Don't resort to sorcerers - Oman Daily Observer

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4 OMAN OMAN DAILY Observer SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2013 Muslims told to ponder on Almighty’s power IZKI — His Eminence Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad al Khalili, Grand Mufti of the Sultanate, gave a lecture at Al Qaryatain village in the Wilayat of Izki yesterday on the occasion of the anniversary of Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday. Al Khalili urged Muslims to ponder on the Almighty’s power which, he said, reflects in many things directly related to our lives. An example of the Creator’s power is the fact that our bodies replace 125 million cells in a minutes, and this calls for deep thinking and sincerity in worshiping the Almighty Allah. — ONA HM greetings conveyed to Russian President Don’t resort to sorcerers From page 1 People who resort to sorcerers usually have illusions, said the religious guide. He advised people that it would be better to resort to psychiatrists who know more about psychological and spiritual matters and who will have the capacity of removing illusions from the minds of patients or their relatives. It would be mere illusion to believe that a patient was the victim of a specific evil spirit or an elderly person, said the religious adviser. The ROP, in its reports yesterday, said that a man was recently arrested in the Wilayat of Shinas after being observed selling drugs. He was found in possession of cash earned from this trade, as well as heroin and hashish hidden in cans in his vehicle. Air passenger traffic rises From page 1 compared to 3,123,988 passengers for the same period of the year 2011. The increase in arrival and departure traffic into Muscat International Airport is attributed to the introduction of new airlines into Muscat, which are IndiGo, Ethiopian Airlines and United Airways of Bangladesh, as well as increase in the number of flights operated by existing airlines, such as Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Sri Lankan Airlines and Turkish Airlines. In terms of air cargo traffic at Muscat International airport, Aviation Statistics indicate an increase in the total unloaded and loaded freight by 14 per cent, with total shipment 112,307 ton ending December 2012 compared to 98,086 tonnes in the same period in 2011. Salalah Airport has witnessed an increase by 23 per cent in the total number of arriving and departing passengers to 629,305 passengers for the period ending December 2012 compared to 513,278 passengers for the same period of 2011. As for the movement of Air Cargo at Salalah Airport, freight traffic has recorded a 2 per cent decrease in total unloaded and loaded freight, bringing the shipment to 1,321 tons till December 2012 compared to 1,350 tonnes in the same period in 2011. — ONA MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin received here on Thursday evening Yusuf bin Issa al Zadjali, who presented his credentials to the president as the Sultanate’s Ambassador to Federal Russia. The ambassador conveyed the greetings and best wishes of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos to President Putin, along with His Majesty the Sultan’s wishes of further progress and prosperity for the friendly people of Russia. In turn, President Putian asked the ambassador to convey his best wishes to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos and the Omani government and people. He wished Oman continued welfare under the leadership of His Majesty the Sultan. In a speech before the ambassadors of many countries who envoys presented credentials, President Putin reiterated keenness to foster Russia’s ties with the Sultanate and other GCC states. — ONA Greetings to India, Australia MUSCAT — His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has also sent a cable of Indian President Parnab Mukherjee on the occasion of his country’s National Day. His Majesty the Sultan wished President Mukherjee good health and happiness and the friendly people of India further progress and prosperity. KOM takes part in InfoBiz, InfoConnect exhibitions MUSCAT — The Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) will take part from tomorrow in InfoBiz and InfoConnect 2013 Exhibitions due to be held at Kuwait International Exhibition Centre and last for two days. Mohammed bin Hamad al Maskri, KOM Director- General, said that KOM will take part within Digital Oman pavilion alongside with the Information Technology Authority (ITA), the Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Tourism. He explained that the participation stems from KOM continuous keenness to be present at all local, regional and international forums in a bid to highlight opportunities available for investment in the fields of information and communication technology in the Sultanate in general and in KOM in particular. Al Maskri added that In- foConnect is considered an appropriate opportunity to highlight KOM, as well as package of investment incentives provided to allure foreign investments as per the enforced systems and laws. "Through its participation, KOM will present its basic services and facilities that could assist investors to process their business quickly and smoothly," he said. KOM Director-General pointed out that KOM avails offices, meeting halls, office areas provided with the latest standards and with competitiveness prices, besides KOM proximity to the largest and rapid growing residential areas as it is situated in the centre of the largest industrial area, represented in Al Rusayl Industrial Estate and the Sultan SHINAS — The Fisheries Department in the Wilayat of Shinas, Al Batinah North governorate, distributed 17 cool boxes to local fishermen operating onboard professional fishing boats. The step comes