Public warned of rising fraud - Oman Daily Observer

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DR IBRAHIM BIN AHMED AL KINDI Chief Executive Officer 

FAHMI BIN KHALID AL HARTHY Editor-in-Chief 

Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising 

PO Box 974, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman 

Wednesday APRIL 10, 2013 | JUMADA AL ULA 29, 1434 AH 

Inside 

Religious tolerance in Oman expo 

India deploys drones to save rhinos 

Bangladesh strike fuels violence 

Vol. 32 No. 147 | 200 baisas | 32 pages www.omanobserver.om facebook.com/omanobserver twitter.com/omanobserver editor@omanobserver.om AppStore 

OMAN 

HM condolences 

to Britain 

HIS Majesty Sultan Qaboos has sent 

a cable of condolences to Queen 

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 

of Great Britain and North Ireland 

and Head of the Commonwealth, on 

the death of former British prime 

minister Margaret Thatcher. In 

his cable, His Majesty the Sultan 

expressed his sincere condolences 

to the Queen and extended deep 

sympathies to the bereaved family 

and the friendly British people. 

KOREA 

Foreigners told 

to leave South 

NORTH Korea yesterday said the 

Korean peninsula was heading for 

"thermo-nuclear" war and advised 

foreigners to consider leaving South 

Korea, as the UN chief warned 

of a potentially "uncontrollable" 

situation. The advisory followed 

a similar one last week to foreign 

embassies in Pyongyang, to 

consider evacuating by April 10. 

FULL STORY ON PAGE 14 

Taqah abounds 

with attractions 

TAQAH in Dhofar Governorate 

exudes a gripping appeal 

intertwining with historical and 

scenic attractions dating back to 

thousands of years. Taqah town, 

about 20 km east of Salalah city, 

offers a lavour of Dhofar. Like 

Salalah, Taqah has its share of 

attractions too, and thus igures on 

the itinerary of most tourists. 

Shabab Oman sets sail to Europe 

AL MUSANNAH — On the directives 

of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, 

the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO)’s sail 

ship Shabab Oman set off for Europe 

Jurisprudence delegates thank His Majesty 

Call to promote peaceful 

co-existence among all 

By Hasan Kamoonpuri 

MUSCAT — The 12th edition of the 

Symposium on Development of Jurisprudence 

Sciences concluded with 

speakers calling for need to promote 

peaceful co-existence among nations 

and civilisations, as also within the 

world of Islam. 

The symposium decided as part 

of its recommendations to publish 

a book containing its papers on “Islamic 

Perspective on Peaceful Coexistence” 

and this will be in many 

languages and to be available at airports, 

bookshops and other key public 

destinations. 

Revenue up at RO 2.15 bn 

By Amal Ragab 

MUSCAT — The Sultanate’s total 

revenue increased by 16.3 per cent 

by the end of February this year to 

RO 2.15 billion compared to RO 1.8 

billion during the corresponding period 

last year. 

Meanwhile, total expenditure 

rose by 39.9 per cent to RO 1.52 billion 

as against RO 1.08 billion in the 

irst two months in 2012. This came 

in the monthly bulletin issued by the 

National Statistics Centre quoting 

The four-day symposium came up 

with many recommendations, including 

deinition of co-existence (reconcile 

with self, live together, to be 

neighbours and have a dialogue with 

others and live with them in accordance 

with rules of mutual respect 

and provision of security, as well as 

ensuring the rights and freedoms of 

every human being). 

Meanwhile, participants of the 

Symposium on Development of 

Jurisprudence Sciences have sent 

a cable of thanks and appreciation 

to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos at the 

end of their symposium here yesterday. 

To page 3 

data from the Ministry of Finance. 

The bulletin indicates that budget 

surplus stood at RO 603 million, 

down by 20 per cent from last year’s 

RO 756 million. Government subsidy 

also declined by 225 per cent to 

RO 189 million. 

Oil remained the main contributor 

to the state revenue, with net oil 

revenue rising by 17.3 per cent during 

the irst two months this year to 

RO 1.8 billion, as against a 25 per 

cent increase in gas revenues to 

RO 256 billion. To page 4 

No panic from Iran quake 

yesterday as part of an international 

voyage. An oficial farewell ceremony 

was organised for the vessel at Said 

bin Sultan Naval Base under the auspices 

of Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin 

Hamoud al Busaidy, Secretary-General 

of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, in 

the presence of To page 2 

Public warned 

of rising fraud 

MUSCAT — The Central Bank of 

Oman (CBO) has issued a warning to 

members of the public against fraudulent 

inancial activities now on the 

rise in Oman. The apex bank pointed 

out that swindlers are using smart 

ways of tempting their victims. 

The following examples indicate 

the modus operandi or deceptive 

methods used by foreign swindles to 

convince their victims: 

Certain ictitious and suspicious 

companies and individuals, 

from abroad continue to contact 

Omani and residents in the Sultanate 

through the Internet and by fax 

claiming that the addressees have 

won lotteries and rafle draws or offering 

them proitable transactions 

or commercial deals in return for 

enabling the foreign companies/individual 

to have access to banking and 

inancial formalities available. 

The swindlers also use certain 

speculative dealing in foreign currencies. 

Under the prevailing laws and 

regulations of the Sultanate, such 

activities are already prohibited in 

Oman. But the So called dealers/brokers 

offer these (speculative) services 

under what is described as “trade 

representation or agencies” acting on 

behalf of institutions based abroad, 

which are not licensed by the CBO. 

The swindlers often use fake/stolen 

cheques drawn on banks abroad 

and the subsequent sale of these 

instruments to unsuspecting members 

of the public, after endorsement 

and at a discount, with the promise 

that the new holder (alleged payee) 

would be able to encash these at local 

banks and gain full value, thereby 

making good proit. To page 2 

PRAYER TIMING (Muscat) 

Fajr Dhuhr Asr Magrib Isha 

04:34 am 12:13pm 03:41pm 06:31pm 07:43pm 

WEATHER 

Muscat Nizwa Sohar Sur 

Duqm Salalah 

Max 31 32 30 31 34 33 

Min 24 22 20 23 26 22 

EXCHANGE RATES 

RO1 €1.98715 / $2.60078 

GOLD 

Price $1,589.10 

By Kabeer Yousuf 

MUSCAT — The Director of Earthquake 

Monitoring Centre at the Sultan 

Qaboos University (SQU) has said 

that there were no aftereffects of the 

earthquake which struck near Iran's 

port city of Bushehr yesterday, killing 

at least 30 people and injuring 800 

but leaving Iran's only nuclear power 

plant intact. 

Shocks from the quake were felt 

across the Gulf in Bahrain, Kuwait, 

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, 

provoking panic and the brief evacuation 

of some ofice towers, residents 

and media said. 

“The earthquake that shook Iran 

was ‘very strong’ and damaged several 

villages in the area. The epicentre 

and the affected area are several 

hundreds of kms away from 

Muscat, Manama and Doha and there 

shouldn’t be any aftershocks in these 

three areas," Dr Issa al Hussain told 

the Observer. 

In Dubai several high-rise buildings 

were briely evacuated. 

The quake's epicentre is nearly 

880 km away from the Omani coast. 

The quake which shook Iran yesterday 

measured 6.3 on the Richter 

Scale. Oman’s Khasab is the nearest 

port to western Iran. See page 6

2 

OMAN 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013 

Shabab Oman sets sail to Europe 

The naval security drill concluded yesterday. The latest system and joint concepts of leadership were 

used in this drill, in addition to use of information and communications technologies, 

training simulation, media operations, information warfare and medical support plans. — ONA 

From page 1 

The Chief of Staff of the 

Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF), 

the Commander of the RNO, 

senior oficers and oficials. 

The chief guest and attendees 

were briefed about the 

route of the ship, the ports it 

is visiting and the international 

maritime festivals in which 

it will participate. 

Shabab Oman’s tour will 

be in continuation of the Sultanate’s 

cultural approach of 

communication, respect and 

friendship among countries 

and ports. 

Sayyid Badr said that 

Shabab Oman has carried out 

national roles since it began 

international voyages decades 

ago and contributed to 

extending bridges of respect, 

friendship and peace among 

peoples of the world and 

strengthened global ties with 

the Sultanate. 

Rear Admiral Abdullah bin 

Khamis al Raisi, RNO Commander, 

pointed out that the 

current tour is the 12th international 

voyage of Shabab 

Oman, which continues to add 

maritime glories to Oman in 

the prosperous reign of His 

Majesty Sultan Qaboos. 

Shabab Oman joined RNO 

leet in 1979 as a sail training 

vessel and, since then, she 

covered thousands of nautical 

miles while visiting countries 

around the world. — ONA 

Public warned of rising fraud 

From page 1 

Another example of fraudulent 

is the offer of advance-loans being 

made available against surety of bank 

securities and/or ixed deposits. 

Also, offers to deposit substantial 

(cash) transfer from ictitious accounts 

located abroad, either to the 

credit of the potential victims’ bank 

accounts or to the credit of companies 

in local banks, with added promises 

that the respective account holders 

would, thereby, earn substantial 

sums by way of commissions. 

The CBO pointed out that some of 

the fraudsters try to deal with local 

banks indirectly through unauthorised 

persons who give the impression 

that they conduct normal banking 

transactions, which, incidentally, also 

Inlation at 2.3pc 

MUSCAT — Recent data released by the National Centre 

for Statistics and Information NCSI showed that the inlation 

rate in the Sultanate recorded 2.3 per cent in February 

2013, compared to February 2012, while it fell by 0.2 per 

cent compared to January 2013. 

The inlation rate in the Sultanate dropped from 2.7 per 

cent in January 2013 to 2.3 per cent in February 2013. The 

report indicated that, with regard to the level of change in 

the consumer price indices in the Sultanate for February 

2013, the data show that the general index declined by 0.2 

per cent, compared with January of the same year. 

This was attributed to decline in prices of personal 

goods and other services group by 1.8 per cent, and food, 

beverages and tobacco group by 0.1 per cent. While the 

prices of garments, textiles and footwear group slightly 

increased by 0.2 per cent, groups of furniture, appliances, 

transport and communications services by 0.1 per cent 

each, prices of house leasing, electricity, water and fuel 

group, culture and entertainment services group and medical 

and educational services group remained unchanged 

during February 2013 compared to the previous month. 

— ONA 

include the issues of fraudulent securities 

and offers of ictitious investments 

abroad. 

The apex bank also cautioned 

against dealings with unauthorised 

Money Remitters (both individuals 

and establishments) that affect money 

transferring overseas through the 

means of Telegraphic Transfers, Presigned 

and post-dated cheques, Cash 

Invoices, etc. 

The CBO added that some institutions/individuals 

under different 

names, such as "portfolios" and so 

on, have surfaced lately to carry out 

the business of collecting funds from 

Omani citizens and residents for the 

purpose of investment in different 

inancial instruments, such as stocks 

and bonds, as well as speculation in 

foreign currencies and similar inancial 

activities against predetermined 

interest rates paid monthly or according 

to the agreement. 

The CBO inds it timely to reiterate 

its advice to members of the public to 

be more cautious and avoid dealing 

with strangers and unauthorised entities/ 

persons. The customers should 

limit all their inancial dealings to 

licensed/ regulated institutions. In 

case of any doubt, they should seek 

the advices of their banks and professionals 

in all aspects including the 

accredition, legality and reliability of 

the persons/ institutions offering the 

products and services. They should 

report any unauthorised and suspicious 

approaches immediately to the 

Royal Oman Police. — ONA 

Employment policies 

of pvt sector assessed 

MUSCAT — The Youths 

and Human Resources 

Committee at Majlis 

Ash'shura yesterday hosted 

Hamad bin Khamis al 

A'mri, Under-Secretary of 

the Ministry of Manpower 

for Labour Affairs, to discuss 

employment policies 

and programmes in the 

private sector. 

Al A'mri gave a presentation 

on the employment 

plans and programmes of 

the Ministry of Manpower 

in the private sector, which 

include four themes: jobs 

bank, training programmes 

and rehabilitation of the 

national workforce, role of 

the Ministry in rehabilitation 

and development control, 

and the main dificulties 

facing the Omanisation 

programmes. 

The members of the 

committee raised queries 

about assessment of employment 

programmes and 

policies of Omanisation in 

the private sector and the 

main dificulties and obstacles 

regarding job seekers' 

refusal of opportunities 

offered by the private sector's 

irms, and nature and 

activity of companies that 

job-seekers prefer. — ONA


OMAN 

3 

Call to promote peaceful 

co-existence among all 

Adviser to Saudi King begins visit 

MUSCAT — Prince Dr Bandar bin 

Salman bin Mohammed al Saud, Adviser 

to the Custodian of the Two 

Holy Mosques, Head of the Saudi Arbitration 

Team and Honorary President 

of the GCC Commercial Arbitration 

Centre, arrived here yesterday 

on a several day visit to the Sultanate. 

He was received upon arrival by 

Ahmed bin Nasser bin Hamad al 

Mehrzi, Minister of Tourism, Khalil 

bin Abdullah al Khonji, Chairman of 

Oman Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry (OCCI), and Abdulaziz bin 

Sulaiman al Turky, Ambassador of 

Saudi Arabia to the Sultanate. 

— ONA 

From page 1 

The symposium concluded that 

Islam calls for balanced co-existence 

and equality and also addressed the 

current crisis with appropriate means 

and thoughts as this is the only way to 

get out of the world cultural crisis. 

The symposium also recommended 

a study on the position of Islamic 

jurisprudence compared with rules 

in contemporary international law 

to highlight the progress reached by 

Islamic jurisprudence in shaping the 

rules of international law. 

The event organisers also decided 

to bring out a “Dictionary of Islamic 

Jurisprudence Heritage”. 

The symposium, organised by the 

Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, 

recommended that such events 

on peaceful co-existence must be organised 

every year and everywhere. 

The symposium attended by delegates, 

including researchers, scholars 

and jurists from 150 countries, was a 

huge success. 

Islam unequivocally advocates mutual 

respect, human dignity and fair 

play in the relationship among all and 

calls for dialogue among civilisations. 

Speakers said Quranic values advocate 

unity of the human origin, and 

advise all to uphold human dignity 

and equality. 

All the eight Schools of Thoughts 

in Islam, namely Hanai, Maliki, Shaii, 

Hambali, Al Jaafari, Ibadhis, Al Zidi 

and Al Dhahiri advocate peaceful coexistence 

and uphold the importance 

of human dignity, mutual respect and 

fair dealings with all human beings 

irrespective of their colour, caste, 

creed, race or culture because the 

Muslim Ummah is one, its doctrine 

is one and its holy book and Prophet 

Participants 

thank HM 

MUSCAT — Participants in 

the 12th Symposium on Development 

of Jurisprudence 

(Fiqh) Sciences, titled "Jurisprudence 

Doctrines and Contemporary 

Experiences," have 

sent a cable of thanks and appreciation 

to His Majesty Sultan 

Qaboos at the end of their 

symposium here yesterday. 

They expressed their sincere 

appreciation for His 

Majesty the Sultan’s attention 

for every work that renews 

religious and cultural understanding 

among nations and 

contributes to global stability, 

unity, peace and progress. 

The conferees afirmed 

that the convening of such 

symposia in the Sultanate 

have opened new vistas of 

knowledge about various issues 

of concern to citizens. 

They prayed to the Almighty 

to protect His Majesty under 

His divine care and endow 

Oman and the Islamic world 

with continuous progress and 

prosperity. — ONA 

are one and its juristic sources are almost 

uniform. 

Dr Mustapha Taseeresh in his paper 

on “The Concept of Pledge and 

Security in Islam”, said it is noteworthy 

that Islam unlike Judaism, Christianity 

and Buddhism, derives its 

name not from the name of a person 

but from the concept of peace and security, 

and a such Islam is the faith of 

peace, security and pledge and peaceful 

co-existence is the very essence of 

Islam. 

Motaz al Khatib, visiting fellow at 

the Berlin-based research platform 

Forum Transregionale Studien, told 

the Observer that the symposium 

was very important both in terms of 

its very timely theme on peaceful coexistence 

and the papers contributed 

by scholars. 

The gathering of experts from 150 

countries was a good networking 

opportunity and a unique platform 

to exchange ideas among people at 

a time when Islamic awakening is 

sweeping the world and better understanding 

of the religion is the need 

of the hour. 

The speakers emphasised that Islam 

believes in the common and single 

origin of humanity and this gives 

rise to the concept of universal human 

family which needs mutual respect, 

dignity and justice for progress 

and pace. 

All human beings are the children 

of Adam. So, all human beings must 

be treated with honour, respect and 

regard, without distinction of any 

kind. 

Scholars from different parts of the 

world and varied schools of thought 

attended the symposium and con- 

irmed that Islamic jurisprudence is 

all for peaceful co-existence among 

people in light of the Quran and the 

Sunnah, as well as the rest of sources 

of Islamic legislation. 

Religious tolerance expo opens in US 

RHODE ISLAND — The Religious 

Tolerance in Oman 

Exhibition was opened in 

the city of Rhode Island in 

the US. The exhibition is 

organised by the Ministry 

of Awqaf and Religious Affairs. 

Hanena bint Sultan al 

Mughairiyah, Sultanate's 

Ambassador to the USA, a 

number of oficials of the 

city of Rhode Island and 

the delegation of the Ministry 

of Awqaf and Religious 

Affairs took part in the ceremony, 

which was held at 

the Salve Regina University. 

Dr Mohammed bin Said 

al Ma'amari, Scientiic Adviser 

at the Ofice of Minister 

of Awqaf and Religious 

Affairs, gave a speech during 

which he said that organising 

this exhibition in 

the US comes within the 

efforts being exerted by 

the Sultanate to disseminate 

the culture of understanding, 

moderation and 

transferring the Sultanate's 

experience to the nations, 

as well as urging them to 

rise above hate. It also aims 

at highlighting role of the 

Omani woman. 

Al Mughairiyah in her 

speech during said the 

Sultanate and the USA are 

bound by strong relations 

in various spheres, pointing 

out that the Sultanate, since 

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos's 

accession to the throne, accorded 

a great attention to 

open new horizons with 

different countries and disseminating 

peace and values 

of Islam. 

She added that this exhibition 

opens new avenues 

for the religious tolerance 

and dialogue, as well as coexistence 

as it conveys the 

Sultanate's experience in 

the ield of religious tolerance. 

The exhibition will also 

be held in various US cities. 

— ONA

4 

OMAN 

Action taken against offending crushers 

298 graduate at Muscat College 

By Mai al Abri 

MUSCAT — The Muscat College celebrated 

yesterday the graduation of 

the 14th patch of bachelor and higher 

diploma students for the academic 

year 2011/2012 under the auspice of 

Sayyid Faisal bin Turki al Said. 

The ceremony was attended by a 

number of their highnesses and excellences, 

members of Majlis Addawla 

and Majlis Ash’shura, oficials from 

the Ministry of Higher Education, parents 

and media members. 

The ceremony included the recitation 

of some verses of Holy Quran, a 

short presentation on the social, cultural, 

entertainment sides of the college, 

the speech of the founder of the 

MUSCAT — The Majlis Ash’shura 

team formed to discuss the issue of 

crushers, quarrying and minerals 

yesterday hosted Ahmed bin Hassan 

al Dheeb, Under-Secretary of the Ministry 

of Commerce and Industry, who 

gave a detailed presentation about 

impact of crushers on the environment 

and the local community, as 

well as proposed solutions. 

Al Dheeb pointed out that, after 

the Directorate General of Minerals 

was shifted to the Ministry of Commerce 

and industry, extensive efforts 

have been exerted to improve contact 

with miners and companies that operate 

quarries. In this context, a joint 

technical committee was formed, 

with members from the Ministry of 

Commerce and Industry, the Ministry 

of Housing, the Ministry of Interior 

and the Ministry of Regional Municipalities 

and Water Resources, and 

a representative of the Ministry of 

Tourism, the Ministry of Heritage and 

Culture, the Ministry of Defence and 

the Royal Oman Police. 

He added that many companies 

which run the crushers do not comply 

with regulations and permits. A 

follow-up panel, formed to keep an 

eye on offending companies, visited 

all the sites of quarries in the Sultanate 

for three months and came up 

college and the graduates’ speeches. 

Dr Ahmed al Ghazali, the founder 

and Chairman of Muscat College, in 

his speech said “Muscat College since 

its inception before 16 months has 

consistently devoted its efforts to provide 

better educational services for 

students through qualiied teaching, 

administrative and technical cadres. 

This is out of our care to prepare a 

generation capable of contributing 

and participating in the construction 

of the beloved country. The college 

work to enable students to realise the 

requirements of market to positively 

interact with all changes and developments 

that accompany the knowledge 

revolution and information technology 

in order to preserve the gains 

with a detailed report. The report 

shows that 169 companies were 

breaking the law and, as a result, the 

companies were referred to the Public 

Persecution. 

In a question from a member of 

the Majlis about the irregularities, al 

Dheeb said that they vary between 

companies operating without a permit, 

others operate outside their 

permitted areas, and others working 

with expired licenses, in addition to 

companies that operated deeper than 

allowed. 

About the impact of stopping 

those crushers, he said that the stopping 

resulted in the shortage of basic 

construction materials, raising their 

prices and that is what irritated some 

citizens who demanded provision of 

such basic materials in construction. 

On questions about reasons for 

stopping new permit applications 

or limiting the number of such permits 

and what is the current number 

of such applications, Eng. al-Dheeb 

said that there are (1700) new applications, 

mostly concentrated in 

Governorates of North and South Al 

Batinah, and there should be rules for 

giving the permits for only serious applicants 

as the Ministry noticed cases 

where permitted applicants sold or 

lease them to another party. For this 

reason, the Ministry has added the inancial 

guarantee for the applicant, in 

addition to the need to open an ofice 

at the working site and to recruit a geologist, 

and a priority should be given 

to Omanis, in addition to allocating 

(5 per cent) of proits of the crushers 

and quarrying to the local communities 

to be deposited in a fund with the 

Ofice of the Wali. 

The team's members welcomed 

the Ministry's tendency to identify 

sites to extract soil landill used to 

build houses for the personal use 

for the citizens, on the condition 

that these sites to be decided by the 

wilayats' municipality and after the 

approval of the Ministry of housing 

on the proposed site. — ONA 

made by the march of the blessed 

Renaissance led by His Majesty Sultan 

Qaboos, to upgrade the nation to the 

ranks of developed nations.” The guest 

of the ceremony later distributed the 

gifts for the graduates and the outstanding 

students and the certiicates 

for 58 bachelor holders in computer 

and business, accounting and computer 

sciences, business studies and 240 

higher national diploma holders from 

the University of Stirling and the Scottish 

Qualiications Authority in the 

majors of computer science, business 

studies, accounting and inance, business 

specialties, administration and 

Information, computer systems, computer 

programming, engineering and 

construction and quantity surveying. 

SALALAH — Salalah port yesterday 

received two cruise ships namely "Balmoral" 

and "Seabourn Pride" with 1,529 

on their board. 

"Balmoral" came from Port Sultan 

Qaboos in the Governorate of Muscat 

with 1,161 passengers on its board 

including 811 tourists while "Seabourn 

Pride" came from Khasab Port 

in the Governorate of Musandam and 

heading to Safaja Port in Egypt with 

368 passengers on its board including 

195 tourists. 

Programme of the two cruise ships 

included visiting the major archaeological 

and historic landmarks renowned 

in the Governorate of Dhofar, 

besides visiting the beaches and the 


Two cruise ships visit Salalah port 

traditional and markets in the Wilayat 

of Salalah. 

On Monday Salalah Port received 

a very large cruise ship "Aida Diva" 

with 2,506 passengers on its board 

including 1,906 tourists. — ONA 

Condolence book for Lady Thatcher 

MUSCAT — The British Embassy 

will open a condolence book for 

the late Baroness Thatcher. The 

book will be open for signature 

today, Saturday and Sunday from 

10 am to 1 pm. Paying tribute to 

the former British prime minister, 

British Ambassador Jamie Bowden 

said in a statement: “Lady Thatcher 

will be remembered above all 

for the strength of her leadership 

and her faithfulness to her convictions. 

She fundamentally changed 

the UK and her legacy is still clear 

today in many aspects of British 

life. I have little doubt that history 

will judge her to have been one of 

our greatest Prime Ministers.” 

Revenue up at RO 2.15 billion 

From page 1 

However, sources of other revenue 

witnessed a decline spearheaded by 

a 44 per cent drop in capital revenues 

to RO 900,000, but the bulletin did not 

quote any igures for customs or corporate 

income tax revenues. 

Investment spending increased by 32 

per cent to RO 312 million, with spending 

of oil production standing at RO 138 

million. Current spending increased by 

18.7 per cent to about one billion. 

Tourism facilities at Wadi Bani Khalid 

MUSCAT — The second last stage 

of restoration of Al Adfain Castle in 

the Wilayat of Wadi Bani Khalid concluded 

in Al Sharqiyah North Governorate. 

Renovation works were carried 

out using local raw material, with the 

roof being made of palm trunks and 

walls constructed and painted with 

Omani cement known as sarooj. 

Work on Al Adfain Castle’s restoration 

began in 2011 under the supervision 

of the Ministry of Heritage 

and Culture. The fortress is one of the 

tourist attractions in Al Sharqiyah.


OMAN 

5 

Big turnout for walkathon 

in support of Alzheimer’s 

MUSCAT — Around 1,000 people participated 

in the 'Your Mind Matters; Remember 

2013' walkathon held yesterday, aimed at 

generating awareness on Alzheimer's disease, 

healthy life style and road safety. 

Approximately 3.2 kilometre 

walkathon, which took place on the 

outskirts of the Sultan Qaboos Sports 

Stadium, Bausher, saw people from all 

walks of life, including those affected 

by Alzheimer's disease and their families, 

students from SQU, Indian School 

Muscat and Indian School Al Ghubrah 

walking for the cause. 

The walk was initiated by the Chief 

Guest Khalfan al Naabi, Under-Secretary 

Ministry of Sports Affairs. 

All participants were walked the 

whole distance for raising awareness 

of Alzheimer's disease, which is an 

irremediable, progressive brain disease 

that slowly destroys memory and 

thinking skills. 

Prizes and gifts were distributed to 

some of the lucky participants. 

The walkathon was organised by the 

Ageing and Dementia Research Group 

at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), in 

association with SQU Hospital. 

The event started with welcome 

address given by Dr Mohamed Essa, 

Principal Investigator of Ageing and 

Dementia Research group. 

Dr Essa welcomed the Chief Guest 

Al Naabi and Dr Abdullah Al Asmi, 

DG of SQUH, sponsors, care givers, 

student volunteers, press people and 

all others. Dr Essa appreciated the efforts 

of Dr Hamed al Senawi, Dr Ragini 

Vaishnav, Roopa Koshy and members 

from SQUH PR for making this event 

in a success. 

Dr Abdullah al Asmi, DG of SQUH 

and Co-Principal Investigator of this 

group, gave a speech about their 

group’s research project and launched 

the Oman Alzheimer's Society, which 

will work towards raising awareness 

on Alzheimer's disease and support to 

care givers. 

The "Oman Alzheimer's Society, approved 

by the Ministry of Social Development, 

is an initiative by the Ageing 

and Dementia Research Group at 

SQU is part of the Oman Association of 

Friends of the Elderly. 

150 Omani firms to showcase 

products at Doha Trade Fair 


MUSCAT — Around 100 to 150 

Omani companies from diverse industries 

are expected to showcase 

‘made in Oman’ products at the second 

edition of the Omani Products 

Trade Exhibition set to be held in 

Doha in November 2013. 

Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, Minister 

of Commerce and Industry, 

oficially kicked off preparations 

for the highly-anticipated Trade 

Expo at the Oman Chamber of 

Commerce and Industry (OCCI) 

in the presence of high-level business 

communities and other important 

personalities yesterday. 

Organised by the Public Authority 

for Investment Promotion 

and Export Development 

(PAIPED) in partnership with the 

OCCI and the Public Establishment 

for Industrial Estates (PEIE), 

the expo aims to foster enhanced 

trade relations and open-up new 

commercial opportunities for the 

domestic manufacturers. 

In the event, also attended 

by Ahmed bin Hassan al Dheeb, 

Under-Secretary, Ministry of 

Commerce and Industry, Khalil al 

Khonji, Chairman, OCCI and Hilal 

bin Hamad al Hasani, CEO, PEIE, 

along with PAIPED Board Members 

and representatives from 

both private and public sector 

companies, Al Sunaidy honoured 

participants of the Omani Products 

Trade Exhibition held in Riyadh 

in December 2012. 

Strategies for improving market 

presence and gaining both 

short and long-term returns were 

also highlighted during the ceremony. 

The overwhelming response 

and participation of more than 

60 Omani companies in Riyadh in 

December, prompted the organising 

committee to maintain its 

successful track record in making 

high-proile business initiatives, 

according to the organisers. 

MUSCAT — Shabana Azmi, ace Indian 

actress and a steadfast social activist 

who drew skepticism and appreciation 

alike for her stance in supporting child 

survival and fighting AIDS and injustice 

in real life, will be the chief guest 

at this year’s three-day long Keralotsavam 

(festival of Kerala) to be held 

from May 1- 3, at Marah land, Qurm 

Natural Park. The theme of this year 

Muscat Keralotsavam is “Empower 

Women to empower the society”. 

Muscat Keralotsavam has 

proved to be a very prestigious 

event in Oman for the past 10 

years, displaying a tremendous 

increase in the level of participation 

and bringing out talents year 

after year. This has been achieved 

through the endless effort from 

the organisers of the show coupled 

with the encouragement and 

support of the spectacular audience. 

Muscat Keralotsavam is 

considered to be the second most 

happening event in Oman after 

Muscat Festival, both in terms of 

level of participation and extent of 

cultural activities. 

The major attractions of Keralotsavam 

includes an array of 

MSM index adds 49 points 

“The Doha Expo is going to be 

even bigger and better and there 

has been tremendous reposnse 

from the Omani trade and industry 

arenas”, Fahmy al Hinai, Deputy 

Head of the Committee, said, 

adding that “Around 30 MoU’s 

were signed at the Saudi Trade 

fair and many companies have 

started establishing trade relations 

by now”. 

The four-day Qatar trade 

show is designed to help domestic 

irms make stronger inroads 

into the GCC markets. Doha was 

selected as the venue given the 

city’s growing global reputation. 

What all the interested companies 

have to do is to just pay RO 

1,000 and register themselves 

with the Chamber to participate 

in the Doha Fair. These aspiring 

participants are encouraged to 

contact the organising committee 

to learn more about the registration 

process and details pertaining 

to the event. 

Shabana Azmi to grace Keralotsavam 

Traditional art forms of Kerala like 

Panchavadyam, Chenda melam, 

Maargam kali, Maappilapattu, 

Thiruvathirakali, Oppana, Nadan 

pattu, folk dances from different 

languages and culture and such 

other cultural programmes performed 

by veteran artistes. There 

will also be local Omani Folk dances 

to enthrall the audience. 

PAEW set to 

launch 

new facility 

MUSCAT — The Public Authority of 

Electricity and Water (PAEW) will inaugurate 

the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition 

(SCADA) building in the Wilayat 

of Bausher on Sunday under the auspices 

Darwish bin Ismaeel al Balushi, Minister 

Responsible for Financial Affairs. 

SCADA aims to achieve centralised 

management for water transmission 

and distribution network as part of a 

plan implemented by PAEW to maintain 

quality and distribution of the 

distributed water. 

SCADA includes the supervision 

and control devices for water movement 

in major reservoirs, pumping 

stations, pipelines, leakage monitoring 

devices, software simulation and 

calibration of water networks, electric 

motors and sensors to measure 

the water in the tank. 

SCADA building consists of four 

loors with area of 4,250 square meter 

and contains supervision and control 

system of reservoirs, pumping 

stations and water networks. 

Specialised GCC 

health centre 

MUSCAT — The Committee of Studying 

the Establishment of GCC Joint Specialised 

Centre in Public and Preventive 

Health at the GCC Advisory Body met at 

Muscat Intercontinental Hotel yesterday. 

The committee is studying a 

number of alternatives which will 

help further develop health care in 

the GCC countries. The committee 

will also consider a decision to establish 

GCC Joint Specialised Centre 

in Public and Preventive Health, explaining 

that this centre will contribute 

in upgrading health in the GCC 

countries. 

The committee will also prepare 

a draft vision to be presented in the 

2nd meeting of the Advisory Body 

due to be held in Muscat in May. 

MUSCAT — Muscat Securities 

Market (MSM) general index 

30 yesterday added 49.01 

point, comprising a rise of 0.80 

per cent to close at 6197.93 

point. 

The trading value stood 

at RO 13.88 million comprising 

a rise of 39.45 per 

cent compared to the last 

session which stood at RO 

9.95 million. 

The market value declined 

by 1.96 per cetn 

since last trading to reach 

about RO 12.2 billion. 

The value of shares 

bought by non-Omani investors 

reached RO 2,557,000 

comprising 18.42 per cent. 

The value of shares sold 

by non-Omani investors 

reached RO 1,472,000 comprising 

10.61 per cent. 

Pakistan Navy ship 

to be open to visitors 

MUSCAT — Pakistan Navy 

ship Shahjahan will be visiting 

the Sultanate from April 

13 to 17. 

The ship is being commanded 

by Capt Muhammad 

Irfan Taj PN. 

During the visit, caption 

Job opportunities 

seminar planned 

MUSCAT — The Small and 

Medium Enterprises (SMEs) 

Development Team in the field 

of electricity and water met at 

the Ministry of Manpower yesterday. 

The team discussed organising 

a workshop titled 

"Introductory Meeting on 

of the ship will hold meetings 

with Oman Military 

and civil authorities. 

While berthed at the 

Port of Salalah, the ship 

will be open for visitors 

and will also host a reception 

dinner onboard. 

Availing Job Opportunities 

in Electricity and Water 

Sector: Self-Employment," 

which will be held at the 

College of Technology in 

Shinas in May. The team 

was formed as per a ministerial 

decision by the Minister 

of Manpower. — ONA 

Assamese cultural 

festival tomorrow 

MUSCAT — The Assamese 

community in Oman will celebrate 

the Rongali Bihu on 

Thursday evening at Majan 

Continental Hotel Muscat. 

Rongali Bihu, the most 

popular festival in India’s 

north-eastern state of 

Assam, marks the occasion 

of the Assamese New 

Year and the beginning of 

spring. 

Priyanka Bharali, the 

prominent singer of India, 

will perform as a guest artist 

in addition to local talents 

at the traditional cultural 

evening. — ONA

6 

REGION 


Strong quake near Iran nuclear plant kills 30 

Damaged houses are seen in the earthquake stricken town of Bushehr in Iran yesterday. —Reuters 

DUBAI — A powerful earthquake 

struck close to Iran's only nuclear 

power station yesterday, killing 30 

people and injuring 800 as it devastated 

small villages, state media reported. 

The 6.3 magnitude quake totally 

destroyed one village, a Red Crescent 

oficial told the Iranian Students' 

News Agency (ISNA), but the nearby 

Bushehr nuclear plant was undamaged, 

according to a local politician 

and the Russian company that built it. 

"Up until now the earthquake has 

left behind 30 dead and 800 injured," 

said Fereydoun Hassanv and, the governor 

of Bushehr province, according 

to ISNA. 

Many houses in rural parts of the 

province are made of mud brick, 

which can easily crumble in a quake. 

Across the Gulf, ofices in Qatar 

and Bahrain were evacuated after the 

quake, whose epicentre was 89 km 

southeast of the port of Bushehr, according 

to the US Geological Survey. 

The early afternoon shock was also 

felt in inancial hub Dubai. 

Abdulkarim Jomeiri, a member of 

parliament for Bushehr, told IRNA 

Kerry wraps up ‘constructive’ ME trip 

TEL AVIV — Top US diplomat John 

Kerry yesterday wrapped up three 

days of "very constructive" talks with 

Israeli and Palestinian leaders, pledging 

new efforts to help the West Bank 

economy as he sought to bring the 

sides back to the table. 

Speaking to reporters shortly before 

leaving for London, a cautious 

Kerry said it was more important to 

ind ways of resuming the long-frozen 

negotiations correctly rather than 

"quickly." 

On another key Middle East con- 

lict, he said he would meet members 

of Syria's opposition in London where 

he was to attend a summit of G8 foreign 

ministers. 

His Jerusalem and Ramallah stopover 

was the second leg of a 10-day 

trip which will also take him on his 

irst visit to Asia since taking over as 

Washington's top diplomat. 

During the visit, Kerry met Palestinian 

president Mahmud Abbas and 

then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 

Netanyahu, in pursuit of what he 

called a "quiet strategy" for ending 

decades of mistrust between the two 

sides, who have not held direct talks 

since September 2010. 

"Each of them made very serious 

and well-constructed suggestions 

with respect to what the road forward 

might look like," he told reporters 

at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport 

just before leaving. 

But "doing it right is more important 

than doing it quickly," he said. 

On Monday night, Kerry held 

"very productive" dinner talks with 

Netanyahu and the two met for a second 

time early yesterday. 

"We made progress... and each of 

us agreed to do some homework" 

with the aim of "seeing how we can 

really pull all of the pieces together," 

he said as Netanyahu reafirmed his 

commitment to return to talks. 

"I'm determined not only to 

resume the peace process with the 

Palestinians, but to make a serious effort 

to end this conlict once and for 

all," the Israeli leader said, noting the 

key issues of security and of Palestinian 

recognition of Israel as a Jewish 

state. 

Kerry also said the two had discussed 

"speciic steps we could take 

to break the red tape" hampering Palestinian 

economic growth in a move 

he said would ultimately improve Israel's 

security. 

Earlier this week, Kerry said 

moves to bolster the teetering Palestinian 

economy "could be critical to 

changing perceptions and realities 

on the ground" although he did not 

elaborate. 

"We are going to engage in new efforts, 

very speciic efforts, to promote 

economic development and remove... 

bottlenecks and barriers that exist 

with respect to commerce in the West 

Bank," he said yesterday. 

It would involve "increased business 

expansion and private sector 

investment in the West Bank," he 

added. During the Ramallah meeting, 

Abbas lobbied hard on the issue of 

freeing Palestinian prisoners held by 

Israel, saying it was a "top priority" 

for resuming talks. 

"President Abbas made a passionate 

argument to me about the prisoners 

and I think the government of 

Israel has a full understanding of the 

potency of that issue," Kerry said. 

The fate of prisoners is a lashpoint 

issue closely watched by the Palestinian 

street which often sparks mass 

protests that tend to turn into clashes 

with the Israeli army. 

In parallel to Kerry's efforts, Arab 

states are also seeking ways of reviving 

peace moves. 

Abbas attended a meeting of the 

Arab Peace Initiative committee in 

Doha on Monday. — AFP 

Jordan, Iraq sign oil-gas pipeline deal 

that "the distance between the earthquake 

focal point and the Bushehr 

nuclear power plant was about 80 km 

and, on the basis of the latest information, 

there has been no damage to the 

power plant." 

The Russian company that built the 

nuclear power station, 18 km south 

of Bushehr, said the plant was unaffected. 

"The earthquake in no way affected 

the normal situation at the reactor. 

Personnel continue to work in the 

normal regime and radiation levels 

are fully within the norm," Russian 

state news agency RIA quoted an oficial 

at Atomstroyexport as saying. 

One Bushehr resident said her 

home and the homes of her neighbours 

were shaken by the quake but 

not damaged. 

"We could clearly feel the earthquake," 

said Nikoo, who asked to be 

identiied only by her irst name. "The 

windows and chandeliers all shook." 

Yesterday’s quake was much smaller 

than the 9.0 magnitude one that 

hit Japan two years ago, triggering a 

tsunami that destroyed back-up generators 

and disabled the Fukushima 

nuclear plant's cooling system. Three 

of the reactors melted down. 

Iran is the only country operating 

a nuclear power plant that does not 

belong to the Convention on Nuclear 

Safety, negotiated after the 1986 nuclear 

disaster in Chernobyl which 

contaminated wide areas and forced 

about 160,000 Ukrainians from their 

homes. 

Western oficials and the United 

Nations have urged Iran to join the 

safety forum. 

Tehran has repeatedly rejected 

safety concerns about Bushehr — 

built in a highly seismic area — that 

began operations in September 2011 

after decades of delays. 

Iran sits on major fault lines and 

has suffered several devastating 

earthquakes in recent years, including 

a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 which 

lattened the southeastern city of Bam 

and killed more than 25,000 people. 

In August more than 300 people were 

killed when two quakes struck the 

north west. 

A report published last week by US 

think-tanks Carnegie Endowment and 

the Federation of American Scientists 

said that "ominously" the Bushehr reactor 

sits at the intersection of three 

tectonic plates. 

"Iran's sole nuclear power plant is 

not at risk of a tsunami similar in size 

to the one that knocked out the electricity 

and emergency cooling systems 

at Fukushima. 

But, repeated warnings about the 

threat of earthquakes for the Bushehr 

nuclear plant appear to have fallen on 

deaf ears," the report said. 

The quake happened on National 

Nuclear Technology Day when Iran's 

leaders celebrate the technological advances 

they say will reduce the country's 

reliance on fossil fuels, leaving 

more of its abundant oil for export. 

Israel, Gulf Arab states and many 

Western countries fear Tehran is 

seeking a nuclear weapons capability 

and the Republic is under international 

sanctions aimed at forcing it to 

curb some of its atomic work. 

Iran denies it wants nuclear arms 

and says its atomic work is for electricity 

generation and other peaceful 

uses. 

Meanwhile, Iran has told the UN’s 

International Atomic Energy Agency 

that an earthquake that struck close 

to the country’s only nuclear plant on 

Tuesday did not damage the facility, 

the IAEA said. 

The Vienna-based UN body said 

the quake — which Iranian media 

said killed 30 people as it devastated 

small villages — hit about 91 

km from the Bushehr nuclear power 

plant. 

