Pension benefits raised - Oman Daily Observer

MAJLIS Ash’shura’s Health and Social Affairs Committee
yesterday reviewed its study on evaluating the experience of
Al Wafa social centres in the Sultanate.
— Details on Page 2
Thursday, March 24, 2011/Rabee al Thani 19, 1432 AH
www.omanobserver.om editor@omanobserver.om
HM meets GCC, UK, Spain officials
MUSCAT — His Majesty Sultan Qaboos
gave an audience at Bait Al Barakah yesterday
evening to Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid
al Zayani, appointed Secretary-General
of the GCC to greet His Majesty on the
occasion of his appointment as new GCC
Secretary-General. During the meeting,
His Majesty the Sultan welcomed the
Secretary-General, wishing him success
MoH to draft crisis guidelines
MUSCAT — The Ministry of
Health (MoH) plans to draft
Public Health Emergency
Management (PHEM) preparedness
guidelines at regional
and wilayats level, stated Dr
Fajr Dhuhr Asr Magrib Isha
04.52
am
12.18
pm
03.45
pm
06.24
pm
Max Min
Muscat 33 19
Seeb 33 19
Sohar 30 20
Salalah 30 20
07.34
pm
Salim bin Said al Wuhaibi,
Director of Hazards and Environmental
Health, at the concluding
ceremony of the 1st
National Course on PHEMhere
yesterday.
“The ministry will develop
standard framework of operat-
Oil price moves higher
NEW YORK — Oil rose yesterday
as unrest in the Middle
East and North Africa continued
to flare and as a report
showed US gasoline inventories
fell more than expected.
Brent crude futures for
May delivery rose 35 cents
to $116.05 a barrel by 12.54
pm EDT (1654 GMT), trading
in a range from $115.08
to $116.40. US crude futures
for May delivery rose $1.14
to $106.11 a barrel, just off its
high of $106.34.
Total US crude trading volume
was just above 310,000
lots, 64 per cent below the 30day
average near 900,000.
Crude trading volumes
have been curbed by volatility
and uncertainty about unrest
in his new tour of duty.
His Majesty gave an audience at Bait
Al Barakah yesterday to Alan Duncan,
British Minister of State for International
Development, who is currently visiting
the Sultanate.
The meeting discussed aspects of the
existing bilateral co-operation between
the Sultanate and the UK in various
and revolts in the Middle East
and North Africa and Japan’s
earthquake-ravaged economy.
Brent’s premium to WTI
was $1.04 lower at $9.90 a
barrel, well off its March 1
record premium of $17.12.
US government data
showed a 5.32 million barrel
drop in gasoline inventories
in the week to March 18, surpassing
an analyst forecast of
a 1.8 million barrel drop.
The gasoline stocks drop
came even with refiners boosting
utilisation rates by 0.7
percentage point, though the
capacity use boost did not prevent
a crude stocks rise that
was more than expected and
distillate stocks also posting a
gain. — Reuters
WASHINGTON — Astronomers
have discovered what
they believe could be the coldest
star yet identified, with
surface temperatures barely
warmer than a sauna or a cup
of tea, the group announced
yesterday.
ing procedures and guidelines
for PHEM. The ministry will
also co-ordinate and collaborate
mechanisms for stake
holders to utilise the resources
available to develop tools for
risk assessment and management.”
Details on page 4
UNITED NATIONS —
Some 27.5 million people
have been displaced within
their countries by natural
disaster, famine and war, the
highest number in a decade,
according to a new report
released yesterday.
“Close to three million
people in 20 countries were
newly displaced from conflict
and violence during
2010, and large scale displacement
continues,” said
Elisabeth Rasmussen, who
heads the Norwegian Refugee
Council, which conducted
the study, along with
the United Nations.
“As we speak, thousands
of civilians in Cote d’Ivoire
Japan disasters cost $309 bn
OSAKA — Japan yesterday
said the cost of the March 11
earthquake and tsunami could
hit 25 trillion yen ($309 billion),
double the Kobe quake
and nearly four times more
than Hurricane Katrina.
The total cost from collapse
or damage to houses, factories
and infrastructure such as
roads and bridges was estimated
at 16 to 25 trillion yen over
the next three fiscal years, the
Cabinet Office said.
The estimate does not account
for wider issues such as
how radiation from the stricken
Fukushima nuclear plant crippled
by the quake will affect
food and water supply, amid a
deepening food scare.
Even so, with the cost of
the destruction set to push
down growth in the coming
fiscal year, the upper estimate
would put the disaster’s monetary
impact at more than double
the 9.6 trillion yen of the
1995 Kobe earthquake.
In 2006 the US National
Hurricane Centre calculated
the damage from Hurricane
Katrina, which a year before
had hammered New Orleans,
at $81 billion.
Japan’s estimate covers
seven prefectures including
the hardest-hit areas of Iwate,
Miyagi, and Fukushima, as
well as Hokkaido, Aomori,
Ibaraki, and Chiba. The three
hardest-hit account for up to
23 trillion of the total.
“The damage is far bigger
than the Kobe quake,” Japan’s
economy minister Kaoru Yosano
told a press conference,
adding “it will take a long time
to complete reconstruction.”
The damage could hit Japan’s
growth by as much as 0.5
per cent, although economists
expect Japan’s biggest reconstruction
effort since World
War II to give the economy a
lift in the second half.
Analysts including those
from Credit Agricole and Capital
Economics have slashed
growth forecasts for Japan to
near zero for the 2011 financial
year as the scale of destruction
continues to emerge. See P5
The so-called brown dwarf,
as failed stars are known,
blurs the line between planets
and stars. It is too large to be a
planet, but too small and lacking
in the nuclear reactions
that make a star.
The brown dwarf has a
spheres to serve the common interests of
the Omani and British friendly peoples.
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has received
a written message from King Juan
Carlos of Spain relating to aspects of the
existing co-operation between the two
countries in the light of the good relations
binding the two countries and matters of
common concern. See also page 2
are fleeing to save their
lives with the international
community incapable of responding,”
Rasmusson said.
“More than half a million
people there have been
internally displaced since
December, following the
disputed presidential election,
and more than 100,000
have fled to Liberia.”
The study, “Internal Displacement:
Global Overview
of Trends and Developments
in 2010,” was also
released by UN Emergency
Relief Co-ordinator Valerie
Amos, and the Special Representative
of the UN Secretary-General
for Children
and Armed Conflict Radhi-
Scientists pinpoint coldest star
Asia eco-tourism offers a feast of opportunities – Page 11
Learning beneficial lessons from our daily life – Page 12
Sudden bursts of physical activities are harmful – Page 14
Vote scam statement: Indian oppn attacks PM – Page 15
Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor passes away – Page 18
MUSCAT — The Council of
Ministers issued the following
statement:
“In light of the continuous
keenness of His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos bin Said to
improve the standard of living
of the loyal sons of Oman,
the country’s Monarch has
issued his Royal directives
to improve the status of the
pensioners under the social
insurance system by increasing
their pensions in the same
way applied to retirees and
pensioners of the Civil Service
Employees Pension Fund,
the rates which reach up to
50 per cent of the categories
eligible for the lowest pension,
besides improving the
insurance entitlements for the
insured by granting them end
of gratuity grant.
The respective department
will take the appropriate
measures to implement
this with effect from April 1,
2011. The government will
bear the consequential costs
resulting from the said improvements.
Following the Royal directives
to improve the status of
the pensioners covered by the
social insurance system, Sayyid
Fahd bin Mahmood al Said,
Deputy Prime Minister for the
Council of Ministers, gave the
following statement to Oman
News Agency (ONA):
“The achievement wit-
MUSCAT — Brazilian aircraft
manufacturer Embraer announced
yesterday that it had
delivered the first Embraer
175 jet to Oman Air, at the
former’s headquarters in Sao
MINISTER Responsible for Defence Affairs yesterday
discussed with Alan Duncan, British Minister of State for
International Development, bilateral ties between the two
countries. — Details on Page 3
Pension benefits raised
MUSCAT — His Majesty Sultan
Qaboos has issued seven Royal Decrees:
Royal Decree No 44/2011 appoints
Dr Ali bin Talib bin Ali al Hina’ei as
Under-Secretary of the Health Ministry
for Planning Affairs and Dr Darwish
bin Saif bin Said al Maharbi as Under-
Secretary of the Health Ministry for Ad-
Securities forum concludes
MUSCAT — The two-day Middle East Securities Forum organised
by Muscat Securities Market (MSM) and the Capital
Market Authority (CMA) concluded here yesterday.
The attendees at the meeting pressed on the importance of
the new investment tools, such as, borrowing and lending, the
margin financing (trust accounts) and the listed investment
funds due to their significance in increasing the liquidity (volume
of trading values) and securing the rights of both parties
(investor and broker). — ONA
27.5 million people displaced
temperature of just 100 degrees
Celsius and is the smaller
and dimmer partner in a
pair of brown dwarves located
only 75 light-years away from
Earth. In comparison, the sun
has a temperature of 5,500 degrees.
— dpa
nessed by the Sultanate today,
thanks to the enlightened
leadership of His Majesty the
Sultan, is a source of pride for
all Omanis living on this kind
land. After the achievements,
which are evident in the different
economic, construction
and infrastructural field, have
been prioritised in the development
plans and have their
positive impact on the development
witnessed by the Sultanate;
as the main pillar for
the social development.
“Out of this, the current
development plan placed the
social aspect at its top priorities.
The demands related to
improving the standard of liv-
ministrative and Financial Affairs.
Royal Decree No 45/2011 promotes
some Judges to Supreme Court.
Royal Decree No 46/2011 amends
some provisions of the Royal Decree
No 81/ 2007 and its attached law.
Article 1 Introduces the attached
amendments to the Royal Decree No
81/ 2007 promulgating the law regulat-
Oman Air gets new aircraft
José dos Campos.
The aircraft will serve
the airline’s regional routes
operating from Muscat International
Airport. The deal
was originally announced in
November 2009 and includes
firm orders for five Embraer
ing have been blessed by His
Majesty and embodied the
love and respect by His Majesty
the Sultan to the Omani
people known for their rich
history and culture.
The development and
comprehensive building of
the nation are still going on.
The attention to citizen at
any part of this kind land and
in all sectors is still the main
goal. We have all to give our
country what is worthy of
progress and prosperity where
the higher interest of the state
are prioritised over the personal
interest because nations
are built with sacrifices. Our
history is a testimony of this.
— ONA
Officials appointed, judges promoted
ka Coomaraswamy.
The report found that
Africa alone accounted for
40 per cent of all internally
displaced people, but it is
the only continent where the
numbers are falling.
Most of its displaced
people, the study said, are
concentrated in Sudan, Congo
and Somalia.
In Colombia and Mexico,
people were displaced due
to drug-related crime. Colombia,
in fact, is the country
with the single greatest
numbers of internally displaced
people: between 3.6
million and 5.2 million were
estimated to have been dislodged
by civil war. — AFP
Cholesterol in obese kids
LONDON — Overweight kids are developing cholesterol levels
usually found in 50-year-olds.
Experts from Great Ormond Street Hospital said obese
children as young as eight were also being referred to them
with dangerously high blood pressure (BP).
These children are at risk of early heart diseases or strokes
but doctors warn they are less likely to respond to drugs such
as statins, which had been developed for adults.
They added that these children risk long-term damage to
their heart and arteries even if their diet improves in later life,
the Daily Mail reports.
Medical researcher Lee Hudson from Ormond said: “What
we’re finding is metabolic syndrome (high BP) and early diabetes
— things you would find in a 40-year-old.”
“We’re seeing 13-year-olds with a lipid (cholesterol) profile
you would find in a 50-year-old, and eight-nine-year-olds
with high blood pressure. It means big trouble,” he said.
The proportion of children aged two to 10 who are overweight
or obese has increased from 22.7 per cent to 27.7 per
cent in England between 1995 and 2004. Doctors said parents
who fail to educate their children about portion sizes and feed
them high-fat instant meals are partly to blame. — IANS
HM’s gesture to Social Insurance beneficiaries
Nuclear to stay: EU
BRUSSELS — Nuclear energy
is here to stay so European
Union leaders need to
spell out clearly how to revamp
safety guidelines at a
key summit, the bloc’s energy
commissioner said yesterday.
“We are looking for clear
instructions from EU leaders
meeting on Thursday and Friday,”
Guenther Oettinger told
a hearing of European Parliament
lawmakers, after diplomats
revealed deep divisions
on reactor stress tests.
As workers in Japan struggle
to cool an overheating
core at the earthquake-hit
Fukushima nuclear plant,
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel reopened EU wounds
UNITED NATIONS — UN
chief Ban Ki-Moon urged all
sides in Libya to cease fire
yesterday, as a divided Security
Council prepared to meet
one week after clearing the
way for action against Muammar
Gaddafi.
“The secretary-general
condemns the continued use
of force in the western part of
Libya, including Zintan and
Misrata,” Ban’s spokesman
said, referring to cities where
dissidents and Gaddafi loyalists
have been battling for
control.
“Once again, he reiterates
his call for an immediate
end to violence by all parties,
in accordance with Security
Council resolutions 1970 and
ahead of the two-day summit
when she painted her vision
of a nuclear-free future.
Merkel said the overriding
lesson Germany should learn
from the nuclear consequences
of Japan’s earthquake and
tsunami is “the earlier the exit,
the better,” from the powergenerating
technology.
Merkel added pointedly
that nuclear is only a “transitory”
option for states’ energy
needs.
With some 30 per cent of
electricity furnished by nuclear
power plants, however,
fellow German Oettinger said
the technology will remain for
the “short, medium and long
term.” Details on page 4
1973,” the spokesman, Martin
Nesirky, told reporters.
“All those who violate international
humanitarian and
human rights law will be held
fully accountable,” Nesirky
added.
Ban is due to brief the Security
Council at a meeting
today, giving his assessment
of the situation in Libya and
discussing the implementation
of Resolution 1973, which
authorised military action to
protect Libyan civilians.
Five members of the
15-member Security Council
abstained, but 10 approved the
resolution and seven countries
have participated in its implementation.
Resolution 1973 allows for
ing private organisations operating in
the sports field and the law.
Royal Decree No 47/2011 Ratifies
the framework agreement for the economic,
commercial, investment and
technical co-operation agreement between
the GCC countries and Malaysia
signed on January 30, 2011.
To page 4
175s, plus options for another
five aircraft.
Oman Air’s Embraer 175s
are configured with 71 seats,
in a dual-class layout, with 11
seats in the business class and
60 in economy.
Details on page 4
Step up fight
against TB
GENEVA — The World
Health Organisation yesterday
urged donors to stamp
out multidrug-resistant tuberculosis
after the number
of the hard-to-treat strains of
the lung disease doubled in
recent years.
In a progress report to
mark World TB Day today,
the WHO and partner
agencies estimated that the
number of new cases of
MDR tuberculosis would
reach two million between
2011 and 2015 if it is left unchecked.
MDR-TB is a threat to all
countries as it is difficult and
expensive to treat. — AFP
UN chief renews Libya plea
“all necessary means” to support
the limited aim of protecting
Libyan civilians.
It gave the legal authority
for the subsequent air strikes
and missile attacks against
Gaddafi.
US President Barack
Obama said on Tuesday that
a no-fly zone was almost in
place over Libya as part of
international efforts to prevent
Gaddafi from attacking his
own people.
And Air Vice Marshall
Greg Bagwell, a top British
military officer, followed that
up yesterday by saying that
Libya’s air force had been
almost totally destroyed and
“no longer exists as a fighting
force.” — AFP See also P6
RACES on the third day of the His Majesty the Sultan’s Camel Race Cup continued at the race track in Al Fulaij yesterday.

2 OMAN
OMAN DAILY Observer
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
HM audience to GCC Secretary-General,
UK minister and Spanish ambassador
HIS Majesty Sultan Qaboos gave an audience to British Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan
(above) and Spanish Ambassador Jose Luis Rosello in Muscat yesterday. — Photos by Mohammed Mustafa
MUSCAT — His Majesty Sultan
Qaboos gave an audience at Bait
Al Barakah yesterday evening
to Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid al
Zayani, appointed Secretary-
General of the GCC to greet His
Majesty on the occasion of him
being appointed as a new GCC
Secretary-General.
During the audience, His
Majesty the Sultan welcomed the
Secretary-General, wishing him
success in his new tour of duty.
The guest expressed his thanks
and appreciation for His Majesty
the Sultan's permanent support to
the GCC march to serve the interests
of GCC peoples.
The audience was attended
by Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah,
Minister Responsible for Foreign
Affairs, and the ambassador of
Bahrain to the Sultanate.
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos
also gave an audience at Bait Al
Barakah yesterday to Alan Duncan,
British Minister of State for
International Development, who
is currently visiting the Sultanate.
The audience discussed aspects
of the existing bilateral cooperation
between the Sultanate
and the UK in various spheres
to serve the common interests of
the Omani and British peoples.
The audience was attended
by Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al
Busaidy, Secretary-General of
the Foreign Ministry and Dr Noel
Joseph Guckian, the UK Ambassador
to the Sultanate.
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos
also received a written message
from King Juan Carlos of Spain
relating to aspects of the existing
co-operation between the
two countries in the light of the
good relations binding the two
countries and matters of common
concern.
The message was handed
over by Jose Luis Rosello, Am-
bassador of Spain to the Sultanate
when His Majesty the Sultan
gave an audience to him at
Bait Al Barakah here yesterday
evening. The audience was attended
by Yusuf bin Alawi bin
Abdallah, Minister Responsible
for Foreign Affairs. — ONA
Majlis Ash’shura holds
committee meeting
MUSCAT — Majlis
Ash'shura's Health and Social
Affairs Committee yesterday
held its second regular meeting
of the fourth annual session
2010-2011 for the sixth
term of the Majlis under
the chairmanship of Ali bin
Sulaiman al Shibli, Head of
the Committee.
During the meeting, the
committee approved minutes
of its previous meeting and
reviewed its study on evaluating
the experience of Al Wafa
social centres in the Sultanate,
their situations from all
aspects and putting forward
proposals and solutions for
the problems and difficulties
facing these centres.
The committee also decided
to conduct a study on
marriage fund. — ONA

Minister of Diwan of Royal
MUSCAT — Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal al
Busaidy, Minister of the Diwan of Royal
Court, received in his office here yesterday
Alan Duncan, British Minister of State for
International Development, who is currently
visiting the Sultanate.
Co-operation between
GCC states discussed
MUSCAT — Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah,
Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, received
in his office here yesterday Dr Abdullatif
bin Rashid al Zayani, the newly appointed
Secretary-General of the GCC.
The meeting exchanged views on enhancing
the scope of co-operation between the GCC
states and promoting joint work mechanisms
to serve GCC goals. During the meeting, bin
Alawi wished the new secretary-general success
in his tour of duty.
The meeting was attended by Sayyid Badr
bin Hamad bin Hamoud al Busaidy, Secretary-General
of the Foreign Ministry, Ahmed
bin Yousuf al Harthy, Under-secretary of the
Foreign Ministry for Diplomatic Affairs and
a number of officials at the ministry.
The committee also discussed the topic of
During the meeting, cordial conversations
were exchanged and aspects of the existing cooperation
between the two friendly countries
were reviewed. The meeting was attended by
Dr Noel Joseph Guckian, UK Ambassador to
the Sultanate. — ONA
marriage fund, which the committee chose to
study and then refer it to the Majlis for approval.
Alawi also received in his office here yesterday
Alan Duncan, British Minister of State
for International Development, and his accompanying
delegation currently visiting the
Sultanate.
The meeting discussed cooperation between
the two friendly countries and peoples
in various fields and means of enhancing and
promoting them, besides exchanging views on
the international and regional issues of common
concern.
The meeting was attended by Ali bin
Ahmed al Issa’ei, Head of the Minister’s Office
Department, Dr Noel Joseph Guckian, UK
Ambassador to the Sultanate, and a number of
officials at the ministry. — ONA
3 OMAN
OMAN DAILY Observer
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
Oman ministers hold talks
with Alan Duncan
Court receives UK minister MUSCAT — Darweesh bin Isma'eel al Balushi,
Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs, received in his office
here yesterday Alan Duncan, British Minister of State for
International Development, and his accompanying delegation
currently visiting the Sultanate.
The meeting discussed a number of topics related to enhancing
and promoting the existing bilateral co-operation between
the Sultanate and the UK in various human and social development
fields as well as promoting investment.
The meeting was attended by Sultan bin Salim al Habsi, Under-Secretary
of the Finance Ministry, Dr Shaikh Abdulmalik
bin Abdullah al Hina'ei, Adviser of the Finance Ministry and Dr
Noel Joseph Guckian, UK Ambassador to the Sultanate.
Meanwhile, Shaikh Sa’ad bin Mohammed al Saadi, Commerce
and Industry Minister received Alan Duncan at his office
yesterday.
The meeting discussed means of enhancing the bilateral
trade relations. The guest invited the Commerce and Industry
Minister to visit the UK and hold an Omani-UK Trade and Investment
Forum in Britain after the success of the forum which
was held in October last year and the achievement made by it
in raising awareness of the British companies of the investment
Oman-UK ties reviewed
MUSCAT — Sayyid Badr
bin Saud bin Harib al
Busaidy, Minister Responsible
for Defence Affairs, received
in his office at Muaskar Bait
Al Falaj here yesterday Alan
Duncan, British Minister of
State for International Development,
who is currently visiting
the Sultanate.
During the meeting, Sayyid
al Busaidy welcomed the
guest. The meeting reviewed
the good relations, discussed
co-operation and exchanged
views on matters of common
concern between the two
friendly countries.
The meeting was attended
by the UK ambassador to the
Sultanate. — ONA
and trade opportunities in the UK.
The meeting was attended by the UK Ambassador to the
Sultanate, Dr Salim bin Nasser al Ismaeeli, CEO of the OCI-
PED and a number of senior officials at the Commerce and
Industry Ministry.— ONA
Workshop on common dossier
for drug registration
MUSCAT — The Directorate-General of Pharmacy and Drug
Control, in collaboration with Novartis Company, organised
a workshop for pharmacists working at the directorate on the
Unified Technical File for Drug Registration.
The workshop aims at training pharmacists working in the
field of drug registration to review the latest technical and procedural
developments related to documents and requirements for
drug registration and how to assess these requirements in line
with what is followed by international drug control authorities to
achieve the main goal of the national drug policy to ensure that
the patient receives safe, effective and affordable drugs of good
quality. Speakers from the European Union and the UK as well
as 30 pharmacists are taking part in this workshop. — ONA
InterContinental Muscat to
take part in ‘Earth Hour’
MUSCAT — InterContinental Muscat will join millions of people
in cities across the planet to switch off their lights for one hour
on Saturday March 26 at 8.30 pm. Dubbed ‘Earth Hour’, the initiative
is designed to show the world that a solution to the threat
of global warming is possible through collective action.
“We invite you to be part of this historical moment. If we all
join hands we can make a difference…Invite your friends, families,
colleagues and everyone you know,” InterContinental Muscat
said in a statement.