as part of a quality control project being under- Qaboos University (SQU). He added that KOM has opportunities for trade communication and co-operation with big companies, gaining knowledge, exchanging consultancy and expertise, besides the presence of information network linked with international organisations, governmental departments and higher institutes. Al Maskri pointed out that KOM incubates more than 115 local and foreign establishments and companies. He added that the KOM fourth building expected to domesticate about 100 local, regional and international companies as its rate of works stands at more than 70 per cent with total of 71 local and international establishments and companies. — ONA Fishermen in Wilayat of Shinas receive cool boxes Health educators visit juvenile centre MUSCAT — Health educators from the health Bausher and Al Athaiba and the Ministry of Health, as well as Hail Al Awamir School and Al Aesry His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has sent a cable of greetings to Quentin Brice, the Governor General of Australia, on the occasion of her country’s National Day. His Majesty the Sultan wished Brice good health and happiness and the friendly people of Australia further progress and prosperity. — ONA Centre recently visited the Royal Oman Police’s Juvenile Care Unit in Sidab, Wilayat of Muscat. They exchanged views with the unit’s officials about the best practices for the juveniles, toured the departments of the unit and took note of its facilities. — ONA KOM incubates more than 115 local and foreign establishments and companies taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The ongoing campaign includes the replacement of old cool boxes, said Yaqoub bin Naser al Ghassani, Director of the Fisheries Department in Shinas. — ONA Majlis Ash’shura delegation for Turkey MUSCAT — Shaikh Khalid bin Hilal al Busaidy, Chairman of the Majlis Ash’shura, will today (Saturday) begin an official visit to Turkey lasting several days in response to an invitation by the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament. The Majlis delegation will have a close look at the Turkish experience in parliamentary practices and visit several institutions, historical and cultural landmarks. — ONA National Youth Commission to organise meetings MUSCAT — The National Youth Commission (NYC) will begin a visit to the North Sharqiyah governorate on Monday during which it will hold a number of sessions in the Wilayat of Ibra with youths of the governorate. The commission will confer with 150 young men and women representing various segments of the local community. Lectures on the role of youth in formulating the future of the nation will be delivered by Omani scholar Khalfan al Aesry. On January 14, NYC had met at its first exploratory session with Omani youth in Al Buraimi Governorate. — ONA
CAIRO — Youths fought Egyptian police in Cairo and Alexandria yesterday on the second anniversary of the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak and brought the election of an Islamist president who protesters accuse of riding roughshod over the new democracy. The January 25 anniversary showcased the divide between the activists and their secular foes that is hindering President Mohamed Mursi’s efforts to revive an economy in crisis and reverse a plunge in Egypt’s currency by enticing back investors and tourists. Inspired by Tunisia’s historic popular uprising, Egypt’s revolution spurred further revolts across the Arab world. But the sense of common purpose that united Egyptians two years ago has given way to internal strife that has only worsened and last month triggered lethal street battles. Opponents of Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies massed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to revive the demands of a revolution they say has been betrayed by Islamists. “Our revolution is continuing. We reject the domination of any party over this state. We say no to the Brotherhood state,” Hamdeen Sabahy, a popular leftist leader, that told as he made his way to the square for the rally. PARIS — France yesterday joined Britain, other European states and Australia in pulling its nationals out of Benghazi because of a terror threat that the Libyan government has played down. Having insisted Thursday there was no “no new intelligence” to justify the Europeans” concerns, Libya said yesterday it had not been informed of their plans to pull citizens out of the country’s second city and was seeking clarification from Britain. France, whose military action in Mali is said to have provoked the threat, confirmed Police battled protesters who threw petrol bombs and firecrackers as they tried to approach a wall blocking access to government buildings near the square in the pre-dawn hours. Clouds of tear gas fired by police filled the air. At one point, riot police used one of the incendiaries thrown at them to set ablaze at least two tents erected by the youths, a Reuters witness said. Clashes between stone-throwing youths and the police continued in streets near the square into the day. Ambulances ferried away a steady stream of casualties. The health ministry said 25 people had been injured since Thursday in clashes around Tahrir Square. There were similar scenes in Alexandria, where protesters and riot police skirmished near local government offices. Tear gas fouled the air and black smoke billowed from tyres set ablaze by youths. Nine people were wounded by birdshot pellets, according to medical and security sources. Some protesters pledged to march to Mursi’s Cairo palace. Thousands more protested against the Brotherhood in cities across Egypt including Suez, Ismailia and Port Said. The Brotherhood decided against mobilising in the street for the anniversary, wary of the scope for more yesterday that