6,600 jobs at tourism port - Oman Observer

More documents

Recommendations

Info

30 PEOPLE’S PLATFORM WE, the residents of Rex Road, near the Ruwi Health Centre had a water day on Tuesday. I’m pretty sure almost all residents in this area woke up to the sound of water gushing from the Al Massa Hall towards the wadi. It was apparently a case of busted water pipe that let enormous amount of water wasted for several hours. While I’m writing this mail, I can hear children screaming and shouting in awe near the busted pipe which was for them a blessing in disguise in this summer heat. Within hours after the pipe was broken, the whole area seemed to be the conduit of an unknown valley that let the mountain water pass through. The strange thing is that no oficials have bothered either to visit the place or to ix the problem. We, the residents of this area have high hopes in the departments that facilitate utilities. — Hasan al Lawati Editor: When we contacted the department concerned at the water and electricity, we were assured that efforts to rectify this issue were in place. We hope suficient measures will be taken to rectify it. Implement midday break strictly IT is a highly laudable step from the Sultanate of Oman’s government and I’m sure the international community has hailed the decision to give those who work outside under the sun a midday break. Although all the major companies LETTERS THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 Quick action needed when water pipes burst Do you have a word of appreciation for any services you received? Or suggestions for improvement? Observer is giving you an opportunity to rant or rave about anything and everything around you: Please write to: Tel: 24649451, Fax: 24649469; e-mail: observerfeatures@gmail.com facebook.com/oman observer twitter.com/omanobserver Shell Oman organises South Sharqiyah beach clean-up SHELL Oman recently partnered with Shabek Oman team to organise an off-road adventure for a worthy environmental cause. Thirty-ive off-road enthusiasts, Shell Oman employees, their friends and colleagues set off in a convoy of 4WDs from Shell Service Station in Al Amerat on a three-day camping and Fittest cities take exercise publicly and personally By Dorene Internicola THE US cities that provide parks, walking trails, playing ields and running tracks are setting standards for the country's healthiest urban areas and showing that if they build itness opportunities, residents will come. A new ranking of the 50 healthiest US cities weighs "community indicators" that include everything from obesity rates and percentage of smokers to the number of baseball diamonds and tennis courts. "Community indicators and personal health beach cleaning expedition in scenic South Sharqiyah. “We see this as the perfect opportunity to re-energise the Shell Oman ‘My Beautiful Oman’ initiative, which seeks to promote both environmental awareness and domestic tourism in Oman,” stated Mohammed al Farsi, GM, External Affairs and Business Development at Shell Oman. The expedition was lagged-off on May 16 and concluded on May 18, covering a total of 900 kilometres. On the irst day, the group camped and cleaned-up Shinah beach, travelling to Ras al Ruwais the next day, and on the inal day, journeying to Al Ashkhara beach. “The Sultanate is a land rich in history, culture and natural beauty. Oman’s 3000 kilometre long, and gen- pretty much follow each other," said Walter Thompson, the Chairman of the American College of Sports Medicine's American Fitness Index Advisory Board, which compiled the report. Despite its bone-chilling winters, Minneapolis-St Paul topped the list for the third year in a row. High obesity and smoking rates placed Oklahoma City at the bottom. Minnesota's Twin Cities understand that at certain times of year they will be buried in snow, and so they have created lots of places to exercise indoors, Thompson said. The report also notes Minneapolis-St Paul's generous per-capita number of dog parks, golf courses and baseball diamonds. erally unspoilt, coastline especially offers so much for visitors to see and experience. Besides, tourism opensup new commercial and employment opportunities for local communities. This year, as part of our ‘My Beautiful Oman’ initiative Shell Oman will focus on rolling-out a number of novel initiatives to highlight the nation’s tourism potential, while encouraging safe and responsible travel,” added Mohammed. More than 76 per cent of Minneapolis-St Paul residents reported exercising in the past 30 days. Minnesota is sometimes referred to as the land of 10,000 lakes, and the natives appear to use every one of them. "We have a lot of triathlons because we have so many lakes," said Minneapolis-based itness expert Chris Freytag. "There is a lake every 5 miles, so you can't get far from a lake with biking paths, windsurfers, kayaks. Water is a motivator." The index relied on information from municipalities and federal government data, such as Centers for Disease Control and US Census reports. Washington DC, Portland, Oregon; San Francisco and Denver scored well in the itness stakes, while Memphis, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; San Antonio, Detroit and Oklahoma City were the least