Grand Mufti honours outstanding
performers of religious cadres
MUSCAT — His Eminence
Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad
al Khalili, the Sultanate’s
Grand Mufti today patronised
over the celebration
organised at the Sharia Institute
Auditorium in the
Wilayat of Baushar to honour
outstanding performers
of the religious cadres at the
Awqaf and Religious Affairs
Ministry.
The celebration was attended
by Shaikh Abdullah
bin Mohammed al Salmi,
4 OMAN
OMAN DAILY Observer
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
MoH to draft public health emergency guidelines
By Maryam Khalfan
MUSCAT — The Ministry of Health
(MoH) plans to draft Public Health
Emergency Management (PHEM)
preparedness guidelines at regional
and wilayats level, stated Dr Salim
bin Said al Wuhaibi, Director of
Hazards & Environmental Health at
the concluding ceremony of the 1st
National Course on PHEM at the
Platinum Hotel yesterday.
“The ministry will develop standard
framework of operating procedures
and guidelines for PHEM. The
ministry will also co-ordinate and
collaborate mechanisms for stake
holders at the wilayat and regional
levels to utilise the resources available
to develop tools for risk assessment
and management”, Al Wuhaibi
told the Observer.
The occurrence of the recent climatic
condition of cyclones and the
incident of the H1N1 epidemic were
of great experience and an eye opener
for the Sultanate to set forth a PHEM
preparedness scheme in management
of emergencies in the future, said Al
Wuhaibi, in his speech on the occasion.
The event was graced by Dr Mohammed
bin Saif al Hosni, Under-
Secretary for Health Affairs and in
presence of Dr Jihan Tawila, Representative
of the World Health Organisation
(WHO) among other officials.
The course was organised by the
MoH in partnership with collaborative
efforts of the WHO and the
European Union to address all sorts
of hazards in bio-safety and biosecurity
public health preparedness
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Brazilian aircraft
manufacturer Embraer announced
yesterday that it had
delivered the first Embraer
175 jet to Oman Air, at the
former’s headquarters in Sao
José dos Campos.
The aircraft will serve the
airline’s regional routes operating
from Muscat International
Airport. The deal was originally
announced in November
2009 and includes firm orders
for five Embraer 175s, plus options
for another five aircraft.
“Defining itself as a ‘boutique
airline’ in the Gulf area,
Oman Air offers its customers
outstanding service in a highly
demanding market,” said
Paulo César de Souza e Silva,
Embraer Executive Vice-Pres-
Awqaf and Religious Affairs
Minister, Ahmed bin Saud al
Siyabi, Secretary-General of
the Ifata Office and a number
of officials.
His Eminence Shaikh
Ahmed bin Hamad al Khalili,
the Sultanate’s Grand Mufti
delivered a speech where he
said that it is a good opportunity
to honour the outstanding
performers of the Awqaf and
Religious Affairs Ministry
and its affiliated directorates.
‘No doubt that people should
and response. The course is also considered
a significant and unique kind
of project, which will possibly serve
as a model to other countries around
the world based on the Sultanate’s
experience in management of the
previous climatic conditions of the
cyclones Gonu and Phet.
As a result of the two-week comprehensive
course, the recommendations
of called for the need to develop
participatory and evidence based response
plan in health sector in pursuit
of national emergency management
plan with optimal policy support.
Suggestions also called for establishment
of a dedicated unit within
ident, Airline Market. “Their
decision for the Embraer 175
makes us truly proud, since it
gives a strong endorsement to
our E-Jets in such a complex
marketplace.”
Oman Air’s Embraer 175s
are configured with 71 seats,
in a dual-class layout, with 11
seats in the business class and
60 in economy.
“The E-Jets are the ideal
platform from which we can
expand our regional route
network and better align frequency
with demand,” said
Peter Hill, CEO of Oman Air.
“Having this flexibility allows
us to introduce more point-topoint
routes currently not sustainable
with larger aircraft, as
well as upgrading our services
to domestic destinations like
Khasab and other new airports
currently being devel-
compete in doing deeds. People
should compete in doing
well so that they will be well
rewarded in the Day of Judgement,
he added.
After the speech, His
Eminence Shaikh Ahmed bin
Hamad al Khalili, the Sultanate’s
Grand Mufti honoured
280 outstanding performers
of the religious cadres at the
Awqaf and Religious Affairs
Ministry and its affiliated directorates.
— ONA
Improvements to social insurance
to workers reflect HM’s care
MUSCAT — Shaikh Abdulla bin Nassir al Bakri,
Minister of Manpower, has said royal orders to
make improvements to social insurance entitlements
to workers in the private sector reflect His
Majesty the Sultan’s care for human resources, a
major contributor to the Omani economy.
He said the improvements to the insurance
benefits are a pioneering step made by His Majesty
to bring closer pensions in the public and
private sectors.
He said the royal orders stipulate the government
shall bear the additional cost of the improvements
by increasing the government share
in monthly contributions to the scheme from 2
per cent to 5 per cent per month and this makes
the government shares stand at 20 million Omani
rials annually.
Salim bin Nassir al Uraimi, Director-General
of the Public Authority for Social Insurance, said
two groups will benefit from the improvements .
The retirees will have increases in their pensions
at various rates from 5 per cent and up to
50 per cent. These are the same rates applied to
retirees and pensioners registered with the civil
service employees pension fund and as follows;
For less than 200 riyals the increase rate is
50 per cent, 200 to less than 400, 40 per cent,
400 to less than 600, 30 per cent, 600 to less than
1,000, 15 per cent and above 1,000, 5per cent.
The minimum entitled pension after the increase
in each category shall not be less than the maxi-
mum entitled pension in the lower category, and
the increases will be added to the pensions to be
paid in March 2011.
The second group of beneficiaries will be
those ensured who are entitled to pensions or end
of service benefits when they reach the legal age
and some cases of disability who will be paid end
of service benefits when entitled;
Those entitled to payment of old age pension
when they reach age of sixty for males and
fifty five for females.
Those entitled to pension of non-occupational
disability.
Those entitled to payment of pension of full
disability for non-occupational cause.
Those entitled to payment of pension of occupational
and non-occupational death.
Those entitled to payment of end of service
benefits for cases not meeting entitlement for
death pension.
Those entitled to payment of end of service
benefits for cases not meeting entitlement for
non-occupational pension.
Those entitled to payment of end of service
benefits for cases not meeting entitlement for old
age pension when reaching sixty for males and
fifty five for females.
Al Uraimi said, accordingly, the minimum
pension will increase for those entitled from
RO 100 to RO 150 a month with effect from April
1 this year. — ONA
the MoH to enhance co-ordination
with other sectors with all hazard approach.
This will help in monitoring
the progress following the course, declared
Dr Thamra bint Said al Ghafri,
Course Director, MoH.
Other suggestions called for the
need to conduct the course annually,
preferably in Arabic for greater
coverage and to integrate the basic
modules of the course in to the
mainstream medical education in
the country.
Proposals also recommended the
need to involve all trainees as part
of the networking dedicated to contribute
in health emergency manage-
Al Kalbani receives Russian media team
MUSCAT — Shaikh Mohammed bin Said
al Kalbani, Minister of Social Development,
received yesterday a Russian media delegation
representing Russia Today TV and
Voice of Russia Radio.
The visit reflects an interest by the Russian
media in Omani renaissance and the related
recent reforms in political, economic
and social arenas.
The minister praised the quality of reporting
about economy, social aspect and
tourism in the Sultanate by the Russian media
which, he said, reflect the strong ties
ment in the Sultanate.
Dr Jihan Tawila, WHO representative
stressed on the great concern
to structure and establish the
framework and to present it to the
stake holders to achieve the objectives
of developing a professional
network on PHEM.
She commended the ministry’s
unconditional support to the process
of capacity building in the area
of PHEM and the collaborative and
positive competence of the team of
partners with whom the WHO has
linked to establish this course.
“The WHO was privileged for
past year to work hand in hand with
oped within the Sultanate of
Oman.”
Oman Air also signed the
Embraer Pool Flight Hour
Programme service contract.
Embraer’s Pool programme
quickly provides replacement
parts and eliminates the need
for inventory investments, via
an agreement in which the
customer pays a given amount,
based on the number of flight
hours of the aircraft enrolled
in the programme. Embraer
assumes the responsibility for
maintaining a parts inventory
at its distribution and service
centres, in order to provide
parts to operators as soon as
they are requested.
Embraer’s E-Jets are a
state-of-the-art family of four
aircraft, seating from 70 to
122 passengers, which began
deliveries in 2004. E-Jets
between the two countries.
He said reform in the Sultanate is an ongoing
process. The minister said the role of civil
society which will get enhanced in political,
economic and social aspects and his ministry
will give that a priority by communicating
with non-governmental organisations.
He said the sit-ins by the youth were
peaceful and their demands received favourable
and immediate responses and enjoyed
support of all sections of the society. He said
there are other issues that need time and patience
to be resolved. — ONA
THE events of the third day races continued yesterday at the Royal Camel Corps
Race Track in Al Fulaij by organising six rounds, two of them for ‘Al-Thanaya’,
two for ‘Al-Houl’ and two for ‘Rakhd Al-Ardha Long’. — ONA
the ministry under the EU project
to establish some building blocks
for a more co-ordination and preparedness
action contrary to the unexpected
in PHEM. In this context,
preparedness is the key to PHEM
in spite of the fact that hazards are
not preventable but ‘people’s vulnerability
and impact of the hazards
are’ ”, she noted.
The WHO is ready to provide
technical assistance and to conduct
courses on more systematic outlaying
investigations and management
of an outbreak of infectious diseases
and other diseases that can affect
public health in event of unforeseen
emergencies.
Dr Qudsiya Huda Course Facilitator,
WHO, Regional Office —
EMRO, Emergency Preparedness
& Humanitarian Action Programme
said: “The course was impressive.
The process has started to build capacity
for PHEM and it is vital for
the ministry to have a dedicated cell
within the MoH to co-ordinate with
other partners to enhance PHEM
in the Sultanate in a more optimal
way. The Sultanate is blessed with a
strong political commitment, so the
ministry should work on solidifying
an institutionalised approach within
the ministry, she remarked.
The two weeks course was aimed
at rising knowledge and competencies
on emergency management and
planning and to advocate on issues
related to emergency management.
It was also designed at sharing
knowledge and experience as well
as to develop a professional network
on PHEM.
Oman Air takes delivery of first Embraer 175 jet
have achieved outstanding
success, with nearly 950 firm
orders logged and more than
700 aircraft already delivered,
worldwide, including nearly
50 in the Middle East. E-Jets
orders are spread among 58
customers and 39 countries on
five continents and have accumulated
more than 5 million
flight hours.
This proven family is
helping airlines to rightsize
low load factor narrow-body
routes, substituting traditional
regional jets, replacing older,
inefficient airplanes and is
used to develop new markets.
The E-Jets main characteristics
are: low fuel burn, noise levels
and operating costs, as well
as higher operational flexibility,
efficiency and outstanding
comfort.
Officials appointed,
judges promoted
From page 1
Royal Decree No 48/2011
approves the oil concession
agreement between the government
of the Sultanate of
Oman and Rex Oil and Gas
Ltd company and Petroci
Holding company for the offshore
block 50 signed on February
28, 2011.
Royal Decree No 49/2011
ratifies the agreement between
the government of the Sultanate
of Oman and the government
of Vietnam on encouraging
and mutual protection
Charity brunch in aid of
Japanese quake victims
MUSCAT — Yoshiko Morimoto,
wife of the Ambassador
of Japan to the Sultanate
of Oman, will host a ‘Charity
Brunch’ for women on Sunday,
March 27, 2011 from
11am to 4pm, at the residence
of the Ambassador of
Japan.
The Charity Brunch has
been organised as a gesture
of gratitude to all those who
had sent messages of condolences
and extended other
forms of support in aid of the
victims of the recent earthquake
and tsunami in Japan.
In a gesture of solidarity
with Japan during its present
time of national grief, the
wives of ambassadors representing
some 20 countries
accredited to the Sultanate
are each contributing dishes
MUSCAT — Sohar Aluminium
handed over a cheque
in the amount of RO 2,000
to the office of the Wali of
Al Suwaiq as a contribution
towards the eradication of
illiteracy in Oman’s project
initiated by the Ministry of
Education targeting adult illiteracy
in Batinah Region.
Sohar Aluminium strongly
believes that education in
Oman is the right of each individual
and is proud to sup-
representing their respective
national cuisines towards the
brunch buffet.
Meanwhile, the Embassy
of Japan has opened
a bank account (No
01/04/103654/001) in the
name of ‘Friends of Japan’
at the MBD branch of
BankDhofar, contributions
towards which are earmarked
for the victims and survivors
of the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake.
Donations made to
this account will be remitted
by the embassy to a special
account of the Japanese Red
Cross established in aid of
the quake relief effort. The
opening of the Special Donation
Account in Muscat
has been supported by the
Oman-Japan Friendship Association.
Sohar Aluminium supports
illiteracy eradication
By Abdulaziz al Jahdhami
MUSCAT — Al Sahwa
Schools organised parentsteachers
gathering at the
school yesterday. The school
is committed to providing a
high quality international education
for its students while
embracing traditional values
based on the foundations of
Oman’s cultural inheritance.
As the event coincided
with the Mother’s Day, the
parents-teachers get-together
was organised for students’
mothers only. The event aims
to involve students’ parents
in the educational process at
the schools and participate
in decision-making. Such
events play a very active role
in strengthening relations and
communications between the
school’s teachers and parents.
The gathering was inaugurated
by a speech by Simon
Head, Principal of Al Sahwa
of investment signed in Hanoi
on January 10, 2011.
Royal Decree No 50/2011
ratifies the Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) between
the government of the
Sultanate of Oman and the
government of the UK on the
mutual exemption of visas
for holders of the diplomatic
and special passports signed
in Muscat on November 26,
2010.
All decrees came into
force from their date of issue.
— ONA
port this worthy programme
in the wilayats of Sohar, Al
Khabourah and Suwaiq. This
initiative also reflects the
magnitude of commitment
Sohar Aluminium maintains
towards supporting Education
in the Al Batinah Region.
Present at the ceremony
was Shaikh Abdullah al
Buraiki, Deputy Wali and
Saoud al Ishaqi, Corporate
Responsibility Officer at
Sohar Aluminium.
Al Sahwa Schools organises
parents-teachers meet
Schools. He highlighted the
significance of such events
that bring together students’
parents and school teachers.
He also shed light on the vital
role of co-operation between
the school and parents to
support students to excel in
their studies. The principal
praised the parents’ support
to Al Sahwa Schools. He also
affirmed that the school ensures
a secure learning environment.
The agenda of the gathering
included a lecture on
“The Effective Ways to Deal
with Children” delivered by
Aisha al Harthiya, (pictured)
Director of Happy Family
Centre for Consultations. The
lecture was conducted in the
form of an interactive talk
and discussion between the
speaker and the attendees.
She enlightened mothers on
some useful techniques and
methods that help in bringing
up children.

BEREAVED family members of victims of the earthquake and tsunami watch as an
excavator digs a temporary mass grave site in Higashi Matsushima,
northern Japan yesterday. — Reuters
Mass burials begin
UNOSUMAI — The towering
waves that splintered
thousands of Japanese homes
and lives has forced the country
to rethink one of its most
sacred Buddhist practices:
how it treats the dead.
Desperate municipalities
are digging mass graves, unthinkable
in a nation where
the deceased are usually cremated
and their ashes placed
in stone family tombs. Local
regulations often prohibit burial
of bodies.
The number of dead — at
9,199 and expected to climb
well over 20,000 — has overwhelmed
crematoriums whose
incinerators cannot keep pace
with the arriving bodies. A
shortage of kerosene required
to burn them means some cannot
operate at all.
“We have many bodies
found in seawater and badly
damaged,” said Kazuhiko
Endo, an official in Kamaishi,
where a mass burial is planned
tomorrow for 150 unidentified
people killed by the March 11
earthquake and tidal wave.
“This is a special measure,
but there is nothing much else
we can do,” said Endo. “More
than a week has passed since
we placed them in morgues
and we don’t know if they can
be identified.”
Under traditional Japanese
Buddhist practice, bodies are
brought home and placed in
bed with their head pointing
north. After a wake, funeral
and cremation, relatives transfer
the bones by chopsticks
into an urn that is displayed
at home for weeks or even
months before being buried.
That centuries-old ritual
is all but impossible in some
areas hardest hit by Japan’s
biggest disaster since World
War Two, as rescue workers
pack bodies into makeshift
morgues, some mangled beyond
recognition by the swirling,
debris-choked waves.
Although many tsunamidamaged
highways have been
reopened, fuel shortages prevent
families from retrieving
or transporting bodies.
Morgues lack the dry ice
needed to preserve them.
“There were so many victims
and at first they were going
to be cremated, but there
were too many, so we wanted
to bury them quickly,” said
Doyu Oheda, a monk in Higashimatsushima,
where bodies
were lowered into a mass
grave in former garbage dump
on Tuesday, some in wooden
coffins or wrapped in blankets.
The grave can hold 1,000
people but is temporary.
Those buried on Tuesday
were tagged and will be exhumed
later and cremated
with a proper funeral.
Ofunato, a small, nearly
destroyed city with about
200 dead and 230 missing,
hopes to cremate “as many
as possible,” said Hideki
Terasawa, a senior city official.
— Reuters
5 JAPAN
OMAN DAILY Observer
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
Water unsafe for babies,
food bans imposed
TOKYO — Tokyo yesterday
warned that radioactive iodine
over twice the safe level for
infants had been detected in
its tap water due to the disaster
at a quake-hit nuclear plant
northeast of Japan’s capital.
The revelation came after
the United States barred
imports of dairy and other
produce from areas near the
crippled Fukushima power
station, and as Hong Kong became
the first Asian economy
to follow suit.
Japan has banned farm
produce from areas near the
crippled plant, which has been
leaking radiation and has suffered
explosions and fires
since the worst natural disaster
in nearly a century.
France urged the European
Union to also control Japanese
food imports due to the
emergency at the Pacific coast
plant, where engineers are bat-
25,000 dead
or missing
OSAKA — The number of
people confirmed dead or
listed as missing in Japan
surpassed 25,000 yesterday.
There are fears of a much
higher toll from the disaster,
which flattened entire towns
along the Pacific coast of
northern Honshu island.
The National Police
Agency said 9,487 people
had been confirmed dead
and 15,617 officially listed as
missing — a total of 25,104
— as of 9:00 pm (1200
GMT) yesterday as a result
of the March 11 catastrophe.
A total of 2,755 people have
been injured.
The quake has become Japan’s
deadliest natural disaster
since the 1923 Great Kanto
Earthquake, which killed
more than 142,000 people.
tling to prevent a meltdown in
overheating reactors.
In one Tokyo ward, a water
sample contained 210
becquerels of iodine per kilogramme,
a city official said.
That is more than double Japan’s
legal limit.
The government advised
residents throughout the city
to avoid using tap water to
make infant milk formula until
further notice.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan
stopped shipments of untreated
milk and vegetables
including broccoli, cabbage
and parsley from areas near
the plant.
Farm produce shipments
were halted from Fukushima
and three nearby prefectures
— Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma
— while radiation monitoring
of farm and seafood
products was stepped up in six
others, officials said. — AFP
$309 bn to rebuild!
OSAKA — Japan yesterday
said the cost of rebuilding the
country after its biggest recorded
earthquake could be as
much as 25 trillion yen ($309
billion) as a deepening radiation
scare hit shares.
Japan put the cost of the
earthquake-tsunami disaster at
more than twice that inflicted
by the 1995 Kobe quake. The
World Bank says Japan needs
up to five years to rebuild.
Analysts say, however, that
the figure may rise the longer
an atomic crisis at the stricken
Fukushima nuclear plant remains
unresolved, with an ongoing
radiation scare threatening
the capital Tokyo, 250
kilometres away.
“The damage is far bigger
than the Kobe quake,” economy
minister Kaoru Yosano
told a press conference, adding
“it will take a long time to
complete reconstruction.”
Japanese shares, which had
been slightly lower on profittaking
after two days of strong
gains, fell sharply in late trade
after the Tokyo Metropolitan
government said levels of radioactive
iodine exceeded safe
limits for infants for two consecutive
days.
The Nikkei 225 index
ended down 1.65 per cent,
or 158.85 points to 9,449.47.
The Topix index slipped 7.03
points, or 0.81 per cent, to
861.10.
Markets are vulnerable to
signs of setback in delicate
operations to restore power
to overheating reactors at the
leaking Fukushima atomic
plant crippled by the March
11 disaster.
The twin disasters have
plunged Japan into what Prime
Minister Naoto Kan has called
its worst crisis since World
War II.
The top end of the government’s
estimate puts its cost
at more than double that of
the 9.6 trillion yen impact of
the Kobe earthquake, and four
times that of Hurricane Katrina’s
$81 billion cost in the
United States.
The total cost from collapse
or damage to houses,
factories and infrastructure
such as roads and bridges was
estimated at 16 trillion-25 trillion
yen over the next three
fiscal years, the Cabinet Office
said.
“The scale of the loss due
to the earthquake and tsunami
will be unprecedented,” noted
Susumu Kato of Credit Agricole.
Hundreds of thousands
have been made homeless by
the 9.0-magnitude quake and
the devastating tsunami it unleashed,
which erased entire
towns. — AFP

A LIBYAN fighter prepares an anti-aircraft machine gun at a check point near the key city of Ajdabiya
yesterday as government forces have encircled the town. — AFP
Protest a crime in Egypt
CAIRO — The Egyptian interim cabinet headed by Essam
Sharaf approved yesterday a law criminalising strikes and
protests with penalties of up to one year's imprisonment, state
media reported.
The law allows for those participating in any protest which
"disrupts private or public work" to be imprisoned for one year
or fined up to 500,000 Egyptian pounds ($84,000).
The law, which is subject to approval of the Supreme Council
of the Armed Forces, is to stay in effect for as long as the
country remains in a state of emergency, state-run website
Egynews reported.
The new law has already been blasted by activists, who say
the military is trying to prevent people from demonstrating
against emergency law and the abuse of protesters.
Egypt's military, in charge of the country since former president
Hosni Mubarak's ouster last month, has been condemned
by rights groups for its use of violence against protesters and
torture of detainees in recent weeks.
A gag order has also been placed on Egyptian media, which
has done very little reporting of the military's transgressions.
The cabinet also agreed on a separate law yesterday which
creates an initial framework for the formation of new political
parties.
According to the framework, a judiciary committee would
be created to oversee the formation of political parties and ensure
they abide by legal regulations, such as the ban on parties
based on religion. — dpa
DERAA, Syria — Syrian forces killed six people
yesterday in the southern city of Deraa, site
of unprecedented protests, residents said.
Those killed included Ali Ghassab al Mahamid,
a doctor from a prominent Deraa family,
said the residents, declining to be named.
An official Syrian statement said: "Outside
parties are transmitting lies about the situation
in Deraa", blaming what it described as armed
gangs for the violence. The statement said doctor
Mahamid, killed in an ambulance that had
arrived at the scene to rescue the injured, was
"assaulted by an armed gang".
"Security forces confronted the armed gang
near the Omari mosque, shooting several of its
members and arresting others. A member of the
security forces was killed," the statement said.
It said the armed gang "stocked weapons
and ammunition in the mosque and kidnapped
children and used them as human shields".
State television showed guns, grenades and
ammunition it said were found in the mosque,
but activists claimed the protest was peaceful
and there had been no weapons.
The attack brought to 10 the number of civilians
killed during six days of demonstrations for
THE brother of Mohamed Bouazizi, the fruit vendor whose self-immolation in December
last sparked a popular revolt, Salem, his mother Manoubia and his sister Leila meet
with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon yesterday in Tunis. The UN chief
arrived in Tunisia to meet the country’s transitional authorities. — AFP
SANAA — Yemen's president
offered to hold elections and
step down by the end of the
year yesterday in a bid to appease
mounting demands for
his resignation, but opposition
groups showed no sign of easing
up on eforts to force him
out.
President Ali Abdullah
Saleh had earlier said he would
not seek a new term in 2013.
Since then he has made greater
concessions and yesterday offered
constitutional change
and elections to replace parliament
and the head of state this
year.
"At this historic moment
Yemen needs wisdom to avoid
slipping into violence ... that
would destroy gains and leave
the country facing a dangerous
fate," Saleh said in a letter
passed to opposition groups in
a bid to reconcile differences.
Opposition groups, which
had earlier called for rallies in
the capital Sanaa tomorrow to
force Saleh from power, said
they were studying the offer.
The letter, also sent to army
commander Ali Mohsen, who
has declared support for the
protesters, contained a proposal
to hold a referendum on
a new constitution, then a parliamentary
election followed
by a presidential poll before
the end of 2011.
It is unclear who might follow
Saleh.
Defections including generals,
tribal leaders, diplomats
and ministers, gained momentum
after forces opened fire on
protesters on Friday last, causing
the deaths of 52 people.
Saleh sacked his cabinet and
declared a state of emergency
— which parliament rubber
stamped yesterday for a 30day
period. But the bloodshed
has lent protests a new severity.
Yesterday, protesters carried
placards saying "No to
emergency rule!" Some had
begun selling T-shirts saying
"I am a future martyr".
6 REGION
OMAN DAILY Observer
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
Gunfire and claims in Libya
TRIPOLI — Western warplanes silenced
artillery and tanks besieging the opposition-held
town of Misrata yesterday after
an American admiral warned that the
Libyan leader's armour was now in the
cross-hairs.
The Western powers are struggling to
agree on a coherent command structure
including Nato after Washington said it
wanted to hand over leadership of the
campaign in the coming days.
While four nights of Western airstrikes
hit Libyan air defences and an armoured
column in the east, government tanks had
kept up their shelling of Misrata in the
west this week.
At least two explosions were heard in
the Libyan capital Tripoli before dawn
yesterday.
"We will not surrender," Libyan leader
Moammar Gaddafi told supporters at his
Tripoli compound, which came under
attack in 1986 from the US Reagan administration
and once again in the current
round of air raids.
There were no reports of civilian casualties,
said Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber,
a top US military officer involved in enforcing
the no-fly zone. But neither had
Libyan forces pulled back from Misrata,
he said.
"There have been no reports of civilian
casualties. Our mission here is to protect
the civilian populace and we choose our
targets and plan our actions with that as
a top priority," he told reporters by phone
from the command ship USS Mount
Whitney in the Mediterranean.
Prior to the Misrata strikes, US Rear
Syria sees more violence
Saleh offers elections this year
"As sure as the sun is in the
sky, he will go," said protester
Suleiman Abdullah, 28.
Long seen by many as the
strongman holding the fractious
tribal country together,
Saleh is raising the spectre of
civil war and disintegration
if he is forced out in what he
says would be a coup.
Defections among the ruling
elite have reached senior
military commanders, including
General Ali Mohsen, commander
of the northwest military
zone and Saleh's kinsman
from the powerful Al Ahmar
clan.
Security sources said
Saleh had beefed up his personal
security for fear of an
assassination attempt or a
coup by his widening circle
of opponents.
Protesters, however, are
divided over what they think
of Ali Mohsen who was popularly
regarded as the second
most powerful man in the
country before he abandoned
Saleh. Some protesters have
displayed the general's picture
on their tents in the protest
encampment in Sanaa, but
opposition leaders regard his
motives with suspicion and
few would want him to have a
role in any future transitional
government.
Some from the north resent
his role in suppressing their recent
rebellions.
"We see Ali Mohsen's joining
us as a corruption of the
revolution. The revolution is
not against an individual but
against a system," said Abdullah
Hussein al Dailami, 33,
from Saada in the north. He
said Mohsen had been Saleh's
accomplice.
Opponents complain that
Yemen under Saleh has failed
to meet the basic needs of the
country's 23 million people.
Unemployment is around 35
per cent and 50 per cent for
young people. Oil wealth is
dwindling and water is running
out. — Reuters
political freedom and an end to corruption in the
country of 20 million. The demonstrators have
been calling for reform. An official statement
said yesterday that President Bashar al Assad
had sacked Deraa governor Faisal Kalthoum.
But a main demand of the protesters is an end to
what they term repression by the secret police.
France urged Damascus to carry out political
reforms without delay and respect its commitment
to human rights. It also called for an
investigation into the recent deaths in Deraa, the
release of those detained in demonstrations and
said "excessive force" had to stop.
The protesters, who erected tents in the
mosque's grounds, said earlier they were going
to remain at the site until their demands were
met. On Tuesday, Vice-President Farouq al
Shara said Assad was committed to "continue
the path of reform and modernisation in Syria",
Lebanon's al-Manar television reported.
Authorities arrested a leading campaigner
who had supported the protesters, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.
It said Loay Hussein, a political prisoner
from 1984 to 1991, was taken from his home
near Damascus. — Reuters
Algerian police clash with
rioters in housing row
ALGIERS — Police in Algeria's
capital used tear gas yesterday
to disperse a crowd of
young men who threw stones
and petrol bombs to try to stop
bulldozers demolishing dozens
of illegally-built homes.
Rioting over housing is
fairly common in Algeria but
yesterday's clashes were unusually
violent and took place
at a time when Algerian authorities
are wary of any sign
of contagion from the unrest
elsewhere in the Arab world.
At least five police officers
were injured in the rioting,
during which rioters also set
fire to a car and threw bricks
down on police from nearby
rooftops, said a Reuters journalist
at the scene.
The clashes, in the Oued
Koriche suburb of Algiers,
began when local officials
ordered the demolition of
more than 30 houses built on
publicly-owned land without
a permit.
Police in protective gear
formed a shield around bulldozers
which moved in to
demolish the houses, but they
came under attack from about
100 young men.
After a few hours all the illegal
buildings were knocked
down and the confrontation
ended.
In the Algerian capital, a
city perched on hills sloping
down to the Mediterranean
Sea, the buildings are packed
tightly together and there is
fierce competition for living
space. — Reuters
Admiral Peg Klein said warplanes, which
had been suppressing Libya's air defences,
would now be sent out to attack Gaddafi's
tanks.
"Some of those cities still have tanks
advancing on them to attack the Libyan
people," said Klein, commander of the
expeditionary strike group aboard the
USS Kearsarge off Libya.
British Air Vice Marshal Greg Bagwell
said yesterday at a base in Italy that Western
forces had destroyed Libya's air force
and were flying with impunity across its
air space, attacking ground troops.
In the east of the state, disorganised
rebels fighting against government forces
have failed to capitalise on the air strikes
and have been pinned down outside Ajdabiyah,
150 km west of Benghazi.
Rebels were clashing with the army
inside Ajdabiyah, rebel fighters said yesterday,
and residents were fleeing.
Fighters said some groups had made
covert forays into the town through the
desert but that tanks at the town entrance
had kept their main force at bay.
"We went into Ajdabiyah yesterday
(Tuesday) at 2 pm. It's not Ajdabiyah any
more," said rebel fighter Faraj Ali, in his
machinegun-mounted truck.
A family leaving Ajdabiyah said a
fraction of the residents remained.
Missiles landed near rebel positions
yesterday and shelling in previous days
killed a number of rebel fighters.
Fighter Ali despaired of what he saw
as inertia by the leadership in Benghazi
and called for more help from the West.
"The National Libyan Council aren't
MANAMA — Bahrain has
suspended flights to and from
Lebanon a day after it warned
its nationals not to travel there
following declarations of support
by the group Hizbullah
for unrest in Bahrain.
Bahrain's state-run Gulf Air
also said in a statement on its
website that all flights to Iran
and Iraq had been suspended
until March 31, without giving
a reason.
"This decision was taken after
the irresponsible comments
and stances from Lebanon
against Bahrain, its people and
leaders," state-owned Bahrain
news agency cited a statement
from the Civil Aviation Affairs
department as saying.
Flights by Gulf Air and
Bahrain Air to and from Lebanon
have been suspended indefinitely,
it added.
Twenty senior Lebanese
businessmen based in Bahrain
met yesterday to discuss their
response after Lebanese residents
in Bahrain complained
of being turned away at the
airport on their return from
holidays or business trips.
Lebanese expatriates said
they would lodge an official
request for help with their
embassy on Saturday. They
are also preparing a statement
that will condemn outside
interference in Bahrain and
distance the community from
comments by Hizbullah leader
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
On Tuesday, Bahrain's
Foreign Ministry warned Bahrainis
not to travel to Lebanon
for their own safety and said
the ban was due to threats and
interference.
Nasrallah criticised states
the people to ask for anything to be frank.
If it weren't for the West, Gaddafi's forces
would be in Benghazi," Ali said.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe
said Nato would take on a coordination
role in the Libya intervention and a contact
group would be formed, made up of
representatives of coalition countries, African
Union, Arab League and EU countries,
which will be in charge of strategic
planning. The group is to meet in London
next Tuesday, Britain said.
The US, Britain and France agreed
on Tuesday that the alliance should play
a key operational role, but the assent of
all 28 Nato states is needed and they have
been split over whether it should also exercise
political control.
Meanwhile, Nato nations offered an
armada of ships and submarines to enforce
an arms embargo as the West moved
to settle a row over who should run the
entire Libya campaign.
Six nations agreed to contribute up
to 16 vessels in the Mediterranean, with
Turkey offering five warships and a submarine
despite its reservations about the
military action.
In the meantime, the 28-nation alliance
appeared to move closer to deciding
Nato's place in a no-fly zone that has been
enforced by an international coalition led
by the United States, France and Britain.
France wants political authority to rest
in the hands of a committee made up of
countries taking part in the campaign, including
Arab states, while leaving planning
and operational military duties to
Nato. — AFP
AN injured man, who later died of his wounds, is rushed into the emergency room of a
hospital in Daraa, 100 kms south of the capital Damascus yesterday. — AFP
Bahrain suspends some flights
for backing Bahrain's rulers,
who called in troops from
Saudi Arabia to help them
quell protests.
Bahrain's stern action which
saw it ban protests and impose
martial law, has stunned demonstrators
and angered Iran.
Bahrain has withdrawn its top
diplomats from Iran in protest
at the Islamic Republic's criticism
of its actions.
Bahrain also said yesterday
it had reduced curfew times by
two hours to try to bring life
back to normality in the island
kingdom that has been gripped
by its worst unrest in years.
Last week, Bahrain imposed
a 12-hour curfew on
large swathes of Manama. The
curfew now runs from 10 pm
to 4 am from Seef Mall through
the financial district to the diplomatic
area. — Reuters
YEMENI Members of Parliament raise their hands to vote on a state of emergency declared by the
president in Sanaa yesterday. — AFP

