Exports at RO 2.4 bn - Oman Observer

Ramadhan coupons
THE last day for receiving this year’s
Ramadhan coupons will be on December 31,
2012. Coupons can be sent to PO Box 974,
PC 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
MONDAY, December 17, 2012/Safar 3, 1434 AH
Business
Eyes world market
NATIONAL Carpet Factory SAOG, which
is engaged in manufacturing of fusion
carpets, carpet rugs and plastic mats, is
eying international market after achieving
good success in the local market. P24
HM sends
condolences
to Obama
HIS Majesty Sultan
Qaboos has sent a cable of
condolences to President
Barak Obama of the United
States of America on victims
of the shooting at Sandy
Hook Elementary School
in Newtown, Connecticut.
In his cable, His Majesty
expressed his sincere
condolences and sympathy
to President Obama, friendly
people of America and the
families of the victims.
Saudi king
greeted by
His Majesty
HIS Majesty Sultan Qaboos
has sent a cable of greetings
to King Abdallah bin
Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi
Arabia on the occasion of
him being discharged from
a hospital after recovery,
praying to the Almighty
to grant him good health,
happiness and long life and
grant the king success to
continue achieving progress
and welfare for the brotherly
Saudi people.
Nod for
import of
animals
DR Fuad bin Jaafar al
Sajwani, Minister of
Agriculture and Fisheries,
yesterday issued a decision
lifting the ban on the import
of live animals from Sudan.
The decision comes as per
the recommendation of
the specialised veterinary
agency which looked into
the ban on imports.
Codeshare
to boost
services
P2
Oman Air and Qatar
Airways have announced
a codeshare agreement,
allowing Oman Air’s
customers to book flights
from any of the 42 departure
points within its network
to Doha, according to an
Oman Air press release.
P3
Features Sport
To enchant audience
EXQUISITE sounds of the American
masterful Grammy Award winning
violinist Joshua Bell’s pieces will
captivate audiences when he takes the
stage on Wednesday. P26
Garcia triumphs
HIS Majesty Sultan Qaboos gave an audience at Bait al Barakah yesterday to Dr Irina Bokova, Unesco Director-General. During the audience,
aspects of the existing co-operation between the Sultanate and the Unesco in a number of fields were reviewed. — Picture by Mohamed Mustafa
Income tax revenues at RO 340m
MUSCAT — Income tax revenues
for 2012 Budget is projected
to hit RO 340 million
constituting 40 per cent of the
total revenues from taxes and
fees, according to Saud bin
Nasir al Shakeli, Secretary-
General of Taxes at Ministry
of Finance.
In an interview with Oman
104 centres for
municipal polls
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — The Ministry of
Interior yesterday announced
the polling centres for the
Municipal Council elections
slated for December 22 with
a total number of 104 centres
spread across the Sultanate.
The centres will be open from
7 am to 7 pm.
The location of these election
centres was carefully
chosen according to the size
of the population and density
to ensure greater accessibility
and avoid traffic congestion
particularly in big cities and
urban areas.
The centres are being
equipped with the necessary
items and computers and there
will be separate entrances for
men and women for the convenience
of the voters.
The ministry said that the
names of the centres and locations
will be announced in the
local media.
Meanwhile, voters from
the governorates of Dhofar
and Musandam residing in
Muscat Governorate and the
near-by wilayats voted on
Saturday at centres in Muscat
to elect their representatives
in the Municipal Councils-
First Term.
Employees of the committees,
including Omani voters
residing in various GCC
countries and students voted
on Saturday.
As many as 546,000 voters
are expected to cast their
ballots for 1,475 candidates
on December 22. The election
results will be announced on
December 23.
The ministry has a communications
centre (24686777)
to answer any queries concerning
elections.
Media men comprising
print, TV, radio and new media
will start arriving from
December 19 following an invitation
from the Ministry of
Information for the elections
taking place on December 22.
Most of these mediapersons
are from countries such
as the GCC, Middle East,
France, Japan, Greece, Finland,
Germany, Hungary,
Australia and Brazil.
Arabic, Al Shakeli said the
imposition of add-value tax
is currently under study at the
GCC level and no final agreement
was reached so far point-
ing out that there is a trend
to adopt a nominal unified
added-value tax taking into
consideration exempting basic
food items from the new tax.
SPAIN’S Sergio Garcia fired a 11-underpar
61 to claim the Iskandar Johor Open
golf tournament as Thailand’s Thaworn
Wiratchant became the oldest winner of
the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit title. P16
Al Shakeli said that the existing
tax exemption aims at
encouraging the private sector
to boost contribution to the national
income. To page 3
Experts study meteorites
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — A team of researchers
from Sultan Qaboos
University (SQU) are embarking
on a study aimed at
characterising and classifying
a collection of Omani meteorites
through detailed geochemical,
mineralogical and
petrological analysis.
Professor Sobhi Nasir, the
chief investigator at the College
of Engineering, says that
“meteorites are the remnant
fragments from the formation
of the solar system. By
examining a meteorite, we are
looking at the chemical composition
of the solar system as
it was being born.”
In 1999, meteorite hunters
discovered that the desert in
southern and central Oman is
a favourable area for the collection
of many rare specimens,
he said, adding that the
gravel plains in the Dhofar
and Al Wusta governorates,
south of the sandy deserts of
the Rub al Khali, have yielded
about 5,000 meteorites as of
mid-2009. Included among
these are a large number of
lunar and Martian meteorites,
making Oman a particularly
important area both for scientists
and collectors.
Early expeditions to Oman
were mainly done by commercial
meteorite dealers, however
international teams of Omani
and European scientists have
also now collected specimens.
In recent years Oman has been
one of the world centres of
meteorite discovery. In 2011,
Oman contributed around 14
per cent of all the world’s meteorite
finds excluding Antarctica.
See also P25
Narrow victory for Mursi
CAIRO — Egyptians voted
in favour of a constitution
shaped by the ruling group but
opposed by others who fear
it will divide the country, officials
in rival camps said yesterday
after the first round of a
two-stage referendum.
Next week’s second round
is likely to give another “yes”
vote as it includes districts
seen as more sympathetic towards
the ruling party, analysts
say, meaning the constitution
would be approved.
But the narrow win so far
gives President Mohamed
Mursi only limited grounds
for celebration by showing the
wide rifts in a country where
he needs to build a consensus
for tough economic reforms.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s
party, which propelled Mursi
to office in a June election,
said 56.5 per cent backed the
text. Official results are not
expected until after the next
round.
While an opposition official
conceded the “yes” camp
appeared to have won the first
round, the opposition National
Salvation Front said in
a statement that voting abuses
meant a rerun was needed —
although it did not explicitly
challenge the Brotherhood’s
vote tally.
A joint statement by seven
human rights groups urged the
referendum's organisers “to
avoid mistakes in the second
stage of the referendum and to
restage the first phase again.”
Mursi and his backers
say the constitution is vital
to move Egypt’s democratic
transition forward.
The build-up to Saturday’s
vote was marred by deadly protests.
Demonstrations erupted
when Mursi awarded himself
extra powers on November 22
and then fast-tracked the constitution
through an assembly
dominated by his allies.
However, the vote passed
off calmly with long queues in
Cairo and several other places,
though unofficial tallies indicated
turnout was around a
third of the 26 million people
eligible to vote this time. The
vote was staggered because
many judges needed to oversee
polling staged a boycott in
protest.
The opposition had said
that the vote should not have
been held given the violent
protests. See also page 12
Exports at
RO 2.4 bn
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Al Buraimi Industrial
Estate this year saw
the establishment of over 15
projects ranging from manufacturing,
warehouses and
services in the estate on a
total space of 111,413 square
metres.
This was revealed here
yesterday at the annual meeting
of investors at Al Buraimi
Industrial Estate organised
under the auspiecs of Sayyid
Ibrahim bin Said al Busaidy,
Governor of Al Buraimi.
The gathering focused on
highlighting the role of the estate
in attracting and serving
investors, enhancing communication
among investors, and
honouring companies, supporters
and partners.
Speaking on the occasion,
Abdullah bin Salim al Kaabi,
Director-General of Al Buraimi
Industrial Estate, stressed
the significance of the event.
“This annual gathering endeavours
to enhance greater
communication and cooperation
between employees of Al
Buraimi Industrial Estate and
TOKYO — Liberal Democratic
Party (LDP) leader
Shinzo Abe was expected to
return as prime minister of
Japan after his party was projected
to have won nearly 300
seats in the country’s powerful
480-strong lower house of
parliament, broadcasters said
following elections yesterday.
The 58-year-old staunch
nationalist, who served as
premier for a year until September
2007, is now set to
become the country’s seventh
premier in six years, should
exit polls be confirmed.
Overall, the LDP — which
was in opposition with 118
seats before the polls — and a
possible junior coalition partner,
the New Komeito, were
projected to have won about
two thirds of the chamber.
While the result would
theoretically give Abe the
numbers to push through
constitutional reforms, such
reforms are opposed by New
Komeito, a centre-right party
which is expected to see its
number of seats grow from 21
to about 30.
The ruling Democratic
Al Buraimi
Industrial Estate
has attracted 15
projects covering
a total area of
111,413 sq metres
to develop ways of communication
with partners, customers,
government and private
agencies, funders, service
providers, contractors, and investors,”
Al Kaabi said.
A working paper was
presented by Mazin bin Humaid
al Siyabi, investment
promotion executive at the
Public Authority for Investment
Promotion and Export
Development (PAIPED), in
which he highlighted the vision,
mission and services of
the authority.
“The volume of non-oil
Omani exports has risen from
RO 173 million in 1996 to RO
2,448 million in 2010, with a
annual growth rate of 21 per
cent,” he said. See P21
Japan’s LDP set
for another term
WASHINGTON — If one
robot can accomplish a singular
task, then much more
could be done with hundreds
of them, including cleaning
up oil spills, shows a study.
Similar to the fictional
“nanomorphs” depicted in
the Terminator films, large
swarms of intelligent robots
could be used for a range of
tasks, said Nikolaus Correll,
assistant professor at the University
of Colorado-Boulder,
who led the project.
For instance, their swarms
could be unleashed to contain
an oil spill or to self-assemble
into a piece of hardware
Party of Japan (DPJ) of Prime
Minister Yoshihiko Noda was
expected to take a drubbing,
taking only around 60 seats,
compared with its 233 seats
before the elections, according
to the broadcasters.
“I will resign as leader of
the Democratic Party of Japan,”
Noda said as he took
responsibility for the heavy
defeat.
The powerful lower house
election was the first since
Japan’s nuclear disaster at the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Power Station.
“However, more voters
were concerned about the
economy as the elections approached,”
a political analyst
Minoru Morita said.
Abe won the LDP leadership
race in late September
amid tensions with China
over a territorial spat over a
group of uninhabited islets.
But yesterday he said that
he did not want to heighten
tensions with the world's
second-largest economy, and
noted that he would visit the
United States soon after taking
office. See also P6
Pingpong robots
clean up oil spills
after being launched separately
into space, according
to an university statement.
Correll and his team generated
a swarm of 20 robots,
each the size of a pingpong
ball, which they call “droplets.”
Their swarms form a
“liquid that thinks.”
The team includes Dustin
Reishus and research assistant
Nick Farrow.
Correll plans to use the
droplets to demonstrate selfassembly
and swarm-intelligent
behaviours such as
pattern recognition, sensorbased
motion and adaptive
shape change. — IANS
Prayer timing Fajr Dhuhr Asr Magrib Isha Weather W Muscat Musc usc Nizwa Sohar Al Buraimi Sur Duqm Salalah
EXCHANGE RATES
GOLD
Dollar per Omani Rial
PRICE
Muscat 05:22 am 12:08 pm 03:08 pm 05:29 pm 06:44 pm Max ax 27 29 27 24 30 27 29
Min 20 18 21 18 22 19 21
Buying 0.382 Selling 0.388 $1,695.97

Ramadhan coupons
THE last day for receiving this year’s
Ramadhan coupons will be on December 31,
2012. Coupons can be sent to PO Box 974,
PC 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
MONDAY, December 17, 2012/Safar 3, 1434 AH
Business
Eyes world market
NATIONAL Carpet Factory SAOG, which
is engaged in manufacturing of fusion
carpets, carpet rugs and plastic mats, is
eying international market after achieving
good success in the local market. P24
HM sends
condolences
to Obama
HIS Majesty Sultan
Qaboos has sent a cable of
condolences to President
Barak Obama of the United
States of America on victims
of the shooting at Sandy
Hook Elementary School
in Newtown, Connecticut.
In his cable, His Majesty
expressed his sincere
condolences and sympathy
to President Obama, friendly
people of America and the
families of the victims.
Saudi king
greeted by
His Majesty
HIS Majesty Sultan Qaboos
has sent a cable of greetings
to King Abdallah bin
Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi
Arabia on the occasion of
him being discharged from
a hospital after recovery,
praying to the Almighty
to grant him good health,
happiness and long life and
grant the king success to
continue achieving progress
and welfare for the brotherly
Saudi people.
Nod for
import of
animals
DR Fuad bin Jaafar al
Sajwani, Minister of
Agriculture and Fisheries,
yesterday issued a decision
lifting the ban on the import
of live animals from Sudan.
The decision comes as per
the recommendation of
the specialised veterinary
agency which looked into
the ban on imports.
Codeshare
to boost
services
P2
Oman Air and Qatar
Airways have announced
a codeshare agreement,
allowing Oman Air’s
customers to book flights
from any of the 42 departure
points within its network
to Doha, according to an
Oman Air press release.
P3
Features Sport
To enchant audience
EXQUISITE sounds of the American
masterful Grammy Award winning
violinist Joshua Bell’s pieces will
captivate audiences when he takes the
stage on Wednesday. P26
Garcia triumphs
HIS Majesty Sultan Qaboos gave an audience at Bait al Barakah yesterday to Dr Irina Bokova, Unesco Director-General. During the audience,
aspects of the existing co-operation between the Sultanate and the Unesco in a number of fields were reviewed. — Picture by Mohamed Mustafa
Income tax revenues at RO 340m
MUSCAT — Income tax revenues
for 2012 Budget is projected
to hit RO 340 million
constituting 40 per cent of the
total revenues from taxes and
fees, according to Saud bin
Nasir al Shakeli, Secretary-
General of Taxes at Ministry
of Finance.
In an interview with Oman
104 centres for
municipal polls
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — The Ministry of
Interior yesterday announced
the polling centres for the
Municipal Council elections
slated for December 22 with
a total number of 104 centres
spread across the Sultanate.
The centres will be open from
7 am to 7 pm.
The location of these election
centres was carefully
chosen according to the size
of the population and density
to ensure greater accessibility
and avoid traffic congestion
particularly in big cities and
urban areas.
The centres are being
equipped with the necessary
items and computers and there
will be separate entrances for
men and women for the convenience
of the voters.
The ministry said that the
names of the centres and locations
will be announced in the
local media.
Meanwhile, voters from
the governorates of Dhofar
and Musandam residing in
Muscat Governorate and the
near-by wilayats voted on
Saturday at centres in Muscat
to elect their representatives
in the Municipal Councils-
First Term.
Employees of the committees,
including Omani voters
residing in various GCC
countries and students voted
on Saturday.
As many as 546,000 voters
are expected to cast their
ballots for 1,475 candidates
on December 22. The election
results will be announced on
December 23.
The ministry has a communications
centre (24686777)
to answer any queries concerning
elections.
Media men comprising
print, TV, radio and new media
will start arriving from
December 19 following an invitation
from the Ministry of
Information for the elections
taking place on December 22.
Most of these mediapersons
are from countries such
as the GCC, Middle East,
France, Japan, Greece, Finland,
Germany, Hungary,
Australia and Brazil.
Arabic, Al Shakeli said the
imposition of add-value tax
is currently under study at the
GCC level and no final agreement
was reached so far point-
ing out that there is a trend
to adopt a nominal unified
added-value tax taking into
consideration exempting basic
food items from the new tax.
SPAIN’S Sergio Garcia fired a 11-underpar
61 to claim the Iskandar Johor Open
golf tournament as Thailand’s Thaworn
Wiratchant became the oldest winner of
the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit title. P16
Al Shakeli said that the existing
tax exemption aims at
encouraging the private sector
to boost contribution to the national
income. To page 3
Experts study meteorites
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — A team of researchers
from Sultan Qaboos
University (SQU) are embarking
on a study aimed at
characterising and classifying
a collection of Omani meteorites
through detailed geochemical,
mineralogical and
petrological analysis.
Professor Sobhi Nasir, the
chief investigator at the College
of Engineering, says that
“meteorites are the remnant
fragments from the formation
of the solar system. By
examining a meteorite, we are
looking at the chemical composition
of the solar system as
it was being born.”
In 1999, meteorite hunters
discovered that the desert in
southern and central Oman is
a favourable area for the collection
of many rare specimens,
he said, adding that the
gravel plains in the Dhofar
and Al Wusta governorates,
south of the sandy deserts of
the Rub al Khali, have yielded
about 5,000 meteorites as of
mid-2009. Included among
these are a large number of
lunar and Martian meteorites,
making Oman a particularly
important area both for scientists
and collectors.
Early expeditions to Oman
were mainly done by commercial
meteorite dealers, however
international teams of Omani
and European scientists have
also now collected specimens.
In recent years Oman has been
one of the world centres of
meteorite discovery. In 2011,
Oman contributed around 14
per cent of all the world’s meteorite
finds excluding Antarctica.
See also P25
Narrow victory for Mursi
CAIRO — Egyptians voted
in favour of a constitution
shaped by the ruling group but
opposed by others who fear
it will divide the country, officials
in rival camps said yesterday
after the first round of a
two-stage referendum.
Next week’s second round
is likely to give another “yes”
vote as it includes districts
seen as more sympathetic towards
the ruling party, analysts
say, meaning the constitution
would be approved.
But the narrow win so far
gives President Mohamed
Mursi only limited grounds
for celebration by showing the
wide rifts in a country where
he needs to build a consensus
for tough economic reforms.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s
party, which propelled Mursi
to office in a June election,
said 56.5 per cent backed the
text. Official results are not
expected until after the next
round.
While an opposition official
conceded the “yes” camp
appeared to have won the first
round, the opposition National
Salvation Front said in
a statement that voting abuses
meant a rerun was needed —
although it did not explicitly
challenge the Brotherhood’s
vote tally.
A joint statement by seven
human rights groups urged the
referendum's organisers “to
avoid mistakes in the second
stage of the referendum and to
restage the first phase again.”
Mursi and his backers
say the constitution is vital
to move Egypt’s democratic
transition forward.
The build-up to Saturday’s
vote was marred by deadly protests.
Demonstrations erupted
when Mursi awarded himself
extra powers on November 22
and then fast-tracked the constitution
through an assembly
dominated by his allies.
However, the vote passed
off calmly with long queues in
Cairo and several other places,
though unofficial tallies indicated
turnout was around a
third of the 26 million people
eligible to vote this time. The
vote was staggered because
many judges needed to oversee
polling staged a boycott in
protest.
The opposition had said
that the vote should not have
been held given the violent
protests. See also page 12
Exports at
RO 2.4 bn
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Al Buraimi Industrial
Estate this year saw
the establishment of over 15
projects ranging from manufacturing,
warehouses and
services in the estate on a
total space of 111,413 square
metres.
This was revealed here
yesterday at the annual meeting
of investors at Al Buraimi
Industrial Estate organised
under the auspiecs of Sayyid
Ibrahim bin Said al Busaidy,
Governor of Al Buraimi.
The gathering focused on
highlighting the role of the estate
in attracting and serving
investors, enhancing communication
among investors, and
honouring companies, supporters
and partners.
Speaking on the occasion,
Abdullah bin Salim al Kaabi,
Director-General of Al Buraimi
Industrial Estate, stressed
the significance of the event.
“This annual gathering endeavours
to enhance greater
communication and cooperation
between employees of Al
Buraimi Industrial Estate and
TOKYO — Liberal Democratic
Party (LDP) leader
Shinzo Abe was expected to
return as prime minister of
Japan after his party was projected
to have won nearly 300
seats in the country’s powerful
480-strong lower house of
parliament, broadcasters said
following elections yesterday.
The 58-year-old staunch
nationalist, who served as
premier for a year until September
2007, is now set to
become the country’s seventh
premier in six years, should
exit polls be confirmed.
Overall, the LDP — which
was in opposition with 118
seats before the polls — and a
possible junior coalition partner,
the New Komeito, were
projected to have won about
two thirds of the chamber.
While the result would
theoretically give Abe the
numbers to push through
constitutional reforms, such
reforms are opposed by New
Komeito, a centre-right party
which is expected to see its
number of seats grow from 21
to about 30.
The ruling Democratic
Al Buraimi
Industrial Estate
has attracted 15
projects covering
a total area of
111,413 sq metres
to develop ways of communication
with partners, customers,
government and private
agencies, funders, service
providers, contractors, and investors,”
Al Kaabi said.
A working paper was
presented by Mazin bin Humaid
al Siyabi, investment
promotion executive at the
Public Authority for Investment
Promotion and Export
Development (PAIPED), in
which he highlighted the vision,
mission and services of
the authority.
“The volume of non-oil
Omani exports has risen from
RO 173 million in 1996 to RO
2,448 million in 2010, with a
annual growth rate of 21 per
cent,” he said. See P21
Japan’s LDP set
for another term
WASHINGTON — If one
robot can accomplish a singular
task, then much more
could be done with hundreds
of them, including cleaning
up oil spills, shows a study.
Similar to the fictional
“nanomorphs” depicted in
the Terminator films, large
swarms of intelligent robots
could be used for a range of
tasks, said Nikolaus Correll,
assistant professor at the University
of Colorado-Boulder,
who led the project.
For instance, their swarms
could be unleashed to contain
an oil spill or to self-assemble
into a piece of hardware
Party of Japan (DPJ) of Prime
Minister Yoshihiko Noda was
expected to take a drubbing,
taking only around 60 seats,
compared with its 233 seats
before the elections, according
to the broadcasters.
“I will resign as leader of
the Democratic Party of Japan,”
Noda said as he took
responsibility for the heavy
defeat.
The powerful lower house
election was the first since
Japan’s nuclear disaster at the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Power Station.
“However, more voters
were concerned about the
economy as the elections approached,”
a political analyst
Minoru Morita said.
Abe won the LDP leadership
race in late September
amid tensions with China
over a territorial spat over a
group of uninhabited islets.
But yesterday he said that
he did not want to heighten
tensions with the world's
second-largest economy, and
noted that he would visit the
United States soon after taking
office. See also P6
Pingpong robots
clean up oil spills
after being launched separately
into space, according
to an university statement.
Correll and his team generated
a swarm of 20 robots,
each the size of a pingpong
ball, which they call “droplets.”
Their swarms form a
“liquid that thinks.”
The team includes Dustin
Reishus and research assistant
Nick Farrow.
Correll plans to use the
droplets to demonstrate selfassembly
and swarm-intelligent
behaviours such as
pattern recognition, sensorbased
motion and adaptive
shape change. — IANS
Prayer timing Fajr Dhuhr Asr Magrib Isha Weather W Muscat Musc usc Nizwa Sohar Al Buraimi Sur Duqm Salalah
EXCHANGE RATES
GOLD
Dollar per Omani Rial
PRICE
Muscat 05:22 am 12:08 pm 03:08 pm 05:29 pm 06:44 pm Max ax 27 29 27 24 30 27 29
Min 20 18 21 18 22 19 21
Buying 0.382 Selling 0.388 $1,695.97

Talks with Unesco chief held
MUSCAT — Abdulaziz bin
Mohammed al Rowas, Adviser
to His Majesty the Sultan
for Cultural Affairs, received
in his office here yesterday Dr
MUSCAT — Dr Fuad bin
Jaafar al Sajwani, Minister
of Agriculture and Fisheries,
yesterday issued a ministerial
decision lifting the ban on the
import of live animals from
Sudan.
The decision comes as
per the recommendation of
the specialised vet agency
that the reason for the ban on
the import of live animals
Irina Bokova, Unesco Director-General.
The meeting reviewed
fields of co-operation between
the Sultanate and Unesco to
from Sudan.
It is to be ensured that when
importing live animals from
Sudan, animals should be kept
in an approved quarantine for
one month under the supervision
of vet authorities.
No incident of anthrax or
Peste des petits Ruminants,
Peste of small Ruminants
(PPR) or lumpy skin disease
should have been reported
activate cultural impacts in
contemporary life and encourage
the humanitarian communication
through culture and
tourism.
during the 20 days before the
shipment, during the period
from birth or during the six
months before the shipment.
Animals should be kept in insulation
under the supervision
of the public vet authority and
no incident of rabies should
have been recorded during
the 12 months before the shipment.
The imported animal should
The meeting was attended
by Dr Samira bint Mohammed
bin Moosa al Moosa, Sultanate’s
Permanent Representative
to Unesco. — ONA
Sultanate lifts ban on import
of animals from Sudan
be IGM tested for Rift Valley
disease and brucellosis with
random sample representing
50 per cent of the number of
animals at each consignment.
The result should be positive.
The other terms also
include vaccination of animals
and that cows should be
from an area or a farm free
from septicemia among other
terms. — ONA
2 OMAN
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
HM sends cables to Bangladesh, Bhutan
MUSCAT — His Majesty Sultan Qaboos
has sent a cable of condolences to
President Mohammad Zillur Rahman of
Bangladesh on the death of the former
president of Bangladesh Prof Iajuddin
Ahmed.
In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan
MUSCAT — Yusuf bin Alawi
bin Abdallah, Minister Responsible
for Foreign Affairs,
received in his office here
yesterday Beth E Jones, US
Acting Assistant Secretary of
State for the Near East who is
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Oman has taken
another step on its path towards
becoming a major international
regatta venue with
the launch of the logo for next
autumn’s Laser World Championships.
The 4.2m long Laser singlehanded
dinghy is one of the
world’s most prolific sailing
boats with more than 250,000
having been built, but is best
known for being one of the
premier sailing classes included
in the Olympic Games.
Most of the world’s best sailors
have at some point in their
careers campaigned a Laser,
most notably multiple Olympic
medallists Ben Ainslie and
Robert Scheidt and winning
America’s Cup helmsman Ed
Baird.
The World Championships
held here in Oman will be
three separate events:
Laser Senior World Championship
over November 14,
2013 - November 23, 2013
Laser Masters’ World
Championship 2013 over November
28, 2013 — December
7, 2013
Laser Radial Youth World
Championship 2013 over December
27, 2013 — January
3, 2014
The Youth World Championship
is open to competitors
aged 17-21, the Masters
to those over the age of 35,
further sub-divided into age
bands (eg 35-44 Apprentice,
45-54 Master, 55+ Grand Master).
But the most competitive
of the three is the Laser Senior
World Championship and it
will be this that features many
sailing stars from the Olympic
Games.
The line-up is expected to
include renowned Olympic
medallists. Kontides, 22, is
very much an inspirational figure
both in his own country and
abroad; he is the only person
from Cyprus ever to have won
an Olympic medal, not just sailing,
but across any sport.
Combined, the Laser World
Championships are expected
expressed his sincere condolences and
sympathy to President Zillur Rahman,
the bereaved family and the friendly
people of Bangladesh.
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has also
sent a cable of greetings to King Jigme
Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan
currently visiting the Sultanate.
The meeting reviewed the
bilateral relations between
the two friendly countries and
means of promoting them in
various fields, as well as ex-
to attract more than 1,000 visitors
from at least 50 nations.
The bid to host the Laser
World Championships was
won in June 2012 and with it
came the responsibility of creating
the logo for these three
events, the guideline being to
incorporate the Laser class
logo. “We saw this exercise
as a great opportunity to highlight
the country,” says Salma
al Hashmi, Oman Sail’s Director
of Marketing and Communications.
“We wanted a seamless fit
between the Laser logo and
the new one, hence the use of
the colour red. However we
introduced the use of a deeper
maroon to compliment to a
colour commonly used in Omani
handicrafts. Because the
logo was going to introduce
an international audience to
the country, we combined the
sport (the sails) with the heritage
and culture of the country
and used imagery of forts.”
While it is best known
changing views on the international
and regional issues of
common concern.
The meeting was attended
by Ahmed bin Yousef al
Harthy, Foreign Ministry’s
Under-Secretary for Diplo-
for being used for elite level
competition in the Olympic
Games, the Laser is a highly
versatile dinghy and versions
with a smaller sail, notably the
Laser 4.7 and the Laser Radial,
are widely used around the
world, including Oman, for
training purposes.
In years to come, the intention
is for Oman’s top Laser
sailors to campaign their boats
internationally with the aim of
the best gaining Oman its first
berth in the Olympic Games.
Having top Laser sailors
from around the world visiting
Oman will unquestionably
serve to inspire the country’s
up-and-coming sailors.
The Omani youth sailors
are being coached by Oman
Sail and are showing a great
promise. Oman Sail aims to establish
an elite National Youth
Squad by February 2013 to
compete at international level.
The long term plan being for
an Omani youth team to participate
in the Youth Olympics
on the occasion of his country’s National
Day.
In his cable, His Majesty expressed
his sincere greetings along with his
best wishes to King Wangchuck and
the friendly people of his country.
— ONA
Sultanate-US review bilateral ties
matic affairs, Mohammed bin
Awadh al Hassan, Head of
the Political Analysis Office,
Greta Christine Holtz, US ambassador
to the Sultanate and
officials at the Foreign Ministry.
— ONA
Al Musannah Sports City gears up
for Laser World Championships
Awareness
course for
oil media
MUSCAT — The Ministry
of Oil and Gas organised
yesterday an awareness
course on oil media.
The two-day course targets
workers at the visual,
audio and print media.
Nasser bin Khamis al
Jashmi, Under-Secretary of
the Ministry of Oil and Gas
and chief guest said that the
organisation of this course
emanates from the fact that
oil is a strategic commodity,
a main source for energy and
an engine behind the growth
of the Sultanate and countries
of the region economies.
The course includes a
number of lectures that aim
at highlighting the optimum
way in how mass media can
address the information and
figures on the oil and gas
production and reserves.
Kuwait will present a
working paper on its experience
in the speculated oil
media. Officials from the
Ministry of Oil and Gas,
PDO and academicians
from SQU will also present
working papers on issues
related to the theme of the
courses. — ONA
in 2014, for a team to finish in
the top 50 per cent of the fleet
at the 2015 Optimist World
Championships, in the top 50
per cent of the fleet at the 2018
Youth Olympics and in the
top 20 per cent of the fleet at
the 2020 ISAF Youth World
Championships and ultimately
winning a medal for the Sultanate
in the 2024 Olympic
Games.
The Laser World Championships
will also provide the
visiting sailors arriving from
as far afield as Australia, New
Zealand and the USA with an
opportunity to experience
the Al Musannah Sport City,
the impressive one million
square metre venue situated
on the coast of the Wilayat of
Al Musannah, purpose built
to host the 2010 Asian Beach
Games.
His Excellency Mohammed
Jawad, adviser at the Ministry
of Finance and Oman Sail’s
board member concludes:
“Sailing has always been associated
with Oman’s historic
identity. The sport has seen
significant development in the
past recent years and bringing
the Laser World Championships
shows the country’s
commitment to the sport of
sailing.”
“The World Championship
is great opportunity to attract
some of the world’s best athletes,
officials and media to
visit Oman and experience the
state of art facilities at Mussanah
Sport City.
“This will not only help
promote Oman as a destination
but rather add both economical
and social benefits to
the Sultanate and this is in line
with our country’s strategy
in hosting world class sport
events while engaging the
Omani youth in sports.”
Oman Sail CEO David
Graham concludes: “The Laser
World Championships are
an opportunity to inspire the
youth, as well as showcase
Oman in all its natural beauty
to an international audience
through sport, aligning perfectly
with Oman Sail’s strategy.”

Speaker of Comoros’s Parliament arrives
MUSCAT — Hamid Burhan, Speaker of the Parliament of the
Union of the Comoros arrived here yesterday leading a parliamentary
delegation on an official several-day visit to the Sultanate.
He was received upon his arrival by Khalid bin Hilal al Maawali,
Chairman of the Majlis Ash’shura, Abdullah bin Khalifa
al Mej’ali, Deputy Chairman of the Majlis and Ali bin Nasser
al Mahrouqi, Secretary-General of the Majlis. A programme
was made for the Speaker of the Comoros’s Parliament and his
accompanying delegation. The programme includes a visit to
the Majlis Ash’shura, conducting an official session of talks between
the two sides, holding official meetings with a number
of senior officials in the Sultanate, besides visiting some of the
civilisational landmarks in the Sultanate. — ONA
Tourism proposals reviewed
in Al Buraimi Governorate
AL BURAIMI — Ahmed bin
Nasser al Mehrzi, Minister of
Tourism, yesterday visited Al
Buraimi Governorate. He was
greeted by Sayyid Ibrahim bin
Said al Busaidy, Al Buraimi
Governor, and citizens and
businessmen working in the
governorate’s tourism sector.
The Minister of Tourism
reviewed with the citizens and
businessmen’s proposals in
the tourism issues that serve
Al Buraimi Governorate in
particular and the Sultanate in
general.
The visit programme included
a tour of the licensed
tourism projects and the
projects under construction, including
the Dream Village, Al
Rowdha Hotel and the shopping
malls in the governorate.
The Minister of Tourism
also visited the Wilayat of
Mahdha and met with Salim
bin Ali al Kaabi, Deputy
Chairman of Majlis Ash’shura,
representative of the Wilayat
and some residents and investors
in tourism and heard
their opinions regarding the
development of tourism in the
Wilayat.
The Minister of Tourist visited
a number of tourist attractions
in the Wilayat of Mahdha.
The visit also included a
hotel site (Iwa Mahdha) which
is under construction, where
he met with the project’s investor
and was briefed on the
progress of work.
He also visited Wadi Al
Qahfi and the picnic camp in
Wadi Al Qahfi affiliated to
the Wilayat of Mahadha established
by the Ministry of
Tourism.
Sayyid Ibrahim expressed
his pleasure for the Tourism
minister’s visit , describing
it as important, the Minister
was briefed on the problems
of citizens and businessmen’s
New codeshare pact
MUSCAT—Oman Air and Qatar Airways have announced a
codeshare agreement, allowing Oman Air’s customers to book
flights from any of the 42 departure points within its network
to Doha. The codeshare agreement is effective immediately
and customers can now book flights through local outlets or by
visiting www.omanair.com.
Announcing the codeshare, Wayne Pearce, Chief Executive
Officer of Oman Air, said: “We are delighted to be joining with
Qatar Airways to offer even greater choice, value and convenience
for our customers. This codeshare will make travel within
the Gulf region easier, effectively extending Oman Air’s
network. “Both Oman Air and Qatar Airways offer customers
extremely high standards of comfort and service, so I am
pleased that we are now offering this great opportunity and am
sure that it will prove to be an outstanding success.”
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker
said: “Qatar Airways is pleased to partner with Oman Air to
provide passengers with extensive choice and flexibility when
planning their travel schedules. — By A Staff Reporter
proposals working in the tourism
sector.
He stressed that citizens
and businessmen try to develop
the tourism sector as it
is an important sector that contributes
to the development of
the Sultanate’s economy, adding
that the Al Buraimi and
its three wilayats have many
beautiful tourist features due
to the diversity of their nature
which contains mountains,
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — A Plantation
Campaign was launched recently
at the Pakistan School
Muscat yesterday by planting
trees.
The ceremony was attended
by the Members Board
of Directors and the faculty
members.
The project is in accordance
with the appropriate
weather conditions in Oman
and the global trends of boosting
up the concept of plantation
for the betterment of the
environment.
The attendees appreciated
the initiative of PSM and advised
that such campaigns
should be launched in all
valleys, plains and soft sand
so as to encourage investment
in tourism.
Salim bin Ali al Kaabi,
Deputy Chairman of Majlis
Ash’shura, representative of
the Wilayat of Mahdha said Al
Buraimi Governorate in general
and Wilayat of Mahdha in
particular appreciate the visit
of the Minister of Tourism and
his touring of tourism projects
and attractions. — ONA
branches of PSM. The school
believes that healthy and environment-friendly
activities
raise awareness among the
students and others.
3 OMAN
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Exhibition
of Omani
products
MUSCAT — A meeting was
held today at Waljat College
in Knowledge Oasis-Muscat
to bring together the organisers
of Omani Products and
representatives of the Omani
companies participating in
the exhibition to be held during
the period from December
24-27, in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia.
The meeting reviewed
the latest preparations for the
exhibition, including travel
arrangements, airlines booking,
hotels, transportation
for participants and the most
important facilities needed
by them during their presence
in Riyadh.
Fahmy bin Said al Hinai,
Deputy Chairman of
Raha for Furniture, Deputy
Chairman of the Organising
Committee of Omani Products
Fair said that the first
exhibition aims at promoting
Omani product in the Saudi
market in particular and the
GCC countries in general
and to find new marketing
outlets and promote co-operation
between local firms
and Gulf companies.
He added that the organisers
OCCI, the General
Authority for Investment
Promotion and Export Development
(GAIPED), Public
Establishment for Industrial
Estates PEIE are keen
on providing all the facilities
needed by the participants in
the fair to make the first version
a success. — ONA
Diabetes Forum
launched
AL AMERAT — The 1st Forum
for Diabetes Friends was
organised yesterday at the Al
Hajir Health Centre at the
Wilayat of Al Amerat under
the theme ‘Diabetes from Islamic
Perspective’ under the
auspices of Dr Kahlan bin
Nabhan al Kharousi, Assistant
to the Sultanate’s Grand
Mufti.
The forum included a
number of programmes that
aim at promoting healthy
food. The forum included
a number of corners including
a corner for checking
blood glucose levels, blood
pressure, diabetes and complications,
in addition to a
corner for children which
included a number of recreational
and cultural competitions
with participation
from Qurayat Hospital and
Bank Muscat. — ONA
Pakistan School Muscat launches
tree plantation campaign
The PSM Principal appreciate
faculty members and
a parent Diyar Shams, who
helped and trained the students
and staff regarding plantation.
Bahrain Embassy marks National Day
MUSCAT — The
Embassy of Bahrain
yesterday marked
the National Day
at the Grand Hyatt
Muscat hotel in a
ceremony attended
by top officials at
the government of
Oman and heads
of diplomatic missions.
— ONA
Income tax revenues at RO 340m
From page 1
The tax exemption benefits several sectors
including tourism, agricultural manufacturing,
fish industry, education and healthcare.
Small enterprises are exempted from taxes
on net profits up to the first RO 30,000 adding
that the step taken by the Sultanate that unified
tax transaction is likely to draw more investor
to set up businesses in the country pointing out
that the Sultanate has signed 33 agreements on
the avoidance of dulaised taxes with 10 more
agreements currently under negotiation.
— By Hamoud al Mahrazi

