Expansion of roads to spur growth - Oman Daily Observer

Balkan 

rural 

exodus 

Page 13 

�� Wednesday, June 15, 2011/Rajab 13, 1432 AH 

www.omanobserver.om ��editor@omanobserver.om 

Lanka-India ferry service 

INDIA and Sri Lanka yesterday resumed sea 

ferry services for the first time in 30 years. An Indian 

ferry with a capacity for 1,044 passengers docked at 

Colombo’s port after leaving Tuticorin port. Officials 

said a Sri Lankan ferry would also make the journey 

within two weeks, and the service could be boosted to 

three round trips a week, depending on traffic. 

Salalah’s khareef splendour is all set 

to attract more tourists — Weekend 

7 8 20 

Expansion of roads to spur growth 

�� 

MUSCAT — The Muscat Municipality 

has embarked upon various road network 

projects that will, upon completion, 

add further dimensions to the infra 

scenario while accelerating the steady 

�� 

MUSCAT — “No matter 

what vehicles are they trekking 

on; respect others on 

the road and give them their 

way especially to cyclists on 

the road,” Royal Oman Police 

calls on all road-users. 

“They (cyclists) need more 

care and attention from fellow 

drivers and more than they do 

as they are highly prone to accidents 

on the highways,” an 

official from the Public Relations 

department of ROP told 

the Observer. 

This advice comes in the 

wake of a spate of accidents 

in which cyclists have been 

national growth by leaps and bounds. 

The upcoming arteries are of the 

highest international standards, according 

to the Public Relations Department 

of the Muscat Municipality. 

These projects are expected to boost 

the country’s economic investment, 

World Blood Donors Day marked 

180 donors feted 

�� 

MUSCAT — The Sultanate’s 

Department of Blood 

Services felicitated 180 donors 

from across the country 

on the occasion of the World 

Blood Donors Day, under 

the auspices of Dr Ali bin 

Talib al Hinai, Under-Secretary 

for Planning Affairs, 

Ministry of Health. 

Fael al Saadi, a physically 

challenged person (speech 

and hearing disability), 

stood on the top with more 

than 112 donations over 20 

years. 

Of the 180 blood donors 

who were honoured, 55 were 

organisations and individual 

organisers including 12 

community volunteers with 

a good track record in blood 

donation camps. 

Three blood banks from 

Sur, Buraimi and Ibra were 

also felicitated for outstanding 

performance in blood donation 

campaigns. � To P3 

Motorists asked to 

give cyclists way 

knocked down by reckless 

motorists causing injuries and 

often severe. 

Clare Francis, a British 

cyclist/triathlete in Muscat 

shares her harrowing experience 

on a road while at practice 

with a buddy. 

“We were at training when 

he got knocked off by a speeding 

car with its mirror, taking 

the mirror off and throwing 

the cyclist and bike into the 

lane of on-coming traffic. 

“The only saving grace 

was the oncoming cars were 

far and I was able to stop them. 

The car didn’t stop; in fact it 

accelerated so I couldn’t even 

trace the number.” � To P3 

trade and commerce and tourism sectors 

in particular. 

Accordingly, a number of vital roads, 

new streets, avoidance of roundabouts 

by adding more lanes and flyovers are 

on the anvil to reduce traffic congestion 

and to ease vehicular movement. 

�� 

MUSCAT — International 

Turnkey Solutions (ITS), one 

of the leading business and 

technology solutions providers 

for banking, Islamic finance, 

higher education and telecommunications 

sectors, will host 

its first Islamic banking conference 

in Oman at the Shangrila’s 

Barr Al Jissah Resort and 

Spa on June 20. 

Following a Royal Decree 

authorising the establishment 

of Sharia-compliant services, 

the event will feature top Islam- 

ic banking experts discussing 

opportunities for Omani banks 

interested in taking advantage 

of this new opportunity. 

“I am very excited to join 

ITS in discussing Islamic 

banking issues with the Omani 

banking sector, which is facing 

a unique opportunity today 

with the opening up of an Islamic 

finance sector,” said Dr 

Mabid al Jarhi, president, International 

Association for Islamic 

Economics, who will be 

present at the conference. 

“This is surely a situation 

where early adopters will pick 

Out of these massive projects, Wadi 

Adai-Amerat dualisation project and 

Wadi Adai interchange, in addition to a 

third lane towards Bait al Baraka, dualisation 

of Ghala-Al Ansab road, bridges 

and roads in the Wilayat of Quriyat, in 

addition to more lanes at � To page 3 

Islamic finance to grow RO 380bn 

up the most benefits but much 

planning and expertise is required 

to assure growth, profitability 

and credibility.” 

The Royal Decree authorising 

financial products sparked 

interest in the Islamic finance 

sector. The Decree comes as 

studies indicate that the global 

Islamic finance industry is set 

to grow 24 per cent annually 

and has weathered the financial 

crisis, with total value of assets 

controlled growing from RO 

154 billion at the end of 2008 

to more than RO 380 billion in 

2010. � To page 3 

Freed oil tanker in Salalah 

�� 

MUSCAT — The Kuwaitowned 

oil tanker MV Zirku 

arrived in Salalah yesterday, 

four days after it was freed by 

Somali-based pirates who had 

seized and held it for more 

than 10 weeks. 

Salalah is the first port of 

call for the 105,000-deadweight 

tonne ship following 

its release by its heavily armed 

captors reportedly after a hefty 

ransom payment. 

The container transship- 

ment terminal has been attracting 

significant numbers 

of newly-freed ships seeking 

a ‘safe port’ for crew changes, 

provisions, bunker and even 

emergency assistance typically 

after an extended period 

of captivity at the hands of Somali 

pirate gangs. 

According to maritime officials, 

the UAE-flagged MV 

Zirku sailed into the Port of 

Salalah late last night after a 

three-day sailing from a pirate 

lair on Somalia’s coast. The 

vessel’s crew were described 

as in “generally good health”, 

but suffering some fatigue as 

a result of their 73-day-long 

ordeal in captivity. 

All 29 seafarers — comprising 

17 Pakistanis, three 

Jordanians, three Egyptians, 

two Ukrainians, and a national 

each from Croatia, India, Iraq 

and the Philippines — were 

nonetheless “extremely relieved” 

to finally see the backs 

of their captors. 

Skiff-borne Somali pirates 

firing rocket propelled grenades 

(RPGs) � To page 3 

MUSCAT — Dr Yahya bin 

Mahfoudh al Mantheri, Chairman 

of the Majlis Addawla, 

hailed the Royal attention of 

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, 

throughout the years of the 

blessed Renaissance, to assure 

the building of a modern coun- 

MUSCAT — Muscat Securities 

Market (MSM) launched 

a ‘Financial Performance 

Programme’ (FPP) for listed 

companies. The programme 

aims at keeping pace with the 

rapid growth of IT service on 

world stock markets. 

The programme provides 

financial information and 

analysis through Internet, said 

Ahmed bin Mohammed Muqaibel, 

Deputy Director-General 

of MSM for Management 

and Information Technology. 

The FPP includes updates 

for all listed companies in 

Serena battles past Pironkova 

SERENA Williams made a winning return to action after 

nearly a year out with victory over Bulgaria’s Tsvetana 

Pironkova at the Eastbourne event yesterday. The 29year-old 

American, out of action due to injury and health 

problems since winning last year’s Wimbledon title, 

looked nervy and sluggish initially before settling down 

to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 and move into the second round. 

� Support reviewed � Stability main focus 

ILO hails Sultanate’s 

labour market efforts 

GENEVA — International 

Labour Organization (ILO) 

Director-General Juan Somavia 

has hailed the Sultanate’s 

efforts in developing the labour 

market. 

He voiced the organistion’s 

appreciation to the Sultanate’s 

quick response to the demands 

of the job-seekers through 

the development of employment 

programmes that were 

promptly enforced with immediate 

effect. In particular, 

he commended the monthly 

financial assistance offered 

to job-seekers till such a time 

they get jobs. 

He made the statement 

on the sidelines of the International 

Labour Confer- 

MUSCAT — Sky watchers 

and amateur astronomers in 

the Sultanate will be turning 

their gazes towards the 

skies just before midnight 

for glimpses of the total lunar 

eclipse due to be played out in 

the night skies across over the 

Sultanate tonight. 

The celestial show begins 

at 22:23 hours local time 

when the moon enters the 

penumbra (lighter outer ring 

of Earth’s shadow). At 23:22 

hours, the moon is entirely 

inside the umbra (dark inner 

ring of Earth’s shadow). 

ence here, when he met with 

Manpower Minister Shaikh 

Abdullah bin Nasser al Bakri. 

The meeting discussed 

spheres of co-operation between 

the organisation and the 

Sultanate. It reviewed existing 

technical co-operation programmes, 

including a protocol 

on adequate work that the Sultanate 

signed last year. 

Al Bakri stressed the significance 

of the ILO’s technical 

support to the Sultanate in 

promoting the labour market, 

particularly the employment 

of the nationals and ways to 

enhance their stability at the 

institutions that employ them. 

He also spoke about the 

significance of media and 

Majlis panels enhance progress 

try, a pledge His Majesty made 

in his first nation address, saying 

that, “As far as domestic 

policy is concerned, our plan 

is to build our country and 

provide all its people with a 

prosperous life. That can only 

be achieved when the people 

MSM info on firms 

terms of liquidity, operation, 

profitability, performance, 

share valuation, as well as 

market share for each company 

in the sector and market 

share from the total assets, equity 

and net profits. 

Other data to be provided 

by the FPP include financial 

percentage of the companies 

and sectors in terms of liquidity, 

operation, performance, 

profitability, valuation of the 

share, book value, cash dividend, 

current and chronological 

growth rates and comparisons, 

he said. — ONA 

After reaching its peak at 

00:13 hours, the moon begins 

to exit the umbra at 01:03 

hours, a full 100 minutes before 

it makes an appearance 

in the penumbra on the side of 

Earth’s shadow. 

At 03:01 hours, the moon 

is back again waxing brilliantly 

in the night sky. 

Tonight’s total lunar 

eclipse will be visible even 

to the naked eye, but astronomy 

buffs can enjoy the stunning 

surface features of the 

eclipsed moon with the aid of 

telescopes or binoculars. 

awareness programmes to 

serve all parties concerned. 

Al Bakri also held a meeting 

with Dr Nada al Nashef, the 

Regional Director of ILO Office 

in Beirut. They discussed 

a plan for executing the Sultanate’s 

agenda on ‘adequate 

labour’ and programmes of 

the next stage of co-operation 

and ILO-supported projects. 

The meeting was attended 

by Khalil bin Abdullah al 

Khonji, Chairman of Oman 

Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 

the chairman of the Sultanate’s 

General Trade Union, 

a number of businessmen and 

officials and the Sultanate’s 

permanent representative to 

the United Nations. — ONA 

share the responsibility and 

help in nation building.” 

Al Mantheri made the reference 

to His Majesty’s Royal 

address while opening the 5th 

regular session of the fourth 

annual sitting of the Majlis’s 

fourth term. � To page 2 

THE June issue of the 

Observer’s lifestyle 

magazine, Mazoon, 

will be distributed free 

with this paper soon. 

Total lunar eclipse tonight Focus on Arab 

water network 

MUSCAT — The Sultanate, 

represented by the Ministry 

of Regional Municipalities 

and Water Resources, acting 

in co-ordination with the 

Oman National Commission 

for Education, Culture and 

Science, will host a meeting 

of experts tasked with establishing 

and Arab Network 

for Water Resources Management. 

The meeting, which discusses 

water resources management, 

will take place here 

from June 18 to 20. � To P3 

Prayer timing Fajr Dhuhr Asr Magrib Isha Weather W Muscat Musc usc Nizwa Sohar Al Buraimi Sur Khasab Salalah 

EXCHANGE RATES 

GOLD 

Dollar per Omani Rial 

PRICE 

Muscat 03:52 am 12:12 pm 03:30 pm 07:00 pm 08:22 pm Max ax 36 43 36 41 35 36 31 

Min 30 28 28 25 28 32 28 

Buying 0.382 Selling 0.388 $1,524.40

2 OMAN 

OMAN DAILY Observer 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2011 

MAJLIS Addawla yesterday began the 5th regular session of the fourth annual sitting of the fourth term. — Pictures by ONA & Faisal al Balushi 

Majlis panels enhance progress 

From page 1 

Al Mantheri pointed out that the fourth 

term, which concludes by this session, has 

witnessed many achievements made in 

pursuance of Royal directives to recognise 

the role of all citizens and their awareness 

while serving the comprehensive development 

of the country. He congratulated 

His Majesty the Sultan on the successful 

implementation of the 4th term. 

Al Mantheri valued the Majlis Addawla 

members’ contribution, through the 

Majlis’s six permanent committees, to address 

real issues and meet the aspirations 

of the citizens. 

The Majlis conducted a number of 

Businesswomen told about investment opportunities 

SALALAH — The 1st seminar for 

businesswomen which was organised 

by the Businesswomen’s Committee at 

the Oman Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry's branch in the Governorate of 

Dhofar in conjunction with Al Najah 

GCC seeks to 

unify capital 

markets 

MUSCAT — The Sultanate, 

represented by the Capital 

Market Authority (CMA), 

will take part in a meeting 

of the Ministerial Committee 

of the GCC capital markets 

which be held in Dubai 

tomorrow. 

The Sultanate' delegation 

to the meeting will be 

led by Shaikh Saad bin 

Mohammed al Saadi, Commerce 

and Industry Minister 

and the CMA Chairman. 

The meeting will focus 

on unifying the capital 

markets. 

The ministers will view 

a memorandum of understanding 

between departments 

regularising the 

GCC capital markets that 

aims at enhancing contacts 

and facilitating exchange 

of information. — ONA 

studies and prepared many reports on 

various issues that were tackled by the 

committees in a bid to serve the development 

plans. 

He also valued the efforts of other authorities 

concerned. 

He also pointed out that the studies 

and reports raised by the Majlis to the respective 

departments are welcomed and 

applied and that the Majlis follows up 

with the respective authorities the actual 

implementation of the recommendations. 

This makes us all feel satisfied and that 

the Council has carried out its responsibility 

very diligently. 

Speaking about the agenda of the 5th 

Centre for Human Development, concluded 

here yesterday. 

The seminar, which was held at the 

Dhofar University under the title Recognition 

to Empowerment, reviewed working 

papers on the role of the Business 

SALALAH — Dhofar Municipality 

Committee yesterday 

discussed the general framework 

of the 30-day Salalah 

Tourism Festival 2011. 

The meeting also reviewed 

the procedures taken to implement 

the decisions taken in the 

Diagnosis Centre in serving the SMEs, 

the challenges facing businesswomen, 

scope of small projects for investment 

by women and the use of technologies 

in finding and managing projects. 

— ONA 

Panel focuses on fest arrangements 

MUSCAT — The InterContinental 

Muscat hotel is to 

conduct an open day to attract 

potential Omani youth 

to be selected to various positions 

available with it on 

Sunday, June 19 from 1 pm 

till 9 pm. 

Enthusiastic Omani 

youngsters can walk in and 

meet with the personnel 

manager at Jabreen Ballroom 

for a face-to-face meeting to 

assess their suitability. 

“We are in the process 

MUSCAT — The Kerala 

Wing of the Indian Social 

Club will be organising its 

tenth “Venal Thumbikal”, 

a six-day summer camp 

for students from class 5 to 

class 12 on June 16, 17, 23, 

24 and 30 and on July 1. 

The camp is meant to 

ensure fruitful utilisation of 

summer holidays and also 

to inculcate in children a 

liking and appreciation for 

arts and craft. 

The camp will take the 

participants to a typical 

Kerala village concocted 

at the Indian Social Club 

Muscat where they can 

play, sing and act. 

This year’s camp focuses 

on personality development 

and team building. 

session, he said the session discusses three 

reports on education, tourism sector and 

healthcare of Omani children, current issues 

of youth, the performance of the 

higher education sector during the last 

four years of the Seventh Five-Year Plan 

(2006-2010), the performance of the general 

education sector during the first four 

years of the same plan and a report by the 

Economic Committee on investment on 

the tourism sector. 

Prior to the commencement of fifth 

session, Al Mantheri honuored a number 

of members of the Majlis Addawla, including 

Khalid bin Salim al Saieedi, Secretary-General 

of the Majlis Addawla. 

previous meeting and developments 

of municipal service 

projects currently under way. 

— ONA 

Hotel to conduct open day 

to attract Omani youth 

of recruiting young efficient 

candidates for a plethora of 

posts in all departments,” 

Baidha al Sikaiti, PR manager 

of the hotel, said in a 

statement. 

Youngsters who are passionate 

about service in the 

hospitality industry should 

have good command of English 

and Arabic (both written 

and spoken), good communication 

skills, outgoing 

personality, dynamic and 

hardworking. 

ISC Kerala Wing to organise 

summer camp for students 

Working around developing 

these traits in children 

the camp organisers 

have planned a film projection 

and film-making 

workshop, photography, 

theatre, art and crafts, public 

speaking and debates, 

and introduction and appreciation 

of Malayalam 

literature and poetry as its 

activities. 

The events engaged by 

experts and professionals 

from the field will include 

interactive sessions as well 

as theoretic inputs for each 

discipline. 

Those students interested 

must enroll with the 

Kerala Wing by sending an 

e-mail to isckeralawing@ 

yahoo.com.

From page 1 

“The Royal Decree ushers 

in a new era for Omani 

finance. Demand from the 

youth, who make up 65 per 

cent of the GCC, will drive 

this industry. We are proud 

to extend our support to ITS 

who will leverage their experience 

to benefit Oman’s Islamic 

finance industry,” said 

Dr Haroun Dharsey, senior 

vice-president Operational 

Projects, Dubai Islamic Bank, 

and speaker at the conference. 

The seminars will bring 

3 OMAN 



180 blood donors felicitated 

From page 1 

About seven years ago the Department 

of Blood Services installed 

Aphersis plant for separating blood 

into key components such as packed 

red cells, platelets and fresh frozen 

plasma. This medical technology also 

allows taking only a desired blood 

component from donors instead of 

whole blood. 

The Department of Blood Services 

in many cases draws only platelets 

from donors but they have devoted 

more time as this process takes 45 

minutes to one hour for the donation 

to be completed. 

Amira bint Abdullah al Munji, a 

thalassaemia patient and a regular 

recipient of donor blood, said in her 

speech “On this important occasion, I 

want to say a big 'Thank You' to blood 

donors who have given me hope to 

live through their blood donation and 

the way they urge and encourage the 

community to donate blood. I am very 

delightful to stand in front of blood 

donors." 

She said: “Dear blood donors; On 

behalf of other patients who have 

been helped by your blood donation, I 

am delighted to say “thank you a lot” 

for each drop of your blood, which is 

running now in our veins. You have 

given us hope of living, as your noble 

support continues. I also take this opportunity 

to thank you, on behalf of 

my family which is also facing hard 

times on providing blood for me and 

my sister who is also having a similar 

Freed oil tanker in Salalah 

From page 1 

and small arms seized the 

crude oil laden tanker early on 

March 28, 2011 during a sailing 

from Bashayer (Sudan) to 

Singapore. Evasive measures 

by the ship’s crew, including 

the use of rocket flares and 

fire hoses, failed to deter the 

sea bandits. The attack took 

place in international waters 

approximately 250 nautical 

miles southeast of Salalah. 

Prior to MV Zirku’s arrival 

in the Sultanate yesterday, representatives 

from the ship’s 

owners and charterers had 

already flown into Salalah to 

make all necessary arrangements 

for the tanker’s smooth 

stopover. A replacement crew 

has also been mustered and 

positioned in Salalah ahead of 

the port call, ready to take the 

place of the tanker’s current 

complement of sailors. 

Also standing by is a medical 

team to cater to the healthrelated 

needs of the disembarking 

crew upon their arrival 

in Salalah. According to an 

official, all arrangements will 

be paid to repatriate the crew 

to their respective home countries 

“as soon as possible”. 

MV Zirku is expected to 

remain at anchorage at Salalah 

Port for at least a week while 

a thorough assessment is made 

of the vessel’s overall seaworthiness. 

Expansion of roads to spur growth 

From page 1 

is rather strenuous as there This particular inter- Traffic is highly expected traffic movement. 

are a number of mountains change bridge will com- to be streamlined once the This road is vital for mo- 

Al Athaiba and Ghala to be dug and tunnels have pete with the ones seen in third lane is added. torists to reach the Royal 

roundabouts, Wadi Adai- to be made," a source at the advanced countries while This project is, accord- Hospital via Sultan Qaboos 

Amerat and other road ex- municipality said. 

reducing traffic snarls coning to the sources at the Street and it also serves the 

tension projects in various There will also be a bridge siderably. 

Municipality, one of the industrial area and the Sultan 

wilayats and areas top the which spans around a length The other projects in the most important projects car- Qaboos Grand Mosque and 

list of various developmen- of 180 metres at altitudes of pipeline also include the deried out by the Muscat Mu- regions like Azaiba, Ghubra 

tal projects. 

at least 40 metres and will velopment of drainage sysnicipality to alleviate traffic and Ghala. 

Recently, the Muscat Mu- be positioned at the point of tem and sewage network in congestion in the surround- Additionally, there are 

nicipality has announced that transition of the street from the valleys in various areas ing area as it connects the other infra projects aiming 

more than 70 per cent of the the valley directing from and diversion of all lines, Muscat Governorate with Al at resolving the increasing 

Wadi Adai-Amerat dualisa- east to the west. 

electrical services and water Batinah region, one of the traffic menace at various 

tion project, which connects Likewise, the interchange service lines possibly affect- largest regions in the Sultan- parts of the capital area and 

the Sultan Qaboos Street at the Wadi Adai roundabout ed by the project. 

ate. 

elsewhere at a cost of several 

with Amerat and Qurayat, and the expanse of road net- Addition of a third lane The aim of the munici- million of rials, besides im- 

has been completed, and furwork in the area also con- measuring nearly 18 km pality to add more lanes near proving the various highly 

ther extension from there to sists of advanced technology towards the Bait al Baraka Ghubra and Azaiba rounda- important areas such as the 

connect with the eastern re- to resist any adverse weather roundabout will tremendousbouts is to improve the ef- embassies and ministries 

gion is under construction. conditions and to last longly strengthen the capacity of ficiency of traffic, as this areas which also are getting 

“Construction of this road er. 

the street. 

region is experiencing high densely populated. 

Vet services building opens 

MUSCAT — The Royal Court Affairs yesterday 

inaugurated the new building for the 

Directorate-General of Veterinary Services 

in the Wilayat of Al Seeb in a ceremony held 

under the auspices of Nasr bin Hamoud al 

Kindi, Secretary-General of the Royal Court 

Affairs. 

The building comprises modern preparations 

for the clinic to cope with developments 

being witnessed in the veterinary field. 

It has examination and diagnosis room 

where the animal's condition is examined, 

appropriate treatment plan report for it, a lab 

where various lab tests for animals are conducted, 

central pharmacy, operation room 

for small animals and operation room for big 

animals, an X-ray room, intensive care room, 

veterinarian hall, as well as, administrative 

offices, scientific library and meeting hall. 

The building is designed with state-ofthe-art 

engineering and technical standards, 

besides various modern means of technology 

as RCA seeks to avail an appropriate work 

environment for its employees in a manner 

that contribute in developing work process. 

— ONA 

problem. 

“Today, we honour blood donors 

and supporting organisations, which 

have made such campaigns successful 

and on behalf of all children suffering 

from inherited blood disorders or 

patients afflicted by cancer diseases, I 

call up on ‘you — the blood donors’ in 

the general public to continue with this 

kind of humanitarian gesture whenever 

your health permits to give us some 

life with a drop of your blood. 

“Dear blood donors, your contributions 

have put a smile on the children’s 

innocent faces, brought back 

tranquillity to our lives, and cleansed 

loads of sadness and worries from our 

parents’ shoulders. May the blessing 

of the Almighty be with you”. 

Teresa Baker, in her speech thanked 

expatriate donors and said “these donors 

helped people in critical need of 

blood by participating in local blood 

donation drives. 

“When you take an hour of your 

busy schedule to donate blood, it 

helped one of your neighbours, 

friends, family members or anyone 

in need of blood. Sometimes you 

might have had to wait a little longer 

to donate, but for the time you spent, 

someone else reaped the benefits of 

this sacrifice.” 

Blood donation is a great and priceless 

gift to humanity. A special note of 

appreciation was extended to all these 

volunteers who regularly spent time 

and energy to co-ordinate and organise 

blood donation drives to help sustain 

Oman’s donor blood supply. 

Islamic banking is set to grow 

together industry experts and 

speakers from regional Islamic 

institutions who will discuss 

the challenges involved 

in migrating to a Sharia-compliant 

structure. 

Those challenges include 

overhauling the IT infrastructure, 

training staff and integrating 

with the global banking 

system, elaborated Tarek 

Khalifa, SGR Area Manager 

of ITS. 

“At ITS, we are taking the 

initiative and sharing our 30 

years of industry experience 

with what is sure to become a 

key market. 

Focus on water management 

From page 1 

The meeting will be attended 

by representatives of 

specialised Arab and regional 

organisations and councils, including 

the Unesco and its affiliated 

offices in the region. 

Among the major objectives 

that Arab countries seek 

to achieve through the establishment 

of the Arab Network 

for Water Resources Management 

is the need to co-ordinate 

with members from countries 

and regional organisations 

and to achieve water and re- 

search information integrity 

to enhance national capabilities 

in the field. 

The Sultanate, represented 

by the Regional Municipalities 

and Water Resources 

Ministry, will today take part 

in the third session of the Arab 

Ministerial Water Council due 

to be held in Cairo. 

Ahmed bin Abdullah bin 

Mohammed al Shuhi, Minister 

of Regional Municipalities 

and Water Resources, will led 

the Sultanate’s delegation to 

the two-day meeting. 

SHAIKH Abdullah bin Nassir al Bakri, Minister of Manpower, meets with 

Juan Somavia, International Labour Organization Director-General, 

on the sidelines of the International Labour Conference in Geneva. -- ONA 

Teachers briefed about MSM 

MUSCAT — Muscat Securities Market organised 

a training programme for teachers 

participating in the Summer Students Programme 

2011 yesterday in collaboration 

with the Education Ministry. 

A working paper was presented by Dr 

Salah al Talib, Economic Expert at MSM, 

dealt with mechanism of successful investments, 

trading, disclosure and transparency. 

The programme was attended by 20 

teachers from across the Sultanate's regions 

and governorates, dealt with the role 

of capital markets in activating the national 

economy. 

OCCI entrepreneurs panel discusses training 

MUSCAT — The Entrepreneurs 

Committee at Oman 

Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry (OCCI) yesterday 

held a meeting under the chair 

of Yousef bin Ya'aqoub al Busaidy, 

OCCI Board's member 

and Head of the Entrepreneurs 

Give way 

to cyclists 

From page 1 

She says the cyclist was 

incredibly lucky to escape 

with cuts and bruises only. 

“I don't want to give up my 

hobby and I don't harm anyone, 

just want to ride in safety. 

This is about saving lives 

and I don't want to be killed, 

and being a cyclist we have 

no protection at all. 

"I know the roads are 

dangerous places but drivers 

need to be aware we go 

faster than the bikes they are 

used to seeing with people 

going to work in flipflops 

and no helmets and I hope 

the authorities will do the 

needful," Clare, who is also 

an event manager by profession, 

concluded at the memories 

of a horrid experience. 

Committee. 

The meeting touched on 

activities implemented by the 

committee this year. It also 

reviewed the committee's role 

in assisting entrepreneurs in 

availing training programmes 

specialised in business man- 

Ahmed bin Abdul-Karim al Hooti, Senior 

Director of the Media and Awareness 

Department at Muscat Securities Market 

presented a working paper on trading in the 

primary and secondary markets and ways 

of starting investment, using MSM visitors' 

manual which will be taught by teachers to 

students participating in the summer programme. 

Raeid bin Hussein al Hooti, of MSM 

Media and Awareness Department, presented 

a working paper about logging-into the 

educational website and taking part in the 

Invest and Gain Contest. — ONA 

agement and other administrative 

fields that lead to setting 

up successful business. 

The committee also concluded 

the training programme 

for entrepreneurs organised 

from June 12 to 14.

By Ali Ahmed al Riyami 

MUSCAT — In commemoration 

of this year’s upcoming 

United Nations endorsed 

Nelson Mandela International 

Day, occurring on his birthday 

on July 18, 2011, that will see 

the world’s most renowned 

living statesman reach the 

ripe age of 93, all individuals 

living in Oman are requested 

to devote 67 minutes of their 

time for the welfare of the 

community, it was announced 

at a press briefing held at the 

South African Embassy in 

Oman in Shatti al Qurum yesterday. 

Addressing members of 

the local press corps, the 

South African Ambassador 

to the Sultanate, Yusuf Saloojee, 

accompanied by the 

embassy’s Deputy Head of 

Mission, Pierre Jordan, noted 

that Mandela has shown that 

however difficult situations 

may be, they can be resolved 

through peaceful means, adding 

that, with these ideals 

he was willing to sacrifice 

his personal life, even being 

ready to die for a just cause, 

not only for South Africa but 

also throughout the world. 

The ambassador pointed 

that it is his own idea (Nelson 

Mandela’s) that his birthday is 

celebrated not just by tea and 

cakes, but by something constructive 

that people can do. 

He said the embassy has 

been following the UN declared 

Nelson Mandela International 

Day for the past two 

years since it was instigated in 

2009. 

This year, he continued, 

they appeal that people should 

celebrate the day by giving 

service for any aspect of benefit 

to the community, regardless 

of race, colour, creed or 

gender — which is in line 

with what was stated by Mandela 

himself when he said: 

“We must use time wisely and 

forever realise that time is always 

ripe to do right.” 

The diplomats responded 

to media questions by stating: 

This year they have decided to 

market the concept of the day 

through a media campaign, 

rather than doing anything 

4 OMAN/ASIA 


specific themselves. The message 

being that this annual 

event’s rational is: “Mandela 

spent 67 years of his life actively 

devoted to bringing 

about justice and positive social 

change. On this day, people 

across the world are asked 

to symbolically sacrifice at 

least 67 minutes of their time 

in the service of their communities, 

in whichever way they 

choose, to make the world a 

better place.” 

Hopefully, this will inspire 


People urged to give 67 minutes of 

community work on Mandela Day 

Google applies 

for mapping 

licence 

BEIJING — Google and its 

joint venture partner in China 

have applied for a licence 

to operate an online mapping 

service in the world's biggest 

web market, a report said. 

The State Bureau of Surveying 

and Mapping was reviewing 

the application from 

Beijing Guxiang Information 

Technology Co, which 

operates Google's mapping 

service in China, Dow Jones 

Newswires said. 

"We’re in discussions 

with the government about 

how we could offer a maps 

product in China," Google's 

Beijing-based spokeswoman 

Marsha Wang said, repeating 

an earlier statement. 

China has the world's 

biggest online population of 

477 million, according to official 

data. 

Beijing has so far granted 

licences to dozens of companies 

to provide web mapping 

after new rules were introduced 

last year requiring all 

firms providing Internet map 

and location services in China 

to apply for approval. 

Foreign firms wanting 

to provide those services in 

China are required to set up 

joint ventures or partnerships 

with local firms. 

Google has seen its share 

of the lucrative Chinese 

search market slide to the 

profit of local rival Baidu 

as tensions with Beijing increased 

over a number of cyberattacks 

the US web giant 

claims originated in China. 

This month, Google said 

it had been hit by a cyberspying 

campaign targeting 

Gmail accounts of senior 

US officials, journalists and 

activists, which appeared to 

have come from Jinan, in 

Shandong. — AFP 

SINGAPORE — South Korea yesterday said it was 

drawing up a cyber security master plan after a wave 

of hacking attacks against global agencies and companies 

but some other Asian governments appeared 

to have no blueprint for tackling the threat. 

Indonesia, a rapidly growing G20 country, warned 

that hackers could cause serious damage to its institutions. 

Internet industry bodies and security experts in 

Asia said the borderless nature of the Internet called 

for a co-ordinated international policy response. 

Recent cyber attacks on multinational firms and 

institutions, from Google and Citigroup to the International 

Monetary Fund, have raised fears that 

governments and the private sector are ill-prepared 

to beat off hackers. 

The latest high-profile target was the US Senate's 

website, which was hacked over the weekend. 

"Every day, not every month, but every day, we 

get 1.2 million hacker attacks in Indonesia, both from 

within the country and outside," said Gatot Dewa 

Broto, Indonesia's Communication and Information 

Ministry spokesman. 

"If we don't improve (our capabilities) we could 

face a possible public and commercial institutional 

collapse." 

BEIJING — China opposes external 

powers weighing in on territorial disputes 

in the South China Sea, it said yesterday 

after Vietnam said other countries, including 

the US, could help defuse tensions 

over the potentially resource-rich region. 

Vietnam outlined the terms of a possible 

military draft, a move that experts 

called a signal meant to show the country 

was prepared to defend its interests, 

but Beijing's warning appeared aimed at 

Washington, which urged a collective solution 

to the sea tensions last year. 

"We hope that countries that are not 

parties to the South China Sea dispute truly 

respect the efforts of the countries concerned 

to resolve their disputes through 

consultation," Chinese Foreign Ministry 

spokesman Hong Lei said. 

China's main military newspaper was 

blunter. 

"China resolutely opposes any country 

unrelated to the South China Sea issue 

meddling in disputes, and it opposes the 

internationalisation of the South China 

Sea issue," said a commentary in the Lib- 

PHAN Vinh Island in the Spratly archipelago. — AFP 

eration Army Daily. 

China's statements coincided with naval 

exercises by Vietnam's military along 

its central coast, and followed a weekend 

statement by Hanoi welcoming efforts 

by the international community, including 

the US, to help resolve the maritime 

disputes. 

China and Vietnam have traded accusations 

for weeks over what each sees as 

intrusions into its territorial waters by the 

other in a stretch of ocean spanned by key 

shipping lanes and thought to hold large 

deposits of oil and gas. 

Beijing has said it is not to blame. 

"The recent developments in the South 

China Sea were the result of unilateral 

actions by some countries that damaged 

China's sovereignty and maritime rights," 

spokesman Hong said. 

"China has been protecting its legitimate 

rights and not violating those of other 

countries." 

Accusations of unlawful intrusions in 

the South China Sea are not uncommon 

between China, Vietnam and the Philip- 

members of the community to 

do something positive, rather 

than the embassy doing something 

itself — which would 

be far less reaching, although 

they do intend to hold a small 

event to commemorate the occasion. 