it had followed the lead from Britain. “The information we had on the threats was sufficiently reliable to justify telling our nationals to leave the region,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot. France has only around 40 citizens in Benghazi out of 250-300 in Libya as a whole. In an updated travel advisory, the foreign ministry said French nationals should avoid eastern Libya altogether. Australia’s department of foreign affairs had earlier issued a statement saying: “We are aware of a specific, im- minent threat to Westerners in Benghazi. All Australians in Benghazi should leave immediately. “There is a risk of retaliatory attacks against Western targets in Libya following the French intervention in the conflict in Mali in January 2013.” Benghazi was the cradle of the uprising that ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011 and also the city where a US ambassador was killed in an attack last September. Germany and the Netherlands followed Britain in telling their citizens to get out of Libya, prompting an aston- conflict after violence in December that was stoked by Mursi’s decision to fast-track a constitution. “The people want to bring down the regime,” chanted crowds in Tahrir Square, where numbers stood at several thousand by early afternoon. “Save Egypt from the rule of the Supreme Guide,” said another, a reference to leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie. “We are not here to celebrate but to force those in power to submit to the will of the people. Egypt now must never be like Egypt during Mubarak's rule,” said Mohamed Fahmy, an activist. Mursi, in a speech on Thursday marking the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, called on Egyptians to mark the anniversary “in a civilised, peaceful way that safeguards our nation, our institutions, our lives”. “The Brotherhood is very concerned about escalation, that's why they have tried to dial down their role on January 25,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center. “There may very well be the kinds of clashes that we've seen before, but I don't see anything major happening that is going to fundamentally change the political situation,” he said. With its eye firmly on forthcoming parliamentary elections, the Brother- ished response from the north African country’s deputy interior minister, Abdullah Massoud. “If Britain was afraid of threats to its citizens, it could have pulled them out quietly without causing all the commotion and excitement,” Massud said yesterday, according to the Lana news agency. The Libyans have acknowledged that there are security problems in Benghazi but insist there is no new intelligence to justify the current alarm. Since its pivotal role as the springboard for the uprising, 5 REGION OMAN DAILY Observer SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2013 RIOT police officers sit behind barbed wire in front of the presidential palace in Cairo yesterday. — AFP Violence flares on uprising anniversary hood marked the anniversary with a big charity drive across the nation. It plans to deliver medical aid to 1 million people and distribute affordable basic foodstuffs. Writing in Al Ahram, Egypt's flagship state-run daily, Brotherhood leader Badie said the country was in need of “practical, serious competition” to reform the corrupt state left by the Mubarak era. “The differences of opinion and vision that Egypt is passing through is a characteristic at the core of transitions from dictatorship to democracy, and clearly expresses the variety of Egyptian culture,” he wrote. Still, Mursi faces discontent on multiple fronts. His opponents say he and his group are seeking to dominate the post-Mubarak order. They accuse him of showing some of the autocratic impulses of the deposed leader by, for example, driving through the new constitution last month. “I am taking part in today's marches to reject the warped constitution, the 'Brotherhoodisation' of the state, the attack on the rule of law, and the disregard of the president and his government for the demands for social justice,” Amr Hamzawy, a prominent liberal politician, wrote on his Twitter feed. — AFP France joins Benghazi exodus A YOUNG Iraqi girl flashes victory signs during a protest in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi yesterday. The longest-running of the protests, in Ramadi, has cut off a key trade route linking Baghdad to Jordan and Syria for a month. — AFP Benghazi has emerged as a hub for groups. US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in September when dozens of heavily armed Al Qaeda-linked fighters overran the compound and a nearby CIA-run annex. Britain closed its mission in Benghazi around the same time and there were thought to be only a handful of Britons in the city when Thursday’s warning was issued. Earlier this month the Italian consul in Benghazi was shot at in his car, although he escaped unhurt. — AFP Iraq troops kill 4 FALLUJA — Iraqi troops shot dead at least four people during clashes with protesters in Falluja yesterday in escalating unrest against Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki. A Reuters witness said troops initially fired in the air to disperse crowds, but then he saw some soldiers fire towards protesters who had approached their military vehicles and set one of them on fire. Thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest against mistreatment of their minority sect since late December, increasing worries that Iraq could slide back into widespread sectarian confrontation. Yesterday’s violence complicates Maliki’s attempts to end the protests, where demands range from amendment of terrorism laws that many feel single them out to more radical calls for the leader to step down. After thousands gathered for Friday prayers in Falluja, a city 50 km