S - Oman Daily Observer

Condolences to UAE President 

SAYYID Hamoud bin Faisal al Busaidy, Minister of Interior, 

yesterday conveyed condolences and sympathies of His Majesty 

Sultan Qaboos to Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, 

President of the UAE, on the passing away of Shaikha Maitha 

bint Mohammed bin Khalifa al Nahyan. 

Sayyid Hamoud conveyed His Majesty’s condolences when 

he was received by Shaikh Sultan bin Zayed al Nahyan, Representative 

of the President yesterday. — ONA 

�� Thursday, April 19, 2012/Jumada al Ula 27, 1433 AH 

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

Oman, Kuwait strengthen ties 

MUSCAT — His Majesty Sultan 

Qaboos and Shaikh Sabah 

al Ahmed al Jaber al Sabah, 

Emir of Kuwait yesterday reviewed 

the strong fraternal 

relations binding the Sultanate 

and Kuwait. 

His Majesty and Shaikh 

Sabah discussed all aspects of 

the existing bilateral co-operation 

between them to enhance 

these relations and achieve the 

mutual interests of the brotherly 

Omani and Kuwaiti peoples. 

The meeting at Bayan Pal- 

Royal Opera House welcomes 

Orchestra Dell’ Accademia 

Teatro Alla Scala. � See Page 11 

MSM index up 

MUSCAT — Muscat Securities Market 

(MSM) 30 index closed high yesterday 

adding more than 24 points with 0.41 per 

cent rise to close at 6,007 points compared 

to 5,983 points. 

MSM daily bulletin noted that the 

MSM main sectors led the index high, the 

foremost of which was the services sector 

which rose by 0.89 per cent to close 

at 2,700 points compared to 2,676 points, 

followed by the financial sector which rose 

by 0.84 per cent to close at 6,994 points. 

The industrial sector also rose slightly 

by 0.63 per cent to close at 2,734 points 

compared to 6,950 points. The market 

trading value stood at RO 7.8 million 

constituting a rise by 25.76 per cent compared 

to yesterday’s session. — ONA 

ace was attended by the official 

delegation accompanying His 

Majesty the Sultan. 

It was also attended from 

the Kuwaiti side by Mohamed 

Dhaifallah Sharar, Adviser to 

the Kuwaiti Emir, Shaikh Mohammed 

al Khalid al Sabah, 

Head of the National Security 

Service, and a number of senior 

Kuwaiti officials. 

His Majesty the Sultan 

also gave an audience at His 

Majesty’s residence in Bayan 

Palace in Kuwait yesterday to 

Shaikh Nassir al Mohammed al 

Ahmed al Jaber al Sabah. 

During the audience, cordial 

conversations were exchanged 

and the fraternal relations between 

the two brotherly countries 

were reviewed. 

His Majesty also gave an 

audience to Jassim Mohammed 

al Kharafi, former speaker of 

the Kuwaiti Majlis al Umma. 

During the audience, cordial 

conversations were exchanged 

and fraternal relations 

between the two countries were 

reviewed. 

His Majesty arrived in Kuwait 

on Monday on a private 

visit. The visit comes to support 

the existing co-operation 

between the Sultanate and Kuwait. 

The bilateral relations between 

the Sultanate of Oman 

and Kuwait is on a steadily 

buoyant mode and is expected 

to strengthen in terms of trade, 

business and tourism, according 

to Kuwait’s diplomatic representative 

to Oman. 

TWO cruise ships with over 3,000 passengers on board visited Salalah yesterday. — ONA � See page 5 

“The bilateral relations between 

Kuwait and Oman are 

very solid and old and are on an 

ascending manner in terms of 

diplomatic, tourism and trade 

and commerce and we are expecting 

further bolstering in the 

coming years. We are on the 

lookout for ways of promoting 

and reinforcing trade relations 

between the two countries,” 

Salem G al Zamanan, Ambassador 

of Kuwait to the Sultanate, 

said recently. — ONA 

� More pictures on Page 2 

GCC forex reserves to be $2tn 

�� 

MUSCAT — The Gulf Co-operation 

Council (GCC) countries of Oman, 

Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, 

and the UAE, possessing 40 per cent of 

proven world oil reserves, have spare 

oil production capacity now of 2.5 to 

3 million barrels per day and are positioned 

to meet any possible shortfall in 

supplies to world markets as a result of 

possible declines in Iranian exports as 

a result of sanctions, said the Institute 

of International Finance (IIF). 

The IIF is the leading global association 

of financial services firms with 

more than 450 member institutions. It 

expects that average oil prices will be 

OIB-HSBC merger from June 

�� 

MUSCAT — The much-awaited 

merger of the Oman International 

Bank (OIB) and the HSBC Oman 

branch will most likely take effect by 

June this year, provided all the legal 

proceedings are in place, according to 

highly placed sources of both banks. 

As per the terms of the merger, HSBC 

will hold 51 per cent of the combined 

entity and will also infuse $97.4 million 

in cash from its internal sources. 

Signing on the contract to the 

merger effect at the Muscat Securities 

Market yesterday, Dr Juma bin 

Ali Juma, Chairman, OIB said the 

about $114 per barrel through 2012 

with GCC oil production this year at 

17.3 million barrels per day, after 16.5 

million in 2011. The IIF forecasts that 

the GCC’s external current account 

surplus is likely to rise to a new record 

of $358 billion this year, up from an 

estimated $327 billion in 2011. 

The Institute stated that a further 

increase in the stock of net GCC foreign 

assets is in prospect to take the 

total to about $1.9 trillion by the end 

of this year, equivalent to 127 per cent 

of projected GDP, and then rising to 

around $2.1 trillion by the end of 2013. 

It noted that about 60 per cent of the 

foreign assets of the region are managed 

by sovereign wealth funds. 

bank has entered into a landmark 

agreement with HSBC to create a major 

new player in the Oman banking 

sector namely, “HSBC Bank Oman 

SAOG”. 

“This deal is incredibly positive, 

not just for OIB, but also for our 

customers who gain access to a leading 

international network and an increased 

range of products. HSBC represents 

the ideal partner with whom 

to develop the bank’s business model 

and build on a strong platform for 

growth. This is an exceptional opportunity 

with considerable benefits to 

both banks”, Dr Juma told the media. 

He also said that the merger was 

Dr George T Abed, IIF Senior 

Counsellor and IIF Director for Africa 

and the Middle East, thanked the DIFC 

for hosting a press conference on the 

release of the IIF’s GCC report. He 

said, “The prospects for the GCC are 

impressive, yet there are clearly risks. 

At a most general level, there is the issue 

of the impact on the GCC should 

turbulence in other Arab countries be 

prolonged.” 

Dr GarbisIradian, IIF Deputy Director, 

Africa and Middle East Department, 

stated, “We are forecasting some 

moderation in overall 2012 growth for 

the GCC at 4.9 per cent after the exceptional 

rise of 6.9 per cent last year. 

� See page 7 

subject to regulatory and other approvals, 

including approval by OIB’s 

shareholders. An Extraordinary General 

Meeting (EGM) will be convened 

shortly in this regard and the transaction 

is expected to complete in the 

second quarter of 2012. PricewaterhouseCoopers 

was the lead financial 

adviser on this transaction. 

Allaying the fears of cutting down 

on manpower, Evan Stirling, CEO, 

HSBC Oman, who described the 

merger as ‘a momentous occasion for 

the bank on its 65th anniversary’, said 

curtailing the number of employees is 

not the new entity’s agenda. 

� Full report on page 5 

� �� 

Fair and swift 

justice system 

MUSCAT — Upon the order 

of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, 

Chairman of the Supreme Judicial 

Council, the Supreme 

Judicial Council held a meeting 

at the Supreme Court 

yesterday under the chair of 

Shaikh Dr Ishaq bin Ahmed al 

Busaidy, Deputy Chairman of 

the Supreme Judicial Council 

and Chairman of the Supreme 

Court. 

The Council discussed a 

number of issues related to 

smooth running of work at 

courts, drawing the general 

policy of the judiciary and 

achieving the Council’s goals. 

The most notable items 

that have been discussed at 

the meeting were the Royal 

directives of His Majesty the 

Sultan for the Council to discuss 

measures to address the 

difficulties in execution of 

justice to ensure that litigating 

parties have quick and fair 

judiciary. 

The Council discussed the 

views of the committee that 

have been formed for this purpose 

including the proposal to 

establish (a general administration 

for implementation) 

that will have departments at 

a number of governorates of 

the Sultanate. 

The Council also discussed 

the importance of amending 

some articles related to implementation 

of the Commercial 

and Civil Procedural Law, as 

RAINS and thunderstorms were experienced in some parts of the Sultanate. � See P5 

All set for COMEX exhibition 

�� 

MUSCAT — OITE Trade 

Fairs is all set to organise 

Oman’s annual IT, Telecommunications 

and Technology 

Exhibition, COMEX 

2012, under the patronage of 

e.Oman, from April 30 to May 

4 with three pavilions featuring 

government portals, business 

solutions and consumer 

technology respectively. 

COMEX will showcase the 

latest products, accessories 

and services be it for laptops, 

mobile phones or consumer 

City tour on bus 

MUSCAT — Travel Point LLC, a travel and 

hospitality company in Oman, and Big Bus 

Tours LLC, UK, have entered into a joint 

venture to announce the introduction of city 

tours into the Sultanate. 

Tour Oman, which is the inbound division 

of Travel Point and a full-fledged 

DMC, will handle the operations of the Big 

Bus in Oman. Big Bus Tours already operates 

sightseeing tours in 12 cities around the 

world, and this new tour, will provide visitors 

with the perfect introduction to the city 

of Muscat, the Arab Tourism Capital 2012. 

Customers will be shown all the finest 

sights of the city, from historic Muttrah 

Souk to the glistening waters of the Sea of 

Oman, and from panoramic mountain views 

to traditional forts and palaces. 

The service is starting out a 2-hour panoramic 

tour of Muscat, departing at intervals 

throughout each day from Muttrah Souk. 

� Full report on page 5 

per the norm in this regard. 

The Supreme Judicial 

Council also studied the proposal 

to establish (Judiciary 

Police) that will help in execution 

of judgements, guarding 

and preserving security 

and order at courts and justice 

utilities. 

The Council also reviewed 

the work system at the Council 

and the Secretariat-General, 

as well as the formation 

of (Secretariat-General) and 

determining its organisational 

chart. 

In a bid to ensure that judiciary 

facilities are in close 

proximity to litigating parties, 

the Council looked into 

increasing the number of Primary 

Courts to spread the umbrella 

of justice and maintain 

the achievements made by the 

judiciary institution; thanks to 

the constant Royal care of His 

Majesty the Sultan, Chairman 

of the Council to the judiciary 

authority, stressing its independence 

and highlighting the 

importance of the supremacy 

of law and order all over the 

Sultanate where all citizens 

enjoy equality, security and 

stability. 

Earlier, His Majesty the 

Sultan issued orders for a 

grant to develop the judicial 

institutions and add impetus 

to the efforts made to develop 

the justice sector over the past 

four decades of the Sultanate’s 

electronics. At the forefront 

will be the Gold Sponsor at 

this year’s COMEX, Arabian 

Computer Company LLC. 

Reputed for its vast array 

of IT products, accessories 

and all the latest gizmos, Arabian 

Computer Company LLC 

has another claim to fame — 

it is one of the longest participating 

exhibitors at COMEX, 

having appeared continuously 

at all editions of the event 

since 2002. “COMEX and 

my company go back a long 

way,” says the owner and 

CEO Hussain al Abdawani 

Renaissance. 

Royal support to the justice 

system seeks to meet the needs 

of the development process by 

helping increase the number 

of cases deliberated by the 

three levels of courts. 

Thanks to the Royal directives, 

scores of judges, 

assistant judges, secretaries, 

notaries public, more than 500 

court officials, administrators, 

accountants and IT technicians 

have been appointed in 

a bid to enable the judicial institution 

to meet the developmental 

requirements. 

The Supreme Judicial 

Council aims at ensuring the 

independence of the judiciary, 

developing it, integrating 

the values, ethics and morals 

of judicial work and caring for 

its systems. 

In this connection it oversees 

the work of the courts and 

the Public Prosecutor’s Office, 

supervises the upgrading of the 

courts and the litigation process, 

facilitates access to legal 

proceedings and considers 

nominations for appointments 

or promotions in the judiciary, 

in cases where the law stipulates 

such posts shall be filled 

by Royal Decree. As well as 

proposing draft laws on judicial 

matters and considering 

and commenting on draft laws 

submitted by the competent authorities. 

— ONA 

� Picture on page 3 

proudly. 

“We have benefited by 

building our brand image 

among the 75,000 strong 

visitors coming annually to 

COMEX and the shopping 

public has always benefited as 

they can acquire choice products 

at the best prices.” 

This year at COMEX Shopper 

2012, Arabian Computer 

Company will be selling the 

latest innovation in laptops in 

addition to products from premium 

brands such as Dell, Verbatim, 

Cisco, Linksys, D-Link, 

Epson and others. � See P7 

News Briefs 

Foreign trip 

AUNG San Suu Kyi 

plans to visit Britain and 

Norway as part of first 

trip outside. — P6 

Euro concerns 

ECONOMIC experts 

certain that Madrid will 

eventually seek a multibillion 

euro bailout. — P7 

Dull campaign 

NICOLAS Sarkozy’s 

campaign appeared to 

lose steam yesterday, 

ahead of election. — P15 

Man rescued 

A 15-YEAR-OLD youth 

was rescued from the 

debris more than 55 hours 

in India yesterday. — P16 

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 04:24 am 12:11 pm 03:38 pm 06:35 pm 07:48 pm Max ax 34 30 31 32 33 34 30 

Min 22 16 22 19 21 29 25 

Buying 0.382 Selling 0.388 $1,642.50

2 OMAN 

OMAN DAILY Observer 

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 

His Majesty receives Emir of Kuwait 

MUSCAT — His Majesty Sultan Qaboos received at his residence at Bayan Palace in Kuwait yesterday Shaikh 

Sabah al Ahmed al Jaber al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait. — Pictures by ONA, Mohamed Mustafa and Salim al Hashly

PASI board discuss insurance bene�ts 

MUSCAT — The Board of Public 

Authority for Social Insurance (PASI) 

held its second meeting of the year 

yesterday under the chairmanship of 

Shaikh Abdullah bin Nasir al Bakri, 

Minister of Manpower and Board Chairman. 

MUSCAT — Dr Abdulmunim 

bin Mansour al Hasani, Minister 

of Information, received 

in his of�ce here yesterday 

Michael Hansen, Honorary 

Minister of Belgium, former 

labour minister and former 

president of the International 

Labour Organisation (ILO) 

who is currently visiting the 

Sultanate. 

The meeting discussed topics 

related to the �elds of the 

existing bilateral co-operation 

between the two countries. 

The Belgium of�cial expressed 

his country’s keenness 

for Sultanate’s participation in 

the international expo due to 

be organised by Belgium in 

The board discussed a message from 

the workers federation sent earlier to the 

board chairman citing the workers' aspirations 

regarding changes to insurance 

entitlements and bene�ts provided by 

the existing social security law. 

The board decided to commission the 

THE seminar on Social Security Networks concluded yesterday. Ministers, of�cials 

and experts took part in the two-day conference which was organised by the Social 

Development Ministry in collaboration with the World Bank. — ONA 

Oman invited for international 

exhibition in Belgium 

2017 in the city of Liege under 

the theme of "Connecting the 

World, Linking People, Better 

Living Together". 

He explained that the expo 

is an ideal platform for exchanging 

the best usages of information 

and communication 

technologies worldwide. 

He added that the expo 

provides an opportunity to 

review research conducted by 

governments, research centres 

and modern technology companies 

on the information development 

during the upcoming 

period. 

The meeting was attended 

by Said bin Khalfan al Harthy, 

Adviser of Media Affairs. 

Meanwhile, Sayyid Badr 

bin Hamad bin Hamoud al 

Busaidy, Secretary-General of 

the Foreign Ministry also received 

Hansen in the General 

Diwan of the ministry. 

The meeting exchanged 

viewpoints on a number of 

matters of common concern in 

the framework of the friendship 

and co-operation relations 

between the two countries. 


by Salim bin Mohammed 

al Riyami, Head of the International 

Organisations 

Department and A�ah bin 

Hamad al Rawahi, Honorary 

Consul of Belgium in the Sultanate. 

— ONA 

THE Supreme Judicial Council held a meeting at the Supreme Court yesterday under 

the chairmanship of Shaikh Dr Ishaq bin Ahmed al Busaidy, Deputy Chairman 

of the Supreme Judicial Council and Chairman of the Supreme Court. — ONA 

international labour organisation to undertake 

assessment of the PASI �nancial 

position and the likely effects of new 

alternatives sought to improve insurance 

bene�ts. The study shall be carried out 

within no less than 10 months from date 

of commissioning. — ONA 

Ties with US 

reviewed 

MUSCAT — Mohammed 

bin Nassir al Rasbi, 

Under-Secretary of the 

Defence Ministry received 

in his of�ce at Muaskar Al 

Murtafaa yesterday Vice 

Admiral Mark Fox, Commander 

of the US Naval 

Forces Central Command 

who is currently visiting the 

Sultanate. 

During the meeting, 

cordial conversations were 

exchanged and matters of 

common concern were discussed. 


by the US Ambassador 

to the Sultanate and the 

US Military Attaché in 

Muscat. 

The US military of�cial 

was also received by 

Rear Admiral Abdullah 

bin Khamis al Raisi, Commander 

of the Royal Navy 

of Oman (RNO). 

The meeting discussed 

a number of relevant topics 

and exchanged views on issues 

of common concern. 

Air Vice Marshal Mattar 

bin Ali al Obaidani, Commander 

of the Royal Air 

Force of Oman (RAFO) 

also received the Vice Admiral. 

During the meeting, a 

number of topics between 

the two sides were reviewed 

and cordial conversations 

in a number of joint topics 

were exchanged. 


by the US Ambassador 

to the Sultanate and the 

US Military Attaché in 

Muscat. — ONA 

3 OMAN 



RAO holds graduation 

MUSCAT — The Royal Army of Oman (RAO) 

celebrated yesterday at the Sultan of Oman 

Parachute honouring the units coming back 

from Qatar after taking part with the Emiri land 

troops in the joint military exercise Taawun 12 

which was carried out from April 4-15. 

On this occasion certi�cates and appreciation 

prizes were presented to some participants 

in recognition of their efforts and excellence 

during the exercise. 

The Sultan of Oman Parachute also held the 

graduation of the basic training course for the 

female free jump team of the Sultan of Oman 

Parachute, who converted from civil to military 

nature. The celebration was held under the 

auspices of Maj Gen Said bin Nasser al Salmi, 

Commander of the Royal Army of Oman. 

The chief guest inspected the front row of 

Human resources development discussed 

CAIRO — Shaikh Khalid bin 

Omar al Marhoon, Minister of 

Civil Service yesterday held 

a meeting on the sidelines of 

the meetings of the Arab Administrative 

Development Organisation 

(ARADO) held in 

Cairo, with A’bdeen Mohammed 

Sharif, Sudanese Human 

Resources Development Minister. 

The meeting discussed 

topics of common concern, 

most importantly exchanging 

visions on successful means 

of the administrative development 

in governmental departments 

in the two countries 

and human resources development. 


from the Omani side by 

Sayyid Salim bin Musallam al 

Busaidy, Under-Secretary of 

the Civil Service Ministry for 

MUSCAT — The 8th version 

of Oman International Conference 

and Exhibition for Oil and 

Gas 2012 organised by Oman 

expo concluded at Oman International 

Exhibition Centre 

yesterday. 

The three-day conference 

discussed issues related to enhanced 

oil recovery (OER) using 

special technologies, with 

the participation of specialists 

in this �eld from Arab and foreign 

countries. 

The conference included 

seminars where light was shed 

on the present situation of human 

resources for OER, innovative 

methods to develop 

human resource capability for 

OER projects, the role of industry, 

government and academia 

in nurturing EOR professionals 

and the best practices for 

developing the skills of EOR 

manpower. 

The Oman International 

Conference and Exhibition for 

Oil and Gas is considered one 

of the biggest regional oil and 

MUSCAT — The Dutch embassy 

hosted a reception to 

mark the National Day at 

Grand Hyatt Hotel yesterday. 

Administrative Development 

Affairs, Shaikh Saif bin Hilal 

al Maamari, the Sultanate’s 

Deputy Permanent Representative 

to the Arab League, 

Khalfan bin Nassir al Wahaibi, 

gas event, which hosts companies 

from different parts of 

the world and many specialists 

and representatives in this 

sector. 

The exhibition is also considered 

one of the most important 

energy event in the Middle 

East which has succeeded 

The occasion was the 

74th birthday of Her Majesty 

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. 

the female graduates who staged a parade in 

the regular march and military shows to the 

tunes of the RAO Music Band. He then presented 

the awards and appreciation certi�cates 

to outperformers. 

The RAO Commander also pinned medals 

of long service and good conduct on a number 

of the Sultan of Oman Parachute personnel in 

appreciation of their long service and dedication 

in performing their duties. 

The ceremony was attended by Brigadier 

Ali bin Abdullah al Mashikhi, Director-General 

of Operations and Training at RAO, the 

Commander of the Sultan of Oman Parachute 

and a number of military and civil invitees, 

parents, commissioned and non-commissioned 

of�cers and personnel of the Sultan of Oman 

Parachute. — ONA 

Director-General of Administrative 

Review and Follow-up 

and Sayyid Zaki bin Hilal al 

Busaidy, Director-General of 

Arrangement and Jobs Classi- 

�cation, while it was attended 

in establishing itself on the 

international exhibitions map. 

It has attracted local and international 

companies. 

The exhibition attracted a 

large number of companies and 

oil and gas manufacturers, as a 

number of companies from the 

GCC countries, Asian, Ameri- 

Dutch reception organised 

The event was attended by 

ministers and ambassadors 

and the Netherlands ambassador 

to the Sultanate. — ONA 

from the Sudanese side by 

Dr Abdulmahmoud Abdulhaleem, 

Director-General of International 

and State Relations 

at Human Resources Development 

Ministry. — ONA 

Oil and gas expo showcases OER tech 

can, European and African 

countries represent a rich market 

for the products and services 

of these companies due 

to the continuous explorations 

and production increasing 

activities in the Middle East 

which align oil explorations in 

the Sultanate. — ONA 

12th ELT 

conference at 

SQU opens 

MUSCAT — The 12th English 

Language Teaching 

(ELT) conference themed 

“Quality in ELT: Raising 

Pedagogical Standards” organised 

by SQU Language 

Centre was opened here yesterday 

under the auspices of 

Dr Hamoud bin Khalfan al 

Harthy, Education Ministry 

Under-Secretary for Education 

and Curriculum. 

Dr Saleh bin Salim al 

Busaidy, member of the 

Majlis Addawla, Director 

of Language Centre in his 

speech said the topic of the 

conference was very much 

relevant. 

An exhibition was also 

opened along with the conference. 

— ONA

Paragon featured in international 

books on branding again 

MUSCAT — Paragon, a leading 

advertising agency network 

based in Kuwait, Oman 

and Bulgaria, has yet again 

been featured in Rockport 

Publications 12th edition of 

Letterhead and Logo Design 

and in the Logo Lounge Master 

Library Vol 4 3000 Type 

and Calligraphy logos. 

Letterhead and Logo Design 

12 published by Oxide 

Publications presents the latest, 

most innovative and exciting 

work from well-known 

design leaders, new design 

�rms, and cutting-edge artists. 

The work done by Paragon 

for Al Humeidi Group, 247 

and Paragon’s own stationery 

By A Staff Reporter 

MUSCAT — Ahlibank, in 

line with its Corporate Social 

Responsibility initiatives, 

handed over a cheque of 

RO 5,800 to the Oman Association 

for the Disabled — 

Sohar towards the purchase of 

20 sports wheelchairs for the 

Special Needs sports team. 

The Head of Corporate 

Communications, Murtadha 

al Lawati, said, “We, at ahlibank, 

are sincere in our 

commitment towards CSR 

initiatives. We are constantly 

looking at ways to contribute 

to the well-being of the 

society. We strongly feel that 

our journey to excellence is 

incomplete if we don’t carry 

out our social duties along 

with our day to day business 

activities. In this regard, we 

are extremely happy about 

any support that we can provide 

to the different NGO’s 

and Welfare Organisations in 

the country. 

won mentions in the international 

publication that is used 

as a reference by designers 

worldwide on letterhead and 

logo designs. 

The fourth and �nal installment 

in the series — Master 

Library 4: Type & Calligraphy 

by Cathy Fishel and Bill 

Gardner, is a highly organised 

collection of 3,000 typographic 

logo designs. Interviews 

with such top-tier logo designers 

as Miles Newlyn, Jessica 

Hische, and Ken Barber 

provide insights on the values, 

traditions, and future of designing 

with typography. 

The Paragon network 

stretches from Kuwait, Oman 

to Bulgaria, wherein each of 

Our goal is to help improve 

the quality of life and put a 

smile on the faces of those 

who have special needs”. 

Abdul Aziz al Balushi 

CEO of ahlibank also added, 

“It is heartwarming to know 

that our small steps would 

bene�t the people with special 

needs and help them rise 

up to life’s challenges. 

“We understand that the 

the country it functions as a 

fully �edged marketing communications 

agency. 

Paragon has won a total of 

57 international, regional and 

local awards on creativity and 

also has been featured in 23 international 

books on advertising 

and graphic design: 1,000 

More Greetings by Rockport 

Publications; The Best 

of Business Card Design by 

Sibley/Peteet Design/Austin, 

Letterhead & Logo Design 9 

by The San Francisco Design 

Of�ce Mine, Letterhead & 

Logo Design 11 by Design 

Army, Logo Lounge 4 by 

Bill Gardner, Identity Crisis 

by Jeff Fisher, The Big Book 

of Self Promotion by Peleg 

less fortunate sections of the 

society need more care and 

attention and we are appreciative 

of the work being done 

by the association. As a bank 

that is serious about making a 

difference, we will continue 

taking steps to contribute to 

the welfare of the Omani Society”. 

The Chairman of the Oman 

Association for the Disabled 

MUSCAT — Philippine Expat 

Photographers (PEP), a local 

grouping of amateur photographers, 

has welcomed a new 

committee of of�ce-bearers 

for 2012. 

Led by Chong Zamora as 

President, the new team was 

sworn in at a ceremony presided 

over by Philippine Ambassador 

Joselito A Jimeno at the 

Philippine Embassy recently. 

The new line-up also includes 

Rodrigo Desiatco — 

Vice-President, Nomilyn Simon 

— Secretary, Aries Vitan 

Wong — Treasurer, Richard 

Pagulayan — Programme Director, 

Marili Josie Amper — 

Press Relations Of�cer, John 

Foronda — Peace and Order, 

Top and Ilise Benun, Logo 

Lounge Master Library 

3000 Initial & Crest Logos 

and Logo Lounge Master 

Library 3000 Initial & Mythology 

Logos by Catharine 

Fishel and Bill Gardner, Recycling 

& Redesigning Logos 

by Michael Hodgson, Really 

Good Logos Explained by 

Margo Chase, Rian Hughes, 

Ron Miriello and Alex White, 

Portfolios 01 by Maura Keller, 

Crack, Celebrations 

Graphics Sourcebook by 

John Stones, Kuwait Arab 

Advertising Award Book, 

Complete Graphic Designer 

by Ryan Hembree, Creating 

Great Graphic Design to a 

Budget by Scott Witham. 

Ahlibank supports the OAD 

expressed gratitude towards 

the gesture of ahlibank. “We 

are thankful to ahlibank for 

their contribution to the association. 

When we started this 

association 17 years ago, we 

had the vision of providing 

support, education and recreational 

activities to people with 

disabilities. With the help of 

esteemed organisations like 

ahlibank, we have been able 

to achieve our dreams and improve 

and extend our services 

to many more people who are 

in need of it”.” 

The ahlibank care’s initiative 

has been designed to provide 

monetary, physical and 

even marketing support to the 

different NGO’s and Associations 

in the country. Ahlibank 

is proud to be af�liated with a 

number of these organisations 

which includes the Oman Association 

for the Disabled, 

The Association for the welfare 

of the handicapped and 

the National Association for 

Cancer Awareness. 

Badr al Samaa launches trans esophageal ECG 


MUSCAT — Badr al Samaa Healthcare 

group introduced Trans Esophageal 

Echocardiography in the Cardiology department 

at their Ruwi branch recently. 

Ordinary echocardiogram looks at 

the heart from outside the chest. Doctor 

scans the heart with a transducer kept 

on the chest and sees the images in the 

screen of the machine. 

According to Dr Benny Panakkal, 

Chief Cardiologist and Group Medical 

Director, Badr al Samaa Group, “this is 

an excellent way of assessing the vari- 

A SERIES of in-depth analysis of the menace 

of drug addiction in the Sultanate where 

Oman’s youth, parents, experts, social 

workers and medical practitioners 

participate. From Saturday (April 21) 

to Wednesday (April 25). Be part of it. 

ous cardiac diseases non-invasively with 

minimal discomfort to the patient”. 