“Iran has informed (the IAEA’s Incident 

and Emergency Centre) of the 

event, reporting that there has been 

no damage to the Bushehr Nuclear 

Power Plant and no radioactive release 

from the installation,” the UN 

agency said in a statement. 

Based on this information and the 

IAEA’s own seismic analysis of the 

earthquake’s magnitude, location 

and other factors, the agency “is not 

currently seeking additional information 

from Iran,” the statement added.— 

Reuters 

UN may cut food aid to Syrian 

refugees due to cash shortage 

BEIRUT/GENEVA — The United Nations said yesterday it 

will halt food aid to 400,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon 

next month unless it receives urgent new funding. 

The cash shortage is part of a wider inancial shortfall 

that the organisation says is threatening its efforts to help 

nearly 1.3 million Syrian refugees and almost 4 million 

more people displaced inside Syria by the two-year con- 

lict. 

"The speed with which the crisis is deteriorating is 

much faster than the ability of the international community 

to inance the Syrian humanitarian needs," Panos 

Moumtzis, the UN refugee agency's regional co-ordinator 

for Syrian refugees said. 

"We're afraid, if no more funds are made available urgently 

— and this is where we are at a breaking point - 

we will come to a point where we will have to start reducing 

aid, prioritising aid," he said in Geneva. 

In Lebanon, where authorities and aid groups are 

struggling to cope with a growing wave of refugees already 

equivalent to 10 per cent of the local population, 

the UN World Food Programme warned that it might be 

forced to cut back operations in May. 

"In one month, and with the current funding, more 

than 400,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon will no longer 

receive food assistance," WFP country operations head 

Etienne Labande said. 

All refugees currently receive food when they register 

and then get monthly food coupons worth $27 a month, 

Labande said, but any interruption in that support could 

lead to unrest in a country where sectarian tensions have 

already been aggravated by the Syrian crisis. 

"I am extremely concerned that without continued 

funding we will see increased tensions and further displacement 

in an already tense environment," Labande 

said. The United Nations said in mid-February that 

around 70,000 people had been killed in the uprising 

against President Bashar al Assad. Since then, violence 

monitors say more than 10,000 people have died. The 

ighting has also left whole districts of the Syria's historic 

cities in rubble. 

The Beirut-based UN Economic and Social Commission 

for Western Asia estimates that 400,000 houses have 

been completely destroyed, 300,000 partially destroyed 

and a further half million suffered some kind of structural 

damage, so that one in three Syrian homes has been 

scarred by the war. 

The United Nations says that so far only $400 million 

out of more than $1.5 billion pledged by international donors 

in late January to cover Syrian refugee needs for the 

irst six months of this year has actually been committed. 

It said last week the impact of the lack of funds would 

include a halt in 3.5 million litres of daily water deliveries 

to Jordan's Zaatari camp which houses more than 

100,000 refugees, mostly children. — Reuters 

AMMAN — An Iraqi oficial said yesterday 

Amman and Baghdad have 

signed a deal to extend an $18-billion 

pipeline to the Red Sea city of Aqaba 

to export crude and supply Jordan 

with oil and gas. 

"The two countries have signed an 

agreement to build a 1,700-kilometre 

pipeline from Basra to Aqaba," Nihad 

Musa, director of State Company for 

Oil Projects, told Jordan's oficial 

news agency Petra in Amman. 

"The designs and technical studies, 

which are currently being conducted 

by a Canadian company, are 

scheduled to be done by the end of 

this year." 

Musa said Iraq "is serious about 

implementing the $18 billion 

project. It is important for the two 

countries." 

Under the deal, which is expected 

to be operational in 2017, "Jordan 

will get 850,000 barrels of oil as 

well as 3.53 billion cubic feet of gas 

a day," the Iraqi oficial was quoted 

as saying. 

The kingdom relies on imports 

for 95 per cent of its energy needs. 

A rise in fuel prices by up to 53 per 

cent in November prompted violent 

protests in which three people were 

killed and more than 70 injured. 

Kidnapped top aide of Libya premier freed 

TRIPOLI — A top aide to Libyan 

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan kidnapped 

at the end of last month in a Tripoli 

suburb has been released, a source 

close to the cabinet said yesterday. 

"Mohammed Ali al Gattus, an adviser 

and head of the premier's ofice, 

was freed on Monday and is now with 

his close ones and in good health," the 

source said, asking for anonymity. 

"We don't at present have information 

on the kidnappers or their motives." 

Gattus was abducted on March 31 

as he drove to the capital from Libya's 

third city Misrata. His car was found 

in Tajura, an eastern suburb of Tripoli, 

after he was apparently stopped at 

a fake checkpoint. 

Just hours before the abduction, 

the prime minister had said his cabinet 

was working under "very dificult 

conditions", and that "death threats" 

had been made against members of 

the government. 

Faced with rising instability, Libya's 

new authorities have promised to 

deal irmly with the militias that are 

a legacy of the armed uprising that 

overthrew veteran dictator Moamer 

Kadhai in October 2011. 

Tensions have been rising between 

the government and the militias for 

several weeks, after the launch of a 

campaign aimed at dislodging the 

armed groups from the capital. —AFP 

A partially destroyed building in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo yesterday. — AFP


ASIA 

7 

China, Australian PM 

agree to annual talks 

BEIJING — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang 

and Australian Prime Minister 

Julia Gillard yesterday agreed 

to hold annual prime ministerial 

meetings, as Chinese money drives 

Australia's huge resource boom. 

Li and Gillard held talks at the 

ornate Great Hall of the People in 

Beijing, where the visiting leader 

was greeted with full military honours 

including cannon ired from 

nearby Tiananmen Square. 

Australia's economy has beneited 

from Chinese demand for resources 

including iron ore, and China 

is now its largest trading partner 

with two-way business in goods 

and services worth Aus$128 billion 

($134 billion). 

"Our two sides have decided 

that the prime ministers will have 

regular annual meetings either in a 

bilateral format or on multilateral 

occasions," Li said, adding that yesterday's 

talks could be "regarded as 

the annual meeting mechanism". 

Gillard congratulated Li on his 

selection last month as premier. 

"I am illed with optimism about 

the way we will be able to work together 

to take the relationship between 

our two countries forward," 

she said. 

Australia, which has a longstanding 

military alliance with the 

United States, also engages in defence 

co-operation with China, with 

which it has conducted live-ire naval 

exercises. 

On Sunday, Gillard met President 

Xi Jinping at an annual conference 

of political and economic leaders on 

the southern island of Hainan. 

Cultural exchanges are also 

growing. China provides the greatest 

number of overseas students 

to Australia with 150,000 enrolments 

in 2012, and the second largest 

source of overseas visitors — 

626,000 last year. 

USS Freedom arrives in Manila yesterday to join the Philippine and US military exercise dubbed Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder). — AFP 

Chinese boat runs aground on Tubbataha 

MANILA — A Chinese ishing boat has run aground 

on a World Heritage-listed coral reef in the Philippines, 

roughly 1,600 kilometres from China's nearest 

major landmass, authorities said yesterday. 

The vessel, with 12 crew members, was found 

stranded in the shallows of Tubbataha Reef in the 

Sulu Sea just before midnight on Monday, coast 

guard spokesman Lieutenant Commander Arman 

Balilo said. 

"This is a small ishing boat, but we are wondering 

how they strayed into Tubbataha. Apart from 

illegal entry, we are investigating them for possible 

poaching as well," Balilo said. 

Balilo said the boat was to be pulled off the reef 

yesterday and then towed to the nearby island 

province of Palawan, where the ishermen would 

be detained and questioned by authorities. 

Balilo said Chinese ishermen frequently 

strayed into Philippine waters, but this was the 

irst time in recent years that they had been detected 

as far south as Tubbataha. 

The grounding of the vessel comes as the Philippines 

and China are locked in a bitter dispute 

over competing territorial claims to the South China 

Sea. 

China claims nearly all of the sea, even waters 

approaching the coasts of the Philippines, Vietnam 

and other countries in Southeast Asia. 

The Philippines accused China of occupying 

a shoal, which is home to a rich ishing ground, 

near its main island of Luzon last year. The Philippines 

has asked a United Nations panel to rule 

that China's claims are invalid. 

However Tubbataha reef is in the Sulu Sea, 

which is further southeast and not claimed by 

China. The Sulu and South China seas are separated 

by Palawan, one of the Philippines' biggest 

islands. 

The reef is about 1,600 kilometres southeast 

of Hainan island, China's nearest major landmass. 

Balilo said he did not want to speculate how 

the Chinese ishermen reached Tubbataha. 

But one navy oficial said the ishermen likely 

sailed through the South China Sea and then a 

narrow strait at the southern tip of Palawan. 

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang 

gesture during a meeting in Beijing yesterday. — AFP 

Mekong study predicts crop shifts 

Helicopter Dynamic Pegassus perform an air show during a parade of the 67th anniversary 

commemoration of the Indonesian Air Force at an airbase in Jakarta yesterday. — AFP 

Bird lu outbreak spurs food fears 

SHANGHAI — China's bird 

lu outbreak is "devastating" 

poultry sales, an industry 

group said yesterday, as the 

H7N9 virus which has killed 

seven people triggered a 

new food safety scare. 

Since China announced 

over a week ago that H7N9 

avian inluenza had been 

found in humans for the 

irst time, the number of 

people infected has risen to 

24, almost half in the eastern 

city of Shanghai. 

Chinese authorities say 

they do not know how the 

virus is spreading, though 

it is believed the infection 

is passing from birds to humans. 

The World Health Organization 

(WHO) has said 

there is no evidence H7N9 

is passing from person to 

person — a development 

that has the potential to 

trigger a pandemic. 

Authorities have advised 

the public to avoid live birds 

but offered reassurances 

that poultry and eggs that 

are still on sale are safe to 

eat if cooked properly. 

However, state media 

said that poultry sales have 

plunged in some areas of 

China, even regions that 

have so far recorded no human 

infections. 

"It's really a devastating 

blow to the market for 

broilers," said Qiu Baoqin, 

vice secretary general of 

China's National Poultry 

Industry Association. Broilers 

are young chickens sold 

ready for cooking. 

BANGKOK — A climate-change study 

on the Lower Mekong Basin says 

Laos' and Vietnam's central highlands 

can anticipate declines in production 

of robusta coffee and forecasts the 

cash crop will become more suitable 

for north-east Thailand. 

"For robusta coffee, we found 

overall the central highlands will 

have reduced suitability," said Jeremy 

Carew-Reid, the main author of Climate 

Change and Impact Study for 

the Lower Mekong Basin. 

"But other areas will open up, such 

as north-east Thailand, northern 

Thailand and parts of Laos with high 

elevation," Carew-Reid said. 

The study, sponsored by the US 

Agency for International Development 

(USAID), attempts to assess 

how climate change over the next 25- 

30 years will impact livestock, isheries 

and important crops including 

rice, maize, coffee, rubber and soya. 

Based on statistical downscaling of 

existing global circulation models, the 

study produced new climate models 

for the region — comprising 187 

provinces in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand 

and Vietnam — through which 

the Mekong River lows. 

The scientists identiied eight 

"hotspot" provinces that are expected 

to experience the most extreme variations 

in temperature, rainfall and 

loods, which could therefore experience 

the most drastic changes in food 

production. 

The hotspots include Chiang Rai 

and Sakon Nakhon provinces in Thailand, 

Khammouan and Champasak 

in Laos, Stung Treng, Mondulkiri and 

Kampong Thom in Cambodia and 

Kien Giang and Gia Lai in Vietnam. 

"We found that for rain-fed rice, 

for example, out of the eight hotspot 

provinces, seven will experience signiicant 

decreases in yields," Carew- 

Reid said. 

The Lower Mekong Basin is notoriously 

prone to weather extremes and 

high climate variability already. 

"The Mekong region is globally 

quite unique," said Tarek Ketelsen, 

the environmental systems engineer 

who did the climate change model for 

the study. 

"The Mekong Basin has two monsoon 

regimes; you've got snow melt 

and glacial buildup in the Tibetan- 

China part of the Mekong, and storms 

coming out of the Paciic in the lower 

part," Ketelsen said. 

The study anticapates a 4-degree 

increase in average temperature for 

the region by 2050, compared with 

the global average of 2 degrees, in 

the most optimal of forecasts by the 

United Nations' Intergovernmental 

Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 

"If you look at the IPCC reports 

this area is a black hole," Carew-Reid 

said. "All the parameters are more 

extreme in this region - temperature, 

rainfall and looding." These 

extremes will be even more extreme 

in the eight designated hotspot provinces, 

especially rainfall. 

"We're forecasting 20-per-cent 

increases in rainfall in the southern 

hotspots," Carew-Reid said. 

More rain may be bad for areas 

that are already experiencing a lot of 

precipitation, such as central Cambodia, 

but it might be good for places 

such as north-east Thailand (called 

Isaan), which is now dependent on 

rainfed agriculture. 

"In the future when there is more 

rainfall in the region, Isaan is looking 

to be doing better than elsewhere," 

predicted Ketelsen. 

Not everyone is so sure. 

"Increasing rainfall doesn't necessarily 

mean better," said Suppakorn 

Chitwanon, a senior researcher at 

the South-east Asian centre of the 

Global Change SysTem for Analysis, 

Research and Training (START) in 

Bangkok. 

"You have to see if the rain comes 

at the right time, and whether it is 

distributed evenly," he said. 

Scientists are generally cautious 

about jumping to conclusions about 

the speciic impact of global warming 

30 years from now. 

This raises questions about the 

next step of the USAID-backed 

project, which will involve taking the 

study's conclusions to village communities 

in the hotspot provinces to 

help them plan for the future. 

"If you talk to farmers about what 

is going to happen in 30 years, they 

will say, come back then and talk to 

my son," Suppakorn said. — dpa 

IAEA to inspect 

Fukushima 

Three Filipinos face death 

VIENNA — The UN atomic 

agency announced yesterday 

a visit to Japan's crippled 

Fukushima nuclear 

plant to review efforts to 

plan and implement its 

decommissioning, two 

years after a major disaster 

there. 

The April 15-22 trip 

by the 12-member team 

of International Atomic 

Energy (IAEA) nuclear 

experts and international 

specialists is at the request 

of the Japanese 

government, a statement 

said. — AFP 

JAKARTA — Three Philippine 

men could face the 

death penalty in Indonesia 

after being caught trying 

to smuggle methamphetamine 

with a street 

value of $2.1 million into 

the country, an oficial 

said yesterday. 

The trio were arrested 

last week with the 15.3- 

kilogram drugs haul after 

arriving from Hong Kong 

at the main airport serving 

the capital Jakarta, 

customs oficial Okto 

Irianto told reporters. 

"They hid the crystal 

methamphetamine in 15 

boxes of milk powder. 

Each brought ive boxes in 

their suitcase," he said. 

The trio, whose names 

were not released, allegedly 

carried the drugs — 

which the oficial said had 

a street value of $2.1 million 

— with them in their 

hand luggage. 

The men, one aged in 

his 40s, one in his 50s, 

and the third 61, admitted 

having previously smuggled 

drugs into other 

countries, according to 

Irianto. 

"They are professional 

couriers and this 

was their irst attempt to 

smuggle drugs into Indonesia," 

Irianto said. Police 

are quizzing them to ind 

out more details about the 

drug-smuggling gang they 

worked with. 

They could face the 

death penalty if found 

guilty under Indonesia's 

tough drugs laws, Irianto 

said. 

Foreigners are frequently 

arrested for attempting 

to smuggle drugs 

into Indonesia, including 

many on Bali who are held 

in the resort island's notorious 

Kerobokan prison. 

Thai bomb squad members inspect the site of a roadside bomb attack on a patroling police 

pick-up truck in southern province of Narathiwat yesterday. — AFP

8 

ANALYSIS 


Past haunts the opposition 

Ali al Matani 

ali.matani2@gmail.com 

Jobs for youth 

WHILE the governmental ofices and agencies, represented by the Ministry 

of Manpower, are doing great efforts to generate job opportunities 

for Omani youth in the private sector; posting vacancies on 

social media websites and social forums and publishing new job vacancies in 

local newspapers, we noticed a wave of reluctance on the part of the youth for 

whom these vacancies are generated; the youth refuse most of job opportunities 

in the private sector. 

The statistics published from January 5 to March 19, 2013 — of the number 

of Omanis who have been called upon to attend job interviews and process the 

legal procedures for joining in the private sector, stand at 15,000. 

The disturbing fact is that only 1,037 job-seekers accepted the jobs offered. 

This number is less that 7 per cent of the total number of job-seekers who 

have been called for interviews during this period. 

The job-seekers who accepted training before joining work are 135 and 

four accepted self-employment through Sanad Programme. It is a big shock 

for everyone! 

It is a big blow on the face of all efforts done to recruit the youth in the private 

sector. This relapse needs all frankness and openness to rectify the imbalance. 

The statistics released by the Ministry of Manpower regarding the number 

of those who have refused job opportunities offered and those who didn’t have 

the initial interviews are very disturbing and forms a catastrophe which rings 

alarm bells to review the policies and procedures adopted to tackle this issue 

wisely. Everyone should be in the big picture. 

If the efforts done aim to generate job opportunities in the private sector 

for 20,000 job-seekers throughout 2013, while the irst quarter has gone and 

only 1,000 have been recruited, there is, for sure, a gap that must be addressed 

and tackled. It is obvious that things haven’t gone as planned earlier. 

All shaikhs, walis and the members of Majlis Addawla and Majlis Ash'shura, 

in addition to parents should be in the picture to have a real and true idea 

about the reality of the situation. 

Moreover, all those job-seekers who have refused the opportunities offered 

to them should be told that they have no right to ask for jobs in future in the 

government sector. 

In spite of all efforts to motivate our youth to join the private sector, by raising 

the minimum wages and introducing many improvements on social insurance 

system, our sons and daughter don’t realise the cost of these efforts- although 

they are the backbone of our nation. 

These disturbing and alarming statistics should not be given simple review; 

to let them go and turn to be something that gas passed away. 

All apparatuses, civil institutions, Majlis Addawla and Majlis Ash’shura 

should make a deep and intensiied review and discuss the statistics frankly 

and openly. 

That is in order to have suggestions and mechanisms in place to tackle this 

catastrophe. The teamwork the Ministry of Manpower formed to search the 

reasons of this phenomenon and what has been done such as searching for 

solutions to tackle the problem of youth refusal of jobs after signing the contracts 

are positive steps the Ministry of Manpower has taken. 

But to have 10 per cent of job-seekers recruited in the private sector establishments 

and companies, while 90 per cent of them refused jobs offered, is a 

big catastrophe. 

Of course, all efforts done will be vanish if there will be no direct results; 

big ones that contribute to achieving the main goals, which are summed in 

abolishing the tradition of waiting for a governmental job or staying at home. 

We hope that we can re-calculate the whole matrix of employing again, to address 

this problem and wide-spread all over local communities the knowledge 

of appreciating private sector jobs. 

Today, there is no citizen who is seeking a job, there are vacancies seeking 

citizens! 

Venezuelan opposition candidate Henrique Capriles during a campaign rally in Coro. — AFP 

THE inal stretch of Venezuela's 

race to replace Hugo 

Chavez coincides with a 

delicate anniversary for the opposition: 

11 years since a brief coup 

against the late leftist leader. 

Acting President Nicolas Maduro 

used it as a foil against opposition 

rival Henrique Capriles 

at a campaign rally on Monday, 

accusing him of being "the same" 

as coup leader Pedro Carmona. 

"They won't return!" the crowd 

chanted, recalling the events of 

April 11-13, 2002, when the head 

of the chamber of commerce was 

briely installed as president until 

loyal troops brought Chavez, the 

elected leader, back to power. 

For 14 years, Chavez trounced 

his rivals at the ballot box, winning 

his last election in October 

against Capriles. 

The opposition says Chavez 

unfairly used state funds and 

looded the airwaves with mandatory 

broadcasts to dominate 

election campaigns while intimidating 

opponents. Maduro, 

it says, is using the same tactics 

ahead of Sunday's election. 

"We have proven our commitment 

to democracy and I believe 

that every day, the government 

shows it is the one that does 

not respect the rules of democracy," 

Tomas Guanipa, secretarygeneral 

of Capriles' Justice First 

party, said. 

"Despite errors that may have 

been committed by other actors, 

the leadership of the current opposition 

is a leadership that has 

committed not only to the electoral 

path but to the strengthening 

of democracy," he said. 

While it accuses the government 

of foul play, the short-lived 

coup has been a rallying point for 

Chavistas for the past decade, allowing 

Chavez, and now Maduro, 

to convince supporters that a 

vote for the opposition would be 

a vote for "fascists." 

"Since 2002, the opposition 

has been unable to shake the image 

of being 'golpista,'" George 

Ciccariello-Maher, author of "We 

Created Chavez: A People's History 

of the Venezuelan Revolution," 

said, using the Spanish word for 

coup leader. 

"This is a dificulty that 

Capriles also has," said the political 

science professor at Drexel 

University in Philadelphia. 

Capriles, whose politics are 

centrist and has said he would 

maintain many of Chavez's popular 

social programmes, has denied 

any link to the coup. 

He was charged with failing 

to stop a violent protest against 

the Cuban Embassy when he was 

mayor of the Baruta municipality 

at the time, but he was acquitted, 

serving four months in jail while 

awaiting trial. 

Still, state-run television is airing 

a documentary about the Cuban 

Embassy siege this week that 

questions Capriles' role in the 

protests. 

The 40-year-old governor is 

Chavez’s 

successor 

claimed that 

the opposition 

was trying to 

recruit military 

oficers to 

support them 

a refusal to 

recognise 

the election 

if he wins, 

write Laurent 

Thomet 

now the fresh face of the opposition, 

an avowed democrat who 

quickly conceded defeat when 

Chavez defeated him by 11 points 

in the October 7 election. 

Despite the loss, Capriles gave 

the opposition its best score ever 

against Chavez, with 44 per cent 

of the vote. 

The energetic opposition leader 

has held huge rallies in this 

abbreviated campaign, attracting 

hundreds of thousands of people 

in Caracas on Sunday. 

But Maduro has a double-digit 

lead in opinion polls, riding a 

wave of sympathy since Chavez 

lost his battle with cancer on 

March 5. 

Chavez's handpicked successor 

claimed last week that the 

opposition was trying to recruit 

military oficers to support them 

in a refusal to recognise the April 

14 election if he wins. The opposition 

countered that the government 

was using the military to 

mobilise voters. 

The National Electoral Council, 

at the request of the Maduro 

campaign, prepared a document 

for candidates to sign in which 

they will pledge they to recognise 

the election result. Capriles and 

Chavez signed a similar vow last 

year. 

Supporters of both candidates 

debated the legacies of the opposition 

and Chavismo in eastern 

Caracas, a wealthy neighbourhood 

seen as a Capriles bastion. 

Dario Ramirez, a 27-year-old 

Capriles campaign worker, admitted 

that the opposition had done 

"bad things" in the past but that 

he was more interested in talking 

about the future. 

"A country that lives in the 

past all the time doesn't move 

forward," he said. 

Earlier, Ramirez had debated 

Maduro supporters under a red 

tent of the Chavista campaign 

manned by government employees, 

asking why the government 

was unable to reduce violent 

crime in the past 14 years. 

Yill Espinoza, a 40-year-old 

government employee, countered 

the two parties that dominated 

Venezuelan politics for 40 years 

before Chavez came around had 

armed criminals and imposed 

"savage capitalism." 

Dozens of people gathered 

around the tent to listen to the 

debate. 

When another Chavista took 

the microphone and rambled 

too long about the coup and 

other supposed opposition ills, 

the crowd shouted him down, 

prompting the man to say "that's 

how fascists are, violent!" 

Meanwhile, the opposition and 

the government accused each 

other of seeking support from the 

military to meddle in the election. 

Opposition lawmaker Alfonso 

Marquina presented to the National 

Electoral Council (CNE) a 

list of active military oficers who, 

he said, “conduct activities to mobilise” 

voters for the election “in 

coordination with political leaders” 

of the ruling PSUV party. 

Don't despair, repair — keeping electronics in austerity 

AN innovative project in London 

is helping people to prolong 

the life of their electronic 

devices by repairing them and encouraging 

others to do learn to do 

the same. 

If you're the kind of person who 

owns a mobile phone held together 

with sticky tape, or your laptop is 

running more slowly every time you 

lip it open, the Restart Project could 

come in extremely handy. 

It brings together volunteer repairers, 

technology enthusiasts and 

engineers — and says that in tough 

inancial times it is "preparing the 

ground for a future economy of 

maintenance and repair". 

At a recent event in the hip Primrose 

Hill district, a steady stream 

of visitors — of all ages — arrived 

clutching computers and other broken-down 

items, many having heard 

about the service via Twitter. 

At tables dotted around the 

room, repairers helped open up the 

devices for inspection, while on the 

wall, a list kept track of which problems 

had been solved and which 

had not. "Why throw something 

away when you can ix it?" said photographer 

Jon Freeman, who walked 

away a happy man after having his 

If you are the kind of person who 

owns a mobile phone held together 

with sticky tape, or your laptop is 

running more slowly every time you 

lip it open, the Restart Project could 

come handy, says Ruben Easey 

girlfriend's laptop ixed. 

He said he only wished he had 

heard about the service earlier as 

he had recently paid Apple for a 

new power cord for the laptop. "It 

would have been simple to ix — 

Apple charge £65 ($100, 76 euros)." 

Diogo Castro, a Portuguese man in 

his 20s, was not quite so lucky with 

his computer, but did get some valuable 

advice about what was wrong. 

"My irst idea was to get a new one 

straight away, but unfortunately I 

couldn't because of the money, so 

this project helped me a lot," he 

said. 

Founded in 2012, the Restart 

Project is the brainchild of two 

A man ixes a radio at the Restart Project in North London. — AFP 

adoptive Londoners, Ugo Vallauri, 

from Italy, and Janet Gunter, a British-American. 

Having worked in the 

developing world for several years, 

they were frustrated by the amount 

of waste they saw whenever they 

returned to the West, and looked for 

a way to encourage people to repair 

and reuse their broken gadgets. 

"Every time we'd come back here 

we would see people upgrading, 

tossing perfectly good technology, 

or giving up on things without even 

having opened them," exclaimed 

Gunter. "Would you take your car to 

the dump when you've never even 

popped open the bonnet?" 

Environmental goals aside, the 

pair also hope the events will help 

counter the feelings of "disempowerment" 

people may feel from understanding 

virtually nothing about 

how everyday objects work. 

"When something breaks, people 

don't know what to do about it," 

said Vallauri. "They've lost trust in 

regards to professional repairers, 

they are pushed by markets and advertising 

to always look for the next 

big thing. People feel this frustration 

and tend to just get more and more 

new things, as opposed to making 

the best use of what they have."


ANALYSIS 

9 

Children adapt to a life marred by conflict in Aleppo 

Unicef says over two 

million children have 

been affected, and 

has warned that 

the country’s youth 

could become a “lost 

generation” because 

of insuficient 

support, reports 

Marie Roudani 

Goal! Goal! children scream, kicking a football around 

like children everywhere. But in war-ravaged Aleppo, 

their playground is a strip of no-man's land near buildings 

on the front line. In the courtyard of a school destroyed 

by bombing, they kick around without any apparent regard 

for the clatter of bullets ired by snipers from the Syrian government 

and dissident sides. 

In the poorer neighbourhoods of Aleppo, immersed in con- 

lict for the past nine months, it was not unusual even before 

the war for teenagers to go out to work. But now what little 

childhood remained for Aleppo youngsters has gone. 

"They have forgotten, and in the case of the toddlers, they 

have never even known normal life. They haven't known anything 

but war," one dissident commander in the city says, with 

regret in his voice. "Their role models are the ighters who 

blow themselves up." 

On almost every street corner, children can be seen selling 

cigarettes and honey cakes to the armed dissidents ighting 

the government, close to pick-up trucks mounted with guns. 

In this environment, it's no surprise that the children have 

become experts on weaponry. Each time an explosion goes 

off, even the youngest among them profess to know the difference 

between a mortar shell, a rocket and tank ire. 

"When there's a plane, we go up on the roof to see it ire," 

says 11-year-old Ibrahim, his father looking on with pride. 

"My son has become a man very early," he says. "The only 

thing he's missing is an education, because there are no more 

schools," Ibrahim's mother adds. 

In the two years since an uprising against the government 

of President Bashar al Assad broke out, the UN children's 

agency Unicef estimates that one in every ive schools in Syria 

has been destroyed. Among the young salesmen of Aleppo, 

the mere mention of school elicits a bitter laugh. 

"What school? All our schools have been destroyed by 

bombing. We haven't been for a year," 12-year-old Ahmed 

says. "We're on the front, waging war. The women are waging 

an even bigger war because they have the education of future 

generations in their hands, the future of all of Syria," says one 

dissident ighter, who left behind a wife and children in his 

village to ight in Aleppo. 

Unicef says more than two million children have been affected 

by the conlict in Syria, and has warned that the country's 

youth could become a "lost generation" because of 

insuficient international support. Many have suffered the 

psychological trauma of seeing a family member killed, being 

separated from their parents, or being terriied by the constant 

threat of bombing, the agency says. 

The country's youngest citizens are also dying in the con- 

lict, with at least nine children among those killed in a single 

air raid on the Sheikh Maqsud district of Aleppo on Saturday 

alone. In addition to being constantly exposed to weapons 

and violence, some Syrian children have been forced to beg or 

work to help support their families. 

In a garage in the impoverished Maslakh neighbourhood, 

nine-year-old Yehya leans on the hood of a car as he looks 

at the building across the street. "It was my school. It's been 

closed for a year. Since then, I've worked as a mechanic," he 

said. "My father's on the front lines, he's ighting Assad's soldiers. 

We are 11 children at home and most of my brothers 

are working so we can afford to eat." 

He works all day long at the garage to earn 200 Syrian 

pounds ($2) a week. The work is exhausting, and at night he 

goes home and collapses into sleep. "Play? When I get back 

home, I have neither the time nor the energy to play," he says. 

Others are even less fortunate than Yehya. At dawn, dozens 

of children can be seen combing through the piles of garbage 

that litter Aleppo's streets, hoping to glean something they 

can either eat or sell. 

Meanwhile, a senior UN oficial warned yesterday that aid 

operations for Syrian refugees have reaching breaking point 

in the face of a massive funding shortfall, amid fears that the 

number of people leeing the war-torn nation could triple. 

“We want to ring the alarm bell. We are at a breaking 

point,” said Panos Moumtzis, regional aid coordinator for the 

UN high commissioner for refugees. “Clearly we’re reaching a 

point where the increase in the crisis, the rapid deterioration, 

and the resources available, do not match,” he told reporters 

in Geneva. “It is our duty to respond,” he added. 

Moumtzis underlined that just $400 million has been 

provided from the $1.5 billion pledged for Syria-related aid 

operations at an international conference held in Kuwait in 

January. “We’re appealing to parliaments, we’re appealing to 

governments, we’re appealing to donors to go beyond their 

available funding in Western countries. And we’d also like 

to see the generosity announced in the Gulf to materialise as 

quickly as possible. Because we cannot wait any more,” he 

said. 

Almost $1.0 billion of the total sum on the table in January 

was pledged by Gulf nations. A total of 1.3 million people have 

now led Syria since protests which started in March 2011 

against the Assad and have spiralled into a sectarian-tinged 

civil war. 

Underlining the inexorably rising violence, Moumtzis noted 

that just 12 months ago, the number of Syrian refugees in 

neighbouring countries was 30,000. Some 200,000 people 

are now spilling across Syria’s borders every month in search 

of safety in neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, 

placing a huge strain on the countries’ ability to cope. 

“We fear that if the current level of insecurity, and the current 

situation of no political solution continues, we may see a 

doubling or a tripling, or more, of the number of refugees that 

we have today in the region,” said Moumtzis. 

Largest copper smelter 

ignites toxic debate 

By Anupama Chandrasekaran 

Uhuru Kenyatta (L) and Chief of Defence Forces General Julius Karangi (R) after his swearing-in ceremony in Nairobi yesterday.— Reuters 

Following in his father's footstep 

His trial at The 

Hague-based court 

is due to open on 

July 9. Kenyatta has 

repeatedly said he will 

cooperate with the 

court, even though it 

could mean he will be 

absent from Kenya for 

long periods, reports 

Peter Martell 

UHURU Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's founding 

president, takes up his father's mantle 

to become head of state despite facing 

international charges of crimes against humanity 

over election violence ive years ago. Uhuru, 

meaning "freedom", and Kenyatta, the "light of 

Kenya" in Swahili, carries his country's aspirations 

in his name, but brings with him controversy. 

Kenyatta, 51, and his deputy William Ruto, 

46, face trial in the International Criminal Court 

(ICC) for crimes against humanity over their alleged 

role in having orchestrated 2007-08 postelection 

unrest. Last month Kenya's Supreme 

Court ruled that the March 4 polls were valid, 

with Kenyatta sworn into ofice as the country's 

fourth president at a ceremony yesterday. 

He was born in 1961 shortly after the release 

of his father Jomo Kenyatta from nearly 10 

years' incarceration by British colonial forces, 

and two years before Kenya's independence. 

Fifty years on, the outgoing deputy prime 

minister and former inance minister is one of 

Kenya's richest and most powerful men, with 

the Kenyatta family owning vast swathes of 

some of the country's richest lands. 

The Kenyatta family business empire also 

includes major banking and media interests as 

well as Kenya's main dairy business. Educated 

in the United States at the elite Amherst College, 

where he studied political science and economics, 

he is viewed as the top political leader of the 

Kikuyu people, Kenya's largest tribe making up 

some 17 per cent of the population. 

However, he also appeals to Kenyans from 

different ethnic backgrounds, able to mingle 

not only with the elite he was born into but also 

with the average Kenyan, cracking jokes. With 

permanent heavy bags beneath his eyes and 

well dressed in pin-stripe business suits, Kenyatta 

exudes an image of power and entitlement. 

In the 1990s, he joined with the sons of other 

independence heroes to call for reform but 

gradually drew closer to autocratic former president 

Daniel arap Moi. "He went into politics 

partly because Moi asked him to, and probably 

because it was a good way to protect his family's 

interests at a time of political transition," 

said Daniel Branch, a professor at Britain's Warwick 

University. 

"Until recently, politics never mattered as 

much personally for Kenyatta as for Raila," he 

added, referring to his key rival he beat in the 

election, outgoing Prime Minister Raila Odinga. 

In the December 2007 election Kenyatta 

threw his weight behind then incumbent President 

Mwai Kibaki. The polls rapidly descended 

into chaos and left over 1,100 dead and forced 

hundreds of thousands from their homes. 

Delays in the 2007 vote count saw violence 

erupt over suspicion that Kibaki was stealing 

the election from Odinga, and killings mainly 

targeting Kikuyus spread across the country. 

The Kenya National Commission on Human 

Rights has accused Kenyatta of attending 

meetings in early 2008 to plan for retaliatory 

violence by the Kikuyu. ICC prosecutors say he 

mobilised the Mungiki — a sect-like Kikuyu 

criminal organisation known for skinning and 

beheading its victims — to attack opposition 

supporters. 

The Kikuyu launched reprisal attacks in which 

homes were torched and people hacked to death. 

Kenyatta, listed by Forbes magazine as one of the 

richest people in Africa, faces ive counts including 

orchestrating murder, rape, forcible transfer 

and persecution in the polls' aftermath. 

His trial at The Hague-based court is due to 

open on July 9. Kenyatta has repeatedly said 

he will cooperate with the court, even though 

it could mean he will be absent from Kenya for 

long periods, with the trial expected by many 

to stretch for several years. "I will be able to 

handle the issue of clearing our names... while 

at the same time ensuring that the business of 

government continues," Kenyatta said in reply 

to a question about how he and Ruto will juggle 

court appearances and run the country. 

HOUSEWIFE A Puneeta was washing dishes on a foggy morning when 

suddenly her throat began to burn. Coughing hard and struggling to 

breathe, she rushed into the street to ind her neighbours running, haphazardly, 

in panic. "First people said there was a gas leak, and then someone 

said Sterlite seemed to have opened up something, and that's the cause of the 

throat burning," said Puneeta, 32, who is married to a isherman in the Tuticorin 

port town near the southern tip of India. 

She was referring to Sterlite Industries, a unit of London-based Vedanta Resources, 

which operates India's biggest copper smelter a few kilometres away, 

and which has been shut by authorities despite the irm denying the smelter 

was to blame for the emissions in the area on March 23. 

Other residents told similar stories. Two spoken to separately by Reuters 

also said the emissions caused leaves on plants and trees to wither and drop 

in front of their eyes, while another, who is asthmatic, said she struggled to 

breathe as she walked home from church and had to use her Ventolin inhaler. 

The plant employs 4,000 and supports thousands more jobs indirectly. But 

since opening in 1996 it has split this coastal city between residents who say 

it is crucial for the local economy and farmers and ishermen who see it as a 

health hazard. Similar debates are playing out across India where disputes 

over safety, the environment and livelihoods overshadow the efforts of Asia's 

third-largest economy to industrialise. Just 100 km south, in Kudankulam, 

ishermen are iercely opposing a new nuclear power plant. 

Tuticorin and Kudankulam sit on the Gulf of Munnar, famed for its pearls, 

coral reefs, and marine life. Environmental activists who say Sterlite is damaging 

the region's ecology have been ighting for years to close the smelter 

permanently. The state of Tamil Nadu's Pollution Control Board closed the 

smelter until further notice late last month and said a sensor in the smelter's 

smokestack showed sulphur dioxide levels were more than double the permitted 

concentration at the time emissions were reported. 

Sterlite denied the smelter, which makes half the copper India produces 

every year, was the source. The smelter's general manager of projects said 

there were no emissions at the time because the plant was starting up after 

two days of maintenance, not producing copper, and high readings in the 

smokestack were likely a result of workers recalibrating the sensors. 

Yesterday, a fast-track environmental court deferred until April 12 a hearing 

on allowing the plant to reopen, a move that is being closely watched by 

environmentalists and the global copper market. The plant will remain shut at 

least until then. 

The future of the plant — which is seeking approval to double its capacity 

to 800,000 tonnes per year — now hinges on the decision of the National 

Green Tribunal. 

A general view of Sterlite Industries’ copper plant in Tuticorin.— Reuters 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these pages are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the opinion of the Observer.

10 

INDIA 


Lt Col among 5 peacekeepers 

killed in South Sudan 

School children carry placards as they participate in the Autism Awareness Walk 2013 at India Gate in New 

Delhi yesterday. Autism is a neuro-physiological disorder which affects the social and emotional areas of the 

brain and the UN General Assembly declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day, observed each year since 

2008. — AFP 

Opposition 

shutdown in AP 

hits normal life 

HYDERABAD Normal life in 

Andhra Pradesh was hit yesterday 

as opposition parties in the state 

called for a shutdown to protest the 

hike in electricity tariff. 

Buses of the state-owned Andhra 

Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation 

(APSRTC) were suspended 

in most parts of the state as opposition 

leaders and activists stopped 

vehicles. Shops and business establishments 

also remained closed in 

many towns. In Hyderabad, the response 

was mixed. 

Ten Left parties have called 

for the shutdown, which is being 

supported by the Telugu Desam 

Party (TDP), YSR Congress Party, 

BJP and other opposition parties. 

Leaders of the CPI, CPM and the 

other Left parties were arrested 

when they tried to stop buses at 

the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station in 

Hyderabad. 

CPI state secretary K Narayana 

said the protest would continue till 

the government rolls back the hike 

in electricity tariff and also withdraws 

the power surcharge imposed 

by power distribution companies 

for purchase of electricity from 

outside the state. Opposition parties 

staged sit-ins outside APSRTC depots 

in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, 

Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati and 

other towns in the state. 

Pawar’s remarks rock 

Maharashtra house again 

MUMBAI The opposition in 

the Maharashtra state assembly 

created bedlam for the second 

successive day here yesterday over 

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's 

recent remarks on the people in 

drought-hit areas and attempted 

to bring a censure motion in the 

house. 

The proceedings started 

amidst noisy scenes with Leader 

of Opposition Eknath Khadse 

saying that a mere apology 

from Pawar was not acceptable 

and he must resign. "With his 

statements, Pawar has insulted 

women and lowered the stature of 

Maharashtra. He must quit from 

his post. The Opposition members 

were vehement in their protest on 

the remarks. 

“The chief minister should 

make a statement, apologise 

and dismiss Ajit Pawar," Khadse 

demanded as opposition 

members rushed to the presiding 

oficer's chair raising slogans 

against Pawar. 

The Shiv Sena also sought to 

bring a censure motion against 

Pawar who maintained that since 

he had tendered an apology in 

the house Monday, the issue had 

ended. 

Shiv Sena legislator Subhash 

Desai who sought to move the 

censure notice, said Pawar's 

remarks were "derogatory" and 

deserved to be condemned. 

However, citing procedural 

issues, Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil 

rejected the censure motion even 

as the house was adjourned twice 

amid uproarious scenes and later 

adjourned for the day. 

Known for his brashness, Pawar 

again uttered some controversial 

comments which several parties 

and groups termed as "insulting 

and ridiculing the drought-hit 

population". 

"Who is that (Bhaisaheb) 

Deshmukh? What is the point of 

his protest? Will it yield water? 

When there is no water, where will 

I arrange water from? 

“Should I urinate in the dams?" 

Pawar had said at a public meeting 

in Pune district on Sunday, 

sparking off waves of protests and 

condemnation across the state. 

Later, he said in the same 

speech: "The population is 

increasing due to load shedding as 

people have nothing to do when 

there is no electricity." 

By Sunday evening, Pawar 

apparently sobered up and offered 

an apology for his statements. 

He followed it up with a similar 

apology in the assembly Monday, 

but the angry opposition kept up 

its demand for his removal. 

— IANS 

Antony refused to support 

Sanjay Gandhi: WikiLeaks 

NEW DELHI Five Indian UN 

peacekeepers, including a Lieutenant 

Colonel, were killed and four injured 

by ighters in South Sudan, the 

external affairs ministry said yesterday. 

