1. Art and Diseño

SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2015 | RABEE AL THANI 11, 1436 AH
P20 Hong Kong maintains rank as ‘world’s freest economy’
VOL. 34 NO. 79 | PAGES 32 | BAISAS 200
P29 Depp, Heard to marry in Bahamas next weekend
P25 Serena continues mastery of Sharapova for 19th
Chief Executive Officer
DR IBRAHIM BIN AHMED AL KINDI
Editor-in-Chief
ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI
Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising
PO Box 974, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
www.omanobserver.om
FOLLOW US ON:
OMAN
Sohar Port signs
logistics deal
MUSCAT: Sohar Port signed a lease
contract with Sohar Flour Mills, ahead
of the planned construction of a new
flourmill with a capacity of 500 MT per
day. Another contract was signed with
Centre Point Logistics, who will take
up the option of a plot at Sohar Free
Zone for the expansion of its logistics,
warehouse and storage facilities.
Sohar Port and Free Zone’s container
throughput grew 58 per cent, with cars
and break bulk also performing well.
REPORT ON P17
ASIA
Anger in Pakistan as
bombing toll rises
ISLAMABAD: Thousands of people
across Pakistan mourned and protested
yesterday after a bombing at a mosque
in the country killed at least 61 people.
In Shikarpur, the site of the blast,
mourners held a mass funeral for the
dead in Friday’s attack. Television
footage showed some protesters burned
tires and blocked roads, chanting
slogans for arrest of the perpetrators and
protection for worship places. The death
toll in the blast rose after three victims
died overnight from their wounds, said
Abdul Qudoos Kalwar, a senior police
official. REPORT ON P7
INTERNATIONAL
Sergio Mattarella is
Italian President
ROME: Italian lawmakers elected Sergio
Mattarella, a Constitutional Court
justice widely considered to be above
the political fray, as the nation’s new
president on the third day of voting
yesterday. Mattarella’s election as head
of state was clinched when he amassed
505 votes — a simple majority. The
73-year-old former minister went on to
garner 665 votes from the 1,009 eligible
electors. Mattarella cemented that
reputation with his first remarks to the
nation. REPORT ON P14
INSIDESTORIES
P6
AIRASIA CAPTAIN LEFT
CABIN BEFORE CRASH
P11
INDIA TEST-FIRES NUCLEAR
CAPABLE MISSILE
[email protected]
HIGH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
UN REPORT: Oman has been ranked 56th out of 169 countries by the world body
FATIMA MUNEER
MUSCAT
Jan. 31: According to the 2014 United
Nations
Development
Program’s
(UNDP) Human Development Index
(HDI) report, Oman has been ranked
56th out of 169 countries, putting
it in the category of a high human
development nation. In the report,
the HDI is explained as a “composite
index measuring average achievement
in three basic dimensions of human
development — a long and healthy life,
knowledge and a decent standard of
living.”
“Oman spends lot of money on
health and education and these services
are provided for free,” says Shamsa
al Harthy, Director of Associations
and Community Clubs at the
Ministry of Social Development. She
explains that this is one of the biggest
factors
which
has
contributed
towards Oman’s good ranking in the
international index.
“Education is not compulsory by
law but people still choose to put their
children in schools voluntarily. The
MSM adds
215 points in
January
Education is not
compulsory but
people still choose
to put their children
in schools voluntarily. The
government is trying to close
the gender gap in education
by encouraging both boys
and girls to enroll in school
from class 1 to 12
Oman has done very well and it is
doing very well,” he says. “But in
terms of tertiary education, Oman has
some challenges and the main one is
qualitative education as was recognised
by the World Bank and the Ministry of
Education in a 2012 study.”
In order to tackle the issue, Al
Mukhaini believes that the quality of
education should be enhanced while
opportunities for tertiary education
HALF A MILLION VISIT MUSCAT FESTIVAL
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
Jan. 31: The Muscat Securities Market
(MSM) main index rose 3.3 per cent in
January buoyed by investors’ appetite
for buying, with the approaching
financial results announcement and
dividend distributions.
The local bourse’s main index
added 215 points in January closing at
the level of 6,558, however, last week’s
trading ended that upward trend
with the index recording 6,660 points
before erasing its gains.
During January all sectoral indices
rose with the financial sector being the
top performer and increasing 4 per
cent and adding 311 points.
The industrial index rose 1.9 per
cent adding 160 points while the
Service sector added 67 points to close
at 3,542 an increase of 1.9 per cent.
The MSM is experiencing notable
fluctuations since November last
caused by falling oil prices.
With Muscat Festival concluding its second week the number of visitors has
touched 479,483 at Al Amerat Park, Al Naseem Park and the beach, sports and
cultural events as well as the Oman Automobile Club and equestrian events.
The second week which ended on Friday has seen an increased number of visitors
compared to the first due to the school vacation, fine weather and the flock of
tourists to the Sultanate.
REPORT ON P4
P14
WEATHER TODAY
MUSCAT
MAX: 260C
MIN: 170C
SALALAH
MAX: 270C
MIN: 180C
SUNRISE 06.48 AM
PRAYER TIMINGS
FAJR: 05:30
DHUHR: 12:25
ASR: 15:35
MAGHRIB: 17:58
ISHA: 19:11
NIZWA
MAX: 300C
MIN: 130C
should expand. “When we have that,
our HDI rank will be higher thereafter,”
he says.
“Oman has very good immunisation
system for children,” says Al Harthy,
when asked about its performance in
the health sector. “All vaccination is
provided free of charge and children
cannot be enrolled in school unless all
vaccination requirements have been
met,” she says.
TO PAGE 4
MONTREAL:
Aviation
leaders
will try to secure
a
mandate
to
implement
new
safety
standards
when they meet this
week after a string
of
high-profile
accidents around the world made
2014 the deadliest year for commercial
airlines in almost a decade. Efforts to
adopt new standards for global plane
tracking and co-operation on the risks of
flying over conflict zones will dominate
the meeting on safety in Montreal
from February 2-5, weeks ahead of the
anniversary of the disappearance of
flight MH370, the Malaysian Airlines jet
with 239 people on board.
Regulators and officials at the
meeting will have to juggle political
sensitivities and arguments over the
budgets of cash-squeezed airlines.
“Issues such as flight restrictions over
First AC taxi stand to come up in Ruwi
Jan. 31: The busy Ruwi area will be
home for Oman’s first advanced taxi
station soon as Muscat Municipality has
initiated building a meeting place for
both passengers and cab drivers.
With this move, the 400-plus taxi
drivers who use this area to pick and
drop their passengers to and from
various places are heaving a sigh of relief
as their long-pending need was finally
being addressed.
“We now have a reason to rejoice
as our need has been realised by the
authorities and we are thankful to
the Muscat Municipality, the wali of
Muttrah, the Royal Oman Police and
many others who worked for this,” Ali
Muscat Municipality has initiated the project.
bin Fadhel al Balushi, who officially
represents these taxi drivers, told the
Observer.
Oman has a number of open taxi
points where passengers can get in and
alight and these uncovered areas have
been sans any amenities if not basic
drinking water and toilets adjacent to
Jan. 31: Dr Ahmed bin Khalifa al
Shikeili, Director, Health Sector
Researches at The Research Council
(TRA), said that the funding of health
research began with open scholarships
programme, a programme which
requires the researcher himself to
estimate the cost and requirements
of his research. This is a competitive
programme designed to support
research-related
initiatives
and
innovation. Seven researches have
been conducted so far with 32 others
approved for funding (25 ongoing
researches and 9 under study),
while the number of health-related
researches stood at 71.
About the cost of the scientific
researches, he said an amount of RO
3.4 million has been disbursed on
researches since the outset of the open
scholarships programme with more
than RO 3 million allocated to the
strategic programme for road safety.
Aviation leaders seek
new safety mandate
The 400-plus drivers who use this area to pick and drop passengers are happy
KABEER YOUSUF
MUSCAT
SPANIARDS SUPPORT
ANTI-AUSTERITY PARTY
RO 3.4 million
for research
projects
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
— MINISTRY OFFICIAL
government is trying to close the gender
gap in education by encouraging both
boys and girls to enroll in school from
class 1 to 12,” she says.
Ahmed al Mukhaini, an independent
researcher and public policy analyst,
who has done a lot of work regarding
Oman’s educational system, thinks that
while Oman has fared well in the index,
it can do better in the future.
“In terms of general education,
FUNDING NEEDS
them. The taxi drivers used to spend
their free time in the shadow of nearby
trees and have coffee and tea from the
shops located next to them.
Located at the Plaza junction at the
end of Ruwi High Street, this new, fully
air-conditioned facility will have, besides
a meeting point for the service givers
and takers, rest rooms for drivers, chairs,
water coolers and the like. Instead of
resting on the footpath, these nationals
can find some comfort in the AC hall.
“We are glad not just for such a facility
and for saving us from the scorching
heat in summer but for boosting our
self-esteem and for appreciating our
hard work in providing transportation
to visitors,” Khalifa al Wahaibi, another
driver, added.
TO PAGE 4
conflict zones can
only be tackled at
a global or regional
level,” Patrick Ky,
executive director
of the European
Aviation
Safety
Agency, said.
“The
global
aviation regulatory system should
also act more quickly to address
the recommendations for safety
improvement made by accident
investigators,” he said.
While statistics suggest flying is safer
than ever in proportion to the amount
of traffic, 924 people were killed in
passenger accidents last year, the worst
for loss of life since 2005, shaking
perceptions of air travel worldwide.
Last year’s disappearance of a
Malaysia Airlines jet, and the downing
of MH17 over Ukraine with a combined
loss of 539 lives, pose one of the biggest
challenges to the UN.
— Reuters
Factory fire
kills 13 in
Bangladesh
DHAKA: At least 13 people including
two women were killed when a fire
swept through a plastics factory in
Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka yesterday.
Scores were injured and more
people may have died at Nasim Plastic
House in a crowded market in the
suburb of Mirpur, a police official said.
“We are searching under a collapsed
wall. There might be more bodies
under the debris,” fire service and civil
defence director A K M Shakil Newaz
told reporters. About 70 workers were
inside the factory when the blaze
broke out, said police.
The issue of safety in Bangladeshi
factories was thrust into the spotlight
by the collapse of the Rana Plaza
building in April 2013.
— Reuters
2
ITA BOOSTS COOPERATION WITH UN
S U N DAY l F E B R U A R Y 1 l 2 0 1 5
In line with the Information Technology
Authority (ITA) efforts in eTransformation,
a delegation from ITA headed by Dr Salim
bin Sultan al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA, visited
the US last week to benefit from their best
practices in the field of eGovernment.
The delegation was briefed on the
experience of the United Stated in several
related areas including open data,
eParticipation and smart cities.
OMAN
of the Sultanate and the leading role it
played in international trade as well as
the rich cultural heritage it boasts.
Al Harthin pointed to the distinctive
Omani-Korean relations highlighting
the investment opportunities available
Since the dawn of the Blessed Renaissance
under the wise leadership of His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos, the Government has
accorded women with the due care and
interest to provide her with opportunities
in the different development fields.
The Sultanate is considered a leader
in the empowerment of the women
and involving her in the different
development activities.
More tourism projects in
Ras al Had, Ras Madraka
Trade, opportunities in focus at
Korea-GCC business forum
MUSCAT: The Embassy of the Sultanate
of Oman took part in the Korea-GCC
Business Partnership which was held at
the Exhibition and Conference Centre
in the Korean capital Seoul on Thursday.
Organised by Korea International
Trade Association (KITA) the forum
was attended by the ambassadors of
the GCC countries and the secretary
general of the Arab-Korean Society
and executives representing some 140
Korean private firms.
Mohammed bin Salim al Harthin,
Sultanate’s Ambassador to Korea,
presented a visual display explaining
investment incentives and opportunities
in the Sultanate.
The display featured general
aspects about the Sultanate such as the
geographical location and ease of access
from different locations across the globe.
It also highlighted the historic standing
WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT
in the Sultanate.
He also explained that the Sultanate
has an excellent investment climate
besides the distinguished geographical
location making it one of the world’s
best places for investment.
AL DUQM: Ahmed bin Nasser al
Merhrzi, Minister of Tourism, said
the Park Inn Hotel and Resort, the
first private investment project,
inaugurated last week at the Special
Economic Zone Authority at Duqm
(SEZAD), is considered as the main
driver of private investment.
He
said
the
project
is
complementary of the investment
system at Duqm which comprises
industrial and tourism projects such
as the airport the completion of which
has enabled for direct international
flights to the Duqm zone which
stimulates all the economic activities
particularly tourism.
Also on the anvil are other tourism
projects the applications of which are
currently under study including for and 2 bedrooms in addition to a hall, a with interior garden and car park
ensures the privacy preferred by
the establishment of resorts and hotels kitchen and two bathrooms.
The chalets, which are provided Omani and Gulf families.
at Ras Al Had and Ras Madraka.
Park Inn Hotel and Resort,
which started receiving guests since
November 16th 2014 is the third in
the Al Duqm after Al Madina Hotel
(3 stars) and Crowne Plaza Hotel (4
starts).
The hotel installations in the Special
Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZD) are
trying to meet the needs of tourists,
investors and companies operating in
the Zone.
The resort consists of 73 chalets
and wards that meet the needs of
families and businessmen, especially
it has wards with three bed rooms, a
hall and a kitchen with the necessary
equipment.
Some chalets are provided with one
Major developments to be reviewed on Industry Day
MUSCAT: The Ministry of Commerce
and Industry will hold a press conference
today on the occasion of Oman
Industry Day in the presence of Ahmed
bin Hassan al Dheeb, Undersecretary
of the Ministry for Commerce and
Industry, the Chairman of the Public
Establishment for Industrial Estates
(PEIE) and the Director General of
Industry.
Al Dheeb will review the major
developments since this occasion is
viewed by industrialists as an annual
ceremony that gathers them in an open
and direct meeting with the Minister
of Commerce and Industry, as well as
those who have stakes in the sector.
— ONA
OMAN
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
Omani women enjoy opportunities
in all development activities
MUSCAT: Since the dawn of the Blessed
Renaissance under the wise leadership of His
Majesty Sultan Qaboos, the Sultanate’s Government
has accorded the Omani women with the due care
and interest to provide her with opportunities in
the different development fields.
The Sultanate is considered a leader in the
empowerment of the women and involving her in
the different development activities.
To this end, the Sultanate promulgated a number
of legislations and laws, such as the Civil Service
Law for the government employees, the Labour
Law for the private sector and the Civil Status
Law. These laws, together with others, protect the
Omani women and eliminate the difficulties that
may hamper her from enjoying the rights granted
to her by these laws.
Raheelah bint A’mir al Riyamiyah, member
of the State Council, Chairperson of the Steering
Committee for Revising and Following up the
implementation of the National Strategy for
the Omani Women Development, said that the
Government’s care for women has been very clear
in many aspects of life.
She pointed out that the national strategy
for the Omani women development comes as
part of the constant efforts made to care for the
Omani women. It also comes as recognition of its
important role in the society.
In a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA),
she added that the announcement of the national
strategy in its final shape may take some time
because the long term strategies require developing
the required plans for them.
Al Riyamiyah pointed out that the Steering
Committee for Revising and Following up the
implementation of the National Strategy for
the Omani Women Development is currently
considering the project and preparing a
comprehensive national action plan in line with the
Ministry of Social Development Vision.
The first meeting of the Steering Committee
members was held during September 7th to 9th,
2014. The participants were divided into groups;
each of which has certain tasks and mechanisms.
There were panel discussions and meetings.
On the other hand, Labibah bint Mohammed
al Ma’awaliyah, Expert in Women Affairs at
the Office of the Undersecretary of the Minster
of Social Development and rapporteur of the
Steering Committee for Revising and Following
up the implementation of the National Strategy
for the Omani Women Development, said that the
preparation of the Omani Women Strategy started
since 2001.
In a statement to ONA, she added that the draft
national strategy has been prepared on the basis
of the recommendations of the specialised studies
conducted by the themed action teams.
These teams included representatives of
the academic and education organisations, the
Government, the private sector and NGOs.
The National Strategy for the Omani Women
Development culminates the cooperation between
the Ministry of Social Development and many
regional and international organisations.
— ONA
omandailyobserver
3
4
OMAN
omandailyobserver
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
Nearly half a million visit Muscat Festival
to the Sultanate.
The number of visitors at Al Naseem Park
exceeded 49,000 on Friday and 22,600 visitors
to Al Amerat Park on the same day.
Al Naseem Park, being the biggest venue,
boasts the entertaining city and 420 shops,
dinosaurs village, family and children’s village.
The international exhibition is the main
attraction point at Al Amerat Park featuring
arts, heritage and crafts of 11 countries.
Boney M to perform
live on February 5
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
MUSCAT: With the Muscat Festival
concluding its second week the number of
visitors has touched 479,483 at Al Amerat
Park, Al Naseem Park and the beach, sports
and cultural events as well as the Oman
Automobile Club and equestrian events.
The second week which ended on Friday
has seen an increased number of visitors
compared to the first due to the school
vacation, fine weather and the flock of tourists
First AC taxi stand to
come up in Ruwi
FROM PAGE 1
According to the sources at the Muscat
Municipality,
Greater
Muttrah,
the
construction of the taxi stand will be complete
in the coming few months as the contract has
already given.
Together International is the main contractor
while Abu Abdul Hameed Moosa Dour
Mohammed Trading is the sub-contractor for
this first of its kind air-conditioned taxi stand.
Sources further said that following the success
of this project, more such taxi stands are to come
in Rusayl and Amerat in the future. Currently,
the ground preparation works are going on at
this fenced area.
High in human development
FROM PAGE 1
“Also by law, the private sector now has
to provide health insurance to citizens as
well. So health insurance is secured in this
segment of the workforce as opposed to only
in the public sector.”
Dr Mohammed al Lawati, Head of
National Aids and Tuberculosis Control
Programmes at the Ministry of Health, adds
his insights to the reasons behind Oman’s
performance in the latest HDI in terms of
health.
“Oman has done well due to our health
structure. The World Health Organisation
(WHO) recommends the three tier
healthcare — primary, secondary and
tertiary,” he elaborates.
“Oman has been recognised by the WHO
to have one of the best primary health care in
the world. We have 210 health institutions in
the public sector and our life expectancy has
increased from 1970 at 45 years to now 76.2
years,” says Dr Al Lawati.
“In addition to this, infant mortality has
decreased to 9.8 per 1,000 live births. We also
have a large number of private health centres
and one primary health centre for every
11,300 population.”
Concerning a decent standard of
living, Al Harthy attributes Oman’s high
ranking to certain changes introduced in
recent years.
“Rise in minimum wage in the private
sector along with standardised salaries in
the public sector has contributed to higher
standards of living of citizens in the country,”
she says.
In the 2014 HDI, Norway is ranked first,
while Afghanistan stood last at 169.
Jan. 31: Boney M — featuring original band member Maizie
Williams — will set the Muscat music scene on fire on February
5. Boney M is truly an unforgettable name in the history of
music. This glamorous and extremely likeable group came
together in 1976 and has since then occupied a special place
in the hearts of music lovers the world over, a spokesperson
from Black & White magazine, the organisers of the concert
said here yesterday.
Original band member Maizie Williams will lead a ninemember troupe to Oman. The concert will be held at the
grounds of the Seeb-based Oman Automobile Club on
February 5. Maizie is not just the original band member, but
she is also its oldest and founding member. In remarks to the
local press in Oman, ahead of her trip here, Maizie said: “We
will perform many of our most popular songs such as Daddy
Cool, Ma Baker and Rivers of Babylon. We will play all the
most-loved songs that has been played all around the world.”
Maizie noted that they had been to the Middle East
before and it “was always a pleasure coming back to the Arab
countries; we really enjoy the atmosphere, ambience and the
culture — and the food of course!” She said that they were all
set to deliver a “great show”.
Boney M’s insanely catchy songs mixed with the glitz and
glamour of the disco era gave them an incredible run of chart
success world over. Their hits include Daddy Cool, Ma Baker,
Mary Boy’s Child, Brown Girl in the Ring, Rasputin and their
most famous offering Rivers Of Babylon. Boney M have sold
over 159 million CDs worldwide, garnering 18 Platinum and
15 Gold Albums and over 200 Gold and Platinum Singles.
Their chart domination included three more top Australian
singles, Mary Boy Child, the yuletide classic Hooray! Hooray!
It’s a Holi-Holiday and Gotta Go Home songs make them the
most iconic European disco act of the era.
OMAN
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
ITA boosts cooperation with
UN in eGovernment field
eTRANSFORMATION: Sultanate to benefit from the best practices in digital field
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT: In line with the
Information Technology Authority
(ITA) efforts in eTransformation, a
delegation from ITA headed by Dr
Salim bin Sultan al Ruzaiqi, CEO of
ITA, visited USA last week to benefit
from their best practices in the field
of eGovernment.
Discussions were held aiming at
furthering cooperation between the
Sultanate and the United Nations
(UN), represented by the Department
of Economic and Social Affairs
and the Statistics Division of the
Organisation and the World Bank.
The delegation was briefed on
the experience of the United Stated
in several related areas including
open data, eParticipation and smart
cities. The visit also included a series
of meetings with senior officials
of the organization, including
the United Nations team who
are assessing the eGovernment
development in order to discuss the
United Nations eGovernment Survey
Report.
Dr Salim delivered a presentation,
at the World Bank Headquarters, on
the Sultanate’s strategic vision of using
ICTs as a key enabler of economic
diversification and transition to
a knowledge-based economy, as
reflected in the Oman Digital Society
and eGovernment Strategy (e.oman).
As part of the visit agenda,
the delegation met with officials
from the Center for Technology in
Government in New York and the
team responsible for studying the
contribution of ICT in the GDP and
national income. They also met with
the officials in the New York Open
Government Data to discover their
pioneering experience in the field of
eGovernment.
New premises for Al Zubair
SME Centre to open soon
MUSCAT: The new premises for Al Zubair SMEs Centre,
equipped with the required offices for meetings to support
entrepreneurs, will be opened soon.
The announcement was made in a statement to Oman
News Agency (ONA) by Khalid bin Mohammed al Zubair,
Managing Director of Al Zubair Corporation, on the sidelines
of awarding Al Zubair Centre the Best Entrepreneurship
Award for being selected the Best SMEs Supporting
Organisation. The ceremony was held recently at the Sultan
Qaboos University (SQU) Cultural Centre under the auspices
of Sayyid Badr bin Saud al Busaidy, Minister Responsible for
Defence Affairs.
He added that the centre will provide additional direct
subsidy to 10 entrepreneurs. The centre will also provide
them with the required finance and incentives.
He also said that the number of beneficiaries who benefited
from the centre as of now is 200. “The Entrepreneurship
Award is a tool for promoting entrepreneurship in the society
and enhance the performance and competiveness of SMEs.
The award is an addition to the steps already taken by the
Government and the private sector,” he further said.
“Al Zubair SMEs Centre has been established in a bid by Al
Zubair Corporation to transfer its expertise to SMEs owners
and help them establish their ventures. Two of those who won
the Entrepreneurship Award have received support from the
programs provided by Al Zubair SMEs Centre,” he continued.
He added: “Al Zubair SMEs Centre is one of the initiatives
within Al Zubair Corporation’s strategic vision and part of
its corporate social responsibility. The centre reflects the
Enterprise’s belief in the important role played by SMEs in
promoting the Omani economy and contributing to the
sustainable socioeconomic development”.
Al Zubair SMEs Centre, which was established in 2013, is
more than an incubator for small enterprises. The centre has a
wide network of contacts, as well as strategic international and
local partners. The centre utilises the resources available for Al
Zubair Corporation to provide the business environment that
is conducive for small enterprises and promising initiatives.
IEEE GCC Conference and
Exhibition to open today
MUSCAT: Activities of the 8th Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers Conference and Exhibition (IEEE)
will open today at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) under
the auspices of Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Futaisi,
Minister of Transport and Communications.
The conference will discuss the major challenges and
developments facing the world in the fields of electricity
and electronics with participation of a group of academics,
engineers, students and industrialists.
The conference will include specialised workshops and
an exhibition for GCC entrepreneurs.
The conference is organised in cooperation with SQU
and IEEE in the Sultanate.
— ONA
omandailyobserver
5
Private deposits in up 16.9pc;
Loan to deposit ratio: 97.1pc
MUSCAT: The total value of private deposits
at the commercial banks in the Sultanate, as
of the end of November 2014 rose by 16.9 per
cent to RO 11,155.5 million compared to RO
9,540.9 million in the corresponding period in
2013.
The monthly statistical bulletin published
by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) pointed
out that the gross value for these deposits as
of the end of November 2014 includes the
time deposits stood at RO 3,228.8 million,
RO 3,913.3 million saving deposits and RO
3,881.5 million on demand deposits.
The bulletin pointed out that the total
value for these deposits stood at RO 11,155.5
million that include RO 10,319.5 million in
Omani Riyal and RO 836 million in foreign
currencies.
As for the banking indicators for the
commercial banks as at the end of October
2014, the bulletin said that the broad money
and clearance to the deposits in Riyals was
13.1 per cent. The combined money and
clearance to the gross deposits was 11.6 per
cent. The total percentage of loans to deposits
was 97.1 per cent.
The rate of foreign currency deposits to
the total deposits was 11.4 per cent. The rate
of loans in foreign currency to the total loans
was 15 per cent whereas the foreign assets to
the total assets was 10.8 per cent. The foreign
liability to the total liabilities was 8.9 per cent.
The on-demand deposits to the total
private deposits rose by 34.5 per cent. The
capital and reserves to the total deposits was
16.7 per cent and the rate of allocations and
the retained interests to the total credit was 3.5
per cent.
Meanwhile, certificates of deposit tender
was held at the CBO. The total amount allotted
for issue No 902 was RO 458 million.
The average interest rate of these certificates
was 0.13 per cent whilst the maximum
accepted interest rate was 0.13 per cent. The
tenor of these certificates is 28 days, so their
maturity date is on February 25th.
The certificates of deposit issued to
licensed banks by the CBO as a monetary
policy instrument aimed at absorbing excess
liquidity at the banking sector in particular
and maintaining stability of the interest rate
and the money market in general. — ONA
6
OBAMA TO APPEAR WITH DALAI LAMA
S U N DAY l F E B R U A R Y 1 l 2 0 1 5
FRANCE’S DE GAULLE IN CHINESE MUSEUM
US President Barack Obama will appear
in public at an event attended by the
Dalai Lama next week in Washington,
the White House said , in a move sure to
anger Beijing. “The president will deliver
remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast
about the importance of upholding
religious freedom,” National Security
Council spokeswoman Bernadette
Meehan said.
ASIA
A statue of French president Charles de
Gaulle was unveiled in Beijing on Friday
to be permanently displayed in the
National Museum on Tiananmen Square
in an exceptional honour for a foreign
head of state. The bronze, by Jean Cardot,
is a replica of one on the Champs-Elysees
in Paris, showing the French leader
striding along in military uniform and his
distinctive kepi
FOCUS ON MAINTENANCE: Family of the French co-pilot file suit against AirAsia for flying the route without official authorisation
AirAsia captain left cockpit before jet lost control
SINGAPORE/JAKARTA/PARIS: The
captain of the AirAsia jet that crashed
into the sea in December was out of
his seat conducting an unorthodox
procedure when his co-pilot apparently
lost control, and by the time he returned
it was too late to save the plane, two
people familiar with the investigation
said.
Details emerging of the final
moments of Flight QZ8501 are likely to
focus attention partly on maintenance,
procedures and training, though
Indonesian officials have stressed
publicly that it is too early to draw any
firm conclusions.
The Airbus A320 jet plunged into the
Java Sea while en route from Surabaya,
Indonesia, to Singapore on December
28, killing all 162 people on board.
It had been suffering maintenance
faults with a key flight control computer
for over a week, and one person familiar
with the matter said the captain had
flown on the same plane with the
intermittently faulty device just days
before the crash. AirAsia said it would
not comment while the matter was
under investigation by the National
Transportation
Safety
Committee
(NTSC) of Indonesia.
Reuters reported this week that
maintenance problems on the Flight
Augmentation Computer (FAC), and
Members of an Indonesian rescue team point a finger at a location where they found a victim and debris of the AirAsia flight
QZ8501 accident, in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Friday.
— AFP
the way the pilots reacted to them,
were at the heart of the investigation.
After trying to reset this device, pilots
pulled a circuit-breaker to cut its power,
Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
People familiar with the matter told
Reuters it was the Indonesian captain
Iriyanto who took this step, rather than
his less experienced French co-pilot
Remy Plesel, who was flying the plane.
The outage would not directly upset
the aircraft but would remove flight
Japan says hostage talks
stalled, situation unkown
TOKYO: Efforts by Japan and Jordan to
secure the release of two of their nationals
held captive by IS militants remain
“deadlocked” and the situation remains
highly unpredictable, Japanese officials said.
Militants had threatened to kill Jordanian
pilot Muath al Kasaesbeh unless a wouldbe suicide bomber being held on death row
in Amman was handed over by sunset on
Thursday.
Japanese journalist Kenji Goto was also
being held by the militants.
“The situation is deadlocked,” Japan’s
deputy foreign minister, Yasuhide Nakayama,
said in Jordon late on Friday according to
Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said
in Tokyo on Saturday that the situation
was unpredictable and that anything could
happen, NHK reported.
“Anything could happen,” he said. “We
can’t predict it at all.While preparing for every
situation, I want to make every effort for
Mr Goto’s release.” Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yoshihide Suga arrived at the Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe’s office on Saturday afternoon,
and the prime minister is on standby to
receive regular updates on the situation,
NHK said. Jordan’s army said on Friday state
agencies were “working round the clock”.
An audio message purportedly from Goto
said the pilot would be killed if Jordan did
not free Sajida al Rishawi, jailed for her role
in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60
people in Amman. The message extended a
previous deadline set on Tuesday in which
Goto said he would be killed within 24 hours
if Al Rishawi was not freed.
The hostage crisis comes as Islamic
State, which has already released videos
showing the beheadings of five Western
hostages, is coming under increased military
pressure from US-led air strikes and by
Kurdish and Iraqi troops pushing to reverse
the Islamist group’s territorial gains in Iraq
and Syria.
Abe has repeatedly said Japan would
not give in to terrorism and would
keep cooperating with the international
community.
The hostage crisis erupted after Abe
announced in Cairo $200 million in nonmilitary aid for countries opposing IS, but
his government has rejected suggestions it
acted rashly and stressed the assistance was
humanitarian.
Goto went to Syria in late October.
envelope protection, which prevents
a pilot from taking a plane beyond its
safety limits, leaving the junior pilot
to fly the jet manually in delicate high
altitude conditions.
The decision to cut off the FAC
has surprised people following the
investigation because the usual
procedure for resetting it is to press a
button on the overhead panel.
“You can reset the FAC, but to cut
all power to it is very unusual,” said one
A320 pilot, who declined to be identified.
“You don’t pull the circuit breaker unless
it was an absolute emergency.
I don’t know if there was one in this
case, but it is very unusual.”
It is also significant because to pull
the circuit breaker the captain had to
rise from his seat. The circuit breakers
are on a wall panel immediately behind
the co-pilot and hard or impossible to
reach from the seated position on the left
side, where the captain sits, according to
two experienced pilots and published
diagrams of the cockpit.
Shortly afterwards the junior pilot
pulled the plane into a sharp climb from
which investigators have said it stalled or
lost lift. “It appears he was surprised or
startled by this,” said a person familiar
with the investigation, referring to the
decision to cut power to the affected
computer.
The captain eventually resumed
control, but a person familiar with the
matter said he was not in a position to
intervene immediately to recover the
aircraft from its upset.
Data already published on the plane’s
trajectory suggest it may have been
difficult for someone to move around
the cockpit in an upward-tilting and by
then possibly unstable aircraft, but there
is so far no confirmation of the cockpit
movements. “The co-pilot pulled the
plane up, and by the time the captain
regained the controls it was too late,”
one of the people familiar with the
investigation said.
Tatang Kurniadi, chief of Indonesia’s
NTSC, said there had been no delay
in the captain resuming control but
declined further comment.
Airbus declined to comment.
Lawyers for the family of the French copilot say they have filed a lawsuit against
AirAsia in Paris for “endangering the
lives of others” by flying the route
without official authorisation on that
day. Investigators have said the accident
was not related to the permit issue.
AirAsia did not immediately respond
to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Although more is becoming known
about the chain of events, people familiar
with the investigation warned against
making assumptions on the accident’s
cause, which needed more analysis.
Safety experts say air crashes are most
often caused by a chain of events, each
of which is necessary but not sufficient
to explain the underlying causes of the
accident.
— Reuters
WELCOME TO SHEEP YEAR
Japan self-censors
images, words linked
to hostage crisis
TOKYO: Images or mentions of knives,
ransom or blood — or anything else that
can be seen alluding to the hostage crisis
involving two Japanese in Syria — have been
omitted.
Some anime and other entertainment
programmes are altering, cancelling or
postponing episodes violating those
sensitivities — typical of the kind of selfrestraint shown here to avoid controversy.
The restraint by broadcasters and other
media has spilled over into politics as
opposition lawmakers, mindful of the crisis,
toned down their criticism of Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe and his team.
When dozens of lawmakers appeared in
their traditional kimonos this week to mark
the opening of the annual session, they were
attacked on blogs and social networks for
looking too festive and insensitive.
Not wanting to be seen as insensitive
— a huge faux pas in a society that holds
consideration for others in high esteem —
Japanese broadcasters quickly screened out
any buzzwords and related images, all in the
name of jishuku, or self-imposed control.
In the latest example of self-censorship,
a production team for an animation comedy
Detective Opera Milky Holmes TD said that
it has decided to suspend its fifth episode
for being “inappropriate.” The episode was
entitled Carol’s ransom. The popular male
pop group KAT-TUN was supposed to sing its
new song Dead or Alive on TV Asahi’s Music
Station show on January 23, but instead
performed White Lovers. Another band, Ling
tosite sigure, altered lyrics that included the
words knife and blood.
The following day, another broadcaster,
Fuji Television Network, cancelled an episode
of animation Assassination Classroom, citing
“inappropriate material given the current
situation.” So far, the restraint is relatively
mild. For months following the March
2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster that
killed more than 19,000 people, neon signs
were dimmed and parties and comedy
performances cancelled.