But there are some situations this 

kind of testing is not optimal. For example 

there are some patients where it is almost 

impossible to get good images due 

to technical reasons. In some instances 

more detailed and closer examination 

of the heart is needed. In this situation 

a different kind of echocardiogram 

used is the Trans Esophageal Echocardiogram. 

“This test is carried out using a special 

transducer which is essentially an endoscopic 

probe with an echocardiographic 

transducer attached to its tip. This can be 

passed down the food pipe of the patient 

like an ordinary endoscope. As the food 

pipe goes in the chest very close to the 

heart, heart can be imaged very closely 

using this probe and one can obtain 

much clearer and detailed images”. 

Badr al Samaa has always been bringing 

innovative technology in the private 

healthcare sector in the Sultanate. 

Recently Badr al Samaa introduced 

Holmium Laser Surgery in their Urology 

Department. Trans Esophageal Echocardiogram 

is again the �rst of its kind, in 

the private healthcare sector in Oman. 

and Sherwin Sevillena — 

President Emeritus. 

Speaking on the occasion, 

Sherwin Sevillena thanked 

the outgoing of�ce bearers for 

4 OMAN 



New 70-foot one-design multihulls 

championship to begin in July 


MUSCAT — Three of Oman’s most 

celebrated sailors will get the chance to 

make further history after being selected 

for the Oman Sail crew for the �rst ever 

one-design trimaran MOD70 Multi One 

Championship. 

Fahad al Hasni, Mohsin al Busaidy, 

and Khamis al Anbouri will join a handful 

of select international crewmates aboard 

the Sidney Gavignet-skippered Oman 

Sail MOD70 for this thrilling new circuit, 

set to test the world’s leading skippers 

and crews and an exciting new generation 

of 70ft one-design multihulls. 

The Championship, which gets under 

way in July 2012, brings together the 

adventure of ocean races with the tension 

and drama of inshore races, arenas 

in which the selected Omani sailors have 

excelled over the past few years. 

An integral part of Oman Sail’s offshore 

team, Fahad was part of the BAEsponsored 

team that �nished an impressive 

�fth in the 2011 Tour du France a 

la Voile, while Mohsin — one of Oman 

Sail’s very �rst recruits — was the �rst 

Arab to sail non-stop around the world. 

Ocean racing will be a new challenge 

for Khamis, who has excelled in Extreme 

40 inshore racing, becoming the �rst Omani 

to stand on the top of the podium at an 

international sailing event when he won 

the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series on Oman 

Sail’s The Wave, Muscat. 

The crew for the Oman Sail MOD70 

was handpicked by skipper Sidney. The 

Omani crew selection was run with a 

week sailing on the MOD70 ‘Race for 

Water’ in October, followed by a 48-hour 

intense trek in the Omani mountains. He 

assessed sailors from the F18, windsurfing 

and M34 squads plus the more established, 

experienced Omani sailors. 

Sidney said: “In the end it was experience 

that shone through. I feel con�dent 

with the team members surrounding me, a 

Rib-tickling comedy 

treat on May 10 

MUSCAT — Charbak, ‘a 

premiere theatre group from 

Kolkata (India), promises to 

have the audience in splits 

with their well acclaimed play 

Chalo Potol Tuli set for May 

10, at the Oman Auditorium 

of Al Bustan Palace — A Ritz 

Carlton Hotel. 

Charbak was originally 

founded and headed by the 

late Jochon Dastidar in 1976. 

After the demise of Jochon 

in 1999, Chandra Dastidar 

helmed the group until 2003, 

when Kheyali Dastidar took 

over the reins of the group. 

Over the years Charbak has 

earned wide recognition both 

nationally and internationally 

under many talented and proli�c 

actors of Bengal like Sabyasachi 

Chakraborty, Kheyali 

Dastidar, Arindam Ganguly, 

Subir Roychowdhury, Sujit 

Ghosh and others. 

Sabyasachi Chakraborty 

got involved with Charbak in 

1983. He has worked in several 

TV shows, Bengali and 

Hindi movies. Renowned for 

his portrayal of the character 

of ‘Feluda’ in Satyajit Ray’s 

Feluda series, he has also 

achieved several awards for 

his acting prowess. 

In 2005, Arindam Ganguly, 

a name well-known in Bengali 

movies, theatre and the television 

world, wrote and directed 

his �rst play Chalo Potol Tuli 

— a hilarious comedy based 

on several short stories of Shibram 

Chakraborty. 

The story revolves around 

a �nicky man, portrayed by 

Sabyasachi Chakraborty, 

afraid that the beri beri infected 

neighbour will surely kill 

him. He turns sel�sh and tries 

Philippine Expat Photographers elect new of�ce-bearers 

their enthusiastic support and 

commitment to the growth and 

objectives of PEP over the past 

two terms. 

“Allow me to express my 

mix of great experience and good personalities, 

who will create a great atmosphere 

to catch up as fast as possible on our opposition. 

One main goal is to build at least 

one Omani as a primary helmsman. 

“Fahad is one of the most promising 

young Oman Sail sailors and is known 

as ‘the machine’ when it comes to trimming 

the spinnakers for hours, non-stop. 

Moshin is the most experienced offshore 

Oman Sail sailor and Khamis is highlymotivated 

to discover offshore and we 

will help him in that journey. I am looking 

forward to sailing with my new team.” 

Oman Sail takes delivery of its new 

70ft trimaran this month, just three months 

ahead the Krys Ocean Race which will 

kick off the Multi One Design Championship 

with a 2,950 mile sprint eastbound 

across the Atlantic from New York (USA) 

to Brest on the north-west top of France 

starting on 7 July. In preparation the team 

will be training in France and taking part 

in a number of French offshore and inshore 

races to put both the boat and team 

to the test. 

After the opening Krys Ocean Race, 

the European Tour element of the 

all possible solutions in his 

endeavour to ward off the disease 

from his house — much 

to the annoyance of his family, 

friends and relatives. In the 

process he encounters many 

funny, rib tickling situations. 

In the end he realises that being 

self-centred is no way to 

live a life. Through slapstick 

situations and humorous anecdotes 

we are told that the 

sel�sh live a life of isolation. 

Embedded with unforgettable 

puns, the play also portrays 

a strong moral that in 

this age of growing discontent 

we need to be tied with a bond 

of unity and friendship or else 

will be left alone to live a life 

of tragic isolation. Written 

in the backdrop of the �fties 

and sixties era, the play also 

re�ects the writer’s farsightedness 

that nuclear families 

would gradually drive off the 

idea of joint families. 

The programme will be 

hosted by the alumni of Bengal 

Engineering College in 

Oman. Besides their other 

benevolent activities towards 

their beloved alma mater, the 

alumni has also been entertaining 

large groups of audiences 

over the past few years 

with fascinating shows by 

performing artistes of various 

genres. 

Their �rst successful venture 

was the presentation of 

the musical maestro Pandit 

Ajay Chakraborty. This was 

followed by a series of spell 

bounding performances by 

Nandikar, the theatre group 

of Rudraprasad Sengupta, 

Mamata Shankar’s dance 

troupe and the Bangla band 

Bhoomi. 

utmost gratitude to all the of- 

�cers and head of committees 

who have never failed to serve 

our club and the community 

with admirable dedication and 

GUtech signs MoU 

with Bauer Water 

MUSCAT — The University 

of Technology in Oman 

(GUtech) recently signed a 

Memorandum of Understanding 

(MoU) with the German 

company Bauer Water GmbH 

for a scienti�c co-operation 

in the �eld of hydrogeology, 

water management and oil 

production site management. 

“GUtech and Bauer Water 

intend to develop an active 

co-operation to tackle different 

water and environment related 

problems as well as joint 

scienti�c research co-operation, 

seminars, internships 

and Bachelor and Master 

thesis for GUtech students,” 

said Professor Dr Burkhard 

Rauhut, Rector of GUtech 

during the signing ceremony. 

“The production and 

processing of oil and gas results 

in the production of large 

volumes of contaminated water, 

from which various substances 

need to be removed 

prior to their disposal,” said 

Peter Amler, Managing Director 

of Bauer Water GmbH. 

The subsidiary company in 

Oman, Bauer Nimr LLC, has 

a water treatment plant in op- 

perseverance. I am honoured 

to have been able to lead this 

excellent group over the past 

two terms,” Sevillena said. 

Starting out as a grouping 

of photography enthusiasts, 

PEP Oman has evolved into 

a multifaceted club with a 

strong civic and social agenda, 

he said. Over the past year, 

the association has successfully 

organised a number of 

initiatives, including clean up 

drives, fundraisers, and public 

exhibitions. 

In addition to its annual 

programme of road trips, photo 

shoots and workshops, PEP 

has also launched a dedicated 

website www.pep-oman.org 

and Facebook account. 

MOD70 Multi One Championship takes 

place between September 2012 and June 

2013 and includes events in Marseille 

(FRA), Cascais (POR), Kiel (GER), 

Italy and Ireland. Crews will then do battle 

in the Ocean World Tour part of the 

Championship from October 2013 to 

April 2014. 

Oman Sail is continuing its global promotion 

of Oman and the development of 

marine activity amongst Omanis through 

its involvement in the MOD70 circuit. 

One of the main deciders for Oman Sail’s 

participation in the Championship was 

the key market destinations the boats will 

visit in the World and European tours, 

with the majority having direct �ight 

routes to Muscat with the country’s national 

airline, Oman Air. The MOD70 

programme will continue to promote 

Oman as a unique luxury tourist destination 

around the globe 

David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail: 

“The MOD70 will take the Oman Sail 

project to another level. It is a very powerful 

boat whose crew will need to have 

the skill base to perform against some 

of the world’s best sailors. It is a truly 

inspirational project that will provide 

a platform for our current top sailors to 

compete and develop their sailing skills 

and inspire a whole new generation of 

Omanis into sailing.” 

Completing the Oman Sail MOD70 

crew are three highly-experienced French 

sailors, Loik Gallon, Jean François Cuzon 

and Thomas Le Breton, alongside the 

hugely-successful British offshore sailor 

Brian Thompson. 

Technical manager and boat captain, 

Loik, skippered the 2009 Oman Sail 

trimaran, Musandam, voyage in which 

Mohsin became the �rst Omani to sail 

non-stop around the world, while navigator 

Jean François is a former 470 World 

champion and America’s Cup challenger 

who has competed in the last two Transat 

Jacques Vabre transatlantic races. 

eration that is treating almost 

50,000 m3 of water per year 

and is currently being expanded. 

Furthermore, Bauer Nimr 

is running a pilot plant in 

Oman for removal of naturally-occurring 

radioactive material 

(NORM) from drilling 

equipment that is used in the 

oil production process. 

GUtech students who participate 

in the programme may 

be involved in local projects 

at Bauer Nimr LLC or may 

spend some time at BAUER 

Water GmbH in Germany as 

part of the collaboration. 

“Bauer recruits about 

one third of our employees 

through internships and we 

would be happy to train GUtech 

students at our water 

treatment plant in Oman and 

at the pilot NORM plant in 

Oman, as well as in our headof�ce 

in Germany,” said Amler. 

Bauer Water GmbH has 

a number of other projects 

in Oman and the Gulf region 

as well, and further joint 

projects between the university 

and Bauer Water GmbH 

are planned. 

Sevillena exhorted the new 

committee to build on PEP’s 

successful programme of activities 

by organising events 

and activities that also help 

strengthen links with its members. 

PEP Oman’s charitable 

activities have included fundraising 

in support of victims of 

Philippine natural calamities. 

Of late, the club has begun 

offering its expertise in photography 

to private institutions, 

with earnings earmarked 

for distressed Filipino workers 

seeking �nancial assistance for 

their air travel back home. PEP 

is committed to help needy 

members of the Filipino expatriate 

community.


MUSCAT — Travel Point 

LLC, a travel and hospitality 

company in Oman, and Big 

Bus Tours LLC, UK, have 

entered into a joint venture to 

announce the introduction of 

city tours into the Sultanate. 

Tour Oman, which is the 

inbound division of Travel 

Point and a full-fledged 

DMC, will handle the operations 

of the Big Bus in Oman. 

Big Bus Tours already operates 

sightseeing tours in 12 

cities around the world, and 

this new tour, will provide 

visitors with the perfect introduction 

to the city of Muscat, 

the Arab Tourism Capital 

2012. 

Customers will be shown 

all the finest sights of the 

city, from historic Muttrah 

Souk to the glistening waters 

of the Sea of Oman, and from 

panoramic mountain views to 

traditional forts and palaces. 

The service is starting out 

a 2-hour panoramic tour of 

Muscat, departing at intervals 

throughout each day from 

Muttrah Souk. 

A dedicated tour guide 

will provide an entertaining 

5 OMAN 



Travel Point partners with Big Bus to tour Oman 

Omani B-Boys to bid 

for world honours 


MUSCAT — For the first 

time since 2006, the most 

prestigious One-on-One B- 

Boy Championship, the Red 

Bull BC One will return to 

Brazil. 

Just like last year, with 

qualification events across 

the globe, celebrated and 

unknown B-Boys have the 

chance to break their way into 

the Red Bull BC One World 

Final. Muscat will host the 

Oman Cypher to choose the 

best of the best to represent 

their nation. 

This year, there will be 

over 60 Cyphers, local qualification 

events in countries as 

far and wide as New York, Italy, 

Bolivia and Taiwan. Winners 

of those Cyphers will get 

the chance to compete in one 

of six continental qualifiers in 

an attempt to reach the World 

Final, which will be held in 

December 2012. 

It is not the first time that 

this region and Oman in particular 

welcomes such competitions, 

as they return in 2012 

under the banner of Red Bull 

BC One, the ultimate breaking 

tournament around the globe, 

building on the tremendous 

success of Red Bull Breaking 

last year. 

Omani B-Boys have a special 

rendezvous next Friday, 

April 27, at 7 in the evening in 

Muscat Grand Mall, as 16 of 

the best B-Boys in the country 

will compete for the local 

title. 

A jury panel will assess 

the participants based on 3 

criteria: technique, innovation 

and dance flow. It will include 

some of best breaking stars 

in the world such as B-Boy 

Neguin, B-Boy Lamin and B- 

Boy Ronnie. 

In every round, two B-Boys 

will have a one-on-one faceoff 

and each participant has 

two chances to show off their 

moves on the sound of break 

beats of DJ “CL BOOD”. 

The local competition in 

Oman is sponsored by Shababiah 

and in collaboration with 

Muscat Grand Mall. It falls 

among more than 60 tour 

stops around the world, while 

the regional qualifier will conclude 

in Egypt to select the 

winner competing in the finals 

in Brazil. 

The remaining stages are 

considered as continental 

qualifications, with respective 

final competitions hosted in 

the United States, Mexico, the 

Netherlands, Russia and New 

Zealand. 

Since its birth in 2004, the 

Red Bull BC One has become 

the premiere competition in 

the world of B-Boying. 

While the competition has 

consistently attracted the best 

in the world, in 2011 the event 

series opened up to give any 

B-Boys the chance to compete 

through a multi-layered global 

qualification phase. 

For this great season, Red 

Bull BC One was voted best 

B-Boy Event 2011 at the 

World of Dance Awards. 

and colourful commentary, 

providing valuable historical 

information and a real insight 

into the ways and workings 

of the city. 

Mike Lees, General Manager, 

Big Bus, said “We are 

delighted to bring our tour to 

the city of Muscat. 

It will provide the growing 

numbers of tourists in 

this destination with a great 

opportunity to discover the 

city and its history, with the 

combination of informative 

commentary and breathtaking 

views from atop the 

buses, making this tour an 

essential part of the Muscat 

experience”. 

Sunil Prabhakar, Group 

GM of Travel Point, said: 

“We are happy to partner 

with Big Bus Tours and excited 

to showcase Muscat 

and its impeccable beauty to 

both tourists and locals alike. 

This is a wonderful project 

that will provide visitors the 

perfect introduction to all that 

Muscat has to offer”. 

Both the companies intend 

to expand the itinerary 

of the tour as well as the route 

to offer a very comprehensive 

view of Oman’s natural 

beauty. 

All the tourists have to do 

is sit back, relax, and take it 

all in from the vantage point 

of big red, double-decker 

open top bus. 

New General Manager 

for Radisson Blu 


MUSCAT — Radisson Blu 

has appointed Marius Wolmarans, 

an experienced hand in 

the hotel industry as the new 

General Manager for its Muscat 

operations recently. 

Marius Wolmarans, a 

South African national, has 

gained extensive experience 

in the hospitality industry. 

Having started his career 

in 1996, Marius Wolmarans 

worked in a number of positions 

in hotels in South Africa 

among others. 

In 2009, Wolmarans joined 

Rezidor as Executive Assistant 

Manager at the Radisson 

Blu Hotel Cape Town, where 

he was responsible for the operations 

of this flagship property. 

Marius Wolmarans holds a 

Hotel Management Diploma 

from Birnam Business College. 

Light rains in some wilayats 

MUSCAT — Some wilayats 

of Governorates of Dhofar, 

South Al Sharqiyah and Al 

Wusta witnessed light rainfall 

yesterday. 

Light rains fell in a number 

of villages of the Wilayat of 

Shaleem and Al Halaniyat 

Islands in the Dhofar Governorate. 

The Wilayat of Masirah 

(centre of the wilayat) in the 

South Al Sharqiyah Governorate 

also witnessed light 

rains. Light rains also fell 

in the Wilayat of Hima, 

Habari and Bahja, as well as 

in Nimr in the Wilayat of Al 

Jazir in the Al Wusta Governorate. 

— ONA 

OIB-HSBC merger likely to 

take effect by June this year 

HSBC to inject capital of up to $97.4m 

DR Juma bin Ali Juma and Evan Stirling after signing the agreement at the MSM yesterday. 

— Picture by Saleh al Sharji 

By Kabeer Yousuf 

MUSCAT — The much-awaited merger of the 

Oman International Bank (OIB) and the HSBC 

Oman branch will most likely take effect by 

June this year, provided all the regulatory approvals 

are in place, according to senior officials 

of both the banks. 

As per the terms of the merger, HSBC will 

hold 51 per cent of the combined entity and 

will also infuse $97.4 million in cash from its 

internal sources. Signing on the contract to the 

merger effect at the Muscat Securities Market 

yesterday, Dr Juma bin Ali Juma, Chairman, 

OIB said the bank has entered into a landmark 

agreement with HSBC to create a major new 

player in the Oman banking sector namely, 

“HSBC Bank Oman SAOG”. 

“This deal is incredibly positive, not just for 

OIB, but also for our customers who gain access 

to a leading international network and an 

increased range of products. HSBC represents 

the ideal partner with whom to develop the 

bank’s business model and build on a strong 

platform for growth. This is an exceptional opportunity 

with considerable benefits to both 

banks”, Dr Juma told the media. 

He also said that the merger was subject 

to regulatory and other approvals, including 

SALALAH — A cruise ship 

Costa Favolosa visited Salalah 

Port yesterday with 3,001 

passengers on board including 

2,251 tourists as well as 

a cruise ship Seabourn Pride 

with 370 passengers on board 

including 195 tourists within 

the framework of their tourism 

programme to a number 

of ports around the world. 

Passengers of the two ships 

toured the most important 

archaeological and historic 

landmarks in the Governorate 

of Dhofar, such as frankincense 

tree locations, the 

Frankincense Museum and 

archaeological areas, besides 

visiting beaches and traditional 

markets and the nearby 

coastal wilayats to the Wilayat 

of Salalah. 

The cruise ship Costa Fa- 

approval by OIB’s shareholders. An Extraordinary 

General Meeting (EGM) will be convened 

shortly in this regard and the transaction 

is expected to complete in the second quarter 

of 2012. PricewaterhouseCoopers was the lead 

financial adviser on this transaction. 

Allaying the fears of cutting down on manpower, 

Evan Stirling, CEO, HSBC Oman, who 

described the merger as ‘a momentous occasion 

for the bank on its 65th anniversary’, said 

curtailing the number of employees is not the 

new entity’s agenda, instead, it will provide intensive, 

international training to the local bank 

staff. 

“Cutting down on the manpower is not at all 

our aim, instead, all HSBC and OIB employees 

will enjoy the benefits of such a merger and we 

will provide international training to the local 

staff with the aim of serving the clientele of the 

‘world’s local bank’, HSBC, in a better way. 

He added that the international channels of the 

HSBC and the local channels of the OIB will 

prove to be the best banking service provider 

in the country. 

OIB, which is Oman’s fifth largest bank 

with the second largest branch network in the 

country, had gross assets of $3.2 billion as at 

the end of December 2011, and the merger will 

not affect OIB’s listing on the Muscat Securities 

Market. 

Two cruise ships dock 

at Port of Salalah 

volosa is coming from Port 

Sultan Qaboos and heading to 

Port Safaga in Egypt while the 

cruise ship Seabourn Pride is 

coming from the Port of Dubai 

and heading to Port Safaga 

in Egypt. 

The Sultanate witnesses 

annually a number of cruise 

ships that are touring the 

world due to its unique maritime 

location. — ONA

YANGON — Nobel Peace 

Prize laureate and newly 

elected lawmaker Aung San 

Suu Kyi will travel outside 

Myanmar for the �rst time in 

24 years after accepting invitations 

to visit Norway and 

Britain in June, her party said 

yesterday. 

Her travel caps months of 

dramatic change in Myanmar, 

including a historic by-election 

on April 1 that won her a 

seat in a year-old parliament 

that replaced nearly �ve decades 

of oppressive military 

rule. 

Her trip will include a visit 

to the British city Oxford, 

where she attended university 

in the 1970s, said National 

League for Democracy (NLD) 

party spokesman Nyan Win. 

“But I don’t know the exact 

date yet,” Nyan Win said, 

adding he did not know which 

country she would visit �rst. 

She has previously indicated 

that it would be Norway. 

Suu Kyi, 66, was �rst detained 

in 1989, and spent 15 of 

the next 21 years in detention 

until her release from house 

arrest in November 2010. She 

refused to leave the country 

during the brief periods when 

she was not held by authorities, 

for fear of not being allowed 

to return. 

She won one of her party’s 

43 seats in this month’s byelection 

following a series 

of reforms under President 

Thein Sein, a former general, 

including the release of political 

prisoners, more media 

freedom, dialogue with ethnic 

militias and an exchange rate 

uni�cation seen crucial to �xing 

the economy. 

6 

THE PHILIPPINES/SUBCONTINENT 


Suu Kyi was invited to 

visit Britain when she met 

Prime Minister David Cameron 

in Yangon on Friday. At 

the time, she said the fact that 

she would consider the offer, 

rather than reject it outright, 

showed “great progress” had 

been achieved in Myanmar. 

“Two years ago I would 

have said thank you for the in- 

vitation, but sorry,” she added. 

Suu Kyi’s long refusal to 

leave Myanmar characterised 

her steely determination to 

defy the ruling junta, which offered 

to release her from house 

arrest to be with her late husband, 

Michael Aris, who died 

of cancer in Britain in 1999. 

Their story was played out 

on the big screen late last year 


OUSTED former president Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada distributes goodie bags to his supporters during his birthday celebration 

in Payatas, Quezon City Metro Manila, yesterday. Estrada will mark 75th birthday today. — Reuters 

Fee for TAPI pipeline agreed 

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan, 

India and Afghanistan have 

agreed on the rate of transit fee 

on supply of gas from Turkmenistan 

through a transnational 

pipeline, popularly known as 

Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India 

(TAPI) pipeline. 

This was the last major 

stumbling block before reaching 

a �nal agreement on the 

pipeline as Pakistan and India 

had already negotiated a gas 

price with Turkmenistan. 

Under the proposed arrangement, 

Pakistan will pay a 

transit fee of 50 cents per million 

cubic feet of gas per day 

(mmcfd) to Afghanistan and 

the same amount will be paid 

by India to Pakistan. A �nal 

agreement on the fee will be 

signed after Afghanistan, India 

and Pakistan get consent from 

their governments. 

During two days of talks 

that concluded here on Tuesday, 

Afghanistan demanded 

a transit fee of 54 cents per 

mmcfd whereas India offered 

45 cents per mmcfd. “In the 

end, all countries agreed on the 

fee of 50 cents,” a senior government 

of�cial said. 

Earlier, Afghanistan asked 

Pakistan and India to pay the 

fee in the form of gas but Pakistan 

opposed the proposal. 

In early February, Afghan 

and Pakistani of�cials 

Planning panel seeks to 

centralise land records 

ISLAMABAD — The Planning 

Commission of Pakistan 

wants to computerise 

the land records and centralise 

the data collected from 

all over the country in next 

few years, the action plan on 

Growth Strategy prepared 

by the commission said. 

The land transactions are 

not transparent and unreliable, 

manual and fragmented 

property records are prone 

to tampering and unsecured 

titles, Planning Commission 

said in the plan. 

The government should 

amend land transfer and 

property registration laws, 

settlement of evacuee trust 

properties, and establish 

Real Estate Regulatory Authority, 

develop database 

on land, housing, and real 

estate transactions, and 

evolve laws and procedures 

for licensing of real estate 

agents, valuators, and companies, 

the Planning Commission 

said. 

Millions of cases are 

pending in courts for decades 

because of old practice 

of maintaining land records 

with the help of patwaris 

(revenue of�cials), the 

Growth Strategy plan said. 

Patwari is term used in 

Pakistan and India for a 

land record of�cer at subdivision 

or tehsil level. 

As the lowest state functionary 

in the Revenue 

Collection system, his job 

encompasses visiting agricultural 

lands and maintaining 

record of ownership and 

tilling (girdawari). 

had discussed three different 

proposals for the transit fee 

which included fee in cash or 

kind, a �xed fee in dollars on 

the volume of gas supplied or 

fee linked with per kilometre 

length of the pipeline. Petroleum 

Secretary Ijaz Chaudhry 

said Afghanistan and India 

would now seek the go-ahead 

from their governments for the 

fee. 

“If the three countries sign 

an agreement for the fee of 50 

cents, India will pay over $600 

million per annum to Pakistan, 

which will make onward payment 

to Afghanistan,” the of- 

�cial said. 

At the beginning of the 

project, Pakistan and India will 

receive 1.365 billion cubic feet 

of gas per day (bcfd) and Afghanistan 

will be supplied 0.5 

bcfd. 

The Economic Coordination 

Committee (ECC) of the 

cabinet has already allowed 

the petroleum ministry to sign 

a gas sale and purchase agreement 

with Turkmenistan to 

push ahead with the $7.6 billion 

gas pipeline. The agreement 

is expected to be inked 

next month in Turkmenistan. 

However, the two sides 

will review the gas price every 

�ve years. Earlier, Pakistan 

proposed a price review every 

three years keeping in view 

the oil price movements while 

Turkmenistan wanted it to be 

�xed for 10 years. 

Meanwhile, in the upcoming 

crucial meeting of the Pak- 

China Joint Energy Working 

Group (JEWG), authorities in 

Islamabad intend to ask Beijing 

to establish a $10 billion 

energy infrastructure fund. 

The moot is scheduled for 

May 2-4 and will be a follow 

up to the JEWG meeting held 

in Beijing in August last year. 

At that meeting, China had 

conditioned its investment in 

the water and power sector on 

the suspension of Public Procurement 

Regulatory Authority 

(PPRA) rules. — Internews 

Power station planned 

LAHORE — Consultants 

hired by Pakistani power giant 

Water and Power Development 

Authority (Wapda) 

have suggested constructing 

an underground hydropower 

station, the �rst of its kind in 

the country, of 375 megawatts 

at Warsak in place of existing 

power house of 243MW. 

However, by the time the 

new power station starts production, 

the existing power 

house will continue to operate, 

where only the mostrequired 

rehabilitation work 

will be done, says Wapda. The 

consultants, comprising a Canadian 

and a Pakistani �rm, 

have been tasked to take a review 

of the dam, spillway and 

detailed engineering design of 

the new power station by the 

end of the year, which will be 

followed by initiation of construction 

work. 

The need for the new power 

house arises as the existing 

one has completed about 50 

years of operation and condition 

of its generating units 

have deteriorated despite 

extensive repair and maintenance 

work due to heavy sediment 

in water. 

The power station is located 

on Kabul River, 30 

kilometres from Peshawar. 

The project was completed 

in two phases. In the �rst 

phase, four units having cumulative 

capacity of 160MW 

were installed in 1960, while 

in the second phase, two more 

units of 83MW were added in 

1981, raising the capacity to 

243MW. 

According to Wapda, the 

new 375MW project is part of 

a two-pronged strategy aimed 

at optimum utilisation of water 

resources to produce more 

low-cost electricity. Under the 

strategy, Wapda is constructing 

new hydropower projects 

and also rehabilitating and upgrading 

old power stations. 

At present, Jabban and 

Tarbela power stations are 

being upgraded while feasibility 

study for rehabilitating 

and upgrading Mangla power 

station has been completed. 

The study recommends that 

generation capacity of Mangla 

can be increased to 1,310MW 

from existing 1,000MW. 