"Peacekeepers from India in UN- 

MISS (United Nations Mission in the 

Republic of South Sudan) attacked in 

Jonglei. Five dead and four wounded," 

ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin 

tweeted. 

Elaborating on the incident, Akbaruddin 

said: "It happened this 

morning about 8:30 am. The convoy 

carrying 32 Indian soldiers was attacked 

by ighters. There were ive 

casualties, including a Lieutenant 

Colonel, a JCO (junior commissioner 

oficer) and three soldiers. Four others 

have been wounded." 

"We were informed that there 

were ive casualties of Indian battalion 

that was attached to the UN 

peacekeeping force in South Sudan. 

They were escorting a UN convoy in 

the volatile state of Jonglei in South 

Ireland probes 

death of Indian 

woman 

GALWAY — An inquest opened in 

Ireland into the death of a pregnant 

Indian woman who was allegedly 

denied a termination, sparking 

ierce debate on the Catholic country's 

strict abortion laws. 

Savita Halappanavar, a 31-yearold 

dentist originally from India, 

died in a hospital in Galway, on the 

west coast of Ireland, last October 

after suffering a miscarriage. 

She was 17 weeks pregnant and 

miscarrying when she went to Galway 

University Hospital on October 

21, complaining of backache. 

Her husband Praveen said his 

wife, a Hindu, repeatedly requested 

that doctors terminate the pregnancy 

but they refused because there 

was still a foetal heartbeat and because 

Ireland "is a Catholic country". 

Savita Halappanavar died of suspected 

septicaemia on October 28, 

ive days after losing her baby. "The 

next few days are going to be very 

tough," Praveen said as he arrived 

for the irst day of evidence at Galway 

Coroner's Court. 

The inquest is his last chance 

to ind out the truth about how his 

wife was treated and why, he said. 

The medics who treated Savita 

Halappanavar will be among those 

called to give evidence at the hearings, 

which are expected to last a 

week. — AFP 

Virtual ofice 

@Kochi for 

just Rs 500 

Sudan," he told a TV channel. 

"The casualties, including the injured, 

are being brought back by the 

UN by helicopters from Jonglei to 

Juba (the capital of South Sudan)," 

Akbarudddin said. 

He said the Indian ambassador in 

South Sudan, along an oficer of the 

Army Medical Corps, is waiting at 

the Juba airport to receive the bodies 

and the injured. 

"The irst priority will be emergency 

treatment for the injured and 

they will be sent to UN mission hospital 

in South Sudan and then as per 

the advise of the medical team, they 

then will be transferred appropriately," 

he said. 

"With respect to those who have 

paid the highest price and laid down 

their lives, our embassy will work 

with the UN to bring back their bodies 

to India," he said. 

Akbaruddin said the Indian embassy 

is in touch with the UN on the 

issue. "We have 2,200 India personnel 

in South Sudan. Our embassy is 

Fresh all-party meeting on 

land takeover bill by April 18 

NEW DELHI Consensus eluded an 

all-party meeting on the land acquisition 

bill yesterday, forcing the government 

to ix another meeting on 

April 18. 

"We have some minor differences 

and have decided to meet again on 

April 18," Parliamentary Affairs Minister 

Kamal Nath told reporters after 

the meeting at Parliament House. 

Nath said all parties were asked 

to give their suggestions by April 15. 

These would be circulated April 16, 

ahead of the next meeting. 

The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation 

and Resettlement Bill, 2011, 

seeks to address problems of the industry 

regarding acquisition of land 

for setting up projects. 

The bill provides for land acquisition, 

rehabilitation and resettlement 

of the displaced people. It proposes 

to replace the Land Acquisition Act, 

1894. 

Nath said though parties were 

largely of the opinion that the bill 

should be passed at the earliest, they 

had some suggestions. 

Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj 

said the bill was earlier with the 

parliamentary standing committee 

and certain amendments had been 

moved but the government failed to 

incorporate these amendments. 

She said her party's stand was 

that acquisition should not be the 

only way to acquire land. 

"Leasing of land would be a better 

in touch with UN representative on 

this matter," he added. 

India is a major contributor to 

UN peacekeeping forces around the 

world and has suffered losses in the 

past. 

“Five peace keepers from India 

with UNMISS (United Nations Mission 

in the Republic of South Sudan) 

killed in ambush in Jonglei state 

this morning,” spokesman Syed Akbaruddin 

said. 

Four Indian soldiers were also 

wounded in the attack. “The casualties 

including injured are being 

lown by UN helicopters to the Juba 

(capital of South Sudan),” Akbaruddin 

said. 

In 2010, ighters hacked to death 

three Indians in their camp in the 

Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Akbaruddin said that the Indian 

foreign ministry was arranging for 

the bodies of its peacekeepers in 

South Sudan to be returned home. 

— IANS 

Sushma Swaraj said 

the bill was earlier 

with the parliamentary 

standing committee and 

certain amendments 

had been moved but 

the government failed 

to incorporate these 

amendments 

proposition so that the farmer gets 

regular annual income. In this way, 

the land would go back to the farmer 

if it is not used," she said. 

Her party also objected to the deinition 

of the term "public purpose" in 

the bill as it was "very wide". 

"But I am very hopeful that a consensus 

would be arrived at," she said 

here yesterday. 

The bill seeks to provide for a fair 

compensation to land owners in both 

rural and urban areas with the stipulation 

that consent of 80 per cent of 

the people for acquiring land for private 

industry was necessary. 

Earlier, the bill's consideration 

was deferred by the Lok Sabha in the 

winter session till the budget session 

under pressure from opposition 

members. 

It was referred to the standing 

committee. — IANS 

By Ashraf Padanna 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — A powerful 

section in the Congress party 

led by A K Antony in Kerala opposed 

ascendance of Sanjay Gandhi as heir 

to his mother Indira Gandhi and 

hence he failed to visit the state during 

the Emergency. 

According to the unclassiied 

US diplomatic cables published by 

Wikileaks yesterday, CPI, his party's 

key ally in the ruling coalition led by 

Chief Minister C Achutha Menon during 

1970-77, was also angered at him 

calling it "the most corrupt party". 

"Antony and those refusing to support 

Sanjay question his rapid ascent 

to a position of power, asking themselves, 

we understand, what sacri- 

ices he has made for the party or the 

country," says the cable dated May 

14, 1976, quoting "knowledgeable 

newsmen". 

Sanjay Gandhi died in a 1980 

plane crash at the age of 33 while 

Indira Gandhi, the second longestserving 

prime minister of India, was 

assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards 

four years later. 

Antony, who was elected the party 

chief in Kerala in 1972 at a young age 

of 32, was "one of the only leaders 

to latly criticise the new Youth Congress 

and Sanjay". The other key critic 

was West Bengal Congress leader 

Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi of West Bengal. 

"Despite an earlier announcement 

that he would visit Kerala, Sanjay has 

not so far done so, though Ambika 

Soni (his close associate and president 

of Youth Congress) was in the 

state last month," the cable says. 

Describing the Kerala Youth 

Congress "somewhat more radical 

than the Youth Congresses in other 

states", it says Sanjay's policies were 

not popular in Kerala. The Americans 

also suspected the split in the Youth 

Congress in the state and the CPI's attitude 

toward him "might well combine 

to make him decide against visiting 

the state at least until" he gets a 

warm welcome. 

"Talks with a variety of people in 

Kerala May 9-11 left us with the impression 

that Sanjay Gandhi is not 

very popular in that state. Knowledgeable 

newsmen with whom we 

met resented Sanjay's rapid buildup, 

saying that until 1975 he was 

known only for his association with 

the Maruti (the car he introduced in 

collaboration with Japan's Suzuki)," it 

says. 

Though the newspapers were 

gagged and public protests outlawed 

like anywhere in India during the 

state of Emergency, the state's coalition 

government was hugely popular 

that it returned to power with a huge 

majority of 111 seats in the 140- 

member Assembly. 

Though Antony, Vayalar Ravi and 

Oommen Chandy were in the rival 

camp, the Gandhis enjoyed the strong 

support of K Karunakaran, the powerful 

home minister of the state who 

succeeded Achutha Menon as chief 

minister. 

"One of the journalists with whom 

we met speculated that it could be 

extremely embarrassing for the KPCC 

to have to ask the CPI chief minister 

of the state to welcome Sanjay at 

the airport if he were invited to visit 

Kerala," the cable says. 

"Despite differences of opinion of 

him, all those with whom we talked 

agreed that Sanjay is being groomed 

to succeed his mother some day. 

Sanjay already wields great inluence 

with his mother, one stated he had 

heard from his Delhi sources, and he 

discusses policy matters with ministers 

and gives them instructions on 

actions to be taken," it says. 

According to one journalist, it 

says, Sanjay was known as a "friend 

of the United States," and his policies 

and programmes seem designed to 

appeal to "capitalists and industrialists." 

Disgust with years of work stoppages, 

violence, demonstrations, and 

student unrest was widespread and 

few wanted a return to pre-Emergency 

politics. 

Newsmen, Kerala govt ministers, 

professors, and non-Communist opposition 

politicians all agreed that in 

any election a Congress-dominated 

coalition would sweep the polls. 

KOCHI You can open a virtual of- 

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businesses, NRIs and student entrepreneurs 

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your customer calls and mail handling 

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Spacelance basic plan starts at 

just Rs 500 a month, which includes 

a virtual address and mail handling 

services. 

The standard plan is Rs 1,000 

per month which gives an additional 

dedicated virtual phone and fax 

number. 

CITIZENS carry placards during a protest march near the Myanmar 

Embassy in New Delhi yesterday against the killing and the torching of 

Rohingya homes in Myanmar. Organisations and civil society condemned 

the Burmese government in the strongest terms for its inaction and 

collaboration to stop violence against and expulsion of Rohingya people 

in Rakhine (Arakan) state. — AFP


INDIA 

11 

Modi accuses UPA of bias 

against non-Cong states 

A security guard tries to prevent protesters from entering the ofice of Dow Chemical International Private Ltd 

in Mumbai. Three thousand seven hundred people died immediately in the world's worst industrial disaster 

in 1984 when gas leaked from a pesticides plant owned by the US multinational Union Carbide in Bhopal. For 

decades, survivors have been ighting to have the site cleaned up, but they say the efforts were slowed when 

Michigan-based Dow Chemical took over Union Carbide in 2001. — AFP 

KOLKATA Gujarat Chief Minister 

yesterday accused the UPA government 

of discriminating against non- 

Congress ruled states. 

"Defying the constitution, the UPA 

government has been constantly discriminating 

between states ruled by 

the parties in the UPA coalition and 

those run by non-UPA parties," Modi 

said here. 

"The need is to raise voices against 

this discrimination," he told a meeting 

of entrepreneurs. 

Modi said such discrimination was 

shattering the dreams of many states 

including West Bengal. 

"People have elected them but that 

does not mean they have the power 

to discriminate." 

To buttress his point, Modi referred 

to the relations between the 

NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee 

and the Left Front government 

in West Bengal between 1998 and 

2004. 

"Here we had a Communist government. 

In Delhi, we had the Vajpayee 

government. Ideologically, there 

can be no meeting ground between 

us and the Communists. 

"But during those years there was 

no complaint of discrimination from 

Bengal," he said at a meeting organised 

by the MCC Chamber of Commerce 

and Industry, Indian Chamber 

of Commerce and Bharat Chamber of 

Commerce. 

He said this bias by the central 

government was threatening national 

integrity. 

"When states do well, the (central) 

government comes forward to take 

credit. But if anything goes wrong, the 

onus is on the state government. 

"They must learn to take the entire 

country along." 

Earlier, Modi yesterday started 

his trip here by visiting the Dakshineswar 

Kali Temple and Belur Math 

and exhorted the youth to make India 

the world leader by taking inspiration 

from the ideals of Swami 

Vivekananda. 

"I have full conidence that our 

youths will make India proud by making 

it "jagatguru" by following the ideals 

of Swami Vivekananda," Modi told 

journalists after paying a visit to the 

Belur Math in neighbouring Howrah 

district. 

Modi, who visited the Belur Math 

— global headquarters of the Ramakrishna 

Math and Ramakrishna Mission 

— for the irst time after becoming 

chief minister, said he visited it 

quite often as a teenager. 

"I used to visit the Math founded 

by Swami Vivekananda frequently 

during my teenage (years) and I had 

received a lot of love and affection 

from Swami Athwasthananda," he 

added. 

Earlier, in a series of tweets, Modi 

described his experiences at the two 

holy places. 

"Blessed with the darshan of Maa 

Kali at Dakhineshwar. I apologised to 

her for coming after a long time," he 

said on Twitter. 

"Got the opportunity to visit Ganga 

Maa where Swami Vivekananda used 

to take bath. Experienced an inner joy 

being there," he said. 

At Belur Math, Modi meditated for 

some time. 

"On my request, the organisers 

let me spend some time alone in the 

room where Swami Vivekananda 

meditated. The experience was beyond 

words," he said. — IANS 

Mamata gheraoed, Bengal 

minister manhandled in Delhi 

NEW DELHI — West Bengal chief 

minister Mamata Banerjee and her 

inance minister Amit Mitra were 

today the target of the ire of CPM 

and its students' wing activists 

with protesters manhandling the 

minister outside the Planning Commission 

here. 

A group of about 150 protesters 

from CPM and SFI ambushed the 

chief minister and other ministers 

including Mitra when they arrived 

at the Planing Commission complex 

around 3.45 pm for annual 

state plan discussion. 

Banerjee, who was advised by 

police not to get down from her car 

and drive inside, however, chose to 

walk through the slogan-shouting 

and placard-wielding crowd into 

the building. 

While the chief minister was immediately 

shielded by policemen, it 

was left to Mitra's lot to face the anger 

of the activists who were protesting 

the death of a SFI member 

Sudipto Ghosh in police custody in 

Kolkata last week. 

As SFI and CPM members 

chanted "Mamata Banerjee hai hai 

(Mamata down down), TMC hai 

hai, Hatyari Mamata sharm karo 

(have shame, killer Mamata)", an 

agitated chief minister walked into 

the building shouting that "this is 

uncivilised behaviour". 

The 65-year-old inance minister 

was pushed and jostled around 

as he tried to enter the Yojna Bhawan 

building. A woman protester 

thumped him twice on his chest 

and his kurta was torn in the melee. 

An angry Banerjee later vented 

her anger at minister of state for 

planning Rajiv Shukla and deputy 

chairman of Planning Commission 

Montek Singh Ahluwalia. 

"You have created a new precedent 

here. My minister was assaulted. 

This is scandalous. There 

were 20 hooligans. Can you stop 

development of this state like this... 

Delhi is not safe," she told them. 

Court notice to NDMC 

on Taj Mahal hotel lease 

NEW DELHI The Delhi High Court yesterday issued notice to the New Delhi 

Municipal Council (NDMC) on a plea of Tata Group's Indian Hotels Company 

(IHC) against the civic agency's proposal to auction the lease of a plot 

on which Taj Mahal Hotel is built in the heart of the city. 

Justice M L Mehta sought a response from the NDMC which owns the plot 

on Mansingh Road in central Delhi and said he would consider the company's 

plea seeking an interim stay on the auction on the next date of hearing. 

"Issue notice to the NDMC and reply to be iled within two weeks. If there 

is any threat of coercive step against it, the plaintiff (IHC) is at liberty to approach 

the court," Justice Mehta said. 

The 33-year lease of IHC ended in October 2011 and was extended by a 

year by revising the revenue-share licence fee. In September 2012, the NDMC 

once again granted a one-year extension to the company. 

The civil suit iled by IHC sought the court to restrain the NDMC from "interfering 

with the possession, right to operate, run and maintain the hotel 

premises". The NDMC would hold a meeting today to decide on the proposal 

for auctioning the property lease. 

Senior advocate V P Singh, appearing for the NDMC, told the court that the 

land had to be put up for auction after the lease period got over. — IANS 

Drones deployed to protect rhinos at reserve 

NEW DELHI Aerial surveillance 

drones are being lown at an Indian 

nature reserve to protect rare rhinoceros 

from increasing attacks by 

poachers, oficials said yesterday. 

The unmanned aerial vehicle, 

equipped with powerful cameras, 

was operated for the irst time at 

the Kaziranga National Park in the 

north-eastern state of Asom on 

Monday. 

The drones will keep vigil and 

help forest guards monitor movements 

of poachers across the 430- 

square kilometre reserve, Asom 

Forest and Environment Minister 

Rockybul Hussain said. 

"These lights will continue till 

tomorrow and regular operations 

will begin once we get clearance 

from the Defence Ministry," Hussain 

said. 

"Besides this, we are going to 

introduce the electronic eye, a new 

surveillance system on the lines of 

closed-circuit cameras, to guard 

Kaziranga," he said by phone from 

state capital Guwahati. 

Hussain said forest guards would 

also be armed with automatic weapons 

to counter gangs of poachers in 

Asom, home to more than 75 per 

cent of the world's population of 

2,400 one-horned rhinos. 

"Poaching is a very serious problem 

and the rhino is always under 

a major threat," said Suresh Chand, 

Asom's chief conservator of forests. 

Chand said poachers had killed 16 

rhinos this year, compared to last 

year's total of 22 killings. 

Poachers kill rhinos for their 

horns, which many believe have aphrodisiac 

qualities, and are used in 

traditional medicines in Asia. — dpa 

Forestry oficials hold up unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) during a 

demonstration to the media at the Kaziranga National Park. — AFP 

Tripura remains 

on top in providing 

rural jobs 

AGARTALA Left-ruled Tripura 

provided 86.27 days of work under 

the central government's lagship 

rural jobs scheme in iscal 2012-13, 

the highest in the country, a minister 

said here yesterday. 

Quoting the performance report 

of the union rural development 

ministry, state Rural Development 

Minister Jitendra Chaudhury told 

reporters that Tripura has been 

providing the highest average employment 

for the past four years under 

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural 

Employment Guarantee Act 

The MGNREGA mandates 100 

days of employment in a inancial 

year to one member of each rural 

household. 

According to the rural development 

ministry's performance report, 

the national average of jobs 

created in the last iscal was 39 days 

and 42 days in 2011-12. 

"Tripura retained the top position 

since 2009-10 iscal in terms 

of person-days generation. In the 

2012-13 inancial year Tripura provided 

86.27 person-days, highest in 

the country, followed by Mizoram 

(69.25 person-days), Tamil Nadu 

(51.26) and Andhra Pradesh 

(49.61)," Chaudhury said citing the 

central government report. 

The minister said that Tripura 

could improve further in terms of 

creation of person-days of work if 

there were no administrative problems 

in view of the February 14 assembly 

polls. He said Tripura has 

also in the leading position in the 

country in participation of women 

and tribals in MGNREGA with percentages 

of 41 per cent and 43 per 

cent respectively. 

Kerala releases e-books on millennia-old Indian system of medicine 

By Ashraf Padanna 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — 

Ayurveda is taking the digital route 

to reach out to a global audience 

with Kerala Tourism launching two 

e-books on the millennia-old Indian 

system of medicine. 

This is a irst electronic publication 

of its kind by a tourism board of 

a state in the country. The e-books 

will be available at online stores for 

purchase for easy reading on e-book 

readers, mobile phones or computer 

screens. 

A P Anil Kumar, the southern 

state's tourism minister, released the 

e-books on Ayurveda, besides one on 

the socio-cultural history of Kerala 

and another on yoga and healthy living, 

at a function held here yesterday. 

The event also witnessed the 

launch of a 15-minute ilm on Kerala's 

Western Ghats, besides two brochures 

on the excavation site of the ancient 

port of Muziris near Kochi and the 

key festivals and events of the state in 

2013. 

Kerala Tourism is a pioneer in using 

digital tools for promoting the 

destination. The digitisation of four 

coffee table books was sponsored by 

Kerala Tourism. 

The e-books on Ayurveda are the 

award-winning coffee table books 

Panchakarma: Ayurveda’s Mantra 

of Rejuvenation and Ayurveda: The 

Mantra of Niramaya. 

The irst one explains panchakarma 

as a holistic rejuvenation therapy 

combining ive therapeutic actions to 

detoxify the body and revitalise the 

body system while the other is an introduction 

to the medicine system using 

texts from ancient scripts to modern 

research papers. 

The other e-books are Kerala: 

A Poem in Green and Gold, a veritable 

storehouse of information on Kerala 

by K Jayakumar, the former Chief Secretary 

who played a pivotal role in 

creating the tourism brand, and YogaSutra: 

The Art and Science of Living. 

“The e-books on Ayurveda are 

aimed at people around the world, 

to help them learn about the age-old 

system of medicine so that they can 

come to Kerala and experience its 

health beneits,” said Kumar. 

Panchakarma: Ayurveda’s Mantra 

of Rejuvenation had won the Paciic 

Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold 

award in 2006 for promoting Kerala 

as a destination for Ayurvedic rejuvenation 

while the other one had won 

the National Tourism Award in 2003- 

04 for The Best Publication in English. 

Those buying the Ayurveda e- 

books will get free e-brochure on 

Kerala Tourism. At the end of each 

chapter of the e-books, a link to the 

website of Kerala Tourism (www. 

keralatourism.org) provides instant 

reference for the readers about Kerala 

as a top tourism destination in the 

world. 

Titled The Call of the Wild, the 15- 

minute ilm on Kerala's Western Ghats 

cover seven major locations and the 

northern and southern bordering 

points of the Ghats in the state. 

Declared a World Heritage Site by 

Unesco, the Western Ghats is one of 

the world's biodiversity hotspots. The 

seven major locations appearing in the 

ilm are Eravikulam National Park, Silent 

Valley National Park, Mathikettan 

Shola, Pampadum Shola National Park, 

Anamudi Shola National Park, Myristica 

swamps and the Palakkad pass. 

The Tourism Minister also launched 

two brochures, titled Muziris and Celebrations. 

It is for the irst time that a 

brochure is being produced on Muziris, 

covering the entire excavation 

project to unearth the remains of the 

ancient port city that had trade relations 

with Rome before vanishing from 

the maritime map. 

The Celebrations brochure covers 

the key festivals and events in 

Kerala that are a huge draw among 

the tourists, especially from abroad, 

during 2013. This is the second time 

that Kerala Tourism is bringing out a 

brochure on the state's festivals and 

events. 

The irst Celebrations brochure was 

published in 2012. 

Both the Muziris and Celebrations 

brochures will also be distributed at 

tourism fairs and roadshows internationally 

and nationally. 

“Using modern technological tools 

is important in today's digital age to 

reach a wider audience who are eager 

to travel,” said Kerala Tourism Director 

Rani George. “The e-books, ilm on 

Western Ghats and the new brochures 

on Muziris and Kerala's festivals contain 

vital information suited to a wider 

section of people, both at home and 

abroad, and the young as well as the 

elderly.” 

The Kerala Tourism is also planning 

to hold International Conference 

On Travel Technology India 2013 

from June 7 to 9 at The Leela Hotel, 

Kovalam, to promote tourism through 

social media in view of the growing 

impact of the web space on tourism 

marketing, 

The conference aims at preparing 

the travel and tourism partners in India 

and neighbouring countries to use 

the resources available online to drive 

business, get inputs in adapting to the 

changing technology and acquiring 

skills to beat the competition. 

Eminent speakers from around the 

world will discuss a range of subjects 

including how travellers use social media 

and how travel business need to 

respond, the impact of social media on 

consumer behaviour, effective use of 

the blog space, challenges of tourism 

marketing on social media and how 

travel professionals can leverage networking 

on LinkedIn. 

Around 300 delegates, mostly tour 

operators from different parts of India, 

have already registered for ICTT 2013, 

the oficials said.

12 

UNITED KINGDOM 


‘Iron Lady’ mourned, but 

opponents celebrate 

Britain sets funeral 

for April 17 

LONDON — Britain will hold the funeral of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher 

on Wednesday April 17 with Queen Elizabeth II leading the mourners, oficials said, as 

the country wrestled with deeply divided views of the "Iron Lady." 

As fresh tributes were paid around the world, the British government on Tuesday 

announced the date of the ceremonial funeral at St Paul's cathedral in central London, 

the second highest honour after a state funeral. 

But Thatcher remained as polarising in death as in life, with six police oficers injured 

at one of a number of parties across the country celebrating the death of a woman 

whose critics accuse of destroying British industry. 

Thatcher, Britain's irst woman prime minister and an icon internationally for her 

role in defeating communism and ending the Cold War, died at the Ritz Hotel in London 

on Monday aged 87 after suffering a stroke. 

"It was agreed this morning at the government coordination meeting with the 

Thatcher family and Buckingham Palace that the funeral service of Lady Thatcher will 

take place on Wednesday 17 April at St Paul's Cathedral," current prime minister David 

Cameron's Downing Street ofice said in a statement. 

Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip will attend, in an unusual move, 

Buckingham Palace said. 

The queen does not usually attend funerals or memorial services of non-royals. Lawmakers 

have been recalled to parliament this Wednesday to pay tribute to Thatcher, the 

longest serving prime minister of the 20th century. 

A private ambulance accompanied by police motorcycle outriders arrived in the early 

hours of Tuesday at the luxury Ritz hotel in central London where Thatcher spent 

the last days of her life, a photographer said. 

Undertakers erected a green screen at the back door of the hotel before removing 

her body at around 12:20 am. 

Thatcher, a Conservative, speciically did not want a full state funeral of the kind given 

to monarchs and to World War II premier Winston Churchill, thinking it was "not 

appropriate", her spokesman Lord Tim Bell said. 

Thatcher also requested that she not get a ly-past by military aircraft as it would be 

a "waste of money". His comments came after several Conservative lawmakers called 

for her to be given a state funeral. 

Ceremonial funerals have in the past been given to the Queen Mother — the mother 

of current monarch Queen Elizabeth II who died in 2002 — and to Princess Diana who 

died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. 

Taiwan, Thai TV stations 

sorry for photo gaffes 

TAIPEI — A Taiwanese cable news 

channel apologised yesterday for running 

a photo of Queen Elizabeth II 

when reporting the death of Margaret 

Thatcher, while a Thai station showed 

a photo of actress Meryl Streep. 

Taiwan's CTI TV, in footage Monday 

night, showed the queen dressed in 

a green coat and waving at the crowd 

with a caption reading "Former British 

prime minister Thatcher passed away, 

the Iron Lady is missed". 

In Thailand, army-run Channel 5 TV 

station also apologised after it showed 

a photo of Streep playing Thatcher in 

the 2011 semi-biographical ilm "The 

Iron Lady" during its report on the 

death of the former premier. 

"We apologise for the mistake over 

the use of the photo during the report 

on Margaret Thatcher which caused 

misunderstanding. Our team will try 

harder and be more careful," it wrote 

on its oficial Facebook page. 

A source at the channel said the job 

of inding the picture had been outsourced 

to another company. "The 

news anchor noticed the mistake and 

solved the problem by saying her story 

was made into a Hollywood movie 

played by Meryl Streep," he said. 

Thatcher, dubbed the "Iron Lady," 

died of a stroke on Monday in London 

aged 87. 

Meanwhile, six British police oficers 

were injured, one of them seriously, 

as they tried to break up a street party 

apparently celebrating the death of exprime 

minister Margaret Thatcher, police 

said Tuesday. 

The incident in Bristol, southwest 

England, happened at one of a number 

of impromptu events across the country 

held by critics of the so-called “Iron 

Lady”. 

Police said about 200 revellers in 

Bristol refused police requests to disperse. 

“Bottles and cans were thrown at of- 

icers, six of whom suffered injuries,” 

Chief Inspector Mark Jackson of Avon 

and Somerset Constabulary said. 

LONDON — Admirers of Margaret Thatcher 

yesterday mourned the "Iron Lady" who as 

Britain's longest serving prime minister in over 

a century pitched free-market capitalism as the 

only medicine for her country's crippled economy 

and the crumbling Soviet bloc. 

World leaders past and present, from former 

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to US President 

Barack Obama, led tributes to the grocer's 

daughter who sought to arrest Britain's decline 

and helped Ronald Reagan broker an end to the 

Cold War. 

"The world has lost one of the great champions 

of freedom and liberty, and America has 

lost a true friend," said Obama. 

While world leaders praised the most powerful 

British prime minister since her hero Winston 

Churchill, the scars of bitter struggles during 

her rule left Britain divided over her legacy. 

Opponents celebrated in London, the English 

city of Bristol and the Scottish city of Glasgow, 

cheering her death and toasting to the death of 

"the witch" with champagne and cider. 

"We've waited a long time for her death," 

said Carl Chamberlain, 45, unemployed, sporting 

a grey ponytail and sipping on a can of cider 

in Brixton, London, the scene of riots in 1981. 

Loathed and loved, Thatcher crushed trade 

unions, privatised swathes of British industry, 

clashed with European allies and fought a war 

to recover the Falkland Islands from Argentina. 

Tuesday's newspapers told the story: "The 

Woman Who Saved Britain", declared the Daily 

Mail while the Daily Mirror, led on "The Woman 

Who Divided A Nation" in an article which questioned 

the grand, ceremonial funeral planned 

for next week. 

Thatcher's body was removed overnight in 

a transit van with police escort from the Ritz 

Hotel where she had died on Monday morning 

following a stroke. 

From across Europe, admirers lay 

lowers at Thatcher’s doorstep 

LONDON — Outside Margaret Thatcher's plush 

central London townhouse, a slow but steady 

stream of well-wishers laid lowers yesterday in 

tribute to the late British premier. 

The creamy-white four-storey home where 

a frail Thatcher spent her quiet inal years is 

on Chester Square, a plush oasis of calm two 

streets away from London's busy Victoria railway 

terminus. 

Its reinforced black door, with a brass lion 

knocker, is reminiscent of the famous front door 

of 10 Downing Street, just 2.5 kilometres away, 

from where Thatcher governed Britain from 

1979 to 1990. 

Two police oficers guard the doorway as 

sympathisers quietly lay their tributes to the 

"Iron Lady", who died Monday aged 87 whilst 

recuperating at the Ritz Hotel. 

Thatcher's home is a few minutes' walk from 

London's main bus terminal, where countless 

newcomers from the new democracies of eastern 

Europe irst set foot on British soil. 

Among those who came to lay lowers were 

immigrants from such countries, which Thatcher 

steadfastly fought to liberate from communism. 

From Ostrava in the eastern Czech Republic, 

Martin Wolf, 37, works at the upmarket Mandarin 

Oriental hotel in London where Thatcher 

staged her 80th birthday party. 

He thought it was partly down to Thatcher's 

inluence that people from eastern Europe are 

free to live and work in Britain. 

"She was very friendly with our country and 

Thatcher's inal journey on April 17 will take 

her from a chapel inside the Palace of Westminster 

— where she deployed fearsome and forensic 

debating skills — to a St Paul's Cathedral 

where she will arrive on a gun carriage drawn 

by horses from Queen Elizabeth's artillery. 

The Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, 

will attend the funeral, which is likely 

to be the grandest funeral for a British politician 

since Churchill's state funeral in 1965. Though 

accorded full military honours, Thatcher did not 

want a state funeral. She will be cremated. 

Parliament will return from recess for a special 

session in her honour yesterday. 

The unyielding, outspoken Thatcher led her 

Conservative party to three election victories, 

governing from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous 

term in ofice for a British premier in 

over 150 years. 

She struck up a close relationship with Reagan 

taking a hostile view of the Soviet Union, 

backed the irst President George Bush during 

the 1991 Gulf War, and was the irst major 

Western leader to discover that Gorbachev was 

a man she could "do business with". 

"Very few leaders get to change not only the 

political landscape of their country but of the 

world. Margaret was such a leader. Her global 

impact was vast," said Tony Blair, whose term 

as Labour prime minister from 1997-2007 he 

acknowledged owed a debt to the former leader 

of his Conservative opponents. 

Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron 

cut short a visit abroad and lags lew at half 

mast. "The real thing about Margaret Thatcher 

is that she didn't just lead our country, she 

saved our country," Cameron said. 

Mourners laid roses, tulips and lilies on the 

doorstep of her house in Belgravia, one of London's 

most exclusive areas. One note said: "The 

greatest British leader" while another said to 

"The Iron Lady", a soubriquet bestowed by a 

Soviet army newspaper in the 1970s and which 

Thatcher loved. 

But, in a mark of lingering anger at a woman 

who explained her belief in private endeavour 

by declaring "there is no such thing as society", 

someone also left a bottle of milk. To many 

Britons she remained "Maggie Thatcher, Milk 

Snatcher" for scrapping free milk for schoolchildren 

when she was education minister in 1971. 

Having retreated into seclusion after 

being deposed by her party, the death of her 

businessman husband Denis in 2003 and creeping 

dementia had kept her out of the public 

eye for years. She had been in poor health for 

months. 

The abiding domestic images of her premiership 

will remain those of conlict: huge police 

confrontations with mass ranks of coalminers 

whose year-long strike failed to save their pits 

and communities; Thatcher riding a tank in a 

white headscarf; and lames rising above London's 

Trafalgar Square in riots over a deeply 

unpopular "poll tax" which contributed to her 

downfall. 

To those who opposed her she was blunt to 

a degree. 

"The lady's not for turning," she told Conservatives 

in 1980 as some urged a "U-turn" on 

the economy in the face of rising job losses and 

crashing poll ratings. 

She stuck to her plans to pare state spending 

but could thank victory in the Falklands — 

known in Argentina as Las Malvinas — in 1982 

for helping her bounce back to re-election. 

Argentinians were less moved to praise her 

than Falklanders who called her "our Winston 

Churchill". In South Africa, too, there was a coolness 

after her death as its new, democratic leaders 

recalled her prevarication on apartheid. 

— AFP 

Flowers and mementos left by members of the public and admirers sit outside the home of Margaret Thatcher in central London yesterday. 

went there after the communist time," he said. 

"I'm very sad. I'm interested in everything 

about her life. She was, for me, a great, great 

woman. She is a big icon. 

"People of course remember her in the Czech 

Republic." 

He was dismayed at how some left-wing 

Britons have been celebrating her death. 

"I'm shocked. How is this possible? Maybe 

she wasn't right all the time but I think this is 

horrible," he said. 

As a van delivered another impressive bouquet, 

Diaconu Dumitru, 33, from Craiova in 

southern Romania, who works as a chef in a 

Vietnamese restaurant, also laid lowers by the 

black wrought-iron fence in front of the house. 

"It's a sad day because she was a great lady. 

A good politician. She had a lot of very brilliant 

ideas. She put a big value on ending the Cold 

War. I have read a lot of things about her," he 

said. 

A media pen has been erected on the other 

side of the street, where a dozen camera crews, 

plus photographers and journalists from around 

the world document the scene. 

Several satellite trucks are parked amongst 

the Ferraris and Porsches lining the road. 

With their Mary Poppins-style chimney tops, 

houses around Chester Square's well-manicured 

private garden are on the market for more than 

£14 million ($21 million, 16 million euros). 

Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich was 

among Thatcher's neighbours.


SUBCONTINENT 

13 

Musharraf treason 

hearing adjourned 

Ahmed Raza Kasuri (C), lawyer of Pervez Musharraf, talks to the media outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad yesterday. — AFP 

Remittances by non-resident Pakistanis to exceed $14 bn 

KARACHI — The inlow of remittances 

from non-resident Pakistanis 

in Gulf, Europe and the Americas 

back home is likely to exceed $14 

billion for the iscal year ending June 

30, 2103. However, they may witness 

a dip if forex spread — a rupee 

value difference between interbank 

and open markets — is widened 

and thereby increasing use of unof- 

icial channels for money transfer, 

experts here said yesterday. 

Showing an eight per cent yearon-year 

average growth, it seems 

that remittances will amount to 

$14.256 billion at the end of current 

iscal year, which will also be in line 

with the State Bank of Pakistan’s estimate 

for the year. 

Bangla strike 

fuels violence 

DHAKA — A truck driver died in a 

northern Bangladesh city yesterday 

as clashes erupted during a nationwide 

strike called by the opposition 

to protest against the arrests of their 

senior leaders. 

The unrest is the latest to hit 

Bangladesh stemming from an ongoing 

war crimes tribunal at which 

opposition leaders are on trial for 

crimes committed during the country's 

1971 war of independence 

against Pakistan. 

Police said the 35-year-old driver 

was hit by rocks thrown by opposition 

activists in Bogra when he was 

driving a cargo-laden truck in deiance 

of a 36-hour strike enforced 

by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party 

(BNP) and its 17 allies. 

"One of the rocks hit him in the 

chest and he died on the way to a 

hospital," constable Mehedy Hasan 

said, adding several opposition activists 

were arrested in connection 

with the incident. The opposition 

called the strike to protest against 

the arrest of their deputy chief and 

eight other senior oficials. 

The central bank forecast that remittances 

will be in the range of $14 

to $15 billion in iscal 2012-13. During 

the last iscal year, remittances 

amounted to over $13 billion. The 

igures of remittances’ inlows for 

the nine months of the ongoing iscal 

year are to be released by today. 

Remittances sent by overseas Pakistani 

workers increased by 7.47 

per cent year-on-year to $9.2 billion 

during July-February 2012-13 

against $8.5 billion in the same period 

last year. 

“Due to substantial increase in 

currency rate spread of interbank 

and open market, most of the portion 

of the remitted inlows was 

channelised through open market 

US to keep pressure on Sri Lanka 

to allow rights violations probe 

Myanmar labourers unload pebbles from a ship, to be used at construction 

sites, in Yangon yesterday. — AFP 

and unoficial sources like hawala 

and hundi,” said Sayem Ali, an economist 

at Standard Chartered Bank. 

Hundi or Hawala is an alternative 

system that operates parallel to traditional 

banking channels. 

He said that currently the rupee 

is trading at 98.44 versus the US 

dollar and it stood at 98.2 till March 

2013, down eight per cent year-onyear 

from 90.9 in March 2012. The 

slide in the rupee is likely to accelerate 

due to heightened political 

uncertainty ahead of the 2013 elections 

and large debt payments. 

“These factors will raise spread 

between the oficial and free foreign 

exchange markets,” he added. “If 

the money transfers (remittances) 

COLOMBO — The United States 

will keep the pressure on Sri Lanka 

to allow an independent investigation 

of accusations of human rights 

violations in the inal stages of the 

civil war and speed up reconciliation, 

its ambassador said. Michele 

Sison said concerns over human 

rights and deteriorating democratic 

values had prompted her country 

to sponsor a second resolution condemning 

the Indian Ocean nation at 

the UN Human Rights Council last 

month. 

"As we examine next steps, we 

will renew our consideration of all 

mechanisms available, both in the 

Human Rights Council and beyond," 

Sison told foreign correspondents 

late on Monday. She did not 

elaborate. Since the end of the war 

with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 

Eelam, Sri Lanka has repeatedly rejected 

calls for an independent, international 

probe into accusation of 

rights abuses. Last month, the United 

Nations adopted the second USsponsored 

resolution calling on Sri 

Lanka to carry out credible investigations 

into killings and disappearances 

during the war, especially in 

the brutal inal stages. 

It also voiced concern at reports 

of continuing violations including 

killings, torture, curbs on freedom 

of expression and reprisals against 

activists and journalists. 

The resolution, as in the irst 

one adopted last year, called on Sri 

Lanka to implement recommendations 

to address rights abuses recommended 

by its own local inquiry 

panel, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation 

Commission, appointed 

by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

"Some form of credible investigation 

is in the interest of the government 

concerned," Sison said. 

"For when there are serious allegations 

of human rights violations, 

whether a government likes it or 

not, those allegations will persist 

through informal or unoficial channels, 

such as hundi and hawala keep 

on rising due to substantial spike in 

the currency rates’ spread, then remittances 

are hardly to maintain upward 

trend. A difference between of- 

icial and unoficial foreign exchange 

rate is maintained for now. It rose to 

three to four rupees in March 2013,” 

said Muzzammil Aslam, a senior 

economist. 

Analysts believed since remittances 

are an important and stable 

source of foreign exchange inlows 

than direct and portfolio investments, 

slowdown in growth of remittances 

would further weaken 

the country”s fragile balance of payments’ 

position. — Internews 

until they are credibly addressed." 

An oficial spokesman said on 

Sunday that Sri Lanka was setting 

up a presidential commission to investigate 

a mass grave with the remains 

of more than 150 people. 

Two reports submitted to a 

court last week said that the human 

remains, in the town of Matale 142 

km north of the capital, dated back 

to the period 1986-1989 when Sri 

Lanka faced a Marxist insurrection. 

“The president has decided to 

appoint a presidential commission 

to inquire into the mass grave. This 

will be apart from the ongoing police 

inquiry,” Mohan Samaranayake, 

Rajapaksa’s spokesman, said. 

The decision to set up commission 

comes ive months after the mass 

grave was found at a building site 

near a hospital. Ajith Jayasena, the 

judicial medical oficer at the hospital, 

said the excavation was still 

going on and there may be more remains 

in the grave. 

Myanmar economy grows 

more than 6 per cent 

BANGKOK — Myanmar's economy grew 6.3 per cent in the iscal 

year that ended March 31, compared with 5 per cent the previous 

year, the Asian Development Bank said yesterday. 

It said the growth "relects business optimism buoyed by the government's 

steps since 2011 to liberalise the economy and prospects 

for further reform." Investor optimism was relected by a 

14-fold increase in the number of new foreign company registrations 

in the irst 10 months of iscal 2012. 

The government granted investment approvals to 62 foreign 

projects in the April-December period, more than the number 

granted during the previous three years. Revenues from tourism 

exceeded 500 million dollars in 2012, up more than 60 per cent 

compared with the previous year, ADB said. 

"Net foreign direct investment lows and renewed oficial development 

assistance supported an overall balance of payments 

surplus and increase in foreign exchange reserves to an estimated 

5.1 billion dollars in iscal 2012, equal to about 4 months of 

imports of goods and services," the report said. 

Exports during April-December, were down 3.6 per cent, due 

to lower demand for agricultural products in China and Thailand, 

although exports of garments rose 18 per cent. Myanmar's exports 

of natural gas to Thailand, which account for 38 per cent of 

total exports, were lat. The bank forecast 6.5 per cent growth in 

Myanmar for the current in iscal year. 