Predictably, the popular band Southern
All Stars avoided singing their hit:
“Tsunami.” — AP
According to friends and business associates,
he was attempting to secure the release
of Haruna Yukawa, his friend and fellow
Japanese citizen who was captured by IS in
August. —AFP
Local artists display their painted lanterns during a painting festival at the Xinzhuang district in New Taipei City on Saturday. More then 500 residents took part
in the annual lantern painting event to mark the coming Lunar New Year of the Sheep which starts on February 19. — AFP
Singapore to set up a new agency to improve cyber security amid high profile hackings
Singapore hacker jailed for almost five years
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man who called
himself “The Messiah” was sentenced to nearly
five years in jail on Friday for hacking into
several servers, including the website of a district
represented by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
District court judge Jennifer Marie said the stiff
sentence she imposed on James Raj, 36, was meant
to act as a strong deterrent to would-be hackers,
and warned that cyber attacks posed “considerable
danger to the economy and the country”.
The ruling comes as Singapore this week
sought to strengthen its defenses against hackers,
announcing it will set up a new agency to improve
cyber security amid high profile hacking incidents
worldwide. Raj had pleaded guilty to 39 cyberrelated charges, including the October 2013
hacking of the Ang Mo Kio district website, whose
MPs include Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and
posting the image of a Guy Fawkes mask used by
hacker collective Anonymous.
According to the charge sheet, Raj identified
James Raj had pleaded guilty to
39 cyber-related charges, including
the hacking of the Ang Mo Kio
district website, whose MPs include
PM, and posting the image of a
Guy Fawkes mask used by hacker
collective Anonymous
himself as “The Messiah” and carried out the
hack from an apartment in Kuala Lumpur in
neighbouring Malaysia.
He had fled to Malaysia after skipping police
bail in 2011 for drug offences, before being
extradited back to Singapore in November 2013.
Raj had used the “The Messiah” moniker before
to hack a reporter’s blog on the website of the progovernment newspaper The Straits Times.
He had also secured unauthorised access into
various other web servers, including those of Fuji
Xerox and Standard Chartered Bank.
He also posted a video — purportedly from
Anonymous — which demanded the scrapping
of a law in Singapore requiring news websites to
obtain annual licences. The law had sparked anger
among bloggers and activists who say it is designed
to muzzle freedom of expression, especially on
social media which has increasingly become an
avenue for citizens to criticise the government.
“Singapore is a major IT centre both regionally
and globally. Cyber intrusions and threats pose
considerable danger to the economy and the
country,” the judge said. The judge noted that state
prosecutors had described the offences committed
by Raj as “the largest, most prolific cyber attacks
against IT systems in Singapore”. In December,
a court jailed another hacker, 28-year-old
Mohammad Azhar bin Tahir, for two months for
defacing the prime minister’s office website with
mocking messages and pictures. — AFP
SUBCONTINENT
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
omandailyobserver
7
Anger, mourning in Pakistan after bombing kills 61
NEW RESOLVE TO FIGHT TERROR: Will win the war against terrorism at any cost, prime minister tells the nation
SHIKARPUR: Thousands
rallied
yesterday to protest against the killing
of 61 people in a suicide bombing at a
mosque, as southern Pakistan shut down
to mourn the nation’s worst sectarian
attack in nearly two years.
The blast hit the mosque in the
Shikarpur district of southern Sindh
province, around 470 kilometres north
of Pakistan’s biggest city Karachi, as
hundreds of worshippers attended
Friday prayers.
Police said the devastating explosion
was a suicide attack and the bomber
detonated the explosives strapped to his
body “in the middle of the mosque”.
“The bomber selected a place in
the mosque that would cause huge
destruction,” Raja Umar Khitab, a
police official in Sindh’s counter-terror
department, said.
Khitab said the bomb was loaded
with steel pellets, ball bearings and other
shrapnel to cause maximum damage.
The
provincial
government
staging protest rallies.
Police said unidentified “miscreants”
had set fire to a passenger bus and a
truck in the city early in the day, but no
one was hurt.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said
the whole nation was in mourning after
the bombing, but vowed that it would
strengthen the government’s resolve to
stop terrorism.
Pakistan “will win the war against
terrorism at any cost,” he told a crowd of
almost 1,000 counter-terrorism officers
in eastern Lahore city yesterday.
Pakistan has suffered a rising tide of
sectarian violence in recent years, most
of it perpetrated by hardline groups
against minorities, who make up around
20 per cent of the population.
Friday’s bombing was the bloodiest
Pakistani people walk past a roadblock set up during a strike called following the deadly bomb attack in Shikarpur. — AFP
single sectarian attack in Pakistan
since March 2013, when a car bomb in
announced yesterday a day of mourning,
In Shikarpur, thousands gathered to after another.
closing schools, shops and offices, with attend funeral prayers for the dead.
Karachi, Pakistan’s economic heart Karachi killed 45.
A spokesman for the shadowy
no public transport available on the
Local television broadcast footage of and Sindh’s provincial capital, also shut
roads.
huge crowds offering their prayers, one down for the day, with hundreds of Jandullah militant group, a splinter
No asylum for Afghan soldier Bangladesh cuts
who fled training: US judge power supply
BUFFALO: An immigration judge has
denied asylum for an Afghan military
officer who sneaked away from a US
training exercise in Massachusetts to
avoid returning to Afghanistan, where
he said he had been threatened by the
Taliban.
The judge ruled that Maj Jan
Arash did not qualify for certain
protections because the Taliban is not
a government, his lawyer said, nor had
he proven that he would be persecuted,
rather than legally prosecuted, by the
Afghan government.
“If he gets deported and hung for
desertion, that’s OK under the law,”
attorney Matthew Borowski said. “We
have no choice but to appeal to the
Board of Immigration Appeals,” the
attorney said.
The process could take several
months. In the meantime, Arash will
continue to be held at the Buffalo
Federal Detention Center, where the
asylum case was heard.
Arash is one of three Afghan
military officers who were detained in
September after being denied entry into
Canada, where they had planned to
seek refugee status. One of the soldiers,
Capt Mohammad Nasir Askarzada,
was allowed into Canada in December
after proving he had relatives there.
The other, Capt Noorullah Aminyar, is
seeking asylum in the United States. His
case is pending before the same judge
that denied Arash’s claim.
“The cases are essentially the same,”
Borowski said. The ruling “doesn’t bode
well for him.”
Borowski, who has been representing
the soldiers pro bono, said Arash had
hoped to be released on parole so that
he could work to send money to his
wife and children, who are suffering
without Arash’s income.
— AP
Two die in Kabul protest
KABUL: Two people were killed when
violence broke out at an anti-Charlie
Hebdo protest in the Afghan capital
yesterday, according to witnesses, but
Kabul’s police chief said there were no
deaths and only two injuries.
Around 500 protesters streamed
into an eastern part of the city, putting
residents of nearby international
compounds on a state of alert.
Police sources said the protest
turned violent when protesters attacked
policemen with burning tyres, stones
and then gunfire.
A man who gave his name only as
Moshtaq, pointing at a pool of blood in
the road, said one protester “was shot in
the head and his dead body was there.
And I saw one more dead body in a car.”
Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman
Rahimi told reporters “there were some
irresponsible armed men among them
who opened fire on police. Primary
reports show that two protesters
were wounded.” Local residents and
shopkeepers complained the protesters
had used the outbreak of violence as an
excuse to loot.
“They were opportunists, not really
concerned about the issue,” Mohammad
Qasim, a shopkeeper caught in the
middle of the protest.
— AFP
to opposition
leader’s office
DHAKA: Bangladesh authorities
yesterday cut the power to opposition
leader Khaleda Zia’s office in an
apparent bid to force her to call off a
crippling anti-government transport
blockade.
Local television showed footage of
a technician from a state-run power
utility climbing a ladder and cutting
the line outside Zia’s office, where she
has been holed up since the protests
began early in January.
“We got permission from police to
cut the power line,” the technician told
reporters as he cut the line.
Private Channel 24 television said
that Internet and satellite television
connections to her office were also
severed.
There was no official comment
from police or the power company.
Shamsuddin Dider, a spokesman
for Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party
(BNP), said the 69-year-old leader was
“shocked and surprised” by the move.
He said the mobile phone network
around the office had also been
jammed.
The power line was cut just
hours after a government minister
reportedly threatened to sever the
office’s electrical supply and force Zia
her to starve to death if she did not call
off the nationwide transport blockade.
“Even the food provided to you by
your party officials will not reach your
room. You’ll have to die there without
food,” Shipping Minister Shahjahan
Khan told a rally, according to the local
Daily Star newspaper.
— AFP
Aung San Suu Kyi’s mansion gates to be auctioned
YANGON: A set of gates that became
an enduring symbol of Myanmar
democracy champion Aung San Suu
Kyi’s years under house arrest are to be
auctioned, a businessman who now
owns them said yesterday.
The gates — painted in the yellow
and red colours of Suu Kyi’s National
League for Democracy (NLD) party —
were once located at the entrance to
the crumbling Yangon mansion where
Myanmar’s most famous political
prisoner was confined for much of
the 1990s and 2000s because of her
outspoken opposition to military rule.
“They are my own property. I
bought them while I was working on
landscaping in Daw Suu’s compound
after her release from house arrest,” Soe
Nyunt, a restaurant owner, said, using
an honorific for Suu Kyi.
The businessman, an NLD supporter,
said he would sell the gates to raise
money both for the construction of
the party’s new headquarters, and
for upcoming centenary celebrations
marking the birth of General Aung
San, Suu Kyi’s father and the founder of
A journalist films an old gate of the Chairman of National League for
Democracy (NLD) Aung San Suu Kyi’s residence in Yangon yesterady. — AFP
modern day Myanmar.
He will not accept less than
$200,000 for the gates, he added.
“I think the international community
will be interested. So I will wait some
time before personally auctioning
them,” Soe Nyunt said.
During brief moments when
restrictions against Suu Kyi were
relaxed she would often greet wellwishers from the gates in acts of
defiance against a junta that ruled
Myanmar with an iron fist from
1962 to 2010. — AFP
faction of the Pakistani Taliban, said
they were behind the latest blast.
Attacks on minorities have been
increasing in recent years in Karachi and
also in the southwestern city of Quetta,
the northwestern area of Parachinar and
the far northeastern town of Gilgit.
Around 1,000 have been killed in the
past two years in Pakistan, with many
of the attacks claimed by the hardline
group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).
Pakistan has stepped up its fight
against militants in the past month,
following a Taliban massacre at a school
in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Heavily armed gunmen went from
room to room at the army-run school
gunning down 150 people, most of them
children, in an attack that horrified the
world.
Since then, the government has ended
a six-year moratorium on executions in
terror-related cases and pledged to crack
down on all militant groups.
— AFP
8
ANALYSIS
omandailyobserver
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
NIZWA, A NOTABLE
CULTURAL CENTRE
ABDULAZIZ AL JAHDHAMI
[email protected]
N
izwa, Oman’s heritage-rich city, is named the Capital of Islamic Culture; it’s a real
honour to the country and its people. As 2015 kicked off, the Sultanate will start a
series of events to celebrate Nizwa as the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2015. This
milestone will be on the top agenda of Oman’s this year’s calendar.
For many reasons that Nizwa is getting nominated by the Islamic Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) from among other Arab countries;
the country is renowned for its unique diversity of culture and heritage. Almost
every city in Oman is distinguished by different characteristics and landmarks that
differentiate one city from another. All this blend of qualities mirror the uniqueness
of Oman as the essence of Arabia.
Nizwa is reputed for its religious, heritage and cultural standing among other
cities in different parts of Oman. Undoubtedly, it has been chosen as the Capital of
Islamic Culture for the depth of Nizwa’s renowned cultural influence which dates
back to over 12 centuries. This city, the largest in the Al Dhakhiliyah Governorate,
was the capital of Oman in the 6th and 7th
centuries. Today, Nizwa stands as one of the
most popular tourist destinations for citizens,
Nizwa is reputed for
tourists and residents alike due to the mixture
of rich cultural, heritage and natural sightseeing its religious, heritage
there. Case in a point, the magnificent Nizwa and cultural standing
Fort was built in the mid 17th century by Imam
among other cities
Sultan bin Saif al Ya’rubi is regarded a one of its
in different parts of
kind tourist attractions in the region.
The fort stands among the most popular Oman. The city was
local historical sites as an amazing example of
the capital of the
old Omani architecture that reflects the way of
living of Omanis in the ancient times. Likewise, Sultanate in the 6th
the bustling old souq is one of the city’s main and 7th centuries
attractions for tourists where they can buy
antiques, souvenirs and distinctive Omani
crafts items.
With all these monuments and treasures, Nizwa distinguishes itself from other
cities in Oman. It revives the past life experiences and history of Omanis to the
current and coming generations of Oman. It enlightens and inspires tourists as it
reflects the bits and pieces of the unique Omani traditional and modern lifestyle of
people in terms of history, rich heritage and culture.
In a point of fact, selecting Nizwa, the heritage capital of Oman, as Capital
of Islamic Culture to represent the Sultanate has many implications including
religious, historical and cultural status of Nizwa as a city of science and scientists,
and has assumed its prestigious position in the Omani history.
Nizwa being Capital of Islamic Culture for 2015 is a nation-shared milestone
which we all should be proud of. As there will be year-round celebrations to mark
this milestone, it is a responsibility of both government and individuals to promote
and endorse the Omani distinctive culture and heritage throughout the events
activities as well as day-today life doings.
Hopefully, the agenda of events and activities will be very appealing and
insightful covering all cultural, religious, historical and scientific aspects of the city.
Nizwa combines all characteristics of the Omani culture and heritage which should
be promoted and presented to the world in the celebrations of Nizwa Capital of
Islamic Culture 2015. Efforts of all the concerned bodies must be joined to make
the celebration a success.
This historical city will always stand as a must-to-see tourist destination in
Oman; it marks a source of attraction to citizens, residents and tourists alike. With
Nizwa’s enticing atmosphere, Omanis can breathe the authentic living of their
ancestors while for residents tourists like to observe and feel the traditional and
modern touches of Omanis lifestyle present there.
Congratulations Nizwa for holding the flag of Capital of Islamic Culture 2015. It’s
really thrilling and encouraging to start the year with such remarkable achievement.
A medic checks the body temperature of an attendee for Ebola virus in Addis Ababa.
Shortcomings of African unity
A
s Africa’s leaders meet in Ethiopia to discuss the Ebola several neighbours were “un-African”.
Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel was more
crisis, expectations of firm action will be tempered by
criticism over the continent’s poor record in the early stages explicit when she blasted African leaders in November for
an “inadequate” response to Ebola which demonstrated a
of the epidemic.
The outbreak is a priority on the agenda of the 54-nation lack of regard for human life.
The AU itself has recognised its shortcomings.
African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa yesterday, yet
At the height of the epidemic, members had deployed
the bloc is still smarting from criticism that it reacted too
just 100 volunteers to west Africa, a quarter of the number
slowly to the outbreak.
Health workers and cash have flooded in from the provided by Cuba alone.
“With the wisdom of hindsight, our responses at all
United States, Britain and even Cuba as part of a UN-led
surge to battle an epidemic which has seen nearly 9,000 levels — continental, global and national — were slow,
and often knee-jerk reactions that did not always help the
deaths in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Yet it was only in September — 10 months after the situation,” the bloc’s chairwoman Nkosazana Dlaminivirus emerged and a month after it was declared a “health Zuma admitted at a meeting with the heads of the United
Nations and World Bank on October 28.
emergency of international concern” —
Politicians and aid agencies have
that the AU held an emergency summit.
At the height of the
noted a better response since, however,
The three hardest-hit nations have
Ebola epidemic,
with 800 of 1,000 volunteers pledged in
expressed disappointment that their
October now in place.
continental neighbours seemed initially
member countries
In November, the AU set up a crisis
to be much quicker to shut borders and
had deployed just
fund alongside the African Development
ban flights than to deploy resources.
100 volunteers to
Bank and regional business leaders, with
Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai
some $28 million pledged.
Koroma hinted at his disillusionment
west Africa, writes
AU leaders in Ethiopia are discussing
in August when he greeted a $500,000
KARIM LEBHOUR
the economic recovery of countries
donation from Gambia with an illaffected by Ebola, setting up a “solidarity
disguised dig at his other African
fund” and planning a proposed African
neighbours.
“In moments like this, we will remember our friends Centre for Disease Control. The World Health Organization
including those that are rallying round us and those that (WHO) said last Thursday laboratory-confirmed Ebola
infections had dropped below 100 new cases a week for the
show true spirit of African solidarity,” he said.
He added that “we expect African countries and first time in more than six months.
The WHO said it had shifted its efforts from slowing the
organisations including ECOWAS and the African Union
to rally round and show solidarity which the Gambian spread to stamping it out completely. Meanwhile Guinea’s
President Alpha Conde has warned that the retreat of the
president has demonstrated”.
A week earlier Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, a senior official, virus has brought with it the danger of complacency.
“We have to see how to compensate for the damage
had expressed “shock” that South Africa had donated a
mobile testing laboratory on one hand while banning that Ebola has inflicted on our economy and our finances,”
Sierra Leoneans on the other. The hurt was shared in he said last week on the sidelines of the World Economic
Liberia where Musa Bility, head of the national football Forum in Davos, which brings together 2,500 of the world’s
association, said in August that travel bans imposed by most influential business and political leaders.
Mitt Romney departure resets 2016 Republican field
M
itt Romney stepped away from a third
presidential run and reset the field in the
battle for the 2016 Republican nomination.
The former Massachusetts governor’s
decision freed up vast quantities of
political oxygen for the potential runs by
other mainstream Republicans, especially
former Florida governor Jeb Bush — son
of one Republican president and brother
of another.
The broad but still unannounced field
of possible candidates is jockeying to
be the Republican who faces off against
likely Democrat nominee Hillary Rodham
Clinton — the former first lady, New
York senator and secretary of state. The
election to pick a successor to President
Barack Obama still is 21 months away and
none of the potential candidates has said
for certain they will make a run for the
Republican nomination.
Bush has taken initial steps toward a
run, and so have New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie, Wisconsin Governor
Scott Walker and Florida Senator
Marco Rubio. Romney had run for
president twice before.
Before claiming the nomination to
oppose Obama in 2012, he lost a primary
bid to Senator John McCain in 2008.
Obama rolled up big victories both
times. For now, polls show Bush as the
front-runner.
The mainstream Republican candidates
will be hard-pressed to avoid being pushed
too far to the right of the political spectrum
in their bid to win the nomination.
The series of state primary and caucus
votes are dominated by the conservative
activists and voters. Romney’s drift to the
right during the primaries was seen as one
reason for his loss to Obama in 2012. Bush
and Romney are deeply at odds over the
future direction of the Republican party,
which has been unable to appeal to black
and Hispanic voters.
In the 2012 campaign Romney
alienated Hispanics in particular by saying
US immigration policy should encourage
people in the country illegally to “selfdeport.”
That position opened a rift with Bush,
whose wife is Mexican born. After his
2012 loss, Romney had repeatedly said he
was done with presidential politics.
But three weeks ago Romney appeared
The former governor’s
decision freed up vast
quantities of political oxygen
for the potential runs by other
mainstream Republicans,
including Jeb Bush, notes
STEVE R HURST
to do an about-face, saying he was
considering another run.
He made calls to former fundraisers,
staff members and supporters, and gave
three public speeches in which he outlined
his potential vision for another campaign
— focusing this time on the plight of the
middle class. Critics jabbed the new focus
as an insincere shift designed to shed his
image as an out-of-touch millionaire.
Those closer to Romney suggested it
was a truer reflection of a man of deep faith
than most voters saw during his first two
presidential campaigns. It was an attempt
to distance himself from 2012, when he
was caught on video telling a room full
of wealthy donors that 47 per cent of
Americans — middle- and low-income
Americans — would vote for Obama no
matter what he did.
Americans “who are dependent upon
government, who believe that they are
victims, who believe the government has
a responsibility to care for them, who
believe that they are entitled to healthcare,
to food, to housing, to you-name-it.”
In the end, Romney’s exit on Friday
reflected the defection to Bush of several
of his former major donors and a veteran
staffer. While likely boosting the chances
of Bush, Christie, Walker and Rubio,
Romney’s departure leaves unchanged the
more conservative side of the field.
Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney addresses the student body and
guests at Mississippi State University in Starkville. — AP
ANALYSIS
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
omandailyobserver
9
What’s that you say? To speak up or to shut up?
N
RAY PETERSEN
[email protected]
ew Zealand author Eleanor Catton, has created a
storm of controversy at home, by observing that
her fellow Kiwis are, “neo-liberal, profit obsessed
and shallow,” and taking a ‘bite’ out of the country’s
politicians as well, by saying that they, “don’t care
about culture!” I guess such comments are given
added emphasis by the 2013 award of the Man
Booker Prize, for her literary masterpiece The
Luminaries.
I actually don’t agree with her, and I think it
smacks of ‘biting the hand that feeds,’ to be critical
of the same taxpayers who have kept her employed
as a university lecturer, and writer, for most of her
working life, and to similarly tar all politicians with
the same brush.
I do not agree with her at all and any country
that can offer the world the artistic diversity of
Lord of the Rings Director, Sir Peter Jackson, the
magnificent sopranic abilities of Dame Kiri Te
Kanawa, and the wit and intelligence of Dame Ngaio
Marsh, the author of more than 32 detective novels,
must be doing something right. You will note that
all of these are recognised for their contributions to
the arts, with knighthoods proposed and supported
by, yes, you guessed it, politicians and taxpayers!
She is brave! After all, in one ill-mannered and illconceived sentence, she has probably alienated herself
from a large number of the population who would socially inoffensive. Recognising that Omanis do
have been delighted for her success, and revelled, yet not ‘do’ aggression, or conflict, as a rule, preferring
again, in a ‘kiwi’ beating the world. If she wanted to not to disrespect another by being argumentative
‘flip the bird’ to all of New Zealand, on nationwide with them, I note a tendency to accept a situation
that which is not as they would wish, preferring the
TV, she could not have been more hurtful!
What is, however, encouraging about Catton’s less antagonistic scenario.
The challenge that currently
petulant
and
unworthy
faces much of the employment
outburst, is that she has the
market, is striking the balance
freedom and confidence to
The challenge that
between providing employment
make such statements and
for Omanis, and getting effective
claims. Now she must ‘take
currently faces much
work performance. There are
her medicine’ so to speak,
of the market, is
certainly issues in definition of
but to be bold, to say what
striking the balance
‘having the job,’ as opposed to
you think, and be prepared to
‘doing the work.’
deal with the consequences is
between providing
This is exactly why many
not only an artistic freedom,
jobs for Omanis, and
expatriates
have
senior
but organisationally, and
getting effective work
positions in national and
institutionally, a necessity for
international
companies.
key staff with management
performance
Experience of working at a
responsibilities.
particular level, being able
To this end, I fear that
to interact effectively both
the behavioural and cultural
inhibitions inherent in this society may well internally and externally with a multitude of
inhibit maximum and effective performance and nationalities and cultures, and having a cultural
achievement in this area. It is widely acknowledged business perspective that is based on, and in, an
that Omanis are ‘non-confrontational’ (Bryan- environment of openness, familiarity, and to a
Morgan, 2008, OBG, 2013) by nature, culturally and certain extent, insensitivity, are key requirements.
The problem for Omanis, is that many expatriates
have come from, thrived, and proven themselves in
an adversarial business environment. This does not
mean that all business practices come down to the
loudest voice or the strongest will, but that opinions
can be expressed, all avenues of discussion explored,
and the best solutions found as the result of vigorous
discussion. Such intensive discussions do not always
mean ‘blood on the floor’, but it is important to know
that you are dealing with all of the facts.
Too often, we see middle management in
particular, prepared to say, “What can I do?” The
answer is, do your job. Though it is often seen here
as insensitive, or even insolent, to question the
actions of a superior, if you do not, you are not doing
what your position dictates. Managers, and bosses,
like all of us can make mistakes. Is it right that we
perpetuate those mistakes by not acting effectively?
We have a responsibility to speak up.
I understand that a business model management
structure is not the same as the tribal hierarchy that
is the only model the Sultanate has ever known.
However, the pace of change, and the need for global
expansion and interaction in the business world are
such that to be bold, questioning, and demanding
are among the modern day requirements of key
appointees.
A GOOD MODEL
VIKAS DATTA
long spell of instability and violence lies ahead for the Middle East where
“artificial borders” drawn post World War I are being slowly dismantled,
but one model the region can learn from is India with its diversity and
autonomy for states, says a chronicler of Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab
revolt. “I see a long period of chaos and bloodshed ahead for the (Middle
East) region, where nations like Iraq and Libya are unravelling. But in the
long term, I am optimistic that the Arabs’ culture of grievances and conflict
with the West will abate,” Scott Anderson, author of Lawrence in Arabia:
War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the making of the Modern Middle East, said
in an interview at the Jaipur Literature Festival, which ended last week.
In his book, Anderson, a veteran American war correspondent,
contends that nearly a century of violent instability in the Middle East
could have been avoided or at least mitigated if the British had kept the
promise of self-rule made to Arab leaders, through T E Lawrence, a junior
army officer who inspired and led their revolt against Ottoman Turk rule
during World War I.
Instead, there came the Sykes-Picot agreement, in which two relatively
junior diplomats — Britain’s Mark Sykes and France’s Francois George
Picot — divided out, without much oversight, the Ottoman territories. And
this was even at a time when oil had not been discovered in the region, said
Anderson. Thus were created various “artificial nations” bringing together
various clans and tribes which had nothing in common with one another
and would be virtually ungovernable under a central authority, he said. It
was this Western imperialism that fostered a “culture of grievances” among
the Arabs. It didn’t take long after the departure of the local ‘strong man’ for
these countries to come apart.
“Iraq has effectively been three countries for some time now... similarly
Libya which again seems to be breaking into the three ‘vilayets’ (provinces)
as it was under Ottoman rule,” he said.
Here is where, Anderson said, the Indian experience could be valuable.
“India, with its diversity, and individual states which have quite an
amount of autonomy can be a model for these countries which are
splintering into the shape they had during the Ottoman rule,” he said.
Anderson said there is a general tendency to see the Ottoman empire
as failing but what are usually identified as its weaknesses — the lack of
a cohesive centre and autonomy to various religions and ethnicities —
actually ensured its survival. He agreed that if one sees the situation in the
Middle East after the Ottomans or in East Europe (the Yugoslav civil war)
after the Habsburgs, then these empires — in hindsight — appear quite
better than what followed them.
A
Newly-elected President of Italy, Sicilian judge Sergio Mattarella arrives at the Constitutional Council in Rome. — AFP
A veteran with reputation for moral reptitude
I
taly’s new president Sergio Mattarella
is a Christian Democrat (DC) veteran
with a reputation for moral reptitude and
unflappability, who will form an odd power
couple with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
Whereas Renzi is seen as brash, loud and
youthful — giving high-fives and posing
for pictures with the public as he walks
the streets — the 73-year-old Mattarella is
described as shy, placid and retiring from
the limelight.
“He’s definitely not a ‘selfies’ man,” says
Rosy Bindi, a lawmaker from Renzi’s centreleft Democratic Party (PD) who shares
Mattarella’s DC roots and used to sit next to
him in parliament in the early 1990s.
Unlike
his
predecessor
Giorgio
Napolitano, who had a privileged
partnership with US President Barack
Obama and other world leaders, Mattarella
has little international recognition, and is
not well versed in foreign languages.
“I respect him, but I would not have
picked him,” says Antonio Martino, a
grandee from the Forza Italia of former
premier Silvio Berlusconi. “He does not
have any foreign policy skills, and we need
someone who can talk to foreign leaders.”
Pietro Ichino, a PD senator, says
Mattarella is going to be a low-key president,
staying faithful to his role of guardian of
the constitution, but shying away from
meddling in everyday politics.
But several people who dealt with him
over the years warn against considering the
new head of state a pushover.
“The man may be quiet but he has
character, he will not be simply a ceremonial
head of state, like you have in Germany,”
Rocco Buttiglione, a former political rival
and current centre-right deputy, says.
La Repubblica newspaper has profiled the
president as “The grey man who knows how
to say ‘no’,” while Il Giornale, another daily,
described him as a “shy and frosty character,
not inclined to smiling.”
“Does he have a sense of humour? I
would not call it his forte,” Luigi Cocilovo, a
DC figure from Sicily and former European
Parliament member who has known the
president for decades, said with a chuckle.
Mattarella is famous for never losing
his temper. Gian Antonio Stella, a political
sketchwriter for Corriere della Sera, once
wrote that the only thing he does when
upset is raise one eyebrow.
Cocilovo adds: “He does not have it in his
bones to be irascible.”
Yet, behind the mild manners, there lies a
man of steely convictions.
Born in Palermo in 1941, Mattarella’s
top political office prior to the presidency
was serving as deputy prime minister in
1998-1999. He sat in parliament from 1983
to 2008, and has been a constitutional court
judge since 2011.
He hails from a family of politicians.
His father Bernardo was one of the 556
lawmakers who drafted Italy’s post-war
constitution, and served in government
several times. Piersanti, his older brother,
was killed by the Mafia in 1980, while he was
governor of Sicily.
After that tragedy, Mattarella reluctantly
left a university career in law and entered
Unlike his predecessor
Giorgio Napolitano, who had a
privileged partnership with US
President Barack Obama and
other world leaders, Mattarella
has little recognition, reports
ALVISE ARMELLINI
politics to keep the family tradition alive.
In Palermo, he oversaw a clean-up
process that led to the appointment of the
city’s first openly anti-Mafia administration
in 1985. Other career highs include a bill that
led to the abolition of military conscription,
passed while he was defence minister in
2000-2001, and the drafting of an electoral
law that was in force from 1993 to 2005.
He is also remembered for standing up to
former premier Silvio Berlusconi on several
occasions.
He resigned from ministerial office in
1990 to protest against a law giving undue
advantages to the then tycoon’s private TV
network. In the following years, he battled
to stop Christian Democrats allying with
Berlusconi, steering most of them towards
the centre-left.
In 1999, he bemoaned the admission
of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party into the
European People’s Party — an umbrella
group of moderate centre-right forces that
includes the party of German Chancellor
Angela Merkel — as “an irrational
nightmare.”
A fiercely private man, Mattarella has
lived a quiet life for years.
On the Internet, there’s only one video
interview of him, where he talks about his
militancy in a student Catholic group in
1950s Sicily.
Following the death of his wife in 2012,
he has taken up residence in the guesthouse
of the Constitutional Court, located a couple
of minute’s walk away from the Quirinale,
the former papal palace that hosts the Italian
presidency. Mattarella has a daughter and
two sons — one serving as a top aide to a
Renzi government minister — and several
grandchildren, but aside from spending
time with his family, little is known about
how he spends his down time.
ESTABLISHED ON 15 NOVEMBER 1981
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10
INDIA
omandailyobserver
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
Govt to amend electoral
law to enable NRI voting
CLEAN AND SAFE
LEGAL BACKING: Law ministry tentatively decided to add an
additional clause either in section 60 or section 61 of the RP Act, 1951
R A K SINGH
NEW DELHI
Sulabh International’s Sulabh Drinking Water project converts contaminated pond water into safe drinking water at
Madhusudan kati village of Gayghata block under 24 Parganas of West Bengal, on Saturday. Sulabh International founder
Bindeshwar Pathak opened the plant.
— IANS
‘CM STRONG LINK’
BJP calls for
Mamata’s grilling
in Saradha scam
KOLKATA: The BJP on Saturday
called for the interrogation of
Trinamool Congress supremo and
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee over the Saradha scam, a day
after party general secretary Mukul
Roy was grilled by the CBI.
Referring to Banerjee’s alleged
meeting with Saradha chief and
scam kingpin Sudipta Sen at Delo in
Darjeeling district in March 2012,
Bharatiya Janata Party national
secretary Siddharth Nath Singh
said the chief minister should be
questioned about it. “(Mukul) Roy
has publicly admitted that there was
a meeting between Sen, Banerjee
and himself in Delo. If the CBI has
interrogated Roy, they should also call
Banerjee for questioning,” Siddharth
Nath Singh, also the party in-charge
for the state, told media persons at
Krishnanagar in Nadia district. “The
CBI can’t have two different yardsticks
for two people.”
— IANS
Jan 31: Working earnestly as per the
Supreme Court’s wishes to provide for
a legislative framework for the use of
new electronic-cum-postal balloting
system to enable non-resident Indians
to exercise their franchise from abroad,
the Union law ministry has decided to
amend the Representation of People
Act, 1951.
The ministry has tentatively decided
to add an additional clause either in
section 60 or section 61 of the RP Act,
1951, said officials of the Legislative
Department.
The
government
tentatively chosen section 60 the RP
Act for amendment as it details special
procedure of voting like those through
postal balloting or proxy voting for
certain classes of people like members
of police or Armed Forces, government
servants posted abroad or at a place
other than their home states etc.
These special categories have been
incorporated as voters by section 20 of
the RP Act 1950 (not 1951), while NRIs
too, after changes in RP Act in 2010,
have been listed as special category of
voters by addition of another section
20A in the RP Act 1950, explained
officials.
Alternatively, section 61 A has been
identified for amendment because
it is this section which provides for
the voting through Electronic Voting
Machine. Section 61A, empowering
the Election Commission to use the
EVMs in elections was added by the
government in December 1988, said
officials. In fact, the government has
decided to make proper legislative
changes to provide a legal frame
work for the new voting mechanism
to ensure that the same does not run
aground before any court of law as the
mechanism of voting through EVMs
had been struck down by the Supreme
Court for want of proper law to support
it, said officials.
The Supreme Court, the officials
recalled, had on March 5, 1984 struck
down the use of EVM as voting
mechanism, which the poll panel
had done on experimental basis in an
election for Parur assembly constituency
in Kerala in May 1982.
The apex court had struck down
the use of EVM in Parur saying the law
provided for voting through ballots and
not through EVMs, said officials.
The officials recalled the EC was so
enamoured by the efficacy of EVMs,
developed by PSUs – Electronics
Corporation of India Ltd, Hyderabad
and Bharat Electronics Ltd, Bangalore
in late seventies and early eighties that it
swung into action to to use it at least on
experimental basis.
Accordingly, it asked the government
to make requisite changes in the RP Act
1951 to enable it use the EVMs, but the
government was still a little circumspect
over the efficacy of EVMs and asked the
EC to wait for some time before start
using them.