Meanwhile, the National 

Electric Power Regulatory 

Authority (Nepra) has withdrawn 

the Rs 3.03 per unit 

increase allowed last month 

over the base tariff and noti- 

�ed with a majority vote an 

increase of Rs 1.67 per unit 

for all distribution companies 

except the Karachi Electric 

Supply Corporation. 

Suu Kyi to make �rst trip abroad 

AUNG San Suu Kyi presents gifts to Win Tin, a senior party member and former political prisoner, during a 

ceremony at National League for Democracy party head of�ce yesterday. — Reuters 

in the �lm The Lady, as she 

is affectionately known, with 

Malaysian action star Michelle 

Yeoh playing Suu Kyi. 

The daughter of assassinated 

independence hero Aung 

San visited Myanmar in April 

1988 to take care of her dying 

mother, Khin Kyi, a former 

ambassador to India and Nepal. 

— Reuters 

China summons Manila envoy 

over South China Sea standoff 

BEIJING — China summoned 

a diplomat from the 

Philippines for a second 

time yesterday to protest 

Manila’s claim over an area 

of the South China Sea, a 

foreign ministry spokesman 

said, as the standoff between 

the two countries showed no 

sign of ending. 

The most recent dispute 

is well into its second week, 

with a Philippine coastguard 

ship and two Chinese 

maritime surveillance vessels 

faced off near the Scarborough 

Shoal in waters believed 

to be rich in oil and 

gas. 

Vice Foreign Minister Fu 

Ying “urgently summoned” 

the Philippines Charge’ 

d’affaires, Alex Chua, on 

Sunday and again yesterday, 

Foreign Ministry spokesman 

Liu Weimin told reporters. 

“She pointed out that the 

Philippines military vessels’ 

harassment of Chinese 

DHAKA — Bangladesh’s 

main opposition party yesterday 

announced a daylong 

general strike today in two 

north-eastern districts to protest 

the sudden disappearance 

of one of its leaders, party of- 

�cials said. 

The north-eastern Sylhet 

unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist 

Party (BNP) called 

the strike after the party’s 

central organising secretary, 

Ilias Ali, a former lawmaker, 

and his driver disappeared in 

Dhaka on Tuesday night. Ali 

is from Sylhet district. 

“We will enforce a dawnto-dusk 

general strike in two 

districts to protest the disappearance 

of one of our leaders 

in Dhaka,” said M A Haque, 

president of the northern 

PAKISTANI policemen guard the house in Islamabad where family members of Osama 

bin Laden are believed to be held. The expected deportation of Bin Laden’s family 

has been delayed because their passports are not ready, their lawyer said. — AFP 

Nato blasts 

US soldiers 

KABUL — The commander 

of Nato-led forces in Afghanistan 

yesterday condemned 

the actions of US 

soldiers who reportedly took 

pictures of themselves posing 

with the remains of suspected 

bombers. 

The Los Angeles Times 

reported that US soldiers 

took such photographs on 

more than one occasion in 

2010. 

The newspaper said the 

US Army had launched an 

investigation after it showed 

them some of the photos, 

which it had obtained from 

a soldier. 

General John Allen, the 

commander of the Natoled 

force in Afghanistan, 

“strongly condemns the actions 

depicted in photos released 

by” the LA Times, the 

International Security Assistance 

Force (ISAF) said 

in a statement. 

“The actions of the individuals 

photographed do 

not represent the policies of 

ISAF or the US Army,” Allen 

was quoted as saying in 

the statement. 

“We continue to work 

with our Afghan and international 

partners to resolve any 

issues related to improper 

treatment of remains. 

�shermen and �shing boats 

have drawn the close attention 

of China,” Liu said. 

“We hope the Philippines 

side will honour its commitment 

and withdraw its ships 

from the relevant waters immediately, 

so that the waters 

of Huangyan island can return 

to peace and stability.” 

The small group of rocky 

islets, known in the Philippines 

as the Panatag Shoal 

but which the Chinese call 

Huangyan, is about 124 

nautical miles off the main 

Philippine island of Luzon, 

near a former US Navy base 

in Subic Bay. 

The Philippines is to ask 

China to agree to take the 

dispute to an international 

court. 

Liu stressed Beijing’s 

position that the islands are 

part of China’s “inherent territory”, 

adding that “China 

was the �rst to discover and 

name the Huangyan island, 

Sylhet district branch of the 

BNP, announcing the strike 

in Sylhet and the adjoining 

district of Sunamganj. 

Angry BNP protesters 

barricaded the Dhaka-Sylhet 

highway after the news broke 

that Ali was missing. 

They demanded the government 

inform the nation of 

Ali’s whereabouts immediately. 

Police in Dhaka found the 

missing BNP leader’s abandoned 

car on the street and 

seized a mobile phone belonging 

to Ali from the car. 

“We have con�rmed that 

the cell phone belongs to Ilias 

Ali and are trying to trace 

him,” said police inspector 

Fayazur Rahman. He said 

police received a complaint 

Consumers braving 

pre-budget shocks 

KARACHI — Manufacturers 

have become active ahead 

of federal budget 2012-13, 

which is scheduled to be unveiled 

next month, and raised 

prices of various items like 

ghee, cooking oil, tea, powdered 

milk, etc. 

Retailers yesterday said 

that the companies had issued 

new pricelists without mentioning 

any reason for the 

price hike. 

They said that the new 

rate of one kg Tapal tea from 

�rst week of April is escalated 

to Rs 570 as compared 

to Rs 540 while half kg pack 

sells at Rs 300 as compared 

to 280. A small pack is now 

priced at Rs 125 as compared 

to Rs115. 

The maker of Lipton tea 

had already raised the prices 

last month by Rs 35 per kg, 

retailers added. 

A leading tea packer linked 

the price hike to costlier imports 

due to losing value of 

the rupee against the greenback 

coupled with increase in 

Kenyan tea price to $3.70 per 

kg from $3.20 per kg in the 

last one month due to shortage 

of 30 million kg of tea in 

Kenya. He said the tea smuggling 

had been thriving due to 

the �rst to list it into China’s 

territory and to practise sovereign 

jurisdiction”. 

The Philippines Foreign 

Affairs Department yesterday 

said that “a claim by 

itself, including historical 

claim, could not be a basis 

for acquiring a territory”. 

Philippine Foreign Affairs 

Secretary Albert del 

Rosario said he summoned 

China’s Ambassador to Manila, 

Ma Keqing, for talks 

last week. 

The dispute is one of 

myriad of con�icting claims 

over islands, reefs and shoals 

in the South China Sea that 

pit China against the Philippines, 

Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia 

and Taiwan. 

Tension has risen in the 

past two years over worries 

China is becoming more assertive 

in its claims to the 

sea which straddles shipping 

lanes between East Asia and 

Europe. — Reuters 

Bangladesh oppn calls for strike 

from Ali’s wife Tahsina 

Rushdi that the former lawmaker 

had been missing 

since Tuesday. 

Another BNP leader and 

elected commissioner of 

Dhaka City Corporation, 

Chowdhury Alam, went 

missing in January 2010. 

Police have not managed to 

track his whereabouts over 

the last two years. 

Meanwhile, Bangladesh 

reported 14 newly con�rmed 

A/H1N1 �u cases yesterday, 

bringing the country’s total 

number of infection cases this 

year to 119, an of�cial said. 

A six-member team rushed 

to the Kurigram nursing institute 

after the deputy civil surgeon 

of the district informed 

of an unknown ailment. 

10 per cent customs duty, 16 

per cent sales tax and six per 

cent income tax. 

The government should 

bring down the import duty 

to �ve per cent and remove 

sales tax so that legal import 

could �ourish and prices 

come down, he added. 

Pakistan imported 80,405 

tonnes of tea ($237.4 million) 

in July-February 2011-12 as 

compared to 82,087 tonnes 

($226 million) in the same period 

of last �scal year. However, 

he said the share of smuggled 

tea was over 100 million 

kg out of total consumption of 

over 200 million kg. 

Shopkeepers said almost 

all brands of one-kg pouch 

of ghee and cooking oil had 

become dearer by Rs 5 while 

the price of 16 kg ghee/cooking 

oil tin had already been 

raised. 

Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers 

Association Chairman 

Abdul Waheed said 

rising palm oil prices, high 

transportation cost and the 

falling rupee were the main 

reasons in putting pressure on 

domestic prices. He claimed 

that the manufacturers had 

still not passed on the full impact 

of these factors.

Asian stocks 

rebound on easing 

Europe fears 

� Page 10 

BRUSSELS — Economic 

experts watching Spain don't 

know how much money will 

be needed or precisely when, 

but some are near certain that 

Madrid will eventually seek a 

multi-billion euro bailout for 

its banks, and perhaps even for 

the state itself. 

Prime Minister Mariano 

Rajoy (pictured) has repeatedly 

said Spain doesn't need 

or want an international bailout, 

and the European Union, 

which along with the IMF 

has already rescued Greece, 

Ireland and Portugal, also dismisses 

such talk. 

But economists believe that 

Spanish banks will have to turn 

to the euro zone's rescue fund, 

the European Financial Stability 

Facility (EFSF), for help 

in covering losses caused by 

a property market crash which 

has yet to end. 

Likewise, investors are fret- 

BankMuscat launches Sayyarati drive 

BANKMUSCAT has launched an attractive Sayyarati auto 

loan campaign offering a host of features, including lower 

interest rates and �nancing up to 8 years for new as well as used 

vehicles. Sayyarati auto loans can be processed through simple 

documentation and fast processing. � Page 9 

ting about how Rajoy's centreright 

government can enforce 

deep austerity while reviving 

a recession-bound economy at 

the same time. 

"They're going to need 

EFSF money to recapitalise the 

banking sector," said Carsten 

Brzeski, a senior economist at 

ING in Brussels. "I think we'll 

only see a real end to the Spanish 

misery if the real estate 

market stabilises." 

Madrid is likely to hold out 

for some time. "The underlying 

picture in Spain is dramatic, 

but is it dramatic in the way 

that it needs a bailout package 

tomorrow? No," Brzeski 

said. "But if you look ahead, 

let's say the next six months, I 

would not be surprised if they 

(the banks) have to get some 

kind of European support." 

Market concerns about 

the euro zone's fourth largest 

economy have deepened in 

the past week. Yields on the 

government's 10-year bonds, 

which re�ect the risk investors 

attach to owning Spanish debt, 

have risen above 6 per cent, a 

level that has proved a trigger 

point for other troubled euro 

zone countries. 

At the moment the EU is 

backing Madrid. Jean-Claude 

Juncker, who chairs the Eurogroup 

of euro zone �nance 

ministers, said Spain was taking 

the necessary steps to get 

its economy back on track, 

despite a recession and unemployment 

at 24 per cent. 

"I don't think Spain will 

need any kind of external support," 

Juncker said. "I would 

like to invite �nancial markets 

to behave in a rational way. 

Spain is on track." 

German Finance Minister 

Wolfgang Schaeuble also 

rejected comparisons with 

countries which are already 

Thursday, April 19, 2012 

on bailout programmes. "The 

fundamental data in Spain is 

not comparable to those in 

the countries that are under a 

programme," he said. "Spain 

needs to work to win con�dence, 

however, if the positive 

developments are to continue." 

Markets took fright earlier 

in the year when Rajoy relaxed 

his government's targets for 

cutting the budget de�cit. 

However, not all economists 

are so pessimistic and 

some say the four-monthold 

government is starting to 

knuckle down to meeting the 

new targets, which still demand 

deeply unpopular austerity, 

and tackling the economy's 

structural problems. 

Spanish bad loan ratio at 18-yr high 

THE ratio of bad loans at Spanish banks shot to an 18-year high 

in February, of�cial �gures showed, as the banks struggled with 

a mass of deteriorating property-related loans. Spanish banks 

are a key concern on �nancial markets because of the declining 

value of the huge loans they allowed to build up.� Page 8 

"We've seen more progress 

in a few days than in four 

months," said Gilles Moec, a 

Deutsche Bank economist. "It's 

a country that's intrinsically 

sustainable, but it's a country 

that needs to make decisions." 

Others beg to differ and fear 

Spain will drag in Italy, which 

has suffered similar problems 

with rising borrowing costs. 

"As I look at my screen and 

Spain 10-year yields are up at 

6 per cent — things are starting 

to get worrying again," said 

Peter Westaway, chief economist 

for Europe at Vanguard, 

an investment management 

�rm overseeing $1.8 trillion in 

assets. 

"If they go up to 6.5 to 7 

per cent, that could become 

very problematic, and if Italy 

started to go back above Spain 

again, then that would be really 

serious." 

Spain has one thing on 

its side. It has already raised 

nearly half the 86 billion euros 

it needs to borrow from �nancial 

markets this year, sucking 

up some of the 1 trillion euros 

of cheap three-year loans that 

the European Central Bank 

has pumped into the euro zone 

banking sector. This means the 

government could hang on for 

months before having to turn 

to the EU for help with its own 

funding needs. 

However, that still leaves 

the banks. One of the critical 

"unknowables' for Spain is just 

how bad a situation its banks 

are in. 

The Spanish housing 

market, once a driver of the 

economy, has been in turmoil 

for more than four years, but 

prices still haven't fallen as 

much as economists think is 

needed to squeeze the air out 

of the bubble. 

Only when prices have bot- 

Cambodian bourse 

in long-awaited first 

day of trade 

� Page 10 

GCC oil output, forex reserves to exceed $2tn by 2013 


MUSCAT — The Gulf Cooperation 

Council (GCC) 

countries of Oman, Bahrain, 

Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, 

and the United Arab Emirates 

(UAE), possessing 40 per cent 

of proven world oil reserves, 

have spare oil production capacity 

now of 2.5 to 3 million 

barrels per day and are positioned 

to meet any possible 

shortfall in supplies to world 

EGM nod for Oman 

Arab Bank’s IPO plan 


MUSCAT — Oman Arab 

Bank SAOC (OAB) has approved 

changing the legal status 

of the bank from an SAOC 

to SAOG through an Initial 

Public Offering (IPO) of 25 

per cent of its outstanding issued 

share capital. 

The nod came at an extraordinary 

general meeting 

(EGM) of OAB held earlier 

this week, shareholder Oman 

International Development & 

Investment Co SAOG (Ominvest) 

announced yesterday in 

a disclosure noti�cation to the 

Capital Market Authority. 

Of the 290,000,000 shares 

(of nominal value of RO 

0.100 each) that will be offered 

for public subscription, 

243,600,000 (21 per cent) 

will come from Ominvest’s 

stake in OAB. The remainder, 

amounting to 46,400,000 (4 

per cent), will come as a result 

of Arab Bank plc’s disinvestment 

in OAB. 

The EGC also rati�ed the 

appointment of various consultants 

associated with the IP: 

Al Busaidy, Mansoo Jamal & 

Co as Legal Adviser; Gulf International 

Bank as Financial 

Valuation Adviser, Deloitte 

& Touche Middle East and 

Tax & Financial Adviser and 

Reporting Accountants; and 

National Securities Company 

as Issue Manager. 

Japan’s Mitsubishi, Mitsui 

sign US gas deal 

TOKYO — Japan's Mitsubishi 

and Mitsui said yesterday 

they will import lique�ed 

natural gas (LNG) from the 

United States, amid a push to 

boost energy sources after last 

year's nuclear crisis. 

The country's two largest 

trading companies said they 

would each order 4 million 

tonnes of the gas annually 

from Cameron LNG, a unit 

of Sempra Energy, as early as 

2016, reportedly the �rst such 

deal between Japan and the 

US. The deal comes as Japan 

pushes to boost new energy 

sources amid strong public 

opposition to restarting the 

country's atomic reactors after 

the March quake tsunami 

disaster sparked the worst nuclear 

accident in a generation. 

Resource-poor Japan and 

South Korea are the world's 

top LNG importers, accounting 

for nearly half of all shipments. 

Last week, Mitsubishi 

said it was in talks with Royal 

Dutch Shell as well as a Chinese 

and a South Korean �rm 

to produce lique�ed natural 

gas in Western Canada, in a 

deal reportedly worth more 

than $12 billion. 

Yesterday, Mitsubishi said 

it had agreed to "procure 4 

million tonnes annually from 

the North American natural 

gas market... processed 

through the Cameron LNG 

facility". — AFP 

markets as a result of possible 

declines in Iranian exports as a 

result of sanctions, said the Institute 

of International Finance 

(IIF). 

The IIF is the leading global 

association of �nancial serv- 

COMEX 2012 to showcase latest products 


MUSCAT — OITE Trade Fairs 

is all set to organise Oman’s 

annual IT, Telecommunications 

and Technology Exhibition, 

COMEX 2012, under the 

patronage of e.Oman, from 

April 30 to May 4 with three 

pavilions featuring government 

portals, business solutions 

and consumer technology 

respectively. 

COMEX will showcase the 

latest products, accessories and 

services be it for laptops, mobile 

phones or consumer electronics. 

At the forefront will be 

the Gold Sponsor at this year’s 

COMEX, Arabian Computer 

Company LLC. 

Reputed for its vast array 

of IT products, accessories and 

all the latest gizmos, Arabian 

Computer Company LLC has 

another claim to fame — it is 

one of the longest participating 

LONDON — Tesco, the 

world's No 3 retailer, said it 

would spend £1 billion ($1.6 

billion) this year overhauling 

its underperforming British 

business and will rein in expansion 

as it seeks to win back 

market share and calm nervous 

shareholders. 

Shares in Tesco rose nearly 

2 per cent yesterday after it 

said the blueprint to revitalise 

its most important market, 

which it conceded was not a 

radical change of direction, 

would focus on improving 

staf�ng levels, smartening up 

ices �rms with more than 450 

member institutions. It expects 

that average oil prices will be 

about $114 per barrel through 

2012 with GCC oil production 

this year at 17.3 million barrels 

per day, after 16.5 million 

in 2011. The IIF forecasts that 

the GCC’s external current account 

surplus is likely to rise 

to a new record of $358 billion 

this year, up from an estimated 

$327 billion in 2011. 

The Institute stated that a 

further increase in the stock 

of net GCC foreign assets is 

in prospect to take the total to 

about $1.9 trillion by the end 

of this year, equivalent to 127 

per cent of projected GDP, and 

then rising to around $2.1 trillion 

by the end of 2013. It noted 

that about 60 per cent of the 

foreign assets of the region are 

managed by sovereign wealth 

funds. 

Dr George T Abed, IIF Senior 

Counsellor and IIF Director 

for Africa and the Middle East, 

thanked the DIFC for hosting 

a press conference on the release 

of the IIF’s GCC report. 

He said, “The prospects for the 

GCC are impressive, yet there 

are clearly risks. At a most gen- 

exhibitors at COMEX, having 

appeared continuously at 

all editions of the event since 

2002. “COMEX and my company 

go back a long way,” says 

the owner and CEO Hussain al 

Abdawani proudly. 

“We have bene�ted by 

building our brand image 

among the 75,000 strong 

visitors coming annually to 

COMEX and the shopping 

public has always bene�ted as 

they can acquire choice products 

at the best prices.” 

This year at COMEX Shopper 

2012, Arabian Computer 

Company will be selling the 

latest innovation in laptops — 

the super-slim, unbelievably 

lightweight stylish �at ultrabooks, 

in addition to products 

from premium brands such as 

Dell, Verbatim, Cisco, Linksys, 

D-Link, Epson and others. 

A fresh take on the regular 

hard drive, the TOUGH 

stores and delivering better 

prices and product ranges. 

But the focus on stemming 

falling sales in the UK and refreshing 

existing stores means 

overall group capital expenditure 

will be cut to £3.3 billion 

in the coming year from £3.8 

billion last year. This will 

mean new space added in Britain 

in 2012/13 will be 38 per 

cent lower than in 2011/12. 

"I'm announcing today our 

£1 billion plan to put the heart 

and soul back into Tesco," 

Chief Executive Philip Clarke 

told reporters on a conference 

eral level, there is the issue of 

the impact on the GCC should 

turbulence in other Arab countries 

be prolonged.” 

He emphasised, “Other 

risks from the sanctions on 

Iran indicate ambiguous outcomes. 

On the one hand, a 

large drop in Iran’s oil exports, 

but in the absence of a military 

confrontation, suggests an upside 

risk, since it would require 

signi�cantly higher oil output 

from the GCC countries, raising 

the growth rate and lifting 

hydrocarbon receipts and 

government spending. However, 

an escalation of the crisis 

into a military con�ict with 

Iran, even without necessarily 

the involvement of the GCC 

countries themselves, could 

bring about untold damage to 

the economies of the region, 

as such a con�ict could easily 

spread.” 

Dr Garbis Iradian, IIF 

Deputy Director, Africa and 

Middle East Department, stated, 

“We are forecasting some 

moderation in overall 2012 

growth for the GCC at 4.9 per 

cent after the exceptional rise 

of 6.9 per cent last year. The 

average masks signi�cant vari- 

hard drive, will be introduced 

at COMEX Shopper by Arabian 

from the quality brand 

Freecom who specialises in 

producing elegantly designed 

and crafted IT accessories. As 

its name suggests, the TOUGH 

hard drive can be tossed 

around, even dropped from a 

height, without its mechanism 

being affected. 

The range and variety of 

call after the group reported a 

small full-year pro�t rise that 

met market expectations. 

"The plan isn't radical, isn't 

a radical change of direction, 

but it's a radical change of 

pace — more staff, better quality 

and range, warmer stores, 

friendlier service and a determination 

to do the basic things 

better," he said. 

Tesco dominates Britain's 

grocery sector with a 30 per 

cent market share but in January 

issued its �rst pro�t warning 

in over 20 years and according 

to industry data is still 

ations in prospects for individual 

countries. Qatar, Oman 

and Saudi Arabia will continue 

to be the strongest performers. 

Saudi Arabia is expected 

to see growth of about 5 per 

cent driven by the continued 

sizeable increase in crude oil 

production and the lag effect 

of the sharp increase in public 

spending (26 per cent) of last 

year. The modest in�ationary 

pressures in Saudi Arabia 

will persist, as they re�ect local 

housing bottlenecks and 

stronger domestic demand.” 

Dr Iradian added, “In 

the UAE, we expect overall 

growth to moderate to 3.2 per 

cent in 2012 from an estimated 

4.7 per cent in 2011. Average 

crude oil production in Abu 

Dhabi is expected to increase 

these products re�ect Arabian 

Computer Company’s business 

strategy — that of constant 

expansion and growth. 

The company has smoothly 

transited from being a reseller 

to building one of the largest 

distributors in Muscat. Chief 

among their buyers are government 

entities and corporates 

to whom Arabian supplies 

servers, workstations, 

by 3.5 per cent in 2012, compared 

with an increase of 9 per 

cent in 2011. Continued higher 

oil prices and �scal surpluses 

have encouraged Abu Dhabi’s 

Executive Council to press 

ahead with several of its large 

projects this year. This may 

more than offset a possible 

weakening of private sector 

“GCC banks remain well capitalised 

and pro�table. The balance sheets 

of banks in the region have been 

strengthened as a result of the strong 

economic performance in recent years” 

investment and result in nonhydrocarbon 

growth of 3.1 per 

cent in 2012. In contrast, we 

expect Dubai’s real growth to 

decelerate from 3.2 per cent in 

2011 to 2.6 per cent in 2012 as 

a result of the weaker global 

prospects and the sanctions on 

Iran, which would adversely 

impact trade activity. Dubai 

is more vulnerable to global 

economic developments than 

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, 

storage devices, desktops and 

networking services. 

In keeping with their growth 

plan, Arabian Computer Company 

is opening a new of�ce 

in Qurum, which will handle 

their B-B requirements. 

A key investment has been 

support for the National PC 

Initiative, an ITA programme 

intended to build capacity in 

the general population by creating 

a PC bundle offer that 

is affordable, offers value and 

builds a local ICT industry 

providing PCs and maintenance 

related services. 

Arabian Computers (appointed 

by Mustafa Sultan 

Enterprises) is one of the resellers 

providing the bundled 

hardware at approved prices 

to students and ICT teachers, 

as per the guidelines speci�ed. 

Hussain adds, “As a corporate 

social investment, Arabian 

Computer Company is further 

and Abu Dhabi due to its high 

debt, its diversi�ed economy, 

and its strong links to global 

trade. However, Dubai’s excellent 

infrastructure and its 

prime location as a global hub 

for trade and tourism should 

continue to underpin diversi�cation 

and robust growth over 

the medium term.” 

With regard to �nancial 

institutions, the IIF report 

stressed that GCC banks remain 

well capitalised and profitable. 

The balance sheets of 

banks in the region have been 

strengthened as a result of the 

strong economic performance 

in recent years, high government 

participation in banks 

(ranging between 13 per cent 

in Kuwait and 52 per cent in 

the UAE), and improvement 

in regulation and supervision. 

The average capital adequacy 

ratio is above 15 per cent for 

every banking system in the 

region, although variations 

among individual banks are at 

times signi�cant. While nonperforming 

loan (NPL) ratios 

are in the low single digits, 

they remain relatively high in 

Kuwait and the UAE at close 

to 8 per cent. 

supporting this initiative by 

voluntarily offering additional 

products over and above the 

agreed packages.” 

He is busy deciding the 

best price he will be offering 

for this year’s highly awaited 

innovative product at COMEX 

Shopper — the new iPad 3. 

“It will be an exclusive price, 

only during COMEX — Rest 

assured it will be a spectacular 

bargain!” he exclaims, busily 

formulating plans for the eyecatching 

displays at his stand. 

“We participate in COMEX 

because it’s an excellent advertisement 

for our company,” 

he continues “and de�nitely 

plays an important role in our 

overall marketing. COMEX 

is always marked in our 

calendar as a key date — that 

has been, is and will remain an 

important component of our 

brand building strategy”, concludes 

Hussain. 

Tesco unveils £1bn plan to revive UK business 

losing market share. 

Last month Clarke, who 

succeeded long-standing boss 

Terry Leahy in March 2011, 

jettisoned the head of the �rm's 

UK business, adding that role 

to his other duties and shouldering 

the day-to-day burden 

of getting the business back on 

track. 

He would not say how long 

it would take for the UK business 

to return to underlying 

sales growth and historic market 

share levels. "I don't want 

to be pinned on imposing a 

false precision," he said. 

‘Not if, but when’ for Spanish bailout, �nancial experts believe 

tomed will assessors be able to 

calculate how just much bad 

mortgage debt is sitting on 

the banks' balance sheets, and 

therefore how much extra capital 

the sector requires to return 

it to health. 

"Prices have dropped by 

about 15-20 per cent from peak 

to now and they will probably 

have to drop another 15-20 

per cent before they reach bottom," 

said Brzeski. He estimates 

Spanish banks may need 

as much as 80 billion euros of 

extra capital once all bad mortgage 

debt is accounted for. 

In a paper published this 

week, Daniel Gros and Cinzia 

Alcidi of the Centre for European 

Policy Studies estimated 

that the total accumulated 

overhang in the Spanish property 

and construction sector is 

more than 380 billion euros 

— equivalent to 37 per cent of 

GDP. — Reuters

Another foreign CEO 

leaves Japan Inc 

NIPPON Sheet Glass Co incoming Chief Executive Of�cer Keiji Yoshikawa (L) and 

incoming Chief Operating Of�cer Clemens Miller attend at 

a news conference in Tokyo yesterday. — Reuters 

TOKYO — The American 

head of Japanese glass �rm 

has quit over what the company 

said yesterday were 

"fundamental disagreements" 

about corporate strategy, the 

latest foreign boss to leave Japan 

Inc. 

Nippon Sheet Glass said 

Craig Naylor, its president and 

chief executive, had stepped 

down amid efforts to turn 

around the company, which 

was expecting a $36.8 million 

loss in the year ended March. 

"Craig Naylor's decision to 

tender his resignation re�ected 

fundamental disagreements 

with the board on company 

strategy," NSG group Chairman 

Katsuji Fujimoto said in 

a statement, without elaborating. 

Calling the decision 

"regrettable", Fujimoto added 

that "our priority now is to 

concentrate on the future development 

of the company". 

Spanish banks’ bad loan 

ratio hits 18-year high 

MADRID — The ratio of bad 

loans at Spanish banks shot to 

an 18-year high in February, 

of�cial �gures showed yesterday, 

as the banks struggled 

with a mass of deteriorating 

property-related loans. 

Spanish banks are a key 

concern on �nancial markets 

because of the declining 

value of the huge loans they 

allowed to build up during a 

property bubble that collapsed 

in 2008. 

Doubtful loans in February 

amounted to 143.8 billion 

euros ($188 billion), rising to 

8.15 per cent of total credits 

— the highest ratio since 1994 

— from 7.91 per cent in January, 

the Bank of Spain said. 

A loan is categorised as 

doubtful when the borrower 

has not made a payment for at 

least three months. 

Prime Minister Mariano 

Rajoy's conservative government 

has made cleaning up 

the banks a priority and is requiring 

them to set aside more 

than 50 billion euros to boost 

In 2009, Briton Stuart 

Chambers resigned from the 

Japanese �rm, one of the 

world's biggest glass makers, 

citing personal reasons. 

