Foreign investment law is being revised - Oman Observer
Foreign investment law is being revised - Oman Observer
Foreign investment law is being revised - Oman Observer
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
MIAMI — An on-fire Tiger<br />
Woods will take a four-stroke<br />
lead over Graeme McDowell<br />
into Sunday's final round of the<br />
WGC-Cadillac Championship<br />
after shooting a five-under-par<br />
67 at Doral on Saturday.<br />
Woods, searching for h<strong>is</strong><br />
76th PGA Tour victory, fin<strong>is</strong>hed<br />
h<strong>is</strong> third round in fine<br />
style with a 16-foot birdie putt<br />
on the 18th, highlighting h<strong>is</strong><br />
outstanding work on the greens<br />
so far in the tournament.<br />
The 14-times major winner<br />
fin<strong>is</strong>hed the day at 18-under<br />
for a 198 total, while McDowell's<br />
three-under par 69 put him<br />
on 14-under at 202.<br />
The debate over whether<br />
Woods <strong>is</strong> "back" will not be<br />
over until he wins a major<br />
championship again, but on<br />
th<strong>is</strong> d<strong>is</strong>play he will be the favourite,<br />
on form and not just<br />
Ashraful, Rahim<br />
in record stand<br />
against Sri Lanka<br />
Page 18<br />
reputation, at the Masters next<br />
month.<br />
Woods, who won in January<br />
at Torrey Pines, has made 24<br />
birdies through 54 holes — a<br />
personal record at th<strong>is</strong> stage in<br />
a tournament and he has never<br />
lost a final round where he has<br />
led by three or more strokes.<br />
"He putted fantastically<br />
today," said playing partner<br />
McDowell. "He controlled<br />
every part of h<strong>is</strong> game very<br />
well, very few loose shots.<br />
He's going to be a tough man<br />
to catch tomorrow."<br />
Woods, who started<br />
with a two-stroke lead over<br />
McDowell, began h<strong>is</strong> round in<br />
bl<strong>is</strong>tering fashion by collecting<br />
birdies on h<strong>is</strong> first three holes<br />
and added four more before<br />
heading to the clubhouse with<br />
only two blem<strong>is</strong>hes on h<strong>is</strong> card,<br />
a bogey on the fifth and on the<br />
17th. The bogey on the penultimate<br />
hole came courtesy of a<br />
freak incident where h<strong>is</strong> ball<br />
stuck in the top of a palm tree,<br />
forcing him to take unplayable<br />
lie and a penalty stroke.<br />
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013<br />
Woods was powerful and<br />
mostly accurate off the tee but<br />
also was outstanding with h<strong>is</strong><br />
short irons.<br />
"I'm hitting the ball further<br />
and it <strong>is</strong> just about adjustments.<br />
I had to re-establ<strong>is</strong>h the<br />
new numbers and new feels<br />
and it took a little bit of time<br />
and I worked on it. It <strong>is</strong> starting<br />
to pay off," said the world<br />
number two.<br />
McDowell, also striding the<br />
course in confidence, made an<br />
equally lightning start with an<br />
eagle on the first and a birdie<br />
on the third, reaching the turn<br />
at four-under.<br />
The Northern Ir<strong>is</strong>hman lost<br />
h<strong>is</strong> momentum with a bogey<br />
on the 11th and a double on the<br />
14th, where he got in trouble in<br />
the rough.<br />
The 2010 US Open winner<br />
bounced back though with a<br />
superb eagle on the par-four<br />
16th, where he drove over the<br />
back of the green and then<br />
superbly chipped in from 22<br />
feet.<br />
Phil Mickelson and Steve<br />
Stricker are both five shots off<br />
the lead, tied for third place,<br />
after shooting rounds of 69.<br />
Mickelson had hoped for a<br />
final round pairing with Woods<br />
and a chance to avenge him for<br />
the defeat in the 'Duel at Doral'<br />
in the 2005 Ford Open but he<br />
still believes he can catch h<strong>is</strong><br />
old rival.<br />
"I'm going to have to play<br />
a really incredible round on<br />
