S - Oman Observer

Ramadhan coupons 

THE last day for receiving this year’s 

Ramadhan coupons will be on December 31, 

2012. Coupons can be sent to PO Box 974, 

PC 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. 

 

 

WEDNESDAY, December 26, 2012/Safar 12, 1434 AH 

Business 

Rosneft rises $16.8 bn 

ROSNEFT, seeking to finance Russia’s 

largest-ever takeover deal, has raised 

$16.8 billion in bank loans and agreed 

on long-term trade finance deals with 

the world’s largest oil traders. P9 

Envoys bid 

farewell 

after term 

ON behalf of His 

Majesty Sultan Qaboos, 

His Highness Sayyid 

Asaad bin Tareq al Said 

received separately Muiz 

Kadhim Salman al Nooh, 

Ambassador of Iraq, and 

Nour El Dein Shordi, 

Ambassador Bangladesh, 

who bid farewell at the end 

of their tour of duties as 

ambassadors. 

Sea to be 

rough till 

Saturday 

THE latest weather maps 

point out that winds are 

expected on the coast of 

Muscat, North Al Batinah, 

South Al Batinah and South 

Sharqiyah governorates 

from tomorrow till Saturday. 

The Public Authority for 

Civil Aviation in a statement 

says sporadic rains are 

also expected in some 

governorates. 

Protests in 

New Delhi 

continue 

AN Indian policeman 

injured in clashes during 

a protest over an abuse in 

New Delhi died yesterday, 

a police spokesman said, 

as much of the city centre 

remained sealed off 

following the violence. 

Eight people have been 

arrested for the attack and 

have been charged with 

murder of the cop. 

P4 

P5 

P7 

SHAYMA Ali al Raesia, 

who won the Municipal 

Council elections, sets out 

her priorities. — Weekend 

27 killed 

in Kazakh 

plane crash 

A MILITARY aircraft 

carrying 27 people 

including top members 

of the Kazakhstan border 

guard service crashed 

yesterday in the south of the 

country with all those on 

board feared dead, officials 

said. The KNB security 

service said the An-72 

military transport was 

carrying seven crew and 20 

servicemen, including the 

acting head of the Kazakh 

border service Turganbek 

Stambekov. 

Weekend Sport 

Documenting culture 

MOHAMMED al Hadi Ba Omar is 

documenting the evidence of the great 

customs of the Omani society and 

believes that the memories of culture 

can be saved by his camera. 

Joint Defence Council 

MANAMA — The two-day 

GCC Summit, which concluded 

here yesterday, approved 

the decisions of the Joint Defence 

Council and approved 

the setting up of a unified 

military command which will 

be tasked with planning and 

co-ordinating army, naval and 

air forces. 

The summit also approved the 

amended GCC joint security 

agreement. 

At the end of its 33rd session, 

the GCC Supreme Council 

took other decisions aimed 

at enhancing economic cooperation, 

as well as reiterating 

stands on various political, 

social and cultural issues. 

The Council called for expedient 

action to unify financial 

and monetary policies, 

complementing infrastructure, 

offering better employment 

opportunities for the region’s 

citizens and developing practical 

programmes to achieve 

economic integration among 

member states. 

The Council approved the 

recommendations of the GCC 

Consultative Authority to establish 

a regulatory food and 

medicines organisation, set up 

a joint Gulf centre for public 

health, to conduct a study to 

assess and develop the GCC 

media strategy and to combat 

corruption and obstacles to development. 

 

SALALAH — Experts laid 

emphasis on the use of treated 

water and made a strong 

point for maximising its 

reach to all the sectors where 

direct human consumption of 

water is not involved. They 

felt the need of awareness 

for the use of treated water, 

which according to them, 

is the only answer to water 

problem for the countries in 

the arid zone. 

They expressed their 

views at a conference titled 

‘Treated water for sustain- 

UNITED NATIONS — The 

United Nations yesterday 

warned that Syrians are “losing 

hope” as war worsens in 

their country, with prospects of 

a diplomatic end now at rock 

bottom, and aid is cut. 

Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi’s 

latest talks with Syria’s 

President Bashar al Assad produced 

no sign of a willingness 

to negotiate, diplomats said, 

and there are mounting warnings 

of a sectarian war taking 

over the situation. 

The United Nations has had 

to cut food rations it provides 

to 1.5 million Syrians because 

of cash shortages, and John 

Ging, a top UN relief official, 

said: “The humanitarian community 

in Syria is struggling.” 

With four million people 

In a communiqué issued at 

the end of its 33rd session, the 

GCC Supreme Council called 

on Iran to stick to principles of 

good neighbourliness and regional 

stability. While rejecting 

Iran’s interference in the 

internal affairs of GCC states, 

able development’ held yesterday 

under the auspices of 

Shaikh Salim bin Oufait al 

Shanfari, Chairman, Dhofar 

Municipality. 

Also present on the occasion 

was Nayef Sedar, Water 

Consultant from Jordan and 

Member of Arab Council of 

Water (ACWA). The conference 

was organised by Salalah 

Sanitary Drainage Services 

Company (SSDC). 

Dr Mahaad Shammas, 

Director of Environment in 

Salalah, gave a presentation 

to highlight the effectiveness 

of the artificial recharge in 

in need inside the country and 

well over 500,000 registered as 

refugees outside, “it’s becoming 

more and more difficult 

just to do the very basic things 

the Council expressed support 

to the United Arab Emirates’ 

sovereignty over the three islands 

of Greater Tunb, Lesser 

Tunb and their regional waters. 

It also urged Iran to extend full 

co-operation to the International 

Atomic Energy Agency 

combating seawater intrusion 

in Salalah coastal aquifer. 

He laid stress on the 

relationship between the 

monsoon and vegetation in 

Salalah’s jabal areas and 

explained the techniques of 

fog water interception, landforms 

and the recharge of 

the Salalah plain aquifer in a 

profile from the mountain to 

the sea. 

He termed this to be an 

important move to study the 

effectiveness of reusing the 

treated wastewater to halt 

salinity intrusion into Salalah 

plain aquifer. To page 5 

to ensure that its nuclear file 

would not endanger regional 

and international stability. 

In the meantime, the Council 

reaffirmed all countries 

right to own nuclear energy 

for peaceful purposes, including 

Iran. To page 3 

Worse to come in Syria: UN 

to help people to survive,” said 

Ging, director of operations 

for the UN’s Office for the Coordination 

of Humanitarian Affairs. 

“People are losing hope 

because they just see more violence 

on the horizon, they just 

see a deterioration,” he added. 

With existing appeals already 

barely 50 per cent funded, 

the UN has launched its 

biggest ever drive to raise $1.5 

billion for next year. 

With the death toll now estimated 

at more than 44,000 

by Syrian activists and another 

grim winter setting in, hopes 

of a diplomatic solution to 

the conflict are virtually nonexistent. 

“We do not see any prospect 

of any end of violence or 

any prospect of political dialogue 

to start,” UN leader Ban 

Ki-Moon said ahead of Brahimi’s 

latest trip to Damascus 

this week which produced little 

sign of a change of heart. 

Aussies wait on Clarke 

AUSTRALIA will wait until the very last 

minute to decide if Michael Clarke has 

recovered sufficiently from injury to lead 

the side out for the second Test against Sri 

Lanka at MCG on Boxing Day. P18 

14,181 citizens 

set to get jobs 

MUSCAT — In implementation 

of the directives of His 

Majesty Sultan Qaboos to 

offer employment to 56,000 

citizens, of whom 36,000 go 

to the public sector (civil and 

military), the Civil Service 

Ministry has said that it began 

procedures for the recruitment 

of 14,181 citizens in the 

civil service sector after coordinating 

with ministries and 

government units operating 

under the Civil Service Law. 

Co-ordination with the 

units concerned was aimed at 

identifying vacancies and requirements 

for each vacancy 

(specialised or ordinary) and 

the qualifications needed for 

each job, said the Civil Service 

Ministry in a statement. 

The statement indicated 

that the employment procedure 

went through a set of 

steps. First the job requirements 

were sent to the Public 

Authority of Manpower 

(PAMR) Register to name the 

citizens who meet the requirements 

needed for each post, 

pursuant to the provisions 

of clause 5 of article 3 of the 

MUSCAT — The Financial 

Affairs and Energy Resources 

Council yesterday discussed 

the State Budget 2013 with a 

view to keeping deficit within 

suitable limits, addressing 

any potential decline in 

oil prices and expanding the 

scope of economic diversification. 

The Council studied the 

visions of the Majlis Addawla 

and Majlis Ash’shura on the 

draft budget for the fiscal year 

2013, the level of expenditure 

and its priorities and the steps 

needed to meet the goals of 

development during the cur- 

$25bn oil 

link opens 

MOSCOW — Russian President 

Vladimir Putin yesterday 

unveiled the final extension 

of a new $25 billion oil 

pipeline to the Pacific that 

underscores the energy power’s 

gradual shift away from 

stagnant European markets. 

The East Siberia-Pacific 

Ocean link is also expected 

to expand sales to the United 

States and fulfil Putin’s 

dream of cementing Russia’s 

place as a dominant force in 

international crude markets. 

Moscow hopes to turn 

the price of oil transported 

through the link into a benchmark 

in the Asia-Pacific that 

competes with West Texas 

Intermediate — the US oil 

standard. Details, P9 

Manpower Register Authority’s 

Act promulgated by Royal 

Decree No 98/2011. 

After receiving nominations 

from the Public Authority 

of Manpower Register, proper 

contact is made with the public 

sector units to accommodate 

the number specified for 

each unit, said the ministry in 

its statement, noting that some 

of the requirements relating to 

specialised jobs have already 

been advertised by those units 

in co-ordination with the Ministry 

of the Civil Service and 

the Public Authority of Manpower 

Register. 

Recently, the Ministry of 

Manpower said it will implement 

the Royal directives 

regarding employment of 

20,000 nationals registered at 

PAMR Register from the first 

week of January 2013. 

The ministry has set up 

seven centres for direct employment, 

two in Muscat 

Governorate and one each in 

the governorates of North Al 

Batinah, South Al Sharqiyah, 

Dhahirah, Dakhiliyah and 

Dhofar. — ONA 

Stress on treated water Measures to limit deficit 

MUSCAT — The Tender 

Board yesterday awarded 

projects worth RO 66,852,967 

including water supply 

projects to the Wilayat of 

Haima and Al Ajayez town 

in the Al Wusta Governorate 

at a cost of RO 24,487,145, 

extension of power purchase 

agreement with Sohar Aluminum 

Company for three years 

(RO 15,000,000) and construction 

of Wadi al Minqal/ 

Wadi Bani Jabir road in South 

Sharqiyah Governorate (RO 

13,955,790). 

Other projects include 

construction of water desalination 

plant and water distribution 

network for Haski 

city in Dhofar Governroate 

(RO 3,893,762), construction 

of underground feed dam at 

Wadi Kalbouh in the Wilayat 

of Nizwa in the Dakhiliyah 

Governorate (RO 3,478,000) 

and construction of new 

Mosque in Al Sarooj area in 

the Wilayat of Baushar (RO 

2,372,393). 

The Tender Board also 

awarded works including supply 

of fiver radars for observation 

of tide and marine currents 

(RO 1,829,600), housekeeping 

works for buildings under the 

Directorate-General of Education 

in North Sharqiyah Governorate 

for To page 3 

MUSCAT — The Capital 

Market Authority (CMA) 

has issued a decision introducing 

amendments to the 

Guaranteed Financing regulations. 

The decision comes 

after continuous monitoring 

and assessment of the efficiency 

of current regulations 

to determine the best ways to 

achieve the best professional 

practices in the field. 

The amendment includes 

cancelling Clause 7 of Article 

3 of the regulations 

which stipulates that “what is 

invested in purchasing secu- 

CAIRO — Egypt’s constitution 

was passed with 63.8 per 

cent voter support in the twostage 

referendum that ended 

last week, the national electoral 

commission said yesterday. 

Turnout was 32.9 per cent of 

Egypt’s total 52 million voters, 

the president of the commission, 

Samir Abul Maati, 

told a news conference. 

The figures confirmed 

those given by President Mo- 

rent Five Year Plan. 

The meeting was presided 

over by Darwish bin Ismaeel 

al Balushi, Minister Responsible 

for Financial Affairs 

and Deputy Chairman of the 

Financial Affairs and Energy 

Resources Council. 

The Council gave its directive 

to revise mechanisms 

of subsidy for oil products 

and the performance of 

public companies that receive 

financial subsidy from 

the State Budget, among 

other economic topics on the 

agenda. 

Meanwhile, the Economic 

hamed Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, 

which had backed the 

new charter. 

Abul Maati rejected opposition 

claims that fake judges 

supervised some of the polling 

— one of several allegations of 

fraud the opposition National 

Salvation Front made after 

each leg of the referendum 

held December 15 and 22. 

The charter, and Mursi’s 

determination to hold the 

and Financial Committee at 

the Majlis Ash’sura held its a 

meeting yesterday. 

The meeting discussed the 

ratification of the Sultanate’s 

membership to the agreement 

on the establishment of the 

Islamic Corporation for the 

Development of the Private 

Sector referred by the Council 

of Ministers to the Majlis. 

The committee also discussed 

preparations for hosting 

the Minister of Tourism 

by the Majlis on December 30 

and 31 for reviewing various 

tourism projects. — ONA 

See also page 3 

rities for one company shall 

Major water works in wilayats not exceed 20 per cent of the Egypt constitution approved 

A CHILD plays with the fighters in Aleppo. — Reuters 

Changes in 

buying of 

securities 

value of the client portfolio 

at the time of purchase.” 

The decision also cancelled 

Clause 7 of Article 4 

which stipulated that the interest 

rate imposed on Guaranteed 

Financing Accounts 

should not exceed the percentage 

specified by the central 

bank for personal loans. 

The step will encourage licensed 

banks and companies 

to offer competitive services 

to their clients. To page 5 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

referendum without building 

consensus, provoked weeks of 

protests, some of which turned 

violent. The Front has said it 

will not cease its struggle, raising 

the prospect of prolonged 

instability in the country. 

Meanwhile, the central 

bank said it would take steps 

to “safeguard” bank deposits, 

without giving any details. 

Some have withdrawn cash 

from accounts. See P13 

Mazoon will be distributed soon 

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

EXCHANGE RATES 

GOLD 

Dollar per Omani Rial 

PRICE 

Muscat 05:26 am 12:12 pm 03:13 pm 05:33 pm 06:49 pm Max ax 26 34 28 30 28 28 29 

Min 18 15 20 14 21 19 19 

Buying 0.382 Selling 0.388 $1,652.20

OPPORTUNITIES FOR TALENTED OMANIS 

Saud Bahwan Group is one of the largest and most professionally managed 

business houses in Oman. The Group has won the highest accolades from 

across the world, brought in the world’s best products and pioneered new 

standards in after sales support. The Group continues to set new benchmarks 

in customer service from its 50 strategic locations. 

At SBG, the development of Human Resources encompasses an extensive 

Omanisation programme in line with National priorities. We currently have 

a large number of Omani staff in our different departments and in all our 

branches. The SBG Training Centre and the Advanced Learning Centre 

provide a variety of training courses to help Omani staff hone their skills and 

build rich and rewarding careers. 

We are on an ambitious growth path and require talented Omanis to join us in 

the following functions: 

(AUTOMOBILES / HEAVY VEHICLES / CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT / TYRES) 

Our after sales service and customer care activities are rated to be amongst the best in the world. SBG’s Toyota Service facility in Muscat, with more than 300 bays, is one of the largest in the world. We 

have established a comprehensive network of modern high-tech service facilities across the country with state-of-the-art equipment and fully computerised systems. To further strengthen our service 

operations, we require the following additional staff for Automobiles, Heavy Vehicles & Construction Equipment divisions: 

SERVICE MARKETING MANAGERS 

Job: To promote and market the service business for 

automobile passenger cars in a competitive market 

by designing and implementing aggressive marketing 

strategies and innovative campaigns. To co-ordinate with 

cross–functional teams and customers. 

Degree in Automobile / Mechanical 

Engineering (MBA preferred) 

Age: 28 – 30 years 

6 – 8 years experience in similar capacity 

with reputed automobile manufacturer / dealership 

/ institutions involved in sale of Engineering products 

with exposure to service marketing. He should have 

excellent communication & motivation skills and ability 

to implement customer – focused strategies to achieve 

business targets. 

BRANCH - SERVICE MANAGERS / 

SERVICE INCHARGE 

Job: To lead a team of Service Engineers, Foremen & 

Technicians on jobs pertaining to service of cars and 

individual components. Planning and implementing 

business development initiatives, upgradation of service 

infrastructure, resource planning, enhancing productivity 

and customer satisfaction are key elements of the job. 

Degree / Diploma in Automobile / 

Mechanical Engineering 

Age: 28 - 30 years 

6 - 8 yrs years experience in a supervisory 

capacity in reputed automobile manufacturers / dealers 

workshops. Should have good technical & administrative 

 

trouble-shooting. Exposure in liaison with Principals and 

warranty management skills are required. 

TRAINING MANAGERS 

Job: To lead a team of Trainers in the Technical Training 

Division that provides both technical and business 

process training. To continuously monitor skill levels 

of service personnel and to design new courses for 

technical and business requirements. 

Degree in Automobile / Mechanical 

Engineering 

Age: Around 30 years 

6 - 8 years experience in similar capacity 

with a reputed Automobile manufacturer / dealership. 

Should have excellent communication, motivation 

and administrative skills with good exposure to dealer 

management systems. 

CUSTOMER CARE MANAGERS - SERVICE 

Job: To manage the customer care activities in the service 

 

bring in continuous improvement to enhance customer 

satisfaction. To implement customer-focused strategies 

to ensure optimal operations of service workshops. 

Degree / Diploma in Automobile / 

Mechanical Engineering or Graduate from any discipline 

Age: Around 28 - 30 years 

6 - 8 years experience in similar capacity 

with a reputed Automobile manufacturer / dealership. 

Should have excellent communication, motivation 

and administrative skills with good exposure to dealer 

management systems. 

SERVICE PROFESSIONALS 

FOREMEN 

Job: To undertake repairs of automobiles through a team 

of skilled Mechanics, Dentors, Painters, etc ensuring 

optimum productivity and customer satisfaction. To be 

 

& trouble-shooting. 

Diploma in Mechanical / Automotive 

Engineering or related college Diploma 


2 - 5 years of experience in supervisory 

capacity with reputed automobile dealers’ workshops or 

authorised service centres. 

REPRESENTATIVES – SERVICE MARKETING 

Job: To promote / develop after-sales service business 

in automobiles. To effectively implement innovative 

marketing ideas for improving market share and 

customer retention. 


Engineering or related college Diploma or a Graduate 

from any discipline 


2 - 5 years of relevant experience with 

reputed automobile dealers or any institution involved in 

sale of any Engineering products. 

SERVICE CONSULTANTS / RECEPTIONISTS 

Job: To handle service reception, repair order 

opening, billing of service jobs etc. To interact closely 

with customers to understand and handle service 

requirements and customer concerns. 


Engineering or 12th pass with relevant experience. 


2 - 5 years of relevant experience 

with reputed automobile dealers’ workshops in front 

 

Value Added Products/Services will be an advantage. 

 

for selling Automobile products shall also be considered. 

MECHANICS / AUTO ELECTRICIANS 

Job: Service, repair & maintenance of wide range 

of passenger cars, Heavy Vehicles & Construction 

Equipment and the electrical systems and individual 

components. To undertake and diagnose the routine 

faults. 

12th pass with VTD training or any 

Training recognised by Ministry of Manpower in 

Automobile Trade 


Around 3-5 years of experience in service, 

repairs and maintenance of passenger cars, electrical 

systems with reputed automobile dealers’ workshops or 


DENTORS / WELDERS / FITTERS / PAINTERS 

Job: 

12th pass with VTD training or any 

Training Recognised by Ministry of Manpower in 

Automobile Trade 


Around 3-5 years of relevant experience 

with reputed automobile dealers’ workshops or 


VEHICLE UPHOLSTERY FITTERS 

Job: To carry out seat upholstery related jobs in 

passenger cars / buses, including making / repairing / 

replacing. 

12th pass 


Around 3-5 years of relevant experience 

with reputed automobile dealers’ workshops or 


STORE KEEPERS 

Job: To handle inventory control systems and 

computerised stores operations. 

12th pass 


2-5 years experience in similar capacity in 

a Warehouse (preferably Automotive spare parts). 

TYRE FITTERS / ALIGNMENT MECHANICS 

Minimum 2 years experience in 

 

service centres. 

11th class & below 


DRIVERS AND WASHER CLEANERS 

Candidates with around 2 years and above experience 

may apply. 

TRAINEES 

Fresh candidates who are 12th class pass shall be 

considered for the post of Trainees in the following 

trades. Age should be around 20 years. 

Service Advisors / Service Marketing 

Representatives 

Mechanics 

Dentors / Fitters 

Painters 

Fresh candidates who are Diploma holder in Engineering 

shall be considered for the post of “Trainee Foreman.” 

Positions exist at various branches / locations of the 

Group across Oman. 

 

We offer excellent career growth opportunities 

and attractive salaries to selected candidates. 

 

promotions, and ex-gratia payment based on 

performance and productivity. 

Candidates willing to join us with a long-term 

perspective, may respond within 2 weeks by 

sending their personal particulars – Name, 

 

Card Number, Home Town, Marital Status, 

contact Telephone Numbers and Passport-size 

photograph either by post or fax or email or hand- 

 

given below: 

 

Personnel & Omanisation Department 

Saud Bahwan Group 

PO Box 3168, PC 112 

Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman 

Fax : 24578747 

Email : sbgroup@omantel.net.om

From page 1 

HIS Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmood al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers with 

Shaikh Sabah al Ahmed al Jabir al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait in his residence at Al Sakhir Palace. — ONA 

— Pictures by Mohamed al Rashdi 

Major water works in wilayats 

the school years 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 

(RO 1,197,646), additional works for the 

provision of the consultancy services 

for the design and supervision of Hasik/ 

Shuwaimiyah road construction (RO 

344,483) and additional works for the 

supply and installation of hemodialysis 

equipment at different health institutions 

(RO 168,885). 

It also awarded addtionial works for 

MUSCAT — Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre 

for Culture and Science will organise 

on Saturday a ceremony to hand over the 

prize of Sultan Qaboos for Culture, Arts 

and Literature for winners in the first session, 

under the auspices of Sayyid Khalid 

bin Hilal al Busaidy, Minister of the Diwan 

of Royal Court. 

The ceremony, to be held at Inter- 

Continental Hotel, will be attended 

the construction of water supply network 

in the Wilayat of Duqm (RO 125,263). 

The Board also opened bids for a 

number of projects including expansion 

of Athiba South transformer station, 

construction of a transformer station at 

Bait al Falaj in Muscat Governorate, 

construction of a girls school for basic 

education (36 classsrooms) in Waihi al 

Mur in the Wilayat of Bahla in the Dakhiliyah 

Governorate, supply of surgical 

materials for the cardiac catheterisation 

by their Highnesses, ministers, undersecretaries 

and people interested in 

cultural and artistic movement in the 

Sultanate. 

MEDIA MEET: The Sultanate, represented 

by Oman News Agency (ONA), 

will participate in the 40th Conference of 

the Federation of Arab News Agencies 

(FANA) to be held today in Manama. 

The Director-General of Qatar News 

for the Royal Hospital, regular maintenance 

of Sohar Refinery and maintenance 

and operation of Sultan Qaboos 

Sports Complex in Baushar from 

1/1/2013 to 31/12/2014. 

The Board also awarded additional 

works for government departments dealing 

with implementation of vital projects 

and provision of services. 

The meeting of the board was presided 

over by Dr Rasheed bin al Safi al Huraibi, 

Chairman of the Tender Board. — ONA 

Culture, Arts and Culture winners to be honoured 

MUSCAT — Bank Muscat, 

the flagship financial services 

provider in the Sultanate, as 

part of its Jesr al Mustaqbal 

(Bridge to Future) Corporate 

Social Responsibility (CSR) 

initiative, signed two agreements 

with training institutes 

in Dakhiliyah and Dhofar governoartes 

to equip 40 young 

Omanis with the necessary 

skills to develop their careers 

and contribute to national development. 

Upon successful completion 

of the 3-month training 

course, the Omani youth, 

including women, from lowincome 

families, will be employed 

by Lulu Hypermarket 

in its Dakhiliyah and Dhofar 

outlets. 

The training in Dakhiliyah 

will be conducted by Nizwa 

Cultural Institute and in Dhofar 

by Dhofar Institute of 

Technology. The agreements 

were signed by Abdullah al 

Mahrooqi, Regional Manager 

— Dakhiliyah Governorate, 

and Yasir Salim Tabook, Regional 

Manager — Dhofar 

Governorate. 

The trainees will undergo 3 

months training in accounting 

and customer care to become 

proficient as cashiers, counter 

supervisors and customer service 

staff. 

Abdullah al Mahrooqi, said: 

“As part of Bank Muscat’s 

CSR commitment, a compre- 

Agency, President of Fana Ahmed Saad 

al Buainain told Bahrain News Agency 

yesterday that the Conference will discuss 

a number of issues concerning the 

development of Arab news agencies to 

go in their performance in line with the 

development in technology, communications 

and science and the projects that 

will develop the media process in the 

Arab world. — ONA 

3 OMAN 

OMAN DAILY Observer 

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2012 

hensive plan is in place to 

provide vocational training to 

Omani youth, especially from 

low-income segments, to help 

them develop workplace skills. 

The bank attaches importance 

in supporting people with special 

needs. 

The training programme is 

aimed at enabling low-income 

citizens to gain employable 

skills and overcome difficulties 

they face in career development.” 

GCC summit concludes in Manama 

MUSCAT — His Highness 

Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmood al 

Said, Deputy Prime Minister 

for the Council of Ministers, 

returned home yesterday after 

taking part on behalf of 

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos in 

the GCC 33rd Summit Conference, 

which concluded in 

Manama, yesterday. 

HH Sayyid Fahd sent a cable 

of thanks to King Hamad 

From page 1 

The Council expressed its support for 

the Syrian National Coalition of opposition 

established in Doha in November 

this year. 

On the Palestinian issue, the Council 

called for the total withdrawal of Israel 

bin Issa al Khalifa of Bahrain. 

He also sent similar cables to 

senior Bahraini officials in 

which he expressed his honour 

and that of the accompanying 

delegation to lead the 

Sultanate's delegation in the 

GCC Summit Conference on 

behalf of His Majesty Sultan 

Qaboos, wishing them 

success and expressing his 

thanks and that of the accom- 

panying delegation for the 

warm welcome and generous 

hospitality. 

HH Sayyid Fahd was received 

upon his return by 

Shaikh Abdulmalik bin Abdullah 

al Khalili, Minister of 

Justice, Shaikh Saif bin Mohammed 

bin Saif al Shabibi, 

Minister of Housing, Shaikh 

al Fadhl bin Mohammed bin 

Ahmed al Harthy, Secretary- 

from occupied Arab lands in 1967. It 

also expressed its rejection for Israel’s 

policies of settlement and change of the 

demographical features of Palestinian 

territories. 