It is in this spirit that the 

embassy appeals to all of the 

country’s citizens to do something 

good for the welfare of 

their communities on July 18. 

As a global icon, as the 

ambassador pointed out, Mandela 

is well known throughout 

the world; even those people 

who may not know where 

South Africa is, do know who 

Mandela is and what he stood 

for. He stood for freedom, justice, 

peace, democracy, racial 

and gender equality. 

All communal services 

performed on this day, if possible, 

should be recorded so 

that it can be sent on to Mandela 

and his foundation. The 

Mandela Day slogan is, ‘Take 

Action, Inspire Change, Make 

Every Day Nelson Mandela 

Day.’ There are 67 examples 

listed of ‘ways to change’ on 

the website: www.nelsonmandela.org/mandeladay/67_ 

ways.html. 

China warns outside nations 

to stay out of sea dispute 

In Seoul, capital of the world's most wired country, 

a large government task force is working on tactics to 

address threats, and officials said they would allocate 

extra cash and manpower to toughen protection of 

national economic and industrial installations. 

South Korea, still technically at war with North 

Korea, is vulnerable due to its high Internet penetration 

and as the likely target of its reclusive rival, officials 

said. 

"Ensuring cyber security is no longer a matter 

of choice but is an issue of top priority that impacts 

national security," an official at the nation's communications 

watchdog said. The official asked for 

anonymity because he was not authorised to speak 

to the media. 

Earlier this month, Internet giant Google pointed 

the finger at Chinese hackers for an attempt to access 

the Gmail accounts of assorted rights activists, officials 

and others. 

China's government has denied involvement, and 

said it too is a victim of international hacking. 

"China has also many times reiterated that we are 

willing to open up exchanges and co-operation with 

the international community about Internet security," 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. 

Entertainment giant Sony suffered serious dam- 

pines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, but 

this bout of tension has run longer than 

usual. 

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen 

Tan Dung signed a decree on Monday 

listing the types of cases which would be 

exempt in the event of a military draft in 

time of war. 

"Vietnam is speaking to two audiences," 

Carlyle Thayer, a Vietnam expert at 

the Australian Defence Force Academy, 

said. "It's speaking to a domestic audience 

where it is under pressure to be shown to 

be taking steps to deal with China. The 

other is to China." 

Meanwhile, Taiwan's navy yesterday 

said it would not scrap scheduled patrol 

missions to disputed islands in the South 

China Sea, despite a flare-up of regional 

tensions in the contested waters. 

The routine missions, which take 

place at least three times a year, will bring 

a naval fleet to Taiwan-controlled Taiping, 

the biggest island in the Spratlys, and 

the Pratas archipelago. China also claims 

the islands. — Reuters/AFP 

Seoul launches cyber security plan 

age to its reputation after hackers accessed the details 

of millions of PlayStation users, while Lockheed 

Martin and Citi also reported attempts to steal data. 

A national government was the most likely culprit 

in the attack on the IMF, experts say, given the complexity 

of the assault and its targeting of the organisation's 

secrets. 

In the Philippines, efforts to legislate against cyber 

threats have foundered because of a lack of urgency, 

said Trish Abejo, chief of staff of the head of 

the government's Commission on Information and 

Communications Technology. 

"We have very limited laws so we're pushing for 

an anti-cyber crime bill in Congress (parliament), but 

it has been sleeping there and not given priority because 

it sounds very technical," Abejo said. 

The perception that security of information is a 

technical problem, rather than an operational or strategic 

one, has until recently meant the issue has not 

been a government or corporate priority. 

"What that means is the chief executive level is 

not getting visibility of the real problem and they are 

the people who own the risk," said Tim Scully, head 

of cyber security for BAE Systems Australia. 

"There definitely needs to be a global, if not a regional, 

approach to cyber security." — Reuters 

Muscat Eye Laser Center 

gets new scientific director 

MUSCAT — Muscat Eye 

Laser Center (MELC), the 

Sultanate’s leading eye-care 

services provider, has significantly 

ramped up its clinical, 

surgical and research capabilities 

with the appointment 

of a highly qualified refractive 

surgeon to its world-class 

team of professionals. 

Dr Juan G Gaviria (pictured), 

a Colombian citizen 

of international repute, joins 

the Center as Scientific Director 

— a new post especially 

made in line with the 

centre’s expanding role not 

only as the nation’s premier 

eye-care facility in the private 

sector, but also as an 

up-and-coming specialist research 

institution in its own 

right. 

In his new role, Dr Gaviria 

will provide added impetus 

to the centre’s growing 

scientific, clinical and surgical 

responsibilities. 

In particular, he will oversee 

the expanding portfolio 

of research initiatives undertaken 

by Muscat Eye Laser 

Center, co-ordinate surgical 

procedures and most importantly, 

extend his considerable 

professional expertise 

towards the smooth handling 

of the centre’s rising caseload 

Spit collector 

held in Japan 

TOKYO — A 55-year-old 

jobless Japanese man has 

been arrested in Tokyo for 

having three schoolgirls spit 

out saliva and filming them 

in the process, police said. 

Toshihiko Mizuno was 

caught in Tokyo on suspicion 

of "habitual indecency," 

which carries a penalty of up 

to one year in jail or a fine of 

one million yen ($12,400). 

Media reported that Mizuno 

had approached about 

4,000 young girls and managed 

to collect saliva from 

about 500 of them over 17 

years. — AFP 

Air Koryo to start 

Shanghai flights 

SHANGHAI — North Korea's 

carrier yesterday said 

it would offer twice-weekly 

flights between Shanghai 

and Pyongyang starting 

next month, in a sign the 

secretive state is looking to 

attract more Chinese tourists. 

Shanghai joins Beijing 

and Shenyang in the 

northeast as the third city 

in China to have regular 

flights to North Korea, the 

state-owned Air Koryo said 

in a statement. 

The Shanghai flights 

to Pyongyang's Sunan International 

Airport, due to 

begin on July 1, will serve 

Chinese tour groups and 

are scheduled to run until at 

least October 25, it added. 

The reclusive state is in 

need of foreign investment, 

and has slowly expanded 

its tourism industry, offering 

trips to beaches and 

even home stays in several 

towns to Chinese and Western 

tourists alike. 

of eye surgeries. 

"We are immensely 

proud to add someone of 

Dr Gaviria’s calibre to our 

team," said Dr Maria Clara 

Arbelaez, an internationally 

distinguished eye surgeon, 

co-founder and Medical Director 

of Muscat Eye Laser 

Center. 

“His outstanding skill as 

a surgeon and impeccable 

qualifications are sure to be 

a great asset for our practice 

and our patients.” 

Dr Gaviria comes with 

impressive credentials, having 

performed thousands of 

cataract surgeries and laser 

vision procedures during a 

remarkable professional career 

spanning eight years in 

Malaysian neighbours sign 

peace deal to stop feud 

KUALA LUMPUR — A 

handshake wasn't enough for 

two Malaysian neighbours 

embroiled in a lengthy and bitter 

feud sparked by complaints 

over barking dogs — the two 

actually signed a peace treaty. 

The three-year battle began 

when one of the men complained 

to the police in Malaysia's 

southern Johor state, 

where they lived, about his 

neighbour's noisy dogs, the 

Star newspaper reported. 

The dog owner retaliated 

by playing loud music at night, 

throwing cans of paint into his 

neighbour's house and driving 

S Korea revamps island 

defences against North 

SEOUL — South Korea's 

military yesterday said it has 

formed a new command to hit 

back harder against any future 

attacks by North Korea near 

the tense disputed Yellow Sea 

border. 

The command, directed 

by the chairman of the Joint 

Chiefs of Staff, will oversee 

military operations on five 

frontline islands. 

"More K-9 self-propelled 

guns and artillery-hunting radar 

have been deployed to the 

islands... the new command 

will dramatically strengthen 

our defence capabilities 

there," it said in a statement. 

Warships and jet fighters 

will be deployed more quickly 

in case of a new attack and 

new bomb shelters for islanders 

will be built by the end of 

this year, it said. 

The ministry also plans to 

station attack helicopters on 

one of the islands, Yonhap 

news agency has reported. 

The military was widely 

his native Colombia. 

He is a member of a 

number of national and international 

professional fraternities, 

notably the American 

Academy of Cataract and 

Refractive Surgery, Colombian 

Society of Ophthalmology, 

American Academy 

of Ophthalmology and the 

International Society of Refractive 

Surgery. 

With Dr Gaviria’s appointment, 

Muscat Eye Laser 

Center effectively bolsters 

its in-house surgical team to 

a total of five surgeons comprising 

Dr Maria Arbelaez, 

Dr Jose Lievano, Dr Bernardita 

Sekito and the worldrenowned 

visiting specialist 

Dr Takayuki Akahoshi. 

Four of these specialists 

are based in Muscat who 

not only conduct the surgical 

procedures, but are also 

available for follow-ups post 

surgery. 

Their complementary specialties 

afford Muscat Eye 

Laser Center the unmatched 

ability to provide a complete 

array of international-class 

surgical eye-care services to 

patients in the Sultanate. 

his car into the gate. His neighbour 

filed a counter complaint 

about the music. 

When both men decided 

to end the feud recently, they 

opted for a signed peace deal 

or "Memorandum of Understanding" 

to keep each other 

in check. 

One of the main points in 

the peace deal is that the dog 

owner has to find a way to 

minimise barking at night. "If 

either of the two men decides 

to break the deal, the other 

can bring this document and 

present it either to the police or 

in court," said the mediator. 

accused of a feeble response 

when the North launched a 

rocket and artillery attack on 

Yeonpyeong island last November, 

killing four people 

including civilians and damaging 

dozens of buildings. 

The South has vowed to 

strike back more strongly in 

future, employing air power, 

and has deployed more troops 

and weaponry on the islands. 

In another development, 

North Korea yesterday announced 

it would hold local 

elections next month in what 

an analyst described as a revamp 

of official bodies before 

a major anniversary next 

year. 

The vote for deputies to 

provincial, city and county 

people’s assemblies will take 

place on July 24, the official 

news agency said. 

During their term, the local 

assemblies convene once 

or twice a year for a day or 

two to review and approve 

budgets, analysts said. 

TAIWANESE protesters try to pull down the gates of the Legislative Yuan building 

during an anti-nuclear protest yesterday, a day after the parliament approved 

a budget to finance the construction of the fourth nuclear power plant. — Reuters

Battle lines drawn in bid 

to lead S Africa’s ANC GENEVA — Over 300,000 

JOHANNESBURG — Julius 

Malema and the ANC Youth 

League he heads appears to 

have embarked on a campaign 

to limit President Jacob Zuma 

to one term as leader of South 

Africa’s ruling party, union 

leaders say. 

The anti-Zuma group is 

supported by wealthy members 

of the ruling African National 

Congress (ANC) and 

fronted by Malema, whose 

calls for farm seizures without 

compensation and the nationalisation 

of mines in the 

world’s biggest platinum producer 

have worried investors. 

Malema, who will be reelected 

youth leader later this 

week, helped Zuma rise to 

power in 2007 but his demands 

for sweeping policy shifts and 

racist remarks towards the 

white minority have put him 

at odds with the president. 

“If they succeed in this 

campaign, the ANC as we 

have known it will be history,” 

The Sunday Times quoted 

COSATU’s Secretary-General 

Zwelinzima Vavi as writing in 

a union document. 

“Our country we love so 

much will go straight down 

the direction of a banana republic. 

The current challenge 

of corruption will be institutionalised 

with a risk that the 

very country will be sold to 

the highest bidder.” 

The youth league is considered 

kingmakers in the ANC 

and has been used in the past 

by senior members to drive 

policy changes and launch 

leadership races. 

While alliance members 

COSATU and the communists 

appear to back Zuma, his 

supporters fear the split may 

jeopardise his chances when 

the party holds its leadership 

election next year — and by 

implication another term as 

president of Africa’s most 

powerful economy, which 

holds elections in 2014. 

Analysts say Malema has 

presidential ambitions, and 

replacing Zuma is a step towards 

ensuring his policy demands 

materialise. A change 

in leadership would allow his 

supporters to exploit lucrative 

government deals. 

“Malema is not getting 

what he expects from Zuma. 

Some very powerful and rich 

people in the ANC and the 

country support him,” an ANC 

member said. “If Zuma is out 

of the way, they can benefit 

more from deals.” 

Investors are concerned 

by what appears to be rising 

levels of corruption and 

opportunism by senior ANC 

officials. Zuma’s supporters 

blame Malema’s antagonistic 

comments towards minorities 

for a drop in support 

in May’s local government 

elections. — Reuters 

5 AFRICA 



More than 300,000 still 

displaced in I Coast 

people are still displaced 

in Ivory Coast almost two 

months after the end of the 

country’s post-election crisis, 

the UN refugees agency 

said. 

“Over the past three 

weeks, UNHCR and our 

partners have registered 

322,277 internally displaced 

people across the country and 

registration is ongoing,” said 

Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman 

for the UN High 

Commissioner for Refugees. 

Most were in the west, 

north and in the economic 

capital, Abidjan. 

“They told our assessment 

teams that there are others 

still hiding in the bush,” added 

Fleming. 

While the situation in the 

west is improving, Fleming 

said tensions were still high 

in the southwestern Sassandra 

region where over 

280 civilians were killed in 

early May by supporters of 

former president Laurent 

Gbagbo. 

“An estimated 17,000 

people are displaced in the region, 

including an unknown 

number reportedly still hiding 

in the forest,” she said. 

Alassane Ouattara was 

sworn in as president on May 

21 after a nearly five-month 

battle with Gbagbo, who rejected 

the UN-backed election 

commission’s ruling that 

he lost November presidential 

elections. 

In another development, 

Ivory Coast President Alassane 

Ouattara has backed UN 

chief Ban Ki-Moon for a second 

five-year term, after the 

United Nations played a key 

role in resolving the country’s 

deadly political crisis. 

In a statement, Ouattara 

hailed Ban’s “service to the 

United Nations” and noted 

that his mandate “allowed the 

global organisation to play a 

crucial role in resolving crises 

throughout the world.” 

IMF stalls Malawi 

aid programme 

LILONGWE — Malawi’s 

programme with the IMF has 

stalled after the African nation 

failed to complete successfully 

a second review of 

its economic performance, 

Finance Minister Ken Kandodo 

revealed yesterday. 

Failure to complete the 

assessment under an Extended 

Credit Facility puts 

future support in jeopardy 

after donors said they would 

link aid to a positive review 

from the IMF. 

The International Monetary 

Fund approved a threeyear 

$79.4 million facility for 

Malawi in February last year, 

which amounts to 75 per cent 

of its quota in the fund. 

But the programme has 

ADDIS ABABA — The ash 

cloud emanating from a volcano 

that erupted in Eritrea 

caused some disruption to air 

traffic in East Africa yesterday. 

An overnight Lufthansa 

flight from Frankfurt, Germany 

and an Emirates flight 

from Entebbe in Uganda were 

cancelled, said Hailaye Gebretsadik, 

general manager of 

Ethiopia’s Bole International 

Airport. Volcano Dubbi erupted 

on Sunday night following 

a series of minor earthquakes. 

The eruption was its first in 

some 150 years. 

“So far the volcanic eruption 

has however not affected 

flights to and from Addis this 

morning,” he said. 

been hit by the government’s 

failure to devalue the Malawian 

kwacha and implement 

public finance management 

reforms, among other 

issues. 

“Our programme with 

IMF has stalled because we 

have failed to complete successfully 

our second performance 

review but I am 

confident that we will be 

back on track and unlock the 

funds that are being withheld 

by donors this fiscal year,” 

Kandodo said. 

He said the government 

was in ongoing discussions 

with the Fund, but did not 

say how it proposed to get 

the programme back on 

track. — Reuters 

Eritrea volcano causing 

minimal disruption 

Two killed in 

Niger clash 

NIAMEY — Two people 

died following a clash between 

security forces and 

bandits in northern Niger, 

Niger officials said. 

The skirmish between security 

forces and the assailants 

left one dead on either 

side, in the Sahara-Sahel 

region of the country near 

the uranium mining town of 

Arlit, the defence ministry of 

the West African state said. 

“A soldier was killed and 

six others wounded while a 

gunman was killed,” a statement 

read over Niger’s national 

television said. 

In addition, the army recovered 

a four-wheel drive 

vehicle containing 640 kilograms 

of explosives, 435 

detonators, various military 

arsenal and the sum of 

$90,000 in cash, the statement 

added. 

There are growing concerns 

that following the 

Libyan conflict, small arms 

could flow in to the region. 

Nations of the region including 

Mali, Mauritania, 

Niger and Algeria said in 

May they will set up, within 

18 months, a joint force of up 

to 75,000 soldiers to secure 

their shared Sahara-Sahel 

desert zone. — Reuters 

Only domestic flights to 

Mekele near Ethiopia’s border 

with Eritrea had to be cancelled. 

Gebretsadik expressed 

hope that the rain in the Ethiopian 

capital would help the 

ash cloud to dissipate. 

The volcano forced US 

chief diplomat Hillary Clinton 

to cut short a trip to Africa. 

The official said Clinton 

and her delegation were leaving 

“because the ash cloud is 

moving towards Addis and 

it could cover the city... for 

an indeterminate length (of 

time).” 

Clinton was supposed to 

have stayed in Ethiopia until 

yesterday as part of a tour of 

African nations. — dpa 

Horn of Africa food crisis 

threatens 8 million people 

ROME — Some 8 million 

people living Djibouti, Ethiopia, 

Kenya and Somalia are 

in need of emergency food 

assistance, the UN Food and 

Agriculture Organization 

warned. 

The number of people facing 

severe food shortages is 

set to increase as the impact 

of drought, along with high 

food and fuel prices, continues 

to grip the Horn of Africa 

region,” the Rome-based FAO 

said in a statement. 

It noted how the region has 

now experienced two consecutive 

seasons of significantly 

below-average rainfall, resulting 

in failed crop production, 

depletion of grazing resources 

and significant livestock mortality. 

“The Horn of Africa requires 

urgent additional funds 

to protect and rebuild livestock 

assets, distribute suitable 

farm inputs that include 

drought-tolerant seeds, fodder 

and water for breeding stocks, 

as well as animal and plant 

disease surveillance and control” 

FAO said. 

Currently, 2.5 million people 

are in need of humanitarian 

assistance, but with the ongoing 

conflict in South Somalia, 

coupled with the poor outlook 

for the upcoming harvest, 

many more Somalis may fall 

into severe crisis, FAO said. In 

Kenya, more than 2.4 million 

people in the country’s northern 

and northeastern regions 

are estimated to be unable to 

meet their basic food and water 

needs. 

At the beginning of June 

the number of people requiring 

assistance in Ethiopia was 

estimated at 11.4 million, FAO 

said, noting how the country is 

in the grips of water shortages 

and very poor pasture conditions. 

In Djibouti, the ongoing 

drought coupled with very 

high staple food prices, high 

unemployment and increased 

rural-urban migration has 

worsened the food security 

situation at the household 

level. — dpa

First presidential visit to 

Puerto Rico in 50 years 

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama yesterday became the first 

sitting US president in 50 years to visit Puerto Rico, the island 

territory whose descendants could help the prospects for his 

re-election next year. 

Obama said he will support a plan that allows Puerto Ricans 

to determine their own future. There has been a long-standing 

debate about whether the Caribbean island should be granted 

statehood, independence or maintain its current status. 

“When the people of Puerto Rico make a clear decision, my 

administration will stand by you,” Obama said in brief comments 

that carried all the hallmarks of a campaign speech. 

There are millions of Puerto Ricans in the United States, 

particularly in New York. Obama wants their votes to boost his 

re-election in November 2012. 

Obama visited the island during his 2008 campaign and 

said he would return as president. 

“Although my hair is a little greyer, I am glad to be able to 

keep that promise to the people of Puerto Rico,” Obama said. 

Obama’s trip was the first official visit to Puerto Rico by a 

president since John F Kennedy went there in 1961, the White 

House stated. — dpa 

Early nuclear phase-out will 

cost German industry billions 

BERLIN — Germany’s decision to switch off its nuclear power 

stations by 2022 is expected to cost German industry almost 

2 billion euros ($2.9 billion) annually, according to research 

released yesterday. 

High energy-consuming manufacturers would see their 

electricity bills rise around 10 per cent, Hubertus Bardt of the 

Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) said. 

Germany has decided to wind down its 17 nuclear power 

generators over the next decade, with eight already having 

been taken off the grid, following the nuclear disaster in which 

one of Japan’s Fukushima plants was struck in March by an 

earthquake and tsunami. 

The move will drive electricity prices up by almost 1 euro 

cent per kilowatt per hour, according to findings published 

yesterday by the IW. 

“One cent does not sound like much. But many million little 

cents could threaten the profitability of entire corporations,” 

said IW director Michael Huether. 

By analysing energy consumption over recent years, the 

institute calculated that this price hike adds up to an estimated 

1.9 billion euros annually. 

The worst affected industries will be those with powerintensive 

processes such as paper production, the chemicals 

industry and the metalworking sector. The IW proposed state 

incentives to help these industries remain internationally competitive. 

— dpa 

19 killed in clashes in 

Venezuela prison 

CARACAS — At least 19 inmates have been killed since Sunday 

in armed clashes among prisoners in Venezuela’s El Rodeo 

prison, an official said yesterday. 

There was “a regrettable situation that occurred on Sunday 

in El Rodeo where 19 inmates lost their lives,” Interior Minister 

Tareck El Aissami told reporters. 

It would be the deadliest prison uprising in Venezuela since 

1999 when 27 inmates were killed in a confrontation with security 

forces, according to rights organisations. 

Gunfire and explosions could be heard into the night on 

Monday at the prison in the northern state of Miranda, but El 

Aissami did not say whether the situation had been brought 

under control. — AFP 

US state to outlaw sale of 

controversial ‘assistance’ kits 

PORTLAND, Ore — Sales of suicide kits, like the do-it-yourself 

asphyxiation hood used by a man to kill himself late last 

year, could soon be outlawed in the state of Oregon. 

The state’s House of Representative passed the bill on 

Monday to ban the products. It must now be considered in the 

state Senate, which passed similar legislation in May. 

Sponsors say the bill would in no way impinge on a landmark 

1997 state law legalising physician-assisted suicides for 

terminally ill individuals in Oregon. 

Washington is the only other state with such a statute on 

the books. 

The newly passed Oregon bill was sparked by notoriety 

surrounding an elderly California woman who sells self-asphyxiation 

kits through a mail-order business, and the December 

suicide of one of her customers from Eugene, Oregon, 29year-old 

Nicholas Klonoski. 

Sharlotte Hydorn, 91, a retired science teacher and greatgrandmother 

who lives near San Diego, says her product is 

intended to help people with incurable, fatal illnesses end their 

lives with dignity in their own homes. 

The kits, which sell for $60 including shipping, consist of 

a plastic hood that closes around the neck and tubing that connects 

the hood to a tank of helium or other inert gas the patients 

supply themselves. 

Critics, including Klonoski’s brother, have faulted Hydorn 

for not screening potential buyers of her kits, which they say 

she peddles indiscriminately to customers who may be emotionally 

fragile, rather than terminally ill. 

Klonoski’s family said he suffered from depression but was 

otherwise healthy when he used one of Hydorn’s kits to take 

his own life around Christmas time. — Reuters 

Russian police nab lorry with 

mammoth ivory, bear paws 

MOSCOW — Russian border police yesterday arrested a Chinese 

lorry driver for attempting to smuggle 1.4 tonnes of bear 

paws and mammoth ivory out of the country, officials said. 

Customs officers at a checkpoint near Russia’s Far Eastern 

city of Blagovechensk discovered the items in a secret compartment 

in the lorry. 

The haul included 1,041 brown bear paws, five mammoth 

tusks, 26 moose lips and three lynx pelts, customs officials told 

the Interfax news agency. 

The driver’s nervous behaviour alerted inspectors to the 

possible presence of smuggled goods. Sniffer dogs located the 

hidden compartment underneath the driver’s seat. 

Bear paws are sometimes used in traditional Asian medicine 

because they are believed to boost sexual drive and overall 

health. An illicit feast of grilled bear paws can reportedly 

cost thousands of dollars in China. 

Russia’s Siberia region is the world’s largest source of 

mammoth tusks, which are usually uncovered by hunters during 

tundra snow melt. 

China’s ivory-carving industry has moved to using mammoth 

tusks as a raw material because of an international ban on 

the trade of elephant ivory. A high-quality mammoth tusk can 

retail for more than 15,000 dollars. 

Russia is believed to be home to 120,000 brown bears, the 

world’s largest brown bear population. The woolly mammoth 

became extinct some 10,000 years ago. — dpa 

6 THE WORLD 



ISRAELI army machinery destroys a water reservoir used by Palestinian farmers in Hebron in the 

Israeli-occupied West Bank yesterday. — AFP 

‘Do not flay US on Libya’ 

WASHINGTON — Two key US senators 

sternly warned colleagues yesterday 

to temper their criticism of the unpopular 

US role in the Libya conflict or risk encouraging 

Moammar Gaddafi. 

“I caution my friends, both here in the 

Senate and in the House of Representatives, 

that we don’t want to do anything 

or pass legislation which would encourage 

Gaddafi,” said Senator John McCain. 

McCain, top Republican on the Senate 

Armed Services Committee, cautioned 

that lawmakers criticising President 

Barack Obama’s handling of the conflict 

or calling for an end of the US role might 

All set for SCO summit today 

ASTANA — Kazakhstan yesterday 

prepared for a summit 

of a security group regarded 

as a rival of Nato that is to see 

coming together of the Chinese 

and Russian leaders with 

Iranian President Mahmoud 

Ahmadinejad. 

Ahmadinejad has already 

arrived in the Kazakh capital 

Astana along with Chinese 

President Hu Jintao who has 

been on an official visit to Kazakhstan, 

state media said. 

The Shanghai Cooperation 

Organization (SCO) was set 

LONDON — Britain looks 

set to face widespread co-ordinated 

strikes by more than 

a million public sector staff 

working in schools, councils, 

and the health service over 

the government’s plans for 

pension reform. 

Members of two teaching 

unions yesterday became the 

first to back industrial action 

over the coalition government’s 

plans, which they say 

will cut their pensions, setting 

the scene for what could be a 

long period of strife. 

BERLIN — A two-year-old 

boy yesterday became the first 

child to die in an outbreak of 

a virulent strain of E. coli in 

Germany, taking the death toll 

to at least 37. 

The child died in hospital 

in Hanover overnight after 

becoming infected with 

enterohaemorrhagic E. coli 

(EHEC), authorities in the 

northern state of Lower Saxony 

said. 

He had been in intensive 

care for several days. The rest 

of his family also fell ill but 

were recovering, authorities 

said. 

Previously the youngest 

up in 2001 as a security counterweight 

to Nato that would 

allow Russia and China to rival 

US influence in Asia. But 

it is looking to co-operate at 

an economic level. 

Its membership also includes 

other central Asian 

states and with the likes of 

India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan 

attending meetings as 

observers, its summits bring 

together an eclectic gathering 

of world leaders. 

The tenth anniversary 

summit opens for a full day of 

Talks between union chiefs 

and ministers continue but the 

issue seems certain to become 

the catalyst for mass action by 

unions, angry at the government’s 

massive spending cuts 

to address budget deficit. 

The government says it has 

developed emergency plans to 

cope with the impact of any 

strikes. Britain has not experienced 

lengthy, large-scale 

labour stoppages for decades. 

“It won’t be a day of industrial 

action,” said Dave Prentis, 

general secretary of Uni- 

German two-year-old 

dies from E coli 

WASHINGTON — A review 

of published studies in the 

past 40 years has shown a 

higher risk of diabetes, heart 

problems and early death 

among people who watch lots 

of television, US researchers 

said yesterday. 

The results of the metaanalysis 

performed by scientists 

at the Harvard School of 

Public Health are published in 

the June 15 issue of the Journal 

of the American Medical 

Association. 

“unintentionally” send that message. 

“I feel very strongly that it would be a 

mistake to do anything here which would 

give any kind of encouragement to Gaddafi,” 

said the panel’s Democratic chairman, 

Senator Carl Levin. 

Their comments come as public opinion 

polls show the conflict is deeply 

unpopular with the US public and as 

momentum grows to require the Obama 

administration to provide regular, detailed 

progress reports. 

McCain said a resolution endorsing 

the US role in Libya — which he authored 

with Levin and Senate Foreign 

victim from the weeks-long 

outbreak, which authorities 

have blamed on vegetable 

sprouts from an organic farm 

in northern Germany, was a 

20-year-old woman. 

All but one of the fatalities 

have been in Germany, with 

the other being a woman in 

Sweden who had recently returned 

from Germany. 

Some 3,255 people have 

also fallen sick in 14 European 

countries plus the United 

States and Canada, according 

to the World Health Organisation. 

All but five cases were in 

people from or who had visited 

Germany. 

business today. 

“The summit does not 

have a rigid agenda, the participants 

can discuss any current 

topics,” said Medvedev’s 

top foreign advisor Sergei 

Prikhodko. 

The observer SCO nations 

have expressed desire 

to become full members of 

the group but Prikhodko said 

it was still too early for any 

decision on enlargement to be 

taken at the Astana summit. 

“So far no such decisions 

have been taken,” he said. 

Fears of widespread UK strikes 

More than two hours per 

day of TV-watching boosted 

risk of type two diabetes and 

heart disease, while three hours 

a day or more raise a person’s 

risk of dying prematurely. 

Each two-hour increment 

in viewing per day was linked 

to a 20 per cent higher risk for 

type two diabetes; a 15 per 

cent increased risk for fatal or 

nonfatal cardiovascular disease; 

and a 13 per cent higher 

risk for all-cause mortality. 

“While the associations 

son, which has over a million 

members on public pension 

schemes, warning of a sustained 

programme of action. 

“This will be serious industrial 

action in order to get 

this government to change its 

mind,” he told BBC radio. 

The government argues 

public sector pensions have 

become financially unsustainable 

because people are living 

longer, and says they are also 

unfair to private sector workers, 

who retire later and receive 

lower benefits. — Reuters 

BUENOS AIRES — A huge 

ash cloud from a Chilean volcano 

wreaked more havoc on 

international air travel yesterday, 

forcing passengers 

on two continents to ditch 

stranded aircraft for travel by 

boat or overland. 

The eruption of the Puyehue 

volcano in southern 

Chile’s Andes mountains is 

now in its second week, disrupting 

air travel on a scale 

unseen since the volcanic 

cloud over Iceland paralysed 

Europe in 2010. 

Flights were suspended 

at Argentina’s two airports 

again yesterday as well as at 

between time spent viewing 

TV and risk of type two diabetes 

and cardiovascular disease 

were linear, the risk of 

all-cause mortality appeared 

to increase with TV viewing 

duration of greater than three 

hours per day,” the study said. 

The habit of plunking oneself 

down in front of the television 

and watching for hours 

makes up about five hours of 

daily activity on average in 

the US, but is also a prevalent 

practice around the world. 

Relations Committee Chairman John 

Kerry, another Democrat — would now 

likely reflect that consensus. 

“I think, as the situation has evolved 

in Libya and, frankly, the lack of consultation 

and reporting to Congress has 

gone on, then we will be working on 

more specific language about requirements 

for consultation and reporting to 

the Congress and the American people,” 

said McCain. 

Kerry’s committee was due to put 

the finishing touches on that resolution 

on Thursday, likely sending it to the full 

Senate shortly thereafter. — AFP 

Debate used 

as tool to 

lash Obama 

MANCHESTER, New 

Hampshire — Republican 

presidential candidates led 

by frontrunner Mitt Romney 

used their first big televised 

debate to lash out at President 

Barack Obama — but 

not each other. 

The debate in Manchester, 

New Hampshire, late 

on Monday did little to define 

differences between 

the seven candidates in the 

unwieldy Republican lineup 

as White House hopefuls 

reserved their venom for 

Obama on the economy and 

foreign policy. 

The civil exchanges left 

Romney, who has a slight, 

but consistent lead in the 

polls, still looking like the 

man to beat for the nomination. 

Standing behind the podium 

in CNN’s ultra modern 

studio, Romney looked suitably 

presidential as he led 

the charge against Obama. 

“Any one of the people 

on this stage would be a better 

president than President 

Obama,” Romney said. 

Chile’s volcanic ash cloud 

spurs more travel woes 

airports in Uruguay, while 

half a world away across the 

Pacific Ocean, Australia saw 

a third day of delays. 

The eruption meant Peru’s 

president elect Ollanta Humala 

had to travel by sea from 

Montevideo for a meeting 

on Monday with Argentina’s 

President Cristina Fernandez 

de Kirchner. 

It created even worse 

travel chaos for UN Secretary 

General Ban Ki-moon, who 

is on a regional tour seeking 

support for his reelection bid 

to head the international organisation 

for another fiveyear 

term. 

TV-watching can be unhealthy: study 

In Europe, people spend 

about 40 per cent of their daily 

free time — or three hours 

— in front of the tube, and in 

Australia the average is 50 per 

cent of daily free time or four 

hours, the study said. 

“Cutting back on TV 

watching can significantly reduce 

risk of type two diabetes, 

heart disease, and premature 

mortality,” said senior author 

Frank Hu, professor of nutrition 

and epidemiology at Harvard. 

— AFP 

TURKEY’S President Abdullah Gul (L) and Prime 

Minister Tayyip Erdogan before their meeting at the 

Presidential Palace of Cankaya in Ankara 

yesterday. Erdogan will start a third term 

of one-party rule strengthened by Sunday’s 

decisive election victory. — Reuters 

JOANNE Fraill, a juror accused of contacting a 

defendant through social networking site Facebook 

arrives at a court for being prosecuted for contempt in 

what is being seen as a British legal first. Prosecutors 

want the High Court to jail Fraill for allegedly 

exchanging messages on the site with the female 

defendant, Jamie Sewart, causing a multi-million 

pound drugs trial to collapse last year. — Reuters 

FRANCE’S Interior Minister Claude Gueant (R) 

speaks with Health Junior Minister Nora Berra as 

they attend the questions to the government session at 

the National Assembly in Paris yesterday. — Reuters 

PSD party leader Pedro Passos Coelho before a 

meeting with Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco 

Silva (unseen) at the Belem presidential palace in 

Lisbon yesterday. Portugal’s centre-right opposition 

Social Democrats (PSD) won the elections and will 

be able to form a majority in parliament with its 

traditional ally, the conservative CDS-PP party. — AFP 

FRANCE’S Labour, Employment and Health Minister 

Xavier Bertrand gestures during a press briefing on 

the sidelines of the 100th annual conference of the 

International Labor Organization (ILO) at the United 

Nations Offices yesterday in Geneva. — AFP

NEWS IN BRIEF 

Officials sacked over 

Pakistan park killing 

PAKISTAN yesterday removed from 

duty the provincial chiefs of police and a 

paramilitary border force in the southern 

province of Sindh for negligence 

following the killing of a young man, 

officials and media said. 