Sunday but I really don't have<br />
to play that different than I<br />
played today," said Mickelson.<br />
"I threw away five or six shots<br />
on and around the greens. I just<br />
can't afford to give away those<br />
shots."<br />
England salvage<br />
draw against<br />
New Zealand<br />
Page 18<br />
England scrape past Italy in Six-Nations<br />
ITALY’S Edoardo Gori kicks the ball during the Six-Nations against England at Twickenham Stadium yesterday. — AFP<br />
Nadal defeats Harr<strong>is</strong>on easily<br />
INDIAN WELLS — With the tenn<strong>is</strong><br />
world watching closely, Rafa Nadal made<br />
a successful return to Indian Wells with a<br />
7-6, 6-2 victory over Ryan Harr<strong>is</strong>on in the<br />
second round of the BNP Paribas Open<br />
on Saturday.<br />
Though initially looking a little rusty,<br />
the Span<strong>is</strong>h left-hander showed no v<strong>is</strong>ible<br />
sign of d<strong>is</strong>comfort after <strong>being</strong> sidelined<br />
for seven months last year by a left knee<br />
injury before sealing a commanding win<br />
in just over an hour and a half.<br />
Playing h<strong>is</strong> first match on a hardcourt<br />
surface in 346 days, Nadal edged a close<br />
first set 7-3 in the tiebreak, then broke<br />
Harr<strong>is</strong>on's serve in the third and fifth<br />
games of the second to take firm control.<br />
The Span<strong>is</strong>h world number five, who<br />
had h<strong>is</strong> left knee taped up through the<br />
match, served out to book h<strong>is</strong> place in the<br />
third round, ending Harr<strong>is</strong>on's brave challenge<br />
with an overhead smash to spark<br />
loud roars from the crowd.<br />
"It was a good victory for me today<br />
against a good opponent," Nadal, who<br />
clinched the Indian Wells title in 2007<br />
and 2009, told reporters. "I am sat<strong>is</strong>fied<br />
to be in the next round. That's the most<br />
important thing.<br />
"Two weeks ago, I didn't really know<br />
if I would be here playing. I am happy<br />
to be here. I am happy to be in the third<br />
round."<br />
Asked how he felt after the match,<br />
Nadal replied: "I am fine. My physical<br />
performance needs to improve. My movements<br />
need to improve. Matches like th<strong>is</strong><br />
help for me sure, no?<br />
Nadal, who has enjoyed a successful<br />
tournament run on clay in recent weeks,<br />
was given an electrifying welcome by a<br />
vocal crowd when he first walked out on<br />
to the showpiece Stadium Court at the Indian<br />
Wells Tenn<strong>is</strong> Garden.<br />
He made a confident start, racing into<br />
a 4-1 lead before h<strong>is</strong> 73rd-ranked opponent<br />
broke back in the seventh game to<br />
take the opening set into a tiebreak.<br />
Nadal, who had occasionally blasted<br />
h<strong>is</strong> ground strokes long as he tried to find<br />
h<strong>is</strong> range, stormed 5-1 ahead in the tiebreak<br />
before wrapping up the set in 54<br />
RAFAEL Nadal waves to the crowd<br />
after defeating Ryan Harr<strong>is</strong>on in<br />
Indian Wells on Saturday. — Reuters<br />
minutes after he struck a deep forehand<br />
which forced an error by Harr<strong>is</strong>on.<br />
The Spaniard did not look back,<br />
breaking Harr<strong>is</strong>on in the third game of<br />
the second set with a stunning crosscourt<br />
pass and also in the fifth with a dipping<br />
forehand service return which the American<br />
could not retrieve.<br />
While Nadal did not attempt to slide in<br />
h<strong>is</strong> customary manner as he moved from<br />
side to side in some of the longer baseline<br />
rallies, he did not appear to be in any d<strong>is</strong>comfort<br />
on the surface expected to trouble<br />
him most following h<strong>is</strong> knee injury.<br />
The Spaniard, who returned to the<br />
ATP circuit last month in South America<br />
where he competed in three relatively<br />
minor claycourt events, winning two of<br />