healthy. Robust park-related spending helped Portland spring to third place from seventh in 2012 and Denver move to ifth position from ninth. Anne Graves, Director of Health Initiatives and Partnerships for the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, sees her city's 45th place ranking as a challenge and an opportunity. "We use AFI as our guide," said Graves, adding that the YMCA has convened a coalition of community partners to focus on AFI points, from increasing the number of farmers' markets and bicycle lanes to encouraging physicians to emphasise the importance of exercise. The California cities of San Francisco, Sacramento and San Jose fell within the top 10 on the list. American Council on Exercise spokeswoman Jessica Matthews said California's beautiful weather, daily farmers' markets and abundance of parkland were only part of the story. — Reuters are abiding by this rule, many smaller companies are not fully working in congruence with the rule and one can very often see people work during these sizzling heat. I strongly believe that there is a need for random check at the work sites so that those who are not abiding by the rule can be booked. — Shinuna al Mughairiya Editor: I believe that there is an inspection team at the Ministry of Manpower that oversees the proper implementation of the rules. Eagerly looking forward to seeing the train run across Oman AS a resident of the Sultanate there is no need to mention how much I enjoy residing here. I was delighted to learn of the 2017 project to construct a railway throughout the GCC. Even though road travel and air travel are available, the introduction of a train will beneit many. Travel by railway is extremely advantageous as one can enjoy the scenery of the Gulf yet be free from the task of driving. I am pleased that the railway will be constructed across GCC states as I would enjoy other GCC nationals to visit the Sultanate and vice versa. — Sajeesh Patiala Editor: Certainly, Oman has great potential in all aspects of its development. The introduction of railway will undoubtedly promote and reinforce the radiance of Oman. Heart ailments, diabetes lead to diseased brain RECENT study A has shown that people suffering from type 2 diabetes and heart disease are at an increased risk of dementia and other cognitive diseases. Lead author Christina E Hugenschmidt, PhD, an instructor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest Baptist, said the results from the Diabetes Heart Study-Mind (DHS-Mind) suggest that cardiovascular disease (CVD) plays an important role in the development of cognition problems, and these may take time before becoming clinically apparent. A report of the study appeared in Science Daily. The research results, which appeared online, will also be followed by a print version in Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications. "There has been a lot of research looking at the links between type 2 diabetes and increased risk for dementia, but this is the irst study to look speciically at subclinical CVD and the role it plays," Hugenschmidt said. "Our research shows that CVD risk caused by diabetes even before it's at a clinically treatable level might be bad for your brain." "The results imply that additional CVD factors, especially calci- ied plaque and vascular status, and not diabetes status alone, are major contributors to type 2 diabetes-related cognitive decline," Hugenschmidt said. People need to get less emotional about antibiotics P EOPLE need to talk about excessive use of antibiotics without getting emotional or mixing politics into the discussion, Ada Yonath, who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, said. “Perhaps we committed errors in using antibiotics for treating viral diseases... but we learned that that does not work. We learned a bunch of things... so it is incorrect to say we are abusing antibiotics,” Yonath said. Yonath is one of the scientists participating in the 3rd World Summit on Evolution on Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands. The summit, which ends today, is taking place in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, where leading scientists are discussing evolution, genomics, microorganisms and diseases, among other topics. Yonath said antibiotics were extremely useful, but she criticised the “political” use of the issue. The use of antibiotics to ight bacterial infections has allowed average life expectancies to rise from 40 or 50 years to double that in just a few decades, Yonath said. — IANS/EFE
THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 Tackle junk food to boost world economy: UN By Dario Thuburn THE UN's food agency on Tuesday said obesity and poor nutrition weigh heavily on the global economy and told governments that investing in food health would bring big economic as well as social returns. Lost productivity and spiralling healthcare bills linked to obesity cost the world economy around $1.4 trillion a year, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. Improving nutrition would boost earnings, "with a beneit-to-cost ratio of almost 13 to 1," it said, adding that some 1.4 billion people in the world are now overweight and a third of them are obese. The FAO underlined that while there had been some progress in reducing hunger rates around the world, the problem of improving nutrition was still treated as a low priority by many countries. "We must strive for nothing less than the eradication of hunger and malnutrition," FAO Director Jose Graziano da Silva said in a video message at the presentation of the report in Rome. "The development community is paying more and more attention to malnutrition," he said. Assistant Director-General Jomo Sundaram said: "It may be possible to eradicate hunger in the sense of not enough calories, but it is much more dificult to improve nutrition." In its yearly report, the Romebased agency found 12.5 per cent of the world's population — or 868 million people — are still undernourished, while 26 per cent of children are stunted by malnutrition. A rapid rise in obesity is being seen in the associated costs in low- and middle-income countries, it said, pointing out that the highest obesity rates in the world were now in Mexico. FAO oficials said the problem is a complex one and some countries have both under-nourishment and obesity problems, calling for more "dietary diversity" and agricultural systems that are not oriented solely to production of cereals. "Other nutrient-rich foods like fruit, vegetables, ish, meat and eggs should come into the picture as key items for which productivity should be increased," said Kostas Stamoulis, Director of the FAO's Agricultural Department Economics division. FAO said rising urbanisation, sedentary lifestyles and the increased availability of packaged foods meant policy-makers faced signiicant challenges in bettering nutrition and reversing obesity. But "the returns are high," it said. "Investing in the reduction of micronutrient deiciencies, for example, would result in better health, fewer child deaths and increased future earnings," it said. The costs of undernutrition are estimated at two-three per cent of global GDP, equivalent to $1.4 to $2.1 trillion per year, the FAO said. The agency urged global leaders to enhance nutrition — in part through agricultural policies —and promote behavioural change through education. "Agricultural research and development priorities must be made more nutrition-sensitive, with a stronger focus on nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and animal-source foods," it said. Proposals for better agricultural policies on nutrition include changes in production "up to the farm gate", with micronutrient fertilisers, bio-fortiied crops and crop and livestock diversiication. Governments could also help consumers through subsidies, targeted food assistance for at-risk groups such as children and the elderly, and better product labelling to help shoppers choose more nutritious food. — AFP Format more important than 3D when buying monitors DESPITE their growing popularity, 3D capabilities shouldn't be your chief concern when buying a new monitor, according to a German computer magazine. Instead, shoppers should focus on more traditional criteria, like the image repeat rate or the picture format. Indeed, 3D capabilities are becoming ever less important, reports the magazine, Gamestar. When it comes to image repeat rates, monitors that can process 120 frames per second (fps) are much better at displaying quick movements and turns than those with the standard 60 fps. But a 120-fps display is only worth it if the PC linked to it is powerful enough. The magazine also recommends, in general, turning off presets and adjusting images to one's own tastes. Many customers are convinced of the need for a non-glare display. But there's something to be said for non-relective borders and casings too, say experts. That's because those can also relect light, which can be distracting during gaming. It's also advisable to get a monitor that can be raised and lowered on its stand, can be tilted and can pivot through 90 degrees so you can use it comfortably. Experts say a 16:9 format is the ideal, since it makes the best use of the monitor space. With another popular format, 16:10, it's easy for images to get distorted, with circles becoming egg-shaped, or for the zoom to be slightly off. The 21:9 format of some 29-inch monitors is really only useful for watching movies, since it eliminates the black bands above and below the picture in wide-screen ilms. However, a lot of YouTube videos still use the 16:9 format, meaning there's no completely escaping the bars. And 21:9-format monitors have one big drawback, they take up too much space on a desk, taking up as much space as a 30-inch screen, but only offering the height of a 22-inch monitor. Experts recommend opting for 27-inch devices with 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolutions, since they take up less space. There are also pros and cons to the 21:9 format when it comes to gaming. The width allows players to view more if the game can support the resolution. But that resolution requires a lot more power from the graphics card than Full HD. And huge monitors can have slow reaction times. — dpa Smartphones getting closer to the body By Peter Zschunke THE race for the mobile phone future is on, and researchers are coming up with a number of concepts including fold-out and 3D displays, sensors and a