Sarfaraz Shah, 19, was shot dead on 

Wednesday last by security forces in a 

park in the provincial capital Karachi. 

A video of the killing caused public 

outrage. The soldiers initially claimed 

they opened fire on a man after an 

attempted robbery. 

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered 

the removal of Ijaz Chaudhary, directorgeneral 

of the province’s Rangers, and 

Sindh police inspector general Fayyaz 

Leghari, for failure to take action against 

the soldiers after the video surfaced. 

“In compliance with the Supreme 

Court’s orders, Major General Ijaz 

Chaudhary, DG Pakistan Rangers 

(Sindh), has been posted out,” army 

spokesman Major General Athar Abbas 

said. — dpa 

Departure of US military 

personnel almost over 

THE departure of US troops from Pakistan 

has finalised and most of them have 

already left facilities across Khyber- 

Pakhtunkhwa, paramilitary officials in 

Peshawar confirmed yesterday. 

Presence of a large number of security 

personnel was observed at the United 

States consulate in the provincial capital, 

which is probably the main point of 

departure for the American troops. 

An intelligence official, who spoke 

on the condition of anonymity, said, 

“At least 30 Americans have so far left 

Peshawar for Islamabad in five vehicles 

on their way home.” 

The official explained that security 

had been enhanced to ensure safe 

departure of the US personnel. “They are 

leaving under Pakistan’s new policy to 

reduce the number of American troops 

and other non-diplomatic staff,” he said. 

— Internews 

Total lunar eclipse to be 

visible today 

THE year’s first total lunar eclipse will 

occur on the night between today and 

tomorrow. 

The Meteorological Department of 

Pakistan said yesterday that the duration 

of the eclipse will be 50 minutes and 

it will be visible to many countries, 

including Pakistan. — Internews 

Trade talks with Singapore 

set to resume 

PAKISTAN has decided to resume 

deadlocked talks on free trade agreement 

(FTA) with Singapore and officials said 

that representatives of the island-state 

have been invited in this regard. 

The talks came to a halt in the last 

week of May when Pakistan officials 

had visited Singapore. Officials said that 

the two countries have so far held four 

rounds of talks, adding that the Pakistan 

side was awaiting a response from 

Singapore. 

It is learnt that both sides have agreed 

to accelerate the pace of work on an 

independent trade deal. 

An FBR official said that Pakistan 

will gain access to the services sector 

in Singapore, improving the country’s 

prospects for manpower exports and 

remittances, adding that the country 

will also be able to boost ties with other 

countries in the Association of Southeast 

Asian Nations (Asean) grouping. 

Punjab tax relaxation for 

doctors, lawyers, others 

THE government of Pakistan’s eastern 

province of Punjab has relinquished its 

right to bring doctors, lawyers, engineers 

and architects into sales tax net on the 

plea that this tax burden would be passed 

on to the clients. 

Senior Adviser Sardar Zulfiqar 

Khosa informed the media that after 

much deliberation with bureaucracy 

and Punjab’s MNAs and MPAs, it was 

concluded that imposing general sales 

tax on these professionals is not feasible, 

as they would pass on this tax burden to 

their clients. 

Taxation experts termed this excuse 

strange because all general sales tax is 

passed on to the consumers. 

“If the government wants to protect 

the consumers, it could further reduce 

sales tax percentage,” said a senior 

chartered accountant. — Internews 

New films released in 2011 

make little business 

THE first two Pakistani films released 

this year only on Friday last — Khamosh 

Raho and Aik Aur Ghazi — so far have 

done little business at the box office. 

Khamosh Raho directed by Altaf 

Husain was released with five prints 

whereas Aik Aur Ghazi directed by Syed 

Noor was released with three prints only. 

The two films were put on display 

simultaneously on June 10 that also 

divided their audience. Security concerns 

and price hike are other major factors 

7 

THE PHILIPPINES/SUBCONTINENT 


Indian foreign secretary 

due for Kashmir talks 

ISLAMABAD — India’s Foreign 

Secretary is due to visit Pakistan this 

month to discuss Kashmir, a Pakistani 

official said yesterday, the first formal 

talks between the two rivals on their 

core dispute since 2008. 

India broke off peace negotiations 

with Pakistan after the Mumbai 

attacks in 2008 but the two sides 

agreed earlier this year to resume 

talks. 

Indian Foreign Secretary 

Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani 

counterpart Salman Bashir were assigned 

to tackle the territorial argument 

over Kashmir, which lies at 

the heart of tension between the two 

nuclear-armed states. 

“She (Nirupama Rao) is expected 

here later this month to discuss peace 

and security, Jammu and Kashmir as 

well as friendly exchanges,” the Pakistani 

foreign ministry official said. 

Rao is due to retire on July 31. 

The talks are expected to improve 

ties between the two neighbours but 

12 die in Karachi 

violence: official 

KARACHI — A new wave of violence 

blamed on political tensions killed at 

least 12 people in Pakistan’s biggest city 

of Karachi overnight, officials said yesterday. 

Tensions are high between the Muttahida 

Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami 

National Party (ANP), which straddle volatile 

political fault lines. 

“At least 12 people were killed in targeted 

killings, which started on Monday evening 

and lasted late in the night,” Sindh province’s 

home ministry spokesman Sharfuddin Memon 

said. 

Memon said police and paramilitary 

troops were stepping up patrols in the troubled 

western and central neighbourhoods to 

avert further violence. 

Among the dead was an MQM activist 

in Aligarh Bazaar area and local lawyer Zia 

Alam, a member of the main ruling Pakistan 

People’s Party (PPP). 

In 2010, political violence in Karachi was 

the deadliest for years, dominated by flareups 

in August after an MQM lawmaker was 

shot dead and in October on the eve of the 

election for his successor. 

The MQM and ANP are partners in the 

PPP-led coalitions that rule both Sindh, of 

which Karachi is the capital, and the federal 

government. — AFP 

MANILA — The trial of a 

Philippine clan accused of 

murdering 57 people in the 

country’s worst political 

massacre will be broadcast 

on national television, the 

Supreme Court said yesterday 

in a landmark ruling. 

The court’s decision 

came after repeated pleas by 

the victims’ relatives, who 

fear the still powerful family 

could influence the trial, and 

was welcomed by President 

Benigno Aquino. 

“We thank the Supreme 

Court. They finally listened 

to our plea. It is important 

that the entire nation learns 

how this thing happened,” 

Aquino told reporters. 

The court’s ruling was 

unprecedented as no trial 

of a criminal case has been 

broadcast live, Filipino lawyers 

said. 

analysts say any breakthrough is unlikely. 

“It is a revival of the peace process. 

Definitely Kashmir will be discussed,” 

said Mutahir Ahmed, a 

professor at the Department of International 

Relations at the University 

of Karachi. “It’s a positive development 

but one should not expect any 

big and immediate results out of 

these talks.” 

“Kashmir is an old and complicated 

issue and it cannot be resolved 

so easily.” 

India accuses its neighbour of arming, 

abetting and sending militants 

into its part of divided Kashmir, which 

both sides claim in full. 

Pakistan denies India’s charges. 

The two countries have held talks 

on a range of issues including a border 

dispute over a river estuary, a row 

over Siachen glacier — the highest 

battlefield in the Himalayan region 

— as well as ways to build commercial 

ties. — Reuters 


Manila seeks help in sea dispute 

MANILA — Philippine President 

Benigno Aquino said yesterday his 

country needed help from long-time ally 

the United States in its dispute with China 

over rival claims in the South China 

Sea. 

Aquino accused China of breaking 

international law by sending vessels into 

waters claimed by the Philippines and 

close to its landmass, while portraying his 

country as weak compared with its militarily 

superior Asian neighbour. 

“Of course they (China) are a superpower, 

they have more than 10 times our 

population. We do not want any hostilities 

to break out,” Aquino told reporters when 

asked about recent Chinese actions in the 

disputed area. 

“Perhaps the presence of our treaty 

partners, the United States of America, 

ensures that all of us will have freedom 

of navigation (and) will conform to international 

law.” 

The United States and the Philippines 

are bound by a 1951 Mutual Defence 

Treaty that calls on both parties to come 

to one another’s aid if either were to be 

attacked by an external party. 

Aquino’s comments came after the 

US Ambassador to the Philippines, Harry 

Thomas, said yesterday that the United 

States remained committed to helping 

Philippine massacre 

trial to hit TV screens 

The court had ruled twice 

previously to ban live broadcasts 

of the trial, which began 

nine months ago, on 

grounds it could deprive the 

defendants of their right to a 

fair hearing in the politically 

charged case. 

Andal Ampatuan Snr, the 

ex-governor of the southern 

province of Maguindanao, 

his son and namesake, plus 

four other relatives, are 

among more than 80 people 

held without bail and 

charged with the 2009 murders. 

The Ampatuans, who had 

ruled Maguindanao for a 

decade, are alleged to have 

ordered the massacre to stop 

a rival from challenging 

Andal Ampatuan Jnr for the 

post of provincial governor 

in last year’s elections. 

Both father and son 

have pleaded not guilty to 

the murders, 32 of whom 

were journalists travelling 

in a convoy with the rival’s 

family to an electorate office. 

The Ampatuans had ruled 

Maguindanao under the patronage 

of then president 

Gloria Arroyo, who rights 

groups said allowed the clan 

to keep a large private army 

as a proxy force against 

rebels. 

Hearings in the trial are 

being held twice a week in 

Manila. The Supreme Court 

did not say when the live 

broadcasts would start. 

Victims’ relatives have 

expressed concern that, 

in the Philippines’ notoriously 

overburdened justice 

system, the trial could take 

years or even decades to 

complete. — AFP 

NEPAL’S Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal arrives for a demonstration by the Nepal Army personnel 

to search for landmines at the top of the Phulchowki hill near Kathmandu yesterday. With the explosion 

of the last remaining landmine in Phulchowki minefield, Nepal became the second country in Asia 

to be declared free of landmine fields. The minefield in Phulchowki is one of the 53 locations in the 

country where landmines were laid by the Nepal Army to protect military installations and physical 

infrastructure such as communication and hydropower stations. — Reuters 

PROTESTERS hold paper-mache white doves as they call for the release of all political prisoners during a 

demonstration in front of the Department of Justice in Manila yesterday. The protesters said on their press 

statements that at least 335 political prisoners (as of February 2011) are human rights defenders who were 

illegally arrested, tortured, detained and charged with common crimes. — Reuters 

its former colony in any dispute over the 

South China Sea. 

Thomas emphasised at a public forum 

in Manila that the Philippines and the 

United States were “long-standing treaty 

allies” and “strategic partners”. 

“We will continue to consult each 

other closely on all issues, including the 

South China Sea and Spratly Islands,” 

Thomas said. 

Aquino welcomed Thomas’s comments, 

which likely irk China as it has 

long insisted that the United States has 

no role to play in resolving its territorial 

disputes with Asian countries. 

“We are pleased by that, especially the 

reiteration that we are a strategic partner,” 

Aquino said when asked to respond to 

Thomas’s comments. 

Aquino’s remarks continued an escalation 

in tensions between China, the 

Philippines and other rival claimants to 

the strategically vital and resource-rich 

South China Sea over recent months. 

The Philippines and Vietnam, in particular, 

have expressed alarm at what they 

say are increasingly aggressive actions by 

China in the disputed waters. 

The Philippines has accused China 

of putting up posts and a buoy in Philippines-claimed 

areas of the Spratlys, an 

archipelago of more than 100 islands and 

COLOMBO — India 

and Sri Lanka yesterday 

resumed sea ferry services 

for the first time in 

30 years, aiming to boost 

tourism and economic cooperation 

after the end of 

Sri Lanka’s civil war. 

An Indian ferry with a 

capacity for 1,044 passengers 

docked at Colombo’s 

port yesterday morning after 

leaving Tuticorin port. 

Officials said a Sri Lankan 

ferry would also make the 

journey within two weeks, 

and the service could be 

boosted to three round 

trips a week, depending 

on passenger traffic. 

“(This) will be beneficial 

to the economic, social 

and cultural advancement 

of the two countries,” Sri 

Lanka’s Ports Ministry 


Ferry services between 

India and Sri Lanka 

stopped in 1982 due to 

civil war, which ended in 

2009. 

According to the 

reefs in the South China Sea. 

It also accused China of sending naval 

vessels to intimidate Filipino fishermen 

and the crew of an oil exploration ship 

near an atoll called Reed Bank. 

Aquino yesterday specifically highlighted 

recent “incidents” at Reed Bank, 

pointing out it was well within the Philippines’ 

exclusive economic zone of 200 

nautical miles. 

He said the Reed Bank was just 80 

miles from the nearest major Philippine 

landmass, but 576 miles from Chinese 

territory. 

“Five-hundred-and-seventy-six miles 

is obviously greater than 200 miles, so 

suddenly why is there a dispute, if we are 

all conforming to international law,” he 

said. 

Under the United Nations Convention 

on the Law of the Sea, a country’s exclusive 

economic zone extends to 200 miles 

from its continental shelf. 

In response to earlier complaints from 

the Philippines, China has denied taking 

any aggressive actions and insisted it remained 

committed to resolving territorial 

disputes with its neighbours peacefully. 

Aside from China, the Philippines and 

Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia 

have overlapping claims to sections of the 

South China Sea. — AFP 

agreement, ferry services 

between Sri Lanka’s 

northwestern town of 

Talaimannar and India’s 

Rameshwaram would also 

resume, but Ports Ministry 

officials did not give 

a date as infrastructure 

in war-hit Talaimannar is 

still being rebuilt. 

Sri Lanka’s $50 billion 

economy is on an economic 

revival path after 

the end of the fight against 

Tamil Tiger rebels in 

May 2009. Sri Lanka has 

been trying to establish 

economic ties with India 

after having turned down 

demands by South Indian 

Tamils to halt the war in 

its final phase. 

India and China are 

increasingly competing 

for lucrative and strategic 

investments in Sri Lanka 

since the end of the war 

after both of them provided 

military assistance, 

including ammunition, 

in the final phase of the 

war. — Reuters 

Two killed in 

salt, cleaning 

powder 

mix-up 

MANILA — Two kindergarten 

children have died in the 

Philippines after eating noodle 

soup tainted with cleaning 

powder, a provincial police 

chief said yesterday. 

Forty-one students and 

two teachers were also hospitalised 

on Monday in Tuguegarao 

City in Cagayan 

province, 345 kilometres 

north of Manila, after eating 

the noodles cooked by 

another teacher, said Pedro, 

Martinez, the Cagayan provincial 

police chief. 

Martinez said the teacher 

apparently mistook oxalic 

powder, which is used for 

cleaning marble surfaces 

and as a wood preservative, 

as salt. 

“She appeared to have 

prepared the food in good 

faith,” he said, adding that 

the teacher was taken into 

police custody for possible 

filing of charges. — dpa 

Lanka, India resume ferry service 

UN chief 

to name 

Myanmar 

envoy 

UNITED NATIONS — UN 

leader Ban Ki-Moon will 

soon name a full time special 

envoy to Myanmar to 

encourage the government 

on the reform path, a UN 

spokesman said yesterday. 

The envoy will be named 

“in due time,” UN deputy 

spokesman Farhan Haq said. 

The decision has been taken 

“now that the new government 

has committed to 

working more closely with 

the United Nations.” 

Myanmar’s junta handed 

over power in March to a civilian 

government. That and 

the release last year of Aung 

San Suu Kyi after the election 

sparked cautious hopes 

of gradual reform in Myanmar, 

ruled by the military for 

nearly half a century. 

INDIAN passengers disembark the Scotia Prince 

passenger ferry as it arrives from the Tuticorin 

port of India to the Colombo port yesterday. 

Afghan court sentences 

2 for deadly bank raid 

KABUL — Afghanistan’s top 

court has sentenced to death a 

Pakistani and an Afghan for 

an attack on a bank that left 

38 people dead in one of the 

deadliest raids in the country, 

a spokesman said yesterday. 

On February 19, five suicide 

bombers dressed in police 

and army uniforms and 

armed with machine guns 

stormed a branch of Kabul 

Bank in Jalalabad city. 

The attackers initiated a 

stand-off with security forces 

that lasts several hours before 

they set off explosives. Only 

one gunman was captured 

alive. 

“Zar Ajam, a Pakistani, 

who carried out the attack 

and his Afghan accomplice 

Matiullah, who provided 

accommodation for him, 

have been both sentenced to 

death,” Abdul Wakil Omari, a 

spokesman for Afghanistan’s 

top court, said. 

A third person was sentenced 

to 20 years in jail, he 

added. 

The Taliban, who claimed 

responsibility for the attack, 

declined to comment on the 

verdict. Spokesman Zabiullah 

Mujahid said the group might 

issue an “official statement” 

at later date. 

Ajam was detained by 

Afghan forces. Surveillance 

footage showed a man dressed 

in police uniform repeatedly 

shooting unarmed civilians in 

the bank. 

The brazen attack and coldblooded 

massacre outraged 

the Afghan public, which has 

repeatedly demanded his public 

execution. 

It is not clear when and 

where the death sentence will 

be carried out but President 

Hamid Karzai has to first sign 

the death warrant. — AFP

8 REGION 



A SYRIAN girl living in Jordan shows her painted palms during a protest against the Russian position in support of Syria in front of Russian embassy 

in Amman yesterday. The palms read “Syria is free”. — Reuters Right: Syrian women who fled the unrest in Syria wait at a makeshift 

camp in the northern city of Idlib, near the Turkish village of Guvecci in Hatay. — AFP 

Setback for 

dissidents 

Libyan refinery hit 

MISRATA, Libya — Libyan 

dissidents faced new obstacles 

in their campaign to march on 

Tripoli after shelling from 

Muammar Gaddafi’s forces 

damaged an oil refinery in 

the insurgent stronghold of 

Misrata, disrupting fuel supply 

lines. 

A Reuters photographer in 

Misrata joined dissident units 

as they pushed their front several 

kilometres west on Monday 

to the outskirts of Zlitan, 

a town controlled by Gaddafi’s 

forces. 

Any fighting over Zlitan 

would bring the rebellion 

closer to the capital Tripoli, 

the Libyan leader’s stronghold 

which lies 200 km west 

of Misrata. 

A doctor in a field hospital 

to the west of Libya’s third 

largest city said two dissidents 

had been killed and a dozen 

wounded after the two sides 

traded heavy artillery fire. 

Dissidents from Misrata 

say tribal sensitivities prevent 

them from attacking Zlitan, 

and they are instead waiting 

for local inhabitants to rise 

up. 

Late on Monday, six rockets 

hit generators at the refinery 

near Misrata port leaving 

them heavily damaged. An 

engineer on site said it was 

unclear how long it would 

take to repair. 

Nato said it struck an armoured 

vehicle armed with 

anti-aircraft guns east of 

Tripoli yesterday as well as a 

multiple rocket launcher and 

another anti-aircraft system. 

A Nato statement said the 

alliance also struck an armed 

pick-up truck, a tank, a multiple 

rocket launcher and an 

armoured vehicle in Misrata 

on Monday night. 

“These types of equipment 

have been used to indiscriminately 

target the civilian population 

throughout Libya,” 

the commander of the Nato 

mission, Lieutenant-General 

Charles Bouchard, said. 

“Nato will maintain the 

pressure on the Gaddafi regime 

and continue to take action 

to protect civilians wherever 

they are under threat of 

attack.” 

The fighting east of Tripoli 

came during an apparent lull 

in Nato bombardment of the 

Libyan capital, a lull which 

continued through yesterday, 

although state television reported 

the alliance had bombarded 

targets in Al Jufrah in 

the centre of the country. 

Nato defence chiefs were 

due to meet in Belgrade yesterday 

to discuss the mission, 

after US Defence Secretary 

Robert Gates accused some 

European allies of failing to 

pull their weight in a mission 

he feared could run out of 

steam. 

Libyan troops fired Grad 

rockets from positions controlled 

by Gaddafi’s forces 

over the border into Tunisia 

yesterday, witnesses said, in 

an assault likely to raise already 

high tensions between 

the two countries. 

The explosions, close to 

dissident territory along the 

border in Libya’s Western 

Mountains, caused no damage 

or injuries. 

The last time Libyan 

forces fired rockets into Tunisia, 

on May 17, the Tunisian 

government threatened to report 

Libya to the UN Security 

Council for committing “enemy 

actions”. 

Fighting flared at the 

weekend in the town of Zawiyah, 

50 km west of the capital 

— clashes the dissident leadership 

said were a sign that 

the momentum in the fourmonth-old 

conflict was shifting 

their way. 

But a Zawiyah resident, 

who could only be identified 

as Mohamed, said by phone 

yesterday that it had since 

gone quiet, with neither side 

having advanced much from 

their original positions. 

— Reuters 

PROTESTERS shout slogans during a demonstration 

demanding the resignation of Saleh in Sanaa yesterday. 

Syrian forces head for 2nd 

northern protest town 

AMMAN — Syrian troops 

using tanks and helicopters 

pushed towards a northern 

town yesterday after arresting 

hundreds of people in villages 

near Jisr al Shughour, residents 

said, as more refugees 

fled to Turkey. 

More than 8,500 Syrians 

have sought shelter across 

the border to escape the latest 

military drive to crush protests 

demanding political change in 

a country. 

Thousands more people are 

living rough just inside Syria. 

Dozens of refugees with 

mud covering their boots and 

clothes clambered to a Turkish 

village to find bread for families 

waiting across the border 

in Syria in sodden make-shift 

camps. 

Reuters footage taken in 

the Syrian camps showed refugees 

trying to dry rain-sodden 

blankets, children washing in 

buckets of rain water and people 

lying under plastic sheets. 

“We are desperate here. We 

are under the rain, our children 

are sick. We have no medicine 

and no food,” said a crying 

woman with a baby lying next 

to her. 

Most of the refugees came 

from Jisr al Shughour, 20 km 

from the border, where authorities 

say 120 security personnel 

were killed by gunmen 10 

days ago. Some activists say 

deserting troops and residents 

clashed with security forces. 

The army retook the dissident 

town on Sunday and appeared 

to be moving towards 

the town of Maarat al Numaan, 

which straddles Syria’s main 

north-south highway linking 

the capital Damascus with the 

second city of Aleppo. 

Othman al Bedeiwi, a 

pharmacy professor in Maarat 

al Numaan, said by telephone 

that helicopters had been ferrying 

troops to a camp in Wadi 

al Deif, several kilometres 

from the town. 

“We met the (provincial) 

governor today and he assured 

us that the army will go in only 

to arrest 360 people it has on a 

list,” he said. “The people of 

Maarat, however, are sceptical. 

My name is on the list to 

be arrested as being a gunman. 

I never carried a weapon in my 

life.” 

Turkey has set up four 

refugee camps just inside its 

borders and the state-run Anatolian 

news agency said yesterday 

authorities might provide 

more. It said the number 

of refugees had reached 8,538, 

more than half of them children. 

Syrian rights groups say 

1,300 civilians have been 

killed since the start of the 

uprising in March. One group, 

the Syrian Observatory for 

Human Rights, says more than 

300 soldiers and police have 

also been killed. 

The president has offered 

some concessions aimed at 

appeasing protesters, lifting 

a 48-year state of emergency 

and promising a national dialogue, 

although many activists 

have dismissed those steps. 

France, with British support, 

has led efforts for the 

United Nations Security Council 

to condemn the repression 

of the protests but Russia and 

China have suggested they 

might use their veto power to 

kill the resolution. 

“France wants the UN Security 

Council to take a stance 

DISSIDENT fighters ride their pick-up truck after capturing the town of Ryayna along 

the Nefusa mountain frontline following fighting with soldiers loyal to Gaddafi. — AFP 

Bomb kills Yemen officer 

ADEN — A bomb killed 

a military officer loyal 

to Yemeni President Ali 

Abdullah Saleh, an official 


In Burayqa, near the 

southern port of Aden, a 

bomb ripped through the 

car of Colonel Muti’a al 

Sayani, a close relative of a 

provincial governor who is 

among Saleh’s supporters on 

Monday. 

That city is flooded with 

refugees fleeing fighting 

between Yemen’s military 

and militants who have 

seized the capital of a 

neighbouring province — one 

of the multiple conflicts that 

Yemen’s neighbours fear 

could shatter the country and 

embolden the country’s Al 

Qaeda wing. 

A US and Europeanbrokered 

effort to forge a 

transition agreement between 

Saleh’s deputy, now the 

acting leader, and opposition 

parties who demand the 

president surrender all claims 

to power immediately, 

collapsed after the deputy 

refused to discuss Saleh’s 

fate. 

Yemen said on Monday 

it arrested several people 

for attempting to kill Saleh, 

apparently referring to the 

attack that wounded him. A 

state newspaper reporting the 

arrests hinted blame would 

be placed on a group of 

opposition parties. 

A ceasefire has held 

in Sanaa since Saleh left 

following the June 3 attack 

on his palace, before which 

fighting between Saleh’s 

forces and those of General 

Ali al Mohsen al Ahmar — 

who defected in March — 

killed hundreds of people and 

forced thousands to flee. 

But shortages of fuel, 

electricity and water are acute 

in the capital, and violence 

in the southern province 

of Abyan, whose capital 

gunmen seized last month, 

has worsened. 

Saleh has not been seen in 

public since the palace attack, 

which left him with burns and 

shrapnel wounds. Yemen’s 

ambassador in London said 

on Saturday that he was stable 

and recovering. 

Two members of his 

cabinet wounded in the attack 

were in a worse condition and 

required more surgery. 

on the intolerable situation in 

Syria and the lack of restraint 

being shown by the authorities 

in Damascus,” Foreign Ministry 

spokesman Bernard Valero 

said. 

“We regret that a consensus 

has not been reached within the 

Council,” he added, describing 

the death toll and reports 

of torture and rights violations 

as “catastrophic”. 

The West’s response has 

also been tempered by fears of 

regional instability if Syria is 

tipped into turmoil. 

Lebanese opposition politician 

Faris Saeed said Lebanon’s 

new government, announced 

on Monday, was 

designed to “help the Syrian 

regime from Lebanon... to 

control the uprising in Syria.” 

He said Lebanon, which 

currently sits on the Security 

Council, would oppose sanctions 

or resolutions condemning 

President Bashar al Assad. 

Hizbullah leader Sayyed 

Hassan Nasrallah has said the 

movement supports Assad and 

that the removal of his government 

would only serve US and 

Israeli interests. — Reuters 

Unity govt 

deal next 

week? 

CAIRO — Palestinian President 

Mahmud Abbas will 

meet Hamas chief Khaled 

Meshaal in Cairo next week 

to finalise a new government 

put together by the two factions, 

a top official of his 

Fatah movement said yesterday. 

The meeting was announced 

as Palestinian factions 

were in Cairo for reconciliation 

talks aimed at 

choosing a prime minister to 

head the unity government. 

“Today, during the talks 

between the Fatah and Hamas 

delegations, a meeting 

was scheduled for next 

Tuesday between President 

Abbas and Meshaal to finalise 

the formation of the new 

government,” said Azzam al 

Ahmad, who heads the Fatah 

delegation at the talks. 

“They also decided that 

this meeting will be the last 

to finalise the issue of the 

government,” he said. 

Fatah met with a Hamas 

delegation headed by Mussa 

Abu Marzuk at the Egyptian 

intelligence headquarters. 

It has said it wants to retain 

Prime Minister Salam 

Fayyad to head the government, 

but the nomination 

was immediately rejected by 

the Hamas. 

A Fatah member who attended 

the talks said negotiations 

“stumbled over the list 

of names (for prime minister) 

which were put forward by 

Fatah, particularly Fayyad.” 

“Hamas strongly rejected 

Fayyad as head of the next 

government and officially notified 

us of their rejection and 

said the issue was not open 

for discussion”. — AFP 

Gunmen, bombers storm 

Iraq council building 

BAGHDAD — Gunmen and suicide bombers stormed a provincial 

council in central Iraq yesterday after exploding a car 

bomb outside, killing at least 8 people before US-assisted Iraqi 

forces regained control of the building. 

The assault in Diyala province’s capital Baquba, 40 km 

northeast of Baghdad, was the latest test for Iraqi forces as 

they prepare for a planned withdrawal of US troops from the 

country at the end of this year. 

At least five gunmen disguised as Iraqi forces stormed the 

main gate after a car bomb exploded and a suicide bomber 

detonated his explosives outside. 

A second suicide bomber blew himself up as the attackers 

clashed with police, witnesses and local officials said. 

An Iraqi counter-terrorism official said the five gunmen 

who raided the council were killed in the attack, which he said 

bore the hallmarks of Al Qaeda. 

During the fighting, several council employees caught inside 

one part of the compound said they managed to escape 

through a side entrance with the help of Iraqi and US forces. 

“I heard four to five big explosions,” Salim al Zaidy, a local 

human rights worker who was inside the building during 

the attack, said. “The Iraqi army special forces and US forces 

released us, using a back gate.” 

The US military said in a statement that US forces had only 

provided observation support from helicopters. 

At least eight people were killed in the attack and around 25 

more wounded, local government and hospital officials said. 

“The terrorists intended to detain provincial council members 

and workers to demand the release of other terrorists in 

return. This is one of the tactics of Al Qaeda,” the Iraqi counter-terrorism 

official said. — Reuters 

Bahrain starts trial of 22 

more over protests 

MANAMA — Bahrain began trials for 22 more people yesterday 

over their role in protests earlier this year. 

The government says the numbers on trial are far fewer 

than the opposition estimates, and that the number of those facing 

charges compared to the thousands who protested proves it 

only pursues those it suspects of a crime. 

Bahrain’s state news agency BNA said the military was 

holding trials for 52 people, most of them in their second hearing. 

Of these, the 22 new defendants faced charges ranging 

from calling for regime change, spreading photos to hurt the 

country’s reputation, and carrying swords, it said. 

The government last week lifted the state of emergency it 

imposed in March after protests and is calling for a national 

dialogue to plan reforms next month, but tensions are simmering 

as small protests erupt daily in some places. 

Separately, activists said Bahrain’s Polytechnic university 

dismissed around 47 students over political statements they 

had posted on Twitter and Facebook. 

The university’s vice-president told the local daily Al Ayam 

several students were dismissed due to unconstitutional acts 

after an in-depth questioning of the students, but did not say 

how many were expelled. — Reuters 

Former Tunisian president 

to face trial on June 20 

CAIRO — Former Tunisian president Zine al Abidine Ben Ali, 

who fled to Saudi Arabia in January, will be tried in absentia on 

June 20, the country’s interim prime minister has said. 

“Ben Ali’s trial will start on June 20,” Beji Caid Sebsi said 

in an interview on Al Jazeera television. “He will be tried in a 

military and in a civilian court.” 

Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia after he was toppled by mass 

protests on January 14 after 23 years in power. Several members 

of his family and security and some of his closest allies 

were detained shortly after he was forced out. — Reuters 

Egypt charges 20 in April 

sectarian incident 

CAIRO — Egypt’s public prosecutor has ordered 20 suspects 

to be tried for murder and sedition over the death of two people 

in April, signalling a tougher stance on sectarian tensions. 

The prosecutor said 18 of the suspects in the incident in 

the village of Abu Qurqas in southern Egypt, where a road 

accident sparked sectarian clashes during which houses were 

burned, were in custody and two were still at large. 

“A scuffle broke out between a group of Christians and 

Muslims, in which firearms were used that led to the death 

of two people and four others were injured,” the prosecution 

statement said. 

The statement said that among other charges, the prosecutor 

general, Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, accused the suspects 

of premeditated murder, attempted murder, causing sectarian 

strife and deliberately setting village buildings on fire. 

The prosecutor asked authorities to fix a date for the start of 

the hearings, which will take place at a criminal chamber of the 

high state security court in the province of Ban Suef, south of 

Cairo. Some of the charges carry the death penalty. — Reuters 

Sudan deal reported but 

talks run into extra time 

ADDIS ABABA — Talks on Sudan dragged into a third 

day yesterday as delegations from the rival north and south 

thrashed out sticking points after a reported agreement that 

northern troops would leave disputed Abyei. 

Sudan President Omar Hassan al Bashir left Addis Ababa 

on Monday night but members of his delegation stayed behind 

to iron out remaining points of contention, officials said. 

His counterpart from the south, Salva Kiir, who met briefly 

on Monday with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before 

her early departure, had also left and was believed to be back 

in the south Sudan capital Juba, an aide said. 

The two leaders appeared to have reached a broad agreement 

on the future of Abyei district but left the thorny details 

for their delegations to hammer out. 

On Monday, when the closed-door talks were described as 

tense, a southern minister said Khartoum was ready to pull its 

troops out of Abyei after sending them into the flashpoint border 

district on May 21. 

Clinton meantime urged both sides to accept Ethiopian 

peacekeepers while a Sudanese rights group accused the north 

of pursuing a genocidal campaign in the nearby region of 

South Kordofan. 

“We have information that they (the north) have accepted 

to withdraw from Abyei as long as they agree on the specific 

arrangement with regards to the Abyei administration,” south 

Sudan’s Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told 

the independent Sudan Radio Service. 

The north was willing to discuss what forces would replace 

its Sudanese Armed forces (SAF) in the area, Benjamin 

said. — AFP

BEIJING — China’s central 

bank raised bank reserve ratios 

yesterday for the ninth time 

since last October after data 

showed inflation rising in May 

to 5.5 per cent, its highest level 

in almost three years. 

The central bank increased 

the ratio for China’s biggest 

banks to 21.5 per cent, a record 

high, locking up funds that 

could otherwise be loaned out 

and add to inflationary pressures. 

Chinese leaders have made 

bringing inflation under control 

their top priority this year, 

fearful that rising prices could 

not only unsettle the world’s 

second-biggest economy but 

spark social unrest of the sort 

seen this week in southern 

China. 

Data released yesterday 

showed economic growth is 

slowing down, but not too 

quickly, providing relief for fi- 

Japan cabinet approves Tepco bill 

JAPAN’S cabinet yesterday approved a bill to help embattled 

Tepco compensate tens of thousands affected by the crisis at 

its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, as shares in the company 

soared in Tokyo. The support bill will be funded by public 

money as well as contributions from power firms.● Page 10 

nancial markets that China will 

avoid a hard landing and leaving 

room for Beijing to focus 

on fighting inflation. 

The increase in reserves 

takes effect on June 20, the 

central bank said on its website. 

Following the inflation data 

earlier yesterday, several analysts 

had predicted the central 

bank would raise interest rates 

in the coming weeks. 

