Cairn moves courts in US, UK to get $1.4 bn from India
PVC, vinyl, latex seem to be the go-to fabrics for fashionistas, both in India and across the world
NEW DELHI: Britain’s Cairn Energy plc has filed cases in the US, the UK and the Netherlands courts to register a $1.4 billion arbitration award it had won in a tax dispute against India, as a preparatory action in case it is not paid by the Indian government.
Cairn filed a petition in a Washington DC Federal court on February 12, and followed it up with similar filings in the UK and the Netherlands courts, people with knowledge of the matter said.
In a petition, Cairn Energy plc and its UK holding company sought the US district court for the District of Columbia to recognise and confirm the December 21 award by a three-member tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.
It also plans to move a Canadian court soon.
The people said the petitions are primarily to register the December 21 award with the courts prior to taking any enforcement actions such as seeking seizure of Indian assets in those countries to enforce the award in case it is not paid.
No enforcement action is planned for now and the company is waiting for a formal response from the Indian government
on honouring the award, they said.
The company declined comments on the issue.
Cairn’s hands have been forced by its shareholders who after waiting patiently for seven years for resolution of the tax issue, now want action to recover the award. The shareholders include big financial institutions such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Schroders and Aviva.
Rather than sit and wait for the government response, Cairn has moved to cover for all eventualities, the people said.
Registration of an arbitration award is the first step before any entity can file a petition
in court for seizure of any asset to recover the amounts awarded.
Cairn chief executive Simon Thomson has sought a meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman this week to discuss the arbitration award. While Sitharaman hasn’t responded to the request, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey is likely to meet him.
Last month, the Edinburgbased firm had written to the government saying it would be forced to seize Indian government assets if New Delhi fails to pay it $1.4 billion after losing a bitter dispute over retrospective taxes.
JOHANNESBURG: Faf du Plessis, the last survivor of South African cricket’s golden age in Test cricket, announced on Wednesday that he had retired from Test matches with immediate effect.
Du Plessis, 36, said in a statement on his Instagram account that he would continue to be available for one-day and Twenty20 internationals.
“The next two years are ICC T20 World Cup years. Because of this, my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so that I can be the best player I can possibly be,” he said.
“I strongly believe that I have a lot to offer to the Proteas in this format.”
Du Plessis said he would be having discussions about his future with Cricket South Africa in the next few months.
“My heart is clear and the time is right to walk into a new chapter,” he said.
“It has been an honour to play for my country in all the formats of the game, but the time has come for me to retire from Test cricket.”
He captained South Africa in 36 of his 69 Test matches, winning 18 and losing 15.
South Africa were already ranked as the number one team in Test cricket when Du Plessis made his debut in the second Test against Australia in Adelaide in 2012.
He was playing alongside some of South Africa’s greatest players, including Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.
But it was his man of the match performance that set up a second successive series win in Australia for the Proteas.
After making 78 in the first innings, Du Plessis batted for more than seven-and-a-half hours and faced 376 balls in the
second innings, scoring 110 not out and enabling South Africa to escape with a draw.
He made another half-century as South Africa won the next Test in Perth to clinch the series.
Du Plessis went on to score 4,163 runs in Test matches at an
average of 40.02.
He hit ten centuries and made his highest score of 199 against Sri Lanka on his home ground at Centurion Park last December.
He succeeded AB de Villiers as Test captain in 2016, initially on a temporary basis, and enjoyed
significant early success, leading South Africa to victory in seven of his first eight series in charge, including away and home series against Australia.
With a team weakened by retirements and natural attrition, the latter stages of his captaincy were less successful as South Africa lost away and at home against Sri Lanka and were well beaten in a home series against England.
He resigned as captain across all formats last February following the England series, but continued to be available as a player.
The Covid-19 pandemic drastically reduced South Africa’s playing programme and he played in only four more Tests -the home series against Sri Lanka in December and January and two recent Tests in Pakistan.
Despite stating his determination to be part of the next two Twenty20 World Cups, in India this year and Australia next year, Du Plessis will not be playing in a domestic Twenty20 tournament starting on Friday.
But his statement indicated that he will be seeking to play in some of the major Twenty20 leagues in the world, including the Pakistan Super League this month and the Indian Premier League in April.
John Travolta: The American actor, famous for films such as Grease, Pulp Fiction and Face/Off, turns 67 today.
Latex-induced sheen and PVC-radiated gloss seem to be Bollywood’s take on revenge dressing. Recently, actor Sonakshi Sinha was spotted in a PVC bodycon dress and designer Masaba Gupta cut a fine figure in a faux leather pantsuit, which emitted a buttery polish. Not long ago, actor Nora Fatehi was clicked in a sheen-creating latex ensemble and designer Tarun Tahiliani’s campaign, Love & Relove, features a sari teamed with vinyl boots.
Latex made a major comeback over the last two years when Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent and Olivier Rousteing at Balmain put it on the map with their crotch-led offerings. And its femme fatale-ish appeal doesn’t seem to fade even in 2021 with designers like Lazo Schmidl showcasing it in his Fall Winter ’21 menswear outing.
Fashion blogger Prerna Nigam shares some styling tips to rock PVC and latex. “A faux leather short dress paired with ankle boots or thigh-high boots is the perfect way to rock a vegan or faux
A menswear onesie by Lazo Schmidl AW 21
leather dress. Styling your faux leather trouser/legging is so much fun. A T-shirt and blazer are all you need to add for a sleek look with a black faux leather trouser. Just like faux leather trousers, faux leather bralette/crop top is a multistyled piece in one’s wardrobe. Whether worn underneath a top/blazer and delicately revealed, or above a shirt and in your face, this garment can transform any outfit to feel utterly exciting!”