The GCC Council also hailed the 

success of Palestinians to win the status 

of observer, non-member state at the 

General of the Council of 

Ministers, Shaikh Khalid bin 

Omar bin Said al Marhoon, 

Minister of Civil Service, 

Sayyid Saud bin Hilal bin Hamad 

al Busaidy, Minister of 

State and Governor of Muscat, 

Dr Abdulmunim bin Mansoor 

al Hassani, Minister of Information 

and Charge d'affaires 

of Bahrain to the Sultanate. 

— ONA 

Unified military command approved 

Expedient action sought to unify monetary policies, achieve economic integration 

To set up regulatory food organisation, joint GCC public health centre 

To review media strategy, mechanisms for combating corruption 

Call on Iran to stick to principles of neighbourliness & regional stability 

Support for Syrian National Coalition established in Doha in November 2012 

Emphasis on Israel’s total withdrawal from Arab lands as per 1967 borders 

Kudos for Palestinian UN bid for the status of observer, non-member state 

INTERNATIONAL 

cruise liner Costa 

Atlantica docked at 

the Port of Khasab 

yesterday with 

2,098 tourists on 

board. The tourists 

went on tour of 

Khasab where 

they visited souqs, 

beaches and other 

landmarks. — ONA 

Yasir Salim Tabook said: 

“The youth represent the future 

of Oman and the training 

programme is aimed at 

empowering them to actively 

participate in nation-building. 

Bank Muscat is very sensitive 

to the needs of people and 

keen on enriching their lives. 

The training programme is yet 

another affirmation that Bank 

Muscat is a true partner in supporting 

people with special 

needs. Such programmes help 

in achieving a better future for 

marginalised sections in community.” 

Early this year, Bank Muscat 

launched ‘Jesr al Mustaqbal’ 

youth scholarship 

programme in execution of 

the directive of His Majesty 

Sultan Qaboos to provide 

relevant educational and 

training opportunities to Omani 

youth to develop employable 

skills. 

The comprehensive pro- 

gramme launched as part of 

the Corporate Social Responsibility 

(CSR) aims at offering 

study and vocational training 

sponsorships for young Omanis 

— both male and female 

from low-income and limited 

income families who have 

not been able to complete 

their education for various 

reasons. 

The Corporate Social Responsibility 

(CSR) of Bank 

Muscat is a commitment to 

United Nations. 

In its communiqué, the GCC 

Supreme condemned the oppression and 

brutal cleansing of Rohingya Muslims 

in Mayanmar. It urged the international 

community and civil society institutions 

to shoulder their responsibility in resolving 

this issue immediately. — ONA 

Bank Muscat ‘Jesr al Mustaqbal’ support to train 40 Omani youth 

contribute towards sustainable 

development by working 

closely with local communities 

with the aim of improving living 

standards in a manner that 

serves the national economy 

and development process at 

the same time. 

Equal consideration is accorded 

to environmental, 

social and economic issues 

when pursuing efforts aimed 

at achieving development and 

improving living standards.

Iraq, Bangladesh envoys bid farewell 

4 OMAN 



MUSCAT — On behalf 

of His Majesty Sultan 

Qaboos, His Highness 

Sayyid Asaad bin Tareq 

al Said received separately 

in his office here 

yesterday Muiz Kadhim 

Salman al Nooh, Ambassador 

of Iraq to the 

Sultanate and Nour El 

Dein Shordi, Ambassador 

of Bangladesh 

to the Sultanate to bid 

them farewell at the end 

of their tour of duties as 

their countries ambassadors 

to the Sultanate. 

The ambassadors expressed 

their thanks to 

His Majesty the Sultan 

for the support extended 

to them during their tour 

of duties in the Sultanate 

by His Majesty, the government 

and the Omani 

people, saying that such 

support enabled them to 

carry out their duties. 

They wished His Majesty 

good health, happiness 

and a long life and 

the Sultanate further 

progress and prosperity 

under the wise leadership 

of His Majesty. 

HH Sayyid Asaad 

thanked the ambassadors 

for the efforts they 

exerted in serving relations 

between the Sultanate 

and their countries. 

He wished them 

success and peoples 

of their countries further 

progress and prosperity. 

— ONA

MUSCAT — The 1st Tourism 

Communications Forum, 

organised by the Ministry of 

Tourism kicked off at City 

Seasons Hotel in Khuwair 

yesterday under the auspices 

of Salim bin Mohammed al 

MUSCAT — Dr Ali bin Saud 

al Bimani, Vice-Chancellor 

of Sultan Qaboos University 

(SQU) received yesterday 

Mahrouqi, Under-Secretary of 

the Ministry of Heritage and 

Culture for Heritage Affairs. 

The forum targets tourism 

investors, employees at hotels, 

resorts, hotel apartments; 

recreation centres, restaurants, 

Abdel Adim El Guerrouj, 

Delegate to the Prime Minister 

in Charge of the Civil 

Service and Administrative 

private sector companies, travel 

and tourism agencies, rent-acar 

companies, public relation 

departments at the tourism establishment, 

tourism editors in 

the different media means. 

In a press statement, the 

Modernisation of Morocco 

and his accompanying delegation. 

The two sides discussed 

the potential of the scientific 

and research co-operation in 

the academic, scientific and 

post-graduate fields, in addition 

to the general objectives 

of SQU and its external cooperation. 

The two sides also discussed 

the successful methods 

to link the graduates with the 

labour market and the modern 

usage of technology in the 

field of higher education. 

The meeting was attended 

by Sayyida Dr Muna bint 

Fahd al Said, SQU Assistant 

Vice-Chancellor for External 

Co-operation and Dr Hamad 

bin Sulaiman al Salmi, Assistant 

Vice-Chancellor for the 

Administrative and Financial 

Affairs. — ONA 

MUSCAT — The Public 

Authority for Civil Aviation 

(PACA) held a celebration in 

honour of its employees who 

completed an internal technical 

and administrative onthe-job 

training programmes 

under the auspices of Salim 

bin Nasir al Aufy, Executive 

Chairman of PACA at the 

Civil Aviation Club, yesterday. 

At the end of the ceremony 

the chief guest distributed 

prizes and certificates to the 

219 participants. — ONA 

5 OMAN 



THE Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council held its fourth meeting of the year under the chairmanship of Darwish bin Ismaeel al Balushi, 

Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs, and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council. 

Tourism forum to provide reference work 

Scientific research ties discussed 

PACA honours employees 

Camel race for HM’s cup held in Barka 

BARKA —The 1st qualifier Camel Race for the finals of His Majesty’s Cup was 

organised at the Al Filaij race track in the Wilayat of Barka yesterday. The event is part 

of the Annual Festival for Local Camel Races 2012-2013 organised by the Royal Corps 

at the Royal Court Affairs. The race included 8 rounds in different categories. — ONA 

Under-Secretary said that the 

forum is an important value 

added to all public and private 

organisations as it provides the 

reference framework for the 

sector. 

Talal bin Hamad al Khusaibi, 

Director of the Office 

of the Under-Secretary of 

the Ministry of Tourism and 

Deputy Chairman of the Sub- 

Committee for the Preparations 

for the Events to Celebrate 

Muscat as a Capital of 

Arab Tourism 2012 delivered 

a speech where he pointed 

out that the organisation of 

the forum comes in response 

to the major social and economic 

changes witnessed by 

the media sector and the role 

of communications and public 

relations in such changes. 

Ahmed bin Mohammed al 

Shizawi, CEO of the organ- 

ising company said that the 

theme of the seminar focuses 

on communications and public 

relations concept. 

The forum included a 

number of themes the most 

important of which are the 

concept of tourism communication 

means, crisis management 

from the PR point of 

views and European case studies 

for those with special needs 

tourism. 

It is worth mentioning that 

the expenditure on public relations 

and corporate communications 

increased four to five 

fold in the last few years and 

the growth is expected to hit 

200 per cent during the coming 

years. This points out to 

the important role played by 

public relations and corporate 

communications in most sectors. 

— ONA 

Stress on treated water 

From page 1 

According to him, the conceptual model has been developed 

using geological and hydrogeological data of the plain aquifer 

and the initial conditions for the steady state model were determined 

from average water levels at selected monitoring sites. 

Dr Mahaad made strong point for continuous injection system 

of the treated wastewater in plain aquifer to help create a balance 

in the Salalah aquifer. 

He also laid stress on regular monitoring of the groundwater 

quality and water levels in the Salalah plain aquifer is very 

essential to monitor any indicator of contamination in the aquifer 

of the daily practices of the injection scheme. 

He urged to have better management of groundwater resources 

and said that the groundwater in Salalah catchments 

was declining extensively. 

Nader Sedar of ACWA laid stress on proper management 

of groundwater resources and urged the authorities to raise 

awareness for the larger goal of conservation of water in the 

Arab world. 

Ghali al Mashli, CEO of Salalah Sanitary Drainage Services 

Company, said the SSDC is committed to achieve the goal 

of maximising the use of treated water and making it available 

for usage ranging from agriculture and construction to landscaping. 

Changes in financial regulations 

From page 1 

CMA board earlier approved the system of Guaranteed 

Financing Accounts for companies licensed to do this business, 

which envisages that a broker finances part of the value 

of securities against guarantee of the securities or available 

cash in the Guaranteed Financing Account in accordance with 

regulatory conditions that take into consideration the great importance 

of financial solvency either for traders or brokers in 

regularising the financial facilities provided (by brokers) to the 

clients while trading in stocks, thereby providing protection 

for all stakeholders and contributes to activating transactions 

at Muscat Securities Market. — ONA 

Sea to be rough till Saturday 

MUSCAT — The latest weather maps point out that north 

active winds are expected on the coast of Muscat, North Al 

Batinah, South Al Batinah and South Al Sharqiyah governorates 

from December 27, Thursday to December 29, Saturday. 

The wave is expected to be high over the coasts of these 

governorates, more than 3 metres high at maximum. 

The Public Authority for Civil Aviation advises people not 

to ride the sea on the coasts of the Sea of Oman and the coasts 

of Musandam and South Al Sharqiyah Governorates. 

The expected north active winds may be accompanies with 

low clouds with possible sporadic rain on some governorates 

at the north of the Sultanate. There might be relative decline in 

temperature and horizontal visibility. — ONA 

Majlis Ash’shura chairman 

invited to visit Iran 

MUSCAT — Khalid bin Hilal 

al Maawali, Chairman of 

the Majlis Ash’shura received 

a written message from Dr Ali 

Larijani, Speaker of the Iranian 

Shura Council officially 

inviting Al Maawali to visit 

Iran. 

This came when Al Maawali 

received in his office here 

yesterday Ali Akbar Sibeveih, 

Ambassador of Iran to the Sultanate. 

During the meeting, 

cordial conversations were 

exchanged. 

The meeting reviewed 

the strong bilateral relations 

binding the Sultanate and 

Iran and means of supporting 

and enhancing them in 

various spheres, as well 

as discussing mechanisms 

of promoting the parliamentary 

relations and cooperation 

between the 

two Shura Councils in the 

two friendly countries. 

MUSCAT — Omantel, the pioneer 

integrated telecom services 

provider in the Sultanate, 

has launched a new promotion 

for its Hayyak prepaid service, 

under which customers 

can buy the starter kit for RO 

2 with RO 1 worth of credit 

that can be used for local, international, 

video, MMS and 

mobile Internet. 

Moreover, customers will 

get 200MB of Internet allowance 

which allows users to 

browse the Internet, download 

applications, files and keep in 

touch with friends through social 

media. The offer is valid 

until March 23, 2013. 

Commenting on the offer, 

The meeting also touched on 

matters of common concern. 

The meeting was attended 

by Salim bin Ali al Kaabi and 

Abdullah bin Khalifa al Maga- 

Hamed Salem al Ghassani, 

Manager Promotions at Omantel 

Consumer Unit said: 

“We are delighted to announce 

this offer which gives our customers 

the freedom to use the 

credit for making international 

and local calls, sending MMS 

li, the Deputy Chairmen of the 

Majlis Ash’shura and Shaikh 

Ali bin Nassir al Mahrouqi, 

Secretary-General of the Majlis 

Ash’shura. — ONA 

Omantel’s offer for new subscribers 

or SMS or even use the Internet. 

However, our offer does 

not stop here, as customers 

will also get 200MB of free 

mobile broadband that are 

distributed on the first two 

months; 100MB per month 

from the date of registration. 

With the new offer, the subscriber 

will have flexibility to 

use the free 200 MB for any 

type of data usage.” 

Subscribers of other operator 

may benefit from this 

offer by porting in with their 

current numbers to Omantel 

and benefit from the wide 

range of services provided by 

Omantel.

By Ashraf Padanna 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 

— Police in Kerala who are 

clueless about the murder of a 

man allegedly involved in illegal 

trade in diamonds say he 

was robbed of diamonds worth 

Rs 3 billion (300 crores). 

Police said Harihara Varma, 

58, belonged to the erstwhile 

royal family of Mavelikkara 

and several incriminating documents 

were recovered from 

his house, confirming that he 

was in the business for quite 

sometime now. 

Police suspect the killers to 

be his trade partners. Relatives 

said Harihara Varma, an engineer 

by profession with a PhD 

from London who had worked 

abroad before settling down 

here, said he has been doing 

this business for long. 

Leader of Opposition V 

S Achuthanandan demanded 

a detailed probe by the elite 

Central Bureau of Investigation 

(CBI) saying there could 

be precious stones belonging 

to temples or palaces involved 

in it. 

“It’s suspected that there’s 

a powerful mafia dealing in 

such precious stones and temple 

idols is active in the state 

capital of late,” he said in a 

statement here yesterday. 

Last year, riches believed 

to be worth Rs 1,000 billion 

were unearthed from the secret 

vaults of the city’s famed Sree 

Padmanbhaswamy temple and 

a team of experts are currently 

making their inventory under 

tight security. 

Deepening the mystery and 

rejecting the police report that 

he belonged to the royal family 

and he was trying to sell 

the property that he inherited, 

a senior member of the royal 

family, R P Raja, said he was 

no way related to the royalty 

and no one in the family knew 

such a person. 

“They’re suspected to have 

misused the palace’s name to 

bring some credibility to such 

underground businesses,” said 

Raja, who’s also researching 

on the royal family’s history. 

“No where I chanced up his 

name or his father’s”. 

But Varma’s close relative 

Rajagopal, brother of his wife 

Vimaladevi, a deputy commissioner 

with the Sales Tax Department, 

said he indeed had 

the royal lineage. 

“His father Bhaskara Varma 

fell out with the present 

heirs and that’s why they are 

disowning him now,” said 

Rajagopal. “He’s a diamond 

trader who’s in the business 

for many years”. 

The autopsy report said 

high dose of chloroform found 

in his body and suffocation led 

6 INDIA 



GOVERNOR Urmila Singh administers the oath of office and secrecy to Virbhadra Singh, who sworn as chief minister, in Shimla yesterday. 

Yet another year of turbulence for aviation 

NEW DELHI — Civil aviation 

in India hit further turbulence 

in 2012 as the stubbornly 

high jet fuel prices, interest 

costs and strikes troubled the 

financially-stretched industry. 

The grounding of Kingfisher 

Airlines exemplified matters. 

Civil Aviation Minister 

Ajit Singh’s efforts to pull the 

industry out of the crisis and 

allow foreign airlines to pick 

stakes in Indian carriers also 

proved too little too late as taxes 

on fuel, airport charges and 

an economic slowdown made 

the measure ineffective. 

The slew of government reforms 

such as a “turnaround” 

package for Air India, allowing 

domestic carriers to directly 

import fuel, renegotiations 

on bilateral air rights and the 

permission to foreign airline 

could not stabilise the situation. 

“Overall, 2012 has been 

a mixed bag with long-term 

reforms and mediumterm 

pain,” said Amber Dubey, 

partner and head-aviation at 

global consultancy KPMG. 

“Yet, for India, with an air 

travel penetration of just 48 

trips per 1,000 population, 

steadily growing economy 

and rising aspirations, the long 

term outlook remains positive,” 

Dubey said. 

According to him, further 

growth will take place provided 

radical reforms are undertaken 

in areas like sales tax 

on jet fuel, promotion of tier- 

II and III airports and timebound 

implementation of airport 

projects in Navi Mumbai, 

Goa and Agra. 

Yet, as the year draws to an 

end, there is some glimmer of 

hope for the beleaguered Jet 

Airways and Kingfisher -- they 

are in the process of attracting 

some capital infusion from a 

Middle East-based airline. 

But the events that hogged 

headlines were the strikes 

in Kingfisher Airlines and 

the state-run Air India that 

left thousands of passengers 

stranded across the country. 

Kingfisher faced many flash 

strikes and the last one led the 

Director General of Civil Aviation, 

the sector’s regulator, 

to move towards suspension 

of its licence, till such time as 

the Vijay Mallya-led carrier 

comes out with a credible plan 

to restart operation. 

Anxious employees, lenders 

and other vendors, whom 

the company owes millions 

PEOPLE light candles as they attend a mass in Amritsar yesterday. — AFP 

of dollars in dues, waited for 

a restart of the airline with 

help from a foreign airline. 

The state-run carrier, on other 

hand, was reeling due to mistakes 

committed in the past. 

Integration problems between 

Air India and erstwhile 

Indian Airlines employees 

erupted, with a section of pilots 

staging the second longest strike 

in the history of the airline over 

the absolute right to operate the 

company’s newly acquired 787 

Dreamliner aircraft. 

The situation stabilised 

later with the intervention of 

the government and court. 

The airline finished November 

with the second largest domestic 

market share of 20.7 percent. 

It has also been paying 

employees and banks on time. 

Passenger traffic in the year 

Police clueless on murder over diamonds 

to his death. Jahangeer, the taxi 

driver who dropped the threemember 

gang of suspected 

killers at the airport on Monday 

evening, told the police 

that they hired the cab in the 

afternoon from Vattiyoorkavu 

taxi stand. 

The special investigation 

team headed by Assistant Commissioner 

of Police Vimaladitya 

Putta has started search for 

the suspects into Tamil Nadu 

as they purchased tickets for 

travelling to TirunelveIi in the 

neighbouring state. 

Police have recovered a 

gloves and chloroform bottle 

from the roadside at Valanjambalam. 

They are also tracking 

the mobile phone calls to find 

out their location. 

Varma was found dead 

at the house of Haridas, an 

advocate, at Puthoorkonam 

near Vattiyoorkavu on the 

city suburbs. Haridas, who is 

under review dipped year-onyear 

to 2.94 per cent between 

January-November when compared 

to the corresponding 

period of 2011. Indian carriers 

flew 55 million domestic passengers 

between January and 

November against 46.8 million 

in the like period of last year. 

“The decrease in passenger 

traffic is primarily due to the 

decrease in capacity, as Kingfisher 

withdrew its services,” 

said Sharan Lillaney, sectoral 

analyst for Angel Brokings. 

“The growth in passenger 

traffic will be high when 2013 

results (traffic) will be compared 

to 2012, as other airlines 

like IndiGo and SpiceJet increase 

capacity. Indian aviation 

is at an infliction point and 

there is going to be an exponential 

growth.” — IANS 

Hotel staff 

attacked, one 

killed 

KOLKATA — Enraged at 

the delay in serving food at a 

hotel in West Bengal’s West 

Midnapore district, a group 

of tourists from Odisha attacked 

the hotel staff, killing 

one them and injuring four 

others. 35 people have been 

arrested, police said yesterday. 

“A bus of tourists from 

Odisha, who had come on a 

picnic in Belda, attacked the 

hotel staff following a heated 

argument late on Monday 

night. Anil Kar was killed in 

the fight while three others 

have been hospitalised with 

serious injuries,” said an officer 

of Belda police station. 

“We have arrested 35 

people from the picnic party. 

The body of the victim has 

been sent for post-mortem,” 

said the officer. 

The incident happened 

at Belda, which is some 160 

km from Kolkata. 

said to have survived the attack, 

told police that Varma 

wanted to sell the precious 

stones that he inherited from 

his family and he acted as an 

intermediary. 

Three persons, two of them 

identified as Permraj and Yogesh 

and the other spoke who 

Kannada, came down from 

Chennai posing as buyers. 

They attacked them during the 

course of negotiations with 

chloroform and when he regained 

consciousness he found 

Varma dead and others gone 

with precious stones. 

The house is owned by 

Haridas’s daughter, who is living 

abroad, and there was no 

one living there. 

Investigators were not buying 

Haridas’s story completely. 

It was one of Haridas’s friends 

who introduced the trio, who 

flew down from Chennai, to 

them. 

Virbhadra begins sixth 

term as Himachal CM 

SHIMLA — With more than 

20,000 supporters cheering 

him on, Congress veteran 

Virbhadra Singh was sworn 

in yesterday as Himachal 

Pradesh Chief Minister for a 

record sixth term. Nine cabinet 

ministers were also sworn 

in. 

Governor Urmila Singh 

administered the oath of office 

and secrecy to Virbhadra 

Singh, 78, who has been chief 

minister of the hill state for 

more than 16 years, at the 

Ridge. 

Virbhadra Singh, who had 

been chief minister in 1983, 

1985, 1993, 1998 and 2003, 

took the oath in Hindi. 

The others who took oath 

were eight-time legislators 

Vidya Stokes and Kaul Singh, 

four-time legislator G S Bali, 

six-time legislator Sujan Singh 

Pathania, five-time legislator 

Thakur Singh Bharmouri, 

three-time legislator Mukesh 

Agnihotri, three-time legislator 

Sudhir Sharma, three-time 

legislator Parkash Chaudhary 

and one-time legislator Dhani 

Ram Shandil, who is also a 

CHENNAI — Tamil Nadu 

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa 

yesterday demanded Prime 

Minister Manmohan Singh allot 

2,830 MW power produced 

by central generating stations 

in the state. 

In a letter to the prime minister, 

the text of which was released 

to the media here Jayalalithaa 

justified her demand 

by citing the rejection of her 

request for additional power 

on the grounds of transmission 

constraints. 

“Therefore, it stands to 

reason that at least, the entire 

power generated by central 

generating stations in 

Tamil Nadu by the Neyveli 

Lignite Corporation, the Ma- 

RAIPUR — A CRPF trooper 

said to be mentally disturbed 

shot dead four sleeping colleagues 

and critically wounded 

another in Dantewada 

district in Chhattisgarh early 

yesterday, police said. 

The incident occurred 

shortly after midnight at a 

Central Reserve Police Force 

(CRPF) camp of 111 battalion 

in Aranpur village, some 

60 km from Dantewada town 

and 440 km from the state 

capital Raipur. 

The killer, Deep Kumar 

Tiwari, has been arrested, 

District Superintendent of 

Police Narendra Khare said 

on telephone. 

Tiwari was mentally disturbed 

and he opened fire on 

five of his colleagues without 

any reason, Khare said. 

Inspector General of Police 

Himanshu Gupta said 

police were interrogating Tiwari. 

“The accused, who belongs 

Congress Working Committee 

member. 

The chief minister told reporters 

later that two vacancies 

in the cabinet would be 

filled shortly and the portfolios 

would be allocated in a day 

or two. “I will soon resign as 

the state party chief.” 

Virbhadra Singh is a member 

of the Lok Sabha, which 

he will now quit. 

The Congress last week 

won a majority with 36 seats 

in the 68-member assembly. 

The new faces in the cabinet 

are Agnihotri, Sharma, 

Bharmouri, who is from the 

tribal belt, and two-time Lok 

Sabha member Shandil, a 

Dalit. 

Virbhadra Singh has kept 

Congress secretary and legislator 

Asha Kumari, believed 

to be his strong critic, out of 

the cabinet. 

The former state education 

minister, Kumari is accused of 

grabbing government forest 

land worth crores of rupees 

by tampering with revenue 

records. 

Outgoing BJP Chief Min- 

dras Atomic Power Station 

at Kalpakkam and the joint 

venture unit between NTPC 

and Tamil Nadu Generation 

and Distribution Corporation 

Ltd (TANGEDCO), commissioned 

recently at Vallur near 

Chennai, totalling 2,830 MW 

is allocated to Tamil Nadu 

where there are no transmission 

constraints.” 

She said the allocation 

shall be an interim arrangement 

to meet the huge power 

deficit and to alleviate the 

severe hardship faced by the 

people of Tamil Nadu, till all 

the new power projects under 

construction in Tamil Nadu 

are fully commissioned. 

Jayalalithaa also urged 

CRPF trooper kills 

four colleagues 

to Uttar Pradesh, is not giving 

much details but it seems he 

had some altercation with a 

colleague hours before the incident,” 

Gupta said. 

“Tiwari chose to open fire 

when his colleagues were 

asleep. 

The dead men were identified 

as Chandan Singh of 

Gujarat, Ramesh (Haryana), 

Purshottam (Chhattisgarh) 

and Aniruddha Singh of Uttar 

Pradesh. 

Three of them died instantly 

while the fourth succumbed 

to his injuries on his 

way to hospital. 

The injured trooper, Sunil 

Sawant of Maharashtra, was 

in “extremely critical” condition, 

the officer said. He had 

been shifted to a hospital in 

Jagdalpur town. 

Aranpur village lies in a 

thickly forested area and is 

part of a region dominated by 

the outlawed Communist Party 

of India-Maoist. — IANS 

ister Prem Kumar Dhumal 

and his erstwhile cabinet colleagues 

were conspicuously 

absent from the ceremony. 

There was also no minister 

from the Congress-led central 

government at the event. 

The new cabinet has three 

ministers from Kangra, the 

largest district with 15 assembly 

seats, two from Shimla 

district, two from Mandi and 

one each from Chamba, Una 

and Solan districts. 

After the oath-taking ceremony, 

the chief minister administered 

the oath of office 

and secrecy in the state secretariat 

to three young legislators 

as chief parliamentary 

secretaries. They are Neeraj 

Bharti, Rajesh Dharmani and 

Vinay Kumar. 

Virbhadra Singh took oath 

at 10.40 am as the state’s 13th 

chief minister. He first assumed 

office April 8, 1983, 

replacing Thakur Ram Lal. 

Belonging to the erstwhile 

princely state of Rampur 

Bushahr, Virbhadra Singh 

entered politics at the age of 

28. — IANS 

Jaya demands all power 

from central units in state 

CHANDIGARH — The 

Congress yesterday demanded 

immediate action 

against a Ludhiana-based 

leader of the Punjab's ruling 

Shiromani Akali Dal 

who allegedly assaulted a 

senior police officer at a 

night club in Ludhiana. 

The officer, S S Mand, an 

assistant inspector general 

(AIG), was admitted to the 

DMC hospital in Ludhiana, 

110 km from here, with serious 

injuries. Doctors at 

the hospital said that Mand 

underwent surgery in the 

leg due to injuries. 