Mazoon Electricity awarded
for its Omanisation efforts
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Mazoon Electricity
Company (MZEC)
was awarded an Excellence
Accolade for its Omanisation
efforts during a special ceremony
held by Ministry of
Manpower under the auspices
of Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh al
Mantheri, Majlis Addawla,
Chairman.
The annual award recognises
the private sector’s strategies
for employing a national
workforce and encourages
companies to reinforce their
commitment in developing
Omani talent.
Salim Yasir al Suleimani,
Senior Manager of Shared
Services at MZEC received
the award on behalf of Senior
Management.
MUSCAT — Four Communications swept the
board at the Middle East Public Relations Association
awards ceremony held recently, winning
more awards than any other agency in the
region and being named Consultancy of the
Year in the 1-20 employees category.
Four won Best Practice awards for client
campaigns with Emirates Nuclear Energy
Corporation (Government Communications
category), with Etihad Airways (Corporate
Reputation and Image category) and Millennium
& Copthorne Hotels (Consumer Services
category).
Isobel Spaven-Donn, of Four’s Muscat office,
won the The Dave Robinson Award for
Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year,
while Mustafa al Sheikhly, of the UAE team,
was highly commended in the same category.
In his remarks, Al Suleimani
highlighted the company’s
extensive recruitment and
training programs that aim to
empower Omanis and provide
them with the knowledge and
expertise to pursue successful
careers.
Commenting on the
achievement, Zahir Abdullah
al Abri, General Manager of
MZEC said: “The Company
has adopted solid HR and
Omanisation strategies that
cultivate the national talent
and generate further growth
and prosperity through
various training programmes.
“We are committed to creating
a nurturing work environment
for Omanis to reach
their full potential and today,
we are proud to have been
able to maintain one of the
highest Omanisation rates
within the industry with 98
per cent.”
Throughout the course
of this year, MZEC has been
able to set new benchmarks in
the field of HR development,
winning a number of prestigious
awards across the GCC
region.
The company was recognised
for its pioneering efforts
in job localisation at the 29th
Session of the Council of Labour
Ministers of the GCC in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It also scooped the GCC
HR Excellence Award for
Best Training Strategy as part
of the 7th Human Asset Expansion
Middle East Summit
2012 in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates.
Four sweeps the board at ME awards
To cap the night, Four was named Small
Consultancy of the Year (1–20 consultants in
the region).
Ray Eglington, Managing Director — international,
said: “We’re very proud of our client
campaigns at Four and we are delighted that
our work has been recognised by the industry.
“It is fantastic to see recognition for two
of our talented young consultants. Isobel has
played a key role in the development of our
business in Muscat, while Mustafa brings an
incredible passion and commitment to our
team.” Four had three other client campaigns
as finalists for awards: Troon Golf (Consumer
Services category), Orpic (Corporate Responsibility
category) and The Wave, Muscat (Best
Use of Media Relations — Consumer or Trade
category).
4 OMAN
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Ministry honours information system staff
MUSCAT — Shaikh Abdullah bin
Nasir al Bakri, Minister of Manpower,
yesterday honoured employees in-
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — The common
man of today is full of questions
when it comes to the environment
on a global scale.
Will there be enough water
for his children tomorrow?
Will limited resources and increasing
population affect his
economic situation? In order
to quell these questions and
save what’s left of the environment
for the present and
future generation; countries
are fast adopting sustainable
practices.
In an attempt to help Oman
pinpoint and combat its environmental
challenges, Gulf
Eco 2013 will be held from
20th-22nd January, 2013 at
the Oman International Exhibition
Centre as announced
by OITE Trade Fairs, under
the patronage of the Ministry
of Environment and Climate
Affairs.
The three-day expo will
focus on Clean Energy for
Oman, Recycling and Waste
charge of Information Systems on the
occasion of the award obtained by the
ministry in the e-readiness within the
Gulf Eco 2013 to tackle current
environmental issues in Oman
MUSCAT — Dr Ali bin Saud
al Bimani, SQU Vice Chancellor
and Sayyidah Dr Muna bint
Fahd al Said, Assistant Vice
Chancellor for External Cooperation,
met with Dr Heinz
Boyer, CEO of IMC University
of Applied Sciences Krems,
Austria who is currently visiting
the Sultanate.
During the meeting, the
two sides discussed topics
pertaining to research and
scientific co-operation, academic
co-operation and students
exchange between the
two universities, in addition to
discussing tourism discipline,
the possibility of setting up
Master programme in tourism,
By A Staff Reporter
management, Water Technology
and Environment protection.
From an ecological point
of view, despite being credited
by the UN Environment
Programme for having one of
the best records for ecological
conservation and balance,
Oman still faces unresolved
challenges.
Some of these challenges
include changing climatic
conditions giving rise to increased
temperatures, rise in
sea level and desertification;
water shortages due to drought
and limited rainfall leading to
increased soil salinity; pollution
particularly caused by oil
spills in beaches and coastal
areas; and desertification as a
result of overgrasing, climatic
change, water scarcity and
sand drifting.
students exchange in hospitality
and hotel management.
The meeting also discussed
Victory Day celebrated
MUSCAT — Bangaldeshi expatriates in Oman celebrated their
national Victory Day here yesterday.
On the eve of the Day, President. Zillur Rahman, Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina gave separate messages.
President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Mohammad
Zillur Rahman, in his message on the day underscored
that “16th December is our Victory Day. On this day
in 1971, we achieved our long cherished victory through
nine-month long War of Liberation. I extend my sincere
felicitation and congratulations to my fellow countrymen
living at home and abroad. The significance of victory day
is of paramount importance to the checkered history of our
independence.
The historic declaration of independence proclaimed by our
great leader Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman on March 26 in 1971 came true on this day through
attaining ultimate victory. Bangladesh, therefore, emerged as
an independent and sovereign state in the world map.”
“Today, I pay my deep tribute to the valiant freedom fighters
who made supreme sacrifices in the war of liberation in
1971 for the cause of country’s independence. On this very
day, I also recall with profound respect the greatest Bangalee
of all time Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman who introduced us to the world arena as a sovereign
nation shunning all sorts of oppression and repression.”
He also recalled with profound respect the greatest Bangalee
of all times Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman who introduced the Bangalee to the world
arena as a sovereign nation.
Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, in her message
extended deepest respect to the greatest Bangalee of all
time, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, Responding to whose call, the Bangalee nation
fought a 9-month bloody war and earned the ultimate victory
on December 16, 1971. She further elaborated that “at this auspicious
moment of the Victory Day, I also recall the four national
leaders, Bangladesh Awami League earned overwhelming
majority in the general elections of 1970.
These issues will be highlighted
at the Gulf Eco Expo
2013 through a massive display
of the most comprehensive
solutions and services
dedicated to protecting
the environment including
technological solutions to
manage and preserve water
resources; suitable solar applications
for Oman; technological
solutions for energy
production and use of energy
and finally effective waste
management techniques and
solutions (at the Recycling
and Waste Management Pavilion,
an added feature to
this year’s event).
These issues will be taken
up further through dialogue
and discussion by key speakers
at the Gulf Eco Conference
2013 taking place alongside
the Expo from January 21-22,
2013 at the Golden Tulip Hotel
from 8 am onwards under
the theme Harnessing the potential
of Oman’s Renewable
Energy.”
biotechnology discipline, the
potential of research co-operation
in this discipline and taking
Sultan Qaboos Award for Excellence in
e-Government.
The award crowned the efforts of
the Ministry of Manpower in upgrading
the e-services and facilitating all
transactions. — ONA
National panel for youth
forms sub committees
MUSCAT — The National Committee for Youths (NCY)
yesterday held its second regular meeting under the chairmanship
of Dr Hamad bin Hamoud al Ghaferi, NYC Chairman.
The meeting comes after the adoption of the bylaws of the
committee.
The meeting elected NYC Office which includes, beside
the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and three non-committee
members.
They are Dr Nasser bin Rashid al Mawali, Musalim bin
Said Tabook and Khawlah bint Hamud al Harthiyah.
Four subcommittees were formed and selected 5-6 members
for each, in addition to the election of Heads and Deputy
Heads.
Dr Nasser bin Ali al Jahouri was elected Head of Studies
and Research subcommittee and Muna bint Mohammed al
Fana, his deputy.
Salim bin Said al Mefdhali was elected Head to Activities
and programmes subcommittee and Sayyid Kamel bin
Hamoud al Busaidy his deputy.
Sayyid Nasr bin Badr al Busaidy was elected Head of Communication
and Public Relations subcommittee and Yousef bin
Abdullah al Nadabi his deputy.
Sulaiem bin Ali al Hakmani was elected Head of Youth
Initiatives subcommittee and Saud bin Ahmed al Siyabi his
deputy.
It is hoped that the Committee will soon start its action
after the approval of the action plans of its subcommittees.
It should be noted that a number of the Committee’s plans
have already started and will continue in conjunction with the
activities of the subcommittees. — ONA
SQU, Austrian varisty discuss research, scientific issues
part in joint research, besides
attending international symposiums
and conferences held
by the two sides and discussing
music discipline in relation to
music therapy. — ONA

Omran’s Intajee programme
wins award for ‘CSR Initiative’
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Omran, Oman’s
leading tourism-related development,
hospitality management
and Investment Company,
won the prestigious
‘CSR Initiative of the Year’
Award for ‘Intajee’ at the annual
Construction Week GCC
Edition Awards ceremony held
in Dubai.
The award recognised Omran’s
pioneering role in developing
a successful program
that is sustainable, authentic
and has built meaningful connections
with the local community.
On the occasion, Wael
bin Ahmed al Lawati, Omran
CEO, said, “Intajee was born
out of our commitment to being
responsible citizens who
seek to inspire and be inspired
in going beyond our operations
to ensure the sustainability of
our operations. The programme
has not only benefited the local
farmers of Al Mussanah but
has expanded its reach to other
regions of the country.”
He added, “Our ethos is
centered on ensuring that local
communities are the ultimate
beneficiaries of our developments
and activities.
“CSR may not be our core
business but we have long ago
recognised its far-reaching
impact. We will continue to
lend our support to community
projects through our knowhow
and beyond mentality to
become a catalyst for budding
businesses that will benefit the
local supply chain, the national
economy and the tourism industry
as a whole.”
Entries were judged by a
reputed jury of industry peers
who described Intajee as ‘a
brilliant idea’ and as ‘a truly
inspiring initiative, the move
to bring local food into the
communities hands was seen
as something that benefits the
population on many levels.
Omran was nominated for
the GCC edition of the Construction
Week Awards after a
triumphant win at the Oman
edition of the awards back in
March 2012.
Developed by Omran, Intajee
is an income generating
project designed to empower
families residing in Al Batinah
Governorate to improve their
livelihoods by selling locally
grown produce through fostering
existing micro-businesses.
As a result, the programme
has helped farmers effectively
harvest, package and label their
goods, thereby strengthening
their presence in the market
and providing them with a sustained
source of income.
In August of this year,
Omran also launched Salma’s
Chocolates, Oman’s first
homemade chocolates infused
with local ingredients, as a
new addition under the Intajee
umbrella.
Salma’s Chocolates’ CEO
was recognised as the ‘Most
Promising Woman of the Year’
at the Al Mara Excellence
Awards, another accolade to the
success of Omran’s hallmark
CSR programme, Intajee.
PIA, Travelport sign full content pact
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Travelport, the
business services provider to
travel industry, has reached a
Full Content Agreement with
Pakistan’s national carrier Pakistan
International Airlines
(PIA).
The new multi-year deal is
applicable to all Galileo and
Worldspan subscribers across
Europe, Middle East and Africa
(EMEA) and ensures
that Galileo and Worldspanconnected
travel agents in the
region have access to the airline’s
full range of published
fares, web fares and inventory.
Commenting on the new
deal, Mamoon Rashid, Director
Corporate Services, PIA,
said that the new Full Content
Agreement with Travelport
was fulfilling a long standing
demand from the travel industry.
“Our accessibility will be
significantly enhanced,” said
Rashid. “Our new relationship
with Travelport provides us
with the opportunity to grow
our business and Travelport’s
reach and depth of coverage
will make it easier for travel
agents to access PIA.”
“This is an incredibly
important agreement for our
travel agency customers,”
explained Will Owen Hughes,
Senior Airline Direc-
tor, Middle East and Africa,
Travelport. “PIA is a strategic
airline that boasts a farreaching
network and strong
loyalty amongst the Pakistani
expatriate community, and
as such is highly valued by
travel agencies in the region
and worldwide. We are committed
to providing PIA with
the most efficient distribution
channel outside of Pakistan
and look forward to a longlasting
partnership.”
Fashion designers called to
develop sustainable platform
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Both emerging
and more established fashion
designers from Oman have
the opportunity to take part
in the inaugural Fashion Forward
(FFWD) on 26-29 April
2013 at the Madinat Jumeirah,
Dubai.
Recognising the need for
a dynamic, sustainable platform
to develop the region’s
fashion industry, the entrepreneurs
behind Brag, the leading
experiential live marketing
and event management
agency, have created the biannual
initiative.
Three key elements differentiate
Fashion Forward
(FFWD) as a regional fashion
development platform: collection
showcase opportunities
in several distinct presentation
areas for both established
and emerging designers in the
Middle East, a Fashion Forum
education module to foster
debate around key industry issues,
and an awards event conferred
by the Fashion Forward
Association — Middle East, a
trade body which supports the
professional development of
fashion in the GCC, Levant
and North Africa.
“Oman is a key contributor
to the Middle East’s fashion
sector, with its growing retail
infrastructure and a keen base
of shoppers — what we lack
is a fashion movement to take
the industry forward.
Fashion Forward (FFWD)
has been created to address the
development of the regional
fashion sector as a whole —
from identifying and fostering
emerging designers to recognising
more established design
houses, while furthering
fashion debate, education and
industry momentum,” said
Bong Guerrero, Creative Di-
rector and Chairman of Fashion
Forward (FFWD) and
Managing Partner of Brag.
While the organisers of
Fashion Forward (FFWD)
reach out to designers and
other fashion industry decision-makers
in Oman,
negotiations are currently
underway with a number of
leading luxury and blue-chip
consumer brands to support
Fashion Forward (FFWD)
for its first several seasons.
FFWD Limited, the management
behind Fashion
Forward (FFWD) is now
working with the Fashion
Forward Association Middle
East (FFAME) — in
its formative stage — to
develop programming including
panel presentations,
workshops, and discussion
sessions to complement the
three catwalk areas within
FFWD, providing a critical
educational complement to
the women’s wear and menswear
collections being showcased.
Anticipating almost unanimous
participation from the
region’s fashion community,
FFWD will provide both
emerging and established designers
based in or originally
from the Middle East with a
platform to highlight their
latest work to consumers,
prospective buyers, industry
decision-makers and the media.
Brag, the Middle East’s
live marketing and event
management agency, has been
appointed to deliver FFWD,
creating a vibrant, professionally-produced
fashion
platform that combines the
designing flair of the region
with the exacting standards of
more mature markets. Created
by Bong Guerrero and Ramzi
Nakad.
5 OMAN
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Jebel Sifah to be completed by 2014
By Hasan Kamoonpuri
MUSCAT — The massive
Jebel Sifah project, spanning
6.2 million square metres
space, 45km outside Muscat,
is all set to be fully ready by
2014.
Construction on this picturesque
Jebel Sifah project,
an important integrated tourism
complex (ITC), has been
going on since 2008. Bahaa
Karim, Marketing Director,
Muriya Tourism Development,
told the Observer “The
Jebel Sifah project is on track
and it is all set to be fully up
and running by 2014.
Many components of Jebel
Sifah are currently ready and
the resort bustles with activity
with a good tourist turnout on
holidays.
Jebel Sifah includes luxurious
freehold villas and
apartments, an 18-hole PGA
Golf Course, 100 berth Marina
and Marina Town, four
leading five star hotels and
a marina boutique hotel, in
addition to the latest in retail
brand names, stores, restaurants,
and cafés.
The four-star Sifawy Bou-
MUSCAT — In its commitment
to contribute to the welfare
of the society and to bring
about a positive change, Al
Hassan Engineering Company
(AHEC) recently announced
that it associated with the
Women’s Guild in Oman
(WGO) as a diamond sponsor
for the Crystal Ball 2012.
The proceeds of the event
would help in the creation of
a mobile library called ‘Let’s
Read Book Bus’ — a project
tique Hotel with 55 rooms at
Jebel Sifah, the first hospitality
project of Muriya, opened
in September 2011 and is a
huge success.
Construction is on for the
200-room Four Seasons hotel,
scheduled to open in 2013 at
Jebel Sifah. A mock-up room
has already been built for the
Hotel Missoni, with work yet
to begin on the Banyan Tree
Hotel.
Marina at Jebel Sifah and
Salalah Beach is now ready
and operational. The ecofriendly
Marina stretches
along undisturbed coasts. The
stunning 100-berth marina
overlooking the turquoise expanse
of the Gulf of Oman is
the newest attraction at Jebel
Sifah town. It is all set to serve
as a vibrant hub for yachters,
recreational boaters and others
with a hobby in nautical
adventure.
The launch of marina
marked a new milestone in
the development of a worldclass
tourism and residential
resort at Jebel Sifah. The
marinas at Jebel Sifah and
Salalah Beach open a world
of opportunities for past-time
that will take a collection of
books to Oman’s towns and villages.
The 2012 Crystal Ball,
marked the event’s 10th year
anniversary, and was held at
the Amphitheatre at Shangri
La’s Barr al Jissah Resort &
Spa. Over 820 guests attended
the event that included key decision
makers and influencers
from the corporate world.
The ‘Let’s Read Book Bus’
will bring a treasure trove of
books to families in remote ar-
and recreation such as fishing,
dolphin watching, diving
and snorkelling.
Jebel Sifah now boasts 18
Apartment Blocks with 160
apartments around the Marina.
Muriya is now in the process
of starting the construction of
one of the five star hotels at
Jebel Sifah.
In October 2011, Muriya
launched the water taxi services
from Jebel Sifah marina
to Marina Bandar al Rowdha.
Travelling by water for a
short time is much more exciting
than going by road, say
tourists. The boat can accommodate
up to 20 passengers
on a trip, and takes around 45
minutes to reach its destination.
Tourists say Jebel Sifah
has the potential to emerge as
a unique tourism and leisure
hub. This is further evidenced
by the landmark Royal Decree
of His Majesty the Sultan ordering
authorities to upgrade
the 26km Yiti-Jebel Sifah road
into a modern, all-weather
carriageway. The work on the
road to Sifah is expected to
commence very soon.
When completed, the road
eas far from Oman’s main cities.
Access to reading material
is very important for children,
and this initiative will stimulate
young minds and win hearts.
Children and older readers will
be able to borrow books and
return them on the mobile library’s
next visit.
Reading is important for the
overall development of the mind
and it should be introduced at
the early stages, so children
grow up to become aware and
project will serve as a new
lifeline through which investment
will inevitably flow into
Sifah, hitherto a quiet fishing
village but now at the cusp of
development into a new leisure
and entertainment hub of
Muscat.
The new carriageway will
make the 26km distance between
Yiti and Sifah a breeze,
thereby opening up this delightful
waterfront locale to
greater numbers of tourists
and visitors.
The international-class
road itself will be an attraction
in its own right, affording
motorists the thrills of a
ride through twisting mountainous
terrain with splendid
panoramas en route. Streetlighting
and signposts will
add to the ease of driving at
night as well.
Moreover, with the commute
between the city centre
and Sifah set to be dramatically
reduced, this welcoming
waterfront will be within easy
reach for a lunch engagement,
a candle-light dinner date, a
tranquil weekend at Jebel Sifah
or an exhilarating night out
at the marina.
Al Hassan Eng supports Crystal Ball 2012
intelligent individuals. We laud
WGO’s efforts to make reading
accessible in Oman and have
high regard for their continuous
efforts to contribute meaningfully
to the society” said Peter
Hall, CEO, AHEC.
WGO President Sally
Sleep says: “The Women’s
Guild in Oman is committed
to working with both the public
and private sector to raise
funds for charitable causes.
— By A Staff Reporter
Looking for job, car, flat and furniture? Check out the Observer classified page. It’s where buyers meet sellers.

TOKYO — Japan’s conservative
Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) surged back to power in
an election yesterday just three
years after a devastating defeat,
giving ex-Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe a chance to push
his hawkish security agenda
and radical economic recipe.
An LDP win will usher in
a government committed to
a tough stance in a territorial
row with China, a pro-nuclear
energy policy despite last
year’s Fukushima disaster and
a potentially risky prescription
for hyper-easy monetary
policy and big fiscal spending
to beat deflation and tame a
strong yen.
Exit polls by television
broadcasters showed the LDP
winning nearly 300 seats in
parliament’s powerful 480member
lower house, while its
ally, the small New Komeito
party, looked set to win about
30 seats.
That would give the two
parties the two-thirds majority
needed to over-rule parliament’s
upper house, where
they lack a majority and
which can block bills, which
would help to break a policy
deadlock that has plagued the
world’s third biggest economy
since 2007.
Top executives of the LDP
and the New Komeito confirmed
that they would form a
coalition. “The basis of course
is a coalition between the LDP
and the New Komeito. But if
there’s room to cooperate with
Japan Restoration Party, we
need to do so,” said LDP Secretary-General
Shigeru Ishiba,
referring to a new right-leaning
party that was set to pick
up around 46 seats. “I think
there is room to do this in the
area of national defence.”
Exit polls showed Prime
Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s
Democratic Party of Japan
6ASIA
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Japan’s LDP back in power, eyes majority with ally
LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba puts the first rosette by successful general electoral candidates’ name in Tokyo.
(DPJ) winning only 65 seats,
just over a fifth of its tally in
2009.
The DPJ, which swept to
power in 2009 promising to
pay more heed to consumers
than companies and reduce bureaucrats’
control over policymaking,
was hit by defections
just before the vote.
Party Executive Kohei
Otsuka told NHK that Noda
would likely have to quit the
party leadership over the defeat,
in which several party
heavyweights lost their seats.
Many voters had said the
DPJ failed to meet its election
pledges as it struggled to govern
and cope with last year’s
huge earthquake, tsunami
and nuclear disaster, and then
pushed through an unpopular
sales tax increase with LDP
help.
Voter distaste for both major
parties has spawned a clutch of
new parties including the Japan
Restoration Party founded
by popular Osaka Mayor Toru
Hashimoto. A dozen parties
fielded candidates, confusing
many voters.
The robust showing by
Hashimoto’s party could make
it a potential partner if the LDP
runs into disagreements over
security policies with the New
Komeito, which is more moderate
on security issues than
the LDP.
LDP leader Abe, 58, who
quit as premier in 2007 citing
ill health after a troubled
year in office, has been talking
tough in a row with China
over uninhabited isles in the
East China Sea, although some
experts say he may temper
his hard line with pragmatism
once in office.
The soft-spoken grandson
of a prime minister, who
would become Japan’s seventh
premier in six years, Abe also
wants to loosen the limits of a
S Korea election rivals share bitter history
SEOUL — The two rivals for
South Korea's presidency were
both shaped by their bitter
personal experiences on polaropposite
sides of the country's
historical and often bloody political
divide.
For Park Geun-Hye of the
ruling conservative party, that
experience included the assassination
of both her parents,
while Moon Jae-In of the liberal
opposition was jailed for
his youthful protests against
military rule.
Both are indelibly associated
in the public mind with late
presidents — Park with her father,
military strongman Park
Chung-Hee, and Moon with
his political mentor and close
friend Roh Moo-Hyun, who
committed suicide in 2009.
Now 60 and a veteran politician,
Park is hugely popular
with conservative and older
voters nostalgic for the rapid
economic growth engineered
by her father who ruled from
1961-1979 after seizing power
in a coup.
After her mother was killed
in 1974 by a pro-North Korea
gunman aiming for her father,
Park was summoned back
HONG KONG — About a
thousand migrant domestic
workers from Southeast Asia
rallied in Hong Kong yesterday
to mark International Migrants
Day and push for better
working conditions and higher
wages.
The atmosphere was festive
as the protesters, mostly from
Indonesia and the Philippines,
sang and shouted slogans at
the government headquarters,
according to a photographer.
The march coincided with
International Migrants Day set
by the United Nations General
Assembly in 2000 when it
adopted a resolution protecting
the rights of migrant workers
and family members.
“The government is trying
very hard to exclude Asian
migrant workers from equal
benefits,” Eni Lestari from
Indonesia, a spokeswoman
for the rally organisers Asia
Migrants Co-ordinating Body,
said. Foreign domestic workers,
who usually live with
from graduate school in France
to act as first lady.
She left the presidential
palace after her father was shot
dead by his spy chief in 1979
and began her political career
in 1998 as a lawmaker in her
home town.
Supporters praise Park,
who never married and leads
an intensely private life, for
what they see as her calm and
principled leadership. Opponents
portray her as aristocratic
and aloof.
In 2006 an attacker at an
election event where she was
speaking slashed her face with
a knife, leaving a wound that
needed 60 stitches.
Her father remains widely
respected for transforming the
impoverished, war-ravaged nation
into an economic juggernaut,
but is equally reviled in
some quarters for human rights
abuses during his iron-fisted
rule. As a result, his legacy
proved both a boon and burden
for Park's campaign and she
was obliged to make a public
apology to those who suffered
under his rule and acknowledge
the damage caused by his
autocratic style.
their employers, do not have
standard employment hours
and can work up to 20 hours
a day, said Lestari, who has
worked in Hong Kong for 12
years as a maid.
United Filipinos chairperson
Dolores Balladares said
the minimum monthly wage
for foreign domestic workers
had increased by just HK$60
($7.7) in the past 13 years to
In an effort to broaden support
beyond her conservative
base, she has stressed "economic
democratisation" and
expanded welfare in a country
with a growing wealth gap and
high youth unemployment.
But she has remained cautious
about commitments to
reform the mighty conglomerates,
or "chaebol", that were
nurtured by her father and
dominate the national economy.
Moon, one year junior to
Park, is a former lawyer, prodemocracy
activist and presidential
chief of staff, who was
jailed in the 1970s for protesting
against Park Chung-Hee's
rule.
His close friendship with
future president Roh began in
1982 when they opened a law
partnership in the city of Busan
focusing on human and
civil rights issues. Both became
leading figures in pro-democracy
protests that swept the country
in 1987 and led to South
Korea's first direct presidential
elections the same year.
When Roh entered politics,
Moon stayed with his law
work, but a year after Roh's unexpected
victory in 2002 presi-
Migrant workers rally over
HK working conditions
MIGRANT workers at rights rally in Hong Kong.
HK$3,920, far from keeping
up with the rising cost of living.
Participants also protested
about the issue of right of
abode in the city. In March, a
local court overturned a landmark
ruling that opened the
door for thousands of foreign
maids to claim permanent
residency in the southern Chinese
city. — AFP
dential elections, he was called
to the Blue House and tasked
with weeding out official corruption.
He became one of the
administration's most influential
figures, rising to become
Roh's chief of staff.
Roh committed suicide in
2009 as his family became the
focus of a graft probe. Moon
was never tainted by corruption
allegations and has always
staunchly defended his late
mentor's character.
If elected, Moon has promised
to build closer ties with
Pyongyang and push for a
summit with North Korea's
new leader, Kim Jong-Un.
He has also called for
stronger antitrust powers to
stop the chaebol from muscling
into new territory where they
suffocate small businesses.
Meanwhile, the presidential
candidate from South Korea’s
far-left party quit yesterday in
an attempt to unify left-leaning
voters against the conservative
front-runner in an increasingly
tight race.
Lee Jung-Hee from the
United Progressive Party
bowed out three days before
the December 19 poll in what
she called a move to prevent
the ruling conservative party
candidate from winning. “I quit
today to help liberal, progressive
political parties join forces
together and fulfil the goal of
administrative change,” Lee
told reporters.
Lee — supported by only
about one percent of voters
according to opinion polls —
was a distant third in the race
behind Park Geun-Hye from
the New Frontier Party (NFP)
and Moon Jae-In from the leftleaning
main opposition Democratic
United Party.
But her departure could offer
a slight boost to Moon, who
has been neck-and-neck with
Park or slightly behind her in
recent polls. Lee used her campaign
largely to heap attacks
on Park, daughter of the late
military-backed strongman
Park Chung-Hee who ruled the
country from 1961-79.
Widely respected for transforming
the impoverished,
war-ravaged nation into an
economic juggernaut, he is
equally reviled in some quarters
for human rights abuses
during his iron-fisted rule.
— AFP
Three bodies found
adrift off Japan
TOKYO — Three bodies and a partially capsized wooden boat
were found drifting off central Japan yesterday, the coastguard
said, as a report suggested the boat originated in Korea.
The almost-submerged boat was spotted off the city of Wajima
early yesterday and the coastguard found the bodies in
the sea nearby.
The Asahi Shimbun newspaper said the craft was marked
with the Hangeul alphabet used in North and South Korea.
“The bodies have been recovered but we are still checking
details” including their gender and time of death, a coastguard
official said.
Several boats have recently been found drifting in the Sea
of Japan (East Sea) which separates Japan and the Korean peninsula.
A wooden boat containing a dead man wearing Koreanmade
boots was found near Japan on December 1, three days
after another vessel with five corpses was discovered in the
same area.
There was speculation that the five might have been North
Korean fishermen who had weather or technical troubles and
drifted out to sea.
Nine North Koreans — three men, three women and three
children — were picked up by Japan’s coastguard in September
2011 after spending five days at sea. They later travelled to
South Korea to settle there.
Meanwhile, a drifting boat from North Korea was seen
about 140 km northeast of the Oki islands on December 12.
Japan Coast Guard said on Wednesday it has rescued four
people aboard a North Korean boat that had been drifting in the
Sea of Japan, Kyodo news reported. — Agencies
1947 pacifist constitution on
the military, so Japan can play
a bigger global security role.
“It’s important to remember
that the New Komeito and
the LDP have a very different
outlook on the constitution and
the role of the military, so it
doesn’t necessarily mean that
everything will go smoothly
for the LDP,” said Narushige
Michishita at the National
Graduate Institute for Policy
Studies.
“But with more than 40
seats for the JRP (Japan Restoration
Party), it will be a lot
easier for the LDP to pressure
its coalition partner on conservative
policies... On the other
hand, they will be pressured by
the JRP to move forward with
their conservative agenda, so
it’s hard to expect much flexibility
vis-à-vis China.”
China’s official Xinhua
news agency said in an editorial
Japan’s winning party
should formulate its foreign
policy with a long-term perspective
to repair ties with
neighbours.
The news agency said it
was a “troubling sign” that
some parties in the election had
promised to take a tough stand
on territorial disputes and increase
military spending.
The LDP, which promoted
atomic energy during its decades-long
reign, is expected to
be friendly to nuclear utilities,
although deep public safety
concerns remain a barrier to
business-as-usual for the industry.
Abe has called for “unlimited”
monetary easing and big
spending on public works to
rescue the economy from its
fourth recession since 2000.
Such policies, a centrepiece
of the LDP’s platform for decades,
have been criticised by
many as wasteful pork-barrel
politics.
Kyodo news agency, quoting
sources close to the matter,
said the new government
could craft an extra budget for
2012/13 worth up to 10 trillion
yen ($120 billion) and issue
new debt to pay for it.
Many economists say that
prescription for “Abenomics”
could create temporary growth
and enable the government to
go ahead with a planned initial
sales tax rise in 2014 to help
curb a public debt now twice
the size of gross domestic
product.
But it looks unlikely to cure
deeper ills or bring sustainable
growth, and risks triggering a
market backlash if investors
decide Japan has lost control
of its finances.
“It’s a pretty big win for the
LDP. Abe’s economic policies
will be implemented so the
economy will improve next
year. The problem is what happens
after that,” said Koichi
Haji, Chief economist at NLI
Research Institute.
“Japan can’t spend on public
works for ever and the Bank
of Japan’s monetary easing
won’t keep the yen weak for
too long. The key is whether
Abe can implement long-term
structural reforms and growth
strategies.”
Japan’s economy has been
stuck in the doldrums for decades,
its population ageing fast
and big corporate brands faltering,
making “Japan Inc” a
synonym for decline.
Consumer electronics firms
such as Sony Corp are struggling
with competition from
foreign rivals and burdened
by a strong yen, which makes
their products cost more overseas.
Lawyers were expected to
quickly file suits complaining
the election is unconstitutional
after court rulings that
the difference in the “weight”
SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un
led thousands of officials yesterday in a memorial
ceremony for his late father and ex-ruler
Kim Jong-Il, days after a successful long-range
rocket launch.
The ceremony followed a mass rally two
days earlier hailing the launch of the threestage
rocket, a move which was condemned
by the UN Security Council and seen by many
countries as a disguised ballistic missile test.
Kim Jong-Il, who ruled the communist state
for 17 years, died of a heart attack on December
17 last year. His youngest son Jong-Un immediately
took over, the second dynastic succession
by the Kim dynasty which has ruled the
isolated country for more than six decades with
an iron fist and a pervasive personality cult.
Officials in black suits and uniformed military
leaders convened in a cavernous stadium
in the capital Pyongyang yesterday morning
for the hour-long memorial event, which was
televised live on state TV.
Jong-Un, stone-faced and clad in a black
of votes was too great between
densely populated urban areas
and sparse rural areas.
Judges were unlikely to rule
the election invalid, experts
said, but the controversy could
further erode trust in politics.
Meanwhile, Voters in the
Japanese capital Tokyo on
Sunday elected the political
heir of nationalist politician
Shintaro Ishihara, rejecting a
candidate strongly endorsed
by anti-nuclear activists, reports
said.
Naoki Inose, 66, a prizewinning
author and former
deputy to Ishihara, won an
easy victory against his eight
opponents, including Kenji
Utsunomiya, 66, a veteran
human rights lawyer and a
former president of the Japan
Federation of Bar Associations,
media reports said.
Utsunomiya was endorsed
by left-leaning parties because
of his calls permanently to
close Japan’s nuclear plants
following the atomic catastrophe
at the Fukushima Daiichi
power plant after last year’s
tsunami.
The Tokyo vote was essentially
a referendum on Ishihara,
who was a year into his fourth
four-year term. He provoked a
flare-up with Beijing over his
plans to buy a group of islands
that both countries claim but
Tokyo controls.
Ishihara, a veteran rightwing
firebrand who is widely
blamed for worsening the territorial
row with China, abruptly
resigned to lead a new political
party in the national polls,
where the conservative Liberal
Democratic Party appeared to
have swept to victory.
Inose has pledged to continue
Ishihara’s bid for Tokyo to
host the 2020 Olympic Games
despite the city’s costly failure
to win the 2016 Games.
— Agencies
RESCUERS search for trapped residents at a collapsed residential building in Ningbo,
Zhejiang province yesterday. According to municipal firefighters, the accident happened
in the Jiangdong district of the city of Ningbo around noon, when a six-story residential
building collapsed. A witness at the site said that some residents were trapped, Xinhua
News Agency reported. According to the Jiangdong district official microblog, one
resident died in the hospital after being rescued. — Reuters
N Korea marks 1st anniversary
of late ruler Kim Jong-Il’s death
Mao suit, sat on stage with dozens of other top
officials against the backdrop of a giant red
flag featuring a large portrait of a smiling Kim
Jong-Il. “The heart of the great leader stopped
beating but Comrade Kim Jong-Il lives with us
forever... to give blessings for the bright future
of our people,” the ceremonial head of state
Kim Yong-Nam said in a speech.
“The successful launch of our Kwangmyongsong-2
satellite is also another victory
achieved by our military and people, by faithfully
following the teachings of the great leader
(Kim Jong-Il),” he said.
It was unclear what memorial events were
scheduled on Monday, the anniversary day.
The North said the apparently successful
launch — its second after a much-heralded but
botched mission in April — was a scientific
project to put a weather satellite into orbit.
But the United States and other nations
viewed it as a disguised ballistic missile test
banned under UN resolutions triggered by its
past nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. — AFP

7 AMERICAS
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
PEOPLE stand at a memorial near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, yesterday. Right: A couple near a makeshift memorial. — AFP/Reuters
Obama joins mourning families in search for answers
NEWTOWN — President
Barack Obama arrives in Connecticut
to mourn the dead
and console the survivors
of a gunman’s rampage that
killed 20 children, all 6 and 7
years old, after he forced his
way into their school and shot
them multiple times.
Governor Dannel Malloy
yesterday became the latest
public figure to call for new
gun control measures following
last Friday’s rampage that
left 28 dead, including the
gunman who used high-powered
firearms.
“These are assault weapons.
You don’t hunt deer with
these things,” Malloy said on
the CNN programme “State
of the Union.”
Obama’s appearance at an
interfaith vigil in the oncetranquil
town of Newtown
will be watched closely for
clues as to what he meant
CARACAS — Venezuelans
voted yesterday in state elections
that will define the future
of opposition leader Henrique
Capriles and test political forces
ahead of a possible new presidential
vote if Hugo Chavez is
incapacitated by cancer.
The vote for 23 state governorships,
of which the opposition
controls seven, has been
overshadowed by the president’s
battle to recover from
cancer surgery in Cuba.
Yet it will have major implications
for the unfolding
political drama in the South
American Opec nation with the
world’s largest oil reserves.
Capriles, 40, must retain the
governorship of Miranda if he
is to remain the opposition’s
presidential candidate-inwaiting,
while both sides will
want a good showing to bring
momentum in case of a new
showdown over who replaces
when he called for “meaningful
action” to prevent such
tragedies in the wake of the
massacre on Friday.
The president arrives after
authorities released the names
of the dead on Saturday and
more details emerged about
the victims and the rampage
itself.
After killing his mother
at home, Adam Lanza, 20,
forced his way into the Sandy
Hook Elementary School and
started firing at the children,
most if not all with a powerful
rifle — a military-style
Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine
— at close range. He also
killed six adult women at the
school and himself, putting
the death toll at 28.
Though Americans have
seen many mass shootings
over the years, the victims
have rarely been so young.
Malloy, referring to the
Chavez.
“This is the best indication
of how well the opposition will
fare in an upcoming contest for
the presidency between Henrique
Capriles and designated
Chavez dauphin Vice-President
Nicolas Maduro,” said Russell
Dallen of Caracas-based BBO
Financial Services.
Whatever the private machinations
going on, in public Maduro
and other senior officials
are focused only on Chavez’s
recovery after complications
from last Tuesday’s operation
in Havana.
It was a fourth surgery for
the socialist leader since he
was diagnosed with cancer in
the pelvic region in mid-2011.
After re-election in October,
Chavez, 58, is due to start
a new term on January 10, but
has named Maduro as his preferred
successor should he be
incapacitated.
shooter, said: “We know that
he was a troubled individual,
and that he went to school
with a number of weapons
which he used on his victims
and ultimately used on himself.
... I’m sure we’ll come to
know more about him and his
problems and his family.”
Nancy Lanza legally
owned a Sig Sauer and a
Glock, both handguns commonly
used by police, and
the military-style Bushmaster
long gun, according to law
enforcement officials.
Those weapons were the
ones used by her son in the
massacre.
“The mother purchased
them. And they have the patina
of legal purchases. I mean,
there’s always a question: was
she purchasing them for herself?...
If she was purchasing
them for another individual,
her son, then there’s a ques-
That would trigger a new
presidential poll within 30
days.
In its latest update, the government
said Chavez had spoken
to his family on Friday —
possibly for the first time since
surgery — and was recovering
“satisfactorily” though slowly.
Few medical details have
been released, so speculation
is rife that Chavez may be in
a life-threatening situation in
Havana’s Cimeq hospital with
both a difficult post-operation
recovery and a possible spreading
of the cancer.
In such a charged atmosphere,
campaigning for yesterday’s
vote has taken a backseat
to masses, prayer meetings
and vigils across the nation for
Chavez.
Maduro has wept in public,
state media are replaying
images of Chavez round-theclock,
and various government
tion about that purchase,” the
governor said.
On Saturday, some Democratic
lawmakers called for
sweeping new gun-control
measures, a move certain to
encounter forceful opposition
from the nation’s pro-gun
lobby.
Malloy, a Democrat, added
his voice to the gun-control
calls yesterday. US lawmakers
have not approved a major
new gun law since 1994,
and they let a ban on certain
semiautomatic rifles known
as assault weapons expire in
2004.
Malloy lamented that the
assault ban was allowed to
lapse. He also said a lot of
guns used in crimes in his
state were actually purchased
in other states and brought to
Connecticut.
“Connecticut has a pretty
aggressive law. Probably of
candidates held closing rallies
simply playing the president’s
voice.
The sympathy factor could
benefit Chavez’s candidates
and offset the disadvantage of
losing his charismatic presence
on the campaign trail in
advance.
“Without wishing to be triumphalist,
we have big chances
of winning the 23 governorships
and that is the biggest
support we can give Chavez,”
said his brother Adan Chavez,
who is seeking re-election in
their hometown state of Barinas.
Still smarting from defeat in
October, the opposition hopes
voters will focus on grassroots
issues and punish the government
for power-cuts, pot-holed
roads, corruption scandals,
violent crime and runaway inflation.
“I put my life at the service
the 50 states, I think we’re
ranked fourth most aggressive
in trying to limit access
to these kinds of weapons,”
the governor said.
Pope Benedict expressed
his pain over the killings,
telling crowds of pilgrims
gathered in St Peter’s Square
in Vatican City yesterday he
was “deeply saddened.”
“I assure the families of
the victims, especially those
who lost a child, of my closeness
in prayer. May the God
of consolation touch their
hearts and ease their pain,”
the pope said.
“Upon those affected by
this tragedy, and upon each of
you, I invoke God’s abundant
blessings!”
An appalled and grieving
nation learned more about the
dead.
Olivia Engel had a part in
a nativity play at St Rose of
VENEZUELANS look for their identification number on lists outside a voting station during regional election in Caracas yesterday. — AFP
Absent Chavez dominates state polls
of Miranda and Venezuela,”
Capriles said in his closing
rally. “I’m not here to stay in
power but to make a dream (of
national change) come true.”
Though widely expected
to retain his Miranda seat,
Capriles faces a well-financed
challenge from senior Chavez
ally Elias Jaua, a former vicepresident.
If he defeats Capriles, it
would leave the opposition in
disarray and possibly spark infighting
over who would be its
next presidential candidate.
Two other opposition governors,
Pablo Perez and Henri
Falcon, are obvious possibilities.
But first they too must retain
their posts to maintain
credibility, and they do not
have the national recognition
Capriles achieved during his
unsuccessful run for the presidency
in October. — Reuters
Lima Catholic Church. “She
was supposed to be an angel
in the play. Now she’s an angel
up in heaven,” Monsignor
Robert Weiss told a packed
crowd at the church before
the play on Saturday.
Emilie Parker, another of
the child victims, was studying
Portuguese with her father,
Robbie Parker, who
opened up about his daughter
in an emotional news conference
in which he turned both
glowing and teary.
“As the deep pain begins
to settle into our hearts, we
find comfort reflecting on the
incredible person that Emilie
was and how many lives she
was able to touch in her short
time here on Earth,” Parker
said.
“This world is a better
place because she has been in
it,” he said.
Vicki Leigh Soto, 27,
Cash-strapped Cuba presses
drive to strike black gold
HAVANA — Cuba is moving
fast to try to tap subsea oil
wealth, and will start work in
“days” with Russia’s Zarubezhneft,
drilling this country’s
deepest offshore well yet, state
oil firm Cubapet said.
“Cubapetroleo reports that
(Norwegian-owned) semisubmersible
platform Songa Mercur
has arrived offshore off the
north-central coast to continue
in a matter of days offshore exploratory
well-drilling work,”
said a statement in Granma,
the Communist Party of Cuba’s
newspaper.
The Norwegian-owned machinery
run in partnership with
the Russian company will tap
exploratory well L-01X, down
to 6,500 metres, the deepest
drilled to date in Cuba. Work is
expected to go on for about six
months, the statement added.
saved her first-grade students’
lives by putting herself
between the kids and the gunman.
Britain’s Independent on
Sunday newspaper splashed
her photo on its front page
with the caption “The Heroine
of Sandy Hook.”
School district officials
said classes would resume
tomorrow, except at Sandy
Hook. As of Saturday night,
they were still working on
a plan for how and where to
let the school’s kindergartenthrough-fourth-grade
classes
resume.
Police said on Saturday
they had assembled “some
very good evidence” on the
killer’s motives but revealed
little.
Lanza had struggled at
times to fit into the community
and his mother Nancy
pulled him out of school for
several years, to home-school
Songa Mercur is replacing
the Italian-owned Scarabeo
9, which was used but failed
to strike usable crude three
times. The nearby United
States voiced concerns about
potential for catastrophic environmental
damage in the event
of an accident, in Cuba’s still
untested industry.
Energy is Cuba’s Achilles
heel, and it relies heavily
on close ally Venezuela and
its Socialist President Hugo
Chavez for its cut-rate supplies.
With Chavez, 58, recovering
from more cancer surgery
here, Cuba has never been in
as big a hurry to try to achieve
energy independence.
Some studies estimate the
112,000-square-kilometre
area has probable reserves of
between five and nine billion
him, said Louise Tambascio,
the owner of My Place Restaurant,
where his mother
was a long-time patron.
His father, Peter Lanza,
issued a statement saying the
family was in a “state of disbelief.”
“We too are asking
why,” the statement said.
The death toll exceeded
that of one of the most notorious
US school shootings, the
1999 rampage at Columbine
High School in Littleton,
Colorado, where two teenagers
killed 13 students and
staff before fatally shooting
themselves.
At Virginia Tech, a Blacksburg,
Virginia university where
in 2007 a gunman killed 32
people in the deadliest school
shooting in US history, an announcer
extended sympathies
to the residents of Newtown
before a basketball game on
Saturday. — Reuters
barrels of crude oil, though
Cuban authorities say there
could be as many as 20 billion
barrels.
Cuba produces oil from
wells on land and in shallow
water, but they are reaching
their capacity limits. It also
imports 100,000 barrels of oil
a day from Venezuela, which
supplies oil to Cuba on easy
terms.
If it finally accesses its
suspected oil assets, Cuba —
which is larger than Portugal
and has just 11 million people
— could go from a dirt-poor
Communist Cinderella to an
oil-rich Caribbean power almost
overnight. A shock loss
of Venezuelan support and its
economic importance to Cuba
could endanger the Americas’
only one-party Communist regime.
— AFP