them after reaching all three finals, will<br />
next face Leonardo Mayer of Argentina.<br />
Mayer brushed aside Russian Mikhail<br />
Youzhny 6-2, 6-3 earlier in the day.<br />
AZARENKA BEATS HANTUCHOVA<br />
Australian Open champion and top<br />
seed Victoria Azarenka recovered from a<br />
slugg<strong>is</strong>h start to beat Slovakia’s Daniela<br />
Hantuchova 6-4 6-1 in the second round.<br />
Trailing 1-4 in the opening set, the<br />
pony-tailed Belarusian then gave herself<br />
a wake-up call and seized control by winning<br />
11 of the next 12 games to improve<br />
her record th<strong>is</strong> season to 15-0.<br />
Azarenka clinched the first set with an<br />
ace, then broke Hantuchova for a sixth<br />
time in the seventh game of the second<br />
when the twice former champion dumped<br />
a backhand into the net.<br />
In other matches, former U.S. Open<br />
champion Samantha Stosur eased into the<br />
third round with a commanding 6-3 6-4<br />
victory over American teenager Mad<strong>is</strong>on<br />
Keys while fourth-seeded German Angelique<br />
Kerber swept past Romania’s Irina<br />
Begu 6-3 6-2.<br />
Results: Men’s 2nd round: Benoit Paire<br />
(FRA) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER x21) 6-4,<br />
6-2 Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) bt Fernando Verdasco<br />
(ESP x29) 6-1, 6-0 Kevin Anderson (RSA) bt<br />
David Ferrer (ESP x4) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Leonardo<br />
Mayer (ARG) bt Mikhail Youzhny (RUS x30)<br />
6-2, 6-3 Stan<strong>is</strong>las Wawrinka (SUI x18) bt Wayne<br />
Odesnik (USA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 Roger Federer (SUI<br />
x2) bt Den<strong>is</strong> Istomin (UZB) 6-2, 6-3 Jerzy Janowicz<br />
(POL x24) bt David Nalbandian (ARG) 7-6<br />
(7/4), 4-6, 6-3 Gilles Simon (FRA x13) bt Paolo<br />
Lorenzi (ITA) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)<br />
bt John Isner (USA x15) 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-4 Ivan<br />
Dodig (CRO) bt Julien Benneteau (FRA x28) 6-4,<br />
6-2 Andreas Seppi (ITA x20) bt Daniel Brands<br />
(GER) 7-5, 6-4 Florian Mayer (GER x27) bt David<br />
Goffin (BEL) 6-4, 6-2 Richard Gasquet (FRA<br />
x10) bt Bernard Tomic (AUS) 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 Ernests<br />
Gulb<strong>is</strong> (LAT) bt Janko Tipsarevic (SRB x9)<br />
6-2, 6-0 Rafael Nadal (ESP x5) bt Ryan Harr<strong>is</strong>on<br />
(USA) 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 Tomas Berdych (CZE x6) bt<br />
M<strong>is</strong>cha Zverev (GER) 6-2, 6-4<br />
Women’s 2nd round: Jamie Hampton (USA)<br />
bt Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE x20) 6-3, 6-3 Julia Goerges<br />
(GER x21) bt Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 6-3, 6-3 Angelique<br />
Kerber (GER x4) bt Irina-Camelia Begu<br />
(ROM) 6-3, 6-2 Yanina Wickmayer (BEL x30)<br />
bt Mirjana Lucic (CRO) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 Peng Shuai<br />
(CHN x32) bt Alexandra Dulgheru (ROM) 6-0,<br />
4-6, 6-3 Samantha Stosur (AUS x7) bt Mad<strong>is</strong>on<br />
Keys (USA) 6-3, 6-4 Nadia Petrova (RUS x10)<br />
bt Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 6-2, 6-3 Garbine Muguruza<br />
(ESP) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x17)<br />
6-3, 1-6, 6-4 Ana Ivanovic (SRB x11) bt Taylor<br />
Townsend (USA) 6-1, 6-2 Magdalena Rybarikova<br />
(SVK) bt Lucie Safarova (CZE x16) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2<br />
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL x28) bt Monica Niculescu<br />
(ROM) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. — Reuters/AFP<br />
LONDON — A d<strong>is</strong>jointed and<br />
error-strewn England needed<br />
a brilliant goalkicking d<strong>is</strong>play<br />
by Toby Flood to beat Italy 18-<br />
11 at Twickenham yesterday<br />
and set up a Six-Nations championship<br />
decider against Wales<br />
in Cardiff next Saturday.<br />
