE IN INSURANCE PREMIUMS
As the bulk of Western economies slip into a high inflationary climate and projected industrial demand for metal slips, the impetus for companies like Xstrata to put pressure on ship owners to rescue hijacked ships and return their cargo to the market could lessen. The European physical market for both zinc and lead has changed considerably since the hijacking of the Stella Maris, with premiums for both metals on an in-warehouse Rotterdam basis hovering nervously in range but looking likely to fall in the face of a distinct pullback in demand.
The IMB's London spokesman Cyrus Mody said that the situation is now out of hand: "The pirates know which boats are worth hijacking now. They are not being picky but they are becoming increasingly audacious and Somalia does not have a government which can control the situation. If ships are going to head around the Cape of Good Hope rather than through the Suez canal then that's going to add another 10 to 15 days to their voyage. Industry has to take a calculated risk in these circumstances."
Until recently, high freight rates gave ship owners the luxury of choosing not to accept a fixture which involved such high levels of risk, or else charging vast premiums to accept it. However, freight rates have taken a hit from the waves of global economic turmoil which show no sign of abating any time soon,
A spokesman for specialist insurers Hincox in London told Platts that premiums for insurance against piracy had risen considerably recently, increasing tenfold from around $900 a year ago to almost $10,000.
The UK Protection and Indemnity club, a mutual insurer owned and governed by ship owners, said that it was becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish what, in insurance terms, amounts to piracy.
"Some so-called acts of piracy may be more akin to acts of terrorism and therefore be excluded from P&I cover and fall within the scope of war risks cover," said the P&I club. "To be safe therefore ship operators should liaise with their brokers to confirm that they have in place comprehensive war risks cover to ensure that both their own property and their potential liabilities are appropriately covered in the case of attack."
Mark Jenkins, a London-based analyst at international shipbrokers ICAP said that despite the risks and costs involved to both ship owners and crew, brokers at ICAP were not aware of any direct impact on normal tanker flow through the Suez Canal, despite the rising incidence of piracy.
--Michelle Madsen, michelle_madsen@platts.com
The Faina is just the latest in a string of container ships, chemical tankers and private vessels to have fallen into the hands of a cabal of increasingly aggressive pirates. Operating off the coast of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in the north of the former French territory Somalia, pirates have marauded the waters around the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden since the government of the east African country disintegrated in 1991, but with over 17 boats hijacked in September alone, attacks in the past year have escalated beyond anything previously seen by international maritime watchdogs.
"The levels of piracy we are seeing in the Gulf of Aden at the moment are the highest we have seen since the reporting centre was set up in 1992," said Noel Choong, spokesman at the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting arm in Kuala Lumpur. "We have never seen so many ships attacked in such a short period of time and the situation is getting worse. The pirates have also become more sophisticated. While previously pirate gangs would just pick off smaller ships, they are now going for bigger and bigger boats"
The stretch of sea which hugs the coastline of the horn of Africa forms a natural passage up to the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping routes, through which up to 20,000 ships pass every year. It's the route of choice for anyone wanting to transport goods or commodities from Asia to Europe, and it is used by a large number of metal producers who ship ores and refined metal from mineral-rich Australia.
METAL PRODUCERS STOLID IN FACE OF PIRATE THREAT
The recent upsurge in piracy in the region, which has seen 60 boats attacked since January with 12 boats still being held for ransom, has not yet deterred the world's largest metal producers from shipping through the high risk waters to the Suez Canal. BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata all told Platts that they continue to ship cargoes through the Gulf of Aden, despite the potential cost of ransom and delays to shipments should their cargoes get held up.
A considerable volume of metal gets shipped through the Gulf of Aden and on to the Suez Canal every year. Indonesian tin, nickel-in-matte from parts of Asia and Polynesia, aluminium from the Persian Gulf and some smaller cargoes of Australian iron ore all use this vital trade route to reach consumers, smelters and refineries in Europe.
IMB director, Captain Pottengal Mukendan said that the relative nonchalance displayed by metals producers to the fate of their cargo was unsurprising given that the majority of the risks taken by shipping through stretches of water targeted by pirates are burdened by the ship's owner rather than by commodities producers. "The only effect on the cargo owners is the delay," said Mukendan "There has not been any threat of cargoes being destroyed or ruined as yet, they are just interested in the money."
The flow of money from concerned ship owners into the hands of pirates has grown at a remarkable rate. According to the IMB, previous to the recent upswing in piracy ransoms demanded would rarely top $200,000. The average sum currently demanded by the pirates as ransom is $2 million and with a hefty $20 million asked for the Faina, it looks like a new precedent has been set.
LOSS OF XSTRATA CARGO PASSES PRESSURED MARKET BY
On July 20 a Japanese-registered ship called the Stella Maris was hijacked by pirates near Caluula, carrying a cargo of over 40,000mt of lead ingots and zinc concentrate from Anglo-Swiss mining giant Xstrata's Mount Isa mines near Townsville in Australia, heading for the company's Northfleet refinery near London. Mining giant Xstrata is still locked in negotiations with pirates over the release of the bulk carrier, over two months after the vessel was captured.
"To lose 27,000 mt of lead is pretty drastic and under any other circumstance they would have had to declare force majeure," a UK-based lead trader when asked what impact the loss of the lead would have on the market. "They have been quiet about it and as a result of clever management and belt tightening they have been able to just about squeeze by on what they've got. If they had received the lead then they would have had 27,000 mt more than they could sell. If the metal is delivered in to them before Christmas then they will have a problem. They will have to physically get it through the refinery."
While the metal may not be factored out of the market, it's not clear when, or if it will reach Northfleet. An Xstrata spokeswoman confirmed to Platts that the boat was still being held by pirates in Eyl, but added that the company was pushing for a rapid settlement and that Xstrata was confident that the material would soon be back into the market.
While the ship and its crew languish in captivity off the Puntland coast, the value of the cargo of the Stella Maris remains subject to ever more volatile market conditions. Three-months lead and zinc on the London Metal Exchange have seen prices slump throughout the third quarter of 2008, with zinc seeing over 25% of its value disappear since May and lead dive down by around 35% in the same period.