8 INDIA
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
A PARA-MILITARY soldier keeps vigil at a storage room where Electoral Voting Machines (EVM) and other election documents
are stored, in Ahmedabad yesterday. The state goes to polls today as part of its second and final phase. — AFP
Chaos at Cong meet
over Telangana
HYDERABAD — Chaos prevailed
at the day-long state
conclave of the ruling Congress
party here yesterday
with a section of leaders from
Telangana insisting the meet
pay respects to those who died
for a separate Telangana state.
During the conference at
L B Stadium here, parliament
members, leaders and workers
from Telangana raised slogans
in support of a separate statehood
to the region.
The conference was disrupted
for a while in the afternoon
after a verbal duel
between state Congress chief
Botsa Satyanarayana and MP
Ponnam Prabhakar. Other
MPs from Telangana supported
Prabhakar and raised
slogans of “Jai Telangana”.
There were also counter
slogans from leaders of Andhra
and Raylaseema regions,
opposing the state’s bifurca-
tion.
To prevent the situation
from taking an ugly turn,
Congress general secretary in
charge of party affairs in the
state Ghulam Nabi Azad intervened
to ensure that the participants
observe two-minute
silence as a mark of respect to
Telangana martyrs.
Satyanarayana had earlier
rejected Prabhakar’s demand
and said that people died in
the agitations (against state’s
bifurcation) in other regions
too. He said that the meeting
was being held to pay respects
to those killed in recent cyclones.
In an emotional speech,
Prabhakar said not observing
silence was an insult to
Telangana “martyrs”. He also
wondered why the government
was providing security
to YSR Congress party leader
Sharmila’s walkathon in Te-
langana. Satyanarayana, in
his inaugural address, hoped
that the Congress leadership
would find an amicable solution
to the Telangana issue.
The meeting was attended
by leaders from the grassroot
level to central ministers. It is
seen as an attempt by the Congress
to come out with an action
plan to win back people’s
confidence ahead of the 2014
general elections.
However, Union ministers
S. Jaipal Reddy and Kishore
Chandra Deo, who have differences
with Chief Minister
Kiran Kumar Reddy, stayed
away from the meeting. MPs
Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, Rayapati
Sambasiva Rao, Harsha
Kumar, central leader Renuka
Chowdhary and a section of
state legislators also did not
attend the meeting. — IANS
Call to extend funds for
Kochi-Muziris Biennale
KOCHI — The Kochi-Muziris
Biennale received more
than 20,000 footfalls during
the past five day since it
was opened on Wednesday
as prominent artists urge the
government and corporate
houses to extend financial
support to it.
The government had
earlier stopped funding the
project and ordered probe into
alleged violation of norms
while allocating Rs50mn two
years back by the previous
government for upgrading a
hall where former maharajahs
used to hold their court into
an art gallery of international
standards.
A day after celebrated artist
Vivan Sundaram made
an impassioned plea to the
government to release more
funds, a conclave of art fraternity
reiterated the demand
yesterday to save the event
and pave the way for its next
edition two years later.
Led by noted artist and curator
Prof. Ghulam Mohammad
Sheikh, the artists said
the state government should
redeem its pledge by releasing
the promised amount.
The appeal for funds came
as visitors including Bollywood
actor John Abraham
visited the event.
Abraham while spending
two hours at the main venue
observing the installations
and artists at work, pledged
Rs1mn to the biennale foundation.
“I’m extremely happy to
visit my native land on this
kind of an occasion,” the ac-
tor whose father hails from
the region said.
Earlier, participating in the
symposium, jointly moderated
by Marieke Van Hal and Gaytari
Sinha, the speakers were
almost unanimous in stating
that a biennale needs to move
beyond the realm of aesthetics
to align itself with the needs
of the time and become an instrument
of civil activism.
A surge in the number
of visitors has meanwhile
prompted its organisers to
close the event for the public
on all Mondays for maintenance
till the concluding day
on March 13 next year.
A delegation from Punjab
Tourism, led by the department’s
principal secretary
Geetika Kalha, visited the Biennale
venues yesterday.
Gadgil report on Western Ghats
detrimental to Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — The CPI-M
yesterday said the Madhav Gadgil report on
the Western Ghats ecology would prove detrimental
to development of Kerala if implemented
in full. “If implemented in toto, districts
like Wayanad and Idukki will have no human
population at all,” a Communist Party of India-
Marxist statement said.
A few months ago, the Western Ghats Ecology
Experts Panel (WGEEP-2011), headed by
noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil, submitted to
the union ministry of environment and forests
a report on protecting the ecology of the Western
Ghats. The CPI-M said a majority of the
recommendations made in the report could not
be implemented in a state like Kerala owing to
its high density of population.
The Gadgil report’s recommendations include
categorisation of the Western Ghats into
three zones of varied ecological sensitivity,
besides a framework for the establishment of
a Western Ghats ecological authority with adequate
legal and administrative powers.
“The zoning of the state appears unscientific,
and if it is accepted, then developmental activities
in various cities and towns of the state
will come to a halt,” the CPI-M said.
“Kerala is hugely dependant on hydel power
and the report suggests that not only can we
cannot have new dams, but also knock down
the (existing) ones like the Idukki dam.”
The CPI-M says it is important to protect
the Western Ghats, but for that the state government
needs to take people into confidence and
see that it’s done in a scientific manner. Early
this month, the Idukki diocese of the Syro Malabar
Catholic Church termed the report as part
of an international conspiracy. — IANS
War heroes remembered
on Vijay Diwas
AGARTALA — Vijay Diwas
was celebrated yesterday
in Tripura to commemorate
brave soldiers of the Indian
Army who laid down their
lives in the war in 1971.
The Instrument of Surrender
was signed by the
Eastern Command of Pakistan
Armed Forces on December
16, 1971, bringing the war to
an end.
A wreath laying ceremony
was organised at the War Memorial
in Lichu Bangan and
in the capital city Agartala.
Tripura Governor D Y Patil
and the state’s Science and
Technology Minister Joygobinda
Debroy laid the wreaths
in memory of slain soldiers.
The Border Security Force
(BSF) and Border Guard
Bangladesh (BGB) officials
and troopers exchanged
sweets at various locations on
the international border.
Discussions, cultural functions
and a get-together of
people from various walks of
Jayalalithaa seeks early
licence for state TV body
CHENNAI — Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa
yesterday urged Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to direct
the ministry of information
and broadcasting to issue
the digital addressable
system licence to a stategovernment
owned cable TV
corporation.
In a letter to Singh, the
text of which was released to
the media here, Jayalalithaa
said the multi-system operator
Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable
TV Corporation had applied
for the licence on July 5 but
the issue is till pending.
“It is learnt that the ministry
of information and broadcasting
has issued the digital
addressable system licence to
nine other multi-system operators
(MSO) in Tamil Nadu,
including those who applied
after the Tamil Nadu Arasu
SRINAGAR — Six soldiers
were killed and one was missing
after their post was buried
under an avalanche in Siachen
Glacier area of Ladakh region
yesterday, army officials said
here even as authorities issued
warning for the higher
reaches of the Valley.
“In a tragic incident, six jawans
were killed and one jawan
of 1 Assam Regiment is
missing when they were buried
under an avalanche in Turtuk
area of Siachen Glacier in
Jammu and Kashmir today
(Sunday),” Lt Col J S Brar,
spokesman of army’s Srinagar
based 15 Corps, said.
life were arranged as part of
a day-long programme at the
Bangladesh mission in Agartala.
According to historian
Bikach Chowdhury, Tripura
had six to seven camps in four
sectors from where the ‘muktijoddhas’
(freedom fighters)
fought the Pakistani forces in
the nine-month-long war in
1971 that led to the creation
of Bangladesh, which was
earlier East Pakistan.
“Over 1,600,000 Bangladeshis
— a number larger
than the state’s then total
population of 1,500,000 —
had taken shelter in Tripura
alone,” he said.
The Liberation War, as it
is called in Bangladesh, later
turned into a full-scale India-
Pakistan war, leading to surrenders
of thousands of Pakistani
soldiers in December
1971.
India was the first country
to recognise Bangladesh.
— IANS
Cable TV Corporation Ltd,”
Jayalalithaa added.
She said the digital addressable
system licence has
not been issued to Tamil Nadu
Arasu Cable despite a team
of parliament members belonging
to AIADMK meeting
Manmohan Singh November
29 and giving a representation
on the matter.
“However, the digital addressable
system licence is
yet to be issued by the ministry
of information and broadcasting,”
she said.
“It is pertinent to mention
here that the... Madurai
Bench of the Madras High
Court has also passed orders
December 6 that the process
of issue of licence to Tamil
Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation
may go on and the
licence may also be issued”,
the letter notes. — IANS
6 soldiers die, 1 missing
in Siachen avalanche
“At 6.15 am today our
posts at a height of over
17,000 feet came under an
avalanche. Avalanche rescue
teams along with rescue dogs
were pressed into operation.”
Siachen Glacier is known
as the highest battlefield in the
world where Indian and Pakistani
troops are posted round
the year to protect their respective
positions. Aamir Ali, head
of disaster management in the
valley, said: “Medium danger
avalanche warning is issued
for people living in Keran,
Tangdhar, Machil, Chowkibal,
Gurez, Bannihal, Uri and Gulmarg
areas. — IANS
Gujarat polls final
round set for today
AHMEDABAD — Gujarat is
set for today’s second and final
round of polling to decide if
Chief Minister Narendra Modi
gets a new five-year term or
Congress can bounce back to
power in the state assembly.
An estimated 19.8 million
voters are eligible to take part
in the balloting in 95 of the 182
constituencies. Voting took
place in first round on Thursday
in 87 constituencies.
Both the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and the
Congress have interpreted the
heavy polling in first phase to
claim they were poised to win
the Gujarat battle for ballot.
The regions going to the
polls include Kutch, north Gujarat
and central Gujarat.
“More than 70 per cent will
vote in this phase too,” asserted
BJP Rajya Sabha member
Natuji Thakor. “North Gujarat
is Narendrabhai’s (Modi) area.
He is the son of the soil. People
will vote overwhelmingly
for him and the BJP.”
He added: “We are expecting
more votes in central Gu-
By Ashraf Padanna
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — Dr Shashi
Tharoor, junior minister for human resources
development, has urged swift action on the demand
for a bench of the Kerala High Court in
the state capital
“It is high time that the basic issues involved
in the decades-long demand were addressed by
all concerned and swiftly acted upon,” Dr Tharoor
said here yesterday.
Dr Tharoor was reacting to reports on the
Kerala HC Senior Advocates’ Association’s demand
for the closing down of the recently constituted
Kerala Administrative Tribunal here.
The association had reportedly said that the
tribunal was not an effective alternative mechanism
to the high court since its orders could be
challenged before the HC, currently located in
the central port city of Kochi.
The objective of reducing the workload of
the HC could not be achieved by the tribunal.
The tribunal entails a heavy financial burden on
litigants and the State.
“The views expressed by the association, if
they have been correctly reported, that the tribunal
served only the interests of retired judges
and retired civil servants was in bad taste and
jarat than last time.”
Senior Congress leader
Shaktisinh Gohil was equally
confident. “I think we will see
a heavy turnout in this phase
as well,” he said. “People will
vote in favour of the Congress,
given the anti-incumbency.”
The BJP is contesting all 95
seats, the Congress 92 and the
Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP)
of former BJP chief minister
Keshubhai Patel 84. Also
in the fray are 84 candidates
of the Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) and 284 Independents.
A total of 49 women candidates
are also in the fray.
There are 10.3 million male
and 9.5 million female voters.
Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha
district has the maximum
number of 18 candidates while
Fatepura in Dahod district has
just three — the least number.
The Election Commission
said 23,318 electronic voting
machines will be used in as
many polling stations, with
10,126 of them dubbed “critical”
— an official euphemism
to mean they could witness
disturbances or violence.
Abdasa is the largest assembly
constituency (area
wise) with 6,278 sq km territory
and Ghatlodia has the most
number of voters (285,998).
Among the constituencies
that will see polling today are
Ellisbridge, where slain BJP
leader Haren Pandya’s widow
Jagruti is contesting against
the BJP, and Naranpura, where
Modi’s confidant Amit Shah,
a former minister, is a candidate.
The millions of votes
cast in the Gujarat election —
along with those of Himachal
Pradesh — will be counted on
December 20.
If the BJP wins, Modi —
who has been chief minister
since 2001 — could start
playing a larger national role
both in the BJP and pan-India
politics. A defeat for the BJP
could, however, puncture
Modi’s larger political ambitions
and prove a great morale
booster for the Congress
ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha
election. — IANS
Tharoor demands HC
bench in Kerala capital
NEW DELHI — The government
has not yet given up
hope on Delhi’s Airport Metro
project, suspended since July
8 following discovery of structural
faults, and also does not
feel that a public-private partnership
(PPP) model is unsuited
for infrastructure projects.
“Problems in the Delhi
Metro Airport Express, a PPP
model, should not be taken as
failure of all such PPP projects
in the infrastructure sector,”
said Urban Development Secretary
Sudhir Krishna.
He was speaking at the
“Challenges of PPP”, a session
at the 27th Indian Engineering
Congress organised by the Institute
of Engineers, here yesterday.
“The urban development
ministry is upbeat and positive
about the future of PPP models
in infrastructure, including the
Delhi Metro Airport Express
project, which will be soon operational
after final nod from
the Commissioner for Metro
Rail Safety (CMRS) to resume
services,” Krishna said.
Krishna said measures were
being taken to resolve the issue
between Delhi Metro and Reliance,
the concessionaire of the
Airport Metro Express Line,
India’s first public-private part-
uncalled for,” he said.
Dr Tharoor said the solution to the problem
is not to close down the tribunal but to set
up a bench of the High Court at Thiruvananthapuram
alongside the tribunal.
“The bulk of the litigation in the HC is related
to the Government and it would be financial
prudence and administrative convenience that
these cases are dealt with in the state capital,”
he said.
“At present, the geographical disconnect
between the highest seat of Justice in the State
and the body which has to reply to a major portion
of the litigation, is leading to unnecessary
delays and avoidable expenditure in the dispensation
of justice”.
He pointed out that it was not without reason
that the legislative assemblies adopted resolutions
for the setting up of the bench twice in
the past with majorities cutting across the entire
political spectrum.
“The issue of the setting up of a Bench is
one which should not and cannot be put off any
longer. It is high time that the basic issues involved
are considered once and for all by all
the stakeholders involved and acted upon in the
best interests of justice and welfare of the people,”
Dr Tharoor said.
GERARD Detourbet (R), vice-president for Renault’s entry-level programme, in
Chennai. Detourbet, 66, moved to Chennai early this year and has been quietly
building an Indian supplier network and crack team of local executives,
including several lured away from the competition. — Reuters
Not lost hope on Delhi’s Airport
Metro, PPP projects: official
nership Metro project.
Services on the Rs 5,700crore
($11.5-billion) project,
touted as an urban infrastructure
showpiece, were stopped
July 8 because of major structural
defects. Reliance Infrastructure,
which operated the
line, said civil defects were
noticed from day one of the
service. It is not certain when
the line will restart. Launched
mainly to ferry people to Terminal
3 of the Indira Gandhi
International Airport, the 23km
line averaged a daily ridership
of 20,000. Around 70 per
cent commuters were air passengers.

ITALIAN Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paolo (C) with Italian Marines Massimiliano Latorre (L) and Salvatore
Girone (R), who are currently under conditional bail for charges of murdering two Indian fishermen in Kochi yesterday.
Marines’ case: Italy minister in India
KOCHI — Italian Defence
Minister Giampaolo Di Paola
said here yesterday that he
respects the Indian Supreme
Court and expects that the case
of the two Marines who shot
two Indian fishermen dead in
February would be sorted.
Di Paola, a highly decorated
retired naval admiral,
arrived here along with a team
of officials on Saturday night
to meet the two Italian Marines
currently out on bail.
This is the second time Di
Paola has met the Marines
since the shooting at sea.
The Italian defence minis-
ter had in March this year met
the two Marines in the Central
Prison in the capital city.
"They wish to celebrate
Christmas with their parents
and families, and we wish that
happens," Di Paola said, expressing
confidence that the issue
would be resolved in keeping
with international law.
On Friday, the two Marines
had submitted a petition
to the Kerala High Court that
their bail conditions should
be relaxed and they should be
allowed to return to Italy to
celebrate Christmas. The petition
is expected to come up for
hearing in court tomorrow.
The apex court is hearing
a petition that this case should
be heard based on international
law, as the shooting occurred
beyond India's waters.
Latorre Massimillano and
Salvatore Girone, the two
Marines, were granted bail on
May 30. They have sought a
relaxation in bail conditions
which specify that they must
submit their travel documents
and not leave the area that falls
within the Kochi police commissioner's
jurisdiction.
They are allowed to travel
to Kollam, where their case is
being heard.
Police had earlier told the
court that they would oppose
any relaxation in the bail conditions
because there was no
guarantee they would return.
Massimillano and Girone,
who are staying in a hotel
here, were allegedly involved
in the killing of two Indian
fishermen, Ajesh Binki and
Gelastine, on February 15. The
Marines said they mistook the
fishermen for pirates and shot
them dead off Alappuzha. The
Marines were serving as security
crew aboard the Italian
cargo vessel Enrica Lexie.
Appeal to reject anti-terror law
NEW YORK — The Indian parliament
should reject proposed amendments to
its counterterrorism act that could lead to
further misuse of the draconian law, Human
Rights Watch has said.
Parliament should call on the government
to withdraw the amendments to
the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
1967 (UAPA), which is scheduled for a
vote in the Rajya Sabha today.
On November 30, the Lok Sabha
passed the amendments to the UAPA,
India’s principal counter-terrorism law,
without significant input or scrutiny from
the general public or civil society groups.
The amendments would allow the
government broad leeway to increase
bans on proscribed organisations to five
years and widen the definition of a person
to any association of individuals.
“While India has a responsibility to
protect citizens from terror attacks, the
counter-terrorism law has long been
abused to detain suspects for excessive
periods, file charges on fabricated
evidence, and ban organisations without
due process of law,” said Meenakshi
Ganguly, South Asia director at Human
LISHA Saldanha (R) and Junal Saldanha (C), children of India-born nurse Jacintha
Saldanha, 46, arrive at the airport to receive their mother's coffin at the
Bajpe Airport in Mangalore yesterday. — AFP
Body of royal hoax nurse reaches India
MANGALORE — The body
of an Indian-born nurse who
was found hanged after taking
a hoax call to the hospital
treating Prince William's
wife arrived in Mangalore
yesterday following a memorial
mass in London.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, apparently
committed suicide
after answering the prank
telephone call from two Australian
radio DJs to the hospital
where Catherine was admitted
during the early stages
of her pregnancy.
Her funeral is expected to
take place today near Mangalore
in Shirva, the home town
of her husband Benedict Barboza.
He accompanied her
body on a flight yesterday
along with their son, 16, and
daughter, 14.
"Jacintha and her family,
they were working in the UK
to earn their daily bread,"
Stany Tauro, priest of the
Our Lady of Health Church
in Shirva, said. "The community
is sad over the death."
He said locals were proud
that she had been a successful
nurse who worked in a
hospital where the British
royal family were treated,
but many were shocked at
the tragedy.
Tauro said residents
would be able to pay final respects
to the body before the
mass scheduled at 4:00 pm
(1030 GMT) and the burial
ceremony.
C Mutthiah, deputy commissioner
of police in Mangalore,
confirmed the body
had landed in Mangalore,
while a family source said
that it would be kept in a
mortuary overnight and taken
to Shirva today.
Saldanha's frail mother
lives with her other daughter
and a son in Mangalore, 360
kilometres from Bangalore
in the western state of Karnataka.
"I feel very sorry that
those two kids, they lost their
mother's love and affection,"
said local politician D V
Sadananda Gowda after visiting
a family relative.
"The government... is
seeking an inquiry so that the
truth should come out and
what the reasons are behind
this incident."
Saldanha's body arrived a
day after the nurse's children
told a service at London's
Westminster Cathedral that
her death had created "an unfillable
void" in their lives.
Rights Watch.
“These amendments will make the law
an even more dangerous tool in the hands
of officials who seek to oppress peaceful
critics and minority communities.”
The proposed amendments expand
the definition of the “person” who can
be charged under the law to include “an
association of persons or a body of individuals,
whether incorporated or not”.
Human Rights Watch expressed concern
that this would allow the police
to charge an individual merely on the
grounds of contact with a suspect.
‘No force can
stop Congress
from coming
to power’
HYDERABAD — No force
on earth can stop the Congress
from coming back to
power for the third consecutive
time both at the centre
and in Andhra Pradesh, said
party leader Ghulam Nabi
Azad.
Addressing the party's
state conclave here yesterday,
he said the Congress
was not weak in the state
and it can repeat the results
of 2004 and 2009.
Azad, who is in charge
of party affairs in the state,
urged the party cadre to take
the achievements of Congress-led
United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) central
government and the party
government of the state to
the people.
The party general secretary
stressed the need for
unity among the Congress
cadre. "If we work unitedly,
nobody can defeat us," he
said.
Azad also announced that
the Congress would hold
similar open meetings in all
districts of the state. Underlining
the need for greater
co-ordination, he said the
party would have to take all
sections of society along.
"Unless we instill confidence
in them, we can't succeed."
Referring to 2004 campaign
in which he had participated,
Azad said the party
was capable of repeating the
same performance. "We need
courage and efforts. Some
of these efforts are required
at Delhi, state, district and
block levels," he said.
9 INDIA
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Malik visit shows little progress
Meetings, talks and visa accord launch
NEW DELHI — Pakistan
Interior Minister Rehman
Malik's visit to India saw the
two countries operationalise a
liberalised visa agreement but
make little headway on key issues
including action against
Lashkar-e-Taiba founder and
Mumbai attacks suspected
mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
Before flying home yesterday
after his three-day visit,
Malik claimed that Indian
non-state actors were also involved
in the attacks and that
the 26/11 accused Abu Jundal
"worked as a source for (an)
agency of India" and could
have turned into a double
agent. Indian Home Secretary
R K Singh refuted the claim.
Malik also insisted that Pakistan
was in no way involved
with the 2008 Mumbai incident
that left 166 Indians and
foreigners dead and plunged
India-Pakistan ties to a new
low.
Malik stuck a discordant
note on the first day of his visit
on Friday with his purported
ISLAMABAD — Kashmiri
separatist leaders, led by moderate
Hurriyat faction chief
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, have
reached Pakistan for talks on
the Kashmir issue a media report
said yesterday.
A seven-member delegation
from the All Parties Hurriyat
Conference arrived in
Lahore from New Delhi on
Saturday, Xinhua reported.
They will hold talks with
Pakistani officials in the coming
days.
Talking to the media after
his arrival in Lahore, Mirwaiz
Umar Farooq said lasting
peace in the region cannot be
ensured without resolving the
Kashmir issue.
The leader urged India and
Pakistan yesterday to fully
open the border in the Himalayan
region to let the peace
process move forward.
Farooq said the current
limited opening of the Line of
Control, the de facto frontier
in Kashmir, was not enough.
The leader of the moderate
Hurriyat Conference is leading
the delegation to Pakistan
following an invitation from
Islamabad.
He arrived in Muzaffarabad,
the capital of Pakistan ad-
comparison of Babri mosque
demolition with the Mumbai
attacks. He later denied making
a comparison.
He also clarified on his
remarks pertaining to Kargil
martyr Captain Saurabh Kalia
and said he was prepared to
get the information about his
torture probed.
Malik did not get a concrete
assurance from Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh
on the long-standing invitation
to visit the neighbouring
country. His meeting with the
prime minister was short and
described as "courtesy call" by
officials.
The Pakistan minister admitted
that there was perception
in India about his country
not doing enough to bring to
book those responsible for
Mumbai attack.
He said a proposed visit by
Pakistan's judicial commission
to India to cross-examine
26/11 witnesses would help
expedite the conviction of the
seven accused arrested in Pa-
ministered Kashmir yesterday.
"Limited movement of
people and goods is not
enough, it should be opened
for Kashmiris so that they can
move across freely to boost
the peace process," Farooq
told reporters.
He said Kashmiris should
be included in the peace process
as it was not a dispute between
just India and Pakistan.
"No solution without the
involvement of Kashmiris
kistan.
India can set the terms for
the visit of the second judicial
commission. "Once the procedure
ends, we will be able to
get conviction."
He stuck to his line about
Saeed, who India wants deported.
At an interaction held
here by the Observer Research
Foundation, Malik said Pakistan
was awaiting "substantial
evidence" from New Delhi to
act against Saeed.
Information provided by
India relied on a statement of
Ajmal Kasab, the man arrested
in Mumbai and hanged last
month for the assault and was
not sufficient, he said. "We
need substantial evidence ...
still waiting for that."
On India's concern about
cross-LOC infiltration, Malik
said the Pakistan government
had no hand in it.
Appearing conciliatory on
concerns of Indian leaders on
the Hindu minority in Pakistan,
Malik said his government
will take action against
will be acceptable to us as we
are an important party in the
Kashmir dispute."
"Pakistan has played a very
positive role in the solution of
Kashmir issue and it always
extended its moral diplomatic
and political support to the
Kashmiri people," Xinhua
quoted the Mirwaiz as saying.
Pakistan had invited the
Kashmiri leaders to listen to
their views, officials said.
They will also apprise Pa-
any case of forceful conversion
of minorities.
He invited Bharatiya Janata
Party leader Sushma Swaraj,
whom he met on Saturday,
to visit Pakistan and see that
there was "no mass migration"
of Hindus from the country.
Dalbir Kaur, the sister
of death row convict Sarabjit
Singh, got an assurance
from the minister that he will
provide full assistance in the
case related to her brother's
release.
In his interaction with National
Security Advisor Shivshankar
Menon, Malik discussed
his assessment about
terrorism in the region.
There was no joint statement
by Malik and Home
Minister Sushilkumar Shinde
during the visit though the two
sides discussed a gamut of issues
including counter-terrorism,
border management, fake
Indian currency notes and cooperation
among security and
investigation agencies.
— IANS
Kashmiri leaders in Pakistan for talks
SHIMLA — Popular tourist resort
Manali and its nearby destinations
in Himachal Pradesh
turned more picturesque with
fresh spells of snow.
The minimum temperature
recorded at Manali that saw
7.5 cm of snow was 1.2 degrees
Celsius below the freezing
point, the weather office
here said.
"Manali and the hills overlooking
it experienced snow
for the third consecutive day
Sunday," an official at the meteorological
office said.
Kalpa, some 250 km from
Shimla, experienced 5 cm of
snow. The town saw a low of
minus 1.6 degrees Celsius.
Keylong in Lahaul and
Spiti district was the coldest
place in the state with tem-
LEADERS from Kashmir Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (C), Bilal Gani Lone (2L) and Abdul
Ghani Bhatt (L) with Pakistan-administered Kashmir President Sardar
Yaqub (R) in Muzaffarabad yesterday. — AFP
Manali receives more snow
perature slipping to minus 6.6
degrees Celsius, while it was
6.2 degrees above the freezing
point in Dharamsala and 3.8
degrees in Shimla.
District Tourism Officer
Balbir Thakur said this weekend
saw a good arrival of
tourists in Manali mainly due
to snow. Manali and nearby
tourist destinations have good
snow cover and would stay
covered in snow for the next
few days, he added.
The weatherman said the
western disturbances are expected
to recede after December
18, and the weather would
be dry after that.
Meanwhile in New Delhi,
it was cloudy and pleasant yesterday
with maximum temperature
a notch above average at
23.5 degree Celsius. Today is
also likely to start on a cloudy
note and see some rain.
Minimum temperature early
yesterday was six notches
above average at 14.1 degrees
Celsius, as a cloud cover enveloped
the city. This was
even as 0.2 mm of rain was
recorded in the early hours.
“The cloud cover acts like
a greenhouse and traps heat...
the temperature was above average,”
said an official from
the India Meteorological Department
(IMD).
Today is likely to begin
on a partly cloudy note, with
chances of rain at some places.
The sky will, however, become
clear towards evening,
IMD said. Shallow fog will be
there in the morning.
Justice sought in Aarushi case
NEW DELHI — Over 3,000 people have supported
till now an online petition questioning
the CBI's probe into the 2008 Aarushi Talwar-
Hemraj double murder case.
The petition also seeks justice for the teenager's
parents Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, both
dentists, currently facing trial after being accused
of murdering her at their flat in Noida
May 16, 2008.
The webpage, www.change.org/aarushi,
was launched two months ago by Talwars'
friend, Shiba Mehra.
"We have made a chain e-mail system
through which information about the petition
is being passed," Rahul Mishra, another family
friend of the Talwars, said.
"We are also taking help of social networking
sites to add more people to the campaign,"
Mishra said.
Aarushi's paternal aunt Vandana Talwar
told IANS: "The CBI needs to have more accountability
and transparency in functioning so
that they do not harass the innocent and let the
guilty get away.
"We hope the petition will create awareness
about the lapses in the case. We don't want similar
recurrences in other cases," she said.
She said Arushi's parents were the victims
who were not even allowed to grieve properly.
"They are victims. Today they are facing
trial due to the deliberate acts of omission and
unsubstantiated insinuations of the CBI," she
said.
Aarushi's body was found with its throat slit
at a flat in an apartment block in Noida while
the body of the family's domestic help Hemraj
was found on the terrace the next day.
The case was initially handled by Uttar
Pradesh (UP) Police but was handed over to
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"UP Police mishandled the case as they
lacked professional expertise essential for getting
evidence on the spot. In order to cover up
for their inept handling, they fabricated a baseless
and make-believe story, implicating the
parents," the petition says.
"The petition will be submitted to the
government and investigating agencies when
the numbers cross over 5,000," said Mishra.
— IANS
kistani leaders of the efforts
being made by the Hurriyat
Conference for resolution of
the dispute.
The Mirwaiz urged India to
create a congenial atmosphere
for talks with Pakistan on the
issue.
He said Pakistan should
stress on inclusion of Kashmiri
people in the dialogue
process with India to make it
meaningful and result-oriented.
— Agencies
Explosives
seized, three
arrested
RANCHI — A huge quantity
of explosives was seized
from a car and three people
arrested in Jharkhand yesterday,
police said.
Police stopped a Santro
car near Maharajpur, 500
km from here and recovered
1,600 pieces of detonators
and gelatin sticks. All the
three people travelling in the
car were taken into custody.
The arrested people are
being interrogated by police.
Jharkhand is infested
with Maoist insurgents, who
also use such explosives to
target security personnel and
their vehicles. — IANS
Angry
customer
shoots waiter
NEW DELHI — Angered
over being served stale food,
a man opened fire at a waiter
in Connaught Place in central
Delhi, early yesterday.
No one was injured in the
incident, police said.
Rajesh, 27, along with
his two friends, went to
Jain Dhaba around 6.30 am,
a food joint in the central
Delhi comemrcial district of
Connaught Place.
According to police, the
waiter identified as Monu
allegedly served Rajesh leftover
food.
"Rajesh refused to eat
the food and an argument
ensued. He then fired at the
waiter, who ran for cover," a
police official said.