In a statement, Congress 

leaders said that the attack 

by a youth Akali Dal leader 

on Mand has exposed the 

functioning of the Akali 

Dal and its youth wing and 

demanded strict action 

against the culprits to save 

the police force from getting 

demoralised. 

The statement issued 

by Congress legislators Lal 

Singh, Brahm Mohindra, 

Parminder Singh, Sadhu 

Singh Dharamsot, Navtej 

Singh Cheema and Amarinder 

Singh Raja Warring, 

said the "latest case 

had further reinforced the 

perception in public mind 

that nobody was safe in 

Punjab and the situation 

rebutted claims made by 

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir 

Singh Badal in the 

assembly." 

They claimed that the 

Akali Dal leader involved 

Manmohan Singh to allocate 

the entire 2,000 MW power 

to be generated from the Kudankulam 

Nuclear Power 

Project coming up in Tirunelveli 

district to the state. 

She cited the allocation of 

entire 1,000 MW generated by 

the National Thermal Power 

Corporation’s (NTPC) unit at 

Simhadri in Andhra Pradesh to 

that state and urged the prime 

minister to apply the same 

yardstick to allocate power to 

be generated by KNPP. 

Jayalalithaa had earlier 

written to Manmohan Singh requesting 

an allocation of 1,000 

MW from the central pool to 

the state. The centre allocted 

only 100 MW. — IANS 

Rajasthani 

fair starts in 

Kolkata 

KOLKATA — With camel 

rides on artificially-developed 

sand dunes, folk music 

and dance, traditional food, a 

children’s carnival and a host 

of other attractions, a eightday 

Rajasthani Mela ‘Aapno 

Gaaon’ is set to enthrall revellers 

here till December 31. 

‘Aapno Gaaon’, inaugurated 

on December 24, aims 

to bring the Rajasthani culture 

to the fore and connect 

the youth to their heritage. 

“The youngsters are more 

into partying these days. This 

has been a cause of concern 

among us and it resulted in 

the formation of a unique 

idea called “Aapno Gaaon” 

(which means our own village) 

where everyone can 

come together and bask in 

the festivities which celebrate 

our rich culture and tradition,” 

said Pradeep Agarwal, 

convener of Salt Lake Lok 

Sanskriti, the organisers. 

Congs demands action against 

Akali leader who attacked cop 

in the assault on the police 

officer had close links with 

Punjab's Revenue Minister 

and Youth Akali Dal 

president Bikram Singh 

Majithia. 

Police officials said that 

a case of attempt to murder 

and under the Arms Act 

had been registered against 

three people, including the 

Akali Dal leader, identified 

as Sunny. 

Police sources said that 

Mand, who had gone to the 

night club with friends on 

Monday evening, was involved 

in an altercation with 

some people. During this, 

the club owner, Sunny, also 

reached the spot with his accomplices 

and allegedly assaulted 

Mand. — IANS

NEW DELHI — A constable 

brutally attacked during 

gang-rape protests here succumbed 

to his injuries yesterday, 

shattering his family and 

colleagues, even as the young 

abuse victim battled for life 

for the ninth straight day. 

Policeman Subhash Chand 

Tomar’s death was also marred 

by an unprecedented public 

spat between Delhi Chief 

Minister Sheila Dikshit and 

Delhi Police over the abuse 

victim’s statement given to a 

magistrate. 

Tomar, 47, viciously attacked 

by a mob near India 

Gate on Sunday after the 

protests turned violent, succumbed 

to his injuries in a 

hospital early yesterday. He 

was cremated with full state 

honours. 

Additional Commissioner 

of Police V V Chaudhary said 

that Tomar was an “exception- 

ally sincere and hard working” 

policeman who had earned 77 

commendations since joining 

Delhi Police in 1987. 

The anguished family 

blamed protesters for Tomar’s 

killing. 

“The public is responsible 

for my father’s death. He 

was brutally beaten up by 

people. Can they return my 

father back?” asked a wailing 

Deepak, his 22-year-old son 

who lit the funeral pyre with 

his brother. 

Eight people were on Sunday 

night arrested for the attack 

on Tomar but got bail the 

next day, Joint Commissioner 

of Police Taj Hassan said. 

They will now be booked for 

murder. 

At Sardarjung Hospital, 

doctors said the young woman 

who was abused by six males 

in a moving bus on December 

16 night was still not out of 

danger. 

“Her condition is still critical. 

She is on partial ventilator 

support, but better compared 

to (Monday) as her internal 

bleeding has significantly reduced,” 

doctor P K Verma told 

reporters. 

“She is psychologically 

stable, and her fighting spirit 

is on. She is hopeful of a good 

future and needs emotional 

strength,” psychiatrist R Rastogi 

said. 

The anti-abuse protests 

yesterday were a pale shadow 

of what was seen over the past 

three days when thousands 

took to the streets. 

The anger over the assault 

triggered massive violence on 

Sunday. 

Yesterday, 100 to 300 mainly 

young protesters chanted 

slogans near the Jantar Mantar 

monument in the heart of the 

capital demanding justice to 

7 INDIA 



Injured cop dies, abuse victim critical, CM battles police 

UNIDENTIFIED women console the wife of Subhash Tomar, a policeman, during his funeral in New Delhi yesterday. Right: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit attends the funeral of Tomar in New Delhi yesterday. — Reuters/AFP 

the victim. Some wanted the 

culprits to be hanged. 

Parts of the city centre 

including India Gate area — 

which violence erupted on 

Sunday — remained sealed 

off. Delhi Metro kept nine stations 

shut until evening when 

five were reopened. 

The five included Rajiv 

Chowk, the busiest on the network 

with a daily footfall of 

five lakh commuters. Central 

Secretariat, Udyog Bhavan, 

Patel Chowk and Race Course 

Road stations remain closed. 

Even as police raced against 

time to file a chargesheet in 

the abuse case, Chief Minister 

Dikshit and Delhi Police were 

locked in a public spat. 

Dikshit sought a “highlevel 

independent inquiry” 

against senior police officers 

for “interfering” while the 

statement of the abuse victim 

was being recorded. 

DEMONSTRATORS participate in a protest calling for better safety for women, in New Delhi yesterday. — AFP 

CHENNAI — The Indian 

Space Research Organisation 

(Isro) scored a century of 

launches in 2012 by putting 

into orbit four satellites, including 

the heaviest one built 

by it till date, entered a select 

group of nations that can build 

and launch radar imaging satellites 

(Risat) and held an international 

space summit in an 

impressive achievement for 

the internationally acclaimed 

space industry. 

The year began for Isro 

with the launch of a new 

mission control centre at its 

rocket port in Sriharikota in 

Andhra Pradesh around 80 

km from here. 

However, February saw 

the government banning 

four former Isro officials, including 

former chairman G 

Madhavan Nair, from occupying 

official posts for their 

alleged role in the cancelled 

$300 million spectrum deal 

between Antrix Corporation 

(Isro’s commercial arm) and 

the Bangalore-based Devas 

Multimedia Ltd. 

The other indicted officials 

are A Bhaskaranarayana, a 

former scientific secretary 

at Isro; K R Sridharamurthi, 

former executive director of 

Antrix; and K N Shankara, 

former director of the Isro satellite 

centre. 

A five-member team probing 

the Antrix-Devas deal indicted 

the four people for the 

controversial contract while 

the latter rapped the Indian 

space agency for not putting 

all the facts in the pubic domain. 

The Kerala High Court 

ordered payment of compensation 

to former Isro scientist 

S Nambi Narayanan, who was 

framed in a false espionage 

case and later cleared of the 

charges by the apex court in 

1996. 

In end-April, Isro’s rocket - 

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle 

C19 (PSLV-C19) — launched 

the Risat-1 satellite used for 

disaster prediction and agriculture 

forestry. The high 

resolution pictures and microwave 

imaging from Risat-1 

could also be used for defence 

purposes as it can look 

through the clouds and fog. 

With this launch, India 

joins a select group of nations 

like the US and Canada, as 

also some European countries, 

that have such advanced 

remote sensing satellite technology. 

“It was a 30-year effort,” 

said Isro Chairman K 

Radhakrishnan. 

In July over 2,500 scientists 

from 75 countries descended 

on Mysore, the city 

of palaces in Karnataka, for a 

week-long international space 

summit held in India for the 

second time after 33 years. 

In September Isro marked 

its 100th space mission while 

successfully launching into 

orbit two foreign satellites — 

SPOT 6, a French earth observation 

satellite weighing 712 

kg, and a 15-kg micro satellite 

Proiteres from Japan. 

The month also saw Isro 

sending up the country’s 

heaviest communication satellite 

— the GSAT-10 — by an 

Ariane-5 rocket from Kourou 

in French Guiana to augment 

telecommunicaitons, directto-home 

broadcasting and 

civil aviation needs. 

GSAT-10 with 30 communication 

transponders — automatic 

receivers and transmitters 

for communication 

and broadcast of signals — 

added to Isro’s existing own 

transponder capacity of 168. 

Isro has also taken on lease 

94 transponders from foreign 

satellites. 

GSAT-10 also carries a 

‘Gagan’ navigation payload 

to provide improved accuracy 

of global positioning satellite 

(GPS) signals for the Airports 

Authority of India for civil 

aviation needs. 

This is the second satellite 

in the INSAT/GSAT constellation 

with the Gagan payload 

after GSAT-8, launched in 

May 2011, Isro said. 

Though Isro had said there 

will be a couple of rocket 

launches from Sriharikota before 

the end of this year, this 

did not come about. 

Meanwhile, the government 

told parliament earlier 

this month that Isro is planning 

to accomplish 10 space 

missions in 2013, with eight 

planned by September and the 

A Sub-Divisional Magistrate 

(SDM) had recorded the 

statement of the 23-year-old 

woman at Safdarjung Hospital 

here. 

Delhi Police denied the allegation, 

blaming the SDM for 

being callous while recording 

the statement. 

A fresh statement of the 

victim was recorded yesterday 

by a judicial magistrate. 

Details of the statement have 

not been revealed. 

The chief minister made 

the appeal to Home Minister 

Sushilkumar Shinde, to whose 

ministry Delhi Police reports. 

In her letter, Dikshit cited 

a complaint from SDM Usha 

Chaturvedi, who had recorded 

the woman’s statement at the 

Safdarjung Hospital earlier. 

Chaturvedi’s complaint 

was forwarded to Dikshit by 

Deputy Commissioner of Police 

(East) B M Mishra. 

Congress core 

group meets 

over situation 

NEW DELHI — The Congress 

core group yesterday 

took stock of the political 

situation in Delhi, especially 

angry protests by youth protesting 

the abuse of a 23year-old 

woman. 

The core group reviewed 

the widespread public anger 

against the ghastly crime and 

the handling of the protests 

by police and felt that peace 

must be established first so 

that quick justice can be delivered 

to the victim. 

The meeting, held at Prime 

Minister Manmohan Singh’s 

official residence here, was 

attended by Congress president 

Sonia Gandhi, Defence 

Minister A K Antony, Finance 

Minister P Chidambaram and 

Gandhi’s political secretary 

Ahmed Patel. — IANS 

Satellite highs, suspension lows for space sector 

remaining two by the yearend. 

The missions are three polar 

satellite launch vehicles, 

one geosynchronous satellite 

launch vehicle, two communication 

satellites, one earth 

observation (ocean) satellite, 

one meteorological satellite, 

one navigation satellite and a 

Mars orbiter. 

According to Isro Chairman 

Radhakrishnan, India’s 

tryst with Mars will begin 

next November. 

The launch is scheduled 

for November 27, 2013, when 

the red planet will be closer to 

the earth so that the spacecraft 

could be injected into its elliptical 

orbit. 

The Mars mission budget 

is at around Rs 470 crore to 

demonstrate India’s capability 

to send a spacecraft 55 million 

kilometres away from earth. 

It is reliably learnt that Isro 

will send up its geosynchronous 

satellite launch vehicle 

(GSLV) rocket fitted with 

indigenous cryogenic engine 

some time in mid-2013. 

— IANS 

Without naming anyone, 

Mishra said Chaturvedi faced 

“interference” from assistant 

commissioners of police of 

Defence Colony and Vasant 

Vihar police stations and deputy 

commissioners of South 

Delhi while recording the victim’s 

statement. 

Chaturvedi alleged she 

was provided a questionnaire 

by Delhi Police and the officers 

tried to pressure her to 

record the statement according 

to them. 

Police also allegedly put 

pressure on her not to videograph 

the victim’s statement. 

Delhi Police Commissioner 

Neeraj Kumar however denied 

the charge and said the SDM, 

when initially approached for 

recording the statement, said 

she was “busy” and could 

come only by 6 pm. 

“Later, she said there was 

pressure on her so she would 

NEW DELHI — Delhi Police 

blocked roads in central Delhi 

for the third day as hundreds 

of protesters gathered at Jantar 

Mantar demanding justice for 

the 23-year-old abuse victim 

who is battling for life. Five of 

the nine Delhi Metro stations 

that were closed Sunday were 

opened yesterday evening. 

Delhi Metro shut the nine 

stations on the request of Delhi 

Police who wanted to prevent 

people protesting against 

the brutal abuse from reaching 

the city centre. 

“Five stations — Pragati 

Maidan, Mandi House, Rajiv 

Chowk, Barakhamba Road 

and Khan Market — have 

been opened since 5 pm. Four 

stations — Central Secretariat, 

Patel Chowk, Udyog Bhawan, 

and Race Course — remain 

closed,” a Metro official said. 

A day after the clash between 

protesters and police at 

come at 5 pm. She came to 

Delhi Police headquarters, 

from where she was escorted 

(to the hospital) by ACP Vasant 

Vihar,” he said. 

“She demanded a briefing 

on the incident, which was 

provided,” Kumar said. 

The police commissioner 

said this was the third incident 

of strife between Chaturvedi 

and Delhi Police. 

Earlier, there was friction 

over recording statements in 

the Khora colony riot of September 

2, 2012, and in the 

Karkardooma banquet hall 

fire incident. 

“If the situation was not 

suitable for recording the 

statement, she should not have 

recorded it,” Kumar said. 

“She made no complaint 

to us. Then all of a sudden, 

we were told a complaint was 

filed and a copy of the complaint 

was given to the media. 

India Gate in the heart of the 

capital, Delhi Police on Monday 

told protesters to go to 

Jantar Mantar. 

The protest at India Gate 

and Rajpath on Saturday 

turned violent, with police using 

water cannons and tear gas 

shells to disperse to crowd. 

“We were holding a peace 

protest which was joined by 

some outsiders that led to violence,” 

said Puneet Gupta at 

Jantar Mantar. 

“It is sad that a constable 

who was injured in the protest 

is no more, but many of us 

were also severely injured in 

police action,” Gupta said. 

“Police were carrying batons 

and were wearing helmets. 

We are not responsible 

for his death,” said a 28-yearold 

Renu Nayek. 

Tomar’s anguished family 

blamed the violent protesters 

for his death. The protest left 

It can affect the investigation,” 

he said. 

The commissioner also refuted 

allegations that police 

was against videographing the 

victim’s statement. 

“The victim’s family gave 

in writing that they did not 

want it to be videographed,” 

he said. 

Delhi Police spokesperson 

Rajan Bhagat had earlier demanded 

a probe into the leakage 

of the letter. 

“We want to ask how a top 

secret letter reached the media. 

There should be a probe where 

it was leaked from. There was 

no advice or pressure from our 

side (to the magistrate). The 

SDM recorded the statement 

and any kind of allegation is 

totally wrong,” Bhagat said. 

He said none of the police 

officers were present when 

the statement was recorded. 

— IANS 

Protest against abuse continues 

77 policemen and 65 demonstrators 

injured. 

Meanwhile, eight women 

were picked up by Delhi Police 

yesterday at Jantar Mantar 

for allegedly provoking other 

protesters to march towards 

Rashtrapati Bhavan, police 

said. 

“They were taken to Parliament 

Street police station 

at 4.30 pm as they were trying 

to provoke people protesting 

at Jantar Mantar to march towards 

Rashtrapati Bhavan,” a 

police officer said. 

“It was just a preventive 

action,” the official said, denying 

that they were detained. 

They were later let off. 

However, a court here yesterday 

sent to 12 days judicial 

custody one of the December 

16 abuse accused who had 

been identified by victim’s 

male friend during an identification 

parade. — IANS 

POLICEMEN stand guard on a road to stop demonstrators from moving 

towards the India Gate in New Delhi yesterday. — Reuters

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s 

former prime minister Yusuf 

Raza Gilani has decided to file 

an appeal against his disqualification 

by the Supreme Court 

from contesting elections for 

the next five years. 

A close aide to the former 

premier said yesterday that 

Gilani took the decision after 

consultations with his lawyers 

who have reviewed all legal 

aspects of the matter. 

“Gilani sahib’s decision to 

file an appeal came with the 

consent of Pakistan Peoples 

Party’s (PPP) top leadership,” 

he said. “President Asif Ali 

Zardari wants active participation 

from Gilani in the next 

general elections — particularly 

in South Punjab,” the 

ISLAMABAD — As gas scarcity 

spins out of control, Pakistani 

government has decided 

in principle to open up the 

transmission and distribution 

system to private sector and 

change pricing mechanism. 

The government is working 

on changes to the Oil and 

Gas Regulatory Authority 

(Ogra) Ordinance and related 

rules, an official said yesterday. 

All the official stakeholders, 

including the ministry of 

petroleum, gas companies and 

Ogra, have been asked to submit 

proposals by January 4. 

The decision was taken at 

a meeting presided over by 

the Prime Minister’s Adviser 

on Petroleum and Natural 

Resources, Dr Asim Hussain, 

aide added. 

Faisal Chaudhry, counsel 

for Gilani, was of the view 

that his client’s position has 

already been vindicated by 

the apex court in the letter dispatched 

to Swiss authorities 

months back. “I’m waiting for 

his nod to file a review in the 

apex court against its June 19 

judgment.” 

The review will be filed 

on several grounds, Chaudhry 

said. Together with the top 

party leadership, Gilani will 

discuss all issues in detail during 

PPP’s Central Executive 

Committee meeting to be held 

at Garhi Khuda Bux tomorrow, 

added his close aide. 

“Every citizen of Pakistan, 

even if he/she is convicted of 

and attended by heads of all 

gas companies, Ogra and other 

stakeholders last weekend. 

The plan will be submitted 

to the federal cabinet after 

working out the legal and operational 

modalities. 

The government plans to 

create a number of ‘cost centres’ 

in the Sui Northern Gas 

Pipelines (SNGPL) and Sui 

Southern Gas Company (SS- 

GCL) to segregate transmission 

system from distribution 

system. The centres will be 

separately dealt with for calculation 

of unaccounted-for 

gas (UFG) losses and provide 

various distribution segments 

to private companies. 

The Ogra Ordinance and 

rules were being reviewed 

8 

THE PHILIPPINES/SUBCONTINENT 


any offence, is legally entitled 

to file a review against the 

judgment of any court,” said 

apex court lawyer Ali Zaffar. 

He, however, explained 

that legally the review must be 

filed within 30 days of the verdict. 

In Gilani’s case, he said, 

although the period of 30 days 

had expired, it was now solely 

the apex court’s prerogative to 

accept his review plea. 

Zaffar said the former premier 

was available in Pakistan 

and could have filed the review 

in time unless there was 

a legitimate and legal reason 

for the delay. 

“But the review petition 

would most likely be dismissed 

(because of the) delay,” 

he observed. — Internews 

for making amendments enabling 

the government to have 

quarterly and monthly review 

of prices for imported gases 

to overcome shortage, a letter 

written by Dr Asim to the 

stakeholders said. 

An official explained that 

the current gas pricing mechanism 

took into account domestic 

gas production only, while 

rates for imported gas, particularly 

liquefied natural gas 

(LNG), needed to be adjusted 

quite often in view of the prices 

in international market. 

The rules and laws will be 

changed to enable the regulator 

to pass on the impact of 

changing international LNG 

prices to consumers at shorter 

intervals. — Internews 


PAKISTANI Christians offer prayers during a Christmas mass at Saint Antony’s Church in Lahore yesterday. — AFP 

Gilani to appeal against SC 

disqualification verdict 

Private sector role for gas 

distribution proposed 

PAKISTANI cadets march during a ceremony on the 136th birth anniversary of 

Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah at his mausoleum in Karachi yesterday. 

Special ceremonies were held at the mausoleum in the port city and other parts of the 

country to celebrate the 136th birth anniversary of Jinnah. — AFP 

Wanted Communist 

activist arrested 

MANILA — A top Philippine 

communist rebel with a 

$128,000 bounty on his head 

was arrested yesterday, the 

military said. 

The arrest of Filemon 

Mendrez, the country’s 

sixth most-wanted man, 

comes amid a Christmas 

ceasefire and as the government 

and rebels are engaged 

in high-level peace 

talks aimed at ending one of 

Asia’s longest-running insurgencies. 

Mendrez, a key New People’s 

Army rebel leader, will 

be held without bail and is 

due to stand trial, an army 

statement said, but details 

on the criminal cases against 

him were not disclosed. 

The interior ministry had 

placed a 5.25 million peso 

($128,000) bounty on his 

head, it added. 

Major General Jose Mabanta, 

the army chief of 

the central Philippines, described 

the arrest as a “law 

enforcement” action that 

had no bearing on the peace 

negotiations and the Christmas 

truce, which began last 

week. 

“Law enforcement operations 

shall continue even as 

we observe a suspension of 

offensive military operations 

and ceasefire. 

“This is part of (the army’s 

job) of protecting communities, 

government and private 

establishments,” he added. 

Tropical storm Wukong 

set to bring rain, misery 

MANILA — The Philippines 

yesterday braced for a storm 

as almost 1 million people 

were recovering from a powerful 

typhoon that hit the south 

this month. 

Tropical Storm Wukong, 

packing maximum winds of 

65 kilometres per hour and 

gusts of up to 80 kph, was expected 

to hit the central Philippines 

toay. Storm signals were 

up over 17 central, eastern and 

southern provinces, the weather 

bureau said. 

The eye of the storm was 

expected to hit land on Samar 

island before dawn today, 

bringing “heavy to intense” 

rain over a 350-kilometre- 

wide front, the state weather 

service said. 

These areas should expect 

potential landslides and floods, 

and local officials may have to 

order evacuations, said civil 

defence chief Benito Ramos. 

He said the outer bands 

of the storm would affect areas 

of the south devastated by 

Typhoon Bopha earlier this 

month. 

“This will cause flash 

floods and landslides. Our 

people still have time to evacuate, 

but we give the local 

government units the discretion 

to make the call,” he told 

reporters. 

No evacuations have been 

reported so far. 

Wukong comes two weeks 

after Typhoon Bopha triggered 

massive flooding and landslides 

in the southern region of 

Mindanao, killing 1,067 people 

and affecting 6.2 million 

people. 

Latest Afghan police 

attacker identified 

KABUL — The female Afghan 

police officer who shot 

dead a Nato adviser in Kabul 

is an Iranian national, officials 

said yesterday. 

On Monday an Afghan 

police officer opened fire on 

a Nato civilian adviser inside 

police headquarters, killing 

the adviser who sources said 

was American. 

It was the first “insider” 

attack by a woman in a series 

of such attacks, which 

have seriously undermined 

trust between Nato forces and 

their Afghan allies in the fight 

against Taliban insurgents. 

The officer, named only as 

Nargis, was later arrested and 

prosecuted by the police. 

“Our investigation shows 

that Nargis is an Iranian national. 

After her marriage 

with an Afghan she managed 

to obtain an Afghan ID,” interior 

ministry spokesman 

Sediq Seddiqi told reporters. 

“Our understanding from 

the past 24-hours investigation 

is that she is not associated 

with any opposition 

groups,” he said. 

Mohammad Zaher, head 

of the criminal investigation 

department of Kabul, said 

Nargis had married an Afghan 

man 10 years ago and joined 

the police five years later. 

“In her confession she has 

said that she was tired of life 

and wanted to kill either the 

governor, the CID chief or the 

police chief,” Zaher said. 

“But after she failed to get 

into the police HQ, she shot a 

foreign national she saw near 

the canteen,” he said. 

Nato is aiming to train 

350,000 Afghan soldiers and 

police by the end of 2014 as it 

transfers all security responsibilities 

to President Hamid 

Karzai’s local forces. 

Candidates’ security in 

focus for Pak elections 

ISLAMABAD — Candidates 

will either be provided adequate 

security or allowed to 

carry arms to protect themselves 

during the coming elections 

in Pakistan. 

Ban on display of weapons 

is to be enforced, says the 

Election Commission of Pakistan 

in a working paper. 

The provincial or the federal 

government will have to 

provide security to all candidates 

after finalisation of the 

list of contestants. Otherwise, 

the candidates will have to be 

exempted from the arms ban 

to enable them to make their 

own security arrangements. 

The proposal will require 

an amendment to the code of 

conduct. 

A senior ECP official said 

necessary changes could be 

made in the code of conduct. 

A separate code for law-enforcement 

personnel had also 

been prepared, he added. 

The paper will be discussed 

at a meeting of the commission 

with federal and provincial 

government officials on 

January 2. 

Provincial chief secretaries, 

home secretaries, inspec- 

Eight dead, thousands 

homeless in Philippine fires 

MANILA — Eight people 

were killed and thousands 

left homeless as two fires 

struck the Philippine capital 

on Christmas Day, with one of 

the blazes sparking a riot in a 

slum, officials said. 

Seven charred bodies, 

all believed to be from one 

household, were recovered after 

a blaze razed a row of old 

apartments in northern Manila 

at dawn, fire officer Francisco 

Mabunga said. 

The cause of the blaze is 

under investigation, officials 

said. “They are all believed to 

be from a family that owned 

the apartment row and lived 

in one of the units where the 

fire was suspected to have 

ISLAMABAD — Former 

Pakistani premier Benazir 

Bhutto, Foreign Minister Hina 

Rabbani Khar and National 

Assembly Speaker Fehmida 

Mirza are part of a small, but 

significant, number of women 

who have marked their place 

in the political arena. 

According to a study by the 

Planning Commission and endorsed 

by the United Nations, 

Pakistan has made remarkable 

progress in giving decisionmaking 

roles to women though 

the progress remains slow. 

The 2010 MDG Report for 

Pakistan noted that ‘the 22.2 

per cent participation of women 

in the National Assembly is 

much better than that of any 

other Asian democracy as also 

several Western nations including 

the UK and the USA, 

as Pakistan has had a female 

prime minister, Parliament 

tors general of police, federal 

secretaries for defence, interior, 

foreign affairs, establishment 

and information, directors 

general Rangers from 

Punjab and Sindh and directors 

general Frontier Corps 

from Balochistan and Federally 

Administered Tribal Areas 

(Fata) and chief commissioner, 

Islamabad, will attend 

the meeting. 

The meeting will discuss 

administrative and security 

arrangements to be made at 

about 80,000 polling stations 

for which about 600,000 election 

officials are required. 

The working paper says 

that while the primary responsibility 

for peace and security 

will be of the provincial police, 

paramilitary forces will 

also be deployed to achieve 

the desired objectives. 