"The market would be better off if that lead and zinc just sank," one European trader told Platts. "At least that way it might do something to shore up prices." Other traders argued that it was difficult to gauge the true effect of the absence of the hijacked metal on the market given the current financial maelstrom, which has made it increasingly difficult for market players to accurately judge demand strength.
Paul White, head of forecasting and statistics at the International Lead and Zinc Study Group told Platts that, "the metal will still be on the market no matter where it is, if in a boat off the coast of Somalia or in the UK. In terms of lead concentrates there is a fair amount coming into Europe at the moment. If the market is weak, a trader may not be able to pass on costs to a buyer. This is the situation we see with lead and zinc at the moment."
SHIP OWNERS TO BEAR HEFTY INCREASE IN INSURANCE PREMIUMS
As the bulk of Western economies slip into a high inflationary climate and projected industrial demand for metal slips, the impetus for companies like Xstrata to put pressure on ship owners to rescue hijacked ships and return their cargo to the market could lessen. The European physical market for both zinc and lead has changed considerably since the hijacking of the Stella Maris, with premiums for both metals on an in-warehouse Rotterdam basis hovering nervously in range but looking likely to fall in the face of a distinct pullback in demand.
The IMB's London spokesman Cyrus Mody said that the situation is now out of hand: "The pirates know which boats are worth hijacking now. They are not being picky but they are becoming increasingly audacious and Somalia does not have a government which can control the situation. If ships are going to head around the Cape of Good Hope rather than through the Suez canal then that's going to add another 10 to 15 days to their voyage. Industry has to take a calculated risk in these circumstances."
Until recently, high freight rates gave ship owners the luxury of choosing not to accept a fixture which involved such high levels of risk, or else charging vast premiums to accept it. However, freight rates have taken a hit from the waves of global economic turmoil which show no sign of abating any time soon,
A spokesman for specialist insurers Hincox in London told Platts that premiums for insurance against piracy had risen considerably recently, increasing tenfold from around $900 a year ago to almost $10,000.
The UK Protection and Indemnity club, a mutual insurer owned and governed by ship owners, said that it was becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish what, in insurance terms, amounts to piracy.
"Some so-called acts of piracy may be more akin to acts of terrorism and therefore be excluded from P&I cover and fall within the scope of war risks cover," said the P&I club. "To be safe therefore ship operators should liaise with their brokers to confirm that they have in place comprehensive war risks cover to ensure that both their own property and their potential liabilities are appropriately covered in the case of attack."
Mark Jenkins, a London-based analyst at international shipbrokers ICAP said that despite the risks and costs involved to both ship owners and crew, brokers at ICAP were not aware of any direct impact on normal tanker flow through the Suez Canal, despite the rising incidence of piracy.
--Michelle Madsen, michelle_madsen@platts.com
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
New Orleans storm fails to dent metal market
As the rain and furious winds which have hit New Orleans subside, its residents can breathe a cautious sigh of relief.
Among them, the owners of London Metal Exchange approved warehouses who shared fears that Hurricane Gustav could wreak similar levels of damage as 2005's devastating Katrina. Nearly 40% of the LME's zinc stocks, which currently stand at 61,000 mt, are currently warehoused in New Orleans.
Pacorini Metals USA -- which owns three LME approved warehouses in New Orleans housing aluminium, lead, copper, North American aluminium alloy, tin and zinc -- has not yet resumed business since the storm.
Pacorini commercial manager Mario Casciano spoke to Platts and said that the Italian-based company's New Orleans warehouses were currently closed due to electricity issues, but that he believed that they would be up and running by Wednesday. Two other companies with LME approved warehouses in New Orleans, Henry Bath LLC and C.Steinweg, declined to comment on the state of stocks housed in their premises.
Investors had feared that Hurricane Gustav, which had originally been given grade four status before being downgraded to a category two storm on Sunday ahead of hitting the US coast, would have a similar impact on LME warehouse stocks to Katrina.
In the wake of the 2005 hurricane, the LME suspended as good delivery against LME contracts all LME warrants for zinc, copper and primary aluminium stored in New Orleans on September 6, 2005, after flooding caused damage to stocks. At the time 248,575 mt of zinc, over half of the LME's stocks of 558,225 mt were warehoused in the city.
"There were people out there selling the rumour that the same thing could happen again this time," commented Calyon analyst Robin Bahr. "There was an outside chance that it could affect the zinc stocks but it's a lot less touch and go this week and prices seem to have settled. However, we can't be completely sure that stocks haven't been affected until people get back and see for themselves."
Zinc's rally on the LME base metals complex ahead of the weekend was driven for the most part by fears that New Orleans LME stock would be affected. The white metal weakened Tuesday and dipped down to $1,755/mt at the end of the third ring, down from highs earlier in the month of $1,880/mt.
"The city is still pretty much shut down, however, as far as we know the warehouses are fine," said LME spokesman Tom Lant, adding that owners of LME warehouses he had spoken to had said that they had not yet been back to their warehouses, but did not think stocks had been affected.
While power issues caused by the hurricane were yet to be resolved, and many of the city's residents remain evacuated, the relatively moderate impact of the storm did little to bolster LME metal prices, which continued to weaken Tuesday in the face of a strengthening dollar.
--Michelle Madsen, michelle_madsen@platts.com
Among them, the owners of London Metal Exchange approved warehouses who shared fears that Hurricane Gustav could wreak similar levels of damage as 2005's devastating Katrina. Nearly 40% of the LME's zinc stocks, which currently stand at 61,000 mt, are currently warehoused in New Orleans.
Pacorini Metals USA -- which owns three LME approved warehouses in New Orleans housing aluminium, lead, copper, North American aluminium alloy, tin and zinc -- has not yet resumed business since the storm.
Pacorini commercial manager Mario Casciano spoke to Platts and said that the Italian-based company's New Orleans warehouses were currently closed due to electricity issues, but that he believed that they would be up and running by Wednesday. Two other companies with LME approved warehouses in New Orleans, Henry Bath LLC and C.Steinweg, declined to comment on the state of stocks housed in their premises.
Investors had feared that Hurricane Gustav, which had originally been given grade four status before being downgraded to a category two storm on Sunday ahead of hitting the US coast, would have a similar impact on LME warehouse stocks to Katrina.