computer identity chip to wear in a ring. It's clear to see that the miniature computer Google Glass is just one of many concepts. "I congratulate Google that they rushed forward into the future. The rest of the industry is somewhat more conservative," said Patrick Baudisch, a researching computer scientist at the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) in Potsdam near Berlin. Baudisch wonders if the mass public will accept the Google idea in its current form. "As a scientist I am thrilled about it. But in the end it's the consumer who decides." Darmstadt University computer scientist Max Muehlhaeuser is more sceptical about the interactive Google glasses because the smartphone right now is mainly a private device. But he feels the next generation will want to share their common experiences, meaning a bigger display will be more desired than a tiny display near the eye. "When you aren't using the smartphone, you wish it were smaller. But when you use it and want to read information on the screen, then bigger is better," said Muehlhaeuser. "This problem can be solved with hinging, folding and rollable displays." These kinds of screens were on display in varying sizes at the recent DisplayWeek trade fair in Vancouver, with manufacturers such as Sharp and LG Electronics attending with highly innovative displays. The lexible displays are usually covered with organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). But the Darmstadt researcher is instead working on a way to transform any surface into a display by projecting images onto it. He is initially using plastic ilms which carry markers and trackers similar to that in the Microsoft XBox One gaming system. "The optical tracking system recognises how and where we hold the ilm and controls a number of projectors so that the precise section in the correct distortion is projected onto the ilm. The users feel like they have a display in front of them," explained Muehlhaeuser. He is even planning to use objects in the room, like coffee cups, as controls. Turning the cup could scroll the display. Taking the next step, once smartphones better recognise their surroundings, there will be entirely new ways to present information for each speciic situation. "The mobile phone of the future will be able to see," said Muehlhaeuser. "It will 'understand' the real surroundings in its elements and layer it three-dimensionally with information." But there about 15 years of research is still needed to get there. Scientists believe tomorrow's mobile phone will get closer and closer to integrating with the body. "Our goal is to make applications on mobile devices more realistic and more immersive," said Baudisch. And Muehlhaeuser believes more sensors will be used and serve as a gateway into world of the web. One problem will be stopping other people taking command of our phones. A solution would be a tiny computer built into a ring on our inger or an ear-ring which would be in ultimate control of the smartphone. "We will wear sensors on our body and that data will be sent for example via Bluetooth to mobile devices," said the Darmstadt researcher, who sees voice control being further developed after the breakthrough of Apple's Siri. — dpa SPOTLIGHT Majid Al Suleimany www.majidall.com Working women 31 THE other day I was very much touched and impressed when a young graduate girl called me and wanted to ind out some more details and research on a social topic I had written long time back — Increasing Alcohol Abuse! As an elderly Omani I was very much impressed by the kind of inquisitive questions she had and her insistence to have basic facts and information and research — and as to 'how and why — and on what I had based my assertions' that there was an 'increase' in the phenomena? Unfortunately, I did not have the data and the information to back my assertions — but was based more on my 'gut feelings' and what I see and hear in the streets mainly and I am still not 'that good' in concocting reference names and igures in just supporting on my assertion! However, if this is the new Omani in our young students now — the future looks very bright and rosy indeed. Then just yesterday my son asked if he could send in something that was really burning him intensely. So I agreed. I will reproduce the article below verbatim! Quote — Women in the working ield, anywhere. Recently I had a great conversation with three of my co-workers, two were men and one woman, the conversation started about any normal working environment; blaming others, however the conversation took a U-turn, one of the male co-worker asked the female co-worker, “if your husband asked you today to quit your job and become a housewife, will you do it?” She like any Omani women these days said “No, I love my job, I’m good at my job and I want to grow”. I totally honour and respect her answer. No matter what gender you are, you can always rise up to the challenges in life and succeed, no matter what nationality or religion, hard work and dedication can take you anywhere, like a great quote “The harder I work, the luckier I get”. So you think that’s the end of the story, well if it was this would be the shortest ever “Between Us only” article ever and my father would ask me never to