north of the capital, clashes broke out when troops arrested three protesters and others tried to block a major highway, officials said. “A final count shows we have six people killed and 52 wounded,” a hospital source said. He said at least four had died from gunshot wounds, but it was not clear how the other two people had died. A local television channel showed demonstrators approaching the army vehicles and throwing stones and water bottles while troops tried to keep them away by firing in the air. But images also showed one soldier aiming his rifle at demonstrators. — Reuters Syrian troops push to take Homs areas AMMAN — The Syrian army has stepped up an offensive on opposition strongholds in the central city of Homs, bringing in ground forces and loyalist militia to try to secure a major road junction, opposition sources said yesterday. Around 15,000 civilians are trapped on the southern and western edge of the city near the intersection of Syria’s main north-south and east-west arteries, crucial to let the army travel between Damascus and the Mediterranean coast, opposition campaigners in Homs said. Rebels said they had moved into new areas of Homs this month to grab more territory, which could explain the offensive. Activists said that rebels had asked them not to report on the advances because it could provoke retaliatory strikes. But activists in Homs said a barrage of army rocket, artillery and aerial bombard- ADDIS ABABA — Rival leaders of Sudan and South Sudan met for face-to-face talks yesterday in the latest push to implement stalled economic, oil and security deals. Sudanese President Omar al Bashir and his Southern counterpart Salva Kiir met at the African Union-mediated talks for the second time this month to push deals signed in September after bloody border conflict broke out last year. In addition, key issues left unresolved after the former civil war foes separated in July 2011 remain, including the contested flashpoint Abyei region. AU peace and security commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said “there is a need to move as fast as possible to resolve these pending issues.” AU chief mediator and former South African president Thabo Mbeki, as well as Ethiopian foreign minister Tedros Adhanom, attended ment had killed at least 120 civilians and 30 opposition fighters since Sunday. In the south, eight members of Syria’s military intelligence were killed by militant car bomb on Thursday night near the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, opposition activists and a violence monitoring group said yesterday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bomb was planted by Al Nusra Front, a unit fighting to oust Assad that the United States has labelled a fighter group. “We think the blast might have killed a colonel who has been leading the fight against rebels in the area,” Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory said. The building targeted is in the town of Saasa, 14 miles from the frontier with the Golan Heights, he said. Syrian authorities have banned most independent me- the talks. Bashir and Kiir are expected to also join top level AU security meetings due to start late yesterday. The two sides have been at loggerheads over the demarcation of the oil-rich border and pipeline costs to export the South’s crude via the north, a dispute that led to Juba halting oil production last January and weeks of border conflict. Khartoum also accuses South Sudan of supporting rebels in Sudan, which has been a major obstacle to implementing the agreements. The South, in turn, says Sudan backs insurgents on its territory, a tactic it used to deadly effect during the two decades of civil war. The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan will hold their second summit in a month on January 24, a Sudanese official said on Tuesday, in a fresh bid to defuse tensions over oil, territory and other disputes. The neighbours came close dia, making it difficult to verify such reports on the ground. The nearly two-year-old conflict has now killed an estimated 60,000 people and a military stalemate has formed while hundreds of thousands of refugees flood into Syria’s neighbours. The Syrian Interior Ministry called on Thursday for Syrian refugees to come home and said they would be guaranteed safety. A statement on the state news agency Sana said the government was “offering guarantees to all political opposition sides to enter the country ... (and) ... take part in the national dialogue without any query.” Few who left have returned, especially opposition supporters, and Assad said in a speech this month that he would not talk with opposition members he said had betrayed Syria or “gangs recruited abroad that follow the orders of foreigners". — Reuters Sudan, S Sudan leaders meet for security, oil talks to war in April in the worst border clashes since South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011. After mediation from the African Union, both agreed in September to resume oil exports from the landlocked South through Sudan, a lifeline for both struggling economies. But mutual distrust remains deep and neither side has yet withdrawn its armies from the border, a condition for both to restart oil flows. The AU brought Sudanese President Omar Hassan al- Bashir and his South Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir together in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa at the start of the month to end the stalemate. “The presidents will continue their discussions in Addis Ababa on January 24 according to the schedule agreed at their (first) summit,” Bashir’s media secretary Emad Said Ahmed. — Agencies
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Don't resort to sorcerers - Oman Daily Observer

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