But, the EC proceeded ahead to
use EVMs in 50 out of the 84 polling
stations of the Parur assembly segment
of Kerala in May 1982 on the strength
of under Article 324 of the Constitution.
But this move of the EC had not found
favour with the apex court.
Swine flu toll at 27 in Telangana, 3 Andhra Girl planning to
join IS returns
HYDERABAD: Four more people
died of swine flu in Telangana
and Andhra Pradesh on Saturday,
officials said.
While three people died at the
government-run Gandhi Hospital
here, one woman succumbed at
Ongole in Prakasam district of
Andhra Pradesh.
With this, the toll in Telangana
rose to 27 and in neighbouring
state to three this month.
Three people including two
women died at Gandhi Hospital,
which is the state nodal centre for
swine flu in Telangana.
The deceased include a 35-yearold pregnant woman. Doctors said
35 people including 12 children
are undergoing treatment at the
hospital.
The medical and health
department, in its bulletin, said
out of 107 samples tested for H1N1
virus on Friday, 26 were found
positive.
The number of positive cases
reported in the last six days are
however showing a declining
trend. The number has come down
from 49 to 26.
GALLOPING GRACE
A mother and her children cover their faces with masks as preventive measures against swine flu inside Gandhi
Hospital premise in Hyderabad on Saturday.
— AP
During January, 1,581 samples toll in the state to three.
However, Health Minister K
were tested and 549 were tested
positive. Andhra Pradesh reported Srinivas Rao put the toll at two.
He said so far 32 cases were
a suspected swine flu death on
Saturday. An elderly woman died reported from 13 districts.
The minister said in a statement
at a hospital in Ongole, taking the
that the health authorities remain
on alert and are taking all steps to
prevent the spread of swine flu.
He said with the rise in
temperature, the number of cases
is coming down.
— IANS
HYDERABAD: Hyderabad police on Saturday said that a
city girl residing in Qatar planned to join IS and went up
to Turkey but came back without joining the terror group.
The teenager has returned to her parents in Hyderabad
and police have counselled her.
Commissioner of Police M Mahendar Reddy, however,
clarified that she neither joined the terror outfit nor
underwent any training.
The police chief said the 19-year-old was not brought
back by police but returned on her own.
The girl along with a woman living in her apartment
building in Doha went up to Turkey to join IS.
However, they changed their mind after seeing the
conditions in Iraq and Syria and returned to Qatar.
The girl, whose identity has not been revealed, later came
back to the city. The commissioner said the incident took
place two months ago. “She had been living in Qatar for 10
years,” Mahender Reddy said.
The incident has come to light close on the heels of arrest
of an engineer from the city, who was planning to join ISIS
in Syria. The 32-year-old US-returned techie was arrested
at Hyderabad airport on January 16 when he was about to
leave for Dubai. Police claimed that Salman Mohiuddin,
during his stay in the US, had come in touch with a British
woman living in Dubai, via social networking sites.
Last year, the city police had prevented six youths
including a former employee of Google, from leaving for
Iraq to join IS.
— IANS
Art fair traces development of modern art; Works of Souza, Raza, Hussain, Jamini Roy on display
Steel elephant, graffiti mural loom over art fair
A Sikh warrior performs on horses during the 79th Kila
Raipur Rural Sports Festival also known as the Rural Olympics
at Kila Raipur, 20 km from Ludhiana, Punjab on Friday. — AFP
NEW DELHI: With a giant stainless
steel elephant, a graffiti mural and a
dying tree branch, the Indian Art
Fair opened on Friday hoping to tap
into the country’s growing demand
for contemporary art.
Growing wealth has fuelled an
interest in art collecting among
India’s super rich, but the New
Delhi fair’s organisers said a rapidly
rising middle class has also played
a role in recent years. “Delhi is the
most promising and largest art
centre in India and something that
is growing exponentially,” Neha
Kirpal, fair founder and director,
said.
“The rising middle class in Delhi
and love for art is something that
is enabling strong commercial
interests,” she said. Spread across
pavilions over 20,000 square metres
(215,000 square feet), the fair
features more than 3,500 works
from 1,200 artists from India
and overseas. The event has been
phenomenally successful since its
first edition in 2008 and now draws
hundreds of thousands of members
A visitor looks at an exhibit titled “The Threshold into a Dream” by artist T V Santhosh at the India Art Fair in New
Delhi.
— Reuters
of the public over three days.
Coming on the heels of Christie’s
second auction in the country in
December that raised $12 million,
art dealers said demand for a range
of Indian works was high. “A few
years ago, you know, there was
concern in the market, but now
steadily things have been rising,”
Parul Vadehra, Director of the
Vadehra Art Gallery, said of the
market’s slump after the 2008 global
economic crisis.“With prices rising
in the market, obviously that creates
a lot of confidence among the
collectors and the galleries as well
as the artists,” Vadehra said.
This year, themes at the fair range
from environmental degradation to
the responsibility of power.
A stainless steel elephant with
lotus-shaped cut outs by Indian
sculptor Sonal Ambani portrays
the “responsibility of power”,
while a large dry tree branch with
plastic bags as leaves depicts global
“environmental degradation”.
A large mural by a graffiti artist
known as Daku shows life on a busy
Delhi street, including pedestrians,
rickshaw pullers and a pot-bellied
police man. French artist Julian
Segard, who spent months with
Delhi’s homeless, portrays the city’s
underbelly with pictures made from
scrap paper and cardboard collected
on the streets. And the proof of how
much of a physical and emotional
investment the gallery has made
in putting up this exhibition comes
from the fact that the 11,000 sq feet
space is dotted with their in-house
collection of works of prominent
artists such as F N Souza, H S Raza,
M F Hussain, Jamini Roy, Nandalal
Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, among
several others. — Agencies
INDIA
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
Agni 5 can hit China, Europe
VOTE ON FEBRUARY 7: Most opinion polls showing Kejriwal in
the lead ahead of BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi
Modi steps up offensive
a week before Delhi poll
Agni V blasts off
from a canister
mounted atop a
mobile truck on
Wheeler Island, off
the eastern state of
Orissa. — AFP
NEW DELHI: India on Saturday succeeded
for the first time in using a mobile
launcher to test-fire a long-range missile
capable of delivering a nuclear warhead
deep inside rival China.
Although Saturday’s launch was the
third test of the Agni V missile, it was the
first time the weapon had been fired from
a so-called canister mounted on a truck
rather than from a concrete launchpad
used in previous trials.
The new delivery mechanism gives
the armed forces increased operational
flexibility. “Successful test-firing of Agni
V from a canister makes the missile a
prized asset for our forces,” Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said on Twitter after the
test on an island off the eastern state of
Orissa. The Agni V — developed by India’s
Defence Research and Development
Organisation — was first tested in April
2012. Analysts say the Agni V has the
omandailyobserver
range to strike any target on the Chinese
mainland, including military installations
in the far northeast, and Europe
India sees the rocket, which has a
range of 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles),
as a key boost to its regional power
aspirations and one that narrows — albeit
slightly — the huge gap with China’s
missile systems. Agni, meaning “fire” in
Sanskrit, is the name given to a series
of rockets India developed as part of
a guided missile development project
launched in 1983. While the shorter-range
Agni I and II were mainly developed with
traditional rival Pakistan in mind, analysts
say later versions with a longer range
reflect the shift in India’s focus towards
China. India and China, each with a
population of more than one billion, have
prickly relations and a legacy of mistrust
that stems from a brief but bloody border
war in 1962. — AFP
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi stepped up an offensive
against Delhi opponent and antigraft campaigner Arvind Kejriwal on
Saturday, a week before India’s capital
holds state elections.
The state, which has some 13
million eligible voters, heads to the
polls on February 7, with results due on
February 10. Delhi has been without a
government for almost a year after selfstyled “anarchist” Kejriwal quit as state
chief minister last February, just 49 days
after taking power.
He is now again seeking the capital’s
top post, with most opinion polls
showing him in the lead ahead of the
candidate for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), former high-ranking
policewoman Kiran Bedi.
Modi made Kejriwal the main target
of Saturday’s campaign speech, blasting
him as a “backstabber” who “committed
the sin of wasting a year in Delhi”.
“A year ago, Delhi voted with a hope,
a dream. But the people you voted for
stabbed you in the back and shattered
all your dreams,” said Modi, who came
to national power with a landslide
election victory in May. Kejriwal’s Aam
Aadmi (Common Man) Party made a
spectacular debut in state elections in
December 2013, but he quit Delhi’s top
post in a row over an anti-corruption
bill — a decision he has since said he
regretted. The upstart party flopped
in May’s general election, but Kejriwal
once again represents the major obstacle
to the BJP’s electoral hopes in Delhi.
Modi’s attack came hours after
Kejriwal’s party unveiled a 70-point
election manifesto vowing affordable
electricity, free wifi across Delhi and the
installation of a million CCTV cameras
in the city, which has been dubbed
India’s “rape capital”.
Modi has not yet released his party
manifesto, but he used Saturday’s speech
to highlight government initiatives
including better housing for slumdwellers, cash subsidies for cooking gas
and creating jobs in manufacturing.
The premier also promised Delhi voters
round-the-clock electricity when he
kicked off his party’s campaign in the
capital earlier this month.
— AFP
Cases also reported in Litchi-growing regions of Bangladesh, Vietnam
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public rally in New Delhi along with Delhi chief
minister candidate Kiran Bedi.
— AFP
BJP moves poll panel
against AAP leader
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Saturday
filed a complaint with the Election
Commission against AAP leader
Kumar Vishwas for allegedly making
a “derogatory” remark against its
chief ministerial candidate Kiran
Bedi, prompting her to lodge a police
complaint against Vishwas.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders
Satish Upadhyay, Meenakshi Lekhi,
Shazia Ilmi, Shaina NC, among others,
went to the poll panel’s office and filed a
complaint against him.
“We
moved
the
Election
Commission against Vishwas and
sought strict action...,” Upadhyay said.
At a recent rally, Kumar Vishwas
allegedly said: “Two problems the BJP
has with Arvind Kejriwal. One is that he
wears a muffler... Has he stolen it from
you? One of them says he (Kejriwal)
coughs a lot..... What is your problem?
Do you have to sleep with him in his
bedroom?”
However, Kumar Vishwas said his
remark at a rally where AAP chief
Kejriwal was also present was not
directed at Bedi, but the BJP claimed
he was targeting her. Vishwas said
whatever remarks he made were
targeted at the BJP and not Bedi. “I
am surprised that channels are not
showing this video. There were cameras
of so many channels. There was an
Election Commission camera too...
when they do not have any issue they
are spreading such things,” he said.
He challenged Bedi and the BJP
to prove that these remarks were
targeted at Bedi. Bedi in a series of
tweets expressed her anguish over the
remarks.
“Absolutely derogatory, sexist
remarks, illegal photoshopped images
communicating wrong messaging.
It is this unethical, toxic, perverse
and uncivil practices that we need to
eliminate from our system.” — IANS
11
Ten drown as
tannery effluent
treatment tank
bursts in TN
CHENNAI: Ten labourers drowned
in sludge on Saturday when an
effluent treatment tank burst in Tamil
Nadu’s Ranipet town, officials said.
Nine of the dead hailed from West
Bengal and one person was from
Ranipet, about 120 km from here.
All were sleeping in a room
adjacent to the unit that operated the
CETP (common effluent treatment
plant) tank.
The tank burst around 3.30 am on
Saturday and the workers drowned to
death in the thick slimy effluent, an
official said. The unit was operating
the CETP for 86 tanneries.
The huge tank was at a height of
around 10 feet.
According to police, two people
were undergoing treatment at a
government hospital. They were
rescued by fellow workers.
In a statement issued here, Chief
Minister O Panneerselvam expressed
grief over the tragedy announced a
solatium of Rs 3 lakh to the families
of the dead and Rs 25,000 to those
injured.
He said the bodies would be taken
back to their native places at the Tamil
Nadu government’s cost.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control
Board (TNPCB) has ordered the
closure of the CETP, run by the
Ranipet SIDCO Finished Leather
Effluent Treatment Company Limited,
as well as 79 member units linked to it
for not adhering to safety norms.
The common effluent treatment
plant was established in 1995 with
a design capacity of 2500 cubic
metres per day to treat the effluents
discharged by 87 member tanneries.
Currently 79 tanneries are linked to it,
the rest having been closed for various
reasons.
The West Bengal government
also on Saturday announced a
compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the
families of the nine labourers .
“The government has announced a
compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the
families of the nine people who died
in the accident. We are also working
to bring their bodies to their native
places at the earliest,” said Minister for
Disaster Management and Fire and
Emergency Services Javed Ahmed
Khan.
— IANS
CATCH THEM YOUNG
Litchi fruit suspected in mystery
illness among children in Bihar
MIAMI: A mysterious and sometimes
fatal brain disease that has afflicted
children in northeastern India for years
could be linked to a toxic substance in
litchi fruits, US researchers said.
Investigators say more research is
needed to uncover the cause of the
illness, which leads to seizures, altered
mental state and death in more than a
third of cases.
In the meantime, doctors who
encounter sick children should takes
steps to rapidly correct low blood
sugar, which can make the disease
more likely to be fatal, said the report
by the US Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. The outbreaks have
coincided with the month-long litchi
harvesting season in and around the
Muzaffarpur district of Bihar state since
1995, said the CDC’s Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report.
In 2013, some 133 children were
admitted to local hospitals with seizures
and neurological symptoms. Most were
aged one to five, and nearly half (44 per
cent) of them died. Those who died
were more than twice as likely as other
patients to have been admitted to the
hospital with low blood sugar, known
as hypoglycemia. Tests on the spinal
fluid of patients came back negative
for infectious agents like Japanese
encephalitis virus, West Nile virus and
other known pathogens in the area.
A study that compared ill children to
a control group in the area found that
Investigators say more
research is needed to
uncover the cause of the
illness, which leads to
seizures, altered mental
state and death in more
than a third of cases
those who got sick were more than twice
as likely to have spent time in orchards
or agricultural fields. These findings
“raised concern for the possibility of a
toxin-mediated illness,” said the CDC.
From the end of May until mid-July last
year, 390 children were admitted to the
two referral hospitals in Muzaffarpur
with illnesses that met the same case
definition used in 2013. “As in previous
years, clustering of cases was not
observed; the illness of each affected
child appeared to be an isolated case
in various villages,” said the CDC,
noting that about 1,000 people lived
in each village. “The number of cases
declined significantly after the onset
of monsoon rains on June 21, 2014.”
Parents and caregivers said the children
seemed healthy until they suddenly
began
experiencing
convulsions,
usually between 4:00 am and 8:00 am,
followed by an altered mental state.
Most did not have a fever on admission
to the hospital. Thirty-one per cent of
the children died. “The 2013 and 2014
Muzaffarpur investigations indicate
that this outbreak illness is an acute
noninflammatory
encephalopathy,”
said the CDC. Litchi fruits near the
homes of affected children are being
tested for the compound, known as
methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPG),
and environmental samples are being
taken from their homes and water
supplies to search for pesticides.
Outbreaks of neurological illness
have also been observed in litchigrowing regions of Bangladesh and
Vietnam, “raising further interest in a
possible association between litchis and
this illness.” An investigation into the
Bangladesh cases focused on pesticides
used in litchi orchards, but found no
specific culprit. The Vietnam probe
looked at “possible infectious agents
that might be present seasonally near
litchi fruit plantations but found none
to explain the outbreak,” the CDC said.
Until researchers uncover the cause,
parents are urged to seek immediate
medical care for their children if they
show symptoms, and doctors should
promptly check for hypoglycemia and
correct it as soon as possible. — AFP
Students campaign for raising awareness about reading in Chennai for reading on Saturday. — IANS
Kerala doctors perform successful double hand transplant
KOCHI: Doctors at a private hospital
here in Kerala have registered a
rare feat of conducting India’s first
successful double hand transplant.
The transplant was conducted at
Amrita Institute of Medical Science
here on January 12 and 13 on a
30-year-old train accident victim, who
received both hands of a 24-year-old
road accident victim.
Subramania Iyer, professor and
head of the plastic surgery department,
said that only 110 successful hand
transplants have been conducted so
far in the US, European countries, China
and Australia, since the first one in
France 13 years ago.
“Fourteen days after surgery,
both the hands were accepted by
the recipient’s body and he started
regaining movements.
He has been shifted out of the
intensive care unit and the postsurgical rehabilitation process has
started,” he said. The operation
conducted by more than 20 surgeons
lasted 16 hours. The patient “will be
able to move his hands since his own
muscles of the forearm are working to
move the fingers”, the doctor said.
“The sensations will return only
slowly and is expected in three-four
months. His immuno-suppressant
drugs (to prevent rejection of the
transplanted hands) will have to be
continued indefinitely, but at a reduced
rate from three months,” he added.
He said details of the transplant
have been added to the International
Registry of Hand Transplants, which
maintains stringent standards in the
follow-up of such cases. — IANS
12
NASA LAUNCHES SOIL-CLIMATE SATELLITE
S U N DAY l F E B R U A R Y 1 l 2 0 1 5
US space agency Nasa yesterday
launched a satellite that will aid
scientists in predicting floods and
droughts. The Delta II rocket carrying
Nasa’s Soil Moisture Active Passive
(SMAP) satellite launched from the
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The launch was originally set for
Thursday, but delayed because of
concerns over high winds.
WORLD
Macedonian
oppn leader
charged with
conspiracy
SKOPJE:
Macedonia’s
chief
opposition leader was charged by
police on Saturday with conspiring
with a foreign intelligence service to
topple the government.
Zoran Zaev, leader of the Social
Democrats, denied the charges,
saying authorities were trying in vain
to prevent the publication of what he
says is incendiary evidence of criminal
wrongdoing by the conservative
government of Prime Minister Nikola
Gruevski. Gruevski, in power since
mid-2006, accused Zaev of trying to
blackmail him to call a snap election
during face-to-face talks in September
and November, saying Zaev claimed
he had gathered intelligence against
the government with the help of a
foreign spy service.
“I watched and listened to the head
of the opposition... informing me
that he is collaborating with a foreign
intelligence service,” Gruevski said.
Macedonia’s state prosecutor
confirmed that police had submitted
criminal charges against four people,
including a former head of state
intelligence and his wife.
All except Zaev were in custody.
Local media reported that Zaev had
turned in his passport. Zaev’s Social
Democrats have been boycotting
parliament for almost a year since
alleging fraud in the last parliamentary
election. Zaev’s potential imprisonment
would further deepen political
divisions and may heighten concern in
the West over a perceived authoritarian
streak in Gruevski’s rule. — Reuters
A FOGGY DAYBREAK
A fire at one of Russia’s
largest public libraries
has been raging for
a day, threatening to
destroy thousands of rare
documents. The Institute
for Scientific Information
on Social Sciences in
south-west Moscow went
up in flames late Friday.
Australia state election
bodes ill for Abbott govt
PERTH: Australia’s opposition Labour
party pulled off a huge electoral
turnaround in a key state yesterday,
positioning it to oust the ruling LiberalNational party in a voter backlash that
threatens the future of Prime Minister
Tony Abbott.
With 70 per cent of the vote in,
the conservative government that has
ruled Queensland state with a massive
majority was one seat away from losing
office after one term.
The voters’ swing towards Labour
was credited to the unpopularity of the
ruling party’s plan to sell off public assets
and cut government services, as well as
the rising unpopularity of Abbott, the
national conservative leader.
Late yesterday, Labour was estimated
to have secured 44 seats, just one shy of
the 45 needed to govern in the 89-seat
legislative assembly.
The Liberal-National party (LNP)
As the sun breaks through the fog, a woman holds a child as she walks on a path in front of the Silverdale Beach Hotel near
Old Mill Park, in Silverdale, Washington.
— AP
looked set to hold on to 33 seats,
with three seats won by minor and
independent parties and nine still
undetermined.
The early results are a massive
turnaround from the majority the
LNP secured when it won office in
2012, winning 78 of the 89 seats in the
Queensland parliament — the largest
political majority in Australia’s history.
While state elections do not
determine the national government, the
swing against the LNP in Queensland
follows a string of losses in local
contests and bodes badly for Abbott.
With just over a year in office, Abbott
has seen his leadership questioned
and most recently came under fire for
his unpopular decision last week to
award a knighthood to Prince Philip,
husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, a
knighthood.
— Reuters
7,500 Africa troops to fight Boko Haram
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: African
leaders have agreed to send 7,500 troops
to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in
northeast Nigeria, an African Union
official said yesterday. The move came
after the council urged heads of state
to endorse the deployment of troops
from five West African countries to
fight the terror group, said the head of
the African Union’s Peace and Security
Council, Samil Chergui. African leaders
who are members of the 54-nation
African Union are meeting in the
Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for a twoday summit that ends on Saturday. UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon earlier
said he supports the AU’s move to send a
force to fight Boko Haram.
Boko Haram is increasing its attacks
as Nigeria prepares for February 14
elections.
Thousands have been killed in the
5-year insurgency. Iran also said on
Saturday it has begun consultations with
West African countries affected by Boko
Haram to provide help.
Pilots in helium-filled balloon land
safely off Mexico, shatter 2 records
The country’s Deputy Foreign
Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian
said he is confident the group could
be defeated with collective action. “We
will share our experiences in combating
terrorism to defeat Boko Haram.
We will achieve that without a
doubt,” the official said on the sidelines
of the AU summit. African nations have
opened up a new international front in
the war on terror.
On Thursday, neighbouring Chad
sent a warplane and troops that drove
Pilots Troy Bradley of Albuquerque and Leonid Tiukhtyaev.
The pilots came in low and
dropped thick trailing
ropes into the ocean to
help slow the balloon
before setting down in a
controlled water landing
have here and very pleased with the
duration numbers,” said Steve Shope,
mission control director. “These are
significant improvements over the
existing records. We didn’t break them
by just a little bit. They were broken by a
significant amount.”
The world has been tracking the
progress of the Two Eagles Balloon team
online and through social media sites.
Still, the official distance and
time of the flight must be confirmed
by the Federation Aeronautique
Internationale, a process that could take
weeks or months.
Troy Bradley of Albuquerque and
Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia lifted
off from Japan last Sunday morning,
and by Friday, they had beaten what’s
considered the “holy grail” of ballooning
— AP
achievements, the 137-hour duration
record set in 1978 by the Double Eagle
crew of Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson
and Larry Newman in the first balloon
flight across the Atlantic.
They also easily exceeded the
distance record of 8.383 kilometres set
by the Double Eagle V team during the
first trans-Pacific flight in 1981.
Bradley and his family had been
planning for the record-breaking
attempt for 15 years, spending countless
hours thinking about every aspect of the
journey.
“For Troy, it’s a personal thing to
do something better than anyone else
in the world has done it before and
to push himself,” said his wife, Tami
Bradley, who is a balloon pilot herself.
She said her husband’s heroes include
early balloonists such as Abruzzo and
Anderson.
“For Troy, it’s also his way of paying
homage to those who came before him
by attempting to go after their records,”
she said.
The pilots were said to be in good
spirits at various times during the trip,
but it was a gruelling ordeal.
— AP
the extremists out of a northeastern
Nigeria border town in the first such
act by foreign troops on Nigerian soil.
Chad’s victory, and the need for foreign
troops, is an embarrassment to Nigeria’s
once-mighty military, brought low by
corruption and politics.
The foreign intervention comes
just two weeks before hotly contested
national elections in which President
Goodluck Jonathan is seeking another
term. Chergui said Chad’s operation
against Boko Haram was a result of a
bilateral arrangement between the Chad
and Cameroon.
“It is conducted as part of a bilateral
agreement and arrangement between
the two countries.
The AU, however, will launch the
force in the future,” he said. Boko Haram
attracted international outrage in April
when it kidnapped 276 schoolgirls at a
boarding school in the remote town of
Chibok.
Dozens escaped on their own, but
219 remain missing.
— AP
AROUND THE GLOBE
British health worker being tested for Ebola
Former German
prez Richard von
Weizsaecker dead
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico: Two
pilots in a helium-filled balloon landed
safely off the coast of Mexico early on
Saturday after an audacious, nearly
11,265-kilometre-long trip across the
Pacific Ocean that shattered two longstanding records for ballooning.
The pilots landed 6.4 kilometres)
offshore in Baja California about 480
kilometres north of the popular beach
destination of Cabo San Lucas.
The pilots came in low and dropped
thick trailing ropes into the ocean to
help slow the balloon before setting
down in a controlled water landing.
Mission control in Albuquerque was
packed with balloon team members
and the pilots’ families as it descended,
with all eyes focused on a giant screen
showing a map of the coast and the
balloon’s location.
They exchanged hugs and smiled
with relief after the balloon touched
down.
But it wasn’t until they received word
that the pilots were safe and aboard a
fishing boat headed to the shore that
cheers erupted and the cork was popped
on a bottle of champagne. “We’re really
pleased with the distance numbers we
FIRE DEVASTATES MAJOR RUSSIAN LIBRARY
BERLIN: Former German President
Richard von Weizsaecker, who
declared Germany’s World War II
surrender a “day of liberation” for his
country as he urged it to confront
the Nazi past, and promoted
reconciliation during a tenure
spanning the reunification of west
and east, has died.
He was 94. Weizsaecker died in
Berlin during overnight, President
Joachim Gauck’s office said on
Saturday.
Weizsaecker, a patrician and
eloquent figure who was president
from 1984 to 1994, raised the profile
of the largely ceremonial presidency
and established himself as a moral
conscience for the nation.
Weizsaecker’s May 1985 speech
marking the 40th anniversary of Nazi
Germany’s defeat in World War II
cemented his reputation.
It won widespread praise as an
effort to bring fellow Germans to
terms with the Holocaust.
“All of us, whether guilty or not,
whether young or old, must accept
the past. We are all affected by its
consequences and liable for it,” said
Weizsaecker, who served as a regular
soldier in Adolf Hitler’s army.”
He served in the federal
parliament from 1969 until his
election in 1981 as mayor of West
Berlin, a high-profile job that helped
propel him into the presidency three
years later.
Weizsaecker said the head
of state should “ask questions,
encourage answers, but never offer a
prescription.” — AP
LONDON: A British military healthcare worker was flown back to England from Sierra
Leone yesterday following a needle-stick injury sustained while treating a person with
Ebola, the Public Health England (PHE) service said.
The patient, who has not been named, has been taken for testing to the Royal Free
Hospital in London.
“They are likely to have been exposed to the Ebola virus but, at this time, have not
been diagnosed with Ebola and do not have symptoms,” PHE said in a statement.
Last week, a British nurse who had been critically ill with Ebola after working in
Sierra Leone was discharged from the same hospital after making a full recovery.
The Royal Free, Britain’s main centre for Ebola cases, also successfully treated British
aid worker William Pooley who contracted the virus in West Africa last year.
To date, more than 21,700 cases of Ebola have been reported in nine countries,
including nearly 8,650 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation, although it
said this week it believed the disease was declining. — Reuters
French twins Thomas and Vincent (L) Seris pose in Bordeaux. Born with
Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), the twins cannot be exposed to the sun and
its ultraviolet (UV) light, which could provoke precocious cancers due to a
autosomal recessive genetic disorder of DNA repair. Colloquially referred to
as Children of the Night (Les Enfants de la Lune) the Seris twins are among 70
to 80 people in France who suffer from the genetic defect. — Reuters
France, Morocco resume judicial cooperation
PARIS: France and Morocco will resume judicial cooperation, the French justice
ministry said, ending a row sparked by a French probe into alleged torture by
Moroccan intelligence services.
The resumption is important for France, which wants intelligence from Morocco
and other North African countries on terrorism suspects, an interest that has become
more urgent after this month’s killings at the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish
store in Paris.
Morocco hopes for the continued support of France, its former colonial ruler, in the
Western Sahara territorial dispute.
“The heads of state King Mohammed VI and President Francois Hollande wanted
to end this situation and preserve the exceptional partnership between the two
countries,” French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said in a statement on Saturday.
Morocco had suspended cooperation agreements in protest at an attempt
by French authorities to question Abdellatif Hammouchi, the head of Morocco’s
DGST domestic intelligence service, over torture allegations while he was
visiting Paris a year ago.
REGION
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
omandailyobserver
13
Saudi Arabian prince to launch pan-Arab news channel
RIYADH: An outspoken, billionaire
Saudi prince will on Sunday launch a
pan-Arab satellite news channel aimed
at challenging established networks in
the region.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is a
nephew of King Abdullah, who died
on January 23. In a highly conservative
Islamic kingdom, Alwaleed, who holds
no government rank, is unusual for his
high profile and periodic comments
about economic issues.
Broadcasting from 1300 GMT on
Sunday, his Bahrain-based Alarab
News Channel will be the latest player
in the Arabic-language television
market, after Qatar-subsidised Al
Jazeera became the first regional news
broadcaster 19 years ago.
It will also be a rival for Dubaibased Al Arabiya, established in
2003 and owned by Sheikh Waleed
al Ibrahim, a brother-in-law of Saudi
Arabia’s late King Fahd. Critics
have accused both broadcasters
of reflecting their owners’ political
views, especially during the 2011 Arab
Spring uprisings against authoritarian
regimes in the Middle East and North
Africa.
Cairo in particular complained
about Al Jazeera’s coverage of the
blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood
which Qatar was accused of backing.
Egypt arrested three Al Jazeera
reporters who have been charged with
spreading false information.
They remain in custody pending a
retrial.
Al-Arabiya was meanwhile accused
of supporting the interests of Saudi
Arabia, which like Egypt considers the
Brotherhood to be a “terrorist” group.
Both channels deny any slant in their
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s
Bahrain-based Alarab News
Channel will take on Qatar’s
Al Jazeera and and Dubaibased Al Arabiya, owned by
Sheikh Waleed al Ibrahim,
a brother-in-law of Saudi
Arabia’s late King Fahd
coverage. Jamal Khashoggi, Alarab’s
general manager, said the new channel
will be even-handed.
“We are not going to take sides,” he
said. “I think a news channel should
not have a political agenda... We should
just be a news channel that provides
accurate, objective information.”
Khashoggi is a veteran Saudi
journalist who was forced to step
down from the helm of Saudi Arabia’s
Al Watan daily in 2010 after it ran an
opinion column that angered religious
conservatives.
He declined to reveal Alarab’s
budget but said the channel will
have about 280 staff, including
correspondents in 30 countries.
Riyadh will be the largest
bureau with around 20 employees.
Because Saudi Arabia does not allow
independent channels, Alarab had
to find an alternative location “so
Bahrain is appropriate”, he said,
speaking by telephone from the island
state which is linked by a causeway to
its Saudi ally.
Saudi Arabia ranks 164th out of 180
countries on the Reporters Without
Borders 2014 World Press Freedom
Index. Bahrain is only just ahead at
163.
Mohammed El Oifi, a specialist
in Arab media at Sorbonne
Nouvelle University in Paris, said
Alarab will have difficulty breaking
the mould.
Arab viewers need their news
channels to take a clear or even
militant editorial line, he said, because
they fill “a political function” in the
absence of other forums for debate.
This is reflected in the marginal role
of the “objective” BBC Arabic, he said.
That and similar channels such as
Sky News Arabia have failed to develop
the viewer loyalty of Al Arabiya and Al
Jazeera, Oifi said.
Alarab is a “political project” to
improve Alwaleed’s position, while
promoting “liberal discourse” on
issues such as women’s rights, Oifi
added.
Saudi Arabia is the only country
which does not allow women to drive
and the sexes are strictly segregated.
Alwaleed chairs Riyadh-based
Kingdom Holding Co, which has
interests ranging from the Euro
Disney theme park to Four Seasons
hotels, Citigroup and media giant
News Corporation.
He is also majority owner of Rotana
Group which runs entertainment
TV channels in the Middle East.
—AFP
Sisi asks Egypt
to get ready for
long terror battle
A man walks among the rubble in the Syrian city of Ain al Arab, also known as Kobani.
— AP
IS fighters admit defeat in Syrian town of Kobani
BEIRUT: The IS group has acknowledged for the first
time that its fighters have been defeated in the Syrian
town of Kobani and vowed to attack the town again.
In a video released by the pro-IS Aamaq News
Agency late Friday, two fighters said the airstrikes
by the US-led coalition were the main reason why IS
fighters were forced to withdraw from Kobani.
On Monday, activists and Kurdish officials said the
town was almost cleared of IS fighters, who once held
nearly half of the town.
One IS fighter vowed to defeat the main Kurdish
militia in Syria, the People’s Protection Units known
as the YPG, calling them “rats.” The failure to capture
Kobani was a major blow to the extremists.
Their hopes for an easy victory dissolved into a
costly siege under withering airstrikes by coalition
forces and an assault by Kurdish militiamen.”A while
ago we retreated a bit from Ayn al-Islam because of the
bombardment and the killing of some brothers,” said
one masked fighter, using the group’s preferred name
for Kobani.
He spoke Arabic with a north African accent.
The United States and several Arab allies have
been striking Islamic State positions in Syria since
September 23. The campaign aims to push back the
jihadi organization after it took over about a third of
Iraq and Syria and declared the captured territory a
new caliphate.”The IS will stay.
Say that to (President Barack) Obama,” said the
fighter, pointing his finger toward destruction on the
edge of Kobani.
The IS group launched an offensive on the Kobani
region in mid-September capturing more than 300
Kurdish villages and parts of the town.
As a result of the airstrikes and stiff Kurdish
resistance, IS began retreating few weeks ago, losing
more than 1,000 fighters, according to activists.
More than 200,000 Kurds were forced from their
homes.
Many fled to neighboring Turkey. Another fighter,
also speaking in Arabic, said while standing on a road
with a green sign with “Ayn al-Islam” sprayed on it:
“The warplanes did not leave any construction. They
destroyed everything, so we had to withdraw and the
rats advanced.” “The warplanes were bombarding us
night and day.
They bombarded everything, even motorcycles,”
the fighter said.
—AP
CAIRO: An Egyptian court on Saturday
banned the armed wing of Palestinian
group Hamas and listed it as a terrorist
organisation, a ruling in keeping with a
systematic crackdown on extremists by
President Abdel Fattah al Sisi.
Sisi said on Saturday Egypt faces
a tough, prolonged campaign against
militancy.”(It) will be difficult, strong,
evil and will take a long time,” he said in
comments broadcast on state television
after meeting top military officers.