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's top court 

yesterday granted former ruler Pervez 

Musharraf a breathing space in his battle 

against treason allegations dating 

back to his time in power. 

Lawyers are petitioning the Supreme 

Court to have the 69-year-old 

retired general put on trial for treason 

for subverting the constitution during 

his 1999-2008 rule. 

Musharraf returned to Pakistan last 

month from four years of self-imposed 

exile to stand in the May 11 general 

election, which will mark the irst democratic 

transition of power in the country's 

troubled 66-year history. 

Judge Jawad Khawaja adjourned 

the treason hearing to April 15 to give 

Musharraf's lawyers time to prepare a 

response, rejecting their plea to put the 

matter off until after the election to allow 

him time to campaign. 

"The cases are very simple in nature 

and the matter that needs to be looked 

at is straightforward enough," the judge 

said. 

"We therefore consider it will be suf- 

icient to meet the ends of justice if the 

cases are adjourned to April 15." 

Musharraf has been approved to 

stand as a candidate in the remote 

northern area of Chitral, although a 

lawyer has vowed to contest that decision, 

but he has been rejected in three 

other seats. 

Musharraf has said he came home 

to "save" Pakistan, which is aflicted by 

an economic malaise and near-daily 

attacks by the Taliban and other militants. 

But the retired general has had a 

muted homecoming and in addition to 

the treason allegations faces a host of 

other legal challenges. 

He has been bailed over the 2007 

killing of former prime minister 

Benazir Bhutto and a Baluch dissident 

leader in 2006, and for sacking and arresting 

judges during emergency rule 

in 2007. Musharraf dismissed around 

60 top judges including Chief Justice Iftikhar 

Muhammad Chaudhry, who was 

held under house arrest. — AFP 

Tribal clashes kill 13 Pakistani 

soldiers and over 100 ighters 

ISLAMABAD — Ongoing ighting in Pakistan's 

north-western tribal territory 

has left at least 13 soldiers and more 

than 100 Taliban dead, security oficials 


The ighting, which began on Friday, 

followed weeks of clashes between rival 

militias to control strategic heights 

in Tirah, a remote valley in the Khyber 

tribal district bordering Afghanistan, 

the oficials said on condition of anonymity. 

"Our 13 soldiers have embraced 

martyrdom but we have inlicted heavy 

casualties on the miscreants, killing 

more than 100 of them," one of the of- 

icials said. 

The military was also using jet ighters 

to strafe the dissident positions, 

several of which overlook the neighbouring 

tribal districts of Kurram and 

Orakzai, and one of the supply routes 

used by the security forces deployed in 

the region. 

There was no independent conirmation 

of the death toll because the 

tribal belt is largely off limits for journalists. 

Taliban-linked banned group 

Lashkar-e-Islam had initially attacked 

positions held by its rival militia Ansarul-Islam, 

which had reportedly allied itself 

with pro-government tribesmen to 

push back the militants. 

Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa (C) leaves after attending the 

presentation of the 2012 Central Bank of Sri Lanka annual report as Central 

Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal (R) looks on, in Colombo yesterday. 

Parents tell of relief after 

French hostage freed 

KABUL — The parents of a Frenchman 

released after four months in captivity 

in Afghanistan said their son was in 

good health after using his wits to stay 

alive throughout his gruelling ordeal. 

Claire and Vincent Borghi said in 

an email that they had spoken by telephone 

to their son, Pierre, 29, who 

was freed on Sunday, one of two French 

hostages released in recent days. 

"His health appears to be good despite 

the very dificult conditions of his 

captivity and his tiring escape. We are 

very proud of Pierre, who knew what 

to do at the right time to stay alive," 

they said. 

"We are obviously relieved and 

happy to know Pierre is free. We 

have talked to Pierre briely Monday 

evening, while he was in a military hospital," 

they added, thanking "all those 

who participated in the search and 

supported us". 

Borghi worked in Afghanistan from 

2011 to 2012 for French charity Solidarites 

International and returned to 

Kabul last year to take photographs 

and try to establish himself as a photographer. 

Shoib Sharii, director of the Afghan 

Public Protection Force, said guards 

from his company found Borghi near 

one of their check points in the province 

of Wardak on Sunday evening. 

French oficials have not conirmed 

how he was freed. 

The second released man, who has 

not been named, was taken captive in 

Kabul on January 27. 

He was working for ACTED (the 

Agency for Technical Co-operation and 

Development), a Paris-based non-governmental 

organisation, when he was 

dragged from a vehicle in Kabul. 

French oficials in Paris announced 

on Monday he had been freed.

14 

KOREA 


Things can go out 

of control: Ban 

Japan Self-Defence Forces soldiers walk near Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo. — Reuters 

Japan deploys Patriot missiles 

TOKYO — Japan has deployed Patriot missiles 

in its capital as it readies to defend 

the 30 million people who live in greater 

Tokyo from any North Korean attack, oficials 


Two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 

surface-to-air missile launchers were stationed 

at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo 

before dawn, a ministry spokesman said, 

while Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera 

said "we are proceeding with measures 

including deployment of PAC-3 missiles as 

we are on alert". 

Local reports said batteries would be 

deployed in another two locations in the 

greater Tokyo area. 

"The government is making utmost efforts 

to protect our people's lives and ensure 

their safety," Prime Minister Shinzo 

Abe told reporters yesterday morning. 

"As North Korea keeps making provocative 

comments, Japan, co-operating with 

relevant countries, will do what we have to 

do. "For the moment, the most important 

thing is to implement sanctions under the 

UN Security Council resolutions," Abe said. 

Tokyo's response thus far to the threats 

emanating from Pyongyang has been low 

key and yesterday's moves are the most 

visible yet that it is rattled. 

On the streets of the capital, some people 

gave voice to that disquiet. 

"If they ire a missile, there's deinitely 

going to be some damage. I am quite 

scared," Yoshiharu Urata said. 

PAC-3 batteries will also be installed in 

the semi-tropical island chain of Okinawa, 

Onodera told a television programme 

broadcast on Monday. 

He said Okinawa was "the place that 

is most effective in responding to emergencies... 

so we should deploy the unit in 

Okinawa on a permanent basis". 

Japan's armed forces are authorised 

to shoot down any North Korean missile 

headed towards its territory, a Defence 

Ministry spokesman said on Monday. 

In addition to the PAC-3s, Aegis destroyers 

equipped with sea-based interceptor 

missiles have been deployed in the Sea of 

Japan (East Sea), the defence oficial said. 

North Korea's bellicose rhetoric has 

reached fever pitch in recent weeks, with 

near-daily threats of attacks on US military 

bases including in Japan and South Korea 

in response to military exercises. 

ROME — UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon yesterday warned that 

a small incident could provoke an "uncontrollable" situation 

on the Korean peninsula after North Korea warned 

of impending "thermo-nuclear" war. 

"The current level of tension is very dangerous, a 

small incident caused by miscalculation or misjudgement 

may create an uncontrollable situation," Ban said 

during a visit to Rome. 

"I have urged the countries concerned in and around 

the Korean peninsula to exercise their inluence on the 

North Korean leadership," he said. 

"I have spoken to the Chinese leadership and I am 

going to discuss this with President (Barack) Obama on 

Thursday," he added. 

"The level of tension on the Korean peninsula is 

not helpful to anybody," he said, adding that all parties 

should "calm down the tensions and initiate dialogue". 

Ban also called on North Korea to re-open the 

Kaesong industrial complex saying it was "one of the 

most successful co-operation projects between South 

and North" and could help build ties. 

North Korea said yesterday the Korean peninsula was 

headed for "thermo-nuclear" war and advised foreigners 

in South Korea to consider evacuation — a warning that 

was largely greeted with indifference. 

It followed a similar warning last week to foreign embassies 

in its capital Pyongyang to consider evacuating 

by today, with the North saying it could not ensure the 

safety of their personnel if conlict broke out. 

Meanwhile, the European Union would consider 

tightening sanctions on North Korea if it stoked already 

high tensions with more missile or nuclear weapon tests, 

a senior EU oficial said. 

The oficial, who declined to be named, said the seven 

EU countries with embassies in the North Korean capital 

had not seen any preparations for war on the ground 

and "they are not considering evacuation at the moment." 

Last week, North Korea told the embassies to consider 

withdrawing by Wednesday as it could not ensure the 

safety of their personnel if conlict broke out. 

Britain, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, 

Romania and Sweden have diplomatic posts in 

Pyongyang. 

North Korea has steadily ramped up its war rhetoric 

in recent months, claiming that the United States 

planned to attack it and that it was ready to use nuclear 

weapons. 

The senior oficial said the EU was closely following a 

"very volatile" situation, adding that member states were 

looking at what further sanctions could be imposed. 

The EU imposed sanctions, in line with UN approval, 

following a North Korean ballistic missile test in December 

and its third nuclear bomb test in February. 

Nato chief plans to 

visit Seoul, Tokyo 

BRUSSELS — Nato Secretary-General Anders 

Fogh Rasmussen will travel to South 

Korea this week, the alliance said yesterday, 

at a time when North Korea has intensiied 

threats of an imminent conlict 

against the United States and the South. 

A Nato oficial said Rasmussen's April 

11-13 visit to South Korea, which will 

be followed by a trip to Japan, was long 

scheduled and not linked to the situation 

in North Korea. 

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister 

Guido Westerwelle said Japan can count 

on German solidarity in the face of escalating 

tensions on the Korean peninsula. 

"There is a clear message from the 

government of our country... that Japan 

can count on solidarity and other peaceful 

countries can count on that solidarity," 

Westerwelle told journalists in The Hague. 

"It is very important that we send a 

clear message," Westerwelle said at the 

end of a meeting of oficials from the 

10-country Non-Proliferation and Disarmament 

Initiative (NPDI) bloc. 

"We strongly urge the leadership in 

Pyongyang not to inlame the conlict on 

the Korean peninsula," he said after the 

meeting between senior oficials including 

from Australia, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, 

Turkey, Mexico and the United 

Arab Emirates. 

Australia and Japan established the initiative 

in 2010 which aims to get all countries 

to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty 

and rid the world of nuclear weapons. 

Japan said yesterday it has deployed 

Patriot missiles in Tokyo in an effort to defend 

itself against any possible nuclear attack 

from North Korea. 

Two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 

surface-to-air missile launchers were stationed 

at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo, a 

ministry spokesman said, while Defence 

Minister Itsunori Onodera said "we are 

proceeding with measures including deployment 

of PAC-3 as we are on alert". 

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio 

Kishida told reporters the world needed 

to send a "very strong message" to 

Pyongyang that it should urge restraint 

"rather than repeat violent rhetoric." 

South Korean activists shout slogans during an anti-war rally urging peace talks with North Korea in Seoul yesterday. — AFP 

North tells foreigners to leave South 

A South Korean soldier checks vehicles of the media on the Grand Uniication 

Bridge before they go to South's CIQ, just south of the demilitarised zone in Paju. 

SEOUL — North Korea intensiied 

threats of an imminent conlict 

against the United States and the 

South yesterday, warning foreigners 

to evacuate South Korea to 

avoid being dragged into "thermonuclear 

war". 

The North's latest message belied 

an atmosphere free of anxiety 

in the South Korean capital, where 

the city centre was bustling with 

trafic and ofices operated normally. 

Pyongyang has shown no sign 

of preparing its 1.2 million-strong 

army for war, indicating the threat 

could be aimed partly at bolstering 

Kim Jong-un, 30, the third in his 

family to lead the country. 

The North, which threatens the 

US and its "puppet", South Korea, 

on a daily basis, is marking anniversaries 

this week that could be 

accompanied by strong statements 

or military displays. 

The warning to foreigners in the 

South, reported by the KCNA news 

agency, said once war broke out "it 

will be an all-out war, a merciless, 

sacred, retaliatory war to be waged 

by (North Korea). 

"It does not want to see foreigners 

in South Korea fall victim to the 

war," the agency quoted the Korea 

Asia-Paciic Peace Committee as 

saying. 

"The committee informs all foreign 

institutions and enterprises 

and foreigners, including tourists... 

that they are requested to take 

measures for shelter and evacuation 

in advance for their safety." 

None of the embassies in Seoul 

appeared to have issued any directives 

to their nationals and airlines 

reported no changes in their schedules. 

Schools catering to foreign pupils 

worked without interruption. 

The warning, read out on North 

Korea's state television in a bulletin 

that interrupted normal programming, 

was the latest threat in 

weeks of high tension following UN 

sanctions slapped on Pyongyang 

for its latest nuclear arms test. 

It followed the North's suspension 

of activity at the Kaesong joint 

industrial park just inside North 

Korea, all but closing down the last 

remnant of co-operation between 

the neighbours. North Korean 

workers failed to turn up yesterday. 

North Korea had said South Korea 

was trying to turn the Kaesong 

complex into a "hotbed of war". 

Speculation remained high that 

the North may launch some provocative 

action this week — perhaps 

a missile launch or a nuclear 

arms test. In a previous appeal, 

its authorities urged diplomats in 

Pyongyang to leave on grounds 

their safety could not be assured 

beyond today. None appeared to 

have taken any such action. 

Also featured in broadcasts 

were country-wide reports of celebrations 

marking Saturday's 20th 

anniversary of the current leader's 

father, Kim Jong-il, taking over 

North Korea's leadership and next 

Monday's birth date of his grandfather, 

post-World War II state founder 

Kim Il-Sung. 

A spokeswoman for South Korea's 

presidential Blue House dismissed 

the warning, saying no one 

felt under threat. 

"We understand that not only 

South Koreans, but also foreigners 

residing here remain unfazed 

as they have great trust and con- 

idence in our military and the 

Republic of Korea," Yonhap news 

agency quoted Kim Haing as saying. 

She was referring to South Korea 

by its oficial name. 

A government source in Seoul 

said a North Korean medium-range 

missile, reported to have been 

shunted to the east coast, had been 

tracked and was believed to be 

ready for launch. "Technically, they 

can launch it as early as tomorrow," 

the source said. — Reuters


THE WORLD 

15 

Kenyatta sworn in 

as new president 

Austrian President Heinz Fischer (L) and Prince of Liechtenstein Hans Adam II review an honour guard in Vienna yesterday. — AFP 

Lower house passes labour bill amid protests 

PARIS — France's lower house of 

parliament voted yesterday to pass 

a draft law overhauling the labour 

system despite widespread union 

protests against the bill, opening the 

way for a debate in the Senate later 

this month. 

The vote came as Socialist President 

Francois Hollande spent the 

last week fending off accusations of 

a cover-up after his former budget 

minister admitted lying about a secret 

foreign bank account at a time 

when the government is already 

struggling to reverse a rise in unemployment 

and meet its economic 

targets. 

Accusations among some on the 

left that Hollande has abandoned 

Armenian oppn cries foul 

as president is re-installed 

YEREVAN — Thousands of Armenians 

protested in Yerevan yesterday against 

the inauguration of President Serzh 

Sarksyan for a second term, alleging 

that his election had been ixed. 

Across town, Sarksyan said in his 

inauguration speech that developing 

the economy, ensuring the rule of law 

and deepening democracy were his top 

priorities, along with the peaceful resolution 

of a long-standing territorial dispute 

with Azerbaijan. 

European monitors had said the Feb 

18 election was generally well conducted, 

but bemoaned a lack of competition 

after leading candidates pulled out 

fearing the outcome would be rigged. 

Sarksyan's tally of 58.6 per cent was in 

line with opinion polls. 

Yesterday's peaceful crowd of some 

12,000 was the biggest of the intermittent 

protests since the election. Demonstrators 

led by Rafi Hovannisian, who 

came second to Sarksyan according 

to the oficial count but alleges that he 

won the vote, rallied in Yerevan's central 

Freedom Square as the inauguration 

was held a few kilometres away. 

WASHINGTON — The US Navy 

said it is preparing to roll out a 

sea-based laser weapon capable 

of disabling small enemy vessels 

and shooting down surveillance 

drones. 

The laser system will be deployed 

in 2014, two years ahead 

of schedule, aboard the USS Ponce, 

an amphibious transport ship retroitted 

as a waterborne staging 

base, the Navy said on Monday. 

Chief of Naval Research Admiral 

Matthew Klunder said the cost 

of one blast of "directed energy" 

could be less than $1. 

"Compare that to the hundreds 

of thousands of dollars it costs to 

ire a missile, and you can begin to 

see the merits of this capability," 

he said in a US Navy statement. 

The Ofice of Naval Research 

(ONR) and Naval Sea Systems 

Command successfully tested 

Socialism could drag down his already 

dismal approval ratings, stuck 

around 27 per cent, and hurt his 

party's performance in municipal 

elections next year. 

The National Assembly adopted 

the draft bill, which ushers in a series 

of measures to loosen iring and 

hiring rules, by 250 votes in favour 

versus 26 against as scores of opposition 

conservatives abstained and 

thousands protested outside. 

Socialist lawmakers and centreleft 

allies backed the bill but the 

Greens Party, part of Hollande's government 

and supposed to be a parliament 

ally, abstained in a rebuke to 

the man they helped bring to power 

last year. 

"We say 'No' to false oaths, 'no' to 

false presidents," Hovannisian, a USborn 

former foreign minister, told supporters. 

With security tight, demonstrators 

marched through the city after the 

rally but were stopped by police when 

they tried to approach the presidential 

residence and turned back toward 

Freedom Square. There has been no 

repeat of the violence that erupted after 

round-the-clock protests following 

Sarksyan's irst election in 2008. Eight 

activists and two police were killed. 

Foreign governments are watching 

for signs of instability in Armenia, a nation 

of 3.2 million that hosts a Russian 

military base and is at odds with its 

oil-rich, neighbour Azerbaijan over the 

Nagorno-Karabakh region. 

The mountain territory is in Azerbaijan 

but has been controlled by ethnic 

Armenians since a war that ended in 

1994 with a shaky truce. There is still 

sporadic shooting and Azerbaijan's 

Defence Ministry said yesterday that 

an Azeri oficer had been shot dead on 

Monday evening by a sniper near the 

"line of contact". — Reuters 

"This is a small revolution," said 

Annick Lepetit, head of the Socialist 

group in the National Assembly. 

Thirty-ive Socialist deputies joined 

Greens dissidents in abstaining from 

the vote, hinting at a growing rift 

in Hollande's camp as tens of thousands 

of protesters led by the hardline 

CGT union marched against it in 

170 towns and cities. 

In all, 178 lawmakers abstained, 

mainly conservatives. Street protests 

will not block the reform from 

becoming law because Hollande, 

whose Socialist Party has a majority 

in parliament, is likely to ind 

enough support in the Senate to 

pass the law when the debate moves 

there later in April. 

But hardline unions, aided by 

their left-wing allies in parliament, 

aim to mobilise public opinion 

against the bill and obtain as many 

amendments as possible during the 

debate. 

Members of the CGT, France's second-largest 

union by membership, 

branded the draft law as "traitorous", 

splitting with its bigger rival, 

the CFDT, which backed the labour 

overhaul in an accord reached after 

weeks of talks. 

In the southern city of Marseille, 

marchers bore banners reading: "No 

to breaking the labour code", against 

a text seen as the most comprehensive 

labour reform since World War 

Two. — Reuters 

Bersani to meet Berlusconi, 

rules out ‘grand coalition’ 

ROME — Italian centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani conirmed 

yesterday he would meet his centre-right rival Silvio Berlusconi 

soon, but held out little hope of a breakthrough in the political 

stalemate since February's inconclusive election. 

Bersani, who won a majority in the lower house but fell short 

of the Senate majority which would have allowed him to form 

a government, has so far refused Berlusconi's demands for a 

"grand coalition" between the two rival forces. 

He said he would meet Berlusconi "some time in the next few 

days" to discuss the election of Italy's next president, a process 

involving both houses of parliament as well as representatives 

from the regions which begins on April 18. 

However he stuck to his rejection of Berlusconi's demands to 

share power in a "grand coalition" or "governissimo" saying the 

centre-right leader had shown during the technocrat government 

of Mario Monti that he could not be trusted. 

"When I meet him, I will say, 'We haven't forgotten. We know 

you even if you try to disguise yourself'," he told RAI state television. 

"We're trustworthy and we look for trustworthiness in 

others, if there are proposals we'll see. Only they shouldn't come 

with proposals for a 'governissimo' because that's not possible. If 

they've got other ideas, we can talk about it." 

The comment underlines how set the deadlock between the 

two main formations in parliament remains more than 40 days 

after the election which left no party able to form a government. 

The other main force, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement 

led by ex-comic Beppe Grillo has refused any alliance with either 

of the big parties it blames for Italy's deep social and economic 

crisis. — Reuters 

US Navy readies 'laser attack' weapon 

The Laser Weapon System (LaWS), technology demonstrator 

temporarily installed aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS 

Dewey seen in this ile image in San Diego, California. — AFP 

high-energy lasers against a moving 

target ship and a remotely piloted 

drone. 

"The future is here," ONR oficial 

Peter Morrision said. 

"The solid-state laser is a big 

step forward to revolutionizing 

modern warfare with directed energy, 

just as gunpowder did in the 

era of knives and swords." 

The laser runs on electricity, 

so the weapon "can be ired as 

long as there is power," and is a 

lot safer than carrying explosives 

aboard ships. 

The New York Times, which 

said the USS Ponce would deploy 

to the Gulf, noted the Pentagon 

had a "long history of grossly in- 

lating" claims for experimental 

weapons. 

Navy oficials had acknowledged 

that the prototype laser 

was not yet strong enough to 

bring down a jet ighter or a missile, 

although those remained the 

long-term targets, The Times reported. 

— AFP 

NAIROBI — Uhuru Kenyatta took the 

oath of ofice as Kenyan president 

yesterday, presenting Western states 

with the challenge of how to deal with 

a leader indicted by the International 

Criminal Court (ICC). 

Uganda's president praised Kenyans 

at the ceremony for rejecting 

what he called the court's bid to sway 

the vote by "blackmail", a relection of 

the distrust or resentment of the court 

felt by many Africans. 

Kenyatta is charged with crimes 

against humanity for orchestrating 

intercommunal violence that followed 

the previous presidential election ive 

years ago, an accusation he denies. 

Kenyatta pledged to "be faithful 

and bear true allegiance to the Republic 

of Kenya" in his oath, taken on a Bible 

used by his father, Jomo Kenyatta, 

who was Kenya's irst president after 

independence from Britain in 1963. 

The peaceful transition of power 

has helped to rebuild Kenya's reputation 

as one of Africa's most stable democracies, 

after the violence ive years 

ago, when 1,200 died. Analysts say the 

ICC row may have spurred some people 

to vote for Kenyatta. 

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni 

told the ceremony in a Nairobi 

stadium: "I want to salute the Kenyan 

voters on ... the rejection of the blackmail 

by the International Criminal 

Court", to cheers from tens of thousands. 

Washington and European capitals 

sent ambassadors to Kenyatta's inauguration 

— a level of representation 

diplomats said was not unusual and in 

line with their contacts policy. 

Sitting alongside the Western envoys 

were about a dozen African 

heads of state, as well as prime ministers 

and other top oficials. China and 

India, neither a signatory to the statutes 

that set up the ICC, sent senior 

government oficials. Many Kenyans 

hope Kenyatta will deliver on a promise 

to be a president for all and not 

just work for his own ethnic group, 

a practice they have come to expect 

from politicians. 

French begin Mali pullout 

PARIS/BAMAKO — France has begun 

withdrawing troops from Mali, the military 

said yesterday, conirming that a 

irst group of around 100 soldiers had 

already left the country at the end of 

March. 

"Around 100 troops were redeployed 

from Tessalit (in the north-east) 

to Abidjan (Ivory Coast) about a week 

ago," military spokesman Colonel Thierry 

Burkhard said. 

The troops belong to parachute 

regiments that were pursuing Islamist 

rebels in their mountain strongholds 

near the border with Algeria. 

From Ivory Coast they were brought 

to Cyprus to recuperate before being 

repatriated to France. The start of 

the withdrawal, which had been announced 

for the end of April, comes 

three months after France launched a 

ground and air offensive to stop thedissidents 

who seized northern Mali advancing 

on the capital Bamako. 

Since then, Operation Serval has 

grown to include 4,000 troops, who 

are working with African forces to rout 

the Al-Qaeda-afiliates from the entire 

country. 

Within two weeks of the start of the 

intervention, French and Malian forces 

had recaptured most northern towns 

from the dissidents. But the insurgents 

have continued to launch sporadic attacks 

from their bases in the hinterland. 

On Sunday, the French army launched 

a major offensive north of the town of 

Gao in pursuit of dissidents. — dpa 

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso with Slovenian Prime 

Minister Alenka Bratusek (L) ahead of a meeting at the EU Commission 

headquarters in Brussels yesterday. — Reuters 

Man kills 13 relatives and 

neighbours in Serb village 

VELIKA IVANCA — A veteran of the 

1990s Balkan wars shot dead 13 people, 

including his mother, son and a 

two-year-old child in a dawn rampage 

through a small village in central Serbia 

yesterday, authorities said. 

The man, identiied by police as Ljubisa 

Bogdanovic, also shot his wife before 

turning the gun on himself. Both 

were in critical condition in hospital, 

police said. 

"Most of the victims were shot in the 

head as they slept," police chief Milorad 

Veljovic told reporters at the scene in 

Velika Ivanca, about 40 km southwest 

of Belgrade. He said the victims were 

relatives and neighbours of the man: 

six men, six women and a child in ive 

houses. 

"We've never had such a tragedy in 

Serbia and we have to ind out what 

drove this man to kill so many people 

as they slept," said Veljovic. The government 

called a cabinet session. 

The motive for the killings, carried 

out with a semi-automatic 9-mm 

pistol, was not known. Veljovic said 

Bogdanovic, born in 1953, had fought 

the 1991-95 war in Croatia during the 

collapse of federal Yugoslavia and had 

a irearms permit. He and his son had 

lost their jobs in Serbia last year. 

Serbian media reports said the 

man's father and uncle had both committed 

suicide several years ago. Police 

said Bogdanovic turned the gun on 

himself after seeing a police patrol car 

approach the village. 

"He's a good man, everyone would 

open their doors to him, he helped 

everyone in the neighbourhood," said 

neighbour Milovan Konstantinovic. 

"Something must have snapped in his 

head," he said. 

In 2007, a man in the eastern Serbian 

village of Jabukovac shot and 

killed nine people and wounded two, 

and in 2002, in the southern town of 

Leskovac a man shot dead seven people.— 

Reuters

16 

PANORAMA 


Feather thieves 

target ostriches 

A bird makes a nest near Diani Beach on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya, some 

30 km south of Mombasa yesterday.— Reuters 

JOHANNESBURG — 

South African thieves are 

invading ostrich farms 

and poaching feathers 

from the giant birds, in 

a crime that has bafled 

local farmers, an industry 

chief said yesterday. 

"This started during 

the last six weeks," said 

Piet Kleyn, the chief of 

the South African Ostrich 

Business Chamber. 

He said thieves 

sneaked up on the birds 

at night and plucked 

their feathers without 

using proper tools. 

"The frightened birds 

are badly treated and 

some die because of the 

terrible injuries," Kleyn 

said. At least 50 birds 

in the ostrich growing 

region of Oudtshoorn, in 

the Western Cape, have 

been attacked in recent 

months. 

According to Kleyn, 

even birds with feathers 

that had not yet fully 

grown were targeted. 

The cause is not 

known, but it is believed 

that the trend is driven 

by good market prices 

for ostrich feathers. 

South Africa is one of 

the leaders in ostrich 

production, with 75 per 

cent of market share. 

— AFP 

Heart pumps gain ground in Germany amid donor shortage 

HANOVER — Heart pumps are 

gaining wider acceptance, even 

though they are often regarded as 

second best to a cardic transplant, 

because there are not enough donor 

hearts to go around, doctors say. 

When doctors at Hanover Medical 

School (MHH) recently implanted a 

heart pump in an 18-year-old man, it 

was the 1,000th time the particular 

device had been implanted in 

Germany. 

Called HeartMate II and 

manufactured by California-based 

Thoratec Corporation, the "left 

ventricular assist device," or LVAD, 

circulates blood throughout the body 

when the heart is too weak to pump 

blood on its own. 

It is about 8 centimetres long, 

weighs about 280 grams and is 

attached by an external driveline to 

a small controller and two batteries 

worn under or over clothing. 

Such devices generally serve as a 

"bridge" to a heart transplant. 

The recipient of the heart pump 

was Jan-Lukas Huelsebus from 

the north-west German city of 

Papenburg. Formerly employed as 

a skilled construction worker, he 

was diagnosed with severe cardiac 

insuficiency in mid-December and 

has been living with the pump since 

January. He does not look like a heart 

patient. — dpa 

Ice hanging on lowers in a garden in Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. A sharp 

temperature decrease has hit this area following a strong cold air. — AFP 

A worker packs Chinese patent capsules the medicine which tops the list of a 

Diagnosis and treatment scheme for human contracted H7N9 virus released by 

Chinese government earlier, in Bozhou, Anhui province. — Reuters 

Chinese bowl 

fetches $9.5m 

HONG KONG — A rare 

red "lotus bowl" from the 

Chinese emperor Kangxi 

period of 1662-1722 has 

been sold for an eyepopping 

$9.5 million at a 

Hong Kong sale. 

The price set a new 

world record for any 

Chinese porcelain from 

the Kangxi period during 

the Qing dynasty after 

it was bought by a Hong 

Kong ceramics dealer 

for HK$74 million ($9.5 

million) on Monday, 

Sotheby's said in a 

statement. 

The ruby-ground 

"falangcai" bowl 

decorated with pink, 

yellow and blue lotuses 

was originally expected 

to fetch HK$70 million at 

the sale. — AFP 

Attempt for longest 

talk show record 

KATHMANDU— A Nepalese presenter will 

attempt to set the world record for the 

longest television talk show this week by 

staying on air for 60 hours, organisers said 

yesterday. 

Rabi Lamichhane, a 36-year-old based 

in the US, has returned to Kathmandu to 

stage the Lord Buddha Was Born in Nepal 

programme, and try to capture the Guinness 

world record. 

"Through the talk show I want to spread 

the word about Nepal and promote tourism," 

Lamichhane, a former journalist who is now 

a manager at a Subway fast-food sandwich 

outlet in Baltimore, said. "I am inviting 

politicians, sportspersons, ilm actors and 

social workers." 

According to Guinness World Records 

rules, Lamichhane will be allowed ive 

minutes every hour for a break. "I will use 

whatever time I accumulate for lunch and 

dinner breaks," he said, adding that he might 

even take a nap if the situation allows. 

The producers say they have prepared 

back-up electricity supplies to guard against 

Nepal's frequent power cuts, which can hit 

for up to 14 hours a day. 

The show, to be recorded in the Nepali 

language with English subtitles from 

tomorrow at News24 Television, will be 

live-streamed on the channel's website and 

several partner websites. — AFP 

A girl walks along a street in Beijing. — Reuters 

North Koreans dance on a street in Pyongyang as they celebrate the 20th anniversary of late leader Kim Jongil's 

election as chairman of North Korea's National Defence Commission released by the North's oficial KCNA 

news agency yesterday. — Reuters

P18 

>> International 

P23 Stress tests make banks more stable 

P23 

P24 Mars to open hypermarket at Qurum 

P24 

Wednesday 

APRIL 10, 2013 | JUMADA AL ULA 29, 1434 AH 

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Omran awards contract for Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre 

By A Staff Reporter 

MUSCAT — Omran has awarded the 

infrastructure works for various developments 

at the Oman Convention 

and Exhibition Center (OCEC) to 

Khalid Bin Ahmed and Sons (KAS) — 

Al Habib Joint Venture. 

The agreement was signed at a 

special ceremony at the project site 

between Nasser bin Khamis al Jashmi, 

Omran Chairman, and Ali Malalah Habib 

al Lawati, Al Habib Chairman. Also 

in attendance were Wael al Lawati, 

Omran CEO, N Surendrakumar, KAS 

Managing Director, Said al Qasmi, 

Chief Project Oficer at OCEC and Vijayakumar 

B, Al Habib General Manager. 

“OCEC has been making steady 

progress for its debut in 2016 and 

Omran has been working systematically 

to ensure tendering is carried 

out according to plan, on budget and 

with particular attention to detail. We 

have also ensured that Omani companies 

are given preference in line with 

Omran’s Local Development Policy,” 

commented Al Jashmi. 

“In addition to local contractors 

such as KAS, we also require our contractors 

to procure all locally available 

materials and equipment from within 

Oman and process goods and services 

from Omani suppliers when possible. 

This will further support the local 

supply chain and ensure maximum 

beneit to the economy.” 

Ali Malalah said, “As a joint venture 

of local Omani companies, KAS-Al Habib 

JV is proud to be associated with 

this national and prestigious project 

to deliver the road and utilities infrastructure 

for the Oman Convention 

and Exhibition Centre project.” 

The infrastructure works package 

includes building 4.4 km of single 

carriageway roads, 1.3 km of dual 

carriageway roads, 6 roundabouts, 

100 m wadi bridge and utilities that 

include 3.7 km portable and 4.1 km 

waste water networks, 5 km irrigation 

and electrical networks as well as 

telecommunication ducts. 

Al Qasmi said, “The time frame 

for completing this package is 12 

months and we are working towards 

awarding the irst major 

building contract for the exhibition 

halls, car parks and the energy center 

within the next month.” 

The 2 million square metre development 

is expected to draw more 

than 600,000 visitors a year by 2018 

and will consist of a world class convention 

& exhibition centre, four hotels, 

business park, retail space, as 

well as residential buildings. It will 

act as a platform for cultural exchange 

and dialogue and position Oman as 

a premier regional business tourism 

destination. 

Omran’s growing project portfolio 

includes some of the largest developments 

in Oman such as the Oman 

Convention & Exhibition Centre. Having 

delivered the 2nd Asian Beach 

Games facilities in record time and 

with an impressive health and safety 

record, it is now focusing on the delivery 

of its numerous projects spanning 

the country. 

Omran is also a prominent asset 

manager and operator tourism assets 

in Oman. Regional and international 

investors have chosen Omran 

as their partner in developing mega 

mixed used projects and masterplanned 

communities in addition to 

real estate developments and niche 

projects under various stages of development. 

In developing these projects, sustainable 

development is of paramount 

importance, with the company management 

systems having been certi- 

ied to ISO 14001 & 9001 standards 

plus the OHSAS 18001 accreditation. 

Omran also believes irmly that local 

communities and its stakeholders 

have to be the ultimate beneiciaries 

of its developments and activities.

18 

OMAN 

Jack Canfield’s management 

seminar a huge success 


By A Business Reporter 

MUSCAT — It was an inspirational and 

educative management seminar by internationally-acclaimed 

success coach Jack 

Canield at Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort 

and Spa, organised by NPA Events recently. 

The event was attended by 150 delegates 

from a wide spectrum of industries 

,who were presented with a workbook as 

part of their kit and a certiicate at the end 

of the seminar which was organised as a 

part of Jack Canield’s Middle East tour. 

In his introductory speech, Ajay Chopra, 

Managing Director, OTE Group of Companies, 

said that Cadillac, the American premium 

luxury car brand was proud to be 

associated with Jack Canield, America’s 

No 1 success coach. 

Delegates who attended the seminar 

were fortunate to have a irst-hand interaction 

with the originator of the Chicken 

Soup for the Soul series, Jack Canield, 

whose books have sold over 125 million 

books in 47 languages worldwide, 

prompting Time magazine to call him the 

“publishing phenomenon of the decade”. 

His proven formula for success reached 

global acclaim with his most recent bestseller 

The Success Principles: How to get 

from where you are to where you want to 

be. 


His other best-selling books, namely, 

The Power of Focus, The Aladdin Factor, 

Dare to Win, You’ve Got to Read This Book! 

and The Key to Living The Law of Attraction 

have also been well received worldwide. 

Speaking at the seminar, Jack Canield, 

who was all praise for the excellent organisational 

aspect by NPA Events said, “This 

programme in Muscat will enable you to 

build resilience and develop the core competencies 

required to thrive and achieve 

peak performance even in the most challenging 

and turbulent times. You will learn 

effective applications of the Law of Attraction, 

The Success Principles plus much 

more to ensure sustainable growth and 

success for you and your organisation.” 

Ashok Suvarna, Executive Director, NPA 

Events said, “Over the last 30 years, Jack 

Canield’s compelling message, empowering 

energy and personable coaching 

style has helped thousands of individuals, 

achieve their dreams. Now the future 

leaders of Oman will beneit greatly from 

his Success Principles. It will show them 

the path to success and get from where 

they are to where they want to be.” 

At the end of the show, Said Mohammed 

Rahid al Juma, Managing Director 

and Ashok Suvarna, Executive Director of 

NPA Events presented Jack Canield with a 

memento. 

Rating agency Moody’s afirms 

BankDhofar’s inancial strength 

MUSCAT — Credit rating agency, Moody's Credit has assigned 

A3/P-2 foreign currency deposit ratings and a 

D+ Bank Financial Strength Rating (BFSR) with a stable 

outlook to BankDhofar. The rating captures the bank's 

strong franchise in Oman, as well as its adequate inancial 

performance. 

BankDhofar's long-term global local currency (GLC) 

deposit rating is set at A3 and relects Moody's assessment 

of a very high probability of systemic support in 

the event of need, which provides an uplift to the bank's 

deposits rating from its Ba1 standalone credit strength 

(mapped from the D+BFSR). 

Tony Mahoney (pictured), BankDhofar’s CEO, said, “This is signiicant achievement 

for us since we have continued to develop the bank strongly in 2012 with so many exciting 

projects, which should deliver further good growth in 2013”. 

BankDhofar's franchise value assessment takes into account its good banking franchise 

in Oman. With total consolidated assets of RO 2.4 billion as of 2012, BankDhofar 

is one of the largest inancial institutions in Oman, with a good market share in banking 

system assets. 

BankDhofar has built a good banking franchise in Oman aided by a series of successfully 

executed acquisitions and a good record of clean-up operations and integration of 

the acquired banks, resulting in increased proitability and a good revenue-generating 

capability. BankDhofar's franchise dynamics in Oman is likely to be enhanced by management's 

intention to widen its product base, improve the service levels. 

MENA IPOs raise $1.6 billion 

in the irst quarter 


MUSCAT — Regional capital markets recorded a 20-fold increase 

in capital raised and a 25 per cent decrease in deal 

volume in Q1’13 (3 IPOs, raising approximately $1.6 bn in 

proceeds), compared to Q1’12 (4 IPOs, raising $82.8m in 

proceeds), according to Ernst & Young’s 2013 Q1 MENA 

IPO update. The three regional IPOs in Q1’13 represented a 

374.3 per cent increase from the $339.8m raised in the previous 

quarter, Q4’12. Phil Gandier, (pictured) MENA Head of 

Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young, says: “Q1’13 

posted the strongest results for the irst quarter of the year 

since 2008. However, the majority of the value is attributed to a large ticket telecommunications 

IPO in Iraq. This sector is traditionally associated with large value transactions 

and the high Q1 performance will be sustainable if we start to see similar large 

value transactions on a regular basis which would bolster the regions capital markets.” 

Two IPOs came to market in Saudi Arabia while one was reported in Iraq. The largest 

issuance was in Iraq, with Asiacell Communications raising $1.3bn, followed by Northern 

Region Cement Company in Saudi Arabia that raised $240m and National Medical 

Care Company in Saudi Arabia that raised $97.2m. 

“Over 40 per cent of investors in the Middle East and Africa stated a preference to 

invest overseas, as evidenced in Ernst & Young’s recent institutional investor study. 

Therefore, the challenge remains whereby more domestic deal activity would be a key 

driver for stronger IPO activity and growth in the MENA region,” concluded Phil.


OMAN 

19 

GCC Supply Chain & Logistics Conference 2013 

Oman envisioned as regional hub for air logistics 

INVESTMENTS in new air cargo infrastructure 

are helping provide a 

strong foundation for the eventual 

development of the Sultanate into a 

regional hub for air logistics, according 

to the head of the Public Authority 

for Civil Aviation. 

Salim al Aufy, CEO, says modern air 

cargo services will be an important 

component of Oman’s rapidly expanding 

aviation industry. The modernized 

airports at Muscat and Salalah 

will both features expanded air cargo 

terminals, while the provincial airports 

at Sohar and Duqm will incorporate 

air cargo components as well. 

“We wish to be the hub for logistics, 

and we are pushing hard for the 

application of open skies (in this sector). 

The Authority is ready to open 

airfreight services to private investment. 

If there is a potential investor 

- not so much in ground services, 

which is the least of our concerns 

now, — but more on the air services 

front, then the Authority is willing to 

listen to them,” Al Aufy commented. 

Air logistics and air cargo services 

are a key topic for discussions at next 

week’s Gulf Supply Chain & Logistics 

Conference due to be held at Al 

Bustan Palace — A Ritz Carlton Hotel. 

. The two-day event, set for April 

15-16, has been organised by Al Nimr 

Expo in collaboration with the Ministry 

of Transport and Communications. 

Also backing the forum are the 

Oman Logistics & Supply Chain Association 

(under formation), the Chartered 

Institute of Logistics & Transport 

(CILT), and the Embassy of the 

Kingdom of the Netherlands in Muscat. 

Oman Establishment for Press, 

Oman Establishment for Press, Publication 

and Advertising (OEPPA), 

represented by the Communications 

& Special Projects Department, is 

supporting the two-day conference 

as a Strategic Partner. 

Publication & Advertising (OEPPA), 

represented by the newly established 

Communications and Special Projects 

Department, is a Strategic Partner. 

As a irst step in the development 

of a strong air logistics hub in the Sultanate, 

the Authority is taking steps to 

ensure that the requisite infrastructure 

is in place on the ground. “Today, 

we are adding some additional capacity 

to the existing air cargo terminal 

at Muscat International Airport. For 

the new airport, we are developing a 

200,000 tonne capacity air cargo facility, 

which is quite a lot. At Salalah, 

we are establishing a 100,000 tonne 

capacity terminal, while the regional 

airports of Sohar and Duqm will each 

feature a 25,000-tonne capacity facility 

in the irst phase, and expandable 

in later phases. Muscat and Salalah 

too are expandable in the future,” Al 

Aufy explained. 