In the wake of the 2005 hurricane, the LME suspended as good delivery against LME contracts all LME warrants for zinc, copper and primary aluminium stored in New Orleans on September 6, 2005, after flooding caused damage to stocks. At the time 248,575 mt of zinc, over half of the LME's stocks of 558,225 mt were warehoused in the city.
"There were people out there selling the rumour that the same thing could happen again this time," commented Calyon analyst Robin Bahr. "There was an outside chance that it could affect the zinc stocks but it's a lot less touch and go this week and prices seem to have settled. However, we can't be completely sure that stocks haven't been affected until people get back and see for themselves."
Zinc's rally on the LME base metals complex ahead of the weekend was driven for the most part by fears that New Orleans LME stock would be affected. The white metal weakened Tuesday and dipped down to $1,755/mt at the end of the third ring, down from highs earlier in the month of $1,880/mt.
"The city is still pretty much shut down, however, as far as we know the warehouses are fine," said LME spokesman Tom Lant, adding that owners of LME warehouses he had spoken to had said that they had not yet been back to their warehouses, but did not think stocks had been affected.
While power issues caused by the hurricane were yet to be resolved, and many of the city's residents remain evacuated, the relatively moderate impact of the storm did little to bolster LME metal prices, which continued to weaken Tuesday in the face of a strengthening dollar.
--Michelle Madsen, michelle_madsen@platts.com
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Russian oligarchs look to ex-KGB man in battle for Norilsk
UC Rusal has denied merger talks are being carried about between its chief executive Oleg Deripaska and Norilsk majority shareholder Vladimir Potanin, as the nickel giant eyes former KGB-officer Vladimir Strzhalkovsky as its new chief executive.
Aluminum giant Rusal said in a statement Wednesday that Deripaska was not carrying out "any talks with Vladimir Potanin about a possible merger of UC RUSAL and Norilsk Nickel", adding that no confidentiality agreement had been discussed or signed by the two men.
Rusal said that it considered its 25% stake in Norilsk as a "strategic investment" and that it still intended to pursue "all legal remedies" to protect its interests.
Potanin has been locked in an ongoing battle with Rusal over the control of Norilsk, the world's third-largest nickel producer since Deripaska's company bought a 25% stake in Norilsk in April.
At the company's annual shareholder meeting last month four Interros representatives were voted to Norilsk's board, including Potanin, while only two Rusal representatives, including Deripaska, won seats. The appointment of Strzhalkovsky, a close ally of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, would strengthen Interros' hold over the company.
A spokesman for Potanin's investment vehicle Interros spoke to Platts regarding Strzhalkovsky's possible appointment and said: "These negotiations have begun and are ongoing. The final discussion will take place when the board of directors meet on August 8. He is the only candidate that we are putting forward."
The Russian government has previously expressed its wish to create a Russian metals and mining company on the same scale as Anglo Australian mining giant BHP Billiton. Strzhalkovsky, currently head of Russia's state tourism agency, would take over the role of chief executive from Sergei Batekhin who has held the position for less than a month.
The Interros spokesman said that if Strzhalkovsky takes the role of chief executive, Batekhin would become his deputy and look after the day-to-day running of the company.
--Michelle Madsen, michelle_madsen@platts.com
Aluminum giant Rusal said in a statement Wednesday that Deripaska was not carrying out "any talks with Vladimir Potanin about a possible merger of UC RUSAL and Norilsk Nickel", adding that no confidentiality agreement had been discussed or signed by the two men.
Rusal said that it considered its 25% stake in Norilsk as a "strategic investment" and that it still intended to pursue "all legal remedies" to protect its interests.
Potanin has been locked in an ongoing battle with Rusal over the control of Norilsk, the world's third-largest nickel producer since Deripaska's company bought a 25% stake in Norilsk in April.
At the company's annual shareholder meeting last month four Interros representatives were voted to Norilsk's board, including Potanin, while only two Rusal representatives, including Deripaska, won seats. The appointment of Strzhalkovsky, a close ally of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, would strengthen Interros' hold over the company.
A spokesman for Potanin's investment vehicle Interros spoke to Platts regarding Strzhalkovsky's possible appointment and said: "These negotiations have begun and are ongoing. The final discussion will take place when the board of directors meet on August 8. He is the only candidate that we are putting forward."
The Russian government has previously expressed its wish to create a Russian metals and mining company on the same scale as Anglo Australian mining giant BHP Billiton. Strzhalkovsky, currently head of Russia's state tourism agency, would take over the role of chief executive from Sergei Batekhin who has held the position for less than a month.
The Interros spokesman said that if Strzhalkovsky takes the role of chief executive, Batekhin would become his deputy and look after the day-to-day running of the company.
--Michelle Madsen, michelle_madsen@platts.com
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
On the hippy trail
Looking under the surface in Goa for Time Out
Think of Goa, think of palm fronds, tie dye and a distinctly unwestern pace of life. But be warned, the former alternative-lifestyle havens Baga and Calangute might not quite match your expectations. Once the province of the patchouli-doused teenagers of the ‘60’s, these towns are now bustling resorts and see a constant influx of sun-seeking tourists lured to the east by the promise of exoticism and cheap package deals. Take a stroll along the beach of any town south of Vagator and, try as you might, you cannot deny that the sweaty, pullulating vibe is more Costa del Sol than karmically sound. But travel to Goa’s northernmost tip, up to the villages which line the route to the border with Maharashtra and you’ll find pockets of a wholesome paradise which have not yet been lost.
To get to India’s smallest state, you can take the easy option and fly directly to the small airport in Vasco De Gama, hop into a taxi and drive straight to the tourist packed beaches of Calangute, or take the budget backpacker option, hit the rails and take the overnight train to Goa from the North. Arriving in Thimvim, Mapusa’s tiny outpost station which is little more than a scruffy-looking waiting room and a couple of sullen guards, is something of a refreshing experience after the relentless pounding of human traffic of Mumbai. After 13 hours on a sweaty, two-foot bunk the idea of further travel is unappealing, but Anjuna, the first of the more undeveloped beach towns after the heaving southern resorts, despite being a mere 12 kilometers distant takes a further 45 minutes in a sweltering taxi.