It says the commission is 

aware of the responsibilities 

of the job the army is doing 

along the border and in 

Fata and certain other areas, 

but it will have to play a during 

the elections in support of 

the civil administration in accordance 

with requirements 

identified by provincial gov- 

started,” Mabunga added. 

A second blaze broke out 

at a sprawling shantytown, 

sparking riots that left one 

man dead and lead to two suspected 

rioters being arrested, 

said Manila fire marshal Santiago 

Laguna. 

“They (residents) started 

grabbing hoses from our firefighters, 

who could not do anything 

as they feared for their 

own safety,” Laguna said in a 

radio interview. 

He said a man was beaten 

up and later died from his injuries 

in the melee as the blaze 

consumed the shantytown in 

the San Juan district. Arson is 

believed to be the cause of the 

blaze. 

speaker, and most recently, a 

female foreign minister.’ 

The study says that in Parliament 

elected for 2008-2013, 

there are 76 women legislators, 

of whom 16 were elected 

on general seats. 

The devolution plan of 

2001 introduced by former 

president Pervez Musharraf’s 

government has brought in a 

remarkable number of women 

at local government levels, 

with 33 per cent reserved seats 

for women at all levels in the 

new system. 

Yet, discrimination against 

women is still witnessed in the 

civil services. 

Another study by the Planning 

Commission suggests 

that none of the federal ministries 

was setting aside 10 

per cent of its positions for 

women, as required under the 

Constitution. 

ernments. 

The paper says there are 

certain areas where full security 

may have to be provided 

by the army while in other areas 

it will be acting in aid of 

civil authorities under security 

plans prepared by district police 

officers (DPOs) who will 

be primarily responsible for 

maintaining law and order and 

ensuring peaceful elections. 

In case of any violation of 

ECP directives or negligence 

by ‘any official’ disciplinary 

action will be initiated. 

The working paper proposes 

establishment of district 

security committees comprising 

DRO, DCO and DPO to 

review the security situation 

and dispose of complaints. 

The names of persons responsible 

for security at polling 

stations will be provided 

to presiding officers who will 

be empowered to issue necessary 

orders in their capacity as 

magistrate first class. 

In addition to police, paramilitary 

or army personnel 

will accompany the presiding 

officers who will deliver results 

of polling stations to returning 

officers. — Internews 

Laguna said residents were 

apparently angered by the delayed 

arrival of firefighters. 

He said the emergency 

workers could not get their 

fire trucks through narrow 

streets jammed with parked 

vehicles. 

Volunteer firefighter Willy 

Tiongson, his bloodied head 

wrapped in a bandage, told 

GMA television that his team 

was met with a shower of 

rocks and other projectiles as 

they drove into the slum. 

The shantytown blaze left 

some 2,000 families homeless, 

Laguna said, adding that 

equated to around 8,000 people 

without a roof over their 

heads at Christmas. 

RESIDENTS look at destroyed houses after a pre-dawn fire in Manila yesterday where 

two fires killed at least seven people and left thousands homeless. — AFP 

Women steadily making room 

in public and political sphere 

Based on data from 16 federal 

ministries and the Planning 

Commission itself, the 

report said there were only 

112 women working in lower 

grade civil service positions 

against more than 2,500 men; 

at higher grades, the ratio was 

three women against 66 men. 

Most women were found in 

lower grade secretarial positions. 

Meanwhile, women also 

remain under-registered as 

voters, even though they account 

for more than half the 

country’s population. 

The number of registered 

women voters in Pakistan in 

2008 was 356,037,78 compared 

to 453,065,40 men. The 

2008 elections saw a drastic 

reduction in the number of 

women voters with a 45 per 

cent in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 

alone. — Internews

NBO gets award for 

supporting charity 

Page 12 

MOSCOW — Rosneft, seeking 

to finance Russia’s largestever 

takeover deal, has raised 

$16.8 billion in bank loans 

and agreed on long-term trade 

finance deals with the world’s 

largest oil traders, Glencore 

and Vitol. 

The state-controlled company 

said on Monday the 

loans raised from Western 

banks would be sufficient to 

cover its acquisition of the 50 

per cent of Anglo-Russian oil 

firm TNK-BP which it is buying 

from BP for $27 billion in 

cash and stock. 

The company also said it 

has agreed terms with Glencore 

and Vitol to supply them 

with up to 67 million tonnes 

of crude oil over five years 

under a trade finance deal, 

equivalent to around 270,000 

barrels a day of oil. 

Rosneft is due to buy the 

rest of TNK-BP from the 

AAR consortium of Russianborn 

business tycoons for $28 

billion, completing the takeover 

of Russia’s third-biggest 

Mega celebrations for Sorento winner 

MOHAMMED Bassam, who recently became the proud owner 

of a Kia Cerato, suddenly had one more reason to ‘megacelebrate’…when 

his phone rang, little did he know that 

his luck had maxed, showering him with the most 

precious bounty in Kia’s Mega Celebrations. Page 10 

oil producer to make Rosneft 

the world’s largest listed oil 

company, with daily output 

equivalent to 4.6 million barrels 

per day. 

It was not clear whether 

the oil supply deals would 

help pay for the purchase of 

AAR’s stake in TNK-BP but 

sources close to Rosneft and 

potential lenders said recently 

that Rosneft had been talks 

about using future oil exports 

as collateral to help pay for 

the TNK-BP deal. 

The details of the agreements 

with Glencore and 

Vitol were not disclosed but 

industry sources said the deals 

will give Rosneft around $10 

billion in advance payments 

from the traders, who will in 

turn borrow the money from 

their banks, in return for securing 

long-term access to 

oil from the world’s largestproducing 

nation. 

“The price formula is in 

line with the prices Rosneft 

receives for crude at mediumterm 

tenders,” Rosneft’s Chief 

Executive Igor Sechin said in 

a statement. 

Assuming the full volumes 

Wednesday, December 26, 2012 

are delivered, Rosneft would 

supply the oil traders with 

around 270,000 barrels per 

day of oil — or over a tenth of 

its current output. The pricing 

terms were not disclosed, nor 

All-Omani crew loads cargo vessel 

AN all-Omani crew of trainee port workers successfully loaded 

a large shipment of construction equipment on board a cargo 

ship at the Port of Duqm in a demonstration of their newly 

acquired skills in the handling of vessels at 

Oman’s newest maritime gateway. Page 11 

Rosneft lines up financing for $55 bn TNK-BP takeover 

Raises $16.8 bn in loans to buy out BP stake in TNK-BP Agrees terms on supply deals with Glencore, Vitol 

Yen on defensive on US worry 

TOKYO — Uncertainty over 

whether US lawmakers will 

strike a deal by an end-of-year 

deadline to avert a severe fiscal 

retrenchment undermined 

the yen and bolstered Japanese 

shares yesterday in low volume, 

with many participants 

away on Christmas holiday. 

The dollar rose to a 20month 

high of 84.965 yen 

yesterday in Asia, as Japanese 

markets caught up with global 

investors who had reacted 

overnight to incoming Japanese 

Prime Minister Shinzo 

Abe’s weekend comments 

that raised the pressure on the 

Bank of Japan. 

During a meeting yesterday 

with officials from Japan’s 

major business lobby, Keidanren, 

Abe reiterated calls on the 

BoJ to conduct bold monetary 

easing to beat deflation by setting 

an inflation target of 2 per 

cent. 

The head of Abe’s coalition 

partner said yesterday the 

coalition party and Abe had 

agreed to set a 2 per cent inflation 

target and compile a large 

stimulus budget to help the 

economy return to growth and 

overcome deflation. 

The yen has come under 

pressure as a result of expectations 

that the BoJ will be compelled 

to adopt more drastic 

monetary stimulus measures 

next year. 

The dollar was expected to 

stay firm this week as investors 

repatriate dollars, and as 

the US fiscal impasse is likely 

to continue to sap investor appetite 

for risky assets and raise 

the dollar’s safe-haven appeal. 

“The dollar is seen relatively 

well bid, with all focus 

on the fiscal cliff,” said Yuji 

Saito, Director of foreign exchange 

at Credit Agricole in 

Tokyo. 

“Negotiations may be car- 

NAIROBI — Kenya’s economic 

growth leapt in the third quarter, 

boosted by the agriculture sector, 

while a gradual slowdown in 

investment shows investors may 

be focusing on elections in March 

2013. 

Growth Domestic Product rose 

by 4.7 per cent in the third quarter 

from 4 per cent in the same period 

last year, the statistics office said 

on Monday. The figure was roughly 

in line with expectations. 

The pick up was led by agriculture, 

which accounts for a quarter 

of the economy, as well as fishing 

and manufacturing. Agriculture 

grew by 6.9 per cent during 

the third quarter, up from 0.2 per 

cent growth in the same period last 

year. 

Economic growth in Kenya 

was sluggish early in 2012, with 

the economy expanding by 3.4 

per cent and 3.3 per cent in the 

first two quarters, as key sectors 

PEDESTRIANS walk past an electronic share price board displayed on a window of a 

securities firm in Tokyo yesterday. — Reuters 

ried over the weekend, but 

markets still expect a deal to 

be struck by December 31. 

It is unthinkable that the US 

will risk driving its economic 

growth sharply lower by not 

agreeing to avoid it.” 

US lawmakers and President 

Barack Obama were on 

Christmas holiday and talks 

were unlikely to resume until 

later in the week. 

House of Representatives 

Speaker John Boehner failed 

to gain support for a tax plan 

at the end of last week, raising 

fears that the United States 

may face the “fiscal cliff” of 

some $600 billion in automatic 

spending cuts and tax increases 

set to start on January 1. 

Japan’s Nikkei stock average 

resumed trading after a 

three-day weekend with a 1.1 

per cent gain, recapturing the 

key 10,000 mark it ceded on 

Friday after Boehner’s failure 

sparked a broad market 

sell-off and the Tokyo benchmark 

closed down 1 per cent. 

The Nikkei was likely to be 

supported as long as the yen 

like construction sagged under the 

weight of high interest rates. 

The tepid first half of 2012 was 

a hangover from last year when 

inflation soared and the currency 

slumped, forcing policymakers to 

raise rates aggressively, which in 

turn drove up businesses’ borrowing 

costs. 

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, 

east Africa’s biggest economy 

grew by 2.2 per cent in the third 

quarter, up from 0.5 per cent in the 

second. 

“The sequential quarter on 

quarter increase... shows an improving 

trend but still speaks of an 

economy which is soft and feeling 

the unprecedented squeeze from 

the high interest rate structure 

which has been disconnected from 

the sharp fall in inflation,” said Aly 

Khan Satchu, an independent analyst. 

Policymakers embarked on an 

easing cycle in July, cutting the 

stayed weak. 

“Ongoing optimism about 

the weak yen is lifting hopes 

that exporters’ earnings will be 

better than expected,” said Hiroichi 

Nishi, General Manager 

at SMBC Nikko Securities. 

Analysts say a near-term 

correction may be possible 

as the index is now in “overbought” 

territory after gaining 

16.2 per cent over the last six 

weeks, hitting a nine-month 

high last Friday. Its 14-day 

relative strength index was at 

72.34, above the 70 level that 

signals an overbought condition. 

MSCI’s broadest index 

of Asia-Pacific shares outside 

Japan nudged up 0.1 per 

cent, driven higher by surging 

Shanghai shares, as most 

Asian bourses were shut for 

Christmas. 

The Shanghai Composite 

Index soared over 2 per cent 

to five-month highs as investors 

bought property stocks on 

mounting optimism about the 

sector. Taiwan shares jumped 

1.3 per cent on gains in tech- 

benchmark lending rate by a total 

of 700 basis points over three 

meetings to 11 per cent, in order to 

help economic growth. 

Kenya’s year-on-year inflation 

fell for the 12th straight month in 

nology and financial shares. 

Goro Ohwada, President 

and CEO at Japan-based fund 

of hedge funds Aino Investment 

Corp, said investors were 

likely to focus on economic 

fundamentals and the United 

States for cues on investment 

direction in 2013. 

“There is a feeling that an 

investment strategy based on 

economic fundamentals may 

finally work next year, with asset 

prices more closely reflecting 

fair value. The problem is, 

we don’t know yet which asset 

is a better bet than others,” 

Ohwada said, adding that oil 

and gold appeared to be near 

their highs. 

Naohiro Niimura, a partner 

at research and consulting 

firm Market Risk Advisory, 

said commodities and energy 

prices will likely move in tight 

ranges in 2013, with investors 

eyeing political events, 

including the US fiscal cliff 

outlook, Italian parliamentary 

election set for February 24- 

25, and Germany’s elections 

in September. — Reuters 

November to 3.25 per cent, the 

lowest it has been since August 

2010. 

The biggest drag on growth was 

the construction sector, which is 

highly susceptible to high borrow- 

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir 

Putin yesterday unveiled the final extension 

of a new $25 billion oil pipeline to 

the Pacific that underscores the energy 

power’s gradual shift away from stagnant 

European markets. 

The East Siberia — Pacific Ocean 

(ESPO) link is also expected to expand 

sales to the United States and fulfil Putin’s 

dream of cementing Russia’s place 

as a dominant force on international crude 

markets. 

Moscow hopes to make ESPO into a 

benchmark in the Asia Pacific region that 

competes with WTI — the US oil standard 

whose price some traders believe is 

too heavily based on domestic political 

factors. 

But analysts worry that Russia may 

currently lack enough accessible oil in 

its underdeveloped East Siberia fields to 

keep the line fully flowing despite strong 

demand in China and Japan. 

“There is just enough East Siberian 

for the existing pipeline,” said Sberbank 

Asset Management energy analyst Valery 

Nesterov. 

“But expanding this pipeline further 

would be impossible without West Sibe- 

was the level of prepayment. 

If the oil price averages 

$100 per barrel, the contracts 

ing costs in an economy, as well as 

hotels and restaurants. 

But Mark Bohlund, senior 

economist for IHS Global Insight, 

said the third consecutive quarterly 

decline in the construction sector, 

would on paper be worth 

around $50 billion. 

Glencore’s Chief Executive 

Ivan Glasenberg said 

on Monday the announced 

agreement “further cements 

our relationship with one of 

the world’s leading oil and 

gas companies”, while Vitol’s 

President and Chief Executive, 

Ian Taylor, hailed his 

deal as a “long term, strategic 

partnership” with Rosneft. 

Rosneft will buy out 

BP’s half stake in TNK-BP 

for $17.1 billion in cash and 

12.8 per cent of its own shares, 

bringing down the curtain 

on a profitable but fractious 

alliance between BP and 

the oligarchs struck back in 

2003. 

In the second leg of the 

takeover, Rosneft has agreed 

to pay $28 billion in cash to 

the AAR consortium, representing 

billionaires Mikhail 

Fridman, German Khan, 

Viktor Vekselberg and Len 

Blavatnik. 

Subject to regulatory ap- 

rian oil — and that oil is already meant to 

go west,” Nesterov pointed out. 

Putin brushed those concerns aside as 

he joined in the ribbon-cutting ceremony 

by video link from the Far East city of 

Khabarovsk. 

“By completing the second leg, our 

potential is expanding,” Putin said in televised 

remarks. 

“This is a serious event.” 

The second leg of the 4,200-kilometre 

(2,600-mile) pipeline runs from fields 

west of Lake Baikal to the Pacific port of 

Kozmino near the northeastern edge of 

China. 

The port — previously connected to 

East Siberian oil fields by rail — also provides 

Russia with quick access to Japan 

and South Korea. 

But the head of the Transneft state oil 

pipeline operator said most of the crude 

from the final leg would in fact be destined 

for the United States. 

“The American market will receive 

35 per cent of Kozmino oil,” Nikolai 

Tokarev said at the opening ceremony 

in comments reported by the company’s 

website. 

“Around 30 per cent will go to Japan 

even as interest rates fell, was indication 

of investment being held 

back ahead of the 2013 elections. 

“It’s fair to assume that’s related 

to the elections. It’s make or break 

for Kenya and the wider region because 

if you have a repeat of the 

same amount of violence or even 

worse than we had in 2007/2008, 

you are not going to get investment,” 

Bohlund said. 

Kenyan polls since independence 

from Britain in 1963 have 

often been marred by tribal violence, 

typically stemming from 

long-standing disputes over land. 

Some analysts fear the March 2013 

elections will see another bout of 

violence similar to 2007, which 

was the worst in its history. 

Kenya’s tourism has already 

experienced a hit ahead of the elections 

because of fears of a repeat of 

the ethnic violence that rocked the 

country in 2007. 

Kenya’s current account deficit 

provals, the takeover is expected 

to close in the first half 

of 2013. 

Commenting on the bank 

financing it had raised for the 

purchase of BP’s 50 per cent 

in TNK-BP, Rosneft said it 

had obtained a 5-year loan of 

$4.1 billion and a 2-year loan 

of $12.7 billion from a group 

of international banks. 

The banks include Bank 

of America Merrill Lynch, 

Barclays Bank, BNP Paribas, 

BTMU, Citibank, Credit 

Agricole, ING Bank, Intesa 

Sanpaolo Banking Group, J 

P Morgan, Mizuho Corporate 

Bank, Natixis, Nordea Bank, 

SMBC, Societe Generale and 

Unicredit Bank. All are acting 

as mandated lead arrangers 

and lenders. 

Sources familiar with the 

matter have said that Rosneft 

could also refinance up to $10 

billion of the cost of the TNK- 

BP takeover deal on the bond 

market, ultimately raising 

more than it needs to close the 

transaction. — Reuters 

Russia unveils $25 bn oil link to Pacific 

TOKYO — Dozens of transport ministry 

officials inspected Mitsubishi Motors’ 

offices across Japan yesterday after 

the automaker last week widened a recall 

to about 1.7 million vehicles. 

The inspection of Mitsubishi’s Tokyo 

headquarters and quality-control offices 

nationwide came after the ministry criticised 

the firm over the latest expansion 

of an oil leak recall. 

“We are inspecting the company’s 

offices to see whether the quality improvement 

programme that Mitsubishi 

submitted to us is appropriate,” ministry 

official Tsuneki Matsuo said. 

He added that the inspection, which 

involves about 40 ministry staff, would 

include Mitsubishi dealerships in Japan. 

Two years ago, Mitsubishi recalled 

nearly 250,000 vehicles, adding about 

300,000 more vehicles to the call back 

this year, after anonymous tips to the 

transport ministry prompted officials to 

order the firm to revisit the glitch. 

Last week, the company said it was 

adding another 1.2 million vehicles to 

the recall, the latest in a string of safety 

and quality issues to dent Japan’s auto 

sector. 

A faulty engine part could trigger an 

oil leak and light the oil pressure gauge 

on the dashboard. In a worst case scenario 

the engine could seize, the company 

said, adding that no accidents had 

been linked to the glitch. 

The latest recall prompted a rebuke 

from transport ministry officials, who 

said last week they would meet with 

Mitsubishi officials to press them on the 

issue, saying the company had not made 

proper disclosures to the public. 

and 28 per cent to China. The rest will go 

to Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.” 

Russia has repeatedly tried and failed 

to make meaningful inroads on the US oil 

and natural gas markets. 

Its gas sales never materialised after 

the North American shale revolution 

made both Canada and the United States 

effectively self-sufficient. 

Analysts also point out that US oil production 

is expanding at rates that should 

soon see the country outpace Russia and 

Saudi Arabia in the next few years. 

“We can only be talking about a few 

tankers (going to the United States), and 

only in case if they are profitable,” said 

ATON investment house analyst Vyacheslav 

Bunkov. 

But Transneft’s Tokarev appeared to 

be placing his bets on the US as he laid to 

waste the idea of offering Europe any assurances 

that the continent could continue 

to rely on Russian oil. 

“We do not owe a single EU country a 

thing, and we are certainly not obligated 

to account for ourselves,” RIA Novosti 

quoted Tokarev as saying. — AFP 

Mitsubishi offices inspected over latest recall 

It ordered the firm to report on the 

status of internal measures taken to prevent 

a recurrence of the problem, and 

said it would ask government-chosen 

experts to probe the recall. 

In a statement yesterday, Mitsubishi 

said “we will fully cooperate with the 

on-site inspection and will make steady 

progress to prevent a repeat”. 

The transport ministry slap down 

comes a decade after Mitsubishi admitted 

to keeping the ministry and public 

in the dark about tens of thousands of 

complaints filed by car owners dating 

back to the late 1970s. 

There were some fatal accidents 

linked to the safety problems. 

Bigger rivals Toyota, Nissan and 

Honda have recalled millions of vehicles 

in recent years, dealing a blow to 

their safety and quality image. — AFP 

Kenya’s economic growth leaps on strong agriculture, GDP up 4.7pc 

narrowed 21 per cent to 105.4 billion 

shillings ($1.23 billion)from 

133.5 billion during the same period 

last year. However, the deficit widened 

compared to 63.3 billion shillings 

recorded in the second quarter 

of 2012. Both the shilling and the 

main stock index were flat after the 

GDP figures were released. 

The Finance Ministry has said 

the economy will grow 5.6 per cent 

in 2013, outpacing this year’s forecast 

of 5.1 per cent 

But many analysts say growth 

is likely to slow down in the fourth 

quarter unless the central bank 

lowers interest rates further. 

“The economy needs more encouragement 

to get back to trendline 

GDP otherwise the looming 

general election is going to stop 

this barely discernible and nascent 

rebound dead in its tracks. Some 

green shoots but the garden needs 

more watering and urgently in my 

view,” Satchu added. — Reuters

BUSINESS ALERT 

Mega celebrations for Kia Sorento winner 

MUSCAT — Mohammed 

Bassam, who recently became 

the proud owner of a 

Kia Cerato, suddenly had one 

more reason to ‘mega-celebrate’... 

when his phone rang, 

little did he know that his luck 

had maxed, showering him 

with the most precious bounty 

in Kia’s Mega Celebrations. 

He had landed nothing 

short of the Grand Prize, an 

All New Sorento 2.4 LX AT, 

“I cannot forget the thrill I felt 

when told that I was the lucky 

winner,” he exclaimed, “I am 

grateful to the Almighty for 

this windfall. And thank you 

Kia — you made my dream 

of owning a Sorento, come to 

life!” 

The All New Sorento 2013 Kia Sorento offers a New Life & a New Style. It incorporates significant 

changes which include a completely new platform, enhanced power-trains for better fuel 

economy with lower emissions, improved ride, handling and refinement, additional convenience 

and safety features, plus a fresh, new look for the exterior. 

The New Sorento has more horsepower. Its 2.4lengine generates 174 horsepower with a 

torque of 23.1 Kg.M/3750 rpm and the 3.5l V6 engine generates 277 horsepower with a torque 

of 34.2 Kg.M/5000 rpm. The renewed Sorento model features a six-speed transmission. New 

styling changes include front and rear bumpers with vertical-axis fog lights; Front grille and 

headlamps with LED positioning lights; Tailgate with reshaped LED combination lamps; Twopart 

glass panoramic roof with a single powered roller blind shades: 10-spoke machine finished 

19-inch alloy wheels (optional) amongst many others. 

Kia’s engineers have implemented a host of NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) reduction 

measures to ensure that the upgraded Sorento boasts even greater refinement than the previous 

model, making it one of the quietest vehicles in its class. 

In the past Sorento has garnered high praise for its host of new features. It has won many accolades 

viz. Top Ten Best Family Cars of 2012 by Kelley Blue Book, 2012 Best Buy & Recommended 

Awards, 2012 Automotive Best Buys by Consumers Digest, Best Car Buys of 2011 by 

NADAguides.com, and many more. 

The Kia spokesperson, while congratulating each and every winner in the Mega Celebration, 

said “Our recently concluded Mega Celebrations offer was highly successful. It gave away 

many golden chances to customers to win exciting free prizes — Samsung Tabs, LCDs, Mobile 

Phones, Digital Cameras & Food Processors. In addition, they enjoyed having fantastic deals on 

Kia's new range models. 

Kia also had a ‘Scratch & Win' raffle, which assured every customer of an exciting gift. Apart 

from this, there was Free Insurance, Free Service, 6-year Unlimited Mileage Ahed Kia Protection. 

Not to mention that simply by visiting any Kia Showroom, customers could win exciting 

prizes in the ‘Walk-in & Win' Raffle 

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. 

Moosa Abdul Rahman’s service centre in Sur 

MOOSA Abdul Rahman 

Hassan & Co service 

centres are built around 

a quality standard that 

ensures not only receive 

exceptional maintenance 

but are met with a friendly 

and professional staff at 

hours convenient to you. 

In network, the company’s 

premium service 

centres are spread across 

the length and breadth of 

the country encompassing 

even small towns notably 

Bani Bu Ali as well as major 

cities such as Muscat and Salalah. Recently, a new state-of-the-art centre in Sur has been 

added to their portfolio. All centres are equipped with the latest technology serving as a one-stop 

shop for auto maintenance. 

In addition, General Motors new initiative, the ‘Service Lane Programme’ takes customer 

service to another level by detailing a schedule for maintenance process and increasing price 

transparency. All customers who bring in their car for service would know the exact cost; not 

just for one service but of subsequent services as well. Moreover, the programme also assures 

customers the use of only genuine GM parts by certified GMC technicians so that safety and 

performance are not compromised at any time. 

“Customer service is at the forefront of everything we do and our endeavour is to deliver the 

best vehicle service experience you can get in today’s busy world,” said Virendra Agarwal, CEO, 

Moosa Abdul Rahman Hassan & Co LLC. 

Qualities such as reliability, on-time delivery and focus on complete satisfaction of the customer 

are what set the service centres apart from others. The professional staff has been honed to 

ensure the customers get the best service they deserve and are regularly trained to keep abreast of 

the latest technology in customer service. For minor servicing, a customer can walk into the centre 

and relax in the lounge with a cup of coffee while the team takes over to ensure the minimum 

waiting time. The centres pride themselves on clear and fixed pricing, low cost of ownership as 

well as same day delivery with a service appointment. 

There is no debate on why cars needs to be serviced regularly as it ensures that the vehicle 

is safe, not just for the driver but for others on the road as well. A vehicle running at optimum 

performance also improves fuel efficiency and prolongs the life of the car proving to be cost effective 

in the long run. 

Moosa Abdul Rahman Hassan & Co is the exclusive distributor of GMC and Suzuki brands 

in the Sultanate of Oman having sales, service and spares network across the country to meet 

the needs of customers who are not only price conscious, but also value quality, reliability and 

safety in equal measure. 

Toyota Aurion: ‘proven performer’ 

A PROVEN performer, 

the Toyota Aurion conveys 

class with its wide, expansive 

stance. The headlamps 

and the grille have thin, long 

headlamps on either side of 

the impressive front grille. 

An elevated hood adds 

thickness to the vehicle, expressing 

a majestic and powerful 

presence. The side of 

the Aurion is accented for a 

stronger appearance through 

a flared bottom section and 

an accented door-cross section. 