Du Zhengzheng, an analyst 

at Bohai Securities in Beijing, 

said the increase in the reserve 

ratio requirement (RRR) may 

now delay a rate rise slightly. 

“I think the RRR rise this 

time aims mainly at curbing 

inflation ... The move is likely 

to delay the next interest rate 

rise to the end of this month or 

the beginning of next month,” 

Du said. 

The central bank has raised 

interest rates four times since 

October to quell inflation. The 

central bank’s one-year lending 

rate is 6.31 per cent and 

one-year deposit rate is 3.25 

per cent. 

At 5.5 per cent, China’s 

consumer inflation in May 

was the highest in 34 months. 

It compared with expectations 

for 5.4 per cent and showed a 

pick-up from 5.3 per cent in 

April. 

Non-food consumer prices 

climbed 2.9 per cent from a 

year earlier, the fastest pace 

since records began in 2002, 

showing inflationary pressures 

are spreading more broadly in 

the economy. 

“Inflation pressures remain 

large,” Sheng Laiyun, 

a spokesman for China’s National 

Bureau of Statistics told 

a news conference. However, 

he said the economy was on 

track for “stable and relatively 

fast growth”. 

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 

Producer prices rose 6.8 

per cent from a year earlier, 

above forecasts in a Reuters 

poll for a rise of 6.5 per cent. 

That had added to the case for 

further tightening measures, 

said George Worthington, an 

economist at IFR Markets, a 

unit of Thomson Reuters. 

Industrial output in May 

rose 13.3 per cent from a year 

earlier, the slowest pace since 

November and broadly in line 

with expectations in a Reuters 

poll for an increase of 13.2 per 

cent. 

Power shortages have contributed 

to the slowdown in 

factory output growth, said Xu 

Biao, an economist at China 

Merchants Bank in Shenzhen. 

“It’s worth noting that the 

BankMuscat Al Mazyona draw 

THE excitement of the life-changer Al Mazyona savings scheme 

from BankMuscat was experienced by Sayyid Faisal bin Turki al 

Said, Chief Executive, Brand Oman, who picked the 12 weekly 

winners of RO 2,000 each, covering all regions of Oman and the 

winners of Double your Salary scheme.● Page 11 

China ups bank reserves ratio as inflation hits 34-month high 

Lagarde, Carstens on IMF shortlist 

WASHINGTON — France’s 

Christine Lagarde and Mexico’s 

Agustin Carstens are on 

the shortlist to lead the IMF, 

while Israel’s central bank 

chief, a last-minute entry, was 

ruled out on age grounds. 

The determined backing 

of crisis-mired Europe made 

Lagarde the odds-on favourite 

to become International Monetary 

Fund managing director 

after her countryman Dominique 

Strauss-Kahn resigned on 

May 18 to fight sexual assault 

charges in New York. 

Carstens, the Mexican central 

bank chief who has tried 

to break the 65-year European 

lock on the position, acknowledged 

as much to a Washington 

audience. 

“The chances of Christine 

Lagarde getting elected are 

quite high. I’m sure that she 

will make a good managing 

director,” he said at the Peterson 

Institute for International 

Economics. 

The two were the only ones 

named late on Monday when 

the IMF released the shortlist 

after nominations closed on 

Friday. 

The IMF did not explain 

why Israel’s Stanley Fischer, 

JAKARTA — The uneasy 

peace between the United 

States and China may give 

way to worsening tensions as 

their economies cool, and the 

rest of Asia is watching warily 

for fear of getting squashed in 

the middle if the world’s two 

biggest economies clash. 

Concern about a breakdown 

in US-China ties was a common 

thread running through 

the World Economic Forum 

on East Asia in Jakarta, which 

brought together hundreds of 

government officials, business 

leaders and academics. 

Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s 

prime minister (pictured), 

said the two sides had 

who only declared himself at 

the last minute, was not on the 

list. 

But by the Fund’s by-laws, 

his age at 67 put him two years 

over the official limit for a new 

managing director, and obtaining 

a change or variance to the 

“avoided a collision so far” 

over one of the thorniest issues 

— the value of China’s yuan 

currency, which the United 

States wants to see rise more 

rapidly. 

“Both countries want to 

maintain a stable relationship,” 

said Ian Bremmer, the 

president of New York-based 

political risk consultancy Eurasia 

Group. 

“Trotsky used to say, ‘You 

may not want war, but sometimes 

war wants you,’” he added, 

paraphrasing the Russian 

revolutionary Leon Trotsky. 

The United States and China 

share a multi-trillion-dollar 

connection through trade and 

rules would have been a difficult 

process, while the executive 

board has given itself two 

weeks to reach a consensus on 

a new head. 

The Israeli central bank 

governor expressed “regret” 

about his disqualification, say- 

investment, and the risk of 

mutually assured destruction 

has helped to assure civility, if 

not trust. The debt-laden United 

States needs China’s deep 

pockets, and China’s exporters 

need American consumers. 

Related strains over foreign 

exchange rates and trade are 

nothing new, but they were 

relatively subdued during the 

financial crisis when the world 

had bigger problems to solve. 

Jaspal Bindra, the Asia 

CEO for Standard Chartered 

Bank in Hong Kong, said national 

considerations were 

once again taking precedence 

over international preferences. 

“People will just have to 

ing the age restrictions were 

“not relevant today.” 

“I was hoping that the 

IMF board of directors would 

change its regulations, not only 

for the sake of my candidacy, 

but also for the sake of future 

candidates for the position of 

managing director,” he added. 

Two other potential candidates, 

a South African minister 

and Kazakhstan’s central bank 

head, dropped out on Friday, 

both saying Lagarde was certain 

to be chosen in an arrangement 

that has always favoured 

the Europeans. 

The board said it would 

meet with the pair in a bid to 

make a choice by June 30. 

Lagarde, France’s finance 

minister, and Carstens, who 

spent three years as IMF second 

deputy managing director 

from 2003-2006, have criss- 

crossed the globe seeking endorsements 

from the major 

economies whose weight is 

strongest in the IMF process. 

Both have strong credentials, 

but only Lagarde, 55, 

has picked up major support, 

foremost from the powerful 

European bloc, where she has 

been deeply involved in dealing 

with fiscal crises. — AFP 

live with that,” he said. 

Both countries face tricky 

economic policy decisions in 

the coming months that could 

expose raw nerves if mishandled. 

Both face political 

UK inflation 

at 4.5pc 

LONDON — Inflation in 

Britain held at a 2½-year 

high in May as rising food 

prices balanced a drop in 

travel costs, providing little 

comfort for the Bank of 

England which expects inflation 

to hit 5 per cent later 

this year. 

The Office for National 

Statistics said consumer 

prices rose 0.2 per cent last 

month, keeping the annual 

inflation rate at 4.5 per cent, 

as forecast. 

There was little market 

reaction as investors stuck 

to their bets that a weak economic 

outlook would keep 

UK interest rates at a record 

low 0.5 per cent until the end 

of the year, following a run 

of recent soft data with harsh 

government spending cuts 

only now beginning to bite. 

Money markets are not 

fully pricing in a rise in 

UK rates until May 2012. 

“We still think the bank will 

look through the short-term 

spike,” said Hetal Mehta at 

Daiwa Capital Markets. 

Even Britain’s biggest retailers 

are beginning to feel 

the pinch. — Reuters 

changes in 2012 that make the 

choices tougher. Washington 

must find some way to shore 

up shaky growth while lawmakers 

bicker over budget cuts 

that look likely to become a 

slowdown in industrial production 

is not as bad as some 

had expected.” 

May retail sales rose 16.9 

per cent from a year earlier, 

compared with expectations 

for an increase of 17 per cent, 

while fixed-asset investment 

between January and May rose 

25.8 per cent from a year earlier, 

against expectations for a 

TOKYO — The Bank of Japan 

(BoJ) yesterday said it 

would expand a programme 

of lending to companies in 

growth areas with a new $6 

billion credit line to support 

the post-quake economy. 

The BoJ’s policy panel 

voted unanimously after a 

two-day meeting to keep its 

key rate unchanged between 

zero and 0.1 per cent, and expand 

last June’s 3 trillion yen 

($37.4 billion) lending facility 

to encourage banks to channel 

funds into sectors such as renewable 

energy and medicine. 

The central bank will offer 

a new credit line of up to 500 

billion yen under a new facility 

designed to make it easier 

for smaller firms to access 

cash from banks without using 

traditional real estate collateral. 

Each bank can borrow 

up to 50 billion yen at 0.1 per 

cent annual interest for up to 

four years. 

“With a view to further encourage 

financial institutions’ 

efforts, the bank deems it appropriate 

to focus on support- 

rise of 25.2 per cent. 

Real estate investment rose 

34.6 per cent in the first five 

months of 2011 from a year 

earlier, compared with a rise of 

34.3 per cent in the first four 

months. 

China’s money growth 

slowed to a 30-month low in 

May and banks extended fewer 

new loans than expected, data 

on Monday showed. 

“Overall, China’s economic 

growth is easing gradually, 

while consumer inflation is 

still within control. The central 

bank will raise interest rates 

again this month, but (then) 

there will be no further rate 

rises for the rest of this year,” 

Xu Gao, an economist at China 

Everbright Securities in 

Beijing, said before the central 

bank announced an increase in 

the bank reserves ratio. 

TARGET IN DOUBT: Inflation 

has largely been fuelled 

ing their provision of equitylike 

funds and loans without 

conventional collateral or 

guarantees,” the central bank 


“The BoJ seems to have a 

clear vision of what it needs 

to do,” said Okasan Securities 

strategist Hideyuki Ishiguro. 

The central bank also 

slightly upgraded its assessment 

of the economy, which 

“continues to face downward 

pressure, mainly on the production 

side due to the effects 

by a rise in food prices, exacerbated 

of late by a severe 

drought in farming heartlands. 

Sheng said pork prices rose 

in May more than 40 per cent 

from a year earlier. 

Some economists say inflation 

is also the result of China’s 

massive stimulus during 

the global financial crisis. Like 

elsewhere, China is also fighting 

the inflationary impact of 

a surge in global commodity 

costs, which some analysts 

said may be fuelling producer 

price pressures. 

The government is aiming 

for average inflation this year 

of 4 per cent, but doubts are 

growing that the target can be 

achieved. Average inflation so 

far in 2011 is 5.2 per cent, the 

statistical bureau said. 

Premier Wen Jiabao said 

earlier this year that China 

would use all tools available to 

control inflation. — Reuters 

BoJ holds rates, expands 

growth-sector lending 

centrepiece of the 2012 presidential 

election campaign. 

Beijing needs to temper 

growth enough to cool inflation 

without smothering its 

economy, an even greater 

imperative ahead next year’s 

leadership handover. 

If China clamps down too 

hard on credit, growth will 

slow across Asia and perhaps 

the globe. Go too soft and it 

could inflate dangerous asset 

price bubbles. Likewise, if US 

political paralysis provokes 

even a brief debt default this 

summer, the dollar could slide 

and global interest rates may 

spike because US bonds are 

the benchmark against which 

BoJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa answers questions 

during a press conference in Tokyo yesterday. — AFP 

other issuers are measured. 

But if the US economy takes 

a sharp turn for the worse, the 

US Federal Reserve may see 

no choice but to pump in more 

money. Asian emerging markets 

have complained bitterly 

that the Fed’s latest round of 

bond purchases spawned asset 

price inflation elsewhere. 

Indeed, Singapore’s Lee 

urged the Americans to “put 

their house in order” to help 

Asia contain inflation. 

Bremmer, the political risk 

consultant, pointed to two 

of the earthquake disaster but 

is showing some signs of picking 

up.” The BoJ said the Japanese 

economy was likely to 

return to “a moderate recovery 

path” in the second half of the 

year. The world’s third-largest 

economy plunged back into 

recession in January-March, 

contracting on the impact of 

the nation’s biggest recorded 

earthquake, a tsunami and a 

nuclear emergency that sent 

Japan into its worst post-war 

crisis. — AFP 

Asia hopes to avoid cold war as China-US economic frictions grow 

ANALYSIS 

more potential trigger points 

for US-China conflicts. 

First, the old “social contract” 

between the two countries 

assumed US companies 

would share technology in 

exchange for access to China’s 

vast consumer market. 

Second, he listed the rise of 

cyber attacks such as those that 

have hit the IMF, Google and 

others. 

“If you’re prosecuting a 

murder and there’s a dead 

body, the first thing you look 

for is a motive,” Bremmer 

said. “When you look at Gmail 

accounts of Chinese dissidents 

that have been hacked, where’s 

the motive?” — Reuters

10 

OMAN/INTERNATIONAL WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2011 

Japan cabinet agrees 

Tepco support bill 

TOKYO — Japan's cabinet 

yesterday approved a bill to 

help embattled Tepco compensate 

tens of thousands affected 

by the crisis at its Fukushima 

Daiichi nuclear plant, as 

shares in the company soared 

in Tokyo. 

The support bill, which is 

yet to be approved by parliament, 

will see the creation 

of a body to handle claims 

made against Tepco and will 

be funded by public money 

as well as contributions from 

power companies. 

Shares in the utility closed 

limit up, rising 25.12 per cent 

to 249 yen yesterday, after the 

stock recently plunged to all 

time lows amid worries the 

firm would be forced to de-list 

from the stock exchange. 

Analysts said a move by 

the stock exchange to hike 

margin requirements on shares 

in Tokyo Electric Power Co. 

to clamp down on short selling 

also encouraged buying. 

Yesterday the Tokyo Stock 

Exchange hiked the margin 

rate on Tepco shares to a 

minimum of 50 per cent — of 

which at least 20 per cent must 

be cash — from an earlier 30 

per cent, making short sales 

more expensive to put off 

speculators. 

The government-devised 

aid plan for Tepco will include 

the purchase of its corporate 

LONDON — Tesco, the 

world's third-biggest retailer, 

missed forecasts with a second 

quarterly fall in underlying 

sales in its home market, as 

rising prices and government 

cutbacks hit British shoppers. 

The supermarket group 

said yesterday sales at British 

stores open over a year fell 0.1 

percent, excluding petrol and 

changes in VAT sales tax, in 

the 13 weeks to May 28, its 

fiscal first quarter. 

That was better than a 0.7 

per cent decline the quarter 

before, helped by strong demand 

for upmarket foods as 

Britons cut back on restaurant 

meals, but below a forecast 

for a 0.6 per cent increase in a 

LONDON — Carphone Warehouse 

has delayed a decision 

on the next steps for its lossmaking 

UK consumer electronics 

megastores business 

until the autumn, mulling the 

wisdom of expanding as consumer 

demand slides. 

Europe's biggest independent 

mobile phone retailer, 

which owns 50 per cent of a 

venture with United States 

electricals retailer Best Buy, 

currently trades from 10 Best 

Buy-branded megastores in 

the UK. 

Investors had expected a 

decision on a roll-out on Tuesday 

but Carphone disappointed 

them, saying it was still in 

the process of evaluating its 

multi-format, multi-channel 

consumer electronics strategy. 

"We did hope to have it 

finished by June time, it's now 

looking like it's going to be 

anything up to another two or 

three months before we've finished 

all the evaluation," Chief 

Executive Roger Taylor said, 

adding that there had been no 

disagreement with Best Buy. 

He said the joint venture's 

aspiration to have a market 

leading position in consumer 

electronics had not changed. 

The Best Buy Europe venture, 

which also includes Carphone's 

mobile phone stores 

and a profit sharing agreement 

on Best Buy mobile shops in 

the US, had previously talked 

A WOMAN walking into Tepco headquarters building is 

reflected in the entrance door in Tokyo yesterday. — Reuters 

bonds, stocks and assets to 

support the company's operations, 

but analysts warned that 

uncertainty still surrounded 

the bill. 

"Investors are buying back 

Tepco shares believing that the 

government will pay a decent 

price for shares, but nothing 

concrete is known yet and it's 

too soon to make that assumption," 

Mitsuhige Akino, chief 

fund manager at Ichiyoshi 

Investment Management told 

Dow Jones Newswires. 

The bill's passage through 

parliament is expected to meet 

resistance over the idea of 

public support for the firm at 

the centre of the world's worst 

nuclear crisis since Chernobyl 

25 years ago. 

Tesco misses sales forecasts 

Reuters poll. 

Weak consumer spending 

in Britain is raising fears 

about the strength of the country's 

economic recovery and 

prompting questions about 

the speed of the government's 

drive to slash its deficit. 

Tesco finance director Laurie 

McIlwee said that while 

government cutbacks were not 

helping consumers, they were 

feeling most pressure from 

rising petrol prices. "Nothing's 

getting worse. (But) it's not 

getting significantly better," 

he told reporters on a conference 

call. Official data yesterday 

showed UK inflation held 

at a 2-1/2 year high in May. 

Stores focused on discre- 

about the potential for a chain 

of 80-100 megastores. 

However, UK consumer 

electronics sales have been hit 

hard as shoppers cut back on 

discretionary purchases in the 

face of rising prices and government 

austerity measures. 

Home Retail, Britain's biggest 

household goods retailer, 

reported a plunge in sales at its 

Argos stores yesterday while 

yesterday Tesco, the UK's biggest 

retailer missed forecasts 

for first quarter sales. 

Electricals groups Dixons 

and Kesa, which will post 

updates next week, have both 

warned on profit this year and 

"We will aim to get the bill 

through parliament as early 

as possible," said Minister of 

Economy, Trade and Industry 

Banri Kaieda. 

Under the plan, Tepco 

would be required to eventually 

pay back all funds it 

received from the organisation. 

Some politicians have 

suggested Tepco's creditors 

should also waive some of the 

utility's debt, adding to uncertainty. 

The Mainichi newspaper 

reported yesterday the government 

would allow the utility 

to raise its electricity prices 

by 16 per cent to help finance 

increased fossil fuel costs as it 

relies more on thermal power 

generation. — AFP 

tionary purchases are being 

hardest hit, with household 

goods group Home Retail reporting 

a plunge in sales at its 

Argos chain last week. 

Tesco, which makes about 

two thirds of its sales and profits 

in Britain, said like-for-like 

non-food sales fell about 5 per 

cent, with a drop in demand for 

electricals goods outweighing 

a better performance in clothing 

and strength in toys and 

leisure goods. 

"Quite disappointing given 

that it includes the April bonanza," 

said Liberum analyst 

Simon Dunn, referring to the 

surge in demand during a sunny 

Easter and the royal wedding. 

— Reuters 

Carphone Warehouse delays 

megastores decision 

there has been speculation 

Kesa may exit its Comet business 

in the UK. 

"Carphone Warehouse has 

said that it has not made up 

its mind what to do with the 

(megastores) business yet. 

Maybe that just means they 

are waiting for Kesa to reveal 

their hand on Comet first," 

said Arden Partners analyst 

Nick Bubb. 

Shares in Carphone, which 

have more than doubled over 

the last year, were up 0.75 per 

cent at 401.5 pence at 0905 

GMT, valuing the business at 

about £1.77 billion ($2.89 billion). 

— Reuters

Kia Motors design legend 

on Oman visit 

Man behind new face of Kia is smitten with the Sultanate 

MUSCAT – On a vacation in 

Oman with his family, Peter 

Schreyer took time out to visit 

the impressive new Kia facility 

in Wattayah and catch up for a 

quick tete-a-tete with a select 

group of journalists in Oman. 

Peter happily started off by 

saying, “This is not my first 

visit to Oman. I have come 

here before and I have travelled 

across the country on 

work. But this time, I wanted 

to share the beauty of this 

country and its people with my 

family. The rich flora and fauna, 

heritage and culture and the 

peace and tranquillity attracted 

us here. And we are absorbing 

and soaking in this beauty during 

every moment of our stay 

here.” 

Schreyer born in 1953 in 

Bavaria, West Germany, began 

studying in 1975 at the Munich 

University of Applied Sciences. 

He worked with Audi first 

as a student in 1978, graduating 

in 1979 with his Industrial 

Design degree. Subsequently, 

Schreyer won the Audi Scholarship 

to study at the Royal 

College of Art, London from 

1979-1980 as a transportation 

design student. 

As one of the only three 

automotive designers to be 

awarded with an Honorary 

Doctorate at the Royal College 

of Arts, it’s needless to say that 

Peter Schreyer is one of the automotive 

world’s most famous 

and successful designers to- 

day. The soft-spoken designer 

helped design the original 

Audi TT and the new Beetle 

15 years ago. Schreyer left his 

26-year career as a top designer 

at Volkswagen and Audi — 

only to create the most attractive 

range of Kia vehicles. 

From 2000, Kia Motors set 

its sights not only on the domestic 

market but also on overseas 

markets. Kia identified design 

as its “core future growth engine,” 

leading to the 2006 hiring 

of Peter Schreyer as Chief 

Design Officer (CDO). It was 

during this time that Kia’s 

signature look, the tiger nose 

grill, was born. Since then, Kia 

has been developing a design 

unique to Kia products and a 

strong brand identity for consumers 

around the globe. 

At Kia Motors, design does 

not revolve around the car, but 

instead the people who drive 

the car. Design is not simply 

aimed at creating an attractive 

car, but rather at offering features 

that will make the lives 

of it’s customers easier while 

taking the environment into 

consideration. In recognition 

of these efforts, Kia Motors 

has won various international 

competitions such as the Red 

Dot Design Awards and the iF 

Design Awards for two consecutive 

years. 

Now, as Schreyer caps 

his first five years at Kia, the 

brand has made striking design 

a part of its appeal. Schreyer, 

a licensed pilot with a penchant 

for perilous, head-first 

skeleton sledding, has injected 

European flair and upmarket 

feel. The Optima sedan and 

Sportage SUV showcased his 

sculpted, aggressive look after 

the all-new Cerato. 

But the big question is: 

What comes next? Schreyer 

must keep Kia’s momentum 

of fresh looks, while balancing 

the cost constraints of a budget 

brand with aspirations to be 

something more. In the interview, 

Schreyer said the next 

generation of cars is a work in 

progress. He cited packaging, 

materials and ergonomics as 

areas ripe for improvement. 

Schreyer also said the brand 

needs new entries in niche segments, 

such as sporty cars. “If 

you add a little cost, it is paid 

back by the customers five 

times more,” Schreyer said. “If 

something looks good, you’re 

probably willing to pay a little 

bit more.” Schreyer’s “European” 

instinct to deliver a car 

he would want to drive stems 

from a childhood fixated on 

automobiles and aeroplanes. 

“My father was a car enthusiast,” 

Schreyer recalled. “I remember 

him walking into the 

room one day when I was a kid 

— I can see it right now like a 

video — and he said, ‘There is 

this new car that came out. It is 

fantastic and absolutely timeless. 

But it’s 24,000 marks!’ At 

that time, it was like saying it 

is $5 million. Absolutely unreachable.” 

But the mania took 

root. And last year Schreyer 

11 OMAN WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2011 

finally bought that dream car 

his father was raving about. 

Staying in tune with his European 

roots, Schreyer is based 

at Kia’s European design studio 

in Frankfurt. He commutes 

monthly to Seoul and home to 

Bavaria on the weekends. 

One of Schreyer’s first 

designs sits on his desk in 

Frankfurt: A wooden model 

of a Formula 1 racer Schreyer 

BankMuscat Al Mazyona draw held 

By A Staff Reporter 

MUSCAT — The excitement 

of the life-changer Al Mazyona 

savings scheme from 

BankMuscat was experienced 

by Sayyid Faisal bin Turki al 

Said, Chief Executive, Brand 

Oman, who picked the 12 

weekly winners of RO 2,000 

each, covering all regions of 

Oman and the winners of Double 

your Salary scheme. 

Celebrating 20 years of 

fulfilling dreams, Al Mazyona 

was launched this year with a 

never-before offer guaranteeing 

bigger and better winning 

chances for customers across 

the Sultanate. The scheme offers 

attractive weekly, monthly, 

quarterly and bi-annual 

grand prizes on the generous 

theme of 20 and its multiples 

thereof, establishing it as the 

savings scheme for the nation. 

For 20 years, Al Mazyona has 

made dreams of innumerable 

By Bader al Kiyumi 

MUSCAT — Fincorp private 

equity fund, with a targeted 

corpus of RO 20 million, has 

successfully achieved its first 

closure at RO 12 million and 

the Muscat Securities Market 

issued last Sunday the registration 

certificate, it was announced 

by Munir Abdulnabi 

Macki, Managing Director and 

President, Fincorp, at a press 

conference held at Al Bustan 

Palace Hotel, Muscat yesterday. 

The first private equity 

fund in Oman has received 

customers come true. 

A notable attraction this 

year is that the winning chances 

get multiplied by the number 

of years customers are associated 

with Al Mazyona savings 

scheme. For example, those 

overwhelming response from 

investors including its anchor 

investor Oman Investment 

Fund, AhliBank, Omantel and 

Qatar Oman Investment Company, 

he said. 

The main goal of the fund 

is to make private equity investments 

in select companies, 

particularly located in Oman. 

The fund also aims to encourage 

entrepreneurship and make 

additional employment opportunities. 

The fund also aims to 

provide impetus to development 

of the financial markets 

by pioneering the way for set- 

who have been saving for 20 

years will get 20 times bonus 

chance or their chances will 

get multiplied by 20 times. 

Winning with Al Mazyona 

has never been simpler as 

customers are not required to 

ting up of other similar funds. 

"The fund remains open for 

subscription and is expected 

to achieve its final closure of 

RO 20 million by the end of 

the financial year. Fincorp in 

accordance with the best practices 

in industry is in the process 

of incorporating a wholly 

owned subsidiary company. 

The objective of the company 

is to be a specialised private 

equity fund management company," 

he said. 

The fund intends to be fully 

invested in mid-market opportunities, 

focusing primarily 

block their money for long and 

no average balance is also required, 

which makes the savings 

scheme sensible. 

The weekly prizes include 

RO 2000 each for two guaranteed 

winners from all the Sultanate’s 

regions. Customers 

are required to maintain RO 

100 minimum balance for the 

weekly prize. 

The monthly prize is an exciting 

RO 20,000 each for two 

winners. For eligibility, customers 

are required to maintain 

RO 1,000 minimum balance 

for one month. Thus, for 

RO 1000 balance, customers 

get 10 chances as each RO 100 

balance provides one chance. 

The more the balance, more 

are the winning chances. 

The quarterly prizes significantly 

raise the appeal of 

Al Mazyona. The big prizes 

include RO 200,000 every alternate 

quarter. The next quarterly 

draw will be held after 

September-end. For eligibility, 

customers are required to 

maintain RO 1,000 minimum 

balance for three months. 

The climax of Al Mazyona 

is the grand prize of RO 

400,000 every six months. 

The first grand prize winner 

will be picked after June-end 

and the second winner after 

December-end. For eligibility, 

customers are required to 

maintain RO 1,000 minimum 

balance for three months. 

Al Mazyona offers one of 

the biggest prize money in 

the savings scheme history in 

Oman. The objective is to create 

a lifetime change for winners 

and allow them to invest 

their prize money in things 

that will make a lasting difference 

and the well-being 

of their families. The flexible 

scheme makes regular saving 

easier and is available at the 

largest network of 130 branches 

across Oman. 

built when he was 10. Today 

his aesthetic leans heavily on 

proportions and clean surfaces. 

He prides himself on “no 

gimmicks” and takes umbrage 

when the Optima’s decorative 

side vents are noted. “That’s 

a detail that helps the proportions 

to look a bit more 

like the classic proportion 

of cars,” he said. 

Schreyer makes monthly 

MUSCAT — BankDhofar 

announced the winners of 

Al Heson RO 10,000 weekly 

prize as well as winners 

from the exclusive ladies and 

Mazin and Mazoon children’s 

account, with a prize of RO 

5,000 each. The draw was 

held at the Bank’s Khabura 

Branch under the auspices of 

Shaikh Abdullah bin Zahir bin 

Saif al Hosni. 

Ziyad Ramadhan Khamis 

Bahaja from the Salalah 

branch took home the Al 

Heson weekly prize of RO 

10,000. 

Also celebrating were the 

winning customers of the ladies 

account and the children’s 

savings accounts Mazen and 

Mazoon who were awarded 

RO 5,000 each. 

The ladies account prize 

trips to Seoul for regular meetings 

with the heads of Kia’s 

South Korean and US design 

studios. “We do a clay model, 

and after we give a presentation 

and do the model fix, a 

few months later we see a perfect 

prototype,” Schreyer said. 

“It’s amazing how fast they do 

that.” 

Schreyer’s arrival dovetailed 

with other improvements 

draw winner went to Amina 

Sabeit Zayid from Sur branch 

and the Mazen and Mazoon 

prize draw win went to Husna 

Ibrahim Said Hamed from the 

bank’s Bahla Branch. 

at Kia, such as better engineering 

and improved quality. 

He aspires to invoke a reverence 

for Kia: “I’m waiting 

for the day there’s a Kia you 

never want to sell.”That won’t 

happen overnight. But the 

next generation may open new 

doors. “What we need, and 

what I would like to do, is some 

sort of roadster or convertible,” 

Schreyer pledges. “I won’t give 

up until we have one.” 

Reliable International Automotive, 

the distributor for Kia 

in Oman provides a rewarding 

ownership experience for 

customers. Excellent product 

attributes and an unmatched 

after sales support of 18 sales 

outlets, 19 service centres and 

easily accessible 28 parts outlets 

ensure their absolute satisfaction, 

every mile of the way. 

No wonder then that Reliable 

International Automotive 

has been ranked amongst the 

top Kia distributors worldwide 

and has been honoured 

with prestigious accolades including 

the Kia ‘Dealer of the 

Year’ award; Kia ‘Distributor 

of Distinction’ award, ‘Family 

Like Care’ service award and 

the ‘Zenith Club’ award for 

excellent performance. . 

BankDhofar announces 

Al Heson winners 

on industrial manufacturing, 

petrochemicals, infrastructure 

and other services. The fund 

intends to review a number of 

opportunities to secure five to 

six suitable investments. Midcaps 

find it difficult to hire advisors 

to raise capital; the fund 

is organised for direct sourcing 

of deals therefore giving it access 

to proprietary deals. 

Mid-caps also tend to be 

family or entrepreneur owned 

and often face difficulties in 

growing beyond a particular 

level. Mid-cap companies often 

need financial capital and 

BankDhofar’s al Heson 

2011 Prize Draw Scheme, 

gives customers a chance 

to win in weekly draws as 

well as in monthly draws 

for RO 100,000. 

Fincorp private equity fund achieves first closure at RO 12m 

management support to generate 

additional value. Mid-cap 

companies are also often required 

to address succession 

plans. The Fincorp funds’ 

active management model addresses 

these needs. 

The fund’s strategy is to 

structure growth opportunities 

and actively manage the 

growth of its investee companies. 

The fund manager has in 

place a very experienced and 

competent team with a proven 

international experience and 

track record in private equity 

investments.

Asian stock markets gain 

on China economic data 

SINGAPORE — Asian stocks 

gained yesterday after China's 

inflation figures provided 

some relief that it would not 

get more aggressive on tightening, 

helping pull the euro up 

from near a record low against 

the Swiss franc. 

China's consumer prices 

rose 5.5 per cent in May, a 

tad faster than the 5.4 per cent 

estimated by a Reuters poll of 

economists, while retail sales 

came in marginally higher than 

forecast and industrial output 

was slightly lower. 

Analysts say while the data 

suggests China's economy is 

slowing, the slowdown is not 

as much as some feared, leaving 

the authorities free to fight 

inflation. 

Shares in Japan and China 

rose while Brent crude edged 

higher after the data, although 

other global worries such as 

a faltering US recovery and 

Europe's sovereign debt crisis 

continue to weigh. 

The safe-haven Swiss franc 

held near a record high against 

the euro in Asia, benefiting 

from the ongoing European 

debt crisis, while the dollar 

stayed under pressure as other 

currencies like the Australian 

dollar squeezed higher. 

"The lift from this morning's 

data shows the market 

seems to be taking comfort 

in inflation not increasing too 

much beyond expectations for 

now," said Lee Wee-Liat, a 

managing director at Samsung 

Securities in Hong Kong. 

The MSCI index of Asia 

Pacific shares outside Japan 

was up 1.07 per cent while 

Japan's Nikkei average ended 

1.05 per cent higher. 

The benchmark Nikkei 225 

Honda tips sharp fall in 

net profit after quake 

TOKYO — Japanese auto giant 

Honda said yesterday it 

expected net profit to tumble 

64 per cent this fiscal year 

compared with last year, due 

to the impact of the March 11 

earthquake and a strong yen. 

Japan's third-biggest automaker 

forecast net profit 

would plunge to 195 billion 

yen ($2.4 billion) from 534 

billion. Operating profit was 

expected to dive 65 per cent 

to 200 billion yen from last 

year's 569.7 billion yen. 

It also forecast a 7.1 per 

cent fall in global sales to 

8.300 trillion yen from 8.937 

trillion. 

Honda said that as a result 

of the quake, profits would 

be hit by a loss in production, 

decreased sales and restoration 

costs, effects that were 

compounded by the rise of the 

yen against the dollar and euro 

as well as higher raw material 

costs. 

A strong yen makes it more 

expensive for Japan's automakers 

to domestically produce 

vehicles for sale overseas, 

while earnings earned abroad 

HONG KONG — Hong Kong 

Airlines said yesterday that it 

plans to place an order for an 

unspecified number of Airbus 

A380s at next week's Paris Air 

Show, as it looks to expand its 

international network. 

The carrier is likely to sign 

a letter of intent next week, 

outlining details of a deal that 

would make it the second carrier 

in the Greater China region 

to buy the double-decker 

superjumbo, spokeswoman 

Eva Chan said. 

"Our top-level executives 

are going over the terms with 

Airbus," she said. "(But) we 

have not yet decided on the 

details of the order." 

The A380 — the world's 

largest passenger jet with capacity 

for up to 853 passengers 

— entered into service in 

2007, breaking US rival Boeing's 

more than three decades 

of dominance of the jumbo jet 

market with the 747. 

China Southern Airlines, 

the country's biggest carrier 

by fleet size, has ordered five 

A380s, with the first to be delivered 

later this year. 

Hong Kong Airlines cur- 

Stock Average gained 99.58 

points, or 1.05 per cent, to 

close at 9,547.79. The broader-based 

Topix index was up 

10.6 points, or 1.31 per cent, at 

822.86. 

Tokyo stocks jumped in the 

afternoon, buoyed by gains in 

other Asian markets. At 2:11 

pm (0611 GMT) the Shanghai 

Stock Exchange Composite Index 

was up 1.11 per cent, and 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index 

had risen 0.41 per cent. 