Naylor's departure comes 

after Olympus chief Michael 

Woodford grabbed international 

headlines when he exposed 

a $1.7 billion loss coverup 

at the camera and medical 

equipment maker shortly after 

he was sacked in October. 

Earlier this year, Sony 

dumped its Welsh-born US 

leader Howard Stringer amid 

efforts to stem record losses at 

the iconic Japanese electronics 

giant. The departures leave 

just a handful of foreign chief 

executives in charge of Japanese 

companies, including 

Nissan's head Carlos Ghosn. 

Naylor was replaced by 

Nippon vice-president Keiji 

Yoshikawa, while German 

Clemens Miller would be- 

their balance sheets. 

The Bank of Spain approved 

the plan on Tuesday, 

obliging banks to allocate 29 

billion euros to bad loan provisions 

and 15.6 billion euros 

to raise the proportion of 

rock-solid core capital. 

Those sums are in addition 

to 9.2 billion euros in provisions 

already set aside by the 

banks last year, bringing the 

total in extra capital to 53.8 

billion euros. 

Banks are being told to 

�nd the money for the new 

provisions from their own 

pro�ts or by issuing new 

shares, although the central 

bank has not ruled out state 

intervention. 

The new, tougher balance 

sheet requirements must be 

met within one year, or two 

years for banks undergoing 

mergers. 

Many analysts doubt, however, 

that the new rules will 

be enough, warning that the 

real bad loan �gures may be 

far worse because banks are 

come chief operating of�cer 

with chief �nancial of�cer 

Mark Lyons staying on in his 

position, it said. 

In February, the company 

said it expected a net loss of 

3 billion yen ($37 million) for 

the year to March, a drastic reversal 

of an earlier projection 

for a net pro�t of 14 billion 

yen in the same period. 

The Japanese �rm, which 

owns British glass manufacturer 

Pilkington, also announced 

3,500 job cuts as part 

of efforts to stem the losses. 

Credit ratings agencies 

have downgraded Nippon 

Sheet Glass while investors 

hammered its share price. 

Naylor, a former executive 

at DuPont and Delphi Corp, 

was hired in 2010, and led the 

�rm to a net pro�t of 1.66 billion 

yen for the year to March 

2011, after two consecutive 

years of losses. — AFP 

HSBC reveals yuan bond issue 

to boost London as ‘hub’ 

LONDON — HSBC Bank 

launched yesterday a bond 

issue denominated in the 

Chinese renminbi (RMB), or 

yuan, saying it was a benchmark 

move towards the yuan 

eventually becoming a reserve 

currency. The security also 

dovetailed into a new initiative 

by some leading banks, 

the British government and 

Bank of England, to develop 

London as an international 

"hub" for renminbi securities, 

HSBC said. 

"The internationalisation 

of the RMB is simply too important 

to ignore," it added. 

Development of an offshore 

market for the renminbi 

was the way for the currency 

to develop into a "major global 

trading, �nancing and investment 

currency, and eventually 

a global reserve currency," 

HSBC said. 

It expected the renminbi 

bond market to amount to 1 

trillion renminbi ($159 billion) 

within three years. 

Leading western governments 

have pressed China for 

years to allow the yuan to rise 

to re�ect market pressures 

and the strength of the Chinese 

economy, and to alleviate 

global �nancial imbalances 

which were a key factor behind 

the �nancial crisis. China 

has begun easing its corset 

around the yuan exchange 

rate, and many analysts say 

that sooner or later the yuan is 

bound to take on a more international 

role. — AFP 

reluctant to fully realise the 

declining value of their loans. 

As banks stagger under the 

bad loans, businesses widely 

report that new credit is hard 

to come by. 

Spain's banks turned in 

huge numbers to the European 

Central Bank, which has 

offered more than one trillion 

euros in cheap three-year 

loans to euro zone banks. 

Borrowing by Spanish 

banks from the ECB hit a 

new record in March at 227.6 

billion euros, up from 152.4 

billion euros in February and 

133.2 billion euros in January. 

Much of that money, however, 

has been invested in 

Spanish government bonds 

instead of loans to business. 

The Bank of Spain estimated 

that the total value of 

banks' problematic loans, the 

value of which is uncertain, 

amounted to 176 billion euros 

in June 2011, the latest date 

for which those �gures are 

available. — AFP 

8 

OMAN/INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012

Huge turnout for Kia Young Artist contest 

MUSCAT — There was a huge turnout of children at Kia's landmark Wattayah showroom 

recently, for the Young Artist contest. 

The winner in the age category 8-10 years was Qadar Qais Salah al Hosni. Topping 

the age category 11-13 years was Vaidehee. A total of 30 prizes were awarded including 

consolation prizes. Children were given goodie bags and drawing material. There 

was a separate drawing competition for parents also for which prizes were also given 

away. 

The photos and videos of the Muscat event are in Kia's Facebook page www.facebook.com/kiaoman. 

One of the most talked-about events of the recent years, the Kia 'Young Artist' Contest 

has seen children from all Muscat schools participate in it. Kia encourages and 

nurtures young, budding talent through this contest. By matching its world-class products 

with their dreams and aspirations, Kia helps young artists to discover their own 

passions. The theme of the contest was 'A car of my dreams...' 

Based on the huge success of the event at Muscat, Kia will be covering locations like 

— Sohar, Ibra, Nizwa, Barka, Sur, Ibri, Al Mawalah and Bidaya to conduct the contest 

among all children in age category of 8-12 years. The events are being sponsored by 

Chiko, Oronamin C, Pocari Sweat, Tanuf, Juju, Nabil, Pizza Hut and Staedtler. 

Kia is one of the world's premier automotive brands. Over 2.5 million vehicles a 

year are produced in 15 manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries 

which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers cov- 

9 

OMAN/INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 

BankMuscat launches Sayyarati auto loan 

SMALL- and mediumsized 

enterprises (SMEs) 

in Oman are gaining 

increased support from public 

and private organisations 

alike, with a number of public 

officials having expressed enthusiasm 

for the further development 

of the sector. 

According to the Ministry 

of Commerce and Industry 

(MoCI), there are around 

121,000 SMEs operating in 

the Sultanate, accounting for 

around 90 per cent of economic 

activity. While more 

than 40 per cent of SMEs are 

in the retail sector, small businesses 

also have a significant 

presence in construction and 

contracting. As such, the ministry 

has identified the need to 

create more services to address 

the challenges encountered by 

smaller local businesses. 

To this end, the MoCI has 

already planned a number of 

SME-related events in 2012. 

The fourth annual Small and 

Medium Enterprises Exhibition 

and Conference (SME 

Expo), held in February at the 

Oman International Exhibition 

Centre in Seeb, focused 

on the future of SMEs in the 

Sultanate’s economy, particularly 

with regard to providing 

employment opportunities. Attendees 

also stressed the need 

for public-private co-operation 

in promoting entrepreneurship, 

calling for labour law 

reforms and better integration 

of small businesses across the 

economy. 

It seems the government 

has begun to address some 

of the issues discussed at the 

SME Expo. At a meeting with 

representatives of SMEs in 

early April, Ali bin Masoud al 

Sunaidy, the Minister of Commerce 

and Industry, announced 

the creation of a consultancy 

committee at the Directorate- 

General of SMEs, a division 

of the ministry that works to 

form policy on small business 

development. 

Al Sunaidy said the committee 

would seek to provide 

SME owners with solutions to 

the problems they encounter in 


MUSCAT — BankMuscat, 

the flagship financial services 

provider in the Sultanate, has 

launched an attractive Sayyarati 

auto loan campaign 

offering a host of features, 

including lower interest rates 

and financing up to 8 years for 

new as well as used vehicles. 

Sayyarati auto loans can be 

processed through simple documentation 

and fast processing. 

No post-dated cheques are 

required and there are no hidden 

charges as well. The bank 

also facilitates motor insurance 

funding. 

The feature-packed Sayyarati 

finance from BankMuscat 

complements attractive 

offers by leading car dealers. 

Sayyarati auto loan guarantees 

the easy, convenient and 

completely hassle-free way 

running their businesses. The 

minister also announced further 

plans to boost the amount 

of technical support necessary 

for SMEs, stating the ministry 

intends to send representatives 

of 50 Omani SMEs abroad for 

business training in 2012. 

Another note of optimism 

for technical support of SMEs 

is the recent move by the Telecommunications 

Regulatory 

Authority to unblock a number 

of voice over Internet protocol 

(VoIP) services. The easing of 

restrictions on VoIP services 

would benefit SMEs by driving 

down the cost of communications 

with international clients. 

Private companies, banks 

in particular, are also getting 

involved. Some local private 

banks have begun offering new 

financing methods for small 

to own a new car and can be 

obtained from any of the 131 

BankMuscat branches spread 

across Oman. 

Abdullah Tamman Al 

Mashani, AGM — Direct & 

Institutional Sales (pictured), 

said: “Sayyarati is the preferred 

auto finance facility in 

Oman, unique in all aspects 

with unparalleled benefits. 

business owners. Oman Arab 

Bank, for example, launched 

a new initiative at the end of 

March with the aim of promoting 

SME growth. The product, 

called Tomouhi, which means 

“my ambition”, seeks to provide 

local businesses with 

financing to create a stronger 

private sector that will foster 

the development of smaller 

companies. 

Abdul Qader Asqalan, the 

CEO of Oman Arab Bank, 

said the bank has recognised 

the importance of SMEs in 

contributing to the Sultanate’s 

economy. 

“Getting the necessary finance 

in time to support SMEs 

is the backbone for maximising 

the benefit from commercial 

opportunities,” said 

Ghulam al Balushi, the head 

BUSINESS ALERT 

ering 172 countries. 

Kia today has over 47,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of over $39 

billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and an official automotive partner 

of FIFA — the governing body of the FIFA World Cup. Kia Motors Corporation's 

brand slogan — "The Power to Surprise" — represents the company's global commitment 

to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation. 

Reliable International Automotive, the distributor for Kia in Oman provides a rewarding 

ownership experience for customers. 

Excellent product attributes and unmatched 18 facilities easily ensure their absolute 

satisfaction, every mile of the way. 

No wonder then that Reliable International Automotive has been ranked among 

the top Kia distributors worldwide and has been honoured with prestigious accolades 

including the Kia 'Dealer of the Year' award; Kia 'Distributor of Distinction' award, 

'Family Like Care' Service award and the 'Zenith Club' award for excellent performance. 

The prestigious 'Kia Award for Overall Excellence and Outstanding Performance' 

amongst Kia distributors worldwide was bestowed most deservingly. 

Toyota Prado — forging ahead 

THE all-new Land Cruiser Prado continues the tradition of the Land Cruiser brand that 

is held in the highest esteem in more than 170 countries and regions around the world. 

The fourth generation of this most sought after four-wheel drive in Oman maintains 

the outstanding drivability, reliability and basic functionality of the earlier generations 

— even under the harshest driving conditions — while improving on the on-road and 

off-road performance. 

This new fourth generation machine boasts of many ‘first time technology’ like 

multi-terrain select with multi-terrain monitor as a world’s first technology, crawl 

control, kinetic dynamic suspension system and dynamic radar cruise control as the 

'first in its class'. Many more safety features makes the all-new Land Cruiser Prado, 

the safest on any driving terrain. 

The steering-wheel-mounted Multi-terrain Select switch allows easy selection of 

the most appropriate mode to match the driving environment, with settings labelled 

‘Mud and sand’, ‘Loose Rock’, ‘Mogul’ and ‘Rock’, and adjusts the traction control 

to optimise vehicle drive power and braking for enhanced off-road performance. 

When in a multi-terrain environment, the world’s first multi-terrain monitor displays 

images from on-board cameras located on four sides of the vehicle so the driver 

can see ground conditions in six areas around the vehicle: to the front, rear, and the 

front and rear left and right sides. In addition, the monitoring of the area in front is 

linked to the steering operation to display the distance from the front of the vehicle to 

a point along the projected tyre path, thus providing additional support to the driver. 

The electronically modulated kinetic dynamic suspension system (KDSS), a firstin-class 

feature, uses hydraulics to optimally control the front and rear stabilisers to 

suit driving conditions. 

It provides a high level of roll rigidity for excellent vehicle stability during onroad 

driving and allows a large suspension stroke for outstanding off-road performance 

on rough surfaces. 

We are delighted to further 

enhance its appeal, making it 

quicker, easier and more affordable 

than ever before to 

own your dream car.” 

The documentation of 

Sayyarati auto loan is simple, 

requiring only few signatures 

and personal details. Customers 

have the option to avail 

motor insurance through the 

Bancassurance channel of 

BankMuscat at low premiums. 

By availing this facility, 

customers can add the insurance 

premium amount to the 

loan amount and pay in instalments. 

Post-dated cheques are 

also not required and instalments 

are automatically debited 

from customer’s account 

on a monthly basis. Customers 

can visit any auto dealership or 

BankMuscat branches to avail 

this facility offered to nationals 

and expatriates. 

Oman: Big opportunities for small businesses 

of SME Banking Services at 

Oman Arab Bank. 

BankMuscat is also working 

to promote small businesses, 

having hosted an SME 

workshop at its head office 

in late March. The workshop 

focused on providing local 

entrepreneurs with the necessary 

information to address 

challenges in their businesses, 

and attendees participated in 

case studies to examine SME 

leadership and identify typical 

problems faced by several 

businesses. 

According to Khalid bin 

Mohammed al Zubair, the 

chairman of the SME committee 

at the Oman Chamber of 

Commerce and Industry, “The 

SME sector is playing a key 

role in the country’s development, 

particularly in terms of 

VW plans to woo US buyers 

with station wagon 

NEW YORK — Volkswagen is planning to woo buyers in the 

United States with station wagon cars in a country where buyers 

wanting a bigger car have traditionally chosen either a van 

or a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV). 

"The market is changing, simply because of rising fuel prices," 

according to the VW CEO responsible for North America, 

Jonathan Browning. "In the past Americans have viewed station 

wagons rather as cargo transporters." Browning is hoping 

to convince American buyers with the VW Alltrack which has 

a higher look than classic station wagons. With its underbody 

protection and wide bumpers it looks more like an SUV. 

The Alltrack however combines the robust nature and versatility 

of an SUV with the fuel consumption and drive qualities 

of a passenger vehicle. — dpa 

self-employment opportunities. 

Sound leadership is the 

foundation of success for any 

business establishment. Inspiring 

leadership can identify 

challenges ahead and draw up 

plans to face them.” 

The enthusiasm for the promotion 

of SME growth seems 

likely to continue, with the 

upcoming Oman Economic 

Forum in Muscat set to put 

the spotlight on local small 

businesses. Organised by the 

Ministry of Commerce and Industry, 

in conjunction with Al 

Iktissad Wal Aamal Group, the 

Oman Chamber of Commerce 

and Industry and Duqm Spe- 

OBG COLUMN 

By Oliver Cornock, 

Regional Editor 

cial Economic Zone Authority, 

the conference will seek to attract 

foreign direct investment 

to local businesses and to encourage 

the establishment and 

financing of small businesses 

in the Sultanate. 

With SMEs accounting for 

16 per cent of GDP and serving 

as a major source of employment, 

it is no surprise that 

the government is seeking to 

improve business and growth 

strategies for local entrepreneurs. 

If the authorities continue 

to pursue this aim with the 

same zeal, it seems certain that 

small companies will continue 

to thrive and expand in Oman. 

The crawl control feature, a first-in-class feature, with a choice of five-speed settings, 

automatically controls engine output and brake application to maintain a very 

low speed on surfaces that require delicate speed adjustments, thus allowing the driver 

to focus completely on steering. 

The system minimises wheel spin and wheel lock on such surfaces as rocks, sand 

and when ascending steep inclines, providing outstanding drivability and vehicle stability. 

The system is also effective for extricating the vehicle from mud or sand. 

The dynamic radar cruise control system detects and monitors vehicle in front, 

maintaining fixed distance within preset speed-range. 

A pre-crash safety system (millimetre-wave radar type) is also available for the first 

time wherein the driver is alerted by a beep/display of warning message, in the event 

of imminent collision. 

On emergency braking, pre-crash brakes reduce the speed of imminent collision and 

increase the tension of seat belts for better occupant protection. 

This outstanding performer comes from Toyota, Oman's most coveted brand. Toyota 

offers enduring quality and nothing comes close to it in terms of value-retention. It 

is no surprise; therefore, that Toyota soars far above the rest, with a dominant market 

share and ever-expanding customer base. 

The unmatched, nationwide parts and service support of Saud Bahwan Group 

makes Toyota's pride of place a reality. Toyota customers in Oman enjoy 6-year unlimited 

mileage protection, over 98 per cent parts availability and round-the-clock care, 

among many other exclusive privileges from the Group.

10 

OMAN/INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 

Asian stock markets rebound on easing Europe fears 

HONG KONG — Asian stock 

markets yesterday bounced 

back from recent loses following 

some much-needed positive 

news out of Europe and an 


MUSCAT — Greater co-operation, 

rather than competition, 

between the Middle East’s Islamic 

financial institutions is 

necessary if Islamic finance is 

to provide a real alternative to 

the conventional, international 

banks operating in the region, 

according to Hussain Al Qemzi, 

GCEO of Noor Investment 

Group and CEO of Noor Islamic 

Bank. 

Speaking yesterday at the 

Middle East Islamic Finance 

and Investment Conference, in 

Dubai, Al Qemzi, a seasoned 

banker with over 26 years of 

extensive experience working 

IMF report forecasting global 

growth would be stronger than 

first thought. 

Technology and financial 

shares were boosted by strong 

with leading financial institutions 

in the UAE, said regional 

Islamic banks do not have the 

financial punch to challenge 

their larger competitors from 

the US, Europe and the Far 

East. 

“If we are to challenge 

the conventional banks’ entrenched 

position in international 

financial deals, we 

must develop the capacity to 

structure multi-currency and 

cross border transactions and 

to build scale,” Al Qemzi said. 

“To do that, we need to build 

deeper relationships between 

the key markets and between 

individual banks. Only then, 

will we be better placed to 

earnings in the United States, 

while the euro and dollar 

gained against the yen as traders 

felt confident to buy riskier 

assets. 

compete on a global scale. 

“I have been asked many 

times what is it that international 

banks do well? The answer 

is simple. They leverage 

the relationships they have 

with banks they know well. 

Why can’t Islamic banks do 

this? 

“At Noor, it is a model we 

have employed successfully 

in Turkey, where we have 

worked closely with other 

banks to lead manage and arrange 

over $2 billion of capital 

finance market deals. More 

than 55 institutions from 15 

countries, across Europe, Asia, 

Africa and the Middle East, 

have participated. 

Tokyo surged 2.14 per cent, 

or 202.55 points, to 9,667.26 

and Seoul rose 0.97 per cent, or 

19.23 points, to 2,004.53 while 

Sydney added 1.37 per cent, or 

58.9 points, to 4,347.7. 

Hong Kong climbed 1.06 

per cent, or 218.42 points, to 

20,780.73 and Shanghai rallied 

1.96 per cent, adding 45.86 

points to 2,380.85. 

The recent concerns that 

troubled Spain could be the 

next in line for a bailout were 

soothed when it enjoyed an 

above-target debt auction on 

Tuesday. 

Although the 12- and 18month 

bonds came at a high 

price, the success lifted market 

spirits, which have been 

low amid talk Madrid would 

not be able to cut its huge 

public deficit. 

Eyes will now be on a crucial 

sale auction of benchmark 

10-year debt today. 

Adding to the positive sentiment 

was news that German 

investor confidence unexpectedly 

rose for the fifth month 

If it can be done in Turkey, 

it can be done anywhere,” Al 

Qemzi added. 

Addressing delegates to 

MEIFIC 2012, Al Qemzi urged 

the Islamic finance industry to 

work together to overcome 

differences in interpretation 

of Shari’a compliance and to 

develop new and innovative 

products and services, which 

would allow Islamic banks to 

offer a true alternative to conventional 

banking. 

“As we acknowledge our 

differences in the interpretation 

of Shari’a principles, we 

must also acknowledge that 

these differences cannot be 

used as an excuse for our in- 

in a row. 

Across the Atlantic, Wall 

Street giant Goldman Sachs 

said it more than doubled its 

first-quarter net profit, while 

chipmaker Intel said earnings 

came in better than expected, 

as did Coca-Cola. 

The firms' Asian counterparts 

took heart from the results 

as their reporting season 

approaches. 

US and European stock 

markets took the news well, 

posting strong gains. 

On Wall Street the Dow 

closed up 1.50 per cent, the 

S&P 500 advanced 1.55 per 

cent and the Nasdaq rose 1.82 

per cent. 

London's FTSE 100 

climbed 1.78 per cent, the 

Frankfurt DAX 30 rallied 2.65 

per cent and in Paris the CAC 

40 jumped 2.72 per cent, while 

Milan soared 3.68 per cent and 

Madrid gained 2.28 per cent. 

Investors were also helped 

by the International Monetary 

Fund, which said in its semiannual 

global forecast that the 

‘Co-operation between Islamic banks key 

to challenging international banks’ 

dustry not to engage in open 

and free business,’ Al Qemzi 

said. 

Al Qemzi told his audience 

of leading Islamic finance 

professionals, institutional 

investors and other 

senior executives from the 

financial world, the pace of 

development of the Islamic 

finance sector has been too 

slow and that unless industry 

practitioners are more willing 

to challenge the regulators, 

whether Central Banks, legal 

structures or Shari’a scholars, 

the internationalisation of Islamic 

finance would continue 

to underperform and not reach 

its full potential. 

TEL: 24601003, 24600586 • FAX: 24600736 

• WEBSITE: www.salalahport.com 

world economy would grow 

3.5 per cent this year and 4.1 

per cent in 2013, up from its 

earlier projection of 3.3 per 

cent and 4 per cent. 

The dollar firmed to 81.32 

yen in late afternoon Asian 

trade from 80.87 yen in New 

York late on Tuesday. The euro 

Nestle near buying Pfizer’s 

baby formula 

LONDON — Nestle, the 

world's biggest food group, 

is closing in on a deal to buy 

Pfizer's infant nutrition business 

for up to $10 billion to 

boost its business in China and 

extend its lead in the world 

of formula milk for babies, 

sources familiar with the matter 

said yesterday. 

The Swiss group had already 

been seen as favourite 

for the business, and is now set 

to seal a deal later this month 

after outbidding a joint team 

of Danone and Mead Johnson 

in a largely two-horse race. 

"Nestle is in the lead position 

and is closing in on a deal 

which we expect soon," said 

one source. Another source 

PHNOM PENH — The Cambodia 

Securities Exchange 

(CSX) finally began trading 

shares yesterday nine months 

after it officially opened, when 

a water monopoly became the 

first firm to list. 

Trading symbolically 

started at 09:09 am local time 

(0209 GMT) — the number 

nine is considered lucky in 

Cambodia — and ended at 

noon. Normal trading hours 

will be from 08:00 am until 

11:30 am. 

Cambodia launched the 

bourse to great fanfare in July 

2011, after numerous delays 

because of the global financial 

crisis and regulatory hurdles. 

But no firms were ready 

to list on the market — a joint 

venture between the government 

and South Korea's stock 

exchange. 

Now the Phnom Penh Wa- 

bought $1.3104 and 106.60 

yen against $1.3127 and 

106.16 yen. 

On oil markets, New York's 

main contract, West Texas Intermediate 

crude for delivery 

in May was up 17 cents to 

$104.37 per barrel in the late 

afternoon while Brent North 

said the business would fetch 

$9-$10 billion and expected a 

deal by the end of the April. 

The Pfizer unit is a highgrowth 

$2.1 billion turnover 

business with over 70 per 

cent of sales in emerging 

markets and a key position in 

China, and has attracted the 

attention of the three largest 

ter Supply Authority (PPW- 

SA), which was formerly fully 

owned by the state, is floating 

13 million shares, or 15 per 

cent of the company, starting 

at 6,300 riel ($1.57) per share. 

The state will continue 

to own the remaining 85 per 

cent. 

At the close on the first day 

of trading, shares had climbed 

by almost 50 per cent to 9,300 

riel ($2.32) each. 

The firm's Initial Public 

Offering (IPO) last month was 

17 times oversubscribed, an 

indicator of strong investor 

appetite for the long-awaited 

exchange, observers said. 

Cambodian Finance Minister 

Keat Chhon, who led the 

bourse's opening ceremony, 

hailed PPWSA's "historic" 

listing as "a big leap forward" 

for the impoverished country's 

economy. 

Sea crude for June shed 37 

cents to $118.41. 

Gold was at $1,650.30 an 

ounce at 0810 GMT, compared 

with $1,655.50 late on Tuesday. 

In other markets, Taipei 

rose 0.25 per cent, or 19.13 

points, to 7,605.00. 

Taiwan Semiconductor 

Manufacturing Co gained 1.43 

per cent to Tw$85 while leading 

smartphone maker HTC 

was 1.03 per cent lower at 

Tw$480. Manila closed 0.56 

per cent, or 28.92 points, higher 

at 5,186.20. 

Megaworld was up 0.05 per 

cent at 2.04 pesos, Metropolitan 

Bank and Trust added 3.45 

per cent to 92.95 pesos and 

BDO Unibank gained 1.43 per 

cent to 67.45 pesos. 

Wellington rose 1.21 

per cent, or 42.22 points, to 

3,522.76. 

Telecom rose 1.81 per cent 

to NZ$2.53, while Fletcher 

Building was up 0.48 per cent 

at NZ$6.29 and Air New Zealand 

was steady at NZ$0.87. 

— AFP 

players in the infant milk formula 

sector. 

Pfizer put the business up 

for sale last July following its 

$68 billion purchase of Wyeth 

in 2009, while it is also looking 

to offload its animal health 

business and says this is more 

likely to be spun off than sold 

outright. — Reuters 

Cambodian bourse in 

first day of trade 

CAMBODIAN Minister of the Economy and Finance Keat Chhon (C) rings a bell as Kim 

Bong Soo (L), CEO and chairman of the Korea Exchange, claps during the launching 

ceremony at the Cambodian Securities Exchange in Phnom Penh yesterday. — AFP 

"I would like to appeal 

to national and international 

investors to participate in securities 

trading, and provide 

their support to this young, 

but full-of-potential securities 

market," he said. 

"I strongly believe that securities 

trading in Cambodia 

will be a success." 

Two more state-owned enterprises 

— Telecom Cambodia 

and Sihanoukville Autonomous 

Port — are expected 

to launch their IPOs later this 

year. 

Stock quotations for trading 

must be in the local currency, 

the riel, in line with 

the government's long-term 

goal to reduce reliance on the 

US dollar, which according to 

the Asian Development Bank 

makes up more than 90 per 

cent of all currency in circulation 

in the country. — AFP

Bollywood uses comedy 

to break taboos 

� Page 14 

Abandoned vehicle on 

roadside a hindrance 

� Page 12 

Anaesthesia causes jet-lag 

state, post surgery 

� Page 12 

Fea ures 

Thursday, April 19, 2012 

By Maurice Gent 

Recipe for 

Assidat Jezar 

� Page 12 

IN a season packed with 

world class performers, 

Royal Opera House 

Muscat has the privilege this 

weekend to welcome the 

Orchestra Dell' Accademia 

Teatro Alla Scala, which has 

nurtured and trained some 

of the best performers in the 

world of music. 

This month the ROH has 

already acted as host to the 

Vienna Boys Choir and the 

Turkish Musical prodigy, 

Omar Faruk Tekbilek, 

and is looking forward 

to welcoming the world 

acclaimed soprano, 

Angela Gheorghiu, on April 

25. 

The focus however this 

weekend is on the world 

famous orchestra school 

linked to La Scala Milan, 

a name associated with 

high quality and the best 

performances throughout the 

musical world. 

The Academy now 

visiting Muscat is what the 

world famous Scala from 

Milan envisions for the 

future. It has been described 

by its Superintendent 

Stephane Lissner as what 

“La Scala envisions for the 

future”. 

It is, he says, a historic 

possibility, a place where 

the know-how of a theatre 

that is opera history itself 

is passed on. If the Scala is 

part of the world's heritage, 

the Academy is a crucial part 

of it. It is the best possible 

investment for the future. 

La Scala has been 

nurturing new talent since 

1813 when it's Ballet School 

was first founded. It is 

now recognised worldwide 

as one of the best centres 

throughout the world for 

training young people in the 

art of dance. 

La Scala took a further 

step to train the world's 

finest when Arturo 

Toscanini, a legend in his 

own lifetime, founded a new 

school named The Scala 

Cadets, which trained young 

singers in the performance 

of traditional Italian lyrical 

opera. 

Later in the 1970s there 

came a new contribution 

to the learning tradition 

with the famous director 

of stage sets Tito Varisco, 

who promoted the study and 

creation of stage sets fit for 

La Scala performances. 

As a result of these efforts 

to train the next generation 

what became known as 

the Academia dell’ Teatro 

alla Scala became a private 

foundation, and began to 

take the form of today, 

producing young musicians, 

who can travel the world to 

show their talents. 