Moment
of truth?
By Andy Goldberg
AT the end of last
year, the biggest
questions that social
media mavens were debating
was when Facebook
would go public and for
how much. It didn’t take
long for them to get their
answer. In February, the
social networking giant
filed papers to go public at
a valuation of $106 billion,
amid the kind of hoopla that
hadn’t been seen since the
climax of the dotcom bubble
in 2000.
That was when media giant
Time Warner agreed to a
merger with what was then
the high flying darling of
the internet, AOL, in a “deal
of the century” worth a
jaw-dropping $182 billion.
Yet the ink was hardly dry
when the dotcom bubble
burst turning the deal into
one of the worst corporate
fiascos on record.
“Fiasco” was also the
word used by the Wall
Street Journal to describe
the fate of Facebook’s
record share launch on May
18, when only the failure of
the trading system and the
intervention of underwriters
stopped the share price falling
below its launch level.
But by the end of May
the stock had lost a quarter
of its value, sinking to a low
of $17.55 in September.
The King of Social Media,
the giant of the internet
with over 1 billion active
members, seemed to have
faced its moment of truth,
and been found severely
wanting. Facebook was a
waning fad that couldn’t
possibly justify its valuation,
naysayers said.
But, hopefully, longterm
investors didn’t dump
their stock at that juncture.
Facebook has come roaring
with a stronger advertising
platform and new money—
spinning ventures, such as a
Gifts service which allows
members to buy each other
presents, — quite a useful
little trick when you have a
billion birthdays on file.
Fears that users were
rebelling against the ubiquity
and incessant stream
of social media also seem
unfounded. While Facebook
may not be piling on the
users at the same rates it did
when it was just a snappy
start-up, other sites, such
as Twitter, Google+ and
Pinterest, are still piling on
the users.
And Facebook itself is
still popular with the average
US internet user spending
8 hours a month on the
site in September, according
to Nielsen.
By Dudley Althaus
MEXICO’S new president
has vowed repeatedly
to demilitarise
the campaign against drug
cartels, but thousands of combat
troops likely will remain
in the field for years to come,
spearheaded by US-favoured
naval infantry.
Enrique Pena Nieto, who
took office on December 1, assured
the country this month
that the army and the navy will
be pulled out as soon as civilian
police — including a new
federal quasi-military force
— are capable of taking on the
gangs.
His predecessor as president,
the conservative Felipe
Calderon, said much the same
thing through his six years in
power, when drug violence
claimed over 60,000 lives.
Now, the effort many critics
labelled “Calderon’s War”
belongs squarely to Pena Nieto
and he has few immediate alternatives
to the military campaign.
“Under my command
Mexico’s armed forces will
continue being a factor of stability
and social confidence,”
Pena Nieto said last week.
“Their mission is to achieve a
Mexico at peace.”
He already has moved to
dismantle the controversial
Public Security Ministry and
transfer its 36,000-member
10
ANALYSIS/OPINION
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
(L-R) Lee Jung-hee of Unified Progressive Party, Moon Jae-in of Democratic United Party and Park Geun-hye of Saenuri Party in Seoul. — Reuters
Focus on economy, welfare
By Dirk Godder
VICTORY by current front-runner
Park Geun Hye in presidential
elections on Wednesday
would simultaneously mean a
departure and continuity for South
Korea. Park, 60, would be the first
woman in the post, but she is also the
eldest daughter of Park Chung Hee,
the military ruler who ruled the country
for 18 years until his assassination
in 1979.
Polls put Park, the former head of
the ruling conservative Saenuri Party,
just ahead of Moon Jae In, the candidate
for the opposition Democratic
United Party, although the 59-yearold
centre-left politician and former
human rights lawyer appeared to be
catching up.
“It’s difficult to predict the outcome,”
pollster Kim Jiyoon of the
Asan Institute, a Seoul think tank, said
after the most recent polls came in. “It
lies within the margin of error.” Park
led by an average of 2.7 per cent in
the 16 national polls taken December
9-12, within the margin of error, the
Yonhap News Agency reported.
Polls showed both Park and Moon
would get 40 to 50 per cent of the vote
in the single round of voting, giving no
other candidate a realistic chance of
winning. The campaign has been hardfought
with the candidates trading allegations
and participating in lively
televised debates as well as mass rallies.
The main issues have been the
economy and enhancing general welfare
in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Moon is aiming to turn the election
into a shift towards a new kind of
federal police force to the Interior
Ministry, a bulwark of
his Institutional Revolutionary
Party’s 71-year hold on power
in the 20th century.
Mexico’s once-feared intelligence
service, which was
gutted in the dozen years of
rule by Calderon’s conservative
National Action Party, is
returning to the Interior Ministry
too.
Yet a new militarised national
police force proposed by
Pena Nieto and modelled on
France’s gendarmerie, is likely
to take months, if not years, to
set up. That leaves the navy’s
marines as the most trusted
force in the fight against organised
crime.
Increasingly toward the end
of Calderon’s term, it was the
The campaign has
been hard-fought with
the candidates trading
allegations in lively
televised debates as well
as mass rallies
social and economic policy, calling on
the electorate to reject the legacy left
by President Lee Myung Bak of the
Saenuri Party.
Lee’s popularity has declined sharply
on the back of a series of scandals
and the perceived failure to make good
on his pledge of continued strong economic
growth. Under the constitution,
the president may serve only one term,
and Lee will have to vacate the “Blue
House” in Seoul in February when his
five years as president are up.
Park, who has attempted to distance
herself from Lee, is linking Moon to
the former liberal government of Roh
Moo Hyun, who survived a tumultuous
impeachment process during his
2003-08 presidency. Moon served as
Roh’s chief of staff among other appointments.
“Both candidates have clear ties to
past conservative and progressive governments,”
Asan Institute Chairman
navy that won plaudits for the
government crackdown on the
drug gangs, and Pena Nieto appears
to have taken note.
The new president appointed
Admiral Vidal Soberon
as navy secretary, a move that
breaks tradition and apparently
signals his desire to keep
marines at the forefront of the
fight.
Soberon, 53, a US-trained
and newly minted three-star
admiral, was top aide to his
predecessor when the navy’s
closer ties with Washington
were forged. His promotion
went over the heads of many
senior officers, flouting the
chain of command.
“His promotion is a positive
step forward,” said US Representative
Mike McCaul, a
Republican from Texas and incoming
chairman of the Homeland
Security Committee. “The
Mexican navy is probably the
No 1 enemy of the drug cartels.”
Until its dramatic build-up
during the crackdown on drug
cartels by Calderon, Mexico’s
navy had been long been in the
shadow of the far larger, and
more insular, army.
However, some worry that
continued exposure to the cartels
in their urban strongholds
could corrupt the navy, a fate
that has befallen police forces
across the country and, to a
lesser extent, the army.
Once tasked with little more
than guarding tourist beaches
and navy bases, the ranks of
the marines have swelled by
Hahm Chai Bong said.
“They have thus been forced to
come clean on what they think was
bad.” He said he perceives a clear shift
to the political centre in both candidates.
Although the issue of North
Korea has played a limited role in the
campaign to date, national security
could become more prominent in the
final phase after Pyongyang launched
a rocket last Wednesday in defiance of
a UN ban.
While the communist government
claimed the launch was aimed
at putting a satellite into space, South
Korea and its ally the United States
saw the launch as a test of ballistic
missile technology.
Both Moon and Park immediately
condemned the launch, but political
analysts differ sharply on what the effect
of the launch would be on Wednesday’s
voting. Hahm sees a clear difference
in their approaches on security
80 per cent to 18,000 during
Calderon’s presidency. They
have been deployed along the
southern and northern borders,
both coasts, and deep into the
interior. “Sadly, many public
security institutions, above
all at the municipal and state
level, have been penetrated by
organised crime,” said Vice-
and foreign policy although both aim
for a more reconciliatory policy towards
the North, backing away from
Lee’s tough line, which was itself a rejection
of Roh’s attempts at rapprochement.
Park is nevertheless seen as closer
to the line taken by Lee while Moon
was expected to be more open to political
engagement with Pyongyang.
Some South Korean women are hoping
that a victory for Park would result
in greater rights for women in a country
still dominated by its Confucian
and patriarchal heritage.
But the issue of broader human
rights proved a difficult one for Park
during the campaign when she saw
herself compelled to apologise for the
actions of her father’s autocratic rule.
Yesterday, Lee Jung-Hee from the
United Progressive Party bowed out
three days before the poll in what
she called a move to prevent the ruling
conservative party candidate from
winning.
“I quit today to help liberal, progressive
political parties join forces
together and fulfil the goal of administrative
change,” Lee told reporters.
Lee — supported by only about one
per cent of voters according to opinion
polls — was a distant third in the race
behind Park and Moon.
But her departure could offer a
slight boost to Moon, who has been
neck-and-neck with Park or slightly
behind her in recent polls.
Lee used her campaign largely to
heap attacks on Park. “If Park Geun-
Hye’s party gets re-elected in the presidential
poll... it will be an irreversible
disaster to all people,” Lee said.
Mexican navy to hold the fort during shift in drug war
In the final weeks of Calderon’s
government the navy notched up so
many successes against the cartels.
Marines captured or killed four
top capos including the head of the
Zetas gang, Heriberto Lazcano,
and the boss of the Gulf Cartel
Admiral Fernando Castanon,
commander of the naval zone
on the Caribbean coast and the
border with Belize.
“It doesn’t interest us to be
operating in Zacatecas or Coahuila,”
Castanon said, referring
to two states where the marines
have waged full-scale combat
against the notorious Zetas car-
Sharp drop in UK
home ownership
NEWSLETTER By Andy Jalil, Foreign Correspondent
THE property-owning
days encouraged
so robustly during
Margaret Thatcher’s time
as prime minister, seem
a distant memory. Home
ownership has fallen for
the first time in 60 years
as people in England and
Wales are increasingly
forced to look to rent.
The percentage of homeowners
plunged between
2001 and 2011 according
to the census carried out
by the Office for National
Statistics. The number of
people owning a home with
a mortgage or loan dropped
from 8.4 million in 2001 to
7.6 million in March last
year.
However, those owning
homes outright rose slightly,
possibly reflecting the
ageing population. The
census showed that there are
14.85 million home owners
across England and Wales.
This meant only 63.5
per cent of residents in the
two countries were owneroccupiers
last year against
68.2 per cent in 2001. The
figures for London fell even
more sharply.
Just 33.5 per cent of
those living in the capital
city owned their home last
year against 55.6 per cent
in 2001.
With families and
young people struggling
to get on the property
ladder, 3.6 million people
lived in privately rented
accommodation in 2011
compared with 1.9 million
ten years earlier.
In percentage terms,
rented accommodation
soared from 14.3 per cent
in 2001 to 23.7 per cent last
year. And the total number
of homeowners in London
fell, despite a rise in the
number of households in
the big city where there
were 3.27 million last year,
compared to 3.02 million.
The Chief Executive of
housing charity, Shelter,
Campbell Robb, said:
“The figures confirm home
ownership is slipping further
and further out of reach,
no matter how hard people
work or save.
This means young people
are living at home (with
parents) well into their 30s,
desperate to get on in life
but unable to afford a place
of their own.”
He added: “Meanwhile,
more young families are
stuck in rented housing
under constant threat of
being evicted, worrying
about whether they’ll have
POLICE officers search for suspected kidnappers in a neighbourhood in Ciudad Juarez. — Reuters
tel in the past few years. “But
at this moment the country
needs it. The navy is trying to
fill that void.” Under Calderon,
Mexico built a tighter alliance
with US military and law enforcement
agencies to take on
the gangs.
Boasting one of Mexico’s
most respected intelligence
to move again.”
The number of renters
keeps increasingly sharply
but this is not a question of
choice of lifestyle in most
cases.
According to the Institute
of Public Policy Research,
nine in ten young people
want to own a home within
the next 10 years but most
of them cannot imagine how
they will be able to do so.
In a society still dominated
by a generation that has
done very well out of home
ownership over the years,
that is a worrying shift.
Meanwhile private
landlords have rarely had
it so good. With shortage
of good accommodation,
an advertisement placed
for a house or flat to rent
brings numerous prospective
tenants for the landlord to
choose from.
The rent keeps rising,
not surprisingly, and renters
have little choice but to fork
out a month’s rent as deposit
— quite often six weeks or
even two months — and
at least a month’s rent in
advance.
The main reason for the
fall in ownership – apart
from tight lending criteria to
obtain a mortgage — is the
lack of house building and
planning rules which push
up the price of good quality
homes. Combined with a
vast population rise fuelled
by migration the situation
has become quite desperate
for people in their twenties
and thirties.
There are signs that
politicians are waking up
to the problem which is
of their own making. The
Conservatives are promising
to build more homes, which
should have been a priority
for sometime, and the
Labour party has launched a
promising policy review.
Home Minister Thresa
May said mass immigration
could prompt new leap
in house prices as she
delivered a strong defence
of the government’s border
policies.
May said it was “certain”
that large scale immigration
pushed up property prices
and that one third of the
demand for new homes was
created by those arriving
from abroad.
The minister also said
that research had shown that
unchecked migration would
add 10 per cent to house
prices over 20 years —
making it harder for British
first-time buyers to enter the
market.
agencies, a small but effective
commando force and less insular
culture, the navy proved a
good fit for the tie-up. “There’s
no question the navy has gained
considerable prestige from this
— way beyond their size,” said
US political scientist Roderic
Camp, a specialist on Mexico’s
military.

Charities
tax sops
By Michael Mathes
Amid a scrap in Congress
over whether
to raise taxes, advocates
for the poor are lobbying
for America’s rich by
seeking to preserve a mutual
benefit: tax deductions for
charitable contributions.
Charitable giving is a
$300 billion annual affair
in the United States, but it
stands to take a huge hit if
lawmakers agree to proposed
rule changes on tax deductions
as part of a broader
deal to avoid the so-called
“fiscal cliff.”
Some non-profit groups,
including charities that draw
much of their funding from
wealthy donors, are worried
they could be decimated if
Congress votes to reduce or
even eliminate the itemised
charitable deduction.
“If it’s eliminated, we’ll
be finished,” said Karla
Grimsley of Interfaith Emergency
Services, a Florida
charity which shelters the
homeless, provides groceries
to the needy and buys
prescription medications for
the poor.
About a third of Americans
itemise their deductions
on their tax returns, according
to the Internal Revenue
Service, and those who do
gave some $170 billion to
charity in 2010.
With millions taking advantage
of the deduction,
including more than nine out
of 10 households that make
more than $500,000, President
Barack Obama has said
it is “unlikely” that the whole
system will be scrapped.
Much more likely are restrictions
that would either
institute a deductions cap
of $25,000 or $50,000, or a
limit to the per centage of tax
deductions for the wealthiest
Americans, who are currently
in a 35 per cent tax
bracket.
As part of a plan to raise
$1.6 trillion in new tax revenue,
Obama proposes to
lower the maximum tax
benefit to 28 per cent for
the wealthiest Americans,
meaning that they would
pay 28 cents less in taxes for
every dollar given to charity
or used for deductions like
the home mortgage interest
tax credit. Last week some
250 non-profit executives
and volunteers took to Capitol
Hill in an effort to lobby
against the changes.
Steve Taylor, senior vice-
president for public policy at
United Way Worldwide, the
country’s largest privately
funded public charity, said
lawmakers were receptive to
the groups’ push for preserving
the deductions.
By Julien Toyer and
Andrés González
SPAIN will soon intensify pension
reforms, possibly accelerating
an increase in the
retirement age and restricting indexlinking
of pension payouts to meet
European Union demands to fix the
country’s troubled public finances,
Spanish officials said.
Removing an automatic annual inflation
adjustment for state pensions
and speeding up the phasing in of a
higher retirement age are long-standing
European Union demands that
Spain must meet in order to tap international
aid to bring down borrowing
costs and fix its stricken economy.
A senior Spanish government
source said the reform, aimed at
getting a grip on 100 billion euros a
year in pension costs, or 10 per cent
of gross domestic product, would be
presented to lawmakers in the next
few weeks, possibly in early 2013.
The source said the government
would propose steps to accelerate the
increase in retirement age to 67 from
65, currently scheduled to take place
over 15 years. Three other Spanish
officials corroborated the plan.
The government is also considering
removing the annual inflationlinked
pension hike or, at least, applying
conditions so that pensions
do not rise when the economy is in
recession or when the public deficit
exceeds a certain level.
The four sources cautioned the
reform was still being discussed at
cabinet level — although talks are
11
ANALYSIS/OPINION
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
ECUADOR'S opposition presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso during an interview in Guayaquil. — Reuters
Big election promises
By Brian Ellsworth
ECUADOR’S leftist government
has provided little more than a
“fast-food menu” of predictable
socialist policies that need to be replaced
with lower taxes and help for private
companies, top opposition presidential
candidate Guillermo Lasso said in an interview.
Two months before the election, polls
show the career banker is the strongest
challenger to President Rafael Correa, although
he still trails way behind. Lasso is
campaigning on promises of lower taxes
and incentives to private industry in the
Andean nation of 15 million people.
He is nearly 30 percentage points behind
the popular and pugnacious Correa,
whose heavy public spending and strongarm
style have brought five years of stability
to a country where three presidents
were deposed in the previous decade.
Lasso, 57, describes the socialist
movements that have swept countries
such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and
Nicaragua as an “ideological franchise,
just like McDonald’s is to food.”
“This ideological menu tells us the
state is just about the only protagonist in
development and that state-run businesses
should crowd out the private businesses,”
the white-haired Lasso said in an interview
at his palatial home on the outskirts
of Guayaquil.
“I believe employment is the best way
to escape poverty,” he said. “My proposal
for government is to support enterprise,
to support entrepreneurs by cutting taxes,
reducing bureaucracy.”
As the youngest of 11 children in a
middle-class family, Lasso said he had to
wake up early to beat his siblings to the
shower in the only bathroom in their home
— teaching him the value of competition
at an early age. At 15, he took a part-time
job to pay for private school, which his
at an advanced stage — and that the
only firm agreement so far was on a
set of new rules to make early retirement
more difficult, already flagged
by the government in September.
The Socialist opposition is not expected
to block the new set of rules,
the sources said. Rajoy can in any
case count on a strong majority in
Lasso says he
wants to boost
foreign investment
— which has
been spooked by
Correa’s anticapitalist
rhetoric
and a 2008 debt
default — and sign
free-trade deals
with developed
countries
family could no longer afford because his
father had retired. Lasso would go on to
lead Banco Guayaquil, one of Ecuador’s
largest banks. “I began without a cent in
my pocket and I’ve been able to succeed,”
he said. “That’s why I say to the young in
Ecuador, you too can do it.”
Lasso says he wants to boost foreign
investment — which has been spooked
by Correa’s anti-capitalist rhetoric and a
2008 debt default — and sign free-trade
deals with developed countries to expand
exports. He says the Opec nation should
stop following the path of Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez and look to countries
such as Brazil, Chile and South Korea
that rely on private firms for growth.
Ecuador’s economy has expanded
steadily since 2010 thanks to heavy state
spending and strong crude prices. But
Spain considering deeper pension reform
parliament to pass the law.
“The idea is to introduce more
flexibility into the system. For instance,
by making it possible not to
adjust pension payments in the case
of a recession or a deficit, or when
you have liquidity tensions,” the senior
government source said.
“We also want to introduce a more
Correa has struggled to diversify the
economy from its dependence on oil.
Lasso say this will not be possible
without support for business and an end
to constant regulatory changes that have
included 10 tax code reforms in the past
six years.
“A local or foreign investor makes an
investment in January and by the end of
the year the conditions are already being
changed,” said Lasso, whose stern
demeanour and dry sense of humour contrast
with the mercurial Correa’s euphoric
speeches and impulsive outbursts.
He has the advantage of being a fresh
face in politics with no ties to traditional
parties seen as inefficient and corrupt.
Lasso is one of seven opposition candidates,
which also include banana magnate
Alvaro Noboa and former president
Lucio Gutierrez. Both of them trail in
polls but have in past elections done better
than opinion surveys had suggested.
The divided opposition may help Correa,
49, avoid a runoff election. To do
that, he needs to win more than 50 per
cent of the vote, or win more than 40 per
cent and beat his nearest rival by at least
10 percentage points.
The US-trained economist still enjoys
a popularity rating of 60 per cent, according
to a recent survey by polling firm
Cedatos. Still, polls suggest that half of
voters have not yet made up their minds.
Supporters credit Correa with improving
road networks that link isolated villages
to major cities and with investing
heavily to boost access to health care and
education. Correa rarely mentions Lasso
but his allies in Congress recently raised
taxes on bank profits to finance an increase
in a monthly stipend paid by the
government to the poor.
The move was widely seen a partisan
swipe at Lasso, who had earlier proposed
cutting state spending on advertising to
raise the stipend.
JUSTICE workers shout slogans against the raise of court and registry fees in Madrid recently. — Reuters
automatic link between higher life
expectancy and changes in the retirement
age,” the source said.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
is considering when to request European
aid that would trigger a European
Central Bank bond-buying
programme to bring down borrowing
costs that have soared in the euro
Ebbing power upsets
fragile N Irish balance
By Ian Graham
PETROL bombs on the streets of Belfast
this month reveal anger and frustration
among pro-British Protestants at a loss
of dominance in Northern Ireland but do not
— yet — pose a serious threat to a 15-year-old
peace.
Launched after local councillors voted
to end a century-old tradition of daily flying
Britain’s union flag from City Hall, 10 days
of brick-throwing battles with police provided
an outlet for a build-up of grievances among a
community that new figures last week showed
no longer forms a majority of the population.
But for all that the unrest stirred black-andwhite
memories of the early days of the “Troubles”
in the 1960s or that it may have been
organised by long dormant “loyalist” militant
groups, a new armed conflict against the state,
or with violent splinter units of anti-British
Catholic republicans, seems still remote.
It was, however, a measure of lingering
division that makes governing its 1.8 million
people a complex affair as Northern Ireland,
severed from the rest of the island 90 years ago
as a Protestant-majority province, sees its demographic
balance tip towards Catholics, who
tend to favour joining the Irish Republic.
“Anything to do with the queen, the crown
and our flag, there is no tolerance for it,” said
Jim Wilson, who was jailed for his politics in
the 1970s and is now a community worker in a
rundown Protestant area of Belfast that was at
the heart of the protests by Union Jack-waving
youths over the past week or so.
“It is pushing my community to violence,”
he said, accusing Catholics of provocation by
voting in the city council to limit flying the
British flag. “The nationalists went to war because
their people weren’t getting this and that
and the other,” he said. “This is exactly what
are doing to my community.”
In arguing that more serious violence is
likely to be limited, analysts note that Protestant
complaints have tended to focus on cultural
issues, such as the flag and their traditions of
parades to celebrate past victories over Catholic
opponents, and as such are largely symbolic
of their lost domination.
The flag vote only brought Belfast into line
with practice at many town halls in mainland
Britain by restricting the flying of the banner to
17 “flag days” a year. But it followed a loss of
historic control by unionists over the municipal
authority in the province’s capital, itself a
symptom of changing demography.
Data from a 10-yearly census released last
Tuesday showed that a majority of the city’s
population is now Roman Catholic. The same
census also showed that across Northern Ireland,
Protestants, largely descended from British
settlers of 400 years ago, had fallen below
50 per cent of the population for the first time
since the rest of Ireland broke from British
rule. Experts predict that Catholics, who are on
average younger and have higher birth rates,
could become a majority of the whole province’s
voters within a generation.
Protests by the Catholic minority in the
1960s focused on access to jobs and social
housing and their treatment as second-class citizens
of a mostly Protestant-led British state.
A crackdown on rights protests were a factor
in radicalising the founders of the Provisional
Irish Republican Army (IRA), whose
battle with security forces and pro-British loyalist
militants killed some 3,600 people over
three decades. The US-brokered Good Friday
Agreement of 1998 brought an uneasy peace
and the disarmament of militants on both sides
zone debt crisis. In order to meet
tough EU-agreed deficit goals, Rajoy
was forced last month to cancel the
annual inflation adjustment for pensions,
a move with a high political
cost in a country where 20 per cent
of the population, or 9 million people,
is retired.
Breaking a campaign pledge he
opted to instead raise pensions by 1
per cent in 2013, or 2 per cent for the
very lowest pensions. This way, the
government saved around 3.8 billion
euros that it would have had to spend
to raise pensions in line with inflation
of about 2.9 per cent.
Discussions now centre on breaking
the principle of an inflation link
more permanently by building in legislative
caveats, rather than looking
at it on an ad hoc basis. One of the
Spanish officials said the government
was keen to make structural reforms
to the pension system as it had become
clear over recent years that it
was not sustainable.
“Cutting the link between inflation
and pensions is being discussed.
It is the third year in a row we’ve
had to take an ‘extraordinary’ decision
(not to raise pensions) and the
rule does not make much sense any
more,” the official said on condition
of anonymity.
Rajoy performed especially well
among pensioners when he was elected
in a landslide last year and his first
move after taking office was to hike
pensions after his predecessor Jose
Luis Rodriguez Zapatero froze them
in May 2010 when Spain entered the
euro zone debt storm.
Credentials tested
By Ben Simon
Much of the
population have
reacted to the latest
violence with a
sense of irritation
complaining of
disruptions to traffic
and the temporary
closure of City
Hall’s market
as well as a power-sharing provincial government
and parliament.
In scenes reminiscent of earlier times, 15
masked loyalists youths smashed the windows
of a police car last Monday and threw a petrol
bomb into it while an officer was still inside.
She survived but was among some 30 offices
injured in the violence that erupted on December
3. It has now eased off.
Police say members of pro-British militant
groups helped orchestrate and took part in the
protests, raising fears that these movements
could renounce ceasefire pledges, which have
held good despite several killings by nationalist
opponents.
The last time loyalists were accused of organising
street violence was early last year,
shortly after artists linked to the pro-British
groups painted two large murals of gunmen of
a kind that were once common across Belfast’s
urban frontlines but which had largely disappeared
since the 1998 peace deal.
The main loyalist militant groups, the Ulster
Volunteer Force and Ulster Freedom Fighters,
both ceased hostilities in 2007 and decommissioned
their stocks of weapons. While
the groups might buy small quantities of new
weapons there have been no signs of this yet —
although analysts say the growing disaffection
could make it harder for their leaders to hold
the line against frustration in the ranks.
“They haven’t sought to use arms in any
substantial way and there doesn’t seem to be
any indication of a desire to take on the dissident
Republicans,” said Neil Jarman, Director
of the Belfast-based Institute for Conflict Research.
“Where they are asserting the defence
of their communities is in relation to cultural
issues like parades, like flags. It’s more a reaction
to the state and perhaps even a reaction to
a perceived lack of leadership in the Unionist
community.”
Belfast remains a city transformed since
1998 ceasefire. The army checkpoints and republican
barricades that once blocked Belfast
streets have long gone, although fleets of white
police jeeps and water cannon have become an
increasingly frequent sight in the city. Much of
the population, on both sides of the divide and
especially among the more prosperous, have
reacted to the latest violence with a shared
sense of irritation, though also a measure of
resignation — complaining of disruptions to
traffic and the temporary closure of City Hall’s
Christmas market.
GHANA’S status as West Africa’s flagship democracy
has been tested by opposition claims that presidential
polls were rigged, but analysts voiced hope the battle
would be fought in court, not the streets. According to the official
results, incumbemt John Dramani Mahama was elected
with 50.7 per cent of the vote — defeating challenger Nana
Akufo-Addo who took 47.74 per cent in Ghana’s sixth election
since military rule ended in 1992.
Akufo-Addo’s New Patriotic Party lastTuesday said it will
seek to quash those results in the supreme court, insisting it
had substantial evidence of cheating in favour of Mahama. “It
certainly isn’t an ideal situation. An ideal situation would be
for this to be over,” said Victor Brobbey, a legal and political
analyst at the Centre for Democratic Development, a think
tank in Accra.
“But they aren’t asking their supporters to storm the electoral
commission to change the result... A legal challenge is
something that is envisioned in the laws of the country.” After
the results were announced last Sunday, NPP supporters began
roaming the streets of Accra, brandishing party colours and insisting
Akufo-Addo had been robbed of a win in the polls.
The crowds have been unruly at times, taunting supporters
of the ruling National Democratic Congress party who were
enthusiastically celebrating, but incidents have been isolated.
After the NPP declared its plans to go to court, Akufo-Addo
urged his loyalists to remain calm.
“I’m asking for peace,” he told a crowd in central Accra at
the same venue where Mahama held his victory rally a day earlier.
Stakes in the election were especially high in the country
of 24 million people with a booming economy fuelled in part
by a new and expanding oil industry. There was a heavy security
deployment through the three days of voting and counting,
with tanks deployed outside the electoral commission as the
ballots were tallied inside.
The authorities fired teargas at several hundred NPP supporters
who had amassed on the road leading to the commission
in the hours before the results were announced. While
Ghana is seen as a beacon of democracy in a turbulent region,
the security deployment and a series of public events calling
for a peaceful campaign surrounding the vote revealed that
many saw the potential for unrest, said Emmanuel Gyimah-
Boadi, a political scientist at the University of Ghana.

RIOT police walk, as they are deployed in front of the presidential palace in Cairo yesterday. — Reuters
Berlusconi, Monti issue splits party
ROME — Silvio Berlusconi's
People of Freedom party appeared
to be on the verge of
an irreparable rift yesterday as
its lawmakers held rival congresses
that cast further doubt
on the former Italian prime
minister's new candidacy.
Leading deputies including
party secretary Angelino
Alfano at one of the events in
Rome urged Prime Minister
Mario Monti to run for office
as head of a centre-right coalition
— echoing a proposal
from Berlusconi himself last
week.
But at the other congress,
Giorgia Meloni, a leader of the
party's more right-wing youth
division, said that she was
against both Berlusconi and
Monti. "We choose a different
centre-right!" she told her supporters.
"Monti for us is not the
horizon and a Berlusconi candidacy
would be a mistake,"
said Meloni, who had put her
name forward as a candidate
for primaries that have since
been cancelled to pick the party's
nominee. Despite growing
pressure Monti has not said if
he will run or not in the elections,
expected in February.
Berlusconi's PDL party,
which swept the last elections
in 2008, has been riven by infighting
since he was forced to
step down in November 2011
due to a parliamentary revolt,
financial market panic and a
wave of scandals.
Iraq bombings kill 7
KIRKUK, Iraq — Bombings
against two places of worship
in the northern Iraqi city of
Kirkuk killed five people yesterday,
while an attack on a
political office left two dead,
police and doctors said.
Two car bombs and seven
roadside bombs targeted two
places of worship in Kirkuk,
one in the north and another
in its south, killing a total of
five people and wounding 14,
a senior police officer said.
The attacks occurred
around 7:30 pm (1630 GMT),
the officer said. A doctor from
Kirkuk general hospital confirmed
the toll.
Kirkuk is part of a swathe
of territory in north Iraq that
the autonomous Kurdistan
region wants to incorporate,
over the strong objections of
Baghdad.
Earlier in the day, a car
bomb exploded at the local
headquarters of Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani's Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
party in the town of Jalawla in
the province of Diyalah, after
a number of people seeking to
join the Kurdish peshmerga
security forces had gathered,
a police officer said.
The blast in Jalawla, which
like Kirkuk lies in disputed
territory, killed two recruits
and wounded 13, the officer
and a doctor at Jalawla Hospital
said.
The dispute over territory
in northern Iraq is the greatest
threat to the country's longterm
stability, diplomats and
officials say. Ties between
Baghdad and Kurdistan are
also marred by disputes over
oil and power-sharing. — AFP
He was replaced by Monti,
a former high-flying European
commissioner.
Earlier this month the 76year-old
playboy tycoon said
he would run for what would
be his sixth election in two
decades in politics, but only
days later said that he would
withdraw his candidacy if
Monti joined the race.
The move surprised observers
since Berlusconi's party
has withdrawn its support for
Monti's government in parliament
over his allegedly poor
handling of the economy, triggering
early elections.
Berlusconi reiterated his offer
yesterday, saying in a note
to his supporters that Monti
"shares my, your and our ide-
ACCRA — Ghana said yesterday
it would study an international
tribunal order to free an
Argentine navy ship "with a
view to ensuring that it is given
effect" in accordance with
the country's constitution.
The Hamburg-based International
Tribunal for the Law
of the Sea on Saturday called
on Ghana to immediately release
the Argentine tall ship
Libertad, which it has held
for more than two months in a
debt dispute.
"The government of Ghana
has taken careful note of
the tribunal's order," Ghana's
deputy foreign minister Chris
Kpodo said in a statement.
"The government of Ghana
will carefully consider the tri-
12
THE WORLD
OMAN DAILY Observer
als" and calling for an end to
"sterile disputes" within his
own party. Alfano, a former
justice minister, echoed his
mentor saying Monti as a leader
of the centre-right would
avoid "handing the country
back to the left and dragging
Italy backwards".
The party secretary, who
was himself a contender to
be the party's candidate in the
elections, also said it would be
"crazy" to tear the PDL apart.
Fabrizio Cicchitto, leader
of PDL lawmakers in parliament,
said: "We have two centre-forwards
— one traditional
one and a new one: Berlusconi
has brought us here and Angelino
Alfano is recognised by
everyone as secretary.
bunal's order with a view to
ensuring that it is given effect,
having regard to the requirements
of the constitution and
the country's international obligations."
It did not provide further
details, but added that the dispute
was between Argentina
and NML Capital investment
firm and that Ghana's government
had no choice but to
abide by court rulings in the
matter.
The Libertad — a threemasted
sailing frigate — has
been docked at the port of
Tema east of Accra since
October 2, under a Ghanaian
court order requested by NML
Capital, a Cayman Islands investment
firm that says Argen-
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Ghana weighs next steps after
order to free Argentine ship
1,200 join second Belfast peace rally
BELFAST, United Kingdom
— About 1,200 campaigners
gathered in Belfast yesterday
for the second rally in as many
days against a wave of street
violence in the city, Northern
Ireland's police said.
"The peaceful silent majority
need to be heard too," said
organiser Paul Currie, after the
hour-long event at the gates of
Belfast city hall.
Participants waved banners
and played drums but were
told not to bring any flags,
after nights of rioting following
the city council's decision
on December 3 to limit the
number of days it flies the
British Union flag.
Pro-British loyalists have
been outraged by the decision,
which they see as another concession
to republicans who
want Northern Ireland to unite
with Ireland, although police
have said the violence was
fuelled by paramilitaries.
Politicians from both sides
of the government in Belfast,
where former republican and
loyalist foes share power, have
condemned the violence and
said there will be no return to
the unrest of the past.
"This was a call for a legal
gathering of the people
of Northern Ireland to show
our neighbours and the world
EUROPEAN Union Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid
and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva (L) speaks to the media during a joint news
conference with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres in
Amman yesterday. — Reuters
once and for all that we are not
about two communities at war,
but that Northern Ireland has
moved on," Currie said.
"Northern Ireland is about
many nationalities and religions,
colours and creeds living
peacefully together. "
On Saturday, several hundred
people held a peace vigil
outside Belfast city hall in
protest against the violence.
— AFP
CAIRO — A majority of the
Egyptians who ast their ballots
in a referendum have backed
a disputed draft constitution,
unofficial results showed yesterday.
Voters turned out in big
numbers in Cairo and in most
of the 10 provinces where the
first round of voting occurred
on Saturday.
The state-run Al Akhbar
newspaper reported that 59 per
cent of the votes counted were
in favour of the constitution.
The Muslim Brotherhood's
Freedom and Justice Party calculated
support at 57 per cent.
That could be good news
for Egypt's nascent democracy
and its economy if it
encourages political rivals to
fight their battles at the ballot
box rather than in the streets,
where clashes have alarmed
tina owes it $370 million.
On Saturday, the tribunal
asked "the Ghana authorities
to immediately free the Libertad
frigate and arrange for her
to leave Tema", tribunal head
Shunji Yanai said.
Argentina rescheduled and
refinanced much of its debt following
an economic crisis and
massive default a decade ago,
but bonds held by speculative
funds such as NML, a subsidiary
of New York-based Elliott
Capital Management, are
among its unsettled business.
Government officials in
Argentina, as well as ruling
and opposition party politicians,
have welcomed the tribunal
ruling, though NML has
rejected it. — AFP
Two grenades spark fear of
escalating Naples mafia war
ROME — Italian police fear a mafia turf war over one of Europe's
biggest open-air drug markets in a northern suburb of
Naples could be escalating after finding two hand grenades in
the area in the past 24 hours.
One of the devices went off with a deafening explosion on
Saturday, slightly injuring two girls aged 9 and 13 with shrapnel
and damaging nine cars.
It was thrown out of a moving car in the parking garage of a
block of flats that is disputed between rival clans of the Naples
mafia, the Camorra. The second was found unexploded on Sunday
in a nearby courtyard. "These could be seen as an escalation
in the conflict," Marco Minicucci, local head of the Carabinieri
police, was quoted by ANSA news agency as saying.
The impoverished Scampia neighbourhood has been crimeridden
for years but the violence there has recently increased.
Earlier this month a Camorra member was chased and
gunned down in front of a primary school and in October a 30year-old
man was shot dead outside his girlfriend's house after
being mistaken by assassins for their intended target.
"They could, they should realise that when the war reaches
a level of shooting in school yards or throwing bombs in the
street, it does not help the parties involved in any way get the
better of the other," Minicucci said. — AFP
Egyptians seen backing
draft constitution
BRUSSELS — The European
Union and Singapore agreed
terms of a free trade deal yesterday,
a move that should further
open the Asian country's
markets for financial services
and make it easier for European
automakers to export there.
"We have finalised the
negotiations, and I'm very
pleased with the result," EU
Trade Commissioner Karel
De Gucht told Reuters by tel-
both investors and tourists.
Yet President Mohammed
Mursi will have little respite
as he braces for the unenviable
task of winning public support
for urgent economic policies
to rein in a crushing budget
deficit that are bound to be
unpopular in a nation deeply
divided by his actions.
State television's website
reported that 68 per cent of
Cairo voters had rejected the
charter.
A second round of the vote
now looks likely to go the same
way on Saturday, as it will be
held in districts with more supporters.
But even if another,
possibly bigger Yes vote pushes
the constitution through, the
poll on a national charter has
underlined the political divisions
that Egypt faces.
"This puts major hurdles
before President Mursi because
the economic measures
he planned to introduce... require
a national consensus,"
opined a university professor.
Mursi's first attempt to implement
tax increases, about a
week before the vote, lasted
only a few hours before he
withdrew them amid public
anger, which his opponents
exploited. His prime minister
has promised a "national dialogue"
to explain the government's
determination to protect
the poor, but Mursi cannot
wait long as the measures are
seen as essential to securing a
vital $4.8-billion International
Monetary Fund loan; it was
delayed by a month immediately
after his policy U-turn.
The second phase of the
polling is due in the rest of the
country on December 22.
The Muslim Brotherhood
yesterday called on voters in
the districts where the second
round will be held to show up
in larger numbers than those
of the first phase.
"We hope this referendum
will end acts of chaos, sabotage
and thuggery," added the
organisation in a statement.
Angry protesters have in
recent weeks attacked and
torched Brotherhood offices in
several areas of Egypt.
For his part, opposition
leader Mohammed ElBaradei,
who campaigned for a
"No" vote, said divisions were
growing in the country.
"However, the level of consciousness
is growing rapidly,"
he wrote on Twitter, referring
to the significant percentage of
voters who opposed the constitution.
Police hunt as Ukraine judge, kin killed
KHARKIV, Ukraine — The
beheaded bodies of a Ukrainian
judge and three members
of his family have been found
in their apartment in the eastern
city of Kharkiv, police said
Sunday as they searched for
those responsible for the killings.
The gruesome crime scene
was uncovered a day earlier
by a relative, who found the
bodies of Judge Vladimir
Trofimov, his wife Irina, their
son Sergei, and the son's girlfriend,
Marina Zoueva.
As yesterday evening, the
corpses' heads had not been
found, officials said.
The son appeared to have
been decapitated while alive,
whereas the other victims'
heads were removed after they
were already dead, Ukrainian
Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko
said.
Prosecutor Viktor Pshonka
said the quadruple slaying had
been carefully planned.
At least three motives were
being considered, including
whether the killings were connected
to the judge's professional
activities, or were the
result of a robbery gone bad at
his home. Vladimir Trofimov
was also a renowned antiques
collector.
The slayings could have
also been carried out by a contract
killer, Pshonka said, adding
that investigators would
consider any other possible
motive.
DISABLED Maria Dolores Carasquilla (L) and Elvira Murcia (C) sit in their
wheelchairs, chained to bars, on the third day of their protest against the non-payment
of their social subsidy since August, next to the Valencia Regional Government
Palace in Valencia yesterday. — Reuters
EU, Singapore agree free trade deal
ephone from Singapore.
After the completion of
negotiations by the European
Commission, the EU executive,
member states and the
European Parliament need to
sign off for the agreement to
come into force.
Though EU countries have
in the past sometimes rejected
such deals for political reasons,
this is unlikely to happen
with Singapore, as EU leaders
ALMATY, Kazakhstan
—Some 300 people gathered
yesterday in Kazakhstan's
largest city to remember the
victims of violent clashes between
striking oil workers and
police that shook the country
one year ago.
Fifteen people died and
more than 100 were wounded
when a seven-month strike
erupted into deadly riots in the
town of Zhanaozen and the village
of Shetpe in Kazakhstan's
energy-rich Mangistau region
last December.
The clashes, Kazakhstan's
worst post-Soviet unrest,
sparked legal attacks on the
opposition, including trials of
opposition figures and bans on
media that covered the protests,
and marred the annual
The probe is being closely
watched by President Viktor
Yanukovich.
Witnesses saw the 58-yearold
judge leave his apartment,
then return between 8:30 and
10:00 am on Saturday.
Trofimov, had been a magistrate
for more than 30 years.
He was also an internationally
known collector of rare coins,
World War II medals and china
statuettes.
His wife Irina was 59, their
son Sergei was 30 and Marina
Zoueva was 29.
Several antiques were missing
and investigators were to
question collectors who knew
Trofimov.
Pshonka said some evidence
showed at least two
in October called for a swift
conclusion of negotiations.
"I don't expect that many
problems," De Gucht said,
adding he hoped for finalisation
by the end of 2013.
The bloc hopes the agreement
will give it better access
to Singapore, one of Asia's
richest countries per head of
population, where currently
the United States enjoys preferential
access.
celebrations of independence
from the Soviet Union, which
the central Asian nation declared
on December 16, 1991.
Leaders of the embattled
opposition, activists and relatives
of the victims gathered
Sunday in central Almaty to
lay flowers at an independence
monument and hold a
minute of silence in memory
of those killed.
"Today Kazakhstan is celebrating
(its) independence,
but the authorities realise that
there's no real holiday," said
Bulat Abilov, co-chairman of
opposition party Azat.
The rally also honoured
the memory of victims of anti-
Moscow demonstrations by
nationalist Kazakh youth that
were quashed by the Soviet
people were involved in the
killings.
Dozens of investigators
and experts were working on
the case, Zakharchenko said,
and additional information
was expected from forensics
experts.
Domestic secret service
SBU chief Igor Kalinin said
that police and SBU experts
were part of the investigation.
Trifomov was "a very discreet,
peaceful and modest
man", Kharkiv appeals court
president Andrei Solokov told
Interfax news agency.
"The fact that his parents
are still alive adds to the tragedy,"
said Solokov.
Trifomov's father is 90 and
his mother is 86. — AFP
Singapore has a population
of only 5 million, but it is also
a gateway to the 600 million
people in the fast-growing
economies of the 10-member
Association of South East
Asian Nations (Asean).
The EU is the city state's
second biggest trade partner
after neighbouring Malaysia,
with bilateral trade in goods
amounting to 46 billion euros
($60 billion) in 2011.
Almaty a year after clashes
authorities in 1986.
"In the future, when the
authorities will be replaced,
when we will have truly popular
and democratic authorities,
they will realise that those
were truly tragic days," said
Abilov.
His comments came after
Kazakhstan earlier this month
celebrated a new national holiday
honouring President Nursultan
Nazarbayev, the country's
first and only leader since
the Soviet Union's collapse.
Nazarbayev is praised for
bringing economic reforms
and prosperity to the energyrich
nation, but critics accuse
his regime of cracking down
on political opponents and
committing human rights violations.
— AFP