OAB sponsors
Palestinian Products
Exhibition
Page 10
IN BRIEF
Nokia says
talks over job
cuts soon
HELSINKI — The
world’s leading mobile
phone maker Nokia said
yesterday negotiations
with unions over upcoming
job cuts would begin
at the end of April.
“We don’t have an
exact starting date, but
we are planning to begin
talks at the end of April,
and then we will of course
talk about the numbers,”
company spokesman Tomi
Kuuppelomaeki said.
Nokia has not yet said
how many of its 16,000
developers worldwide
it will let go as part of a
new corporate strategy to
phase out development of
its smartphone platform
Symbian. On February 11,
chief executive Stephen
Elop announced the company
would begin adopting
Microsoft’s smartphone
platform instead, resulting
in “substantial” job losses.
Hammerson
buys six UK
properties
LONDON — Anglo-
French mall owner
Hammerson has bought
six British retail assets for
£208 million ($341 million),
equivalent to a yield
of 7 per cent, from St Martins
Property Investments.
Including transaction
costs, the deal totalled
£221 million, Hammerson
said yesterday, adding it
had also bought the remaining
75 per cent interest
in the Central Retail
Park, Falkirk, for £69 million
including costs.
“There is scope for
Hammerson to create
value through the rejuvenation
of the principal assets
(Centrale, Monument
Mall and Elliott’s Field)
via development and asset
management initiatives,”
Hammerson said.
Hochtief in
good shape
after 2010
BERLIN — The biggest
German construction
company, Hochtief, reported
solid 2010 results
yesterday, confirmed its
medium-term targets and
repeated that it would sell
two subsidiaries.
Hochtief’s net profit
gained 50 per cent to 288
million euros ($408 million),
and pre-tax profit
was 27 per cent higher at
757 million euros.
Orders were up by 32
per cent at almost 30 billion
euros meanwhile, after
the group diversified into
the industrial services sector,
with most of its work
now outside Germany.
Ericsson
to cut 450
Swedish jobs
STOCKHOLM — Sweden’s
mobile network giant
Ericsson said yesterday
it would cut 450 Swedish
sales and administrative
jobs as part of the adjustment
of its operations in
the country.
“Ericsson is informing
its employees today on an
adjustment of its activities
which imply a reduction
of about 400 jobs in Stockholm
and around 50 jobs
in Gothenburg within sales
and administration,” the
company said in a statement.
The company said
the cuts were necessary
following a new structure
put in place in 2010 and
according to which “certain
competences within
sales and administration
moved closer to clients.”
Al Mazyona draw winners
MARKING 20 years of fulfilling dreams, BankMuscat
conducted its monthly and weekly Al Mazyona savings
scheme draw in MBD branch in the presence of a large
turnout of customers. Hamed Amour al Jabri, a pilot picked
the lucky winner of RO 20,000. Page 9
TOKYO — Japan’s largest
banks are in talks to provide
up to $25 billion in emergency
loans to Tokyo Electric Power
to shore up its finances and
rebuild its power network following
a disaster at one of its
nuclear plants.
Tokyo Electric, Asia’s largest
utility, is waging a desperate
battle to cool reactors at
its Fukushima-Daiichi power
plant which were crippled by
the powerful earthquake and
tsunami on March 11 and have
leaked radiation.
The disaster knocked out
about 20 per cent of Tokyo
Electric’s operating thermal
and nuclear generation, forcing
it to implement rolling
blackouts set to last months
until it can secure alternative
sources of power.
Highlighting the uncertainty
over its financial prospects,
the company — known for
its rich and steady dividends
— said yesterday that it was
now not sure what its annual
dividend would be, erasing its
prior forecast for a payout of
60 yen per share.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial
Group the utility’s main lend-
BRUSSELS — With crisis-hit Portugal
on the verge of government
collapse and a cry for financial
help, European leaders face an uphill
task at a summit meant to seal
defences against a year-long debt
crisis.
Leaders from the 27 European
Union states lock horns today and
tomorrow in Brussels, amid divisions
over military action in Libya
and nuclear safety after Japan’s
quake and tsunami severely damaged
a reactor.
Once again, though, the euro
debt crisis is set to consume most
of their energies — as a deadline
for a definitive response to financial
headaches collides with a fresh
run on money markets over Portugal’s
descent towards snap polls.
A bailout demand from Lisbon,
like Ireland or Greece beforehand,
er, is expected to provide more
than 500 billion yen in loans
out of an emergency package
that could total 2 trillion yen
($25 billion), sources with direct
knowledge of the matter
said.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
Group and Mizuho Financial
Group are considering loans
of 200-500 billion yen each.
Sumitomo Trust and Banking
and other major trust banks are
also expected to offer funds,
the sources said.
The loans would be used
to fix damaged plants and for
other reconstruction efforts
and may be extended to the
utility as early as this month,
according to the sources, who
were not authorised to speak
publicly about the matter.
“Interesting, as one suspects
that the government has
implicitly guaranteed the survival
of TEPCO as a regulated
entity if all these institutions
are willing to accept the risk,”
said Penn Bowers, an analyst
at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets
in Tokyo.
“Given the amount of cash
on the balance sheet, I am
surprised at the urgency of
Thursday, March 24, 2011
would come at the worst possible
time.
A credit rating downgrade drove
the interest Portugal must pay on
new borrowings over eight per
cent on Tuesday. Nine billion euros
($12.9 billion) of debt must be repaid
by June 15.
Portugal’s parliament was set
yesterday to reject Prime Minister
Jose Socrates’ latest austerity plan,
aimed at squeezing its public deficit
to 4.6 per cent of GDP this year.
The Socialist leader has said he
will resign in that event.
Belgian police expect some
20,000 anti-austerity protesters to
snarl up EU HQ from early today.
A Portugal bailout would need
to come from a notional 440-billion
emergency fund, the European
Financial Stability Facility, but diplomats
said that Finland is “not in
talks but certainly the need to
prevent a crisis of confidence
could be seen as necessary to
keep recovery efforts stable,”
he said.
Tokyo Electric, which provides
power to about one-third
of the Japanese population,
had 432 billion yen in cash and
a position” to strengthen the fund
before April 17 elections.
“Finland has excluded any increase
of EFSF guarantees on Friday,”
one said.
Already tapped by Ireland, the
amount the fund could actually
lend, allowing for a required buffer
to make it profitable, falls to around
200 billion.
If Portugal sounded the alarm,
the margin for others would narrow.
And as the heat intensifies, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel
wants to re-negotiate capital injections
into a permanent 500-billion
European Stability Mechanism to
replace the EFSF in 2013.
Europe’s most powerful and
populous economy, Germany was
the biggest contributor to the Greek
and Irish bailouts — a combined
equivalents at the end of December
and 7.5 trillion yen in
outstanding debt, according to
its financial statements.
Of its $64 billion in outstanding
bonds, the company
is due to repay $4.8 billion
this year, and another $5.6 billion
in 2012, underscoring the
Bank Sohar opens Bahla branch
SHAIKH Musalam Mohamed Hamed al Wahshi, Deputy Wali of
Wilayat Bahla officiated as the Chief Guest and formally inaugurated
Bank Sohar’s branch at Bahla in the Dakhiliya Region. The
inaugural ceremonies began with the Chief Guest cutting
the ceremonial ribbon Page 9
importance of refinancing to
meet its funding needs.
Last week, credit ratings
agency Standard & Poor’s cut
its long-term and short-term
ratings on TEPCO by one
notch to “A+” and “A-1” respectively.
Moody’s also cut
the firm’s long-term rating by
200-billion-plus.
Slovakia and Estonia also have
problems with a “key” determining
their contributions.
After a vote in the European
Parliament yesterday, leaders are
to endorse an EU treaty change
enabling the ESM’s creation, with
an additional 200-billion buffer required.
Meanwhile, a raging battle with
Ireland, which wants eased terms on
its bailout in line with those granted
to Greece, will also resurface, with
euro zone partners demanding Dublin
first raise its low corporation tax
levels.
A new ‘Pact’ to support the euro,
which sets out benchmarks for EU
states across a wide gamut of indicators
and has been deemed the
“cornerstone” of the bloc’s future
defences, is also stirring trouble.
While diplomats said that Poland,
Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia
and Bulgaria would sign up, current
EU chair Hungary announced
on Tuesday it will not. The Czech
Republic had already said no.
France, Spain, Austria and
Greece want the goal of a Financial
Transactions Tax written in, which
Germany, Italy and Denmark oppose.
France, with an eye on the Irish
row, wants reference to a need for
“pragmatic tax co-ordination.”
Even euro zone plans to deepen
co-ordination of economic policies
and create new sanctions to punish
countries that exceed debt limits are
not set in stone.
Nervousness,
volatility grip
Asian shares
Page 10
Japan banks may lend $25 bn to nuclear operator
UK sees slower growth,
above-target inflation LONDON
LONDON — Britain cut its
economic growth forecast
yesterday and said inflation
would remain above target
this year and next in a budget
that stuck to ambitious deficitbusting
goals.
Seeking to support a faltering
economy, Finance Minister
George Osborne said corporation
tax would be cut by two
percentage points to 26 per
cent from April, rather than
by just the one point originally
planned.
A levy on banks would be
increased to pay for it.
Osborne cut his growth
forecasts to 1.7 per cent in
2011, and 2.5 per cent in 2012,
citing figures from the government’s
independent fiscal
watchdog. In November,
growth was estimated to be 2.1
per cent this year and 2.6 per
cent in 2012.
Sterling fell to the day’s
low versus the dollar in response
to the new economic
forecasts.
The Conservative-Liberal
Democrat coalition government
is attempting to eliminate
most of a deficit of 10 per
cent of national output before
the 2015 election, while also
nurturing a fragile economy
back to health.
Public borrowing would fall
less steeply over the next four
years than previously hoped
but the bulk of the budget deficit
would still be eliminated by
2015, Osborne said.
Policymakers at the Bank
of England face a dilemma,
with inflation running at more
than double their 2 per cent
target while the economy is
still in a fragile state and needs
the support of record low interest
rates.
BRITISH Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne
poses with the ministerial budget box outside 11 Downing
Street in London yesterday. — AFP
Osborne said soaring oil
prices meant inflation would
remain between 4 and 5 per
cent this year before dropping
to 2.5 per cent next year.
The economy unexpectedly
shrank at the end of last
year and, although it is seen
bouncing back this year, the
recovery faces headwinds
from constrained credit, weak
household finances, high oil
prices and the prospect of
tighter monetary policy.
Minutes of this month’s
Bank of England monetary
policy meeting yesterday
showed no more policymakers
had joined the camp wanting
to raise interest rates, with
three out of nine MPC members
backing a hike and the
rest wanting to hold rates at a
record low of 0.5 per cent.
Markets have been bet-
BLACK smoke rising from the third reactor building of the Tokyo Electric Power
Company’s No 1 Fukushima nuclear power plant in the town of
Okuma in Fukushima. — Reuters
ting that the BoE could start
to raise rates in the coming
months, potentially creating
a headache for a government
banking on loose monetary
policy to support the recovery
while it slashes spending. Any
delay will be a welcome relief
for Osborne and his team.
The coalition — which set
four-year plan to cut public
spending by about a fifth last
year — has little cash to spend
to ease the pain for struggling
businesses and families.
Labour, the unions and
some economists argue the
government is putting the recovery
at risk by cutting the
deficit so fast.
The wisdom of the government’s
harsh four-year
spending review has also been
brought into question for other
reasons. — Reuters
ENRC profit
doubles on
record output
— Kazakh miner
ENRC met forecasts with
full-year underlying profit
that more than doubled, on
record production and demand
recovery, and said the
global economic outlook was
still improving.
“We remain positive on
the group’s prospects for
2011, although the control of
costs growth and the development
of our assets in Africa
will be important issues
for management, as will be
the continued near-term risk
of commodity market volatility,”
chief executive Felix
Vulis said yesterday.
Underlying 2010 earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation
and amortisation (EBIT-
DA) jumped 118 per cent to
$3.19 billion, on revenue up
72 per cent to $6.60 billion.
ENRC has hired headhunters
in its search for a new
CEO, Vulis said. Vulis, who
has a 12-month notice period,
announced his resignation in
February.
Shares in the FTSE-100
miner were up 3.6 per cent at
1045 GMT, slightly outperforming
a 2.1 per cent higher
British mining index.
ENRC would not comment
on speculation a publicly
listed Glencore could make
a bid. It said it did not expect
Glencore’s status, whether as
a public or private company,
to affect its aluminium distribution
agreement with the
world’s largest commodities
trader. Cost pressures have
been rising across the mining
industry and ENRC said
prices for materials, transportation,
fuel and other inputs,
as well as logistics, were expected
to show significant increases
in 2011. — Reuters
LONDON — The Bank of
England’s Monetary Policy
Committee remained divided
on whether to raise interest
rates this month and appeared
no closer to tightening policy
than they were in February.
Minutes to the BoE’s
March 9-10 policy meeting,
published yesterday, suggested
the medium-term outlook had
not changed, although the risks
to inflation and growth had
both risen as a result of soaring
oil prices.
Sterling fell and UK share
prices extended gains after the
minutes, which some investors
had expected to strike a more
hawkish tone.
“It doesn’t look as though
the MPC is any closer towards
deciding to push rates up in the
near term,” said Philip Shaw,
an economist at Investec.
Data on Tuesday showed
inflation surged to a 28-month
Crisis-hit Portugal tips of iceberg as Euro leaders tackle debt woes
BOTTOMLINE
two notches to “A1.”
The spread of Tokyo Electric’s
bonds over Japanese
government bonds expanded to
about 100 basis points at their
peak from 7 or 8 basis points
before the quake, pushing
them into oversold territory, a
senior fund manager said.
“The general perception of
the market now is that the situation
at Tokyo Electric’s Fukushima
Daiichi plant is settling
down gradually,” said Nobuto
Yamazaki, the head of fixed
income at asset manager Diam
Co Ltd.
At the six-reactor Fukushima-Daiichi
plant, engineers
are battling to cool the reactors
to contain further contamination
and avert a meltdown.
But even if TEPCO is able
to regain control of Fukushima-Daiichi,
it faces lengthy
repairs and inspections at
other nuclear facilities and
will have to burn more oil and
gas to make up for the nuclear
shortfall, eating away at its finances.
In addition to the destroyed
Fukushima-Daiichi plant,
Tokyo Electric’s Fukushima-
Daini plant is also out of ac-
high of 4.4 per cent in February,
a jump that pushed markets
to price in a more than 50
per cent chance of a UK rate
rise in May.
The central bank said there
was a “significant risk” inflation
could exceed 5 per cent in
the coming months. However,
it also noted that consumer
spending had “deteriorated
sharply” and it was too early to
tell how strongly the economy
was recovering after a surprise
contraction at the end of last
year.
The BoE said the recent rise
in oil prices, fanned by tension
in the Middle East and North
Africa, had increased adverse
risks to both inflation and
growth.
“The balance between the
upside and downside risks to
the medium-term inflation outlook
had probably not shifted
significantly over the month,”
tion, along with some 18 per
cent of the company’s thermal
power capacity.
Damage to plants, lines
and networks in the most affected
northeast of the country
is expected to linger, raising
the prospect of blackouts during
the peak summer demand
season.
Tokyo Electric has said it
would likely be able to secure
54 gigawatts of supply by summer,
up from around 35 gigawatts
now, as it restores some
of the damaged thermal plants
and brings on other plants that
were mothballed or down for
maintenance.
When the company announced
third-quarter results
in January, it said that every
one per cent fall in its nuclear
power utility rate would trim
its annual profit by 11 billion
yen in the form of increased
fossil fuel costs.
CLSA’s Bowers says its
fuel costs could rise by 700
billion yen in the financial
year to March 2012 “given
the change in fuel mix — the
ability to pass this through will
be the key long-term factor for
funding.” — Reuters
BoE no closer to raising rates
policymakers concluded.
BoE chief economist Spencer
Dale and external MPC
member Martin Weale both
voted for a 25 basis point hike
— as they did in February.
Andrew Sentance, who
has long been the committee’s
most hawkish member, maintained
his call for a 50 basis
point rate rise.
The remaining six members
voted to keep rates on hold at
0.5 per cent, where they have
stood since March 2009, and
Adam Posen reiterated his lone
call for an additional £50 billion
of quantitative easing.
There were differences even
among those who voted to keep
rates on hold. Some thought
the risks from higher inflation
expectations remained limited
while others thought the risks
had risen and the case for a rate
rise had strengthened in recent
months. — Reuters
A TRADER works at the Egyptian Stock Exchange after its reopening, in Cairo
yesterday. The Egyptian stock exchange’s broad index tumbled nearly 10 per cent
yesterday after the bourse reopened following a seven-week closure caused
by political turmoil. — Reuters Report on page 9
Britain has already secured exemptions
to a scheme forcing states
to submit national budgets to peer
review.
A staggering 2,000-plus amendments
lodged by Euro MPs means
it may be difficult to meet a June
target-date for adoption of new economic
governance legislation.
Others want to focus on growthenhancing
measures, as seen in
a joint demand from Britain, the
Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark,
Finland, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania
and Latvia.
They want to remove market
restrictions, accelerate free-trade
deals with India, Canada, Japan,
South American and Asian nations,
and deepen economic integration
with non-EU eastern European
and southern Mediterranean neighbours.
— AFP

8
OMAN/THE WORLD THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
Rio CEO decries ‘curse
of resource nationalism’
HONG KONG — Rio Tinto’s
chief executive said increased
government involvement in
the resources sector is constraining
efforts to meet demand
across the globe and
slammed what he called the
“curse of resource nationalism.”
CEO Tom Albanese, who
is under pressure to give up
the company’s rights to part of
Guinea’s giant Simandou iron
ore concession, said Rio needs
to do a better job of liaising
with the governments at a
time when the miner is facing
pressures of higher taxes and
royalties.
“From a Rio Tinto perspective,
we have to do a better
job on the curse of resource
nationalism,” Albanese told a
packed audience at the Credit
Suisse Asia Investment Conference
in Hong Kong yesterday.
Albanese said the supply is
hampered by a combination of
technical and human factors.
On the technical side, he said
in certain cases resources are
in deep and difficult locations
in emerging countries.
“Besides technical constraints,
we are also seeing
human constraints. We are
seeing a combination of resource
nationalism in some
cases,” he said, citing “difficult
governance” in certain
countries.
“And in countries with
good governance and infrastructure,
you have this very
new pattern that is increasingly
challenging for our sector
of activism of stakeholder
engagement,” he said.
The fight for natural resources
has intensified over
the past few years, leading to
some high-profile cross-bor-
LONDON — J Sainsbury, Britain’s thirdbiggest
supermarket group, missed fourthquarter
sales forecasts, adding to signs of a
slowdown in consumer spending growth as
inflation climbs and government spending
cuts bite.
Sainsbury, which trails industry leader Tesco
and Wal-Mart’s Asda in annual sales, said
yesterday sales at stores open over a year rose
1 per cent, excluding fuel but including VAT
sales tax, in the 10 weeks to March 19.
That was a slowdown from 3.6 per cent
growth in the previous quarter and compared
with a forecast for 2.4 per cent.
“We expect the consumer environment to
remain tough, with our customers facing fuel
price inflation, uncertain employment prospects
and government spending cuts,” Sainsbury
said.
A procession of British retailers have
said trading conditions have got harder since
Christmas, as the government embarks on an
der takeovers being blocked
by governments.
Last year, the Canadian
government killed BHP Billiton
Ltd’s $39 billion bid for
fertiliser maker Potash Corp
Rio, which invested $680
million in what it said is the
world’s largest undeveloped
iron ore deposit in Guinea, has
been in dispute with Guinea
over blocks 1 and 2, which
the government gave to BSG
Resources.
Last year, Rio Tinto also
fought the Australian government’s
planned resource super
profits tax, which Albanese
called his number one sovereign
risk worldwide at the
time.
Rio worked with BHP and
Xstrata to convince the Australian
government to cut the
tax and limit its application to
iron ore and coal.
The chief executive did
not shed any new light on the
company’s A$3.9 billion offer
for Riversdale Mining, saying
only that emerging market demand
was driving the deal.
Albanese told CNBC after
the speech that he was restricted
on what he could say on the
matter, given that it’s a pending
transaction.
Mozambique-focused coal
miner Riversdale’s shareholders
will receive A$16.50
a share if Rio reaches more
than 50 per cent acceptances
by March 28. The offer reverts
to A$16 a share after that and
remains open until April 6.
Albanese said while the
long-term demand for copper
remained strong, in the shortterm,
supply could catch with
demand as Chinese growth is
beginning to mature.
“At the demand rate we are
seeing now...we could be in an
environment where over the
next 20-30 years, the world
will consume as much copper
as it consumed through all
of human history,” Albanese
said.
Big miners such as Rio
and BHP have benefited from
strong metals demand from
rapidly growing emerging
economies such as China, India
and Brazil.
Albanese said the focus for
Rio is to spend its vast cash
flow to expand into iron ore,
develop new copper resources
and to grow “organically.”
Sainsbury misses forecast
as shoppers squeezed
NEW YORK — Chief executives
should not use shareholders’
money for philanthropy,
says Nestle Chairman
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who
instead focuses the world’s
biggest food maker on making
money by doing good.
The growing corporate
trend has been dubbed “creating
shared value” and Nestle
now publishes an annual
progress report on goals such
as increasing the nutritional
value of products and reducing
its use of water and quantity of
greenhouse gas emissions.
Brabeck spoke about the
concept at the Council on Foreign
Relations in New York on
Tuesday. He said Nestle concentrates
its efforts on rural development,
water and nutrition.
“Creating shared value has
a big attractiveness because
it really takes into consideration
the interests of both
sides (business and society),”
Brabeck said. “We have integrated
this now into the purpose
of our company.
“Philanthropy basically is
doing good for no other reason
than doing good,” he said.
“This you can do with your
own money but I don’t think
you can use the money of your
shareholders to do philanthropy,
to do good.”
Brabeck said creating
shared value certainly had its
challenges, such as dealing
with issues like deforestation
and child labour, a problem
that Nestle was trying to address
by providing education
for the children.
“If they have the access to
good schooling, then the child
labour as such if it is helping the
fathers in the field and helping
with the harvesting, I don’t think
this is a problem,” he said. “The
problem is when you use the
children only for that and don’t
allow them to go to school.”
Charitable contributions
by corporations were valued
at $14.1 billion in 2009, according
to a Giving USA
Foundation report researched
by The Center on Philanthropy
at Indiana University. Twothirds
was cash and in-kind
contributions from company
budgets and the rest grants by
corporate foundations.
Five years ago Brabeck
said he stunned global and
business leaders at the World
Economic Forum in Davos
when he declared that corporations
did not need to give
austerity drive aimed at slashing its deficit and
following an increase in VAT sales tax.
For Finance Minister George Osborne, the
fiscal squeeze would not be taking too much of
a toll on growth prospects.
Sainsbury has been growing sales faster
than most of its rivals for several quarters,
helped by strength in the more affluent south
of England as well as an expansion into online
and convenience shopping and non-food
ranges like clothing.
The group said its fourth-quarter performance
was ahead of the broader grocery market
and non-food sales were growing at three times
the rate of food.
Total sales, including fuel and new selling
space, were up 6.8 per cent in the quarter.
Sainsbury shares have outperformed the
STOXX Europe 600 retail index by 15 per cent
over the past year. They closed at 354.3 pence
on Tuesday, valuing the business at about £6.5
billion ($10.6 billion). — Reuters
Nestle head emphasises
profiting from doing good
back because they had not stolen
anything from the world.
“I was just shocked that in
a very short period everybody
started to say, ‘Yes, I agree we
have to give back to society,’
and I was thinking, ‘Well,
we’re creating value for society,’”
he said. “If you have to
give back it means you have
taken something that doesn’t
belong to you.”
Since then Nestle has established
a Creating Shared Value
Advisory Board, which includes
Michael Porter of the Institute for
Strategy and Competitiveness at
Harvard Business School, who
is responsible for the creating
share value concept.
Brabeck said there are
600,000 small poor farmers
around the world who work
exclusively for Nestle and the
company has helped them produce
higher yields and quality,
increase their income, reduce
their environmental impact
and boost Nestle’s reliable
supply of good coffee.