write again. Like father like son my father is a strong believer in women working anywhere, why only yesterday he hugged my younger sister and “good-bye” kissed her forehead and said “I’m so proud of you”, you see my younger sister is going to an oil-ield somewhere in Oman in which heat is one of the least of their worries, a male-dominated place, where it’s all work no play, under the grouching sun of Oman, to be an electrical engineer. My father and mother were almost in tears seeing her going to school for the irst time, only to assure she will be in this position someday, being dominated in a place where it’s hard to dominate. Now again my parents are in tears, only happy tears. Yet my male co-workers came up with various religious quotes, old Omani sayings and other arguments that suggested that women must be housewives, be at home to take care of the kids and of course feed the husband, while most of us do agree in these arguments, they must understand that these statements and situations were more suitable and more realistic during those days, when everything was small and simpler, where women stayed at home to teach the children and best of all, being the mother. If we still lived in those era’s then yes I totally agree with my male co-workers, but we live in an era that even having a RO 2,000 salary might not be enough to live, an era that position, money, the car you drive, where you live is now a goal. Funny how things work and is moving these days, while you still see people having the worst of cars, living in small houses and other things that most of people take for granted, is planning and waiting for the day that he will leave that life to have a better one! We all do, but now is our mothers, our sisters and our daughters who have the same agenda and plans. Oprah Winfrey, Martha Steward and other amazing, strong women had made an example for all of them today and for that I salute them. Long time back someone asked me who’s my idols, my inspirations and people I look up to. A simple question but it takes a lot of time to understand and analysis, I told I have 5 people that I look up and I wish I have just 15 per cent of their dedications, their motivations and their success, my father and my mother and two of my childhood idols FAB and SAA. The last person is my wife! Weird because my wife is younger than me, didn’t experience life as much as I did, might have not gone through what I went through, yet she’s without a doubt the most intelligent, most charismatic and most of all the most humble young lady I’ve ever met, the best of these all that those were NOT the reason I’ve chose her to be my life partner. She’s simply strong in my deinition, which makes it hard for any man to ind, you see having a strong woman in life means she will be there for you no matter what, because if you fail, she fails as well. And if you succeed; well she succeeded as well. So in closing, I’m a strong believer in women’s power, if we can do it, she can, if we failed in it, well maybe if we give her a chance, and she might succeed in it. I leave you with a quote from Margaret Thatcher, who we all know was called “The Iron Lady” she quoted “Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.” And ooh the female co-worker I was talking about, she joined the marketing department here not knowing a single thing, to basically running the entire marketing department today, a true example.” As a person who was in HR, I know of many real life cases of young Omani girls — University graduates with good degrees and in specialisation — staying at home — whilst the husband — yet poorly paid — is the only bread winner! When I asked one of the girls I fought hard to recruit — What are you doing now — and the engineering graduate too — she said to me weirdly and cutely — bringing babies into the world — and cooking for my good husband! Frankly, I feel that the youngsters can still really surprise and amaze us — and it is not always the 'rebelling, rioting, misguided and unconventional things' that we are used to see. Take Care!
Page 1 and 2: World News P14 Majority of French w
Page 3 and 4: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 OMAN Majlis
Page 5 and 6: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 French Presi
Page 7 and 8: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 Nawaz Sharif
Page 9 and 10: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 Glimmer of h
Page 11 and 12: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 Need for shi
Page 13 and 14: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 People see o
Page 15 and 16: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 The highway
Page 17 and 18: Inside P 19 France minister in Sili
Page 19 and 20: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 Mobile payme
Page 21 and 22: 24 YEARS old Indian diploma holder
Page 23 and 24: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 Business Ale
Page 25 and 26: CRICKET P27 South Africa take on In
Page 27 and 28: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 SPORT Heavyw
Page 29: THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 Actress Emma

6,600 jobs at tourism port - Oman Observer

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?