The euro's intraday rebound 

took it back above $1.44 to 

challenge near-term resistance 

in the $1.4430/50 zone. A clean 

push through that resistance to 

the $1.4470/80 area would 

brighten the single currency's 

outlook for now, traders said. 

The market is now turning 

its attention to inflation figures 

in other parts of the world, and 

most importantly the May data 

on US retail sales for signs on 

whether the sudden slowdown 

in the economy is hampering 

are eroded when repatriated 

into a stronger currency. 

Honda said the yen's 

strength would result in a 91 

billion yen hit to operating income. 

Its earnings projections are 

based on the dollar at 80 yen 

and the euro at 110 yen, compared 

with 86 and 114 respectively 

in the last fiscal year. 

Honda and its Japanese 

automaker peers delayed giving 

their full year forecasts to 

assess the impact of a disaster 

that shattered supply chains 

Hong Kong Airlines plans 

to place order for A380s 

rently flies mainly short-haul 

regional routes between Hong 

Kong and destinations in Asia, 

including Thailand and Japan. 

But in March, it signed a 

preliminary agreement for a 

monster deal with Boeing to 

purchase 38 wide-body jets, 

including 777 cargo planes and 

787 Dreamliners, worth up to 

$8.5 billion at list prices. 

The airline's plan to buy 

the superjumbo comes as Airbus 

has forecast that Asia will 

emerge as the world's biggest 

aircraft market by 2029, accounting 

for a third of worldwide 

deliveries as a growing 

middle class drives travel demand. 

Within the next 20 years, 

the European plane-maker ex- 

household spending. 

Gold rebounded after a 1 

per cent drop in the previous 

session on economic worries, 

but a weaker dollar could offer 

support. It rose to $1,520.85 

after falling on Monday to its 

weakest since late May. Gold, 

which hit a record around 

$1,575 in early May, has been 

buoyed by uncertainties about 

the outlook for the US economy 

and worries about euro 

zone debt. 

Oil recovered yesterday 

after China said industrial 

production grew faster than 

expected in May, easing concerns 

over a global economic 

slowdown. 

Brent crude for July 

climbed 24 cents to $119.34 a 

barrel by 0609 GMT, widening 

its premium to US crude 

benchmark West Texas Intermediate 

(WTI) to a record of 

more than $22 a barrel. July 

WTI edged 0.16 cents higher 

to $97.46. — Reuters 

A SHOWROOM staff member cleans a Honda Fit car in 

Tokyo yesterday. — Reuters 

and created a shortage of essential 

components that hit 

auto production globally. 

Honda was forced to temporarily 

suspend production 

at its Japan sites as the March 

disaster crippled crucial component 

supplies amid a shortage 

of other parts and power 

disruptions. 

Rival Toyota last week said 

it expected net profit in this 

fiscal year to drop 31 per cent 

on-year to $3.5 billion, also 

due to the impact of the quake 

and a strong yen. — AFP 

pects China to become the second 

biggest aviation market in 

the world. China's air travel 

market is growing fast with a 

total of 267 million passenger 

trips in 2010, up 15.8 per cent 

from the previous year. 

Beijing will invest more 

than 1.5 trillion yuan ($230 

billion) in its aviation industry 

over the next five years to 

meet surging demand, Li Jiaxiang, 

head of the Civil Aviation 

Administration of China, 

said in February. 

China aims to expand its 

aircraft fleet to more than 

4,500 planes by 2015 from 

over 2,600 at present and increase 

the number of commercial 

airports to 220 from the 

current 175. — AFP 

12 

OMAN/INTERNATIONAL WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2011 

Nokia says Apple to pay royalties, ending patent disputes 

HELSINKI — The world's leading mobile 

phone maker Nokia said yesterday 

its competitor Apple had agreed to pay 

royalties for using Nokia technology in 

its devices, ending all of their ongoing 

patent disputes. 

"The financial structure of the 

agreement consists of a one-time payment 

payable by Apple and on-going 

royalties to be paid by Apple to Nokia 

for the term of the agreement," Nokia 

said in a statement, adding that the details 

of the contract were confidential. 

The deal constitutes a massive 

victory for Nokia and brings to an 

end years of tit-for-tat suits that have 

seen Nokia file 46 complaints against 

Apple, which has hit back with numerous 

countersuits against the 

Finnish company. 

Nokia said both companies had now 

agreed to withdraw all complaints they 

had filed with the US International 

Trade Commission. 

"We are very pleased to have Apple 

join the growing number of Nokia licensees... 

This settlement demonstrates 

Nokia's industry leading patent portfolio," 

Nokia chief executive Stephen 

Elop (pictured) said in the statement. 

The Finnish company, which has 

been struggling to maintain its position 

as global market leader, also said the 

deal should have "a positive financial 

ARRIVALS — WEDNESDAY 

Flight No Aircraft From / Via STA 

WY258 B737-8 Madras 0005 

WY614 B737-8 Dubai 0005 

WY682 B737-8 Riyadh 0015 

WY716 B737-8 Zanzibar/Dar-es-Slaam 0015 

WY648 B737-8 Kuwait 0015 

WY826 A330-200 Kuala Lumpur 0100 

PK225 B737-3 Karachi 0200 

QR170 A320 Doha 0315 

EY384 A320 Abu Dhabi 0350 

IX145 B737-8 Amritsar/Abu Dhabi 0350 

EK866 A330 Dubai 0355 

GF560 E190 Bahrain 0425 

WY652 B737-7 Bahrain 0600 

WY662 B737-7 Doha 0600 

FZ043 B737-8 Dubai 0740 

WY914 B737-8 Salalah 0800 

WY202 B737-8 Bombay 0800 

WY602 B737-8 Abu Dhabi/Dubai 0800 

WY274 B737-8 Jaipur 0840 

WY238 B737-8 Hyderabad 0850 

WY102 A330-300 London-Heathrow 0900 

WY262 B737-8 Lucknow 0920 

WY224 B737-8 Cochin 0925 

WY218 B737-8 Trivandrum 0925 

EK862 A330 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 

WY916 E175AR Salalah 1200 

WY314 B737-8 Chittagong 1210 

WY3302 ATR42 Mukhaizna 1230 


IX337 B737-8 Calicut 1255 

WY714 B737-8 Dar-es-Slaam 1300 

WY918 ATR42 Khasab 1315 

WY606 B737-8 Dubai 1330 

WY924 B737-8 Salalah 1440 

WY324 A330-200 Karachi 1440 

WY3926 B737-8 Salalah 1505 

SV530 MD90 Jeddah 1550 

ED450 A319 Lahore 1630 


WY204 B737-8 Bombay 1655 

WY638 ATR42 Abu Dhabi 1655 

WY244 B737-7 Delhi 1710 

WY654 E175AR Bahrain 1715 

QR164 A321 Doha 1735 

WY608 B737-8 Dubai 1740 

WY298 B737-8 Calicut 1750 

WY664 E175AR Doha 1800 

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 

WY3928 B737-8 Salalah 2035 

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 B737-7 Doha 2310 

WY636 E175AR Abu Dhabi 2315 

WY672 B737-8 Jeddah 2315 

WY686 B737-8 Dammam 2320 

9W534 B737-8 Cochin 2330 

WY816 A330-200 Bangkok 2335 

WY930 B737-8 Salalah 2340 

9W540 B737-8 Bombay 2340 

AI985 A319 Ahmedabad/Bombay 2345 

KQ318 B737-8 Nairobi/Dubai 2350 

WY423 B737-8 Beirut/Amman 2355 

impact" on its second-quarter performance. 

Just two weeks ago, Nokia warned 

that its sales for the quarter would be 

far worse than previously expected and 

that it could no longer give a full-year 

forecast, news which sent its share price 

to its lowest level since early 1998. 

Nordea Bank analyst Sami Sarkamies 

said the one-time payment by 

Apple will have a powerful impact on 

Nokia's second quarter, and that the 

California tech giant would become 

one of Nokia's most significant patent 

clients. — AFP 

FLIGHT SCHEDULE 

DEPARTURES 

Flight No Aircraft To / Via STD 

BA072 B777 Abu Dhabi/ 

London-Heathrow 0001 

WY113 A330-200 Frankfurt 0035 

AI986 A319 Abu Dhabi/Bombay/ 

Ahmedabad 0035 

9W539 B737-8 Bombay 0045 

WY601 B737-8 Dubai/Abu Dhabi 0110 

WY217 B737-8 Trivandrum 0115 

WY713 B737-8 Dar-es-Slaam 0115 

WY237 B737-8 Hyderabad 0120 

WY223 B737-8 Cochin 0120 

WY261 B737-8 Lucknow 0125 

9W529 B737-8 Trivandrum 0130 

WY661 B737-7 Doha 0130 

WY201 B737-8 Bombay 0130 

WY651 B737-7 Bahrain 0140 

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 

WY133 A330-200 Paris 0230 

PK226 B737-3 Karachi 0300 

IX818 B737-8 Mangalore 0450 

EK867 A330 Dubai 0500 


QR171 A320 Doha 0550 


WY603 E175AR Dubai 0800 



FZ044 B737-8 Dubai 0820 

WY243 B737-7 Delhi 1000 

WY323 A330-200 Karachi 1000 

WY297 B737-8 Calicut 1005 

WY257 B737-8 Madras 1005 

WY815 A330-200 Bangkok 1010 

WY917 ATR42 Khasab 1030 

WY605 B737-8 Dubai 1030 

G9114 A320 Sharjah 1035 

WY923 B737-8 Salalah 1035 

WY203 B737-8 Bombay 1040 

EK863 A330 Dubai 1045 


QR167 A321 Doha 1055 

9W533 B737-8 Cochin 1145 

IX542 B737-8 Trivandrum 1220 


WY405 B737-8 Cairo 1310 

WY423 B737-8 Beirut/Amman 1310 


WY653 E175AR Bahrain 1315 

WY663 E175AR Doha 1330 

WY3925 B737-8 Salalah 1330 

WY637 ATR42 Abu Dhabi 1345 

IX350 B737-8 Calicut 1355 

WY101 A330-300 London-Heathrow 1400 

WY929 B737-8 Salalah 1400 

WY607 B737-8 Dubai 1440 

WY925 B737-8 Salalah 1540 

WY671 B737-8 Jeddah 1540 

WY3927 B737-8 Salalah 1630 

SV531 MD90 Medina/Jeddah 1650 

ED451 A319 Lahore 1730 

QR165 A321 Doha 1840 

GF565 A319 Bahrain 1855 


WY685 B737-8 Dammam 1905 

WY647 B737-8 Kuwait 1905 

WY667 B737-7 Doha 1910 

WY681 B737-8 Riyadh 1910 

WY655 B737-8 Bahrain 1915 

G9118 A320 Sharjah 1945 

WY623 ATR42 Al-Ain 2015 

WY635 E175AR Abu Dhabi 2015 

WY615 B737-8 Dubai 2040 

WY613 B737-8 Dubai 2045 

FZ048 B737-8 Dubai 2105 

KL450 A330 Abu Dhabi/Amsterdam 2200 

AI978 A319 Hyderabad/Bangalore 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 

TEL: 24601003, 24600586 • FAX: 24600736 

• WEBSITE: www.salalahport.com

Falling wages 

By Douglas Hamilton 

THE Gaza Strip entered its fifth year of a full Israeli 

blockade by land, air and sea yesterday with unemployment 

at 45.2 per cent, one of the highest rates in 

the world, a UN aid agency report said. 

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees 

(UNRWA) found that by the second half of 2010, real wages 

had fallen 34.5 per cent since the first half of 2006, when 

sanctions were imposed by Israel. 

“These are disturbing trends,” said UNRWA spokesman 

Chris Gunness, “and the refugees, who make up two-thirds of 

Gaza’s 1.5 million population, were the worst hit.” 

Densely populated Gaza has a population of more than 1.5 

million, mostly spread along the 40 km coast of the Mediterranean 

enclave between Israel and Egypt. 

“It is hard to understand the logic of a man-made policy 

which deliberately impoverishes so many and condemns hundreds 

of thousands of potentially productive people to a life of 

destitution,” Gunness said. 

Israel continues to blockade Gaza, controlling the flow of 

imports and tightly restricting access to Israeli territory mainly 

to urgent humanitarian cases. 

It partly relaxed its grip a year ago in response to international 

pressure, allowing in more trade goods and expanding 

the secure logistics hub at Kerem Shalom crossing to a potential 

400 truckloads of goods per day. 

UNRWA provides food staples and schools for Gaza’s 

refugee population. The enclave has no airport or seaport for 

freight. 

The UN has recently asked countries to dissuade those pro- 

Palestinian groups with plans to break the blockade by sea in 

so-called “international humanitarian aid” flotillas that Israel 

says are simply politically motivated provocations. 

Gaza’s pressure cooker atmosphere has been relieved this 

year and a change in policy by Cairo, a party to the blockade 

with Israel, which now opens the southern border crossing at 

Rafah daily for civilian traffic, though not for trade. 

But UNRWA reports that Gaza’s working-age population 

(those over 15) is estimated to have grown by 2 per cent in the 

second half of 2010 from the first half, increasing the demand 

By Conor Humphries 

ABOUT 100 men in their 20s 

and 30s, filled a conference 

room at a Dublin hotel last 

week to hear a migration agent describe 

the personal fortunes waiting 

to be made a world away in the booming 

mining towns of the Australian 

outback. 

With unemployment running at 

close to 15 per cent in Ireland, and 

local wages a fraction of those now 

on offer in Australia, it appeared to be 

an easy sell. “I want to go and make 

money, not just get by,” said David 

Varley, 29, who had been laid off a 

few weeks earlier from his job as a 

railway-signals engineer. 

“A friend just got a job at a mine 

and she said they’re looking for engineers, 

though I’m not sure what 

kind.” 

His friend had lost her job as a 

quantity surveyor and was thinking 

of applying for unemployment benefits 

when she turned to the Internet 

13 

ANALYSIS/OPINION 



Australia’s boom lures European immigrants 

By John O’Donnell 

AYEAR after it pledged to curb 

the power of the credit rating 

agencies, Europe remains at 

their mercy as it struggles to introduce 

regulatory steps and the agencies 

show little sign of softening their 

stance on the region’s debt crises. 

The threat of stricter regulation 

has not deterred the agencies from 

downgrading the sovereign debt of 

Ireland and Portugal over the past 

several months, as well as demoting 

Greece further into junk territory. 

On Monday, Standard & Poor’s 

slashed Greece’s rating by three 

notches to CCC, just four steps from 

default. It said political and economic 

conditions meant efforts by the European 

Union and the International 

Monetary Fund to rescue Greece were 

looking increasingly shaky. 

Now the big three agencies — 

S&P, Moody’s Investors Service and 

Fitch Ratings — have their biggest 

opportunity yet to exercise power 

and immediately saw lots of Australian 

job ads. Six months later, she was 

working at a mine there. 

“Of course I’d rather stay at home 

with my friends and family, but if you 

have to go, you have to go,” Varley 

said. “The amount of people who’ve 

left my town to work abroad is phenomenal.” 

The new migrants are continuing 

an old tradition. Irish and English 

were among Australia’s first settlers, 

shipped to the continent as convict labour 

starting in the late 18th century. 

Australia’s 1851-1861 Gold Rush 

lured hundreds of thousands more 

from the British isles and they continued 

to stream in, seeking their 

fortunes in goldmines, until the early 

20th century. 

Migration agent Declan Clune, 

of international firm Visa First told 

the men at the Dublin meeting that 

carpenters could earn $90,000 a year 

and engineers and surveyors up to 

$200,000. “There are a huge number 

of highly skilled people leaving. And 

over Europe, as they prepare to rule 

on a second bailout of Greece. 

“If you look at the rating agencies’ 

actions in the recent months, when all 

of the anti-rating agency sentiment 

was there, they have not shown any 

sign of backing down,” said Sony 

Kapoor, founder of European think 

tank Re-Define. 

“They have downgraded Portugal 

at a very inconvenient time and 

Greece repeatedly. But there is nothing 

that has been suggested to replace 

them — they are here to stay.” 

The agencies have faced criticism 

from European politicians and officials 

over the last couple of years 

— first for failing to warn of risks 

behind the global credit crisis, then 

for repeatedly downgrading Greece, 

Ireland and Portugal despite Europe’s 

multi-billion euro bailouts of them. 

Officials argue unjustified downgrades 

have destabilised financial 

markets and undermined investors’ 

confidence in the bailouts, pushing 

up sovereign bond yields around the 

they’re not coming back,” Clune said. 

“We have the skilled educated 

population that Australia needs. Canada 

may be closer, but all the work 

is in Australia. And Australia is the 

place people want to go.” 

In Australia, though, immigration 

agents discover not all Europeans are 

cut out to work in an open-cut mine 

under a baking sun and live in remote 

mining towns like Karratha, where 

workers sleep in camps built from 

converted shipping containers. 

“Potentially there are big fat pay 

packets for some people and, yes, 

the skies are sunny — sometimes too 

sunny — but it will be a bit different 

for people from Dublin to live in 40degree 

heat in Karratha,” said James 

Maund, general manager of recruitment 

firm Manpower Australia. 

Australia’s overseas recruitment 

drive has so far focused on skilled 

workers, ranging from mine engineers 

and geologists to boiler-makers 

and electricians. Its demand for these 

skills has been so great mine labour is 

euro zone. Top rating agency executives 

have been summoned before 

European finance ministers to explain 

the agencies’ decisions. 

“We have to ask ourselves serious 

questions about the role they are 

playing in the crisis hitting certain 

countries in the euro zone,” Michel 

Barnier, the EU official overseeing an 

overhaul of financial regulation, said. 

“One has to ask if they are taking 

into account the efforts those countries 

are making,” Barnier said, adding 

that he would consider whether 

the EU should try to stop the agencies 

from publishing ratings of countries 

which were receiving bailouts. 

In June last year Jean-Claude 

Juncker, chairman of the group of 

euro zone finance ministers, publicly 

backed calls by politicians for Europe 

to set up its own rating agency, 

to break the hold of the big three on 

investors’ perceptions. 

The European Securities and Markets 

Authority, a regional regulator set 

up this year with supervisory power 

now scarce worldwide. 

In Laos, China-owned Minmetals 

is flying in miners from as far away 

as Poland to work its Sepon copper 

and gold mine there. It brings them in 

for two weeks at a time in the kind of 

shuttle operation now familiar to mining 

firms the world over. 

In Australia, air shuttles also bring 

in Poles, along with workers from 

New Zealand, the United States and 

across Asia, especially from among 

the relatively good English-speakers 

of the Philippines. 

Yet the labour shortage persists. 

Some employers in Australia blame 

red-tape, saying the process of issuing 

short-term work permits for skilled 

labour, known as 457 visas, is too 

costly and should be sped up. 

The government imposes no limit 

on the number of 457 visas that can 

be issued, but it demands employers 

show they cannot first find or train 

up Australians for the jobs. Foreign 

workers must also have a high level 

of proficiency in English, a tough 

for jobs that do not exist in its broken economy. By John Chalmers 

State of play 

By Tim Reid 

SEEKING to break a standoff over raising the US debt 

limit, a group of lawmakers led by Vice-President Joe 

Biden meets three times this week as a critical deadline 

to reach a deal fast approaches. 

After six meetings, some progress has been made but there 

is still deep disagreement on taxes and healthcare and a growing 

sense of urgency that the group must achieve much more 

soon if the United States is to avoid the first debt default in 

its history. 

If the Biden group, which includes senior Senate and House 

of Representatives members, can reach a deal on cutting the 

deficit, expected to reach $1.4 trillion this year, it could give 

lawmakers political cover to vote in favour of raising the 

$14.3 trillion limit on US government borrowing. 

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned that 

if Congress does not raise the debt limit by August 2, the US 

could default with dire economic consequences. 

The seven-member panel of Republicans and Democrats 

are now tackling the thorniest issues of tax increases and 

healthcare and pension cuts, but a deal seems far from reach. 

After the sixth session last week, the Republican participants 

were still refusing to consider tax increases as part of 

a deficit reduction deal — something that Biden insists must 

be on the table. 

Aides said the talks had entered difficult terrain and that a 

fundamental stumbling block remained: Democrats will not 

consider major cuts to health benefits, such as the Medicare 

health programme for the elderly, until Republicans consider 

tax increases — something they insist are “off the table.” 

The stakes were raised further after a third ratings agency 

warned it would consider cutting the America’s top-notch 

credit rating if substantial progress towards a debt limit deal 

is not made soon. 

Further pressure emerged last week with the release of 

weak economic data that showed a slowdown in manufacturing 

and stubbornly high unemployment. Both sides are using 

the disappointing numbers to bolster their own arguments. 

For the first time, President Barack Obama and John Boehner, 

the top Republican in the House of Representatives, are 

getting involved. 

The ‘hotspots’ 

By Kevin Krolicki/Kiyoshi Takenaka 

HISAO Nakamura still can’t accept that his crisply cut 

field of deep green tea bushes south of Tokyo has 

been turned into a radioactive hazard by a crisis far 

beyond the horizon. 

“I was more than shocked,” said Nakamura, 74, who, like 

other tea farmers in Kanagawa has been forced to throw away 

an early harvest because of radiation being released by the 

Fukushima Daiichi plant 300 km away. 

“Throwing way what you’ve grown with great care is like 

killing your own children.” 

More than three months after the Fukushima nuclear plant 

was hit by a quake and tsunami that triggered the world’s worst 

nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, Japanese officials are still 

struggling to understand where and how radiation released in 

the accident made far-flung “hotspots” of contamination. 

The uncertainty itself is proving a strain. 

“Stress has serious health effects. The Japanese people no 

longer trust the nuclear industry and the government. People 

do not know whether their food and their land is safe,” said 

Kim Kearfott, an expert on radiation health risks at the University 

of Michigan, who toured Japan in May. 

Fukushima is estimated to have released just 15 per cent of 

the radiation at Chernobyl, but a complicated software modelling 

system generated by the government to predict where the 

radiation would drift proved useless. 

Under pressure to provide a more accurate picture of the 

contamination, the Ministry of Education has promised to 

complete a detailed survey of the evacuated area by October. 

Since last week, local governments have been enlisted to 

provide daily reports of radiation. 

More than 1,000 public schools in Fukushima were 

equipped with dosimeters in late May and teachers were 

asked to record hourly radiation readings to help generate a 

contamination map. 

But some experts say even these added steps are far from 

enough. “We need a new and more comprehensive system for 

monitoring radiation,” said Takumi Gotoh, a Nagoya-based 

cancer specialist. Data so far shows the most heavily contaminated 

area is to the northwest of Fukushima, where experts 

believe radioactive debris was carried by winds in March and 

then deposited as snow and rain. 

HOUSES lie abandoned in the Serbian village of Binici. — AFP 

Ghost towns litter countryside 

By Suzana Markovic 

LIKE many of its Balkan neighbours, 

Serbia is reeling from an 

inexorable rural exodus, with 

hundreds of small villages turning into 

ghost towns as the young move to the 

cities in search of a better life. And the 

authorities in Belgrade are powerless to 

reverse the trend. 

Take Binici, a small village perched 

on southwestern Serbia’s scenic Golija 

mountain and now home to only dozens 

of mostly elderly inhabitants. 

The young have been gradually leaving 

for the towns, in search of jobs or 

a soulmate. The local school once had 

about 60 pupils. Now it stands empty and 

abandoned, its facade crumbling and its 

windows broken. 

“The children used to play football and 

basketball here,” sighed Borislav Bubaja 

as he pointed to a plot of land overgrown 

with ironweed and wild grass. 

Twenty years ago, 200 people lived 

here. Now the population is down to 40. 

“Look, no one lives in these four 

houses,” said Bubaja, a 75-year old retiree. 

“The old are dead while the young 

have left for town.” 

Only reachable by a crumbling cobblestone 

road, Binici is dying a slow 

death. Residents must travel for miles 

to get medical help and even the nearest 

shops for basic food and household items 

are 8 km away. 

“Farm work is hard and the young 

seek an easier life in the city. There is 

nothing to keep them here,” Bubaja’s 

son, 43-year-old Ranko, explained. 

Father Zdravko, whose parish includes 

nine villages and hamlets in the 

area, agreed that the region is becoming 

deserted. 

“In the past two years, I had 100 funerals, 

about 10 baptisms and only five 

or six marriages. It shows the speed at 

which this region is dying out,” he said. 

And Serbia is not alone, many of the 

countries that made up the former Yugoslavia 

face the same problem. 

Nearly eight million out of the estimated 

23.5 million people in the whole 

of the former Yugoslavia left the countryside 

for towns between 1950 and 2000, 

turning a once mainly farming region 

into an industrialised one, according to 

data released by the Serbian Chamber of 

Commerce. 

The 1990s Balkan wars that tore apart 

the former socialist federation just compounded 

the problem. 

Ethnic strife spawned streams of refugees 

who headed to the new states drawn 

up along ethnic lines. 

Many of the refugees ended up in cities 

and towns that had the infrastructure 

to shelter them. 

In Croatia, the rural population fell 

from 48.7 per cent in 1991 to 44.4 per 

cent in 2001. Montenegro suffered the 

same fate. The only exception is Macedonia, 

where people chose to remain in 

the countryside as easier access to food 

there assured them a better quality of life, 

according to its Statistics bureau. 

In neighbouring Albania, once ruled 

with an iron fist by communist dictator 

Enver Hoxha, many villages in the impoverished 

north and the south of the 

country, were deserted after the end of 

communist rule in 1992. 

Djura Stevanovic, of Serbia-based Institute 

for the Study of Villages, said told 

authorities have done nothing to halt the 

exodus. “There is no strategy to relaunch 

development of these regions, or at least 

to maintain it at the same level,” he said. 

He estimated that about 50 villages 

disappear in Serbia every year. 

“Fifteen years from now, 700 villages 

in Serbia will have disappeared,” he 

warned. 

Branislav Gulan of Serbia’s Chamber 

of Commerce said revitalising the countryside 

required sustainable regional development 

and encouraging rural enterprise. 

Despite all disadvantages, Ranko 

Bubaja remains close to Binici. He comes 

every day from the nearby town of Baljevac 

where he works to help his parents 

work their land. 

His main gripe is that he cannot find 

a local woman to marry, explaining that 

young women want an urban life. 

over rating agencies, is pressing them 

to disclose more information about 

the methods and analytical models 

they use to reach decisions. 

And the EU’s executive is drafting 

laws designed to curb the agencies by 

increasing their legal liability for ratings, 

among other things. If approved 

by European leaders and the European 

Parliament, the laws could come 

into force as soon as late 2012. 

So far, the agencies do not appear 

to be moderating their judgements in 

response to such threats. For example, 

all three have downgraded Cyprus 

in the last few months, citing its 

exposure to the possibility of a deep 

restructuring of Greek debt — even 

though the EU insists such a restructuring 

is not on the cards. 

The agencies know their brand 

names could be hurt by any suggestion 

they were caving in to political 

pressure. And after they faced criticism 

for being slow to realise the 

scale of the global credit crisis, they 

do not want to appear slow in recog- 

condition for many Asians. 

Australian business executive Rod 

Eddington, who now advises the government 

on infrastructure spending, 

called last week for the nation’s doors 

to be opened wider to Asian workers 

in particular, suggesting there was a 

reluctance to hire them. 

“I know it’s a hot political topic 

and a difficult issue to address,” Eddington 

told a business lunch. “But 

I for a start would be much more 

liberal with 457 visas and also more 

open to skilled Asian immigrants here 

because they add real value to our 

community.” Shortages are so dire 

mining companies are now turning to 

unskilled foreign workers — known 

as “clean-skins” in the industry — to 

train them up for work in the pits. 

Even office workers in Sydney 

have begun to hang up their suits and 

ties and swap them for mine overalls, 

and the farm sector is worried mines 

will soon tempt their own workers to 

the desert, leaving them desperate for 

labour. 

HISTORY NOT ON HIS SIDE 

Thai PM goes on 

major ‘offensive’ 

THAI Prime Minister 

Abhisit Vejjajiva went 

on the offensive yesterday, 

warning that a win by 

the opposition in next month’s 

election would harm Southeast 

Asia’s second-biggest 

economy and trigger a new 

round of political instability. 

Despite trailing in opinion 

polls, the 46-year-old Britishborn 

premier said he still had 

a realistic shot at forming another 

government, predicting 

his party could win as many 

as 200 of the 500 parliamentary 

seats at stake, better than 

the roughly 180 most analysts 

expect, and lead another coalition. 

History is not on his side. 

His party has not won an 

election in nearly 20 years 

and has never been re-elected 

after governing. But despite 

the odds, he appears confident 

and dismissed criticisms 

his campaign is losing momentum. 

The opposition Puea Thai 

Party is proving unexpectedly 

formidable, led by Yingluck 

Shinawatra, the telegenic 

43-year-old sister of former 

premier Thaksin Shinawatra, 

a fugitive billionaire ousted 

in a 2006 military coup. 

Still, the urbane and 

Oxford-educated Abhisit 

appears undaunted as polls 

show Yingluck as the clear 

front-runner. 

Abhisit says he believes 

Thaksin is financing the opposition’s 

campaign from his 

home in Dubai, where he fled 

to avoid prison after being 

convicted in absentia of corruption. 

A vote for Yingluck, 

he said, was a vote to return 

Thaksin to Thailand and 

plunge the country into more 

political turmoil. 

In an interview, he dismissed 

Yingluck as simply a 

“new face” and political novice 

with impractical policies 

who would be a proxy for her 

brother. 

“Yingluck is new on the 

scene. You always get a bit 

of a bounce ... and the media 

always responds to a new 

face,” Abhisit said from his 

party’s headquarters. “There 

is always that question of 

whether she can be her own 

person.” 

Yingluck predicts a landslide 

win. The president of 

property developer SC Asset 

Corp is tapping a groundswell 

of support in the vote-rich 

north and northeast, rural regions 

where Thaksin remains 

a populist hero. 

Alarmingly for Abhisit, 

she is also gaining in Bangkok, 

a city of 15 million people 

that was a bastion of support 

for his party. “It’s a tricky 

battleground,” Abhisit said of 

Bangkok. But he insists the 

national race is still tight. 

“We have fallen behind 

slightly,” he said, listing what 

he saw as risks if the opposition 

won — “ruining the rule 

of law, causing instability and 

therefore a loss of economic 

opportunity”. 

The question of stability 

looms large after five years 

of sporadic unrest, including 

clashes last year between 

the red-shirted supporters of 

Thaksin and the army that 

paralysed Bangkok and killed 

91 people. 

Abhisit’s Democrat-led 

coalition is lauded by economists 

for steering the country 

out of the 2008 financial crisis 

and generating respectable 

growth last year of 7.8 

per cent despite the unrest. 

Struggling Europe at mercy of rating agencies 

nising the euro zone debt crisis. 

“The EU wants them to take a 

more optimistic view... but they are 

strongly inclined to be pessimistic,” 

said Kapoor. “They are paranoid 

about getting burnt again. The tug of 

war is going to continue.” 

Meanwhile, efforts to assert control 

over the agencies have run into legal 

and practical obstacles. Although the 

EU is examining the idea of setting 

up a European agency to assess the 

creditworthiness of countries, providing 

an alternative to the agencies, it is 

not clear how this would be financed 

or run. Many in the financial industry 

believe it would lack credibility as investors 

would see it as vulnerable to 

political influence. 

A proposal to make the agencies 

legally liable if a downgrade of a 

country turns out to be incorrect faces 

similar difficulties. Officials have 

come up with only a vague definition 

of incorrect, raising concern that decisions 

to apply the law would essentially 

be political.

R 

F 

ENT-A-CAR 

ENT-A-C 

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 

Chauffeur Service 

95228450 

SPECIAL Rates on 

New Cars & 4 WDs 

RENTING & LEASING 

Tours and Airport Transfer 

Tel: 24582663 

GSM: 95859497, 

Fax: 24582664, 

abcrent@omantel.net.om 

OR RENT 

FOR RENT FOR RENT 

ONE bedroom flat in 

Al Qurum with AC. 

�92789000. 

2 STOREY modern 

villa at Maabela South 

consists of 5 bedrooms, 

2 sitting room, a hall and 

dining room. Contact 

�99211905. 

5 BEDROOM villa with 

split unit AC in Bausher 

40, living room, dining 

room, kitchen. Contacts. 

�95666600. 

TWO bedrooms, two 

bathrooms and kitchen 

flat in Al Hail South near 

Seeb sport stadium. For 

RO 250/- only (including 

electricity and water) 

Contact �99429293. 

DOUBLE bedroom 

deluxe flat Bausher high 

street near Rehab Hotel. 

�99052952/ 99639102. 

SPACIOUS 3 BHK with 

split A/C at Al Khuwair 

& 2 BHK with split A/C 

at Darsait, Al Qandeel. 

�99332668. 

APARTMENT available 

in Ghubrah south, 3 bedroom, 

majlis and Family 

hall, ground floor, RO 

420/-. �99801515. 

FLAT, 2 bedroom + 

2 toilet + kitchen and 

AC. Flat, bedroom + 

majlis + toilet + kitchen 

and AC in Al Khoudh . 

�97142629. 

2 BEDROOM flat, 

Wadi Kabir, near Sri 

Lankan School & LuLu 

�99319482. 

FLAT in Ghubrah, 1 

bedroom sitting room 

1 WC, kitchen, marble 

flooring, in ground floor. 

Contact �99341138/ 

98004689. 

F 

M 

REQUIRED 

OR RENT/SALE/INVT 

RENT/S 

INDUSTRIAL and 

commercial land at Al 

Maabela, Rusayl, 

Barka, Al Amerat and 

Qurayat. �95113217, 

95490842, 99323957, 

24453352. 

ANPOWER 

ANPOWE 

FRIENDS MANPOWER: 

Filipino housemaids and 

all kinds of workers. 

� 24489268, 

Tel/Fax: 24478153. 

SAVILLS OMAN 

QUALITY homes for 

rent throughout 

Capital Area Muscat. 

Contact: �24692151. 

www.sav-oman.com 

VILLA in Madinat 

al Ilam for rent. 

�99224005. 

TWO new luxury 

6 bedroom villas in 

Bausher Heights, SBMI 

furnished. Contact 

�99366108. 

3 BEDROOM flat at Al 

Khuwair. �99747714/ 

92174963/ 24706521. 

GOOD new flat one 

room with bathroom, 

kitchen RO 150, Ruwi 

and Wadi Al Kabir for 

family. �99358589/ 

95570288/ 97602816. 

GOOD new flat one 

room with sitting, one 

bathroom, kitchen with 

AC, RO 225 for family 

at Ruwi, Wadi Al Kabir 

Al Khuwair. Contact 

�99358589/95570288/ 

96162511. 