According to the CEO, national 

carrier Oman Air is presently reviewing 

potential partnerships with 

international air cargo service providers. 

“Oman Air is looking at different 

options. They need to bring in 

international expertise because they 

realise that the air cargo business is 

expanding. We also need to make a 

connection between ports, free zones 

and airports to complete the air cargo 

circle. There is nothing better than 

receiving your cargo, for example at 

Salalah Port, having it transported to 

Salalah Airport in no time, for quick 

distribution domestically and regionally. 

It would be fantastic, and we 

should be able to do just this,” the of- 

icial stressed. 

Oman Airports Management Company 

(OAMC) is also exploring opportunities 

for partnerships, not so much 

in the area of ground services, as on 

the air services side, Al Aufy noted. 

“DHL is being looked at or talked to, 

and the idea is to start a local centre 

in Oman to see if we can make this 

place a hub whether in Muscat or otherwise.” 

Attracting new players in the air 

cargo arena is inevitable, according 

to the oficial. “One can’t have only 

airports without air service support. 

They complement each other. 

We know that the rail is also coming, 

and will also complement this business. 

By far the quickest route will be 

by air — and we need to make sure 

this service exists and is facilitated in 

Oman.” 

Indeed, the ongoing modernisation 

of the country’s air-transportation 

sector will position Muscat International 

Airport as the hub of a national 

air-cargo network integrated with 

airfreight terminals under construction 

at Salalah, Sohar and Duqm. The 

air-cargo network, currently in various 

stages of development across the 

Sultanate, will provide strong impetus 

to the growth potential of the air-cargo 

and logistics industry in Oman. 

Salim al Aufy, CEO – Public 

Authority for Civil Aviation 

Muscat airport is set to play a 

dominant role at the centre of a 

lourishing air-cargo industry in the 

future. The existing facility, capable 

of handling up to 100,000 tonnes of 

airfreight per year, will make way for 

a modern, state-of-the-art air-cargo 

terminal with a capacity of 260,000 

tonnes per year in Phase 1, that can 

be ramped up to 500,000 tonnes per 

year in Phase 2. 

Covering an area of 34,000 sq metres, 

the new air-cargo terminal will 

come up on a spacious site located between 

the modernised airport’s two 

parallel runways. Unlike the existing 

facility, the new terminal will include 

19,000 sq metres of temperature controlled 

space, and 2,200 sq metres 

of dedicated space for live animals. 

Airfreight volumes will be processed 

semi-automatically, in contrast to the 

manual process employed in the existing 

terminal. A forward-looking master-plan 

drawn up by the government 

earmarks ample space for the longterm 

expansion and development of 

the airfreight and logistics business 

associated with Muscat International 

Airport. 

Set aside within the Eastern Development 

Area — one of three zones 

earmarked for commercial development 

around the airport — is a 50- 

hectare site allocated for business 

units and warehousing. Development 

of this site, which will boast all modern 

supporting infrastructure, is expected 

to commence within the next 

2-3 years.At Salalah International Airport, 

the government is investing in 

a 100,000 tonnes per year air-cargo 

terminal which, like Muscat, will be 

equipped to process airfreight semiautomatically. 

Ample space has been 

allocated for logistics facilities at all 

the airports 

Pending the completion of the new 

air-cargo terminal at Muscat, the existing 

facility is being expanded, along 

with the enhancement of temperature 

controlled storage space. In 2011, 

the terminal handled nearly 99,000 

tonnes of airfreight and mail, just 

shy of its design capacity of 100,000 

tonnes. 

Signiicantly, volumes are projected 

to grow as new freighters begin operating 

out of Muscat International Airport. 

Further, the expansion of Oman 

Air’s leet of wide-body aircraft, which 

typically carry air-cargo, will also contribute 

to trafic growth 

Atyab Bakery inaugurated in Barka 


MUSCAT — Oman-based Atyab Investments 

has pumped in a whopping 

$50m (approx) to establish one-of-itskind 

bakery aiming to cater to the region 

with the best quality products. 

The bakery located in Barka was 

opened under the auspices of Dr Ali 

bin Masoud al Sunaidy, Minister of 

Commerce and Industry and was attended 

by people from various ministries, 

private sector companies and 

businessmen. 

The full-ledged operations of the 

Atyab Bakery, spread over a massive 

built up area of 24,000 sqm making 

it Oman’s largest bakery, will cater to 

the growing needs of the Sultanate of 

Oman and the GCC. 

“One of the prime reasons for initiating 

this mega project is to produce 

and make available top quality bakery 

products to all the households in the 

Sultanate”, Said Ali Habaj, CEO Atyab 

Investments told the Observer. 

He added that the company has 

put in place effective workforce, supply 

chain management and logistics 

to ensure uninterrupted production 

and distribution processes. 

“Atyab Bakery has put together a 

team of thorough professionals who 

have years of experience and are well 

acquainted with the nuances of running 

a bakery of this stature”. 

Atyab Bakery, the irst industrial 

bakery in Oman, has the capability 

to produce more than 200 different 

products including snacks, fresh and 

frozen items. It is a one-stop-shop for 

all the bakery needs of its customers. 

This mega bakery has already 

achieved HACCP and ISO22000 health 

and food safety certiications. 

Manal al Abdwani, Chairperson, 

Atyab Investments expressed her con- 

idence when said the bakery was the 

largest in Oman and among the top 

bakeries in the GCC, if not the world 

for its immaculate production system. 

Atyab Bakery has a fully automated 

production facility. Manned by 

300 plus diversely skilled workforce, 

the bakery has an hourly production 

capacity of 24,000 buns, 5000 sliced 

breads and 12,000 Arabic breads. In 

addition to several automated production 

lines with capabilities to 

produce numerous varieties of cakes, 

puffs, mufins, croissants, sweets 

which are sold under the brand name 

‘Dahabi’. 

Future plans include supplies to 

world-renowned fast food franchises, 

hotels, eateries along with hypermarkets, 

supermarkets and the corner 

grocery stores. The bakery has already 

made forays into the UAE market. 

Oman Floor Mills Co SAOG, Sohar 

Floor Mills Co LLC, Modern Poultry 

Farms SAOC, Atyab Poultry LLC, 

Atyab Bakery LLC- The Art of Baking, 

The BreadHouse LLC, Atyab Grains 

International, American Institute of 

Baking, technical and Quality Centre 

are the other sister concerns of the 

Atyab Investments. 

PEIE hosts a workshop 

on work ethics 


MUSCAT — In line with efforts undertaken 

by the Public Establishment 

for Industrial Estates (PEIE), 

represented by Human Resources 

Development Department, to train, 

rehabilitate and develop its human 

resources, a workshop was held recently 

highlighting work ethics, and 

employees' rights and duties according 

to the labour law. 

The workshop aimed at strengthening 

the moral aspect and spread 

legal culture among employees. The 

event spotlighted two themes; the 

irst underlined the vital ethics and 

practices that must be adhered to 

and which hold a positive impact on 

the individual's personality, performance 

and productivity. 

The irst theme also highlighted 

the unethical practices that negatively 

affect the performance and 

productivity of an employee. Besides, 

the second theme touched upon the 

key rights enjoyed by employees in 

accordance to the labour law, as well 

as the basic duties. 

The event was attended by 15 

participants from Windows 2000 

Company.

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 

Wednesday 


SPEED HOUSE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION LLC 

www.omanobserver.om facebook.com/oman observer twitter.com/omanobserver editor@omanobserver.om AppStore 

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· · · · · 

BUSINESS or PLEASURE 

OMAN or ABROAD 

ALKH: 24489248/648 

RUWI: 24707074, QURUM: 24691110 

SOHAR: 26845565 

MUSCAT AIRPORT: 24521189 

SALALAH: 23296246 

Also available — Luxury Cars with 

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SPECIAL Rates on 

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RENTING & LEASING 

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Tel: 24582663 

GSM: 95859497, 

Fax: 24582664, 

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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 

ofice 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. Ruwi, 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), Tel: 24789117, 

GSM 98793666 (Dir), 

96777170. E-mail: 

landrailoman@gmail. 

com 

Services 

FOR Building 

maintenances and 

repairs. 95218056 

· · · · · 

INSTALLING, transferring 

furniture. 92471173. 

· · · · · 

INSTALLING, transferring 

furniture. 98949690. 

· · · · · 

1. AC, Fridge & Washing 

Machine Servicing & 

Repairing 2. Painting, 

Plumbing, Electrical 

& Carpentry Works. 

Contact: 97014234/ 

97123569, 24504281. 

· · · · · 

PEST CONTROL 

OMAN CO. LLC. 

Supply of 

Pesticides, 

Gel (Cockroaches), 

Public Health 

chemicals, 

Agriculture 

chemicals, 

Snake repellent, 

Rodent 

baits and 

other insect 

repellent from 

Agropharm 

Ltd UK. 

PROFESSIONALS 

in Pest Control Service, Bedbug 

Treatment, Rodent 

Treatment, Snake Treatment 

and Termite Treatment 

(Pre and Post Construction). 

Tel: 24787606 / 24787503 

Fax: 24787607 

E-mail: pcomctom@omantel.net.om 

P. O. Box: 233, Wadi Kabir, 

Postal Code: 117, 

SULTANATE OF OMAN 

MURAHIB HOTEL 

APARTMENTS 

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. 

· · · · · 

Guest House 

For Sale 

REAL estate services, 

renting, selling and 

brokerage for lands, 

construction contracting 

with special prices and 

service. 94222882. 

· · · · · 

Situation Vacant 

Wanted female in 

marketing. 

92868636. 

· · · · · 

SALES clerks required. 

• Two clerks • 

Experience in the field 

of decor • Fluent 

Arabic/ English skills • 

Holding a valid licence. 

95453149. 

For Rent 

SAVILLS OMAN 

QUALITY homes 

for rent throughout 

Capital Area 

Muscat. Contact: 

24692151. 

www.sav-oman. 

com 

OFFICES, shops, 

lats (Al Khuwair), 

furnished 1 bedroom 

deluxe lats (Al 

Ghubra), new 6 

bedroom villas 

(Mumtaz), lats (Wadi 

Kabir) 

96596348. 

· · · · · 

RESIDENTIAL Villa 5 

bedrooms, 2 sitting 

rooms, fully furnished at 

Al Ghubrah near Indian 

School. 

93632943, 24482230. 

· · · · · 

FLAT for rent in Al Hail 

South near Sultan School, 

3 bedrooms, furnished. 

95120900. 

· · · · · 

2 BEDROOMS, 2 

bathrooms, living room, 

kitchen + store for RO 

350 at Al Ghubrah North, 

near to Al Ghubrah 

Health Centre. Please 

call: 95347854. 

· · · · · 

SHOWROOM/Shops for 

rent in Barka industrial 

area. 99374727. 

· · · · · 

A BUILDING in south 

Al Hail consisting of 18 

apartments and 6 shops 

with ACs. The apartment 

consists of two rooms 

and a living room, to be 

rented to one direction 

or certiied companies. 

94222882. 

· · · · · 

VILLA for rent in 

Wattayah 3 bedroom. 

99071071, 99469636. 

· · · · · 

PENTHOUSE, 3 

bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 

kitchen & sitting room, 

balcony. 99332907. 

· · · · · 

Lost 

SANAT Das has lost 

Indian Passport No: F - 

6732790. Finder please 

handover to ROP. 

· · · · · 

NAWAZ Haq Hmeed 

Abdul has lost Pakistani 

Passport No: CW - 

9616801. Finder please 

handover to ROP. 

Umra/Haj 

AL Hikmani for 

HAJ and UMRAH 

— With a host of 

services 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. 

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 

Sale/Rent/Purchase 

REQUIRED immediately 

on sale, lease or 

purchase plots in Seeb 

or nearest places. We 

sell your industrial and 

commercial land. 

95490842, 

99323957. 

· · · · · 

VILLA at Al Athaiba, 7 

rooms, 6 toilets, 9 ACs 

with good condition. 

99323242. 

· · · · · 

Good News 

ALL Season clinic 

Ayurvedic Treatment, 

Yoga massage & 

slimming. Contact: 

92504980/24475280. 

· · · · · 

Sale/Rent 

Manpower 

FRIENDS MANPOWER: 

Filipino housemaids 

and all kinds of workers. 

24489268 Tel/Fax: 

24478153. 

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 

2007 - 2008 Model 

used cars for sale, three 

Corollas (M/T) and one 

Yaris (A/T). 

99563922. 

· · · · · 

Announcement 

RATHATH Al Suwaiq 

United Co, Register No. 

1107236 announces 

that it is intending to 

convert its commercial 

name to Ibn Ismail al 

Balushi Trading and 

Contracting Co. 

Beneiciaries should 

be informed with these 

amendments. 

· · · · · 

Vehicle Sale 

Car Buy & Sell 

IF you are interested 

to sell your cars, send 

SMS, we pay cash. 

Contact: 99333088. 

Driving School 

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 

GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! 

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Available on very GOOD prices 

HP 1050 Wireless Printer 

RO 13.900 only 

HP 4610 4 in 1 Printer 


HP OJ 8100 wifi Printer 


HP LED 18.5” Monitor 


AII HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, 

Samsung Cartridges also available 

COMPUTER SUPPLIES 

Ruwi: 24792792 

INDIAN female, 28 years, 

MSc with good computer 

knowledge and 4 years 

experience in Oman, 

looking for good placement. 

99189614. 

· · · · · 

ASST General Manager, 

MCom, MBA, Indian male, 

25 years experience (10 

in India, 3 in Saudi Arabia 

& 12 in Oman) as Finance 

Manager, capable to 

handle overall business 

operations as Asst General 

Manager to develop 

and grow the business 

(Ready to join immediately). 

Please contact: 

99509450. E-mail: 

gm.anand2013@yahoo. 

com 

· · · · · 

INDIAN female, BSc 

Nursing with 3 years 

experience seeks suitable 

placement immediately 

in Muscat region. 

98286254. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, graduate, 

Logistics/HR/Admin, 

10 years exp, holding 

Omani driving licence, 

seeks suitable placement. 

94463777. 

· · · · · 

GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! 

REQUIRED 

MOTOR GRADER 

OPERATOR (FINAL LEVEL) 

WITH VALID GCC LICENCE 

PERSONS WHO ARE INTERESTED 

MAY CONTACT IMMEDIATELY 

STRABAG OMAN LLC 

P. O. BOX 444, MUSCAT, P. C. 100 

E-mail: 444CV100@gmail.com 

GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! 

Situation Wanted 

INDIAN male, MCom, 44 

years, experienced Senior 

Accountant, seeks 

suitable placement. 

Contact: 99192476. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, MBA, 15 

years in Oman, working 

as Asst Manager, experience 

in supply chain 

mgmt, domestic and 

export sales, logistics, 

import export mgmt, 

purchase and inventory 

mgmt. Contact: 

91141206. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male 36, 

BCom with 14 years 

experience (Oman) in 

accounts, credit operations, 

currency trades, 

seeks suitable position. 

Contact: 93645380. 

· · · · · 

LOOKING for job, House 

boy/ House hold etc 

well educated well 

mannered and faithful 

+ Honest worked for 

any families. Please call: 

93285453. 

· · · · · 

10 YEARS experienced, 

sales and store keeper 

looking for job. 

96101540 

· · · · · 

Presents 

1. Tourism journeys to all around 

the Sultanate's areas. 

2. Delivery service from/to Dubai. 

3. Delivery service from/to the airport. 

In association with Thrifty Rent-A-Car 

For enquiries: 24478902/99337159 

DOLPHIN WATCHING 

Snorkelling & Sunset 

Trip 

Private Luxury Yacht 

charter 

For booking: 

94110088 

Coral Ocean Tours LLC 

E-mail: 

coraloceantours@ 

gmail.com 

Web: www. 

coraloceantours.com 

MARINE Tourism 

92808636, e-mail: 

info@alainain.com 

Buying/Selling 

BUY and sell — Land 

anywhere in Muscat 

97222272. 

· · · · · 

Tours 

ACCOUNTANT having 

7 years experience and 

5 years middle east 

experience in the ield of 

Construction, Accounts 

and Administration 

with knowledge of SAP 

software. Currently 

in Oman on visit visa, 

seeking for suitable 

position. Contact 

93630285/96536295, 

E-mail: juryckpdel@ 

yahoo.com. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male B Tech 

electronics and 

instrumentation 

engineer having 2yrs 

experience in Oil & 

Gas projects in India 

seeking suitable 

position in projects, 

design & maintenance 

NOC-Release available: 

91154728. 

· · · · · 

FINANCE MANAGER, 

MCom, MBA, Indian male 

25 years experience 

(including 3 in Saudi 

Arabia & 12 in Oman) 

in Accounts, Finance, 

Budgeting, Cashlow, 

MIS Reports & Business 

development. (Ready to 

join immediately) Please 

contact: 94117488, 

E-mail: fmanand@yahoo. 

com. 

· · · · · 

· · · · · 

· · · · · 

· · · · · 

· · · · · 

· · · · · 

CLASSIFIED SECTION: 

Ali al Maashari: 99639264 

Salim al Naamani: 99355675 

DIRECT: 24649595 — FAX : 24649590 

e-mail: classified@omandaily.om 

Classifieds 

Continued on P21


CLASSIFIEDS 

21 


INDIAN male, 23 years 

BBM knowledge in 

Tally, MS Ofice, two 

years experience in 

sales in Oman, looking 

for suitable vacancies in 

ofice job: 99853194. 

· · · · · 

ASST general manager, 

M.Com, MBA, Indian 

male, 25 years 

experience (10 in India, 

3 in Saudi Arabia and 

12 in Oman) as inance 

manager, capable to 


operations as Asst. 

general manager to 

develop and grow the 

business (Ready to join 

immediately). Please . 

contact: 99509450. 

E-mail: gm.anand2013@ 

yahoo.com 

· · · · · 

B-Tech electrical 

engineer (age- 

26) with 4 years 

experience in power 

distribution (switch 

gear projects), seeking 

a suitable placement in 

marketing/sales sector. 

Having valid Oman 

driving licence. Contact: 

98568796. E-mail: 

jijishkumartv@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

B-Tech mechanical 

engineer (age-27) with 

5 1 / 2 

years experience 

in construction 

industry (structural 

steel projects, oil and 

gas piping jobs, MEP 

projects), seeks a 

suitable placement in 

procurement/sales 

sector. Having valid 

Oman driving licence. 

Contact: 

95124592. E-mail: 

aneeshmenon999@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, 23 years, 

BSc graduate knows 

English, Hindi, working 

in a construction 

company as accountant 

and ofice incharge. 

knows MS Word, Excel, 

Tally, PowerPoint, 

Internet suring, 

Photoshop, valid Omani 

driving licence. Contact 

92612927. E-mail: 

imanulal@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

MASTERS in journalism, 

communication, 

Finance Masters, 

excellent English, 

communication 

skills, writing 

abilities, Oman, India 

inance experience. 

Arabic speaking, 

seeks co-operate 

communication/similar 

role. Immediate joining. 

99283938. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN 23 years 

experience as 

electrician forman/site 

incharge, exp in Oman 

and UAE seeks job. 

Contact: 95628937. 

· · · · · 

MECHANICAL engineer 

with professional 

certiicate in PPM, 6 

months experience in 

production ield seeks 

a suitable placement. 

Contact: 98947181. 

· · · · · 

SRI Lankan Quantity 

Surveyor, having 7 

years experience on 

hand including 4 years 

Middle East experience. 

Successfully completed 

higher national diploma 

in Civil Engineering 

(HNDE-BTECH-UK), 

advanced diploma in 

quantity surveying 

(City & Guids-UK). 

Currently working in 

Qatar, notice period 

30 days. Contact: 

974-66140218. E-mail: 

unaisnt@yahoo.com 

· · · · · 

SRI LANKAN Muslim, 

well experienced trust 

worthy (bus/light 

vehicle) driver (45 

age) worked in Saudi, 

speaking Arabic, Hindi 

and English. Looking for 


Contact: 

+94776184096. 

· · · · · 

FILIPINA, female, BS in 

Commerce graduate, 

1 year experience in 

Oman as PA/executive 

secretary to the GM and 

4 yrs experience in UAE 

as operations oficer 

with secretarial skills 

in line with tourism 

industry, knowledge 

in MS Ofice, business 

correspondence and 

highly levelled customer 

service oriented. 

96893261158. E-mail: 

arcel77@yahoo.com 

· · · · · 

FEMALE, graduated 

from Sultan Qaboos 

University - Tourism 

Operations Management 

is looking for a 

suitable job. Two years 

experience on coordination. 

92440509/ 

95247995. noor_313@ 

hotmail.com 

· · · · · 

CIVIL Engineer 

(Diploma), 2 years 

experience, Omani D/L, 

seeks placement. 

96690396. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male 41 years, 

Diploma Engineering 

in Electronics with 10+ 

years of experience in 

sales in India (furniture 

industry), seeking 

suitable placement, 

holding valid 

Oman D/L.Contact 

96151002. Email: 

binomathew.2008@ 

rediffmail.com. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, 41 

years accounts/ 

inance, data entry, 

computer operating, 

stores keeping, sales 

and purchase entries. 

BA (Eco), DCA, Auto- 

Cad, Tally 9 Wings, 

Focus A/C packages 

done. 10 years India 

exp in accounts, 

currently working 

in reputed company 

in Oman seeks 


95244766. 

· · · · · 

B TECH graduate in 

electrical, 2 years 

experience, Indian 

male, 27 years, seeks 



95127014. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, BE 

Mechanical, 4 years 

experience, PG diploma 

in pipeline engineering, 

seeks suitable 

placement. 

98267801. 

· · · · · 

17 YEARS experienced 


suitable position. 

Contact: +968 

95370549 or e-mail: 

nilappana1970@ 

yahoo.co.in 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, 

graduate having 

diploma in computer 

management, working 

as Logistics Supervisor 

(PDO approved) with 

14 years of experience 

in logistic ield in 

Oman, seeks suitable 

placement. Contact: 

96093876. 

· · · · · 

B. TECH (Electrical & 

Electronics) Engineer 

with 2 years experience 

in MEP projects, 

proicient in AutoCAD. 

Premavera with 

driving licence, seeks 


99790427. 

genius6551@yahoo. 

com 

· · · · · 

Mailing Address: OBSERVER CLASSIFIEDS SECTION, P.O. Box 974, Muscat, P.C. 100 

Location: OEPPA HEAD OFFICE, Medinat Al Alam, 

Near Ministry of Information 24649 593, 594, 594, 595, 596, 597 

& OEPPA Ruwi Office, Next to Dhofar Bldg, Behind Ruwi Police Station 24785668 

14 years in Oman, 

Indian male, English, 

Arabic, Hindi & Urdu 

speaking driver cum 

delivery salesman, 

seeks immediate 

replacement with 

local release. Driving 

licence valid till 

2020. Contact at 

92397408/99331481 

· · · · · 


years, MCom with 

valid Omani driving 

licence, more than 5 


marketing in Oman, 

looking for good 

placement. 

92238560. 

· · · · · 

DEGREE in Civil Engg 

(BE) 5 years exp in 

Muscat. Indian male 

(28) well exp in govt 

and multi storeyed 

projects, seeks suitable 

position in reputed 

company. Oil and gas 

preferred. Contact: 

96381205. E-mail: 

civilenggjob2013@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 

CHARTERED 

Accountant Inter, 

Bachelors in Commerce 

and article ship 

from big 10 having 

more than 8 years of 

experience in audit 

and accountancy 

both nationally 

and internationally 


98508174 E-mail: 

zahidulhassangulf 

@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, MBA, 


in sales & marketing, 

having Omani D/L 

looking for suitable 

opening. Contact: 

95475833. 

· · · · · 



as HR Executive/ 

Administration (PDO 

Project) seeks a 

suitable placement 

92576038. E-mail: 

rijoshmp@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

INDIAN female, 28 

years, BE in Electronics 

and Communication, 

2 years industry 

experience (telecom) 

and 4 years teaching 

experience in 

engineering college, 

good computer 

knowledge, presently 

in Oman. Contact: 

95915617. 

· · · · · 

PAYROLL & payable 

accountant , NOC 

release available, I 

will be available in 

Oman till April 20. 

BCom, 29 years, Indian 

male, total 7 years 

experience. Last 5½ 

yrs working in Oman 

as payroll & payable 

accountant. Also prefer 

inventory & logistic 

co-ordinator position, 

Can join immediately. 

96979350, 

98738602. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, BCom, 

10 + Gulf experience 

in admin, HR, 

operations, purchase, 

sales, marketing 

and banking, back 

ofice compliance 

with Oman/UAE D/L 

with 2 years visa 

transfer. 91015956/ 

99763107. E-mail: 

sas67672@yahoo.com, 

sasisuku1@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

SRI LANKAN, 32 years, 

10 years experience in 

sales/ marketing ield, 

seeks placement as 

Senior sales executive/ 

sales/showroom 

manager. Contact: 

96953676. E-Mail: msa. 

iham@yahoo.com 

· · · · · 

INDIAN female, MBA 

(HR), 1½ years of 

experience, seeks 


Contact: 95662154. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male (23), BE 

Mechanical with one 

year experience seeks 


93638564, e-mail: 

rexmich31@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

ENGLISH language & 

communication skills/ 

soft skills trainer 

seeking employment 

(6+ years experience 

in corporate (MNC) & 

retail 

training sector. Call 

96538106. 

· · · · · 

TUNISIAN male, having 

4 years experience as 

Tourist Guide, knows 

English, Arabic, French, 

Spanish, Italian looking 

for suitable placement. 

Contact 92623297. 

· · · · · 


yrs) BE (elec and 

communication) 

having good 

experience at multinational 

IT company, 

good knowledge of 

hardware and software, 

seeks opportunity 

93252358. 

· · · · · 


M Sc postgraduate 

1½ years experience, 

seeks suitable job 

92532438, E-mail: 

bigsvp@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

NOC release available, 

B Com, Indian male, 29 

yrs, 7 yrs experience. 

Last 5½ yrs working 

in Oman as an 

accountant payroll 

and payable position 


placement. Also 

prefer HB & logistic 

co-ordinator position. 

Can join immediately 

96979350, 

98738602. 

· · · · · 


yrs, BE electronics 

and communication, 

2 yrs work experience 

in procurement/ 

administration 

(Dubai) seeks 

suitable job. Contact 

95986104. Email: 

rodriguespreethi@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 

B.TECH Mechanical 

Engineer (Indian) with 


having valid Omani 

driving licence 


93952957. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, 27, 

BTech, Electrical 

Engineering, 2 


Oman with Omani 

driving licence seeks 


93487256. 

· · · · · 

MBA (Finance), Indian 

male, 24 years, having 

one year experience in 

India as an Accountant, 

currently in Oman on 

visit visa, seeks suitable 

position. 92601455. 

E-mail: sharis246@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 

IB-TECH mechanical 

engineer (Indian) with 



driving licence. Seeks 

placement. Contact 

93952957. 

· · · · · 


years, BE (Mechanical 

Engineer) with one 

year of experience 

as QA/QC Engineer 

in LNG project in 

India, holds CSWIP3.1 

and ASNT level II 

certiications, seeks 


93569223. E-mail: 

thufz00@gmail.com 

· · · · · 


MBA (Finance) with 


in inancial sector. 

Currently on visit visa, 

looking for immediate 

placement 

96329757, 92877083. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN female, 

26 MCA, 2 years 

experience in 

Software, family visa, 

preferred teaching 

profession seeks 


96704824. 

· · · · · 

COMPUTER Engineer, 

Iraqi male M Sc in 

Computer Science, 

Pune University, India, 

holding certiicates 

from Microsoft in 

MCITP Server 2008Rz, 

MCSA, MCTS, Network, 

Java language. E-mail: 

mohanadasw@hotmail. 

com 94369946. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male in Al 

Ghubra, has B.Com 

Degree, works 

Accountant with 

two years working 

experience looking 

for job like Computer 

Software. 

95089550, 99142416 

· · · · · 

MECHANICAL Engineer 


available for any job 

96186976/ 

99482476. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male 26 

years, MCom having 


experience (including 

CA Articleship) in 

Finance (Finalisation of 

accounts and cash low 

statements) with good 

proiciency in Tally, 

MS Ofice, Sap and 

AS 400 seek suitable 

placement. 

93267372. 

· · · · · 


years, BE Mechanical 

& Diploma in 

AutoCAD with 2 

years experience, 


position. Contact: 

92481817 or e-mail: 

mohammed241988@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 


MBA with 2 years 

experience, currently 

on visit visa, looking for 

immediate placement. 

Contact: 94269756. 

· · · · · 

IT Qualiied & Accounts 

Executive, having 


in accounts and 

Administration, seeks 


93888504. 

· · · · · 


yrs of teaching exp in 

Business in college in 

India, 3 yrs in business 

studies in international 

school in Oman, seeks 

placement in school, 

college. Contact: 

96040624. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, B Sc IT 

with MBA in marketing 

& management, 28 yrs, 

presently working in 

Godrej & Boyce in India, 


Contact: 99341622. 

· · · · · 

BE Electrical & 

Electronics engineer 

with 4 years 

experience, in 

Oman 2 years 

experience in MEP 

project, seeks 


93797378, 

96681536, e-mail: 

morshed602@gmail. 

com. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, 23, CNC 

operator, mechanical 

engineering, computer 

numerical control & 

mechanical AutoCad. 

Contact: 99678941. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN female (29), 

work ex (2 years - 

India), 6 months (Oman 

with PDO contractors) 

looking for full/parttime/contract 

based 

job in Admin, HR, 

back ofice. Education: 

B Tech (CSE), MBA 

(HR), Final Sem, 

Contact 93653426, 

95328330. 

· · · · · 

EVENTS and Marketing 

Communication 

Professional with 18 

years of consolidated 

experience in Marketing, 

Corporate and Brand 

Communication, Event 

Operations, Business 

Management and 

Resource Consulting 

Skills seeks Career 

Opportunity. 

Indian Male on Visit 

Visa: Mob- 96377131. 

Email- igeez.marcom@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · 

INDIAN male, B Com, 

ICWAI intermediate 

having 5 years 

experience in accounts, 

credit operations, 

audit, insurance, 

cashlow statement 

and inalisation, seeks 


Contact: 91086695. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN female 26 yrs, 

(diploma nursing) with 

MoH licence, 5 yrs exp, 

presently working 

in Oman, seeks 


in hospital. 

96114228. 

· · · · · 

PAKISTANI male, 

MBA marketing & 

management, 10 

years experience, on 

visit visa, looking for 


92740973 E-mail: 

liaquatalinaz8@gmail. 

com 

· · · · · 

INDIAN with 5 

years experience as 

driver seeks suitable 

openings as Driver for 

companies. 

Knowledge of Arabic 

and Hindi. Contact 

93324375 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male (30 years) 


having 9 years of rich 

experience in Admin/ 

secretarial ields, seeks 


95912433. 

· · · · · 

GENERAL manager 

with more than 

20 (Twenty) years 

experience in civil 

construction, currently 

working in a reputed 

construction company, 

seeks change. 

94006761. 

· · · · · 

MALE 27years BBA, 5 


sales & Purchasing 

sector. Working as 

Purchaser in MNC, 

seeks a suitable job. 

95417920. vimalff@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 

CLASSIFIED SECTION 

RUWI: 24785668 

Behind Royal Oman 

Police, Adjacent to 

Dhofar Building


CLASSIFIEDS 

21 


INDIAN male, 23 years 

BBM knowledge in 

Tally, MS Ofice, two 


sales in Oman, looking 

for suitable vacancies in 

ofice job: 99853194. 

· · · · · 

ASST general manager, 

M.Com, MBA, Indian 

male, 25 years 

experience (10 in India, 

3 in Saudi Arabia and 

12 in Oman) as inance 

manager, capable to 


operations as Asst. 

general manager to 

develop and grow the 

business (Ready to join 

immediately). Please . 

contact: 99509450. 

E-mail: gm.anand2013@ 

yahoo.com 

· · · · · 

B-Tech electrical 

engineer (age- 

26) with 4 years 

experience in power 

distribution (switch 

gear projects), seeking 

a suitable placement in 

marketing/sales sector. 

Having valid Oman 

driving licence. Contact: 

98568796. E-mail: 

jijishkumartv@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

B-Tech mechanical 

engineer (age-27) with 

5 1 / 2 

years experience 

in construction 

industry (structural 

steel projects, oil and 

gas piping jobs, MEP 

projects), seeks a 

suitable placement in 

procurement/sales 

sector. Having valid 

Oman driving licence. 

Contact: 

95124592. E-mail: 

aneeshmenon999@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 


BSc graduate knows 

English, Hindi, working 

in a construction 

company as accountant 

and ofice incharge. 

knows MS Word, Excel, 

Tally, PowerPoint, 

Internet suring, 

Photoshop, valid Omani 

driving licence. Contact 

92612927. E-mail: 

imanulal@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

MASTERS in journalism, 

communication, 

Finance Masters, 

excellent English, 

communication 

skills, writing 

abilities, Oman, India 

inance experience. 

Arabic speaking, 

seeks co-operate 

communication/similar 

role. Immediate joining. 

99283938. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN 23 years 

experience as 

electrician forman/site 

incharge, exp in Oman 

and UAE seeks job. 

Contact: 95628937. 

· · · · · 

MECHANICAL engineer 

with professional 

certiicate in PPM, 6 

months experience in 

production ield seeks 


Contact: 98947181. 

· · · · · 

SRI Lankan Quantity 

Surveyor, having 7 

years experience on 

hand including 4 years 

Middle East experience. 

Successfully completed 

higher national diploma 

in Civil Engineering 

(HNDE-BTECH-UK), 

advanced diploma in 

quantity surveying 

(City & Guids-UK). 

Currently working in 

Qatar, notice period 

30 days. Contact: 

974-66140218. E-mail: 

unaisnt@yahoo.com 

· · · · · 

SRI LANKAN Muslim, 

well experienced trust 

worthy (bus/light 

vehicle) driver (45 

age) worked in Saudi, 

speaking Arabic, Hindi 

and English. Looking for 


Contact: 

+94776184096. 

· · · · · 

FILIPINA, female, BS in 

Commerce graduate, 

1 year experience in 

Oman as PA/executive 

secretary to the GM and 

4 yrs experience in UAE 

as operations oficer 

with secretarial skills 

in line with tourism 

industry, knowledge 

in MS Ofice, business 

correspondence and 

highly levelled customer 

service oriented. 

96893261158. E-mail: 

arcel77@yahoo.com 

· · · · · 

FEMALE, graduated 

from Sultan Qaboos 

University - Tourism 

Operations Management 

is looking for a 

suitable job. Two years 

experience on coordination. 

92440509/ 

95247995. noor_313@ 

hotmail.com 

· · · · · 

CIVIL Engineer 

(Diploma), 2 years 

experience, Omani D/L, 


96690396. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male 41 years, 

Diploma Engineering 

in Electronics with 10+ 

years of experience in 

sales in India (furniture 

industry), seeking 

suitable placement, 

holding valid 

Oman D/L.Contact 

96151002. Email: 

binomathew.2008@ 

rediffmail.com. 

· · · · · 


years accounts/ 

inance, data entry, 

computer operating, 

stores keeping, sales 

and purchase entries. 

BA (Eco), DCA, Auto- 

Cad, Tally 9 Wings, 

Focus A/C packages 

done. 10 years India 

exp in accounts, 

currently working 

in reputed company 

in Oman seeks 


95244766. 

· · · · · 

B TECH graduate in 

electrical, 2 years 

experience, Indian 

male, 27 years, seeks 



95127014. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, BE 

Mechanical, 4 years 

experience, PG diploma 

in pipeline engineering, 


placement. 

98267801. 

· · · · · 

17 YEARS experienced 


suitable position. 

Contact: +968 

95370549 or e-mail: 

nilappana1970@ 

yahoo.co.in 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, 

graduate having 

diploma in computer 

management, working 

as Logistics Supervisor 

(PDO approved) with 

14 years of experience 

in logistic ield in 

Oman, seeks suitable 

placement. Contact: 

96093876. 

· · · · · 

B. TECH (Electrical & 

Electronics) Engineer 


in MEP projects, 

proicient in AutoCAD. 

Premavera with 

driving licence, seeks 


99790427. 

genius6551@yahoo. 

com 

· · · · · 

Mailing Address: OBSERVER CLASSIFIEDS SECTION, P.O. Box 974, Muscat, P.C. 100 

Location: OEPPA HEAD OFFICE, Medinat Al Alam, 

Near Ministry of Information 24649 593, 594, 594, 595, 596, 597 

& OEPPA Ruwi Office, Next to Dhofar Bldg, Behind Ruwi Police Station 24785668 

14 years in Oman, 

Indian male, English, 

Arabic, Hindi & Urdu 

speaking driver cum 

delivery salesman, 

seeks immediate 

replacement with 

local release. Driving 

licence valid till 

2020. Contact at 

92397408/99331481 

· · · · · 


years, MCom with 

valid Omani driving 

licence, more than 5 


marketing in Oman, 

looking for good 

placement. 

92238560. 

· · · · · 

DEGREE in Civil Engg 

(BE) 5 years exp in 

Muscat. Indian male 

(28) well exp in govt 

and multi storeyed 

projects, seeks suitable 

position in reputed 

company. Oil and gas 

preferred. Contact: 

96381205. E-mail: 

civilenggjob2013@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 

CHARTERED 

Accountant Inter, 

Bachelors in Commerce 

and article ship 

from big 10 having 


experience in audit 

and accountancy 

both nationally 

and internationally 


98508174 E-mail: 

zahidulhassangulf 

@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, MBA, 


in sales & marketing, 

having Omani D/L 


opening. Contact: 

95475833. 

· · · · · 



as HR Executive/ 

Administration (PDO 

Project) seeks a 


92576038. E-mail: 

rijoshmp@gmail.com 

· · · · · 


years, BE in Electronics 

and Communication, 

2 years industry 

experience (telecom) 

and 4 years teaching 

experience in 

engineering college, 

good computer 

knowledge, presently 

in Oman. Contact: 

95915617. 

· · · · · 

PAYROLL & payable 

accountant , NOC 

release available, I 

will be available in 

Oman till April 20. 

BCom, 29 years, Indian 

male, total 7 years 

experience. Last 5½ 

yrs working in Oman 

as payroll & payable 

accountant. Also prefer 

inventory & logistic 

co-ordinator position, 

Can join immediately. 

96979350, 

98738602. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, BCom, 

10 + Gulf experience 

in admin, HR, 

operations, purchase, 

sales, marketing 

and banking, back 

ofice compliance 

with Oman/UAE D/L 

with 2 years visa 

transfer. 91015956/ 

99763107. E-mail: 

sas67672@yahoo.com, 

sasisuku1@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

SRI LANKAN, 32 years, 

10 years experience in 

sales/ marketing ield, 

seeks placement as 

Senior sales executive/ 

sales/showroom 

manager. Contact: 

96953676. E-Mail: msa. 

iham@yahoo.com 

· · · · · 

INDIAN female, MBA 

(HR), 1½ years of 

experience, seeks 


Contact: 95662154. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male (23), BE 

Mechanical with one 

year experience seeks 


93638564, e-mail: 

rexmich31@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

ENGLISH language & 

communication skills/ 

soft skills trainer 

seeking employment 

(6+ years experience 

in corporate (MNC) & 

retail 

training sector. Call 

96538106. 

· · · · · 

TUNISIAN male, having 

4 years experience as 

Tourist Guide, knows 

English, Arabic, French, 

Spanish, Italian looking 

for suitable placement. 

Contact 92623297. 

· · · · · 


yrs) BE (elec and 

communication) 

having good 

experience at multinational 

IT company, 

good knowledge of 

hardware and software, 

seeks opportunity 

93252358. 

· · · · · 



1½ years experience, 

seeks suitable job 

92532438, E-mail: 

bigsvp@gmail.com 

· · · · · 

NOC release available, 

B Com, Indian male, 29 

yrs, 7 yrs experience. 

Last 5½ yrs working 

in Oman as an 

accountant payroll 

and payable position 


placement. Also 

prefer HB & logistic 

co-ordinator position. 

Can join immediately 

96979350, 

98738602. 

· · · · · 


yrs, BE electronics 

and communication, 

2 yrs work experience 

in procurement/ 

administration 

(Dubai) seeks 

suitable job. Contact 

95986104. Email: 

rodriguespreethi@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 

B.TECH Mechanical 

Engineer (Indian) with 



driving licence 


93952957. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, 27, 

BTech, Electrical 

Engineering, 2 


Oman with Omani 

driving licence seeks 


93487256. 

· · · · · 

MBA (Finance), Indian 

male, 24 years, having 

one year experience in 

India as an Accountant, 

currently in Oman on 

visit visa, seeks suitable 

position. 92601455. 

E-mail: sharis246@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 

IB-TECH mechanical 

engineer (Indian) with 



driving licence. Seeks 

placement. Contact 

93952957. 

· · · · · 


years, BE (Mechanical 

Engineer) with one 

year of experience 

as QA/QC Engineer 

in LNG project in 

India, holds CSWIP3.1 

and ASNT level II 

certiications, seeks 


93569223. E-mail: 

thufz00@gmail.com 

· · · · · 


MBA (Finance) with 


in inancial sector. 

Currently on visit visa, 

looking for immediate 

placement 

96329757, 92877083. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN female, 

26 MCA, 2 years 

experience in 

Software, family visa, 

preferred teaching 

profession seeks 


96704824. 

· · · · · 

COMPUTER Engineer, 

Iraqi male M Sc in 

Computer Science, 

Pune University, India, 

holding certiicates 

from Microsoft in 

MCITP Server 2008Rz, 

MCSA, MCTS, Network, 

Java language. E-mail: 

mohanadasw@hotmail. 

com 94369946. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male in Al 

Ghubra, has B.Com 

Degree, works 

Accountant with 

two years working 

experience looking 

for job like Computer 

Software. 