Nowadays the Academy 

has four departments 

— Music, Ballet, Stage 

and Workshops and 

Management. 

It thus covers a large 

area of artisitic endeavour, 

which covers a multitude of 

professions, which all add in 

different ways to the creation 

of talent, which in some way 

can contribute to the artistic 

whole. 

The standards of the 

teaching staff are guaranteed 

with the participation 

of Teatro alla Scala 

professionals, who work 

alongside the students in all 

sectors. 

The students range from 

6 to 30 years old, and come 

from all over the world 

to learn skills in artistic, 

technical and management 

areas of activity. It is a 

school, which produces 

opera singers, orchestra 

musicians, chorus singers, 

pianists, dancers and set 

builders. 

Others become 

lighting designers, stage 

photographers, video makers 

and technicians. An example 

of Italian creativity at its 

best and Muscat is fortunate 

to welcome such a group of 

talented people. 

The teaching at the La 

Scala school is very much 

based on contact with the 

work world so that students 

acquire plenty of 'on the job' 

experience. 

Every year there is a 

specially programmed opera 

as part of the tuition course. 

It allows a large number 

of students to perform 

professionally, and they 

are also encouraged to take 

part in other concerts and 

performances, to enhance 

their experience and skills. 

In recent years there has 

been more international 

experience for the students 

and hence this opportunity 

to link with Royal Opera 

House Muscat. 

(Pictures are of earlier 

performances by Orchestra 

Dell’ Accademia Teatro Alla 

Scala) 

Scarlett wants to explore 

Black Widow 

� Page 13 

Italy’s most promising talents to perform 

Royal Opera House welcomes Orchestra Dell’ Accademia Teatro Alla Scala 

La Scala has been nurturing new talent since 1813 

when it’s Ballet School was first founded. 

It is now recognised worldwide as one of the 

best centres throughout the world for training 

young people in the art of dance

PEOPLE’S 

PLATFORM 

THE car as seen in the picture 

has been abandoned 

in this sorry state for over a 

year at Way No 4117, next to Villa 

No 1350 in Al Khuwair, opposite 

Bank Dohfar on Dohat al Adab 

Street, though the authorities have 

pasted a notice on it. 

Moreover, several calls have 

been made to the recently introduced 

system at Muscat Municipality 

at number 1111, but no action 

has been taken till date. 

I request the authorities concerned 

to look into the matter and 

take necessary steps. 

— A resident 

Editor: Abandoned vehicles on 

the roadside are a hindrance to 

motorists as well as pedestrians. 

Owners should never keep their 

vehicles in such a state. What is 

needed is early steps to remove 

them. 

Air filling stations needed 

THERE were reports in these 

columns in recent days 

about the number of accidents 

happening in the Sultanate due to 

faulty tyres. 

According to ROP statistics, 

a total of 323 accidents occurred 

in 2011 due to defective tyres, 

claiming 57 lives and injuring 

343, but insurance experts claim 

that such accidents are a lot more 

than what the ROP has revealed. 

The reasons for tyre bursts are 

many. Negligence on the part of 

vehicle owners in replacing their 

old and worn-out tyres is one of 

the major reasons. Secondly, to 

save on cost, many users go for 

second-hand tyres sold openly in 

the market. 

Thirdly, tyre air pressure, either 

excessively high or very low, 

could be a contributing factor for 

tyre bursts. 

I draw the attention of the 

ROP and the Oman Road Safety 

Association and all other bodies 

that are directly involved in promoting 

road safety and urge them 

to particularly look into an aspect 

which is probably going unnoticed 

in preventing tyre bursts. 

This aspect is lack of facili- 

FOOD CORNER 

How to prepare 

Assidat Jezar 

ties for filling air in the tyres on 

the roadside. Except for a few 

tyre repair shops that provide air 

filling facilities against cash payment, 

we are entirely dependent 

on Filling Stations for filling air 

in the tyres. 

But, Air Filling stands in most 

of the Filling Stations are either 

found missing or not in workable 

condition. 

In the recent past, I went from 

Muscat to Shinas. I ensured proper 

air pressure in all the tyres of 

my car before starting the long 

trip. After a day’s halt in Shinas, 

while returning to Muscat, I felt 

that air pressure of my tyres is 

low. Beginning from Shinas, I 

entered all the filling stations of 

all the operators, be it Oman Oil, 

Shell or Al Maha one by one, but 

every filling station turned me 

Ingredients 

3 kgs carrots 

3 cups sugar 

2 cups wheat flour 

1 cup ghee 

1 cup powdered milk 

2 cups boiled water 

¼ cup rose water 

1 tsp ground cardamom 

Salt 

Method 

� Wash, peel and grate the carrots. Boil until well done. 

Drain water and keep it aside. 

� Fry the flour in ghee until its aroma could be smelt. 

� Take the water in which carrots were boiled and mix it 

with sugar and milk. 

Add to the flour with continuous stirring. 

� Add carrots. Stirring until carrots are completely pureed 

and the mixture blends together. Add ghee. 

� Add cardamom and rose water. Leave for 5 minutes. 

Ladle and serve. 

Batinah Governorate 

Courtesy : Al-Azaf the Omani Cookbook by Lamees 

Abdullah al Taiya, published by Al Roya Publishing 

down claiming that there is either 

no facility in their filling stations 

or those Air Filling stands are not 

in workable condition. 

Worried that my tyre pressure 

is low, I continued to drive 

towards Muscat, not knowing 

where I will get the opportunity 

to fill the tyres. My tyres were 

not very new. The thought of tyre 

bursts due to low air pressure was 

a major cause of anxiety for all 

the passengers in the car. It is during 

this trip, I realised how poor 

is the facility on the road side 

for vehicles desperately looking 

to fill air in the tyres. I was able 

to find the facility only when I 

reached Sohar. 

Filling stations may claim that 

the facility to provide air in their 

filling stations is a goodwill gesture 

to customers, but I urge the 

12 

LETTERS/HEALTH THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 

Abandoned vehicle on roadside a hindrance 

ROP and other bodies concerned 

to make it mandatory for filling 

stations to keep their Air Filling 

Stands always in workable condition. 

I also urge the ROP to take a 

random round to verify my claim 

and I am certain that they will 

find 70 per cent of the Air Filling 

Stands in the filling stations are 

not in workable condition. 

Even in main Muscat city, 

many of the filling stations do not 

have these facilities. To verify 

my claim, one may visit Al Maha 

Filling Station in Wattayah, next 

to proposed Ahli Bank site, where 

air filling facility is missing for 

the last two years. 

In order to avoid tyre bursts 

and fatal road accidents due to 

faulty tyres, this particular aspect 

may please be looked into and 

remedial action taken. The re- 

sponsibility lies not only with the 

filling stations concerned but also 

on the ROP. The responsibility to 

keep these air stands in workable 

condition lies with the public as 

well. They should be educated 

that these facilities are not to be 

misused and the rubber tubes in 

the air stands are properly placed 

back on the hook after every refilling 

so that the next user can 

benefit from them. 

— Muzahid Ahmad 

Beat the summer — sleep well, eat well 

THE summer brings 

along with it skin problems 

such as acne, rashes, 

sunburn and tanning. But 

all it takes to deal with them 

is a little hygiene, good sleep, 

lots of water and a healthy diet 

plan, say experts. 

Healthy skin reflects overall 

health and so it is important 

to take care of it rather than relying 

on expensive cosmetics, 

says clinical nutritionist Ishi 

Khosla. 

“A clear and glowing skin 

reflects overall health. This 

requires a well-balanced fibrerich 

diet, plenty of fluids, regular 

exercise, no smoking and 

avoiding excessive exposure 

to sun,” Khosla said. 

Khosla, who is the director 

at Whole Foods India and 

founder-president of Celiac 

Society for Delhi, also sug- 

gests specific nutrients for 

good skin. 

“The important nutrients 

for skin include proteins, essential 

fats, vitamin A, E, C, 

B complex, selenium, zinc and 

copper,” she said. 

A regular, sound sleep pattern 

is also a must, says homeopath 

Kalyan Banerjee. 

“Including natural foods 

in diet, such as fruits, veggies 

and a lot of water in one's daily 

diet, along with uninterrupted 

sleep automatically brings a 

glow on the face,” Banerjee 

said. 

While a lot of youngsters 

are opting to go under the 

knife for achieving flawless 

skin, it can be achieved without 

it too, suggests cosmetic 

surgeon Anup Dhir. 

“Saturated fatty, oily food 

along with caffeine and proc- 

essed, junk food and cold 

drinks should be avoided,” 

Dhir said, adding that the 

“eight glasses of water a day” 

mantra is indispensable. 

“Water not only helps you 

feel fresh but it also prevents 

dehydration and will help 

wash out a lot of toxins,” he 

said. 

Dhir says water must also 

be put to good use for washing 

the face well! 

“Wash your skin twice daily 

with a chemical free, mild 

face wash. Sometimes, one 

should also splash plain water 

on their skin. Wiping the skin 

with tissue papers can help reduction 

of oil. Avoid touching 

your skin with dirty hands as 

it leads to more pimples,” he 

said. 

Editor: I agree with you. Tyre 

bursts can cause fatal accidents 

and hence the suggestions to 

avert such mishaps need to be 

considered seriously by the authorities 

concerned. 

Improve traffic safety 

FATAL accidents on Omani 

roads are reported very often. 

Awareness about safe driving 

as well as strict enforcement 

of traffic rules should be done 

simultaneously. 

I am happy that there are 

initiatives to curb accidents, but 

they should be continued to create 

awareness among the public. 

Children also should be taught 

about traffic rules and the need to 

abide by laws. 

— Nazer 

Editor: Traffic safety is everybody’s 

concern in Oman. There 

should be more people’s participation 

in awareness initiatives. 

Do you have a word of appreciation for any services you received? 

Or suggestions for improvement? Observer is giving you an 

opportunity to rant or rave about anything and everything 

around you: Please write to: 

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

And no heavy make-up 

please as it blocks the pores, 

leading to more acne. 

Salicylic acid/glycolic 

acid-based creams or cleansers 

can help in reducing oil 

secretion and help in keeping 

acne under control, suggests 

Madhurima Sharma, cosmetic, 

plastic and laser surgeon, Atelier 

Aesthetic Clinic. 

“Protection from sun is 

very important as ultraviolet 

rays cause damage and can 

give sun spots, tanning and 

pre-mature skin ageing. 

“Wear a scarf when out in 

sun, use dark rimmed sunglasses 

which cover more of your 

face, carry an umbrella and 

wear loose cotton clothes... it 

will be very helpful,” Sharma 

said. — IANS 

Anaesthesia causes jet-lag state, post surgery 

PEOPLE feel as though 

they have jet-lag after 

surgery, which could be 

due to the effect of general 

anaesthesia that alters genetic 

activity controlling the bioclock, 

a study reveals. 

“Our work shows that general 

anaesthesia effectively 

shifts you to a different time 

zone, producing chemicallyinduced 

jet-lag. It provides a 

scientific explanation for why 

people wake up from surgery 

feeling as though very little 

time has passed,” explained 

Guy Warman, anaesthesiolo- 

gist at the University of Auckland's 

School of Biological 

Sciences, who led the study. 

The effect persists for at 

least three days, even in the 

presence of strong light cues 

telling the brain the correct 

time of day, the journal Proceedings 

of the National Academy 

of Sciences reported. 

“It is known that after anaesthesia 

people's biological 

clocks are disrupted, and this 

can compromise their sleep 

pattern and mood as well as 

wound healing and immune 

function. By understanding 

why this happens we can work 

out how to treat it and potentially 

improve post-operative 

recovery,” said Warman, according 

to a university statement. 

The work was done using 

honey bees. “It might sound 

unusual, but in fact bees are 

an ideal species to study time 

perception. Honey bees have 

an amazingly accurate sense 

of time, which allows them to 

forage and find flowers in the 

right place at the right time 

of the day,” said Warman. 

— IANS 

WINDOWS 

By Wafa al Shamsiya 

Deprived children 

WHAT happens when we try with all our power to 

understand the events around us and fail in doing so? 

I am trying to know how patient the people around me are. 

I decided to disappear from my social circle some time. 

It was a hard test, but I had some hypotheses that needed 

to be verified and questions to be answered. I wanted to 

know how much they care about me, and how long they 

will bear my absence. The worst about us human beings is 

that our confidence weakens when we sense that someone 

is distancing himself from us. When this happens we blame 

ourselves although the other party may be mistaken. 

More often than not we feel emotional woes from which 

nothing relieves us but weeping, or a talk with someone we 

love. This sort of remedy is a favourable one. It frees the 

soul from the trap of loneliness and the slow burning of the 

ego. Love-charged words remain the most sincere of all 

talk as it is received by open hearts and welcoming souls. 

This is what we feel when we lead a normal life lacking 

nothing but psychological stability and the trust in God and 

His arrangements, what if we were like these children beset 

by deprivation and misery and tormented by orphanhood. 

Loneliness eats away their flesh. I saw them around me 

at an orphanage function. They were looking around with 

eyes filled with wonder and bafflement. I saw many questions 

in their eyes: will they be around us when we grow up 

to embrace us and comfort us from the fatigue of life? Will 

there be someone to show us the right and the wrong? 

Their eyes were bright as they feared the future. Their 

lips never uttered ‘mum’ or ‘dad’. We drew Henna on their 

little hands, yet they needed someone to draw for them colourful 

pictures of the future. I patted on their heads one by 

one. At the moment I felt so weak and wished I had my 

mother with me to place my head on her chest. 

Those who lose their parents become sons and daughters 

of us all. We care for them, cater to their needs and 

usher them along the sinuous roads of life and through its 

rough seas. It’s is the responsibility of human beings to 

help those who are in need of assistance. 

Type 2 diabetes rising sharply 

THE more common type of diabetes, type 2 diabetes, 

is rising sharply in China, growing by 30 per cent 

in just seven years, according to a survey of thousands 

of Shanghai residents. 

The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, 

shows that the curse of affluence appears to be affecting 

China as it has many other developing countries — 

and it has come on quite rapidly, researchers said. 

“Unlike the gradual transition in most Western 

countries, these changes in China have occurred over 

a very short time,” wrote lead researcher Rui Li, at the 

Shanghai Municipal center for Disease Control and 

Prevention. 

People with type 2 diabetes have trouble processing 

sugar in their blood, but do not generally require insulin 

to manage the condition. —Reuters Health

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QUOTATIONS FOR TODAY 

Our treasure lies in the beehive 

of our knowledge. We are 

perpetually on the way thither, 

being by nature winged insects 

and honey gatherers of the 

mind. 

— Friedrich Nietzsche 

CINEMA 

FILM INFORMATION 

www.citycinemaoman.net 

AL BAHJA CINEMA: 

24540856, 24540855. 

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STARS CINEMA: 

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ADDRESSES 

Keep in touch with Majlis Ash’shura’s news. 

Log on to the Majlis’s website: 

www.shura.om 

and the Majlis’s 

e-mail: info@shura.om 

Or write to the Majlis’s postal address: 

P O Box 981 

Postal Code 111, Muscat 

Tel: 24510344 / 24521427/ 

Fax 24510560 

INFORMATION 

MINISTRY WEBSITES 

Ministry: www.omanet.om 

Oman TV: 

www.oman-tv.gov.om 

Oman Radio: 

www.oman-radio.gov.om 

Omani Centre for Traditional Music: www. 

octm-folk.gov.om 

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WY273 B737-8 Jaipur 0205 

TK859 B737-8 Istanbul 0220 

WY335 B737-8 Kathmandu 0235 

BG022 DC10 Chittagong-Dacca 0300 

EK867 B777 Dubai 0500 


QR171 A320 Doha 0550 

MS931 B737-8 Cairo 0600 


RJ601 A319 Amman 0715 


WY915 E175AR Salalah 0800 

FZ044 B737-8 Dubai 0820 


WY315 B737-8 Chittagong 0900 

NL772 B737-2 Peshawar 0900 

NL769 B737-2 Lahore 0945 

WY717 B737-8 Zanzibar-Dar-es-Salaam 1000 

WY297 B737-8 Calicut 1005 


WY815 A330-200 Bangkok 1010 

WY263 B737-8 Lucknow 1010 

WY323 B737-8 Karachi 1020 

WY917 ATR42 Khasab 1030 

WY605 B737-8 Dubai 1030 

WY923 B737-8 Salalah 1035 

G9114 A320 Sharjah 1035 

WY203 B737-8 Bombay 1040 

EK863 B777 Dubai 1045 


QR167 A321 Doha 1055 

9W533 B737-8 Cochin 1145 

PK234 B737-3 Karachi 1210 

WY663 E175AR Doha 1215 

IX542 B737-8 Trivandrum 1220 

PK292 A310 Lahore-Islamabad 1240 

WY645 B737-8 Kuwait 1255 

WY425 B737-8 Amman-Beirut 1300 

WY405 B737-8 Cairo 1310 



WY115 A330-200 Frankfurt 1325 



IX350 B737-8 Calicut 1355 

WY101 A330-300 London Heathrow 1400 

WY607 B737-8 Dubai 1440 

IX142 B737-8 Abu Dhabi-Amritsar 1515 

WY925 B737-8 Salalah 1540 

WY671 A330-300 Jeddah 1540 

FZ046 B737-8 Dubai 1630 


WY3927 B737-8 Salalah 1800 

WY615 B737-8 Dubai 1805 

QR165 A321 Doha 1840 

GF565 A319 Bahrain 1855 

WY685 B737-8 Dammam 1905 

WY647 B737-8 Kuwait 1905 

WY927 B737-8 Salalah 1905 

WY667 B737-8 Doha 1910 

WY681 B737-8 Riyadh 1910 

WY655 B737-7 Bahrain 1915 

G9118 A320 Sharjah 1945 

TG508 A330 Karachi-Bangkok 2005 

WY623 ATR42 Al Ain 2015 

WY635 E175AR Abu Dhabi 2015 

WY613 B737-8 Dubai 2045 

FZ048 B737-8 Dubai 2105 

UL206 A320 Colombo 2120 

KL450 A330 Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam 2200 

WY913 B737-8 Salalah 2245 

AI908 A319 Madras 2300 

AI974 A320 Delhi 2310 


LX243 A330 Dubai-Zurich 2335 

LH619 A330 Abu Dhabi-Frankfurt 2335 

QR169 A320 Doha 2335 

GF567 B737-7 Bahrain 2345 

ARIES 

(March 21-April 20) 

This is not a good time 

to be thinking of taking 

on any more financial credit 

commitments; you can do without 

the goods on offer and also without 

the worry of repayments. 

TAURUS 

(April 21-May 20) 

A very selfish and 

inconsiderate person 

could spoil your life and happiness 

unless you take immediate steps 

to free yourself from his influence 

completely. 

GEMINI 

(May 21-June 21) 

A useful service once 

done and long since 

forgotten will suddenly be remembered 

and will show a very welcome 

return for your effort. 

CANCER 

(June 22-July 21) 

You are beginning to 

feel that too busy a social 

life can become rather wearing. 

Give yourself time to rest, and to 

think about the direction your life 

should take. 

13 

INFORMATION/LEISURE THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 

PHARMACIES 

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Muscat 24695477 

Capital 24543513 

Sur Ibn al Nafees 

25544779 

Buraimi Al Shamsi 25650452 

Ibri Al Mukhtar 25689839 

Nizwa Muscat 25410235 

Salalah Al Hashar 23297622 

NIGHT DUTY 

Muscat Scientific 24423684 

Apollo 24787766 

Atlas 24503585 

Muscat 24537080 

Sur City Center 25542965 

Buraimi Al Buraimi 25650392 

Ibri Sarah 25691424 

Barka Al Razi 26882168 

Rustaq Bader al Jashmi 

26876523 

Nizwa Al Hazfah 25431650 

Samayil Balsm 25351064 

Salalah Al Khuwair 23298892 

KHOULA HOSPITAL VISITING HOURS 

Private & Other Wards 

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

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

ICU 

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

Holidays: 16:00-17:00 

Special Care Baby Unit 

Working Days: Parents may visit at any time. 

Weekends & Public Holidays: Parents may visit 

at any time 

� YOUR STARS � 

IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY: Make this year the year to do things for yourself. Try a couple of new hobbies, 

insist in having your own way in a particular aspect of homelife, and generally brighten up your days. Your 

renewed enthusiasm will brush off onto other members of the family and improve things all round. 

LEO 

(July 22-August 21) 

Your unbiased opinion 

on an important question 

may be sought by two friends. 

Tact as well as candour will be 

needed when you say what you 

think. 

VIRGO 

(August 22- 

September 22) 

Allow your partner to 

form his own opinion and avoid 

bullying him into accepting your 

ideas as the only ones worth mentioning. 

LIBRA 

(September 23- 

October 22) 

You will be in a position 

today to restore some well 

needed order to a rather confused 

situation at work and your colleagues 

will be most grateful. 

SCORPIO 

(October 23- 

November 21) 

Before forcing a final 

showdown with a person who cannot 

stop arguing over every trifle, 

make sure that you have your facts 

right. 

CARTOONS 

SAGITTARIUS 

(November 22- 

December 21) 

An interfering relative 

could upset your domestic life unless 

you are strong enough to resist 

his unwelcome suggestions. 

CAPRICORN 

(December 22- 

January 20) 

Since you are about to 

spend rather a lot of money, you may 

have to avoid spending too much on 

unimportant items for a while. 

AQUARIUS 

(January 21- 

February 19) 

A member of the family 

who is very anxious to see you get 

on will find a way to help you start 

on a successful career well within 

your ability. 

PISCES 

(Feb 20-March 20) 

You will have a better 

chance of overcoming 

competition if you quietly make 

your plans and keep your temper 

when trying to achieve your objective. 

ADAM @ HOME by Brian Basset 

CALVIN AND HOBBES by Bill Watterson 

GARFIELD by Jim Davis 

STONE SOUP by Jan Eliot 

Hospital . . . .Board . . . . . Emergency 

Royal. . . . . . .24599000 . . 24590491 

Health Services Department 

Muttrah . . . . .24797602 

Quriyat . . . . .24845001 . . 24845003 

SQH, Salalah 23211555 . . 23211151 

Police . . . . . .24603988 . . 24603980 

Al Nahda. . . .24831255 . . 24837800 

Ibn Sina . . . .24876322 . . 24877361 

Nizwa . . . . . .25439361 . . 25425033 

Al Rustaq . . .26875055 . . 26877186 

Sumayil. . . . .25350055 . . 25350022 

Izki . . . . . . . .25340033 . . 25340033 

Haima . . . . . .23436013 . . 23436055 

OTHER HOSPITALS 

Sohar . . . . . .26840022 . . 26840099 

Al Buraimi . . .25650855 . . 25652319 

Sur . . . . . . . .25440244 . . 25461373 

Tanam. . . . . .25499011 . . 25499033 

Masirah. . . . .25404018 . . 25404018 

Ibra . . . . . . . .25470533 . . 25470535 

Adam . . . . . .25434167 . . 25434055 

Bidiya . . . . . .25483535 . . 25483535 

Ibri. . . . . . . . .25491011 . . 25491990 

Saham . . . . .26854427 . . 26855148 

Khasab . . . . .26830187 . . 26830187 

Dibba . . . . . .26836443 . . 26836443 

Burkha . . . . .26828397 . . 26828397 

Sinaw . . . . . .25474338 

HOLLYWOOD star Scarlett 

Johansson said she hopes to 

have another chance to play 

the role of Russian spy Natasha Romanoff, 

nicknamed Black Widow, 

which she played in The Avengers. 

“Black Widow has such a great 

back story, I would love to be able to 

explore that more, and we’ve talked 

about it,” Johansson said at a news 

conference in Moscow. 

The Avengers, directed by Joss 

M USEUMS IN OMAN 

FAISAL BIN ALI AL SAID MUSEUM, 

Tel: 24641650 

MUSEUM OF OMANI HERITAGE, 

Tel: 24600946 

CHILDREN’S SCIENCE MUSEUM. 

Tel: 24605368 

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, 

Tel: 24641374 

NATIONAL MUSEUM, Tel: 24701289 

SULTAN’S ARMED FORCES 

MUSEUM, Tel: 24312646 

CURRENCY MUSEUM, Tel: 24796102 

MUSCAT GATE MUSEUM, 

Tel: 24739005. 

OMANI-FRENCH MUSEUM (Bait 

Fransa), Tel: 24736613 

BAIT AL ZUBAIR, Tel: 24736688 

BAIT A’NAMAN, Tel: 24641300 

SOHAR FORT MUSEUM. 

Tel: 26844758 

NAHKAL FORT, Tel: 26781384 

BAIT AL MAKHAM. Tel: 24641300 

BAIT ADAM MUSEUM, QURUM, 

Tel: 24605033, 24605013 

OIL AND GAS EXHIBITION CENTRE 

AND PLANETARIUM, Tel: 24677834. 

PLANETARIUM, Tel: 24675542. 

AQUARIUM at the Marine Science and 

Fisheries Centre (located next to Marina 

Bandar Rowdha, Sidab). 

SALALAH MUSEUM, Tel: 23294549 

CULTURAL CENTRE, Tel: 23294549. 

SUR MARITIME MUSEUM, 

Tel: 24541466. 

BAIT AL BARANDA, Tel: 24714262. 

Whedon, is based on the Marvel Studio 

comics of the same name featuring 

superheroes teaming up to save 

the world from a looming disaster. 

Both Whedon and The Avengers 

producer, Kevin Feige, have hinted at 

a sequel to the movie. 

Johansson said her family was 

originally from Minsk, Belarus. 

“My mother is anxious for us to 

go there. I had a Russian language 

teacher and I learned it phonetically 

ROYAL OMAN POLICE 

EMERGENCY 9 9 9 9 

DG of Passports & Residency, 24569603 

DG of Customs, 24714626 

Traffic offences, 24510227/228 

ROP Public Relations, 24569270 

Consumer Complaints Cell, 24817013 

Muscat Governorate Headquarters, 24560021 

Muscat, 24736611 

Wattayah, 24677990 

Ruwi, 24701099 

Muttrah, 24712211 

Bausher, 24600099 

Al Amerat, 24875999 

Qurayat, 24845555 

A’Seeb, 24420099 

Al-Athaiba, 24521099 

AI-Khodh, 24425012 

Directorate of the University Security, 

24513999 

Directorate of Traffic Muscat, 24567898 

Al Batinah Headquarters, 26840096 

Al Rustaq Division, 26875099 

Al Dakhiliyah, 25425099 

Nizwa Division, 25425099 

Samayil Division, 25350099 

Al Sharqiyah Headquarters, 25545070 

Ibra Division, 25570100 

Al Dhahirah Headquarters, 25650099 

Al Buraimi Division, 25650199 

Ibri Division, 25689099 

Al Wusta Headquarters, 23436099 

Haima Division, 23436211 

Special Task Force, 24560088 

Coastguard Headquarters, 24714888 

Dhofar Governorate Headquarters, 23234599 

Salalah Police Station, 23290099 

Thamrait Division, 23279099 

Musandam Governorate Headquarters, 

26730299 

Khasab Division, 26731502 

ROP websites: www.rop.gov.om, www.ropoman. 

net and 

e-mail: ropnet@omantel.net.om 

Scarlett wants to explore Black Widow 

J K Rowling plans Harry 

Potter encyclopaedia 

ARRY POTTER author J K 

HRowling is a woman of her 

words. She had promised fans 

an encyclopaedia on her popular 

series, and has now revealed it is 

already under way. 

“For a long time, I have been 

promising an encyclopaedia of 

Harry’s world, and I have started 

work on it. It is likely to be a 

time-consuming job, but when 

finished I shall donate all royalties 

to charity,” Rowling stated 

on her website, according to contactmusic.com. 

Rowling has no plans to write 

another Harry Potter book. 

“I have no immediate plans to 

write another Harry Potter novel, 

and I do think that I have rounded 

off Harry’s story in the seven 

published books,” said the author, 

whose books were turned into a 

successful film franchise. 

Rowling’s next novel — The 

Casual Vacancy will be published 

later in 2012. 

Its story revolves around a 

small parish town named Pagford, 

a quintessential English dwelling 

with a cobbled market square and 

an ancient abbey. — IANS 

but I’ve forgotten everything now,” 

she said. 

Johansson’s co-star Tom Hiddleston, 

who starred in the movie 

as supervillain Loki, said he liked 

Moscow and praised Russia’s theatre 

culture. 

“Five yeas ago, I came to Moscow 

to the Pushkin Theatre I think, 

I did some Shakespeare here. The 

theatre culture in Russia is amazing, 

you have the most diverse actors in 

the world, and there are theatres on 

every corner,” he said. 

Hiddleston said he had spent “a 

very good time” in Russia and had “a 

huge affection for Moscow”. 

Octavia Spencer to star in controversial 

film: Oscar winner Octavia 

Spencer is not resting on her 

laurels. After picking up a best supporting 

actress award for her role in 

the civil rights drama The Help, the 

actress, 39, is now expected to star in 

a controversial new movie about the 

killing of a black youth by a white 

police officer, according to the Hollywood 

Reporter. 