MUSCAT — Marking 20
years of fulfilling dreams,
BankMuscat conducted its
monthly and weekly Al Mazyona
savings scheme draw in
MBD branch in the presence
of a large turnout of customers.
Hamed Amour al Jabri, a
pilot picked the lucky winner
of RO 20,000, the winners of
RO 2,000 and the lucky winners
of al Mazyona children
scheme.
Al Mazyona, the Sultanate’s
popular savings scheme,
was launched this year with a
never-before offer guaranteeing
bigger and better winning
chances for customers across
the Sultanate. The scheme offers
attractive weekly, monthly,
quarterly and bi-annual
grand prizes.
Raya al Battashi, Branch
Manager, said: “The all-new
Al Mazyona offers an exciting
line-up of prizes for different
segments of savers at
an unbeatable frequency. The
underlying theme is the generous
use of the theme of 20 and
its multiples thereof, establishing
Al Mazyona’s status as the
savings scheme for the nation.
For 20 years, al Mazyona has
made dreams of innumerable
customers come true.”
A notable attraction this
year is that the winning
chances get multiplied by the
number of years customers are
associated with al Mazyona
savings scheme. For example,
those who have been saving
for 20 years will get additional
20 bonus chances.
Winning with al Mazyona
has never been simpler as
customers are not required to
block their money for long and
no average balance is also required,
which makes the savings
scheme sensible.
The weekly prizes include
RO 2000 each for two guaranteed
winners from all the
Sultanate’s regions. Customers
are required to maintain
RO 100 minimum balance for
the weekly prize. The monthly
prize is an exciting RO 20,000
each for two winners. For eligibility,
customers are required
to maintain RO 1,000 minimum
balance for one month.
The quarterly prizes significantly
raise the appeal of
al Mazyona. The big prizes
include RO 200,000 every
three months. The first quarterly
prize winner will be
picked in March followed by
another winner in September.
For eligibility, customers are
required to maintain RO 1,000
minimum balance for three
months.
The climax of Al Mazyona
is the grand prize of RO
400,000 every six months.
The first grand prize winner
9 OMAN/REGION THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
Al Mazyona winners announced Bank Sohar opens Bahla branch
More comfort in Toyota Fortuner
MUSCAT— The Fortuner
has elegant looks,
style, utility and safety
features. It boasts of a
spruced frontal as well
as rear look with a sporty
grille, turn signal on the
outer rear view mirrors,
stylishly designed headlamps
and tail lamps.
The rich interior look
with wood grain panelling
and sophisticated
appointments pleases
not only your eyes but
also your senses. Also,
the 17” alloy wheels,
which help the vehicle
conquer even the toughest
terrains.
And now, a unique ‘Safari’ package for Fortuner is available on the 2.7 Safari (M/T & A/T)
and 4.0 Safari A/T grades. The package includes front and rear bumper spoiler with side cladding;
chrome rear lamp garnish safari badge and muffler cutter; 'safari' decal (on the sides of the vehicle
over the side cladding)’ wood panelling (dark coloured carbon fibre finish); chrome rings on
combination meter and floor illumination. Optional package elements include leather seats, DVD
combo and rear view camera,” concludes the spokesperson.
The Fortuner Safari is equipped to endure the elements even better, while hiking up the scale of
performance and comfort. According to a Saud Bahwan Automotive spokesperson, “The features
offered on the new Fortuner ‘Safari’ allow for greater off road performance, styling and standards
of comfort.”
The Fortuner comes with a host utility and comfort features like roof-mounted rear air conditioner
vents for the second row seat, steering wheel mounted audio and mid (multi information
display) controls and an Optitron combination meter, to name a few.
Dubbed as the ‘all-in-one’, Toyota Fortuner is equipped with an advanced large displacement
engine and tough chassis for a stable running performance, whether on-road or off-road. At the
heart of the vehicle, is a V6 4.0-liter, 24-valve VVT-i engine that delivers output of 235 HP and
torque of 38.3 kg-m in SAE net. The engine has been combined with a 5-Speed automatic transmission
incorporating advanced electronics technology, to provide optimum shift control, making
the Fortuner easier to drive.
The Fortuner is also available with an inline 4-cylinder 2.7-liter engine that produces an output
of 158 HP and a torque of 24.6 kg-m in SAE net.
To efficiently transmit engine power to the front and rear wheels, a limited slip differential is
used for the centre differential by providing optimal torque distribution according to driving and
road conditions, the Fortuner is capable of stable driving under various conditions. The Toyota
Fortuner features the most advanced safety features.
The unmatched, nationwide parts and service support of Saud Bahwan Group makes Toyota's
pride of place a reality. Toyota customers in Oman enjoy 6-year unlimited mileage protection,
over 98 per cent parts availability and round-the-clock care, amongst many other exclusive privileges
from the Group.
Exhilarating drive with new Zelas
TOYOTA'S spine-tingling performer, the brand new Zelas is indeed unparalleled in many ways.
Powered by a 178 horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder DVVT-i (dual variable valve timing with
intelligence) engine, the Zelas can churn out a truly exhilarating drive. For the satisfaction of the
technically-minded drivers, it is all due to Zelas power-plant being is equipped with roller rocker
arms and a variable-induction intake manifold system that supply greater torque ‘on demand’,
will be picked in June and the
second winner will be picked
in December. For eligibility,
customers are required to
maintain RO 1,000 minimum
balance for three months.
Al Mazyona offers one of
the biggest prize money in
the savings scheme history in
Oman. The objective is to create
a lifetime change for winners
and allow them to invest
their prize money in things
that will make a lasting difference
and the well-being
of their families. The flexible
scheme makes regular saving
easier and is available at the
largest network of 130 branches
across Oman.
BUSINESS ALERT
MUSCAT — Shaikh Musalam
Mohamed Hamed al Wahshi,
Deputy Wali of Wilayat Bahla
officiated as the Chief Guest
and formally inaugurated
Bank Sohar’s branch at Bahla
in the Dakhiliya Region. Dr
Mohamed Abdulaziz Kalmoor,
CEO, Khalfan Rashid
al Tal’ey, DGM Retail Banking,
Munira Abdulnabi Macki,
DGM Human Resources and
Corporate Support Affairs,
Bank Sohar and several senior
managers of the Bank were
present at the inauguration.
The inaugural ceremonies
began with the Chief Guest
cutting the ceremonial ribbon
at the entrance to the new
branch. Dr Mohamed Abdulaziz
Kalmoor and Hamed
al Hinai, Branch Manager,
Bahla thereafter took the Chief
Guest on a round of the new
branch premises and showed
him the facilities that would be
available to customers at the
branch. Hamed al Hinai then
welcomed the Chief Guest and
the invitees and thanked them
for making time to be present
at the event.
“Bank Sohar is just a few
days away from completing
four years in business,” shared
Dr Mohamed Abdulaziz Kalmoor
while addressing the
audience. “We are still a new
bank but during these four
years, we have sculpted a place
for ourselves in the market and
through dint of perseverance
gradually moved up from the
position of a new entity to a
bank with noteworthy status.
Bank Sohar has experienced
overall growth on many levels
and has started making profits.
Through all of this, the Bank
remains committed to the
customer. This commitment
will continue as we constantly
remind ourselves that we are
here for the customer.”
Khalfan Rashid al Tal’ey
thereby enhancing performance.
Its road-holding characteristics
are amazing, making
the ride feel sure and stable.
Premium styling and top-class
features further add to its appeal.
The Zelas' six-speed automatic
transmission boasts of
sequential shifting, providing
an additional fun-to-drive element.
As a result, the Zelas
has quicker acceleration and
highest fuel economy in its
segment.
The sleek new interior is
functional and contemporary,
while the plush seats along
with responsive steering and gear shift enhance driving comfort to a whole new level.
Zelas offers electric power-steering system that contributes to increased fuel efficiency.
Among the many interior comfort features are the driver and front passenger bucket seats and
rear passenger seats, which are upholstered with premium leather. Added comfort is offered by
thicker seats with firmer seat bolsters, while the driver seat is six-way adjustable. Entry and exit
for rear passengers is made easy with a walk-in lever located at shoulder level on the front seats.
For added comfort and utility, the rear seats are 60:40 split and recline up to 10 degrees.
The Zelas features a powerful standard audio system with a total of 300-watts feeding the
eight-speaker sound package. With an emphasis on amazing sound quality, the Zelas stereo system
shares some speaker components with the Lexus LX 570, and features mid-range and woofer
speakers that are superior in quality and performance. The Zelas has 10 Supplemental Restraint
System (SRS) airbags which include driver and front passenger, driver and front passenger seatmounted
side, driver knee, and front and rear seat side curtain airbags.
Zelas comes standard with anti-lock brakes (ABS) and electronic brake-force distribution
(EBD). Additional standard equipment in the Zelas includes vehicle stability control (VSC), traction
control (TRC), brake assist (BA), and a brake override system. The Zelas will also feature a
button that allows the driver to turn off the VSC feature. Additional safety features include newly
adopted active front headrests.
BankDhofar weekly draw winners
BANKDHOFAR announced
the winners of its Al Heson
RO 10,000 weekly prize as
well as winners from the
exclusive ladies and Mazin
and Mazoon children’s account,
with a prize win of
RO 5,000 each. The draw
was held at the Bank’s main
Branch under the auspices
of Said Ahmed al Shuhri.
A customer from the Rustaq
branch took home the Al
Heson weekly prize of RO
10,000. Also celebrating
were the winning customers
of the Ladies Account and
the Children’s Savings Accounts Mazen and Mazoon who both were awarded 5,000 Rials each.
The Ladies account prize draw winner went to Aseela Khamis al Fazari from the Saham Branch
and the Mazen and Mazoon prize draw winner was Asma Lal Bakhsh Abdul Kareem al Balushi
from the Qurum branch. BankDhofar’s Al Heson 2011, Prize Draw Scheme, gives customers a
chance to win in weekly draws as well as in monthly draws for RO 100,000.
mentioned that the ‘Time to
Win’ Savings Scheme had
been conceived to give customers
a real reason to retain
their money in the savings
account. “In return, Bank Sohar
offers customers the most
lavish prizes for savings ever
offered. We believe that our
customers here in Bahla and
everywhere else will enjoy
the excitement and anticipation
that goes with a generous
daily prizes.
The first jackpot draw
CAIRO — The Cairo stock
exchange plummetted nearly
10 per cent yesterday after
opening for the first time since
Egypt's revolution began in
late January, laying bare economic
jitters as the country
moves towards elections.
The main EGX-30 index
shed 560.87 points to
5,085.63 within little more
than one minute of reopening,
prompting officials to suspend
trading for half an hour in line
with emergency regulations.
Thirty minutes later, the
index inched back up to
5,127.14 points.
It had been widely expected
to fall yesterday, with
investors concerned by economic
turmoil and labour unrest
wrought by the uprising
that forced Hosni Mubarak to
resign on February 11 after 30
years in power.
On January 27, the bourse
fell 10 per cent after 70 billion
Egyptian pounds ($11.9
billion, 8.4 billion euros) was
wiped off shares in 48 hours.
If the reopening had been
delayed further, Egyptian
companies would have been
excluded from the Morgan
Stanley Capital International
Index, forcing foreign investors
to sell their stakes at the
earliest possibility.
Egyptian transition authorities
tried to encourage investors
not to sell.
"Keep your nerve. Don't
sell en masse. All indicators
say that the economy will recover
quickly," Finance Minister
Samir Radwan told state
under the Scheme for RO
150,000 is just a few days
away. In the interim there are
daily prizes of RO 5,000 each.
Al Tal’ey invited those present
to take prompt steps to ensure
that they could be a part of
the new Al Mumayaz Savings
Scheme 2011.
Before the close of the
formalities, Dr Mohamed Abdulaziz
Kalmoor thanked the
Chief Guest and presented
him with a memento on behalf
of the Bank.
Cairo bourse falls
10pc on reopening
television minutes before
trading began.
He had recently acknowledged
that authorities were
reluctant to open the bourse
earlier, because the country's
affairs "had not improved as
much as we had imagined, although
things are improving
every day."
"It's in your interest not
to sell. Be patient. God looks
after those who are patient,"
said the market's interim
chairman, Mohammed Abdel
Salam.
Economic confidence
in Egypt has also been hit
by sweeping corruption investigations.
On Tuesday,
ex-finance minister Yussef
Boutros Ghali was the latest
to be referred to a criminal
court to face charges.
The reopening comes just
four days after Egyptians voted
overwhelmingly in favour
of constitutional amendments,
paving the way for parliamentary
and presidential elections
within six months.
Investment bank Hermes
predicted the bourse could fall
20-30 per cent in the first few
weeks of trading and would
recover slowly, depending
"on the pace of political developments
and the extent of
economic recovery."
"We do not expect the
Egyptian market to perform
as poorly as Pakistan did in
late 2008, when the Karachi
Stock Exchange reopened after
a de facto closure of nearly
60 days, only to fall more than
40 per cent," it said.

Nervousness, volatility grip Asian shares
SINGAPORE — Uncertainty
over the human and economic
damage inflicted by Japan’s
earthquake, tsunami and nuclear
crisis weighed on Asia
stocks yesterday, and the euro
eased ahead of a parliamentary
vote in Portugal that could
see the government fall.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.7 per
cent as investors took profits
from a two-session bounce.
Japanese stocks remain
around 8 per cent below their
close on March 11, the day
northeast Japan was struck by
a 9.0 magnitude earthquake
and 10-metre tsunami.
The disaster left more than
23,000 people dead or missing,
crippled a nuclear power
plant that has been leaking
radiation and hit production at
major companies such as Sony
Corp and Toyota Motor.
A Japanese government
report estimated the material
damage from the disaster at
around $200-$300 billion and
said planned power outages
would have a “significant” additional
impact.
“It’s not that the market is
ignoring fundamentals,” said
WASHINGTON — Republicans and
US President Barack Obama’s Democrats,
facing huge economic stakes,
may soon reach a budget deal for this
fiscal year after weeks of half measures
to avert a government shutdown.
Worried about the fragile US recovery
and their own political well-being,
members on both sides seem willing
to resolve a gap between them on how
much needs to be cut from federal
spending this fiscal year to rein in the
budget deficit.
“Chances of a deal seem reasonably
good,” a senior congressional
aide said, adding that talks may deepen
when they move from staff level to the
involvement of party leadership in the
Senate and House of Representatives
as early as next week.
The aide said at least some House
Republicans may back off demands
for deeper cuts this year after House
Budget Committee Chairman Paul
NEW YORK — A US judge dealt a major
setback yesterday to Google’s plans for a vast
digital library and online bookstore, rejecting a
settlement hammered out by the Internet giant
with authors and publishers.
US District Court Judge Denny Chin said in
a ruling 13 months after the parties had their day
in his Manhattan courtroom that the proposed
settlement is “not fair, adequate and reasonable.”
“While the digitisation of books and the creation
of a universal digital library would benefit
many, the (settlement) would simply go too
far,” Chin said in his 48-page decision.
The settlement would grant Google “rights
to exploit entire books, without permission of
the copyright owners,” he said, and reward it
“for engaging in wholesale copying of copyrighted
works without permission.”
The 2008 settlement resulted from a class
action lawsuit filed in 2005 by the Authors
Guild and the Association of American Publishers
(AAP) charging Google with copyright
infringement over its huge book-scanning
project.
The settlement called for Google to pay $125
million to resolve outstanding copyright claims
and to establish an independent “Book Rights
Registry,” which would provide sales and advertising
revenue to authors and publishers.
While rejecting the settlement, the judge left
the door open for the parties to go back to the
negotiating table.
Google said it was studying the judge’s ruling
while the Authors Guild and the publishers
Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist
at Monex Inc. “We just
simply don’t know them yet,
as many companies are still
gathering information about
damage sustained during the
disasters.”
Underlining the continuing
risks, the United States became
the first country to block
food imports from parts of Japan
due to radiation fears.
MSCI’s broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan was flat, weighed down
by the Japan crisis and following
falls on Wall Street, where
the Dow Jones industrial average
lost 0.2 per cent and the
S&P 500 fell 0.4 per cent.
“It’s fairly evident that
while we have had added
strength in our market, there
is still caution out there, with
the view that markets are not
going to race up in any great
hurry,” said Jamie Spiteri, senior
dealer at Shaw Stockbroking
in Australia.
Nervousness and volatility
in the stock market supported
Japanese government
bonds, with benchmark 10year
futures rising 0.33 point
Ryan unveils plans next week for additional
reductions in fiscal 2012.
“That’s the hope,” the aide said,
asking not to be identified, citing the
sensitivity of the talks.
The Congressional Budget Office
projected the fiscal 2011 deficit will hit
$1.48 trillion, a jump of nearly 40 per
cent over prior forecasts.
Boosted by election victories last
November, Republicans have proposed
$61 billion in cuts this fiscal year,
which ends in September. Democrats
have backed only $10 billion in cuts.
House Speaker John Boehner has
signalled to Democrats they need to
step up and make some tough choices.
“Senate Democrats have yet to
come to the table with any serious plan
to cut spending,” said Kevin Smith, a
Boehner spokesman. “The American
people are waiting, and it’s time for
Democrats to stop ducking their responsibility.”
to 139.73, while the 10-year
yield fell 3 basis points to
1.215 per cent.
“The incident is likely
to slow Japan’s economic
growth, so markets are expected
to factor this in,” said Akito
Fukunaga, chief fixed-income
strategist at RBS Securities.
“I think the influence of the
economic slowdown surpasses
worries over Japan’s fiscal position
in the JGB markets.”
Portugal’s parliament was
US judge rejects deal for
Google digital book plan
said they were willing to try to reach a new
agreement. Supporters of the settlement argued
that Google’s proposed digital library and ebookstore
would make millions of out-of-print
books available and provide a new avenue for
authors to profit from their works.
Opponents urged the judge to reject the deal
on antitrust, copyright and privacy grounds and
said it would give Google exclusive rights to
digitise “orphan works” — out-of-print books
which remain under copyright but whose authors
cannot be traced.
The US Justice Department criticised the
settlement for including books unless an author
expressly opted out of the deal and Chin also
expressed concern about the opt-out aspect of
the settlement. — AFP
10
OMAN/INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
PEOPLE walk past a display showing stock indices in Tokyo yesterday. — Reuters
due to vote on the minority
Socialist government’s latest
austerity measures yesterday,
with Prime Minister Jose
Socrates threatening to resign
if the opposition rejects the
proposals.
“If Prime Minister Socrates
steps down, Portugal will
likely ask the European Union
and the IMF for help, which is
likely to trigger a bit of euro
selling,” said Junya Tanase,
chief strategist at JPMorgan
Another senior Republican aide
predicted: “There’ll be a deal. It’s in
everyone’s best interest.”
The latest in the series of short-term
government funding measures expires
on April 8.
Failure to agree on a spending bill
would result in a government shutdown
that could backfire against one
or both political parties.
Non-essential government offices
would close and thousands of federal
workers would be laid off, 18 months
before presidential and congressional
elections in 2012.
“Neither side has the guts to risk
the political fallout,” said Dan Ripp
of Bradley Woods, a private firm that
tracks Washington for investors.
With time running out, Republicans
are eager to keep a 2010 campaign vow
to shrink government, saying it would
provide a climate for job creation in the
private sector.
Chase Bank in Tokyo.
The euro traded around
$1.4165, off a four-month
high near $1.4250 reached on
Tuesday.
Also weighing on the euro
were rumours that Allied Irish
Banks, which has been effectively
nationalised, was planning
to miss a coupon payment,
driving the premium
that investors demand to hold
Irish 2-year bonds to a euroera
high. — Reuters
US Congress looks headed for spending deal
Democrats warn that the proposed
Republican cuts for the rest of this fiscal
year would cost hundreds of thousands
of jobs and threaten the US economy.
In recent weeks, Congress and
Obama agreed to $10 billion in spending
cuts. Republicans are pushing for
an additional $50 billion in reductions
by the end of September.
If they agree to additional cuts
somewhere in the middle — between
$25 billion to $35 billion — Republicans
could still declare victory.
Boehner expressed pride last week
that Republicans had managed to begin
to slash spending.
“When was the last time you saw
the government here in Washington cut
anything?” he said.
But a lot of members of the conservative
Tea Party movement, which
helped Republicans win the House in
last year’s election, have demanded at
least $100 billion in cuts. — Reuters
OAB sponsors Palestinian
Products Exhibition
MUSCAT — Oman Arab
Bank (OAB) sponsored the
First Palestinian Products
Exhibition held at Oman International
Exhibition Centre
in cooperation with the Palestinian
Trade Centre (PAL-
TRADE). The Exhibition
was organised by Arabian
Gate Expo during March 12
— 15, 2011. The exhibition
showcased a wide array of
high quality Palestinian products
and received an unprecedented
number of visitors
who were introduced to the
Palestinian products.
OAB is renowned for its
ongoing contributions to the
development and infrastructure
projects through providing
the necessary financing
to finalise such projects at
all levels. Sponsoring this
Exhibition arises from the
bank’s strong belief in the
importance of communicating
culture among all peoples
and the necessity to assist in
marketing the Palestinian
Zara owner says profit jumps
MADRID — Spain’s Inditex,
the world’s largest fashion retailer
and owner of the Zara
brand, announced yesterday
bumper 2010 profits and revealed
plans to broaden its
rapid Asian expansion across
China and India.
Asia was the fastest growing
revenue source in the year
ending January 31, 2011, a
period in which overall net
profit leapt 33 per cent to 1.73
billion euros ($2.46 billion),
Inditex said in a statement.
Sales surged 13 per cent to
12.53 billion euros.
The result beat most market
analysts’ expectations
and sent Inditex shares surging
4.11 per cent to 56.22
euros by mid-morning on an
otherwise flat Madrid stock
market.
products and promoting the
establishment of a partnership
between Palestinian and
Omani businessmen.
A meeting was held between
Omani and Palestinian
businessmen at Oman
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (OCCI) on the sidelines
of the Exhibition. The
meeting aimed at showcasing
the Palestinian products
Spain and the rest of the
Europe accounted for nearly
three-quarters of Inditex’s
worldwide sales.
But the share from the
Americas grew to 12 per cent
of global sales from 10 per
cent the year before.
And Asia’s share expanded
to 15 per cent from 12 per
cent.
“Our priority remains to
focus our growth in Europe
and Asia,” said Inditex chief
executive Pablo Isa, who took
over the post in July from the
group’s founder, Amancio
Ortega, one of Spain’s richest
men.
“We see India as a relevant
source of growth for Inditex
in the medium term,” he added
in a telephone conference.
“Asia should continue
and looking for dealers and
distributors who would introduce
the Palestinian products
to new markets.
On this occasion, Abdul
Qader Askalan, OAB Chief
Executive Officer, was honoured
for the pioneering and
distinguished role played by
the bank and in appreciation
of the bank’s sponsorship of
this Exhibition.
gaining around three percentage
points per year in terms of
its contribution to sales”
In 2011, Inditex said it
planned to open 460-500 new
stores, entering new markets
in Australia and South Africa
as well as launching online
Zara stores in both Japan and
the United States.
The group, whose other
brands also include youth label
Bershka and the upmarket
Massimo Dutti, said it opened
its first Zara store in India last
year to an “extraordinary welcome
from customers” and it
plans more launches this year
in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore
and other cities.
In China, it opened 75
stores in 30 cities and planned
to expand to cover 42 cities
this year. — AFP
TEL: 24601003, 24600586 • FAX: 24600736
• WEBSITE: www.salalahport.com

By Karl Malakunas
PHILIPPINE fisherman Abner Abrigo
used to enjoy feasting on dolphins
and turtles until he realised
they were more valuable as tourist attractions.
The wiry 28-year-old said eating dolphin
"adobo" style had been his top choice
— a reference to the Spanish-inspired
cooking of meat in a thick broth of soya
sauce, vinegar and garlic that is popular
among all Filipinos.
Now, Abrigo and others from a small
fishing community on the dazzling western
Philippine island of Palawan help to
take visitors dolphin watching.
"The extra money from the dolphin
watching makes a big difference to our
livelihoods," Abrigo said from a dock in
Palawan's capital, Puerto Princesa.
Across Asia, similar types of microbusinesses
are offering local communities
financial incentives to protect their environments
as they take advantage of the
region's small but growing "ecotourism"
industry.
Members of the ethnic Qiang minority
in mountainous southwest China are selling
meals made from organic produce to
visitors, while in Indonesia locals are taking
tourists from rainforest eco-lodges to
meet endangered orangutans.
The travel industry and governments
GREATER adaptability rather than
fitness is the key to survival,
as exemplified by the much slower
tortoise than the faster hare. Richard
Lenski, professor of microbiology and
molecular genetics at the Michigan
State University, and colleagues show
that more adaptable bacteria prevailed
over competitors that held a short-term
advantage.
The discovery that the less-fit organisms
overtook their very fit counterparts
surprised the researchers at
first. But it turns out to work something
like a game of chess, the journal Science
reports.
"In games, it makes sense to sacrifice
some pieces for an eventual winning
move," said Lenski, co-principal
investigator of the study, according to
a Michigan statement.
"The eventual winners were able to
overcome their short-term disadvan-
I’m not scared of item
numbers: Sonakshi
Page 12
Searching for that special
Hollywood moment
Page 12
Chris storms
off TV show
Page 13
Keira Knightley prefers
masculine fragrances
Page 14
Fea ures
Thursday, March 24, 2011
A guide on a kayak waiting for tourists on the Iwahig River in Puerto Princesa on Philippine island of Palawan
are also responding to the rising demand
for "green" travel, with Cambodia recently
becoming the first Southeast Asian nation
to commit to the Global Sustainable
Tourism Council's principles.
On the Internet, travellers have a myriad
of choices from tour operators promoting
"sustainable" holidays, including
offers to buy carbon credits to offset air
travel and to stay at high-end resorts that
embrace green practices.
"Ecotourism is still a niche market but
interest is rising," John Koldowski, deputy
chief executive officer of the Pacific Asia
Travel Association, said.
"This is driven by an awareness generally
in the environment and being green
and sustainable, but also in something
that's becoming in short supply in the
world — peace, quiet and solitude."
Government leaders, local communities
and non-government organisations
on Palawan, one of the Philippines' most
beautiful and biologically diverse islands,
have been among the most enthusiastic
adopters of eco-tourism in Asia.
Abrigo's fishing community — as part
of an ecotourism programme called Bayanijuan
run by the Puerto Princesa government
and Philippine media company
ABS-CBN — has run dolphin and whale
watching tours for about two years.
Abrigo and some of his neighbours act
as spotters for the tourist vessel while out
fishing themselves in their small outrigger
boats.
If they are the spotter that finds the dolphins
or whales for the tourist boat, they
get paid 25 pesos (about 60 cents) for each
passenger on the boat. "Sometimes there
are more than 20 people on the boat...
jackpot," Abrigo said with a smile.
While Abrigo still needs to fish to
guarantee enough money to survive, other
former fishermen elsewhere on Palawan
have given up their old jobs altogether to
cater for the growing number of tourists.
Edwin Bermejo, 43, confessed to having
performed trawl net fishing in Puerto
Princesa's stunning Honda Bay for many
years.
Trawl net and other destructive meth-
Greater adaptability key to survival
tage over the course of several evolutionary
moves by producing more beneficial
mutations," he added.
Lenski is recognised as a leading
evolutionary experimentalist, recording
evolutionary change over 52,000
generations of bacteria grown during
nearly 25 years.
He and his team recently revived a
frozen population of E. coli and compared
the fitness and ultimate fates of
four clones representing two genetically
distinct lineages.
One lineage eventually took over
the population even though it had significantly
lower competitive fitness
than the other lineage that later went
extinct. "In essence, the eventual loser
lineage seems to have made a mutational
move that gave it a short-term
fitness advantage but closed off certain
routes for later improvement," Lenski
said. — IANS
Sudden physical
activity can kill you
Page 14
Ecotourism offers a feast of opportunities
Boats on a beach in Puerto Princesa
More adaptable bacteria prevailed over competitors that held
a short-term advantage
Across
Asia, microbusinesses
are
offering local
communities
financial
incentives to
protect their
environments
as they take
advantage of the
region’s small
but growing
‘ecotourism’
industry
ods of fishing, such as using dynamite and
cyanide, have ruined many of Palawan's
precious coral reefs over the past few decades.
"We didn't understand the results of
what we were doing," he said.
But as fish catches started to dry up
and tourists began to arrive in the 1990s,
Bermejo said he and other fishermen
around Honda Bay realised they needed
to change their way of living if they were
to survive.
With the help of local non-government
organisations and more recently the Bayanijuan
programme, they turned their fishing
vessels into island hopping boats.
They also worked with the Puerto
Princesa government to enforce a ban on
destructive fishing practices, doing volunteer
patrols and reporting any offences to
authorities.
"Our fish stocks have slowly recovered,"
Bermejo said from aboard a boat
in Honda Bay that takes tourists to the
beaches of some of the area's tiny islands,
as well as snorkelling and diving in the remaining
coral reefs.
His community association is now intending
to take out a loan to nearly double
its current fleet of 66 boats in an effort to
meet a recent boom in tourist numbers.
"This would never have happened if
we kept on fishing the way we did," Bermejo
said.
The mayor of Puerto Princesa, Edward
Tourists going out of the Puerto Princesa Subterrarean River
National Park located in Puerto Princesa
A tourist riding on a zipline descending from
the summit of the Ugong Rock
Tourists boarding a kayak
Hagedorn, is one of the driving forces behind
the ecotourism effort, according to
many environment activists on Palawan
who regard him as an ally in their campaign
to protect its ecosystems.
Hagedorn said that after first becoming
mayor in 1992 he banned mining, logging
and factories, confident that in the longrun
more jobs would be generated by
preserving the area's natural wonders and
attracting tourists.
Tourist numbers to Puerto Princesa
jumped from 12,000 in 1992 to 425,000
in 2010, and many more are expected as
the area gains global fame — National
Geographic named Palawan as one of its
top-20 destinations this year.
"Now with the number of visitors rising,
it's giving more and more income to
the people. But if we allowed mining and
logging... those jobs would have been just
temporary," he said.
For Anthony Cuvinar, 27, the tourism
boom has turned him from a struggling
handicraft maker into a boatman and tour
guide for a fireflies tour who can now earn
up to 20,000 pesos ($470) a month — a
good wage in local terms.
But when asked while paddling his
kayak along the Iwahig River at dusk
what he liked most about his job, Cuvinar
did not mention the money. — AFP
Australia to lose 45 animal species
UP to 45 native animal species in
Western Australia will die within
20 years if no action is taken for their
conservation, a study said yesterday.
Species such as the spotted tree monitor,
golden bandicoot, scaly-tailed possum
(pictured), monjon rock wallaby
and the western chestnut mouse were in
grave danger.
The study on the Kimberley region
— titled "Priority Threat Management to
Protect Kimberley Wildlife" — was released
by the Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organisation
(CSIRO), Xinhua reported. The report
said that at present, $20.2 million a year
is spent on conservation efforts in Kimberley,
home to many threatened species.
However, even if that money was spent properly, the region would still lose some 31
native animals, it said, calling for an immediate cash injection of $96 million to save the
creatures from extinction. "This investment is great value," said Hugh Possingham, one of
the six co-authors of the report. "We can save some of Australia's most iconic mammals and
birds at a cost of only about $1 million per species per year." — IANS