95089550, 99142416 

· · · · · 

MECHANICAL Engineer 


available for any job 

96186976/ 

99482476. 

· · · · · 


years, MCom having 


experience (including 

CA Articleship) in 

Finance (Finalisation of 

accounts and cash low 

statements) with good 

proiciency in Tally, 

MS Ofice, Sap and 

AS 400 seek suitable 

placement. 

93267372. 

· · · · · 


years, BE Mechanical 

& Diploma in 

AutoCAD with 2 

years experience, 


position. Contact: 

92481817 or e-mail: 

mohammed241988@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 


MBA with 2 years 

experience, currently 

on visit visa, looking for 


Contact: 94269756. 

· · · · · 

IT Qualiied & Accounts 

Executive, having 


in accounts and 

Administration, seeks 


93888504. 

· · · · · 


yrs of teaching exp in 

Business in college in 

India, 3 yrs in business 

studies in international 

school in Oman, seeks 

placement in school, 

college. Contact: 

96040624. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, B Sc IT 

with MBA in marketing 

& management, 28 yrs, 

presently working in 

Godrej & Boyce in India, 


Contact: 99341622. 

· · · · · 

BE Electrical & 

Electronics engineer 

with 4 years 

experience, in 

Oman 2 years 

experience in MEP 

project, seeks 


93797378, 

96681536, e-mail: 

morshed602@gmail. 

com. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male, 23, CNC 

operator, mechanical 

engineering, computer 

numerical control & 

mechanical AutoCad. 

Contact: 99678941. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN female (29), 

work ex (2 years - 

India), 6 months (Oman 

with PDO contractors) 

looking for full/parttime/contract 

based 

job in Admin, HR, 

back ofice. Education: 

B Tech (CSE), MBA 

(HR), Final Sem, 

Contact 93653426, 

95328330. 

· · · · · 

EVENTS and Marketing 

Communication 

Professional with 18 

years of consolidated 

experience in Marketing, 

Corporate and Brand 

Communication, Event 

Operations, Business 

Management and 

Resource Consulting 

Skills seeks Career 

Opportunity. 

Indian Male on Visit 

Visa: Mob- 96377131. 

Email- igeez.marcom@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · 

INDIAN male, B Com, 

ICWAI intermediate 

having 5 years 

experience in accounts, 

credit operations, 

audit, insurance, 

cashlow statement 

and inalisation, seeks 


Contact: 91086695. 

· · · · · 

INDIAN female 26 yrs, 

(diploma nursing) with 

MoH licence, 5 yrs exp, 

presently working 

in Oman, seeks 


in hospital. 

96114228. 

· · · · · 

PAKISTANI male, 

MBA marketing & 

management, 10 

years experience, on 

visit visa, looking for 


92740973 E-mail: 

liaquatalinaz8@gmail. 

com 

· · · · · 

INDIAN with 5 

years experience as 

driver seeks suitable 

openings as Driver for 

companies. 

Knowledge of Arabic 

and Hindi. Contact 

93324375 

· · · · · 

INDIAN male (30 years) 


having 9 years of rich 

experience in Admin/ 

secretarial ields, seeks 


95912433. 

· · · · · 

GENERAL manager 

with more than 

20 (Twenty) years 

experience in civil 

construction, currently 

working in a reputed 

construction company, 

seeks change. 

94006761. 

· · · · · 

MALE 27years BBA, 5 


sales & Purchasing 

sector. Working as 

Purchaser in MNC, 

seeks a suitable job. 

95417920. vimalff@ 

gmail.com 

· · · · · 

CLASSIFIED SECTION 

RUWI: 24785668 

Behind Royal Oman 

Police, Adjacent to 

Dhofar Building


22 INFORMATION / LEISURE Hospital. . . . . Board . . . . . . . Emergency 

Flight Schedule 

ARRIVALS — WEDNESDAY 

Flight No Aircraft From / Via STA 

WY614 B737-8 Dubai 0005 

WY636 E175AR Abu Dhabi 0005 

WY717 B737-8 Zanzibar-Dar-es-Salaam 0015 

WY682 B737-8 Riyadh 0015 

WY648 B737-8 Kuwait 0015 

WY826 A330-200 Kuala Lumpur 0100 

IX141 B737-8 Amritsar 0140 

PK225 B737-3 Karachi 0200 

QR170 A320 Doha 0315 

EY384 A320 Abu Dhabi 0350 

EK866 B777 Dubai 0355 

GF560 E190 Bahrain 0425 

WY652 E175AR Bahrain 0700 

WY662 E175AR Doha 0700 

FZ043 B737-8 Dubai 0740 

WY632 ATR42 Abu Dhabi 0800 

WY202 B737-8 Bombay 0800 

WY914 B737-8 Salalah 0800 

WY602 B737-8 Dubai 0825 

WY274 B737-8 Jaipur 0840 

WY238 B737-8 Hyderabad 0850 

WY102 A330-300 London Heathrow 0900 

WY262 B737-8 Lucknow 0920 

WY218 B737-8 Trivandrum 0925 

WY224 B737-8 Cochin 0925 

EK862 B777 Dubai 0930 

QR166 A321 Doha 0950 

G9113 A320 Sharjah 0955 


9W530 B737-8 Trivandrum 1045 

WY374 B737-8 Colombo 1050 

WY604 E175AR Dubai 1100 

IX543 B737-8 Trivandrum-Cochin 1130 

WY818 A330-200 Bangkok 1155 

WY916 E175AR Salalah 1200 

WY314 B737-8 Chittagong 1210 

WY3302 ATR42 Mukhaizna 1230 


IX337 B737-8 Calicut 1255 

WY714 B737-8 Dar-es-Salaam 1300 

WY918 ATR42 Khasab 1315 

WY606 B737-8 Dubai 1330 

WY924 B737-8 Salalah 1440 

WY324 A330-200 Karachi 1440 

SV530 MD90 Jeddah 1550 

WY664 E175AR Doha 1615 

ED450 A319 Lahore 1630 



WY204 B737-8 Bombay 1655 

WY244 B737-8 Delhi 1710 


QR164 A321 Doha 1735 

WY608 B737-8 Dubai 1740 

WY298 B737-8 Calicut 1750 

WY258 B737-8 Madras 1805 

GF564 A319 Bahrain 1810 

G9117 A320 Sharjah 1905 

WY926 B737-8 Salalah 1945 

FZ047 B737-8 Dubai 2020 


AI977 A319 Bangalore-Hyderabad 2025 

WY124 A330-300 Munich 2030 

WY142 A330-300 Malpensa 2040 

WY134 A330-200 Paris 2045 

KL449 A330 Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi 2045 

AI973 A320 Delhi 2125 

BA073 B777 London Heathrow-Abu Dhabi 2130 

WY616 B737-8 Dubai 2145 

AI907 A319 Madras 2200 

WY406 B737-8 Cairo 2215 

LH618 A330 Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi 2225 


QR168 A320 Doha 2235 

LX242 A330 Zurich-Dubai 2235 

GF566 B737-7 Bahrain 2250 

WY624 ATR42 Al Ain 2305 

WY656 B737-8 Bahrain 2305 

WY668 B737-8 Doha 2310 

AI985 A321 Ahmedabad-Bombay 2310 

WY928 B737-8 Salalah 2310 


WY672 B737-8 Jeddah 2315 

WY686 B737-8 Dammam 2320 

WY423 B737-8 Beirut-Amman 2325 

9W534 B737-8 Cochin 2330 

WY816 A330-200 Bangkok 2335 

9W540 B737-8 Bombay 2340 

WY930 B737-8 Salalah 2340 

KQ318 B737-8 Nairobi-Dubai 2350 

DEPARTURES 

Flight No Aircraft To / Via STD 

BA072 B777 Abu Dhabi-London Heathrow 0001 

AI986 A321 Bombay-Ahmedabad 0005 

9W539 B737-8 Bombay 0045 

WY113 A330-200 Frankfurt 0105 

WY217 B737-8 Trivandrum 0115 

WY601 B737-8 Dubai 0115 

WY713 B737-8 Dar-es-Salaam 0115 

WY237 B737-8 Hyderabad 0120 

WY223 B737-8 Cochin 0120 


WY261 B737-8 Lucknow 0125 

WY201 B737-8 Bombay 0130 

9W529 B737-8 Trivandrum 0130 

WY651 E175AR Doha 0130 


WY373 B737-8 Colombo 0145 

WY313 B737-8 Chittagong 0200 

WY141 A330-300 Malpensa 0200 

WY123 A330-300 Munich 0200 

WY273 B737-8 Jaipur 0205 

IX816 B737-8 Abu Dhabi-Mangalore 0220 

WY133 A330-200 Paris 0230 

PK226 B737-3 Karachi 0300 

EK867 B777 Dubai 0500 


QR171 A320 Doha 0550 


WY915 E175AR Salalah 0800 



FZ044 B737-8 Dubai 0820 

WY323 A330-200 Karachi 1000 

WY243 B737-8 Delhi 1000 

WY297 B737-8 Calicut 1005 

WY257 B737-8 Madras 1005 

WY815 A330-200 Bangkok 1010 

WY283 B737-8 Bangalore 1015 

WY917 ATR42 Khasab 1030 

WY605 B737-8 Dubai 1030 

G9114 A320 Sharjah 1035 

WY923 B737-8 Salalah 1035 

WY203 B737-8 Bombay 1040 

EK863 B777 Dubai 1045 


QR167 A321 Doha 1055 

9W533 B737-8 Cochin 1145 

WY663 E175AR Doha 1215 

IX542 B737-8 Trivandrum 1220 


WY423 B737-8 Beirut-Amman 1310 

WY405 B737-8 Cairo 1310 




IX350 B737-8 Calicut 1355 

WY101 A330-300 London Heathrow 1400 

WY929 B737-8 Salalah 1400 

WY607 B737-8 Dubai 1440 

WY671 B737-8 Jeddah 1540 

WY925 B737-8 Salalah 1540 

SV531 MD90 Medina-Jeddah 1650 


ED451 A319 Lahore 1730 

WY615 B737-8 Dubai 1805 

QR165 A321 Doha 1840 

GF565 A319 Bahrain 1855 

WY647 B737-8 Kuwait 1905 

WY927 B737-8 Salalah 1905 

WY685 B737-8 Dammam 1905 

WY667 B737-8 Doha 1910 

WY681 B737-8 Riyadh 1910 

WY655 B737-8 Bahrain 1915 

G9118 A320 Sharjah 1945 


WY623 ATR42 Al Ain 2015 

WY613 B737-8 Dubai 2045 

FZ048 B737-8 Dubai 2105 

AI978 A319 Hyderabad-Bangalore 2200 

KL450 A330 Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam 2200 

WY817 A330-200 Bangkok 2205 

AI908 A319 Madras 2300 

AI974 A320 Delhi 2310 


QR169 A320 Doha 2335 

LX243 A330 Dubai-Zurich 2335 

WY673 B737-8 Jeddah 2340 

GF567 B737-7 Bahrain 2345 

LH619 A330 Abu Dhabi-Frankfurt 2350 

PHARMACIES 

24-HOUR SERVICE 

Al Hashar ph, Ruwi 24783334 

Muscat ph, Ruwi, 24702542 

Al Sarooj, 24695536 

Scientific ph, Qurum, 24566601 

DAY DUTY 

Muscat Ibn Sina 24540137 

Muscat 24497264 

Babil 24878911 

Al Jabri 24420761 

Sur Badr al Samaa 

25546112 

Ibri Sara 25689460 

Buraimi Al Madina 25653373 

Nizwa Al Hadhfa 25431650 

Salalah Muscat 23291635 

Sohar Capital 26841511 

NIGHT DUTY 

Muscat Ibra 22017291 

Muscat 24695536 

Badr al Samaa 

24799760 

Capital 24456760 

Sur Bahwan 25543933 

Ibri Al Huda 25692604 

Buraimi Yass 25653855 

Barka Al Razi 26884860 

Rustaq Muscat 26878631 

Nizwa Muscat 25410235 

Samayil Al Hurriya 25359435 

Salalah Muscat 23291635 

Mudhaibi Al Inaya 25524650 

Ibra Al Jabri 25570050 

Saham Scientific 26854302 

Sohar Badr al Samaa 

26847033 

Khoula Hospital Visiting Hours 

Private & Other Wards 

Working Days: 16:00-18:00. Weekends & Public 

Holidays: 10:-12:00, 16:00-18:00 

ICU 

Working Days: 16:00-17:00. Weekends & Public 

Holidays: 16:00-17:00 

Special Care Baby Unit 

Working Days: Parents may visit at any time. 

Weekends & Public Holidays: Parents may visit at 

any time 

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 

Sohar . . . . . . . . . 26840022 . . . . 26840099 

Other Hospitals 

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 

Museums 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. 

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 

Quotations for Today 

Normal is getting dressed in clothes that 

you buy for work and driving through 

trafic in a car that you are still paying for 

— in order to get to the job you need to pay 

for the clothes and the car, and the house 

you leave vacant all day so you can afford 

to live in it. 

— Ellen Goodman 

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 

06.00 am Opening, Royal Anthem, The Holy 

Quran, Preview of Morning Programme, Weather 

Forecast, Pharmacies on Duty; 06.15 Good 

Morning Oman; 07.00 News Bulletin; 07.10 Good 

Morning Oman (Sat-Wed); 10.00 News 

Headlines; 10.02 Classical Music; 12.00 News 

Headlines; 12.02 Guest Chef (June); 02.30 News 

Bulletin; 02.40 Afternoon Buzz); 04.00 News 

Headlines; 04.02 Radio Magazine (Laxmi); 05:00 

Short Stories (Judith); 05.15 Mix Music; 06.30 

News Bulletin; 06.40 Herbs and Health (Huda 

Sultan) 06.45 Radio Newsreel (Laxmi); 07.00 

The Right Click (Abdulla al Bahrani) Live; 08.00 

News Headlines; 08.02 Talk of The Town (Mur. 

Stac.); 10.00 News Bulletin; 10.10 World Chart 

Show Repeat 10.10PM Thursday; 12.10 Mix 

Music; 12.40 News Summary; 12.45 The Holy 

Quran; 01.00 National Anthem, Close Down. 

YOUR STARS 

IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY: Some kind friends may try to encourage you to do things in the coming year 

which don’t appeal to your idea of sensible and responsible behaviour. Extravagant spending 

is not in your nature but it is very easy to be persuaded. 

ARIES 

(March 21-April 20) 

Don’t let a successful 

gamble make you assume 

that the odds will always 

be in your favour — speculation 

should always proceed from a 

sound inancial basis. 

TAURUS 

(April 21-May 20) 

Your warm nature 

quickly endears you 

to people who are usually slow to 

open their hearts. The affection 

of these particular people needs 

careful nurturing. 

GEMINI 

(May 21-June 21) 

Instead of being in 

a hurry to inalise a 

transaction give yourself time to 

negotiate more favourable concessions, 

which are available if 

you wait a while. 

CANCER 

(June 22-July 21) 

Try not to be critical 

of a friend’s imperfections. 

It could easily spoil a very 

pleasant relationship and she 

ADAM @ HOME 

CALVIN AND HOBBES 

GARFIELD 

STONE SOUP 

may be holding her tongue as far 

as your faults are concerned. 

LEO 

(July 22-August 21) 

If you are planning 

your immediate future 

on a friend’s promise perhaps he 

may need to be reminded of it before 

you commit yourself. 

VIRGO 

(August 22- 

September 22) 

A person who has 

your best interest at heart and 

shows it at every opportunity will 

be hurt if you do not express your 

appreciation once in a while. 

LIBRA 

(September 23- 

October 22) 

It may take you some 

time to familiarise yourself with 

your duties at a new job but you 

will eventually feel quite at home 

with it. 

SCORPIO 

(October 23- 

November 21) 

If you know a friend is 

touchy on a certain subject take 

particular care to avoid it if you 

want to keep her friendship. 

CARTOONS 

SAGITTARIUS 

(November 22- 

December 21) 

Do your utmost to 

avoid a meeting today with a person 

with whom you would be sure 

to quarrel. You feel too tired to- 

day for arguments. 

CAPRICORN 

(December 22- 

January 20) 

Try not to be too 

abrupt with a person who would 

like to be of help to you but chooses 

the wrong time to offer his as- 

sistance. 

AQUARIUS 

(January 21- 

February 19) 

Make inancial checks 

on a recent business acquaintance 

before you commit yourself to any 

dealing, which involves a risk. 

PISCES 

(February 20- 

March 20) 

You are very much 

inclined to make excessive 

demands on others, but when 

they want favours done in return 

you are surprisingly not available. 

by Brian Basset 

by Bill Watterson 

by Jim Davis 

by Jan Eliot 

CRYPTIC PUZZLE 

ACROSS 

4 Does it clean up the 

nut and bolt? (6) 

7 Musical entertainment, 

if nothing else (8) 

8 Figure to train possibly 

as a flier (6) 

10 Industrialist’s difficult 

time? (5) 

13 Yearn to finish up with 

a six-footer (4) 

14 Charge for a ring? (4) 

15 A basin of water (4) 

16 Mend so soundly? (3) 

17 One takes no end of a 

chance with her (4) 

19 The boss, a capital 

fellow (4) 

21 Sincere explanation of 

the falter (9) 

23 Foreigner’s false start 

at the tavern (4) 

24 Is she to blame for the 

rhyme? (4) 

26 Despite a bit of a stiff 

back? (3) 

27 River winding through 

the heart of Bessarabia 

(4) 

29 Study Steve’s stuff? (4) 

32 Rent to the navy (4) 

33 Taken ill, turned to 

crime, apparently (5) 

34 Last month’s multimishap, 

all for nothing! 

(6) 

35 A moving picture of 

strife between leading 

players (4,4) 

36 Stick an advert in this 

place (6) 

DOWN 

1 Explorer who had his 

own Falcon (5) 

2 Voyage round the Pole 

(at a slow pace) (5) 

3 Properly, we should 

get fifty quid (4) 

4 Frailty isn’t really her 

name (5) 

5 Being kind is so right! 

(4) 

6 Dieted unwisely but 

did a top job (6) 

9 The man composing a 

patriotic song (6) 

ACROSS 

1 Writer (6) 

5 Aviator (6) 

9 Insipid (5) 

10 Objective (6) 

11 Toboggan (6) 

12 Freshly (5) 

14 Cot (4) 

17 Expire (3) 

18 Valley (4) 

20 Hell (5) 

22 Declined (5) 

23 Refined (7) 

24 Loosen (5) 

26 Weary (5) 

29 Paradise (4) 

30 Beaker (3) 

32 Challenge (4) 

33 Heaped (5) 

35 Choice (6) 

36 Inherent (6) 

37 Refute (5) 

38 Rotated (6) 

39 Concealed (6) 

DOWN 

1 Join (6) 

2 Swollen (6) 

3 Furnace (4) 

CROSSWORD 

11 Pull oneself 

backwards? (3) 

12 A legal right to be a 

foreigner (5) 

13 One’s deliverer is an 

upright fellow (7) 

15 Firewood? (3) 

16 Took the chair in a 

rebellious atmosphere 

(3) 

18 High price of arson, 

perhaps, on the fifth of 

November (6) 

20 Choose from available 

lecturers (5) 

21 A big success in 

Wichita, Kansas (3) 

22 Much in association 

with Romeo (3) 

23 Satisfied with what 

was badly fed out (6) 

25 Dad always has money 

for a mate (3) 

28 Came up with a 

quotation from 

Gertrude Stein (5) 

30 Italian manor, maybe 

(5) 

31 Seem to be turgid 

round a bend, as a 

river (5) 

32 Emit upwards for a 

while (4) 

33 A kingly stallion? (4) 

EASY PUZZLE 

ACROSS 

4 Calls (6) 

7 Explain (8) 

8 Impassive (6) 

10 Collision (5) 

13 Male deer (4) 

14 Canvas shelter (4) 

15 Celebrity (4) 

16 Aged (3) 

17 Slightly open (4) 

19 Melody (4) 

21 Remove (9) 

23 Consider (4) 

24 Breathe heavily (4) 

26 Friend (3) 

27 Manner (4) 

29 Cupid (4) 

32 Eyepiece (4) 

33 Coarse (5) 

34 Procession (6) 

35 Scents (8) 

36 Seven musicians (6) 

DOWN 

1 Decree (5) 

2 Continental (5) 

3 Curved structure (4) 

4 Match (5) 

5 Hard work (4) 

6 Treble (6) 

9 Plaid (6) 

11 Colour (3) 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

4 Assessed (5) 

5 Passage (5) 

6 Lazily (4) 

7 Maniac (6) 

8 Required (6) 

13 Yearning (7) 

15 Rushed (5) 

16 Started (5) 

18 Sound (5) 

19 Handle (5) 

12 Look fixedly (5) 

13 Bands (7) 

15 Miserable (3) 

16 Number (3) 

18 Stuck (6) 

20 Complete (5) 

21 Slippery fish (3) 

22 Tin (3) 

23 Injury (6) 

25 Fish (3) 

28 Useless (5) 

30 Card game (5) 

31 Feeling (5) 

32 Final (4) 

33 Sleeve part (4) 

YESTERDAY’S CRYPTIC 

SOLUTIONS 

ACROSS: 1, Rubber 7, 

Altitude 8, Last 10, Slacks 

11, Paying 14, Key 16, Belie 

17, Ti-E-s 19, Mea-L-s 

21, Far-ce 22, G-rebe 23, 

S-t-ew 26, Agree 28, C.o.-o 

29, H-e-ated 30, Bod-ega 

31, Reds 32, Alphonse 33, 

Danish. 

DOWN: 1, R-usse-t 2, 

Braces 3, Rats 4, Likable 

5, Pu-pil 6, Me-Rge 8, 

Lake 9, Sky 12, Ye-s 13, 

Nic-h-e 15, Verbs 18, I’mage 

19, Mae (May) 20, 

ACE 21, Freedom 22, Get 

23, S-odd-EN 24, Toes 25, 

Wra-I-th 26, A-head 27, 

Ramps 28, Coe 30, Bred. 

YESTERDAY’S EASY 

SOLUTIONS 

ACROSS: 1, Couple 7, 

Disagree 8, Drag 10, Scrape 

11, Famine 14, Ice 16, 

Metal 17, Espy 19, Liken 

21, Camel 22, Begin 23, 

Drew 26, Titan 28, Tie 29, 

Agents 30, Silent 31, Opal 

32, Lecturer 33, Teeter. 

DOWN: 1, Chaste 2, Piracy 

3, Edge 4, Caramel 5, Trait 

6, Rebel 8, Drip 9, Ape 12, 

Men 13, Nacre 15, Mimic 

18, Sprig 19, Lag 20, Ken 

21, Centaur 22, Ban 23, 

Dilate 24, Reel 25, Wither 

26, Table 27, Teach 28, Tip 

30, Sort. 

21 Gender (3) 

22 Damp (3) 

24 Account (6) 

25 Character (6) 

27 Sword (6) 

28 Imperfection (6) 

30 Booby-trapped (5) 

31 Class (5) 

33 Sweat-gland (4) 

34 Fruit (4) 

YESTERDAY’S QUICK 

SOLUTIONS 

ACROSS: 1, Port 4, Rut 6, 

Seam 9, Cad 10, Supposed 

11, Eros 14, Age 16, Tenet 

19, Combined 21, Merit 23, 

Disorder 24, Easel 27, Ego 

31, Prod 33, Inactive 34, 

Ere 35, Beer 36, Lee 37, 

Made. 

DOWN: 2, Opus 3, Type 4, 

Resigned 5, Tidy 6, Scene 

7, Ear 8, Adore 12, Scale 

13, Amass 14, Aim 15, Eerie 

17, Needy 18, Tarry 20, 

Disgrace 22, Too 25, Agree 

26, Elder 28, Bill 29, Stem 

30, Avid 32, Ore.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10 2013 

PERSPECTIVE 

23 

Economy 

Understanding opportunities of Islamic economics 

By Mohammed al Balushi 

morwared@hotmail.com 

IN fact, you hardly come across 

where news channels are free from 

economic discussions, debates and 

forecasts. You only ind a few people 

who dare to come out from their 

comfort zones and spend nights and 

nights to implement their economic 

ideas. Sometimes I permit myself to 

ask me about the problem facing the 

economy, and the irst question that I 

ask myself is that: what if I don’t have 

something to eat? Alright! You must 

work. This is the simple answer in 

which I induce myself. 

The second question will be that: 

what if I don’t have work or fail to 

ind a job? Another simple answer 

that I give to myself is that: develop 

your skills and knowledge and try to 

sell them to get fed. The last question 

that I ask myself is that: what if all my 

skills, knowledge are not sold and 

there is no market or such a policy by 

the government which support me 

with my economic vision, then what 

I suppose to do. Just wait for God’s 

indication who can better decide for 

any individual. 

At this point I always disagree with 

myself and with others who try to in- 

luence me to wait and be patient. It 

doesn’t mean I am faithless. There is 

no harm to be patient and to wait, but 

why wait? 

If it is about the nature, someone 

could understand like where people 

wait for seasons of winter, summer, 

spring and autumn. Life doesn’t 

mean to wait and see, especially in 

the world of materialism. Though 

you have made several efforts and 

the outcome was not satisfactory, and 

you are sure that things are already 

moved from your ends and hands. 

Rather, life means to grow, to move, to 

ind new ways, new opportunities and 

to work till the end. Now let us raise 

the valid question which is “why Islamic 

economic could not progress?” 

and how much the Islamic economics 

understood by people, and is the topic 

worth of debate? 

It has been referenced from the 

various Islamic books that the period 

from the 7th century to 13th century 

was known as the golden age of Islam. 

During this period Muslim scholars 

had made signiicant developments in 

the areas of Mathematics where you 

ind Algebra, induction and irrational 

numbers, and there were two famous 

names (Omar Khayam Al Biruni, and 

Ibn Khaldun), who had worked on 

that, and continuing, from the same 

research which says that, in the ield 

of medicine, Muslim scholars, made 

signiicant contributions to the medical 

profession, affecting many specialists, 

including anatomy, pathology, 

physiology and many more. Al Razi, 

Abul Qasim, and Ibn Sina were most 

popular names in the ield of medicine 

at that period. 

Although, the research said that 

from the same golden period some 

economic developments were made, 

for examples: introduction of common 

currency with the inclusion of 

inancial contracts like murabaha, 

musharaka and sakk. Miserably, this 

has increased my level of suspicions, 

that why there were no such names 

like Adam Smith, and Karl Marx, in 

the list of Muslim economists. Whenever, 

there are discussions in Islamic 

circle, the economic part is missing, 

that how Islamic economics fulil the 

demand of consumers. 

Can Islamic economics provide 

and supply the demand of people? 

That question is still there. As an individual 

you don’t want the economy 

of Islam or any other economy in the 

world to tell you or decide on your 

behalf that this can satisfy your need 

and demand. In the other word you 

don’t want someone to impose on you 

with his ideas and options; rather, you 

as an individual want from the suppliers 

(Islamic inance, Islamic banking, 

Islamic economy and all other economic 

and inancial institutions) to 

fulill your demand, if we gossip economically. 

However, I tried to reopen some 

more pages about Islamic economics 

and I found some Islamic economists 

like Nasir al Din (1201-1274), Al Ghazali 

(1058-1111), and Asaad Davani 

(b.1444). How and what did they contribute 

to economy and why did not 

the Islamic economy progress after 

them? I asked myself. Nevertheless, 

researchers have said that: the 15th 

through the early 20th centuries saw 

mostly colonising much of the world, 

including Muslim nations. By the end 

of the 19th century, Europe controlled 

60 to 70 per cent of the land in the entire 

world, colonisation continued for 

several more decades. Every aspect of 

society, from education to economics, 

was colonised. Western economics 

and banking systems were imposed 

on colonised lands, so capitalism (and 

its interest–based transactions) took 

hold. That can be one of the reasons 

that: why the Islamic economics could 

not progress. 

Can the concept and practice of 

Islamic economy solve the globe economic 

crisis? Will Islamic banks be 

better parts and leading players on 

that? The research says that: between 

2006 and 2008 the market capitalisation 

of conventional banks declined 

by 42.85 per cent, while the market 

capital of Islamic banks declined only 

by 8.5 per cent. 

Additionally, the total assets of the 

conventional banks grew 36 per cent, 

while the Islamic banks’ total assets 

grew 55 per cent. The proits of conventional 

banks dropped from a $116 

billion proit in 2006 to a $42 billion 

loss in 2008, while Islamic banks 

experienced a net proit increase of 

9 per cent in the same period. Will 

Muslim scholars be able to convince 

positively the Western countries and 

Europe to practise the Islamic way of 

economy? Will really the Islamic economy 

safeguard the world’s wealth 

from the losses or is it just going to be 

an idea only? 

Oil 

Banking 

Spills lame Canadian oil debate 

By Jeffrey Jones 

Emergency crews work to clean up an oil spill near Interstate 40 in Maylower, Arkansas. — Reuters 

TWO high-proile oil spills won't 

stem the now-record low of 

Canadian oil into the United 

States, despite the frenzy that the 

spills triggered among friends and 

foes of the Keystone XL pipeline to 

the main US reineries. 

The fate of Keystone remains undecided, 

yet Canadian crude will become 

an increasing part of the US 

energy mix, despite growing competition 

from new US production. 

US thirst for Canadian crude has 

shot up nearly 30 per cent over the 

past ive years as reiners opt to buy 

from the north instead of bringing in 

more expensive Opec oil, thanks to a 

boom in production from the vast Alberta 

oil sands. 

Midwest reiners have invested 

billions of dollars to tweak plants to 

take more of the heavy crude from 

the region, and a small but growing 

network of rail routes have sprouted 

up to augment existing pipelines. 

So even as environmentalists 

seized on oil spills last week in Arkansas 

and Minnesota to warn about the 

impact of expansion in the tar sands 

— the world's third-largest crude deposit 

— it appears only a crash in the 

price of oil or unexpected regulation 

will derail the growing energy interdependence. 

"Short-term, this is not good for 

producers, it's not good for Canadian 

oil going south, it's not good for Keystone," 

John Stephenson, vice-president 

and portfolio manager at First 

Asset Investment Management in Toronto 

said of the two spills. 

"But I think the reality is this oil is 

going to make it south of the border, 

quite likely by rail or one of the other 

pipelines across the Canadian-US border, 

so I see it as a short-term hiccup 

at worst." 

Canada's black gold has allowed 

the Obama administration to crow 

about dwindling reliance on oil from 

less-friendly suppliers in the Middle 

East and elsewhere. In addition, a glut 

of the Canadian heavy oil has tempered 

higher gasoline prices, especially 

in the US Midwest. 

That may trump increasingly bad 

PR for Canada's oil, much of which 

is produced by energy- and carbonintensive 

methods such as mining or 

steaming, making it a prime target in 

the battle over policies to ight global 

warming. 

Yet the growing role of Canadian 

crude in the US economy cannot be 

denied. Overall US oil imports fell 

to 8.5 million barrels a day last year 

from over 10 million in 2007, but 

supplies from Canada jumped to 

2.4 million barrels a day, from just 

under 1.9 million, over the period, 

according to the US Energy Information 

Administration. 

That puts Canadian crude at nearly 

29 per cent of foreign supplies in the 

United States, despite the remarkable 

increase in US domestic light oil output 

from regions such as the North 

Dakota Bakken that has fueled predictions 

of North American energy 

self-suficiency in 15 years. 

In fact, the two types of crude compete 

little for reinery space, as Canada's 

heavy crude is being directed at 

US Gulf Coast plants that are conigured 

to process heavy oil, which now 

arrives in dwindling volumes from 

Venezuela and Mexico. 

"If that's the case, then Obama's 

left with not an energy choice -- he's 

left with a geopolitical choice," said 

Michal Moore, director of energy and 

environmental policy at the University 

of Calgary's School of Public Policy 

and a former California energy regulator. 

"Do you want to piss off Canada 

by not letting oil into the reineries 

that can handle it most easily? I don't 

know how he makes that judgment 

but I will say that this doesn't help." 

Other reiners have also invested 

to process more feedstock from Canada, 

with BP sinking $4 billion into its 

Whiting, Indiana plant to take more of 

the heavy, sour oil. 

In addition to heavy tar sands oil, 

Canada also exports large volumes of 

conventional lighter crude. 

In January, the US imported over 

1.5 million bpd of heavy Canadian 

crude, deined by the Canadian Association 

of Petroleum Producers as 

having an API Gravity of less than 27 

degrees, and nearly 1.15 million bpd 

of lighter, easier to reine oil, according 

to the EIA. 

Last week's spills both involved oil 

from Canada. 

On Friday, Exxon Mobil Corp's 

aging Pegasus pipeline ruptured in 

Arkansas, forcing a cleanup of thousands 

of barrels of heavy Canadian oil 

that leaked into a suburban neighborhood. 

The incident followed an oil spill 

in rural Minnesota after a Canadian 

Paciic Ltd train derailed. The tankercar 

leaked several hundred barrels of 

Alberta crude and reignited concern 

about oil moving by train as pipeline 

capacity lags production growth. 

Producers shipped about 45,000 

barrels of Canadian oil into the United 

States by train last year, up from 

almost nothing just ive years earlier, 

based on Reuters calculations of data 

from Canada's National Energy Board. 

Current shipments could be as much 

as 150,000 barrels a day, estimated 

Steven Paget, analyst at FirstEnergy 

Capital Corp. 

The spills are the latest in a string 

of problems for shippers of Canadian 

crude that have inlamed the debate 

over the oil sands. The largest spill 

was the Enbridge Inc line break in 

Michigan in 2010, which sent more 

than 20,000 barrels of Canadian oil 

into the Kalamazoo River system. 

US regulators last month ordered 

Enbridge's US afiliate to do more 

cleanup at the site, pushing the bill to 

near $1 billion. 

TransCanada Corp, backer of the 

long-delayed $5.3 billion Keystone 

XL pipeline to Texas reineries from 

Alberta, and the line's supporters, say 

oil spills highlight the need for safer 

energy infrastructure rather than a 

shift from pipelines. 

"I don't think it will have an impact 

(on Canadian exports and the approval 

of pipelines). Look, it's being seized 

on by those who oppose hydrocarbon 

development, but if you follow their 

logic to its conclusion, what they're 

saying, I guess, is they don't want to 

see any pipelines built," Canadian 

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver 

said of the Arkansas spill. 

"It's not because of Canadian crude 

that there was a spill. It was an old 

pipeline, more than 60 years old." 

Oliver has led Ottawa's intense 

lobbying campaign in favor of the 

830,000 barrel a day Keystone XL 

project, which will take Canadian 

crude to Gulf reineries. Washington is 

set to decide on the line this summer 

and it could be in service in 2015. 

All predictions are for a steady 

climb in Canadian production, explaining 

the industry and government's 

quest for new markets in the 

United States and non-traditional 

areas such as Asia, one of the biggest 

drivers engines of world oil demand 

growth. Canada's National Energy 

Board has predicted output will average 

3.6 million barrels a day this year, 

up 12.5 per cent from 2012, putting 

it nearly 400,000 barrels a day ahead 

of No 2 Opec producer Iraq's current 

output. 

Stress tests make 

banks more stable 

By Pedro Nicolaci da 

Costa 

FEDERAL Reserve 

Chairman Ben 

Bernanke said the 

central bank's periodic 

bank stress tests have 

made the inancial system 

more resilient. 

Contrasting the current 

state of banks to 

their tattered condition 

in 2009 after the historic 

inancial crisis, Bernanke 

said the sector's rebound 

was positive for the 

broader recovery given 

the importance of credit 

to economic growth. 

"The resilience of the 

US banking system has 

greatly improved since 

then, and the more intensive 

use and greater 

sophistication of supervisory 

stress testing, as 

well as supervisors' increased 

emphasis on the 

effectiveness of banks' 

own capital planning 

processes, deserve some 

credit for that improvement," 

Bernanke said in prepared remarks to a conference on inancial 

stability sponsored by the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank. 

In a speech that did not directly touch on the outlook for the US 

economy and monetary policy, Bernanke hinted at why the central 

bank continues to pursue an extraordinarily easy monetary policy. 

"The economy is signiicantly stronger than it was four years ago, 

although conditions are clearly still far from where we would all like 

them to be," he said. 

Some critics have argued the Fed's stress tests are not suficiently 

harsh, while banks have complained they do not fully understand the 

central bank's methodology. 

The Fed has released scores for major bank holding companies 

that show how low their capital ratios would fall under proposed 

plans for dividends and stock buybacks if "severely adverse" economic 

conditions unfolded over the next two years. 

Bernanke said providing too many details about the methodology 

could lead banks to curtail their own internal risk-management systems. 

He argued US inancial institutions had bolstered their balance 

sheets by raising more capital. However, he said too many irms still 

rely too heavily on short-term sources of funding, raising some potential 

for trouble. 

"In the area of liquidity and funding, continued improvement is 

still needed on some dimensions," he said. "Notably, supervisors 

will continue to press banks to reduce further their dependence on 

wholesale funding, which proved highly unreliable during the crisis." 

Bernanke said it was important the stress test scenarios remain 

severe even as the economy improves so as to not generate complacency. 

The Fed was widely criticised in the wake of the global inancial 

crisis for missing the oncoming train wreck and being too lenient on 

banks that took excessive risks. 

The crisis led to a series of unpopular bailouts of inancial institutions 

that tarnished the central bank's reputation. — Reuters


24 

OMAN 

Meethaq to promote Zakat national campaign 


MUSCAT — The Ministry of Awqaf 

and Religious Affairs, in association 

with Meethaq Islamic Banking, 

launched a national campaign aimed 

at encouraging citizens and residents 

in fulilling the Islamic obligation of 

Zakat. His Eminence Shaikh Ahmed 

bin Hamed al Khalili, Grand Mufti 

of the Sultanate, launched the Zakat 

National Campaign in the presence 

Sulaiman al Harthy, Group General 

Manager, Meethaq Islamic Banking, at 

the Jurisprudence Symposium yesterday. 

Sulaiman al Harthy said: “Meethaq 

is proud to join hands with the Ministry 

of Awqaf and Religious Affairs to 

launch the Zakat National Campaign. 

As the pioneer of Islamic banking in 

Oman, Meethaq is committed to providing 

a fulilling banking experience. 

The Zakat National Campaign will be 

promoted by Meethaq, facilitating 

convenient processes to fulil Zakat 

obligations, thereby adding value to 

the Islamic banking experience.” 

Sulaiman al Harthy 

The initiative comes as part of 

a Memorandum of Understanding 

(MoU) signed by the Ministry 

of Awqaf and Religious Affairs with 

Meethaq Islamic Banking. The Ministry 

will operate a bank account with 

Meethaq, which will facilitate the collection 

and distribution of Zakat funds 

by utilising all possible mechanisms 

and channels, including the Meethaq 

branch network, ATMs, internet banking, 

phone banking and Awqaf shares. 

Meethaq will organise various campaigns 

to encourage citizens and residents 

to fulill Zakat obligations and 

also promote Awqaf shares on behalf 

of the Ministry. Meethaq will be involved 

in asset restructuring and related 

managerial responsibilities for 

the Ministry. 

The MoU also includes an annual 

prize known as Meethaq Prize for Islamic 

Banking Studies, aimed at encouraging 

research studies on economy 

and Islamic banking. 

The Islamic obligation of Zakat is 

one of the ive pillars of Islam, and 

is expected to be paid by all practising 

Muslims who have the inancial 

means (Nisab). 

In addition to their Zakat obligations, 

Muslims are encouraged 

to make voluntary contributions 

(Sadaqat) as an act of piety through 

which one expresses concern for 

the well-being of fellow Muslims, as 

well as preserving social harmony 

between the wealthy and the poor. 

BUSINESS ALERT 

Ford wins ‘10 Best Engines’ awards 

MUSCAT — The unique efforts of Ford’s automotive experts have once again 

been recognised and rewarded. Highlighting the fact that Ford vehicles unlike 

the average vehicles aren’t just designed to look good from the outside, but to 

perform beyond expectations as well. 

Ford’s fuel eficient 2.0-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder engine is one of two 

Ford engines this year to win a highly coveted ‘10 Best Engines’ trophy from 

the editors of WardsAuto World. The 662-HP 5.8-litre V8 — the world’s 

most powerful production V8 engine — in the 2013 Shelby GT500 has also 

won a 10 Best Engines trophy. Each fall, Ward’s editors evaluate the latest 

powertrains from the world’s automakers in rigorous testing to determine 

which engines deliver the best blend of performance, value, fuel eficiency and 

reinement. Ford has won eight 10 Best Engines awards in the last ive years. 

The 2.0-litre turbocharged, direct-injected engine, produced in Valencia, 

Spain, is Ford’s global workhorse EcoBoost engine, powering everything from 

the rear-wheel-drive Falcon sedan in Australia to vans in Europe and the highperformance 

Focus ST. Last year, the 2.0-litre won a ‘10 Best Engines’ award in 

the Ford Edge crossover. 

“The EcoBoost Taurus and Focus ST really show just how versatile and 

capable the 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine is,” said Joe Bakaj, Ford Vice-President of 

Powertrain Engineering. “The Focus ST is the irst performance application for 

EcoBoost, and it really delivers the goods,” he added. “The 2.0-litre EcoBoost 

in the Taurus replaces a V6 and delivers great all-around performance, along 

with best-in-class 32 mpg on the highway.” In the Focus ST, the 2.0-litre cranks 

out 252 HP and 270 lb.-ft. of torque. Magazine reviews have shown Focus 0-60 

mph acceleration in the mid-six-second range. 

Ford vehicles are known the world over for their exceptional safety, luxury 

and unsurpassed technological superiority. Ford ploughs in millions of dollars 

into R&D each year to ensure that every Ford offers maximum safety and 

motoring pleasure for its customers. 