FLIGHT LIGHT SSCHEDULE
CHEDULE
ARRIVALS ALS — MONDAY
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KQ318 B737-8 Nairobi-Dubai 2350
QUOTATIONS FOR TODAY
With confidence, you have won before you
have started.
If you have no confidence in self, you are twice
defeated in the race of life.
— Marcus Garvey
Confidence in the goodness of another is good
proof of one’s own goodness.
— Michel de Montaigne
CINEMA
FILM INFORMATION
www.citycinemaoman.net
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 The Holy Quran; 12.15 Pioneers of Civilization; 12.45
Slow Mix Music; 01.00 Top 10 (Laxmi) Repeat on Thursday
5.30; 2.00 Let’s Talk Business — Nisham Repeat of Sat 3.00
& Sunday 6.00; 2:20 Radio Station Jingles And Programmes;
2.30 News Bulletin; 2.40 Forts and Castles of Oman — Laxmi
Repeat of Monday 3.00 & Tuesday 6.00; 3.00 Short Stories
(Judith) Repeat on Saturday 6.00; 3.20 Radio Station Jingles
and Programmes; 3.25 Mix Music; 3.30 Women in Focus —
Nisham Repeat on Tuesday 3.00 & Thursday 6.40; 03.50
Radio Station Jingles and Programmes; 4.00 News Headlines;
4.02 Around The World Live; 6.30 News Bulletin; 6.40 Words
in Action (Judith) Repeat of Sunday 3.00 & Mon 6pm; 7.00
Night Groove; 8.00 News Headlines; 8.02 Night Groove; 10.00
News Bulletin; 10.10 Oman in Focus (5 mins) Daily; 10.15 D
J Rock Special; 11.15 Mix Music; 12.40 News Summary;
12.45 The Holy Quran; 01.00 National Anthem, Close Down.
DEPARTURES
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SAGITTARIUS
(November 22-
December 21)
A setback in your finances
must not rob you of hope
and confidence that conditions
will soon take a turn for the better.
CAPRICORN
(December
22-January 20)
With a little good will
you should not have any trouble
in getting used to changed conditions
at your place of work.
AQUARIUS
(January 21-
February 19)
The unexpected settlement
of a long outstanding debt
will help to restore your dwindling
faith in human nature.
PISCES
(February 20-
March 20)
If you have made an
appointment, which you now find
inconvenient to keep, cancel it
today instead of having to find
some lame excuse later.
13
INFORMATION/LEISURE MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
PHARMACIES
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KHOULA HOSPITAL VISITING HOURS
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Working Days: 16:00-18:00. Weekends & Public
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Holidays: 16:00-17:00
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at any time
YOUR STARS
IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY: If you have felt in the past the need to reorganise your domestic life take the
necessary steps to do so in the coming year. Involve everybody in full consultation and be careful not to do
anything, which might be unfair to somebody. The overall results will be better for everyone.
ARIES
(March 21-April 20)
Your present discontent
with things in
general may stem from the fact
that you do not have sufficient
interests apart from your daily
work.
TAURUS
(April 21-May 20)
If you feel compelled
to make certain accusations
at work be quite sure of
your facts as the outcome could affect
you as well as other people.
GEMINI
(May 21-June 21)
If you have recently
had a disturbing
emotional upset you must try to
calm down before making any far
reaching decisions to change your
way of life.
CANCER
(June 22-July 21)
Make a pact with your
partner not to indulge
in extravagant expenditure without
consulting each other first.
This is the way to save both money
and arguments.
CCARTOONS A R T O O N S
LEO
(July 22-August 21)
Don’t believe all you
are told by a colleague
who is obviously trying to ingratiate
himself with you. His importance
would speak for itself if it
existed.
VIRGO
(August 22-
September 22)
If you have the right
to criticise a colleague’s behaviour
be very truthful about it but
by all means avoid making him
feel like a culprit.
LIBRA
(September 23-
October 22)
Make a habit of putting
your small change aside when you
come home and you will be surprised
how much you can accumulate
in a short time.
SCORPIO
(October 23-
November 21)
A person who has
only recently started working for
you will need a certain amount of
supervision before he can take on
complete responsibilities.
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
CRYPTIC PUZZLE
ACROSS
1 Easiest thing to be fed
with? (5)
6 The wear for Ascot? (5)
9 The style of playing in
overs (7)
10 Something shaky on the
dining table? (5)
11 Memorise a role by
November (5)
12 One giving us a rondo
composition? (5)
13 Contempt of one said to
be involved in a racket
(7)
15 Not happy in the
previous administration
(3)
17 Might he be backward in
German? (4)
18 Possibly recent point of
focus (6)
19 Latest thing in ties (5)
20 In general, let loose as
pretty harmless (6)
22 A dead bird (4)
24 Fish her out in the
repechage (3)
25 The boy’s in pain,
nevertheless a champion
(7)
26 It emerges as equating to
difficulty or problem (5)
27 A name for article nine,
perhaps (5)
28 Disagreements about a
stiff problem? (5)
29 Did he steal the friar’s
last tin? (7)
30 Revises diets for
publication? (5)
31 Just the place for a
bronze medal (5)
DOWN
2 Allow me to join in a
riotous trip! (6)
3 Cheat excessively? (6)
4 As for the safety of
people who drop in? (3)
5 Villa site in the
Birmingham area (5)
6 The C.O., we hear, is a
bit of a nut (7)
ACROSS
3 Terror (5)
9 Frank (6)
10 Bludgeon (6)
11 Soar (5)
12 Group (4)
15 Formerly (4)
17 Tardy (7)
20 Attempt (3)
21 Old-fashioned (5)
23 Swerve (4)
25 Pour (4)
26 Twelve (5)
28 Beaker (3)
30 Deceived (7)
33 Employed (4)
35 Discourteous (4)
36 Ground (5)
38 Rank (6)
39 Knife (6)
40 Stupefied (5)
DOWN
1 Scour (5)
2 Before (5)
3 Mine (3)
4 Worshipped (6)
5 Frozen (4)
6 Dog (3)
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
7 Individual right to be an
outstanding person (4)
8 Jack’s double — the
devil! (6)
12 Land of jazz (5)
13 To the little man, hot
money! (5)
14 A painful injection (5)
15 Put up with the bore? (5)
16 The devil’s way of
working in a haunt of
thieves, etc. (5)
18 Weight of an article in a
vehicle (5)
19 Those blooming things
in the garden! (7)
21 Had a job to give a
listener a name (6)
22 Certain foreigners rush
around Northern Ireland
(6)
23 How formally polite
beggars may disagree (6)
25 Topcoat, perhaps,
carefully brushed (5)
26 If getting in the way, can
be a ‘riddle’ (4)
28 Great maybe, but it’s
still a little bird (3)
EASY PUZZLE
ACROSS
1 Float (5)
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.
CROSSWORD
6 Handheld light (5)
9 Found (7)
10 Cutlery item (5)
11 Courage (5)
12 Form (5)
13 Sustainable (7)
15 Insulate (3)
17 Hero (4)
18 Turn (6)
19 Bird-like (5)
20 Tree-lined street (6)
22 Expensive (4)
24 Zero (3)
25 Protection (7)
26 Settee (5)
27 Clergyman (5)
28 Easily frightened (5)
29 Troop (7)
30 Drain (5)
31 At no time (5)
DOWN
2 Torn (6)
3 Flowery (6)
4 Weight (3)
5 Tale (5)
6 Anxiety (7)
7 Poems (4)
8 Warning (6)
12 Man’s name (5)
QUICK CROSSWORD
7 Representative (5)
8 Passage (5)
13 Timid (7)
14 Domesticated (5)
16 Stuffed (7)
18 Challenged (5)
19 Wager (3)
22 Object (5)
24 Decay (3)
27 Irritate (6)
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
13 Giant (5)
14 New (5)
15 Loaded (5)
16 Sort (5)
18 Black bird (5)
19 Accountant (7)
21 Economic (6)
22 Wish (6)
23 Lively (6)
25 Fop (5)
26 Amount of medicine (4)
28 Number (3)
YESTERDAY’S CRYPTIC
SOLUTIONS
ACROSS: 3, Crow-d 8,
U-pset 10, Armed 11, Pa’s
12, Ho.-use 13, Maginot 15,
Hairy 18, GI-G 19, Tu-MBle
21, Antwerp 22, L-ass
23, Peer 24, Aspirin (-g) 26,
Scotch 29, Lug 31, Ton-ic
32, Le-M-Ming 34, Met-er
35, Era 36, Sleep 37, Inept
38, Stuff.
DOWN: 1, A-pp-Al 2, Re-
S-igns 4, Root 5, Wash up
6, Dr-E-am 7, Pear-L 9, Sag
12, Hogwash 14, Nit 16, Ibse-n
17, Y-E-arn 19, Trailer
20, B-last 21, Aston 23, Pigme-nt
24, Accept 25, Rum
27, Cow-L-s 28, Times 30,
Snaps 32, Lea-F 33, Ire.
YESTERDAY’S EASY
SOLUTIONS
ACROSS: 3, Crisp 8,
Ratty 10, Tower 11, Lea
12, Below 13, Glanced 15,
Lever 18, Cos 19, Merino
21, Pelican 22, Eras 23, Pain
24, Tearful 26, Theses 29,
Oar 31, Harem 32, Enticed
34, Epees 35, Tan 36, Pearl
37, Farce 38, Sense.
DOWN: 1, Tally 2, Stances
4, Rued 5, Stolen 6, Power
7, Seven 9, Tea 12, Besides
14, Col 16, Vital 17, Round
19, Matrons 20, Teeth 21,
Paper 23, Puritan 24,
Temple 25, Fat 27, Hated
28, Seers 30, Fence 32, Eels
33, Car.
28 Wall-painting (5)
29 Class (5)
31 Dullard (5)
32 Demise (5)
34 Facts (4)
36 Finish (3)
37 Owned (3)
YESTERDAY’S QUICK
SOLUTIONS
ACROSS: 1, Assist 5, Billed
9, Loved 10, Summit 11,
Gossip 12, Medal 14, Noon
17, Don 18, Fore 20, Tuned
22, Waned 23, Wagered 24,
Realm 26, Beset 29, Army
30, Boa 32, Dare 33, Fetid
35, Killer 36, Marina 37,
Tenet 38, Target 39, Deceit.
DOWN: 1, Absent 2, Summon
3, Slim 4, Toted 5,
Began 6, Idol 7, Lesion 8,
Dipped 13, Dovecot 15,
Outer 16, Newly 18, Faded
19, Refer 21, Dam 22, Web
24, Racket 25, Ambler 27,
Saline 28, Tenant 30, Beret
31, Aimed 33, Fete 34,
Date.

PORTA CABINS / TURNKEY CAMPS
Our Services Manufacturing, Erection, Mobilization.
Our Products Camps, Kitchens, Offices, Ablutions
Phone 24503725 Fax 24503723
Mobile 95228450 Mobile 99277505
e-mail info@speedhouseoman.com
Web www.speedhouseoman.com
SPEED HOUSE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION LLC
R
S
ENT-A-CAR ENT-A-C
Luxury Cars
BMW 750il Mercedes 430SL
on hourly & daily basis
with chauffeur.
ERVICES
SERVICES
1. AC, Fridge
id & Washing
Machine Machine Servi Servicing &
Repairing 2P 2. Painting,
Plumbing, Electrical &
Carpentry Works. Contact:
97014234/ 97123569,
24504281.
HOOPOE SMART
CARD SERVICES
Sanad Service Centre
We provide the following
services: Typing, clearing
all transactions related to
government departments
and private sector, eg
labour agreement for
Omanis and expatriates,
typing of labour card
for expatriates, typing
of visas and document
clearing from immigration
department, Ministry of
Commerce & Industry,
Ministry of Manpower,
Commercial names
reservation, renewal of
commercial registration,
renewal of OCCI
membership, attestation of
all documents from OCCI
& Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. Renewal of labour
cards through electronic
payment or cash payment.
Please note you may
deliver your transaction
through our e-mail
and our representative
will deliver it to your
office personally after
completion. Our address
is: Ruwi, near Gulf
Transport Co. (GTC),
Fax: 24793331, GSM:
98793665 (Direct)
99231500.
E-mail: hoopoeoman@
gmail.com
AL FAHAD
TRANSLATION
SERVICES
Translation of all kinds
of legal, medical, and
other types of documents,
Commercial Agencies,
etc. Ruwai, near Gulf
Transport Co (GTC),
Fax: 24794286. GSM
: 98793665 (Direct)
95959838. E-mail:
bptland@gmail.com
LANDRAIL TRADING
& SERVICES (Smart
Card) Ruwi, near Gulf
Transport Co. (GTC), Fax:
24780244, Tel: 24789117,
GSM 98793666 (Dir),
96777170. E-mail:
landrailoman@gmail.com
G
Contact:
Contact: 99337159/99359628
UEST HOUSE HO
MURAHIB HOTEL
APARTMENTS
APARTME
welcome our valuable
GUESTS to our
excellent location,
AL KHUWAIR, near
AL ZAWAWI
MOSQUE, a single
bedroom, a bedroom
& majlis, two
bedrooms & majlis.
24478087,
Fax: 24482454.
QURUM BEACH
HOTEL. 24564070.
CLASSIFIED SECTION
RUWI: 24785668
P.C.O. (PEST
CONTROL OMAN
CO. LLC)
Professionals who
specialise in all types
of Pest Control
Services & Snake
control and
Guaranteed Termite
Control. Also
available Gel
treatment for
Cockroaches.
Suppliers of UK
Pesticides Chemicals,
Snake Repellent,
Cockroach Gels and
Peripel treated
Mosquito Nets.
24787606,
24787503,
Fax: 24787607.
TRANSPORTATION
from and to home by
luxury cars. Contact
24487827, 93204595.
MARBLE Marble
polishing and
crystallisation building,
cleaning floor, floor
polishing, carpet, sofa
shampooing, pest
control, anti-termite,
shifting, maintenance.
99504275.
D
M
RIVING SSCHOOL
MORNING STAR
DRIVING
SCHOOL — Learn
driving manual/
automatic with
professionally
qualified male/
female trainees in
brand new cars and
flexible payments.
Call: 99043283,
24478589, 24478505,
www.chamberman.
com/member/
morningstar www.
morningstar.com
ANPOWER ANPOWE
FRIENDS
MANPOWER:
Filipino housemaids
and all kinds of
workers. 24489268
Tel/Fax: 24478153.
AZOOZ. House drivers
and heavy drivers with
Gulf driving licence.
Furniture carpenter.
95330209,
92801098, 24831448.
AZOOZ. Filipino, Sri
Lankan, Ethiopian and
Indonesian. We have
ready H/M in the
office. 95330209,
92801098, 24831448.
T
OURS
MARINE To Tourism
92808636, 92808636 e-mail:
info@alainain.com
if@li i
SPECIAL Rates on
New Cars & 4 WDs
RENTING & LEASING
Tours and Airport Transfer
Tel: 24582663
GSM: 95859497,
Fax: 24582664,
abcrent@omantel.net.om
S
ERVICES
DESIGNING and
printing on the screen
promotional gifts, ID
cards, occasions' cards,
designing printed materials.
Contact 92223460
— Amerat.
WE at Quick Fix offer a
wide range of superior
services. Our new
services are Smart
Maintenance
Membership &
Attractive Internal/
External painting/
Designs. We also
provide Membership in
our Special maintenance
Programme that will
provide you with smart
maintenance solutions
for your building. Our
expert Philippine
workers are well-trained
to meet your
expectations. We also
provide electrical
repairs, A/C
maintenance, plumbing
repairs, cleaning
solutions, pest control
solutions, swimming
pool construction &
maintenance, gorgeous
gardening and
landscaping. Please call
us on 92849838/
95790142.
U
S
MRAH/HAJ MRAH/HA
AL Hikmani ffor
HAJ
and UMRAH
— With
a host of services servi
including the following:
Hiring luxurious
coaches, arranging
weekly trips, preparing
visas for expats at
cost-effective price,
including transport,
housing, meals and visits
to shrine locations. Land
and air trips weekly.
(99311310, 24566016,
99361982, 99707248,
99322124.
QUANTITY surveyor, s
Sri Lankan, 9 + years
experience, i with i
transferable visa, is seeking
suitable position. GSM
93044123 or 938969025,
E-mail: msfarzan@gmail.
com
INDIAN, 24 years Gulf
experience, Civil site
in-charge, seeks good
position. 94265140.
E-mail: robertsingh61@
yahoo.com
CLASSIFIED SECTION:
OMAN DAILY Observer MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
W
PURCHASING
PURCHASIN
immediately: WWe
would
like lik to purchase h your
land at Maabela
95490842, 9323957.
C
IF you are interested i
to sell your cars,
send SMS, we pay
cash 99333088.
F
ANTED
AR BUY &
SELL
OR RENT
FOR RENT
SAVILLS OMAN
QUALITY homes for
rent throughout
Capital Area Muscat.
Contact: 24692151.
www.sav-oman.com
2 BEDROOM flat, 3
toilets, Al Athaiba, behind
Zubair. RO 400.
99213691.
SINGLE bedroom
available at Rex Road.
Call: 99889590.
VILLA at Qantab, Muscat
next to the beach,
furnished in European
style, 2 storey villa
consists of 6 bedrooms,
garden and swimming
pool. 92010246,
99555450, 92366126
FLAT at Wadi Kabir, 5
bedrooms with split AC
99388994.
VILLA in Al Hail north,
7 rooms + 2 kitchens
97308773.
FLATS at Darsait Sahil
consists of 2 bedrooms, a
hall, toilets and kitchen
with store. Contact Salim
Al Hessani 99414694.
INDIAN male, 24, MBA
in Finance & Marketing
having 14 months
experience, currently
staying in Muscat on
visit visa seeks suitable
placement. Contact:
95848764. E-mail:
saud.ruk@gmail.com
IRAQI Architect, 22
years experience in
projects management &
supervision, 6 years in
Oman seeks suitable
placement. 97608513.
OFFICES, shops, villa
at Al Khuwair, flats
at Al Khuwair, Wadi
Kabir, MBD, Mumtaz,
furnished/unfurnished.
96596348.
ONE room + bathrooom
in PDO Road, Qurum
165. Call: 99654530.
ONE bedroom flat
for rent in Mawaleh.
92725057.
10,000 m/sq a farm at Al
Seeb, a lot of water and
green view, 200 baiza
per metre. Contact:
99600909.
FLAT for rent in a brand
new building in al Hail
north near the Waive
consists of 1 bedroom
equipped with AC, 2
bathrooms, sitting hall
and kitchen, RO 230/-
99213341, 99387455.
INDIAN female, Finance
& Accounts Manager,
BCom, CA Articleship
completed, accounting
packages, 10 yrs in
Oman, good
communication skills,
finalisation, audit, etc
seeks suitable placement.
Contact: 95607825.
10 YEARS experience as
HSE adviser in Oman
with valid Omani driving
licence. 92825053.
Sulaiman Awlad Thani: 95181747
Ali al Maashari: 99639264
GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!!
S
14
GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!!
Available on very GOOD prices
HP 1000 Wireless Printer
RO 10.500 only
HP 2510 3 in 1 Printer
RO 14.900 only
HP OJ 4500 4 in 1 Printer
RO 24.900 only
HP Laptop 4540 2 GB VGA
RO 249.900 only
AII HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Samsung
Cartridges also available
ITUATION VACANT
REQUIRED Civil
Engineer, 5 years
experience with driving
licence. 95211863,
92779080. info@
growth24.com
MECHANIC. Heavy
Equipment (Dozer,
Excavator, Loader)
Mechanic with good
experience in Oman,
holding valid driving
licence, required for
immediate employment.
Contact: 99225797.
E-mail: info@ugecoman.
com
REQUIRED: • Cleaning
supervisors
• Five years experience •
English OR Arabic
language is a must.
Please call 99428310.
WANTED Filipino
professional Beautician
for a salon. 99892289.
ONE of the most reputed
construction company
requires immediately
experienced and well
qualified Project
Manager (Civil),
Quantity Surveyor.
Forward CV to: Fax
24590541, Mobi:
96249265 E-mail: hr@
civilco.com.om
ITUATION WANTED S ITUATION WANTED
G
OOD NEWS NEW
AYURVEDIC
Treatment, Yoga Yo massage
& slimming. CContact:
92504980/24475280,
www.drsajjay.com
60X60 FALSE
CEILING WORK,
(Supply and Fix),
Gypsum partition,
Wooden Doors at Low
Price. Interior specialised
in fit out office,
showrooms, restaurant,
etc. Call 99434797.
FLAT, new building,
available 2 BHK & 1
BHK with split A/C at
Darsait, opposite
Indian Nursery, nearby
Indian School —
Darsait: 98989287,
98989265. Office:
24787275.
COMPUTER SUPPLIES
Ruwi: 24792792
GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!!
ANNOUNCEMENT
SITUATION VACANT
A well reputed Contracting Company in Oman is looking
for potential candidates for the following posts with
experience in their respective fields.
Heavy Duty Drivers — 60 nos
Dozer Operators — 20 nos
Excavator/Rock Breaker — 40 nos
Interested candidates may contact Mr Adrian
(GSM: 95033534) Mr. Tarek (GSM: 92184285/95609127
INDIAN female (28),
B.Tech (CSE), MBA
(HR) final sem, looking
for suitable placement
with good organisations
in admin, HR, back
office, have 2 years
experience (Quantity
Analyst, India) 6
months (Oman) with
PDO company as
admin assistant,
currently on family visa.
Contact: 95328330,
93653426.
A
DIRECT: 24649594 - FAX : 24649590
e-mail: classified@omandaily.om
c
CLASSIFIED SECTION
RUWI: 24785668
Behind Royal Oman Police
Adjacent to
Dhofar Building
CCMMN AVAILABLE
AV
GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!!
WE Mohammed Mohamm h Arif
(name of father, fath holder
of f Indian I di Passport P No
G2695833) and
Hamida (name of
mother, holder of
Indian Passport No
G8909832) presently
residing at the
following address in
Muscat, P B No 70
706, P C No 114,
Sultanate of Oman,
hereby solemnly affirm
and declare the change
of the name of our
child Miss/Master
Mohammed Arif Abdul
Majeed (name as per
present passport),
holder of Indian
Passport No J5347755
date of issue 23-01-
2011 issued at Muscat.
The name of our child
will be henceforth
known as Mohammed
Mohammed Arif (new
name) for all purposes.
SINGLE room for
Executive bachelor or
working lady (near
ROP Welfare
Supermarket,
Wattayah).
93090947/
95729931.
B
HANGE OF
NAME
USINESS
BUSINESS partner p
required for a
feasible
proposal for mmarketing
& trading building
material/ tools/
equipment/ electricals/
solar and other hi-tech
products. Contact:
98559317.
CLASSIFIED
SECTION
RUWI
24785668
al-haditha
centre
AUTO REPAIR
CENTRE
Quality Repairs & Maintenance of all
types of Cars and Heavy vehicles
(ROP approved Grade A Workshop)
Telephone: 24595951/1414, Fax: 24597979.
ILYA MANPOWER
HOUSEMAIDS
available from
Philippines, Sri
Lanka & Africa.
All types of
skilled workers
(waiters,
cooks, drivers,
constructions,
industrials,
hotels &
ministries.....)
Tel/Fax
22050086 —
Hail Shimaly
Al Jabri Bldg.
next to
Bahja Mall.
FREE
INFORMATION
ABOUT ISLAM
If you would like
to know more
about
Islam, please
call:
Tel : 99425598,
96050000,
99353988,
99253818,
99341395,
99379133, For
ladies: 99415818,
99321360,
99730723
Or visit: www.islamfact.com
L
OST
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has lost Bangladeshi Bang
Passport No
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please handover to
ROP.
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No AB-6521638.
Finder please handover
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MOHD Shahbaz
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CLASSIFIEDS
Continued on P-15

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Mailing Address: OBSERVER CLASSIFIEDS SECTION, P.O. Box 974, Muscat, P.C. 100
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MANAGER, MBA,
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total 8 years experience
in Accounts, Marketing
operations having D/L.
93665357.
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L/C’s and management
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Excellent in English and
ERP accounting softwares.
Present salary in
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E-mail: nowshadak@hotmail.com,
available in
Muscat upto 20/12/12.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
POLICEMEN carry away collected evidence after a gun battle with Taliban in Peshawar yesterday. — AFP
Six killed in deadly airport raid
Police battle Taliban
PESHAWAR — Six people were killed yesterday as
police and troops battled fighters armed with automatic
weapons, grenades and mortars in northwest
Pakistan’s Peshawar, a day after a deadly Taliban
raid on the city’s airport.
Fierce firing broke out after police acting on an
intelligence report stormed a building near the airport,
where a suicide and rocket attack on Saturday
killed five civilians and five attackers and wounded
50 other people.
The assault late on Saturday, claimed by the Pakistani
Taliban, sparked prolonged gunfire and forced
authorities to close the airport, a commercial hub and
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) base in Peshawar on the
edge of the tribal belt.
It was the second attack in four months on a military
air base in nuclear-armed Pakistan. In August
11 people were killed when heavily-armed fighters
wearing suicide vests stormed a facility in the northwestern
town of Kamra.
Police backed by troops launched a raid early yesterday
on a building under construction near the airport
following reports that five fighters who fled after
the airport attack had taken refuge there, said provincial
information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain.
In the subsequent shootout three fighters and a
policemen were killed, police said, while two other
officers were wounded.
The clashes ended after six hours when the two
remaining fighters detonated their suicide vests inside
the building, another senior police officer, Imtiaz
Altaf, said. “All five fighters are dead now and
the area has been cleared,” Altaf said.
“All of them were wearing suicide jackets. Three
were killed in a shootout with police, while two others
blew themselves up in the under-construction
building.”
A PAF statement said five attackers were killed
on Saturday and no damage was done to air force
personnel or equipment, though Taliban spokesman
Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed the assault had damaged
“several helicopters and aircraft”.
Doctor Umar Ayub, Chief of Khyber Teaching
Hospital near the airport, said five civilians had also
been killed and some 50 wounded.
“The base is in total control and normal operations
have resumed. The security alert was also raised on
other PAF air bases as well,” the air force added.
Peshawar airport is a joint military-civilian facility.
Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Pervez
George said the passenger side had reopened after
an 18-hour closure and there was no damage to the
terminals. The air force said on Saturday’s attackers
used two vehicles loaded with explosives, hand
grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic
weapons. One vehicle was destroyed and the second
badly damaged.
Security forces found three suicide jackets near
one of the vehicles, it said.
“Security forces consisting of Pakistan Air Force
and Army personnel who were on full alert, cordoned
off the base and effectively repulsed the attack,” the
air force said. Television pictures showed a vehicle
with a smashed windscreen, another damaged car,
bushes on fire and what appeared to be a large breach
in a wall.
Five nearby houses were destroyed after rockets
landed on them and several other houses developed
cracks, while the bomb squad detonated five out of
eight bombs found near the base after the attack.
Taliban spokesman Ehsan said the target was not
the civilian airport but the military. — AFP
A SOLDIER patrols outside the airport in
Peshawar yesterday. — AFP
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Adeel Haider.
PAC to take up tax
waivers tomorrow
ISLAMABAD — Whether
they realise it or not, the Public
Accounts Committee (PAC)
is about to disturb a great nest
of hornets tomorrow when it
takes up the question of tax exemptions
and waivers granted
over the past four years.
Last Monday the finance
minister surprised everybody
by admitting to the National
Assembly that the government
had granted tax exemptions
and waivers worth more than
Rs 650 billion over the past
four years.
The amount is larger than
the total foreign aid the country
has received over the same
time period, and larger than
the amount borrowed from the
IMF. Of course not all exemptions
are bad. It is a normal
practice in many countries to
exempt charitable non-profit
organisations.
The list provided by the finance
minister to the National
Assembly includes the names
of the Red Cross and the Red
ISLAMABAD — Nearly
three years and four months
after the Sindh High Court
(SHC) had summoned MQM
Chief Altaf Hussain, the Supreme
Court has asked the exiled
political leader to appear
before the court in person on
January 7, 2012, in a contempt
of court notice.
A two-member division
bench of the SHC on August
20, 2009 had directing Altaf to
appear before it on August 31,
2009, in connection with the
May 12, 2007, violent clashes
in Karachi.
The fresh notice has been
issued to 59-year-old Altaf
Hussain under Article 204 of
the Constitution and Section 3
of the Contempt of Court Law,
just days after he had termed
the judges’ remarks as unconstitutional
and undemocratic,
airing further that the court’s
observations were contempt
for the mandate given by the
people of Karachi and were
nothing short of an open enmity
for the metropolitan.
On August 20, 2009, the
two-member SHC bench,
comprising Justice Mushir
Alam and Justice Muhammad
Athar Saeed, had also
summoned former president
Pervez Musharraf to appear
before it on August 31,
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Crescent as beneficiaries of tax
exemption, which is easily understandable.
But the list also contains
names of commercial enterprises
and in some cases individuals
whose case for exemption
is not self-evident.
The power to grant exemptions
from each of the four
major taxes in Pakistan is enshrined
in law to enable the
government to fine-tune its
response to the changing nature
of economic challenges.
But many say that the power is
often misused to also grant exemptions
to favoured parties.
“If an exemption is granted
to an industry or a trade for
reasons like encouraging investment
in a particular sector,
that is one thing,” says Siraj
Kassim Teli, a business leader
from Karachi.
“But we also know that
there are exemptions made
for a specific party, and that is
wrong.”
The numbers tell a story
2009, but neither Altaf nor
Musharraf had turned up in
line with the directives.
At that time, the SHC
was hearing a petition that
had asked for Musharraf to
be made a respondent, on account
of violence that had
rocked Karachi in May 12,
2007 — the day when Chief
Justice Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry had visited the city
in a deposed state, but could
not step out of the airport due
to the blood being shed on
the streets. Former provincial
home minister and another
MQM leader Wasim Akhtar
was also summoned in the
SHC on August 20, 2009.
The three miscellaneous
petitions in this context were
filed by lawyer Iqbal Kazmi,
who had taken the stance that
the May 12, 2007, carnage had
occurred on the directives of
the then president, Musharraf.
The complainant had stated
in his petitions that around
55 persons, including his relatives,
had lost their lives in the
May 12 incident, contending
further that on the very same
day Musharraf had addressed
a mammoth rally, calling it as
a show of muscle in Karachi.
Iqbal Kazmi had also requested
the Sindh High Court
to transfer the above-cited
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here. For example, a list of all
exemptions granted under the
income tax contains items such
as pensions and donations to
charitable trusts. But at the bottom
of the list there is a head
titled ‘sector and enterprise
specific exemptions.’
In the fiscal year ended June
2008, the amount under this
head was less than Rs 1 billion.
Then suddenly, the next year,
this amount rose to Rs 18 billion.
For the next four years,
sector and enterprise-specific
exemptions remained in this
range, adding up to more than
Rs 80 billion.
Other heads in the same list
include Rs 18 billion exempted
on capital gains every year for
four years, even as the rally in
the stock market kicked in this
year.
Former finance minister
Salman Shah calls this a patronage
system where rewards
are doled out to some parties in
exchange for loyalty.
— Internews
Musharraf, Altaf fail
to appear in court
case to Islamabad for its hearing
by a larger bench.
It is pertinent to note that on
January 1, 2013, which is just
a fortnight away, Altaf would
complete his 21 years in exile.
As newspaper archives reveal,
on December 21, 1991, Altaf
was attacked in Karachi, but
he had escaped unhurt.
He had actually left Karachi
Airport for his abode
in Azizabad, after returning
from a short visit to London,
but armed attackers had intercepted
him near Ayesha
Manzil in the Federal B Area.
The terrorists attacked his car
with a hand grenade, but the
device had exploded before
hitting Altaf. An attacker was
incidentally killed on the spot.
On January 1, 1992, Altaf
had left Pakistan for Saudi
Arabia and after one month,
he had moved on to live in
London.
The 1992 military operation
in Karachi had actually
forced Altaf not to return to
Pakistan, consequently compelling
him to seek political
asylum in the UK. Later, he
became a British citizen.
Altaf’s MQM had emerged
as the third largest political
party in the National Assembly
during 1988 and 1990
general elections.
INDIAN male, 27 yrs,
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Spurs edge
Swansea to
go fourth
Page 18
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Popovic completes fairytale at Coolum
DANIEL Popovic of Australia hits an approach shot on the 16th hole during the final round of the Australian PGA golf tournament at the par-72
Palmer Coolum Resort course in Coolum yesterday. INSET: Popovic celebrates with his trophy. — AFP
COOLUM, Australia — Rookie Australian
Daniel Popovic completed a
golfing fairytale yesterday, leading
from start to finish to claim the Australian
PGA by four shots.
Popovic held his nerve over the
closing holes as fellow Australian Rod
Pampling imploded with bogeys on 16
and 17 and a double bogey on 18 to
drop four shots and surrender the lead
after a late charge.
Pampling finished tied for second
with another Australian Anthony
Brown, one shot clear of former US
Open winner Geoff Ogilvy and Brad
Kennedy.
The 26-year-old Popovic won the
Australian qualifying school last December
but took time away from golf
after his father was diagnosed with
cancer.
But his dad urged him to return to
golf during the year and he repaid that
faith with a superb performance over
the four days, shooting eight under on
the opening day and following that
with three more sub-par rounds for a
dominant victory.
"2013 is going to be completely different
to what I had planned two weeks
ago," a delighted Popovic, who is now
guaranteed a start in the Bridgestone
International on the US PGA tour,
said.
"Two weeks ago I entered Q School
for Australia again and was thinking I
would just play one tour next year because
of my father's illness.
"But now next year is going to be
bigger and better, and hopefully he
keeps pushing on as well."
Popovic looked composed throughout
his final round at the Palmer
Coolum Resort, defying predictions
that he would crack under the pressure.
NY Knicks’ Tyson Chandler shoots over Cleveland
Cavaliers’ Anderson Varejao during their NBA game at
Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.
"I knew if I had the same mentality
that I had the other three days that
I was going to be fine," he said. "And
I did, I turned up today and was more
confident than any of the other days."
Two-time US PGA tour winner
Pampling, who started the round four
shots behind Popovic, had looked to
be heading for victory when he birdied
his first six holes to move to 15 under
the card.
Popovic got the outright lead back
when he got to 16-under, but then double
bogeyed the par three eighth when
he put his tee shot into the bushes to the
left of the green.
Pampling birdied the 12th to open
a two shot lead and looked in control
until his spectacular meltdown over the
final three holes.
Playing in the group ahead of
Popovic, Pampling said he knew his
younger rival had birdied the 17th by
SAN ANTONIO — The San
Antonio Spurs broke out of
a two-game losing streak in
style, demolishing the Boston
Celtics 103-88 on Saturday
to claw closer to Oklahoma
City’s Western Conference
lead in the National Basketball
Association (NBA) series.
The Spurs (19-6) surged
ahead in the final quarter
courtesy of Tony Parker’s 22
points and Gary Neal’s 20,
to close in on the Thunder’s
Western Conference-leading
19-4 record.
Kevin Garnett (13), Courtney
Lee (11), Jeff Green (10)
also put up double figures on
the scoreboard in a solid team
effort.
“We were able to just keep
the tempo going,” Neal told
reporters.
“I think our legs were a little
fresher and we were able to
keep the tempo pushing forward
and knock down some
shots.”
Starting forward Paul
Pierce and bench player Jason
Terry contributed 18 points
each for the Celtics (12-11),
but they fell short of claiming
a sixth successive victory in
San Antonio.
The Celtics have been the
only visiting team to do well
in San Antonio against a Spurs
team boasting an impressive
72-12 record in the regular
season at the AT&T Center
since the start of the 2010-
11 campaign, including a 8-2
mark this season.
“The home court advantage
played big for us today,
especially with Boston coming
off a game last night,”
Neal added.
“It’s always an advantage
to play at home. When you
make your shots the crowd
gets involved and you get your
adrenaline going.
“For the most part we fed
off the way we all played.
When you make the shots the
energy just builds on its own
and that’s what happened today.”
The victory came despite
Spurs’ guard Manu Ginobli
leaving the game in the first
quarter with heavy bruising
on his thigh.
Meanwhile, Spanish sensation
Ricky Rubio returned on
Saturday night but the Minnesota
Timberwolves did what
they have all done season:
They won without him.
Rubio had eight points and
nine assists in his first game
the cheers of the crowd, so he had to go
for it on the difficult 18th.
"I hit a great tee shot down the 18th
and then I heard the cheers and I knew
Daniel had made birdie," he said.
"That double bogey at the end was
the result of me trying to be aggressive.
It wasn't a great shot to hit (when
he put his second into the water), but I
had to try and make birdie to put some
pressure on him."
Last week's Australian Open winner
Peter Senior, playing in the last group
with Popovic and Brown, faded badly
on the final day as he shot a five-over
77 to finish in 27th place
However, former British Open
winner Darren Clarke had a fourunder
68 to finish at nine-under for
the tournament, co-sanctioned by
OneAsia and the Tour of Australasia,
and climb up the leaderboard to equal
eighth. — AFP
Spurs roll over Celtics
in nine months but sat out
overtime, when the hosts Timberwolves
scored the first 10
points en route to a 114-106
victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Despite being limited to 18
minutes by coach Rick Adelman,
Rubio’s flashy play and
precision passing helped spark
the Timberwolves (12-9) to
their fourth straight win. He
nearly was the hero but missed
a three-pointer at the end of
regulation.
“I can’t say with words
(how much I missed the
game),” Rubio said.
“I’ve been dreaming about
this moment every single
night since I got hurt.” “You
couldn’t tell he’s been out for
a year,” Dallas coach Rick
Carlisle said.
Results: Golden State Warriors
bt Atlanta Hawks 115-93; NY
Knicks bt Cleveland Cavaliers
103-102; Miami Heat bt Washington
Wizards 102-72; Indiana
Pacers bt Detroit Pistons 88-77;
Orlando Magic bt Charlotte Bobcats
107-98; Chicago Bulls bt
Brooklyn Nets 83-82; Minnesota
Timberwolves bt Dallas Mavericks
114-106 (OT); LA Clippers
bt Milwaukee Bucks 111-85; San
Antonio Spurs bt Boston Celtics
103-88.
Hamilton vows to give Angels everything on and off field
LOS ANGELES — Josh Hamilton
was introduced as a member
of the Los Angeles Angels
on Saturday and the slugger
immediately promised to give
everything he has to the team
on and off the field.
A five-time All-Star who
overcame drug and alcohol
addictions to become one of
Major League Baseball's most
feared hitters, Hamilton signed
a five-year, $125 million deal
with the Angels earlier in the
week, leaving the Texas Rangers
after helping them to consecutive
World Series appearances
in 2010 and 2011.
"Excited to be here, excited
to think about the next five
years, excited to think about
this lineup and what it's capable
of," Hamilton told reporters.
"It's going to be a good run
and I'm going to give everything
I've got to the organisation
on and off the field."
Hamilton joins a highpowered
Angels line-up that
includes three-time National
League Most Valuable Player
(MVP) Albert Pujols, a 32year-old
slugger who signed
a 10-year, $240 million deal
with the team last year.
Hamilton, a 31-year-old
hard-hitting outfielder, broke
into the major leagues in 2007
with the Cincinnati Reds but
was traded to the Rangers after
the season. Hamilton has a career
.304 batting average, 553
runs batted in and 161 home
runs, including a career-high
43 last season. The Rangers
stood by Hamilton as he battled
to control his addictions,
including a relapse before the
start of last season.
But the slugger got the campaign
off to a sizzling start and
looked to be a Triple Crown
threat after slamming 18 homers
in the Rangers' opening 34
games.
Hamilton, however, saw his
production fall off in the second
half of the season finishing
with a .285 batting average
and 128 runs batted in.
"His qualities on the field
really don't need much rundown
— five consecutive All-
Star appearances, an AL MVP,
batting champion, Silver Sluggers,
you name it," said Angels
general manager Jerry Dipoto.
"But more importantly, a fascinating
story. And we look
forward to this being the next
chapter in his life and our organization's
history."
The Rangers had been
hopeful of re-signing the 2010
American League MVP and
admitted they were caught off
guard by Hamilton's jump to
their American League West
division rivals.
Hamilton said he was just
as surprised that the Rangers
did not try harder to get his
name on a contract.
"I gave (the Rangers) everything
I had for five years,"
said Hamilton. "I'd be lying if
I said it didn't bother me a little
bit that they didn't put the press
on. The relationships I created
in Texas, I love (manager Ron
Washington), I loved spending
time with him, talking to him.
"There's no reason I can't
be in the offices with (manager
Mike) Scioscia over here,
spending time with him, talking
to him, picking his brain
— he's got a lot of knowledge
about the game and I'm sure
life as well." — Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR —
Spain's Sergio Garcia fired
a sparkling 11-under-par
61 to claim the weather-hit
Iskandar Johor Open golf
tournament yesterday as
Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant
became the oldest
winner of the Asian Tour's
Order of Merit title.
Heavy storms in southern
Malaysia had already
cut the Asian Tour's $2 million
season-ending event to
54 holes and more adverse
weather forced a further
delay in play yesterday.
Garcia, though, did not
let it affect him as he produced
some brilliant golf to
finish the three rounds with
an 18-under 198 total and
win by three from American
Jonathan Moore (61).
"It has been a long week
obviously because of the
weather and I couldn't have
asked for a better way to
end the week," world No 20
Garcia told reporters.
"It has been a great experience
as this is my first
time in Malaysia and to be
able to win is a treat.
"The most important
Trott steers
England
to safety
Page 19
Garcia triumphs, Thaworn
wins Asian Tour’s title
NEW YORK — Japanese
star Ichiro Suzuki is finalising
terms of a new two-year Major
League Baseball contract
with the New York Yankees.
Suzuki, obtained from the
Seattle Mariners last July, is
looking at a deal worth between
$12 million and $13
million and terms could be
settled as early as next Friday.
The 39-year-old outfielder hit
thing about playing under
these kinds of conditions is
to keep the momentum going
especially with so much
disruption. It's hard to keep
up mentally and I sort of
did that yesterday morning
where I finished poorly but
today I came back strongly."
The tournament's highest-ranked
player did not
drop a shot during the final
round at the Horizon Hills
Golf and Country Club, firing
seven birdies to make
the turn in 29 and spark
hopes of a rare 59.
The 32-year-old Ryder
Cup winner could only par
his final two holes, though,
as he signed for a joint best
round of the week to claim
his second tournament win
of the year, following his
Wyndham Classic victory
on the PGA Tour in August.
Thailand's Thaworn was
also celebrating as he produced
a final-round 65 to
finish tied fifth and clinch
his second Asian Tour Order
of Merit title ahead
of his 46th birthday this
month.
Wales ponders artificial
pitches for 2015 WC
LONDON — The Welsh
Rugby Union (WRU) say
they will consider installing
a synthetic pitch at the Millennium
Stadium in Cardiff
for matches scheduled to take
place at the 2015 World Cup.
The Welsh national arena
is set to host six games during
the tournament but with the
pitch currently needing to be
relayed several times a year,
the WRU believe an artificial
surface might be the solution.
"It is being given serious
consideration. We are looking
at the implications," WRU
Chief Executive Roger Lewis
said in an interview with The
Sunday Times.
The surface, which has
been approved by the International
Rugby Board (IRB),
comprises a layer of stone, a
thick rubber shock pad, and
a covering of artificial grass
filled in with black rubber
crumb.
However, the WRU have
concerns over whether the
pitch would be able to handle
the preparations for the live
music shows that the stadium
regularly hosts.
"They use some very serious
trucks for their equipment,"
Lewis said.
"We'd need to be satisfied
that the new surface can take
it." — AFP
Ichiro close to new Yankee deal
.322 with five home runs, 14
stolen bases and 27 runs batted
in over 67 games with
New York, which lost to Detroit
in the American League
championship series.
If the Yankees complete a
deal for Suzuki, who has 2,606
hits since 2001, he could join
Derek Jeter in reaching the
3,000 career hit plateau as a
Yankee. — Reuters
He had started the final
round one shot behind Marcus
Fraser, who trailed the
Thai by $25,261 in the merit
standings, but the Australian
could close with only a
level-par 72 for a share of
21st.
"I never thought I could
win the Order of Merit at
this age," Thaworn told reporters.
"I just enjoy playing
week by week and meeting
my friends on Tour. I'm
quite happy with that.
"I put in a lot of effort
and focus to win this year
so I'm very happy that I finished
as number one."
Thaworn's compatriot
Thongchai Jaidee finished
third, four shots behind
Garcia with a 65, with overnight
leader Daniel Chopra
of Sweden a further shot
back in fourth with a 69.
Big-hitting American
John Daly also shot a 65
to finish tied 15th on eight
under while multiple major
winner Ernie Els completed
a disappointing week with a
final round of level par for
a three-under total in tied
48th. — Reuters
SERGIO Garcia of Spain poses with the trophy after winning the Johor Open at Horizon
Hills Golf and Country Club in Johor Bahru in Malaysia yesterday. — AFP
Sprint queen
Arron retires
from racing
PARIS — Former European
100 metres sprint champion
Christine Arron has announced
that she is calling
time on her career at the age
of 39.
The Guadeloupe-born
French runner was at her
best in 1998 when she ran
10.73 seconds to win the European
title in Budapest in a
European record that stands
to this day.
Arron remained among
the top sprinters in the world
for most of the next decade,
taking third place over 100
meters and 200 metres at
the 2005 World Championships,
but her only Olympic
medals came in the 4X100
metres relay at the 2000 and
2004 Games. Subsequent to
that she was often injured
and she said that as she was
pregnant for a second time,
she had decided to draw the
curtain on her career.
"After 35 years (of career),
it's becoming harder
and harder to stay fully fit,"
she said. "I would have liked
to continue racing, but you
have to draw a line under it
one day." — AFP
LA Angels owner Arte Moreno (centre) applauds as he introduces Josh Hamilton at
the ESPNZone in Downtown Disneyland in Anaheim on Saturday. — Reuters