The movie, Fruitvale, tells the story 

of Oscar Grant, a young black man 

detained on New Year’s Day 2009 by 

transport police in Oakland before 

being shot in the back and killed. 

The event was captured by onlookers 

on their cellphone cameras 

and though the policeman who shot 

Grant was found guilty of manslaughter 

he was sentenced to just 

two years in prison, sparking widespread 

protests. 

Spencer is in line to play the victim’s 

mother, while Michael B Jordan 

(Chronicles, Friday Night Lights) 

will play Grant. — IANS 

Johnny Depp hit 

with lawsuit over 

concert scuffle 

OHNNY Depp 

J is facing legal 

action from a 

disabled woman, 

who has alleged 

she was assaulted 

by the actor’s 

security guards 

at a rock concert 

in December last 

year. 

The woman named Jane Doe 

claims she sustained severe injuries 

and emotional distress after Depp’s 

minders hurt her during an Iggy and 

the Stooges gig at the Hollywood Palladium, 

reports dailystar.co.uk. 

She alleged that trouble ensued 

when Depp’s entourage tried to take 

away her iPhone, before dragging 

her out of the VIP section and causing 

her pants to fall down. 

The woman says Depp was aware 

of the struggle and was supplying 

direct supervision and management 

of his security guards and directing 

their actions. — IANS

14 

ENTERTAINMENT THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 

Bollywood uses comedy to break taboos 

A 

ROMANTIC comedy that 

opens at Indian cinemas this 

week tackles taboos about 

sperm donation and infertility, in the 

latest Bollywood film to experiment 

with traditionally off-limits content. 

Vicky Donor, which is being released 

tomorrow, tells the story of the 

unemployed and lazy Vicky, who is 

persuaded by a doctor to donate his 

Spice Girl Victoria Beckham 

sperm to make a living — a job he 

then tries to keep quiet from his new 

girlfriend. Yamni Gautam (pictured) 

plays the heroine’s role in Vicky Donor. 

The film retains the singing and 

dancing so beloved of Indian audiences 

and will be “fun to watch”, according 

to producer John Abraham. 

But while the style may be familiar, 

the content is definitely new. 

“Indian audiences have never seen 

this kind of film,” Abraham said at the 

launch in Mumbai. 

He has expressed hopes that the 

movie will spread awareness among 

childless couples about sperm donation, 

which has largely been an alien 

concept in conservative Indian society. 

“It is high time we openly talk 

about this issue,” said actor Ayushmann 

Khurrana, who stars as Vicky. 

“We tell in the film that sperm 

donor identity is always kept a secret 

and also that donors have to go 

through many tests before getting 

selected. This film is informative and 

entertaining at the same time.” 

Trade analysts say the film is part 

of a wider trend in Hindi-speaking 

cinema, with censors relaxing their 

rules in a bid to keep up with the 

times. Friday also sees the release of 

Hate Story, an erotic thriller that has 

generated a stir with a raunchy trailer 

on YouTube. One of the film’s stars, 

Nikhil Dwivedi, has described the 

film as an Indian Basic Instinct. 

“Bollywood is experimenting with 

newer and newer subject matter,” 

Komal Nahta, editor of the trade journal 

Film Information, said. 

“Until four or five years back only 

the ‘masala’ films were being made,” 

he said, using the term for the typical 

Indian commercial melodrama that 

combines music and comedy with romance 

and action. 

Actor and producer Aamir Khan 

to launch lifestyle website ILARY Duff feels very lucky 

H 

NSPIRED by actress Gwyneth 

I Paltrow, former Spice Girl Victoria 

Beckham is planning to launch her 

own lifestyle website. 

The website will also include up- 

BRITON Sarah Outen is no 

stranger to adventure, but when 

she rows out from a small port 

in Japan this week she will be on her 

own — all the way until she reaches 

Canada. 

Outen’s solo voyage across the Pacific, 

in a rowboat packed with the latest 

gadgetry, is probably the most challenging 

leg in her ambitious project to 

circle the globe by boat and bike. 

“The distance is really huge,” the 

26-year-old adventurer, who became 

the first woman to row solo across the 

Indian Ocean in 2009. 

Outen left Britain on April 1 last 

year on a 30-month expedition under 

the title London2London: Via the 

World, which saw her kayak to Eu- 

dates about her routine, reports contactmusic.com. 

“Victoria’s had a lot of support 

for her recent tweets about her life 

and she feels that people really care 

about how she manages to raise four 

kids with a glittering career,” said a 

source. 

“When she puts her mind to 

something, Victoria gives her best. A 

website that will include blogs about 

her day is a great idea. She wants to 

share her experiences and her mistakes 

with other women who refuse to 

sacrifice their careers when they have 

kids,” she added. 

The website may not be the only 

new venture Victoria plans to get 

involved in. Her close friend Tana 

Ramsay wants to team up with her for 

a food range. 

“Tana thinks they can develop 

a cool, nutritious and organic line 

of baby food using her experience 

and Victoria’s brand,” a source told 

nowmagazine.co.uk. 

rope, cycle across Eurasia then get 

back in her kayak to Japan. 

When she sets out from Choshi, 

east of Tokyo, she will be taking with 

her everything she needs for the next 

six or seven months — food, power 

generating equipment, a satellite 

phone, navigation computers and a desalinator 

to make drinking water from 

the sea. 

There will be just one thing missing 

from the boat: a driving force. 

“I am the engine,” Outen said, flexing 

the muscular thighs and shoulders 

that will propel the 22-foot Gulliver 

and its two cabins all the way across 

the world’s largest ocean. 

At the end of the 4,500 nautical 

mile journey, and as Vancouver’s trees 

because her baby son is well 

behaved, and she gets a lot of 

support in parenting from her 

husband Mike Comrie. 

“We are all so great! Enjoying 

every moment of this adventure! 

Lucky to have a peaceful baby 

and helpful man,” she tweeted, reports 

contactmusic.com. 

The 24-year-old is even finding 

the time to shop for new clothes 

while her son Luca, who was born 

last month, sleeps. 

“Luca taking a nap. Mommy 

doing some online shopping,” she 

further tweeted. 

Cowell robbed by woman: A onenight 

stand with a woman cost a 

lot to music mogul Simon Cowell. 

The woman robbed him after he 

took her to his hotel room. 

The 52-year-old first met the 

girl at Drai’s nightclub in Hollywood 

in October last year, and 

took her to his hotel room, where 

she is said to have taken his laptop 

and wallet, reports thesun.co.uk. 

was one of the first to turn to more serious 

matters with Taare Zameen Par 

(Like Stars on Earth) in 2007, a film 

about a dyslexic boy that was a critically 

acclaimed box office hit. 

Khan pushed the boundaries further 

last year with screwball comedy 

Delhi Belly, a film that outraged conservative 

critics for its toilet humour 

and profanity-peppered dialogue, 

which surprisingly passed the censor 

board uncut. 

Some of the latest risk-takers in 

Bollywood are keeping a light-hearted 

touch. Ab Hoga Dharna Unlimited, 

released last week, focuses on the 

issue of hunger striking in protest for 

justice. 

The practice is a common but controversial 

one in India, popularised by 

Mahatma Gandhi and last year propelling 

anti-corruption campaigner Anna 

Hazare into the media spotlight, but 

the film takes a comedic approach. 

“I don’t want to bore people by 

making a serious documentary,” said 

director Navin Batra. 

“Everybody has seen these agita- 

Police tracked down the woman 

using security camera footage. 

She agreed to return the computer, 

but kept the money from his 

tions on TV, so I don’t think anyone 

would be interested in watching the 

same thing in theatres as well,” he 

was quoted as saying in the daily 

Hindustan Times. 

Bollywood analyst Nahta said a 

“more discerning” audience as well 

as changes to cinemas themselves 

are driving increasingly bold content, 

which is largely tried out in lowerbudget 

films. 

He said the growth in India’s mul- 

tiplexes meant you “don’t need 1,000 

people to make a full house”. 

Relaxing social mores, particularly 

among India’s westernised youth, are 

one motivating factor behind the new 

wave of production, with increasingly 

risque themes and scenes on both the 

big and small screens. 

Last month, popular television series 

Bade Achhe Lagte Hain (We Like 

Him Very Much) featured an unprecedented 

love-making scene that lasted 

about 15 minutes and sent social media 

abuzz with excitement — but it 

seems not all of India was ready for 

it. — AFP 

Duff lucky to have well-behaved son 

wallet. 

Timberlake obsessed with hardware: 

Actor-singer Justin Timberlake 

has developed an obsession 

with hardware as he is busy 

researching to develop a new 

homeware line, for which he has 

teamed with interior designer Estee 

Stanley. 

“I will sit and I will look at 

hardware for hours. Literally, for 

hours, I’ll sit and compare hardware. 

The devil’s in the details. 

I mean, it’s your home, it has to 

be your own,” contactmusic.com 

quoted him as saying. 

He insists everything in the collection 

for the online retailer is 

something Stanley and he would 

be happy to have in their own 

homes. 

“If we wouldn’t put it in our 

homes, we’re not going to ask people 

to put it in theirs. You don’t 

have to spend your whole bank 

account to make your home look 

amazing but also be comfortable 

and reliable,” he said. — IANS 

Gearing up to row across Pacific 

shed their leaves, she’ll get back on 

her bike, bound for North America’s 

east coast. 

From there it’s just a matter of rowing 

the width of the northern Atlantic. 

“I love adventure, I love challenges,” 

she said in Yokosuka, southwest 

of Tokyo, where she has been staying 

with friends as she shapes up for the 

journey. 

“Three years ago I crossed the Indian 

Ocean... it took me four months to 

row from Australia to Mauritius. 

“Whilst I was doing that I thought 

I would like to set myself an even bigger 

challenge; I want to journey across 

land and sea in one big expedition.” 

Outen said she was motivated to 

go on the solo crossing of the Indian 

Ocean, her first major adventure, after 

her father’s death six years ago. 

She wanted to “turn that into something 

positive” and dedicated her expedition 

to a charity for sufferers of 

rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that 

afflicted her father for a long time. 

Her current adventure is helping 

four causes: campaigns to fight breast 

cancer and motor neurone disease, 

the Jubilee Sailing Trust, which helps 

people with physical difficulties enjoy 

sailing, and the WaterAid anti-poverty 

charity. 

While she is quietly confident she 

will make it, Outen acknowledges 

large-scale adventuring is not all plain 

sailing. 

During the Indian Ocean voyage 

her boat was capsized three times by 

huge waves that finally dumped her 

a coral reef, which was “not a good 

place to land a boat,” she said. 

“I remember waiting on the reef for 

someone to come and help me, and I 

thought ‘I cannot do that again. That 

was too scary’,” she said. 

But it did not take too long for the 

bad memories to fade and the good 

parts of the adventure to come to the 

fore. “I particularly enjoyed the wild 

life — whales, dolphins, albatrosses: 

huge birds making visits to my boat. 

And the stars — just incredible,” she 

said. “That feeling of being immersed 

in the wild was extraordinary, it was 

magical.” 

Outen said one of the main aims 

of her voyage is to inspire others — 

particularly children — to their own 

adventure, and she likes telling groups 

of youngsters about the three marriage 

proposals she politely declined from 

men she met while biking through the 

wilds of Kazakhstan and Russia. 

“I told them I was married to the 

bike,” she said. 

“I really enjoy using those stories 

and experiences to share with others so 

that they can enjoy the adventures, too. 

“You don’t need to prepare for a big 

adventure. You can just go and learn 

on the way,” she said. “It’s all about 

attitude.” 

Attitude is something a transoceanic 

adventurer like Outen has in 

spades, but just in case her courage 

fails and things start to get the better of 

her, she need only look to the motto on 

the side of her boat. — AFP 

Actress Dakota Fanning and Leelee Sobieski (below) 

arrive at the Vanity Fair party to begin the 2012 

Tribeca Film Festival in New York. — Reuters 

Actress Bai Ling (above), Janina Gavankar (below) 

and Kelly Lynch (bottom) pose on arrival for the 

Los Angeles Premiere of Marley, a film by Kevin 

MacDonald in Hollywood, California. — AFP

RUSSIAN soldiers march during a rehearsal of the Victory Day Parade in Alabino, outside Moscow, yesterday. The 

parade will take place on the Red Square in Moscow on May 9 to commemorate the 1945 defeat of Germany. — AFP 

Shelling continues in Homs 

BEIRUT — Syria challenged 

the United Nations chief over 

the size and scope of a UN 

truce monitoring mission yesterday, 

resisting a larger presence 

as its army shelled targets 

in the city of Homs in violation 

of the cease�re. 

Despite the seven-day-old 

truce agreement between government 

and dissident forces, 

explosions rocked the battered 

Khalidiyah quarter of Homs as 

the army resumed what has become 

a daily barrage of heavy 

mortar shelling, and plumes of 

black smoke drifted over the 

rooftops. 

In northern Idlib province, 

six members of the security 

forces were killed by a bomb 

placed by an “armed terrorist 

group”, state news agency 

SANA said. It was the second 

such attack in two days. 

While the truce has held in 

some parts of Syria since President 

Bashar al Assad pledged 

to enforce it last week, in 

strong opposition areas such as 

LONDON — British police 

have handed prosecutors four 

�les of evidence against 11 

suspects in the Rupert Murdoch 

phone-hacking scandal, 

a prosecutor said yesterday, 

bringing closer the likelihood 

of charges. Director of Public 

Prosecutions Keir Starmer 

said his of�ce would examine 

the �les and advise police 

whether there was suf�cient 

evidence to bring charges in 

the case that has rocked the 

British establishment. 

Possible offences include 

perverting the course of justice, 

breaching the data prevention 

act and intimidating a 

witness. Interception of communications 

and harassment 

are other possible charges 

mentioned in the �les. 

Those named in the �les 

include four journalists, one 

police of�cer and six other 

PARIS — Nicolas Sarkozy’s 

campaign appeared to lose 

steam yesterday, four days 

ahead of the �rst round of 

France’s presidential election 

that pollsters increasingly say 

he will lose to his Socialist 

rival. 

Abandoned by some allies 

and rounded on by some 

traditionally pro-government 

media, a visibly tired but 

still campaigning Sarkozy 

said “we’re three days away 

from the �rst round, let’s wait 

peacefully.” 

He dismissed a CSA opinion 

poll ahead of Sunday’s �rst 

round vote that said Socialist 

Party candidate Francois Hollande 

would score a thumping 

�rst-round victory over the 

UMP party’s incumbent with 

29 per cent to 24 per cent. 

“It contradicts all the others, 

because they say I’ll win. 

We have three days to wait, 

let’s wait peacefully,” Sarkozy 

told BFM-TV of the poll that 

also predicted a spectacular 

58-42 per cent second-round 

victory for Hollande. — AFP 

Homs, Hama, Idlib and Deraa, 

the army has kept up attacks 

on �ghters, using heavy weapons 

in violation of the pledge 

by Damascus to pull back. 

Syrian Foreign Minister 

Walid al Moualem told a news 

conference in Beijing that no 

more than 250 truce monitors 

were needed, and they should 

come from what he called 

“neutral” countries such as 

Brazil, Russia, India, China 

and South Africa, all of which 

have been more sympathetic 

to Assad than the West and the 

Arab League states. 

UN Secretary-General Ban 

Ki-Moon was due to present 

proposals for the next phase 

of the mission to the Security 

Council. He says more monitors 

are needed for credible 

supervision of the truce in a 

country the size of Syria in 

the 13th month of a con�ict 

marked by extreme violence 

and over 10,000 deaths. 

An advance party of a half 

a dozen UN peacekeepers in 

people. The names have not 

been made public. “We are 

now entering a period where 

we are likely to take a number 

of decisions one way or another,” 

Starmer told reporters, 

adding that he could not give 

a time frame for how long it 

would take. 

Police are investigating 

staff at the now defunct 

News of the World tabloid 

over allegations that they 

routinely hacked the phones 

of hundreds of people from 

celebrities to crime victims to 

generate salacious front-page 

stories. 

They are also investigating 

whether staff hacked into 

computers and made payments 

to public of�cials including 

the police to get ahead 

in their reporting. They have 

arrested 43 people in total 

including two former editors 

blue berets, led by Colonel 

Ahmed Himmiche of Morocco, 

toured towns near Damascus 

yesterday in two white UN 

Land Cruisers with a Syrian 

police escort. 

With the �ashpoint cities 

in Syria scattered over several 

hundred kilometres, Ban said 

he had asked the European 

Union if it can supply helicopters 

and planes to make the 

proposed monitoring mission 

rapidly and independently mobile, 

but Moualem said Syria 

would supply air transport if 

necessary. 

A political source in neighbouring 

Lebanon said Damascus 

has already refused the use 

of UN helicopters. 

The Free Syrian Army 

�ghting to topple Assad says it 

will stop shooting if he keeps 

his pledge to UN peace envoy 

Ko� Annan to withdraw tanks, 

heavy weapons and troops 

from urban areas, which critics 

say he clearly has not done 

since the truce took effect a 

of the paper, senior journalists 

and public of�cials, but 

Starmer said yesterday that 

some of those named in the 

�les have not been arrested. 

Starmer set out interim 

guidelines on how to weigh 

the issue of public interest 

when considering possible 

charges against journalists or 

public of�cials. 

“We are now for the �rst 

time in recent history going to 

have to decide a large number 

of cases involving journalists 

and those that interact with 

them,” he said. 

The guidelines re�ected 

existing practice, Starmer 

said, but their publication 

would make clear the approach 

that prosecutors 

would take. “The decisions 

we are going to have to make 

are going to be extremely 

dif�cult and extremely sensi- 

15 

THE WORLD 



week ago. 

The Syrian Observatory for 

Human Rights, a UK-based 

group opposed to Assad, reported 

explosions and heavy 

gun�re in the southern city 

of Deraa early yesterday. It 

con�rmed the �ve killed by a 

bomb in Aleppo. 

Diplomats say Annan’s 

main aim is to get a UN mission 

on the ground backed by 

Syria’s supporters Russia and 

China, even if it is not big 

enough at �rst to do the job. 

France said it would host a 

foreign ministers meeting of 

the group today in Paris, including 

US Secretary of State 

Hillary Clinton, to discuss the 

fragile cease�re. 

Western sanctions have 

halved Syria’s foreign reserves 

and should be stepped 

up to force Damascus to comply 

with the UN-backed peace 

plan, France’s Foreign Minister 

Alain Juppe told of�cials 

from 57 countries meeting in 

Paris. — Reuters 

Charges likely in hacking scandal 

tive,” Starmer said. “We have 

got to make a decision because 

these cases are coming. 

We cannot duck that.” The 

phone-hacking scandal, while 

damaging the reputation of 

Murdoch’s News Corp media 

empire, has also embarrassed 

British politicians and police 

as it revealed the close ties 

between the three sides. 

Critics of Murdoch’s in- 

�uence in Britain cited this 

as one reason why the police 

and some politicians initially 

appeared reluctant to fully investigate 

the phone-hacking 

allegations when they surfaced 

in 2006. 

One of those who has 

been arrested is Andy Coulson, 

a former editor of the 

mass-selling Sunday tabloid 

and former spokesman for 

Prime Minister David Cameron. 

— Reuters 

Sarkozy poll campaign loses shine 

FRANCE’S incumbent President and UMP ruling party’s candidate for the 2012 

presidential election, Nicolas Sarkozy, shakes hands with supporters as he 

arrives for a campaign meeting in Morlaix, western France. — AFP 

‘Police crimes’ unit 

for torture claims 

MOSCOW — Russian authorities sought yesterday to calm 

mounting anger at shocking cases of police brutality by forming 

a special unit for crimes committed by the vast, corruptiontainted 

force. 

The powerful Investigative Committee’s decision to form 

the police crimes division follows a spate of reports of of�cers 

— many of them in their early 20s or straight out of school — 

torturing suspects to death. 

The cases have created a furore in the state-controlled media 

and dealt a blow to outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev’s 

promise to make police reform a chief accomplishment of his 

stint as Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin stand-in. 

Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said 

his agency had been �ooded with 78,000 complaints against 

law enforcement authorities that resulted in 4,400 criminal 

cases being launched in the past year alone. 

“The need to form such a special unit is based on objective 

reasons,” the Investigative Committee said in a separate statement. 

It said investigators looking into police crimes often run 

into “certain dif�culties” because of�cers and their bosses use 

their professional skills “to mislead the investigation and avoid 

criminal responsibility.” 

Investigators said they have received 65 complaints against 

the same police precinct in the prospering central Russian 

region of Tatarstan since the case initially came to light last 

month. Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev was also forced to 

report to parliament about the incident last week amid media 

speculation that his job was on the line. — AFP 

ICC of�cial in Libya 

on Gadda� son case 

TRIPOLI — War crimes prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo 

arrived in Tripoli yesterday to continue investigating charges 

against Muammar Gadda�’s detained son, Saif al Islam, sought 

for trial by the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

The Hague-based court issued an arrest warrant for Saif al 

Islam last year, after prosecutors accused him and others of 

involvement in the killing of protesters during the revolt that 

eventually toppled his father. 

However Libya has insisted he will be tried in his home 

country, despite having still been unable to prize him out of the 

hands of the militia �ghters who caught him in the southern 

desert in November. Saif al Islam remains in a secret location 

in the western town of Zintan. 

Upon arrival at Tripoli airport, Moreno-Ocampo told reporters: 

“I’m here because I am still investigating crimes.” 

Asked whether a potential deal was being brokered with the 

Libyan government about trying Saif al Islam in Libya under 

the supervision of the ICC, he said: “I am a prosecutor at the 

ICC, I don’t make deals. We apply the law. 

“The judges of ICC ordered (Libya) to surrender Saif. The 

Libyan government says they will challenge the admissibility 

of the case before the end of April and then the judges will 

decide.” 

The ICC this month rejected Libya’s request to postpone 

handing over Saif al Islam to face war crimes charges. The 

court ordered Tripoli to “comply with its obligations to enforce 

the warrant of arrest” and surrender him without delay. Libya 

has appealed the decision. A UN Security Council Resolution 

obliges Libya to co-operate with the court. — Reuters 

China to move 20,000 

at risk from landslides 

BEIJING — China will relocate 20,000 people living near 

the Three Gorges Dam by the end of this year and �ve times 

that number by 2017 because of landslide risks caused by the 

world’s biggest hydropower project. 

State news agency Xinhua said yesterday that preparations 

had started to move a �fth of the residents of Badong County 

in Hubei province by the end of 2012, with homes already under 

threat as a result of “constant landslides”. 

It said 550 million yuan ($87.3 million) in funds has already 

been spent on relocation costs. Separately, Liu Yuan, an of�cial 

with the Ministry of Land and Resources, said in a radio interview 

that another 100,000 people still had to be moved from the 

region in three to �ve years because of landslide risks. 

Around 1.3 million people were originally displaced to 

make way for the 185-metre Three Gorges Dam completed in 

2006 and a reservoir that stretches more than 600 kilometres 

along the middle reaches of China’s Yangtze River and which 

reached the maximum depth of 175 metres in October 2010. 

The costs of the 21-gigawatt (GW) Three Gorges Hydropower 

Project have spiralled over the years, with total investment 

reaching 254 billion yuan. The Three Gorges Project 

Construction Commission told the of�cial China Energy News 

this week that an additional 123.8 billion yuan has also been 

spent on “follow-up work” at the project. — Reuters 

Military intelligence 

critic to lead spy unit 

WASHINGTON — A US general who once blasted the work 

of military spies in Afghanistan as “only marginally relevant” 

has been nominated to take over the Pentagon’s intelligence 

agency, of�cials said. 

The decision to name Lieutenant General Michael Flynn 

suggests a possible shake-up of the sprawling Defence Intelligence 

Agency as the general has earned a reputation for pushing 

for dramatic change in his work with special forces. 

Flynn was a scathing public critic of military intelligence 

in Afghanistan, where he served as a top intelligence of�cer in 

2010, saying it failed to provide decision makers with a clear 

picture of conditions on the ground. 

He chose to publish his critique through a Washington 

think-tank, the Centre for a New American Security, instead of 

sticking to customary channels within the Pentagon bureaucracy. 

“Eight years into the war in Afghanistan, the US intelligence 

community is only marginally relevant to the overall 

strategy,” his report said. 

“Having focused the overwhelming majority of its collection 

efforts and analytical brainpower on insurgent groups, the 

vast intelligence apparatus is unable to answer fundamental 

questions about the environment in which US and allied forces 

operate and the people they seek to persuade,” it said. 

Flynn is credited with playing an in�uential role during 

his tenure at Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), the 

secretive headquarters that oversees elite commandos like the 

team that killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011. 

At JSOC, Flynn reportedly persuaded special forces to 

place a higher priority on scooping up intelligence while carrying 

out targeted attacks on militants. — AFP 

CYPRIOT President Demetris Christo�as greets 

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (R) at the 

presidential palace in Nicosia yesterday. — Reuters 

THAILAND’S Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra 

(L) with the Chairman of China’s National People’s 

Congress Wu Bangguo in Beijing yesterday. — Reuters 

NEW Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key (L) 

with Singapore’s President Tony Tan at the Istana 

presidential palace in Singapore yesterday. — Reuters 

CZECH Prime Minister Petr Necas speaks during a 

news conference at the government headquarters 

in Prague yesterday. — Reuters 

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen 

during the Nato ministers’ Defence and Foreign 

Affairs meeting in Brussels yesterday. — AFP

STUDENTS from the Institute of Hotel and Tourism participate in a clean-up drive of the Yamuna River at Dussehra 

Ghat behind the Taj Mahal in Agra yesterday. April 18 has been designated the World Heritage Day by Unesco. — AFP 

GUWAHATI — An attempt 

by United Liberation Front 

of Asom (ULFA) anti-talks 

faction to trigger at least two 

blasts in Guwahati, ahead 

of Prime Minister Manmohan 

Singh’s visit on April 

20, has been foiled and three 

men arrested, police in Upper 

Asom’s Tinsukia district have 

claimed. 

Police in the sensitive upper 

Asom district said they 

arrested three militants of the 

anti-talks faction on Tuesday 

night and recovered two grenades 

from their possession. 

One of the three arrested is a 

woman. 

Tinsukia Superintendent 

of Police (SP) P P Singh said 

that one of the arrested, Paban 

Das, was assigned by the top 

brass of the outfit’s breakaway 

faction to bring the grenades 

to Guwahati and trigger blasts 

ahead of the prime minister’s 

visit. “Based on specific intelligence, 

we arrested Paban 

Das on Tuesday night from the 

bus terminus in Tinsukia town 

when he was about to board a 

Guwahati-bound night super 

bus and recovered the grenades 

from his possession,” 

Singh said. Later, two other 

ULFA activists, Jaya Boro and 

Ganesh Das, were arrested 

from the same bus terminus. 

“We are still interrogating 

the three,” the police officer 

said. 

“Paban Das has admitted 

that he was on his way to Guwahati 

to trigger blasts ahead 

of the PM’s visit on April 20. 

The woman, Jaya Boro, who is 

a hard core cadre of the outfit, 

acted as a carrier. She handed 

over the grenades to Paban 

Das in Tinsukia,” according 

to Singh. 

“Paban, who hails from 

Goalpara district, went to Tin- 

sukia a few days back to bring 

the grenades to Guwahati,” he 

added. The third ULFA cadre, 

Ganesh Das, also was assisting 

in the mission. 

“The three have also confessed 

that they were being 

co-ordinated by Babul Gogoi, 

a senior leader of ULFA’s antitalk 

faction,” Singh said. 

While the majority of the 

ULFA leadership has given 

up armed struggle for an independent 

and sovereign Asom, 

a breakaway faction led by the 

outfit’s commander-in-chief 

Paresh Barua has opposed 

any talks with the central government. 

The Asom police 

have made elaborate security 

arrangements to foil any attempt 

by the outfit to disrupt 

the April 20 visit of the prime 

minister, particularly after the 

outfit called for a 12-hour protest 

Asom shutdown on that 

day. — IANS 

Tatra: CBI searches homes TN to woo 

NEW DELHI — The Central 

Bureau of Investigation (CBI) 

yesterday conducted search 

operations at the homes of two 

former army officers in Delhi 

and Noida and recovered key 

documents related to its probe 

into alleged irregularities 

in the procurement of Tatra 

trucks, sources said. 

CBI sources said searches 

were also being conducted at 

the residence of an official of 

the Britain-based Vectra group 

that supplies the all-terrain 

heavy duty Tatra trucks to 

the Indian Army through defence 

public sector undertaking 

Bharat Earth Movers Ltd 

(BEML). 

The sources said raids were 

conducted at the homes of Brig 

(retd) P C Das in Delhi and 

Col (retd) Anil Datta in Noida. 

Searches were also conducted 

at the home of Vectra employee 

Anil Mansaramani. 

The sources said three 

teams of CBI sleuths conducted 

the searches that began 

early yesterday. Some crucial 

documents expected to help in 

investigating the scam-tainted 

truck deal have been found, 

the sources claimed. 