Hamas is an offshoot of Egypt’s
Brotherhood, which the authorities
have also declared a terrorist group and
repressed thoroughly since the army
ousted one of its leaders, Mohamed
Mursi, from the presidency in 2013.
“We reject the Egyptian court’s
decision against Qassam Brigades. It is a
political, dangerous decision that serves
only the Zionist occupation,” Hamas
spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, referring
to Israel’s control over Palestinian
territories. The ruling came days after
Egypt was hit with some of the bloodiest
IS attacks on security forces in years.
“The court ruled to ban the (Hamas)
Qassam Brigades and to list it as a
terrorist group,” said Judge Mohamed al
Sayid of the special Cairo court which
deals with urgent cases.
The case was based on allegations
that the Qassam Brigades staged
terrorist attacks to support the
Brotherhood, and carried out a
bombing and shooting operation which
killed 33 security personnel in the Sinai
Peninsula in October of 2014.
A source close to Hamas’ armed wing
signalled the group would no longer
accept Egypt as a broker between it and
Israel.”After the court’s decision Egypt
is no longer a mediator in Palestinian-
It will take a
long time and all
Egyptians will be
paying the price,
because soldiers are your
sons, police officers are your
sons. They are Egypt’s sons...
But they are willing to pay
the price — for this country.
And not only for this country,
but for the whole region
ABDEL FATTAH AL SISI
President of Egypt
Israeli matters,” the source said.
Cairo has for many years played
a central role in engineering
ceasefires between Israel and Hamas,
which dominates the Gaza Strip,
including a truce reached between the
sides in August that ended a 50-day
Gaza war.
Egyptian officials say that weapons
are smuggled from Gaza into Egypt
where they end up with militant groups
fighting to topple the Western-backed
Cairo government. —AFP
Ankara established “risk analysis centres” at international airports and bus terminals across the country in order to spot extremists and deport them
Turkey airport police hunt extremists en route to Syria to join IS
ISTABUL: Everything seems normal
as the passengers stream out of a
routine flight from a Middle Eastern
country after landing at a major Turkish
international airport.
But as they cross the air bridge
from the plane into the airport, two
plainclothes Turkish police — on the
lookout for radicals on their way to
Syria — scrutinise their appearance and
behaviour.
They check the passengers’ passports
and detain two men who arouse
suspicions after saying they are travelling
on to the city of Adana, in southern
Turkey.
The country has long been under
pressure to do more to thwart the transit
of radicals across its territory to wartorn Syria.
Thousands are believed to have taken
commercial flights to Turkish airports
before heading overland to Syria to
Passengers wait at the passport control check desk of the international airport in
Istanbul. Thousands are believed to have taken commercial flights to Turkish airports
before heading overland to Syria to fight alongside IS militants.
— AFP
fight alongside IS militants. But Ankara
insists it is now doing all it can to tighten
border security and said Western states
should do more to prevent the radicals
from leaving for Turkey in the first place.
Turkey has clearly been stung by the
criticism, and last year it established
“risk analysis centres” at international
airports and bus terminals across the
country in order to spot extremists and
deport them.
Eager to show the extent of the
measures now in place round the clock
at Turkish transport hubs, the Turkish
authorities gave AFP unusual access to
its security teams at the airport.
The teams have detected some 1,500
suspects and around one third of them
were sent back to their countries of
origin, a Turkish security official said.
“The suspect is spotted at the
air bridge and then taken to the
passenger documents check desk and
later to the risk analysis centre for a
further interview with the police,” the
official said, speaking on condition
of anonymity. During the process the
authorities can communicate with the
countries of origin if necessary.
Eyes turned to Turkey when Hayat
Boumeddiene, the partner of a militant
who took part in the January 7 Paris
attacks, flew to Istanbul, passed through
immigration — and then the entire
country — without being stopped.
Ankara says it cannot assure 100
percent border security unless Western
states provide real time intelligence and
full lists of suspects — which was not the
case with Boumeddiene.
He said: “35 per cent of (IS) members
come from European countries and
hold European passports.” Up to 600
Turkish nationals have joined extremists
but this does “not place Turkey in the
top 10 source countries,” according
to the official. A 33-year-old terror
suspect, identified only by his initials
S.L., was held at Istanbul’s international
airport by Turkish police in June last
year after arriving on a flight from
Paris exhibiting “suspicious behaviour”.
During the interview it emerged that he
had converted to Islam very recently and
planned to join IS, authorities said.
In
another
incident,
police
confiscated
military
equipment,
binoculars and first aid material from a
Norwegian suspect last year. “How can
an individual with military equipment
in his bag (on his way) to join DAISH
be completely unnoticed in the country
of departure?” the official said, using
an Arabic acronym for the IS group.
Meanwhile, extremists are now going
out of their way to appear normal when
entering Turkey, down to shaving off
the long beards traditionally worn by
conservative Muslims.
“Shaving the beard or changing
appearance does not mean that suspects
will not be spotted,” the official said.
Psychological testing in interview
rooms helps determine whether
suspects are to be sent back. For those
deemed suspicious, authorities draw
up a confidential document outlining
their justification for deportation, place
it in an envelope and give it to the
airline to be delivered to the country
of origin.
—AFP
14
omandailyobserver
EUROPE
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
Thousands march
to support Spanish
anti-austerity party
MADRID: Tens of thousands of people
took to the streets in Madrid yesterday
in support of new anti-austerity party
Podemos, a week after Greece elected its
hard-left ally Syriza.
The protesters chanted “Yes we can!”
as they made their way from Madrid city
hall to the central Puerta del Sol square.
The party and its anti-austerity
message have been surging in polls
ahead of elections later this year.
“There are many people that agree
with the need for change.
Enough already with stealing — that
the corrupt take everything and we
can’t do anything,” said Dori Sanchez,
a 23-year-old unemployed teacher who
came from Manovar in southeastern
Spain for the rally.
Podemos said 260 buses brought
supporters to the capital from across
Spain for the “March for Change”, with
hundreds of locals signed on to host
travellers.
Demonstrators carried banners that
read “Universal Basic Income,” “Tick,
tock its time for change” and “Together
we can”.
Syriza beat mainstream Greek parties
by pledging to end austerity, as Podemos
aims to do in Spain’s general election due
in November.
Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias,
a 36-year-old pony-tailed former
university professor, appeared alongside
Syriza’s Alexis Tsipras, now Greece’s
prime minister, to publicly support him
during his campaign.
Podemos was formed just a year ago,
but has surged in opinion polls with
promises to fight what Iglesias calls the
traditional “caste” of political leaders.
Like Syriza, Podemos has found
popular support by targeting corruption
and rejecting austerity programmes
aimed at lifting the countries out of deep
economic crisis.
It wants to prevent profitable
companies from firing people, abolish
private hospitals to return to a fully state-
Demonstrators gather at Plaza de Sol during the ‘March for Change’ planned by Podemos that emerged out of the ‘Indignants’ movement, in Madrid yesterday.
controlled healthcare system and enact a
“significant” minimum-wage hike.
The party has struck a chord
with Spaniards enraged by a string
of corruption scandals, as well as
public spending cuts imposed by the
conservative ruling party and previously
by the Socialists after the economic crisis
erupted in 2008.
Spain has now officially exited
recession — the country’s economy
grew by 1.4 per cent last year, according
to provisional data released on Friday
— but nearly one in four workers is still
unemployed.
Salaries for many people have
dropped and the number of workers
on low-paid short-term contracts has
— AFP
soared.
Podemos was born out of the
“Indignant” protest movement which
occupied squares across Spain in 2011
demanding political change at the height
— AFP
of Spain’s economic crisis.
ITALY LAWMAKERS’ CHOICE: Mattarella ‘above political fray’
Five given preliminary charges
Judge elected president over fighter network in France
ROME: Italian lawmakers elected
Sergio Mattarella, a Constitutional
Court justice widely considered to be
above the political fray, as the nation’s
new president on the third day of voting
yesterday. Mattarella’s election as head
of state was clinched when he amassed
505 votes — a simple majority.
The 73-year-old former minister with
centre-left political roots went on to
garner 665 votes from the 1,009 eligible
electors. Known as a man of few words,
Mattarella cemented that reputation
with his first remarks to the nation. “My
thoughts go, above all, to the difficulties
and hopes of our fellow citizens.
That’s enough,” he said, referring
to the grim economic situation, in
comments made at his court office just
down the street from the presidential
palace. Italy is mired in recession and
unemployment has hovered about 13
per cent nationally.
Young Italians are increasingly
seeking work abroad. Renzi pushed
hard for Mattarella’s election, and some
of Renzi’s rebellious Democrats resented
the premier’s imposing his choice on
them.
So Mattarella’s victory signals that
Renzi for now succeeded in closing
fractious ranks, including former
Communists, in the governing
coalition’s main party. “Thanks for being
serious,” Renzi and some loyalists wrote
in a text message to Democrats during
the balloting, the Italian news agency
ANSA reported. Former Premier Silvio
Berlusconi’s centre-right opposition
vowed to cast blank ballots.
While acknowledging Mattarella’s
Known as a man of few
words, Mattarella, 73,
cemented that reputation
with his first remarks to the
nation. “My thoughts go,
above all, to the difficulties
and hopes of our fellow
citizens. That’s enough.”
credentials to be guarantor of the
Constitution and arbiter in political
crises, they complained Renzi didn’t
decide to reach agreement first with
Berlusconi on the candidate. Mattarella
raised conflict-of-interest concerns
when media mogul Berlusconi jumped
into politics two decades ago.
He also resigned as education
minister in 1990 to protest legislation
that helped Berlusconi transform
several local TV channels into a
business empire including Italy’s three
main private TV networks. Mattarella, a
Sicilian, was first elected to Parliament
in 1983.
His Christian Democrat party
collapsed in corruption probes of the
1990s, but Mattarella was unscathed.
His older brother, Piersanti
Mattarella, governor of Sicily, was killed
in 1980 by the Mafia. The silver-haired
Mattarella, a widower with three grown
children, lives in the modest quarters of
Constitutional Court justices in Rome.
He was expected to start the sevenyear term next week. A year ago,
Berlusconi pledged his support for the
electoral reform agenda of Renzi, who
had just assumed the Democratic Party
leadership.
Buoyed by the deal, Renzi quickly
pushed fellow Democrat Enrico Letta
out of the premiership. Berlusconi lost
his Senate seat because of a tax fraud
conviction but is keen on keeping
political influence. Reforms include
changing Italy’s electoral law to make
governments more stable.
Whether Berlusconi, irked over
Renzi’s picking the presidential
candidate, will renege on the reforms
deal is unclear. A pro-Berlusconi
lawmaker, Maurizio Gasparri, predicted
the media mogul’s centre-right
lawmakers might be “less generous”
with support. Former Berlusconi allies
now in Renzi’s coalition chafed at the
unilateral choice of the Mattarella
candidacy.
But the government’s short-term
survival seemed little threatened. — AP
PARIS: French authorities filed
preliminary charges yesterday against
five men allegedly implicated in a
fighter recruiting network based in a
small southern town from where about
20 youths went to fight in Syria and
Iraq. Preliminary charges of criminal
association involving a plot to carry out
terrorist acts were filed against the men,
aged 26 to 44, several of whom were
from the town of Lunel, between Nimes
and Montpellier, Paris prosecutor’s
office spokeswoman Agnes ThibaultLecuivre said.
The nature of the plot in question
wasn’t immediately clear.
The men were detained last week in
raids. Authorities say six people from
the town of Lunel have been killed in
Iraq and Syria in recent months, out of
around 20 thought to have departed for
joining the fight.
Lunel has a population of about
26,000, making the concentration
of fighters particularly high, and
suspicious. “One more network was
broken up today,” Interior Minister
Bernard Cazeneuve said on Tuesday
after the raids. France has put about
3,000 people under surveillance since
the January attacks on the satirical
newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher
grocery store that left 17 people dead, a
figure that includes two police officers.
The three attackers were killed.
Authorities have given no indication of
a connection between the suspects just
charged and the Paris attacks.
Preliminary charges allow for further
investigation after which the suspects
are either definitively charged or freed
from all suspicion.
— AP
FROZEN TO THE CORE
The front of an old Mercedes Benz covered in snow in Berlin, Germany, yesterday.
— Reuters
15 troops killed even as Kiev representatives and pro-Russian separatists finally met yesterday to thrash out a ‘binding’ truce
Civilians flee east Ukraine town as fighting intensifies
DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine: Outgoing
heavy-caliber fire boomed incessantly,
shaking the ground and rattling
windows around the besieged town.
Residents of Debaltseve, seemingly
inured to the racket, listened impassively
as they mustered at the town hall
yesterday to be evacuated with as
many belongings as they could carry.
The government-held town has been
without power, water and gas for at least
10 days, prompting many to flee from an
intense
artillery
duel
between
government
and
Russian-backed
separatist forces.
Meanwhile, Kiev representatives
and pro-Russian separatists finally met
yesterday to thrash out a “binding” Fishermen sit yesterday on the frozen surface of lake Krynka, near the city of
truce despite Ukraine suffering one of Yenakijeve, 40 kms northeast of Donetsk. Ice fishing is a popular sport in eastern
its bloodiest days yet in the nine-month European countries.
— AFP
conflict with 15 troops killed.
Mediators from the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe
as well as Russian officials joined the
delayed talks in the Belarussian capital
Minsk after a nominal September
ceasefire collapsed under the latest wave
of violence.
In Debaltseve, almost every one of
the largely deserted streets in the centre
showed signs of having been struck by
projectiles. A month of relative quiet
in eastern Ukraine was shattered in
early January by full-blown fighting as
the separatists attempted to claw back
additional territory from government
hands.
Rebel leaders accused Ukraine
of mobilising its forces in advance
of an imminent offensive. Ukraine’s
emergency services said yesterday that
almost a thousand residents have been
evacuated in the past three days from
Debaltseve.
But the number of crammed civilian
vehicles seen speeding out of the town’s
rutted, icy roads over the past few days
suggests official figures may be on the
conservative side.
“City police officers cannot go out to
the scenes of destruction because of the
ceaseless artillery strikes,” Vyacheslav
Abroskin, head of police for the Donetsk
region, said in a statement yesterday
afternoon.
With the government apparently
unable to handle all the people wishing
to leave, volunteer groups are trying
to fill the gap. “We are evacuating
people from this hotspot, so they
don’t have to deal with what is going
on, because this is not their war after
all. This has nothing to do with them,”
said Andrei Vasilyev, a worker with a
charitable organisation based in the
eastern city of Kharkiv.
As Vasilyev’s minibus was being
loaded, a small child held in her mother’s
arms cried and pleaded plaintively to
leave as soon as possible.
Infirm and elderly passengers
needed to be lifted into the tightly
packed transport. Leaving Debaltseve
carries its own risks because of the
encroachment of separatist forces on all
sides.
Roads running west and east
are controlled by rebels, leaving the
northbound road the only remaining
corridor of relative safety. — Agencies
AMERICAS
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
omandailyobserver
15
NEW LEGISLATION: The new law will empower Canada’s spy agency to thwart attacks directly in a significant expansion of their powers
Canada to criminalise public terror threats
TORONTO: Canada announced a new
anti-terror law that will allow anyone
suspected of being involved in a terror
plot to be detained without charge for up
to seven days.
The law announced on Friday will
also make it a crime for people to call for
a terrorist attack, even if they don’t make
a specific threat, and empower Canada’s
spy agency to thwart attacks directly in
a significant expansion of their powers.
Work on the law began in October
after a gunman killed a soldier at
Canada’s national war memorial and
then stormed Parliament.
The attack in Ottawa came two days
after a man, said to be inspired by the IS
group, ran over two soldiers in a parking
lot in Quebec, killing one and injuring
the other before being shot to death.
The new law still has to be passed in
Parliament but Harper’s Conservative
government has a majority of the seats so
passage is all but ensured. Under current
law it is a crime to make a specific threat.
The new law will make it a crime
CAMARADERIE
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark (L) talks with
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Paul Davis during a
news conference following a meeting of provincial and
territorial premiers in Ottawa, Canada.
— Reuters
US state delays
7 executions to
secure new drugs
WASHINGTON: The US
state of Ohio is postponing
the execution of seven death
row inmates, officials said
on Friday, following several
botched lethal injection killings across the country last
year.
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
(DRC) said it had put a hold
on the executions while it
secured new lethal injection
drugs.
Earlier this month, the
department revised its
drug protocol following the
bungled January 2014 execution of Dennis McGuire,
who appeared to be gasping
for air during the process
that lasted 26 minutes, instead of the expected 10
minutes.
The drug cocktail used
to kill McGuire included
the sedative midazolam,
which is not approved by
the US Food and Drug
Administration and has
been used in several bungled
executions in the United
States.
In a statement, the DRC
“announced revised execution dates for seven inmates...
to continue necessary preparations for the adoption and
implementation of the new
execution protocol.”
“The new dates are also
designed to provide DRC
adequate time to secure a
supply of the new execution
drugs.”
Six of the seven executions were due to take place
in 2015, but as a result of the
delay, Ohio will not carry out
any executions this year.
Four scheduled for later
in 2016 remain in place.
Midazolam has been
used in two other botched
executions, in Oklahoma in
April and in Arizona in July,
where inmates showed signs
of suffocation, choking and
suffering during lengthy killings.
On Wednesday, the US
Supreme Court stayed the
executions of three deathrow prisoners in Oklahoma
pending its review of the
drugs used by the state for
lethal injections.
In 2008, the court ruled
that lethal injection was constitutional, and not a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and
unusual punishment.
But since then, a majority of states have changed
their drug protocols due to
a shortage of the products
used in the past. — AFP
Mexico tests DNA of
babies who survived blast
MEXICO CITY: Plunged into chaos just hours after
entering this world, nine babies found alive after a gas blast
in a Mexican maternity hospital underwent DNA tests on
Friday in a bid to reunite them with their parents.
Thursday’s blast devastated the hospital on the western
edge of Mexico City, sending a fireball into the air and killing
a nurse and two infants.
But dozens of people, including mothers and newborns,
who were inside at the time survived, many cut by broken
glass.
“We have nine DNA tests pending,” Mexico City Mayor
Miguel Angel Mancera said. “There are parents who have
identified their children, but as the babies did not have
bracelets on, we have to follow a protocol to identify them.”
Mancera said several babies survived because their
mothers sheltered them with their own bodies during the
blast. A leak in a hose from a gas truck, which was fueling
the hospital’s tanks, was believed to have triggered the
explosion, officials said. — Reuters
The new law still has to
be passed in Parliament
but Harper’s Conservative
government has a majority
of the seats so passage
is all but ensured
“We cannot tolerate this any more
than we tolerate people that make jokes
about bomb threats at airports,” Harper
said. “Anyone engaging in that kind of
activity is going to face the full force of
the law in the future.” The penalty will
be a maximum of five years in prison.
Authorities will also be able to
remove terror-related material from
for a person to call for terror attacks any Canadian website. Harper said
on Canada generally or to promote or militants have declared war on Canada
advocate others to carry out terrorism and it would be a grave mistake to
ignore their threats. “Over the last few
elsewhere.
years a great evil has been descending
upon our world, an evil that has been
growing more and more powerful,
violent insurgency,” Harper said. Under
the current law those suspected of being
involved in a terror plot can be detained
for up to three days.
The new law extends that to seven
days provided police get a judge’s
permission. The new law will also allow
the Canadian Security Intelligence
Service, the country’s spy service, to
directly approach terror suspects in
order to disrupt their plans.
CSIS is currently permitted only
to collect intelligence and pass the
information on to police. The spy agency
will now be able to cancel plane or other
travel reservations made by Canadians
suspected of being involved in terrorism.
The new activities by CSIS will
require approval by a judge. Police
already have many of these powers that
CSIS will acquire but the government
wanted the spy agency to be able to act
quickly if they see a threat. — AP
16
PANORAMA
omandailyobserver
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
Suzanne Smith, Stranding &
Rescue Coordinator of Marine
Mammals & Sea Turtles for the
Audubon Nature Institute, releases
an endangered Kemp’s ridley sea
turtle, which was rescued in New
England, and rehabilitated by the
institute, into the Gulf of Mexico,
24 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
Nearly two dozen turtles that were
stranded by cold weather last year
in Massachusetts have successfully
undergone rehab and have been
returned to the water. — AP
«
A Bulgarian child wears a mask on the
youth competition day of the 24th
International Festival of Masquerade
Games “Surva” in the town of Pernik,
Bulgaria. Some 5,000 people are
expected to take part in the three-day
festival devoted to an ancient Bulgarian
pagan rite. Surva is performed by
costumed men, some in sheepskin, or
other colourful garments, bells and
masks, who walk around and dance to
scare away the evil spirits, in hope to
provide a good harvest, health, fertility,
and happiness.
— AP
Pavel Krotov of
Russia trains
for the men’s
freestyle World
Cup aerials in
Lake Placid,
New York. — AP
Participants dressed as Red Army soldiers look at a mobile
phone as they wait backstage before their performance at a
line dancing competition in Kunming, Yunnan province of
China, yesterday. Hundreds of residents in about 60 dancing
groups attended the competition which kicked off on Saturday
and will last for eight days, local media reported.
— Reuters
ª
Mother-to-be Maarja Lants looks at a three-dimensional (3D) print model of her
unborn baby in Tallinn, Estonia. An Estonian 3D technology company has found a
way how to make pregnancy more exciting, giving parents and loved ones the
opportunity to touch their baby before it is even born by printing out 3D foetus
models.
— Reuters
SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2015 | RABEE AL THANI 11, 1436 AH
P20
P19
P21
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Duqm rare-earth project in doubt
as Medallion eyes N American site
CONRAD PRABHU
MUSCAT
Deals signed for flour mill,
logistics projects at Sohar Port
BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT
Jan 31: Sohar Port and Freezone
signed a leased contract with Sohar
Flour Mills on Wednesday, ahead of
the planned construction of a new
flour mill with a capacity of 500 metric
tonnes per day.
The signing took place at the port’s
annual business reception which drew
participation from public and private
sector dignitaries and representatives
from key diplomatic missions based in
Muscat.
Contracts
were
signed
and
exchanged by Sultan bin Salim al Habsi,
Chairman of Sohar Port and Freezone,
and Khamis bin Abdullah al Farsi,
Chairman of Atyab Investments.
A second contract was signed with
Centre Point Logistics (CPL), who
will take up the option of a plot at
Sohar Freezone for the expansion of
its logistics, warehousing, and storage
facilities. Contracts were signed and
exchanged by Sultan bin Salim al Habsi,
Chairman of Sohar Port and Freezone,
and Saleh Said Lootah, Chairman of
CPL Dubai.
TURN TO P18
Jan 31: Canadian-based mining and
metals firm Medallion Resources says it
is looking at possible locations in North
America for setting up a rare-earths
processing facility, effectively signalling
a possible rethink of its earlier plan to
site the proposed plant at Duqm Special
Economic Zone (SEZ) on Oman’s Wusta
coast.
The company announced in a
statement issued over the weekend that
it planned to accelerate the “evaluation
of jurisdictions outside the Middle
East” in order to expedite the approval,
construction and operation of its
proposed monazite-based rare-earth
processing facility.
It quoted Don Lay, President and
CEO, as saying: “Over the past year,
as demand and prices for rare-earth
magnet materials has remained strong
and is forecast by industry sources to
remain so, we have been re-evaluating
jurisdictions within North America to
accelerate our monazite strategy.”
“Our selection criteria include
access to a skilled workforce, proximity
to required chemical re-agents, a
favourable transportation network,
and amenability to hosting a standard
commercial rare-earth extraction
process,” the statement adds.
According
to
experts,
the
announcement represents a possible
change of heart for the Vancouverheadquartered firm, which had until
recently set its sights on Duqm as its
choice of location for the establishment
of the region’s first ever rare earth
processing project.
A Memorandum of Undersigned
signed by the company in June 2012
envisaged the construction of a state-
of-the-art extraction plant capable of
producing 10,000 tonnes of rare-earth
oxides annually.
Takamul Investment Company, the
downstream subsidiary of the wholly
Omani government-owned energy and
strategic investment entity Oman Oil
Company, was named exclusive Omani
partner in the development of the
project.
The proposed Duqm venture
essentially hinged on the use of mineral
monazite for processing into rare earth
concentrates.
Monazite is a rare-earth phosphate
that is available as a by-product from
TURN TO P18
18
omandailyobserver
OMAN/INTERNATIONAL
GMO mosquito plan
sparks debate in Florida
OUTCRY: People have signed a petition urging regulators to ‘say no’
MIAMI: A British company’s plan to
unleash hordes of genetically modified
mosquitoes in Florida to reduce the
threat of dengue fever and other
diseases has sparked an outcry from
fearful residents.
As of Friday, more than 145,000
people had signed a petition at change.
org urging regulators to “say no” to
allowing the tourist-friendly fishing
and diving haven to become “a testing
ground for these mutant bugs.”
The company, Oxitec, said it wants
to try the technique there because
something in order to reduce the nonnative Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in
south Florida and beyond.
“They are more than just a nuisance
as they can spread serious diseases such
as dengue fever and chikungunya,”
Oxitec said on its website.
The process involves inserting a gene
into lab-grown, male Aedes aegypti
mosquitoes.
The added DNA makes it impossible
for their offspring to survive.
Since the males do not bite — only
the females do — the lab-grown males
would be released to mate with wild
females.
These releases would take place a few
times per week.
“Both the released mosquitoes and
their offspring will die — they do not
stay in the environment,” Oxitec said,
describing the approach as “a new tool
in the fight against mosquitoes.”
Trials conducted in the Cayman
Islands and Brazil showed a more
than 90 per cent drop in mosquito
populations, according to the company.
Based on those results, the Florida
Keys Mosquito Control District agreed
to work with Oxitec, which has built a
breeding lab in the Florida Keys.
But the project still needs approval
from the Food and Drug Administration
to move forward.
A view of signs with messages during a protest by activists against the production
of herbicides and genetically modified organisms food products outside Monsanto
headquarters during its annual shareholders meeting in Creve Coeur, Missouri
If it does get the green light, the
mosquito releases could begin in a few
months. Opponents cite concern for the
environment, and worry whether other
creatures — including bats and people
— might be affected by the introduction
of the mosquitoes.
“Where is the third-party, peerreviewed research on effectiveness and
safety of GM mosquitoes other than
Oxitec’s own claims of success?” asks
the petition. “Dengue fever has been
absent from the Florida Keys for years,
which indicates the current methods
of control and public education are
working.
What’s the rush for this radical
approach?”
However, health experts say
that dengue is still a concern, as is
chikungunya virus, which causes a rash,
debilitating pain, fever and joint aches.
In July 2014, a Florida man who
had not recently travelled outside the
country became the first person in
the United States to get the mosquitoborne chikungunya virus locally, and
authorities say such cases are likely to
become more common.
As a means of pest control, the
concept of releasing sterile males into
the environment is not new, according
to Joe Conlon, a technical adviser
for the American Mosquito Control
Association, which has not taken an
official position on whether or not to
support the Oxitec project.
In the 1950s, flesh-eating parasites
known as screw worm flies were
sexually sterilised via radiation, and the
male flies were released in Florida to cut
down the population.
Irradiation doesn’t work as well
in fragile mosquitoes, but genetic
modification can help curb breeding of
a mosquito that reproduces mainly near
people — in standing water and even
inside houses.
— AFP
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
BankDhofar net rises
RO 40.45m in 2014
MUSCAT: BankDhofar continued to
grow in all key areas in the year 2014
and crossed RO 3 billion in total assets
and 2 billion in Net Loans, Advances &
Financing to customers, the net Loans,
Advances and Financing to customers
reached RO 2.25 billion as of December
31, 2014, showing a growth of 18.42 per
cent from RO 1.90 billion at the end of
December 2013.
The customer deposits mobilised by
the bank achieved a growth of 22.17 per
cent from RO 2.03 billion at the end of
2013 to reach RO 2.48 billion at the end
of 2014.
The key profitability indicators
have also recorded positive growths,
as net interest and financing income
recording a strong growth of 15.46 per
cent reaching RO 76.79 million for
the year 2014 compared to RO 66.51
million in 2013.
Non-interest and non-financing
income such as fees and commission,
foreign exchange profit, investment and
other income have reached RO 22.06
million in 2014 as compared to RO
23.04 million achieved in the previous
year.
The Cost to Income ratio during the
year 2014 improved to 46.70 per cent as
compared to 50.60 per cent in 2013.
The provisions for loan impairment,
net of recovery (excluding legal case
recovery), during the year 2014 are RO
6.93 million, as against the RO 4.23
million during the previous year 2013
in line with loan growth.
The net profit for the year 2014
achieved by BankDhofar is RO 40.45
million as against RO 35.41 million,
showing an increase of 14.23 per cent
year on year, excluding the effect of
Legal case write back of RO 26.1 million
(before taxes), in 2013.
Net profit for 2013 including one-off
Legal case recovery is RO 58.51 million.
Maisarah achieved outstanding
results during 2014 in its 2nd year of
operations after launch in March 2013.
The Islamic Banking Window financial
performance reflected strong growth
as the total assets increased to RO
191.79 million at December 2014 from
RO 50.02 million at the end of 2013, a
growth of 3.83 times.
The gross financing has grown
remarkably by 4.71 times from RO
28.27 million at the end 2013 to reach
RO 133.03 million at December 2014.
Customer deposits raised by the
Maisarah has recorded an impressive
growth and increased from RO 3.68
million at the end of 2013 to RO 97.01
million at the end of 2014.
The key profitability metrics showed
good growth, with net financing income
increased to RO 3.72 million in 2014
compared to RO 0.26 million in 2013,
recording 14.31 times growth.
Non-financing income such as fees
and commissions, foreign exchange
profit, investment income and other
income reached RO 0.58 million during
2014 compared to RO 0.09 million in
2013.
Maisarah Islamic Banking Services
became profitable in its first full year
of operations in 2014, with achieving
Net Profits before taxes of RO 0.23
million for 2014 compared to net
loss before taxes of RO 2.20 million
in 2013, which is nine-months
operations being the year of launch
and includes pre-operating expenses
of RO 0.49 million.
In September 2014, BankDhofar
raised Capital in the form of Tier 2
Sub-ordinated Loan of $75 million
(RO 28.88 million). In continuation of
capital augmentation plan, the Board of
Directors in its meeting in December
2014 recommended to raise capital of
RO 115.5 million ($ 300 million) in the
form of Tier 1 (including Additional
Tier 1 capital) in 2015, subject to
Regulatory Approval.
Extra-ordinary General Meeting
of the Shareholders would be called
seeking necessary approvals.
To fund the growth of Bank’s
Islamic Window, the paid up capital of
“Maisarah” Islamic Banking Services
has been increased from RO 12.5
million to RO 25 million from the core
capital of the bank.
Duqm rare-earth
project
in doubt
FROM PAGE 17
existing mining and mineral-sands
sources, principally in the Indian
Ocean basin.
In its latest statement, Medallion
Resources said it plans to purchase
near-pure monazite feedstock and
market a mixed rare-earth concentrate
in line with current market demands,
as well as its commitment to an
expedited timeline.
“Purchasing
near-pure
feedstock, previously thought to be
unavailable, eliminates the frontend requirement and capital costs
associated with a monazite tailings
upgrading facility. Additionally,
by marketing a mixed concentrate
instead of fully separated rare-earth
oxides, the Company aligns with
market demand and eliminates
the need for the construction of
a rare-earth separation (refining)
facility on the back-end,” the
company said.
In its statement, Medallion pledged
to continue working its Takamul in
line with its commitments under the
MoU, which remains in effect until
March 30, 2015.
“Currently, Medallion is committed
to working with Takamul as an
exclusive development partner only
within the Sultanate of Oman and
otherwise is now free to pursue
opportunities and partners elsewhere,”
the company said.
Another MoU with signed by the
company with Arab Mining Company
(ARMICO) facilitating the parties’
pursuit of rare-earth production and
processing opportunities within the
Arab League nations, on October 1,
2014.
A strategically valuable and globally
sought-after commodity, rare-earths
are used in critical components for
virtually all computing and mobile
electronic products, as well as wind
turbines, electric and hybrid vehicles
and strategic defence systems.
(OEPPA Business Development
Department)
Deals signed for flour
mill, logistics projects
FROM PAGE 17
Centre Point Logistics
represent one of the leading
companies in the logistics
and industrial sector from
their main office in JAFZA,
Dubai.Sohar Port and Freezone
has revealed throughput
figures for 2014 at a press
conference held before its
annual business reception at
the Chedi Hotel in Muscat.
Speaking
at
the
conference, CEO Andre
Toet said that container
throughput grew 58 per cent,
with cars and break bulk also
performing well.
The rise in container
traffic can be attributed to
the relocation of commercial
The rise in
container traffic
can be attributed
to the relocation of
commercial traffic
from Muscat
traffic from Muscat. Break
bulk cargo increased by 51
per cent, while the number
of cars handled by Sohar
Port grew 99 per cent, to
122,000.
This followed a deal to
create a regional distribution
hub, and together with
existing throughput, this
figure will grow to 200,000.
(OEPPA Business
Development Department)
OMAN/INTERNATIONAL
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
omandailyobserver
US stocks fall on fear of strong dollar
NEW YORK: Strong earnings from
Apple, Boeing and some others were not
enough this week to offset Wall Street
angst over the strong dollar, crashing oil
prices and the Greek election.
US equities finished firmly lower,
with the Dow Jones Industrial Average
tumbling 507.65 points (2.87 per cent)
to 17,164.95.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 56.83
(2.77 per cent) to 1,994.99, while the
tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave
up 122.64 (2.58 per cent) at 4,635.24.
Volatility has picked up considerably
in recent weeks in equity markets,
with daily swings in the Dow of 100
points or more an increasingly frequent
occurrence.
“You really have a lot of issues on
investors’ plates,” said Mace Blicksilver,
director
of
Marblehead
Asset
Management. ‘‘Unstable is the only way
to describe it.”
Blicksilver is in the camp of analysts
who see parallels between current
economic conditions and those of
the late 1990s, when a big drop in oil
prices and a surging dollar preceded a
correction in equity markets.
This week, oil prices fell to fresh multiyear lows after US crude inventories hit a
record peak.
US oil prices jumped more eight per
cent Friday in a surge that underscored
that volatility is not limited to stocks.