MUSCAT — The Oman team are putting
final touches to the preparations for their
semifinal against Iraq in the ongoing
West Asian Football Championship in
Kuwait.
According to information received
here, Frenchman Philippe Burle-coached
Oman team underwent an intense one-
hour training session at Al Qadsiya Club
ground yesterday.
Though the Sultanate squad qualified
for the semifinals after their 2-1 Group
‘A’ victory over Palestine on Friday, their
last four opponents were known only after
yesterday’s final group engagements.
Yesterday, Syria defeated Jordan 2-1
LONDON — Belgium international
Jan Vertonghen broke
the deadlock to send Tottenham
Hotspur back into the top
four of the Premier League
with a 1-0 home win against
Swansea City yesterday.
The former Ajax defender
scored in the 75th minute
at White Hart Lane with a
beautifully-struck right-footed
shot after a Kyle Walker
free-kick from the right was
nodded on by the Swansea
defence.
Spurs leapfrogged Everton
to take fourth place, level on
29 points with third-placed
Chelsea who have a game
in hand after losing the Club
World Cup final in Japan 1-0
to Brazil's Corinthians yesterday.
Manchester United, who
beat Sunderland 3-1 at Old
Trafford on Saturday, have
42 points and are six clear of
Manchester City at the top of
the table.
Spurs, without the injured
Gareth Bale but with England
midfielder Scott Parker return-
ing as a late substitute for his
first appearance of the season
after Achilles surgery, enjoyed
most of the possession but
were frustrated by a flowing
Swansea side that proved solid
in defence and dangerous
on the break.
"We had so many chances,
so many opportunities to put
the match to bed even earlier,"
said manager Andre Villas-
Boas. "We were very solid
today...it would have been extremely
unfair if we hadn't got
the win today."
Walker had Tottenham's
best chance of the goalless
first half in the 40th minute
when he blasted the ball at
goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel
from 25 metres.
Tremmel had barely time
to raise his hands, with the
ball ricocheting off his shoulder
without Spurs being able
to capitalise.
Swansea's Michu then tried
an opportunistic lob from the
halfway line two minutes later
that dipped over the bar as
Hugo Lloris scrambled back
to top Group ‘C’ and set up a showdown
with Bahrain, who topped Group ‘B’.
Iraq advanced as the best second placed
team from Group ‘C’.
The Oman-Iraq semifinal is scheduled
to be played at Al Kazma Club ground
from 6.30 pm Oman time tomorrow.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that champi-
to cover. The game ended in
controversy after Michu was
felled by Lloris when the goalkeeper
tried to punch the ball
clear.
With the Swansea player
still lying in the area, Tottenham
played on to consternation
from the visitors.
Swansea manager Michael
Laudrup, whose side have not
won at White Hart Lane in
15 league games and remain
10th, was critical of referee
Mike Dean's delay in halting
play while his man was on the
ground.
"I was very angry," the
Dane told Sky Sports News.
"If two players go up and you
see there could be a head injury,
then there's only one thing
to do: The referee just has to
blow the whistle.
"That was poor refereeing...
we are talking about maybe a
head injury and the referee let
the play go on. I think that was
a very bad decision," he said,
adding that the Spaniard was
recovering well. — Reuters
18 SPORT
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Burle fined, barred from Oman’s semifinal vs Iraq
Schalke sack
coach Stevens,
bring in
Jens Keller
BERLIN — Champions
League competitors Schalke
04 have sacked coach Huub
Stevens after a poor domestic
run, culminating in Saturday's
3-1 defeat to Freiburg
which saw them drop to seventh
in the Bundesliga, the
club said yesterday.
Dutchman Stevens, who
will be replaced until the end
of the season by youth team
coach Jens Keller, was in his
second stint at Schalke after
taking over in September
2011.
Despite leading the side
into the knockout stages of
this season's Champions
League, Stevens paid the
price for a disappointing run
of no wins and four defeats
in their last six league games
and is leaving at the start of
the winter break.
"This was a very hard
decision for everyone involved
given the merits the
59-year-old has earned with
the club," Schalke said in a
statement.
Stevens had been a crowd
favourite ever since leading
the success-starved Ruhr
valley club to a 1997 UEFA
Cup victory and back-toback
German Cup wins from
2001 in his first stint at the
club that ended nine years
ago.
This season, Schalke
started off as Bundesliga
leaders Bayern Munich's
main title rivals but with a
busy schedule, the squad
has started to show signs of
fatigue as the burden of European
and domestic campaigns
took its toll on the
players. Schalke picked up
20 points in their opening
nine matches but added just
five more in their next eight
games.
"We sat down this morning
and had a discussion
with Huub Stevens, we analysed
the situation together
and came to the conclusion
together that it made sense to
end the collaboration immediately,"
said Schalke sports
director Horst Heldt.
NEW DELHI — India’s captain and one
of the marquee players, Sardar Singh was
sold to Delhi Wave Riders for the highest
price of $78,000 while Bangalore’s V
R Raghunath fetched the second highest
price of $76,000 for Uttar Pradesh Wizards
here at the Hockey India League
(HIL) players’ auction yesterday.
Raghunath’s reserve price was
$13,900 before the Lucknow-based outfit
snapped him up for the second highest
figure at the auction.
Other marquee players sold at the
auction were German Moritz Suertse
for $75,500 to Ranchi Rhinos, world’s
most capped player Teun de Nooijer of
the Netherlands to Lucknow-based Uttar
Pradesh Wizards for $66,000, and Australian
Jamie Dwyer to Jaypee Punjab
Warriors at $60,000.
India’s second marquee player and
drag-flick specialist Sandeep Singh, who
was touted to be sold for the highest price,
went for his reserve price of $27,800 to
Mumbai Magicians.
Other important Indian players sold
at the auction were S V Sunil (Punjab
for $42,000), Yuvraj Walmiki (Delhi for
$18,000) and Shivendra Singh (Punjab
for $27,500).
Mumbai’s Tushar Khandekar was
sold for only $100 more than his reserve
price of $13,900 to Uttar Pradesh while
S K Uthappa went to Uttar Pradesh for
$25,000 and Gurbaj Singh to Delhi for
$36,000.
Ignace Tirkey, who had a reserve price
of $13,900, went to Punjab for $31,000
while Rupinder Pal Singh, with a base
price of $9,250, was sold to Uttar Pradesh
for $56000.
Unlike cricket’s Indian Premier
onship disciplinary committee banned
coach Burle from attending tomorrow’s
semifinal and slapped a fine of $1,000
for his alleged temper tantrums during
Oman-Palestine match.
The committee took the decision based
on a report filed by a Singaporean assistant
referee. Burle is penalised for viola-
League (IPL), there were no problems
with the auction of Pakistani players as
the Mumbai franchisee bought Fareed
Ahmed for $21,000 and Mohammed
Rashid for $41,000.
On being sold for the highest price,
Sardar said: “It feels very good. I am enjoying
the moment. Hopefully all players
will get a good deal. There will a banter
among the national team players about
who are sold for what.”
Former India captain and goalkeeper
Bharat Chettri went unsold. The Kalingpong
boy had a reserve price of $18,550.
tion of the rules by angrily reacting to the
match referee’s decision not to award a
penalty against Palestine.
Burle alleged to have hit and broke
the glass of the Oman bench but after the
match the Frenchman apologised to the
assistant referee.
He also apologised to Al Nasr Club
Spurs edge Swansea to go fourth
BERLIN — German champions
Borussia Dortmund defeated
Hoffenheim 3-1 yesterday
to go into the Bundesliga
winter break in third place, 12
points adrift of leaders Bayern
Munich.
Mario Goetze, Kevin
Grosskreutz and Robert
Lewandowski scored for the
visitors in Hoffenheim who
have now lost six straight
league games and stay third
from bottom.
In the day's later game,
Werder Bremen scored a
late controversial equaliser
for a 1-1 draw with Nuremberg.
In Hoffenheim, Goetze
opened the scoring after 25
minutes with a shot inside the
near post after cutting into the
left of the penalty area.
Sven Schipplock levelled
from close range nine minutes
later but Dortmund took
charge after the break.
Grosskreutz swept in the
second in the 58th minute after
Marco Reus squared the
ball to him in front of goal,
and Lewandowski chipped in
from a tight angle eight minutes
later.
"It was a victory of willpower,"
Dortmund coach
Juergen Klopp said.
"We managed to get ourselves
out of the mess we
were in. We had been lulled to
sleep in the first half."
Dortmund have 30 points
at the season's half-way
stage, three behind Bayer
Leverkusen, who defeated SV
Hamburg 3-0 Saturday.
Bayern, who were held
to a 1-1 draw by Borussia
Moenchengladbach on Friday,
have 42 points.
Hoffenheim are on 19
points, three ahead of Augsburg
and Greuther Fuerth, but
seven adrift of Wolfsburg.
Nuremberg moved to 20
points after a point at Bremen
who are on 22. — dpa
ROME — Juventus beat 10man
Atalanta 3-0 yesterday to
go seven points clear of chasers
Inter Milan in the Italian
Serie A.
The Turin title holders lead
on 41 points from 17 games
and could see Napoli go second
on 36 if they win a late
home game with Bologna.
A 1-0 defeat at Lazio late
on Saturday held Inter on 34
as the Rome hosts moved level
with Napoli on 33.
There was little trouble for
the Bianconeri at the Juventus
Stadium, where Mirko Vucinic
netted a second-minute
lead with a drive into the far
post after Sebastian Giovinco
fed him past the defence line.
Andrea Pirlo's free-kick
and Claudio Marchisio's drive
on 27 minutes sank any rallying
hope for the Bergamo
guests, who had Thomas
Manfredini sent off on 35
minutes with a second yellow
card.
TOTTENHAM Hotspur’s Jan Vertonghen (second left) celebrates with team-mate
Aaron Lennon after scoring a goal against Swansea City during their English Premier
League match at White Hart Lane in London yesterday. — Reuters
Dortmund down Hoffenheim Juventus extend lead Marseille join Lyon on top
Things were not as smooth
as they seemed for AC Milan
in a 4-1 drubbing of promoted
Pescara, who conceded
two own goals away at the
Giuseppe Meazza.
Milan were ahead in the
first minute with an easy flick
from Antonio Nocerino and
ran a couple of risks before
doubling up thanks to guest
striker Elvis Abbruscato before
Christian Terlizzi pulled
one back with a header.
Striker Jonathas also
stunned his own goalkeeper
for 3-1 before league top
scorer Stephan El Shaarawy
netted his 14th goal.
The Giallorossi from
Rome also boasted a fourwin
run that ended with a 1-0
crash at Chievo.
Catania came from behind
to stun Sampdoria 3-1, Parma
also rallied to beat Cagliari
4-1 and Genoa drew 1-1 with
Torino.
PARIS — Andre-Pierre
Gignac's superb winner
gave Olympique Marseille
a 1-0 victory over nine-man
Toulouse on Saturday that
took them level on points
with Olympique Lyon at
the top of Ligue 1.
Nice climbed to fourth
on 29 points after 16-yearold
Neal Maupay's stoppage-time
goal secured a
3-2 home victory over Evian
Thonon Gaillard.
It was the first league
goal in six appearances
for Maupay who came
off the bench in the 86th
minute.
Halftime substitute
Gignac, who returned on
Wednesday after six weeks
out with a broken foot,
bent a powerful shot into
the top corner in the 68th
minute to earn Marseille's
seventh away victory of the
season.
Marseille have 35 points
from 18 matches but
Lyon are top on goal difference.
Third-placed Paris
St Germain are on 32
points.
"It is a beautiful story
for me," Gignac told
reporters after sinking
former team Toulouse who
played the entire second
half with nine men.
"It made it easier for us
but they played with a lot
of heart. Tonight luck was
on our side."
Elsewhere, Marco Estrada's
spectacular 35-metre
volley in the 14th minute
set champions Montpellier
on the path to a 4-0 home
drubbing of Bastia.
Montpellier's fourth
win in five games took
them up to ninth on 26
points, level with Lille who
drew 1-1 at promoted Stade
Reims.
— Reuters
Chettri, who led India at the London
Olympics, was among those who were
dropped from the Indian squad following
their poor performance at the Games.
Goalie P R Sreejesh, with a reserve
price of $13,900, was sold to Mumbai
Magicians for $38,000 while P T Rao,
who made an impressive debut at the age
of 34 at the Champions Trophy, was also
sold to Mumbai for $17,000. Rao had a
reserve price of $5,600.
Six Indian franchise teams, made
up of local players and top international
stars will clash in the tournament that
administration and expressed his readiness
to compensate for the damage he
caused.
But in light of the assistant referee’s
report, the disciplinary committee issued
its decision turning a blind eye to the
Omani delegation’s commitment to bear
the costs.
Malaga tighten
grip on fourth
with victory
over Sevilla
MADRID — Malaga
strengthened their hold on
fourth place with a 2-0 win
at Sevilla on Saturday, and
recorded their first road win
in La Liga since the beginning
of September.
Martin Demichelis and
Eliseu, with a penalty, earned
Malaga the points as they
were helped by a red card for
Sevilla defender Federico
Fazio in the 69th minute.
Malaga moved on to 28
points from 16 games, four
behind third-placed Real
Madrid. Unbeaten leaders
Barcelona are on 43 points.
Sevilla paid dearly for
failing to convert early pressure
into goals, in particular
striker Alvaro Negredo who
rounded the Malaga keeper
only to fire against the post
in the third minute.
Malaga scored with almost
their first attempt just
after halftime when Argentina
defender Demichelis
looped a header back under
the bar at a corner, and Sevilla
struggled to react.
Fazio brought down
Joaquin as he raced into
the area and was shown a
straight red card, and Portugal's
Eliseu sent Diego
Lopez the wrong way from
the ensuing penalty.
Sevilla lie 12th with 19
points, two behind Athletic
Bilbao in 11th.
Bilbao were 1-0 winners
at Real Mallorca, Getafe
drew 1-1 at home to Osasuna,
and Granada drew 0-0 at
home to Real Sociedad.
Osasuna were denied
three points at seventhplaced
Getafe by a disputed
stoppage-time penalty.
Osasuna had Emiliano
Armenteros sent off in the
77th minute but took the
lead when Kike Sola scored
six minutes from time.
In the 93rd minute, Osasuna's
Oier was judged to
have handled the ball in the
area, though television replays
showed he had not,
and Diego Castro netted the
equaliser from the spot.
Sardar, Raghunath and Fuertse fetch highest prices at HIL auction
Mumbai franchisee buys two Pakistani players, no takers for former India captain Bharat Chettri
begins January 17. Each team has a
salary cap of $650,000 that can be
spent on a team of 24 players that must
include 14 Indian players. More than 90
overseas players and over 150 Indian
players were up for auction, media reports
said.
The tournament has been pitted as
hockey’s answer to the hugely popular and
lucrative Indian Premier League cricket
tournament. Among the most awaited
events on the hockey calendar, it is expected
to revive hockey in India, that has
been decline over years. — IANS/dpa

NAGPUR — Jonathan Trott
scored an unbeaten 66 yesterday
to help England reach
161 for three at stumps on the
fourth day of the fourth Test,
making it difficult for India to
force a result in the game and
level the series.
It seemed India would
take control of the match after
Kevin Pietersen (6) departed
with the score 94 for three but
Trott and Ian Bell (24) put on
an unbeaten 67-run stand to
help their team gain a 165-run
lead.
Earlier, India had declared
at 326 for nine after batting for
an hour in the morning.
With England opening up a
sizeable lead, the match looks
to be headed for a stalemate
which is bad news for the
hosts who are trailing the fourmatch
series 1-2.
England captain Alastair
Cook (13) failed to fire for
the second innings running,
caught behind off Ravichandran
Ashwin.
Nick Compton (34) failed
to take advantage of a good
start and was trapped leg before
wicket by Pragyan Ojha,
who became the joint highest
wicket-taker in the series with
20 wickets.
Ravindra Jadeja accounted
for the dangerous Pietersen.
The South African-born batsman
failed to read the line of
the ball and was castled by the
left-arm spinner.
There were a few close
shouts for the English batsman
but Trott and Bell soon
settled down taking away any
SYDNEY — Former Australian leg-spinner
Stuart MacGill has backed a return
to the Test team for Shane Warne, saying
he is good enough but needs to prove he
has the stamina to cope with the five-day
game.
A dearth of top-quality spinners has
fuelled a campaign to bring back Warne,
with the 43-year-old doing little to douse
the speculation, recently saying he 'absolutely
no doubt' he could bowl successfully
at Test level again.
MacGill, who took 82 of his 208 Test
wickets playing alongside Warne, said he
would pick him.
"I'd play him," he told Sydney's Sun-
Herald.
"Should he be picked? If any selector
momentum the Indian bowlers
had built.
Earlier, India, who resumed
the day at 297 for eight,
put on another 29 runs in the
first hour of the morning session
before skipper Mahendra
Singh Dhoni called in Ashwin
(29 not out) and Ishant Sharma
(2 not out) to the pavilion.
Ojha (3) was the only wicket
to fall in the morning when
he was clean bowled by leftarm
spinner Monty Panesar,
who picked up his first wicket
of the match after bowling 50
overs.
Virat Kohli (103) and
Dhoni (99) took India out of
a critical position on Saturday
to bring the hosts at par with
England. — IANS
SCOREBOARD
England 1st innings 330
India 1st innings
(overnight 297 for 8)
R Ashwin (not out) .......................29
P Ojha b Panesar ............................3
I Sharma (not out) ..........................2
Extras: (b-5, lb-7) .......................12
Total: (9 wkts decl, 143 overs) 326
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-59, 3-64,
4-71, 5-269, 6-288, 7-295, 8-297,
9-317.
Bowling: J Anderson 32-5-81-4; T
Bresnan 26-5-69-0; M Panesar 52-
15-81-1; G Swann 31-10-76-3; J
Trott 1-0-2-0; J Root 1-0-5-0.
England 2nd innings
A Cook c Dhoni b Ashwin ...........13
N Compton lbw Ojha ...................34
J Trott (not out) ............................66
K Pietersen b Jadeja .......................6
I Bell (not out) ..............................24
Extras: (b-8, lb-6, nb-4) ..............18
Total: (3 wkts, 79 overs) .......... 161
Bowling: I Sharma 12-3-27-0; P
Ojha 23-10-39-1; R Ashwin 18-9-
34-1; P Chawla 10-2-20-0; R Jadeja
16-9-27-1.
said he shouldn't be picked, that it's not in
the best interests of Australian cricket, I
laugh at them.
"I'm interested in Australian cricket
winning. Not in 10 or 15 years, but every
day.
"The best way to win in 10 or 15 years
is for it to be on the tail end of a huge
streak. You pick your best team on any
given day and if Shane Warne is available,
then he's in it."
Earlier this month, Warne said that if
Australian skipper Michael Clarke suggested
his services were needed for the
Ashes campaign against England next
year, he would give it some serious
thought.
Warne, regarded as one of the game's
greatest players, quit Tests in 2007 but is
still playing in the domestic Twenty20
Big Bash League.
"The only question that needs to be
asked is whether he can physically (perform)
all day for a couple of days — but
he would know that," MacGill said.
MacGill, who retired from international
cricket in 2008 with 208 Test wickets
at an average of 29.02, added that was
'disappointed' with the recent performances
of current Test spinner Nathan
Lyon.
"Right from the start, he bowls too fast
and too straight," he said.
"If I were Nathan Lyon at the moment,
the number one thing I'd be looking at is
getting my line right." — AFP
19 SPORT
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Siddle mops up for Australia after Dilshan ton
AUSTRALIA’S Peter Siddle (left) appeals successfully for an lbw decision against
Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews during the third day of their first Test at Bellerive
Oval in Hobart yesterday. — Reuters
HOBART — Peter Siddle
grabbed five wickets to help
Australia to a 141-run lead at
the end of the third day of the
first Test yesterday but only
after a brilliant 147 from Sri
Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan
had stalled the hosts for much
of the day.
Openers Ed Cowan (16)
and David Warner (8) added
27 without loss to Australia's
first innings tally of 450 for
five declared before the close
of play, despite a rain disruption
and some tight bowling
from the Sri Lankans.
Dilshan earlier put on 161
in a record partnership with all
rounder Angelo Mathews (75)
to drive the tourists to 336 all
out after they had resumed in
a big hole at 87 for four in the
morning.
Siddle finally separated
them when he trapped Mathews
lbw before tea after two
sessions of frustration for Australia,
which were compounded
by an injury to seamer Ben
Hilfenhaus.
Opener Dilshan followed
soon afterwards — the victim
of a superb yorker from leftarmer
Mitchell Starc — and
Siddle then skittled the tail to
finish with figures of five for
54.
"After lunch, we came out
and attacked and bowled our
partnerships, bowled the way
we wanted to, built the pressure
and got the rewards that
were warranted," Siddle told
reporters.
"It's just about pressing
forward tomorrow morning.
Obviously it's going to be hard
for the batters, but they'll dig
in.
"We've just got to go from
there, see how many runs we
get to. It's going to be a tight
finish, that's for sure."
Hilfenhaus managed just
two balls of the eighth over
of the day before pulling
up with a side strain and
Trott steers England to safety
JONATHAN TROTT: Valuable innings
MacGill backs Warne Test return
SRI Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan (right) celebrates after
scoring a century against Australia on the third day of
their first Test in Hobart yesterday. — AFP
being taken to hospital for
scans. He was rated as 'doubtful'
to bowl again in the Test
by Australia's physio Alex
Kountouris.
Barring a couple of run-out
chances and a few loose shots,
the remaining Australian
bowlers failed to create many
opportunities before lunch on
a good Hobart track.
Dilshan, resuming on 50,
had to temper his aggressive
instincts but moved steadily
towards his 15th Test century,
spending a nervous half
an hour in the nineties before
finally reaching the hundred
with his 16th four.
RECORD PARTNERSHIP
The 36-year-old's delight
at completing his first century
in Australia was made clear
to everyone in the ground by
the huge yelp he emitted as he
skipped down the wicket in
celebration.
"I am very satisfied with
this innings, especially with
the quality of the bowlers
and especially with the extra
bounce in the wicket in Australia,"
Dilshan said.
His hundred came off 148
balls and the scoring rate
slowed even further after lunch
as Australia's bowlers took the
new ball and made the batsmen
work for every run.
Siddle finally made the
breakthrough when he sent
down a delivery that caught
Mathews on the back leg
with the TV umpire confirming
upon appeal that the ball
would have clipped the top of
the middle stump.
The 161-run partnership
was the highest for Sri Lanka
in Australia, beating the 144
Aravinda da Silva and Ravi
Ratnayeke put on for the seventh
wicket at Brisbane in
1998.
Dilshan's departure on the
273rd ball he faced precipitated
something of a collapse for
the tourists with the last four
wickets tumbling for the addition
of just 47 runs.
Siddle removed wicketkeeper
Prasanna Jayawardene
for 40 with another lbw decision
that derived from an
Australian appeal to the TV
umpire, and Rangana Herath
followed for a duck after facing
just three balls.
The Sri Lankans were left
ruing having used up their
appeals as the TV pictures
showed Siddle's delivery
clearly hit Herath's bat before
his pad despite umpire Tony
Hill's lbw call.
There was no doubt about
Nuwan Kulasekara's departure
for 23 in the next over, however,
and he was caught on
the midwicket boundary by
substitute fielder Jordan Silk
attempting a second six in an
over off Nathan Lyon.
Siddle was determined to
get his five-wicket haul and
he achieved that goal in the
following over when Chanaka
Welegedara edged the ball to
Mike Hussey at gully to end
the innings.
Dilshan said he thought
the rest of Sri Lanka's much
vaunted top order would do
better in the second innings after
their failure in the first.
"Our batsmen know how to
adjust quickly and can chase
down any target they set," he
added. "First, tomorrow, we
need to take a couple of early
wickets and put some pressure
back on them."
SCOREBOARD
Australia 1st innings
450 for 5 decl
Sri Lanka 1st innings
(overnight 87 for 4)
T Dilshan b Starc ...................... 147
A Mathews lbw Siddle .................75
P Jayawardene lbw Siddle ...........40
N Kulasekara c Silk b Lyon .........23
R Herath lbw Siddle ......................0
S Eranga (not out) ..........................5
C Welegedara c Hussey b Siddle ...0
Extras: (b-2, lb-6, nb-1) ................9
Total: (all out, 109.3 overs) ...... 336
Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-42, 3-70,
4-87, 5-248, 6-289, 7-316, 8-320,
9-336.
Bowling: Starc 24-3-104-1, Hilfenhaus
12.2-3-30-1, Lyon 25-8-76-2,
Siddle 25.3-11-54-5 (n-1b), Watson
20.4-5-55-1, Clarke 2-0-9-0.
Australia 2nd innings
E Cowan (not out) ........................16
D Warner (not out) .........................8
Extras: (lb-1, nb-2) .......................3
Total: (no loss, 14 overs) .............27
Bowling: Kulasekara 6-3-10-0
(nb-1), Welegedara 5-1-10-0 (nb-1),
Dilshan 2-0-2-0, Eranga 1-0-4-0.
Aussies short
of pacers as
Hilfenhaus
limps out
HOBART — Ben Hilfenhaus
limped off the Bellerive
Oval during the first Test
against Sri Lanka yesterday
to almost certainly leave
Australia a pace bowler
short for the second time in
three matches.
The big Tasmanian, who
took his 99th Test wicket on
Saturday evening, managed
to bowl just two balls of the
eighth over of the day before
pulling up with a side strain.
The 29-year-old was
taken to hospital for scans
on the injury with the results
expected in the next 24
hours.
"Ben's got a side injury,
almost a typical fast bowlers
injury," Australia's physio
Alex Kountouris told reporters.
"It's not too bad at the moment...
and we'll see what he
looks like in the morning...
but it's looking doubtful
whether he'll be able to bowl
in the rest of the game."
Australia have already
lost young quicks Pat Cummins
and James Pattinson to
injury for the domestic season
and the loss of the dependable
Hilfenhaus would
be a big blow to them with
two Tests left in series.
That is not to mention the
huge hole it would leave in
the bowling attack for the remaining
two days of the first
Test in Hobart.
Peter Siddle ended
up bowling 63.5 overs
and Hilfenhaus 53.3 after
Pattinson broke down
in the second Test against
South Africa in Adelaide last
month, and both were considered
too fatigued to play
in the decisive third match in
Perth. — Reuters

20
PANORAMA
OMAN DAILY Observer
MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
THE fossilised jaw of a whale lies on the desert pavement of Ocucaje, 310 km south of Lima. Palaeontologists have warned that the 2013 Dakar Rally,
which will thunder through Peru and Chile next month, poses a serious risk to whale and dolphin fossils dating back more than 20 million years. — AFP
HANNES Ackermann of Germany performs on his motorbike during the Night of the jumps freestyle
MX World Championship in Sofia yesterday. — AFP
4m olive
trees for
cooking oil
ISLAMABAD — Four
million olive saplings will
be planted in Pakistan’s
northwest tribal province of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for
the region to become selfsufficient
in cooking oil, a
minister said.
Provincial Minister for
Agriculture Arbab Ayub Jan
said the government has
launched a Rs 500 million
mechanised farming plan
to bring in an agriculture
revolution, the Dawn
reported.
Problems like
poverty, lawlessness and
unemployment could be
partly overcome with
agricultural development,
as Pakistan could grow
different crops, fruits
and vegetables through
the year.
The minister said the
government was also
focusing on new fruit
orchards. New cold storages
and plants for grading and
polishing of fruits will be
built.
New tool to
harmonise
roads
WASHINGTON — A new
tool may minimise manmade
distractions that effect
our wildlife, by helping
locate new roads and
recreational trails more in
harmony with their habitats.
“By predicting what
the effects of sound will
be on a bird or mammal
species in advance, we can
more adequately balance
our land-use planning
decisions with conservation
considerations,” said
Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS) scientist
Sarah Reed, who led the
study.
The tool, SPreAD-GIS,
developed by the WCS
and its partner, uses spatial
data layers to predict how
sound spreads from a source
through the surrounding
landscape and how it is
affected by such factors as
vegetation, terrain, weather
conditions, and background
sound levels, the journal
Environmental Modelling
Software reported.
Decoding
pigeon
message
LONDON — A coded
message strapped to the leg
of a carrier pigeon during
World War II has finally
been deciphered.
Only the words
“Pigeon Service” at the
top of the strip of paper
were comprehensible.
The rest of the message
that read “AOAKN
HVPKD FNFJW” baffled
codebreakers for years.
The message was from
a British soldier who had
been parachuted down into
occupied Normandy.
A PALESTINIAN girl wearing a Santa Claus costume
walks down the stairs next to scouts standing outside a
church in Gaza City yesterday. — AFP
PEOPLE decorate a column of the Munt (Monnaie) Opera with Post-its, in Brussels
yesterday. Passers-by were asked to write positive messages on a Post-it memo pad
and stick it on the columns, during an event called “Post-it for Life”
to raise awareness of dementia. — Reuters
THE carcass of the humpback whale Johannes which was
stranded on a sandbank since last Wednesday near the
Wadden Sea island of Texel, remains on the beach in Den
Helder, the Netherlands, yesterday. — AFP
A BANGLADESHI woman, with her face and fingernails painted with the
national colours, blows bubbles during a rally held to mark the country’s
41st Victory Day in Dhaka yesterday. — AFP

NSF eyes international market
National Carpet Factory (NSF), which is engaged in
manufacturing of fusion carpets, carpet rugs and plastic mats,
is eying international market. To achieve the goal of reaching
to the big European market, the NSF has started upgrading its
production technology by installing latest machines. Page 24
Monday, December 17, 2012
Al Buraimi Industrial Estate sets
up 15 new projects in 2012
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Al Buraimi Industrial
Estate saw this year
the establishment of over
15 projects ranging between
manufacturing, warehouses
and services in the estate on a
total space of 111,413 square
meters.
This was revealed here yesterday
at the annual meeting of
investors at Al Buraimi Industrial
Estate organised under the
patronage of Sayyid Ibrahim
bin Said al Busaidy, Governor
of Al Buraimi.
The gathering focused on
highlighting the role of PEIE
in attracting and serving investors,
enhancing communication
among investors, and honouring
companies, supporters
and partners.
Delivering the opening
remarks, Abdullah bin Salim
al Kaabi, Director General of
Al Buraimi Industrial Estate,
stressed the significance of
holding the event to hail efforts
of all parties who have
contributed to the development
of Al Buraimi Industrial
Estate. “This annual gathering
endeavours to enhance greater
communication and co-operation
between employees of Al
Buraimi Industrial Estate and
to develop ways of communication
with partners, customers,
government and private
agencies, funders, service providers,
contractors, and investors,”
Al Kaabi said.
“The fruitful scene witnessed
by Al Buraimi Industrial
Estate today is the outcome
of an effective contribution
of various parties, from government
entities, investors,
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service providers, contractors,
funders to employees in all
sectors,” he pointed out.
While underscoring the estate’s
achievements in 2012,
Al Kaabi informed that the
year has witnessed the settlement
of over 15 projects
ranging between manufacturing,
warehouses and services
in the estate. “The total space
leased by these companies has
touched 111,413 square meters.
Besides, the project of
covering the estate with communications
services, through
building two communications
towers and extending the network
of land lines to another
area, is 90 per cent completed.
This project has been done in
co-operation with Oman Telecommunications
Company,”
he informed.
Al Kaabi added that bank-
ing and ATM services has
been provided at the estate
through Bank Dhofar, plus a
call centre has been launched
to receive calls over 20 hours
a day.”Around 90 per cent of
companies and factories operating
in the estate have been
connected to water service in
cooperation with the Public
Authority for Electricity and
Water. Efforts are underway
to provide customs service in
the estate, which is expected to
be available starting from next
year. The latter will eventually
streamline the movement
of exporting and importing
goods,” Al Kaabi added.
As part of the event, a working
paper was presented by
Mazin bin Humaid Al Siyaby,
investment promotion executive
at the Public Authority for
Investment Promotion and Ex-
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Organiser:
port Development (PAIPED),
in which he highlighted the
vision, mission and services of
the authority, national economy,
foreign direct investment,
Oman 2020, and the Sultanate’s
strategy to promote investment
and develop exports.
Al Siyaby emphasised that
the vision of PAIPED is based
on creating wealth through
promoting investment and
developing non-oil domestic
exports. “The mission of
PAIPED lies in activating the
role of the private sector in the
Sultanate, freedom of trade
and freedom of competition,”
he said, adding: “The services
rendered by PAIPED range between
providing information
on investment climate, laws,
procedures and project specific
information, organising
visit programmes and matchmaking
meetings for foreign
investors,assisting investors
to obtain various government
approvals and obtaining debt
funding from government or
from commercial banks, reviewing
the project proposals
prepared by the investors and
advising them on the appropriate
entry strategy for setting
up operations, among other
services.”
“The volume of non-oil
Omani exports has risen from
RO173 million in 1996 to
RO2448 million in 2010, with
a compound annual growth
rate of 21 per cent,” Al Siyaby
informed.
Gloria Jean’s attends convention
NBO Gloria Jean’s Coffees International, a much loved coffee
brand across many countries, organised their global convention
titled, ‘Abundance’ in India recently. All Master Franchise Partners
attended the event from 42 countries. Oman was represented
by Managing Director Leena Jubair al Bastaki. Page 23
OGC wins award for Omanisation
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Oman Gas Company
SAOC (OGC) has gained
the first prize at the level of oil
and gas industry for achieving
the highest percentage of
Omanisation.
The Omanisation at the
company reached 95 per cent,
which is the highest among all
companies in oil and gas sector.
It has exceeded the percentage
of Omanisation specified
by the government.
Abdulaziz bin Saied al Mejaibi,
the General Manager of
Operations at OGC, who received
the prestigious award on
behalf of the company, said that
OGC is proud to gain this prize
because it reflects the recognition
of the efforts done by OGC
to absorb the national cadres.
Eng. Abdulaziz bin Saied
al Mejaibi highlighted the importance
of this certificate in
terms of the field OGC is operating
at, saying “oil and gas
industry is a field of work that
is characterised by minuteness
and difficulty. And to have our
BEIJING — Expanding domestic
consumption will drive
China's economic development
next year, according to a
statement issued yesterday at
a key annual leadership meeting.
With export growth falling
in November to 2.9 per cent
year-on-year, down from 11.6
per cent in October, China's
new leaders are pinning their
hopes for the world's second-
work operated and managed
smoothly by Omanis; particularly
when the omanisation
percentage reaches 95 pc, it is
a great source of pride for us
and for national labour force
as well.”
OGC has had a very clear
vision to achieve this goal.”
We set the empowerment and
training of national labour as a
priority. Our sincere and hard
efforts paid off; for example,
the top management has seen
100 per cent Omanisation and
the middle management is
largest economy on fostering
demand at home. The statement
was issued at the twoday
Central Economic Work
Conference in Beijing.
But unlike after previous
meetings, state media did not
immediately report China's
much-anticipated target for
gross domestic product.
China is expected to retain
its 2012 growth target of 7.5
per cent for 2013.
also predominantly made up
of Omanis. It is not a thing
we see frequently in companies
operating in oil and gas”,
Abdulaziz said.
“The excellent results our
company has been achieving
along the past six years
are the best proof that our
company’s philosophy and
vision concerning enabling
national cadres are successful;
we achieved a gas supply
rate of 99.9 pc and 575 working
hours without incidents”,
Abdulaziz said.
China to focus on domestic demand
The Chinese economy relies
on exports, government
expenditure and investment,
with leaders vowing to protect
foreign investors’ rights,
including intellectual property
rights, according to the Xinhua
news agency.
China also wants to encourage
both private and public investment
next year, including
through increased investments
in infrastructure projects.— dpa