In Oman, Ford vehicles are marketed by Arabian Car Marketing Co. LLC, a 

part of the renowned Saud Bahwan Group. They come with 6 years unlimited 

mileage protection, service and parts network that stretches across the 

Sultanate, over 98 per cent parts availability and Ford Privilege Card which 

provides 24 hours on-road assistance from AAA. 

Bank Sohar Al Mumayaz draw winners 

NINE lucky Bank Sohar customers were announced as the winners of Bank 

Sohar’s irst quarter draw of the Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme 2013. As part 

of the draw seven children won RO 1,000 each, one winner took home the 

regional draw prize of RO 7,000 and one lucky winner walked away with the 

quarterly draw grand prize of RO 70,000. 

Under Bank Sohar’s Al Mumayaz Saving Scheme 2013 programme 

customers and public were invited to attend a grand function at the at the 

Sohar Entertainment centre on April 3, 2013. As a special guest for the 

evening, Oman’s Karting champion, Abdullah Sulaiman al Rawahi, graced 

the occasion and conducted the draws to reveal names of the seven lucky 

winners of RO1000 each. The grand draw for RO 70,000 was carried out by 

a senior member of the Majlis Ash’shura council. The lucky winner was a 

valued customer from the bank’s Sohar branch, which was well appreciated 

by the home crowd. Also present at the occasion from Bank Sohar were R 

Narasimhan, DGM and Head of retail banking; Salim Khamis al Maskari, Senior 

AGM of branches; Redha al Lawatia, Incharge of Retail Liabilities Business; 

Mazin Mahmood al Raisi, AGM of Marketing; and Rashid al Maskari, Branch 

Head of the Sohar Branch. 

Congratulating the winners and commenting on the draw, R Narasimhan, 

DGM & Head of retail banking, said "Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme is designed 

to reignite a savings culture and in turn positively impact the inancial health 

of our valued customers. We know that our customers work hard to achieve 

their savings goals, and this is a great way for us to reward them for their 

loyalty to our Bank. Our hourly prize draws, that ensure our valued clients 

win prizes everyday in 2013, has been a resounding success. The prizes have 

so far been evenly distributed among our Bank’s retail branches thereby 

spreading joy and encouragement across our entire branch network.” 

The draw was just the irst of four draws that will take place throughout the 

year as part of Bank Sohar’s Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme 2013. 

Mars to open hypermarket at Qurum 

MARS International LLC will launch its new retail outlet with the opening of 

the Mars Hypermarket in the heart of Qurum, it was announced at a press 

meet chaired by V T Vinod, Managing Director of Mars International LLC. 

During the press meet, Naveej Vinod, Executive Director of Mars International 

shared his views on contemporary trends in retailing. 

The outlet will feature the entire range of products and a wide variety 

of services across categories. Serving as a gateway into a whole new and 

refreshing shopping experience to the residents of Qurum, Mars Hypermarket 

will celebrate an oficial inaugurating ceremony on April 13. The outlet will be 

inaugurated by Shaikh Ibrahim bin Yahya al Rawahi, Hon’ble Wali of Bausher. 

The new outlet in Qurum is structured in three loors with ample parking 

facilities and convenience. The hypermarket will showcase the best quality 

products available with a wide variety of sections comprising of FMCG 

products, electronics, IT products, appliances, stationery and household. 

Widest choice of high quality branded products from different parts of world 

will be incorporated in the new outlet. The hypermarket will showcase the 

fresh food section comprising fruit, vegetables, dairy products, meat, ish and 

hot food corner. There will be 9 cash counters to ensure hassle free shopping 

experience to the shoppers including two swift billing counters. “We have 

tried to create a one stop shopping centre for the customers with a sense of 

quick shopping. Understanding the previous experiences, we have created an 

entirely fresh service layout for the new outlet. Now a day, the word shopping 

has got a dimension of fun & entertainment and our new outlet sticks to it,” 

said V T Vinod, Managing Director, Mars International LLC. 

Ahlibank unveils Al Hilal debit card 

AL Hilal Islamic Banking Services by Ahli 

Bank Oman, one of the irst Islamic banks in 

Oman, introduced a chip based debit card 

for their esteemed customers. The Shari’ah 

compliant debit card can be accepted 

worldwide for withdrawing cash as well as 

at merchant outlets. 

Based on international banking 

standards, the Al Hilal debit card is tailored 

to meet the need of the Islamic banking 

customers and has been developed in strict 

accordance with the values of the Islamic 

faith. 

Commenting on this commendable 

achievement Abdullah al Jabri (pictured) DGM and Head of Islamic Banking 

Al Hilal said .” “Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services from Ahlibank is the irst 

Islamic Banking Window in Oman to go live with the debit card with full 

service and transactional facilities for our esteemed customers. Al Hilal 

debit card can now be used by the customers for their transactions/ cash 

withdrawals on Omannet, GCC net and the Visa network, our customers can 

use any ATM machines in the Sultanate without baring any charges or fees. ”. 

Al Jabri Added “that this milestone is in line with the constant endeavours 

being made by Al Hilal to ensure that their customers get the best services 

available. He further reiterated that Alhilal is coming up with various new 

initiatives in order to ensure the continued momentum for Islamic Banking in 

the Sultanate of Oman and the high level of customer satisfaction which is the 

hallmark of the brand.” 

Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services from Ahlibank offers its customers a wide 

range of products and services to cater to their banking needs through Sharia 

compliant products built on the tenants of truth and transparency in Banking. 

Al Hilal Islamic Banking services currently offers the largest branch network 

for any Islamic Banking service provider in the country and also offer of the 

largest selection of inancial products and services available in the Omani 

banking market. 

KR supports kids with disabilities 

THE Khimji Ramdas (KR) group took its commitment to social welfare an 

extra step further. Oman’s powerhouse conglomerate has been known for 

its unfailing support to the Association of Early Intervention for Children 

with Disabilities- among other non-proit organisations - through its regular 

and generous contributions. But this month, its level of involvement grew 

when the corporate paid a visit to the Association as a way of gaining a better 

understanding and appreciation for the efforts of the association. 

Among the dignitaries included in the visit were — Patron HH Dr Muna 

bint Fahad al Said; Yahya Bader al Maawali, Under-Secretary at the Ministry 

of Social Development; Kanaksi Khimji and Pankaj Khimji, Directors, Khimji 

Ramdas; Rajive Ahuja, Head of Corporate Communications at Khimji Ramdas; 

and from the association Najat Saif Al busaidi Chairperson of the Association 

of Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities and Sabah Al Bahlani CEO 

of the Association. 

The purpose of this visit was to acquaint the attendees of the ground 

realities at the association, get to look at the aid and equipment for the 

children, get a better understanding on the process being followed and to 

interact with the staff of the association. Patron HH Dr. Muna bint Fahad 

Al Said, stated, “It is a great honour to visit the Association and to see the 

good work done. The most important way to help the children is to raise 

public awareness and to develop their skills so they can make productive 

contributions to society and the economy. Private schools should play a more 

proactive role in helping integrate disabled children with the mainstream.” 

Pankaj Khimji said of the visit, “It has been a pleasure supporting the 

Association for a number of years. KR regards this as a life time commitment 

that we will also stand by and offer continuous support. Children with special 

needs as they grow up should feel as a part of our society. It is crucial to their 

development that they are integrated into mainstream society. There should 

be a system where they can visit schools and ofices to make their transition 

into the real world smooth.” 

It is worth mentioning that last year the Association faced a inancial 

crisis that could have set it back signiicantly, KR stepped in to provide timely 

inancial support. As a part of the company’s role KR intends to sensitise 

its own staff members by organising orientation trips to the Association to 

inspire more and more employees and their families to pitch in as volunteers.

FOOTBALL 

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Wednesday 


‘Goal-line technology set for 2013-14’ 

Kohli carries RCB to easy victory 

Guan ready for Masters 

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FOOTBALL 

Phil Neville to leave 

Everton 

Oman ready for Davis Cup ties in Myanmar 

LONDON — Everton captain Phil 

Neville will leave the Premier 

League club at the end of the season 

after eight years with the Merseysiders, 

the former England international 


The 36-year-old Neville joined 

Everton from Manchester United 

having won six Premier League 

titles, three Football Association 

(FA) Cups and the 1999 Champions 

League. 

By Sanjay Chakhaiyar 

MUSCAT — With the entire tennis 

fraternity the globe over watching the 

Davis Cup World Group quarterinals 

action this week, the temperature 

seems to be soaring in Oman too as 

far as this sport is concerned. 

Mohammed al Nabhani, Saleh al 

Zadjali and Fahd al Hashmi are toiling 

hard under the sun — practising at 

the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex for 

their upcoming Asia/Oceania Zone 

Group III Davis Cup ties in Yangon, 

Myanmar, from April 28 to May 5. 

According to tennis experts, much 

will once again depend on the strong 

shoulders of Mohammed, who seems 

to be in top gear and in all probability 

will pair up with his elder sibling 

Khalid al Nabhani in the doubles. 

Khalid, the most experienced of 

the lot, is presently pursuing a PhD in 

Glasgow (Scotland) and is expected to 

join the squad in Myanmar, four days 

prior to the start of the tournament. 

Oman's non-playing captain Siddiq 

al Hasmi, who has been with the 

Oman Tennis Association Executive Manager Salman al Balushi (second 

right), Head of Marketing Abdullah al Mukadam (left), Siddiq al Hashmi 

(non-playing captain, second left) and Karim Saadallah, the technical 

adviser at a press meet yesterday. 

squad since 2006, sounded optimistic 

and realistic on his team's preparation 

for this prestigious event. 

''I would say our target is to play 

good tennis so that we remain in 

Group III the following year also. I’m 

not expecting anything extraordinary 

to happen in Myanmar.'' 

‘‘It’s a very tough group with Iran, 

Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, the 

Khalid al Nabhani 

UAE, Cambodia and the Paciic Oceania 

all in good form.’’ 

‘‘Our toughest matches will be 

against Hong Kong and Paciic Oceania, 

who have been relegated to Group 

III, while our ties against the UAE and 

Cambodia should be comparatively 

easy,'' said Siddiq. 

‘‘To remain in the present group 

we have to win at least two of the seven 

matches in this tourney.’’ 

Oman's non-playing captain also 

revealed that he wants full security 

for his team. ‘‘We have written to the 

International Tennis Federation (ITF) 

to provide proper security when playing 

in Myanmar and am expecting a 

positive reply soon.’’ 

Siddiq agreed that the younger 

generation has to take over the mantle 

from the veterans like Khalid and 

Mohammed who have been carrying 

on for years. 

‘‘I feel there is a big gap between 

the members of this squad and the 

youngsters. But it will take at least 4-5 

years as we have set plans to groom 

the young talented players who will 

replace this generation.'' 

For the record, Oman made its 

Davis Cup debut in 1994 and its best 

performance was in 2007 in Colombo 

(Sri Lanka) where it was upgraded to 

Group II. The Sultanate remained in 

this group for another two years but 

was relegated again to Group III in 

2009 end. 

The Sultanate squad will have a 

two-week training camp in Bangkok 

(Thailand) from April 11-26. 

''The team will travel to Thailand 

on Thursday to undergo a camp 

there,'' added Siddiq.

26 

SPORT 


Special Aguero goal helps City sink United 

Manchester City’s James Milner (left) shoots to score against Manchester United during their English Premier League match in Manchester on Monday. — Reuters 

MANCHESTER — Sergio Aguero tore 

through the Manchester United defence 

to score a dazzling winner as 

Manchester City beat the Premier 

League leaders 2-1 on Monday to remind 

them they are still champions 

for a few more weeks. 

Second-placed City's second successive 

league win at Old Trafford, 

following last term's 6-1 demolition 

job, allowed them to narrow 

the gap on United to 12 points with 

seven games left although manager 

Roberto Mancini said the title race 

was over. 

"The championship is inished," the 

Italian told a news conference. "Our 

supporters deserve this victory, after 

we were 15 points behind it was important 

for them. 

"It is important for us because we 

can clinch second position." 

A blistering opening 10 minutes 

gave way to a scrappy irst half before 

the visitors broke the deadlock in the 

51st minute with James Milner's de- 

lected goal. 

The lead lasted eight minutes 

before an unfortunate own goal 

from City captain Vincent Kompany 

following a superb free kick by Robin 

van Persie but substitute Aguero 

came on to snatch the points with a 

special goal in the 78th minute. 

United lead the way with 77 points 

from 31 games with City on 65. Thirdplaced 

Chelsea are on 58 points, level 

with Tottenham Hotspur who have 

played a game more than their London 

rivals. 

While City have effectively already 

handed over their crown, United manager 

Alex Ferguson is avoiding taking 

possession until the mathematics are 

complete. 

"We won't be complacent. If you 

look at the history of this club over 

the years we always make it dificult 

for ourselves," he told the BBC. 

"The supporters are hanging on 

the edge of their seats every year. It is 

a 12-point lead, we go to Stoke at the 

weekend and we will have a go." 

On a chilly evening at Old Trafford, 

visiting fans taunted their hosts 

by singing 'We are the champions — 

champions of England' and reminded 

them of last season's hammering that 

proved key when they won the title 

on goal difference. 

The frenetic start to the game highlighted 

there was more than just three 

points at stake as United sought to 

eradicate memories of that drubbing 

Negredo double helps 

Sevilla beat Bilbao 

MADRID — Alvaro Negredo scored 

twice to lead Sevilla to a 2-1 home 

win over Athletic Bilbao in La Liga 

on Monday and keep alive their 

hopes of qualifying for Europe next 

season. 

The Spain striker netted in the 

fourth and 87th minutes to take his 

tally for the season to 17 in an entertaining 

clash where both sides 

inished with 10 men. 

Sevilla are 10th with 41 points 

and eight games left to play, six 

short of Malaga in sixth place and 

the last Europa League qualiication 

berth. 

The hosts were quickly in front 

when Negredo licked a header 

past Gorka Iraizoz from Ivan Rakitic's 

teasing free kick, and he was 

denied a second before the break 

thanks only to Carlos Gurpegi's outstretched 

boot. 

Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente, 

the leading igure in last season's 

headline-grabbing Europa League 

and King's Cup campaigns, continued 

to show a worrying lack of con- 

idence in front of goal. 

He made way for Aritz Aduriz at 

halftime and Bilbao were level in the 

55th when Gurpegi licked a header 

from a free kick inside the far post. 

Sevilla lost defender Fernando 

Navarro to a second yellow card in 

the 73rd, and Bilbao defender Aymeric 

Laporte followed him down 

the tunnel in the 80th. 

With four minutes remaining, 

Sevilla's Jose Antonio Reyes broke 

down the left and his raking low 

cross left Negredo with a simple inish 

at the far post. 

Marcelo Bielsa's Bilbao are 13th 

with 35 points, nine above the relegation 

places. — Reuters 

Bayern to receive league 

crown in May: DFL 

BERLIN — New Bundesliga winners 

Bayern Munich will oficially receive 

the championship shield after their 

inal home game against Augsburg on 

May 11, the German Football League 

(DFL) said yesterday. 

The Bavarians were conirmed 

German league champions on Saturday 

after Bastian Schweinsteiger's 

second-half winner sealed a 1-0 victory 

at Eintracht Frankfurt, securing 

the title with six games left. 

Traditionally, the winning team 

receive the trophy on the last day 

of the season, when Bayern are at 

Moenchengladbach, but with the title 

having been won so early, the Bavarian 

giants will celebrate at Munich's 

Allianz Arena. 

With the league celebrating its 

50th year, DFL president Reinhard 

Rauball will present Bayern with the 

shield, which is 53 centimetres (21 

inches) in diameter, weighs 11 kg 

(24lbs) and was made in 1949. 

It carries the names of all of the 

German champions dating back to 

1903, when VfB Leipzig were the 

winners, and is insured to the value 

of 50,000 euros ($65,200, £42,000). 

City’s Sergio Aguero celebrates after scoring against United. — Reuters 

Hernanes scores, misses 

penalty in derby draw 

ROME — Lazio midielder Hernanes 

scored a superb irst-half goal then 

turned villain by missing one penalty 

and giving away another in a pulsating 

1-1 Serie A derby draw with AS 

Roma on Monday. 

Thirty-six-year-old forward Francesco 

Totti converted Roma's penalty 

but his side missed out on a win 

when Erik Lamela contrived to head 

over from two metres with the goal at 

his mercy late in the game. 

Lazio, who won the previous three 

Rome derbies, played the last 20 minutes 

with 10 men after Giuseppe Biava 

was sent off for a second bookable 

offence. 

The match was preceded by fan 

violence and police said two people 

were stabbed when rival groups of 

fans clashed in the city. Television 

pictures showed police in riot gear 

scufling with a group of supporters 

who threw rocks and bottles near the 

Stadio Olimpico. 

Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno 

said that businesses in the area 

around the stadium had been forced 

to close during the clashes. 

Fifth-placed Lazio, seven points 

adrift of a Champions League playoff 

place, dominated the irst half 

and Hernanes put them ahead with a 

superb effort in the 16th minute, cutting 

inside a defender and scoring in 

the top corner from 25 metres. 

Roma, lucky to be just one goal 

down at halftime, had an ever bigger 

let off four minutes after halftime 

when Marquinho handled in the 

area, only for Hernanes to nonchalantly 

side-foot wide from the penalty 

spot. 

That proved the turning point and 

Hernanes compounded his mistake 

eight minutes later by tripping Miralem 

Pjanic in the Lazio area. 

Totti, who made his Roma debut 

just over 20 years ago, made no mistake, 

placing a low shot just inside 

the left hand post for the ninth Rome 

derby goal of his career and his 12th 

goal of the season. 

Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti 

did well to save a Totti freekick 

at the foot of the post before Argentine 

midielder Lamela somehow 

headed over from almost under the 

crossbar following a Totti corner. 

Lazio's point put them ifth in Serie 

A with 51 points from 31 games, 

eight behind third-place AC Milan 

and a place in the Champions League 

qualifying rounds. Roma are seventh 

with 48 points. — Reuters 

Lazio’s Hernanes (right) celebrates after scoring against AS Roma 

during their Italian Serie A match in Rome on Monday. — Reuters 

and City reproduced leeting glimpses 

of last term's attacking spark. 

BARREN SPELL 

The visitors had the better chances 

as Samir Nasri, Milner and David Silva 

wasted decent opportunities while 

United forward Van Persie, enduring 

a barren spell of 10 games without a 

goal, experienced yet more frustration. 

The Dutchman's early shot across 

goal went just wide of the far post and 

he later ired wildly into the crowd 

from distance. 

United's stand-in centre back Phil 

Jones was quick off the mark to intercept 

after good work from Silva who 

tried to set up former Old Trafford favourite 

Carlos Tevez. 

City were inally rewarded for their 

domination of possession when Ryan 

Giggs messed up an attempted backheel 

to allow Gareth Barry to run free 

down the left and lay the ball to Nasri 

who set up Milner for a shot that went 

in off Jones. 

The goal brought to an end a sixmatch 

run of clean sheets in the 

league for United but City celebrations 

were short-lived as the leaders 

quickly pulled level. 

Jones' header from an inswinging 

Van Persie free kick, which had 

already beaten keeper Joe Hart, hit 

Kompany on the back before lying 

into the net for an own goal. 

Both teams chased the winner with 

Danny Welbeck heading straight at 

Hart and Ashley Young also on target 

but it was the introduction of Aguero 

in place of Nasri with less than 20 

minutes to go that proved decisive. 

The Argentine, who started on the 

bench but could be fully it in time 

for this weekend's FA Cup semiinal 

against Chelsea, picked the ball up on 

the edge of the box and drifted past 

several defenders before iring high 

into the net. 

Players from both sides squared 

up as tempers frayed towards the end 

when United failed to put the ball out 

of play when Silva was down with a 

hamstring injury that Mancini said 

was likely to keep him out of the Chelsea 

game. 

Ferguson wrote in his programme 

notes: "How do we analyse this season 

— is it one of regret or celebration? 

For me it's something of the proverbial 

curate's egg, part bad but with 

some great redeeming features." 

He would agree Monday's result 

was not one of them. — Reuters 

‘Goal-line 

technology 

set for 

2013-14’ 

LONDON — The Football Association 

expects goal-line technology to 

be formally approved in time for the 

2013-14 Premier League campaign 

at a meeting of clubs this week, an 

FA oficial said yesterday. 

Last week, world governing body 

Fifa appointed a German irm, Goal- 

Control, to provide the technology 

(GLT) at the Confederations Cup in 

Brazil in June. If successful, it will 

then be used at next year's World 

Cup. 

FA general secretary Alex Horne 

said he expected Premier League 

clubs to ratify use of the technology 

when they convene tomorrow. 

"I always thought it was an ideal 

piece of technology to allow into the 

game," said Horne. "The (Premier 

League) club meeting is on Thursday, 

so I'm expecting it to go through 

at that meeting." 

The Premier League is reportedly 

keen to introduce GLT and last 

year met licenced companies Hawk- 

Eye and GoalRef to discuss installing 

their systems at top-light grounds. 

London's Wembley Stadium was 

also used for an experiment with 

British system Hawk-Eye during a 

friendly between England and Belgium 

last year, although the results 

were not made public. 

"There are occasions (when GLT 

is needed) and we've seen them 

here at Wembley, we've seen them 

in World Cups, we've seen them 11 

or 12 times in the Premier League 

this season alone," Horne told the 

BBC. "So technology that says 'Yes, 

the ball has crossed the line' and lets 

the referee know makes an awful lot 

of sense to me." — AFP


SPORT 

27 

Barca favourites despite injuries: Xavi 

Barcelona’s Xavi Hernandez shoots to score a penalty during the Champions League quarterinal irst leg 

match against Paris Saint-Germain in Paris last Tuesday. — AFP 

MADRID — Xavi Hernandez believes 

that Barcelona were still favourites in 

their Champions League quarterinal 

against Paris Saint-Germain despite a 

Classy Kohli 

carries 

RCB to easy 

victory 

BANGALORE — Skipper Virat 

Kohli struck a blistering 93 not out 

and carried the Royal Challengers 

Bangalore (RCB) to a splendid 

seven-wicket win over Sunrisers 

Hyderabad in the Indian Premier 

League (IPL) tie here yesterday. It 

was Sunrisers' irst defeat in three 

matches in IPL-6. 

Kohli's classy batting (47b, 11x4, 

4x6) saw RCB making light of Sunrisers' 

161 for six. The Hyderabadis' 

total was made possible courtesy a 

44-ball 80-run partnership between 

Thisara Perera (40, 24b, 1x4, 4x6) 

and Cameron White (52, 34b, 3x4, 

3x6). The hosts, thanks to Kohli, replied 

with 162 for three in just 17.4 

overs. 

The evening certainly belonged 

to Kohli, who blasted his way in 

style while also exposing the bareness 

of the Sunrisers' bowling that 

simply fell away when the RCB skipper 

went hell for leather to notch his 

highest score in the IPL. 

Such was Kohli's onslaught that 

the early departure of Chris Gayle 

(13) was hardly felt as he galloped 

from 51 to 93 in a mere 15 deliveries 

as he added 66 runs for the 

uninished fourth wicket with Moises 

Henriques, who contributed just 

seven. RCB thus avenged their Sunday 

night super over defeat while 

also recording their second win in 

three outings. 

ROYALS OUTPLAY KKR 

Late on Monday, in Jaipur, 

Rajasthan Royals put up a gritty performance 

to beat defending champions 

Kolkata Knight Riders for their 

second straight win. 

Brad Hodge (46 not out) took 

Rajasthan to 144 for six and then 

the bowlers did well to restrict a 

powerful Kolkata batting line-up to 

125. Siddharth Trivedi and Kevon 

Cooper struck thrice for the home 

team as Eoin Morgan's splendid innings 

of 51 went in vain. 

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 

161 for 6 in 20 overs (P Patel 20, K Sangakkara 

23, C White 52, T Perera 40, R P 

Singh 3/27, Vinay Kumar 1/43, M Muralitharan 

1/23, M Kartik 1/21) lost to 

Royal Challengers Bangalore 162 for 3 

in 17.4 overs (M Agarwal 29, C Gayle 13, 

V Kohli 93 n.o., AB de Villiers 15, Ishant 

Sharma 1/30, T Perera 1/35, C White 

1/14). 

Rajasthan Royals 144 for 6 in 20 

overs (A Rahane 36, R Dravid 17, S 

Binny 14, B Hodge 46 n.o., D Yagnik 16, 

B Lee 1/20, S Narine 2/28, R Bhatia 

1/21, Laxmi Shukla 1/14) beat Kolkata 

Knight Riders 125 all out in 19 overs 

(G Gambhir 22, M Tiwary 14, E Morgan 

51, S Sreesanth 1/25, S Tait 1/29, Rahul 

Shukla 1/28, K Cooper 3/15, S Trivedi 

3/23). 

number of key injuries in defence and 

the possibility that Lionel Messi could 

also miss the second-leg. 

The irst leg ended 2-2 in Paris 

last Tuesday thanks to Blaise Matuidi's 

last minute strike for the hosts 

but the biggest blow for Barca was 

the injuries suffered by Messi and 

Javier Mascherano. 

Four-time world player of the year 

Messi still has a chance of returning 

for today's clash at the Camp Nou but 

Mascherano's knee injury will see him 

miss the majority of what remains of 

the season. 

But Xavi said that two away goals 

and home advantage should still be 

enough to see Barca into their sixth 

consecutive Champions League semi- 

inal. 

"We have 90 minutes left at home 

and we will play in front of our fans, 

who showed the top level of devotion 

in the game against Milan," he was 

quoted as saying in an interview on 

uefa.com published on Monday. 

"The shame has been the injuries, 

Mascherano's just as much as 

Leo's. We are going to see how Leo is, 

Mascherano it seems will miss four to 

six weeks and they are important absences. 

But we have a good result, we 

are favourites, playing at home and 

there are 90 minutes to play." 

The tie promises to be another 

special night at the Camp Nou after 

Barca produced a stunning comeback 

to reverse a 2-0 irst-leg deicit to beat 

AC Milan 4-2 on aggregate in the last 

round. 

Xavi pinpointed that match as a 

key moment in the Catalans' season 

as they target a third Champions 

League triumph in ive years. 

"I think that was a turning point 

because we had just lost in the semi- 

inal of the Copa del Rey against Real 

Madrid which was a real blow for us. 

"But the team recovered well, returned 

to being intense and we returned 

to seeing perhaps the best version 

of Barca in attack. 

"The high pressing that we had 

lacked in the previous games also returned. 

We pulled our socks up and 

managed to comeback against a great 

team like Milan." 

The loss of Mascherano only compounded 

an already tricky situation 

for Barca at the back with captain 

Carles Puyol and Adriano also injured, 

whilst Eric Abidal has just returned 

from 14 months out of action after 

undergoing a liver transplant. 

Marc Bartra started Saturday's 

5-0 win over Mallorca alongside Gerard 

Pique and is expected to keep his 

place against the French league leaders, 

although moving Alex Song back 

into central defence remains an option 

for manager Tito Vilanova. 

Cesc Fabregas is also likely to start 

should Messi not be it after scoring 

the irst hat-trick of his career at the 

weekend, whilst Pedro will return 

after missing the last three games 

through injury. 

PSG meanwhile have defensive 

concerns as they look to match their 

best ever run in Europe's premier 

club competition, when they beat Barca 

to reach the semiinals in 1995. 

Captain Thiago Silva missed Saturday's 

2-0 win over Rennes due to 

a knee injury but will travel with the 

squad along with Thiago Motta who 

hasn't played since the second-leg of 

the last-16 tie against Valencia due to 

an abductor problem. 

Matuidi is suspended so Marco Veratti, 

who was surprisingly dropped 

in favour of David Beckham for the 

irst-leg, seems set to regain his place 

in midield. — AFP 

Doctor hails Abidal 

recovery as a ‘miracle’ 

MADRID — One of the surgeons who 

performed Barcelona defender Eric 

Abidal's liver transplant yesterday 

hailed his miraculous recovery, assessing 

that it broke new ground for 

the surgery. 

Juan Carlos Garcia-Valdecasas 

helped carry out the 33-year-old's 

transplant a year ago and has said 

that to see him return to playing topclass 

professional sport was unprecedented. 

"My irst objective was that he 

would continue to live and enjoy a 

high quality of life with his family," he 

told Catalan radio station RAC1. 

"Now we can say that the recuperation 

has been a miracle, an extraordinary 

case, because precedents like 

his don't exist. 

"The majority of patients can live 

a normal life, even 90 per cent have 

an extraordinary quality of life, but 

his case is not normal. 

"Medicine continues to set new 

goals and Abidal has marked another 

one for us going forward." 

The Frenchman returned to the 

pitch for the irst time in 14 months 

towards the end of Barca's 5-0 win 

over Mallorca on Saturday. 

Garcia-Valdecasas said he believed 

that if required, the player was in the 

right physical shape to take part in 

Barca's crucial Champions League 

quarterinal second-leg against Paris 

Saint-Germain. 

Swimming 

Australia 

appoints 

new chief 

MELBOURNE — Swimming Australia 

(SA) has appointed a new chief 

executive and high performance director 

as the governing body seeks 

to rebuild the sport in the wake of a 

dismal 2012 Olympic campaign and 

scathing reviews of its administration. 

Mark Anderson, currently CEO 

of Hockey Australia, will take over 

from interim CEO Jeremy Turner, 

who stepped in after Kevin Neil resigned 

in the wake of the London 

Games, where Australia slumped to 

its worst show in the pool. 

Michael Scott, who stepped down 

as performance director of British 

Swimming in November, will take 

up the high performance role. 

"We've gone through an exhaustive 

process to ind the right people 

to lead our sport and we know Mark 

and Michael have the skills and acumen 

to take the organisation forward," 

SA President Barclay Nettlefold 

said in a statement yesterday. 

SA has endured a storm of criticism 

in recent months with allegations 

of bullying, drunkenness and 

the abuse of prescription drugs 

leading to a scathing external audit. 

The 'Bluestone' review released 

in February said slack management 

had allowed a "toxic" environment 

to develop in Australia's Olympic 

swim team which reaped a solitary 

gold medal and no individual titles 

at the London Games. 

Buffon goes from OAP to VIP in Bayern’s esteem 

TURIN, Italy — Juventus goalkeeper 

Gianluigi Buffon has gone from bumbling 

pensioner to goalkeeping great 

in the eyes of Bayern Munich as the 

Bavarians attempt to make up for last 

week's gaffe by honorary president 

Franz Beckenbauer. 

Former West Germany captain and 

coach Beckenbauer, commenting on 

the match for German television, criticised 

36-year-old Buffon last week 

over Bayern's irst goal in the last 

week's Champions League quarterinal 

irst leg. 

Beckenbauer said that Buffon 

moved like a pensioner after he was 

caught cold by a long-range shot by 

David Alaba which took a slight de- 

lection and bounced in front of him 

as it lew into the net after just 25 seconds. 

Bayern, who clinched the Bundesliga 

title on Saturday with six matches 

to play, went on to win 2-0. 

"Look at his positioning, he seemed 

like a pensioner," said Beckenbauer in 

an off-the-cuff remark during the halftime 

interval, adding that Alaba shot 

WELLINGTON — Waikato Chiefs coach Dave Rennie 

is conident standout centre Sonny Bill Williams 

will eventually return to rugby union from 

the rival league code, perhaps in time to play at 

the next World Cup in 2015. 

Williams helped New Zealand win the World 

Cup in 2011, and the Chiefs last year's Super Rugby 

title, before honouring a commitment to return 

to Australian rugby league with the Sydney 

Roosters this year. 

The 27-year-old has been in excellent form 

since returning to the code where he made his 

name but Rennie said the prospect of helping the 

All Blacks defend the rugby World Cup in England 

might help lure him back to the Chiefs. 

"We're working pretty hard in that area and 

we are pretty conident we can maybe lure him 

back here at some stage," Rennie told Australian 

Associated Press yesterday. 

"He made a real commitment to league and he 

might be there for a couple of years yet. There's 

no guarantees about that but he's certainly committed 

there this year. 

"(With 2015) being a World Cup year, hopefully 

that will be attractive to him." 

While Rennie would welcome Williams back 

with open arms, Canterbury Bulldogs fans are 

unlikely to roll out the welcome mat when he 

lines up against their team for the irst time on 

Friday. 

Williams controversially walked out on Canterbury 

18 months into a ive-year contract in 

2008 to play rugby union in France with Toulon. 

A small group of fans in Canterbury colours 

held aloft a banner reading "SBW we will never 

"from 120 metres away." 

"He should have kept that shot 

out," added Beckenbauer. "Perhaps 

Gigi didn't think that Alaba would 

shoot from so far." 

The comments brought an angry 

reaction in Italy, and especially at Juventus, 

where 2006 World Cup winning 

goalkeeper Buffon is regarded as 

almost untouchable. 

Beckenbauer later apologised and 

Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, possibly 

trying to build bridges before his side 

visit the Juventus stadium for today's 

return, heaped lavish praise on Buffon 

yesterday. 

"Buffon is one of the greatest and 

best goalkeepers in football history," 

said Heynckes, remembering that Buffon 

stayed with Juventus when they 

were demoted following a match-ixing 

scandal in 2006. 

"When Juventus were in Serie B, he 

showed himself to be faithful to the 

team, it was a great gesture," added 

Heynckes. 

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer 

also trod carefully when talking about 

his opposite number. 

"He's a great goalkeeper and the 

Juventus defence in general is very 

dificult to get past," said Neuer. "Maybe 

that shot took a delection and we 

have to remember that he stopped us 

from winning 3-0." 

Bayern's players showed a certain 

amount of disquiet after Juventus forward 

Mirko Vucinic was quoted as using 

the word war to describe today's 

match. 

"Obviously, they want to give 

everything but it's maybe not the 

right word for a football match," said 

Neuer. 

Winger Arjen Robben added: "War 

doesn't belong on a football pitch, we 

will simply give everything and we 

must be prepared. We have enough 

experience to deal with this kind of 

situation." 

"That sort of vocabulary should not 

be used in football," added Heynckes. 

"Obviously, they want to correct 

what happened in the irst leg, but 

that's not the right way of expressing 

it." — Reuters 

Chiefs coach conident Sonny Bill 

will return to union 

forget" at the Sydney Football Stadium in Williams' 

irst match back last month, and he can expect 

a hostile reception at the same stadium on 

Friday. 

Passions among Bulldogs fans have been running 

so high that Canterbury captain Michael Ennis 

was moved to appeal for calm. 

"I wasn't here so I can't comment on what the 

fans are feeling, but our focus is about winning 

the game and not Sonny Bill," he said yesterday. 

"Personally I hope that our fans travel out 

there and watch a good game of footy and there's 

nothing silly going on. 

"It should be a great game, they are coming off 

a loss and we need to win. We don't need any distractions 

from that." — Reuters 

Juventus’ goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon kicks the ball during their CL 

quarterinal irst leg match against Bayern in Munich, last week. 

"He is a Barcelona player and is in 

the squad. He wants to be there, he 

wants to play and therefore I don't 

think we should treat him in a different 

manner. 

"I didn't have any idea he was going 

to return this Saturday, although 

I knew that sooner or later he would 

return to playing. I haven't spoken 

with him but he could perfectly well 

play against PSG." 

Garcia-Valdecasas also conirmed 

that Abidal's statement at the weekend 

that he would like to continue 

playing for a couple more years was 

perfectly attainable. 

"If everything goes well, he could 

continue for two more years." — AFP

28 

SPORT 


Guan ready for Masters at record-setting age of 14 

Guan Tianlang of China during a practice round at the 77th Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. — AFP 

AUGUSTA, Georgia — Guan Tianlang 

answered questions about his 

readiness to play the Masters at the 

record-setting age of 14 when he gave 

two-times champion Ben Crenshaw 

a putting lesson at the 18th hole at 

Augusta National yesterday. 

And the Chinese prodigy was not 

done, heading out at the end of the 

day with his idol, Tiger Woods, for 

nine more holes and taking time for 

some fun trying to skip balls across 

the pond at the par-three 16th with 

Woods and Dustin Johnson. 

The 61-year-old Crenshaw, whose 

career was built on his ability as a 

putter, mentored the precocious Chinese 

during their practice round, 

advising the Asia-Paciic Amateur 

champion about the notoriously fast, 

sloping greens of Augusta. 

At the 18th, the slightly built Guan 

hit his approach to the back of the 

green with the pin on the lower level 

down front. 

Crenshaw stood behind Guan as 

they looked the putt over and with 

his longtime caddie Carl Jackson 

pointed out the line to the hole. 

Guan gestured well left of the cup, 

but tried the line advised by Crenshaw. 

Hitting the putt ever so gently, 

the ball barely reached the slope 

and trickled down, gained speed and 

rolled about eight feet past the hole. 

Then Guan came back and tried it 

his way. 

The willowy thin teenager 

knocked a putt toward the left edge 

of the big green, running it up into 

the fringe to slow the ball before it 

rolled back on the green and curled 

to within four feet of the cup. 

Crenshaw, determined to try the 

line he had pointed out, made four 

attempts from the same position and 

ran all four putts farther past the hole 

than Guan's initial stab. 

"That's great imagination," Crenshaw 

caddie Jackson told Reuters as 

they walked from the green. "He's 

very smart. He's not bashful about 

this experience and asking questions. 

He's got talent." 

Crenshaw said he thoroughly enjoyed 

the round. "He's way more 

mature than 14," said Crenshaw. "I 

think we're all asking ourselves what 

the heck were we doing when we 

were 14. He's very accomplished and 

you could just tell that he lives and 

breathes it. 

"He doesn't over exert himself, 

he's balanced." 

Guan was equally impressive in 

his interview session, as he answered 

questions in English with a very natural, 

self-assured demeanour. 

Asked if he felt intimidated by 

joining the 93-player ield featuring 

the world's greatest players, eighthgrader 

Guan said: "I'm not going to 

say that. 

"I think it's going to be a little 

pressure to me, but I'm not going to 

push myself too hard. I'm going to 

enjoy the game." 

Guan will lower by more than 

two years the Masters' age standard 

set three years ago by Italy's Matteo 

Manassero, but the Chinese is accustomed 

to being a trend setter. 

He was the youngest player in the 

ield when he won the Asian-Paciic 

Amateur that qualiied him for the 

Masters. He was the youngest to win 

on the China Amateur Futures Tour, 

the China Amateur Tour and the China 

Amateur Open, and also won the 

Junior World Championship. 

A relatively short hitter, the 

smooth swinging Guan outdrove 

Crenshaw but will be at a disadvantage 

this week, hitting hybrids or 

fairway woods into the longer holes. 

Guan arrived at Augusta almost 

three weeks ago to become acclimated 

and has already played about 

seven rounds, but will get further 

ine-tuning from some other giants of 

the game. Besides his late-day practice 

with Woods and another long 

hitter in Johnson, Guan has arranged 

a practice round with twice winner 

Tom Watson and a spin through the 

Par-3 Contest with three-time champion 

Nick Faldo. 

"I have the conidence and I know 

I can play well. So I'm going to play 

like myself," he said. "I'm not going to 

try to do too much." — Reuters 

Reds thrash Cardinals 

Massa conident of Ferrari’s chances in 2013 

MARANELLO, Italy — Brazilian Formula 1 driver 

Felipe Massa has no doubt that Ferrari is a title 

contender despite not winning either of the 

irst two races of the season so far. 

Massa is currently the top Ferrari driver 

in the drivers' World Championship with 22 

points, 18 behind championship-leading Red 

Bull driver Sebastian Vettel. 

Ferrari inished second and fourth in Australia 

but after the Fernando Alonso's crash in 

Malaysia, Massa inished ifth place. 

"I know we have only done two races but I 

have a good feeling so far this season. The work 

we did with the F138 over the winter has taken 

us in the right direction and the car has much 

more potential. I always want to be ighting for 

the win, although that did not work out in the 

irst two races, but the signs were good with an 

excellent race pace and now we have to keep 

moving forward race by race," Massa was quoted 

as saying by Autosport. 

"There are deinitely more than two teams 

that are capable of ighting for the wins and the 

championship. Our team is one of them with 

the car moving forward in the right way and it 

is delivering results on track that we expected 

when looking at data in the wind-tunnel and 

the factory." Massa believes Ferrari can make 

another step forward during the Chinese Grand 

Prix weekend from April 12 to 14. 

"We are well prepared for China and we 

will have all the updates we hoped to bring 

with us in Shanghai. I hope this translates 

into a further performance improvement 

on track. The aim is to ight for a lot more 

points, for a podium, for a win even because 

you have to set yourself high targets," 

added Massa. — IANS 

Felipe Massa 

Ducks edge Oilers to increase lead 

Cincinnati Reds’ Chris Heisey jumps to catch the ball against the St Louis 

Cardinals’ during their MLB game in St Louis, Missouri, on Monday. 

MISSOURI — Brandon Phillips 

homered and doubled and visiting 

Cincinnati broke a 4-4 tie with 

nine runs in the ninth inning to win 

the opener of the three-game series 

against its MLB Central Division rival. 

Phillips drove in the go-ahead run 

with a one-out double in the ninth inning 

off reliever Mitchell Boggs (0-1). 

Choo Shin-soo delivered a three-run 

double in the ninth to make it 12-4. 

St Louis starter Jaime Garcia allowed 

three runs and six hits in 6 2/3 

innings while matching his career 

high with 10 strikeouts. 

Daniel Nava broke a scoreless tie 

with a three-run homer in the seventh 

inning as Boston won its ninth 

consecutive home opener. 

Clay Buchholz (2-0) worked seven 

scoreless innings, limiting Baltimore 

to three hits while improving to 6-1 

against the Orioles since the start of 

the 2009 season. 

Closer Joel Hanrahan earned his 

third save despite giving up a leadoff 

homer to Adam Jones and a two-out 

double to J J Hardy in the ninth. 

Hunter Pence crushed a three-run 

homer in the irst inning and host 

San Francisco snapped Colorado's 

ive-game winning streak. 

Results: Boston Red Sox bt Baltimore Orioles 

3-1, NY Yankees bt Cleveland Indians 11-6, 

Kansas City Royals bt Minnesota Twins 3-1. 