England will have to play<br />
a lot better to secure a win<br />
that would give them their<br />
first Grand Slam since 2003<br />
and their second title in three<br />
years while Wales, who beat<br />
Scotland 28-18 on Saturday<br />
for their third tournament win,<br />
would retain their title if they<br />
won by eight points.<br />
Flyhalf Flood, playing instead<br />
of the injured Owen Farrell,<br />
scored England’s points as<br />
he landed all six of h<strong>is</strong> penalty<br />
attempts but Italy played most<br />
of the rugby and completely<br />
dominated the second half,<br />
scoring the only try through<br />
winger Luke McLean.<br />
England led 12-3 at halftime<br />
but, instead of pouring<br />
on the points to make Wales’<br />
task tougher, they were forced<br />
to defend for long periods, often<br />
desperately, against a team<br />
who had lost by an average<br />
of almost 35 points on every<br />
previous Twickenham Six-<br />
Nations v<strong>is</strong>it.<br />
“We will have to be a lot<br />
better than that,” England<br />
coach Stuart Lancaster told<br />
the BBC looking ahead to next<br />
week’s showdown.<br />
“It will be a big step up.<br />
“I’m d<strong>is</strong>appointed we weren’t<br />
quite accurate enough. We let<br />
the control slip in the second<br />
half and Italy pushed us right<br />
to the end.”<br />
England actually started<br />
full of running as, despite a<br />
freezing arctic wind blowing<br />
through Twickenham, it was<br />
dry and firm underfoot.<br />
However, they struggled<br />
to turn that early dominance<br />
into points and lost their way,<br />
even when Italy were reduced<br />
to 14 men. Four Flood penalties<br />
to one by Luciano Orquera<br />
had the hosts 12-3 ahead at the<br />
break with the crowd ruing<br />
three excellent try-scoring opportunities<br />
wasted by poor execution<br />
or dec<strong>is</strong>ion-making.<br />
A try eventually arrived 10<br />
minutes after the restart but it<br />
was Italy who claimed it, and<br />
deservedly so, as they were<br />
well on top. A horribly-sliced<br />
clearance kick by Danny Care<br />
went straight to an unchallenged<br />
Alessandro Zanni and<br />
Orquera then chipped wide for<br />
McLean to score in the corner.<br />
Orquera m<strong>is</strong>sed the conversion<br />
and a penalty soon after<br />
but Italy kept their spirits up<br />
and, instead of fading in the<br />
final quarter as they have so<br />
often before, they stepped up<br />
their game and took charge.<br />
Showing some cr<strong>is</strong>p passing<br />
and real aggression at the<br />
breakdown, the Italians poured<br />
forward and forced England to<br />
defend their own line for long<br />
spells while barely venturing<br />
over the halfway line themselves.<br />
That defence held firm,<br />
however, to prevent what could<br />
have been a match-drawing try<br />
and leave the fifth-placed Italians<br />
frustrated at <strong>being</strong> unable<br />
to add to the two points gained<br />
from their first-day victory<br />
over France.<br />
“It was important to get<br />
the win,” said England captain<br />
Chr<strong>is</strong> Robshaw. “We were<br />
under no illusions, especially<br />
after last year in Rome (when<br />
England won 19-15).<br />
“There were moments we<br />
played very well but a little bit<br />
of execution let us down.”<br />
A seven-point win for<br />
Wales would leave the teams<br />
level on points and points difference<br />
and see the championship<br />
decided on tries scored.<br />
Wales have scored seven to<br />
England’s five in the first four<br />
rounds. If the two end level<br />
on tries too, the title would<br />
be shared. Italy have now lost<br />
three in a row and host Ireland<br />
in their final game.<br />
Their fullback Andrea Masi<br />
was named man of the match<br />
and was frustrated not to have<br />
taken something from the<br />
game. “It was a very good performance,”<br />
he said. “We came<br />
from two poor games and we<br />