The Aurion's 17-inch wheels enhance the character of the vehicle and provide a feeling of 

advanced luxury. The rear of the Aurion has also been redesigned, blending into the rear combination 

lamps for a greater emphasis on width, with the bumper corners protruding outwards, 

creating a wide stable feeling and a ground hugging stance. 

The Aurion is available with 6-speed sequential automatic transmission, with a 3.5L engine 

and a maximum output of 268 HP, delivering top-class level fuel economy and a powerful driving 

experience. A newly adopted ECO meter allows drivers to recognise when they are driving 

in a fuel efficient and economical manner. The Aurion has also been designed to significantly 

reduce road and wind noise, resulting in a quieter cabin experience expected from prestige sedans. 

Cutting-edge aerodynamic technology ensures that the Aurion experiences straight line 

stability, while a newly adopted column mounted electric power steering mechanism allows an 

optimum level of vehicle control. VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) and TRC (Traction Control) 

technologies have also been equipped to support vehicle stability, along with HID (High Intensity 

Discharge Headlamps) for improved nighttime visibility. 

The Aurion offers new utility features such as a Parking Assist system, which alerts the driver 

when approaching obstacles in blind spots. The Aurion also has a new audio system with a 

6.1-inch display, a USB/AUX Terminal for external audio devices, advanced Bluetooth communication 

compatibility, keyless entry, dual-zone air conditioning, and a back window power 

sunshade. 

The Aurion is also available in a sport grade for a sportier and advanced appearance and performance. 

Additional features include front and rear bumper spoilers, a wing-type rear spoiler, 

sports seats and suspension, aluminium pedals and a steering wheel with paddle shift switches. 

In Oman, Toyota is a household name in Oman... a part of people's lives. 

10 OMAN WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2012

By A Staff Reporter 

MUSCAT — An all-Omani 

crew of trainee port workers 

successfully loaded a large 

shipment of construction 

equipment on board a cargo 

ship at the Port of Duqm in a 

demonstration of their newly 

acquired skills in the handling 

of vessels at Oman’s newest 

maritime gateway. 

The move comes as the 

Port of Duqm progressively 

ramps up its capabilities dur- 

ing the current Early Operations 

Phase to cater for vessels 

bringing equipment for 

oilfield companies operating 

in the hydrocarbon-rich Wusta 

Governorate, or project cargo 

linked to the development 

of a major industrial hub at 

Duqm. 

A number of nationals 

recruited by the joint venture 

Port of Duqm Company 

(PDC) at the start of the year 

now serve as the vanguard of 

an ambitious Omani-domi- 

nated workforce that will be 

suitably trained to provide a 

range of services at the worldclass 

gateway. 

Earlier this month, all- 

Omani crews working in 

two shifts (6am-12 noon and 

12 noon-6pm) successfully 

handled the loading of heavy 

construction equipment on 

board an Algeria-bound Korean 

freighter, under supervision 

of Jamal al Khayari, 

HSS Assistant Manager, and 

Humaid al Jubairi, Training 

Supervisor. 

In all, 63 pieces of project 

cargo demobilised by Daewoo 

Engineering & Construction 

were transferred on to the cargo 

decks of MV Rijn Trader 

during a smooth, trouble-free, 

three-day operation that was 

hailed by PDC as a milestone 

for the port. The complexity of 

the task was also underscored 

by the fact that the shipment in 

question comprised odd-sized 

pieces of equipment weighing 

as much as 48 tonnes apiece. 

11 OMAN WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2012 

All-Omani crew successfully loads cargo vessel at Port of Duqm 

MUSCAT — Luxury automotive manufacturer 

Land Rover and Mohsin Haider 

Darwish LLC, Oman unveiled the highly 

anticipated all-new Range Rover to the 

region. 

Lighter, stronger and with new levels 

of refinement, the fourth generation Range 

Rover reinforces its position as the world’s 

most refined and capable luxury SUV and 

was revealed at an invitation-only gala 

event hosted by the automotive division of 

Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC and held at 

Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa in Muscat. 

The evening commenced with an iconic 

Range Rover exhibit giving guests an insight 

into the vehicle’s evolution throughout 

the years. Using a hand-crafted leather 

display area and digital interactive panel, 

the presentation also portrayed the next 

generation all-new Range Rover’s design 

and luxurious features. An additional highimpact 

aluminium wall was used to convey 

the vehicle’s structure and highlight its 

capability and performance; giving guests 

the perfect opportunity to engage with the 

fourth generation Range Rover. Throughout 

the sensorial experience, guests were 

able to browse the options available should 

they choose to create a bespoke interior for 

the all-new Range Rover. 

The all new Range Rover was revealed 

to the audience in an elaborate show involving 

a shipping container suddenly 

springing open to reveal the new vehicle, 

salsa dancers performing alongside added 

to the fanfare and excitement of the reveal. 

The world’s first SUV with a revolutionary 

lightweight all-aluminium monocoque 

body structure is 39% lighter than 

the steel body in the outgoing model, enabling 

total vehicle weight savings of up to 

420kg. 

The lightweight aluminium platform 

has delivered significant enhancements 

in performance and agility, along with a 

transformation in fuel economy and CO2 

emissions. 

In addition to the strong and rigid lightweight 

body, new aluminium front and rear 

chassis architecture has been developed 

“We are delighted by the 

success of the loading operations, 

which was an important 

test of the stevedoring skills 

of our newly trained Omani 

staff,” commented Bruno Van 

Begin, Operations Director, 

Port of Duqm. 

“The fact that they executed 

this complex operation 

after less than a year of theoretical 

and practical training 

augurs well for our vision to 

ramp up our capabilities, going 

forward.” 

with completely re-engineered four-corner 

air suspension. While the luxurious ride 

has been retained, the vehicle’s handling 

and agility have been significantly improved. 

The new suspension architecture 

delivers flatter, more confident cornering, 

with natural and intuitive steering feel. 

The fourth generation of the unique 

Range Rover line, the all-new model has 

been developed from the ground up, capturing 

the innovative spirit and iconic design 

of the original model which changed 

the world of motoring when it was 

launched over 40 years ago. 

The all-new Range Rover has a clean 

and elegant shape which is derived from a 

fresh interpretation of Range Rover design 

Van Begin said the 10member 

Omani crew did 

PDC proud by successfully 

undertaking the loading operation 

without incident and 

in strict compliance with HSE 

norms. “My sincere congratulations 

to the crew — Saleh 

Khamis al Alawi, Said Salim 

al Blushi, Jumal Ali al Alawi, 

Juma Khalfan al Saadi, Suleman 

Salim al Jufaili, Mohammed 

Salim al Kasbi, Abdulnaseer 

Marhoon al Hadrami, 

Jasim Mohammed al Mukhai- 

ti, Abdulqader Salim al Jilani, 

and Ali Abdullah al Saadi — 

on their splendid effort,” he 

stated. 

Buoyed by the success of 

the operation, PDC is now 

gearing up to provide cargo 

handling services that will include 

the use of wharf cranes 

for the first time. At present, 

cargo vessels are loaded or 

discharged primarily with the 

aid of jib cranes or the ship’s 

onboard gear. 

Abdulhameed al Shihani, 

cues. While instantly recognisable as a 

Range Rover, the new vehicle takes a significant 

step forward with a bold evolution 

of the model’s iconic design language. 

Speaking about the arrival of the allnew 

Range Rover to this region, Robin 

Colgan, Managing Director of Jaguar 

Land Rover MENAP, said, “With the Land 

Rover strength at its heart, the new model 

has been engineered from the ground up 

to be the most capable and refined Range 

Rover ever. While maintaining the essential, 

unique character of the vehicle 

that blends luxury, performance and unmatched 

all-terrain capability, the new 

design and revolutionary lightweight construction 

have enabled us to transform the 

Administration and Corporate 

Affairs Director, stated: 

“We are proud to have been 

recognised for achieving the 

highest Omanisation in the 

port sector. This honour was 

conferred upon the company 

at a high-profile ceremony 

that took place on December 

10 at Al Bustan Palace — A 

Ritz Carlton Hotel, under the 

auspices of His Excellency 

Dr Yahya bin Mahfoodh al 

Mantheri, Chairman, Majlis 

Addawla.” 

All-new Range Rover unveiled at gala event 

The refined and capable Luxury SUV is now available at MHD 

experience for luxury vehicle customers, 

with a step change in comfort, refinement 

and handling.” 

David Aziz, CEO — Automotive 

Products, MHD LLC added “The Allnew 

Range Rover has already received an 

overwhelming response from customers in 

the Sultanate of Oman with pre-orders far 

exceeding expectations. The Range Rover 

is a true icon which has attracted a loyal 

following, and with the introduction of the 

All-new Range Rover to our showrooms, 

we expect this to continue for many years 

to come.” 

The all-new Range Rover is available 

from December 2012 in MHD LLC showrooms 

across the Sultanate of Oman.

Zubair Auto, Gusto sign 

MoU for Fuso vehicles 

MUSCAT — Zubair Automotive 

Group (Mitsubishi) 

and Gusto Distribution 

signed a new Memorandum 

of Understanding (MoU) for 

the sale of Mitsubishi Fuso 

vehicles. 

The MoU reflects increased 

co-operation between 

the two organisations. 

In an earlier press release 

Gusto Distribution wrongly 

stated that “Zubair Auto and 

Gusto sign MoU on N-power 

plants operation.” 

MUSCAT — The National 

Bank of Oman (NBO) has 

been recognised for its support 

of the children’s charity 

‘Al Abdaa Al Tufoly’. 

NBO recently received an 

award for their support of the 

charity during ‘Al Abdaa Al 

Tufoly’s’ 42nd National Day 

Celebration titled ‘Qaboos in 

the Heart’, held at the Qurum 

Natural Park amphitheater. 

The event was held under 

the auspices of Shaikh Mohammed 

bin Said al Kalbani, 

Minister of Social Development, 

who presented NBO 

with an award for their efforts 

towards the charity. 

NBO has supported Al 

Abdaa Al Tufoly throughout 

their ‘Summer of Creativity’ 

activities where over 600 

children were involved. The 

Apart from extending its 

apology for the erroneous 

information misguiding the 

readers of the newspaper and 

the management of Zubair 

Automotive Group, Gusto 

Distribution LLC said in a 

press release later that the 

MoU was signed for Fuso 

vehicles. 

With the new agreement, 

the two companies are adopting 

a more co-ordinated approach 

to their respective activities 

in order to increase the 

charity feels that involving 

children in after curricular activities 

will help steer them to 

the correct path of a successful 

future. 

During the 42nd National 

Day celebration some of the 

children involved with the 

Summer of Creativity activities 

performed dance routines 

themed around National day. 

They also dedicated 6 individual 

dances to Oman and the 

member countries of the GCC 

states. The Omani singer Saif 

al Harthy was humbled to perform 

at the event. 

There have been various 

recitals and sporting events 

for children held by the charity 

throughout the summer, 

which were in keeping with 

the year dubbed ‘Year of the 

Child’ in the Sultanate. The 

growth of business in Oman. 

The two companies will 

also co-operate and co-ordinate 

work on their respective 

performance and will work 

towards exchanging information 

and support in the areas 

of logistic and transport. 

Both companies will also 

share the experience and expertise 

of staff to each other’s 

review teams when appropriate, 

and will regularly exchange 

documents relating to 

operating experience. 

NBO gets award for supporting 

‘Al Abdaa Al Tufoly’ Charity 

Year of the Child is in keeping 

with the United Nations Convention 

on the Rights of the 

Child: a human rights treaty 

setting out the civil, political, 

economic, social, health and 

cultural rights of children. 

Aisha al Kharusi, NBO’s 

Head Corporate Communications 

and CSR said: “The 

bank recognises the importance 

of investing in the youth 

and what better way to do so 

than by working with a charity 

that values them highly. 

“We would like to thank 

‘Al Abdaa Al Tufoly’ for their 

commendable work, by developing 

talents, confidence and 

life skills. We are delighted to 

receive this award and wish 

the children well and look 

forward to seeing them in successful 

roles in the future”. 

Beach Football Tourney showcases 

BankDhofar’s sporting prowess 

MUSCAT — BankDhofar in 

association with the Oman 

Football Association recently 

organised the Beach Football 

Tournament at Al Hail beach. 

The tournament which took 

place over two days saw 64 

teams competing for the coveted 

prize of RO 1,000. This 

was just one in a series of events 

organised by BankDhofar to 

bring its customers and staff together 

and to promote a healthy 

lifestyle through exercise and 

sport. 

Speaking about the Beach 

Football Tournament Tony Mahoney, 

CEO, BankDhofar, commented 

“We are striving to organise 

such events to encourage 

better sport awareness among 

the young generation. It enables 

us to highlight the importance of 

sport in the society and also to 

discover talented young sports 

men and women in Oman”. 

Winners of the Beach Football 

Tournament were Saqlawi 

team from Sur who defeated al 

taawun team of seeb 2-1 at the 

final. 

BankDhofar is a keen supporter 

of sports development 

initiatives, and with so many 

miles of sandy beaches surrounding 

Oman, it sees beach 

football as really grabbing the 

interest of the people of Oman 

and in particular the youth. It 

also recently organised the first 

Golf Pro-Am to be ever held in 

Oman and enabled BankDhofar 

to put the country on the map as 

a great golfing destination, well 

capable of hosting professional 

corporate and sporting events. 

With a growing youth population 

in Oman, BankDhofar 

stands behind any initiative 

which promotes the development 

and ambition of the future 

leaders of the Sultanate. It 

firmly believes that organised 

sport can foster the overall wellbeing 

of young people, helping 

them to develop confidence and 

strong peer relationships. It enables 

them to excel by promoting 

teamwork and it encourages 

positive practices later in life. 

COSMIC Surrounding 

Technology acknowledges 

that Oman has a 

plentiful and rich assortment 

of cultural, historical, natural, 

and resort vacation destinations 

that are world class. 

For tourists, visiting any of 

Oman’s destinations can be 

as rewarding and relaxing as 

going to comparable locations 

around the world. For Oman, 

the benefits of attracting these 

visitors to its shores are many. 

Tourism is quite lucrative, 

having annually become an 

international trillion dollar 

industry. Cosmic Surrounding 

Technology has found that 

for many countries tourism 

now represents a significant 

share of their gross domestic 

product (GDP) and makes up 

6-7% of the world’s employment. 

The trickle-down effect 

of tourism-related businesses, 

employment opportunities and 

markets is appealing. With the 

global increase in the frequen- 

12 OMAN WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2012 

Supporting tourism through the use of virtual technologies 

cy of vacations, competition 

between nations to capture 

their market share is on the 

rise, and many countries are 

beginning to heavily leverage 

information and communication 

technology (ICT) strategies 

to their advantage. 

Most ICT efforts related 

to tourism consist of websites 

that provide text information 

and images. However, it is 

vital to create a strong motivating 

destination image and 

create a competitive edge in 

gaining a leadership role in the 

market. Research has shown 

that to do this with ICTs, the 

solutions must be capable of 

compelling the potential visitor 

through thoughts, feelings, 

and impulses to go to a tourist 

GUEST COLUMN 

By Fathi Al Riyami 

destination. This requires the 

implementation of an online 

experience that is engaging, 

interactive and empowering. 

Cosmic Surrounding Technology 

has incorporated these 

factors in its advanced online 

and virtual solutions for the 

tourism sector, thus dramatically 

enhancing the competi- 

tive edge for its clients. The 

advantages of these solutions 

are that they enhance tourism 

through new opportunities, 

improved marketing, 

increased profits, decreased 

expenses, and international 

awareness. 

These experiences can be 

rewarding and enjoyable as the 

visitor can navigate through 

historical areas such as the 

forts and interact with the 

surroundings, being provided 

with detailed information on 

the structure, its history and 

events that occurred. Virtual 

areas can be developed so that 

a tourist has an opportunity to 

role play past events or can 

be involved in an educational 

simulation where they are rewarded 

for interaction. Using 

social media to support online 

campaigns, visitors can be 

made aware of various tourist 

destinations. Empowering 

visitors with information 

and interactive experience 

increases their motivation to 

visit destinations that they 

have visited virtually. 

Cosmic Surround Technology 

online and virtual solutions 

can benefit a region or 

country by: 

Bringing attention to a 

diversity of tourist services 

such as cultural heritage, contemporary 

culture, protected 

natural sites, health and well- 

being tourism, education, 

food, history, sports, religion, 

rural tourism, and maritime 

tourism. 

Attracting more consumers, 

thus supporting the hotels, 

restaurants, retailers, product 

producers, and other goods 

and services providers 

Hosting virtual publicity 

events, exhibits, tradeshows, 

and conventions 

Helping create a common 

and attractive destination 

image 

Using multiple languages 

Improving communication 

and the availability of interactive 

information 

Increasing employment 

Look for future articles 

about Cosmic Surrounding 

Technology over the next two 

weeks. These articles will 

discuss the use of online and 

virtual technologies and how 

they can enhance education 

and entrepreneurship. 

FLIGHT LIGHT SSCHEDULE 

CHEDULE 

ARRIVALS — WEDNESDAY 

Flight No Aircraft From / Via STA 

WY614 B737-8 Dubai 0005 

WY636 E175AR Abu Dhabi 0005 

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

WY682 B737-8 Riyadh 0015 

WY648 B737-8 Kuwait 0015 

WY826 A330-200 Kuala Lumpur 0100 

IX141 B737-8 Amritsar 0140 

PK225 B737-3 Karachi 0200 

QR170 A320 Doha 0315 

EY384 A320 Abu Dhabi 0350 

EK866 B777 Dubai 0355 

GF560 E190 Bahrain 0425 

WY652 E175AR Bahrain 0700 

WY662 E175AR Doha 0700 

FZ043 B737-8 Dubai 0740 

WY632 ATR42 Abu Dhabi 0800 

WY202 B737-8 Bombay 0800 

WY914 B737-8 Salalah 0800 

WY602 B737-8 Dubai 0825 

WY274 B737-8 Jaipur 0840 

WY238 B737-8 Hyderabad 0850 

WY102 A330-300 London Heathrow 0900 

WY262 B737-8 Lucknow 0920 

WY218 B737-8 Trivandrum 0925 

WY224 B737-8 Cochin 0925 

EK862 B777 Dubai 0930 

QR166 A321 Doha 0950 

G9113 A320 Sharjah 0955 


9W530 B737-8 Trivandrum 1045 

WY374 B737-8 Colombo 1050 

WY604 E175AR Dubai 1100 

IX543 B737-8 Trivandrum-Cochin 1130 

WY818 A330-200 Bangkok 1155 

WY916 E175AR Salalah 1200 

WY314 B737-8 Chittagong 1210 

WY3302 ATR42 Mukhaizna 1230 


IX337 B737-8 Calicut 1255 

WY714 B737-8 Dar-es-Salaam 1300 

WY918 ATR42 Khasab 1315 

WY606 B737-8 Dubai 1330 

WY924 B737-8 Salalah 1440 

WY324 A330-200 Karachi 1440 

SV530 MD90 Jeddah 1550 

WY664 E175AR Doha 1615 

ED450 A319 Lahore 1630 



WY204 B737-8 Bombay 1655 

WY244 B737-8 Delhi 1710 


QR164 A321 Doha 1735 

WY608 B737-8 Dubai 1740 

WY298 B737-8 Calicut 1750 

WY258 B737-8 Madras 1805 

GF564 A319 Bahrain 1810 

G9117 A320 Sharjah 1905 

WY926 B737-8 Salalah 1945 

FZ047 B737-8 Dubai 2020 


AI977 A319 Bangalore-Hyderabad 2025 

WY124 A330-300 Munich 2030 

WY142 A330-300 Malpensa 2040 

WY134 A330-200 Paris 2045 

KL449 A330 Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi 2045 

AI973 A320 Delhi 2125 

BA073 B777 LoNdon Heathrow- 

Abu Dhabi 2130 

WY616 B737-8 Dubai 2145 

AI907 A319 Madras 2200 

WY406 B737-8 Cairo 2215 

LH618 A330 Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi 2225 


QR168 A320 Doha 2235 

LX242 A330 Zurich-Dubai 2235 

GF566 B737-7 Bahrain 2250 

WY624 ATR42 Al Ain 2305 

WY656 B737-8 Bahrain 2305 

WY668 B737-8 Doha 2310 

AI985 A321 Ahmedabad-Bombay 2310 

WY928 B737-8 Salalah 2310 


WY672 B737-8 Jeddah 2315 

WY686 B737-8 Dammam 2320 

WY423 B737-8 Beirut-Amman 2325 

9W534 B737-8 Cochin 2330 

WY816 A330-200 Bangkok 2335 

9W540 B737-8 Bombay 2340 

WY930 B737-8 Salalah 2340 

KQ318 B737-8 Nairobi-Dubai 2350 

DEPARTURES 

Flight No Aircraft To / Via STD 

BA072 B777 Abu Dhabi-London 

Heathrow 0001 

AI986 A321 Bombay-Ahmedabad 0005 

9W539 B737-8 Bombay 0045 

WY113 A330-200 Frankfurt 0105 

WY217 B737-8 Trivandrum 0115 

WY601 B737-8 Dubai 0115 

WY713 B737-8 Dar-es-Salaam 0115 

WY237 B737-8 Hyderabad 0120 

WY223 B737-8 Cochin 0120 


WY261 B737-8 Lucknow 0125 

WY201 B737-8 Bombay 0130 

9W529 B737-8 Trivandrum 0130 

WY651 E175AR Doha 0130 


WY373 B737-8 Colombo 0145 

WY313 B737-8 Chittagong 0200 

WY141 A330-300 Malpensa 0200 

WY123 A330-300 Munich 0200 

WY273 B737-8 Jaipur 0205 

IX816 B737-8 Abu Dhabi-Mangalore 0220 

WY133 A330-200 Paris 0230 

PK226 B737-3 Karachi 0300 

EK867 B777 Dubai 0500 


QR171 A320 Doha 0550 


WY915 E175AR Salalah 0800 



FZ044 B737-8 Dubai 0820 

WY323 A330-200 Karachi 1000 

WY243 B737-8 Delhi 1000 

WY297 B737-8 Calicut 1005 

WY257 B737-8 Madras 1005 

WY815 A330-200 Bangkok 1010 

WY283 B737-8 Bangalore 1015 

WY917 ATR42 Khasab 1030 

WY605 B737-8 Dubai 1030 

G9114 A320 Sharjah 1035 

WY923 B737-8 Salalah 1035 

WY203 B737-8 Bombay 1040 

EK863 B777 Dubai 1045 


QR167 A321 Doha 1055 

9W533 B737-8 Cochin 1145 

WY663 E175AR Doha 1215 

IX542 B737-8 Trivandrum 1220 


WY423 B737-8 Beirut-Amman 1310 

WY405 B737-8 Cairo 1310 




IX350 B737-8 Calicut 1355 

WY101 A330-300 London Heathrow 1400 

WY929 B737-8 Salalah 1400 

WY607 B737-8 Dubai 1440 

WY671 B737-8 Jeddah 1540 

WY925 B737-8 Salalah 1540 

SV531 MD90 Medina-Jeddah 1650 


ED451 A319 Lahore 1730 

WY615 B737-8 Dubai 1805 

QR165 A321 Doha 1840 

GF565 A319 Bahrain 1855 

WY647 B737-8 Kuwait 1905 

WY927 B737-8 Salalah 1905 

WY685 B737-8 Dammam 1905 

WY667 B737-8 Doha 1910 

WY681 B737-8 Riyadh 1910 

WY655 B737-8 Bahrain 1915 

G9118 A320 Sharjah 1945 


WY623 ATR42 Al Ain 2015 

WY613 B737-8 Dubai 2045 

FZ048 B737-8 Dubai 2105 

AI978 A319 Hyderabad-Bangalore 2200 

KL450 A330 Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam 2200 

WY817 A330-200 Bangkok 2205 

AI908 A319 Madras 2300 

AI974 A320 Delhi 2310 


QR169 A320 Doha 2335 

LX243 A330 Dubai-Zurich 2335 

WY673 B737-8 Jeddah 2340 

GF567 B737-7 Bahrain 2345 

LH619 A330 Abu Dhabi-Frankfurt 2350 

TEL: 24601003, 24600586 • FAX: 24600736 

• WEBSITE: www.salalahport.com

DRIVERS and passengers stand next to their cars in a long traffic jam after a fatal crash caused the M6 motorway to be 

closed in both directions near Stoke-on-Trent, yesterday. Local media reported three children died in accident involving 

one vehicle. — Reuters 

Syria desperate over unending unrest 


United Nations warned yesterday 

that Syrians are “losing 

hope” as war worsens in their 

country, with prospects of a diplomatic 

end now at rock bottom, 

and international aid is cut. 

Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi 

held talks with Syria’s 

President Bashar al Assad but 

no conrete outcome is seen 

yet on negotiations, diplomats 

said. 

The United Nations has had 

to cut food rations it provides 

to 1.5 million Syrians because 

of cash shortages, and John 

Ging, a top UN relief official, 

said: “The humanitarian community 

in Syria is struggling.” 

With four million people 

MOSCOW — Russia’s legendary 

rifle-designer Mikhail 

Kalashnikov has been hospitalised 

in intensive care after 

complaining of weakness, his 

assistant was quoted by news 

agencies as saying yesterday. 

The 93-year-old father of 

the AK-47 has been having 

heart problems and feeling 

poorly since March, when he 

stopped showing up for work, 

his aide told the RIA Novosti 

news agency. 

“When I visited him at 

home last week, he told me 

that nothing seemed to hurt, 

but that he had no strength 

left,” his assistant Nikolai 

Shklyayev was quoted saying. 

TEHERAN — Iran has repelled 

a fresh cyber attack on 

its industrial units in a southern 

province, a local civil defence 

official said yesterday, 

accusing "enemies" of nonstop 

attacks against its infrastructure. 

"A virus had penetrated 

some manufacturing industries 

in Hormuzgan province, 

but its progress was halted 

with ... the co-operation of 

skilled hackers," Ali Akbar 

Akhavan said, quoted by the 

ISNA news agency. 

in need inside the country and 

well over 500,000 registered 

as refugees outside, “it’s becoming 

more and more difficult 

just to do the very basic 

things to help people to survive,” 

said Ging, director of 

operations for the UN’s Office 

for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian 

Affairs. 

“People are losing hope because 

they just see more violence 

on the horizon, they just 

see a deterioration,” he added. 

The Local Co-ordination 

Committees (LCC), which 

reported that more than 100 

people were killed nationwide, 

lashed out at Brahimi and the 

international community for 

failing to end the bloodshed. 

“It seems this is just his age 

showing,” Shklyayev said. 

The assistant said Kalashnikov 

was sent to intensive 

care on Thursday after complaining 

of swelling. 

“I last got in touch with 

(Kalashnikov’s) driver. He 

said that everything was fine,” 

Shklyayev told the Interfax 

news agency. 

Kalashnikov designed his 

iconic rifles — staples of armies 

across the world for the 

past half century — at the 

Izmash factory in the central 

city of Izhevsk. 