Major cuts in capital spending by
Chevron, ConocoPhillips and others
raised concerns over the impact on jobs
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
and key petroleum-oriented economies,
like Texas.
The dollar moved generally higher
following a US Federal Reserve
statement Wednesday that said US
economic activity was expanding at a
“solid” pace and kept alive the chance of
an interest rate increase in 2015.
The dollar also came into sharp focus
after Dow members Microsoft, Procter
& Gamble and others cited the strong
greenback as a factor in weak earnings,
pressuring stocks.
P&G finished the week 6.4 per cent
lower after it said 2015 earnings would
drop at least $1.4 billion due to currency
effects. Microsoft ended the week 14.4
per cent lower.
Adding to the worries was the
election Sunday of the hard-left Syriza
party in Greece, which has pledged to
fight austerity measures imposed by
international lenders.
Greek officials refused to meet
BUSINESS ALERT
A’Saffa stands for vitamin rich chicken
MUSCAT: A’Saffa Foods, largest
producer of Oman’s freshest chicken
that is packed with healthy nutrients
and valuable vitamins is steadily
finding more and more takers.
As the acknowledged market
leader in Oman in the poultry sector,
A’Saffa is a clear provider of valuable
protein to an ever increasing number
of families and individuals across
Oman. Not just this, customers
enjoy a healthy meal with A’Saffa chicken as they are fresh and naturally fed using
true halal techniques adding to the health quotient of the chicken.
Sidhartha Lenka, Head of Marketing and Sales, A’Saffa Foods averred,
“International research shows that fresh chicken is extremely good for health, and
what makes A’Saffa chicken even better is that our chicken are fed naturally using
natural yellow corn and soya and not using antibiotics or growth hormones/
steroid. Not just this, chicken at A’Saffa are raised in a safe, bio secured and
homogeneous environment hence ensuring that the chicken are as close to being
considered organic as possible.”
Their farm facility at Thumrait, in the south of Oman is the largest fully
integrated poultry farm built with stringent biosecurity measures, advanced
scientific farm and feed management system making the farm a disease free
and healthy environment for the healthy disease-free growth of their birds. The
plant is also certified to the highest international standards with the farm having
achieved ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, and HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Points) systems certifications.
Audi Sport TT Cup field confirmed
THE first decision in the 2015
Audi Sport TT Cup has been
made. The 18 permanent slots for
the season have been awarded. A
high-calibre jury that included
Audi Sport TT Cup coach Markus
Winkelhock, Le Mans winner
Marco Werner and the former
rally driver Sepp Haider, selected
15 young international male and 3 female drivers.
The field of the 2015 Audi Sport TT Cup is made up of entrants from thirteen
nations and three continents. With three drivers, Germany has the largest
representation. In addition, drivers from ten other European countries, as well as
the USA and Hong Kong, will be on the grid. At the mere age of 16, the Fin Joonas
Lappalainen is the youngest, while 25-year-old Josh Caygill, from Great Britain,
is the oldest driver in the field. The average age of 20 years is correspondingly
low. This underscores Audi’s ambitions of affording young international talent an
opportunity to enter the company’s successful motorsport world.
“We had 165 applications from 30 nations,” says Project Leader Rolf Michl.
“We intensively reviewed every single application and in a multi-stage selection
process, chose the 18 drivers who are now given the chance to prove themselves
in the Audi Sport TT Cup. Our aim was to have a very international and attractive
field — and we’ve achieved this. Now, we’re looking forward to getting to know
the 18 selected drivers better at the fitness camp and during the initial track tests
at the beginning of March.”
In 2015, two races of the Audi Sport TT Cup will be held at each of six DTM
events. In addition to the permanent entrants, six “seats” are reserved for changing
guest drivers. quattro GmbH centrally prepares and fields the 24 cars.
Bank Muscat, Roumaan join hands to
launch online shopping festival
BANK Muscat and popular online shopping portal Roumaan have joined hands to
launch a first-of-its-kind online shopping festival. The 10-day shopping bonanza
runs until February 10. The #OnlineFestival is the biggest online shopping
sensation in Oman offering 1000 unbeatable deals to be availed exclusively
through www.roumaan.com/onlinefestival for Bank Muscat cardholders.
Tariq Atiq, AGM — Cards & eBanking, Bank Muscat, said: “Bank Muscat is
delighted to join hands with Roumaan to launch the unique shopping, leisure
— Reuters
European Union and International
Monetary Fund officials and rejected
fresh loans needed to keep the
government running.
Stocks also reacted negatively after
the Commerce Department’s estimated
fourth-quarter economic growth at 2.6
per cent, a steep decline from the robust
5.0 per cent level in the prior quarter.
There were strong aspects to the
report, such as a sharp pickup in
personal consumption spending.
and entertainment event targeted
at the largest banking family in
Oman. Complementing the culture
of e-Payment in the Sultanate,
#OnlineFestival is designed to
accommodate the best interests of
all Bank Muscat cardholders. The
exciting online shopping festival offers a rewarding experience, reinforcing the
benefits of convenience and security that electronic payments provide for Bank
Muscat cardholders. The festival has created an exclusive opportunity for the
bank customers to benefit from exciting promotions and offers.”
All Bank Muscat cardholders can either make the payment online or avail
Roumaan’s ‘card on delivery’ service where customers can swipe their Bank
Muscat cards when the product is delivered at their doorstep. Conceived as a
family affair for Bank Muscat cardholders, the unique shopping festival reflects
the bank’s commitment to encourage the secure and convenient use of electronic
payments in Oman.
Aqeel Munam Sulaiman, CEO of Salman Corporation, said: “Roumaan has
made online shopping popular with its trusted website catering to the tastes
and needs of different segments of the market. In just a year since its inception,
Roumaan has received a great response and it is our constant endeavour to
introduce new and exciting offers. The new year campaign is a great way to keep
the spirit of celebration alive amongst customers.”
Honda announces Sale for all new CR-V
OMAN Marketing and Services
Co, Distributors for Honda Cars in
Oman announced the introduction
of New 2015 Honda CR-V. Available
across all Honda showrooms in the
Oman, the 2015 CR-V is a fresh
upgrade with customer friendly
features. The 4th generation 2015
CR-V boasts of a wider stance with
enhanced exterior styling, offers a
4 grade line up including a 2WD option powered with a new direct-injection
DOHC 4 cylinder i-VTEC ™engine with CVT transmission, plush interiors and a
whole host of new and standard features depicting it as more Efficient, Functional
and confident SUV. The CR-V styling has been thoughtfully enhanced with
customer preferences in mind. The all new 2015 CR-V boasts of new exterior
design which illustrates it as a smart yet tough SUV. The new front fascia blends
with the new solid chrome grille lamp and the redesigned headlamps to give it a
rugged and tough look.
The sleek new front headlamps incorporate powerful halogen bulbs. LED
daytime running lights as standard and HID projector headlamps in EX and EXLeather grades gives the car a bold face optimising visibility in low light or foggy
conditions. At the rear, LED combination lamps have been restyled to give CR-V
a more fluid three dimensional appearance.
Newly styled 17” and 18” Alloy wheels compliment the exterior design
enhancements highlighting improved dynamism of CR-V.
CR-V’s body retains aerodynamic efficiencies of the previous version, with
numerous design elements such as a long roofline and an integrated rear spoiler.
New to CR-V, the EX and EX-L grades include Honda’s LaneWatch™ camera that
displays a wide-angle view of the passenger side roadway on the Display Audio
screen. All grades are equipped with, door mirror with side turn signal.
Honda’s goal of creating a more stylish and functional interior has been realized
with the reshaped chrome-effect inlay running the width of the dashboard
and through the use of high quality materials on the key surfaces. To further
improve CR-V interior, a number of changes were made for the 2015 CR-V to
increase visual appeal, convenience and control. Standard on all trims is the
newly designed configurable centre console that not only adds storage versatility
but more comfort with its broad, sliding armrest, while also conveying a more
luxurious appearance.
In addition, 2015 CR-V offers an interior that has a spacious feel, lots of
storage space and Easy Fold-Down 60/40 Split Rear Seat that provides cargo
loading convenience.
But investors reacted more to a drop
in business investment, as well as to a
duller headline number.
“Some people were a little overexcited
and thought that the trajectory of
growth in the US economy was going to
be faster” after two strong quarters, said
Scott Wren, senior equity strategist at
Wells Fargo Advisors.
“Things are good, not great,” he said.
‘‘Growth is modest.”
Wren expressed confidence that the
US stock market will post solid gains in
2015.
He dismissed the recent market
retreat as nothing more than “noise.”
Market bulls could point to some
positive data, including the highest
reading for US consumer confidence in
more than seven years.
There were also some strong earnings
reports.
Apple surged 7.3 per cent after it
announced record $18 billion profits for
the December quarter on blockbuster
sales of its big-screen iPhone models,
especially in China.
Boeing was among the other
standouts, soaring 9.7 per cent on betterthan-expected earnings and forecasting
more strong growth for commercial
airplanes.
Next week’s earnings schedule
includes oil giant ExxonMobil, General
Motors and Twitter. A heavy calendar of
economic reports includes the January
jobs report from the US Department of
Labour.
— AFP
19
MERKEL’S VIEWS
Debt reduction
for Greece
ruled out
BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela
Merkel yesterday rejected the prospect
of debt relief for Athens, adding to
tensions between the new Greek
government and its international
creditors.
“There has already been voluntary
debt forgiveness by private creditors,
banks have already slashed billions
from Greece’s debt,” Merkel said in
an interview with the Hamburger
Abendblatt newspaper published
Saturday. “I do not envisage fresh debt
cancellation,” she said.
The new Greek government has
already begun to roll back years of
austerity measures demanded by the
EU and the International Monetary
Fund in return for a 240 billion euro
($269 billion) bailout granted to avoid
a financial meltdown in 2010, and says
it will negotiate to halve the debt.
At the start of 2012, Greece
restructured its debt in a deal involving
private creditors who took “haircuts”
or wrote down parts of their holdings.
This cut Greece’s total debt burden
by around 100 billion euros.
But the country is today still
lumbered with a debt pile of more than
315 billion euros, upwards of 175 per
cent of gross domestic product (GDP),
a record for the European Union.
— AFP
organising, hosting and planning
of the Izki fest celebrations. Khimji
Ramdas also brought to Izki
the Sindbad Children’s Mobile
Library, an initiative they have
been supporting since its launch.
Anil Khimji, Director at Khimji
Ramdas said, “We are honoured
to play such a significant role in organising events that showcase the talents of
local communities. More importantly, we appreciate events where families and
children in the different governorates of Oman are brought together in a fun
environment that fosters learning.” He reiterated that the event formed part of
the company’s focus on developing local communities and assisting them in
becoming self-sustaining societies.
The Izki Festival which is a ten-day affair in the town of Izki gives local families
the opportunity to enjoy lively entertainment and develop an appreciation for
traditional Omani arts. Most of the activities feature a good blend of sports,
electronic gaming and cultural performances showcasing Omani heritage.
Lulu among top 250 global retailers
UAE-based Lulu Group, which runs
the Lulu chain of supermarkets, has
been risen in the latest edition of
a list of the biggest retailers in the
world. The company, headed by
Yusuffali M A, was ranked 183rd in
the 2013 list of the 250 biggest retail
businesses published by Deloitte, up 14 places compared to the previous year.
Deloitte said the retailer averaged compound annual growth rate of more
than 18 per cent between 2008-13. It added that the group’s revenues in 2013 was
estimated at $5 billion, up from $4.5 billion in the previous year.
Lulu Group is the only entry from the Middle East in the global 250 list, which
was headed by US giant Wal-Mart whose revenues in 2013 were put at more than
$476 billion. The group is set to open 15 new hypermarkets in UAE, Oman,
Bahrain, Kuwait, KSA, Egypt in the next few months. Lulu has earlier announced
its plan to open hypermarkets in Malaysia and Indonesia, thus setting its foothold
in the far east Asia. Deloitte said the top 250 global retailers generated revenue of
$4.4 trillion in 2013, each with an average size of more than $17.4 billion.
Its 2015 Global Powers of Retailing, Embracing Innovation report added that
revenue growth for the top 250 retailers, which began declining in 2011, continued
to slow in fiscal year 2013. According to the report, sales-weighted, currencyadjusted retail revenue growth was 4.1 percent for the top 250, following a 4.9 per
cent gain in fiscal year 2012.
Herve Ballantyne, partner and consumer business leader at Deloitte Middle
East, said: “The sluggish global economy in 2014 left many consumers financially
constrained and retail sales under pressure. Thus, the prosperity of the global
retail sector in 2015 will very much depend on the economic stability of several
of the largest economies.
Napco acquires powder coating system
NATIONAL Aluminium Products Company (Napco), one of the leading
extruders of aluminium profiles in the GCC, has announced the acquisition of a
new vertical powder coating line to meet the growing demand for high production
aluminium-based powder coating systems in the region. To date, Napco is the
only aluminium extruder in Oman and one of the three companies in the entire
GCC capable of addressing the requirement for powder-coated extrusions with
profile lengths of up to 8 meters.
The move is in line with the expansion plan of Napco, which already has a
horizontal powder coating line. The acquisition of the new powder coating system
will enable the company to better respond to higher demand for overall coating
services and meet specific orders for higher length profiles. Purchased from a
leading European supplier, the hi-tech vertical powder coating line provides high
production capacity with the ability to economically powder-coat extrusions.
Robert Holtkamp, General Manager, Napco, said: “There were many instances
in 2014 when we had to turn away customers due to overcapacity. With the
addition of a new vertical powder coating system, we will be able to handle the
increasing demand in-house and give our customers the Napco quality finish.
KR Group once again led the event’s activities during its second edition held in Meeting our customers’ requirements and exceeding their expectations is our top
December. The conglomerate supported the festival through its involvement in prerogative and the new acquisition only solidifies that objective.”
Khimji Ramdas Group supports Izki fest
20
omandailyobserver
INTERNATIONAL
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
Turkish Central Bank rate cut to boost growth
T
HE interest rate cut expected
by the Turkish Central Bank
next week should stimulate
economic growth, analysts said
on Thursday.
“We expect a solid boost for
the economy,” said Ridvan Basturk, an anlyst
with ALB Securities in Istanbul.
Vedat Mizrahi, Director of Research at the
Istanbul-based brokerage Unlu & Co expressed
a similar opinion.
“We should see a pick-up in domestic private
consumption, which has been muted in the past
couple of quarters,” Mizrahi said.”I think this,
coupled with the positive wealth effect of lower
crude oil prices would result in higher economic
growth this year.
I expect GDP growth to accelerate from 3 per
cent in 2014 to 4 per cent in 2015.”
On Tuesday, Central Bank governor Erdem
Basci said declining inflation had allowed the
first in a series of interest rate cuts, which was
made on January 20.
“As long as we keep our cautious stance during
the rate reduction period, it is possible that we
will see the lowest level of inflation in the past 45
years by the end of 2015,” Basci said.
On the same day, the central bank scheduled
an emergency meeting of its monetary policy
committee to be held on February 3. Markets
expect the meeting will announce a further cut in
the weekly rate at which banks must repay their
loans.
“We expect to see an extended period of ratecutting,” said Atilla Yesilada, a financial analyst
at Istanbul Analytics.” The cuts are likely to
continue for several weeks and to go as far as 200
basis points.
This will definitely benefit segments of the
economy.”
Michael Harris, head of Turkish Product at
Renaissance Capital in London, said the move
had merit.
“We think 200 basis points is justified
because a weak economy and tumbling inflation
legitimise central bank easing,” Harris said.
Basci, the Central Bank governor, has been
under pressure from Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan to cut interest rates because
the government sees high rates as an obstacle to
growth.
But Basci has been careful to time the rate cuts
to coincide with changes in the inflation outlook.
The news this month is that annual
consumer price inflation eased to 8.17 per cent
in December, from 9.15 per cent in November
on an anualised basis, according to central
bank statistics.
“This has maintained the credibility of the
central bank and built confidence in Turkish
monetary policy,” Harris said.
“A financial strategy of strong and balanced
growth has three pillars, which can be summed
up as low inflation, low real interest rates and
China bank says operations ‘normal’
as chief reportedly taken away
BEIJING: China Minsheng Bank
said yesterday that its operations were
“normal” following reports that its
president had been taken away to aid in
a corruption investigation.
In a statement, a Minsheng
spokesperson told the official Xinhua
news agency that the bank’s president,
Mao Xiaofeng, was dealing with a
“personal” issue.
“China Minsheng Bank has noticed
reports concerning president Mao
Xiaofeng.
As far as the bank knows, the matter
is of a personal nature and is unrelated
to bank operations,” the statement said.
It said that “the operations of our
bank are all normal”.
Late on Friday, respected business
news outlet Caixin reported that Mao,
the head of China’s largest privately
owned bank, was taken away in
recent days by the ruling Communist
Party’s internal watchdog, the Central
Commission for Discipline Inspection
(CCDI).
Mao “has been asked to assist in the
investigation of a high-ranking official”,
Caixin reported.
It said that Mao had been dismissed
from his post as Minsheng’s Communist
Party secretary. China’s President Xi
Jinping has touted a crackdown on graft
since assuming the party’s top post in
2012, targeting both high-level “tigers”
and low-level “flies”.
Among the top officials ensnared
is Zhou Yongkang, who was China’s
former internal security chief and a
member of the party’s all-powerful
Politburo Standing Committee before
his retirement in 2012.
It is unclear to which official Mao’s
reported detention could be linked.
Investigative magazine Caijing
yesterday cited “rumours” that Mao
may have been taken away due to
his connections to the wife of former
official Ling Jihua.
Ling, who was chief of staff to former
president Hu Jintao, was detained last
month following rumours that he had
attempted to cover up the lurid 2012
death of his son in a Ferrari crash. —AFP
The Heritage Foundation’s index used 10 quantitative, qualitative factors
Hong Kong maintains rank
as ‘world’s freest economy’
HONG KONG: Hong Kong has earned
the top spot in a US think-tank’s index
of the world’s freest economies for the
21st year in a row, despite scoring lower
than previously due to eroding public
trust amid perceptions of corruption.
In the Heritage Foundation’s 2015
report, Hong Kong scored 89.6 out
of 100 points in overall economic
freedom, down by 0.5 points from
last year, the South China Morning
reported last week. The decrease
brought Hong Kong’s score closer to
that of its rival Singapore, however,
with only a 0.2-point difference
separating the two.
The Foundation’s index used 10
quantitative and qualitative factors —
including rule of law and regulatory
efficiency — to assess economic
freedom in 186 countries.
While Hong Kong exhibited small
advances regarding freedoms in the
business, labour and fiscal areas,
according to the report, such progress
was offset by a rise in perceived
corruption. Dropping by 7.3 points, its
score for “freedom from corruption”
was recorded at 75 points — the lowest
on record since the territory’s handover
from Britain to Beijing in 1997.
Underlining the continued free flow
of goods, services and capital in Hong
Kong, the Foundation report said: “As
the economic and financial gateway to
China, and with an efficient regulatory
framework, low and simple taxation,
and sophisticated capital markets, the
territory continues to offer the most
convenient platform for international
companies doing business mainland.”
Commending how Hong Kong’s
“impressive level of resilience”
had enabled it to overcome global
fluctuations and domestic trials, the
report also warned that its uniqueness
had “faded” somewhat, according to
the Post.
“Although Hong Kong maintains
the features of an economically free
society, economic decision-making has
become somewhat more bureaucratic
and politicised, and the government’s
administrative scope and reach have
expanded,” the think-tank report said.
“Recent political events appear to
have undermined public trust and
confidence in the administration,” it
added, in an apparent reference to more
than two months of protests last year
following by Beijing’s decision not to
allow the free election of the city’s top
official.
The
government
welcomed
the ranking, with the Post quoting
a spokesperson as saying. “The
government will continue to uphold our
fine tradition of the rule of law, a clean
society with a level playing field, an
efficient public sector.”
The top four spots in the index went
to countries in the Southeast AsiaAsia Pacific region, with New Zealand
overtaking Australia for third place.
— AFP
cautious borrowing,” Basci said last week.
Turkish exporters, who have been lobbying
for interest rate cuts, will be pleased.
“Lower interest rates result in a weaker
Turkish lira, which improves Turkish exporters’
competitiveness,” Mizrahi said.
Mehmet Buyukeksi, president of the Turkey
Exporters Assembly, made a similar point last
July.
“Last week, the Central Bank lowered the loan
interest by 0.75 points, to a level of 8.75 per cent,”
BIZ BRIEF
IBM boss gets
bonus despite
company’s woes
SAN FRANCISCO: IBM boss Virginia
Rometty will get a $3.6 million bonus
for her performance last year, even
though the company’s sales and
profits declined in 2014. Rometty
and other top executives did not take
bonuses for 2013, after IBM turned in
disappointing results for that year.
But even though IBM is still
struggling to catch up with recent
shifts in the way corporate customers
buy technology, it disclosed a new
pay package that appears to be a vote
of confidence in her efforts.
IBM has said it’s making progress
by selling off less profitable divisions
and investing in new businesses
including data analytics, cloud
computing and mobile software. As
CEO, Rometty is also getting a 6.7 per
cent raise in her base salary, which has
been $1.5 million since she took the
top job in 2012.
She will get $1.6 million in 2015,
the company said in a regulatory filing
on Friday. IBM is also raising her target
bonus to $5 million for 2015.
In addition, the company said
she’ll be eligible for up to $13.3 million
in potential stock grants that would
be awarded for her performance
over the next three years, up from
a maximum of $12.75 million in
long-term incentive grants that were
reported last year.
A company spokesman declined
comment on Rometty’s pay deal.
IBM is expected to disclose more
details and the rationale for her
compensation in its annual proxy
statement this spring. International
Business Machines Corp, which is
based in Armonk, New York, reported
last week that its 2014 sales fell 6
percent to $92.8 billion, while net
income dropped 27 per cent to $12.02
billion. The company had previously
abandoned a goal of earning $20
a share in 2015, and instead said it
expects annual earnings of $15.75
to $16.50 per share. The company’s
revenue has declined for the last 11
quarters. IBM shares closed on Friday
at $153.31, down 1.4 per cent for the
day.
They are down 13.6 per cent in the
past year.
— AP
Buyukeksi said. ‘‘We want the Central Bank
to proactively continue with phased interest
reductions without lagging behind market
dynamics.
High interest rates adversely affect decisions
to invest in all sectors.”
Exporters have expressed concern about
the rise in the dollar’s value, which makes raw
materials more costly.
“But we are not certain that a stronger
dollar has an adverse effect,” said Yesilada,
the analyst at Istanbul Analytics. “The main
dollar-denominated input, oil, has declined in
value by 50 per cent, while euro area incomes
ought to increase, relatively speaking, thanks
to quantitative easing by the European Central
Bank.”
For banks, cheaper money means more
flexibility in making loans.
And for business borrowers, servicing debt
should be less costly.
“Nor will consumer debt spiral out of control
as it did in the past,” said Yesilada, “because macro
prudential controls will hold it in check.” Macro
prudential controls refer to controls on specific
forms of credit, for example down payments on
loans.
In the spring of 2013, for example, Turkish
banks saw a surge in profits thanks to interest
rate reductions.
Cheaper credit will encourage banks to make
more loans to businesses and consumers, Basturk
said. This will help boost construction and retail
companies, he said.
If the Central Bank of Turkey makes the rate
cut the market expects Tuesday, controlling
inflation will be the near-term focus.
“What the bank certainly does not want is a
repeat of what happened in 2006, or 2014, when
the bank cut interest rates and then had to hike
them again,” Yesilada said.
— AA
Regulator backtracks from Alibaba criticism
BEIJING: Chinese Internet giant Alibaba claimed vindication after regulators played
down earlier criticism of the company.
The scathing government report on Wednesday accused the company of not
doing enough to stop “illegal business” from appearing on its e-commerce platforms,
allowing the sale of illegal, fake and substandard goods.
But in a follow-up statement posted on the website of the State Administration
for Industry and Commerce late on Friday, the regulator said the report was a “white
paper” and carried no legal force.
The regulator also said its top official, Zhang Mao, met with Alibaba chairman Jack
Ma on Friday and they agreed to work together to fight fakes and boost consumer
protection.
“The most recent SAIC posting speaks for itself,” a company statement said.”We feel
vindicated.”
Alibaba, a collection of businesses that concentrate on online shopping and
bringing businesses together, broke the US record for the most capital raised in an
initial public offering in September, $25.03 billion.
Zhang Mao, Minister of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC),
said the company had made good efforts in safeguarding consumer interests and
added his agency should find new modes of oversight for e-commerce.
— dpa
Employees jump to celebrate during the opening of a new Apple Store in
Chongqing municipality. The store is the second in the city and the 15th in
mainland China, local media reported. Apple Inc is steering clear of Chinese
rival Xiaomi Inc’s low-price online strategy, ramping up store openings in
China to harness its premium edge and fend off the fast-growing No 3 global
smartphone maker.
— Reuters
Panasonic closes TV plant in China
TOKYO: Panasonic has closed its last remaining TV manufacturing factory in China
and is to sell its plant in Mexico as part of a restructuring plan aimed at stemming
losses, a newspaper said yesterday.
The Japanese electronics giant was forced to pull the plug on local production in
the two countries due to a sharp decline in TV prices in North America and China, the
Nikkei newspaper said.
The move will see Panasonic cutting back overseas production by 700,000 units a
year, representing about 10 per cent of worldwide output, the business daily said.
In China, the firm stopped production at an 80 per cent-owned joint venture in
Shandong Province, the newspaper said. The company plans to liquidate the venture
with the several hundred workers there likely to be laid off, the daily said.
It will continue to sell TVs in China by outsourcing production for the roughly
200,000 units a year that it used to manufacture in-house, it said.
In Mexico, Panasonic is expected later this year to sell a plant that has annually
churned out about 500,000 units mostly shipped to the US market, the Nikkei said.
The company now plans to focus more on high-resolution models and other highvalue-added TVs, it added. Panasonic has been struggling to boost earnings in the TV
segment, which has been losing money over the last six years.
The TV business logged a loss of 46.5 billion yen ($396 million) for the fiscal year
to March last year. Panasonic expects to sell roughly seven million TVs worldwide
this fiscal year, excluding those under the Sanyo brand. No one at Panasonic was
immediately available to comment on the report.
— AFP
TECHNOLOGY
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
Chinese language apps
make learning a game
H
21
NEW OUTLOOK APP
GAMING APPS
ONG KONG Philipp Mattheis
knew his gaming app was
addictive when he realised
he kept checking his phone
— hooked by the brightlycoloured reminders telling
him to play again or risk falling from the triplefigure level he had reached.
Yet gripping the German journalist‘s attention
was not Candy Crush, but one of a new generation
of Chinese language apps that are using tricks
traditionally employed by online games to get users
hooked on learning.
For years the thrill of studying a new language
has been tempered by the tedium of rote learning
and repetition required to be truly accomplished
— particularly the case for memorising a characterbased system — but now language apps are
increasingly turning to the same praise, reward and
challenge format that games such as Candy Crush
use to such devastating success.
Shanghai-based Mattheis is an avid user of the
app Memrise, which offers courses in standard
Mandarin Chinese and several dialects, and has 25
million users.
“We’ve turned learning into a game where you
grow a Garden of Memory,” the firm says.
The premise being that when users learn words,
they plant virtual seeds, which grow and bloom the
more they review and practise.
If they forget, then reminders are sent that their
buds of knowledge are wilting.
“It’s so quick, it doesn‘t feel like any effort,”
Mattheis said.
“I learnt a few hundred characters without really
trying.”
Memrise, along with rivals Skritter and
ChineseSkill, all feature interactive tools that
entertain as well as teach — a trend known as
“gamification” — pioneered by the big daddy of
omandailyobserver
education apps, DuoLingo.
“In a lot of Western countries we now see
ourselves as competitive with Candy Crush.
We want to be a very popular game and we want
people to play when they’re bored,“Gina Gotthilf, a
DuoLingo spokeswoman, said.
DuoLingo does not currently offer a Chinese
course, leaving a gap for language learners keen
to capitalise on a rising China, and Mandarin as a
lingua franca in smartphone-hooked Asia.
‘You feel like a hero’ — “Candy Crush is effective
because it adjusts the difficulty level to just the right
level for you,” said Ben Whately, who worked on
Memrise‘s Chinese courses.
“Adapting to a level where people feel clever is
a great way to keep them playing... That is exactly
what our learning algorithm does: adjusts when
you are tested so that you always have to struggle a
little bit, but you are generally successful.”
Users commit Chinese characters and
definitions to memory with the help of animations
and mnemonics, and are notified to review the
characters each time they are just at the point of
forgetting them, a technique known as “spaced
repetition”.
“Within a couple of hours of study you can read
most of a Chinese menu.
Every time you go to a Chinese restaurant or
walk through China town, you re-engage with that.
You feel like a hero,” Whately said of his app.
Daniel Blurton, a director at a paediatric mental
health clinic in Hong Kong, said he enjoyed the
ability “to see immediate progress and track how
much you‘ve accomplished,” making the daunting
task of starting Chinese seem “manageable”.
This sense of reinforced achievement is also
evident in the app ChineseSkill, which features
a cute cartoon panda that punches the air with
happiness when you remember, for example, that
“ren” means “people”.
Chinese Skill uses the classic videogame tactic
of ‘‘unlocking’’ levels only when you get enough
multiple choice answers right, bringing users
back again and again as they try to beat their own
memory.
A lesser-considered obstacle in Chinese learning
is learning to write characters correctly, a timeconsuming technique that greatly enhances one’s
ability to remember them. Skritter instructs users
on the order and direction of strokes with bright
graphics and feedback that flashes when you miss,
recalling another popular game called “Fruit Ninja”.
‘‘The only way to quickly learn lots of characters
is to write them over and over (20-30 times),’’ Hong
Kong-based businessman Brad Jester said by email.
“I started by doing this on paper, but Skritter is
better because it replays them for you in a better
timed sequence.”
A key question is whether these methods work
any better than traditional immersion in a nativespeaking environment or a traditional classroom.
Jester, now a fluent speaker, commented: “People
sometimes think they can take the easy route of
using flashcards and dictionaries to learn Chinese
but that is 100 per cent not the case.
“Until these apps shame you into studying
harder, they will just be helpful tools that reinforce
lessons learned,” he said.
Linguistics expert Dr Peter Crosthwaite of the
University of Hong Kong believes such apps may
facilitate memorisation — an important aspect of
language learning — but cannot offer the holistic
approach a good teacher would deliver.
“Due to the continued growth and expansion
of China’s economy, more people than ever are
wishing to learn Chinese,” Crosthwaite said.
However, “There are very, very few examples of
the
Internet being used to teach someone
a language from a beginner to advanced level of
proficiency,” he cautioned.
— AFP
Microsoft launches
Outlook for
iOS, Android
MICROSOFT has launched Outlook for Android and iOS phones
and tablets, based on the application it acquired when it bought
Acompli last December. These new applications will go live in their
respective app stores over the course of the next few hours.
In the long run, these new apps will replace all of Microsoft’s
current (and somewhat confusing) range of Outlook-branded apps,
including the Outlook.com app for Android and the rather limited
OWA apps for Android and iOS that only work for paying Office 365
subscribers. Those older apps will still be available for the time being,
but Microsoft tells me it plans to converge those experiences over
time. The company definitely recommends that Outlook.com users
on Android switch to the new Outlook app.
The new applications, Microsoft’s general manager of its Office
division Julia White told me earlier this week, are based on the
technology Microsoft acquired when it bought the email app Acompli
for $200 million last year. “We brought that team in and it’s now a core
part of the our Outlook team,” she told me.
It’s no surprise then that the Outlook apps will look and feel quite
a bit like the original Acompli apps, too. Microsoft has already added
a few minor Office-app like touches, including a coloured ribbon-like
UI, but if you’ve ever used Acompli’s apps, the new Outlook apps will
mostly feel like a rebrand of that service.
What is a surprise, though, is that Microsoft went ahead and
decided to relaunch the apps under the Outlook moniker this quickly.
More than anything, though, it probably speaks to how good the
Acompli apps were already.
In our interview, White stressed that the Outlook apps aren’t just
meant for email triage. “They live up to the Outlook promise,” she
told me. “The Outlook userbase will certainly be excited about this.”
White also argued that most of the email clients that now ship with
mobile devices are pretty basic, but “people want to do more than just
basic email triage” on them.
Just like Acompli before it, Outlook will support Office 365,
Exchange, Outlook.com, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail, as well as most
other email providers. The Outlook app also allows you to send
attachments through many cloud services, including Microsoft’s own
OneDrive, as well as Dropbox and others.
EMAIL SERVICE
Amazon announces
business email service
AMAZON announced a new email service called WorkMail, aimed at
businesses. With the freshly unveiled corporate email and calendar feature,
Amazon is driving into a market dominated by Microsoft and Google.
After defining online retail in recent decades, Amazon has gone on to
experiment in other fields, with varied success.
The company now offers streaming video with even some original
programming — and has even released a smartphone.
Amazon has also pushed into the corporate technology sector, providing
the server power for expansive operations like Netflix.
Sensing growing dissatisfaction with email in the business world, Amazon is
selling WorkMail on security and accessibility, according to reports published
in The Wall Street Journal and Forbes.
WorkMail mostly replaces the unseen backend of enterprise email and
allows users to keep composing on email software they are comfortable with,
like Microsoft Outlook.
By doing this, Amazon contends, the product solves the thorny issue of
employees having to switch to a foreign email client.
Amazon also stresses privacy, claiming that WorkMail messages are
encrypted the moment they are sent and then unscrambled once they reach
their target. Only Amazon controls the encryption codes and clients can decide
where they want Amazon to store data.
Clarifying the geographic location of email storage and emphasising
security will most likely appeal to European companies concerned about the
National Security Agency surveillance revelations made by settings.
NEW DISCOVERY
Gen-Next eyeglasses that turn into sunglasses at your will
RESEARCHERS
from
Georgia
Institute of Technology have designed
a new kind of lens that can switch
within seconds from clear to darkly
shaded and back again in response to
a small electrical charge that a wearer
could control.
The discovery will benefit pilots,
security guards and others who need
such control.
“We can also fine-tune the colour
of the lenses to match the full range of
hues used in commercial sunglasses.