Toyota Motor Show pavilion a success
MUSCAT — The Toyota pavilion attracted a steady stream of visitors during the 12th
Oman Motor Show at the Oman International Exhibition Centre, Seeb
According to the spokesperson, “The response was enthusiastic, rather overwhelming.
Of course, the stars of the show were the 2013 range models. We received several
test drive requests. The families also had a memorable time. All we can say to the
visitors, ‘Thank you for patronising Toyota — we hope to serve you even better over
and over again.’”
Aesthetically designed in accordance with the most modern display/exhibit hosting
principles of Toyota Motor Corporation, the Toyota pavilion had something to please
everyone. There were on-stage activities and performances, freestyle dance sessions,
lots of gifts to take home. All in all it was the most happening place to be.
The pavilion also featured the Toyota FT-EV II — an electric vehicle created from
the core technology of the Toyota hybrid system. The 2013 range models included
the Land Cruiser — 4.6L, Prado 4.0L Classic, Fortuner 4.0L Grand Safari, FJ Cruiser
Extreme, Yaris 1.3 Hatchback, Corolla Exclusive, Camry GLX Special, Aurion 3.5
Grande Exclusive and the Toyota 86 2.0L sports version.
All in all it was a huge success. As one visitor remarked, “ I had a wonderful time
here and hope you people have more events for customers soon. As well, I was able to
decide on the Toyota model that is just right for me. I will be visiting your showroom,
soon.”
In Oman, Toyota is a household name, a part of people's lives.
Toyota offers enduring quality and nothing comes close to it in terms of value-retention.
It is no surprise; therefore, that Toyota soars far above the rest, with a dominant
market share and ever-expanding customer base.
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% parts availability and round-the-clock care, amongst
many other exclusive privileges from the Group.
Kia scoops top design awards
WITH almost 20 awards for design under its belt, Kia has yet again floored the pedal
on its winning run “We are proud that Kia has impressed the judges with its outstanding
design attributes,” noted a senior spokesperson for Reliable International Automotive,
the authorised dealers for Kia in Oman, “Kia’s range of ‘exciting and enabling’ cars not
merely look good, but also offer performance and quality of an equal caliber. It is our
constant endeavour not only to meet, but to surpass the expectations of customers.”
Kia received the highly sought-after ‘iF Communication Design’ award in the ‘Digital
Media — Mobile Applications’ category, coming on the heels of a “Best of the
BRENT Crude oil has,
despite times of elevated
uncertainty,
been trading within a relative
stable trading range during
the last couple of years, especially
compared with previous
years where extreme peaks and
troughs appeared. Looking
ahead to 2013, we believe that
this range trading will continue,
as Brent Crude is currently
sandwiched between several
equal important factors,
the combined sum of which
should keep the price boxed in
between $90 and $125 during
the next couple of years.
During these past two years
Brent Crude Oil has become
the global benchmark for a
majority of physical oil transactions,
and also increasingly
the preferred crude oil commodity
in investment portfolios.
Just recently we have seen
two of the world’s most followed
commodity indices, the
S&P GSCI and DJ-UBS, both
announce another percentage
point weight increase of Brent
in their portfolio for 2013 at
the expence of WTI Crude,
which still carries the highest
weight but is sharply reduced
from previous years.
The major spikes in Brent
Crude during 2010 and 2011
were primarily triggered by
both major and minor fears of
supply disruptions, especially
the Libyan civil war in early
2011 and the announcement
of Iran sanctions due to uncertainties
over its nuclear intentions
in early 2012. Minor
disruptions to production in
Sudan, Nigeria, Syria and the
North Sea also helped to support
the price.
Up against these fears of
supply disruptions, the global
economy has been bumping
along at a relative slow pace,
resulting in only a small increase
in global demand for
oil. At times worries about
recession, now realised in Europe,
and other regions of the
world has helped offset the
above mentioned supply worries,
resulting in minor (and a
few major) downside corrections.
As a result the average
price of Brent Crude has remained
almost unchanged for
the past two years at $110.75/
barrel in 2011 and $111.70 /
barrel so far in 2012 . The below
chart shows the distribution
of the traded volume on
the front month contract since
January 2011 and not surprisingly
the result ties in very
well with the average price
observations. Almost nine per
cent of all volume during the
last two years has taken place
between 110 and 111 while 54
per cent of all traded volume
has occurred within a narrow
nine dollar range between
$106 and $115.
The downside tail, as also
seen below, is somewhat long-
er than the upside one. This
can among other things be
explained by the presence of
speculative investors such as
hedge funds and traders. Speculative
traders react to market
movements by either by adding
or reducing exposure and
the two peaks in oil price (seen
in the above chart) were both
followed by one minor and
a major sell-off as they were
forced to reduce loss making
positions . During such times
of long liquidation we often
find that the move gets extended
much beyond what is
warrented by the underlying
fundamentals.
Now that we have determined
two of the major drivers
behind the price of oil, geopolitical
concerns and speculative
investment flows, let
us take a look at some of the
other reasons why we believe
that the price of oil will remain
range bound for the foreseeable
future.
Higher prices triggering
higher Saudi production
During the early parts of
2012 when the price of Brent
Crude was elevated we often
heard verbal intervention from
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Pe-
22 OMAN MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
BUSINESS ALERT
Best” distinction by the red dot awards in recognition of Kia’s all-new Rio iPad application.
Available for download in the iTunes app store for free, the Kia Optima iPad
app boasts a multitude of engaging content, which all work together to create a truly
interactive experience. Users can explore the fully interactive e-publication which allows
the Optima to be viewed in 720° rotations, flip through available colours and
wheel options; and browse through a plethora of multimedia content and information
— in a matter of seconds.
The official presentation of the iF design awards will take place on 22 February
2013 at the “Munich Creative Business Week” and all winning designs will be shown
at the iF design exhibition in Hanover, 5-9 March 2013.
Kia is one of the world's premier automotive brands. Over 2.5 million vehicles a
year are produced in 15 manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries
which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering
172 countries.
Kia today has over 47,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of over
$39 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and an official automotive
partner of FIFA — the governing body of the Fifa World Cup. Kia Motors
Corporation's brand slogan — "The Power to Surprise" — represents the company's
global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive
innovation.
Reliable International Automotive, the distributor for Kia in Oman provides a
rewarding ownership experience for customers. Excellent product attributes and unmatched
18 facilities easily ensure their absolute satisfaction, every mile of the way.
No wonder then that Reliable International Automotive has been ranked amongst
the top Kia distributors worldwide and has been honoured with prestigious accolades
including the Kia 'Dealer of the Year' award; Kia 'Distributor of Distinction' award,
'Family Like Care' Service award and the 'Zenith Club' award for excellent performance.
The prestigious 'Kia Award for Overall Excellence and Outstanding Performance'
amongst Kia distributors worldwide was bestowed most deservingly.
KR training programme for Omanis
KHIMJI Ramdas (KR) has developed a programme to train talented Omanis and make
them employable in today’s competitive job market. The initiative that is part of the
company’s ongoing corporate social responsibility focuses on the importance of individuals
working together as a team.
Participants in the programme recently got a chance to put their lessons taken by
the Pizza Hut Training Centre into practice in the recent Pizza Hut Champs Challenge
that was held in Ain Soukhna in Egypt. The Pizza Hut team from Oman was
led by the coach Salim al Balushi and comprised 50 per cent Omanis to win the
silver medal.
Salem al Balushi — Coach; Santosh Valliyil — Manager; Sibi Viswanathan —
Service Staff; Muneer al Hosni — Service Staff; Jithin Bhadran — Kitchen Staff;
Abeer Mubarak Al Siyabi — Kitchen Staff made up the Omani Pizza Hut team.
ODB workshops on entrepreneurship
WITHIN its efforts to develop national cadres and support the attitude of establishing
and creating small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Oman Development Bank (ODB)
organised two workshops in Dhofar University (DU) and Sultan Qaboos University
(SQU) under the theme of “how to be a successful entrepreneur”.
The two workshops were coached by Khaled Al Sharjy, an approved trainer from
many international and national training institutes and houses. The overall aim of the
two workshops was to provide university students with the opportunity to have a sufficient
idea about creating their own projects and SMEs, seed money and its source,
funding establishments in the Sultanate and the skills required for operating and managing
projects.
Talal bin Abdulraheem al Zedjali, the assistant director of business development
and marketing, delivered a speech on the role played by ODB at supporting young en-
troleum Al-Naimi in order to
bring the price lower. As the
Kingdom is one the world’s
largest producer of oil and the
only one with any available
spare capacity, the world take
notice when he speaks. Following
the embargo on Iranian
oil they increased their production
close to 10 million barrels
per day in order to make good
on his intention to help bring
the price of oil back towards
$100/barrel, a level which is
acceptable to both producer
and consumer. With the global
economy still in a fragile state
of recovery high oil prices act
as a deterrent for growth and
thereby demand.
Release of Strategic
Petroleum Reserves
Rising prices due to geopolitical
tensions also carries the
risk of OECD nations stepping
in to calm markets by releasing
oil or products from its Strategic
Reserves. Members of the
International Energy Agency
are obligated to hold an emergency
reserve that would cover
90 days of imports and with
the US the largest consumer,
they currently hold nearly
700 million barrels, according
to the US Department of
Energy. Although the release
in June 2011 - due to the loss
of Libyan production - had a
limited longer term impact,
the threat of a release is sometimes
enough to deter speculative
investors from getting too
involved, thereby preventing
the price from moving even
higher.
Rapid increase in US
oil production
Outside Opec the main
growth in production in 2013
will come from US shale. This
growth has already resulted
in a dramatic reduction in net
crude oil imports over the last
five years. The US Energy
Information Administration
(EIA) in their Annual Energy
Outlook 2013 said that “The
advent and continuing improvement
of advanced crude
oil production technologies
continued to lift projected domestic
supply” and they see
production reaching 7.5 million
barrel per day by 2019.
This paradigm shift in global
oil markets over the coming
decade could eventually, according
to the International
Energy Agency, see US production
surpass Saudi Arabia.
Such an increase should help
increase the buffer between
demand and available supply,
trepreneurs in Oman, mechanism of funding service and productive projects, facilitations
offered to the junior investors by ODB. He highlighted the role played by ODB at
supporting economic activities in the Sultanate through providing the required finance
for different initiatives that establish for SMEs.
Nissan Sunny attracts customers
FROM the dynamically sculpted front to the crispy sporty rear, the all-new Nissan
Sunny inspires a bold expression of refined driving experience. Interior comfort and
stylish edge along with steady performance and handling, clearly defines Nissan Sunny
as a truly modern mode of urban transport.
The Nissan Sunny sport edition comes with a sleek rear view camera and Bluetooth
hands free phone feature and its exterior look has undergone an impressive makeover
with alloy wheels and sport sunshade.
Along with that it also has an imposing sport badge incorporated on it which makes
the overall look sporty and fun. The key features in the Sunny sport variant include a
1.5L engine with a world’s first dual injector system and an ultra-flat torque converter.
The other features include 2 DIN AM/FM CD MP3, Aux Jack with 4 speakers, keyless
entry, central locking system, ABS, EBD, BA, Dual air bags, power steering, and front
power windows.
Majan World Travel opens at Al Khoudh
MAJAN International Travel Agencies opened its fourth retail outlet under the ‘Majan
World Travel’ brand in Al Khoudh recently. The branch was inaugurated in the presence
of Mohammed Ziya, Country Manager of Turkish Airlines and Shahas Haneef,
General Manager of Majan International Travel Agencies.
The opening of the new branch underscores the progress achieved thus far by the
company in its quest to emerge as one of the leaders of the travel industry in Oman. The
new slogan of the company, under Shahas Haneef’s leadership, is ‘Making the World
smaller and our network bigger’.
Conveniently located in a prime area of Al Khoudh, the branch will cater to the
growing demands of local university staff and students in the area, as well as other
clientele. The branch is headed by a team of dedicated staff who are contactable 24 x 7.
Faisal Mullali is the branch in-charge already known in the market for his vast experience
and knowledge.
Crude oil in 2013: Brent boxed into price range of $90 to $125
GUEST COLUMN
By Ole S Hansen
thereby reducing the risk of
price spikes during periods of
supply disruptions.
Shale oil production
needs high prices
Just like we seen in the past
where high prices have been
the best cure for high prices
the same also happens when
the opposite occurs. The low
prices in US natural gas during
the early months of 2012
triggered a major shift by
power generators from coal to
gas and that eventually helped
bring the price back to more
comfortable levels from a production
perspective. The price
at one stage went so low that
the cost of this new production
technology exceeded the
revenues, and had it gone on
for much longer production
would have been scaled back.
The same goes for oil shale
production, which at this early
stage is still punitively expensive
to produce. It is only the
above the $100 per barrel price
level we have witnessed during
the last few years that has
made such new innovations
economically viable. Until
technological advances in production
methods bring the cost
down, it is estimated that a
break-even price above $70 on
WTI crude (equivalent of $90
on Brent Crude) is required to
stay profitable.
Oil producers need to
balance budgets
Following the Arab Spring
uprising in 2011 and continuation
of tension in the Middle
East, many Opec governments
have sharply increased their
government budgets in order to
spend their way out of potential
socioeconomic problems.
With oil revenues the main
source of income for many of
these nations, the break-even
oil price needed to balance
their budgets has shifted much
higher during this time and it
is likely to move even higher
in 2013.
Saudi Arabia is estimated
to have a breakeven around
80 dollars while others, such
as Nigeria and Russia, a non-
Opec member, are estimated
to be much closer to $100. On
this basis any price weakness
much below $90 is not going
to be acceptable and could be
defended by means of reducing
production.
Conclusion
While global oil prices continue
to be exposed to sudden
sharp moves, primarily to the
upside, caused by supply disruptions,
the recent changes
especially in new production
methods should leave the market
in better and less volatile
place than in previous years.
While the worry about peak oil
may not have gone away, it has
at least been postponed for a
number of years.
This will buy the world
additional time to continue to
improve production methods
through new technology. This
will increase the demand for
natural gas — and the world
has plenty of natural gas.
Meanwhile, the automobile industry
will continue to improve
the effectiveness of engines,
something that is already making
an impact on US gasoline
consumption.
It’s truly a paradigm shift
and one we feel will be the biggest
positive input to growth
and markets over the next ten
years. The fact that one of the
byproducts is reduced carbon
footprint does not make this a
less appealing case. We see the
price of Brent Crude remaining
within the $90 to $125
range in 2013 with an average
price around $111.

Gloria Jean’s Coffees Oman
attends global convention
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Gloria Jean’s
Coffees International, a much
loved coffee brand across
many countries, organised
their global convention titled,
‘Abundance’ in India recently.
All Master Franchise Partners
attended the event from 42
countries. Oman was represented
by Managing Director
Leena Jubair al Bastaki, Executive
Director Issa Sultan al
Ismaili and Operations Manager
Ledan Montecalvo.
The one-week global convention
saw the presence of
distinguished guests from
around the world and key inspiring
speakers by eminent
personalities such as John
Maxwell, Gary Clarke, Mark
Bitton and Dietmar Scheffler.
The gathering of prominent
people at the event also saw
this as a chance to discuss matters
of social significance and
major focus on Gloria Jean’s
Coffees global humanitarian
programme “With Heart we
serve”.
The convention held several
other events under its
banner, giving the attendees
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — KPMG International
(KPMG) last week
announced record-high combined
revenues of $23.03 billion
for the fiscal year ending
30 September 2012, representing
a 4.4 per cent increase
over the previous year in local
currency terms. When adjusted
to US dollars, revenues
increased by 1.4 per cent, reflecting
the relative strength of
the US dollar.
At a time of ongoing global
economic challenges,
the growth reflects KPMG’s
continued strategic focus on
investments in emerging markets
and key service areas,
as well as aggressive recruitment
of top talent. In the latest
Universum rankings, business
students from leading universities
around the world voted
KPMG as one of the most
attractive employers for the
third consecutive year, ranking
second overall and highest
among the Big 4 firms.
Michael J Andrew, Chairman
of KPMG International,
commented: “2012 was a year
of two distinct halves; with
growth strongest at 6.4 per
cent in the first six months of
a chance to explore the world
of Gloria Jean’s Coffees from
different perspectives. It hosted
the Glory awards dinner,
where several awards in different
categories such as International
whole bean sales,
most improved store sales and
chairman’s community spirit
awards were given away. Exotic
new flavours of tea and
coffee by Gloria Jean’s Coffees
were also introduced at
the global event.
Another important part of
the convention was Gloria
Jean’s Coffees International
Barista Championship, where
Tahir Tasli, a Barista from
Cyprus notched the winner’s
trophy after competing against
top Baristas from world over.
Tahir represented the European
region at the International
competition. The Gloria Jean’s
Coffees International Barista
Championship showcases the
most talented, skilled and creative
Gloria Jean’s Coffees Baristas
from around the world.
“The International Barista
competition is a very significant
event in our calendar
where Baristas from around the
world compete for the best Barista
award. In the 2014 Global
the year and relatively weaker
growth of 2.1 per cent in the
six months to September.
Growing our business against
such a challenging economic
backdrop is testament to the
quality of our people and the
strength of their relationships
with clients."
KPMG recorded increased
revenues across all functions
with particularly strong
growth generated in Financial
Services, Industrial Markets
and Infrastructure, Government
and Healthcare. Advisory
revenues grew by 8.3 per
cent, to $7.86 billion; Tax revenues
grew by 6.3 per cent, to
$4.86 billion; and Audit revenues
grew by 0.9 per cent, to
$10.31 billion.
"The growth in Advisory
and Tax underlines the strength
of client demand for professional
services," said Michael.
"On the Audit side, the market
has never been more com-
Convention that will be held in
Turkey, we are confident that
there will be participants from
Oman who will compete for
this prestigious award. Our
Baristas are very passionate
about coffee and demonstrate
a perfect latte art in our stores.
With their enthusiasm and
heart service, we will certainly
compete or participate
in 2014,” stated Leena Jubair
al Bastaki, Managing Director,
Gloria Jean’s Coffees.
Issa al Ismaili, Executive
Director — Misk Muscat
International added: “Since
inception in Oman this year,
Gloria Jean’s Coffees has always
committed to serve the
finest of tea and coffees that
suit the tastes of the local and
international audience with
personalised service in a vibrant
store atmosphere. In the
few years ahead we aim to be
the most loved and respected
coffee company in the world
and aim to host the global convention
in Oman in 2018.”
To mark the festive season
of Christmas, Gloria Jean’s
Coffees has a surprise event
lined up for children and families
at Fun Zone Qurum on
December 20, 2012.
KPMG 2012 revenues
reach $23 billion
Workshop for Islamic bankers
MUSCAT — KPMG, a leading International firm providing
Audit, Tax and Advisory services announced that in line
with its objective to educate and train the workforce serving
the Islamic Banking industry in the Sultanate of Oman, a
highly-specialised AAOIFI workshop will be offered from
December 23-25, 2012 at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Muscat.
Accounting & Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial
Institutions (AAOIFI) is a well-recognised global institution
setting standards for Islamic Financial Institutions in
Accounting, Auditing and Sharia Governance.
Under the proposed Islamic Banking Regulatory Framework
(IBRF) issued by the Central Bank of Oman, Islamic
Banks and Islamic Windows of conventional banks are mandated
to comply with AAOIFI Standards.
Khalid Yousaf, Director Islamic Finance Advisory Services
for KPMG in Oman said, “Islamic Sharia concepts and
principles underpin the AAOIFI standards. The workshop
participants will develop a clear understanding of those concepts
and principles as well as the key differences between
IFRS and AAOIFI standards.”
KPMG's presence in Oman over the past 40 years has
helped it become the preferred service providers in Audit,
Tax, Business Advisory, Risk, Corporate Governance and
Regulatory services for a number of local, regional and international
clients.
petitive and we are focused on
continuing to improve audit
quality, as evidenced by our
significant investments in our
global audit platform that surpassed
$50 million, in addition
to the $100 million invested
over the past several years.
KPMG member firms are also
actively engaged with their
regulators around the world
in constructive dialogue, with
the goal of continuing to improve
audit quality."
At a regional level, the
Americas delivered strong
growth for the year, with revenues
rising by 7 per cent. The
Europe, Middle East and Africa
region reported increased
revenues of 4 per cent across
the region, despite the ongoing
economic uncertainty
caused by the Euro zone crisis.
The Asia Pacific region
reported revenue growth of
1.1 per cent, reflecting subdued
growth in North Asia.
KPMG's commitment to
investment in rapidly growing
economies was reflected by
exceptional annual growth of
20 per cent or more at KPMG
firms in Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, India and Turkey. Revenue
growth was also strong
in Africa and Indonesia, rising
by more than 10 per cent
in each area over the last fiscal
year.
In addition to investing in
its global audit platform and
emerging markets, KPMG
also focused on bolstering
advisory and tax services.
Michael noted that KPMG
"will continue to make acquisitions
that will help build
market-leading positions and
capabilities in key areas that
are important to clients, as we
have done in shared services
and outsourcing advisory and
indirect tax compliance services,
as well as in procurement
and supply chain management,
through our recent
acquisition of BrainNet."
23 OMAN MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012

National Carpet Factory
eyes international market
By Kaushalendra Singh
SALALAH — National Carpet
Factory (NSF) SAOG,
which is engaged in manufacturing
of fusion carpets, carpet
rugs and plastic mats, is eying
international market after
achieving good success in the
local market.
To achieve the goal of
reaching to the big European
market, the NSF has started
upgrading its production technology
by installing latest machines
in its factory which is
located in Sohar.
The company has already
procured two state-of-the-art
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Nawras has been
named as Oman’s ‘Connection
of Choice’ for 2012 in both
the ‘Popular Choice’ and ‘Top
Management Choice’ telecom
categories of a local Best
Brands 2012 survey.
The ‘Popular Choice’ vote
was cast by a wide range of
people from students to managers
while the ‘Top Management
Choice’for Best Brand
was drawn from chairmen,
chief executives and general
managers of companies in
Oman. Success in both categories
highlights the versatility
and appeal of Nawras products
to customers with a varied
range of usage styles and
weaving machines from Belgium
and some more are likely
to come in the near future.
Ali al Amouri, Manager
Sales at NSF, laid out the
company’s expansion plan
during a recently concluded
exhibition in Salalah. According
to him, quality wise
Omani carpets are one of the
best in the region and they
give good competition to
Turkish carpets.
“Since our factory still
has old machines and many
of them are as old as 1995
and 1992 models, we have
our own limitations in terms
of production and competi-
requirements.
By offering choices in services
and products, Nawras recognises
that customers are individuals
with different needs
and priorities. Both Nawras
Mousbak prepaid and Nawras
Ajel postpaid customers can
choose from an assortment of
mobile and Home Broadband
options to select the ideal service
and plan to match their
budget and style of usage.
Ross Cormack, Nawras
Chief Executive Officer, said,
“I would like to sincerely
thank everyone who voted for
Nawras as part of this year’s
survey. We are thrilled to see
how our pleasingly different
approach has led to Nawras
leading both categories in the
ALI al Amouri
tion in the international market.
Now we have started the
upgrading our machines and
telecom sector of Best Brands
2012. I believe this is a reflection
on how we are listening to
our customers and introducing
personalised products and
services designed to suit many
are confident to enter into
the world market with the
best quality products,” he
said.
With 75 per cent market
share in Oman, the NCF sells
4,000 to 5,000 square metres
of carpet every month in the
lean season and more than
10,000 square metres during
peak season like Ramadhan,
Eid and other festivals.
Al Amouri said NSF is trying
to explore European, African
and Gulf markets with the
best quality products. “Europe
is the best market for carpets.
This can be judged from the
fact that one Saudi Arabian
different customer needs. With
our friendly customer care
together with the on-going
network turbocharging programme,
we will continue to
be dedicated to delivering a
richer communications experience.”
The annual Best Brands
survey is carried out independently
and represents a crosssection
of Omani society to
give a balanced and unbiased
outcome. Using a sample survey
of 1000 people, the survey
collects answers from all
demographics in age, gender
and nationality. Respondents
are asked to spontaneously
name one brand in each of the
14 categories. The survey has
been providing an objective
24 OMAN MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
company sells around 80 million
square metres of carpet in
one year in Europe. So, anyone
doing business in carpet sector
should explore European market,”
he said.
The company procures
most of the raw materials from
outside Oman. For polyester
and jute it depends on Indian
and Bangladeshi markets,
while glue comes from Belgium.
With four operational
looms, NCF claims have the
best option for the local population.
“Some products from outside
Oman offer cheap rates,
but they do not match our
quality. I request the local population
to look at our products
get the best deal in terms of
quality,” he said.
According to Al Amouri,
established in 1994, the NCF
is the only carpet factory in
Oman. The factory was established
in co-operation with the
global carpets and rug industries
to provide the local population
a mixture of traditional
and modern designs tailored to
their taste.
Commenting on the NCF’s
strategy to meet the international
competition, Al Amouri
said: “We want to compete
with our quality. We strive exceed
expectations in quality,
service and value to promote
growth and develop value for
our stakeholders.”
“We use finest materials in
our manufacturing and supply
both retail and wholesale from
the smallest installation to
large requirements,” he said.
view of the people’s choice for
over ten years.
Since its inception in 2005,
Nawras, a Qtel Group company,
has changed the landscape
of telecommunications
in Oman through innovative
services, new products, attractive
tariffs and customer
rewards, as well as the latest
technology to meet the ever
changing and growing customer
trends and requirements. By
introducing many ‘firsts’ to the
market including the first 3G+
service, first and only loyalty
programme, the first prepaid
business service and a prepaid
solution for postpaid customers,
Nawras continues to do
more to serve the people of
Oman.
TEL: 24601003, 24600586 • FAX: 24600736
• WEBSITE: www.salalahport.com
Bank Muscat, Lulu to
train 40 Omani youth
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Bank Muscat,
the flagship financial services
provider in the Sultanate, as
part of its Jesr Al Mustaqbal
(Bridge to Future) Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR)
initiative, has joined hands
with LuLu Hypermarket to
equip 40 young Omanis with
the necessary skills to develop
their careers and contribute to
national development.
On successful completion
of a 3-month training programme,
the Omani youth,
including women, from lowincome
families in Dakhiliyah
and Dhofar governorates will
be absorbed by LuLu for various
jobs in its outlets.
Salim Al Kaabi, DGM –
Human Resources, said: “As
part of Bank Muscat’s CSR
commitment, a comprehensive
plan is in place to provide
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — In line with the
Royal Decree of His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos, which was
issued in December amending
the Sultanate’s Banking
Law to allow Islamic Banking
services in Oman, Ahlibank
Alhilal Islamic Banking Services
is conducting a comprehensive
market awareness
campaign for Islamic Banking
products and services across
the Sultanate.
As part of the comprehensive
market awareness campaign
Ahlibank Alhilal Islamic
Banking Services will be
hosting a seminar on Islamic
Banking in collaboration with
Nizwa University at the University
premises on December
18 at 9:00am, which will
be open to the general public.
Committed to providing Shariah
compliant banking Ahlibank’s
Al Hilal Islamic banking
services aims to educate
the general population on the
vocational training to Omani
youth, especially from low-income
segments, to help them
develop workplace skills. The
bank attaches importance in
supporting people with special
needs. The training programme
is aimed at enabling
low-income citizens to gain
employable skills and overcome
difficulties they face in
career development.”
Salim al Kaabi added: “The
youth represent the future of
Oman and the training programme
is aimed at empowering
them to actively participate
in nation-building. Bank
Muscat is very sensitive to the
needs of people and keen on
enriching their lives. The training
programme is yet another
affirmation that Bank Muscat
is a true partner in supporting
people with special needs. Such
programmes help in achieving
a better future for marginalised
best practices and developments
in the field of Islamic
Banking.
Renowned Omani Shariah
scholars will speak during the
seminar which include Shaikh
Aflah Al-Khalili, Member of
Shariah Supervisory Board
of Al Hilal Islamic Banking
Services and the Head of Research
and Studies at the Institute
of Fatwa in the Ministry
of Awqaf and Religious Affairs
as well as Shaikh Ibrahim
al Sawafi, General Secretary
of Fatwa at the office of the
Grand Mufti.
sections in community.”
The training in Dakhiliyah
will be conducted by Nizwa
Cultural Institute and in
Dhofar by Dhofar Institute of
Technology. The trainees will
undergo 3 months training in
accounting and customer care
to become proficient as cashiers,
counter supervisors and
customer service staff. Upon
successful completion of the
training course, the candidates
will be employed by Lulu Hypermarket
in its Dhofar and
Dakhiliyah outlets.
The Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) of Bank
Muscat is a commitment to
contribute towards sustainable
development by working
closely with local communities
with the aim of improving
living standards in a manner
that serves the national economy
and development process
at the same time.
Nawras named Oman’s ‘Connection of Choice’ 2012 Ahlibank to hold Islamic
ROSS Cormack, CEO
Banking seminar
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — Better Homes,
the region’s premier real estate
company, is all set to participate
in the second edition
of the Home Show to be held
from December 18 to 20.
The Home Show is the
premier building, home construction
and industry related
trade events in Oman. During
the event Better Homes will
be showcasing their premier
properties — Jasmine, Rimal
and the Beachfront, in addition
to other rental and ‘for
sale’ properties on offer from
across Muscat.
“The second edition of the
Home Show is taking place
against a backdrop of strong
growth in the housing and
real estate sectors in Oman.
As one of Oman’s pioneering
companies in the real estate
sector with consulting specialists,
Better Homes strives
to connect with current and
prospective customers to provide
customised, hassle-free
solutions,” said Glenn Meek
— General Manager, Better
Homes Oman.
Hosted at the Oman International
Exhibition Centre
over a period of three days,
the show will bring together
a large number of eminent
industry leaders, specialists
and decision makers under
one roof. From single studios
to eight-bedroom villas, Better
Homes is offering visitors
to experience the whole list
of offering available in the
Sultanate, in addition, avail of
special discounts exclusively
during the show. Upping the
ante from the extremely successful
previous edition of
the event, Better Homes will
feature the largest selection
of residential and commercial
properties available in Oman
Abdullah al Jabri, Deputy
General Manager, ahlibank,
reiterated the commitment of
Al Hilal Islamic banking to
reach out to all the ahlibank
customers, with the promise
of being true and transparent
to their beliefs. “Ahlibank Al
Hilal Islamic banking services
will continue working
towards furthering the goal of
promoting Islamic finance understanding
within the Omani
community, especially the
youth. This is the prime reason
to hold this seminar at Nizwa
University. As a responsible
member of the society we believe
that in order to give the
proper perspective we need to
educate the general population
and ensure that a good,
comprehensive understanding
of Islamic Banking and
its functions exists within the
society. We have successfully
completed our preparation for
Islamic Banking services including
products, systems, and
procedures and branding.”
Better Homes to attend
Home Show 2012
in the Better Homes exhibition
area, which has seen a
significant growth for the
2012 edition.
Glenn Meeks also added,
“Better Homes Oman is a real
success story and it gives me
real pride to say that the commitment
and professionalism
of our team is responsible for
that success. In the last 12
months our overall business
has leapt 300 per cent and our
commercial business has also
risen in leaps and bounds. As
such we are constantly in the
lookout for the right Omani
talent to join our sales, lettings
and administration teams.”

RESEARCH consultancies
and contracts
have become an important
landmark in the relations
between Sultan Qaboos
University (SQU) and other
institutions in the Sultanate.
They provide immediate solutions
to serious problems
facing projects undertaken
by diverse organisations.
Petroleum Development
Oman (PDO) is one of the
most important companies
which have close collaboration
with SQU. This has
been triggered by the acute
needs to overcome technical
barriers in the oil and
gas exploration, production
and address the geophysics
of the targeted areas. The
bilateral co-operation covers
over a hundred joint research
projects, some of which were
completed, while others are
still under way.
Recently, a poster presentation
and discussion event
titled, The SQU-PDO Technical
Souq, was jointly organised
by SQU and PDO. In
this annual event, PDO came
up with posters introducing
technical problems and
challenges faced in oil exploration
and production and
researchers from SQU presented
posters about ongoing
and completed research
projects in the fields of oil
exploration and production.
The idea behind organising
SQU-PDO Technical Souq
was to explore possibilities
of undertaking consultative
research projects in these areas
with funding from PDO.
This year, the two organisations
came with more than
20 posters on various areas
including enhanced oil recovery,
water management
in oil fields, reservoir geophysics,
production Artificial
lift mechanisms, etc. To shed
further light on the Souq, we
interviewed officials from
both organisations.
In his remarks on the
Souq, Professor Amer Ali al
Rawas, SQU Deputy Vice-
Chancellor for Postgraduate
Studies and Research, said
“no doubt, this event offers
a good opportunity for SQU
researchers to recognise the
impediments to oil recovery
and production operations
of the company. This would
open up new scientific possibilities
in terms of identifying
practical research issues
Duchess Kate finds blue
blood in her own family
Page 28
so as to provide solutions. It
will also promote collaboration
between the two sides.”
“One of the most important
research strategies
set by SQU is to develop a
close relation with other organisations
in the Sultanate,
particularly those which embark
on giant development
projects and often need costeffective
solutions to concurrent
challenges”, said Professor
Al Rawas. He added that
“this would get us closer to a
complementary community
which achieves prosperity
and development by relying
on its own capabilities, being
one of the goals of the
wise policy pursued by His
Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin
Said.”
The SQU official underlined
that such partnerships
are significant for various
institutions, particularly for
the SQU and PDO. This is
the case since they provide
ample opportunities for both
the SQU to promote research
practices and centers, and
other organisations to find
cost-effective solutions.
Dr Ali Al Ghiathy, PDO
Petroleum Engineering Functional
Director said: “We really
focused on the key challenges
we face across the full
spectrum from exploration to
production. It was interesting
to see some of the people
presenting for PDO who
were former students of SQU
and had returned to explain
to their old professors what
the issues were.”
He added that “SQU is
the premier university in
Oman and from the early
days we knew that collaboration
would provide us with
BSM holds Xmas
carol concert
Page 26
the right calibre of recruits.
Now we need to concentrate
on the next stage and we can
definitely do more research
and front-end work to resolve
some of our problems.
The relationship is evolving
in a nice way and is further
evidence of our ICV strategy
to invest in local people and
services.”
Al Ghiathy revealed that
one new area that is being
considered is more shortterm
customised training by
SQU experts for PDO staff
on key technical areas next
year.
Highly Successful
Souq
Dr Syham Bentouati,
PDO Corporate Technology
Manager said “PDO funded
research on a project-by-
Joshua to perform
at Opera House
Page 26
Never mind Mayans: ‘preppers’
ready for anything
Page 27
Fea ures
Monday, December 17, 2012
The SQU-PDO Technical Souq
PDO introduce major issues facing oil industry in the Sultanate
project basis, adding that
“this was our most successful
technology souq at SQU
to date.” She remarked that
“the feedback from participants
was excellent and we
are confident that our relationship
will go from strength
to strength with more talented
students joining us and more
ground-breaking research being
conducted to solve some
of our big challenges.”
The history of consultative
and collaborative research
projects between SQU and
PDO dates back to 1995 with
the Petroleum and Chemical
Engineering Department of
the College of Engineering
undertaking studies related
to Mukhaizna oil fields with
Dr Ali bin Saud al Bimani, as
principal investigator. Since
then, SQU has been actively
participating in scores of
consultative research projects
with PDO funding.
Until 2011, PDO has collaborated
with SQU’s different
colleges to carry out over
a hundred research and service
projects. Over the last few
years, PDO’s annual budget
on SQU projects has been in
average around $1.5 million
spent on around 8 projects
per year. From 2005 to 2011
about 37 projects were kicked
off with a total spend $10.5
million. The projects have
covered a wide spectrum
(drilling fluid, EOR, Materials,
fluid analysis, electrical
field, geological studies,
Environment etc). The SQU
is one of the PDO’s collabo-
rative organisations that has
contributed a lot throughout
the years to overcome PDO’s
technical challenges. SQU
researchers and engineers
have shown very high competency
and capability in
resolving PDO’s technical
challenges. During this collaboration
PDO has invested
a considerable fund to enhance
and build up some research
facilities in SQU such
as the Formation Damage lab
and Expandable tubular testing
facilities which in return
benefited from the good outcomes.
Emerging Theme
In more recent years, a
direction to establish SQU
as a “commercial” technical
services provider to
PDO has been an emerging
theme. This involves supporting
SQU in establishing
a “commercial” mind-set, including
professional systems
(e.g. logistics, professional
reporting, marketing… etc)
to compete with commercial
service providers even on
the international scene. This
direction to “commercialise”
the outcome of R&D and
Technical Service provision
in SQU is very much in line
with the Sultanate’s strategy
on R&D as set by The Research
Council (TRC).
In addition to the collaboration
on R&D projects
and services, PDO and SQU
have established over the last
5 years a PDO-SQU liaison
committee. The objective is
to streamline the collaboration
and steer the researches
and projects to meet the
goals of both organisations.
The committee also helps
to facilitate the co-operation
beyond technical research
and services to cover aspects
of training and development.
PDO as any other Oil
companies is facing a lot of
technical challenges. The
strategy is aimed at maximising
shareholder value
through provision of technology
solutions to address
key business challenges.
Despite that PDO’s R&D vision
is not to be in the R&D
business, for some technical
challenges that do not have
readily available solutions,
PDO would collaborate with
relevant vendors, shareholders,
universities and institutes
through Joint Industry
Projects (JIPs) or project
sponsoring to develop a solution.
Challenges to be
addressed by SQU
Researchers
Current problems facing
PDO have been the focus of
SQU research community
in the Technical Souq. The
event has offered an opportunity
for possible research
projects aimed at finding
innovative solutions. It has
introduced key challenges in
the following areas:
● Enhanced Oil Recovery
(EOR): This includes all
types of EOR such as Thermal,
Chemical and Miscible
Gas Injection.
● Conformance Management:
This includes mainly
Chemical Profile Control
(CPC), Mechanical Profile
Control (MPC) and all other
reservoir conformance controlling
technologies.
● Production Measurement:
This includes all types
of metering challenges such
as for single or multi-phase
fluids, liquid and/or gas, high
water cut, high Gas Volume
Fraction (GVF), thermal and
sour environments.
● Materials and Corrosion:
This includes all challenges
related to Materials
and Corrosion issues, particularly
for the new harsh
environments (e.g. thermal
and sour) that resulted from
the widening EOR portfolio.
● Water Management: All
challenges related to finding,
treating and disposing
of water used in the production
of hydrocarbons. This
is particularly important for
EOR in terms of treating water
required for and resulting
from thermal and chemical
injections as well as disposal
or re-use of water from high
water cut wells.
● Well Construction: All
challenges related to pushing
the current technical limits
and improving well delivery
cost and duration, including:
Inconsistent Drilling
Practices, Shale Instability,
Drilling through Pressurised
floaters, Deep-Hard formation
drilling, Stuck pipe and
Well Integrity.
● Well Productivity: All
challenges related to increasing
the productivity of wells
such as stimulation through
chemical or other methods,
improving injectivity for waterfloods
and sand control.
● Artificial Lift: All challenges
related to lifting hydrocarbons,
particularly in
the context of the new harsh
thermal and sour environments.
It includes Electric
Submersible Pumps (ESP),
Progressive Cavity Pumps
(PCP), Beam Pumps (BP)
and Gas Lift (GL). Another
aspect is Opex reduction
through using more efficient
systems with longer run
life.
● Renewable Energy and
HSE: This subject is gaining
in importance given the
stronger drive for energy
conservation and the need to
reduce the company’s Carbon
footprint. This includes
use of solar energy, recovery/re-use
of flared gas and
waste management.
You can’t sign a film based
on script: Tena Desae
Page 28
Characterisation of
Oman Meteorites
AN SQU team of researchers are embarking on a study
aimed at characterising and classifying a collection
of Omani meteorites through detailed geochemical,
mineralogical and petrological analysis. Professor Sobhi
Nasir, the chief investigator at the College of Engineering,
explains that “meteorites are the remnant fragments
from the formation of the Solar System. By examining a
meteorite, we are looking at the chemical composition of
the solar system as it was being born.”
In 1999, meteorite hunters discovered that the desert in
southern and central Oman is a favourable area for the collection
of many rare specimens, he said, adding that the
gravel plains in the Dhofar and Al Wusta regions of Oman,
South of the sandy deserts of the Rub' al Khali, have yielded
about 5,000 meteorites as of mid-2009. Included among
these are a large number of lunar and Martian meteorites,
making Oman a particularly important area both for scientists
and collectors.
Early expeditions to Oman were mainly done by commercial
meteorite dealers, however international teams of
Omani and European scientists have also now collected
specimens. In recent years Oman has been one of the world
centres of meteorite discovery. In 2011, the Sultanate contributed
around 14 per cent of all the world’s meteorite
finds excluding Antarctica. Scientists are still building their
knowledge of our planet and solar system thanks to Omani
meteorite finds. The broad spectrum of Oman meteorites
and their exceptional preservation make them key research
tools that can enhance our understanding of the beginning
of the Solar System, he underlines. The research results are
to be published in a book and academic journals.
Tailor-made polymeric materials
via co-ordination polymerisation
THE production of polyolefinic materials with controlled
properties remains a challenging task and industrially
important goal. The materials properties strongly depend
on the types and the regularities of the stereocentres along
the polymer backbone. Therefore, a research team from
SQU are developing a versatile synthetic methodology to
control the microstructure of the polymer such as tacticity
and comonomer incorporation, for example acrylates. This
will allow to tailor critical material properties, such as glass
transition, melting and heat deformation temperatures,
creep, adhesiveness, wettability and hardness, all of which
have a determining impact on the applicability and end use
of the material.
Dr Sarim Dastgir, of the Department of Chemistry, says
the study deals with the synthesis of polyolefinic materials
with controlled properties and controlled amount of polar
monomers via co-ordination polymerisation. This will be
achieved by developing a novel series of molecular catalysts
composed of bi- and tridentate ligand frameworks
containing N-heterocyclic carbene and phosphinidine moieties.
The potential applications and possible economic
advantages of this proposal to the local industry such as
Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company
(ORPIC) are enormous, when compared with the existing
technologies currently used in the industry. Therefore, it
is anticipated that after the launch of the project, future
funding could be obtained from local as well as international
chemical companies such as SABIC, Shell, DuPont,
Exxon-Mobil, BP, Rohm and Haas and BASF.