Originally formed in 1807, 

Izmash remains one of the 

main producers of Russian 

Akhavan said the malware 

was "Stuxnet-like" but did not 

elaborate and that the attack 

had occurred over the "past 

few months." 

Stuxnet, tailored specifically 

to target Iran's uranium 

enrichment operation, struck 

Iran in 2010. 

Akhavan said one of the 

targets of the latest foiled attack 

was the Bandar Abbas 

Tavanir Co, which oversees 

electricity production and distribution 

in Hormuzgan and 

adjacent provinces. 

“Brahimi’s arrival in Damascus 

to discuss a new political 

initiative to solve the 

crisis ... has not put a stop ... 

to violence,” the LCC said in 

a statement. 

“Regarding reports about 

an initiative proposed by 

Brahimi, the LCC declares 

its rejection of any initiative 

that puts Syrians in a position 

where they are forced to 

choose between accepting unfair 

compromises,” it added. 

With existing appeals already 

barely 50 per cent funded, 

the UN has launched its 

biggest ever drive to raise $1.5 

billion for next year. 

With another grim winter 

setting in, hopes of a diplo- 

Russia’s Kalashnikov in 

intensive care: report 

weapons. But like several 

other specialised industrial 

firms, it has been hit by dwindling 

post-Soviet demand and 

its failure to make up for this 

with foreign orders. 

Kalashnikov and 16 colleagues 

raised the alarm about 

the situation at Izhmash in 

an open letter to President 

Vladimir Putin last month, 

saying production had fallen 

to an all-time low and the factory 

needed to be saved. 

According to popular legend, 

Kalashnikov began designing 

weapons after having 

trouble with the rifles the Soviet 

Red Army was using during 

World War II. — AFP 

Iran faces cyber attack 

He also accused "enemies" 

of constantly seeking to disrupt 

operations at Iran's industrial 

units through cyber 

attacks, without specifying 

how much damage had been 

caused. 

The Islamic state has 

blamed the US and Israel for 

cyber attacks in the past. 

In April, it said a voracious 

virus attack had hit 

computers running key parts 

of its oil sector and succeeded 

in wiping data off official 

servers. — AFP 

IRANIAN police round-up men after arresting them in Tehran, yesterday. Police said 

they had arrested more than 100 ‘thugs’ as part of an operation to curb violent crime 

after the brutal assault of a man was captured on a surveillance camera. — AFP 

13 

THE WORLD 



matic solution to the conflict 

are virtually non-existent. 

“We do not see any prospect 

of any end of violence 

or any prospect of political 

dialogue to start,” UN leader 

Ban Ki-Moon said ahead of 

Brahimi’s latest trip to Damascus 

this week which produced 

little sign of a change of heart. 

“The UN Security Council 

is not even close to showing 

the envoy the kind of support 

he needs and the rebels will 

not now compromise,” said a 

UN council diplomat. 

Ban is now leading growing 

UN warnings that the 

change in the 21-month-old 

conflict could see “sectarian 

atrocities”. 

Egypt constitution 

passed with 63.8pc 

support: official 

CAIRO — Egypt's constitution 

was passed with 63.8 

percent voter support in the 

two-stage referendum, the 

national electoral commission 

said yesterday. 

Turnout was 32.9 per 

cent of Egypt's total 52 million 

voters, the president of 

the commission, Samir Abul 

Maati, told a news conference 

in Cairo. 

The figures confirmed 

those given by President Mohamed 

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, 

which had backed the 

new charter. 

Abul Maati rejected opposition 

claims that fake judges 

supervised some of the polling 

— one of several allegations 

of polling fraud the opposition 

National Salvation 

Front made after each leg of 

the referendum held December 

15 and 22. 

The charter, and Morsi's 

determination to hold the 

referendum without building 

consensus, provoked weeks 

of protests, some of which 

turned violent. 

The Front has said it will 

not cease its struggle, raising 

the prospect of prolonged instability 

in the Arab world's 

most populous nation. 

Egyptian government 

has slapped limits on carry- 

THE HAGUE — A drunken 

British man was arrested yesterday 

after driving a stolen 

car on an Amsterdam airport 

runway "for a few minutes", 

police said. 

The unnamed passenger 

headed home for Christmas 

had pushed an emergency 

exit button at one of Schiphol 

airport's gates, stumbled onto 

the tarmac and stole a car belonging 

to an airport contractor, 

police spokesman Dennis 

Muller said. 

"He drove around for a few 

minutes but at no point was 

there any danger to flight traffic. 

There aren't many flights 

on Christmas Eve and there 

LONDON — In her traditional 

Christmas speech to the nation, 

Britain's Queen Elizabeth 

II yesterday commended the 

dedication of the volunteers at 

the London Olympics and said 

she was humbled by the numbers 

who marked her Diamond 

Jubilee. 

The Queen gave her thanks 

in her message to the Commonwealth 

broadcast in 3D. 

The 86-year-old monarch 

said it had been "humbling" to 

see the vast crowds joining celebrations 

marking her 60th year 

on the throne and paid tribute 

to the volunteers, as well as the 

athletes, who took part in the 

London Olympics. 

"The success of these great 

festivals depended to an enor- 

ing cash abroad to save the 

economy from collapse after 

weeks of political disarray. 

President Mohamed Mursi 

says the charter has sufficient 

guarantees of minority rights, 

and that quickly enacting it 

will bring an end to the uncertainty 

and unrest plaguing 

Egypt. 

The referendum result 

appears to be in little doubt, 

and opposition groups which 

marched for weeks against 

the new charter did not announce 

plans for any major 

demonstrations to mark the 

official announcement. 

Unofficial tallies from 

Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood 

earlier showed the charter 

was approved by a 64 per cent 

majority. 

In a move aimed at preventing 

capital flight and a 

potential bank run, the government 

banned people from 

carrying more than $10,000 

in foreign currency cash in or 

out of the country. 

A growing sense of crisis 

has gripped Egypt's society, 

with a rush by Egyptians to 

take out savings from banks 

compounding worries about 

the future of its economy. On 

Monday, Standard and Poor's 

cut Egypt's long-term credit 

rating. 

Drunken drives stolen 

car on runway: police 

Israel in major settlement thrust 

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Interior 

Ministry has approved the 

building of 1,200 new homes 

in the east Jerusalem settlement 

neighbourhood of Gilo while 

the planning committee has 

already approved the next step 

for construction of 940 housing 

units there, the latest in a slew 

of such approvals, Israeli official 

and watchdog Peace Now 

said. 

The approval, which came 

late on Monday night, follows 

Israeli committee approvals for 

thousands of units in neighbourhoods 

across east Jerusalem and 

in the West Bank last week. 

“This approval from the interior 

ministry for the construction 

of 1,200 homes in Gilo 

comes after a meeting on Thursday 

by the planning committee 

for the Jerusalem district to hear 

objections to the project,” Hagit 

Ofran of Peace Now said. 

An Israeli planning committee 

approved the next step 

for construction of 940 housing 

units in Gilo, an official confirmed 

yesterday. 

were none at all at the time he 

took the car," he said. 

"We're investigating exactly 

where he went in the car," 

Muller said after the incident 

which happened between 

1:00 and 2:00 am (0000 and 

0100 GMT) yesterday. 

Police said they did not 

yet know where the passenger 

was headed. 

"We don't know why he 

took the car, these are things 

you do when you're drunk," 

Muller said. 

"We'll interview him about 

what he's done and then it's 

up to the prosecutor to decide 

what to do with him," he 

said. 

The committee, after hearing 

objections — a formal 

phase each construction plan 

must pass — decided the project 

could move forward without 

any significant changes, Interior 

Ministry Spokeswoman Efrat 

Orbach said. 

In total the project involves 

1,200 homes, she said. But 

roughly 300 of them need further 

reviewal. 

The committee is expected 

to give its final approval in the 

coming months, after publication 

in its final form, after which 

the Israel Housing Ministry can 

issue tenders for the construction 

to go ahead. 

Israel calls Gilo an integral 

part of its unrecognised, selfdeclared 

capital. It is located 

in southern Jerusalem within 

the Israeli-drawn municipal 

boundaries, but beyond the socalled 

“green line” that separates 

Israel from the occupied 

West Bank. 

Israel also finalised its approval 

to upgrade the status of 

a college in the settlement of 

mous degree upon the dedication 

and effort of an army of 

volunteers," she said. 

"All those who saw the 

achievement and courage at 

the Olympic and Paralympic 

Games were further inspired 

by the skill, dedication, training 

and teamwork of our athletes." 

Everyone was able to share 

in the "excitement and drama" 

of the Games, she added. 

The monarch formally 

opened the Games in dramatic 

fashion herself, after taking part 

in a James Bond scene which 

ended with the pair seemingly 

parachuting down to the Olympic 

Stadium from a helicopter. 

Her pre-recorded Christmas 

message was broadcast 

across Britain and all 15 Com- 

VOLUNTEERS distribute a charity meal for homeless people in Russia’s southern 

city of Stavropol yesterday. — Reuters 

MOSCOW — A bitter cold 

spell in Russia has claimed 

123 lives in the past 10 days, 

an official said yesterday, with 

the unseasonably early freeze 

testing authorities in a country 

used to notoriously tough 

winters. 

Temperatures have plunged 

to up to minus 30 degrees Celsius 

(minus 34 degrees Farenheit) 

in the Moscow region 

and up to minus 60 degrees 

Celsius (minus 51 degrees 

Farenheit) in Eastern Siberia. 

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — A 

military aircraft carrying 27 

people including top members 

of the Kazakhstan border 

guard service crashed Tuesday 

in the south of the country 

with all those on board feared 

dead, officials said. 

The KNB security service 

said the An-72 military transport 

was carrying seven crew 

and 20 servicemen, including 

the acting head of the Kazakh 

border service Turganbek 

Stambekov. 

The plane crashed 20 kilometres 

from Shymkent where 

it had been due to land after a 

flight from the capital Astana. 

Kazakhstan's KTK television 

said that the plane fell 

from a height of 800 metres 

and the weather around the 

Ariel, making it the first Israeli 

university in the West Bank. 

Defence Minister Ehud Barak 

instructed military authorities 

who technically govern the 

West Bank to “declare the Ariel 

University Centre a university,” 

the ministry said late on Monday. 

The decision came after the 

attorney general found no objection 

to the upgrade, the statement 

said. The supreme court is 

to hear a petition against it. 

The approval applies to the 

Mordot Gilo extension of Gilo, 

a settlement neighbourhood 

in southern Jerusalem near the 

Palestinian city of Bethlehem. 

“In the past seven days 

alone, Israel has approved 5,350 

new settler units in East Jerusalem, 

a pace unprecedented since 

1967,” Daniel Seidemann of the 

Terrestrial Jerusalem settlement 

watchdog group wrote on his 

official Twitter account. 

Israel captured east Jerusalem 

during the 1967 Six Day 

War and later annexed it in a 

move never recognised by the 

Queen Elizabeth gives first 3D Christmas broadcast 

monwealth realms where she is 

head of state — although just a 

small minority have access to 

the 3D-television facility. 

The 3D broadcast comes exactly 

80 years after the queen's 

father, king George V, gave the 

first royal Christmas broadcast 

to the Commonwealth by radio. 

Behind-the-scenes photographs 

showed the queen beaming 

as she previewed the footage, 

wearing customised 3D glasses 

marked with a "Q" in diamante 

studs. 

Earlier Tuesday, the monarch 

joined other British royals 

for a Christmas church service 

on her Sandringham estate 

in Norfolk, eastern England 

— but Prince William and his 

pregnant wife Catherine were 

"Since the start of the cold, 

123 people have died of exposure 

and frostbite," a medical 

source was quoted by the Interfax 

news agency as saying. 

In the past 24 hours, 201 

people had to be hospitalised 

to be treated for hypothermia 

and frostbite, including 14 

children, the source added. 

Since the start of the cold 

snap, 1,745 people were affected, 

and over 800 had to be 

hospitalised, the source said. 

State television reports 

airport at the time was very 

poor. 

Eyewitness Baurzhan Dosov 

whose home is near the 

crash area told state television 

that he heard a noise like an 

explosion and then witnessed 

a scene of carnage. 

"There are military hats 

everywhere and pieces of human 

flesh. Just like meat. The 

fire is still blazing," he said. 

A security source told the 

Interfax news agency that all 

those on board were killed 

and KTK also reported that 

according to its latest information 

there were no survivors. 

But this was not confirmed 

in the KNB statement. 

"The emergency services 

are working at the scene of 

international community. 

It considers all of Jerusalem 

its “eternal, undivided” capital 

and defends construction in all 

parts of the city. 

But the Palestinians want 

east Jerusalem for the capital 

of their promised state, and 

they — along with the international 

community — consider 

settlement construction in east 

Jerusalem and the West Bank 

a violation of international 

law. 

The Gilo project comes 

on top of plans to build 1,500 

apartments in Ramat Shlomo, 

a settlement in northern Jerusalem, 

3,400 in the controversial 

E1 area to the east, more than 

2,600 in Givat Hamatos to the 

south, and 3,000 elsewhere in 

the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 

Prime Minister Benjamin 

Netanyahu has not denied 

speculation that the expedited 

construction is in response to 

what Israel has called the Palestinians’ 

“unilateral move” at the 

United Nations. 

absent. William and the former 

Kate Middleton, who is recovering 

from severe morning 

sickness that saw her hospitalised 

for four days earlier this 

month, broke with tradition to 

spend Christmas Day with her 

family rather than the royals. 

The queen had missed 

church on Sunday due to a cold 

but appeared in good spirits 

as she arrived for the morning 

service at St Mary Magdalene 

Church wearing a turquoise 

coat dress and matching hat. 

Her 91-year-old husband 

Prince Philip, who spent last 

Christmas in hospital following 

a heart scare, was also at 

church along with heir to the 

throne Prince Charles and his 

wife Camilla. — Agencies 

123 killed by Russian cold 

Tuesday focused on a village 

in Tyva, one of Russia's poorest 

regions in southern Siberia, 

where temperatures of minus 

40 degrees Celsius were coupled 

with an accident at the 

local heat station which left 

some 3,000 residents stranded 

in the cold. 

"There is nothing, not even 

water, we have to melt snow, 

and the temperature at home is 

below zero," one bundled-up 

resident told Vesti-24 channel. 

— AFP 

27 feared dead in plane crash 

the incident. An investigation 

is in progress," the KNB said, 

without giving more details. 

The security source quoted 

by Interfax said that according 

to initial information there 

were no survivors. 

Aviation disasters remain 

a scourge across the former 

Soviet Union. 

The Kazakh border guard 

service was already hit this 

year by tragedy with the killing 

of 14 of its servicemen in 

May at a border post in the remote 

Tian Shan mountains. 

A border guard, Vladislav 

Chelakh, 20, was this month 

sentenced to life in prison for 

the killings but the defence 

argued he was being made a 

scapegoat for security failings 

higher up. — AFP

PORTA CABINS / TURNKEY CAMPS 

Our Services Manufacturing, Erection, Mobilization. 

Our Products Camps, Kitchens, Offices, Ablutions 

Phone 24503725 Fax 24503723 

Mobile 95228450 Mobile 99277505 

e-mail info@speedhouseoman.com 

Web www.speedhouseoman.com 

SPEED HOUSE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION LLC 

R 

BUSINESS or PPLEASURE 

OMAN or ABROAD A 

ALKH: 24489248/648 

RUWI: 24707074, QURUM: 24691110 

SOHAR: 26845565 

MUSCAT AIRPORT: 24521189 

SALALAH: 23296246 

Also available — Luxury Cars with 

Chauffeur Service 

S 

ENT-A-CAR 

ENT-A-C 

ERVICES SERVICES 

1. AC, Fridge 

id & Washing 

Machine Machine Servi Servicing & 

Repairing 2P 2. Painting, 

Plumbing, Electrical & 

Carpentry Works. Contact: 

97014234/ 97123569, 

24504281. 

HOOPOE SMART 

CARD SERVICES 

Sanad Service Centre 

We provide the following 

services: Typing, clearing 

all transactions related to 

government departments 

and private sector, eg 

labour agreement for 

Omanis and expatriates, 

typing of labour card 

for expatriates, typing 

of visas and document 

clearing from immigration 

department, Ministry of 

Commerce & Industry, 

Ministry of Manpower, 

Commercial names 

reservation, renewal of 

commercial registration, 

renewal of OCCI 

membership, attestation of 

all documents from OCCI 

& Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs. Renewal of labour 

cards through electronic 

payment or cash payment. 

Please note you may 

deliver your transaction 

through our e-mail 

and our representative 

will deliver it to your 

office personally after 

completion. Our address 

is: Ruwi, near Gulf 

Transport Co. (GTC), 

Fax: 24793331, GSM: 

98793665 (Direct) 

99231500. 

E-mail: hoopoeoman@ 

gmail.com 

AL FAHAD 

TRANSLATION 

SERVICES 

Translation of all kinds 

of legal, medical, and 

other types of documents, 

Commercial Agencies, 

etc. Ruwai, near Gulf 

Transport Co (GTC), 

Fax: 24794286. GSM 

: 98793665 (Direct) 

95959838. E-mail: 

bptland@gmail.com 

LANDRAIL TRADING 

& SERVICES (Smart 

Card) Ruwi, near Gulf 

Transport Co. (GTC), Fax: 

24780244, Tel: 24789117, 

GSM 98793666 (Dir), 

96777170. E-mail: 

landrailoman@gmail.com 

G 

UEST HOUSE HO 

MURAHIB HOTEL 

APARTMENTS 

APARTME 

welcome our valuable 

GUESTS to our 

excellent location, 

AL KHUWAIR, near 

AL ZAWAWI 

MOSQUE, a single 

bedroom, a bedroom 

& majlis, two 

bedrooms & majlis. 

24478087, 

Fax: 24482454. 

QURUM BEACH 

HOTEL. 24564070. 

CLASSIFIED SECTION 

RUWI: 24785668 

P.C.O. (PEST 

CONTROL OMAN 

CO. LLC) 

Professionals who 

specialise in all types 

of Pest Control 

Services & Snake 

control and 

Guaranteed Termite 

Control. Also 

available Gel 

treatment for 

Cockroaches. 

Suppliers of UK 

Pesticides Chemicals, 

Snake Repellent, 

Cockroach Gels and 

Peripel treated 

Mosquito Nets. 

24787606, 

24787503, 

Fax: 24787607. 

MARBLE Marble 

polishing and 

crystallisation building, 

cleaning floor, floor 

polishing, carpet, sofa 

shampooing, pest 

control, anti-termite, 

shifting, maintenance. 

99504275. 

D 

RIVING SSCHOOL 

MORNING STAR 

DRIVING 

SCHOOL — Learn 

driving manual/ 

automatic with 

professionally 

qualified male/ 

female trainees in 

brand new cars and 

flexible payments. 

Call: 99043283, 

24478589, 24478505, 

www.chamberman. 

com/member/ 

morningstar www. 

morningstar.com 

T 

OURS 

MARINE To Tourism 

92808636, 92808636 e-mail: 

info@alainain.com 

if@li i 

SPECIAL Rates on 

New Cars & 4 WDs 

RENTING & LEASING 

Tours and Airport Transfer 

Tel: 24582663 

GSM: 95859497, 

Fax: 24582664, 

abcrent@omantel.net.om 

S 

ERVICES 

DESIGNING and 

printing on the screen 

promotional gifts, ID 

cards, occasions' cards, 

designing printed materials. 

Contact 92223460 

— Amerat. 

WE at Quick Fix offer 

a wide range of 

superior services. Our 

new services are 

Smart Maintenance 

Membership & 

Attractive Internal/ 

External painting/ 

Designs. We also 

provide Membership 

in our Special 

maintenance 

Programme that will 

provide you with 

smart maintenance 

solutions for your 

building. Our expert 

Philippine workers are 

well-trained to meet 

your expectations. We 

also provide electrical 

repairs, A/C 

maintenance, 

plumbing repairs, 

cleaning solutions, 

pest control solutions, 

swimming pool 

construction & 

maintenance, gorgeous 

gardening and 

landscaping. Please 

call us on 92849838/ 

95790142. 

A 

C 

CCM. WAN WANTED 

SHARING room wanted 

for a Keralite bachelor. 

99025024. 

AR BUY & 

SELL 

IF you are interested i 

to sell your cars, 

send SMS, we pay 

cash. 99333088. 

CLASSIFIED SECTION: 

OMAN DAILY Observer WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2012 

W 

PURCHASING 

PURCHASIN 

immediately: WWe 

would 

like lik to purchase h your 

land at Maabela 

95490842, 9323957. 

F 

ANTED 

OR REN RENT FOR RENT 

SAVILLS OMAN 

QUALITY homes for 

rent throughout 

Capital Area Muscat. 

Contact: 24692151. 

www.sav-oman.com 

For rent to one organisation 

New building in Darsait 

with 11 flats. Monthly 

rent: R O 3,000. 

99358758, 

99448972. 

FLATS & villas 1, 2, 3 

BHK for rent. 

92144045. 

NEW 24 flats near Indian 

School, Al Ghubra. All 

single B/R. 99009179, 

99466655. 

ROOM for rent, Al 

Khuwair — Bachelor. 

Prem 99416258, 

Mohan 99010846. 

FLAT in Darsait coast, 

2 bedrooms, sitting room, 

2 toilets, kitchen. Rent 

RO 250. 92124874. 

FURNISHED house at Al 

Amerat consists of 3 

bedrooms and 3 toilets 

next to Wadi Hattat Suq. 

Contact: 99331377. 

VILLA for rent in 

Mabella with 5 bedrooms, 

5 WC, majlis, kitchen, 

living room, car parking 

with shade. 99242357, 

99371332. 

OOD NEWS NEW 

AYURVEDIC 

Treatment, Yoga Yo massage 

& slimming slimming. CContact: 

92504980/24475280, 

www.drsajjay.com 

OFFICES, shops, villa 

at Al Khuwair, flats 

at Al Khuwair, Wadi 

Kabir, MBD, Mumtaz, 

furnished/unfurnished. 

96596348. 

FLAT, new building, 

available 2 BHK & 1 

BHK with split A/C at 

Darsait, opposite 

Indian Nursery, 

nearby Indian School 

— Darsait: 

98989287, 

98989265. Office: 

24787275. 

NEW villa at Al Mawaleh 

11 near Omantel building 

for RO 600. Contact: 

99292939, 99434781. 

SHOWROOM + store 

(250 Sq m) Ruwi-Honda 

Road. Call: 99260200. 

HOME for rent, Al Jifnain 

(family only) 4 rooms, 1 

hall, 1 kitchen, 3 

bathrooms. Contact: 

99428007. 

2 BEDROOM flat, 3 

toilets, Al Athaiba, behind 

Zubair. RO 400. 

99213691. 

ONLY for serious people. 

Penthouse, 1 bedroom, 

sitting room, 2 WC, 

kitchen in Mumtaz. 

93248832, 98003444. 

ONE bedroom flat for rent 

in Mawaleh. 92725057. 

UNIVERSITY OF BURAIMI — General Foundation Program 

Were you a student at the University Buraimi — General Foundation Program 

during the 2011-2012 school year under the directorship of Dr Adlai Naidoo 

or during the 2010-2011 school year under the directorship of Dr Ali Fayadh? 

Did you suffer from a lack of textbooks? 

Was there a loss of cohesiveness due to changing policies and changing 

instructors? 

Are you convinced that you received high quality instruction in exchange for 

your scholarship award? 

Or, do you feel that you lost part of your educational year to incompetence? 

If so, you may be eligible for compensation resulting from a class action lawsuit 

directed at 

ELS/ITES/Mr Saeed Bin Saleem Bin Bakhit Khawwar (Chairman) 

Please call 00 968 9828 1989 for more information. 

G 

Sulaiman Awlad Thani: 95181747 

Ali al Maashari: 99639264 

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

14 

Available on very GOOD prices 

HP 1000 Wireless Printer 

RO 10.500 only 


Flat, 2 bedrooms, sitting 

room, 2 WC, marble 

flooring in Mumtaz. 

93248832, 98003444. 


Flat, 2 bedrooms, sitting 

room, 2 WC, marble 

flooring in Al Khuwair, 

ground floor. 

93248832, 98003444. 

SHOPS and showroom at 

Barka Industrial Estate. 

Contact: 95753852, 

93232929. 

VILLA at Qantab, Muscat 

next to the beach, 

furnished in European 

style, 2 storey villa 

consists of 6 bedrooms, 

garden and swimming 

pool. 92010246, 

99555450, 92366126. 

FLAT at Wadi Kabir, 5 

bedrooms with split AC 

99388994. 

10,000 m/sq a farm at Al 

Seeb, a lot of water and 

green view, 200 baiza 

per metre. Contact: 

99600909. 

ONE room + bathrooom 

in PDO Road, Qurum 

165. Call: 99654530. 

FLAT for rent in a brand 

new building in al Hail 

north near the Waive 

consists of 1 bedroom 

equipped with AC, 2 

bathrooms, sitting hall 

and kitchen, RO 230/- 

99213341, 99387455. 

GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! 

HP 2510 3 in 1 Printer 


HP OJ 4500 4 in 1 Printer 


HP Laptop 4540 2 GB VGA 

RO 249.900 only 

AII HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Samsung 

Cartridges also available 

ELECTRICAL CONTRACT 

WORKS WANTED 

WE are a reputable Electrical 

Contractors, undertaking all 

types of electrical jobs such as 

electrification of multi-storied 

buildings, factories, hospitals, 

schools, 11 KV substations, O/H 

lines, underground cabling etc. 

We are registered with MEDC, 

Civil Defence & Tender Board. 

Electrical jobs of any volume/ 

value, please contact 

Mob: 99878180 Fax: 24595388. 

CLASSIFIED 

SECTION 

RUWI 

24785668 

COMPUTER SUPPLIES 

Ruwi: 24792792 

GOOD PRICE!!! GOOD PRICE!!! 

DIRECT: 24649594 — FAX : 24649590 

e-mail: classified@omandaily.om 

S 

CLASSIFIED SECTION 

RUWI: 24785668 

Behind Royal Oman Police 

Adjacent to 

Dhofar Building 

ITUATION VACANT 

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

REQUIRED a good 

looking and qualified 

sales woman to work 

at luxury clothes at 

Al Ghubrah, 

preferably Filipino 

lady. Contact: 

96444591. 

REQUIRED Dentist for 

a well running clinic in 

Al Khoud. Contact: 

99785084, 99209298. 

URGENTLY required an 

AC technician, well 

experienced in window, 

split, and duct AC units. 

Valid Oman driving 

licence is essential. 

Attractive salary and 

good packages provide. 

Suitable candidates send 

their resume to 

Jaggu772008@yahoo. 

com, Fax No: 24604535, 

Gsm: 99502042. 

Preference given to 

candidates employed in 

Oman and looking for 

release soon. 

EXPERIENCED Sales 

Executive required for 

building and packaging 

materials sales. Clearance 

ready: 99470923. 

REQUIRED: Director 

(Training office) 

Kwxy2013@gmail.com. 