The method used to make the
lenses could be easily scaled up for
manufacturing,” said Anna Osterholm
in John Reynolds’ group at Georgia
Institute of Technology.
Sunglasses can sometimes also
function as a visual aid, as variously
termed spectacles or glasses exist,
featuring lenses that are coloured,
polarized or darkened
In the study, Osterholm and the
team pointed out that most transitional
lenses now on the market do not meet
many users‘ needs.
When wearers are driving or
wearing a baseball cap, for example,
the lenses stay clear rather than
switching to a darker shade even in
broad daylight. Also, the majority of
available versions don‘t block out the
harshest light, such as bright light
reflected off snow.
“And the change from coloured to
clear can take several minutes, which
has safety implications for certain
users including airline pilots,” the
authors noted.
The new discovery is reported in
the journal ACS Applied Materials and
Interfaces.
— IANS
22
LEISURE
omandailyobserver
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
Online Editor’s Choice
CARTOONS
ADAM @ HOME
1
6
by Brian Basset
9
10
11
12
13
CALVIN AND HOBBES
by Bill Watterson
15
17
18
19
20
22
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
2
GARFIELD
3
by Jim Davis
4
5
6
7
8
12
13
14
15
16
STONE SOUP
CRYPTIC PUZZLE
ACROSS
Defeats one in wagers (5)
Quoted what one has seen, it’s said
(5)
Periods of rest, possibly, after
success (7)
Poison, imaginably from canned
beef? (5)
Possibly brass parts of tallboys (5)
Is she relatively nice around closing
time? (5)
At the Western front, I’d gone
wrong as a flier (7)
A low structure of high utility (3)
The space sea creatures need (4)
Beat or push in, perhaps (6)
In September, the French rest (5)
Happy as a bird (6)
A room in port (4)
Athenian female? (3)
Like an oarsman attractive to
women? (7)
Enquire into work for the Scottish
National Orchestra (5)
Something a beer drinker may
have in hand (5)
Angry girl hiding in cover (5)
He may need to be able to count
up to ten (7)
The man who came to dinner (5)
Dead wrong about the hundreds
extra (5)
DOWN
Strangely attractive yet notedly
toxic maybe (6)
Pain in the side in extremes of
torture (6)
Poles getting out of line do wrong
(3)
The mark of a saint? (5)
Break down, strangely enough? (7)
How the land lies, maybe! (4)
Leaving a former partner to do us
wrong (6)
In fine style, only upset about the
bad start (5)
Keep an eye on the time (5)
Run away to some low place (5)
Language used by the Chindits? (5)
The wrong night to use a unspecific
6
7
8
12
13
14
15
16
18
19
21
22
23
25
26
28
CR O SSW O R D
THURSDAY’S CRYPTIC
SOLUTIONS
ACROSS: 3, Plumb 8, Ro-Di-n 10,
U-riah 11, Rum(-my) 12, Sou-sa 13,
Freight 15, State 18, Tar 19, W-Essex
21, Delight 22, La-r-d 23, Heel 24,
Heat-her 26, Traces 29, Tux 31, H-Ome-r 32, P-leased 34, Revue (review)
35, Gag 36, Sects 37, Dog-go 38,
Sylph.
term (5)
18 Stimulate and give a bit of hope to
a youngster (3,2)
19 For success in sport, he may need a
break (7)
21 Charlton, it seems, is somewhere
near Isleworth (6)
22 Friendly with the chap who fibbed?
(6)
23 Lure into apprenticeship? (6)
25 Europeans far apart? (5)
26 He’s a father, your majesty (4)
28 Land that’s green, if less than
pleasant (3)
1
6
9
10
11
EASY PUZZLE
ACROSS
Minimum (5)
Meal (5)
Large gourd (7)
Shoot (5)
Buffalo (5)
12
13
15
17
18
19
20
22
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
2
3
4
5
DOWN: 1, S-or-ry 2, Li-mite-d 4,
Loot 5, Mus-set 6, Brats 7, Paste 9,
Due 12, Shrikes 14, Gal 16, Aster(-n)
17, Ex-ile 19, Whittle 20, C-lot-h. 21,
D-r-eam 23, Hexagon 24, H-ere-sy
25, Hue 27, Rover 28, Certs 30, Peggy
(Sue) 32, Pu-LP 33, Sag.
Military student (5)
Kitchen appliance (7)
Males (3)
Hire (4)
Of the sea (6)
Board (5)
Quake (6)
Prima donna (4)
Possessive pronoun (3)
Funny (7)
Severe (5)
Brass instrument (5)
Settee (5)
Chanted (7)
Jumped (5)
At no time (5)
THURSDAY’S EASY SOLUTIONS
ACROSS: 3, Shred 8, Water 10, Learn
11, Col 12, Great 13, Berated 15, Tepid
18, Ton 19, Deride 21, Bemused 22,
Lard 23, Boss 24, Inhibit 26, Insane
29, Nut 31, Tests 32, Regular 34, Livid
35, Mud 36, Stead 37, Legal 38, Sends.
DOWN: 1, Laces 2, Related 4, Herd
5, Elated 6, Deter 7, Druid 9, Tor 12,
Genuine 14, Tom 16, Pilot 17, Dense
19, Defined 20, Plait 21, Brass 23,
Bitumen 24, Inside 25, Bug 27, Nests
28, Atlas 30, Radar 32, Rind 33, Lug.
DOWN
Realm (6)
Keyboard instrument (6)
Pull (3)
Javelin (5)
Hospitals
by Jan Eliot
Hospital. . . . . Board . . . . . . . Emergency
Royal . . . . . . . 24599000 . . . 24590491
Health Services Department
‘YO UR STARS ‘
Muttrah . . . . . . . 24797602
Quriyat . . . . . . . 24845001 . . . . 24845003
SQH, Salalah. . . 23211555 . . . . 23211151
Police. . . . . . . . . 24603988 . . . . 24603980
Al Nahda . . . . . . 24831255 . . . . 24837800
Ibn Sina. . . . . . . 24876322 . . . . 24877361
Nizwa. . . . . . . . . 25439361 . . . . 25425033
Al Rustaq. . . . . . 26875055 . . . . 26877186
Sumayil. . . . . . . 25350055 . . . . 25350022
Izki . . . . . . . . . . . 25340033 . . . . 25340033
IF IT’S YOUR
BIRTHDAY:
You will recall
during the
next few days
actions and
relationships
of the past
year and will
conclude that
you could have
handled things
better and
achieved better
results if you
had given more
thought to your
decisions and
acted less
impulsively.
The coming
year will bring a
change for the
better.
Generous (7)
Item (4)
Elite (6)
Tree (5)
Foam (5)
Go in (5)
Copy (5)
Asian country (5)
Fruit (5)
Omen (7)
Continue (6)
Separate (6)
Empty (6)
Sing (5)
Undergarment (4)
Lair (3)
Haima . . . . . . . . 23436013 . . . . 23436055
Sohar . . . . . . . . . 26840022 . . . . 26840099
Al Buraimi. . . . . 25650855 . . . . 25652319
Sur . . . . . . . . . . . 25440244 . . . . 25461373
Tanam . . . . . . . . 25499011 . . . . 25499033
Masirah . . . . . . . 25404018 . . . . 25404018
Ibra. . . . . . . . . . . 25470533 . . . . 25470535
Adam. . . . . . . . . 25434167 . . . . 25434055
Bidiya . . . . . . . . 25483535 . . . . 25483535
Ibri . . . . . . . . . . . 25491011 . . . . 25491990
Saham . . . . . . . . 26854427 . . . . 26855148
Khasab . . . . . . . 26830187 . . . . 26830187
Dibba. . . . . . . . . 26836443 . . . . 26836443
Burkha. . . . . . . . 26828397 . . . . 26828397
Sinaw. . . . . . . . . 25474338
AQUARIUS
PISCES
ARIES
TAURUS
GEMINI
CANCER
January 21February 19
February 20March 20
March 21April 20
April 21May 20
May 21June 21
June 22July 21
An unexpected invitation will
give you an insight into the lives
of some people completely removed from your own social
sphere.
You should think very carefully
before you allow yourself that
luxury purchase which may mean
that you have to go without certain necessities for a while.
You simply cannot afford to put your
complete trust in anybody no matter how sympathetic they appear until you have known the person for a
while.
The nervous tension which causes
you to lose your temper too frequently is no doubt due to overwork and you should try to take
things easier for a while.
Don’t hesitate to express your true
feeling towards a person of the opposite sex who may be too shy to
take the initiative. Someone has to
take the risk.
Someone on whose co-operation
you have been counting may let you
down at the last moment and you
will be hard put to find a substitute
in a hurry.
LEO
VIRGO
LIBRA
SCORPIO
SAGITTARIUS
CAPRICORN
July 22August 21
August 22September 22
September 23October 22
October 23November 21
November 22December 21
December 22January 20
A friend will invite you out for a
meal today to celebrate his birthday.
It may be a rather modest occasion
but you will be pleased to be the chosen one.
A neighbour who has taken up a
lot of your time and made you get
behind with your work out to be
willing to help you make up for
the lost time.
A closer relationship with a young
member of the family will only
be established if you are sincere
and show your obvious desire for
it.
You would be justified in
asking the relatives of an elderly neighbour to take some
responsibilities off your shoulders.
If you are not in a position to
make substantial contributions to
a cause in which you believe take
ever opportunity to talk to others
who can.
Your ability to put those around
you at ease and create a congenial atmosphere makes you a very
valuable asset at any social gathering.
CLASSIFIEDS
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2 0 1 5
Situation Vacant
REQUIRED experienced
Indian Driver for
Sewage Tanker.
Contact: 95339249.
·····
KHALID Company for
Medical Supplies
Sales Manager/
Biomedical
Technician
Ǧš’‡”‹‡…‡†‹
Sales of Medical
- Driving Licence
- NOC available on
request
Contact: 95051234.
E-mail: biza843@
gmail.com
·····
SYRIAN Mashavi Cook
and Moroccan Lady
Cook for Qurum Beach
Hotel.24704994 or
99238012.
·····
WANTED experienced
accountant with
administration
experience in
Ž—‹‹—ǡ
Žƒ•••ƒŽ‡•Ǥ
Call to 99705023.
E-mail: remmaj2014@
gmail.com.
PRIVATE bilingual
school at Muscat
needs a Specialist
and experienced
Teachers (Chemistry,
Physics, Maths,
English). Email:
cps20102011@
hotmail.com
93005900
·····
–‘”‡…”—‹–
ƒ“—ƒŽ‹ϐ‹‡†Interior
Designer (preferably
female). Please forward
your CV to: idesigner.
[email protected].
·····
ȅ
manicure, pedicure,
skincare, threading,
hair-straightening,
hairdressing, and
henna treatment. Call
to 94499020.
·····
INDIAN male QA/QC
Engineer-Civil (BE,
ACQE) in Oman on
visit visa, overall 10
years of experience in
Š‹‰Š”‹•‡–‘™‡”ǡ‘ˆϐ‹…‡
building and
residential
construction project
in Qatar and UAE,
Š‘Ž†‹‰˜ƒŽ‹†
driving licence
00968 93958533,
e-mail: sheikhnavid@
yahoo.com
·····
INDIAN IT prof, MCA 5+
yrs exp in Hardware,
Networking, PHP, CSS,
HTML, Java Script, Sql.
NOC available, seeks
suitable job.
97496998. E-mail:
[email protected]
·····
24 YEARS Oman
experienced can handle
accounts upto
finalisation, banking,
preparation of job
costing receivable/
payable, age-wise
analysis and timely
follow-ups, preparation
of BRS and other
required MIS, having
Omani driving licence,
can join immediately.
Contact: 94070799
·····
TELECOMMUNICATION
Technician having 3
years exp in software
programming (PABX,
CCTV...) and marketing
looking for a job in
technical area or
HR, Admin, sales,
marketing. Contact:
91706132. E-mail:
[email protected]
·····
Situation Wanted
CLASSIFIED
SECTION
RUWI
: 24785668
Situation Wanted
INDIAN male, 22 years,
BE Mechanical Engineer,
seeks suitable placement.
Contact: 95020044.
e-mail: sameemsm2009
@gmail.com
·····
INDIAN male, 24 years,
MBA, having 2 years of
‡š’‡”‹‡…‡‹ϐ‹ƒ…‹ƒŽ
ƒ……‘—–‹‰ϐ‹ƒŽ‹•ƒ–‹‘ǡ
knowledge of Tally ERP,
‘…—•ǡ‹‰•ǡ‡ƒ…Š–”‡‡ǡ
INDIAN male with
MS-Excel, currently on
10-year Oman
experience in sales with visit visa, seeks suitable
placement. Available
Omani driving licence
looking for sales/driving immediately. Contact
91058205, E-mail:
job 95067844.
aslammohammed10@
E-mail: sawood668@
gmail.com
gmail.com
·····
·····
™‹–Š͹›‡ƒ”•
CIVIL engineer
experience in tandoor,
experience in Oman
Chinese & Indian food,
with Omani driving
available 95924771
licence 91102892
·····
·····
INDIAN male 24
years, having Omani
driving licence, MS in
Biotechnology from
USA, seeks suitable
job in management/
ƒ”‡–‹‰ϐ‹‡Ž†ǤƒŽŽ
96246621/95738937.
INDIAN male BE
mechanical engineer
with 3-month
…‡”–‹ϐ‹…ƒ–‡…‘—”•‡‹
QA/QC, pipeline and
NDT. In Oman on visit
visa, seeks suitable
placement. Contact
95803035, E-mail:
jittenvjacob@gmail.
com
·····
INDIAN male, 27 years,
B Tech Mechanical,
having 1 year pipeline
experience, seeking
job in any mechanical
ϐ‹‡Ž†ǤŠ‡„‡Ž‘™
mentioned points need
attention: 1 NOC is
available, 2. Available in
Oman till 31st January.
Contact 95982207.
E-mail: rahman.taus@
gmail.com
Investment
ˆ‘”ƒ
investor for a fullequipped existing
medical complex as
soon as possible in
Wilayat of Haima,
‘˜‡”‘”ƒ–‡‘ˆŽ
Wusta. 92212557,
99242249.
·····
Situation Wanted
CIVIL Draughtsman:
Indian male, 23 years
with 3 years experience
in AutoCad, 2D & 3D,
MEP, HVAC, 3DSMAX
and Photoshop, looking
for suitable position,
presently in Muscat on
visit visa. Contact:
91764358.
mohdsiraj02@
yahoo.com
·····
·····
Situation Wanted
omandailyobserver
INDIAN male, 2 years
experience in Oil
accounting, oil supply
chain management and
ϐ‹ƒŽ‹•ƒ–‹‘‘ˆƒ……‘—–•ǡ
looking for a suitable
position. Contact:
96534120. E-mail:
miruknuddin@gmail.
com
A TUTOR, holder of
Bachelor in English
language and a Bachelor
degree in Education.
Contact: 98599631.
·····
CIVIL Engineer (BE),
7 years experience in
execution & skilled
with MS-Word,
Excel, AutoCad,
seeking for a suitable
placement, currently
on employment visa
& available in Muscat.
98499008. E-mail:
saadkhan1331@gmail.
com
·····
·····
CIVIL Engineer, 14 years
experience, 5 years in
Oman, valid driving
licence, NOC release
available Contact:
91101892.
DOCTOR (general
practice) is looking for
job, prefer thiese areas
near the Al Khuwair,
Wattayah and Al Qurum,
passed the promertic
exam. Contact:
96363153
·····
IT assistant, BSc
computer science with 4
years experience, MCP,
MCITP. 95874315.
·····
INDIAN male, BE
wireless networks,
CCNA & MCSE trained,
3 years experience as
IT support assistant
at a leading higher
education institution in
Oman seeking a position
as network/ systems
engineer. 96008737.
E-mail: m.anas365@
outlook.com
·····
MCOM, 4 years
experience in marketing
& sales, 2 years
experience in Oman
having Omani driving
Ž‹…‡…‡ǡ’”‘ϐ‹…‹‡…›‹
Arabic, seeks sales job.
Contact: 95116991.
E-mail: faizhaneefa1@
gmail.com
·····
·····
INDIAN male, MBA,
Bcom. Having 7
years experience in
ϐ‹ƒ…‡‡’–ȋ”ƒ†‹‰
of Logistics) with
knowledge in ERP &
Tally, and valid Omani
D/L. NOC is available
looking for suitable
position. Contact:
99279626
·····
INDIAN male, BTech
in electronics and
communication and
…‡”–‹ϐ‹‡†
engineer, looking for
a suitable position in
telecom sector or in
‡Ž‡…–”‘‹…•ϐ‹‡Ž†Ǥ‘–ƒ…–
91611341.
·····
INDIAN male 30, DCP,
B Com, having total 12
yrs exp and 7 years exp
in Oman construction
procurement, Civil and
MEP, interior decoration
& waterline division
looking for suitable
placement. 98653189.
·····
INDIAN male, BTech-E&I,
10 years experience in
Sales, Procurement and
Business Development. 6
years Oman experience
‹‹ŽƬ
ƒ•‡…–‘”ǡ
having Omani driving
licence, NOC available,
seeks suitable placement.
Contact: 97233074.
SUDANESE male, BSc in
Chemical Engineering
honours degree from
U of K, fresh graduate,
looking for suitable job
‹‹†—•–”‹ƒŽϐ‹‡Ž†ǡ‰‘‘†
in project evaluation.
Contact: 92647250.
INDIAN male, with 10
years Oman experience
in sales with Omani
driving licence, looking
for suitable job. Contact:
95067844. E-mail:
[email protected]
INDIAN mechanical
engineer, B Tech, 2
years experience in
mechanical maintenance
at leading tyre
manufacturing company.
Contact: 95910749,
e-mail: svrohit_001@
yahoo.co.in
·····
·· · · · ·
·····
BSC Civil Engineer
(degree 4 years hons)
™‹–Š
†”‹˜‹‰
licence, about one
›‡ƒ”
—Žˆ‡š’‡”‹‡…‡
seeks suitable job.
93929310.
·····
·····
·····
23
Situation Wanted
INDIAN male, 25
years, Bachelor of
Business Management,
‘™Ž‡†‰‡‹ˆϐ‹…‡ǡ
2 years experience
as a Merchandiser,
showroom sales with
NOC, now on visit visa.
Contact: 98659980.
ELECTRONICS/
Telecom Technician:
™‡ŽŽ“—ƒŽ‹ϐ‹‡†ƒ†
experienced Indian
male, 26 years old,
Diploma in Electronics
& Telecommunication
Engineering, having
4 years experience in
Electronic & Telecom
·····
ϐ‹‡Ž†™‹–ŠƒŽ‡ƒ†‹‰
international telecom
MBA (SCM), 1 year
‡š’‡”‹‡…‡‹ϐ‹ƒ…‡ƒ• company, presently
working in India, looking
Accounts Assistant,
for a job in Oman. Ready
”‡Žƒ–‡†ϐ‹‡Ž†ǣƒ……‘—–•
and warehouse. Contact: to join immediately.
Contact: 99087175.
91795092. e-mail:
[email protected] · · · · ·
·····
ǡǡŽ‘‘‹‰
for work part/full-time
job. With prior
experience of HR
Domain in Muscat.
98460262.
·····
INDIAN male, 24 years,
BE Electrical and
electronics having 15
months experience,
seeking suitable
placement. Now
available in Oman.
Contact: 92453891,
e-mail: jestinjose007@
gmail.com
·····
INDIAN male, 43 years,
Sales Executive, 11 years
experience in Oman
with watches, perfumes
and electronic items.
Contact: 99167361.
·····
CIVIL Engineer (BTech),
Indian male, 24 years
with 1+years Indian
‡š’‡”‹‡…‡ȋ…‡”–‹ϐ‹‡†‹
Quantity Survey/
Primavera/AutoCad).
Looking for a suitable
position. Available in
Sultanate of Oman
(Muscat) on visit visa.
Contact:
91303860. e-mail:
mdayubmak@
gmail.com
·····
INDIAN male, BCom
with 2 years experience
in purchase section
in Oman (studied in
Oman), currently on
visit visa seeks suitable
position in capital region
in Oman.
95902965.
ǡ‹˜‹Ž
”ƒ†—ƒ–‡
(fresh), Indian looking
for suitable position.
Contact: 95117509.
·····
3 years
oman experience in
driving. 94620326/
98329791
·····
ȋȌǡ
MCom with 2 yrs
experience in Accounts,
costing, auditing &
SAP in reputed listed
companies, seeks
suitable placement.
94619453. E-mail:
cmashahidkt@gmail.
com
·····
INDIAN male, Executive
Secretary/Document
Controller, 15 years
experience in Oman,
looking for suitable job.
91091963, e-mail:
[email protected]
·····
INDIAN looking
for account &
administration job,
previous 1 year
experience in Oman.
97424337.
·····
Sudanese
candidates looking for
job having experience
‹˜ƒ”‹‘—•ϐ‹‡Ž†•Ž‹‡
Communication,
Customer Services,
IT, Sales & Marketing.
968-99837053.
E-mail: mawia_mahdi@
hotmail.com
·····
INDIAN male MCA
graduate currently
working in a software
…‘’ƒ›†‹ƒǤ
‘‘†
·····
Knowledge of SQL ASP.
INDIAN male, accounts
NET, Visual Studio, JAVA
Ƭϐ‹ƒ…‡ǡ“—ƒŽ‹ϐ‹‡† NET, looking for suitable
(ICWA), MCom with 2
opening Contact:
years experience in
99210940.
accounts, costing,
·····
auditing & SAP in
reputed listed
INDIAN male with 10
companies, seeks
years Oman experience
suitable placement.
in sales with Omani D/L,
94619453. E-mail:
looking for suitable job.
cmashahidkt@gmail.
95067844. E-mail:
com
[email protected]
·····
·····
Ȉ ƒ”•ˆ‘”•ƒŽ‡
Ȉ ‘””‡–
Ȉ ‘„ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘
Ȉ Šƒ”‹‰”‡•‹†‡…‡
Ȉ ”ƒ•’‘”–…ƒ”•
Ȉ ‡ƒŽ•–ƒ–‡ȋ•ƒŽ‡Ǧ
”‡–Ǧ‹˜‡•–‡–•
Ȉ ƒŒŒƒ†”ƒ
Ȉ •‡†ˆ—”‹–—”‡ˆ‘”•ƒŽ‡
Ȉ ƒ—…Š…‡”‡‘‹‡•‘ˆȋ”‡•–ƒ—”ƒ–•Ǧ
•Š‘’•Ǧ…Ž‹‹…•Ȍ
Ȉ ‘„ƒ†•
Ȉ ‡ƒ…Š‹‰†”‹˜‹‰
Ȉ ‘—•‡•…Ž‡ƒ‹‰Ǧ•‡”˜‹…‡•ƒ†’‡•–
…‘–”‘Ž
For information, please call:
99841230-95919344
92721879 - 99639264
Tel: 24649597, Fax: 24649590
BankMuscat account: 0397003776610011
Bank Dhofar account: 01040141195001
E-mail: [email protected]
Ȉ
Ȉ
Ȉ
Ȉ
Ȉ
Ȉ
ƒ”•ˆ‘”•ƒŽ‡
‘””‡–
‘„ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘
Šƒ”‹‰”‡•‹†‡…‡
”ƒ•’‘”–…ƒ”•
‡ƒŽ•–ƒ–‡ȋ•ƒŽ‡Ǧ
”‡–Ǧ‹˜‡•–‡–•
Ȉ ƒŒŒƒ†”ƒ
Ȉ •‡†ˆ—”‹–—”‡ˆ‘”•ƒŽ‡
Ȉ ƒ—…Š…‡”‡‘‹‡•‘ˆȋ”‡•–ƒ—”ƒ–•Ǧ
•Š‘’•Ǧ…Ž‹‹…•Ȍ
Ȉ ‘„ƒ†•
Ȉ ‡ƒ…Š‹‰†”‹˜‹‰
Ȉ ‘—•‡•…Ž‡ƒ‹‰Ǧ•‡”˜‹…‡•ƒ†’‡•–
…‘–”‘Ž
For information, please call:
99841230-95919344
92721879 - 99639264
Tel: 24649597, Fax: 24649590
BankMuscat account: 0397003776610011
Bank Dhofar account: 01040141195001
E-mail: [email protected]
SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2015 l RABEE AL THANI 11, 1436 AH
[email protected]
www.omanobserver.om
RENT A CAR
z Low Rates
z Wide Range of Cars
z Excellent Service
Contact:
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24489648.
Salalah: 23296246.
E-mail: [email protected]
SPECIAL Rates on
New Cars & 4 WDs
RENTING & LEASING
Tours and Airport Transfer
Tel: 24582663
GSM: 95859497,
Fax: 24582664,
[email protected]
For Sale
INDUSTRIAL area
land in Rusayil,
ͷǡͲͲͲ“Ǥ–ƒ†
„—‹Ž†‹‰™‹–Šͺ
•Š‘’•Ǥ‘–ƒ…–
ͻͷͶͻͲͺͶʹǡ
ͻʹ͹ͲʹͺͻͳǤ
·····
Supply
of
Pesticides,
Gel (Cockroaches),
Public Health
chemicals,
Agriculture
chemicals,
Snake repellent, Rodent
baits
and
other insect
repellent from
Agropharm
Ltd UK.
PROFESSIONALS
in Pest Control Service,
Bedbug Treatment, Rodent
Treatment, Snake Treatment
and Termite Treatment
(Pre and Post Construction).
Tel: 24787606 / 24787503
Fax: 24787607
E-mail: [email protected]
P. O. Box: 565, Wadi Kabir,
Postal Code: 117,
SULTANATE OF OMAN
Good News
AYURVEDIC
Treatment, Yoga
Massage &
•Ž‹‹‰Ǥ‡„
address: www.
•‹††Šƒ›—”Ǥ…‘
ͻʹͷͲͶͻͺͲȀ
ʹͶͶ͹ͷʹͺͲǤ
·····
s only:
PLOTS ȋͶǤͷȀͻ…‡–•Ȍ
ȋ•ͷǤͷŽƒ…•Ȁ…‡–Ȍ
and villas near Aluwa
‡–”‘–ƒ–‹‘ȋ‡”ƒŽƒȌ
for sale. Contact
ͻͺͻ͵Ͷ͹ͲͷǤǦƒ‹Žǣ
•’”‡ƒŽ–‘”̷›ƒŠ‘‘Ǥ
com
·····
͵ˆŽƒ–ˆ‘”
•ƒŽ‡‹ƒ„‡Žƒ‘—–ŠǤ
Aliͻͻͺ͵Ͳ͵͵ͳ
·····
RESTAURANT for sale
in an excellent location
‹ƒŽƒŽƒŠǤƒŽŽ
ͻͻͶͺͳ͵͵͹
·····
TWO twin villas in Al
Š—™ƒ‹”͵͵Ǥ‘–ƒŽ„—‹Ž–
ƒ”‡ƒͷʹ͸ʹ.
ͳ͹ͺǡͲͲͲȋˆ‘”„‘–ŠȌǤ
‡‰‘–‹ƒ„Ž‡ǡˆ”‘–Š‡
owner. ͻͻͶͳͶ͹͸͹Ǥ
·····
Tours
DOLPHIN
WATCHING
TOUR. Every Day
ͺƒƒ†ͳͲƒǤ
‘”„‘‘‹‰
ͻͶͳͳͲͲͺͺȀ
ͻͳͳ͸ʹͷ͵ͶǤ
E-mail:
coraloceantours@
‰ƒ‹ŽǤ…‘‡„ǣ
www.
coraloceantours.
com.
·····
Announcement
ƒ™Šƒ”ƒŠŽ
ƒ•›‹ƒŠƒ–‹‘ƒŽ
ȋƒ”–‡”•Š‹’Ȍ
”‡‰‹•–‡”‡†ƒ––Š‡
Commercial
‡‰‹•–‡”‘ˆ–Š‡
Commerce and
Industry Ministry
‘ͳͳ͹͵ʹͲͻ–ƒ‡•
to your attention
–Šƒ–‹–ǯ•
transforming its
legal form from
ƒ”–‡”•Š‹’
company to Limited
ƒ”–‡”•Š‹’
…‘’ƒ›ƒ•’‡”–Š‡
ƒ”–‹…Ž‡ȋͳ͵Ȍ„‹•‘ˆ
–Š‡‘‡”…‹ƒŽ
Companies Law No
ͶȀ͹Ͷƒ†‹–•
ƒ‡†‡–•ǤŠ‘•‡
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–Š‡–”ƒ•ˆ‘”ƒ–‹‘
•ŠƒŽŽˆ‹Ž‡”‡ƒ•‘•‘ˆ
‘„Œ‡…–‹‘ƒ––Š‡
‡…”‡–ƒ”‹ƒ–‘ˆ–Š‡
Commercial
‡‰‹•–‡”‘ˆ–Š‡
Ministry of
Commerce and
†—•–”›™‹–Š‹ʹ
‘–Š•‘ˆ
’—„Ž‹•Š‹‰–Š‹•
advertisement.
·····
Tourism
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ƒ˜‘›ƒ‰‡™‹–Š›‘—”
family on a legacy„‘ƒ–ǡ‹…Ž—†‹‰
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com ͻʹͺͲͺ͸͵͸Ǥ
·····
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SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2015 | RABEE AL THANI 11, 1436 AH
P26
P27
P28
Inside
Extra time drama as Aussies triumph Ivorians set for Algeria clash, Guinea need luck Dark day for Woods raises prospect of the ‘yips’ FOLLOW US ON:
www.omanobserver.om
[email protected]
AUSTRALIAN OPEN: American Williams went past Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert in the all-time Grand Slam titles list
Serena continues mastery of Sharapova for 19th
MELBOURNE: A sickly Serena
Williams gave Maria Sharapova another
serving of Grand Slam heartbreak on
Saturday to win the Australian Open
and bolster her claims to be the all-time
greatest player with her 19th major title.
Though wheezing, coughing and
forced off court to be sick during a
rain-break, Williams’s serve stayed in
the rudest of health and her athleticism
astonished in a nerve-shredding 6-3
7-6(5) victory under the lights of Rod
Laver Arena.
In sealing her sixth title at Melbourne
Park, Williams surpassed Martina
Navratilova, the woman who handed
her the trophy, and Chris Evert in grand
slam title wins, while drawing level with
fellow American Helen Wills Moody,
third in the all-time list.
At 33, the oldest Australian Open
winner in the professional era and still
the boss, Williams left few in doubt that
the pursuit of Steffi Graf ’s 22 titles and
Margaret Court’s 24 would continue.
“I would love to get to 22,” the top
seed told reporters, her voice still raspy
from a week-long cold.
“Nineteen was very difficult to get to.
Took me 33 years to get here. So I would
love to get there. But I have to get to 20
first, and then I have to get to 21.
“There’s so many wonderful young
players coming up, so it will be a very
big task.
“(Nineteen) was my goal. So I didn’t
think it would happen this fast, to be
honest, but it feels really good.”
In her 19th match against Sharapova,
and after defeating 19-year-old
American Madison Keys in the semifinals, it was Williams’ 18th ace that
sealed the match on the third match
point.
She bounded around the court like a
woman possessed, squealing in delight
as Sharapova sat quietly in her chair,
nursing the pain of a 16th straight defeat
by Williams and a third loss in grand
slam finals to the American champion.
Steamrolled in the opening set,
the five-times grand slam champion
was magnificent in the second as she
dragged herself off the canvas and staved
off defeat twice on match points with
crunching winners that teased the lines.
A 2008 winner at Melbourne Park,
but runner-up to Williams in the 2007
tournament and again at Roland Garros
in 2013, Sharapova’s last win over the
American came in 2004, when she was
a 17-year-old sensation still finding her
feet.
SERENA WALL
Now 27, Sharapova said she felt she
was getting closer to crashing through
the Serena wall.
“I feel like I gave myself a second life
in this tournament and I gave myself an
opportunity,” Sharapova, nearly dumped
out in the second round by compatriot
Alexandra Panova, said at the trophy
ceremony. “It wasn’t quite enough today,
but I’m proud of the effort.
“I’ve had some of the best memories
of my career on this court but also
some of the biggest losses of my life on
this court, but that’s the life of a tennis
player.”
Though sharing raw power and
mental toughness in common,
Sharapova and Williams have never
been close and there was little warmth
on a chilly night as the pair posed on
court for the pre-game pictures.
On her first shot, Williams made
her intentions clear, with a thumping
backhand return too hot to handle.
A break point followed and
Sharapova, already under pressure,
double-faulted to concede serve.
Rain fell midway through the set,
forcing a break and the American
bashed a ball away in disgust before
marching to the exit and pacing a tunnel
under Rod Laver Arena.
Serena Williams of the US holds the trophy after beating Russia’s Maria Sharapova in the women’s singles final of the 2015 Australian Open in Melbourne.
She returned, coughing into a towel
but doubled back immediately, ducking
off court again to vomit.
“I guess there’s a first time for
anything,” Williams said.
“I think in a way that just helped me
— I felt better after that. My chest was
really stuck at that point.”
She came back to smash an ace and
blast a forehand winner to close out the
game and though dropping serve once,
she broke back and roared a bloodcurdling “come on!” after taking the set.
Sharapova rallied, clinching a break
point at 3-3 in the second, but an
unreturnable serve down the middle
slammed the door on the chance before
Williams rocketed her 13th ace and
third of the game to hold firm.
The Russian nervelessly slapped
away a match point when serving to
stay in the match at 5-4 and repeated the
trick at 6-4 in the tiebreak, but as ever,
Williams’s serve had the final say, the
— AFP
booming ace announcing the champion
like the first volley of a 21-gun salute.
The Italian pairing of Simone Bolelli
and Fabio Fognini closed proceedings
at Melbourne Park, beating French duo
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas
Mahut 6-4 6-4 to win the men’s doubles
title.
— Reuters
Nishino,
Maryam
clinch
titles
Sharapova still haunted by
Williams jinx after 16th loss
MELBOURNE: Maria Sharapova
vowed Saturday to keep grinding
away to break her jinx against Serena
Williams, after she was beaten to the
Australian Open title by a player who
has won all 16 of their last encounters.
Despite being number two in the
world, the Russian just cannot beat her
bitter rival, with her winless streak going
back a decade.
Williams’ powerful serve made
the difference on Saturday, with the
33-year-old blasting 18 aces to win her
19th Grand Slam 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) and
consolidate her place among the game’s
legends.