played better rugby with much<br />
more physicality.” — Reuter<br />
Sizzling Woods takes commanding lead at Doral<br />
TIGER Woods and Graeme McDowell walk off the 18th<br />
green after the third round of play in Doral. — Reuters<br />
Long, Baun lift All-England titles<br />
CHINA’S Chen Long and Denmark’s Tine Baun poses with their trophies yesterday. — AFP<br />
BIRMINGHAM — World No 1 Lee Chong<br />
Wei, who deferred retirement after the Olympics<br />
to make a few last attempts on the major<br />
titles, found himself denied in yesterday’s final<br />
of the All-England Open.<br />
Lee also found himself with an impressive<br />
new rival, Chen Long, a 24-year-old, who<br />
fought off brave fight-backs by the favourite in<br />
each game to triumph 21-17, 21-18.<br />
Last year Lee lost the title to Lin Dan. Now<br />
the Chinese legend may have a good successor,<br />
on the evidence of Chen's marvellous<br />
containment and rallying ability, and increasing<br />
patience and judgement on when to make<br />
pouncing attacks.<br />
Chen also carried himself like a champion.<br />
He never panicked when the match got tight,<br />
and handled the pressure like a player who<br />
may go on to win many more big titles.<br />
"Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> very important — a top, world class<br />
tournament, and winning it has given me a lot<br />
of experience," he said. "I am very excited<br />
about that."<br />
It suggests that Lin may not need to come<br />
out of semi-retirement and make an attempt to<br />
defend the world title in Guangzhou in August<br />
for China to win it again.<br />
For Lee th<strong>is</strong> was a d<strong>is</strong>appointment. The 30-<br />
year-old started both games slowly. He was 0-7<br />
down before he got going, and 1-6 down in the<br />
second game, and both deficits proved a little<br />
too much to make up. He moved beautifully as<br />
usual, but could not force h<strong>is</strong> attacks through<br />
Chen's brilliant defence when he tried to ambush<br />
the second seed, and did not have quite<br />
enough energy in the tank to apply pressure<br />
with a few extra-fast rallies. He did fight hard,<br />
getting back to 17-19 in the first game and to<br />
a brief lead at 15-14 in the second. But Chen's<br />
speed and cons<strong>is</strong>tency never slackened or wavered<br />
and proved dec<strong>is</strong>ive, as Lee conceded.<br />
"Th<strong>is</strong> was my best," said Lee.<br />
Earlier, Tine Baun became the oldest All-<br />
England women's singles winner of the open<br />
era when she beat the youngest singles final<strong>is</strong>t,<br />
Ratchanok Intanon, in an uniquely emotional<br />
final.<br />
The 33-year-old's 21-14, 16-21, 21-10 win<br />
over the 18-year-old brought to an end the career<br />
of one of the outstanding players of the<br />
past ten years, and the only one to threaten Chinese<br />
dominance.<br />
The Dane decided to compete th<strong>is</strong> year as<br />
a "last adventure" but instead, as seventh seed,<br />
surpr<strong>is</strong>ed herself by winning the All-England<br />
title back and taking it a third time. —AFP<br />
Stricker, who gave putting<br />
lessons to Woods on the eve<br />
of th<strong>is</strong> tournament, may privately<br />
wonder if that was the<br />
best-timed gesture and he conceded<br />
that Woods looks hard<br />
to budge.<br />
"You know what kind of<br />
closer he <strong>is</strong>. When he gets a<br />
lead in a tournament it <strong>is</strong> tough.<br />
He doesn't let too many guys<br />
in usually," said Stricker.<br />
World number one Rory<br />
McIlroy made six birdies as<br />
he recovered from a poor start<br />
of a bogey on the third and<br />
a double-bogey on the next<br />
hole.<br />
McIlroy, still feeling h<strong>is</strong><br />
way back to form after intensive<br />
work on h<strong>is</strong> swing, carded<br />
a one-under 71 and <strong>is</strong> threeunder<br />
for the tournament, 15<br />