WANTED Filipina 

Housemaid with 

experience in cooking. 

Contact: 95559988. 

GENERAL Manager — 

Qurum Beach Hotel. 

24704994. 

THE following 

experienced and licenced 

personnel are urgently 

required for an 

international construction 

company operating in 

Muscat: 1. Heavy Duty 

Drivers; 2. Motor 

Grader Operators; 

3. JCB Operators; 

4. Boom Loader (Tele 

Loader) Operators. 

(968) 97630275. 

95225350. 

REQUIRED Sales 

Person with experience 

in selling libricants, 

e-mail: alsanad2006@ 

yahoo.com 

REQUIRED Pharmacist 

for well-estsablished 

pharmacy in Al 

Dhakhiliyah. Call 

98130597. 

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 

ILYA MANPOWER 

HOUSEMAIDS 

available from 

Philippines, Sri 

Lanka & Africa. 

All types of 

skilled workers 

(waiters, 

cooks, drivers, 

constructions, 

industrials, 

hotels & 

ministries.....) 

Tel/Fax 

22050086 — 

Hail Shimaly 

Al Jabri Bldg. 

next to 

Bahja Mall. 

U 

AL Hikmani ffor 

HAJ 

and UMRAH 

— With 

a host of services 

including the following: 

Hiring luxurious 

coaches, arranging 

weekly trips, preparing 

visas for expats at 

cost-effective price, 

including transport, 

housing, meals and visits 

to shrine locations. Land 

and air trips weekly. 

(99311310, 24566016, 

99361982, 99707248, 

99322124. 

L 

M 

MRAH/HAJ 

MRAH/HA 

OST 

RAMJITH Kizhakke Kiz i 

Keloth has los lost Indian 

Passport No GG-6138903. 

Finder please handover to 

ROP. 

ANPOWER 

ANPOWE 

FRIENDS 

MANPOWER: 

Filipino housemaids 

and all kinds of 

workers. 24489268 

Tel/Fax: 24478153. 

F 

OR SALE 

COM/RES plot at 

Ghubra area 2,712 M2 COM/RES / plo l 

Ghubra area 2 

behind Al May Maya Hyper 

Market. 99009179, 

99466655. 

CLASSIFIEDS 

Continued on P-15

SENIOR SENIOR Electrical Elect 

Engineer, Srila Srilankan, 12 

years experienc experience EPIC, 

SWRO, water, sewage R O 

plant and industrial 

projects, 7 years 

GCC experience including 

2 years in Oman for PAEW 

project. Contact: 

murshi212@yahoo.com 

00971551085357, 

00971567350923. 

INDIAN mechanical 

engineer with one and half 

years of experience. 

Certified NDT (level 2) 

oilfield refining & welding 

engineering courses. 

e-mail: jawadjbm@gmail. 

com 96538965. 

NETWORKING and IT 

engineer with 5 years 

experience, valid D/L, 

currently working visa, 

Muscat. Contact: 

94163377. 

OMANI seeks HSE 

position. Contact: 

jeebal3000@gmail.com 

DIPLOMA in Mechanical 

Engineering having more 

than 10 years experience 

in fabrication of pressure 

vessel, transformer tank, 

heat exchanger, column 

etc. Contact: 99633105. 

DRIVER/Asst 

maintenance supervisor, 

Indian male, mechanical 

diploma course 

discontinued, 34 years of 

age having 6 years 

experience in a reputed 

company at Muscat. 

Seeks job change, release 

available. Contact: 

92670947. 

INDIAN male, B Sc, IT, 

PGDHRM, 5 years 

experience in banking, 

seeks suitable position in 

Oman in any sector (sales, 

bank, office etc). Contact: 

93520968/97089634. 

dakik.ahmed@gmail.com 

10 YEARS experience as 

HSE adviser in Oman with 

valid Omani driving licence. 

Contact: 92825053. 

INDIAN male, 32 years, 

B Tech electrical engineer, 

9 years experience in 

electrical installation 

commissioning project 

coordination for 

substations, industrial, 

hospital railway 

infrastructure development 

project, having valid Saudi 

D/L, seeks suitable 

placement. Contact 

96156324. 


MBA with 3+ yrs Indian 

experience in HR & 

Admin, Marketing seeks 

suitable placement. 

Contact: 96033956. 

E-mail: karoludaya17@ 

yahoo.co.in 

INDIAN, 24 years, 

experienced Electronics and 

Communication 

Engineering Diploma 

holder having Supervisorlevel 

experience in 

Electronics industries, seeks 

suitable opening. Presently 

and on visit visa. Please call 

GSM 95950219. 

ACCOUNTANT, 16 

months of Oman 

experience, B Com and 

financial accounting , 

MS Office, Tally. Contact: 

95597647, 92029815. 


MBA employed as 

commercial manager, 

looking for suitable 

opening in supply chain/ 

logistics/export/import. 

Contact: 91141206. 

PAKISTANI male, 36 

years, fresh on visit visa 

seeks placement as 

salesman or supervisor. 

96512464. 

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 

15 

US/CLASSIFIEDS 


SUPERVISOR, electronics 

and communication 

engineering diploma 

holder, supervisor level 

experience in electronics 

industries, 24 years Indian, 

presently on visit visa. 

95950219. 

ACCOUNTANT, 5 years of 

experience in Oman. 

BCom, can do accounts 

upto finalisation 

independently, knowing 

management reporting. 

Contact: 96052968. 

E-mail: salim107@gmail. 

com 

HSE professional, 2 years 

experience with Cochin Fire 

Guard, seeks placement 

+0091 9809959789, 

kpereira468@gmail.com 

INDIAN female, 5 years 

experience as nurse in India, 

holding Oman Ministry 

of Health licence, seeks 

placement. 93636234. 

INDIAN male, 24, MBA in 

Finance & Marketing 

having 14 months 

experience, currently 

staying in Muscat on visit 

visa seeks suitable 

placement. Contact: 

95848764. E-mail: saud. 

ruk@gmail.com 

QUANTITY surveyor, 

Sri Lankan, 9 + years 

experience, with 

transferable visa, is seeking 

suitable position. GSM 

93044123 or 938969025, 

e-mail: msfarzan@gmail. 

com 

INDIAN male, 25 yrs, 

BTech (First Class) 

(Electronics & 

Communication Engineer) 

RF Drive Test Engineer, 

2G & 3G with 2.5 years of 

working experience, seeks 

for good job in Electronics 

field. On visit visa. 

95387995. E-mail: 

mansoorfarooqi1987@ 

gmail.com 

LIGHT duty driver, 

10 years experience in 

Saudi and Oman, seeks 


94025973. 


THE remains of homes destroyed by fire during Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point area of New York's borough of Queens yesterday. — Reuters 

Storm, tornado threat to central US 

WASHINGTON — A major 

winter storm brought a rare 

white Christmas to the southern 

US plains yesterday, contributing 

to a 21-vehicle pileup 

that shut down a major 

highway in Oklahoma. 

The storm system surg- 

S 

ing east from Kansas and the 

Texas Panhandle includes 

the threat of tornados and severe 

thunderstorms along its 

southern fringe, from southeast 

Texas to Alabama, the 

National Weather Service 

said. 

The storm is expected to 

bring blizzard conditions and 

6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) 

of snow as it strengthens and 

moves northeast into the upper 

Ohio River valley through 

southern Missouri and Illinois, 

it said. 

Freezing drizzle overnight 

led to 10 separate collisions 

on Interstate 40 at Oklahoma 

City just before 3 am, said 

Trooper Betsy Randolph, a 

spokeswoman for the Oklahoma 

Highway Patrol. 

The 21-vehicle pile-up 

included three tractor-trailers 

and shut down the westbound 

lanes for about five hours, she 

said. 

Twelve people were taken 

to hospitals, and troopers are 

checking on the severity of 

their injuries. — Reuters 

ITUATION ITUATIO WANTED SITUATION WANTED SITUATION WANTED 

IRAQI Architect, 22 years 

experience in projects 

management & supervision, 

6 years in Oman seeks 


97608513. 

INDIAN female (28), B. 

Tech (CSE), MBA (HR) 

final sem, looking for 

suitable placement with 

good organisations in 

admin, HR, back office, 

have 2 years experience 

(Quantity Analyst, India) 6 

months (Oman) with PDO 

company as admin assistant, 

currently on family visa. 

95328330, 93653426. 

INDIAN female, Finance & 

Accounts Manager, BCom, 

CA Articleship completed, 

accounting packages, 10 

yrs in Oman, good 

communication skills, 

finalisation, audit, etc seeks 


Contact: 95607825. 

INDIAN, 24 years Gulf 

experience, Civil site 

in-charge, seeks good 

position. 94265140. 

E-mail: robertsingh61@ 

yahoo.com 

11 YEARS experience in 

logistics & warehouse, 

valid GCC D/L, looking for 

a suitable job. 98676159. 

E-mail: nairviju77@gmail.com 

INDIAN male with 

accounting, Tally, ERP-9, 

Fire & Safety and sales 

seeks suitable placement. 

94388653 — Nashim. 

OMANI, male, 29 years, 

Higher Secondary 

graduate. Experienced as 

PRO, Teller, Call Centre, 

Customer Service, 

excellent computer skills, 

fluent Arabic, very good 

English and Hindi, over 

10 years driving 

licence, seeks suitable 


92661233, Mohed. 

ACCOUNTS & Admin 

Manager, Oman, India 

experience in finalisation, 

banking, admin, 

procurement, audit seeks 

managerial role in MNCs/ 

reputed cos. Please SMS: 

968-99283938 

91-9884488549, 

Rajansampath@hotmail. 

com 

MANAGER, MBA, 

BCom, pursuing CMA, 

total 8 years experience in 

Accounts, Marketing 

operations having D/L. 

93665357. 

M COM with 8 years 

experience in UAE in 

Financial Accounting 

L/C’s and management 

Information System. 

Excellent in English and 

ERP accounting softwares. 

Present salary in UAE is 

AED 15,000/- 

97845868. 

E-mail: nowshadak@hotmail.com, 

available in 

Muscat upto 20/12/12. 

SITUATION VACANT 

A Leading PEB Manufacturing Company in 

Oman is looking for the following personal for 

immediate appointment. 

1) Marketing Engineer-1 

Should be Arabic speaking Civil or Mechanical 

Engineer having valid GCC driving Licences. 

Minimum 2-3 Years Experience in Marketing of 

PEB Building & Knowledge of Oman Market is 

Essential. 

2) Project Engineer-1 

Civil or Mechanical Engineer having Valid 

GCC Driving Licence. Minimum 2 to 3 years 

experience in Execution of projects related 

PEB building. 

Send CV to: hrdcont@yahoo.com 

UN approves debate on arms 

treaty opposed by gun lobby 


UN General Assembly voted 

overwhelmingly on Monday 

to restart negotiations on a 

draft international treaty to 

regulate the $70 billion global 

trade in conventional arms, a 

pact the powerful US National 

Rifle Association has been 

lobbying hard against. 

UN delegates and gun 

control activists have complained 

that talks collapsed in 

July largely because US President 

Barack Obama feared 

attacks from Republican rival 

Mitt Romney before the 

November 6 election if his 

administration was seen as 

supporting the pact, a charge 

US officials have denied. 

The NRA, which has 

come under intense criticism 

for its reaction to the December 

15 shooting massacre of 

20 children and six educators 

at an elementary school 

in Newtown, Connecticut, 

opposes the idea of an arms 

trade treaty and has pressured 

Obama to reject it. 

But after Obama's re-election 

last month, his administration 

joined other members 

of a UN committee in supporting 

the resumption of negotiations 

on the treaty. 

That move was set in stone 

on Monday when the 193nation 

UN General Assembly 

voted to hold a final round of 

negotiations on March 18-28 

in New York. 

The foreign ministers of 

Argentina, Australia, Costa 

Rica, Finland, Japan, Kenya 

and the United Kingdom — 

the countries that drafted the 

resolution — issued a joint 

statement welcoming the decision 

to resume negotiations 

on the pact. 

"This was a clear sign 

that the vast majority of UN 

member states support a 

strong, balanced and effective 

treaty, which would set 

the highest possible common 

global standards for the international 

transfer of conventional 

arms," they said. 

There were 133 votes 

in favour, none against and 

17 abstentions. A number 

of countries did not attend, 

which UN diplomats said 

was due to the Christmas Eve 

holiday. 

The exact voting record 

was not immediately available, 

though diplomats said 

the United States voted 'yes,' 

as it did in the UN disarmament 

committee last month. 

Among the top six armsexporting 

nations, Russia cast 

the only abstention in last 

month's vote. Britain, France 

and Germany joined China 

and the United States in the 

PROJECT Manager/ 

Resident Engineer, Civil 

available for large scale 

building project. 28 years 

experience, 15 years in 

UAE/ Qatar. Last 16 years 

as team leader, on visit 

visa. 00968 99570179 

— Farees Ahmed. 

fareesmasood@yahoo.com 

INDIAN male, IT professional, 

MBA-IT, MCSE, 

MCITP and ITIL, 12 years 

experience managing 

enterprise IT in Oman 

seeks suitable position 

99419879. 

MBA (industrial), BE 

(mechanical), 4 years 

experience in services 

& planning of power 

and oil & gas industry. 

Able to work in techno 

commercial role. Contact: 

99659343, 23296584. 

Adeel Haider. 

FINANCE Manager, 18 

years experience project 

financing, management 

accounts, cost control 

ERP, finalisation, 

feasibility study, BPR, 

M.I.S etc, seeks suitable 

opportunity 92439941 

georaji9@hotmail.com 

INDIAN male, 23, B 

Com, MBA (Finance & 

HR). Diploma in Islamic 

Banking and Finance, 

having computer 

knowledge seeks suitable 

placement in Accounts or 

Finance. 98195964. 

e-mail: anas.sidhi@gmail. 

com 

MARKETING manager 

25 years GCC/Oman 

experience tools and 

equipment, BLSG MAT, 

pollution control, towers, 

solar, other hetech 

products and business 

development seeks 

suitable opportunity. 

98559317. 

A LEBANESE national now 

in Oman for the last 2 years 

is looking for an opening 

job in a reputable company. 

Age — 52, experience in 

general management, banking, 

business field, contracting, 

management, finance 

administration, IT & human 

resources. Known languages 

perfectly read and write (Arabic/French/ 

English). Reference for call: 

0096892549511. 

E-mail: labeaa@ymail.com 

disarmament committee in 

support of the same resolution 

approved by the General 

Assembly. 

The main reason the arms 

trade talks are taking place at 

all is that the United States 

— the world's biggest arms 

trader, which accounts for 

more than 40 per cent of global 

transfers in conventional 

arms — reversed US policy 

on the issue after Obama was 

first elected and decided in 

2009 to support a treaty. 

Obama administration officials 

have tried to explain 

to US opponents of the arms 

trade pact that the treaty under 

discussion would have 

no effect on gun sales and 

ownership inside the United 

States because it would apply 

only to exports. 

But NRA Executive Vice- 

President Wayne LaPierre 

told UN delegations in July 

that his group opposed the 

pact and there are no indications 

that it has changed that 

position. 

"Any treaty that includes 

civilian firearms ownership 

in its scope will be met with 

the NRA's greatest force of 

opposition," LaPierre said, 

according to the website of 

the NRA's lobbying wing, 

the Institute for Legislative 

Action (NRA-ILA). 

INDIAN female, 24 years, 

B Tech — IT, 3.2 years 

working experience in the 

same field. Now on visit 

visa in Oman, seeks suitable 


93056837. 

B.E. (Electronics & 

Telecom Engineer), Indian 

male, 25 years, on-going 

MBA, CCNA experience 

in India, currently 

working in Oman with 

valid D/L looking for 

suitable position. 

93807203/ 

thejus2310@gmail.com 

INDIAN male (MBA), 8 

yrs Oman experience with 

D/L, seeks opportunity 

for senior position in sales 

& marketing. Contact 

93681680, sva.muscat@gmail.com 

INDIAN male, 27 yrs, 

MBA Finance with 1.7 

years of banking and 2 

years of experience as accounts 

assistance, Tally 9 

ERP 95364604, 

E-mail: franciskr@gmail. 

com 

OPERATION manager, 

Indian, 35, male, specialised 

in finance & 

accounts, over 10 years of 

experience in Gulf 

(including bank in Bahrain), 

seeks job 

98519020. 

FREE 

INFORMATION 

ABOUT ISLAM 

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96050000, 

99353988, 

99253818, 

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ladies: 99415818, 

99321360, 99730723 

Or visit: www.islamfact.com

When 

dreams 

sparkle 

By R Smajilhodzic 

EVERY Christmas, 

thousands of people 

flock to this village 

not far from the Croatian 

capital to see Zlatko Salaj’s 

childhood dream come 

to life in all its dazzling, 

glittering glory. 

Growing up here 

decades ago, Salaj would 

spend Christmas in his 

father’s dilapidated — and 

poorly lit — mill, dreaming 

of a bright, cheerful 

holiday. His impoverished 

childhood prompted Salaj 

to seek work abroad. A 

decade ago, he returned to 

his hometown with an idea. 

He repaired the old 

mill in the village some 

60 km east of Zagreb, 

planted trees and flowers 

and offered his family the 

type of Christmas he’d 

always dreamt of. “I bought 

Christmas lights, 70,000 

bulbs, and decorated two 

trees outside the house. 

Everyone stopped to admire 

this spectacle of lights,” 

Salaj said. 

Now the light show 

has become a local draw, 

with crowds of parents and 

kids coming to gawk at the 

display, which this year 

features Santa on a sleigh, 

an illuminated igloo and 

polar bears. 

“Every year, I increase 

the number of bulbs and 

this year, we are at 1.3 

million,” Salaj said. 

His property is open 

to the public between 

December 1 and January 

8, a day after Orthodox 

Christian Christmas. 

“This year, we expect up 

to 50,000 visits during these 

39 days,” said Ana Bertic, 

who manages the operation. 

“I really feel like in a 

fairy tale,” said Dragica 

Vinkovic, who came to see 

the dazzling display with 

her daughter Josipa. Salaj 

has spent his life savings on 

the project. 

“At first, I could lie to 

my wife, saying that (for) 

something that really costs 

5,000 euros ($6,600) I have 

paid 500 euros, but not for 

long,” he said. 

The light show now 

costs more than 65,000 

euros per year, he said. 

Visitors who can afford 

it pay an admission fee 

of 2.5 euros each. Local 

authorities help with the 

electricity bill and the 

tourist office, as well as the 

country’s tourism ministry, 

have also chipped in. 

By Pratibha Tuladhar 

FOR the past four 

months, Ndoe Mbarga 

Pierre Herve, 30, has 

been waking up to mildly 

chilly Kathmandu mornings, 

in a room on the top floor of 

a three-storey football club 

house. 

When he steps out of bed, 

he has to stoop to make sure 

his head does not hit the ceiling 

of the five and half feet 

traditional house in the heart 

of old Kathmandu, Nepal’s 

capital. 

Herve, popularly known 

as Peter, is one of 51 African 

footballers who play for the 

16 Nepalese football clubs. In 

his youth he played alongside 

Samuel Eto’o, who is one of 

the highest paid players and 

now plays for Russian club 

Anzhi Makhachkala. 

“Eto’o and I trained at the 

same academy as youngsters,” 

Peter flashes a neatly set row 

of teeth. 

“He’s out there and I’m 

here, but that’s how life is!” 

Peter’s new home, the bustling 

Sankata courtyard, where he 

sometimes sits drinking coke 

and conversing with the locals, 

is surrounded by 50 odd 

houses, with two temples at 

the centre — a marked change 

from his surroundings in his 

home city Yaounde. 

16 

ANALYSIS/OPINION 



A SYRIAN refugee at a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border in Oncupinar in Kilis province. — AFP 

In desperate conditions 

By Yara Bayoumy 

HUDDLED inside thin plastic 

tents in a makeshift camp 

after fleeing Syrian bombs 

thousands of refugees say they face a 

new enemy. “The cold is killing us,” 

many of them say. 

Having survived a conflict in which 

more than 40,000 people are estimated 

to have been killed, refugees at the 

Bab al Salameh camp on the Syrian- 

Turkish border say the winter is now a 

bigger threat to them than the violence 

engulfing their country. 

“The situation here is even worse 

than being at home,” said Waad Orfali, 

a 27-year-old woman, dressed in a pink 

headscarf, velvet pink gown and slippers, 

as rain pounded the camp. “At 

least in the village there was a doctor,” 

said Orfali, who escaped from the 

northern village of Marea about two 

weeks ago after snipers and air strikes 

forced her and her family to relocate to 

the relative safety of the camp. 

The flimsy tents scattered across 

the encampment offer scant relief to 

the thousands of men, women and 

children facing freezing weather and 

constant rain, and colder conditions 

are still to come. 

Earlier this month, the United Nations 

refugee agency said more than 

half a million Syrian refugees are 

registered or waiting in other Middle 

Eastern countries, with about 3,000 

new people seeking refugee status and 

assistance daily. 

“I’m three months pregnant and 

I’ve been bleeding,” said Orfali, who 

suffered from mouth sores. She said 

Football is the most popular 

sport in the Himalayan 

nation, but the sport has been 

struggling to carve a niche 

for Nepal on the international 

map. 

“The number of football 

clubs has been multiplying 

even as there is a dearth of 

players in the country,” said 

Indra Man Tuladhar, Chief 

Executive Officer of All Nepal 

Football Association (ANFA). 

To make up for the lack of 

good players, the clubs have 

started signing foreign football 

players. 

“It’s cheaper for the clubs 

to get African players because 

you have to issue a full year 

contract to Nepali players, 

which costs a lot of money.” 

Flimsy tents scattered 

across the encampment 

offer scant relief to the 

refugees facing freezing 

winter, rain and colder 

conditions still to come 

her husband suffered from kidney 

stones, but that neither had been able 

to receive medical care at the camp. 

“At home there’s no water or electricity 

and it’s the same thing here,” 

another woman chimed. 

Tents reeked of damp as the rain 

seeped through, soaking blankets, 

clothes and rugs, and with no electricity 

in the camp, children, many wearing 

a single layer of clothing and slippers 

with no socks, shivered in the cold. 

Mothers complained they received 

little food. By the afternoon, they said 

breakfast had not even been distributed. 

With no running water, lavatories 

near the mosque stank of rubbish and 

sewage. 

“Tell them Syria’s people are full 

of lice,” said Um Ali, a mother of 12, 

said. She carried her ID papers in plastic 

to protect them from the rain in the 

hope that she could use them to get 

Nepal’s football clubs are 

packed with African players 

mostly from Cameroon, Ivory 

Coast, Senegal and Nigeria. 

“Most of the clubs sign 

African players for the league 

season only, which costs much 

less.” The African players 

are lured to Nepal by agents 

who promise them $5,000 per 

month. This often does not 

happen and they receive only 

$1,000 a month and admit that 

they arrived in Nepal without 

much information. 

“Only after getting here I 

started knowing about Nepal,” 

said Peter. 

“I find that the people are 

friendly, I get gifts and I get 

invited for Nepali festivals.” 

When Nepal was celebrat- 

ing some major festivals last 

month, Peter was invited by 

his neighbours to share in the 

Nepali feasts. 

Peter shares his apartment 

with two other Cameroonians, 

a Nigerian and a South African, 

as well as several local players, 

at their Sankata Club’s house. 

But the experience of living 

in Nepal is subjective. Unlike 

Peter, his South African roommate 

Lindani Mbambo says 

that his experiences of living 

in the country have not always 

been pleasant. 

“Since we are foreigners, 

the referee and the crowd is 

against us, so we’re always 

under pressure to deliver 100 

per cent,” says Mbambo, who 

has been living in Nepal for 

supplies from the camp authorities for 

her children. 

Some refugees here are trying to 

scrape together a living amid the misery. 

They set up stands to sell small 

items, and children zigzag through the 

tents hawking sweets and chocolate. 

IHH, a Turkish relief group, is running 

the camp. Shawkat Gukman, the 

IHH co-ordinator at Bab al Salameh, 

said the camp housed about 870 tents 

and 6,000 people with about 200 people 

streaming through each day. 

Gukman said IHH had not been 

entirely in charge of running the camp 

until recently. He said some 5,000 

pairs of children’s shoes had been 

given out. 

Challenging conditions like a lack 

of water and electricity made food 

preparation and distribution particularly 

challenging, Gukman said. 

“The crisis may last for years. It’s 

18 months. The 29-year-old, 

who wears his hair in braids 

says he’s uncomfortable walking 

around the streets because 

people always shoot a long 

glance at him and sometimes 

children laugh at him. 

For a country that opened 

to foreigners only in the 

1950s, African residents are 

rare in Nepal. 

“But the world is a global 

not clear but the war could last for a 

longer time.” 

As the war continues, more Syrians 

are expected to flee. 

The latest estimates indicate that 

the total number of Syrians who have 

fled during the conflict has already 

surpassed the 700,000 refugees that 

the UNHCR forecast by year-end, 

though more than 200,000 of them 

have not registered formally. Another 

2.5 million or more are believed to be 

displaced inside Syria. 

Um Ahmed, a mother of five girls 

and two boys, said she moved to the 

Bab al Salameh camp four months ago 

from the Hanano district of Aleppo. 

“When we first came, we were 

sleeping under the tyres of trucks. The 

sun burned us,” she said in her threeby-four 

metre tent, where she had lit a 

coal fire and was grilling onions she 

said would help fight her children’s 

infections. 

Dressed in a purple sweater and 

red wool skirt, Um Ahmed said she 

had been a supporter of Assad at the 

beginning of the conflict, now in its 

21st month. 

“He said there wouldn’t be a drop 

of blood, and now there’s a river of 

blood. So now I’m the most opposed 

to Assad after what I’ve seen with my 

eyes,” she said. 

Like many other refugees thrust into 

dire conditions, Um Ahmed has tried 

to keep some semblance of a home in 

her tent. In a vain effort to keep the 

tent dry, a mop is perched against the 

tent’s corner, and there is a red basin to 

bathe in. One side of the tent is decorated 

with the opposition flag. 

village and if I’m in Nepal, 

I should try to make it my 

home.” Some African footballers 

travel around South 

Asia, playing league seasons 

in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri 

Lanka and India. For fellow 

Nepali players, playing with 

the foreigners has also been a 

learning experience. 

“We can learn from their 

toughness and strong game,” 

No light at the 

end of tunnel 

By Chantal Valery 

THE suicide of a 

Guantanamo inmate 

underscores the grim 

reality for detainees held 

there for nearly 11 years 

without charge or trial, 

with no end in sight to their 

imprisonment. 

Three months after Adnan 

Farhan Abdul Latif was found 

dead in his cell, the US Army 

formally declared his death to 

be a suicide — the seventh at 

the prison. 

US Southern Command, 

which oversees Guantanamo, 

said the US Navy’s criminal 

investigation unit has opened 

a probe into his death. 

“Too many questions are 

open,” his attorney David 

Remes said. 