Coming into the tournament the
Russian also had the chance to topple
Williams as world number one, but the
opportunity also slipped from her grasp.
However, Sharapova said she was
a fighter and would work hard to keep
putting herself in the position to beat
the intensely focused American.
“Yes, I haven’t won against her many
times, but if I’m getting to the stage of
competing against someone like Serena,
I’m doing something well,” she said.
“I’m setting up a chance to try to
beat her and it hasn’t happened. I’m not
just going to go home without giving it
another chance.
“That’s just not who I am and not
who I was raised to be. I’m a competitor.
“If I’m getting to the finals of Grand
Slams and setting myself up to play a
match against Serena, I mean, maybe
you’re telling me I’m wrong, but I’m
happy to be in that position.
“I love the competition. I love playing
against the best, and at the moment she
is.”
TOUGH TO LOSE
The first Australian final in a decade
to feature the tournament’s top two seeds
was a one-sided affair in the opening
set, although Sharapova rallied to make
a contest of it in the second, displaying
her renowned fighting qualities.
She held off a championship point
at 5-4 in the second and another at
6-5 when it went to a tie-break before
Williams won on her third attempt with
an ace. — AFP
MUSCAT: Nao Nishino and Maryam
Al-Balushi bagged the first two titles
of the ISC-Muscat Pharmacy Open
Junior Tennis Tournament organized
by the Indian Social Club Muscat, Nao
claiming the under-10 singles crown
and Maryam lifting the girls under-18
singles title.
Nin-year-old Nao Nishino has
attracted much attention with her
brilliance on court and the confidence
with which he goes about her business,
that of demolishing her opponents. In
the final of the under-10 singles the top
seeded Japanese girl was spot on and
gave very little liberties to her opponent
before emerging to a 8-2 victory over
Marwan Al Khanjari. Marwan showed
signs of a comeback when he broke Nao
in the seventh and ninth games by Nao
proved just too strong for Marwan.
Maryam Al Balushi upset defending
champion Samar Al Bakry to claim the
girls under-18 singles title with a 7-5,
6-3 verdict. In an error-packed final
in which both played well below their
potential, both Maryam and Samar
double faulted upteen times and there
was no count of the unforced errors
committed by the two. The end result
is what matters and Maryam held
her nerves when Samar rallied from
2-4 down to level at 5-all in the first
set before maryam went on to win
it. Maryam broke Samar in the very
first game of the second set but Samar
broke back and held for a 2-1 lead. The
inconsistency of both players continued
with Maryam gaining two more breaks
and wrapped up the match to win the
girls under018 title.
Taisei Nishino, the top seed in the
boys under-14 singles advanced to the
title clash after defeating fourth seed
Hassan Haider 6-1, 6-3 in the final.
Earlier in the quarter final, Hassan
played with confidence and held his
nerves when the chips were against
him to register a fine 8-4 victory over
Abdullah Al Raisi. In another quarter
final match of the boys under-14 singles,
Eyad Al Khanjari overcame Sabharish
Kumar 8-4 and lined up a semi-final
clash against second seed Muneer Al
Rawahi who fought back from the jaws
of defeat to turn the tables on Sanskar
Dubey with a 8-6 triumph.
26
S U N DAY l F E B R U A R Y 1 l 2 0 1 5
SHORT TAKE
AUSSIES CAN ‘TAKE
ON THE WORLD’,
SAYS COACH
File picture taken on January 27, 2015
shows Australia’s coach Ange
Postecoglou reacting on the touchline
during their semifinal against UAE in
Newcastle. — AFP
SYDNEY: Australia boss Ange
Postecoglou said the Socceroos were
ready to “take on the world” after they
won a gripping final against South Korea
to lift the Asian Cup trophy on Saturday.
Postecoglou said Australia could
now go on to bigger and better things
after they won their first Asian Cup at
the third attempt after joining the Asian
confederation in 2006.
James Troisi’s extra-time winner
settled a thrilling clash after Son HeungMin cancelled out Massimo Luongo’s
opener in the dying seconds of normal
time.
“That’s the biggest thing for me, just
to look around this stadium and the
whole country will be off their couches
and won’t be able to sleep tonight,”
Postecoglou said.
“It’s a great game, I’m biased but I
think it’s the greatest game in the world.
Hopefully from now on us Aussies can
take on the world with it because I have
a real belief in these guys.”
Australia’s win could be hugely
important for football in the country
as it strives to challenge the more
established sports like rugby and cricket.
Postecoglou, who said this week
that teams from the region should
concentrate on winning the World Cup,
will now set his sights on qualifying for
the next edition in 2018.
“It was a super effort from everyone,
the players the staff, the whole
organisation. I couldn’t be happier,”
Postecoglou said, as his jubilant players
celebrated nearby.
“It was a different kind of game
tonight. It was tough, it was a final, you
got to grind it out and no one knows
better than me that it never goes
to script, there were twists, and the
courage the players showed tonight was
enormous.
“My only concern because we
conceded so late the boys they had
heartbreak and couldn’t pick themselves
up but I knew we’d finish stronger.
“We pride ourselves on being very fit
and working hard. It was just a matter
of taking our chance and we did and I’m
super proud of them.” — AFP
Australia’s Mile Jedinak (centre), and his team-mates celebrate with their trophy as Fifa President Sepp Blatter (left) and AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (right) applaud after winning the AFC
Asian Cup final in Sydney.
— AP
THE FINAL: Each centre has the freedom to decide its own training procedures and the ministry issued no ins
Extra-time drama as Aussies triumph
SYDNEY — Substitute James Troisi
smashed home a dramatic extra-time
winner as Australia beat South Korea
2-1 to win their first Asian Cup title in
an electrifying final on Saturday.
Troisi broke Korean hearts with the
very last kick in the first extra-period
after Son Heung-Min had snatched a
magical injury-time equaliser at the end
of normal time.
Australia’s triumph gave them a first
title since defecting from Oceania nine
years ago, while South Korea’s anguish
continued after they failed to break a
hoodoo in the tournament stretching
back to 1960. “It was a super effort from
everyone,” said Australia coach Ange
Postecoglou. “It was a final, it never
goes to script. It was tough, you’ve got to
grind it out and the courage the players
showed tonight was enormous.”
“I knew we’d finish stronger,” he
added, before shaking the hands of the
devastated Korean players.
“We pride ourselves on being very
fit and it was just a matter of taking
our chance. I’m super-proud of them.
Hopefully from now on, us Aussies can
take on the world because I have a real
belief in these guys.”
Australia’s
historical
triumph
vindicated Postecoglou’s decision to
overhaul the team after its “golden
generation” passed their prime.
It could also further antagonise
countries said to be behind a movement
to oust Australia from the Asian
confederation after shock revelations in
the build-up to the final.
The Socceroos, runners-up to Japan
in 2011, had been on the brink of
victory thanks to a ferocious strike from
Massimo Luongo on the stroke of halftime, which triggered wild celebrations
from the waves of fans in green and gold
in a crowd of 76,000.
But South Korea’s superstar Son
produced a moment of sheer brilliance
in injury time, bursting through to fire
past goalkeeper Mathew Ryan after
a clever flick from captain Ki SungYueng. Australia, the Asian Cup’s top
scorers with 14 goals, were forced to dig
deep in a reversal of the group meeting
between the two sides earlier in the
tournament, which was dominated by
Australia but won 1-0 by the Koreans.
BRUISING FINAL
Australian captain Mile Jedinak
set the tone for a bruising final when
he clattered Son during the early
skirmishes, and right-back Ivan Franjic
was then booked for a crude foul on
Park Joo-Ho.
Defender Kwak Tae-Hwi headed
a Ki free kick wastefully wide after 24
minutes before Tim Cahill, making
possibly his last appearance in a
Socceroos shirt, forced a smart save
from goalkeeper Kim Jin-Hyeon as
both teams came out of their shell.
Son, Australia’s tormentor-in-chief,
almost broke the deadlock when he
lashed a left-foot volley just over the
bar as South Korea pushed hard for the
opening goal.
But then Luongo, who has been
a revelation for the Australians and
was deservedly voted player of the
tournament, wriggled free to blast a
long-range drive past Kim’s despairing
dive following good work from Trent
Sainsbury. It was the first goal South
Korea had conceded in the tournament
on their way to a first final in 27 years.
With the match drifting into
stoppage time, Son pounced in showstopping fashion, drilling a left-foot
shot past Ryan before celebrating with
the massed ranks of “Red Devils” fans
behind the Australian goal.
South Korea were re-energised at
the start of extra-time, but Tomi Juric
picked Kim Jin-Su’s pocket and when
his cross was pushed out by Kim JinHyeon, fellow substitute Troisi belted
the ball into the roof of the net.
The Korean players, who had
surpassed expectations after the squad
was ravaged by injuries and sickness
during the tournament, slumped to the
turf in tears at the final whistle as the
Socceroos danced with joy.
Loud booing directed at Fifa
President Sepp Blatter and Asian
football chiefs as Australia’s players
collected their prize mattered little to
the winners, who did a lap of honour
wearing shirts emblazoned with
“Champions 15” on the back. — AFP
The game was struggling for recognition in Australia, where success in sport is taken for granted, partly because they missed WC for 32 years
Australia realise decade long dream by conquering Asia
South Korea’s Kim Young-Gwon (left) looks dejected as Australia’s Matt Mckay (right) celebrates winning the AFC Asian Cup
after beating South Korea 2-1 at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
— AFP
SYDNEY: The 120 minutes it took
Australia to beat South Korea in
Saturday’s Asian Cup final were the
culmination of an ambitious 10-year
plan to gain the respect of the footballing
world.
A decade ago, Australia were
marooned in Oceania, the biggest fish
in world soccer’s smallest pond, but had
much grander aspirations.
The game was struggling for
recognition in Australia, where success
in sport is taken for granted, partly
because the Socceroos hadn’t qualified
for the World Cup in 32 years.
Being the champions of Oceania didn’t
count for much. It earned Australia a
ticket to the Confederations Cup but not
the World Cup as Oceania does not have
direct entry. Australia broke their long
World Cup drought when they qualified
for the 2006 tournament, and made a big
impression by reaching the round of 16,
losing to the eventual champions Italy.
One of soccer’s sleeping giants
was starting to awaken but to be
taken seriously, the Australians knew
they needed to find regular, tougher
opposition, so they ditched Oceania and
A decade ago Australia
were marooned in Oceania,
the biggest fish in world
soccer’s smallest pond,
but had much grander
aspirations
joined the Asian Football Confederation.
The
enormous
challenge
of
conquering the world’s most populated
and diverse region immediately
became apparent. At the 2007 Asian
Cup, Australia’s first appearance at the
tournament, they needed a goal in
stoppage time to salvage a draw with
Oman in their opening group match.
They were beaten by the eventual
champions Iraq in their next match
and although they defeated Thailand to
sneak into the knockout phase on goal
difference, they lost to Japan on penalties
in the quarter-finals.
A year later, Adelaide United made
the final of AFC Champions League,
Asia’s top club competition, but were
thrashed 5-0 by Japan’s Gamba Osaka.
Australia did claim one of the four
Asian qualifying spots for the 2010 and
2014 World Cups but didn’t make it past
the first round either time. In 2011, the
Socceroos made the final of the Asian
Cup but once again came unstuck against
Japan, losing in extra-time. Australia
were making progress and had found a
new sporting rival but the trophy cabinet
was still bare.
The tide began to turn last year.
The Western Sydney Wanderers won
the AFC Champions League and now
the Socceroos have won the Asian
Cup. Fittingly, it was a struggle to win.
Saturday’s final against South Korea was
a battle from start to finish.
Australia led 1-0 at halftime after a
superb goal from Massimo Luongo but
South Korea, chasing their first Asian
Cup title in 55 years, equalised through
Son Heung-Min in stoppage time at the
end of the match.
The Socceroos’ long suffering fans
began to fear the worst but the nation’s
nerves were calmed when substitute
striker James Troisi scored in extra-time,
triggering a celebration for a goal that
had been a decade in the making.
— Reuters
SPORT
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
omandailyobserver
27
ANC: Ghana, Guinea meet in the first quarterfinal followed by the match between Ivory Coast and Africa’s leading side Algeria
Ivorians set for Algeria clash, Guinea need luck
MALABO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA:
The Ivory Coast and pre-tournament
favourites Algeria go head to head in
Malabo on Sunday in what has the
makings of a classic quarterfinal at the
Africa Cup of Nations.
Ghana and Guinea meet in the first
of a double-header of last-eight ties in
Equatorial Guinea’s capital earlier in the
day before Herve Renard’s Elephants
face the leading side in Africa according
to the Fifa rankings.
Neutrals will be hoping for a repeat
of the 2010 quarterfinal encounter
between the teams in Angola, when the
Ivory Coast led 2-1 going into injury
time only for Algeria to equalise before
triumphing 3-2 after extra time.
However, Ivorian coach Herve
Renard will settle for a solid defensive
display from his side. For all the attention
given to captain Yaya Toure and an
attack led by Wilfried Bony, it was their
defence which particularly impressed in
Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat of Cameroon
which took the Elephants through.
“There are not many teams in the
world who are capable of attacking all
the time. At international level Spain
have been able to play that way and
today maybe Germany too. But we are
not Germany, we are Ivory Coast,” said a
pragmatic Renard.
In the opposite dugout will be
Renard’s fellow Frenchman Christian
Gourcuff, an advocate of passing
football. He frequently complained that
his team were unable to string passes
together in their first two group games
in Mongomo but saw an improvement
in the 2-0 defeat of Senegal in Malabo
on Tuesday that took his team through.
With five goals, Algeria were the
most prolific team in the group stage
and have enough depth in attack to cope
without striker Islam Slimani, who has
been struggling with a thigh problem.
Winger Yacine Brahimi should be fine
despite coming off hurt against Senegal.
Renard, meanwhile, has Gervinho
and Cheick Tiote available again after
suspension.
GUINEA, GHANA RENEW
HOSTILITIES
Earlier on Sunday, Guinea will be
hoping that luck is still on their side
as they take on Ghana in a game that
was moved to the Estadio de Malabo
because of concerns about the surface in
Mongomo. The Syli Nationale survived
in the competition only after winning a
drawing of lots on Thursday to emerge
from Group D at the expense of Mali.
Guinea drew 1-1 in all three group
games and are now setting their sights
on going beyond the quarterfinals for
the first time since the Cup of Nations
was expanded to 16 teams in 1996.
“When we found out it was us, there
was a great explosion of joy. But, of
course, I had a thought for the Malians,”
said Guinea coach Michel Dussuyer of
the surreal manner in which his side
went through. “It is tough, because
Ivory Coast’s players take part in a training session in Malabo ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal against Algeria.
they also deserved to go through. They
missed a penalty against us and then
they go out on a drawing of lots. Luck
The sides met in qualifying, with the finished top of a tough group ahead of Black Stars after coming off early in the
was on our side. But if we have got to the Black Stars having the edge thanks to a Algeria, Senegal and South Africa.
2-1 defeat of South Africa on Tuesday.
quarterfinals it is because we deserved to 1-1 draw and then a 3-1 victory.
Defender Daniel Amartey has
Florentin Pogba has already left the
And Avram Grant’s Ghana then declared himself fit to feature for the Guinea squad because of a groin injury,
somewhere.”
Diminutive Traore the star turn for Guinea
MALABO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA:
Guinea’s place in the Africa Cup
of Nations quarterfinals may have
ultimately been won in a hotel meeting
room, but that they got there at all was
in large part down to Ibrahima Traore.
Traore was not present when Amara
Dabo, the financial director of Guinea’s
sports ministry, picked out the winning
ball to take the Syli Nationale through
to a last-eight tie against Ghana at
Mali’s expense in a drawing of lots at the
Malabo Hilton on Thursday.
But the 26-year-old winger was a
constant menace for Guinea’s opponents
during the group stage in Equatorial
Guinea, thriving on the responsibility
that has come with being the stand-in
captain in Michel Dussuyer’s side.
In the absence of injured skipper
Kamil Zayatte, ‘Ibou’ led by example
with telling contributions in each of
Guinea’s 1-1 draws with the Ivory Coast,
Cameroon and Mali in Group D.
He set up the opening goal in the 1-1
draw with the Ivorians in Malabo and
saw a shot crash off the woodwork in
the second half before being given the
official man of the match award.
Traore came away with that prize
again after scoring a marvellous goal
against Cameroon a few days later, and
against Mali it was his shot that struck
the arm of Salif Coulibaly as Guinea won
a first-half penalty which was converted
by Kevin Constant.
In a team that was written off by
observers before the competition began,
Traore has been the star turn. Not that
he would say so himself.
“I have responsibility as captain
‘I have responsibility as
captain when Kamil is
not there, but star status?
No. The collective is more
important than having
one star player. The most
important thing for me is
that the team wins’
GUINEA
Mali’s defender Adama Tamboura (centre) vies with Guinea’s midfielder Ibrahima
Traore during the 2015 African Cup of Nations match between Guinea and Mali in
Mongomo.
— AFP
when Kamil is not there, but star status?
No. The collective is more important
than having one star player. The most
important thing for me is that the team
wins,” insisted the slightly-built left
winger who is one of many players at
this Cup of Nations to have been born in
the suburbs of French capital Paris.
However, it is in Germany that he has
made his name at club level. He was a
teenager turning out for a lower-league
team near Paris when he left for Hertha
Berlin.
The 1.72m-tall dynamo left the
German capital without making a great
impression, with his coach Lucien Favre
saying his physique was not suited to the
demands of the Bundesliga.
And yet, after spells at Augsburg and
VfB Stuttgart, it was Favre who brought
him to Borussia Moenchengladbach on
a four-year deal last summer.
‘WE DESERVE IT
Meanwhile, he has been outstanding
for Guinea, netting twice in Cup of
Nations qualifying, including in a 1-1
draw with Ghana in October.
Qualifying in itself was a triumph
over adversity for a country battling
against the Ebola virus, which forced the
Syli Nationale to play ‘home’ qualifiers
in Morocco and complicated their life
wherever they went.
“In Uganda, people didn’t dare come
near us. There were endless health
checks and at the stadium the supporters
chanted ‘Ebola, Ebola’,” said Traore,
who knows how important footballing
success is to the people of Guinea.
“When people are having difficulties
they look to football for happiness. It is
always important to perform well at the
Cup of Nations but all the more so in the
current context,” he said at the start of
the tournament.
And there were big celebrations
in Conakry after the news broke that
luck had been on their team’s side in
Thursday’s drawing of lots.
However, Traore insists: “I don’t think
it’s all down to luck. I think we deserve it
for how we have played.”
— AFP
LOCAL
— AFP
while captain Kamil Zayatte has not
yet featured at the finals due to a calf
problem. Stand-in skipper Ibrahima
Traore is expected to play.
— AFP
TENNIS
Khalid Ikram
reaches quarterfinals
MUSCAT: Khalid Ikram stormed into
the quarterfinals of the Men’s A Singles
at the second Oman Arab Bank (OAB)
Tennis Tournament being organised by
Al Hayat Tennis Center at their courts
on Friday.
Khalid overcame an early resistance
from Cailmos Khan before booking his
berth in the last eight with a 6-3, 6-1
victory.
Amr Hassan and Andries Echeverri
reached the second round of the same
event. In their first round encounters,
Amr defeated Fredrik Robelius 6-4, 6-1
while Andries outlasted Rob Baldwin
7-5, 6-2.
In the Men’s B Singles, Hassan al
Zadjali advanced to the second round
with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Saeed
Husseini. Younis al Naamani won
his first round match 6-4, 6-2 against
Faisal al Sabahi, while Waleed al
Naamani got a walkover from Niham
al Yahyaqei.
In the Women’s Singles, Isabella
Yvonne eased to a 6-1, 6-1 win over
Hinke Cotsburg and into the second
round. Shanaz Patel moved up without
hitting a ball after a walkover from
Eman Khan.
Sultan Musa won his first round
match in the Boys Under-16 singles
when he defeated Dian Kurukulasuriya
9-4. In the day’s other match, Azzan al
Hajri received a walkover from Yousef
Bahwan.
Marwan al Khanjari moved into the
second round of the Boys Under-12
Competition when he defeated Malik
Hanifi 9-2.
Bruno Van Begin meanwhile
booked a place in the quarterfinals of
the Veterans Singles with a 6-2, 6-3
straight sets victory over Mauro Costa.
Luis Torres and Majeed al Asfoor
entered the second round of the same
event. In the first round matches, Torres
defeated Ugur Dogan 6-0, 7-5 while
Majeed al Asfoor won 6-1, 6-2 against
Bishara Qafiti.
In other first round matches,
Vincenzo Ruffino and Sajid Khan
received walkovers from Robin
Kleinveldt and Mazen Aker respectively.
During Thursday’s inaugural day
action, Nashat Helal, Drar Antar and
Cailmos Khan advanced to the second
round of the Men’s A Singles.
In the first round, Nashat defeated
Fawaz al Manzare in straight sets 6-4,
6-1 while Drar conceded just one game
on way to a 6-0, 6-1 win against Younis
al Namani. In contrast, Cailmos Khan
was given a tough fight by Mohammed
al Falahi taking the match into the
match tie-break. But Cailmos kept his
cool and prevailed for a 6-3, 1-6 (10-8)
victory.
Manchester City trail Chelsea by five points heading into the showdown at Stamford Bridge and a loss would leave them eight points behind
Pellegrini doesn’t fear Chelsea title knockout blow
LONDON: Manchester City manager
Manuel Pellegrini insists a defeat in
against leaders Chelsea wouldn’t be a
fatal blow to the champions’ chances of
retaining the Premier League title.
Pellegrini’s side already trail
Chelsea by five points heading into the
showdown at Stamford Bridge and a
loss would leave them languishing eight
points behind with 15 games to play.
But Pellegrini remembers how
City, then managed by his predecessor
Roberto Mancini, won the title in 2012
despite falling eight points behind
Manchester United at a much later stage
of the campaign.
He is convinced an equally dramatic
fightback is possible even if the result
goes against them in west London.
“I think it is a very important game
but it is not the game that will decide the
title because after that we have to play for
45 points more,” Pellegrini said.
“If you remember some years ago
this club won the title after being eight
points behind Manchester United, so in
football you never know.”
City’s hopes of securing a first win
at the Bridge since 2010 were boosted
on Friday when Chelsea striker Diego
Costa was handed a three-match ban
for stamping on Liverpool’s Emre Can
during the League Cup semifinal second
leg in midweek.
Not having to face Spain international
Costa, who has 17 goals in 19 league
appearances this season, is a huge lift
for City, who have struggled badly since
their own talismanic star, Ivory Coast
midfielder Yaya Toure, departed for
African Cup of Nations duty.
Toure’s exit has coincided with a run
of three games without a win for City,
including damaging back-to-back home
defeats against Arsenal in the league
and then second tier Middlesbrough
in the FA Cup, but Pellegrini says his
team must take responsibility for filling
the void. “I say always the same thing,
in this case for Diego Costa or Yaya, big
teams with important squads cannot
depend on just one player. I think it is a
very important miss for both teams but
they have other players to replace him,”
Pellegrini said.
LAMPARD RETURN
The controversy over Costa’s ban has
overshadowed another intriguing subplot — the first return of City midfielder
Frank Lampard to his former club.
Blues legend Lampard is Chelsea’s
record goalscorer but he wasn’t expected
to be back at the Bridge in an opposition
shirt when he was released at the end of
last season and appeared to have signed
a contract with New York FC.
He eventually joined City instead and
scored a late equaliser against Chelsea
in a 1-1 draw at Eastlands earlier this
season. That has left some uncertainty
over what reception the 36-yearold might get at his old ground, but
Pellegrini has no doubt he should be
applauded.
“He gave so many things to that club.
If he couldn’t continue playing there, he
can play here. That is not his fault,” he
said.
— AFP
28
omandailyobserver
SPORT
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
GOLF: Woods was out-of-sorts in every phase of his game as he laboured to a mind-boggling 11-over-par 82 at TPC Scottsdale
Dark day for Woods raises prospect of the ‘yips’
LOS ANGELES: Stunned golf fans at
the Phoenix Open were left to ponder
how the mighty have fallen after Tiger
Woods plunged to new depths with the
worst score of his professional career in
Friday’s second round.
Looking more like a struggling
amateur than the greatest player of his
generation, and arguably of all time,
Woods was out-of-sorts in every phase
of his game as he laboured to a mindboggling 11-over-par 82 at the TPC
Scottsdale.
His chipping, in particular, was poor
and many pundits are now pointing to
Woods, a 14-times major champion once
renowned for his magical skills around
the green, as being a sufferer of the ‘yips’
when it comes to that component.
Dottie Pepper, who won 17 times on
the LPGA Tour, including two majors,
tweeted on Friday: “Never fun seeing, let
alone reporting on, 2 dreaded topics in
golf: shanks & yips. Sadly, #Tiger has the
latter. Nerves not mechanics.”
Arron Oberholser, a PGA Tour
player who also works as an analyst and
commentator for Golf Channel, said: “I
think the greatest player that I’ve ever
seen has the yips.
“Whether that’s because of a release
pattern or whether it’s not enough reps,
it’s flat out the disease. He’s got the yips.”
Woods had also struggled with his
chipping in his previous tournament,
last month’s Hero World Challenge in
Orlando where he tied for last place, and
at Scottsdale he hit chips fat and thin
while occasionally resorting to a putter
instead.
Before any rush to judgement is
made, however, it is worth emphasising
that Woods was competing at Scottsdale
in only his second event in five months,
having endured back problems for much
of last year after undergoing surgery.
REQUIRED COMFORT LEVEL
He is also still adapting to the fifth
swing change of his career, this time with
new consultant Chris Como, and history
will recall that Woods took a long time
to reach the comfort level he wanted for
each of his previous four overhauls.
“He’s really revamping his golf swing
and just seems like he needs some more
repetitions,” American world number
nine Jordan Spieth said after playing the
first two rounds at the TPC Scottsdale
with Woods.
“From the looks of it, he looks very
healthy, looks like nothing was bothering
him, so he should be able to get out there
Tiger Woods surveys his options from under a tree in the rough on the 11th hole during the second round of the Waste
Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
— USA TODAY Sports
and get a lot of practice in. I would look
for him to make a strong comeback this
year.” Others were not so optimistic on
Friday after Woods, for the first time in
his career as a professional, missed the
“I think he needs to get rid of
cut in consecutive PGA Tour events, Chris Como,” Oberholser said on Golf
his previous one having occurred at the Channel. “He needs to get rid of all of
these biomechanic guys. You don’t go
PGA Championship in August.
Technical focus bad for Snedeker’s putting
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA: If proof
was ever needed for the average club
hacker that even the very best players
can struggle in golf, then look no
further than at putting maestro Brandt
Snedeker.
Widely viewed as one of the game’s
leading putters over the past eight years,
the fast-talking American has recently
been struggling on the greens after
clouding his mind with too much focus
on technique.
A six-times winner on the PGA Tour,
Snedeker has not triumphed on the US
circuit since the 2013 RBC Canadian
Open and he fell short of his customary
high standards last season when he
made 20 of 25 cuts but posted only three
top-10s.
“Obviously my game hasn’t been
anywhere near where it needs to be,” the
fast-talking American said at the Waste
Management Phoenix Open where he
is playing his fifth event of the 2014-15
season.
“But I feel like after making a change
last year to (swing coach) Butch Harmon
that my game is a lot better now than it
has been for the last year-and-a-half.
The thing that has been holding me back
is my putting, I haven’t been putting any
good.
“I kind of made some changes
that are really, really starting to come
through and I feel like I’m on the right
path. I just need to see some (putts) go
in. You see some go in and everything
changes.”
Snedeker is not only renowned for
Obviously my game
hasn’t been anywhere
near where it needs
to be. But I feel like
after making a change last
year to (swing coach) Butch
Harmon that my game is a
lot better now than it has
been.
PHOENIX OPEN
BRANDT SNEDEKER,
American golfer
Brandt Snedeker
his extraordinary putting touch but also
for his old-style ‘pop’ stroke which is
made with minimum of fuss in relatively
fast fashion.
FIXATION WITH PERFECT
TECHNIQUE
However, having long been an everpresent at the top of the PGA Tour’s
putting charts, Snedeker has dropped
well down the pecking order over the
past year mainly due to a fixation with
perfect technique.
“I’ve kind of gotten away from what I
do and trying to put a perfect stroke on
every putt is not the way I putt,” said the
34-year-old from Nashville, who carded
a one-under-par 70 in the opening
round at the TPC Scottsdale.
“I kind of got too much into that,
making sure my stroke is on plane and
path and everything is good instead of
getting back into reading putts and just
hitting them.
“So I’m getting more back into that
and seeing some good results and seeing
what I want to see out there. I just need
to see a couple go in, see a couple go in
and it comes right back so I’m not too
worried about it.”
Snedeker, who clinched the PGA
Tour’s FedExCup title in 2012, led the
Tour’s ‘strokes gained over the field’
putting statistic that year and was placed
fourth in that area in 2013.
However last year, he dropped to
27th in strokes gained while this season
he is surprisingly languishing in 110th
spot.
“The putts outside 10 feet will
come,” Snedeker said. “Inside 10 feet,
I’ve been struggling with those five,
six, seven-footers, which you need
obviously to make to shoot a good
number.”
— Reuters
PHOENIX
to a biomechanic guy when you’re the
best guy who’s ever played the game
practically.” Woods, limited to just nine
tournaments worldwide last year due to
his back issues, has often struggled to
take his game from the practice range
to the golf course, and fellow PGA Tour
player Colt Knost believes this is once
again the case.
“I watched tiger hit balls for 30 mins
yesterday on the range and he absolutely
striped it! Something is going on in that
head of his,” Knost tweeted on Friday.
After missing the cut at the TPC
Scottsdale, Woods conceded that his
chipping problems stemmed partially
from a mental block.
“To an extent, yes it is, but I need to
physically get the club in a better spot,”
said the 39-year-old Woods. “My attack
angle was much steeper with (previous
instructor) Sean (Foley).
“Now I’m very shallow, so that in turn
affects the chipping. I’m not bottoming
out in the same spot.” Time and again
during his remarkable playing career,
Woods has successfully overcome
assorted challenges — many of them
injury-related. If yips are in fact his latest
challenge, it would be foolish for anyone
to write him off any time soon. — Reuters
OPEN
Laird two ahead,
Woods shoots 82
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA: A bogey
at the final hole left Scotland’s Martin
Laird with a two-stroke lead after the
second round at a wet Phoenix Open
on Friday.
On a day that will be best
remembered for the worst single round
by Tiger Woods in his storied career, an
error-riddled 82, Laird used a series of
precise approach shots to card a second
straight five-under-par 66 at TPC
Scottsdale.
Playing in unusually wet conditions
more reminiscent of his native Scotland
than the Arizona desert, Laird reeled off
four birdies in five holes from the 13th
before missing a six-foot par-saving
putt in semi-darkness at the last.
“The big thing was I drove it well,”
the three-times winner on the PGA
Tour told reporters after posting a
10-under 132 halfway total. American
Daniel Berger (69) was alone in second
place on eight-under, while another
tour rookie Justin Thomas (68) was
next on seven-under. Woods was in
last place on 13-over 155, although 15
players did not complete the round
before darkness, so he may yet avoid
propping up the field. Phil Mickelson
also missed the cut as the event lost its
two biggest names.
Laird, 32, said it was a misconception
that he was used to playing in rain
because he grew up in the homeland
of golf. He pointed out that he has
lived in the US for 14 years. “It’s
always a joke how many times when it
rains I get the little phrase ‘just like
home’,” said the man who now lives only
a five-minute drive from this week’s
venue.
“It was a very Scottish day today
with the misty drizzle all day. I
remember playing in these conditions,
but I really haven’t played in them much
(during) my professional career, so I
wouldn’t say it’s a huge advantage for
me anymore.
“It’s no coincidence that four birdies
in five holes came on the back (nine)
when the rain stopped and got a little
easier out there (because) that front
nine was brutal.”
While Laird shined, Woods was
poor in every facet of his game, and his
chipping was particularly woeful.
“I have to continue with the process,”
said the 39-year-old, who switched
instructors late last year from Sean Foley
to Chris Como. “I have been here before.
It wasn’t that long ago that I changed my
swing with Sean, and I was Player of the
Year only a year ago. You’ve got to keep
things in perspective, and sometimes it’s
difficult to do that.”
— AFP
The 17-year-old from New Zealand is a shot ahead of rookie Jang Ha-Na and could become the youngest to reach No 1 in world rankings
Teen star Ko seizes lead at LPGA Tour’s Coates event
Lydia Ko
ORLANDO:Teen star Lydia Ko birdied
five straight holes on the back nine to
take a one-stroke lead after the third
round of the season-opening LPGA
Tour’s Coates Golf Championship on
Friday.
The 17-year-old from New Zealand
is a shot ahead of rookie Jang Ha-Na
and could become the youngest male or
female player ever to reach number one
in the world rankings with a victory on
Saturday.
“I have been putting good the last few
days. I just have to stay in that mood,”
Ko said.
Ko, who finished 54 holes at 14-under
202, has five career LPGA Tour wins
with three of those coming last year.
Jang, the second-round leader,
posted a one-under 71 at Golden Ocala
Golf course in Florida and is alone in
second place at 13-under.
Choi Na-Yeon, another South
Korean, carded a six-under 66 to jump
I was kind of shocked
but it got me fired
up. I jammed my
putter in the bag
and said, ‘You’ve got to start
working again’. There are so
many great players one to
four shots back and you just
never know what’s going to
happen.
LYDIA KO,
New Zealand golfer
into third place at 12-under-par 204.
American Stacy Lewis shot twounder 70 for the second straight round
and the world number three is alone in
fourth at 10-under 206.
Amy Yang equalled Ko’s 65 and
jumped into a share of fifth at nine-
under. Yang was joined there by Jessica
Korda (69) and Austin Ernst (70).
Ko had a strong front nine with four
birdies. But she began the back nine with
back-to-back bogeys before catching fire
and then surging to five straight birdies.
She closed with two pars.
“I was kind of shocked,” Ko said of
the bogeys. “But it got me fired up. I
jammed my putter in the bag and said,
‘You’ve got to start working again,’ and I
made good birdies on 12 to 16.”