The CBI search operations 

come a day after the agency 

questioned three people, including 

former BEML director 

V Mohan, the company’s 

present chief V R S Natarajan 

and Vectra group chief 

Ravinder Rishi, in connection 

with alleged lapses in the supply 

of Tatra trucks. 

Tatra is a Czech manufacturer 

and owned by Britain’s 

Vectra that supplies truck parts 

to BEML. BEML assembles 

the trucks and sells them off 

to the army. Some 7,000 Tatra 

trucks have been bought by 

the army since 1986. 

Army chief Gen V K Singh 

blew the lid off the alleged 

scam after he alleged in March 

that he’d been offered a Rs 14 

crore bribe to clear a deal for 

supplying sub-standard Tatra 

trucks. 

The army in a March 5 

press release took the names 

of Tatra and BEML, alleging 

that Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder 

Singh had offered a bribe on 

behalf of Tatra and Vectra. 

The agency was probing 

why BEML decided to procure 

Tatra parts from Tatra 

Sipox (Britain), a private company, 

from 1997 when it was 

doing so through Omnipol (a 

state-owned unit in Czech Republic) 

since 1986. 

The sources said CBI was 

trying to find out why BEML 

officials signed an agreement 

with Tatra Sipox (Britain) in 

a hurried manner on June 14, 

1997 in Bangalore, three days 

after they had a meeting with 

the firm and its associate companies’ 

officials in Slovakia. 

One more company, Venus 

Projects Ltd, in which Rishi 

allegedly has some stakes, 

was under the CBI scanner as 

he allegedly used it for purchasing 

spare parts for Tatra 

trucks, they said. — IANS 

investments 

CHENNAI — The Tamil 

Nadu government will sign 

investment agreements with 

several automobile and auto 

component makers and come 

out with a series of industryspecific 

policies soon, Chief 

Minister J Jayalalithaa said 

yesterday. 

“Tamil Nadu will soon 

sign memoranda of understandings 

(MoUs) with a 

number of companies, including 

both vehicle and 

components manufacturers,” 

Jayalalithaa said, inaugurating 

the Daimler India Commercial 

Vehicle’s truck plant 

at Oragadam, around 45 km 

from here. 

Referring to the Vision 

2023 document released by 

her recently, Jayalalithaa 

said: “My government is 

currently finalising a set 

of policy reforms that will 

translate my vision into reality.” 

— IANS 

Less road 

accidents 

NEW DELHI — The 

number of road accidents in 

Delhi during the night have 

gone down by over 10 per 

cent from January to mid- 

March 2012 as compared to 

the corresponding period in 

2011, Delhi Police said yesterday. 

While 270 fatal accidents 

took place from January 1 to 

April 15 in 2011, the figure 

dropped to 240 in 2012, said 

a message posted by Satyendra 

Garg, joint commissioner 

of police, on the department’s 

Facebook page. 

The page has over 100,000 

followers. 

“While there is understandable 

concern for highend 

vehicles getting involved 

in accidents on city roads in 

night, in the first three-anda-half 

months of 2012, night 

accidents have come down 

by more than 10 per cent,” 

posted the officer. — IANS 

16 INDIA 



MUMBAI — Millions of 

commuters and students in the 

city faced a harrowing time 

yesterday as local trains were 

running late by around 40 minutes 

following a fire in a signal 

cabin on the Central Railway 

(CR), an official said. 

Around 12.15 am early 

yesterday, fire gutted the main 

signal cabin at Kurla station 

and sent the entire electric and 

signal cabling network on the 

blink. 

The fire was brought under 

control in a short time 

and there were no casualties 

reported. 

Work restoration of the 

electrical and signal cable network 

has been taken up on a 

war footing, but the CR said 

it could take at least two-three 

days for the situation to normalise. 

Mumbai’s suburban train 

services, comprising Western 

Railway, Central Railway and 

Harbour lines, which ferry 

nearly eight million people to 

and from their homes and of- 

JALANDHAR — A teenage 

boy was pulled out from the 

debris of the collapsed blanket 

factory here yesterday, nearly 

55 hours after the four-storey 

building had been flattened, 

police said. Many more people 

could still be trapped, officials 

said as rescue efforts continued 

for the third day. 

Sandeep, 17, a worker in 

the Shital Fibres factory was 

pulled out by rescue teams 

early yesterday. 

According to authorities, 

the death toll has reached 

10 and could rise with many 

more still under the debris of 

the factory in Focal Point area 

in Jalandhar, about 150 km 

from here. 

Rescuers and police said 

that the young man had no 

major injuries despite being 

buried under heaps of concrete 

and iron since Sunday midnight. 

He was rushed to the hospi- 

NEW DELHI — Energy and 

higher education are among 

areas that have immense potential 

of co-operation between 

India and Yemen, experts said 

here and suggested that New 

Delhi should help further develop 

its maritime potential. 

Participating in a conference 

on India-Yemen bilateral 

relations organised by the Indian 

Council of World Affairs 

(ICWA) here, academicians 

and strategic experts identified 

areas where the two countries 

can expand their co-operation. 

Hifdhallah Yahiya al Ahmadi 

of Sheba Centre for Strategic 

Studies (SCSS), Yemen, 

said his country has interest in 

attracting Indian investments 

in oil and gas. He said India 

has been granted concessions 

to explore oil in some blocks 

in Yemen. 

Speaking in the session “Indo-Yemen 

relations”, Hifdhallah 

said the current co-operation 

between the two countries 

in education sector was “hum- 

fices in Mumbai, Thane and 

Raigad, are the lifeline of the 

country’s commercial capital. 

The minor blaze hit suburban 

services on CR and the 

harbour line severely, delaying 

them by at least 45 minutes. 

Besides regular commuters, 

several thousands of students 

appearing for various ongoing 

university examinations 

all over Mumbai and Thane 

could not reach their exam 

centres on time. However, 

Mumbai University prevented 

a panic reaction by permitting 

all exam centres to grant extra 

time to students who were delayed. 

Similarly, long-distance 

services were affected up 

to Pune and Nashik in a big 

way, forcing cancellation of at 

least four incoming and outgoing 

trains, and long delays 

for many other incoming or 

outgoing services, the official 

said. 

The delays and cancellations 

marred the holiday plans 

of thousands of people, lead- 

tal for medical attention. 

“He had been located yesterday 

(Tuesday) evening itself 

by our rescue teams. We 

had started giving him food 

and water. However, he was finally 

taken out today (Wednesday) 

morning only after creating 

a tunnel in the debris to 

reach him,” an official of the 

National Disaster Response 

Force (NDRF) here said. 

The rescued man told the 

teams that there were bodies 

of other workers of the factory 

lying close to the place where 

he was trapped. He said most 

of them were dead. 

Over 100 workers could 

still be trapped under the debris, 

according to unconfirmed 

reports. Over 60 workers had 

been rescued from the debris 

of the collapsed building till 

yesterday morning, police 

said. 

The owner of the unit, 

Jalandhar-based industrial- 

ble” and Yemen could benefit 

from the progress made by 

India in higher education. 

“Yemen can take advantage 

of the education boom in 

India, particularly in IT and 

programming. Yemen can take 

advantage of the cost-efficient 

teaching materials uniquely 

available in India for teaching 

medicine, IT (Information 

Technology) and English,” 

Hifdhallah said. 

He said his country can also 

benefit from Indian expertise 

to set up centres of vocational 

education and its experience in 

developing small and medium 

industries. 

Dwelling on history, he 

said both Yemen and India 

suffered from colonial occupation. 

He said there had 

been immigration between the 

two countries since the midsixteenth 

century which had 

contributed to the existence 

of “Indian-Yemeni community, 

particularly in Hyderabad 

in India and Hadramaut and 

ing to frayed temperatures at 

CST (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus), 

Dadar, Kurla, Thane, 

and other important stations 

on the CR. 

The BEST and MSRTC 

(Maharashtra State Road 

Transport Corporation), which 

run Mumbai and state government 

buses, deployed nearly 

200 additional buses to clear 

the huge rush of commuters 

yesterday. 

The two highways serving 

the city and other main and arterial 

roads witnessed massive 

traffic jams and slow-paced 

movements as the train commuters 

were diverted to the 

roads. 

NGOs and organisations 

like Swabhiman Sanghatana 

chipped in by offering pointto-point 

drops for commuters 

affected by the train delays 

in suburbs like Chembur, 

Ghatkopar and Sion. 

Some organisations and 

individuals have appealed to 

people to remain indoors for 

the next couple of days and 

ist Shital Vij, was arrested on 

Monday night and booked for 

culpable homicide not amounting 

to murder. 

Chief Minister Parkash 

Singh Badal, who visited the 

site on Tuesday ordered safety 

audit of all industrial buildings 

across Punjab following 

the incident. Badal announced 

compensation of Rs 200,000 

to the kin of each of the dead. 

He told reporters after the 

visit that the owner of the 

building would be solely responsible 

for any act of negligence 

in case of the collapse. 

Badal had on Monday ordered 

a high-level probe into 

the factory collapse to be conducted 

by the Jalandhar divisional 

commissioner. 

The chief minister on 

Tuesday ordered two more 

inquiries into the incident — 

one by police to look into the 

criminal aspect of the building 

collapse and a technical in- 

Aden in Yemen”. 

Zakir Hussain, research 

fellow at the ICWA, said India 

can contribute to developing 

post-hydrocarbon economy of 

Yemen. 

He suggested that India 

should bid for developing one 

of the islands of Yemen as a 

“model hub” having IT park, 

pharmaceutical centre, maritime 

research unit and water 

desalination plant. 

He said Yemen can also 

benefit from India’s experience 

in dry-land farming. 

Hussain said India can 

share its democratic and electoral 

experiences with Yemen 

which has “multiplicity of 

tribal communities”. 

Intervening in the discussion, 

Vijay Sakhuja, director 

research, ICWA, said India 

does not export democracy. 

“It (democracy in India) is 

a successful model. It is for 

others to partake...for Yemen 

to partake what is suitable,” 

he said. 

step out only in case of emergencies 

due to the disruption 

in rail services. 

Meanwhile, the CR has 

permitted season ticket holder 

commuters to travel unhindered 

on either the local or 

long-distance or harbour line 

routes as a temporary measure. 

Meanwhile, an intelligent 

traffic monitoring solutions 

venture that provides realtime 

information to help commuters 

estimate their travel 

time and select the best route 

has received a Rs 20 million 

boost. 

Indian Angel Network 

(IAN) has invested Rs 20 

million in Birds Eye Systems 

(BES), a Mumbai-based company, 

which will help the startup 

expand its footprint around 

the country, enhancing the 

scope of its traffic monitoring 

services. Currently, the service 

is available in Mumbai, 

Delhi and Bangalore, where 

users can ask for traffic conditions 

on any route. — IANS 

Bid to disrupt PM visit foiled Factors that Man rescued after 55 hours: Disaster 

Rural development assessed 

RAIPUR — Chhattisgarh’s 

ruling Bharatiya Janata Party 

(BJP) government launched a 

mega drive yesterday to assess 

development work in nearly 

20,000 villages, but skipped 

visiting the remote forested 

areas commanded by the 

fighters, an official said. 

Officials from the rank of 

village secretary to the rank 

of the chief secretary and the 

chief minister will visit the 

rural areas from April 18 to 

April 27 in two phases — to 

interact with residents at their 

doorstep and ascertain the 

status of government’s development 

schemes and welfare 

projects. 

Official sources say that 

the team constituted in all the 

27 districts visited rural areas 

yesterday to collect version 

of villagers in a prescribed 

lengthy questionnaire about 

government schemes. 

However, the officials 

skipped visiting jungle areas 

of seven districts in troubled 

Bastar region, besides Rajnandgaon 

in western region 

of the state where Maoists run 

a parallel government since 

late 1980s. 

Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s 

sprawling mineral rich Bastar 

region, which is spread out 

in about 40,000 sq km areas, 

have asked people to boycott 

the drive calling it a ‘pure 

drama’ to fool people, who 

are deprived of basic civic facilities 

such as drinking water, 

road, education and health facilities. 

Officials here at police 

headquarters have advised 

legislators and officials 

to not venture in the Maoist 

stronghold areas without security. 

The unwritten advice has 

been passed in backdrop of a 

recent abduction of a legislator 

of neighbouring Orissa 

state’s ruling Biju Janata Dal 

(BJD), still in captivity. 

The opposition Congress 

also hit out on BJP yesterday 

calling it a “meaningless highly 

extravagant drive”. 

This is the seventh year in 

succession that the BJP government 

is holding the ambitious 

‘Gram Suraj’ drive to 

reach out to common people. 

The state government 

claims that the drive in the past 

has helped it to collect vital 

feedback from residents living 

in under-developed pockets, 

and that these inspired it 

to rehash rural schemes and 

strengthen its implementation 

mechanism at village level. 

Meanwhile, the muchawaited 

work on the Durgawati 

reservoir project on the 

Sone River began yesterday 

in Bihar’s Rohtas district, officials 

said. 

“Finally, work on the 

project has begun,” Bihar Water 

Resources Minister Vijay 

Kumar Choudhary said. 

Choudhary said that with 

the work kicked off, the 

project would be completed in 

the next two years. — IANS 

cost polls 

NEW DELHI — A day after 

the results of elections to the 

trifurcated Municipal Corporation 

of Delhi (MCD) 

were announced, the Residents’ 

Welfare Associations 

(RWAs) of Delhi say that the 

indifferent attitude towards 

problems of residents and 

unaccountability made the 

Congress lose in polls. 

“Inflation, increase of 

milk prices every second day, 

power tariff hike, poor roads 

and sewage system worked 

against the Delhi government. 

RWAs, Muslims and 

other voters’ support, on 

which the Delhi government 

used to rely, is over. The 

government should rethink 

its anti-people policies and 

work for better Delhi for 

coming Lok Sabha and assembly 

elections,” said Anil 

Bajpai. — IANS 

Railway fire hits commuters 

quiry to look into the technical 

flaws and shortcomings. Badal 

has sought the final reports of 

all the inquiries within three 

weeks. 

On Monday, Deputy Commissioner 

Priyank Bharti said 

neither the administration nor 

the factory owners had a clear 

idea on how many workers, 

mostly migrants from other 

states, were still trapped under 

the flattened factory building. 

“From the given information, 

60-70 workers were 

inside the factory when the 

building collapsed,” Bharti 

had said. 

The safety certification of 

the collapsed factory had expired 

over a year ago and had 

not been renewed. The factory 

building was constructed fourfive 

years ago. 

The company, Shital Fibres, 

claims to be the largest 

mink blanket manufacturer in 

south Asia. — IANS 

MILITARY personnel rescue a 15-year-old youth from the debris after nearly 55 hours after the blanket factory in which 

he was working collapsed in Jalandhar early yesterday. Six bodies have been found and 60 people rescued. — AFP 

‘India can help Yemen in energy, ed’ 

Ahmed A Saif, executive 

director, SCSS, said both India 

and Yemen have a strong 

interest in ensuring security of 

maritime traffic “as piracy incurs 

tremendous cost to trade 

through seas”. 

Commodore Ranjit Rai 

(retd), vice-president, National 

Maritime Foundation, said India 

can help develop “rest and 

recreation” facilities in Yemeni 

islands such as Socotra for 

visiting vessels. 

ICWA and SCSS signed a 

memorandum of understanding 

to explore mutual areas 

of interest and help engage 

knowledge communities of 

the two countries. 

Meanwhile, Mexico and 

India broadened the scope 

of their “privileged association” 

established in 2007 to 

include agriculture and mining, 

the two governments 

said upon the conclusion 

of the fifth meeting of the 

Mexico-India Binational 

Commission. — IANS

R 

CLASSIFIED SECTION 

RUWI: �24785668 

S 

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 

ERVICES 

SERVICES 

EXECUTIVE of�ce 

services avail available: 

Modern ffurniture, rnit 

personalised telephone 

line with receptionist 

services, unlimited 

wireless Internet, 

P O Boxes address, 

executive conference 

room (10 people), prime 

location (Al Khuwair), 

complimentary tea & 

coffee, service duration, 

quarterly. Contact 

�99463334, 99201763, 

24479400. 

HOOPOE SMART 

CARD SERVICES 

Sanad Service Centre 

We provide the 

following services: 

Typing, clearing all 

transactions related to 

government departments 

and private sector, eg 

labour agreement for 

Omanis and expatriates, 

typing of labour 

card for expatriates, 

typing of visas and 

document clearing 

from immigration 

department, Ministry of 

Commerce & Industry, 

Ministry of Manpower, 

Commercial names 

reservation, renewal of 

commercial registration, 

renewal of OCCI 

membership, attestation 

of all documents from 

OCCI & Ministry 

of Foreign Affairs. 

Renewal of labour 

cards through electronic 

payment or cash 

payment. 

Please note you may 

deliver your transaction 

through our e-mail 

and our representative 

will deliver it to your 

of�ce personally after 

completion. Our address 

is: Ruwi, near Gulf 

Transport Co. (GTC), 

Fax: 24793331, GSM: 

98793665 (Direct) 

99231500. 

E-mail: hoopoeoman@ 

gmail.com 

AL FAHAD 

TRANSLATION 

SERVICES 

Translation of all kinds 

of legal, medical, 

and other types of 

documents, Commercial 

Agencies, etc. Ruwi, 

near Gulf Transport Co. 

(GTC), 

Fax: 24794286. GSM : 

98793665 (Direct) 

95959838. E-mail: 

bptland@gmail.com 

LANDRAIL 

TRADING & 

SERVICES 

(Smart Card) 

Ruwi, near Gulf 

Transport Co. (GTC), 

Fax: 24780244, Tel: 

24789117, GSM 

98793666 (Dir), 

96777170. E-mail: 

landrailoman@ 

gmail.com 

T 

OURS 

MARINE Tourism 

� 92808636, e-mail: 

info@alainain.com 

STEEL �xers & carpenters: 

We have skilled 

workers in the �eld of 

steel �xers & carpenters. 

Companies wishing 

to contract may call 

�92758030, 99362642. 

MARBLE 

CRYSTALLISATION, 

restore the original shine 

of your marble. 

�24792998/99314807. 

PLUMBING, painting, 

interlock and 

maintenance 

�96191837. 

CARPET, sofa 

shampooing, 

GUARANTEED 

CLEANING. 

�24792998/ 99314807 

1. A/C, Fridge & 

Washing Machine 

Servicing & Repairing 

2. Painting, Plumbing, 

Electrical & Carpentry 

Works. Contact: 

�97014234/ 97123569, 

24504281. 

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. 

MAINTENANCE 

and Constructions. 

�99891799, 

94248626. 

S 

ALE/BUYING 

ALE/BUY 

WALL paper, 

used 

furniture, carpet, carp 

curtains, t i all ll bbrands, 

sale 

and fixing. Used 

furniture buying. 

Yousuf Ali �99834373, 

96642500. 

SELL your land, our 

of�ce at Maabela 

�99323957/ 95490842/ 

96554668. 

SPECIAL Rates on 

New Cars & 4 WDs 

RENTING & LEASING 

Tours and Airport Transfer 

Tel: 24582663 

GSM: 95859497, 

Fax: 24582664, 

abcrent@omantel.net.om 

G 

M 

D 

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 

AYURVEDIC 

Treatment, Yoga massage 

& slimming. Contact: 

�92504980/ 24475280 , 

www.drsajjay.com 

ANPOWER ANPOWE 

FRIENDS 

MANPOWER: Filipino 

housemaids and all kinds 

of workers. �24489268 

Tel/Fax: 24478153. 

MORNING STAR 

DRIVING 

SCHOOL — Learn 

driving manual/ 

automatic with 

professionally 

qualified male/ 

female trainees in 

brand new cars and 

flexible payments. 

Call: �99043283, 

24478589, 

24478505, www. 

chamberman.com/ 

member/morningstar 

www.morningstar. 

com 

C 

OOD NEWS NEW 

RIVING SSCHOOL 

ARGO 

CARGO transfer with 

attractive price to all 

areas in the Sultanate 

and outside of Oman 

(by truck). Contact: 

�00968-99171758 

CLASSIFIED SECTION: 

I 

OMAN DAILY Observer � THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 

S 

ITUATION VACANT 

WE are a leader in the 

�eld of advertising; 

we need staff in the 

following areas: 

— Designer/Graphic/ 

websites/Interior/3d 

— Marketing, Silk 

— Screen printer 

�99427801. 

URGENTLY 

required light duty 

driver, please call 

�99357415. 

MEDIUM size Omani 

Company in the field 

of surveying and GIS 

looking to appoint a 

marketing manager 

and operations 

manager. Candidate 

must have relevant 

degree and minimum 

3 years experience 

preferably in 

Surveying/GIS. 

Interested candidates 

may forward their CV 

to e-mail: recruit@ 

igsoman.com by 

05/05/2012. 

L 

OST 

BADRELDEEN 

Bireima Salim Ahmed 

has lost Sudanese 

Passport No B-107476. 

Finder please handover 

to R.O.P. 

BADRELDEEN 

Bireima Salim Ahmed 

has lost Sudanese 

Passport No B-107476. 

Finder please handover 

to R.O.P. 

Bada Barwa has lost 

Bangladeshi Passport 

No B-1533630. Finder 

please handover to 

R.O.P. 

MANAN Abdul Ali 

Mukhtar has lost 

Pakistani Passport No 

AK-0707751. Finder 

please handover to 

R.O.P. 

NVESTMENT 

NVESTM 

INDUSTRIAL 5000m 

road with very suitable 

way. �99323957/ 

95490842/ 96554668/ 

Fax: 24452534. 

FOR INVESTMENT 

Al Ferdous Hotel Apartments, 

26 apartments + coffee shop + 

basement for car parking, 18 

November street 

Tel: 99340181 

Required experienced 

Cook knowing Oriental, 

Continental, Arabic and 

little experience in Chinese 

and Indian food, to work 

in the villa of a prestigious 

family. Attractive package 

will be given to successful 

candidate. Send CV to: 

Box 840, Ruwi, 112, or Fax 

No: 24793380 or e-mail to: 

saadest@omantel.net.om 

on or before 

26th April, 2012. 

ACCOUNTANT 

required urgently for 

LLC company. Contact 

�95327813. 

HOTEL front desk 

manager required for a 

reputed hotel in 

Muscat, candidates 

with experience, as a 

hotel front desk 

manager or experience 

in marketing field 

preferred. E-mail your 

CV to baomarfaisal@ 

yahoo.com 

PRIVATE Medical 

Centre looking 

for male general 

practitioner, female GP, 

Laboratory Technician, 

Physiotherapist 

�99611618, 99362088. 

REQUIRED Housemaid 

�93387962. 

SALESMAN 

for Production & 

Fabrication. Please 

contact �99450677 or 

95782544 

F 

17 

OR RENT 

FOR RENT FOR RENT 

SAVILLS OMAN 

QUALITY homes for 

rent throughout 

Capital Area Muscat. 

Contact: �24692151. 

www.sav-oman.com 

A FLAT at Al Hail North. 

Contact: � 99378837. 

COMMERCIAL shops 

next to Carrefour. 

Contact: � 92961111. 

FAMILIES only, a house 

at Wadi Adai, 4 bedroom, 

2 halls, sitting room, 4 

WC and kitchen. Contact: 

� 93452446. 

GOOD �at, 1 or 2 

rooms in Ruwi, Wadi Al 

Kabir, Al Khuwair. � 

99358589, 95570288. 

GOOD �at, 2 rooms 

with hall, 2 bathrooms, 

kitchen, 3 split ACs, RO 

340 at Al Khuwair. � 

99358589, 99316426. 

Sulaiman Awlad Thani: 95181747 

Ali al Maashari: 99639264 

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

G 

OFFICES, shops, villa 

at Al Khuwair, �ats 

at Al Khuwair, Wadi 

Kabir, MBD, Mumtaz, 

furnished/unfurnished. � 

96596348. 

GOOD villa, 2nd �oor, 3 

bedrooms, sitting, dining, 

family hall, servant room, 

7 split ACs, RO 550 at 

Qurum. � 99358589, 

95570288. 

A VILLA for rent in 

North Al Hail. 

�95588775. 

GOOD 2 bedrooms, 

sitting, dining, 3 

bathrooms, kitchen in 

Ruwi and Al Khuwair, 

RO 350 � 99358589, 

95570288. 

Available on very GOOD prices 

HOUSE for rent in Wadi 

Adai: 4 big rooms, 1 

big hall, 1 kitchen, 4 

bathrooms with excellent 

furniture and other 

requirements. Call Ali — 

�95069613 

GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! 

HP 1000 Printer 

RO 9.900 only 

HP M1132 4 in 1 Laser Printer 

RO 49.900 only 

HP PAVILION P6 15 LAPTOP RO 214.900 only 

HP PAVILION P6 Desktop 

RO 156/900 only 

AII HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Samsung 

Cartridges also available. 

UEST HOUSE HO 

MURAHIB 

HOTEL 

APARTMENTS 

APARTME 

welcome our 

valuable GUESTS 

to our excellent 

location, 

AL KHUWAIR, 

near AL ZAWAWI 

MOSQUE, a single 

bedroom, a bedroom 

& majlis, two 

bedrooms & majlis 

�24478087, 

Fax: 24482454. 

QURUM BEACH 

HOTEL. �24564070. 

COMPUTER SUPPLIES 

Ruwi: 24792792 

GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! 

U 

MRAH/HAJ MRAH/HA 

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

AL Hikmani 

for 

HAJ and UM 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. 

SPACIOUS 3 BHK �at 

with AC at Al Khuwair 

near Technical College 

and Wattayah opposite 

Toyota showroom. Rent: 

RO 450 p.m. 

� 99332668. 

CAMPS in Sur city for 

workers company. 

� 99376269. 

TWO attached industrial 

lands in Barka Saqsooq 

2, 1,400 sq m each. 

�92113060. 

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 


RUWI: 

�24785668 

OR SALE SAL 

Behind Royal Oman Police 

Adjacent 

to Dhofar Building 

F 

CLASSIFIEDS 

Continued on P-18 

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 

A BUILDIN BUILDING of 3 

�ats �ats at Wa Wadi Kabir 

(No objection 

to sell each �at 

separately). 

For enquiries call: 

� 92919135. 

S 

IT WANTED WANT 

INDIAN male, 39 yrs 

hotel management, 

PG diploma holder, 

12 yrs experience in 

manager operations, 

housekeeping, F and 

B service, currently 

on family visa, seeks 

for suitable placement. 

�98424621. 

ASST Accountant with 

4 years trading accounts 

experience in Oman, 

B.Com & computer 

accounting certi�cate, 

seeks suitable placement 

�98290633.

S 

18 

CLASSIFIEDS 



ITUATION ITUATIO WANTED SITUATION WANTED SITUATION WANTED 

INDIAN male, 26 years, 

4 years experience in 

storekeeping and 

countersales having valid 

Omani driving licence, 

local release available, 

looking for suitable 

placement. Contact 

�95813406 e-mail: 

pbrateek@yahoo.co.in 

INDIAN male with vast 

experience in HR 

administration/rent a car, 

operations, sales 

co-ordination, seeks 

immediate placement 

�96416742. 

MALE Physiotherapist 

with MoH licence having 

NOC. �93435909. 

US Citizen of Indian 

Origin (male) with BSc 

Maths & PGDCA seeks 

suitable job in senior 

level admin/support-staff/ 

customer care/sales; 

available immediately. 

Contact � 99702383/ 

Email: prabhapisharody@ 

yahoo.com 

SENIOR accountant, 

Indian, M Com (Finance), 

15 years experience 

in accounts, �nance 

functions including 

�nalisation and audit. 

Tally, V-Cams, MS- 

Of�ce, Excel/Word. with 

Omani driving licence 

seeks placement. Contact 

�93832389 



hardware and networking 

(CCNA & MCP), 3 

years experience in 

remote sensing and GIS, 

having valid Omani 

driving licence, seeks 

placement. Contact 

�93149963 

INDIAN Electrical Eng, 

27 years, diploma, BTech, 

EEE, (course completed) 

one year experience in 

Oman and three years in 

Kerala, India. Contact 

�98070061, e-mail: 

justinkkuriakose@gmail. 

com 

INDIAN female, M Com 

on visit, specialised in 

accounts, having 3½ years 

experience seeks suitable 

placement with visa. 

Contact �93436417 


MBA Marketing UK, 9 

years experience UK & 

UAE in sales, marketing 

business development. 

Holding UAE driving 

licence, looking for 

suitable position. Contact: 

�00968 99787181. 

E-mail: tthomaspv@ 

gmail.com 

HEAVY duty driver, 

Indian, 40 years, having 

heavy vehicle licence 

(all) looking for an 

immediate job. Call 

�99555259. richie_ 

thomas@yahoo.com 

GRADUATE female 

accountant, MCom, 


�99367695, 92298263. 


BCom graduate with 3 

years experience, 

specialised in Tally Focus 

and good knowledge in 

MS Office, seeks suitable 

placement. Contact: 

�95408235. 

INDIAN male, 27 

years BE (Electronics & 

Communication Engg), 

presently in Oman, seeks 

suitable placement. 