GROUND floor at Al 

Qurum, 3 bedrooms, a 

hall, a sitting room, a 

dining room, 3 toilets 

and an outside store 

with a garden and 

car shade area. Split 

air- conditioners and 

curtains are available. 

Wanted price RO 700/- 

�99474746. 

SMART business 

incubation centre 

(MBD) area — available 

for rent, furnished 

office with conference 

room, administrative, 

management & 

marketing support. 

We also guide, coach 

& mentor businesses. 

Contact �24811155/ 

98529518/ 99102901. 

(www.oman.smartbizcon. 

com) 

Special Technical Services, LLC requires:- 

Temporary Accommodation 

� A Camp or Building with food, laundry & cleaning 

facilities required for around 1,000 employees. 

� Preferred area Ghala, Ghubra, Ruwi & W/Kabir. 

Please contact to GSM 96330771, 

e-mail: safdar@stsoman.com 

B 

UYING CA CARS 

WE are buying buy cars 

in cash. Con Contact 

�95921203. 

�95921203 

4 BEDROOM 

deluxe villa, MSQ, 2 

bedroom flat at Walja 

�24815404. 

A FLAT, 3-bedroom in 

Al Amerat, Al Mehji5. 

�99453027. 

2 BEDROOMS + hall 

+ sitting room in Al 

Hail South — RO 300 

monthly. Contact 

�99373300. 

OFFICE, shop space 

in central Ruwi 

�24704994. 

LUXURIOUS villa, 

suitable for embassy, 

headquarters of 

major commercial 

establishments, hospital, 

near Grand Hyatt Hotel 

�24704994. 

FLATS in Mumtaz, 1 

bedroom, 2 bedrooms. 

�99341138/ 98004689. 

A 

SHARING 

accommodation 

accommodatio 

furnished, f i h d iin RRuwi. 

Contact �24796250. 

U 

CCOM AVA AVAILABLE 

MRAH/HAJ 

MRAH/HA 

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. 

FLAT FOR RENT 

2 bedroom flat 

with twin bath, 

kitchen & Split AC 

at Hay Al Rahbah, 

Madinat Qaboos. 

Contact: 

99348568 

OMAN DAILY Observer � WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2011 

ITUATION VACANT 

AL Majad j d pri private i school 

is a bilingual 

looking for 

a number of te teachers at 

the following specialities. 

Arabic language 

teachers (first phase), 

English language 

teachers, Maths 

and science, Social 

Studies, Sports, Music, 

Information Technology 

& Bus drivers. The 

applicants should have at 

least 3 years experience 

please contact us on 

�98989443/ 92532928. 

A LEADING 

establishment at Real 

Estate field located at 

Ruwi is looking for 

Executive Director 

qualified with experience 

in development, 

evaluation and buildings 

management, familiar 

with computer technology. 

Send your CV to Fax: 

24702533.gccrs@omantel. 

net 

A LEADING company 

in kitchens marketing 

field, located at Al Ghubra 

North is looking for: A 

female employee at the 

kitchens showroom, 

applicant should have 

experience in the same 

field, High secondary 

certificate, fluent in 

English and familiar with 

computer technology. 

Send your CV to Fax: 

24702533. gccrs@ 

omantel.net 

QUALIFIED and 

experienced CA/MBA/ 

PG/Engineers/Architects 

wanted for Senior/Junior 

consulting partners 

positions. Candidates with 

hands on local experience 

in project consulting 

feasibility, financing, 

IT, training, investment 

advisory, financial and 

risk management with 

entrepreneurial drive 

and ability may apply to: 

jvoman75@yahoo.com. 

REQUIRED Sales 

manager and salesman 

with experience for 

furniture company. E-mail 

your CV to 

ali.khayal@yahoo.com 

A LEADING Corrugated 

box Manufacturing 

company in Rusayl-Oman 

requires. Packaging 

Machine Operators/ 

workers. Preferably ITI 

in Electrical/Mechanical/ 

Packaging technology 

with relevant experience. 

Send CV to: info@ 

omanipackaging.com or 

Fax: 24446654. 

CLASSIFIED SECTION: 

S 

WANTED for a food 

manufacturing company 

based in Rusayl an 

experienced Omani 

Labour Supervisor 

capable of handling 

workers of different 

nationalities and 

categories. Candidate 

should be capable of 

communicating well in 

both English and Arabic 

and should be prepared 

to work in day and 

night shifts. Interested 

candidates who fulfil these 

requirements are requested 

to send their CV’s to Fax: 

No. 24448099 or E-mail: 

mail@avod.com.om 

URGENTLY required 

a PDO approved Male 

Nurse & driver with 

PDO licence to work in a 

construction camp clinic 

for a PDO project based 

at Qarn Alam. Contact 

�97093108/ 99174186. 

�A/C technician with 

three (3) years experience 

�Electronic Technician 

with three (3) to five 

(5) years experience �3 

Tonnes Tipper driver, 

�Pick-up driver. Send yr 

CV to Fax No. 24485694/ 

Tel: 24485794. E-mailadd 

: amrounig@omantel. 

net.om 

OFFICE Administrator 

with accounts 

background required for 

well established 

company in Muscat. 

Qualified persons may 

contact: 

jmj1946@eim.ae 

w 

L 

ANTED 

EXPATRIATE driver 

wanted to work for a 

family must have driving 

licence. �99332230. 

AN international 

construction company 

operating in Oman 

is looking out for 

commercial residential 

plot of 25,000 sq m 

on long term rental 

basis to set up labour 

camp/stores/P&M 

yard between Burg Al 

Sahwa Clock Tower and 

Al Naseem Roundabouts. 

The plot must have 

prior approvals from 

Municipality/Ministry 

of Housing for labour 

camp set-up. Interested 

parties may please 

contact on mobile: 

98006655/99356626. 

OST 

MHEMOOD Ali Kazi 

has lost Indian Passport 

No. F-5821014. Finder 

please handover to ROP. 

Sulaiman Awlad Thani: 95181747 

Ali al Maashari: 99639264 

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

S 

14 

Available on very GOOD prices 

HP DJ1000 InkJet Printer 

RO 12.500 only 

ERVICES 

SERVICES 

SHIFTING, buy and 

sale of used furniture. 

�99320402. 

HP F1050 3 in 1 Printer 


HP OJ3680 5 in 1 Printer 


Samsung ML 1660 Laser Printer 


AII HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Samsung 

Cartridges also available. 

SHAMS Al Sharqiya 

Trad & Cont (Asso). 

Pest control, Snake 

control, Pre & post 

termite treatment, 

Thermal fogging, 

Rodent control, 

Cleaning services. 

�93229726/ 

93353436. E-mail: sst. 

oman@yahoo.com 

CARPET, sofa 

shampooing, 

GUARANTEED 

CLEANING 

�24793614/ 99314807 

NEW and old house 

cleaning and floor 

polishing, carpet, 

sofa shampooing, 

maintenance, shifting. 

�96642500. 

MARBLE 

CRYSTALLISATION, 

restore the original shine 

of your marble 

�24792998/99314807. 

MARBLE polishing and 

crystallisation building, 

cleaning floor, floor 

polishing, carpet, sofa 

shampooing, pest 

control, anti-termite, 

shifting, maintenance. 

�99504275. 

MAINTENANCE: 

1. AC, Fridge & 

Washing Machine 

Servicing & Repairing. 

2. Painting, Plumbing, 

Electrical & Carpentry 

Works. �97014234, 

24504281. 

G 

UEST HOUSE HO 

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. 

GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! 

COMPUTER SUPPLIES 

Ruwi: 24 792-792 

Sohar: 2684 2420 

GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! 

P.C.O. (PEST 

CONTROL OMAN 

CO. LLC) 

Professionals who 

specialise in all types 

of Pest Control 

Services & Snake 

control and 

Guaranteed Termite 

Control. Also 

available Gel 

treatment for 

Cockroaches. 

Suppliers of UK 

Pesticides Chemicals, 

Snake Repellent, 

Cockroach Gels and 

Peripel treated 

Mosquito Nets. 

�24787606, 

24787503, 

Fax: 24787607. 

TRANSFER and 

installation of 

furniture with 

packaging. 

�92118538 

G 

OOD NEWS NEW 

FREE FRE 

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 

DIRECT: 24649594 - FAX : 24649590 

e-mail: classified@omandaily.om 

AFAQ WADI AL-MA’AWIL LLC 

�CRANE (35 - 80 Ton) 

�DOZER 

�LOAD/ALL 

�GRADER 

�EXCAVATOR 

�BACK HOE/LOADER 

�FUEL TANKER 

�SEWAGE TANKER 

�WATER TANKER 

CONTACT: 99310448 /99333506 /24505994 

FAX: 24504023. E-mail: afaqwadi@yahoo.com 

D 

RIVING SSCHOOL 

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

MORNING STAR 

DRIVING SCHOOL S 

— 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 

F 

A 

OR SALE 

1,570 M/SQ commercial/ 

residential land (hotel) at 

Ruwi, next to Ministry 

of Sports Affairs behind 

Oman oil station, direct 

from the owner. Contact 

�92340989. 

SCANIA Lorry (Head 

and Trailer) (Dump 

Truck). Model 2009, in 

an excellent condition 

with a contract. Contact 

�92066664. 

FOR sale plant for 

making cement block or 

interlock Bosch Rexroth 

brand with fix central 

press, central mixer, 70 

tonne silo, sand crushed 

rock store house, many 

conveyors. with all 

equipment. RO 100,000 

price negotiable 

�95514690. 

SHOP for sale in Ruwi 

with good decoration. 

�95623600. 

INDUSTRIAL land 

1,400 sq m in Madam Al 

Roudha, Dubai. 

� 99323957, 

95490842. 

PORTACABINS, Toyota 

Dyna, 3 tonne pick-up, 

used shuttering plywood, 

timber, water storage 

tank, 600/1,000 gallons. 

Contact �24597725, 

99035563 

NEW & refurbished 

PORTA-CABINS. 

Srinivas �99460340. 

NNOUNCEMENT 

NNOUNC 

AYURVEDIC 

treatment, Yoga 

massage & 

slimming. Contact 

92504980/98354760/ 

24475280/ 24698564. 

www.drsajjay.com 

CLASSIFIEDS 

Continued on P-15 

F 

O 

R 

H 

I 

R 

E 

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

Mini-submarines to 

gauge lake pollution 

GENEVA — Two mini-submarines 

that have filmed 

the wreckage of the doomed 

luxury cruise liner Titanic 

will dive into Lake Geneva 

to gauge its pollution levels, 

Swiss researchers said yesterday. 

Lionel Pousaz, spokesman 

for the Federal Polytechnic 

of Lausanne, said 

that final trials by submarines 

Mir 1 and Mir 2 were 

carried out at the lake yesterday 

and that the threemonth-long 

exploration 

would begin today. 

The two submarines 

have plumbed depths of 

more than 4,000 metres at 

the bottom of the Arctic 

Ocean, and were also used 

to film the wreckage of the 

ill-fated Titanic and the Bismarck 

battleship. 

The exploration of 

Lake Geneva, lying 

between France and Switzerland 

with a surface 

S 

MALE, having more 

than 10 yrs experience in 

Muscat. Sales/ marketing 

& Administration. 

(Consumer, FMCG, 

hospital & hospitality, 

Travel & tourism) working 

in a reputed firm in Muscat 

as a manager, looking for a 

suitable position. Contact 

�98028095 e-mail: 

kumar.pradeep.pdp@ 

gmail.com 

INDIAN male, 31 years, 

B.Com with 7 years 

accounts experience, 

seeks suitable placement 

� 93394969. 

SRI Lankan female 

with 10 yrs experience 

(including Oman) in 

admin/secretarial with 

sound knowledge of 

accounting. Looking 

for suitable replacement 

visa required. Contact 

�96352194. 

ORACLE Certified 

Developer/Administrator, 

B.Tech (Computer 

Science), 10g Certified 

Database Administrator, 

PL, SQL Developer, 

SQL Expert, with 2 yrs. 

experience in Oman as 

System Engineer, valid 

Omani D/L. Contact 

�98253725/ 99666547. 

SRI Lankan Higher 

Diploma Engineer 

(civil) more than 17 yrs 

experience in building 

Cons QS, site management 

& water project, seeks 

suitable placement. Contact 

(+968) 93013525, E-mail: 

munafffar@live.com 

INDIAN male 39, BA, 

MBA 16 yrs experience in 

import, export, logistics & 

fleet management exployed 

with an automobile group. 

Seeks placement in supply 

chain or related jobs. 

�98962891. 

INDIAN male B Com, 

on visit visa, having 

experience in accounts/ 

Admin/Logistics knows 

Tally, looking for a suitable 

placement. Contact 

�96434197. 

QUALIFIED Finance 

Manager with 10 years 

experience in contracting, 

manufacturing and Trading 

activities looking for an 

immediate placement. 

Contact 

�96341326. 

INDIAN male showroom 

incharge 4 yrs exp in Oman 

for consumer division & 

17 yrs exp confectionary 

products in India. Seeking 

job. Contact �99133255. 

15 

SPOTLIGHT/CLASSIFIEDS 


B-TECH degree in civil 

engineering Keralite, 

42, (male) 12 years in 

India, 3½ years in Oman, 

seeks part-time/full-time 

job in all civil works. 

�96914330. 

INDIAN male 23 yrs 

MBA (Finance) and 

B.Com graduate, excellent 

in accountancy and 2 

months experience in 

renowned organisation 

looking for suitable 

placement. Contact: 

�00968 92906797, mail: 

masternmj@gmail.com 

29 YRS Indian Female, 

BA IATA-Travel and 

tourism. MDCA having 

experience in multinational 

companies for the past 

ten years, looking for 

a suitable job. Contact 

�95097618. 

HYDROGEOLOGIST 

having long experience in 

Oman and valid driving 

licence, needs placement. 

Contact �95451104. 

E-mail: shuja54@hotmail. 

com. 

INDIAN female 21 yrs, 

B Com graduate with 

distinction, looking for 

some placement in finance. 

Contact �96395216. 

INDIAN male — AutoCad 

draughtsman. (Aluminium 

and Steel Fabrication) 4 

years experience in Oman. 

Seeks suitable placement. 

Contact �98997587. 

OMANI seeks a position 

in a leading company. 

Admin/HR & other 

Experiences. asaleel@ 

hotmail.com �96658377. 

MCOM, MBA financial 

management, completed 

oracle financial, having 

25 years experience in 

finance & accounts 19 

years Oman experience 

having valid Omani 

driving licence, can handle 

accounts independently 

up to finalisation seeks 

suitable placement. 

�98096644. 


ITUATION WANTED SITUATION WANTED SITUATION WANTED 

INDIAN male, MBA 

(MKTG) on visit 

visa, 13 yrs exp in 

MKTG/business 

administration with 

international D/L, 

good Training skills, 

seeks placement 

in marketing or 

administration or 

sales Training/ 

teaching. Contact 

� 99123105/ 

kkumarr2003@yahoo. 

com 

area of some 600 square 

kilometres, will focus on 

bacteria in the lake's sediments 

at a depth of more 

than 300 metres. 

“The bacteria are indicators 

of pollution” and will 

help the scientists measure 

the presence of toxic elements, 

Pousaz said. 

The mini-submarines, 

equipped with gauges capable 

of determining the 

density of molecules in the 

water, will also track micropollutants 

which may have 

escaped treatment plants. 

These elements are 

expected to be found in the 

lake's plankton and fish. 

In addition, scientists are 

planning to examine how 

water circulates in the lake 

by taking temperatures of 

different layers. 

“A drop of water can 

take up to 12 years to cross 

the lake,” Pousaz noted. 

— AFP 

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 

First mother-daughter womb 

transplant likely next year VIENNA 

STOCKHOLM — The world’s 

first mother-daughter uterus 

transplant could take place next 

year in Sweden, the head of an 

international research team in 

the western Swedish city of 

Gothenburg said yesterday. 

“We have reached a stage 

where we have started to plan 

for a human transplant and 

we are investigating 10 pairs, 

most of those are mother and 

daughters,” Mats Braenstroem 

said, adding the first of such 

transplants could take place 

“hopefully at the beginning of 

next year.” 

He added that transplanting 

a womb from a woman to 

her daughter would be a world 

first, although a uterus transplant 

between two unrelated 

women took place in 2002. 

His international team of 

doctors at the Sahlgrenska 

University Hospital has been 

researching the subject for a 

decade and has tested it on animals, 

he said, explaining there 

were no particular complications 

in transplanting a womb 

from mother to daughter. 

“There can just be an advantage 

because they are more 

similar in their tissues so there 

could be less rejection in that 

situation,” he said. 

One of the pairs undergoing 

the physical and psychological 

tests required ahead of a possible 

procedure were quoted 

in Swedish media yesterday as 

saying they were grateful to be 

part of the project. 

“I have been given an opportunity 

I did not think was 

possible,” a 25-year-old woman 

born without a uterus told 

tabloid Expressen. 

“I have always loved children. 

Over the past five years 

I have felt intense sorrow over 

not being able to have children 

of my own,” she told its 

competitor Aftonbladet. The 

woman could receive a uterus 

from her 56-year-old mother, 

who said she no longer had any 

use for the organ and that it felt 

natural to do everything she 

could to help her daughter. 

“I think all parents do what 

they can to help their children 

if it feels right,” she told Aftonbladet. 

The daughter insisted receiving 

the womb she herself 

emerged from was not a cause 

for concern. 

“It’s an organ just like any 

other and it has no genetic significance. 

I work as a biology 

teacher and I don’t think its 

strange,” she told Expressen. 

The world’s first uterus 

transplant took place in 2002 

when doctors in Saudi Arabia 

transplanted the womb of a 46year-old 

woman to a 26-yearold. 

Although blood clots forced 

MALE, 8 years 

experience in sales and 

marketing in India and 

Oman, seeks managerial 

position in reputed firms, 

having valid Omani 

driving licence. Contact: 

�97717049. 

INDIAN, BE (Civil), 

currently working as 

senior Manager in a 

construction firm, having 

20 years experience in 

Oman, seeks suitable 

placement. Contact 

�98741390. 

INDIAN driver with own 

car looking for trip basis 

or daily basis job. Contact 

�92581644. 

GENERAL Manager 20 

years in Oman. Engineer, 

experience in Business 

Development, Trading, 

Sales/Marketing, Real 

Estate, building materials, 

construction machinery, 

home appliances. 

�93451106. 

SRI Lankan male over 10 

years experience in sales 

and marketing on visit 

visa. Contact �92903098/ 

98540764. 

QUALIFIED and seven 

years experienced sales 

executive with local and 

interior markets with valid 

Omani driving licence 

seeking for suitable 

placement. �96416273. 

the doctors to remove the transplanted 

organ after 14 weeks, 

they claimed technical success 

in the procedure. 

Braenstroem said such complications 

would be less likely 

in the Swedish transplants. 

“We have optimised the 

technique in our animal models 

for such a long time. The 

earlier team didn’t have any 

experience at all in animal 

models before. They did it in 

humans right away,” he explained. 

In 2007, scientists planned 

the first uterus transplant in 

the United States, but the procedure 

never went beyond the 

screening stage. 

“The research front has 

moved forward since 2007 

and especially our group has 

taken big steps forward in this 

research, so that’s why we 

think we are ready to do this,” 

Braenstroem said. — AFP 

INDIAN female 32 yrs, 

postgraduate MBA M.Phil 

(HR & Systems) having 

5 yrs teaching experience 

in India looking for 

immediate placement in 

colleges (presently on 

family visa). Contact 

�93237988. 

YOUNG Indian male, 

B Com graduate with 2 

years experience, excellent 

knowledge in accounting 

packages of MS Office, 

seeks suitable placement. 

Contact �95408235/ 

e-mail: nawazkhan2121@ 

gmail.com. 

INDIAN male, B.Com, 

MBA with multifunctional 

experience of 15 years, 

presently working in 

Muscat as operations 

manager is looking for 

placement, can manage 

units independently. 

Contact: 

� 98260282. 

INDIAN male, 22 yrs, 

Bachelor of Engineering 

(BE) in Electronics & Communications, 

2 yrs Indian 

experience as Network Telecommunication 

& Automation 

Engineer. Good 

knowledge on hand for 

MCSE, CCNA, CCNP & 

CISCO certified. Seeking 

suitable placement as instrumentation 

BMS ELV Engineer 

or Telecommunication 

Engineer. 

Presently on visit visa. 

�97113052. Email: mannan_fru@yahoo.co.in 

B TECH Electrical 

engineer seeking suitable 

job. �94005950. 

CLASSIFIED SECTION 

RUWI: � 24785668 

Behind Royal 

Oman Police 

Adjacent to 

Dhofar Building 

ZAJEL weekly magazine evry saturday along with �OMAN DAILY � 

for advertising contact � 

Mobile � 96224397 � 95181747 

Tel �24649593 Fax �24649590 Email � zajeloman@yahoo�com 

Austria halts sale of 

two mountain peaks 

— Austria put 

the sale of two Alpine 

peaks on hold yesterday 

after politicians 

protested the move, the 

country's real estate administration 

agency confirmed. 

The agency has 

been offering the Grosser 

Kinigat and Rosskopf 

mountains in Tyrol for 

a total of 121,000 euros 

($176,000). 

“Privatising mountain 

peaks does not make 

sense,” Economy Minister 

Reinhold Mitterlehner 


He proposed that the 

mountains, each around 

2,600 metres tall, should 

be transferred to a public 

entity, such as Tyrol 

province. 

The provincial governor 

blasted the real estate 

agency over the project. 

“This embarrassing dis- 

MALE B.Com, 17 years 

of dynamic experience in 

sales & marketing, logistics 

having valid Omani D/L. 

� 93540968. 

ACCOUNTANT, Indian, 

having 7 years experience 

seeks suitable placement. 

Contact �96952945. 

INDIAN female software 

engineer with S/W testing 

knowledge and proficiency 

in technical support with 

IBM experience. Seeks 

suitable placement. Contact 

�99814320 

INDIAN male, BCA 

graduate with MCSF & 

CCNA courses and 

2 years experience in US 

based web hosting company 

in India, seeks suitable 

placement. 

� 92758127 

INDIAN male 29 yrs well- 

experienced civil engineer, 

knowledge of AutoCad 

having 3 yrs exp in 

Oman and 7 yrs in India 

with Oman D/L seeks 

suitable placement. 

�95732238. 

INDIAN female software 

engineer with S/W testing 

knowledge and proficiency 

in technical support with 

IBM experience. 

Seeks suitable placement. 

Contact �99814320 

e-mail: romy_reynold@ 

yahoo.co.in 

cussion hurts Tyrol as 

a tourism destination,” 

Guenther Platter was 

quoted as saying by the 

daily Tiroler Tageszeitung. 

The Alps are one of the 

most important assets 

of Austria’s tourism and 

leisure industry, which 

accounts for 15 per cent 

of the country's gross 

domestic product. 

German software firm 

Ashampoo confirmed 

media reports that it 

wants to take up the offer, 

in exchange for renaming 

the peaks Ashampoo 

I and Ashampoo II. 

“We are not giving up 

yet,” chief executive 

Rolf Hilchner said, adding 

that his firm would 

donate the real estate to 

the village of Kartitsch 

near the mountains, in 

exchange for the naming 

rights. — dpa 

INDIAN male 25 

yrs, BBA & MBA 

(regular), having 

experience of 2½ 

years, presently on 

visiting visa, seeks 

opportunity in 

HR/admin/mktg. 

Contact �00968- 

92576038, 99889450. 

INDIAN (Kerala) male, 

30 years, accountant, 

over 10 years experience 

in New Delhi, good 

knowledge in Tally, SAP, 

web soft, MS Office, 

HTML & LAN, looking 

for suitable opening in 

Oman . �97268429. 

vinodthomas@gmail.com 

WELL qualified finance 

manager with 13 years 

experience (8 yrs in 

Oman), seeks suitable 

managerial position. 

Contact �92578435. 

INDIAN male, graduate, 

having 6 years 

experience in inventor 

section in leading hypermarkets, 

having valid 

Oman driving licence, 

looking for suitable 

placement �95356820. 

CHARTERED 

Accountant having 

19 years experience, 

including 11 years in 

GCC, looking for a 

suitable position. Contact 

�95215241. 

QUALIFIED Finance 

Manger with almost 

10 years experience 

in contracting, 

manufacturing and 

trading companies 

looking for an 

immediate placement. 

Contact: � 96341326. 

ACCOUNTANT, 

Indian (M), 15 years 

exp in finance/accounts 

(finalisation/Admin/ 

HR in India, UAE, 

Africa, Oman (currently) 

in contracting/ 

manufacturing/ 

consultancy, seeks 

placement. 

�97655759.

NEWS IN BRIEF 

Apex court wants panel 

to vet TN school books 

THE Supreme Court yesterday directed 

an experts committee to be set up to look 

into the content of textbooks published 

by the Tamil Nadu government for 

schools. The apex court bench of Justice 

B S Chauhan and Justice Swatanter 

Kumar said a committee of eight experts, 

to be headed by state chief secretary, will 

go into the content of the textbooks and 

invite objections. 

After the AIADMK came to power in 

this year's state assembly elections, the 

new state government decided to put off 

the introduction of the new textbooks, 

ordered to be prepared and published 

by the previous DMK government. This 

decision of the AIADMK government 

was stayed by the Madras High Court, 

following which the government moved 

the apex court. 

Community groups meet 

for Aids control in north 

COMMUNITY-based organisations from 

the north Indian states began a two-day 

consultation in New Delhi yesterday to 

discuss suggestions for the fourth phase 

of the National Aids Control Programme 

(NACP). NACP Phase IV will define 

the national policy for HIV/Aids control 

over the next five years. Organisations 

from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, 

Himachal Pradesh and Haryana are 

taking part in the ongoing discussions. 

“The inputs of community groups 

into the design of the programme will 

develop timely understanding of the 

complex socio-cultural ground realities 

related to HIV/Aids in the northern 

region,” said Sunil Mehra, director 

of NGO Mamta. “The aim is to bring 

out challenges and provide inputs to 

NACP to fill the gaps and strengthen the 

process,” he added. 

Unicef film to help check 

malnutrition in MP 

MADHYA Pradesh plans to spread 

awareness about malnutrition — which 

affects 60 out of 100 children in the 

state — in co-operation with Unicef, 

an official said yesterday. The woman 

and child development department has 

chalked out a special action plan to check 

malnutrition in the state. Under this, an 

animation film produced by Unicef that 

aims at reducing malnutrition levels and 

focuses on hygiene and the use of clean 

water will be screened across the state 

from today, the official said. 

According to the 2010 report of the 

National Rural Health Mission, which 

works under the central ministry of 

health and family welfare, malnutrition 

among children is the most prevalent in 

Madhya Pradesh. The national average 

is 42 out of 100. The film, titled Three 

Wishes of Meena, will be screened at 

selected venues of every project area. 

Each venue will cover 25 villages, 

anganwadi centres and the selected 

venues will be in the areas most affected 

by malnutrition. After the screening, a 

co-ordinator will discuss hygiene, use of 

clean water and checking of malnutrition. 

Delhi cabinet clears bill to 

split Municipal Corporation 

THE Delhi cabinet yesterday cleared a 

bill envisaging splitting the Municipal 

Corporation of Delhi (MCD) into three 

smaller units, Chief Minister Sheila 

Dikshit said. “The cabinet has cleared 

the decision to split the civic body. We 

will be submitting the detailed report to 

the home ministry tomorrow (today) for 

approval,” she told reporters after the 

meeting. 

Dikshit described the split as a step 

forward in the direction of efficient and 

responsive municipal administration in 

the national capital. 

“The decision to split the MCD was 

to ensure its smooth functioning. This 

set-up will streamline the delivery of 

services by the municipal bodies more 

efficiently,” she said. The MCD is the 

largest civic agency in India and the 

second biggest in Asia, after the Tokyo 

local agency, in terms of geographical 

area, according to its spokesman. The 

civic agency handles 96 per cent of 

Delhi’s land area and provides services to 

98 per cent of its population. 

Postal department opens 

counter at Fabindia store 

THE department of posts yesterday 

partnered with Fabindia, a retail chain 

of craft-based products, to open postal 

retail extension counter at the company’s 

flagship store in south Delhi, an official 

said. 

The postal counter at Fabindia’s store 

in Greater Kailash-I market in New Delhi 

would allow customers to buy, pack and 

dispatch Fabindia products across the 

country as well as abroad. 

Till now, such a facility was available 

at Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan, where the 

much coveted Cottage Emporium is 

housed. Here customers availed Speed 

Post services and registered parcel 

booking within the premises of the 

shopping complex. 

The department’s tie-up with Fabindia 

is the first initiative of India Post at 

business link with a private player. 

16 INDIA 



PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh with his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor after Pahor reviewed an 

honour guard during his ceremonial reception at the presidential palace in New Delhi yesterday. — Reuters 

DEHRADUN/NEW DELHI — The 

death of a 34-year-old ascetic, Swami 

Nigamananda, after fasting for over two- 

and-a-half months to save the Ganga 

from pollution became fodder for the 

Congress to hit out at the BJP, saying the 

opposition party should have supported 

his cause instead of the "high flying" 

Baba Ramdev. 

Nigamananda died on Monday at the 

Himalayan Institute in Dehradun, where 

coincidentally Ramdev was also admitted 

after his health deteriorated on the 

seventh day of his fast against corruption. 

Ramdev was discharged yesterday. 

"The saint (Nigamananda) was fasting 

for the Ganga since the last many days. 

He laid down his life for the Ganga. I 

pay my tribute to Swami Nigamananda," 

Ramdev told reporters. 

In New Delhi, Congress general secretary 

Digvijay Singh, taking pot shots at 

the BJP, said Nigamananda was fasting 

for more than 100 days and there was no 

reaction "whatsoever" to his campaign 

from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Ut- 

Police get cracking in 

scribe murder case 

MUMBAI — Under pressure 

from the government and media 

organisations, the Mumbai 

police got cracking on the 

investigations into journalist 

Jyotirmoy Dey's murder, 

transferring an assistant commissioner 

of police (ACP) 

suspected of threatening the 

scribe, police said yesterday. 

ACP Anil Mahabole, the 

in-charge of the Azad Maidan 

division of south Mumbai, was 

abruptly shunted late on Monday 

to an insignificant post in 

the local arms constabulary in 

Naigaon, an officer said. 

Mahabole already has several 

pending inquiries against 

him and has been under a cloud 

for threatening another Mumbai 

journalist, T K Dwivedi, a 

colleague of Dey. 

"A few weeks ago, when 

I was arrested in connec- 

tarakhand government. 

"Here is a high-flying swami Ramdev 

who is on a money making spree, raising 

issues which he does not understand, 

raising issues which he does not comprehend 

and gone on a hunger strike,... and 

you have leader of opposition, and the 

chief minister visiting there," he said. 

Singh was referring to senior BJP 

leader Sushma Swaraj and Uttarakhand 

Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal's visit 

to Ramdev when he was on his fast at his 

ashram in Haridwar. 

tion with an Official Secrets 

Acts case, Mahabole came 

and threatened me inside the 

Government Railway Police 

lock-up room. I have lodged 

a separate complaint in this 

regard and the matter is being 

investigated," Dwivedi, who 

goes by the alias of 'Akela', 


Two weeks before Dey was 

killed, Mahabole had spoken 

to him, but Dey did not reveal 

the nature of the conversation, 

he added. 

Dey was allegedly threatened 

by Mahabole a few years 

ago when he had named him 

as one of the Mumbai police 

officers having connections 

with an underworld mafia 

don’s gang. 

Mumbai police on Monday 

also released a sketch of 

one of the four suspected kill- 

Cong slams BJP for not backing fasting ascetic who died 

Pranab remarks criticised 

NEW DELHI — A day after 

the Congress slammed civil 

society campaigners as "unelected 

tyrants", veteran Gandhian 

Anna Hazare yesterday 

said people were the masters 

of the country having all the 

rights to question their servants 

over their functioning. 

Talking to reporters here, 

Anna Hazare said the value 

of parliament could not be 

denied but people must be 

consulted before taking decisions. 

"Parliament is a big thing, 

but bigger than parliament 

at the centre is the state assembly, 

and bigger than that 

is the panchayat in villages, 

they don't realise this," Anna 

Hazare said. 

He was reacting to Finance 

Minister Pranab 

Mukherjee saying in Kolkata 

on Sunday that civil society 

members had no right to dictate 

terms to parliament on 

Norka minister to visit Gulf countries 

By Ashraf Padanna 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — 

The Non-resident Keralite Affairs 

(NORKA) Minister K C Joseph 

will visit the Gulf countries to meet 

Malayalee groups and seek their 

advice on improving the functioning 

of various schemes under his 

department. 

"It's not immediately possible 

to travel abroad since the state Assembly 

is holding its budget session 

from June 23. We will finalise 

the itinerary later," said Joseph, 

who is also the minister for planning, 

rural development, culture, 

animal husbandry and information 

and public relations. 

Addressing a news conference 

yesterday, he said a multi-storeyed 

THIRUVANANTHAPU- 

RAM — Kerala will promote 

newer industries like IT, biotechnology 

and tourism, new 

state Industry Minister P K 

Kunhalikutty said yesterday. 

"Given the scheme of 

things that prevails here, 

manufacturing sector may not 

be that successful because of 

various factors and hence it 

would be better if we concentrate 

on newer areas. One 

thing is very clear that we will 

have clear-cut policies for all 

what we will do and there will 

be no policy on a case by case 

basis," said Kunhalikutty, addressing 

the media here for 

the first time after becoming 

Industries Minister for the 

third time. 

The state has slipped badly 

from one of the top positions 

when to pass the anti-corruption 

Lokpal bill. Hazare has 

threatened to launch another 

indefinite hunger strike if the 

Lokpal bill is not passed by 

August 15. 

"On 26th January 1950, 

masses became the masters 

of this country... masters 

will question their servants 

if the servants do something 

wrong," he said. 

"Whatever decision has to 

be taken for the good of the 

country, they must take the 

view of people in account," 

he said. 

Asked about the allegation 

of his supporting the 

Bharatiya Janata Party, Anna 

Hazare denied being in favour 

of any party. 

"I have never supported 

any partisan party... some 

have done graduation in 

corruption, some have done 

PhD, that is the difference," 

he said. — IANS 

building complex called Norka 

Centre is being constructed near 

the Government Guest House in 

the state capital to bring all its offices 

under one roof. The complex 

will be inaugurated within 100 

days. 

The building will also house the 

NRI Business Centre and a 24x7 

call centre to help Keralite expatriates 

across the world. Rehabilitation 

of returning expatriates with 

the federal assistance would be 

one of his ministry's priorities. 