Anjuna was to the late ’90’s rave generation what Carnaby Street was to swinging London. The scene has significantly quietened since residents’ complaints put an end to the all night trance-fuelled revels which used to be held regularly on the beach. Nonetheless, Anjuna still has something of the party vibe about it. As you approach the cliffside walk which leads you down past a hotchpotch gaggle of stalls, bars and meditation centres, the distinctive sound of Goan trance fills the air. Day or night, hybridized thumping rhythms can be heard across the town, and if you visit the Wednesday flea market your ears will be ringing with the squelchy organic beats for days to come. Trance is not the only reason to hit Anjuna on a Wednesday. The flea market has been a meeting-point and trading spot for travellers, expats and canny locals since the late ’60s, when resident hippies set the market up to trade second hand goods with passing travellers. Since then it’s grown to encompass a much larger variety of trades, with multitudes of stalls selling tie-dyed cotton shirts, fisherman’s trousers and other items of trustafarian garb which are eagerly bought up in bulk by gap-year students. Despite the tat, it’s still retains much of its original flea market character and if you wander deep into the sun-baked maze you’ll be able find anything from a second-hand scooter to a haircut for no more than a handful of rupees. The atmosphere elevates Anjuna from a slightly seedy, somewhat forgotten backwater with a decent beach and a few bars, to a vibrant, colourful and electric hub. Once the stallholders have packed up, Anjuna quietens down again, although if you are looking for a party, head to Paradisos at the town-end of the beach strip where the market vibe continues late into the night.
Anjuna has a number of slightly shabby guesthouses, both along the shoreline and, for those who prefer to be closer to civilization, along the main drag of the roads leading towards Mapusa. We stayed at the basic but clean Poonam Guesthouse which is one of the closest spots to the beach and has rooms for 900 rupees, looking out onto a rambling garden and courtyard. There are a number of yoga retreats and basic guesthouses on the backstreets off the road to Vagator, but your best bet if you are after aesthetic and creature comforts is the beautiful Hotel Bougainvilla which combines the principles of a new-age resort with the rambling architecture of the region. Next door the Purple Emerald Yoga Centre offers courses for the actively inclined. Eating in Anjuna is a little limited, with many of the beachside restaurants offering curries and snacks of dubious quality. Oasis, on the Vagator road, has a very decent German bakery and offers a tranquil spot to start the day. Across the road there are a couple of friendly, family run curry houses which offer the ubiquitous Goan prawn curry as well as less piquant dishes for a handful of rupees.
Heading north through Mapusa, Goa’s sprawling commercial hub and an hour on one of the region’s colourful clapped-out buses takes you over a wide creek to the Morjim-Arambol strip. Access to these relatively remote villages has increased significantly since the opening of a bridge across the creek (previously you had to take a ferry) and tourism is gradually making its mark on this previously untouched corner of India.
Mandrem, a collection of huts and yoga centres which spread lackadaisically from a freshwater creek to the lapping shores of the sea, is a sleepy sort of place where tourism has yet to leave a dirty mark. Rising in an imposingly colonial fashion from the verdant shores of the river is the decidedly idyllic Villa Rivercat. This majestic edifice is the dream child of Rinoo Seghal who has invited like-minded guests into his home for the past 17 years. With a delicious garden which looks like a cross between a raver’s chill out zone and a haberdasher’s multicoloured fantasy, Rivercat is very much a place to rest, reflect and recuperate. Airy, comfortable rooms and a chilled out, sleepy air characterise the villa, which, fittingly is decorated with an eclectic range of cat paraphernalia as well as being home to several stray felines and much loved family dogs which have run of the house. A rapid clamber over a dune and you are on the wide shores of the Arabian Sea; no clamouring package tourists from the shires here, Mandrem’s lack of facilities and relative remoteness precludes holiday-makers looking for bright lights and a pumping club-scene. Most of the village’s guesthouses are tucked away beyond the dunes and aside from a few rickety bamboo huts perched picturesquely alongside a wooden bridge belonging to Merrylands, the beach is an untainted stretch of virgin sand home only to crabs and the odd beachcomber. If you are very lucky or time your trip carefully, you can even head out to the beach under the full moon to watch turtles hatch their young.
Even the most ardent peace seeker may wish for a little more action than Mandrem can offer, and for a mere 150 rupees you can hire a scooter for the day and head north to Arambol, the determinedly more lively enclave on the northernmost tip of Goa. Perched on a hill and surrounded by forest, Arambol is still home to a number of fishermen who reap the fruits of the sea whilst tapping the tourist dollar which bolsters the small town’s economy. Arambol’s a friendly sort of place and, if you stay for more than a couple of days, stallholders and restaurateurs smile and greet you as you pass by on your way to the beach to catch some rays, read a book or simply lie back and watch the gentle traffic of dread-locked Europeans meander along the sands.
The roadside market here, if smaller than the weekly market in Anjuna, is much less frenetic and you are free to browse hemp jumpers and flowery skirts at your leisure without too much attention from aggressive hawkers. Arambol is credited by many a well-wandered traveller as being home to some of the best budget food in Goa. If you’re hungry, head down to the beach for excellent Italian on the sand at Relax Inn, eye-wateringly hot spicy seafood at Blue Pearl or possibly the best nan and massala we’ve ever tasted at Om Shankar’s Beer Bar and Restaurant. Alternatively head back up the hill to Pane e Pomodoro, a Ligurian restaurant run by the charming and pally Franceso and Federica. But even Arambol, as basic as it is, feels at times as if it wears its hippy hangout status with a certain weariness, as if there hangs in the air the faintly perceptible ghost of a thousand parties, filling the casual passer-by with a certain nostalgia and longing for somewhere which is not, and has never been, part of a scene.
To really escape you need to forgo the beats, the parties, the beachside restaurants and the broadband and travel even further north, beyond Tiracol with its Portuguese fort cum heritage hotel and marvellous, tantilisingly fresh food, on to Shiroda and Vengurla where the pearly white sands and the clear blue skies are vast, uninterrupted expanses which lie, as yet, untouched.