12
ENTERTAINMENT THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
I’m not scared of item numbers: Sonakshi
Havel’s film debut
premieres in Prague
FORMER Czech president and anti-communist icon Vaclav
Havel made his debut as a film-maker as his movie
"Leaving", based on his own play, premiered in Prague.
The 74-year-old Havel, who only left hospital on Sunday
after being treated with bronchitis for almost two weeks, was
expected to arrive at a ceremony following the screening at the
Lucerna cinema in Prague's historic centre. The choice of the
venue was largely symbolic as the art nouveau Lucerna — the
country's oldest cinema in operation, opened in 1909 — was
built by Havel's grandfather, an architect and entrepreneur.
Havel, better known as a playwright and anti-communist
dissident who was a key figure in the peaceful 1989 Velvet
Revolution that removed the yoke of communism, hails from a
family which once owned Prague's main film studios.
Former Czech Republic president and director Vaclav
Havel (centre) smiles next to his wife and actress Dagmar
during the premiere of his new movie Leaving in Prague.
"I always dreamt of being a film director," he said ahead of
the release. The film, due to hit cinemas across the Czech Republic
today, is based on a play written by Havel after he ended
his career as president, first of Czechoslovakia in 1989-1992
and then of the Czech Republic in 1993-2003 after the former
federation split into two states.
It tells the story of a leading politician who, as he prepares
to leave power, sees his world collapse amid treachery and a
merciless confrontation with an unscrupulous successor.
Havel admits to having been inspired by Shakespeare's
"King Lear" and Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" for
the original play, which was first staged in 2008.
The film premiere coincides with the 58th birthday of
Havel's wife, actress Dagmar Havlova-Veskrnova, who has a
starring role in the film as the retiring politician's companion.
Havel earned a reputation as a playwright in the 1960s for
his contribution to the Theatre of the Absurd.
He then threw himself into dissident activity against the
communists for which he spent five years in prison, before becoming
president in 1989 as the Soviet bloc began to crumble.
— AFP
By Soeren Giess
JENS is feeling frustrated. "Now
that we have driven up here just
for this, we still simply can't get a
really good shot with the Hollywood
sign in the background," the vacationer
from Hanover, Germany complains,
as he tries to set up a camera
shot featuring his fiancee, Ines.
"The letters are simply too far
away and you are too close," he tells
her.
Ines and Jens are having the same
problem that millions of other tourists
from around the world often
have. They have come here searching
for a certain Hollywood feeling
and want to take some dream-factory
experiences from Los Angeles back
home with them, 100 years after the
first film studio, the Nestor Motion
Picture Company, opened. And it just
isn't that easy.
"Last evening we wanted to take
a picture from Beachwood Drive,"
Ines said. "Our friends had already
been here and had given us the tip.
But how could we have known that
the thing isn't illuminated at night?"
she asked, referring to the famous
Hollywood sign.
"At least the view from up here is
good and the building looks great,"
says Jen with a shrug.
By "up here" he means the Griffith
Observatory which reigns in a
By Andy Goldberg
WHAT do Christian Bale,
Michael Fassbender, Andrew
Garfield and Henry Cavill have
in common, besides all being devilishly
handsome? As America frets about its
declining influence in the world, these
actors represent the cinematic angle of
America's slide.
These actors have been hired by the
country's most powerful film moguls to
represent all-American heroes in quintessential
Hollywood blockbusters, despite
the glaringly obvious fact that they hail
from countries like Wales, England and
Germany.
America has long been outsourcing its
manufacturing to China and other lowcost
countries. Now it's outsourcing its
superheroes, too — including the holy
trinity of American wondermen — Batman,
Superman and Spiderman.
Bale, a dashing 37-year-old Welshman,
fresh from his Oscar win for The
Fighter, will play a moody Bruce Wayne
for a third time in the forthcoming Batman
action sequel, The Dark Knight
Rises, in which he no doubt will use his
amazing powers to save the good citizens
of Gotham from unspeakable evil.
Joining him in the exclusive club of
foreign superheroes is Andrew Garfield,
who will star in the title role of 2012's
The Amazing Spider-Man. Garfield, 27,
was actually born in the US but grew up
in Britain from age 3.
His role as the web-slinging crimefighter
marks only his third major Hollywood
part, following his acclaimed
performance in the Facebook movie The
Social Network, and a supporting role in
the fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor
Parnassus.
Henry Cavill is best known to viewers
for his role as a headstrong Henry VIII in
the mini-series The Tudors, but his dark
intensity made him the top choice for director
Zack Snyder and producer Christopher
Nolan when they were casting the
ultimate American icon Superman in the
Warner Bros revival movie.
Michael Fassbender 33, will have
a pivotal role in X-Men First Class, in
which he will play the role of arch villain
Magneto, opposite another foreign born
ACTRESS Sonakshi Sinha
wants to prove that she is truly
Dabangg when it comes to her
professional career. Brushing aside the
rumours that she wants to refrain from
doing item numbers, the actress came
out saying that she is not scared of doing
them.
The 23-year-old, who has shown her
dancing expertise on stage at various
award shows earlier this year, revealed
that she has no problems in joining the
lines of Katrina Kaif, Malaika Arora
Khan and Mallika Sherawat by doing
an item number, but she has to be
comfortable in doing so.
"I'm not scared of doing item
numbers. For me, when I did stage
shows, I was wearing what I was
comfortable in and the moves that I was
doing were also what I was comfortable
doing. So all depends on comfort. If
what is offered to me, I'm comfortable
doing that, then I might just take it up.
I'm not averse to it," Sonakshi told
reporters.
Sonakshi, the daughter of veteran
superstar superhero, the Australian Hugh
Jackman.
He first came to mainstream attention
in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious
Basterds, in which the German-born actor
displayed his internationalist chops by
playing a British officer, no less. He has
appeared in Jonah Hex and Knockout and
can currently be seen in theatres in the
film Jane Eyre.
"Michael oozes charisma, and he is a
brilliant actor," director Mattew Vaughn
said recently. "Paul Newman, Robert
Redford, Steve McQueen — there aren't
that many like them anymore who carry
their persona on and off screen. Michael
actor Shatrughan Sinha, has laid down
various rules for herself.
She has been maintaining that she
won't be doing any kissing scenes in
films and also won't sport a bikini on
screen ever.
Yet the budding actress has been
getting plump Bollywood offers. After
her debut film Dabangg with Salman
Khan, the actress will be seen in Joker
with Akshay Kumar and is also a part of
Race 2.
At an event on Tuesday, she was
also named as the brand ambassador of
fashion brand Provogue, that has had
actors like Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali
Khan, John Abraham, Fardeen Khan and
Katrina Kaif endorsing it in the past.
"I'm very happy to be associated with
Provogue. I think they've seen how my
career is shaping up and they think that
I'm able to contribute to their brand in
some way as a brand ambassador. So
very happy about this association and
hopefully it will be a long and fruitful
one for both of us," said Sonakshi.
— IANS
Superheroes getting outsourced
park of the same name in Hollywood
Hills, 300 metres above downtown
Los Angeles. From the terraces here
people have what is in all likelihood
the best view of the famous Hollywood
sign. On clear days you can
The 23-year-old, who has shown her dancing expertise on
stage at various award shows earlier this year, revealed
that she has no problems in joining the lines of Katrina Kaif,
Malaika Arora Khan and Mallika Sherawat by doing an item
number, but she has to be comfortable in doing so
Christian Bale
Andrew Garfield
is the real deal."
What's behind this trend, and is it really
a symbol of the decline of America?
Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst
for Hollywood.com, says that it's not just
a case of Hollywood producers wanting
to get better quality actors for less money
— just like car buyers did with Japanese
cars and Chinese-made electronics.
"With the international box office now
earning more than the US domestic box
office, producers are looking for actors
with international appeal," he said.
Casting agents often prefer lesserknown
actors for these iconic roles so
they don't come with "baggage." — dpa
Searching for that special Hollywood moment
Tourists take photos and videos while on a sightseeing tour during the premiere of Paul at
the Grauman’s Chinese theatre in Hollywood. — Reuters
look beyond LA to the blue Pacific
Ocean.
The impressive Art Deco-style
domed observatory was completed in
1935, back in what were Hollywood's
"Golden Years" and was — and con-
Michael Fassbender
America has long
been outsourcing
its manufacturing to
China and other lowcost
countries. Now
it’s outsourcing its
superheroes, too —
including the holy trinity
of American wondermen
— Batman, Superman
and Spiderman
tinues to be — a location for many
films. James Dean was filmed here in
the youth revolt film Rebel Without
A Cause, his next-to-last movie.
The observatory can also be seen in
James Cameron's 1984 film The Terminator
with Arnold Schwarzenegger,
as well as in Charlie's Angels
Full Throttle, and Transformers.
Ines and Jens in the meantime
have asked another visitor to take
their picture with the observatory in
the background. "This is a nice souvenir
picture," they say. "Hollywood
Boulevard wasn't so great — totally
built up and not at all glamorous.
Everything filled with shops."
Salman, a film student from Pakistan,
is sympathetic. "I can understand that
many people are disappointed when
they see the boulevard. It was the
same with me."
Salman, who earns his keep standing
outside the Kodak Theatre, where
the Oscar award ceremonies have
been held since 2001, trying to lure
tourists onto one of the many sightseeing
bus tours. Or sell them a map
where allegedly — no guarantees —
the film stars live. "The only thing really
worth seeing here is Grauman's,"
he says. — dpa
WINDOW
By Ahmed al Falahi
musrag@yahoo.com
Elusive goals
IN our daily life, we learn lots of lessons that we surely
benefit from. These lessons can be points of change for
us to a life that is much brighter and comfortable than we
have now.
We see that some people turn to east and west to achieve
something that he or she doesn’t recognise at the first place
but his desires and abilities move him forward to achieve
that goal.
Students study hard but what do they wish for? Do they
want a material gain or a luxurious life or a specific grade?
Does any student want to invent something that makes him
popular and famous or invent something that benefit the
whole mankind?
All of these aims are achievable. What applies to students
is applicable in many other areas in our life. The goal
that we are aiming at might be the only stimulus for us to
move forward despite various constraints.
Some people believe that "happiness is a trip, not a station".
It means that even if a student has achieved his goal,
he will not be happy and so he will still pursue other objectives.
The question is: At what level in life any one would be
satisfied with what he has got? The answer is difficult but it
seems that a human being will not be satisfied ever and he
will be looking for a better life as long as he is alive. This
persistence is what has led us to inventions and this huge
scientific advancement.
In spite of this fact, human beings are still not happy,
and his misery is reflected on a set of behaviours. He kills
without mercy, treats people unfairly, steals and lies, commits
suicide, and destroys the nature. He doesn’t mind destroying
anything in his way in order to achieve his goals.
By treading this path, he will not be able to reach his goal
because whenever one thinks of his materialistic life and
works hard to get things done for his own purposes, the
aim will remain elusive.
Some people say that life is inside us. It is more than
winning for ourselves. It means helping others to achieve
the best for the group. However, these people will not give
us the credit for helping them if they are on the other hand
looking for things that are much larger than we achieved
for them. This is a fact.
Others would help us in the first fall but they will not
stand by us to support us every time we fall. A person who
can’t bear the shocks that a friend may cause him could
stand away and only observe the situation. He must keep
his convictions because if he falls he will be mentally and
psychologically hurt and this is very painful.
No Agneepath shoot, so
Priyanka prepares for Barfee
By Subhash K Jha
PRIYANKA Chopra was supposed to start shooting with
Hrithik Roshan for Agneepath, but at the last moment
her shooting was cancelled. Rather than let her unused time
go waste, she immediately got hold of her Barfee director
Anurag Basu and began preparation for her part of the
mentally challenged girl in the film.
"Yes, Priyanka's shooting for Agneepath got cancelled.
But it was only because the shooting with the other actors
that was going on from earlier went on longer than expected.
Priyanka immediately got in touch with Anurag Basu
and took the time to prepare for her part," said Priyanka's
business manager.
Being produced by Karan Johar, Agneepath is the remake
of director Mukul Anand's 1990 film, which had
Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role. Hrithik and Priyanka
starrer is being directed by Karan Malhotra.
A source close to the actress said: "The last thing Priyanka's
choc-a-block schedules can withstand are last-minute
cancellations. Priyanka is very particular about her commitments
and expects the same level of commitment from
others. Any cancellation puts her off. And this was her first
stint of Agneepath. She was really looking forward to starting
the shoot. But what to do? She took the cancellation in
her stride."
But here's where Priyanka's enterprising spirit took
over. "Anurag was busy with other pre-production work.
And tried to beg off. But Priyanka would hear none of it.
She told Anurag this sudden space in her schedule was godsend.
She had not been able to prepare for 'Barfee' as much
as she wanted to because of her tight schedules."
"Priyanka would hear none of Anurag's protestations.
She just took over his time and insisted that they visit a
couple of institutions for the mentally and physically challenged.
She also got immersed in lengthy workshops and
even convinced Ranbir Kapoor to join her. This week she
and Anurag have been inseparable in giving authenticity to
her character," said a source.
Like they say, one producer's loss is another film-maker's
gain. — IANS

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Kuwait
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Frankfurt
Sialkot
Dacca-Chittagong
Istanbul
Doha
Dubai
Abu Dhabi
Bahrain
Amman
Cairo
Karachi
Abu Dhabi
Doha
Jeddah
Bahrain
Bombay
Dubai
Peshawar
Dubai
Salalah
Doha
Hyderabad
London Heathrow
Lahore
Madras
Trivandrum
Islamabad
Cochin
Dubai
Bangkok
Abu Dhabi
Sharjah
Trivandrum
Dubai
Trivandrum-Cochin
Lahore
Colombo-Male
Bahrain
Mangalore
Calicut
Khasab
Dubai-Abu Dhabi
Salalah
Dubai
Calicut
Delhi
Dubai
Bombay
Mukhaizna
Delhi
Lucknow
Bangalore
Bangkok
Bahrain
Bahrain-Doha
Cairo
Sharjah
Chittagong
Dubai
Bangkok-Karachi
Salalah
Kathmandu
Dubai
Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi
Madras
0005
0005
0010
0010
0010
0030
0145
0210
0315
0355
0400
0420
0450
0450
0630
0755
0755
0800
0800
0800
0800
0800
0800
0800
0825
0840
0840
0845
0915
0915
0920
0925
0930
1000
1000
1005
1025
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1710
1750
1755
1805
1820
1820
1820
1855
1905
2020
2035
2055
2115
2145
2150
2200
LH618 A340 Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi 2230
BA073 B777 London Heathrow-Abu Dhabi 2230
QR168 A320 Doha 2235
UL209 A340 Colombo-Doha 2235
EY388 A320 Abu Dhabi 2240
GF566 E190 Bahrain 2250
WY624 ATR42 Al Ain 2300
WY626 ATR42 Ras Al Khaima 2310
IC685 A319 Ahmedabad-Bombay 2310
WY636 B737-8 Abu Dhabi 2310
WY412 B737-8 Beirut-Amman 2310
WY668 B737-8 Doha 2310
9W534 B737-8 Cochin 2315
WY658 B737-8 Bahrain 2315
LX242 A330 Zurich-Dubai 2320
WY910 B737-8 Salalah 2325
WY612 B737-8 Dubai 2330
WY684 B737-8 Dammam 2335
9W540 B737-8 Bombay 2340
QUOTATIONS FOR TODAY
Thoughts lead on to purposes;
purposes go forth in action; actions
form habits; habits decide character;
and character fixes our destiny.
— Tryon Edwards
No man of woman born, coward or
brave, can shun his destiny.
— Homer
CINEMA
FILM INFORMATION
AL BAHJA CINEMA:
24540856, 24540855.
AL NASR CINEMA:
24831358, 24831809 (after 3pm)
AL SHATTI PLAZA:
24607360, 24692656 (after 2pm)
STARS CINEMA:
24791641, 24792360
MAJLIS A’SHURA
ADDRESSES
Keep in touch with Majlis Ash’shura’s news.
Log on to the Majlis’s website:
www.shura.om
and the Majlis’s
e-mail: info@shura.om
Or write to the Majlis’s postal address:
P O Box 981
Postal Code 111, Muscat
Tel: 24510344 / 24521427/
Fax 24510560
INFORMATION
MINISTRY WEBSITES
Ministry: www.omanet.om
Oman TV:
www.oman-tv.gov.om
Oman Radio:
www.oman-radio.gov.om
Omani Centre for Traditional Music: www.
octm-folk.gov.om
OMAN RADIO
6.00 Opening, Royal Anthem, The Holy Quran, Preview
of Morning Programme, Weather Forecast and
Pharmacies on Duty, 6.15 Morning Tea; 7.00 News
Bulletin; 7.10 Morning Tea; 9.00 News Headlines;
9.02 Piano; 10.00 Instrumental Music; 11.00 Light
Classical Music; 12.00 News Headlines, 12.02 Country
Music; 1.00 Jazz Cafe (Suhail); 2.30 News Bulletin;
2.40 In Biz — Laxmi, Repeat of Wednesday 3.00pm;
2.45 Radio Station Jingles and programmes; 2.55 Mix
Music; 3.00 Cybertalk (Tariq) — Repeat of 5.30 Wed;
4.00 News Headlines, 4.02 Thursday Afternoon Show
Live; 5.30 Top 10 (Lakshmi) Repeat on Frinday 1.00;
6.30 News Bulletin; 6.40 Women in Focus — Nisham
Repeat of Tue 3.00 & Fri 6.40pm; 7.05 Omanesque
— Laxmi Live (2 hours); 8.00 News Headlines; 8.02;
Omanesque — Laxmi Live (2 hours); 9.00 Best by the
Request; 10.00 News Bulletin; 10.10 Station Beats;
12.40 News Summary ; 12.45 The Holy Quran; 01.00
National Anthem, Close Down..
Flight No Aircraft
DEPARTURES
To / Via STD
BA072 B777 Abu Dhabi-London Heathrow 0015
IC686 A319 Bombay-Ahmedabad 0015
WY371 A330 Colombo-Male 0020
LX243 A330 Dubai-Zurich 0020
9W539 B737-8 Bombay 0040
WY631 ATR42 Abu Dhabi 0055
WY661 B737-8 Doha 0055
WY651 B737-8 Bahrain 0055
KQ318 B737-8 Nairobi 0105
WY601 B737-8 Dubai 0110
9W529 B737-8 Trivandrum 0115
WY251 B737-8 Muscat 0115
WY211 B737-8 Trivandrum 0115
WY813 A330 Bangkok 0115
WY231 B737-8 Hyderabad 0120
WY221 B737-8 Cochin 0120
WY203 B737-8 Bombay 0130
PK230 B737-7 Sialkot 0130
WY321 B737-8 Karachi 0200
WY325 B737-8 Islamabad 0240
TK859 A320 Istanbul 0300
BG022 A310 Chittagong-Dacca 0315
EK867 A330 Dubai 0500
EY385 A320 Abu Dhabi 0530
MS931 B737-8 Cairo 0545
QR171 A320 Doha 0550
GF561 E190 Bahrain 0655
RJ601 ERJ175 Amman 0700
WY603 B737-8 Dubai 0730
FZ044 B737-8 Dubai 0840
NL772 B737-2 Peshawar 0900
WY293 B737-8 Calicut 0900
WY403 B737-8 Cairo 0900
WY311 B737-8 Chittagong 0905
NL769 B737-2 Lahore 0945
WY243 B737-8 Delhi 0950
WY263 B737-8 Lucknow 1000
WY283 B737-8 Bangalore 1020
WY917 ATR42 Khasab 1030
WY203 B737-8 Bombay 1040
WY605 B737-8 Dubai-Abu Dhabi 1040
G9114 A320 Sharjah 1045
EK863 A330 Dubai 1045
EY383 A320 Abu Dhabi 1050
WY905 B737-8 Salalah 1100
9W533 B737-8 Cochin 1125
WY817 A330 Bangkok 1130
WY335 B737-8 Kathmandu 1145
IX542 B737-8 Trivandrum 1230
WY3301 ATR42 Mukhaizna 1230
PK292 A310 Lahore-Islamabad 1240
WY411 B737-8 Beirut-Amman 1300
WY655 B737-8 Bahrain-Doha 1300
WY101 A330 London Heathrow 1305
WY113 A330 Frankfurt 1310
GF563 A319 Bahrain 1340
IX816C B737-8 Abu Dhabi-Mangalore 1345
WY607 B737-8 Dubai 1400
IX350 B737-8 Calicut 1405
FZ046 B737-8 Dubai 1630
WY671 B737-8 Jeddah 1640
WY907 B737-8 Salalah 1650
WY609 B737-7 Dubai 1800
IC886 A320 Delhi 1800
WY681 B737-8 Riyadh 1850
WY647 B737-8 Kuwait 1900
GF565 A320 Bahrain 1905
WY667 B737-8 Doha 1910
WY683 B737-8 Dammam 1915
WY909 B737-8 Salalah 1920
QR165 A321 Doha 1925
WY657 B737-8 Bahrain 1925
G9118 A320 Sharjah 1935
WY625 ATR42 Ras Al Khaima 2010
WY635 B737-8 Abu Dhabi 2010
WY623 ATR42 Al Ain 2015
WY611 B737-8 Dubai 2030
FZ048 B737-8 Dubai 2105
TG508 A330 Karachi-Bangkok 2140
WY901 B737-8 Salalah 2245
IC924 A319 Madras 2300
KL450 A330 Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam 2305
EY381 A320 Abu Dhabi 2330
QR169 A320 Doha 2335
GF567 E190 Bahrain 2335
UL209 A340 Colombo 2345
LH619 A340 Abu Dhabi-Frankfurt 2355
ARIES
(March 21-April 20)
You must not blame
yourself if you have
done your best to coach a friend
in a certain skill and he failed to
pass the test. Conditions were
probably not favourable.
TAURUS
(April 21-May 20)
A very old friend living
far away would
appreciate hearing from you.
Only by regular correspondence
can you hope to continue the happy
relationship you once had.
GEMINI
(May 21-June 21)
A reconciliation after
a lengthy and
unpleasant period of strained
relations will establish a much
happier atmosphere between all
members of the family.
CANCER
(June 22-July 21)
Since you know nothing
of the past of a new
acquaintance, make some investigations
discreetly before you decide to
enter into a joint transaction.
13
INFORMATION/LEISURE THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
PHARMACIES
PHARM
24-HOUR SERVICE
Al Hashar ph, ph Ruwi 24783334
Muscat ph, Ruwi, 24702542
Al Sarooj, 24695536
Scientific ph, Qurum, 24566601
Ruwi, 24702850
DAY DUTY
Muscat Belqees 24832554
Crown 24542118
Muscat 24456344
Muscat 24601650
Sur Badr Al Samaa
25546112
Buraimi Al Hayah 25654188
Ibri Al Aryaf Al Omania
25689715
Nizwa Qalaa 25431666
Salalah Al Eman 23290170
NIGHT DUTY
Muscat Apollo 24787766
Almassa
Al Tadawi 24450670
Muscat 24485740
Sur Eibn Al Yafai 25542267
Buraimi Al Naseem 25653070
Ibri Ataka 25691455
Barka Scientific 26883673
Rustaq Al Murshid 26875561
Sumail Belqees 25352186
Nizwa Al Hazfah 25426102
Salalah Dofar International
23288101
KHOULA HOSPITAL VISITING HOURS
Private & Other Wards
Working Days: 16:00-18:00. Weekends & Public
Holidays: 10:-12:00, 16:00-18:00
ICU
Working Days: 16:00-17:00. Weekends & Public
Holidays: 16:00-17:00
Special Care Baby Unit
Working Days: Parents may visit at any time.
Weekends & Public Holidays: Parents may visit
at any time
YOUR STARS
IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY: Owing to a very unfortunate misunderstanding, a plan, which you had most
carefully worked out, may have to be shelved in the coming year. However, no actual harm will have been
done and if the cause of the incident is well investigated, there should be no more trouble.
LEO
(July 22-August 21)
There is a good chance
that a commercial
venture, properly researched and
costed, could have every prospect
of success if you are quite certain
of your market.
VIRGO
(August 22-
September 22)
Envy on the part of
a colleague after your very personal
revelation may teach you to
be more reticent in future about
discussing too freely your private
affairs.
LIBRA
(Sept 23-October 22)
A certain young person
seems artistically
inclined and you ought to use your
wide connections to help him pave
the way to a successful career.
SCORPIO
(October 23-
November 21)
Take stock of the financial
obligations which confront
you before the end of the
month and you will be able to plan
your expenditure accordingly.
CARTOONS
SAGITTARIUS
(November 22-
December 21)
A long desired reconciliation
with a friend will make
you feel much happier and you
should try to avoid friction in the
future.
CAPRICORN
(December 22-
January 20)
You will be closely
drawn to a person of the opposite
sex born under VIRGO but the
relationship may not be a lasting
one.
AQUARIUS
(January 21-
February 19)
The best way to maintain
a sensible relationship with
your neighbours would be to keep
from getting on too intimate terms
with them.
PISCES
(February 20-
March 20)
A personal problem
will be solved much more easily
if you apply conventional methods
rather than resorting to drastic
action on the spur of the moment.
ADAM @ HOME by Brian Basset
CALVIN AND HOBBES by Bill Watterson
GARFIELD by Jim Davis
STONE SOUP by Jan Eliot
Hospital . . . .Board . . . . . Emergency
Royal. . . . . . .24599000 . . 24590491
Health Services Department
Muttrah . . . . .24797602
Quriyat . . . . .24845001 . . 24845003
SQH, Salalah 23211555 . . 23211151
Police . . . . . .24603988 . . 24603980
Al Nahda. . . .24831255 . . 24837800
Ibn Sina . . . .24876322 . . 24877361
Nizwa . . . . . .25439361 . . 25425033
Al Rustaq . . .26875055 . . 26877186
Sumayil. . . . .25350055 . . 25350022
Izki . . . . . . . .25340033 . . 25340033
Haima . . . . . .23436013 . . 23436055
OTHER HOSPITALS
Sohar . . . . . .26840022 . . 26840099
Al Buraimi . . .25650855 . . 25652319
Sur . . . . . . . .25440244 . . 25461373
Tanam. . . . . .25499011 . . 25499033
Masirah. . . . .25404018 . . 25404018
Ibra . . . . . . . .25470533 . . 25470535
Adam . . . . . .25434167 . . 25434055
Bidiya . . . . . .25483535 . . 25483535
Ibri. . . . . . . . .25491011 . . 25491990
Saham . . . . .26854427 . . 26855148
Khasab . . . . .26830187 . . 26830187
Dibba . . . . . .26836443 . . 26836443
Burkha . . . . .26828397 . . 26828397
Sinaw . . . . . .25474338
WHEN she was a teenager,
Alina Serban, a Roma,
never told classmates that
she lived in a shack and never imagined
she would one day study in
New York, perform Shakespeare or
showcase her own play.
In her young eyes, even university
studies seemed far out of reach.
"Why am I lying to myself? Go
to university? This is nonsense!" she
cries out in her one-woman show
that has people talking even before
it premiered yesterday in one of Bucharest's
big jazz and theatre clubs,
the Green Hours.
"The dirt in this courtyard has
been devouring me for six years,
how can I even dream of leaving this
place?
"I will marry, have a lot of children
and let my husband beat me
until all my dreams fall out of my
M USEUMS IN OMAN
FAISAL BIN ALI AL SAID
MUSEUM,
Tel: 24641650
MUSEUM OF OMANI HERITAGE,
Tel: 24600946
CHILDREN’S SCIENCE MUSEUM.
Tel: 24605368
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM,
Tel: 24641374
NATIONAL MUSEUM, Tel: 24701289
SULTAN’S ARMED FORCES
MUSEUM, Tel: 24312646
CURRENCY MUSEUM,
Tel: 24796102
MUSCAT GATE MUSEUM,
Tel: 24739005.
OMANI-FRENCH MUSEUM (Bait
Fransa), Tel: 24736613
BAIT AL ZUBAIR, Tel: 24736688
BAIT A’NAMAN, Tel: 24641300
SOHAR FORT MUSEUM.
Tel: 26844758
NAHKAL FORT, Tel: 26781384
BAIT AL MAKHAM. Tel: 24641300
BAIT ADAM MUSEUM, QURUM,
Tel: 24605033, 24605013
OIL AND GAS EXHIBITION
CENTRE AND PLANETARIUM,
Tel: 24677834.
PLANETARIUM, Tel: 24675542.
AQUARIUM at the Marine Science
and Fisheries Centre (located next to
Marina Bandar Rowdha, Sidab).
SALALAH MUSEUM, Tel: 23294549
CULTURAL CENTRE,
Tel: 23294549.
SUR MARITIME MUSEUM,
Tel: 24541466.
BAIT AL BARANDA, Tel: 24714262.
head," she says in the play.
But 23-year-old Serban beat the
odds — and wants to spread the message.
Her play, entitled I, undersigned
Alina Serban, declare, tells her
story, that of a determined girl who
fought deprivation and serious discrimination
against a minority still
degraded in everyday Romanian
expressions.
"'Don't do like the Gypsies do',
'If you don't behave, I'll give you
to the Gypsies': every time I heard
such phrases in the street, I would
bite my tongue and think: 'I don't
care'," Serban recalled.
A big part of her battle was embracing
her Roma identity.
"I had to hear non-Roma tell me
being Roma is cool to accept who I
am," she confessed.
Romania is home to Europe's
ROYAL OMAN POLICE
EMERGENCY 9 9 9 9
DG of Passports & Residency, 24569603
DG of Customs, 24714626
Traffic offences, 24510227/228
ROP Public Relations, 24569270
Consumer Complaints Cell, 24817013
Muscat Governorate Headquarters, 24560021
Muscat, 24736611
Wattayah, 24677990
Ruwi, 24701099
Muttrah, 24712211
Bausher, 24600099
Al Amerat, 24875999
Qurayat, 24845555
A’Seeb, 24420099
Al-Athaiba, 24521099
AI-Khodh, 24425012
Directorate of the University Security,
24513999
Directorate of Traffic Muscat, 24567898
Al Batinah Headquarters, 26840096
Al Rustaq Division, 26875099
Al Dakhiliyah, 25425099
Nizwa Division, 25425099
Samayil Division, 25350099
Al Sharqiyah Headquarters, 25545070
Ibra Division, 25570100
Al Dhahirah Headquarters, 25650099
Al Buraimi Division, 25650199
Ibri Division, 25689099
Al Wusta Headquarters, 23436099
Haima Division, 23436211
Special Task Force, 24560088
Coastguard Headquarters, 24714888
Dhofar Governorate Headquarters, 23234599
Salalah Police Station, 23290099
Thamrait Division, 23279099
Musandam Governorate Headquarters,
26730299
Khasab Division, 26731502
ROP websites: www.rop.gov.om, www.ropoman.
net and
e-mail: ropnet@omantel.net.om
Roma playwright beats odds
with one-woman show
HRIS Brown, the R&B singer who served a
C sentence for beating up then-girlfriend and fellow
singer Rihanna, stormed off of a morning television
show after fielding questions about the 2009 incident.
The hip-hop singer was interviewed on ABC's Good
Morning America, where the co-anchor Robin Roberts
asked him three times about the domestic abuse incident
with Rihanna.
The first time, he answered that he had not seen
Rihanna since then, saying it was not "really a big deal"
to him because he was "past that in my life." He wanted
to focus on his album during the interview, he said.
The ABC anchor came back with two more questions
about the incident, which made Brown increasingly
agitated. After the interview he performed "Yeah
3x," the lead song on his new F.A.M.E. album, ABC
reported.
Brown then stormed off stage, went to his dressing
room, tore off his shirt, made a lot of noise and stopped
an ABC producer in the hall. Backstage staff called security,
ABC news reported. After Brown left the building
bare-chested, a smashed window was found in his
dressing room.
Brown in 2009 pleaded guilty to felony charges in
the assault against Rihanna, and was sentenced to 1,400
biggest Roma minority. Officially,
they number 530,000 but pressure
groups put the figure as high as 2.5
million, saying most do not declare
themselves, fearing discrimination.
Many live in dire poverty, some
without official IDs. Less than one
per cent of Roma make it beyond
secondary school.
For Serban, a turning point came
at 17 when her mother was jailed
and she asked to be placed in foster
care to avoid a new eviction. "I will
take life in my own hands and I will
win," she vowed.
Five years later, she had not
only graduated from Bucharest's
National University of Theatre and
Cinematography but had also spent
a semester studying at New York
University's renowned Tisch School
of the Arts.
Last summer, she performed
in "Pericles, Prince of Tyre" at a
Shakespeare Festival in Gdansk,
Poland, under British-based director
Philip Parr.
But her dream come true is her
play, a mix of humour and gravity
that caught the attention of two directors
on Romania's national theatre
circuit, David Schwartz and Alice
Marinescu, who helped her stage
the work.
"This is a very nice success story
in a society that usually doesn't make
things easy for Roma," said Luca
Niculescu, a journalist for Romanian
radio and public television.
On stage, Serban, dressed in
black in a recent pre-premiere, talks
through her life as photos and diary
excerpts flash onto the background
and music based on childhood sounds
hint at passing years. — AFP
Chris Brown storms off TV show
hours of community labour and five years probation.
There was also a restraining order to keep him away
from Rihanna. — dpa