How, Remes would like 

to know, did the prisoner 

manage to die at the tightlycontrolled 

facility of a selfadministered 

drug overdose, 

as the autopsy report cites as 

the cause? 

And how could an 

inmate suffering from acute 

pneumonia be languishing 

in a disciplinary cell without 

medical care? 

“If it was suicide, it was 

assisted suicide,” the attorney 

quipped. 

Remes said that his client 

“foresaw that the military was 

trying to kill him, but without 

their fingerprints.” 

Other Guantanamo 

detainees have reported 

finding “scissors and sharp 

objects in their cells,” he said. 

Remes recalled that Latif 

was known as a difficult 

inmate, and had been placed 

in a block of inmates being 

punished for misbehaving 

with jailers. 

“He was a pain in the neck 

for the authorities. No doubt 

that he expressed and tried to 

commit suicide,” Remes said. 

“Nothing worse than 

spending 11 years of 

captivity. Nobody asked 

whether they are guilty or 

not. It’s a misery. They feel 

very depressed.” 

Remes said the despair is 

especially acute among the 

15 others countrymen that he 

represents at Guantanamo. 

President Barack Obama’s 

re-election, after nearly 

four years of failing to 

fulfill his vow to shutter the 

controversial facility, has 

compounded the despondency 

felt by many detainees. 

In one of his first acts in 

office, Obama declared that 

he would close the doors of 

the George W Bush-era “war 

says Jagjeet Shrestha, who is a 

midfielder for Friends club. 

“We don’t have a big 

number of good players and 

their football culture is better 

than ours.” The trend of 

African players playing in 

the country began some five 

years ago as clubs signed 

players without the correct 

paper work. But ANFA soon 

changed the rules and started 

on terror” prison for good. 

But it remains open, housing 

166 detainees on the eve of 

his inauguration next month 

to a second term. 

Lieutenant Colonel 

Barry Wingard, an attorney 

who represents three of the 

detainees, said closing the 

prison would not necessary 

solve the inmates’ problems. 

“If closing Guantanamo 

means relocating my clients 

to other prisons throughout 

the world without a chance 

to prove their innocence, 

then it represents a new 

beginning without end for the 

prisoners,” he said. 

“What we really need is 

the beginning of the end, and 

that involves release after 11 

years in cages.” 

Among his clients is Fayiz 

Kandari, another man who 

saw his war crime charges 

recently dropped. 

“People always ask me 

why are you so committed to 

your clients?” Wingard said. 

“When I travel to Gitmo, 

I look into the eyes of evil 

and injustice. There can be 

nothing more obscene in a 

legal system than keeping 

innocent men in prison.” 

Prison conditions and 

legal constraints have only 

gotten tougher, not easier, 

under the Democratic 

president, according to 

Wingard. “Some of the best 

examples involve the current 

regime insisting on reading 

my mail to my clients, 

deciding what mail he can 

receive and not allowing me 

to travel outside the US on 

behalf of my clients,” he said. 

“Under the Bush 

administration, these were 

protections we took for 

granted,” Wingard said, 

adding that the prison 

conditions “haven’t gotten 

any better.” 

Wingard said detention 

under Obama has been no 

less cruel than under Bush. 

“Being punched in the 

face with a leather glove feels 

the same as being punched 

with a velvet glove,” he said. 

Of the 166 detainees 

still held at Guantanamo, 

55 have received the US 

military’s formal approval to 

be transferred, as had Latif. 

But there is no immediate 

prospect for their release. 

And their status only 

became more uncertain 

after Congress gave its final 

nod last week to an annual 

defence bill with provisions 

barring detainees from being 

moved to the US or to foreign 

countries. 

African players add colour to Nepal soccer 

The number of football clubs 

has been multiplying even as there 

is a dearth of players and to make 

for the lack of good players, the 

clubs have started signing foreign 

players and it is cheaper for them 

to get African players 

IN CAPTIVITY 

A CHILD plays in front of a graffiti along the streets of Kathmandu. — Reuters 

signing only players who had 

work permits. 

“The African footballers 

are very hardworking and disciplined, 

so they are respected 

by their peers,” Tuladhar 

claims. 

With the leagues season on 

in Nepal, many foreign footballers, 

who are Christians are 

on the field during the holiday 

season.

Bring it on! 

Jayawardene says 

of hostile MCG 

Page 18 

City can still overhaul United, says Barry 

MANCHESTER City’s Gareth Barry (left) celebrates his 

goal against Reading last Saturday. — Reuters 

Owen looks to end 

Liverpool jinx 

LONDON — Michael 

Owen made his name 

at English Premier 

League giants Liverpool 

but since he left he 

has never managed to 

score against them and 

he is aiming to set that 

right when his present 

team Stoke host them 

today. 

The 33-year-old 

former England striking 

great — who moved on 

to Real Madrid and 

then back to England with spells for Newcastle and Manchester 

United before signing for Stoke — looks set to play after 

recovering from a hamstring injury which has kept him out of 

action since the end of October. 

"It is a strange feeling really playing against your old club, 

especially one where you were there for around 15 years," he 

told Independent Sports News. 

"Liverpool are a big part of my life and career and I had 

some of the best times of my life at the club. 

"So certainly I have happy memories. I have not been so 

happy playing against them since; I have never scored and not 

particularly enjoyed it." 

Owen, scorer of 40 goals in his 89 appearances for England, 

believes that aside from perhaps ending his goal drought 

against them Stoke can extend their eight match unbeaten run 

which sees them just one place behind eighth placed Liverpool. 

"I don't see any reason why not," said Owen, whose side 

only trail Liverpool because of a poorer goals difference. 

"We had a really tough start to the season and we picked up 

points against some of the big teams. 

"Then we went into a period of games where you would 

look at them on paper and say we had a chance of picking up 

points, and we have duly done that. 

"We are on a nice run of form. Every game is tough in the 

Premier League, but there is no reason why we can't continue 

it." — AFP 

SUNDERLAND — Gareth 

Barry is confident Manchester 

City will be able to chase down 

Manchester United at the top 

of the table as the champions 

prepare to face Sunderland today. 

Roberto Mancini's team 

have responded to their 3-2 

defeat in the Manchester derby 

earlier this month with consecutive 

victories. 

That loss to their bitter rivals 

increased United's lead to 

six points but second placed 

City managed to reduce the 

deficit to four over the weekend. 

Barry scored in stoppagetime 

to secure a 1-0 win over a 

stubborn Reading side on Saturday 

before United dropped 

two points with a 1-1 draw at 

Swansea on Sunday. 

England midfielder Barry, 

31, acknowledges that United's 

home games against Newcastle 

and West Bromwich Albion 

over the Christmas period are 

easier than City's trips to Sun- 


derland and Norwich. 

But City overturned United's 

eight-point lead in the final 

six games of last season to win 

the Premier League title and 

Barry is adamant Mancini's 

side have a similar determination 

this time around. 

"When there's a little gap 

it's important that you don't 

slip any further behind," Barry 

said."If we can keep chipping 

away hopefully we can be 

there at the end of the season. 

"It's going to be a big 

Christmas and looking at the 

fixtures, they didn't fall that 

kindly for us, with two away 

games with the distances we've 

got to travel. 

"They're tough games but 

we showed a great performance 

at Newcastle and we've 

got to do the same over Christmas." 

City captain Vincent Kompany 

was on the bench for the 

win over Reading after a groin 

problem and he may be fit 

enough to return to the start- 

ing line-up at the Stadium of 

Light. 

Italian striker Mario 

Balotelli could return from 

illness, while Mancini will 

be hopeful that left-backs 

Gael Clichy and Aleksander 

Kolarov can overcome minor 

injury problems. 

But Samir Nasri, Micah 

Richards and Jack Rodwell 

are all ruled out until the new 

year. 

Although United have the 

advantage at present, City's recent 

defeat to Alex Ferguson's 

side was their only loss in the 

Premier League this season 

and Ivory Coast defender Kolo 

Toure believes the champions 

have already demonstrated 

they have what it takes to retain 

their title. 

"It's giving us encouragement 

because we haven't 

played to our best yet," Toure 

said. We are the champions, 

every team knows we are 

champions. They play 200 

per cent and that makes it re- 

ally hard for us. "We just keep 

fighting, keep pushing and we 

can still be better." 

Sunderland winger Adam 

Johnson is a doubt to face his 

old club as City go in search 

of their first victory at the Stadium 

of Light for almost fourand-a-half 

years. 

City inflicted a 3-0 defeat 

on Martin O'Neill's side in October, 

but they have taken just 

one point from their last three 

trips to Wearside, and their 

most recent victory was in August 

2008. 

Johnson is showing signs 

of recapturing his best form 

after struggling to impress 

since a £10 million move four 

months ago. 

The England international 

was forced off with a thigh 

problem during the secondhalf 

of the 1-0 victory at 

Southampton that pushed Sunderland 

four points clear of the 

relegation zone, and O'Neill is 

keeping his fingers crossed the 

midfielder recovers in time. 

Stomach virus 

rules Nadal out of 

Abu Dhabi return 

Page 18 

Pardew buoyed up 

for Man U trip 

NEWCASTLE — Newcastle 

manager Alan Pardew said 

yesterday the away trip to EPL 

leaders Manchester United today 

was less daunting now the 

Magpies had ended a poor run 

of results. 

Newcastle's 1-0 win over 

QPR last Saturday was only 

their second win in their last 

eight Premier League games 

which had dragged them close 

to the relegation zone — a far 

cry from last season when 

they did well enough to qualify 

for the Europa League. 

However, Pardew said regardless 

of only scoring one 

goal against QPR the fact 

they had won was far more 

significant especially as they 

are now entering a sequence 

of tough games starting at Old 

Trafford where they have not 

won since February 1972. 

Newcastle have another 

away game at Arsenal and 

then are at home to high-fly- 

ing Everton on January 1 and 

lying 14th in the table and just 

five points above the relegation 

places they are in desperate 

need of taking something 

from those games. 

"When you looked at the 

programme at the start, you 

could see that this was a tough 

run for us, and it's even tougher 

now with the results we 

have had and the injuries we 

have sustained," said Pardew, 

who has been at Newcastle 

since 2010. 

"But I am actually going 

into it more buoyed than 

I have been at probably any 

other period of the season. 

"We have definitely picked 

up, we look a little bit more 

resilient. We got a very important 

clean sheet on Saturday 

and I think we will be in 

good heart for what is one of 

the toughest games of the programme, 

Manchester United 

away," added the 51-year-old.

Dhofar, Suwaiq, Al Nahda and 

Al Talee’a win at HM’s Cup 

ACTION from the last 16 match between Al Nahda and Al Khabourah in His Majesty’s Cup 

Football Championship at Sohar Sports Complex yesterday. Al Nahda advanced with a 1-0 

win. In other matches played yesterday, defending champions Dhofar beat Al Musannah, 

Al Talee’a defeated Seeb 3-2, Al Shabab edged Mudhaibi 3-2, Suwaiq posted 2-1 win over 

Al Nasr and Al Arouba downed Samayil 1-0. — Picture by Mohammed Mahjoub 

MELBOURNE — Australia 

will wait until the very last 

minute to decide if Michael 

Clarke has recovered sufficiently 

from a hamstring injury 

to lead the side out for the 

second Test against Sri Lanka 

at Melbourne Cricket Ground 

on Boxing Day. 

Clarke was forced to retire 

hurt while batting on the fourth 

day of the opening match of 

the series in Hobart and while 

Australia are reluctant to risk 

aggravating the injury further, 

the 31-year-old has shown improvement 

over the last few 

days. 

The leading Test run scorer 

this year put himself through 

batting and fielding practice 

yesterday and sounded confident 

he would be fit to start the 

match. 

"I'm still pretty positive I'll 

be right for tomorrow," he told 

a media conference. 

"I haven't run at 100 

per cent but I've certainly 

built up over the last three 

days." 

Clarke said he was 'improving 

every day' but would 

have to wait until the morning 

of the match to see if there was 

any reaction to yesterday's 

practice. 

"I did a fair bit of running 

today in the indoor nets. A de- 

MADRID — Former men's 

tennis world No 1 Rafael Nadal's 

long-awaited return after 

an agonising six-month knee 

injury battle has been put off 

because of a stomach infection 

he revealed on his Twitter 

and Facebook sites yesterday. 

The 26-year-old Spaniard 

— who hasn't played since 

his shock second round exit 

to 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol 

at Wimbledon in June — had 

been due to play in a six-player 

exhibition tournament in 

Abu Dhabi this week ahead of 

his return to the ATP circuit at 

Doha from December 31. 

He was due to join world 

No 1 Novak Djokovic and US 

Open champion Andy Murray 

among others at the three-day 

event. 

"I am really sorry but I cannot 

compete this year in Abu 

Dhabi," wrote the seven-time 

French Open champion and 

presently ranked number four 

18 SPORT 



Aussies to make last-minute decision on Clarke 

AUSTRALIAN captain Michael Clarke goes through his 

training schedule as team physio Alex Kountouris looks 

on at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. — AFP 

Pak, India set to resume 

bilateral hockey ties 

ISLAMABAD — After 

cricket, India and Pakistan 

are now all set to resume bilateral 

hockey ties as well. 

A Hockey India (HI) delegation 

will visit Pakistan 

next month to start negotiations 

for resuming the hockey 

ties that were snapped 

following the 2008 Mumbai 

attack by Pakistani terrorists. 

But things have started 

to improve with the Hockey 

India League (HIL), where 

nine Pakistani players were 

bought by the five franchises 

in the players' auction. 

A top source in Pakistan 

Hockey Federation (PHF) 

said that negotiations are 

on for a series on home and 

away basis every year. 

"Both sides (Pakistan 

and India) are on board and 

having negotiations to restart 

bilateral hockey series 

on home and away basis 

once a year. Now, we have 

reached a point where everything 

is looking positive," 

a PHF official was quoted as 

saying by Xinhua. 

The last hockey series 

was held in 2006 when both 

teams played three matches 

each in both India and Pakistan. 

Pakistan won four and 

India one match while one 

was draw. 

Since 2006, no bilateral 

hockey tour was arranged 

due to the tense political 

relations between the two 

arch-rivals. 

HI Secretary-General 

Narinder Batra said is everything 

goes well Pakistan 

will tour India in March for 

a five-match Test series. 

"If everything goes as per 

plan Pakistan will tour India 

at the end of March next 

year for five Test matches. 

Then India will visit Pakistan 

in May for another five 

Tests," Batra said. — IANS 

Pakistan whip India in T20 thriller 

BANGALORE — In a pulsating contest 

typical of any encounter between 

the arch-rivals, Pakistan beat India by 

five wickets in the first Twenty20 tie in 

a jam-packed Chinnaswamy Stadium 

here yesterday. 

Chasing a modest target of 134 

runs, Pakistan registered their first victory 

against India in a T20 series when 

Shoaib Malik got the required six runs 

with a six in the 20th over, off Ravindra 

Jadeja. 

Though Pakistan made a disastrous 

start losing three wickets in the first 

three overs to a fiery spell by debutant 

pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar from Uttar 

Pradesh, captain Mohammed Hafeez 

and Malik defied a spirited Indian attack 

to race towards the winning post 

with a 106-run fourth wicket partnership. 

India's hopes of containing Pakistan 

after man-of-the-match Hafeez was 

caught by Kumar off Ishant Sharma 

for 61 in the 18th over were dashed 

as Malik remained at the wicket to see 

through the innings with his 57 off 50 

balls. 

Dhoni's frantic attempts to break 

the Hafeez-Malik partnership with a 

combination of pace and spin didn't 

cision can't be made today," he 

added. 

"I really need to wait and 

see how I pull up tomorrow 

morning." 

Waiting in the wings 

should Clarke not make the 

Test is top-order batsman Usman 

Khawaja, though coach 

Mickey Arthur was leaning 

towards the skipper taking the 

field in front of a huge crowd 

at the MCG. 

"If I was a betting man I'd 

bet on Michael Clarke leading 

the team out on Boxing Day," 

he said. 

"We've got to be mindful 

in the world. Everything was 

ready and I was really eager to 

return to competition, but the 

doctors have forbidden me to 

participate in Abu Dhabi because 

of a viral infection of 

the stomach which has provoked 

a fever." 

Nadal, an 11-time Grand 

Slam title winner, has been 

plagued by knee injuries 

throughout his career, a legacy 

of his all-action style. 

But earlier this week he 

shrugged off any fears that 

as well, much like the Mitchell 

Starc decision, as to the 

amount of important cricket 

we've got coming up." 

Australia have opted to rest 

22-year-old paceman Starc as 

part of a controversial rotation 

policy after a swathe of 

injuries decimated their pace 

bowling stocks. 

Front-line seamer Ben 

Hilfenhaus has been ruled 

out with a side strain, joining 

James Pattinson and Pat Cummins 

on the sidelines. 

Mitchell Johnson, who 

was dropped following the 

third Test against South Af- 

Stomach virus rules Nadal 

out of Abu Dhabi return 

MUSCAT — The GCC Inspection 

Committee of the 

Gulf Cup declared that Bahrain 

is 100 per cent ready to 

host the 21st edition of the 

championship, according to a 

press release received from the 

organisers yesterday. 

The Gulf Cup takes place 

from January 5 to 18. 

According to the press 

release, the GCC Inspection 

Committee Chairman Saud al 

Muhannadi declared Bahrain’s 

readiness during a press conference 

yesterday. 

succeed as the experienced duo first 

settled down to open up in the middle 

overs and steadied the innings towards 

a thrilling victory in the last over. 

Ashoke Dinda and Sharma shared 

one wicket each. Pakistan's star allrounder 

Shahid Afrdi, who came to bat 

in the last over after Kamran Akmal fell 

for one run in the 19th over, remained 

unbeaten with 3. 

Earlier, put to bat first after Hafeez 

won the toss, India collapsed to a paltry 

133 for nine in the stipulated 20 overs, 

as the middle order and tail-enders 

failed to capitalise on the solid start 

their openers Gautam Gambhir and 

Ajinkya Rahane gave with a 77-run 

partnership in the first 10 overs. 

Making a cautious start, Gambhir 

(43 in 41 balls) and Rahane (42 in 31 

balls) steadied the innings with quick 

running between the wickets and posted 

the first 50 in 6.5 overs that included 

the first six of the match by Gambhir. 

Though Yuvraj Singh made a promising 

start by lifting Afridi for a huge 

six of the first ball he faced, he didn't 

survive long to contribute enough, as he 

was caught by Umar Akmal off Umar 

Gul's ball for 10 runs in nine balls. 

Dashing hopes of die-hard fans in 

FORMER Sri Lankan paceman Lasith Malinga (centre) pictured during Sri Lankan 

team’s training session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. — AFP 

despite falling to number four 

in the world rankings, he is no 

longer a threat to Djokovic, 

Murray and world No 2 Roger 

Federer. 

"I haven't forgotten how to 

play. I have played over 600 

ATP matches and I have spent 

two years without playing. My 

feeling is good. I won Roland 

Garros and those emotions are 

still me," he said. 

"The doctors say the knee 

is fine and that is great news 

for me. I still feel something, 

it's not perfect." 

Nadal insisted he is not 

bitter over his recent experiences. 

"I have accepted it as normal, 

as part of my career, part 

of my job. It's another challenge," 

he told marca.com. 

"All I can do is try. But 

people have to realise that 

when you're so many months 

without competing you need 

time to progress." — AFP 

The committee made its final 

assessment of all sports facilities. 

Al Muhannadi, along 

with other committee members, 

visited the National Stadium 

and Khalifa Sports City 

Stadium, the main venues of 

the tournament. 

The committee also inspected 

the facilities at the 

eight other stadiums that will 

serve as the training grounds 

for the eight participating 

teams and they are Al Ittihad 

‘A’ and ‘B’ Stadiums, Riffa 

Club, Al Ahli Club, Muhar- 

rica, has been recalled to the 

side while Jackson Bird, the 

leading wicket-taker in the 

domestic Sheffield Shield, 

has been called up for his first 

Test. 

Only Peter Siddle, who 

took nine wickets in a man-ofthe-match 

performance at Hobart, 

has been retained in the 

pace attack while off-spinner 

Nathan Lyon has also kept his 

place. 

Australia lead the threematch 

series 1-0, with the 

third Test scheduled to begin 

in Sydney on January 3. 

— Reuters 

raq Club, Al Njama Club, in 

addition to Hamad Town and 

Askar. 

Director of the Gulf Cup 

Ahmed al Nuimi, head of the 

Media Committee Tawfeeq 

al Salhi, Inspection Committee 

members Saho al Saho of 

Kuwait, Hameed al Shaiban 

of Yemen, Saleh al Farsi of 

Oman, Engineering Committee 

members Tariq al Kendari 

and Ali al Kendari, abd head of 

Stadiums Committee Khalid 

al Haj and were present on the 

occasion. 

SHOAIB MALIK: Timely knock 

putting up a defendable score after a 

fine start, middle order batsmen Virat 

Kali (9), captain M S Dhoni (1), Suresh 

Raina (10), Rohit Sharma (2) and 

Ravindra Jadeja (2) fell like ninepins 

in a span of five overs, leaving India 

reduced to 124 for eight from 102 for 

two. 

For Pakistan, pacer Gul and spinner 

Saeed Ajmal were the most successful 

bowlers as they snapped up three for 

21 runs and two for 25 runs respectively, 

with Afridi and Mohammed Irfan 

sharing one wicket each, while two 

(Gambhir and Sharma) were run out. 

The second and last T20 will be 

played at Ahmedabad on Friday. 

Bring it on! Jayawardene 

says of hostile MCG 

MELBOURNE — Sri 

Lanka captain Mahela 

Jayawardene has no illusions 

about the hostile reception 

awaiting his team 

at Melbourne Cricket 

Ground (MCG) but insists 

it will only spur the tourists 

in the second Test against 

Australia starting today. 

Sri Lanka do not have 

particularly fond memories 

of the MCG, where their 

spin great Muttiah Muralitharan 

was no-balled seven 

times when the islanders 

last played a Test here in 

1995. 

The visitors have riled 

the Victorian fans this time 

by unofficially accusing local 

favourite Peter Siddle of 

ball-tampering in the first 

Test in Hobart. 

"We have been through 

a lot of hostile things in the 

past. 1995 was one and even 

after that," Jayawardene 

told a Christmas Day news 

conference yesterday. 

"I don't think that fazes 

our team. It might give us 

something extra," added 

the visiting captain, who 

was expecting a decent 

Sri Lankan turnout in the 

match. 

Al Muhanandi praised the 

tremendous efforts of the organising 

committee in preparing 

all the sports facilities in 

Bahrain within only 14 months 

since declaring Bahrain as the 

hosts for this prestigious tournament. 

He also pointed at the 

efforts of the head of stadiums 

committee Khalid al Haj 

for his full co-operation in 

speeding up the progress of 

meeting the international requirements 

of all the sports 

premises. 

SCOREBOARD 

India 

G Gambhir run out .......................................43 

A Rahane c U Akmal b Afridi ......................42 

V Kohli c K Akmal b M Irfan ........................9 

Yuvraj Singh c U Akmal b U Gul ................10 

M S Dhoni b Saeed Ajmal .............................1 

S Raina b Saeed Ajmal ................................10 

R Sharma run out ...........................................2 

R Jadeja c K Akmal b Umar Gul ...................2 

B Kumar (not out) ..........................................6 

I Sharma b Umar Gul .....................................0 

A Dinda (not out) ...........................................3 

Extras: (lb-2, w-3) ........................................5 

Total: (9 wkts; 20 overs) ...........................133 

Fall of wickets: 1-77, 2-90, 3-103, 4-108, 

5-115, 6-122, 7-123, 8-124, 9-124. 

Bowling: Md Irfan 4-0-25-1 (w-2); S Tanvir 

4-0-22-0; Umar Gul 3-0-21-3; S Ajmal 4-0- 

25-2 (w-1); S Afridi 3-0-26-1; Md Hafeez 

2-0-12-0. 

Pakistan 

Nasir Jamshed b B Kumar .............................2 

Ahmed Shehzad c Dhoni b B Kumar ............5 

Mohd Hafeez c B Kumar b I Sharma ..........61 

Umar Akmal b B Kumar ................................0 

Shoaib Malik (not out) .................................57 

Kamran Akmal c I Sharma b Dinda ..............1 

Shahid Afridi (not out) ...................................3 

Extras: (lb-1, w-3, nb-1) ...............................5 

Total: (5 wkts; 19.4 overs) 134 

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-11, 3-12, 4-118, 5-123. 

Bowling: B Kumar 4-0-9-3 (w-2); A Dinda 

4-0-26-1 (w-1); I Sharma 4-0-23-1 (nb-1); 

V Kohli 2-0-21-0; Yuvraj Singh 3-0-25-0; R 

Jadeja 2.4-0-29-0. 

"You have to remember 

there will be a good partisan 

Sri Lankan crowd as 

well so that will be good. It 

might go against him (Siddle). 

"We can't control what 

happens out there. All we 

can control is what happens 

in the middle." 

Sri Lanka have not won 

a single test on Australian 

soil and Jayawardene wants 

to break that spell before 

relinquishing captaincy after 

the ongoing series. 

"If we do that, it won't 

be for me personally but 

for the entire team and for 

the entire country it would 

be something good, and it 

would be for the next generation 

to look at." 

Sri Lanka will make a 

late call on playing pacer 

Nuwan Kulasekara, who 

was hit in the rib while 

batting in the Hobart test 

which the visitors lost by 

137 runs. 

"We want to give him 

another chance to bowl today 

and see whether he's 

100 per cent and we'll make 

a call on that probably tomorrow 

morning," said 

Jayawardene. 

SHAIKH Saad bin Mohammed bin Said al Mardhouf al Saadi, the Minister of Sports 

Affairs, yesterday held a meeting with the heads of the sports associations to discuss 

various issues concerning the development of sports. During the meeting, it has been 

decided to further strengthen the relations and co-operation between the ministry and the 

sports bodies. The meeting also discussed step to be taken to introduce the amendments 

in accordance with the recent Royal Decree on private sports associations and their 

activities. The meeting also discussed the importance of utilising the financial support 

given to each association with proper planning to ensure good results. 

Inspection committee declares Bahrain ready to host Gulf Cup 

In regards to the media 

centres, Al Muhanadi said, 

“The organising committee 

has allocated more than 600 

seats next to the main VIP 

stands, which is considered a 

very convenient location for 

the media staff.” 

“In addition, we have also 

allocated a media tint that can 

accommodate almost 250 media 

staff and equipped with 

the latest technology and Wifi 

services in Khlaifa Sports Stadium.”

Dr Ibrahim bin Ahmed al Kindi, 

Chief Executive Officer 

Fahmi bin Khalid al Harthy, 

Editor-in-Chief 

THE ROYAL DANISH BALLET 

STYLE AND ELEGANCE 

 

 

 

The Royal Danish Ballet 

and Royal Danish Orchestra 

 

 

 

 

20 21 

JANUARY 

 

 

 

 

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