Ko said she plans to manage her
game in Saturday’s final round and not
think about what others are doing.
“There are so many great players
one to four shots back and you just
never know what’s going to happen,” she
said.
“I’m just going to concentrate on
my game, just stay really positive, and
if somebody else shoots a much better
score than I do, I can’t really do much
about it.”
Ask about the possibility of becoming
the youngest No 1, Ko said: “It would be
great and it would be a huge honour to
be in that position, but we’ve still got
another long 18 holes to go and you just
never know what’s going to happen in
those holes.”
Ko said she can always hear her
father shouting encouragement from
the sidelines and this round was no
different.
“I told my dad, ‘Dad, the only crowd
voice I can hear is you saying like, ‘Nice,
Lydia.’
“I can always spot it. It’s a voice I
always hear. And he actually has quite
a loud voice just even talking, so he’s
always verbal out there.
“When there’s like no one and my
dad does it, I’m like, ‘Oh, there goes my
dad.’
“But in a way it’s good, it kind of gives
me a little bit of oomph and it’s good to
have the support.”
— Reuters
ENTERTAINMENT
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
All-star actress roster to light up
65TH BERLIN FILM FEST
Q DEBORAH COLE
N
ew movies
ovies starring
Juliettee
Binoche,
Nicolee
Kidman,
Cate
Blanchett,
Helen Mirren and
Lea Seydoux will
put women in the spotlight
ht when they
premiere at the 65th Berlin
n film festival
starting on Thursday.
The 11-day event in
n the frosty
German capital, the first major cinema
showcase in Europe each year,
ear, will begin
with Oscar winner Binoche
oche playing
Josephine Peary, who accompanied
ompanied her
explorer husband Robert on
n treacherous
Arctic expeditions, in “Nobody
obody Wants
the Night”.
The film is directed by Spain’s Isabel
Coixet, only the second woman in the
history of the Berlinale, as the
d
event is known, to hold
the coveted openingnight slot.
Dieter Kosslick,
who has run the festival
since 2001, said that many
ny of the
more than 400 films that
at will screen
focused on “strong women
en in extreme
situations”.
Kidman plays British adventurer
and spy Gertrude Bell opposite former
“Twilight” heart-throb Robert Pattinson
as T E Lawrence, better known as
Lawrence of Arabia, in German veteran
Werner Herzog’s “Queen of the Desert”.
Blanchett joins Natalie Portman and
Christian Bale in “Knight of Cups”, a
new feature about the perils of fame by
reclusive US director Terrence Malick.
Kosslick said he hoped Malick, who
won Berlin’s prestigious Golden Bear top
prize for “The Thin Red Line” in 1999
and the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2011
Guzman,
traces
an arc from the
story
s ory of Chile’s
st
indigenous
people to the
more recent
bloody
history
u n d e r
Augusto
Pinochet.
for “The Tree of Life”, would attend the
red-carpet premiere.
Seydoux, the latest Bond girl
in the British spy franchise,
returns to Berlin with French
director Benoit Jacquot in
“Diary of a Chambermaid”,
based on a novel already
adapted by cinema greats Jean
Renoir and Luis Bunuel.
British actress Mirren stars in
“Woman in Gold”, the true story
of Holocaust survivor Maria Altmann
who fought the Austrian
government for nearly a
decade for restitution of
valuable Klimt paintings
that the Nazis stole from
her family.
The
Berlinale,
launched during
t h e
Cold
War
as a window on
the world for
embattled West Berlin, prides itself on
ripped-from-the-headlines
political
relevance along with high-wattage
glamour from major Hollywood
productions and stars.
This year’s event will feature the
first screening of Iranian director Jafar
Panahi’s “Taxi”, in which the film-maker
himself presents his impressions of
contemporary Tehran from behind the
wheel of a cab.
The only documentary in the
race, “The Pearl Button” by Patricio
Small Father and Other Stories”.
And Peter Greenaway will present
“Eisenstein in Guanajuato” about the
legendary Russian director of “Battleship
Potemkin” and his Mexican exile.
US director and screenwriter Darren
Aronofsky (“Black Swan”) will serve as
president of the jury judging the 19 main
contenders and handing out the Golden
and Silver Bear prizes on February 14.
He will be joined by “Mad Men”
creator Matthew Weiner, French
actress Audrey Tautou (“Amelie”),
South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho
(“Snowpiercer”), US producer Martha
De Laurentiis (“Hannibal”), SpanishGerman actor Daniel Bruehl (“Rush”)
and previous Golden Bear winner
Claudia Llosa, the Peruvian director of
“The Milk of Sorrow”.
Last year, Chinese director Diao
Yinan’s gritty cop thriller “Black Coal,
Thin Ice” took home the Golden Bear.
— AFP
Helen Mirren
Germany’s Wim Wenders, who will
accept an Honorary Golden Bear for his
life’s work during the festival, will screen
his new 3-D drama “Everything Will Be
Fine” featuring James Franco, Charlotte
Gainsbourg and Rachel McAdams.
Japanese film-maker Sabu will
join the competition with “Chasuke’s
Journey” about an angel who comes
back to earth to rescue a woman.
Vietnamese director Phan Dang
Di, a European festival favourite, will
premiere his latest picture, “Big Father,
omandailyobserver
29
TINSELTOWN
Depp, Heard to marry in
Bahamas next weekend
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
A
ctors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard will reportedly tie the knot on
his private island in the Bahamas next week.
Depp and his 28-year-old fiancee got engaged in December 2013
after a year of dating and are planning for their nuptials on his island over
the weekend of February 7 - 8 in front of just 50 guests, reports pagesix.com.
The accommodation on the 45-acre Little Hall’s Pond Cay island is so
limited that many of the guests — which will include the bride’s family and
Depp’s two children from his relationship with Vanessa Paradis, Lily-Rose,
15, and 12-year-old Jack — will be staying on the 51-year-old actor’s yacht
during the celebrations.
The couple is said to have chosen the date because of their hectic working
schedules.
“She’s filming a movie in London, and he’s getting ready to film the next
‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ in Australia.
So this is the only time that everyone could get together,” said a source.
Heard will wear a dress designed by Stella McCartney for the wedding
ceremony, the insider claimed.
Eddie eyes beach
vacation post Oscars
Nicole Kidman
RUEFUL SMILE
No regrets over no nominations,
says VIDYA BALAN
V
idya Balan finds it “sweet” on producer Dia Mirza’s part to question why
the actress’ performance in “Bobby Jasoos” was not nominated for any
leading film awards.
However, the National Award winner says she has no regrets about it.
Vidya’s 2014 film “Bobby Jasoos” received a fair response from the audience
and critics, but it failed to make a cut in all the major awards, including at the 60th
Filmfare Awards, which was held last night.
Recently, Dia expressed her disapproval and posted a series of tweets on the
same.
Dia tweeted: “Articles, reviews stated that her performance was excellent. But
when it came to nominations she was completely ignored. Why? #VidyaBalan.
“I have always celebrated the achievements of my industry/colleagues and I
will continue to.
But I ask, why has #VidyaBalan been ignored?”
On being asked about the same, Vidya said: “Actually, (it was) so sweet of her
(Dia Mirza) to say that. It’s our film, obviously we feel bad. We feel we should get
nominated... but, I think there is a jury who decided on the nominations and we
should respect that.
“It’s good to know that there is so much good work happening that they are
finding it difficult to choose the nominations.
I’ve no regrets about not being nominated.
I’ll be there (at the 60th Filmfare Awards night) to cheer my fraternity.”
B
ritish actor Eddie Redmayne said he wants a beach vacation with wife
Hannah Bagshawe after the Oscars.
The 33-year-old actor has already confessed he’s a big fan of reality
TV, but “The Theory of Everything” star and Best Actor Oscar nominee
admits that his guilty pleasures don’t stop there.
Asked what he would do after the Oscars, he told people.com: “Vacation,
vacation, vacation.
It’s a wondrous circus, but I think after I finish the next film, maybe a
beach with some transparent water.
I’ve never been on one of those holidays.
I’d need to take a lot of sun cream, though.
“When you’re an actor, there’s always something you have to read for work,
so you always have to either be reading a script or researching a script.
That moment where you get to choose a book that you want to read just
for pleasure is that rare thing.”
Redmayne spoke before receiving the Cinema Vanguard award at the
Santa Barbara Film Festival on Thursday, alongside co-star Felicity Jones.
Hannah Bagshawe and Eddie Redmayne
STEALING THE SHOW
German Internet star wants to hit the big screen
Q WOLFGANG RUNGE
I
n German schoolyards Torge Oelrich,
alias Freshtorge, is a massive star: the
gangly amateur comedian from the
northern German state of SchleswigHolstein has millions of fans.
Children and teenagers especially love
the characters he plays in the short films
he posts on the Internet.
Take “Sandra” for example, a manic
pubescent 16-year-old girl, who is still
at primary school and dreaming of
becoming a superstar, thereby driving
teachers and child psychologists to
distraction with her stupidity. She is a cult
figure for children. “Children love Sandra
as she is too stupid to answer even the
simplest of questions,” the 26-year-old
artist says.
Once a week — at 2 pm on Saturday,
which he jokingly renames Saturtorg
— the trained teacher from the village
of Wesselburen uploads a new film to
his Youtube site for his fans. The page
is called Freshhaltefolie, which loosely
translates as Freshhood Films.
The content tends to be silly slapstick
and parodies of trash television which
bring tears of laughter to his fans’ eyes.
He carries his jokes so far that adults
also find them funny, but he is largely
unknown beyond the Internet.
Freshtorge says he has so far produced
240 short films, which have received 231
million hits online.
However, his career was not
planned.”Success was an accident,” he
says.
He made his first film in 2008 when
he was still living at home with his
parents.”When you live in a village, you
are very bored,” he says.
This led him to pull faces and fidget
around in front of the camera while
holding a piece of chocolate, an old
childhood scrapbook or a yellow rubber
duck.
He called the film Things I Like
and uploaded it to the Internet. ‘‘I was
surprised myself by its success,” he says.
Freshtorge does not have an overall
concept for his films.”I just think up
sketches that I think funny,” he says.
He has developed a dozen characters,
all of which he plays himself, including
Sandra, chief superintendent Ronny,
Shyenne Ashley Tiffany and Lexa.
How does he describe his humour?
“It’s just nonsense,” he says. ‘‘The things
I couldn’t do at school, I now do them
on YouTube.” He finds inspiration for his
comedy on the street in front of his house
or on television.
This leads to parodies such as
Daughter-in-Law Seeks Wife Swap.
“Sometimes I don’t exaggerate the
characters at all, I just play them as they
are,” he says, adding that he is now able
to live off the income he makes from
advertising on his YouTube channel.
Nevertheless, he continues to stress his
status as an amateur comic and he wants
to keep his job teaching at a primary
school in the mornings. ‘‘Star status is an
illusion. My normal job helps me to keep
my feet on the ground,” he says.
Torge Oerlich recently achieved
recognition beyond the Internet when he
appeared on one of Germany’s top talk
shows with presenter Stefan Raab.
He also went to the Eurovision Song
Contest in Copenhagen last year for the
northern television station NDR.
Even the 66-year-old veteran German
comedian Otto Waalkes has appeared in
one of his videos.
Freshtorge now wants to draw his
YouTube fans away from the Internet
and into the cinema with his latest
project entitled Potato Salad, which is a
90-minute comedy about the problems of
a pubescent schoolboy falling in love.
30
omandailyobserver
LIFE
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
WARMING
Urban areas
experiencing intense
heat waves globally
Blind world traveller Amar Latif (centre) with GUtech faculty and STRD students
‘OMAN is a nation of travellers’
T
here is a need to
celebrate tourism and
especially tourism in
the Arab World today,
according to Prof Dr
Heba Aziz, Head of
the Department of Sustainable Tourism
and Regional Development (STRD) at
GUtech.
Prof Heba was speaking at the
opening of a forum entitled ‘Celebrating
Tourism’ held at GUtech’s Halban
campus last week. A large number of
representatives of the public and private
tourism sector in Oman attended the
evening event, which was organised by
students of the STRD department as
part of their event management course.
“Oman is a nation of travellers. The
first Arab ambassador to the US was
an Omani, Ahmed Ibn al Noaman al
Kaabi, who sailed to Washington in
1805 and Ahmed bin Majid was the
Arab navigator teaching Vasco da
Gama. Tourism and hospitality are
close to our Arab culture and nature,”
said Prof Heba.
With over one billion travellers
worldwide, tourism is one of the
biggest industries and is connected to
various sectors such as transportation
and engineering. “Without engineers,
tourism would not exist,” added Prof
Heba, while stressing that tourism can
play a major role in creating peace
between nations, especially between the
Arab world and the West.
The GUtech students briefly
presented their summer internship
experiences at various companies in
Munich and Stralsund in Germany,
Oman and Bahrain. “Never say No
to a task given to you, instead take it!
Then figure out how to solve it,” said
Sulayma al Jahdami, a GUtech student
who completed her internship at Al
Bustan Palace, a Ritz Carlton Hotel, last
summer.
Blind world traveller Amar Latif,
who founded ‘Traveleyes’, the world’s
first international tour operator
specifically dedicated to serving blind as
well as sighted travellers, was the Guest
of Honour at the event.
Latif is also director of documentary
films. He was seen by millions
worldwide on the BBC2 four-part TV
series, entitled “Beyond Boundaries”, a
ground breaking endurance expedition
across the Central American jungles.
With a group of friends he crossed
Nicaragua through the jungle, climbing
a volcano for 6.5 hours and experiencing
a special team spirit.
“Individually you are not able to
make such a journey. In the jungle I
reconfirmed my belief, that you can do
anything when you are passionate about
it. I heard noise in 3D. Sounds that
envelop you in a beautiful fragrance,”
he recalls. Sight is only one sense, a
well designed tour can unlock all our
senses,” Amar, who lost his sight at the
age of 18, says.
About his experience in Muscat
he said: ‘’Beautiful, historic, mystical
Muscat. I feel a lot of freedom in Oman,
lots of space. I am inspired by the
people that I have met here.”
Amar promised to bring tourists to
Oman. “We would like to take students
to different places around the world and
to be the eyes of our blind travellers,” he
said while stressing that it is important
to realise to be normal when meeting
a blind person. “Do not change your
language, while speaking to a blind
person,” he said while stressing that a
handicap is no hurdle to realise your
dreams. “Every year the sky becomes
higher and the horizon becomes wider,”
he said.
SAILING
IMCO to host Sailing Arabia -2015 stop over
T
he
International
Maritime
College Oman will be hosting the
Sailing Arabia the tour launched
by Oman Sail in 2011, on February 16,
2015. EFG Sailing Arabia — The Tour
was designed to reignite the Gulf region’s
maritime heritage by celebrating the
fast-growing sport of sailing and the
opportunities that it represents. It is a
remarkable event for IMCO as since its
establishment in 2005, has developed a
reputation within the local community
and at regional and international
levels. This has been achieved with the
assistance of IMCO’s strategic partner
and international maritime and logistics
experts: STC Group, of the Netherlands.
In 2015, it will become the first Higher
Education Institution in Oman to
participate in Sail Arabia — The Tour,
where it will field a team of faculty and
students — some of which had not sailed
before race preparations.
In addition to contributing to the
performance of other teams from
Oman, the IMCO team will seek to
reflect Oman’s maritime heritage while
also allowing students to learn the
essence of sailing — a vital part of any
maritime student’s education. Students
were selected using a rigorous method
that combined theoretical and hands-on
training in which they were briefed on the
race. More than 100 students were joined
by Mohsin al Busaidi, the first Arab to sail
non-stop around the world, who talked
about his experience. Following which,
the group was reduced down to 30, and
then sixteen, before a final team of nine
students were chosen.
Currently IMCO team consists of 9
students and 2 staff members. The students
have passed, via various phases, been
chosen out of a group of 32 students who
expressed their interest and signed up for
selection. Throughout the last couple of
months, they have been practising every
weekend and holiday, to get as much
experience as possible. They discovered
that the more they train, the more areas
for improvement are found. The ideal
number of crew members for the boat is
7. However, the maximum crew weight
is 525 KG, so they are all trying to lose
some weight to fit the maximum weight .
“IMCO” is the sailing boat name which
is a Farr 30. This design of sailing boat is
no cruise liner. There is no toilet, shower
or facilities to cook aboard and as some
of the sailing legs can be as much as 70
hours, it will not be a ‘walk in the park’.
With the race scheduled for early
2015, training has already taken place and
students and staff alike are making their
final preparations for the 15 challenging
days of hard work and adventure they will
encounter over the course of the race.
Sail Arabia — The Tour is an annual
event and is contested by teams racing
identical Farr 30 yachts along a course
stretching crew members to their limits,
and testing teamwork and versatility.
From The Wave in Muscat, teams will
then move on to Sohar at the international
maritime college Oman stop over and
around the Musandam Peninsula to the
UAE, Qatar and Bahrain.
F
or the past four decades, global warming has increased dramatically
in cities, shows a new study led by an assistant professor of civil
engineering Vimal Mishra at IIT-Gandhinagar. The trend appears to
be growing faster in urban areas than in less-populated areas.
Only two per cent of those urban areas experienced a significant decline
in heat waves.
“Urban areas make up a relatively small part of the global land area,
but over half the world’s populations now live in them, so the trend is
troublesome,” said Mishra.
“The combination of higher temperatures and lower wind in particular
is not a good combination for human health and well-being. This should
concern everyone,” he pointed out.
The increase in precipitation could damage cities’ infrastructure, which
could also mean large economic losses, Mishra noted.
“Our findings suggest that urban areas are experiencing a kind of double
whammy -- a combination of general climatic warming combined with the
heat island effect, wherein human activities and the built environment trap
heat, preventing cities from cooling down as fast as rural areas,” said Dennis
Lettenmaier, a geography professor at University of California, Los Angeles
and co-author.
Lettenmaier and his co-authors studied 217 urban areas across the globe
and found that prolonged periods of extreme heat increased significantly in
48 per cent of them between 1973 and 2012.
The study is one of the first to focus solely on the extent of extreme
weather in urban areas globally.
The team obtained daily observations for rain, air temperature and
wind speed from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA).
The researchers identified about 650 urban areas with populations greater
than 250,000.
For each of the locales in the study, the researchers identified extremes
for temperature, precipitation and wind, calculated heat and cold waves, and
pinpointed extremely hot days and nights.
“In urban areas, buildings are disrupting the air flow, which affects not
only the immediate area of buildings, but apparently the larger regional wind
fields,” Lettenmaier explained.
The study was published in the journal Environmental Research
Letters.
— IANS
ROMANCE IS IN THE AIR
L
SAYEH WOODMAN
[email protected]
ike it or not it is the month
when John Legends track All
of Me will probably go back
to No 1 and blokes will be
looking uncomfortable and thinking
what shall I buy her?
If the Valentine’s Day gift giving
panic is setting in, don’t worry; you can
always rely on a box of chocolates, that
always goes down nicely, along with the
traditional bunch of flowers, candles or
in-fact anything shiny and sparkly.
For the man in your life try
aftershave, a meal out, after all — a way
to a mans heart is through his stomach!
A music or clothes voucher is good too,
these little ideas will win the heart of
whomever you’ve got your eye on or
want to keep!
I get my mum, dad and my best
mates little gifts for Valentine’s Day, as I
believe it’s the day for sharing kindness
and love and making your closest ones
feel loved and thought of. But it’s not
just about chocolates and flowers and
the gifts, although who won’t thank
you for a box of chocolates! It’s the day
for sharing your love for those that are
nearest and dearest to you, whether it’s
for your committed other half, it’s to
start a new romance, to thank a friend
for always being there, it’s time to go
shopping however big and small and
show that you care. I am a sucker when
it comes to Valentine’s Day. I absolutely
love the day of love!
So, February is said to be our month
of celebrating love. Valentine’s Day is a
dedicated (some would say commercial)
time to say to that someone special how
much they mean to you, even though
you should tell them all the time!
On the spin of this, most of us find
saying I love you to another, is a whole
lot easier than saying it to ourselves.
Don’t forget to love yourself too, why
not? Kind of ego attitude I now, it’s a
love that is woven into the fabric of who
we are but we have forgotten.
We can often forget for moments,
hours, days, weeks, or ever years and
allowed the lack of self-love to play
out in our lives. This can manifest
outwardly in many ways including
over-eating, excess on bad habits,
addictive shopping, spending endless
time on social media, computer games
etc… so remind yourself, take time out
for yourself, like I said a few weeks ago,
pampering yourself or go out of your
way to remove the negativity and make
changes where you feel positive.
On the topic of love, here’s food for
thought when it comes to romance,
apparently the top 3 foods for romance
are… Avocado — this food has a
womanly sensual shape to it, and is
known for its romantic qualities back in
the time of the Aztecs.
It has long been said that women
enjoy the scent too, whilst the fatty acids
are known to give the body a boost. Oh
my, my favourite food is in the top 3, of
course, chocolate, the sweetest food of
them all, which contains the feel good
chemical anandamide as well as the
love chemical phenylethylamine, that’s
a long word for me! Finally, oysters, yep
that’s one of the favourite 3 foods, over
the centuries there have been plenty of
reasons why the saltwater clams have
been linked to love. Personally though,
I can’t stand them!
There’s nothing wrong with being
a romantic. However you choose to
show this on this particular day or any
other day. As long as your life is full of
happiness and love then it’s Valentine’s
Day everyday of the year!
PHOTOGRAPHY
S U N DAY
FEBRUARY 1 l 2015
31
The Elephant
in my
Inner Room
omandailyobserver
IF YOU HAVE NOT YET BEEN TO THE EXHIBITION
OF STUNNING PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE
CELEBRATED MAGNUM PHOTOGRAPHER
STEVE MCCURRY, WHICH IS CURRENTLY
SHOWING AT BAIT AL ZUBAIR MUSEUM,
THEN YOU STILL HAVE TIME. BUT BE
WARNED, IF YOU HAVE DELUSIONS OF BEING
A SERIOUS PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTITIONER,
AS I SOMETIMES DO, THEN YOU MIGHT FIND
YOURSELF BEING PURSUED
OUT OF THE GALLERY
Á
Q CLIVE G
[email protected]
P
icture a photograph of
a dingy old room with
a high ceiling and dirty,
damp-marked
walls.
There is a low platform
at one end, sagging in
the middle, with two men stretched
out on mats, asleep. An elephant with
colourfully painted head and trunk
stands right beside them, a chain around
one foot. Mellow early morning light
illuminates the scene from a door or
window outside the left edge of the
frame. In every part of the image there
are beautiful, though subtle textures and
colours. Why is this image my favourite
from the exhibition when there are so
many others worthy of note?
As a photographer, I spend a lot of my
time photographing grungy interiors,
though admittedly ones without
elephants or people, so I know how
challenging it can be to ensure there is
detail even in the darkest shadows. And
as a writer, I am always on the lookout
for a useful metaphor. Steve McCurry
has kindly gone to some considerable
lengths to provide me with one, albeit a
fairly obvious one, so it would be rude of
me not to use it.
While rejoicing in Steve McCurry’s
wonderful photographs, I was in fact
being followed around the gallery by a
very large elephant. He kept prodding
me in the ribs with the tip of its trunk
and saying things like, “Why is Steve
McCurry’s name up in lights in the
Photography Hall of Fame and yours is
nowhere to be seen?” and “Clive, what
have you got to show for your forty years
in photography?” I tried to ignore this
reproving pachyderm by pretending he
wasn’t there, as I believe one is supposed
to do when there is an elephant in the
room, but he just wouldn’t leave me
alone. In fact, he followed me out of the
gallery to my car, then trotted behind
me as I drove through Old Muscat and
Muttrah and up the steep hill towards
Qurum. Only when he stopped at
Qurum Natural Park to strip a mediumsized tree of its leaves was I able to lose
him.
Actually, that elephant has been
following me around for quite some
time now and it always says more or less
the same thing — how come, after 40
years in the game, no one is clamouring
to hold an exhibition of my work? So,
time to stop ignoring the elephant in my
inner room and so some soul searching.
Now at this point you are all probably
thinking, “The reason you are not a
famous photographer, dear, deluded
Clive, is because Steve McCurry is
talented and you’re not!” OK, I am
prepared to concede that our respective
degrees of inherent talent might be
one reason why Steve McCurry is the
photographic equivalent of a rock star
and I a tipsy and out-of-tune pub pianist,
but I would like to think that the real
reasons lie elsewhere.
PHOTOGRAPHIC COMMITMENT
Surely one of the main reasons
for Steve McCurry’s success and my
lack thereof is our respective degrees
of commitment to photography. I
firmly believe that one becomes an
accomplished and perhaps even a
celebrated artist largely through hard and
consistent work. Steve McCurry works
at his photography 24/7. He has devoted
his life to photography. Photography is
the reason he gets up in the morning. He
has no kids and no pets, so he can hop
on a plane whenever he feels like it and
go and take photographs in amazing,
picturesque places.
I think about photography every
waking moment, but I have rarely ever
spent more than one or two days a
week actually practising my art. This
is because of other responsibilities and
other passions. This is not offered as an
Growing up in the aesthetic wasteland of rural Ireland in the 1970s, I
saw art not as a way to mirror reality, but to transmute reality into
something more mystical, more exciting. I think that is why I have
always loved infrared photography so much. It leads me through the
back of the wardrobe into another, magical dimension
excuse. After all, the day job, the kid and
the pet tarantula were all my choices. All
I’m saying is that, no matter how often
you think about tennis, you will never
become a world-class tennis player by
practising just one or two days a week.
The same goes for photography.
SUBJECT MATTER
Another reason for Steve’s fame and
my obscurity is our differing choices
of subject matter. Steve McCurry
photographs people most of the
time. If you think of all the famous
photographers of the past 150 years,
almost all of them chose people as their
subjects most of the time. It is a fact that
the gallery-going and picture-buying
public likes images of other people,
preferably interesting or pretty ones.
For my part, I am a recluse. That’s
right, people just don’t do it for me.
In fact, I go out of my way to avoid
them. When I head off on my weekly
photography trip, it is precisely to get
away from people. Why do you think
I hang out in old, tumbledown villages
whenever I can? Because there are
no people there! Of course I know
full well that nobody cares to look at
my photographs of decrepit interiors,
derelict buildings or old pots. And
certainly nobody would ever consider
buying such a picture. But what can I do?
An old pot in a dark and grungy interior makes me jump for photographic joy. This
one was taken in Harat Al Bilad, Manah. Sadly, the roof collapsed about a week after
If the photographs currently on
I took this shot and the pot was smashed
A COHESIVE BODY OF WORK
display at Bait Al Zubair Museum may
be taken as representative of Steve
McCurry’s opus, then it is clear that
he has evolved a clearly defined and
instantly recognisable style. All the
images are very colourful and richly
detailed, while most of the portraits are
shot with a very narrow depth of field.
All the images taken with a particular
camera format are printed to exactly the
same size and all the photographs are
shown without mounts or frames. The
overall impression is one of consistency
and cohesion across his body or work.
Clive, on the other hand, is all
over the place. He chops and changes
between film cameras, digital cameras,
pinhole cameras, vintage cameras and
homemade cameras. As well as taking
digital photographs, he loves using outof-date film, infrared film, black and
white film and even instant film. He
tries out different chemicals, alternative
processes and papers. His printed
photographs vary from postage-stamp
size to the dimensions of a billboard.
In addition, he messes about with
photo brut, found photos and family
snapshots. In other words, his oeuvre
completely lacks cohesion. I mean, just
look at the wide divergence of the three
images accompanying today’s article, for
heaven’s sake!
THE MARKETPLACE
Steve McCurry is a business, a
corporation. His pictures sell by the
If you wish to make money from your photography, then forget about pinhole cameras. If, on the other hand, you want to have
lorry-load. He is very skilled at taking
more photographic fun that you could ever imagine, pinhole photography is for you. There is nothing I love more than taking
one of my pinhole cameras and a lightweight tripod and heading out for the day to explore the enchanting lanes and byways of photographs that the public finds
rural Ireland on a sunny summer day
desirable. He knows what sells, which
is very useful knowledge to have
if you want to make a living out of
photography. As I do not know Steve
McCurry, I cannot say that he thinks
about the commercial viability of every
shot before he presses the shutter release
button, but I have known plenty of other
professional photographers who do just
that.
I, on the other hand, decided long ago
not to let marketplace considerations
creep into my photography. I did not
show my pictures in galleries or sell them
at art fairs for fear that economics would
begin to corrupt my aesthetics. These
days, necessity demands that I try and
sell some photographs and I admit that,
from time to time, I take unashamedly
commercial pictures that sell quite well.
But I spend most of my time taking
the kinds of photographs that I want
to take but which, apparently, appeal to
nobody else. To that end, you could say
I have developed a split photographic
personality.
PHOTOGRAPHIC GEAR
Which brings us to another economic
factor separating Steve’s wonderful work
from my pitiful offerings — the quality
of gear each of us has at our disposal.
Like it or not, high-resolution, gallery
standard professional photography is
a very expensive game, requiring a lot
of high-end equipment, consumables
and technical assistance. If, like Steve
McCurry, you have made savvy
choices regarding your commitment to
photography, your subject matter, your
relationship to the marketplace, and you
have succeeded in producing a cohesive
body of work, then some of the biggest
brands in the photographic industry
might come running to you, offering you
free equipment and materials in return
for your endorsement of their products.
I did not make the kinds of
choices that would have brought me
photographic fame and fortune. I did
not fully commit but instead merely
dabbled in photography. I eschewed
shooting people, turned my back on
commercialism and wasted a lot of time
playing with whacky cameras I bought
on ebay for a few rials. For that reason,
I have no sponsors in the photography
industry. In fact, the big brands would
probably pay me not to use their
equipment!
Oh, woe is me! Photographic
fame and fortune have passed me by.
Magnum Photos wouldn’t have me as
their restroom attendant, let alone as
one of their photographers. It is too late
for me now and I only have myself to
blame. I have made my photographic
bed, so there’s not much else I can do
but lie down on its hard and lumpy
mattress, stare up at the cracked ceiling
of my dingy room and hope that sleep
will soon take away my pain. Why
oh why did I decide to confront that
elephant?
tThe Iconic Photographs,
an exhibition of 40 of Steve
McCurry’s magnificent images can be
seen at Bait Al Zubair Museum
until the end of February
SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 1, 2015 | RABEE AL THANI 11, 1436 AH
P30
P29
P31
Inside
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Q MAURICE GENT
The courage of
VERDI
I
t takes a particular kind of courage to discuss the problems of old age when
you yourself are old. Giuseppe Verdi was old when he wrote one of his most
famous operas, Falstaff. It was first performed at La Scala in 1893.
Verdi was born in 1813 and his first premier was in 1839. Was this a very
foolish thing to do?
This turned out not to be the case. It was a great success and is still
performed today as a superb and exquisite piece of work, which has won for itself
recognition as a jewel in the Verdi repertoire.
Verdi throughout his professional career had been a great admirer of Shakespeare
and had previously dealt successfully in Shakespearean tragedies such as Macbeth
and Othello. But this was entirely different. Not dealing with greed and ambition, but
the slightly pathetic attempts by an old would-be lover, trying to revive the joy and
conquests of his youth.
It worked because of the performance of Piero Terranova, who gave a superb
performance as the decaying but still energetic and resolute Falstaff, still ready to
work with energy and vigour in order to win the favours of a beautiful woman. He
kept his dignity in that he did not appear pathetic. He schemed and planned with coconspirators to win his lady and avoided total scorn in defeat.
Defeated in his aim, but not humiliated. How many could escape with at least
some dignity from such as situation. His humiliation was slightly lessened by a
sparkling production, which moved at some pace. The audience was drawn to the
spectacle of the final scenes rather than the humiliation. This was due at least in some
part by the performers from Milan’s Academia Teatro Alla Scala itself.
Sir John Falstaff, although thwarted in terms of his lecherous desires remained a
sympathetic rather than a scorned figure unworthy of consideration or note. This was
largely a tribute to Piero Terranova and his skills as an actor as well as a singer. He
portrayed Falstaff as a lascivious person, who was quite naturally following the habits
of a lifetime and therefore attracted some sympathy as tactics, which had worked well
in the past no longer succeeded.
The overall effect at the end was not therefore total humiliation for a thwarted
Falstaff, who had been rightly halted as he pursued his lecherous desires but a
portrayal of the shifting changes in life as we get old.
Certainly this was a landmark performance at the ROHM by one of the world’s
leading companies. Few will forget the superb singing, the choreography, and a world
class production, which will remain in the memory.
— Photos by Khalid al Busaidi, ROHM
Certainly this was a landmark performance at the ROHM by one of the world’s leading companies
INFANT MEMORY
Shhh! Your baby learning in sleep too
W
hile infants sleep, they are
reprocessing what they
have learnt during the day, a
study has found.
Working with researchers from the
University of Tubingen, scientists from
the Max Planck Institute for Human
Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig,
Germany discovered that babies of the
age from nine to 16 months remember
the names of objects better if they had
a short nap.
And only after sleeping can they
transfer the learnt names to similar new
objects.
The infant brain thus forms general
categories during sleep, converting
experience into knowledge.
The results show that sleep
significantly
affects
memory
organisation even in the infant brain —
and at a time when memory is growing
on a massive scale.
“The waking infant brain quickly
forgets newly-learnt names, but during
sleep, words are more durably linked
to objects and imprinted,” said Angela
Friederici, director at Max Planck
Institute.
The researchers also showed that
the formation of categories is closely
related to a typical rhythmic activity of
the sleeping brain called “sleep spindles”.
Infants with high “sleep spindle” activity
are particularly good at generalising
their experiences and developing new
knowledge while sleeping.
In order to study the impact of sleep
on infant memory, the team invited
parents to attend a study with their nine
to 16-month-old children.
During the training session, the
infants were repeatedly shown images
of certain objects while hearing the
fictitious names assigned to the objects.
One group of infants spent the next
one to two hours sleeping in their prams
while the others remained awake.
While the group who had stayed
awake had forgotten the names of the
individual objects, the children in the
sleep group remembered the objectword mappings.
“The infants who slept after the
training session assigned new objects to
the names of similar-looking objects,”
said Manuela Friedrich of the Max
Planck Institute.
They were not able to do that before
their nap, and nor were the ones who
stayed awake able to do it.
“This means that the categories
must have been formed during sleep,”
Friedrich noted.