State of mind
Venture away from the leafy mangroves and deserted beaches of the northernmost tip of Goa, and you ears will be assailed with the unmistakable thump of Goa trance. This organic, squelchy sounding music emerged in the late ’90’s and is closely related to psychedelic trance, its more metallic sounding cousin. With its roots in the early hippy history of Goa, there’s a slightly more spiritual element behind those heavy heady beats which boom from the terraces of every restaurant, hotel and bar in Anjuna. Regrettably for some, the parties which spawned the music have largely stopped due to more stringent laws being enforced in the area with regards to late night noise and drugs. Faster than mainstream trance, the beats you’ll hear pounding through the Goan night are designed to enhance an already enhanced frame of mind, making them somewhat unpalatable to those in an unaltered state of being. Goan trance has not lost any of its popularity, although strangely enough, the pseudonymous state is no longer the greatest exponent of the sound; Israel now takes that title, soldiers visiting Goa having taken the sound to their hearts and the rich organic sounds of west-Indian trance beats out the rhythm of many a rave in Tel Aviv.
By Michelle Madsen, July 2006
Think of Goa, think of palm fronds, tie dye and a distinctly unwestern pace of life. But be warned, the former alternative-lifestyle havens Baga and Calangute might not quite match your expectations. Once the province of the patchouli-doused teenagers of the ‘60’s, these towns are now bustling resorts and see a constant influx of sun-seeking tourists lured to the east by the promise of exoticism and cheap package deals. Take a stroll along the beach of any town south of Vagator and, try as you might, you cannot deny that the sweaty, pullulating vibe is more Costa del Sol than karmically sound. But travel to Goa’s northernmost tip, up to the villages which line the route to the border with Maharashtra and you’ll find pockets of a wholesome paradise which have not yet been lost.
To get to India’s smallest state, you can take the easy option and fly directly to the small airport in Vasco De Gama, hop into a taxi and drive straight to the tourist packed beaches of Calangute, or take the budget backpacker option, hit the rails and take the overnight train to Goa from the North. Arriving in Thimvim, Mapusa’s tiny outpost station which is little more than a scruffy-looking waiting room and a couple of sullen guards, is something of a refreshing experience after the relentless pounding of human traffic of Mumbai. After 13 hours on a sweaty, two-foot bunk the idea of further travel is unappealing, but Anjuna, the first of the more undeveloped beach towns after the heaving southern resorts, despite being a mere 12 kilometers distant takes a further 45 minutes in a sweltering taxi.
Anjuna was to the late ’90’s rave generation what Carnaby Street was to swinging London. The scene has significantly quietened since residents’ complaints put an end to the all night trance-fuelled revels which used to be held regularly on the beach. Nonetheless, Anjuna still has something of the party vibe about it. As you approach the cliffside walk which leads you down past a hotchpotch gaggle of stalls, bars and meditation centres, the distinctive sound of Goan trance fills the air. Day or night, hybridized thumping rhythms can be heard across the town, and if you visit the Wednesday flea market your ears will be ringing with the squelchy organic beats for days to come. Trance is not the only reason to hit Anjuna on a Wednesday. The flea market has been a meeting-point and trading spot for travellers, expats and canny locals since the late ’60s, when resident hippies set the market up to trade second hand goods with passing travellers. Since then it’s grown to encompass a much larger variety of trades, with multitudes of stalls selling tie-dyed cotton shirts, fisherman’s trousers and other items of trustafarian garb which are eagerly bought up in bulk by gap-year students. Despite the tat, it’s still retains much of its original flea market character and if you wander deep into the sun-baked maze you’ll be able find anything from a second-hand scooter to a haircut for no more than a handful of rupees. The atmosphere elevates Anjuna from a slightly seedy, somewhat forgotten backwater with a decent beach and a few bars, to a vibrant, colourful and electric hub. Once the stallholders have packed up, Anjuna quietens down again, although if you are looking for a party, head to Paradisos at the town-end of the beach strip where the market vibe continues late into the night.
Anjuna has a number of slightly shabby guesthouses, both along the shoreline and, for those who prefer to be closer to civilization, along the main drag of the roads leading towards Mapusa. We stayed at the basic but clean Poonam Guesthouse which is one of the closest spots to the beach and has rooms for 900 rupees, looking out onto a rambling garden and courtyard. There are a number of yoga retreats and basic guesthouses on the backstreets off the road to Vagator, but your best bet if you are after aesthetic and creature comforts is the beautiful Hotel Bougainvilla which combines the principles of a new-age resort with the rambling architecture of the region. Next door the Purple Emerald Yoga Centre offers courses for the actively inclined. Eating in Anjuna is a little limited, with many of the beachside restaurants offering curries and snacks of dubious quality. Oasis, on the Vagator road, has a very decent German bakery and offers a tranquil spot to start the day. Across the road there are a couple of friendly, family run curry houses which offer the ubiquitous Goan prawn curry as well as less piquant dishes for a handful of rupees.
Heading north through Mapusa, Goa’s sprawling commercial hub and an hour on one of the region’s colourful clapped-out buses takes you over a wide creek to the Morjim-Arambol strip. Access to these relatively remote villages has increased significantly since the opening of a bridge across the creek (previously you had to take a ferry) and tourism is gradually making its mark on this previously untouched corner of India.
Mandrem, a collection of huts and yoga centres which spread lackadaisically from a freshwater creek to the lapping shores of the sea, is a sleepy sort of place where tourism has yet to leave a dirty mark. Rising in an imposingly colonial fashion from the verdant shores of the river is the decidedly idyllic Villa Rivercat. This majestic edifice is the dream child of Rinoo Seghal who has invited like-minded guests into his home for the past 17 years. With a delicious garden which looks like a cross between a raver’s chill out zone and a haberdasher’s multicoloured fantasy, Rivercat is very much a place to rest, reflect and recuperate. Airy, comfortable rooms and a chilled out, sleepy air characterise the villa, which, fittingly is decorated with an eclectic range of cat paraphernalia as well as being home to several stray felines and much loved family dogs which have run of the house. A rapid clamber over a dune and you are on the wide shores of the Arabian Sea; no clamouring package tourists from the shires here, Mandrem’s lack of facilities and relative remoteness precludes holiday-makers looking for bright lights and a pumping club-scene. Most of the village’s guesthouses are tucked away beyond the dunes and aside from a few rickety bamboo huts perched picturesquely alongside a wooden bridge belonging to Merrylands, the beach is an untainted stretch of virgin sand home only to crabs and the odd beachcomber. If you are very lucky or time your trip carefully, you can even head out to the beach under the full moon to watch turtles hatch their young.