Contact: � 95735915. 

6 YEARS experienced 

light duty driver looking 

for suitable placement. 

Contact �96672924 

PRODUCTION manager, 

MBA in production, 

diploma in mechanical 

engineering, 20 years 

experience in production/ 

maintenance in defence 

sector (India), seeks 

similar position. Presently 

in Oman. Contact � 

96104318. rentaurus@ 

gmail.com 

INDIAN male, graduate, 


Oman in import/export 

documentation, HR/ 

admin, holding Omani 

driving licence seeks 

suitable placement � 

95062755. 

BE electronics & 

electrical engineer with 2 


MEP. Contact 

genius6551@yahoo.com 

� 99790427. 

INDIAN female, 25 

years, BTech, having 

3 years of experience 

in Infosys as System 

Engineer seeks 

suitable IT placement. 

Contact: �94235241. 

E-mail: anupamavv@ 

gmail.com 

LECTURER experienced 

in Catering & Hotel 

Management since 

2005, Author for 3 

books in Catering & 

Hotel Management, 

looking for placement 

in Colleges (Catering & 

Hotel Management) & 

Managerial Categories in 

Hotels.E-mail: hassain_ 

hussain@yahoo.com 

�99369790 

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 

GM/Business Manager 

wants change, 20 years 

in Oman, real estate, 

home appliances, 

building material, 

construction 

machinery, business 

development. Contact: 

�93451106 

INDIAN male, MSc, 

MLISS, Phd in progress, 

with 11 yrs Indian exp 

and 12 yrs exp as chief 

librarian in a leading 

educational institute in 

Oman, seeks suitable 

placement. Contact: 

� 99040599. 


years, having 5½ years 

experience in Oman, 


as of�ce boy and 

gatekeeper, on visit visa. 

Contact: � 98163986. 

IBE (Electronics and 

Communication engg), 

Indian male 23 years, 

CCNA certi�ed and 

Industrial automation, 

studied in Oman, now 

on visit visa looking for 

suitable placement. Call 

�99457898 

CIVIL Draughtsman 

with 5 years experience 

in AutoCad project 

ordination & site 

supervision, seeks 

suitable opportunity. 

� 98856716. 

OMANI PRO, 4 years 

experience in reputed 

company, visa, 

immigration, labour 

clearance, collection and 

receivables etc, speaks 

good English, friendly 

and cheerful, with D/L, 

seeks position in reputed 

companies. Contact 

�92884747. 


engineering graduate with 

1.4 years experience, 

specialised in SAP MM, 

good knowledge in MS 

Of�ce, Open Of�ce and 

Linux, seeks suitable 

placement. Currently 

on visit visa. Contact 

�95623237. 

SYSTEMS engineer, 

male 24 years, having 2 

years experience in TATA 

Consultancy, seeks 


�92515049. 

WELL quali�ed Finance 

Controller with 10 


reputable manufacturing, 

contracting & trading 

companies in Oman 

looking for an 

opportunity, currently 

in Sri Lanka, available 

to join immediately. 

Please contact �0094- 

778560312 E-mail: 

chamara.sililara@gmail. 

com, locally 

contact if needed 

�97028836. 

AUTOCAD 

draughtsman, Indian 

male, 32 years, diploma 

in mechanical 

Engineering, 7 years 

experience in pipeline 

and structural drawings. 

�98182408. 

INDIAN male graduate 

with 13 yrs experience 

in sale & marketing in 

Oman, seeks suitable 

placement, holding valid 

D/L �92928747. 

INDIAN male, MBA- 

Marketing, 29 years, 4 

years experience in sales 

of general insurance and 

building materials, having 

valid Omani driving 

licence, seeks placement. 

�96255385 


looking for a job in 

�nance or administration 

having one year 

experience. Contact: � 

96397369. 

INDIAN male, 

BE (Electronics & 

Communication), MBA 

(Finance & Marketing), 

good knowledge of SAP 

(ERP) in module BI/ 

BW, on visit visa, seeks 

suitable placement. � 

96100735. 


years, M.Com, MBA 

Finance, having 15 years 

experience as FC/FM in 

India and Middle East, 

seeks immediate change. 

Local release available. 

Contact � 93873780. 

E-mail: skrcoimbatore@ 

yahoo.com 

DR M O Afzaluddin 

Ahmed (BPT) 

physiotherapist with 

3 years experience as 

assistant physiothera 

pist, seeks job to 

practise in hospital, 

Contact �94023557, 

99540105. 

PROJECT manager (IT) 

work experience of 

over 5 years, project 

specialist of call centre 

management, data 

archival etc, MBA 

(marketing), BE telecom. 

Contact ammarirfan@ 

yahoo.com. Contact 

�95523109. 

STORE warehouse & 

logistics management 

professional with valid 

experience in Asian 

countries, now employed 

with a| leading group 

company in Oman, seeks 

opportunity. Contact 

�94211162. 


years, CCNA, MCP, 

doing BA Sociology, 


IT engineering and can 

handle OS related issues 

in hardware, seeks good 

placement �93472051. 

FINANCE professional 

8 years India, 8 years 

Oman experience, 

very good in 

written & spoken 

English, accounts, 

audit, �nance, bank 

facilities, receivables, 

professional with 

integrity, seeks senior 

position in reputed 

companies. Quick 

joining. � 99283938. 

PERSON with 3 years 

experience in 

Administration and 

Accounting, seeks 

immediate placement. 

Contact: �99000706. 


years experience as an 

accountant looking for 

a job, knows Tally 9, 

Peach Tree, Dec-Easy, 

MS Of�ce and valid 

Oman driving licence 

�96761026. 

BE (electronics) & 

communication), MBA, 

(�nance & marketing), 

good knowledge of Sap 

in module B1/BW, Indian 

male, on visit visa, seeks 


� 96100735. 

FINANCE & Accounts 

Manager, MBA 

(Finance), CA Inter with 

more than 20 years Oman 

experience, seeks suitable 

position in reputable 

organisation. 

� 92102983. 

IT young professional Sri 

Lankan having more than 

2 years experience HND 

in Electrical and 

Electronic Engineering 

(Telecommunication), 

CCNA seeks suitable 

placement. �96085359. 

E-mail: yamakashi44@ 

gmail.com 

PERSON with 4 years 

experience in PRO seeks 

immediate placement. 

Contact: �92265302. 

WELDER 6G (SMAW) 

— Indian male, more 

than 10 yrs experience in 

India and Gulf presently 

working in Oman, seeks 

placement. Contact � 

92177850. 

WELL-qualified Indian 

female (BSc & diploma 

holder) with 8+ years of 

experience as 

Procurement Officer/ 

Executive Secretary/ 

Sales Co-ordinator, good 

knowledge in 

Procurement and 

Secretarial from reputed 

companies in Electrical 

and Oilfield, seeks 

placement. �97581245. 

AN Accountant with 4 

years experience, seeking 

suitable placement. Wellversed 

in MS Office. 

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INDIAN male , 20 years 

of Gulf experience in HR 

& Admin, stores, logistics 

and warehouses, having 

Oman driving licence, 

Please Contact 

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CIVIL Engineer, diploma 

with 4 years experience 

(18 months in Oman), 

Sudanese nationality, 

having Omani driving 

licence, seeks placement 

�92463573 

INDIAN female, MSC 

Biochemistry, good 

knowledge in computer 

& of�ce co-ordination, 

accounts assisting, seeks 

good placement. Contact 

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INDIAN male, BSc 

(Hons), having 11 years 

experience in sales & 

marketing in FMCG 

products. Having valid 

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Contact: � 93473827 

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diploma holder, 2 years 

experience in same 

�eld, looking for a 

job. Presently on visit 

visa, AutoCad, 

Unigraphic, 

MS Of�ce �96761026. 

INDIAN graduate with 


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sales, seeks suitable 

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manager or business 

development manager 

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material salesman, 

knowing Arabic, English 

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with over ten years 

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RUWI: � 24785668 

Behind Royal Oman Police 

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Ali al Maashari: 99639264

Bayern snatch 

win over Real 

BAYERN Munich’s Mario Gomez celebrates after scoring 

during the Champions League first-leg semifinal match 

against Real Madrid in Munich on Tuesday. — AFP 

MUNICH — Germany striker 

Mario Gomez gave Bayern 

Munich a last-gasp 2-1 

win over Real Madrid in the 

Champions League semifinal 

first leg between the European 

giants on Tuesday. 

Referee Howard Webb had 

a torrid time, showing nine 

yellow cards, and had to deal 

with penalty claims, high tackles, 

flare-ups, baying Bayern 

fans, theatrics and continual 

protesting over his decisions. 

The only surprise was that 

nobody was sent off, not even 

Real substitute Marcelo who 

produced a scything tackle on 

Thomas Mueller in stoppage 

time. There was also pulsating 

football amid the chaos 

Spurs rout Lakers 

LOS ANGELES — Tony 

Parker scored 29 points and 

added 13 assists to spark San 

Antonio Spurs past the Los 

Angeles Lakers 112-91 on 

Tuesday, lifting the Spurs to 

the best record in the NBA’s 

Western Conference. 

Tim Duncan contributed 

19 points while Argentina’s 

Manu Ginobili added 15 as 

the Spurs won for the 18th 

time in their past 21 games, 

improving to 44-16 to edge 

past Oklahoma City, 44-17, 

for the top spot in the West. 

Only the Chicago Bulls, 

with an NBA-best 46-15 

record, have a better mark 

NEWARK, New Jersey — 

The Florida Panthers clawed 

back from a 3-0 first-period 

deficit to beat the New Jersey 

Devils 4-3 on Tuesday and 

seize a 2-1 lead in their bestof-seven 

NHL first-round 

play-off series. 

The Panthers scored twice 

on the powerplay in the last 

four minutes of the opening 

period, drawing within 3-2 

when Jason Garrison beat 

Devils goalie Martin Brodeur 

with a blast from just 

inside the blue line with eight 

seconds left. 

The Panthers pounced 

again in the second period 

with Mike Weaver scoring 

on a deflection past Brodeur 

as Franck Ribery fired Bayern 

ahead in the 17th minute 

and Mesut Ozil levelled with 

a soft equaliser early in the 

second half. 

Gomez then snatched the 

winner, his 12th goal of the 

Champions League and 40th 

of the season, shortly after 

having a penalty appeal turned 

down, to hand Real their first 

defeat of the Champions 

League campaign. 

“I want to give a great 

compliment to my team, my 

players, that they played so 

well and ran so much and 

played so well,” said Bayern 

coach Jupp Heyckes, who led 

Real to their sixth European 

Cup title in 1998. The Bavar- 

than the Spurs in the fight for 

the overall home-court advantage 

in the NBA play-offs, 

which begin on April 28. 

Six days after the Lakers 

routed the Spurs 98-84 in San 

Antonio, the Spurs inflicted 

the most lop-sided home defeat 

upon the Lakers since 

March of 2007, when the 

Dallas Mavericks ripped Los 

Angeles 108-72. 

Results: Indiana Pacers bt Philadelphia 

76ers 102-97, Detroit Pistons 

bt Cleveland Cavs 116-77, NY Knicks 

bt Boston Celtics 118-110, Memphis 

Grizzlies bt Minnesota Timberwolves 

91-84, NY Knicks bt Boston Celtics 

118-110, San Antonio Spurs bt Los 

Angeles Lakers 112-91. — AFP 

Panthers grab series lead 

after 2:18 to tie the game and 

send the NHL’s record holder 

for goalie wins to the bench in 

favour of Johan Hedberg. 

The switch did not slow 

the Panthers down, however, 

as they made it 3-for-3 on 

the power play when Brian 

Campbell scored past Hedberg 

11 minutes later to give 

Florida a 4-3 lead. 

Game Four will be played 

in New Jersey today. 

Play-off results: Nashville 

Predators bt Detroit Red Wings 3-1 

(Nashville lead best-of-seven series 

3-1); Florida Panthers bt New Jersey 

Devils 4-3 (Florida lead bestof-seven 

series 2-1); Phoenix Coyotes 

bt Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 

(Phoenix lead best-of-seven series 

2-1). — Reuters 

Rockies outplay Padres 

DENVER — Jamie Moyer 

became the oldest pitcher to 

win a major league game on 

Tuesday when the 49-year-old 

guided the Colorado Rockies 

to a 5-3 win over San Diego 

Padres. Moyer threw seven 

innings and allowed two runs 

to reach the milestone. 

At 49 years and 150 days 

old, Moyer surpassed Jack 

Quinn of the former Brooklyn 

Dodgers, who previously set 

the mark for oldest winner at 

49 years and 70 days in 1932. 

Moyer took a 3-0 lead into 

but allowed two runs and had 

a man on third base before 

getting the third out. 

Results: NY Yankees bt Minnesota 

Twins 8-3, Washington 

Nationals bt Houston Astros 1-0, 

Toronto Blue Jays bt Tampa Bay 

Rays 7-3, Texas Rangers bt Boston 

Red Sox18-3, Atlanta Braves bt 

New York Mets 9-3, Miami Marlins 

bt Chicago Cubs 5-2, Milwaukee 

bt Los Angles Dodgers 5-4, Baltimore 

Orioles bt Chicago White 

Sox 3-2, Detroit Tigers bt Kansas 

City Royals 3-1, St Louis Cardinals 

bt Cincinnati Reds 2-1, Colorado 

Rockies bt San Diego Padres 5-3, 

Pittsburgh Pirates bt Arizona Diamondbacks 

5-4, Oakland Athletics 

bt Los Angeles Angels 5-3, Cleveland 

Indians bt Seattle Mainers 9-8, 

San Francisco Giants bt Philadelphia 

Phillies 4-2. — Reuters 

ians, whose season hinges on 

them reaching the final in their 

own Allianz Arena, managed 

to keep Cristiano Ronaldo 

under wraps for most of the 

game, although he laid on Real’s 

goal. “A draw would have 

been a fairer result but this is 

football, whoever scores wins 

and the game ends when it 

ends,” said unflustered Real 

coach Jose Mourinho. 

“It’s not as if we need a 

historic comeback with crazy 

numbers in the second leg, 

we need a normal result, 1-0 

or 2-0.” 

The two swaggering clubs, 

paired for the tenth time in Europe’s 

top competition, have 

been European champions 13 

times between them and previous 

meetings have been filled 

with unsavoury incidents. 

Bayern took the lead when 

Ribery fired home from near 

the penalty spot after the La 

Liga leaders failed to clear a 

corner, Mourinho later claiming 

that a Real player was 

offside. Bayern largely managed 

to cut off the supply to the 

prolific Ronaldo. 

The Portuguese forward responded 

with his usual shimmies 

and stepovers but his first 

half efforts were restricted to 

two wasted free kicks. 

Bayern started the second 

half brightly. But some dreadful 

defending by the Bavarians 

allowed Real to equalise in the 

next move. 

Bayern dusted themselves 

down and continued to dominate. 

Gomez headed one effort 

over the crossbar, had a penalty 

appeal turned down but 

was rewarded at the end. 

Philipp Lahm burst down 

the right and provided a 

low cross which Gomez 

turned in from point blank 

range, a typically opportunist 

effort. — Reuters 

19 SPORT 



Looking for car, flat and furniture? Check out the Observer classified page. 

It’s where buyers meet sellers.

Bayern Munich 

snatch win 

over Real 

Page 19 

Oman beat Sri Lanka to record 

second win at AHF Cup 

MUSCAT — Oman registered 

their second win at the AHF 

Cup hockey tournament in 

emphatic fashion, beating Sri 

Lanka 4-2 in Bangkok, Thailand 

yesterday. 

According to information 

received here, the Sultanate 

national side dominated the 

proceedings against the Emerald 

Islanders to record win in 

Group 'A'. 

The other teams in the fiveteam 

group are Hong Kong, 

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, 

who lost to Oman by a huge 

margin in the first match. 

The Group 'B' comprises 

Bangladesh, Singapore, Chinese-Taipei 

and host Thailand. 

The Sultanate boys will 

now play Hong Kong tomorrow 

and finish their group en- 

gagement on Saturday against 

Uzbekistan. 

The tournament also serves 

as the qualifying event for the 

next year's Asia Cup with the 

semifinalists assured of places 

in the continent's premier 

hockey tournament. 

Al Bustan Palace set to host tennis tourney from April 24 

MUSCAT — Al Bustan Palace, A Ritz- 

Carlton Hotel is set to host its first tennis 

tournament from April 24 to 28. 

Al Bustan Palace invites tennis enthusiasts 

to participate and have fun in the 

tournament. “Tennis is a fantastic sport 

and we wanted to make sure our guests 

and members make the most of our tennis 

facilities,” said Nasser al Barwani, Recreation 

Manager at Al Bustan Palace, A 

Ritz-Carlton Hotel. 

The categories for the tournament 

are: non pro men’s singles and doubles, 

non pro ladies’ singles and doubles, boys' 

under-18 and under-14 singles, and girls' 

under-14 and under-12 singles. 

Entries close on April 21, and registration 

fee is RO 6 per entry for singles and 

RO 10 per pair for doubles. 

For more information contact Neil at 

92201968. 


Roach strikes twice 

for West Indies 

PORT OF SPAIN — West Indies 

fast bowler Kemar Roach 

captured two wickets in four 

balls to put the brakes on Australia's 

push for a series clinching 

victory in the second Test 

in Trinidad yesterday. 

Roach, who bagged five 

wickets in Australia's first innings, 

once again rattled the 

visitors by dismissing opener 

David Warner for 17 then 

Shane Watson for a duck to 

stall Australia's second innings. 

When lunch was taken 

on day four at Queen's Park 

Oval, Australia were 40 for 

two, leading by 94 runs overall 

after bowling out West 

Indies for 257 at the start of 

the day. 

Ed Cowan was unbeaten 

on 14 while former Australia 

captain Ricky Ponting was 

not out on four when rain, 

which has interrupted all four 

days of the match, stopped 

play before the scheduled 

lunch interval. 

Australia polished off the 

West Indian innings in the first 

over of the day when left arm 

spinner Michael Beer trapped 

Carlton Baugh lbw for 21. 

Baugh cut the third ball of 

the day to the rope for four to 

move on from his overnight 

score of 17 but fell off the 

next ball when he mistimed 

an attempted sweep and was 

struck on the pads. 

Australia, who won last 

week's first Test in Barbados 

and only need to draw one of 

Marathon cup from 

1896 sets Olympics 

auction record 

LONDON — The silver cup 

given to the winner of the 

marathon at the first modern 

Olympic Games staged 

in Athens in 1896 sold for 

£541,250 ($860,000) in 

London yesterday, breaking 

the auction record for Olympic 

memorabilia. 

Breal's Silver Cup stands 

just six inches tall and was 

offered for sale at Christie's 

auction house by the grandson 

of the victor, Greek athlete 

Spyros Louis. 

Bearing the same name 

as his grandfather, Louis 

said the final price paid by 

an anonymous telephone 

bidder was beyond what he 

could have imagined. 

"Deep down I hope that 

the cup remains in Greece, 

but no matter where it ends 

up, it will forever represent 

the glory of my country, and 

I have no doubt that the new 

owner will treasure it as we 

have done," he said in a 

statement. 

According to Christie's, 

there were six bidders for 

the item, which smashed the 

previous auction record for 

an Olympic artefact. 

That was set in April 

2011, when an Olympic 

torch from the 1952 Olympic 

Games held in Helsinki 

was sold at auction in 

Paris for the equivalent of 

$400,000. "It is hard to believe 

that such a small trophy 

represents so much in 

sporting and Olympic history," 

said Nicolette Tomkinson 

and Sophie Churcher, 

both of Christie's, in a joint 

statement. 

The item was sold on the 

day Britain marked the 100 

days' countdown to the 2012 

London Olympics. 

MOHALI — Gautam Gambhir played 

captain’s innings to give Kolkata Knight 

Riders a much-needed victory as they defeated 

Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets 

in the IPL match yesterday. 

Gambhir led from the front and put 

on an unbeaten 66, which included 

the last two Tests to retain the 

Frank Worrell Trophy, made 

a bright start to their second 

innings despite batting on a 

pitch that has been proven 

hard to score freely on. 

They put on 26 runs in the 

first 10 overs after West Indies 

opened the bowling with 

Fidel Edwards and spinner 

Shane Shillingford. 

Cowan was given a life 

before he had got off the 

mark when West Indies captain 

Darren Sammy dropped 

a regulation catch at first slip 

off Edwards. 

SCOREBOARD 

Australia 1st innings 311 all out 

West Indies 1st innings 

(132 for 4 overnight at lunch) 

S Chanderpaul lbw Lyon ........... 94 

N Deonarine st Wade b Lyon .... 55 

C Baugh lbw Beer ..................... 21 

D Sammy c Hussey b Lyon ......... 1 

S Shillingford c Cowan b Lyon ... 4 

K Roach c Wade b Lyon.............. 0 

F Edwards (not out) .................... 0 

Extras: (b-1, lb-8, w-1, nb-8) ... 18 

Total: (all out; 104.4 overs) .... 257 

Fall of wickets: 5-230, 6-231, 

7-237, 8-241, 9-249. 

Bowling: Beer 25.4-9-56-2; 

Hilfenhaus 16-4-39-1; Lyon 29-9- 

68-5; Pattinson 11-2-40-1; Hussey 

6-1-19-1 (w-1); Watson 12-5-14-0; 

Warner 3-1-9-0; Clarke 2-0-3-0. 

Australia 2nd innings 

E Cowan (not out) ..................... 14 

D Warner c Bravo b Edwards.... 17 

S Watson b Roach ....................... 0 

R Ponting (not out)...................... 8 

Extras: (nb-1) ............................. 1 

Total: (2 wkts; 20 overs) .......... 40 

Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-26. 

Bowling: Edwards 5-2-13-0; 

Shillingford 10-2-17-0; Roach 

5-1-10-2. 

THE Breal’s Silver Cup, 

which was the first ever 

marathon winner’s cup 

from the first modern 

Olympic Games in 1896, 

is displayed at Christie’s 

in London. — Reuters 

The cup was named after 

Michel Breal, the French 

philologist who invented 

the men's marathon race as 

part of the 1896 Games. 

Inspired by the legend 

of the messenger Pheidippides, 

he had the idea to stage 

a race from the city of Marathon 

to Athens — a distance 

of 25 miles (40 km), and 

promised a silver cup to the 

winner. 

According to the auctioneer, 

of the 17 athletes 

who began the race, only 10 

finished, one of whom was 

later disqualified for travelling 

by carriage for part of 

the race. 

Louis, a previously unrecognised 

water carrier 

who allegedly sipped cognac 

on his way around the 

track and became a national 

hero for his victory, finished 

in just under three hours — 

eight minutes ahead of second 

place. — Reuters 

Chief Executive Officer DR IBRAHIM BIN AHMED AL KINDI. Editor-in-Chief FAHMI BIN KHALID AL HARTHY 

Printers and Publishers OMAN ESTABLISHMENT FOR PRESS, PUBLICATION AND ADVERTISING 

Panthers overtake 

Devils 4-3 to grab 

2-1 series lead 

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 

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Page 19 

Fatma rallies to 

beat Mikheeva 

MUSCAT — Top-seeded 

Fatma al Nabhani started her 

campaign in style with a 6-3, 

2-6, 6-1 victory over unseeded 

Alina Mikheeva of Russia 

in the inaugural Oman ITF 

Women's Pro Circuit tennis 

tournament at Sultan Qaboos 

Sports Complex yesterday. 

She later won her doubles 

match with her German partner 

Anna Zaja beating Indian 

duo of Sharon Sanchana and 

Shweta Rana 6-4, 6-3. 

The top-seeded Omani- 

German pair will play third 

seed pair of India’s Kyra 

Shroff and Russia’s Yana 

Sizikova in doubles semifinal 

match today. 

Fatma will play against 

her doubles partner Zaja today 

in the singles quarterfinal 

match. 

Other results: Singles: Ankita 

Rana (IND) bt (7) Yana Sizik- 

Nadal, Djokovic 

into next round 

MONTE CARLO — Rafael 

Nadal emerged a 6-4, 6-3 

winner over Jarkko Nieminen 

with no obvious discomfort to 

his troublesome left knee as 

the Spaniard began his quest 

for a record eighth title at the 

Monte Carlo Masters yesterday. 

Nadal, now 40-1 at the 

venue where he lost his only 

match in 2003, won his 38th 

straight game in the principality 

as he overcame stubborn 

resistance from the Finn 

ranked 48th who claimed the 

Sydney title in January. 

Nadal, who required two 

weeks of knee treatment after 

failing to play his Miami 

semifinal match due to pain, 

has not lifted a trophy since 

the French Open ten months 

ago. 

The second seed joined 

world No 1 Novak Djokovic 

in moving through a clayseason 

opener on a cloudy 

seven fours and one six. Brendon Mc- 

Cullum looked dangerous early on but 

failed to capitalise on the good start. He 

fell cheaply to Chawla scoring 15. Soon, 

Kallis joined the captain to finish off the 

honours and did it with a six. He stayed 

unbeaten scoring 30 off 23 balls. 

ova (RUS) 5-7, 6-0, 6-4; (5) Lou 

Brouleau (FRA) bt Lea Tholey 

(FRA) 7-5, 5-7, 6-0; Jara Ghadri 

(GER) bt Tyra Kotuwattegedera 

(SWI) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4; (8) Evgeniya 

Svintsova bt Ushna Suhail (PAK) 

6-1, 6-2; Laetitia Sarrazin (FRA) 

bt (2) Margarita Lazareva (RUS) 

6-3, 6-2; (4) Kyra Shroff (IND) bt 

Ashmitha Easwaramurthi (IND) 6-2, 

6-3; (3) Julia Samuseva (RUS) bt 

Rika Yamamoto (JAP) 6-2, 6-1; (6) 

Anna Zaja (GER) bt Shweta Rana 

(IND) 6-0, 7-5; (5) Lou Brouleau 

(FRA) bt Barbara Haas (AUT) 6-2, 

7-6 (6); Ankita Raina (IND) bt Jara 

Ghadri (GER) 7-5, 6-4. 

Doubles: (3) Kyra Shroff 

(IND)-Yana Sizikova (RUS) bt 

Nour Azzouz (EPT)-Manya Nagpal 

(IND) 6-3, 6-1; (2) Ankita Raina 

(IND)-Evgeniya Svintsova (RUS) 

bt Arantxa Andrady (IND)-Samantha 

Koelliker (SWI) walk-over; Lou 

Brouleau (FRA)-Lea Tholey (FRA) 

bt (4) Ekaterina Pushkareva (RUS)- 

Julia Samuseva (RUS) 6-0, 6-4; 

Barbara Haas (AUT)-Laetitia Sarrazin 

(FRA) bt Ashmitha Easwaramurthi 

(IND)-Ushna Suhail (PAK) 

6-2, 6-4. 

day on the Mediterranean 

coast. Djokovic began with a 

6-1, 6-4, victory over Andreas 

Seppi, taking a 5-0 lead over 

the 44th-ranked Italian and 

breaking for an early lead in 

the second on the way to his 

seventh win in the series. 

Results (x denotes seeding): 

2nd round: Novak Djokovic (SRB 

x1) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-1, 6-4; 

Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Jarkko 

Nieminen (FIN) 6-4, 6-3; Gilles 

Simon (FRA x9) bt Frederico Gil 

(POR) 6-3, 6-0; Oleksandr Dolgopolov 

Jr (UKR x16) bt Bernard 

Tomic (AUS) 6-2, 5-7, 6-1; Julien 

Benneteau (FRA) bt Jurgen Melzer 

(AUT) 6-4, 6-3; Janko Tipsarevic 

(SRB x7) bt Albert Montanes (ESP) 

6-2, 6-3; Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 

bt Filippo Volandri (ITA) 7-6 (10/8), 

2-6, 6-2; Robin Haase (NED) bt Fabio 

Fognini (ITA) 6-4, 6-4; Thomaz 

Belluci (BRA) bt David Ferrer (ESP 

x5) 6-3, 6-2; Tomas Berdych (CZE 

x6) bt Marin Cilic (CRO) 7-6 (7/3), 

6-1; Nicolas Almagro (ESP x8) bt 

Potito Starace (ITA) 7-6 (7/3), 6-1; 

Stanislas Wawrinka (SWI) bt Pablo 

Andujar (ESP) 7-5, 6-3. — AFP 

BAHRAIN’S Rifaa club player Mardak Kevork (right) 

vies for the ball against Al Nahda’s Hassan al Alawi 

during their GCC Clubs Championship match 

at Seeb Stadium yesterday. The match ended in 

a 2-2 draw. — Picture by Mohamed Mahjoub 

Knight Riders thrash Kings XI Punjab by 8 wickets 

Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab 124/7 in 20 

overs (Gilchrist 40 n.o., S Marsh 33, S Narine 

2/24, B lee 2/26) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 

127/2 in 16.3 overs (G Gambhir 66 n.o., J Kallis 

30 n.o., P Chawla 2/19). 

Today’s fixtures: Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan 

Chargers, Chennai Super Kings vs Pune Warriors.

S - Oman Daily Observer

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