PEOPLE’S
PLATFORM
IT was heartening to read that Muscat
Festival 2013 will be held as
planned from January to February
next year. The festival presents a host
of interesting programmes at its main
venues and other venues.
The activities include fashion shows,
laser shows, fireworks, amusement
games and shopping services. The festival
will attract tourists from various
countries. I am waiting eagerly for the
Festival.
Every year I find new attractions in
the festival and I am very happy to see
it growing year after year. No doubt it
adds new flavours — local as well as
international every year. It is one of its
kind festival in the world where many
cultures get chance to mingle and showcase
their salient features. In a way the
festival is also a great learning point.
— Suleiman al Balushi
Editor: Apart from entertainment,
the festival is a source of knowledge.
Many social groups come out with their
programmes to create awareness as
they find people from every strata of the
society on the festival grounds. From
entertainment point of view, the venues
offer many things at one place.
Streetlight in Al Ghubra
WHILE large scale development is
going on in many parts of Muscat,
small public conveniences should not
be neglected.
Through your newspaper I want to
raise the issue of streetlights in North
Ghubra area. There has been no streetlight
in the lanes that join primary
and senior sections of Indian School
Al Ghubra. The municipal authorities
should look into the matter and do the
needful.
— Mohammed
Editor: The residents can directly
approach the Muscat Municipality and
bring the issue to their notice. I agree
that this is an issue, which needs immediate
attention.
Education hub of
the region
Man on the road
AMOBILE phone lay crushed on the road. Cars
have parked on the shoulder and the hazard
lights are switched on. A vehicle stood nearby
with one side of the windshield broken and a huge dent
on the side. Every second seemed to be in slow motion
as people on the road tried to solve the situation. The
crushed phone will never ring again. The owner of the
phone will never be there to answer the calls again.
A doctor who happened to be jogging nearby rushed
to the scene and tried the best to revive the man lying on
the road. A pair of slippers were scattered on the road.
One of the footwear was torn from its strap. Another
road user had parked his car to control the traffic. Nobody
shows any interest to lift the man from the road to
rush him to a hospital as it was obvious that he suffered
multiple fractures.
The doctor was trying his best. The man on the road
was breathing heavier. Was he going through memories?
He was a pedestrian trying to cross road lane to
reach the other side. To do what?
Does his family know he is lying helpless on the
road?
As cars passed by carefully I am sure the drivers and
passengers were trying to analyse the nationality and
details of the man who was lying on the ground. Were
they praying for him?
Did he hurt? Or was he
unaware?
The irony was that
he was lying on the
road that was just in
front of a hospital. He
must have tried to cross
at this very spot to save
time. Was time closing
on him now?
The ambulance arrived
and the man was
taken carefully into
the vehicle. The doctor
who had started off
BEHIND THE WHEELS
By Lakshmi Kothaneth
from his home to jog also jumped in. It takes only seconds
to know a person but only a glance to want to help
and be there for a person when he is helpless.
The scene was too painful for any of the onlookers
to digest. Being a Friday night meant a leisure time
but here was everyone on the road looking helplessly
away.
The story of irony does not end here. They rushed to
the nearby hospital. As everyone around went through
the anxiety and eagerly awaited, the hospital staff told
them they have come to the wrong hospital. “We are
not authorised to take accident cases. You have to take
them to the specialised hospital,” they explained.
“How about First Aid?” the strangers who were now
feeling responsible for the man who was breathing even
heavier now, asked. “We are not allowed to do that as
well,” the staff pointed out urging them to quickly rush
to the specialised hospital.
The ambulance rushed again but the man had run out
of time. Somewhere along it was time for him to go.
The phone will never ring again.
He will never answer the call again.
Someone would have called on his behalf.
It must have been shock and cries on the other end.
The man who would have consoled them is not there
anymore.
Let us be safe behind the wheel, but let the people on
the road be safe too.
Let us not save time. Let us be late on appointments
and be real slow if it means we are going to be safe on
the road. How many times are we going to look away
from a road crash relieved it is not us or someone we
know?
Deep inside it must be hurting. It is someone’s family
member and a friend. Do we need more pedestrian
crossings? Do we need more subways or pedestrian
bridges? Will we still run across even if we had all
that?
Can we take up individual initiatives to spread the
awareness amongst the pedestrians? Let us all be safe
on the road. Let us not see one more person lying helpless
on the road. A miscalculation of the distance and
speed of the car, surprise element on the driver’s side
— the list could be endless. Do we need more hospitals
ready to handle accident cases?
One thing is for sure there is a family somewhere
crying for the man who was lying on the road. Every
onlooker and passerby must be holding the image they
saw with a bit of pain.
For now let us just be defensive whether we are a
pedestrian or a driver.
Muscat Festival will attract foreign tourists
IAM delighted to know that many
new higher education institutions are
opening in the Sultanate. It will not only
boost Omani students’ participation in
higher education institutions, Muscat
will emerge as educational hub of the
region. I am waiting for the time when
students from other parts of the region
will come for higher studies in Oman.
The right atmosphere and other facilities
will attract many foreign students to the
Sultanate of Oman, provided we start
the preparations now.
— Khalid
26 LETTERS MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Do you have a word of appreciation for any services you received? Or suggestions for
improvement? Observer is giving you an opportunity to rant or rave about anything and
everything around you: Please write to:
Tel: 24649451, Fax: 24649469; e-mail: observerfeatures@gmail.com
BSM holds Xmas carol concert
THE British School — Muscat held
its annual Christmas Carol Concert
on Saturday. This year’s concert
was the biggest as yet which coincided
with the school’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
Three hundred children, students
and staff from both the Primary and
Secondary Schools came together to perform
to a 600-strong audience. Concertgoers
arrived to the sounds of traditional
Christmas carols played by a brass band.
Once inside they were treated to performances
from three different orchestras,
eight different choirs, a flute ensemble,
festive readings written by the primary
children themselves, along with a visit
from Santa!
The event was directed by Susan Proc-
IT is just caffeine that delivers the kick
in energy drinks, rather than addition
of much vaunted ingredients such as
guarana or taurine, says a new research.
The study found that there is an "overwhelming
lack of evidence to substantiate
claims that these ingredients (taurine,
guarana and ginseng), boost performance."
Energy drinks also contain ginseng,
glucuronolactone, vitamin-B and other
compounds. Researchers sifted dozens of
articles that examined the effects of energy
ingredients alone and/or in combination
with caffeine, the Nutrition Reviews
journal reported.
With the exception of some weak evi-
THE Kachchhi Wing
of Indian Social Club,
Muscat celebrated
dence for glucose and guarana extract,
there was little evidence substantiating
claims that components of energy drinks,
its 3rd Anniversary with a
grand musical night with
Anand Palwankar and his
troupe from Mumbai recently.
Chief Guest of the
Three hundred children,
students and staff from both
the Primary and Secondary
Schools came together to
perform to a 600-strong
audience. Concert-goers
arrived to the sounds of
traditional Christmas carols
played by a brass band
tor (Co-Ordinator for Primary Music)
with senior school items led by Jenny
Wilson (Head of Senior Music) and the
Junior Choir led by Rosie Kolster. Professional
sound and lighting was generously
provided by Darren Shortt of Hi
FM and our sponsors Talentz.
Caffeine delivers kick in energy drinks
other than caffeine, contribute to the enhancement
of physical or cognitive performance,
according to the Daily Mail.
A previous study found that energy
drinks have up to 14 times more caffeine
than other soft drinks.
Besides, doctors warned that children
given energy drinks could pile on the
pounds because they are not active enough
to burn off the extra calories.
Research published earlier this year
warned children should never be given
energy drinks, only fruit juice, milk and
water.
They said energy drinks — which contain
between 10 and 270 calories a serving
— should never be given to children.
ISC Kachchhi Wing celebrates anniversary
evening A P S Chauhan, Second
Secretary (Culture) and
Head of Chancery, Embassy
of India, Muscat lauded the
efforts of Kachchhi wing for
their efforts to bring quality
programme for members
and invitees. Sucheta Jesrani
welcomed the guests and
members with a glimpse of
the past events of the wing
with a slide show.
Anand Palwankar, Shefali
Tagarsi and Rajnigandha
Shekhawat with their troupe
did their best for a memorable
evening for every invitee.
Convener of the wing
Hemlata Jesrani gave vote
of thanks to all sponsors,
committee members, guests
and wing members for their
support.
Ankith Sunil
Editor: Yes education is an area
which needs maximum attention and
everyone is happy that our government
is giving so much of thrust on education.
Investment in education is real investment
for any family, society or government.
Growing health sector
gives hope for patients
LIKE all the sectors, lots of
developments are happening in the
health sector too. Many new hospitals
are coming up and the old ones are
having tie-ups with big hospitals from
famous hospital groups from around
the world.
Recently I read about a very big
health project coming in Salalah. Many
new hospitals or polyclinics are in the
pipeline. I hope the new hospitals will
reduce pressure on the existing ones
and give quality healthcare to the people.
— Mustafa
Editor: Health is an important sector.
Government is aware of this important
area. Everyone would appreciate if
these hospitals give quality health service
and also see to it that the patients
need not go outside Oman for treatment
of major ailments.
Joshua Bell to enchant
audience at Opera House
EXQUISITE sounds of the American masterful Grammy
Award winning violinist Joshua Bell's pieces will
captivate audiences down to their very souls in the Sultanate
of Oman when he takes the stage on Wednesday, 19th of
December, 2012 at the Royal Opera House Muscat. Joshua
will be accompanied by his all-time duo partner, the British
pianist Sam Haywood who has toured with Bell in the USA,
Canada, China, South America and throughout Europe.
During his childhood time, Bell only indulged in non-musical
activities as he became an avid computer game player
and a competitive tennis athlete. The harmony between Bell
and strings arose when his parents noticed their son plucking
tunes with rubber bands he had stretched around the handles
of his dresser drawers. That is when Bell's parents decided
to get the first violin for their son at age four. In a matter of
few years, Bell found the violin to be his close companion
inspired by his beloved teacher and mentor, the renowned
violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold.
Often referred to as the poet of the violin, Bell was first
known at the national level when he was at the age of 14
in a highly acclaimed orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti
and the Philadelphia
Orchestra. His Carnegie
Hall debut and
a recording contract
further confirmed
his presence in the
music world. With
more than 36 CDs in
his kit, the "dazzling"
Bell who is a soloist,
chamber musician,
orchestra leader and
composer, all-in-one,
is said to be remembered
in 50 years
time.
At the Royal Opera
House Muscat,
Violinist Joshua Bell’
Pianist Sam Haywood
Bell will present an array of masterpieces ranging from
Schubert's “Rondo for Violin and Piano in B minor, Op.
70,” Strauss's “Sonata for Violin & Piano in E-flat, Op.
18,” Dvorak's “Romantic Pieces, Op. 75, B.150” and
Prokofiev's “Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in D Major,
Op. 94.”
Bell performs on a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin
called the Gibson ex Huberman, which was made in
1713, and uses a late 18th-century French bow by Francois
Tourte.
Oman Daily Observer would like
to take the lead in sharing the
joy with its readers. Send us a
colour photograph of your baby
(below 10 years) along with
name, date of birth, address,
telephone number and parents’
names. Send in your baby’s
picture and other details to:
observerfeatures@gmail.com
or Kids Corner,
Oman Daily Observer,
P O Box 974, PC 100, Muscat,
Sultanate of Oman

IT has been a while that
I thought of writing
something on a common
skin problem which is very
common in the young age
group, in school going or
college going girls and boys.
Every day I see a few of
these young patients visiting
the clinic for their acne on the
face and with lot of anxiety and
consciousness about the beauty
of their face. I totally support
the anxiety involved, because
who does not want to look
healthy and beautiful, young or
old does not matter. Acne is a
disease of the hair follicles of
the face, chest, and back that
affects almost all males and females
during puberty.
Inflammation near the
skin's surface produces a pustule;
deeper inflammation results
in a papule or a pimple;
deeper still and it's a cyst. If
the oil breaks though to the
surface, the result is a whitehead.
If the oil accumulates
melanin pigment or becomes
oxidised, the oil changes from
white to black, and the result
is a blackhead. Most of the patients
I see, have tried everything
available over the counter
for their skin. However it
is advisable that for tougher
cases of acne, a doctor should
always be consulted. Acne
crops up when your skin
produces excessive amounts
of oil, also known as sebum.
When sebum builds up, it can
clog your pores and trap bacteria
inside, which can lead to
inflammation. Though it can
happen almost anywhere on
your skin, acne is most common
on the face, back, chest
and shoulders.
Causes: The sources of
acne breakouts can vary from
person to person, and there
are a lot of factors that contribute
to oily buildup and
clogged pores. Here are a
few of those factors: Stress
reduces your body's ability to
fight infections and ward off
bacteria, which may contribute
to breakouts. Hormonal
changes, especially for girls.
When hormone levels fluctuate,
so do sebum levels.
No one factor causes acne.
Acne happens when sebaceous
glands attached to the hair follicles
are stimulated at the time
of puberty by elevated levels
of male hormones. Sebum is
a natural substance which lubricates
and protects the skin.
Associated with increased
oil production is a change in
the manner in which the skin
27 LIFESTYLE MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Never mind Mayans: ‘preppers’ ready for anything
Jay Blevins and his wife and their children pose beneath one of their apple trees with survival gear including a buyout bag,
an AR-15 rifle and a hunting bow in Berryville, Virginia. — AFP
Robert MacPherson
THE Mayan end of the world is
the last thing on Jay Blevins'
mind, but if it happens, he and
his family are more than ready for it.
In the basement of their comfortable
home in this small town in the
Shenandoah Valley, an hour's drive
from Washington, there's a walk-in
pantry packed with canned and preserved
foods as well as medical supplies.
"We could survive for quite a while
just on this stuff," Blevins said.
Out in the backyard where fruits
and berries grow, barrels of fresh water
stand under the eaves. Safely locked
away is a small arsenal of pistols and
semi-automatic rifles, all the better to
hunt game and scare off looters.
And if the Blevins should have
to make tracks, every member of the
family has their own "bug-out bag"
— a backpack filled with on-theroad
essentials from a katana samurai
sword to toys and games for the kids.
"I don't think we've spent too much
money. I don't think we've gone overboard,"
father-of-three Blevins, 35, a
business consultant and former deputy
sheriff and SWAT team officer, said.
'It's just like insurance'
"We have our normal life, and then
we have this thing on the side. It's just
like insurance — if we ever need it,
we'll use it."
Blevins is a "prepper," one of a
growing number of Americans making
big plans for bad times, be it economic
chaos, climate change, terrorism,
natural disasters like the recent
Hurricane Sandy or just a very long
power outage.
Ailing Indian returns
Oscar, fearing theft CLIMBING one step
at a time burns more
calories than leaping
up several stairs, according to
scientists from the University
of Roehampton.
They found climbing five
flights of stairs five times a
week — an ascent of around
15 metres — burnt an average
of 302 calories if the stairs
were taken one at a time.
But taking two steps with
every stride will only burn 260
calories, they say.
Lewis Halsey, senior lecturer
in comparative and
environmental physiology
at the university, said: "We
were really interested to find
out what expended more energy
overall — attacking
BOLLYWOOD costume
designer Bhanu
Athaiya, the first Indian
to win an Oscar, has
returned the statuette to the
Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences, fearing it
could be stolen, a newspaper
reported on Saturday.
Athaiya, 86, who has been
diagnosed with a life-threatening
brain tumour, couriered
the statuette to the Los
Angeles-based academy for
safekeeping early last week,
the Times of India said.
She said she did not want
it to meet the same fate as poet-playwright
Rabindranath
Tagore's Nobel Prize medal
that was stolen from West
Bengal's university town of
Shantiniketan in 2004 and
was never recovered. "It was
a burden," Athaiya, who won
the award for her work in Richard
Attenborough's 1982
film, Gandhi, told the daily.
Treating acne with homeopathic medication
HEALTHY
LIFE
By Dr Naeem Karnalkar
In contrast to go-it-alone survivalists,
preppers have embraced social
media, blogging and self-publishing
cells mature so that they are
predisposed to clog the follicular
openings or pores. The
clogged hair follicle gradually
enlarges, producing a bump.
As the follicle enlarges, the
wall may rupture, allowing
irritating substances and normal
skin bacteria access into
the deeper layers of the skin,
ultimately producing inflammation.
Avoid Man-made
dyes and oils. The chemicals
in your sunscreen or make-up
may clog your pores or inflame
your skin. Look for skin
products that are safe and recommended
by dermatologist.
Some cosmetics and skin-care
products are pore clogging,
therefore water based products
are usually safe.
Acne Treatment: If banishing
acne was easy, we
would all have crystal-clear
skin. However, you can get
the upper hand and here are
a few tips on how to get rid
of acne when it happens and
how to prevent nasty acne
breakouts:
Washing your face with
a mild cleanser twice a day,
in a big way to share knowledge and
build networks in the event of TEOT-
WAWKI, or The End Of The World
Jay Blevins walks to his backyard with a bug out bag, a quick grab bag
with about 40 pounds of survival gear including a Katana sword. — AFP
the stairs two at a time and
climbing them quickly, or taking
them more sedately one
step at a time and reaching the
top more slowly," the Daily
Mail reports.
"Our study reported the calories
burned ascending stairs,
the potential weight loss value
of climbing stairs if done regularly
and frequently during
the week, and also the different
energy costs of ascending
stairs one step at a time versus
two steps at a time.
"And our conclusion: it is
better to take the stairs one at
a time, if you want to burn the
most calories."
He added that the greater
total energy expenditure of
one-step ascents must be partly
explained by the fact it takes
longer.
But there might be a biomechanical
explanation too.
Taking the stairs one at a
time may result in faster rates
of muscle shortening, which
increases energy turnover.
Previous research from the
University of Ulster found office
workers who began regularly
climbing stairs quickly
improved their fitness.
Researchers divided office
workers into two groups. One
climbed staircases located
within an eight-storey office
block, consisting of 145 steps.
They began by climbing the
stairs once a day and gradually
built up to three over the
along with an exfoliating
scrub a few days a week, may
also help get rid of acne, take
enough vitamins and minerals
in your diet. Increasing
your levels of vitamin A and/
or zinc may help acne heal
more quickly. Eat plenty of
green leafy vegetables and
drink at least eight glasses of
water in a day. Home remedies
and over the counter
products are easy to use, but
be careful. Your skin type and
reason for your acne can be
different from others in which
only your doctor can help you
out. Applying the remedies
without knowing the reason
or skin type may harm your
skin and give you more sideeffects
from the same.
I have been treating acne
with homeopathic medications
for over years and have
seen very successful results
and complete cure with no relapse.
Homeopathy provides
several natural and effective
remedies to acne. You will
notice a drying up of pimples
and reduction in the number
of existing acne. Other as-
As We Know It.
Some of the more outgoing members
of the movement, like Blevins,
feature in season two of "Doomsday
Preppers," a National Geographic
Channel reality TV series, now airing
worldwide.
"It's kind of this natural homegrown
American thing that's just catching
on with more suburbanites," said
Mike Porenta of the American Preppers
Network, an online forum for
local prepper meet-up groups all over
the United States.
Prepping enjoys a degree of tacit
government endorsement: the Federal
Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), on its ready.gov website,
tells citizens to put together a basic
disaster kit with food and water for
three days.
But why stop there? Preppers can
shop online for everything from a
year's supply of food for one person
($1,152 from Walmart) to pre-fabricated
underground bunkers to sit out a
nuclear, biological or chemical attack.
In California, the Vivos Group markets
luxury bunkers for anyone from
a family of four ("discreetly installed
just about anywhere in one week") to
a community of 1,000 people outfitted
for a year of survival.
"Members need to only arrive
before their facility is locked down
and secured from the chaos above,"
it says. On a more modest and practical
scale, 1-800-Prepare.com peddles
a range of made-in-USA survival kits
for individuals, families, offices, even
dogs and cats — and in the aftermath
of Sandy, it's seen its sales explode
ten-fold.
"My typical client is the everyday
American, the mainstream consumer,"
said its owner, New York area volunteer
firefighter Paul Faust, who turns
over a slice of his post-Sandy profits
to a disaster relief charity.
James Stevens, 73, alias Dr Prepper,
who lives on a secluded hilltop
outside San Antonio, Texas with five
years' supply of food and his own water
supply, has been prepping since
1974. — AFP
Climbing stairs serially burns more calories
following five weeks.
The average speed they
climbed was 75 steps a
minute.
At the end of the trial, the
stairclimbing group showed a
significant 10 per cent increase
in a reading called predicted
VO2 max.
This is measured using your
pulse — the time interval between
your heartbeats is used
to find out how well your body
takes up and uses oxygen.
sociated symptoms like pain,
burning and itching will also
go away. Besides, you will
see the improvement in skin
texture. Homoeopathy offers
a good remedy to overcome
acne which is effective for
both teenagers and adults.
Since everyone gets acne at
some time, the right time to
treat it is when it bothers you
or when the potential for scarring
develops. A few pimples
can bother you just before
your engagement or wedding.
The first advice I give to my
patients is, never to pick or
squeeze pimples. The goal of
treatment is to prevent scarring,
and preserve the natural
glow of complexion. Treating
acne requires patience and
perseverance. It is important
to give enough time to work
before giving up on it and
moving on to other methods.
Just hang in there. And don't
pick. Please.
(The writer is a Homeopathic
Consultant at Bait Al
Dawa Homeopathy Clinic, Al
Khuwair, Muscat 99351349
drnaeemhk@yahoo.com)
Muttrah is the
heart of Oman
“ T AKE me to Muttrah! I heard a lot about this place. It
is a historical place and people love to go there.” My
uncle told me when he came to Oman for the first time
from Bahrain. It was night when we received him at Muscat
International Airport. He was very excited, I did not believe
upon his exhilaration. Is he coming to see us or to see our
beloved country? I had a doubt. Do people really love to see
Oman and pay consistent tour? I asked this question several
times to myself. Then I became specific and focused on
Muttrah, that: what is there in Muttrah? What can be good
at Muttrah, the people, the market, the location, the climate,
the visitors, the products, the shops, or it’s precipitant, where
people move like snakes and zigzags? Though I have visited
the place many times, I could not figure out the beauty of it
and its significance. I just had gone to Muttrah for material
reasons, but had never tried to touch its spirit and soul's
angles. I had never understood the efforts which had been
made by our elders for Muttrah, and of course thanks to the
government for maintaining such heritage generation after
generation.
The next morning, we started our journey to Muttrah.
The sea between two mountains at Darsait was beautiful,
especially before the sun rise. This was the first view which
my uncle saw and felt very happy. At Muttrah, once he
saw the old designs of buildings opposite the sea, he was
almost overwhelmed by the beauty of it. He looked like
he is day dreaming, as if he found himself living in Rome
or in Egypt amongst the ancient houses and pyramids. We
continued driving to Muscat, passing the Kalbu beach. He
liked the Muscat Gate very much and then: we reached the
Muscat palace of His Majesty, and stood there around thirty
minutes just to see the design and location. Some pictures
of the palace was taken. This is amazing, my uncle said.
After that: we took our direction back to Muttrah. Once we
entered the Muttrah Souq, he was again ecstatic about the
beauty of the place. This time he found himself in the villages
or streets of poets, like he dreamt of Lucknow of India
and Pasni of Makuran where those places are called the villages
and streets of poets. He had taken a few rounds here
and there and sat with old Omanis and chatted with them.
They offered him Omani Halwa and Khawa. I asked him,
“What are you doing sitting with them?”
“Let me take some wisdom from some wise people.
Such people are not less than Aflatoon and Suqrat,” he replied.
The entire day had been spent at Muttrah, and still we
could not cover each and every part of it. Sur Al Lawatiya
was one of the famous areas of Muttrah which had not been
seen during the tour.
After this visit, I have noticed that Muttrah is the heart
of Oman. This is what I usually read from the faces of foreigners.
There is not a single visit that I pay to Muttrah,
and don’t see smiles and excitement on the faces of each
foreigner. Is this our city which is well liked by foreigners
and we are to some extent not even aware about that?
According to historians Muttrah is one of the oldest cities
in the Arab world. Muttrah was the city of commerce
in the past, so does it now. Still, this description is not sufficient
about Muttrah, as I felt something different in my last
visit. It is not about its history where it was named “Souq
Al Dhalam”, meaning the “Darkness Market” because of its
layout, but it is all about its modern gorgeousness in a traditional
way. Strangely, whenever I pay a visit to Muttrah
I see both are combining together, “Al Dhalam & Al Noor”
which means the “Darkness and the brightness” are moving
hand in hand without being separated from each other.
This had permitted me to think with different angles. Some
philosophical questions came to my mind that: what is darkness?
What is light and brightness? Do people really see the
darkness in the light? Do people really see lights in the darkness?
This had also allowed me to think scientifically that:
why eyes don’t work at night or in the darkness, since the
purpose of eyes is to see? Why there is no light in the eyes in
the darkness? I kept these questions to great thinkers!
In different occasions the city is very much crowded.
For examples: during Eid days, in the month of Ramadhan,
and on Fridays. Beside people from foreign countries, people
also come from different parts of Oman to see Muttrah
and do shopping, like they come from Nizwa, Sur, Salalah,
Barka, Ibra, Buraimi, and from many other parts of the Sultanate.
People are very busy specially the shopkeepers. The
tour of foreigners might not be completed if they don’t see
Muttrah souq, while they are in Oman. I finally found that:
Muttrah is the city of philosophy, poetry, science, history,
commerce, art and many more. More or less, Muttrah is the
heart of Oman, I believe.
Greta Garbo’s dresses
fetch high prices
AN auction of film
legend Greta Garbo's
belongings got off to a
roaring start on Friday, with
her clothing, jewellery and
other memorabilia fetching
more than ten times pre-sale
estimates in many cases.
Bidding was brisk and
high as more than 800 items
belonging to the reclusive
Swedish actress, including the
bed she slept in, went up for
sale over two days at Julien's
Auctions in Beverly Hills.
A 1930s black velvet
evening dress with an estimated
value of about $1,200
sold on Friday for $13,750.
The winning bid for three
leather driving caps worn by
Garbo in a 1924 car advertisement
was $15,000, compared
with an estimate of $200.
Her US passport issued
in 1964, which carried an
estimate of $3,000-$5,000,
fetched $15,000.
All the items come from
the estate of Greta Garbo,
who died in 1990 in New
York at the age of 84 after re-
Mohammed Al Balushi
A black and pink two piece
ensemble that belonged to
Greta Garbo. — Reuters
tiring from movies and public
life in 1941.
Her great-nephew Derek
Reisfield said when the auction
was announced in August
that the family had kept her
belongings in storage before
deciding to sell them.

Ishkq In Paris to release next year
SUPERMODEL Naomi Campbell reportedly had
a face off with Canadian model Coco Rocha
(pictured) on the sets of their new reality series The
Face. Both Campbell, 42, and Rocha, 24, are the
mentors on the show.
“Naomi doesn’t have to have a reason not to like
somebody. She just doesn’t like certain people,” nypost.com
quoted a source as saying.
“There were some issues with Coco being on
time and Naomi not being on time and Coco getting
annoyed. Coco believes in being correct and polite
and being on time. She doesn’t drink. She’s super
straight-laced. So it’s been a real mess between
(Coco and Naomi),” the source added.
Dr Ibrahim bin Ahmed al Kindi,
Chief Executive Officer
Fahmi bin Khalid al Harthy,
Editor-in-Chief
PREITY Zinta’s comeback film Ishkq In
Paris, which has been getting delayed
for various reasons, will see the light of the
day next year.
“For all of you asking Ishkq In Paris
will release in 2013. We got delayed finishing
it due to my director falling sick.
Besides that it looks great,” Preity tweeted
yesterday. Whatever may have been the
reason for its delay, the actress is quite
positive about it.
“Sometimes we have no control over
life and destiny! I believe things happen
for a reason. Ishkq In Paris gets more special
to me now,” the 37-year-old further
posted. Ishkq In Paris, an Indo-French
project, is Preity’s first production venture,
where she plays a half-Indian, half-French
girl who falls in love in one of the most
expensive cities in the world.
Directed by Prem Soni, it also features
French actress Isabelle Adjani and newcomer
Rhehan Malliek.
Cheryl owes £70,000
to bodyguard?
SINGER Cheryl Cole’s ex-bodyguard
Craig Balkam has claimed that he
has not been paid his dues for the time he
worked with her.
Balkman protected the singer during
her three months tenure as the judge of US
reality show The X Factor last year and
owes £70,000, but has not been given his
salary, reports thesun.co.uk.
“She’s got a lot of nerve. She’s ignored
all my requests for payment. She has
around £30 million in the bank and could
pay me tomorrow with a click of her fingers,
but is refusing to,” Balkman told a
friend, adding that he has now approached
a lawyer to sue Cheryl.
“Craig would have taken a bullet for
that girl. He can’t believe what has happened,”
the friend added. Cheryl’s spokesperson
refused to comment.
Contostavlos upset with Will.i.am?
SINGER Tulisa Contostavlos is reportedly upset with singer Will.i.am for copying a song
she had planned to release as her third song from debut album The Female Boss.
According to reports, Will.i.am’s song Scream and shout was originally written by Contostavlos.
But when Will.i.am, who is member of band Black Eyes Peas, heard the song, he took
some parts of it and released it featuring Britney Spears, reports thesun.co.uk.
“The song was due to be Tulisa’s third single from her album until Will told his protege
Jean that he wanted the beat for him and Britney,” a source said.
28
ENTERTAINMENT MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2012
Won’t leave TV even
after Talaash: Pariva
ACTRESS Pariva Pranati,
who made her Bollywood
debut with Reema Kagti's
Talaash, says she will not leave
television for films, because
this is where she had started
her acting career.
"Television was where I
started and I will not leave it
as I have entered Bollywood.
But I have always tried to do
different work. Even on television,
I have always done different
type of shows and if TV
offers me something different,
I will do it," Pariva said.
Pariva has been a part of
shows like Armanon Ka Balidaan
— Aarakshan, Hamari
Betiyoon Ka Vivaah and Tujhko
Hai Salaam Zindagi. She
was recently seen as Sushila in
Star Plus' show Ek Doosre Se
Karte Hain Pyaar Hum.
Ask about her experience
on the sets of Talaash, Pariva
had nothing but praises for director
Reema Kagti and co-star
Aamir Khan.
"I was not nervous while
shooting, because at the end
of the day, you are acting with
another actor. Reema is such a
warm person. A lot depends on
how a director treats an actor.
Aamir is so grounded, I never
felt I was working with a superstar,"
the 26-year-old said.
Pariva reveals she had no
plans, but entered the world
of acting, thinking it was different.
"I had no plans of entering
acting. It just happened
because I like to do different
things. For me acting should
be challenging, then I enjoy
doing it," she said.
After having worked in both
television and Bollywood, the
actress finds working in films
easier.
"I was playing the role of
a wife, who lost her husband
and there for that I had to cry
a lot, something which I do
everyday on television. TV has
long hours and many high intensity
scenes are done in one
day. Here (in Talaash) if there
were 2-3 high intensity scenes,
only one was done in a day,"
she said.
Campbell’s face off with Rocha Daughter’s first glimpse was
best moment: Barrymore
Faris’ husband loves her curves
ACTRESS Drew Barrymore says seeing her
newborn daughter for the first time was the
“best moment” of her life.
The 37-year-old gave birth to daughter Olive,
her first child with husband Will Kopelman, 10
weeks ago and was immediately overcome with
love. “It was positively the best moment of my life.
My husband took a picture and I have that picture
now forever and it’s the coolest moment of my life,
bar none. I look at it every day,” people.com quoted
Barrymore as saying.
MONEYBALL actor Chris Pratt has
encouraged his wife Anna Faris not to
lose all of her baby weight as he prefers her
curves.
Pratt and Faris welcomed son Jack in
August this year.
“I have the sweetest husband. He makes me
feel good at any weight,” Faris said about her
baby weight after the birth of her daughter.
“In fact, I kinda think that he likes it a little
bit bigger,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted Faris as
saying. To which Pratt added, “Yup, I will take
it! I like it. Don’t work too hard!”
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Duchess Kate
finds blue blood
in her own family
MUCH has been said of the humble roots of the
Duchess of Cambridge, with coal miners, a road
sweeper and even a prisoner among her ancestors.
Now, it has been found that Catherine is related to one of
Britain’s grandest families and can count a prime minister,
earls and countesses among her kin.
When the duchess’ first child is born, the third-in-line to
the throne will not be the only blue blood in her family tree,
the Telegraph reported.
The duchess has been informed of her aristocratic heritage.
A previously unpublished side of the duchess’ family tree
uncovered her link to William Petty FitzMaurice, the First
Marquess of Lansdowne, who served as the prime minister
from 1782 to 1783. He is also known for negotiating the end
of the American War of Independence.
His link to the duchess was discovered by Michael Reed,
a history teacher from Melbourne, after he asked his class to
choose one of three well-known figures — David Beckham,
American rapper 50 Cent or the duchess — and to look at
their ancestry using an online family tree programme.
While assisting one of his pupils, Reed found a link from
the Middletons to Lady Barbara Bullock, nee Lupton, whom
he identified as the duchess’ second cousin.
Further research found that in 1917, Barbara Lupton married
Christopher Bullock, a Cambridge scholar and descendant
of William Petty FitzMaurice.
Bullock served as Winston Churchill’s principal private
secretary in 1919, and later became permanent under-secretary
at the British Air Ministry from 1931 to 1936.
Previous research linked the duchess to a family of miners
in Durham, a west London road sweeper and an inmate
of Holloway Prison.
Reed sent his findings to the duchess at St James’ Palace,
following which the duchess asked her assistant private secretary
to thank him for his discovery.
You can’t sign a film just based
on script: Tena Desae
Actress Tena Desae, who is gearing up for
the release for her new film Table No.21
says, not just script, it is important for her to
understand the entire set-up of the film before
signing on the dotted line.
“You can’t just base it on a script... the promotional
activity of the film is equally important,
so until I know the set-up is strong, I don’t
want to do any film,” the actress said. She admits
smaller set-ups today have the best scripts.
“The smaller set-ups have all the good
scripts. But when you go to a big set-up, the
character may not be as strong as you would
want it to be. So I am looking for a character,
which is strong and so is the set-up,” she said.
At the end of the day, success of the film
matters most, rather than individual actors, feels
Tena.
“I think it is more about success and failure.
If you are a part of a successful film, no one
says she is a bad actor. Everyone goes into a
project hoping that the script is good and hopes
that it transforms the same way on celluloid as
well. But no one can predict how it will turn,”
she said.
Desae made her Bollywood debut with Yeh
Faasley, though the film failed to garner much
acclaim at the box office. She was later roped
in for a Hollywood project, The Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel. Yeh Faasley was a good film
on script but didn’t translate so well on screen...
but that is something no one can predict. It is
unfortunate, though I learnt so much from the
film. That is something I will always be grateful
for. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was a phenomenal
success internationally. In India, few
people watched it, but loved it,” she said.
With Table No.21, which releases on January
4 next year, Tena feels she will enter into the
commercial zone. “This is my first commercial
film and it might bring the change and the popularity,”
she said.
Simpson ‘beyond happy’ about pregnancy:
Singer Jessica Simpson is thrilled to
have another baby on the way. The 32-year-old,
who is engaged to Eric Johnson, gave birth to
her first child in May and is already expecting
another baby. ‘’Jessica wasn’t planning the
pregnancy but she’s beyond happy about it. She
adores being a mother and she’s always wanted
to have a big family so she feels totally blessed
to have another baby on the way,” contactmusic.com
quoted a source as saying.
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for Press, Publication
and Advertising