Even the most ardent peace seeker may wish for a little more action than Mandrem can offer, and for a mere 150 rupees you can hire a scooter for the day and head north to Arambol, the determinedly more lively enclave on the northernmost tip of Goa. Perched on a hill and surrounded by forest, Arambol is still home to a number of fishermen who reap the fruits of the sea whilst tapping the tourist dollar which bolsters the small town’s economy. Arambol’s a friendly sort of place and, if you stay for more than a couple of days, stallholders and restaurateurs smile and greet you as you pass by on your way to the beach to catch some rays, read a book or simply lie back and watch the gentle traffic of dread-locked Europeans meander along the sands.
The roadside market here, if smaller than the weekly market in Anjuna, is much less frenetic and you are free to browse hemp jumpers and flowery skirts at your leisure without too much attention from aggressive hawkers. Arambol is credited by many a well-wandered traveller as being home to some of the best budget food in Goa. If you’re hungry, head down to the beach for excellent Italian on the sand at Relax Inn, eye-wateringly hot spicy seafood at Blue Pearl or possibly the best nan and massala we’ve ever tasted at Om Shankar’s Beer Bar and Restaurant. Alternatively head back up the hill to Pane e Pomodoro, a Ligurian restaurant run by the charming and pally Franceso and Federica. But even Arambol, as basic as it is, feels at times as if it wears its hippy hangout status with a certain weariness, as if there hangs in the air the faintly perceptible ghost of a thousand parties, filling the casual passer-by with a certain nostalgia and longing for somewhere which is not, and has never been, part of a scene.
To really escape you need to forgo the beats, the parties, the beachside restaurants and the broadband and travel even further north, beyond Tiracol with its Portuguese fort cum heritage hotel and marvellous, tantilisingly fresh food, on to Shiroda and Vengurla where the pearly white sands and the clear blue skies are vast, uninterrupted expanses which lie, as yet, untouched.
State of mind
Venture away from the leafy mangroves and deserted beaches of the northernmost tip of Goa, and you ears will be assailed with the unmistakable thump of Goa trance. This organic, squelchy sounding music emerged in the late ’90’s and is closely related to psychedelic trance, its more metallic sounding cousin. With its roots in the early hippy history of Goa, there’s a slightly more spiritual element behind those heavy heady beats which boom from the terraces of every restaurant, hotel and bar in Anjuna. Regrettably for some, the parties which spawned the music have largely stopped due to more stringent laws being enforced in the area with regards to late night noise and drugs. Faster than mainstream trance, the beats you’ll hear pounding through the Goan night are designed to enhance an already enhanced frame of mind, making them somewhat unpalatable to those in an unaltered state of being. Goan trance has not lost any of its popularity, although strangely enough, the pseudonymous state is no longer the greatest exponent of the sound; Israel now takes that title, soldiers visiting Goa having taken the sound to their hearts and the rich organic sounds of west-Indian trance beats out the rhythm of many a rave in Tel Aviv.
By Michelle Madsen, July 2006
The road less travelled
An interview with the Observer's chief correspondent
Generalisations irk Jason Burke. After recklessly throwing in his lot with the Kurdish Peshmerga at the tender age of 19, his interest in militancy has seen him irrepressibly progress from an enthusiastic graduate newshound, to chief reporter at The Observer, one of Britain’s best respected weekly broadsheets. To make a sweeping statement about the Muslim world is to invoke his ire.
From brutal bloodshed to animistic shrines in Islamabad, saying that Burke has seen a lot is something of an understatement. Recollections of his encounters with Islamic cultures along the path from Algeria to Indonesia confirm to him that the much-touted Western perception of a monolithic Islam simply does not exist. But how does this reconcile with Burke’s message of a common humanity?
‘This was the point I got stuck at when writing the book; its purpose is to show that we are all the same whatever broad faith or non faith box we are dropped into. I was writing about Islamic communities, which obviously poses considerable problems when you are writing a book saying that the world cannot simply be divided into Islamic and non-Islamic. Human beings across the planet are 95 per cent the same, there is only a very small element of our make up which is variable, and only a very small percentage of that which is religiously variable. I had to break up the stereotype that there is one Islamic world populated exclusively by mad, gun-toting Muslims, and show that 99 per cent of Muslims are the same as people from anywhere else.’
It’s a point which has persistently been underplayed by Western newspapers who rarely, if ever, print stories of genuine human interest from the Islamic world, preferring instead to dwell on the atrocities committed by warmongering extremists and oppressive regimes. Burke has often complained about the unfair amount of column inches given to news from conflicted areas in the Islamic world, claiming that the unremitting rhetoric of suicide bombing and Al Qaedism has stretched global empathy to breaking point.
‘Most of the time these voices, the voices of the vast silent majority, are not heard. Because they are not heard, the people in the West increasingly think that Muslim equals terrorist madman. Muslims, like anyone else, just want to get food on the table at the end of the day – they want to go home to their wives or their husbands, they want healthcare for grandma and they want their kids to get some kind of education. There is a preconception embedded in the question ‘where are the most devout Muslims?’ and that is one which equates devout with extreme. What do we in the West mean when we talk about Islamic countries? Do we mean countries in which the majority of the population are practicing Muslims? Fine, but you get into hot water when you ask what it means to be a Muslim. Take Iraq as an example: I met many people in Iraq who you could not call classically devout or practicing Muslims – they may fast during Ramadan but they don’t pray five times a day, they drink, they eat pork and few make the pilgrimage to Mecca, yet they are fiercely proud of being Muslim. Near where I lived in Islamabad there was a shrine to a local saint called Bari Imam where hundreds of people went to pray. They were the poor, the uneducated, the sick: peasants who go to ask for divine intercession or to be healed by putting out regular offerings or tying favours to trees. Effectively worshipping a saint, these practices are forbidden in classic Islam – to me these people were devout Muslims practicing a practical, functioning variety of their religion. They believe in the shrine, the saint and the power of God and they believe that they are Muslims. It is not for me to say whether they are or they are not, but then, I am not a Muslim or a Christian or a believing person. Equally there are people who I spoke with several times from northwest Afghanistan who believe in a wide range of things which are classically described as being fundamentalist. But who is the more devout Muslim? You tell me.’