14 LIFESTYLE THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
Keira Knightley prefers masculine fragrances
ACTRESS Keira Knightley
says she preferred wearing
masculine fragrance before
discovering Coco Mademoiselle
from Chanel.
"Before Coco Mademoiselle I
wore men's fragrances. I didn't want
something light and flowery - I'm not
that kind of girl," she said. "One of the
things I love about it is that although
it's extremely feminine, it gives me
this feeling of power."
The 25-year-old actress is the
Google ‘Gaga’ over
face of Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle
perfume and has shot a raunchy commercial
for it, directed by Joe Wright.
Knightley admits the advertisement
made her feel like a "superwoman",
reports femalefirst.co.uk.
"It's the first perfume I tried and
thought, 'Yes, that fits.' It's the mixture
of strength and subtlety. It doesn't
overpower but it makes you feel you
can stand up straight and that's important
to me," Knightley told Daily
Record newspaper.
pop diva’s visit By Julie Steenhuysen
OP diva Lady Gaga thrilled Google employees during
P a visit to the Internet giant's headquarters in which she
answered questions from tech-savvy fans.
She broke from her Monster Ball tour for an interview
with Google's Marissa Mayer, who asked the singer questions
submitted using Twitter or through a Google Moderator
service at her YouTube channel.
"The superstar wowed a crowd in a venue that was
packed to the rafters with adoring Googlers (Google employees),"
the Mountain View, California-based company
said in a release.
"Googlers went Gaga, channelling their inner little
monsters and donning everything from her signature bowtie
hair buns to Mother Monster costumes."
Gaga, whose birth name is Stefani Germanotta, is
known for daring fashion statements that include once
dressing in an outfit made of meat. She refers to her fans as
"little monsters."
Gaga, who will turn 25 next week, said during the
Google interview that she will make her directing debut in
her next video, which will be titled "Judas."
Gaga was the first artist to top a billion views at the
Google-owned video sharing website YouTube. — AFP
By Chris Michaud
A NEW
widely anticipated six-volume
cookbook with 1,500 recipes and a
$625 price tag has won rave reviews
but also a dose of skepticism.
Many food critics have praised Modernist
Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by
Nathan Myhrvold, with its scientific principals
and space-age gastronomic tools, as the most
important culinary publication in history.
But others wondered whether the 40 pound
(18 kg), 2,400 plus tome needlessly complicates
the fairly basic concept of cooking and
eating.
In its review the New York Times said it
"was left wondering how a book could be
mind-crushingly boring, eye-bulgingly riveting,
edifying, infuriating, frustrating, fascinating,
all in the same moment."
Myhrvold, a multi-millionaire and onetime
technology officer for Microsoft,
shrugged off critics at an event this week to
Duhamel organises charity run:
Actor Josh Duhamel is organising a
charity run to raise money for quakehit
Japan.
The Transformers star was
shocked by the destruction caused by
the magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami
on March 11.
Duhamel is urging his fans to
join him in the relief run along Santa
Monica beach, reports contactmusic.
com.
In a post on his website, Duhamel
writes, "If you're like me, you've seen
the pain and suffering going on in Japan
right now, and really feel the need
to help, to physically help - to actually
Do Something. Well, we can!"
The entrants are asked to pay $10
to take part in the race. Duhamel organised
a similar run to raise funds
for Haiti following an earthquake last
year.
Mel B doesn't care about pregnancy
weight: Former Spice Girl
Mel B, who is expecting her third
baby, says she does not worry about
pregnancy weight because she has
a tendency to lose it soon enough.
The 35-year-old, who already has
two children, 12-year-old Phoenix
Chi and three-year-old Angel Iris
from previous relationships, is now
expecting a child with her current
husband Stephen Belafonte.
"I don't really stress about pregnancy
weight because I take it all off
as soon as I've had the baby," Mel B
has been quoted as saying by femalefirst.co.uk.
"I put on more weight with my
second baby than my first. My first
baby, I was on tour with the Spice
Girls until I was five months pregnant
so that kept me pretty fit, doing
a two-and-a-half hour dance show.
When Angel was born I relaxed a little
bit more, my life wasn't as hectic
and I just chilled out," she added.
YET another performer
in the trouble-plagued
Broadway musical
"Spider-man Turn Off the
Dark" has been sidelined by
an injury suffered on stage, a
spokesman for the show said.
Actress T V Carpio, who
replaced Natalie Mendoza
in the role of Arachne when
Mendoza was felled by a
concussion, was injured last
week during an onstage battle
scene, Rick Miramontez said
in a statement.
"On doctor's orders, she
will be out of the show for
the next two weeks. America
Olivo will be performing the
role of 'Arachne' during this
She even says she loves being
pregnant, as she can indulge in all
her cravings.
"I like the feeling of being pregnant.
I like being able to eat something
if I'm craving it."
Hurley dines with Warne: Actress
Elizabeth Hurley was spotted
enjoying dinner with Australian
cricketer Shane Warne in Los
Angeles.
Hurley, who is in Los Angeles to
shoot for "Wonder Woman" TV series,
took some time out to have dinner
with Warne at Boa steakhouse
in Beverly Hills, over the weekend,
reports dailymail.co.uk.
It was reported that Warne and
Hurley's relationship went sour after
rumours started making rounds that
the 41-year-old cricketer cheated on
her with porn star Chloe Conrad.
But the recent meeting suggests all
is well between them.
Bryan Adams gets star on Walk
of Fame: Singer Bryan Adams is exhilarated
after receiving a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The 51-year-old's star was unveiled
on Monday in front of the
Musician's Institute on Hollywood
Boulevard in Los Angeles, reports
femalefirst.co.uk.
Adams admitted he would often
admire the Walk of Fame in his
younger days, but he never thought
he would get a star in his own name
someday.
"I remember being in Hollywood
at the age of 16 and marvelling at
the stars. The idea of being part of
it never entered my mind. It was too
far-fetched. Today, I'm humbled at
the induction of my name. It's fantastic,"
said the "Summer of 69"
singer.
Adams has received the 2,435th
star on the Walk of Fame.
The Grammy Award-winning
musician is expecting his first child
with his partner, his personal assistant
Alicia Grimaldi, in May.
Michael Lohan arrested: Pop
singer Lindsay Lohan's father
Michael Lohan has been arrested on
suspicion of domestic violence with
his girlfriend.
Michael was arrested after his
girlfriend filed a report with the Los
Angeles county Sheriff's Department,
on Monday, claiming that the
couple got into an argument that
turned physical, reports contactmusic.com.
It was also said that his girlfriend
had visible marks on her from the alleged
altercation.
According to TMZ.com, the 50year-old
was taken to a hospital for
an unrelated medical condition by
the cops before he was taken to the
Sheriff's office.
Lohan is currently taking part in
TV show 'Dr Drew's Celebrity Rehab'
for control his anger management
issues.
Nicole Scherzinger to host 'The
X-Factor'?: Singer Nicole Scherzinger
has reportedly been offered to
host US version of "The X-Factor".
"Never has there been so much
behind-the-scenes wheeling and
dealing as with 'X Factor' USA.
Having lined up Nicole as a potential
judge, Simon decided to try something
different and unexpected, and
have a non-mainstream presenter
present," mirror.co.uk quoted an insider
as saying.
The 32-year-old beauty originally
tipped to join the judges' panel, but
her natural ability in front of the
camera convinced Simon Cowell,
who is brain behind the talent hunt
show, to make her the host.
Singer Cheryl Cole is likely to
take the judge's seat along with
Cowell on the show. — IANS
Sudden physical activity can kill you
SUDDEN bursts of moderate to intense
physical activity — such as
jogging or making love — significantly
increase the risk of having a heart
attack, especially in people who do not
get regular exercise, US researchers said.
Doctors have long known that physical
activity can cause serious heart problems,
but the new study helps to quantify that
risk, Dr Issa Dahabreh of Tufts Medical
Centre in Boston, whose study appears in
the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The team analysed data from 14 studies
looking at the link between exercise
and the risk of heart attacks or sudden
cardiac death — a lethal heart rhythm that
causes the heart to stop circulating blood.
They found people are 3.5 times more
likely to get a heart attack or have sudden
cardiac death when they are exercising
compared to when they are not.
And they are 2.7 times more likely to
get a heart attack when they are making
love or immediately afterward compared
with when they are not. (These findings
do not apply to sudden cardiac death because
there were no studies looking at the
link between love-making and cardiac
death.)
Jessica Paulus, another Tufts researcher
who worked on the study, said the risk
Another ‘Spider-man’ actress sidelined by injury
promote the book.
Myhrvold left Microsoft Research in 1999
to explore his lifelong interest in cooking and
food science. He spent about five years working
with co-authors Chris Young and Maxime
Bilet, along with a team of 36 cooks, editors,
photographers and technicians on the cookbook,
which sold out its first printing before it
could even be shipped.
Tim Zagat, co-founder of the Zagat guidebook
empire, described "Modernist Cuisine"
as "the most amazing cookbook I've ever seen
in my life."
Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart agreed.
"Every recipe I've tried so far is just fantastic,"
she said, adding that she went out
and bought a centrifuge, a necessary piece of
equipment for some of the recipes.
"It was just an eye-opener," Stewart added.
But an executive chef from one of Manhattan's
most renowned restaurants said the
style of cooking espoused in the book seems
to move the diner away, in both time and us-
is fairly high as such studies go. But the
period of increased risk is brief.
"These elevated risks are only for a
short period of time (1 to 2 hours) during
and after the physical activity," Paulus
said in a telephone interview.
Because of that, the risk to individuals
over the course of a year is still quite
small, she said.
"If you take 10,000 people, each individual
session of physical activity per
week can be associated with an increase
of 1 to 2 cases of heart attack or sudden
cardiac death per year," Paulus said.
She said it is important to balance the
findings with other studies showing that
regular physical activity reduces the risk
of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death
by 30 per cent.
"What we really don't want to do is
for the public to walk away from this and
think exercise is bad," she said.
What it does mean is that people who
do not exercise regularly need to start any
exercise programme slowly, gradually increasing
the intensity of the workout over
time. — Reuters
time," he said.
The much-delayed musical,
the most expensive in
Broadway history, was hit
last month by the US Department
of Labour with three
serious violations of workplace
safety rules for a string
of cast member injuries late
last year.
Its most recent opening
date of March 15 was again
put off until June, after director
Julie Taymor was relieved
of day-to-day duties and a
new team was brought in to
help with restaging the show,
whose troubled history has
already achieved legendary
status. — Reuters
Hefty new cookbook stirs up food world passions
age, from the food and ingredients, instead of
closer.
Alain Sailhac, executive vice-president and
dean emeritus at The French Culinary Institute,
was also skeptical of its approach.
"The less you manipulate the food, the better
it is," he said.
But most agree that the book will help young
chefs and aspiring home cooks understand the
fundamentals and principles of cooking.
"It's possible to have quality ingredients
and do nothing to them, but it's also possible
to have quality ingredients and do something
to them," said Myhrvold.
Ultimately the book is "for people who
really love food and are curious about it," he
added.
And despite the book's high-tech approach
Myhrvold had fulsome praise for a very nontech
item — the pressure cooker.
"We just love them," he said, adding it is
"probably the most underrated thing in the
conventional kitchen today." — Reuters
AROUND THE WORLD
Indian television child actors Richa Mukharjee and
Shweta Bhist pose during the Channel Zee Chhoti Si
Zindagi press meet in Mumbai. — AFP
Actress Vanessa Hudgens (left) takes a photo with
her sister Stella on her iPhone as they watch the Los
Angeles Lakers play the Phoenix Suns during their
NBA game in Los Angeles, California. — Reuters
A dancer in theatrical costume performs during
an event to celebrate local artists in the southern
Russian city of Stavropol. — Reuters
US actress Anne Hathaway poses before the premiere
of Rio, the movie in Rio de Janeiro. — Reuters
Hungarian designer Barbara Leber arrives on the
catwalk, welcomed by her models in the Cupola Hall of
Gellert bath in Budapest during her fashion show

Votes scam statement:
oppn slams premier
NEW DELHI — The Left and
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
yesterday attacked Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh for his not-guilty
statement following allegations that
the Congress had bought MPs in the
2008 trust vote and accused him of
concealing facts.
The government stood by the
prime minister’s statement, citing
the 2009 election triumph as a defence
of the allegation in the US diplomatic
cables leaked by WikiLeaks
and published by a newspaper and
said that the opposition was suffering
from “selective amnesia”.
The prime minister in his March
18 statement had refuted the charges
made in the “speculative, unverified
and unverifiable” US diplomatic
communications.
Communist Party of India (CPI)
leader Gurudas Dasgupta initiated
the debate in the Lok Sabha on what
has come to be known as the cash-
Plea to extradite
Anderson admitted
NEW DELHI — A Delhi court yesterday
allowed a Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) plea seeking extradition of US-based
former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson
for the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM)
Vinod Yadav said everyone in India wants
Anderson, 90, to be extradited for world’s
biggest environmental disaster.
“Why should (the) plea not be allowed as
from 1992 till 2010 the CBI was regularly trying
to extradite Anderson. This relates to sentiments
of thousands of victim’s families,” he
said. “The CBI was not sleeping over the matter
of bringing Anderson to India,” he added.
In its 33-page application, the CBI has demanded
that extradition proceedings against
Anderson should begin. “There is prima facie
finding of the trial court that a criminal case is
made out against Anderson,” the CBI said.
It said that Anderson had full knowledge
about the defective design and structure of
the UCC pesticide plant and its poor safety
measures that led to the leak of toxic gas on
the night of December 2-3, 1984.
The Bhopal tragedy, the world’s worst
industrial disaster, instantly killed thousands
and many thousands more in the years to
come. — IANS
Land taking
only after
consensus
KOLKATA — West Bengal
Chief Minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee yesterday
said industrialisation was
the only path along which
the state could develop and
careful measures have to be
taken while acquiring land
for industries.
“We will acquire land
only after reaching a consensus
with all the interested
parties,” Bhattacharjee told
reporters at a press meeting
here.
“We have made up a land
use map. We will not acquire
fertile land. If the government
has to acquire land we
will go forward after reaching
a total consensus in that
area,” the chief minister
stressed.
Bhattacharjee’s pro-industrialisation
plank faced
a severe drubbing after
the Nandigram and Singur
anti-land acquisition protests
led by the Trinamool Congress.
— IANS
for-votes scam. “His (prime minister’s)
statement was firm, normally
he is not. But linguistic fervour is
something he has used to conceal
facts.”
He said the parliamentary committee
that probed the scandal in
2008 had recommended that it be
“appropriately investigated further”
and the case was handed over to
Delhi Police Crime Branch.
“In a serious case like this, the
appropriate probe was left to the
Crime Branch, not the CBI (Central
Bureau of Investigation), not the
Enforcement Directorate and not the
Income Tax department. “I have a
feeling, excuse me. Appropriate inquiry
was deliberately not done.
Why? Because some political
businessmen had to be ensured that
will remain in the background,”
Dasgupta alleged.
Dasgupta said the prime minister’s
justification of highlighting
Policeman accused of
NEW DELHI — A policeman
in Rajasthan shot himself
in the stomach and arm to try
to claim a bravery award, officials
said yesterday.
Mahesh Rajguru was recovering
from his injuries at
a hospital in the state capital,
Jaipur, and would be arrested
shortly for misusing his duty
weapon, they said.
Rajguru claimed that six
unidentified men had shot
him while he was on duty at a
politician’s house on Sunday
night, police officer Arun Machya
said by telephone.
“Officials who reached the
scene found his statements
and the crime scene suspicious,”
Machya said.
“During questioning on
Tuesday, he admitted that no
such incident had taken place
and he had shot himself to
HYDERABAD — Dealing a
blow to the ruling Congress in
Andhra Pradesh, the newlyformed
YSR Congress Party
of former MP Y S Jaganmohan
Reddy yesterday bagged
three seats in the legislative
council elections from local
authority constituencies.
Of the nine seats to which
polls were held on Monday,
the Congress could win only
three seats, down from eight
it held earlier. The main opposition
Telugu Desam Party
(TDP) also bagged three
seats.
Making an impressive debut,
the YSR Congress Party
won the seats in Chittoor, kadap,
and West Godavari district.
Chittor is the home district
of Chief Minister Kiran
Kumar Reddy, and Kadapa is
the home district of Jagan.
In Chittoor district, which
is also the home district of
TDP chief N.
Chandrababu Naidu, YSR
Congress candidate D Tippa
Reddy was elected with the
majority of one vote over his
nearest rival of the Congress
M Naresh Kumar Reddy.
Despite deploying four
ministers, including Jagan’s
uncle Y S Vivekananda Reddy,
the ruling party failed to defeat
YSR Congress in Kadapa.
C Narayan Reddy was
elected with the majority of
nine votes over former Congress
legislator N Vardarajula
Reddy.
In West Godavari district,
senior Congress leader Ganga
Bhavani was defeated by YSR
Congress candidate M Sheshu
Babu. In Nellore district,
YSR Congress candidate R
Pratap Kumar Reddy lost to V.
Narayana Reddy of the Con-
15 INDIA
OMAN DAILY Observer
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh listens to opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal
Krishna Advani at parliament house in New Delhi yesterday. — AFP
Jagan party shocks Congress, Chhattisgarh tribals
captures three council seats allege police atrocities
RAIPUR — Tribals in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district have
MICROSOFT founder and philanthopist Bill Gates and his wife Melinda talk to local
villagers during a visit to Jamsaut villages at Patna district in Bihar yesterday. Microsoft
co-founder Bill Gates is visiting India as part of “The Giving Pledge” campaign started
by Gates and investor Warren Buffett last year. — AFP
claim a gallantry award,” the
officer said.
The constable, who suffered
three bullet wounds,
earlier had claimed that the
assailants shot at him and fled
in a car.
“A bullet hit my stomach,”
he told the police, according
to the Times of India newspaper.
“When I screamed, they
ran outside and again opened
fire while getting into a car
parked outside. Two more
bullets hit my shoulders.”
During their investigation,
police found that all spent cartridges
at the scene had come
from Rajguru’s own gun. They
also said they found narcotics
in his living quarters.
“He will be arrested soon
under the Indian penal code
on misuse of firearms,” Machya
said.— dpa
electoral victory after the scandal
“cannot hide criminality if it has
been committed”.
Leader of Opposition Sushma
Swaraj backed the Left MP. Citing
the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the
2002 sectarian violence in Gujarat,
she said Manmohan Singh was rewriting
criminal jurisprudence by
bringing in the 2009 electoral victory
to defend his government.
The BJP leader asked if the
prime minister was willing to apply
the same yardstick to Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi for the
2002 anti-Muslim riots in that state.
“In Gujarat, Modi has won the
assembly elections twice but still
the 2002 riot cases are being pursued
against him. In Gujarat, in
two consecutive elections, you
made the 2002 riots an issue,
but Narendra Modi won a huge
majority.” — IANS
Railways loses
Rs 200 crore
shooting self for medal NEW DELHI — The North-
ern Railway has suffered
losses of over Rs 200 crore
($44 million) due to disruption
of rail traffic caused
by the Jat community’s job
quota agitation, said an official
here.
“The railways has suffered
huge losses worth several
crores of rupees per day
due to the agitators blocking
railway tracks and stopping
the trains’ movement,” a
senior Northern Railway official
said.
According to the official,
the railways was still assessing
the quantum of losses
suffered during the agitation.
The overall losses may
be in the range of above Rs
200 crore, as the protests
still continue in the states
neighbouring the national
capital. — IANS
gress by seven votes.
The Congress also suffered
a setback in Anantapur
where the group led by its own
leader and former minister J C
Diwakar Reddy ensured the
victory of M Govind Reddy of
the TDP.
The TDP also won second
seat in West Godavari and one
in East Godavari while the
Congress bagged Kurnool and
Srikakulam.
Jagan, the son of late chief
minister Y S Rajasekhara
Reddy launched the party
March 11. He and his mother
Vijayalaxmi quit the Congress
and their Lok Sabha and assembly
seats respectively in
November last year, accusing
the party leadership of trying
to create a rift in their family.
The electoral victory has
come as a moral booster for
Jagan.— IANS
By Ashraf Padanna
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM —
The opposition Congress party-led
United Democratic Front (UDF) is
poised to emerge victorious in the
April 13 elections in Kerala, according
to a survey commissioned
by the Deccan Chronicle.
The survey conducted between
March 3 to 19 in the age group of
18-25 which represents 20 per cent
of the total electorate found that 42
per cent were favouring the UDF
while 31 per cent are for the ruling
coalition to remain in power.
The survey was carried out by
the market research group C-fore
across the state amidst high-voltage
political drama over the candidature
of octogenarian Chief Minister VS
Achuthanandan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
and others have found favour with
only 6.5 per cent of the respondents
while 20 per cent could not make up
their mind before knowing the can-
alleged that security forces burnt their huts, stole money and
sexually assaulted women during anti-Maoist operations, but
state police yesterday dismissed this as “Maoist propaganda”.
Eyewitnesses quoted in media reports have that Central
Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers along with Koya commandos,
a unit of local tribals fighting the Maoists, went on a
rampage in three tribal hamlets near Tarmetla area where the
outlawed men had slaughtered 76 troopers in April last year in
their most audacious attack till date.
The tribals of Tehse hamlets allege that in the name of
searching for Maoists and their sympathisers, the troopers assaulted
women, killed livestock and burnt nearly 200 houses
over three-four days. Many were allegedly illegally detained
and some people are still unaccounted for.
Rights activists have strongly condemned the brutalities of
security forces and termed these as barbaric. “We are trying to
get the facts on whatever has appeared in media. It should be
condemned strongly. The state can’t be violator of constitutional
rights. On first hand, it (alleged police excesses) looks
very barbaric,” remarked Rajendra K Sail, former president of
the Chhattisgarh unit of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties
(PUCL).
A local official employed with the education department
at Chintagufa, just a few km away from Morepalli, Teemapur
and Tarmetla villages where tribals were allegedly subjected to
brutalities, termed the situation as “very alarming”.— IANS
More arrests likely soon
over fake pilot licences
JAIPUR — More arrests are likely for
allegedly granting fake licences to unqualified
pilots, sources in Rajasthan’s
anti-corruption bureau (ACP) said
yesterday.
SpiceJet pilots Anoop Choudhary
and Amit Mundara were arrested by
the ACB two days ago. It has now
emerged that more pilots are involved
in obtaining fake flying training hours
certificates from two flying schools in
Rajasthan and Haryana, ACB officials
said.
On the basis of these certificates,
at least 14 pilots procured commercial
pilot licences (CPLs) from the
Directorate General of Civil Aviation
(DGCA), officials allege.
“We have finished investigation
into the role of three pilots working
with a private airline. Evidence with
us clearly suggests that these pilots
got CPLs fraudulently by exaggerating
their flying training hours,” said
an ACB official.
For getting a CPL, a pilot needs 200
hours of flying training. The accused
pilots faked training hours in connivance
with the chief flying instructors
didates they are going to vote for.
Rahul Gandhi is the most favourite
leader of the Kerala youngsters
(26 per cent) followed by AK Antony
(14), Shashi Tharoor (12), VS
Achuthanandan (9.5), Manmohan
Singh and Sonia Gandhi (8 each),
Oommen Chandy (7), Ramesh
Chennithala (5) and Vayalar Ravi
and Pinarayi Vijayan (2 per cent
each).
The survey posed a direct question:
which party/coalition are you
going to vote if the Assembly elections
were held tomorrow and it
showed that the UDF had an 11 per
cent edge over the LDF among the
young voters.
A general survey held about a
fortnight ago among voters by the
same agency for Asianet television
also had shown similar trends when
it forecast the UDF getting 77 to 87
seats in the 140-seat Assembly as
the UDF had an edge of four per
cent over the LDF.
The political loyalty of 37 per
of the Rajasthan Flying School in
Jaipur and the Hisar Flying School in
Haryana, the official added.
The only aircraft available with the
Rajasthan State Flying School was
under maintenance and was not being
used for training. Despite that, its
chief flying instructor, Mohindra Kumar,
allegedly faked the flight training
log books and issued certificates to the
aspirants. He added that documents
related to six more pilots are being examined
after preliminary investigation
implicated them.
The Rajasthan ACB played a
whistleblower’s role when it claimed
nearly four months ago that there were
rackets involved in preparing fake
documents for securing CPLs.
The scam surfaced last year when
Nidhi Vashishta of Bahadurgarh in
Haryana complained to ACB. She had
enrolled for the commercial flying pilot
course at the Rajasthan State Flying
School in July 2006. She was trained
only for 22 hours but the instructor
associated with the flying school recorded
169 hours in their record and
sent it to DGCA.— IANS
Youth impatient for change
cent of the respondents lie with
UDF and 20 per cent with the ruling
Left Democratic Front (LDF) led
by the Communist Party of India-
Marxist (CPM) while a whopping
43 per cent remained neutral or
none of the two. While 58 per cent
said they would “definitely” vote in
the coming elections, 30 per cent
said “may be.”
The youth were uninspired by
the LDF, with 49 per cent rating its
performance “average.” Only four
per cent thought it was “excellent,”
but 18 per cent rated it “good,” 19
per cent “bad” and 10 per cent felt it
was “very bad”.
Some 69 per cent said the environment
in Kerala was ripe for a
huge economic surge.
The state of physical infrastructure
would influence 79 per cent
of the respondents in the choice of
their legislators while 84 per cent
said they were dissatisfied with the
politicians’ commitment to fight
graft.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Govt to study Japan
tsunami’s impact
SCIENTISTS will study the impact on
the Indian Ocean of the Pacific Ocean
tsunami that ravaged north-eastern Japan
earlier this month, a met department official
said yesterday.
“The Pacific Ocean is so vast that if
there are some changes in the sea following
the recent tsunami, it will have a
global impact. We will study the impact
of the Pacific Ocean tsunami on the
Indian Ocean,” said India Meteorological
Department (IMD) Director General Ajit
Tyagi on the sidelines of a function.
Scientists are awaiting data related
to changes in the pattern of the Pacific
ocean. “We need to study changes in sea
currents, bottom of the sea and ocean conditions,
and how it can impact the Indian
Ocean,” Tyagi said.
ED raids Hasan Ali’s
accountant’s residence
THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials
yesterday conducted searches at the
Pune residence of the chartered accountant
(CA) of alleged money launderer
and tax evader Hasan Ali Khan, official
sources said.
Confirming the development, Khan’s
CA Sunil Shinde said that ED officials are
searching his premises in Sahakar Nagar
area of south Pune. “I was in Mumbai to
attend to a professional matter related to
the Income Tax Tribunal since Tuesday,”
Shinde said.
“I am now on my way back to Pune,
after I was told about ED officials are
searching my residence,” he said. Expressing
his concern over the searches,
Shinde said he is Khan’s accountant only
in a professional capacity.
4 arrested with Rs 5 crore
antique Buddha idol
FOUR people involved in an inter-state
antique smuggling racket were arrested in
Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh with a
Buddha idol worth Rs 5 crore, police said
yesterday. The four men, who hail from
West Bengal, were caught late Tuesday
following a joint operation of the district
police and special operations group
(SOG).
The idol seized from them was made
of ashtadhatu, a precious eight-metal
alloy. “The four were arrested while
on their way to sell the Buddha idol to
some clients here,” police inspector Ravi
Srivastava told reporters yesterday in
Lakhimpur Kheri, some 150 km from
Lucknow.
“Preliminary investigations indicate
the four used to operate in various states,
including Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
Goa orders moratorium on
diversion of forest land
THE Goa forest department yesterday
ordered a moratorium on conversion of
forest area after the opposition said that
more than 50,000 trees had been felled to
make way for mines.
Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar
told the Goa assembly during question
hour that nearly 100,000 trees were
permitted to be cut, with 58,943 of them
in forest areas for mining purposes, in
the four-year tenure of the current Forest
Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues.
“Are you afraid of mine owners? You
arrest common people for cutting trees,
why don’t you act against mine owners,”
Parrikar asked the minister. The 58,000
trees and the substantial reduction of
forest cover was forcing the state animal,
the Gaur, or the great Indian bison, to flee
its natural habitat and enter villages, the
senior Bharatiya Janata party leader said.
School faces action for
detaining children
THE Bijnor district administration in Uttar
Pradesh yesterday ordered the police
to take action against a private boarding
school for “illegally detaining” two brothers
for several days over non-payment of
tuition fees.
The move comes after an enquiry
against Roots International School (RIS)
in Noorpur over a complaint by Savita
Sharma, who had alleged that her two
children were illegally detained by the
school administration for 10 days in the
boarding for not depositing the tuition fee.
The children were studying in Class 1
and 5. Bijnor Additional District Magistrate
SB Tiwari said that the children were
returned to their mother four days back.
One dead as 11 new
swine flu cases found
ONE person died of swine flu while
11 fresh cases of the H1N1 virus were
reported in the country in the week ending
March 20, a health ministry official said
in New Delhi yesterday.
The lone death was reported from
Punjab during March 14-20. Earlier, two
such deaths have taken place — one each
in Punjab and Haryana — taking the total
number of such deaths since the first case
of H1N1 was reported in 2009 to 2,744.
Eleven indigenous cases were reported
during the week — eight from Punjab,
two from Delhi and one from Rajasthan.
The total number of cases now stands at
46,484 since the influenza broke out in
2009.— IANS