— Reuters 

Edmonton Oilers’ (left) shoots wide of the net as Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller (centre) looks on during 

their NHL game in Anaheim, California, on Monday. — Reuters 

CALIFORNIA — Radek Dvorak 

snapped a tie at 7:48 of the third period 

with his second goal of the game 

as hosts Anaheim Ducks increased 

their lead atop the NHL Paciic Division. 

Saku Koivu recorded two assists 

and Jonas Hiller made 27 saves for the 

Ducks, who moved 11 points ahead of 

Los Angeles in the Paciic. Anaheim 

also pulled within three of Chicago in 

the race for the Presidents' Trophy. 

Defenceman Nick Schultz scored 

and Devan Dubnyk stopped 36 shots 

for Edmonton, who suffered their 

third straight loss and remain four 

points behind eighth-place Detroit in 

the Western Conference. 

Ryan Kesler scored in his return 

from a broken foot and Cory Schneider 

made 19 saves as Vancouver won 

their sixth straight home game. 

Defenseman Dan Hamhuis added 

a short-handed, empty-net goal for 

the Canucks, who extended their lead 

over Minnesota in the Northwest Division 

to four points. Schneider secured 

his ninth career shutout and 

tied Pekka Rinne and Mike Smith for 

the league lead with ive. 

Smith inished with 40 saves in 

his second start since returning from 

an injury suffered in his last meeting 

with the Canucks. 

Mike Cammalleri scored for the 

irst time in six games and Joey Mac- 

Donald made 39 saves as visiting Calgary 

snapped a franchise-record 13- 

game road losing streak. 

Roman Cervenka and Alex Tanguay 

added goals for the Flames. MacDonald 

stopped all 14 shots he faced in 

the inal 20 minutes to preserve the 

victory, which was Calgary's irst in 

six overall contests. 

Brad Malone scored his irst career 

goal for the Avalanche, who are winless 

in ive and have one victory in 

their last 10 games (1-8-1). 

Phil Kessel scored twice to snap a 

nine-game goalless drought and added 

an assist to lead hosts Toronto four 

points clear of idle Ottawa for ifth in 

the Eastern Conference. 

New York's Derek Stepan tied the 

game 3-3 midway through the third 

before Kessel struck 38 seconds later. 

James van Riemsdyk recorded a 

goal and an assist while defenceman 

Ryan O'Byrne scored in his irst game 

with the Maple Leafs. James Reimer 

made 31 saves in his ifth consecutive 

start. The Hurricanes remain eight 

points out of eighth place in the Eastern 

Conference with 10 games remaining. 

Results: Vancouver Canucks bt Phoenix 

Coyotes 2-0, Boston Bruins bt Carolina Hurricanse 

6-2, Toronto Maple Leafs bt NY Rangers 

4-3, Calgary Flames bt Colorado Avalanche 3-1. 

— Reuters


ENTERTAINMENT 

29 

Hrishitaa said that paring is acceptable as far as it is viewed 

“normally” and not “technically”. 

‘Fine’ for old actors to work 

with young, says Hrishitaa 

SEVERAL 40-plus actors like Aamir 

Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, 

Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan are 

teaming up with younger actresses on 

screen. That's not a problem, believes actress 

Hrishitaa Bhatt, who says as long as 

the pairing is convincing, it is "ine". 

"Honestly, age is a bad thing both for men 

and women. It's about do you look that much 

older or younger. In fact, there are many actors 

whose age doesn't show and even many 

actresses' age doesn't show. I think it is just 

ine," the 32-year-old said. 

"I feel that as long as the pairing looks 

right onscreen and is according to the script, 

it is ine. It should look convincing," she added. 

Hrishitaa also said that such paring is acceptable 

as far as it is viewed "normally" and 

not "technically". 

"If you look at the age technically, there 

is no logic in that. But if you see any pairing 

onscreen normally, then it looks ine. So, I 

think it is acceptable," she said. 

In recent times, Shah Rukh has worked 

with much younger Katrina Kaif and Anushka 

Sharma in Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Rab Ne 

Bana Di Jodi, respectively. 

Even Akshay has worked with younger 

actresses. In Welcome, he worked with 

Katrina Kaif and in Rowdy Rathore, he was 

paired with much younger Sonkashi Sinha. 

Even Salman has worked with Sonakshi in 

Dabangg and Dabangg 2. 

Now Bollywood's "Mr Perfectionist" 

Aamir too is working with Anushka and 

Katrina in PK and Dhoom 3, respectively. 

Aditya Roy never planned to enter romantic 

zone: Actor Aditya Roy Kapoor, who 

has acted in ilms like Action Replayy and 

Guzaarish, will be seen in a new, romantic 

avatar in his forthcoming ilm Aashiqui 2. He 

says he did not make a conscious effort to 

enter the romantic zone. — IANS 

I’m blessed to have Soha in my life: Kunal 

BOLLYWOOD 

actor 

Kunal Khemu, who is 

currently in a relationship 

with actress Soha Ali 

Khan, says he is lucky to 

have someone like her in 

his life. The actress is very 

supportive of his decisions 

and respects him as a 

professional. 

“I am blessed to have a 

woman in my life who is 

so supportive of my work. 

We both respect each other 

as professionals. We do 

talk about our work, but 

the inal decisions remain 

with us,” he said in an interview. 

The two have no immediate marriage 

plans at the moment, and have 

just moved in together. “Not planned as 

of now. We have just moved in together. 

We are happy and are concentrating on 

our careers,” he said. 

Kunal will be seen in 

Zombie comedy ilm Go 

Goa Gone soon and said 

that shooting for it was a 

memorable experience. 

Directed by Raj Nidimoru 

and Krishna DK, Go Goa 

Gone also features Saif Ali 

Khan, Vir Das, Anand Tiwari 

and Puja Gupta. 

“Raj came up with the 

idea that we want to make 

a Zombie ilm and then we 

started writing it. The ilm 

has been an exciting and 

fulilling experience. The 

trailer has been received 

very well,” he said. After having worked 

as a child actor in ilms like Hum Hain 

Rahi Pyar Ke, Raja Hindustani, Zakhm, 

Kunal made his comeback into the industry 

with ilms like Kalyug, Superstar, 

Dhol and 99, which were not received so 

well by the audience. 

Madhuri shoots for 

action sequence 

ACTRESS Madhuri Dixit, who will soon be 

seen playing the lead role in Gulaab Gang, 

has shot an action sequence for the upcoming 

ilm. The movie is partly inspired by social 

activist Sampat Pal and the work she and her 

Gulabi Gang do for women's welfare. 

"Had great fun shooting action sequence for 

Gulaab Gang yesterday. Tiring, but completely 

challenging and exciting," Madhuri posted on 

Twitter. She even said it is currently the most 

exciting activity for herself. 

"What is the most interesting thing in your 

life that you are doing or planning to do? For 

me, right now it's this action scene," she added. 

The actress will also later be seen in Dedh Ishqiya, 

a sequel to 2010's critically acclaimed movie 

Ishqiya. 

Vidya looks back at 

going modern 

Jaya secure in her 

different roles 

VETERAN actress and 

Rajya Sabha member 

Jaya Bachchan, who turned 

65 yesterday, says her 

role as a mother matters 

more to her than any thing 

else. She also admits that 

she takes her duty as a 

parliamentarian seriously 

and that she is still game 

for movie roles, provided 

they are "challenging". 

She gave up superstardom 

in 1973, when she 

ruled the box-ofice, to 

become wife to Amitabh 

Bachchan and subsequently 

mother to Shweta and 

Abhishek. 

"Everyone saw it as a 

big sacriice and painted 

me as mother India. But 

the fact is, I did what I 

wanted to. There was no 

martryrdom involved because 

I am not that kind of 

a person. No one can make 

me do what I don't want 

to," she said. 

The pioneering performer 

heralded naturalistic 

acting into mainstream 

Hindi cinema. Before her, 

there was Nutan, and after 

her there are Smita Patil 

and Shabana Azmi. But 

Jaya occupies a unique position. 

— IANS 

Actress Anjali alleges harassment 

‘My step-mom knew director 

Kalanjiyam since my debut. 

They both have been 

constantly harassing me 

since then and treated me 

like a slave. I was merely a 

money-making machine for 

my step-mother. I couldn’t 

take it any longer and, 

therefore, decided to blow 

the whistle on them’ 

SOUTHERN actress Anjali has accused 

her step-mother Bharati Devi and Tamil 

director Mu Kalanjiyam of harassment. 

She has alleged that the two have robbed 

her of all savings. 

"I've been mentally tortured by my stepmother 

and director Kalanjiyam. Both of 

them pose a threat to my life and I fear staying 

anywhere close to them. I moved out of 

Chennai after I made the allegations public. 

I'm currently in Hyderabad but would 

not wish to reveal my whereabouts," Anjali 

said. 

Following the allegations Anjali made on 

Monday, she went into hiding and was unavailable 

for contact. 

"My step-mom and her husband used to 

accompany me for shoots and would never 

allow me to have my own space. They 

wouldn't let me talk to my friends or family. 

Currently, I only own one property in 

Chennai, all other assets and savings are in 

her name," she added. 

"My step-mom knew director Kalanjiyam 

since my debut. They both have been constantly 

harassing me since then and treated 

me like a slave. I was merely a money making 

machine for my step-mother. I couldn't 

take it any longer and, therefore, decided to 

blow the whistle on them," Said Anjali, who 

has iled a legal complaint against her stepmother 

and the director. 

However, Bharati Devi, Anjali's stepmother, 

rubbishes all allegations. 

"I adopted her from my elder sister when 

she was 15 years old and since then have 

been taking good care of her. I still can't understand 

why she would accuse me of harassment. 

She says I looted a crore of her savings, 

but in reality she is only getting paid in 

lakhs for her movies and, therefore, she can't 

possibly have so much money," Bharati Devi 

said. 

"I accompany her to shoots because I believe 

she needed some supervision. It is very 

easy to get carried away at this young age in 

this business and, therefore, I was there to 

protect her," she added. 

Anjali is known for successful ilms such 

as Engaeyum Eppothum, Kalakalappu and 

Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu. 

She made her cinematic debut with Tamil 

drama Sathamindri Muthamidu, which was 

directed by Kalanjiyam. However, that ilm 

never saw the light of the day. 

Director Kalanjiyam too is shocked at Anjali's 

allegations. 

"Her debut ilm never took off, but her 

family was in touch with me because I 

groomed her to be an actress. Her family 

treated me as their well-wisher and I respected 

it. I never tried to take advantage of 

her at any point. I still can't believe why she 

would accuse of harassment," Kalanjiyam 

said. 

"I was working with her in my upcoming 

Tamil ilm Oor Suttri Puranam. She already 

shot some portion of the ilm and has given 

me dates in May as well. If she really had a 

problem with me, why would she even bother 

to work with me," he added. 

He says he wants to handle this matter 

legally. 

"She has defamed my name with baseless 

allegations. If she really says I harassed 

her, then I would like to handle the matter 

in court. I have also iled a complaint in her 

name. I will only see her in court now," said 

Kalanjiyam. 

Meanwhile, Anjali is to start shooting for 

the untitled Telugu remake of Bol Bachchan 

from today in Bangalore. She also recently 

completed shooting for upcoming Telugu 

action-drama Balupu. — IANS. 

ACTRESS Vidya Balan, who now makes 

graceful fashion statements in Indian 

designer suits and saris, admits she was making 

a “conscious effort” to be a certain way in her 

looks. However, that was taking her away from 

her real self. 

“I think I was making a conscious effort 

about ive to six years ago, and this conscious 

effort was making me unconscious of who 

I was,” the 34-year-old said. The actress responded 

to a question to whether she is now 

making a conscious effort to launt an Indian 

image. 

Vidya made her debut with the role of a 

simple, Bengali girl in Parineeta and she later 

turned to a glamourised image in ilms like 

Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection. 

In recent times, she has been seen and appreciated 

in ilms like The Dirty Picture, No One 

Killed Jessica and Kahaani. She even featured in 

a mature role in Paa, and essayed a rustic look 

in Ishqiya. She says she is glad that she went 

back to her original self. 

“I love Hindi and regional cinema. I have 

watched a lot of Malayalam and Bengali ilms. I 

have grown up on Indian classical music, there 

is a culture of Carnatic music at home. Besides, 

I am exposed to Hindustani music and old ilm 

music. — IANS 

Lalit Modi’s niece 

debuts in Gippi 

FORMER 

Indian 

Premier League 

(IPL) chairman Lalit 

Modi’s niece Jayati is 

set for her Bollywood 

debut. She will be seen 

in ilm-maker Karan 

Johar’s upcoming ilm 

Gippi. The 16-yearold 

plays her age as 

schoolgirl Shamira. 

She landed the role 

through social media. 

“The auditions were 

conducted through Facebook and Jayati got to 

know about it through one of her friends. She 

registered in Delhi with a group of friends, but 

everyone auditioned except her,” says a source. 

“When director Sonam Nair asked her why she 

wasn’t auditioning, Jayati said she was not sure 

about it. But when Sonam insisted, she went 

ahead and not only auditioned, but also bagged 

the role,” the source added. 

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30 

LETTERS 


PEOPLE’S 

PLATFORM 

YOUR coverage of the four-day 

symposium on “Development 

of Islamic Jurisprudential Sciences” 

(April 6-9) was very good. 

The symposium focused on the need 

to promote peaceful co-existence 

among nations and civilisations, as 

also within the world of Islam. 

The symposium on the topic 

of peaceful co-existence could not 

come at a better time. The need of 

the hour is to practically demonstrate 

that peaceful co-existence is 

the key to all round peace and development. 

Oman, as a very peaceful 

country with open arms for people 

of all faiths, best suited as the venue 

and organiser of the event. 

It is noteworthy to state that the 

fourth Caliph of Islam Ali ibn Abu 

Talib said, “People are either your 

brothers in religion or your equals in 

creation." The second Caliph of Islam, 

Sayyidina Omar gave full freedom to 

people of all faiths in Palestine after 

its conquest during his rule. 

Today, we see that in a Muslim 

country like the Sultanate of Oman 

there are temples and churches. 

There is need to uphold mutual respect, 

human dignity and fair play 

in dealings with others in all countries. 

In fact, one of the reasons for 

the continued wave of Islamic awakening 

around the world is the feeling 

of brotherhood and love among 

Muslim communities and their respect 

for people of other faiths, colours 

and races. 

— Ahmed al Balushi 

Peaceful co-existence is the need of the hour 

Editor: Oman is an oasis of peace 

and tranquillity with open arms and 

respect for all. It was the 12th edition 

and we hope such events on peaceful 

coexistence must be organised every 

year and everywhere. 

Oman’s literacy rates surges 

HAVE read with interest in your 

I newspaper the report “Major fall 

in illiteracy rate” dated April 9. We 

are pleased to know that Oman is 

achieving high rates of literacy. 

This is not surprising given the 

fact that His Majesty Sultan Qaboos 

has always stressed on the need to 

promote literacy and has invested 

huge funds to promote it. This is 

also in line with the teachings of Islam. 

Oman should aim at 100 per 

cent literacy and prepare speciic 

place with clear timelines. This will 

make a model for others, which will 

be a thing to be proud of. 

I believe strongly that whatever 

we do, the aim should be to become 

a model for others if not 100 

per cent perfect. Perfection may 

be elusive but becoming a model is 

achievable and a healthy and ambitious 

goal. 

It is also heartening to know that 

Oman is making good progress in 

this regard. 

— Hasan K 

Editor: Oman has achieved much 

in terms of literacy but it has a long 

way to go in achieving complete 

literacy. We need to build new programmes 

and facilities to move forward 

further to achieve this ambition. 

Nationality law 

THE news item on “Need for 

change in nationality law” was 

timely and interesting. We hope this 

will take shape soon and it will be 

to the beneit of all. Oman is a good, 

progressive and peaceful country. 

Do you have a word of appreciation for any services you received? Or suggestions for improvement? Observer is giving 

you an opportunity to rant or rave about anything and everything around you: Please write to: 

Tel: 24649451, Fax: 24649469; e-mail: observerfeatures@gmail.com 

facebook.com/oman observer twitter.com/omanobserver 

Many people want to have Omani 

nationality. 

— Ahsan 

Editor: The proposal for reviewing 

the nationality law is timely and it 

must be undertaken carefully. 

Omani women 

THERE is an urgent need to build 

swimming pools exclusively 

for Omani women and those who 

observe Hijab. Swimming facilities 

for Omani women are lacking and 

this is not fair. Swimming is one of 

the best sports, exercises, and most 

enjoyable. 

We all know that Omani women 

would never ever join pools where 

there is mixed swimming of men 

and women. Even in case of separate 

timings for women, proper 

side walls need to be made available. 

Omani women have shown active 

interest and participation in 

many national and international 

sports including horse riding and 

athletics. Swimming is the only 

area in which Omani women do not 

seem to have any role, although it is 

one of best sports for one’s overall 

health. 

— Fatma 

Editor: It is a good point. Omani 

women deserve separate swimming 

pools and beaches with proper facilities 

so that they can swim with freedom 

and without violating their cultural 

tenets. 

>> CULTURE 

Climbing charity at Al Khuwair tomorrow 

“ F you do well in school, if really do 

Iyour best then next time I come 

up I’ll bring up some toys — if you do 

well this is the reward you get.” Rachael 

MacIver, who moved to Oman from 

Denmark in 2004, realised a simple 

gesture of good faith can result in a 

child smiling from ear to ear! 

‘The Children of Jabal Shams,’ is a 

project founded by Rachael that looks 

“to promote education and reading in 

the remote areas of Jabal Shams,” Rachael 

explained. 

This whole experience started after 

Rachael inished a trek up Jabal Shams. 

While walking back to her car she met 

Barr Al Jissah Residences welcomes 

acclaimed architect 

Barr Al Jissah Residences, the 

most exclusive freehold property 

in the Gulf, appointed internationally-acclaimed 

architect Elie 

Badaoui as the Property Manager of 

the real estate division recently. Barr 

Al Jissah Residences is a luxurious 

residential project undertaken by the 

Barr Al Jissah Resort Company SAOC. 

Commenting on the appointment 

of Elie Badaoui, Jose Lora, COO — 

Real Estate & Hospitality, said, “With 

Elie Badaoui joining the top ranks at 

Barr Al Jissah, the company looks 

forward to reaching greater heights 

in development projects in Oman 

and beyond. Elie brings with him 

over 30 years’ experience in highlevel 

architecture, design, project 

management and construction 

around the world. These include 

marinas, museums, ive-star hotels, 

high-rise towers, commercial and 

residential buildings, medical facilities, 

commercial malls, interiors and 

a young boy on his way home and they 

talked until they reached her car. As she 

opened her door, a pen fell out and the 

boy asked if he could have it and then 

proceeded to say that he needed it for 

school. This is where her inspiration 

grew, Rachael realised that if all she 

needs to do is give a child a pen to help 

them in their education that is not asking 

for a lot. 

“There are no schools up in Jabal 

Shams so the children have to go to Al 

Hamra in order to go to classes. They 

travel down Jabal Shams in the early 

hours of the morning in pick-up trucks 

and since the journey is long they get 

general urban planning.” 

Barr Al Jissah Residences with 

a brigade of well-trained and high 

calibre professionals brings to the 

Sultanate exceptionally designed villas 

and townhouses. Elie has joined 

about half a days’ worth of education 

per day,” explained Rachael. 

Nowadays, education is the foundation 

to any person’s future and is the 

ground stone on which a society can 

grow and prosper. Education allows 

people to explore the world around 

them with ‘new’ eyes and at the same 

time, broadens their horizons. 

Rachael explained “Many children 

drop out of school early and stay in the 

village to help their family tend their 

goats and sheep, trying to supplement 

their family’s income by selling homemade 

key rings and hand-woven rugs 

to the tourists.” 

At irst Rachael would take little 

things she bought here and there such 

as “school bags and stationary items, 

anything the children would need to 

start school,” she said, and “that became 

somewhat of a tradition, so whenever 

they had a school holiday I would try to 

go up there and distribute the items one 

by one to the children,” she added. 

As the months passed by, the numbers 

of items increased as did the 

shapes and sizes of the donated gifts. 

People would contribute whatever they 

could; such as basic school equipment 

and even computers so that the children 

could type up their assignments. 

Rachael and the people who work 

with her have also come up with creative 

ways to raise money for this project; 

such as selling the black and white photos 

of Oman that Rachael takes. 

the elite team of Barr Al Jissah Residences 

armed with a Master’s Degree 

from the Lebanese Academy of 

Fine Arts, Lebanon; Stewardship of 

Companies, Canada and Architectural 

Studies, Beaux Arts de Paris, France. 

Another way people can help support 

‘The Children of Jabal Shams’ is 

to take their children, above 6, to ‘The 

Wall’ in Al Khuwair on Thursday 11 

April from 11am till 5pm for the ‘Open 

Climbing Day’ event. The admission fee 

of RO 4 will go towards buying the children 

of Jabal Shams “books, stationery 

and computers.” 

Rachael would like to thank every individual 

that has donated something to 

this project, as well as ‘Oman Heritage 

Gallery’, Centre Point, Omani photographer, 

Saghroon al Harmali and the Dar 

al Atta’s ‘Let’s Read’ project. 

'Laziness linked to genes' 

G 

ENES may be responsible for laziness, says 

an American study. 

New research from the University of Missouri 

suggests certain genetic traits may predispose 

people to being more or less motivated 

to exercise and remain active. 

Frank Booth, a professor in the MU College 

of Veterinary Medicine, along with his postdoctoral 

fellow Michael Roberts, were able to 

selectively breed rats that exhibited traits of 

either extreme activity or extreme laziness. 

Studies show 97 per cent of American 

adults get less than 30 minutes of exercise 

a day, which is the minimum recommended 

amount based on federal guidelines, reports 

Science Daily. 

They say, in a study published in the American 

Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative 

and Comparative Physiology, these rats 

indicate that genetics could play a role in exercise 

motivation, even in humans. "We have 

shown that it is possible to be genetically predisposed 

to being lazy," Booth said. 

"This could be an important step in identifying 

additional causes for obesity in humans, 

especially considering dramatic increases 

in childhood obesity in the United States. It 

would be very useful to know if a person is genetically 

predisposed to having a lack of motivation 

to exercise, because that could potentially 

make them more likely to grow obese." 

By Nada Ali 

nada.ali5@hotmail.com 

Sleep Well 

(Feng Shui) 

FENG Shui believes that all energy on Earth fall into two 

opposite categories — Yin and Yang — and the same 

principles apply to your bedroom. 

Your bedroom is where you spend at least eight hours 

every day, hence a proper balance of Yin and Yang is very 

essential for your well-being. Here are some Feng Shui 

guidelines to help you create a sanctuary of rest and relaxation. 

# Place your bed in a command position. It should face 

the door from the far side of the room but not be directly 

in front of the door. The area diagonally furthest from the 

door is best. This position prevents negative inluences 

from affecting you, gives you a visual command of the space 

and is said to help you face life directly. 

# Sleeping in front of the door exposes you to too much 

Chi which could create stress, irritability and health problems. 

Also avoid placing the bed in a corner with one side 

against the wall, directly underneath windows, under overhead 

beams, the lower part of a slanted ceiling or near 

sharp angles and corners. 

# The bed’s headboard (preferably a solid one instead of 

slats) must be against a solid wall (not shared with a bathroom) 

for support, and the most favourable bed height is 

about 18 inches off the ground. 

# A window to the right of the bed helps you receive 

positive energy from the universe when you wake up and 

start a new day. 

# Surround yourself with colours that are calming and 

which feel right. Lighting should not be too bright either; 

use blubs of a lower wattage, bedside/loor lamps or install 

a dimmer. 

# When possible, open the windows to let fresh air in or 

use an air puriier. Good, clean air enhances the Chi. 

# Don’t keep a work desk, computer/laptop, exercise 

or electronic equipment in your bedroom. The energies of 

each are incompatible with rest. 

# A mirror facing your bed relecting only your face and 

upper body is not good; one on the side of the bed is ine. 

The same applies to any relective surface. Else, drape a 

cloth over any relective surface facing the bed when you 

sleep. 

# Never sleep with your feet facing the door. This is the 

cofin position. 

# Don’t use beds with storage space underneath. If 

you can’t avoid that, store only soft items like bed linen or 

clothes in it. 

# Don’t keep any negative items in the bedroom. This 

includes legal/dispute papers or even a gift from someone 

you share negative vibes with. 

# Don’t hang wall decorations that relect negative, sad, 

depressing, angry or lonely images. Put up what relects the 

things you want in life. 

Always keep the whole bedroom clean and free of clutter, 

dust, dirt and cobwebs to help Chi circulate freely.


SPOTLIGHT 

31 

Majid Al Suleimany 

www.majidall.com 

Ambassador Holtz with Access programme students at Al Karama School, Sohar 

US Ambassador explores investment, 

educational opportunities in Sohar 

Ambassador Holtz learns more about the Port of Sohar from Deputy CEO Jamal Aziz 

THE US Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, 

Greta C Holtz, travelled to Sohar recently 

to visit Omani educational and commercial 

sites to deepen US-Omani trade and investment 

and educational co-operation. She met with Port 

of Sohar CEO Andre Toet and Sohar Freezone CEO 

Jamal Aziz, to discuss opportunities for increasing 

US trade and investment in Sohar. 

Sohar offers a wealth of economic and commercial 

opportunities,” for US investors and suppliers, 

said Ambassador Holtz. “Oman’s location and the 

US–Oman Free Trade Agreement make it a very attractive 

place for US businesses looking for a footprint 

in the region. 

The ambassador also hosted a tea for young 

alumni of US educational exchange programmes 

and US sponsored English Language students. 

This irst of its kind gathering of US alumni in 

Sohar, ranging from high school students to senior 

educators, produced a fruitful discussion about 

“education for employment” and training opportunities 

for students in the Sohar region. Ambassador 

Holtz and the US Embassy colleagues visited 

the Al Karama School to meet with local educators 

and students who participate in the US government’s 

e“Access” English language programme.” 

The Access programme, sponsored by the US 

Embassy in co-operation with AMIDEAST and the 

Ministry of Education, is a unique two-year afterschool 

English programme for Omani students in 

grades 9 and 10. 

“The highly motivated students and teachers I 

met in Sohar are inspirational in their dedication to 

studying and teaching English,” said Ambassador 

Holtz. “We are delighted to partner with AMIDEAST 

and the Ministry of Education on this outstanding 

programme, which enhances English skills and intercultural 

understanding among youth.” The Ambassador’s 

visit to Sohar highlighted how the Embassy’s 

educational programmes enhanced mutual 

understanding and friendship between the US and 

the Sultanate of Oman. 

5,000-year history binds Iranian, Indian puppets 

A still from Iranian puppet theatre A Musician 

Who Played the Moon. — IANS 

THE puppetry tradition in Iran and India — 

two nations which share historical ties — 

have several similarities. Both assimilate 

from ancient folk cultures and use manually-crafted 

dolls as the core visual element of their theatres 

that date back nearly 5,000 years. 

"I have researched the traditions of Indian puppetry. 

I think Iranian and Indian puppetry are 

similar in the sense that the traditions are several 

thousand years old dating to early history with 

folk-inspired stories. The materials used are similar 

and puppeteers in both countries use hand-crafted 

dolls and stage equipment. 

The tradition developed in Iran and India 

around the same time," Hossein Cheraghi, the director 

of a popular Iranian paper puppet theatre, 

said. 

Hossein is in India with his puppet repertory, 

The Puppet Theatre Group, to stage A Musician 

Who Played the Moon, a 50-minute family puppet 

theatre at the Ishara International Puppet Theatre 

Festival during April 8-15. "The history of puppetry 

in Iran is ancient — nearly 5,000 years old," he 

added. 

"The early inhabitants of the land made a lot of 

small puppets with paintings. Stones with paintings 

were used as puppets," the puppeteer said. 

History says the earliest puppets were found in 

Iran and India. 

A 5,000-year-old earthern relic, "Shahr-i- 

Sokhta", found in Iran had ive images of goats 

painted along its sides. Historians described it as 

the earliest recorded puppet that could be used as 

animation by spinning the object so that the goats 

appeared to be in motion. 

The relic could be compared to the similar 

wooden human-shaped toys found in the Indus Valley 

settlements. Excavations have thrown up 3,000- 

year-old terracotta dolls with heads that could be 

detached or operated with a string and animals 

manipulated with sticks. 

The two traditions found meeting ground in Indian 

trade with West Asia, cultural exchanges and 

the arrival of the Persian people in India, the puppeteer 

said. Ancient puppets still live in modern 

Iran in Mubarak, a traditional doll made of wood. 

"Mubarak is hand painted to resemble a man. 

It is usually attired in red and has a black face. The 

doll is similar to the marionettes found across the 

world...," the Iranian puppeteer said. 

"Mubarak plays to visitors on the streets. On 

the street, people often gather to hear Mubarak 

perform. A person sits behind Mubarak, speaks 

through him and even sings. He puts an object under 

his tongue so that it can speak in the doll language 

and translate it," Cheraghi, who took up puppet 

theatre 10 years ago, said. 

It is a dificult craft, but is worth the labour, the 

puppeteer said. "The traditional puppet theatre in 

Iran tries to bring peace in society with comedy. 

The stories narrated are rich in humour," Cheraghi 

said. 

The traditional puppets in Iran have a popular 

rating. While "Mubarak" tops the list in popularity, 

the red-and-black doll is followed closely in ratings 

by characters like "Pahlvan Kachal", "Aghed" and 

"Salimeh Khanoon". However, contemporary puppeteers 

are widening their repertoire and styles to 

combine traditional and western puppetry practises, 

Cheraghi said. 

"We make paper puppets, paper sets, and use 

plastic paint to decorate the dolls. We adapt from 

foreign folklore and improvise on them in our traditions," 

he said. A Musician Who Played the Moon is 

an adaptation of the Russian folktale, The Sea King's 

Daughter about a young musician Sadko, who is invited 

by the King of Sea to play in an underwater 

dream sequence. 

In Washington, the Japanese art of cherry blossom viewing 

Biting the hand that 

feeds you! 

IN writing especially my book A Cry For Help! (www.myown-ebooks. 

com) I was astounded to ind that some in good positions were having 

rather very poor and narrow minded outlooks on the country! 

The shocking part is that they are courageous and brave enough to 

say these things without any fear! They do not even attempt to cover 

it with a sugar coating! I wrote the book but it was just like talking to 

brick walls and a futile exercise! 

Recently I read two articles that still continued to shock me! One 

article was on why a columnist (foreign) was opting for an airline that 

was not national to go home on holidays. The columnist has the right to 

choose whatever airline he wishes but do we need to know he prefers 

it? If there is anything you wanted others to know about Oman Air that 

you did not like it is between you and the airline. We are passengers 

like you and talking to us will not change anything, unless you want 

us too to follow you to abandon our national airline for whimsical reasons! 

The other was coincidentally a good columnist with his heart in the 

right place. He was chiding a wester blogger who is also an English 

teacher at the University level here. His generalisations are morbid and 

so are his attempts to distort truth. What can be his reason for malice 

towards the Palestinians? A good question and thank you for the bold 

action! 

I thought these things had now stopped post Arab Spring Uprisings 

but you will forgive my ignorance because I have been out of ofice for 

quite some time now and do not know what is going on! Incidentally, I 

am also being protected from hearing and getting bad news from my 

'caring advisers' because the last bad news nearly ended by me being 

hospitalised — acute diabetics and with eye problems too! 

I was actually talked out of 'taking some rather unexpected actions' 

out of desperation! What turned the tables for me is hearing my 5-yearold 

granddaughter asking her mother: Why does Granny look so sad 

and unhappy? Why don't you ask her, retorted her mother. The girl replied: 

I do not want to hurt her feelings more. And that did it! Our late 

mother always used to tell us that sometimes messages that need to be 

given to us come in the format of the innocent angels saying unexpected 

things. Just to caution and guide us accordingly! 

A long time ago I was invited along with other staff to the home of 

an expatriate. I needed to go to the toilet and I told my host about it. I 

found it strange that he had to consult his madam irst before showing 

me which toilet to use — I later found out that it belonged to the housemaid! 

A stranger thing happened next! As I was returning to the sitting 

room I saw this big African parrot in the kitchen. Feeling like a cup 

of water I took a glass and as I was drinking it the upset and annoyed 

hostess was asking me what I was doing in the kitchen? This is not a 

place for guests, she reprimanded. Then she said 'really awesome nasty 

things' to her husband about my intrusions! Dinner was not served but 

I pulled madam out and in the car explained to her why! 

Next morning my good western CEO wanted to know what happened 

at his deputy house? I asked him point blank: Do you really 

wanted to take remedial action or are you asking as a matter of courtesy? 

When I realised he really wanted to know! Soon we were speaking 

loudly on the phone with the chairman who was kind enough to say to 

me: I want the CEO to know too so we will speak in English! The poor 

invitee did not know what hit him next — but there this letter signed 

by the CEO and co-signed by me, the head of Human Resources, saying: 

'Regret that your position will no longer be required due to the emergence 

of two departments and the other guy heading the department! 

I guess as he was in the plane with his family he wished he was not 

so hospitable as to invite others to his house! Sadly he had a very high 

well-paid job that he threw away just because of his 'biases and prejudices' 

and sadly against the people and the country that offered him the 

job. 

A long time ago an Arab president had said: The friend of today can 

be the enemy of tomorrow and the enemy of today can be the friend of 

tomorrow! With shifting allegiances and alliances we need to prioratise 

and watch things out now who are our real friends and who are not! 

We owe it to our destiny, legacy and our future too! 

In one of the companies that I worked there was a circular for expatriates 

being posted to a certain country that went through the Arab 

Spring! It just said: Be careful of the ofice driver, the gardener, the cook, 

the ofice mate (locals) because 'they all work for the state' and will try 

to trap you! 

Thank God, I feel elated that we have a wise and benevolent leader 

and the people are generally receptive in welcome and in hospitality 

and importantly respectful of 'the invited guests ' in our country. We 

have even changed our weekends to remain accommodating! What 

more do you want? 

Take Care! 

WITH 3,000 Japanese cherry 

trees about to burst into full 

bloom, Washington is in eager 

anticipation of its annual cherry blossom 

celebration marking the start of 

spring. 

Thousands of visitors are expected 

to attend the National Cherry Blossom 

Festival, cramming the narrow walkways 

of Washington's Tidal Basin for a 

peek at the famed pink lowers. 

One of those spectators is Japanese 

diplomat Yoshiyuki Yamada, a new arrival 

to the US capital who is marking 

his irst American cherry blossom celebration 

with his wife Akiko and their 

toddler daughter Haruno. 

Yamada, a Kyoto native who arrived 

here six months ago, describes the 

Japanese ritual of inding and staking 

one's claim to the perfect spot for viewing 

the blossoms — and one essential 

item is a plastic tablecloth. 

"It's a very important piece of the 

process," said Yamada. 

"Without (the tablecloth), it's very 

dificult to (hold a) place, to spend time 

on the ground," he explained. 

"It's very crowded, so it's very important 

for us to take the place," he 

said. 

Unlike in Washington, the celebration 

in his homeland — referred to as 

"hanami" in Japanese — can sometimes 

involve leaving the ofice and heading 

to a nearby park with one's work colleagues, 

the diplomat noted. 

"Usually we send some junior staff 

or trainees... to hold a spot. And they 

have to stay there and wait for us," he 

said. 

"It's not strange, because everybody 

is doing that, especially if it's a very big 

and famous park." 

It's also essential to be lexible. The 

blooms can come into lower in Japan 

any time from late March to early May, 

depending on the region of the country 

and the weather. 

Washington's prized cherry trees 

were a gift to America from Japan in 

1912 as a symbol of friendship. They 

were planted along the banks of the 

Tidal Basin, a man-made reservoir in 

the heart of the city. 

As in Japan, the cherry blossoms are 

one of the most visible symbols here of 

seasonal rebirth — a sign that the long, 

dark winter is inally over. 

In Japan, "the cherry blossom 

blooming is a symbol of changing seasons," 

Yamada said, noting that the academic 

and inancial years start in mid- 

April in Japan. 

"For a lot of people it's a period of 

graduation from school, entrance into 

a company, starting a new life, so we're 

using this period to get together with 

our own families." 

His wife Akiko adds that it's also important 

to bring along the right picnic 

items. 

"We prepare a 'bento' box to share, 

with rice balls, some chicken, vegetables 

and fruit," she said. 

In Washington this year, the blooms 

are a little later than usual due to an 

unusual cold spell, but are expected to 

burst into lower at any time. 

Gregory O'Dell, president of DC 

Events, which organises Washington's 

cherry blossom festivities, said the celebration 

brings in more than $100 million 

to the city. — AFP 

Tourists photograph cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin in Washington

P29 

>> Entertainment 

P29 ‘Fine’ for old actors to work with young: Hrishitaa 

P30 

P29 Actress Anjali alleges harassment 

P31 

Inside 

Wednesday 


5,000-year history binds puppetsl 

US envoy explores investment 

Vidya looks back at going modern 

www.omanobserver.om facebook.com/oman observer twitter.com/omanobserver editor@omanobserver.om AppStore 

Spain marks 

Picasso death 

anniversary 

SPAIN marked the 40th 

anniversary of artist Pablo 

Picasso's death on Monday with 

the publication of books about 

his inluence on 20th-century art, 

exhibitions and other events that 

show he still has an inluence on the 

world of culture. 

The Spanish master, who died in 

Notre-Dame-de-Vie, France, on April 

8, 1973, has had more books written 

about him than Rembrandt and 

Raphael, and his works still command 

record sums at auction. 

Picasso turned the art world upside 

down with his 1907 work Les 

Demoiselles d'Avignon (The Young 

Ladies of Avignon), blazing the trail 

for a new style of art. The Spanish 

artist's death garnered headlines 

around the world. 

Foreign critics considered Picasso, 

who was born in Malaga on October 

25, 1881, the greatest artist of 

the 20th century. — IANS 

The Al Khor Mosque is unique in its 

extensive use of tinted glass that makes 

most of its outer walls. The tinted glass 

is complemented by white marble, blue 

and brown tiles, and golden scripts of 

the Holy Quran. The inside of the mosque 

beautifully showcases the artistry 

MUSC AT TOUR COMES COMPLETE 

WITH A VISIT TO AL KHOR MOSQUE 

Plastic chemical 

dangerous for 

foetuses 

F 

RANCE said yesterday it would 

call for Europe-wide controls 

on a paper product containing 

bisphenol A after a watchdog agency 

said the widely-used chemical may 

expose unborn children to breast 

cancer later in life. 

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a common 

component of plastic bottles and the 

linings of food cans, but some studies 

have linked it to brain and nervous 

system problems, reproductive 

disorders and obesity. 

It has been banned for use in 

baby bottles by the European Union, 

United States and Canada. 

France's ANSES food safety agency 

urged pregnant women to avoid 

food preserved in lined cans, or 

drinking water from polycarbonate 

water fountains found in many of- 

ice buildings which it said was a 

"source of exposure to bisphenol A". 

It also advised them to avoid handling 

slips from shop tills, and urged 

further research into the risk of exposure 

for cashiers. 

The agency said bisphenol A 

could pose health risks to unborn 

children if their mothers ingested, 

inhaled or repeatedly touched products 

that contain it — including 

thermal paper used in some kinds of 

cash register slips or ATM receipts. 

ENTRENCHED on the rocky 

cliffs behind Al Alam Palace, 

the small, yet delicate, Al Khor 

Mosque stands as another witness to 

the glorious past of Old Muscat. The 

Al Khor mosque is one of the oldest 

mosques in the country and nobody 

knows the exact year in which this 

exquisite mosque was originally built, 

but it was once known as “Masjid Al 

Shuhadaa”, or the Mosque of Martyrs, 

for the umpteen funeral prayers offered 

at this mosque for those Omanis 

who died ighting to defeat the Portuguese 

when they attempted to invade 

Oman between 17 and 18 centuries. 

Today the oficial name of Al Khor 

Mosque is derived from the name of 

the inland gulf of water resulting from 

By Riyadh al Balushi 

riyadh@omantripper.com 

the tidal waves crashing at the rocky 

coast of Muscat. Al Khor Mosque is 

also commonly known as the “Family 

The Al Khor mosque is one 

of the oldest mosques in 

the country and nobody 

knows the exact year 

in which this exquisite 

mosque was originally 

built, but it was once 

known as “Masjid Al 

Shuhadaa”, or the Mosque 

of Martyrs 

Mosque” as many senior members of 

the royal family of Oman are known 

to pray in it. 

The Al Khor Mosque was renovated 

many times by different Sutlans, 

most recently in the year 1980 by His 

Majesty Sultan Qaboos. The Al Khor 

Mosque is unique in its extensive use 

of tinted glass that makes most of its 

outer walls. The tinted glass is complemented 

by white marble, blue and 

brown tiles, and golden scripts of the 

Holy Quran. The inside of the mosque 

beautifully showcases the artistry of 

the tinted glass during day time. The 

ceiling of the mosque is made up of 

Arabic calligraphy of the ninety nine 

divine names of Allah, each encrusted 

in golden colour over a square tile of 

blue and white. The centrepiece crystal 

chandelier of the mosque is minimal 

and smoothly descends in the 

middle of the main prayer hall. Interestingly, 

the Al Khor Mosque does not 

have a central upper dome as seen in 

most mosques in Oman. 

Al Khor Mosque is one of the easily 

missed beautiful landmarks of 

Old Muscat which can make up for a 

peaceful winding up of a tour near Al 

Alam Palace. The Mosque is located 

behind Al Alam Palace and near Al 

Mirani Fort. To get to the mosque you 

must drive through the old gate going 

towards the Omani French Museum 

and continue down the street to see 

the mosque on the left side of the road. 

Al Khor Mosque is open to non- 

Muslims between 8 am and 11 am 

from Saturday to Thursday. Visitors 

of the mosque both men and women 

must dress in accordance with the Islamic 

tradition.

Public warned of rising fraud - Oman Daily Observer

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