He said the evacuation of expatriates 

from war-torn Yemen was 

in progress and the federal government 

was bearing all expenses for 

their return including the airfare. 

Unveiling his 100-day agenda, 

he said Planning Commission 

had agreed to change norms for 

schemes to be implemented under 

Bharat Nirman, the federal plan for 

developing basic rural infrastructure, 

incorporating state-specific 

guidelines. 

"Our efforts are to tap the benefits 

of such projects in which the 

previous government miserably 

failed. For instance, we received 

Rs 4.89 billion for building rural 

roads while Tamil Nadu received 

Rs 2.5 billion and Karnataka Rs 

3.2 billion. 

"Currently, there are 51 roads 

being constructed under the Pradhan 

Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana 

and we will complete them in 100 

days and take up district-wise road 

networks comprising 258 roads to 

be developed," he said. 

Integrated water management 

scheme would be launched in 30 

Stress on more newer industries 

in the country in 2006 to the 

16th position in 2009 according 

to a recent study of the 

World Bank, he said. 

"Lots of opportunities were 

lost especially in the IT sector 

because of the inordinate 

delay in the proposed Smart 

City IT Project at Kochi by 

the previous Left government. 

We are nowhere in the list of 

IT development with a meagre 

turnover as compared to other 

states," he said. 

Kunhalikutty confirmed 

that he would be meeting with 

Smart City Dubai officials on 

June 23, who are to build the 

Rs 1,500 crore Smart City Kochi, 

a planned IT township in 

Kochi. 

As one of the first steps in 

this regard, he has asked for 

a complete review of all the 

blocks and works on 1,500 houses 

under the Indira Aawaz Yojana will 

be completed and the keys handed 

over to the homeless beneficiaries 

in 100 days. 

The government hopes to build 

another 10,000 houses under this 

scheme this year. 

"The federal government has 

earmarked billions of rupees for 

rural development but Kerala is the 

only state that utilised these funds 

the least," he said listing out a host 

of projects to be taken up during 

the first 100 days of the Congress 

party-led government that took 

over late last month. 

Development of hill highways, 

establishment of a hill area development 

authority and formation of 

hill area taluks are some of the priorities 

of the government. 

Singh also slammed spiritual leaders 

who met and urged Ramdev to break his 

fast. Ramdev broke his fast on Sunday 

at the request of spiritual and religious 

leaders, including Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

and Morari Bapu. 

"Swamis all over were reaching there 

and making him break his fast. I think 

this is what the BJP is, they say something 

and do something," he said, adding 

that the BJP should have supported Nigamananda 

"which they have not done because 

of which he had to die". — IANS 

A GOVERNMENT staff is detained during a protest against back wages in Srinagar yesterday. — Reuters 

state public sector enterprises. 

"The review would be 

done very fast and during the 

review one aspect that would 

be looked into is the backdoor 

appointments made during the 

fag end of the previous Left 

government in these PSUs," 

he said. 

Kerala may also undertake 

another Global Investors Meet 

as a similar meet was held 

by the previous Congressled 

United Democratic Front 

(2001-06), he added. 

"This is a policy decision 

and hence I alone can't make 

an announcement to this effect 

and very soon one can 

hear about what we intend to 

do," said Kunhalikutty, while 

pointing out that the governor's 

address is expected to 

take place later this month. 

KOLKATA — Amid walkout 

by the opposition Left Front 

lawmakers, the West Bengal 

assembly yesterday passed a 

bill to return a portion of the 

land acquired by the erstwhile 

government from "unwilling 

owners" for setting up the now 

abandoned Tata Motors small 

car factory in Singur. 

The Singur Land Rehabilitation 

and Development Bill, 

2011 was passed by voice vote 

amid thumping of desks by jubilant 

treasury bench members 

after the legislation was placed 

in the House by Commerce 

and Industries Minister Partha 

Chatterjee. 

The bill seeks to scrap the 

997.17-acre land lease with 

Tata Motors, enabling the gov- 

ers who pumped bullets into 

Dey on Saturday. The sketch, 

prepared following inputs of 

eyewitnesses, described the 

suspect as a youth aged between 

20-25 years, dark complexioned, 

5.5 feet tall and of 

medium build. 

Over 500 journalists of 

various print and electronic 

media organisations and associations, 

including the Press 

Club, Mumbai Marathi Patrakar 

Sangh, Mumbai Crime 

Reporters' Association and 

TV Journalists Association, 

on Monday took out a protest 

march to Mantralaya, the state 

secretariat. 

The journalists had met 

Maharashtra Chief Minister 

Prithviraj Chavan, who rejected 

a Central Bureau of Investigation 

(CBI) probe into Dey's 

killing. — IANS 

Ramdev says 

campaign 

will continue 

HARIDWAR — Yoga guru 

Baba Ramdev was back 

here yesterday after being 

discharged from a Dehradun 

hospital. He said his campaign 

against corruption will 

continue and the "sacrifices" 

made by his followers will 

not go in vain. 

"The cruelty and barbarity 

on people committed on 

the night of June 4 will not 

be wasted," Ramdev told 

reporters after being discharged 

from the Himalayan 

Institute of Medical Sciences, 

Jolly Grant, in Uttarakhand 

capital Dehradun. 

He reached Haridwar 

around 2 pm with a crowd of 

thousands cheering at his Patanjali 

Yogpeeth Ashram. 

Speaking to reporters 

after being discharged, the 

yoga guru expressed concern 

for Rajbala, the Gurgaon resident 

critically injured during 

the post-midnight police raid 

on him and his supporters at 

Delhi's Ramlila Ground on 

June 4. 

He had started his fast that 

day to demand the recovery 

of black money stashed 

abroad by rich Indians. 

Ramdev also paid tributes 

to Swami Nigamananda, 

who died in the same hospital 

where the yoga guru was 

admitted. Ramdev said the 

people of India were with 

him. — IANS 

Singur bill passed 

ernment to take back the land to 

fulfil the Trinamool Congress's 

poll promise to return 400 acres 

to the farmers who were unwilling 

to sell their land. 

The Left Front members 

staged a walkout alleging that 

the government had misled the 

House, flouted constitutional 

norms and that the bill had several 

legal loopholes. The Trinamool 

Congress, decimated in 

the 2006 assembly polls, saw 

its political graph climb sharply 

after it spearheaded a peasant 

agitation against the state government's 

acquisition of land 

for the Nano small car project. 

Faced with the sustained 

and intense protests in 2008, 

Tata Motors shifted the plant to 

Sanand in Gujarat. — IANS 

A BEEKEEPER collects honey while standing on the rooftop of his house in Srinagar yesterday. — Reuters

17 INDIA 



Jaya fires salvo at Chidambaram, Maran 

NEW DELHI — Indicating she 

was in no hurry to embrace the 

Congress, Tamil Nadu Chief 

Minister J Jayalalithaa sprang a 

surprise in the capital yesterday 

by demanding Home Minister P 

Chidambaram’s resignation for 

fraudulently getting elected to the 

Lok Sabha two years ago. 

A poised AIADMK chief, who 

led her party to a thumping electoral 

win only a month ago, also 

asked Prime Minister Manmohan 

Singh to sack Textiles Minister 

Dayanidhi Maran on corruption 

charges. 

Addressing the media after 

calling on Prime Minister Manmohan 

Singh, Jayalalithaa turned 

her guns on Chidambaram, saying 

sternly: “He has played a fraud on 

the nation.” 

“He has not won the election. 

In fact he lost the election,” she 

said. 

Chidambaram had narrowly 

defeated the AIADMK in Tamil 

Nadu’s Sivaganga constituency 

in 2009. 

She said the data entry operator 

in the Sivaganga constituency 

transferred votes secured 

WELLINGTON — New 

Zealand’s television watchdog 

yesterday fined state 

broadcaster TVNZ over a 

host’s mockery of an Indian 

politician’s name, labelling 

it derogatory and discriminatory. 

Breakfast host Paul Henry 

ridiculed Delhi Chief Minister 

Sheila Dikshit’s name on 

air in the lead-up to October’s 

Commonwealth Games 

in her city and added “it’s so 

appropriate because she’s Indian”. 

Henry’s remarks provoked 

a furious response from the 

Indian government, which 

condemned them as “racist” 

and “unacceptable”, prompting 

the broadcaster’s eventual 

resignation. 

While TVNZ apologised 

to India over the controversy, 

the Broadcasting Standards 

by AIADMK’s Raja Kannappan 

to Chidambaram’s credit. Insisting 

his position in the cabinet 

was “untenable”, she added: “He 

should resign.” 

According to official data, 

Chidambaram won by a narrow 

margin of 3,354 votes. The result 

was declared after a lot of confusion 

and protests. 

The chief minister said her 

party candidate had filed a case in 

the court challenging Chidambaram’s 

victory. “There is no question 

of softening our stand. We 

will try to expedite the case.” 

A peeved Chidambaram hit 

back yesterday, saying Jayalalithaa 

had shown contempt of court. 

But Jayalalithaa appeared 

supremely confident. Clad in a 

magenta sari, diamond earrings 

in place, she was addressing her 

first press conference here in 

years. 

Her blazing two-day trip to 

Delhi was watched keenly to see 

if the politician, strengthened by 

her landslide victory in Tamil 

Nadu last month, would show 

any preference for the Congress 

in the coalition era. 

Broadcaster fined 

over minister slur 

Authority found its description 

of Henry’s comments 

as “inappropriate” was inadequate, 

saying there should 

have been prompt, unequivocal 

condemnation. 

The remarks were a personal 

attack on Dikshit and a 

slur on Indians in general that 

was “not only derogatory, but 

entirely dissonant with common 

decency”, the authority 

ruled. 

It fined TVNZ NZ$3,000 

($2,450) for breaching standards 

on discrimination and 

denigration. 

However, Henry was unrepentant, 

telling Fairfax Media 

yesterday: “New Zealand has 

a lot more to worry about than 

these insignificant rulings.” 

“Will it never end?” said 

the broadcaster, who has 

since taken a job with a rival 

network. — AFP 

She did not. Instead, she made 

it clear that since the Congress 

Decline in Maoist violence 

NEW DELHI — A surge in 

Maoist attacks in recent days 

notwithstanding, Home Minister 

P Chidambaram yesterday 

said the number of violent 

incidents in Left-wing insurgency-affected 

areas has actually 

come down as compared 

to the previous year. 

“Violent incidents have 

been reported. However, the 

number of incidents and the 

number of casualties is lower 

than in the corresponding period 

last year,” Chidambaram 

said. 

He was speaking to reporters 

here after a review meeting 

on the anti-Maoist operations 

in Orissa and Chhattisgarh 

with chief ministers of the two 

states -- Naveen Patnaik and 

Raman Singh respectively. 

Chidambaram backed his 

claim with facts. He said up to 

June 14 this year, there have 

been 811 incidents resulting 

in 270 deaths — 190 civilians 

and 80 security personnel. 

And last year up to June 

14, there were 1,025 violent 

incidents that left 473 people 

dead — 296 civilians and 177 

security forces. 

He said Chhattisgarh has 

reported 218 incidents with 

90 deaths, and Orissa has reported 

84 incidents with 26 

deaths. 

Maoist attacks in Chhattisgarh 

have surged in the past 

few weeks. They killed nine 

policemen in an ambush May 

23 along the Chhattisgarh- 

Orissa border in Raipur district. 

As many as 18 policemen 

have been killed in three attacks 

over three days since 

June 9. 

“Although the numbers are 

lower than last year, the level 

of violence is unacceptable. 

The central government has 

offered its full support to the 

two state governments to face 

the challenge of Left-wing 

extremism through the two- 

CHIEF Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalitha leaves after 

addressing the media following a meeting with Prime Minister 

Manmohan Singh in New Delhi yesterday. — AFP 

and DMK were allies in the central 

government, “it would not be 

Pirates free sailors held for 10 months 

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI — 

Six Indian sailors held captive by 

Somali pirates for 10 long months 

are finally free, thanks to a respected 

Pakistani rights activist, officials 

said yesterday. The families 

of the Indians offered their heartfelt 

thanks to the Pakistanis while 

denouncing Indian politicians for 

their alleged indifference. 

The six Indians, part of a 22member 

crew of Egyptian merchant 

vessel MV Suez, were released 

after ransom was paid for 

their freedom by the shipowners, 

the family members of the sailors 

said. MV Suez was hijacked by pirates 

on August 2, 2010. 

Pakistani activist Ansar Burney, 

who negotiated with the pirates 

and raised ransom money through 

donations, announced in Karachi 

that all the men had been freed. He 

said they would reach their homes 

in a few days. The ransom reportedly 

totalled $2.1 million. 

Apart from the 11 Egyptians, 

four Pakistanis and one Sri 

Lankan, the Indians include two 

from Haryana and one each from 

Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, 

Indian-administered Kashmir and 

Mumbai. Families of the Indian 

sailors thanked Burney — and the 

Pakistani authorities. 

“We are very thankful to Burney 

and Pakistan government for 

their help. They paid a ransom of 

$2.1 million to make this release 

possible. Burney was negotiating 

with the pirates for the last few 

months,” Sampa Arya, wife of one 

of the Indian hostages, said. 

Her husband Ravinder Gulia, 

30, is a resident of Haryana’s Rohtak 

town. 

“I have talked to my husband 

over the phone. He said they have 

been released and all of them are in 

good health. They will reach India 

in the next few days,” she added. 

Burney, a former Pakistani 

federal minister for human rights, 

heads the Ansar Burney Trust. 

Arya was very critical of the Indian 

government. 

“Burney raised funds with the 

help of the Pakistan government. 

Here, the Indian government let 

us down. We met many leaders but 

nobody helped. They said paying 

ransom is not the right way. I have 

lost my faith in Indian politicians,” 

she said. 

Said Rajender Gulia, her father-in-law: 

“Pakistan has helped 

us like an elder brother. We had 

lost all hopes as no Indian politician 

was ready to help us. Saving 

a human life was not important for 

them. Pakistan emerged as a saviour 

for us.” 

External Affairs Minister S M 

Krishna welcomed the release of 

the sailors but parried questions on 

the Pakistani involvement. 

“We are happy they have been 

released and the ship is now moving 

out,” Krishna told reporters in 

New Delhi. 

“Let us not get into a speculative 

analysis on who is behind it 

and who is provoking it.” 

A leading Pakistani politician 

pronged strategy of development 

and police action,” he 

said. 

He said Maoist groups continued 

to target civilians and 

kill them after branding them 

as police informers. “Of the 

190 civilians killed this year, 

72 were branded as police informers.” 

Chidambaram said Maoists 

were also targeting infrastructure 

and businesses. 

“This year, there were 13 

attacks on railway property, 

18 on telephone exchanges 

and towers were also attacked, 

four panchayat bhavans and 

12 school buildings were destroyed 

and 82 roads and culverts 

were also damaged,” the 

home minister said 78 dissidents 

were neutralised in 125 

gunbattles between security 

forces and Maoists. “Besides, 

883 extremists have been arrested, 

243 have surrendered 

and 315 arms have been recovered.” 

— IANS 

NEW DELHI — In an apparent 

snub, Lok Sabha Speaker 

Meira Kumar has returned 

the controversial report of 

the Murli Manohar Joshi-led 

Public Accounts Committee 

(PAC) on the 2G spectrum 

allocation that had criticised 

Prime Minister Manmohan 

Singh for his “indirect” role in 

the alleged telecom scam. 

Joshi, the Bharatiya Janata 

Party’s (BJP) senior leader, 

had gone ahead with the report 

and submitted it to the speaker 

though a majority of the panel 

members had rejected it. 

Meira Kumar has returned 

the report to Joshi, sources in 

the panel said. 

This would mean that the 

report would not be tabled in 

parliament now and Joshi has 

to re-submit it after getting it 

passed by the panel. 

The veteran BJP leader 

submitted the report to the 

speaker on April 30. 

The report was critical 

asked India to reciprocate the Pakistani 

gesture. 

“Pakistani organisations worked 

tirelessly to secure the release of 

the captive Indians as well, proving 

that Pakistan does not favour 

hostility but humanity,” Muttahida 

Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief 

Altaf Hussain said. 

“India must recognise this spirit 

and reciprocate with amity, not enmity,” 

Urdu daily Jang yesterday 

quoted him as saying. 

Hussain said his comments 

were addressed to the entire Indian 

leadership including Prime Minister 

Manmohan Singh and Congress 

chief Sonia Gandhi. 

The mistrust between India and 

Pakistan must be overcome for a 

new relationship of friendship, he 

said. 

The comments of the MQM 

chief, who lives in self-exile in 

London, came while he spoke 

on the phone to Sind Governor 

Ishratul Ibad and Burney in Karachi 

on Monday. — IANS 

appropriate to meet (Congress 

president) Sonia Gandhi”. 

Jayalalithaa said any question 

of the support she had offered to 

the Congress before the Tamil 

Nadu election “simply does not 

arise” today. 

In comments that will not 

please the Congress, which has 

taken an increasingly belligerent 

stand vis-a-vis civil society activists 

Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, 

she said “any Indian citizen 

has the democratic right to protest 

against corruption”. 

Speaking about her defeated 

archrival DMK with contempt, 

she said many more from the 

party were destined to go to jail 

for corruption. 

“The DMK is facing the heat 

today, the DMK supremo’s family 

is facing the heat today. Many 

of the DMK leaders and leading 

lights of the party are facing a 

slew of corruption cases. Some 

are in jail, many more are likely 

to go to jail.” 

Jayalalithaa was equally harsh 

on Maran, who has been accused 

in connection with the allocation 

of second generation spectrum 

Gandhi’s spectacles 

missing from museum 

NEW DELHI — A pair of 

round-rimmed glasses belonging 

to Mahatma Gandhi have 

gone missing from a museum 

in western India, news reports 


Managers of the Sevagram 

Ashram, Gandhi’s hermitage 

near Wardha in Maharashtra, 

said on Monday that the 

spectacles had disappeared in 

November, the Times of India 

daily reported. 

Ashram president Madhao 

Gadkari said the staff were 

asked to keep silent about the 

missing glasses as the ashram 

authorities conducted an internal 

investigation. 

The glasses were on display 

in the ashram’s museum 

along with personal items 

including a rosary, pen-stand 

and spinning wheel. 

Gadkari lodged a police 

complaint on Monday. He 

when he was the telecommunication 

minister in 2004-07. His successor, 

A Raja, is in prison, also 

over corruption charges. 

“Maran should step down 

from his post. If he fails to do so, 

the PM should drop him.” 

In her meeting with the prime 

minister, in which National Security 

Adviser Shivshankar Menon 

was also present, she discussed in 

detail the situation in Sri Lanka. 

She said Sri Lankan Tamils 

needed to “lead a life of dignity”, 

enjoying the same rights as the 

Sinhalese majority. 

She reiterated her objection to 

India’s 1974 decision to cede to 

Sri Lanka the Katchatheevu island, 

located in the sea dividing 

the two countries. She accused 

the Sri Lankan forces of harassing 

Tamil Nadu fishermen in 

the narrow sea dividing the two 

countries. 

On June 8, the AIADMKdominated 

Tamil Nadu assembly 

passed a resolution seeking economic 

sanctions against Colombo 

on issues concerning the Tamil 

community, including alleged 

war crimes. — IANS 

said all other articles were 

still present. 

“The decision not to reveal 

the theft was taken by ashram 

inmates. 

We thought we will ourselves 

investigate the matter. 

Else it would have generated 

unnecessary sensation in the 

public,” he said. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister 

Prithviraj Chavan ordered 

a “high-level” probe into the 

incident after Wardha officials 

met with him. 

Gandhi came to Wardha 

in 1936 to set up the ashram, 

which still receives around 

300,000 visitors every 

year. 

The Quit India resolution 

calling for independence 

from the British was adopted 

by Gandhi’s Indian National 

Congress party at Wardha in 

July 1942. — dpa 

PEDESTRIANS and commuters pass by the illuminated Charminar in Hyderabad yesterday. Multicolour 

dynamic lighting has been installed to illuminate the historical monument in Andhra Pradesh. — AFP 

Speaker returns PAC report 

of Manmohan Singh and alleged 

that he had an “indirect” 

role in the spectrum 

allocation scandal. It also 

criticised P Chidambaram, 

who was finance minister 

when then IT and communications 

minister Andimuthu 

Raja sold scarce radio waves 

to private telecom firms allegedly 

at throwaway prices, 

causing the nation colossal 

loss of revenue. 

The 270-page report on the 

controversial 2G spectrum allotment 

was rejected by 11 of 

21 members of the panel belonging 

to the Congress, the 

DMK, the Samajwadi Party 

and the Bahujan Samaj Party 

(BSP). 

Joshi, while submitting 

the report to Meira Kumar’s 

office, had hoped “that the 

speaker will accept it and 

place it in parliament”. 

But according to committee 

rule, reports cannot be tabled 

in parliament if a major- 

ity of the panel members do 

not approve it. 

The term of the Joshiheaded 

panel expired on the 

day he submitted the report to 

the speaker. He had asserted 

that PAC reports cannot have 

notes of dissent appended to 

them, and said that the members, 

who rejected the report, 

had no authority to do so. 

“This is wrong to say that 11 

people have rejected it. That is 

unconstitutional.” 

Joshi said the PAC, a highly 

empowered committee of 

parliament to oversee government 

spending, could not be 

run on party lines. 

The Congress’s Saifuddin 

Soz, who had led the party 

members in disapproving the 

report, refused to comment 

on the development. “I don’t 

know about it. I cannot say 

anything at this stage,” said 

Soz, who moved a resolution 

rejecting the draft report on 

April 28. — IANS 

IT market to reach 

$51 billion by 2014 

BANGALORE — The Indian IT services 

and products market is expected to grow at 

17 per cent till 2014, a research study said 

yesterday. 

According to the study by CyberMedia Research, 

the overall India domestic IT services 

and products markets will touch Rs 1,71,698 

crore-level in 2012, while the size of the segment 

will touch Rs 2,33,930 crore by 2014. 

“A large chunk of IT hardware and software 

products will witness good traction on 

account of the healthy growth in IT services 

as enterprises try to gain the best leverage out 

of their IT deployment,” said Anirban Banerjee, 

associate vice president of CyberMedia 

Research. 

Banerjee said that domestic IT services 

and IT-enabled services markets will grow at 

a compounded annual growth rate of 21.1 per 

cent and will reach Rs 98,188 crore by 2014. 

IT product segments like software are expected 

to grow by 20.1 per cent followed by 

servers at 13.3 per cent and personal computers 

at 12.9 per cent “driven by new deployments 

plus productivity enhancement initiatives 

in the business enterprise segment, and 

strong consumer demand for clients, particularly 

for notebook PCs”, said the report. 

NEWS IN BRIEF 

Water resources minister 

to visit B’desh for talks 

MINISTER for Water Resources Salman 

Khurshid is to visit Bangladesh soon to finalise 

an agreement on sharing of waters 

of Teesta and Feni rivers. Khurshid’s visit 

would take place on the invitation of his 

Bangladeshi counterpart Ramesh Chandra 

Sen, an official statement said in New 

Delhi yesterday. 

“The invitation to Khurshid was extended 

when Water Resources Secretary 

of Bangladesh Shaikh Wahid-uz-Zaman 

called on him here recently. The visit will 

take place at a mutually convenient date,” 

it said. The two neighbours share waters 

of 54 rivers. Wahid-uz-Zaman was in New 

Delhi for the water resources secretarylevel 

meeting with his Indian counterpart 

Dhruv Vijai Singh last week. 

Haryana CM reshuffles 

portfolios of ministers 

HARYANA Chief Minister Bhupinder 

Singh Hooda yesterday reshuffled his 

cabinet, making Harmohinder Singh 

Chatha the new finance minister, instead 

of Ajay Singh Yadav, who will now 

handle power. Chatha will also be the 

irrigation and food and supplies minister, 

while Yadav will continue to be the forest 

and environment minister. 

Randeep Singh Surjewala will hold 

charge of the ministries of industries 

and commerce, parliamentary affairs, 

science and technology and public works 

department (PWD). Mahender Pratap 

Singh will continue as the revenue, 

rehabilitation and technical education 

minister. Kiran Chaudhary has retained 

the portfolios of excise and taxation and 

public health and engineering. Paramvir 

Singh (agriculture), Geeta Bhukkal 

(education, social justice), Narender 

Singh (health and medical education) 

and Satpal Sangwan (co-operation and 

housing) are other cabinet ministers who 

retain their earlier portfolios. 

Collect power dues before 

tenant vacates premises 

THE Delhi High Court has directed private 

power distribution companies (discoms) to 

recover electricity bill dues from a tenant 

before he or she vacates a premises. The 

court said this was necessary to ensure that 

the liability does not fall on the landlord or 

the subsequent tenant. 

While hearing a petition filed by 

a landlord with property in South- 

Extension-II market in south Delhi, 

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said: “If 

the discoms are permitted to so allow 

the arrears of electricity charges to 

accumulate and do not take timely action 

for recovery from the person liable and 

then coerce the subsequent occupant 

to pay the same, it would be a serious 

clog on transferability of immovable 

properties.” 

Air India will turnaround 

once revival plan takes off 

BELEAGUERED national carrier 

Air India will soon turn the corner 

once a revival plan, to be presented 

to the cabinet in a couple of weeks, is 

implemented, Civil Aviation Minister 

Vayalar Ravi said yesterday. The 

proposal is to be reviewed by a group 

of ministers and aims to restructure 

the airline’s debt, infuse equity, hive 

off ground-handling and maintenance 

operations into separate entities and raise 

funds through a bond issuance. 

The airline had posted a net loss of 

Rs 5,551 crore in 2009-10, a decrease 

from Rs 7,189 crore in 2008-09. 

Top publisher to expand 

footprint in country 

SPRINGER, one of the world’s leading 

publishers of books on advanced science, 

technology and medicine with 1,000 

top Indian writers in its database, is to 

expand operations in India, a company 

official said yesterday. The German 

company is planning to increase content, 

editorial structure and distribution 

networks to penetrate a wider customer 

base in India, Derk Haank, chief 

executive of Springer, said in New Delhi. 

The 169-year-old publishing firm has 

set up a new office in the capital where 

it will locate 10 editors in different fields 

to understand Indian sensibilities, content 

requirement, distribution and facilitate 

better networking with institutes, 

scholars’ societies and community of 

professionals, he added. 

5-month-old girl kidnapped 

from Safdarjung hospital 

A FIVE-month-old girl was kidnapped by 

an unidentified person from a hospital in 

New Delhi, police said yesterday. “Kavita 

was sleeping with her elder sisters in 

the corridor of Safdarjung Hospital from 

where she was kidnapped yesterday early 

morning,” said a senior police officer. 

“The closed circuit television camera 

footage has images of a middle-aged 

man, most probably a vagabond, lifting 

the child while she was asleep,” said the 

officer. Kavita’s father Agan Singh, a 

cook in south Delhi, along with his wife 

and four children, including Kavita, were 

staying in the hospital from June 4 since 

his son Vimal was admitted there.

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins 

exploded with four first 

period goals then rode the 

goaltending of Tim Thomas to 

thrash the Vancouver Canucks 

5-2 on Monday and send the 

Stanley Cup finals into a seventh 

and deciding game. 

One of the most intriguing 

NHL championships in years 

will now come down to a 

single winner-takes-all clash 

in Vancouver today and the 

stakes could hardly be higher 

for both teams. The Canucks 

will be chasing their first 

Stanley Cup title while the 

Bruins are looking to end a 

39-year drought. 

Trailing 3-2 in the best of 

seven series but back on home 

ice, the Bruins blasted four 

goals inside the opening 10 

minutes, with Brad Marchand, 

Milan Lucic, Andrew Ference 

and Michael Ryder all finding 

the net and forcing the 

Canucks to yank their starting 

goalminder Robert Luongo. 

Home ice advantage has 

been the one consistent in a 

hard-hitting and occasionally 

ill-tempered series that has 

seen wild swings in momentum, 

but all six games going 

with the home team. 

Vancouver has squeaked 

out three one goal wins at 

home while the Bruins have 

dominated in their own den, 

pounding out three lopsided 

18 SPORT 



Bruins crush Canucks to force Game Seven 

Brewers go down to Cubs 

CLEVELAND Indians starting pitcher 

Carlos Carrasco reacts during their MLB 

game against New York Yankees at the 

Yankee Stadium in New York on Monday. 

Cleveland Indians won 1-0. — Reuters 

Dirk Nowitzki makes 

waves in Germany 

BERLIN — Germany's soccer-mad 

newspapers were 

celebrating rare basketball 

success yesterday after Dirk 

Nowitzki became the first 

German to win an NBA title 

when his Dallas Mavericks 

beat the Miami Heat. 

"This is the title that we 

were missing," read the front 

page of the best-selling Bild 

newspaper yesterday, which 

usually reserves a front page 

sports story almost exclusively 

for the country's soccer 

exploits. 

Among those congratulating 

the player yesterday were 

the country's Chancellor Angela 

Merkel and sports leaders. 

The paper placed his victory 

on a par with Germany's 

first soccer World Cup win in 

1954, boxer Max Schmeling's 

world title, tennis player Boris 

Becker's first Wimbledon title 

in 1985 and German cyclist 

Jan Ullrich's Tour de France 

victory in 1997. 

Mavericks forward Nowitzki, 

who averaged 26 points 

per game in the finals was 

named the Most Valuable 

Player of the series after his 

team clinched their first championship 

with a 4-2 win over 

the Heat in the best-of-seven 

NBA finals on Monday. 

Basketball briefly enjoyed 

higher status in Germany after 

the country won the European 

title in 1993 but its popularity 

had declined again since. 

The Mavericks' win early 

on Monday morning German 

time quickly thrust the sport 

back into the spotlight with 

congratulations pouring in 

from the country's political 

and sporting leaders, including 

Merkel. 

"The Chancellor followed 

the (NBA) final series and was 

delighted with the victory," 

Merkel's spokesman Steffen 

Seibert said. 

"The Chancellor supported 

Dirk Nowitzki throughout the 

series and now congratulates 

him warmly." 

Germany's national soccer 

team coach Joachim Loew 

also heaped praise on Nowitzki. 

"He completed an amazing 

performance," Loew told 

reporters. 

"He is exceptional and one 

of Germany's top sportsmen. 

The title win is the cherry on 

top of a stunning basketball 

career in the United States." 

In Belushi, a giant projector 

screen usually dedicated 

to soccer matches generated 

cheers from the crowd every 

time Dallas won a point or rebound. 

"He made it! The first and 

the last NBA title for a German 

player," said Jakob Jordan, 28. 

"I usually watch soccer, but it 

was worth the late night to see 

this final." 

A crowd of about 100 

people shouted "MVP " and 

"Dirk" as they poured out 

into the street at sunrise. 

— Reuters 

BETHESDA, Maryland — 

World No 2 Lee Westwood 

has become a master juggler in 

dealing with his close calls in 

the majors, but the Briton said 

everything was in place this 

week for a US Open run at his 

first major. 

Westwood, twice a runnerup 

in major championships 

and three-times a third-place 

finisher, has been victorious 

twice on tour this season and 

is supremely confident heading 

into the US Open starting 

on Thursday at Congressional. 

"I'm hitting the ball very 

well. I'm driving it pretty long 

and straight. My iron shots 

are fairly crisp, which is good 

coming into a US Open," 

Westwood told reporters on 

Monday. "My preparation has 

gone well." 

Westwood has come agonisingly 

close to claiming his 

maiden major, but rather than 

bear the weight of those disappointments 

the Englishman 

prefers to accentuate the positives. 

"It's a fine balancing act 

and a fine line between when 

you do get really close to it 

becoming frustrated but still 

seeing the positives in it, the 

fact that you are getting close," 

Westwood, 38, said. 

"And I feel like my game 

is good enough. And if I just 

do a few things differently at 

the right times, then it'll be the 

difference between a second 

(place) and a win. 

Westwood has not let the 

close calls get him down. 

Vigneault to keep faith in Luongo for decider 

BOSTON — Vancouver 

coach Alain Vigneault has 

vowed to keep faith with 

his inconsistent goaltender 

Robert Luongo for the deciding 

game of the Stanley 

Cup finals despite replacing 

him twice in three games 

after he conceded a flood of 

goals. 

Luongo suffered the humiliation 

of being dragged 

after less than nine minutes 

of Monday’s sixth game of 

the series in Boston when he 

conceded three goals in an 

opening period blitz as the 

Bruins went on to win 5-2 

and level the series at 3-3. 

The Canadian national 

team goaltender was also 

yanked from Game four in 

Boston, which the Bruins 

BOSTON Bruins’ Milan Lucic (right) celebrates his goal with team-mates Andrew Ference 

(centre) and Rich Peverley against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 6 of the NHL Stanley 

Cup play-off in Boston on Monday. — Reuters won 4-0, and let in eight 

goals in Game Three, but 

VANCOUVER Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo lets in a goal 

victories. The Bruins were ins scored their fourth goal in a the scoring. The series has Vigneault said he would 

against Boston Bruins in Game 6 on Monday. — Reuters 

quickly on the attack, March- devastating 4:14 blitz. produced spectacular net- stick with him in today's 

and and Lucic scoring 35 sec- The Canucks finally got on minding, Thomas flashing his 

belief in Luongo is backed Canada win the gold medal 

championship decider. 

onds apart while Ference fol- the scored 22 seconds into the Conn Smythe credentials as 

up by his impeccable form at last year's Winter Olym- 

"He knows he's going 

lowed with a powerplay goal third when their Swedish cap- the Stanley Cup most valu- 

at home. He has been alpics. back in next game. He's 

that chased a reeling Luongo tain Henrik Sedin converted able player with another solid 

most impenetrable on his "His preparation is be- 

going to be real good," 

out of the net in favour of Cory a powerplay to notch his first evening of work on Monday 

home ice. 

yond reproach and he's go- 

Vigneault told reporters. 

Schneider. 

goal of the finals. 

stopping 38 shots on Mon- 

In the Canucks' three ing to be ready for Game 

"I don't have to say any- 

Ryder immediately wel- But David Krejci answered day. 

finals at home, Luongo has Seven," Vigneault said. 

thing to him. He's a profescomed 

Schneider to the game with a powerplay tally for the Luongo has two shut-outs 

had two 1-0 shut-outs and a "We've turned the page, 

by scoring on Boston's first Bruins before Vancouver's and allowed two goals in three 

sional." 

3-2 win in overtime on the we're getting ready for next 

shot on the back-up as the Bru- Maxim Lapierre closed out games at home. — Reuters 

Vigneault's unwavering same rink where he helped game." 