NEWS IN BRIEF
Islamic Bank announces
$3 billion support
A HIGH-level mission from Islamic
Development Bank (IDB) that visited
Pakistan from March 13-22 announced
indicative financing of around $3 billion
(Rs 225 billion) that the IDB Group will
give for multi-sector and area-focused
programmes during 2012-2015. The
mission visited the country to develop
Member Country Partnership Strategy
(MCPS), which will decide the details of
co-operation between Pakistan and the
bank over the next four years.
Mohammad Jamal al Saati, Director,
Country Department of IDB, announced
that IDB will consider expanding its local
office in Pakistan to improve and speed
up the implementation of the IDB-funded
projects. He said Pakistan was the second
largest beneficiary of the IDB Group financing
among 56 member countries.
China declares 500
student scholarships
CHINA has announced 500 scholarships
for Pakistani students for the next
three years, whereas the number of
scholarships will be increased each year,
Chinese Embassy Cultural Counsellor
Yang Linhai announced here yesterday.
He made the announcement while
addressing a conference on ‘Pak-China
Friendship Year 2011’ cultural activities
reception and opening ceremony
of Chinese experience centre. The
event was organised by the Confucius
Institute, National University of Modern
Languages (NUML).
Yang Linhai appreciated the efforts
of the NUML Confucius Institute. He
lauded the performance of the Chinese
and Pakistani students and said that the
students studying Chinese language
in the country are the future diplomats
who can play their dynamic role in
intensifying deeper understanding of
the two countries as both the countries
are good neighbours to each other.
“The leadership of both the countries
has focused on the student-to-student
relationships. For this purpose we are
supporting Pakistani student delegations
to visit China,” he said.
Malaysia to support Halal
sector development
MALAYSIA is ready to share its
experiences with Pakistan to develop
its Halal industry, according to Halal
Industry Development Corporation
Malaysia Chief Executive Dato Seri
Jamil Biden. Addressing an International
Halal Conference yesterday, Biden said,
“You do not need to spend 30 years, as
we want to see you emerging as a big
player in the global Halal market in
coming years. We are ready to share all
our experiences with Pakistan.”
Biden, part of a nine member
delegation, at the Halal Conference 2011,
said, “Malaysia has made some very
strict laws for the industry, keeping in
mind that Halal means ethical.”
Panel launches inquiry
against state TV
THE Competition Commission of
Pakistan (CCP) launched an inquiry
against the management of the state-run
Pakistan Television for collecting Rs
35 as its licence fee through electricity
bills from each and every consumer
of power utilities since July 1, 2004,
officials said yesterday. CCP Chairperson
Rahat Kaunain Hassan told a select
group of newsmen that the Commission
proceeding aims to ascertain whether
such collection of TV licence fee remains
justified under the law.
The decision to collect TV fees
through electricity bills was made when
former president Pervez Musharraf was
in power and implemented on July 1,
2004 through Finance Bill. Billions
of rupees were generated per annum
through this scheme which helped run
the state-owned media. Initially, TV
fee was imposed at the rate of Rs 25,
which was later increased to Rs 35 per
connection.
Exhibition of paintings by
mentally retarded patients
A PAINTING done by a mentally
retarded patient from Fountain House
is about to be hung up in an exhibition
very soon in Lahore. Anyone looking at
the painting may think it is ridiculous,
especially if they see it out of context
but Dr Asim Amjad can see a lot in it.
Dr Amjad glances at a paper with what
seems like a child’s drawing on it, done
in black crayon, with round shapes
drawn on it. But then the entire drawing
is covered with jagged lines drawn up
and down as if the artist has trashed the
painting. In fact, he has not.
“See these shapes?” she asks, tracing
his finger on the circles that have been
drawn without any connection it seems.
“These are typical of patients who
have mental retardation (MR). Call it
their instinct or whatever but circles
are common — in fact very common
— among MR patients. And look at
this drastic colouring that he has done.
It shows so much more!” His eyes are
pensive as he tries to work out what it
is the patient is about in one glance. But
one glance is never enough.
ISLAMABAD — The Pakistan Day was
celebrated yesterday across the country
and with traditional zeal and enthusiasm
to commemorate the passage of the Lahore
Resolution, later called, the Pakistan
Resolution, which eventually led to
the formation of Pakistan.
The day dawned with special prayers
for progress and prosperity of the country
and with 31 gun salutes in the federal
capital as well as 21 gun salutes in provincial
capitals.
The national flag was hoisted on
important public and private buildings
throughout the country and all Pakistani
missions abroad. This year too, the permanent
feature of armed forces parade
on Pakistan Day was cancelled owing to
security reasons as well as hectic engagement
of troops in the tribal areas of the
country to fight against armed groups.
Governmental, political, cultural, social
and other organisations chalked out
various programmes to mark the day in a
befitting manner. It was a public holiday
yesterday.
In the provincial capital, Lahore, several
dignitaries visited the mausoleum of
Allama Muhammad Iqbal to pay homage
to the great poet and philosopher. People
belonging to different walks of life also
visited the mausoleum and laid wreaths
on the grave.
16 PAKISTAN
OMAN DAILY Observer
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
National Day celebrated with traditional zeal
LAHORE — Pakistani government
will fully stimulate the private sector
for conducting modern research
in agriculture sector to make the
country self sufficient in food, said
Punjab Agriculture Minister Ahmad
Ali Aulakh here yesterday.
He said that private-public partnership
in agriculture can contribute
collectively for evolving new
varieties of the best quality seeds of
all crops. He said both sectors can
share their field experiences and
vast potentials with each other and
finally nation will be its major beneficiary.
He said that government has allocated
a sum of Rs1 billion exclusively
for Punjab Agriculture Research
Board (PARB) for conducting modern
research in agriculture sector to
help boost agricultural production
in the province.
He said special emphasis has
been laid on modern research for
developing disease resistant new
seed varieties for commercial production,
introduction and application
of new agriculture technology
for excellent yield of all crops.
He said Ayub Agriculture Research
Institute, Faisalabad and all
other research centres of all crops
PESHAWAR — She is just 12 and suffering
from thalassaemia but lucky too
to get her wish to be a flyer in the army
fulfilled.
“I don’t know how long am I going
to live, but for me it’s like a dream come
true,” said the soft spoken Naima Gul
from Mingora, Swat, who was granted
her wish by Chief of Army Staff Gen
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani here yesterday
on the special occasion of celebrations
of Pakistan day.
As a Grade 4 student, she had written
to the army chief some time back that
she wanted to become the first female
Sindh Governor, Dr shrat-ul-Ebad
Khan and other dignitaries visited the
including rice, cotton, sugarcane
and pulses etc working in different
locations of the province have also
been directed to make all out efforts
for innovation of new varieties.
The minister said another sum of
Rs 2 billion was also being spent for
2,500 new water courses for proper
utilisation of water for agriculture
with zero wastage.
Aulakh said that an additional
subsidy of Rs 4 billion was also given
to farmers across the province during
the last couple of years for purchasing
modern agriculture implement
besides provision of bulldozers
on rent and laser land levellers at
highly subsidised rate to peasants
on first come and first serve basis
through transparent computerised
balloting.
Ahmad Ali Aulakh said Punjab
was the only province in the country
where cultivators were being offered
services at their door-steps.
He said that first time in history,
9 solar tubewells would be
installed at selected government
farms in Punjab under a pilot
project. — Internews
SOLDIERS march during a National Day ceremony in Karachi yesterday. — AFP
pilot in the Army Aviation one day. And
yesterday she was inducted as a pilot in
9-squad on the first female flyer in army
aviation’s history.
“1 will live for my country, and will
die for it,” she declared on the occasion.
“In whatever capacity my beloved
country needs my services, I’m ready to
perform despite suffering from a fatal
disease.”
The ceremony started with the recitation
from the Holy Quran, before her
medical check-up when she arrived in
the morning at the Aviation Base, followed
by a welcome address by Lt-Col
mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad
Ali Jinnah in Karachi and laid floral
Govt to promote research
in agriculture by pvt sector
ISLAMABAD — The land-
mark Supreme Court judgement
on the National Accountability
Bureau (NAB)
chairman’s appointment has
closed all doors for the Presidency
as well as the government,
present or future, to
appoint the anti-corruption
apparatus at high posts.
The apex court clearly
concluded that those facing
inquiries could not be given
the right to make such a crucial
appointment. The judgement
leaves no room for the
government to continue using
NAB to cover up corruption
instead of curbing it.
Written by Justice Asif
Saeed Khan Khosa, it said:
“The National Accountability
Bureau, which happens to
be a premier and high-profile
anti-corruption institution of
the country, started being perceived
as an institution which
was possibly being misused
for covering up corruption at
high places and such cover-up
was perceived to be controlled
and managed through appointment
of its handpicked chair-
RANGERS disperse angry protesters who set ablaze tyres after a rocket hit a wall of a religious school in Karachi
yesterday. Yesterday morning, unknown men fired at least two rockets in Karachi's Malir area from unidentified
directions. However, no loss of life was reported, Dawn newspaper reported. — Reuters
Riazat, commander Aviation Base.
After Naima Gul had taken the vow
to do duty to the country, Lt Gen Asif
Yasin Malik awarded her an enrolment
letter, a flying badge and aviation jacket.
“I’m lucky to receive prompt reply
from the army chief who not only fulfilled
my dreams but also gave courage
to me and others like me, to fight against
the deadly disease,” she added.”
My induction as the first lady pilot of
Pakistan Army Aviation would certainly
give me a chance to generate awareness
among the thousands of mothers and fa-
wreaths and paid great homage to the Father
of the Nation.
Chief justice now a party
man.”
The Presidency has now
not only lost its darling chairman
Justice (r) Deedar Shah
but is simply out of the official
loop, which is now relevant
for the appointment of
impartial, fair and independent
chairman NAB.
The question now is
whether the government will
continue with the status quo
or abolish the headless NAB
because the future NAB chairman
would now be appointed
only after a meaningful consultation
between the Prime
Minister, leader of the opposition
and the Chief Justice of
Pakistan.
Although President Zardari
did not mention corruption
in his annual address to the
Parliament’s joint sitting, the
Supreme Court in this judgement
underlined it as an “unfortunate
bane of our society”
and hinted that even the high
public offices are facing serious
corruption allegations.
The court also addressed
the fundamental question:
“How those facing corrup-
tion charges and sitting in
high public offices could be
entrusted the power to make
their choice appointment of
anti-corruption apparatus’s
head.”
The NAB, which during
former president Pervez
Musharraf’s tenure was used
to victimise the opposition,
has become totally irrelevant
as an anti-corruption body
under the present authority.
The present NAB, on the one
hand, started closing past corruption
cases (including the
NRO cases against the ruling
elite) and, on the other, it is
massively being used to cover
up the corruption scandals. It
has practically become a corruption-protecting
agency.
The inclusion of the Chief
Justice among the three persons
body has left no chance
for any possible understanding
between the government and
the opposition for the appointment
of a pliable NAB Chairman,
as has been the case in
the past and most recently in
the case of Syed Deedar Hussain
Shah. — Internews
thers who didn’t know how to face these
challenges, Naima further added.
Naima Gul also laid a floral wreath at
the ‘Shuhada Monument. Her instructor
Major Zahid took her to the simulator
room. After that, she visited the operational
room and was briefed about map
marking to help her evacuate an injured
man during her first 9 km flight.
Next was her first flight on a Lama
chopper during which she conducted
evacuation of an injured person. Naima
also had a round of the base where
she was briefed about the operational
system.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali
Shah also laid floral wreath at the Quaid's
mausoleum and paid rich tributes to the
Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad
Ali Jinnah at mazar-e-Quaid.
Provincial ministers were also present
on this occasion. A large number of people
belonging to all walks of life also visited
the mausoleum.
Pakistan Day was celebrated with
traditional zeal across Baluchistan to
commemorate the passage of Pakistan
Resolution.Various programmes and ceremonies
were held at different places including
Governor House, Quetta Cantt,
Askari Park, Ayyub Stadium, Hana Lake
and others to commemorate the passage
of Pakistan Resolution and to pay rich
tributes to leadership and activists of Pakistan
Movement who rendered sacrifices
for forming an independent country.
The National flag was hoisted at important
governmental installations and
public points. Special Shuhada Parade
was held at Staff College Road Quetta
Cantt in which rich tributes was paid to
martyrs of the Pakistan Movement.
Pakistan Television, Radio Pakistan
and private channels aired special programmes
to highlight the significance of
Pakistan Day and various aspects of the life
and work of founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-
Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and other
leading personalities. — Internews
Punjab allows
2m tonnes
to name new NAB chief wheat export
ISLAMABAD — The fed-
KARACHI — The recently passed
tax ordinances, coupled with the continuous
rise in fertiliser prices, are
unlikely to cause a significant effect
on farmers, according to analysts.
According to BMA Capital, the
agriculture sector contributes around
23 per cent to the country’s GDP, but
accounts for less than one per cent of
government revenues.
Tax collection from the sector remains
minimal despite the fact that it
continues to enjoy subsidised inputs,
such as fertiliser, and freedom to
charge prices over and above international
prices.
Analysts believe in order to increase
Pakistan’s dismal tax to GDP
ratio, which stands at 10 per cent, the
policy framework should start targeting
the agriculture sector.
Overall, three major increases in
fertiliser prices have taken place over
the last two years, due to gas curtailment
and implementation of sales
tax. Cumulatively, the urea price increase
was a significant 48 per cent
since December 2009.
eral government for providing
fiscal breathing space
to the Punjab government
has allowed shipment of
two million tonnes of wheat
from the province to generate
foreign exchange for the
cash-starved province.
“This will be the second
phase of wheat exports from
the province. In the first
phase, one-million-tonne
has already been exported,”
a senior official in the ministry
of commerce said here
yesterday. When contacted
Food and Agriculture Secretary
Junaid Iqbal confirmed
that the shipment of two million
tonnes of wheat from the
province had been allowed
in the last ECC meeting.
After the completion export
of one million tonne
of wheat from the country,
the customs authorities
have withheld further shipments
from the ports in the
wake of a letter issued to the
customs authorities asking
them for regulation of the
wheat exports to the prescribed
limit of one million
tonnes. — Internews
Recent taxes unlikely to
affect farmers: analyst
However, increasing crop prices
has allowed for easy absorption of
the increase.
During the period, crop prices
have rallied significantly, resulting in
improved farm revenues, while gross
profitability for certain products such
as sugar has increased by up to 63 per
cent.
Improved farming margins have
aided growth of rural incomes. As a
result, rural incomes have catapulted
much faster than witnessed before.
Additionally, farming feasibilities
have improved due to the widening
input-output gap which has provided
farms an incentive to expand and improve
current practices.
Thus, while rising crop prices are
beneficial for inducing modern farming
techniques, taxation of some inputs
is unlikely to cause a significant
dent in crop feasibilities.
Edging closer to the fiscal 2012
budget, it remains to be seen if any
concrete steps are announced in this
direction. — Internews
Weak in body but not in spirit: thalassaemia child becomes army pilot
Young Gul’s father Zabatullah Sohail,
her mother Shabana Anjum, younger
sister Roqaya Manal were also there
and saw Naima flying the chopper. “I’m
a proud man today, as my daughter got
the honour of becoming the first lady
pilot in Pakistan Army,” Sohail said.
“We are happy that army would bear all
the medication and education expenses
of Naima,” he added.
Her mother while commenting on
this occasion also thanked the army
chief for honouring her call. With tears
rolling down her cheeks, she said: “We
are proud parents. — Internews

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CLASSIFIED SECTION:
OMAN DAILY Observer THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
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CLASSIFIEDS
Continued on P-18