Travelling up and down the Islamic world, revisiting old acquaintances and meeting new faces on each trip, Burke’s voice is one which lets the events he witnesses and people he encounters speak for themselves. It’s not easy to give a positive spin to the much-maligned members of the Taliban, a regime which has been at the heart of so much furious invective from the Western press. Burke’s impression of the fighters he meets in Kandahar, however, is forgiving – he finds he cannot accept the label of ‘mad mullahs’ which the West so rapidly gave to the members of this distant regime. ‘The Taliban always seemed to me like abused children trying, in their own damaged way, to make the world better and in doing so visiting the abuse they had suffered on others. I felt sorry for them. They were part of the tragedy that was Afghanistan, not its cause.’
The fiercely emotive power of language to demarcate and condemn in sweeping generalisations is an issue which Burke doesn’t dwell on, although he’s ready to admit that the future of accurate reporting will be dictated by public interest. ‘I’ve been a working journalist on British national papers for the last 15 years – I don’t expect miracles. We have to accept that there are serious constraints on journalists throughout the world. Increasingly, papers don’t invest in hard news, preferring to focus on fashion and lifestyle and fair enough, nobody wants to read about Al Qaeda on every page of every newspaper. I’ve been in a position where I have been given the resources to go beyond the easy headline, which is something that most journalists never have the chance to do.
Many web-based forums which discuss Islam would agree that Western media-speak has portrayed Islam, particularly over the last five years, in an ill-informed and bigoted fashion. Islamonline.com argues that the British media in particular has been at worst propagandist and, at best, selective and partisan in its reporting of the Muslim world since the London bombings of July 7 2005. It’s a valid point to raise when so much of the criticism levelled at Islamic countries is focused upon the democratic issues of press-censorship and a lack of free speech. If Western papers cannot report unbiased accounts of events, how can they level such criticisms at their eastern counterparts?
‘Journalists need to know that with freedoms come responsibilities – even if you are not being censored, there is no excuse for printing rubbish. In fact, a free press means you have to take more care because you have to print the truth. I am a firm believer in free speech, free conversation and the power of reason. Particularly the latter as well written, truthful reporting will carry an argument and win the day every time. The truth will always be the strongest news you can print. One of the great problems for the press in the Middle East is that the culture of fact is so debased that no one believes anything. The result is that abhorrent, morally repulsive conspiracy theories emerge. It’s just rubbish, it belittles anyone who thinks like that and makes reasonable debate impossible. We need responsible press freedom – it’s a fundamental tenet of democracy. It’s rubbish to say that a free press is not compatible with Islam. Why not? Pakistan has a fairly free press, as does Indonesia. Even Algeria has a remarkably free press for what is essentially a quasi-military state. But you cannot just stop with press freedoms, we also need freedoms of religion association and speech as well.’
Burke’s mood is certainly more reflective than in his last book Al Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam which focused solely on the terrorist group and its many misinterpretations in the West. On the Road to Kandahar turns the spotlight from the radical elements and focuses on ordinary people, the crowds in the streets and the children in the schoolroom. It’s the infinitely recognisable human traits of kindness, weakness and determination which shine through the bearded surface of his interviewees. It’s these local touches, the wider view of the paths which he has travelled, which cause Burke so much trouble in reaching a resolution. Returning to Pakistan in late 2005 to revisit an extremist acquaintance he once felt nothing but amicable disdain for, he realises that his sympathies have been sharply realigned by recent events. ‘The London bombings had made it abundantly clear that in the first decade of the 21st century the world was too small a place for ideas and acts anywhere to be safely ignored. It was no longer possible to be just an observer.’
So it seems we are all participants in this global conflict which is growing to embrace every creed of humanity with alarming speed. Burke, however, views the emergent issues of the 21st century with more optimism: ‘The problem is one which is very much at the heart of the Middle Eastern situation – how do we reconcile identity with globalisation? How, when there is increasingly a single vision of how we are meant to live our lives, do we reconcile this homogenous vision with local traditions, religions values and societies? How do we combine the potential economic and political benefits of globalisation with that very human craving to feel at home and master of ones self and ones destiny? You see these questions asked everywhere, in Europe in America – it might be at the root of both religious nationalisms and political fundamentalisms, which all lead to frustrations, and sometimes, violence. This is the great challenge of the 21st century and watching how it develops will be an extremely interesting experience.’
On the Road to Kandahar: Travels Through Conflict in the Islamic World is published by Allen Lane and is available from Penguin Books online. www.penguin.com
By Michelle Madsen, July 2006 (Time Out)
Generalisations irk Jason Burke. After recklessly throwing in his lot with the Kurdish Peshmerga at the tender age of 19, his interest in militancy has seen him irrepressibly progress from an enthusiastic graduate newshound, to chief reporter at The Observer, one of Britain’s best respected weekly broadsheets. To make a sweeping statement about the Muslim world is to invoke his ire.
From brutal bloodshed to animistic shrines in Islamabad, saying that Burke has seen a lot is something of an understatement. Recollections of his encounters with Islamic cultures along the path from Algeria to Indonesia confirm to him that the much-touted Western perception of a monolithic Islam simply does not exist. But how does this reconcile with Burke’s message of a common humanity?
‘This was the point I got stuck at when writing the book; its purpose is to show that we are all the same whatever broad faith or non faith box we are dropped into. I was writing about Islamic communities, which obviously poses considerable problems when you are writing a book saying that the world cannot simply be divided into Islamic and non-Islamic. Human beings across the planet are 95 per cent the same, there is only a very small element of our make up which is variable, and only a very small percentage of that which is religiously variable. I had to break up the stereotype that there is one Islamic world populated exclusively by mad, gun-toting Muslims, and show that 99 per cent of Muslims are the same as people from anywhere else.’
It’s a point which has persistently been underplayed by Western newspapers who rarely, if ever, print stories of genuine human interest from the Islamic world, preferring instead to dwell on the atrocities committed by warmongering extremists and oppressive regimes. Burke has often complained about the unfair amount of column inches given to news from conflicted areas in the Islamic world, claiming that the unremitting rhetoric of suicide bombing and Al Qaedism has stretched global empathy to breaking point.