strokes behind Woods and tied<br />
in 30th place. — Reuters<br />
Brumbies<br />
power to<br />
victory<br />
SYDNEY — Jake White's<br />
ACT Brumbies swept aside<br />
the New South Wales Waratahs<br />
to extend their lead at<br />
the top of rugby's Super 15<br />
series as defending champions<br />
Waikato Chiefs lost for<br />
the first time th<strong>is</strong> weekend.<br />
The Brumbies, rocked by<br />
a season-ending knee injury<br />
to Wallaby breakdown ace<br />
David Pocock, smashed the<br />
Waratahs in a bonus point<br />
35-6 win to charge to a fivepoint<br />
lead at the top of the<br />
southern hem<strong>is</strong>phere provincial<br />
championship.<br />
The Chiefs, who beat the<br />
Sharks in last year's final,<br />
lost ground going down 36-<br />
34 to the Western Stormers<br />
in a thriller in Cape Town,<br />
but came away with two bonus<br />
points to lead the New<br />
Zealand conference. The<br />
2011 champions Queensland<br />
Reds kept in touch with the<br />
leaders with a 23-13 win<br />
over the Rebels in an Australian<br />
derby in Melbourne.<br />
Seven-time champions<br />
Canterbury Crusaders have<br />
yet to win th<strong>is</strong> season after<br />
falling 29-28 to the Hurricanes<br />
in Wellington, while<br />
South Africa's Central Cheetahs<br />
won their first game<br />
of the campaign against<br />
the Otago Highlanders<br />
36-19. —AFP<br />
Northern Bulls<br />
down Blues<br />
AUCKLAND — The Northern<br />
Bulls completed a South<br />
African whitewash over New<br />
Zealand sides with an upset<br />
28-21 win over the Auckland<br />
Blues in their Super 15 clash<br />
at Eden Park yesterday.<br />
"It's pretty good, I must<br />
say," declared Bulls skipper<br />
Pierre Spies.<br />
"It's a great day for us.<br />
I'm thankful and humble and<br />
it was a great team effort.<br />
It's not easy coming here<br />
to win." Both the Bulls and<br />
Blues went into the match<br />
brimming with confidence<br />
after winning their opening<br />
two matches, but the Aucklanders<br />
could not reproduce<br />
the forward power they had<br />
previously shown.<br />
Coach John Kirwan had<br />
ra<strong>is</strong>ed eyebrows with a raft<br />
of changes to h<strong>is</strong> side, including<br />
starting five debutants.<br />
It was a gamble that<br />
did not pay off a week before<br />
the Blues have a bye,<br />
leaving captain Ali Williams<br />
d<strong>is</strong>traught.<br />
"We just didn't turn up.<br />
I'm gutted," he said. "We<br />
had earned some respect<br />
(with two wins) and then we<br />
lost it just like that. We've<br />
got ourselves to blame. We<br />
didn't attack, we didn't play<br />
the game we trained for."<br />
The Blues had first points<br />
on the board with a penalty<br />
by fly-half Baden Kerr, playing<br />
only h<strong>is</strong> second Super<br />
Rugby match, in an early<br />
kicking duel with Morne<br />
Steyn which saw the Blues<br />
take a 6-3 lead.<br />
However, the Bulls were<br />
always threatening, and a<br />
quarter of the way into the<br />
game they produced two<br />
tries in five minutes to go<br />
15-6 ahead. — AFP<br />
Knicks crush<br />
Utah Jazz<br />
LOS ANGELES — The<br />
New York Knicks were without<br />
Carmelo Anthony and<br />
Amar'e Stoudemire, while<br />
the Utah Jazz were without<br />
direction or passion.<br />
The Knicks easily overcame<br />
the absence of their<br />
star forwards on Saturday<br />
night and rode a huge game<br />
from their reserves to a 113-<br />
84 home victory over the<br />
l<strong>is</strong>tless Jazz, who completed<br />
a winless road trip.<br />
J R Smith scored 24<br />
points and Steve Novak added<br />
a season-high 20 for the<br />
Knicks.<br />
Results: NY Knicks bt Utah<br />
Jazz 113-84, Brooklyn Nets bt<br />
Atlanta Hawks 93-80, Washington<br />
Wizards bt Charlotte Bobcats<br />
104-87, Memph<strong>is</strong> Heat bt New<br />
Orleans 96-85, Denver Nuggets bt<br />
Minnesota Timberwolves 111-88.<br />
— Reuters