EU plans nuke curbs
BRUSSELS — European
leaders look set to adopt tough
measures on nuclear safety
this week, a draft paper seen
by Reuters showed, a move
that could benefit France as it
seeks to form a selling point
for its advanced EPR reactors.
European governments
have swiftly reviewed their
nuclear policy in the wake of
Japan's March 11 earthquake
and tsunami, which crippled
the Fukushima power plant
150 miles north of Tokyo and
sent radiation into the environment.
Germany quickly suspended
operations at seven
ageing nuclear plants; Austria
demanded pan-European
'stress tests'; Italy announced
a one-year moratorium on
new plants, and Bulgaria
tightened restrictions on
its Belene nuclear project
near a quake zone.
France, a major exporter of
nuclear technology, has advocated
the safety aspects of its
next generation EPR reactors
as it competes for business on
international markets.
A major clampdown on
nuclear safety could translate
into new revenues for French
reactor maker Areva, which
says its latest generation
plants are safer than older
technology and can resist major
shocks such as earthquakes
and plane crashes.
"The safety of EU nuclear
plants should be reviewed, on
the basis of a comprehensive
and transparent risk and safety
assessment — stress tests,"
said a draft declaration prepared
for EU leaders to sign
at a summit in Brussels today
and tomorrow.
The draft also said stress
tests should be developed as
Drug offences: China
to execute 3 Filipinos
MANILA — The Philippines said yesterday three Filipino
drug mules would be executed in China next week and that it
did not plan any more appeals to save them. "The government
respects the Chinese law and the finality of the verdict of the
Chinese People's Court," foreign department spokesman Ed
Malaya told reporters. Chinese court officials had informed
Philippine authorities that the trio — Ramon Credo, 42, Sally
Villanueva, 32, and Elizabeth Batin, 38 — would be executed
next Wednesday.
Philippine authorities had gone to great lengths in a bid
to save the three, who were convicted in 2008 of trafficking
heroin, and made repeated appeals for their sentences to be
commuted to life in jail.
The government had insisted that the three, who are among
227 Filipinos jailed in China for drug offences, were from
poor families and were duped into becoming drug mules by
crime gangs. Vice-President Jejomar Binay went to Beijing
last month to plead for their lives. Chinese authorities responded
to his trip by delaying the trio's executions — they
were originally scheduled to be executed in February — but
said they would eventually be put to death. — Reuters
HONG KONG — A Hong Kong inquest has
ruled that a botched rescue operation by Philippine
officials contributed to the deaths of
eight tourists killed in a Manila bus siege in
August.
A jury of five took five hours to come to its
decision and record an unlawful killing verdict
for all eight victims. The tourists were killed
when former police officer Rolando Mendoza
took a tour bus hostage and opened fire after a
day-long standoff with police on August 23.
The jury concluded Philippine authorities
had failed to handle Mendoza's demands in a
timely manner and said that negotiations had
only broken down because the police had lied
to the hostage-taker.
It said officials had aggravated the gunman
by arresting his younger brother and by not
soon as possible, and make
full use of experts — notably
from the Western European
Nuclear Regulators' Association
(WENRA).
France has already backed
WENRA — which seeks to
spread best practice in nuclear
safety — as a basis for
common security rules, at an
emergency meeting of European
energy ministers earlier
this week.
"The WENRA can be an
interesting base to work on
this," French industry minister
Eric Besson told reporters
after the ministers' meeting,
calling for WENRA's "third
generation security objectives
to be spread across Europe".
"With the EPR, France already
has a third generation
product so we have a number
of assets when we talk about
the future of the nuclear industry,"
he added. — Reuters
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18
THE WORLD/CLASSIFIEDS
OMAN DAILY Observer
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
Elizabeth Taylor passes away
LOS ANGELES — Legendary
actress Elizabeth Taylor,
a two-time Oscar winner
and Hollywood beauty whose
screen success was sometimes
overshadowed by her tumultuous
personal life, died yesterday
at age 79.
She died after a long battle
with congestive heart failure
at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in
Los Angeles surrounded by
her four children after having
been hospitalised six weeks
ago, her spokeswoman said in
a statement.
In a career spanning seven
decades, Taylor first gained
major fame in 1944's National
Velvet at age 12, and
was nominated for five Oscars.
She won the best actress
stopping media coverage of the arrest, which
triggered Mendoza's attack.
The jury also said the botched rescue delayed
medical help for two victims who could
have been saved. The inquest, which began
on February 14, heard evidence from 41 witnesses.
However, only 10 of the 116 witnesses
called from the Philippines gave evidence, a
fact the Hong Kong government called disappointing
in a statement released after the verdict.
"The government and the Chinese Ministry
of Foreign Affairs have used their best endeavours
to urge, through various channels, the Philippine
authorities to take necessary actions to
facilitate the taking of evidence from witnesses
to assist the inquest," the statement said.
NURSES feed two-year-old Mark (L) and his one-year-old brother Arthur in the
children’s department of a local hospital in Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk
yesterday. Arthur and his brother Mark were brought to the hospital by the police
due to neglect by their parents. They have been living in the hospital for five months
and are currently waiting to be put up for adoption. According to hospital officials,
they receive up to 15 children given up by their parents annually and shelter them
at the hospital until they are adopted by families. — Reuters
honour twice, for Buttereld
8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf? (1966) with
actor Richard Burton, whom
she would marry twice.
Taylor lived a glamorous
life and was married eight
times in all, including to singer
Eddie Fisher and movie
producer Mike Todd. She was
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famous for her love of diamonds
and furs, and later in
life raised large sums for Aids
research.
Taylor was born on February
27, 1932, in London to
American parents and said
many times she never wanted
to be an actress but was pushed
into it by her mother, former
actress Sara Sothern Taylor.
She moved to the United
States as a child and soon after
her 10th birthday landed the
lead in 1942 film Lassie Come
Home. That role was followed
by her turn as a young girl
whose love tames the fury of a
wild horse in National Velvet.
Velvet sparked a string of
girl-next-door roles that were
eclipsed by her first hint of
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dramatic promise in A Place
in the Sun in 1950, playing
opposite Montgomery Clift.
She confirmed her star
power in 1958 as Maggie in
Tennessee Williams' Cat on a
Hot Tin Roof and cemented her
reputation as among the greatest
actresses of her generation
playing a foul-mouthed alcoholic
in Who's Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?
But Taylor's life went far
beyond Hollywood fame as
she set a standard for glamour
and tumult. After the death
of Todd in 1958, she found
herself in a well-chronicled
love triangle with Fisher
and his wife actress Debbie
Reynolds, before marrying
Fisher. — Reuters
Botched rescue played part in deaths Royal wedding recording to be online
LONDON — The official recording of the
royal wedding between Prince William and
Kate Middleton on April 29 will be available to
download within hours of the service finishing.
Decca Records, part of the Universal Music
label which also released the recordings of
Prince Charles's wedding in 1981 and Princess
Diana's funeral in 1997, will have a recording
of the royal nuptials for sale on the net within
hours and then release the official album of the
marriage ceremony on May 5.
The physical album will include a booklet
containing the order of service, readings,
vows, hymns and blessings, as well as all the
music. The format of release will be digital
download, CD, vinyl and cassette to cater for
all consumers.
The ceremony will be released digitally by
Decca on the world's leading download and
streaming platforms immediately following
the service in London's Westminster Abbey.
"Thanks to digital technology we will be
able to deliver it worldwide almost instantly
— it will be the fastest we have ever released
an album of this stature," said David Joseph,
chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK.
Musicians already confirmed to perform
at the ceremony include The Choir of Westminster
Abbey, The Chapel Royal Choir, The
London Chamber Orchestra and The Fanfare
Team from the Central Band of the Royal Air
Force.
The Choirs will be under the direction of
James O'Donnell and The London Chamber
Orchestra conducted by its Music Director and
Principal Conductor Christopher Warren-Green.
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Saudi plans to conduct
municipal polls in April
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia plans to begin municipal elections
next month, a government website said yesterday. The announcement
on the website of the Ministry of Municipal and
Rural Affairs did not say if women would be able to take part
or give more details.
"The first phase of the elections will start on Saturday,
19/5/1432," it said, a date in the Islamic calendar that is likely
to fall on April 23.
Saudi Arabia held elections for half of the seats on municipal
councils in 2005 for the first time over 40 years. They
were held then in several stages and excluded women from
voting or running as candidates.
Municipal polls were due again in 2009 but the government
announced a delay of two years. The web statement said
the ministry began preparing for the new elections several
months ago before a final deadline for holding the votes in
October. — Reuters
One dead, 34 injured in
Jerusalem bombing
JERUSALEM — An Israeli woman was killed and at least
34 people were injured in the first bomb attack in Jerusalem
in six years. Three of the injured were in a serious condition,
a spokesman for the Magen David Adom ambulance service,
said.
No group claimed immediate responsibility for the attack.
But police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said authorities were
working on the assumption that Palestinian fighters were behind
the bombing.
The bomb had been placed in a bag next to a bus shelter
opposite the central bus station. It exploded as two packed
buses were passing.
The bomb weighed between 1 and 2 kilograms, Minister
of Public Security Yitzhak Aharonovich told reporters. In the
past, bombings have involved 10 kilograms of explosives.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed a scheduled
trip to Russia until the evening to hold consultations.
US-based mathematician
wins Norway maths prize
OSLO — US mathematician John Milnor yesterday won Norway's
Abel Prize for "pioneering" discoveries in the fields of
topology, geometry and algebra. The prize, which is dubbed
the Nobel for mathematics and worth 6 million kroner ($1
million), is to be presented by King Harald at a ceremony in
Oslo on May 24.
Among Milnor's discoveries in topology — an area of
mathematics that deals with spatial properties — were exotic
smooth spheres in seven dimensions, the jury said. He has
also made "significant contributions to differential geometry,
algebra, and dynamical systems," the Norwegian Academy
of Science and Letters said, noting that several mathematical
concepts, results and conjectures are named after Milnor.
Disgraced ex-MP loses
attempt to cut jail term
LONDON — Former Labour MP David Chaytor, jailed for
18 months in January for fiddling his parliamentary expenses,
lost a bid to cut his prison sentence yesterday. Chaytor, 61,
who had been MP for Bury North, had admitted fraudulently
claiming more than £20,000 in taxpayer-funded expenses for
rent and IT work.
His lawyers had urged the Court of Appeal to cut his jail
term to 12 months, arguing that was the appropriate sentence.
But the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, and two other judges
refused his appeal, the Press Association reported, saying his
case was a grave breach of trust which had caused serious
damage to parliament. — Reuters
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England are
underdogs
vs Lanka,
says Prior
COLOMBO — Matt Prior
admitted England have not
played their best cricket in
the World Cup and will be
underdogs in their quarterfinal
against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
England, who have never
won the tournament, endured
a rocky ride in the first round,
losing to Ireland and Bangladesh
but beating South Africa
and battling to a tie against
India.
They now face the 1996
champions Sri Lanka, and
Prior admitted England have
yet to hit top gear.
“We haven’t played our
best cricket by a long way, but
we are still in the quarters,” he
said.
“We have not even got
anywhere near what we can
do so there will be no pressure
and we go into the match
as underdogs against a very
strong Sri Lanka team.”
But Prior believes that if
England do well in all three
departments, they will be
tough to beat. “If we do come
out and play as a team and get
all our three disciplines right,
we are going to be very hard
to beat. As a team we are in a
fantastic place,” said Prior.
The wicketkeeper added
that the win over the West
Indies at Chennai last week,
which saved them from elimination,
was a morale-booster.
“That win gave us a huge
amount of belief and a huge
amount of confidence,” said
Prior of the narrow 18-run
victory. “It showed that we
will not be beaten easily. We
have a huge amount of resilience,
and a huge amount of
fire in this group.”
Prior said adding the World
Cup to their Ashes triumph in
Australia would cap a triumphant
season for England.
“We came to win the World
MUSCAT — Oman Air Racing
Team driver Ahmad al
Harthy produced a highly impressive
Porsche Carrera Cup
GB Championship testing
performance at the new-look
Snetterton 300 Circuit in the
east of England on Tuesday,
to end the outing as the fastest
Pro-Am 1 Class runner.
As the pre-cursor to the first
two rounds of the 2011 season
at Brands Hatch less than two
weeks from now, Tuesday’s
officially timed test outing
marked the first opportunity
for the 29-year-old from Muscat
and his category rivals to
get an indication of their pace
relative to each other.
During the morning ses-
ENGLAND’S Matt Prior
speaks to the media in
Colombo yesterday.
Cup, and if you leave this
World Cup having not won it,
you will be disappointed. You
haven’t achieved your goal.
The thing I would say is that
we fought very, very hard as
a unit.
“Every one knows that we
haven’t played well, but we
are in a quarterfinal, and anything
can happen. We have
got three games to win and
we’ll be world champions.
“To win the Ashes and
the World Cup in a winter
is something quite phenomenal.”
Prior said he was enjoying
opening the innings with skipper
Andrew Strauss, a role he
was handed when Kevin Pietersen
was forced out of the
tournament through injury.
“I am absolutely bewildered
by it. When I was told
I would be opening when KP
went down, it wasn’t a done
decision for the whole tournament,”
said Prior who has just
56 runs in five innings so far.
“I think as a batter, as
a unit, one of our major
strengths is that we adapt
very well to different teams,
different conditions. I don’t
think any batsman in the top
six or seven has a particular
argument about where they’ll
bat.” — AFP
sion at the newly configured
2.97-mile Norfolk track, Ahmad
produced outstanding
pace to lead Pro-Am 1 by a
full 0.4 seconds with a tremendous
lap of 1min 52.268 secs
(95.20mph).
In the afternoon he delivered
once again in fine style
in his Oman Air Racing Team
car — which is also backed
by Nawras, National Bank of
Oman, Brand Oman, Oman
Ministry of Sports Affairs and
Oman Ministry of Tourism
— to post a best time of 1min
51.057 secs (96.23mph).
Improving by well over a
second between the two sessions,
Ahmad concluded his
first officially timed run in his
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka
coach Trevor Bayliss believes
spin king Muttiah Muralitharan
will be fit to face England
in Saturday’s World
Cup quarterfinal.
The 38-year-old offspinner
— who has a world
record 530 one-day wickets
— pulled his
hamstring in the
Group ‘A’ match
against New
Zealand and had
shortened nets
yesterday.
But Bayliss
said Muralitharan
will play on Saturday.
“Murali did bowl for some
20 minutes today. We are
very confident that he will
play and I think he’s pretty
confident too he will play
because he is a guy who’s
played through niggles in the
past,” said Bayliss.
Bayliss, who is due to
step down after this World
Cup following four years in
charge, said Muralitharan
is a vital cog in Sri Lankan
plans.
“He’s certainly an important
part of the team,”
said Bayliss of
Muralitharan,
who has taken
11 wickets in the
tournament so
far, with a best
of 4-25 against
the Black Caps
in Sri Lanka’s
112-run win in Mumbai.
The coach added that he
expected a tough challenge
from England despite Andrew
Strauss’s team having
endured a roller-coaster
tournament which saw them
beat West Indies and South
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
Sri Lanka confident Murali will face England
Collingwood to undergo knee surgery after Cup
COLOMBO — England all-rounder
Paul Collingwood will undergo keyhole
surgery on his left knee to repair minor
cartilage damage after the World Cup, the
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
said yesterday.
The 34-year-old has been struggling
with his form during the World Cup and
missed England’s group stage wins over
South Africa and West Indies.
However, the ECB confirmed he is
available for selection for the quarterfinal
against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
“Paul felt some discomfort in his left
AHMEDABAD — ICC chief
Haroon Lorgat defended the
decision to stage the World
Cup final in Mumbai’s Wankhede
Stadium, saying it would
provide the perfect setting for
the city’s favourite son Sachin
Tendulkar to script a ‘fairytale’
ending.
Choosing the arena for the
finale raised a few eyebrows
amid growing frustration
for shortage of tickets as the
33,442-seater stadium has the
second lowest capacity out of
the eight Indian venues hosting
matches during the sixweek
tournament.
While Kolkata’s revamped
knee during the group stages of the World
Cup and a precautionary scan ahead of
England’s match against South Africa
showed no significant damage,” ECB
chief medical officer Nick Peirce said in
a statement.
“However, further assessment suggests
a loose piece of cartilage floating
in his knee that will require surgical removal.
“We’ll be able to establish a definitive
rehabilitation timescale following surgery
but we expect Paul to make a full recovery
in due course.”
Collingwood, who led his team to victory
in the Twenty20 World Cup final in
the Caribbean last year, joins a growing
list of England players who have suffered
injury woes during the February 19-April
2 tournament.
Batsman Kevin Pietersen (hernia) and
pace bowlers Stuart Broad (side strain)
and Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring) have already
flown home after being ruled out of
the World Cup.
Collingwood will probably be unable
to fulfill his obligations in a Twenty20
domestic tournament in India. — Reuters
Al Harthy leads the way in Pro-Am 1 at new-look Snetterton
brand new 450bhp Porsche
911 GT3 car a full three-tenths
of a second ahead of his closest
Pro-Am 1 Class rival.
Reflecting on the Snetter-
COACH Hamad al Azzani speaks to the members of the Oman youth team
during a training session at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The Oman
team are scheduled to play a friendly match against Syrian counterparts at
the Seeb Stadium tomorrow. — Picture by Mohammed Mahjoub
Eden Gardens could hold almost
60,000 fans, Delhi’s Feroz
Shah Kotla and Ahmedabad’s
Sardar Patel grounds
have around 50,000 seats but
all of them were overlooked
for the April 2 final.
“You know you have got
choices to make,” International
Cricket Council (ICC) Chief
Executive Lorgat told reporters
yesterday.
“Can you imagine a (more)
fairytale ending with Sachin
Tendulkar getting a hundred
in the final and India winning
at the Wankhede which is his
home ground?
“And no matter what the
ton test, Ahmad said: “Both
the team and I are very happy
with how the day has gone,
everything went well in each
session. It was the first time
number (of seats), we do not
have sufficient tickets.”
Fans, seeking tickets, have
regularly clashed with batonwielding
police in the subcontinent
bringing the tournament
on the verge of being a publicrelations
disaster.
The violence forced the
organisers to shelve plans of
selling some tickets for the final
through box offices.
Lorgat said the organisers
simply did not have the
means to satisfy the ticketing
demands of a cricket-loving
country that boasts a billion
plus population.
“Attendances have been
this year all of the drivers
were together so I’m pleased
we were so competitive. We
approached the day the right
way, had a good set-up and
produced some good times.
“The new track at Snetterton
is really challenging, it
has a very nice flow to it and I
really enjoyed driving it today.
There is a good mixture of fast
and slow corners and I think it
should provide some very interesting
racing this year, I’m
looking forward to going back
there in the summer.”
With the official test now
completed, Ahmad is relishing
the start of the season which
will come less than two weeks
from now over the weekend
phenomenal. We expect that
from the quarterfinal stages
every single seat in the house
will be sold,” Lorgat said.
“It’s an unfortunate reality
that it’s a finite sum of tickets
and there is huge demand
for it.” Demand of tickets for
matches featuring the three cohosts,
India, Bangladesh and
Sri Lanka, have far exceeded
supply.
Last month the official online
ticket website crashed due
to 10 million people chasing
just 1,000 tickets for the final.
There have also been reports
in the local media about
allegations of black marketing
April 2-3 at Brands Hatch Indy
Circuit in Kent. Marking the
start of his second year of racing
in the Porsche Carrera Cup
GB Championship, the Omani
star aims to get his campaign
off to a good start at the 1.2mile
track.
Following officially timed
practice on April 1, qualifying
for the first two races of 2011
will take place at 11.55 am on
April 2, with round one getting
under way at 5.45 pm. Round
two is scheduled to commence
at 1.15 pm on April 3, and will
be screened live in the UK on
Freeview, digital satellite and
cable channel ITV4 and also
on the brand new ITV4 HD
channel.
Africa but lose to Ireland
and Bangladesh.
“English teams always
have strong back-ups,
they’ve obviously lost a few
players due to injury, but
there back-up strength is
usually deep and they are
professionals, so it will be a
tough game on Saturday,”
said Bayliss.
Since the start of the
tournament England have
lost key batsman Kevin Pietersen
and frontline bowlers
in Stuart Broad and Ajmal
Shahzad, all to injury.
But Bayliss feels England’s
close matches against
South Africa and the West
Indies have made them battle-hardened.
“They have
played very good cricket and
have had close situations towards
the end of the game.
Overall we believe that they
of tickets while people waited
in long queues.
About 200 people shouted
slogans and displayed placards
against the local organisers
outside the Sardar Patel Stadium
— which will host the
India vs Australia quarterfinal
today — alleging mismanagement
of tickets and black marketing.
“We simply don’t tolerate
black marketing of tickets and
where we have found those
instances we have certainly
taken action,” the top ICC executive
said.
“In certain instances there
have been arrests. We do alert
19
will come out and have a good
approach,” said Bayliss.
He said playing before the
home crowd at R Premadasa
stadium will be an encouragement
for his players.
“The guys are used to it,
they play with that expectation
all the time. The best
players enjoy the situation
that egg them on to actually
perform better, playing in
front of that big crowd,” said
Bayliss.
The winners of the Sri
Lanka-England quarterfinal
will meet the winners of
South Africa-New Zealand
match (in Dhaka on March
25) in the semifinal in Colombo
on March 29.
The other semifinal will
be between Pakistan and
winners of India-Australia
quarterfinal (in Ahmedabad
today). — AFP
ICC defends staging final in low-capacity Wankhede
MIAMI — China’s Zheng Jie
and Britain’s Elena Baltacha
were among the winners on
Tuesday in the opening round
matches at the $9 million Miami
Masters hard-court tournament.
Top seeds Novak Djokovic
of Serbia (ATP) and Caroline
Wozniacki of Denmark
(WTA) were among 32 top
seeds in each draw who received
first-round byes.
Zheng outlasted Romania’s
Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-7 (5/7),
6-3 to book a second-round
match-up with Australian
SRI Lankan coach Trevor Bayliss (right) gestures while talking
with spinner Ajantha Mendis (second left) as Dilhara Fernando
(left) and Chamara Silva look on during a team training session
at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo yesterday. Sri Lanka
will meet England in the quarterfinals on Saturday. — AFP
Zheng, Baltacha among early Miami winners MUSCAT — The third edi-
fourth seed Samantha Stosur.
Baltacha rallied to defeat
Austria’s Sybille Bammer
3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5). The
27-year-old daughter of a
former Soviet Union international
footballer — ranked 55
in the world — will next face
32nd-seeded Klara Zakopalova
of the Czech Republic.
Other results: Women
(1st round): Monica Niculescu
(ROM) bt Bojana
Jovanovski (SRB) 6-1, 7-6
(7/2); Melanie Oudin (USA)
bt Julia Goerges (GER) 7-5,
6-3; Petra Martic (CRO) bt
Kristina Barrois (GER) 7-5,
6-2; Iveta Benesova (CZE)
bt Roberta Vinci (ITA) 7-5,
6-4; Simona Halep (ROM)
bt Urszula Radwanska (POL)
6-3, 6-2; Patty Schnyder (SUI)
bt Madison Keys (USA) 3-6,
6-1, 7-6 (7/2); Ayumi Morita
(JPN) bt Heather Watson
(GBR) 7-5, 6-2; Johanna Larsson
(SWE) bt Anastasia Rodionova
(AUS) 6-4, 7-6 (7/3);
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
bt Vera Dushevina (RUS) 6-2,
6-2; Sabine Lisicki (GER) bt
Melinda Czink (HUN) 6-3,
5-7, 6-4. — AFP
ENGLAND’S Paul Collingwood looks on during a team
training session in Colombo yesterday. — AFP
tion of Oman Air Corporate
Cricket Tournament exclusive
for corporates and their
executive staff will be held
on April 1 at Oman Club, Al
Khuwair grounds.
The organisers Gulf Sports
Club said the third edition
where only 10 teams will be
competing is mainly sponsored
by Oman Air. The first
match will start at 7 am and
the grand finale will be at 5
pm.
Suhail Bahwan Group,
Larsen and Toubro, Al Ruwad,
Oman Air A and Oman
Air B are already confirmed
police and other officials to ensure
that does not happen.”
The tournament has been a
learning point for the ICC and
the governing body will look
at ways to handle the ticketing
issues better in the future, the
chief executive said.
“There is always a better
way of doing certain things
and there are few lessons that
we can learn from it,” Lorgat
said.
“But the fact is that the demand
has been absolutely phenomenal
and no matter how
well we tried we could not fit
in the demand into the supply
that we have got.” — Reuters
Oman Air Corporate
Cup cricket tourney
and only five slots remain to
grasp on first come first serve
basis.
The draws of the tournament
will held at McDonalds
Al Khuwair on March 28 at
7.30 pm. The schedule of all
the matches can be downloaded
from omanicricket.com or
www.muscatcricket.blogspot.
com
The prize-giving ceremony
is also scheduled on April
1 and the senior officials from
Oman Air will grace the occasion.
While the prize sponsors
are OMASCO and Park
Inn Muscat, media sponsor is
www.omanicricket.com.

THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2011
Afridi inspires Pakistan past Windies
PAKISTANI players celebrate with captain Shahid Afridi after he dismissed West Indies’
Kieron Pollard during their quarterfinal match in Dhaka yesterday. — Reuters
AHMEDABAD — Going by
the relative strengths of India
and Australia, the World
Cup quarterfinal between two
strong rivals here today will
be fought on level terms at the
Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera
here.
India will have to tighten
their game, and the batting in
particular, if they harbour any
hopes of avenging their 2003
final loss to the defending
champions.
If the Australians hope to
cash in on their tearaway pacers,
the Indians think their solid
batting line-up can handle
the thunderbolts; if Australia
feel they have adequate batting
resources to take them across
the line, the Indians are confident
that they have bowlers to
stymie them.
The one area the four-time
champions score over the 1983
champions is in the fielding —
the Aussies can convert ones
into twos and cut off the possibilities
of the Indians taking
a second run. It is one for the
throw when Australia are batting
and none when they are
fielding.
The one big psychological
factor in India’s favour is that
they had beaten Australia in
the only game played in last
year’s three-match series, the
other two being rained off.
The pre-match mindgames
by both sides generated a fair
bit of heat.
If Yuvraj Singh sounded
the battle-cry saying Aussies
are ripe for picking, Australian
coach Tim Nielsen hit back,
insisting that the co-hosts will
be under pressure playing at
home.
In the run-up to the game,
both teams had issues to ponder
over.
Australia’s 34-match un-
beaten run in the World Cup
ended last week when Pakistan
beat them and the news that
the Australian cricket establishment
is divided over Ricky
Ponting’s continuance as skipper
after the World Cup has not
helped matters.
PONTING CLEARS AIR
OVER RETIREMENT
Ponting, however, cleared
the air saying he is not retiring
and is looking forward to the
‘toughest challenge of his career
as an Australian captain’.
For India, too, it doesn’t
look all hunky dory. Their
bowling has not been able
to bowl top sides out and the
middle and lower-order batsmen
have failed to cash in on
the good starts.
Overall, Australia have an
impressive record against India
in the World Cup. They
have won their last five games
against Australia — one each
DHAKA — Pakistan captain
Shahid Afridi led from the
front again to inspire his team
to a 10-wicket victory over
West Indies in the first World
Cup quarterfinal yesterday.
Afridi took four for 30 as
West Indies collapsed to 112 all
out from 43.3 overs to take his
total to 21 for the tournament
and overhaul Imran Khan's Pakistan
record at a single World
Cup.
Man-of-the-match Mohammed
Hafeez, who had taken
two cheap wickets with his offspin,
then scored his maiden
World Cup half century with
61 not out as Pakistan reached
their victory target from only
20.5 overs.
They will face the winners
of today's match between defending
champions Australia
and co-hosts India in the second
semifinal in Mohali on
March 30.
"Personally I just tried to
maintain line and length, these
were perfect conditions for
spinners if you bowled in the
right areas," Afridi said.
"In each game we've tried
to make some plans against the
players and we tried to stick to
our plans and the boys have
done a great job doing that.
The bowlers have done a great
job from the first game to the
seventh game."
Nothing went in West Indies'
favour who, after a pathetic
batting display, were
also poor in the field with Kieron
Pollard dropping Kamran
Akmal on six before wicketkeeper
Devon Thomas grassed
Hafeez on 17. Kemar Roach
was the unlucky bowler on
both occasions.
in 1992, 1996, 1999 and twice
in 2003, including the battering
they gave the Indians in
the final.
Ponting knows India will be
tough to beat at home and said
his boys will be treating the tie
as a ‘mini grand final’. He believes
his pace battery led by
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
was the only batsman to defy
the Pakistan attack, scoring an
unbeaten 44 from 106 balls.
WICKETS IN CLUSTERS
West Indies, the 1975 and
1979 champions, never recovered
after losing their first
three wickets with only 16 on
the board.
After Darren Sammy had
won the toss and elected to
bat, Chris Gayle (8) struck
Umar Gul straight to Afridi
at mid-off. Devon Smith (7)
and Darren Bravo (0) both fell
lbw in the space of four balls
to Hafeez, who had shared the
new ball.
India-Australia quarterfinal to be fought on level terms
Sehwag doubtful
AHMEDABAD — Opener Virender Sehwag is doubtful for
India's quarterfinal against Australia with a right knee problem,
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said yesterday.
"On Viru (Sehwag) we are taking a call late in the
evening or tomorrow morning before the start of the game,"
Dhoni told reporters.
"Apart from him everybody else is fit for the game."
Sehwag missed India's last Group 'B' match against West
Indies on Sunday.
The explosive batsman had earlier been hit on the rib during
a net session last month and rushed to Delhi to consult
his personal physician before joining the squad. — Reuters
Brett Lee has the ability to stop
the Indian top-order.
“I know that we will be
facing some 30 overs of spin
bowling, but the Indians will
also face some 30 overs of
genuine fast bowling. Two
contrasting ways to look at it,
but they are the strengths of the
The experienced Guyana
pair of Ramnaresh Sarwan and
Chanderpaul took the total to
58 before Sarwan was caught
by Umer Akmal off Afridi for
24.
Afridi then dismissed Pollard
(1) and Devon Thomas off
consecutive balls.
Sammy was dropped by
Younis Khan at slip off Saeed
Ajmal on one but lasted only
one more ball before he was
lbw to the off-spinner. Two
balls later, Ajmal bowled Devendra
Bishoo for a duck.
Roach recorded his best
one-day score of 16, helping
Chanderpaul to add 30 for the
two sides,” Ponting said.
“I think if our fast bowlers
bowl well against their batsmen,
we have a good chance.”
The Australian skipper,
however, warned his
team-mates not to take India’s
pace spearhead Zaheer
Khan lightly.
“We had a close look at him.
After a short opening spell, he
has been held back until the
26th over when the ball gets
old and starts reversing. And
he has got the wickets when
the batsmen went after him in
the later stages of the game,”
said Ponting.
India’s top order batting has
come good despite the inexplicable
middle-order collapse.
Tendulkar and Sehwag and
Yuvraj Singh have set the platform
for the middle-order to
dominate. Powerplay has been
India’s major problem. Yuvraj,
Gautam Gambhir and Virat
Chief Executive Officer ABDULLAH BIN NASSIR AL RAHBI. Editor-in-Chief FAHMY BIN KHALID AL HARTHY
Printers and Publishers OMAN ESTABLISHMENT FOR PRESS, PUBLICATION AND ADVERTISING
PAKISTAN captain Shahid Afridi (second left) greets team-mate Mohammad Hafeez (third right) after their
victory over West Indies at the Sher-e Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka yesterday. — AFP
ninth wicket.
"Definitely not enough runs
on the board," said Sammy.
"They bowled well at us.
We didn't counter the bowling
well and hence we were
bowled out for a low total.
"We lost wickets in clusters
to spin through the tournament
and today was no different. We
were on the backfoot early and
never recovered."
SCOREBOARD
West Indies
D Smith lbw M Hafeez .................. 7
C Gayle c S Afridi b U Gul ............ 8
R Sarwan c U Akmal b S Afridi ..24
D Bravo lbw M Hafeez .................. 0
S Chanderpaul (not out) ...............44
Kohli have shown their individual
brilliance, but it is time
the Indians put up a collective
performance with the bat.
All eyes will be on Tendulkar
as fans are eagerly waiting
for him to get his 100th international
century.
Ponting has other plans for
Tendulkar.
“It is an amazing record.
But we have to make sure that
he doesn’t get a hundred and
I am sure he is also working
how to get to the feat,” said
Ponting.
Ponting, who is going
through a rough patch, will try
to draw inspiration from the
2003 final, when he blasted
a majestic 140 not out from
121 balls. Statistics also show
that Australia have won 24 of
29 ODIs when Ponting hits a
century.
Ponting has watched videos
of the special knock at least
K Pollard c K Akmal b S Afridi ..... 1
D Thomas lbw S Afridi .................. 0
D Sammy lbw S Ajmal .................. 1
D Bishoo b S Ajmal ....................... 0
K Roach c Y Khan b A Razzaq ....16
R Rampaul b S Afridi .................... 0
Extras: (lb-2, w-7, nb-2) ............. 11
Total: (all out, 43.3 overs) ......... 112
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-16, 3-16,
4-58, 5-69, 6-69, 7-71, 8-71, 9-111.
Bowling: U Gul 7-1-13-1, M Hafeez
10-3-16-2 (w-2), W Riaz 6-0-29-0
(nb-1, w-2), S Afridi 9.3-1-30-4 (w-
1), S Ajmal 8-1-18-2 (w-1), A Razzaq
3-1-4-1 (w-1).
Pakistan
K Akmal (not out) ........................47
M Hafeez (not out) ....................... 61
Extras: (lb-4, w-1) ........................ 5
Total: (no loss, 20.5 overs) ........ 113
Bowling: Roach 5.5-0-39-0, Rampaul
5-1-28-0 (w-1), Bishoo 5-1-24-
0, Sammy 5-1-18-0.
INDIAN players pictured during a training session on the eve of their quarterfinal match against Australia in Ahmedabad yesterday. PICTURE RIGHT: Australian captain Ricky Ponting (left) leads his team during their practice session.
four to five times and said it
has given him the much-needed
confidence coming into this
game.
The stage is set for him to
strike form, after all today’s
game could be the last duel
between the two greats in a
World Cup.
India (from): Mahendra Singh
Dhoni (captain and wicket-keeper),
Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar,
Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj
Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan,
Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf
Patel, S Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla,
R Ashwin, Ashish Nehra.
Australia (from): Ricky Ponting
(captain), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin,
Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey,
Cameron White, Steve Smith, Mitchell
Johnson, Brett Lee, Jason Krejza,
Shaun Tait, Callum Ferguson, Tim
Paine, David Hussey, John Hastings.
Umpires: Marais Erasmus
(South Africa) and Ian Gould
(England). Third umpire: Richard
Kettleborough (England).
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle
(Sri Lanka). — IANS
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