‘Most of the time these voices, the voices of the vast silent majority, are not heard. Because they are not heard, the people in the West increasingly think that Muslim equals terrorist madman. Muslims, like anyone else, just want to get food on the table at the end of the day – they want to go home to their wives or their husbands, they want healthcare for grandma and they want their kids to get some kind of education. There is a preconception embedded in the question ‘where are the most devout Muslims?’ and that is one which equates devout with extreme. What do we in the West mean when we talk about Islamic countries? Do we mean countries in which the majority of the population are practicing Muslims? Fine, but you get into hot water when you ask what it means to be a Muslim. Take Iraq as an example: I met many people in Iraq who you could not call classically devout or practicing Muslims – they may fast during Ramadan but they don’t pray five times a day, they drink, they eat pork and few make the pilgrimage to Mecca, yet they are fiercely proud of being Muslim. Near where I lived in Islamabad there was a shrine to a local saint called Bari Imam where hundreds of people went to pray. They were the poor, the uneducated, the sick: peasants who go to ask for divine intercession or to be healed by putting out regular offerings or tying favours to trees. Effectively worshipping a saint, these practices are forbidden in classic Islam – to me these people were devout Muslims practicing a practical, functioning variety of their religion. They believe in the shrine, the saint and the power of God and they believe that they are Muslims. It is not for me to say whether they are or they are not, but then, I am not a Muslim or a Christian or a believing person. Equally there are people who I spoke with several times from northwest Afghanistan who believe in a wide range of things which are classically described as being fundamentalist. But who is the more devout Muslim? You tell me.’
Travelling up and down the Islamic world, revisiting old acquaintances and meeting new faces on each trip, Burke’s voice is one which lets the events he witnesses and people he encounters speak for themselves. It’s not easy to give a positive spin to the much-maligned members of the Taliban, a regime which has been at the heart of so much furious invective from the Western press. Burke’s impression of the fighters he meets in Kandahar, however, is forgiving – he finds he cannot accept the label of ‘mad mullahs’ which the West so rapidly gave to the members of this distant regime. ‘The Taliban always seemed to me like abused children trying, in their own damaged way, to make the world better and in doing so visiting the abuse they had suffered on others. I felt sorry for them. They were part of the tragedy that was Afghanistan, not its cause.’
The fiercely emotive power of language to demarcate and condemn in sweeping generalisations is an issue which Burke doesn’t dwell on, although he’s ready to admit that the future of accurate reporting will be dictated by public interest. ‘I’ve been a working journalist on British national papers for the last 15 years – I don’t expect miracles. We have to accept that there are serious constraints on journalists throughout the world. Increasingly, papers don’t invest in hard news, preferring to focus on fashion and lifestyle and fair enough, nobody wants to read about Al Qaeda on every page of every newspaper. I’ve been in a position where I have been given the resources to go beyond the easy headline, which is something that most journalists never have the chance to do.
Many web-based forums which discuss Islam would agree that Western media-speak has portrayed Islam, particularly over the last five years, in an ill-informed and bigoted fashion. Islamonline.com argues that the British media in particular has been at worst propagandist and, at best, selective and partisan in its reporting of the Muslim world since the London bombings of July 7 2005. It’s a valid point to raise when so much of the criticism levelled at Islamic countries is focused upon the democratic issues of press-censorship and a lack of free speech. If Western papers cannot report unbiased accounts of events, how can they level such criticisms at their eastern counterparts?
‘Journalists need to know that with freedoms come responsibilities – even if you are not being censored, there is no excuse for printing rubbish. In fact, a free press means you have to take more care because you have to print the truth. I am a firm believer in free speech, free conversation and the power of reason. Particularly the latter as well written, truthful reporting will carry an argument and win the day every time. The truth will always be the strongest news you can print. One of the great problems for the press in the Middle East is that the culture of fact is so debased that no one believes anything. The result is that abhorrent, morally repulsive conspiracy theories emerge. It’s just rubbish, it belittles anyone who thinks like that and makes reasonable debate impossible. We need responsible press freedom – it’s a fundamental tenet of democracy. It’s rubbish to say that a free press is not compatible with Islam. Why not? Pakistan has a fairly free press, as does Indonesia. Even Algeria has a remarkably free press for what is essentially a quasi-military state. But you cannot just stop with press freedoms, we also need freedoms of religion association and speech as well.’
Burke’s mood is certainly more reflective than in his last book Al Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam which focused solely on the terrorist group and its many misinterpretations in the West. On the Road to Kandahar turns the spotlight from the radical elements and focuses on ordinary people, the crowds in the streets and the children in the schoolroom. It’s the infinitely recognisable human traits of kindness, weakness and determination which shine through the bearded surface of his interviewees. It’s these local touches, the wider view of the paths which he has travelled, which cause Burke so much trouble in reaching a resolution. Returning to Pakistan in late 2005 to revisit an extremist acquaintance he once felt nothing but amicable disdain for, he realises that his sympathies have been sharply realigned by recent events. ‘The London bombings had made it abundantly clear that in the first decade of the 21st century the world was too small a place for ideas and acts anywhere to be safely ignored. It was no longer possible to be just an observer.’
So it seems we are all participants in this global conflict which is growing to embrace every creed of humanity with alarming speed. Burke, however, views the emergent issues of the 21st century with more optimism: ‘The problem is one which is very much at the heart of the Middle Eastern situation – how do we reconcile identity with globalisation? How, when there is increasingly a single vision of how we are meant to live our lives, do we reconcile this homogenous vision with local traditions, religions values and societies? How do we combine the potential economic and political benefits of globalisation with that very human craving to feel at home and master of ones self and ones destiny? You see these questions asked everywhere, in Europe in America – it might be at the root of both religious nationalisms and political fundamentalisms, which all lead to frustrations, and sometimes, violence. This is the great challenge of the 21st century and watching how it develops will be an extremely interesting experience.’
On the Road to Kandahar: Travels Through Conflict in the Islamic World is published by Allen Lane and is available from Penguin Books online. www.penguin.com
By Michelle Madsen, July 2006 (Time Out)
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