DIRK Nowitzki holds the 

Bill Russell NBA finals 

MVP trophy after Dallas 

Mavericks defeated the 

Miami Heat to win the 

championship in Miami 

on Sunday. — Reuters 

CHICAGO — The Milwaukee Brewers waited 

nearly two years to stand alone at the top of 

their division but they had little time to savour 

the feeling as a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on 

Monday saw them slip back into a tie. 

Milwaukee completed a three-game sweep 

of the St Louis Cardinals a day earlier to take 

the National League Central lead on their own 

for the first time since July 2009. 

But the Brewers (38-29) managed just four 

hits against the Cubs (26-39), stymied by spectacular 

Chicago pitching, to fall back into a tie 

for the lead with the Cardinals. Chicago starter 

Ryan Dempster struck out seven over seven 

scoreless innings and reliever Jeff Samardzija 

worked the eighth inning to record the victory. 

"That was awesome," Dempster told reporters. 

"They're a really good team. They're playing 

really good baseball right now. We just had 

a really tough road trip and came out today and 

played this game as hard as we could." 

Darwin Barney singled then advanced to 

third on a double from Carlos Pena. Aramis 

Ramirez then grounded out to bring home 

the winning run. The Brewers had a chance 

to score the game's first run in the fifth where 

Yuniesky Betancourt tried to score from third 

base on a squeeze play bunt attempt by Wolf, 

who was unable to get the bat on the ball. 

A running Betancourt was eventually tagged 

out to end the threat. 

Other MLB results: Detroit Tigers bt Tampa Bay Rays 

2-1, Cleveland Indians bt NY Yankees 1-0, Pittsburgh 

Pirates bt NY Mets 3-1, Arizona Diamondbacks bt Florida 

Marlins 12-9, Houston Astros bt Atlanta Braves 8-3, 

San Diego Padres bt Colorado Rockies 3-1, Cincinnati 

Reds bt LA Dodgers 6-4, LA Angels bt Seattle Mariners 

6-3. — Reuters 

Man City’s 

Boateng 

agrees to 

join Bayern 

BERLIN — Manchester City 

defender Jerome Boateng 

has agreed to join Bayern 

Munich but the English club 

have not yet agreed the deal, 

the player said yesterday. 

Germany international 

Boateng joined City from 

Hamburg SV last year. 

"It is true that I have 

agreed with Bayern on a 

four-year deal. Now it is up 

to Manchester to make it 

work. At the moment they 

are making things a bit difficult," 

the 22-year-old told 

Kicker magazine. 

"My dream is to have a 

starting spot within a year, 

hopefully at Bayern, and 

then I want to win the European 

championship (with 

Germany)." 

Boateng was not used in 

his favourite central defensive 

position at City and said 

a move to Bayern would also 

be good for his role in the 

national team ahead of next 

year's European Championship. 

— Reuters 

BIRMINGHAM, England — Aston Villa 

have reportedly approached city rivals 

Birmingham to ask about the precise status 

of Alex McLeish. 

The Scot was linked with a move to 

Villa, still in the top flight but without a 

boss after Gerard Houllier stepped down 

on health grounds. 

Britain's Press Association reported 

on Monday that Villa had sent an e-mail 

to Birmingham seeking clarification of 

McLeish's position. 

Peter Pannu, the acting chairman of 

Birmingham, is furious over McLeish's 

move and said: "He is still on our contracted 

staff and Birmingham City FC 

does not grant him any right to speak 

to any outsiders until the matter is resolved. 

"It's about time discipline is instilled 

into this game and I am not a person who 

gets pushed about." 

England's League Managers Association, 

which has repeatedly slammed clubs 

for not giving them enough time to turn 

teams around, has been noticeably silent 

over McLeish's move and that of Mark 

Hughes, who earlier this month resigned 

as manager of Premier League Fulham. 

But former Villa and England manager 

Graham Taylor criticised the way the 

club, owned by American businessman 

Randy Lerner, had sought a replacement 

for Houllier. 

"It just doesn't appear to have been 

thought through and for the first time the 

ownership of the club is coming under se- 

"As golfers, if you have 

a successful year, we maybe 

win three times a year. That's 

about ten per cent of the times 

you play," he said. "So you get 

used to not winning and being 

disappointed. 

vere criticism," Taylor told the BBC. 

"Villa don't seem to have grasped that 

nettle at all. It is disappointing. I still live 

in the area and have a special feeling for 

them as you always do about clubs you 

have managed, but I have been surprised 

and disappointed at their handling of 

this." 

But Taylor said McLeish would cope 

with the fall-out from taking charge of 

Birmingham's arch-rivals were he to get 

the Villa Park job. 

"You learn to try and take 

the positives out of anything, 

even when you maybe finish 

second and you thought you 

should have won one of these. 

You try and look at it on the 

bright side, and I think I've 

probably managed to do that." 

Westwood showed his resilience 

with a great stretch 

after his third place at the 2008 

US Open. 

He tied for third at the 2009 

British Open, then tied for third 

The undignified manner 

of Luongo's early exit from 

Monday's game was not lost 

on the crowd at Boston after 

he had taken a verbal swipe 

at the Bruins' goaltender 

Tim Thomas, who has been 

one of the standout players 

of the series, for the winning 

goal he conceded in the fifth 

game. 

The Boston crowd sarcastically 

chanted Luongo's 

name long after he had been 

benched but the 32-year-old 

said he was unfazed by his 

poor showing and already 

looking ahead to game seven. 

"I'm not going to make 

any excuses, it just didn't 

happen for me, obviously, 

in all three games (in Boston)," 

he said. 

"I'm just going to move 

on now and we have one 

game at home to win a 

Stanley Cup. "I've got to 

believe in myself. That's a 

big component of bouncing 

back and playing a good 

game. We're going to put 

what happened tonight behind 

us as soon as possible 

and get ready for what is going 

to be a dream as far as 

playing in Game seven of a 

Stanley Cup." — Reuters 

Villa seek clarity over McLeish status 

ALEX McLeish gestures during an English Premier League match in 

Manchester in this file photo. — Reuters 

"I think Alex has the strength of character 

but it won't be easy for him. He has 

a hardness about him," Taylor said of the 

former Scotland centre-half and manager, 

who has also been in charge of Hibernian 

and Rangers. 

"It would be difficult though, because 

many Villa fans would not want a Birmingham 

man as their manager and many 

Birmingham supporters might see him as 

a traitor. He is a strong man though, and I 

think he could cope with that." — AFP 

Westwood juggling hopes for major breakthrough 

LEE Westwood watches his tee shot during a practice round for the US Open at the 

Congressional Country Club in Bethesda on Monday. — Reuters 

in the US PGA championship, 

and came back in 2010 to finish 

second in the Masters and 

second in the British Open. 

Westwood said he expects 

Congressional to be an exacting 

but fair test and is excited 

by the challenge. 

"It's probably the toughest 

test of all four majors," he 

said of the US Open, given the 

set-up of fast, firm greens, narrow 

fairways and thick rough. 

"You just have to be very, very 

patient and not give any shots 

away unnecessarily. If you can 

make double instead of making 

triple, that's great. If you can 

make bogey instead of making 

double, that's fantastic. 

Westwood feels in tip-top 

form after winning the European 

Tour event in South Korea 

one week after taking the 

Asian Tour's Indonesian Masters 

title. 

Earlier this season, he lost 

in a play-off at the European 

PGA Championship to current 

world No 1 Luke Donald. 

Westwood will be playing 

his first two rounds with compatriot 

Donald and Germany's 

Martin Kaymer in a grouping 

of Ryder Cup team-mates 

who happen to be the top three 

ranked players in the world. 

"My confidence is pretty 

high, and looking forward to 

this week," said Westwood. 

"The major championships really 

now are the most exciting 

part of the year and the ones I 

look forward to." — Reuters

MELBOURNE — Berrick Barnes' 

World Cup hopes may be dashed 

and his career cut short after severe 

concussion and headaches stemming 

from head-knocks prompted 

the Australia utility back to announce 

an indefinite break from 

the game yesterday. 

The versatile 25-year-old, who 

would have been a certainty for 

Robbie Deans' squad for the World 

Cup in New Zealand starting in 

September, suffered another splintering 

headache after coming off 

in the first half of the New South 

Wales Waratahs' 33-7 win over the 

Highlanders on Saturday. 

After consulting a neurosurgeon, 

Barnes pulled the pin on his 

season for the Sydney-based Super 

rugby side but said he still held 

hope of proving his fitness in time 

for the release of the Wallabies' 

World Cup squad, expected on 

July 10. 

"It's certainly a goal of mine 

and something I'd love to be a part 

of but at the moment it's not at the 

forefront of my mind," Barnes told 

reporters in Sydney. 

"It's about getting myself right 

and being able to perform exercise 

of a physical nature without suffering 

any of this sort of stuff. 

"I'm not hiding from the fact 

that I've been a bit frustrated and 

anxious about things and that's 

probably causing some of the issues 

I'm having as well. 

"So to get away from the environment 

just for a little bit is probably 

going to be pretty beneficial in 

that respect." 

Barnes, who can play fly-half 

and inside centre, said earlier this 

month he wanted to be allowed 

to wear boxing-style head gear to 

protect himself after missing two 

matches for the Waratahs this season 

due to concussion and another 

for a migraine. 

The long-term effects of head 

injuries are a growing concern in 

all contact sports and the International 

Rugby Board issued new 

guidelines on the treatment of concussion 

last month. 

In Australia, the issue was 

brought into focus earlier this year 

when former Australian Rules 

footballer Daniel Bell lodged a 

claim for compensation after being 

diagnosed with brain damage 

linked to concussions he sustained 

while playing. 

A spokesman for the Australian 

Rugby Union would not comment 

specifically on Barnes' problem, 

but said his hopes to wear more 

protective head gear was a matter 

between the player and the IRB. 

Coach Deans said in a statement 

that he supported Barnes' decision. 

"How long Berrick is out for 

19 SPORT 



Groggy Barnes’ World Cup, career in doubt 

B’desh sack 

coach Rubcic 

DHAKA — Bangladesh 

have sacked their 

Croatian national team 

coach Robert Rubcic little 

more than two weeks 

before their opening 

2014 World Cup qualifier 

after he walked out 

in a pay row. 

The 47-year-old 

has been replaced with 

former Macedonia 

coach Gjore Jovanovski 

who will lead the team 

in the two-leg Asian 

zone preliminary round 

tie against Pakistan on 

June 29 and July 3. 

Rubcic, frustrated at 

not being paid on time, 

left Bangladesh on June 

2 and had not been in 

contact with his bosses 

since, the Bangladeshi 

federation said. 

"We were ready with 

his payment, but he did 

not take our any call," 

Badal Roy, head of national 

team management 

committee, told 

reporters. "We tried to 

talk to him through his 

agent, but he was not 

interested." 

Jovanovski, Bangladesh's 

fourth foreign 

coach in last three 

years, is expected to 

take over on June 19, 

ten days before Bangladesh 

host the first leg in 

Dhaka. The return is in 

Lahore. 

Jovanovski, a former 

Yugoslavia international 

in his playing days, 

was given a one-year 

contract. — Reuters 

MUSCAT — Thomassen 

Engineering and Contracting 

booked their place in final 

of the second Filcosco/FMB 

basketball championship on 

Monday by dispatching the 

PTTEP Super Eagles 94-85. 

Thomassen, will face Asia 

Express Exchange LLC in a 

best-of-three title series. 

The finals will prove to 

be an interesting match-up 

as both teams have not won 

the crown to date. While Asia 

Express stormed through the 

elimination round with an impressive 

9-2 win-loss record 

in this 12-team tournament, 

Thomassen in contrast, started 

slowly racking up three 

successive defeats to CCC- 

TAV, Western Union and Asia 

Express. 

Pak ready to 

host B’desh 

KARACHI — Pakistan 

Football Federation said 

yesterday it was confident 

next month's home World 

Cup qualifier against Bangladesh 

will go ahead, promising 

tight security for the 

match. 

After the first leg of their 

Asian zone qualifier for the 

2014 World Cup in Dhaka 

on June 29, the two sides 

were scheduled to meet in 

Lahore on July 3. 

But arrangements ran 

into trouble after Bangladesh 

asked Fifa, the game's ruling 

body, to relocate the match 

due to security fears. 

Fifa has apparently rejected 

the request in a move 

welcomed by Pakistan Football 

Federation (PFF) secretary 

Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi. 

"We hosted Palestine and 

Malaysia earlier this year 

and both the teams returned 

happy, so we have proper security 

arrangements in place 

and we are confident that the 

match will go ahead," Lodhi 

told reporters. 

Pakistan has not hosted 

any major sporting event 

since militants attacked the 

Sri Lankan cricket team in 

Lahore in March 2009. 

Bangladesh Football 

Federation chief Kazi Salahuddin 

said yesterday that 

Fifa turned down its request 

to host both games against 

Pakistan. 

Pakistan have never qualified 

for the football World 

Cup and are placed 168th in 

the Fifa world rankings. 

Brazil will host the next 

World Cup in 2014. — AFP 

Thomassen team in finals 

THOMASSEN Engineering and Contracting team. 

The turning point came 

when their high prized acquisition 

and rookie Anthony 

Espiritu arrived just in time to 

salvage the remaining games 

completing an 8-0 sweep 

of their final games, finally 

finishing with an 8-3 record 

going into the quarterfinal 

round. 

The finals will begin today 

at 7.30 pm at Marah Land in 

Qurum Amusement Park. 

This tournament is organised 

by the Filipino Community 

Social Club and the Filipino 

Muscat Ballers. 

FMB Chairman, Erick 

De Jesus invites all Filipinos 

and basketball enthusiasts to 

watch the games. The basketball 

court was donated by 

Strabag Oman LLC. 

will determine what happens next, 

as far as his career is concerned, 

but no one will be rushing him," 

Deans said. 

"It is important that Berrick 

takes all of the time that he needs 

to overcome this issue, and that he 

is ready both physically and mentally, 

before he even thinks about 

playing the game again." 

BLURRED VISION 

Barnes has previously expressed 

wariness about sacrificing his longterm 

health for his rugby career 

and medical experts cast doubt on 

the Wallaby's ability to recover and 

make a return to the top-flight. 

"There's not enough research 

out there that there is a definite 

short-term solution for such cases," 

Dr Peter Larkins, a Melbournebased 

sports medicine expert, said. 

"We've still got many more 

questions than we do solutions ... It 

is very difficult (for players) to just 

turn it around." 

"It's a challenge for him." 

Barnes' troubles recall those 

suffered by former Wallabies back 

Elton Flatley, who retired prematurely 

from all forms of the game 

in 2006 at the age of 28 after suffering 

blurred vision among other 

concussion-related complications 

later in his career. 

"He will be receiving excellent 

medical advice and he will 

be guided by their opinions, but 

deep down Berrick will know his 

own health and he has to be true 

to that," Flatley said in comments 

published by The Australian newspaper 

yesterday. 

"I got (head) hits in games that 

normally wouldn't affect you, but 

they started to affect me. I started 

to hesitate about going into contact. 

"At the time it was a very big, 

emotional decision ... Sometimes 

you are so consumed by it (rugby) 

you don't realise what else is out 

there." 

Barnes' loss comes as a further 

blow for the post-season hopes of 

the injury-hit Waratahs, who need 

victory at home against the ACT 

Brumbies on Saturday in the regular 

season's last round to secure a 

top six play-off berth. 

The side have already lost Wallabies 

winger Drew Mitchell and 

number eight Wycliff Palu for the 

season, while front-rowers Benn 

Robinson and Tatafu Polota-Nau 

are doubts to play the Brumbies. 

— Reuters 

Pakistan’s Latif resigns 

as Afghanistan coach 

KARACHI — Former Pakistan 

captain Rashid Latif said 

yesterday he had resigned as 

Afghanistan cricket coach 

after his team's 3-0 routing at 

the hands of a second tier Pakistani 

team. 

"I resigned soon after Afghanistan's 

defeat against 

Pakistan 'A' last month which 

was accepted on Monday," Latif 

said. "I felt if Afghanistan 

is not showing improvement 

despite my full efforts then it's 

no use sticking around." 

The 42-year-old former 

wicketkeeper took over as 

coach last July after his Pakistani 

predecessor Kabir 

Khan developed differences 

with the Afghanistan Cricket 

Board (ACB). Under Latif, 

Afghanistan beat Pakistan in 

the semifinal of the Asian 

Games in China last year before 

losing to Bangladesh to 

finish with a silver medal. 

That followed their triumph 

in the Inter-Continental 

Cup, a first-class tournament 

for Associate members of the 

International Cricket Council. 

Latif said he had been de- 

lighted to coach Afghanistan. 

"I thoroughly enjoyed 

coaching Afghan players who 

are very passionate but it's 

against my rules to stick if the 

job is not done," said Latif, 

who denied press reports of 

a rift between him and members 

of the team. 

"I respected the players 

and they gave me respect, so 

there was no rift," said Latif. 

Latif said Afghanistan has 

a bright future in the game 

but said the country needed to 

build infrastructure "as soon 

as possible". 

"Once it's built they will 

show more improvement," 

said Latif. 

ACB chief executive Naseemullah 

Danish said Latif's 

resignation had been accepted 

and that coaches from England 

and former coach Khan were 

being considered as possible 

replacements. "We felt that 

the recent defeats against Pakistan's 

second string were not 

acceptable and Latif has not 

been able to meet our expectations 

so we have to look at 

other options," Danish said.

Bruins defeat 

Canucks to 

force Game 7 

Page 18 

Rusty Serena battles 

past Pironkova 

LONDON — Serena Williams 

made a winning return 

to action after nearly a year 

out with victory over Bulgaria's 

Tsvetana Pironkova at the 

Eastbourne grass-court event 

yesterday. 

The 29-year-old American, 

out of action due to injury and 

health problems since winning 

last year's Wimbledon title, 

looked nervy and sluggish 

initially before settling down 

to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 and move 

into the second round. 

It was far from pretty but 

after claiming on Monday she 

had been on her "death bed" 

earlier this year, the 13-time 

Grand Slam champion would 

have been encouraged to beat 

an opponent who reached last 

year's Wimbledon semifinals. 

"She is an unbelievable 

player she beat Venus at Wim- 

Oprandi stuns Clijsters 

in Den Bosch Open 

ITALY’S Romina Oprandi 

celebrates after defeating Kim 

Clijsters of Belgium yesterday. 

ROSMALEN, Netherland 

— World No 

2 Kim Clijsters exited 

the Den Bosch 

Open in the second 

round after a shock 

7-6, 6-3 defeat to 

82nd-ranked Romina 

Oprandi of Italy yesterday. 

Australian Open 

champion Clijsters, 

who also lost in the 

second round at Roland 

Garros, could 

only take one of four 

break points throughout 

the match while 

Oprandi took advantage 

twice to seal the 

win in just over 90 

minutes. 

The 28-year-old Clijsters, with four Grand Slam titles to 

her name, will now head to Wimbledon as she seeks to win her 

first Grand Slam on grass. Clijsters made a return to action at 

Roland Garros last month after a two-month injury setback. 

Other results (x denotes seeding): Women 1st rd: Jelena Dokic (AUS) 

bt Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 6-0, 6-4; Roberta Vinci (ITA x7) bt Polona Hercog 

(SLO) 6-4, 6-2; Sara Errani (ITA) bt Kiki Bertens (NED) 7-6 (8/6), 

6-1; Johanna Larsson (SWE) bt Rebecca Marino (CAN) 7-5, 7-5. 2nd rd: 

Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN) bt Lourdes Domínguez (ESP) 7-6 (7/3), 6-0. 

Men 1st rd: Xavier Malisse (BEL x3) bt Alejandro Falla (COL) 6-3, 

6-1; Jesse Huta Galung (NED) bt Julian Reister (GER) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5; Alex 

Bogomolov Jr (USA) bt Jeremy Chardy (FRA x7) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7); Santiago 

Giraldo (COL) bt Michael Russell (USA) 7-6 (7/4), 6-3; Jarkko Nieminen 

(FIN x5) bt Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) 7-5, 6-1; Robin Haase (NED) 

bt Mischa Zverev (GER) 6-3, 6-4. 2nd rd: Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) bt 

Javier Marti (ESP) 7-6 (8/6), 6-3; Ivan Dodig (CRO x4) bt Andreas Haider- 

Maurer (AUT) 6-4, 6-3. — Reuters 

MELBOURNE — Australia 

will kick off their home cricket 

season in December with two 

Test matches against trans- 

Tasman rivals New Zealand 

before taking on the world's 

top-ranked Test side India in 

a four-match series, Cricket 

Australia said yesterday. 

Former top side Australia 

have slumped to fifth in the 

world Test rankings and new 

captain Michael Clarke faces 

a stiff challenge to salve home 

fans still smarting from the 

Ashes debacle, which concluded 

in January, with victory 

over the subcontinental 

power. 

After playing December 

Tests against New Zealand at 

the Gabba in Brisbane and Hobart's 

picturesq ue Bellerive 

Oval, Australia play India in 

Melbourne for the traditional 

SERENA WILLIAMS 

bledon last year and when I 

saw the draw I thought Oh my 

God," Williams, who suffered 

life-threatening blood clots in 

her lungs in February while 

recovering from gashing her 

foot last July, said in a courtside 

interview. "I'm a little 

rusty but I enjoy being back 

on the grass. I will go inside 

now and see how I feel." 

Other results (x denotes seeding): 

Men 1st rd: Kevin Anderson 

(RSA x6) bt Alexander Slabinsky 

(GBR) 7-5, 6-3; Donald Young 

(USA) bt Daniel Cox (GBR) 6-1, 

7-5; Rainer Schuettler (GER) bt 

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR x5) 6-3, 

6-2; Kei Nishikori (JPN) bt Evgeny 

Kirillov (RUS) 7-5, 6-1; Jo-Wilfried 

Tsonga (FRA x1) bt Denis Istomin 

(UZB) 6-2, 7-5; Somdev Devvarman 

(IND) bt Guillermo Garcia- 

Lopez (ESP x14) 6-3, 6-4. 

Women 1st rd: Ana Ivanovic 

(SRB) bt Julia Goerges (GER) 6-4, 

6-3; Elena Baltacha (GBR) bt Aravane 

Rezai (FRA) 6-2, 6-1; Ekaterina 

Makarova (RUS) bt Mirjana Lucic 

(CRO) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; Francesca 

Schiavone (ITA x4) bt Kaia Kanepi 

(EST) 7-6 (9/7), 6-1; Vera Zvonareva 

(RUS x1) bt Heather Watson (GBR) 

6-3, 6-3; Marion Bartoli (FRA x6) bt 

Lucie Safarova (CZE) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 

(9/7); Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) bt 

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 

7-6 (11/9), 6-4. — Reuters 


MUSCAT — Oman’s star goalkeeper 

Ali al Habsi recently visited the Jebel 

Sifah project for a look at his trophy 

apartment, which is all set for a formal 

handover very soon. 

This luxury two-bedroom apartment 

was a token of Muriya Tourism 

Development Company’s appreciation 

to Ali for being selected the best goalkeeper 

during the 19th Gulf Cup. He 

was honoured by the company with the 

apartment, following a formal signing 

ceremony in the days after the memorable 

victory that won him kudos as the 

best goalkeeper. 

Ali, currently playing in the English 

Premier League, was escorted around 

the site by Ghizlane el Gouchi, Senior 

Sales Team Leader of Muriya. Earlier 

in the day he met the Muriya team at 

the sales centre and checked out the 

master plan of the project. He toured 

the marina, the mock-up apartment and 

spent time at his own apartment. He 

expressed his pleasure at the way the 

apartment was shaping, especially the 

finishing, which he said, is superb. 

“This is a fantastic location and I am 

very impressed with the scenic pleasures 

it offers. The natural surroundings 

Australia to warm up for India 

clash against New Zealand 

Boxing Day Test before the 

series moves to Sydney, Perth 

and Adelaide respectively. 

"With the commencement 

of the ICC World Test Championship 

we know that every 

Test win is vital and the Australian 

team will be keen to 

start the home season positively 

against New Zealand," 

Cricket Australia boss James 

Sutherland said in a statement. 

Australia, who are in the 

throes of a comprehensive 

team performance review following 

their 3-1 loss to England 

in the Ashes, need to 

be ranked in the top four to 

qualify for the ICC's first Test 

world championship, slated 

for 2013. 

Leading one-day international 

side Australia and 

World Cup holders India then 

play two Twenty20 matches in 

February before being joined 

by Sri Lanka for 12 ODI 

matches excluding finals, in 

the home side's first tri-series 

in four years. 

Australia play World Cup 

finalists Sri Lanka in three 

Tests, five one-day internationals 

and two Twenty20 matches 

in a tour starting in August but 

are battling a raft of injuries, 

including finger complaints 

for former captain Ricky Ponting 

and wicketkeeper Brad 

Haddin. 

The side has also been 

rocked by huge criticism of 

team selection policies after 

35-year-old opening batsman 

Michael Katich was denied a 

central contract, signalling the 

likely end of his Test career. 

The Australian 2010-11 cricket 

schedule is as follows: Test series: 

of Jebel Sifah are just right to relax in an 

ambience that is stress-free and serene. 

This is truly reflective of Oman’s amazing 

natural beauty and I feel honoured 

to be a part of this inspiring project. 

More so, since it has the welfare of locals 

in the community at its heart, who 

Chief Executive Officer ABDULLAH BIN NASSIR AL RAHBI. Editor-in-Chief FAHMY BIN KHALID AL HARTHY 

Printers and Publishers OMAN ESTABLISHMENT FOR PRESS, PUBLICATION AND ADVERTISING 

Groggy Barnes’ 

World Cup, 

career in doubt 

Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising; P.O. Box 974, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman; Tel: 24649444, 24649450, 24649451, 24604563, 24699437 � Fax: 24699643 � Website: omanobserver.om � e-mail: editor@ 

omanobserver.om � Salalah Office: Tel: 23292633, Fax: 23293909 � Nizwa Office: Tel: 25411099, P.O. Box 955, P.C. 611 � ADVERTISING: AL OMANEYA ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS, P.O. Box 3303, 

Postal Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman, Tel: SWITCHBOARD: 24649444, DIRECT: 24649430/24649437/24649401, Fax: 24649434 � DISTRIBUTION AGENT: AL OMANEYA FOR DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING, 

P.O.Box 974, P.C. 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, Tel: 24649350/24649360, Fax: 24649379, subscribe@omandaily.om 

Page 19 

Oman’s star goalkeeper Ali al Habsi visits Jebel Sifah 

Dec 1-5: Australia v New Zealand 

(Gabba); Dec 9-13: Australia v New 

Zealand (Bellerive Oval); Dec 26- 

30: Australia v India (MCG); Jan 

3-7: Australia v India (SCG); Jan 

13-17: Australia v India (Waca); Jan 

24-28: Australia v India (Adelaide 

Oval). 

Twenty20 matches: Feb 1: Australia 

v India (Sydney Olympic Park); 

Feb 3: Australia v India (MCG). 

ODI matches: Feb 5: Australia 

v India (MCG); Feb 8: India v Sri 

Lanka (Waca); Feb 10: Australia v 

Sri Lanka (Waca); Feb 12: Australia 

v India (Adelaide Oval); Feb 14: India 

v Sri Lanka (Adelaide Oval); Feb 

17: Australia v Sri Lanka (SCG); 

Feb 19: Australia v India (Gabba); 

Feb 21: India v Sri Lanka (Gabba); 

Feb 24: Australia v Sri Lanka (Bellerive 

Oval); Feb 26: Australia v India 

(SCG); Feb 28: India v Sri Lanka 

(Bellerive Oval); March 2: Australia 

v Sri Lanka (MCG); March 4: 1st 

Final (Gabba); March 6: 2nd Final 

(Adelaide Oval); March 8: 3rd final 

(Adelaide Oval). — Reuters 

KARACHI — Pakistan Cricket Board 

and former captain Shahid Afridi appeared 

on course yesterday for an outof-court 

settlement after the suspended 

all-rounder met the board's chairman. 

Afridi went to court after the PCB 

punished him for allegedly breaching 

a code of conduct by announcing his 

retirement after he was dumped as oneday 

captain, and for levelling allegations 

against the board. 

It suspended his central contract and 

revoked all his no-objection certificates 

(NOCs), in effect permission slips to 

play abroad. 

The PCB confirmed that chairman 

Ijaz Butt and Afridi met in Islamabad. 

"At this stage the PCB will not make 

any further comments on the discussions 

that have been taking place," it said. 

One source privy to the meeting 

said government officials had stepped 

in to arrange the talks and Afridi had 

agreed to withdraw his court case, a second 

hearing of which is due tomorrow. 

"Afridi met Butt in Islamabad for an 

hour," the source told on condition of 

anonymity. 

"Afridi has promised to withdraw 

are, thanks to the project, assured of 

several job opportunities,” he said. 

He was also taken in by the spacious 

interiors of the apartment and its actual 

size. “I appreciate the gift bestowed on 

me by Muriya to be a home-owner at 

such a prestigious project and am keen- 

NORTH SOUND, Antigua 

and Barbuda — West Indies 

inspired by a career-best spell 

from leg-spinner Anthony 

Martin, completed a 103-run 

victory to secure a consolation 

victory in the fourth one-day 

international against world 

champions India on Monday. 

Rohit Sharma led the way 

with 39, and was one of a 

handful of Indian batsmen that 

got starts without carrying on, 

as Martin captured four for 36 

from 10 overs, and West Indies 

successfully defended a 

target of 250. 

Martin, later named manof-the-match, 

rounded off the 

victory, when he had Ishant 

Sharma stumped for a duck 

with his final delivery of the 

match at the Vivian Richards 

Cricket Ground. 

The victory was a consolation 

for West Indies, after 

India took an unbeatable 3-0 

lead in the five-match series 

with a victory two days ago at 

the same venue. 

The final match of the series 

will be played tomorrow 

at Sabina Park in the Jamaica 

capital of Kingston. 

"We didn't bat very well, 

but all credit must go to the 

West Indies because they 

played really well in this 

game," said Indian captain 

Suresh Raina. 

"We are always disappoint- 

ly looking forward to the handover. I 

am also certain that my fellow football 

players and fans in Europe will be encouraged 

to invest in Oman and own 

such magnificent properties here. Yes, 

I have to admit here that since the time 

I started playing in the UK, many of 

the fans and even football players have 

become aware of Oman — some have 

even paid a visit to the country! This, 

I believe, is a very exciting phase,” he 

noted. 

A hero for a generation of football 

fans in the country, Ali al Habsi is easily 

seen as a sports ambassador. To his 

credit, among others, is the crowning 

glory of being the first Omani to play 

international football in Europe. 

Muriya was the only official Omani 

partner of the 19th Gulf Cup Championship 

in the tourism development 

category and awarded Al Jazeera “Best 

Players Awards” to the three top players 

of the championship. The winners 

of each category — Majid al Marshadi 

(Saudi Arabia) the best player, Hassan 

Rabe’ea (Oman) the top scorer and Ali 

al Habsi (Oman) the best goalkeeper 

— were officially announced by the 

technical committee of the GCC. 

Martin inspires Windies 

to first win over India 

Afridi, PCB to end rift 

WEST Indies’ Anthony 

Martin (left) celebrates 

dismissing Indian batsman 

Rohit Sharma during the 

fourth ODI in St John’s 

on Monday. — AFP 

his case but is likely to appear before the 

disciplinary committee soon and as a result 

his NOCs will be revived." 

Afridi was replaced as one-day captain 

after publicly accusing coach Waqar 

Younis of undue meddling in the selection 

process for the team's one-day series 

in the West Indies in April-May. 

The PCB directed Afridi to appear 

before a disciplinary committee on June 

8, but Afridi went to court last week, 

asking for his NOCs to be revived. 

The court adjourned the disciplinary 

committee, asking the PCB to file a detailed 

reply in court on June 16, but upheld 

the decision to revoke his NOCs. 

As a result, Afridi has been barred 

from playing for Hampshire in the ongoing 

Twenty20 league in England and 

his participation in next month's inaugural 

Sri Lankan Premier League is under 

threat. 

Mud-slinging between the PCB 

and the cricket star has heaped embarrassment 

on the national sport just as 

a World Cup semifinal place in March 

hinted at a brighter future for the game 

which has been dogged by spot-fixing 

scandals. — AFP 

ed when we are on the losing 

side, but West Indies batted really 

well, and they bowled really 

well — and we did not do 

things well in this game. 

"Our shot selection was really 

wrong. We lost our shape, 

and we did not have any partnerships. 

"Rohit was there playing 

well again, but Yusuf (Pathan) 

and I got out at a crucial time, 

but credit must go to the 

West Indies for the way they 

played." 

SCOREBOARD 

West Indies 249/8 in 50 overs. 

India 

P Patel c & b Sammy ................ 26 

M Tiwary c Baugh b Sammy ...... 2 

V Kohli st Baugh b Martin ........ 22 

S Badrinath c Baugh b Russell .. 12 

R Sharma c Bravo b Martin ...... 39 

S Raina c Pollard b Martin ........ 10 

Y Pathan c Roach b Simmons ..... 1 

R Ashwin c Samuels b Russell .. 15 

P Kumar c Sammy b Russell ....... 6 

A Mishra (not out) ....................... 5 

I Sharma st Baugh b Martin ........ 0 

Extras: (b-4, lb-2, w-2) .............. 8 

Total: (all out, 39 overs) ......... 146 

Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-41, 3-62, 

4-82, 5-111, 6-114, 7-124, 8-138, 

9-145. 

Bowling: Roach 8-1-22-0; Sammy 

9-0-43-2; Russell 7-0-16-3 (w-1); 

Pollard 4-0-20-0 (w-1); Martin 

10-0-36-4; Simmons 1-0-3-1. 

Dilshan out of 

England finale 

SOUTHAMPTON — Sri Lankan captain 

Tillakaratne Dilshan will miss the 

third Test against England with a broken 

thumb, team manager Anura Tennekoon 

confirmed yesterday. 

The tourists, who are 1-0 down in the 

three-match series, will instead be led by 

former captain Kumar Sangakkara, who 

stepped down after the World Cup final 

defeat by India, at the Rose Bowl when 

the third Test starts tomorrow. 

Dilshan had been expected to miss the 

match after twice being hit on the thumb 

by England fast bowler Chris Tremlett 

while making 193 in the drawn second 

Test. He then sat out the drawn three-day 

tour match against Essex at Chelmsford 

and the tourists bowed to the inevitable 

by ruling out opening batsman Dilshan 

yesterday. 

"He definitely won't be playing," Tennekoon 

said of Dilshan. 

"The main reason we've kept him out 

of this Test match is that, had he played 

and got another blow while fielding on 

that thumb, he might have been out for 

the rest of the tour. So as a precautionary 

measure, we have kept him out." — AFP

Expansion of roads to spur growth - Oman Daily Observer

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?